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.
2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
This verse (along with the next verse) brings to mind the eventual destiny of all of creation!
Prior to delving into this verse, I would be remiss to not discuss my understanding of the Christian faith in a general manner. It is important to remember that you own your faith and that the Christian faith is an amazingly broad and wonderous faith. Based on an faith that the Savior is the Second Person of the God head, and that the Bible is the revelation of the only true God, the Christian faith allows for many diverse points of view in various secondary teachings. Teachings such as the end times for example, vary in approach and in details, but all who take the Word seriously believe in a judgement/punishment period in the end.
In understanding this verse, I would like to consider not only the action but the motivation of all of creation in the bowing of the knee to Jesus as Lord. As 99% of modern day Christianity sees this verse, the action of bowing and confessing is what Paul is addressing and not necessarily the motivation. I too have understood that those who do not worship willingly while on earth, will worship after death, and that this post death “adoration” of the Son will be reluctant, forced and demanded.
Should or Shall?
Our passage speaks of bowing the knee in homage to the Christ, and that all creatures should bow, those in heaven, those on earth and those under the earth. When Paul says “should”, does he mean “ought to” but may not, or “shall bow” – it is inevitable! Consider the passage Paul is quoting from.
Isaiah 45:23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
It seems clear that the action of bowing the knee shall/will occur, if I understand Isaiah. All of creation shall bend the knee to the name of Jesus, and this should not be a surprising statement for believers to accept, since our faith declares that He is Lord of all.
All of creation will bow the knee!
So let’s consider what it means to “bow”. The verb for bow is κάμπτωkámptō, and has the primary meaning of worship, being found in the New Testament four times. Besides the verse we are considering, and Romans 14:11, which is as repetition of Isaiah 45:23, both of the remaining times this verb is used, it refers to willing worship.
Romans 11:4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Romans 14:11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
Might Paul be speaking of a time when all of creation freely and willingly worships the Son? I readily admit that the previous consideration is not convincing on it’s own, and for additional support we will address this theme in the next verse, yet is it not an interesting thought that all of creation would freely and willingly worship the Savior, not due to an eternal punishment received from the Savior, but due to His overflowing grace, kindness and forgiveness from the cross? How could we not rejoice if this is a possible outcome for all of creation?
Of course this impacts the teaching of man’s free will. How can we maintain man’s free will and yet have some freely and willingly bend the knee to the Master, even after death? If Paul is referring to bowing the knee due to the passing of punishment on the soul, this implies a forced submission, and that the suffering soul admits (reluctantly?) to the truth of the Saviors existence and dominance. This forced action, in my opinion, seems somewhat hollow and empty, somewhat unexpected if we only consider the Savior we find in the gospels. Yet there are passages that may support this forced submission.
But I have to ask – Does not the action of worship include the free will offering of oneself to the One worshipped, not out of compulsion or threatening, but out of love?
No matter how you slice it, this passage and the next impacts our thinking on free will, and of the final destiny of all souls.
How do you understand it my friend? Are you convinced of a forced submission of multitudes after judgement as the answer to our verse we are looking at today? Will this forced submission of multitudes of suffering souls satisfy the character of the Messiah, or may He be seeking the free and willing worship of all of creation?
However you see it, nothing stands in the way of freely and willingly worshipping Him today. He is worthy, He is mighty, He is wise and loving!
And He may be doing greater works than you or I could even imagine!
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 50:16-21
16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? 17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. 18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. 19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. 21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
In our last post, God spoke to Israel, to His people. He corrected them in the sacrificial service, not in the actions but in the attitudes they were to live in.
This portion of Psalm 50 speaks to the wicked. OK, the problem with introducing the wicked is whether they are of the people of God also or a separate group outside of the nation of Israel? Let me explain my conundrum.
Is the nation of Israel the people of God, even in the Old Testament? Although I have previously understood the entire physical nation of Israel, (that is every person with Jewish blood coursing through their veins) to be of the people of God, I fear this passage does not support that thinking.
God is addressing two groups within the physical nation. His people, as in our previous post, where God gives direction to be thankful and pay their vows, and this group, designated as wicked. As we see in verse 16, when describing the wicked, God brings to our attention that they recite His statutes and take His covenant on their lips. The nations did not have His statutes or covenant. The only people that had his covenant and statutes were the physical nation of Israel, which requires us to understand the wicked were of the nation of Israel.
In all of this, the teaching of the remnant throughout the Word has become clearer and clearer to me as I stumble through my studies. Within the physical nation of Israel, there were two groups. The possessors and the professors. The same condition exists within the church.
To the wicked, God brings a stinging rebuke. Unless you are going to walk the walk, don’t talk the talk.
Do not take the name of the Lord in vain, use His law as a (religious convenience), refuse His direction and reject His counsel. The wicked literally cast His words behind them. The term cast in this passage refers to something hurled down, or thrown down. It is the picture of rejection as of something thrown out.
This is not ignorance but rebellion on the part of the wicked. This does not describe the believer, the one who has faith in God. A believer cannot simply toss His words behind him, reject the counsel He gives. Struggle with it, wrestle with it? Yes. Reject it as one who throws litter on the ground? This does not make sense to me.
