The ultimate purpose of everything in creation is to glorify God. In the first commandment, in fact, the Israelites are told that God is a jealous God. He is the only one in the whole universe who deserves our praise, honor, and loyalty as our first priority. Because God is holy and righteous, He rightfully expects us to be holy and righteous as well. Luckily for you and I, we are not responsible for living a holy life under our own power. As we read in the second part of verse 3 of this psalm, we are led by a loving Shepherd.
As we read this, we need to step into the sandals, as it were, of a shepherd. During part of the year, the shepherd and the sheep live at the ranch. However, the shepherd later takes the sheep out from the pasture near the home through the valley to the mountain plateau or “table land”. It is this part of the year that I think David has in mind as he writes this verse.
Remember, as we’ve observed before, sheep are not the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree. They get themselves in trouble if left to themselves and make poor choices about what to do or where to go. Actually, that’s not too dissimilar to you and me, is it? Therefore, they need someone to show them where to go.
David declares here that God provides that direction for him just as He does for us. David writes “He guides me”. David doesn’t have to figure the way out for himself. He doesn’t need a GPS or mapquest. God guides His sheep. Notice that God leads the sheep—He doesn’t drive them. The word “guides” is a translation of the Hebrew word “nachah” which is normally used in the Old Testament to indicate someone going ahead or infront of someone to lead them. God has given us His word and His Holy Spirit to let us know the path we should take. We don’t have to use our intuition or reasoning to figure things out. We can trust God because just like He guided David, He will also guide us.
Further, notice that David knew that God guided him in “paths of righteousness”. We are told in Psalm 1 not to walk in the council of the ungodly. Also, in Colossians, Paul admonishes us to walk in a worthy manner. Therefore, it seems evident that where we walk is pretty important. Therefore, God not only leads us but He leads in what are literally “right paths”. These paths are safe. These paths lead us to where we need to go. When God tells us to abstain from sexual immorality, He is leading us down the right path. He isn’t a killjoy who wants to take all the fun out of life. He knows we can get hurt and hurt others if we take the wrong path. He knows that sheep are prone not only to go astray but lead others astray. Therefore, He leads in the right paths so that we can safely reach our destination. Jesus spoke of this path in Matthew 7 when He said there were two roads. The Lord, as our Shepherd, will never lead us down the path of destruction, but rather down the path that leads to eternal life.
He leads us down the right paths, as David notes, “for His names sake”. As Albert Barnes observes in his Notes on the Bible:
“It is not primarily on their account; it is not solely that they may be saved. It is that He may be honored:
(a) in their being saved at all;
(b) in the manner in which it is done;
(c) in the influence of their whole life, under His guidance, as making known His own character and perfections.”
As I stated in the initial paragraph of this post, the ultimate goal of all creation is to bring glory to God. Therefore, God leads us as a Shepherd in the right paths in order that we might bring glory and honor to His name. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:9, we should proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Let our lives reflect that kind of change—darkness to light. Let us always be humble to follow the leading of our kind Shepherd who leads us in the right paths.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Psalm 23:3a The Shepherd as Savior
Hello.
I have not abandoned my exposition of Matthew. I fully intend to get back to that. The past few weeks I had just been reading in Psalms some and had worked on Psalm 23 a little bit. Since I had done more work on it that in Matthew due to having gotten busier at work, I decided to post what I have done so far in Psalm 23. I pray that it will bless you.
in Christ
joe
Once, when I was 6 years old, my Dad and I were at the beach in Fairhope, Alabama with an uncle of mine who was in town and some of my cousins. I followed my cousins out into the water and eventually found myself in water above my midsection. Quite suddenly, the undertow pulled my feet out from under me. At that point, I did not know how to swim and was on my way to drowning. My dad rushed into the water, scooped me up, and saved my life. He’s done that more than once over the years. There was absolutely nothing I could do to save myself. If he had not intervened, I would be dead right now. In much the same way, David describes the predicament of a sheep in a most dangerous situation.
A point that I think should be made here is that as we read this psalm with which we are so familiar, we really need to get into the head of a shepherd. As I had stated in the original post of this series, David Keller has written a book called “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm” which has provided me quite a bit of insight into this psalm and, admittedly, has shaped a lot of the material I have included in these posts. You can get information on this book here.
When I read this psalm, I usually thought of the phrase “He restores my soul” as meaning God gives us encouragement when we are down. I knew of Psalm 42:5 talking about David’s soul being cast down and of course I’d heard about people having their faces downcast. To me, it seemed pretty reasonable to assume that improving our mood was the topic David had in mind. Actually, that would probably be a pretty common interpretation in today’s me-centered, feel good, prosperity pseudo-Christianity. After all, according to most TV preachers, it’s all about you and your significance in God’s plan.
However, as I studied more about this term, I found out that it had nothing to do with making me feel better. That wasn’t even in the ball park. In fact, the situation David describes here is nightmarish to the sheep. A cast sheep is one that has been turned over on its back. This sheep is in dire straits. In fact, without help, this sheep will die a slow and painful death. When a sheep is flat on its back like this, there is no way for it to raise itself upright again. When 98.46% of your body weight (ok, that is a slight exaggeration) is contained in your upper body, you don’t have enough mass in your lower body to move your center of gravity. A sheep in this state is totally helpless. In addition to being at the mercy of predators, the gases inside of a sheep build up in its abdomen as described by David Keller so that the sheep will suffocate. This is no laughing matter. This sheep is going to die and there is nothing—I repeat nothing—that he can do about it.
Luckily, this sheep belongs to a loving and gentle Shepherd. The Shepherd restored this cast sheep. Now the sheep is free from its death trap. The Shepherd has saved the day.
However, notice that David says that the Shepherd “restores my soul”. David, therefore, describes his soul as being in the predicament of a cast sheep. He, too, is in a death trap and he, too, is unable to help himself. Friends, you and I were in that same death trap before we came to faith in Christ Jesus. The book of Ephesians tells us that we were dead in our trespasses. Now, we were in a condition much worse than the sheep. The sheep was helpless but it was alive at least. It didn’t have to be resurrected. However, you and I, prior to coming to faith in Christ, were dead. Not close to death, not nearly dead, not sick with a terminal disease. We were dead. There was no way we could save ourselves. There was no way that we could turn to Christ and repent of our sins. We all had turned away from God and had sought to go our own way (Romans 3:10-3:18). Because we were helpless and hopeless, God restored our cast souls. The English word translated “restores” is the Hebrew word “shub”. It means “to turn back” and in this case means to set right. Our soul was in the grip of death. God, in His mercy, elected us to salvation through His Son and gave us the faith to believe and repent thereby restoring or setting right our cast soul. We couldn’t have done it for ourselves. We didn’t even have the faith to choose to turn to Him. Apart from His love and concern as our Shepherd, none of us would be saved. However, because He is our loving Shepherd, He does “restore [our] soul[s]”.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
I have not abandoned my exposition of Matthew. I fully intend to get back to that. The past few weeks I had just been reading in Psalms some and had worked on Psalm 23 a little bit. Since I had done more work on it that in Matthew due to having gotten busier at work, I decided to post what I have done so far in Psalm 23. I pray that it will bless you.
in Christ
joe
Once, when I was 6 years old, my Dad and I were at the beach in Fairhope, Alabama with an uncle of mine who was in town and some of my cousins. I followed my cousins out into the water and eventually found myself in water above my midsection. Quite suddenly, the undertow pulled my feet out from under me. At that point, I did not know how to swim and was on my way to drowning. My dad rushed into the water, scooped me up, and saved my life. He’s done that more than once over the years. There was absolutely nothing I could do to save myself. If he had not intervened, I would be dead right now. In much the same way, David describes the predicament of a sheep in a most dangerous situation.
A point that I think should be made here is that as we read this psalm with which we are so familiar, we really need to get into the head of a shepherd. As I had stated in the original post of this series, David Keller has written a book called “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm” which has provided me quite a bit of insight into this psalm and, admittedly, has shaped a lot of the material I have included in these posts. You can get information on this book here.
When I read this psalm, I usually thought of the phrase “He restores my soul” as meaning God gives us encouragement when we are down. I knew of Psalm 42:5 talking about David’s soul being cast down and of course I’d heard about people having their faces downcast. To me, it seemed pretty reasonable to assume that improving our mood was the topic David had in mind. Actually, that would probably be a pretty common interpretation in today’s me-centered, feel good, prosperity pseudo-Christianity. After all, according to most TV preachers, it’s all about you and your significance in God’s plan.
However, as I studied more about this term, I found out that it had nothing to do with making me feel better. That wasn’t even in the ball park. In fact, the situation David describes here is nightmarish to the sheep. A cast sheep is one that has been turned over on its back. This sheep is in dire straits. In fact, without help, this sheep will die a slow and painful death. When a sheep is flat on its back like this, there is no way for it to raise itself upright again. When 98.46% of your body weight (ok, that is a slight exaggeration) is contained in your upper body, you don’t have enough mass in your lower body to move your center of gravity. A sheep in this state is totally helpless. In addition to being at the mercy of predators, the gases inside of a sheep build up in its abdomen as described by David Keller so that the sheep will suffocate. This is no laughing matter. This sheep is going to die and there is nothing—I repeat nothing—that he can do about it.
Luckily, this sheep belongs to a loving and gentle Shepherd. The Shepherd restored this cast sheep. Now the sheep is free from its death trap. The Shepherd has saved the day.
However, notice that David says that the Shepherd “restores my soul”. David, therefore, describes his soul as being in the predicament of a cast sheep. He, too, is in a death trap and he, too, is unable to help himself. Friends, you and I were in that same death trap before we came to faith in Christ Jesus. The book of Ephesians tells us that we were dead in our trespasses. Now, we were in a condition much worse than the sheep. The sheep was helpless but it was alive at least. It didn’t have to be resurrected. However, you and I, prior to coming to faith in Christ, were dead. Not close to death, not nearly dead, not sick with a terminal disease. We were dead. There was no way we could save ourselves. There was no way that we could turn to Christ and repent of our sins. We all had turned away from God and had sought to go our own way (Romans 3:10-3:18). Because we were helpless and hopeless, God restored our cast souls. The English word translated “restores” is the Hebrew word “shub”. It means “to turn back” and in this case means to set right. Our soul was in the grip of death. God, in His mercy, elected us to salvation through His Son and gave us the faith to believe and repent thereby restoring or setting right our cast soul. We couldn’t have done it for ourselves. We didn’t even have the faith to choose to turn to Him. Apart from His love and concern as our Shepherd, none of us would be saved. However, because He is our loving Shepherd, He does “restore [our] soul[s]”.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Psalm 23:2 Our Security as His Sheep
As I noted in the last study of this wonderful psalm, sheep are difficult to take care. It takes a lot of work and a tremendous amount of attention to the details to provide a safe, productive environment for sheep to flourish. In the end, the condition of a flock rests solely on the shoulders of the shepherd tending that flock. Since we have a loving Shepherd, we can rest safely in His care. David, in the second verse of this wonderful psalm, describes what a blessing we have to be tended by such a kind and gentle Shepherd.
First of all, we notice the condition the Shepherd puts the sheep in. It says, in the beginning of verse 2, that “He makes me lie down”. This, from everything I have read, is quite a feat. Sheep are naturally skittish creatures. They re easily frightened and quite high strung. They do not relax easily. There are two reasons I would suggest for this constant state of agitation. First of all, sheep have no natural defenses. They do not have claws or big, sharp teeth. No one has ever heard of another person getting mauled to death by a sheep. They are not fast or agile. In fact, a 100lb sheep might well have legs of only 5 lbs. While I am joking a little about that, it probably is not too much of an exaggeration. Secondly, most animals probably consider the sheep to be very tasty. Your life in the animal kingdom is going to be very stressful when other animals are looking at you and thinking “Man, I bet that’d be good with some Dale’s” or “I’d like to throw that on the George Forman”.
Therefore, in order for a sheep to lie down as is stated in this verse, that sheep must be absolutely sure that it is 100% free from any danger. If the sheep is not in a danger free situation, it will not be able to rest. What David is saying, then, is that because the Lord is his Shepherd, he knows that he is safe and secure. He is not going to be harmed by his enemies. He knows that God will protect him and keep him safe. Isn’t that such a blessing for us to meditate upon as Christians? I mean, no matter how bad things get, no one can hurt us as far as anything eternal goes. Even here on the earth, we are blessed by His providence and protection. That is not to say that nothing bad happens to Christians. Rather, He is there with us in the midst of it. We too can relax and cast our cares upon Him, as Peter said, knowing that He is our Shepherd.
