The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #256
Description
Silent before his accusers
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:7b
yet he opened not his mouth
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 27:12-14
But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.
Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”
But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
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.
1:19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,
Paul is here speaking of the divine human cooperative. The prayers of the saints, and the work of the Spirit of Jesus Christ will cooperate with each other in the deliverance of the apostle. Paul knows this will produce a deliverance for him, he is confident in this. He does allow for some leeway in the type of deliverance, allowing God’s will to be done. This is acceptable to Paul, since he seeks to be under the will of God, and realizes the promise of God, when saints join together in prayer, God listens and acts.
Paul ties these two parties (man and God) together in expecting his deliverance, although he has yet to define the deliverance. This generality in Paul describing his delieverance, especially in the next verse, allows freedom to recieve God’s will in his life.
I have often heard the statement, “Be specific in prayer, in order for God to specifically answer” Many times the Lord has answered specific prayers in our lives, and yet there is wisdom in allowing God’s will to play a part of the answer.
Paul was general in his expectation, and yet had confidence in the working of both the prayers of the saints and of the Spirit of Jesus.
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 44:23-26
Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
We return to the last four verses of our psalm, with one overriding impression.
This psalmist had passion! Oh for a passion to confront God, even to the point of confronting Him with a seeming injustice He is guilty of.
We do not know the heart of this psalmist, nor even the historical background for his complaints, but that is beside the point. This man was passionate to see the Lord keep His end of the bargain, and was bold enough to come before God with some startling claims. He had the boldness to claim the Lord was asleep on His watch, that He was not attentive to the people He claimed to love. He was fully convinced the fault lay at the feet of the Lord. He was telling the Lord to wake up. Commanding the Lord to wake up? Ordering the Master?
Is this a proper attitude for the believer today? Can we bring claims of unfaithfulness of the Lord to the Lord?
As we walk on this earth, with all the media influences, general lies, emotional upheavals, mental limitations, physical constraints and lifestyle pressures, how can we make any accurate judgement as to the Lord’s dealings with us?
As we walk on this earth, with all the historical proofs of the Lord Jesus, the written documentation that has survived for millennium of His life, the proofs of His mighty resurrection, the gift of the apostles teaching, the blessing of the Spirit of God, and the support of the Body of Christ, how can we not simply be thankful for the grace He has provided to us, and simply accept our current condition (good or bad), thinking of His dealings with us in a positive manner.
A great challenge, and if accepted, may spurn us onto better things for the Kingdom. (And this exhortation from a pessimist!)
May God help us in our struggles to relate to the Holy One. May He redeem us from ourselves,
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #255
Description
Oppressed and afflicted
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:7a
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 27:27-31
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.
And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,
and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify 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 very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:5-11 ESV
If these things (that is – faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and finally love) abound, Peter tells his audience they will not be unfruitful.
He that lacks these things (that is – faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and finally love), Peter goes on to tell the lost that they are so nearsighted, they are blind. Nope – Can’t say that -. I can’t make that audience shift here. Peter is continuing to speak to believers, when he defines them as blind and forgetful.
Seeing this comparison, Peter then states that if we give diligence to “make our calling and election sure” we will have an entrance ministered unto us abundantly.
Ok, so here is the problem – “…. confirm your calling and election” (See below for gk definition of “confirm”)
If we pursue the many steps that Peter speaks of, then my election is confirmed. Consider some of the questions implications, my friend.
What if we spend our entire life seeking these characteristics and then in the last five years, throw it all away. Will my election be confirmed?
Who is it that knows of this surety? Is it a matter of confidence for God or myself? It must be a matter of confidence for myself if I practice these characteristics.
Remember this is dealing with confirmation of our salvation, not the purchasing or final deliverance of our souls. That is the grace of our Lord completing that. Our diligence in working on these characteristics provides us confirmation of our entrance into the eternal kingdom.
Is anyone else thinking of Ezekiel 18:24? 1 Peter and Ezekiel deal with somewhat different topics. This passage is not dealing directly with conditional security of the believer (as Ezekiel 18) but it does address a believer’s own understanding of his security with the Lord. What I mean is that the perception of the saint and the reality of the situation may be surprising when found out.
So lets review –
If I practice these traits in my life I will have confidence in my salvation.
If I don’t practice these traits in my life, I loose confidence in my salvation.
But some might say that even without this confidence (due to my diligence in supplementing my salvation), I can still be confident of my salvation.
Am I missing something?
Word study on “Confirm” from Vines Expository Dictionary
G949 βέβαιος [ A-2,Adjective,G949, bebaios ] “firm, steadfast,” is used of (a) God’s promise to Abraham, Romans 4:16; (b) the believer’s hope, Hebrews 6:19, “steadfast;” (c) the hope of spiritual leaders regarding the welfare of converts, 2 Corinthians 1:7, “steadfast;” (d) the glorying of the hope, Hebrews 3:6, “firm;” (e) the beginning of our confidence, Hebrews 3:14, RV, “firm” (AV, “steadfast”); (f) the Law given at Sinai, Hebrews 2:2, “steadfast;” (g) the testament (or covenant) fulfilled after a death, Hebrews 9:17, “of force;” (h) the calling and election of believers, 2 Peter 1:10, to be made “sure” by the fulfillment of the injunctions in 2 Peter 1:5-7; (i) the word of prophecy, “made more sure,” 2 Peter 1:19, RV, AV, “a more sure (word of prophecy);” what is meant is not a comparison between the prophecies of the OT and NT, but that the former have been confirmed in the person of Christ (2 Peter 1:16-18). See FIRM.
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The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #254
Description
God’s will that He bear sin for all mankind
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:6b
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
New Testament Fulfillment
Gal 1:4
who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
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 Unable to Speak
Matthew 9:32-34
As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
General Observations
We have been in Mathew for a series of miracles and it may be profitable to recount the work of Jesus up to this point, at least from Matthews standpoint. Previous to this miracle, Jesus has
Healed a woman of a blood disease
Raised a 12 year old girl from the dead
Given two blind men sight
Given our last mighty work of Jesus as providing sight to blind men, it is interesting to compare the two miracles and their recipients.
