Week of Easter 4 - Odd - 04/26 - 05/02/2015

Week of Easter 4 - Odd

This Bible Study was originally published at

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based on the Lutheran Book of Worship two-year Daily Lectionary for personal devotions*  The daily readings are according to a Calendar  based on the Church Year, which begins on the first Sunday of Advent, usually sometime at the end of November in the year preceding the secular calendar year.
I will continue to publish My Daily Walk online as long as possible.

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*Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary, p. 179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978.

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Podcast Download: Easter 4 - Odd
Sunday Easter 4 - Odd
First Posted 04/16/05;
Podcast: Sunday Easter 4 - Odd

Genesis 18:22-33   -   Abraham Intercedes for Sodom;
1 Peter 5:1-11   -    Final Exhortations;
Matthew 7:15-29   -   Build on the Rock;

Genesis Paraphrase:

Abraham (formerly named Abram) had been called by God to found a nation of God’s people (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham had a personal relationship with God as he trusted and obeyed God’s call. The Lord visited Abraham and revealed that he was about to destroy Sodom (and Gomorrah) because of their great wickedness, illustrated by unbridled lust and homosexuality (Genesis 19:1-12).

Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had accompanied Abraham to the “Promised Land” and had settled in Sodom (Genesis 13:1-13). Abraham asked God whether God would destroy the righteous along with the wicked. Abraham asked God if he would spare Sodom if there were fifty righteous people there, and God promised he would spare Sodom for the sake of fifty righteous people.

Abraham acknowledged that God is the righteous judge of the entire world, and that God would not destroy the righteous along with the wicked. Abraham kept interceding for Sodom and God agreed not to destroy Sodom if ten righteous people were found there. Ultimately Sodom was destroyed and Lot, his wife and two daughters were warned and escaped the destruction (Genesis 19:16). Lot’s two “sons-in-law” didn’t take Lot’s warning seriously and were destroyed (Genesis 19:14).

1 Peter Paraphrase:

The elders (leaders; pastors) of the Church are to be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5:8), mature Christian disciples like Peter, who have personally experienced Jesus through his indwelling Holy Spirit, like Peter. Peter exhorted church leaders to tend their congregations as a shepherd tends his flock. Elders (pastors and leaders) are to perform their duties willingly and enthusiastically (in love for the Lord and his children), not as a “career choice,” not as a “business,” and not to exert power and control over others. They will be abundantly rewarded with an eternal reward by Jesus, the chief Shepherd, when he returns on the Day of Judgment.

Members of the congregation are to submit to the leadership and guidance of such faithful Elders. All, both elders and members, are to conduct themselves with humility, remembering that “the Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace (unmerited favor) to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5, quoting Proverbs 3:34). We are to submit ourselves obediently to the Lord with confidence that he will exalt us in his perfect timing. We are to surrender all our worries to the Lord, because he cares about each one of us.

Let us be sober and watchful, because Satan, our adversary, is like a hungry lion looking for easy prey. We are to resist him, holding on to our faith, knowing that self-denial is required of all Christians. Whatever we suffer for the Lord is only for a short while, and then God, who has unlimited power to bless us, who calls us to his eternal glory in Christ, will personally restore, establish, and strengthen us. Let him be our sovereign ruler for ever.

Matthew Paraphrase:

Jesus warns us to watch out for false prophets, who pretend to be “sheep” (Christian) but who really are “ravenous wolves” in disguise. We can distinguish false prophets from authentic Christians the same way we can be sure of an apple tree if it bears apples: By their “fruit.” Good “trees” do not produce bad “fruit.” We are like trees, and God expects us to bear good “fruit.” Those who do not produce good fruit will be cut down and destroyed.

 “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father (God) who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). On the Day of Judgment, many will claim to have preached and healed and done many great deeds in Jesus’ name, but Jesus will reject them because their works are evil. Those who trust and obey Jesus’ teaching are like a house built on a rock (on a strong foundation), which will withstand and survive the “storms” of this life. But those who ignore Jesus’ teachings are like a house built on sand. The first strong storm that comes along will wash them away and they will be utterly destroyed. The crowd who heard Jesus was amazed that he taught with complete authority, not relying on other teachers or traditions.

Commentary:

God called Abraham, and Abraham trusted and obeyed God’s call and became the patriarch of God’s people. God revealed his Word of judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham because Abraham was in fellowship with the Lord. God would have spared Sodom if there had been ten righteous people living there but Lot and his family were the only ones who heeded God’s warning and escaped destruction. Lot tried to warn his sons-in-law, but they didn’t take Lot’s warning seriously. If God looked today, would he find ten righteous, truly “born-again” Christians in the typical congregation; in your Church?

The Church needs to be led by Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus Christ, not by people who see it as a “career choice” or a “business.” It is necessary to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in order to make disciples, and disciples are to make disciples, not of themselves, but of Christ. The goal is for the disciple to come to a personal relationship with Jesus through Jesus’ indwelling Holy Spirit.

Members are to seek congregations which are led by Spirit-filled, Bible-believing, Bible-preaching disciples who are fulfilling Christ’s command to make disciples who know, trust and obey Jesus and Jesus’ teachings. Members need to read and know the Bible for themselves. Discipleship requires self-denial, obedience and submission to Jesus. It is more “fun” to indulge our self-interests and desires, but the pleasures of sin are fleeting (Hebrews 11:25) and the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Discipline is not pleasant, but the rewards are great and eternal.

Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets. There are many false prophets and false teachers in the world and in the “Church” today. Christians are to produce the fruit of obedient trust in Jesus, and the only way to do that is through a personal fellowship with Jesus through his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 15:1-6). 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).

Faith in Jesus is more than calling ourselves Christians; real faith is obedient trust, not like “wishing on a star.” Calling Jesus Lord doesn’t make it so. Jesus is Lord whether we acknowledge it or not, but if he is our Lord we will do what he says; not the other way around. Jesus warns that on the Day of Judgment there will be many people who called themselves Christians and called Jesus their Lord who will be rejected because they have never known Jesus personally through his indwelling Holy Spirit even though they have been very active in their “Church.”

Salvation is not by church membership, not by Baptism, not by “good deeds,” not by “cheap grace” (a free gift without the requirement of discipleship and obedience to Jesus’ teaching; see see "False Teachings," sidebar, top right, home). We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; See God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home) and it is a free gift, which must be received by faith (obedient trust), not by "good works," but so that we can be fruitful for God’s kingdom (Ephesians 2:8-10).

God intended the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to be a demonstration of the consequences of disobedience to God’s Word. The Lord is going to judge the whole world on the Day of Judgment; the physically living and dead, and the spiritually living and dead” (1 Peter 4:5; John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46). God isn’t going to withhold his condemnation and punishment if a certain number of righteous people can be found. The righteous people are those who hear God’s Word, trust and obey it, and flee from the coming destruction by coming to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Are you ready for Christ’s return? Have you build your life upon the “Solid Rock” of Jesus Christ?

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 Easter 4 - Odd
First Posted 04/17/05;
Podcast: Monday Easter 4 - Odd

Jeremiah 30:1-9   -   Promise of Restoration;
Colossians 1:1-14  -   Deliverance Through Christ;
Luke 6:1-11  -   Lord of the Sabbath;

Jeremiah Paraphrase:

Jeremiah foretold the coming exile of Judah to Babylon as God’s punishment for their disobedience of God’s Word, their disregard of God’s prophets, and their worship of other gods. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to write down God’s Word which he revealed to Jeremiah. The Lord declared that the day would come when God would restore the fortunes of his people and bring them back to the Promised Land from their exile.

The Lord declared that, first, Judah would be in panic and anguish like a woman in childbirth, because of the travail of God’s judgment; it would be a time of great distress for God’s people, but God’s people would be saved out of it. In the Day of God’s deliverance God will break the yoke from their necks and their bonds which enslaved them. They will no longer be the slaves of foreigners, but will serve their God and the eternal King and heir to the throne of David, whom God will raise up from the descendants of David.

Colossians Background:

Paul was the prototype of the “post-Resurrection” and “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle (“missionary”), having apparently never known Jesus during Jesus’ earthly lifetime.

Colossians Paraphrase:

Paul wrote to the Church at Colossae in Phrygia (in modern-day western Turkey). Paul gave thanks for their faith in Jesus and their love for their fellow Christians through their hope in the eternal promises awaiting them in God’s kingdom in Heaven. The Colossians had heard the Gospel from Epaphras, a Christian missionary sent by Paul to preach the Gospel to them, and Paul gently reminded them that faith in Jesus requires spiritual growth in order to produce “spiritual fruit” through their obedient application of the Gospel in their daily lives.

Epaphras was a faithful minister of Christ and had told Paul of the Colossians’ love for one another prompted by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul prayed regularly for them that the Colossians would grow to fullness in the knowledge of God’s will with spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they would be able know what is worthy and pleasing to the Lord and be able to live accordingly, producing the “fruit” of good works through obedience to the Lord’s teachings, and growing in their knowledge of God.

Paul prayed that they would be strengthened by God’s power (within them by the Holy Spirit), so that they would have endurance, patience and joy with thanksgiving to God for allowing them to share in the inheritance of his children for eternity. The Lord has delivered us from the bondage of sin, spiritual ignorance, and eternal death, and given us citizenship in the eternal kingdom of his Son, Jesus Christ, who has paid the price to free us from bondage and provided for the forgiveness of our sins.

Luke Paraphrase:

Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath, and his disciples were snacking on ripe heads of grain. Pharisees (legalistic Jews) accused the disciples of violating the Sabbath Law by “harvesting.” Jesus replied that scripture recorded that David (the great shepherd-king of Israel) had fed himself and his men in time of need with the sacred bread of the temple, which only priests are allowed to eat. Jesus declared that the Son of man (Jesus, who used that name for himself so that people would be free to decide for themselves who they believed Jesus to be) is Lord of the Sabbath.

On another Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue when he encountered a man with a “withered” arm. Jesus knew that the Jewish religious leaders were watching him, hoping to catch Jesus violating Jewish law, so Jesus asked the crowd if it was acceptable to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm. Jesus made eye-contact with the people in the crowd, and then told the man to stretch out his hand, and the hand was immediately restored. But the Pharisees were infuriated and plotted among themselves how to destroy Jesus.

Commentary:

God disciplines his children like a good father (Hebrews 12:5-13). His discipline is meant to correct and guide us so that we will grow into the people God intended us to become, and so that we will avoid eternal death and destruction. Judah refused to listen to God’s Word and God’s prophets, so God allowed them to be captured and exiled to slavery in Babylon, but God promised to ultimately release them from the domination of their captors and bring them back to the Promised Land.

