Week of Pentecost - Odd
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Podcast Download: Week of Pentecost - Odd
Sunday Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/14/05;
Podcast: Sunday Pentecost - Odd
Isaiah 11:1-9 -
The Messianic King;
1 Corinthians 2:1-13 - Spiritual Wisdom;
John 14:21-29 - The Gift of the Holy Spirit;
1 Corinthians 2:1-13 - Spiritual Wisdom;
John 14:21-29 - The Gift of the Holy Spirit;
Isaiah Paraphrase:
The Messianic King will come forth from the stump and root of Jesse (the father of David). “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord (awe and respect for the Lord’s power and authority). And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2-3). He will be a righteous and faithful ruler and judge who will provide equity for the poor and the meek. He will not show partiality or be deceived like human rulers.
His Word will be obeyed and enforced, and will condemn and destroy the wicked. Under his reign, creation will be restored to the paradise God intended, and that it possessed before the fall of mankind by sin. Creatures will no longer fight, injure and destroy one another. Wild animals will be tame enough for a little child to lead them, and small children will be in no danger from them. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” Isaiah 11:9b).
1 Corinthians Paraphrase:
Paul told the Corinthian Church that when he had come to them preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ he made no attempt to impress them with his wisdom or oratory. The only thing he wanted to convey was Jesus Christ crucified, and he did so in human humility and weakness. Paul didn’t try to convince them with wisdom and oratory, but let the Spirit and power of the Lord be revealed in Paul, so that the Corinthians’ faith would not be based on human wisdom, but in God’s power.
“Yet among the (spiritually) mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification” (1 Corinthians 2:6-7). If the rulers of this world had possessed this divinely given wisdom, they would have not crucified the Lord.
God has prepared a destiny for those who love him which is far beyond anything humans know or can imagine, but which God has revealed to us (Christian disciples who trust and obey Jesus) through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s own spirit, his consciousness, and he knows everything including the deepest things of God, as we know our own innermost thoughts and desires.
The Holy Spirit we have received is God’s Spirit, not the spirit of the world, and God’s Spirit is given to us so that we can understand the gifts God gives us. And we pass this on (to other disciples) not in words of human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, “interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit” (or those who are spiritual; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
John Paraphrase:
At the Last Supper, (the celebration of the Feast of Passover with his disciples on the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion), Jesus gave his disciples these words of assurance to help them to continue to believe in him through the turmoil of Jesus’ crucifixion. “He who has my commands and keeps (obeys; lives by) them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest (reveal) myself to him” (John 14:21).
One of the Twelve apostles, Judas (“Thaddaeus;” not Judas Iscariot, the betrayer) asked how Jesus would manifest himself to his disciples and not to the world, so Jesus rephrased what he had said: Anyone who truly loves Jesus will (trust and) obey Jesus’ teachings. God will love those who trust and obey Jesus, and Jesus and God the Father, in the gift and person of the Holy Spirit, will come to each of Jesus’ disciples individually and dwell within them. Those who don’t love Jesus won’t obey and apply Jesus' teachings, and Jesus’ teachings are God’s Word, which he was sent by God to proclaim.
Jesus told his disciples these things to prepare them for the coming of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Counselor (or Comforter), whom God the Father would send in Jesus’ name. The Holy Spirit will teach Jesus’ disciples completely and help them to remember all Jesus’ teaching. Jesus promised to give his disciples his peace (through the Holy Spirit), not what the world calls peace and not as the world gives gifts that can be taken away or that don’t satisfy. Jesus told his disciples not to worry or be afraid. Jesus promised he would come back to his disciples, and he comforted his disciples by encouraging them to see Jesus’ separation from them as Jesus’ restoration to his Father’s glory and presence in heaven.
Commentary:
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah (Christ), God’s "anointed" Savior and King, would be a descendant of Jesse and would be the eternal heir to the throne of David. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah, the “son of David” (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 2:4; Matthew 21:9). Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon the Messiah. John the Baptist testified that, by the vision of the Holy Spirit descending and resting on Jesus when John baptized him, God had revealed to John that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and the one who baptizes (anoints) with the Holy Spirit (John 1:30-34).
It is by the gift (anointing) of the indwelling Holy Spirit, that “born-again” Christian disciples receive divine wisdom and understanding (the Holy Spirit opens the minds of Jesus’ disciples to understand the scripture). The indwelling Holy Spirit gives divine counsel and guidance to know God’s will and equips and empowers us to accomplish God’s call. It is by the Holy Spirit that we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and through whom we personally experience God’s awesome power and love.
Jesus is God’s anointed righteous and faithful ruler and Judge. He will not show partiality or be deceived by outward appearances. He will ultimately bring equity to the poor and oppressed, will eternally reward those who have trusted and obeyed him, and will eternally punish the wicked, when Christ returns on the Day of Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). In the messianic age, creation will be restored to the paradise it was created by God to be.
When Paul preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ he did not try to convince his hearers with wisdom and oratory. Instead he was guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit and allowed God’s Word to speak through him. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit and God’s power to be revealed through him.
God’s creation has been intentionally designed so that one cannot come to know God through (worldly) wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21). The only way to find and know God is through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Spiritually mature, “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ, like Paul, are to pass on divine spiritual wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-24) to believing, spiritually growing Christians, fulfilling the Lord’s command to his disciples to make disciples and teach them to obey all Jesus’ teachings (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul is the prototype, the model, and our example of the post-resurrection (having, like us, not known Jesus during Jesus’ earthly ministry in the flesh), “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-19)
God has prepared an eternal destiny, in paradise, beyond human comprehension, for those who love and obey him. But the foretaste of that destiny in the fellowship and love of the Lord is experienced now, through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (the trinity; Romans 8:9). The 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).
