The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #239
Description
The Servant shockingly abused
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 52:14
As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
New Testament Fullfillment
Luke 18:31-34
And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Matt 26:67-68
Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
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 Calms a Storm
Matthew 8:23-27
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Luke 8:22-25
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
General Observations
For some reason, one of the first questions that rose in my thinking was the size of the boat. How large of a boat did the 13 men use to cross the Sea of Galilee?
That ignorance is unnecessary since a boat was unearthed near the region of Capernaum. This boat, sometimes called the “Jesus Boat” has been dated to approx. 50 BCE, and is typical of the boat Jesus and His disciples may have taken across the Sea of Galilee on that fateful night.
What is surprising is the size of the boat. Per the graphic to the right, the boat may have been 27 foot long. That is the approx. length of a UPS van.
Not an ocean liner to say the least!
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
The audience were the twelve disciples.
And other boats were with Him. Mark simply adds this snippet, without adding any additional information. Did the other boats venture out into the sea with Jesus and His disciples? Nothing else is spoken of concerning the other boats in the three gospel accounts of this miracle, yet it intrigues me that Mark added that info.
Jesus performed this miracle at the request of His disciples, who were afraid for their lives. Turns out fear is a major theme in this miracle. Both before and after the miracle! But let us consider the circumstances for a moment.
The fishermen among the disciples knew the Sea of Galilee. They had spent their lives fishing on this body of water and knew of these dangerous gales that could strike at a moments notice. They were experienced sailors, yet with this storm they were beyond their own abilities in controlling the circumstance, in maintaining their safe passage. Prior to waking Jesus, I imagine Simon, Andrew, John and James, the experienced fishermen, had enlisted all of “them thar landlubbers” of the group into any help they could provide. Although I am somewhat reluctant to say it, this storm provided a great team building exercise, but I think this was not the intent! This storm had greater messages than that.
Wind
The wind is described as a great windstorm, and Luke provides us the added information of this storm coming down on the lake. This added information helps greatly, since it speaks of the winds from the surrounding mountains sweeping down into the hot tropical air of the lake basin. The ferocity of the wind and the contours of the land surrounding the lake merged together to create a very perilous trip across the sea. This storm may have caused the other boats that were with Him initially to turn back, but that is pure conjecture.
Waves
With the wind sweeping down on the sea, the waves became an additional threat to the lives of those in the boat. The text speaks of the boat being flooded with water. The Greek word symplēroō Luke uses in 8:23 describes the boat as being “swamped” or filled with water. This was a terrible position to be in, and for these experienced sailors to be found helpless must have been very humbling.
Golly, they can’t even take care of their Master in the very element they are experts!
What was the message for the original audience?
Where is your faith? Although the telling of the miracle often highlights a lack of faith the disciples, they knew who to go to in the middle of the storm. Admittedly they had few options beyond exhausting their own resources, and yet they went to Him, asking Him about His care for them.
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
The storm is whipping us to the point of sinking and You are asleep. Can’t you man the rigging, or take an oar to help us ride the storm out? Everyone is taking part in getting us through the storm. We need your help. Don’t you care?
It is interesting that the text speaks of the disciples waking Him, to ask of His care, and the very next verse speaking of Him waking up. Did they have to wake Him twice? That is not clear, but when He awoke, He definitely did not help the disciples in the way they had hoped.
He simply spoke to the wind and the sea. Peace! Be still!
Take a moment to consider how unexpected this assistance is. All of the disciples are in terror, doing all they know how to do, and their Teacher addresses both the obvious and not so obvious problems. The obvious problem He addressed by simply speaking two words to the elements. Calmness returns to the sea and the boat, with it’s inhabitants, are safe once more from the elements.
Yet the fear in the disciples hearts about their survival in the storm becomes great fear, not in the storm anymore, but in the identity of the One in their midst.
Who in the world are we hanging out with here? The sensory overload of the storm, the adrenaline pumping through their veins, the survival instinct that took them to their limits is to be contrasted with the One who simply spoke two words to the elements, and then challenged the disciples about their natural survival instincts as being out of place.
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
The disciples had left all they had to follow after this Rabbi. They had seen miracles as bystanders, witnessing of His power and might, of His abilities, but this miracle included the disciples. They simply hadn’t translated what they had witnessed as they saw Him heal a leper, or raise a widows son into their own experience.
The One they were following brought great fear into their lives. What manner of man is this One? These disciples had been taught of the Lord God being over the sea, for the Old Testament speaks often of the sea reacting to the rule of God. Stories of the Lord God opening the Red Sea for Moses, of the Lord God bringing the flood in Noah’s day, and of the Lord God stilling the sea during Jonah’s rebellion.
Specific passages may have rung in the disciples ears as they considered what manner of man was in their midst.
Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.
Psalm 77:16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
Psalm 93:4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
Were the disciples beginning to grasp that the One asleep in the back of the boat moments ago is the Lord God in their midst?
What is the message for us today?
Two applications for my own life occur to me, and may apply to my reader.
Faith
A personal experience with the Lord God, in the person of Jesus Christ is the faith being questioned by the Lord to the disciples. Hearing of others experience with the Lord does not make me a disciple. Watching God do miraculous things in others lives does not make me a believer. Mental assent to truth, to agreeing that something is true or has happened in the past may provide support for my faith, but it is not faith.
Faith, if I am reading this passage correctly, is personal. It is not my Pastor’s faith, or my wife’s faith, or anyone else’s faith.
I have heard of faith as being defined as follows a few years back, and it has greatly helped me to better exercise faith in the Lord. Faith is hearing the Word of God, understanding the message of the Word, and agreeing to comply with the message. This definition helps me with the inclusion of understanding.
The disciples were beginning to understand, through their personal experience and their questioning amongst their selves of who this Man was, that they were in deep waters, (theologically speaking.) The implications began to pile up, and the emotional impact what they had just went through drove home what their eyes had only seen previously into their very hearts and lives.
Care
This tends to be a hobby horse for this blog, in that many posts seem to return to the theme of the Master’s love and goodness to His people, His creation.
