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)?

Week of 23 Pentecost - November 8 - 14, 2009

Week of 23 Pentecost - November 8 - 14, 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 23 Pentecost B

23 Pentecost - Sunday B (Variable)
First Posted November 8, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Sunday B

Jeremiah 31:7-9 -- Restoration
Psalm 126 -- Bringing in the Sheaves
Hebrews 5:1-10 -- Our Great High Priest
Mark 10:46-52 -- Blind Bartimaeus

The Lord promised to save a remnant of his people, Israel, the greatest of nations (because of God’s favor). There will be great rejoicing and praise to God for what he has done for his people. The Lord promised to bring them back from the north country (Babylon; north of Israel), and gather them from the farthest corners of the earth, including the blind and lame. A large number will return to their Promised Land. They will come with weeping (for joy) and with the Lord’s consolation (the Holy Spirit; the “Comforter;” (John 14:16 KJV; Luke 2:25-26) he will lead them back.

The Lord will lead them to walk by brooks of water, in straight paths which will keep them from stumbling. The Lord is the father of the remnant of Israel, whom he regards as his first-born.

[The Songs of Ascents in the Psalms were to be sung by pilgrims coming to the Temple in Jerusalem, which was on a hill above surrounding valleys. This Psalm reflects the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore Judah, the remnant of Israel, from the exile in Babylon.]

The Lord fulfilled his promise and brought back the remnant to their Promised Land. For the people (who returned after seventy years in exile) it seemed like a dream. The Lord will restore the fortunes of his people like a river would restore the desert of the Negeb.

“May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).

Human high priests (ministers) are to be mediators between the people and God, offering sacrifices and gifts to God on behalf of the people. Human priests can sympathize with the people because the priests share the same human nature and sins. Human priests must also offer sacrifices for their own sins. Priests must serve by God’s call, rather than their own will and authority.

Likewise, Jesus did not serve as our mediator before God by his own will but by the will and call of God, fulfilling the prophecy of Scripture, including Psalm 2:7 (compare Mark 1:11) and Psalm 110:4 (see Genesis 14:17-20).

During the years of Jesus’ physical ministry he cried out to God, who alone was able to save him from death, and his prayers were heard and answered by God, because of Jesus’ godly fear (appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority of God). Although Jesus was the Son of God, God allowed him to suffer in order for Jesus to learn to trust and obey God’s Word completely and to become spiritually mature. So Jesus has become the source of salvation to all those who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus has become our eternal high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek was a priest of God, who came to Abram (Abraham) after Abram had supernaturally defeated the four worldly kings in the valley of the kings. Melchizedek came, bringing wine and bread, as a feast to God celebrating the victory of God’s people over the worldly kings (Genesis 14:17-20). Melchizedek symbolizes an eternal high priest and king, since he has no family lineage, and no birth or death is recorded in Scripture (Hebrews 7:1-3). The symbolism is apparent, to any Christian, in the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion; the Eucharist).

Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem, knowing that he was going to be crucified. As he passed through Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd following him, a blind man sitting at the side of the road and asked what was happening. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he called out to Jesus, addressing him as the Son of David (the eternal heir to the throne of David; the Messiah).

The people told him to be quiet, but he kept calling out loudly. Jesus stopped and asked the people to call him. Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus, who asked what the man wanted Jesus to do for him. Bartimaeus asked Jesus to restore his vision, and Jesus told him to receive his sight and resume his life, because the man’s faith had healed him. Immediately his sight was restored and Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way.

The Lord had sent his prophets to warn Judah to turn from idolatry and disobedience and return to obedient trust in the Lord. Judah had seen the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians because of their sins of idolatry and disobedience, but Judah did not act on the warnings by the prophets. The Lord declared through his prophets before the fall of Judah that they would be exiled to Babylon for seventy years, and then the Lord would lead a remnant back to the Promised Land.

God’s Word of Judah’s exile to Babylon and return after seventy years was fulfilled. A remnant of Israel did return from Babylon, but it was a renewed people of Israel; for those who were adults at the time of the deportation, seventy years was a life sentence. God was able to fulfill his Word, to restore the remnant of his people so that his plan of salvation through Jesus Christ could be fulfilled through them.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to lead his people to the “Promised Land” of God’s eternal heavenly kingdom, by brooks of water and in straight paths so that they won’t stumble (compare Psalm 23:2-3) as we learn to trust and obey Jesus. In a sense Christians are the new remnant of God’s people, and we are “pilgrims” on the way to the heavenly “New Jerusalem.” Let us remember and rejoice in the great things the Lord has done in the past to deliver and restore his people.

God’s Word is eternal and fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The Lord leads us back to the eternal “Promised Land” by his indwelling Holy Spirit. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Risen Jesus (Romans 8:9) within his people which is the “river of life” (John 7:37-38) that transforms our spiritual wilderness into the “green pastures” of Psalm 23:2).

Christians have received the seed of the Gospel and are to be sowers of that seed. Sowing the Gospel will only be accomplished with tears and suffering, because worldly people do not want to hear or receive the Gospel. We must be willing to accept suffering and self-denial with persistence if we are to receive the fulfillment of the promise of a fruitful spiritual harvest, and we must rely on the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit.

Jesus has been “anointed” (“Christ” and “Messiah” both mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively) by God to be the one and only acceptable mediator between God and his people. He is the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word). Jesus is the only one who can restore us from bondage and exile in “Babylon” and lead us back to the heavenly “Promised Land.” Jesus is both our eternal king and eternal priest.

Jesus came to teach us by word and example to trust and obey God’s Word. Jesus taught and demonstrated obedient trust in God’s will, to the point of an extremely painful physical death on the Cross, and he taught and demonstrated the reward for obedient trust in God, through his resurrection from physical death to eternal life.

Jesus suffered the same feelings and temptations that we have, but without sinning. He was tempted by his own disciples, though unintentional and unenlightened, to avoid God’s will (Mark 8:32-33), and he had to struggle with his own human nature to submit to God’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42). Not any number of humans could have overpowered Jesus, except that he laid aside his supernatural power and allowed himself to be crucified in obedient trust in God’s will and for our salvation. Jesus’ prayers in Gethsemane were heard and answered by God. Jesus was spiritually strengthened to be able to do God’s will, and he was raised from physical death to eternal life. He received the name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9), and all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). As we follow his example we will share in his reward.

Bartimaeus means “son of ‘defiled.’’' “Son of defiled” (by sin) asked the “Son of Righteousness” for healing for his “blindness.” Bartimaeus was physically blind, but spiritually sighted enough to recognize his own spiritual need and Jesus as the Christ, the spiritual healer. Bartimaeus used his healing to follow Jesus, instead of pursuing worldly life.

