3 Epiphany

3 Epiphany - Sunday

first posted 01/24/04

Genesis 13:2-18 Abraham and Lot
Galatians 2:1-10 Paul’s Apostleship recognized
Mark 7:31-37 Healings

Abraham (Abram) returned to Bethel, where he had camped when he first came into Canaan and had built an altar to the Lord. He was very rich in cattle and silver and gold. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was also rich. They had become so rich that the land could not support them both dwelling together. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot so Abraham suggested that he and Lot split up, and he gave Lot the choice of which portion of the land to take.

Lot chose the Jordan Valley, and left Canaan to Abraham. Lot moved his tent to Sodom. The people of Sodom were very wicked. The Lord told Abraham that he would give Abraham all the land as far as he could see, and that Abraham’s descendents would be like the dust of the earth in number. Abraham moved his tent and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, at Hebron, and he built an altar there to worship the Lord.

Paul was apparently led by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:2a), taking Barnabas and Titus with him. Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles and his apostleship were affirmed by the apostles in Jerusalem. There were those in the church, referred to as Judaizers, who insisted that the requirements of the Jewish Law be enforced on Gentile converts, but Paul resisted their attempts. Titus was a Greek and uncircumcised, but the apostles resisted the pressure from the Judaizers to require Titus to be circumcised. Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was accepted as equal in validity with Peter’s ministry to the Jews, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Peter (Cephas) James and John, the leaders of the Church, acknowledged Paul as a brother in fellowship.

As Jesus traveled, a man was brought to him who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus healed him so that he was able to speak plainly. Jesus told the people not to tell anyone, but they proclaimed it all the more zealously. The people were amazed by the healings that Jesus did, and said that everything he did was done well; that he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.

Abraham was obedient to the Lord’s will, and the Lord was prospering him and looking out for Abraham’s interests. Abraham had given in to temptation to protect himself when he had entered Egypt, telling Sarah to say she was his sister rather than his wife. This jeopardized God’s promise to make from Abraham’s descendants a great nation, but God intervened and Sarah was restored to Abraham so that the promise could be fulfilled. Here the promise again seemed in jeopardy: Abraham had been promised the land of Canaan, and yet he gave Lot the option of which portion to choose. Providentially Lot chose the Jordan valley.

Paul said that he went up to Jerusalem by revelation, suggesting that he was led by the Holy Spirit to make the trip. The record of Paul’s ministry throughout the scriptures confirms that he was led by and responsive to the Holy Spirit.

Paul is the prototype of the modern Christian. He never encountered Jesus during Jesus’ earthly ministry (before Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection). Paul (originally known as Saul of Tarsus) first encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (see Acts Ch. 9). The apostles at Jerusalem acknowledged that Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to ministry to the Gentiles, just as Peter was led to minister to Jews (Galatians 2:7-8), and Peter, James and John, the leaders of the apostles and the Church, acknowledged Paul as one of the apostles, called and directed by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20-28). Jesus is Emmanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 2:23; Isaiah 7:14). He does all things well; everything he does is good; nothing is impossible for him.

To those who trust and obey Jesus, he gives his Holy Spirit to guide and empower (John 14:15-17). If we trust and obey Jesus, his Holy Spirit will be working in us and through us to assure that God’s promises will be fulfilled. God gives the Spirit to those who walk in it (i.e. to those who will obey the Holy Spirit; Isaiah 42:5e) “Any who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9b). In Jesus, God made it possible for the blessing of Abraham to come upon the Gentiles “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14). Do you have a personal relationship with the Risen Jesus? Have you received the Holy Spirit.

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)?

3 Epiphany - Monday

first posted 01/25/04

Genesis 14: (1-7) 8-24 Abraham and Melchizedek
Hebrews 8:1-13 The heavenly sanctuary and the new covenant
John 4:43-54 Jesus heals a Gentile’s son.

An alliance of four Kings from the vicinity of Babylon (modern-day Iraq) attacked five City-Kingdoms in the region of the Dead Sea, including Sodom and Gomorrah, which had rebelled against Chedorlaomer, King of Elam (which was part of Babylonia). The Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated and their allies fled. Chedorlaomer and his allies captured the wealth and provisions of Sodom and Gomorrah and carried them off. The also took Lot, Abraham’s nephew (Abraham was known as Abram until God changed his name; see Genesis 17:5), who dwelt in Sodom, and all his goods.

