6 Easter Odd

6 Easter - Sunday

first posted 04/30/05

Deuteronomy 15:1-11, The Year of Release
1 Timothy 3:14-4:5, False Teachers
Matthew 13:24-34a Parables of the Kingdom

The Lord commanded that every seventh year was to be a year of release from debts. God’s intention is that there be no poor among God’s people; wealth would be redistributed to the poor. The Lord promised to bless Israel in the land which God promised to give them if they obeyed the commandments of God. Israel would lend to other nations but would not need to borrow from them, and Israel would rule over other nations but would not be ruled by them.

God’s people are to lend to the poor among them sufficient to meet the needs of the poor. The Lord warned his people not to be hard-hearted and calculating in their dealings with the poor; they are not to withhold from the poor when the year of release draws near. Denying support to the poor and needy will be accounted in God’s people as sin. God’s people are to give generously and freely, and the Lord will bless and prosper his people in every endeavor. There will always be poor people, so God commands his people to be generous in giving to them.

The Church is to be the household of God and the pillar and bulwark of truth. The central mystery of our “religion” is Christ, who came in human flesh, “was vindicated (confirmed) in the Spirit,” preached and believed in among all nations, and ascended into Heaven. The Holy Spirit expressly warns that in latter times (before Christ’s return and the Day of Judgment) “some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Everything God has created is good, and is consecrated by God’s Word and prayer as long as it is received with thanksgiving to God.

Jesus taught in parables, allowing the hearer to accept or reject his message. Jesus declared that the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a person who sowed a wheat field with good seed. But during the night an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. When the seed sprouted the servants discovered that there were weeds among the wheat and asked the owner if he wanted his servants to pull up the weeds. But the owner told them to let the weeds grow among the wheat until the harvest; otherwise the wheat would be lost or damaged during the weeding. At the harvest, the owner will send the reapers with instructions to pull the weeds first and bind them into bundles to be burned, and then gather the wheat into the owner’s barn.

Another illustration of the kingdom of heaven compares it to a mustard seed which is a tiny seed, but which grows into a much larger plant than one would imagine from the size of the seed. The kingdom of heaven is also like leaven (yeast) hidden in bread dough. A small amount of yeast in the dough cannot be seen and identified, but in time it affects all the dough and its results are obvious.

Christians are not bound to obey the Law of Moses, provided that they are led by and obey the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:2). Eating pork is no longer a sin, for example, but the Ten Commandments still apply. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to make it possible for us to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17). The Lord still commands justice for the poor and the oppressed. It is still contrary to God’s will to covet our neighbors’ things. It is still a sin to take anything that belongs to another by any deceitful or dishonest means, including “tricky,” unethical politics. People who are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit don’t do such things.

Is America the “New Israel,” the “New Promised Land,” the nation of “God’s people” or is it the “New Babylon?” Are our leaders alleviating poverty or creating it? Is our government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” or is it government of the people, by the rich and powerful, for the rich and powerful? Do we live by the Golden Rule, or is it Gold that rules? Have we become a two-class society ruled by the rich aristocracy, who regard the common people as “sheep to be sheered?” Do the wealthy and powerful pay their fair share of the cost of government, considering that they benefit most from it? Are the wealthy and powerful bearing their responsibility for the social consequences of their exploitation and unequal distribution of wealth and resources?

The Church is called to be the pillar and bulwark of the truth. The Church hasn’t created poverty, and shouldn’t be solely responsible for alleviating it. The Church needs to make democratic government accountable for policies which increase the unfair distribution of the earth’s resources.

It is the latter times, and many have departed from the true faith, giving heed to deceitful spirits, the doctrines of demons, and the pretensions of liars with seared consciences. The earth is the Lord’s “wheat field,” and there are plenty of “weeds” among the wheat. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the seed, which the Lord will cause to grow to fulness and maturity, through his indwelling Holy Spirit, if we trust and obey him.

Jesus is going to return to judge the earth, and he will cast the “weeds” into the eternal fire of Hell, and will gather the harvest of the “good seed” into his eternal kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46). In the meantime, we are to be “yeast” by trusting and obeying Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to influence the world for the kingdom of God through 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)?

