Week
of 4 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
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Podcast Download: Week of 4 Lent B
Sunday
4 Lent B
First posted March 22,
2009;
Podcast: Sunday 4 Lent B
Numbers 21:4-9 -- The Fiery Serpent;
Psalm 27:1-9 (10-18) -- Our Light and Salvation;
Ephesians 2:4-10 --Saved by Grace through Faith;
John 3:14-21 --Christ Lifted Up;
Numbers Paraphrase:
The Israelites marched north to Hormah (between Beer-sheba and the
Dead Sea), but then were forced to go south to the Red Sea (Gulf of
Aqaba, to go around Edom because the Edomites had refused to allow
them to pass through their land. The people became impatient and
complained against Moses and God, asking why Moses and God had led
them into the wilderness to die of starvation. They felt deprived of
food and water, and loathed the manna (food God provided for them in
the wilderness). Then God sent poisonous snakes among them and many
people were bitten and died. So the Israelites confessed that they
had sinned in speaking against Moses and God, and asked Moses to
intercede for them to God to remove the snakes from among them.
Moses prayed as they had asked, and the Lord told him to make a
bronze serpent and mount it on a pole (to raise it above the heads
of the people). Then when anyone was bitten he could look and see
the serpent and he would live.
Psalm Paraphrase:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord
is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” (Psalm
27:1)?
When I am assailed by evildoers and my enemies and adversaries
slander me, they will stumble and fall. I will not fear, even if an
entire army encamps against me. Even in time of war I will remain
confident.
The one thing that I have desired and pursue is to dwell in the
house of the Lord all my days, to behold his beauty, and to be
taught by him.
In the day of disaster, he will shelter me and hide me from my
enemy. He will give me a high and solid rock to stand upon, so that
I will be lifted up above my enemies who surround me. So I will be
able and motivated to offer worship in his temple with sacrifice and
shouts of praise. I will rejoice and sing to him.
Please hear me when I cry to you, O Lord. Be gracious and answer me.
You have commanded us to seek your presence, and we earnestly seek
you. Do not hide from us. Don't turn us away in anger, since you
have been our help in the past. Don't cast us off, nor forsake us
ever, because you are the God we trust for our salvation.
Ephesians Paraphrase:
Our God has great love and mercy for us, demonstrated in that, while
we were yet unrepentant sinners (disobeying God's Word), God sent
his beloved only begotten Son to die as the one and only sacrificial
offering acceptable to God for the remission and forgiveness of our
sin. We have been saved by God's grace (unmerited favor; a free
gift). He has given us eternal life with Jesus, and has raised us up
from physical death to eternal life with Jesus. In eternity God will
show us how immeasurable his grace is, in his kindness to us through
Jesus Christ. “For by grace you have been saved by faith; and this
is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, lest any man [person]
should boast. For we are his [God's] workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
John Paraphrase:
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
Son of man (Jesus) be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may
have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God
sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).
Those who believe in Jesus are not condemned; it is those who do not
believe in him who are under eternal condemnation, because they have
not believed in the name (person and character) of the only
[begotten] Son of God. Jesus is the light of righteousness (John
1:5; 3:19-21), spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9), and eternal life
(John 1:4), who has come into the world. But mankind loves the
spiritual darkness of sin (disobedience of God's Word) and evil.
They hate the light and refuse to come to the light because they
don't want their sin and evil exposed. But those who do what is
righteous (right, good, and true) according to God's Word and
judgment, come to the light so that all may see that their deeds
have been done in accordance with God's Word.
Commentary:
There are various versions of the Bible which include pictures, but
regardless of graphic illustrations, the Bible is deliberately
intended by God to be a series of mental images illustrating life in
this world. The Bible is the Word of God, inspired by God, and the
images are intended to prepare us to accept and fulfill God's
purpose.
