An Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters

Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters

1^st Thessalonians 1:1-10; Acts 16:12-40; Acts 17:1-10

Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters:

In Acts 16 and 17, we see the background for the letters we are about to study. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas had planted a small church in Philippi, in a very short time. They had encountered a young slave woman, there, who was demon-possessed. They freed her from that possession, but they suffered beatings and imprisonment for their trouble.

Why planting a Church at Philippi became a “Short-term Mission:”

There, at Philippi, they met Lydia, who took the missionaries into her home. She supported them in that way for the few weeks that they remained in Philippi. They also met the Philippian Jailer, who, through a miraculous sign, was convinced of his need for a Savior. He begged Paul and Silas to tell him how he could be saved. They told him in simple terms, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31) They had already told him the Gospel: Now, he believed, along with his entire household, and was baptized.

But the city magistrates asked them to leave, because they were afraid they would be in trouble with Rome, for having beaten Roman citizens who were not convicted of any crime. So, Paul and Silas visited Lydia one last time, and comforted the new believers they were leaving behind, and then they left Philippi, probably still bleeding from those beatings.

Yet Another “Short-Term Mission:“

In Acts 17:1-10, Paul and Silas passed through two towns, Amphipolis and Apollonia, and arrived in Thessalonica, a city in northern Greece. (It is still there, today, but the name in Greek is “Thessaloniki”) It was the capital of one of the four Macedonian districts of Rome.

The Jewish community there was relatively new when Paul arrived, but they had a synagogue, and as was their regular practice, Paul and Silas presented the Gospel to the Jews first. (Why? Because Jesus was the fulfillment of their (Jewish) scriptures, and He was their (Jewish) Messiah. Paul always gave them the first opportunity to receive the Lord.)

The Source of the Trouble

Paul and Silas preached Jesus as the Messiah, right there, in the synagogue. For three sabbaths, running, he showed them from scripture the necessity of the Messiah having been executed and rising from the dead. This was a confusing idea to the Jews. They had read all the scriptures about the Messiah, but the picture they had formed in their own minds was that of a “champion” who would “drive out the Romans and all other enemies of Israel.”

The notion that the Messiah had to be executed, fulfilling Isaiah 53, and Psalm 22, and to physically become their true Passover, was just too strange. And rising from the dead, though plainly taught in Isaiah 53:10, and Psalm 16:10, was apparently simply beyond their imagination.

Some Believed!

But, as strange as the message was to them, some of those Jews believed, and a large number of the Greek Proselytes believed, too, as well as a number of important women of that community.

But the unbelieving Jews were moved by envy, and they deliberately gathered those who would be willing to start a riot. They attacked the home where Paul and Silas had been staying, but the two missionaries were not there. So, they seized Jason, the homeowner, and some of the new Thessalonian believers, and they dragged them before the magistrates.

False Accusations

The accusers claimed that Paul and Silas were causing trouble, and teaching people to disobey Roman Law. Of course, that was a total fabrication: they had done no such thing. However, the Magistrates demanded a bond of Jason and the others, anyway. and let them go. But the damage was done: It was too dangerous for both the new believers and for the missionaries, if Paul were to remain in Thessalonica, so Paul and Silas were forced to leave town, by night, and they headed off to Berea.

A Functioning Church in Less than a month!

It is important to notice that they were only in Thessalonica for a minimum of two weeks plus a few days, up to a possible maximum of a month…they preached three sabbath days. (If they had showed up on a Sunday or Monday, say, and preached that Sabbath, and the two following Sabbaths, but were run out of town before the fourth sabbath, then it would have still been less than four weeks.) Why is that important? Only because I find it amazing that they left a functioning church in Thessalonica, with qualified leadership, after such a short time!

How was that possible?

Remember; they offered the Gospel first to the Jews and to the Gentile proselytes. That group of men was already well taught in the written Word. All it required was that they learn how the Old Testament taught the Messiah, and that Jesus completely fulfilled all the prophecies. They believed, and were truly committed to Him from the first. Once they believed, they stepped from being responsible, faithful men of God in the Old Testament sense, to being very responsible and faithful men of God in the New Testament sense; and essentially overnight!

Qualified Leaders

Those qualified leaders were filled with the same Holy Spirit as were Paul and Silas. They had the Written Word to study, and there really was no option for Paul and Silas to stay…so they stepped into their new responsibilities and became the first elders in the Thessalonian Church.

Did they need further teaching? YES! That is why these two letters were written! But these letters are addressed to us as well. Paul wrote these two letters to encourage the believers in their new faith. But remember that he had left a small, healthy, functioning church there, after less than a month’s contact. There is no reason that believers today cannot grow into maturity much more rapidly than they seem to do in our country, today.

So, as we begin to read through the letters to the church at Thessalonica, let’s try to read carefully, to see what they already knew by the time Paul and Silas left.

1^st Thessalonians 1

¹ Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What can we learn from the Salutation alone?

Paul and Silas and Timothy, (and the other apostles authorized by Jesus) never went around calling themselves by any honorific term, such as “Reverend, the Right Reverend, Vicar, Father, Bishop, Archbishop,” or any other such title. They just went by their first name! (Never “the Apostle Paul” or any such title.) They did not elevate themselves over the people.
This letter was to the church, not to the church leaders.
They recognized the position of the believers: The believers were in God, and in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is our position as believers, even when we are not “living up to what we know to be right.” The position is permanent.
As always, Paul offers Grace first, then Peace. If you have not received God’s Grace, in Salvation, you cannot be at peace with Him, let alone experience the peace of God. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you: My Peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” That peace (both with God and of God) was bequeathed to His disciples. Only believers can receive it!

What were Paul and the other missionaries thankful for?

²We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; ³Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; ⁴Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. ⁵For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

⁶And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. ⁷So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

⁹For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; ¹⁰And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Let’s list the things Paul mentioned in verses 6-10. They were thankful for:

The Believers themselves!
Their Work of Faith
Their Labor of Love
Their Patience (endurance) of Hope
Their Election of God
They became followers, not just of “Paul & Co.,” but of the Lord Himself
They received the Word in much affliction, but,
They also received the Word with the Joy of the Holy Spirit.
Their Testimony spread everywhere!
They became examples throughout the entire Roman world where Paul traveled: everyone knew of their testimony and their transformed lives. Wherever Paul went, the people he met told him about the church at Thessalonica!

The Testimony of Thessalonica

What was told to Paul wherever he went? The testimony was powerful and effective, but what did it include? The people in faraway places had heard of the church at Thessalonica:

They knew about the riotous response of the unbelieving Jews. They knew that the Thessalonians had been idol worshippers. They knew how the Thessalonian believers had turned to God, which resulted in their turning from their idols. (It is never the other way around: we do not “clean ourselves up” so we can approach God. We come to Him as guilty, helpless sinners, and He cleans us, from the inside.)

They knew that the Thessalonian believers were waiting for Jesus’s appearance from Heaven. (So, they knew of the Second Coming!) They knew about the Resurrection. They knew that Jesus had saved the believers from the coming Judgment. That is quite a testimony!

What about the matter of “Judgment?”

We are often told that “You should focus on positive things: don’t belabor the topics of ‘Sin, and Guilt, and Judgment!’ People are far more attracted to a Loving God!”

That sounds good, but: Jesus spent far more time and energy warning the world of the coming Judgment than He did trying to explain the Glories of the Coming Kingdom, (much less describing Heaven itself.) And, in John 12:32, Jesus said that His Crucifixion was what would draw people to Him. Not all the subsequent blessings He offered! It was the Judgment!

The bad news of Sin and Judgment is necessary for the Good News of Christ to make any sense. If His death was not for the specific purpose of freeing us from the wrath of a Holy God and the eternal judgment to come, then it is not good news at all! It is a tragic miscarriage of Justice, wherein the Only truly Good, and Righteous One was murdered! That is not “Good News!”

**But virtually all “Good News” is predicated on some preexisting “bad news.”**

The bad news, in this case, was that I was lost and on God’s Death Row, for eighteen years, because God says “the wages of Sin is Death.” But the terrible news is that it was not only I, but also the whole human race, suffering under that same condemnation. And, since we have no way to “unbreak God’s Law,” we were doomed, unless He chose to extend His Grace to us. And He did exactly that, by substituting Himself for us at the Cross; taking our sins upon Him and suffering the Judgment of God, Himself.

Think about it: If there are no consequences for our sin, or for the overall wickedness of the whole human race, then what are we to be “saved” from? He was given the name Jesus, (meaning “Jehovah is Savior”) because He was to “save His people from their Sins!”

Those Thessalonian believers knew all this, and other people had heard about it through them. We need to grow to have that kind of testimony, ourselves! We need to grow!

Lord Jesus, train us up as Your disciples. Fill us with Your Spirit and let us shine as lights in this dark World. Give us the Wisdom to know how to act and what to say…and the courage to do Your Will.

April 15, 2023April 15, 2023

After the Resurrection: What Now?

Matthew 28:11-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:45-53; John 21:1-24; Acts 1:1-9

Introduction:

Last week we spoke of the Resurrection and the effect it has upon believers. Some of those effects are what we call “positional truth:” They are permanently true because of your position in Christ, from the moment you trusted in His shed blood as full payment for your sins. Others are conditional truths, that should be true of every believer, but, in reality, are only true as far as believers are willing to walk with Jesus by faith, and obey Him.

After the Resurrection

In Acts 1:3, we are told that Jesus spent forty days with the disciples, teaching them, and making final preparation for His departure at the ascension. In Matthew and Mark, not much is said about this time period between the resurrection of Jesus, and His ascension.) Both simply point out that the Lord gave His last request, that they are to go out as His ambassadors; His witnesses, and “Preach the Gospel to everyone; make disciples in every nation, and His promise was that He Himself would be with them, empowering them to serve.”

Mark concludes that they did so, but he leaves out the fact of the Holy Spirit’s arrival (in Acts chapter two;) that it was after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they became fearless evangelists. They were hiding until that day.

In Luke, some important details are added. These details happened in the room where Jesus proved to His disciples that He was not a ghost, by eating some broiled fish and honey. But after he had convinced them that He was truly alive, He said some things, that reveal to us an important key to understanding the Bible. Please open your Bibles to Luke 24, verses 44-53.

Luke 24:44-53

⁴⁴And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

⁴⁵Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

⁴⁶And said unto them, [Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ⁴⁷And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸And ye are witnesses of these things.]

⁴⁹And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

⁵⁰And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

⁵²And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Notice that in verse 44, He reminds them that His life had been completely devoted to fulfilling the prophecies about Himself. Everything from the Torah (The books of Moses) and all the Prophets, including the Psalms, that had referred to Him, either openly or obliquely, had been fulfilled.

Then it says “He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures…” Our tendency is to read that verse as if there were a period, after the Word “scriptures.” But there is not! There is a comma, as the next three verses tell how He opened their minds so they could understand the scripture. If we read that sentence with an inserted period, a full stop, then it seems that Jesus performed some miraculous “brain augmentation” that supernaturally enabled the disciples to understand the scriptures.

But the key to understanding, that Jesus gave them, was to see that the Redemptive Plan of God, fulfilled in the events of the last few days, including the crucifixion, and the resurrection, and their subsequent outreach to the entire world, is the central theme of the whole Bible.

And He told them that they were the witnesses He intended to use. He also reminded them that the Holy Spirit was the One who would empower them as His witnesses, and that they were to wait in Jerusalem until The Holy Spirit came. (They did not know God’s timing. When Jesus ascended, there were still seven days left before the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was fifty days after the Passover; Jesus spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, as predicted, and forty days with the disciples. There were seven days left before Pentecost.)

The last two verses are interesting, too, because they skip the forty days that Jesus spent with His disciples, teaching them, and preparing them for the task before them. They skip straight to the ascension, and His final blessing. It is also interesting to see that His final blessing (which, as we see in the Old Testament, is prophetic of their lives to come) turns out to be the final issuing of the Great Commission, as we see in Acts 1:8, 9. The Great Commission is the Blessing!

The Gospel of John is the only record of the time Jesus spent with the disciples before the ascension. And not all of it is what we would expect. Please turn to John 21:1-24

John 21:1-24

¹ After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

²There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

(Seven of the remaining eleven Disciples were there.)

³Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. ⁴But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. ⁵Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. ⁶And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

⁷Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

⁸And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. ⁹As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. ¹⁰Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. ¹¹Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

¹²Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. ¹⁴This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.

¹⁵So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. ¹⁶He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁸Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

¹⁹This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

²⁰Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? ²¹Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

²²Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

²³Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? ²⁴This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

Lapsing into the Old Life

At least seven of the Disciples, with Peter leading the way, were lapsing back into their old way of life. Jesus had specifically called them away from that life, saying “henceforth ye shall fish for men!” Bear in mind that most of these men had a commercial fishing background: they were not just deciding to “go catch a few fish” for dinner, or go there for recreation: they were reverting back into their old way of life!

