Week of 6 Pentecost - A
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:
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Podcast Download: Week of 6 Pentecost A
Sunday 6 Pentecost A
First Posted June 22, 2008;
Podcast: Sunday 6 Pentecost A
Jeremiah 28:5-9 - The Test of Prophecy;
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 - David's Throne;
Romans 6:1b-11 - New Life in Christ;
Matthew 10:34-42 - Discipleship;
Jeremiah Paraphrase:
The prophet Jeremiah had warned Judah, the remnant of Israel since the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of the divided monarchy, in about 605 B.C.,* that because of disobedience of God's Word and idolatry (loving anyone or anything more than the Lord), Judah would be exiled to Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:9-12). In 594 B.C. Hananiah proclaimed in the temple in the presence of Jeremiah and all the priests and people that God had promised that within two years, the people and sacred temple vessels that had been carried of to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar would be returned.
Then Jeremiah replied, Amen! (may it be so). May the exiles and the sacred vessels be returned as Hananiah had prophesied. But Jeremiah told the people to hear and remember that from ancient times prophets had prophesied war, famine, and epidemics against many nations and kingdoms. "As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.
Psalm Paraphrase;
The psalmist testified to and praised the steadfast love and faithfulness of the Lord. The Lord's steadfast love is eternal and his faithfulness is as unshakable as the heavens. God has made a covenant with his chosen one and has promised David that David's descendants and David's throne will be established forever (see Psalm 89:19-37; 2 Samuel 7:16).
People who know the festal shout, who walk in the light of God's presence, who rejoice in the name of the Lord and praise his righteousness are blessed. Be glorified, Lord, for your are our strength, and by your favor we are given power. Our allegiance belongs to the Lord; our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
Romans Paraphrase:
Paul taught that salvation is by God's grace (a free gift; unmerited favor) and some were suggesting that it was alright to continue in sin. Paul refuted that conclusion. How can those who have died to sin continue to live in it? All who have been baptized into Jesus Christ have been baptized into Jesus' death, so that we may also be raised with Jesus from the dead to new, spiritual, eternal, life.
If we are united with Christ in his death we will also be united with him in his resurrection. We should realize that our old sinful nature has been crucified with Christ, so that our sinful flesh will die, freeing us from sin, because the dead are no longer in the power of sin. If we have died with Christ we can be certain that we will also live with him. Christ, having been raised from physical death to eternal life will never die again, having been freed from the power of death. Jesus died to sin so that he can live for God, and so we must follow Jesus' example and consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.
Matthew Paraphrase:
Jesus warns that he has not come to bring peace on earth. Jesus knows that his message will cause division and opposition in the world, even between the closest relationships between family and among friends. Those who love family or friends more than they love the Lord cannot be Jesus' disciples. Those who are unwilling to bear suffering and self-sacrifice for Jesus' sake are unworthy of the Gospel. Those who find satisfaction in their worldly lives will lose them, but those who are willing to lose their worldly lives for Jesus will find what is truly and eternally life.
Those who receive Jesus' disciples receive Jesus, and those who receive Jesus receive God the Father who sent Jesus. Those who receive a prophet receive the same reward as the prophet, and those who receive a righteous person will receive the same reward for righteousness. Anyone who does the slightest favor for a disciple of Jesus because he is a disciple will not go unrewarded.
Commentary:
God had called Jeremiah to proclaim God's Word of warning and impending judgment on Judah, the remnant of Israel, who had turned away from obedient trust in God's Word and was pursuing idolatry. Jeremiah had faithfully and fully proclaimed God's Word. Another person claimed to proclaim God's Word, suggesting that the impending exile to Babylon would be no big deal; they'd be back home in two years and would recover all that had been taken from them. Jeremiah said he wished that might be so, but he warned that the test of prophecy is its fulfillment.