What actually was this fellows physical disability? Of course, the source of the mute man’s condition was the demon oppression, which Jesus addressed in this miracle. Yet to get a feel of this man’s existence, it is worth considering the world he lived in. The term describing this man brought to Jesus is the Greek word kōphosκόπτω (G2875), and includes the idea of deafness. Although this passage describes the man as unable to speak, the term may also include the inability to hear. If so, consider this poor man’s condition.
If deaf and mute, he was in a world where communication was limited to hand gestures, or facial expressions. Understanding the simplest message was fraught with confusion. Remember, the skill of reading and writing was not as widespread as it is today, and we may safely assume this skill was not available to this poor soul. Given this, he lived in a world of silence, restricted of any method of communication to those around him. His thoughts were his and his alone, and the privilege of sharing with another person the joys or sorrows of this life were unavailable to him. He experienced a loneliness many have never entered into.
If only mute, this condition is not much better, since he may hear a message, yet not be able to communicate his thoughts or feelings fully. This, in my opinion, would be incredibly frustrating, since I am a fairly opinionated fella!
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
Those who brought the mute man. (I am assuming more than one person brought him.) These folk who brought him had heard of Jesus, and may have seen the miracles. But nothing is said of those who brought him to Jesus. They are not the focus of this miracle.
As a matter of fact, nothing is said of the mute man, other than his demon oppression and of his cure. He is a “silent” witness in all of this – no pun intended!
Two main groups are spoken of in the recounting of this miracle.
The Crowd
The crowd marveled, saying “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” To be marveled was to be amazed, to be cast into wonder. This crowd may very well be made of many in Capernaum that had seen many of Jesus’ miracles so far, yet this one amazed them. At no time does Matthew inform us of the mute man or his friend(s) requesting a healing. (Granted – they may have and Matthew simply doesn’t record it!) Yet the absence of the request allows me to think Jesus may have addressed this man’s disability without request.
Just healing a mute man for the sake of those in attendance? For the Pharisees possibly? Remember that at this time, the Pharisees are tagging behind the Lord to determine if He truly is a charlatan or the real McCoy!
A miracle for the Pharisees? Interesting possibility!
The Pharisees
Consider the progression Matthew gives us in this chapter, regarding the Pharisees attitude toward the Messiah. Initially, the Pharisees accused Him in their hearts of blasphemy in Matthew 9:3.
Matthew 9:3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
Then the Pharisees breach the subject of besmirching the Lord’s character with the disciples in Matthew 9:11.
Matthew 9:11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Finally, with the healing of this mute man, the Pharisees come out with their current judgement against the Master and His ministry.
Matthew 9:34 ESV – But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
This is the first time this judgement on the Lord’s ministry is delivered to the masses, but Matthew will inform us later that the Pharisees maintained this strategy to defame the Lord.
Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
At this point in the Lord’s ministry, and due to this mute man being healed, the Pharisees reveal their opinion of the Messiah to the masses and set themselves on a collision course with God and His Messiah.
As mentioned above, the Pharisees had seen enough, and publicly gave a judgement against the Lord, informing the crowd of their determination of His source of power. It is quite humorous (if it wasn’t so tragic) that given the proofs of His person, those most qualified to determine His identity would be so far off in their judgement! Yet we must admit that good religion has to rejects Jesus. This miracle provides a perfect example of how religious pride breeds a rejection of the only true God.
Jealousy and pride may be found in every religion, and sad to say, even within Christianity – or should I say Christendom? Denominational claims of superiority over other groups of believers is a blight that hurts the church constantly.
What was the message for the original audience?
The message to the original audience?
It was, for the crowd, a message of amazement, a message that this itinerant preacher was constantly astounding those who came to Him. He performed mighty works that had not been seen before, and the multitude of various and diverse disabilities brought to Him did not limit His abilities to heal.
For the Pharisees, the message was received with mockery, disdain and disbelief, producing a verdict associating the Judge of all the earth as being in cahoots with the His arch enemy. Consider this reaction by the Pharisees. It is illogical, due to their pride twisting a normal thought process upside down, eliminating a thoughtful conclusion. Pride forces, against all proofs, a ridiculous conclusion that brings pain and sorrow on the ones living in that pride. Pride truly goes before destruction!
What is the message for us today?
Two reactions to the Lord’s ministry is provided for us in this mighty work.
Amazement
As those in the crowd, we may experience amazement over His grace to all in need, even to those who have no faith, as this mute man brought by his friends seems to exhibit. Each of the miracles, and each of His messages, should produce a level of amazement in our hearts. He is beyond our understanding, and this is good to remember. When He becomes like you and I in our thoughts, and we see Him as we see ourselves, we lose.
Pride
As for the reaction of the Pharisees, as believers, we are to remember that pride is the death knell of the Christian life. Pride of religious association brought the Pharisees to an erroneous conclusion concerning the identity of their Messiah. You see, the Pharisees “knew” they were right and looked down on those who were the unwashed. They were the righteous ones, the ones “in the know”, the only ones with truth, and as the pure and wise arbiters of truth for the theocracy of Israel, felt they had to protect their sheep and make a public judgement against Jesus.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
As we have seen in this miracle, one of the fallouts of religious pride is a rebellion against God and His Messiah. This religious rebellion produces many toxins within the Body of Christ, one of which is division within the Body.
Paul saw the damage of pride in the body when he wrote to the Corinthians. Consider his appeal to the Corinthians when he writes of their allegiance and pride of association to multiple parties in the church. He is shocked by the tribalism of the Corinthian church, and seeks an agreement of mind and judgement.
It may be wise to consider any attitude we may harbor toward other Christian groups, denominations, churches, associations and such, for if we judge our group to be superior to others, we may have fallen into the Pharisee trap.
It didn’t turn out well for them, for the very nation they thought they were protecting became the very nation that had one generation left before destruction. The Pharisees, fueled by religious pride, brought destruction to the nation that they were tasked to protect.
As a tonic to this toxin, consider Micah’s admonition for our final application out of todays miracle, for I fear our modern church, consisting of the modern Christian, finds the Pharisee trap very appealing for their religious life.
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your 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 #253
Description
He would be the sin-bearer for all mankind
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:6a
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way
New Testament Fulfillment
1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
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.