David goes on to describe the circumstances the sheep find themselves in. He says that the Shepherd causes him to lie down “in green pastures”. David, as a shepherd, would have known first hand the kind of hard work that involved. The area where he kept sheep was rocky, hilly, and oftentimes barren compared to what we would think of as pasture land. If a shepherd was going to provide pasture for his flock, he was going to have to work to provide that pasture. This meant hours of backbreaking, sweaty, painful work of clearing rocks, planting good grass, and pulling up weeds which were poor quality feed at best or poisonous at worst. A shepherd spent a lot of time preparing pasture for his flock in order to provide the best for them. This is a picture of the kind of hard work our Shepherd provides as He cares for the sheep. Not that it is difficult for Him to provide for our needs but rather that He is diligently, constantly working to provide for us. Of course, we know what grueling torture He endured on Calvary’s cross where He shed His precious blood for you and me. However, even before that, He was at work throughout human history putting the right people in the right places at the right times to accomplish His redemptive purpose. Not only does He provide green pastures for us as He provides for us materially, but even more so, He provided spiritual green pastures as He laid on His Son the sins of all who would believe.
However, this Shepherd not only provides food for the sheep but as David notes “He leads me beside quite waters”. Again, we must remember the climate in which David lived. We would probably describe much of the surroundings are barren and dry. The pools of water that you found oftentimes were polluted and undrinkable. Of course, that wouldn’t stop the sheep from drinking them. Like we’ve observed before, sheep are not known for their intelligence. If you give them two choices and one of them is good while the other is bad for them, the will more often than not choose the one that is bad for them. So, if you left sheep to their own devices, they would drink for foul, polluted water all day long. Therefore, as a shepherd, if you want you sheep to have clear, clean drinking water, you had to go out, dig the pools or watering holes, and fill them your self. Again, the picture we get is that of tireless, constant work to provide the best for the sheep. This Shepherd, David says, does not turn the sheep out to find this still, quite water on their own. Instead, He leads the sheep. He knows the way and He lovingly takes the sheep where they will be safe and provided for.
What a wonderful heavenly Shepherd we have who loves us and takes such wonderful care of His sheep. Praise His holy Name.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
First of all, we notice the condition the Shepherd puts the sheep in. It says, in the beginning of verse 2, that “He makes me lie down”. This, from everything I have read, is quite a feat. Sheep are naturally skittish creatures. They re easily frightened and quite high strung. They do not relax easily. There are two reasons I would suggest for this constant state of agitation. First of all, sheep have no natural defenses. They do not have claws or big, sharp teeth. No one has ever heard of another person getting mauled to death by a sheep. They are not fast or agile. In fact, a 100lb sheep might well have legs of only 5 lbs. While I am joking a little about that, it probably is not too much of an exaggeration. Secondly, most animals probably consider the sheep to be very tasty. Your life in the animal kingdom is going to be very stressful when other animals are looking at you and thinking “Man, I bet that’d be good with some Dale’s” or “I’d like to throw that on the George Forman”.
Therefore, in order for a sheep to lie down as is stated in this verse, that sheep must be absolutely sure that it is 100% free from any danger. If the sheep is not in a danger free situation, it will not be able to rest. What David is saying, then, is that because the Lord is his Shepherd, he knows that he is safe and secure. He is not going to be harmed by his enemies. He knows that God will protect him and keep him safe. Isn’t that such a blessing for us to meditate upon as Christians? I mean, no matter how bad things get, no one can hurt us as far as anything eternal goes. Even here on the earth, we are blessed by His providence and protection. That is not to say that nothing bad happens to Christians. Rather, He is there with us in the midst of it. We too can relax and cast our cares upon Him, as Peter said, knowing that He is our Shepherd.
David goes on to describe the circumstances the sheep find themselves in. He says that the Shepherd causes him to lie down “in green pastures”. David, as a shepherd, would have known first hand the kind of hard work that involved. The area where he kept sheep was rocky, hilly, and oftentimes barren compared to what we would think of as pasture land. If a shepherd was going to provide pasture for his flock, he was going to have to work to provide that pasture. This meant hours of backbreaking, sweaty, painful work of clearing rocks, planting good grass, and pulling up weeds which were poor quality feed at best or poisonous at worst. A shepherd spent a lot of time preparing pasture for his flock in order to provide the best for them. This is a picture of the kind of hard work our Shepherd provides as He cares for the sheep. Not that it is difficult for Him to provide for our needs but rather that He is diligently, constantly working to provide for us. Of course, we know what grueling torture He endured on Calvary’s cross where He shed His precious blood for you and me. However, even before that, He was at work throughout human history putting the right people in the right places at the right times to accomplish His redemptive purpose. Not only does He provide green pastures for us as He provides for us materially, but even more so, He provided spiritual green pastures as He laid on His Son the sins of all who would believe.
However, this Shepherd not only provides food for the sheep but as David notes “He leads me beside quite waters”. Again, we must remember the climate in which David lived. We would probably describe much of the surroundings are barren and dry. The pools of water that you found oftentimes were polluted and undrinkable. Of course, that wouldn’t stop the sheep from drinking them. Like we’ve observed before, sheep are not known for their intelligence. If you give them two choices and one of them is good while the other is bad for them, the will more often than not choose the one that is bad for them. So, if you left sheep to their own devices, they would drink for foul, polluted water all day long. Therefore, as a shepherd, if you want you sheep to have clear, clean drinking water, you had to go out, dig the pools or watering holes, and fill them your self. Again, the picture we get is that of tireless, constant work to provide the best for the sheep. This Shepherd, David says, does not turn the sheep out to find this still, quite water on their own. Instead, He leads the sheep. He knows the way and He lovingly takes the sheep where they will be safe and provided for.
What a wonderful heavenly Shepherd we have who loves us and takes such wonderful care of His sheep. Praise His holy Name.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Matthew 4:23 Follow the Leader
As we saw in the last two blog posts on Matthew’s gospel, Jesus had called His first disciples into permanent service. Apparently He had become acquainted with them after His move to Capernaum but what was recorded in Matthew is their official call into ministry from the Messiah. These men would be sent on missions several times during the course of their ministry with the Lord. However, in verse 23, we notice that it is Jesus who is performing ministry. Let us observe how the Lord “did ministry” (man, I hate that term) and see if we can find applications for those of us living and serving the Lord today.
First of all, Matthew records that Jesus “was going throughout all Galilee”. The region known as Galilee was north of Jerusalem and was inhabited by mostly Gentiles. As John Gill noted in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, it was “a country mean and despicable, inhabited by persons poor, illiterate, vile, and wicked”. These people were considered to be backwards and socially were castaways. We find, then, Jesus begins His public ministry after having called His disciples here on what most people would describe as the wrong side of the tracks. Jesus went to the people who needed Him and He went to people that were considered outcasts. What a kind compassionate Savior we have. How often, though, do we fail to notice those all around us who would be considered in our society just like these men and women were? I fear it is far too often. Christ went throughout the entire region as He ministered. We should also look for opportunities to minister where we are without regard to the kinds of individuals to whom we are ministering. To many times, we look for people who are like us or to whom we might have things in common. I submit that the example our Lord sets for us is that we should minister to all people, even people we might avoid if we were making the choice rather than following the example of Christ.
Not only was our Lord going throughout all of Galilee, He also spent time “teaching in their Synagogues”. As Christ noted in Matthew 15:24, He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Of course, the salvation He brought by His death was not confined to any one race of people, but as we see Him ministering here, we find him going first to the Jews. While Matthew does not record here exactly what was taught, he says that Jesus was engaged in “didasko” (Greek-teaching). This word means “to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them” or to “deliver didactic discourses” according to Thayer’s Greek dictionary. In other words, He was trying to help these people learn the truth. The exact topic is not recorded here, but we can be certain Christ was teaching them about God, about Himself, and about the kingdom of God. As we minister to people, we should never forget to “keep the main thing the main thing”. We can get sidetracked about a lot of issues that may in and of themselves be important. However, nothing is more important in ministering to people than to show them from the scripture that they are sinners just as we are, that God demands a payment for their sin, and that Jesus Christ paid that sin debt on Calvary’s cross.
Finally, we notice that in addition to teaching, Christ was “preaching the gospel of the kingdom”. The word translated preaching is the Greek word “kerusso” and it means “to proclaim as a herald”. The picture that I paint in my mind is like a newsboy selling papers in a busy city crying out “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”. While when someone is teaching, there is some level of interaction between the teacher and student, a herald is not engaging in conversation. Basically, a herald is proclaiming a message for every person without regard for a particular response. Here it is: take it or leave it. While we certainly should look with compassion on folks who do not know Jesus as their Savior, we must remember that the Bible means what it means and says what it says. We should never compromise on the message or shy away from proclaiming it as the authoritative Word of the living God. As heralds we should proclaim the truth as revealed in scripture without compromise. As teachers, we should lovingly exhort individuals with the truth and help them to understand what it means.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
First of all, Matthew records that Jesus “was going throughout all Galilee”. The region known as Galilee was north of Jerusalem and was inhabited by mostly Gentiles. As John Gill noted in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, it was “a country mean and despicable, inhabited by persons poor, illiterate, vile, and wicked”. These people were considered to be backwards and socially were castaways. We find, then, Jesus begins His public ministry after having called His disciples here on what most people would describe as the wrong side of the tracks. Jesus went to the people who needed Him and He went to people that were considered outcasts. What a kind compassionate Savior we have. How often, though, do we fail to notice those all around us who would be considered in our society just like these men and women were? I fear it is far too often. Christ went throughout the entire region as He ministered. We should also look for opportunities to minister where we are without regard to the kinds of individuals to whom we are ministering. To many times, we look for people who are like us or to whom we might have things in common. I submit that the example our Lord sets for us is that we should minister to all people, even people we might avoid if we were making the choice rather than following the example of Christ.
Not only was our Lord going throughout all of Galilee, He also spent time “teaching in their Synagogues”. As Christ noted in Matthew 15:24, He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Of course, the salvation He brought by His death was not confined to any one race of people, but as we see Him ministering here, we find him going first to the Jews. While Matthew does not record here exactly what was taught, he says that Jesus was engaged in “didasko” (Greek-teaching). This word means “to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them” or to “deliver didactic discourses” according to Thayer’s Greek dictionary. In other words, He was trying to help these people learn the truth. The exact topic is not recorded here, but we can be certain Christ was teaching them about God, about Himself, and about the kingdom of God. As we minister to people, we should never forget to “keep the main thing the main thing”. We can get sidetracked about a lot of issues that may in and of themselves be important. However, nothing is more important in ministering to people than to show them from the scripture that they are sinners just as we are, that God demands a payment for their sin, and that Jesus Christ paid that sin debt on Calvary’s cross.
Finally, we notice that in addition to teaching, Christ was “preaching the gospel of the kingdom”. The word translated preaching is the Greek word “kerusso” and it means “to proclaim as a herald”. The picture that I paint in my mind is like a newsboy selling papers in a busy city crying out “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”. While when someone is teaching, there is some level of interaction between the teacher and student, a herald is not engaging in conversation. Basically, a herald is proclaiming a message for every person without regard for a particular response. Here it is: take it or leave it. While we certainly should look with compassion on folks who do not know Jesus as their Savior, we must remember that the Bible means what it means and says what it says. We should never compromise on the message or shy away from proclaiming it as the authoritative Word of the living God. As heralds we should proclaim the truth as revealed in scripture without compromise. As teachers, we should lovingly exhort individuals with the truth and help them to understand what it means.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Say What?
As anyone who has read this blog has noticed, I love the Bible. This website is dedicated to helping people hear God speak clearly through the exposition of scripture. I have posted a few links to other blog posts that I found particularly encouraging but primarily I post verse-by-verse exposition of God’s word. However, I do have some extra time on my hands here at work. I am between audits. I won’t actually start a new audit until next week and have nothing to do here but sit and read. Therefore, I brought some material to work with me to read. I’ve started a series on Psalm 23. This post is a review of an article written by a Catholic theologian about homosexuality and the Bible (bold added by me in the quotations). You can read his entire article here. I think it’s important as students of God’s word for us to take time to remind ourselves that there are those who name the name of Christ but reject His clear, divinely inspired word. The best way for Christians to refute garbage like this is to teach the Bible as meaning what it means and saying what it says.