The serpent is Satan, the tempter, who has tempted us to sin
(disobey God's Word) from the very beginning of Creation (Genesis
3:1). Spiritual, eternal, death is the “snakebite” of sin, and all
of us who have ever lived have sinned and fallen short of God's
righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). God's Word declares that
the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23).
The Israelites complained to Moses and to God that they thought they
had been brought into the wilderness to be starved to death (Numbers
21:5), but that wasn't God's purpose at all, for them or for us. God
didn't put us into the spiritual “wilderness” of this present world
to starve us spiritually to our eternal death. This lifetime is our
one and only opportunity to seek, find, and have fellowship with God
our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and to be spiritually “reborn” (John
3:3, 5-8) to eternal life.
All this is possible only by God's grace (unmerited favor; a free
gift) to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Only
Jesus “baptizes” with (“anoints;” 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).
Israel was specifically forbidden to make “molten images,” so why
did God tell Moses to make the molten image of a snake and set it on
a pole? This is a mental image God created beforehand in his people,
so that when they saw it fulfilled they would understand what God
was doing.
The image of the serpent was mounted on the pole horizontally by a
socket in the serpent's body, so that it resembled a cross.
Crucifixion was unknown to Israel until the time of the Roman
Empire. We are all “snake-bitten” by sin, and Jesus is the only
antidote, whom we have lifted up on the cross. We are all guilty of
crucifying Jesus because we have all sinned and made his sacrificial
death necessary.
Jesus is our “Moses” who leads us out of the “Egypt” of bondage to
sin and eternal death, and intercedes to God on our behalf for our
forgiveness. As Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant of Law,
Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor;
a free gift), to be received through faith Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus is our light (of righteousness, spiritual enlightenment, and
eternal life; John 8:12). We are vindicated in God's eternal
judgment, not because we are righteous, but by the blood of Jesus'
sacrifice on the Cross in our behalf. Jesus is our stronghold, who
makes it possible for us to live eternally. We no longer have to
fear or be enslaved by physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
By the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience daily
fellowship with God and Jesus Christ. We have the foretaste of
dwelling in the house of the Lord eternally, and we receive
“discipling,” eternal enlightenment, and revelation through the Holy
Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13). It is only possible for us to truly
praise and worship the Lord by the gift of the indwelling Holy
Spirit (Romans 8:15-17).
God is not obligated to be all that a loving, all-powerful God
implies, unless we are willing to know, trust and obey God's Word.
Just adding “in Jesus' name” to the end of our prayers doesn't
obligate God to hear or answer them (see Conditions for Answered
Prayer, sidebar, top right, home). When we truly and earnestly seek
God, our Creator, he promises to reveal himself to us (Deuteronomy
4:29). Jesus promises to reveal himself and God the Father to us as
we trust and obey Jesus (John 14:12).
God foreshadowed his plan of salvation when he asked Abraham to
sacrifice Isaac, Abraham's beloved son of God's promise, through
whom Abraham and the world were to inherit God's blessing (Genesis
22:1-19).
Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to save us from spiritual
eternal death by the fiery serpent of sin, if we will accept Jesus
as our Savior and Lord, and trust and obey him. Anyone who rejects
God's promise in Jesus Christ is cutting himself off from eternal
forgiveness, salvation, and real 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 4 Lent B
First posted
March 23, 2009;
Podcast: Monday 4 Lent B
Psalm 51:11-16 -- Penitential Psalm;
Paraphrase:
Don't cast me away from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from
me, Lord. Restore the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me
with your willing spirit.
Then I will teach your ways to sinners and they will return to you.
Deliver me from condemnation, for you are my Savior. Then I will
testify to your deliverance.
“O Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth will show forth thy praise”
(Psalm 51:15). (Animal) sacrifices and religious ritual are not what
please you.
Commentary:
This is a great penitential psalm, superscribed to David when Nathan
had convicted him of David's sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1-14).
The sacrifice that pleases the Lord is the sacrifice of our will and
our commitment to obedience to his ways. He is not impressed with
religious ritual, but with true confession and repentance of our
sins (disobedience of God's Word).
