Palm Sunday

first posted 04/03/04

Zechariah 12:9-11, 13:1, 7-9    The Day of the Lord
1 Timothy 6:12-16    Christian responsibility
Luke 19:41-48   Jesus is coming

On the Day of the Lord, the Lord will destroy all those who come against Jerusalem. The Lord will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that when they behold the one they have pierced (i.e. Jesus) they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child or the death of the first-born. The mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning in the plain of Megiddo for Hadadrimmon (a popular fertility god whose death was mourned annually).

Christians are to shun all ungodliness and all materialism; “aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith…” (1 Timothy 6:11-12) Believers are urged to grasp and hang on to the eternal life to which we’ve been called when we made the good confession (i.e. that Jesus is Lord) before many witnesses (in baptism in the presence of the congregation, and in the secular world). We are to keep Jesus’ teachings unstained and free from reproach until his Second Coming, which God will manifest in his perfect timing. God alone, whom no man has ever seen or can see, has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light. He is Sovereign; the King of kings and Lord of lords. To him be honor and eternal dominion.

When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem (on his way to what he knew would result in his crucifixion), he wept over the city, saying, “would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). Jesus prophesied that days were coming when Israel’s enemies would surround her and attack her and hem her in. The enemies would kill many and cause great destruction, because they did not realize the time of Christ’s earthly ministry.

Jesus entered the Temple and began driving out the merchants (those who sold animals acceptable for sacrifice, and those who changed Roman coins for Jewish coins which were required for use in the temple), saying that they had made a den of robbers out of God’s House, which God intended  to be a house of prayer. Jesus taught daily in the Temple, and the chief priests, scribes (experts in Jewish religious law) and  the leaders of the people sought to destroy Jesus, but they could find no way to accomplish that, because “all the people hung upon his words” (Luke 19:48).

The Jews were called to be God’s People. God had promised to send them a Messiah (Christ). They were expecting the coming of Messiah. When Jesus came in the flesh in his earthly ministry, those who acknowledged Jesus as Lord, both Jew and Gentile, became God’s People, the Church, the body of Christ. The favor and protection of the Lord has passed from Israel to the Church (see Luke 19:43-44). In that sense Jerusalem refers to the Christian Church.

Not just the Jews, but all humans are guilty of crucifying Jesus because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:10). Jesus has promised to return to judge the earth. On that Day of  the Lord, those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in the New Jerusalem in Heaven, but those who have rejected Jesus and not obeyed his teaching will receive eternal death and destruction in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). God is faithful. God’s not finished with the Jews and the Nation of Israel (Romans 11:13-32).

The Church is in much the same position today as that of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus' earthly visitation. The same call and commission is upon believers today at Paul taught Timothy to teach believers in his day. We’re to shun ungodliness and materialism; to grasp and hang on to eternal life in faith; to make the good confession in the marketplace and secular society as well as in the Church; we’re to put into practice in our daily lives what Jesus taught; we’re to be watching and waiting for Jesus’ Second Coming.

As Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem, he wept over her unpreparedness for his coming. He prophesied coming persecutions that would result when God withdrew his favor and protection of her as a result of her unbelief. The Temple which existed at Jesus’ time had been built by Herod the Great to replace the five hundred year old Second Temple which had been built on the return of the exiles from Babylon. Herod began the building in 18 B.C., and it wasn’t completed until 65 A.D. It was totally destroyed, as Jesus predicted (Matthew 24:1-2), in 70 A.D. by the Romans, and has never been rebuilt.

Please visualize the replacement of the Temple, built on the lessons and experiences of the Exile in Babylon, which had stood for five hundred years, now replaced by a lavish new building built by Herod the Great as political “pork” (to win the favor of his constituents); Herod the Great, who wanted to kill Jesus as a new born baby, and who did slaughter all male children under two years of age in Bethlehem and the surrounding region in the attempt (Matthew 2:16).

Isn’t the Christian Church in the same situation today? (I’m referring to the visible, nominal Church which includes all those who profess to be Christians, in contrast to the true, invisible Church, which is composed of those who truly believe and obey Jesus, and have been anointed with the Holy Spirit.) In many cases the lessons and experiences of hundreds of years of faith are being discarded for luxurious new buildings, where instead of sending disciples to take the gospel out into the secular society, we are allowing politically and materialistically motivated people to come in and take over.

