Week
of 2 Lent - B
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://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/
(Please bookmark this link).
This 'blog is mirrored at:
http://shepboy.multiply.com/
Shepherdboysmydailywalk’s
Blog
.mp3 Podcasts via Linux Festival
text-to-speech and Panopreter
Basic text-to-speech are available at:
http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/dw_bible2/a_year/Wklx_a.html
http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/dw_bible2/b_year/wklx_b.html
http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/dw_bible2/c_year/wklx_c.html
Please Note:
This ‘blog is now available in mobile-optimized format:
http://winksite.mobi/shepherdboy/MyDailyWalk
To get the most from these studies, it is suggested that you first
read the scripture texts for the entry, and then the paraphrase and
commentary. It is also recommended that you look up the scripture
references, unless you recognize and recall them from memory.
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 Download: Week of 2 Lent - B
Sunday 2 Lent - B
First posted March
8, 2009;
Podcast: Sunday 2 Lent - B
Genesis 28:10-17 (18-22) --
Jacob's Ladder;
Psalm 115:1, 9-18 -- God and His People;
Romans 5:1-11 -- Justified by Faith;
Mark 8:31-38 -- Jesus' Death and Resurrection Foretold;
Genesis Background:
Jacob, son of Isaac, Abraham's son of the promise, had
tricked his
brother, Esau, out of the inheritance. Jacob's mother sent
Jacob to his
forefathers' homeland Aram (Chaldea; in present-day
Syria), to take a
wife from his relatives, and to avoid retribution from
Esau (Genesis
28:1-9).
Genesis Paraphrase:
Jacob left his father's household in Beer-sheba and headed
toward Aram.
At sunset he came to a place to camp for the night. He
slept on the
ground with a stone for a pillow. During the night he had
a dream of a
ladder reaching from the ground to heaven, with angels of
God ascending
and descending. God stood over him (or it), and told
Jacob that
he was the God of Jacob's grandfather (Abraham) and the
God of Jacob's
father (Isaac).
God promised to give to Jacob and his descendants the
land on which Jacob was lying, stretching east and west,
north and
south. Jacob's descendants would be as numerous and beyond
counting as
the dust of earth. All the people of the earth would bless
and be
blessed through Jacob's descendants. God promised to go
with Jacob
throughout his journey to prosper and provide for Jacob,
and would
bring Jacob back to that spot. God promised not to leave
Jacob until
all this had been accomplished. Jacob awoke from the dream
and was
amazed that God was in that place, that it was the house
of God and the
gate to heaven.
Jacob arose early and set up, as a
pillar, the stone which he had slept
on, as a memorial, anointing it with oil to consecrate it
to God.
Jacob named the place Bethel (house of God), although the
Canaanites
(natives of the land) had called it Luz. Jacob vowed to
God that if God
would protect and prosper Jacob on his journey,
would provide
food and clothing for him and would bring him back to this
spot, Jacob
would accept the Lord as his God. The pillar Jacob had set
up would be
the house of God, and Jacob would give God a tenth of all
his
possessions.
Psalm Paraphrase:
Lord, let us desire and pursue your glory, rather than our
own. Glorify
you name for the sake of your steadfast love and
faithfulness.
Trust in the Lord, all people of Israel (the people of
God; the
Church). The Lord is our shield and our help. Trust in the
Lord, all
the house of Aaron (the priests; the clergy). Trust in the
Lord, all you
who fear (have appropriate awe and respect for the power
and authority
of) God. He is our help and our shield!
Our Lord constantly remembers us and he will bless us. He
will bless
the house of Israel, the house of Aaron and all who fear
the Lord, both
great and small.
May the Lord prosper us and our children. May we be
blessed by the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth.
The Universe belongs to the Lord, but he has given the
earth to us.
Those who are dead cannot praise the Lord; they lie in the
grave in
silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth
forever.
Praise the Lord.
Romans Background:
Paul had just explained that justification (being judged
righteous in
God's judgment) is by God's grace (unmerited favor; a free
gift)
received through faith (obedient trust) God's Word
fulfilled only in
Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5, 14; Romans 4:1-25).
