When did we see you? — Matthew 23-25

Posted on December 5, 2011 by parklinscomb

Jesus is approaching the climax of His life and ministry — His sacrificial death on the cross. Up to this point He has been bold but careful — even so He has escaped a couple of times (Lk. 4:28-30, John 7:32-45, and John 10:39). Now, Jesus is speaking very boldly; let’s listen in…

Sledge hammers for concrete hearts — Matthew 23

Effective, godly correction and rebuke is not a “one size fits all” king of thing. For example, when Jesus dealt with the woman at the well (John 4) or the woman caught in adultery (John 8), we find Him gentle. But with the religious leaders, whom He had debated so often without effect, He now uses spiritual nuclear, bunker busting missiles. With the broken-hearted He used a scalpel, but with the stone-hearted He used a sledge hammer. There are things to learn here, because every Christian is called upon to help another who is lost; but effective, godly correction and rebuke is not a “one size fits all” king of thing. Unfortunately, we sometimes hold our correction and rebuke until we’re ready to explode — and then we do — crushing the fragile while barely denting those who’ve barricaded themselves behind reinforced concrete. Follow Jesus’ lead on this.

Religious titles — Matthew 23:8-10

Religious leaders have a real fondness for their titles. From the days of the rabbis to the present era of pastors, bishops, and eminences. The titles of respect stroke the ego and lie to the heart about one’s real importance — they feed pride. Jesus discouraged this for this very reason; but religious leaders still insist — not prefer, not accept; they insist — on the titles. On one hand, their argument that respect for authority is necessary to encourage men to follow them has some merit; but on the other hand, Jesus wants the authority to be God’s and God’s alone. Isn’t that the meaning of Matthew 23:8-10: “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.” Giving men too much respect, makes them mistakenly think that they have authority to make rules on their own apart from God’s word and will. As a preacher for many years, I have occasionally been called reverend or pastor or even father and depending on the person and the situation I’ve occasionally let it pass, because I know that it is done with an honorable desire to show me some respect. But on the basis of what Jesus says here, “Park” or “brother” works much better.

Woe — Matthew 23:13-36

First, what is “woe”? Woe is sort of an old-fashioned word, but it means “sorrow”, “distress” “unhappiness”. In this context, it is a warning of the punishment and condemnation that God would bring down on these religious leaders, because of their teachings and deeds.

Second, we know who the Pharisees and scribes were, but what is a “hypocrite”? The common definition is someone who says one thing and does another, but that definition needs a little tweaking, I believe. The word Jesus uses here was the ordinary word for a Greek actor. The job of an actor is make you believe that he is something that he knows he is not — e.g., Harrison Ford never really thought that he was Indiana Jones; he only wanted you to believe he was. This definition is different from “inconsistency”. Inconsistency indicates good faith tries with occasional failures. I would caution us all — especially teens — to be careful how we use the term hypocrite; it assumes that we know the other person’s heart and intentions.

So, why so much woe?

  • Matthew 23:13 — Their public opposition to Jesus was not only keeping them from entering Heaven, but also those who might have believed, but listened to them instead. The same could be said for those who oppose anything that the Bible teaches — bringing God’s judgment down on themselves and their listeners.
  • Matthew 23:14 — They intentionally (it’s hard to accidentally foreclose on a widow) acted immorally and then tried to look religious to others later.
  • Matthew 23:15  — The very nature of false teachings (and these guys were full of them) is that they generate more false teachings to justify the first false teachings — like any sort of lie, you can’t tell just one.
  • Matthew 23:16 — The tangled mess of traditions that they had made into laws made it virtually impossible to know what to do. A little like our own IRS tax system, not even the writers of the tax codes know exactly what the proper thing to do is anymore.
  • Matthew 23:23 — They were people who were majoring on minors and minoring on majors.
  • Matthew 23:25 — They were people who were focused on how things looked, not how things really were — a very common problem for people, even today.
  • Matthew 23:27 —They had the look of purity and cleanness, but the corruption of the dead inside their hearts.
  • Matthew 23:29  — They were people who were lying to themselves about their own piety. While they were bemoaning the persecution of the prophets of old, they were heading down the road of crucifying the Messiah!

Double prophecy of the end — Matthew 24

To many this is a confusing chapter. It seems clear that references to the end of time and the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple are intertwined, but the difficulty is knowing which passages refer to what event. This is a classic double prophecy, in the tradition of the many double prophecies that we’ve seen in the Old Testament. Like those OT prophecies, it will sometimes be hard to suss out all the references, since they refer to the future. There are mysteries even in the New Testament — things that God has decided to give us only broad outlines of, like shadows behind a curtain. Revelation is full of such mysteries. But here are a few things that we can know from what Jesus says here about the end of time…

  • Earthquakes, wars, famines, etc. are not the signs of the end.
  • An abomination of desolation must happen first. The first reference was to the Temple, the secondary “abomination of desolation” may refer to the church, the Temple of God today.
  • It will be unexpected; everyone will be going about their business like any other day.
  • No one — not the angels, not even Jesus Himself — will know the day or the hour. It will be the Father’s call.
  • When it happens, there will be NO DOUBT. No one will be asking, “Was that it?”

Be ready — Matthew 24:42—25:30

Because of the fact that it will be unexpected, Jesus emphasizes through three successive parables to get ready and stay ready. Sadly too many people want to put it off a little longer — the world has such a hold on their hearts. But there will be no “do overs” or “I wasn’t ready” or other childish excuses; the parable of the 10 virgins tells us plainly, when the door is shut, it stays shut, forever. Get ready and stay ready.

When we see Him

The last teaching of this chapter is one with a very powerful point. We don’t mind serving Jesus, but we do mind serving — well, those guys. The ones in trouble, the ones that might give us their disease, the ones who are in dirty circumstances, the poor ones who are easy to overlook — you know, “those” guys. The point of the story is simple, when you serve “those guys” you serve Jesus. When you don’t, you don’t serve Jesus. Are you serving?