1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Paul comes to a conclusion, that admittedly, I do not understand. It must be a deliberate decision on his part, that given the circumstances, he has concluded he has nothing he can do at this time but to rely on the Lord for working in the brothers of rivalry, and to give thanks for those who are preaching Christ out of good will.
In both cases, he rejoices in that Christ is proclaimed. The name of Christ is published amongst folk that need to hear of Him, and Paul realizes this is God’s work, and God’s will is being accomplished, even in the midst of bad relations and wrong motivations.
This is somewhat relieving/encouraging for myself, for this exhibition of the greatness of God in working with the less than perfect seems to fit in with my situation. In case you may not know, I am less (far less) than perfect. And although I do not knowingly harbor any rivalry with Paul, I am sure my motivations are not always of the highest good will. Nevertheless, God is good and he works with both donkeys and prophets.
How about you? Do you seek to take another’s place in the kingdom, seek to have power over someone, or simply an ambitious Christian, looking for status amongst the brothers and sisters of the Lord?
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 44:17-22
All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
Our psalmist continues with the claim that the nation has not forgotten God, nor been false to the covenant. Since it is difficult, if not impossible to date this psalm, it seems either the psalmist was in the middle of a national revival, or that he was exaggerating the practice of the nation. I fear it may have been the latter, only based on my understanding of the nations history, (and my own personal experience of self deception).
If the former, that is their hearts were leaning to the Lord, it appears that God had not kept the promise of the covenant. Deuteronomy 28 laid out the promise that a faithful Israel would reap blessings, and an unfaithful Israel would suffer defeat, spoiling, shame, dispersion and exile. Compare the list of complaints the psalmist provided in our last post with Deuteronomy 28:15-28. It seems the psalmist is pulling the very curses from Deuteronomy and laying them out in front of God in our psalm.
It appears He is connecting the works of the nation with a reaction from God as described in Deuteronomy, and claiming God is not keeping His end of the bargain up. Someone is not keeping up with the covenant!
All of this bargaining with God is assuming the Israelites covenant keeping, and not allowing for the freedom of the Lord to exercise His wisdom in teaching His people through suffering. This is reminiscent of a time in the gospels when the disciples asked the Lord about a man born blind. Jesus disconnected sin from the sickness in this instance, and said the blindness was for the glory of God. (Read out it in John 9). Afairly radical idea for men who were under the thinking of Deuteronomy.
The psalmist was seeing the problem in the same manner, I believe, as the disciples. It is a very common association, and one that I struggle with personally. I so want to associate God’s gifts with my good behavior, and blame Him for difficult times, sometimes seeing my actions worthy of some discipline.
Note the familiar verse 22, where the psalmist claims that they are experiencing death because of God. This is the ultimate claim against God, and under the Deuteronomy 28 covenant, is the ultimate reaction of God to a rebellious nation.
For believers after the resurrection, this complaint by the psalmist becomes a standard lifestyle according to the apostle Paul. Death is not the conqueror that the psalmist claims, the enemy that seemed to be indicating God’s disfavor.
Through the Lord Jesus, death has been conquered and per Paul’s instructions, even in death, the believer is more than a conqueror. Death (and suffering) is not the indicator of dissatisfaction from the Lord, as the psalmist, (and our modern thinking may lead us to believe).
Though our enemies are many, Paul assures us that through the Lord Jesus
neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Where are you in your relationship with the Lord Jesus? If under duress, do you blame God? If experiencing success (in any arena of life) do you pat yourself on the back?
Of course, as the psalmist claimed to be in good relationship with the covenant keeping God, we more so, and we have the Helper to teach us of the secrets of our heart.
would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Yet in all of our pilgrimage, whether sweet or sour, we are to give thanks in all things, and to think on the things of God, as found in Philippians 4:8-9.
Honest complaint before the Lord is allowed by the example of the saints before us, yet for the standard instruction and peace of God in our lives, we are to seek after
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Let us look to the One who accepted shame, exile and death. He turned the ultimate defeat of an ignominious death into the greatest victory, and that not for Himself, but for us also who seek to follow Him. Let us mimic His character through the Spirit of God, seeing the work of God in our lives by thinking His thoughts and not ours.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #252
Description
His sacrifice would heal man of sin
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:5c
and with his wounds we are healed.
New Testament Fulfillment
1 Pet 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
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
And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
This passage starts out as many passages in John’s epistles start out, describing love and how love is defined through obeying the commandments – no – let’s be clear – through obeying His commandments. We must remember that in John’s mind, when the term “commandments” comes up, He is referring to the words of Jesus, the full revelation of God’s will, and not simply to Moses commandments from Sinai.
As we have noted in earlier posts, Jesus reinterpreted the Mosaic code to provide His followers the fully orbed character of God reflected in His commandments, through examples He gave us and teachings He has supplied us. A good example of Jesus reinterpretation of the Mosaic commands may be found when He taught His understanding of God’s commandments in contrast to some of the laws in the decalogue.
You have heard that it was said…But I say to you
This is a radical teaching that must have shocked the religious Jew, but I am starting down a rabbit trail, for this is not the principle reason for this post.
We just need to understand that when John speaks of commands, he is referring to what Jesus taught, as opposed to referring back to Moses. This connection in John’s mind, linking “commandment” and “love” is further supported by checking out the verse prior to our passage, and John 13:34.
John, in verse 7 then introduces some deceivers he wants to warn his loved ones of. The one characteristic John uses to describe a deceiver is that they
do not confess the coming of Jesus in the flesh
Is the Christ a partaker of flesh? Did He walk the earth as a man, fully God and die a death for all? This teaching of His humanity, is a watershed teaching that John is directing his people to hold on to. The issue for John is the believers faith in the correct Messiah, One who walked the earth fully human, and fully God.
Quite a while back, I provided a series of posts on 1 John, and addressed this topic. For those who may want to check it out, see 1 John – Testing to Know – Test 11
John is speaking of those who are teaching of Jesus as not God in the flesh. John describes them as deceivers and the antichrist. (What? The antichrist during John’s lifetime? – Something to discuss in a different post!)
Let’s focus on the next verse. John says
Watch yourselves so that you may not lose what wehave worked for, but may win a full reward.
