Week of 11 Pentecost - C
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,
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Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.
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Podcast Download: Week of 11 Pentecost - C
Sunday 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 8, 2010;
Podcast: Sunday 11 Pentecost - C
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26 – All is Vanity;
Psalm 49:1-11 – Transience of Life;
Colossians 3:1-11 – New Life in Christ;
Luke 12:13-21 – The Rich Fool;
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26 Paraphrase:
Everything in life in this world is vanity, insubstantial and
fleeting, like a breath. We toil all our lives and the fruit of our
labor passes on to someone who hasn't worked for it. Who knows
whether he will be wise or a fool. Yet he will own everything our
labor and wisdom has produced. One can despair at the fact that
everything to which we have applied our strength, skill, wisdom,
knowledge and labor to create will be enjoyed by someone who has not
worked for it. That is vanity and a great wrong. What has a person
to show for all his labor and strain? His labor is full of pain and
frustration; even at night he can find no rest. All is in vain.
The best one can hope for is to enjoy food and drink and find
enjoyment in his labor. And this is a gift from God, because apart
from God, who can enjoy food and drink or his work? God gives
wisdom, knowledge and joy to those who please him, but to those who
displease him, he gives the work of gathering and storing, only to
give his accumulation to others who please God. This is in vain,
like trying to catch the wind.
Psalm 49:1-11 Paraphrase:
Listen, everyone! Hear, all people of the world, both rich and poor,
great and lowly! I will speak wisdom and my heart's meditation will
be understanding. I will listen to a proverb, and solve my riddle to
the accompaniment of the harp.
In times of troubles, when the evil of my persecutors surrounds me,
those who rely on their wealth and boast of their riches, why should
I be afraid? No one is wealthy enough to ransom his life from the
grave, or pay God for eternal life, because his life is precious
beyond material riches.
We will see that even the wise die, along with the fools and the
stupid; and all will leave their wealth to others. Though lands have
been named after them, yet their graves will be their eternal homes.
They cannot hold on to their worldly glory. Man is no better than an
animal; both will perish.
The fate of those who have foolish confidence and are pleased with
their worldly station is this: They are appointed for death just
like sheep. Their shepherd is death. They will descend straight into
the grave, where their bodies will rot. The land of the dead will be
their eternal home. But God will ransom his people from the power of
death, for he will welcome me (into his eternal kingdom).
Don't worry about the rich and famous. When they die they can take
none of that with them. They will not retain wealth and glory in
death. While they live they think themselves happy, and they are
praised when they are successful, yet they will die and never again
see light. The glory of man perishes with his death, like an animal.
Colossians 3:1-11 Paraphrase:
If we have been raised with Christ (by faith in the Lord) let us
seek things that are eternal, where Christ reigns, in God's kingdom.
So let us focus on heavenly things, not on what is earthly. So we
must consider ourselves dead and entombed with Christ in God. When
Christ appears, we will appear with him in glory. So let us put to
death earthly things: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and covetousness (idolatry). The wrath of God is coming upon such
things.
We once lived according to such things, but now we must put them
away from us: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and dirty talk. And let
us not lie to one another; since we have put off the old (sinful)
nature and have put on the new nature, in which we are being renewed
by the knowledge of the likeness of our Creator. So there are no
longer distinctions between Jew and Greek, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian,* slave and free. Instead,
Christ is all-important and in all.
Luke 12:13-21Paraphrase:
A man, in the crowd gathered around Jesus, asked him to command the
man's brother to share his inheritance with the man. But Jesus asked
the man, who had appointed Jesus to be judge over the division of a
worldly estate? Jesus warned the man to avoid all covetousness,
because life does not consist of material possessions.
Jesus then told the Parable of the Rich Fool: A rich man had lands
that produced abundant crops, and he realized that he needed more
space to store them. He decided to tear down his barns and build
bigger ones. Then he could retire and take it easy, living on what
he had stored up. But God called him a fool, and declared that the
rich man would die that very night and that someone else would
inherit his wealth. This is the fate of those who store up material
riches for themselves and are not rich in their love for God.
Commentary:
Many people in the world today are seeking security and success in
all the wrong places. God's Word warns that security and success are
not found in material riches and worldly acclaim. Is the meaning and
purpose of life really to accumulate the most clothes before you
die, as a bumper-sticker suggests?