We have all been born spiritually blind, deaf, mute, and terminally ill. Jesus came into the world to deliver and restore us to the destiny that God intentionally created us to have. We have all been consigned to sin, so that he can have mercy (undeserved forgiveness) on each of us, not by our merits, but as a gift (“grace;” unmerited favor; Ephesians 2:8-9).

In order for us to be spiritually healed, we must recognize our disability, recognize the one who is truly able to heal us, and seek healing in faith (obedient trust) in the healer. We must be willing to be persistent, and seek spiritual healing until we know that we have received it. We must be committed to using our spiritual healing to follow our healer, or our healing will have no eternal benefit.

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)?

23 Pentecost - Monday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 24 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 9, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Monday B

Psalm 119:1-16 -- The Law of God

Those who are blameless (in God’s judgment) are blessed. Blessed are those who live according to God’s Word, who obey his testimonies, and seek him with all their hearts; who do no wrong, and live according to his way. The Lord commands that his law be kept diligently. O, may we be steadfast in keeping his law; let us learn to obey his word so that we can praise him in righteousness. Let us commit ourselves to obey God’s Word so that he will not completely forsake us.

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to thy Word” (Psalm 119:9). Let us seek the Lord with all our hearts and not stray from obedience to his Word. “I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). May the Lord be blessed, and may he teach us his ways

I will proclaim his Word and delight in his ways as much as (even more than) great riches. I will meditate on his teachings and delight in his ways. I will remember and delight in his Word.

The Word of God is Law. God’s Word is his will for his people. God’s Word is the wisdom of God by which the world was created and is sustained. He has given us his Word to show us how to truly live as he created and intends for us to live. God has given us his Word for our benefit.

God’s Word has creative force; he spoke and the world came into existence by his Word (Genesis 1:3). God’s Word is always fulfilled; the test of God’s Word is its fulfillment (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). His people (all of us; he is our creator) are the only members of this creation who have been given the freedom to choose whether to obey God’s Word or not; God has designed Creation to allow us to make that choice, so that we could learn by trial and error that God’s Word is completely good, acceptable by us to obey, and perfect (the very best thing for us; Romans 12:2). We choose to be God’s people by trusting and obeying God’s Word.

God’s Word contains precious promises, and also ominous warnings. We can either seek and claim the promises of God’s Word for our blessing, or we will disregard his Word and receive the dire consequences his warnings were intended to help us avoid.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment, embodiment, and illustration of God’s Word, lived out in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24). The Bible, both the New and Old Testament, is the Word of God.

Obeying God’s Word is not just a matter of keeping the Old Testament Laws. Keeping the Jewish dietary laws, for example, won’t save anyone. Jesus opens the minds of his disciples to understand God’s Word (Luke 24:45). We need to seek and obey God’s Word through Jesus’ interpretation.

The Jews were never able to keep God’s Word by their own ability. They had to continually offer sacrifices to God for their sins (disobedience of God’s Word). Jesus came to make it possible for us to obey God’s will by the cleansing and enabling of the Holy Spirit within us, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). We are freed from the condemnation of God’s Law, provided that we are obedient to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-8). 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). It is possible for one to know for oneself with certainty whether one has received the gift of the Holy Spirit or not (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)?

23 Pentecost - Tuesday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 24 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 10, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Tuesday B

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 -- The First Commandment

As Israel was poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminded the people of their covenant with God and warned them to remember and do the commandments of God as a condition of possessing the land and living a long, good life in it. The Israelites were to fear God (have the appropriate awe and respect for God’s power and authority), and to teach their children and grandchildren to fear God and to obey God’s Word all their lifetimes. Obedience to God’s Word is the condition for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel, through the patriarchs, of a great nation and a fertile land.

The first and greatest of God’s commandments is that the Lord is the one and only sovereign God. Israel is to love and serve the Lord above all else, with their complete being: their mind and will, their spiritual being, and all their physical ability and strength. Israel is to hear, learn, know, remember and obey God’s Word. Israel is to be constantly mindful of God’s Word during each day so that they can live in obedience to it. Israel is to teach their children God’s Word and to live accordingly.

The Lord God is the one and only true God. The Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, is not three Gods but one God in three expressions. God is Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). The Trinity is a unity: Jesus is in God and God in him and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God.

The whole Bible is God’s Word and possesses unity. Jesus’ coming did not do away with God’s Commandments, but was to make it possible for us to fulfill them, not out of fear of punishment, but out of love for his goodness to us. We are freed from the bondage of the Law, provided that we are obedient to Jesus in the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-11).

Jesus came to die on the Cross as the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God’s Word; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus also demonstrated complete obedience to God’s Word and, by his resurrection from physical death, the reward of long, eternal life in the paradise of God’s heavenly kingdom as the result of that obedience.

Jesus came to give us forgiveness of sin, salvation from God’s eternal condemnation, and eternal life, and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12, John 14:6). Through obedient trust Jesus’ disciples receive 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).

Jesus is the “living” Word of God. Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word lived in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus’ Word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24). Jesus is Emmanuel; God with us (Matthew 1:23; in this world), and the gift of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of the promise of God with us, personally and individually.

Every truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciple personally testifies to the truth that Jesus is eternally alive and with us through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus and God the Father are one with the Holy Spirit (John 14:8-11, 18-24; Colossians 2:8-9).

In a sense, America (and other “Christian” nations) and the Church, particularly in America, are each the New Israel, the People of God, and the Promised Land on earth. America was founded by Christians, on Biblical faith in Jesus Christ, and Christian principles. The conditions for possessing freedom, fruitfulness and blessing are still obedience to God’s Word.

Not only have Americans and American “Christians” failed to teach their children God’s Word and obedient trust in God, many haven’t made an effort to know and obey it themselves. The evidence is all around us, in people who have no regard for life or morality. What was once a fertile land is now suffering pollution and dwindling resources.

People think they can provide their own security through material provisions, and prolong their lives by eating well, getting exercise and modern medical care. People are out jogging on Sunday morning, trying to keep themselves physically healthy, without any awareness or concern for their spiritual health.

The Word of God is a word of warning of the consequences of disobedience of God’s Word, and of idolatry, which is the love of any thing or person as much as or more than God. Over and over Israel strayed from obedience to God and into idolatry, and the result was that God lifted his protection and providence from them and allowed them to experience the consequences of their sin. The consequences apply both in this present life and also in eternity. Do we think it can’t happen to us? How much worse does it have to get before we notice our spiritual sickness?

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)?

23 Pentecost - Wednesday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 24 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.

First Posted November 11, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Wednesday B

Hebrews 7:23-28 -- Our Great High Priest

Under the Old Covenant of Law, many human priests were appointed, because their term was limited by death, but Jesus’ priesthood is eternal (like that of Melchizedek) because Jesus is eternal, having been raised from physical death. So he is able forever to save all those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to intercede for them to God.

