2 Epiphany - Sunday

first posted 01/15/05

Isaiah 43:14-44:5,      Redemption and restoration
Hebrews 6:17-7:10,     Priesthood of Melchizedek
John 4:27-42     Jesus and the Samaritans

The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, will break the bars (of the prison) of Israel’s oppressors, Babylon and Chaldea (Babylon and Chaldea were both located in what is present-day Iraq). The Lord, the Creator, is Israel’s King, who brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt, by making a way in the sea, and destroying their pursuers (Isaiah 43:16-17; compare Exodus 14:21-29). The Lord is doing a new thing (the return of Israel from Babylonian captivity).

It is the Lord who makes a way through the wilderness; it is the Lord who provides water in the wilderness (as God provided water from the rock; see Exodus 17:1-7). The Lord provides for his people, whom he created and chose, so that they might declare the Lord’s praise. Yet God’s people have not called upon the Lord; they have become weary of the Lord. They do not honor the Lord with sacrifices and offerings, although the Lord has not burdened them with them. God’s people have instead burdened and wearied God with their sins.

It is God who forgives our sins for his sake. God calls for a court trial where God’s people can present their case. The Lord declares that mankind has sinned from their “first father (Adam; Genesis Chapter 3; Romans 3:23). But the Lord, their creator, will help them. The Lord promises to irrigate the dry land, and create streams in the desert. The Lord promises to pour his Spirit and his blessing upon their descendants. They will flourish like willows beside a stream. The people will be eager to be known as God’s people, and to be called by his name.

God’s purpose is unchangeable. God has given his word. God’s character and word are unchangeable, so that we can have powerful encouragement to claim the hope which has been set before us (salvation and eternal life). Jesus has entered into the Holy of Holies (into the presence of God, which was formerly restricted to the High Priest, once a year only) as our eternal High Priest to obtain our forgiveness, and as the forerunner who provides our direct access to God and the hope that we will one day be with him in God’s presence for eternity.

Melchizedek, was both King of Salem (Peace) and High Priest of God, who brought out bread and wine to Abram (later, renamed Abraham) in the King’s Valley, after Abram had defeated the kings of the east (Genesis 14:18). The name Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness;” Salem means “Peace.” Since he has no known genealogy and no birth or death is known he seems to be eternal, and thus prefigures the Son of God.

Jesus had been sitting by the well at Sychar of Samaria (in Jesus’ time, the central region of Israel was occupied by people of mixed race and religion who were not regarded as part of Israel), talking to a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water. Jesus’ disciples were in the city buying food. When the disciples returned they were amazed to find him talking to a woman (Rabbis did not speak to women in public), but they didn’t say anything.

The woman left and went into the city and told the people to come and see a person who had demonstrated knowledge of the details of the woman’s life without having previously met her. While the people were coming to see Jesus his disciples were trying to get him to eat the food they had bought, but Jesus told them that doing the will of God and God’s work was more necessary than physical food.

Jesus told his disciples that a farmer can tell by looking at his crops when it is time to harvest. Likewise Jesus told his disciples that the spiritual fields are ripe for harvest now. Those who reap that harvest receive a wage and “gather fruit for eternal life” (John 4:36). The disciples are sent to reap the harvest. Jesus is the sower. The disciples did not sow the crop, but are joining into the harvest of what Jesus initiated.

“Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did’” (John 4:39). So when they came to Jesus they asked him to stay with them. He stayed there two days and many more believed in Jesus as a result of getting to know Jesus for themselves. Although the Samaritans had come to Jesus because of the woman’s testimony they now declared that it was no longer because of her testimony that they believed, but they had heard for themselves and had come to “know that Jesus is the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).

The history of God’s dealing with Israel is also a parable for us. God is the Redeemer and his eternal purpose is to redeem us from bondage to sin and eternal, spiritual death (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Judah had been exiled to Babylon because they had “become weary” of serving the Lord, they had not obeyed his Word, they had not worshiped the Lord and honored him with sacrifices and offerings, and they had not heeded the Lord’s prophets. God promised to redeem and deliver them from exile in Babylon as he had redeemed their ancestors from bondage to sin and death in Egypt, when he had delivered them from their enemies through the Red Sea.

God promises to deliver his spiritual people from sin and death through the "Sea" of baptism into Christ, to lead his spiritual people and give them spiritual water in the wilderness, and lead them into the Promised Land through the spiritual waters of the "Jordan River" of physical death. God promised to pour out his Holy Spirit on their descendants.

