7 Easter Odd

7 Easter - Sunday

first posted 05/07/05

Ezekiel 3:16-27, The Prophet’s Responsibility
Ephesians 2:1-10, New Life in Christ
Matthew 10:24-33, 40-42 Discipleship

Ezekiel was transported by the Spirit to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. He was overwhelmed (speechless) among them for seven days (Ezekiel 3:14-15; see entry for yesterday, Saturday, 6 Easter, odd year). Then the Word of the Lord came to him. The Lord addressed Ezekiel as the Son of man and told him that he was to be a watchman over the house of Israel, and was to give warning to Israel whenever he heard a Word from the Lord. If the Lord declares that the wicked will surely die, and the prophet fails to warn the wicked, so that the wicked can change their ways and their lives be spared, the wicked will die in sin, but the Lord will hold his prophet responsible for their death. But if the prophet warns the wicked and the wicked do not heed the prophet and change their ways they will die in their sin, but the prophet will be saved. If the righteous turn from righteousness and commit sin and the prophet fails to warn them of impending judgment, they will die in sin, and their past righteousness will be of no avail, but the prophet will be accountable to the Lord for their death. But if the prophet warns the righteous not to sin and they do not sin, they will live because they have heeded the warning and the prophet will have saved his own life.

Christians have been restored to life when we were spiritually dead because of sin in which we all participated, according to worldly ways, serving Satan, the spirit of evil wwho rules this present world, whose spirit is at work in those who refuse to obey God. We all once lived to please the desires of our flesh and our carnal minds, and were by our sinful nature destined for (God’s) wrath along with all mankind. But in great mercy and love, even when we were spiritually dead because of our sin, God raised us up with Christ to be with him in his heavenly kingdom, so that throughout eternity he could demonstrate his immeasurable kindness given freely to us in Jesus Christ. “For by grace (unmerited favor; free gift) you have been saved through faith (obedient trust); and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God- not because of works (good deeds; obeying the law), lest any (one) should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in (do) them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

A disciple cannot expect to be greater than his teacher, nor can a servant be above his master. Being like the teacher or like the master is sufficient. If the world has called our master, Jesus Christ, evil and demonic, Christians cannot expect to be treated any better. But don’t fear worldly people. Truth cannot be hidden. What the Lord reveals to us we must boldly proclaim. The worst that worldly people can do is to put us to physical death.

We must not allow fear of physical death to prevent us from doing God’s will. Instead let us have godly fear (awe and respect for his power) of the Lord, who has the power of eternal life and eternal death over us. God’s knowledge, power, and authority are vast beyond our comprehension. The most insignificant bird does not die except by God’s will. God knows every detail about each of us, down to the number of hairs on our heads. We are more precious to God than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges Jesus to mankind, Jesus will acknowledge to God, but those who deny Jesus to mankind will be denied by Jesus to God.

God called Ezekiel and revealed himself to Ezekiel so that Ezekiel could fulfill God’s purpose by being a watchman over the house of Israel in exile in Babylon. At first Ezekiel was overwhelmed by his call, but the Lord told Ezekiel that the Lord would provide his Word, and that he would hold Ezekiel accountable to faithfully and accurately proclaim it, whether it was heeded or not.

We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us and doesn’t want us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right) Christians are “reborn” (“born again;” John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33-34), which he gives only to his disciples who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e, John14:15-17). 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). Anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9b) does not belong to Christ. It is possible for one to know with certainty whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

God calls us to be spiritually reborn through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus so that we can do good works God intends for us to do to bring forgiveness and salvation to this lost world. When we have been restored to spiritual life through his indwelling Holy Spirit we are to be watchmen sounding God’s warning to God’s people in exile in the “Babylon” of this world. Through his Holy Spirit God reveals his will for each of us personally and individually, opens our minds to know and understand his Word, and empowers us to fulfill his will and purpose for us.

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus. We are to be discipled by Jesus Christ through his word and his Holy Spirit (John 14:25-26), growing to spiritual maturity. We are to follow Jesus’ example, and continue his ministry of forgiveness and salvation. Jesus has promised to reveal himself to his disciples (John 14:21) through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17). We cannot testify to things we haven’t personally experienced. What the Lord reveals to us we must boldly proclaim.

God doesn’t intend for his will and his Word to be a secret or a mystery. God wants us to know his will and his Word so that we can live by it. Worldly people don’t want to hear God’s Word and know God’s will because God’s Word convicts them of sin, and they want to do their own will which is contrary to God’s will. God’s intended purpose of this life is to provide us the opportunity to seek and come to personal knowledge of and fellowship with the Lord (Acts 17:26-27). We are to come to personal knowledge and fellowship with Jesus through his indwelling Holy Spirit and then testify to the world of that truth. Those who deny Jesus in this world, by word or by deed will be denied by Jesus to God. Denial includes failure to obey Jesus’ teaching and commands (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46).

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)?

7 Easter - Monday

Ezekiel 4:1-17, Prophecy of Coming Siege of Jerusalem
Hebrews 6:1-12, Christian Maturity
Luke 9:51-62 Obligations of Discipleship

The Lord told Ezekiel to dramatize the coming siege of Jerusalem by a series of actions and “visual aids.” Ezekiel was to take a sun-baked brick (softer than fired brick) and draw on the face of it a picture of Jerusalem under siege, with a mound built up against the wall to facilitate the attack, and with battering rams placed against it. Ezekiel was to place an iron plate between himself and Jerusalem and was to face toward it. This picture was to be a graphic sign to the people of what was about to happen.

