Holy Week C - 03/28 - 04/03/2010

Holy Week C - 03/28 - 04/03/2010

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 (Please bookmark this link)

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 3-Year C 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: Holy Week C

Palm - Passion Sunday C
First posted March 28, 2010;
Podcast: Palm - Passion Sunday C

Deuteronomy 32:36-39 -- Vindication;
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-16 -- Deliverance;
Philippians 2:5-11 -- Example of Christ;
Luke 22:7-20 -- The Lord's Supper;
Luke 23:1-49 -- Christ's Trial and Crucifixion;

Deuteronomy:

"The Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion for his servants" (Deuteronomy 32:36), when he sees that they are powerless; when none survive, either enslaved or free.

Then he will ask, "Where are the gods upon whom they have relied; their rocks of refuge? To whom have they offered their sacrifices of fat and wine? Let them rise up and protect them!"

Look now and see that God the Lord is the only true God. God has the power of life and death; illness and healing. No one can escape from the power and judgment of God!

Psalm Background:

Attributed to David, the Great Shepherd-king of Israel.

Psalm:

The Psalmist seeks refuge in the Lord. He claims the promise that God's servants will never be put to shame. He claims the promise that God's servants will be delivered by God's righteousness. The Lord will listen to and hear the prayers of his servants. If we know that he hears us we can be sure that we have received the requests we have made (1 John 1:5:14-15; see Condition for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right).

"Be gracious to me, O, Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief, my soul and body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing: my strength fails because of of my misery, and my bones waste away" (Psalm 31:9-10).

"I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me."

"I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel."

"Yea, I hear the whispering of many - terror on every side!- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life."

My trust is in the Lord; he is my God! My times are in his hands! He will deliver me from the power of my enemies and persecutors!

Let the Lord's face shine upon his servant, and may his servant be saved by the Lord's steadfast love!

Philippians:

Let us have the same attitude that Christ taught by word and example. Although he was of the same nature as God, pre-existent and divine, he did not seek be equal with God. Instead he emptied himself of self-interest and took the form of a servant, being born in human flesh as we are. And being fully human, he humbled himself and became obedient to God's will, even unto physical death on the cross. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

Luke 22 Background:

Jesus had come to Jerusalem knowing and foretelling three times that he would be crucified (Luke 9:22, 44-45; 17:25). This would happen according to God's plan and timing.

Luke 22:

On the Day of Unleavened Bread (the Feast of Passover), Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover for Jesus and his disciples. They asked him where he wanted them to prepare it, and he told them that when they entered the city they would meet a man carrying a jar of water. They were to follow him into the house which he entered and say to the householder that the Teacher (Jesus) was asking the householder to show the two disciples the guest room where Jesus and his disciples were to celebrate the Passover. The householder would show them a large furnished upper room, where they were to finish the preparations.

At the hour of the meal (after sundown) Jesus told his disciples as he sat at table with them, that he had longed to celebrate this Passover with them before he suffered. Jesus said he would not celebrate it again until it was fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Jesus took a cup of wine and when he had prayed in thanksgiving, he passed it to his disciples to share among themselves. Jesus told them he would not drink wine again until the kingdom of God had come. Then he took bread and having given thanks, broke it and distributed it to his disciples, saying, "This is my body. "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:19-20; see RSV footnote J; compare 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Luke 23:1-49:

The Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious supreme court of seventy priests, scribes (teachers of the Law of Moses, the Jewish Bible) and elders, condemned Jesus (Luke 22:66-71) and took him to Pontius Pilate for the Roman method of execution by crucifixion. The Sanhedrin accused Jesus of perverting the Jewish nation, forbidding them to pay tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be a king. So Pilate asked Jesus if he were the King of the Jews, and Jesus replied that it was Pilate (and the Jews) who had said so. Pilate told the Jews that Jesus had done nothing criminal, but the Jews were insistent.

When they told Pilate that Jesus was a Galilean, and thus in Herod's jurisdiction (Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who governed Galilee), Pilate decided to sent him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at the time. Herod was glad to have the opportunity to see and hear Jesus, hoping to see him do some sign (miracle). Herod questioned Jesus at length, but Jesus made no reply, while the members of the Sanhedrin made accusations. Then Herod had his soldiers mock and treat Jesus with contempt. They dressed Jesus in kingly attire, and sent him back to Pilate. As a result Herod and Pilate became friends that day.

Pilate announced to the Sanhedrin that neither Pilate nor Herod had found Jesus guilty of anything deserving death. Pilate suggested that he would have Jesus (physically) chastised and released. The Jewish leaders demanded that Pilate release a man named Barabbas, a notorious insurrectionist and murderer, as was the custom at the Passover celebration, and crucify Jesus. Three times Pilate tried to release Jesus but the Jews wouldn't hear of it. So Pilate gave in to their demands, released Barabbas and had Jesus delivered to be crucified.

As the Roman soldiers led Jesus away to crucifixion, they conscripted Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the countryside, to carry Jesus' cross behind Jesus. A large crowd and women bewailed and lamented Jesus' execution, but Jesus turned to them and told them to rather mourn for themselves and their children. Jesus said that the day would come, when they would consider blessed, the barren who had never had children. The day would come when they would long for the mountains to fall upon them and the hills to cover them. "For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry" (Luke 23:31). Two criminals were led away to be crucified, one on each side of Jesus.

Jesus prayed to God his Father to forgive those who crucified him, because they didn't realize what they were doing. The soldiers cast lots (like rolling dice) to divide his garments among them. The people stood by, watching, but the Jewish leaders mocked Jesus, saying that Jesus saved others; he should save himself if he really was the Christ of God, God's Chosen One. The soldiers also mocked him telling Jesus to save himself if he were the King of the Jews. There was an inscription on Jesus' cross identifying him as King of the Jews.

One of the criminals crucified with Jesus also taunted Jesus to save himself and them, if he were the Christ, but the other criminal rebuked his fellow criminal: Did he not fear God, since he was under the same condemnation, justly, while Jesus had done nothing wrong? The second criminal asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus received his kingly power. Jesus replied that this criminal would be with him in Paradise that very day.

From about the sixth to ninth hour (noon to 3:00 pm). there was an eclipse of the sun. "and the curtain of the temple was torn in two" (Luke 23:45b). Jesus cried out, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46) and stopped breathing. When the Centurion saw what had taken place he declared that Jesus was surely innocent. The onlookers, seeing what took place returned to their homes beating their breasts in ritual mourning. All Jesus followers and the women who had accompanied them from Galilee witnessed these things from a distance.

Commentary:

Deuteronomy:

The Lord will not abandon his people, his servants; it is they who abandon him for false gods, for false security and refuge in worldly things. When God's people turn away from obedient trust in God to pursue their own wills and interests, God removes his favor and providence from them and allows them to experience troubles, in hope that they will realize that true security and refuge, help and protection are only through obedient trust in God, and that they will therefore return to him.

The enemies of God's people, who serve false gods, will be accountable to God. Nothing can protect them from God's power and judgment.

Psalm:

David acted upon the promise of God's Word that God would deliver God's servants by God's righteousness. When God took David from being a shepherd and gave him victory over Goliath, the enemy of God's people, David began to learn by experience the fulfillment of that promise (1 Samuel 17:1-51).

David eventually became the great human King of Israel. David prefigured the ultimate perfect eternal King of Israel, Jesus Christ, the Son (descendant) of David. God said of David that he was a man after (i.e sharing) God's own heart, who would do all God's will (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20; 1 Samuel 13:14). David was not perfect; he committed a terrible sin of adultery and murder with Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah, the Hittite, respectively, and he suffered the consequences, but he was forgiven (2 Sam. 11:2-12:26).

David wasn't delivered by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness and faithfulness of God. John, one of of the Twelve original disciples and apostles, a son of Zebedee, taught that if we pray according to God's will we can be sure that he will hear us, and if we know that he hears us we can be certain that we have received the requests we have made ( 1John 5:14-15).

Psalm 31:9-13 prefigures the situation of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (the Son of David). David, and ultimately Jesus, committed themselves to God, and trusted in God to deliver them from their enemies and persecutors. Jesus' resurrection from physical death to eternal life is the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to save his servants.

Epistle:

Jesus was fully human and fully God (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). He was fully human but sinless (Hebrews 2:14-15; 4:15).

Jesus has been God's one and only provision for our forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1John 1:8-10) and salvation (from eternal destruction, which is the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), from the very beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14).

At the perfect moment in history, Jesus came into the world in human flesh, and became the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of sin and salvation from eternal condemnation.

Gospel #1

The Jewish leaders had wanted to destroy Jesus, but they were unable to do so until it suited God's will and timing. Jesus came into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples and institute a New Covenant (Testament) of Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) to be received by faith (obedient trust), the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist) on the night of his betrayal and arrest, to replace the Old Covenant of Law.

Passover represents the sacrificial feast that sealed the Old Covenant; the Lord's Supper represents the "New Passover,"the sacrificial feast that seals the New Covenant.