Does this passage apply to you? Do you reject His counsel, His teaching, His direction? God is looking for those who would seek His deliverance. As believers, we need to accept discipline (vs17), rebuke thieves and adulterers (vs 18), keep our mouths free of evil (vs 19), and speak well of our brothers (vs 20).
All these actions are the hallmarks of a believer. Those who reject His counsel automatically fall into the opposing actions as described above.
Trust God and do good. Do good according to His directions, counsel and guidance, not according to your understanding!
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #324
Description
Presented to Jerusalem riding on a donkey
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 9:9f
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 21:6-9
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
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
Driving home on a Saturday, after picking up a 2 x 8 pressure treated board for my fence job, I end up behind a little red Pontiac. Nothing of anything that stood out, except for a bumper sticker.
First thing I think, since I have been studying in the gospels lately, is that verse speaks of the truly anointed One, Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah, the fullest and only completely true expression of the term “Anointed” found in this verse.
As a matter of fact, the verse is found twice in the Scriptures.
1 Chronicles 16:22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
Psalm 105:15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
And yet when I research the verse a wee bit, and look at other translations, the term “anointed one” is sometimes translated in the plural. A little further research takes me to the context of the verse in 1 Chronicles. The passage is speaking of the protection God provided to Abraham and his immediate family.
They were few in number, of little account and sojourners in the land God promised to them, yet it was only a promise. No wars had been fought, no victories by bloodshed and sword. This promise was given to a man and his immediate family, while in the midst of a land they didn’t originate from, amongst people they were not related to.
Can we as believers in this age claim this promise? Is there anything in the New Testament that might help me see that this promise extends to all believers, or at least to those who claim a calling of God on their lives for ministry?
As many of you may know, I am a Canadian by birth, but we emigrated to Texas in the late 90’s, to a small town in the Panhandle. We were a family that were in a somewhat strange land (when compared with Canada) and amongst those to whom we were not related to or had any background with.
At one point, I remember some teenagers driving by our home, yelling for us to “go back where we came from”. Teenagers! So much energy, and so much desire! No matter, we stayed amongst the townsfolk, found some friends and tried to live the Christian life.
I’m telling the story only to try to understand the situation Abraham found himself in. Amongst strangers, he was vulnerable to the slightest rumor floating through the tribes nearby. Jealous tribal leaders , or power hungry men may see Abraham as one to be taken out, to be dominated over. He truly was a sojourner in a strange land, without any visible support.
How precious it must have been for Abraham to know of the Lord’s protection, of God rebuking kings in his favor. (see Genesis 12:17) How often he must have recalled this promise, and placed his trust in the One who said it, Who gave His word.
And yet the Anointed One was touched. He was not only touched, but whipped, scourged and crucified. This promise was not one that He referred to, for He knew His mission, and it wasn’t to be protected, but to rescue, to save others, to be the One who would be touched (by death) in order that others might escape.
Let’s give Him thanks for His focused love today, for His constant care over His body, for protecting those who were vulnerable, and for providing an example for us to follow.
So one last question for my gentle reader – Do we need the promise given to Abraham, or should we rely on the One who gave it? My friends, there is a difference!
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 #323
Description
The Messiah would be humble
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 9:9e
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 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.
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”.
Occasionally 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, by a group that didn’t last long enough. For some reason they only put out two CD’s and both were great, IMHO. Using the prophets name and circumstances, Grammatrain wrote a song that speaks of the believer that has walked too far away for God and now fears there is no help. Yet though he thinks he is drowning, he still hears Him call his name. A great song!
Jonah – by Grammatrain
Take a listen!
Jonah – by Grammtrain
I lost myself Or rather images I had of me did tell How different from truth they were
I think I’m drowning and the ocean is raging My smile is frowning and my insides are praying And I’ve swallowed all my yesterdays Killed my past to follow the way I think I’m drowning and the ocean screams to me my name
I’ve fallen in Or did I jump headfirst into this ocean All I know is I cannot swim
I think I’m drowning and the ocean is raging My smile is frowning and my insides are praying And I’ve swallowed all my yesterdays Killed my past to follow the way I think I’m drowning and the ocean screams to me my name
I know that you’ll dry all my tears I know you’re beyond all my fears I know when I call out your name My soul you save
I lost myself Or rather images I had of me did tell How different from truth they were
I think I’m drowning and the ocean is raging My smile is frowning and my insides are praying And I’ve swallowed all my yesterdays Killed my past to follow the way I think I’m drowning but I hear You calling out my name
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 #322
Description
The Messiah would bring salvation
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 9:9d
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
New Testament Fulfillment
Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
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.
2:9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
In our previous post on verse 8, we saw that Jesus went beyond the ordinary existence of a man on this fallen planet, that we are all destined for. He entered into death, though not deserving of the judgement, and beyond that, choose the type of death He would experience. A death that would be through extreme suffering, shame, humiliation, and terror. His death on the cross was a form of extreme cruelty, yet He directed the course of events to experience this horror!
Out of this complete and utter self humiliation, the Father has highly exalted Him.
Consider – He is the Son of God, who abandoned His glory for the sake of His mission. Was this abandonment of His glory a permanent abandonment, not of His person, but of His glory prior to entering the human race? Is the exaltation Paul speaks of regarding Jesus the attainment of a glory that was not His previously in His co-existence with the Father and Spirit.
