Week
of 18 Pentecost - 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/
http://shepherdboysmydailywalk.wordpress.com/
http://shepherdboy-mydailywalk.blogspot.com/
.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 18 Pentecost - B
Sunday 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted
October 4, 2009;
Podcast: Sunday 18 Pentecost - B
Jeremiah 11:18-20 -- Personal Lament;
Psalm 54:1-4, 6-7a -- Prayer for
Deliverance;
James 3:16-4:6 -- Divine Wisdom;
Mark 9:30-37 -- True Greatness;
Jeremiah Paraphrase:
Jeremiah was a prophet of the Lord in
the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the remnant of Israel
after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by the
Assyrians. Jeremiah’s warnings about the consequences of
idolatry and disobedience of God’s Word were not
appreciated or heeded by the leaders of Judah. Jeremiah
was imprisoned until he was released by the Assyrians
after the fall of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah’s personal cry for
vindication and deliverance is also a messianic
prophecy. The Prophet, Jeremiah, received wisdom and
revelation from God. God made known to Jeremiah the plot
against him. Jeremiah felt like a gentle lamb led to his
slaughter. His enemies wanted to destroy Jeremiah and
the fruit of his prophecy. They wanted to blot out
Jeremiah’s name from remembrance. But Jeremiah committed
his life and cause to the Lord, who he acknowledged and
trusted to judge justly.
Psalm Paraphrase
David, the great shepherd-king of
Israel was forced to flee from his rival to the throne,
King Saul, who sought to destroy David. David was God’s
“anointed” King, but Saul refused to yield the throne to
David. David had taken refuge among the Ziphites (in the
region of the southern border of Judah with Edom: Joshua
15:21-24; or in the hill country of Judah: Joshua 15:48,
55), but the Ziphites had betrayed David’s presence to
Saul (1 Sam. 23:19-20, 26; Ps. 54, ascription; v.1).
Psalm 54 is David’s prayer for
deliverance from his enemies. David committed his life
and cause to the Lord, and left vengeance and his
vindication to the Lord. He knew that the Lord had heard
his prayer for deliverance and could thank the Lord in
confidence that he would be delivered from every trouble
and would be vindicated, as he had in the past (1 John
5:14-15).
James Paraphrase:
The author of the Letter of James was
discipling Christian believers. He warned them not to
continue in worldly ways such as jealousy and selfish
ambition, or what the world falsely calls “wisdom.”
Those worldly ways lead to evil. Instead, believers
should seek the divine wisdom, by which the world was
created, and which only God can give (1 Corinthians
1:17-25; 2:1-8). Divine wisdom is “pure (sinless),
peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and
good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity” (James
3:17). Righteousness (doing what is right in God’s
judgment; obeying God’s Word) is the fruit harvested
from the “seed” of peace sown by peacemakers.
War and fighting are caused by human
lust (selfish desire). People desire what they do not
have, and covet what does not belong to them, leading to
fighting, war, and murder to obtain. We do not have,
because we do not ask God in obedient trust in God’s
Word, and we ask and do not obtain, because we ask for
the wrong things for the wrong reasons, to indulge our
“worldly” human nature.
Christians must learn that worldly
ways are in opposition to God’s ways. Seeking worldly
approval and favor results in enmity with God. God
yearns for our fellowship. God created us to be his
people, and he mourns when we reject his love and his
gifts. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace
(unmerited favor) to the humble” (James 4:6b).
Mark Paraphrase
Jesus was trying to travel
anonymously from town to town in Galilee, because he was
trying to prepare his disciples for his crucifixion and
death. Jesus told them that the “Son of man” (Jesus)
would be killed and after three days would rise from the
dead, but his disciples didn’t understand what he was
saying, and were afraid to ask.
Jesus and his disciples came to
Capernaum (Jesus’ headquarters after his hometown,
Nazareth, had rejected and ejected Jesus (Mark 6:1-6;
Luke 4:16-30). On the way his disciples had been
discussing among themselves who among them was greatest.
