Sunday school was very good, very challenging for me this week. By the way, as a personal application, if you don’t belong to a small group to study the Word and love each other, I’m telling you that you are missing out on God’s work in your life.
Back to my topic of the Sunday School class, and the topic we were discussing.
You see, we were discussing the court systems Jesus went through prior to His glorification. We landed on a verse that opened up to me after chatting with the class about Jewish leadership performing capital punishment on their own authority.
What did you say Carl? Again, you are greatly mistaken Carl for the Bible speaks of the Jewish leadership not able to execute, that is to perform capital punishment. Read it again Carl!
John 18:31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.”
And yet the Jewish population intended to stone Jesus early in His ministry.
Luke 4:29 ESV – 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
How about when the adulterous woman brought to the Messiah. The Jews mentioned stoning the woman in response to her sin. Granted this was a set up to trap Jesus, but Jesus didn’t respond with the illegality of the sentence, but a personal moral application to each of the judges! (Brilliant!)
John 8:5-7 ESV – 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
If death was what the Jews wanted, they had proven intent in the previous occurrences, but just a few short months after Jesus crucifixion, Stephen was stoned.
Acts 7:57-59 ESV – 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Stoning seemed to be allowed by the Roman authorities.
Yet the very next verse speaks of a wrinkle in the narrative, a fine point that I didn’t catch at first.
John 18:32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
You see, it wasn’t that the Jews couldn’t execute, but that they couldn’t crucify. It was the kind of death that Jesus was appointed to experience, to fulfill the prophecies of His passion. Psalm 22 (and other passages) would not be fulfilled if the Messiah was executed by stoning.
No, it had to be crucifixion, and that meant this process of condemnation had to pass through the Roman court system. His condemnation by the Jewish nation was not enough, for He is the Savior of the world and not only the Jews.
Jesus was in control of this fiasco in the courts, and every statement He made throughout both the Jewish and Roman “courts” was to gain the cross, to die for the world, to die for you and I.
Jesus is in control of this fiasco we live in today. Do you believe that?
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #307
Description
Messiah in a glorified state
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 10:5-6
I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.
New Testament Fulfillment
Rev 1:13-16
and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.
The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
This verse is pregnant with truth, with mystery, and as we have been considering in this portion of Philippians, the humility of the Lord Jesus. Every time I try to understand the depths He plummeted to simply become one of us, a created being, to walk in a sinful, fallen world, to identify with those who have rebelled against His goodness, I come away from my time of meditating with two outcomes.
Confusion
How can I relate to One who is willing to “come down”, to self humble to such a degree. Rarely have I had the internal desire to humble myself amongst my equals, since I prefer to walk in a show of ability, of noble character, but in reality in an inflated ego and deluded in my pride.
And yet I know our next verse is going to describe even further self humiliation of the One who made me, but we need to consider this initial step of becoming a man for today.
To step away, or better yet, to step down from the eternal position, honor, glory and authority of the Godhead and plunge to the earth as a blood and flesh creature, dependent on fallen man, and in the midst of a subjugated people that have rebelled against your will is not only incomprehensible, but completely without precedent.
No one does this! NO ONE!
When I think of the term “holy”, I typically consider the concept of sinlessness, of sanctification, of being set apart, and all of this is true. Yet tucked away in this term is the concept of “otherness”. He is holy, we are not. He is of an “other” nature. Separate from us, and yet seeking us out. He is of the character that is not restricted, affected or limited by ego and pride, for He is everything we like to think we are, and yet much more.
He is in control – We are not
He understands the situation – We do not
He has the knowledge to make informed decisions – We do not
He has the wisdom to undertake the actions required to fulfill His will – We do not
I say much more, for with our existence, and our desire to be considered more than we are by rights, we tend to boast of abilities and character that is not in the realm of truth. Out of this comes a severe insecurity, and a haunting realization that we are much less than what we try to display to others who are struggling with the same debilitating condition. But with Him, all of His perfections must also provide absolutely no insecurities, no need of boasting or requiring commitments from others to maintain a position out of fear of losing the right. He is stable, without any “shadow of turning”.
And He came down to live with us, a man that describes Himself as “gentle and lowly”.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The term gentle is interesting, and provides one additional slant to our discussion this morning. Meek is defined in BDAG as “not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, gentle, humble, considerate, meek“
In His short time on this earth below, as He described Himself as gentle, this descriptor becomes so beneficial to my thoughts this morning. He walked amongst us, and was not overly impressed by a sense of one’s self importance. This is an act of divine decision, for He is of GREAT importance, the greatest of importance to all on this blue ball. And yet He did not dwell on this truth, but thought of Himself to be equal with us.
Who does this? NO ONE!
Thankfulness
A sense of awe and thankfulness attends my thinking, no matter how my comprehension settles on this truth. In this middle of my ruminations, I ask Why? Why do that which is beyond our comprehension? This is the out flowing of a character that is holy, He is not of our ilk, but a loving, kind and gentle God who seeks out those who would crucify Him. He is beyond our comprehension, and His love for each of us is beyond our understanding.
Consider the One who stepped down from a position we cannot imagine, practiced a mindset of humility, and do likewise!
He is good, and His life amongst us, when considered, is a tremendously great challenge. And this great challenge includes our willingness to die to our lies, die to our self importance, die to our pride, die to our self. Die to self so I can live unto God. Humility, a sense of gentleness and a consideration for others will be the fruits that will naturally blossom from this death.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 49
10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.