Jesus has promised that he will come and reveal himself, through the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, which he gives to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). We have personal intimate acquaintance and fellowship with the Lord through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told his disciples to prepare for the outpouring and anointing of the gift of the Holy Spirit who would come to them from God the Father in the name of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit who leads Jesus’ disciples to spiritual maturity. Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem (the modern equivalent is the Church) until they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5, 8) before going out into the world in ministry in Jesus’ name, and this applies to his disciples today.
Today is Pentecost Sunday, commemorating the birth of the Church by the outpouring and anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples (Acts 2:1-42). 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 Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/15/05;
Podcast: Monday Pentecost - Odd
Isaiah 63:7-14 - Declare God’s Faithfulness;
2 Timothy 1:1-14 - Testify with Boldness;
Luke 11:24-36 - The Sign of Jonah;
Isaiah
Paraphrase:
Let us remember and declare the steadfast love of the Lord, and praise our God for all he has given us and for his goodness to his people in great mercy and overflowing steadfast love. The Lord has declared us to be his children and has trusted us to be faithful to him, and has become our Savior. He bore our affliction for us, and the presence of his Spirit saved us; in love and pity he redeemed us. He lifted and carried his people from ages past.
But his people rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit, so he turned to oppose them and fought against them. Remember the days of old, of Moses, God’s servant. Where is the Lord who brought the shepherds of his flock up out of the sea; who put his Holy Spirit in their midst? Where is the Lord who caused his power to go at Moses right hand, who divided the waters (of the Red Sea) before them and led them through the depths, so that his name (his character and person) might be remembered forever? The Spirit of the Lord led them like cattle (or sheep) into the valley and gave them rest so that his name would be glorified forever.
2 Timothy Paraphrase:
Paul was an apostle (messenger; one who is sent with a message; a missionary) of the Gospel of eternal life through Jesus Christ in accordance with God’s will. He was writing to Timothy, his protégé and spiritual child, offering a blessing of grace, mercy and peace (grace and peace were traditional forms of Greek and Hebrew salutations; real grace and peace, and in addition, mercy, are revealed and received only from God through Jesus Christ).
Paul was thankful that Timothy was following the faith of his mother and grandmother (who were Jews; Timothy’s father was Greek, a Gentile), serving the Lord God through faith in Jesus Christ, as was Paul. Paul urged Timothy to “rekindle” the gift (of the Holy Spirit) within him received by the laying on of Paul’s hands (Acts 19:2, 6).
Paul wanted Timothy not to be shy or ashamed about expressing his testimony by the power, love and self-discipline of the Holy Spirit. Paul asked Timothy not to be ashamed, either, of Paul’s imprisonment, and to be willing to suffer also for the gospel in the strength God supplies (through the gift of his Spirit). The Lord saves and calls us with a divine commission, not because we are worthy, but by his will and his merciful generosity which he gave us long ago in Christ and has now been revealed in Jesus’ incarnation (manifestation in human flesh; John 1:1-5, 14).
Jesus has abolished eternal death and revealed eternal life through the gospel of Jesus Christ, of which Paul had been appointed to be a preacher, apostle and teacher, for which he was suffering imprisonment and persecution. But Paul was not ashamed to be a prisoner, because he knew and had personally experienced the risen eternal Jesus and the truth of what he believed.
Paul was certain that the Lord is able to guard and preserve what had been entrusted to Paul until the Day of Judgment. So Paul exhorted Timothy to follow, in faith and love, the sound apostolic doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which Timothy had received from Paul, and to guard the truth which had been entrusted to Timothy by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Luke Paraphrase:
Jesus warned that when we have been spiritually healed of demons, we must be careful not to allow new demons to take refuge in us, because we will be even more attractive than before, and if we’re not careful we’ll wind up worse off than we were. Cleansing must be guarded if it is to be lasting and beneficial.
As Jesus was teaching, a woman in the crowd glorified Jesus’ mother and the nurture that she had provided, but Jesus said that, instead, it is those who hear God’s Word and obey it who are blessed. (Mary does not deserve credit for producing Jesus; she is just an example of obedient trust in God’s Word).
As crowds gathering around Jesus increased in size, Jesus began to warn that they were seeking “signs;” they were hoping that Jesus would prove whether he was the messiah or not. But Jesus warned them that there would be no sign except the sign of Jonah. Jonah had reluctantly proclaimed God’s Word, and it was up to his hearers to decide whether to repent and turn to the Lord or not.
Jesus’ situation was similar in that he would rather not have done what God asked (but Jesus was completely obedient, as Jonah was not); the response was entirely up to the hearers, and that, like Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale, Jesus spent three days dead in the tomb (he rose on the third day).
Jesus declared that, on the Day of Judgment, the Queen of the South who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and the people of Nineveh who repented at the preaching of Jonah, will arise and condemn our generation, because they acknowledged the God-given wisdom of Solomon, and the Spirit-inspired preaching of Jonah, but this generation does not acknowledge the greater wisdom and preaching of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in whom the whole fullness of God’s wisdom and God’s Spirit dwells bodily (Colossians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 1:23-24).
Commentary:
It is the presence of Jesus’ Holy Spirit within us which saves us and 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).The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord, who gives his people spiritual life through the “sea” (Exodus 14:21-29) of baptism, and who is the “pillar of fire”(Exodus 13:21-22) leading his people through the “night” of spiritual darkness and the “wilderness” of this life, through the “river” (Joshua 3:14-17) of physical death and into eternal life in the Promised Land of his Kingdom in heaven.