When we accept Jesus as our Lord, we make a commitment to trust and
obey him. In our human nature, it is we who want to be “Lord.” It is
one of the sins committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
(Genesis 3:5). Jesus says that if we follow him we must trust and
obey his teachings (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46), and he gave his
disciples the “Great Commission” to make disciples by teaching them
to trust and obey all that Jesus teaches (Matthew 28:19-20).
When we accept Jesus as Lord and begin to trust and obey him, he
will give us his indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the gift
of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples
who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the
seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2
Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The
infilling of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing,
daily event (Acts 19:2).
It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we experience the joy of
his salvation of us. It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are
spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. It is by
the indwelling Holy Spirit that he guides, enables and sustains us.
We can only carry out his command to make (“born-again”) disciples
by the guidance and empowerment of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus
commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem (the Church is the “New
Jerusalem” on earth) until they had been “born-again,” before going
into the world to make disciples, teaching them to trust and obey
all that Jesus teaches (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; Matthew
28:19-20).
It takes “born-again” disciples to make “born-again” disciples. It
is only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have
personal daily fellowship with the Lord. How can one testify to any
one or any thing they have not personally experienced?
Our job as “born-again” disciples is to carry on the mission of
Christ to teach God's ways to sinners, that they may turn to the
Lord and learn to trust and obey him, so that they can be forgiven
and restored to fellowship with the Lord and have eternal life. We
have all sinned and fall short of God's righteousness (doing what is
good, right, and true, according to God's Word and judgment (Romans
3:23). When we acknowledge our sin to the Lord and earnestly repent,
he will forgive us and restore us from eternal condemnation to
fellowship with God which was broken by sin (1 John 1:9). But if we
deny our sin, we only deceive ourselves, and call God a liar (1 John
1:8, 10); we are not forgiven, and the penalty for sin is (eternal)
death (Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right,
home).
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 4 Lent B
First
posted March 24, 2009;
Podcast: Tuesday 4 Lent B
Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- The New Covenant Foretold;
Background:
Jeremiah's ministry occurred between 627 to after 580 B.C.* The
Northern Kingdom of the Ten Tribes had been wiped out by the
Assyrians at the fall of Samaria in 721.* Judah was the remnant of
Israel.
Paraphrase:
Through the prophet, Jeremiah, the Lord declared that the days would
come when the Lord would make a New Covenant (Testament) with Judah,
the remnant of Israel. It will be different from the first Covenant
which God had made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. They
repeatedly broke the first Covenant, but in the New Covenant, the
Lord will place his Word within his people, written upon their
hearts (not on tablets of stone; Exodus 24:12). The Lord had been
their “husband” by the Covenant, but they had been the unfaithful
“bride.” In the New Covenant the Lord will be their God, and they
will be God's people. It won't be necessary for people to teach
their neighbors and families, telling them to know the Lord, because
they will all know him, both great and least, because God will
forgive their sin and will not keep remembrance of their iniquity
(wrongdoing).
Commentary:
The first (Old) Covenant was of Law, was given to Moses, the
mediator, written on stone tablets, emphasizing that the Law was
rigid, and the motivation to keep it was based on fear. It required
constant sacrificial offerings to atone for sin (disobedience of
God's Word). Jesus has been designed into Creation from the very
beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). Israel could never meet all the Law's
demands. Breaking any portion of the Law makes one guilty of all
(James 2:10; Romans 19:20).
We have all sinned 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; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right,
home).
The New Covenant was instituted by Jesus, our mediator, at the Last
Supper (Matthew 26:26-29), on the night of his betrayal and arrest.
It is the New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift from
God (Ephesians 2:8-9) based on love, written on our hearts, by the
gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, rather than in stone as the Old
Covenant of Law had been. Jesus' love was demonstrated at the cross,
dying for our sins so that we wouldn't have to die eternally for
them ourselves (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). By the indwelling Holy
Spirit we personally experience God's love for us in Jesus Christ.
