Week of 6 Easter - C - 05-01- 07-2016

Week of 6 Easter - C

This is a Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year Lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:

http://www.commontexts.org/

and:

http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html

The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional Lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.
  
The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:

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Podcast Download: Week of 6 Easter - C 
Sunday 6 Easter - C 
First posted May 9, 2010;
Podcast: Sunday 6 Easter - C 

Psalm 67 -- Thanksgiving for Good Harvest;
Acts 14:8-18 – Mistaken for “gods;”
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23 – New Jerusalem;
John 14:23-29 – The “Baptism” of the Holy Spirit;

Psalm 61 Paraphrase:

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us” (Psalm 67:1), so that God's way and his saving power may be known among all the nations of the earth. May all peoples praise the Lord our God!

May all nations rejoice and sing for joy, because our God judges all people with equity and guides all nations upon the earth. May all peoples praise the Lord our God!

“The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God has blessed us. God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear him" (Psalm 67:6-7).

Acts 14:8-18 Paraphrase:

On Paul's first missionary journey, he and Barnabas, Paul's missionary companion, came to Lystra (in the Roman province of Galatia, in modern-day Turkey). They encountered a man who had been born crippled in his feet and had never walked. The man was listening to Paul preach, and Paul noted that the man had the faith to be healed, so Paul told the man to stand up. The man sprang up and walked.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in their native language that the gods had come down in the likeness of men! They called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul, Hermes. The priest of Zeus came from the temple at the entrance to the city. Bringing oxen and garlands, intending to offer sacrifice to them with the people. But when Paul and Barnabas heard this, they tore their clothing (in ritual mourning) and cried out, asking why the people were doing this, since Paul and Barnabas were mere mortals like the people themselves.

The occasion provided Paul the opportunity to proclaim the “good news” (the Gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ), that people should turn from worshiping vain idols to the living God, the Creator of heaven, earth, sea, and everything in them. In the past God had allowed people to follow their own ways, although the goodness of Creation, rains, fruitful seasons, food and gladness testified to his goodness. Saying this, Paul barely restrained the people from offering them sacrifice. But Paul and Barnabas had been persecuted in previous stops in Antioch and Iconium, and the Jewish leaders came to Lystra and stirred up the people of that region to stone Paul and drag him from the city, thinking that he was dead.

But the disciples gathered around him and he arose and returned to the city. The next day his company went on to Derbe. Having preached the Gospel there and having made many disciples, they returned the way they had come, to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the new converts, encouraging them to persevere in discipleship, and telling them that they must endure hardship and persecution to enter God's eternal kingdom in heaven. Having appointed elders in each local church, they commended the disciples to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Then they traveled through Pisidia and Pamphylia,  preached the Gospel in Perga, and then went on to Attalia (all in Asia Minor; present-day Turkey), and from there, sailed to Antioch (on the coast of Syria). At Antioch they were commended to God's grace for the work they had accomplished for the Gospel. There they gathered the Church and told them all that God had done through them, and how he had opened the Gentiles to believe in the Gospel. And the missionaries stayed with the disciples in Antioch for quite some time.

Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23 Background:

The Apostle John had a series of visions while exiled on the island of Patmos in the Aegean for preaching the Gospel.

Paraphrase:

In the Spirit, John was transported to a high mountain were he could see the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from God. The city was filled with the radiance of God's glory, like an extremely rare jewel, like a clear crystal of jasper. The city had a great, high wall with twelve gates, three in each of its four sides, with an angel at each gate. Each gate was named for one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The city wall had twelve foundations, each named for one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Jesus).

There was no temple in the city, for the city itself is the temple of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. The city needs neither sun or moon because God's glory provides its sunlight and the Lamb is its moonlight (reflecting the glory of God). By the light of the holy city shall all the people of earth walk. The kings of earth will give their glory to the holy city, and the gates will never be closed during daylight, and there will be no night. The earthly kings will bring the glory and honor of all the nations of the earth. But nothing unclean, no one who practices abomination or untruth will be allowed to enter; only those who are recorded in the Lamb's book of life.

John 14:23-29 Paraphrase:

Jesus told his disciples that that obedience to his teachings is evidence of the disciples' love for Jesus. Those who don't keep his teachings don't truly love Jesus, and Jesus' teachings are not his own; they are the Word of God who sent Jesus into this world.

