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 has gone out of business. I have also lost mypodcast.com, my podcast host. This 'blog is mirrored at
http://shepboy.multiply.com/
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.
2 Epiphany – Sunday
First posted January 18, 2009
1 Samuel 3:1-10 -- The Call of Samuel
Psalm 67 -- Let All People Praise the Lord!
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 -- Warning Against Unrestraint
John 1:43-51 -- Philip and Nathanael
Samuel Background:
Samuel was the son God had given Hannah, who had been barren, in answer to her prayer. She had promised to "lend" him to the Lord's service all his life (1 Samuel 1:1-28). When the child was weaned, she brought him to the temple at Shiloh to serve under Eli the priest. The temple (tabernacle) had been located in Shiloh, about ten miles north of Bethel, after Israel had gained territory in the Promised Land (Joshua 18:1-10).
1 Samuel Text:
In this period of Israel's history, the revelation of God's Word and "visions" were rare. Eli's sight had begun to fail. He was sleeping in his customary place, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple where the ark was, and the lamp of the Lord's presence, which burned through the night, had not yet gone out (so it was before dawn).
The Lord called to Samuel, calling him by name. Samuel got up and went to Eli, thinking that Eli had called him. Eli told him that he had not called, and Samuel returned to his bed. This happened a second time with the same results.
A third time, the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel again went to Eli. Eli realized that the Lord was calling Samuel, and told Samuel to return to his bed. When the Lord called, Samuel was to say, "Speak Lord, for your servant hears" (1 Samuel 3:9). Samuel did as Eli instructed and answered as he had been told when the Lord called again.
Psalm:
"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us" (Psalm 67:1), so that all the peoples and nations of earth may know God's ways and his power to save. May all peoples praise the Lord!
May all nations rejoice and sing, because the Lord judges all peoples with perfect fairness. The Lord guides the nations of earth. Let us all praise the Lord!
"The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God has blessed us. God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear (have appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority of) him" (Psalm 67:6-7).
1 Corinthians background:
False doctrines were arising in the Corinthian congregation Paul had founded. He was continuing to "disciple" the new Christians by letter. One of the false teachings was abuse of God's grace.
1 Corinthians text
Libertines in the congregation asserted that all things were lawful, since they were not under the Old Covenant of Law, but the New Covenant of Grace. Paul replied that not all things were beneficial spiritually to them, and that believers must not become enslaved to anything. Libertines asserted that food and the physical body were made for each other (and that the same was true for sex), but Paul replied that both would be subject to God's judgment. God did not create the body for immorality. The Lord Jesus gave himself for us, and we should give ourselves for him. God raised Jesus (from death to immortality), and he will raise us up also by his power.
We must remember that our bodies are members of Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit. How then can we make them members of a prostitute. Let that never happen! When we join another in sexual union we become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). One who is united with the Lord (by his indwelling Holy Spirit) becomes one spirit with the Lord.
We must shun immorality! All other sins are committed unto others, but immorality is a sin which damages our own bodies. Our bodies are the temple of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which God has given us. Remember that we have been redeemed (purchased from sin and eternal death) by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, so let us glorify God in our physical lives.
John:
Two days after Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River in Judea the southernmost of three divisions of Palestine, by John the Baptizer, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip (who may have been one of two disciples of John who had heard John's testimony and followed Jesus the preceding day; John 1:35-37), and invited him to follow Jesus.
Philip lived in Bethsaida in Galilee (the northernmost division of Palestine), the city of Andrew and Simon Peter. Philip went to his friend Nathanael, and told him that Philip had found the promised Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael was skeptical that anything good could come from Nazareth, but Philip urged him to come and see for himself.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming, and declared that Nathanael was an Israelite without guile (unlike Jacob, also known as "Israel," the father of the heads of the Twelve Tribes; Genesis 25:29-34; 27:1-46). Nathanael asked how Jesus knew him, and Jesus told Nathanael that he had (supernaturally) "seen" him under a fig tree before Philip had come to him.
Nathanael was amazed, and declared that Jesus was more than a teacher; he was the Son of God and King of Israel (the promised Messiah). Jesus replied that Nathanael had believed because Jesus had revealed his supernatural knowledge, but Nathanael would see even greater things: he would see the fulfillment of the dream of Jacob's ladder in the "Son of man" (Jesus; the Son of God).