I am treading on issues I freely admit my ignorance of, but the exaltation of Jesus is being addressed in this verse and it causes me to consider what Paul is revealing to us.
His self humiliation has provided the opportunity for God to declare Him as the One whose name is above every other name. The acts of the Son are being rewarded here, and not His character. The act of the Savior in His “stooping down” to our level, and continuing into even deeper humiliation that are on display here, and for which He has been exalted. These acts of humiliation are sourced out of His character, His spotless being.
But Paul is associating this exaltation with actions. In other words, He is exalted for what He did, not who He is.
Paul is looking for similar acts from us. And so is God. Acts of stooping down to others, to provide assistance to others for their sake.
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 50:7-15
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. 8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
God identifies Himself in the courtroom, and brings the general testimony against the defendant. God is presenting His case against Israel, and in the midst of this presentation, seeks to clearly define the case He has against Israel. His first clarification is regarding the sacrifices Israels brings to Him. The fact of the sacrificial system being performed is not the issue. The nation has continually performed the action of sacrifice on the altars as prescribed in the Law of Moses.
Yet God speaks of not accepting the offerings being dutifully placed before Him, by His people. The actions were being performed and God provides no rebuke of the religious ceremony being followed.
The issue that becomes apparent is that the people of God had an incorrect understanding of the sacrificial observance, in that they began to consider the offerings something that God required. This is often a shortsightedness of God’s people, thinking that whatever we are directed to do will add something to God, provide Him some service that is necessary for Him.
He is the self existent eternal God.
Prior to our arrival on the scene, He existed with no lack. Upon our creation (which we had no part in), we were totally dependent upon Him for our breath and life. During our time on earth, He provides our necessities, not the other way around. He supplies our needs (and many of our wants), even in our rebellion. If at some point we become aware of His existence, we default to thinking He needs something we have, or something we can do. How does that occur?
I would suggest this is a core principle of religion.
God does not need anything we could provide. He provides for us, and the natural response from a receiving people should be a thankful heart.
We so often consider our God someone we are to serve and obey, and rightly so, yet we also become confused in our understanding of Who we are relating to. He is not a god who demands sacrifice in order to be satiated, or draws us into some agreement to our destruction and enslavement. He is in need of nothing, and provides all to a needy people.
As the psalmist comes to a conclusion in this portion, two actions are directed to the people of God. Two actions as a result of this judgement brought against the people of God.
Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving
Pay thy vows unto the Most High.
Thankfulness
Funny, even in judgement, God is demanding not only that which is right, but that is also to our benefit, releasing us from a spirit of duty into a spirit of thankfulness. As we practice this spirit of thankfulness, I am sure you will find that it is most pleasurable, that the benefit of offering thanks to God for His many blessings is a blessing in itself. But that is the type of Savior we have – One who is a blessing to us, even in the midst of a time of judgement.
Paying Vows
Thankfulness is not the only judgement handed down. In your thankfulness, pay the vows you have declared to Him. Be faithful to those promises you have made to Him. The removal of required duty, replaced with a thankful service to the God who has delivered us is the message we need to hear from this psalm.
If you are sensing an drudgery of obligation in your relationship with the Father, if in your service unto the Savior is not surrounded and infused with a thankful spirit, beware! This psalm is addressing this very concern, but have no fear, for the Lord immediately encourages us to call upon Him, even in the day of trouble.
Even as judgement may be touching your life in regards to your very relationship with Him, He is available to call upon for help, for He will deliver us.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #321
Description
The Messiah would be just
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 9:9c
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
New Testament Fulfillment
John 5:30
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
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
11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
In our last post on Matthew 24, we looked at the previous two verses, describing the effects persecution has on some (many) believers. Many believers upon experiencing persecution / tribulation will fall away, betray one another and hate one another. I suggested this is not the character of one who follows after the Savior.
In this passage, we are not considering how believers react to persecution, but how believers react to lies.
False prophets were on the rise in the first century (how much more so in our day!) and Jesus spoke of “many” led astray. (In the previous set of verse, the “many” fell away) As an aside, I find it interesting that lawlesness is associated with false prophets, that lawlessness is a result of false prohets dragging off believers into lies. May the root cause of a societies rot be the result of believers listening to false prophets?
Jesus mentions that many will experience a love that grows cold, but the exception is the one who endures to the end, he is the one who will experience a salvation. The implication, as I understand it is that due to lawlessness, a believers love may grow cold. My question for my reader is this.
The one who endures, is he amongst those whose love has grown cold?
No matter where the enduring one finds himself, it is a matter of endurance, not a high pitched, emotional experience of love that results in salvation. The theme of endurance for the sake of a reward, whether it be eternal salvation, physical deliverance or winnning in a marathon, is throughout the Word. Emotional experience doesn’t make the difference, for many may read this reference to “love grown cold” and automatically think of the emotional feeling of love. I am not convinced that is the intent of the warning.
Might a believer experience a cooling of love and yet still endure in the faith, seeking to follow Jesus, though with less passion than before? Out of personal experience, (which is a poor way of judging truth), I will confess my love toward Jesus and our Father has waned and weakened, even cooled at times, yet I knew He was caring for me, watching over me, guiding me through dark periods.