Ezekiel was to lie on his left side for three hundred and ninety days, representing the period of God’s punishment of the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel. Then Ezekiel was to lie on his right side for forty days, symbolizing the God’s punishment of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Ezekiel was to face Jerusalem and prophesy against the city until he had completed the days of his demonstration.

Ezekiel was also commanded by the Lord to make bread from a combination of grains of wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt (a different type of wheat) to be his only food during the three hundred and ninety days of his demonstration of God’s punishment of Israel, twenty shekels weight a day, once a day, with a measured ration of water. At first the Lord told Ezekiel to bake the bread over a fire of human dung, as a symbol of the rigors of the siege, but Ezekiel asked for consideration, and the Lord allowed him to use dried cow dung instead. God declared that he would break the staff of bread (the physical support of life) and that Israel would experience restricted rations of bread and water, in fear and dismay, so that they would know hunger and thirst, and would see themselves wasting away under their punishment.

Christians are to grow beyond the elementary doctrines of the Gospel which they should already know such as repentance from sin, faith in God, and instruction about baptism, spiritual gifts, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. We are warned that there is no way to restore those who have once been enlightened and have experienced the gift and power of the Holy Spirit and the goodness of God’s Word, if they then renounce their faith in Jesus, since in doing so they personally crucify the Son of God and subject him to contempt. We are to be like a garden, receiving the spiritual blessing and nurture, like rain, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and producing the harvest that God has intended. If instead we produce an evil harvest, like spiritual “thorns” and “weeds,” we are worthless and about to receive God’s curse, which will result in eternal destruction.

Hopefully this is not our situation, so that we will produce the harvest which results from salvation. God will reward those work for his will and his kingdom, and who love and serve his saints (all who are saved by obedient trust in Jesus). We are to continue to earnestly seek the assurance and fulfillment of our hope (in Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit; i.e. spiritual maturity) for the rest of our lives, so that we are not unproductive, but instead follow the example of those who receive the fulfillment of the promises of God’s Word through faith (obedient trust) and patience.

When the time of Jesus’ death drew near Jesus began to travel toward Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for food and lodging, but the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus because he was going to keep the Passover feast in Jerusalem. (The Samaritans believed that the true sanctuary was their temple on Mt. Gerizim, and Jews regarded Samaritans as ethnically and spiritually impure.)

When James and John, two of the Twelve disciples, heard of the Samaritans’ rejection, they were angry and suggested that they command fire from heaven to destroy those Samaritans (as Sodom and Gomorrah had been destroyed; Genesis 19:24), but Jesus rebuked them (some ancient texts add that Jesus told them their response was not accord with Jesus’ purpose and would be misuse of the power of the Holy Spirit, since Jesus had come to save people rather than to destroy them). Instead they went on to another village.

On the way, they encountered a man who wanted to follow Jesus wherever Jesus went, but Jesus told him “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Jesus invited another man to follow him, but that man wanted to bury his father first. Jesus told him to let the dead bury their own dead; the man was to respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Jesus’ example by proclaiming the kingdom of God. Another person was willing to follow Jesus, but wanted to say goodbye to his family first, but Jesus told him “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).

God’s people refused to hear and obey God’s Word or God’s prophet, so God “drew them a picture,” having Ezekiel graphically illustrate what was about to happen, but they still refused to repent and be saved. The only option left was to allow them to starve and waste away under siege, and then be taken into exile. What else can God do with people who refuse to acknowledge and obey him as their Creator and God?

God had demonstrated his goodness and faithfulness by bringing them out of slavery to sin and death in Egypt and leading them through the wilderness and into the land he had promised to give them, but they forgot the lessons they had learned in the wilderness. They hadn’t grown in trust and obedience to God but instead were wasting away.

Christians are the “New People of God.” Are we hearing and obeying God’s Word? Have we learned the lessons of God’s goodness and faithfulness in bringing his people out of slavery to sin and death, and leading them through the “wilderness” of this life and into the “Promised Land” of his eternal kingdom? Have we heeded God’s prophets’ warning about God’s impending judgment; are we willing to repent and return to obedient trust in the Lord? God has “drawn us a picture” of his love and faithfulness for us in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and he has “drawn us a picture” of the eternal consequences of disobedience of his Word in eternal exile and destruction in Hell.

Christians are to grow in discipleship to spiritual maturity, so that they can fulfill God’s will and purpose and produce the spiritual harvest God intended. The Lord intended us to be filled with and guided by his Word and his Spirit, so that we could carry on his mission of forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction. Are we seeking to know and obey God’s Word so that we can receive the fulfillment of the promise of his indwelling Holy Spirit and eternal life? Are we producing the spiritual harvest which God intended, or are we producing spiritual “thorns” and “weeds” by pursuing our own will and desires?

The Samaritans refused to welcome Jesus because they wanted to worship God on their own terms, instead of accepting God’s terms. Are we worshiping God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24), or arguing with other Christians over the “proper” way to worship God? Are we seeking to save and restore the lost or are we using “religion” to manipulate people to accomplish our own goals?