Romans Paraphrase:
We have peace with God because we have been justified by
faith
(obedient trust; in Jesus Christ). We stand justified by
God's grace
which we have received through Jesus Christ. We rejoice in
the hope of
sharing in God's glory. Even more, we can rejoice in the
midst of
suffering (for the Gospel), realizing that suffering
produces
endurance, we develop character through endurance, and
character
produces hope. Our hope will not disappoint us, “because
God's love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which
has been
given to us” (Romans 5:5).
Christ died for us while we were ungodly and helpless to
change. We would
hardly be willing to die for even a righteous person,
although some
might be willing to die for one who was truly good. “But
God shows his
love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died
for us”
(Romans 5:8). Since we are justified by Christ's blood, we
will surely
be saved from God's wrath through Jesus. If while we were
enemies,
Jesus' death reconciled us to God, even more surely will
we be saved by
Jesus' life. Additionally, we rejoice in God through Jesus
Christ our
Lord through whom we have been reconciled.
Mark Paraphrase:
Once Jesus was sure that his disciples knew who Jesus was
(Mark
8:27-30), he began to teach them about his coming
crucifixion. Jesus
told his disciples that he would suffer many things, and
be rejected by
the Jewish religious authorities. Jesus would be killed,
and after
three days would rise again. Jesus said this openly (not
figuratively).
Peter began to rebuke Jesus, vowing that this would never
happen to
Jesus. Jesus, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter for
being on the
side of Satan and worldly people, rather than with God's
purpose.
Jesus called the crowd following him, and taught them and
his disciples
that anyone who wants to follow Jesus must surrender his
own desires,
“and take up his (own) cross and follow Jesus” (Mark
8:34). Whoever
would like to preserve his life in this world will lose
it, but whoever
surrenders his life in this world, will gain true eternal
life.
What
good would it do to gain every worldly treasure at the
cost of one's
life? What would a person be willing to exchange for his
life? In
this adulterous and sinful world, anyone who is ashamed of
Jesus and
his Gospel will experience real eternal shame on the Day
of Judgment.
On that Day Jesus will be ashamed of them and of people
who claimed to
be his followers but who did not obey Jesus (Matthew
7:21-27).
Commentary:
Jacob's dream was fulfilled in Jesus Christ (John 1:51).
Jesus is the
ladder of Jacob upon whom the blessings of God descend to
us, and by
whom we ascend into God's eternal kingdom in heaven. Where
Jesus is,
there is the house of God: the Spirit-filled Church on
earth, our
heavenly home with Jesus in eternity, and within the
hearts of
“born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the gate,
the doorway,
to heaven (John 10:1-9); no one can enter except through
Jesus (John
14:6; Acts 4:12).
Jacob was amazed to learn that God was not confined to one
place, as
other people of the time believed their "gods" (idols) to
be. God promised to be
with Jacob on his journey to the land of his people (Aram;
modern
Syria), to protect and provide for him, and to bring him
back to this
place (the House of God), and in faith (obedient trust) in
that promise,
Jacob accepted God as his Lord.
God fulfilled his promise to Jacob. He prospered him in
Aram,
where Jacob spent 20 years, indentured to his
father-in-law for fourteen years for his two wives. And
God returned
Jacob to this very spot at Bethel, where God renewed his
covenant with
Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 35:6-7), and changed
Jacob's name
to Israel (Genesis 35:10). Israel's sons became the heads
of the
twelve tribes of Israel.
Everything in Creation belongs to God, its Creator, but he
has given the
earth to us. We will be accountable to him for what we
have done on
this earth. This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek
and find God
(Acts 17:26-27), which is only possible through faith
(obedient trust)
in Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
We are all born into this world physically alive, but
spiritually dead
(unborn). This lifetime is our only opportunity to be
spiritually
“born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit,
which only
Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who
trust and obey
Jesus (John 14;15-17). The Lord has promised to return at
the end of
time (at the end of our individual lifetimes) to judge the
living
(“quickened”) and the dead in both the physical and
spiritual senses.