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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The last trip to Jerusalem — Matthew 20-22

Posted on December 4, 2011 by parklinscomb

As Jesus’ time draws closer, it becomes clear that His death on the cross is looming large in His thoughts. Even so, Jesus demonstrates a remarkable courage that is both deliberate and determined as He marches right into the “lion’s den”. This was not a matter of merely walking into a dangerous situation in which something terrible might happen; this was walking into a situation in which something terrible was certainly going to happen and it wasn’t going to be easy or quick. Let’s accompany Jesus in roughly the last couple of weeks of His earthly life and see love and courage in action.

It is not so among you — Matthew 20:20-28

The mother of James and John had really bad timing. As Jesus and His disciples were making what would be Jesus’ final pilgrimage to Jerusalem, while He was thinking about His impending death on the cross, the mother of James and John come up and ask for the seats of honor in Jesus’ Kingdom. Instead of ignoring her or rebuking her, however, Jesus teaches them all some principles of godly leadership. The first one was that leadership didn’t exclude you from suffering. The second one was that leadership in His Kingdom was God’s call. A third was that godly leadership didn’t dominate and “lord” over others. And lastly, Jesus pointed out that godly leadership demanded a servant’s heart. This is Christian leadership, whether it is as an elder or preacher, as a husband or parent, or as a political or corporate leader. There are plenty of those who call themselves Christians, of course, who don’t follow these commands; but these are the principles that each Christian in leadership will be judged by.

Cleansing the temple — Matthew 21:12ff

I know Christians who are of the opinion that anger is plain wrong; you probably do, too — maybe you’re one. One of the things that I’m impressed by in the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple is the passion (anger) under control that Jesus brought to the event. This was no polite request on Jesus’ part, this was an act of zeal (John 2:17), of overturned tables, of coins rolling across the pavement and into the storm drains, of sheep and people running around chaotically. But though it was an act of zeal, passion, and anger, it was not out of control. I’ve known godly men who’ve been provoked to anger and did so in an appropriate, controlled, and Christian way. Anger is an emotion like joy and sadness; it is one that God Himself shares with us (e.g., Deut. 6:15). It is a motivating emotion — we want to do something, when we’re angry. Too often we choose to do something bad; but we can choose to do something good with that emotion — Jesus did. It’s OK to be outraged; it’s OK to be passionate; it’s OK to want to correct a terrible situation. I wish we’d all get a little worked up about the lost, about the growth of sin in our culture, about truth in a world full of lies, and/or about apathy among some of God’s people — and do something good about it.

They understood He was talking about them — Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus’ parables were hitting closer and closer to home among the religious leaders of His day in Jerusalem. They were feeling the heat and found themselves unable to refute His penetrating critiques of their hypocrisy, sin, and compromise with the world. As Jesus told the parable of the landowner and the murderous vine-growers, the Scripture tells us that the religious leaders suddenly understood that the parable calling for a wretched end to those murderous wretches was about them. They now had a couple of choices. One was to repent, and the other was to try to shut Him up permanently; and of course, we know which one they tried to do. There’s a lesson here for us. The prophet Gad called King David out with a similar “gotcha” kind of parable, after he committed adultery with Bathsheba. David had a similar choice; David chose repentance. Which would you opt for? Which DO you opt for, when it’s happened to you?

No wedding clothes — Matthew 22:1-14

The parable of the king’s wedding feast carries a lot important lessons about who’s invited to God’s wedding feast in the Kingdom, but one part of the parable is often overlooked because it is a little difficult — the part about the fellow who came to the wedding feast without wedding clothes. When anyone went to a wedding feast in the ancient world (especially a wedding feast for the king’s son), certain clothing standards were expected — everyone knew this. The point of this part of the parable is that when we join the wedding feast of the Kingdom of God certain behavior (righteousness, which is often referred to as clothing in the Bible — Job 29:14; Ps 132:9; Isa. 59:17; Isa 61:10) would also be expected. In other words, you can’t come into the Kingdom, the church, and live any old way; such “disciples” will be cast out.

Not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God — Matthew 22:23ff

The Sadducees were the liberals of their day. They compromised God’s word and played politics with religion for the sake of getting ahead in the world with the pagan Romans. They thought that they had intellectually cornered Jesus with a question they thought to be the coffin nail in the doctrine of the resurrection (no pun intended) about the Levirate Law — What if several brothers die, married to the same woman (because of the obligations of the Levirate Law); whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Jesus’ answer to them was that they erred because they didn’t understand either the Scriptures (like Ex. 3:6) or the power of God (the God who can create an entire world from nothing will have no problem taking the dust of our remains and creating an immortal body for each person). Liberals still are around today and often make the same error — failing to understand the Scriptures (like how to be saved or the “pattern of the church”) or the power of God (Could the prophets of God really predict their future so accurately? Well, yeah!).

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Listen to Him — Matthew 17-19

Posted on December 3, 2011 by parklinscomb

The Gospels are so full of great teachings and examples. I’m grateful for four of them as I write this blog, because it means that as I skip over some really good things, I know I’ll come back to them again in a future post and get to talk about them. So let’s check out a few interesting things in today’s reading.

Listen to Him

There are a number of things that we could talk about in the story of the Transfiguration — lots of interesting tidbits and question like “Why Moses and Elijah?” or the meaning of the discussion about Elijah and John the Baptist. But it is the response of God that I thought was most important for consideration: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” More than just a revelation of Jesus’ identity, this was a command on the basis of Jesus’ identity — “Listen to Him.”

Not to the latest popular philosophy. Not the newest rock and roll song. Not our friends. Not our family. Not the latest book. Not the most interesting preacher in town or on TV. Not the most attractive new theology. Listen to Him.

Not your ordinary kind of leadership

Leadership Jesus’ way is not the same as leadership the world’s way. The disciples of Jesus came to Him asking about who was greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. To illustrate it to His disciples, Jesus called a child to Himself. Leadership involves a willingness to come and obey — and serve. These sorts of things are not the things that people first think of when they think of leadership — come, obey, and serve. But leadership in God’s Kingdom is never done right until the leader can first learn to come to the Lord, obey the Master faithfully, and humbly serve God’s people. This is is real greatness.

