1 Lent - Sunday

first posted 02/28/04

Daniel 9:3-10    Daniel’s prayer of confession
Hebrews 2:10-18    Our merciful and faithful high priest
John 12:44-50    The word of Judgment

Daniel’s prayer of confession acknowledges the Lord’s faithfulness and steadfast love to those who love him and keep his commandments. He acknowledges that his people have sinned, have done wrong and have rebelled and turned aside from God’s commands. His people have not listened to God’s ministers who spoke in God’s name. Daniel affirms his faith that the Lord is merciful and forgiving, and acknowledges that their present circumstances of oppression and frustration are the result of their own rebellion and disobedience.

It is characteristic of God’s gracious nature, in bringing many to salvation, that he would bring the pioneer and author of that salvation, Jesus, to spiritual maturity through suffering. Christ, who sanctifies (makes ceremonially clean and dedicated) and those who are sanctified have the same spiritual Father, God. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, born in human flesh so that he could show us by example how to live and overcome Satan and temptation, and free us from the fear of death. Since he was fully human, he experienced suffering and temptation and yet overcame them. Therefore he is able to be a sympathetic and trustworthy high priest, who can help us resist temptation and make reparation continually on our behalf.

Jesus declared that those who believe in him believe in God, and those who have seen Jesus have seen God. Jesus came as light to the world, to take us out of the darkness of sin and spiritual blindness. Those who do not listen and obey Jesus’ words are condemning themselves. Jesus came to save the world; those who reject him and his words are refusing to be saved. It is God’s will for us to have eternal life.

God loves us and doesn’t want us to perish but to have eternal life with him (John 3:16). All of us have sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn it but to save it (John 3:17). If we acknowledge our sinfulness and rebellion against God and turn to him in repentance and commitment to obey him, he is merciful and faithful to forgive us and restore us to eternal fellowship with him.

Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12). Only through Jesus can we come to know and have fellowship with God (John 14:6). Those who have seen Jesus’ nature and character from the Bible eye-witness accounts have seen God, who is invisible. In Jesus, the whole fullness of God dwells bodily (Colossians 2:8-9). Those who have encountered Jesus in the Bible scriptures and receive him as their Lord, who receive Jesus’ teaching and incorporate it into their life and character, will come into a personal fellowship with Jesus. Jesus will reveal himself (John 14:21) to them through the infilling of his Holy Spirit.

It is appointed for mankind to die once and then comes Judgment (Hebrews 9:27), not reincarnation; not nothingness. The Day of Judgment is coming when all who are in the graves will hear Jesus’ voice and come forth, like Lazarus (John 11:43-44). Those who are judged guilty of sin will be condemned to eternal death and destruction in Hell, eternally separated from God. Those who are judged righteous will receive eternal life in Heaven with Jesus (John 5:28-29; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). The standard by which all will be judged will be whether we have trusted and obeyed Jesus (Matthew 25:31-46).

Have you seen Jesus?  Lord?  Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Monday

first posted 02/29/04

Genesis 37:1-11  Joseph’s dreams
1 Corinthians 1:1-19    Dissentions at Corinth
Mark 1:1-13    Jesus begins his public ministry

Joseph was the son of Jacob (whom God named “Israel:” see Isaiah 32:28) and Rachael. At seventeen, he was a shepherd of his father’s flocks with his brothers from his father’s wives’ maids, Bilhah and Zilpah. He was the favorite child of his father, because he was the son of Jacobs “old age” (Joseph was the next-to- youngest son; Benjamin, Joseph’s brother by Rachael was younger). Jacob made him a luxurious long robe with sleeves. His brothers were jealous of Joseph because he was Jacob’s favorite.

Joseph had a dream in which he and his brothers were binding wheat in the field, and his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to Joseph’s sheaf. Joseph told the dream to his brothers and they only hated him more for his dream and his words. They did not appreciate the thought that their “little” brother would reign over them. Joseph had another dream in which the Sun, Moon and eleven stars bowed down to him, and in what is arguably poor judgment, he again told his brothers his dream. The significance was obvious, since he had eleven brothers. His half-brothers hated him even more, but Jacob remembered Joseph’s dream.    