Jesus knew what they had been discussing, so he gathered
them and told them that whoever wanted to be first in
the kingdom of God must be last and the servant of all.
Jesus brought a child into their midst and said that
whoever received a child in Jesus’ name receives Jesus,
and also God the Father, who sent Jesus.
Commentary:
God’s Word is eternally true, and is
fulfilled over and over, as the conditions for its
fulfillment are met. Jeremiah’s personal lament was also
messianic prophecy. Jeremiah was a humble and suffering
servant, and Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment.
Before the first coming (advent) of
Jesus Christ, personal fellowship with God was a rare
occurrence. Jeremiah had a personal relationship with
God, and so did David; and both were servants of the
Lord who foreshadowed the Messiah, the ultimate
“suffering servant” of the Lord.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment,
embodiment and exemplification of God’s Word in human
flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus came to become the one and
only sacrifice acceptable to God to cleanse us from sin
(disobedience of God’s Word) and to restore fellowship
and eternal life with God which was lost by sin.
We were created by God to have
eternal life and fellowship with our Creator (Genesis
1:26). God warned the first man (Adam) that disobedience
of God’s Word would cause mankind to lose eternal life
(Genesis 2:17). All have sinned and fallen short of
God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The
penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23; see God’s
Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus came to restore us to eternal
life and fellowship with God (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). We
are all terminally ill and spiritually dead until we
accept Jesus Christ in faith (obedient trust). Jesus
declared that one must be “born-again” (John 3;3, 5-8),
in order to see the Kingdom of God, which is present
now, and to see the fulfillment of the promise of
eternal life in the Kingdom of God when we die
physically.
Jesus came to purify us from sin so
that we could receive the gift of 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). It is only by the
presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have
personal fellowship with Jesus Christ and God the
Father. 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).
Jeremiah was a humble and faithful
servant of the Lord, who suffered abuse for the Word of
God which he declared faithfully. God revealed his
faithfulness and power to deliver Jeremiah from his
enemies and vindicate him. David was a humble and
faithful servant of the Lord, who trusted the Lord to
deliver and vindicate him. Jesus is the ultimate humble
and faithful servant of the Lord who suffered for the
Gospel of eternal deliverance and vindication, and was
vindicated and delivered from his enemies, including
physical and spiritual death.
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 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 11, 2009;
Podcast: Monday 18 Pentecost - B
Psalm 135:1-7, 13-14 -- Praise the
Lord;
Paraphrase:
Let us praise the Lord! Let all the
servants of the Lord praise his name! Let all those who
come to the house of the Lord praise the Lord, because
he is good. Praise his name for his graciousness; for
God has chosen Israel to be his own people and his
possession.
The Psalmist testifies to God’s
greatness above all other gods. The Lord does whatever
he pleases, in heaven and on earth. The Lord controls
all the forces of nature.
“Thy name, O Lord, endures through
all ages. For the Lord will vindicate his people and
have compassion on his servants” (Psalm 135:13-14).
Commentary:
God has always intended to create an
eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and
obey him. This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek
and come to know and have fellowship with God our Father
(our Creator). God wants to be found by us, and he wants
to reveal that he is good and that his will is our very
best interest.
Jesus Christ is the only way to God
and eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom (Acts 4:12;
John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top
right, home). Jesus has always been God’s plan, from the
very beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is
the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word,
and his perfectly obedient servant.
Jesus came to show us how to be
servants of the Lord and to make it possible for us to
be forgiven for our sins (disobedience of God’s Word),
to restore us to personal fellowship with the Lord, and
to give us eternal life. We first learn about Jesus from
reading the Bible, and from the testimony of his
“born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples who know and
experience Jesus personally. As we seek Jesus he will
reveal himself to us as we trust and obey his word (John
14:21).
