Week of 24 Pentecost B and Following - November 15 - 21, 2009

Week of 24 Pentecost B and Following - November 15 - 21, 2009

This is a Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year Lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:

http://www.commontexts.org/

and:

http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html

The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional Lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.

The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:

http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com

Journalspace.com, my former 'blog host is being reorganized under new ownership. I no longer publish there. I have also lost mypodcast.com, my podcast host. This 'blog is mirrored at:

http://shepboy.multiply.com/

.mp3 Podcasts via Linux Festival Text-to-speech are available at:

Daily Walk 2 Year B Weekly Lectionary

Please Note: I will post weekly by Saturday, noon, (God willing), Pacific time (UTC-8:00) for the week of the Church Season which begins on Sunday. Please scroll down for the desired day, or save the week to your desktop/hard drive.

Podcast: Week of 24 Pentecost B and Following

24 Pentecost - Sunday B (Variable)
First Posted November 15, 2009
Podcast: 24 Pentecost Sunday B

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 -- God’s Commandments
Psalm 119:1-16 -- The Law of the Lord
Hebrews 7:23-28 -- The New Covenant
Mark 12:28-34 (35-37) -- The Great Commandment

Deuteronomy:

The people of Israel were poised in Moab to enter the Promised Land. Moses had turned the leadership over to Joshua, and in his farewell address, Moses reminded the people of Israel that obedient trust in God’s Law, given through Moses, was the condition for long, happy life in the Promised Land. Israel must fear (have the appropriate reverence and respect for the power and authority of) God, and must teach God’s Word and the fear of God to their children and grandchildren. The people were warned to be careful to hear and obey God’s Word, so that life would go well for them, that the land would be fertile and that they would prosper in the Promised Land.

Moses reviewed the First Commandment: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord (or Lord alone); and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Moses declared that God’s Word was to be on their hearts; they were to teach God’s Word to their children, talk about it and meditate on it throughout the routines of daily life. God’s Word is to be very present to them in daily life, as if it were tattooed on their hands and their foreheads, and as if signs on their gates and doorposts, so that they are constantly reminded of them.

Psalm:

Those who are blameless (in God’s judgment), who do no wrong, by obedience of God’s Word, who seek him with all their heart, will be happy and blessed. The Lord has given us his commandments for us to obey diligently; let us be steadfast in keeping his Law. Those who trust and obey God’s Word will not ever be put to shame. When we have learned God’s righteousness we will praise and glorify God. If we obey his Word, he will not forsake us.

Only by trusting and obeying God’s Word can a person be unblemished (by sin; i.e. disobedience of God’s Word). When we seek him with all our hearts and ask for his help, we will not stray from obedience to his Word. The only way to avoid temptation to sin is to store up God’s Word in our hearts (not only knowing with our minds, but living daily by it). If we seek God’s Word he will teach it, so that we can declare it to others. God’s Word is more valuable than any amount of material wealth, and the joy of it is eternal. Let us promise to meditate on God’s Word and commit ourselves to obey him. Then we will not forget his word, and will delight in our obedience.

Hebrews:

Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant of Law. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant of Grace through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Under the Old Covenant, many human priests over time had to offer sacrifices continually for their own sins as well as for those of the people. But Jesus is our eternal high priest and the mediator of a New Covenant. He is not limited by physical lifetime, because he is eternal, and he is unblemished by sin, so that his death on the Cross, has sufficed, once for all time and all people for the entire forgiveness of all our sins, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

The Law of God (God’s Word; given to Moses) appointed weak human priests, until the fulfillment of the promise of the Son (of God; Jesus Christ), who was made perfect for eternity (by perfect obedience to God’s Word, unto death on the Cross).

Mark:

A Scribe (teacher of the Law of Moses) heard Jesus debating with the religious authorities, and realizing that Jesus answered well, asked Jesus which of the (Ten) Commandments was greatest. Jesus answered with the First Commandment (From Deuteronomy 6:4-5), that one should love God above all else, adding mind (intellect) to heart, soul and strength. Then Jesus added that a second great commandment is to love one’s neighbor as much as one’s self. If one truly loves God and one’s neighbor one has fulfilled all of God’s commandments.

The scribe acknowledged Jesus as a faithful and accurate “teacher” of God’s Word, that God was the one and only true God, and that truly loving God and one’s neighbor is better than any amount of religious sacrifice or ritual. Jesus acknowledged the scribe’s understanding of God’s Word by saying that the scribe was close to the kingdom of God.