So, when Jesus revealed Himself to them as we read in this passage, they were like children caught in some sort of mischief…afraid to talk to Jesus. But Jesus only addressed Peter:

He called Peter by his old name, Simon Bar-Jonas, since he had dropped back to his old job. Jesus asked whether Peter was more committed to Jesus than He was to the fish. (The “Love” he asked about in Greek, is the Agapé love—the fully committed, unconditional love we are commanded to have toward one another, in John 13:34, 35.)

And He was not asking “whether Peter loved Jesus more than he loved the other disciples,” as He had already commanded them all to love one another in the same way He had loved them. The issue was the fish. “Are you more willing and more committed to pouring your life into my priorities than you are to catching fish for the market?” Or is it just, back to “business as usual?”

Peter definitely understood the question as it was asked, because he chose a different word for “Love,” to give his reply. He did not use the Agapé word for love, but Philéo…meaning, “Yes, Jesus, You know I am fond of you! I have affection for You! I like You!” This is a totally different idea, not even addressing Jesus’s question. Jesus did not respond to the verb change: He just said, “then feed my lambs!” (The Greek word, here, translated as “feed” is boskō, and it simply means “feed.”)

Jesus asked the same question a second time, using the same verb, Agapé, and Peter answered, again using the word for affection; not a fully committed, unconditional love. Jesus again ignored the verb change, and said, “then shepherd my sheep!” (This word, poimaine, is a different view of the job… not just feeding. Some Bibles translate both as “Feed.” But the poimaine word means the whole job of caring for a flock, as described in Ezekiel 34:1-10.)

Jesus spoke a third time, this time using the same verb Peter was using: “Simon, son of Jonas, do you even like me? Do you even care??” Now we see that Peter was grieved, because the third time, Jesus used the same verb he himself had used. He answered, and said “Lord (master) You know all things! You know that I like you! You know I am fond of You…that I have affection for you!”

Perhaps Peter was simply unwilling to profess “unconditional love”, as he had previously done, knowing that the last time he had done so, he also utterly failed, and denied he even knew Jesus. But Jesus simply answered, “then feed [boskō again] my sheep.” (“Take the job seriously, and do what I have asked you to do!”)

He then told Peter, “Follow Me! (Keep being the Disciple you were called and trained to be!)”

Peter looked around and saw John, and asked “What about him? What do you want him to do?” Jesus answered, “What is that to you? You follow me!”

This is either the third or the fourth time Jesus had to call Peter away from the fish. Scripture tells us that Peter served faithfully, after this, and that he was eventually martyred for his faith.

We can see the transformed lives of all of the disciples after they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. All of them were faithful, and history and tradition (hard to sift out which is which) tells us that most (or all) were eventually martyred.

What about Us?

I don’t want to get too specific, here, because obviously, I don’t know the future, nor do I know God’s will for any individual. But what we can see, here, is that we are to leave our old way of life behind, to whatever degree we are called to do, and remember that we now live for Him, not for ourselves. The fact of the resurrection has made some definite changes in our lives, simply because we have been placed into Christ. We can read about those changes, among other places, in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Some people simply live out that changed life in the same place they were when they were first born again. They may do the same job, and associate with the same people. But Jesus expects that how they do that job, and how they interact with the people around them is definitely to change. We are no longer part of the world. We are part of Jesus, and we are called to act like it.

We are called to lay aside our old priorities and embrace the priorities of Jesus. In John 4:34, He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work!”

Embracing His priorities, and His values, is the essence of discipleship. And, just as it was impossible for the disciples to do the job apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, it is also impossible for us to live that life apart from Him doing it through us. Every believer today receives the Holy Spirit at the moment they trust in Jesus as their Savior.

But we still have our old sin nature, and we are engaged in a lifelong struggle to maintain submission to Christ so that the new nature is in evidence, and the old self is set aside. We are secure in Him, but the fight is real. We cannot “just coast.”

Peter finally left behind his beloved occupation and identity as a commercial fisherman, and he never went back. He had something better, and something more important to do.

And, so do we! We need to examine our own lives and ask how the Lord would have us to change, in order to honor Him.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the reality of Your Word and allow us to feed upon it as Your disciples. Help us to walk in Your footsteps and be the men and women of God that You have called us to be; Ambassadors for Your Grace.

April 7, 2023April 8, 2023

The Resurrection of Jesus

And, the Effect on His Followers

Matthew 27:57-28:10; Mark 15:42-16:12; Luke 23:50-24:37; John 20:1-18;

Introduction

We have already read about the crucifixion and the death of the Lord. As many of you know, I have a strong tendency to “take apart the machine, and label the parts” as opposed to showing the use of the machine…and what the machine can do.

Last week we talked about all the facts of the crucifixion. We deliberately avoided the tendency to sensationalize all the physical and emotional effects of the crucifixion. I was tempted to do the same with the Resurrection, but I realized two things:

It is much more difficult to lay out the exact chronological order of the historical facts of the Resurrection.
The Effects of the Resurrection, because of the Facts of the Resurrection are where we need to focus our attention, today.

The Facts of the Resurrection:

In brief, the facts are that:

After Jesus died, two men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, asked Pilate’s leave to take away and bury Jesus’s body. Pilate was amazed that Jesus was already dead. He asked the Centurion to verify, and the answer was “Yes,” that Jesus had died, before the soldiers broke the legs of the other crucified men. (They did so to make them die quickly: the Jews did not want the screams of the dying men to spoil their holiday services!)
Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus in fine linen cloth, saturated with Myrrh and Aloe resins. These resins smelled good, and with the cloth, hardened into a shell. They were short on time, so did not complete the process. The Passover Sabbath was about to begin.
Not all Sabbaths are on Saturday. This one was a Thursday, beginning at sundown Wednesday night. But there was another Sabbath on Saturday, as usual, so it was an “inconvenient” time to deal with a dead body.
The Priests got permission from Pilate to seal the tomb. They set a guard of Roman Soldiers to keep anyone from stealing the body and claiming it had been “resurrected.”
Three nights and three days later, (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday “nights;” Thursday, Friday and Saturday “days,”…a total of three days and three nights, fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus) Some women came to the tomb before daylight. (This was still during Saturday night) And, they found that the tomb was already empty!
Angels involved themselves at several levels. It is difficult to sort out, because there were at least two angels involved, but each of the accounts speaks from a different perspective. John’s account focused only on Mary Magdalene’s experience, and only one angel: the other gospels spell out that there were other women involved, and at least two angels. The four Gospel accounts do not disagree, but they interweave to cover the whole account.

The Effects of the Resurrection:

The immediate effects of the Resurrection were as follows:

The Roman Soldiers initially passed out at the sight of the Angel who rolled the stone away and sat on it. Then they apparently fled. (They did not see that the tomb was already empty…empty before the angel rolled the Stone away.)
The women, including Mary, were astounded to find the body of Jesus had gone missing.
Mary, apparently the youngest, ran back to where the apostles were hiding, and she told them that “someone has taken the Lord’s body away, and we don’t know where it is.”
The other women were still there, though, and an angel appeared to them, saying that Jesus was alive, and that they should go tell His disciples to meet Him in Galilee.
The women headed back to tell the story, but Jesus met them on the road, in person, and told them not to fear, but to tell His disciples to meet Him in Galilee.
Meanwhile, two of Jesus’s disciples, Cleopas and another, had headed down to Emmaus, still not knowing that Jesus was alive.
And, Peter and John had run to the tomb, and found that the tomb was truly empty, just as Mary said. John stood outside, looking in. Peter barged right in, and got a closer look at the facts: the linen cloth that had covered Jesus’s face was folded and set aside. The rest of the graveclothes were undisturbed, but empty. John believed the Lord was alive, but Peter was still in doubt.
Mary had also gone back to the empty tomb, evidently arriving after the two men. But after they had left, she stayed there. She had been devastated by the loss of the Lord, and especially now, by the apparent desecration of His tomb. She was standing there crying when she heard a voice saying, “Woman, why weepest thou? Whom sleekest thou?” She thought it was the groundskeeper, and she said, “Sir, if you have taken Him somewhere, tell me where you laid Him and I will take Him away.”
Jesus then called her by name, “Mary!” and she spun around to see His face, saying “Rabboni!” It meant “My Master!” This was the closest relational title of endearment that a disciple could give to their teacher and master.
Jesus warned her not to cling to Him, as He had not yet ascended to the Father. He instructed her to go and tell the others that He was ascending, and she did so.
Jesus appeared to Peter, by himself, and dealt with him, restoring Peter’s peace.
Jesus appeared to the disciples on the way to Emmaus, and He taught them, and they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples.
While they were relating their experience to the others in the upper room, Jesus appeared (late Sunday evening) to the eleven disciples there.
Jesus spent some time there, that evening, confirming their faith and establishing their security in the fact of the resurrection.
Over the next forty days, He taught the disciples and prepared them for His final exit from this world.
He ascended ten days before Pentecost and left them waiting for the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

The Effect on Us, as Believers, today:

Our faith cannot be in a personal experience of “seeing the resurrection.” No one but the Lord saw that happen. They all saw only the effects. We are called to place our faith in the fact of the Resurrection, and look to God to bring the full effect of the Resurrection to bear on our lives.

Paul says that if the Resurrection is not a fact, then “of all peoples, we are most to be pitied,” because it would mean that our faith was vain, and futile and that we are serving a dead man, who is powerless to save.

But the Resurrection is a fact, and we can see that fact in the transformed lives of the disciples. They went from being terrified, defeated men and women, hiding in fear that they would be crucified as well, to being fearless preachers of the Gospel, who rejoiced at the privilege of suffering for the sake of His Name. People don’t do that for something they know to be a lie! They did it because He had changed their lives as the Resurrected Lord, not just as a dead man whom they once loved and still desired to honor.

Down through History, millions have done the same, entrusting their eternal souls to the One who has the Power of Eternal Life. We who have believed His Promises have seen our own lives changed as well, to one degree or another. We hunger to know Him more closely and to see that change happening in increasing power, as He continues His work in us.

We can see in Romans 1:4 and in Ephesians 1:20 that the Resurrection was “God the Father’s final ‘Stamp of Approval,’” declaring that Jesus truly is the Savior He claimed to be. He truly is God in the Flesh: the One Chosen Sacrifice who takes away the Sin of the World.

The Effect on us, Personally

Because Jesus truly is Resurrected, we can look for and confidently expect His presence to be manifested in our daily lives. We engage with Him on a personal level, not just theoretically, or in our imaginations. He wants us to deal with Him as personally as Mary Magdalene did, there in the Garden of the Tomb. He wants us to be as thrilled by His presence as were the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who, when they finally recognized Him, ran the seven miles uphill, back to Jerusalem, to tell the other disciples.

(Did you get that? They were thrilled by the Resurrection, and “Ran to Tell!”) You see, that is to be our response, as well. We need to seek His face until He becomes all that thrills our souls, and our strongest desire is to go tell that news to anyone who will listen!

Because He is Risen, we have Eternal Life guaranteed to us. He has declared us righteous on the basis of His completed work at the Cross, and our faith in Him. He has promised that we will be with Him and like Him throughout eternity.

In Ephesians 2:6, He says that we have already been resurrected with Jesus. He says that we are already seated in the throne with Him. (It is difficult to grasp, but there it is!) He says that He has already given to us Eternal Life and that we “Shall Never Perish!”

All of the “positional truths” in Ephesians 1:3-14 also became true of you, the day you placed your trust in Jesus’s Blood at the Cross. According to 1^st Corinthians 12:13, you were placed in Him by the Holy Spirit: that position “in Him” means that all the “positional truths” now apply to you!

**So, What ARE those “Positional truths?”**

(Reading from Ephesians 1:3-14, we see at least fifteen of them!)

God has already blessed you with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, in Christ.
You were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
You are holy and blameless before him, in His Love.
You are predestined to be recognized as a full heir of God.
You are predestined to fulfill the good pleasure of His will.
You are predestined to be to the praise of the Glory of His Grace.
You are already accepted in the beloved (Christ).
You already have been redeemed, through His blood.
You already have full forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace.
God has already abundantly blessed you in His wisdom and prudence.
He has made known unto you the mystery of His will…one piece at a time.
Your inheritance in Him is secure.
You will eternally be to His glory and praise.
Your position in Him is sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling Holy Spirit is the “down payment” (earnest) of the rest of the glorious inheritance promised to you. You are absolutely secure in Christ because He says so, and because the Holy Spirit is your guide, your guard, and your seal until the redemption of the purchased possession.