Commentary:
God knows our needs before we ask (Mathew 6:8b), but God is not obligated to answer prayer, or to be everything that a loving and merciful, all-powerful God implies, unless we are willing to be his obedient, trusting people (Jeremiah 7:23; see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right). Hannah subjugated her will to the Lord's. She wanted a son, but she committed that son to serve the Lord.
God knows us and calls each of us, personally, by name, but we have the freedom to respond or not. God has blessed us with his grace (unmerited favor; a free gift); the forgiveness of sins (disobedience of God's Word), and salvation (from eternal condemnation, destruction and spiritual death, which is the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23) in Jesus Christ, but we have the freedom to accept or reject him (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
God has designed this Creation to allow the possibility of sin, so that we have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word or not. God is not willing to tolerate rebellion and disobedience forever, or at all in his eternal kingdom, so he has limited this Creation and we ourselves by time. This Creation is God's "seedbed," to grow an eternal kingdom of God's people who willingly choose to trust and obey him.
This Creation is and will yield God's increase; God's harvest of his eternal people. Worldly people think that this lifetime is their opportunity to indulge themselves, to accumulate material resources, and gratify their physical appetites. But God's purpose for this Creation is to be united with his people by the indwelling Holy Spirit, in spiritual "marriage."
This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek and find God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually reborn to eternal life in God's kingdom in paradise. This lifetime is our only opportunity to "come and see," and to learn by trial and error that God's will is our best good, perfectly feasible, and our very best interest (Romans 21:2c).
This Creation has been designed from the very beginning to accomplish God's eternal purpose which is to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. God has designed Creation in such a way that no one is sinless, and that no one is deserving of forgiveness or salvation, so that he can give us forgiveness and salvation as an undeserved free gift.
Jesus is God's only provision of forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12), and has been designed into the very structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). No one can come to know and have fellowship with God except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Jesus is the fulfillment of Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, through whom we receive the blessings of heaven, and by whom we can ascend to heaven.
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)?
2 Epiphany - Monday
First posted January 19, 2009
Psalm 62:6-14 -- My Salvation
The Lord is my only rock, my fortress and salvation; I will not be shaken. My deliverance and honor rest upon the Lord. God is my mighty rock of refuge.
Let us always trust in him, everyone. We can pour out our hearts to him. In him we can find refuge.
Worldly status is a vain hope, a delusion. In the scales of justice both low and high estate are but a puff of air, lighter than a breath. Don't practice extortion or robbery in order to gain wealth. Do not allow your heart to desire riches. God has declared that power belongs to him. God is also merciful; he will reward every person according to his deeds.
Commentary:
There is no genuine security in this world except in the Lord. Worldly security is a delusion. The more we have the more we have to protect, and security always requires just a little bit more. Everything we've worked for and accumulated can be lost in an instant.
If we seek worldly security before we seek the Lord and his eternal kingdom, we'll never get around to it. Jesus tells us to seek the Lord and his righteousness and we will have all the material things we need as well (Matthew 6:33).
I'm convinced that the meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and find God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. All this can only be accomplished through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the only way (John 14:6) to know divine, eternal truth, the only way to be forgiven our sin (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), to be saved (from God's eternal condemnation of us to destruction in hell; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17); the only way to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin (John 14:23), and the only way to have eternal life by spiritual rebirth through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Only Jesus gives the gift ("baptism;" "anointing") 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).
There is a Day of Judgment coming when Jesus will return in glory and power to judge everyone who has ever lived in this world. Jesus is the righteous judge, and the standard of judgment against which all will be judged. Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord will have been spiritually "born-again" in this lifetime, and will enter eternal life in God's kingdom in paradise. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to spiritual eternal death and destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
In that Day of Judgment worldly social rank and material wealth will be of no value whatever. The only thing which will matter at all is a personal relationship with the Lord through his indwelling 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)?
2 Epiphany - Tuesday
First posted January 20, 2009
Jonah 3:1-5, 10 -- Jonah's Second Call
After fleeing from God's first call to preach God's Word of Judgment against Nineveh, Jonah reluctantly obeyed the second call.
The Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh and proclaim the message God gave him. So Jonah did as God had commanded. Nineveh was so large that it would take three days to travel through. Jonah entered the city and went a day's journey. Jonah began to proclaim that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Nineveh's people believed God. They proclaimed a fast and everyone put on sackcloth (the ritual mourning garb).
Seeing the Ninevites repent and change their ways, God relented, and renounced his intention to destroy them as he had said.
Commentary:
God's Word, the Bible, contains both great promises and ominous warnings. The warnings are given to us to help us avoid the consequences of disobedience of God's Word (which is the definition of sin).
The penalty for unforgiven sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). We are all sinners who fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar top right).
It isn't pleasant for the messengers of God's Word to rebuke sin and call people to repent. It isn't pleasant for the hearers to listen to, either.
In today's world, particularly in the American culture and the American Church, there are many instances where messengers of God's Word are avoiding preaching about sin and eternal destruction in hell, because people don't want to hear it. They want to hear only the parts of God's Word which make them feel good. They want God to bless their sinful ways, instead of repenting and living according to God's ways.
Messengers of God's Word aren't doing sinners any favor if they don't confront sin and point out the need for salvation. By false assurance of church "membership," people feel no shame for sin, and no need for confession and repentance.
Throughout the history of God's dealing with Israel recorded in the Bible, God sent prophets to warn his people to repent and change their ways, and the people refused to heed the prophets until it was too late to avoid the consequences. The destruction of the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes by the Assyrians in 721 B.C., and the exile of Judah, the remnant of Israel to Babylon for seventy years, from 587-517 B.C., are examples.
God loves us and doesn't want any of us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). He wants us to hear his Word fully and accurately proclaimed, so that we can repent, be forgiven, and live in accordance with it.
Thank God for the time and opportunity to hear his call to repent and be saved. Notice that the Ninevites didn't put off repentance and fasting until the last moment; their response was immediate. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
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)?
2 Epiphany - Wednesday
First Posted January 21, 2009
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 -- Time is Short
Mark 1:14-20 -- God's Kingdom is at Hand
Christians should live as though the Lord will come back at any moment. Those who are married should not become preoccupied with their wives (and families). Those who mourn should not focus on their mourning, and those who rejoice should not focus on their rejoicing. We must continue shopping for things we need, but we should live as though we have no possessions. We still must have dealings with the world but we must not become distracted, always keeping in mind that the things of this world are passing away.
Jesus' began his public ministry by announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand, and he urged his hearers to repent and believe in the Gospel (the "good news" of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace with God; salvation from his eternal condemnation).
As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon (whom the Lord named Peter) and his brother Andrew fishing with a casting net, and invited them to follow Jesus and become "fishers" of men. They immediately left their nets, and followed Jesus. A little farther on Jesus saw James and John in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them and immediately they left their father and followed Jesus.
Since Jesus' first appearance the kingdom of God has been coming and is near to us. He invites those who encounter Jesus to follow him and as they do so, they enter God's eternal kingdom, which begins now in this world.
To those who follow Jesus in faith (obedient trust) he gives spiritual "rebirth" (John 3:3, 5-8) through 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).
Today is the day of Salvation. Yesterday is passed, tomorrow may never come; today is the only day we can be certain of, and our only opportunity to respond to Jesus' call (Hebrews 3:8, 15). Today Jesus is calling, and to follow him we must leave our preoccupation with worldly affairs. We must be willing to leave family, career, and possessions, if necessary, and become his disciples.
Jesus began his ministry by calling people to become his disciples. Jesus established and mediates a New Covenant ("Testament") of salvation (from sin, which is disobedience of God's Word, and from eternal destruction, which is the penalty for sin) by God's grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Jesus established the New Covenant, in the "New Feast of Passover" (the Lord's Supper; Holy Communion; the Eucharist) which he instituted on the night of his betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:26-29 RSV note "g;" Hebrews 8:8; 9:20;12:24; Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus' disciples are to continue Jesus' mission to proclaim the the Gospel, "good news" of the New Covenant between God and mankind, to be received through faith in Jesus.
Jesus' modeled the ministry of the Church, to become Jesus' disciples, to learn to trust and obey his teachings, to seek, wait for (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8) and receive spiritual "rebirth," guidance and empowerment through the gift ("anointing;" "baptism") of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and then to make ("born-again") disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20) and teach them to repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2).