Paul very diplomatically introduces subjects which he wants to deal with more critically later in the letter. He tactfully reminds the Corinthians that their eloquence, knowledge and spiritual gifts are given them by God’s grace (free gift; unmerited favor) through Jesus Christ, who will faithfully sustain them so that they may be found blameless at final time of judgment. Paul pleads with them to resolve not to engage in dissention among one another.

Apparently there was some “sibling rivalry,” some “denominationalism” going on among the brethren at Corinth. Some were attributing status within the congregation based on which minister had officiated at the member’s baptism, as if baptism by a certain minister was more efficacious that that of another. Paul’s point is that baptism does not depend on which mortal presides over the ceremony, but on God’s grace and power through Jesus Christ. Paul is glad that because of circumstances there is no occasion for anyone to claim status by having been baptized by Paul since he did not actually preside over more than a couple of baptisms at Corinth. Paul also subtly points out that he does not personally claim any profound eloquence or wisdom (although he would have more justification for doing so than his Corinthian brethren).

Paul doesn’t want to be the focus of attention and adulation, because he wants the Gospel of Christ to be preeminent. The power and wisdom of God are present and active in the Gospel of Christ; Paul just wants to preach the Gospel faithfully so that he doesn’t get it the way of that power. He subtly reminds the Corinthians that boasting about their own wisdom is not wise or cleaver. The Gospel is the true wisdom, and our salvation is not by any accomplishment of our own but by the power and wisdom of God.

In fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, John the Baptist was the messenger sent by God to prepare Israel for the coming of Jesus Christ (Messiah). He preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and many confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John preached that the Messiah was coming. John was preceding the Christ, but he acknowledged that Christ was preeminent, and that while John baptized with water for forgiveness of sin, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (and with fire; see Luke 3:16).

During those days when John was baptizing in the Jordan River, Jesus began his public ministry by coming to John for baptism. When Jesus came up from the water at his baptism, John saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove, and heard a voice from heaven say, “thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11; see also John 1:31-34). Immediately thereafter, Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit. Jesus was in the Wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and ministered to by angels.

The Lord revealed to Joseph in two dreams what was going to take place. Joseph was going to be going through some unpleasant times, but ultimately God was going to bring about great good from it (Genesis 45:5-8; 50:19-21). The dreams were a promise from God that Joseph would ultimately be vindicated. Although his step-brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt because of their sins of pride and jealousy, Joseph became their “savior” from a great famine. They did later bow down to Joseph, as the dreams had foretold, but now, they hated the idea of bowing down to Joseph. They were preoccupied with their worldly status, and they hated the messenger of truth.

The Corinthians were like Joseph’s step-brothers, jockeying with each other for worldly status. Paul was not concerned with worldly status. What was important to him was the Gospel of salvation. He wasn’t going to let his pride interfere with God’s plan of salvation. He was willing to humble himself, so that his brethren might be saved. As a good “shepherd,” he had to correct practices that were arising in his “flock” which were causing dissention and hindering their growth to spiritual maturity. He did it with love and tact. How would the members respond? Would they accept his criticism, amend their ways and grow spiritually, or would they leave; perhaps try another church; or band together and vote Paul out?