No one else dared to question Jesus, so Jesus asked the crowd how the scribes could teach that the Christ is the son of David. Quoting Psalm 110:1, Jesus asked how David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, could call his descendant “Lord?”

Commentary:

God has always intended from the very beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of people who would willingly choose to trust and obey God. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know, trust and obey God (Acts 17:26-27).

God has been progressively revealing his will and purpose for Creation, first through Creation itself (nature), then through the Bible, which is the history of God’s call of Abraham and the establishment of God’s people through him. Through Israel God revealed his promised Messiah, Jesus, God’s anointed Savior (from God’s eternal condemnation) and eternal King of the Universe.

Through our obedient trust of God’s Word in the Bible, God reveals his Messiah, God’s “anointed” (designated) Savior, and God’s Plan of Salvation (see sidebar, top right). As we trust and obey Jesus, Jesus reveals himself and God our Father (our Creator and spiritual Father: John 14:21, 23-24), by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus John 14:15-17).

Jesus is our “Moses” who leads us out of bondage to sin and eternal death in the “Egypt” of this world, through the “sea” of Baptism into Jesus Christ, thorough the spiritual wilderness of this present sinful world, through the “river” of physical death, and into the eternal kingdom of God in heavenly paradise. Obedient trust in God’s Word is the condition for eternal life in God’s eternal heavenly kingdom.

God is the one and only God. The word “Trinity” is not actually named in the Bible, but the concept is apparent throughout (Matthew 28:19; Romans 8:9 Matthew 28:19). God is the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; one God in three expressions. God is Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). Jesus is fully God and fully human; God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9). No one can see God; Jesus is what God is and looks like in human flesh. We cannot know Jesus in his physical lifetime, but we can know and experience Jesus personally through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. If we have come to know God and Jesus Christ through the Bible, we will recognize Jesus and God the Father in the Holy Spirit.

Those who seek God and God’s Word will be happy and blessed, and will find God through Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:8-9, John 20:28). Those who seek to be obedient to God’s Word will receive wisdom and eternal life. God has offered us forgiveness for our disobedience of his Word, as a free gift, to be received by faith in Jesus. God has given us his Word in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, to save us and give us eternal life.

America and the Church, particularly in America, are the “New Promised Land” on earth, and the New People of God, in the national and spiritual senses. The condition for long happy life in the worldly “Promised Land,” and also in God’s eternal heavenly kingdom has always been and still is obedient trust in God’s Word.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

27 Pentecost – Monday Before Christ the King B
To be used after the last Variable Sunday of Pentecost until Christ the King.
First Posted November 16, 2009
Podcast: 27 Pentecost Monday B

Psalm 93 – God Reigns;

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty and strength. This world is established and cannot be changed. God's throne is established from the beginning, and he is eternal.

The voice of the floods are loud: the Lord is mighty; greater than the thunder of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea.

God's Word is certain; holiness is proper in his house, always.

Commentary:

God is the king of Israel, the people of God's kingdom (1 Samuel 8:6-7). The people of Israel asked to have a human king like the neighboring nations, and God warned them of the drawbacks of a worldly monarchy, but allowed them to proceed (1 Samuel 8:4-22).

God has designed this Creation from the very beginning to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. This Creation has been designed to allow us the freedom to choose whether or not to obey God's Word, and the opportunity to learn by trial and error that God's way is our best interest (Romans 12:2).

God knew from the very beginning that by allowing us the freedom to choose whether or not to obey him we would choose to do our will rather than God's Romans 3:23,1 John 1:8-10). Sin is disobedience of God's Word, and the penalty for sin is eternal death Romans 6:23).

God designed a Savior, Jesus Christ, into the structure of Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God's only provision for the forgiveness of our sin and our salvation from eternal condemnation, which is the penalty for sin (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the “anointed” (Christ and Messiah each mean “anointed,” by God, in Greek and Hebrew, respectively) king of God's eternal kingdom.

Jesus is the King of kings, and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14), and his reign and kingdom are eternal.

God is greater than all the forces of nature. He commands them by the creative power of his Word, by which he created this Universe (Genesis 1:3, 9).

Jesus is the “living Word,” God's Word fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41).