The psalmist continues with a description of what the rich man observes, the consistency of death, even the necessity of death for both the wise and the fool.
It may be good to remember at this point of the psalm, that a reference to a fool does not describe the IQ of the man, or the educational training of the man, or even the personality of the man, but the man’s attitude or standing in relation to God. Brilliant men, according to this world, are often virulently against any concept of God’s existence and fully refuse to consider God as an authority to answer to. No wonder they seek to avoid the ultimate reality of death.
The psalmist brings to the reader the futility of wealth accumulation, in that money not only provides absolutely no bargaining power in death, but that all the rich man’s possessions remain on earth, distributed to others. All of his efforts in accumulating a resource for self sufficiency becomes a massive disappointment, a final defeat in his philosophy of life, and a failure in rescuing him at a time he needs help the most.
Which brings us back to idolatry, and its effect for both the rich and poor. We so often think of ourselves as modern, enlightened, progressive and intelligent. Yet our modern society has converted the practice of idolatry to an artform, dressed it in a different suit and paraded it about as an ideal. Very few of us physically bow to a statue in the home or a sanctuary in the neighborhood, but if we are trusting wealth instead of the Father, idolatry is still the result.
Let’s take a moment to consider a few verses regarding the the identification of idolatry, it’s powerlessness and the effect on the one who chooses idolatry.
Idolatry – Identified
Col 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Paul is straightforward in identifying idolatry in the book of Colossians and of course it seamlessly reinforces our psalmists theme of money and possessions being the focus of the idolater.
Idolatry – It’s Power
Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”
Although the psalm we are in spends time in describing the effects of idolatry on the worshipper, it is not alone in the Word in providing warnings of the disappointing deliverance of idolatry for the worshipper. The verse in Judges actually challenges those who have followed vain idols to continue to trust them, mocking their worship and abandoning the worshippers to a futile end. This brings us to the effect idols have on the worshipper.
Idolatry – It’s Effect
Jonah 2:8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
A man may only worship one philosophy, one ideal, one person. This is an unalterable truth. No multitasking in our worship. Joan is clear in that when we seek after a vain idol, we actually cut ourselves off from God’s love, His steadfast mercy and kindness that we all deeply seek after and need. When we move toward an idol, we move away from God!
Back to Psalm 49, where the author speaks of the wealthy mans efforts of extending his influence (instead of his physical life) into the future, by calling lands by their own name. They seek to be remembered, yet in all of the wealthy man’s efforts, it simply becomes a failed attempt to extend their self sufficiency and self imposed honor on those who are left behind.
The end result. The rich are cut down like the beast of the field, brought to silence and cut off from those they had influence over, those they abused. Earlier in the psalm, the author speaks of the poor man’s fear in the midst of the rich man’s iniquity, and of the cheating of the rich man, how he trusted in his riches (vs 5,6). It seems the fear, though so very real at the time, when considered as the psalmist does, is answered by faith, and is the solution for the believer.
As believers, we must rest on the fact that death is a universal condition for each of us, rich and poor, wise or fools. Many are continuing to rely on their wealth or influence to avoid the unavoidable, even to the abusing of the poor and weak, but this will be addressed within the next 100 years, for all reading this post will have entered that gate, the passage from physical life to spiritual existence.
A day of equalization is coming, when all will realize the futility of depending on any idol in place of God Almighty.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #306
Description
Killed before the destruction of the temple
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:26c
And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 27:50-51
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
As we enter into this passage in Revelation (under the topic of conditional security), I need to admit that I have had a very mixed relationship with this book.
Early in my life, Revelation was the book that “revealed” to me the Judge of all creation, a Mighty God who was holy, rightfully angry at me. Revelation provided word pictures in a seven year old’s mind of a Great White Throne, of eternal suffering and anguish, of darkness and continual pain, of an eternal fire that burned without relief. (See Testimony) Revelation exposed to a seven year old boy a destiny that was certain due to my sin. No mercy was available to that little seven year old!
Fast forward fourteen years and the Judge became my Savior. Mercy and grace was offered to a twenty-one year old alcoholic drug pushing loser and I couldn’t resist. Jesus took my guilt and punishment – How could I not follow?
Yet Revelation was still a book I shied away from. At first, a certain dispensational teaching helped me to avoid the last book of the Bible, placing all the scary stuff (chapters 6 through 19) all beyond my time on earth. I understood that I would be raptured and taken to safety while everyone else would suffer the tribulation. Sure a few verses (such as the ones we are considering today) disturbed me, but I was good at generally ignoring the book.
Yet there were verses in the second and third chapters that would still haunt me, since they were directed to churches, and I gladly identified as belonging to the body of Christ. Dispensational teaching helped out there also, for it taught that each of these churches represented a certain “age” in church history. Under dispensational teaching, Smyrna represented a church under persecution, specifically during the years just prior to Constantine.
Whew – I dodged another bullet! All this talk of suffering was getting hard to avoid, but at least this passage could be ignored safely! Yet the Bible is a consistent message, and though I found an excuse to avoid a truth in one verse, other passages reared their head and witnessed to my heart and mind as I began to listen. Eventually I abandoned dispensational teaching, for the inconsistencies and internal conflicts became too great for me to accept.
Quite an introduction to a short passage, yet this set of verses was one of the many that caused me to jettison my acceptance of dispensationalism. The mention of tribulation for ten days seemed so inconsistent with the seven years of tribulation supposedly taught in the Bible.
And what about that crown of life? Of not being hurt by the second death? This was a church the Savior was speaking to! Didn’t He understand that believers were eternally secure? (I speak as a fool!)