The prophecy of Jeremiah was intended to bring Judah to repent of their idolatry and disobedience, and to return to obedient trust in the Lord so that they could avoid the consequences of sin, which is eternal death (Romans 6:23). The effect of Hananiah's prophecy was to lull them into complacency until they had been exiled to Babylon. Then it would be too late for them to change their destiny, and seventy years was a virtual life sentence for adults at the time of the deportation.
Those who have experienced the Lord will testify to, and praise, the Lord's steadfast love and faithfulness. God's Word is always fulfilled. God promised David that David's descendants would be established for ever (Psalm 89:4 a), and the throne of David would be eternal. God's Word was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the "Son (descendant) of David" (Matthew 1:1; 21:9), the "anointed" (Christ and Messiah each mean "anointed" in Greek and Hebrew, respectively) savior and eternal king. Christians are the spiritual sons of David who have been established for ever in eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom.
People who trust and obey Jesus will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The indwelling Holy Spirit is the light of God's presence within Jesus' disciples to guide our lives. It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can express the festal shout of glory and praise to the Lord in worship. It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are strengthened and empowered so that we can glorify the Lord. We only receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit as we commit our allegiance to Jesus as our Lord, and acknowledge that Jesus is our king, the eternal heir to the throne of David, "anointed" to reign eternally by the Holy One of Israel. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived out in human flesh in this temporal world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus showed us how to live in obedient trust in God's Word. Jesus resisted sin even to death by crucifixion. Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death, and that dying to sin in the flesh leads to eternal life.
We have to give up trying to serve and please ourselves, and learn to serve and please the Lord. We must follow Jesus' example, as he trusted and obeyed God's Word, knowing that it would lead to his crucifixion. He carried his cross physically to his execution.
Jesus didn't come to bring peace with those who hate and oppose God. He didn't come to bring what the world falsely considers peace (Matthew 14:26-27). Jesus gives his disciples eternal peace which cannot be taken away; peace with God, not peace with the world. Discipleship requires us to surrender everything temporal to the Lord, but we receive in exchange everything eternal, including eternal life in paradise restored in the kingdom of heaven.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9 b). Those who trust and obey Jesus receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Those who receive the "born-again" disciples of Jesus Christ will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as they begin to trust and obey Jesus' teachings. Those who receive the gift of the Holy Spirit receive the Spirit of Christ, and those who receive the Spirit of Christ have received the Spirit of God (Colossians 2:8-9; John 14:23).
Those who receive Jesus' disciples receive Jesus. Those who recognize a prophet of God's Word will receive the same reward as the prophet. Those who recognize righteousness will be rewarded with the righteous. Those who recognize and bless the disciples of Jesus will be blessed along with his disciples.
There are many people in the world and in the (nominal) Church today who claim to proclaim the Word of God but who preach false reassurance to people who desperately need to be convicted of sin so that they can repent and turn from idolatry and disobedience of God's Word. The test of prophecy is its fulfillment, but by the time people are in the "Babylon" of Hell, it is too late to change their eternal destiny. They will die eternally there. God will bring a remnant of his people into his eternal Promised Land, but it won't include them.
There are only two ways to know whether a prophet truly proclaims God's Word or not, and one is fulfillment of prophecy. The other is to have read and know God's Word recorded in the Bible. Those who haven't read and know what the Bible says, are easily victimized by false teachers and false prophets. The average reader can easily read the entire Bible in one year, and there are many plans available (see Free Bible Study Tools, sidebar, top right).
There are two main false teachings in the (nominal) Church today which were present in the first century Church and are recorded and refuted in the New Testament. One has recently been known as "Cheap Grace,"** teaching salvation by grace (a free gift; unmerited favor), which is true, but without the requirement of obedience and discipleship (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right) which Paul has refuted in this text. We have been saved by grace, but that doesn't mean that we can continue to live in sin.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Jeremiah 25:1-14n, p.945, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962
**See: The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., NY 1963 ISBN 0-02-083850-6
Monday 6 Pentecost A
First Posted June 23, 2008;
Podcast: Monday 6 Pentecost A
Psalm 145:1-2 (3-13) 14-22 - Hymn of Praise;
Paraphrase:
The Psalmist, David, vows to exalt the Lord, his God and King, and bless and praise his name every day forever. The Lord is great and worthy of great praise, and his greatness is beyond knowing.