6 Easter - Monday

first posted 05/01/05

Deuteronomy 8:1-10, Sin of Pride and Self-sufficiency
Deuteronomy 18:9-14, Conforming to Secular Society
James 1:1-15, Strength through Trials
Luke 9:18-27, Confession and Discipleship

As Israel was about to enter into the Promised Land, Moses warned them to remember the lessons they had learned, in the wilderness, of daily dependence upon God. God’s people are to obey God’s Word, so that they may “live long and prosper” and may take possession of the land God has promised to give them. Israel is exhorted to remember how the Lord has led them during their exile in the wilderness, teaching them humility and testing their commitment to obedience of God’s Word. God had allowed them to be humbled and to experience want, so that he could demonstrate to them that they cannot be self-sufficient but must depend upon God’s providence, by obedience to God’s Word.

The Israelites’ clothing did not wear out, nor did they suffer physical disability during their forty years of nomadic life. Realize completely that God disciplines us as a father disciplines a son. We must keep God’s commandments by obeying his Word, acknowledging his power and authority, realizing that God is bringing us into paradise overflowing with unimaginable bounty and blessing. We will certainly praise the Lord for his goodness and mercy to us.

The Israelites were warned that they were not to adopt the abominable pagan practices of the native people of the land. God’s people were specifically forbidden to sacrifice to idols or to consult or participate in magic or sorcery, witchcraft, or any form of pagan divination or occult practices. The practice of these things which are abhorrent to the Lord is the reason he is driving the native people from their land and giving it to Israel.

The author is unknown, but probably not James, the brother of Jesus. He is writing to Christians scattered throughout the world, the “New Israel,” the “New People of God.” Trials and tribulations can be appreciated as blessings testing and strengthening our faith, in which we can rejoice, as we grow to spiritual maturity. We can ask God for true wisdom, which only comes from God (compare 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:6-7), and he will supply it generously and without reproach. “But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-8).

The humble will be exalted and the rich will be humbled. The life of man is, like grass, quickly fading and unable to withstand heat. The rich (and proud) will pass away like the fading beauty of grass. “Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12). It isn’t God who tempts; God is not tempted to evil nor does he tempt anyone to evil. We are tempted by our own selfish, carnal natures. We are enticed by our own desires, which lead us to sin, and sin results in eternal death.

One time when Jesus was alone with his disciples for prayer, Jesus asked them who people thought Jesus to be. The disciples answered that some thought he was John the Baptist, and others thought he was Elijah, or one of the prophets, who had returned to life. Then Jesus asked who his disciples thought Jesus to be, and Peter answered, “The Christ (Messiah) of God. Jesus told them not to tell this to anyone, and Jesus told them that the Son of man (Jesus) would suffer and be rejected by the elders and religious leaders of Israel, would be killed, but would be raised to life again on the third day.

Then Jesus told his disciples that anyone who wanted to follow Jesus must be willing to deny himself, and willingly suffer daily, following Jesus’ teaching and example. Those who are willing to sacrifice and loose their physical earthly lives will gain eternal life, but those who value their present physical earthly lives more than Jesus, will loose both their earthly physical lives and eternity in God’s kingdom. What good is it if one gains every worldly and material thing in this world, if he looses eternity. On the Day of Judgment, when Jesus returns, Jesus will be ashamed of everyone who is ashamed of Jesus, now, in this world. Jesus declared that some will not die before they see the kingdom of God.

God had led Israel daily during their forty years in the wilderness, in order to teach them to depend on God to provide for their daily needs. God allowed Israel to experience trials and want, so that they would realize that they were not self-sufficient, and had to rely on the Lord’s guidance and providence by obedience to God’s Word. As they were about to enter the Promised Land the Lord warned them through Moses not to forget the lessons they had learned in the wilderness. Unfortunately Israel kept forgetting.

As results of forgetting the lessons of trust and obedience to the Lord, the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was conquered by Shalmanezer, King of the Assyrians, in 721 B.C. with the fall of the capital of Israel at Samaria; and the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom were deported and ceased to exist. The Southern Kingdom, Judah, fell to the (Chaldean) forces of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 587 B.C. The Lord had promised to restore a remnant of Israel to the Promised Land after seventy years of exile, and that prophecy was fulfilled in 517 BC with the restoration of the Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem.

Israel had again forgotten the lesson of dependence and obedience to God’s Word in the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and they crucified Jesus, God’s promised Savior and King. The result was that Jerusalem and the third temple, Herod’s Temple, were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans, and the remnant of Israel was scattered throughout the world. Israel as a nation and as the religion (of the people of God) ceased to exist (because Judaism is dependant upon the temple sacrificial system, and the will of God*). Only since World War II have the Jews returned and re-established Israel as a State; the Temple has never been rebuilt.