No matter how a believer reads this passage, it is either troubling (or greatly encouraging!)
Be faithful unto death! The passage speaks of a continual faithfulness, of being faithful to the point of death! My understanding of once saved always saved just did not fit into this passage. Wasn’t my initial expression of faith back in February 1981 enough?
Jesus said to “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer”. Believers in this type of church (no matter when the church exists) were to not fear the persecution! It would have a definite time (ten days, not eleven or twelve), an end would come and life would be granted. Pain from men may be experienced, but the hurt of the second death would be avoided by those believers who overcome.
The question that hangs out there is of believers who do not overcome, who are not faithful unto death. Is the crown of life withheld from them? Does the crown of life represent life or rewards for the believer? (This question was discussed in an earlier post – See Conditional Security – Revelation 2:7)
Be faithful unto death. And why not be faithful unto death? Let us not quibble over debatable issues, for He is the Savior, a Great and Mighty God who has died to rescue us. He has rescued me from my rebellion, from my rejection of truth. He is good and His love draws me constantly. Will I allow my heart to reject His continual expressions of love and grace, having witnessed His many acts of kindness in my life?
Truly, my heart can be a traitor to my own good and to my dear Savior. May the Lord give us strength in the life He provides us, in the way we are to walk, and to be faithful unto death, whether He chooses open persecution or otherwise for each of us
For He is good and the great God we have the privilege to worship! May we be faithful to Him.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #305
Description
Die for the sins of the world
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:26b
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.
New Testament Fulfillment
Heb 2:9
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.
(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)
I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.
The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.
To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.
Occassionaly I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!
This post will consider the song
Multipurpose Man – by Swirling Eddies
The Swirling Eddies were a comical band that spoke sarcastically about troubles within the church and the hypocrisy of modern day believers. I suppose that is why I listened to them so often. The lyrics are a hoot!
Multipurpose Man – by Swirling Eddies
Insert Flap A into Slot 2B Roll me, roll me, roll me toward my destiny I’m a room for your love, I’m a factory for war A hungry artist knocking at the rich man’s door A morality play A pornography store A scorched-earth fire In the nuclear core
[Chorus] I’m your very own living multipurpose man Your cowardly lion and your blemished lamb And I’ll be saved, and I’ll be damned I’m your very own living multipurpose man
[Verse 2] Fold Panel 3 along the dotted line Drink me, drink me, drink me, I’m a cheap red wine An alcoholic dream, a promissory note A discouraging word in a mercenary’s throat A hangman’s noose On an old frayed rope A zephyr wind And a paper boat
[Chorus] I’m your very own living multipurpose man Your cowardly lion and your blemished lamb And I’ll be saved, and I’ll be damned I’m your very own living multipurpose man
[Bridge] A bad smell fogging up the vestibule Demigods, demagogues, wise man, fool The paper-shredding keeper of the golden rule So roll me, roll me, roll me on back to you
[Interlude] (Drink me, drink me, drink me) (Roll me, roll me over) (Wind me, wind me, wind me) (Drink me, drink me, drink me) (Roll me, roll me over) (Wind me, wind me, wind me) (Drink me, drink me, drink me) (Roll me, roll me over) (Wind me, wind me, wind me) (Drink me, drink me, drink me) (Roll me, roll me over) (Wind me, wind me, wind me) (Drink me, drink me, drink me) (Roll me, roll me over) (Wind me, wind me, wind me) (Drink me, drink me, drink me) (Roll me, roll me over) (Wind me, wind me, wind me)
[Chorus] I’m your very own living multipurpose man Your cowardly lion and your blemished lamb And I’ll be saved, and I’ll be damned I’m your very own living multipurpose man
[Bridge] A bad smell fogging up the vestibule Demigods, demagogues, wise man, fool The paper-shredding keeper of the golden rule So roll me, roll me, roll me on back to you
[Verse 3] Hook my spring between the flim and flam Wind me up, wind me, I’m a monkey band A mad whirling dervish and a hard day’s night A kamikaze pilot on his thirteenth flight An electrical storm Ben Franklin’s kite A doomsday clock At twelve midnight
[Verse 4] Fill me up, fill me, I’m a white trash can A klu klux klown and an also-ran, yeah I’m yesterdays news, I’m a small foot note A DJ caring less about this song I wrote
Let me know what you think of the lyrics, and of the tunes!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #304
Description
Cut off
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:26a
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 16:21
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Matt 21:38-39
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
I spent years reading this verse, thinking that I needed the mind of Christ, ie the thoughts, knowledge, logic, reason, memory, perception and mental ability of the Messiah. This is not what Paul has in mind here – (hope you don’t mind the pun!)
When Paul speaks of mind in this passage, he is speaking of attitude, not knowledge. When you think of the Lord Jesus, with His disciples, what attitude jumps out at you? Anger with their slowness of faith? Impatience with the infighting, personal quarrels and bickering? What about His attitude regarding those who were religious and stood in the way to the kingdom? Same attitude?
My friends, as I have been studied the parables in past posts, (Parable Surprises – Introduction) and currently the miracles of the Messiah, (Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus – Introduction) I have found a man, fully cognizant of His identity and mission, yet who exhibited patience beyond human reason, an attitude of submission to the Father’s will, and of a willingness to suffer for those who fought against Him, whether they be Pharisees, the disciples, or myself.
