Easter Sunday

Exodus 12:1-14, The Institution of Passover
Isaiah 51:9-11,     The Ransomed of the Lord
Luke 2413-35      The Road to Emmaus
John 20:19-23      Mission in Christ’s Name

In Egypt, the Lord told Moses and Aaron to prepare to observe a feast of Passover. On the tenth day of Nisan (March-April) each family was to select a perfect lamb, with out blemish, one year old, according to what they could eat. Small families were to share a lamb with their neighbors. They were to keep the lamb until the fourteenth day, when they were to kill the lamb. The Lamb’s blood was to be put on the doorpost and lintel of the houses where they eat the meal. The flesh of the lamb was to be roasted and eaten that night, with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.

None of the lamb could be boiled or eaten raw, and it had to be consumed that night; any leftover lamb was to be burned. They were to eat in haste, dressed and prepared for travel. The Lord was going to pass through the land and kill all the first-born of the people and animals of the land of Egypt, but he would pass over the houses of the Israelites marked with the blood of the lamb, sparing them from the plague of the death of the first-born.

The prophet calls the Lord to awaken and come to deliver his people, as he has done in the past. The Lord had won the primeval combat with the chaos-monsters (Rahab; the dragon); he had dried up the sea so that the Israelites could pass over, redeemed from slavery in Egypt (and headed for the Promised Land). “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion (Jerusalem; the city of God; the eternal kingdom) with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11).

The day of Jesus’ resurrection, two of his disciples were going to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, discussing the events of the resurrection. Jesus himself approached and joined them, but they didn’t recognize him. Jesus asked them what they were discussing, and one of the disciples, Cleopas, expressed surprise that he seemed to be the only person from Jerusalem who had not heard the news.

Jesus asked him what he was referring to and he and the other disciple began to tell him about Jesus of Nazareth, a great prophet who they had hoped would redeem Israel, who had been condemned to death and crucified by the priests and leaders of the people. This was the third day since his crucifixion, and some of the women among his followers had gone to the tomb early in the morning and had found it empty, and had reported that they had seen angels who told them that Jesus was alive.

Some of the men had gone to the tomb to see for themselves and they had found it as the women had said. Then Jesus, saying they were foolish and slow to believe the scriptures, began to show them from the scriptures the prophecies regarding the Messiah.

Approaching the village, Jesus seemed to be continuing on, but the disciples invited him to stay with them, since evening was approaching. So Jesus came in and stayed with them, and at dinner he took bread and broke it and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. “They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures’” (Luke 24:32)? 

That same hour they returned to Jerusalem to the Eleven (of Jesus’ original disciples, minus Judas, his betrayer) and the rest of Jesus’ followers, who told Cleopas and his companion that Jesus had appeared to Simon (Peter). Then the two told them what had happened on the road to Emmaus and how Jesus had made himself known to them in the breaking of the bread.

On the evening of Jesus’ resurrection, his followers were gathered together, and the door was latched, because they were afraid of the Jewish priests and leaders. Jesus appeared among them and said “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Then Jesus showed them his hands and his side (where he had been wounded by his crucifixion). He repeated his blessing of peace, and told them that as God had sent Jesus, so also Jesus was sending them. Then Jesus breathed on them and commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them that they had the power to forgive or to withhold forgiveness of sins.

God’s plan of salvation (which see, sidebar, top right) existed before the creation of the world (John 1:1-5, 14; see entry for Good Friday, Holy Week, odd year). The Exodus experience of Israel is not only a historical record of God’s deliverance of Israel, but also a metaphor, a “visual aid” illustrating God’s plan of eternal salvation.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover feast God commanded Moses to institute in Egypt. Jesus is our “Moses” who leads us out of slavery to sin and death through the “Sea” of Baptism, through the wilderness of this world, through the “Jordan River” of death and into the eternal Promised Land of God’s kingdom in Heaven. Jesus is our “Passover Lamb” whose blood marks us to be “passed over” by the angel of (eternal) Death. Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with his disciples on the night of his betrayal and subsequent crucifixion, and fulfilled its meaning; it became the “Lord’s Supper (Communion, Eucharist). The unleavened bread became his body, and the wine became his blood.

The Lord fulfilled his promise in the prophecy of Isaiah to deliver his people as he had delivered Israel. The Lord has won the primeval battle against evil; against the ancient dragon, Satan, at the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Lord has dried up the waters of slavery of sin and death, so that we can pass over, redeemed from slavery, ransomed from sin and death and come to Zion, the eternal city of God with singing and everlasting joy, where sorrow and sighing will be no more.

Christians are disciples on the way to Emmaus. We’ve heard the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus joins us on the road, but our spiritual eyes are kept from recognizing him. If we will allow him, he will open our minds to understand the scriptures. Those who are slow to believe or don’t believe the scriptures in the light of Jesus Christ are foolish. If we believe the scriptures, the Good News, we will invite Jesus to come into our hearts and he will come in and dine with us (Revelation 3:20).