Are we willing to be disciples of Jesus regardless of personal cost? Are we willing to follow Jesus now, or is there something else we think we must do first?

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 were you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

7 Easter - Tuesday

first posted 05/09/05

Ezekiel 7:10-15, 23b-27, The Day of Doom
Hebrews 6:13-20, The Certainty of God’s Promise
Luke 10:1-17 The Mission of the Seventy

The day of doom (of punishment; the Day of Judgment) is coming. Injustice and pride have blossomed. Violence has matured into punishment. None (of the wicked) will remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth. There will no longer be any who are great among them. Neither buyer nor seller will benefit from their transactions.

God’s wrath is upon the nation; because of their sin they will not keep their lives. God’s people have prepared for battle and have blown the trumpet but none goes forth. Those who go out into the field are slain by the sword, and those who stay within the city are slain by disease and famine. “Because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence, I (God) will bring the worst of nations to take possessions of their houses” (Ezekiel 7:23b-24).

God will end their pride and their power, and desecrate their holy places. “When anguish comes they will seek peace, but there shall be none. Disaster follows disaster, rumor follows rumor” (Ezekiel 7:25-26). They will turn to the prophets seeking a vision but there will be none. The priests and elders will be unable to provide scriptural guidance. The civil leaders will be in despair, and the people will be trembling with terror. “According to their way I (God) will do to them, and according to their own judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 7:27b).

God promised to bless and multiply Abraham and his offspring, and by enduring patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Because men rely on a sworn oath to bind a promise, God made an oath to Abraham to fulfill his promise. Both God’s promises and his oath are eternal and unchanging, so we can be mightily encouraged to claim the hope he has given us. “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine (the holy-of-holies; God’s presence) behind the curtain (veil) where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 6:19-20).

Jesus appointed seventy of the wider group of his disciples who followed him and sent them in pairs to every place where Jesus was about to visit. He told them that there was a vast harvest of souls, but few helpers to harvest. So Jesus’ followers should pray to Jesus, the Lord of the Harvest, to send (themselves as) helpers to gather the harvest and then to begin the work of gathering the harvest. Jesus warned his disciples that they were sent as lambs into the midst of wolves. Jesus told them not to try to provide their necessities for themselves, and not to get sidetracked and delayed along the way.

Whenever they entered a house they were to offer (the Lord’s) peace to the house. If the household was willing to receive peace, it would rest on them, but if not, it would return to the disciples. They were to remain in the house which receives them, and accept what they provided, rather than going from house to house. In every town where the disciples were received, they were to heal the sick and to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom.

Wherever a town refuseed to receive them they were to shake the dust of that town from their feet, declaring that the disciples refused to receive even the dust of that town on their feet, but that the kingdom of God had come near to that town. Then the disciples were to go on to the next town. It will be worse, on the Day of Judgment, for the town which has refused to receive Jesus’ disciples, than it was for Sodom on the day of its destruction.

Jesus mourned for Chorazin and Bethsaida, two towns in Galilee which witnessed Jesus’ preaching and miracles, and yet did not accept Jesus. Jesus warned that Tyre and Sidon, notoriously wicked Phoenician cities, would have been more receptive to Jesus’ ministry and would fare better in the Day of Judgment.

Jesus also warned that Capernaum’s human pride and arrogance in refusing to repent and accept Jesus, although Jesus had preached and done many miracles there, would bring them condemnation in the Day of Judgment. Jesus told his disciples that those who heed (hear, trust and obey) Jesus’ disciples heed Jesus and those who reject Jesus’ disciples reject Jesus, and reject God the Father, who sent Jesus. The Seventy returned rejoicing at the spiritual power and resources they had received as they trusted and obeyed Jesus’ command.

The Lord had patiently taught his people to trust and obey him. He had shown them his power and faithfulness, in delivering them from slavery to sin and death in Egypt, and in leading them through the wilderness into the land he had promised to give them. But they forgot all God’s blessings and the lessons of the wilderness. They refused to heed God’s Word and the warnings of God’s prophets that the Day of Judgment was coming and that they would be condemned to exile in “Babylon” for their failure to trust and obey the Lord and his prophets, and for their idolatry (Ezekiel 7:19-20).

Israel had trusted in their power and wealth instead of trusting and obeying the Lord. They had disobeyed God’s Word, and had allowed crime and injustice to fill their land. God’s people had prepared for battle with the enemy in God’s name, but hadn’t gone forth (Ezekiel 7:14). God warned them that their tolerance and practice of injustice, pride, and violence was going to produce a harvest of condemnation. God was going to judge them according to their own judgments.

Those who had refused to acknowledge God as Lord were about to discover that God is Lord, whether they acknowledge him or not. God warned them that his wrath was coming upon them and that when the siege actually began they would then seek spiritual help from their priests, prophets and elders, but would find none because by then it would be too late (Ezekiel 7:26). There would be nothing their civil leaders could do either.

Doesn’t this sound a lot like American and the Church today? In a sense America and the Church are each the “New Israel.”