Luke Timothy Johnson, in his article, claims that homosexuals are singled out by the church as immoral. He says:
“In my view, this scapegoating of homosexuality has less to do with sex than with perceived threats to the authority of Scripture and the teaching authority of the church. For those opposed to the ordination of women priests and bishops, or of married people, deviation from the uniform and steady practice of the church (glossing over the fact that it has rarely been steady or uniform) means starting down the slippery slope toward rejecting church authority altogether.”
I would deduce that Mr. Johnson equates the authority of the church with the authority of scripture which would make sense for a Catholic theologian. However, not only does he put the authority of the church on par with the authority of divinely-inspired scripture, he suggests that scripture itself is not the final authority. If, in fact, scripture (or in his case, scripture and the church) was the final authority, why would anyone perceive any threat to its authority? As we examine his essay further, we find out why he feels that way.
Mr. Johnson gives us a bit of refreshing honesty as he concludes on his view of scriptural prohibitions against homosexuality.
“I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good. And what exactly is that authority? We appeal explicitly to the weight of our own experience and the experience thousands of others have witnessed to, which tells us that to claim our own sexual orientation is in fact to accept the way in which God has created us. By so doing, we explicitly reject as well the premises of the scriptural statements condemning homosexuality-namely, that it is a vice freely chosen, a symptom of human corruption, and disobedience to God’s created order. “
Now that is the height of hubris. I mean, he doesn’t try to explain away scripture or reason his way around it. He flat out says that he rejects it. You would ask, I’m sure, “Well, if he rejects scriptural authority, what does he view as being the authority.” Rather than summarize or paraphrase, I’ll let him answer that question himself.
“We are fully aware of the weight of scriptural evidence pointing away from our position, yet place our trust in the power of the living God to reveal as powerfully through personal experience and testimony as through written texts. To justify this trust, we invoke the basic Pauline principle that the Spirit gives life but the letter kills (2 Corinthians 3:6). And if the letter of Scripture cannot find room for the activity of the living God in the transformation of human lives, then trust and obedience must be paid to the living God rather than to the words of Scripture. The church cannot say “yes” to what the New Testament calls porneia (“sexual immorality”); but the church must say yes to the witness of lives that build the holiness of the church. The challenge, therefore, is to discern what constitutes the positive and negative in sexual behavior. A start would be to adapt Galatians 3:28 and state that “in Christ there is neither gay nor straight””
I couldn’t make this stuff up. He actually says that if our experience contradicts scripture, we should ignore scripture. Then, to top it all off, re-write the bible. “In Christ there is neither gay nor straight” indeed. As disgusting as this outlandish view of scripture is, it is also sad. We should have compassion for all people who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and we should pray to God for Him to do the work that only He can do—draw them to Himself. Only He can grant repentance from this or any sin. We should remember that, if it were not for His mercy, we too would be bound for eternal torment in Hell.
Luke Timothy Johnson, in his article, claims that homosexuals are singled out by the church as immoral. He says:
“In my view, this scapegoating of homosexuality has less to do with sex than with perceived threats to the authority of Scripture and the teaching authority of the church. For those opposed to the ordination of women priests and bishops, or of married people, deviation from the uniform and steady practice of the church (glossing over the fact that it has rarely been steady or uniform) means starting down the slippery slope toward rejecting church authority altogether.”
I would deduce that Mr. Johnson equates the authority of the church with the authority of scripture which would make sense for a Catholic theologian. However, not only does he put the authority of the church on par with the authority of divinely-inspired scripture, he suggests that scripture itself is not the final authority. If, in fact, scripture (or in his case, scripture and the church) was the final authority, why would anyone perceive any threat to its authority? As we examine his essay further, we find out why he feels that way.
Mr. Johnson gives us a bit of refreshing honesty as he concludes on his view of scriptural prohibitions against homosexuality.
“I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good. And what exactly is that authority? We appeal explicitly to the weight of our own experience and the experience thousands of others have witnessed to, which tells us that to claim our own sexual orientation is in fact to accept the way in which God has created us. By so doing, we explicitly reject as well the premises of the scriptural statements condemning homosexuality-namely, that it is a vice freely chosen, a symptom of human corruption, and disobedience to God’s created order. “
Now that is the height of hubris. I mean, he doesn’t try to explain away scripture or reason his way around it. He flat out says that he rejects it. You would ask, I’m sure, “Well, if he rejects scriptural authority, what does he view as being the authority.” Rather than summarize or paraphrase, I’ll let him answer that question himself.
“We are fully aware of the weight of scriptural evidence pointing away from our position, yet place our trust in the power of the living God to reveal as powerfully through personal experience and testimony as through written texts. To justify this trust, we invoke the basic Pauline principle that the Spirit gives life but the letter kills (2 Corinthians 3:6). And if the letter of Scripture cannot find room for the activity of the living God in the transformation of human lives, then trust and obedience must be paid to the living God rather than to the words of Scripture. The church cannot say “yes” to what the New Testament calls porneia (“sexual immorality”); but the church must say yes to the witness of lives that build the holiness of the church. The challenge, therefore, is to discern what constitutes the positive and negative in sexual behavior. A start would be to adapt Galatians 3:28 and state that “in Christ there is neither gay nor straight””
I couldn’t make this stuff up. He actually says that if our experience contradicts scripture, we should ignore scripture. Then, to top it all off, re-write the bible. “In Christ there is neither gay nor straight” indeed. As disgusting as this outlandish view of scripture is, it is also sad. We should have compassion for all people who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and we should pray to God for Him to do the work that only He can do—draw them to Himself. Only He can grant repentance from this or any sin. We should remember that, if it were not for His mercy, we too would be bound for eternal torment in Hell.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Psalm 23:1 Our Relationship with God
Bill Cosby, in one of his comedy routines, said that his father defined their relationship when he was very young. He was told “I am your father—I brought you into this world, and I’ll take you out. And it don’t make no difference to me ‘cause I’ll make another one that looks just like you.” Now, this is quite silly and we can have a good laugh about it. There is, however, something about defining a relationship that gives one a sense of security. When you know what the boundaries and the responsibilities of a relationship are, you feel safe. In this manner, when David writes this most familiar psalm, we can be particularly encouraged as we reflect on our relationship to God and His love and care for us.
I should probably mention as I start this series that my interpretation of this psalm was greatly influenced by a book written by Phillip Keller titled “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”. You can find information about the book here. I strongly recommend it as a great resource to understanding what God meant when He inspired David to write this text.
I believe the first thing we should take note of as we examine this psalm is that David writes this psalm about a Person—specifically God. He begins the psalm by saying in verse 1 that “The Lord is my Shepherd”. The fact that he identifies God as his Shepherd should be of great encouragement to us as believers. This is the same Lord that made, and kept, a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 2:24). He displayed His power by freeing the Israelites from bondage in Egypt (Exodus 7-12) not to mention creating the entire universe by merely speaking it into existence (Genesis 1-2). This is a Holy God who judges sin and, as David would come to find out, forgives people when they repent. Suffice it to say, God has quite an impressive track record and it only makes sense that the Bible declares that there is no God like Him (I Kings 8:23). Considering the relationship that is defined by this psalm, the character of the One on whom David is depending seems particularly relevant. Therefore, we should remember that it is the Lord that David refers to as his Shepherd.
I think it’s pretty important to notice, also, that David is writing in the present tense. He does not say the Lord was his Shepherd or will be his Shepherd or that He might be his Shepherd but rather that He is David’s Shepherd. David made this rather bold affirmation of his relationship with God based on his daily walk with God. As we read in I Samuel 17:34-36, David depended on God daily as he carried out his task of tending his father’s sheep. When he faced dangerous situations, he knew through experience that God would be with him. What we have here, then, is not touchy-feely “You Best Life Now” garbage, but true saving faith grounded in a daily walk with God. It is not hope for the future or pining about the past but a present tense awareness of the presence of God in David’s life that leads him to write these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Finally, in making this statement, David is acknowledging that he recognizes not only his position but also God’s position. By saying “The Lord is my Shepherd”, David is saying that he is a sheep. Recognizing who you are in relation to others is important in any relationship. For instance, the book of Genesis records that when a man is married he is to leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. Basically, his primary responsibility is no longer to his parents but to his wife. Failing to recognize that change in relationship can result in problems with his new wife to say the least. (By the way, I also believe the same principal applies for wives. That was an aside. You don’t owe me anything for that) David has no delusions about his role in relation to God. He is a sheep. Now, this is a humbling admission for him to make. First of all, sheep are stupid. I mean, these critters, from all accounts I have read, will go out of way to get themselves into trouble of all kinds. They need constant care and supervision. If left to their own devices they will invariably get themselves into trouble time and time again.
You know, that is a pretty good description of you and me. I mean, I’ve been saved for 24 years now and sometimes I have pretty good days. But it is just as often that I feel like the apostle Paul in Romans 7 and I feel like shouting “I’m doing the things I know I shouldn’t do and not doing the things that I know I should do”. If it were not for the mercy, grace, and providence of almighty God I would get my self in pickles so often they’d have to change my last name to Vlassick. It’s the same way with sheep. Being a shepherd is very hard work because you have to watch out for those animals tirelessly. God does just that. He never sleeps, takes a day off, or turns His eyes off of us who are His sheep even for a moment.
Because of this wonderful, loving care provided by our Shepherd, we can come to the same conclusion that David did. He said that because of the Lord being his Shepherd, “I shall not want”. Sheep don’t take care of themselves. Therefore, if their needs are provided, it is a direct result of the shepherd’s care of them. Notice the condition he expects to find himself in. He uses a Hebrew word “chaser” which is translated “want”. That Hebrew word means lack. David isn’t saying that he will always have everything that he wants; but that he will not lack things he needs so as to suffer want. That’s just a wee bit different take on God’s care of us than you would find from your typical prosperity theology preacher. Saying that we will not want in this context does not mean that we will be happy all the time or in a state of abundance. What it does mean is that God will provide what we need when we need it. There have been Christians who have been hungry or lacked clothing or shelter. That does not mean that God is not fulfilling His role as Shepherd. In fact, I’m not sure I could even speculate on why a situation like that would occur. I would suggest that more times than not Christians are provided for with the things they need in this life by a loving Shepherd who takes meticulous care of His sheep. Let us praise God for His love and protection.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
I should probably mention as I start this series that my interpretation of this psalm was greatly influenced by a book written by Phillip Keller titled “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”. You can find information about the book here. I strongly recommend it as a great resource to understanding what God meant when He inspired David to write this text.
I believe the first thing we should take note of as we examine this psalm is that David writes this psalm about a Person—specifically God. He begins the psalm by saying in verse 1 that “The Lord is my Shepherd”. The fact that he identifies God as his Shepherd should be of great encouragement to us as believers. This is the same Lord that made, and kept, a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 2:24). He displayed His power by freeing the Israelites from bondage in Egypt (Exodus 7-12) not to mention creating the entire universe by merely speaking it into existence (Genesis 1-2). This is a Holy God who judges sin and, as David would come to find out, forgives people when they repent. Suffice it to say, God has quite an impressive track record and it only makes sense that the Bible declares that there is no God like Him (I Kings 8:23). Considering the relationship that is defined by this psalm, the character of the One on whom David is depending seems particularly relevant. Therefore, we should remember that it is the Lord that David refers to as his Shepherd.