God is holy: he is perfectly good and righteous. God's people are to be holy because God is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2); we are to be completely devoted to God's service, and perfected in goodness and righteousness through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

27 Pentecost – Tuesday Before Christ the King B
To be used after the last Variable Sunday of Pentecost until Christ the King.
First Posted November 17, 2009
Podcast: 27 Pentecost Tuesday B

Daniel 7:13-14 – The Coming King;

Daniel had a series of dream-visions at night. This is a portion of one of the visions. Daniel saw one like a son of man, coming on the clouds of heaven. He presented himself to the Ancient of Days (God). Dominion, glory and kingdom, were given to the son of man, so that all people should serve him; his dominion is everlasting, and will never pass away. His kingdom will never be destroyed because it is eternal.

Commentary:

After his Resurrection Jesus ascended into heaven on a cloud as his disciples watched and then two angels told the disciples that Jesus would return on the Day of Judgment, coming with the clouds Acts 1:9-11). Jesus has been given all authority to judge everyone who has ever lived, physically, in this world (Matthew 28:18), the living and the dead in both physical and spiritual senses (1 Peter 4:5).

Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment (Matthew 24:29-31). Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord, who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8), in this lifetime, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Those who have been spiritually “born-again” will enter eternal life in God's kingdom restored to paradise, in Heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus as Lord, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal destruction with all evil in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

We are all eternal souls in physical bodies, born physically into this world, but spiritually “unborn” (Matthew 5:28-29). This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and find God our Creator, to know him and learn to trust and obey him. Jesus is the only way to come to know God, to know divine eternal truth, and to have eternal life (John 14:6). This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word), and fall short of God's righteousness (doing what is right and good and true, according to God's Word; John 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (John 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for forgiveness of our sins, to restoration of fellowship with God that was broken by sin, and salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar top right).

Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death. Every truly “born-again” Christian testifies that Jesus is risen to eternal life; we have a personal relationship with him through the Holy Spirit. Everyone dies physically once, and then comes judgment; not reincarnation; not “nothingness” (Hebrews 9:27).

At Jesus' first coming, he came as a tiny helpless infant; when he entered Jerusalem the week of his crucifixion, he knew what would happen. He entered humbly on a young donkey, not as earthly kings with a show of power and authority.

At Jesus' Second Coming Jesus will return with great supernatural power and glory (Matthew 24:30-31). His disciples will rejoice as they see their redemption coming, but those who have rejected Jesus will be fainting with fear at what is coming for them (Luke 21:25-28). In that day everyone will bow before him and declare that he is Lord of all Creation (Philippians 2:9-11), but then it will be too late to change our eternal destinies.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

27 Pentecost – Wednesday Before Christ the King B
To be used after the last Variable Sunday of Pentecost until Christ the King.
First Posted November 18, 2009
Podcast: 27 Pentecost Wednesday B

Revelation 1:4b-8 – Salutation

John, the Apostle and author of Revelation, offers the grace and peace of God, the eternal, who was, who is , and who is to come, and from the fullness of the Holy Spirit, “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth” (note the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and Holy Spirit; Revelation 1:5).

Eternal glory and dominion be to Jesus Christ, whose blood has set us free from bondage to sin, by his blood sacrifice (on the cross), and made it possible for us to be a kingdom of priests to his God and Father. So be it! “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all the tribes of earth will wail on account of him. Even so, let it be so!” (Revelation 1:7).

The Lord God declares that he is the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). God is the almighty one, the one who is, who always was, and who is to come.

Commentary:

God is eternal; he has always been, he is, and he will always be God. True grace (unmerited favor) and peace can be found only in God, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (John 14:27), by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, who has testified to God the Father in word and deed. Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is the one who makes God the father known to us (John 14:8-11; Matthew 11:27).

We have all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus came to proclaim the Gospel (“good news”) of forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word) and salvation (from eternal death, which is the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus came to free us from bondage to sin and death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus' resurrection from the dead demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death.

Jesus came to give us eternal life. We are all born physically alive into this world, but spiritually “unborn.” This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, and this is only possible through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus has been given authority over everything in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). He is King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14).

Jesus became the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins and salvation from eternal condemnation. By his blood we are spiritually cleansed so that we can be temples of the Holy Spirit, and a kingdom of priests of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). Jesus came in human flesh to become the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sin, and he has promised to come again, at the end of time, to judge the living and dead, in both physical and spiritual senses (1 Peter 4:5).

After Jesus' resurrection, he ascended into heaven with the clouds, witnessed by his disciples (Acts 1:9) and will return at the Day of Judgment in the same way (Acts 1:10-11). He ascended with little notice, but when he returns he will come in great glory and power (Matthew 24:30-31) and every eye will see him (Revelation 1:7). Christians will rejoice as their redemption approaches (Luke 21:28), but worldly people will be fainting from fear at what is coming (Luke 21:25-27).