Jesus promises that he will reveal himself to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:21). Jesus will make himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread; in Communion with him at the Lord’s Table; in the intimate fellowship with him through his indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus is present and will manifest himself wherever his disciples are gathered together in his name. Jesus reveals to his disciples the marks of his suffering which bring us forgiveness and peace with God, and then commands us to carry on his ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation according to his example. He commanded them to receive his Holy Spirit so that they could carry out that ministry.

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 (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
 

Easter  - Monday

posted 03/27/05

Jonah 2:1-10,     Jonah’s Prayer
Acts 2:14, 22-32,     Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
John 14:1-14     The Way, the Truth, the Life

Jonah had been swallowed by a large fish. In his distress, Jonah prayed to the Lord. His prayer is an expression of faith in the Lord, echoing the expressions of the psalmists which fit his circumstances (compare Psalms 18:6; 42:7; 69:2; 88:3-12; 120:1; 143:4). He called to the Lord, trusting that the Lord would hear him and answer him.

Jonah felt swallowed up by death, cast into the depths of the ocean, cast from the Lord’s presence and despairing of being able to return. He feared that he would be imprisoned by death, but trusted that the Lord would bring his life back from the grave. When his soul despaired, he called on the Lord, and the Lord heard his prayer. Those who worship idols are giving to that which is worthless what we are rightfully obligated to give to our Creator. Jonah recognized that there is deliverance in none but the Lord, and Jonah will acknowledge that deliverance with thanksgiving. Then the Lord caused the fish to vomit Jonah up upon the land.

When the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit had been given to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, a great controversy arose among the people of Jerusalem and Judea, the remnant of Israel, who had gathered to see what the commotion was about (Acts 2:1-13), and Peter spoke to explain the significance of what had happened. Peter said that God had attested to Jesus as the Messiah through the miracles Jesus had done; that Jesus had been crucified by them at the hands of lawless people according to the definite foreknowledge and plan of God. But God had raised Jesus from the dead to eternal life having freed him from bondage to death.

Peter quoted Psalm 16:8-11, showing that Jesus’ resurrection was the fulfillment of David’s prophetic psalm, which also applies to all who trust and obey Jesus. Those who focus on honoring the Lord will not be shaken; they will have joy and hope, confident that the Lord will not abandon them to death and Hell any more than God abandoned Jesus.

God makes his ways, which lead to eternal life, known through his Word, the Bible, and through his Son, Jesus Christ, the “Living Word” (John 1:14). He fills us with the gladness of his presence through his indwelling Holy Spirit. David did die, and his earthly body did decay, so it wasn’t David who fulfilled this prophecy, but Jesus Christ, the Son of David (his descendant; the Messiah; Matthew 1:1-17), and the eternal heir to David’s throne, as God had promised. God raised Jesus from the dead and all those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), and those who have come to a personal fellowship with the risen Jesus through his indwelling Holy Spirit since the Day of Pentecost, including Paul (a.k.a. “Saul;” Acts Chapter 9), attest that Jesus has risen from death to eternal life.

Jesus told his disciples not to be grieved or afraid but to believe in God and in Jesus. Jesus told them that the reason he was leaving them physically was to prepare a place for them to be with Jesus eternally, where there is room for all who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus promised that he will return to bring all his disciples to himself. Jesus told his disciples that they knew the way to where Jesus was going, because they knew Jesus and his teaching. Jesus is the (only) way to the Father and to eternal life. Jesus is the (eternal) truth. Jesus is (eternal) life.

No one can know and come to reconciliation and fellowship with God except through obedient trust in Jesus Christ. Only those who have a personal fellowship with the risen Jesus Christ through his indwelling Holy Spirit know God. No one can see God, except as revealed by Jesus. Philip asked Jesus to show him God the Father, and Jesus told him that Philip had seen the Father in Jesus. Jesus is God in human flesh (Matthew 1:23; Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

The words that Jesus speaks and the miracles Jesus does are done by God’s Spirit within Jesus, and Jesus is completely in God in word and deed. Jesus asked his disciples to trust and obey his word because of their faith and personal experience of Jesus, or else to believe Jesus because of the miracles Jesus does. Jesus declared that those who truly believe in Jesus will do the works that Jesus does, and greater works, because Jesus is going to return to God the Father. Whatever Jesus’ disciples ask in Jesus’ name (in faith, and the power and authority of Jesus), Jesus will do for them so that God may be glorified.

Jonah felt swallowed up by death. Jonah’s disobedience of God’s Word had led to his predicament (Jonah 1:1-3). He feared his imprisonment and separation by death from the presence of the Lord, but he called out to the Lord in his distress, trusting that the Lord would hear and answer him, and that the Lord would bring his life back from the grave.

Jonah acknowledged that only the Lord, our Creator, is worthy of our worship, that there is deliverance in no one and nothing else, and Jonah will acknowledge that deliverance with thanksgiving. I can personally testify that, in my own personal distress, I cried to the Lord and he heard me, answered, and delivered me!