Jesus tried to teach his disciples as much as they could handle while Jesus was present with them physically, but when Jesus had departed physically, the Holy Spirit would be sent to them by God the Father, and would continue to teach the disciples all things, and also help them recall all that Jesus had said. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus would give them true peace, unlike worldly peace (which is repeatedly broken) so the disciples would not be troubled or afraid.

Jesus had told them that he was leaving them (physically) but would return to them (through the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and at the Second Coming at the Day of Judgment). The disciples were sad to think of Jesus leaving them physically, but instead they should be rejoicing if they loved Jesus because Jesus would be returning to his Father in heaven, because the Father is greater than Jesus. Jesus was telling the disciples this now before Jesus was going to be crucified and ascended into heaven, so that so that when these things took place the disciples would not lose faith.

Commentary:

Psalm:

God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. This Creation has been designed to allow the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God, and the opportunity to learn by trial and error that God's way is our best interest.

God began to establish his people with his call to Abraham (Abram). God's dealing with Israel, recorded in the Bible, was intended to be made know to all people to reveal God's goodness and saving power.

God is God, whether we accept and acknowledge him as our God or not. God guides the nations of earth, whether they are his people or not (for example: Jeremiah 25:8-14; Isaiah 44:28-45:1). God will judge the living ("quickened") and dead, in both physical and spiritual senses, by Jesus Christ, the righteous judge who experienced all the temptations of human flesh, but without sinning (disobeying God's Word; Hebrews 4:15). So he is the only one who is qualified to judge us. He is the only one who can judge us with equity.

This Creation will yield a spiritual harvest of God's obedient, trusting people, who will live in his eternal kingdom restored to paradise in heaven.

Acts:

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is intended by God to be the replacement for Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer. He is also intended by God to be the prototype and example of a “modern, post-resurrection, born-again disciple (student) and apostle" (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ as we all can and should be.

Jesus demonstrated the method of disciple-making that his disciples were to follow. Paul is the example of that method of discipleship. He was discipled by a born-again (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-12), until he was born-again, and then Paul began making born-again disciples and teaching them to repeat the process (2 Timothy 1:6-7; 2:2).

Jesus taught his disciples to carry on his ministry of physical and spiritual  healing, feeding and resurrection (Matthew 10:7-8) and Paul and James are recorded in the New Testament carrying out that ministry (Acts 14:8-10; James 2:14-17).

When Paul and Barnabas were mistaken for “gods” they vigorously rejected that designation. Note, though, that when Thomas addressed Jesus as his Lord and his God (John 20:28), Jesus did not refute him, because Thomas was right. The Lyconians were willing to accept that Paul and Barnabas were “gods” in human form; but Jesus really was the one and only true God in human form (Colossians 2:8-9).

Paul taught by word and example that Christians must be willing to suffer hardship and persecution, but that the Lord is able to bring them through anything they encounter. Our enemies cannot kill us physically unless God allows it. If we die physically, God will raise us to spiritual, eternal life. So whether we live or die physically, we are eternally secure in the Lord.

Revelation:

John's vision was of the purified Church coming down from heaven. The nominal Church in the world today consists of the true Church and the false Church; true Christian disciples, and false Christians. Jesus warns that those who don't live in obedient trust of Jesus' teachings aren't going to enter the eternal kingdom of God in heaven (Matthew 7:21-27; Luke 6:46).

The nominal Church includes false prophets and false teachings (see False Teachings, sidebar, right, home). The standard by which all teaching and prophecy can be judged is by the Bible. The Bible can easily be read by any average reader in one year and there are numerous one-year Bible reading plans available (see Free Bible Study Tools, sidebar, right, home).

John's vision is of the true Church, purified of false teachings, false prophecies and false members. The vision is highly symbolic. Its cubic dimensions symbolize perfection. Its beauty is symbolized as a rare jewel. The city is founded upon the Twelve patriarchs of Israel and the gates are established by the Twelve Apostles (the Eleven original apostles, minus Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, plus Paul, Judas' replacement).