Binding and loosing — Matthew 18:18

There’s a fairly important Greek issue that is often overlooked in most translations here and in Matthew 16:19. I deferred commenting on it until today, because there was so much in Matthew 14-16. The usual translation runs along these lines: “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (NIV). This implies that Heaven follows the lead of the apostles (or Peter in particular in Matt. 16), however, the more accurate translation actually runs: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (NASB). Technically, the verbs are “future perfect passive” for bind and loose, and they specifically point to the apostles (and Peter) following Heaven’s lead — a huge difference. We must always, always take our lead from the Lord.

The critical matter of forgiveness — Matthew 18:21ff

Forgiveness is usually understood to be kind of important to human relationships, but it is not often practiced. So many troubled marriages could be not just fixed but greatly improved with some forgiveness. So many friendships have been destroyed, by a refusal to forgive. And Jesus tells us in a very powerful parable that we can even negate an otherwise perfectly righteous life by failing to forgive. When it comes to others forgiving us, we certainly expect it, but somehow, “The thing that was done to me was just beyond the pale; I just can’t forgive that!”

The problem is that we often have a bad definition of forgiveness; we equate it with forgetting. But they’re not the same things. Forgetting something really bad or traumatic is really hard to do; our brains are actually “wired” to remember things that are emotionally charged. So, if forgiveness is not forgetting, what is it? Looking at the parable of the Prodigal Son we get a wonderful insight into how God forgives (I’ll discuss it in more detail, when we get to Luke); forgiveness is really treating the other person as if it had never happened. It acts as if the broken relationship had never been broken.

Having said this, however, you should also realize that forgiveness is dependent — from Genesis through Revelation — on repentance. If one’s enemy repents, we are obligated to forgive; but if one’s enemy does not repent (change the heart and mind), we aren’t obligated to treat them as if the offense had never happened. Having said that, however, we should also realize that Christians are never, ever allowed to carry grudges or get our own revenge. We’ll talk more of this in later posts.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing

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You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God — Matthew 14-16

Posted on December 2, 2011 by parklinscomb

You know, if you’ve been a Christian for a while (maybe all your life) or if you’re really familiar with the Gospel story, the things that you read in passages like today’s reading could become sort of “ho-hum”. I guess what I’m saying is that if we’re not careful, the “blow-your-socks-off” story about God becoming flesh and living among us can become too familiar. I’d like to challenge you to read our assigned reading today with fresh eyes… “Whoa! Walking on water?! Whoa! Feeding 5000 and then 4000 with just a snack’s worth of food?!” Let the miracles of Jesus have the effects that they were intended to have on you, and let your faith be strengthened in who He is and what He can do in your life!

So, what do we find here? As always, way more than we’ll be able to address, but we’ll soldier on, nevertheless…

5000 (and later 4000) fed — Matthew 14:13ff and 15:32

Again these miracles might be too familiar to us to cause us to drop our jaws and gawk, but it was amazing! Think of a high school gym full of people being fed with 5 little round loaves of middle eastern bread and 2 small fish. Depending on human ability,  not every one would even get a crumb! But with Jesus’ ability, they ate until they were satisfied! And we worry about paying our bills. The same Lord who fed the 5000 and then the 4000 can take care of us, too, when we’re living obediently.

What it takes to walk on water — Matthew 1422ff

The apostle Peter takes his share of criticism for being speaking before putting his brain in gear, for giving in to fear at a critical moment, for not believing at certain key times (e.g., the resurrection), and for even being a bit off base in his practice of faith (Galatians 2:11ff); but you have to give him credit here. Through his faith, he became the only other man in all of history (besides Jesus) to actually walk on water. And there’s something crucial that I want you to notice about this — it’s simple, but it’s crucial in the question of faith — Peter was willing to step out of the boat. If this had been one of us, we might have asked for the Lord to miraculously freeze the water just outside the boat, so that we could have something tangible to trust in — then we’d step out of the boat. Saving faith — you hear about it a lot — is essentially the trust to “step out of the boat” without any visible means of support. You see it in converts who know their family won’t approve. You see it in missionaries as they leave for a foreign country without really enough financial support. You see it in people giving generously to others. You see it in marriages keeping things together through tough times, not because of romantic love, but because of agape love. Faith that God is pleased with shows this characteristic over and over again throughout all of Scripture. As someone has well said, “If you want to walk on water, you gotta get out of the boat.”

Tradition vs. Command — Matthew 15:1ff

“Traditions” seem to have gotten a really bad name. Among the youthful generation, this word is almost another way of swearing; it’s sort of the ultimate put down. Among a lot of Bible believing religious groups the word tradition is nearly synonymous with doctrinal error. But the truth is that tradition in the Bible or in Jesus’ eyes is not necessarily such a bad word. Traditions, in the general sense, are merely the way people have been doing things for a while. In a Jewish sense, traditions are the teachings of the important rabbis about the ways that things in the Law of God should be done “correctly”. And it is in this last sense that Jesus discusses traditions with the religious leaders of His day in this passage. Sadly, the tradition of washing hands before eating had become equivalent to God’s Law. Jesus disagreed, of course, and warned against teaching traditions as if they were the very words of God — they’re not the same thing. But that doesn’t mean that traditions should never be followed; it simply means that we must never ever raise our traditions up above or even equal to the commands of God. God’s word trumps everything and everybody else, period.

Do you tell on yourself? — Matthew 15:15-20

As someone who does a lot of counseling I notice this a lot — people tell on themselves (what they’re thinking, what they believe, and what they’d do) by what they say and what they assume of others. Listen carefully to what Jesus is telling us here, (Matthew 15:18, 19) “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” Jesus’ point is not so much to watch our mouths, but watch our hearts. The only way to guarantee that improper words or deeds won’t come from us, is to sweep our hearts clean and clear of evil thoughts.

Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees — Matthew 16:5ff

When the apostles first heard Jesus warn about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they thought He was offering a criticism of them for forgetting to bring bread along. They’d missed the point. His mind was on the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and His concern was that their teachings might influence (like leaven “influences” a loaf of bread) his disciples. Their teachings were well argued, their leading voices were persuasive, their principles were held by the leaders of the nation, and popular opinion believed their teachings were the standard of righteousness. It’s good advice for today, too. There are well argued religious points of view that are not biblical; Harvard is full of them. There are celebrity religious leaders who have great followings, but are not teaching the truth; the TV channels are full of these. The largest religious group in a community usually exerts the greatest influence, but big doesn’t translate to right. We must constantly return to the only reliable religious compass, the Bible, to determine “true north”, and resist the siren calls of religious error.

The Good Confession — Matthew 16:15,16

Again, Peter has suffered plenty of criticism over a lot things over the centuries, but you have to give him credit, where it is due, too. And this is one of those times. While everyone else seemed to be scratching their heads about exactly who Jesus was, it appears that Peter is the first one to get it right. He got it right apparently on the evidence of the miracles that he had seen so many of already — Matthew 16:17 “…flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Jesus hadn’t told Peter, Peter had concluded this on the basis of Jesus’ miracles. Jesus had let the miraculous signs do the talking for Him.

What profit? — Matthew 16:25,26

It is not just in the story of Faust’s deal with the devil that men sell their souls. And the pity of it is that their souls often are priced so cheaply — a little dope, a night of sexual satisfaction, popularity, or pride. Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of stew. King Saul lost his throne over popularity. Judas betrayed the Master for 30 pieces of silver. Demas loved the present world. Jesus’ question is a deep and serious one, Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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I will give you rest — Matthew 11-13

Posted on December 1, 2011 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading sees Jesus’ ministry going “full tilt”. He’s teaching and preaching and healing; and His success is easily seen in the opposition that He is receiving from religious authorities with agendas. Let’s settle into the crowd and watch and listen to Jesus in ministry…

Are you the expected One? — Matthew 11:1-6

You might find this a surprising question coming from the John the Baptist who had immersed Jesus at the beginning of His ministry, had seen the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descend on Him, had pointed Jesus out twice as the Lamb of God (John 1:29,36), and knew himself to be too unworthy to even untie Jesus sandals (Mark 1:7). Perhaps it was because John wanted his disciples to come to their own conclusion about Jesus, or perhaps even John had a common but incorrect understanding of the Messiah as someone who would rule over a worldly kingdom — the prophets didn’t know everything (1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven–things into which angels long to look.”).

But regardless of the reason why, Jesus sent John’s disciples back with the sort of evidence that they needed, fulfillment of prophecies. Jesus was doing exactly what the clearest prophecies said He would do that no one else could do, “the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, ad the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Among other things that I think we can learn from this passage is that although we may not understand everything (e.g., Revelation still remains a mystery) God doesn’t begrudge us evidence for our faith. Seek and you will find.

Men of violence take it by force? — Matthew 11:12

This is another puzzling passage from Jesus’ teachings, but only if we don’t have much of an Old Testament background. If you take a look at Micah 2:12,13, you’ll notice that Micah is in the midst of a remnant prophecy speaking of the exiles’ return from captivity and he’s talking about how “breakers” would break forth from the bonds of captivity and return to the land of Israel. Old Testament prophecies about the remnant are often double prophecies, and here is one more example. In this case, Jesus is referring to “breakers” (men of violence) breaking forth (take it by force). A better translation of this passage is likely, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven breaks forth and those breaking forth (early adopters of the Gospel) are pursuing it.” Are you really pursuing it?

The Great Invitation — Matthew 11:28-30

A little earlier in Matthew (9:36), as Jesus preached and taught and healed the sick He was moved with compassion for the people, because He saw them troubled and spiritually scattered like sheep without a shepherd. Here in this passage, Jesus offers the comfort of the compassion He feels: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” In my experience the problem still persists — but the invitation still applies.

The unpardonable sin — Matthew 12:25-37

Here’s a passage (12:31) and a corresponding question that a lot of people fret over — “Have I committed the unpardonable sin?” Taking a look at the sin itself this unpardonable sin is clearly blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy is a fancy way of simply saying to “speak against” something or someone. In this particular case, religious leaders had made the critical error of attributing Jesus power coming from the Holy Spirit to Satan. Why is this unforgivable? Because if the signs of the Holy Spirit are misattributed to Satan, people would be persuaded to disbelieve in Jesus as God’s Son and our salvation. And since Jesus is the only way to salvation and forgiveness (John 14:6 or Acts 4:12), this sin truly becomes unforgivable. This sin can happen not only by attributing the Holy Spirit’s work to Satan, but also by attributing the signs to natural explanations — as is common in our very scientific world, skeptical of anything supernatural. In which case, I think there are some who have committed such a sin and blocked their faith in Jesus as the Son of God and only salvation of man. We must be cautious, too, in such a world inclined toward unbelief. Without the evidences Jesus might just as easily be the poor carpenter who did itinerant preaching in the first century in Judea as the Savior of the world. I think that there’s good news here, however, I think that you can change your mind — repent — be forgiven; but repentance is the key.

Lesson from the Sower — Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23

There’s so much that can be learned from the parable of the sower, but one thing that I believe we need to be careful not to miss is the fact that is it possible to fall from grace. In two of the four kinds of seed, the seed (the word of God, Matt. 13:19) germinated and began to grow, but died before being fruitful — v. 21 actually uses the phrase “falls away”. Beginning the Christian life is a good thing, but finishing strong is just as important. Having started well, are you fading? Jesus word to the church in Ephesus was (Revelation 2:4, 5) “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”

What’s worth selling everything? — Matthew 13:44-46

Here are two parables with a similar meaning. The first parable assumes we understand the ancient laws of buried treasure — but we often don’t. In the ancient world banks were few, and the best way of keeping what you accumulated was through burying your treasure — especially if there were an invading army coming through (and Israel was on a land bridge between Asia and Africa — always being invaded). The rule was that if you happened to find a buried treasure it was not necessarily “finders keepers”. You could keep it, IF you owned the land. The farmer in the story is not plowing his own land, but he runs across a buried treasure. His one chance of getting the treasure found here was to buy the land, however, it was going to take the sale of everything he had — everything! But the story goes that he gladly sells everything — gladly, because he knew the treasure that he would receive would be far greater than anything he had to sell. The parable of the pearl of great price is similar: to own a pearl of surpassing value he has to sell everything he has. But he does so gladly, knowing that the pearl he was going to receive was worth much more than anything he was selling. The point is that the Gospel, our salvation, the spiritual and eternal riches are worth far more than anything we might have to give up in this world.