As Israel was about to enter the Promised Land they were warned not to adopt the abominable pagan practices of the people of the land. The “Promised Land” of America today is flooded with pagan and occult practices. I doubt that there is any newspaper in America which doesn’t publish a daily astrology; a form of pagan divination specifically forbidden by God’s Word. Do you get your daily guidance from God’s Word or from astrology and “Annie’s Mailbox?”

America is the “New Israel,” the “New Promised Land,” founded as a Christian nation. The Pilgrims, founding fathers, and pioneers who settled the wilderness realized their dependence on God’s providence and protection. Have we forgotten the lessons our ancestors learned in the wilderness? As America has grown and prospered in this “land of milk and honey” we have come to think of ourselves as entirely self-sufficient.

Have we adopted the pagan practices of the secular society in which we live? Have we exchanged the wisdom of God for the folly of men (1 Corinthians 1:20)? Have we become “double-minded,” with one set of values during the work week and in civil affairs, and a separate set of values on Sundays? Have we become so used to comfort and luxury that we are unwilling to suffer the slightest inconvenience for the name of our Lord? Is the reason we seem to be running out of natural resources these days because we have not acknowledged our dependence on God’s providence, and have not obeyed God’s Word?

Who do we say Jesus is? Who do we claim to be?

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus, who deny themselves, and take up their crosses of suffering for the sake of his name and his kingdom, daily, and follow his example and teaching in our daily lives. Are we so in love with our lives in this world that we’re willing to loose eternal life in God’s kingdom in Heaven?

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)?

*Judaism effectively ended at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As Christ died on the Cross, the veil of the Temple, separating the people from the presence of God in the Holy-of-Holies was torn in two (Matthew 27:51a; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Christians now have direct personal access to God the Father through trust and obedience to Jesus Christ by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross is now the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin (Acts 4:12, John 14:6)

6 Easter - Tuesday

first posted 01/07/05

Deuteronomy 8:11-20, Obey God’s Word
Deuteronomy 18:15-22, The Prophet of the Lord
James 1:16-27, Doers of the Word
Luke 11:1-13 The Disciples’ Prayer

As Israel was about to enter and take possession of the Promised Land, the Lord warned them not to forget the Lord and fall away from obedience to God’s Word. Israel is warned that when they had become successful and wealthy in the Promised Land, not to become proud and to imagine that their wealth and success is their own, human accomplishment. They must not forget all that the Lord had done to free them from bondage in Egypt, and how the Lord led them through the wilderness, protecting them from serpents and scorpions and providing water from the rock and feeding them with manna.

The Lord allowed them to be tested in the wilderness for their benefit, so that they would grow in obedient trust in the Lord). It is God who gives his people the power to get wealth, and who blesses them in fulfillment of his promise to their fathers. If God’s people forget the Lord and turn to other gods and serve them, the people will perish. If Israel disobeys God’s Word The Lord will destroy his disobedient people as he is destroying the native people of the land in order to give it to Israel.

The Lord promised to raise up from among Israel a prophet like Moses, and him they must be careful to obey. The Lord’s prophet is to be a mediator between God and his people, as they asked for at Mt Horeb when they were terrified by God’s voice and God’s glory. The Lord’s prophet will speak God’s Word by God’s authority, and God will hold accountable anyone who does not obey the words of God spoken by his prophet.

But any person who presumes to speak, in God’s name, words God has not commanded and given him to speak, or who speaks in the name of another god will die. God’s people will distinguish the prophet of God from false prophets by the fulfillment of prophecy. Those who speak a prophecy which is not fulfilled are not prophets of God, but are false prophets, and God’s people are not to fear or heed them.

We are not to be deceived; every blessing and good gift is from God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, who is completely faithful and unchanging. God’s people are to be like an offering of first fruits, the Lord’s portion of the harvest of his creation. Let us be sure to learn and remember that each of us should be quick to hear God’s commands and to be slow to speak and slow to anger, because mankind’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. So we are to put away all uncleanness and wickedness, and humbly accept into our innermost being God’s Word, which is able to save our souls.

“But be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Those who hear God’s Word but do not apply and live by it in their daily lives, are like a person who sees himself in a mirror, and then turns away and immediately forgets what he looked like. Those who hear God’s perfect, liberating law (the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the law of the Spirit; Romans 8:2) and apply it with perseverance, not hearing and then immediately forgetting, but acting on what they have heard and living by it, will be blessed as they act according to God’s word in obedient trust. “Religion” is useless if one doesn’t apply it in his words, his thoughts and his deeds.