We have all sinned (disobeyed God’s Word) and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1: 8-10).  Jesus is the fulfillment of Jonah’s hope for forgiveness and deliverance from eternal death and separation from God. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of an eternal king to inherit David’s throne. Jesus is the fulfillment of “the sign of Jonah;” Jesus was in the grave for three days as Jonah had been in the belly of the whale (Matthew 12: 39-41).

God attested to Jesus as the Messiah by the miracles Jesus did and ultimately by Jesus’ resurrection which was attested to in the New Testament scriptures by many eyewitnesses, but also by all those “born-again” Christians who have come to a personal relationship with the risen Lord through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit since the Day of Pentecost. Those who trust and obey Jesus can be assured by his indwelling Holy Spirit within them that we will also be raised from physical death to eternal life in God’s presence, just as Jesus has been.

Jesus has promised his disciples that he is preparing a place for us to be eternally with him in Heaven, and he has promised to return to take us there. Jesus is God’s only plan for our forgiveness, salvation and restoration to eternal life in God’s presence (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only way to know and have fellowship with God, and the only way to enter God’s eternal kingdom; Jesus is eternal truth, and eternal life (John 14:6). Jesus promised to give the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

One cannot have a personal relationship with Jesus or know God apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit that we experience the joy and gladness of his presence within us. 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). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). The miracles Jesus did and the words he spoke, recorded in the New Testament scriptures attest that he is the Messiah (Christ) the Son of God.

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)?
 

Isaiah 30:18-26,     Hope for the afflicted
Acts 2:36-41 (42-47),      Call to repentance
John 14:15-31     Call to obedience

The Lord is waiting to be gracious and to show mercy to us, but he is the God of Justice, and those who wait for him will be blessed. The people of Zion (the Church; the eternal city of God) will weep no more. When we cry to him he will hear and be gracious to us. “Though the Lord  give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more” (Isaiah 30:20). We will hear his voice guiding us on our way in life. Then we will realize how worthless idols are, and will rid ourselves of them. The Lord will bless and cause his people to prosper “on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall” (Isaiah 30:25; the Day of Judgment). The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times as bright, when the Lord heals the wounds of his people which he inflicted.

Peter had preached the Gospel to the Judeans who had gathered to see what was causing excitement among the disciples at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. He told them that Jesus, whom they had crucified, had been delivered to death at their hands by the will and foreknowledge of God. Peter concluded, saying “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ (Messiah), this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36; see Matthew 28:18).

When the people heard this, they were conscience-stricken, and asked the disciples what they could do to make amends. They were told to repent (confess their sins and change their ways) and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and their sins would be forgiven and they would receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The promise [of Salvation by grace through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus; Ephesians 2:8-9] is for them and for all who are far from God, who the Lord our God calls to him (Revelation 3:20).

Peter continued to exhort them, saying “Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40 MKJV). Those who took Peter’s words to heart, who believed and acted upon them, were baptized, about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching (they were discipled; see Matthew 28:19-20), fellowship, breaking of bread (Communion; the “Lord’s Supper;” Eucharist; at that time celebrated in the context of a communal meal), and prayers.

Every soul had great awe and respect for the power and authority of God, and many miracles were done through the Apostles. The Jerusalem Christians regarded one another as family and shared everything with each another, as anyone had need. They had great fellowship with one another in worship and in daily life. They were characterized by joy, generosity and praise to God, and the number of believers was growing day by day.

Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (advocate; comforter) to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17). Jesus (speaking of his physical death) told his disciples that he would not leave them “desolate” (deserted; barren).

Although the world would no longer see Jesus, his disciples would “see” him; and because they would know by his indwelling Holy Spirit within them that Jesus lives (eternally) they would know that they have eternal life with him also. When the disciples had been filled with the promised Holy Spirit they would know that they are in Christ and Christ in them, as Jesus and God are one in each other. “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest (reveal) myself to him” (John 14:21). 

Judas (perhaps Thaddeus; not Iscariot, the betrayer) asked how Jesus could manifest himself to his disciples and not to the world, so Jesus said that if someone loves Jesus he will keep (obey; apply) Jesus’ teachings, and God the Father will love him and Jesus and God, who are one in each other (John 14:20), will come to him and dwell within him (compare Revelation 3:20). Anyone who doesn’t live according to Jesus' teachings doesn’t really love Jesus, and Jesus’ teachings are the word and authority of God. (Jesus is the only way to forgiveness and reconciliation with God; Acts 4:12; John 14:6)

The Lord is waiting to be gracious and show mercy to us. That is the purpose of this lifetime; that is why he doesn’t instantly punish sinners. But he is the God of Justice, and there is a Day of Judgment coming, the day of the “great slaughter and the falling of towers” (the accomplishments of mankind to exalt themselves). We will either wait in faith and hope for our Lord and Savior and live eternally with him in Heaven, or we will die eternally in Hell with all evil, where the Lord isn’t (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). 