Neither the physically or spiritually dead can praise the
Lord. It is
only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are
able to
praise and glorify the Lord (Romans 8:15-16; Galatians
4:6). It is only
by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we can know and do
God's will. It is
only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are
spiritually
“reborn” and made spiritually alive.
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
“infilling” with
the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally
discernible
ongoing event (Acts 19:2). Anyone who needs to ask a
religious
authority whether the individual has been reborn hasn't
been.
Our personal fellowship with God was lost because of sin
(disobedience
of God's Word; Genesis 3:1-24). All of us have
sinned (Romans
3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death
(Romans
6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness
and salvation
from eternal destruction in hell with all evil (Acts 4:12;
see God's
Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are
restored to close
personal, daily fellowship with Jesus Christ and God the
Father.
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we have a foretaste of
the glory of
God. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the “security deposit”
securing our
hope of eternal life in paradise with the Lord. By the
indwelling Holy
Spirit we personally experience that Jesus has risen and
is eternally
alive. If we know with certainty that Jesus has risen, we
can be sure
that we will share in that resurrection from physical
death to eternal
life.
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)?
Monday 2 Lent - B
First posted March
9, 2009;
Podcast: Monday 2 Lent - B
Psalm 19:7-14 -- The Word of
God;
Paraphrase:
God's Word is true and without flaw; it restores the soul.
God's
testimony is reliable, enlightening those who lack wisdom.
The heart
rejoices at the rightness of God's precepts. The
commandment of God is
perfect, giving spiritual enlightenment. Reverence for the
Lord is
right and eternal. God's Word is completely right and
true. God's
precepts are more desirable that great wealth; they are
sweeter than
honey.
By God's Word, his servants are warned; Those who keep it
will have
great reward. It is difficult to discern our own faults;
may our Lord
cleanse us. Help us resist willful sins; may they not have
power over
us. Then we will be blameless and innocent.
May all that we think and say be acceptable to the Lord,
our rock of refuge and our redeemer from sin.
Commentary:
God has given us his Word in the Bible, and in Jesus
Christ, the
“living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment and example of
God's Word
lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). God
has given us
his Word so that our souls, the part of us which is
eternal, can be
restored to true, eternal life.
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). Jesus is God's only provision
for the
forgiveness of our sin and our salvation from eternal
condemnation and
eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of
Salvation,
sidebar, top right, home).
We are born physically alive but spiritually dead (unborn)
because of
sin. Only by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus can we
receive the gift
(“baptism;” “anointing”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit,
through whom we
are “reborn” to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8). 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).
God's Word is eternally true and it is the only source of
divine,
eternal wisdom, which is unlike what the world falsely
calls wisdom (1
Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). Worldly wisdom changes;
divine wisdom
doesn't. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), the
light of
righteousness (John 3:19-21), the light of true, eternal
enlightenment
(John 1:9), and the light of eternal life (John 1:4).
God's Word is the light by which we can discern our sins
so that we can
be cleansed. God's Word is the tool by which we can
overcome temptation
and sin.
When we begin to trust and obey God's Word we will find
that it is
completely reliable and trustworthy, and that it is what
is right and
possible and in our very best interest to do. God's Word
contains both
promises and warnings. The warnings are given to help us
avoid the
consequences of disobedience of God's Word. Obedience will
be greatly
rewarded now, in this lifetime, and eternally.
God's Word is the standard by which all will be judged.
Jesus is the
Word of God, the standard of judgment, and the righteous
judge, who
will return at the end of time to judge “the living
(“quickened”) and
the dead” in both the physical and spiritual senses (1
Peter 4:5; John
5:28-29). Each of us will face judgment at the the end of
our lives.
At the moment of our death, our eternal destiny will be
fixed and
unalterable. Those who have accepted Jesus as Lord, who
have trusted
and obeyed Jesus, will have been spiritually “reborn” and
will enter
eternal life in God's eternal kingdom. Those who have
rejected Jesus,
who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus, will
be condemned
to eternal destruction and eternal death in hell with all
evil (Matthew
25:31-46).
Jesus will be our rock of refuge and our redeemer, or he
will be the
stone which causes to us to stumble to eternal destruction
(1 Peter
2:6-8).