Notice the pronoun change in this verse. John speaks of the believers loosing what the apostles have worked for. The believers were provided a gift, presumably the teaching of Jesus coming in the flesh, that has been delivered to the saints. Per John’s discussion so far, deceivers are out and about, drawing believers away from a central teaching of Christianity.
As an OSAS (One Saved, Always Saved) believer previously, I always found refuge in the last phrase of verse 8, in that he was concerned the believers
…may win a full reward.
Taken alone, this verse might lend itself to a believer maintaining his salvation, but loosing his reward in glory, yet the next verse gives me some pause.
Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
How do I dance away from the implications John is communicating in this verse. A number of items to draw your attention to.
John is speaking to believers. When he writes of anyone who
does not abide in the teaching of Christ
he speaks of believers, for only believers abide in the teaching of Christ. He then makes a direct connection with those who do not abide as not having God. John does not speak of the rewards of God, but of God Himself. He then clarifies this warning further by defining who has both the Father and the Son as those who abide in the teaching of
the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh
As believers, we must abide, remain, dwell, continue in the core teachings of the Word. This is a foundational teaching, a teaching that defines one as a believer. Many claim to be Christian nowadays. Claiming to be a believer, yet refusing to confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. How can that be? John says it cannot be.
God the Son was (and is) a man that walked the earth from conception through the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, currently sitting in heaven, praying for His people. Do not listen to those who may take verses out of context, or speak from some logical basis, or simply deny (or avoid) the teaching John provided us.
We must cling to the written Word, and walk in the truth of Jesus Christ, loving one another if we are not to join the deceivers and antichrists. The apostles provided a New Testament record so that we may walk properly. As we abide in the truth of Jesus’ humanity, we shall not loose the full reward of knowing God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Be blessed today in the truth of Jesus Christ, and of His immense sacrifice for us, even in the taking on of flesh for the sake of those who despised and rejected Him.
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 #251
Description
His sacrifice provides peace between man and God
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:5b
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
New Testament Fulfillment
Col 1:20
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
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 Two Blind Men
Matthew 9:27-31
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
General Observations
This miracle comes on the heels of our previous miracle of the raising of the 12 year old girl. Let’s recount the day Jesus was experiencing
A storm on the sea
A calming of the storm
Pigs in the lake
Rejection by the people of the decapolis
Travel across the sea again
Jairus begging for help
A woman claiming a healing
A raising of the 12 year old girl
Now – healing of the two blind men.
Quite the day!
Again, Jesus instructs the recipients of a miracle to not publish the effects of His power on their lives. In our modern culture of media attempts to grab our attention, Jesus restricts that option. Do not speak of this miracle. See that no one know about it!
This is so counterintuitive, and even as we spoke in our last blog post, the miracle is not the focus, it is still astounding that this was the only command Jesus gave these two blind men. And this command was sternly given. Jesus was not suggesting the blind men consider His suggestion. No – the command was sternly required of the blind men.
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
Whatever house Jesus entered (most likely Peter’s) restricted those who witnessed this miracle. Jesus and the two blind men were the only ones called out specifically in the text. Might the disciples have been included, along with the owner of the house?
This is another time when Jesus was requested to do the impossible, and He provided.
Might the fact that the blind men referred to Jesus as the Son of David play a part in the reception of this healing. Might this provide some insight as to what is going on between the Lord and the blind men?
Let’s take a look at an Old Testament promise to get some background
2 Samuel 7:12-13
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
This “son” of David, since His throne was to be forever, was widely considered by the Jewish nation to refer to the Messiah. David’s Son would reign forever. To call Jesus the “Son of David” was to ascribe to Him the office of Messiah.
Obviously every human son of David had failed at establishing an eternal throne, and this included some truly great kings, such as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, and Hezekiah. To be called the Son of David, was to claim a very specific faith in this man called Jesus.
To be called the “Son of David” also had political overtones, and by this time in the Lord’s ministry, the powers that be were already dogging the Lord. Minimizing additional fodder for the press may have been the reason for waiting to address the blind men until in the house, as opposed amongst the crowds.
What was the message for the original audience?
Let’s remember that the blind men began this request calling aloud, for all to hear, requesting the Son of David to have mercy on them. Everyone would hear this cry for help. Eventually Jesus isolated these men in a home and He challenged them to understand their confession of Him as the Son of David.
Do you believe that I am able to do this?
When you call me Son of David, there are implications associated with this claim. Do you believe this Son of David is able? Jesus didn’t ask them if He would perform the miracle, but if he could perform the miracle! I believe this is a distinction we may miss as we walk with Him, but we will get to that in the next section. For now, the focus is on the blind men, and their ability to see that their public identification of Jesus as the Son of David carried with it great baggage.
To establish a throne for ever, as Nathan the prophet spoke to David, implied a kingdom of righteousness, of no degradation of sin, of no slippage away from the God of Israel, of complete and exact compliance with the nature and character of God. In other words, this Son of David would have to be God Himself to be able to establish an eternal throne.
The blind men confessed they understood what they understood.
“According to your faith be it done to you.”
This faith, that is that Jesus was the Messiah, is what was being clarified by the Lord. He wanted to get a clear understanding of what the blind men understood when they called out “Son of David”. Based on this understanding, this miracle was provided, along with some possible associated fallout. This possible fallout may include additional persecution of the Jewish leadership in investigating this miracle.
Let’s remember that to restore the sight of a blind man was a clarion call to the Jewish leadership for some examination. No prophet in the Old Testament had healed a blind man, although we have recounts of prophets raising the dead. Compared to raising the dead, blindness was the greater (or should I say rarer) accomplishment! One of many passages claiming who can open the eyes of the blind include Psalm 146:8.
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
The leadership would have to examine the miracle, and admit that a true miracle had occurred. This must have been galling to the leadership, since by now, their opinion of Jesus was becoming hardened into a fixed judgement against Him.
And yet Jesus sternly commanded the blind men to
See that no one knows about it.
Was Jesus exhibiting a reluctance to get the Jewish leadership involved? That was too late. The Jewish leadership had been examining the Master’s movements and miracles since the cleansing of the man with leprosy. (See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus #7 – Jesus Cleanses a Man With Leprosy)
This “stern command’ sounds familiar though. When dealing with the leper, he had also “sternly charged” him with silence.