God promised to raise up an eternal king from the descendants of David. Through Jeremiah, God foretold that Judah would be exiled, and would later be allowed to return to their land, and his Word was fulfilled. God promised to raise up an eternal king who would free them from bondage to their enemy, and Jesus, the descendant of David, is the fulfillment of that promise. It is only through Jesus that we are freed from bondage to death and Satan’s power.

God’s Word is eternally true, and is fulfilled over and over, as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. He will also deliver Christians from our exile on earth and bring them to the eternal Promised Land in heaven. I also believe he will deliver the remnant of the Jews through their acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah during the “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:29-31) which precedes Christ’s return on the Day of Judgment.

Jesus is God’s anointed eternal king who delivers us from bondage to sin, spiritual ignorance, and both physical and eternal death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin, and purchased our forgiveness and eternal life by his death on the Cross. We must accept and receive that salvation by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

Jesus has been God’s plan and only provision (Acts 4:12; John 14:6) for our salvation from the beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14; see also God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home). The meaning and purpose of life in this world is the opportunity to seek and come to personal knowledge and fellowship with the Lord (Acts 17:26-27), through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, which is only given by Jesus (John 1:32-34) to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

Jesus said that one must be “born again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (1 John 5:10-12; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself whether one has been filled with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

Paul is the prototype, both teacher and example, of the first of all post-Resurrection “born-again” Christian disciples, like ourselves, who did not know Jesus in Jesus’ physical lifetime on earth, but who was filled with the gift of his Spirit through trust and obedience to Jesus (Acts  Chapter 9; Paul was formerly named “Saul”). Paul was telling the Christians at Colossae that, having heard and believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they were to continue to grow to spiritual maturity in the knowledge of God’s Word, nature and will, and in spiritual wisdom, through personal fellowship with the Lord, so that they would be able to produce the fruit of “good works” through obedience to the Lord and his will. It is only by the gift of the Holy Spirit that these goals are attainable. 

The Pharisees were using “religion” to oppress people. Christian discipleship is not “religion;” it is a (restored) “relationship” with the Lord; it frees us to be all that God our Creator intended. Jesus loves us.  He wants us to have a day of rest and spiritual refreshment from our worldly lives, but he doesn’t use his “purpose” to oppress us. People’s physical needs for food, health or restoration take precedence over his intended purpose of rest from our labors and worries. Notice that the Pharisees “thought” they were righteous in keeping the Sabbath law, but they were actually violating it by plotting evil on the Sabbath against the Son of God, their intended Savior, and also by being unsympathetic to the physical needs of people.

Do you know 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)?

Tuesday Easter 4 - Odd
First Posted 04/18/05;
Podcast: Tuesday Easter 4 - Odd


Jeremiah 30:10-17   -    Return and Restoration;
Colossians 1:15-23   -    Supremacy of Christ;
Luke 6:12-26   -    Beatitudes and Woes

Jeremiah Paraphrase:

The Lord spoke through Jeremiah in the decade preceding the first Babylonian attacks on Judah, the remnant of Israel. The Lord allowed the Babylonian captivity as punishment for Judah’s disobedience of God’s Word and God's prophets, and for their worship of idols. But God promised that after the travail of his judgment, he will save Israel and bring them back from Babylon to their “Promised Land.”

The Lord assured Judah that he would be with them to save them. God will destroy Judah’s captors, but although God will punish Judah justly, God will preserve a remnant of Israel. Judah’s wound is incurable and grievous, and there is no medicine or healing for Judah, because God’s punishment is unavoidable.

Israel’s punishment is because of her great guilt and flagrant sins. The Lord will allow their enemies to punish Israel, but God will punish Israel’s enemies. “For I will restore health to you and your wounds I will heal, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 30:17a). Her enemies think God has abandoned Israel and no one cares about what happens to Zion (Jerusalem; the People of God; the Temple mount) but God will be faithful and has the power to heal the incurable and restore the abandoned.

Colossians Paraphrase:

Jesus “is the image of the invisible God…the first-born of all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Every thing in creation, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, was created by and for Jesus and exists for him (Colossians 1:16; see also John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus existed before all things and he maintains all things by his power.

Jesus is the head of the Church: he is the first-born (of many children) of God to rise from physical death to eternal life and he is preeminent in all things. “For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19; see also 2:8-9), and God’s purpose is to reconcile all things, in heaven and earth, to himself through Jesus, making peace through the blood of Jesus by his sacrifice on the Cross.

We were all once separated from God and hostile to him, doing evil (see Romans 3:23; 1 John 1: 8-10), but we are now forgiven and restored to fellowship with God by Jesus’ physical death as a sacrifice so that we can be holy and blameless in God’s judgment, provided that we continue to live in obedient trust of Jesus, without turning from the hope of the Gospel (the scriptural, apostolic Gospel, which Paul and the other apostles taught and is recorded in the Bible).

Luke Paraphrase:

Jesus had been traveling about with the large group of his disciples, from whom he selected twelve to be in his inner circle, and to be his “representatives.” Jesus spent all night in prayer before making his selection, and then he called his disciples and appointed twelve whom he named Apostles: Simon Peter and Peter’s brother Andrew, James and John (sons of Zebedee), Philip, Bartholomew (Nathanael), Matthew (Levi; son of Alphaeus), Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas (Thaddaeus) the son (or brother) of James, and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.

When Jesus had appointed the Apostles, he began to teach them, surrounded by the larger group of his disciples and a great crowd of people who had come from all over, from Tyre and Sidon (to the north) and Judea and Jerusalem (in the south) to hear Jesus and to be healed or be freed from demons. People sought to touch Jesus, because of the power which went forth from him.

