Judgment, Justice, Grace and Mercy

Introduction:

How does Easter show the Judgment and Justice of God?

We have been studying what the Bible calls the Day of the LORD: the terrible Judgment of God (followed by great blessing) which is to be poured out upon the whole World, but especially upon Israel, since they had the most information, and failed to respond. We saw, last week, how the final warning was given to Israel by Jesus, in His Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. We saw that the crowd of disciples who had worshipped him as the King, as he rode into Jerusalem, were not the ones, who, three days later were screaming for his death: but rather, it was the citizens of Jerusalem who rejected the King. We also saw how, since they rejected the King, they inherited the promised Judgment. The Judgment described thereafter (specifically the fact that not one stone of the temple would be left standing on another) definitely includes the destruction under the Roman general Titus, which happened in 70 AD, but it also includes the Great Tribulation, which has not happened yet. Judgment is definitely coming!

However, we did not examine the Judgment that fell that Wednesday, upon the Lord Himself: The fact is that, as Isaiah 53:4, 5 says, “He bore our griefs, and carried our sorrows…but we thought he was smitten by God (as an evildoer). But: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities…” The Scriptures make it clear that He didn’t die for anything He had done. He died in the place of the whole World, for all that we have done, or failed to do.

Many Easter sermons focus either on the Lord’s sufferings, in gory detail, or upon the facts of the Resurrection, and the effects it had on the lives all those who were there. I would like to focus, instead, on the reason for His suffering, and the result of His resurrection, for us.

The Reasons for Crucifixion

There were many ways in which prisoners might have been executed in those days. Some were relatively quick, others deliberately slow and agonizing. The Cross was one of the latter: it usually took several days of torturous struggling to breathe, and straining against the spikes holding them to the cross. We can compare crucifixion with the Old Testament law regarding “hanging a criminal on a tree,” which was actually only done to a criminal who was already dead (usually by stoning,) to signify God’s curse on that particular criminal:

According to Deuteronomy 21:23 they were not to be left hanging overnight. They had to be cut down before sundown, according to the Mosaic Law.
- Jesus was taken down before sundown, though Crucifixion usually took days!
When they wanted the execution shortened, they accomplished that end by breaking the legs of the condemned individual, so that he could no longer lift himself up to breathe. Thus, he died in minutes, instead of days. (John 19:31)
- But for the Passover Lamb, a picture of Christ, it was specifically forbidden that any bone be broken (Exodus 12:46.)
- Why did Jesus choose to cut the suffering short and “lay down his life?” (Remember, He specifically said that no man could take his life: He would lay it down of His own accord. (John 10:18)) When they came to break the legs of the criminals, he was already dead. Thus, though they broke the legs of the other two men, they did not break a bone of the Messiah…our Passover Lamb!
The scourgings and beatings were described in Isaiah 53 (bruised, stripes, etc.)
The crucifixion was described in Psalm 22:7-18 (Read it!)
The fact that he was to be crucified at Jerusalem, by the Jews, is given in Zechariah 13:6 “What are these wounds in thine hands? …Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”
The fact that it is the eternal God who was wounded for our transgressions is given in Zechariah 12:1-10…and it was God the Son!
The Old Testament sacrifices were tied to the altar by the four horns of the altar… they were held by four points, just as in the crucifixion.
The Original Passover predicted the crucifixion, in that the people were commanded to kill the lamb, catch its blood in a basin, and to dip a bundle of Hyssop into that blood and then strike it on the lintel and the two doorposts. The physical action of striking the lintel and the two door posts physically described a bloody cross in the air across that doorway. Those frightened Jews, believing God’s Word regarding the imminent destruction of the firstborn, obeying by faith the command of God, and choosing to accept the blood sacrifice that HE would accept, were huddled under the blood of the Cross, 1500 years before the Crucifixion, just as we depend upon the blood of that long-ago sacrifice today.

God’s Judgment for the sins of the whole world fell upon Jesus at the Cross. How do I know? Jesus said so! John 3:16-18 says,

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

¹⁸He that believeth on him 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.

Notice the parallel with what we just saw, regarding Palm Sunday: Jerusalem rejected her King, and inherited the Judgment. All those who do not believe the Gospel, inherit judgment because they, too, reject the Savior…the King. Also, notice that it does not say they will be judged, or will be condemned: it says that they are already condemned, because they do not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. So: for the first eighteen years of my life, I was already on God’s “death row”, as an unbeliever; as a natural-born rebel against God. I was already condemned. Had Jesus not stepped in and died in my place, I would still be headed for Hell. (That is the “Bad News” of the Gospel! And it is the reason for the “Good News” of the Gospel!)

What is The Good News of the Gospel?