He is the ideal high priest because he is totally dedicated to serve God, completely sinless, and exalted above the heavens (Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:9-11; Matthew 28:18). He doesn’t need to offer daily sacrifices for his own and his people’s sins, since he himself is sinless, and he offered the sacrifice of himself once for all time and all people for their sins. Really, the Old Covenant of Law appoints human high priests in their human weakness, but the oath (the promise; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:21), which came later, “appoints a (divine) Son who has been made perfect for ever” (Hebrews 7:28).

Jesus Christ is the end of the Old Covenant of Law. He initiated a New Covenant (Matthew 26:26-28 RSV note “g;” Hebrews 8:6-13) of Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus is the end of the old sacrificial system of the temple. He has become the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God, for all time and all people, for the forgiveness of our sins, for all those who trust and obey Jesus.

At Jesus’ crucifixion, the veil of the temple, separating the presence of God in the Holy-of-Holies from the people, was torn in two, from top to bottom (Mark 15:38), symbolizing that Jesus had opened a new way into the presence of God through Jesus. Under the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter into God’s presence and only once a year, offering a sacrifice for the sins of himself and the people. Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross made it possible for his disciples be cleansed once for all of their sins and to receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 16:5-7), through whom we have personal, individual, daily fellowship with the Lord.

The Jewish religious leaders justified crucifying Jesus because they were afraid that the Romans would otherwise destroy their temple and nation because of Jesus (John 11:47-48), but instead they precipitated the destruction of their temple, religion, and nation themselves by rejecting the Messiah, Jesus Christ. False witnesses testified that Jesus had said that he would destroy the temple and would rebuild it again in three days (Mark 14:57-58), misunderstanding and misquoting what Jesus was saying. Actually it was they who destroyed the temple by rejecting Jesus, and in effect Jesus did establish a “New Temple,” the Christian Church, by his resurrection on the third day.

The Romans did destroy the temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D., only five years after it was completed* and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. Israel ceased to exist as a nation until its reestablishment following World War II. The temple has never been rebuilt. Judaism effectively ended at the Cross of Jesus Christ. No other sacrifice is acceptable or efficacious.

The Jewish religious and national leaders were serving their own selfish interests in the ministry of their religion and government instead of serving God’s will on behalf of the people. [The Temple had been built as political patronage by Herod the Great, who had attempted to kill Jesus, the “King of the Jews,” as an infant (Matt. 2:16).] They were unprepared to recognize and receive the promised Messiah. Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment. Are we any more prepared than Israel was, as the Church and nation, to welcome Christ’s return?

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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* Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Temple, Herod’s,” digital edition, bibledatabase.org - http://bibledatabase.org/eastons.html

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23 Pentecost - Thursday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 24 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 12, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Thursday B

Mark 12:28-34 (35-37) -- The Great Commandment

A scribe (a teacher of the Law of Moses; i.e. Scripture; the Word of God) heard Jesus debating with the Sadducees (a Jewish faction that denied resurrection), and noticing that Jesus answered well, asked Jesus which of the Ten Commandments is the greatest. Jesus replied that the first, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30; Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Jesus added that the second great Commandment is to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18b). No Commandments are greater than these two.

The scribe replied that Jesus was right, and acknowledging him as a “Teacher.” The scribe said that it is true that God is one; that there is no other god but he, and that to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind and strength is more than any number of sacrifices and offerings. Jesus saw that the scribe answered wisely and told him that he was not far from the kingdom of heaven. No one else dared to ask Jesus anymore questions.

Jesus was teaching in the temple, and asked the crowd why the scribes say that the Christ (Messiah; both mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively) is the Son of David. Jesus recited Psalm 110:1, saying that David, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit called him Lord. How then can the Messiah be David’s son? The crowd was eager to hear Jesus’ teaching.

The scribe was a teacher of Scripture, the books of Law, the Pentateuch, which constituted the Jewish Bible, and with prophecy and Psalms constitute a major part of the Old Testament (with the books of wisdom and history). He recognized that Jesus was teaching God’s word accurately, and acknowledged Jesus as a “teacher.”

Jesus noticed that the scribe had a good understanding of the meaning of the First Commandment, and acknowledged the scribe as a “teacher” by saying that the scribe was not far from the kingdom of God. The scribe in fact was perhaps literally within arm’s reach of God’s kingdom; all he needed to do was to recognize that Jesus was not just a good teacher, but the Messiah, the Son of David, God’s anointed eternal Savior and King.

The scribe was right that God is the one and only true God, and that loving God with every aspect of one’s being is more important than any amount of religious ritual. Loving God means trusting and obeying God; trying to please and serve him in every aspect of our lives. Loving the Lord is demonstrated by obeying his commandments (John 14:21-24).

The First Commandment is to love God above all else. The other nine can be summarized in the Second Commandment, which is to love others as much as we love ourselves. If we truly love God we will make the effort to love others in obedience to the Lord’s command.

The problem is that no one is able to keep God’s Commandments because of our sinful nature (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The Law was given to show us what God desires, and to demonstrate our need for forgiveness and salvation. The Law was given to restrain sin until the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. We are freed from the condemnation of the Law, provided that we are obedient to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-11)

Jesus has been God’s one and only plan, for our forgiveness and salvation from God’s eternal condemnation, from the very beginning of Creation, and Jesus has been built into the very nature of this Creation (John 1:1-5, 14; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus is the only way to forgiveness, salvation, fellowship with God and eternal life in God’s kingdom (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

Under the Law we are all condemned as sinners to eternal destruction (Romans 3:23). Sin is disobedience of God’s Word, and the penalty is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God offers the free gift of forgiveness of all our sin and salvation from eternal condemnation, through Jesus Christ, to all who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice, on the Cross, for all sin for all time and all people. The sacrifice that God requires of us is obedient trust of his Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to give us eternal life. Jesus’ blood shed on the Cross cleanses us from sin and makes it possible for us to be spiritually “born-again” (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 Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), and those who have received the Holy Spirit have the assurance of eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). 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 didn’t need the scribe’s approval of his teaching; the scribe needed Jesus’ approval. The scribe needed to recognize and acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ; not just a good teacher. Jesus has God’s approval, as his anointed Savior and eternal King, and that approval was demonstrated in the miracles Jesus did and ultimately in his own resurrection.

Jesus is the Son of David through his human (adoptive) father Joseph (Matthew 1:1-17), but the “begotten” Son of God, by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21). We are the “begotten” sons (and daughters) of our earthly fathers, but “adopted” sons of our Creator, God, our heavenly Father, by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David to establish an eternal king on the throne of David, through David’s descendant (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). David was able to call his “son” Lord by faith 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)?