"One generation shall laud [the Lord's] works to another, and testify to [his] mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4). Let us meditate on God's glorious majesty and his amazing works. Let us proclaim his awesome power and greatness. Let the fame of his greatness and abundant goodness pour forth. Let us sing aloud of his righteousness.
"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made" (Psalm 145:8-9).
Let all the creatures give thanks to the Lord, and let all his saints bless him. They will testify to the glory of the Lord's kingdom and his power, to make known to all people the great things the Lord has done and the splendor of his kingdom. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom and his reign is over all generations.
The Lord is always faithful in all his words and all his deeds are gracious. The Lord upholds those who stumble, and lifts up those who are burdened. All creatures depend upon the Lord for their food, and the Lord provides for them at the right time. When the Lord opens his hand the desire of every creature is satisfied. All his ways are just and kind. "The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear him, he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him; but all the wicked he will destroy" (Psalm 145:18-20).
Let us praise the Lord; let all people bless his name for ever and ever.
Commentary:
David was the shepherd boy who trusted and obeyed the Lord and came to a personal knowledge of and fellowship with the Lord. God said of David that his heart followed God's and he was committed to do all God's will (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20). He personally experienced the Lord's faithfulness and power to deliver and protect him from his enemies, to forgive him when David sinned, and to lift him up from shepherd boy to become the great king of Israel. David was able to personally testify to the great things the Lord had done for him.
David is also a prototype and illustration of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whom God had promised, who would be fully obedient to God's Word and would be the heir to David's throne and kingdom for eternity.
God has always intended from the beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. This Creation has been designed to allow us to have the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word or not, and the opportunity to learn by trial and error that God's Word is "good, acceptable and perfect." This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek and come to personal knowledge of and fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27).
God wants us to seek and find him, and he has been progressively revealing himself to us, first in the goodness of creation, then through the Bible record of God's dealing with Israel, then through Jesus Christ, the "living Word," God's Word fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh, and ultimately through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
The Bible is one way in which the older generation has passed the record of the great power, faithfulness, and steadfast love of the Lord to the following generations. The Bible is the recorded testimony of people who trusted and obeyed God's Word and experienced God's great glory, providence and saving acts. Those who trust and obey the Word of God in the Bible will come to personally know and experience the Lord God through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.
Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26 b) who have trusted and obeyed Jesus and have been spiritually "reborn" by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have personal experience, knowledge of and fellowship with the Lord and can testify to "seekers" and new generations the truth, power and faithfulness of God's Word.
In many instances the "nominal" Church, particularly in America, has failed to pass on the testimony of the character and great works of God to the next generation. In many instances the Church has settled for making members and building buildings instead of making "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples, and passing on the personal experience and knowledge of God to the next generation.
The Church urgently needs revival. "Christians" need to commit themselves to be "disciples," to make it a personal priority to know Jesus' teachings with the commitment to applying them in their own daily lives. Christians need to seek the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
"Christians" cannot testify to what they haven't personally experienced. It takes "born-again" disciples to make "born-again" disciples. The place to begin is with ourselves.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 24, 2008;
Podcast: Tuesday 6 Pentecost A
Zechariah 9:9-12 - The Coming King;
Paraphrase:
Celebrate with great joy and singing, daughter of Zion (the hill on which the temple was built in Jerusalem; God's People), daughter of Jerusalem. "Lo, your king comes to you ; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on the colt the foal of an ass" (Zechariah 9:9 c). In the Messianic age, the Lord will bring about the end of war (Psalm 46:9), he will destroy the instruments of war: the chariot, war horse, and bow and arrow (Hosea 2:18; Psalm 46:9; Micah 4:3). The Lord will reign in power "from sea to sea, and from the River (Euphrates; cradle of Civilization; the river of the Garden of Eden) to the ends of the earth" (Psalm 72:8).