I think it’s pretty important to notice, also, that David is writing in the present tense. He does not say the Lord was his Shepherd or will be his Shepherd or that He might be his Shepherd but rather that He is David’s Shepherd. David made this rather bold affirmation of his relationship with God based on his daily walk with God. As we read in I Samuel 17:34-36, David depended on God daily as he carried out his task of tending his father’s sheep. When he faced dangerous situations, he knew through experience that God would be with him. What we have here, then, is not touchy-feely “You Best Life Now” garbage, but true saving faith grounded in a daily walk with God. It is not hope for the future or pining about the past but a present tense awareness of the presence of God in David’s life that leads him to write these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Finally, in making this statement, David is acknowledging that he recognizes not only his position but also God’s position. By saying “The Lord is my Shepherd”, David is saying that he is a sheep. Recognizing who you are in relation to others is important in any relationship. For instance, the book of Genesis records that when a man is married he is to leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. Basically, his primary responsibility is no longer to his parents but to his wife. Failing to recognize that change in relationship can result in problems with his new wife to say the least. (By the way, I also believe the same principal applies for wives. That was an aside. You don’t owe me anything for that) David has no delusions about his role in relation to God. He is a sheep. Now, this is a humbling admission for him to make. First of all, sheep are stupid. I mean, these critters, from all accounts I have read, will go out of way to get themselves into trouble of all kinds. They need constant care and supervision. If left to their own devices they will invariably get themselves into trouble time and time again.
You know, that is a pretty good description of you and me. I mean, I’ve been saved for 24 years now and sometimes I have pretty good days. But it is just as often that I feel like the apostle Paul in Romans 7 and I feel like shouting “I’m doing the things I know I shouldn’t do and not doing the things that I know I should do”. If it were not for the mercy, grace, and providence of almighty God I would get my self in pickles so often they’d have to change my last name to Vlassick. It’s the same way with sheep. Being a shepherd is very hard work because you have to watch out for those animals tirelessly. God does just that. He never sleeps, takes a day off, or turns His eyes off of us who are His sheep even for a moment.
Because of this wonderful, loving care provided by our Shepherd, we can come to the same conclusion that David did. He said that because of the Lord being his Shepherd, “I shall not want”. Sheep don’t take care of themselves. Therefore, if their needs are provided, it is a direct result of the shepherd’s care of them. Notice the condition he expects to find himself in. He uses a Hebrew word “chaser” which is translated “want”. That Hebrew word means lack. David isn’t saying that he will always have everything that he wants; but that he will not lack things he needs so as to suffer want. That’s just a wee bit different take on God’s care of us than you would find from your typical prosperity theology preacher. Saying that we will not want in this context does not mean that we will be happy all the time or in a state of abundance. What it does mean is that God will provide what we need when we need it. There have been Christians who have been hungry or lacked clothing or shelter. That does not mean that God is not fulfilling His role as Shepherd. In fact, I’m not sure I could even speculate on why a situation like that would occur. I would suggest that more times than not Christians are provided for with the things they need in this life by a loving Shepherd who takes meticulous care of His sheep. Let us praise God for His love and protection.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
More Bible Blogging
As I've said before, no one can get too much Bible exposition. The blog Hip and Thigh is doing a series called "Gleanings from Job". Really good stuff. Check it out.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Matthew 4:21-22 The Messiah calls disciples II
We can fake religion and piety. It’s possible for us to live like a Christian when everyone is looking. One thing we cannot do is generate saving faith within ourselves or create a desire to follow after God out of our own affections. How we respond when Christ calls is the “proof in the pudding” that shows whether we are truly one of His sheep. As we read these verses, we see the response of those with genuine faith to the call of the Messiah into service.
After Jesus had called Peter and Andrew, He continued walking “He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother” (Matthew 4:20). I think it is interesting to note how these men were spending their time when Christ came to them on His divinely journey. First of all, as Matthew records, they were “in the boat with Zebedee their father”. These men, like Peter and Andrew, were fishermen. Unlike Peter and Andrew, they worked with their father. They worked as a family in a fishing business and that business was probably quite profitable. At least, the Bible seems to suggest that the family was fairly well off. We note, for example, in Mark 1:20 that there were also servants who worked with them and their father. I would imagine, then, that these guys had it made. I mean, their dad was the boss, business was doing pretty well, and they would likely inherit the family business when he passed on. ]
However, we see that these men were not lazy, lecherous bums who were mooching off of their father. In fact, when Jesus saw them they were “mending their nets”. The English word “mending” translates the Greek work “katarizo” which can mean “to repair”. However, it can also mean “fully” or “perfect” (Luke 6:40). It could have been that these men were preparing their nets for the next time they would go fishing. In any case, they were busy. People who work for themselves in a business such as James or John never really seem to have time off in my experience. I had a Sunday School teacher at the church that I pastured who was a farmer. If he wasn’t in the field, he was repairing equipment. He was always working. I, on the other hand, now work 4 days a week and when I’m off work, I am off from work. I might check email to see if an auditee had answered back with some information I had requested but I am not doing any real work. Of course, when I get to work, I have plenty of things waiting for me. These men didn’t have supervisors and they didn’t have people telling them what had to be done. They knew what to do and were busy doing their work.
Jesus finds these men being industrious rather than sitting idle. Matthew records that Jesus “called them” without quoting the exact words that Jesus used. However, we see the response of these men in verse 22. Because they were His sheep, when He called, they responded with obedience. They left their comfortable life with their business and their father. In fact, they left immediately. Certainly, God expects us to love and care for our family. We should remember, however, that our highest priority is to serve Christ. There should be nothing—jobs, friends, family—that should interfere with our service to Jesus Christ. In fact when we compare our love for Christ to our love for others, our love for Christ should make that love look like hate (Luke 14:26).
Does our response to the call of Christ in our lives demonstrate that He is our highest priority and that our loyalty to Him is our first loyalty? Let us soberly ask ourselves that question as we reflect on these verses.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
After Jesus had called Peter and Andrew, He continued walking “He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother” (Matthew 4:20). I think it is interesting to note how these men were spending their time when Christ came to them on His divinely journey. First of all, as Matthew records, they were “in the boat with Zebedee their father”. These men, like Peter and Andrew, were fishermen. Unlike Peter and Andrew, they worked with their father. They worked as a family in a fishing business and that business was probably quite profitable. At least, the Bible seems to suggest that the family was fairly well off. We note, for example, in Mark 1:20 that there were also servants who worked with them and their father. I would imagine, then, that these guys had it made. I mean, their dad was the boss, business was doing pretty well, and they would likely inherit the family business when he passed on. ]
However, we see that these men were not lazy, lecherous bums who were mooching off of their father. In fact, when Jesus saw them they were “mending their nets”. The English word “mending” translates the Greek work “katarizo” which can mean “to repair”. However, it can also mean “fully” or “perfect” (Luke 6:40). It could have been that these men were preparing their nets for the next time they would go fishing. In any case, they were busy. People who work for themselves in a business such as James or John never really seem to have time off in my experience. I had a Sunday School teacher at the church that I pastured who was a farmer. If he wasn’t in the field, he was repairing equipment. He was always working. I, on the other hand, now work 4 days a week and when I’m off work, I am off from work. I might check email to see if an auditee had answered back with some information I had requested but I am not doing any real work. Of course, when I get to work, I have plenty of things waiting for me. These men didn’t have supervisors and they didn’t have people telling them what had to be done. They knew what to do and were busy doing their work.
Jesus finds these men being industrious rather than sitting idle. Matthew records that Jesus “called them” without quoting the exact words that Jesus used. However, we see the response of these men in verse 22. Because they were His sheep, when He called, they responded with obedience. They left their comfortable life with their business and their father. In fact, they left immediately. Certainly, God expects us to love and care for our family. We should remember, however, that our highest priority is to serve Christ. There should be nothing—jobs, friends, family—that should interfere with our service to Jesus Christ. In fact when we compare our love for Christ to our love for others, our love for Christ should make that love look like hate (Luke 14:26).
Does our response to the call of Christ in our lives demonstrate that He is our highest priority and that our loyalty to Him is our first loyalty? Let us soberly ask ourselves that question as we reflect on these verses.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Matthew 4:18-20 The Messiah calls disciples
There are many things about God that fill me with awe and wonder. One of the greatest wonders to me is the fact that God choose to use fallen men and women as instruments through which He accomplishes His work. I mean, in and of ourselves, who among us could claim to have anything useful or worthwhile to offer God. For all our studying and all the skills and abilities we’ve developed in our lives, all of us are just about as much use to God as a sponge in the desert. Regardless of this, God chooses to use us and permit us to take part in the work that He does in this world. As we study this passage of scripture, we are reminded of how awesome an honor it is for God to call us to Himself for salvation and use us for ministry.
First of all, as we observed last week, Jesus had relocated to Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee. We find here yet another reason for Him to have relocated to this area. Matthew records in verse 18 that “Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee”. However, this was no simple stroll to stretch His legs. There was a definite purpose to this walk along the sea. He had a divine appointment with some men whom He had chosen for ministry. He had met these men and spent some time with them as recorded in John 1:36-42. However, at this time he found them “casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen”.
Isn’t it amazing that Christ would chose to call these men? They were not religious scholars. For that matter, they probably were not particularly intellectual. These are not men that the world would expect to be called as messengers of the most high God. They worked outside in the elements and worked hard for a living. They were typical blue collar guys. And here was the God that created the universe calling them into service. This is very encouraging to me. It should be encouraging to all of us. God chooses to use what men would call foolishness to make those that think they are wise truly look foolish (1 Corinthians 1:19). Praise God for being willing to use folks like me, you, Peter, and Andrew.
Notice further the call of Christ to these men. And as we pay attention to this call, I think it’s important to think about the call of Christ in our own lives. In John chapter 6 verse 37, Jesus said “All that the Father gives Me will come to me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” In other words, the call of Christ is an effectual call, meaning that it will accomplish its intended purpose. When God calls someone to salvation, they come to salvation. When God calls someone to service the will enter that service. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.(John 10:27). Therefore, when Christ calls these men into service, they respond because they are His sheep..
His call to them is interesting. He calls for them to “Follow Me”. If we are going to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, we must remember that He is the Master and we are the servants. He is the Shepherd who guides, leads, and feeds us who are the sheep. We are not independent agents who go where we want and do what we want. We are no longer slaves of sin but slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:18). Therefore, the most basic requirement of any disciple of Christ is to follow after Him.
Notice further, that He calls them with a particular kind of call. He says “I will make you fishers of men”. The Greek word “poieo” is the word translated “make”. We should remember that what we are going to become for God is not something we become under our own power. God works to make us like His Son. Christ here told these men that they would be changed and He would do the changing. They were called to leave what was probably a profitable fishing business to become what He called “fishers of men”. Now, instead of fishing for sea creatures for themselves and others to eat, they would fish for men by preaching the Gospel to them with the hopes of saving them. They went from providing men with food for their stomachs to providing them with food for their souls.
Finally, we notice in verse 20 that “Immediately, they left their nets and followed Him”. To a fisherman, nets were paramount. You couldn’t go to Wally World and pick up a fiberglass rod and reel and maybe some hooks and lures. That sort of stuff wouldn’t have done the job anyway. If you were going to fish, you had to have nets. When they left their nets, they left their way of life. It’s as simple as that. For them, there was no turning back. The call of God was so powerful in their life that they left their very livelihood to go where Jesus went without knowing where it would take them. Let us pray to God for the kind of faith and boldness that these men had. We should follow their example to let nothing get in our way of serving God faithfully and proclaiming the Good News wherever we go.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
First of all, as we observed last week, Jesus had relocated to Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee. We find here yet another reason for Him to have relocated to this area. Matthew records in verse 18 that “Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee”. However, this was no simple stroll to stretch His legs. There was a definite purpose to this walk along the sea. He had a divine appointment with some men whom He had chosen for ministry. He had met these men and spent some time with them as recorded in John 1:36-42. However, at this time he found them “casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen”.
Isn’t it amazing that Christ would chose to call these men? They were not religious scholars. For that matter, they probably were not particularly intellectual. These are not men that the world would expect to be called as messengers of the most high God. They worked outside in the elements and worked hard for a living. They were typical blue collar guys. And here was the God that created the universe calling them into service. This is very encouraging to me. It should be encouraging to all of us. God chooses to use what men would call foolishness to make those that think they are wise truly look foolish (1 Corinthians 1:19). Praise God for being willing to use folks like me, you, Peter, and Andrew.
Notice further the call of Christ to these men. And as we pay attention to this call, I think it’s important to think about the call of Christ in our own lives. In John chapter 6 verse 37, Jesus said “All that the Father gives Me will come to me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” In other words, the call of Christ is an effectual call, meaning that it will accomplish its intended purpose. When God calls someone to salvation, they come to salvation. When God calls someone to service the will enter that service. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.(John 10:27). Therefore, when Christ calls these men into service, they respond because they are His sheep..