Jesus' death on the cross was the one and only sacrifice acceptable
to God, once for all time and all people who are willing to receive
it by faith (obedient trust). Jesus' blood shed on the cross seals
us into the New Covenant and cleanses us from all sin (Hebrews
9:22).
Only Jesus gives the gift of (“baptizes with) the indwelling Holy
Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus
(John 14:15-17). By faith in Jesus we are spiritually cleansed by
his sacrifice, so that we can become the temple of God's presence
within us by the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Jesus gives the indwelling Holy Spirit to those who are committed to
trusting and obeying the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the
Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). We are freed from bondage to the Law, if
we are living according to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-11).
When a person accepts Jesus as his Lord by faith, and begins to
trust and obey Jesus' teachings, it won't be necessary to seek
further teaching by religious authorities. They will know and have a
personal knowledge of God through his Holy Spirit. They will be
“discipled” to spiritual maturity by the indwelling Holy Spirit
(John 14:26). They must learn to recognize the prompting and
guidance of the Holy Spirit, and learn from experience to trust him.
The role of the Church is the continuation of the role of John the
Baptizer. The Church proclaims the coming of the Messiah, (Christ;
God's “anointed” Savior and eternal King), calls all people to
repent, turn to the Lord in faith, and be baptized with water for
repentance in preparation for them to receive the Lord, by the gift
of his indwelling Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the New Moses, the mediator of the New Covenant. The Church
is his “bride,” the “New Israel.” Jesus brings us out of bondage to
sin and eternal death in this earthly kingdom (Hebrews 2:14-15)
through the “sea” of water baptism into Christ. The Holy Spirit is
the pillar of fire and cloud which 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.
The Church should be teaching its members to seek and expect the
infilling of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 7:21-27), as they begin to
know and apply Jesus' teachings. Too often that is not the case in
“nominal” Churches today. We're to become disciples of Jesus Christ;
not disciples of some pastor or theologian.
God is God whether we acknowledge him or not, but he is not
obligated to be all that a loving all-powerful God implies unless we
are willing to hear, trust and obey his Word. He isn't obligated to
hear and answer our prayers just because we add Jesus' name to the
end. Just calling Jesus our Lord doesn't make it so. Jesus warns
that in order to seek God's eternal kingdom present all around us
now, and to see and ultimately enter it in eternity we must be
spiritually “born-again” (John 3;3, 5-8), by the gift of the
indwelling Holy Spirit.
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, (intro to) Jeremiah, p. 908, and Chronological Tables , p. 1533, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.
Wednesday 4 Lent B
First posted March 25, 2009;
Podcast: Wednesday 4 Lent B
Hebrews 5:7-9 -- Spiritual Maturity;
Paraphrase:
During Jesus' physical lifetime Jesus prayed earnestly with agony and tears to God his Father, who was able to save him from death (Luke 22:42-44), and God heard his prayer because of Jesus' godly fear (his respect for God's authority and power). Although he was God's (only begotten) Son, he learned to be obedient through suffering, and as he was made mature and complete “he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:9).
Commentary:
In human flesh Jesus was subject to all the human feelings and temptations that we have. He had the same instinct for survival that we have. Jesus didn't want to die the excruciatingly painful death on the cross. In Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal and arrest, he prayed in agony that, if possible, he might not have to endure what he knew awaited him, but he accepted God's will (Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus trusted that God could restore him from physical death to eternal life.
Jesus' prayers were heard by God because of Jesus' reverence and respect for God's authority and power (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right, home). God heard Jesus' prayer for deliverance from Jesus' destiny. God didn't remove suffering and death from Jesus, but he raised him from physical death to eternal life, accomplishing God's eternal purpose for Creation.
Jesus has been designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). God has been progressively revealing himself and his purpose for Creation, first in Creation itself, then through the Bible, which is the record of God's dealing with his people. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God and God's purpose to the world.