Paul felt that he was Timothy’s spiritual father because Paul had led Timothy to be spiritually “born-again”(John 3:3, 5-8) through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is by the Holy Spirit that we experience the grace (unmerited favor), genuine peace (beyond comprehension, which only God can provide) and mercy (the forgiveness and cleansing of all our sins) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Paul urged Timothy to “rekindle,” to fan the spark, of the flame of the Holy Spirit, which he had been given, into a roaring fire which would warm and kindle others (instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to be grieved and “quenched” by rebellion and neglect).
Paul urged Timothy to be bold in testifying to the power, love and self-control given to him through the Holy Spirit. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who saves, calls and empowers us to complete Christ’s mission of forgiveness and reconciliation. It was by the presence of the Holy Spirit within Paul that he knew with certainty and had personally experienced the risen (from physical death), eternal Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel.
It was by the indwelling Holy Spirit that Paul knew with certainty that the Lord was able to guard and preserve the salvation which had been entrusted to Paul until the Day of Judgment, and Paul urged Timothy to hold fast to, guard and apply the sound apostolic (as taught by the apostles including Paul, and recorded in the New Testament) doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which had been entrusted to Timothy by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
It isn’t the hearers of God’s Word who are blessed and receive God’s promises, but those who apply and live according to God’s Word. Jesus can and is willing to heal us spiritually, but unless we trust and continue in obedience to Jesus’ teaching we receive no ultimate, eternal benefit. Mary is not to be worshiped for producing Jesus, but she is an example of a disciple’s obedient trust in God’s Word.
For those who require “proof” that Jesus is who he claims to be, there is none; but every word Jesus proclaimed is fulfilled. Jesus said that he would die and rise to eternal life on the third day, and his resurrection is as well-attested as any fact in history. Every authentic “born-again” Christian who has ever lived can attest that Jesus is alive and that Jesus' promises are true! Jesus’ wisdom is greater than the God-given wisdom of Solomon, and Jesus’ preaching is greater than Jonah’s Spirit-inspired preaching. Can we recognize God’s wisdom and God’s Spirit 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)?
Tuesday Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/16/05;
Podcast: Tuesday Pentecost - Odd
2 Timothy 1:15-2:13 - Exhortation to Endurance;
Luke 11:37-52 - Against Pharisees and Scribes;
Isaiah Paraphrase:
The prophet prayed for the Lord’s restoration of the remnant of Israel which was in exile in Babylon. He asked the Lord God to see Israel’s suffering and remember God’s love and compassion. God is Israel’s Father who remembers his children even though their earthly patriarchs no longer acknowledge them.
The Lord has been Israel’s Father and Redeemer from the beginning of their nation. Why does God allow his people to depart from his ways and from their love of God? The prophet asked the Lord to restore his people to God's presence. The Lord’s sanctuary had been with Israel only a short time, and had been destroyed by their enemies, and Israel had become like pagans who had never known or acknowledged God’s reign (God’s kingship).
“Oh that thou wouldst rend [split] the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil- to make thy name known to thy adversaries and that the nations might tremble at thy presence” (Isaiah 64:1-2). There has never been any god but God, who acts for those who wait for him.
The Lord comes to those who do what is right in God’s eyes, and obey God’s ways. We have all sinned, and our “good deeds” are no better than a filthy garment. Because his people don’t call on him, God has hidden his face from them and they suffer for their iniquities. Let us acknowledge that God is our Father; God is the “potter” and we are the "clay." We have been created by God. Let us acknowledge that we are God’s people and receive his forgiveness.
2 Timothy Paraphrase:
Paul, in prison in Rome, had been abandoned by the churches in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), including Hermogenes and Phygelus, who had been Paul’s co-workers in Asia. Onesiphorus, an Ephesian Christian, had been a faithful co-worker in Ephesus, and he had sought Paul out in Rome and had brought comfort and refreshing to Paul. Paul prayed for Onesiphorus’ salvation at Jesus’ return on the Day of the Lord.
Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong in the grace (unmerited favor) which he had in Jesus Christ. Paul urged Timothy to teach the apostolic gospel (as taught by the apostles, including Paul, and recorded in the New Testament) to faithful people who will be able to teach others (i.e. the process of discipleship).
Timothy was advised to accept his share of suffering for the sake of the gospel, like a soldier makes personal sacrifices for his calling. As a soldier, it is necessary to avoid civilian commitments which would interfere with his duty. An athlete cannot win his event unless he competes according to the rules. On the other hand, it is the farmer who deserves to have the first share of the crops.
“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David,” (2 Timothy 1:8 RSV) as preached by Paul. Paul was chained and in prison because of that gospel, but God’s Word cannot be imprisoned. Paul is willing to endure whatever comes his way for the sake of those who will come to salvation in Jesus Christ and eternal glory.
Believers who have died with Christ (who have sacrificed their worldly physical lives in obedience to Jesus, following Jesus’ example) will live eternally with him. Those who endure (in obedient trust in Jesus), as Jesus endured, will reign with him in eternal glory. God is completely faithful, even if we are not, because faithfulness is God’s very nature.
Luke Paraphrase:
Jesus was invited to dine at the home of a Pharisee, and the Pharisee was amazed that Jesus sat down at the table without ceremonial hand washing first. Jesus replied that Pharisees were like dishes which are clean outside but inside (where it matters) are filthy with wickedness and corruption. Jesus called them fools, and told them that God had made their insides as well as their outsides; if they gave God his portion of their inner being, everything would be clean for them.