The Lord declares that he will free the captives (of sin) from the waterless pit (Hell) because of the blood of the Lord's covenant (see Mark 14:24; Hebrews 9:22). The prisoners of hope shall wait in their stronghold; the Lord will doubly restore them.
Commentary:
Christians are the "New Israel," the "New People of God," and the Church is the "New Zion," the "New Jerusalem" on earth. Jesus is the fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy of the triumphant king, coming humbly on a donkey. Jesus entered Jerusalem in exactly that way on the week of his crucifixion, which the Church celebrates on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-11).
Jesus is going to come again, at the end of the temporal age, to judge the living and dead in both the physical and spiritual senses (John 5:28-29; 1 Peter 4:5). Jesus' return will be in great power and glory. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will live eternally with him in heaven; but those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to trust and obey Jesus will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46).
In the new kingdom, Jesus will reign over all creation. In his reign he will command peace. There will be no more war and all will live in peace with one another. There will be no sorrow, sighing, no more illness or death (Revelation 21:4).
God has established his (new) covenant with his people, which has been sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ (Mark 14:24), shed on the Cross, for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God's Word) and salvation from eternal death, which is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). It is the blood of Jesus which sets us free from bondage to sin and the "waterless pit" of eternal death in Hell, which we must receive through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Lord is the stronghold of Christians. We are to abide in the Lord in obedient trust as we await our redemption and restoration. Our hope is in the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5, 14). The Lord will abundantly reward his disciples, "doubly," beyond what we deserve; but he will abundantly and fully punish those who have rejected and refused to trust and obey Jesus.
Jesus' reign begins now as we as individuals accept his Lordship and begin to trust and obey his teaching and example. Jesus is Lord, whether we acknowledge his Lordship or not, but there is a Day of Judgment coming (within our physical lifetimes; the moment we die our eternal destiny is fixed and unchangeable), when all will have to acknowledge him as Lord (Philippians 2:10-11) and give account to him for what we have done in this temporal lifetime. In that day, it will be too late to change our eternal destiny.
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 25, 2008;
Podcast: Wednesday 6 Pentecost A
Romans 7:15-25 a - Freed from Sin;
Paraphrase:
We can desire to do what is right, but fail to do it; instead we do what we detest. We can agree that the law of God is good, but that our sinful flesh is not. We can desire to do what is right but instead do what we know is evil. So our innermost self is enslaved by sin. Whenever we desire to do what is right, sin is nearby. Our spirits are in conflict with our physical nature which holds us captive. We are unable to free ourselves, but God is able to deliver us through Jesus Christ.
Commentary:
We are all eternal beings in physical bodies. We are all born physically alive but spiritually dead. If we live to satisfy our physical natures we will die eternally in our physical bodies.
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and fall short of his righteousness (doing what is good, right and true, according to God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The standard of righteousness is not the world's standard but God's standard, as recorded in the Bible and as taught and demonstrated by Jesus Christ.
God has given us his Word in the Bible, and in the "living Word," Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus came into the world to show us how to live according to God's Word, and to make it possible for us to be forgiven for sin (disobedience of God's Word) and to be spiritually "reborn" (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
If we accept Jesus as our Lord and begin to trust and obey Jesus, we will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide and empower us to live according to the Spirit instead of living according to our physical natures (Romans 8:1-8). Only Jesus gives the gift ("baptism;" "anointing") of the 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 Jesus can free us from bondage to sin and (eternal) death, which is the penalty for sin (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 26, 2008;
Podcast: Thursday 6 Pentecost A
Matthew 11:25-30 - Divine Wisdom
Paraphrase:
God's purpose is hidden from those who are "wise and understanding" according to worldly standards. But in God's gracious will he reveals it to those who are humble and childlike in faith (obedient trust). God has given all things to Jesus. Jesus knows God the Father as fully as God knows Jesus. No human knows God except those to whom Jesus chooses to reveal him. Jesus invites those who are heavily burdened to come to him for rest. Being joined with Jesus as his disciples is not a heavy burden or hardship. We can learn gentleness and humility from Jesus and find spiritual rest.