One who escaped came and told Abraham. Abraham assembled a small force of about three hundred men in alliance with Mamre, the Amorite, and Mamre’s brothers Eschol and Aner, and pursued and defeated the superior forces of Chedorlaomer, and returned with Lot and all the looted goods. As Abraham returned from the defeat of Chedorlaomer, the King of Sodom came out to meet him in the King’s Valley (near Jerusalem).

Melchizedek, King of Salem (the name of Jerusalem at that time; Salem means “Peace”) and priest of God Most High, came out bringing bread and wine, and blessed Abraham “by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19). Abraham gave a tithe (a tenth) of all the recovered goods to Melchizedek. The King of Sodom asked for the return of his people, but told Abraham to keep the goods for himself. Abraham allowed his allies to take their share of the loot but Abraham declined to keep any of the goods for himself, so that no one could claim that the King of Sodom had been responsible for Abraham’s prosperity.

Jesus is our eternal High Priest, according to the likeness of Melchizedek. Jesus serves in the true sanctuary in Heaven, of which the Tabernacle is a copy according to the pattern which God revealed to Moses on the mountain when Moses received the Law (Exodus 25:40).

Jesus’

ministry is superior to the Levitical Priesthood with the old covenant of the Law, because it is a new covenant based on better promises. The old covenant of Law could not make us sinless, and it could not restore us to full fellowship with God. Under the Levitical Priesthood, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, into God’s presence, and then only once a year; and he had to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

But under the new covenant of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, offered once for all people for all time, restores us to full fellowship with God; to a universal and personal knowledge of God among believers (Hebrews 8:11). With the coming of Jesus, the old covenant of Law has become obsolete.

In Capernaum in Galilee (where Jesus had changed the water into wine), a Gentile official had a son who was ill and close to death. When he heard that Jesus was in the area he went and begged Jesus to come and heal his son. Jesus told him that unless the official saw signs and wonders he would not believe, but the official replied “Sir, come down before my child dies” (John 4:49).

Jesus told him to go; that his son would live. The official believed Jesus’ word; he didn’t even go home to confirm it, but went on about his business. The next day his servants came to him and told him that his son had been healed. When the official inquired as to the time when his son had begun to improve, he realized that it was the same hour that Jesus had told him his son would live. As a result the official and his entire household believed in Jesus. This was the second sign (miracle showing who Jesus was) which he did in Galilee (the first being the turning of water into wine at the marriage at Cana; see John 2:1-11).

Abraham was able to defeat the alliance of four Babylonian Kings which had defeated the five City-Kingdoms of the Dead Sea region. The Lord God had given him the victory over superior forces (Genesis 14:20). He goal was to worship and glorify the Lord; he didn’t desire material gain (Genesis 14:23). He encountered Melchizedek, the forerunner of the Christ who blessed Abraham, and Abraham worshiped and glorified God through Melchizedek.

Jesus is our eternal High Priest, through whom we have fellowship with God, and through whom God blesses us. As we trust and obey Jesus, he will sustain us and provide for our deepest needs. He makes it possible for us to be restored to full personal fellowship with God as a free gift, through faith in Jesus.

The official wasn’t seeking proof; all that mattered to him was that his son might live. He was a Gentile; Jesus did not require him to meet the standards of the Jewish Law in order to be worthy of Jesus’ help. The official simply trusted in Jesus and obeyed Jesus’ command, and Jesus provided the healing his son needed. God’s promise of salvation is available to all who will trust and obey Jesus.

3 Epiphany - Tuesday

first posted 01/26/04

Genesis 15:1-11, 17-21 God’s covenant with Abraham
Hebrews 9:1-14 The sacrifice of Christ
John 5:1-18 Jesus heals the lame man on the Sabbath

The Lord promised Abraham (Abram) that he would be the father of a nation and that his descendents would be as numerous as dust, but Abraham and Sarah continued to be childless. Abraham pointed this out to the Lord, saying that his slave, Eliezar, would be his heir, but the Lord assured Abraham that Abraham’s own son would be his heir.

The Lord took Abraham outside and showed him the stars in the heavens, and told Abraham that his descendants would be as much beyond numbering as the stars. “And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

Abraham asked for assurance from the Lord that the land the Lord had promised would be his, and the Lord instructed Abraham to conduct a covenant ceremony in which animals were cut in half, and the parties passed between the cut animals. The smoke and fire symbolized the presence of the Lord passing between the parts of the sacrificed animals. The Lord promised the land between the Nile and the Euphrates Rivers would belong to Abraham’s descendants.