23 Pentecost - Friday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 24 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 13, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Friday B

Proverbs 8:11-22 -- Divine Wisdom
Philippians3:17-21 -- Christian Living

Wisdom is better than riches, and nothing in this world is more desirable. Wisdom dwells in prudence, and through wisdom one finds knowledge and discretion. Those who truly fear the Lord (have the proper respect and awe for his power and authority) hate what is evil. Pride, arrogance, evil and lying are despicable and contrary to wisdom.

Wisdom is required by worldly leaders to govern justly. Wisdom rewards those who seek wisdom; those who seek wisdom will find it. Wisdom is the true wealth and honor, and the fruit of wisdom is greater than vast material possessions. The way of wisdom is righteousness and justice. Wisdom prospers those who treasure wisdom. Wisdom was with the Lord at the beginning of his work, before his acts of old (Proverbs 8:22; author’s own interpretation; compare MKJV).

Paul, the Apostle, was continuing to disciple the Philippian Christians by letter from imprisonment. He urged them to copy the lifestyle of Paul and other disciples of Jesus Christ who were living according to the Gospel. Paul had warned them before and now reminded them of his warning that many (worldly people, including professing “Christians”) were living according to worldly ways and were thus enemies of the Cross of Christ, taking pleasure in what is shameful, with their minds focused on worldly things. Those who do such things are idolaters; their “god” is their worldly appetite and their end is eternal destruction.

Christians are citizens of the heavenly kingdom, and we await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come forth from heaven. He will change our feeble earthly bodies to be like his glorious eternal body, by divine supernatural power by which all things are subject to his authority and will.

True wisdom is the divine wisdom by which God created the universe, not what the world falsely calls “wisdom” [see 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 (26-29); 2:1-8]. God gives divine wisdom freely and abundantly to those who seek his wisdom and ask him for it (James 1:5). God reveals his wisdom in his Word, the Bible, and in the “living Word,” Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14).

The meaning and purpose of this temporal lifetime is the opportunity to seek and come to personally know the Lord (Acts 17:26-27). Jesus is the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), who has been designed into the structure of Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5; 14; Proverbs 8:22). Jesus is the one and only eternal Savior and King, anointed (designated) by God (Christ and Messiah each mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively; Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). Divine wisdom is the one true treasure we can obtain in this lifetime which will provide benefit now, and give us life in eternity. The risen Jesus is the only one who can open our minds to understand Scripture (Luke 24:45). Jesus is the only one who 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 Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ within us (Romans 8:9), who will guide us into all truth (John 16:13) teach us all things, and bring to our remembrance all Jesus’ teachings (John 14:26). 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).

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the example of a modern, “post-resurrection,” “Born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Paul had not known Jesus Christ during Jesus’ physical lifetime. Paul was converted on the Damascus Road by the risen and ascended Jesus, “discipled” by Ananias until he had received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 9:1-20), and then was guided by the Holy Spirit to make “born-again” disciples; not disciples of himself, but of Jesus Christ. Paul was fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), given by Jesus to his disciples, to be carried out after they had been filled with the Holy Spirit [Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-13, (14-42)].

Paul was living in obedient trust in Jesus Christ by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit within him, following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Paul was teaching the Philippian Christians to follow the example of Paul and other born-again Christians, to trust and obey Jesus, and to be guided and empowered by his Holy Spirit.

Christians are by definition disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26). Christians are to be discipled in the Church by mature born-again disciples until they have been born-again, and then they’re to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses and apostles of the Gospel according to the Lord’s individual will for them.

Sadly that is not what is happening in most “churches” today. Churches are settling for building “buildings” and making “members.” Paul warns that many, including those who profess to be Christian, are living contrary to and in opposition to the Gospel. Churches are “importing,” even into leadership, worldly people and worldly attitudes, instead of “exporting” Christian discipleship. Many people are serving the modern idols of wealth, success, power, fame, career, family, and pleasure.

Christians are to live according to the wisdom and standards of the eternal heavenly kingdom, not the wisdom and standards of this world. How are Christians to know God’s will for them personally and learn the wisdom and standards of God’s kingdom without reading the Bible thoroughly and daily? Paul warns that those who are not willing to be born-again disciples by obedient trust in Jesus, are not going to be saved from God’s eternal condemnation and destruction of them in Hell. Paul is repeating the warning Jesus gives, that it is not enough to call Jesus our Lord, without doing what he teaches and exemplifies (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46; Matthew 25:31-46).

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)?

23 Pentecost - Saturday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 24 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 14, 2009
Podcast: 23 Pentecost Saturday B

Matthew 22:15-22 -- Paying Taxes

The Pharisees (a faction of legalistic Jewish leaders) plotted how to entrap Jesus by his words. They sent their disciples and some Herodians (political supporters of the Roman governing family of Herods) to ask the question they thought would convict Jesus no matter which way he answered it.

The Pharisees started with false flattery, saying that they knew that Jesus was sincere, that he taught God’s Word accurately, and that he showed no partiality toward anyone. They asked him whether it was right for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar or not.

Jesus knew their evil intent, called them hypocrites, and asked them why they were testing him. Jesus asked them to show him the money for the tax, and they showed him a Roman coin. He asked them whose likeness and inscription were on the coin, and they replied that it was Caesar’s. Then Jesus said that one must give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what belongs to God. The Pharisees were amazed at his answer and left Jesus.

The Pharisees were not as subtle and smart as they thought they were. Their malice should have been obvious to anyone. Jesus answered them truthfully in a way that no one could criticize.

Even under Roman military government, it was possible for Jews to serve God while complying with civil authorities. It wasn’t an “either/or” question.

Christians are citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom who are away from their homeland and sojourning in this world. We are to live according to the Law of our kingdom, but to also comply with the local laws, so long as they do not oppose God’s Word.

If we are in a situation where the demands of the worldly government conflict with God’s Word, then we must obey God’s Word and be willing to suffer the consequences of disobedience of the worldly rulers. God is able to bring us through and deliver us from earthly troubles.

God’s Word is not unreasonable or impossible for us to obey. We are not to use God’s Word as an excuse not to comply with worldly authorities, nor to use our worldly circumstances as an excuse not to trust and obey God’s Word.

Christians have found themselves persecuted by worldly authorities throughout history and even today. We are blessed to have freedom of religion. Are we using that freedom to learn, know, trust and obey God’s Word so that we can serve and please the Lord? On the Day of Judgment we won’t be able to blame our ignorance and disobedience of God’s Word on the "Romans."

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)?