Note that Jews were strictly forbidden to drink blood or consume it with flesh (Leviticus 17:10-14; Deuteronomy 12:23). It was believed that blood contained the spirit of the animal. God doesn't want his people to be filled with the spirit of animals, but with his Holy Spirit. The element of wine is an appropriate symbol because it is the "blood" (Genesis 49:11) of grapes with "spirit" (alcohol). Jesus declared that the cup of the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist) was his blood. But realize that one cannot receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit just by receiving Communion (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

Gospel #2:

The Jewish leaders wanted to, but were prevented from physically killing Jesus until the fullness of God's timing. Jesus did not surrender to physical death until he chose to do so (Luke 23:46).

Judaism was a "green" (living) relationship with God until Jesus' crucifixion. Judaism today is a very "dry" (dead) religion. Judaism today is more cultural than spiritual; God has departed, but no one seems to have noticed.

Many Jews today curse God for allowing the Holocaust, but fail to realize that the Holocaust was because they rejected their Messiah. Where was God during the Holocaust? Where were they during Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:25)? The Jews are not irreconcilably lost for eternity, but Jesus is the only way to be restored. Jesus said that he is the only way, truth, and life; and no one comes to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6). Jesus himself said that Jerusalem could not be restored to God until they confessed that Jesus is the One who comes in the name of the Lord (Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 13:35).

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)?

Holy Week – Monday C
First Posted March 29, 2010
Podcast: Holy Week – Monday C

Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24 – Song of Victory;

Background:

This is one of the Psalms sung at the end of the meal of the Passover feast.

Psalm:

O thank the Lord for his goodness. His love is steadfast and eternal. May God's people declare his steadfast, eternally enduring love.

Listen! Hear joyful songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: The Lord's right hand does valiantly; the Lord's right hand is exalted; valiant is the Lord's right hand. We shall live and not die. We will recount the Lord's deeds. The Lord disciplines us severely, but won't abandon us to death.

May the gates of righteousness be opened unto us that we may enter and give thanks to the Lord. The temple of the Lord is the the gate; only the righteous shall enter through it. I give thanks to the Lord, that he has answered me and has become my salvation. “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes (compare Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11). This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:22-24)!

Commentary:

God's people aren't those who call themselves Christians and call Jesus their Lord (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46), but those who believe (trust and obey) Jesus' teachings, and have been spiritually “born-again” by the “baptism” 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). The “baptism” of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible ongoing event (Acts 19:2). Anyone who isn't sure and must ask a religious authority hasn't been! 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).

Just being a member and regularly attending Church doesn't qualify us to enter the “gates of righteousness,” the doors of eternal life into God's heavenly kingdom. No one is righteous in God's judgment by being a “good person” (Galatians 2:16; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Not everyone who dies physically is going to “a better place!” Only those who are accounted righteous by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Romans 3:22; Philippians 3:9) may enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom.

It is only by the “baptism” (gift) of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we can personally know and have fellowship with Jesus (John 14:21). It is only by being “born-again” that we experience and can testify to the Lord's goodness and steadfast love (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12; Romans 8:15-16).

It is only after we have been spiritually “reborn” that we can personally testify that Jesus lives, and testify to his deeds that we have personally experienced (see personal testimonies, sidebar, top right. It is only after we have been “born-again” that we can personally testify to his steadfast, enduring love.

Jesus is the Lord's right hand (Matthew 26:64; Mark 12:36; Ephesians 1:20). Jesus has won the victory over sin. Through faith in him we will not die eternally.

God disciplines us like a good father. No one enjoys discipline at the moment, but it yields benefits to us long beyond the chastisement (Hebrews 12:9-13).

Jesus is the “cornerstone.” He is the foundation of the “New Covenant” (Testament). The Christian Church has replaced Judaism.

Jesus is the stumbling block of those who refuse to accept him as Lord and Savior (1 Peter 2:7-8). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation and eternal death which is the penalty for sin (disobedience of God's Word). No one can come to personal knowledge of divine eternal truth, fellowship with God, and eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom except through Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Colossians 2:8-9)

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)?

Holy Week – Tuesday C
First Posted March 30, 2010
Podcast: Holy Week – Tuesday C

Exodus 15:1-11 – The Song of Moses;

Background:

After being delivered from the Egyptian army by passing miraculously through the Red Sea on dry ground, Moses sang the ancient Song of Miriam (Exodus 15:21), which is believed to have been composed by an eyewitness to the crossing of the Red Sea.

Exodus:

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him (Exodus 15:1-2).” The Lord is a mighty warrior; his name is the Lord.

The Lord has cast Pharaoh's chariots and army into the Red Sea. They went down into the depths like a stone, and the waters cover them. The Lord's right hand, glorious in power, shatters the enemy. God, in the greatness of his majesty, sends forth his fury, which consumes them like dry straw (in a flame). By his breath the waters piled up in a heap and the depths of the sea dried up. The enemy thought they could pursue and overtake Israel and plunder and destroy them. But at the breath of the Lord the sea returned and covered them and they sank like lead.

Who is like thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, majestic in holiness, terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders” (Exodus 15:11)?

Commentary:

The Exodus from bondage to slavery and death in Egypt was one of the great saving acts of God for Israel. It is also deliberately intended by God to be a metaphor, a parable, of life in this world. Jesus is the “New Moses” who leads God's people, the “New Israel,” the Church, out of bondage to sin and death in the “Egypt” of this world order. Satan is the present “Pharaoh,” the leader of our spiritual enemies.

Baptism into Jesus Christ is the “parting of the Sea” which allows us to escape from our spiritual enemies, while preventing them from following, plundering and destroying us. Jesus leads us through the spiritual wilderness of this lifetime, our “Joshua” who leads us through the “River” of physical death, parting the waters again, so that we don't get our feet “wet,” and into the eternal “Promised Land of God's kingdom in heaven.

The gift (baptism) of the Holy Spirit is the “pillar of cloud and fire” (Exodus 13:21-22), that leads us through the wilderness and spiritual darkness of this present world. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). By the indwelling Holy Spirit we are spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing event, through whom we have personal daily fellowship with the risen Jesus and God the Father.

Jesus is the Lord's right hand, God's mighty arm, who has won for us the victory over sin and death. Jesus is the name of the Lord.

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)?

Holy Week - Wednesday C
First posted March 31, 2010
Podcast: Holy Week - Wednesday C

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 – Paul's Gospel;

Background:

The Church at Corinth had been founded by Paul's preaching. Paul was continuing to disciple the Corinthian Christians by letter, and was writing to correct doctrinal and ethical errors that were troubling the Church.

1 Corinthians:

Paul reminded the Congregation the fundamental doctrines of the faith which Paul had preached, in which the Corinthians stood, by which they were saved, if they held firmly to them, if their faith was not ineffective.

Paul faithfully transmitted the main tenants of the faith which he had received (from Jesus, by the Holy Spirit), that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised from physical death to eternal life on the third day, in agreement with the scriptures. Jesus appeared to the remaining of the original Twelve apostles (disciples commissioned to be messengers of the Gospel), and then to more than five hundred believers at one time, most of whom were still alive at the time Paul was writing. Then he appeared to James (the Lord's brother) and then to all the apostles. Last, he appeared to Paul “as one untimely born” (a reference to Paul's late conversion, after Jesus' resurrection and ascension).

Paul considered himself the least of the apostles, not worthy to be considered equal with the others, because he had formerly persecuted the Church. But God's grace had made it possible for Paul to be included among the apostles, and Paul had made the most of the opportunity he had been given by that grace. By God's grace, Paul worked harder than the other apostles (in appreciation of the grace he had received). So whether by the preaching of Paul or the other apostles, the Corinthian Christians had believed the Gospel.

Commentary:

Paul was deliberately intended by God to be the original and model of a “modern, post-resurrection, born-again (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel)” of Jesus Christ, as we can and should be. I believe that Paul was the one God intended to replace Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer, instead of Matthias, whom the disciples selected while they were supposed to be waiting for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that would guide and empower them (Acts 1:4-5, 8; 15-26).

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) had been convicted by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen and ascended Jesus, on the road to Damascus where he intended to persecute Christians (Acts 9:1-5). Paul accepted Jesus' conviction, repented and became obedient to Jesus (Acts 9:6-9), was discipled by a “born-again” disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10) until Paul was “born-again” (Acts 9:17-18). Then, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit he began proclaiming the Gospel and making “born-again” disciples (2 Timothy 1:6-7), teaching them to repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2), in fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), which Jesus gave to his disciples to be carried out after they had been “born-again” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).

The same doctrinal and ethical errors which were besetting the Corinthian congregation beset the nominal “Church” today. Elements within the nominal Church deny the Resurrection. Some deny that Jesus' death was the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the entire forgiveness of all our sins; that we must earn forgiveness by keeping the Law (scriptures) and doing good deeds (Ephesians 2:8-10). Some teach that Salvation is a free gift (true) but without the requirement of discipleship and obedient trust in Jesus (false; see False Teachings, sidebar, top right).

Some nominal “Churches” have settled for making “members,” “fair-weather” Christians, and building buildings instead of making disciples and building the kingdom of God. Discipleship is not an optional category of “super-Christian.” A Christian is by definition, a “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c).