Notice that the people “hung on Jesus’ words” (Luke 19:48). That’s because for the first time in a long time they were hearing Holy Spirit-inspired preaching of God’s Word. We can be absolutely certain they weren’t hearing it from the chief priests and the scribes. Today is Palm Sunday, the commemoration of Jesus' first triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11). Are you ready for Jesus’ triumphal 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)?
 

Holy Week – Monday

first posted 04/04/04

Lamentation 1:1-2, 6-12   The desolation of Jerusalem
2 Corinthians 1:1-7    Suffering and comfort in Christ
Mark 11:12-25     Unfruitful fig tree cursed; Temple cleansed

This is a dirge, mourning the desolation of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. when they carried Israel off into exile. The city is compared to a widow, bereft of her people. She who was a princess has become a vassal. She is bereft of lovers to comfort her; her friends have become her enemies. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture and are hunted to exhaustion by their pursuers. She remembers with bitterness what blessings she has lost; when the enemy came there was no one to help her. Her enemy gloated and mocked at her downfall.

Her downfall is because of her grievous sin. She has become unclean; despised; her nakedness is exposed. Even she herself despises and cannot bear to look at what she has become. The enemy has seized all her precious things and invaded her sanctuary; the unholy have entered the congregation. The people trade their treasures for bread. “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?” (Lamentations 1:12; another rendering is “O, that you who pass by would take notice!”). This sorrow has been inflicted by the Lord on the day of his fierce anger.

This is a letter to the Church at Corinth from Paul, an apostle (a messenger; one who is sent) of God.  Paul had had to correct some problems in the Church in Corinth and had thereby caused the members some suffering. He had paid them a painful visit (2 Corinthians 2:1 RSV). He had subsequent news that the Congregation had reformed their ways. He was relieved and comforted by this report, and gave thanks to God.

Paul was personally suffering for the Gospel. He realized that believers must endure suffering for the Gospel, just as Jesus did, but that God is able to comfort us when we patiently suffer for Jesus’ sake. Paul endured suffering so that the Corinthians could hear the Gospel and come to salvation, and was comforted by God so that he could comfort the repentant Corinthian congregation as they endured suffering patiently. The same is required of all who follow Christ.

After Jesus had entered Jerusalem on the donkey (Mark ll:1-10), he stayed overnight in nearby Bethany (Mark 11:11). In the morning he was returning to Jerusalem when he passed a fig tree. He was hungry, and so he went to the tree looking for figs but found nothing but leaves, since it was not the season for figs. Jesus said to the tree, “‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ and his disciples heard it” (Mark 11:14 RSV).

Jesus entered into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold animals suitable for sacrificial offering in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers (Roman coins had to be exchanged for Jewish coins to be acceptable for offerings and the temple tax) and venders. Jesus declared, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers.” (Mark 11:17).

When the chief priests and scribes (authorities on Jewish religious law) heard this, they wanted to destroy Jesus. They feared Jesus because the people were astonished by his teaching. At evening Jesus and his disciples returned to Bethany.

The next morning they passed by the fig tree again, and it had withered to its roots. Peter remembered Jesus had cursed it, and pointed it out. Jesus replied, “Have faith in God.” Jesus also told them that nothing is impossible for God to do on our behalf, if we ask in faith and in accordance with God’s will. When we ask God to do something for us, we need to be certain that we’re doing what he wants us to do, by forgiving others who sin against us, and by repenting of our own sins. God won’t forgive our sins if we don’t forgive others, if we don’t repent of our own sins, or if we don’t obey his will.

God withdrew his favor and protection from Israel in 587 B.C. and allowed his people to be carried off to captivity in Babylon because they had continually disobeyed his word and had ignored repeated warnings by his prophets. It was also a prophetic warning to Jerusalem over five hundred years later, which was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the Temple because the people had forgotten the lessons that had been learned in the past, and had repeated the mistakes of their ancestors (see journal entry for yesterday, Palm Sunday, April 4, 2004). It is also a prophetic warning to the Church in our day.