How often have you questioned the loving concern of the Master when you are in the midst of a storm? The psalmist often requests the Lord to wake and defend his cause. Many times, in the Old Testament, God’s saints have asked this question, and I know I have asked this question far to often. Yet in the midst of the storm, the very request is answered, and He rises to the cry of His people.
And if we have ears to hear, we may understand that our faith may not be as it should be.
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 #238
Description
The Servant exalted
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 52:13
Behold, my servant shall act wisely;[a] he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.
New Testament Fullfillment
Acts 1:8-11
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Eph 1:19-22
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
Phil 2:5-9
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
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.
1:13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Paul’s imprisonment was common knowledge. Nothing was hidden from those who were in his vicinity. Of course, some of the imperial guard would know of Paul’s imprisonment through their direct orders to guard him. The remaining imperial guard depended on gossip through the ranks.
Yet, it is hard to imagine (and this is my imagination!) the soldiers in the imperial guard, hardened disciplined men of the highest caliber of soldier, would be susceptible to common gossip. Paul’s imprisonment caused a major stir that rippled through the ranks, primarily due to the conversions of those guarding him. Those who had no contact with Paul, were in contact with guards that had become believers.
This, if understood by the leadership of the Romans, would give reason for concern, for the Caesar was to be considered god, and the guards were changing their allegiance.
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 43:1-2
1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! 2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Vindicate me. Judge me. Of course David is praying with an assumption of innocence, and that his aggressors to be guilty. Yet this is somewhat of a strange plea if I am honest with myself.
Let me try to explain.
How often have you sought the Lord, and asked Him to judge you? To vindicate includes the concept of judgement, and being used in this passage, must mean that David see’s himself as the offended party, the one who is “guiltless” in the conflict that he is in the middle of.
If anything can be said about King David, he was an honest soul with the Lord. He is looking for a judgement by God, declaring himself to be in the right, and pleading for a defense against the ungodly, deceitful and unjust man.
And yet, I may have spoken somewhat to early, for as I read the first verse, David does not clearly state he is innocent, but as he enters into the second verse, states the reason for his expectation of a good judgement.
Note that verse two starts with “For”. For you are the God in whom I take refuge. Notice that he doesn’t state that the reason he expects a positive judgement is based on his actions directly, but on who he takes refuge in. It is his faith in the covenant keeping God that he is claiming as his defense.
And as I type that, it occurs to me that as modern believers, we tend to use this defense without considering some of the back story to what it means to take refuge in the Lord. Some may have a mental acceptance of the truth of the gospel, and yet in their lives, they take no refuge in Him.
To Take Refuge
As David is writing this psalm, he is obviously in trouble. His enemies are seeking him out, and he is looking for deliverance. Remember my friend, he is a man of war, yet he seeks the Lord for his protection, his refuge from danger.
And that is the point.
To take refuge implies danger, stress, conflict, a storm in your life. David is a man of war, yet he is not depending on his wits, or strategic abilities, his past victories or his command of any army. No, he is taking refuge in the Lord, as opposed to his own strengths, wisdom or abilities.
Let me try to explain this as I understand it.
I was at work the other day, and had a meeting to go into, which may have become somewhat of a storm for myself, a “difficult” meeting. Admittedly, I was tempted to be quiet on a matter of importance for the group. I asked for grace to refrain from “little white lies” which in my opinion, would be taking refuge in my methods. I asked God for strength to tell the truth, though it may cause myself harm. In this minor, tiny, little itty bitty decision, looking back, I think I was taking refuge in the God of my salvation. I trusted Him to provide strength to be factual, and to bring about His will in the midst of the meeting. (By the way, the Lord gave me strength, and provided a wonderful resolution for all!)
To take refuge in Him is to seek to honor the character He displayed while on this ball of dirt and muck. To trust His word, and to practice the outworking of His word in our lives is the message I am getting from this wonderful psalm.
As a believer, if we constantly fall back to our reasonings, our methods, our defenses, and not on His revealed character as displayed in the life of our Messiah, we may have to ask ourselves if we are really following. Of course none of us follow perfectly, (as least speaking for myself), and yet there comes a confidence in trusting in His will, and in asking for the strength to perform his wishes.
So, when I read that David takes refuge in the God of Israel, I read that he is following the Lord, hearing the voice of God, and responding positively in times of danger, in the storms of his life. Did he know all doctrine, pure teaching and all truths? Not at all, and again we are in good standing with the King of Israel. But to the truth he had revealed to him, he sought to follow the will of God as opposed to his own will, though the danger was staring him flat in the face.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #237
Description
Published good tidings upon mountains
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
New Testament Fullfillment
Matt 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt 15:29
Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.
Matt 28:16
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
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
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
With the book of James (as in all of the Scripture) it is imperative to understand who the apostle is writing to. For our passage today, is this passage directed to those outside the church, or to believers? If we look at the passage independently of the context, it may appear to be addressed to non believers, especially when James speaks of receiving…
with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But let us not be single verse believers and consider the context. James makes sure we are to understand this passage as applying to believers in verse 19.
Jas 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Ok – So we know that James intends for his brothers in the faith to be hearing this message, but what does the passage have to say in regards to conditional security?
Receive with Meekness
Believers are to receive with meekness the implanted word. If the Word is implanted (another nod to James speaking to believers), we have received it already, correct? What more do we need?
Let’s consider the term “recieve”. As I have mentioned in this blog previously, I am no Greek geek, but depend on desktop studies of others to try to understand the implications of the original language for our studies.
For the word “receive” I refer to BLB (Blue Letter Bible) as a resource for our study. Under the tools button for each verse, a tab shows up allowing for an interlinear data base to come up. Using the reverse tab, the following data comes up for our word “receive”
At this point, since receive is a verb, I click on the right hand button (V-XXX-XX) to find the “parsing” of the verb.
One more step to understand what all this means. Each of the underlined terms are hot links to help us understand the verb we are looking at.
An easy one for myself is the mood of the verb in this instance. Our verb has the imperative mood. This is a command. Believers are to actively take part in receiving the Word.
Voice speaks of who is performing the action. A middle voice notes that the subject (the beloved brethren in this case) is the agent of the action. The believer is performing the action of receiving. All of this is simply stating what seems obvious from the English translation.