Jesus looked at his disciples and told them that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are poor, hungry and sorrowful now. Those who are hated, persecuted, and excluded now by the world because of Jesus will be rewarded. We should take joy in knowing that we have great reward in heaven, because the world has always hated God’s prophets.

But woe to those who are rich, satisfied and rejoicing now (in this sinful world), because this is all the reward they will have; in eternity they will have nothing but misery and mourning. We should take warning when we have the world’s acclaim and approval, because this is how the world treats false teachers and false prophets.

Commentary:

All Creation belongs to God. God has had a purpose for his Creation from the very beginning, and that purpose is to create an eternal kingdom of people who know, trust and obey God (see Acts 17:26-27). Abraham responded in trust and obedience to God’s call and became the patriarch of God’s people. Through Israel, God gave us his Word, his prophets and his Savior.

When Israel deviated from obedience to God’s Word, God disciplined them like any good father, to prevent them from being eternally destroyed. The “world” (the enemies of God) succeeded in plundering and enslaving Israel only because God allowed it to happen, so that a remnant of his people would return to him to be saved and restored. Before it happened God told Israel by his prophet Jeremiah that punishment was coming and why. God warned them that their wound would seem incurable but God promised to redeem them and restore them.

God fulfilled that promise. Babylon was conquered by Cyrus of Persia, and Cyrus allowed Judah to return to their “Promised Land” after 70 years of exile. There will be a difference between God’s punishment of his people and his punishment of the worldly enemies of God. God’s enemies will be eternally destroyed, but God’s people will be redeemed and restored when they turn to the Lord in obedient trust.

God’s Word is eternal. His Word continues to be fulfilled as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. His Word applies today to the Church, which is the “New People of God,” and to “Christian” nations, particularly America, which is in some ways the “New Promised Land” and also the “New Babylon.” And it also applies to the world.

Judah’s exile in Babylon is a parable and metaphor of life in this world. If we disobey God’s Word he punishes us so that we will turn to him for him to redeem and restore us. But if we refuse his discipline, reject his promise of salvation in Jesus Christ, and refuse to trust and obey him, we will exiled eternally from God’s presence in eternal death in Hell.

Jesus Christ has been God’s plan from before Creation, and God’s Plan of Salvation (see sidebar, top right, home) has been "built into" Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Jesus is God made visible. Jesus is God’s fullest revelation of himself in physical form, but the Holy Spirit, who is given only through trust and obedience to Jesus Christ, is God’s ultimate revelation of himself to us personally and individually in this world.

Jesus came to reveal God’s love and power. Jesus died as a sacrifice so that God could forgive our sins and give us eternal life through his Holy Spirit. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates God’s victory over sin and evil, and reveals that there is life beyond physical death.

Those who heard Jesus’ words and trusted and began to obey and act on them in faith became Jesus’ disciples. They followed Jesus daily, being taught by Jesus, and experiencing Jesus’ power to heal and restore. From those obedient disciples Jesus chose the twelve Apostles to begin to be his emissaries to proclaim Jesus’ message to the world.

Jesus gave his disciples the command to go into the world and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands, but that was to be after they had been completely discipled and had learned to trust and obey Jesus, after they had witnessed the resurrected Jesus, and had received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). It is the indwelling Holy Spirit through whom the Lord “touches” us, and through whom his power goes forth through us to the world (Luke 6:19).

This process still applies today, and it began with Paul, who was the first post-resurrection “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian disciple and God’s choice to replace the Apostle Judas who betrayed Jesus, rather than Matthias (compare Acts 1:15-26: note that this took place before the disciples had received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost; Acts, Chapter 2). Matthias was never heard about thereafter in the New Testament, whereas after Paul's conversion, most of the rest of the New Testament is by or about Paul.

Jesus warned his disciples, not just the twelve, but all, and the larger group of those “seekers” coming to hear the gospel and seek healing, that it is those who realize that they’re spiritually poor, hungry and sorrowful who will be blessed now and eternally as they come to Jesus and learn to trust and obey him. Jesus warns that it not the world’s approval that should motivate us, but God’s approval. Jesus warns that those who seek worldly approval and are comfortable and satisfied with life, now, according to worldly standards, even nominal “Christians” and “church people,” will have only that, and  will ultimately lose what they have, and spend eternity in torment.

Are you seeking Jesus’ touch? 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 Easter 4 - Odd
First Posted 04/19/05;
Podcast: Wednesday Easter 4 - Odd

Jeremiah 30:18-22   -    Promise of Restoration;
Colossians 1:24-2:7  -  Spiritual Growth; 
Luke 6:27-38  -   Sermon on the Plain;

Jeremiah Paraphrase:

In the decade before Judah was conquered and exiled to Babylon, God promised through Jeremiah that he would bring Judah back from exile in Babylon, and would restore their circumstances. The city and the palace will be rebuilt. The inhabitants will again rejoice and sing and give thanks. The Lord will cause his people to be great in multitude, with honor among nations. There will again be plenty of children. “Their congregation shall be established in the presence of the Lord” (Jeremiah 30:20b).

The Lord will punish all who oppress his people. Their leaders will again be from their own people (instead of foreign oppressors).  Their ruler will come forth from them. The Lord will draw him near, and he will approach the Lord. Who would dare to approach the Lord unless the Lord draws him? “And you shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22).