The young congregation that Paul had founded in Corinth already needed reformation after only a short time. Although it was painful for both Paul and the members, Paul corrected them and made them accountable, and they accepted his criticism, repented and reformed their ways. That needs to be a continual process in the Church. We have to start with authentic apostles who are willing to hold the members accountable to biblical standards, rather than false apostles who are mere peddlers of God’s word (2 Corinthians 2:17). Next we must concentrate on making disciples who are willing to hear criticism, to persevere in discipline, and to endure suffering themselves in order to reach others with the Gospel, instead of having membership recruitment drives making “fair-weather Christians” who leave the Church the minute the preacher starts making them uncomfortable by talking about money or sin.

We need to bear fruit in season and out of season; to proclaim the whole Gospel whether it’s popular to do so or not; (2 Timothy 4:2). We’re to use the scriptures to convince, rebuke, and exhort; “All scripture is inspired by God and is to be used for doctrine, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We need to be disciples in order to make disciples.

The fig tree is symbolic of Israel’s spiritual condition at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. From a distance it looked good, but when one got up close, it was obvious that it wasn’t bearing the fruit God intended it to bear. Jesus cursed it because it was worthless. Notice that Jesus could have cursed the buyers and sellers (the people who bought were just as guilty as the ones who sold) in the Temple and they could have suffered a fate similar to that of the fig tree, but instead he drove them out; his purpose in coming was not to destroy but to restore and save (John 3:16-17).

Eventually the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. The withering of the fig tree should be a warning to the church today.  Jesus has promised to return to judge the whole earth. He will be coming, not as the suffering sacrificial Lamb of God, but as the victorious King of the Universe and Righteous Judge. He will be looking for spiritual fruit. If there isn’t any then, it will be too late; there won’t be any more opportunity to repent and change our ways. What will Jesus’ think about our Churches? Will he find that we, individually, have produced spiritual fruit? Are you ready 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)?
 

Holy Week – Tuesday

first posted 04/05/04

Lamentations 1:17-22   The sorrows of Zion  
2 Corinthians 1:8-22     Total reliance on God
Mark 11:27-33    Jesus’ Authority

Lamentations is a dirge, mourning the fall of Israel to the Babylonians in 587 B.C.. Jerusalem is portrayed as a widow bereft of her people. Zion is the southeastern hill of several on which Jerusalem was built. It also denotes Jerusalem and God’s people in general. Zion mourned but had no one to comfort her. God had allowed Israel’s neighbors to be her enemies, because they had rebelled against God’s word. The people had been carried into captivity. The priests and elders had perished. Zion is in great anguish and distress while her enemies gloated over her downfall. Zion cried out to the Lord to hasten the Day of Judgment, when her enemies will come under God’s punishment as she was then; that the evil doings of Zion’s enemies would be dealt with by the Lord as the Lord has punished Zion for her transgressions. (Compare Lamentations 1:21-23 with 1 Peter 4:17)

Paul had been discussing suffering for the Gospel. He had caused the Corinthian congregation some suffering in order to correct some faulty practices within the congregation, and he himself had suffered in doing so, because of his genuine love and concern for them. Paul reminded them that he had suffered greatly in Asia, to the point of despair of life itself; that he felt like he was under a death sentence.  He had come to understand that out of that suffering he had learned to rely not on himself but totally on God who raises the dead. God had delivered Paul from that affliction and Paul had complete confidence that God would do so again. Paul asked them to partner with him in prayer for his ministry.

Paul is proud to have behaved with holiness and godly sincerity toward the Corinthians, relying not on earthly wisdom but on the grace of God. Paul’s efforts have been so that the Corinthians grow to spiritual maturity at the day of the Lord’s return, so that the Corinthians can be unashamed, and that Paul will be proud of them.

Paul hoped to visit the Corinthians both on his way to Macedonia and on his return. Paul did not make his plans capriciously, based on his personal feelings at a given moment, but instead was led by God’s Spirit. God’s word isn’t arbitrary either. God is faithful; His promises all are fulfilled through Jesus Christ. It is God’s initiative which establishes us in Christ; God commissions us for ministry, and puts his seal and guarantee in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  

In the days immediately preceding Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples stayed overnight in Bethany, and “commuted” to Jerusalem daily. When they returned to the Temple the Jewish religious leaders came to him and asked him who had given Jesus authority to do the teaching and works that he was doing. Jesus agreed to tell them where he got his authority if they would first answer a question from Jesus: Was John’s baptism from heaven for from men?

