Week of 3 Advent C - December 13 - 19, 2009

Week of 3 Advent C

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 C Weekly Lectionary

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Podcast: Week of 3 Advent C

3 Advent - Sunday C
First Posted December 13, 2009

Podcast: 3 Advent Sunday C

Isaiah 12:2-6 – God is Our Salvation;
Zephaniah 3:14-18a – Judgment Removed;
Philippians 4:4-7 – The Lord is at Hand;
Luke 3:7-18 – Repentance;

Isaiah:

Watch, for my salvation is in God; I trust in him and will not fear. My strength and song are in the Lord God, who has become my Savior. “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah12:3). Then we will make his works known among all nations and call upon all people to give thanks to God, call upon him, and exalt his name.

The Lord is worthy of all praise for his glorious works; make this known throughout the earth. “Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion (the temple mount; Jerusalem; the Church; the people of God; the heavenly city), for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:6).

Zephaniah:

Let the daughter of Zion sing praise; let the daughter of Jerusalem rejoice and glorify the Lord, for the Lord has removed her condemnation, and has driven out her enemies. The Lord, her king, is in her midst, so she will have no cause to fear evil anymore. Let her fear no more, nor let her hands become weak. The Lord her God is in her midst; he is her warrior and has won the victory. The Lord will rejoice over his people. In his love he will renew them and exalt over them, as during a festival.

Philippians:

Paul urged the Philippian Christians to always rejoice in the Lord; it is so important that it bears repeating. Be tolerant of others. The Lord is at hand. Don't worry about anything. In all circumstances pray with thanksgiving, and make your requests to God. “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7)

Luke:

John the Baptizer preached to the crowds that came to him for baptism: “You brood of vipers (snakes), who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father;' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Luke 3:7-8). John told them that the “axe” of God's judgment was about to be applied, and he warned them to produce “good fruit,” because the “trees” which didn't would be cut down and burned.

The crowds asked what they should do, and John told them to share what they had with others in need. Tax collectors were told not to collect more than required, and soldiers were told not to rob others by violence or false accusations, and to be content with their wages.

The people of Israel had been expecting the coming of the Messiah (Christ; God's “anointed” Savior and eternal King), so some wondered whether John was the Christ. John replied that his ministry was to baptize with water (for repentance and forgiveness of sin), but one was coming who was so much greater than John, that John wasn't worthy to be his most menial servant. That one will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That one was bringing a “winnowing fork” (an agricultural tool for separating grain from chaff), to clear his threshing floor. He will gather the “wheat” into his “barn” and will burn the “chaff” with unquenchable fire. With many similar exhortations he preached good news.

Commentary:

God has become the Savior, as he has promised in his Word. The Savior, the Messiah, has been designed into Creation from the very beginning. Jesus is the Word of God, the “living Word,” fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is the revelation of God to the world; Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

God knew at the beginning of Creation that, given the freedom to choose whether to obey God or not, we would choose to do our will rather than his. Sin is disobedience of God's Word. All of us have sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus' is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Only Jesus “baptizes” with (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 “living water,” the well of salvation giving eternal life (John 7:37-39). By the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8). 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 meaning and purpose of life is to seek and find, know and have fellowship with God (Acts 19:2). This is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:6; 21, 23-24).

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) present within his “born-again” disciples, his Church. The Lord is at hand. He promised to be with, and reveal himself to, his disciples, by the indwelling Holy Spirit. That is the coming of Jesus Christ individually and personally now, in this lifetime.

Being a “member” of a church, even being born into a church, is not going to save us. Water baptism won't save us. Jesus warns us that calling him our Lord, or calling ourselves “Christians” won't save us (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46). Only by a personal relationship with the Lord through his indwelling Holy Spirit is our eternal condemnation removed (Zephaniah 3:15) and eternal life given to us.

Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment at the end of time. Jesus is the Righteous Judge, and the standard of judgment by which all will be judged. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord now, in this lifetime, will have been spiritually “born-again,” and will enter eternal life in God's kingdom in Heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus, will die eternally in the unquenchable fire (Luke 3:9, 17) in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

The Day of Judgment is not far off. It will come for each of us personally on the day of our physical death, and no one can be sure that we'll live until tomorrow. At the moment of our death our eternal destiny will be fixed and unalterable.

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)?

3 Advent - Monday C
First Posted December 14, 2009
Podcast: 3 Advent Monday C

Psalm 80:1-7 – Prayer for Restoration;

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel; lead Joseph (father of Ephraim and Manasseh; denotes the Kingdom of Israel) like a flock of sheep. Let your glory shine forth before Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin (tribes of the Northern Kingdom). Come and save us by your great power.

“Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved” (Psalm 80:3, 7)!

“O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry with thy people's prayers? Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. Thou dost make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves” Psalm 80:4-6).

Commentary:

Joseph was one of Jacob's (Israel's) twelve sons who became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph's name was used to denote the Kingdom of Israel and also the Northern Kingdom of the divided monarchy.

The Lord was to be the King of Israel, but the people demanded a human king like the nations around them. God warned them that there would be a lot of disadvantages of having a human king, but allowed them to do so (1 Samuel 8:4-22).

Throughout the Old Testament God had promised to be their shepherd (Isaiah 40:10-11; Ezekiel 34:11-12, 23-24). David was the great human shepherd-king of Israel, who was intended to prefigure the Christ (Messiah). Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to be the shepherd-king of Israel. Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-15). Jesus is the descendant of David, who is the heir to the eternal throne of David (Matthew 1:1; 21:9, 15-16) as God's Word promised (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

Throughout the Old Testament, the history of God's dealing with Israel, Israel would fall away from obedience to God and into idolatry. Then God would warn them through his prophets and call them to repent and return to obedience. Often they would ignore the prophets' warnings until it was too late. Then God would lift his favor and protection from them and allow them to suffer the consequences of their rebellion and disobedience, in hope that they would realize their need for repentance. When the people did repent and turn to obedience God would restore their wellbeing.

The Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes went through that cycle over and over. Finally, they were besieged and conquered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C., because of their unwillingness to repent. The northern ten tribes effectively ceased to exist, because the Assyrians transferred them to other conquered lands, where they were assimilated into foreign race and religion.

The Southern Kingdom, Judah, the remnant of Israel, didn't learn from the example of the Northern Kingdom. They also didn't listen to the prophets warnings until it was too late. In 587 B.C., Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the forces of King Nebuchadnezzar, and the remnant of Israel was exiled to Babylon for seventy years, as God had promised [Jeremiah 25:(11)-12].

God fulfilled his promise and restored Israel to the Promised Land after seventy years and the rebuilt temple was dedicated in 517 B.C.. Note that God brought a renewed people back from Babylonian exile, but they were not the same individuals who went into exile. Seventy years is virtually a life sentence for those who were adults at the time of the deportation.

Remember that when Israel failed to obey God's command to enter and possess the Promised Land the first time, he “exiled” them to wander the wilderness for forty years, until all the disobedient people died in the wilderness (Numbers 13:1-14:10). Only Joshua and Caleb survived to enter the Promised Land because they had urged the others to obey God's command (Numbers 14:20-35).

God is able to punish those who are disobedient without failing to accomplish his eternal purpose. Those who chose not to enter the Promised Land when they had the opportunity died in the wilderness. Those in Judea who chose not to heed the warnings of the prophets, died in exile in Babylon. But God kept a remnant of Israel, through whom his Messiah, the eternal Savior and King came.