According to 1^st Corinthians 15:3, 4, the Good News is divided into three parts:

The Death of Christ, fulfilling God’s Prophecies
The Burial of Christ, also fulfilling His Prophecies (including the time lapse.)
And the Resurrection, which is God’s confirmation that the sacrifice was accepted!

**Why is His Death Good News?**

1^st John 2:2 clearly states that Jesus is the satisfactory payment, or settlement for the sins of the whole world. “And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (“Propitiation” means the sacrifice that satisfies the Righteousness of God.) The fact that it was for the sins of the whole world is especially reassuring to know: if God had named a list of people, or ethnic groups, or whatever, there is a good chance I might not be on that list. In fact, if I were actually called out by name, it would be possible that it was actually someone else with the same name that he had in mind…not me.

But he included the whole world…so I am “on the list.” Think of John 3:16 “…whosoever believeth in Him…” You see, “whosoever” includes me!ThatBlood Sacrifice, ordained by God the Father, offered by God the Son, and administered by God the Holy Spirit, was full payment for all my sins, past, present and future. All the work of salvation and redemption was finished by Jesus at the Cross. All that’s left for me to do, is to place my faith in His finished Work.

**Why is His Burial Good News?**

The fact that Jesus died on the evening of the Passover, as our blood sacrifice—our Passover Lamb—is significant enough. But why do I say he was crucified on Wednesday, when tradition has always held out for Friday? The tradition that Jesus was crucified on a Friday is patently false, because Jesus Himself said (Matthew 12:39, 40) that the experience of Jonah, being three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, was a specific prophecy that He Himself would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Between Friday evening and Sunday morning, there are two nights and one day! But, if He was Crucified on a Wednesday, then any time after sundown Saturday, Jesus was free to leave the Grave. This was one of the signs that He was the Messiah! It had to be that specific time-frame.

He also had to have died with criminals, but also with the rich (Isaiah 53:9)…which would usually be a total paradox. The bodies of the criminals were usually taken to the city dump, and left for the carrion-eaters, vultures, flies, etc., as a public demonstration of the result of their evil deeds. The rich people had hand-carved stone mausoleums for their graves. So this would have seemed a contradiction, perhaps, or at least very puzzling. But, in Jesus’s case, two rich men (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea,) begged to take custody of His body, and they buried it in the tomb that Joseph of Arimathea had prepared for his own burial. So it was fulfilled!

The Best News of All: The Resurrection!

So, three days and three nights later (Wednesday night, Thursday, Thursday night, Friday, Friday night, Saturday) Jesus left the grave behind, forever! Mary Magdalene and the other women showed up at the tomb long before daylight, Sunday morning, and He was already gone. The angels had rolled away the stone for the express purpose of letting the women and the disciples see that He was already gone.

The Result of the Resurrection

Remember the result of the Crucifixion: The disciples (all of them, not just the eleven), were scattered, just as Jesus had predicted, for fear that they were next on the list; slated for execution. When Jesus appeared to the Eleven, they were hiding; locked in an upper room, fearing the Jews.

But what was the result of the Resurrection, in the lives of those same believers? Confusion and disbelief, initially; but, as they gained confidence that Jesus was really alive, and that He was really all He had claimed to be (literally God in the Flesh,) they became completely bold, where they had previously been in hiding. They committed their lives to His service, as those alive from the dead, as they began to recognize that:

His death was in place of their own deaths;
His righteousness had been credited to their own accounts, and that
His resurrection was the guarantee of their own resurrection.

Thus, they had no further fear of death. Their life took on a sense of Eternal Purpose, as they began to allow the Lord to live through them (Galatians 2:19-21; Philippians 1:21), and their priorities became completely rearranged, as Jesus became the center of their existence.

What about Repentance?

We are often told, “Yes, but you have to repent!” That is surely true! But what does that mean? Does it mean “groveling on your knees begging for forgiveness”? Or, “renouncing sin forever?”

The word translated “Repentance” is the Greek word, metanoia. It literally means to change your mind. Change your mind regarding Jesus. Who was He, to you, before you believed the Gospel? A myth? Just a Man? A Prophet? Or, did it even really matter to you? (It didn’t to me: I was lost, and didn’t know or care.) So, when you believed the Good News of Jesus’s Death, and Burial and Resurrection, you “changed your mind” regarding all that you had previously thought about Jesus. You also changed your mind regarding all that you previously thought about sin. You came to realize that you, personally, were a lost sinner, and you feared the judgment of God. You changed your mind regarding Jesus’s work, realizing that you could not save yourself, and you threw yourself upon the Mercy and Grace of God!

According to the promise of Jesus, in John 5:24, at that moment, you received eternal life, and will never face judgment again. You permanently crossed over from being spiritually dead, to being spiritually alive. You were born again! You received a new nature, and became indwelt by the Holy Spirit! All these are true, even if you were not aware of any of these things!