Discipleship is a spiritual growth process. Paul's conversion was exceptional for it's speed, but remember that Paul was already formally trained in the Bible scriptures and loved God, he just needed to be pointed to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The other original disciples were with Jesus virtually night and day for about three years, and still weren't ready to leave Jerusalem (the Church is the modern equivalent) to go into the world with the Gospel until they had been “born-again.”

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 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 “anointing” of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally discernible ongoing event; one should not rely on a Church authority or theologian as to whether they have been “born-again” or not (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right).

Faith is not like wishing on a star; we don't get whatever we believe if we believe “hard enough.” Faith that is not applied in our daily lives by obedient trust in Jesus is ineffective faith. If we truly believe in Jesus we will do what he teaches (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

The standard for determining truth from false doctrine is the Bible. Paul's Gospel was in accordance with the Bible. Unless one has read the Bible and reads it on a daily basis, one has no way to distinguish truth from error. Any average reader can easily read the Bible in one year. There are several plans available which include a portion of Old and New Testaments each day.

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)?

Maundy Thursday C
First posted April 1, 2010
Podcast: Maundy Thursday C

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – A New Covenant;
Psalm 116:10-17 – The Cup of Salvation;
Hebrews 10:15-39 – Fulfillment of the New Covenant;
Matthew 26:17-29 (Luke 22:7-20) – The Last Supper;

Maundy Thursday is the commemoration of the institution of the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist). Maundy means “mandate;” or command, from John 13:34. In the Gospel of John the Lord's Supper itself, with the elements of bread and wine are not mentioned. Instead, John focuses on Jesus' foot-washing of the disciples and his command to follow his example (John 13:3-17).

Jeremiah:

Jeremiah prophesied that the day was coming when the Lord would make a new covenant with Israel (God's chosen people) and Judah (the remnant of Israel). It would be different than the covenant God made with Israel when he led them out of bondage to sin and death in Egypt. Although God's relationship with Israel was as husband and wife, Israel broke the covenant. In the New Covenant, God would put his law within them and write it upon their hearts. He will be their God and they will be his people. It will no longer be necessary for everyone to teach their neighbor and brother to know the Lord because they will all know the Lord, from the least to the greatest of them, because the Lord will forgive and remove their sin from his memory.

Psalm 116:10-17:

The psalmist kept trusting in God even when he was profoundly afflicted; he realized that other people could provide no real help. How can we thank the Lord for his goodness to us? By lifting up the “cup of salvation” and calling on the name of the Lord (Psalm 116:13). By keeping our promise to trust and obey the Lord, witnessed among God's people.

The Lord values saints (those dedicated to God's service) who give their lives for the Lord. We declare that we are God's servants, born by his handmaid, and freed from bondage to sin and death by God's power and grace. We will offer him the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord.

Hebrews 10:15-39:

The Holy Spirit testifies by the Word of the Lord that God has made a new covenant with his people and put his Laws on their hearts and in their minds. He also adds that he will remember their sins no more. Where there is forgiveness of sin there is no longer need to provide offerings for sin.

Because of our cleansing by Jesus' blood we dare to enter the sanctuary, by the new, living way he opened through the curtain (his flesh). Since we have such a great high priest over God's house, let us draw near, fully relying on our faith and with our hearts, consciences and bodies cleansed by pure water. Let us hold firmly to our confession of hope without wavering, because he who promised is faithful. Let us find ways to stir up one another to love and good works. Let us not neglect to meet together and encourage one another as the Day (of Christ's return) draws near.

If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there is no further sacrifice for sin; instead there is the fearful prospect of judgment of consuming fire which will destroy God's adversaries. One who violates the law of Moses is executed without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse will the punishment be for one who has rejected the Son of God, has profaned the blood of covenant through which he was sanctified, and angered the Holy Spirit through whom we have received grace (the free gift of forgiveness and salvation). We know that vengeance belongs to God to repay, and he will judge his people. It is terrible to come under condemnation by God.

Remember how, in former days, after we had been enlightened, we endured struggles and suffering, sometimes publicly suffering abuse and affliction, and sometimes sharing in the abuse and suffering of our fellow believers. We had sympathy for those imprisoned (for the Gospel) and accepted the plundering of our property with joy, since we knew we had a better, lasting one. So let us not discard our confidence, which has great reward. We need endurance in order to do God's will and receive what he has promised. God's Word declares that, in just a little while, the one who has been promised will come; he will not be delayed.

Those who are righteous in God's judgment will live by faith, and God will be displeased by anyone who turns back. We are not among those who turn back and are destroyed, but among those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Matthew 26:17-29:

Background:

Jesus had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples, knowing that he would be crucified and would rise from the dead (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19).

Matthew:

On the first day of Unleavened Bread (Passover) his disciples asked Jesus where he wanted them to prepare the the Feast. Jesus told them to go into the city to a certain individual and say that the “Teacher's” (Jesus') time had come; he would keep the Passover at this person's house with his disciples. The disciples did as Jesus had said and prepared the Passover.

That evening at dinner with his disciples Jesus declared that one of the disciples eating with him would betray him. The disciples were sorrowful and each began to ask Jesus if it was he whom Jesus meant. Jesus said that one who had dipped from the same dish would betray Jesus. Jesus said that the fate of the Son of man (Jesus) would be fulfilled as the scriptures foretold, but the betrayer would suffer great woe, such that it would have been better if he had not been born. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, asked Jesus if it was he to whom Jesus referred, and Jesus said Judas had said so.

As they ate, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke it and distributed it to his disciples, telling them to take and eat; the bread is Jesus' body. Then Jesus to the cup of wine, gave thanks, and passed it to them, telling them to all drink of it; this is the blood of the (new; RSV note “g”) covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus said that he would not drink the wine again until he celebrated anew with his disciples in God's kingdom in heaven.

Commentary:

God has designed Jesus Christ into the very foundation of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). God designed this Creation to allow us the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God, knowing that given that freedom we would all choose to do our own will rather than God's. Disobedience of God's Word is sin (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:5-8) and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right.

The Old Covenant (Testament) of Law was given to restrain evil until the coming of Jesus Christ who would institute the New Covenant of Grace to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). When Jesus came he instituted the New Passover Feast, the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist) on the eve of his sacrificial death on the Cross. Jesus is the “Lamb” of the New Passover who gave his flesh for the sacrificial feast and his blood to mark his people to be “passed over” by the destroyer (Exodus 12:13).

God promised through Jeremiah to create a New Covenant through which he would “write” his laws on the hearts of his people. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17) is the fulfillment of that promise. By the indwelling Holy Spirit we are spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. 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 Holy Spirit is given to help us understand the scriptures (the risen Jesus; Luke 24:32, 45) , to recall all that Jesus teaches (John 14:25-26) and to guide and empower us to know and do God's will (Not by power, or by might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6). The disciples were commanded to stay in Jerusalem (the modern equivalent is the Church) until they had received the gift (“baptism”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; compare Acts 2:1-13). The Holy Spirit gives Jesus’ disciples what to say at the moment it is needed (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11-12).

Those who have received the indwelling Holy Spirit are freed from the condemnation of the Law, provided that they live according to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-11). No person has ever been able to keep the Law perfectly (Galatians 2:16), and if one fails at any point one is guilty of all (James 2:10). Those who rely on keeping the Law are cutting themselves off from Christ (Galatians 5:3-4).

The blood of Jesus has become the “cup of salvation” God has promised. Jesus is the ideal Servant of the Lord who gave his life for the Lord. Jesus is the example and assurance that we are to follow. We may not have to be martyred physically, but in some way we will all have to surrender our lives to serve the Lord. But Jesus' resurrection assures us that those who lose their lives for the Lord's sake will have eternal life in heaven with the Lord. Every truly “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ personally knows and has fellowship with the risen Jesus, and testifies that he is risen and eternally alive.

The Holy Spirit inspired the prophecy of Jeremiah of a New Covenant, and he testifies to us through Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit that God has made a New Covenant with his people. We experience the fulfillment of the promise to write God's Laws on our hearts and in our minds, and we experience the forgiveness of all our sins.

At Jesus' crucifixion, at the moment of his death the veil of the temple, separating the congregation from the holy-of-holies and the presence of God, was supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom, symbolizing that Jesus had opened a new and better way into God's presence through the sacrifice of Jesus' flesh. Those who reject Jesus, who profanes the blood of the Covenant and blasphemes the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32) will be accountable to eternal destruction at Christ's return on the Day of Judgment.

Christians are by definition “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples (Acts 11:26c) of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is not some optional category of “Super-Christian.” Discipleship is an ongoing spiritual growth process. Disciples need to be discipled by “born-again” mature disciples until they have been “born-again” and then must learn over the course of years to know the Lord's voice and learn to trust and obey him. The original Twelve were with Jesus day and night for three years, and yet were not ready to go into the world with the Gospel message until they had been “baptized” with the Holy Spirit. Spiritual maturity is not simply a matter of being baptized with water, or joining a church, or going to an altar call.

Discipleship takes perseverance and endurance. There will be tribulations and persecutions along the way. We must keep claiming and trusting in the promises of God's Word, even when the going gets rough.