His attitude is one of humility, a meek and gentle man, that exhibited power through love, authority through submission, and Lordship through service. His only self description of His character actually referred to His humility.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
His kingdom is an upside down kingdom, and drinking at the well of worldly opinion, always consuming the me me me life, will never provide the peace that we desperately seek.
Look to Him, see a Messiah who is gentle and lowly in heart, and mimic Him.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 49
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit.
The psalmist starts out with the topic of fear, yet not his fear of death, but of those who trust in their riches. During his description of his fear he introduces the universality of death. All die. Rich and poor alike. Yet in the reflection of the psalmist, he centers in on the difference between the rich and poor in death. This comparison between the rich and poor is carried on throughout the psalm. Our standing in life, whether we are rich or poor, influences us in relation the death. Our standing in life creates an environment that fosters certain attitudes during our life regarding our eventual death.
Verse 5 begins with the poor asking himself why he is experiencing fear in relation to the sins of others. The rich cheat and steal, perform iniquity with abandon and the poor man experiences this abuse, for the rich man has the power! Surprisingly the abuse is not the focus though, for the poor speaks of fear in troubling times. Can you identify with the poor man?
On a personal note, it seems obvious that in our day, fear is not simply a by-product of the rich man abusing the poor, but is actually a vehicle to influence the poor to gain power over them. It seems troubling times are ever present with us, dangers continually nipping at our heals. A continual state of fear is bubbling up in our society. For the believer, how are we to relate to this?
We must understand that for the psalmist, his wisdom brings to us the truth that death is the great equalizer. We all die, and the rich have no advantage.
Verse 7 is central. The psalmist continues the theme of how money (or possessions) impact a mans relation to his death. The passage hearkens back to the law in Exodus 21:30
If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed on him.
This ransom speaks of paying a price that a crime requires in order to make restitution, or to balance the books due to some injustice. We often think of ransom in relation to a kidnapping, yet this is not the intended message.
The context of the Exodus passage above is that some rich man owns an ox that is known for hurting others, yet does not keep it secure, allowing the ox to gore again. If the ox kills the victim, the owner shall suffer a like sentence. He shall be put to death. Justice is harsh!
Yet the law of God allows an opportunity for the victim’s family to accept payment from the ox owner as a ransom, providing an alternate outcome for the owner. He gets to live! This ransom of the owners life is accomplished with money, whatever amount the victim’s family decides. The psalmist hearkens back to this passage with his reference to ransom, and flatly states in verse 7, there is no ransom that may be paid for the life of a man,. You may think that this is a contradiction, but consider.
The passage in Exodus did not rescue him from death, but simply delayed the eventual time of death. He will still die.
That is the very point of Psalm 49. Everyone will die, and the rich have no advantage over the poor. Money is useless when death comes knocking.
The psalmist continues with the theme of cost, and brings together the two types of men in this psalm. Money cannot ransom the rich man, nor redeem the poor man. The currency required to ransom or redeem a man’s life cannot be carnal possessions of an earthly value system. This is the stock of idolatry! To be trusting in earthly goods is not an equally good choice when compared with trusting in God, but but an affront, an insult to the Lord. Earthly goods cannot ransom a rich man, and the poor man cannot be redeemed with things under heaven.
1 Peter 1:18-19
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
This portion of Psalm 49 provides the conclusion that no one shall live forever, that all will see the grave. The author speaks of the desires of the rich man who would live on this earth forever, avoiding the death that is universal.
Some who obviously have no knowledge of this psalm speak of living on earth forever. This desire is becoming mainstream news in our very lives. (Don’t get me going on the trustworthiness of news headlines, but take it for what it is worth!)
The psalm stands. We all die! Face it and prepare. Run to the One who has provided the “currency” that pleases God for the redemption of each man’s soul. His blood is the precious “coin” that provides the ransom/redemption that rich and poor alike need.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #303
Description
His announcement
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:25
Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again[a] with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
New Testament Fulfillment
John 12:12-13
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Here again I confused life with rewards. You see, I used to read it as – To the one who conquers, the right to receive rewards is granted. That is the way I read it when I was ensconced in the “once saved always saved” OSAS teaching. I couldn’t read it for what it seems to be saying, that is those who “conquer” (whatever that may mean) will have access to the tree of life.
Now here comes my assumption. Granted, I don’t want to sound like a 3 year old in Sunday school class, where every question is answered by “Jesus”, but the Word is centered on Him, and all prophecy, narrative, laws and poetry of the good book points to Him. If that is a safe general assumption, would it be too far a stretch to consider the tree of life to be the Master Himself, that in the symbolism of the book of Revelation, the tree of life is Jesus. Remember now, He Himself has witnessed that He is a door, bread, light and life. He did not shy away from describing Himself in various ways.
If this “assumption” is correct, that is that Jesus is the tree of life in the paradise of God, we are granted access to Him through conquering. Where am I going wrong here?
So, this is the stumper, for John is writing to a church, the church of Ephesus, and Jesus is speaking of the churches lost love. In this regard, might the conquering (for this church) be the repentance Jesus spoke of, the return to the first love, that realization of a believer getting distracted, of a forsaken love. Of a believer in desperate need of running back to the One who died for us.
Ok, here is my desire. I want my faith to be a simple faith, a faith where I am in connection with Him, where I can actually understand His will for me and I am granted the courage and boldness to follow, simply out of love for Him. A faith where I understand the Spirit’s message, with the Word of God echoing in my mind, and the character of our great Savior always before me.