This is why Easter is such a huge joy and relief to all of us. I wasn’t there to see the Crucifixion, the Burial, or the Resurrection of the Lord, but those three together still comprise the best News in the Universe: He is Risen!

Lord Jesus, teach us the importance of the facts of the Gospel and make them a living reality in each of our lives.

December 23, 2017December 23, 2017

What Child is This?

(Comparing the lyrics of the hymn to the scriptural promises from which it sprang.)

Introduction:

One of the reason I really love the Christmas hymns is that they so frequently carry a pretty faithful representation of the facts of the Gospel, along with a fairly faithful representation of the facts of Christmas. Certainly, one may protest that there are facts overlaid by legend and mythology. That is true. We go to God’s Word to sort out the truth, and frequently still can see that the intent of the author was to honor God, and to reflect the truth of His Word. And, of course, there are glaring exceptions…but those are not the ones I am drawn to. A year or so ago, we took “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” as an example and found that, actually, the original words were quite accurate, and that the only questionable line in the lyrics was changed by a later hand (and, ironically, became the title of the hymn.)

This Christmas I would like to examine some of the core questions posed in a different Hymn: Today people try to recreate and re-invent The Jesus of the Bible. Even in his day, people denied that He was who He said he was, and within the first century, unbelievers were trying to change the Gospel to something more comfortable. It is not comfortable! The uncomfortable portions of the “Good News” of the Gospel are that way because of the unthinkable wickedness of the Human Race…because of our sin.

Today, as then, the appropriate question is “Who is this Jesus?” Zacchaeus climbed the tree because he desperately wanted to see Jesus, “who he was”. Jesus, himself, asked “but who do you say that I am?”

A Little History: In 1865, in Bristol, England, an insurance company employee named William Chatterton Dix fell ill, and became extremely sick. He gradually recovered, and during that period of convalescence he went through some pretty deep depression, during which time, he read his Bible a great deal, possibly for the first time with comprehension. The result was that he went through what he called a “spiritual renewal.” I can’t say whether that was when he first received the Lord Jesus as his personal sacrifice for sins, or whether this is just the time when it deeply impressed him. He wrote a poem during that time, called “the Manger Throne”, from which three stanzas were later lifted when he wrote the Christmas Hymn, “What Child is This?”

“Who do the People say that I am?”

Jesus asked the disciples this question, before asking them about their own answer to that question: They said “Some say that you are John the Baptist, and some Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” We can see that there was great controversy, even at that time, as to who Jesus really was. Each person was to be held accountable for their own answer to the question. Pilate later posed a similar, essential question: “What then shall I do with this Jesus, who is called Christ?” We are each held accountable to the answer to that question, as well.

Every year, for the last several decades, people have gathered for the “Jesus Symposium” or some similar name, where they essentially “reinvent” Jesus, according to their own tastes. But the Jesus of the Bible was a historical person, and is easily proven to have been so. What becomes more difficult is the fact that only the Bible gives us an accurate view of who He really is, because the whole rest of the world has “an axe to grind,” in that, the entire human race is antagonistic toward the holy God of the Bible. We want a God who is more to our taste…so we re-create God in our image, according to Romans 1:21-23.

When William Dix confronted this question from his sick bed, he asked

What Child is This?

We need to address the same question: Who is He really? So let’s look at William Dix’s approach:

What Child is this who, laid to rest on Mary’s lap, is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh, The Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh, Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise the song on high, the virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born, The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Where was He to be born? In Bethlehem…fulfilling the prophecy of Micah 5:2. (read it!)

Where was he to be found by the Shepherds? In a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, fulfilling the word of the Angelic messenger to the shepherds as a group. And who were those shepherds told that the baby really was? “Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!” They were not told that he was the king, in that particular context, but, if they knew the Old Testament prophecies (such as the one in Micah 5:2), they would have known that the Messiah (Christ) was to be the Eternal King, as well. So they left their flocks and they hurried into Bethlehem; they made haste, the scriptures say, to go see the newborn king. And they found him just as the Angel had said, along with Joseph and Mary. They went back to their flocks with Great Joy. Did they understand it all? I doubt it…but, then, I don’t really claim to “understand it all,” either.

But, why was he in a manger, and not in some hospital ward or maybe in a palace? Philippians 2:5-8 sheds some light on this: “…he humbled himself.” He not only became part of His own creation, but he became a man, not an angel. He not only became a man, he became a poor man, in a nation that was already a slave-state to Rome, a cruel, ungodly, polytheistic nation. A place where life was cheap, and righteousness was foreign.