One day when Jesus had gone apart with his disciples to pray, one of his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray as John the Baptist had done with John’s disciples. So Jesus gave them what we know as the “Lord’s Prayer” as a model. Simple and sincere petitions are all that are necessary, because God already knows what is in our hearts and what we need.

The disciple acknowledges God as our Father in the sense that he has created us and as our spiritual Father through our rebirth by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. We acknowledge that his name is holy and worthy of reverence, and our commitment to reverence it in all that we think, say and do. His kingdom will come, but we pray that it will come to us, and that we may cooperate with and work for its coming. God’s will will be done, whether we pray for it and ask to know and accomplish it or not; we ask that we will know, obey and work for the accomplishment of his will in all that we think, say and do.

We acknowledge that the Lord alone is the one who provides for all our needs, and ask him to provide for us this day, one day at a time. We ask him to forgive our sins, recognizing our obligation and commitment to forgive others as the Lord has forgiven us. We ask for his leading, so that we may resist and avoid temptation, and to give us ultimate victory over sin and temptation.

Jesus used a parable to teach them about prayer. A man might have unexpected company arriving late at night, and he might ask a friend to lend him bread for his guests. The friend might not be willing to get up, because of the inconvenience, and lend the food for the sake of his friendship, but if the man persists, his friend will ultimately do what the man asks just to be rid of the nuisance.

Jesus promises that if we ask we will receive, if we seek we will find, if we knock, it will be opened to us. Most human fathers, though sinful, would not give their children something evil when the children ask for what is good and necessary. “If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13).

The Lord used the forty year wilderness experience of Israel to train them to trust and obey his Word. As they were about to enter the Promised Land, which was a lush paradise in comparison to the wilderness, God warned them not to forget the lessons of the wilderness of dependence upon the Lord in obedient trust.

God’s Word is absolutely trustworthy and true. God promised to raise up a prophet like Moses from the people of Israel, and Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that promise. Jesus Christ is the “New Moses” who speaks God’s Word by God’s authority, and who leads us out of bondage to sin in the “Egypt” of this world, through the wilderness of this life by his indwelling Holy Spirit, the “pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21-22), leading us through the darkness of this sinful world and into the light of God’s eternal kingdom in Heaven.

Jesus is the “Rock” who supplies the water of eternal life in the wilderness, by his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 4:14; 7:37-39; 1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus is the mediator between sinful humans and our righteous God, making it possible for us to be in God’s presence and hear God’s Word without fear of destruction. The distinguishing characteristic of God’s Word is that it is always fulfilled. Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14)

Every good thing in this world comes from God. God’s ultimate free gift is forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in Heaven through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. 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). Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1;31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17).

It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have personal fellowship with Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who guides and empowers us to know and do God’s will. This life is our only opportunity to come to personal knowledge and fellowship with the Lord and to learn to hear and obey him. God’s Word promises that we will be blessed as we trust and obey him.

God’s Word is always fulfilled, and God’s will will be done, but he has given us the freedom in this lifetime to choose whether we, individually, will trust and obey him or not. The Lord knows how to give good gifts and he wants to bless us. The best gift he can give us is the joy of his love and his presence now and eternally. The Lord promises that if we seek, we will find; if we ask, we will receive; if we knock, it will be opened to us.

Have we truly sought the Lord, his will and his presence? Have we asked for his forgiveness with sincere repentance and his providence with genuine thanksgiving? Have we asked for his will and his guidance with real commitment to trust and obey? Have we asked him to open his word to us, and to open our hearts and minds to receive it?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the gift of 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)?

6 Easter - Wednesday

first posted 05/03/05

Deuteronomy 19:1-7, Cities of Refuge
James 5:13-18, Effectiveness of Prayer
Luke 12:22-31 Warning against Anxiety

The Lord was going to cut off from God’s favor the native people of the “Promised Land” so that Israel would be able to take possession of the land, and they would receive houses and cities already established by the native people.

The Lord commanded Israel to set apart three cities of refuge (in Canaan) by dividing the land into three equal parts with a city of refuge in each part, and they were to prepare roads to them (Deuteronomy 19:3). The cities were to be safe refuge for those who accidentally kill someone, where there is no indication of past enmity with the victim. For example, if a man and his neighbor go into a forest to cut wood, and the axe slips, killing the neighbor, the man may flee to the nearest city of refuge and be saved from blood revenge of the neighbor’s family. The man does not deserve to die for accidentally killing his neighbor.

If a Christian is suffering, he should pray, and if he is rejoicing, let him sing praise. If a Christian is ill, he should call the elders of the Church to come and pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. “The prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:15; also see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right).