Commentary:
God has intentionally designed Creation so that humans cannot find and know God by worldly "wisdom." (1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). Only Jesus can open our minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45). Only Jesus can reveal God to us.
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation Acts 4:12). The only way to know God and have eternal life is through Jesus (John 14:6).
Salvation and eternal life cannot be earned, bought, or taken by force or deception. Salvation is a free gift which must be claimed and received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
The yoke of discipleship is not heavy compared to the bondage to sin and death which we are under until Jesus sets us free. Only Jesus can give us rest for our souls. Jesus can teach us how to live according to God's will, so that we can have a fulfilling life now and eternally.
Jesus is God revealed in human flesh; fully God and fully human (Colossians 2:8-9). 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 fullest revelation of God and Jesus Christ to us individually and personally. We begin to know about God and Jesus by reading the Bible, and then as we begin to trust and obey God's Word in Jesus Christ we will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit through whom we will have personal fellowship with Jesus and God the Father (John 14:23).
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 27, 2008;
Podcast: Friday 6 Pentecost A
Exodus 20:1-17 - The Ten Commandments;
Paraphrase:
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which were the basis for the Covenant of Law between God and Israel. God had just recently brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Therefore, Israel was to have no other gods but God alone.
Israel was not to make images of any thing, person or animal in heaven or on earth to worship and serve. God warned that he would tolerate no rivals, and that he would punish disobedience to the third and fourth generation, but would love steadfastly those who love him and obey his commandments.
God's people are not to use God's name as a magic incantation, in false testimony, or in cursing. The Sabbath is to be a day devoted to God. God's people are to set aside their daily routine on that day and focus on God. They are not to do any work, nor permit anyone in their household, as servants or guests, or even livestock, to do any work on the Sabbath. The Lord finished all the work of Creation in six days and rested on the seventh day, and blessed and designated it as a day of rest for us also.
We are commanded to honor our father and mother, if we want God to bless us with long life in the Promised Land. God's people must not commit murder, adultery, theft or robbery, nor covet anything which doesn't belong to us.
Commentary:
God had just saved Israel from bondage in Egypt, so that they could be God's chosen people, free to serve God. God covenanted with Israel to be their God if they would trust and obey God's Word.
God is God alone; whether we acknowledge him or not, but God is under no obligation to us to be all that the concept of God implies, unless we are willing to trust and obey God. God is under no obligation to hear and respond to our prayers unless we are willing to hear and obey God's Word (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar top right).
In ancient times image-worship was common. There are still examples of image-worship, but there are also more subtle forms of idolatry today. Any thing or person which we care about and work for, as much as or more than God, is idolatry. Modern examples are wealth, power, success, home, family, pleasure, and self.
The Sabbath day of rest is a gift to us. We can accomplish all our necessary work in six days. We need a day to put aside our worldly pursuits and be spiritually restored and refreshed. Israel found that they could not accomplish any more in seven days than they could in six (see Exodus 16:22-30).
Jesus is the name of the Lord (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). But Jesus' name is not a "magic incantation." Not everyone who calls Jesus "Lord" will be saved from eternal condemnation on the Day of Judgment; only those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).
The Ten Commandments describes our relationship with God and our fellow humans. We are to love, trust and obey God, and we are to love and treat our fellow humans the way we love ourselves and want others to treat us (Matthew 22:36-40).