He came, not as a conquering hero, but as a tiny, helpless infant, enduring all the hardships of life with the people he had called his own. Did they bring him honor? Not so you’d notice. The shepherds were the only witnesses. But, in that manger bed, all the Promises of the Ages were being fulfilled. He came to save sinners…and his entire life was poured out to that single end.

Take it Personally!

The hymnist recognized what was happening, there, and it shook Him. He was moved to a Godly fear, and he became a true believer, if he had not been one before then. He pondered the fact that those tiny, curled-up baby hands would be the same ones later pierced by spikes, as he was tortured on the Cross. That this tiny, helpless body, when full grown, was the same one which would be pierced through by the Roman spear, as his blood was poured out at the Cross. And he knew it was for himself, personally. “Nails, spears, shall pierce Him through…His blood be shed for me, for you!” Take it personally!

He also realized that this was the fulfillment of John 1:14, where it said that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory…)” We, too, can either embrace that truth, knowing that the Word, which was God, is also the Word which became flesh…and thus we can see His glory…or we can go back to seeing Jesus the way the World sees him: just another dead Jew…or perhaps a tragic martyr…or, even just a myth.

He winds up his hymn, encouraging the listener to join in worshipping the God-in-flesh Savior. To say “bring Him incense” is a call for worship. The incense burned in the temple was only used for that purpose…it was not used to make the home smell nice, or any other common purpose. It was a picture of the prayers, and praises, and worship being offered by believers. How do I know? God says so! Revelation 5:8 says that the incense (odours, KJV) in the vials of the elders (the church) were “the prayers of saints”; saints are the “holy ones of God”: believers! If you are a child of God, God says you are a saint! You may not feel that way (nor do I), but our feelings are not an accurate reflection of reality. It is a fact. But he says “Bring him incense, gold and myrrh.” Who did that? It was the wise men. Why did they do it? Remember, they weren’t even there, that first night.

Later, within a year or two, the wise men came from the East, and sought “him who is born King of the Jews”. These wise men were not Jews—these were from the area we now call Iraq, most likely, near what was once ancient Babylon, and may possibly have been some of the last surviving disciples of Daniel, the prophet. He had become one of the head wise men (later called Zoroastrian seers) in Babylon, some 500 years earlier, and he had prophesied of the coming Messiah (Daniel 9:26). They did bring him honor, but later…not at his birth. And the things they brought were appropriate: they brought gold, which was an appropriate gift for a king (and which would be needed for their escape into Egypt); they brought frankincense, which was appropriate to a priest and a sacrifice. They brought myrrh, which was a costly resin, used in medicine and in embalming…appropriate to His death. They recognized him for who He was. We need to do the same thing, and not take lightly the story of the birth of Jesus the Messiah.

The hymn-writer says that the way is clear, now, for the lowliest of human slaves, to claim the Savior, as well as for any nobleman willing to humble his or her heart. Queen Victoria was one of those monarchs who humbled her heart and by her own testimony, she was saved. Jesus echoes this, and says, “Whosoever will may come!”

The issue, then, becomes “What will I do with this Jesus, who is called Christ?” That is what Pilate asked, in Matthew 27:22…but then he went on to condemn Jesus to death. He claimed to be innocent, himself, but he was not. He had the authority to do right, and did not do it. God says that is sin (James 4:17). “Therefore, if a man knoweth to do right, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Pilate was guilty. We have to choose, as well, what to do with Jesus, the Messiah.

“Who do YOU say that I am?”

Jesus directed this question to His disciples. Peter answered: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Jesus blessed Peter for that answer. But later, as you remember, Peter denied Jesus…and later still, he went back to commercial fishing…Jesus had to call him again. But God didn’t give up on Peter; He had a use for Peter’s life. And He has a use for yours and for mine.

So… just like Peter, I know who He really is, too …but what am I going to do about it?

The hymn-writer said, “The King of Kings Salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone him!” Is that what I will do? Allow him to reign in my heart? Or will I just live life as usual, and let one day follow another for whatever is left of my life, not honoring The King much more than does the World: (“Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!”) But no real thought given to the reason we celebrate. Every day of my life, I wake up with one more chance to serve: one more chance to work with Jesus, offering my body a living sacrifice to His glory. Every day I have to choose how to spend my time, how to spend my money…and whether to serve Him, the King of Kings, or to just go ahead and serve my flesh, just doing what I want, to bring honor to myself. And, too frequently, I choose badly.

“Raise, raise, the Song on High!” When we sing together, do you really hear the words? Do you consider the importance of those teachings? Do you sing the words as a song from your own heart? If you do, then the last line says what should be the result:

“Joy! Joy, for Christ is born, the babe, the Son of Mary!” We can see Him as the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan and all of His promises to Israel and the World! We can see that the perilous times coming are not directed at us, but at the unbelieving world. We can see that our Savior is coming to take us home, to safety and eternal joy! We can experience, every day, the joy of knowing that He is truly in control, and that, regardless of how bad things look, we are headed for a good conclusion.