Week of 22 Pentecost - November 1 - 7, 2009

Week of 22 Pentecost - November 1 - 7, 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 22 Pentecost B

22 Pentecost - Sunday B
First Posted November 1, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Sunday B

Isaiah 53:10-12 -- The Suffering Servant
Psalm 91:9-16 -- Our Refuge
Hebrews 4:9-16 -- God’s Promised Rest
Mark 10:35-45 -- True Greatness

Isaiah:

God declared through Isaiah, his prophet, the promise of the Messiah, the suffering servant who would be the Savior of and intercessor for God’s people. It was God’s will that the Messiah suffer and die as the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word). God promised that the suffering servant would see his spiritual offspring, and have long (eternal) life as the reward for his obedience to God’s will and purpose. God’s will and purpose will be successfully fulfilled in his servant. He will see the fruit of his suffering and will be satisfied.

By his (divine) knowledge, the righteous servant will make many accounted righteous (in God’s judgment), and the servant will pay the ransom for their sins. Because of his obedience, God will reward his servant with greatness, and the servant will share his reward with the (spiritually) strong, [who endure and persevere in faith (obedient trust) in the servant (Jesus Christ)]. The servant accepted suffering, death and dishonor, being judged as a criminal, so that he could pay the penalty for our sin, and make intercession for our forgiveness and salvation (from eternal condemnation and death) to God.

Psalm:

God promises that those who take refuge in him will be protected from evil and danger. God will give his angels to protect God’s people. God’s protection will keep them from stumbling, and give them power over the spiritual young lions and snakes of this world.

Because God’s servant trusts and obeys God in love, God will deliver him. God will protect his servant because his servant knows God’s name (God’s person and character). God will answer when his servant calls (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right), will be with him in troubles, will rescue and honor him, will reveal his salvation to him and give him long (eternal) life.

Hebrews:

God has created a day of rest for his people. God ceased his labor on the Sabbath, and we must also cease ours on the Sabbath in order to enter into God’s rest. The Israelites who disobeyed God’s Word in the wilderness were forbidden to enter into the Sabbath rest of God’s people in the Promised Land.

We must be careful not to loose our chance for rest by the same sort of disobedience. “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). In our examination by the Lord on the Day of Judgment, no one will be able to conceal anything; he will know every detail of our lives, our every thought and intention, and we will be accountable to him.

Jesus, the Son of God, is our great High Priest, who has ascended into heaven, so let us hold on to our “confession;” our obedient trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as our intercessor in God’s presence. Jesus has experienced every trial and temptation we might face, but without sinning (note that Satan used Isaiah 53:11-12 to tempt the Lord in the wilderness; Matthew 4:6-7), so he is able to sympathize with us, and is able to save us and give us power over temptation, so that we can successfully resist. So we can and should come to his “throne of grace” where we can receive mercy (undeserved forgiveness) and grace (unmerited favor) to help us when we are in need.

Mark:

Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus knew he would be crucified, and on the way, he told his disciples, for the third time (Mark 8:31, 9:31; 10:32-34), plainly, of his impending crucifixion. James and John were members of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, but they were preoccupied with their worldly concept of status and success, and failed to hear and understand what Jesus was saying. They wanted to be among the ruling elite in God’s eternal kingdom.

Jesus asked them if they were able to share the same “cup” (destiny), and the same “baptism” (divine commission; calling). They replied that they were able, but they hadn’t yet understood what that cup and baptism would require. Jesus told them that they would share the same cup and baptism (as will all disciples), but that wouldn’t give them special status and power in God’s kingdom.

Jesus called the rest of the disciples to gather around, and Jesus told them that greatness in God’s kingdom is not based on worldly concepts. Worldly rulers expect to be served, but greatness in God’s kingdom is based on servanthood, exemplified in Jesus, who came to serve us, rather than to be served. Jesus came to take our sins upon himself and die for them to ransom us from the penalty of our sin (the penalty is eternal death; Romans 6:23).

Commentary:

Jesus Christ has been God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from the very beginning of Creation, and has been "built into" the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). God has been progressively revealing that plan to us, first in Creation, then in the Bible, then in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” (Messiah; both words mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively), and ultimately, in the gift of the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The whole chapter of Isaiah 53 is messianic prophecy, revealed over five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, and which was perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus became the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, once for all time and all people, provided that we accept it by faith (obedient trust). “Born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples are his spiritual “offspring” and the “fruit” of Jesus’ travail.

Jesus imparts divine knowledge to his disciples who trust and obey him. God’s Word is divine knowledge, unlike false, worldly “knowledge.” Jesus not only teaches the knowledge of God in the sense of information and wisdom, but in the sense of personal acquaintance, in the revelation of God’s character and person, in Jesus’ example, and ultimately and individually in his indwelling Holy Spirit, through whom we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with Jesus and God the Father (John 14:21-24). Jesus is the name (and the character and person) of God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

God has rewarded his servant, Jesus Christ, with greatness; Jesus’ name is above every other name in heaven and on earth (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:20-22; Philippians 2:9-10) and God has given Jesus authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Jesus shares his eternal inheritance with his disciples who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus was sinless, but he was condemned by the religious leaders of his time for sin, and was punished by crucifixion as a sinner, between two robbers (Matthew 27:38).

God’s Word is eternal, and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Isaiah’s prophecy was perfectly fulfilled by Jesus, but it is also fulfilled in Jesus’ disciples as they trust and obey Jesus. We are called to be suffering servants, and as we do so, we receive the promises of God’s Word.

God’s Word is “living” and “active.” God’s Word, unlike the word of humans, has creative force; God’s Word is the Word by which the world was created (Genesis 1:3) and is sustained. Jesus is the living Word of God, who is eternally alive. God’s Word is the sword of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is going to return on the Day of Judgment to judge the physically and spiritually living and dead (Matthew 25:31-46). Everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to him (John 5:28-29), and the standard of judgment will be God’s Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ. Jesus knows every detail of our lives (John 2:25; John 1:47-51; 4:16-19). Jesus knows our every sin, and yet he offers abundant mercy and grace, the forgiveness of all our sins. Jesus will either be our Savior or our Judge and executioner (but we condemn ourselves by unbelief; John 3:16-18).

Believers are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, to accept the “cup” and “baptism” of the suffering servant, to complete the mission of Christ to bring salvation from eternal condemnation to a lost and dying world. What kind of “disciples” will we be? Will we be distracted by worldly concepts and pursuit of worldly status and success, and miss the “call” and “anointing” the Lord has for us; or will we produce spiritual “offspring,” “fruit” for salvation, and share in the eternal life and inheritance of Jesus Christ in God’s heavenly “Promised Land,” the place of Sabbath rest from the struggle in the battlefield of this world? Will we fight the good fight of faith in this world, so that we can find rest in eternity, or will we pursue comfort and pleasure now, and spend eternity in misery and agony in Hell?