The history of God's dealing with Israel is intended to also be a metaphor and illustration of life in this world. In a sense we are all in slavery to sin and death in the "Egypt" of this world (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus is the "Moses" God raised up to free us from sin and death, and to be the mediator of the New Covenant of salvation from eternal condemnation by grace (a free gift; unmerited favor) to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus is our "Moses" who leads us through the "wilderness" of this lifetime, through the "river" of physical death and into the eternal "Promised Land" of God's kingdom in heaven.
God has accomplished his great saving act in Jesus Christ, as he had just delivered Israel from Egypt in the day of Moses. He offers us his New Covenant in Jesus Christ, which Jesus established on the night of his betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:26-28; Hebrews 8:8-13). If we love the Lord we will trust and obey him, and he will "baptize" us with 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), God's Word fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). 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 (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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)?
First Posted June 28, 2008;
Podcast: Saturday 6 Pentecost A
Ephesians 2:4-10 - Saved by Faith;
Matthew 19:16-30 - The Rich Young Man;
Ephesians Paraphrase:
When we were still as good as dead because of our sins, God in great mercy and love for us made us alive with Christ, saved by God's grace. We have been raised with Christ to reign with him in heaven, where we will experience the incalculable riches of his grace to us in the coming ages through Christ. "For by grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) you have been saved by faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God- not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Matthew Paraphrase:
A man came to Jesus and asked what good deed he must do to in order to enter eternal life. Jesus replied that God alone is good. If the man wants to enter eternal life he should keep God's commandments. The man asked which ones (of the Ten). Jesus listed the commandments relating to one's obligations to other people (omitting the ones dealing with one's relationship with God): to not commit murder, adultery, stealing, lying, to honor father and mother, and to love others as oneself. The man replied that he had kept those commandments from childhood. He asked Jesus what more he lacked. Jesus told him that if he wanted to be perfect, he should sell his possessions and give to the poor, so that he would have treasure in heaven, and then come and follow Jesus. Hearing this the man went away in sorrow, for he had many possessions.
Jesus told his disciples that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter God's kingdom. His disciples were astonished at this saying, and asked who then could be saved. Jesus replied that what is impossible for humans is not impossible for God. Nothing is impossible for God.
Peter said that he and the other disciples had left everything and followed Jesus. What would they have? Jesus replied that in the new world, when the Son of man (Jesus) is enthroned, his twelve disciples will be enthroned as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel. Everyone who has left homes and family and lands for Jesus' name's sake will receive much more, and will inherit eternal life. But there will be a reversal of status in the new kingdom. Those who are first now will be last, and the last will be first.
Commentary:
The rich young man came to Jesus hoping to find an easy way to have eternal life. He wanted to know what "good deed" would earn him eternal life. He claimed to have kept God's Commandments from his childhood, but he didn't love God as much as his possessions, and he didn't love his fellow humans as much as he loved himself. He was unwilling to leave his possessions to follow Jesus.
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and 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). Saving ourselves is impossible. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve salvation and eternal life.
God loves us and doesn't want us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). God has provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who has been designed into Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ we are saved from eternal death as a gift from God (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
"Good deeds" are not what we do to earn and deserve salvation, but are the evidence that we are saved. God has designed good deeds for us to do, if we are willing to seek his will and trust and obey him through Jesus Christ.
If we abide in Jesus and he in us (John 15:5-6), through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we will be guided and empowered to do good deeds. We cannot do good apart from Jesus (Zechariah 4:6). Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
In order to follow Jesus we must be willing to surrender everything we have to his lordship. The rich man's possessions kept him from following Jesus, and he did not trust and obey Jesus' advice to sell his possessions and follow Jesus. But all the man's possessions could not buy eternal life in paradise.
In the kingdom of God in heaven, there will be a different standard than that of this world. Those who are great in God's kingdom are those who are the most humble servants of others (Matthew 18:1-4; 23:11-12). Money and possessions won't buy honor and greatness. Is there something in our life which is keeping us from following Jesus?
Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? 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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