Lord Jesus, draw us along into Your Joy. Mature us through the teaching of Your Word, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, re-shaping us into Your own likeness, that we can be able ambassadors of Your Grace and Love to a dying world. Please lift us up, as Your tools, Your hands and Your feet, and use us to Your glory.

March 26, 2016March 26, 2016

How Important is the Resurrection?

How Important Is the Resurrection?

1^st Corinthians 15:13-19

Introduction:

Frequently we avoid an argument by “agreeing to disagree”, and there is perhaps nothing wrong with that practice, in principle. But we have been trained to avoid conflict, and to compromise, hoping for a peaceful resolution of any difference, to the extent that we don’t know where the limits are. We don’t know where to draw a line and say, “Here I stand; I can do no other!”

The Apostle Paul was savagely beaten on many occasions, left for dead after being stoned, imprisoned several times and finally executed for his faith. We fidget uncomfortably, and say, “Well, yes, that is wonderful, how he lived for Christ, preached his faith, and died for it, but we live in a safer world today, don’t we?” Well, I wonder: do we?

We have the same three enemies today: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil: Which of those three do you imagine to have changed? Satan certainly has not changed in the least. The Bible tells me that the flesh also has not changed—and in fact, if anything, it can only get worse. Has the World changed for the better? While it is true that for the first three centuries the Church existed, the Roman government viciously persecuted it, mercilessly torturing and murdering those who clung to the Name of Jesus, there are many nations today in which it is either illegal to be a Christian, or illegal to talk about it, or both. And in several of those nations it is quite common for a Christian to be either murdered for his or her faith or persecuted by the governments of those countries to the extent of confiscation of property, imprisonment, torture and even execution. We have been lulled to sleep by the relative peace and safety that we have enjoyed in this country for the last 200 years, so that when someone says something like “All religions serve the same God, and it doesn’t really matter what you call Him, or what you believe about Him”, we are only a little uncomfortable, because we have been taught that “Our way isn’t necessarily the only way…how can a billion Muslims all be wrong? Or, how can a billion Buddhists all be wrong?”

**How Do We Know Our Way is Right? Isn’t that “Narrow-minded?”**

In the first place, it isn’t “our way.” We are just following the instructions given and responding to the invitation given by Jesus Himself. Part of the answer to the implied question was given by Jesus, when he taught in Matthew 7:13, 14— He said, “Enter ye in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat: Because narrow is the gate, and narrow the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” If there seem to be relatively few who respond to the invitation of Christ, and believe His Words, it actually proves Him correct. He told us ahead of time that this would be the case.

In the second place, the way is not “narrow” because of the caprice of an angry God, or bigoted people, but because of the simple fact that, throughout History (beginning before the Creation) God has provided only one means by which sinners may approach a Holy God without fear of condemnation. We see the first promise in Genesis 3:15, the first book of the Bible, and can trace both the promises and the growing clarity of doctrine regarding the death and burial and resurrection of Christ all the way through the Old Testament. We finally see the fulfillment of all those promises, prophecies, and teachings, in the person of Jesus Christ, in the Gospels. But in the Book of the Revelation, the last book of the Bible, (Revelation 13:8) we find that Jesus is referred to as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the Earth.” So we see that the provision for our salvation was actually made before the first human was even created.

This “Way” that has been alternately blessed and cursed by humans for the entire history of the Human race, is, in fact, the Way laid down by God before the creation. Jesus identified Himself as being that “Way”: In John 14:6, Jesus stated, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” (That sounds narrow!) As modern Christians we are uncomfortable with things that are “narrow”. We are afraid of public opinion that labels us as “narrow-minded.” We are taught to think that the number of our choices dictates the quality of our life. And yet, I cannot remember ever hearing anyone complain about the “narrow” choices afforded by the reality of our dependence upon oxygen.

No one rebels against reality and declares himself free from the tyranny of breathing, unless he intends suicide. Why? Because it is simply a fact of life that mammals all have lungs and breathe air, while fish all have gills of one sort or another, and get their oxygen through water. We accept that fact, and no one says how “unfair” it is that we cannot choose to live in a pure nitrogen atmosphere, or to breathe water, as do the fish. We embrace the reality of our dependence upon oxygen, and no one complains about it. Why? Because it does not require conscious submission to an external authority. We are built to crave air, and cannot do otherwise. But we do rebel against the fact that we need a Savior!

How Can Jesus Be the Only Savior?