An emotional love tends to vary from peaks to pits, and we ride the rollercoaster out of necessity. Endurance is a choice, and He has provided us the opportunity to follow Him whatever emotional experience we are in the midst of. Of course, it is so much the better when the emotion feeling is peaking, but we need to go through the valleys with Him to truly know His hand of guidance, comfort and wisdom.
Endure my brother and sister, hang on to the faith once delivered to the saints, looking unto Jesus who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame….
His endurance made our lives possible. Do not give up the faith, for there is a life to be gained as we follow 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 #320
Description
Beheld as King
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 9:9b
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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
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 Withers the Fig Tree
Matthew 21:18-22
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Mark 11:12-14, 20-24
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. … 20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
General Observations
This miracle seems to be out of place in the grand scheme of things.
First off, it involves a curse, whereas all the other miracles are, to say the least, blessings on the recipient. This miracle seemed to be fueled due to the fig tree failing to produce sustenance for the Savior. This sure seems unexpected (and petty) since He has went many days without eating previously, as in the 40 day fast, the time with the Samaritan woman, etc. I would suggest this miracle is not communicating a need to satisfy Jesus’ temporal hunger.
If hunger was truly fueling this miracle, would it not be expected that He would command the tree to produce figs, as opposed to cursing it? Something about this miracle is not communicating what it seems to be communicating.
Also, Mark tells us that it was not the season for figs, so for Jesus to curse the tree for something it was not expected to do seems out of place. Notice that the entire tree withered, whereas the curse was simply for this tree to never produce figs again. Seems extreme. Again, I would suggest this miracle is not communicating unjust punishment on a fig tree.
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
The only audience the text speaks of witnessing this miracle are the disciples.
This is one of the last miracles Jesus performs as He enters His passion week, as He enters Jerusalem, the City of Peace, where in just a very short time, He would be hailed as the Messiah and then scourged and crucified as a revolutionary.
As mentioned in the opening discussion, this miracle is out of character with all the other miracles in a number of ways.
Unjust Cursing?
First, let’s consider the cursing of the fig tree even though the text specifically states it was not the season of figs. It seems when Mark is speaking of the season of figs, he is referring to a time in Israel where the harvesting of figs is performed. Prior to this “season of figs”, the trees produce leaves to signify it will be producing full mature delicious figs during the fig season. Until then, the tree would be in process of producing fruit, growing figs from nibs to the full fruit.
This young fruit would often be consumed by travelers, much before the tree would produce the mature fruit, and would provide sustenance for those walking by. If this is the situation we find on the day Jesus approached the tree, the leaves on the tree were signaling to those passers by that young fruit was available.
No Fruit?
Given that the tree is leafing out, it may be assumed that nibs, or pre-figs would be available. Yet when Jesus gets closer, He states there is no fruit, not even “baby” figs. This tree was all leaf!
Given that fact, consider the location of the fig tree in relation to it’s leafyness. (Is that a word?) It is commonly understood that a fig tree with unlimited space will expend all it’s energy on leafing out and produce no fruit. Just uncontrolled, unbridled leaf growth. Since this tree was off in the distance (Mk 11:13), it may be a lone tree, and without any trees near it that would provide restrictions to the growth.
The tree was just leaf! No fruit. Deceptive, not offering even “baby” figs!
Hunger?
As I mentioned above, hunger of the Savior doesn’t make sense. Granted, the text says He was hungry, and well He may have been, but as we have ventured through the gospels, we have found that His miracles speak of greater things than what was apparent at the time. Remember the healing of the blind in our last post was identifying the blindness of those who could see, and was revealing the spiritual sight of those who were physically blind. (See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus #34 – Jesus Restores Sight to a Blind Man). How about the water to wine miracle, where Jesus supplied the truth of His identity to the meek and lowly servants, while the proud and haughty miss out. (See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus #1 – Jesus Turns Water into Wine)
His hunger may have been what initiated Him in approaching the fig tree, yet I suspect once seeing the “fruitless” condition of the tree, decided upon using it as a teaching time, an object lesson.
What was the message for the original audience?
Jesus cursed a fig tree and then taught on the importance of faith. Looking at this passage for the “first” time, that simply doesn’t connect for me.
Jesus seemingly is attributing faith in God with a withering of the fig tree. But He doesn’t stop there. He challenges the disciples that if they have faith, without doubting, if they…
say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
To what purpose? First off, the withering of the tree seems extreme, and what is the connection with a mountain in the sea? Why? And when He says “this” mountain, is He referring to a specific mountain? Remember that He is the prophet par excellent, and that prophets spoke a language that was full of symbology. This symbology may play in this miracle more that first suspected
Mountains
As the prophets declared God’s word to the people throughout the ages, certain phrases or terms came to represent different ideas within the Jewish culture. For the term mountain, the Old Testament is reference to a mountain actually describes a kingdom. Consider the following.
Psalm 2:6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Isaiah 66:20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.
Joel 3:17 “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.
Although the previous three passages refer to the Lord’s Kingdom, earthly kingdoms are also referred to in the Old Testament. Jeremiah refers to Babylon as a destroying mountain.