The aorist tense is what helps me to understand that this action as not limited to a past decision or act of faith. The aorist tense has no regard to the past present or future. It defines a point in time, sometimes referring to the past, and yet this is too limiting.
If I understand the passage correctly, James is telling the believers to receive (at some point in time) the Word of God, which is already implanted in our souls as believers. To receive the Word, we must remove filthiness and wickedness, (another action of the believer).
I have previously seen this passage as a call to sanctification, a passage that speaks of our responsibility to understand and obey God’s will for our lives. Without the next phrase, I would be certain it is a sanctification passage. It’s just that I kinda struggle with what James is telling believers about saving their souls.
Able to Save your Souls
Saving your soul. What in tarnation is that? I thought our souls were saved at the point of conversion, when we first believed.
Maybe other translations translate this term differently? All of the popular English translations use the phrase “save your souls” in this verse, except for the NIV, which translates it as “save your life”. So what is James trying to tell us?
Notice that the implanted word is “able” to save our souls. Ability is an interesting word when it comes to reading the Word. Some that I have interacted with on other blogs interpret the ability to perform an act as synonymous with the completion of the same act.
When I think of the ability to save, I think of the boys in the furnace back in the book of Daniel.
Daniel 3:17-18 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Notice that the boys confessed God’s ability, but not the outcome (in relation to the furnace). The young Hebrew men spoke of God’s ability to save His children, but allowed for God to choose how to save his children.
To be able to do a task is to have sufficient power to accomplish that task. In relation to our passage today, I understand James is telling believers that the Word has sufficient power to save our souls. I am not convinced James is speaking of the final result, that is the saving of our soul, but of a potential result.
So is this a sanctification verse or a security passage?
But let us not end with simply a question but an affirmation that comes shining through this passage. God is able and has supplied all the needs of the saint. He is the provider of everything the believer requires to save our souls. He is the Savior and we are the ones who need Him so.
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The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #236
Description
He was spat upon
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 50:6c
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
New Testament Fullfillment
Matt 27:30
And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
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
Recently I penned a short post – ECT & Passage 1 – Matthew 5:43-44, 48, in relation to eternal torment. In the post, I asked if a believer may find some condition or circumstance to wreak vengeance on a neighbor. A bit of a foolish question, but bear with me.
Currently, I have superb neighbors, but such was not the case in our past. This story will present to you a neighbor we lived beside years back, and of the mercies (and humor) of the Lord in teaching His children.
I’m going to tell you of a past neighbor, whom I shall call “Frank”, (in order to protect the guilty).
He was a kind fellow at the start, and would refer to my little daughter as a “widdle wabbit”. He kept to himself for the most part, and was without work, being on a disability pension.
I think the descent into madness began when I dug a hole on our property to install a cloths line for my favorite wife. Being in Canada, this hole had to be a minimum of 4 feet deep, to miss the frost line, and the effort was more than I first imagined. After a period of time digging and temporarily placing the excavated material between the hole and the park land to the south. I went in to have supper, letting my wifey know I would set the pole after work on Monday.
Turns out I didn’t get a chance to set the pole, since Monday afternoon I received a call from wifey to come home immediately – the police were in the back yard. Police? On arriving home, I met my wife, two police officers and Frank in the back yard. Frank had filled in the hole with the dirt I had piled to the side, and then called the police to have me charged with trespassing or something silly. Mind you, the pile of dirt was near the public land to the south of our property, but for the life of me, I have no idea why he did this.
In the interest of brevity, what follows is only a few of the highlights of Frank’s acts against our family over the course of three years. He claimed my wife had threatened him and drug her through the court system for a number of months. Please understand, my wife is 5′ 4″ and 110 lbs, dripping wet, while Frank was a 6′ 2″, 240 lb man. He tried multiple methods of intimidating my wife through the courts, though lying about our children, through writing foul letters to our neighbors and signing my name to the letter, through sitting in front of our home with his headlights shining into our bedroom, having the federal police (RCMP) come to our door to question us. You get the idea?
One action that Frank took, though not the most serious, typified his mind set. We had a 4′ hurricane fence between our properties, and he strung barbed wire along the top. He added barbed wire to the little 4′ fir trees on the public land behind his house.
Mind you, we had 5 youngins by this time, and my three oldest boys loved playing in the back yard. What was wrong with this fellow?
During our time in the courts, my wife and I “happened” to be reading the story of David and Saul, and how David would not hurt his king. Out of this reading, we were encouraged greatly to exercise no revenge upon Frank, but to pray for him and to ask the Lord for safety from him.
Don’t misunderstand. We did not consider him to be a chosen king (like Saul), or that he deserved any mercy from anyone. Not at all. What we began to see was our responsibility before God to let God be God and for us to do as He directs His children to do.
A passage that we referred to often through this period is found in Romans 12:17-21.
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Many in the neighborhood told us stories after our ordeal, of Frank threatening young children prior to our moving into the neighborhood. It was a difficult time to say the least. At one point, Frank actually phoned into a radio show to complain of the “foreigners” that lived beside him. He ranted about how we should have stayed in our nation of origin, how we were lazy, destructive and of no use. (Both my wife and I have a minimum of five generations in the land of the Great White North.)
Looking back, it is hard to believe of some of this man’s actions toward us. Truly amazing. But as I started this posting, I mentioned the Lord’s humor in all of this trial.
It turns out that after graduating university with my degree – oh yes, this ordeal was going on while I was back in school, spending 60 – 70 hours a week in my studies, that Frank suddenly put his home up for sale. The rumor had it that he wanted to move to a “childless” neighborhood to the north. I am convinced that God had been working behind the scenes and that Frank simply could not find a better solution for his poor troubled soul. Nevertheless, his home sold within a few months, and he eventually moved, but not before seeing our home on the market also.
You see, after receiving my degree, we found employment in the state of Texas. My wife and I had looked to move south for years and an opportunity came up that allowed us to make the jump to a land of sun and heat!
Frank had lost his position of intimidator within the neighborhood, and the story goes that the neighborhood he moved into actually became a young family centric neighborhood. Oodles of little children!