Interestingly, the book of Job was evidently written before the books of Moses, the Pentateuch. And, in his book, in the middle of a frustrating, tangled, verbose argument with his three friends, Job made a fascinating statement: (Job 19:25-27). He stated that his redeemer already lived (give that some thought!), and that he (the Redeemer) would stand upon the earth at the latter day. He definitely declared the eternality of the Messiah, and that he is coming…but the following statement is really astonishing: he says, “…though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet, in my flesh, shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another”. Job predicted his own resurrection, based on the Eternal life of His Redeemer. And, in so doing, he established which “coming of Christ” he was addressing. It was not the earthly ministry of Jesus, but the second coming: Job’s resurrection is still yet to come, but: when Jesus stands upon the Earth at the latter day, Job will be in his resurrected body, and his prophecy will be literally fulfilled. He will see God, face to face, with his own eyes.

Jesus was the Redeemer for whom Job was waiting, and he was the promised Seed of Woman in whom Adam trusted. He was the Judge of all the Earth with whom Abraham pleaded for the life of Lot. He was the literal Rock of Ages that was Cleft to bring forth the water for the two and one half million Children of Israel, and all their livestock in the desert. He was the Passover Lamb, under whose blood those same children of Israel had huddled, to escape the judgment on Egypt. He is the only Savior because He has always existed as the Savior of the human race.

How Important Is the Resurrection in the Bible?

The fact is; if Jesus was not resurrected, then He was not any of those things. The person in whom Job trusted had to die. Isaiah 53 predicts the suffering of the Savior, and clearly states that it is for our sins that He was killed. Psalm 22 describes the crucifixion in stark terms and it is clearly a prophecy of the Christ, as nothing even remotely similar ever had happened to David, the human writer of that psalm. But Isaiah 53 also claims that this suffering savior would not remain dead, because it says that after his death; after he “made his soul an offering for sin”, he would see his offspring (us!) and prolong his days.

Psalm 16:10 is also prophetic of the Messiah: Peter alludes to it in Acts 2:27 and points out that it is definitely not regarding David, the human writer of that psalm. You see, it stated that the person involved, though he would die, would not be allowed to decompose, and that his soul would not be left in Sheol, the place of the Dead. David died, and had been in the grave for over one thousand years when Peter was preaching there in Jerusalem. His body was thoroughly decomposed, and mummified, and his soul was still in Sheol, to that day. Peter declared that this psalm was specifically in reference to the resurrection of the Messiah, and testified that he and the other (hundreds of) disciples were all eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. He concluded that this was final proof that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Redeemer.

Paul wrote, in Romans 1:4, that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God, with Power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the Resurrection from the dead.” The Resurrection was God’s stamp of approval, showing that Jesus was really who He claimed to be. Without it, he was just another one of the victims of the Jewish leaders, and the iron fist of the Roman law. He would have just been a poor, deluded, poverty-stricken, pathetic Jewish carpenter who had overstepped the bounds of the society in which he lived, and it had cost him his life.

You see, those are the choices: either he was who he said he was, or he wasn’t. There is no real middle ground. If he was not the Messiah, then he was either crazy enough to think he was, or he was an incredible liar who ensnared millions of people with his false teachings, and who died the death a false prophet can expect, and his followers have simply duplicated his folly. But, there are a couple of problems with both of those scenarios:

In the first place, he didn’t act like or talk like a crazy man. He used very clear logic, analogy, and the authority of God’s Word to teach the people. And even His enemies recognized the power of His words. He was by no means incoherent, or illogical, nor did he teach anything that was in conflict with the existing scripture. He did teach things that contradicted the traditions of the Jews, and that is partly what caused the trouble. They hated Him for that.

In the second place, false teachers virtually always have an agenda: They are the “hallelujah hijackers”, and religious charlatans of history, who made grandiose claims and seized honor and/or wealth for themselves, availing themselves of privilege by one means or another. They usually eventually showed their true colors by vile immorality or treachery and violence, too, though there have been exceptions.

Jesus did none of these things: He sought no audience with the kings of the earth, nor with the rulers of the temple. He taught the poor, and healed the sick. When he worked miracles, both his friends and his enemies were conspicuously present. He seldom, if ever, did things in secret.

When he raised the dead (John 11, 12), proving his authority over death and His authority to give life, his enemies were there, as well…and they plotted to kill both Jesus and the man he had raised from the dead. (What insanity! If someone has proven his ability to raise the dead, wouldn’t you want him on your side?)

Jesus simply didn’t act like either a false teacher or a pathological liar. Even his enemies, well-versed in scripture though they were, could not refute his teachings. They could make no real accusation against Him, though they desperately wanted to do so. The Roman Governor, Pilate, could find no fault in Jesus, and said so, publicly. He eventually agreed to have him put to death only because he was afraid of yet another Jewish revolt, for which he could be held responsible.