John the Baptist did not try to exaggerate his own ministry. He humbly acknowledged that he was not worthy even to touch Jesus’ feet; that his own ministry was to point to Jesus; to prepare people to receive Jesus, and to testify that Jesus was the Christ; the Messiah. John had some pretty strong words to say to those who considered themselves to be God’s chosen people: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:7b-9). Those who accepted John's message and repented were ready for Jesus Christ when he came. Who would allow someone to talk to them like that today?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

1 Lent - Tuesday

first posted 03/01/04

Genesis 37:12-24    Joseph’s brothers capture him
1 Corinthians 1:20-31    The wisdom of God
Mark 1:14:28    Jesus begins his ministry

Joseph’s half-brothers had taken the flocks to Shechem to pasture them, and Joseph’s father, Jacob, sent him to check on them and report back. When Joseph came to Shechem, he was wandering through the fields and did not find them, but a local told him that they had gone on to Dothan. Joseph went to Dothan. His brothers saw him coming a long way off, and plotted to kill him, because they were jealous of his favored position with his father, and because of the dreams he had told them, in which he was exalted above all his family (Genesis 37:5-11). Judah and Reuben apparently intervened in Joseph’s interest, and prevented the brothers from killing him, merely throwing him into one of several dry pits in the area, instead, after removing his luxurious long-sleeved robe (the symbol of favor and, in light of the dreams, authority) that his father had given him.

God has shown that the wisdom of the world is, in reality, foolishness. God in his great wisdom designed the world in such a way that it is not possible to come to knowledge of God through wisdom. Instead, his plan of salvation, which seems like folly to those who consider themselves wise in this world, depends on faith. Jews demand signs (works; as evidence) while Greeks (gentile intelligentsia) seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, which is a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles. To those who are being saved, however, the Gospel of Christ is the power and wisdom of God.

God, at his most foolish, is wiser than men, and at his weakest, is stronger than men. Most of those who have believed in the Gospel were not the wise, or the powerful or noble of this world. God chose what the world regards as foolish, weak, lowly and despised in this world, so that he could reveal the emptiness of the things that those who are of this world value, and so that no one might boast in God’s presence. God is the source of our life in Christ Jesus, our righteousness, sanctification (cleansing from sinfulness) and redemption. Anyone who boasts should boast of what the Lord has done for us.

Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, preaching that the time has been fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent (confess our sinfulness and turn in obedience to God) and believe in Jesus’ message. As he traveled along the Sea of Galilee he encountered Simon and Andrew, James and John, who were fishermen. Jesus invited them to follow him and become fishers of men, and they immediately left what they were doing and followed Jesus.

They went into Capernaum, and on the Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught. He taught with authority, unlike the scribes. Right away there was a man who was demon-possessed, and the demon recognized and acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 1:24). Jesus made the demon be silent and come out of the man. The crowd was amazed, because Jesus had power and authority over demons, and news of this healing spread throughout the surrounding area.

Joseph had done nothing to deserve his brother’s hatred, although he had related dreams to them that had made them angry. The brothers intended evil against Joseph, but Judah and Reuben interceded, and became his saviors.

In contrast, we have all sinned and rebelled against God (Romans 3:23), and the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). We deserve death, and Jesus came, not just to talk our heavenly Father out of sentencing us to death, but to die for us on the cross as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. We threw Jesus, the favored son of the Father, into the grave for trying to save us from the condemnation of death, and because we wanted for ourselves the power and authority that rightly belong to him. 

To the world, the Gospel of Christ seems like foolishness. Those who are of the world deny their sinfulness and their need for a savior. They deny God’s wisdom and exalt their own. Jesus came with meekness and humility, and became foolish and despised in the eyes of the world, in order to save us from our sins.

Jesus taught with authority, and he demonstrated authority and power over illness, death, and demons. The demons knew who he was! But saving faith in Jesus is more than just acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ; even demons do that (Mark 1:24; see James 2:19). We must trust in Jesus and follow his word and example; we must leave the way we were living, and go the way he’s going. We must respond to his invitation to become his disciples.

1 Lent - Wednesday

first posted 03/02/04

Genesis 37:25-36    Joseph sold into slavery
1 Corinthians 2:1-13    Spiritual wisdom
Mark 1:29-45    Jesus’ healing ministry

After his half-brothers had thrown Joseph into a dry pit they sat down to eat, and they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites or Midianites (both are Arabian nomadic tribes descended from Abraham through concubines; two different traditions are combined here). As the caravan passed by they drew Joseph up out of the pit and sold him to the caravan as a slave, and he was taken to Egypt.