It is the Holy Spirit who irrigates spiritual dry land and blesses the spiritual descendants of Israel, causing them to flourish in the desert of this world. It is those people who will be eager to be known as God’s people and bear his name (“Christian”).  God did deliver Judah from Babylon and bring them back to Israel. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to be the Redeemer of God’s People, through whom God’s promise to pour out his Holy Spirit on the spiritual descendants of Israel is fulfilled.  

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s unchangeable purpose which is to redeem his people from sin and death, deliver them from their spiritual enemy, Satan, through the "Sea" of baptism into Christ, and to bring them into eternal life in his presence in the Promised Land of his eternal kingdom in heaven. Melchizedek is the prophetic illustration of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, our King of Righteousness and Peace, our High Priest and Host of the Eucharistic Feast, who comes to us in the elements of the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper, which he initiated on the eve of his sacrificial death on the cross for our redemption!

God keeps his promises! Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where he is our eternal High Priest interceding for us with God the Father, fulfilling the role which was prefigured in Jewish ritual. Jesus is the “pioneer” who has gone into the presence of God in the “Holy of Holies” to prepare the way for us to follow into eternal life in God’s presence.  

Jesus was sharing the Gospel with a Samaritan woman. Jews regarded Samaritans as racial and spiritual mongrels, and Jewish Rabbis would not speak to women in public. But Jesus was fully committed to doing God’s will, and it is Gods eternal purpose to redeem all people who will trust and obey Jesus.

The woman believed in Jesus from her direct encounter with him, and she went back to her community and told her neighbors. She invited them to come to see and hear and reach their own conclusions about Jesus. On the basis of the woman’s testimony they came to Jesus and invited him to stay so they could see and hear his message. As the result they came to know Jesus personally and to know with certainty for themselves that Jesus is the Savior of the world, the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem his people. They no longer based their ideas about Jesus on what someone else told them.

The Samaritan woman is an illustration of the role of a disciple. She had encountered Jesus, had listened to his word, she believed in the Messiah, and Jesus had revealed himself to be the Messiah (John 4:25-26). She went to her neighbors, told them her encounter with Jesus, and invited them to come and see for themselves and make their own decisions. They came, listened and reached their own conviction that Jesus is the Savior. They responded to a disciple’s testimony and they came to their own personal knowledge of, and faith in, Jesus. In contrast, The Twelve who had answered Jesus' call for disciples, were preoccupied with their own physical comfort.

God keeps his promises. His eternal purpose is to redeem his people, and that purpose has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. There will be a Day of Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46; Isaiah 43:26-28). There will be a harvest; He will gather the wheat (the fruit of the harvest; those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus) into his granary (Heaven) but the chaff (those who have rejected and refused to obey Jesus) he will burn with unquenchable fire (Hell)” (Luke 3:17).

Have you had a personal encounter with Jesus? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first 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)?  

2 Epiphany - Monday

first posted 01/16/05

Isaiah 44:6-8, 21-23,      Redeemer and King
Ephesians 4:1-16,    Unity of the Spirit
Mark 3:7-19a     Jesus appoints the Twelve

The Lord of hosts is the Redeemer and King of Israel. He is the first and the last; there is no other god besides him. There is none like him. Who else but the Lord has declared from of old the things to come? There is no security but in God alone.

God’s people are to remember what God has done, for he has not forgotten them. God’s people have been created and called to be God’s servants (Isaiah 44:21). God has removed their sin like the Sun disperses fog. Return to God, people of God, for he has redeemed us. Rejoice, heavens and earth, mountain and tree, for the Lord has redeemed his people and will be glorified among them.

Paul was a prisoner for the Gospel at the time of this writing. He reminded the Ephesians of his suffering and urged them to lead a life worthy of their calling in the Gospel; that they would be meek and lowly, patient and forbearing with one another, maintaining spiritual unity in peace. There is one body (the Church) one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (note the seven elements of unity; seven representing completeness). Each believer shares in that unity while exercising diverse spiritual gifts.

Paul quotes Psalm 68:18, saying that Christ descended into the region of the dead (in his death) and then ascended into heaven [after his resurrection; Acts 1:9-11; compare the second article of the Apostles’ Creed: “…He descended into Hell (or the dead). On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven…”], leading a host of captives.* So Christ’s authority is over all things in heaven and earth, the living and the dead.

When Jesus ascended on high he gave gifts to men through the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are the guidance and enabling of some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers. The purpose of the gifts is “to equip the saints (i.e., believers), for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God;” to spiritual maturity, to the full likeness and stature of Christ.