Jesus' born-again disciples are individually and collectively the temple of God by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the light of spiritual enlightenment. By walking by the light of the Holy Spirit we will not stumble (spiritually; John 1:4, 9; 8:12; 11:9-10; Romans 8:4).

One must be born-again to have spiritual, eternal life (John 3:3, 5-8). Only Jesus baptizes with (gives the gift of) the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily event; it is impossible to be born-again and "hardly know it" (Acts 19:2). Those who have been truly born-again have a personal daily relationship with Jesus Christ, and will be known and acknowledged by him on the Day of Judgment.

Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience peace beyond what the world falsely calls peace. For example, on numerous occasions I've received peace and assurance through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Recently, after three unpleasant experiences on jury duty, I received another summons. The day I received the summons I prayed and asked the Lord to have my summons canceled. The Holy Spirit assured me that my prayer had been heard and that I had obtained my request (1 John 5:15). I had learned from years of experience to recognize and trust the Lord's assurance, and so I didn't worry for the ten intervening days, and my summons was canceled as the Lord had promised! Praise the Lord!

It was to Jesus' advantage to return to his Father in heaven where he would be glorified. On earth he was being abused and persecuted. It was also to his disciples advantage that Jesus return to heaven, because while he was physically present on earth he could be in only one place at a time. But if he was in heaven, the disciples would receive the baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit through whom they would have daily access to God the Father and Jesus Christ anywhere at any time (John 16:7; see Personal Testimonies, “Discipleship,” sidebar, right, home).

Is Jesus your Lord (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46)? Are you Jesus' disciple (John 8:31)? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus (John 14:21)? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Monday 6 Easter - C 
First posted May 10, 2010;
Podcast: Monday 6 Easter - C 

Psalm 47 – King of all Nations;

Paraphrase:

Celebrate with hand-clapping and songs of joy, because God, the Lord, the Most High, is terrifying. He is King over all the earth. He subdues peoples and nations under us. God has chosen our heritage for us who are the pride of Jacob (Israel; father of the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel) whom he  loves.

“God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm" (Psalm 47:5-7)!

God is enthroned and reigns over all the nations of earth. “The shields ('protectors;' 'rulers;' Psalm 89:18) belong to God; he is highly exalted” (Psalm 47:9b)!

Commentary:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 111:10). The fear of the Lord is the awe and respect for the power and authority of God. Until we understand our relationship to God, we know nothing useful to our eternal destiny.

The Lord is King of kings, and Lord of lords. In him we have conquered all earthly authorities, nations, and peoples.

God has chosen our heritage from the beginning of Creation. God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God. God loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish eternally (2 Peter 3:9b; Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17). All who believe in (trust and obey) Jesus are spiritual descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:7-9; 14).

God is God, whether we acknowledge, trust and obey him, or not, but God is not obligated to be all that a loving, all-powerful God implies unless we are willing to be his obedient, trusting people. God is not obligated to hear and answer our prayers unless we are willing to hear, trust and obey God's Word (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, right, home).

God guides the nations of earth according to his will, whether they acknowledge him or not (Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: Jeremiah 25:11-12; and Cyrus of Persia: Isaiah 44:28, 45:1), for example.

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 6 Easter - C 
First posted May 11, 2010;
Podcast: Tuesday 6 Easter - C 

Acts 16:6-10 – The Macedonian Call;

Paraphrase:

On the second missionary journey, Paul and his fellow missionaries  had traveled through Phyrigia and Galatia in Asia Minor (Present-day Turkey) without preaching the Gospel, because the Holy Spirit forbade them. In the region of Mysia, a province in north-west Asia Minor, they attempted to enter Bithinia but the Holy Spirit would not permit. So passing Mysia they went to Troas on the westernmost coast of Asia minor. During the night Paul had a dream of a Macedonian man begging Paul and his group to come over to Macedonia and help them. Immediately Paul and his companions prepared to go to Macedonia, a Roman province north of Greece, concluding that God wanted them to preach the Gospel there.

Commentary:

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was the first missionary ever to preach the Gospel on European soil at Philippi in Macedonia, and Lydia (Acts 16:14) was the first European convert.