Reuben apparently had not been present when Joseph was sold, and when he discovered that Joseph was gone he was distraught. The brothers took Joseph’s coat which they had kept (Genesis 37:23), and dipped it in blood and took it to their father, Jacob (Israel), claiming that they had found the robe but had not seen Joseph. Their father recognized the robe as the one he had given Joseph, and presumed that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal, as the brothers intended. Jacob mourned a long time for Joseph. Meanwhile Joseph had been sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Paul didn’t try to impress the Corinthians with lofty rhetoric or his wisdom. Paul was willing to humbly surrender any claim to knowledge of his own, except that of Christ crucified. The power in Paul’s preaching was not of his own ability, but was through the Holy Spirit and God’s power, so that their faith might not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God. There is great wisdom in the Gospel, although it is not regarded as wisdom by this world or the present leaders of the age, who will pass away. The wisdom of the Gospel is a secret, hidden wisdom of God, which God designed into creation, so that those who believe in him might be glorified. Those who are worldly have not understood this, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

God has revealed through the Holy Spirit what man has not seen and cannot imagine, which God has prepared for those who love him. One cannot know these things without the indwelling Holy Spirit, in a way that is similar to the truth that no one can know a person’s innermost feelings except the spirit of that person himself. So also no one can know the thoughts of God except by the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God; not the spirit which is of the world. It is given to believers so that they might understand the gifts of God. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit are given insight which they share with others who share in the Holy Spirit. Unspiritual people cannot appreciate or understand the gifts of the Spirit because they seem foolish to them, and they can only be spiritually discerned. The spiritual person is not to be judged by the unspiritual person. Paul quotes Isaiah 40:30 to make the point that those who are filled with the Spirit know the mind of Christ, which is the mind of God, and no one is able to instruct God, especially unbelievers.

After healing the demon-possessed man at the synagogue (Mark 1:23-28), Jesus visited the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Simon’s mother was sick, and when Jesus was told, he went to her and raised her up and her sickness left her and she served them. Jesus got up early and went out to pray, and his disciples found him. People in the village were looking for Jesus, since the word of his healings had gotten around. Jesus wanted to go on to other villages, and had gotten up early so that he would not be detained by the people seeking healing.

A leper came to him and declared his faith that Jesus could heal him, and Jesus reached out and touched him and healed him. Jesus told him to tell no one, but to show himself to the priest and to fulfill the ceremonial procedures given in the Law of Moses so that he might be restored to full fellowship in the community. But the former leper began to tell everyone and to spread the news of his healing, so that Jesus was no longer able to enter towns openly, but had to stay in the countryside, and crowds of people went out to him seeking healing.  

Reuben had dissuaded his brothers from killing Joseph, and he had suggested that they throw Joseph into the pit with the intention of rescuing him and restoring him to his father (Genesis 37:22). He was understandably distraught when he discovered that Joseph had been sold into slavery, making his rescue impossible, and that he was forced to go along with his brothers’ deception of their father. The brothers had thought only of themselves, not of Joseph’s welfare, nor their father’s. They thought they had freed themselves of their annoying little brother, but they had become enslaved by their sin.

They had to lie to their father and watch him mourn for a long time. Joseph’s brothers had a worldly plan and reaction to him, but God had a different plan. (God ultimately prospered Joseph and used Joseph’s position in Egypt to save his brothers from famine). Joseph’s brother pursued their own plan, rather than seeking God’s plan. While they thought they had sold Joseph into slavery, they had actually sold themselves into slavery and into bondage to death. By cooperating with God’s plan, Joseph could not ultimately be restrained by slavery, and became the instrument of God’s salvation of his brothers.
 