The remnant of Israel forgot the lessons they had learned in exile in Babylon, and the example of the Northern Kingdom. As a result they were unprepared for the coming (advent) of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Judaism effectively ended at the cross of Jesus Christ. The temple veil (vail [sic]), separating the presence of God from the people, was torn in two from top to bottom (Luke 23:45), symbolizing a new and better way into God's presence through Jesus Christ. The new temple had been built, beginning in 20 B.C., by King Herod, the Great, the King who tried to destroy Jesus as an infant (Matthew 2:1-16). The newly finished temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., and the people of Israel were scattered through out world. Israel ceased to exist as a nation, until reestablished following World War II.

Jesus had mourned over Jerusalem during the week before his crucifixion, (Luke 13:34-35). Jesus declared that they would not see Jesus, their Messiah, until they acknowledged that Jesus is he who came in the Lord's name. Jesus is the only way to know divine eternal truth, to have fellowship with God, and to have eternal life (John 14:6). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation (Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The leaders and people of the Northern Kingdom thought they could pray for God's favor and salvation without being obedient to God's Word. They thought they were righteous by their obedience to the Law of Moses; they kept the letter of the Law, but not the spirit of the Law. The Law of Moses was intended to be a restraint against evil until the coming of Jesus. The Law was intended to show the righteousness that God has and requires of his people, and the demonstration that we cannot satisfy the requirements of the Law except through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:1-7; Romans 8:1-17; Galatians 2:16).

In many ways the nominal Church, the “New Israel,” is in the same situation now as Judaism at the time of Jesus' first advent. Church rituals and membership won't save us; calling Jesus our Lord and calling ourselves “Christians” doesn't make it so (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46). God is not obligated to answer prayer just because one adds Jesus' name at the end (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right).

Christians are by definition “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples (Acts 11:26) of Jesus Christ. Only a personal relationship with the risen and ascended Jesus by the indwelling Holy Spirit are we eternally saved and have eternal life. Faith isn't getting whatever one believes if one believes “hard enough.” Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus' teaching and example.

Only Jesus gives the gift (“baptism”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). Disciples are spiritually reborn by the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit within them. 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 “baptism” of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible ongoing event. It is not possible to have the indwelling Holy Spirit and not know it personally and individually (Acts 19:2).

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)?

3 Advent - Tuesday C
First Posted December 15, 2009
Podcast: 3 Advent Tuesday C

Micah 5:2-4 – Shepherd King;

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2). God will lift his favor and protection from them until the time when she who is in travail has brought forth” (Micah 5:3). Then those who are in exile will return to the people of Israel. “And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4).

Commentary:

Micah prophesied in the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (of the Southern Kingdom), from 750-687 B.C., before and following conquest of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians at the fall of Samaria, the capital, in 721 B.C.. He prophesied the fall of Jerusalem (Micah 3:9-12).

The prophecy of the Messiah coming forth from Bethlehem was fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:1-6; John 7:40-43). Jesus is the descendant of David (Matthew 1:1, 20; 21:9, 15). He is the fulfillment of the prophecy of an eternal heir to the throne of David (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). “From of old...” is fulfilled by Jesus, who was preexistent with God from the beginning of Creation (Micah 5:2; John 1:1-5, 14).

God did lift his favor and protection from the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes of the Divided Monarchy. The Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom in 721 B. C. with the fall of Samaria, the capital. The ten northern tribes effectively ceased to exist because of the Assyrian policy of relocating conquered people to other conquered territory. The people of the Northern Kingdom were deported and aliens brought in to settle the land. The assimilation of aliens resulted in people of mixed race and religion.

The Southern Kingdom, the remnant of Israel, didn't learn from the example of the Northern Kingdom and didn't heed the warnings of the prophets, so God lifted his favor and protection from them, and allowed them to be deported to Babylon for seventy years, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 587 B. C., in fulfillment of prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12). The exile ended in 517 B.C. with the rebuilding of the temple by the returned exiles.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of God himself being the shepherd of his people (Psalm 80:1; Isaiah 40:10-11; Ezekiel 34:11-12, 23-24), Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-15), with the power and name of God. Jesus is God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-10; John 20:28; 14:8-11). Jesus' word 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 came to become the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and our salvation from eternal death which is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12) and the only way to know divine eternal truth, to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, and to have eternal life in God's kingdom in Heaven (John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27), and our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (“baptizes” with; 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). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself if one has been “reborn” by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

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)?

