Week of Christ the King - November 22 - 28, 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 Christ the King B
Christ the King - Sunday B
First Posted November 22, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Sunday B
This Sunday completes the Church cycle commemorating Christ’s ministry, looking forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the victorious King, in glory and power, and preparing to remember and celebrate his first coming as an infant, and a humble, suffering servant.
Daniel 7:13-14 -- Eternal Kingdom
Psalm 93 -- The Lord Reigns!
Revelation 1:4b-8 -- The Coming Eternal King
John 18:33-37 -- King of the Jews
The author (writing under the name of Daniel) describes a vision of the fulfillment of the destiny of Creation, the final victory of the saints in Jesus Christ and the establishment of God’s eternal heavenly kingdom. Although probably written in the period of persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabean revolt under the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus in 167-164 B.C*. it recalls the Exile of Judah to Babylon and their restoration, from 587- 517 B.C.
The author had a vision of a “son of man” (Jesus, the Son of God) coming, with the clouds of heaven, to the “Ancient of Days” (Eternal God). God gave him glory, dominion, and kingship over all people, nations, and languages, that all should serve him. His authority is everlasting and his kingdom will never be destroyed.
The Psalmist declares that the Lord reigns, clothed in majesty and (supernatural) strength. He has established Creation and it will never be moved (from God’s purpose and destiny). The Lord is eternal God and he has always reigned. Nothing in Creation is beyond God’s control; even floods and storms and seas are subject to his power and authority (compare Matthew 8:24-27). What God decrees is certain; holiness (consecration to God’s will and service) is the appropriate response of his people, now and forever.
John, the Apostle, received visions, from Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit (Revelation 1:1), of the fulfillment of God’s destiny for Creation and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom. Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) and peace (with God) are given from eternal God and from the fullness of his Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness to God’s Word and the Gospel, the first-born from physical death to eternal life, and the King of kings of earth (ruler over all earthly authority).
Jesus has shown his love for us, and has freed us from our sin (disobedience of God’s Word) by his life-blood, sacrificed on the Cross, and has made his disciples a kingdom and priests of God, for which he is worthy of all glory and dominion for ever and ever, without end. Watch! “He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him (all have sinned, and made Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross necessary; Romans 5:8; 1 John 8-10); and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, Amen” (so be it; Revelation 1:7). The Lord God Almighty is the beginning and end of all things in this Creation; he is the one who is, who (always) was, and is to come.
Jewish religious leaders made the accusation to Pilate that Jesus had claimed to be the Christ (Messiah; both mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew respectively; i.e. God’s anointed eternal king), a king (Luke 23:2). Pilate asked Jesus if he was King of the Jews, and Jesus asked if Pilate were asserting it on his own, or if others have said it to Pilate about Jesus. Pilate replied, “Am I a Jew?” Pilate said that Jesus’ own nation had handed over to Roman authority, and asked what Jesus had done that warranted his punishment.
Jesus replied that his kingdom was not worldly; if it were, his servants would have fought and prevented the Jews from capturing Jesus. Pilate asked if Jesus were admitting to being a king, and Jesus answered that it was his accusers who were saying that Jesus claimed to be king. Jesus declared that his mission in the world was to proclaim truth. Everyone who recognizes truth hears (listens and obeys) Jesus.
The prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has been God’s plan from the very beginning, and has been designed in to the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). God’s intention for Creation has always been to create an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God’s Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ. Daniel foresaw the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom by the ascension and enthronement of the victorious “son of man” to the eternal throne.
God is God, whether we acknowledge and obey him or not. God has always reigned in eternity but he has allowed his created people to choose, in this temporal world, whether to allow him to reign over them. But God is not going to tolerate disobedience and rebellion in his eternal kingdom. Those who recognize God’s authority and power will acknowledge it in their words and their deeds, as the Psalmist did.
In the time of the Book of Daniel, God’s Messiah and plan of salvation (see sidebar, top right) had been prophesied by prophets who trusted and obeyed God, but had not yet been revealed to the world. In the time of John’s Revelation, the Christ had been revealed in Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
John had been an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. He testified that the only way to have God’s favor and peace with God is through Jesus Christ. He received a vision, from the ascended Jesus by the Holy Spirit, of Jesus' enthronement in heaven, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel.