A Christian is a "born-again" disciple of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c). Sadly, in too many instances the "nominal" Church today has failed to make "born-again" disciples, and has settled for building buildings and making "members:" nominal ("fair-weather") Christians. In order to make "born-again" disciples we must be willing to be "born-again" disciples.
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)?
2 Epiphany - Thursday
First posted January 22, 2009
Romans 12:16b-21 -- Christian Life
John 1:29-34 -- John the Baptizer's Testimony
Romans:
Christians are to live in harmony with each other; to avoid arrogance, conceit, and social distinctions. Instead of repaying evil with evil, let us do what everyone will consider noble. As best we can, we are to live peaceably with all. Let us never seek vengeance ourselves, but leave vengeance to the wrath of God; God's Word declares that vengeance is God's prerogative, not ours (Deuteronomy 32:35). Instead let us show kindness to our enemies; give them food if they are hungry, and drink if they are thirsty. In so doing they will be ashamed of their behavior. We will "not be overcome by evil, but will overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
John:
John the Baptizer testified that Jesus is the "Lamb of God" (the sacrificial lamb of Passover; Ex 12:1-14; Isaiah 53:7) who takes away the sin of the world. John had preached that one was coming after John who ranks before John and existed before John (John 1:1-3, 14; John 8:58). John hadn't known who that one was, until it was revealed to him by God, who had called John to his ministry, which was to reveal that one (the Messiah) to Israel. God had directed John to preach baptism with water for repentance to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah, who would "baptize" them with the Holy Spirit. God had given John a sign, the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, when John baptized him, and John testified that he had seen this, and the Jesus is the Son of God.
Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c) who have been baptized by water and the Holy Spirit. The Church is the heir to the role of John the Baptist: to baptize with water for repentance in preparation for the coming of Jesus in the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
The Church was "born" on the Day of Pentecost, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples (Acts 2:1-13). The "baptism" with the Holy Spirit is the spiritual "rebirth" (John 3:3, 5-8) of the disciple. It is a discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2). One does not need to consult a religious authority and take their word; if one is uncertain, one has not been reborn. Instead of the believer asking the Church, the Church should be asking the believer.
Rebirth is a personal relationship with the risen and ascended 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).
The new believer is to be discipled in the Church (the "New Jerusalem") by a "born-again" disciple of Jesus Christ, until the new believer is "baptized" with the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Then the indwelling Holy Spirit will guide the believer to spiritual maturity.
Paul (Saul of Tarsus), the author of the letter to the Romans, is the prototype and example of a "modern," "post-resurrection," "born-again" disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ, as we all can be. He had been "discipled" by a "born-again" disciple, Ananias, until Paul had been "reborn" (Acts 9:1:22). Paul was "discipling" the Roman congregation; he was fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), which Jesus gave to his disciples to be carried out after they had been "reborn" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Paul was teaching believers to trust and obey all that Jesus taught by Jesus' by word and example.
Christians are to be transformed (Romans 12:2) from the ways of the world to the ways of the Lord; from our former manner of living to the example and teaching of Jesus. We need to be informed by the Bible to know what Jesus taught and to begin living accordingly. As we do so we will be "baptized" and filled with the indwelling 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)?
2 Epiphany - Friday
First posted January 23, 2009
2 Kings 5:1-15 -- Naaman's Leprosy Healed
Background:
Elisha was a prophet in Israel for sixty years (892-832 B.C.*). Samaria was the capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel built by King Omri (880-876**). The Northern Kingdom of Israel was under military domination of Syria from about 840-800 B.C. ** Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 721 B.C,** and the Northern Kingdom ceased to exist.
2 Kings:
Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria. The king of Syria thought highly of him, because Naaman had given Syria victory. He was a powerful man of great courage, but he had leprosy.
During a raid on Israel, the Syrians had captured a young girl from Israel who became the slave of the wife of Naaman. The girl told her mistress that she wished Naaman could go the prophet (Elisha) who was in Samaria, because the prophet would cure Naaman's leprosy. Naaman told the king what she had said, and the Syrian king wrote the king of Israel and sent it with Naaman to Samaria.