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)?
Tuesday 2 Lent - B
First
posted March 10, 2009;
Podcast: Tuesday 2 Lent - B
Exodus 20:1-7 -- Commandments;
Paraphrase:
God is the Lord who brought Israel out of slavery in
Egypt. God's
people are to have no other “gods” beside God. We are not
to make any
image or likeness of anything in Creation to worship or
serve. God will
not allow the worship of any other god. God will punish
those who hate
him to the third and fourth generation, but will have
steadfast love to
all those who love God and obey his commandments. We must
not use God's
name in any way other than reverently for his glory.
Commentary:
God has always intended, from the very beginning of
Creation, to
establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly
trust and obey
God. This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek and
find God our
Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and our only opportunity to be
spiritually
“reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. These are only
possible
through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, whom God
designed into
Creation from the very beginning. Jesus is the “living
Word,” God's
Word fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh in
this world
(John 1:1-5, 14).
Jesus is the fullest revelation of God to the world. He is
the image of
God as God intended to reveal himself. Those who have
“seen” and
experienced Jesus have “seen” and experienced God (John
14:8-10).
Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the
creative force
of God's Word (Mark 4:38-41; compare Genesis 1:3, 9).
Jesus was fully
human but also fully God (Colossians 2:8-9).
Jesus is the name of the Lord! Jesus is the only way to
know and have
fellowship with God, our Creator (John 14:6; Matthew
11:27). Jesus is
not “another god.” The Holy Trinity, God the Father,
God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit are not three “gods” but one God,
in three
“expressions;” three ways of experiencing God. Jesus is
God in human
flesh (John 20:28). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God,
the Spirit of
Christ (Romans 8:9). The Trinity is not a doctrine devised
by humans,
but revealed by God's Word and taught by Jesus (John
14:16-17, 23, 26).
The Holy Spirit is God's fullest revelation of himself to
us
individually and personally. 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). Through
the
indwelling Holy Spirit we have personal fellowship with
God our Creator.
God has been progressively revealing his purpose for
Creation. God
called Abraham (Abram) to be the spiritual forefather of
God's people
(Romans 4:11-16), through whom Jesus came and
through whom we
inherit the Promised Land of God's eternal kingdom in
heaven (Genesis
12:1-3).
God intended his dealing with Israel, recorded in the
Bible,
to be a metaphor for life in this Creation. Jesus is our
“Moses” who brings his people out of slavery to sin and
death in the “Egypt” of this worldly kingdom, through the
“sea” of
baptism into Jesus Christ, through the “wilderness” of
this lifetime,
through the “river” of physical death, and into the
eternal “Promised
Land” of God's kingdom in heaven (see God's Plan of
Salvation, sidebar,
top right, home). Jesus is our “Moses” who mediates the “New
Covenant”
(“Testament”) of salvation from eternal condemnation by
grace
(unmerited favor; a free gift) to be received by faith
(obedient trust)
in Jesus (Matthew 26:26-28 RSV note “g;" Hebrews 8:8-13;
12:24).
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)?
Wednesday 2 Lent - B
First
posted March 11, 2009;
Podcast: Wednesday 2 Lent - B
1 Corinthians 1:22-25 -- Wisdom
of God;
Paraphrase
The Jews seek “signs” (miracles; proof) and Greeks
(Gentiles) seek
wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, which is contrary
to Jewish
expectation, and contrary to worldly wisdom. But to those
who respond
to God's call, both Jew and Greek, Christ is the power and
wisdom of
God. God's foolishness is greater than the wisdom of
humans, and God's
weakness is greater than human strength.
Commentary:
In the days of Jesus' physical ministry, the Jewish
religious leaders
demanded “proof” that Jesus was the promised messiah from
God before
they would believe (John 2:18; 6:30). The “proof” was all
around them,
in what Jesus was doing, but they wouldn't accept it. At
his
crucifixion they taunted him, saying that if he came down
from the
cross they would believe in him, but they still wouldn't
have believed,
because they didn't want to (Matthew 27:42). For those who
need proof
in order to believe there is none; but for those who
believe there is
abundant proof.