All of these truths apply to you as a believer, whether or not you are consciously aware of them at any given time, and whether or not you are even presently walking with Him! These truths are all applied to you because of your position in Christ.

And all of them are true, only because …He is Risen!

Lord Jesus, transform our lives by Your presence, by Your Holy Spirit, and by Your Written Word, applied to our lives. Make us the Men and Women of God you have called us to be. Fill us with the Joy of Your Resurrection, and lead us to walk with you in the newness of Life.

April 2, 2023April 2, 2023

The Trial of Jesus, and The Cross

The Trial and The Cross

Matthew 26:57-27:50; Mark 14:51-15:38; Luke 22:54-23:47; John 18:12-19:37

Introduction

The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ could be seen as both the saddest and the most triumphant story in History.

It is the saddest, if all we see is that the only truly Righteous person who has ever lived was falsely charged, given a mock trial, and executed as a criminal, along with real criminals.

It is the “most triumphant” if we see two things:

Jesus was the promised “Seed of the Woman” of Genesis 3:15, who would “crush the Serpent’s Head,” and, in the process, be wounded Himself. His victory was in the Cross, even though from a temporal view, it seemed to be His defeat, and Satan’s Victory.
He laid down His life of His Own accord…to take it up again, three days and three nights later. He completed His work of providing salvation for the Human Race, right there on the Cross. The phrase “It is Finished” is translated from the Greek “tetelestai.”It is not a gasp of defeat, but a cry of triumph! It means “paid in full!” It means, “it is completed!”

Full Context Needed

Without the full context of the scripture: we tend to only see the mock trial, the rush to judgment, the gore, the torture, and the cold-blooded cruelty of His enemies, beating him on the head with a papyrus reed, punching Him with their fists, scourging Him with whips, ramming a crown of heavy, sharp thorns into His scalp, plucking out His beard, and parading Him before the jeering crowd, before stripping Him naked, and spiking Him to a wooden cross, to hang there, dying in agony. We are fearful at our own implied guilt, as well, if we see that it was for our sins He died.

But, rather than emphasizing either the gory physical details, or the emotional impact of the crucifixion, let’s just look at the given facts, and try to learn What really happened, and Why.

So, What Happened?

Beginning at the arrest:

Did you notice that Jesus directed his own arrest? He was the one acting in authority, and not they! But Peter drew his sword, but attacked the servant of the high priest, not a soldier, slicing off an ear. (“Peter; that really isn’t helping….”) It was late at night: maybe Peter couldn’t see clearly: that might explain why Judas identified Jesus up close, by kissing him. But Jesus healed the man’s ear. It even gives his name: “Malchus,” meaning “counsellor.”

All his disciples abandoned him, though some followed from a distance, and some even went inside the house where the mock trial was happening. It is difficult to discern where all the things happened: Only in John 18:13, 24 do we see that Jesus was first sent to Annas, and that Annas had sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas. The others simply say he was “sent to the High Priest.”

So, Jesus arrived at the house (“palace,” John 18:15) of the High Priest. Peter followed at some distance, with John. John went inside, as he knew some of the palace staff, but Peter waited outside. Then John came back and spoke for Peter, so that he also came in, but the woman at the door said Peter was a follower of Jesus, but Peter denied it.

The Trial in the High Priest’s House

Caiaphas questioned Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus said, in effect, “Why ask me? You have thousands of witnesses.” Everything he did was in public. A temple officer stepped in, and slapped Jesus, saying “Do you speak to the high priest that way?” Jesus’ only answer was, “If I said evil, tell us what it was—if I spoke well, then why are you striking me?”

In Matthew 26:59-65 the priests sought witnesses to testify against him so they could condemn him, but they found none with any accusation of a crime. They finally found two who agreed that “He said he could destroy the temple (meaning the one built by Herod), and rebuild it in three days.” That was a misquote, and would not even be a crime, ordinarily: rather just a symptom of being mentally unbalanced. But Jesus had not specified the temple of Herod. He had said “this temple”, in reference to His own body. Also, nothing about his destroying even that temple: He said if they did, he would raise it up in three days. (John 2:19-22).

Jesus Answered to the Name of God

Jesus did not answer further questions, until the High Priest commanded Jesus “by the Name of the Living God”, to tell whether He was the Christ, the Son of God. Then Jesus replied, “I AM, and you shall hereafter see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62)

That was what they had been waiting for! They said, “Blasphemy! We have no further need of witnesses! We have all heard him!” Jewish law forbade the abuse of prisoners, but they spent the rest of the night physically and verbally abusing Jesus (Matthew 26:67, 68.) In the morning, they took him to Pilate to get official condemnation.

Meanwhile, twice more, servants accused Peter of being with Jesus, and he violently denied it, cursing, and swearing that he did not know Jesus…and then the rooster crowed. Matthew says Peter remembered Jesus’ words, and he went out, and wept bitterly. But the priests bound Jesus again, and took him away to Pilate.

Matthew 27:11, ff (In Pilate’s Court)

Pilate asked Jesus, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus answered “Thou sayest;” similar to “You said it!” in our own culture. But, in John 18:34, Jesus also asked a counter-question: “Are you asking this on your own, or did someone tell you this about me?” (Jesus invited personal inquiry.) But, Pilate refused, and said “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests have brought you to me: what have you done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from hence.” Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered “Thou sayest that I am a king (again, an affirmation). To this cause I was born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth heareth my voice.”

Pilate Knew Jesus was Innocent

Pilate did not ask how one would be “of the truth”—he cynically answered, “What is truth?” Possibly it was a philosophical question, but he immediately walked out. He was not expecting or desiring an answer… he just revealed his belief that there was no real truth. Either way, Pilate then walked out and told the Jews, saying “I find no fault in him.” Pilate had a sense of legal protocol, or perhaps even justice: he declared that as far as he could tell, Jesus was innocent.

Pilate represented Rome, not Israel. It was Roman law he sought to enforce, and uphold. (He cared nothing for the feelings of Jews, but he was afraid of causing a riot!) He offered, as the Passover festival was at hand, to release Jesus, in keeping with their tradition of releasing a prisoner at Passover. They shouted, “No! Not him! Barabbas!” (Mark 15:7 saysBarabbas was a robber; a bandit, who had led a rebellion, and committed murder in the process. He was in prison, and slated to die.) (Interestingly, “Barabbas” means “son of his father”. Who did Jesus say was the father of sinners at large? John 8:44)

Herod Got Involved

In Luke 23 Pilate tried to “pass the buck”, as it were: Since Jesus was from Galilee, he sent Jesus to Herod for judgment. Herod was glad to see Jesus: he had hoped to see a miracle. He asked Him many questions, but Jesus gave no answer. Then Herod and his soldiers put the scarlet robe on him (that we read about in Matthew.) They mocked him and finally sent him back to Pilate.

In Matthew 27:15-25 Pilate saw that it was sheer envy that motivated the Jews. He again offered to turn Jesus loose, but the priests had persuaded the people to shout for Barabbas to be released, so that they see Jesus destroyed (v. 20). The governor asked the people again, “Which one do you want me to release? Jesus or Barabbas?” They answered, “Barabbas!”

Pilate’s Question

Pilate asked, “What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” (What an eternally appropriate question!) And they all said “Let him be crucified!” Pilate asked “Why? What evil has he done?” But the people cried out more and more, saying “Let him be crucified!” Pilate saw that a riot was about to start, so, he called for a bowl of water, and ceremonially washed his hands, saying “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: you see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be upon us and our children!”

This curse they claimed for themselves will continue to plague them until the return of Christ, when they will finally recognize him whom they have pierced, and mourn for him in Zechariah 12:10. Some Christians today still hold this against the Jews, because “they killed Christ!” This is wrong, as Paul points out in Romans 9-11: they are precious to God, and should be precious to all believers.

Passage to the Cross

Pilate delivered Jesus to be scourged, and the Roman soldiers (accustomed to violence and cruelty as a part of their job as soldiers) began to further abuse Jesus after scourging him: spitting on him, jamming a crown of thorns down on his head, dressing him in the scarlet robe, again, and giving him a papyrus reed for a scepter, bowing down before him, saying “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then taking the reed from him, they beat him over the head with it. (Papyrus reeds are not strong, compared to wood, but they are thick, and could do real damage.)

Finally, they stripped the robe off of him, temporarily gave his own clothes back, and led him off to Golgotha. He bore his cross himself, to begin with, but all three synoptic gospels say that a man named Simon was taken from the crowd and forced by the soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross for him. (Matthew 27:31, 32; Mark15:20, 21; Luke 23:25, 26)

None of the Gospels say why Simon was made to carry the cross. Tradition holds that Jesus was weakened by the loss of blood and the constant abuse, and could not carry it himself. John says Jesus was carrying it (John 19:16, 17), so probably tradition is correct: Jesus could not carry it very far, and the soldiers forced someone from the crowd to carry it.

Where was Golgotha?

The scripture (Hebrews 13:10-13) points out that Jesus died outside the city, so, if that were all I knew, I would say that the shrine inside modern Jerusalem, identified as Golgotha, is not correct. There is another location, outside the city, (called “Gordon’s Calvary,” after the man who suggested it) that has also been claimed. All we know is that he died outside the city.

But! History shows that the present day “Old City Wall” was actually built by the Turks in the 17^th century! The real “Old City Wall” excluded both the traditional place and “Gordon’s Calvary.” Originally, both places were “outside the city wall.” Possibly the traditional location is really correct. I’m not sure it matters. Nothing more is said about it in scripture, and we are not supposed to be making “shrines” of these historic spots, anyway.

The Crucifixion

God does not give many details of the crucifixion. Psalm 22:16 says that his hands and feet were pierced. The gospels tell us nails made the holes. Jesus offered his hands to Thomas, saying, “…put your finger in the holes!” The traditional view of a big spike through each palm and one through the two feet is probably correct. Some say that “a hand would tear, so it had to be the wrist.” But people have been hung up by a pierced hand or even just a finger, so that argument is false. Also, the hand of a working carpenter, of that time, would be exceptionally tough; Jesus’s hands were not likely to tear! So the tradition is probably correct on that count as well.

Pilate wrote a sign: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The Jews were offended, and demanded that the sign be changed to read, “He said he was King of the Jews.” Pilate just said, “What I have written, I have written.”

The Cross, the Crucifiers, and the Annointed One

The style of the cross is not told. Given the figure we saw in the original Passover (the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts) it seems the traditional view is correct on this as well: It fits the Old Testament figure. John 19:23, 24 does say that they took his garments—all of them—and divided them between the four soldiers who carried out the crucifixion. The fifth garment was in one piece, and they elected not to tear it, but cast lots for it (fulfilling Psalm 22:18.) Finally, they sat down to watch Him die. These were Roman soldiers…it was “just a day’s work,” to them.

While Jesus hung naked on that Cross, the crowd mocked him. People passing by mocked him. The thieves (both of them) mocked him, too. This is the usual response of the Lost World. One of the thieves repented, and defended him against the other thief. Then He turned to Jesus and asked to be included in His Kingdom. Jesus told him “Today you will be with me in Paradise!”

Final Prophecies Fulfilled

Mark 15:25, 33, 34 After three hours on the Cross, darkness came over the land for the next three hours (From noon until three PM.) Then Jesus called out “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?” (“My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”) That fulfills Psalm 22:1. This was the very thing Jesus had dreaded…that He and the Father would be separated from fellowship, as God the Father judged God the Son for the Sins of all of humanity for all time. It was temporary, in Jesus’s case, but with permanent results: He perfected forever those who believe.

Jesus knew that all the things he had come to do had been completed, and he called out “I thirst.” Someone ran and got a sponge full of vinegar (a cheap, sour wine the poor people drank) and offered it to him on a spear (fulfilling Psalm 69:21). After that, everything really was done: He cried out, in Greek, “Tetelestai!” (It is finished!—all done!) And gave up the ghost, saying “Into thy hands I commend my spirit!” (Luke 24:46, fulfilling Psalm 31:5)

Immediate Result of the Death of Christ

The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. There was a great earthquake: Rocks split, graves opened, and many believers who had died, revived and walked into the city, where they were seen by many. The centurion and those that were with him changed their mind about who they had crucified. They said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” The centurion himself glorified God, and said “Certainly this was a righteous man!” And the rest of the spectators, shocked by what they had seen, smote their breasts and returned to their homes. (Luke 23:47, 48)

Why Did it All Happen?