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)?

22 Pentecost - Monday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 2, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Monday B

Psalm 126 -- Bringing in the Sheaves

The Psalmist recalled how God restored the fortunes of Zion, (the remnant of Israel; after Judah’s seventy year captivity in Babylon). The exiles were filled with joy; they had longed for their return to their land for so long that they thought they must be dreaming. God was glorified among the nations for his great act of restoration for his people. The Psalmist acknowledged the great things God has done for his people.

The people of God were again in need of restoration. The Psalmist asked God to again bless and restore his people; that the “desert” of their present circumstances would be transformed by the “river” of God’s blessings. God’s people sow God’s Word with tears, but they will rejoice in the harvest, and they will return to the Lord of the harvest, bringing the “fruit” of their sowing with them.

Commentary:

Being God’s people doesn’t remove us from trials and hardships in this lifetime. Serving the Lord is going to require sacrifice and labor. As we begin to follow the Lord, he will show us that he can bring us through those trials and hardships. So we grow in faith (obedient trust), and when the going is tough, we are sustained and encouraged by recalling the Lord’s faithfulness and past deliverance and restoration.

We are called to be “sowers” of God’s Word, the Gospel (“good news”) of Jesus Christ. First we must obtain good “seed;” we must be discipled in the Church by mature “born-again” disciples until we are also “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have to know the Word of God: the Bible, and the “living Word,” Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word in human life.

I’m totally convinced that the meaning and purpose of this lifetime is to seek and come to a personal knowledge of and fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus died on the cross once, for all time and all people, as the only sacrifice, acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Our forgiveness makes it possible to be restored to fellowship with God, and those who trust and obey Jesus receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9) who 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 river of “living water” (John 7:37-38), which flows out into the spiritual desert of this world from the hearts of Jesus’ “born-again” disciples and gives true (eternal) life to those who are willing to receive Jesus. Jesus is the source of that river. Christians are to be channels of “living water” to those who are dying of spiritual thirst. The people around us will see our transformation and restoration by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and God will be glorified.

Christians are by definition “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) “disciples” of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26). 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 are to sow the seed of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit working through us will produce the harvest. We cannot accomplish Christ’s mission without having received and experienced the full and accurate Gospel, and without the personal relationship, guidance, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit within us.

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)?

22 Pentecost - Tuesday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 3, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Tuesday B

Jeremiah 31:7-9 -- Return and Restoration

Jeremiah was a prophet in the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 627 to 560 B.C. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. and effectively ceased to exist. Judah became the remnant of Israel, the people of God. Jeremiah warned Judah that punishment was going to come upon them because of their idolatry and disobedience of God’s Word, but despite the warnings of the prophets and the example of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Judah didn’t repent. Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be captive in Babylon for seventy years, but that a remnant would return to the Promised Land.

Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled. Judah was taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadrezzar (Nebuchadnezzar) in 587 B.C. and returned in 517 B.C., after seventy years. The Lord brought a remnant back “from the north country” (Babylon) to the Promised Land as he had promised. God promised to bring them back from the farthest corners of the world. They would return with weeping (for joy) and with consolations. The Lord promised to lead them beside brooks of water, and in a straight path in which they would not stumble (compare Psalm 23:2-3). The Lord is the father of Israel, and regards “Ephraim” as his first born.

Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, had received his grandfather, Jacob’s, blessing which belonged to the firstborn (his brother, Manasseh; Genesis 41:51-52; 46:20; 48:10-14). Judah was not “entitled” to God’s grace (unmerited favor), but God chose to make Judah, the remnant of Israel, his “firstborn.”

Those of his people who went into exile because of sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and idolatry (loving any thing or person as much as or more than God) died in Babylon; seventy years is a life sentence for any adult at the time of the deportation. The people who returned were a renewed people.

Judah was to have learned to trust and obey the Lord during the exile in Babylon, and so be willing to be led by the Lord in straight paths without stumbling. God spared and restored the remnant of Israel so that his plan of salvation through Jesus Christ could continue and be fulfilled. God is able and faithful to fulfill his promises without our help and cooperation. But we will bear the consequences and loose the blessing God wants us to have, unless we cooperate with his will.

The history of God’s dealings with Israel is intended to be a parable, a metaphor for life in this world. Babylon represents the exile to Hell of those who refuse to trust and obey God’s Word. But God is also able to restore his people and bring them back to his eternal Promised Land, if they learn to trust and obey his Word in this lifetime. When we die physically, our destiny is fixed for all eternity; there’s no way of coming back from Hell.

Judah should have learned from the example of the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Because Judah didn’t learn from God’s Word proclaimed by God’s prophets and the history and example of God’s dealing with the Northern Kingdom, Judah had to experience God’s condemnation for themselves.

This lifetime is our “exile” from God’s eternal kingdom. The meaning and purpose of this lifetime is to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27) and to learn by trial and error to trust and obey him. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our salvation from the eternal “Babylon” of Hell (Acts 4:12) and our restoration to the “Promised Land” of God’s eternal kingdom (John 14:6).

We need to learn to be led by Jesus. As we begin to follow Jesus with the commitment to trust and obey him, he gives us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, through whom we are “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to spiritual, eternal life. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit within us will guide us in straight paths and keep us from stumbling.

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)?

22 Pentecost - Wednesday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 4, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Wednesday B

Hebrews 5:1-10 -- The Great High Priest

The author contrasts Jesus Christ with Judaism. Human priests are humans chosen and appointed to be mediators between men and God; to present offerings and gifts to God on their behalf. Since they share human weakness they have empathy for those who sin, because the human priests also sin, and human priests must offer sacrifices for their own sins as well as those of the people. Priests cannot assume the office of priesthood by their own initiative or worthiness, but must be called by God, as Aaron (high priest of Moses) was.

Likewise Jesus did not exalt himself to the office of priesthood, but he was called by God, in fulfillment of God’s Word. The verse in Psalms where God declared Jesus his Son, whom he had begotten, was fulfilled at Jesus’ baptism by John the baptizer (Luke 3:21-22). God’s Word also declared him an eternal priest, after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Genesis 14:17-20).