Paul is the prototype and example of a “modern, post-resurrection, born-again (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, as we can and should be. Immediately after his conversion he was guided and empowered by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 9:20-22). From that time he was learning to be guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

New believers are to be discipled by born-again disciples within the Church (the New Jerusalem on earth) until the new believers are born-again, before going into the world with the Gospel (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8)). We cannot accomplish the mission of Christ in our own strength (Zechariah 4:6).

More than a few times in the more than thirty years since I was born-again, the door for ministry has closed in one area and the Lord guided me to another open door. It is important to seek God's Word and guidance on a daily basis, with a regular time of Bible-reading with prayer and meditation.

The Eleven remaining original disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. While they were  waiting, they decided to pick a replacement for Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer. Since they didn't yet have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they chose one of their company, Matthias, by lot (by “chance;” like rolling dice). Matthias is never heard from again in the New Testament (Acts 1:15-26). In contrast, I believe that Paul was the Lord's chosen replacement. After his conversion, most of the rest of the New Testament is by or about Paul.

It is hard for new believers, especially in the American culture of instant gratification that I live in today, to learn to wait for the baptism and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We need to be careful not to rely on our own human judgment.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus' disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Wednesday 6 Easter - C 
First posted May 12, 2010;
Podcast: Wednesday 6 Easter - C 

Revelation 22:12-17, 20 – Christ's Return;

Paraphrase:

Jesus declares that he is coming soon, bringing recompense for what each and every person has done in their lifetime in this world. Jesus is the beginning and end of all things.

Those who wash their robes (in the blood of the Lamb) have the right to the tree of life (Genesis 2:9; 3:22-24), and can enter the eternal city of God. “Dogs” (immoral people), sorcerers, fornicators, murderers and idolaters and all who love and practice falsehood will be forbidden to enter.

Jesus sent his “angel” (his Spirit; Revelation 1:1; Acts 12:15) to John with his word of testimony for the Church. Jesus is the root of David (from Jesse, the father of David; Isaiah 11:1, 10), and the Son (descendant) of David (Matthew 1:1; 2 Samuel 7:12-13), “the bright morning star” (Numbers 24:17).

The Spirit and the Bride (the Church) say, “Come. And let those who hear, say, 'Come.'” And may those who are spiritually thirsty come and receive the water of (eternal) life (John 4:14; John 7:38-39) without price.

“He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!”

Commentary:

Jesus has promised that he will return on the Day of Judgment to repay everyone for what they have done individually in this lifetime (Matthew25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). He will judge the living (“quickened”) and the dead (1 Peter 4:5) in both the physical (John 5:28-29; compare John 11:38-44) and spiritual senses.

Jesus has warned that we must be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) in order to see God's eternal kingdom, which is all around us now, and to see and enter it ultimately beyond physical death. We are all born into this world physically alive but spiritually unborn. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “reborn” by the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The indwelling Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily event (Acts 19:2). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Jesus is the beginning and end of all things. Jesus was in the beginning with God, and everything in Creation was created by and for Jesus (John 1:1-5). Jesus is the Word of God, fulfilled, embodied, and exemplified in this world in human flesh (John 1:14). Jesus is the firstborn from physical death to eternal life (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:13-17). Jesus' return will end the physical age.

Christ's return is not far off. It will occur immediately for each of us at the moment of our physical death. Time will end and we will immediately be at the throne of Judgment. At the moment of our physical death our eternal destiny will be fixed and unalterable. No one knows whether he will live another day, and it is also possible that Christ will return while we are still physically alive. It could happen at any moment.

The Tree of Life is the symbol for eternal life. This Creation was created as perfect paradise, but in order to allow us the freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God's Word, God allowed the possibility of sin (disobedience of God's Word). Given freedom, we all choose to do our own will rather than God's (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, right, home). All the problems in this present world are the result of human sin. God placed the possibility of eternal life beyond our access, so that we could not buy it, steal it or take it by force or deception. The only way to obtain it is by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

Throughout the Bible, God has been teaching his people that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). Passover (Exodus 12:1-28) was intended to be a parable, a metaphor for life in this world. Jesus is the New Passover Lamb, sacrificed on the cross, whose flesh provides the feast, and whose blood marks us to be “passed-over” by the destroying angel. Jesus instituted the “New Passover,” the New Covenant (Testament) of Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) to be received by faith (obedient trust) on the night of his Last Supper (Matthew 26:1-29) before his crucifixion.