The author of Hebrews compared the First Covenant of Law, with the New Covenant which we have in Jesus Christ. The earthly sanctuary was a representation of the heavenly sanctuary based on God’s instructions to Moses. It consisted of an outer tent called the Holy Place, which contained the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence, where the priests constantly performed their ritual duties. Inside the outer tent was an inner tent called the Holy of Holies, representing God’s presence, containing the golden altar of incense and the Ark of the Covenant, which contained manna, Aaron’s rod, and the tablets of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses. Above the Ark of the Covenant were the cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat.

Into the Holy of Holies only the High Priest could enter, and only once a year. He had to take blood with him as an offering for his sins as well as those of the people. This symbolizes that the way into God’s presence is not yet opened as long as the outer tent, representing the present age, is standing.(The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. and has never been rebuilt.)

Under the first covenant of Law, offerings and sacrifices were unable to purify the conscience, but were intended to maintain a relationship with God through the forgiveness of sins until Christ came. Now that Christ has come, he has entered once for all into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies of the Heavenly Sanctuary which the earthly tabernacle represents, taking not the blood of animals but his own blood, shed for us on the Cross.

If the sprinkling of the blood of animals served to purify the flesh, the blood of Christ (God’s own Son), completely without sin, offered willingly to God for us, will purify our consciences from all works of sin, which require the penalty of death (Hebrews 9:14c; Romans 6:23), and free us to serve the living God. Thus Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, which the author compares to a will (using a Greek word which means both covenant and will). If we are parties to the new covenant with God in Jesus Christ, we are heirs of the eternal promise, guaranteed by the blood of Jesus through his death on the Cross.

Jesus saw a lame man lying beside a pool where it was believed that the sick could be healed by divine act. Jesus had supernatural knowledge that the man had been lying there for a long time, and he asked the man if he wanted to be healed. The man replied by explaining why he thought he had not yet been healed. Jesus told him to get up, pick up his bedding and walk, and the man did as Jesus commanded.

Since it was the Sabbath, the Jewish religious leaders told the man it was not lawful for him to be carrying his bedding, but the man told them that his healer had told him to do so. They asked the man who it was who had told him to do so, but he did not know, because Jesus had withdrawn and the place was crowded.

Later, Jesus found the man in the Temple, and told him to sin no more, that nothing worse might befall him. The man went and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. This is why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he healed on the Sabbath. But Jesus replied, “My Father is working still, and I am working” (John 5:17).This made the Jews even more determined to kill Jesus, because he called God his Father, making himself equal with God.

God promised Abraham that God would make a great nation from the descendents of Abraham. Abraham believed God’s promise, even when there was no evidence to suggest that it was possible. Abraham’s faith was accounted as righteousness. God promised to give the land to Abraham’s descendents, and Abraham asked for a covenant: a legal procedure like a real estate Deed or a Will designating inheritance. Abraham was thinking about securing the title to the Promised Land so that he could pass it down to his descendants through the son he believe God would provide.

Moses was the mediator of the old first covenant of the Law, between God and the People of Israel. God gave him the plans for the Tabernacle, which was a copy of the heavenly sanctuary. The old covenant was a system of laws and sacrifices designed to maintain the people in relationship with God through the forgiveness of their sins until the coming of the Messiah (Christ). The old covenant was unable to purify the soul; only to purify the flesh.

Until Jesus died on the Cross, personal access and fellowship with God was blocked, as symbolized by the veil separating the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. [At Jesus’ crucifixion, scripture records that the veil in the temple, separating the Holy of Holies from the sanctuary (Hebrews 9:3), was torn in two at the moment that Jesus died (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45), symbolizing that the way was now opened to personal communion with God through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19-20). Believers have personal fellowship with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who Jesus promised to send to his disciples when he ascended into heaven after his resurrection (John 14:15-17; Acts 1:4-5, Acts Ch. 2.]