We saw the hand of the Lord many times during this trial, protecting our family, giving us opportunity to speak of the mercy of the Lord, and experiencing a bit of the humor of the Lord. You got to admit, for Frank to sell his house just before us must have been a great frustration to him.
But, the Lord is on His throne. He is watching over His children. He cares and provides, even to the weakest of His followers.
For us, we are to look to the direction He has provided through His word. His witness while He walked on this earth speaks loudly, if we want to hear it. He exercised massive mercy toward those who lied about Him, made outrageous claims against Him, drug Him through the courts, physically beat Him and eventually murdered Him. All the while seeking forgiveness for His very tormentors.
Consider the high calling we have in Jesus. He is our example.
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
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 #235
Description
He was smitten on the cheeks
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 50:6b
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
New Testament Fullfillment
Matt 26:67
Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
If you are just joining this blog, or are a first time visitor, welcome to Considering the Bible. We would like to offer a document that provides over 350 prophecies of the Messiah found in the Old Testament for your consideration.
I make no claim to be able to comment on every one of these amazing prophecies in the future, but will occasionally bring one to the readers attention for their edification.
Hopefully you will follow “Considering the Bible” and begin an interaction with us
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
With this verse we listen in on the apostle Paul’s interpretation of the trials he has entered into, through his travels and the current imprisonment he was experiencing. It is important to understand that Paul wants to encourage his friends with progress in the midst of trials, and not simply for the sake of his friends, but to see through the eyes of Jesus, what is actually happening for the sake of the gospel.
Paul is not going to dwell on his personal sufferings, other than to inform his friends that he is in prison. He does not describe the condition of the prison, the lack of food or clothing, the loneliness or any other aspect that he may be experiencing, since this is not the focus of his message.
Paul is so focused on advancing the gospel, that he does not accept his current condition as a set back, but actually understands the benefit of his imprisonment for the sake of the gospel.
His imprisonment is advancing the gospel.
How crazy is that? How upside down is the kingdom of God in comparison to our modern way of thinking. It is too much for me at times.
In your own life, has there been a set back? A seeming defeat? Consider a refocus.
Story Time
Years back, a brother spoke of the reason the Dead sea is dead. You see, the dead sea receives water from the Jordan, but has no natural outlet and is unable to provide water to any other body of water. There is no outlet from the dead sea, other than by evaporation, which causes all the salts carried by the Jordan to remain in the Dead Sea, making it useless for life.
Life requires expression, an outlet to give to others in order to maintain, even expand our life. Receiving, or focusing only on ourselves, is a great way to die!
Paul looked for an outlet in his circumstances. May we also take on this attitude, and find life in the giving.
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.
Forgotten
Psalm 42:9-10
I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
Even in the midst of claiming God has forgotten him, the saint refers to God as his rock. This speaks volumes to me, not in the fact that I am experienced in the depth of this saints trial and the resulting settled conviction. No no no. It is that the saint is possibly accepting the blame of his condition, since God is the never changing, stable, dependable rock of his life. It cannot be God who has changed!
He feels forgotten, and I can definitely relate to this condition. I have felt alone and “abandoned” (I speak as a fool) many periods in my life, and as a testimony, looking back, I realize God was protecting me, guiding me and providing for us as a family. He has not forgotten you, yet at times the feeling of aloneness is unquenchable.
Mockery
On top of the internal struggle of claiming God’s stability in the midst of an emotional low, the saint speaks of his adversaries again, of their oppressions, taunting and mockery. Our psalmist paints a vivid picture of the pain inflicted on him through the taunting. The mockery is as a knife buried deep into his bones, a wound that is intended to kill.
What is the taunting about? Is it about his stature in life, a condition of poverty, a lack of education, minimal skill levels, mental disabilities? The taunting focuses on one central topic.
“Where is your God?”
The saint has definitely claimed to know the living God and at this point, the enemy, with their presupposed understanding of God, interprets the saints condition as being proof that God has abandoned him. Get this if you can. The saint has claimed allegiance to the true God, and the taunting is based on a wrong understanding of God.
This is reminiscent of the siege of Jerusalem when Sennacherib claimed the ability to overthrow the True God since he had overthrown the false gods of the land surrounding Jerusalem. (Consider 2 Chronicles 32:9-15)
The taunting of the enemy was based on lies they believed about the True God. This is often the source of mockery and taunting believers have to endure, and the New Testament addresses a proper response in 2 Timothy 2:24-25
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth
Note that we are not to argue, but to be kind to others, looking to teach truth. It is interesting that Paul speaks of patience in this very verse. We should not teach in a demeaning demanding way but understand we all have need understand our own fallibility. Out of this understanding, a genuine humility towards others allows us to be of a patient teacher, knowing we are of the same frailty of knowing truth.
Refocusing on God
Psalm 42:11
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Finally the saint comes to a summary thoughts, still questioning the condition he finds himself in, even though he has recounted his relationship with God through the good times and bad times. (Albeit, this psalm definitely speaks of the bad times more than most psalms!)
He admits to his downfallen condition, and the turnoil within. Denying his condition and putting on a “happy face” was not a solution based in reality for this saint. Admit the struggle, the truth, and ask the hard questions.
In the end, hope in God, for it is inevitable that the saint shall again praise Him. The saint looks forward to the time of rejoicing, even in the middle of sorrow, struggle and pain. This is a great hope, and the Great Hope is our Lord Jesus, for He does carry us through our trials, as we keep our eyes on 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 know someone this post may bless, send them a link so they may join us.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #234
Description
“I gave my back to those who struck Me”
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 50:6a
I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
New Testament Fullfillment
Matt 27:26
Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
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
As many of my readers may know, I have been studying the teaching of hell for a few years. I recently picked up a book called Spiritual Terrorism, written by Boyd C Purcell, and as I ventured through the pages, I came across a listing of ten reasons the author considers Eternal Conscience Torment (ECT) as impossible.
Each of the ten reasons are based on a particular passage of Scripture that I propose we consider in relation to this topic. Food for thought for those willing to consider.