Jesus warned the Pharisees that they would pay the penalty for their superficial obedience in small details while neglecting the most important things like justice and loving God. Pharisees enjoyed the praise of people in “church” and in the market place (for their appearance of righteousness) but they were unaware of their inner corruption.
A scribe (a lawyer; teacher of the law) responded that Jesus’ criticism was against the scribes as well. Jesus answered that the scribes would bear the same condemnation because they burdened people with legal obligations which the scribes wouldn’t even try to fulfill themselves. Jesus told them that they built tombs memorializing the prophets who their fathers had killed, and in doing so they testified and consented to their father’s deeds.
Commentary:
God sent his prophets and apostles to Israel, and Israel persecuted and killed some of them. So this generation will bear the guilt for all the blood of all the prophets killed since the beginning of creation, from Abel to Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and sanctuary (in God’s temple). Jesus warned that the scribes would be punished because they had prevented the proper understanding of God’s purpose; they had not only rejected God’s kingdom (his sovereign lordship) themselves, but they had hindered and prevented their students also.
God is everyone’s Father, as our Creator, whether we acknowledge him or not. God is our great and perfect Father, beyond comparison with the best of earthly fathers; he is our example of what a good father should be. God is also completely faithful, whether we are faithful or not. God remembers and cares about his children even when their earthly parents do not. God had been the Father and Redeemer of Israel from the beginning of the nation, but Israel had been unfaithful to God.
Israel had become like pagans who had never known and acknowledged God’s sovereign kingship. Why does God allow his people to turn from their love, trust and obedience in God? Because, like good earthly parents, God loves us, and wants us to have the choice of whether to love, trust and obey him or not. Like a good parent, God allowed his children to suffer for their disobedience. But God is ready to restore his people when they repent, acknowledge his Lordship, and trust and obey him.
Unlike Israel in exile in Babylon, Paul was suffering because of his obedient trust in the Lord. Paul had come to a personal fellowship with the Lord through the indwelling Holy Spirit and had personally experienced the Lord’s love, faithfulness and power. Paul had believed and came to know that the Lord is completely faithful; that God’s very nature is faithfulness.
Paul was making disciples in obedience to Jesus’ command (Matthew 28:19-20). He was discipling Timothy. He was teaching Timothy the biblical apostolic gospel of Jesus Christ, which Timothy should faithfully transmit to faithful people who would transmit the same apostolic gospel to other faithful people (who would then repeat the process). Paul taught Timothy to accept sacrifice and persecution for the gospel.
Personal sacrifice is required of athletes and soldiers also, for less certain worldly rewards, but the disciples' rewards are certain and eternal and they begin here and now. Like the farmer who gets the first portion of the harvest, disciples have the joy and love of fellowship with the Lord now, as a sample of the eternal life to come in God’s heavenly kingdom. Paul had experienced that joy of the Lord’s presence within him and was willing to suffer physically to share it with others.
The Scribes and Pharisees wanted worldly honor and acclaim more than God’s. They wanted to look good on the outside, but inside they were full of sinfulness. They weren’t even aware of their inner corruption. That is the human condition apart from the Lord. All have sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the punishment for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God loves us doesn’t want us to perish, but instead to live with him eternally in paradise (John 3:16-17; Romans 5:8).
Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for forgiveness of our sins and for salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6) see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home). Jesus is the only way to get “clean” on the inside through his indwelling Holy Spirit. Salvation is God’s free gift to those who trust and obey Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are cleansed and guided to spiritual maturity (completion; perfection) at the Day of Judgment. Only Jesus gives the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). Believing in Jesus requires more than superficial obedience; it requires discipleship.
Teachers of the Gospel are warned to teach the true scriptural apostolic Gospel. There are two major categories of false doctrine in the "nominal" Church today (see False Teachings, sidebar, top right, home) which first appeared in the First-century, New Testament Church: one is “Salvation by Works” (works righteousness; the “circumcision party,” which insisted that Christians had to keep the Jewish religious laws). The Pharisees and Scribes were in that category for substituting “good works” for inner obedience, and were condemned by Jesus.
The other category is “Cheap Grace”* which is teaching salvation by grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) without requiring discipleship and obedience. The Scribes are also condemned in this category because they hadn’t accepted God’s sovereign Lordship themselves, and had hindered their students’ acceptance also.
Isn’t the Church today a lot like Israel in exile in Babylon? The Lord is our Father and Redeemer, but have we followed his ways and shown our love by obedient trust in the Lord (John 14:21)? Has the presence of the Lord departed from those who call themselves his people and his nation? Is the Lord’s sanctuary polluted and in ruins because the enemy has been allowed to attack it?
Have God’s people become like heathens who have never known or acknowledged God’s Lordship? Are Christians so unwilling to suffer the slightest inconvenience for the gospel that they won’t even tolerate uncushioned wooden benches and lack of air conditioning in their churches? Will they only come to church if they have nothing else planned? Do we value worldly approval and success more than the Lord?
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 Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., NY 1963 ISBN 0-02-083850-6
Wednesday Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/17/05;
Podcast: Wednesday Pentecost - Odd
Isaiah 65:1-12 - God’s Answer;
2 Timothy 2:14-26 - Shepherd and Flock;
Luke 11:53-12:12 - Encouragement of Disciples;
Isaiah Paraphrase:
Isaiah had prayed for Israel’s restoration from exile in Babylon. The Lord replied that he was ready to be found, but Israel didn’t seek him. “I said, ’Here am I, Here am I’ to a nation that did not call on my name” (Isaiah 65:1c). The Lord invited and was prepared to welcome his people but they were rebellious and preferred to pursue their own interests and do what is not good.