Jeremiah 51:25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the LORD, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain.
Zechariah also questions a great mountain, referring to the Gentile nation.
Zechariah 4:7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
Since Jesus referred to “this mountain” as He was coming out of Bethany, it seems possible that the City of Jerusalem, the seat of power in the nation of Israel, may be referred to. The distance from Bethany to Jerusalem is approx. 2 miles and Jerusalem is on the mountain to the west of Bethany. Jerusalem may be the “mountain” Jesus refers to for the disciples faith to be applied
Fig Tree
In the Word, Israel is referred to as an olive tree, a fig tree and a vine. We will consider the fig tree for this study, and it is a common thought that the fig tree symbolizes Israel’s national privileges. Hosea provides a passage likening Israel as the fig tree.
Hosea 9:10
Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.
One parable spoken of by the Lord typifies this thinking
Luke 13:6-9
And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
As these themes are developed in our understanding, this mighty work of Jesus is saying much more that a simple picture of a hungry man cursing a guiltless tree.
Jesus is speaking to His disciples, speaking of their ministry as a ministry that includes the “mountain” of Israel being thrown into the sea.
Oh there is one more term that may help with this teaching. When Jesus speaks of “the sea” the message may be that Israel will be dispersed amongst the nations.
Woah Carl – Now you are way out there. Where did you get that? Consider another very common picture in the Old Testament is of Israel being “the land” and the nations being “the sea”. A few verses typifying the nations as the sea follow.
Isaiah 17
12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! 13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.
Isaiah 57 20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
Jeremiah 6
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!”
What is the message for us today?
I suppose this is a difficult miracle to find application personally, for out of this miracle, the Lord was specifically instructing the disciples, (if I understand it correctly) to have faith in God to the extent that a nation would be destroyed, and not just any nation, but the nation of Israel. Of course, Israel was destroyed by the Roman army in the first century, and the disciples had to exercise this faith in God during their lives. In many ways, they had to walk away from any dependence on a national presence, on a national existence of a people called Israel, as a basis of support for the growing body of believers they would oversee. Jesus was not building the church by extending the national physical existence of Israel, but was and is developing an independent body of believers that is not associated with any particular national entity. This is the strength of the body of Christ, in so that as nations fall, the body of Christ continues, growing and maturing in the midst of disappointing kingdoms of men.
The message for us today? Have faith in God. Not in some political entity, or national power or governmental authority. One kingdom will continue, and is worthy of our loyalty, and that is the kingdom of God.
All the kingdoms of men will be dissolved and all men will come to serve Him. Other kingdoms shall pass away or be destroyed, but His is an everlasting kingdom.
Daniel 7:14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Trust in God, for 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 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 #319
Description
Greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 9:9a
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
New Testament Fulfillment
Matt 21:8-10
Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
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.
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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.
2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
In our last post, we struggled with the term “emptied Himself”, and found some resolve in Paul’s description of Jesus taking the form of a servant in order to appear to His creation in the manner He sought, that is, in the “shape” or form of a servant. Yet He did not simply stop with this level of self humiliation, but continued in His self humbling and was found in the form of a human.
The form of a servant, and then the form of a man, a human. Though we often think of ourselves as those who have no limits, (we can be whatever our little hearts desire), this is simply untrue. Our “form” is quite limited!
Even as compared with other created beings, our limitations are quite startling. No ability to fly, or swim underwater like the fish. We can’t change how time effects us or that we age and die. We can’t change our history, our past mistakes or victories. We can’t naturally change other people, except in a bad way by harming them. We can’t go without sleep, food, water… We can’t “do as we please” for we set restrictions on ourselves for the sake of living in a civilized manner. We can’t change our gender, height or nose size without some violence to our body. We can’t grow another limb, increase our IQ, or change the length of our lower intestine. So many limitations!
And we have become accustomed to these limitations, since we exist in them and have learned to be content in them. At least if we are to have peace in our life, we are to be content with the limitations our created form lives under. Some, sadly to report, have not accepted these limitations and are in constant warfare within themselves, tearing away at thier own bodies!
Limitations gladly taken on by the eternal creator God. He was found in human form, accepted the limitations though He was without limitations previously. How to comprehend this? Another limitation!
But though He took on the limitations of a human, this step down in His humiliation was not His last. He did not stop “stooping down” to reach us. Paul reminds us that He humbled Himself to death! He decided to accept death, to humble Himself to experience death. Remember, though it is my logical extension of the fact of a sinless life, death was not a required destination for the Son of God, for He had no “wages” to recieve. (See Romans 6:23)
His choice of death was an act of humiliation, and Paul continues that the choice of going through the gates of death was not the only choice He made, but that the type of death He chose was specific. I want to die in my sleep. He wanted to die on a cross! No – that phrase expresses a desire only, whereas Paul tells me that He decided on His final act of humiliation through the type of death He experienced. (For an expansion on this thought, see Let Me Tell You a Story – Stoned?)
Could there be any other act that brought Him lower, that would better express His desire to “connect” with us, to provide for us, to guide us, to teach us of what true life consists of? Not of the boasting and self aggrandizement of the world, constantly telling us to look down on others, that we are the great ones, that we are in control. We are not, and to be honest, it is a fools errand to chase after a life of pride.