I believe that the meaning and purpose of life is to seek, find and
have fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and this is
only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John
14:6).
We are all born into this temporal world physically alive but
spiritually unborn. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be
spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life by the
“baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives
(John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John
14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in
Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14;
Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
If we seek first material security we will never obtain it because
security always takes “just a little more” than what we have, and we
will never get around to seeking God's eternal kingdom (Matthew
6:31-33).
God has always intended, from the very beginning of Creation, to
establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to
trust and obey God. God has designed this Creation to allow the
freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God or not, and the
opportunity to learn by trial-and-error that God's way is our best
interest. But God is not going to allow rebellion and disobedience
forever, or at all in his eternal kingdom, or it wouldn't be heaven.
So this Creation and we ourselves are limited by time.
When we're baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his
death, so that we can also be raised with him to eternal life. We
must spiritually crucify our worldly nature. As we begin to trust
and obey Jesus, we are spiritually “reborn” to eternal life by the
“baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through obedience to the
Holy Spirit within us we are being transformed into the likeness of
God.
The true Church is the congregation of “born-again” disciples of
Jesus Christ. What matters is that each believer is baptized with
the Holy Spirit. Converted Jews have no advantage over converted
gentiles. Circumcision and keeping of Jewish law is of no advantage;
gentiles are not required to become “Jews.” Slavery was present in
the first-century church and is still present in the world today.
Slavery does not hinder salvation, and freedom is not more
advantageous. In America history, some slaves were stronger
believers than some free professing Christians.
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)?
*Scythians were foreign believers; barbarians were unconverted foreigners. We should have as much concern for the spiritually lost as for recent converts.
Monday 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 9, 2010;
Podcast: Monday 11 Pentecost - C
Psalm 33 – Creator and Lord;
Paraphrase:
Let the righteous praise the Lord and rejoice in him. Sing praises to him with stringed instruments. Sing a new song to him loudly, with skillful accompaniment.
Upright is the Word of the Lord, and he is faithful in all his deeds. The Lord delights in righteousness and justice, and the earth is full of his steadfast love.
The heavens were made by the Word of God, and all the hosts of heaven were created by the breath of his mouth. As in a bottle, he restrained the seas, and stored the waters of the deeps as in a warehouse.
Fear the Lord, all the earth; be in awe of him, everyone. Everything has been created by his Word. The schemes of the nations come to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. His counsel will stand forever; his thoughts to all generations. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage (Psalm 33:12)!
From heaven, the Lord watches and sees everyone; he who created the hearts of mankind sees the deeds of all the inhabitants of earth. “A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not saved by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save” (Psalm 33: 16-17).
Watch and see! The Lord watches over those who fear (have appropriate awe and respect for the power and authority of) him; who hope in his steadfast love. He watches over them to deliver their souls from death and preserve their lives in famine.
May our souls wait for the Lord, because he alone is our help and shield. Let our hearts be glad in him; let us trust in his holy name! Let the steadfast love of the Lord be upon us as we trust in him!
Commentary:
The righteous are those who believe in (trust and obey) Jesus. None of us are righteous by our own efforts, but we can have the righteousness of Jesus attributed to us by faith in him.
If we will read God's Word, in the Bible we will discover that his Word is absolutely good. God's Word contains both great promises and awesome warnings. The warnings are intended for our good, also, to help us to avoid the consequences of disobedience of God's Word. We will either obey God's Word and receive the promises, or we will disobey and receive the consequences.
As we apply God's Word in our daily lives we will discover by experience that God's Word is absolutely true and reliable. The test of God's Word is its fulfillment: God's Word is always fulfilled (Deuteronomy 18:21-22); and because it is eternal, it is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met.
God's Word is powerful and active (Hebrews 4:12). He created these heavens and this earth by his Word; he commanded, and they were created. 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). Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14).
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10a, Psalm 111:10). Anyone who doesn't fear the Lord doesn't know anything important. They don't have a real understanding of the concepts of God and Lord and their relationship to him. Mankind's worldly wisdom changes; a recent example is the re-categorization of the planets in our solar system. God's wisdom is eternal and unchanging.