A prophet is not without honor, except… — Matthew 13:57

Finally, as Jesus returns home to Nazareth he finds hostility rather than honor — a prophet is honored everywhere but home, where people knew you “when” — when you were wetting your diaper, acting childish, spilling your milk, etc. Those who have tried to share the good news with family have found this often to still hold true today. Don’t let it get you down, but take the advice of Paul to young Timothy: (1 Timothy 4:12) “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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What kind of man is this? — Matthew 8-10

Posted on November 30, 2011 by parklinscomb

I can already see that blogging through Matthew is going to be harder than blogging through the OT. There’s so much good stuff!

What kind of man is this?

One of the spookiest experiences that the apostles had as they walked with Jesus was this event in Matt. 8:23-27. Storms are common on Galilee due to the high and cool Golan Heights to the immediate east of them and the almost tropical Jezreel plain to the east. After a particularly busy day, Jesus had fallen asleep in the boat they were all taking across the lake. The wind must have been howling, because the waves were high enough to start swamping the boats — the scene had to have been chaotic and frightening. When the apostles call out to the still sleeping Jesus, He stands up and rebukes the winds and waves like a misbehaving whelp — “Peace, be still!” And suddenly the winds became a calm and the lake became like a mirror; there was no gradual wind-down, but immediate obedience. This is what caused the apostles to wonder — “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”  Good question. And it’s still a good question. He’s not a mere man at all; He’s the Son of God, our Creator.

Proving the unbelievable by showing the undeniable

Matt. 9 starts off with the interesting story of the healing of paralytic man. I say “interesting” because Jesus starts by telling him, not that his faith has healed him, but that his sins are forgiven. He does this quite deliberately. His detractors immediately accuse Jesus of blasphemy, because, of course, who can forgive sins, but God? This is precisely the conclusion that Jesus wanted them to come to, because He intended to prove the unbelievable (Who could believe that someone who looked like an ordinary man could really be God?) by showing them a sign that was undeniable. Jesus turns around and heals a man who was definitely, incurably paralyzed! Only God heals incurably paralyzed men, like only God forgives sins. Jesus was undeniably Someone more than a mere man, He was a Someone who could forgive sins!

This, in fact, was the whole point of signs and miracles. Certainly, they often demonstrated God’s kindness and mercy, but more importantly they were credentials and proof of truly being from God. Anyone can claim to be from God, but when one can produce a sign or miracle the claim is verified.

Harvest is plentiful, workers are few

On a farm at harvest time there’s usually only a limited window of time for harvest, and unless it is a really small farm, all hands are needed. Jesus’ major purpose for coming into the world was for salvation, and in Jesus’ day as in our own, the magnitude of the work, the harvest, is huge and every worker is needed — every worker. That’s what’s meant here by Jesus’ statement. Why? Many of us realize the need for the harvest — and are really glad that someone “harvested” us — but would prefer someone else doing it besides us. Evangelism is hard, people sometimes reject the message (which feels like their rejecting us), people’s lives are messy sometimes, and besides that I’m really busy. But the harvest of souls is too critical, many souls are passing unsaved into eternity everyday, all hands are needed, because the workers are few.

Shrewd and innocent

Jesus knew that sending His apostles on even the limited commission (let alone the later “Great Commission”) was going to have its challenges and dangers, and this wisdom from the Lord (Matt. 10:16) was intended to urge disciples to find the proper balance between being innocent of wrong-doing while not being a patsy. The apostle Paul provides a good example of this in his missionary work in Philippi. Though Paul and Silas had done nothing wrong they had been beaten and jailed. The next day when the Philippian officials came to the jail to release them, Paul made sure that they knew that they had done these things illegally to a Roman citizen, probably to “buy” some political protection from persecution for the infant church he was leaving behind. Innocent as doves and as shrewd as serpents. Christians today should likewise be certainly innocent in their dealings with the world, but careful and wise.

Take up your cross

Although a cross to modern folks is mostly a symbol of Christianity, in Jesus’ day a cross was only for dying on. When Jesus calls men in the first and the twenty-first century, He calls them to come die — to themselves — and live to Him. Paul put it well in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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Discipleship in a nutshell — Matthew 5-7

Posted on November 29, 2011 by parklinscomb

Today’s reading is the famous Sermon on the Mount, and it is food for discipleship for the rest of your life. I will personally be tempted to write a really long post today, but I will do my best to refrain. So, without further adieu, let’s dive in…

Prerequisites for discipleship to Jesus

The beatitudes (5:3-12) are often memorized but not too often understood. They are the requirements necessary for following Jesus.