Mark 1:43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once,
He had spoken likewise to the leper, and instructed him to only provide evidence of the healing to the priests. No command to show the priest was included in the command to the blind men, for the priests were already on Jesus trail, watching His every move.
But let us not think this command was a suggestion, allowing the blind men to consider it and make a decision to lightly ignore it. This was not the intent of the command. To sternly charge was a serious matter, and carried with it a sense of anger.
Yet, the blind men did what they wanted to do. Somewhat like our modern belief system. (As an aside, a great song depicting this attitude may be found here) They simply spread His fame throughout all the district. But this was not what the Lord wanted! This was not to be done!
What is the message for us today?
Can He?
Jesus asked the blind men if He was able to have mercy on them. He did not ask them of his desires, or of His opinion, or of what the weather was like? The question was “Do you believe the Son of David is able to heal the blind?
The question was regarding strength, skill, power. The ability to perform something no one else had ever performed. Jesus didn’t ask them of His feelings toward them, or of His schedule, or of anything else.
The question centered on the blind men’s belief of Jesus ability!
Ability is the general word for a capacity to do something. It may imply that the work will be done, or can be done, but not necessarily. The Lord asked the blind men of His ability to perform a miracle. A safe assumption by this time, was that Jesus would perform a miracle. It had become evident that He was filled with compassion and the previous few minutes with the woman and Jairus’ daughter had proven His willingness to heal.
But blindness? That was a big one. If He could, He would. But could He?
What big hurdle are you facing today? What question is Jesus asking you today, to stretch your faith, to refocus on Him, to put into practice the claim we have made, that He is the Son of David and that He is ruling an eternal kingdom, granting citizenship to all those who follow.
What hurdle are you facing my friend?
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 #250
Description
Bears penalty for mankind’s iniquities
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:5a
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
New Testament Fulfillment
2 Cor 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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
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.
1:17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.
Paul returns to the brothers who were preaching out of envy and rivalry (vs 15). As mentioned earlier, these brothers were fueled by selfish ambition.
In our modern church, I fear we are witness to the same two types of brothers. Those that preach out of good will include many godly, humble men who serve silently and without fanfare. Thiers is a life of servanthood and quiet periods of prayer, visiting with those who are hurting, and seeking to encourage those who are downtrodden.
There also are those who, by Paul’s own description, see the ministry as a career, an opportunity to have influence over others, to chase after the larger congregation, the larger church, a TV / Internet ministry, to be n the spotlight, and to draw attention to themselves, (for the sake of Christ of course!)
At this point in my Christian walk, I am somewhat jaded toward these so called ministers. I understand that the prevailing winds of Christianity almost require this conformity to seeing the church as a corporation, a business venture, or a organization. I get that, but I can’t seem to give up on the idea that the church is a living organism, and that those who preach for selfish ambition are not the highest example of Christianity.
I need some of Paul’s vision, (see vs 18) in understanding the will of God, even amongst brothers who base thier ministry on rivalry with their brothers, even seeking to afflict their leader for their own benefit.
To afflict the apostle? What is going on with these guys?
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 44:10-16
But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies. You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil. You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
In our last posting, I left off stating the psalmist had a big problem. He had recounted of the mighty power of God in planting the Israelites in the land, providing them opportunity to spread thier branches, signifying growth as a tree, and of thier victories over enemies, as an ox gores and tramples his enemy.
All great stuff to glory in, and he ends the last portion we looked at with a claim that they continually boasted of God, and gave thanks forever. Definitely a high point in the psalm. But this high point brought with it a complaint.
Why are you silent, O God? No, it’s not even that God is silent, but for the psalmist, he describes God as actively working against the nation, (even though they continually boast of God and give thanks forever).
Let’s not dull the description of the psalmist. He continually ascribes blame to God for the condition the nation is in. Each of the following six verses, the psalmist lays the blame for the nations weakness and defeats squarely at the feet of the Lord.
God, in the psalmist’s mind, had actively
Rejected them
Spurned them, cast them off, rejected them
Disgraced them
Humiliation, even brought the nation to confusion
Not gone out with their armies
Israel appeared to be defenseless, and was without the help of the God who had delivered them previously
Made them turn back from thier foes
Definitely not the ox goring power house the psalmist described earlier!
Allowed them to be spoiled by those who hate them
Instead of being those who gain spoils of war, the Israelites were suffering from enemies taking their goods.
Made them as sheep for a slaughter
Sheep for the slaughter. The term speaks of the enemy killing the sheep (God’s people) for the purpose of food.
God’s previously loved nation was now to be sacrificed as food, sustenance for the enemy?
Scattered them among the nations
The nation was disintegrating. The previously established and growing branches of the tree were no longer expanding, but was being broken apart, fractured, even cast away or scattered. This term carries an echo of verse 10, where the psalmist speaks of rejection.
Sold them for a trifle, for a pittance, demanding no high price
It is not (humanly speaking) a profit motivation that drives the Lord to sell the nation. He is giving the nation away, as any worth has been abandoned.
Made them as a taunt of their neighbors
A taunt, a reproach. Shame had settled on the nation, for all to see.
Surrounded them with derision and scorn
Derision, ridicule
Scorn, mocking
Made them a byword
Deuteronomy 28:37. A byword may be understood as a proverb or a parable. A story, in this instance, of disaster and doom, a lesson to those listening of the nations plight.
Made them a laughingstock
Laughingstock is only used this once in the Old Testament. It speaks of a head wagging or a shaking of the one watching the disaster.
Brought disgrace and shame to them
Disgrace, dishonor, insult
Shame, humiliation
This is an amazing list of complaints by the psalmist, and for all we know, he was not struck down by fire from heaven, or suddenly died due to this assault on the name of the Lord. This brings to mind a number of applications, of which the first is the need to be bold and honest with the Lord in our relationship with Him.
In reality, we have nothing to complain about, at least I don’t, but our experience sometimes needs to be expressed, our perception of the life we live may need to be expressed before our God in order to get our head on straight.
Honesty with God
When I first saw the honesty of Jeremiah complaining to God, it gave me an increased freedom to be somewhat more honest with the Lord.
Jeremiah 12:1
Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
And yet with this freedom, we must be open to the answer we receive. After all, complaining for the sake of complaining is of no purpose but to satisfy our own desire to appear righteous!