3 Advent - Wednesday C
First Posted December 15, 2009
Podcast: 3 Advent Wednesday C

Hebrews 10:5-10 – Sanctified;

Background:

The author wrote this book to Jews to show the superiority of Christ to Judaism. He argued that animal sacrifices were never able to remove sin. The sacrificial system was intended to foreshadow the good things which were coming in the Messiah. The necessity for repeated sacrifices was intended to create consciousness of sin and the need for forgiveness (Hebrews 10:1-4).

Text:

The author quoted Psalm 40:6-8 to show that God does not desire animal sacrifices; that animal sacrifices can not remove sin, and that our obedient trust in God is what God desires (Psalm 51:16-17; Proverbs 21:3; 1 Samuel 15:22). When the Word of God declares that God doesn't desire animal sacrifices, which are necessary according to the Old Covenant of Law, and then adds that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22b), God “abolishes the first in order to establish the second” (Hebrews 10:9b). “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

Commentary:

God has been progressively revealing himself and his purpose for Creation, first by the goodness and complexity of creation. Then in the Bible, the record of God's dealing with Israel, God's chosen people, beginning with the call of Abraham (Abram; Genesis 12:1-5).

His ultimate revelation of himself to the world is in the first “advent” (coming) of Jesus Christ. The ultimate revelation of God to us individually is through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), 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).

God's dealing with the Israelites, recorded in the Old Testament, was intended to be warning and instruction for us (1 Corinthians 10:6a, 11). The Old Covenant of Law was intended to prefigure the New Covenant of salvation by grace (a free gift; unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Animal sacrifices prefigure the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God's Word) once for all time and for all people who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

What God desires is our obedient trust in God's Word. The Bible is God's Word inspired and recorded. Jesus is the “living Word” of God; God's Word fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh, lived out in this world in obedient trust (John 1:1-5, 14).

Jesus came into this world to reveal God's nature (John 14: 8-11; Matthew 11:27), and to demonstrate that by obedient trust in God's Word, there is eternal life after physical death (Hebrews 2:8-9). Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence after physical death, and every truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ testifies that Jesus is eternally alive.

No one was able to keep the laws of the Old Covenant (Galatians 2:16). Jesus initiated the New Covenant of salvation by grace (a free gift; unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust; Hebrews 8:8-13; 12:24) on the night of his betrayal and arrest after his last celebration of the Passover, the Last Supper (Matthew 26:19-28).

In Old Testament times, only a few individuals had a personal knowledge of and fellowship with the Lord. God desires a personal relationship with each of his people, but that personal relationship was broken by sin (Genesis 3:8). Only through faith in Jesus, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, is that fellowship restored (Numbers 11:26-29; John 14:23). Only by faith in Jesus, by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, are we sanctified (made ritually clean) so that we can be temples of God by the Holy Spirit.

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)?

3 Advent - Thursday C
First Posted December 17, 2009
Podcast: 3 Advent Thursday C

Luke 1:39-45 (46-55) – Magnificat;

When the angel had announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, he also told her that her kinswoman Elizabeth was six months pregnant (Luke 1 26-38). After the angel departed Mary went hastily to Elizabeth's home in the Judean hill country. When she greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth's baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and in a loud voice declared, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is it granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Luke 1:41b-42)! She told Mary that her babe leaped for joy when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting. Elizabeth said, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45).

Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46b-47). God had exalted his handmaiden despite her low estate. From now on all generations will call her blessed, because of the great things the mighty one, whose name is holy (the Lord), has done for Mary (and for us). The Lord has mercy for all who fear (have appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority of) him, in each generation. God has revealed his power. He scatters those who are proud in their own imagination; he brings low the mighty, removing them from their thrones, but he exalts the humble and lowly. “He has filled the hungry with with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away” (Luke 1:53). In his mercy, the Lord has helped Israel, his servant, according to his eternal promise to Abraham and to his posterity.