Jesus is the image of God in human flesh (John 14:8-10). Jesus was fully human but also fully God (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). Jesus is the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived out in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus' words are the Word of God, with the creative force of God's Word (John 14:10, 24; Mark 4:37-41; compare Genesis 1:3, 9).
Jesus revealed the power of God to give spiritual healing, feeding and life to us, through his miracles of physical healing, feeding and raising the dead. Jesus' own resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death. Jesus taught by word and example how to be children of God; how to learn to trust and obey God's Word. God won't remove all suffering from us but will give us the strength to endure and get safely through it.
God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God's Word. This lifetime is a spiritual garden in which God grows his eternal people. The meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek, find, come to know and have personal fellowship with God, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). This is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Sin (disobedience of God's Word) has separated us from personal fellowship with God and has condemned us to spiritual eternal death (Genesis 3:1-24). The penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for our forgiveness, salvation, and restoration to fellowship with God the Father and to eternal life (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).
Jesus “has become the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Because we are all born into sin (Psalm 51:5), we are all born physically alive but spiritually eternally dead. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. This is only possible through the gift (“baptism;” “anointing”) of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
Jesus came to free us from bondage to sin resulting from our fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we can be certain that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). If Jesus endured crucifixion and came through physical death to eternal life we can be sure that we can also. “Born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ personally experience that Jesus is eternally alive, through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit. The indwelling Holy Spirit is God's ultimate revelation of himself to us individually and personally.
Jesus came to demonstrate the way to eternal life (John 14:6). We are to become his disciples, we are to learn to trust and obey Jesus' teaching and example. We are to seek and wait for the infilling of his Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8), and then we are to go and make “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to know, trust and obey Jesus' teachings. The Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is intended by God to be the example of a “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple (student) and apostle (messenger) of the Gospel, illustrating what the Church and each of us can and should be.
Making “born-again Christian disciples is supposed to be the foremost and central role of the Church. The Holy Spirit is given to us so that the Gospel (“Good News”) of Salvation through Jesus Christ can flow through us and out into this world (John 7:38). Christian discipleship is a spiritual growth process. As new Christians begin to grow by knowing, trusting and obeying Jesus teaching, they will be “born-again.” But that is just the beginning; not the end. Then we are to learn to know and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us and learn from experience that the Lord is able to provide the resources to accomplish what he directs us to do. As we do so, we grow in faith (obedient trust).
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 4 Lent B
First posted March 26, 2009;
Podcast: Thursday 4 Lent B
John 12:20-33 -- Jesus Finishes His Public Ministry;
Paraphrase:
Jesus and his disciples had gone to Jerusalem for Passover, where Jesus knew that he would be crucified (John 12:1-19). Some Greeks (Gentile Jewish proselytes) came to Philip (one of the Twelve original disciples) and asked to see Jesus. Philip went to Andrew (another of the Twelve) and told him and they went together and told Jesus.
Jesus said that his hour had come to be glorified. Jesus said that unless a seed is “buried” it cannot do what is intended, but if it is buried it produces much fruit. Jesus said that if a person loves his life in this world he will lose it, but if he hates his life now he will save it for eternity. In order to serve Jesus one must follow his teaching and example. His servant will be where Jesus is, and those who serve him will be honored by God the Father.
Jesus said that he was troubled in his soul. In his human nature he would have liked to pray that God would save him from the hour of Jesus' death, but he realized that was the purpose he was sent to accomplish. Instead he prayed that God the Father would glorify God's name. A voice from heaven declared that God had glorified his name and would do so again. Some standing nearby heard it, and thought it was a clap of thunder, but others said that an angel had spoken to Jesus. Jesus said that the voice had spoken not for Jesus' benefit, but for the people around him.
Jesus declared that this was the hour when this world was judged; now was the time that the ruler of this world (Satan) would be cast out. Jesus said that when he was lifted up (on the cross), he would draw all people to himself. Jesus said this to reveal that he would die by crucifixion.