Well, it seems Jeremiah got an answer.
Jeremiah 12:5-6
“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you.”
The Lord doesn’t answer Jeremiah’s question directly, but He also does not condemn Jeremiah. He reveals to Jeremiah his personal condition, his weakness, his false security in the land he lived in, and even of the family he belonged to. Yes the Lord is righteous, and He will answer our concerns, but we must be ready for hard news if we are to be honest before Him.
The True Israel
This passage is very difficult, in that it appears the people of God are capable of being abandoned by the Lord, of being offered up as mere food for the enemy. The psalmist writes passionately about his complaint, and describes a very dire condition the nation was experiencing.
And yet, when we read each of these complaints, they remind me of the the True Israel, the One who was slaughtered on a cross, who became a byword, was put to shame, and was sold for a pittance. He is the True Israel, who actually did provide thanks to the Father in all things, and boasted of God continually.
May His name be praised in our lives today and may we become ones who are reflective of His multi-faceted love.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #249
Description
Thought to be cursed by God
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:4b
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 26:66
What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
Matt 27:41-43
So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,
“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am 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
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
In our last post, as we were looking at this passage, we admitted to five questions that came to mind. We tried to deal with the first two of the five in our first post. Let’s tackle our last three questions.
What is sin not leading to death?
What is the specific sin that leads to death?
Why are we told not to pray?
Ok – So let’s dive in, but as a quick review, let’s summarize our earlier findings.
“Does this verse refer to believers?”
Yes
What is meant when the apostle speaks of death?
Separation
Onward to our next three questions.
What is a sin not leading to death?
How can John say this? Is not the wages of sin death? Does not the soul that sins die?
Note the indefinite article associated with sin not leading to death. It is “a sin”, a singular sin (?), not necessarily a continuous lifestyle, and not specifically identified. Note also, that this sin is seen by the brother. It is a visible sin, not a sin of thought, but of action or attitude. The Word speaks of the remedy for this situation as the appropriate rebuke of the sinning believer, with the sinful brother’s confession and restitution (if required) offered to God and the offended party.
Unintentional Sin
I would like to add one additional thought before moving on to our next section. Could an Old Testament passage possibly shed some light on John’s reference to “a sin” in this passage? The book of Numbers speaks of unintentional and intentional sin, which may be in the back of John’s mind.
Consider
Numbers 15:27-28
If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.
As we discuss of sin not leading to death and of sin leading to death, the Numbers passage may provide some background to John’s teaching regarding sin in a covenant family. So let us proceed unto “sin that leads to death”.
What is sin that leads to death?
John now speaks of sin (not “a” sin) that leads to death. No indefinite article here, and no reference to a brother “seeing” this condition of sin.
Let’s return to the passage from Numbers to see if intentional sin is discussed, and the result of this sin.
Numbers 15:30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.
Cut off! Removed from the covenant people. Separated from the covenant people. Separated, my friends. Where have I heard that term before?
Let’s consider a few additional Old Testament verses of the same vein.
Deuteronomy 29:19-20
one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.
Stubbornness of heart. I would humbly suggest this is the issue in our passage in John, and that this stubbornness of heart leads to an apostacy, or a falling away from faith.
My friends, we need to be open to the Lord’s words, no matter how difficult the message may seem.
I have a friend with whom I chat with, an old friend who I love dearly, but he has informed me that he will not consider some questions I pose to him. Is he in danger of being cut off? I think not, since his desire is to know God deeper personally in his life, and most of the question I ask are of a secondary bible topic. Yet I feel an open and honest discussion of alternate views of the Bible that honor the Lord Jesus will only open up opportunities to know Him better, and to understand His family of believers.
Generally, an attitude of presumption (see Deuteronomy 29:19 above) may be one of the more dangerous positions for a believer to settle into, and allows for a dropping of our guard on many (if not all) of the attacks we may have to fight in our walk with the Master. And what is the result of this stubbornness of heart?
No forgiveness. The Bible actually states “The LORD will not be willing to forgive him“. This is one of the most startling phrases in the Word and when read with a sober mind, should shock each and everyone of us that have tasted that the Lord is good, that He is a merciful and loving God.
But this passage is not the only passage that speaks of unforgiveness towards a covenant people. Consider the following.
Leviticus 20:3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.
Offering children up in human sacrifice to a false god is worthy of being cut off (separated) from the covenant people.
Leviticus 20:6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
Looking for spiritual guidance from anyone other than God results in being cut off (separated) from a covenant people.
Leviticus 17:10″If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.
The blood represents life, and is the God-given opportunity for atonement. The eating of the blood is a direct affront to God’s provision. Result? To be cut off from God’s people.
Leviticus 26:17 ESV – I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel use this same terminology of the Lord setting His face against His people and His nation.
Jeremiah 44:11 ESV – “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah.
Ezekiel 14:8 ESV – And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 15:7 ESV – And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.
Each of the previous verses have spoken of the intent of the Lord in relation to the sin of His people. Jeremiah let’s us know of the reality of the Lord setting His face against His people.
Jeremiah 21:10 ESV – For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’
The reality of this verse occurred during the Babylonian siege and the following captivity, where death reigned down on the Israelites, and many were dragged off to another land. A truly horrific time in the nations history, a time which would sadly be repeated.
In summary, the sin that leads to death is not specifically defined by John, for it may have been an obvious condition brought about by many means, but with one main characteristic.
I would suggest the sin unto death is a falling away from God, from a desire to follow after God, to regard His commands (which are not burdensome – 1 John 5:3) as not worthy to consider, and to return to an existence of living in darkness, rejecting His guidance and provision.
I would suggest this to be a decision by a believer to actively (or passively) walk away from God, to determine to separate himself from the mercy of the Lord.
A continual and persistent willful disobedience to God.
Apostacy.
Why are we told not to pray?
In keeping with considering Old Testament references in seeking to understand 1 John 5, when he instructs believers to “not pray” for the believer in this condition, I would offer the following passages.
Jeremiah 7:16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.
Jeremiah 11:14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.
Jeremiah 14:11 The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.