This passage in consistently painting a picture of the Lord as the One who stepped down, stooping down to His creation, going beyond the “normal” human existance of accepting our state and pushing the envelope to a life of sacrifice and self humiliation that we have never witnessed in any other.
He is the One we are to follow, and He is certainly worthy of all praise and honor, for He is 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 50:4-6
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah
In our previous post, we were introduced to the Mighty One, God, the LORD, who invited all the earth to courtroom proceedings, where He will pronounce judgement, where the wind and fire encircled Him as He approached for the proceedings, where His voice WILL be heard, and there shall be no silence. Other than from the defendents!
Today’s verses, when I first read them years ago shook me, for I was expecting the rankest of sinners to be judged, those foul, evil souls that spend thier day conjuring up ways to spit in God’s face, look for ways to hurt or defame the name and person of God. How surprised to find that He calls those who are in covenant with Him, those who are His people. He does not call for judgement on those I would consider the rank and file sinner, the prostitute or the pimp, the drug user or the cheating husband, the crook or the liar, but on those who claim His name, who have entered a covenant with Him. He calls them His faithful ones! This seemed so backwards! How can this be? What am I missing?
I had the same reaction when I first read a passage similar to this in the New Testament, where Peter teaches us that judgement must begin at the house of God.
1 Peter 4:17
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
This is a topic that stuimped me for years and I fear is not understood by many that I chat with. Yet after four decades of following Him, I confess I still sometimes struggle with it.
Those whom God loves He disciplines.
In my horizontal life, that is between other souls and myself, I have learned that when someone comes to me to challenge me, or to expose my weakness (call it sin Carl), I automatically set up my defences. Of course many may come to me with evil intent, seeking at the very minimum to simply discourage me, yet there are some in my life who seek my good by challenging me in certain behaviors and actions that are simply wrong.
For the LORD to call on His faithful ones for judgement, may initially communicate to me that they are doomed, that judgement will fall and crush those on whom it falls. And I have to remind myself that the term “judgement” is not synonymous with condemnation, but in it’s simplest form speak of an accurate and correct revealing of facts for the sake of the one being judged.
Yet as I read Psalm 50:6, something pulls me to Romans 1. Something about the heavens declaring / revealing righteousness ties these two passages together for me, I fear this challenge presented before the faithful ones in Psalm 50 may not have been fully recieved or held onto by His faithful ones. The nation this Psalm was written to became the nation that actually crucified the Author of the Psalm. Truly tragic.
Even as I consider this connection, we should not confuse outcome with intent. The Lord’s intent in delivering this Psalm may be best understood as coming from the heart of a Father. He longs for their change of heart, a change of life that would reflect His nature and character. For as I age in the Lord, I would like to consider a possible alternate perspective on what is going on when God comes to judge. Psalm 50 is a time of judgement on the faithful ones, and yet hope is still offered to the faithful ones, as noted in later verses.
As we go through this Psalm, many of the rebukes given to His people milleniums ago, are just as applicable today. We need to recieve those rebukes as we hear Him speak to us through His Word. Remember He is the Mighty One, God, the LORD who has delivered up His Son for us. His judgement is true and faithful, seeking for His faithful Ones to repent and grow, to be open to His message. The Psalm may have a message that hurts at times, but we can be assured that the intent is good, and holy, and from a Fathers heart.
Will you turn away when a truth touches a soft spot in your life? Join me as we hear His testimony against his faithful in our next post.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #318
Description
Priest and King
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 6:12-13
And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there[a] shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’
New Testament Fulfillment
Heb 8:1
Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
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.
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9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
Matthew 24. The mini – apocalypse, the passage that speaks of the end times, judgement, apostacy. Scary stuff, full of dramatic images and threats, with so many opinions on what the Lord was trying to communicate to His followers.
Some who follow this topic of Conditional Security on Considering the Bible may have wondered why this passage has not shown up in the series previously. It seems it is such a slam dunk passage to support the Conditional Security position, and it may well be.
Let’s take a look at it for a few moments.
Jesus is speaking to His disciples at this time, addressing the disciples questions about His coming, and the end of the age. The very first words out of His mouth need to be heeded – “See that no one leads you astray”
He warns His disciples first and foremost of deception in this topic of His future coming into His kingdom, and that they were to be vigilant in understanding the times to come. Just before the verses we are considering today, the Lord warns His disciples that there is only one Christ, and that self proclaimed substitutes would be many. The disciples will hears of many wars and rumors of wars – Don’t be worried. There is still time.
Christians will be persecuted, even hated by other for His names sake. Tribulation will be the believers experience, and this tribulation will result in death for some, with the nations, the heathen, those who are outside the faith, hating believers.
This persecution, or this tribulation the believer experiences will result in the falling away. Because of this hatred (from the nations), many will fall away, they will skandalizō, they will be offended, they will fall away.
Who are these “many” who will fall away? Context demands that the word “many” refer to those who would be delivered up to tribulation, those who follow as disciples.
Persecution will provide opportunity for followers to fall away. Yet does this mean a loss of salvation, the abandonment of the Christian life, the turning away from following Him? It appears that the two descriptors in verse 10 describe the non-Christian, in that the non Christian is allowed to betray one another, and to hate one another. Just the very verse prior, the nations are described as hating others!