Paul put the interests of others ahead of his own interests. Instead of trying to build himself up in the eyes of the Corinthians, he humbled himself so that he would not get in the way of the power and glory of the Gospel of Christ. He didn’t try to convince unbelievers with great logic and brilliant argument. Instead he just tried to humbly present the Gospel accurately, trusting that God’s power would be at work in it. He accepted that the truth of the Gospel is spiritually discerned, and that, unless one is open to God’s Spirit and God’s power, one cannot appreciate or understand the Gospel.

The Leper had the faith to be physically healed, but he didn’t have the spiritual commitment to be obedient to Jesus’ words. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone that he had been healed. The directions Jesus had given him were provisions in God’s Law designed to restore to fellowship someone who had been separated from the community socially and spiritually. The Leper’s primary concern seems to have been social; perhaps he didn’t care if he was now able to go to worship on the Sabbath, as long as he was able to have social contact. Perhaps he thought he didn’t need the priest to restore him to fellowship in the community; he could just as easily do that himself by showing people that he was no longer leprous and by telling them that Jesus had healed him.

Maybe he thought he was doing something good for Jesus by telling everyone that Jesus had healed him, presuming to know what was in the best interest of Jesus’ ministry, without having the indwelling Holy Spirit within him. The end result was to make Jesus’ ministry much more difficult. Crowds of people were attracted to Jesus for physical healing, “free health care,” who were not aware of, or interested in, the spiritual healing he came to bring. After the feeding of the five thousand, crowds similarly flocked to him for free bread (see also journal entry for Saturday, January 3, 2004). Jesus had a plan for the leper, but the leper decided to follow his own plan instead.

We’ve all been following our own plans, and we’ve all become slaves to sin and death through the pursuit of our own interests (Romans 3:23; 6:23). We’re all lepers. Do we believe that Jesus can heal us? Do we realize that we need more than physical healing; more spiritual nurture than physical bread? Do we understand that faith must involve spiritual commitment; obedience and discipleship?  Are we still following our own plans, or are we cooperating with God’s plan?

1 Lent - Thursday

first posted 03/03/04

Genesis 39:1-23    Joseph and Potiphar’s wife
1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15    Christ the one foundation
Mark 2:1-12    Healing a paralytic

Joseph had been sold to an Ishmaelite caravan, and was taken to Egypt, where they sold him to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guards. The Lord blessed Joseph and caused him to be successful in all that he did, and when Potiphar saw this he made Joseph the overseer of his entire household. Joseph was handsome, and after awhile, his master’s wife was attracted to him, and tried to seduce him. Day after day she invited him to lie with her, but Joseph declined, saying that his master had entrusted all that he had  to Joseph and had withheld nothing from him but his wife. Joseph would not consider doing something so wicked against his master, nor was he willing to sin against God.

One day when they were in the house alone together, she grabbed his garment, saying “lie with me”, but Joseph fled, leaving her holding his garment. So she called the men of the household and accused Joseph of trying to rape her, using his garment as evidence. When Potiphar heard her accusations, he arrested Joseph and put him in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph in prison and prospered him there. The jailer noticed, and made Joseph in charge of everything in the prison, and the Lord prospered everything that Joseph did.

The dissention within the Corinthian congregation was evidence that the members were still living in fleshly behavior and were therefore spiritually immature. They were divided over the personalities of several different ministers. Paul points out that the church is not to be a cult to a particular minister. All the ministers are servants of the Lord; like gardeners they tend the garden, but it is the Lord who causes the garden to produce a harvest.

Paul, using a metaphor of building construction, had laid the foundation of the Gospel of Christ when he established the congregation, and then turned the ministry over to others.  Not only the ministers, but every member of the congregation, participate in building upon that foundation. The quality of their work and the materials they use will be evident on the Day of Judgment.  In that day everyone will be rewarded according to the quality of work that they have done on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

When people learned that Jesus had returned to his home in Capernaum, a large crowd gathered around the house, listening to Jesus preaching. Four men came, carrying a paralytic on a stretcher, but because of the crowd they could not get near to Jesus. They went up on the roof and made an opening, and lowered the paralytic down on his stretcher through the hole in the roof.