The leaders argued among themselves about how to answer. If John’s baptism was from heaven then they were condemned for not believing him; if they answered that it was from men they were afraid that the people would riot because the people regarded John as an authentic prophet. They told Jesus they did not know, so Jesus refused to answer their challenge to his authority.  

Israel mourned the conquest and captivity by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Their plight was because they had repeatedly disobeyed God’s word, and had repeatedly ignored the warnings and attempts to call them to repentance by God’s prophets. The Israelites were later allowed to return, and within a few years began to rebuild the temple in 535 B.C.. They forgot the lessons that they had learned “the hard way” in the exile, and as a result, the Temple was again destroyed in 70 A.D. Lamentations is a warning to people in every era of the consequences of disobeying of God’s word and ignoring his prophets.

Paul had come to understand that God allows suffering so that we can learn to totally rely on God. Paul had learned the lessons God wanted him to learn. Paul knew the goodness and faithfulness of God. Even death had no power over Paul, through Jesus Christ. Paul had learned to seek God’s will and be obedient to him through the Holy Spirit. 

Paul is the example of a modern (post-resurrection) Christian disciple. He was a disciple making disciples; he was a maturing Christian leading others to grow to spiritual maturity. His authority was from God through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who God gives to those who trust and obey Jesus. The Holy Spirit was the mark which identified him as belonging to God and it was the assurance to Paul that he was going to live eternally in God’s kingdom of Heaven. All this is available only through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

The religious leaders challenged Jesus’ authority. They were in exactly the same dilemma over Jesus’ authority as they were regarding John the Baptist’s. They had to decide for themselves whether Jesus was of God or not, and if they believed that he was of God they were obligated to obey Jesus. Not deciding is a decision against Jesus. Claiming not to know is no excuse. The religious leaders hadn’t remembered the lessons of the exile.

The authority of priests and elders of Judaism effectively ended when Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:38).  Jesus has become the High Priest of the people of God (Hebrews 2:17). Jesus is God’s only provision for forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6) Jesus has promised to return with ultimate, sovereign power and authority to judge every person who has ever lived on earth (John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46). Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in God’s kingdom in Heaven. Those who have refused to accept Jesus as Lord and to obey him will receive eternal destruction and death in Hell. (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). Have we learned the lessons of the Bible?

Do you know the Lord of the Universe? 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)? 

Holy Week - Wednesday

first posted 04/06/04

Lamentations 2:1-9    The destruction of Zion
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11   Paul’s concern for the Church
Mark 12:1-11    The parable of the vineyard

The prophet laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians when Israel was carried off to exile in 587 B.C. Israel was under a dark cloud because of the Lord’s anger. Her splendor, which had been as high as heaven, had been cast down to earth. The Lord had destroyed all the habitations and strongholds of the people of Israel, and brought down the kingdom and its rulers. Israel’s might had been cut off, because God had removed his right hand from her.

The Lord had set his hand against Israel like an enemy. He had multiplied mourning and lamentation in Israel. The Lord had broken down the Temple like a ruined field-shelter (temporary hut made of branches). The Lord had laid in ruins the place of his appointed feasts, bringing an end to appointed feast and Sabbath, and had spurned king and priest, palace, altar and sanctuary. The Lord measured the wall of the daughter of Zion with a plumb-line, and destroyed it (because it did not “measure up;” see Amos 7:7-8). Israel’s gates were ruined; her kings and princes were scattered; the Law was no more; her prophets received no vision from the Lord.

Paul had had to correct some problems that had developed in the congregation at Corinth. After Paul had written the first letter to the Corinthian Church and had made a “painful visit” (2 Corinthians 2:1) the relationship had been strained. Paul hadn’t wanted to make another painful visit. Now he had had a favorable report from Titus. Paul hadn’t wanted to hurt the very people who were Paul’s joy. He had written to correct problems so that when he came to visit them, they all might have joy in one another, rather than be further pained.

It had caused Paul pain to discipline them, but he had done so because he loved them. Paul gently and graciously said that those who had caused the problems had hurt not only Paul but the whole congregation, and the knowledge of that was sufficient punishment. Therefore he urged the congregation to demonstrate their obedience to Paul’s leadership and  forgive, comfort and reaffirm their love for them, so that they would not be overcome by excessive sorrow. Paul also promised to forgive for the sake of the congregation’s relationship with Christ, so that Satan would not have an opportunity to divide and separate them from Christ’s presence.