Colossians Paraphrase:

Paul was in prison for the Gospel when he wrote to the Colossian Church. Paul was able to rejoice in his suffering, because he regarded his suffering as the completion of Christ’s suffering for the Church. Paul had been called and appointed by the Lord to be a minister of the Gospel on behalf of the Church, which includes the Colossians.

His purpose is to make God’s Word fully known and to reveal God’s plan (of salvation through Jesus Christ) which had been a mystery for a long time, but which had now been revealed to his saints (all true believers in Christ; “born-again” Christians). To them God has revealed the richness of the blessings of God’s plan for all people (not just the Jews), and the mystery is Christ within each believer (by the indwelling Holy Spirit), which is the hope of glory (inclusion in the happiness of the eternal kingdom of God in heaven).

Paul’s mission is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people, warning them and teaching them in wisdom (Godly wisdom; see 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:6-8), so that every believer will grow to spiritual maturity in Christ. Paul pursues this mission with all the energy and enthusiasm the Lord provides.

Paul wants the Colossians and fellow Christians at near-by Laodicea, and all Christians who do not know Paul personally, to know of his work for the gospel on their behalf, so that they might be encouraged and grow in love for one another, “that they might have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul wants them to have personal knowledge of the Gospel and of Christ, so that they will not be deceived by “smooth-talking” false teachers. Although physically separated, he is spiritually connected to them, rejoicing in their “good order” (their obedience) and firm faith in Christ.

Luke Paraphrase:

Jesus taught his disciples to love and pray for their enemies, to repay evil with good, to return curses with blessing. We should not resist robbers, or refuse those in need who beg from us. If a guest uses our hospitality to steal from us we should simply not invite him again (rather than seeking retribution).

We should treat others as we wish to be treated. If we only love those who love us, only give to those who give to us, and lend only to those who can repay, we are no better than wicked and lost sinners. We are to go beyond that by loving, doing good and lending to those who do not reciprocate. We will have great reward and we will glorify God as we prove to be his children by emulating his nature.

If we don’t want to be judged or condemned, we should not condemn or be judgmental of other. If we want forgiveness we should be forgiving. As we are generous to others we will be abundantly rewarded. We will receive according to what we have done.

Commentary:

God had revealed that Judah was going to be taken into exile in Babylon, and even before that prophecy was fulfilled, God promised that he would later bring them back to their own “Promised Land” and restore their circumstances. God fulfilled both prophecies.

God’s Word is eternal and continues to be fulfilled as the circumstances for its fulfillment are met. It applies today to the Church as the “New People of God” and to America as the “New Promised Land” (and also the “New Babylon;” see entry for yesterday, Tuesday, 4 Easter, odd year). God’s Word of return and restoration is also an illustration and metaphor for God’s promise and faithfulness to bring us back from exile in the “Babylon” of this world to the “Promised Land” of his eternal kingdom in Heaven.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah and eternal King, is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a ruler to come forth from Israel, through whom we are drawn near to God, through whom we become God’s people, and through whom we are restored to eternal life in his kingdom. God’s people are those who trust and obey Jesus, and God promises to be all that being the loving and merciful God implies, to those who demonstrate that they are his children by trusting and obeying Jesus.

Paul’s mission was to make God’s Word fully known to all people, and to reveal the mystery of God’s plan of salvation, which existed before Creation (John 1:1-5, 14; see "God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home) but was a mystery to mankind until Jesus Christ came and revealed it. The riches of the blessings of God in Jesus Christ are received through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the fullest revelation and fulfillment of the mystery of Christ within us.

The Holy Spirit within us is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Only Jesus gives the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17). It is possible for one to know with certainty whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have personal fellowship with the Lord and we experience the foretaste of the joy of inclusion in God’s eternal kingdom and the assurance of that hope. It is the Holy Spirit who draws us into fellowship with the Lord, and it is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that our minds are opened to understand God’s Word and we grow to spiritual maturity by obedience to his leading. 

Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ who trust and obey Jesus. We are to know and apply Jesus’ teachings in our daily lives. If we begin to do that, Jesus will give us the gift of his Holy Spirit within us, and he will lead us to spiritual maturity and sanctification (purification and dedication to God's use). We will have great reward and we will glorify and please God as we follow the Lord, and we will prove that we are his children by following Jesus’ example and teachings.

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 Easter 4 - Odd
First Posted 04/20/05;
Podcast: Thursday Easter 4 - Odd

Jeremiah 31:1-14   -   Everlasting Love and Faithfulness;
Colossians 2:8-23   -   Warning Against False Teaching;
Luke 6:39-49   -   Jesus’ Teachings;

Jeremiah Paraphrase:

The Lord promises to restore Israel. When Israel turned to the Lord in the wilderness they found grace (God's unmerited favor) and the Lord responded when they cried to him. The Lord’s love and faithfulness are everlasting. The Lord will rebuild Israel. Israel will be as a young girl going to a dance. Again Israel will plant vineyards in their own land and will harvest the fruit. Again they will make pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

The Lord promises to save his people and “bring them back from the north country” (Babylon; Jeremiah 31:8) and gather them from the farthest corners of the earth. The Lord won’t abandon or exclude any. The Lord will lead them in a straight path along streams of water, and keep them from stumbling. The Lord is like a good father to Israel.

The Lord scattered Israel, and he will gather them. He will keep Israel as a shepherd keeps his flock. The Lord will ransom Israel and redeem them from the overwhelming power of their adversary. They will return with rejoicing to Zion; “they will be radiant over the goodness of the Lord” (Jeremiah 31:12b RSV). The Lord will bless them with abundance like a well-watered garden. They will languish no more…the Lord “will turn their mourning into joy” (Jeremiah 31:12e, 13c), will comfort them and will replace sorrow with gladness. The souls of the priests will be feasted with abundance, and the Lord will satisfy his people with his goodness.