Everyone who has ever lived will be accountable him for what we have done in this lifetime. Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been “born-again” in this world and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom. Those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal destruction in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

27 Pentecost – Thursday Before Christ the King B
To be used after the last Variable Sunday of Pentecost until Christ the King.
First Posted November 19, 2009
Podcast: 27 Pentecost Thursday B

John 18:33-37 – King of the Jews;

Background:

The Sanhedrin, the seventy member Jewish high court, took Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman provincial administrator of Judea, for execution by crucifixion. In order to justify his execution they told Pilate that Jesus was claiming to be Christ, a King (Luke 23:2).

John:

Pilate questioned Jesus, asking him if he was the King of the Jews. In reply Jesus asked Pilate if he had come to that conclusion on his own, or others had said that of Jesus. Pilate said he wasn't a Jew (didn't know or care about Jewish religious matters). Pilate said that Jesus' own people had handed Jesus over to Roman authority; what had Jesus done to warrant that? Jesus answered that his kingship was not of the world. If it were, Jesus' servants would fight to resist arrest and trial by the Jews. So Pilate said that Jesus seemed to be admitting that he was a king. Jesus replied that Pilate and Jesus' Jewish accusers were the ones saying that Jesus was a king. Jesus said that he had been born and had come into the world for this purpose, to bear witness to the truth. All who are of the truth hear Jesus' voice.

Commentary:

Jesus didn't deny his kingship, but said it wasn't what either the Jews or Romans thought of as a kingship. The Jews were looking for a Messiah (Christ; both mean God's “anointed” king) who would restore the worldly political kingdom to Israel, delivering them from Roman domination (Acts 1:6). The Roman authorities would see such a kingship as treasonous. The Jewish authorities did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, but they used that accusation to attempt to destroy Jesus.

When the Jewish people saw the miracle of the feeding of the five-thousand, they wanted to take Jesus by force to make him king (John 6:15), not because they believed that he was the Messiah, but because he could give them free bread (John 6:26). Later when Pilate sought to release him, the Jews told him that Jesus had set himself to be king and was therefore an enemy of Caesar (John 19:12). When asked if the Romans should crucify their king, they said they had no king but Caesar (John 19:15).

Jesus was born and had come into the world to be the Messiah, the promised eternal king and heir to the throne of David (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). Jesus had also been born and had come into the world to bear witness to divine eternal truth, which is the Word of God. Jesus is the the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Those who know and believe God's Word know truth and recognize that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). They will listen, trust and obey Jesus' word because it is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24), with the creative power of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; compare Genesis 1:3, 9).

Jesus didn't come to assert himself as king. He is the eternal king of God's eternal kingdom, whether we recognize and acknowledge him or not. Each of us is free to accept him as our king or not. But who we say Jesus is will determine our individual eternal destiny (Matthew 16:13-13).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

27 Pentecost – Friday Before Christ the King B
To be used after the last Variable Sunday of Pentecost until Christ the King.
First Posted November 20, 2009
Podcast: 27 Pentecost Friday B

Isaiah 35:3-10 – Exiles' Return to Zion;

Be strong, those with weak hands; take courage, those with weak knees; be brave, those with fearful hearts. Watch and see! Your God will come with vengeance and God's recompense. He will come and save us.

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart (a male deer; a buck), the tongue of the [mute] sing for joy” (Isaiah 35:5-6). Water will spring forth in the wilderness and there will be streams of water in the desert; pools of water will replace burning sand, and springs of water will come forth from thirsty ground. Swamps will replace the jackals' haunt (wilderness) and reeds and rushes will replace grass.

There will be a highway there, called the Holy Way and the spiritually unclean will not be allowed to use it, nor will fools be allowed to continue their folly on it. No lion or other ravenous beast will be there. The redeemed, those ransomed by the Lord, will walk there and will return to Zion with singing. They will have everlasting joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee from them.

Commentary:

God's Word is eternal and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. This prophecy was originally given to encourage the remnant of Israel in exile in Babylon, but it also applies to us today who are in exile in the “Babylon” of this world. It is ultimately fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, first in his physical ministry, and then in his Second Coming on the Day of Judgment.