Jesus is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24), and Jesus’ word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24); it has the creative force of God’s Word (Mark 4:39-41; Genesis 1:3, 9). Jesus was careful not to tell or allow his disciples to tell others who he was, so that they were free to decide for themselves who he is. He could have commanded belief, but he chose not to. For that reason Jesus referred to himself as the Son of man, which was true (he was God, the Son of man), but allowed his hearers to decide for themselves whether he was God, the Son of God; note Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). It was also a hint from Daniel 7:13, with which his hearers were familiar.
Jesus’ resurrection was witnessed by over five hundred eye-witnesses at one time (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), and is testified to in the New Testament and by every truly “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8), Christian since then. Jesus ascended into heaven on a cloud, witnessed by his disciples (Acts 1:9), who were told by angels that Jesus would return (on the Day of Judgment) the same way (Acts 1:10-11).
Jesus has been given all authority on earth and in heaven (Matthew 28:18). Jesus has commanded his disciples, after they had been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), to make disciples of Jesus Christ and teach them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus’ disciples are to be a kingdom and priests, proclaiming the Gospel and leading others to reconciliation and salvation in Jesus Christ in fulfillment of Jesus’ mission.
Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment, to judge the physically and spiritually living and dead (1 Peter 4:5; John 5:28-29). The standard of judgment will be God’s Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom, but those who have rejected and refused to obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal death and 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).
*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Daniel (Introduction), p. 1067, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
Christ the King - Monday B
First Posted November 23, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Monday B
Psalm 25:1-9 – Psalm of Deliverance
I lift up my soul to thee, O Lord. You are my God; in you alone I trust. Don't let me be put to shame; don't let my enemies exalt over me. Don't allow any who wait for you to be put to shame. Shame those who are wantonly treacherous.
Let me know your ways, and teach me your paths, O Lord. In thy truth lead me, and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. I wait for you all the day long.
Remember your mercy and your steadfast love, O Lord, for they are from long ago. Don't recall the sins or transgressions of my youth; remember me according to your steadfast love, for the sake of your goodness, Lord.
You are upright and good, Lord, so teach your ways to sinners. Lead the humble in what is right, and teach them your ways. All your ways are steadfast in love and faithfulenss, for those who keep your word and covenant.
Commentary:
We are immortal souls in physical bodies. Lifting up our souls to anything other than the immortal God is spiritual disaster.
Waiting for the Lord is hard. It is so tempting to reach out for help in other ways. But there is no help ultimately anywhere else but in the Lord. No one who trusts in the Lord for his help will be put to shame.
The Lord wants us to know his ways. He wants to teach us how to have true life.
We are all born physically alive into this world but we are spiritually unborn. This lifetime is our one and only chance to be spiritualy “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to spiritual, eternal life.
We are all sinners (disobedient of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Romans 5:8; Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, right, home), designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14).
The Lord doesn't want to remember the sins of our youth. He forgave them at the cross of Jesus Christ. All we have to do is receive his forgiveness by faith (obendient trust) in Jesus. Jesus is the illustration of his steadfast love and faithfulness. Jesus is the illustration of God's Word in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant of grace (unmerited favor), instituted on the night of his betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:26-28) to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.
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)?
Christ the King - Tuesday B
First Posted November 24, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Tuesday B
Jeremiah 33:14-16 – The Righteous Branch
God promises that he will fulfill his Word of a righteous branch from David, who will execute righteousness and justice in the land of Israel and Judah. In that day Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And 'The Lord is our righteousness' is the name by which they will be called.
Commentary:
The kingdom of Israel was divided into two: the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom was conquered in 721 B. C. by the Assyrians and ceased to exist. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was the remnant of Israel.
Jesus Christ is the descendant (Son of) of David (Matthew 1:1; 21:9). He is the righteous branch (Jeremiah 23:5) promised in God's Word. He is the shoot springing forth from the stump of Jesse (David's Father; Isaiah 11:10).