Eternal life begins now! When we
accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and begin to trust
and obey him, he gives us his indwelling Holy Spirit,
which only Jesus can give (John 1:31-34), only to his
disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). We
will experience the goodness and faithfulness of his
Word for ourselves. 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).
This world and this lifetime will
come to an end, but God is eternal. Jesus was the
perfect example of a servant of God, and Jesus’
resurrection is the evidence that there is existence
beyond physical death. The fact that Jesus is alive
eternally is personally attested to by every truly
“born-again” Christian. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates
that the Word of God is absolutely dependable and true
and that God is able to vindicate and deliver his
servants, even from physical death.
Jesus is the evidence of the mercy
and compassion God has for us. God loves us and doesn’t
want us to perish eternally (John 3:16-17; Romans 5:8).
If we will trust and obey Jesus we will experience
complete forgiveness and eternal life in fellowship with
God, beginning now, and continuing forever.
It is not true that we can’t know for
certain whether there is life after physical death, or
where we will spend eternity. Only the spiritually
“lost,” the spiritually “dead” who have never been
reborn by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, don’t
know where they’re headed.
Tuesday 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 6, 2009;
Podcast: Tuesday 18 Pentecost - B
Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 -- The
Spirit of the Lord;
Paraphrase:
In the wilderness the people of
Israel rebelled because of the constant diet of manna.
They craved meat and the variety of vegetables they had
in Egypt. Moses was aware of their discontent and Moses
complained to the Lord for the burden of responsibility
for the people which the Lord had given him. Moses
realized that he could not provide for the people
himself. Moses asked God to take Moses’ life, so that
Moses would not have to endure his own wretchedness.
The Lord told Moses to gather seventy
elders and leaders from among the people and assemble at
the tabernacle (portable temple). Moses told the people
all that God had said, and gathered the seventy elders
at the tabernacle.
The Lord came down upon the
tabernacle in a cloud and took some of the spirit which
was upon Moses and distributed it among the elders. When
the spirit came upon the elders they began speaking and
prophesying. Two men, Eldad and Medad, who had been
appointed as elders had not gone to the tabernacle with
the others, but had remained in the camp. They too were
filled with the spirit, and began prophesying in the
camp.
A young man came from the camp to
Moses and told him that Eldad and Medad were prophesying
in the camp, and Joshua, son of Nun, a member of Moses’
staff, suggested that Moses should forbid Eldad and
Medad to prophesy. Moses asked if Joshua was jealous for
Moses’ sake, and said, “Would that all God’s people were
prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them”
(Numbers 11:29)!
Commentary:
The Lord showed great forbearance. He
had delivered his people from slavery and death in Egypt.
He tried to give them the Promised Land, but the people
refused to go in and take it the first time, so they
were wandering around in the wilderness until that
generation died. Joshua was one of the twelve scouts who
had scouted the Promised Land, and he and Caleb were the
two scouts who gave a favorable report, urging the
people to enter and claim it (Numbers 13:1-14:35).
Although Moses complained to God and
blamed God, God gave Moses what Moses needed to help
with the responsibility of spiritual leadership. Joshua
felt his own leadership position threatened by Eldad and
Medad who hadn’t even shown up at the tabernacle as
ordered. In contrast Moses didn’t feel threatened; he
was glad for the extra helpers, and his mission was to
lead God’s people into obedient trust in God’s Word so
that they could possess the Promised Land.
Jesus Christ is the “New Moses,” who
came to lead us out of bondage to sin and death in the “Egypt”
of this world, through the wilderness of this lifetime,
and into the eternal Promised Land of God’s heavenly
kingdom. Jesus came to make it possible for each of us
to receive a portion of God’s Holy Spirit, so that we
could be helpers in Jesus’ mission. This lifetime is our
opportunity to learn to trust and obey the Lord and to
be guided by his Holy Spirit.