Commentary:

Magnificat, meaning “magnify;” to extol praise, is the first word of the Latin translation of this worship “song.”

Elizabeth and Mary were kinswomen. Elizabeth was pregnant with the future John the Baptizer, who was to herald the coming Messiah, to baptize the people with water for repentance and forgiveness, and to purify and prepare them to receive Jesus (Matthew 3:1-6, 11). Mary was pregnant with the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Both women had become pregnant supernaturally by the Holy Spirit, but John was an ordinary man with both human mother and father. Jesus had a human mother but a divine father by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; Colossians 2:8-9), the only “begotten” Son of God (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18 KJV).

Elizabeth and her husband were elderly (Luke 1:18), and had never produced a child. Mary was young, but a virgin who had never had relations with a man (Luke 1:34).

Barrenness in women was considered a sign of divine disfavor and reproach. By her pregnancy the Lord had exalted Elizabeth and lifted her reproach from her (Luke 1:25). On the other hand, Mary's pregnancy outside of marriage would be regarded as shameful (Matthew 1:18-20). But Mary believed God's Word delivered by the angel and accepted God's will and purpose (Luke 1:38; 45).

All generations following Jesus' birth have considered Mary blessed. But Mary is just an example of a faithful servant who trusted and obeyed God's Word, even when it seemed impossible. Mary is not to be worshiped or prayed to. Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6).

“Born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples of Jesus Christ have direct access to God through Jesus Christ by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26), 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 Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (note the Trinity: Romans 8:9).

Just adding Jesus' name to the end of our prayers doesn't obligate God to listen to and answer them. There are conditions that must be met for our prayers to be answered (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right). How can we think that God must hear and answer us when we don't know and obey his Word in the Bible and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:1-5, 14)?

No one has any reason to boast, when compared to the Lord and to God's Word (Ephesians 2:9; Romans 3:27). We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1: 8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Forgiveness and salvation are the free gift of God, to all who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10a; Psalm 111:10). We need not fear physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15); we should fear the Lord who has the power of spiritual eternal life-or-death over us. We really don't know anything eternally important until we know that God has the power of eternal life or death over us.

The divine, eternal wisdom of God is not like what the world falsely calls wisdom. Worldly wisdom changes constantly (the number of planets in the solar system, for example). Divine wisdom is eternal and eternally true and unchanging (1 Corinthians 1:17-27; 2:1-8).

Jesus came to heal the spiritually “sick” (Luke 5:31). We're all spiritually sick, but Jesus can only heal those who know they're sick and seek the healing only Jesus can provide. Many came to Jesus only for the physical healing and feeding he could provide (John 6:25-27). Physical healing only lasts until the next illness, physical feeding only lasts until the next meal. Spiritual healing and feeding are eternal.

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)?

3 Advent - Friday C
First Posted December 18, 2009
Podcast: 3 Advent Friday C

Luke 1:67-80 – Benedictus;

At the circumcision of John the Baptizer on the eighth day of life, his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:67-68). He has brought forth a “horn of salvation” (a ruler; a king whose great power brings salvation), a descendant of God's servant David (the great shepherd-king of Israel), as the Lord had promised by his prophets long ago (see Psalm 132:17). Through him (the Messiah; Christ; both mean God's “anointed” Savior and eternal King, in Hebrew and Greek, respectively) we shall be saved from our enemies and all who hate us. Through him we receive the mercies promised to our forefathers, and to fulfill the covenant which he promised to Abraham. We can serve the Lord without fear, because he will deliver us from the power of our enemies, and so that we can live in his presence in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.