We are all terminally ill invalids; we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Under the Law, the punishment for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us and doesn’t want us to perish (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant of Grace (unmerited favor; free gift) through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross is the New Covenant. Faith in Jesus is our Deed of Title to the Promised Land of Heaven, the New Jerusalem; it is the New Last Will and Testament of Inheritance of eternal life in God’s presence. Abraham believed God’s promises and God accounted him righteous as the result of his faith. The lame man by the pool in Jerusalem believed Jesus, did what Jesus commanded, and was healed. Those who have believed in Jesus, who trust him and act on that faith, will be judged righteous before God, and will receive the inheritance of eternal life in the Lord’s presence in heaven. Have you placed your trust in Jesus? Are you living according to faith in Jesus?

3 Epiphany - Wednesday

first posted 01/27/04

Genesis 16:1-14     The birth of Ishmael
Hebrews 9:15-28    Mediator of a new covenant
John 5:19-29      Jesus’ relation to God

Abraham (Abram) and Sarah (Sarai) had dwelt in Canaan for ten years (Genesis 16:3), and although God had promised Abraham a son through whom he would fulfill his promise to make of Abraham’s descendents a great nation, Sarah had not yet conceived.

Sarah thought she would help God’s plan along by giving Abraham her maid, Hagar, as a concubine so that Sarah could have children through her maid. When Hagar conceived, she began to feel superior to her mistress and treated her with contempt, and Sarah blamed Abraham (Genesis 16:5).

Abraham gave Sarah authority over Hagar, and so Sarah punished the maid, and the maid fled from her. The Lord found Hagar by an oasis in the wilderness, and told her to return to her mistress and submit to her. The Lord told her she would bear a son and his name was to be Ishmael (meaning “God hears”)

God promised to make Hagar’s descendents a great nation through Ishmael. He prophesied that Ishmael would be a wild ass of a man, who would live in opposition to all other men including his kinsmen. Hagar referred to the Lord who had appeared to her as the God of seeing, since she had seen God who had seen her plight, and yet she had remained alive.

The author of Hebrews describes the New Covenant in Jesus in terms of a Will. Under the Old Covenant of the Law we were accountable to God for every transgression. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant. By his death, we who trust in Jesus receive the promised inheritance of eternal life. The Old Covenant was ratified by the blood of animals. Under the Law there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

The earthly tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly sanctuary (built according to plans given by God to Moses; see Exodus 25:40). The earthly replica was purified with the blood of animals according to the old covenant, but under the new covenant, the blood of Jesus has consecrated the true sanctuary in heaven, where Christ has entered to intercede for us in God’s presence.

Unlike earthly High Priests, who could only enter into the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood of animals for the sins of himself and the people, Jesus, although sinless, shed his own blood, once for all, for the forgiveness of our sins. “And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment (note that there is no such thing as reincarnation; nor is there ”nothingness” after death), so Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Jesus does the will and works of God. God raises the dead and gives them life; so does Jesus, who gives life to whom he will. The Father has given Jesus the authority to judge the world, so that the world will honor Jesus as they honor God. Those who do not honor Jesus do not honor God. Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God will not come under judgment, but have escaped from death to life. Jesus will call forth all those who have died. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life; those who have rejected Jesus and have not obeyed him will be condemned to eternal death. (John 5:28-29; see Matthew 25:31-46, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

Sarah and Abraham gave in to temptation to work out the fulfillment of God’s promises on their own. They thought they were helping God’s plan, but nearly messed it up. Abraham gave Sarah authority to deal with Hagar’ insubordination as she chose. God was faithful to his promise to Abraham and Sarah, and he was gracious to Hagar. God found Hagar and restored her to her position, and he extended the promise of great progeny to her as well. The Lord heard and saw Hagar’s situation, and he revealed himself to her.

God has given Jesus authority to judge all who have ever lived on earth. That’s no less reasonable than Abraham allowing Sarah authority over her maid. Jesus is a lot more gracious to us than Sarah was to Hagar. The Lord was under no obligation to extend his promise to Hagar’s son. He’s under no obligation to forgive us, but he is willing to do so. His promises are available to all people, not just to a select few. Hagar believed his promise and obeyed his instruction to humble herself and return to her mistress. That’s what the Lord asks of us; to trust in him, and be obedient to his commands.

Jesus, having come once to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 9:26b) will come again, not as a sacrifice for sin, but to Judge all who have ever lived on earth (John 5:28-29), to save those who have trusted and obeyed him and eagerly await his return (Hebrews 9:28). Are you eagerly waiting for Jesus’ return?

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)?