In the (nominal) Church today there
are both types of leaders; those who use their position
to create a personal “empire,” a “cult” of people to
worship them, while others are spirit-filled, spirit-led
disciples and apostles of Jesus Christ, who are making
“born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples, teaching them to
trust and obey Jesus. One must be a “born-again”
disciple in order to make “born-again” disciples. It is
the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit which
makes it possible for disciples to work together
effectively to accomplish God’s purpose.
The congregation of Israel in the
wilderness was the people of God because they happened
to have been born into it. The Church is the “New
Israel.” Some people today consider themselves
Christians because they happen to have been born into
the “Church.” Since Jesus’ resurrection and the first
Pentecost, when the Church was born by the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, Moses' prayer has
been fulfilled, that all God’s people are filled with
the Holy Spirit, and are to be guided and empowered by
the Holy Spirit to proclaim God’s Word.
But not all church “members” are
“born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ. The promise of
the anointing with the indwelling Holy Spirit must be
claimed and received by obedient trust in Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John
1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus
(John 14:15-17). The anointing with the gift of the
indwelling Holy Spirit is a discernible (and ongoing)
event; one can know with certainty for oneself whether
one has received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).
The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in
Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22;
Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Is Jesus your Lord (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 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 7, 2009;
Podcast: Wednesday 18 Pentecost - B
James 4:7-12 (13-5:6) -- Godliness
vs. Worldliness;
Paraphrase:
“There is [only] one lawgiver and
judge (the Lord); he [alone] is able to save and to
destroy’ (James 4:12). Who do we think we are when we
judge our neighbor?
Worldly people make plans for years
in advance, when they do not know what tomorrow will
bring. Human lives are like mist, which appears for a
little time and then disappears, (in comparison with
eternity). Instead, we should say that our plans are
subject to God’s will. Our human plans are boasting and
arrogance, and evil. Anyone who knows what is right and
does not do it is sinning (disobeying God’s Word) and
doing evil.
Those who are rich now ought to mourn
for what is coming upon them. Your riches are as good as
rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and
silver will turn to rust, and the rust will testify
against you, and consume your flesh like fire! You have
laid up treasure (reward) for the last days (the Day of
Judgment). The Lord knows the wages of those who worked
for you, which you cheated them of. The wealthy have
lived on earth in luxury and pleasure, “and have
fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have
condemned, you have killed the righteous…; he does not
resist you” (James 5:5b-6).
Commentary:
Who would dare say that today,
particularly in America? It is the Word of God; but
worldly people prefer to believe that wealth is a sign
of righteousness and God’s favor.
The Lord God has created the
resources of this creation to be shared by all, even by
those who hate him and refuse to acknowledge him. In
America, productivity of the workers has increased, and
corporate profits and executives salaries and benefits
have increased, and government has reduced taxes on the
wealthy, but workers wages have not increased.
Businesses in America have sent jobs
overseas, and have reduced health and retirement
benefits of American workers. Many American capitalists
no longer feel any responsibility to provide secure jobs
with health and retirement benefits,* or any
responsibility to pay for the government of the system
from which they are profiting most.
Jesus warns us not to lay up treasure
on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, but instead we
should seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, and
we will have the worldly physical resources we need as
well (Matthew 6:19-21, 33).
A rich man came to Jesus and asked
how to have eternal life, and Jesus told him to sell his
possessions and give to the poor, and come and follow
Jesus, Matthew 19:16, 21). But the rich man didn’t want
to give away his possessions for eternal life with Jesus
in Heaven (Matthew 19:22).
Jesus told his disciples that it will
be hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom
(Matthew 19:23). Why? Because they love their
possessions more than they love the Lord (the definition
of idolatry). Jesus asks, “For what will it profit a
[person] if he gains the whole world and forfeits his
life (soul; eternal life)? Or what shall a man give in
return for his life” (Matthew 16:26).
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)?