Isaiah’s prophecy of the revealing of the Teacher was fulfilled in Jesus and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on his disciples beginning on the Day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2). It is through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we come to a personal fellowship with the Lord and understanding of his teachings (Luke 24:45). It is the voice of the Lord through his indwelling Holy Spirit who reveals God’s will for us personally and individually, and guides our spiritual growth to maturity. When we have experienced the Lord’s love and power through his indwelling Holy Spirit we will realize how worthless the things and idols of this present world really are.

Are our Churches so filled with the authentic Holy Spirit that people are coming to see what the excitement is all about? The message is still the same; We are all guilty of Jesus’ death, because we are all sinners (we have all disobeyed God’s word) and we have all fallen short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is (eternal) death (Romans 6:23; See God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

We have all individually made Christ’s death necessary so that we might be forgiven and restored to eternal life and fellowship with God. The remedy is still the same: we must repent and turn to obedient trust in Jesus Christ. We must confess our sin and change our ways by beginning to live according to Jesus’ teachings. As we begin to obey Jesus, we will receive the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit.

The Jerusalem Church is our example. The Judeans heard Peter’s sermon and took it seriously, they believed and began to apply it personally by repenting and being baptized. They began to worship regularly, and they were discipled by disciples who had been discipled by Jesus and who had been filled with his Holy Spirit.

As they began to live according to Jesus’ teachings they were filled with his Holy Spirit. There was a noticeable change in their lives, not just a superficial outward “façade” but complete, authentic, spiritual change. The Church was growing daily, not because it was “seeker friendly,” not by some “Church Growth” strategy to make worship more “entertaining,” but because the authentic power of the Holy Spirit was obvious among and within them.

Jesus promised that his disciples who obey his teachings will be filled with the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). No one can come to Jesus unless they’re willing to hear the truth. It wasn’t “fun” for the Judeans to hear that they were personally guilty of killing their long-awaited Savior and Messiah. It wasn’t pleasant to hear that they were sinners. But the ones who were willing to hear the truth, confess their sin and repent by changing the way they lived received forgiveness and eternal salvation.

The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (see John 14:19-20; compare 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). When we are baptized we receive “power” to become children of God, reborn by the will of God (John 1:12-13 RSV), but that power is applied and the fulfillment actualized as we are discipled and walk in obedient trust in Jesus.

Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem (the Church is our equivalent) until they have received the Holy Spirit, before going out into the world in ministry. Neither Baptism nor Church membership automatically confers the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus only gives his Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). The anointing of the Holy Spirit is a discernable event (Acts 19:2). If we believe Jesus’ promises and act in obedient trust in those promises we will receive what Jesus has promised.

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)?
 

Easter  - Wednesday

first posted 03/29/05

Micah 7:7-15,    Restoration of Israel
Acts 3:1-10,       Healing in Jesus’ Name
John 15:1-11      Jesus, the True Vine

The servant of the Lord will look to the Lord for restoration and vindication. He will wait for God’s promised salvation, and the Lord will hear him. The enemies of Israel (of God’s people; the Church) are warned not to rejoice at her tribulation. When Israel falls, she will rise again, by the help of the Lord, her helper in times of (spiritual) darkness. Israel will bear the discipline of the Lord, but he will also be her advocate who will vindicate her. The Lord will bring her into the light (of God’s righteousness); he will deliver her from evil.

The enemy will see the restoration and vindication of God’s people and will be ashamed for ridiculing her God. Then it will be Israel’s turn to rejoice at the downfall of her enemies. In that Day the walls of Jerusalem (the Church; the eternal city of God) and her boundaries will be greatly extended. In that Day the people will come to Jerusalem from the farthest corners of the earth, but the earth will be desolate because of the wickedness of the worldly inhabitants.

The Lord will shepherd his people and provide for their nurture comparable to the lush pastures, forests and beautiful plains of Bashan and Gilead. The Lord will protect and give them victory over those who oppose them as he gave Israel victory over Og, king of Bashan, when the Lord first brought them to the Promised Land from the barren wilderness. The Lord will show them marvelous things (like the plagues brought upon Egypt, and Israel’s deliverance through the Sea while their pursuers perished) as he did at the time of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.

Peter and John went to the temple at three P.M for a daily prayer service. A man who had been born lame was being carried to the “Beautiful Gate” (probably the east side, separating the court of the Gentiles and the court of the women), where he regularly begged money from the people entering the temple. The lame man called out to Peter and John, and they turned and looked at the man. The man thought they would give him a donation.

Peter told him that they didn’t have money, but would give him what they did have, and Peter commanded him in Jesus’ name to walk. Peter took his hand and helped him stand, and the man’s disability was healed instantly. The man entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. The people saw him walking and praising God; they recognized that this was the man who had begged at the gate and they were amazed at his healing.

Jesus declared that he is the true vine (the true faith; the true Israel). God the Father is the vinedresser, who prunes away the unfruitful branches and prunes the fruitful branches so that they will bear more fruit. Believers have been cleansed (forgiven) by believing Jesus’ words. But we must stay connected to Jesus so that we will bear fruit. We cannot be fruitful apart from Jesus. Those who do not abide in Jesus (stay connected daily, obeying his indwelling Holy Spirit), will be cut off, discarded and burned in the fire (of Hell).