The people constantly provoke and insult the Lord to his face, pursuing idolatry, pagan worship, and occult practices. These deeds are like acrid smoke in the Lord’s nostrils. The Lord will not overlook such flagrant provocation; he will repay them according to their sins and the sins of their fathers.
As good wine is produced from selected clusters of grapes, the Lord will bring Judah, a remnant of Israel, back to the Promised Land from exile in Babylon. The Lord’s chosen people, who are his servants, will inherit the Promised Land.
The Lord will cause the Promised Land to become lush and fertile for those who have sought the Lord. But those who forget and forsake the Lord, who serve idols such as Fortune and Destiny (the translation of Hebrew names of Syrian gods), will be slain because when God called they didn’t answer and they didn’t listen to God’s Word, but instead chose to do what is evil and abhorrent in God’s judgment.
2 Timothy Paraphrase:
Paul urged Timothy to remind his congregation that faith requires discipline and endurance, and to tell them not to quibble over words (faulty interpretation of scripture), which is not helpful but destructive to hearers. Timothy is urged to be worthy of God’s approval in rightly handling the Word of truth (God’s Word; the Gospel) like a skilled craftsman. Godless chatter (false doctrine) should be avoided because it leads to more and more ungodliness, and is destructive, like gangrene, unless avoided or removed.
As an example, Paul mentions two members of the Ephesian congregation who were spreading the false doctrine that the resurrection had already occurred. Such false doctrines damage the faith of some. Instead one must hold onto God’s firm foundation (God’s Word and the apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ).
Two solid principles are that the Lord knows those who belong to him, and that those who belong to the Lord depart from iniquity (wickedness; sin). Christians are to be purified from iniquity so that they can be consecrated to God’s service, ready for any good work. So believers must shun youthful passions (self-indulgence; lusts of the flesh), and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace so that they can “call upon God with a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
One must not get involved in “stupid, senseless controversies” (2 Timothy 2:23) which cause quarrels. “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one, an apt teacher, forbearing, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
Luke Paraphrase:
The Pharisees were increasingly trying to provoke Jesus into saying something they could use against him. Meanwhile crowds of many thousands were gathering to Jesus, so many that people were being trampled. Jesus warned his disciples to beware of hypocrisy, the “leaven” (sin, which from small amounts can affect the whole body) of the Pharisees. What people say or do in secret will become known; hypocrisy will be revealed.
Jesus’ disciples are not to fear worldly adversaries; the worst their enemies can do is to kill them physically. Instead, disciples are to fear (have awe and respect for) the Lord, who alone has the power and authority of eternal life and death. God knows and cares for the most insignificant creatures and the smallest details. His children (servants; disciples) are of much greater value.
Jesus promised that those who acknowledge Jesus to the people of this world will be acknowledged by Jesus in heaven. Likewise, those who deny Jesus in this world will be denied by Jesus in heaven. Furthermore those who speak against Jesus can be forgiven, but those who blaspheme (speak evil) against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Jesus told his disciples that they would have to testify to the Gospel of Jesus Christ before religious and civil authorities, but that they were not to worry in advance about what to say, because the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say at the moment needed.
Commentary:
The people of Israel called themselves God’s people, but they didn’t answer when God called; they didn’t heed God’s Word. They pursued their own self-interests, they did what was contrary to God’s Word, and they deliberately provoked and insulted the Lord with no sense of guilt or shame. The Lord promised to punish the wicked and disobedient people according to their deeds. The Lord promised to bring back a remnant of Judah (the remnant of Israel) back from exile in Babylon into a restored Promised Land.
The Lord did bring a remnant of Israel back to the Promised Land, but the history of God’s dealing with Israel is also a parable, a metaphor of warning, particularly for the Church and America today. In one sense, each is the “New Israel” In one sense we are all in exile in the “Babylon” of this world, and God promises to bring a remnant of his people into the eternal “Promised Land” of paradise in heaven. The remnant that will be saved are those who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and who have trusted and obeyed Jesus. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home).
Paul taught his disciple, Timothy, the apostolic (as received directly from Jesus and taught by the apostles, including Paul, and recorded in the New Testament) Gospel of Jesus Christ, and told him to hold firmly to it and transmit it faithfully and accurately to others. Followers of Christ are to be disciples taught to know and obey Jesus’ teachings. Faith requires discipline and endurance. Timothy was not to tolerate or allow false doctrine to creep in to the church and take root.
Paul reminded Timothy of two solid principles. First, those who are disciples of Jesus obey Jesus’ teaching; they stop doing what Jesus says they should not do. The other is that Jesus knows those who belongs to him, and they know Jesus and know they belong to Jesus, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, 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).
One cannot have the second without the first; Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17). Christians are freed from bondage to sin, cleansed, prepared and equipped to serve the Lord by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees were trying to make Jesus conform to their standards instead of conforming to his. Since Jesus did not conform to them, they tried to provoke Jesus into saying something they could use against him to destroy him. This is what the world tries to do with Jesus’ disciples. Jesus urged his disciples to learn from his example not to fear their worldly adversaries, like the Pharisees who were plotting to kill Jesus.
Only the Lord has the power of eternal life or eternal death. Instead of conforming to the Pharisees’ standards, Jesus trusted and obeyed God his Father. Jesus warned his disciples that the sin of the Pharisees was hypocrisy; the Pharisees claimed to be God’s people but they wanted God to conform to their standards rather than conforming to God’s. The Pharisees did crucify Jesus, but they didn’t hinder God’s purpose of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus died physically but rose to eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection reveals the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Jesus promised that those who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord, by their words and actions, to the people of the world, will be acknowledged as his disciples by Jesus in Heaven. Similarly, those who deny Jesus as Lord by their words or actions will be denied as his disciples in Heaven.