God’s Word of Israel’s punishment and doom in exile in Babylon was fulfilled. God’s Word and God’s promises are eternal, continuing to be fulfilled as conditions for their fulfillment are met, and they are absolutely true and reliable. Abraham trusted and obeyed the Lord, and by enduring patiently, he received what God had promised. Christians are the spiritual descendants of Abraham as they trust and obey Jesus.

Jesus is our great high priest who intercedes for our forgiveness in God’s presence. Jesus is the “pioneer,” the “trail blazer,” who has opened the veil into the holy-of-holies (Matthew 27:51a), so that we can come into God’s presence through Jesus, by his indwelling Holy Spirit. The Lord promised to give his Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey him (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17), and 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).

God’s Word contains both good and “bad” promises; God’s Word contains both blessings and condemnations. We will either heed God’s Word and receive God’s blessings, or we will disobey God’s Word and be condemned and eternally destroyed. God promises that there is a Day of Judgment coming, when every person who has ever lived on earth will be accountable to the Lord for what he has done in this life. All have sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23).

Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death and destruction (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in the “Promised Land” of God’s eternal kingdom in heaven with the Lord. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to obey him will receive eternal exile, death and destruction in the “Babylon” of Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46). That’s a promise!

Jesus appointed not just the Twelve, the apostles who were to become the leaders of the Church, but all of his followers, as disciples, to pray to the Lord to send themselves as helpers to gather the harvest, and then to trust and obey the Lord’s command to go, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bringing spiritual healing to the people of the world. (I personally testify to this truth; this is exactly how I came to do this internet ministry.) Are Christians praying for the Lord to send them, or are we prepared for the “battle,” and having heard (or blown) the Trumpet call, unwilling to venture into the battlefield (Ezekiel 7:14)?

Jesus has promised that those who receive his disciples receive Jesus, and those who receive Jesus receive God the Father (through his indwelling Holy Spirit). Jesus promises that if we will be his disciples who trust and obey him and go forth in his name according to his will and guidance, we will come home rejoicing at what the Lord has allowed us to accomplish through his Holy Spirit. First we must be prepared by discipleship and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Then we must pray, listen for and obey his call and his instructions.

7 Easter - Wednesday

first posted 05/10/05

Ezekiel 11:14-25, Promise of Return of the Exiles
Hebrews 7:1-17, Priesthood of Melchizedek
Luke 10:17-24 The Return of the Seventy

The Lord told Ezekiel that those of Israel who remained in Jerusalem when the rest of Judah went into exile thought the exiles were far from God’s protection, and that the exiles’ property had been given to the remnant in Jerusalem. The Lord said that although the exiles had been taken far from their land the Lord had not completely abandoned them, and God promised to bring them back to their Promised Land.

When the exiles returned to their land they were to remove all the idols which polluted the land. The Lord will give the returning exiles a new, tender heart, in place of their hard, stony hearts, and will put a new spirit within them. Then they will obey God’s ordinances “and they shall be my people and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 11:20).As for the remnant who did not go into exile, whose hearts go after sinful things and idols, the Lord will repay them according to their deeds.

Ezekiel had a vision of God’s glory, and in the vision God’s glory rose up from Jerusalem and stood upon the Mount of Olives., and in a vision the Holy Spirit lifted Ezekiel up and brought him to the exiles in Babylon, and the vision departed and Ezekiel told the exiles all that the Lord had shown him.

Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God. When Abraham (then called Abram) returned from defeating Chedorlaomer, and rescuing his kinsman (nephew; the son of Abraham’s brother), Lot, who had been held captive (Genesis 14:12), Melchizedek came out to meet Abraham (Genesis 14:17-20; bringing bread and wine; Genesis 14:18) and blessed Abraham. Abraham gave a tithe of his plunder of Chedorlaomer to Melchizedek. The name “Melchizedek” means king of righteousness, and his title, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Melchizedek has no genealogy and no date of birth or death, so he symbolizes and prefigures the Son of God, who is the eternal priest of God.

Melchizedek is greater than Abraham and the Levitical priesthood (which had not yet been established, since Levi, a descendant of Abraham, had not yet been born), since Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham and blessed him. The Levitical priests are mortal men who receive tithes from their brethren, but Melchizedek symbolizes an eternal priesthood. If the Levitical priesthood, arising from Aaron, under whom Israel received the Old Covenant of Law, had been perfect there would not have been the need for another priesthood arising from the order of Melchizedek. Since the Levitical priesthood was established by covenant of law given by God, the change in priesthood would require a change in the law.

Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the eternal priesthood of Melchizedek, was a descendant of the tribe of Judah, which had no connection with the priesthood, according to the Covenant of Law given by God to Moses. The priesthood of Jesus is not based on the requirement of law, by genealogical descent, but by the power of his eternal life and God’s Word, which declares Jesus priest forever according to the priesthood of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:17; compare Psalm 110:4).

Jesus had sent out seventy of the larger group of his disciples to proclaim the coming kingdom of God (in Jesus Christ) and to heal the sick (Luke 10:1-17; entry for yesterday, Tuesday, 7 Easter, odd year). They returned rejoicing that even demons were under the disciples’ power in Jesus’ name. Jesus declared that he had witnessed Satan’s defeat in heaven, and Jesus had given his disciples power over the enemy (Satan, the enemy of God and of our eternal souls). Jesus told them that the real reason to rejoice was that they were acknowledged in heaven (as God’s children), as their power over evil demonstrated.