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).  Fruitful disciples demonstrate that they are Jesus’ disciples and glorify God by their fruitfulness (not necessarily success as the world defines it).  Jesus has loved us just like God the Father has loved Jesus, but we must remain in his love by obeying Jesus’ commands just as Jesus’ has obeyed God’s commands and remains in God’s love. Jesus has told his followers this so that they might have the joy of Jesus within them (through his Holy Spirit) and their joy might be complete (in him).

Those who trust and obey the Lord will be restored and vindicated. Those who wait for the Lord’s salvation will be delivered from all evil. The world will ridicule and persecute the Lord’s people now, in this world, but there is a Day of Judgment coming when the enemy of the Lord and his people will be condemned and punished eternally. People from all corners of the world will enter into the eternal Jerusalem in Heaven (through obedient trust in Jesus), but the earth will be desolate because those who refused to trust and obey Jesus will have been condemned to eternal death in Hell with all evil (Mathew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)

Peter and John are examples of disciples who produced “fruit” for the kingdom of God through trust and obedience to Jesus Christ. Peter and John had spent time with the Lord daily, had been discipled by the Lord, and had been filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Real healing and salvation come only through Jesus Christ, not through wealth and material things of this world.

Our real needs of healing and salvation are spiritual rather than physical. The man was healed as he trusted and obeyed through faith in Jesus. As the man trusted and obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his faith became apparent to those who had known him; he showed himself to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and he bore fruit for the kingdom of God through his praise.

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey his teachings, are filled with, led and empowered by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, and who abide in his word and presence daily. Apart from that personal relationship with Jesus through his Holy Spirit, we cannot bear fruit for his eternal kingdom. The discipleship of authentic “born-again” Christian disciples will be apparent to those around them, and they will glorify the Lord in their words and deeds.

It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit that we personally experience God’s love and the joy of his touch and his presence. We cannot have real, lasting joy apart from personal fellowship with Jesus. If we want our prayers to be heard and answered, we must abide in Jesus (John 15:7; see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right).

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)?

Easter – Thursday

first posted 03/30/05

Ezekiel 37:1-14,     Dry Bones
Acts 3:11-26,     Peter’s Second Sermon
John 15:12-27     The Love Commandment

Ezekiel was a priest and prophet to the Israelites in exile in Babylon. He was transported by the Holy Spirit to a plain covered with many very dry bones. The Lord asked Ezekiel whether these bones could live again, and Ezekiel replied that the Lord (alone) would know that. The Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones that the Lord declared that he would cause breath (the same word means also “spirit” or “wind”) to enter them, he would cause sinews, flesh and skin to come upon them and cover them. The Lord would put breath (spirit) within them and they will live, and they will know that God is Lord. Ezekiel prophesied to the bones as the Lord had commanded, saying “thus says the Lord God,” and as he prophesied, the bones began to come together with a sound of rattling.

Ezekiel watched as sinews, flesh and skin came upon the bones, but there was no breath in them. Then the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath (spirit; wind) in the name of the Lord God, commanding the breath to come from the four winds and breathe upon the dead bodies, so that they might live. The bodies came to life and stood upon their feet, a very great multitude.

The Lord told Ezekiel that this multitude was the entire nation of Israel. In exile in Babylon Israel felt that their bones were dried up, their hope had been lost, and they had been severed (from their Lord and their homeland). The Lord commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to them that the Lord had declared that he will open their graves and raise them from their graves and bring them home to the Promised Land. When the Lord raises them from their graves they will know that the Lord had declared it and had fulfilled his word.

On their way to the temple, Peter and John had healed a lame man, and the miracle had attracted a crowd (Acts 3:1-10; see entry for yesterday, Wednesday, Easter Week, odd year). Peter spoke to the crowd explaining the significance of what had happened. Peter told them not to think that Peter or John had healed the man themselves by their own power or piety (devoutness to God).

The God of Israel and of the patriarchs of Israel glorified his servant (or “child”) Jesus. They had delivered Jesus into the hands of Pilate to be crucified, and then had rejected Pilate’s offer to pardon and release Jesus, “the Holy and Righteous One,” (Acts 3:14) asking Pilate to pardon and release a murderer instead (Barabbas; Luke 23:13-25). They killed the “Author (also “pioneer;” “founder”) of life,” but God raised him from the dead. Peter and John attested to Jesus’ resurrection. It was by faith in the name (person, character and authority) of Jesus that the lame man had been restored to perfect health.

Peter acknowledged that the Jews and their leaders had acted in ignorance, but they had fulfilled what God had foretold by his prophets and scripture of the suffering of Christ. Peter urged them to repent so that their sins could be forgiven and that they could be renewed and restored by the presence of the Lord, and that Christ Jesus will return for them at God’s appointed time for the fulfillment of his eternal purpose.