Commentary:
Philip and Andrew (Simon Peter's brother) were from Bethsaida in Galilee. Some Greeks had come to Philip and asked to see Jesus. They knew that Philip was one of Jesus' disciples. Philip went and found Andrew and together they went and told Jesus. Philip may have asked Andrew whether he should take them to Jesus. In the past Jesus had said that his ministry was to the Jews first (Matthew 15:24). When they talked to Jesus, he replied that his “hour” to be glorified (the time for Jesus to accomplish his purpose; to reveal himself as the Messiah) had come.
Jesus used the analogy (a parable) of a seed to describe the spiritual reality of Jesus' death. A seed seems dead unless it is “buried” in the ground. As a seed does not accomplish its purpose unless it is “buried,” neither can Jesus accomplish his purpose unless he dies and is buried. When a seed is “buried” it brings forth much fruit, and so also Jesus will rise again from the grave and yield a great harvest.
Jesus said that anyone who loves their earthly life will ultimately die, physically and eternally, and lose everything they loved. But those who recognize the “fallen,” imperfect nature of themselves and this Creation will seek a better life in a perfect Creation in God's heavenly kingdom, and by following Jesus, will find and keep what is truly life for eternity.
In order to serve Jesus we must follow his teaching and example (Matthew 7:21-27). When we do what Jesus did and taught, he will be with us personally, through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). Those who truly serve Jesus will be honored and glorified by God the Father.
Jesus was fully human, in a physical body, and he felt all the things and had the same instincts that we do. Humanly he would rather not have had to die the prolonged, excruciatingly painful death of crucifixion. But he knew that he had been sent for that purpose, and he surrendered his own will in order to do God's will. He didn't want to accumulate worldly possessions or acclaim. He didn't value his worldly life above God's will. He trusted in God's Word. He desired to glorify God, rather than himself.
Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that there is existence beyond physical death, and the possibility of eternal life. Every truly “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ personally experiences daily the risen Jesus, and can testify that Jesus has indeed risen and is eternally alive.
Jesus declared that from this “hour” of Jesus' crucifixion the world has been judged, and Satan has been defeated. When Jesus is “lifted up” on the cross, he will draw all people to himself. The Gentile proselytes that Philip and Andrew had gone to Jesus about were the beginning of the fulfillment of Jesus' word.
Spiritual reality reverses worldly reality. Clinging to worldly life brings physical and spiritual, eternal death. Surrendering one's earthly temporal life gains true, eternal life.
The Jews judged and condemned Jesus, but it was they who were judged and condemned by their action. The Jews rejected Jesus, but the Gentile proselytes of Judaism wanted to come to Jesus. The people chose to release a criminal, and to crucify Jesus, their Messiah, their Savior and eternal King, their Son of David (Matthew 27:15-26).
Worldly people had Jesus “lifted up” on the cross to death; but God “lifted up” Jesus from the grave to eternal life and glory. Jesus was crucified like a criminal, but God made him the eternal king of God's heavenly kingdom. Jesus' crucifixion looked like Satan's victory but it was his defeat (Hebrews 2:14-15).
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 4 Lent B
First Posted 3/23/2012;
Podcast: Friday 4 Lent B
Hebrews 9:11-15 - Our Eternal High Priest;
Since Christ has appeared, he is our high priest of the good things that are coming. As high priest he has entered into the Holy Place of the more perfect tabernacle, not the replica made by man, taking not the blood of animals, but his own blood, securing an eternal redemption. If the blood and ashes of animal sacrifices consecrates and purifies our flesh, much more will the blood of Christ, the unblemished sacrifice he offered to God by the eternal Spirit, purify our conscience from works which bring eternal death, so that we can serve the eternally living God.
“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant (testament), so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15).
Commentary:
The tabernacle was a portable temple. The design was given by God to Moses (Exodus 25:1-40:38). It is a replica of the eternal temple in heaven. Within the temple was a inner area, separated from the main area by a curtain, called the “Holy-of-Holies,” or “Holy Place” where the ark of the covenant, representing the presence of God, was kept.