In spiritual maturity believers are no longer susceptible to being blown off course by every wind of (false) doctrine, by those who would deceive us. Instead, we are to grow up into the likeness of Christ, proclaiming the truth in love. Christ is to be our guide, and believers are to be united and working in harmony under his guidance, so that together we grow and make progress, like the relationship of the physical human body with its head.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. His reputation for physical healing had become so well known that great crowds thronged to him not only from Galilee, but from Judea, Idumea, from the area east of the Jordan River, and even from Tyre and Sidon. Jesus had to have the disciples standing by with a boat in order to prevent him from being crushed by the crowd, because everyone with an illness pressed upon him to be healed. Whenever he cast out demons, even the demons proclaimed that he was the Son of God, and he ordered them not to reveal who he was.

Jesus went into the hills, and he called to him the ones of his followers who he wanted, and he appointed Twelve to be with him, to be sent out to preach and to heal: Simon whom Jesus called Peter; James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who Jesus called the sons of thunder; Andrew (brother of Simon Peter); Philip (native of Bethsaida, with Simon and Andrew); Bartholomew (or, Nathanael); Matthew (Levi; son of Alphaeus; tax collector; brother of James); Thomas (Didymus, possibly brother of Matthew and James); and James, the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus (Labbaeus; "Judas the brother of James;" Judas not Iscariot); and Simon the Cananaean (or Simon the Zealot); and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

We have been created, redeemed and called to be God’s servants. We are called to remember and testify to what God has done for us. He has redeemed us, he has forgiven our sins, he has not forgotten us, he is our eternal security, and he has revealed to us what is going to take place. We have been called to glorify the Lord.

Paul urged believers to lead a life worthy of their calling in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He urged believers to work together in the unity of faith in Christ, using their individual spiritual gifts. Believers are to grow, as disciples, into spiritual maturity, where we will be like Jesus, “proclaiming the truth in love.” We are to be guided by Christ, through his indwelling Holy Spirit, so that we will work together in harmony with one another and that we, individually, and the Church collectively, will grow and make progress.  

Jesus attracted a large number of people who wanted something from him. Lots of people wanted physical healing, or free bread. Jesus didn’t come to provide physical healing or physical sustenance; he came to provide spiritual healing and spiritual sustenance. (The spiritual aspect of life is not just a “state of mind,” as many might suppose. It is more real that the material, physical aspect of life, which seems so “real” to us because we can touch it, see it and quantify it. The material aspect of life is ultimately temporal and transient; the spiritual is eternal.)

Not many were interested in being Jesus’ disciples; not many were interested in doing something for Jesus. Of the Twelve who answered Jesus’ call to be his disciples, one denied him (Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75), and one betrayed him (Luke 22:47-48; Mark 3:19a).

Are you leading a life worthy of your calling in Christ? Are you glorifying the Lord?  Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first 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)?

*Some commentators suggest that the captives are the enemies of Christ and his Church. I think they may be those who were formerly captives of death, who have been freed by Christ’s victory over death.

2 Epiphany - Tuesday

first posted 01/17/05

Isaiah 44:9-20,     Futility of idols
Ephesians 4:17-32,     Renounce pagan ways
Mark 3:19b-35     Jesus’ power

Those who create idols are wasting their time and effort, and the things they create are of no benefit. All those who create idols will be put to shame. The craftsmen are mere mortals, with limited strength and ability, and their best efforts produce a figure which resembles man. The same wood with which they fashion an idol they burn for warmth and cooking their food. They do not know or discern this absurdity; their eyes have been “shut so they cannot see, and their minds, so that they cannot understand” (Isaiah 44:18; compare 2 Corinthians 4:3-4). They cannot see the absurdity of expecting protection and providence from something which they completely dominate and use for their own purposes.

Christians are no longer to live as the pagans do, in the futility of their imaginations. Pagans’ minds are darkened by ignorance, because of their unwillingness to hear the truth of the Gospel. They have given themselves to the indulgence of their own desires, and have become callous to their depravity. This is contrary to what Christians have been taught.

We are to put off, like soiled clothes, the old sinful nature, and be reclothed, “by the renewing of the spirit of our minds” (Ephesians 4:23), in the new nature which is the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness. We are to put away falsehood and instead speak the truth. If angry, we must not fail to forgive. We are to avoid temptation. We are to do honest work and give to those in need. Avoid speaking evil; instead say only what is uplifting and encouraging. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Set aside all bitterness, wrath, anger clamor slander and malice, and instead practice kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness toward one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us.

Large crowds gathered around Jesus, so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. Jesus’ friends were concerned for Jesus’ physical safety and his sanity in the frenzy which was developing around Jesus.

The scribes attributed Jesus’ power over demons to Beelzebul, the prince of demons, so Jesus called the scribes to him and asked how Satan could cast out Satan. Jesus said that a kingdom divided against itself is disintegrating; a house divided against itself will not be able to stand. So also if Satan were divided he would loose his power. If a person wanted to rob a strong man’s house he first would have to bind the strong man.