The true believer, in following Jesus is faithful to those he knows, and loves those he comes in contact with. Is Jesus describing a believer when he decides to betray instead of exercising faith, to hate instead of to love? Is that the desciption of a believer?
This is a difficult passage to understand, but the warning seems obvious, for even in persecution, to follow Jesus is to be faithful, to be one who exercises sacrificial love to those he comes in contact with.
To those reading this post, don’t wait for persecution to come to your life to decide to love others and to be faithful. Live the Christian life each day, and pray for strength to follow when persecution does arrive, for we know we all must experience some persecution in our lives. Be faithful. Love those around you with a sacrifical love.
In doing so, we may be preparing for times that will provide greater challenge than we expect.
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The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #317
Description
God’s servant
Old Testament Prophecy
Zechariah 3:8
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.
New Testament Fulfillment
John 17:4
I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
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 Restores Sight to Two Blind Men
Matthew 20:29-34
And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
Mark 10:46-52
And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
General Observations
In our previous post we looked at Luke 18, where Jesus healed an anonymous blind man as He entered Jericho. In this post,we will meet Bartimaeus, presumably the beggar who stole the show in his interaction with the Lord. In Matthew’s account, as he refers to two blind men, some would claim a contradiction, yet Mark does not say that there was only one blind man, but that the story centers around Bartimaeus, one who may have been the dominant character of the two.
I have provided the following table, as in the last post, for the readers convenience in comparing the gospel narratives on blind men being healed near the city of Jericho.
Matthew 20:30-34
Mark 10:46-52
Luke 18:35-43
Two Blind Men
One Blind Man
One Blind Man
No names given
Named – Bartimaeus
No name given
Not defined – two men sitting by the roadside
A beggar
In the act of begging
Healed as Jesus left Jericho
Healed as Jesus left Jericho
Healed as Jesus entered Jericho
Let’s dig into the encounter Jesus and His disciples have as they leave the city of Jericho.
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
The audience hasn’t changed much from the earlier miracle as He entered Jericho, other than the crowd is described as “great”, implying numbers have been added to it (at least the formerly blind man may be joined to the crowd). The disciples were with Him. And of course, the two blind men who would recieve from the hand of the Master thier request.
Matthew speaks of the Lord’s motivation as “pity.” Compassion drove the Lord to heal these two men.
The impact of the call of Jesus upon Bartimaeus is somewhat startling, for upon Jesus’ call, as Mark 10:50 recounts Bartimaeus threw off his cloak, sprang up and came to Jesus.
He threw off his cloak. In my study, I have found that beggars in Israel, during the first century, were to wear cloaks that designated them as beggars, a requirement for a beggar to wear, so that the general population would know of thier “occupation”, or position in life. For Barimaeus to toss off the cloak indicates that he fully expected healing from the Son of David and rejected his prior life style.
This is faith in a nutshell. He gave up his prior life, even rejecting it, due to the hope he had in the Savior. And the response Jesus had for this exhuberant exhibition of faith? A question, a blank check offered to the blind man from the Son of David, the ruler of Israel and the nations.
What do you want me to do for you?
What was the message for the original audience?
For the blind men, pity, or compassion seems to be the motivation for the Lord to provide this mighty work for the blind men. Beyond this, I would like to suggest a possible additional reason that the Lord healed two blind men. You see, He had just reponded to a question previously with the very same response. As He asked the blind men “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51), so He did in an earlier discussion with James and John, when they asked Jesus for positions above the rest of the disciples.
Consider the request of James and John.
Mark 10:36-37 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
Jesus gives exactly the same response to the blind men, to Bartimaeus. Of course the motivation was completely different, for the two disciples were looking for position, glory, status and an advantage over thier fellow disciples. The blind men, on ther other hand, were reaching out to Jesus as the rightful King of Israel, calling Him Son of David, and asking for sight, not status.
Two men, each of them in two different situations with two different results. Yet only one response from the Master. Might He be reminding James and John a wee bit of thier request, showing the result of good motivations in a request as being effective in getting the Lord’s ear? Both parties were looking to the Lord as the Son of David, One who would reign, yet the disciples were looking for position and advantage, while the blind men simply to see.
What is the message for us today?
There is an element in the Christian church that seeks to obtain authority over others within the church. I have been in enough congregations to recognize “believers” that seek to obtain office, to obtain leadership over others, to be in control and to have others perform according to thier wishes, desires and demands. Of course I cannot judge motivation, for that is the Lord’s arena, and I would happily recieve correction if I am wrong, yet the general condition of the modern church seems to be rifled with men and women who use church ministries to gain a type of political power. James and John may want to correct us on that attitude, and remind us that Jesus taught that those who seek greatness must be as slaves of all.
As for the blind men, the message today is a message of an upside down kingdom, where the blind see Jesus clearly, while those of us who claim to follow may be blind ourselves, as James an John were, to the type of Savior they followed.
What “type” of Savior do you follow? Is He primarily One who is doling out authrity over others, of providing power over others to the saints who seek it, or is He the suffering slave of all, the One who is calling us to follow in His footsteps, to be countercultural, to not be as the Gentiles who rule over others? To not mimic those who exercise authority over others?