When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. There were scribes sitting in the group who questioned in their hearts Jesus’ pronouncement of forgiveness, thinking that Jesus was blaspheming, because only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he asked them which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk’? Then he told the paralytic to rise and take up his pallet and go home, and the paralytic did so. The crowd was amazed.

Joseph’s life had become difficult. He’d been sold into slavery in a strange place by his own brothers. But Joseph trusted and obeyed the Lord. Many would be tempted to do as little as possible under the circumstances, and to take what they could get for themselves, but Joseph did his very best for his master and for the Lord. Joseph was forced by his circumstances into close daily proximity to great temptation, but he resisted and fled from temptation. As a result, he was unjustly accused and imprisoned.

It would be easy to miss the evidence that the Lord was blessing Joseph through all this, and focus on what was going wrong, instead. Who would feel that the Lord was prospering him when he had been sold into slavery, or thrown into prison unjustly? It takes faith and perseverance to trust in the Lord  and to see the blessings of the Lord in difficult circumstances.

The circumstances for the Corinthian Christians were almost too good. They didn’t have anything more significant to worry about than whose baptism was better. They were bickering among themselves over inconsequential things. They weren’t focused on doing their best to build up the church and please and serve the Lord. In one sense the church is a garden where the seed of the Gospel can be nurtured to spiritual maturity. In another sense the church is a building project.

The "garden’s" produce should be laborers and builders, not "vegetables". But gardens do not produce a harvest immediately. Seeds have to be grown to maturity first. Churches need to actively disciple members before they send them out to evangelize. Remember that although the disciples had lived in daily discipleship to Jesus for three years or so before his ascension, they were still instructed to wait in Jerusalem until they had been filled with the Holy Spirit, before they were to take Jesus’ ministry to the world (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4).

The men who brought their paralytic friend to Jesus had faith that Jesus could heal him, and they acted and persevered in their faith. They didn’t give up when they saw that they couldn’t get near to Jesus by normal means. They acted on their faith and gave their best effort, and then trusted in Jesus for the result. The scribes just sat there and criticized.

Jesus asked the scribes which was easier: to forgive sins or to heal the paralytic. The scribes were obviously interested in what was easy. Criticism is easy. In a sense no one can forgive sins but God, because we must ultimately answer to God for our deeds. But we can forgive others when they sin against us, although it’s not always easy for us to do so. Their attitude was unforgiving. The scribes couldn’t heal the paralytic, and they couldn’t save themselves from the consequences of their sinfulness. They needed to trust in Jesus for those things, but instead they rejected and criticized Jesus.

Are we trusting in Jesus and doing our best to serve and glorify him in every circumstance, or are we blaming him for everything that’s not perfect in our lives. Are we willing to work at being a disciple and growing spiritually so that we can bring our "crippled" friends to Jesus, or would we rather sit around and complain about the air conditioning, or the worship music, or the length of the Pastor’s sermon? Or perhaps we think we don’t need to be part of a congregation at all. Have you made up your mind to serve Jesus to the best of your ability, and to trust the results to him?

1 Lent - Friday

first posted 03/04/04

Genesis 40:1-23    Joseph interprets dreams
1 Corinthians 3:16-23    God’s temple  
Mark 2:13-22   New wine

Joseph had been unjustly accused and thrown into prison. Some time later, Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker  had been imprisoned with Joseph, and Joseph was assigned to serve them. One night the butler and baker each had a dream, and in the morning Joseph noticed that they were troubled and asked them about it. The butler told Joseph his dream, and Joseph interpreted the dream to mean that the butler would be restored to Pharaoh’s service in three days.

Seeing that the interpretation of the butler’s dream was favorable, the baker told Joseph his dream, but Joseph interpreted the baker’s dream to mean that the baker would be hanged in three days. Three days later the Pharaoh celebrated his birthday, and he made a feast for all his servants. “He lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants” (Genesis 40:20). The chief butler’s head was lifted up in honor among the servants by being restored to his former position, and the chief baker’s head was lifted up in dishonor by a hangman’s noose, as Joseph had prophesied. Joseph asked the butler to remember him when he returned to Pharaoh, but the butler forgot.