Believers should confess their sins to one another and pray for one another so that we are healed. “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (James 5:16b). Elijah is an example of the effectiveness of righteous prayer. Elijah prayed for drought and there was drought for three and a half years (1 Kings 17:1). Then he prayed for rain and the drought ended (1 Kings 18:1).

Jesus told his disciples not to worry about the necessities of daily life, because life is about more than getting food and clothing. God provides food for the birds daily, without their need to plant, harvest, and store food, and God values us much more than birds. A person cannot add the smallest amount of time to his lifespan by worrying, so if worrying doesn’t accomplish the slightest benefit, why worry about bigger things.

God has provided for flowers and grass which are here today and gone tomorrow, and God will much more certainly provide for us. So we should not worry about food or drink or the necessities of life as the people of this world do, because God knows we need them. Instead we should seek God’s kingdom and God will provide for our earthly needs as well.

The Lord taught Israel that the way to survive in the “wilderness” of this present world is to trust and obey the Lord and to be led by him. The Lord intends for the history of his dealing with Israel to be an example to us. Jesus is our “Moses” and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is our “pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21-22) to guide us through the darkness of this sinful world into the light of the “Promised Land” of his eternal kingdom. God was going to give Israel the land with houses and cities already built, but the gift was conditional upon their trust and obedience of God’s commands.

“The Lord is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The Lord provides mercy and forgiveness if we repent of our sins. Prayer and praise are the paths into the Lord’s presence where we can be comforted and healed. In one sense, the Church is the "New People of God" who are heirs of the spiritual facilities built by the "native people" of Israel (Romans 11:17-24). The Church is to be a "city of refuge," where the leaders are mature, “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples of Jesus Christ who visit the sick, hear confessions, pray for and assure the penitent of God’s forgiveness, and disciple new believers to spiritual life and health.

Jesus promises his disciples that, if we will first seek the Lord and his kingdom, he will provide for our physical and material needs. There is no real security in any one or any thing, except the Lord. The people of the world try to protect themselves from every worry, and every trouble, but those “protections” are just illusions which can be wiped out in an instant. If we choose to provide our own security instead of trusting and obeying the Lord we are taking on an impossible task.

If we put off seeking the Lord and his kingdom until we’ve paid for the house and car, the kids’ education, our retirement, and on and on, we will never get around to it. Instead, if we seek the Lord and his kingdom first, we will be secure in the Lord, no matter what happens to us in this world, and the Lord is abundantly able to provide for us.

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)?

6 Easter - Thursday

first posted 05/04/05

Ascension Day
Ezekiel 1:1-14, 24-28b, The Glory of the Lord
Hebrews 2:5-18, The Suffering of Jesus
Matthew 28:16-20 The Great Commission

Ezekiel was a priest and prophet among the exiles of Judah in Babylon in 563 B.C. in the thirtieth year of his calling as a prophet of the Lord, the fifth year of exile of Jehoiachin, King of Judah. The date of his vision would be July 31, 593 B.C.* Ezekiel saw a vision and received a Word of the Lord, and the hand of the Lord was upon him in the land of the Chaldeans (Babylon).

The vision was of a stormy wind (compare 1 Kings 19:11) from the north, and a great, bright cloud (Exodus 19:16; Exodus 13:21), with fire (1 Kings 19:11-12) flashing from it and glowing in its midst like gleaming bronze. From the midst of the Cloud came four living creatures (Revelation 4:7; cherubim, guarding God’s throne; Exodus 25:10-22; 1 Kings 6:23-28). Their faces are symbolic of attributes of power, intelligence, and mobility. The creatures darted quickly, like lightning, with their wings, and when they stood still they lowered their wings. When the creatures moved, their wings made a loud sound like a waterfall, or the sound of great battle, or like thunder.

A voice came from heaven, and looking into heaven, Ezekiel saw a great throne, and the likeness of a man seated on the throne. The throne and the man and the area around the throne were bright and radiant like fire or gleaming brass, and there was a brightness around the throne like a rainbow in the sky. This is Ezekiel’s description of the vision of the Lord’s glory.

Jesus is greater than the angels, and he will reign over the new world which is coming. Jesus came in human form in humbleness and obedience to God, and God has crowned him with glory and honor and given him authority over everything. Nothing has been withheld from Jesus’ control. Everything isn’t yet submissive to Jesus’ authority. Jesus has been given glory and honor because he was humble and obedient and suffered death in our behalf.