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (in the joy of spiritual ecstasy of the Holy Spirit within him) and gave thanks to God for God’s great purpose and design of creation, that, by God’s will and intention, spiritual things are hidden from those who those who pursue and possess worldly wisdom and knowledge, but are revealed and understood by those who are humble, trusting and obedient. Jesus has been given all things by God the Father. No one can know who Jesus is except by God, and no one can come to know God except through Jesus Christ, as Jesus chooses to reveal him.

Jesus told his disciples that they are blessed to witness the fulfillment of God’s purpose and to recognize and believe the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom of God. Many kings and prophets longed to see and hear these things and weren’t able.

The Lord sent his people into exile so that they would learn to trust and obey him. The Lord promised to bring them back to their Promised Land at the end of their exile, and that the Lord would give them a new, tender heart, and would put a new spirit (the Holy Spirit) within them. Then they will have the ability and desire to obey God. By being willing to obey God they demonstrate the desire and the fact that they are God’s people, and when people are willing to be God’s people, God is willing to be their God and all that being a good, merciful, loving, just, faithful and powerful God implies.

Ezekiel was a priest of God (Ezekiel 1:3). Because Ezekiel was willing to trust and obey God, God made his Word known to Ezekiel, gave him spiritual vision, and lifted and guided him to proclaim to God’s people in exile what God had revealed to Ezekiel. Ezekiel is an example and forerunner of the new priesthood established in Jesus Christ. He’s an example of the prophetic priesthood the Church needs today, and he is the example of the calling of all Christians to carry on Jesus’ ministry to the world in exile from God.

Nominal Christians, “Church members,” who are unwilling to be subject to the Lord’s discipline and to be in spiritual exile in this world are like those who called themselves God’s people but stayed in Jerusalem in Ezekiel’s time. They thought God was with them and far from those who were suffering in exile, and they thought the inheritance of the Promised Land and the spiritual assets of God’s people belonged to them, even though they did not obey God’s Word or heed his prophets, and allowed “Jerusalem,” God’s holy city, (the Church, today) to become polluted with sin and idolatry.

Melchizedek is God’s intentional symbol and illustration of the priesthood which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our great high priest, fulfilling the prophetic vision given in Melchizedek. Jesus comes to meet us and bless us in the bread and wine of Holy Communion (the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper), as we return from fighting and claiming the victory over the worldly king (Satan), which Jesus won for us on the Cross, and from rescuing our “brother,” “Lot,” who had been taken captive by the forces of evil. The priesthood of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ is not based on the Old Covenant of Law, or on genealogy, but is instead to be based on God’s Word and the power of eternal life: the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Jesus calls all his disciples, not just the clergy (apostles), to carry on Jesus’ ministry to the world. Christians are to be a kingdom of priests serving God and offering God’s forgiveness and salvation to this world (Revelation 1:5b-6). Christians are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, who trust and obey Jesus and have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Born-again disciples are to go into the world to offer spiritual healing and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls his disciples to make disciples of Jesus Christ, to teach them to trust and obey Jesus, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that is the absolutely necessary prerequisite for lay (church members) ministry, or ordained (clergy) ministry in Jesus' name.

Jesus is the only one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33-34). Jesus only gives his Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). Jesus is the only way to come to personal knowledge of, and fellowship with God (John 14:6), and to personal knowledge of, and fellowship with Jesus, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, (John 14:23), the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9b). Jesus reveals himself and God the Father to his disciples through the Holy Spirit (John 14:21).

If we are Jesus’ disciples we can rejoice that we have been blessed with the spiritual insight to see, recognize and believe in the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus Christ, and that we have personally experienced the truth of Jesus Christ in our own lives.

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)?

7 Easter - Thursday

first posted 05/11/05

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32, Individual responsibility
Hebrews 7:18-28, Jesus our high priest forever
Luke 10:25-37 The good Samaritan

The Lord told Ezekiel that the exiles must no longer blame their forefathers for their exile. All souls belong to God, both father and son. Each soul shall bear its own responsibility. Human judgment might find it right that the son should suffer for the sake of his father’s sins, but not God’s judgment. Each individual who sins will die eternally. The righteous will be rewarded according to their deeds, and the wicked will be punished for their wickedness.

A wicked person who turns from his wickedness and obeys God and does what is right will not die eternally, and his past wickedness will be expunged (forgiven and forgotten). If a righteous person turns from obedience to God and does what is wicked, he will die eternally for his wickedness; his past righteousness will not save him.

God’s ways are just; it is mankind’s ways which are not just. Therefore judgment belongs to God (and not to mankind). He will judge each individual according to the individual’s ways. It is our best interest to repent and turn from disobedience and sin so that we will not be condemned to eternal destruction for our transgressions against God’s Word.

We are urged to stop violating God’s Word and to get a new heart and a new spirit. Why would we refuse to repent and insist on doing what is going to destroy us eternally? The Lord does not take pleasure in destroying anyone, so let us turn to him in obedient trust so that we may have eternal life.