Let’s begin with Matthew 5
Matthew 5:43-44, 48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The Unchanging Character of the Father
Although I referred to the book “Spiritual Terrorism” above, I would like to supplement this post with an additional author from two centuries ago. His name is George McDonald, an ol’ Scottish preacher who lived in the 1800’s His writings are challenging and have influenced many believers, such as Lewis Carrol and (through his writings) C.S. Lewis. He is commonly considered a universalist, though he never called himself such.
A short discussion I recently found by Mr. McDonald seems very pertinent to our topic.
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect.” “Love your enemies, and ye shall be the children of the highest.” It is the divine glory to forgive.
Yet a time will come when the Unchangeable will cease to forgive; when it will no more belong to his perfection to love his enemies; when he will look calmly, and have his children look calmly too, upon the ascending smoke of the everlasting torments of our strong brothers, our beautiful sisters! Nay, alas! the brothers are weak now; the sisters are ugly now!
His second paragraph is challenging. How can the One who “changes not” change from being a merciful and forgiving God we all have come to know, to One who seeks retribution, suffering for the sake of justice, and misery upon His “enemies”?
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Before my readers bring up the topic of the necessity of judgement, let me admit and confess that I believe the Scriptures on the teaching of the wages of sin being death. I do not seek to remove hell from the Word of God, although my understanding of this topic is continually being challenged.
I confess that even as a believer, I continue to offer up to our Master sadness and heartache with my decisions and actions that do not reflect His character. Hell is a reality and judgement day is approaching for each of us. Personally, I cannot understand the grace and mercy He has provided me so far, but He has been faithful, so faithful to me. To my readers, if you too have experienced the mercy of God in your life, leave a comment below, describing His mercy in your life. It may be the encouragement some soul needs to hear!
Note that He commands believers to be like Him, to forgive, to bless, to love, to pray for those who are our enemies. We are to live this way in order that we may be perfect as He is.
Let me reiterate, that He only is perfect, perfect in those attributes that Jesus speaks of in the passage, attributes of blessing and forgiveness. This command is for believers to pursue, and as we have come to understand the commands of God, they are to be recognized as a reflection of His own character, of His glory and being. It is an amazing teaching the Lord gave to us in this passage, in that He based His command to followers to love and forgive on the very nature of God.
God does not ask us (require of us) that which He does not have within His own nature!
I suppose it comes down to this. Am I limiting the Father’s unchanging nature and character of forgiveness, even through the terrors of hell? Or to consider it from another perspective, is there a set time only for each soul in that His forgiveness is available?
Grudges & Vengeance
One other item to note, is that the very passage the Lord refers to in Matthew 5, (Leviticus 19:18) speaks of the believer not bearing grudges, or taking vengeance. Even in the Old Testament (as we should expect, since He changes not), the nature of the Lord was the foundation of the command for the believer’s actions and heart life toward our neighbors. No grudge is to be nurtured. No vengeance to be exercised.
Leviticus 19:17-18
You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
The believer is commanded to enter frank and honest reasoning with their neighbor. What a lost relationship skill in this age of “social” media, but I digress.
How do you see this challenging passage in Matthew? Is there merit to Mr. McDonald’s understanding of the unchanging forgiving nature of the Father? Do you believe the nature and character of the Father will switch from One who forgives to One who seeks vengeance and retribution upon a soul entering death? If so, is there allowance for the believer to also have opportunity to switch from a forgiving spirit to a vengeful spirit?
Let me know, for I have had some whoppers of neighbors (thankfully not currently) that in my opinion, certainly deserved my vengeance!
How do you “see” the Father?
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 #233
Description
The Servant bound willingly to obedience
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 50:5
The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.
New Testament Fullfillment
Matt 26:39
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
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 a Widow’s Son in Nain
Luke 7:11-17
Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
General Observations
Where in tarnation is Nain? This incredible miracle of raising a dead man wasn’t performed in the City of the Great King, or presented before the hierarchy of the Jewish political and religious bodies, but in a small town north. What is the significance of mentioning Nain at the beginning of this miracle? Turns out, even the geographical references of a miracle bears witness of the greatness of our Leader.
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
This miracle occurred in front of a great crowd, with His disciples in attendance. At this time, I see no reason to exclude the Pharisees from this group, as they are collecting data for their analysis and judgement in front of the Jerusalem leadership on how they are to react to such a Rabbi.
Also, a considerable crowd from the city was with the funeral procession. Many people were to witness a raising of the dead child!
The previous question of where the Lord performed this miracle has become a key for my understanding of this miracle.
You see, Nain is a city that rose up a few miles to the north from the ancient city of Shunem. When I mention Shunem, a number of Old Testament passages may come to mind, but you will not find it referred to in the New Testament. By the first century, Shunem had been abandoned and Nain had risen up in the area.
One of the Old Testament passages that is eye opening for myself is the story of Elisha and the wealthy woman in 2 Kings 4:8
One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food.
Do you remember any particular instance that the people of Nain may recall of the prophet of Elisha, and this woman? As an expression of gratitude for supplying respite at her home Elisha asked his servant Gehazi, what he may do to show his appreciation. She was childless and Elisha spoke of her bearing a son within the next 12 months. She of course refused to believe, but that didn’t stop God from doing as He said.
Interesting background, but the kicker is what happens next. The kid dies! Elisha was used of God to raise the child from the dead and heal the widows broken heart.
Do you see any parallels? By now the miracle of raising this poor woman’s son from the dead by the Lord is becoming increasingly linked to this Old Testament passage. (See 2 Kings 4 for the story of Elisha and the Shummanite woman)
But there are a few differences that make our story instructive.
A Difference of Hope
The Shummanite woman sought out the Prophet Elisha. She had some hope. She had a relationship with the prophet of God and trusted in the God of Israel. She provided for God’s prophet and experienced the miraculous gift of her son.
We don’t know of the woman from Nain, whether she was a believer in the God of Israel before the miracle. Golly, we don’t know if she even became a believer after the miracle. But at the time of the miracle, she had no hope, didn’t expect any help and was in the midst of a deep lonely sorrow over the loss of her only son.