To Fulfill Prophecy

All the things in Jesus’s birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection were to fulfill prophecies given hundreds and in most cases, thousands of years before His birth. His own prophecy (in John 12:32, 33) was that if He was lifted up above the earth (crucified) He would draw all men unto Himself. He also said He had come to give His life a Ransom for many. He was to be lifted up in same manner as the bronze serpent from the account in Numbers 21:5-9 had been lifted up, that “Whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14, 15)

The details of the crucifixion including the scourgings, the beatings, the outpouring of His blood, the plucking of His beard, and the piercing of His hands and feet, were all laid out in the Old Testament, and all had to be fulfilled to the letter. (Such prophecies were frequently joined with prophecies of the resurrection, the second coming and His eternal reign as King of Kings, so it was a very confusing mix for a person to try to “sort out,” and to believe, since they could not know how it would all be fulfilled.)

To Provide Redemption

From the earliest scripture (Job 19:25-27) the Redeemer was predicted, and His second coming along with the fact that He was the Redeemer. But His work as the Redeemer was carried out at the Cross. The resurrection of the righteous dead (Job included) would not be complete until His return as the King (including both the Rapture of the Church and the Return of the King.)

The Redeemer had to be closely related to the one(s) being redeemed. He had to be free Himself, He had to have the price of redemption, and He had to be willing to pay that price to provide that redemption. These are the rules we are given for the Kinsman-Redeemer, and are demonstrated in the Book of Ruth, where Boaz showed all four aspects of the “goel:” the “kinsman-redeemer.”

Having seen that the prophecies were all fulfilled in Christ, and that He is the One Redeemer, we are left to receive Him by Faith, and rejoice in the Eternal Life He gives. We join Him in His work of reaching the lost World with that same offer of Life.

Lord Jesus, fill us with the Joy of Your Person and Work, and lead us to walk in Your footsteps.

March 29, 2023March 29, 2023

Are You a “Draftee” or a “Volunteer?”

“Draftee” or “Volunteer?”

Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-8; Jonah 1-4; Acts 9:1-16

Introduction:

There is a tendency to think, “I will do this for you, Lord!” This is especially true among religious people who think they can earn God’s favor, but have never received His Grace. Unfortunately it is not uncommon among saved individuals, either, as it is a product of the flesh…self-will.

On the other hand, there are those who shrug, and say, “Well, if God wants something of me, He will tell me…” That is a confession that they have not read God’s Word, where He says that He does want something from us, and for us!

Is there a balance between these two ideas? Are we simply “Draftees?” Can we not volunteer? Is our whole life predestined to the extent that we have no choices? Is there no room for volunteerism as a form of worship and thanksgiving?

Who is in Charge, Here?

There is no question that the Lord is the supreme authority in all things. If there is any doubt about this matter, Psalm 24:1 should put it to rest. “The Earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.”

I realize that some teachers claim that Satan somehow gained all authority when Adam sinned. Please remember that when Satan claimed (In Luke 4:6, 7) that “all this…is delivered unto me and to whomsoever I will, I give it!” He was lying! Jesus said that Satan is a liar and the father of lies! (John 8:44) Satan is a Liar! The earth was not given to Satan.

Born Sinners

To be sure, the people born to Adam (the whole Human Race) are born sinners, with a bent toward slavery to Satan. But Jesus came to free us from that spiritual slavery. That does not make Satan the owner of the world. He is a pretender to the throne at best, and they that serve him claim more authority for him than he actually possesses, because they follow in his footsteps as his children (John 8:44, again.)

That is Why We Need to be Born Again

But God has never “abdicated the throne,” and He never will. We still belong to Him, body and soul! “The Earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.” If we continue in our rebellion, as unbelievers, we will face the same judgment as Satan. But if we accept His Grace, offered through Jesus’s Blood at the Cross, we enjoy eternal life with Him. We are born again, into God’s Family…separated from Adam!

**So, Having Received His Grace, through Faith, What do we do, Now?**

Consider Isaiah

There is an interesting passage in Isaiah 6:1-8, where we see what may be Isaiah’s conversion experience, or, at least his call to service. He saw the LORD, and the seraphim worshipping in the temple. He was dismayed at his own sin, and he was sure that he was in trouble, but God cleansed him with the result of the sacrifice—a coal from the altar, and then Isaiah heard what we see as his “call.” But notice, that the Lord framed it as a question, not as a command. He asked, “Whom shall I send, and Who will go for us?”

Isaiah’s instant response was “Here am I, Lord: send me!” That sounds an awful lot like God “calling for volunteers,” and Isaiah jumping to “volunteer” for whatever the mission was. (Notice that Isaiah did not ask what the job was: He jumped at the chance to be sent by God.)

**So, Which is it? Are We Draftees, or Volunteers?**

In a sense, we are both!

Isaiah heard the call and jumped to “volunteer.” Is it possible for God to call someone to His service and they really are not interested? Perhaps they even refuse? Certainly, it is possible!

Consider Jonah:

In Jonah 1:1-3, God gave a very direct call—a command, and Jonah tried to run away from God! What amazing folly! If what we read in Psalm 24:1 is true, then to where could you hope to flee? In Psalm 139:7-13, we see the hopeless folly of attempting to flee from God. He is the Creator, and He is Omnipresent! Wherever we could travel, on the land, on the sea, under the land, under the sea, in the place of the dead, or even in outer space, God is there!

Yes, Jonah rebelled, and tried to run away. But God intervened with a supernatural storm. It got the attention of the professional sailors on the ship in which Jonah was a passenger. They cast lots to see which among them was the “cause” of the storm, because they could see this was a supernatural storm, and they had no idea what “god” had brought the storm.

The lot fell to Jonah, and they asked him what he had done. He confessed that he was a servant of “the LORD, the God of Heaven and Earth.” They already knew he was fleeing from his God, so now they were terribly frightened, and asked what they could do to appease that God: He simply said, “Throw me overboard!”

They couldn’t agree to do such a thing, so they rowed frantically, trying to get to land. But the wind fought against them, and they finally gave up, and prayed to Jonah’s God, asking that He not condemn them for throwing Jonah overboard.

They Obeyed by Faith

Ultimately, they complied with the word Jonah had given: They threw Jonah overboard, and the storm immediately ceased! Then they were overcome with respect and fear toward Jonah’s God, and they immediately made sacrifices to Him, and made vows to Him.

We don’t know what happened to those sailors, after that, but we do know what happened to Jonah: God had prepared a great Sea-Creature (KJV says “fish,” here ) to swallow him and give him a “Divine water-taxi ride” back to land. (He did not get to “travel first-class!”)

Some teachers believe Jonah died, there in the belly of the sea creature, and that he was revived to serve. But, read carefully: in Jonah 2:1 it does not say “Jonah prayed from Sheol;” (the place of the dead) but rather, “Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish.” If he had been dead, he would not have been “in the fish,” but rather, in the place of the dead.

And, in Matthew 12:39, 40, Jesus confirmed that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale [great sea creature.]”

Languages and Translations

(Yes, the King James Version says “whale,” there in Matthew, but the original language simply means a “great sea-creature.” Possibly a whale; perhaps even probably so, but we need to realize that not all languages are precise in the same fields. In English, we make a sharp distinction between “whales,” which are air-breathing, warm-blooded mammals, and “fish,” which are cold-blooded, have gills, and obtain their oxygen through the water.

The ancient Hebrew and Greek languages are not as specific as English in some areas. We may find that frustrating, but we have to accept that some of the original words are not specific enough to be clearly translated one way or another into English. Choose to be at peace with that!)

A Famous Draftee and Deserter

The point is, Jonah was clearly being “drafted.” He was being called to serve, and he was not given the option to just “go do something else.” He ran away! Deserted! Had he persisted in his rebellion, he would have died right there, in the belly of the sea-creature, and that would have been the end of the story. He would have been saved, but dead.

But he repented, and the rest of the story tells how God used Jonah to reach the people of Nineveh. Did Jonah volunteer? Not exactly. He rejected the call, initially, but he repented under duress. He changed his mind. That is what “repent” means. Change your mind about something. Turn around, and go do what you were told to do! Was he “forced to do it?” Not exactly: it’s just that God made the alternative results very clear, and Jonah confessed his rebellion and chose to obey.

Two Results

There are two results of his repentance, beyond the simple fact that Jonah survived the ordeal:

One result was that the people of Nineveh were spared destruction. (A full-scale revival resulted, in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria…the mortal enemies of Israel! That is why Jonah didn’t want to go, in the first place! He wanted God to destroy the people of Nineveh!)

But the other result is that, today, we have a specific prophecy regarding the resurrection of Jesus! You see, Jesus treated this as history, not a myth! You can either trust Jesus to know the truth about Jonah, or rebel against God and disbelieve. But Jesus said it was true! He said it was given as a picture of His own resurrection: that “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

What about People who do not “Feel Qualified” to Serve?

Consider Jeremiah

In Jeremiah 1:4-8, we see that the prophet Jeremiah was a reluctant witness. He protested that he was too young to do the job God called him to do.

But, to begin with, God pointed out that He, God., had foreknown Jeremiah, not only before he was born, but before God “formed him in his mother’s womb.” God sees every human as a direct creation, procreation notwithstanding. God told Jeremiah that He had chosen him for the job of being “a prophet to the nations” before he was conceived.

The Weeping Prophet

So, Jeremiah reluctantly accepted the assignment: it was never a case of outright rebellion as was Jonah’s case:Jeremiah simply did not “feel qualified” to serve. But God enabled him, and he proved a very reliable man of God, serving in an exceptionally difficult ministry. He acted as a spokesman for God to people who hated him and who rejected everything he said. They publicly mocked him, they beat him and threw him in a pit, and they planned to kill him.

**He had a Very Difficult, unfulfilling ministry**!

Ironically, he had been telling them of the imminent conquest of their nation under Nebuchadnezzar: when it finally happened, exactly as predicted, the enemy captain treated Jeremiah more courteously than did his own people. Further, the enemy captain plainly stated that the reason they had been sent to conquer Israel was that the people of Israel had abandoned their God!

The enemy soldiers understood the matter more clearly than did the “chosen people of God,” who were in rebellion against God. What a shameful state of affairs! (Sometimes we find that unbelievers today have a better idea of what Christians are supposed to do than the believers do.) And Israel still continued in their rebellion, despite their defeat under the Babylonians (also called the Chaldeans.)

What About Us?

I have frequently heard people say words to the effect of, “I don’t feel called!” I can understand their “feelings,” but feelings are not an accurate reflection of reality.

Romans 8:28 is a popular verse, and people usually quote the first clause, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,” but they forget the rest of the verse: “…to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Yes, you are called! If you still doubt it, read the next two verses there in Romans 8:

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

If You are a Believer, You are Called to His Service!

So…every believer has been “called” to God’s service. We all have received our “Draft Notice.” And the only question left is, “Will we respond with joy, eagerly volunteering for the mission, (whatever it is,) or will we hold back, trying to bargain with God for a job we like better?”

That is something that each of us has to decide personally. If we respond as did Isaiah, volunteering for the “mission,” saying “Here am I, Lord, send me!” Then He is free to have us serve wherever He wants.

If we “volunteer,” but with restrictions, and reservations, saying,“I’ll serve, but only if….” then we are no better than Jacob, who said, (Genesis 28:20-22) “If you bring me along safely, and if you provide for all my physical needs, and if you bring me safely home, again, then you can be my God, and this rock can be your house, and I will give you ten percent of whatever you give me!” (Such a deal! How could God fail to be impressed?)

The Privilege is to Serve!

Jesus said in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work!” That work included evangelism, for Jesus, but it also included the Cross. We can look and see what God calls us to be, for Him (Ambassadors, in 2^nd Corinthians 5:20; Lights, reflecting His light, in Matthew 5:15, 16 and Philippians 2:15… and others.)

We will either emulate Jesus and Isaiah, counting it a privilege to even be invited to serve with Jesus, or we can count it an unreasonable burden, and reject His offer.

Remember that the result of faithful service is eternal reward (don’t misunderstand: salvation is a gift, not a reward.) The things we do, as believers, are either of eternal value, and thus eternally relevant, or eternally a waste of time, and ultimately, without value. Working with Jesus (no matter how simple the task) is always an eternally good investment.

Working on our own, without His direction and blessing, regardless of how “famous” we become, how “impressive” we are, in the eyes of other humans, or how “great and important” our work looks to others, is still an eternal waste of time!

**Do I Have to Know God’s “Whole Plan?”**

James indicates (James 4:13-16) that we do not know the future, and that we are fools to make our plans as if we do know it. He says that our plans need to be subject to God’s approval.

Psalm 37:3-6 tells us that we need to allow God to direct our paths. Proverbs 3:5, 6 says something similar. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him. and He shall direct your path!”