God has always intended to create an eternal kingdom of
his people who
would willingly choose to trust and obey God. God designed
this
Creation according to his purpose from the very beginning
to include
the Messiah (Christ; both words mean “anointed;” John
1:1-5, 14), the
Savior and eternal King of God's kingdom. God knew that in
giving us
freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word or
not, we would
all sin (disobey God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10).
God's Word
declares that the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans
6:23). Jesus
is God's one and only provision for the forgiveness of our
sin and
salvation from eternal condemnation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6;
see God's
Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus was not the worldly expectation of a king. Dying on
the cross was
not the worldly expectation of wisdom. How could Jesus'
death on the
cross triumph over his enemies? Because God designed it
so. Jesus'
death on the cross is the one and only sacrifice
acceptable to God for
the forgiveness of sin.
God's plan required a betrayer and authorities who would
seek Jesus'
death. God knew that neither would be lacking. Israel had
a long
history, recorded in the Bible, of stoning the prophets
God sent to
them (Luke 13:34-35).
Note that the Jewish method of execution was stoning.
Crucifixion was
unknown in Israel until introduced in the time of the
Roman empire; but
Old Testament prophecy describes crucifixion (for example,
Psalm 22; cf
v.16-18; Jesus began to quote with verse 1 on the cross as
it was being
fulfilled; Matthew 27:46).
The Gospel seems to be contrary to what the world falsely
calls wisdom.
Worldly wisdom changes; the number of planets in our solar
system is a
recent example. Eternal wisdom is eternally true and
unchanging.
Jesus' death on the cross frees us from life-long bondage
to sin and
fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus'
resurrection from
physical death to eternal life demonstrates that there is
existence
after physical death. Every truly “born-again” (John 3:3,
5-8)
Christian personally testifies that Jesus has risen and is
eternally
alive because we have daily personal fellowship with him
by the gift of
the indwelling Holy Spirit. Because we know that he is
alive, and that
we are spiritually alive by the gift of the indwelling
Holy Spirit, we
can be sure that we will live eternally with him in his
heavenly
kingdom.
Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit
(John 1:31-34),
only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John
14:15-17). The
Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in
Christ and has
eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14;
Romans 8:9b, 11,
15-16).
Is Jesus your Lord (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)?
Thursday 2 Lent - B
First posted
03/10/04;
Podcast: Thursday 2 Lent - B
John 2:13-22 -- Cleansing the
Temple;
Paraphrase:
It was the time of the Passover festival, and Jesus went
to Jerusalem.
Entering the temple, Jesus saw all the tradesmen selling
animals, large
and small, for sacrifices, and the moneychangers
conducting business.
Jesus took some cords for a whip and began to drive the
merchants and
their animals out of the temple. Jesus overturned the
tables of the
moneychangers and dumped out their coins on the
ground. Jesus
told the merchants to take their animals out of the
temple. They had
made Jesus' Father's house into a business. Jesus'
disciples remembered
the prophecy of scripture, that the Messiah would be
consumed with zeal
for God's house (Psalm 69:9).
The Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus what sign he
could show that
he had authority to do this. Jesus replied, “Destroy this
temple, and
in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). The
Jews told him
it had taken forty six years to build the temple; what
made Jesus think
he could raise it up in three days. But Jesus was talking
about the
temple of his own body. After Jesus' resurrection, his
disciples
remembered this statement of Jesus', and they believed the
scripture
and Jesus' word.
Commentary:
In many ways the nominal Church today is in the same
condition as
Judaism at the time of Jesus' first coming. In many
instances the
ministry today is a “career decision” and Church is
conducted as a
business for the benefit of the leaders. In too many
cases, the Church
has failed to make disciples, and has settled for making
“members,”
“fair-weather Christians” who participate when it suits
them. In too
many cases the Church has settled for building buildings
instead of
building and strengthening the kingdom of God. Jesus warns
us that it
is not those who call themselves Christians, who call
Jesus “Lord,” who
are saved, but those who trust and obey God's Word
(Matthew 25:31-46;
Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).