You know, in these conditional security posts, I sometimes come away thinking of the negative, the “if” in it all. Yet His love is draws me and you and will continue to draw us through the trials and troubles, the doubts and struggles, the fear and pain. We need to keep our eye on Him, for He is good, He wants us home, and He has suffered for us, experiencing the trials and temptations of this old planet, and succumbing to the terrors of the cross in the Father’s will and for our good.
Looking away from Him, and to any other so called savior is the temptation we must resist. We are called to continue in a faith in the Savior, the One we need to follow.
The same apostle wrote
1 John 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
We can honestly say that John was consistent, for he spoke of the victory, (or the conquering?) as being our faith.
So when you hear someone tell you to keep the faith, remember that it is your faith that will conquer the enemies of our lives, for our faith in the Savior is our life, and will give us the victory, and allow us to eat from the tree of life.
For faith grants us to be in fellowship with the Savior.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #302
Description
He would be holy
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:24b
to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
New Testament Fulfillment
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
After my series on the parables, I found I was drawn to look into the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have never studies the mighty works of Jesus as a focused effort before and am looking forward to finding nuggets of truth that we can be encouraged by.
I have provided a general introduction, with an opportunity to download two files for your reference in my initial post Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus – Introduction. I found that the format I used for the parable posts were useful to keep me on track, and will continue to use them for this series, with some minor tweaks. With that said, let’s take a look at
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
General Observations
Ten lepers, standing at a distance. Of course they had to for leprosy required a distance from others, a space that was demanded by the law to protect the non-leper. Leprosy is a horrible disease that brings about the deadening of the nerves, and therefore the inability to feel pain. The progression of this disease results in tissue degeneration, extremities (fingers, toes, noses etc) eroding, and unintentional damage to the body due to the warning system of pain not functioning. Have you ever thought of pain as a gift? A leper may hold a coal of fire in his hand without experiencing pain, further damaging his hand, further crippling him in the process.
This disease was a much feared condition in the ancient world, and the Jewish religion provided many safeguards for the nation to restrict its spread among the population. One of these restrictions was a required space to be maintained when the leper was in the company of the non-leper. The leper also had to declare openly amongst the community his condition, by crying out “Unclean, unclean” (Leviticus 13:45).
The law did provide a process of being declared clean, and this included the leper going to the priest and requesting an examination. This process must have been one of the priests least favored responsibilities, since it may include the examination of a person who still had leprosy, making it possible for the priest to contract the disease himself.
Of course this process of examination by a priest within the nation of Israel is never recorded, and only one person in the Old Testament is ever spoken of as experiencing healing of his condition. Naaman (an enemy and foreigner to Israel) followed Elisha’s counsel and experienced a healing. As for Miriam, Moses sister, as she was dealt a judgement of leprosy for her rebellion against Moses, there is no record of her healing.
So for centuries, to be a leper was to be condemned to a life of isolation, rejection, self deterioration and poverty. Until an itinerant preacher showed up and began to heal lepers. And the blind. Raising even the dead!
The ten lepers, the twelve disciples and possibly some villagers. Yet even as I say that, for the lepers to be in the area would mean the villagers would not be. It is likely that the lepers were all alone with the Master and His disciples.
The lepers requested mercy, and Jesus is a merciful God. Later on in the apostle Paul’s writings, He is described as rich in mercy. And we know our God is One who is good to all, and that His mercy is over all that He has made (Psalm 145:9)
How often has Jesus expressed mercy to those who deserve judgement? I think of the woman caught in adultery, and the Lord not condemning her, though He was the only One who had the right. I think of the times I have missed the mark, and yet the Lord is constantly overseeing my life, guiding, comforting, challenging and directing. He is a merciful God and the lepers were in good standing at this point of the text. They identified Jesus correctly as One who was merciful and able to heal. Astute lepers!
What was the message for the original audience?
The lepers, by heading to the priest, exhibited obedience to Jesus call, received healing. The text does not teach us that upon healing, they began to venture to the priest. No, the text describes the healing to be in response to thier obedience to the command of Jesus.
Ten clean lepers. Ten lepers who had heard the voice of Jesus, acted upon the voice of Jesus, and received a physical healing of leprosy. Ten lepers who were in the process of obeying Jesus, yet one leper “disobeyed” and returned to the Master, expressing thankfulness, praising God with a loud voice, and worshipped the Rabbi.
Imagine the other nine, for they must surely have heard the one who turned to Jesus. Did they intentionally ignore the one who turned to Jesus instead of a priest? Did the group dynamic keep them in lock step to the priest’s home in order to get on with life? Did they consider the one leper to be over zealous, extreme, unbalanced, even radical?
What is the message for us today?
Do you remember when you first met Jesus? Did you experience a sigh of relief, how you escaped the flames of hell, how you found relief from judgement. Did the experience center on you or Him? Did you head to the priest (become religious) or did you turn to Jesus and give thanks.
How about today? Is there a heart of thankfulness for the person of Christ? For His ever present mercy, for the very character of Christ? Have you maintained a thankful spirit throughout your sojourn with Him? Or did a rule keep you from seeing the person of Christ?
A preacher once challenged his congregation to consider God to be the antithesis of Jesus. Non merciful, non gracious, non truthful… It is a frightful thought!
Keep your eye on the One who showed mercy to those in need. Mercy is His first desire. He loves to show mercy.
We often take for granted the nature and character of the One we follow. Let us not be like the nine who obeyed to receive, but like the one who returned to Jesus, the one who praised Him and thanked Him for His mercy, the one who left the nine to be with the One.