The Jews had long wanted to destroy Jesus, but were unable to until God's timing. It had been God's will for Jesus to establish the New Passover at the Passover celebration on the eve of Jesus' crucifixion. Someone was going to betray Jesus, but it wasn't Judas' unalterable fate. Judas volunteered.

No one took Jesus' life from him; he laid it down voluntarily; trusting that God had given him the power and promise to take it up again John 10:17-18). Jesus didn't die until he had committed himself into God's hand and acknowledged that the mission he had come to accomplish was finished (Luke 23:45-46; John 19:28-30).

Jesus' death destroyed the power of death and delivers us from the fear of death, by which we have been in bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus' resurrection from death to eternal life demonstrates that there is existence after physical death, and that those who trust and obey Jesus will be raised from physical death to eternal life as Jesus was, and will live in paradise with him for eternity (Romans 8:11).

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)?

Good Friday
The anniversary of Christ's Crucifixion;
First Posted April 2, 2010;
Podcast: Good Friday

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 -- The Fourth Servant Song;
Psalm 22:1-23 -- Prayer for Deliverance;
Hosea 6:1-6 -- Healing and Restoration;
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 -- Our Great High Priest;
John 19:17-30 _Jesus' Crucifixion;
(or John 18:1-19:42 -- Jesus' Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion);

Isaiah 52:13-53:12:

My Servant will have good success. He will be highly exalted and lifted up very high. Many were astonished by his appearance because he had been, marred beyond human resemblance, and his body so damaged that he didn't look like a human being. Nations will be shocked and kings will be speechless, because what they have not been told they will see, and they will understand what they have not heard.

Have you believed what we have heard? Has the Lord's arm been revealed to you? He grew up like a shoot rooted in dry ground. He didn't have a beautiful body that we would desire to look at, and desire him for his physical attractiveness. People despised and rejected him; his life was characterized by sorrow and grief. He was like one from whom people avert their faces. He was despised and we did not appreciate him.

Truly, he has taken our griefs and sorrows upon himself. We thought he deserved to be stricken, punished and afflicted by God. But it was for our sins that he was battered and bruised. The chastisement he bore for us makes us whole, and we are healed by the wounds which he received. We are all like straying sheep; we have turned aside and have followed our own interests, rather than the Lord's; and God has laid the sins of each of us upon his Servant.

Although he was oppressed and afflicted he didn't complain. Jesus didn't respond to the false accusations which were made against him, the way that sheep being sheared are mute. He was oppressed and denied justice. Who of his generation considered that his life was taken from him and he was punished for the sins of God's people. He was entombed with the wicked and with a rich man, although he was not guilty of any violence or deceit.

But it was God's will that he be afflicted and put to grief. When the Servant allows himself to become an offering for sin, he will see his (spiritual) offspring, he will have long life. God's will will prosper through his Servant. He will be satisfied when he sees the result the tribulation of his soul. By his knowledge the righteous one, God's Servant, will make many to be accounted righteous, and he will carry off their sins. So God will give him an inheritance with the great, and the Servant will divide the booty (proceeds of victory) with the strong. God's Servant gave his soul unto physical death, and was accounted among sinners. He carried the sins of many and interceded for transgressors.

Psalm 22:1-23:

Background:

This Psalm is attributed to David, the great human Shepherd-King of Israel and forerunner of the Christ.

Psalm:

"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me" (Psalm 22:1a)? Why does my Lord seem so far from helping me; doesn't he hear my groaning? I cry to God each day, but he doesn't answer me. I cry to him at night, but receive no rest.

But God is Holy, and he is present in the praises of Israel. Our forefathers trusted in the Lord and the Lord delivered them. When they cried to the Lord they were saved. When they placed their trust in the Lord they were not disappointed.

But the Lord's servant is regarded as a worm rather than a man; he is scorned and despised by the people. Those who see him mock him, make faces at him and wag their heads. They say that the Servant entrusted his cause to the Lord, so let the Lord rescue him, since he delights in his Servant.

But God brought him forth from his mother's womb, and kept him safe as a nursing infant. The Servant was dependent upon the Lord from birth, and from his birth the Lord has been his God.

"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; thou dost lay me in the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15).

"Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; They have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots" (Psalm 22:16-18).

Be not far off, O Lord. You who are my source of help, hasten to help me. Deliver my soul and my life from the sword and from the power of dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lion, and my soul from the horns of wild oxen.

I will proclaim your name (entire person and character) to my brethren, and I will praise you in the midst of the congregation. Let all who fear (have appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority of) the Lord, praise him. All who are the sons (descendants) of Jacob (Israel; the father of the heads of the twelve tribes; Christians are the spiritual descendants of Jacob; they're the New sons of Israel), glorify him and stand in awe of him.

Hosea 6:1-6:

Let us return to the Lord that he may heal us, since he has torn us; he has stricken us, but he will bind us up. "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him" (Hosea 6:2), Let us press ahead, that we may know the Lord. He comes forth as surely as the dawn. He comes to us as the spring rain with gentle showers to water the earth.

What shall the Lord do with Ephraim (the second son of Joseph who nevertheless, against custom, received a double portion of the inheritance of Jacob above his brother). What shall the Lord do with Judah (the fourth son of Jacob by Leah; one of the heads of the twelve tribes. Judah became the remnant of Israel after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes). Their love is like a morning cloud or dew that soon disappears. So the Lord has hewn them with his prophets, and the words of his mouth have slain them. "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6)

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9:

Because we have a great high priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has passed into heaven, let us hold on to what we have declared that we believe. Our high priest is not unable to empathize with us in our weaknesses; he has experienced every we temptation we do, but he didn't yield to sin. So let us then draw near to his throne which is the source of grace (unmerited favor; undeserved free gift) to receive mercy and grace when we need it.

When Jesus was in human flesh, he prayed, with supplication with tears and loud cries to God who was alone able to save him, he was heard because of his fear (awe and respect for the power and authority) of God. He was God's Son, but he learned obedience to God through suffering, and when he had become spiritually mature, "he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:9b).

John 19:17-30 -- Jesus' Crucifixion;

After Jesus had been sentenced to crucifixion, Roman soldiers took Jesus, carrying his own cross (just the horizontal crosspiece), to Golgotha, meaning the place of a skull (a hill with a skull-like appearance, west of the "New City," an extension built by Herod the Great). There Jesus was crucified with two others, with Jesus between them. Pilate wrote a sign which was placed on Jesus' cross, saying, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (John 19:19), in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. This sign was read by many of the Jews because it was right outside the city gate (possibly the Gennath Gate).

The Jewish authorities objected to Pilate about the wording, saying that it should say that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews (untrue; John 18:33-37) but Pilate refused to change the sign. When Jesus had been crucified, the four soldiers divided his clothing among themselves, but since his tunic was one seamless woven garment they decided to cast lots for it (like rolling dice). Thus the prophecy of Psalm 22:18 was fulfilled: "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots" (John 19:24).

Mary, Jesus' mother, Mary her sister, wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, stood by observing the crucifixion. When Jesus saw his mother, and John ("the disciple whom Jesus loved") standing near, he told his mother to consider John her son, and told John to consider Mary his mother, and from then on John took Mary into his home.

Then, knowing that all was now finished, said, "I thirst" (in fulfillment of scripture; Psalm 69:21b). There was a bowl of vinegar (sour wine) at hand, so someone put a sponge full of vinegar on hyssop (a reedy stem) and held it to Jesus' mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he declared, "It is finished," bowed his head and yielded up his spirit.

Commentary:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12:

This portion of Isaiah is generally believed to have been written around the time of Cyrus of Persia (539), which ended the Exile of Judah in Babylon. The defining characteristic of God's Word is its fulfillment (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). God's Word is always fulfilled, and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met.

When Jesus allowed himself to be “lifted up” on the cross (John 3:14; 12:32-33). Jesus' crucifixion was brutal, preceded by physical abuse (Matthew 27:26b-31; Luke 22:63-65).

We have heard the Gospel, the “Good News” of forgiveness of sin and restoration to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, but have we believed. Faith is more than intellectual assent. Faith is not like wishing on a star; we don't get whatever we believe if we believe “hard enough.” Saving faith is obedient trust in Jesus Christ.

We are all sinners who fall short of God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish eternally but to have eternal life with him in his heavenly kingdom (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). God has designed Jesus into this Creation from the very beginning John 1:1-5, 14; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Sin is disobedience of God's Word, which he has made available to us in the Bible. We will all be accountable to God for disobedience of God's Word. Jesus became the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of sins for all who will receive it by faith (obedient trust). Jesus became the “Lamb” of the “New Passover,” whose blood marks believers to be “passed over” by the destroying angel, and whose flesh provides for the Passover Feast, The Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist). Jesus was perfectly sinless (Hebrews 4:15) but took our sins upon himself on the cross. He took our punishment for us, so that we could be forgiven.

Jesus didn't argue against false accusations brought against him by the Jews and was mute before his judges and accusers like a sheep being sheared (Matthew 27:11-14). There is no question that he was denied justice (Matthew 26:59-66). Jesus went to the grave with the wicked (dying on the cross between two criminals; Luke 23:39-43; Matthew 27:44). He was entombed in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).