When Jesus returns he will begin the judgment of the earth
with the
Church and the people of God (1 Peter 4:17). When Christ
returns, will
he find faith (Luke 18:8), or will he find people who are
going through
the motions of religious ritual out of superstition and
tradition?
Many times today people are religious “consumers,”
choosing Churches
which offer programs people want, instead of participating
in the
Church program that God wants. Instead of seeking to serve
God they
want a Church that serves them.
The Jewish leaders, who were intended to be the spiritual
leaders of
the people, misunderstood what Jesus was saying, because
they were
totally focused on material things while Jesus was
speaking of
spiritual things. In the world today, many people think
that spiritual
things are “imaginary;” that only material things have any
real
“substance.” But God's Word warns us that the material
substance that
seems so real to us is going to pass away, and only the
spiritual
things, which seem to us to lack substance are the things
that will
endure forever.
Jesus was speaking of the spiritual temple of his own
body, but the
Jewish authorities could only think in terms of “their”
worldly temple
that “they” worked for forty-six years to build.
The real “business” of the Church is to make “born-again”
disciples of
Jesus Christ, teaching them to obey all that Jesus teaches
(Matthew
28:19-20). “Born-again” Christian disciples are
individually and
collectively the spiritual temple of the Lord by the gift
of the
indwelling Holy Spirit within them.
God has given us his Word in the Bible, and in the “living
Word,” Jesus
Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment, and illustration of
God's Word
lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). God
wants us to
know and understand, trust and obey his Word. If we seek
to know God's
Word with the commitment to apply it in our daily lives he
will open
our minds to understand his Word (Luke 24:45).
The Jewish authorities challenged Jesus' authority. They
considered the
temple under their authority, believing that it had been
given to them
by God. They thought Jesus had no authority to do what he
did, because
he hadn't received it from the Jewish leaders.
That's similar to the attitude of many nominal Churches
today. They
haven't made “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples
because they
haven't taught discipleship and obedience of Jesus'
teachings. Instead
of the seal and guarantee of the indwelling Holy Spirit
upon their
ministers and members (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians
1:13-14; Romans
8:9b, 11, 15-16), they've settled for their own standard
of authority:
theological education at their seminaries, and rites of
ordination and
Church membership by their authority.
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)?
Friday 2 Lent - B
First posted
03/11/04;
Podcast: Friday 2 Lent - B
Jeremiah 26:1-15 -- The Temple
Sermon;
Paraphrase:
“At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of
Josiah, king of
Judah” (probably at the Feast of Booths in
September-October of 6O9
B.C.; Jeremiah 26:1*), the Lord told Jeremiah to stand in
the court of
the temple and proclaim all the Word of God which God gave
Jeremiah to
speak. Jeremiah was not to hold back anything of all God's
Word. God
hoped that the people would repent of their evil ways, so
that the Lord
might not have to carry out the punishment God intended to
do to them
because of their evil ways.
Jeremiah was to warn them that he was
declaring God's Word: If they did not listen to God's Word
and live
according to God's commands which he had given them, and
heed the words
of God's prophets which God had sent them with his urgent
message, and
which they had not heeded, God was going to make Judah
like Shiloh** and
would make Jerusalem a curse among the nations (Gentiles;
non-Jews).
All of the people, including the priests and prophets
heard what
Jeremiah had said, and when Jeremiah finished they all
seized him and
declared that Jeremiah should die, because he prophesied
against
Jerusalem in the name of the Lord.
The princes of Judah (royal officials) were assembled in
the New Gate
of the temple, and the religious authorities asserted that
Jeremiah
should be executed for testifying against Jerusalem. Then
Jeremiah
testified that the Lord had sent him to prophesy against
Jerusalem all
that Jeremiah had spoken. “Now therefore amend your ways
and your
doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the
Lord will
repent of the evil which he has pronounced against you”
(Jeremiah
26:13).
As for himself, Jeremiah told them to do what seemed right
to them, but that they certainly would be guilty of
shedding innocent
blood if they killed Jeremiah. Jeremiah was telling the
truth in saying
that the Lord had sent him to speak God's Word to them.