Jesus had come to Jerusalem, knowing that he would be crucified. In the days immediately preceding his arrest, he taught, in parables, in the Temple. He began the parable of the vineyard, saying that a man planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, built a tower, and then rented it to tenants to operate while he was in another country. At the harvest season he sent a servant to the tenants to get some of the fruit of the vineyard, but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. The owner sent another servant, but the tenants wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. So the owner sent many others, repeatedly, and some the tenants beat and some they killed. Finally the owner sent his beloved only son, thinking that the tenants would at least respect his son. But the tenants thought that if they killed the heir, then the vineyard would belong to them, so that’s what they did.

Jesus asked, “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others” (Mark 12:9). Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22-23, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner (corner stone). This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Mark 12:10-11).

The prophet’s lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the exile of the people to Babylon is also a prophetic warning to people in every time, especially in the last days before Jesus returns on the Day of Judgment. The Lord had allowed the destruction and exile because the people had repeatedly ignored and disobeyed God’s word. When the people of Israel were released from captivity and allowed to return to land, they rebuilt their city and the Temple. They ignored or forgot the lessons of the exile. 

Jesus is the plumb-line against which we will all be judged. Jesus is going to return to judge the earth (John 5:28-29, Matthew 25:31-46). Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in Heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus and have not obeyed him will receive eternal death and destruction in Hell. Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

When Jesus came the first time, in flesh, nearly six hundred years after the exile, the Jewish religion had become merely an outward ritual; it had the form of religion but not the substance. They outwardly kept the Law and rituals, but they were not obeying God’s will; they were far from God. The result was that they rejected and crucified the Messiah, their savior. The consequences were that the exile of Lamentations happened all over again to them.

The Temple was destroyed (and has never been rebuilt). Jewish religion effectively ended at the Crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:38). The old Covenant of Law ended at the Cross. The Jews were dispersed all over the world. The prophesies of Lamentations had been fulfilled, but they are still going to be fulfilled again! The Jews began to return to the Promised Land after World War II. The cycle is repeating, and will culminate with the Second Coming of Christ on the Day of Judgment.

Paul was a born-again disciple and apostle (messenger) of the Lord Jesus Christ. He loved his congregation enough to suffer personally to discipline and reform what was not right in the Church. He was willing to cause the members pain, and risk the loss of their affection so that they would not loose their participation in the Spirit of Christ and their salvation.

The Church is in continual need of reform. Pastors must be willing to discipline their flocks, and members must be willing to be disciplined. Pastors must be disciples, not "visionless prophets" (Lamentations 2:9d), and the mission must be to make disciples. Compare the state of Jewish religion at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry with the condition of the Church today. Isn’t the “visible” Church today (all professing “Christians”, as contrasted with the “invisible” Church of all the truly born-again disciples) in the same condition that Judaism was in at the time of Christ. Wake up, Churches!

The parable of the vineyard described the situation of Judaism in the time of Christ’s first appearing. It also describes the situation of the World and the Church today. God has sent many prophets. Are we listening? The time of the harvest draws near; will there be any fruit when God sends his Son to inspect and collect it? We will each be individually accountable to God through Jesus Christ.

Will you be ready for Jesus’ return? Do you realize that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ), the Lord of the Universe; the Righteous Judge, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Are you obeying his teachings? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Do you know where you will spend eternity  (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Maundy Thursday

posted 04/07/04

Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-33    Personal lament and prayer
1 Peter 1:10-20   Appeal for holiness
John 13:36-38   Denial predicted

This lament describes the feelings of a man who has experienced affliction. He has been driven into deep darkness. He has been opposed by God’s hand the whole day long. His flesh and skin waste away, and his bones are broken. Bitterness and tribulation have besieged and enveloped him. He has been walled in so that he cannot escape. He is in heavy chains. Although he calls for help, God shuts out his prayer, blocks his way, and frustrates his path. He prays “Remember my affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall!” (Lamentations 3:19)

His soul is continually thinking of it and is downcast, but he remembers God’s character, and that gives him hope. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). “The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in him (Lamentation 3:24). “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentation 3:25-26).