During Jesus’ physical life and earthly ministry Jesus offered up prayers and supplication with loud cries and tears to God who was able to save him from death, and God heard him because of Jesus’ “godly fear” (awe and respect for the power and authority of God; Mark 14:32-42). Although Jesus was the Son of God, God allowed him to suffer in order that Jesus would learn obedience and trust in God’s Word. So Jesus became completely obedient and thus “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,” (i.e. Jesus; Hebrews 5:9), having been made, by God, our eternal high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

Commentary:

Christian ministers must be called and anointed by God 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). People can choose “Christian” ministry as a career, but unless they are “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8), by obedient trust in Jesus and the “anointing” of the indwelling Holy Spirit they cannot make “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ, or accomplish the mission and ministry of Christ;

Melchizedek was a king of Salem (i.e. Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18; the Lord God of Israel), “the maker of heaven and earth.” Abram (later named Abraham, the Patriarch) had defeated an alliance of four kings and their armies with a small force of men, and on his return Melchizedek went out to meet Abram in the Valley Shaveh (the Valley of the Kings), bringing bread and wine, and blessed Abram and praised God for giving Abram victory over his enemies (Genesis 14:19-20). Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had recovered from his enemies (Genesis 14:16).

Melchizedek is the forerunner and illustration of Christ. He was King of Salem (meaning “Peace”) and King of Righteousness (the translation of his name; Hebrews 7:2). He was also the high priest of God Most High; creator of heaven and earth (the God of Israel). He met Abram, who had conquered his enemies by faith in God, in the Valley of the Kings, bringing bread and wine, as a feast of celebration of the victory and praise to God.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophetic image of Melchizedek. Since Melchizedek has neither family, nor birth nor death recorded in scripture he therefore is, symbolically, eternal (Hebrews 7:3). The early kings of Israel were both king and priest as was Melchizedek. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of an eternal priest-king. The vision of Melchizedek bringing a sacrificial offering of bread and wine, celebrating God giving us victory over our earthly enemies against great odds, is fulfilled in the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus struggled with the call of God upon him to trust and obey God’s Word even unto great physical suffering and death on the Cross. As he headed toward Jerusalem where he knew he would be crucified he tried to prepare his disciples for what would happen, telling them three times that he would die, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:32:34). His disciples unknowingly and unintentionally added to Jesus’ temptation to turn aside from God’s will and call (Mark 8:32-33).

Jesus knew his betrayal and arrest would take place at Gethsemane that night, and he went there with his disciples to wait for it. While he waited, he prayed with great anguish, asking God if possible for Jesus to be saved from his destiny, but accepting, in obedient trust, God’s will (Luke 22:39-46). His prayer was heard and answered. Jesus received the grace and strength to trust and obey God’s will, and God delivered him from physical death by raising him to eternal life.

Jesus’ obedience to God’s will shows us the way to triumph over our spiritual enemies including death. His resurrection demonstrates that there is existence after physical death. Jesus has become our eternal priest, making intercession on our behalf, once and for all, for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word) as we trust and obey Jesus. Jesus has become the eternal Lord and King of God’s heavenly “Promised Land.”

Jesus is Lord, whether we acknowledge him or not. Jesus has received power and authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Jesus is going to return of the Day of Judgment in great glory and power, and he will judge everyone who has ever lived on earth; the physically and spiritually living and dead. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in the kingdom of God in heaven; but those who have rejected Jesus and refused to trust and obey him will receive eternal destruction in Hell with all evil (John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right)

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)?

22 Pentecost - Thursday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 5, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Thursday B

Mark 10:46-52 -- Blind Bartimaeus

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew he would be crucified. With his disciples and a large crowd following, Jesus was leaving Jericho when he passed a blind man, the son of Timaeus (“Bar-“ means “son of”), sitting at the side of the road. Hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was passing, he called out saying “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47). People told him to be quiet, but he kept calling loudly. Jesus had mercy on him and called him to come to Jesus. The crowd relayed the message, telling Bartimaeus to be encouraged. Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus. Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him, and Bartimaeus asked Jesus to restore his vision. Jesus told him to go his way; the blind man’s faith had healed him. “And immediately Bartimaeus received his sight, and follow him (Jesus) on the way” (Mark 10:52b).

Commentary:

Bartimaeus was physically blind, but he was aware that something special was happening along the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he called out to Jesus, addressing him as the “Son of David” (the Messiah; the Christ; the eternal heir to the throne of David).

Bartimaeus was hoping and watching for the promised Messiah. He undoubtedly knew from scripture that the Messiah would heal the blind (Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1; Luke 4:16-21); this was a sign that would accompany the coming of the Messiah. A blind man would certainly note that. Believing that Jesus was the Messiah, he cried out in faith (obedient trust) asking to be healed of his blindness. He didn’t let the attitude of people around him discourage him, and he persisted; he kept calling until Jesus answered.

When Jesus answered and invited him to come to Jesus, Bartimaeus jumped up eagerly and came to Jesus. He didn’t let his blindness prevent him from coming. When he came to Jesus he knew that his need was for vision, and he asked Jesus to heal it. Jesus commended his faith, and the man’s vision was restored. Jesus told Bartimaeus that he could go on with his daily life, but Bartimaeus used his healing to follow Jesus.

Jesus did many miracles of physical healing (and feeding), but his real mission was to heal and feed us spiritually; his physical miracles were to demonstrate that Jesus can also heal and feed us spiritually and to give us spiritual, eternal life, through obedient trust in Jesus. In order to receive spiritual healing we have to recognize our spiritual need and we have to come to Jesus in trust that he can and wants to heal us. We must begin to obey what he commands, with the commitment to use that healing to be a disciple; a follower of Jesus’ teachings.

Timaeus means “defiled.”* Bartimaeus had been born “defiled;” he was the Son of one who was “defiled.” The “Son of defiled” was calling on the “undefiled” (Hebrews 4:15) Son of God to heal Bartimaeus’ “defilement.”

We are all born “sinners;” we share in the “sinful nature” of our earthly father, Adam. All have sinned (sin is disobedience of God’s Word) and fall short of God’s righteousness (“right-doing” in God’s judgment; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10).

All of us are born spiritually blind, all of us are born physically alive but dead spiritually, until we recognize our spiritual need and turn to the only one who can heal us and raise us from spiritual death to eternal life. Only Jesus can heal us and save us from eternal condemnation and eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

To be spiritually, eternally alive, we must be “reborn” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 5-8), now, during our physical lifetime. 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)

Jesus is passing by; do you notice? Do you realize who he is? 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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*Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Timaeus,” digital edition, bibledatabase.org - http://bibledatabase.org/eastons.html

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22 Pentecost - Friday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 6, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Friday B

Proverbs 3:11-20 -- Divine Wisdom
Philippians 1:3-11 -- Growing in Christ

Proverbs:

We are exhorted not to despise the discipline of the Lord, or to become tired of his correction of us. We are reproved by the Lord as a son or daughter by the father who loves them.

The man who finds (divine) wisdom and gets true understanding will be glad, because they are worth more than gold or silver. Wisdom is more valuable than jewels; nothing is more desirable. Wisdom brings long life, riches and honor. The ways of wisdom are pleasantness and peace. Wisdom is the tree whose fruit gives life, and those who posses her will be truly happy.