Colossians Paraphrase:

“See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:8-9). We come to fulness of life in Christ, who is sovereign above all other rulers. In Christ we are “circumcised” spiritually by putting aside our carnal nature.

We are baptized into Christ’s death so that we can be raised with him to eternal life by trusting in God’s power and faithfulness. We were spiritually dead because of sin and the rebelliousness of our flesh, but now God makes us spiritually alive with him, by forgiving all our sins. The just penalty for our sins has been “crucified” with Christ. The Lord defeated every other ruler and power and displayed their defeat, and Christ’s triumph over them, to the world, at the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Christians are not to be condemned over issues of what’s ok to eat or drink, or regarding the observances of festivals or Sabbath, because those issues aren’t really important. What really matters is belonging to Christ (by obedient trust in him).

Don’t let false teachers mislead you by unbiblical doctrines devised by worldly human minds. Instead, hold on to the true Gospel of Christ as taught by the original Apostles and recorded in the Bible, and maintain daily fellowship with the Lord. Christ is to be our leader, like a human head directs a physical human body, so that we can grow and mature spiritually.

If we have died to worldly carnal nature, why would we submit to worldly human teachings and traditions? Such teachings and traditions have the appearance of wisdom, religious devotion and discipline, but they have no spiritual value.

Luke Paraphrase:

Jesus taught that the spiritually blind cannot lead others to spiritual vision. One must first come to spiritual sightedness, before attempting to lead others. A teacher must know more than his students, because when they have been fully taught the best that students can hope for is to know as much as their teacher.

One can distinguish between good and bad in people and their teaching like one can distinguish a tree by its fruit. The character and beliefs of people will be revealed by what they do. Not everyone who calls Jesus their Lord is really a Christian or a disciple of Jesus (see also Matthew 7:21-24).

Commentary:

Authentic Christians are disciples who know Jesus’ teachings and trust and obey Jesus. Those who know and apply Jesus’ teachings are building their lives on an eternal and unshakable foundation. Those who do not obey Jesus’ teachings are building their lives on “sand” which will wash out from under them in the first storm and they will suffer eternal destruction. 

Through Jeremiah, the Lord foretold that Judah would go into exile in Babylon, because God’s people had not obeyed God’s Word or heeded God’s prophets, and had worshiped other gods. Before this prophecy was fulfilled, the Lord promised that he would bring his people back from exile to their “Promised Land.” The Lord promised to lead them and take care of them like a “Good Shepherd.”

God fulfilled both prophesies. Judah was conquered and exiled in Babylon, and after seventy years was allowed to return to their land by Cyrus of Persia, who had conquered Babylon. But God’s Word is eternal and continues to be fulfilled as conditions for its fulfillment are met. God’s Word applies to the Church as the “New People of God,” and to America as both the “New Israel” and the “New Babylon.”

The Biblical history of God’s dealing with Israel is also a metaphor for life in this world. In a sense, we are all exiles in the “Babylon” of this world. God promises to return and restore us to the “Promised Land” of his eternal kingdom in heaven, when we turn to the Lord in obedient trust through Jesus Christ, who is the “Good Shepherd (John 10:11).”

It is by the Holy Spirit, whom only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17), that we are led on the straight path, and kept from “stumbling.” It is through the Holy Spirit that we become radiant with the goodness of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (John 14:16 KJV), through whom the Lord satisfies his people with his goodness.

All of God’s promises are fulfilled only through Jesus Christ, to those who trust and obey Jesus. Watch out for false teachers who deny that Jesus is fully human and also fully God. Watch out for false teachers who teach human traditions instead of or in addition to the Biblical Apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ. Watch out for false teachers who teach that we must keep Jewish laws. Watch out for false teachers who claim that it is not necessary to obey and live according to Jesus’ teachings.

Don’t let people tell you that you can have the fulfillment of the promised Holy Spirit by a religious ritual, without your conscious awareness of the Spirit. There are a lot of false teachers and teachings in the world and in the “Church” today (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right). The only way to avoid being misled is to know and read the Bible in its entirety.

Jesus warns us not to be led by spiritually blind teachers, and he warns us not to be spiritual teachers until we have experienced spiritual sightedness through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We cannot lead others to Jesus if we haven’t been there ourselves. We can’t make disciples of Jesus if we aren’t disciples of Jesus ourselves.

Jesus warns us to be spiritually discerning. We need to know God’s Word to be able to tell good spiritual fruit from bad.

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 Easter 4 - Odd
First Posted 04/21/05;
Podcast: Friday Easter 4 - Odd

Jeremiah 31:15-22   -   The New Age;
Colossians 3:1-11  -   New Life in Christ;
Luke 7:1-17  -    Healing the Sick and Raising the Dead;

Jeremiah Paraphrase:

Rachel (Jacob’s wife; mother of Joseph and Benjamin) whose tomb is near Bethlehem, is heard in Ramah (about 12 miles north; near Gibeon), weeping for the loss of her children, with inconsolable grief. The Lord tells his people not to weep, because their work will be rewarded. They will return from exile in the land of their enemy.