Jesus is the pioneer who shows us that the way to salvation and spiritual maturity is through humility, obedience, and sacrifice. Jesus is our sanctifier through whom we are sanctified (purified; made spiritually complete; mature). Jesus and his followers have the same Father, and he is therefore our brother. Jesus has revealed the nature and character of God to us, and is an example for us of glorifying God through trust and obedience. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself (Jesus) likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus has come, not for the benefit of angels, but for God’s people, the (spiritual) descendants of Abraham. Jesus had to become fully human like us, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest, providing the forgiveness for our sin through his sacrifice. Since he himself has suffered and been tempted he is able to understand and help us when we suffer or are tempted.

The eleven (of Jesus original) disciples went to the mountain in Galilee, as Jesus had directed them (Matthew 28:10). “And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17) “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe (obey) all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Ezekiel was a priest and prophet among God’s people in exile in Babylon. His role was at first to warn of impending judgment, and then to proclaim hope and restoration of God’s people to the Promised Land. Ezekiel was called by God and given God’s Word and a vision of God’s glory in heaven. Ezekiel attempted to describe things which are beyond human experience. His description of heaven corresponds to Israel’s experience of God’s manifestation at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16-25) and also to the construction of the Ark of the Covenant according to God’s instructions (Exodus 25:10-22), which God intended to be an earthly representation of God’s throne in Heaven (Hebrew 8:5; see also Hebrews chapter 9). This is Ezekiel’s vision of the Lord on his throne in his heavenly kingdom.

Jesus came in human flesh to reveal God’s nature and character to us, to be the sacrifice once for all people for all time for forgiveness and salvation (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar top right) from eternal death, and to show by example how to be God’s children, through obedient trust and self-sacrifice. Jesus trusted and obeyed God’s will to the ultimate self-sacrifice of death on the cross, and God has rewarded Jesus with glory and honor. As we follow Jesus’ example and his teaching we will be his brothers and sisters and will share in his eternal glory and honor in heaven with him.

Jesus is our sanctifier, who purifies us and brings us to spiritual completeness and maturity through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, which he gives to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are guided, comforted and empowered to resist temptation. 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). By the indwelling Holy Spirit we know that Jesus is eternally alive and that we are eternally alive through him. Through obedient trust in Jesus we are freed from sin and eternal death.

Jesus is our “Ezekiel,” the priest and prophet of God in our exile in the “Babylon” of this world. He warns us of impending judgment, and provides hope and the promise of restoration to the Promised Land of eternal life in his heavenly kingdom. We are also called to follow Jesus’ example and be “Ezekiel” to the world, when we have received God’s Word, and God’s hand is upon us by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ disciples trusted and obeyed Jesus’ instructions to go to the mountain in Galilee, and there they saw Jesus as Jesus had promised. Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is Lord of lords and King of the Universe, but not everything has submitted to his authority yet.

Jesus will return in great glory and power on the Day of Judgment, and in that day everything will be subject to his authority. He told his disciples to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Trinity), teaching them to trust and obey Jesus. Jesus promised that as his disciples trust and obey him they will “see” Jesus and Jesus will be with them personally and individually through his indwelling Holy Spirit until the end of this present age and the coming of his eternal kingdom.

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 28:19-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Ezekiel 1:1-3n, p.1000, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.

6 Easter - Friday

first posted 05/05/05

Ezekiel 1:28-3:3, Ezekiel’s Call to Prophesy
Hebrews 4:14-5:6 Jesus our High Priest
Luke 9:28-36 The Transfiguration

Ezekiel had a vision of the glory of the Lord on his throne, and prostrated himself before the Lord. The Lord addressed him as “son of man” and told him to stand up. As the Lord spoke, the (Holy) Spirit entered Ezekiel and Ezekiel heard the Lord speaking to him. The Lord sent Ezekiel to the people of Israel, who had rebelled and transgressed against the Lord. The Lord described them as impudent and stubborn. Ezekiel was to prophesy in the name of the Lord. Whether they were willing to listen or not, the Lord declared that they would come to know that there had been a prophet among them.

The Lord told Ezekiel not to be afraid of the people, or of their words or angry looks, even though Ezekiel might suffer and be extremely uncomfortable. Ezekiel was called to prophesy, whether the people were willing to hear or not. Ezekiel was warned not to be rebellious like Israel, and the Lord told Ezekiel to open his mouth to eat what the Lord was giving him.