How Important Was the Resurrection to the Disciples?

Remember that the eleven apostles had all been hiding in a locked upstairs room when Jesus appeared to them, entering the locked room and appearing in their midst. They were terrified that the Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers might not be satisfied to have murdered Jesus: they could decide to mop up His followers as well. That seems a reasonable response, to me. Since their leader claimed to be the Messiah, and they had fixed their hopes on Him, it follows that, when he failed to deliver the kingdom they thought he was to usher in, and was taken without a fight, given a mock trial, a savage beating and a criminal’s execution, they would feel completely devastated and hopeless, besides (possibly) feeling that they had been cruelly duped. They would certainly not feel like “telling people about Jesus”, if they were sure he was dead…and they were sure of that, because they saw it happen, though from a distance.

After He appeared to them (and continued to meet with them and the other 120 disciples and an extended group of 500 followers), they were filled with joy and relief, but were still pretty confused about what Jesus wanted them to do. They actually went back to their old jobs as commercial fishermen, and had to be called away from that error. They were completely convinced of his having been raised from the dead, but…how could they be used by God, as the timid, fearful men they had become?

Jesus’s last words before He ascended into Heaven were that they would be given power (“dunamis”, not “exousia”: ability, not just authority) when they received the Holy Spirit, and that they would be witnesses for him throughout Israel, and to the uttermost parts of the world. And that is just what happened.

Ten days later, at the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in Jerusalem, and the Church was born. The disciples were no longer in hiding. They were openly preaching, and willingly risked death to complete their assignment, the Great Commission. They had been transformed instantly from a terrified group of very confused men to bold, fearless apostles, whose thoughts were supernaturally clear, to the extent that their enemies were amazed that uneducated men could have such insight and wisdom. Apart from their being absolutely convinced, as eyewitnesses, that their Master was alive forever, and, of course apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, the transformation simply could not have happened.

How Important Is the Resurrection to Us?

Paul makes this one absolutely clear for us in 1^st Corinthians 15:13-19

“¹³But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: ¹⁴And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. ¹⁵Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ¹⁶For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: ¹⁷And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. ¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. ¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

To summarize: If Jesus is not risen from the dead, then,

All Christian preaching is futile and wrong.
All Christian witnesses are found to be false
All Christian faith is misplaced and hopelessly wrong.
All of us are still condemned in our sins
All the millions who have died in faith, trusting in Jesus as the Christ, are utterly lost.

Paul concludes that, if in this life only we have hope in Christ (and not in an eternally living Messiah), then we are of all humans most pitiable…most wretchedly misled, and most miserably lost. And all of that is completely true IF Jesus is not risen from the Dead.

But we have the authority of God’s Word, as well as the historical testimony of transformed lives, and that of all those who have joyfully faced death, knowing their resurrected Lord. We are witnesses of that fact, as well, because He has also changed our lives. With the prophet Job, we can confidently say, “I know that My Redeemer Lives!”

Those who believe in Him are simply embracing the reality that God has provided one way by which we can have eternal life with Him.

Jesus said, (John 5:24) “He that hears my words and believes on Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from Death unto Life.” We believe His promise, and are secure in Him.

Because…the truth is:

He Is Risen!

December 20, 2014December 20, 2014

Comfort through Christmas–all Year

Finding Comfort in Christmas Throughout the Year

To those of us who have lost loved ones, as well as those who suffer from depression, or the loss of a job, etc., Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the worst. Our society has taught us to expect sunny feelings of joy and happiness, and to expect to give and receive wonderful gifts, and that everyone will love one another, and politicians will all tell the truth… and that Santa Claus is coming…

To those of us who hurt, or who have suffered loss, all of the above seems a cruel hoax. And in some ways it is, even if those responsible meant no harm. We have been given false expectations, and have been taught to turn our eyes away from the real truth. Let’s see if we can turn that around, just for a moment, today…

The First Christmas

Consider the first Christmas…the real one…the one no one really noticed except some farmer types…shepherds, actually. It happened in a barn; a stable, if you want to be specific. No tree, no tinsel, no eggnog. “No crib, for a bed”…the only “gift” in sight was a baby. “For God so loved the World, that He gave his only begotten son…” (We don’t think of it often, but the wise men showed up quite some time later—not that day…probably not that year. But when they did, they brought gifts to HIM, and not to one another.) But those who were there—those shepherds— were overwhelmed with joy. Why?

Why The Joy?

How is it that without any of the things we think ought to be there, the partakers of the first Christmas were filled with joy? Mary was having her first baby…do you think maybe she would have liked her Mom, or an Aunt, or someone to help her? How do you suppose Joseph felt about the accommodations? And the shepherds still had to go back to those sheep, and the smelly, hard job that was their whole life. No day off for Christmas…no bonus; no free turkey, or ham, or whatever. Just… great joy.