Because some had suggested that Jesus had an unclean spirit, Jesus declared that all sins and all blasphemies will be forgiven except the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit; “…whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:29).

Jesus’ mother and his brothers came and were asking for Jesus to come out to them. When Jesus was told, he looked around at the crowd and said that the people sitting around Jesus and listening to him were his mother and brothers; whoever does the will of God is the mother, sister, and brother of Jesus.

Anything we desire more than the Lord is an idol: money, power, worldly success, home, spouse, children, car, sport or hobby, or any other thing. Only the Lord can give us what we truly need; only he can give true security and eternal life. There is a Day of Judgment coming, when everyone who has chosen idols instead of the Lord will be put to eternal shame and condemnation (Matthew 25:31-46).

Christians are called to live according to God’s will by the guidance and empowerment of his indwelling Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit working in us who renews us and creates in us the new nature in the likeness of God. Jesus only gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16; see entry for yesterday, Monday, 2 Epiphany, odd year). Those who do not have the (Holy) Spirit of Christ do not belong to him (Romans 8:9b).

Pagans live according to the flesh; Christians are called to live no longer like the pagans, living to indulge the flesh, but to live according to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5-9). We are cautioned not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is grieved when we do not seek to know and do God’s will.

Jesus is our example; doing God’s will was more important to him than anything else in this world, including his own life. Jesus said that one cannot serve two masters; it is impossible to serve God and mammon (wealth; any “idol,” or object of false devotion; Matthew 6:24). We cannot have victory over evil while participating in it. We cannot live in the Spirit while living to gratify our flesh.

Anyone who misperceives the work of the Holy Spirit as evil is eternally condemned and cut off from salvation, because it is only by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are in Christ and have eternal life. It isn’t those who call themselves Jesus’ brothers and sisters who truly are; Jesus’ brothers and sisters are those who seek to know and do God’s will by the guidance and empowerment of God’s Holy Spirit in accordance with God’s word.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first 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)?

2 Epiphany - Wednesday

first posted 01/18/05

Isaiah 44:24-45:7,    The commission of Cyrus  
Ephesians 5:1-14,     Exhortation to righteous living
Mark 4:1-20      The parable of the sower

The Lord, our creator and redeemer, has created the heavens and the earth. It is the Lord who makes liars and fools of seers and diviners, who confounds wise men “and makes their knowledge foolish” (Isaiah 44:25). The Lord “confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers” (Isaiah 44:26).

The Lord declares that Jerusalem will be inhabited (again) and the cities of Judah will be rebuilt; their ruins will be restored. The Lord has appointed Cyrus (King of Persia) to fulfill all of the Lord’s purpose. It is the Lord’s will that Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt.

The Lord will enable Cyrus to subdue nations and defeat kings. The Lord will enable Cyrus to open gates, break down bronze doors, and cut iron bars. The Lord will give him “the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places” (Isaiah 45:3). The Lord knows Cyrus by name and has called him to accomplish the Lord’s purpose, although Cyrus doesn’t know the Lord. The Lord alone is God; He is Lord even of those who do not know or acknowledge him. The Lord has called Cyrus for the sake of God’s people, so that all may come to know that the Lord is the only God.

Christians are called to be imitators of God as his children, following Jesus’ example of trust and obedience to God. We must abstain from all immorality, impurity and covetousness, which is idolatry. No one who practices such things will enter into God’s eternal kingdom.

Don’t let anyone deceive you about this, for it is because of these things that God‘s punishment comes upon the disobedient. Don’t even associate with those who practice these things.   Let there be no foul language or dirty jokes; instead let there be thanksgiving.

We all once walked in darkness (sin), but in Christ we are now children of light (righteousness), so we are to walk in that light. If we are truly walking in the light, we will be doing what is good, right, and true. We are to make every effort to do what is pleasing to the Lord. We must not participate in the works of darkness, but rather expose them.  Since the works of darkness thrive in darkness, exposing them to light will inhibit them. Let us not be asleep among those who are dead, but rise up and live in the light of Christ.

The crowds coming to hear Jesus had become so large that Jesus began teaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee from a boat (so that he would not be trampled by the crowd; Mark 3:9). Jesus taught in parables (comparisons drawn from everyday occurrences through which spiritual truth is conveyed), one of which is the “Parable of the Sower.”

A sower (one who scatters seeds by flinging them in handfuls) went out to sow. Some seed fell on the path and was eaten by birds. Some fell on rocks and sprouted quickly but withered as soon as the sun rose, because there was no depth of soil.  Some fell among thorns; the thorns grew faster than the seedlings and choked them out. Some fell on good soil, grew to maturity and produced much fruit.