Commentary:
Israel, the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes of the
divided monarchy,
had been repeatedly warned by the prophets of God to
repent; to turn
from idolatry and disobedience of God's Word. But they
refused to heed
the warning of God's Word until it was too late. The
Northern
Kingdom was completely destroyed by the Assyrians in 721
B.C., at the
fall of Samaria, the capital city. The Northern Kingdom
effectively
ceased to exist, because the ten tribes were deported and
scattered
abroad, and the remnant intermarried with the deportees
from other
parts of the Assyrian empire to become the Samaritans, of
mixed race
and religion.
Shiloh is a symbol of the utter destruction of the
Northern Kingdom as
a warning to the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Judah refused to
heed the
example of Northern Israel and warnings of God's prophets
and God's
Word until it was to late for them to avoid exile to
Babylon for 70
years (from 587-517 B.C.).
God brought Judah, the remnant of Israel, back from
Babylon after
seventy years as he had promised (Jeremiah 25:11-12), so
that his plan
of Salvation by the Messiah, Jesus Christ, could be
fulfilled. But
seventy years was a virtual life sentence for adults at
the time of the
deportation. God brought a renewed remnant of Israel back;
but they
were not the same people who had gone into exile.
The history of God's dealing with Israel is recorded in
the Bible and
is intended to also be a “parable,” a metaphor of life in
this world.
In a sense we are all in exile in the Babylon of this
present world. We
must learn to trust and obey the Lord so that we can be
spiritually
“reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) and be led back to the “Promised
Land” of
God's eternal kingdom in heaven at the end of our
lifetimes, or we will
die eternally in the eternal Babylon of Hell (see God's
Plan of
Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
The Bible is the Word of God, containing both great
promises and
ominous warnings. The warnings are given to us to help us
avoid the
consequences of disobedience of God's Word, so that we can
receive the
promises of God. Judah didn't learn from the warnings of
God's prophets
and the examples of the Northern Kingdom, so they suffered
the seventy
years of exile.
The Jews who returned from the exile were not the same
ones who went
into exile. They were a renewed people of God, but they
soon forgot the
lessons of obedient trust in God's Word learned in the
exile. As the
result, they were unprepared for the coming of the
Messiah, Jesus
Christ.
Again, they failed to believe and heed the Word of God, so
Jerusalem and the temple were again destroyed, this time
by the Roman
empire in 70 A.D.. The people were scattered throughout
the world, and
Israel ceased to exist as a nation, until it began to be
reestablished
following World War II.
I assert that the Christian Church is in the same
situation today as
Judaism and Israel at the time of Jesus' first coming. In
too many
instances we started out as renewed people but we've
forgotten or
refused to learn from the experiences of Israel from the
Bible. In too
many instances, we're unwilling to hear the warnings of
God's Word.
In the first century of the Church, the Apostle Paul
warned that the
time was coming when people wouldn't tolerate sound
teaching, but would
get teachers who would tell them what they wanted to hear;
what made
them feel good about themselves (2 Timothy 4:3-4). That
time has
certainly come. People don't want to hear about sin and
hell. The want
to hear a “Gospel” of prosperity; a Gospel of salvation by
grace
(unmerited favor) without the responsibility of
discipleship and
obedience to God's Word (see False Teachings, sidebar, top
right, home).
This is the season of Lent: a time of self-examination and
a call to
repentance and re-commitment to obedience and trust in
God's Word. It is
a time to amend our ways and our doings.
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 26:1-6n, p. 947, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
**One of two shrines (the other being Bethel) of Northern Israel; the site of the tabernacle from the conquest (Joshua 18:1-10) until the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:3-11). It had been utterly destroyed five hundred years before Jeremiah. Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Shiloh," digital edition, SwordPROJECT BibleTime 1.6.4 (for Linux KDE 3.5.7) http://www.bibletime.org/
See:
http://shepherdboy.byethost12.com/HTML_Bible_Tools/EBD/T0003300.html#T0003375
Saturday 2 Lent - B
First posted 03/12/04;
Podcast: Saturday 2 Lent - B
Ephesians 5:1-9 -- Christian Living;
Luke 11:14-28 -- Obedient Trust;
Ephesians Paraphrase:
As God's beloved children, we should learn to copy God's ways. We should live according to the example of love Christ showed us, in giving himself as a sacrifice and pleasing offering to God for us.