*see “The War Against Wages” by Paul Krugman, New York Times, 10/06/06
2012 Update:
Thursday 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 8, 2009;
Podcast: Thursday 18 Pentecost - B
Mark 9:38-50 -- Warnings of Hell;
Paraphrase:
The Apostle John told Jesus that he
had encountered a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name
and had told him to stop because he was not one of the
disciples following Jesus. Jesus told him not to forbid
such, because no one can do a great deed in Jesus’ name
and soon thereafter speak evil against Jesus. Anyone who
is not opposing Jesus is for him. Anyone who does the
slightest favor for a disciple because he is a disciple
of Jesus will be rewarded.
But whoever causes one of the
followers of Jesus to sin will suffer such a terrible
punishment that it would have been better for him if he
had been tied to a millstone and drowned in the sea.
Jesus told them that if it were possible to avoid
sinning by cutting off one’s hand or gouging out one’s
eye, it would be better to suffer such physical
disability now to avoid spending eternity in Hell,
because the destruction and decay of Hell is eternal.
“For everyone will be ‘salted’ with fire. (Mark 9:49).
Salt is good, but if salt were to somehow lose it’s
savor, how could it be restored to usefulness?
Therefore, disciples must maintain their “saltiness,”
and be at peace with one another.
Commentary:
Christ’s mission is to all people who
are willing to trust and obey him; not just to a select
chosen group. Christianity is the continuation of
Christ’s mission to bring forgiveness, spiritual healing
and eternal life. Anyone who joins in Christ’s mission
is acceptable to him. False teachers and imposters will
eventually be exposed and will ultimately fail.
Christianity isn’t a “franchise” to
be granted to certain individuals. The exorcist in this
text was healing people by faith in Jesus’ name.
Discipleship is trusting and obeying Jesus, and acting
on that faith. Obedient trust is the “mustard seed” of
faith, with which the Lord causes spiritual growth to
spiritual maturity. As we trust and obey Jesus we will
experience the power of Jesus working through us by the
gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and our faith will
be increased.
In contrast to the unnamed Christian
exorcist, some Jewish exorcists, including seven sons of
a Jewish high priest named Sceva, had begun to use the
name of Jesus as a “magic word,” an incantation, to cast
out demons. The seven sons of Sceva were overcome by the
demon they were attempting to exorcise, because they did
not have the power of Jesus working through them by
faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. The demon acknowledged
the power of Jesus and Paul (by the indwelling Holy
Spirit), which the seven did not possess. (Acts
19:13-17).
Apollos was a Jewish disciple of John
the Baptzer, who had come to Ephesus, and was teaching
accurately from scripture the things of Jesus, but he
had only known the water baptism of John, for
repentance, and had not received baptism into Jesus, and
the anointing with the Holy Spirit. Aquila and Priscilla
were Christians who had been “discipled” by Paul (Acts
18:1-4). Instead of opposing Apollos, they took him
aside and “discipled” him teaching him more accurately
the Gospel of Jesus (Acts 18:26), and then helped him on
his way and sent a letter commending him to the
Christians at Achaia (Acts 18:27).
After Apollos left for Achaia, Paul
passed through Ephesus and encountered some other
disciples of John the Baptizer, and he asked them if
they had received the Holy Spirit. They replied that
they hadn’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit (Acts
19:2). Paul told them that the baptism of John was for
repentance to prepare them to receive Jesus. Paul was
able to lead them to Jesus and they received the
anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Some focus on what outward physical
things Paul did to help them receive the anointing of
the Holy Spirit. I personally feel that is like the sons
of Sceva trying to emulate the exorcism of Jesus and
Paul by appropriating the name of Jesus. I assert that
it was the Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus, guiding,
empowering and working through Paul, which led to the
“re-birth” of those disciples of John the Baptizer, and
that Paul is the example of “born-again” disciples
making “born-again” disciples, not of themselves, but of
Jesus Christ.
Notice that Paul asked those
disciples of John the Baptist whether they had received
the Holy Spirit. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is a
discernible (and ongoing) event. One is able to know
with certainty for oneself whether one has received the
indwelling Holy Spirit. They didn’t have to ask Paul to
tell them; Paul asked them, and expected them to know,
with out having to consult a theologian.