Ezekiel looked and saw a hand stretched toward him holding a (papyrus) scroll, written on both sides, containing words of lamentation and mourning. The Lord commanded Ezekiel to eat the scroll, and then go and speak God’s word to Israel. Ezekiel did as the Lord commanded, and the scroll was as sweet as honey in taste.

Jesus is our great high priest who has “passed through the heavens” (has entered into the “holy-of-holies” in heaven, into God’s presence) so we are exhorted to hold firmly to our faith. Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are, but without committing sin, so he is able to sympathize with our weakness. We can approach him in time of need, confident that he will be merciful and will freely give us help when we need it.

Human high priests are chosen and appointed (by God) to offer gifts and sacrifices on behalf of men in relation to God. A high priest can deal gently with human weakness because he also shares in human weakness, and he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of his people. The office of high priest is not to be held by human choice, but by God’s call. Even Christ did not presume to appoint himself, but was called by God who declared Jesus to be his Son and eternal priest according to the priesthood of Melchizedek (an eternal priesthood).

About eight days after Peter confessed his belief that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) of God, Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he took his three closest disciples: Peter, James and John. As Jesus was praying, his face and his clothes appeared to glow brightly (compare Exodus 34:29-30), and two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared with him, talking about Jesus’ departure (by his death) which was to take place in Jerusalem.

Peter, James and John were sleepy but not asleep, and they witnessed Jesus’ glory and the presence of Moses and Elijah. As the men were departing, Peter suggested that the disciples should make three booths (shrines), one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, not realizing what he was saying. As he was speaking a cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud declared, “This is my Son, my Chosen (or Beloved); listen to him” (Luke 9:35). When the voice finished speaking, Jesus was alone with the three disciples, and the disciples told no one at that time what they had witnessed.

Ezekiel was called by the Lord to proclaim God’s Word to his people, whether they wanted to hear it or not. First he came to a personal experience of the Lord’s presence through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, through whom he heard God speaking to him. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit he was called to a specific ministry by the Lord, and he was given the resources to accomplish his commission. The Lord counseled him not to be afraid or discouraged and reassured him. The Lord filled Ezekiel with the knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Christ, who opens our minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45). It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we experience a personal relationship and fellowship with the Lord (John 14:23). It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we hear God’s voice and understand and are guided in God’s will for us personally and individually. Jesus came to make it possible for us (his disciples) to be filled with the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-8).

Jesus didn’t decide on his own to become the Messiah. Jesus was called and appointed by God in fulfillment of God’s promise of the Messiah, our Savior. Jesus was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28) Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12).

God’s purpose for Creation has always been to create an eternal kingdom of people who trust and obey him. God’s plan of salvation (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right) in Jesus Christ has existed from the beginning of Creation and has been “built” into it (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is our high priest, who sacrificed himself once for all people for all time for the forgiveness of sin for those who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus is our mediator who intercedes for us to God, and restores us to fellowship with God through his indwelling Holy Spirit.

Moses was a forerunner and prototype of Christ, but he wasn’t God’s Son and Messiah (anointed eternal king; “chosen;” “designated”). Elijah was the great prophet of Israel who ascended into Heaven without experiencing physical death, but he wasn’t God’s Son and Messiah either. Ezekiel was filled with the Holy Spirit, but that didn’t make him God’s Son and Messiah. Believers are “born-again” by the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 5-8) and become God’s children by spiritual “adoption” as we trust and obey Jesus as our Lord and eternal King (John 1:12-13).

Jesus is God’s first-born and only begotten Son (John 1:14) and God’s anointed Savior and King of Creation. The entire Bible is God’s Word of testimony to Jesus Christ, God’s Son and Messiah. Jesus is the only way to be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God and to eternal life (John 14:6).

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)?

6 Easter - Saturday

first posted 05/06/05

Ezekiel 3:4-17, The Watchman
Hebrews 5:7-14, Christian Maturity
Luke 9:37-50 True Greatness

The Lord told Ezekiel to go to Israel and proclaim God’s Word to them even though Israel would not be willing to listen, because they were not willing to listen to God. People of a foreign language would be more willing to hear and understand God’s Word than Israel. Israel is a people with thick foreheads and stubborn hearts, but the Lord had given Ezekiel the ability to overcome their stubbornness and rebellion.

Ezekiel was to hear God’s Word and receive it into his heart, and then proclaim it to the exiles of Israel, whether they listen or refuse to hear. The Holy Spirit transported Ezekiel to Telabib, a Jewish settlement in Babylon near Nippur (in present day Iraq). Ezekiel dwelt among the exiles for seven days, overwhelmed. At the end of the week, The Lord commanded Ezekiel to be a watchman over the remnant of Israel, faithfully warning Israel whenever he received a Word from God.