Jesus is the ultimate, perfect Servant of the Lord. It was God's will that he suffer and be crucified for our salvation, and Jesus was obedient unto death on the cross. Believers are his spiritual offspring. 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), we are spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. 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).

By Jesus' obedient trust in God's Word he was raised from physical death to eternal life. Jesus reveals his personal knowledge of God his Father and of God's will by word and example to all who are willing to trust and obey him (Matthew 11:27). Jesus has been highly exalted and has been given him the inheritance of God his Father. Jesus will share his inheritance with his spiritual children (“born-again” believers; the strong: those who persevere and endure in faith).

Psalm 22:1-23:

Jesus began quoting, in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, this Psalm on the cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” (Mark 15:34).

Jesus is the ultimate, perfect fulfillment of the Lord's Servant, but he was rejected and despised by people. Jesus was mocked and derided by observers at his crucifixion, in fulfillment of prophecy of Psalm 22:7-8 (compare Matthew 27:39-44).

God brought Jesus forth from his mother's womb supernaturally, by the Holy Spirit, since Mary was a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:30-35). God preserved his life as an infant, when Herod sought to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:13-16).

Psalm 22:14-18, which is attributed to David, the great shepherd-king of Israel, is the prophetic image of Jesus' crucifixion, composed about a thousand years before it occurred (Matthew 27:35-44; Mark 15:29-32). Jesus trusted in God to deliver soul and life from physical death (the sword; the power of dogs; the mouth of the lion; the horns of wild oxen) and God answered Jesus' prayer.

Hosea 6:1-6:

Hosea's ministry occurred during a sixty year period from the reign of Jereboam II (786-746 B.C.) of the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes of the Divided Monarchy.

Jesus is the demonstration of the fulfillment of this prophecy that the Lord tears but also heals, afflicts but also binds up. Jesus claimed the promise and demonstrated the fulfillment that God would revive and raise him up on the third day.

Jesus urges us to press on to know the Lord. If we seek the Lord he will allow himself to be found by us (I Chronicles 28:9c; Jeremiah 29:13-14a; Deuteronomy 4:29). I am convinced that the meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27), but this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). The Lord will come to us and reveal himself to us (John 14:21) as surely as dawn comes each day, and as gently as spring showers.

In the history of Israel recorded in the Old Testament (Covenant) Israel was continually forgetting the great blessings God had given them and turning from love for God to love of self. Obedient trust is the test of true love (John 14:15-17, 23-24). Israel was like Ephraim, who received a double portion of the inheritance without deserving or appreciating it.

Judah was the remnant of Israel after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes in 721 B.C. Judah ignored the warnings of the prophets so they were “hewn” by the prophets and slain by the Word of his mouth. The prophet Jeremiah warned Judah that if they didn't return to obedient trust in God, they would be carried into exile in Babylon (the land of the Chaldeans) for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12).

Judah could have avoided exile by repenting and returning to the Lord any time before the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon in 587 B.C., but they refused to obey God's Word spoken by the prophet. As a result they were driven into exile. Note that seventy years was a virtual life sentence for anyone who was an adult at the beginning of the exile. Judah had been slain by the Word of God spoken by the prophet, and hewn into a renewed People of God during the exile.

After seventy years, in 517 B.C. God used Cyrus, King of Persia, to conquer Babylon, and free Judah to return to their Promised Land. Cyrus not only allowed them to leave but returned to them the treasures that had been looted from the temple in Jerusalem, and gave them money and assistance from Babylonian provincial governors in Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Isn't that amazing?

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9:

Through Jesus we receive, like Ephraim (Genesis 48:10-20), a “double portion” of an inheritance we do not deserve; it is by God's grace (a free gift; unmerited favor), and from the throne of grace we receive abundant mercy and grace when we need it.

Jesus trusted in God alone to save him and his faith was rewarded; God heard and answered his prayer for deliverance because of Jesus' fear (awe and respect for the power and authority) of God. Jesus was God's Son, but he learned obedience through suffering. Obedience to God's will cost Jesus everything he had physically.

John 19:17-30:

The eyewitness accounts by evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John testify to the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies regarding the Lord's Servant, the Messiah (Christ). The Jewish leaders falsely accused Jesus of claiming to be King of Israel (John 18:33-36; 19:12). The Roman soldiers divided his clothes and cast lots (like rolling dice) for his seamless woven tunic to determine which one would get it (Psalm 22:18). Jesus declared his thirst as prophesied in Psalm 22:15 and was given vinegar as prophesied in Psalm 69:21b. The scene of his crucifixion was the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:1-12 and Psalm 22:1a, 7-8, 14-18.

It is enlightening to realize that crucifixion was a unique Roman form of execution unknown in Israel. Israel's method of execution was by stoning: a group threw stones at the condemned until he was killed. It took more than a couple stones and a couple individuals to carry out, so there was agreement among the condemner's peers as to the death sentence.

The Old Testament has not been made irrelevant by the New Testament. Jesus has been God's Plan from the very beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14) and God has gradually been revealing that Plan in his Word, The Bible, and in the “Living Word,” Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God's Word lived in human flesh in this fallen world, from the very beginning (Genesis 3:15). God was not surprised that the first man and woman, Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God's Word not to eat the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-11). Jesus was not “Plan B” after sin was introduced into Creation.

Have you received Jesus as your Savior and 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)?

Holy Week – Saturday
First Posted April 3, 2010
Podcast: Holy Week – Saturday

Luke 24:1-11-- The First Easter;
John 20:1-9 (10-18) – The Resurrection;

Luke:

After resting on the sabbath, on the first day of the Week (Sunday), the women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and the “other” Mary, the mother of James and Salome and wife of Clopas, and other women; Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10) returned to the tomb where Jesus had been placed, bringing the spices and ointments they had prepared for Jesus' burial. They discovered that the door to the tomb had been rolled away, and when they entered they could not find Jesus' body. As they tried to understand what was happening, two men (angels), whose garments glowed supernaturally, appeared beside them. The women were frightened and bowed down to the ground. The men asked why the women were looking for the living among the dead. The men reminded them that Jesus had told them in Galilee that the “Son of man” would be delivered into the authority of sinful people, would be crucified, and rise on the third day. The women remembered Jesus' words, and returned and announced Jesus' resurrection to the “Eleven” remaining original disciples and the other followers, but they did not think their “story” was credible and did not believe them.

John:

Early, before dawn on the first day of the Week (Sunday), Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus had been placed and saw that the stone sealing the tomb had been rolled away. So she ran to Simon Peter and the “other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved” (John 20:2a) and told them that Jesus' body had been removed, and the women did not know where the body was. Peter and the “other” disciple left, running for the tomb, but the “other” disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He looked in and saw that the linen grave clothes had been removed and were lying there. The “napkin” (a sweat cloth; an item of apparel, part of the grave clothes: John 11:44), was rolled up separately. Then the “other” disciple also entered the tomb, after Peter, and he saw and believed. Until then, they had not understood the scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead (Matthew 16:21-23; 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-34).

The disciples had gone back to their lodgings, but Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept she looked into the tomb and saw two angels sitting where Jesus' body had lain. The angels asked her why she was weeping and she told them that it was because Jesus' body had been removed and she didn't know where it was. Having said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing nearby, but she didn't recognize him; she supposed that it must be the cemetery gardener. She asked him to show her where Jesus' body had been taken. Jesus spoke Mary's name and she recognized him as the “Teacher” (Jesus Christ). Jesus asked her not to detain him, because he had not yet ascended to God the Father. He told her to tell his followers that Jesus was ascending to his Father and his God, who is also their Father and their God. Mary returned to the followers and testified to these things which she had witnessed.

Commentary - Luke:

The Jewish Sabbath was Saturday, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, according to the Old Covenant (Testament) of Law of Moses. On the night of his betrayal and arrest, Jesus initiated the New Covenant of Grace (God's unmerited favor; a free gift), which is received through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Luke 22:14-20 RSV note “j;” Matthew 26:26-29 RSV note “g;” Hebrews 8:8-13; 12:24). Those who are in Jesus are no longer under the obligation of the Old Covenant of Law, provided that we live according to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-11).

The Christian Church celebrates the “Lord's Day” on Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection, the fulfillment of God's plan for this Creation. In the Christian Church, Saturday of Holy Week is the Easter Vigil. Jesus has been crucified and we await the fulfillment of the promised resurrection. Likewise, we are to wait within the Church (the New Jerusalem on earth; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8) until we are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) and personally experience the risen Jesus through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus had foretold to his disciples at least three times that he would go to Jerusalem, be abused by the Jews, be crucified, and rise on the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; 26:1-2), but the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying (Luke 9: 44-45; 18:31-34, Mark 9:31-32). They didn't understand because they didn't want to hear of Jesus' death (Matthew 16:21-23), and were afraid to ask him. They had seen Jesus raise the dead (for example: John 11:1-44), but hadn't accepted resurrection beyond an exceptional, rare event. The women hadn't understood Jesus' prophecy so they didn't remember it until they were reminded, and the rest of the disciples didn't believe the women's testimony.

Jesus referred to himself as the “Son of man,” which is true, and which allows us to decide for ourselves whether his is also the Son of God, with a hint from Daniel 7:13 (see also Revelation 1:13; 14:14).