3 Epiphany - Thursday

first posted 01/27/04

Genesis 16:15-17:14 The covenant of circumcision
Hebrews 10:1-10 The new covenant
John 5:30-47 Jesus’ judgment is that of God

When Abraham (Abram) was eighty-six years old, Hagar, Sarah’s maid, bore a son to Abraham, who named him Ishmael. When Abraham was ninety-nine years old the Lord established a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. The Lord changed Abraham’s name (from Abram), signifying the new relationship. (Abram, meaning “exalted father”, was changed to Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude.”) The Lord promised to give them the land of Canaan, to bless and prosper them, and to be their God. Circumcision was the requirement and sign of the covenant. Every male (including foreign slaves) was to be circumcised at eight days of age.

The Law is like a shadow compared to the reality which shapes it. The Law is incapable of make us perfectly purified from sin. That’s why, under the covenant of Law, sacrifices must be offered over and over. The blood of animals cannot take away sin; it is merely the shadow of something greater.

The author quotes from Psalm 40:6-8. God’s will is not that we keep on offering sacrifices for our sins, but that we become obedient to his will; that his law might be within our hearts (i.e. that our heart’s desire would be to know and obey his will; Psalm 40:8b). Jesus came to do God’s will, and it is Jesus who makes it possible for us to do God’s will from the heart. Jesus is the sacrifice which is able to cleanse us from sin and make us holy. Jesus is the true substance of which the Law was merely the shadow.

Jesus’ judgment is completely just, because he is completely obedient to God’s will. Jesus’ authenticity is attested to by God through the testimony of John the Baptist, through Jesus’ works, and through the scriptures. Those who reject Jesus reject God and God’s testimony. Those who reject Jesus value worldly pride and the achievement of men, rather than God. Those who consider themselves righteous according to the Law and reject Jesus will be condemned by the Law.

The Lord promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation (Genesis 12:2) and, here, a multitude of nations* (Genesis 17:5). The Lord promised that kings [including David and the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ, the heir to David’s throne; see also Herod** (below)] would come forth from the descendents of Abraham (Genesis 17:6). He promised to give them the Promised Land of Canaan, to bless and multiply the people and prosper them, and to be their God forever. In order to receive the promises, God required them to be circumcised.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law in the sense that through him we are purified from sin as the Law was never able to accomplish. God’s purpose has always been that we would be obedient to his will. The Law was given as a custodian until the coming of the Messiah (Christ) (Galatians 3:23-24).

Jesus is the New Covenant of grace (unmerited favor) through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9), which replaces the Law of sin and death (Romans 8:2; Colossians 2:13-14). The requirement and sign of this covenant is the “circumcision” of our hearts; a change of our hearts to a deep inner commitment to trust and obey Jesus (see Romans 2: 28-29; Colossians 2:11).

According to the Law, all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (righteousness) (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the punishment for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves and doesn’t want us to perish but to have eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). Salvation is by grace (unmerited favor; free gift) through faith in Jesus; not by keeping the law (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The gift of salvation through faith in Jesus must be received (John 1:12); we must accept Jesus as our Lord and savior, and obey his commands (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46). Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12). As God required circumcision as a condition for membership in the old covenant of Law, active, committed, inward faith in Jesus is the requirement for salvation under the new covenant of grace through faith in Jesus.

God has given Jesus the authority to judge all who have ever lived on earth (John 5:22). Jesus is going to come again to judge the earth. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in Heaven in God’s presence; those who have rejected Jesus and disobeyed him will receive eternal death in Hell with Satan and his demons (Mathew 25:31-46). God gives us a choice: we can trust and obey Jesus, or we will be condemned under the Law. We can receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus’ death on the Cross as a sacrifice for our sins, or we will die eternally for our sins ourselves.

*The nations include the Edomites and the Ishmaelites. The Edomites descended from Esau the twin brother of Jacob, sons of Isaac, who was the promised and only son of Abraham and Sarah.

**King Herod the Great and his dynasty were Edomites. The Ishmaelites descended from Ishmael, Abraham’s son by Hagar, and are traditionally linked with the Arab peoples. Muslims trace their origins to Abraham through Ishmael.