God knows each of us individually and personally. The meaning and purpose of life in this temporal world is to seek, find and know God, and this is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, by the "baptism" of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
Mankind's efforts to protect and save himself are ultimately futile and unsuccessful. Only the Lord can save and preserve us, and give us eternal life.
When we begin to trust and obey God's Word, in the Bible and in Jesus Christ, we will come to experience and know with certainty that the Lord's love is steadfast, and that his Word is absolutely faithful and true.
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 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 10, 2010;
Podcast: Tuesday 11 Pentecost - C
Genesis 15:1-6 – The Covenant with Abraham;
Background:
God had promised to make a great nation from the descendants of Abraham (Abram; Genesis 12:1-3). Then Abraham had to rescue Lot, Abraham's nephew, and his household, who had been taken captive by Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and his allies.
Paraphrase:
After this, the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision. He told Abraham that the Lord was his protector, and that Abraham would be greatly rewarded. But Abraham asked what the Lord would give him, because Abraham continued to be childless and his Syrian steward, Abraham's slave, would be Abraham's heir. “The Word of the Lord came to him” (Genesis 15:4a), assuring Abraham that he would have a son who would be his heir, rather than the Syrian slave.
The Lord brought Abraham outside, during the night, and gave him a “visual aid.” The Lord told Abraham to look at the night sky and number the stars, if Abraham could. Then the Lord told Abraham that Abraham's descendants would be as innumerably vast as the stars of heaven. And Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord accounted Abraham righteous.
Commentary:
In order to be the father of a great nation, Abraham had to have a son. God promised to give Abraham a son and heir, but it was a long time before the promise was fulfilled. Eventually Abraham and Sarah (Sarai) tried to help God fulfill his promise. Sarah gave her handmaid to Abraham as a concubine, so that they could have an heir through Hagar (Genesis 16:2). That turned out badly.
The Lord has given me several visual aids. I live in the migration route of the Bald and Golden Eagles. The Lord has shown me what it means to mount up with wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31). The Lord has shown me the night sky when the stars were visible, at my home when the sky was clear, and on high mountains, when every star was visible.
The Lord accounts faith (obedient trust; in Jesus Christ) as righteousness (the judicial verdict of rightness and goodness, according to God's Word and judgment). Faith is not like wishing on a star. Faith is not like making a wish before blowing out birthday candles. Saving faith is not getting whatever we believe, if we believe “hard enough.” Saving faith is trusting and obeying Jesus as the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for all time and all people who receive it by faith, for the forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God's Word).
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 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 11, 2010;
Podcast: Wednesday 11 Pentecost - C
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 – Examples of Faith;
Paraphrase:
Faith is the assurance of our hopes; our certainty of things we can't yet see. The patriarchs received divine approval because they had faith [in God]. By faith we know that this world was created from “nothing,” by the Word of God.
By faith in God's Word, Abraham left his ancestral home to go to a new land he did not know, where God promised to give him an inheritance. He and his son and grandson lived in tents in the land he had been promised, like sojourners, not having received possession of it. But he focused on the promise of a city of buildings on foundations (unlike tents), which God would establish.
By faith, Sarah received the power to conceive after she was past child-bearing age, because she believed that God could fulfill what he promised. So from one man, close to the end of his life, descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven, or the grains of sand by the sea, were born.
All these believers died without having received what had been promised, but having seen and welcomed it from a distance, acknowledging that they were merely strangers and exiles in this world. Those who acknowledge this know that they are seeking a homeland. They could choose to return to the land which they had left, but they are clearly seeking a better land, a heavenly home. So God is pleased to be their God, and has a city prepared for them.
Commentary:
Faith is the assurance of our hope [of salvation and eternal life]. Faith is not getting whatever we want, if we believe “hard enough.” Faith is not like wishing on a star, or over birthday candles. Faith is obedient trust in God's Word, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God's Word lived in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14).
Faith is the absolutely necessary requirement for a relationship with God our Creator. The “mustard seed” of faith (Matthew 13:31-32) is our “yes” to God's Word. He will take our “mustard seed” and cause it to be come a supernaturally large “tree” of spiritually mature faith.
As Abraham trusted and obeyed God's Word he learned that God is faithful and able to fulfill his promises, but that fulfillment is not immediate. We must endure and persevere. Abraham and Sarah waited a long time for the fulfillment of the promise of an heir, upon which the promise of God depended. Abraham never gained possession of the land which had been promised, but he saw and dwelt in it.