Give thanks to God for His abundant mercy, for His holy character, for His truthful nature and continual love towards His creation, for His guidance and direction, for His unending care, for His justice and grace, for being God!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #301
Description
To make reconciliation for iniquity
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:24a
and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
New Testament Fulfillment
Rom 5:10
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
2 Cor 5:18-21
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Paul, in describing the humility of a Christian witness, seeks to instruct his friends of their responsibility to their neighbors. He doesn’t separate himself from the real vagaries of life on this earth, where we have to provide for those we love, care for those of our family, and support those we are closest to. These interests we naturally have are not to e ignored in order to give to others, and to be seen as super spiritual, (thereby exposing a pride that is so antithetical to Paul’s direction!)
Our neighbor, in his need, according to the way I understand Paul, is also our need and it is the wise man who can discern a proper response to the neighbor. Is it right to take from our own interest, our own family, our own loved ones, in order to provide for “others”. Yes. Yet I have somewhat of a qualifier, based on life experience, for you to consider. For you see, in my past, I would see someone in need, and simply go to fulfill that need. Without any discussion on the impact towards those I love. Looking back, this action seems to be fueled by some sense of being seen by strangers as a true Christian (?) and ignored those who were witnessing my life closest! (i.e. my fam!)
Since then, unless an emergency forces an instant decision and action, I tend to take a few minutes to discuss with those who will be impacted by the sacrifice/gift/time spent to help my neighbor, just to get buy in, to give them the respect they deserve and to simply honor those around me.
I have come to realize that a unified sacrifice is much more satisfying, much more peaceful, and much more worthwhile, for not only can the Spirit’s direction be verified, but the act of submitting to one another’s act of love towards our “neighbor” brings greater blessing to all involved.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 49
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together! 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
The psalmist begins with calling all to listen. Not only the covenant people of Israel, but people of the nations, that is, all the folks of the world. No exceptions, for this topic is universal, without exception and applicable for all. He is calling his audience to come together, specifically those who naturally separate from one another. The rich seek to be away from the poor. The sons of men find ways to clique off from others.
This call is going out to all, equally to every person in the audience, whether he hears it or not. The call is an offer to understand, to comprehend a topic that both fool and wise experience, both rich and poor, both low and high.
The psalmist has spent time, effort, concentration and a willingness to hear the voice of God, to come to a conclusion on this topic that he is willing to provide for all. He shall speak wisdom and understanding, and supply a knowledge that is not commonly listened to, either in that age or even more so in our age.
The psalmist speaks on the inclination of his ear to a proverb. Of his focus to hear, to be open to the source of truth. He is not declaring his own inherent wisdom and understanding, but only that he is a container, a vessel in which truth and understanding may reside. Better yet, considering that he speaks of opening his mouth, the image is better represented not of a vessel but of a conduit, a pipe that is used to channel wisdom and understanding to others.
The topic that the psalmist breaches in this passage is the fact of death for all, and the repercussions of this truth for the living. How is the living to understand the truth of death? What benefits or warnings are can be found in the universality of death?
Does he describe an after death experience? That is not his focus, for he is not seeking to tickle our ears but to provide wisdom and understanding for those who would listen, for those who want to live in truth, and find the benefit and blessing that listening to truth provides.
One final thought for the day. Verse 4 speaks of solving the riddle with a lyre. The psalmist is seeking to make this truth, which is a difficult truth for some of his audience, that the communication of this truth would be presented with out any unnecessary harshness, that the truth would be garbed in a velvet glove. Truth is precious, yet if presented in it’s naked power, can become a wall as opposed to a bridge for those listening.
The nature of God’s loving character is such that He seeks to provide the truth, harsh as it is at times, in a manner that may have the greatest opportunity to be accepted. In this psalm, the author speaks of music providing that vehicle in which truth arrives.
For us today, a verse that comes to mind in this regard is Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Our speech, our communication to those in our audience, is to always be gracious. Paul speaks of the salt that may be required at times, that in the speech we provide to those around us, if a stinging truth is required, we are to continue to exercise gracious speech. A difficult topic is not justification to allow our speech to be harsh, judgmental or fierce.
Play the lyre in your speech today, and be thankful for truth.
In our next posting, we shall find that the truth the psalmist provides is regarding the very enemy the Lord has provided us rescue from. Although it is a universal truth, the lives we live often obscure, distract or completely hide the impact this truth should have in our lives. The psalmist seeks to rectify this.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #300
Description
To make an end to sins
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 9:24a
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin,
New Testament Fulfillment
Gal 1:3-5
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. – Gal 6:7-9 ESV
As one who spent most of his life in the Lord under the teaching of once saved always saved (OSAS), when I quickly review the passage above, I automatically think of the theme of rewards in the afterlife. It is a common teaching and given the background of the teaching I was receiving, made sense in many ways. After all, my teachers spoke confidently of the New Testament teaching the OSAS doctrine, sometimes providing a proof text to back up their claim. The few verses that do not fit the OSAS teaching must surely have a simple explanation. “Loss of rewards” is the slot this passage fell into. This response satisfied my curiosity for many years.
But as I read the passage, I want to be careful of not inserting words into the text that are not written down. We all do it, at least unintentionally I am sure, but we so often gloss over the text due to our familiarity, that the text isn’t allowed to communicate it’s actual message.
As an example, I often read verse 8 in the following manner.
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruptionloss of rewards, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap rewards in the afterlifeeternal life.