Jesus' blood cleanses us from all sin and makes it possible for us, individually, to be temples of the indwelling Holy Spirit. By faith, Jesus' blood gives us access to eternal life and entrance into God's eternal city in heaven.

The true Church and truly born-again Christians long for Christ's return. Here we have tribulation and persecution as we await Christ's return. Here we have only intermittent, interrupted moments in the presence of the Lord. There we will be in the presence and fellowship of the Lord forever. The suffering of this physical world will be ended forever.

The things of this world can never satisfy our spiritual needs. We are all created as eternal spiritual beings in physical bodies. If we don't realize and acknowledge our spiritual needs now we will spend eternity in misery without anything eternal. God offers us salvation from eternal destruction for free, but the gift was costly for Jesus, and is priceless to us who are being saved.

Every good thing in this world is supplied by God. Imagine being eternally separated from the providence of God! No healing; no comfort; no satisfaction: that's Hell! 

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 6 Easter - Ascension  Day - C 
First posted May 13, 2010;
Podcast: Thursday 6 Easter - C 

Psalm 110 – Ascension of the King;
Acts 1:1-11-- Jesus' Ascension;
Ephesians 1:16-23 – At the Right Hand of God;
Luke 24:44-53 – Jesus' Ascension;

Psalm 110 Background:

Attributed to David, the great human shepherd-king of Israel. Quoted in the New Testament: Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3, 13.

Psalm 110 Paraphrase:

“The Lord (God) said to my Lord (the king; the Messiah): 'Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool'” (Psalm 110:1).

His scepter comes forth from Zion (the City of God in Heaven) from God. The King will reign in the midst of his enemies. When you lead your army upon the holy mountains, your people will offer themselves willingly. Your youth will come to you like dew from the womb of the morning. “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek'” (Psalm 110:4; see Genesis 14:18).

God is at the King's right hand; by God's power and authority, kings will be shattered on the day of his wrath. His judgment will be executed upon the nations; they will be filled with corpses. The chiefs of all the wide earth he will shatter. He will drink from the brook on the way; so his head will be lifted up.

Acts Background:

Luke and Acts were both written by Luke, the Physician (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11), a Gentile, converted by Paul.

Acts 1:1-11 Paraphrase:

Luke refers to the “first book” (The Gospel of Luke), and addresses this book to Theophilus, which may be an actual person, or generally to any “lover of God,” which is the meaning of the name. In the Gospel, Luke compiled a narrative of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from his genealogy and birth to the day of his ascension, after giving his apostles (messengers; of the Gospel) his Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and last instructions to wait until they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit before going into the world with the Gospel (Luke 24:49; Acts 1 4-5, 8).

After his resurrection, Jesus presented himself alive to his disciples (the apostles and other followers and students of Jesus) with many proofs (Luke 24:13-53; 1 Corinthians 15:5-8), during a forty-day period, and teaching them about the kingdom of God. While he was staying among them he told them not to depart from Jerusalem (the modern equivalent is the Church) but to wait for the promised “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit, as Jesus had promised. John had baptized with water (for repentance) but within a few days the disciples would be “baptized” with the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13). While they were gathered, they asked Jesus if he would be restoring the kingdom to Israel (Israel was subject to the Roman Emperor).

Jesus replied that it was not their business to know times and seasons that God has determined by his own authority. They were to focus on receiving the promised Holy Spirit and to being witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, beginning in Jerusalem, and then outward in Judea and Samaria, and ultimately to the “end of the earth” (in both geographic and temporal senses).

After saying this he rose up off the ground as they watched and was carried up out of their sight into heaven on a cloud. While they stood looking into the sky, two men (angels) stood by them in white robes, and addressing them as men of Galilee, asked why they were staring into the sky. The angels told the disciples that Jesus, who they had seen ascend into heaven, would return in the same way.