God's promise to Abraham was fulfilled. His descendants are innumerable. Abraham was the father of a great nation. He has entered the eternal city of God in heaven.
The meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek, find, and have fellowship with God, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “reborn” to eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8), and this is only possible by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
The “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, daily, ongoing experience (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).
God's purpose has always been to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey Jesus. This lifetime is our opportunity to learn to trust and obey God, and to learn by trial-and-error that God's way is our best interest. God has given us the freedom to choose whether to live eternally with him, or not.
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
Thursday 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 12, 2010;
Podcast: Thursday 11 Pentecost - C
Luke 12:32-40 -- Watchfulness;
Paraphrase:
Let us not fear, because it is God's pleasure to give us the kingdom of heaven. Let us sell excess possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. That way we will obtain purses that don't wear out, and will accumulate treasure in heaven, which won't fail, cannot be stolen, and where moth doesn't consume. Our hearts will be wherever our treasure is.
Let us be clothed, and with lamps lit, like servants awaiting their master's return from a marriage feast, ready to open the door at once when he knocks. Their master will treat them like guests and will come and serve them. If he comes between 9:00 pm. and 3:00 am., and finds them alert and prepared, they will be blessed. But remember that a householder, if he knew when a thief would come, would not let his house be broken into. Likewise, we must be ready all the time, because the Lord will return at an unexpected time.
Commentary:
God wants us to inherit eternal life in his heavenly kingdom. We don't have to worry about not making it. We just need to cooperate with his plan, which is Jesus Christ (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, right, home).
Material possessions will not give us eternal security. They will only tie us down in this material world. God blesses us with everything that we truly need in this lifetime. The way to obtain eternal treasure is to share God's concern and our resources with the poor.
Jesus has promised to return at the end of the age, the end of time, the end of the age of grace (God's unmerited favor), to judge the living and the dead in both physical and spiritual senses (John 5:28-29). Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord (boss), and have learned to trust and obey Jesus will enter eternal life in God's kingdom in heaven, paradise restored. Those who have refused to accept Jesus, who have not trusted and obeyed Jesus, will be condemned to eternal destruction, separated forever from the love and providence of God (Matthew 25:31-46).
Christ's return is imminent! No one knows the day or hour (Matthew 24:36). We are in the same situation today as the Jews were in the day of Christ's first coming. They were unprepared for his coming, and failed to receive him. Are we more ready than they?
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 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 13, 2010;
Podcast: Friday 11 Pentecost - C
1 Corinthians 15:1-10 – Paul's Gospel;
Paraphrase:
Paul was reminding the Corinthian Christians of the basics of the Gospel which he had preached to them and which they received. By believing this Gospel, they were being saved (from God's eternal condemnation) if they held firmly to it. Otherwise their faith would have been in vain.
Paul had faithfully and accurately transmitted what he himself had received: In accordance with the scriptures, Jesus died for our sins and was buried, and in accordance with scripture (Isaiah 53:5-12), he was raised again on the third day (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31-32). He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve (original disciples), then to over five hundred brethren (believers) at one time, most of whom were still alive at the time of Paul's writing, although some had died. Then he appeared to James, Jesus' brother (Galatians 1:19), then to all the apostles (messengers of the Gospel; the Twelve) and lastly he appeared to Paul, who considered himself as having been born late, (spiritually, since he apparently hadn't known Jesus during Jesus' physical life and ministry).
Paul considered himself the unworthy and least of the Apostles because he had formerly persecuted the Church. But by God's grace (unmerited favor) Paul had become an Apostle (equal to the Twelve), and Paul had made the most of God's grace in preaching the Gospel. Paul worked harder than the other Apostles, but what he accomplished was not by his own ability, but by the grace of God. So it was not important who preached the Gospel, but that it was preached, and that as the result the people had believed.
Commentary:
The Gospel in a “nutshell,” in its most basic elements, is that Jesus died for our sins, so that we wouldn't have to die for them eternally ourselves. Jesus became the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of sin, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, right, home).
Jesus died physically on the cross. The Roman soldiers made sure, by piercing Jesus' side with a spear (John 19:34).