Jesus quoted Isaiah 35:5-6a (and Isaiah 29:18-19; 61:1) to reassure John the Baptizer, after he had been imprisoned, that Jesus was fulfilling the prophesies of the Messiah (Matthew 11:2-5). After Pentecost, Peter and John, in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit, healed a lame man at the temple gate, and the healed man entered the temple leaping and praising God (Acts 3:1-8).

Jesus is the only source of “living water” (John 7:37-39), the Holy Spirit, which gives eternal life to his disciples (John 4:10-14; John 3:3, 5-8), and flows through them into the world, transforming it from spiritual desert into lush spiritual paradise (Isaiah 35:6b-7). Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

Jesus is the only “way” to “Zion,” the Temple Mount; the eternal heavenly City of God. We have all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus is the only way to have forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God's Word), salvation (from eternal death (Acts 4:12), which is the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), and restoration to fellowship with God which was broken by sin. Jesus is the only way to know divine eternal truth, to have spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9; John 14:16-17) and eternal life (John 14:6).

Christians are the “New Israel,” the people of God in exile in the “Babylon” of this world, and Jesus has promised to come for us and lead us from “Babylon” into God's eternal kingdom (John 14:2-6). God's people are those who have been redeemed (set free) and ransomed (bought back) from captivity to sin, death and Satan, by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on cross, which we receive by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment. Jesus is going to come in great glory and power, bringing God's vengeance and recompense. He will save his disciples, but he will eternally destroy the enemies of God and of God's people.

In the Day of Judgment, everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to Jesus for what we have done individually in our own lifetimes. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord, who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom restored to paradise. Those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus, will be condemned to eternal death in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

That Day of Judgment is not far off; it will happen at the end of the lifetimes of each of us and we don't know how long we have. Today is the only day we can be sure of. When we die our eternal destiny will be fixed and unchangeable.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

27 Pentecost – Saturday Before Christ the King B
To be used after the last Variable Sunday of Pentecost until Christ the King.
First Posted November 21, 2009
Podcast: 27 Pentecost Saturday B

2 Peter 3:8-14 – The Day of the Lord;
Matthew 25:1-13 – Wise or Foolish?

2 Peter:

Remember that God's measure of time is different than ours. A thousand years is like one day, and one day like a thousand years, from the Lord's perspective (compare Psalm 90:4). The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as we might suppose; he is giving an opportunity for all to repent and be saved. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (“in the night;” 2 Peter 3:10; Matthew 24:43). In that day the heavens (the rest of this temporal universe) will ignite, and the elements of this Creation will be melted with fire. But believers await the fulfillment of the Lord's promise of a new heaven and earth, where righteousness will reign. Since our brethren (fellow Christians) await these things (the Second Coming of Jesus), let us be diligent to be found, in that day, by him, without sin and at peace with one another.

Matthew:

Jesus described the kingdom of heaven in terms of a Jewish wedding, where the groom brought his bride from her parents' home to his own.

There were ten young girls who took oil lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five girls were wise and five were foolish. The foolish ones took no extra oil for their lamps. The bridegroom was delayed, and the girls fell asleep.

At midnight the watchman cried out that the bridegroom was coming, and that the girls were to come out to meet him. All ten girls arose and trimmed their lamps, but the ones who had brought no extra oil found that their oil was running out. They asked the wise girls, who had brought extra, for some of their oil, but the wise girls declined, fearing that they would run out. They told the foolish girls to go and buy their own oil.

While the foolish girls went to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were prepared went into the marriage feast and the door was barred. Later the foolish girls arrived and knocked, asking to be admitted, but the bridegroom said he did not know them. We must thus be careful to be prepared, for we won't know the day or hour of the Lord's return.

Commentary:

Unbelievers point out that the world has been awaiting the Second Coming for more than two thousand years, and apparently it hasn't come yet. They don't appreciate that the Lord's timing is different from their own, and they don't know that the next event after the physical death of each individual is the Day of Judgment.

God doesn't want anyone to perish eternally, and he has been very tolerant toward us so that we would have every opportunity to repent and be saved. But there is a limit to God's patience. We are all going to die physically some day, and we can't be sure when that will be. The only day we can be certain of is today.

Jesus is the “bridegroom” and the Church is his “bride.” Not everyone who claims to be Christian, or who claim Jesus as Lord, will be saved. Only those who have learned to trust and obey Jesus will have been spiritually “born-again” to eternal life and are eternally saved (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46). Only Jesus can give the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

The history of God's dealing with Israel, recorded in the Bible, is intended to be a parable teaching us how to live now and eternally.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?