Ephesians 1:16-23 Paraphrase:

Paul told the Christians in Ephesus (in Western Asia Minor; present day Turkey), established by Paul on his second (Acts 18:19-21) and third missionary journeys (Acts 19:1-41), that he was constantly giving thanks to God for their reception of the Gospel. Paul prayed that they would grow in spiritual wisdom and revelation in knowledge of God; that their spiritual eyes would be opened to see the hope to which they have been called in him, to realize the spiritual riches of their inheritance in glory with the saints (those who are consecrated to God's service), and the working of immeasurable greatness of his almighty power in believers through faith (obedient trust), which he accomplished in Jesus Christ by raising him from the dead and elevating him to sit at God's right hand in God's eternal kingdom in heaven. He is elevated far above any earthly rule, authority, power and dominion. His name is above every other name, in this temporal age, and in the eternal age which is coming. God has put all things in submission to Christ, and has made him the ruler of all things for the (true) Church, which is filled with the fullness of his total person and character. 

Luke 24:44-53 Paraphrase:

When Jesus appeared, on the day of his Resurrection, to his disciples who were staying in Jerusalem (in the upper room), he told them that he had said that every prophecy about the Messiah in the Old Testament, the Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms (The Jewish Bible) had to be fulfilled. “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, ' Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that   repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city (Jerusalem; the Church is the modern equivalent) until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:45-49).

Then Jesus led them from Jerusalem to Bethany, which was on the Mount of Olives (about two miles east of Jerusalem). There he lifted up his hands and blessed them, and parted from them (was carried up into heaven) and the disciples returned to Jerusalem with tremendous joy, and were continually in the temple thanking and praising God.

Commentary:

Psalm 110 was composed by David, probably for the coronation of a human king, but it is also prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ as Jesus told his disciples (Luke 24:44). Jesus is the Son of David, whom God promised would be the eternal king of God's kingdom in heaven (2 Samuel 7:5-13).

Jesus asked the Pharisees, Jewish authorities in the Bible scriptures, what they understood about Psalm 110:1 and they couldn't answer him (Matthew 22:41-46). David was the forerunner and illustration of the Messiah (Christ; both words mean “anointed” in Hebrew and Greek, respectively). David didn't ascend into heaven to sit at God's right hand; Jesus is the fulfillment of of God's promise to David (Acts 2:34-36).

God has the power and authority to execute judgment upon the nations of this world. But God has delegated that power and authority to Jesus. Jesus is the one righteous judge, who has lived in this world in human flesh, but without sinning (sin is disobedience of God's Word).

God is righteous and has the power and authority to judge, but we would feel that he is unable to understand our circumstances and weaknesses. Jesus has been tempted in every way just like we are, but without sinning. So he is not unable to sympathize with our situation (Hebrews 4:15), and is able to help us in our weakness.

Luke was converted by Paul (Saul of Tarsus) who had himself been converted after Jesus' physical ministry on earth (Acts 9:1-21). Neither had known Jesus' physical life and ministry from firsthand experience. But they had resources among those who had.

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the prototype and example of a “modern, post-resurrection, born-again (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple (student) and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel), as all of us can and should be). He had a personal encounter with the risen and ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Paul's conversion demonstrates the execution of the Great Commission, by the “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ. Paul was confronted by the risen and ascended Jesus (Acts 9:3-5). Paul confessed his sin, repented (Acts 9:9), accepted Jesus as his Lord (Acts 9:5), became obedient, and trusted in Jesus' commands (Acts 9:6-8), and was discipled by a “born-again” disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10), until Paul was born-again (Acts 9:17-18), and then immediately began carrying out the Great Commission (Acts 9:20).

Paul's conversion is unique only in the speed in which it was accomplished. But remember that Paul had been formally educated in Judaism, and that he loved God; he just needed to be pointed to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Paul repeated the process of disciple-making demonstrated by Jesus and his own experience with Ananias, with Timothy, for just one of many examples (2 Timothy 1:6-7) teaching them to repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2).

I'm convinced that the Church is the heir to the ministry of John the Baptizer. John came into the world to announce the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and to baptize with water for repentance and cleansing so that we could receive the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). The “baptism” of the Holy Spirit is a personally discernible, ongoing, daily event (Acts 19:2).

The Church's role is to prepare believers to receive the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, before sending them out into the world to proclaim the Gospel and carry on the mission of Christ. Unfortunately in too many instances, the nominal Church is not making disciples, not encouraging -even discouraging- members from seeking spiritual rebirth through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (see false teachings, sidebar, right, home).