Jesus arose from physical death to eternal life on the third day. This was witnessed by and attested to by his disciples and over five hundred eyewitnesses, most of whom were still alive at the time of Paul's letter. In Jewish Law, testimony needs only to be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
Paul is deliberately intended by God to be the prototype and example of a modern, post-resurrection, “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ, as we can and should be. God deliberately intended Paul to be the replacement for Judas, one of the Twelve, Jesus' betrayer.
Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians when he was confronted by the risen and ascended Jesus (Acts 9:1-22). Paul repented (Acts 9:9), accepted Jesus as Lord (Acts 9:5), was discipled by a born-again disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10) until Paul received the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17-18), and then Paul immediately began to preach the Gospel (Acts 9:20-22).
Paul didn't have or need the approval of the Eleven Apostles in Jerusalem. Years later, when he went to Jerusalem and met with them they accepted him as a fellow apostle (Acts 15:1-29). Paul hadn't received this Gospel from men, but directly from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).
There were false teachers in the first-century church who denied Jesus' death and resurrection and this heresy is still circulating in the nominal Church today. Paul and every truly born-again Christian since personally testifies that Jesus is eternally alive. We have personal, daily fellowship with him through the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, daily, ongoing experience (Act 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).
God has been progressively revealing his purpose for Creation through his Word, the Bible scriptures, and through Jesus Christ, the “living Word” (John 1:1-5, 14). God taught the Israelites to recognize sin (disobedience of God's Word) through the giving of the Law to Moses (The Ten Commandments), and taught that the only forgiveness of sin is through the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).
God taught the Israelites the commemoration of Passover, where a perfect, unblemished lamb was sacrificed. The lamb provided the flesh for the Passover feast, and the blood of the lamb marked the houses of the Israelites to be “passed over” by the destroying angel. The Passover marked the release of the Israelites from sin and death in Egypt.
The Passover Feast pointed to the promised Messiah (Christ; God's “anointed” Savior). Jesus became the lamb of the “New Passover,” which he initiated in the “Last Supper” on the eve of his crucifixion. His flesh is the “bread of eternal life,” the main course of the New Passover feast, and his blood marks believers to be passed over by the destroyer in the Day of Judgment. Jesus became the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of sin and salvation from eternal condemnation, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in 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 11 Pentecost - C
First Posted August 14, 2010;
Podcast: Saturday 11 Pentecost - C
Luke 18:9-14 – Pharisee and Tax Collector;
Paraphrase:
Jesus told a parable (a fictional story of common earthly experience used to teach spiritual truth) of a Pharisee and a tax collector, who both went into the temple separately to pray. “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself” (Luke 18:11), saying that he thanked God that he was unlike other people, including the tax collector nearby. He was pleased that he fasted twice a week, and tithed (gave ten percent) of all that he received.
The tax collector stood far off and wouldn't even lift his face toward heaven. He beat his breast, acknowledged that he was a sinner, and asked for God's mercy. Jesus declared that the tax collector went home justified (judged right with God), unlike the Pharisee, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
Commentary:
We are all sinners (disobedient of 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 one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Romans 5:8; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, right, home), designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14).
There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who think they're righteous, and those who know they're sinners. Jesus came to save sinners. He cannot save those who think they're righteous, because one must first acknowledge one's sin and one's need for forgiveness and salvation.
The Pharisee prayed with himself. God is not obligated to hear and answer prayer, if we are not committed to trust and obey his Word (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar right, home). The Pharisee had the outward appearance of obedience, but not the inner commitment. The Pharisee fasted and tithed, and went to the temple to be seen praying, but he had no love and concern for others, including the tax collector.
The Law was given to Moses to teach the Israelites what God required in order to be judged right with God. The record of Israel's lack of ability to fulfill the requirements of the Law demonstrated that it is impossible to keep all God's Law all the time (James 2:10; Galatians 2:16). Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant of grace (unmerited favor) which makes it possible for us to be accounted righteous through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus; it is not our own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ attributed to us by faith (Romans 3:22-24; Philippians 3:9).
If we knew God's nature in comparison to ourselves, we would not be inclined to exalt ourselves. The original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden was to want to be like God (Genesis 3:5b). That is our problem today: we want to be our own god, not submit to another.
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)?