Philippians:

Paul, the Apostle, was in prison for proclaiming the Gospel. He was writing to the Christians in Philippi, Macedonia, the first Christian congregation founded by Paul in Europe. Paul was continuing his “discipling” of the Philippian Christians.

Paul gave thanks to God for their sharing in the Gospel, and prayed in faith that the Lord who had begun transforming them would bring them to spiritual maturity at the “day of Jesus Christ;” the Day of Judgment at Christ’s return. Paul was confident of this because the Philippians had shared in the grace (unmerited favor; blessings) of God in Paul’s imprisonment, and in the “defense and confirmation of the Gospel” (Philippians 1:7b).

Paul expressed his longing for the Philippian Christians, and prayed that they would grow and abound in the love and knowledge of Christ Jesus, “with all knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Commentary:

Christians are called to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to learn to live in obedient trust in Jesus Christ in accordance with his teachings. God sent Jesus into the world to show us how to live in obedient trust in God’s Word; Jesus came to show us a better way to live, according to God’s will, rather than according to the world and mankind’s sinful nature.

Worldly ways are opposed to God’s way. What the world seeks and calls “wisdom” is not true wisdom. The Wisdom of God is true wisdom, by which the world was created (Proverbs 3:19-20; 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). Jesus is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Jesus Christ has been God’s plan for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation, from the beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God’s only way, God’s eternal truth, and the giver of true eternal life (John 14:6).

Living according to Jesus’ way requires discipline and self-denial, but the reward is true life now and for eternity. On our own we don’t know what we truly want; what we think we want doesn’t satisfy. As we surrender what we think we want and do what the Lord wants we find what is truly satisfying and eternal.

Paul is the prototype and example of a “modern,” “post-resurrection” “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Before Paul encountered the risen Spirit of Jesus on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-20), Paul (then known as Saul of Tarsus) was pursuing what he thought he wanted and though God wanted, but he wasn’t doing God’s will or what was Paul’s best interest. It wasn’t until Paul surrendered his will to God’s will through Jesus Christ that he found real life; real purpose and meaning in life.

Paul was transformed by the Holy Spirit as he yielded his will and became obedient to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). Paul became the principal figure in the New Testament after his conversion. Paul became the great Christian evangelist to the Gentiles (non-Jews). Paul was obeying the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) which Jesus gave to his disciples, to be carried out after they had been “reborn” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), to make (“born-again”) disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to obey all that Jesus taught.

Paul was teaching the disciples at Philippi to grow spiritually to spiritual maturity by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God wants to train us to be his children by the motivation of love rather than fear. God demonstrated that love by sending his Son to die on the Cross for our sin (disobedience of God’s Word) so that we wouldn’t have to die eternally for them ourselves.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is the ultimate expression of God’s love for us personally and individually. It is the Holy Spirit through whom we feel the love of God for us and through whom we can learn to express our love for God, when we realize who he is and what he has done for us. Paul is the example of that growth and transformation.

But the Lord is God whether we acknowledge him or not. He wants us to respond to him in love rather than fear, but if we refuse to accept and respond to his love we will receive his condemnation. The fear of God is the appropriate awe and respect for his authority and power. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight (Proverbs 9:10, compare Ps 111:10).

Jesus is the Holy One. Jesus is the only One who opens our minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). Jesus reveals the Wisdom of God to those who trust and obey Jesus. Only through Jesus Christ, by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, can we come to personal knowledge of and fellowship with Jesus Christ and God the Father (John 14:23).

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)?

22 Pentecost - Saturday B (Variable)
To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost.
First Posted November 7, 2009
Podcast: 22 Pentecost Saturday B

Matthew 18:21-35 -- Forgiveness

Peter asked Jesus how many times one must forgive another. Was one to forgive as many as seven times? Not just seven times but seventy times seven times, Jesus replied.

Jesus then said that the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king whose servants owed him money, and he decided to settle his accounts. He summoned his servants and began asking them what they owed. One servant owed him ten thousand talents (a talent worth perhaps a thousand dollars). The servant couldn’t pay, so the king ordered him sold, with his family and possessions, to settle the account. But the servant knelt before the king and begged him to have mercy on the servant, and the servant promised to pay. In pity the king released the servant and forgave the debt.

As the servant left the king, he saw another servant who owed the forgiven debtor a hundred denarii (a denarius worth about twenty cents). The forgiven debtor demanded payment of the other servant, and refused to have mercy on him. He had the servant imprisoned until the debt could be repaid.

The other servants, seeing what had taken place, were upset, and they informed the king about what had happened. The king summoned the servant and confronted him. The king had forgiven that servant of a large debt, and the servant should have also had mercy on his fellow servant who only owed a small debt. Then the king had the wicked servant imprisoned until his debt could be repaid. Jesus warned that the situation is the same in the kingdom of God. God will likewise punish his servants, if they do not forgive their brethren from their hearts.

Peter was thinking in worldly terms when he asked Jesus how many times a person was obligated to forgive another. Worldly people think that forgiving once is generous, and forgiving twice is foolish. Surely seven times is as much as anyone should be required to do.

The Lord is our king, and we are his servants, whether we acknowledge that or not. In addition to providing our living he has already forgiven all our sin. All we have to do is to receive it through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. The Lord expects us to be faithful servants who do as our master does, and to make every effort to please our master. If we realize the great debt we owe our Lord we should be able to forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven, not limiting our forgiveness to a certain small number of times.

We have all sinned (disobeyed God’s Word) and fall short of his righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves each one of us and doesn’t want any of us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus became the only sacrifice, once for all time and all people, for the forgiveness of all our sin.

Jesus is our Lord and King, whether we acknowledge him or not. We owe him our whole lives and all our possessions. Our Lord has had mercy on us, and doesn’t make demands that we are unable to fulfill. Being the Lord’s servant is the best job in the world.

Every one of us will be the servant of someone or something. Why not serve the best Lord, with the best “fringe benefits” and “retirement plan?” Can we imagine being in the wicked servant’s position and refusing to accept the king’s forgiveness?

The problem is that we want to be our own lords; we think others should serve us. We may even try to get the Lord to serve us through “religion.” We think we deserve the most and best things in life. We think we’re good people and don’t need anyone’s forgiveness.

There is a Day of Judgment coming, when each one of us will be summoned to appear before the Lord (John 5:28-29). We each owe a debt which is beyond our ability to pay. Each of us has been offered the forgiveness of that debt, but what have we done with the forgiveness we have been offered? Have we tried to serve and please the Lord or have we used our freedom to abuse our fellow servants? Will we be commended as good and faithful servants of the Lord and receive eternal life in his heavenly kingdom, or will we be condemned as wicked servants and sentenced to spend eternity imprisoned in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46)?

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)?