Jesus is our eternal high priest fulfilling the prophetic illustration given in the priesthood of Melchizedek (see entry for yesterday, Wednesday, 7 Easter, odd year). Comparing the Levitical priesthood established by God’s Law, given to Moses, and the eternal priesthood of the order of Melchizedek fulfilled in Jesus Christ, Jesus’ eternal priesthood required setting aside the legal requirement of genealogical descent (since Jesus was not descended from Levi). But the Law was not able to cleanse us from sin; it was intended to show us what God required, but the law could not enable us to do it. God had a better plan and hope for us in the priesthood of Jesus, through whom it is possible to draw near to God.

Furthermore Jesus’ priesthood is established for all eternity by God’s oath. So Jesus has secured and mediates a better covenant than the Old Covenant of Law mediated by the Levitical priesthood. The former Levitical priesthood required many priests, because the priests’ terms were limited by physical death. But Jesus’ priesthood is permanent and eternal, so “he is able for all time to save all who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus is the ideal high priest because he is completely righteous and sinless, and does not need to seek forgiveness for his own sins. Nor does he need to continually offer up sacrifices for our sins, because he accomplished this once for all time and all people (who willingly receive it), on the Cross. In the Old Covenant of Law, priests served in their human weakness, but [in the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus], established by God’s oath (promise), our high priest is eternally and completely righteous and spiritually mighty.

Jesus was teaching a crowd, and a lawyer (an expert in the Law of Moses) asked a question to test Jesus. The lawyer asked Jesus what the lawyer should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied, asking the lawyer what the law said. The lawyer replied that one must love God completely, and must love one’s neighbor just as one’s own self. Jesus told the lawyer his answer was exactly right and that if the lawyer did what the law said he would have eternal life.

The lawyer (trying to limit his responsibility) asked Jesus who the lawyer must consider to be his neighbor. Jesus replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was beaten and robbed and left along the road. A priest and a Levite (both examples of righteousness under the law), traveling separately, both saw the injured man, and walked by on the other side of the road, but a Samaritan (considered racially and spiritually impure by Jews) saw the man and gave him aid, cleaning and dressing his wounds and transporting him to an inn where he took care of the injured man.

The next day, the Samaritan paid the innkeeper to continue to care for the man until he recovered from his injuries, and promised to pay whatever additional expenses were incurred. Jesus asked the lawyer, who of the travelers proved to be the neighbor of the injured man. The lawyer answered that the neighbor of the injured man was the one who had mercy on him (i.e. the Samaritan). Then Jesus told the lawyer to go and do likewise.

There is a Day of Judgment coming when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to the Lord for what he has done (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29). We will all be accountable individually for our own deeds. All of us have sinned (disobeyed God’s Word) and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us and doesn’t want us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

We are urged to repent, to stop disobeying God’s Word, and to turn to the Lord in trust and obedience, and he will give us a new heart to desire what pleases the Lord and a new Spirit, the Holy Spirit within us, to help us know and do his will and to resist and withstand temptation and sin. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-34), which he gives only to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17).

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan for his Creation which he had before Creation was begun (John 1:1-5, 14). God’s purpose for this present world is to create an eternal kingdom of his people who will trust and obey him. This life is our opportunity to choose for ourselves whether we are willing to live in God’s eternal kingdom or not.

This life is the opportunity to seek and come to a personal relationship with the Lord (Acts 17:26-27). No one can come to God except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). It is through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with the Lord. The Old Covenant of Law was intended to show what God requires and to keep us restrained until the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our high priest whose blood sacrifice on the Cross has paid for our sins. He has lived in this world and has been tempted just as we are, but without sinning. “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). If we will trust and obey Jesus, Jesus will give us a new heart and a new Spirit through 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). Jesus, by his Spirit (Romans 8:9-b) within us, is the “guarantee,” and the “down-payment” of the new and better Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9; compare Hebrews 7:22).

Jesus didn’t come to make it possible for us to be saved without trusting and obeying God’s Word (Matthew 5:17-20). Jesus came to reveal God’s nature and goodness, to demonstrate how God’s children are to live and to make it possible for us to live according to God’s Word and his will.

The lawyer was looking for “loopholes” in God’s law. He wanted to limit his responsibility by narrowly defining who he must consider his neighbor. Jesus wanted to teach the lawyer that it is not enough to know the law, if one does not apply it, and it is not enough to keep the letter of the law, if one does not keep the intent of the law. Similarly, one cannot truly believe in Jesus without knowing and doing what Jesus teaches and commands.

7 Easter - Friday

first posted 05/12/05

Ezekiel 34:17-31, The Lord cares for his flock
Hebrews 8:1-13, The New Covenant
Luke 10:38-42 Mary and Martha

The Lord judges the sheep of his flock. He provides good pasture and fresh water for his sheep, but some of his sheep trample the pasture and muddy the water with their feet. The Lord will deal with unruly sheep who push his sheep around and scatter them. The Lord will save his flock and they will no longer be a prey. The Lord will set up one shepherd like David to care for his flock.

The Lord will make a new covenant of peace. Wild beasts will be banished from the land so that the flock will live in safety in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods without fear. The Lord will bless the land around Zion and send showers of blessing in the proper seasons. Fields and trees will yield their harvest, and God’s people will dwell securely in their land.