Christians who are truly “born-again,” who have received the Holy Spirit, are God’s temple, individually and collectively, because God’s Spirit abides in them. God will destroy anyone who destroys God’s temple, because God’s temple is holy. Let us not be deceived. Anyone who thinks that he is wise in this age should try to become foolish so that he may get true wisdom, because God’s wisdom is foolish to those who are worldly. God ensnares the wise in their cleverness; the thoughts of the wise are futile. So don’t boast of men, because believers do not belong to other men. God has given possession of everything to believers, who in turn belong to Christ, who belongs to God.

As Jesus was passing by the office of Levi (Matthew), the tax collector, Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Matthew got up and followed Jesus. Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s house, and there were many tax collectors and sinners present. Scribes (teachers of the law) seeing that Jesus was eating with tax collectors (who were ostracized as collaborators because they worked for the occupying Roman government) and sinners, criticized Jesus. Jesus replied that those who are healthy don’t need a doctor; Jesus had come not to save the righteous, but sinners.

John’s disciples and the Pharisees practiced fasting, so some people criticized Jesus because his disciples were not fasting. Jesus answered that the situation was like that of a wedding. Wedding guests do not fast. Jesus said that his disciples would go through a period of fasting when Jesus was taken from them. Jesus also said that one cannot use a new piece of unshrunk cloth to patch an old garment, because when the patch shrinks it will tear away from the garment and make the damaged garment worse. Similarly no one puts new wine in old wineskins, because the old wineskins will burst and both wine and skin will be wasted.

Both the “head” butler and the “head” baker were “lifted up” before their peers, but the results were completely different for each (note the “gallows-humor”). One might expect the butler to remember Joseph favorably after such a close call, but the butler seems to have resumed his life without any thought of returning Joseph’s kindness or any expression of gratitude. There is nothing in the text to indicate that either the butler or the baker deserved their fate. Perhaps Pharaoh just wanted to show his servants that he had complete power of life or death over them, and that they had better try to keep him happy.

The Corinthians were trying to exalt themselves over their brothers in the eyes of their peers. They were unaware of the damage they were doing to the collective temple of God, the body of Christian believers, by their divisiveness. Paul reminds them tactfully that they will be held accountable to the Lord for such destructive behavior.   They were seeking worldly honor through worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom only seems wise; the Gospel is the true wisdom, but it is regarded by as folly by those who are worldly. To gain true wisdom, one must become more foolish, according to the world’s perspective, by growing in the wisdom and knowledge of God.

The scribes held a position of honor in the community, as the keepers of the law. They thought that because they knew and kept the law that they were righteous, and that lesser people, like tax collectors, were not. They were critical of Jesus for eating with sinners, and for not doing enough fasting. Jesus came to save sinners. We’re all sinners (Romans 3:23), but only those who recognize and acknowledge their sinfulness can benefit from what Jesus offers. The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus came and died for us on the cross as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 5:8; John 3:16) Receiving forgiveness through Jesus requires us to be willing to change; to repent and turn and go in a new direction. Jesus calls; we must choose to get up and follow him. If we are willing to do that, we will have close personal fellowship with him, as Matthew had at his table in his home, and eternal life.

Worldly honor is fickle. One individual is idolized and showered with adulation, while another is ignored; treated with contempt; unjustly condemned.  One can be head baker today, out of favor tomorrow and dead baker the day after that. Our future belongs to Jesus. He has come to us in prison. He is the key to understanding our dreams.  In Jesus we have the promise of release from prison and restoration to honor and eternal life.

Now that he has revealed the promise to us, will we go back to our former lives and forget all about him? Will we continue to follow the worldly pattern of success, attempting to exalt ourselves through worldly knowledge and associating with the right people? Will we remember the hope that Jesus has given us?