It is good for a person to bear the discipline of the Lord in his youth. When the Lord disciplines, one should bear it in silence, acceptance and humility, for there may yet be hope; “let him give his cheek to the smiter (striker), and be filled with insults” (Lamentations 3:30). The Lord will not abandon (ignore) forever. Although he causes (or permits) grief, he will have compassion according to his abundant steadfast love. He doesn’t willingly afflict or grieve us.

The prophets foretold the grace of salvation by the Spirit of Christ within them; they searched and inquired by what person and time this was to take place, when they predicted the suffering and subsequent glory of Christ. The prophets would have been glad to see the fulfillment of their prophecies, which we are able to know through the proclamation of the Gospel by those who are anointed by the Holy Spirit. So pay attention, be sober, and focus your hope fully on the grace that is coming to believers at the revelation of Jesus Christ (the Second Coming). 

Be obedient children, not following the worldly passions as you did before you heard the Gospel; instead be holy, as the Lord is holy (see Leviticus 11:44-45). If you claim as your Father the Lord who judges all men impartially according to their deeds, be careful of your conduct during your time on this earth. We were ransomed from futile worldly ways and our fallen human nature, not with perishable things like gold and silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a perfect lamb, unblemished in any way. Christ was God’s plan from the very beginning of creation (John 1:1-3, 14), but has been manifested now for our sakes.

At the Last Supper, Jesus had told his disciples that he would be going away from them (John 13:33). Peter asked him where he was going, and Jesus replied, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward (John 13:36b). Peter asked why he couldn’t follow where Jesus was going now, and declared; “I will lay down my life for you (John 13:37). Jesus told Peter that Peter would deny Jesus three times that night before the cock crowed.

Lamentations expresses the feelings of a man experiencing afflictions. It also describes what Jesus must have felt as he was crucified. [Jesus’ bones were not broken  (John 19:31-34), but they were pulled out of joint (Psalm 22:14b); he was not in heavy chains, but he was nailed to the cross, and he had to keep lifting his body up against the pull of gravity in order to breath; his flesh and skin were wasted away from beatings and lashings.] His crucifiers offered him wine mixed with gall, but when he tasted it he refused it (Matthew 27:34).

Jesus expressed his feeling of being forsaken by God, quoting Psalm 22:1  (and fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:1-16). He was walled in by the tomb and death; its exit blocked with a stone. But he committed his soul to God; he endured his tribulations patiently (he could have refused, but chose to go through with it because he knew it was necessary for our salvation) in obedience to God’s will. He gave his cheek to the smiter and suffered insults, but trusted that although he felt abandoned at the moment, that God was not taking pleasure in his affliction, and would not ultimately abandon him.

Jesus Christ was God’s plan for our salvation from the beginning of creation. The prophets foretold it by the Spirit of Christ. The prophets (and angels) longed to see what has been proclaimed to us through the Gospel. Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God, and ransomed our lives from eternal death by his blood. If we call God our Father, we should act like his Son. We should be come obedient to God’s word and will.

When Jesus was arrested, Judas betrayed him with a kiss (Matthew 26:47-49), his disciples forsook him and fled (Matthew 26:56b), Peter, although he had told Jesus he was willing to die for him, denied Jesus three times that very night (Matthew 26:57-75).

Jesus died for us on the cross, not because it felt good, but because it was necessary so that we might be saved from our sins, and have fellowship with our Lord and eternal life in the family of God in heaven. Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Do you call God your Father? Have you come to know the Savior the prophets and angels longed to see? Are you his disciple? What kind of “Christian” are you?   

Holy Week – Saturday

first posted 04/09/04

Lamentations 3:37-58    Repent and seek forgiveness  
Hebrews 4:1-16    Seek fulfillment of God’s promise
Romans 8:1-11   Life in the Spirit

(Please do not rely solely on my paraphrase of these texts; read them carefully for yourself)

Man can only accomplish what God allows. “Why should a living person complain about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:39-40). Let us turn to the Lord and seek his forgiveness; God will not forgive us unless we seek his forgiveness in repentance. 