When the crowds had left, his disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable. Jesus told them that the secrets of God’s kingdom were opened and revealed to his disciples, but to others everything is in parables, so that they are free to not understand. Jesus told his disciples that the seed represents God’s Word. The path represents those who hear God’s Word, and immediately Satan comes and takes it away. The rocky soil represents those who hear God’s Word and receive it with joy, but when troubles come because of God’s Word, they fall away. The thorny soil represents those who receive the Word, but the cares and desires of this world enter and choke out the Word, so that it is unfruitful. The good soil represents those who receive God’s Word, persevere, grow to maturity and are fruitful.  

God is the sovereign Lord of the Universe, whether we know and acknowledge him or not. His purpose will be accomplished, whether we cooperate with that purpose or not. It was God’s purpose to restore exiled Judah to the Promised Land, and for Jerusalem, the Temple and the cities of Judah to be rebuilt.

The Lord used Cyrus of Persia to accomplish that purpose. Those who trust in their own worldly knowledge will be put to shame, but those who serve the Lord and proclaim God’s Word will be upheld and vindicated. Cyrus served the Lord unwittingly, and received the rewards of darkness; those who willingly serve the Lord will receive the rewards of light: eternal life in the kingdom of righteousness.

In a sense we are all exiles in this life and God’s purpose is to bring us back to the Promised Land of his kingdom, to the City of God and to his Temple. Jesus is the opposite of Cyrus; Jesus knew and acknowledged God the Father and consciously and obediently cooperated with God’s purpose to redeem his people. Jesus' purpose was to please and glorify God; Cyrus was motivated by the rewards of darkness.

If we acknowledge the Lord and trust and obey him, cooperating with his purpose, we will receive the reward of light and eternal life. If we do not acknowledge the Lord and do not willingly serve him, if we choose to pursue the treasures of darkness rather than seeking to do what is pleasing to the Lord, his purpose will still be fulfilled, but we will receive the rewards of darkness, which is eternal death (Romans 6:23).

Christians are called to live in the light of Christ. We are to trust and obey the Lord and make every effort to please him. One cannot participate in the works of darkness and produce the fruit of light. We are not to be asleep in darkness among the spiritually dead, but awake in the light of Christ among the spiritually alive, willingly cooperating with God’s purpose to redeem his people. We are called to imitate Christ, not Cyrus!

The parable of the sower is the illustration of how people respond to God’s Word. God has made his purpose known. God has revealed his chosen servant and shepherd of God’s people in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the willing servant; he’s the Good Shepherd. He’s God’s chosen and anointed servant to restore God’s people to eternal life in the Promised Land of God’s kingdom.

Jesus gives the light of divine knowledge and understanding to his disciples who trust and obey him (Mark 4:11; compare Isaiah 44:25-26; Luke 24:45). We must choose whether to cooperate with God’s eternal purpose and live in the light of Christ, or to pursue the treasures of darkness.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first 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)?

2 Epiphany - Thursday

first posted 01/19/05

Isaiah 45:5-17,     The Lord’s sovereignty
Ephesians 5:15-33,     The Christian life
Mark 4:21-34      Parables of the kingdom

There is no other God but the Lord; he is God even though mankind may not know or acknowledge him. The Lord provides even for those who do not acknowledge him so that all may come to know that the Lord is God. He is the creator of everything.

The Lord in righteousness has provided salvation. Let the earth receive it like a planted seed, so that it can sprout, and grow to maturity, producing a harvest of righteousness.

Woe to those who criticize their creator. We are earthen vessels and God is our potter. Does a clay pot tell the potter what to make or find fault with his work? Does one criticize a father for what he begets, or a mother for the child she delivers? So also, will we question the Lord about his children, or tell him what to create?

The Lord has created heaven and earth and mankind. The Lord has aroused his servant in righteousness, and the Lord will make his ways straight. The Lord’s servant will build the Lord’s city and set the exiles free, without charge. The Lord declared that the wealth of nations will pour into Israel, and the Gentiles will acknowledge and worship Israel’s God.

God hides himself (God hides or reveals himself according to his purpose). Those who create idols will be confounded and put to shame, but God’s people will receive eternal salvation. God’s people will never be put to put to shame or confounded in all eternity.

Christians are urged to take care how they live, not foolishly but wisely, making the most of the time we have, because the times are evil. Don’t be foolish; know what God’s will for us is. “Do not get drunk… for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Instead of worldly forms of “celebration,” celebrate continually with thanksgiving to the Lord in psalms and hymns and praise (for all that he has done for us in Jesus Christ).