A Difference of Effort
Elisha’s efforts to raise the child for the Shummanite woman was in multiple (failed?) stages. First off, Elisha sent Gehazi, his servant to lay the prophet’s staff on the child’s face, yet the child did not respond. Elisha’s second effort was after he entered the room with the child, and alone with the child, prayed to the Lord, laying his body on the child. This effort produced a warming of the child, but no life. Upon having no success at this time, it appears Elisha became somewhat frustrated, walking back and forth in the house before once more stretching himself upon the child. Upon this third effort, the child was brought back to the land of the living.
Jesus stated seven words. No recorded mention of prayer. No preparation to perform this mighty work. He didn’t even touch the child, but only stopped the procession. Seven words, my friend. Seven words.
Young man, I say to you, arise.
His spoken word has authority. His compassion for this widow in pain delivered the son back to the mother. The comparison of efforts for these two similar miracles is somewhat startling!
A Difference of Receiving
Sometimes a seemingly insignificant detail provides an illuminating truth. Notice that upon the raising of the Shummanitie’s child, Elisha gave direction to the mother. “Pick up your son”. We don’t know the tone of Elisha’s voice, but something tells me he may not have been too approachable at the time.
When the widow from Nain was intercepted by Jesus, the text states He gave him to his mother. Jesus not only raised the child from the dead, but continued His interaction with the mother by formally/physically giving the child to his mother. Compassion extended beyond the miracle.
A Difference in Audience
Elisha, in his efforts to raise the child, performed all his actions alone, behind closed doors. No witnesses.
Jesus performed this miracle amongst two crowds as noted in the introduction, a great crowd that had been travelling with Him, and a considerable crowd associated with the funeral. Many witnesses.
A Difference in Expectation
This may be closely linked to the difference in hope discussed above, but the Shummanite woman sought out Elisha, pushing past Gehazi and grasping the prophet. She flatly stated her frustration with the prophet, blaming him for this “deception” of having a child, only to loose him to death. It isn’t obvious if she had any expectation of Elisha raising her child, but she surely sought out the prophet seeking some kind of remediation.
The poor widow of Nain expected only to see her son lowered into a grave that day. She had no one to blame, criticize or reach out to for consolation that we read of. No husband, no other children, no one to connect with in the middle of her pain.
A Difference of Deliverer
Elisha was one of the paramount prophets of the Old Testament. Although no book of the Bible is named after him, it should not be interpreted as his unimportance. More miracles were performed by Elisha than most any other prophet. A careful reading of his history compared to Elijah, shows he performed twice the number of miracles than his mentor. No small figure in the Old Testament narrative.
Yet Jesus is so much more. He is the One Elisha looked to for his ministry, and He is the One who orchestrated Elisha’s success with raising the child. He knew of this day with the widow of Nain and provided a history for the crowd to connect to, to compare, and to come to a conclusion regarding His status compared with Elisha.
What was the message for the original audience?.
The crowd was struck with fear, and they glorified God due to this mighty work. The crowd understood the miracle by claiming that “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and that “God has visited his people!” Although a positive response to the miracle, I am not convinced this was the intended message.
Consider the background we have discussed above in relation to Elisha’s miracle. In every aspect, Jesus comes out as the greater miracle worker. Aspects of His kindness and compassion explode on the scene for this widow.
Note that the crowd glorified God (although He stood in front of them ) and stated that God had visited his people (even while He walked among them). They did ascribe to Jesus the status of a great prophet, yet how great a prophet? He is upon consideration, much greater in every way than Elisha, their local prophet.
These differences must have echoed in the minds of some of the crowd after the commotion settled, and caused those with any desire to pursue God, to compare this Rabbi with the great prophet Elisha, to question their assumptions and hopefully seek Jesus out. He is certainly One to investigate, for He is not One who leaves a situation without a challenge and a choice.
What is the message for us today?
Many messages occur to me at this time, but I would like to encourage those reading that Jesus may show up at any time. This poor widow of Nain had no expectation of any deliverance on that sad day. She only knew her son was gone and that she was now all alone in the world.
As a parent who has lost a son, I can attest to the pain. Yet as a family, we had each other in our pain. I can not imagine the deep sorrow this poor lady was experiencing, yet in the midst of this great pain, Jesus strolls up to the procession, takes control, and delivers her son back to her.
Dear reader, He has the option to show up in the middle of your greatest pain, yet He is always with us, giving comfort as we seek Him. We may find Him showing up in many ways, but even in the midst of pain, we are to look to Him for guidance and His will, understanding His compassion.
Recall that He was good five minutes before this miracle, while the widow was in pain, and He is good now. He doesn’t change.
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 #232
Description
He is a learned counselor for the weary
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 50:4
The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
New Testament Fullfillment
Matt 7:29
for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matt 11:28-29
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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
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.
1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Fruit of Righteousness. It is interesting that Paul speaks of righteousness as a living, growing fruit and not some deed or act or work that is to be dutifully, religiously, ceremonially performed.
This fruit, to carry the metaphor Paul began, finds it sustenance from the root, the Lord Jesus. All nourishment the fruit requires for maturity is from the root alone. Paul desires his church, his friends to be filled with this fruit, to bring glory to God.
Remember, we began this portion of Philippians in verse 9, speaking of Pauls desire for the Philippians love to abound more and more. This fruit of righteousness, in my thinking, is synonymous with a loving sacrificial giving life. This is the nature of our Savior, for He gave all to deliver us.
Paul will return to this teaching over and over again in this letter to his friends. It would be wise for us to mimic the Lord Jesus, through His strength and nourishment and give of ourselves for the sake of others.
In doing so, the fruit will increase. And we will have joy.
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.
A Need Presented to God
The psalmist has had a realization in the midst of his experience, in the midst of a period of sorrow, loneliness and mockery, where some are constantly wearing him down, asking “Where is your God?” In the midst of his inner conflicts, he has come to a realization that he will praise God again. The current situation is not permanent, and through this realization, he speaks to himself of hoping in God. Hoping in God in order to stabilize his thinking, his life and to endure through his time of struggle.
In our next couple of verses, the psalmist describes his distance from God in a geographical sense
A Prayer from Afar and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. – Psa 42:6 ESV
The land of Jordan is to the east of the Jordan River, with the psalmists further clarification of his location being given as Mount Hermon. This mount is famous through the Old Testament and is northeast of the Sea of Galilee, per the map provided.