Moses had prophesied that God would raise up a prophet (the Messiah)  like Moses, and commanded God’s people to listen to and obey all that the Messiah tells them (Deuteronomy 18:15). Moses warned that every soul that does not listen to (pay attention to and obey) the Messiah will be destroyed from the people (Deuteronomy 18:19). As the scripture records, all of the other prophets who God raised up also prophesied the coming of the Messiah, and the people Peter was addressing were the sons of those prophets and the heirs of the Covenant and promises of God given to their forefathers. God had promised that through Israel all the families of the earth would be blessed, and God sent the Messiah first to Israel to bless them in turning them from their wickedness.

Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another as Jesus had loved them. Being willing to give up one’s life for one’s friends is the greatest act of love. If we are Jesus’ friends we will do what Jesus commands (compare John 14:15, 21, 23). Jesus does not regard us as his slaves, but as his friends. A slave is not privy to his master’s plans and intentions, but Jesus’ followers are his friends, with whom he shares all that he has heard from God the Father. Jesus isn’t our servant; Jesus has chosen and appointed us to work for him, following his commands so that we can accomplish results which are eternal, so whatever we ask in Jesus’ name God will give us. Jesus’ commandment is that we should love one another.

The original context of Ezekiel’s prophecy was Israel’s Babylonian exile. Israel felt dead and in a tomb, cut off from their hope, their Promised Land and the presence of God. God promised that he would bring them back to Israel, and his Word was fulfilled in 517 B.C. when the exiles were allowed to return after seventy years and the temple was rebuilt. God’s Word is eternal, and this prophecy is also a metaphor for God’s eternal purpose for us. God promises to bring us back from exile in the "Babylon" of this life, and into his presence in the "Promised Land" of heaven, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

We are all spiritually dead because we have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23) and the penalty for sin (disobedience of God’s word) is eternal death (Romans 6:23; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, God fills us with the gift of his Holy Spirit, giving eternal life to our spiritually dead bodies. 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 only gives his Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). There is a Day of Judgment coming when Jesus will return to judge the (physically and spiritually) living and the dead; all those who are in the grave will come forth at his command (John 5:28-29). Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in the Lord’s presence in the "Promised Land" of his eternal kingdom in heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to trust and obey him will be sent to eternal exile, eternal death, in the eternal “Babylon” of Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

In one sense we are all guilty of crucifying Jesus, because we are all sinners, making his death necessary for our forgiveness and salvation. God has planned for our salvation through Jesus Christ from before Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness, salvation and fellowship with God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Jesus died and was raised to eternal life from death, so that by obedient trust in him we could be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God and to spiritual, eternal life through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus’ resurrection was witnessed by over five people hundred (1 Corinthians 15:3-9), and is attested to by every authentic “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciple since then.

Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is life beyond the grave, not “nothingness” and not reincarnation (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus has promised to return to judge the world and to take his disciples to live with him eternally in his heavenly kingdom. We are urged to repent (confess our sinfulness and change our ways) so that our sins can be forgiven, so that we can be renewed and restored by the presence of the Lord within us through his Holy Spirit, and so that we will be ready, whether we are living or physically dead, to be with him eternally when he returns to fulfill his eternal purpose.

Jesus gave up his physical life on the Cross so that we could live eternally with him. Jesus lived the example he proclaimed. Those who are Jesus’ disciples (who choose to be Jesus’ friends) will do what Jesus says, and those who do what he says will receive what Jesus’ promises. Jesus is not our servant but God’s, and we are to serve Jesus, not as slaves but as friends. Jesus has chosen us to be his friends; we must choose whether to be Jesus’ friend and do what he says, being willing to surrender our lives and our plans to accomplish his purpose. Only by trusting and obeying Jesus can we accomplish what is truly fulfilling and eternally worthwhile.

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)?

Easter – Friday

first posted 03/31/05

Daniel 12:1-4, 13,    The End of the Age
Acts 4:1-12,      Peter and John Arrested
John 16:1-15     Jesus Warns of Persecutions

An angel revealed to Daniel a vision of the last days (before the end of time and the coming of the Day of Judgment. Michael is the patron angel of the Jews). Daniel was told that there would arise a time of great tribulation, but that the Jews whose names are recorded in the (Lamb’s; i.e. Jesus’) book (of life; Revelation 21:27) will be saved. Graves will be opened and the dead will rise, some to eternal life and some to shame and eternal contempt (compare John 5:28-29). Those who are wise and those who turn others to righteousness will receive eternal glory. Knowledge of the end times is to be sealed until that time. “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). “But go your way till the end; and you shall rest, and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13).

Peter and John had healed a lame man at the temple, and Peter had proclaimed the Gospel to the crowd that had gathered (Acts 3:1-26; see entry for yesterday, Thursday, Easter Week, odd year). The religious authorities, including Sadducees, who reject belief in the resurrection of the dead, discovered Peter preaching Jesus’ resurrection to the crowd and had Peter and John arrested and jailed until the next day, since it was already evening.