As saints (consecrated to God's use) we must not even mention any immorality, impurity, or covetousness among us. We must not tolerate dirty talk, even in joking, among us, for that is improper. Instead we should express thanksgiving to God. Know assuredly that no one who is immoral, impure or covetous (covetousness is idolatry) will have any inheritance in Christ and the kingdom of God.
Do not be deceived; God's wrath is coming upon those who disobey God's Word by such behavior. We must not associate with such people. We were once in spiritual darkness of sin and ignorance, but now we have spiritual enlightenment and purity in the Lord, so we must live accordingly. Spiritual light produces what is good, right and true.
Luke Paraphrase:
Jesus had cast out a demon that had caused a person to be mute, and when the demon left, the person was able to speak, amazing the crowd of onlookers. Some said that Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebul (Beelzebub; Satan), the prince of demons. Others asked Jesus for a sign (proof) from heaven.
Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said that kingdoms and houses (dynasties) which are divided are destroyed. Satan wouldn't oppose his own demons; it would defeat his purpose. Jesus said that if they thought Jesus cast out demons by Satan, by whom did the Jewish exorcists cast them out? Jewish exorcists are witnesses against Jesus' Jewish accusers. But if Jesus casts out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God is at hand.
When a powerful and well-armed person guards his house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger than that person assaults and overcomes him, and takes away his armor and weapons upon which he relied, then the assailant carries off that persons' property. Those who don't work with Jesus are opposing him.
Jesus warned that when a demon has been cast out of a person, the demon finds no place of rest, so he will attempt to return to him from whom he was cast out. That person has been cleansed and put in order, so the demon finds him more attractive than before. He invites seven other demons who are even more evil, and the person's last condition was worse than before.
As Jesus was saying this a woman in the crowd cried out that the womb who bore Jesus and the breasts that suckled him were blessed. But Jesus replied that it is those who hear the Word of God and do it who will be blessed.
Commentary:
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and fall short of God's righteousness. The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus has come into the world to deliver us from bondage to sin and death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Sin is a spiritual illness which results in spiritual, eternal, death. Demonic possession represents spiritual illness. Jesus came into the world to heal us spiritually and to raise us from spiritual death to eternal life. Jesus' miracles of physical healing, feeding and resurrection were intended to demonstrate that he can also, and more eternally importantly, heal, feed, and give us life spiritually.
Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c) who have believed (trusted and obeyed) Jesus and have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives (“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).
Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem (the Church is the modern equivalent) until they had received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), and then they were to go into all the world and make (“born-again”) disciples of Jesus Christ and teach them to trust and obey all that Jesus taught (Matthew 28:19-20).
The Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the prototype of a “modern,” “post-resurrection;” “born-again” disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-22). He is intended by God to be our example (and the disciple to replace Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, rather than Matthias; Acts 1:15-26).
Paul was “discipling” the Ephesian new believers. Paul was saying that Jesus spiritually heals and cleanses us through faith (obedient trust). We must apply Jesus' teachings in our daily lives, and be filled with his indwelling Holy Spirit, or we will become more attractive to the demons of sin and spiritual death, and our cleansing and healing will not last.
Paul was carrying on the teaching of Jesus Christ. Jesus' authority and power came not from Satan but by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), and so did Paul's. Note that blaspheming the Holy Spirit (suggesting that the Holy Spirit is of demonic origin) is the one and only “unforgivable” sin; Matthew 12:31-32). The reason is that in so doing one cuts oneself off from the only source of forgiveness, salvation, and spiritual “rebirth.”
Jesus warns that it is not those who call themselves “Christians,” or who call Jesus “Lord,” who will be saved; only the ones who do what God's Word commands (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).
The Virgin Mary bore Jesus, and suckled him, but it isn't the Virgin Mary who we are to worship. She is only the example of an obedient, trusting servant of God, who heard and obeyed God's Word, as we all can be.
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)?