Mount Mizar is another matter, for I have not found a location for this mount. Some have referred to it a a minor hill near Hermon. Suffice to say, the psalmist is far from the temple, and this distance is what is exacerbating his thinking. His horizontal distance from God is great and he is at an utter loss due to this separation.
A Prayer from a Depth
Psalm 42:7-8
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Being in the mountains of Hermon, the psalmist may have been near a waterfall, and provided a fitting description of his own state of mind. As the water crashed to the bottom of the falls, two things may have come to his mind.
First, the relentless, continual crashing of water to the base of the falls, with the turbulence of the water picturing his own outer trials. As the water falls, it drags all other things into the base, drawing them down into the mix, a physical force that cannot be resisted. This may be a fitting picture as the psalmists compares this continual water pounding the base of the falls, with his own internal struggles.
Secondly, the continual roaring of the falls, may act as a constant reminder of his inner trials. As the noise roars on, it is a constant mental reminder of the struggles he is in, a battle on another front that is constantly influencing and distracting the psalmist. We must remember that though he has spoken of praise in the future, he is still in the experience of being cast down, in a valley, and is at this time, hanging on through hope in God.
Hope
Hope, in our modern thinking may be synonymous with wishing for a possible event to occur. Not unlike when I hear someone say, “I sure hope it rains this month”.
Others may refer to hope as describing a condition we all know won’t occur without divine intervention, as in referring to a loved ones situation after being diagnosed with a terminal sickness. We have heard it said, “Well the only thing we have left is hope…”
This latter definition may be somewhat the condition the psalmist has in mind. Far from God and experiencing an internal drowning in his own life struggles, he realizes his only hope is in God.
Hope, as I understand it, has one thing in common. Hope consists of knowing that positive outcomes shall occur after an unknown period of time. If this is a correct understanding of hope, for the psalmist to have a confident expectation of good outcomes through this experience, he does not simply say that he hopes things turn out. He connects this expectation with God. By that I mean, his expectation of his future outcome resides in God, and not according to his current situation.
This is the Christians hope, based in God and the truth He has provided to us. He is faithful and good, and we can safely hope in Him at our most dire of times.
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 post may bless, send them a link so they may join us.
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #231
Description
Heaven is clothed in black at His humiliation
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 50:3
I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.”
New Testament Fullfillment
Luke 23:44-45
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
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
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
We find our passage today in the midst of the final chapter of the book of Hebrews, where the apostolic author (whomever it may be!) is guiding the Hebrew believers in the exercising of their faith. Granted, in this passage I will not go so far as to state the intent of the author is to communicate a conditional security message, yet I will request your consideration of the passage in light of our topic.
For the readers information, I have provided my understanding of this passage in a series of five posts under the title Christian Accountability A review may help in understanding my general perspective on this passage.
Some of the questions that arise in my mind are as follows.
Why remember our leaders?
Is not our faith a “personal faith in our personal Savior”? What bearing or influence should those who have went before us have on our lives?
Why imitate the leader?
It is often stated amongst the enlightened believers of the 21st century, that we have a “personal” faith with the Messiah, and that He leads us in our own “personal” path. This has an element of truth to it, yet I fear this thinking allows for too much personal interpretation.
As a believer, I may be able to justify many types of behavior, feeling it is a leading of the Spirit of God. As an example, I may feel I need to lie about this one itty bitty thing in order to relieve a temptation. Surely God loves me, and this is His leading. This may reside under the “personal” leading of God justification for some believers, yet when compared with Scripture and the working out of our salvation, allows too much freedom, leading to slavery.
We need to personally witness a faithful example of walking with the Lord. A leader who speaks the Word of God is the choice of the apostle for the believer to come alongside. Time with this type of believer allowing for the witness of the working out of the glory of God in a sinful earthling, is of great benefit.
Now I would caution you, that when I speak of a leader who speaks the Word of God, this does not, in my mind at least, require a paid professional church employee. If you have a close relationship with a pastor, reverend, deacon or such, good on you. But this may be a condition many of us may not have available.
Why does the author remind us of the type of leader to imitate?
He speaks of the leader who spoke the Word of God. As mentioned above, the leader needs to be one who relies on the Word of God for direction in his own life and speaks of the Word of God to others.
A teacher who speaks of his opinion as if from God, but without the foundation of the written Word of God, is to be avoided. Run away from this one.
Why is the believer exhorted to consider the outcome of this leader?
This is where the rubber meets the road, my friends.
The leaders who spoke the Word of God, revealing the Lord Jesus to an apostate nation, came under persecution from their own countrymen. The Hebrew believers were being tempted to fall back into a dead religion, destined for extinction, and to abandon the Lord Jesus for a sacrificial religion that became blasphemous before God.
This departure from the true God has been addressed throughout the book. Even within this passage, although not directly, the author continues to seek every opportunity to guide the believer into experiencing true faith. A faith that is not simply internal, but also an objective experience that may be measured by others witness, and therefore gauge his own growth and maturity.
Fellow believers provide this challenge! Don’t refuse it, but take advantage of this opportunity to learn of real life faith from those who are a bit further down the road than yourself.
As a caution, do not hear me in saying that we are in competition with one another in our experience with the Master, as we do have various callings, yet the moral temperature of our walk requires challenging, especially when pressure bears upon us to “look the other way”.
Look unto Jesus for leading, and as His apostle has exhorted us in this passage, to those who have went before us. He is good, in giving us so many opportunities to experience His life with others.
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 #230
Description
He is despised of the Nation
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 49:7
Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
New Testament Fullfillment
John 1:11
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John 8:48-49
The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
John 19:14-15
Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
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’s Withered Hand
Matthew 12:9-14
He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”–so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
Mark 3:1-6
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Luke 6:6-11
On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
General Observations
This post will address our passage from a perspective related to the miracle, but has been considered in two posts earlier. If the reader would like to consider them, links follow.
Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 5 – An Accusation – This post is my effort to describe Jesus effort to wake up the religiously faithful to the importance of people over a practice, habit or religious habit.
Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 6 – A Withering Response – This post was a quick review on the healing of the man with the withered hand and the logic the Lord used (and it’s implications!) to justify this act of mercy, even on the Sabbath. How dare He?