Can you identify with my assumptions of the authors intent? If OSAS is the teaching of the New Testament, we must interpret the passage in a manner such as I have described. We cannot allow the verse to inform us that a continual sowing to the Spirit will result in eternal life, if we are eternally secure at the point of conversion. That just doesn’t fit the overall teaching of the New Testament!
Or does it?
As many also may know who have followed this blog, I have attempted to provide passages that bring the OSAS doctrine into question. If of interest to my reader, search Considering the Bible for “Conditional Security”. The number of posts dealing with this topic have increased greater than I had originally expected, and I still have additional passages waiting to be written and published.
When I began to have my initial doubts on OSAS, it was due to the Hebrews passages that are so often depended on. The I tripped over a passage in 1 Peter. Eventually I stumbled onto a passage in Colossians that caused quite a stir in my thinking, and as I brought the question up in a meeting, I received a reaction from a brother that mirrored my attitude regarding any challenge to the OSAS teaching. Conditional Security – Colossians 1:21-23. Since then, I have reconsidered my attitude regarding a commitment to OSAS, and found a growing number of passages that to varying degrees refute the teaching.
Maybe – just maybe – the New Testament does not provide the general overall (non-specific) OSAS teaching that my former teachers depended on.
My rose colored glasses are slipping off, and as the passages pile up that bring OSAS into question, I will also reconsider passages that OSAS depends on, in order to reconsider their meaning. One of the favorite passages I referred to in my OSAS days was John 10:28-30. That passage surprised me in my study, and allowed for a perspective I hadn’t allowed previously. Conditional Security – John 10:28-29
I suppose I have somewhat drifted from the intent of this study in Galatians to more of a general discussion on the topic of OSAS. For that I do not apologize, since I often hear the claim that general Bible teaching supports OSAS, and that a verse that may indicate otherwise requires to be “brought into line”. Let us seek to carefully reconsider “general” teachings that seem to conflict with specific Bible verses. This is a massive undertaking, and we need His grace to be open to these challenges, even if it is to simply admit blind spots we may have in our thinking.
May God provide us all wisdom and understanding as we seek to grow in our knowledge of Him and His message to us.
For we all know that He is good, and that He is good all the time.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #299
Description
His dominion would be everlasting
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 7:13-14c
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
New Testament Fulfillment
Luke 1:31-33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
After my series on the parables, I found I was drawn to look into the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have never studies the mighty works of Jesus as a focused effort before and am looking forward to finding nuggets of truth that we can be encouraged by.
I have provided a general introduction, with an opportunity to download two files for your reference in my initial post Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus – Introduction. I found that the format I used for the parable posts were useful to keep me on track, and will continue to use them for this series, with some minor tweaks. With that said, let’s take a look at
Jesus Heals a Man With Dropsy on the Sabbath
Luke 14:1-6
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.
General Observations
Can you imagine the hospitality of this Pharisee? What a gracious man, that in the midst of tensions between his political/religious party and this new Rabbi, he has the foresight to invite the Master to dinner for a chance to discuss differences. Truly a man seeking the truth!
And can you imagine, that as friction is building between those Pharisees and Jesus, Jesus has the grace to accept an offer for dinner at the Pharisees house and enter into what may become a time of debate.
Let’s check out the passage to see if my initial observations bear the scrutiny of truth.
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
As we read the passage, we find that the ruler of the Pharisees had invited Jesus (along with His disciples) to dinner. Verse 3 mentions that lawyers and Pharisees were present. The ruler, it is safe to assume, stacked the room with his friends and influential members of the ruling party, (as it was common for them to associate with their own), those who were of the same thinking and status. You know, none of those unworthy “unwashed”.
But wait, there is one more participant, one more in the house of the ruler of the Pharisees. A man who had dropsy. A disfigured nameless person, who must have simply wandered in off the street to enjoy a feast with the Pharisees!
First lets consider the condition this poor man experienced. Dropsy is an old word for a condition that is commonly called edema, or fluid retention. During my time writing on Jesus’ relationship with the Sabbath, I reviewed the disease quickly. See Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 13 – Swelling Opposition. The man’s condition may appear to be merely swollen legs (acute pulmonary edema) but this symptom indicates a greater threat to his life, for it may indicate congestive heart failure. This poor man may have been a ticking time bomb, with his ticker on the edge of failure. He was not simply experiencing an inconvenient condition of swollen legs and arms.
Secondly, my initial assumption on the motive of the ruler and his buddies may have been somewhat incorrect. For you see, when Luke describes them as “watching him carefully”, it wasn’t innocent curiosity that motivated them. The term is paratēreō, and it carries with it the idea of watching assiduously, a scrupulous observation, to observe diligently and carefully.
I love how Luke provides the setting, and then the disabled man appears (out of nowhere). The stage is set and the watchers are watching! Watching oh so carefully. They know of the Master and his disdain for the law of God, His utter disregard for the Sabbath and His dangerous teaching that completely destroys the nation of Israel’s covenant with God.
Jesus simply asked a question.
I want to stop there and consider the wisdom of questions. Debates and arguments may produce great entertainment, but I have rarely been in a verbal battle and come away knowing a heart has changed. Arguments and debates introduce a “pride” factor that makes at least one of the debaters busy finding a defense as opposed to considering the truth of the statement just heard. Questions allow for a freedom to consider the concept or idea that is presented. A well framed question is powerful, as we see in this passage, for those who were passionate about the Sabbath, remained silent. No response. Two time Luke tells us they were silent. Amazing!
And what was the question? During each of the previous miracles on the Sabbath, this issue was present in some form.