Naaman took with him ten talents (seventy five pounds each) of silver, and six thousand gold shekels and ten festal garments. When the king of Israel read the letter commanding him to heal Naaman's leprosy, he tore his clothes (an indication of mourning), thinking that only God has the power of life and death. The king thought that Syria was provoking a fight with Israel.
Elisha, the prophet of the Lord, heard that the king had torn his clothing, and sent word to the king asking why the king was upset; he should send Naaman to Elisha, so that hNaaman might know that there was a prophet in Israel. Naaman came to Elisha's door and Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman, telling him to bathe in the Jordan river seven times and he would be healed.
Naaman was angry and left, telling his servant that if he could be healed by washing in a river, he could have done so in the rivers of Syria. Naaman was angry that Elisha had sent a servant with a message and had not personally come out to Naaman. Naaman had expected Elisha to do some sort of ritual and invoke God's name. But Naaman's servants urged him to do as the messenger had said. They suggested that if Elisha had asked Naaman to do some difficult thing, Naaman would have done it. Why not do the relatively simple thing as Elisha had said? So Naaman went and dipped himself into the Jordan seven times and his leprosy was healed, and his skin was restored to that of a young child.
Commentary:
The reason for the ultimate collapse of the Northern Kingdom was because its political leaders were not trusting and obeying God's Word; they were living according to their own will; they were doing what they thought was right in their own judgment. God had raised up prophets who proclaimed God's Word, calling them to repent and return to obedient trust in the Lord. Instead they turned to worldly alliances.
The king of Israel described here illustrates that lack of faith. He was frightened by the king of Syria's request, and was seeking worldly help. He knew that he on his own couldn't heal Naaman. It didn't occur to him to get spiritual advice. Elisha had to contact him.
Elisha suggested to the king of Israel to send Naaman to him, so that at least one person, even a Gentile, would know that there was prophet, a man of God, in Israel, as apparently the king of Israel did not.
Naaman nearly missed his healing, because he was expecting Elisha to come out to him in person, and do some sort of religious ritual, invoking God's name. Naaman was a man of great worldly power and authority. He had great influence with the king of Syria, but it took the faith of a Jewish slave girl to point him to the source of true healing. He felt the equal of the king of Israel, and therefore equal with the prophet, but the prophet had sent the message through his servant.
God's Word comes to us through his servants. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word, lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5; 14). Jesus is the ultimate servant of the Lord, perfectly obedient to God's Word.
Israel was looking for the Messiah, but they were expecting a worldly concept of a king, a political savior who would restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6; John 18:36). They rejected Jesus and his message, and they missed the spiritual healing that only Jesus can provide.
Salvation (from bondage to sin and death; from eternal condemnation) is not through religious ritual, but through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Many people today are seeking "signs and wonders," as was Israel at the time of Jesus' physical ministry on earth (Matthew 27:42; John 6:30). The signs were all around them but they did not see them because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Salvation is not by some work that we do to earn and deserve it (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus has already done the work for us on the cross. All we have to do to receive it is to say yes to Jesus' lordship over our lives, and to begin to know, trust and obey Jesus' teachings (Matthew 7:21-27).
Jesus' miracles of physical healing, feeding and raising the dead were intended to reveal that he has the power to heal and feed spiritually, and to raise us from physical death to eternal life, through the gift (baptism; anointing) with his 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).
We have the eyewitness testimony of the disciples in the New Testament, that Jesus was raised from physical death to eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Every truly "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) believer can personally testify that Jesus has risen and is eternally alive through the indwelling Holy Spirit within him. We have the promises of scripture; all we have to do to receive them is act in faith (obedient trust) on them. As we do so he will reveal himself to us (John 14:21)
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)?
*Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Elisha" digital edition, SwordPROJECT BibleTime 1.6.4 (for Linux KDE 3.5.7) http://wwwbibletime.org
**According to The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Chronological Tables of Rulers , p. 1532-1533, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
2 Epiphany - Saturday
First posted Saturday, January 24, 2009
Matthew 8:1-13 -- Our Healer
After the Sermon on the Mount, large crowds followed Jesus. A leper came to Jesus and knelt before him, addressing him as Lord, and declaring that Jesus could heal him if Jesus was willing. Jesus told him he was willing, and commanded his healing. Jesus told the healed leper not to mention his healing to anyone, except to present himself to the priests and give the offering specified in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 14:2-32), for proof to the people.