John:

John refers to himself as the “other disciple, whom Jesus loved,” allowing him to give his eyewitness testimony, but also making it possible for each of us to see ourselves in that relationship with Jesus in the Gospel message. We can also be the “other” disciple, whom Jesus loves.

John was the faster runner, but Peter was the impulsive disciple. John got there first, but hesitated; Peter charged right in and became the first of the two to experience the miracle of the resurrection and the empty tomb. I conclude that it doesn't matter if one knows God's Word unless one acts upon it in daily life (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

Jesus' followers didn't recognize the risen Jesus at first because his appearance had been marred by the crucifixion (Isaiah 52:14) and because they didn't expect Jesus' resurrection, despite of Jesus' prophecies, until Jesus revealed himself personally to them (Luke 24:21-35). The meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and come to know and have relationship with God (Acts 17:26-27) and this is only possible through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Jesus is near to each one of us, but he will not reveal himself to us until we invite him (Revelation 3:20; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). When we do, he will make himself known to us in a uniquely personal way (see Personal Testimonies, sidebar, top right).

“Born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples have personally experienced the risen and ascended Jesus (for example: Acts 9:1-5) through the gift (“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). 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 testify to the world and to “nominal” Christians that Jesus is risen and eternally alive, but who regards our testimony as credible and believes our testimony?

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 5 Lent C - 03/21 - 27/2010

Week of 5 Lent C - 03/21 - 27/2010

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(Please bookmark this link)

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 3-Year C 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 5 Lent C

5 Lent - Sunday C
First posted March 21, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Sunday C

Isaiah 43:16-21 – A New Thing;
Psalm 28:1-3, 7-9 – Shepherd of God's People;
Philippians 3:8-14 – Righteousness by Faith;
Luke 20:9-19 – Parable of the Vineyard;

Isaiah:

This is the Word of God, who makes a path in the sea. He brings forth chariot and horse, warrior and army. They are bogged down and cannot rise; like a wick they are quenched, extinguished. Don't focus on the old, former things. Watch; the Lord is doing a new thing! Can you see it springing forth? The Lord will make a way in the wilderness; he will create a river in the desert. The wild animals will give thanks to God for giving them water; rivers in the desert to provide drink for God's people, whom God has created to give him praise.

Psalm:

I call to the Lord, my rock. Don't be deaf to my cry, lest I be like those who go down to their grave. Hear my supplication as I cry to the Lord for help; toward your holy sanctuary I lift up my hands.

I trust in the Lord with my whole heart; he is my shield and my strength! Therefore he helps me, and I give thanks to him with songs of praise. The Lord gives strength to his people, and refuge to his anointed. Save your people, Lord, and strengthen your heritage. Be our shepherd, Lord, and provide our care forever.

Philippians:

The great value of knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord surpasses every other thing in this world; in comparison they become worthless. I willingly surrender everything, and regard them as refuse, in order to gain Christ. May I be found in him, having righteousness which doesn't come from obeying the law, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is attributed to us by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. I pray that I may have personal knowledge of Jesus and the power of his resurrection, so that I can have resurrection from death like him.

I don't presume to already possess this, nor that I'm already spiritually perfect, but I pursue this for my own, because Jesus has made me his own. One thing I do is to forget the past and press on toward what lies ahead. I pursue the goal, to receive the prize, which is the upward call of God in Christ.

Luke:

Jesus told this parable (a common worldly experience used to teach spiritual truth): A person planted a vineyard and rented it to tenants while he was on a journey to a distant land. At the harvest season he sent a servant to collect his share of the proceeds. But the tenants beat his servant and sent him away empty-handed. The landlord sent another servant, and the tenants did the same to him. A third time the landlord sent a servant and this one they injured and cast out. The landlord considered what more he could do, and he decided to send his son, hoping that the tenants would respect him. But the tenants realized that the son was the heir and killed him, thinking that when the landlord died, the vineyard would belong to the tenants. What was left to the owner but to come and destroy the wicked tenants and give the vineyard to others.

On hearing this parable the people responded, saying, “God forbid!” Then Jesus quoted scripture: “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22; compare Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7-8). Every one who trips on that stone will be broken to pieces and those it falls upon will be crushed (Isaiah 8:14-15).

Commentary:

The Exodus from Egypt is a great saving act of God on behalf of his people. He made a path through the Red Sea, so that his people could pass through on dry ground, but the chariots and cavalry of Pharaoh became bogged down and were drowned when God allowed the Red Sea to revert to its normal condition (Exodus 14:13-31). Likewise, God made a way in the wilderness for his people and provided them with water from the Rock during their forty years as nomads (Deuteronomy 2:7; 8:2-4).

The historical Exodus is also intended by God to be a parable, a metaphor, for life in this world. Jesus is the “New Moses” who frees us from bondage to “Pharaoh,” Satan, in the “Egypt” of this present world order, and leads us into baptism into Jesus Christ in the “sea.” Christian baptism into Jesus Christ separates us from our spiritual enemies.

God creates for us a way through the “wilderness” of this lifetime, and provides us with our physical needs, such as bread (Exodus 16:15), meat (Exodus 16:8), and water (Exodus 17:6; compare 1 Corinthians 10:4). The Lord promises that if we will seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, these necessary things will be provide for us as well (Matthew 6:31-34).

Jesus is the solid rock on which we must build our spiritual life (Matthew 7:24- 27). Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Psalm 23; John 10:11-14).

There are conditions which must be fulfilled for God to hear and answer prayer (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right, home). We can't expect God to listen to us when we don't listen to, trust and obey God's Word.

I'm convinced that the meaning and purpose of life is to seek and find God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27) and this is only possible through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Only Jesus gives the gift (“anointing;” “baptism”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit are we “born-again” to eternal life. By the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience a personal relationship with Jesus, and the joy of his love and salvation. By his indwelling Holy Spirit we know with certainty that Jesus is risen and eternally alive, and that we will share in his resurrection and eternal life.

Paul (Saul of Tarsus), the author of the letter to the Philippians, had formerly persecuted Christians. After his conversion (Acts 9:1-22), he didn't dwell on his past; he pressed on to his future as a saint (consecrated to God's service), a disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel).

I was born and raised in the Protestant Church, but I didn't come to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior until mid-life (late thirties). The Lord has forgiven me of my past; the thing I must do is apply myself to the calling I have been given by God now.

I could wish that I had come to saving faith in Jesus earlier, but I might have never found a personal relationship with Jesus, if I had accepted church doctrine and not tested life in the world (see False Teachings: The Emperor's New Clothes, sidebar, top right, home).

The parable of the vineyard is a metaphor for life in this creation. This world is God's vineyard and we are tenants in it. The spiritual harvest is our eternal souls. The Lord has sent numerous servants, prophets of God, to call us to give to God what he desires of the harvest: our obedient trust, and our eternal souls, in order to become his children.

Ultimately God sent his beloved only begotten son. We are all guilty of crucifying Jesus because we have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and made his sacrificial death on the cross necessary.

We are not irrevocably “lost” from God's forgiveness unless we refuse to accept the gift of salvation, from God's eternal condemnation, which is only available through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. We can be completely forgiven of the sins we have done in the past. The important thing is what we do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ from now on.

Christ has promised to return at the end of time to judge the living (quickened) and the dead in both physical and spiritual senses (1 Peter 4:5). Those who have repented of sin, who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, will be acknowledged by Jesus, and will enter eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom. Those who have rejected Jesus, who have refused or neglected to trust and obey Jesus will be spiritually dead (unborn) and will be condemned to hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Jesus' Second Coming, at the Day of Judgment, is not far off. It will occur for each of us within the span of our lifetimes. Jesus will either come physically the same way he ascended (Acts 1:9-11), while we are living, or at the moment of our physical death, and no one knows when that will be.

This lifetime is our only opportunity to be “born-again” to spiritual, eternal life. At the moment of our physical death our eternal destinies will be forever fixed and unalterable.

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

5 Lent - Monday C
First posted March 22, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Monday C

Psalm 31:1-5, 9-16 – Prayer for Deliverance;

I seek refuge in you, O Lord. Let me never be put to shame. Deliver me because of your righteousness! Hear my plea and deliver me quickly. Be my rock of refuge, my strong fortress to save me.

Yes! You are my rock and my fortress; lead and guide me for your name's sake. Rescue me from the hidden net that has been set for me, because you are my refuge. “Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me , O Lord, faithful God” (Psalm 31:5).

Have pity upon me, O Lord, because I am distressed. My eye is worn out with grief, and so are my soul and body. I have spent my life in sorrow; my years are spent in sighing; because of my misery my strength fails me and my bones are consumed.

My adversaries scorn me: My neighbors are horrified by me, I am dreaded by my acquaintances. When I am seen on the street they flee from me. I am forgotten, like one who has died; I am like a broken pot. “Yea, I hear the whispering of many- terror on every side! -as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life” (Psalm 31:13). But my trust is in you, O Lord, my God. You control my destiny; deliver me from the power of my enemies and those who persecute me. Let your face shine upon me; save me because of your steadfast love.