When the Lord frees them from the yoke of oppression they will know that God is Lord. Nations shall no longer prey upon them, nor shall beasts of the land devour them. There will no longer be any reason for fear. The Lord will provide abundant harvests so that there will no longer be hunger. They will no longer bear the reproach of the nations. God’s people will know that the Lord their God is with them and that they are God’s people; the sheep of God’s pasture.

Jesus Christ is our great high priest in God’s presence in the true heavenly sanctuary. He performs the function of a priest in offering sacrifice to God, as do earthly priests. Earthly priests serve a copy, a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. The Lord gave Moses instructions to make the earthly tabernacle a replica of the heavenly one. Christ’s priestly ministry is the perfection of the ministry of the earthly replica, and the new covenant is the improvement and perfection replacing the old covenant of Law, because the new covenant is founded on better promises.

If the old covenant had been perfect there would have been no need for a new one. The new covenant, prophesied by Jeremiah (quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34; and also prophesied by Ezekiel), is superior to the old covenant, because the people were unfaithful and unable to keep the old covenant. In the new covenant, knowledge of God’s Word and a personal relationship with the Lord will be within all of God’s people (through his indwelling Holy Spirit). Prophesying a new covenant presupposes that the first one is “old” and therefore obsolete.

Jesus went to Bethany and visited the home of Mary and Martha. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to his teaching, but Martha was busy preparing a meal. Martha asked Jesus if he didn’t care that Mary had let Martha do all the work alone. She asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Jesus replied gently that Martha was worrying about many things that weren’t really necessary instead of the one thing which was really important. Mary had chosen what was truly important, and Jesus would not ask Mary to do otherwise.

God promised through his Word and his prophets that he would establish one shepherd in the nature, tradition, and lineage of David, the shepherd-king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-13). Jesus is that Good Shepherd (John 10:11), descended from David (Luke 2:1-7), born in Bethlehem (the city of David), God’s anointed eternal King of kings (Revelation 91:16-19). Jesus became the mediator of the new covenant (Matthew 26:26-28; Hebrews 9:20) at the Last Supper on the eve of his Crucifixion. His blood shed on the Cross ratifies the covenant, and is the sacrifice once for all for the forgiveness of our sins (Hebrews 9:21-24).

The new covenant is the covenant of peace and reconciliation with God through the forgiveness of our sins. Those who trust and obey Jesus are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, through whom we come to personal knowledge of the Lord and the assurance that he is present with us and that we are God’s people. It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit that we receive showers of blessings, are spiritually nourished, and guided and empowered to be productive, bearing fruit for God’s kingdom. The indwelling Holy Spirit frees us from the yoke of sin and death. There is no longer reason to fear physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus is our high priest mediating the new covenant, interceding to God on our behalf for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is the only one who baptizes with the Holy Sprit (John 1:32-34). Jesus only gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to those who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). The indwelling Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of God’s promise to put the personal knowledge of the Lord and of God’s Word within us. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life as God’s people (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Mary and Martha are examples of two types of the sheep in the Lord’s flock. One is, in her own human ability, busily following her own idea of what best serves her Lord and demonstrates her love for him. The other is being discipled by Jesus, and seeking to know and do his will by his power within her.

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); disciples who will take time to sit at Jesus’ feet seeking his will and his power to work in and through them? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

7 Easter - Saturday

first posted 05/13/05

Ezekiel 43:1-12, The glory of the Lord
Hebrews 9:1-14, The earthly sanctuary
Luke 11:14-23 Jesus’ power

Ezekiel was a prophet to the remnant of Israel in exile in Babylon. After his prophecy of exile was fulfilled, Ezekiel assured the exiles that the presence of the Lord was still with them, and of their eventual return to the Promised Land. The Lord gave Ezekiel a vision of the restored temple, which had been destroyed in 587 B.C. In this vision the Spirit brought Ezekiel to the eastern gate, and Ezekiel saw the glory of God come from the east (as he had seen the glory of God depart; Ezekiel 10:18-19; 11:22-23). The glory of God came with a sound like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone like the brightness of the sun. The glory of God entered by the east gate and filled the temple.

Ezekiel heard the voice of God say that the temple was the place of God’s throne on earth where he will dwell among his people forever. God’s people are commanded to no longer defile God’s holy name by (spiritual) harlotry (i.e. disobedience and idolatry), particularly by memorializing (Ezekiel 43:7 note “i,” RSV) their dead kings in God’s temple, or by using God’s temple for political purposes. Israel had been punished for disobedience of God’s Word and for idolatry. Now they are called to repent and return to trust and obedience to the Lord, on which condition the Lord promises to dwell among them forever.

Ezekiel was commanded by God to proclaim to Israel the appearance and plan of God’s temple and God’s laws concerning the sanctity of the temple, so that Israel may be ashamed of their sins, and may obey and perform all God’s ordinances concerning the temple. The entire temple mount surrounding the temple is to be kept most holy. (Israel did return to the Promised Land, and the Temple was rebuilt in 517 B.C.)

The first covenant (the Covenant of Law) had rules governing worship and the earthly sanctuary (given by God to Moses; (Exodus 25:10-40). The original sanctuary consisted of an outer tent called the Holy Place containing the lampstand, the table and the bread of the presence. Within the Holy Place was a tent called the Holy-of-Holies, separated from the Holy Place by a curtain.