3 Epiphany - Friday

first posted 01/29/04

Genesis 17:15-27    Abraham is promised a son
Hebrews 10:11-25   Forgiveness of sins
John 6:1-15    Feeding the five thousand

When the Lord initiated the covenant of circumcision, he gave Abraham and Sarah (formerly known as Abram and Sarai) new names, and reaffirmed his promise to give them a son and heir through whom God’s promise to make of Abraham’s descendants a great nation would be fulfilled.

Abraham fell on his face laughing at the impossibility of conceiving a son, since he was a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety. But God assured him that Sarah would give birth at that season the following year, and God told them to name the boy Isaac. When the Lord had finished telling Abraham this, Abraham took Ishmael (his son by Sarah’s maid, Hagar) and all the males of his household including slaves, and they were circumcised that very day.

Although earthly priests must continually offer sacrifices for their sins as well as those of the people, Jesus offered himself once for all time as the sacrifice for our sins. Then he sat down at the right hand of God, to wait until his enemies had been “made a stool for his feet” (Hebrews 10:13).

Jesus’ sacrifice established a new covenant by which our sins are forgiven and expunged through faith in Jesus, so there is no longer any need for offerings for sin. Jesus’ blood restores us to full personal fellowship with God. Through his death on the cross, the barrier of our sin which separated us from God has been opened [Under the old covenant of Law, no one could enter into the Holy of Holies, symbolizing the direct presence of God, within the Temple, except the High Priest, and only once a year, bringing a blood sacrifice for the sins of himself and the people. The Holy of Holies was separated from the main sanctuary by a curtain or veil. At Jesus crucifixion there was an earthquake and the temple veil was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45).]

Since Jesus is our great High Priest over the house of God, we are invited to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:22-24). We are to stir one another up to love and good works, and to meet regularly together, encouraging one another, as the Day of the Lord draws near.

Jesus took his disciples by boat to a lonely place across the Sea of Galilee, (near Bethsaida, according to Luke 9:10). A multitude followed him, because they had seen the healings he had done. He took his disciples up into the hills and sat down, but seeing the crowd coming, he asked Philip, in order to test him, how they could feed the people.

Philip realized that it would cost a lot of money to buy enough bread to give each one a little. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother said that there was a boy present who had 5 barley loaves and two fish, but that wouldn’t go far among so many. Jesus had the people, about five thousand, sit down. He took the loaves and blessed and broke them and distributed them to people, along with the fish, as much as they wanted.

When the people had eaten their fill, Jesus told his disciples to gather up the left-overs, and they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the “sign” (miracle indicating who Jesus was)that he had done, they declared him to be the prophet who was to come (before the coming of Messiah). Realizing that the people were about to take him by force to make him their king, Jesus withdrew into the hills by himself.

Abraham thought it was impossible for he and Sarah to have a child because of their age, but nothing is impossible for God, and the Lord’s promises are utterly reliable. Abraham was obedient to the Lord’s commands; the Lord told him to circumcise every male of his household, and that very day, as soon as the Lord had finished telling him, Abraham did as he had been told.

Jesus is our High Priest, who offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins once for all. Then he sat down at the right hand of God, as our Lord and eternal King. Those who accept Jesus as Lord will be held blameless before God. Jesus will reign as King over all people; his enemies will be completely subjugated. God is faithful; his promises are utterly reliable.

Jesus used the occasion of the multitude coming to him in the wilderness to stimulate his disciples’ spiritual growth. The people recognized the miracle as a “sign,” but fell short in their appraisal when they decided he must be the returned prophet who was to herald the coming of Messiah (Christ). (Israel was expecting Elijah to return to herald the Messiah; John the Baptist actually fulfilled the role; see Matthew 11:14; 17:12).

The people wanted Jesus to be a political and economic ruler. They wanted abundant, free food, not recognizing their need for spiritual nourishment and that Jesus is the only source of that sustenance (see John 6:26-27). They were only interested in Jesus as the King of Bread.

The Lord has the power and the will to fulfill his promises. Some are only interested in the Lord for what they hope he will do for them, without any thought to what he wants them to do for him. Jesus is Lord, whether we like it or not. We will all stand before the Judgment seat of God. Every knee will bow to him and every tongue will confess (or give praise) to God. Each of us will give account to God (Romans 14:10b-12). We can accept Jesus as our Lord and be completely forgiven of our sins and restored to God’s presence as children of the King who loves us and gave his life for us, or we can insist on being the enemy of Jesus, and be made into a stool for his feet.

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)?