The next day, they brought Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (the official Jewish court) presided by Annas, the high priest (from 6-14 A.D. Caiaphas was Annas’ son-in-law, and John (of Acts 4:6) might be Jonathan, a relative of Annas, who succeeded Caiaphas*). The disciples were asked what power or name they had used to heal the lame man. Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 4:8; compare Luke 21:12-15), declared that the man had been healed by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom the Jewish authorities had crucified, but who had been raised from the dead by God. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy of the stone rejected by the builders (Jewish leaders), which God made the cornerstone (of his Church; Psalm 118:22). “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Jesus warned his disciples that they would experience persecution, but by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit they would endure and prevail. Jesus told them they would be expelled from synagogues, and even be killed by those who think they’re serving God but who have not known either God the Father or Jesus. Jesus wanted to prepare his disciples for what would come after Jesus’ crucifixion, when he would no longer be with them physically. The disciples were sad to think that Jesus was leaving them, physically, but Jesus assured them that his death and resurrection was for their benefit, because it would make it possible for them to receive the gift of his Holy Spirit, the Counselor; the Comforter. The Holy Spirit will convince the world that unbelief in Jesus is sin (John 16:9), of God’s righteousness revealed by Jesus’ death and resurrection (John 16:10), and of God’s judgment because evil has been defeated at the Cross (John 16:11).

Jesus told his disciples that when they had received the Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) he would guide his disciples into all the truth. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and the Holy Spirit is truth. The Holy Spirit will speak God’s Word by God’s authority, just as Jesus had, during Jesus’ earthly ministry (compare John 14:10). The Holy Spirit will reveal to disciples what is going to take place, because he knows the will and works of God. The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus because he will reveal Jesus and Jesus’ teachings to us, just as Jesus revealed God and the Word and works of God during his earthly ministry.

There is a Day of Judgment coming, when Jesus will return to judge the (spiritually and physically) living and the dead. The Day of Judgment will be preceded by a period called the Great Tribulation. Many believe that “born-again” (John 3:3; 5-8; “Spirit-filled”) Christians will not go through the Great Tribulation because they will have been caught up to be with Jesus in what is called the Rapture; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). Jews (and nominal Christians) may be saved during the Great Tribulation through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

Those who are wise are those who have been enlightened by God’s truth and God’s wisdom, not what the world calls wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). Those who have been Jesus’ disciples, who have been filled with his Holy Spirit and have carried on his ministry of salvation, will receive eternal glory. Those who have rejected God’s truth, Jesus Christ, and have refused to obey Jesus will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). 

People are hurrying about, pursuing worldly things, and pursuing worldly knowledge. At the Second Coming people will be rushing here and there seeking Jesus (Matthew 24:23-28). Born-again Christians should not get caught up in all that; we have no need to worry about the Last Days. Christians are to just keep going on with the ministry of the Gospel in the fellowship of Lord through his Holy Spirit and trust in him.

Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus is the only way to know and have personal fellowship with God (John 14:6). Religion won’t save us; there are lots of religions, but there is only one Savior, Jesus Christ. Church membership won’t save us. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through his indwelling Holy Spirit will save us. 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 his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). It is possible for one to know with certainty whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

Peter is an example of the enabling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Peter had denied his Lord three times, once to a maid and once to a slave (menial servants) on the night of Jesus’ betrayal (John 18:17; 26). Now, after receiving the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2), he was boldly preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to large crowds, and testifying to it, in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy (Luke 21:12-15), before the religious and political leaders of Israel, in the Jewish court which had condemned and crucified Jesus. 

Jesus told his disciples to await the gift of the Holy Spirit, who would guide them into God’s truth, empower them to withstand persecution and enable them to testify to the Gospel (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8). The disciples trusted Jesus’ word and did as Jesus commanded, and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2) as Jesus promised.

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)?

 
 *The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Acts, 4:5-6n, p. 1321, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.

Easter Saturday

first posted 04/01/05

Isaiah 25:1-9,     Psalm of Thanksgiving
Acts 4:13-21 (22-31),     Boldness in Declaring the Gospel
John 16:16-33     Jesus Comforts his Disciples

The prophet declares that the Lord is his God and the prophet will exalt and praise God for the wonderful things he has done and will do in fulfillment of age-old plans. Mankind’s attempts to provide his own security come to nothing. Therefore mighty people will glorify the Lord and ruthless nations will fear him. The Lord is the stronghold of the poor and the needy in their distress. The Lord is a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat, and deliverance from the ruthless.

On Zion (the mountain of the Lord; the holy city; the Church) the Lord will prepare a sumptuous feast of rich food and aged vintage wine. “And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations” (Isaiah 25:7). “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:8). “It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation’” (Isaiah 25:9).

Peter, who had denied the Lord three times on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, had now boldly preached to the people in the temple after healing a lame man. He and John had been arrested and tried before the Sanhedrin and Peter had boldly proclaimed the Gospel to them (see entry for yesterday, Friday, Easter Week, odd year). The priests and elders of the Sanhedrin, realized that Peter and John were uneducated common men; they were amazed at their boldness, “and… recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). But since the healed man was present beside them they couldn’t refute Peter’s testimony.