His call to them is interesting. He calls for them to “Follow Me”. If we are going to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, we must remember that He is the Master and we are the servants. He is the Shepherd who guides, leads, and feeds us who are the sheep. We are not independent agents who go where we want and do what we want. We are no longer slaves of sin but slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:18). Therefore, the most basic requirement of any disciple of Christ is to follow after Him.
Notice further, that He calls them with a particular kind of call. He says “I will make you fishers of men”. The Greek word “poieo” is the word translated “make”. We should remember that what we are going to become for God is not something we become under our own power. God works to make us like His Son. Christ here told these men that they would be changed and He would do the changing. They were called to leave what was probably a profitable fishing business to become what He called “fishers of men”. Now, instead of fishing for sea creatures for themselves and others to eat, they would fish for men by preaching the Gospel to them with the hopes of saving them. They went from providing men with food for their stomachs to providing them with food for their souls.
Finally, we notice in verse 20 that “Immediately, they left their nets and followed Him”. To a fisherman, nets were paramount. You couldn’t go to Wally World and pick up a fiberglass rod and reel and maybe some hooks and lures. That sort of stuff wouldn’t have done the job anyway. If you were going to fish, you had to have nets. When they left their nets, they left their way of life. It’s as simple as that. For them, there was no turning back. The call of God was so powerful in their life that they left their very livelihood to go where Jesus went without knowing where it would take them. Let us pray to God for the kind of faith and boldness that these men had. We should follow their example to let nothing get in our way of serving God faithfully and proclaiming the Good News wherever we go.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Larry Norman
For those of you who don't know, Christian singer Larry Norman passed away on the 24th of this month. He was known as the Frank Zappa of comtemporary Christian Music. Now, I don't think I'd take that as much of a compliment. I mean, if someone told me I was the Frank Zappa of auditing, I'd probably ask them to step outside for a minute. Ok, I'm just kidding. If you've never heard of him or heard his music, here is a link to one of my favorite songs of his-Why should the devil have all the good music? Just good, fun stuff.
In Christ
In Christ
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Matthew 4:12-16 The Messiah begins His Ministry
As we continue to study this wonderful gospel of Matthew’s, we come to the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. This is probably as good a place as any to point out, for those of you who were not aware of it, that Matthew does not present the events and teachings in his gospel in strict chronological order. While there are things in the gospel that are generally chronological, this is not written as a history book. We should remember that Matthew’s purpose in writing was to prove to his people, the Jews, that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament. As he continues to drive his point home in this gospel, he records information about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
In verse 12, Matthew records that “Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody”. As we read in chapter 3, John was the last prophet of God to preach to Israel prior to the coming of Jesus. We also read that John was very bold in his proclamation of the truth, even going so far as to call the religious leaders of the day a brood of vipers. In fact, it was this boldness that landed John in prison. We read in Matthew 14 that John was imprisoned for calling Herod Anitpas out for his immoral relationship with his brother’s wife. This imprisonment led Christ to move into the area where John had been imprisoned and minister there. In his Notes on the New Testament, Albert Barnes suggests 3 reasons for Christ to have moved His ministry into that area:
(1,) because the attention of the people had been much excited by John's preaching, and it was more favourable for his own ministry.
(2.) It seemed desirable to have some one to second John in the work of reformation.
(3.) It was less dangerous for him to commence his labours there than near Jerusalem. Judea was under the dominion of the scribes, and Pharisees, and priests. They would naturally look with envy on any one who set up for a public teacher, and who should attract much attention there. It was important, therefore, that the work of Jesus should begin in Galilee, and become somewhat established and known before he went to Jerusalem.
While these are certainly plausible reasons, Matthew gives the most compelling reason for this change of location-God’s will. Jesus “withdrew into Galilee and, leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum”. This region of Galilee was the region under the control of Herod the Tetrach and was where John the Baptist had been imprisoned. Capernaum was a fairly large city (about 30,000 people) on the northwest coast of the sea of Galilee and it was the city where Jesus would spend a good deal of time in His ministry. Several of His disciples (i.e. Peter) lived there and the city gave Him quick access to the Sea of Galilee which He would cross several times in His ministry. However, as the evangelist Matthew records, the most important reason for Christ to have dwelled there is because it fulfilled scriptural prophecy and, therefore, God’s will.
Matthew notes that Christ’s dwelling in Galilee fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2. In verses 15-16, Matthew writes:
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali , By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles —16 "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light , And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death , Upon them a light dawned ."
Capernaum was in the land of Zebulon and Naphtali in the region of Upper Galilee. Upper Galilee was called Galilee of the Gentiles because many Gentiles lived there. People from the region were considered uncultured and kind of “backwards”. You might compare them to “rednecks” today. Therefore, Jesus left the center of Jewish culture and religious life, the area of Jerusalem, to minister to people who were considered to be from the wrong side of the tracks. There were described as “sitting in darkness” and “in the land and shadow of death”. As Matthew Henry notes in his commentary, “Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant.” In fact, this is the same sort of condition of all sinners before they are given the ability to repent and the faith to believe. All of us were sitting, quite comfortably, in our sin in open rebellion against the God that created us. And just like these people, thanks to the Holy Spirit, we saw the light. Now, of course, not everyone in this region responded with saving faith in Christ. However, like us, they were in darkness. Also, like us, the light did dawn. Christ came to these people to preach the same message of the kingdom that John had preached in the wilderness of Judea. In verse 17, Matthew records that Jesus preached to people “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Let us take these lessons from the life of our precious Savior and take the gospel to those who need it. Let us pray for the boldness of Jesus and of John the Baptist to proclaim that there is a judgment and people must be prepared spiritually by repenting of their sins and turning in faith to Christ.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
In verse 12, Matthew records that “Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody”. As we read in chapter 3, John was the last prophet of God to preach to Israel prior to the coming of Jesus. We also read that John was very bold in his proclamation of the truth, even going so far as to call the religious leaders of the day a brood of vipers. In fact, it was this boldness that landed John in prison. We read in Matthew 14 that John was imprisoned for calling Herod Anitpas out for his immoral relationship with his brother’s wife. This imprisonment led Christ to move into the area where John had been imprisoned and minister there. In his Notes on the New Testament, Albert Barnes suggests 3 reasons for Christ to have moved His ministry into that area:
(1,) because the attention of the people had been much excited by John's preaching, and it was more favourable for his own ministry.
(2.) It seemed desirable to have some one to second John in the work of reformation.
(3.) It was less dangerous for him to commence his labours there than near Jerusalem. Judea was under the dominion of the scribes, and Pharisees, and priests. They would naturally look with envy on any one who set up for a public teacher, and who should attract much attention there. It was important, therefore, that the work of Jesus should begin in Galilee, and become somewhat established and known before he went to Jerusalem.
While these are certainly plausible reasons, Matthew gives the most compelling reason for this change of location-God’s will. Jesus “withdrew into Galilee and, leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum”. This region of Galilee was the region under the control of Herod the Tetrach and was where John the Baptist had been imprisoned. Capernaum was a fairly large city (about 30,000 people) on the northwest coast of the sea of Galilee and it was the city where Jesus would spend a good deal of time in His ministry. Several of His disciples (i.e. Peter) lived there and the city gave Him quick access to the Sea of Galilee which He would cross several times in His ministry. However, as the evangelist Matthew records, the most important reason for Christ to have dwelled there is because it fulfilled scriptural prophecy and, therefore, God’s will.
Matthew notes that Christ’s dwelling in Galilee fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2. In verses 15-16, Matthew writes:
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali , By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles —16 "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light , And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death , Upon them a light dawned ."
Capernaum was in the land of Zebulon and Naphtali in the region of Upper Galilee. Upper Galilee was called Galilee of the Gentiles because many Gentiles lived there. People from the region were considered uncultured and kind of “backwards”. You might compare them to “rednecks” today. Therefore, Jesus left the center of Jewish culture and religious life, the area of Jerusalem, to minister to people who were considered to be from the wrong side of the tracks. There were described as “sitting in darkness” and “in the land and shadow of death”. As Matthew Henry notes in his commentary, “Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant.” In fact, this is the same sort of condition of all sinners before they are given the ability to repent and the faith to believe. All of us were sitting, quite comfortably, in our sin in open rebellion against the God that created us. And just like these people, thanks to the Holy Spirit, we saw the light. Now, of course, not everyone in this region responded with saving faith in Christ. However, like us, they were in darkness. Also, like us, the light did dawn. Christ came to these people to preach the same message of the kingdom that John had preached in the wilderness of Judea. In verse 17, Matthew records that Jesus preached to people “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Let us take these lessons from the life of our precious Savior and take the gospel to those who need it. Let us pray for the boldness of Jesus and of John the Baptist to proclaim that there is a judgment and people must be prepared spiritually by repenting of their sins and turning in faith to Christ.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Too much of a good thing?
For those of you who can't get enough of scripture exposition (and, let's face it, who can get enough of scripture exposition), a friend of mine, Mike, is blogging through the book of Philippians on his blog in a series called Fridays in Philippians. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.
in Christ
in Christ
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sorry, folks
Good day
I have studied for the next several verses of my exposition of Matthew. However, I have not written the post as of yet. Instead of trying to throw one together to make some sort of self imposed deadline, I've decided to take this week off and get back on my regular weekly schedule this weekend and have my post up by the 23rd (Saturday).
I have been thinking about something for sometime now and I thought I'd post this in the form of a prayer request. Eric over at Hammer and Nail has been posting a series on church reform. I highly recommend it. Anyway, he posted a link to a Southern Baptist church that is using a model called Family Intergrated Church. Basically, instead of seperating families into "age appropriate" classes, all families are together for the entire worship service. The concept, to me, is pretty exciting. Recently, I have become very disenchated with some of the things in the traditional institutional church and the idea of a "back to basics" kind of reformation sounds pretty appealing to me. Anyway, there is no such church in the area. I got to thinking how exciting it would be to start one. However, I don't need to do what Joe wants to do. I need to do what God wants me to do. Please pray for me that I will get a clear sense of direction from the Father.
Thanks so much for stopping by and I will have my next entry in Matthew up by Saturday.
in Christ
I have studied for the next several verses of my exposition of Matthew. However, I have not written the post as of yet. Instead of trying to throw one together to make some sort of self imposed deadline, I've decided to take this week off and get back on my regular weekly schedule this weekend and have my post up by the 23rd (Saturday).
I have been thinking about something for sometime now and I thought I'd post this in the form of a prayer request. Eric over at Hammer and Nail has been posting a series on church reform. I highly recommend it. Anyway, he posted a link to a Southern Baptist church that is using a model called Family Intergrated Church. Basically, instead of seperating families into "age appropriate" classes, all families are together for the entire worship service. The concept, to me, is pretty exciting. Recently, I have become very disenchated with some of the things in the traditional institutional church and the idea of a "back to basics" kind of reformation sounds pretty appealing to me. Anyway, there is no such church in the area. I got to thinking how exciting it would be to start one. However, I don't need to do what Joe wants to do. I need to do what God wants me to do. Please pray for me that I will get a clear sense of direction from the Father.
Thanks so much for stopping by and I will have my next entry in Matthew up by Saturday.
in Christ
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Great post on the temptation of our Savior
Alan Knox in his blog The Assembling of the Church (see link on the left) has written a great post reflecting on the temptation of Jesus here. You should check it out if you have the chance.
in Christ
in Christ
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Matthew 4:8-11 The Temptation of Jesus Part V
Probably the clearest picture of the motives of Satan in the Bible is found in Isaiah chapter 14. Ultimately, Satan wants to usurp power, glory, and authority from the Lord. We see him, in this last temptation recorded in Matthew, at his most arrogant. We see our Savoir demonstrate His unwavering devotion to God the Father and find for ourselves an example of the kind of faithfulness that we as followers of Christ are called to in our lives.
We notice that the setting has changed for this last temptation as recorded in Matthew. Satan has conducted Jesus to some “very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”. The parallel passage in Luke 4 adds that the devil made this presentation in “a moment in time”. The picture that seems to be painted is that the devil showed our Lord all that could be seen from the top of this unnamed precipice and supernaturally showed a vision of the kingdoms of the world. Certainly, this would have been a magnificent sight. Rome was the most recent in a fairly impressive line of ancient civilizations including Babylon, Persia, and Greece. From a purely human standpoint, these societies had produced wonders in art, literature, politics, and architecture. Of course, viewed from the perspective of almighty God they were sinful, petty examples of man at his worst. Measured by purely human standards, however, their glory was unsurpassed.