God's design of the tabernacle and of the priesthood was intended to foreshadow the fulfillment of the kingdom of God in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. The high priest could only enter into God's presence in the Holy-of-Holies once a year, bringing a sacrificial offering of animal blood for the sins of the people and of himself (Hebrews 9:1-10).
Jesus has become our great High Priest. He is in the presence of God continually and his blood sacrifice purifies us once for all time, and all people who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Jesus' death on the cross opened the way for us to enter into God's presence anytime, which was symbolized by the tearing of the curtain (veil; Matthew 27:51).
Under the Old Covenant of Law, sacrifices had to be made continually, because no one is able to keep all the Law all the time. Jesus' blood secures, once for all, our eternal redemption (buys us back; pays the price to free us from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death; Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus is the perfect, unblemished “Lamb of God;” the Lamb of the Passover. The Passover lamb was a perfect and unblemished lamb. It was sacrificed for the Feast of Passover. Its blood marked the door of the Israelites houses, so the destroyer would “pass over” them when he killed the firstborn of the Egyptians, the last plague, earning the Israelites release from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-14).
Jesus instituted the New Covenant, at the “Last Supper,” which was a celebration of the Passover, the night he was betrayed and arrested on the eve of his crucifixion (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus is the fulfillment of the symbolism of the Passover. He has become the mediator of the New Covenant.
The word used in the text for covenant also means “will” and “testament,” as in “Last Will and Testament” (and which is why the the Bible is divided into Old and New Testaments). We receive the inheritance of eternal life in the new, perfect creation of God's kingdom in heaven by Jesus' death. We are all called through Jesus Christ to be inheritors with him. All we need to be inheritors is to believe in (trust and obey) 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)?
Saturday 4 Lent B
First posted March 28, 2009;
Podcast: Saturday 4 Lent B
John 8:46-59 -- Jesus' Authority;
Paraphrase:
Jewish religious leaders were arguing with Jesus over his authority. Jesus asked them who can convict him of sin. Why didn't they believe Jesus, if he was telling the truth? Godly people will hear (and recognize) God's Word; the fact that his critics did not is because they are not of God.
His adversaries accused him of being a demon-possessed Samaritan. Jesus replied that he didn't have a demon, but was honoring God, while they dishonored Jesus. But Jesus wasn't seeking his own glory. God will glorify Jesus and he will be the judge.
Jesus said that most assuredly, any one who keeps (trusts and obeys) Jesus' word will never see death. His adversaries replied that they now had evidence that Jesus was demon-possessed. They argued that Abraham and the prophets died; was Jesus greater than Abraham? Who was Jesus claiming to be?
Jesus answered that he wasn't seeking his own glory; God would glorify Jesus. His adversaries claimed that God was their God, but they didn't know God. Jesus knows God; denying knowing God would make Jesus a liar like his adversaries. Jesus knows God and keeps God's Word. Jesus told them that their father, Abraham, saw Jesus revealed (as the promised Messiah) and rejoiced.
Jesus' adversaries replied that Jesus wasn't even fifty years old; how could he possibly have seen Abraham. Jesus replied “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abrahan was I am.” Then his adversaries gathered stones to kill Jesus by stoning, but Jesus hid from them and left the temple.
Commentary:
Jesus is the “living Word,” the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word, lived in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus was designed into this Creation from the very beginning. He was preexistent; he shares all the nature of God (Colossians 2:8-9), including omniscience (knowing all things). When Jesus claimed “before Abraham was, I am,” he was claiming to be God, the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:13-14), which is why the Jews thought they were justified in stoning him there and then.
The Jewish authorities claimed to know God and God's Word, but if they had, they would have recognized that Jesus is the Messiah, their eternal Savior and King. Jesus was telling them the truth, but they refused to believe it. They were “bearing false witness,” violating the eighth Commandment” against Jesus. It was they who blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin, when they accused Jesus of having a demon (Matthew 12:31).
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)?