The [true] Church is the New Israel (the New People of God) and the New Jerusalem (the New City of God on Earth).
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)?
Christ the King - Wednesday B
First Posted November 25, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Wednesday B
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 – May He Establish Your Hearts
How can Paul give adequate thanks to God for the joy he feels for the Thessalonian Christians. Paul prays constantly that he may supply anything lacking in their faith, and that God may allow him to come to them. May God cause them to abound and increase in love toward one another and to all people. May God establish their hearts in holiness unblemished at Jesus' return accompanied by his saints.
Commentary:
I know how it feels to pray for new believers. There is nothing which can give anyone greater joy! One could pray to supply what is lacking in their faith, but the reality is that faith is a spiritual growth process.
Each believer must go through a spiritual growing process for himself. As we trust in God's Word, he causes that spiritual growth by showing us that his Word is absolutely reliable and always fulfilled. How fast we grow depends upon how much we trust, but the process cannot be hurried. Each experience builds on the previous one. We must leave our progress in the hands of the Lord. He can be relied upon to bring us to spiritual maturity at the Day of the Lord at the end of the age.
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)?
Christ the King - Thursday B
First Posted November 26, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Thursday B
Luke 21:25-36 – The End of the Age
At the end of this age (the Age of Grace; God's forbearance) there will be signs in nature. Sun, moon, stars, sea, and waves will be disrupted. People will be fainting in fear at what is coming upon the world! Then everyone will see Christ (God, the Son of man) coming with great glory and power. When we see these signs, we should be greatly encouraged, because our redemption (from sin and God's condemnation) is coming!
Jesus used a parable of the fig tree to illustrate. When the fig produces leaves, one knows that the season of fruit is drawing near. Likewise, the signs of the end of the age indicate the return of Christ, and the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus promised that this generation (who witnesses these things) will not pass away before their fulfillment. This Creation will pass away, but Jesus' words are eternal.
Let us be careful not to let our hearts be encumbered with dissipation and drunkenness and worldly cares, so that we are not caught by surprise, because the Day of Judgment will come upon all who dwell on earth. Let us be watchful at all times and pray for the strength to escape all these troubles that will take place, that we might stand in the Lord's presence.
Commentary:
At Christ's first, physical, coming he came humbly, as a helpless infant, and he entered Jerusalem on the week before his crucifixion humbly, on a young donkey, not like worldly rulers who would have entered in a chariot, with a powerful army in accompaniment.
Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection with little notice (Acts 1:9-11). But when he returns, every eye will see his coming (Revelation 1:7). He ascended without worldly glory, but he will return with great glory and power.
When Christians see these signs we will not need to be afraid. We will be able to rejoice, because our King is coming! Our salvation from eternal condemnation is drawing near!
For unbelievers, Christ's return will be the ultimate bad news, but for believers, who have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the “baptism” 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), it will be the best possible news!
I believe that Christ's return is imminent. One reason I think so is that America and the nominal Church, particularly in America, are in a similar position as Israel and Judaism at the time of Christ's First Advent (“coming”). In too many instances leadership of the nominal Church has become a “career choice,” and a position of status and power over people, rather than servanthood and stewardship of God's people. Church leaders have been formally educated in scripture and theology, but the nominal Church has neglected to make “born-again” disciples, and settled for making “members.” Churches which fail to make born-again disciples won't have any from whom to choose leaders. Many Church leaders know a lot “about” God but don't know God personally (Job 42:5).
We are now about the same distance in time, about two thousand years, from Christ's first coming, as the time from God's call of Abraham (Abram) to Christ's first coming. We need to wake up and observe the signs of the times, and pray that our hearts may be kept in Christ, so that we can escape the coming judgment.
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)?