In the midst of this glory, which was the height of human glory, Satan makes his most bold, presumptuous challenge of the three. He says to our Lord, in verse 9, that he would give Jesus all of the things that he showed Him. There was just one small catch. He said he would give these things to Christ if “You will bow down and worship me”. The creature here demands worship from the Creator. The clay calls for homage from the Potter. There is a reason that scripture teaches that “pride goes before destruction”. Satan, even in his state as a defeated foe, stands arrogantly demanding worship from God Incarnate.
We should remember as we study this that Satan did (and does) have a measure of authority over this earth. In John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11, our Lord calls Satan “the prince of this world”. We read in Daniel how demons sent by Satan interfere in human governments (Daniel 10:13). With this in mind, it is reasonable to assume that he could have given a measure of authority to Christ. Of course, we know that at the end of everything that our Lord will in fact be crowned King over all creation to the glory of God the Father. In this temptation, we see Satan trying to tempt Jesus with a shortcut to the kingdom. In other words, would He remain faithful to the Father and be obedient to the Father’s plan which included suffering or would He worship Satan to obtain the kingdom without the pain and suffering He would face as the Lamb of God.
You and I, of course, are never going to be offered the kingdoms of the world by Satan. However, as we think about our lives and situations that we face, there are times where our devotion to God is questioned in much the same way. Be it at work or at home, we also have to make decisions daily to obey God and choose His way rather than a way that might seem quicker, easier, or less painful. Our Lord, here, provides for us a pattern that we should follow when we come into situations like that.
He responds in verse 10 by saying “Go, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” In the New King James version, the Lord is quoted as saying “Away with you, Satan.” ** In any case, He had simply, up to this point, quoted holy scripture to refute the tests of the devil. However, in the face of blatant blasphemy, He exercise His divine authority and calls for Satan to leave. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 saying “you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”. The English word “worship” translates a Greek word “proskuneo” which means to prostrate oneself or bow in worship (see Matthew 2:2). This is one kind of worship that we should give to God. The idea of reverently presenting ourselves to God in a manner that shows our hearts are humble is certainly important in worship. Jesus also says that we should “serve” God. The word translated “serve” is “latreuo” which probably comes from the Greek word “latris” which means a servant. This word is translated as “worship” in Romans 12:1. Basically, it means to render spiritual service. Jesus is saying, then, that God is the only one worthy not only of us humbling ourselves before Him but He is also worthy of our acts of service which we perform in His name. No one else in the universe deserves the loyalty that we should have for God, certainly not the prince of this world, Satan.
We see that in verse 11 after having successfully passed these tests and demonstrated His faithfulness to the Father, that the Father did indeed meet His needs. The adversary, Satan, left Him and “angels came and began to minister to Him”. “Diakoneo” is the word rendered “minister” and it means to provide physically for someone’s needs. Jesus waited on the Father and the Father in due time provided what He needed. You and I would do well to remember these lessons we have learned as we have studied about our Lord’s time of testing. The same God the provided for Christ in His time of trial will also provide for us who are His dear children.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
**Note**
If you have been following this blog for any time or if you have gone back and read any of my other posts, you may notice that I have started using a different Bible translation with these past two posts. In case anyone was wondering, I made this change based on personal research I have done regarding New Testament texts. Now, when I say research, I mean what I have read about the subject from various sources I have available to me. I’ve never been to seminary and am neither competent nor qualified to present much of an argument as to which New Testament text is 100% closer to the autographs. I will probably continue to use the New King James as I study because I really like the text footnotes. I’m sure everyone has their own opinions on the subject.
That’s just my two cents for anyone who might have been curious. I know that some Christians are convicted that the Alexandrian text (the one used to translate most Bibles published since the late 1880’s) was produced by people who were trying to corrupt Christian doctrine. If that is the case, then they did a rotten job of it. In the end, there is not one doctrine of Christianity that is weakened regardless of the text the reader chooses.
in Christ
We notice that the setting has changed for this last temptation as recorded in Matthew. Satan has conducted Jesus to some “very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”. The parallel passage in Luke 4 adds that the devil made this presentation in “a moment in time”. The picture that seems to be painted is that the devil showed our Lord all that could be seen from the top of this unnamed precipice and supernaturally showed a vision of the kingdoms of the world. Certainly, this would have been a magnificent sight. Rome was the most recent in a fairly impressive line of ancient civilizations including Babylon, Persia, and Greece. From a purely human standpoint, these societies had produced wonders in art, literature, politics, and architecture. Of course, viewed from the perspective of almighty God they were sinful, petty examples of man at his worst. Measured by purely human standards, however, their glory was unsurpassed.
In the midst of this glory, which was the height of human glory, Satan makes his most bold, presumptuous challenge of the three. He says to our Lord, in verse 9, that he would give Jesus all of the things that he showed Him. There was just one small catch. He said he would give these things to Christ if “You will bow down and worship me”. The creature here demands worship from the Creator. The clay calls for homage from the Potter. There is a reason that scripture teaches that “pride goes before destruction”. Satan, even in his state as a defeated foe, stands arrogantly demanding worship from God Incarnate.
We should remember as we study this that Satan did (and does) have a measure of authority over this earth. In John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11, our Lord calls Satan “the prince of this world”. We read in Daniel how demons sent by Satan interfere in human governments (Daniel 10:13). With this in mind, it is reasonable to assume that he could have given a measure of authority to Christ. Of course, we know that at the end of everything that our Lord will in fact be crowned King over all creation to the glory of God the Father. In this temptation, we see Satan trying to tempt Jesus with a shortcut to the kingdom. In other words, would He remain faithful to the Father and be obedient to the Father’s plan which included suffering or would He worship Satan to obtain the kingdom without the pain and suffering He would face as the Lamb of God.
You and I, of course, are never going to be offered the kingdoms of the world by Satan. However, as we think about our lives and situations that we face, there are times where our devotion to God is questioned in much the same way. Be it at work or at home, we also have to make decisions daily to obey God and choose His way rather than a way that might seem quicker, easier, or less painful. Our Lord, here, provides for us a pattern that we should follow when we come into situations like that.
He responds in verse 10 by saying “Go, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” In the New King James version, the Lord is quoted as saying “Away with you, Satan.” ** In any case, He had simply, up to this point, quoted holy scripture to refute the tests of the devil. However, in the face of blatant blasphemy, He exercise His divine authority and calls for Satan to leave. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 saying “you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”. The English word “worship” translates a Greek word “proskuneo” which means to prostrate oneself or bow in worship (see Matthew 2:2). This is one kind of worship that we should give to God. The idea of reverently presenting ourselves to God in a manner that shows our hearts are humble is certainly important in worship. Jesus also says that we should “serve” God. The word translated “serve” is “latreuo” which probably comes from the Greek word “latris” which means a servant. This word is translated as “worship” in Romans 12:1. Basically, it means to render spiritual service. Jesus is saying, then, that God is the only one worthy not only of us humbling ourselves before Him but He is also worthy of our acts of service which we perform in His name. No one else in the universe deserves the loyalty that we should have for God, certainly not the prince of this world, Satan.
We see that in verse 11 after having successfully passed these tests and demonstrated His faithfulness to the Father, that the Father did indeed meet His needs. The adversary, Satan, left Him and “angels came and began to minister to Him”. “Diakoneo” is the word rendered “minister” and it means to provide physically for someone’s needs. Jesus waited on the Father and the Father in due time provided what He needed. You and I would do well to remember these lessons we have learned as we have studied about our Lord’s time of testing. The same God the provided for Christ in His time of trial will also provide for us who are His dear children.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
**Note**
If you have been following this blog for any time or if you have gone back and read any of my other posts, you may notice that I have started using a different Bible translation with these past two posts. In case anyone was wondering, I made this change based on personal research I have done regarding New Testament texts. Now, when I say research, I mean what I have read about the subject from various sources I have available to me. I’ve never been to seminary and am neither competent nor qualified to present much of an argument as to which New Testament text is 100% closer to the autographs. I will probably continue to use the New King James as I study because I really like the text footnotes. I’m sure everyone has their own opinions on the subject.
That’s just my two cents for anyone who might have been curious. I know that some Christians are convicted that the Alexandrian text (the one used to translate most Bibles published since the late 1880’s) was produced by people who were trying to corrupt Christian doctrine. If that is the case, then they did a rotten job of it. In the end, there is not one doctrine of Christianity that is weakened regardless of the text the reader chooses.
in Christ
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Matthew 4:5-7 The Temptation of Jesus Part IV
Cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormon Church quote scripture frequently to support their points. By simply taking a verse completely out of its context they appear to make it mean something other than it actually does. In essence, they highjack the authority of scripture and twist the substance of it to support their unbiblical beliefs. When Satan confronted Jesus, he did the same thing. As we will see in this section of the Bible, the way Jesus responded to this challenge can serve as an example for us when we are going through a trial or discussing the Bible with someone who is antagonistic to scripture.
Matthew 4:5 records that Satan “took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple”. We notice, first of all, the scene has changed. Satan has led Jesus out of the solitude of the wilderness to the heart of the city of Jerusalem. Very likely, the city was bustling with people going about their daily affairs. However, Satan had a specific reason for the change of venue. Christ had shown that He would be obedient to God and wait on Him to supply His needs in the previous test. Our Lord demonstrated that He would not use divine power to even provide food for Himself even though He was terribly hungry. In my neck of the woods, you might even say He was “hon-gry”. Satan also observed that Jesus was not only obedient to God but used the word of God to thwart his first trial.
Satan, therefore, moved to plan B. He first takes our Lord to a public place and tempts Him to put His trust in God the Father to the test. Actually, the strategy is pretty sound. If Jesus is going to trust the Father to provide and refuse to use supernatural power apart from the will of the Father, Satan places Jesus in a situation where that is exactly what he would expect Jesus to do. He says to our Lord in verse 6 “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You’ and ‘You shall not strike Your foot against a stone’.” The quote is from Psalm 91:11 and 12. Taken at face value, it seems to mean exactly what Satan says it means. Just like a good little guy wearing the white dress shirt, black tie, and riding a bicycle, he seems to have made a valid point. However, let’s investigate this a bit further, shall we?
Psalm 91 is the NASB has the subtitle “Security for the one who trusts in the Lord”. I don’t want to take the whole post discussing the entire Psalm, but there are two things that we really ought to notice. First of all, the devil intentionally leaves out part of the Scripture. In verse 11 of the psalm, the author actually says “He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Secondly, in context, the verse takes on the meaning that the person whom this verse talks about is someone who is living for God. Verse 9 of this Psalm says “For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High your dwelling place”. Now someone who would recklessly endanger their own life and put themselves in a position where God would have to act supernaturally to save them is not someone who I would walking in the way that God would have them walk. They would be terribly presumptuous and, in fact, would be demonstrating that they don’t trust God. In essence, they would be demanding proof from God of His love and care for their well being. Therefore, Satan took a scripture that talks about God’s protection and providential care of His saints and twisted it to mean exactly the opposite of what it really meant.
Jesus again quoted scripture to refute Satan. In this case, Satan was tempting the Lord to put His Father’s care to the test. Jesus refused to fall for this snare and told the devil in verse 7 “It is written again, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’”. The Greek word “palin” is translated in English as “again”. However, according to Vincent’s Word Studies, the actual meaning in this instance would be “on the other hand”. Our Lord contrasts Satan’s misuse of scripture with proper application of another scripture. By quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16, He basically tells Satan that to presumptuously require a sign from the Lord is sin. In fact, Deuteronomy 6:16 refers back to an incident in Exodus 17 where the children of Israel were thirsty and demanding a miraculous sign from the Lord to provide for them. Therefore, for Jesus to make a spectacle of Himself by plunging off of the top of the temple would have, in fact, been sin.