Commentary:

This Psalm is attributed to David, the great (human) shepherd-king of Israel. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Good Shepherd and the descendant of David; the eternal King to fulfill God's promise to David (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29).

At his crucifixion, Jesus quoted Psalm 31:5 on the cross (Luke 23:46). Psalm 31:9-16 was prophecy of the Messiah, fulfilled at Jesus' crucifixion (compare Matthew 27:39-43).

God's Word is eternal and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Jesus is the “pioneer” (Hebrews 2:10) who created the way for us and showed us how to follow him. As we follow Jesus we will experience persecution. When we are beset with troubles we can claim the promises of this psalm for ourselves.

I personally testify that when I have been beset with troubles, I have turned to the Psalms for reassurance and deliverance. I have started with Psalm 1 and read until I felt better! Since I have laid up the Psalms in my heart, the Holy Spirit can recall to my memory promises they contain as they are needed to apply to my circumstances.

Jesus trusted and obeyed God the Father and claimed the promise of this psalm. Jesus' resurrection demonstrated the fulfillment of the promise. Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death. Jesus withstood and overcame the worst that the world could do to him, by his trust in God's Word. Jesus' resurrection frees believers from the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

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)?

5 Lent - Tuesday C
First posted March 23, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Tuesday C

Deuteronomy 32:36-39 – Vindication of God's People;

The Lord promises to vindicate his people when they recognize their powerlessness; when they recognize that there is no help in idols. Those who take refuge in idols, who sacrifice fat offerings and drink offerings to them, will find no help and no protection, no rock of refuge in them.

Realize that the Lord is God alone; there is no other god. God alone is sovereign; he declares, “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39b). No one can deliver us from his power.

Commentary:

In the history of God's dealing with his people, Israel, recorded in the Bible, Israel repeatedly fell away from obedient trust in God and into idolatry. God would lift his favor and protection from them and allow them to experience trouble, so that they would realize the part God was doing for them, and would return to obedient trust in him.

When things are going well for us, we think it is because we are worthy in our own ability. God must lift his favor and protection in order for us to recognize the part he has been doing for us that we hadn't noticed.

In a sense America is the New Promised Land; the New People of God. I believe that the Lord has begun to lift his favor and protection from America, and has begun to allow us to experience trouble so that we will recognize our need for him and will return to obedient trust in the Lord (see How Bad Must Things Get..., sidebar, top right, home).

Money, political power, success, career, and family are examples of modern idolatries. Anything which we love as much or more that God is idolatry.

God alone has the power to kill eternally, and to give life eternal. We will all die physically once. Then comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The meaning and purpose of life in this temporal world is to seek and find knowledge of and fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27).

This lifetime is our one and only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Only Jesus “baptizes” with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only 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 “baptism” of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible (Acts 19:2), ongoing event. It is impossible to be “born-again” and “hardly know it.”

God has the power to kill and make alive eternally, and the power to heal us spiritually. Jesus' physical ministry on earth was to demonstrate, by his physical healing, feeding and resurrection miracles, that he could heal, feed and resurrect spiritually.

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)?

5 Lent - Wednesday C
First posted March 24, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Wednesday C

Philippians 2:5-11 – Christ's Example;

Have the same attitude that Christ exemplified. Although Christ was pre-existent and divine, he didn't try to be recognized as equal with God. Instead, he emptied himself (the ultimate act of self-denial) and became obedient unto death, even to the extreme form of death on a cross. Thus God has exalted him above all others, and has given him the name which is above all names. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

Commentary:

One of the reasons that Christ came in human flesh was to show us how to live as children of God. He shared the same human nature that we have; he was tempted in the same ways we are, but was completely sinless (Hebrews 4:15). He was the pioneer of faith, blazing the trail we can follow (Hebrews 2:10) by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was pre-existent with God before the world was created and everything in creation was created by and for him (John 1:1-5, 14). He was fully human but also fully divine (Colossians 2:8-9). He could have commanded and we would have had no choice but to obey him, but this Creation has been designed to allow us the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey him or not. That is why Jesus usually referred to himself as the Son of man, rather than the Son of God. He was allowing us to decide for ourselves who Jesus is.

God has designed this Creation for a specific purpose: to produce an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek, find and have fellowship with God, our Father, our Creator. By God's intentional design, this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Only through faith in Jesus can we know divine, eternal truth, be restored to fellowship with God our Creator which was broken by sin, and have eternal life (John 14:6)

By God's intentional design, this lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life, by the "baptism" 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 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). Spiritual “re-birth” is a personally discernible, ongoing experience (Acts 19:2). It is impossible to be “born-again” and “hardly know it.”

God knew that in giving us freedom to choose whether to obey God's Word or our own desires, we would choose to do our own will. Sin is disobedience of God's will, and we have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God doesn't want anyone to perish eternally so he has designed a Savior into Creation (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17), through whom we are forgiven and restored to fellowship with God as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus is the name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God to the world in human flesh (John 14:8-11). The “baptism” (gift; “anointing") of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the ultimate revelation of God the Father and Jesus Christ to us individually and personally.

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)?

5 Lent - Thursday C
First posted March 25, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Thursday C

Luke 22:7-20 – The Lord's Supper;

On the Day of Preparation, when the passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the passover for Jesus and his disciples. They asked Jesus where he wanted to celebrate it, and Jesus told them to enter the city and they would meet a man carrying a jar of water. They were to follow him to the house he entered, and and ask the householder for the guest room where they were to prepare the passover for the Teacher and his disciples. The Householder would show them a large furnished upper room where they were to make ready. They went and found everything exactly as the Jesus had said, and did according to his instructions.

At the appointed hour, Jesus sat down at the table with his disciples. He said that he had really wanted to celebrate the passover feast with his disciples before he was to suffer, because Jesus knew that he would not have another passover feast with them until it was fulfilled in God's kingdom in heaven. Jesus took a cup of wine and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he passed it to his disciples, telling them each to drink of it; Jesus told them he wouldn't drink the wine of Passover until he celebrated its fulfillment in the kingdom of God in heaven. He also took bread and when he had give thanks to God he broke it and passed it to his disciples, telling them that it was his body.

Commentary:

God has been preparing and revealing his eternal plan from the beginning of Creation, first in the perfection and complexity of Creation; then in the history of his dealing with Israel recorded in the Bible. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God to his Creation. 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) is the ultimate revelation of the Lord to his people individually and personally. 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 the Exodus from Egypt is deliberately intended by God to be a parable, a metaphor, for life in this world. In a sense we are all in slavery to sin (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and (eternal) death (the penalty for sin; (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the "New Moses," who leads us out of Egypt, through the “sea” of baptism into Jesus Christ, and through the "wilderness" of this lifetime. He is the "New Joshua" who leads us through the “river” of physical death, and into the eternal "Promised Land" of God's kingdom in heaven.

The Passover Feast was the commemoration of God's deliverance of Israel from slavery to sin and death in Egypt. It was initiated on the eve of Israel's Exodus (Exodus 12:1-51). It was intended by God to be the prototype and illustration God's deliverance of his people through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus' created a new passover feast, the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion; Eucharist; Matthew 26:26-28) on the night of his betrayal. Jesus is the New Passover Lamb. The bread of passover is his flesh, broken on the cross; the wine (or grape juice) is the blood of the sacrificial lamb, which marks his disciples to be “passed over” by the destroying angel (Exodus 12:13).

The Lord's Supper is a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb and his bride, the Church, in heaven. Jesus is present now and reveals himself to his disciples in the elements of Communion, but that is only a shadow of the things to come in the fulfillment of his kingdom in heaven.

Jesus is present now to his “born-again” disciples. Jesus will lead us by his indwelling Holy Spirit. As we trust and obey Jesus' commands we will find situations exactly as he has said. The disciples followed Jesus' instruction about acquiring a donkey for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on “Palm Sunday,” the week before his crucifixion (Matthew 21:1-11). They found Jesus' instructions about preparation for the passover exactly as Jesus described them (Luke 22:13).

Jesus wants us to begin to trust and obey him now in this lifetime, in this world. If we will seek his will daily, he will reveal it to us. But remember that the Lord will never tell us to anything which will hurt ourselves or others, or which is contrary to the Word of God.

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)?
5 Lent - Friday C
First posted March 26, 2010
Podcast: 5 Lent - Friday C

Luke 23:1-49 – Jesus' Trial and Crucifixion;

At sunrise the Jewish authorities brought Jesus before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. (Luke 22:66). They pronounced Jesus guilty and dragged him before Pontius Pilate, the Roman financial administrator of the Roman Province of Judea (His headquarters was Cessarea, but he frequently came to Jerusalem). The Jewish authorities began to accuse Jesus of being a rebel who was subverting the Roman government, who told the Jews not to pay tribute to Caesar, and had claimed to be the Christ (Messiah) who would be king of the Jews.

Pilate asked Jesus if he was the King of the Jews and Jesus replied that it was the officials who had said that about him. Pilate told the Jewish officials that he found Jesus not guilty any crime. But the Jewish leaders urged Pilate, claiming that Jesus was stirring up the people throughout Galilee and Judea. When Pilate heard this he asked if Jesus was a Galilean, and when he heard that Jesus was under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas,* he sent Jesus to Herod who was also in Jerusalem at the time.