  • blessed are the poor in spirit — we’re not talking about virtue of having poor self-esteem; Jesus is talking about understanding our spiritual bankruptcy. To follow Jesus we must realize that we are sinners heading for Hell with nothing special to commend us to God. Not many want to admit this and therein lies the rub. If we think we have something to offer to God to get ourselves out of His debt, if we still think that we’re doing OK spiritually (the common comment I hear is “God and I are doing OK.” — even though they are clearly disobedient); Jesus’ demanding teachings will become options and we’ll become “fair weather”, “sometimes” disciples. On the other hand, realizing that I have made a mess of my life, that I stand condemned before God, that I need God’s grace, paves the way for real discipleship.
  • blessed are those who mourn — Christianity is about joy and hope, but before the good news, we need to acknowledge the bad news: that our sin must be mourned over and repented of. Sin is not just a little “oopsy”. It is an affront, an offense, to God. It is choosing to obey Satan. A lightly offered “‘Scuse me” for sin is no more appropriate to God than setting your friend’s house on fire! If I’m not really convinced and convicted about the seriousness of sin, it is unlikely that I’ll be motivated enough to change my life in the way that Jesus commands.
  • blessed are the gentle or meek — personal pride is a great obstacle to following Jesus. Not only will pride cause us to resist being told what we must do; but because many will reject His teachings and us, if we follow, the prideful will find following Jesus difficult or impossible.
  • blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness — discipleship will also require a real desire, a craving, to do right. Doing right can’t be just a hobby or a side interest in life — it will need to be the main thing. Otherwise, the difficulty of living the Christian life will become “too much”.
  • blessed are the merciful — it will be hard to follow Jesus carrying a grudge or a desire for revenge, since He demands mercy and forgiveness toward others.
  • blessed are the pure in heart — this purity is about being single minded, focused or having what could be called a united heart (uncompromised by divided loyalties or agendas).
  • blessed are the peacemakers — this peace is speaking of peace between God and myself, peace between men and myself, and even promoting peace between God and other men. God’s kingdom is about brotherhood and fellowship and love for God and one another — no matter who you are.
  • blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness — Jesus never sugar-coated discipleship to Him. It will always include persecution. Jesus told His disciples (Matthew 10:25), “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

Making a difference

Moreover Jesus also wanted His disciples to know that they were expected to make a difference (Matt. 5:13ff; this is the meaning of being the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Light and salt make a difference where they go and they are also conspicuous in their absence. Those who are content to be completely in “stealth mode” in their faith are not being the disciples that Jesus demands of us.

Surpassing the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees

This must have gotten a shocked look from His original hearers! Better than those guys? That’s like saying you have to be stronger than Superman! But Jesus helps them understand that what the scribes and Pharisees were doing was not really righteous to begin with.

  • Matthew 5:21 ““You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’” — This is what the traditional teaching was, but Jesus helps us understand that it was much more than simply not physically killing someone. The sin is in hatred, uncontrolled anger, reviling others, failing to mend relationships! Rejecting hatred, uncontrolled anger, calling names, and broken relationships is real righteousness.
  • Matthew 5:27 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;” — But its about more than just sleeping with the wrong person, Jesus told them! We need to control our lustful thoughts. Some might think, “That’s too much!” But Jesus made it plain that it’s better to get rid of the most precious thing to you (right eye or hand) than to go to Hell.
  • Matthew 5:31 ““It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;” — But divorce (the dissolution of a covenant) was never God’s original idea and should never be practiced except when the other person has broken the covenant with sexual unfaithfulness.
  • Matthew 5:33 ““Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’” — This isn’t telling us that we must never take an oath; it is to say that our lives need to be so honest that taking an oath is rendered completely unnecessary. Discipleship isn’t looking for loopholes in keeping my word.
  • Matthew 5:38 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’” — Here’s one that’s often misunderstood as requiring revenge. The truth is that the original law was a limit of liability rather than a license to avenge ourselves. Jesus is saying, let God take your revenge. You don’t need to return a slap on the cheek, let God take care of it.
  • Matthew 5:43 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’” — Here’s a little “add on” that these “righteous” Pharisees and scribes had given to God’s original word; there was never anything about hating an enemy. Jesus requires love of His disciples for those who are acting as enemies toward us. Yes it’s hard, but not impossible, especially when you let your actions do the loving. I can act in someone’s best interest, even when my emotions are going the other direction. Jesus did it on the cross.
  • Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect — Some have misunderstood this to require perfection of the Christian, but that’s not what Jesus is saying. This goes back to an old command that serves as a wonderful principle throughout the Bible: “You shall be holy as I (God) am holy”. Be kind because God is kind. Be forgiving because God is forgiving. Be honest because God is always honest. Etc. A modern era way of expressing this is, “What would Jesus do?”

Beware of wanting notice of men

Matthew 6 then shifts to the real essence of righteous deeds. Sometimes, even today, we may do good things to be seen of others and have other people think well of us. Wanting to have a good reputation is not a terrible thing, but Jesus tells us that we should be most concerned about having a good reputation with God. Don’t do your giving just to be known as a philanthropist; do it because you want to be a good steward of God’s money to others. Don’t pray just so folks will think that you’re some kind of spiritual giant; pray so that you can talk with God. If you fast, don’t go around looking like you’re fasting; let it be something just between you and God. If we do things to be seen by men, the applause of men is all that we’ll get.

Materialism

Jesus next shifts to a really difficult thing for humans to do, handle wealth well. The secret is to understand that it is only material stuff that will decay or be taken by others. Disciples will place God first, not money. Matthew 6:33 ““But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Judging

Here’s a favorite quote of many a guilty person — don’t judge me! It seems today that the worst of sins is judgment, but that’s not what Jesus is saying here. In fact, Christians are supposed to exercise good judgment about what right and wrong (see Matt. 7:15ff). What Jesus is forbidding here is simply being “critical”. We’ve all met people like this who can’t seem to find anything right with anything or anybody. Often it is a cover-up for their own failings. Speaking the truth in love is perfectly Christian (Eph. 4:15) and encouraged. But speaking critical, discouraging, hateful things to tear other down is forbidden.

Narrow and wide gates

Here’s a passage that is often overlooked but should be a main focus of understanding. Contrary to popular thought, not everyone is going to Heaven. Not even a majority — look at the passage. Why? Is it because God’s mean and doesn’t want Heaven too crowed (I speak in jest here)? God wants as many saved as possible; the problem is not with God, it’s with people who insist on being disobedient. Many will simply refuse to believe in Jesus at all and thus sink any chance of being saved (John 14:6). Others will do good things and hope that obedience to some of what He has commanded will do or be good enough; but Jesus tells a different story (Matt. 721-23). Others will happy with faith only and eliminate things like repentance, baptism, or discipleship. Others will approach discipleship like a buffet — some of this and that but none of that over there, thank you, as if you could pick and choose Jesus’ commands. It’s important to obey the SUM and not just SOME.