Again, we observe our Lord using the word of God to gain victory over His adversary. We also observe that He used scripture to interpret scripture. We should remember that this is a key principle to proper biblical interpretation. Finally, we see how Satan (and others) misquote and misapply scripture for their own ends. As students of the bible, it is paramount for us to be able to respond to challenges such as this not with our own intellect but with the truth of God’s word as it is rightly divided.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Matthew 4:5 records that Satan “took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple”. We notice, first of all, the scene has changed. Satan has led Jesus out of the solitude of the wilderness to the heart of the city of Jerusalem. Very likely, the city was bustling with people going about their daily affairs. However, Satan had a specific reason for the change of venue. Christ had shown that He would be obedient to God and wait on Him to supply His needs in the previous test. Our Lord demonstrated that He would not use divine power to even provide food for Himself even though He was terribly hungry. In my neck of the woods, you might even say He was “hon-gry”. Satan also observed that Jesus was not only obedient to God but used the word of God to thwart his first trial.
Satan, therefore, moved to plan B. He first takes our Lord to a public place and tempts Him to put His trust in God the Father to the test. Actually, the strategy is pretty sound. If Jesus is going to trust the Father to provide and refuse to use supernatural power apart from the will of the Father, Satan places Jesus in a situation where that is exactly what he would expect Jesus to do. He says to our Lord in verse 6 “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You’ and ‘You shall not strike Your foot against a stone’.” The quote is from Psalm 91:11 and 12. Taken at face value, it seems to mean exactly what Satan says it means. Just like a good little guy wearing the white dress shirt, black tie, and riding a bicycle, he seems to have made a valid point. However, let’s investigate this a bit further, shall we?
Psalm 91 is the NASB has the subtitle “Security for the one who trusts in the Lord”. I don’t want to take the whole post discussing the entire Psalm, but there are two things that we really ought to notice. First of all, the devil intentionally leaves out part of the Scripture. In verse 11 of the psalm, the author actually says “He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Secondly, in context, the verse takes on the meaning that the person whom this verse talks about is someone who is living for God. Verse 9 of this Psalm says “For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High your dwelling place”. Now someone who would recklessly endanger their own life and put themselves in a position where God would have to act supernaturally to save them is not someone who I would walking in the way that God would have them walk. They would be terribly presumptuous and, in fact, would be demonstrating that they don’t trust God. In essence, they would be demanding proof from God of His love and care for their well being. Therefore, Satan took a scripture that talks about God’s protection and providential care of His saints and twisted it to mean exactly the opposite of what it really meant.
Jesus again quoted scripture to refute Satan. In this case, Satan was tempting the Lord to put His Father’s care to the test. Jesus refused to fall for this snare and told the devil in verse 7 “It is written again, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’”. The Greek word “palin” is translated in English as “again”. However, according to Vincent’s Word Studies, the actual meaning in this instance would be “on the other hand”. Our Lord contrasts Satan’s misuse of scripture with proper application of another scripture. By quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16, He basically tells Satan that to presumptuously require a sign from the Lord is sin. In fact, Deuteronomy 6:16 refers back to an incident in Exodus 17 where the children of Israel were thirsty and demanding a miraculous sign from the Lord to provide for them. Therefore, for Jesus to make a spectacle of Himself by plunging off of the top of the temple would have, in fact, been sin.
Again, we observe our Lord using the word of God to gain victory over His adversary. We also observe that He used scripture to interpret scripture. We should remember that this is a key principle to proper biblical interpretation. Finally, we see how Satan (and others) misquote and misapply scripture for their own ends. As students of the bible, it is paramount for us to be able to respond to challenges such as this not with our own intellect but with the truth of God’s word as it is rightly divided.
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Matthew 4:2-4 The Temptation of Jesus Part III
Satan often attacks us where we are weakest and when we are at our weakest. I can think of time after time in my life where Satan provided opportunities for me to give in to my flesh and disobey God. Sometimes I’ve done well and stood firm against those temptations. Other times I’ve looked like a skinny cornerback charged with tackling a 250 pound running back who has made it past the linebackers and I’ve gotten run over. While Christ did not have an inherent sin nature for the devil to appeal to, Christ did face the testing described in this chapter when He was at His weakest. As we read about this encounter, we can be encouraged that we have the same spiritual power available to us to stand strong in the middle of our trials and temptations.
In verse 2 of this chapter, we are introduced to the physical state our Lord was in when the tempter came to test Him. We are told that He had not eaten for 40 days and nights and that “afterward, He was hungry”. Our Lord fasted in order to devote Himself to prayer and communion with God the Father in preparation for the testing He would now face. I can’t even begin to imagine how hungry He must have been. When I was studying music in college, I had a semester where I went from 8 in the morning until 7 or 8 at night with only a 30 minute break on Mondays and Wednesdays. I would leave Jazz Band rehearsal (which ended at 5:30) early sometimes because I had not had time to grab lunch and I was shaking from a blood sugar low. That doesn’t even begin to compare to what our precious Lord endured. It was at this moment of physical weakness that Satan came on the scene.
Verse 3 records the first temptation Satan brought against our Lord. He was hungry and Satan hoped to appeal to His physical desire for food in order to motivate Him to sin. He said, quite simply, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” God had called Jesus “Son” in the previous chapter. Satan now uses that title in his temptation. Basically, I think he was saying “Ok. You’re the Son of God. Why should you suffer from lack of food? I mean, if you’re going to live as a human you’re going to have to eat. You’d only be doing what is normal and necessary. Go ahead. Make yourself some bread.”
This temptation, though, really had nothing to do with food. There is a much bigger picture for us to see here. As Philippians chapter 2 tells us that Jesus, as God the Son, became willingly submissive to God the Father. He did not become less that God. He simply willingly subjected Himself to God the Father. Therefore, He would only do what God the Father directed Him to do (Luke 2:49, John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:31). If He had changed these stones to bread to satiate His hunger, He would have been operating outside of the direction of God the Father. Of course, this is what Satan wanted Him to do.
Jesus’ response is a marvelous example to believers when we encounter trials. First of all, Jesus used the previously written word of God, not a new revelation. He could have spoken a new truth and it would have been just as true as what He quoted. However, He appealed to scripture that had already been recorded. In verse 4, Jesus said “It is written ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”. As noted in Vincent’s Word Studies, “It is written” is in the Greek perfect tense. In other words, the phrase could be rendered “It has been written and stands written even today.”He then quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3. In that verse, Moses was teaching the people that God allowed His people to hunger and then fed them with manna in the wilderness. There was a spiritual purpose to this physical trial. God wanted to teach them to rely on Him. Instead of feeding them with food as they would have expected, He used supernatural means to provide for them. Therefore, the lesson they should have learned was that no matter what the circumstances, God can and does provide for His people. By quoting this verse, Jesus was saying that He was willing to be obedient and wait on His Father to provide even if He was hungry because God was fatithful and would provide for Him.
As we read the account of Jesus’ first temptation by Satan, we can be encouraged to remain faithful to God and to rely on His word when temptations come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
In verse 2 of this chapter, we are introduced to the physical state our Lord was in when the tempter came to test Him. We are told that He had not eaten for 40 days and nights and that “afterward, He was hungry”. Our Lord fasted in order to devote Himself to prayer and communion with God the Father in preparation for the testing He would now face. I can’t even begin to imagine how hungry He must have been. When I was studying music in college, I had a semester where I went from 8 in the morning until 7 or 8 at night with only a 30 minute break on Mondays and Wednesdays. I would leave Jazz Band rehearsal (which ended at 5:30) early sometimes because I had not had time to grab lunch and I was shaking from a blood sugar low. That doesn’t even begin to compare to what our precious Lord endured. It was at this moment of physical weakness that Satan came on the scene.
Verse 3 records the first temptation Satan brought against our Lord. He was hungry and Satan hoped to appeal to His physical desire for food in order to motivate Him to sin. He said, quite simply, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” God had called Jesus “Son” in the previous chapter. Satan now uses that title in his temptation. Basically, I think he was saying “Ok. You’re the Son of God. Why should you suffer from lack of food? I mean, if you’re going to live as a human you’re going to have to eat. You’d only be doing what is normal and necessary. Go ahead. Make yourself some bread.”
This temptation, though, really had nothing to do with food. There is a much bigger picture for us to see here. As Philippians chapter 2 tells us that Jesus, as God the Son, became willingly submissive to God the Father. He did not become less that God. He simply willingly subjected Himself to God the Father. Therefore, He would only do what God the Father directed Him to do (Luke 2:49, John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:31). If He had changed these stones to bread to satiate His hunger, He would have been operating outside of the direction of God the Father. Of course, this is what Satan wanted Him to do.
Jesus’ response is a marvelous example to believers when we encounter trials. First of all, Jesus used the previously written word of God, not a new revelation. He could have spoken a new truth and it would have been just as true as what He quoted. However, He appealed to scripture that had already been recorded. In verse 4, Jesus said “It is written ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”. As noted in Vincent’s Word Studies, “It is written” is in the Greek perfect tense. In other words, the phrase could be rendered “It has been written and stands written even today.”He then quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3. In that verse, Moses was teaching the people that God allowed His people to hunger and then fed them with manna in the wilderness. There was a spiritual purpose to this physical trial. God wanted to teach them to rely on Him. Instead of feeding them with food as they would have expected, He used supernatural means to provide for them. Therefore, the lesson they should have learned was that no matter what the circumstances, God can and does provide for His people. By quoting this verse, Jesus was saying that He was willing to be obedient and wait on His Father to provide even if He was hungry because God was fatithful and would provide for Him.
As we read the account of Jesus’ first temptation by Satan, we can be encouraged to remain faithful to God and to rely on His word when temptations come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Matthew 4:1 The Temptation of Jesus Part II
As we begin to examine the temptation of Jesus, there are some important questions we must ask ourselves in order to fully understand the drama as it unfolds in scripture. Rather than proceeding to the next verse this week, I thought it would be a good idea to point some these issues out so that we can keep them in mind as we continue to study this section of Matthew’s gospel account.
First of all, we should realize that Jesus was tempted in Matthew chapter 4 for the same reason that God allows us to go through trials. In 1 Peter 1:6-7 reads” 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In these verses, Peter identifies a kind of temptation that you and I endure. He says that these believers to whom he wrote were experiencing “trails” (Greek-peirasmos). This word is closely related to the word for tempted in Matthew 4:1 (Greek-peirazo). This is not a temptation to sin, but is rather an opportunity for our faith to be proven genuine. Therefore, God was allowing Jesus to demonstrate through His actions that He was in fact the Son of God with whom the Father was “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Even so, God allows us to go through temptations (trials) on occasion for His glory so that our faith is shown to be true.
In addition, we should note that we have at our disposal the same means to endure the trials we face as our Lord did. We observe in verse 2 of Matthew 4 that our Lord fasted for 40 days and forty nights. While scripture does not record it, we can be sure that He spent that time in prayer, communing with the Father in preparation for the trial He would face. I’m not certain that we must fast to draw close to God, but certainly there are Christians that practice that spiritual discipline. I believe, however, the most important fact for us to notice is that He spent time in prayer to the Father. If Jesus, Who was the Lord of all creation and the eternal Second Person of the Godhead, spent time praying when facing a trial, we should say to ourselves “If it was good enough for my Lord, it’s good enough for me”. Further more, we notice throughout the trial that He made use of God’s word. In the series I wrote on Psalm 1, I made the point that the subject of the Psalm meditates on the word of God day and night. Now, if you and I meditated on the word of God and quoted scripture in the midst of trials rather than complaining under our breath, we would have greater success in facing these trials. Again, let us look to our Lord as our example.
Finally, we should note the difference in the trial that our Lord endured as compared to the temptations that we face. You and I are prone to sin because we have a sin nature that lives within us. Even once we are born again in the spirit, we are still living in corrupted flesh that doesn’t know how to do anything better than to sin. While God does try or test us, the same Greek word can be used to describe a person being tempted to sin. Satan wanted to tempt Christ to sin. However, Christ had no sin nature. Since sin is passed down from father to children (Romans 5) and Christ had no human biological father (Matthew 1) Christ did not have a sin nature for the devil to exploit. As James 1:13-14 reads “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” This does not diminish the victory that Christ had over the devil. We simply need to remember that our sinful temptations are different from the temptation that Christ faced in the wilderness. However, we have victory over sin through His precious blood and His Holy Spirit will conform to His image. Therefore, while we will not have total victory over sin in this life, we can become more like Christ and have greater victory over sin. We also, through the same power that was available to Jesus, can stand firm and demonstrate the genuineness of our faith in our trials just as our Lord did in His trial.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
First of all, we should realize that Jesus was tempted in Matthew chapter 4 for the same reason that God allows us to go through trials. In 1 Peter 1:6-7 reads” 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In these verses, Peter identifies a kind of temptation that you and I endure. He says that these believers to whom he wrote were experiencing “trails” (Greek-peirasmos). This word is closely related to the word for tempted in Matthew 4:1 (Greek-peirazo). This is not a temptation to sin, but is rather an opportunity for our faith to be proven genuine. Therefore, God was allowing Jesus to demonstrate through His actions that He was in fact the Son of God with whom the Father was “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Even so, God allows us to go through temptations (trials) on occasion for His glory so that our faith is shown to be true.