They sent the disciples out, so that they could discuss the matter privately among themselves, and they decided to order the disciples to speak no more to anyone in Jesus name. But Peter and John, when told of the decision, replied that the Sanhedrin must decide for itself whether it was right for the disciples to obey them rather than God, but the disciples declared that they could do nothing other than speak of what they had seen and heard. The Sanhedrin made further threats against them and then released them, finding no way to punish them, because all the people of Jerusalem praised God for the miracle done by the disciples. The man who had been healed had been lame for forty years.

When Peter and John were released they went to their friends (the Church) and told what had happened, and the Church acknowledged that opposition to the Gospel was foretold in scripture. God’s plan anticipated the opposition and was fulfilled by it.   The Church prayed for boldness in declaring the Gospel.  When they had prayed, the place they were in was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed God’s Word with boldness.  

Jesus told his disciples that he would be separated from his disciples for a short time. He told them that he was going to God the Father, and then they would see him again. The disciples discussed among themselves what Jesus had meant. Jesus knew what they were thinking, and asked them if they were wondering what he had meant.

Jesus said that the time was coming when the disciples would weep and mourn, but the world would rejoice. Jesus told them their sorrow would turn to joy, as when a woman in labor gives birth, her joy at the birth overcomes the anguish of labor. Jesus declared that when they see Jesus again the disciples’ sorrow will be replaced by immutable, unquenchable joy. Jesus told his disciples that if they asked God the Father for anything in Jesus’ name (according to Jesus’ nature and teaching) God would give it to them, so that their joy might be complete.

Jesus told his disciples that he had been speaking in figures, but the time was coming when Jesus would make his teachings clear. Jesus had come into the world from God, and was leaving the world to return to God. His disciples thought they now understood what Jesus was saying and they were now convinced that Jesus knew everything and had truly come from God.

Jesus told them that what they felt so certain about at that moment would be soon become doubtful. The disciples would be scattered and fearful, abandoning Jesus. But Jesus would not be abandoned by God the Father. Jesus was telling his disciples these things so that they would have peace in the midst of worldly tribulation. Jesus told them not to worry, because Jesus has overcome (the ways and rulers of) the world.

Those who make the Lord their God will rejoice in the wonderful things he has done and will do. God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ existed before the creation of the world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God’s only plan for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Mankind’s attempts to protect and save themselves will fail. The most powerful and ruthless of mankind cannot prevail against the Lord and his people. Through his Church, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, God removes the veil which lies over the minds of mankind keeping them from understanding God’s Word (2 Corinthians 3:12-16; Exodus 34:29-35).

The veil separating mankind from God is symbolized by the veil of the temple separating the Holy of Holies from the people. That veil was torn in two, from top to bottom at Jesus’ crucifixion, symbolizing direct access to God through Jesus Christ (Matthew 27:51). The Lord has prepared a sumptuous feast for his disciples in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, in Heaven, when Jesus will be united with his Church for eternity (Matthew 26:26-29).  We have a foretaste of that feast now in Communion with him in the “Lord’s Supper” (Holy Communion, the Eucharist). Those who wait for the Lord will rejoice in their salvation.

The Sanhedrin, the Jewish court made up of seventy priests, scribes (lawyers) and elders, presided by the chief priest, had violated Jewish Law in condemning Jesus. Now they ordered Peter and John to disobey God and obey the Sanhedrin’s command not to preach in Jesus’ name. Peter told the Sanhedrin that they must decide for themselves whether to obey God or men, but the disciples had chosen to obey the Lord and were compelled testify to the Gospel of Jesus Christ which they had seen and experienced. Peter, who had denied his Lord on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, was now boldly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the highest Jewish court and legislative body which had condemned Jesus to be crucified.

Peter’s boldness was his visible transformation by the empowering of the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. When the Jerusalem Church prayed for boldness in declaring the Gospel in the face of persecution, the Lord heard and answered their prayer immediately. The congregation was filled with the Holy Spirit, and began proclaiming the Gospel boldly. Praying for boldness in carrying on the ministry of the Gospel in the name of Jesus by the Holy Spirit is the kind of prayer which is according to Jesus’ nature and teaching, which the Lord will answer, if we pray in faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

Jesus comforted his disciples in preparation for his crucifixion. He promised them that although separated by Jesus’ physical death, he would be raised to eternal life and would be restored to fellowship with them, first, before his ascension, to assure them of the resurrection, but then also within them, in a new way, by the gift of his Holy Spirit. Through his Holy Spirit Christ is with each individual disciple, no longer separated by physical time and distance.

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit, the risen Jesus (Romans 8:9b), who removes the “veil” and opens the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45). It is through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that his disciples experience the true joy of Jesus’ resurrection and eternal life. That joy is immutable, unquenchable, and eternal. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit which gives us peace in the midst of worldly tribulation and assures us that Jesus has overcome the world, that we are in Jesus and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

The Lord has swallowed up death through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus comforts his people through his indwelling Holy Spirit, the “Comforter” (John 16:7 KJV). Can anyone tell if you have been with Jesus?

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