There is hope for their future; their children will return to their own land. The Lord has heard Ephraim (the tribe of Ephraim, the Son of Joseph, born in Egypt; symbolic of God's people) mourning. Ephraim received the chastening and instruction of the Lord and repented of his disobedience, the sins of his youth, acknowledging that the Lord is his God, and praying for God to bring him back and restore him. The Lord loves Ephraim like a dear son and a darling child; though the Lord disciplines, he still loves him and will have mercy upon him.

The Lord warns Ephraim to remember the mistakes he made which brought God’s punishment, so that he will not repeat his errors. God calls Israel not just to return their land and cities but to return to God in obedient trust. God warns her not to delay and vacillate; God has created a new thing, a new age, wherein the usual expectations of the world will be reversed.

Colossians Paraphrase:

If we have been raised to new, eternal, life with Christ, we are to seek the eternal, spiritual things of the kingdom of God in Heaven, where Christ is, instead of pursuing worldly things. We must consider our worldly lives dead and buried with Christ so that when Christ who is our eternal life appears, we will appear with him in glory. So we are to “crucify” whatever is worldly within us, like immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and covetousness, which is a form of idolatry.

God’s wrath is coming upon the world because of these worldly behaviors. We all were once guilty of them, but now we must put them away. We must no longer allow anger, wrath, malice, slander, foul language, and deceit to continue in our lives.

In Christ we take off our old nature, like a filthy garment, and reclothe ourselves in a new nature, which is being “cleansed” and renewed as we grow in spiritual knowledge until we resemble our Creator’s nature and likeness (through his indwelling Holy Spirit). We must no longer allow racial, ethnic, gender, or economic differences to separate Christians, but make serving Christ our common and unifying purpose, through his indwelling Holy Spirit in each one of us.

Luke Paraphrase:

Jesus returned to Capernaum. The beloved slave of a Centurion was ill and near death. When the Centurion heard of Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come and heal the slave. The Jewish elders told Jesus that the Centurion deserved Jesus’ healing because he loved Israel and had financed the building of their synagogue.

Jesus went with them to the Centurion, but as he drew near, the Centurion sent friends to Jesus, telling him the Centurion felt unworthy to receive Jesus. The Centurion was a man of military authority, and accustomed to having his orders obeyed. He acknowledged Jesus’ authority and trusted that Jesus’ word would be fulfilled, without Jesus’ personal visit. Jesus commented to the multitude that followed him that Jesus had never found such faith even in Israel. When the messengers returned to the Centurion’s house, they found that the servant had been healed.

Soon thereafter, Jesus went to the city of Nain (20 miles southwest of Capernaum; in Galilee), and as he approached the gate a funeral procession was coming out. The man who had died was the only son of a widow. Jesus had compassion on the woman, and told her not to grieve. Then Jesus touched the bier and commanded the dead man to arise, and the man sat up and began talking. The people were amazed and frightened and they glorified God, acknowledging that Jesus was a great prophet and that “God has visited his people” (Luke 7:16). The news of this spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.

Commentary:

God’s eternal prophetic Word applied to Judah’s 70 year exile to Babylon and their return, but it also applied in the day of Jesus’ physical life, and it also applies to us today. The prophecy of Rachel weeping was fulfilled when Herod killed all the male children in the region of Bethlehem, who were born around the time of Jesus’ birth, in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16-18). Ephraim is the son of Joseph who was born in Egypt, and is symbolic of the children of Judah who would be born in exile in Babylon who God will bring back to the Promised Land after they have been punished for their disobedience and unfaithfulness to God.

God’s Word is also a metaphor for life in this world, where we are exiles in “Babylon.” God’s discipline is necessary and is intended to bring us to spiritual maturity and eternal life in the “Promised Land” of God’s kingdom in Heaven. Ephraim’s response to the Lord’s discipline was to acknowledge God’s authority and to accept his discipline with true repentance, and a renewed commitment to learn from his mistakes and to trust and obey God, so that Ephraim would not repeat them.

That response is what brings restoration and return to the “Promised Land.” God promises a new age living under God’s rule according to God’s standards instead of worldly ones. Only in Jesus is there hope for our eternal future.

This New Age begins now in Jesus Christ. Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ we are raised with him to new, eternal life, through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit within us. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17).

It is by the Holy Spirit within us that we are cleansed, taught, guided and empowered to grow to spiritual maturity. We must choose to pursue spiritual, eternal things rather than continuing to pursue worldly things, but when we make that commitment the Lord will help us to achieve it. Jesus tells us to seek his kingdom first, and we will also have the worldly things we need (but not necessarily everything we want; Matthew 6:33-34). If we don’t make his kingdom and righteousness our first priority we will never get around to it, and we will wind up with nothing.

The Centurion was a foreigner but he acknowledged Jesus’ authority and he trusted that Jesus’ word would be fulfilled. It wasn’t because of anything the Centurion did for “the church,” or the fact that he was a big financial contributor to “the church.” He received what Jesus promises because he trusted and acted on them. His behavior revealed that he believed Jesus.

Jesus had compassion for the widow of Nain, because her son would have been her only means of support. Jesus raised the man to life and returned him to his mother.

Jesus’ miracle revealed that he is the Lord and Giver of Life (in the words of the third article of the Nicene Creed). The people who witnessed the miracle glorified God and acknowledged that Jesus spoke the Word of God and, in Jesus, God has visited his people (Matthew 1:23; Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

God comforts us with hope for the eternal future, resurrection from physical death to eternal life, and a new age now, through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Who do you say Jesus is?