Believers are to live in mutual subjugation to one another, in reverence to Christ. Husbands are the head of the family as the Lord is the head of the Church. Wives are to honor their husbands as they honor Christ, and husbands are to cherish and provide for their families as Christ does for his Church. Husbands are to emulate the self-sacrificing love of Christ for his Church which enabled his Church to be sanctified (purified from sin and consecrated to God’s use), cleansed by Christian Baptism, so that the Church might be without sin or blemish (like a virginal bride). Husbands should love their wives as much as they love their own bodies, since God’s word declares that in marriage, husband and wife become one (body; flesh; Genesis 2:24). Correspondingly, the Church is the bride of Christ, and Believers become part of Christ’s body in spiritual union with him.

Jesus taught in parables (comparisons drawn from everyday occurrences through which spiritual truth is conveyed). Jesus said that one does not light a lamp and then hide it under a basket or under a bed; instead it is placed on a stand. Nothing is hidden or secret which will not be revealed and made known.

If we have ears for hearing, we should use them, and we should be careful what we hear. What we receive will be correspond to what we have given. Those who recognize what they have will receive more; but those who do not recognize what they have will loose what even that.

The kingdom of God is like a person scattering seeds. He scatters the seed, but everything else from germination to fruition is according to God’s control. But when the grain is ripe he can recognize it and participate in the harvest.

The kingdom of God is also like a mustard seed. The tiniest of seeds, when sown, becomes the largest of shrubs, providing haven and security. Jesus taught the crowds exclusively in parables, but privately among his disciples he explained everything.

The Lord is the only God, and it is his desire that all would come to know him, the only God (Isaiah 45:6). Why, then, does God hide himself (Isaiah 45:15)? It is because he gives us the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey him or not.

In righteousness, God has provided salvation (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right) through Jesus Christ. The Lord’s plan of salvation is received as a “seed” of faith in Jesus Christ, which sprouts and grows to maturity, producing a harvest of righteousness (Isaiah 45:8).

Although Isaiah’s prophecy initially referred to Cyrus of Persia (Isaiah 45:1a) and the return of Judah from exile in Babylon, Cyrus and that historical background are a preview God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord’s servant, who builds the Lord’s eternal city, sets the spiritual exiles free, without charge (Isaiah 45:13).

The prophecy concerning Cyrus was fulfilled, the prophecy concerning the Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and the prophecy of the nations (Gentiles) coming to acknowledge and worship the God of Israel was fulfilled in Christ. Those who trust and obey Jesus will not be confounded or put to shame in all eternity (compare Romans 10:9-11; Mark 8:38). Those who have trusted in anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ will receive eternal shame and condemnation (Matthew 25:31-46).

God’s will for us has been revealed in his Word and in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12). No one can come to God and know God except through Jesus (John 14:6; Matthew 11:27). Jesus has promised that he will reveal himself to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17, 21-23), and I, personally, and every ‘born-again” (John 3:3. 5-8) Christian testify to that truth. If we are truly willing to do God’s will, he will reveal it to us through his Word and his indwelling Holy Spirit. Those who ask will receive, those who seek will find, those who knock will be allowed entrance (Matthew 7:8).

Jesus taught the crowds in parables so that people were free to choose to not understand (Mark 4:11). We have been given ears for hearing, but we must choose whether to use them to hear and listen (obey). We must choose whom we listen to.

If the Gospel seems hidden, it is hidden only to those who are perishing, unbelievers whose minds have been blinded by the “god” of this world (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). Jesus explained the parables to his disciples, and it is the risen Jesus, through his indwelling Holy Spirit, who opens the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45).

Jesus’ disciples are given the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not to hide it within the Church or within their personal lives, but to let it shine in the spiritual darkness of this present world. Christians need to be careful how we live, so that we are spreading the light of the Gospel rather than obscuring it.

God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ comes to us like a seed of faith. If we allow that seed to sprout within us and allow it to grow, the Lord will cause it to grow to maturity and produce fruit for eternal life. If we are Jesus' disciples, we are to scatter the seed of the Gospel. If we are faithful in scattering the seed, the Lord will cause it to bear fruit, and we can participate with him in the harvest.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first 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)?

2 Epiphany - Friday

first posted 01/20/05

Isaiah 45:18-25,    Conversion of nations
Ephesians 6:1-9,    Christian life
Mark 4:35-41    Calming the storm

The Lord is God, who created heaven and earth. His creation is orderly; he formed it to be inhabited. He alone is Lord of all creation. The Lord has not made his Word secret or hidden it in darkness. The Lord has not hidden himself from Israel. The Lord speaks what is true and right.