Jesus entered Capernaum (in Galilee), and a Centurion (Gentile; Roman soldier) came to Jesus asking Jesus to heal the Centurion's servant, who had suffered paralysis and was in great distress. Jesus told the Centurion that Jesus would go with him to his home to heal his servant, but the Centurion replied that he was not worthy to have Jesus to enter his home. Since the Centurion was used to exercising authority in the military and in his own household, and he declared his faith that Jesus could just say the command, and it would be done as he commanded.
When Jesus heard the Centurion's declaration, he was amazed, and he said to the crowd that he had not found such faith in all of Israel. Jesus said that in eternity, people from all over this world and from every nation will have fellowship with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, while the sons of the kingdom (the heirs of the patriarchs; the Jews who rejected Jesus) will be excluded from the kingdom of God, in torment and mourning in the outer darkness. Then Jesus said that the Centurion could go on his way; what he had asked of Jesus in faith had been done for him. And the Centurion's servant was healed at that very moment.
Commentary:
Jesus is God's "anointed" eternal Savior and King of God's eternal kingdom ("Messiah" and "Christ;"each mean "anointed" in Hebrew and Greek, respectively). The leper acknowledged his faith in Jesus as Lord, and Jesus' power to heal him, and he received what he asked of the Lord.
The Roman Centurion was a Gentile (non-Jew), but he acknowledged that Jesus had authority over him, and over physical infirmities, and because he asked in faith, he received what he requested of the Lord. But many Jews, the chosen people of God, missed the inheritance intended for them through the patriarchs, because they didn't accept Jesus as their Messiah and Lord.
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises of God's Word (John 1:1-5, 14), but the fulfillment of those promises is only by faith, which is obedient trust in Jesus. Forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word), salvation from God's eternal condemnation, and eternal life are only possible through obedient trust only in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
In order to have eternal life we must be spiritually "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8), which is only possible through 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 only way Jews or anyone else will be saved is through acceptance and faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Mathew 23:37-39).
God is God, whether we acknowledge him or not, but God is not obligated to be all that an all-powerful, loving God implies unless we are willing to be his obedient, trusting people (Jeremiah 7:23; Ezekiel 11:20; Leviticus 26:3; see also Jeremiah 11:4c-5a). There are conditions which we must meet in order to expect God to listen to and answer our prayers (see Conditions for answered prayer, sidebar, top right).
Jesus is God, God, the Son of God (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28), and (God the) Son of man, which is how Jesus usually referred to himself. It is true, and it allows us to decide for ourselves who he is, with a hint from Daniel 7:13.
Jesus is Lord, whether we acknowledge him or not. Right now we have the freedom to choose or reject him as Lord, but in the Day of Christ's return in glory and power to judge the living ("quickened") and dead (1 Peter 4:5; in both physical and spiritual senses), "every knee should (shall) bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11). In that Day he will command and we will have no choice but to obey (Matthew 25:31-46). In that Day, those who have rejected Jesus as Lord and have refused to trust and obey Jesus will be cast into outer darkness of eternal torment and misery (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Jesus came to give us spiritual healing and true, eternal life. Jesus did miracles of physical healing, feeding, and resurrection, to demonstrate that he also has the power to spiritually heal, feed and raise to eternal life. Our real needs are spiritual; we will all face physical death, but where will we spend eternity?
Many people were attracted to Jesus for the physical healing and feeding he could offer, but people who came only for that missed the spiritual healing only he can provide. Jesus didn't want the leper to publicize his physical healing so as not to attract those who are only interested in physical benefits.
Being born into God's chosen people (the Church is the New Israel) does not guarantee us salvation and eternal life. Church membership and religious ritual won't save us. The Jews thought they were saved because they were the children of Abraham, but it is the followers of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus who are the true children of Abraham (Matthew 3:7-9; John 8:37-59; Galatians 3:6-9). Jesus warns us that it is not those who call themselves Christians who will be saved, but those who trust and obey God's Word (do God's will; Matthew 7:12-27; Luke 6:46).
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)?