Herod was pleased to see Jesus, because he had heard what Jesus had been doing, and hoped to see some sign (miracle) done by Jesus. Herod questioned Jesus for some time, but Jesus didn't answer him. The Jewish leaders were nearby and accused Jesus vehemently. Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and mocked him. Then Herod had Jesus dressed in king's apparel and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate and Herod became friends that day, whereas they had formerly been hostile to one another.

Pilate summoned the Chief priests and leaders of the people. Pilate told them that, having examined Jesus, he found him not guilty of any of their accusations, and neither had Herod. Pilate ruled that Jesus had done nothing deserving death, so Pilate would have Jesus chastised (with some form of corporal punishment), and then would release him. But the leaders and the multitude of Jews cried out loudly, asking Pilate to execute Jesus and release Barabbas, who had been found guilty and imprisoned for insurrection and murder. Pilate tried three times to release Jesus, but the Jews wouldn't hear it and kept shouting for Jesus to be crucified. Fearing a riot, Pilate gave in to their demands; He released Barabbas who was an insurrectionist and murderer, and delivered Jesus to be crucified.

They led Jesus away to be crucified, and along the way they seized Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry Jesus' cross. A large multitude of people and many women followed, wailing and mourning him. Jesus turned to them and told them not to weep for Jesus, but rather for themselves and their children. Jesus told them that a day was coming when people would say that those who were barren and had never nursed babies were blessed. In that day people would pray for mountains to fall on them and cover them. Jesus quoted a proverb saying that if this took place when the wood was green, what would happen when the wood was dry?

Two others who were criminals were led to crucifixion with Jesus to “Golgotha;” meaning “the place of a skull” (Mark 15:22). There they crucified Jesus and the criminals, one on his left and one on his right. And Jesus prayed for God's forgiveness for the people who crucified him, because they did not understand what they were doing. The (Roman) soldiers divided his garments by casting lots (like rolling dice; fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:18).

The Jewish leaders jeered, saying that if Jesus was the Christ (Messiah) he should save himself as he had saved others. The soldiers also mocked Jesus, offering him vinegar, and saying that Jesus should save himself if he really was the King of the Jews. One of the criminals crucified with Jesus told him that, if Jesus was the King of the Jews, he should save himself and the criminals also. But the other criminal rebuked him for not fearing God, since they were under the same condemnation. The criminals were justly condemned and were receiving the penalty due them, but Jesus had done nothing wrong. This criminal asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingly power. Jesus replied that this criminal would be with Jesus in Paradise that day.

It was about noon, and there was darkness over the land until three p.m. (because of a solar eclipse: Luke 23:45a, note “r,” RSV), “and the curtain of the temple (separating the people from the presence of God in the 'holy-of- holies,') was torn in two.” Then Jesus, quoting Psalm 31:5, commended his soul to God and breathed his last breath. When the Centurion (Roman soldier) saw this he praised God, and was convinced that Jesus was innocent. The multitudes witnessing this went home, beating their breasts (a sign of mourning), and all Jesus' followers and the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and witnessed these things.

Commentary:

It wasn't legal for the Sanhedrin to meet at night. According to Matthew's account, Jesus was tried at night (Matthew 26:57-66, 27:1), and at sunrise they took him to the Sanhedrin to formalize their verdict.

A person could not be convicted except by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Matthew 26:60-66). They found two witnesses who testified that Jesus had claimed to be able to destroy the temple and to rebuild it in three days. Jesus had said that they would destroy the temple (of Jesus' body) and he would raise it up in three days (John 2:19-22).

They asked Jesus if he was the Christ (Messiah) and Jesus refused to answer, saying that they would not believe if he told them, and that they would not answer if Jesus asked them. They accused Jesus of claiming to be the Son of God, and Jesus replied that it was they who had said that he was the Son of God. The court found him guilty on the basis of that claim, although Jesus hadn't made the claim.

Jesus usually identified himself as the Son of man (Luke 22:67-71); when Jesus identified himself as the Son of God it was to believers (John 9:35-37). Jesus identified himself as the Son of man, which was true, but which allowed his hearers to decide for themselves who Jesus was.

The Pharisees accused him of teaching against paying tribute to Caesar, but it was they who had tried and failed to get Jesus to make that statement (Matthew 22:15-22). The title “Christ” (the Greek equivalent of Hebrew word, “Messiah”) implied that Jesus was the eternal King of the Jews, to reign eternally on the throne of David, as God's Word had promised (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29), but Jesus resisted the attempt of people to make him the worldly King of the Jews (John 6:15; Acts 1:6).

Jesus was mute in the presence of his worldly judges (Matthew 27:11-14; Luke 23:9), fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7.

Simon of Cyrene, a city of North Africa, in the Roman province of Lybia, was probably coming into Jerusalem for the observance of Passover. He was seized by the Roman soldiers and forced to carry Jesus' cross which Jesus was too weakened to continue to carry. Simon was known to the Christian community as the Father of Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21), and may have been one of the evangelists who preached the Gospel to the Greeks at Antioch (Acts 11:20).

Jesus declared that the time was coming when the Jews (and all unbelievers) would pray that the mountains would fall on them and cover them because they would be fainting with fear at what what was coming upon the earth (there would be no place to hide; Luke 21:24-28). Jesus declared that if the people of God did thus to Jesus when they were alive (“quickened”), what will happen when they are dead (physically or spiritually; 1 Peter 4:5), and face Jesus' judgment (Luke 23:31)?

Psalm 22 is attributed to David, the great shepherd-king of Israel, who reigned from about 1000 B.C. to 961 B.C.. Its prophecy must have been written about a thousand years before it was fulfilled at Jesus' crucifixion: his garments were divided among the Roman soldiers by a game of chance (Psalm 22:18). Jesus also quoted Psalm 22:1 as he fulfilled its prophecy (Matthew 27:46). In Aramaic it is “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” The bystanders thought he was calling Elijah, who was to precede the Messianic era. The entire Psalm is a prophetic description of Jesus' crucifixion; note especially verses 7, 14-18.

The repentant criminal expressed faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, and was saved from eternal destruction by the word of Jesus Christ.

At the moment of his death the curtain (veil) of the temple, separating the people from the presence of God in the holy-of-holies was torn in two (Luke 23:45b; Matthew 27:51), from top to bottom. This was the sign that Jesus had opened a new and better way into the presence of God. The Old Covenant (Testament) of Law of Judaism had ended and the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ had begun.

The temple had been completed in 65 A.D.. The temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The Jews were scattered throughout the world and Israel ceased to exist as a nation until re-established following World War II. Jesus has become the only way to know divine, eternal truth (1 Corinthians 1:17-25), the only way to be restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin, and the only way to be restored to eternal life in God's eternal kingdom in heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

A pagan soldier, the Centurion (a Gentile; pagan) who witnessed the death of Jesus was convinced that Jesus was the innocent Son of God (Luke 23:47). The Jewish crowd that witnessed Jesus' crucifixion realized the sin of what they had done and went home in mourning.

Jesus had prayed that God would forgive those who crucified him, because they didn't understand what they were doing. The multitudes that mourned were forgiven.

In a sense we have all been guilty of Jesus' crucifixion, because we are all guilty of sin (disobedience of God's Word) against God and made Jesus' crucifixion necessary for our forgiveness. When we acknowledge our sin we will be forgiven, but those who refuse to acknowledge their sin will be eternally condemned.

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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*Antipas was a son of Herod the Great and was governor of one subdivision of a province (Galilee and Peraea; Galilee in the northern part of Israel, and Peraea on the eastern bank of the dead sea).

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5 Lent - Saturday C

Podcast: 5 Lent - Saturday C

Matthew 21:1-9 – Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem;

Jesus was going to Jerusalem, where he knew that he would be crucified (Matthew 16:21; 17:22; 20:17-19). At Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, near Bethany, he sent two of his disciples to fetch a donkey (donkeys) from the village, telling them that they would find it tied. If questioned, they were to say that the Lord needed it and would return it immediately. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, that the king of the “daughter of Zion” (God's people) would come to her humbly, on a young donkey.

The disciples did as Jesus had instructed, and found it exactly as he had said. They brought it and put their garments on it for Jesus to sit upon. Some in the crowd that followed them spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches and spread them on the road. Some of the crowd went ahead and some followed behind, and they shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)

Commentary:

Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey not fully grown. One cannot imagine a more humble entry. When kings of that era entered cities victoriously they entered in chariots, accompanied by their armies.

The followers of Jesus spread their cloaks or palm fronds on the road to give him a royal entry, like we would roll out a “red carpet.” This is the event that the Church celebrates on Palm Sunday.

Hosanna means “save now,” or “Save, we beseech.” “Son of David” implies the eternal King and heir to the throne of David according to God's promise (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). Jesus is the Messiah (Messiah and Christ each mean “anointed” in Hebrew and Greek respectively), God's “anointed” eternal Savior and King. Jesus is the name of the Lord!

The meaning and purpose of life is to seek and find God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27) and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's one and only provision for our forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word) and salvation from eternal condemnation to eternal death and destruction (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Spiritual re-birth is a personally discernible ongoing event (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).

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)?