Two foundations

The ending of the Sermon on the Mount is a parable that has been turned into cute children’s songs — and that’s all great, but do we really understand the meaning of the parable. Jesus points out that the difference between building on sand and building on rock is this one critical issue — doing what you’ve heard. Building on the sand is compared to hearing and not doing. Building on the rock is compared to one who both hears and does what he has heard. This, of course, underscores a vitally important question — are you doing what you’ve heard.

Thanks for sticking with me through this longer than usual blog. 🙂

See you tomorrow, Lord willing

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Jesus’ early life — Matthew 1-4

Posted on November 28, 2011 by parklinscomb

Well, after so many months in the Old Testament, we’ve finally graduated to the New Testament, and especially to the Gospels. As we do so there are a couple of “housekeeping” details to note.

The Gospels tell the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and although they are contained in what is known as the New Testament books, Jesus life was clearly lived in the era of the Mosaic covenant. This becomes increasingly important to realize as we march through the four tellings of His life. It was not technically until after His death that the New Covenant was actually initiated, that is, in force.

Secondly, you may notice as we read the four Gospels that some of the narratives might seem to differ in some details. The Gospels are inspired by God — specifically, the Holy Spirit — and differences are really only apparent and not real. One example of an apparent difference is in today’s reading of the genealogy of Jesus; the Matthew genealogy differs from Luke’s genealogy. But the explanation of the apparent discrepancy is simply a tracing of the family lines through Mary in Matthew’s account and Joseph in Luke’s account. Other cases can be similarly and satisfactorily explained.

Third, there is some 300 years of silence between the end of the Old Testament (Malachi) and the beginning of Jesus’ life. In a nutshell, the Persian empire (under which Daniel, Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi prophesied) eventually fell to Alexander the Great’s Greeks. Alexander died soon after conquering the world (including Israel), and four of his generals divided and ruled his vast new empire. In this era, those living in Israel were intensely persecuted by rulers who were bent on conforming their subjects to the Greek way of life, including the Greek gods. Israel rebelled and gained their freedom for a short while, until the Roman empire arose and conquered the old Greek empire — and then some. Each empire made significant contributions to what the New Testament calls the “fullness of time”, the right circumstances for God’s plan of redemption and the quick spread of the Kingdom of God. For more details, read up on this period of history known as the Intertestamental period. If you’re into history, it’s a fascinating study.

Getting to the subject at hand, Matthew, however, it should be pointed out that Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels. Throughout his Gospel, Matthew tried to underscore the fact that Jesus is the king prophesied to sit on the throne of David and that He came to establish the Kingdom of God. It also is the richest in Jesus’ actual teachings. Matthew was one of the original 12 apostles. He was an tax collector and his he was known by another name, Levi. Having said all that, let’s begin the story of the life of Christ…

Genealogy

Genealogies are pretty boring to Americans, unless it’s your hobby, but it was crucial to Jews and especially to Jews who were looking for the Messiah. Matthew’s point in listing all these folks (1:1-17) is to emphasize the fact that Jesus came from the right family to be the Messiah, the King of Israel who would sit on the throne of David and rule forever. Once we know this, it becomes interesting to us, too, because it is simply one more piece of evidence that Jesus really is who He claimed to be.

Immanuel

This prophetic reference to Jesus’ being born of a virgin comes from Isaiah 7:14. On the surface of it, we can see the original fulfillment was a sign to King Ahaz that his kingdom would be safe from enemies; but this prophecy also had a secondary fulfillment, like many of them do. Immanuel, God with us, was to be born of a virgin, not just a young woman; and this was to be a sign to men that the Messiah had arrived. And by the way, it was only for the purpose of being a sign — there was no theological purpose behind it, like avoiding the original sin or “impurity of sex.” God actually commanded being fruitful and multiplying; sex was God’s idea.

The Magi

Here’s an interesting portion of Matthew’s story that’s worth a look. Although the manger scenes around Christmas time always include Wise Men, the truth is that they were not part of the birth story. Chapter 2:7 notes that Herod asked and found out when the star had appeared and later acted on that knowledge by having all the male children 2 years old and under killed “according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.” So Jesus was about 2 years old at the time of the magi’s visit. This is further evidenced by the fact that Jesus is called a child rather than an infant (v. 11) and also the fact that they came to a house (v. 11) rather than a stable and manger.  Indeed, it would have taken a while for the magi to arrive at Jerusalem after having seen the star and having determined its meaning.

But why would Matthew, the most Jewish of the Gospel writers, tell us about foreigners, astrologers no less, looking for the star of a Jewish king and bring him gifts from afar. An interesting detail in all of this is that the Old Testament prophet Daniel was a magi — in fact, the well-respected, very long serving, chief of the magi, a widely respected collection of scholars and early scientists originally coming from Chaldea. Daniel wrote a book of prophecies about the empires of the world and their interaction with Israel; would it be too great a stretch to think that he may have left some wisdom and prophecy for later magi to read and follow up on? If so, the inclusion of the story of the magi was Matthew’s attempt to give Daniel’s prophetic support to Jesus as the Christ.

And one last thing, please notice that the Bible doesn’t say there were three magi (Wise Men), just that there were three categories of gift: frankincense, myrrh, and gold.

The baptism of Jesus

Baptism is not sprinkling. Although some of the artistic masterpieces depict John sprinkling Jesus, he did not. The original word means to immerse; so when Jesus was baptized, He was immersed. But why was he baptized? Everyone else who was baptized to demonstrate their repentance, so that their sins could be forgiven; but Jesus had no sins to repent of or be forgiven of. That’s why John the Baptist originally balks at Jesus’ request for baptism. But Jesus gave a reason, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus wasn’t interested in just getting by on the minimum requirement; He wanted to fulfill all righteousness. What a great lesson for us! Salvation was not purchased as a bargain basement price — Jesus was be best of Heaven. Why should offer to the Lord a minimal effort; just enough to get by? What does that say of our “love” for the Lord? God’s response to what Jesus did should be a great lesson, too, “This is My beloved Son with who I am well pleased.” He didn’t say that it was did OK, or that it was good enough; He was well pleased. What’s your aim?