Listen, survivors of the nations! Those who trust in wooden idols that they must carry about, and keep praying to gods who cannot save, are ignorant. Let the idolatrous nations prove the existence and power of their gods.

The Lord is the only God who declares from of old what will take place. The Lord is the righteous God and Savior, and there is no other. Turn to the Lord, all people, to the ends of the earth, for he alone is God.

The Lord declares, in an oath that cannot fail, that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess (that he is Lord; Philippians 2:10). It shall be said of the Lord that only in him are righteousness and strength; all those who opposed and resisted the Lord will come before him and be ashamed, but the descendants of Israel shall triumph and glory.

Children are to obey their parents, fulfilling the commandment to honor father and mother. This commandment is the first one with a promise; those who keep it will be well and live long on earth. Fathers are not to provoke their children, but to bring them up in Christian discipline and instruction.  Slaves are to obey their masters as if they are serving Christ, not merely in outward appearance, seeking human approval, but as servants of Christ, eager to do God’s will from their hearts, knowing that the Lord rewards good to both slave and free person. Masters are to do likewise to their slaves, acknowledging that the Lord is Master of both the (human) master and the slave, and he shows no partiality toward one or the other.

One evening Jesus left the crowd which had gathered around him, and told his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee to the other side with him in a boat. A great windstorm arose and was swamping the boat, but Jesus was asleep in the stern. The disciples awoke Jesus, asking if Jesus didn’t care that they perished. Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and sea, saying “Peace. Be still” (Mark 4:39). The wind ceased and the sea became calm. Jesus asked his disciples why they were afraid; didn’t they have any faith? The disciples asked one another, “Who, then, is this, that even wind and sea obey him” (Mark 4:41)?

God is the Creator and Lord of all creation; he alone is God and Lord, our Creator, whether we acknowledge him or not. The Lord’s Word is absolutely right, true and dependable. He has not concealed his Word and his eternal purpose from us; he has given us the Bible, whether we choose to believe it or not.

The unique distinguishing feature of God’s Word is that it is always fulfilled. The Lord has revealed from long ago his eternal purpose. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose to save us from sin and eternal death and restore us to fellowship with God (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar top right). Jesus is the Christ (Messiah, God’s anointed Savior and King of all Creation); Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

God has sworn, with an oath that cannot fail, that there is a Day of Judgment coming, when every knee will bow before him, and every tongue will confess that he alone is Lord (Philippians 2:10; Romans 14:10b-12).  Jesus has promised to return to judge the earth. Those who have rejected and refused to obey Jesus will be ashamed, and they will receive eternal death and destruction in Hell; those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have triumph and glory, receiving eternal life in Heaven with the Lord (Matthew 25:31-46).

Christians are to live as servants of the Lord in every situation, eager to do God’s will with all their hearts. If we are eager to do God’s will he will reveal his will to us. All of us are to grow to spiritual maturity in Christian discipline and instruction; we are to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ (not disciples of some human teacher or pastor). The Christian lifestyle is not merely outward appearance; it’s not a matter of worldly approval.

Jesus told his disciples to cross the Sea with him, and as they crossed, in the night (Mark 4:35), a storm arose. They were afraid and they wondered how Jesus could be apparently unconcerned about their situation. It’s not that Jesus didn’t care, but he trusted in God to accomplish his purpose in spite of the storm. Jesus’ word calmed the storm.

The disciples had spent time with Jesus and had come to know him as “Teacher” (Strong’s #1320* “instructor;” Mark 4:38 RSV). His power and authority over the forces of nature caused them to re-examine who they understood and believed Jesus to be.

If Jesus can command the forces of nature and they obey him, he could also command us, and we would have to do what he commands. But the Lord has given us the freedom to choose for ourselves whether to obey him or not. But the choice has eternal consequences for us individually.

Who do you believe Jesus to be? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first 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)?

*New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong, James, Thomas Nelson Publishers, NY, 1984 (also available online; see Free Bible Study Tools, sidebar, top right)

2 Epiphany - Saturday

first posted 01/21/05

Isaiah 46:1-13,     The Lord carries his people
Ephesians 6:10-24,     The whole armor of God
Mark 5:1-20     The Gerasene demoniac

Bel and Nebo were Babylonian idols. These gods (all idols) are a burden to their people. They cannot lift the people’s burden, nor can they deliver the people or even themselves from captivity. In contrast the Lord has carried his people from their birth. It is the Lord who created and bore them and the Lord will carry and save.

What idol can compare to the Lord; even an idol made of gold or silver amounts to nothing more than a heavy burden. It has to be carried; it cannot move from its place; it cannot answer the cries of the people or save them from their troubles.