Christ the King - Friday
First Posted November 27, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Friday B
Luke 19:28-40 -- Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem
Luke 3:1-6 -- John the Baptizer's Ministry
Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- The New Covenant
Luke 19:28-40:
Jesus was heading to Jerusalem with his disciples (where he knew he would be crucified; Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). As they neared Bethany and Bethphage at the Mount of Olives (about two miles east of Jerusalem), Jesus sent two of his disciples into the nearby village. Jesus told them that they would find, tied up, a young donkey which no one had ever ridden. They were to untie the donkey and bring it to Jesus. If anyone questioned them they were to say that the Lord had need of it.
The two disciples did as instructed and found it exactly as Jesus had said. They brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their garments on the donkey and Jesus sat on it. Others strewed their garments on the road. As they drew near to Jerusalem the disciples began praising God and rejoicing, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38a). Some Pharisees (a strict legalistic sect of Jewish leaders) told Jesus to rebuke his disciples, but Jesus replied that if his disciples were silent, the stones along the way would cry out!
Luke 3:1-6:
Giving the names of the Roman rulers and the Jewish High Priests date's the beginning of John's ministry in 26 or 27 A.D.. John was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the kinswoman of Jesus' mother (Luke 1:5-80). John was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit until God's Word came to him to begin his ministry of water baptism for repentance and forgiveness of sin, to prepare the people to receive the coming Messiah (Christ; God's “anointed”). John understood his role as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3-5). John was the voice in the wilderness, calling the people to prepare the way of the Lord's coming.
Jeremiah:
Jeremiah prophesied by the Holy Spirit that the coming of the Messiah would result in a New Covenant to replace the Old Covenant of Law given to Moses when God brought them out of slavery to sin and death in Egypt. The Old Covenant was like a marriage contract with God the husband and Israel his bride, but Israel was never faithful to the Old Covenant.
The Lord promised to put his Word in their hearts. He would be their God and they would be his people. God promised that under the New Covenant his people would all have a personal relationship with the Lord. The Lord promised to forgive and forget their sin.
Commentary:
The Lord designed a Savior, the Messiah into creation from the very beginning, because he wanted us to have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God or not. He knew, that given the freedom, we would all choose to do our own will rather than God's, and disobeying God's Word is sin (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; See God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, right, home).
God began revealing his purpose for Creation with his call to Abraham go to a new land and establish a new people of God, through whom the Savior would come. Throughout God's Word recorded in the Old Testament (Covenant) of the Bible, the promise of the coming Messiah was described over a span of two thousand years.
Now Jesus was culminating about three years of public ministry. He was about to establish the New Covenant, prophesied by Jeremiah. His disciples recognized and celebrated the coming of the King, God's “anointed” Savior, King, and Priest, but the religious leaders who should have known and rejoiced with them rebuked Jesus instead.
John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of prophecy of the return of Elijah to announce the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 17:9-13).
Jesus established the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) to be received by faith at the celebration of Passover with his disciples on the night of his betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is the perfect unblemished sacrificial lamb of the New Passover. His flesh and blood are the elements of bread and wine of the “feast.” Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, the New Moses, who leads us out of the “Egypt” of slavery to sin and death, and through the spiritual wilderness of this lifetime. He is the New Joshua (“Jesus” is the Greek equivalent of “Jeshua,” the post-exilic form of “Joshua” who leads us through the “River” of physical death without getting our “feet wet” (Joshua 3:14-17) and into the eternal “Promised Land” of God's heavenly kingdom.
Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12), for all time and all people who will accept it by faith. That sacrifice makes it possible to be spiritually cleansed so that we can individually be temples of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus baptizes with the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible ongoing daily experience (Acts 19:2). 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 by the baptism of the Holy Spirit that God fulfills his promise to write his Word on our hearts. The indwelling Holy Spirit makes it possible to keep the New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant which no one was ever able to keep (Romans 8:1-11). It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have close personal daily fellowship with Jesus and God the Father.
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)?
Christ the King - Saturday
First Posted November 28, 2009
Podcast: Christ the King Saturday B
Romans 13:11-14 –Call to Awaken
Matthew 21:1-9 – Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem
Romans:
Let us realize the hour of the age we live in, because it is fully to awaken from sleep. Salvation is a lot closer than when we first believed. (Spiritual) night is nearly over, and the day (of salvation) is at hand. So then, let us put away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live as we ought in the daytime, and not participate in partying, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy which take place at night. Let us put on the robes of the ways of Christ and make no attempt to gratify our fleshly desires.