Questions to Consider
Who were the audience?
The faithful were in the synagogue, along with Jesus’ disciples (it is assumed). The ever present judging Pharisees and scribes were available, to discern the Lord’s works and determine if He really is the Messiah. See Signs and Mighty Works of Jesus #7 – Jesus Cleanses a Man With Leprosy for background as to the reason for the Pharisees and scribes were in attendance of the Lord’s ministry of teaching!
The Pharisees asked a question of the Lord. This Sabbath question was a paramount issue for the Pharisees, for it became the center of thier disputes with the Lord in many of their discussions/debates.
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
The Pharisees came out with a simple question, at it’s face value, for it must be obvious that since the Sabbath was one of the Ten Commandments, it must overrule any type of healing. After all, healings, if to be performed, could be done on the other six days of the week, to allow, no – to keep the Sabbath holy.
This very logic is what I believe propelled the Lord to heal on the Sabbath. The miracle was incredible, but the message was blasphemous, unless of course, a greater authority than the Ten Commandments was present. Two options, it seems to me, were available to the Pharisees
Admit that their reading of the Law was in error, and that the Sabbath was subservient to this renegade Rabbi, eventually admitting to His Messiahship.
Hang on to their religious heritage, and the current teaching of the Pharisees, under the cloak of faithfulness, and begin to plot His destruction. (Hopefully they would not destroy the Son of Man on the Sabbath though!)
On a positive note, the Pharisees eventually did learn not to ask the Master any questions, since He constantly responded with flawless logic, showing their weakness of understanding of the Word.
I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?
The Lord asked a question, after He recognized the Pharisees and scribes in attendance at the synagogue. He knew their thoughts (Luke 6:8), understood their mission, and gave them a challenge in regard to their sacred Sabbath laws.
What is the intent of the Sabbath in relation to the law? To do good or bad?
A little later in the book of Matthew, Jesus used a “greater than” argument, (Matthew 12:6, 12:41 and 12:42) but in this case, He compared good with harm, saving and destroying. He is not mincing words when He lays the gauntlet down, for He is teaching with authority, with a miracle about to happen that will reinforce this teaching. It will either light the Pharisee’s on fire for Him, or enrage them with fury towards Him. Sadly, we know which road they took!
What was the message for the original audience?
For the fringe element within the synagogue, they saw a young rabbi discuss a core doctrine of Jewish faith with the Master’s of the religion. A simple question seemed to nail the experts to the wall, with the following miracle seemingly closing the door to any argument. Those in this fringe group, listening in on the discussion with the Pharisees, and watching the healing had enough to make a decision on the importance of this rabbi.
As for the Pharisees, Jesus again linked His teaching with a miracle that was directly from on high, reinforcing the message and the Messenger. The Pharisees eyes saw a miraculous healing, but their ears refused to hear and admit to the truth. The Pharisees refused to consider that the rabbi before them may actually be the long awaited Messiah, whom they had thought they wanted.
It seems the Pharisees were not wanting to adjust their desired understanding of the Messiah based on truth and works proving such a person. They wanted a Messiah that would be as they expected, to fit their own ideas, serve their purposes. When One came that proved His identity over and over again, yet didn’t fit their preconceived ideas, they refused to repent.
I am afraid this may be a common problem amongst the faithful.
What is the message for us today?
In the Markan account, the 5th verse, the Scripture speaks of Jesus looking at “them” with anger, being grieved at thier hardness of heart. I am assuming those He was specifically looking at were the Pharisees, since the discussion was centered on the Sabbath’s intent in relation to the law, and they were the experts. He was angry with those who would eventually nail Him to a cross, but His anger was centered on their refusal to respond and thier hardness of heart.
Jesus was angry.
The term “angry” is the Greek word ὀργή, transliterated to orgē, and is found in the gospels only five times. That is amazing in itself, but what I find incredible is that this is the only passage where it describes the anger as belonging to Jesus. The other four instances speak of wrath to come, or the wrath of God on a sinner prior to faith (John 3:36).
Where are you going with this Carl?
The message I am beginning to see out of this passage is somewhat surprising to me. Understanding the inner reaction of Jesus towards those who were seeking His failure as Messiah (and His eventual death), Jesus reacted by healing a man. He did not strike them with fire from heaven, or call down twelve thousand angels to wreak havoc on them. He sent a message. He healed a man!
Consider the Messiah in this instance. He sent a message that should shake these men to the core by convicting them of their error through doing good to a poor man with a withered hand. Conviction of error was communicated to men by way of goodness, by way of healing. He, while experiencing anger, provided a healing for a man, and sent a message of truth and conviction to the Pharisees. This is amazing! When was the last time, in the throws of an “angerfest”, you decided to bless someone?
Did the Pharisees experience shame in the midst of the synagogue attendants? It seems obvious by the way they reacted! Surely, the logic and miraculous healing proved Jesus to be in the right, and therefore the experts to be in the wrong! Yet this was a message of mercy to the Pharisees. Jesus continues to provide these messages of mercy to us as we walk with Him.
Consider the next time a period of shame comes into your life. You may be experiencing shame even as you read this, having difficulty facing your friends or family due to some known error in your life. No fun! Not a pleasurable experience!
But let me ask you – How do you react when shame or embarrassment comes into your life? Think of those proud Pharisees and their decision to refuse to learn from the shame. They were fighting with the Messiah of God, and the end result was personal destruction, and to pull their beloved nation closer to utter collapse within 40 years.
Granted, I do not think any believer reading this post has a nation depending on their decisions for survival, but each reader does have the opportunity to react to personal shame in a positive manner, admitting to errors and exercising humility, even as our Master has practiced, even the sinless Son of Man!
We aren’t perfect, and we need to walk humbly with our God, knowing of His mighty mercy and our tendency to react poorly to His correction.
He really is good! Try to remember that!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
The prophecy of the Lord Jesus for our consideration and edification, written centuries prior to His earthly existence is
Prophecy #229
Description
He is Salvation unto the ends of the earth
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 49:6
he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
New Testament Fullfillment
Acts 15:7-18
And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,
and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.
Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
“‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,
that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things
known from of old.’
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 