Not every one who calls Jesus their Lord is a disciple of Jesus. How is Jesus our Lord if we do not do what he says (Matthew 7:21-24; Luke 6:46)? Jesus promised his disciples that his Holy Spirit would give them the words to testify to his truth at the moment it was needed (and I have experienced and personally testify to the fulfillment of that promise).
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 Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/18/05;
Podcast: Thursday Pentecost - Odd
2 Timothy 3:1-17 - Last Days;
Luke 12:13-31 - Parable of the Rich Fool;
Isaiah Paraphrase:
The Lord will create a new heavens and a new earth. The things of this present universe will be forgotten. But God’s people will rejoice forever in the new creation. God will create rejoicing in a New Jerusalem, and joy in his people, and will rejoice in them. There will be no more weeping or distress. There will be no more premature death. Only sinners will die early. God’s people will reap the rewards of their own labor, instead of building up for another to inherit.
God’s people will be as long-lived as trees. They will not labor in vain, or bear children to be taken by disaster. They are the children and grandchildren of the blessed of the Lord. The Lord will answer before they call, and will hear them as they are speaking. In the New Jerusalem every one will live in peace and harmony. The wolf and lamb will feed together, the lion and ox will eat straw together, and snakes will no longer prey upon man or animals. None will injure or destroy another in God’s new creation.
2 Timothy Paraphrase:
In the last days (these days; the interval between Christ’s ascension and his return on the Day of Judgment) there will be times of stress. People “will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, profligates, fierce, haters of good, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion, but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5).
Christians should not fellowship with such people. The wicked will include “those who make their way into households and capture [the] weak, [who are] burdened with sin and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:6-7). There will be people who oppose the truth (God’s Word; the Gospel), “who are of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith” (2 Timothy 3:8), who oppose Christ as the Egyptian Sorcerers opposed Moses (Exodus 7:11), but they won’t prevail against God’s Word any more than the Egyptians did.
Paul is an example of teaching, conduct, commitment, faith patience, love, and steadfastness in persecution and suffering like those that befell him at Antioch (Acts 13:14-52), Iconium (Acts 14:1-20) and Lystra (Acts 16:1-5). Paul was confident that the Lord had and would continue to deliver him from all his persecutions and sufferings.
Paul warned his disciple, Timothy, that all who live according to Jesus’ teachings will be persecuted, and evil people and imposters will become more and more wicked, deceiving and being deceived. But the disciple is urged to hold on to the Gospel he has learned and believed, certain of the scriptural and apostolic authority of his teacher, and a personal knowledge of the Bible, which is able to instruct us “for salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Timothy 3:15). “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable (beneficial) for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Luke Paraphrase:
Someone in the crowd surrounding Jesus asked Jesus to command the man’s brother to divide the family inheritance with him, but Jesus told him that Jesus had not come as one of the “Judges” (rulers of Israel in the period preceding the establishment of the monarchy, who arbitrated disputes). Then Jesus told the crowd to beware of any covetousness, because it is not possessions which bring real life.
Jesus told the parable of the rich fool whose fields produced so abundantly that he didn’t have enough room to store all his crops. So he decided to tear down his barns and build new and bigger ones. The rich man thought to himself that he would then have security and resources to live a life of ease and self-indulgence for many years, but God called him a fool, and told the rich man that he would die that very night. The rich man would have to surrender his eternal soul and someone else would enjoy what the rich man had stored up. This is the eternal fate of all who live for themselves instead of living for the Lord.
Jesus told his disciples not to be anxious about material needs like food and clothing. Life is about more than food and clothing. The Lord provides for his creation and is able to provide for us. If we will seek him and his kingdom first, we will have all the material resources we need as well.
Commentary:
The Lord is going to create a new eternal universe and eternal kingdom of his people. This has been his plan from the beginning of this creation. This life is a selection process for eternal life in God’s eternal kingdom. This life is our opportunity to seek and come to personally know the Lord (Acts 17:26-27). Jesus is God’s only provision for our salvation (from eternal destruction) and the only way to have eternal life (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). God’s plan of salvation (see sidebar top right, home) through Jesus Christ has been "built into" this present creation. (John 1:1-5, 14).
In the present creation we cannot provide our own lasting security, because real security cannot be provided through material things. We cannot accumulate enough resources and we cannot avoid physical death. Ultimately everything we accomplish will be inherited by someone else. In contrast, eternal life in the kingdom of God in heaven will be inherited by the children and grandchildren of the blessed of the Lord. It is what we do spiritually right now which can be passed on and inherited in eternity.
These are the Last Days! We can see the fulfillment of what Paul prophesied to Timothy. Watch out for those who make their way into families (or congregations) and try to manipulate the spiritually weak for their own purposes. Don’t be one of the spiritually weak who don’t know the Bible, who are vulnerable to those of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith.
Don’t listen to just anyone, because there are many imposters and false teachers; consider whether their doctrine is scriptural (recorded in the Bible) and apostolic (taught by the original Apostles and recorded in the New Testament). Don’t be one who never arrives at knowledge of the truth because you never seek and study God’s truth. Don’t be one of those who hold the form of religion (practice the rituals) without realizing and experiencing the power of faith in Christ through his indwelling Holy Spirit.
Paul is the example of the “post-resurrection,” “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ. He came to a personal relationship with the risen Lord Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ resurrection, without having known Jesus during Jesus' earthly ministry (Acts 9:1-20).
Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to be a missionary to the Gentiles, fulfilling the Lord’s commission to his disciples to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Timothy was a disciple of Jesus Christ as a result of Paul’s discipling, and Paul considered Timothy his spiritual child. Timothy is an example of the spiritual children of the blessed of the Lord who inherit eternal life in the new creation of God’s eternal city and kingdom in heaven.
Jesus warns us that real, eternal life is not found in wealth and possessions, but in obedient trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to have fellowship with God and eternal life (John 14:6) Are we spending our lives pursuing material things which someone else will inherit, while neglecting our children’s and our own spiritual and moral development and nurture, or are we seeking and passing on to our children spiritual things which are eternal? Jesus warns that if we seek his kingdom first, we will have the material necessities also, but if we seek material security we will never possess it, we will never get around to seeking God’s kingdom, and we will lose our eternal lives and the opportunity for real eternal security.
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 Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/19/05;
Podcast: Friday Pentecost - Odd
2 Timothy 4:1-8 - Fight the Good Fight;
Luke 12:32-48 - Be Ready;
Isaiah Paraphrase:
The Lord is bigger than we can imagine. Heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. Does mankind think he can build a house to contain God’s presence? God has created everything and everything belongs to him. The people God regards with favor are those who are humble and contrite in their hearts and who tremble at God’s Word (who take God’s warnings seriously).
Those who offer sacrifices to the Lord but who are not humble and contrite and who do not trust and obey God’s Word might as well be participating in idolatrous pagan rituals. “These have chosen their own ways (instead of God’s ways) and their soul delights in their abominations” (Isaiah 66:3d). The Lord will repay them with affliction and bring their worst fears upon them because, when the Lord called, they didn’t answer, and they paid no attention to God’s Word. They chose to do what God regards as evil and took delight in what God hates.
Hear God’s Word, all who respect and honor God’s Word: Our brethren, who hate us and cast us out for God’s name’s sake, claiming to glorify God, will be put to shame. The Lord will declare recompense to his enemies, and the city will be in pandemonium.
2 Timothy Paraphrase:
Jesus Christ is going to return on the Day of Judgment to judge the (spiritually and physically) living and dead, and to establish his eternal kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29). Paul commanded Timothy to urgently preach God’s Word, whether it was popular or not, to convince, rebuke and exhort, and to be faithful in patience and teaching. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having ‘itching ears’ they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). But the disciple of Jesus Christ is to be firm and stable, enduring suffering and faithfully fulfilling Jesus’ commission to carry on Christ’s mission.
Paul is an example of a faithful disciple, apostle (one who is sent with a message; a missionary) and evangelist who had “fought the good fight, …finished the race [and] …kept the faith.” He and all faithful disciples who have loved Jesus’ manifestation and Jesus’ return will receive the reward of righteousness in the Day of Judgment.
Luke Paraphrase:
Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid, because God wants to give us eternal life in his kingdom. Instead of accumulating material possessions, give to the poor and needy, and thus accumulate spiritual treasure in heaven which doesn’t fail or disappear. We must be prepared for the Lord’s return at any time.
We are to be like servants waiting for their master to return from a marriage feast in the middle of the night. We must be ready to open the door when he returns. We must be careful not to be found napping. The Lord will return like a thief in the night. If we knew when he would come, it would be easy to be prepared, but since we don’t, we must be always ready, as the Lord intends. The Lord doesn’t want servants who only do his will when he’s at the very door.
Jesus’ disciples are to be like stewards (managers) in their master’s house (this world). They are commissioned to provide food for the servants (the people of the household) regularly. Those who faithfully perform their duties will be rewarded, but those who mistreat the servants and indulge themselves will be caught in their misbehavior and punished, and placed among the unfaithful. Those who know God’s will and fail to do it will be punished more severely than those who do not. More will be required of those to whom much has been given.
Commentary:
For most people, their concept of God is way too small! God is really larger than we can imagine. Many people want to use religion to manipulate God to do their will. They want to contain God in a building they have built where they can find him when they need him to do something for them. They participate in religious ritual to appease God and gain his favor, but they don’t listen attentively and obediently to God’s Word. They want to do their own will and seek their own self-interest. God wants people who are humble and contrite, who seek to know God’s will and who trust and obey God’s Word.
Jesus commanded his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus was not teaching his own word but the Word of God the Father who sent him (John 14:23-24) and who dwelt in him bodily (Colossians 2:8-9). Christians are disciples who trust and obey God’s Word in Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5, 14), and are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by his indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only way come to God and to fulfill God’s will (John 14:6)
Paul is an example of a disciple of Jesus Christ, carrying out Jesus’ commission to make disciples and teach them to obey all that Jesus teaches and commands (Matthew 28:19-20. Timothy is just one example of Paul’s fulfillment of that commission; Timothy was led to discipleship by Paul, and Paul was teaching him to go into the world and repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2). Christ’s commission was given to all his disciples, with the condition that they first be “born-again” and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).
Paul told Timothy to urgently preach God’s Word, whether it was popular or not. Paul warned that the days were coming when people would refuse to hear the truth in God’s Word, and would get preachers and prophets who would tell them what they wanted to hear. Those days have come! Timothy was urged to faithfully and accurately proclaim all of God’s Word, not just the parts that make us feel good. Every part of God’s Word contains promises, but also warnings. If we don’t claim the promises by obedient trust, we will receive the consequences of disobedience and lose the promises.
God wants to give us eternal life in his kingdom in paradise restored. If we will trust and obey his Word in Jesus Christ we will have nothing to fear, not even physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15). But God warns that those who have chosen their own way instead of God’s way will experience the fulfillment of their worst fears (Isaiah 66:4a).