Granted, the only person instructed not to pray for the people in the Old Testament is the prophet Jeremiah, and it is instructive that he was the prophet left with the covenant people just prior to their destruction. Up until the end, the Lord was continually looking for those who may return to Him to return. To experience His forgiveness.
Look to the Lord continually. As a spirit of stubbornness against Him rises in your heart, confess, admit your weakness and seek the Lord’s mercy.
After this study, I realize my need of His grace more than ever and pray that those who read this post would be encouraged to seek Him out of love for Him, and not out of fear. He is constantly seeking us and we need to be pliable in His hands for His glory and our good.
For the Lord 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 #248
Description
He would have a healing ministry
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:4a
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 8:16-17
That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
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 Raises Jairus’ Daughter to Life
Matthew 9:18, 23-26
While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”….And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.
Mark 5:21-24, 35-43
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him…….While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Luke 8:40-42, 49-56
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. …… While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Questions to Consider
Notice the last line in the telling of this miracle.
he charged them to tell no one what had happened
How could the Lord expect this miracle to be unnoticed? The mourners were whining and crying, making a ruckus, informing the whole neighborhood of a death at the house. The parents, along with the three disciples had seen the miracle before their very eyes. Everyone would be shocked when the little girl walked out of the room! And the Lord charged them to tell no one what had happened?
But an even bigger question is – Why not publish this miracle far and wide? Why minimize the impact of the eye witness account? Let’s address this question after we look at the miracle in these three passages.
Who were the audience?
Those in attendance for this miracle are clearly defined in our text.
And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
In our earlier post on the woman with the issue of blood, I suggested that she may be the mother of this girl within this recounting. If my suggestion is true, (which is only a suggestion, mind you) the woman who had been healed may have raced home to see her daughter. Mark 5:37 states Jesus
…allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
Yet obviously Jairus was allowed to follow since he had been addressed by the Master just the verse before.
One alternative for the presence of the woman was that she simply followed the Master to the home, as Jairus did, without the apostles referring to them.
The suggestion adds a layer of intensity to the miracle, as if the raising of a child from death is not enough! Yet it appeals to my curiosity, and the possibility of this “coincidence” only suggests that the Lord looks not only to heal individuals, but also to heal families.
Jairus asked Him to heal the synagogue leader’s daughter. Jesus did more than He was asked for. Reminds me of a passage somewhere in the New Testament, describing God….
who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us
What was the message for the original audience?
Jesus made a number of statements in this miracle, that would serve us well to consider.
Do Not Fear – Mk 5:36
But every witness and all appearances provided the fact that the daughter was dead. There was nothing left to fear. Sorrow, anger, depression – yes all this was crashing down on the father and mother. But the fear they had over the death of the little girl had been realized. How confusing for the father and mother to hear this message!
Only Believe – Mk 5:36
Believe what? The father had come to the Teacher, in hopes of a healing, of Him providing health to a sick but still breathing little girl. Once the breathing stopped, once the heart had quit, there was no earthly reason to continue to believe. It was over. There was no use in continuing to look to the Teacher for His help.
This is not the message Jesus presented to the mother and father. He is not limited by death, and in the face of an impossibility, Jesus exhorted Jairus to only continue in his previous faith, that is in the faith that drew him to the Teacher. Jesus wanted them to trust the Teacher, and not look at the situation. Faith in Him is to be continuous, in the midst of seeming impossibilities. (Easy to say my friends!)
Only believe – what an incredible thing to say to this family that had lost their little girl. As with the next three statements, Jesus shocked all who witnessed this miracle. Not only was the miracle itself shocking, everything He did was unexpected
His direction to empty the room but for a few.
His denial of the obvious death of the little girl.
His confidence in His abilities to perform the impossible.
His seemingly ignoring of the voice of the multitude.
Why are you making a commotion and weeping? Mk 5:39
The girl was dead. The common practice of the Jewish culture was loud moaning and weeping upon the death of a loved one. If the family had a bit of money, they would hire mourners to raise the volume of the grief. Loud cries of grief alerted the neighborhood of a recent death. Everyone knew it, and the mourning was simply a result of a fact everyone knew. Except for Jesus.
The child is not dead but sleeping. Mk 5:39
She is dead, and everyone in the room knows it, but not according to Jesus. She is merely sleeping. Yet, is Jesus simply renaming the state of death as sleep? Is He saying something other than the obvious?
Multiple instances in the New Testament, the reference to death is couched in the terminology of sleep. When we think of death it is without hope of returning, but when we think of sleep, the morning always comes.
This little 12 year old woke up, simply by having Jesus tell her to.
I once heard that if Jesus hadn’t directed His command to rise to a specific person, all the dead would rise. But it wasn’t time for that to happen yet. But give Him time. He will yet call the dead from their graves.
As an aside, it is amazing in my mind to consider what the Lord did after this command. He instructed the witnesses to do two things, that is to feed the little girl, and to not tell anyone what had happened.
This may be a partial reason Jesus told the crowd that she was asleep. Those who wanted to believe, or should I say were believers already, would continue, but those who were there only for the eye candy, for the thrill of the moment, could have reason to dismiss this miracle. Jesus was allowing for some commitment to be realized in the believers minds, to believe the Messiah and not the opinion of others.
What is the message for us today?
The message for us today? This miracle is pregnant with application, from the Lord’s concern for the family unit, (if my assumption is true!) to the Lord’s command over time. What?
Time
Yes, His command over time is a very real truth that pops out of this miracle. He took time to heal a woman with the issue of blood, and yet this decision did not restrict the Teacher from accomplishing His original task. He simply did what we consider impossible.
A friend once asked me to find everywhere in the New Testament where Jesus ran. You know, where Jesus was in a hurry, or was running late. Dang it all for the time I spent looking, but I couldn’t find a place where Jesus was “late” for anything.
This miracle speaks to His schedule being per the Spirit, and that He simply looked to the Spirit as opposed to His watch. (I know I know – No watches, but it would simply be corny to refer to his wrist sundial!) He is not controlled by time, nor does the effects of time hinder Him from His goals.
Try to understand. The effects of a time delay of His late arrival, that is her death, did not hinder Him from His original goal of healing her. This microcosm of truth, if expanded to each of our lives holds great promise, for we all have things in our past that are regretful, painful, and unchangeable. The facts do not change, as the little girl actually died, but the Messiah took a painful, terminal situation and brought something truly incredible out of it.