How do you see 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 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 #316
Description
Descendant of Zerubbabel
Old Testament Prophecy
Haggai 2:23
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a[a] signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
New Testament Fulfillment
Luke 2:27-32
And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people 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
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.
2:7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Emptied Himself. I confess this phrase regarding the Son has always been a bit difficult for me to understand. Not the motivation to empty Himself, for this severe act of self humiliation can only be explained by a severe love for the one He humbled Himself for.
No – the motive, though extreme, and logically speaking unbelievable, can be on the surface somewhat taken in. The bigger problem I have, and it is only due to my incessant analyzing of matters that really should not be analyzed, is not the “why”, but the “what” of the text. What does it mean to empty Himself?
Looking at the Greek, the term is κενόω (kenoō) and is defined as “to make empty”. When I read that, it just doesn’t help.
Looking at a list of other translations though, and I get a sense that He “emptied” Himself by doing something. This helps, and let me explain why.
During our child raising years, I would often tell my children “no”, but provide no positive or alternative action to follow. Of course this would be a frustration to them, for it was only the removal or restriction of an action that was “demanded”. Creating a vacuum of ideas by saying no only, did not rest well within the family, and eventually the children sought other avenues without allowing the parents to comment.
My point is that vacuums are not meant to remain. In the act of emptying Himself, the vacuum created had to be replaced. Or maybe in a better sense, the emptying was caused by some other action. Some action He decided upon, caused the required “emptying” of the Son. What action might that be? Hummmmm.
The text speaks of “taking the form of a servant” Maybe that is what I have been missing. The “form” of the Son, not necessarily the identity. He took the form of a servant, though He was in the form of God (verse 6). Form is the greek word μορφή (morphē), and has to do with appearance, or shape. He took the appearance of a servant, and lived in that appearance, relecting to His creation the character of the Godhead.
The greek word is used only one other place in the gospels, and that is in Mark 16:12.
Mark 16:12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.
After His resurection, He appeared in another form, and was unrecognizable to two men. (The parallel passage my be found in Luke 24:13 – 35) His identity had not varied, He is the Son, though a crucified Savior, yet His companions did not recognise Him for who He is.
He took on the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. His glory was left behind and He stepped down into His creation appearing as a servant, expressing God’s character in a way that would be understood by the creature. In one aspect of His self humiliation, His intent was to be understood, to identify with His creation, to live with them.
The passage speaks nothing of His not being God, but communicates the extent of His self humiliation, and His effort to communicate with His creation, with those who would understand (somewhat!) and those who would not understand (sadly).
In your day today, take the form of a servant. Humble yourself for the sake of the other. Any step down is a miniscule act in comparison to His act of love, but it is still a valid act of following Him.
Humble yourself, not only in thought and speech, but also in act and deed. We need to take this form of a servant, even though He has granted us the identity of children of God.
As children of God, act like the Son of God. Any other way of life gives the appearance we are not His children.
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 50:1-3
1 A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.
The psalmist begins this psalm, immediately drawing the readers attention to who it is that is speaking.
It is the Mighty One, God, the LORD.
Mighty One – English translation of the hebrew אַיִל, transliteration ēl, primarily denoting strength, might and power.
God – English translation of the hebrew אֱלוֹהַּ, transliteration ‘ĕlōhîm, the plural of our first word, and denotes multiple gods, in this case speaking of the multiple persons in the Godhead, of which as believers we understand to be three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
LORD – English translation of the hebrew הָיָה, transliteration Yᵊhōvâ, the proper name of the eternal, self existant God.
Asaph comes out identifying our God with three of the most majestic, power filled names available to describe Him. Whatever message Asaph records God as declaring, it is with the authority associated with these names.
In this psalm, God is calling all inhabitants to a court room, to a judgement hall in order for witnesses to be present during the proceedings. He is calling all of the earth, all inhabitants of the earth to witness the judgement that will be laid out.
God shall come, and God will not perform his judgement in a vacuum, but in the witness of many, in the witness of all. He will speak, and not keep silence. The envelope of judgement is typified as fire rolling out before Him, devouring all, consuming all before Him. A tempest encircles Him, a storm of horror, swirling violence whipping around Him, sweeping away all that is near. This is a terrifying picture that Asaph is rolling out for our sight. God is approaching in judgement, and it is everyones worst nightmare!
Asaph is delivering a psalm of judgement, a psalm that will not be likened to the comfortable, peaceful tone of Psalm 23, or of the many psalms that bring our hearts together in praise and wonder, but for much of this psalm we will, if we have breath in us, will not be comforted, but challenged to consider how our lives line up with our confession.
At first glance, as I consider the message of these court proceedings, there is a great temptation to turn away, to go on to another psalm, or look for an alternate topic, but the 50th psalm was given for our edification, encouragement and exhortation, in order for a cleansing to occur in our hearts. May God work in our hearts, bringing our confession and profession closer to each other.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #315
Description
He would visit the second Temple
Old Testament Prophecy
Haggai 2:6-9
For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”
New Testament Fulfillment
Luke 2:27-32
And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people 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
Considering the Bible 