Zechariah prophesied that John will be a prophet of “the Most High” (God), and will proceed ahead of the Lord to prepare the way. He will teach the people about salvation and forgiveness of sin through God's tender mercy, when the “dayspring” (the Messiah; the dawn of the Messianic age; Isaiah 60:1-2; Malachi 4:2; Revelation 22:16) will arise from heaven bringing spiritual light to us in the darkness of sin and death, to lead us in the path of peace.

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel” (Luke 1:80).

Commentary:

“Benedictus,” meaning “blessed,” is the first word of the Latin translation of this “song.”

God has designed the Savior, the Messiah, into the structure of this Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5; 14). Throughout the history of God's dealing with Israel, recorded in the Bible, God has been revealing his plan for Creation, to bring forth the Savior. At the circumcision of John, Mary was pregnant and would be delivering the Christ as a new-born infant within about six months. God had visited his people, and the promise of a Redeemer was about to be fulfilled.

According to Exodus 27:1-2, altars were constructed with raised corners called “horns.” Altars were places of sanctuary for those who were falsely accused; they could take hold of the “horn” of an altar and be saved.

A horn was also a symbol of power. Psalms 132:17 prophesies that God will cause the “horn” of David to “bud;” God will bring forth from David's descendants, an eternal Savior and King who will have the power of salvation for his people. God also promised to establish a descendant of David to reign eternally on David's throne (2 Samuel 7:12 -13; Psalm 89:20-29).
Jesus is the fulfillment of these prophecies. Jesus is the “Son of David” (Matthew 1:1; 21:9, 15). Luke's genealogy of Jesus traces Jesus back through Adam to God; Jesus was God's Son before Adam was created (Luke 3:38; John 17:5, 24).

We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-9). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation from eternal condemnation (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only way to know divine eternal truth, the only way to be restored to fellowship with God the Father which was broken by sin, the only way to be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life (John 14:6).

Only Jesus “baptizes” with (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). By the indwelling Holy Spirit we have personal daily fellowship with God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 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).

Jesus came into the world to bring us forgiveness and salvation. His blood shed on the cross is the only sacrifice acceptable to God for cleansing from sin for everyone willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

We are all in bondage to sin and death until Jesus sets us free through our faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Jesus sets us free from our spiritual enemies, which are ultimately Satan and death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus' resurrection demonstrates existence beyond physical death. Every “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ testifies that Jesus is eternally alive, and his indwelling Holy Spirit within us assures us that we have eternal life. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

John the Baptizer fulfilled the prophecy of his father, Zechariah. He became the prophet like Elijah (Malachi 4:5; Luke 7:24-28; Matthew 17:10-13), calling the people to repent of sin and be baptized with water for forgiveness and spiritual cleansing, to prepare them to receive the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

When John grew up he went into the wilderness by the guidance of the Holy Spirit to wait for the Lord's call to manifest himself. Israel had spent forty years in the wilderness, to learn to trust and obey God and be spiritually cleansed, until God's command to enter and possess the “Promised Land.” After Jesus' baptism, Jesus was “driven” into the wilderness for forty days and nights, where he was tempted by Satan, before Jesus began his ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). In a sense we are all in the spiritual wilderness of this world, and we must learn to trust and obey God's Word, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the “living Word.” We will be tempted by Satan, and only by the Holy Spirit within us are able to resist temptation.

Jesus demonstrated how to resist temptation in the wilderness. Satan tempted Jesus in the same three areas he had tempted Adam and Eve: lust of the flesh (good for food); lust of the eyes (pretty to look at; covetousness) and pride of life (to be wise; Genesis 3:6).

Satan tempted Jesus to use his supernatural power for himself; he tempted Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread, since Jesus had been hungry from fasting (lust of the flesh). Satan tempted Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple (to prove that he was the Messiah; human pride). Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth and offered to give them to Jesus if he would worship Satan (lust of the eyes).