Tell no one
Earlier I had raised the question regarding those who witnessed the miracle as not to tell anyone what had happened. I hinted that this was a separating of those who believed from those who mocked the Lord, ridiculing Him as He spoke of her being asleep. In my world, if I had performed a miracle like this after being laughed at, I would have done the old “I told you so” to those who laughed at me. I know – that is infantile, but that little child still lives in me!
Not so for the Lord. Yes, those who laughed at Him would get precious little information from the witnesses, and that may have a sense of justice about it, but we must remember, all of these miracles are not about the recipient, or the method of the miracle, or any such thing like that. The purpose of the miracle is to identify Who this teacher was.
Who was this itinerant preacher walking with some fishermen and tax collectors?
He is the reason the miracle was provided, and to draw attention to the miracle would remove the focus on Him. In my feeble mind, I see miracles as an act of mercy from the Lord, as a provision from God to get our focus on the Messiah. In our twisted thinking sometimes, we too often focus on the miracle. This ought not to be.
He is the reason miracles are possible, miracles are not an end to themselves. Miracles are provided for four reasons as I understand. See our first post Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus – Introduction for this list. Each of these reasons are to direct our attention to Him, not the miracle.
Resurrection
The daughter was resuscitated. She would eventually pass away, and face death again. Yet this is not the condition of the saint. Resurrection, not resuscitation awaits the saint. In my busy day, I so often forget that this life is but a breath, and resurrection is awaiting this ol’ fool. But again, this is our future miracle, and great as this miracle is, let it not distract us from the One whom we shall approach.
He is the focus and be all of our meager lives. Seek Him this day, and find One who is over time, over death, and over circumstances.
He is the Lord of Glory. He is good, and He loves us. Even in the details of providing food for the little girl! He is good!
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 #247
Description
Men hide from being associated with Him
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:3d
and as one from whom men hide their faces
New Testament Fulfillment
Mark 14:50-52
And they all left him and fled.
And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him,
but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
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.
1:16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
The brothers who found confidence in the life of Paul during his imprisonment, preaching Christ with boldness and of good will, were doing this service out of love. Love was the root of this service, and the fruit of righteousness was developing in these brothers!
As we have spoken of love in this epistle, note the number of times this topic repeats itself, over and over again as Paul shares his heart with the Philippians. These brothers were preaching Christ, in part due to the life of Paul in prison and their devotion to him and the Savior.
Paul could not have been happier, or to put it in the language Paul preferred, he could not have had greater joy.
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 44:1-8
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.
O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them. You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
The psalmist is recounting the glory days of Israel in this passage, remembering when the fathers spoke of great victories the Israelites witnessed, or took part in. In some of the victories, Israel was instructed to simply watch, such as the parting of the Red Sea, and in some of the victories, the Israelites took part in, such as the unconventional triumph over Jericho. Other victories may have included a more active participation by the tribe of Israel, yet this did not discount the active participation of the Lord in the fight.
The psalmist claims the Lord was the One who orchestrated Israel’s national status and their possession in the land, and he uses a parallelism to describe the Lord’s duals actions in completing His
Verse two contains this parallelism, and
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
The psalmist is speaking of the Canaanites, and of God’s hand pushing the Canaanites out of the land destined for His people
but them you planted;
The Lord simply did not empty the land of the Canaanites, but He planted His people in it. Like a great tree, Israel was planted in the land. Consider Psalm 80:8, 2 Samuel 7:10
you afflicted the peoples,
Again, the psalmist speaks of God spoiling the Canaanites occupying the land. The psalmist was not apologetic or sensitive in the describing of the Lord’s actions in clearing the land for His people. The affliction was severe.
but them you set free;
This phrase has some ambiguity to it, but to follow the parallelism, the psalmist may be referring to the Israelites being “set free”.
The word translated as set free has a root meaning of to send, or to send away, but one use of the term is to describe the sending forth of branches, which fits nicely with the metaphor of the Lord planting His people in the land.
God not only brought the family of Jacob out of bondage in Egypt, but emptied a land that had been promised to Abraham, and established the nation of Israel, not only with their great laws and ordinances, given at Sinai, but with the physical land. They were not simply provided a piece of land to fend off enemies from, but God established them, planted them and provided them the ability (and right) to spread their “branches” out. They were to be a permanent witness to the power and strength of the Living God.
In verse 3, the psalmist reiterates that the Israelites had one true resource, one claim to fame, one salvation and strength, and it was not their military power. The evidence was in and the witness from the fathers of old was ringing in their ears – God led and provided the victories, great victories that could not be logically explained away.
The Lord was in the midst of the nation, providing miraculous victories.
The psalmist continues in describing the victories, and the confession of the nations utter helplessness without the Lord. Verse 5 has a great word picture that I must take a few minutes to describe.
5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
To “push down” in the Israelites thinking was linked to the action of a bull, goring another animal, throwing the animal into the air prior to trampling over it to kill it. Again, for some of us who love animals, this may be a gruesome picture in our minds, but this is the graphic description the psalmist uses of the Israelites victory over their enemies. The psalmist continues with this picture of the ox dominating his victim, by describing the treading down (to the death) of any who rise up against them.
In all of this description, the psalmist identifies the Lord as performing this action, giving the ability to the Israelites to overcome their enemies.
The psalmist continues with confession of their own inabilities, and of God’s actions in saving them from their foes, and putting to shame those who hate them. The nation, the psalmist claims, has continually boasts of the Lords greatness, continually giving thanks to Him for His work in their lives.
Can you identify with the psalmist in the passage we have looked at today? Have you experienced the active saving power of the Lord in your life, and seen your enemies fall before you? (Remember now, we are speaking of enemies in our spiritual lives, not of the flesh and blood creation we exist with on this ball of mud). Has the past been littered with times of great victories by the Lord in your life?
Well, in the psalmist’s mindset, all the past victories were a problem! A big problem! A problem. I fear that is most common in our lives, at least in my life.
Take a few minutes to read the rest of the psalm to identify the problem, and let me know what you find. Of course, you are most welcome to come visit Considering the Bible for our next posting on this Psalm, where we will wade into the next few verses.
Considering the Bible 