The Holy-of-Holies contained the golden altar of incense, the Ark of the Covenant covered in gold and containing the golden urn containing manna, Aaron’s (almond) rod that budded, and the tablets of the Law (the Ten Commandments) which Moses received from God on Mt. Sinai. Above the ark “were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat” (Hebrews 9:5). The priests continually performed their ritual duties in the outer tent, but only the high priest entered the Holy-of-Holies, only once a year, carrying blood from a sacrifice offered for himself and the people.

The curtain symbolizes that the way into the Holy-of Holies (into God’s presence) is blocked as long as the outer tent is still standing. In the temple system gifts and sacrifices cannot cleanse the people but instead only regulate the carnal nature “until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10; the new covenant, initiated by Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross).

When Christ became our high priest of the new covenant he passed through the heavenly sanctuary into the Holy-of-Holies of God’s presence, taking his own blood, to obtain an eternal redemption. If the blood of animals purified and sanctified sinful flesh, how much more will the blood of sinless Christ purify our eternal souls from sins which cause eternal death, and enable us to serve the eternally living God?

Jesus healed a mute man of the demon who had caused the muteness, and the man was able to speak. The people who witnessed the miracle were amazed, but some suggested that Jesus’ power was from Beelzebul, the prince of demons, and others asked Jesus to prove that his power was from God. Jesus knew what they were thinking and told them that a kingdom divided against itself is destroyed. Why would Satan fight against his own kingdom? Jesus was not the only one casting out demons in Israel, so if Jesus' power was from Satan, then Jewish exorcists must also be empowered by Satan, and they will condemn Jesus’ critics. But if Jesus heals by God’s power then God’s salvation is near.

A well-armed strong man can guard his own property, but if someone stronger attacks and removes the armor in which the man trusted, then he can take the man’s goods. Jesus declared that those who are not with Jesus are against him, and those who don’t join Jesus in gathering cause scattering.

Israel had disobeyed God’s Word, had refused to heed God’s prophets, and had worshiped other “gods.” So God’s glory departed from the temple and he removed his protection, allowing Jerusalem and the temple to be destroyed and the remnant of Israel to be carried off to exile in Babylon. God promised to restore his people and bring them back to the Promised Land when they repented of their disobedience and unfaithfulness to God and learned to trust and obey the Lord. God promised that the temple would be rebuilt and re-consecrated, and the glory of his presence would again fill the temple.

God warned that God’s people must no longer defile God’s name by disobedience of God’s Word and by idolatry, with particular emphasis on not using God’s sanctuary to memorialize earthly leaders, or for pursuing political agendas.

The temple was designed according to God’s instructions as a replica of the heavenly sanctuary. Under the Old Covenant of Law, people had no direct access to God. Only the High Priest could enter into God’s presence (in the Holy-of-Holies) only once a year with a blood sacrifice. The curtain (veil) of the temple separated God’s people from God’s presence. At Jesus’ crucifixion the curtain was supernaturally torn from top to bottom (Luke 23: 44-45), symbolizing that the way into God’s presence had been opened by Jesus' Crucifixion.

Jesus’ crucifixion ended the Old Covenant and initiated the New Covenant of grace (unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Judaism effectively ended at the Cross of Jesus Christ. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans, the Jews were scattered throughout the world, and Israel ceased to exist as a state. It is only since World War II that Israel was reestablished and Jews began returning. The temple has never been rebuilt. The Old Covenant was dependent upon the temple sacrificial system. Jesus’ blood is now the only sacrifice acceptable to God for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death, and the only way into God’s presence and eternal life (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right)

Jesus is the new and living way into God’s presence through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus and are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. “Born-again Christians” are God’s temple, filled with the glory of God by his Holy Spirit. Congregations where two or three “born-again” Christians are gathered are filled with God’s glory and the presence of the Lord (Matthew 18:20).

The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision of a New Temple, filled with the glory of the Lord. The resurrected Jesus is our High Priest interceding for us in the heavenly sanctuary. Jesus came to provide the sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, to show by word and example how to live as a child of God, and to make possible the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7).

Jesus' ministry was primarily to bring spiritual healing. The mute man Jesus healed couldn’t speak, physically, but the underlying cause was spiritual (represented as demonic), and the cure was spiritual. Jesus frees us from demonic powers so that we can be filled with, cleansed and guided by his Holy Spirit.

We are in exile in the Babylon of this world, and the Lord wants to free us from slavery to sin and death so that we can be his sanctuary, filled with his glory and eternal life. Are we willing to trust and obey him and allow him to cleanse and fill us?

In one sense both America and the Church are each the “New Israel” (the new “Promised Land” and the new “people of God”). Has the glory of the Lord departed from us because of our spiritual unfaithfulness, our disobedience of God’s Word and God’s prophets, and our “idolatry” (loving and serving any one or thing more than our love and serving the Lord)? Have we allowed God’s temple to be desecrated by things God’s Word declares to be abominations? Can we learn from God’s Word and God’s dealing with Israel to repent and return to obedient trust in Jesus so that the Lord can restore and revive us, or will we have to suffer God’s punishment and exile in "Babylon?"

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)?