During Jesus’ earthly life he prayed to God, who was able to save him from death, and his prayer was heard because of his godly fear (trust and respect of God’s power and authority). Although he was the Son of God, he learned obedience through suffering, and when he was complete and mature in obedience “he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).

God has designated Jesus to be our eternal high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. There is much to know and understand beyond the elementary doctrines of the Gospel and Christians should be growing to spiritual maturity through discipleship, and then becoming teachers of discipleship to others, but many haven’t mastered the first principles of God’s Word. Lack of basic knowledge and understanding of God’s Word prevents them from growing to spiritual maturity through training by practice to know how to live according to God’s Word, which is the objective of discipleship.

When Jesus returned from the mountain of his Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36) with Peter, James, and John, to the rest of his disciples, a great crowd met him. A man in the crowd asked Jesus to heal his only son who was an epileptic. The man had asked Jesus’ disciples to heal the child but they had been unable. Jesus said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you” (Luke 9:41)? Then Jesus told the man to bring his son to Jesus, and while he was coming the boy had a seizure, but Jesus rebuked the epilepsy and healed the boy. The crowd was astonished by the power and greatness of God, but while they were praising Jesus, Jesus told his disciples “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men” (Luke 9:44) But they didn’t understand what Jesus meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

The disciples began to argue among themselves about who was the greatest. Jesus knew what they were thinking and brought a child to his side and said to his disciples that whoever receives a child in Jesus’ name receives Jesus, and whoever receives Jesus receives God. Jesus told his disciples that the one of his disciples who is least among them is the greatest. John told Jesus that they had rebuked a man who had been casting out demons in Jesus’ name, because he was not a disciple of Jesus, but Jesus told him not to forbid such people, because whoever is not opposing them is working with them.

The Lord called Ezekiel to proclaim God’s Word to God’s people, and to be a “watchman” to give them warning of God’s judgment, whether God’s people were willing to listen and obey or not. Ezekiel was to first thear and know and live according to God’s Word (receiving it into his heart), and then to proclaim it to God’s people in exile in Babylon. This is what all Christians are called to do: to be discipled in God’s Word, learning to apply it in their own lives, and then to be watchmen warning the world in exile in the “Babylon” of this life.

Jesus is our example of how to be children of God. Even though he was the Son of God he had to learn to trust and obey God’s Word through suffering and self-denial. Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane is the example of his struggle to trust and obey God’s will. Because Jesus accepted the discipline of obedience and self-denial, he accomplished God’s purpose and became the source of eternal salvation to all who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus’ prayer was answered. God did deliver Jesus from death after Jesus had gone through death on the Cross, by raising him from death to eternal life. Christians are to follow Jesus’ example and learn to trust and obey God’s Word by going through suffering and self-sacrifice, not by praying and expecting to avoid it.

Jesus had left most of his disciples to carry on his ministry while Jesus went to the mountain to prepare spiritually for his death. When he returned, he found that they had been unable to bring spiritual (because the condition was understood to be demonic; Luke 9:39, 42) healing to an “epileptic” child. Jesus was exasperated by his disciples’ spiritual immaturity. Jesus was soon to be crucified, as he had repeatedly told them, but they didn’t understand what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

Jesus’ Twelve disciples were to be the leaders of his Church on earth, to carry on Jesus’ mission. They were to be the source of eternal salvation in Jesus’ name, by discipling others as they had been discipled by Jesus. They were to lead others to spiritual maturity; to know and understand God’s Word and to learn by practice to live according to it. Instead, when Jesus returned from the mountain, he found his disciples arguing among themselves over who was the greatest, and trying to restrict ministry in Jesus’ name by those outside of their “select” group, instead of carrying on Jesus’ ministry of spiritual healing.

Jesus has gone to the “mountain” of God and has left his disciples to carry on his ministry of eternal salvation by making disciples of Jesus Christ who are to learn to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20). He hasn’t left us alone (John 14:18); he gives the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit to enable and empower us to know and do what he asks (John 14:15-17). Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem (the city of God on earth; the Church) until they had received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). They were not sent into ministry until they had been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It takes “born-again” disciples to make “born-again” disciples.

Jesus has promised to return for his disciples (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11). When he returns will he find his disciples carrying on his ministry of disciple-making? Are we willing to hear God’s Word? Are we seeking to understand God’s Word, or are we afraid to ask?

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)?