We are to be prepared for Jesus' return at any time. Jesus has commanded his followers to be his disciples, to seek and wait for the fulfillment of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then to be stewards of Jesus’ spiritual sustenance to a spiritually starving world.
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 Pentecost - Odd
First Posted 05/19/05;
Podcast: Saturday 7 Easter - Odd
2 Timothy 4:9-22 - Proclaiming the Word Fully;
Luke 12:49-59 - The End of the Age;
Isaiah Paraphrase:
Judah (the remnant of Israel) was in exile in Babylon when the Lord promised through Isaiah to restore Jerusalem. Jerusalem would be miraculously reborn by the Lord’s power without Judah’s perception of “pregnancy” and without Judah’s efforts and experience of “labor” and “pain” (of "childbirth"). Those who love Jerusalem and have mourned over her downfall will rejoice and enjoy her restoration.
Jerusalem will again nurture and comfort her sons and daughters. The Lord will prosper her and cause the wealth of nations to flow to her like a flooding stream. The Lord will comfort his people in Jerusalem as a mother comforts her child. Israel will see and rejoice and flourish, and it will be evident that the hand of the Lord is with his servants.
2 Timothy Paraphrase:
Paul was at the end of his career, imprisoned and facing martyrdom in Rome (2 Timothy 4:6). He had been abandoned by Demas who had earlier been his companion and co-worker but who had been drawn away from his ministry by his love of the secular world. Other co-workers were away on missions. Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark with him to help Paul. Paul asked Timothy to bring a cloak, books, and most importantly, parchments Paul had left with Carpus at Troas (and needed for letter-writing).
Paul warned Timothy to beware of Alexander, the coppersmith, who had strongly opposed the apostolic gospel preached by Paul and had been excommunicated (1 Timothy 1:19-20). At Paul’s first trial no one had defended him, but Paul prayed for their forgiveness. Paul rejoiced that the Lord had been faithful in presence and in providing strength to proclaim the Gospel fully to many Gentiles.
Paul’s first trial led to his release, so Paul felt figuratively and perhaps literally rescued from the Lion’s mouth. Paul testified to the Lord’s faithfulness and power to deliver the apostle from every evil and to preserve him for eternal life in the kingdom of God. Paul praised the Lord and asked Timothy to greet Paul’s friends in the Ephesian congregation in behalf of Paul and his co-workers.
Luke Paraphrase:
Jesus declared that he had come to bring “fire” (a symbol of God’s judgment) upon the earth and longed for it to be accomplished, but he had a mission to accomplish and was constrained until it was fulfilled. Jesus warned that he had come not to bring peace on earth but division. Jesus acknowledged that he would cause division even within houses (including "churches") and families.
Jesus told the crowds who had gathered to him that people can predict the weather from the direction of the wind and from clouds in the sky, but they were oblivious of the signs of spiritual crisis all around them. If they can foretell the weather, why can’t they recognize from the spiritual signs God’s coming judgment? If they were aware of the approaching Day of Judgment they would be wise to negotiate a settlement with their accuser on the way to “court” to avoid condemnation and imprisonment.
Commentary:
The Lord fulfilled his promise to restore Israel, from exile in Babylon, to their Promised Land. The Lord delivered them from slavery and bondage in Babylon, without their own effort (without their uprising or revolt). Cyrus, king of Persia, was the instrument of God’s will who conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to their land.
The exile of God’s people in Babylon is also a metaphor for life in this world and a parable about God’s judgment of this world. God’s people are in exile in the "Babylon" of this world, but through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, God promises to bring his servants back to the eternal “Jerusalem” restored to paradise in heaven, where the Lord will prosper and nurture his people eternally. As the historic fulfillment of God’s promise to restore Israel revealed that his “hand was with his servants,” it will be evident on the Day of Judgment, at Christ’s return, that his hand is with his servants who have trusted and obeyed Jesus.
Paul was at the end of his life in this world, and had fought the good fight of faith; he had finished the race, and had unwaveringly kept the apostolic faith unblemished (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul testified that the hand of the Lord had been with him, comforting, strengthening and empowering him to proclaim the Gospel fully to many Gentiles, despite much persecution and opposition.
Paul testified to the Lord’s faithfulness and power to protect Paul from evil and to "preserve him in true faith unto eternal life" (in the words of a common benediction) in God’s heavenly kingdom. Paul was facing martyrdom, but physical death could not threaten him because his Lord could deliver him from physical death to eternal life.
Jesus warns the world that he has come to bring the fire of God’s judgment upon the world. Jesus has also promised to baptize his servants (his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:15-17) with the spiritual “fire” (Matthew 3:11; John 1:32-34; also the mighty “wind;” Acts 2:2) of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3-4). The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the hand of the Lord upon his servants, which is evident to his servants, and to the world, if they look.
Jesus knew that his mission would divide people. He didn’t come to bring peace to the world, but to give to his disciples his peace which the world cannot take away (John 14:27). People can predict the weather. We’re trying to predict tsunamis and earthquakes. Why can’t we recognize the signs of spiritual sickness and impending disaster within our society and even within our churches? Will we heed the warnings of the spiritual “weathermen?” Will we negotiate a peaceful settlement through the Lord Jesus Christ while there is still time to avoid God’s judgment and condemnation?
Jesus has promised to return to judge the world on the Day of the Lord (Matthew 25:31-46). Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus and who have been “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right, home) by the indwelling Holy Spirit will live eternally in the “New Jerusalem,” in the eternal “Promised Land” of God’s heavenly kingdom. Those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord or have refused to trust and obey him will be exiled for all eternity in the “Babylon” of Hell. The gift of 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)?