Do you suppose they understood a little about what had happened? They were all orthodox Jews, and they, with their forefathers, had been waiting for the Messiah for thousands of years. The promises were there, for anyone to read. And the angels that showed up clearly told them that this was it: The real fulfillment of God’s real promise. Did they understand it all? Nope. They almost certainly did not. In fact, they may have had some real disappointments a few years down the road. They thought he was come to be a king (He was!), and a deliverer (he was!). But they thought he would throw the Romans out of Israel, and reign there in Jerusalem in their lifetimes. (He did not, and He never said he would.)

Their disappointments were based on false expectations, just like ours. But those who remembered could look back with wonder and recall the voices of the angels, praising God, and announcing the Holy birth. They did not cease to believe in the goodness of God, and his faithfulness.

Remember the Promise

We have forgotten what was really promised, and more specifically, how we are to take part in it. There is no promise that we will live lives free of pain. Quite the opposite…we are told that it is given unto us “…on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on His name but also to suffer for His sake.” (Philippians 1:29) That’s not what we really wanted to hear, huh?

So what really was promised, and how do we take part in God’s real Christmas? How can we find Comfort in Christmas?

To begin with, immediately after Adam and Eve fell into sin, as recorded in Genesis, God provided a plan of redemption. He said that a person would come, called the “Seed of Woman”, and this person would undo Satan’s work, done through the serpent.

The promise was repeated, with more and more details, until just before the time of Christ (actually, the last detail was given 400 years before his birth), when they pretty much knew all that was to happen regarding the Messiah. They did not understand it all, any more than we can claim to understand it all today.

But the believers, mostly Jews, had come to believe in the character of God, and they believed His Word was true. They believed his promises. When he told them to place their trust in His redemptive plan, and it involved a blood sacrifice, they brought that blood sacrifice, as directed. Did they understand it? Did they really know that all those little Lambs were pointing forward to the True Lamb of God? Somehow I doubt it.

The Promises Were Fulfilled

When Jesus was introduced by John the Baptist, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” some people may have understood the intent; most folks probably did not. But many believed that He was the fulfillment of God’s Promise. We can look back and see that they were right. He fulfilled God’s Word to the letter…even that thing about the “Seed of Woman”. (Who else in history has only one human parent?)

Jesus was born in obscurity, with shepherds rejoicing, and precious few others even taking notice. He preached in a tiny nation for three years or a bit more. He had twelve devoted followers, about ten times that who were part-timers, and thousands who claimed allegiance to him. But he was betrayed by one of those “inner-circle twelve”, Judas Iscariot, and he died a criminal’s death, condemned by Jew and Gentile alike. He was attended at His death by only one of his twelve disciples, and a few women, including his mother.

He was lent a tomb by a rich man who secretly believed. It turned out Jesus only needed it for three days and three nights, just as predicted. He was physically resurrected that third day, in spite of efforts aimed at preventing such an occurrence, and he showed himself to all his disciples, on one occasion to 500 people at once. He ascended back to God, physically; bodily, and promised to return in the same manner: Physically…Bodily.

Believing the Promise

We, who do find comfort in Christmas, whether Jew or Gentile, do so because that day was the beginning of all that was to follow. We find hope in the Christ, in the Cross, and in the empty tomb. We find hope in his resurrection, and in his promised coming again.

We find hope in His written Word, where He promised personally, that “Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

We look back to that first Christmas and the unspeakable gift of God’s Son, and we find comfort in the Goodness of the God who gave the Gift. When we suffer losses, we look back to what our redemption really cost our Lord, and our Heavenly Father.

How can one take part in God’s real Christmas? Jesus said “He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed over from death into life.” (John 5:24)

Notice the tenses there—he covers my present, saying that because I have heard his word, and believed the promise of God, I have eternal life now…I don’t have to wait ‘til I die to see if I got “good enough grades”. He covers my future, promising that I will never be condemned by God. He covers my past (perfect tense), saying that I have permanently crossed over from being spiritually dead, to being spiritually alive.

Finding Comfort in Christmas

This is the hope of all believers. And those of us who believe, and who have lost one or more believing loved ones, have the sure hope of seeing them again. Some we are not sure of, because we can’t see their hearts, but God knows, and His justice is perfect. He loves them more than we ever could; and we rest assured that he has done right by them.

Christmas, the way the World presents it, can be very depressing, quite honestly. But the way God presents His gift it is a never-ending source of joy—not seasonal at all.

If you would like to know more about how to experience God’s joy, I’d be happy to chat with you.

To each of you, in the name of the Christ of Christmas, I wish a truly joyous Christmas season that will last throughout the year.

Blessings upon you all.