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 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 9, 2009;
Podcast: Friday 18 Pentecost - B
2 Chronicles 1:7-12 -- Solomon Asks
for Wisdom;
Matthew 22:34-46 -- The Wisdom
of Christ;
2 Chronicles Paraphrase:
Solomon, the son of the great
shepherd-king of Israel, David, acceded to the throne of
his father, and God appeared to him that night and asked
Solomon what he would ask God to do for him. Solomon
acknowledged the love and faithfulness that the Lord had
show to his father David, and asked that the promise of
God to David be fulfilled (that the throne of David
would be established forever; 1 Kings 8:25). Solomon
acknowledged the great responsibility that had been
given him to be king of a vast people. Solomon asked for
wisdom and knowledge to rule wisely over God’s people.
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had
not asked for wealth, possessions, honor, revenge
against his enemies, or for long life, but had asked for
wisdom and knowledge to govern God’s people wisely, so
God granted Solomon’s request, and also promised to give
Solomon the things he hadn’t asked for as well. God
promised to give Solomon honor, riches and possessions
like none before or since.
Matthew Paraphrase:
The Sadducees (a legalistic sect of
Judaism opposed to the Pharisees; they rejected
resurrection of the dead, angels or spirits, and the
traditions of the Jewish patriarchs) had tried to entrap
Jesus with a legal question about marriage (Matthew
22:23- 33) and had been silenced by Jesus’ reply. When
the Pharisees heard, they attempted the same strategy to
debate Jesus. They sent a lawyer to ask Jesus which of
the commandments is greatest. Jesus answered that the
First Commandment, to love God with all ones heart, soul
and mind was the greatest, and the second is like it (in
greatness), to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. All
the Law of Moses can be summarized and fulfilled in
those two commandments (Matthew 22:36-40).
Jesus then asked the Pharisees a
question about the Christ (Messiah; both mean “anointed”
in Greek and Hebrew respectively). Jesus asked them
whose son is the Christ. They replied that he was the
son of David, so Jesus, quoting Psalm 110:1, asked them
how, if he were David’s son, David, “inspired by the
Spirit,” called him Lord; how could he be David’s son?
None of the Pharisees could answer and they didn’t dare
ask him any other questions.
Commentary:
Solomon asked God to give him the
wisdom and knowledge he needed to govern God’s people
wisely, and God gave it to him abundantly. God also
generously gave him vast wealth, possessions and honor
as well, so that Solomon became the symbol of wisdom and
wealth throughout the world, even today.
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s
promise of a son of David and heir to the throne of
David to reign over God’s people forever (Matthew 1:1;
1:2-17). Jesus is the ultimate “good shepherd”-king
(John 10: 11, 14). Many Jewish people had hailed him as
the Son of David when Jesus entered Jerusalem the week
of his crucifixion (21:1-9), and when he taught in the
temple (21:12-16), but the religious leaders and
authorities over the people, who were “experts” in
scripture, did not recognize him, refused to accept him,
and sought to destroy Jesus.
The Sadducees and Pharisees are
examples of worldly wisdom. They had been formally
educated in Judaism and the Jewish scriptures (our Old
Testament of the Bible). They thought they could
outsmart Jesus. They “knew” a lot “about” God, but
didn’t know God personally, and therefore didn’t
recognize God’s Son.
Divine wisdom is the wisdom of God by
which the world was created and is sustained (1
Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8), not that which the world
falsely calls “wisdom.” Jesus is the power and wisdom of
God (1 Corinthians 1:24).
God’s Word contains and imparts
divine wisdom. The Word of God is a creative force. It
has been given to us through God’s prophets inspired by
God’s Spirit and recorded in the Bible. The world was
created by the Word of God; God spoke and it was created
(Genesis 1:3).
God’s Word is always fulfilled, and
it is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its
fulfillment are met. The test of prophecy and God’s Word
is its fulfillment (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s
Word, the embodiment of God’s Word and the example of
God’s Word applied in human life (John 1:1-5, 14).