Matthew:
Jesus and his disciples were headed for Jerusalem where he knew he would be crucified. At Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives (about two miles from Jerusalem) Jesus sent two disciples into the village to get a young donkey. They were to untie the donkey, and if anyone questioned them they were to say that the Lord had need of it. This was the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9: Tell the Daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on an ass...* on a colt, the foal of an ass.” They brought the young donkey to Jesus, placed their garments on it and Jesus sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches and spread them on the road. Crowds going ahead of Jesus and those following him shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9)!
Commentary:
The event of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is celebrated in the Church as “Palm Sunday.” Jesus was going to celebrate Passover, the Last Supper, with his disciples. Later that night Jesus would be arrested, leading to his trial, crucifixion and resurrection.
God has designed his “anointed” (Christ and Messiah each mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew) Savior and eternal King into creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). He had been preparing his people for this moment from the call of Abraham (Abram) to go to a new Promised Land and establish a new nation (Genesis 12:1-3).
All through the Old Testament scriptures, God had been progressively revealing his plan for Creation, and the prophesies, like Zechariah 9:9 were fulfilled in Jesus. The original feast of Passover God instituted through Moses when God led his people out of bondage to sin and death (Exodus 12:1-13) foreshadowed the New Passover feast instituted by Jesus on the night of his betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:26-28).
Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of a son (descendant) of David who would occupy the throne of David eternally (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). The crowd accompanying Jesus acknowledged Jesus as that Son of David, coming in the name (the whole person and character) of the Lord.
The first advent (coming) of the Messiah, Jesus, was as a helpless, new-born infant. Gentiles came from afar to acknowledge the birth of a King, shepherds (common folk) witnessed his birth, but worldly leaders tried to destroy him.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was his first public advent, hailed by the common people, but rejected by the Jewish leaders. Many of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah because of the influence of their leaders.
Jesus and God's Word promise that Jesus will come again at the end of the age, to judge the living and dead in both physical and spiritual senses (Matthew 25:31-46, Acts 1:9-11; 1 Peter 4:5). Jesus' public Second Coming will be witnessed by everyone (Revelation 1:7), and it will be with great glory and power. The unsaved will be fainting with fear (Luke 21:25-27) at what is coming, but there will be no place to hide (Luke 23:30), and no time to change their eternal destinies.
Paul's warning to the Roman Christians applies also to us. Christ's return is much closer today than it was then, or even since we first believed the Gospel. The Jews had the scriptures and the prophecies of Jesus' coming, and yet were unprepared. As a result of their rejection their nation and temple were destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. and they were scattered throughout the world. Israel ceased to exist as a nation until the Jews began returning after World War II.
I believe that nominally Christian nations, particularly America, and the Church, particularly in America are in essentially the same position as Israel and Judaism at the time of Christ's first advent. The leaders of the nominal Church know a lot about God but many don't know God personally. Many nominal Christians will be misled by their leaders.
Furthermore, I believe that from the time of God's call to Abraham to the first coming of Jesus was about two thousand years, and that from Christ to now is about two thousand years. Christ therefore is at the center of the history of God's dealing with his people.
Whether Christ returns while we are still physically alive or not, we will all face the Day of Judgment. None of us knows whether we will live tomorrow. Today is the Day of Salvation.
We are all born physically alive into this Creation, but spiritually unborn. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, only by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, who alone “baptizes” with the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily experience (Acts 19:2). 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).
Tomorrow is the First Sunday of the Season of Advent, when the Church prepares to celebrate the birth of Christ, his entry into Jerusalem, where he initiated the New Covenant of Grace which is received by faith in Jesus, his crucifixion, resurrection, and preparation for his Second Coming. Are you ready?
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)?
*One animal is meant; confusion arose over the Hebrew form of poetic expression. The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Matthew 21:5n, p. 1198, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