Too often, new believers are attracted by “End Times” prophecies, and then want to continue in endless speculation about the Second Coming. I believe that “End Times” preaching is useful to call unbelievers to repent, but once that is accomplished, their discipleship and spiritual rebirth should be the agenda. I think that Jesus' word to his disciples in Acts 1:6-8 is our mandate: Once we have believed in Jesus and have been filled with the Holy Spirit, our job is not to sit around speculating about when Jesus will return, but to proclaim the Gospel until he comes. The Lord knows where we are and will return in God's perfect timing.

Jesus promised to return to judge the living (“quickened”) and the dead in both physical and spiritual senses (1 Peter 4:5; Matthew 24:1-51; 25:31-46; Matthew 7:21-27; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). Jesus is going to return in the same way as he ascended into heaven.

I proclaimed the Gospel to an individual until he committed to read the Bible in a year. I visited him periodically and re-motivated him several times when he had given up. Finally he did finish the entire Bible, but immediately wanted to start publishing a Bible study like I was doing. He didn't realize that reading the Bible entirely is just the first step in discipleship; and he wouldn't listen to me, who had been walking in discipleship for twenty-five years. He'd read the Bible but he hadn't begun to apply it in his daily life. He had no experience of the knowledge of, faithfulness and power of God. He wasn't interested in discipleship; he wanted to speculate on end times, and lost respect for me when I told him I wasn't concerned with End Times.

Jesus is the name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11). There is no other name on earth or in heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings, to the glory of God the Father (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14).

The Holy Spirit fills the true Church and individual Christian members. In too many instances the Holy Spirit has departed from nominal Churches and nominal Christians, and they haven't even noticed!

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), the Spirit of the risen and ascended Jesus. The Spirit of the risen Jesus opens our minds to understand the scriptures (Luke24:45; compare Luke 24:32) and recalls to our memory all that Jesus teaches (John 14:26b). A veil ([sic] vail) lays over the minds of unbelievers, preventing them from understanding the scriptures, and only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus is it removed (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

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)?

Friday 6 Easter - C 
First posted May 14, 2010;
Podcast: Friday 6 Easter - C 

John 17:20-26 – Jesus' Prayer for Disciples;

Paraphrase:

Jesus prayed not just for his disciples who he had personally trained, but for all who would believe in Jesus through their testimony. He prayed that they would be unified in Jesus; just as Jesus and God the Father are perfectly one; that they would be in Jesus and Jesus in them, so that the world may believe that Jesus has been sent by God. God has given Jesus glory, and Jesus has given his glory to his disciples so that they may share in Jesus and he in them. Jesus will be in them as God the Father is in Jesus, so that the world will know that Jesus has been sent by God and has loved them just as God has loved Jesus.

Jesus asked God his Father that Jesus' disciples might be with Jesus in heaven to behold Jesus' heavenly glory, which God, in his love for Jesus gave him before the creation of this world (John 1:1-3, 14). The world has not known God the righteous Father, but Jesus has, and Jesus has made known to his disciples that God has sent Jesus. Jesus revealed God's name (his person and character) to his disciples, and will continue to make it known, so that Jesus and God's love for Jesus may be in them.

Commentary:

Jesus prayed for all believers today who believe through faith in the testimony of the original disciples who were discipled by Jesus during his physical ministry on earth. Those testimonies are recorded in the New Testament, so that we can come to know, trust and obey Jesus.

Those who believe the Bible testimonies and act upon them in faith will come to be modern born-again disciples (like Paul; Saul of Tarsus). They will have been discipled by the risen and ascended Jesus by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and they will add their testimony to that of the New Testament. If there is any disagreement, the New Testament is the standard of truth, and their testimony is false.

Jesus prayed that his disciples would be unified; of one mind in Christ (Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 1:10). The way to be of one mind with Christ is to be discipled by a “born-again” disciple until one has been born-again by the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). Born-again disciples have unity by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3-5).

The nominal Church today is divided by false teachings and false prophets. The only way to protect against false teaching and false prophecy is to read the entire Bible for oneself. The Bible is the standard by which all doctrine is tested.

Jesus is fully God and fully human (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28). Anyone who knows Jesus knows God (John 14:8-11). By the baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the presence of Jesus within us, and 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).

Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience the glory of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I've experienced moments of the Lord's glory so powerful that the windows of the church seemed to rattle, and I seemed to float six feet off the ground!

Jesus is the name of the Lord! Jesus is God in human form. Jesus reveals God the Father to whom he chooses (Matthew 11:27).

It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we personally experience the glory and love of God. It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we have personal fellowship with God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:23).

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 6 Easter - C 
First posted May 15, 2010;
Podcast: Saturday 6 Easter - C

John 15:26-16-4 – Witness of the Holy Spirit
(or John 16:12-15);

Jesus was preparing his disciples for his physical departure from them. He told them that when the Counselor (“Paraclete,” from the Greek: Comforter; consoler, intercessor; advocate) came, whom Jesus promised to send from God the Father, the Spirit of truth (John 14:15-17), who comes from God, the Spirit will testify to the truth of Jesus. And Jesus' original disciples were also Jesus' witnesses because they had been with Jesus from the beginning of Jesus' physical ministry.

Jesus was telling the disciples these things so that they wouldn't fall away when Jesus had been crucified. Jesus warned them that they would have persecution; they would be thrown out of synagogues, and would be killed by those who thought they were doing God's will. Their persecutors would do this because they did not know God and had not recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. Jesus was telling them this now, so that when it took place they would remember that Jesus had told them. It had not been necessary for Jesus to tell them this until now because Jesus had been physically present with them.

Commentary:

The Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth of Jesus Christ. In his letter written to new believers, the Apostle John tells them not to believe every spirit but to test them to see whether they are of God (1 John 4:1-3). When I was first confronted by the Holy Spirit, before I was “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8), I asked who it was I was hearing in my mind, and the Spirit replied, “The Lord and Giver of Life” (as in the third article of the Nicene Creed; see Personal Testimonies, sidebar, right, home).

The Lord is abundantly able to reveal himself to us in a uniquely personal way. When Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was confronted on the road to Damascus, the Holy Spirit identified himself as the risen and ascended Jesus, who Paul was persecuting (Acts 9:5). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).

Through the “baptism” of the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience the love of God and the joy of his presence. When we praise and glorify Jesus we experience the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirit that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ; both words mean “anointed” in Hebrew and Greek, respectively; 1 John 5:6-8).

The original Eleven Apostles (messengers; of the Gospel -minus Judas Iscariot, the betrayer; Luke 6:13) had been witnesses to Jesus' physical public ministry on earth from its beginning. They personally learned the Gospel from Jesus and taught it in the first-century Church from its birth on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13). Their Biblical Apostolic Doctrine, as received by the Apostles directly from Jesus is recorded in the New Testament.

Jesus sent out the Twelve disciples, whom he designated Apostles, with the message of the Gospel. They had not yet been born-again by the baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but Jesus was still in the world physically. This was a training session, and an illustration of the mission of Christ which the disciples were to continue after Jesus' ascension into heaven.

Jesus' last instructions to his disciples were to wait in Jerusalem (the Church is the modern equivalent) until they had received the baptism of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), and then, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were to go into all the world, making (born-again) disciples, and teaching them to obey all Jesus' teachings (The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20).

The Jewish religious leaders had the Bible Scriptures, but refused to recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of God's Word, the promised Messiah. Jesus had done many miracles  (signs showing that he was from God) in their presence, but they refused to accept him because they wanted to be the rulers of the people. The fact that they did not recognize Jesus proved that they had not known God.

The nominal Church today is in much the same position as Judaism at the time of Jesus' physical ministry. There are a lot of nominal Church leaders who know a lot about God, but don't know God personally (compare Job 42:5). Many nominal Church leaders consider ministry a “career choice.” Too often denominations and congregations are run as personal “empires” of their leaders.

The nominal Church is failing to make born-again disciples of Jesus Christ, and has settled for making “members,” “fair-weather Christians,” who participate if it suits them. Some mainline denominations are actually discouraging their members from seeking spiritual “rebirth” by teaching that it is automatically conferred by some church ritual such as water baptism or “confirmation” (see False Teaching, sidebar, right: “Spiritual Rebirth;” “The Emperor's New Clothes”).

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)?