God Doesn’t Make “Deals,” as a Rule

So the idea of trying to “make a deal with God,” as Jacob seemed to do, as opposed to simply accepting what He has given us as His will and looking to Him for further direction (as Joseph did, in Genesis chapters 39-50) would be really a bad decision. Joseph served faithfully in bad circumstances and was rewarded by the God he served. Jacob tried to “make deals” and he had a pretty rough life.

I do not know the future God has for me. Every day, I hope to choose to respond to His call, regardless of the “mission.” I want to respond as Isaiah did, not as Jonah did.

In the Church age, we could make consistently good decisions and still have a “rough life,” as Jeremiah did, but we also look for eternal reward, as he did. Philippians 1:29 says that “suffering for the sake of Jesus” is part of our calling.

Embrace Reality!

Not all of life will be the way we “want things to be.” We truly need to remember “Who is In Charge.” (It is not us…) Yes, you have been “drafted,” but God asks that you respond as if you were eagerly “volunteering.”

That is how we find His richest blessings.

March 25, 2023March 26, 2023

Jesus Passed Through Gethsemane

The Path Through Gethsemane

John 17:1-18:1; Matthew 26:36-56; Luke 22:39-54; Mark 14:27-50

Introduction

We noted that between the time of John 13:30, when Judas Iscariot left Jesus, and went to betray him to the Chief Priests, to the time of the crucifixion and burial was less than twenty-four hours.

In John 14-16, Jesus had to prepare the disciples for His own departure, and give them solid teaching as to what they should expect regarding the Holy Spirit and His future ministry to the Church. But, beginning in chapter 17, we see the path Jesus walked with the disciples, approaching Gethsemane, and the coming betrayal.

The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus (John 17:1-18:1)

John chapter 17 is frequently called the “High priestly Prayer of Jesus.” This is because He was about to function as the High Priest for the entire human race. As you may remember, the Old Testament High Priest entered within the veil in the temple, once a year, bringing a substitutionary sacrifice for himself, first, and then for the sins of the people of Israel.

The Divine Substitute

Jesus entered once for all time, bringing His own blood as our substitute, but no sacrifice for himself, as His perfect life precluded the need. He brought a sacrifice for the sins of humanity that would take away the sins of all who placed their trust in it. He brought no sacrifice for himself, because He had no sin, so no need for a sin-offering for Himself.

The Old Testament sacrifices served as a substitute, in place of the condemned sinners. Because He is our substitute, there can be no substitute for Jesus. It is good to keep that in mind: There is no substitute for Jesus.

Eternal Life in the Here and Now

Notice in verse 3, Jesus confirms that “…this is Life Eternal, that they may know Thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” Eternal life is not found in any creed or ritual, or pageantry, or in pious works of any kind: It is found in an ongoing relationship with Jesus.

Interestingly, entering into that relationship is what ensures eternal life, but to experience it on a daily basis requires continually engaging in that relationship, not just knowing about Him, but in knowing Him in an ongoing relationship.

Set Apart By the Word

Further, in verses 14-17, He states that His having given His Word to the disciples is what set them apart for Him, so that they were no longer part of the World system. John 15:3, agrees, where He said that they were “clean, through the Word” which He had spoken unto them. But He goes on to say that we are to be continually sanctified (set apart…made holy to God) through the Word of God. Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy Word is truth.”

Jesus prayed for the Unity of the church in verses 18-23. It might be easy to assume that He only was praying for the eleven Disciples, as they were the ones with Him at the time. But in verse 20, you can look and see where Jesus prayed for the future believers. He said He was praying for those who would believe in Jesus through the words of the disciples.

Jesus Prayed For You!

Look at it! Jesus was praying for YOU! He knew the future, not just in a general sense of what was coming, as if He were predicting the weather, but rather on an individual basis! He knew you before He created you! Jeremiah 1:5 says that before He (God) formed Jeremiah in his mother’s womb, He knew him and ordained him as a prophet to the nations.

Jesus was praying for you! And, in verse 24, He specifically declared that He wants you to be with Him throughout eternity, and to see Him face to face; to behold Him in His glorified state, which He had before the Creation, and which Peter, James and John briefly glimpsed on the Mount of Transfiguration. That is what Jesus has planned for you! Take it personally!

At Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46)

In John 18:1, we saw that Jesus and the Disciples crossed the Brook Kidron, and went to a place called Gethsemane where there was a garden Jesus liked. Matthew 26:36-46 encapsulates what happened there.

All eleven disciples went with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane, but Jesus had Peter, James and John go further with Him, to pray. He left the three of them to themselves, too, only asking that they “Watch with Him” in Prayer. He went a little further, and He fell on His face before the Father, and He prayed, in agony for what was to come.

What was the Agony of Gethsemane?

Luke 22:44 states that he was in such agony of Spirit that “His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.” Please take note that it says the sweat was “like” great drops of blood: it does not say he was sweating blood. Many readers ignore the comparison made, here, and interpret the scripture wrongly. But, regardless of the nature of His sweat; what was the source of His spiritual agony?

We think of it mainly in terms of the physical pain that He was to endure, but in Hebrews 12:2 we see that he “despised the shame” and He endured the agony of the Cross with Joy for what would result. So, if that is how He felt about the physical torture of the Cross, for what cause was he agonizing in prayer, at Gethsemane? (Look at Matthew 27:46.)

Separation From the Father

When Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” He was quoting Psalm 22:1. In that Psalm, David was prophetically describing the crucifixion. You see, none of the things described in Psalm 22 ever happened to David. It was all about Jesus. And Jesus poured Himself out for our benefit, even enduring separation from the Eternal Father for our sake.

It is difficult for us to understand how the Trinity could separate itself like that, especially since Isaiah 9:6 says that the Son shall be called the Everlasting Father. But that is what happened. And, no, I do not have to understand it. I only need to see it as a fact, and respond in faith. As a teacher, I am required to faithfully teach what God says. I am not required to understand it all.

How Much do We Understand?

In Daniel 12:8 Daniel complained that he did not understand the prophecy God had just given him. But, in the next verse, we see God’s answer: He effectively said, “Write it down and run along, Daniel! That prophecy was not for you but for the people of the future!” It comforts me, to see that I’m in “good company.” It is OK to not understand everything God says.

But, when we consider the separation Jesus faced, there are some things to remember. He saw it as a horrible, unbearable thing. We tend to take it lightly, because we have never experienced the fulness of a relationship with the Father in the same way that Jesus did. He was the Eternal Son, forever in the presence of the Father.

Another thing to remember: as horrible and as unbearable as Jesus saw that separation to be; for Him, it only lasted for three hours. For us, that separation would have been eternal, had Jesus not taken our place at the Cross. He became our substitute, to endure God’s rejection of Sin…our sin, on our behalf!

His soul-felt, spiritual agony was in the fact that God the Father turned away from Him, because Jesus had become the sin of the whole human race. 2^nd Corinthians 5:21 says that He (who knew no sin) became sin, for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. That is our new position: “In Him.” And the result is that God the Father sees us as the righteousness of God…in Him. That separation and actually becoming the Sin that He hated, was what Jesus was dreading, there in Gethsemane.

Through Gethsemane (Matthew 26:47-56; John 18:4-13)

After we saw Jesus agonizing in the dark night of Gethsemane, anticipating the Cross, and we saw the disciples unable to stay awake and pray with Him, we see Him awakening them and then turning to face the advancing enemies.

There is an interesting incident, here, involving the soldiers who were sent to arrest Him. These were not Roman soldiers, but rather the temple guards under the authority of the priests, at this point. Rome became involved later in the story. But verse 47 says there was a great multitude carrying swords and staves, sent from the chief priests, and the elders of the people.

Confronting the Mob

(Notice that Israel was involved as a nation in what was about to happen, despite the thousands who had individually believed in Him.) But, in John 18:4-8, we see that Jesus stepped forward to confront the mob, and asked “Whom do ye seek?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

And Jesus said, “I am He.” You will notice in your Bible, in John 18:5, that the word “he” is in italics, indicating that it was not in the original text. Many conjecture that what Jesus actually did was to quietly say His Name, the Great “I AM,” of Biblical History. There are other passages, where the same sentence structure is used without such dramatic results, but: look what happened, here! The whole mob fell backward to the ground!

What Happened?

Something special happened there! They came with swords, torches, and clubs to take Him as if He were a criminal. All He did was speak His Name, and He dropped the whole crowd on their backs! (Please don’t get the idea that they were “slain in the Spirit” or any such thing. This was not a “spiritual blessing:” They got body-slammed! These were the enemies of Christ, getting a warning of the unspeakable Authority and Power of the Incarnate God they were rejecting.)

Also, notice this: He reminded them why they were there, asking again, “Whom seek ye?” Then they cranked up their collective courage and they arrested Him. And, they bound His hands, though He had just knocked them flat with His Word! How strange! He did not need His hands, to manage that crowd. But that is what they tied up.

Judas’ last Move

At some point in this exchange, Judas identified Jesus by greeting Him with a kiss, which is where we get the phrases “the Judas-Kiss,” and “the Kiss of Death.” In Luke 22:48, Jesus commented on the gross inappropriateness of using such an intimate greeting to betray the Son of Man.

But after that point, He ignored Judas and faced the mob, and dealt with them alone. We see in Matthew 26:56, and in Mark 14:50 that after His arrest, all His disciples fled. On the other hand, we see that some of them trickled back, circled around, and followed at a distance, to see what would happen to Him.

What happened to Him, of course, was the trial, the condemnation, the scourgings, the abuse, and finally, the crucifixion, and a brutal, agonizing death. We will look at all of that next week.

What About Gethsemane and Us?

In the meantime, what do we do with the Story of Gethsemane? Is it just a “Biblical drama” for us to vicariously experience, empathizing with Jesus and clicking our tongues over the disciples failure to watch with Him? Or is there something deeper for us to learn, here?

For one thing, I think it is important for us to see that Only Jesus can prevail over the darkness. He is the Light of the World, and only Light overcomes darkness. The darkness of the fear, alone, at Gethsemane, was too much for the disciples. The trial and all that followed was completely outside their ability.

Zechariah 13:7 foretold that the shepherd would be smitten, and the sheep would be scattered. In Mark 14:27 Jesus said the fulfillment of that prophecy was at hand. He said that the disciples would be scattered when He was arrested, and He cited that specific prophecy from Zechariah.

How can we Stand?

We are no more capable of withstanding the attacks of the enemies, in our own strength, than they were! The eleven disciples, who knew Him face to face, still fled from the enemy, and failed to stand fast. We confess that we cannot serve in our own strength. But that does not deny that we are called to “press on, and go ahead and serve!” We are called to be His ambassadors and to function as His representatives, here on Earth. But we are not called to do it on our own!

Remember that the Jesus who is living in you is the same Jesus who knocked down a mob of soldiers just by speaking His name! Does that mean we should expect to “knock down soldiers?” No, it means that we are not to fear the results of standing for Jesus.

Count the Cost!

It may be costly. It may be painful, and we may be rejected by all that know us. It was costly and painful for Jesus as well. Remember that the disciples who were scattered and fled, that night, were later transformed by His Spirit, and they preached fearlessly, in public. It turned out to be costly and painful in each of their lives as well, but they lived through the hardship with Joy, knowing they were working with Jesus.

Set your heart on the goal of working with Jesus. Experience the Joy of knowing that what you are doing today will be valuable for eternity.

Lord Jesus, raise us up to be your disciples. Fill us with Your Spirit, and strengthen us with Your Joy. Let us be increasingly aware of your presence and Leading in our daily lives. Pour your love through us to the world around us and let us feed them with the Bread of Life.

March 18, 2023March 19, 2023

Jesus taught about The Indwelling Holy Spirit

The Indwelling Holy Spirit

John 14:16-16:15

Introduction:

One of the things Jesus had to do in the few hours he had left with his disciples, was to teach them what to expect regarding the Holy Spirit. He was also preparing them for His own Departure, but, since He was leaving, they needed to know that the Holy Spirit would take the Place of Jesus in their lives, and actually indwell them.

John 14:16, 17

¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

This is a key passage, because in it we learn three things:

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (parakletos) who takes the place of Jesus as our comforter, protector and guide.
The Holy Spirit will remain with us Forever! (No qualifiers, here!)
The Holy Spirit is with us, and (since the day of Pentecost) He is in us.

He is God!

The Holy Spirit is God. We see that in Acts 5:3, 4, where Peter accused Ananias of having lied to the Holy Spirit, and then he clarified the accusation, by declaring, “You lied to God!”

He is a Person

He is a Person; specifically, the third person of the Godhead. In Colossians 2:9, we see that “in Him (Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead, bodily.” Paul warns us not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) as He is the one sealing us in Christ until the day of redemption. He is not a “force:” (a force cannot be grieved.) He is not a feeling: Feelings have no authority and they cannot speak to a group of people, as in Acts 13:2, and, as God, send the servants of God out on a mission.