God, in anger, pursued and slayed without pity; God has hidden himself from our prayers; He has made us as refuse and garbage among the peoples. Our enemies revile us. Panic and pitfall, destruction and devastation have befallen us. Our eyes shed rivers of tears; they will flow without ceasing, without relief until Lord looks down and sees. “I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me” (Lamentations 3:52-53). I was ready to give up. Then I called on the Lord from the depths of the pit. God heard my cry. When I cried to God, he drew near; he calmed my fears. The Lord has taken up my cause; he has redeemed my life.

Paul has been discussing the testing and rebellion of Israel in the wilderness, and God’s judgment against the rebellious by preventing them from entering into the Promised Land (Hebrews 3:7-19). While the promise of a Sabbath rest remains, let us not fail to individually appropriate it. The Israelites had God’s word, just as we do, but the message did not benefit those who died in the wilderness, because they did not respond to it in faith.  It is only believers who enter that rest.

When God finished the work of Creation, he rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). God rested, and it is possible for some to enter that rest. But those who died in the wilderness failed to enter it because of disobedience (Psalm 95:11). Long afterward, God again declared, through the Psalmist, a certain day, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7-8).

If Joshua had given God’s people that rest when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God would not have afterward spoken of another day. So the promised rest remains to be appropriated individually by God’s people. Thus we are to strive to enter that rest by obedience to God’s word. “For the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him, no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (i.e. to the Righteous Judge to whom we will be held accountable; Hebrews 4:13; see John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46).

Since believers have Jesus as our great high priest (to intercede for us) let us hold fast to our faith. Jesus has experienced every temptation in the flesh that we face, but without sinning, so he can sympathize with our temptations (and help us to resist and overcome our own temptations). “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we can receive mercy and grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

There is no longer condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set believers free from the Law of sin and death (the Old Covenant). God accomplished what the Law, because of the weakness of human flesh, was unable to accomplish. God sent his Son in human flesh, sharing our sinful nature, as a sacrificial offering, condemning sin in the flesh, so that we might fulfill the just requirements of the law, provided that we walk according to the Holy Spirit, rather than according to our sinful flesh. Those who live in the flesh pursue the things of the flesh, but those who live in the Spirit pursue the things of the Spirit. Living to gratify the flesh is death; but living to please the Spirit is life and peace. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).

We live by the grace of God. As long as we have life on this earth there remains the opportunity to repent and return to the Lord. Let us examine ourselves honestly and turn to the Lord in repentance, seeking his forgiveness. When we disobey God’s word, he disciplines us; he allows adversity in our lives so that we can realize that his way is in our best interest. When we acknowledge our disobedience and call out to him in repentance He will hear, forgive and restore us. (I personally testify to this reality in my own life.)

The wilderness experience of the Israelites is a metaphor for life in this world (as well as historical fact). If we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit(see Romans 8: 9; the Spirit of Christ; Spirit of God) in obedience, he will bring us into his eternal rest in the Promised Land of his kingdom in Heaven. If we rebel and disobey his word and refuse to follow Jesus, we will die eternally in the wilderness of Hell. All of us have sinned and have fallen short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23). The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). If we say we have not sinned we call God a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:10). Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 3:16-18). Today, when you hear the Lord speaking to you, is the time to repent and turn to him in obedience. Don’t think that you have plenty of time later.  

If we have experienced spiritual rebirth through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus, we are no longer under condemnation by the Law. God gives the gift of his Spirit to those who are obedient to Jesus (Isaiah 42:5). The gift of the Spirit makes it possible to be obedient to Jesus (Ezekiel 36:27). If we are willing to be obedient to Jesus, he will make obedience possible, through his indwelling Spirit. All believers receive the promise of the Holy Spirit at their baptism (water baptism). It remains for baptized believers to appropriate the fulfillment of that promise for themselves, by obedience to Jesus.

The physical Promised Land of Israel prefigures the Heavenly Promised Land of the Kingdom of God in Heaven. The Church is the heir and the new Promised Land on earth. Church members are the new People of God; the new Israel. The prophet calls all people to self-examination and repentance. His call is especially relevant to the Church and individual Christians today. Just because we’re members of the earthly Church, the People of God, doesn’t mean we’re going to the Heavenly Kingdom, unless we’re walking in obedience to God’s word and his Spirit in Jesus Christ.

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)?

*Today the Church commemorates Jesus’ entombment.

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