3 Epiphany - Saturday

first posted 01/30/04

Genesis 18:1-16 The Lord’s visit to Abraham

Hebrews 10:26-39 Hold fast to faith

John 6:16-27 Jesus walks on the sea

The Lord appeared to Abraham at his encampment at the Oaks of Mamre, as Abraham sat at the door of his tent during the noontime siesta. (The text describes three men, which might be the Lord and two angelic attendants, or it may be suggestive of the trinity.)

Abraham offered them lunch in traditional hospitality. After lunch they asked where Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was, and were told that she was in the tent. The Lord said that he would return in the spring and Sarah would by then have a son. Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety, and Sarah was post-menopausal. She laughed to herself, inside the tent, when she heard that she would bear a son. The Lord asked Abraham why Sarah laughed at the prophecy, and the Lord asked Abraham, “Is anything to hard (or ‘wonderful;’ i.e. amazing) for the Lord?” Sarah denied that she had laughed, but the Lord knew that she had.

We are warned that, once we have received the Gospel, further deliberate sin is unforgiven, because there is no further sacrifice for sin since Jesus’ death on the Cross. The consequence is condemnation and eternal destruction (Hebrews 10:27). If a person was put to death without mercy, under the Law, on the testimony of two or three witnesses, how much more deserving of punishment are those who have rejected the Son of God, profaned his blood of the covenant of grace, and outraged the Holy Spirit.

The Lord will judge his people and he will execute vengeance. Believers are urged to keep the faith they had when they first believed the Gospel, and to remember the past blessings in order to encourage present endurance. Endurance is necessary in order to do God’s will and receive his promises. The righteous shall live by faith. Those who turn back from faith will be destroyed.

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus had gone further into the hills by himself, because he realized that the people wanted to force him to be their political leader. When evening came the disciples got into the boat they had come in and set out across the Sea of Galilee without Jesus.

It was dark, and stormy. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water. They were frightened, but he spoke and reassured them, and they gladly let him into the boat. Immediately they were at their destination.

The next day, the people whom Jesus had fed realized that Jesus was not going to return, so they went to Capernaum looking for him. When they found him they asked him when he had come there. In reply Jesus told them that they sought him because he had fed them, not because they had understood the spiritual significance behind the feeding.

Jesus told them that they were preoccupied with physical necessities, which have only momentary benefit, and were overlooking spiritual necessities which are of eternal consequence. They had failed to recognize that Jesus was the only source of spiritual nourishment.

Hospitality was a social requirement of Abraham’s culture. When three strangers appeared at his door around noon, Abraham urged them to stay for lunch. He offered them the opportunity to rest and clean up, and he prepared a feast of fresh baked bread, roast beef, cheese and milk.

Abraham probably didn’t realize at first that it was the Lord. He probably didn’t realize that it was the Lord until the visitor repeated the prophecy that Sarah would bear a son. [The son was to be called Isaac, which means “he laughs” and there are several traditions connected to the meaning of the name (see Genesis 17:17-19)]. Abraham’s visitors were on their way to condemn Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction for their wickedness.

The Lord has shown us great courtesy and graciousness; he came to us and offered himself for us on the Cross as a sacrifice, so that our sins might be forgiven. He became the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for our sins, which becomes the center of the Feast of Passover. Jesus body became the bread, and his blood became the wine of the Eucharistic Feast; the Sacrament of Communion; the Lord’s Supper. He offers us the opportunity to clean up and rest from our journey through life, and food for our souls.

The crowd came to Jesus and he provided hospitality for their needs. He provided a feast on the Galilean hillside from the earthly elements of a few barley loaves and a couple fish. The people he fed did not recognize who Jesus was.

The people didn’t realize their need for spiritual nourishment. They didn’t understand that Jesus is the only source of spiritual nourishment. They were only interested in what Jesus could do for them physically.

The people welcomed him with shouts of “Hosanna” (John 12:12-15)! They sought the physical healing and physical bread he could provide. They were willing to make him King of this world if he would supply them with free bread and health care. But they rejected him as their spiritual King and the source of their spiritual sustenance, shouting “crucify him!” (John 19:14-16)

The Lord has gone to great effort to be gracious to us; to forgive us and restore us to fellowship with him. Those who reject his generosity, who reject Jesus, who profane his blood, who defy his word, and outrage his Holy Spirit will be condemned and punished. The Lord is passing by on his way to judge the world. How do we receive him?