The Indwelling is permanent

In the Old Testament, no one was permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Certain prophets were evidently temporarily indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but He gave no guarantee that He would stay, and David specifically begged that the Holy Spirit would not be taken from him, in Psalm 51:11. The New Testament believer has no need for such a “fear of abandonment.” Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be with us forever.

Also, the Old Testament servants of God were frequently said to have the Holy Spirit upon them. Only in a few cases does the scripture suggest that He was in them. But Jesus made that New Testament distinctive very clear: the Holy Spirit was (already) with the disciples, but He would soon be in them! The New Testament, proper, began on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2.

John 14:18-21

¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ¹⁹Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. ²⁰At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. ²¹He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

This is another important passage, because, along with verse 23, it underscores the truth of the Trinity. Jesus had just said that he would leave them and that, in His place, the Holy Spirit would come and indwell them. But, in verse 18, He says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. And, in verse 19, He says that He is in the Father, that we are in Him (the position of believers is “In Christ!) and that He is in us! So, in the person of the Holy Spirit, we are also indwelt by Jesus Christ Himself!

John 14:23

And in John 14:23, He states that He and the Father would come and make their abode with the believer. As the Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit fully includes the entire Godhead, just as we read in Colossians 2:9, that Jesus, (God the Son,) fully included the entire Trinity.

John 14:28

Finally, in John 14:28, Jesus reminds the disciples that the Father is greater than the Son. (Bear in mind that in Isaiah 9:6, we see that the Son shall be called the Everlasting Father!)

Do I understand this? No! I accept it by faith, because God says it is so!

God has the authority to make statements that I cannot understand. I can either accept them as truth, even though I fail to understand them, or I can reject them, claiming that they “don’t make sense!” As a teacher of God’s Word, it is critically important that I teach what the scriptures actually say, and not try to make them palatable by “filtering out the hard things.” I have to be faithful to teach the whole Word of God, even when it seems hard to understand.

John 15:26, 27

²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: ²⁷And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

Something was going to change: when the Holy Spirit came, the disciples would testify about Jesus, because the Holy Spirit would testify about Jesus. Remember Jesus had already told them they would be scattered, and flee, when He was arrested (and they were, and they did!) But now He tells them that when the Holy Spirit finally came, something was going to change.

In Acts 1:8, 9, He told them the same thing, just before he physically ascended, back into Heaven. He said “But ye shall receive power (“dunamis”…strength; ability) after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

**We are Called to Speak, and Called to Do, as He Does**

The Holy Spirit speaks of Jesus. That is one of His character traits. He glorifies Jesus, in Word and in deed. And as He indwells us, He calls us to do the same. We have a problem, though: we still have our old sin nature, and we have to overcome a lifetime of habitual self-serving, in order to cut loose from our slavery to self and sin, and to freely follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In Galatians 5:16, we are admonished, “Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” That is the only way we can serve God, and be free from our old slavery to sin. Jesus told His disciples, in John 15:5, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing.” It was the literal truth.

John 16:7-11

⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. ⁸And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹Of sin, because they believe not on me; ¹⁰Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; ¹¹Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Jesus reminded them that it was necessary for him to end His earthly ministry, in order that the Holy Spirit could be completely free to indwell all believers individually. As God, He is omnipresent: He is in all places simultaneously. But Jesus chose to live His earthly life under the same physical rules that restrict each of us. So, while He remained in His earthly body, Jesus was bound to a single place and time at any given moment. He could only be in one place at a time.

Jesus is Omnipresent again, now.

Now, however, He is free to live in every single believer, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. He is free to act through each of us, and speak through each of us, to Glorify the Father by the Church.

Having finally come, the Holy Spirit has two separate spheres of influence: He lives in us, where He teaches, guides and protects us. But His service toward the World is completely different: He “Reproves the World of Sin, and of Righteousness, and of Judgment.”

By the Holy Spirit, especially as witnessed in His people, the World sees sin for what it really is. They may or may not respond in repentance, but they know sin, and by the same means, they know righteousness, and judgment. They can see that the judgment of God is coming.

John 16:13-15

¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. ¹⁴He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. ¹⁵All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The rest of the work the Holy Spirit does, is in teaching the believers: Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. He does not speak independently from the Written Word of God, but always within the context of God’s Word. He guides us so that we can see what is ahead. He receives all that Jesus is, and says, and does, and He delivers it to us at a level where we can understand it, or at least put it into practice.

He makes the whole Church to Function as it Should

He is the one who administers the Gifts of the Spirit, and He empowers the teachers and leaders He has given. The Holy Spirit is the one who fills the Body of Christ and makes it functional as a whole, rather than being just a cluttered pile of disconnected parts.

Notice, too, that, if the Holy Spirit is the One who is functioning, then the result will be that the actions and words will glorify Jesus, not the humans involved, nor even calling attention to the Holy Spirit Himself. He works to glorify Jesus. He does not speak of Himself, but of Jesus.

This parallels the story of the Servant in Genesis 24, who spoke only of the Son, and sought the Bride. He continued speaking of the Son, until Rebekah was able to look, for herself, to the bridegroom, and see Isaac. The Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus until we see Him face-to-face!

Ministry of the Spirit

In the outworking of the New Testament, we begin to see details of the change Jesus promised: We see the gifts of the Spirit laid out in 1^st Corinthians 12. We see the unity of the Spirit, in Ephesians 4:3-5. And we see the Fruit (singular) of the Spirit, described in Galatians 5:22, 23.

We see that there is One Body of Christ with many Members. We see that there is One Holy Spirit, who works differently through each believer, in the various gifts, but they are always in keeping with God’s Word. (If they are not, then it is not the Holy Spirit who is at work.)

We see that the Unity of the Spirit (in that One Body of Christ) is created by the One Holy Spirit, but is to be maintained by the believers, collectively, by walking in obedience to Him.

We see that the Fruit of the Spirit has nine aspects, but that they all are to be there, in season: it is just one fruit, with nine characteristics, all of which have to be there.

Just the Facts!

This is not the “heady, psycho-babble” that typifies much of the foolishness taught today, about the gifts of the Spirit. It is simply the facts, as laid out in the Word of God. And, as we continue walking in the Spirit, the Lord raises us up as His servants and coworkers, so that the Gifts He has given find a place to function, and we rejoice to serve with Him.

Do I have to understand all the things God says about the Holy Spirit, in order to be aware of His leading in my life? No, I do not! If I am willing to obey Him and trust Him to lead me, then He will open doors before me and offer tasks for me to fulfill that will honor Him and please Him. He will direct our paths, if we are willing to follow His leading.

When we know the “general truths,” such as the fact that He has called us to be His witnesses, and that He has called us to leave our old ways of life behind, and commit ourselves to following Him in His Holiness, then we can start doing what we know to do, and looking to Him to lead us into a further walk with Him.

In Closing:

I want to close with one small point, in John 14:26. “²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Notice that it says the Holy Spirit will teach us, but it goes on to say, “He will bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Jesus primarily speaks to us through His written Word. Peter confirmed this, in 2^nd Peter 1:19, saying “We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the daystar arise in your hearts.”

If the written word is the primary way Jesus talks to us, and if we are not spending much time in the Word, then He can’t say much to us…and “we aren’t giving the Holy Spirit much to work with,” in terms of bringing it to our remembrance. We can’t remember what we never heard or never read. We need to feed on the Word, to be prepared to follow His leading.

Lord Jesus, empower us by Your Holy Spirit, and raise us up to walk in your footsteps. Teach us to understand Your Will and to obey from the heart.

March 11, 2023March 11, 2023

Jesus Prepared His Disciples for His Departure

Preparing His Disciples for His Departure

John 13:31-16:33

Introduction:

Judas received the sop from Jesus and was possessed by Satan. From that moment, there is a countdown, headed for the Cross. Jesus only had a few hours left with His disciples, and He had to accomplish several things:

Jesus had to prepare the remaining eleven disciples for His departure. He assured them of His return, so they knew that they had not simply been abandoned.
- He had to teach His prime commandment, which covered all the others.
- He had to prepare them for His death, to prevent despair when he seemed to be defeated.
Jesus had to teach them what to expect, regarding the Holy Spirit who would soon indwell them (Who is He? What will His ministry be? How could they know His influence as opposed to that of other spirits?)
- He had to make sure they understood that His commands could not be carried out in their own strength, but that He would have to work through them.
Jesus had to pass through Gethsemane and betrayal by Judas, to face the trial and the Cross.
- He knew his disciples would flee, and abandon Him in that event, and He had to prepare them to know that their failure was not a surprise, but only proof that they could not function without Him.

The Prime Commandment

John 13:34, 35 teaches the undergirding strength of the whole Church. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are commanded to continually relate to one another in the Agapé Love. He had already taught that the Agapé love (being committed to the well-being of those around us) is the single most important evidence of the Truth of the Gospel, and its reality in the lives of Believers.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto You, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Do you suppose they truly understood Him at that point? It is possible, but, I rather doubt it, because they had not yet been indwelt by the Spirit of God. They heard the words, and they understood the meaning, but probably could not imagine how the command could be carried out.

Preparing to Leave

Peter caught on immediately that Jesus was getting ready to depart, but he did not understand what was happening. He asked, “Lord, whither goest thou?” Jesus understood that Peter genuinely desired to go with Him, and He gently replied, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.”

Of course, Peter was confident of his strength and abilities. He assured Jesus that he would gladly lay down his life for Him. But, Jesus knew the truth: He knew the limitations of His human followers. He said, “Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou has denied me thrice.”

Preparing them all for His departure

Jesus did not belabor the doubts Peter had, but told the whole group they should not be disturbed by His departure: He assured them that He was going away to prepare an eternal dwelling place for them all. He promised that he would return and take them to Himself; so that, wherever He was, they would also be. He also said they did know where He was going, and how to get there.

Thomas was thoroughly confused: he said, “No, we do not know where You are going, so how could we know the way?!” Jesus replied with the famous statement, “I AM the way, the truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (Did they understand His meaning? Possibly so, but I suspect they simply accepted it by faith, and they waited to learn the meaning.)

Assuring Them of His Deity

Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus replied by saying, “Philip, you have known me all this time! How are you now asking me to show you the Father? If you have seen ME, you HAVE seen the Father!” I’m sure that rattled their brains! It certainly rattled my brain for a few years, as I tried to grasp the Deity of Christ.

I can accept the fact that Jesus truly is “God in the Flesh.” I hear His words, saying “the Father is greater than I.” But when I see the prophecy saying that “the Son shall be called the Everlasting Father,” I find that it is beyond my comprehension. I expect that it was a struggle for the eleven disciples, as well.

The Promise of the Spirit

We will not spend much time on the Holy Spirit, in this message: He is the subject of many messages. Next week, we will concentrate on all that Jesus said about the Indwelling Holy Spirit. For now, take a look at John 14:16; “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.”

The Holy Spirit will be with you forever. In this passage, He is also called the Comforter…the Greek word is “paracletos,” meaning “One called alongside to help.” He is our Comforter and our Guide, who helps us through all of the tough, hard, painful times in Life.

If you remember the story of Abraham’s Servant, in Genesis 24, bringing home the Bride to Isaac, you can rest assured, that in the same way, the Holy Spirit is “Bringing home the Bride,” to Jesus: He will not leave you, and He will not lose you!

A New Relationship

Jesus said, in John 16:15-17 that He would no longer address the disciples as His servants, but rather, as His friends. He said that servants do not know the plan of the Master. But Jesus was revealing the plans of the Father to His disciples, as friends, and partners in the work.

He reminded them that they did not choose Him, but that He had chosen them, personally, and by name. They were intrigued by Him but, until He revealed it, they had no idea what He was going to do in their world. He chose them for a purpose. Verse 16 says that He chose them and ordained them to go and bring forth fruit…and that their fruit should remain. (Notice that this is not about the Fruit of the Spirit, which has lasting value, but it can easily be set aside by our sin.)

Eternal Fruit

Jesus wanted the disciples to “bear fruit” in the sense of reproducing among the peoples of the World. He reminded them that they were to Love one another, and then He warned them that the World would not respond favorably.

He said, “If the World hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” He said they were no longer “of the World,” so it was impossible for them to “fit in,” now. Because we are “no longer of the World,” we can expect that world will reject everything we teach, and all that we stand for: it will reject us because it rejects Jesus Christ.

He warned that His disciples would be persecuted for the sake of their relationship with Him. He said whoever hates Jesus, hates the Father, too. In John 5:23 we saw that the reverse is true as well: Jesus said, “He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father who sent Him.”