Jesus' word is the Word of God (John 14:10, 24), with
the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; Compare
Genesis 1: 9).
God’s Word, through Jesus Christ, can
spiritually heal and cleanse sinners (We’ve all sinned
and fall short of God’s righteousness; Romans 3:23; 1
John 1:8-10), and can give eternal life. Jesus is God’s
only provision for forgiveness of our sins and for
salvation from eternal death (see God’s Plan of
Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Jesus has promised that if we
seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first (Matthew
6:33), God will also provide the physical resources that
we need, as God did for Solomon, when Solomon put his
responsibility to God to rule God’s people wisely before
his personal desires.
God progressively reveals himself to
us through his Creation, through the Bible, through
Jesus Christ in his physical ministry, and ultimately to
us personally and individually 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 gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of God, the Spirit of (the risen) Christ
(Romans 8:9), opens our minds to understand God’s Word
(Luke 24:45; John 14:15-17). He is our Counselor who
will teach Jesus’ disciples all things (John 14:25-26
RSV), and will guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
Saturday 18 Pentecost - B
First Posted October 10, 2009;
Podcast: Saturday 18 Pentecost - B
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 --
Spiritual Maturity;
1 Corinthians Paraphrase:
Paul gave thanks to God for the
Corinthian Christians, for the grace (unmerited favor)
of God which had been given them in Jesus Christ,
“that in every way you were enriched in him with all
speech and knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:5) as the truth
of Jesus Christ was confirmed among them by the
evidence of the Holy Spirit among them; by their
spiritual knowledge and eloquence, and the spiritual
gifts which were not lacking among them. We await the
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, confident that he
is able to sustain us guiltless at the Day of Christ’s
return. God, who called us into fellowship with his
Son, is abundantly faithful and able to do what he has
promised in Jesus Christ.
Commentary:
Jesus is the wisdom and power of
God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Divine wisdom is the true
wisdom of God by which the world was created and is
sustained. It is unlike what the world falsely calls
“wisdom.” God has made his wisdom available to us
through his Word, inspired in his prophets by his Holy
Spirit and recorded in the Bible, his Word, through
his Son, Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” and
ultimately through the gift of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, the “Counselor,” the Spirit of Truth.
Jesus Christ is the living Word;
the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God’s
Word, revealed to us in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14).
The whole fullness of deity dwelt bodily in Jesus
Christ (Colossians 2:8-9). Jesus’ word is the Word of
God (John 14:10, 24), with the creative power of God's
Word (Mark 4:39-41; Compare Genesis 1: 9).
Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the
prototype of the modern, “post-resurrection,”
“born-again (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle
(messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, just as we
can be. Paul hadn’t known Jesus during Jesus’ physical
ministry. Paul was converted by an encounter with the
risen and ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts
9:1-5), was “discipled” by a “born-again” disciple,
Ananias (Acts 9:10), until he received the Holy Spirit
Acts (9:6-19). Paul’s conversion and rebirth was more
rapid than most, because Paul was already
well-educated and knowledgeable about the scriptures,
and was very zealous for God; he just needed to be
pointed in the right direction.
Paul was “discipling” the
Corinthians; making “born-again” disciples, not of
Paul, but of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the “Great
Commission” which Jesus had given to his disciples
(Matthew 28:19-20), to be carried out after they had
been “born-again” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-13).
The presence and empowerment of the
Holy Spirit within born-again disciples is evident in
what they do and say. It is the Holy Spirit, which
only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples
who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17 RSV), who is
the “Counselor” the (Holy Spirit), the Spirit of
Truth, who opens the minds of his disciples to
understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45), teaches them
all things, and gives them gifts to accomplish what he
leads them to do. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
God, the Spirit of Jesus (Romans 8:9) within them,
through whom they receive divine wisdom, and have
personal fellowship with God the Father and Jesus
Christ (John 14:23-24). 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).