In each instance Jesus resisted temptation by quoting the appropriate scripture. Notice that Satan also knows and can (mis)quote it. Jesus promises to open our minds to understand the Bible scriptures (Luke 24:45), and by the indwelling Holy Spirit to teach us all things and recall to our memory all that Jesus teaches (John 14:25-26). He will give us what to say at the appropriate moment (Luke 21:11-15).

Jesus is the true light of spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9), the light of righteousness (John 1:5; 3:19-21), and light of eternal life (John 1:4; 8:12).

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)?

3 Advent - Saturday C
First Posted December 19, 2009
Podcast: 3 Advent Saturday C

John 1:19-28 – John's Testimony;

John the Baptizer was baptizing at Bethany “beyond the Jordan” River (the eastern side; distinct from the Bethany on the Mount of Olives). The Pharisees (the predominate, legalistic religious party in Jerusalem) sent priests and Levites (descendants of the tribe of Levi; assistants of the priests) to ask who he was. John confessed that he was not the Christ (Messiah; both mean God's “anointed;” the eternal Savior and King, in Greek and Hebrew, respectively), but he did not deny the Messiah's coming, or his relationship to the coming of the Messiah. So the delegation from the religious authorities asked John whether he was Elijah, who was expected to return, or “the prophet” who was expected to appear, to announce the coming of the Messiah. John said that he was not. So they asked him to tell them who he claimed to be. John replied that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of a voice crying in the wilderness, calling people to prepare a straight way for the coming of the Messiah.

The delegation then asked John why he was baptizing, performing a religious ritual without their authorization. John answered, saying that he baptized with water, but the Messiah whose coming John heralded, and was preparing the people to receive, was already present among them but unrecognized.

Commentary:

Before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5), the religious authorities were expecting the return of Elijah, who had been taken alive into heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Alternatively, they were expecting a prophet like Elijah (Malachi 3:1a; Luke 1:17). John understood that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of a voice crying in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3).

John did not claim to be Elijah; he knew that he was not. John did not claim to be a great prophet equal to Elijah, who was previously regarded as the greatest Old Testament prophet. John became the last and greatest Old Testament prophet because he heralded the coming of the Messiah (“Elias;” Luke 7:24-26; Matthew 11:7-9; 17:10-13).

The religious authorities knew a lot about God but didn't know God personally (Job 42:5); if they had, they would have recognized Jesus as the Messiah, God's Son. They were using Judaism as their personal empire, for their own status, and power over people, rather than as shepherds of God's people and stewards of God's Word.

The same condition is true of the nominal Church today. Many regard ministry as a “career choice.” In many instances they use their position to manipulate people. The requirement for ministers (apostles) in many denominations is denominational theology and doctrine, rather than the Bible and spiritual “rebirth” (John 3:3, 5-8). To be an apostle one must be authorized by the denominational leadership. The Messiah is indeed present among them but goes unrecognized.

Only Jesus gives the “baptism” 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).

I'm convinced that the true Church is the heir to the ministry of the water baptism of John the Baptizer. The mission of the Church is to call people to repent of their sin (disobedience of God's Word), to return to faith (obedient trust) in God and become Jesus' disciples, as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:18-20).

In too many instances the nominal Church has failed to make “disciples” and build the kingdom of God. They've settled for making “members” and building “buildings.” It takes “born-again” disciples to make “born-again” disciples. If the Church fails to make “born-again” disciples there will be no “born-again” leaders.

Many mainline denominations are not only not helping their members become “born-again” but are even preventing them from seeking spiritual rebirth by telling them they are automatically “born-again” by some Church ritual such as water baptism or “confirmation” (affirmation) of baptism (see False Teachings, sidebar, home).

I must say that I find that situation exactly like the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes. In that fable two tailors convinced the emperor that they had made him new clothes, and dressed him in them, by pantomime. They told him that only ignorant people could not see the clothing. Not wanting to seem ignorant, he strutted around naked, believing he was fully clothed. In my version, the naked emperor has misled his subjects to strut around naked in imaginary clothes also.

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)?

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