The wilderness tempatations

Immediately upon being baptized the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness where He was tempted for 40 days. We only know of three of those temptations, but they are full of lessons. 1) Jesus foiled them by quoting scripture: knowing whether something is right or wrong is crucial and Jesus knew the word of God well enough to quote it. 2) Satan knows how to quote scripture, too: there are plenty of false teachers who know how to quote scripture, but they use it wrongly. 3) Temptation is not the same as sin: we get this confused sometimes; but we often have no control over the temptations that come our ways, whereas we do have control over whether we give into them or not.

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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What?! — Malachi

Posted on November 27, 2011 by parklinscomb

Today is a big day, we finish the Old Testament with the prophet Malachi. Malachi chronologically the last Old Testament prophet and he was speaking to the returned Jewish exiles. Some of his prophecies will sound vaguely familiar, since some sin problems crop up like perennial weeds in the garden of human life. But there are also some slightly new themes that we’ll see addressed here that have a pretty direct application to modern Christians. But even more than these interesting new thoughts are the interesting Messianic prophecies. Let’s see…

What?!

It’s a classic response from teen boys and grown men, when they think everything was OK and are being informed that they’ve let some things slide a little further than they should have. Although we don’t see this exact word/phrase, we see the meaning a couple of times…

“‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’” Malachi 1:6, NAS95.

““Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” Malachi 2:14, NAS95.

“You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”” Malachi 2:17, NAS95.

God goes on to tell them exactly how they had despised His name, for what reason God refused their offerings, and how they had wearied Him. They offered mediocre or even sick offerings to the Lord, which neither they nor their governors would have taken and eaten. They had unfaithfully broken their covenants of marriage with the wives of their youth (their first wife). They had complained bitterly against the Lord, because they thought evil men were going unpunished. These are things that they should have been aware of — God deserves the best, one’s marriage covenant is a covenant (you brought God in on it), and evil is always punished in God’s time.

There are certainly lessons here for us, too, lest we forget. God really does deserve our very best. It’s not just a matter of what God is worth; it’s also a matter of faith — that we will still prosper despite giving away our best to the Lord. Not just in terms of things we give in the collection plate, but even in our efforts and service to the Lord by serving others.

And covenants are sacred — and I mean sacred in terms of God being part of the agreement. Covenants are “making family” agreements, and whether we really intended to invite God in on the agreement, God is always part of a marriage covenant. The fancy ceremony is really superfluous to the agreement being made. Marriage is not what we want to make of it; it is what God has said it is — and it is God’s definition by which we’ll be judged one day. Thus, whether we like the traditional roles of husband and wife or not, we’ll be judged on that standard; whether or not we want to submit to one another sexually, we’ll be judged by God’s word; whether or not we want to stay with our husband or wife, we’ll be judged by God’s terms. Anything else is a violation of the covenant’s terms and subject to God’s judgement.

And finally, we’d be well advised to be very careful about our complaints about God’s apparent lack of interest in justice. It could be that He’s being patient with more than just your enemy; He could be exercising patience with you, too.

A time marker for the Messiah

There was a time marker found in Malachi 3:1 regarding the timing of the Messiah. It’s a time marker that really more for us than it could have been for the people of Malachi’s day.

““Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:1, NAS95.

This Messenger that will be sent will clear the way for the Lord, who will suddenly come to His temple. For Jews between the time of this prophecy and the time of the destruction of the Temple in AD70, this prophecy would not have made much sense as a time marker, but for us who know that the Temple was not only destroyed but never rebuilt, this prophecy becomes truly significant. The window of time in which the Messiah could come has come and passed. This is not news to modern day believers, but for those who are not yet believers in Jesus, here’s a fairly strong verse to consider. If you’re looking for the Messiah, the window (also delineated by some other prophecies) for His appearance has opened and closed — look within the window and you’ll find Him!

The forerunner

Although Christians don’t generally pay too much attention to the prophecy about the forerunner, the Gospels do and the early Christians certainly did. John the Baptist is mentioned in all four Gospels as a strong proof of Jesus’ Messiahship. The prophecies and expectations come from the Isaiah 40:3 passages and from…

“’Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:1, NAS95.

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5, 6, NAS95.

He marks an even narrower window of time in which the Messiah would make His appearance. Put these windows together with the signs and miracles witnessed by scores and hundreds and thousands of people and you have a bonafide Messiah in Jesus.

So, if you believe, be strengthened in your faith. Jesus’ death on the cross has real meaning for your life (and the lives of others who would dare believe) and His resurrection has real hope for the hear after! Be reassured, be strengthened, be zealous, share, and be committed! There’s really good reason to do so!

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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The reward for righteousness — Zechariah 13-14

Posted on November 26, 2011 by parklinscomb

The last two chapters of Zechariah are about the remnant of Israel, including the Jews of his day, but more specifically — in a second fulfillment — the church. Essentially, it is the result of righteous living among the returned exiles (including rebuilding the Temple).

A fountain will be opened

I can’t help but hear the old hymn in my head, “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” 13:1 opens with a reference to a fountain opened for the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem (the church) for sin and impurity. How do we know that it refers to the church and not just the Jews of the post exilic period? It mentions how the idols will have been destroyed, how all false prophets will have been eradicated, and a Messianic age in which the LORD would be king over all the earth! And indeed, the only fountain opened that really has the power to cleanse from sin and impurity is the blood of Jesus.

His is the only effective sacrifice for sin. There is salvation in no other. As Hebrews 9:13, 14 puts it, “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Rags to riches

One of the other things to pay attention to here, from a prophet trying to encourage a poor and beleaguered Jewish people, is the rags to riches promise he was giving them. If they would be faithful, their poverty would be turned around radically! It reminds me of the beatitudes,

““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:3-8 

Have you taken advantage of God riches? Or are you still looking on your own riches here on earth? Not that God’s riches are all about the “sweet bye and bye” — there’s plenty of His riches to be enjoyed here and now, but not everyone can see or appreciate them. Take the time to both see and appreciate what God offers us in the spirit here and now: guidance, wisdom, real life, hope, better marriages and families, a clean conscience, love, brethren, the church, a meaning and purpose in life, and more. There, now don’t you feel richer already?

See you tomorrow, Lord willing.

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