In addition, we should note that we have at our disposal the same means to endure the trials we face as our Lord did. We observe in verse 2 of Matthew 4 that our Lord fasted for 40 days and forty nights. While scripture does not record it, we can be sure that He spent that time in prayer, communing with the Father in preparation for the trial He would face. I’m not certain that we must fast to draw close to God, but certainly there are Christians that practice that spiritual discipline. I believe, however, the most important fact for us to notice is that He spent time in prayer to the Father. If Jesus, Who was the Lord of all creation and the eternal Second Person of the Godhead, spent time praying when facing a trial, we should say to ourselves “If it was good enough for my Lord, it’s good enough for me”. Further more, we notice throughout the trial that He made use of God’s word. In the series I wrote on Psalm 1, I made the point that the subject of the Psalm meditates on the word of God day and night. Now, if you and I meditated on the word of God and quoted scripture in the midst of trials rather than complaining under our breath, we would have greater success in facing these trials. Again, let us look to our Lord as our example.
Finally, we should note the difference in the trial that our Lord endured as compared to the temptations that we face. You and I are prone to sin because we have a sin nature that lives within us. Even once we are born again in the spirit, we are still living in corrupted flesh that doesn’t know how to do anything better than to sin. While God does try or test us, the same Greek word can be used to describe a person being tempted to sin. Satan wanted to tempt Christ to sin. However, Christ had no sin nature. Since sin is passed down from father to children (Romans 5) and Christ had no human biological father (Matthew 1) Christ did not have a sin nature for the devil to exploit. As James 1:13-14 reads “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” This does not diminish the victory that Christ had over the devil. We simply need to remember that our sinful temptations are different from the temptation that Christ faced in the wilderness. However, we have victory over sin through His precious blood and His Holy Spirit will conform to His image. Therefore, while we will not have total victory over sin in this life, we can become more like Christ and have greater victory over sin. We also, through the same power that was available to Jesus, can stand firm and demonstrate the genuineness of our faith in our trials just as our Lord did in His trial.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Matthew 4:1 The Temptation of Jesus Part I
Jesus Christ provides the perfect example of faithfulness to God our Father in scripture. It is such an encouragement to read how He faced temptation by Satan and consistently obeyed God’s will. As Christians, we will fail at times when faced with temptation. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit we too can have victory in trials just as Christ did. As we examine this scenario over the next few weeks, I believe God will demonstrate to us through His word how we can have this victory.
First of all, we should observe that this temptation of Jesus was God’s will. Matthew records in verse 1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit”. As far as I can tell from having read, this happened immediately after His baptism by John in the Jordan River. He had just publically announced His entry in the His work as the Messiah. Prior to beginning His ministry, God led Him into the wilderness. Notice that Jesus was led by the Spirit. This wasn’t something that He thought up on His own. Christ did not come to do His own will but the will of His Father. God, in His providence, had a plan in mind for this journey. As preparation for the ministry that Christ was about to enter, God wanted to demonstrate that Christ was the faithful Servant who would completely obey Him. In order to demonstrate this, He allowed Satan to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.
We should also note that Jesus was sent alone into a place of solitude. He would have no companions and no comforts. He would demonstrate the truth of His incarnation and His willingness to be obedient to God the Father in a setting which would seem to give His adversary an advantage. This was no vacation or pleasure trip that our Lord entered upon but rather it was a solemn time of reflection and preparation.
The word translated “tempt” is the Greek word “peirazo”. This word can mean to try or to test. When we are tempted as our Lord was tempted we are being tested. Satan would use this time to try to tempt Jesus to sin and disobey God. God was using this time to demonstrate that Jesus was perfectly obedient and submissive. The Devil (Greek diablos-false accuser) would try to motivate Jesus to be unfaithful by tempting His with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. God would allow Jesus to endure these trials to provide for us a guide to follow when we are tempted. While our Lord had no sin nature that He had to overcome, He had victory over His temptations by the same means we can have victory over our temptations-the word of God.
As Jesus was alone in the wilderness facing the wiles of the Devil, He did not use His divine power to sidestep or overcome those temptations. He met each one head on and engaged the enemy using the sword of the Spirit. When we fail (as I do daily), it is not because I don’t have the means to withstand the temptation. More often than not, I chose to ignore the clear warnings of scripture. Satan had a goal in mind for this encounter with Jesus. God allowed Satan to try to tempt Jesus to sin in order that Jesus might prove Himself to be the perfectly obedient Son in order that He might pay for sin on the cross.
Praise God for the obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
First of all, we should observe that this temptation of Jesus was God’s will. Matthew records in verse 1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit”. As far as I can tell from having read, this happened immediately after His baptism by John in the Jordan River. He had just publically announced His entry in the His work as the Messiah. Prior to beginning His ministry, God led Him into the wilderness. Notice that Jesus was led by the Spirit. This wasn’t something that He thought up on His own. Christ did not come to do His own will but the will of His Father. God, in His providence, had a plan in mind for this journey. As preparation for the ministry that Christ was about to enter, God wanted to demonstrate that Christ was the faithful Servant who would completely obey Him. In order to demonstrate this, He allowed Satan to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.
We should also note that Jesus was sent alone into a place of solitude. He would have no companions and no comforts. He would demonstrate the truth of His incarnation and His willingness to be obedient to God the Father in a setting which would seem to give His adversary an advantage. This was no vacation or pleasure trip that our Lord entered upon but rather it was a solemn time of reflection and preparation.
The word translated “tempt” is the Greek word “peirazo”. This word can mean to try or to test. When we are tempted as our Lord was tempted we are being tested. Satan would use this time to try to tempt Jesus to sin and disobey God. God was using this time to demonstrate that Jesus was perfectly obedient and submissive. The Devil (Greek diablos-false accuser) would try to motivate Jesus to be unfaithful by tempting His with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. God would allow Jesus to endure these trials to provide for us a guide to follow when we are tempted. While our Lord had no sin nature that He had to overcome, He had victory over His temptations by the same means we can have victory over our temptations-the word of God.
As Jesus was alone in the wilderness facing the wiles of the Devil, He did not use His divine power to sidestep or overcome those temptations. He met each one head on and engaged the enemy using the sword of the Spirit. When we fail (as I do daily), it is not because I don’t have the means to withstand the temptation. More often than not, I chose to ignore the clear warnings of scripture. Satan had a goal in mind for this encounter with Jesus. God allowed Satan to try to tempt Jesus to sin in order that Jesus might prove Himself to be the perfectly obedient Son in order that He might pay for sin on the cross.
Praise God for the obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Psalm 1:4-6 There is a payday someday
I read a bumper sticker one time that said “If you’re living like there is no God, you better be right.” Proclaiming that God is righteous and holy and will judge those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not a popular message. As the book of Proverbs notes, most people are more than happy to proclaim their own goodness. However, regardless of how unpopular it is for us to proclaim that there is judgment for sin, the Bible is as plain and clear about that truth as it can be. People need to realize that there is a judgment day coming and that they don’t have unlimited time to get ready to face that judgment. There will be no grading on the curve. Punishment will be final and terrible. Those who reject Jesus will find that they are both helpless and hopeless before the righteous fury of a holy God.
First of all, they will find that they are helpless. We noted in the last lesson on Psalm 1 that ultimately a righteous person will prosper because he will have a home in heaven with all the saints. He will enter into the joy of fellowship with God’s people for all eternity. However, Psalm 1 verse 4 says “The wicked are not so”. There is no happy ending for them. As bad as trials may have been in their life, they are in no way prepared for the eternity that awaits them. The verse goes on to describe their helplessness. It describes them as “chaff which the wind drives away”. I am from the Gulf Coast originally. I have seen my share of hurricanes. That’s why I no longer live on the Gulf Coast. When the wind of a hurricane starts blowing, it picks up things and throws them willy-nilly. It uprooted a huge tree in the front yard of one of my aunt’s houses. That is why when people know a hurricane is coming, they tie up lawn furniture and pack up kids toys. There is no way to control where that stuff is going to go. In like manner, the ungodly will be scattered before God’s righteous judgment. They will be utterly helpless on that day.
They will also be hopeless. People who choose to reject Biblical truth and the offer of salvation from God through Jesus Christ are proud people. Basically, they are saying “I can handle this on my own” or “I will not submit to the Lord. I will not have Him as God over me.” However, verse 5 of this Psalm records that these proud, haughty people who think that they will stand up to God and show how powerful they are will in fact “not stand in the judgment”. Their defiance will eventually come to an end. They will not have the strength to face God’s judgment. He will overpower them and overcome them. He will also make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. The wicked will be excluded and will not be found in the “congregation of the righteous”. Obviously, people who believe that everyone will make it to heaven are wrong according to this verse of holy scripture.
Someone reading this might ask “Why? Why is there a difference between the wicked and the righteous?” For all I know, someone reading this blog might have just stumbled on it and not know the reason for the distinction made in the judgment. Notice that verse 6 says that God “knows the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The ungodly perish because God does not “know” their way. The Hebrew word translated “know” is the word “yada” and it means to know in a relational sense. It is not the know of someone who knows that 2 times 2 equals 4. It’s the know of me knowing that spending quality time with my wife is one of the most important ways for her to know that I love her. That isn’t something I learned by reading a textbook. I came to know that because of our relationship. As Jesus said in John chapter 10, His sheep know Him and hear His voice. Because we are His sheep, He knows our way. The end for the ungodly, however, is a terrifying picture of judgement.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
First of all, they will find that they are helpless. We noted in the last lesson on Psalm 1 that ultimately a righteous person will prosper because he will have a home in heaven with all the saints. He will enter into the joy of fellowship with God’s people for all eternity. However, Psalm 1 verse 4 says “The wicked are not so”. There is no happy ending for them. As bad as trials may have been in their life, they are in no way prepared for the eternity that awaits them. The verse goes on to describe their helplessness. It describes them as “chaff which the wind drives away”. I am from the Gulf Coast originally. I have seen my share of hurricanes. That’s why I no longer live on the Gulf Coast. When the wind of a hurricane starts blowing, it picks up things and throws them willy-nilly. It uprooted a huge tree in the front yard of one of my aunt’s houses. That is why when people know a hurricane is coming, they tie up lawn furniture and pack up kids toys. There is no way to control where that stuff is going to go. In like manner, the ungodly will be scattered before God’s righteous judgment. They will be utterly helpless on that day.
They will also be hopeless. People who choose to reject Biblical truth and the offer of salvation from God through Jesus Christ are proud people. Basically, they are saying “I can handle this on my own” or “I will not submit to the Lord. I will not have Him as God over me.” However, verse 5 of this Psalm records that these proud, haughty people who think that they will stand up to God and show how powerful they are will in fact “not stand in the judgment”. Their defiance will eventually come to an end. They will not have the strength to face God’s judgment. He will overpower them and overcome them. He will also make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. The wicked will be excluded and will not be found in the “congregation of the righteous”. Obviously, people who believe that everyone will make it to heaven are wrong according to this verse of holy scripture.
Someone reading this might ask “Why? Why is there a difference between the wicked and the righteous?” For all I know, someone reading this blog might have just stumbled on it and not know the reason for the distinction made in the judgment. Notice that verse 6 says that God “knows the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The ungodly perish because God does not “know” their way. The Hebrew word translated “know” is the word “yada” and it means to know in a relational sense. It is not the know of someone who knows that 2 times 2 equals 4. It’s the know of me knowing that spending quality time with my wife is one of the most important ways for her to know that I love her. That isn’t something I learned by reading a textbook. I came to know that because of our relationship. As Jesus said in John chapter 10, His sheep know Him and hear His voice. Because we are His sheep, He knows our way. The end for the ungodly, however, is a terrifying picture of judgement.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)