A Dangerous, but Priceless Association

Because the Disciples were now “in Him” (as we will see in John 17:21-23) and He was to be “in them,” the World would reject them in the same manner as they rejected Him. He warned them that the time would come when anyone who killed a disciple of Jesus would imagine that he was doing service to God.

This was fulfilled in the person of “Saul of Tarsus” (who eventually became the Apostle Paul”) and in the lives of other unbelieving Jews who violently attacked the believers, and who assumed that, in doing so, they were “fighting the good fight,” and honoring God. God eventually took hold of Saul, and He used him (as Paul) to lay the foundation of the Church throughout the Mediterranean world.

But all down through history, the false churches and world religions have frequently taught that “torturing and murdering Christians is a good way to serve God.” Thousands of persons whose only offense was to confess that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was their Savior, were tortured to death, burned at the stake, and fed to savage animals for the entertainment of the World.

And such treatment is on the rise again, worldwide. This was not some “passing fancy” that only the first-century believers might endure. It is the “conflict of the ages,” and it will culminate in the Great Tribulation. Yes, we know who “wins,” but in the meantime, we need to be prepared to “suffer the consequences of Faith.”

The Legacy of Peace

In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My Peace I give unto you: not as the World giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

This legacy of Peace that Jesus gave is a two-part package: We gain Peace with God, as we place our trust in Jesus, and are declared righteous by God. (Romans 5:1) The Disciples already had this peace: God declared them righteous by Grace, through faith. So, they are eternally at peace with God. But they still suffered doubt and fear, and Jesus moved to heal that fear.

We are called to experience The Peace of God, on a daily, moment-by-moment basis. That is what Jesus was bequeathing to His disciples. They would not fully experience it until the Holy Spirit came, in Acts 2. They feared for their lives and were hiding, until that time. But that was before the Holy Spirit was given. The new relationship blossomed on the day of Pentecost.

Before the Spirit was given, the eleven disciples fled when Jesus was arrested, and they were in grief: hiding, fearing that they would be the next victims of the evil leaders in Jerusalem.

Transformation

But afterward, they boldly preached the News of Jesus: When they were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned, they counted it a privilege. They were not at all discouraged by such mistreatment. The result of their collective, courageous testimony was that thousands of other people received Christ as their Savior, and the ancient World was “turned upside down” by the change.

Since that time, everyone who believes is immediately indwelt by the Spirit of God, and that Legacy of Peace is immediately available to all who will lay hold of it by faith.

**They Were Prepared, though they did not “Feel” Prepared**

Jesus had given them the information and the encouragement that they needed. However, until the Spirit was given they were not able to put the teaching to use.

That is the case in our lives as well. Most of us know a good deal more of the Word of God and the promises therein than we can put into practical use. We find ourselves powerless to apply it in practice. But we were told in advance that apart from the Holy Spirit using us to reach into the lives of those around us, it simply cannot be done.

When Jesus said, (John 15:5) “apart from me ye can do nothing,” He was not exaggerating. He was speaking the simple truth.

We have been Prepared too: Now we are called to Walk!

We who have placed our trust in Jesus as our Savior, are already indwelt by His Spirit. But, as believers, we are commanded to “walk”in the Spirit. Day by day, and moment by moment, we are to ask Him to lead, and then follow His leading. It means, moment by moment, confessing when we sin, receiving His promised forgiveness, and then walking with Him again.

Next week we will spend more specific time reading about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, both in the World and in the Church. In the meantime, let’s try to apply what we already know. Step out by faith to live in obedience to your Savior.

Lord Jesus, teach our hearts to receive Your gift of Peace on a daily basis and to trust Your Holy Spirit to work through us to reach the World around us. Raise us up to serve You in the Newness of Life.

March 4, 2023March 5, 2023

Judas the Betrayer

John 13:15-30

¹⁵For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. ¹⁷If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

¹⁸I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. ¹⁹Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. ²⁰Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Calling out the Betrayer

²¹When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ²²Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. ²³Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. ²⁴Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. ²⁵He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

²⁶Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. ²⁷And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. ²⁸Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. ²⁹For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

³⁰He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

³¹Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

Introduction:

We could draw numerous lessons from this text. But we are going to focus on the person of Judas, the Betrayer, and the “anatomy” of his decision to betray Jesus.

In verses 15-17, Jesus completed his teaching of how the the disciples were to cleanse one another and restore one another to fellowship. In verses 18-20, Jesus cited Psalm 41:9, a prophecy about the Betrayer, and He gave teaching about people’s response to the Gospel and to the ambassadors of Christ. There are several deep messages in the passage, and we may come back to them later. But today we will focus on the question of who the betrayer was and how he came to be what he was.

In verses 21-30, Jesus was disquieted, and “troubled in Spirit,” because He knew what a catastrophe was about to finally overtake Judas. He was compassionate toward Judas. He had known all along who Judas really was. He knew, despite His having chosen Judas as a disciple and having fed him on God’s Word for three years, that Judas was going to betray Him.

So, why is He troubled in Spirit, now, when He has known for years what was going to happen?

“Destinations”

In some cases, God has chosen a person for a specific “role” to play in history. We then assume that the person “never had a choice.” It is more accurate to say that God knew from eternity-past what kind of choices they would make, and He arranged for them to be “in the right place at the right time,” to make that choice. He provided a destination. Let’s see some examples:

**Pharaoh’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

Pharoah (in Exodus chapters 1-12) is one such example. This Pharaoh continued to rebel against God, until Egypt was ruined by the plagues. The Bible says he initially hardened his own heart against God’s Word. He hardened his own heart against Moses and against the command to let the people of Israel go. That was his choice.

But, as the plagues became catastrophic, the Bible then says that “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” All his counselors and advisers eventually protested against him, because the destruction was so bad. They said, “Are you the only one in the country who does not know that Egypt is destroyed? You are fighting against God!” He rebelled further than any sane, normal person would have gone.

Why? Because, in Exodus 9:16, God says He raised that man up for the specific role he was then playing. God had chosen him as an “insane rebel” and God raised him to “be the Pharaoh” at that time. He did so, specifically so that He could show His glory to Israel and thoroughly judge Egypt. And God saw to it that the foolish Pharaoh would maintain that “insane rebellion” to the end. The Pharaoh and his chariots followed the Children of Israel into the Red Sea, where he was drowned, along with his entire army.
That was his destination.

God’s Choice

God is not cruel, capricious, or despotic, as His enemies commonly assert. The God of the Old Testament (our Creator, Savior, and Judge) is Jesus! He is the “Sinner’s friend,” and the Holy Messiah who calls the lost human race to be reconciled to Himself. The Creator God, in His plan for the redemption of the human race, had to show the result of rebellion and sin. He knew who he could “count on” to carry that rebellion to a ridiculous, insane conclusion.

We laugh at Pharaoh, today, because we see the insanity of his choices. But rebellion against God is always an “insane choice.” And, we do it every day! We want what we want, and we choose to go our own way. We know that His choice will always be wise and perfect, but we still choose to do “something else.”

**Jeremiah’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

The prophet Jeremiah had an assigned role to play, too: and he still had to choose to play that role. In Jeremiah 1:4-10, God told Jeremiah what his role was to be. He made it clear that Jeremiah was “hand-picked.” He was chosen before he was conceived, to be God’s messenger. But Jeremiah was not happy with that choice, and he tried to “beg off.” God rebuked him for the “attempted rebellion.” Jeremiah unhappily complied with God’s demand. He obeyed, though often weeping.

Jeremiah did have a choice. Had he chosen to just “do what he wanted,” he could have said, “send somebody else!” Jeremiah did not want the role he was given. But after his initial protest, he responded faithfully in every case. God was glorified through Jeremiah’s struggles, grief, and inner turmoil. God sustained him through the abuse he suffered, and we received the “Book of Jeremiah.” (Jeremiah arrived at his destination and his eternal reward with God.)

**Jonah’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

You remember that Jonah was commanded to go and preach in Nineveh. Jonah had a choice, and he ran the other way! God used circumstances, a major (supernatural) storm, and a gigantic sea-creature, to bring him to a point of repentance. And God brought him to a specific destination.

Jonah eventually changed his mind about his choice. He repented, (that means “changed his mind“) and we know the rest of the story. But he could have chosen to continue in rebellion. God would have used someone else to deal with Nineveh, but Jonah would not have survived the encounter. Jonah would have died in the belly of the fish. Instead, he finally chose to obey God, after three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. A prophecy was thereby produced. Jesus pointed it out as a picture of His own “three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth.” (Matthew 12:40) (So he arrived at his “destination,” too, but under God’s chastening.)

**Judas’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

We can’t be sure exactly when Judas began to make his choice. We do know that he was unregenerate and hiding his sin: He was pretending faith. Perhaps he thought that all the other disciples were just as phony as he was, and that they, too, were “just going along for the ride,” hoping to see the kingdom restored in Israel. (And they did harbor that hope…that is a good hope to have. But their hope was in the Person of Jesus, not just in the “coming Kingdom.”)

In John 6:70, Jesus predicted the coming betrayal, saying, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” And, during the “foot-washing lesson,” in John 13:1-17, Jesus warned (v.10, 11) that they were “not all clean” and John pointed out that it was because Jesus knew who was going to betray Him.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the betrayal is mentioned fourteen times all told, either predicting it, commenting about it, or, (in Judas’s case,) confessing the deed. In Matthew 26 alone, there are nine references to that betrayal. So, it isn’t just an “historical fact:” it is serious enough for us to spend some time looking at it.

The Foundation of his Betrayal

The “foundation” of Judas’s eventual betrayal of the Lord was laid in his own unbelief. We don’t see it clearly, at first: he is just “one of the twelve.” But, in John 12:4-6 Judas criticized the worship offering brought by Mary of Bethany: He said it “wasted money that could have helped the poor.” But John, reflecting on that incident, revealed the real problem. Judas did not care about the poor: He was a thief,and (ironically) he was also the treasurer for the group! He wanted that money himself. Regarding that same incident, Matthew 26:6-13 says the other disciples agreed with Judas about the “waste.” Jesus rebuked all of them collectively.

But, in Matthew 26:14-16, immediately after that same incident; Judas alone went to the chief priests and volunteered to betray Jesus for money. His unbelief had allowed his rebellion to grow strong, and his values to become entrenched against those of Jesus. When he complained (along with the others) that Mary’s gift was a waste of money, Jesus rebuked them all, fairly gently. While the others accepted the reproof and learned from it (as we see later,) Judas remained indignant, and he offered his services to the Enemy.

The longer a person “plays the game,” pretending faith (for whatever reason) the greater the danger is, that, eventually, they will absolutely reject the Lord. Now, in John 13:2, we see that Satan (in this verse, called “the devil”… “the accuser”) had “put into the heart” of Judas, to betray Jesus. The idea originated in the Pit, just as so many other wicked human ideas in history have originated there. But, at every step, Judas made a choice. His hand was never forced.

The Son(s) of Perdition

In John 17:12, Jesus referred to Judas as “the Son of Perdition.”…”The son of destruction.”

[I used to think this just meant “being lost,”… “the son of lostness,” because the Spanish and Portuguese word “perdido” means “lost,” and I assumed they were the same idea. But the New Testament Greek word is “apoleias” and it is only translated as “destruction, perdition, and damnation.” It means eternal condemnation in Hell!]

Does that mean that Judas was “Born to be destroyed…born to spend eternity in Hell?” Does it truly mean that he had no choice?

Not exactly: God knew, before the Creation, what each of us would do, and He provided a payment for all our sins, through Jesus, at the Cross. We choose to believe His promise, or we choose to reject it. Judas is no exception. Salvation was offered to him exactly the same as it was offered to the other disciples. Unlike them, Judas rejected it. And he arrived at his destination!

Another Son of Perdition

In 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3, we see one more person called “the Son of Perdition.” In that passage, it is the Antichrist. But here is a sobering thought to consider:

In John 3:18, Jesus said, “He that believeth on Him (the Son of God) is not condemned: but, he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

The whole world is under the same judgment as Judas and the Antichrist! We were all the “children of wrath” according to Ephesians 2:3. Anyone you know or meet, who has not trusted in Jesus as their Savior, is already headed to the same place as Judas and the Antichrist! We were all lost together, when Adam sinned. No one is “more lost.”

The ground is level at the foot of the Cross!

“Selling Out Cheap”

Once Judas decided to “sell out” Jesus, he “sold out cheap.” It was about a month’s wages: thirty pieces of silver. After he realized the enormity of his error, he tried to return the money to the chief priests. But they rejected it. He found no place for repentance. Only remorse.