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 Easter 4 - Odd
First posted 04/22/05;
Podcast: Saturday Easter 4 - Odd

Jeremiah 31:23-25    -   Souls Satisfied and Replenished;
Colossians 3:12-17  -    Put on the New Nature;
Luke 7:18-28 (29-30) 31-35   -  Jesus and John the Baptizer;

Jeremiah Paraphrase:

Before Judah went into exile in Babylon, God promised that he would restore their fortunes and bring them back to the Promised Land. God promised that they would again praise him. “For I (the Lord) will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish” (Jeremiah 31:25). 

Colossians Paraphrase:

We who have believed in Christ are to put on the new nature made possible through Christ (by his indwelling Holy Spirit). We are God’s chosen ones whom he loves and has set apart and dedicated to his service. We are to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient and forbearing. We must forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven us. Above all else we are to love one another, because love unifies us and keeps us in harmony with each other.

We are to let the peace of Christ govern us, because this is God’s purpose which unites us in one body. Remember to be thankful in all things. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16a) as we teach and admonish one another in the wisdom God gives, and as we worship and praise the Lord in thankfulness to God. 

Luke Paraphrase:

John the Baptizer had been imprisoned by Herod (Luke 3:18-20). He heard of the miracles Jesus was doing, and he sent a couple of his disciples to Jesus, asking for confirmation that Jesus was the Messiah. In the presence of John’s disciples, Jesus healed many who were sick, demon-possessed, or blind, and Jesus told John’s disciples to go and tell John what they had seen and heard: that the blind, lame, lepers, and deaf are healed, the dead raised and good news is proclaimed to the poor (in fulfillment of scripture: Isaiah 29:18-19; Isaiah 35:5-6; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18-19). Jesus declared that those who take no offence at Jesus will be blessed.

After John’s disciples left, Jesus asked the crowd why they had gone out to John in the wilderness. Obviously they had gone to hear a prophet. Jesus declared that John was more than a prophet; he was the fulfillment of scriptural prophecy (Malachi 3:1) of the messenger sent to announce the coming of the Messiah. Jesus said that John was the greatest of men in the world up to that time, but from then on those who were least in God’s kingdom (through Jesus) would be greater than John.

The people, including tax collectors, accepted Jesus’ message and God’s purpose, because they had been baptized by John (and thus prepared for Jesus’ coming), but the Pharisees and lawyers (scribes) were not prepared for Jesus because they had not accepted John’s call for repentance. Jesus compared that generation of Israel to children who expect others to conform their wishes; to play their “games.” They called John “crazy” for living in the wilderness on foraged food and abstaining from wine (Matthew 3:4), and they called Jesus a glutton and a drunkard because he ate and drank like everyone else. 

Commentary:

God always fulfills his promises. God promised beforehand that Judah was going to be exiled in Babylon for seventy years as punishment for disobedience of God’s Word, failure to heed God’s prophets, and worship of other “gods,” and that’s exactly what happened. Before that even took place, God promised that he would bring them back to the Promised Land and restore their circumstances when they had learned to repent and return to the Lord (Jeremiah 31:18-20), and he fulfilled that promise.

God’s Word is eternal and continues to be fulfilled as conditions for its fulfillment are met. Just because it has been fulfilled doesn’t mean that it won’t be fulfilled again and again. God promised to satisfy and replenish the weary and languishing soul, and he fulfills that promise in Jesus Christ. Jesus refreshed John’s languishing soul by revealing himself to John as the fulfillment of scripture.

God’s Word also applies to us today. The exile in Babylon is a metaphor for life in this world. We are all exiles in the “Babylon” of this world. God promises to bring us, through Jesus Christ, to the “Promised Land” of his eternal kingdom in Heaven. Through Jesus he restores our circumstances and satisfies and replenishes our weary, languishing souls by his indwelling Holy Spirit.

We who truly believe Jesus are to put on the new nature which is only through Jesus, by his indwelling Holy Spirit. It is by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are “reborn” (John 3:3; 5-8) to eternal life, to a new nature, and through whom our souls are refreshed and replenished. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that we are in Christ and have eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Isaiah 42:5e; John 14:15-17).

It is by the Holy Spirit that the peace of Christ reigns in our life and unites believers in God’s purpose. It is by the Holy Spirit that the word of Christ dwells within us. Jesus has promised to give the gift of his Holy Spirit to his disciples who trust and obey him, and we receive what he promised as we fulfill those conditions.

God promised to send the Messiah (Christ), the Savior, and before he did he promised to send a messenger to precede Messiah’s coming, to call people to repent and prepare to welcome the Messiah. John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of that scripture.

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior. Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home). Jesus’ words and deeds are the fulfillment of scripture and reveal who he is to anyone who can spiritually “see” and “hear.”

John fulfilled God’s purpose to announce the coming of the Messiah and call the people to repent and prepare for his coming. The ones who heeded John’s message, who repented and began to look for the Messiah were prepared to receive him. But some ignored John’s message; they thought they didn’t need a Savior, because they were “good people” according to their own standards. They were like children who want others to play by their rules. They were not prepared for Jesus’ coming.

It is God’s world and it is God’s rules. God’s Word will either revive and restore us or it will condemn and destroy us; it will either offend us or bless us. Jesus has promised to return on the Day of Judgment. Everyone who has ever lived will be accountable for what they have done in this life. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will live eternally with him in the kingdom of God in Heaven; those who have rejected Jesus and have refused to obey him will be condemned to eternal destruction in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1: 5-8).

God has warned us beforehand; he has announced his plan for our salvation. How we respond to his Word is a matter of eternal consequence.

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)?