Remember, sinners, what God has done in the past. The Lord has declared “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). He declares in advance what has not yet occurred. The counsel of the Lord will stand and his purpose will be accomplished.

The Lord has called a bird of prey (Cyrus of Persia; compare Isaiah 45:1) to accomplish God’s purpose, and God will see to it that it is accomplished. “Hearken to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from deliverance: I bring near my deliverance, it is not far off, and my salvation will not tarry; I will put my salvation in Zion (the City of God; the Church) for Israel (God’s people) my glory” (Isaiah 46:12-13).

Be strong in the Lord and in his strength. “Put on the whole armor of God (which he provides) that you may be able to stand against the wiles (deceptions) of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Believers are engaged in spiritual warfare not against human, but rather, the supernatural demonic forces of evil who rule this present world. So believers must put on the complete armor which God provides, in order to be able to withstand and prevail in that spiritual battle.

The armor consists of truth, righteousness, and the Gospel of peace. Faith is our shield, salvation is our helmet, our weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word (working in and through us by the indwelling Holy Spirit). We must pray constantly in the Spirit, keeping alert and persevering in prayer for all believers and especially for those who are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel, that the Gospel may be proclaimed boldly, despite persecution.

Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to the eastern shore, and as Jesus got out of the boat he was met by a man who was possessed by a demon. The demoniac lived among tombs (in a cemetery; among dead people). He was so strong that it was impossible to keep him bound up, even with chains. The demon recognized Jesus, fell down and worshiped him (Mark 5:6) and acknowledged him to be the Son of God (Mark 5:7). 

Jesus asked the name of the demon, and the demon replied that it was “Legion (a Roman Legion was four to six thousand men); for we are many” (Mark 5:9). The demon begged Jesus not to send them out of the country, but to be sent into a nearby herd of pigs, and Jesus gave him permission.

When the demons entered the approximately two thousand pigs, the pigs rushed down the steep bank into the Sea and were drowned. The herdsmen fled and told the people of the surrounding villages, who returned with them to see for themselves. They found the former demoniac clothed and sane, sitting with Jesus, and they were afraid.

They begged Jesus to leave their neighborhood. As Jesus and the disciples got back into the boat, the demoniac begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus refused and told him to go home and tell his friends how much the Lord had done for him and how the Lord had had mercy on him. The former demonic immediately began to do as Jesus had told him, proclaiming what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.

The Lord is the only true God. Only the Lord is able to deliver us from trouble and give us eternal life. Only the Lord can provide sound counsel and guidance. God’s Word is absolutely dependable. The prophecies about Cyrus of Persia were fulfilled. The Lord used Cyrus to release Judah (the remnant of the house of Israel; Isaiah 46:3a) from exile in Babylon.

Only the Lord can carry and sustain his people. Any other person or thing we turn to is an idol; none can do anything for us but burden us down and ultimately destroy us. There are demons behind every idol.

This world is a spiritual battleground and we are all engaged in a spiritual war. God has already declared how it will end. Jesus won the victory at the cross. Jesus is going to return to judge the earth. Those who have refused to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and have refused to obey him will be put to eternal death in Hell with all evil; those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in Heaven with the Lord (Matthew 25:31-46).

The outcome is already determined; we get to choose which side we’re on. If we want to be on the winner’s side we must put on the Lord's uniform and arm ourselves with his armor. We cannot win the spiritual battle in our own strength; we can only share Jesus’ victory through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

Jesus has complete authority and power over the forces of evil. The demons know it, and they know and acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God. Only Jesus is able to save us from the forces of evil. Evil cannot win the battle, but wants to destroy as many of us as possible. The demoniac is an illustration of someone under the control of evil, and living among the spiritually dead. Evil rules this present world. We will either serve the Lord, or we will serve Evil (Luke 16:13).

The demoniac had been forced to serve his demons; and his demons were causing him destruction and harm. Jesus restored him to true, spiritual, eternal, life. When Jesus released him, the demoniac wanted to be with Jesus from then on, but Jesus gave him a ministry of Gospel evangelism to his friends, and the former demoniac immediately began to do what Jesus had commanded. Judging from the response of the villagers to Jesus (Mark 5:17) evangelism wasn't going to be easy.

Only Jesus can release us from bondage to sin and death so that we can be free to serve Jesus and have eternal life. Believers have been set free, not just to be in fellowship with Jesus exclusively for the rest of our lives; not just to “hang out” at Church; Jesus gives us a commission to share the Gospel with our friends and acquaintances. But first we must put on the armor of God; we must be discipled; we must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do you realize and acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God? Has Jesus set you free from bondage to sin and death? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first 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)?