Don’t sell out cheap! What can this world possibly offer that is superior to the Reward of God? Some sins have long-term effects. In reality, all sin has long-term effects, but we usually are unable to see the connection between our “small choices” and their eventual consequences.

But Jesus offers us Eternal Salvation through His Shed Blood. The consequence of persistence in rejecting that offer, is eternal loss, just as it was for Judas. We need to keep in mind the consequences of sin, and reach out to others while there is still time.

Lord Jesus, raise us up as Your ambassadors: Give us a passion for lost souls that overcomes our personal fears of rejection. Give us Boldness, Grace, and Wisdom to reach souls for You.

February 26, 2023February 26, 2023

Keeping it Simple

Remember the Simplicity of the Gospel

Acts 17:15-18:11; 1^st Corinthians 2:1, 2; 1:17

Introduction:

Sometimes we seek to add grace to our words through dramatic wording and affected intonation. We philosophize and reason, persuading men of the logical necessity of God’s existence…when God makes no such plea himself. We think of slick presentations, sneaky ways to “slip the gospel in there, sideways”, and clever answers to give to common remarks.

We conjure up dramatic stories, or we recite real accounts from the news, re-cast into spiritual terms. We forward tear-jerker items from the internet. We pray for “opportunity” to come and knock down our door, while we are fearful to tap at the door of those in need.

I think it is important that we remember the simplicity of the gospel, and preach it that way—simply. The results may not be dramatic, but they will be honest—no one will be convinced by the cleverness of our words, but rather by the truth of God’s Word, and the conviction brought by the Holy Spirit.

Two examples in scripture—one negative and one positive:

Paul had arrived in Athens after a VERY rough time in Philippi, and thereafter, in Thessalonica and Berea. He was undoubtedly still in a good deal of pain from the beatings he had received a few weeks earlier, in Philippi, as well as perhaps distressed at being run out of several towns in a row, and now being separated from his traveling companions.

But Paul did not hesitate, or “take a sabbatical”—he went about his standard practice of meeting with those in the local synagogue and telling them about Jesus. (I am quite sure I would have “taken a break”.)

Preaching in Athens

He also would share with folks in the “Agora”—the marketplace, since that was a normal place to discuss things of interest and importance. Here in Athens, the local philosophers (specifically two groups: one group given to seeking pleasure, another in the other “ditch”, denying self, but claiming self-sufficiency) overheard the various conversations and asked him to make a public address. They hustled him up to Mars Hill, the Areopagus, and put him on the spot, so to speak.

Sermon on Mars’ Hill:

Paul responded as one perhaps ought to, in speaking to those given to philosophy—he gave them a message based on philosophic thought. It was true, but it “arrived” at the truth, rather than simply stating it. He approached them from the point of view that there were things in their world that they could not understand, and that he was the messenger of “the God of creation,” whose ways are past understanding.

That was well and good, and this short sermon has been long regarded by teachers of homiletics as a brilliant example of extemporaneous preaching. (Perhaps it really is.) But let’s look at Paul’s sermon, the results thereof, and Paul’s response to those results. That will be “example one.” Then let us look at the message he preached in the next town, (“example two”) and see what differences there were.

Read Acts17:15-18:11

Notice that it was not Paul’s idea to “take the floor”, so to speak, at the Areopagus. He was taken there by those who said they wanted to hear…but their interest waned when it turned out he was speaking of spiritual reality. Both groups of philosophers avoided such reality…one group, called the “Epicureans” denied the possibility of “finding truth by reason” (they are partly right), and they devoted themselves to having fun; enjoying pleasure. The others; the “Stoics”, were very works-centered, self-centered, and proud of their self-repression, yet they claimed the self-sufficiency of Man. (Seems we still have a lot of both of these sort of folk today.)

When Paul began speaking he spoke in philosophic terms—they were probably quite pleased to hear his first few paragraphs. But then (as the saying goes,) he “quit preachin’ and went to meddlin’”. When he touched on the subject of the resurrection, they immediately lost interest. Some just got a good laugh, mocking him, while others, a little more polite, said they would “hear him again” sometime.

Key transition:

Notice that the next verse does not say, “but Paul departed…” as if he left despite their interest. It says “So Paul departed from among them”. Perhaps he only said, “Skip it!” and went back to the synagogue. We aren’t told. But we are told, in the next verse, “after these things Paul departed from Athens.”

Paul saw that the spiritual climate there was very cold…so he left. A few did believe, but not enough to begin a church, evidently—there is never a mention of his having founded a church in Athens. One way or another, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Starting Over In Corinth

In Corinth (“example two”), he gamely began again, teaching and preaching in the synagogues, to both Jews and believing Greeks. He did so every week, up until Silas and Timothy had caught up and joined him there. Then he really “pressed home” the central point of his message, that Jesus is the Messiah: the Christ.

At this confrontation, most of the Jews became stirred up, and they turned against him. Paul immediately stated that he had done his duty by them, and would waste no more time on them, but rather, would concentrate on reaching the Gentiles. He moved next door, literally, to the house of a man named Justus, and, amazingly, the head Rabbi from the synagogue followed him, as well as his whole household. They believed the message!

So…What was the message? Philosophy? “Good times coming?” The Resurrection?

I don’t know all the details, but the central message was the person of Christ, and Him Crucified. How do I know? Read 1^st Corinthians 2:1, 2 … Paul underscores the difference—he says “I came not to you with excellency of speech or with wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Christ and Him Crucified.”

What a change! Why would he drop all the philosophy of Athens, and center on the simplicity of the Gospel in Corinth? I believe he looked at the apathetic results in Athens, and he didn’t want it to ever happen again. He specifically states (Read 1^st Corinthians 1:17) that he was sent to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ be made of none effect.” Is that a possible result of preaching? Can I make the Cross of none effect? (Evidently so!)

We need to re-think our ideas about sharing the Gospel. Perhaps we need to think of the simplest ways we can tell someone about Jesus, instead of the “slickest.” (This is not “salesmanship.”)

What is the Gospel?

Paul states the Gospel in simplest form in 1^st Corinthians 15:3, 4; “…how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” The death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ as full payment for our sins, and the fact that all of it was the fulfillment of specific prophecies is as simple a message as we can make it.

But we tend to look for ways to “dress up” the message, draw pretty “word pictures,” and find slick sales techniques by which to “slip the Gospel to someone surreptitiously”…not to confront. Paul set a pretty clear example here; he confronted. So did Jesus, in John 3:3—he minced no words, speaking to Nicodemus: “You must be born again!” Again in John 14:6; “No man cometh unto the Father but by me…”

Can’t we take those examples to heart? Can’t we deliberately look for the simplest ways to lead people to the Savior? It would make our lives much easier, and purify our message as well. We are not to leave out any of the central points of the Gospel, but we are not to embroider it, either. We are to be direct, and kind, but firm in the truth.

Pat James, was stopped on the street, once, by the unbelieving son of an (apparently) unbelieving man who had recently died. He asked whether Pat believed his dad had “gone to a better place.”

Pat shocked him by replying very bluntly, “It doesn’t make a bit of difference what I think… what matters is the truth. And I only know one place to find that kind of truth—it’s God’s Word, the Bible! And the Word of God makes it very clear that there are only two possibilities once we leave this world. And the determining factor as to where we go is “What did we do with Jesus?” I can’t tell you for sure where your Dad is…but I can tell you for sure what God says about the issue.” The young man was taken aback, and said “Whoa!…That’s really heavy!” He stared off into the distance and finally said, “I’m going to want to talk with you some more about this sometime…”

Now—did he ever come back for more? I don’t know. But Pat did not give him false hopes—he very bluntly told him the truth, without condemnation. And he offered hope. That’s all we can do, too. Look for opportunities to tell people about Jesus, His sacrificial death for our sins, His burial, and His resurrection. If you want to include the second coming, that’s fine…but believing the message of the Cross is what saves—not having a “hope for heaven.”

Preach the Cross. Preach Christ and Him Crucified. Preach Salvation. Preach Truth.

Don’t worry about the results. Just make sure that what you preach is the real Gospel!

What else can we learn from Paul’s example?

He knew that his primary reason for existence was being an ambassador for Christ. If I have something else that I consider to be more important than my service to Christ, then my priorities are wrong. It’s just that simple!
He let nothing deter him from being that ambassador. Not personal rejection, political pressure, or physical discomfort. If I am willing to “fall down on the job” because it isn’t easy, then I am unfaithful and unreliable. Period. (And I have failed many times!)
He was teachable—he learned from experience. Even though Paul was taught personally, by Revelation from Jesus, he was not blind to learning opportunities. I need to be alert to those learning opportunities as well.
He knew when to quit preaching and move on. You can’t feed people who aren’t hungry. When you can see that a person is not interested, share with someone else. That sounds cold, but it follows the example of both Paul and Jesus.

If we can each learn at least these four lessons from Paul, it should transform our experience as Christians. Please consider what might occur if you truly saw your “assigned task” in life to be an ambassador for Christ twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. (You are, by the way: 2^nd Corinthians 5:20 “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ…”)

What might change, if you made that your primary concern in life, and let nothing turn you from that single task?

If you aren’t receptive to those first two lessons, the other two simply don’t matter. Whether you are “teachable,” and whether you “know when to move on,” are irrelevant questions, if you are not first committed to the tasks of evangelism and discipleship.

I pray that God will use His Word to change each of our hearts.

Lord Jesus, teach our hearts to have the right priorities: strengthen our desire to serve You faithfully as Your Ambassadors.

Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters

1st Thessalonians 1:1-10; Acts 16:12-40; Acts 17:1-10

Introduction to the Thessalonian Letters:

Why planting a Church at Philippi became a “Short-term Mission:”

Yet Another “Short-Term Mission:“

The Source of the Trouble

Some Believed!

False Accusations

A Functioning Church in Less than a month!

How was that possible?

Qualified Leaders

1st Thessalonians 1

What can we learn from the Salutation alone?

What were Paul and the other missionaries thankful for?

Let’s list the things Paul mentioned in verses 6-10. They were thankful for:

The Testimony of Thessalonica

What about the matter of “Judgment?”

But virtually all “Good News” is predicated on some preexisting “bad news.”

After the Resurrection: What Now?

Matthew 28:11-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:45-53; John 21:1-24; Acts 1:1-9

Introduction:

After the Resurrection

Luke 24:44-53

John 21:1-24

Lapsing into the Old Life

What about Us?

The Resurrection of Jesus

And, the Effect on His Followers

Introduction

The Facts of the Resurrection:

The Effects of the Resurrection:

The Effect on Us, as Believers, today:

The Effect on us, Personally

So, What ARE those “Positional truths?”

The Trial and The Cross

Introduction

Full Context Needed

So, What Happened?

Beginning at the arrest:

The Trial in the High Priest’s House

Jesus Answered to the Name of God

Matthew 27:11, ff (In Pilate’s Court)

Pilate Knew Jesus was Innocent

Herod Got Involved

Pilate’s Question

Passage to the Cross

Where was Golgotha?

The Crucifixion

The Cross, the Crucifiers, and the Annointed One

Final Prophecies Fulfilled

Immediate Result of the Death of Christ

Why Did it All Happen?

To Fulfill Prophecy

To Provide Redemption

“Draftee” or “Volunteer?”

Introduction:

Who is in Charge, Here?

Born Sinners

That is Why We Need to be Born Again

So, Having Received His Grace, through Faith, What do we do, Now?

Consider Isaiah

So, Which is it? Are We Draftees, or Volunteers?

Consider Jonah:

They Obeyed by Faith

Languages and Translations

A Famous Draftee and Deserter

Two Results

What about People who do not “Feel Qualified” to Serve?

Consider Jeremiah

The Weeping Prophet

He had a Very Difficult, unfulfilling ministry!

What About Us?

If You are a Believer, You are Called to His Service!

The Privilege is to Serve!

Do I Have to Know God’s “Whole Plan?”

God Doesn’t Make “Deals,” as a Rule

Embrace Reality!

The Path Through Gethsemane

Introduction

The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus (John 17:1-18:1)

1^st Thessalonians 1:1-10; Acts 16:12-40; Acts 17:1-10

1^st Thessalonians 1

**But virtually all “Good News” is predicated on some preexisting “bad news.”**

**So, What ARE those “Positional truths?”**

**So, Having Received His Grace, through Faith, What do we do, Now?**

**So, Which is it? Are We Draftees, or Volunteers?**

**He had a Very Difficult, unfulfilling ministry**!

**Do I Have to Know God’s “Whole Plan?”**

**We are Called to Speak, and Called to Do, as He Does**

**They Were Prepared, though they did not “Feel” Prepared**

**Pharaoh’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

**Jeremiah’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

**Jonah’s Choice in his Chosen Role**

**Judas’s Choice in his Chosen Role**