Both the butler’s dream and the baker’s dream are our dreams; we can have either outcome! If we accept and remember Jesus, we’ll get eternal life with him in Heaven; but if we reject and forget him, we’ll get eternal death in Hell with all the wicked. Do you know where your will spend eternity? Have you decided to follow Jesus and remember his words?

first posted 03/05/04

Genesis 41:1-13    Pharaoh’s Dream
1 Corinthians 4:1-7    Servants of Christ
Mark 2:23-3:6    Lord of the Sabbath

Joseph (the son of Jacob/Israel) had been thrown into prison where he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief butler and chief baker. When the butler was restored to his former position he forgot Joseph, who languished in prison for another two years. Then Pharaoh had two dreams. In the first, seven lean cows consumed seven fat cows, and then he dreamed again and saw seven lean ears of grain consume seven fat ears of grain. None of Pharaoh’s wise men or magicians could interpret the dreams. Then the butler remembered Joseph, and he told Pharaoh that Joseph had accurately interpreted his dream when he had been in prison.

Christian workers are to be regarded as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. As stewards, they must be trustworthy. What people think of them is not nearly as important as the Lord’s judgment, and the Lord’s judgment will be just, because the Lord knows every detail, even those details which are now hidden or otherwise unknown to people. On the day of the Lord’s judgment, every person will receive his commendation (or condemnation) from God.

Paul has shown how these principles apply to himself and to Apollos, to illustrate his point, but they also apply to the factions he is addressing within the church. Paul’s intention is that the members may learn to live according to scripture, so that there will no longer be rivalry for worldly status among members. After all, who has any talent or ability that is not a gift from God? If one’s abilities are gifts from God, why should one take credit for the gift as if it had originated in himself?

On the Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were passing through fields of grain and his disciples began to pluck ears of grain to eat. The Pharisees criticized Jesus for permitting his disciples to do so, on the grounds that it constituted harvesting, which was labor prohibited on the Sabbath. Jesus reminded them that David had fed himself and his men with the bread of the Presence, which only priests were allowed to eat, from the house of God, on the Sabbath, when he was fleeing for his life from Saul.  Jesus said that God had made the Sabbath for the benefit of people; people were not created just to benefit the Sabbath. Jesus also declared that he is Lord even of the Sabbath.

When Pharaoh’s butler heard Pharaoh’s dream he suddenly remembered Joseph, who had given him the interpretation of his dream (and the promise of restoration and salvation; see journal entry for yesterday, Friday, March 05, 2004). When the butler had been released, Joseph had asked the butler to remember him, but the butler had completely forgotten his obligation. The butler had been preoccupied with building and maintaining his career and status with Pharaoh as his head butler. The butler was convicted in his heart for forgetting his obligation for two years, and so he confessed to Pharaoh, “I remember my faults today” (Genesis 41:9).

Every believer is a servant of God and a steward of God’s word of truth. We will be accountable for what we have done with God’s truth and the gifts we have received. We need to learn to live according to the scriptures (discipleship). We are to care for our brethren and fellow workers, rather than fighting among ourselves for status and position.

The Pharisees were preoccupied with their status in society. Jesus’ teaching threatened their position, so they criticized the Lord of the Sabbath for allowing his disciples to snack on grain as they passed through fields on the Sabbath. They had no concern for the disciples’ needs. They were using “religion” to divide and to defeat those they perceived as competitors for worldly position.

In a sense, all of us have been in the “prison” of this present world order. Believers are the ones who have met the “Joseph” of our prison, who is Jesus Christ, and have trusted in him. He can give us an interpretation (an outcome) for our dreams which will result in the happy ending of forgiveness of sins, restoration of fellowship with God, and eternal life. Because of Jesus, believers can get out of “prison” and go to work for “Pharaoh” who is God. Will we forget what Jesus has done for us, and pursue our own career and status, in the world and even in the church, without regard for our brothers who are still in “prison”? Remember that people who remain in that “prison” are going to eternal death and destruction.