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
Everyone in the room knows where this is going. Jesus may have well said – I’m gonna heal this man – tell me of any restrictions prior to my healing him, because I’m gonna heal him! Jesus warned them of His intent, knowing they were watching Him with intent of judging His actions. In my mind this was a set up that Jesus walked into, and He turned the tables, healed this man, taught truth to those through two questions and left the audience gasping for breath.
He is incredible!
One additional item that I find encouraging is that Jesus took the sick man, healed him and sent him away. Jesus wasn’t going to allow the Pharisees attack the one healed as they did with the man in John 9. See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus #26 – Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind. They pounced on that man, and though he stood strong, Jesus simply healed the man with dropsy and sent him away.
His final question revealed an added layer to the Pharisees hypocrisy. Let’s consider that next.
What was the message for the original audience?
Jesus second question drove home a personal application, an application that showed the two faced Pharisees (and us) of our confused reasoning for ignoring or not allowing a good work to be done, based on some religious law or commandment.
It truly is simple, that if we find something that is good to do for someone in trouble, someone in need, someone who is suffering, the religious exercise can take a back seat.
I think of a time when on the way to church we saw someone that needed some help along the road. I reasoned that we would disturb people in the service if we were late, and passed right by him. This doesn’t look like Jesus, that I know now, yet the chains that bind us through religion have a strength that is surprising.
On second thought, if a donkey or child did fall in a well on the Sabbath, if the ruling class was consistent, the victim could stay in the well for the remainder of the Sabbath. No harm no foul and the religious man could remain pure. But alas, this is not the assumption that is made and with the silence of the Pharisees to this question, it seems it wasn’t their practice. So what gives?
Their religious practice exposed their covetousness and hypocrisy, and when sin is exposed, two results may occur. Confession and repentance, or a need to silence the Messenger. They decided to maintain their course and silence the Messenger. Let’s be clear. Jesus was showing them their legal inconsistencies and they couldn’t handle it, and instead of learning from truth, they planned on suppressing the truth by crucifixion. Death was the answer the Pharisees who “sought God” came up with and all they needed was an opportunity.
What is the message for us today?
I can’t help but think of an application for us in the simplicity of a single concept, a single message that the Lord, I believe was trying to communicate. He was giving us guidance in relation to our interaction with the law of God and those who are in need.
Paul also had somewhat of a similar audience, an audience that was consumed with rule keeping, and his guidance to those wrapped up in religiosity was simple. The whole law, (that is the law that is from God and not man) is fulfilled in one word, one concept, one thought!
Galatians 5:14
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Paul continued with his discussion to these poor Galatians, those who were wrapped up in religion, of keeping a law provided by some man, and wrote the following famous text, which if it wasn’t so familiar, would be shocking.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
No law against something? Total freedom to exhibit any of the fruits of the Spirit? No restrictions on love?
Many laws are by their very nature prohibitive, they keep us from doing something. (There are of course those laws that require some action, but the intent of this passage was to release followers from prohibitive laws, so we will stay within the boundaries of the passage!) There are no laws that keep you from providing acts of love or of having a spirit of joy, or acting as a peacemaker with those who are in stress. No laws that would bring you into any condemnation with God.
Of course those in the religious community may give you some trouble, but that may simply indicate you are getting the Jesus thing!
While you are pulling the donkey out of the well, stay focused on the donkey in the well, not the “donkeys” that are complaining!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #298
Description
Highly exalted
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel 7:13-14b
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
New Testament Fulfillment
Eph 1:20-22
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
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I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
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For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
As we are venturing through chapter 2, we have come across Paul’s gentle appeal for unity within the church. This unity, in our last post spoke of the inner mind that the believer was to exercise toward others, and that mind, I suggested was found in the Son of God, for His mind is the only mind that is of any pure intent to attain this unity.
In this verse, Paul brings to the surface the characteristics of a believer that will destroy this unity he seeks to guide us into.
Selfish Ambition
We all know what selfishness is, and when coupled with ambition, we find it begins to describe a believer who is putting oneself forward, describing a believer who wants to be in charge, to lead, to be visible, to gain honor. Paul condemns this attitude, for it is the very heart of pride, seeking to elevate oneself over others – for their sake of course! Justifications may be found for each of us in our efforts to be seen, but Paul speaks against this desire. To exhibit selfish desire is to be contentions, spreading strife and competition.
Conceit
This term also speaks of pride, and carries with it the concept of a groundless self esteem. A self esteem teaching ran rampant through the American church a few decades back, and many still find justification in the Word for this self love. I understand this teaching to be destructive for the Body, and flies in the face of Paul’s admonition to exercise a sacrificial self giving love.
Paul touches the heart of this admonition in Philippians when he speaks of humility. This is Paul’s core intent in all of this teaching, in that he seeks the church to exercise humility towards others.
We are actually to consider others more significant than ourselves! (How does that fit with the self esteem teaching?)
Nevertheless, this is a tall order for the believer, impossible for those who do not connect with the One mind in daily prayer, meditation and searching of the Bible, seeking to know His will in specific areas of our lives. We need to understand these guiding principles, such as rejecting selfish ambition and conceit, and to elevate others in our thoughts for the sake of unity. As soon as we consider someone to be less important that us, we can easily dismiss them, and begin to ride the self conceit train to the next contentious argument or debate.
Such a horrible way to live! Humility of mind and heart towards others is the path to peace and unity. If you are experiencing some strife in your relationships, seek to exercise a humility towards them, asking for forgiveness for any real (or perceived) offences they may be harboring.
Considering the Bible 