210404 He is not Here, He has Risen

Luke 24:1-7 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

Seems strange that the women who had followed the Lord Jesus so long were “perplexed” at not finding the body in the tomb on that first Easter morning. At least three times Jesus had told his disciples that he would be taken and crucified and would rise on the third day. (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19) Each time he had positively said that he would rise on the third day. Did they not hear? Did they not understand? Or did they not believe.

Sometimes we hear words that are just too hard to take in. When Peter heard Jesus tell of his coming suffering Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke him, saying “Far be it from you, Lord.” That caused Jesus to say to Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:22-23.

When we receive such a devastating message we might respond much as Peter did. Some variation on, “This can’t be happening.”

The angels had understood what was going to happen but I am not sure they understood the human response. They said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Later perhaps these same two angels stood beside the disciples 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.” (Acts 1:11). On the road to Emmaus Jesus had confronted two disciples and he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25, 26).

It was necessary on our behalf because Christ’s resurrection insures our regeneration. Many years later Peter would write, “we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). He explicitly connects Jesus’ resurrection with our regeneration or new birth. When Jesus rose from the dead the result for him was a new quality of life. That was “resurrection life” in a human body and a human spirit that is perfectly suited for fellowship with and obedience to God forever.

In his resurrection, Jesus earned for us a new life just like his. We do not receive all of that new “resurrection life” when we become Christians, for our bodies remain as they were, still subject to weakness, aging, and death. But in our spirits we are made alive with new resurrection power. It is through the power of his resurrection that Jesus Christ earned for us the new kind of life we receive when we are “born again.”

Remember, Jesus had told Nicodemus, “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). It is not possible for us to deliver ourselves by our own strength. Sin drags us down. As Paul wrote the Corinthian church, The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:56, 57). Let’s call again on Peter (who said), “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter2:24-25). The work of Jesus on the cross is effective for all who will come to him. He carried our sins to the cross. Paul wrote to the Colossians you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3).

Paul assures us that having died with him it is necessary that we also be raised with him. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:4-6). Note: Ephesians 4:6, God raised us up with him AND SEATED US WITH HIM IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS. In the mind of our eternal Father these actions or events occurred in the past. If we are saved, and only God knows we are seated with him NOW!

Since that is true the power of his death on the cross sets us free from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). It was through the power of his resurrection that Jesus Christ earned for us the new kind of life we receive when we are “born again.” This is why Paul can say that God “made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him” (Ephesians 2:5–6, see also, Colossian 3:1). When God raised Christ from the dead he thought of us as somehow being raised “with Christ” and therefore deserving of the merits of Christ’s resurrection. Paul’s goal in life was “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection …” (Philippians. 3:10). Paul knew that even in this life the resurrection of Christ gave new power for Christian ministry and obedience to God. We can see the power of the resurrection described as being at work in us in Romans chapter six. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸ Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:6-11).

Paul clearly sees us as raised with Christ. This new resurrection power in us includes power to gain more and more victory over the remaining sin in our lives— Paul’s assurance was “sin will have no dominion over you” (Romans 6:14)—even though we will never be perfect in this life. This resurrection power also includes power for ministry in the work of the kingdom. It was after Jesus’ resurrection that he promised his disciples, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This new, intensified power for proclaiming the gospel and working miracles and triumphing over the opposition of the enemy was given to the disciples after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and was part of the new resurrection power that characterized their Christian lives.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11). He was obedient unto death for us. His death, burial and resurrection insures our justification.

Wait, what does that mean? We run into these words throughout the Bible without definition. Wayne Grudem gives us the following definition of justification: “Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.” ^{Systematic Theology, p. 723.}

If God forgave us without declaring us to be righteous we would have been brought to the place Adam and Eve were before they sinned. We would still have been subject to the guilt of sin. Justification sets us free from the bondage of sin. The power of his resurrection not only covers our sin but also declares us “not guilty” in God’s eyes. We are no longer subject to condemnation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Christ’s resurrection insures our perfect resurrection bodies. When we read the accounts following Jesus’ resurrection most of his close disciples did not recognize him. I believe that is because of the perfection of his resurrection body. Remember, most of the early encounters are with people who last saw him beaten, bloody and/or dead. These things are hard for any of us to grasp.  It may be that a person was raised in a family, or church that believes it is not possible to know for sure one is saved. Take John’s words to heart written near the end of his gospel, these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Don’t be deceived, be careful, salvation does not come because you read a few verses, often unconnected, and say a few words called “The Sinners Prayer”.  Anyone who comes to Jesus for salvation must understand the basics. All people have sinned and are separated from God from their birth. The cost of that truth is spiritual death. Jesus died to cover that penalty.

There must also be an invitation by the Holy Spirit for a personal response on the part of the individual who will repent of his or her sins and trust in Christ. He himself described the call in Matthew’s gospel, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).

 

Come to Jesus! The promise is available for all who truly believe. Every person who has come to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will be saved by JESUS’ work on the cross. As a result we will be raised with the same power that raised Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:14) And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. The power of the Spirit has brought us into God’s presence (2 Corinthians 4:13-15) Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Paul assured them (and us) that God sees us as already in his presence, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Our resurrection body will be imperishable 1 Corinthians 15:53-55, For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

 

 

The fact that our new bodies will be “imperishable” means that they will not wear out or grow old or ever be subject to any kind of sickness or disease. They will be completely healthy and strong forever. Moreover, since the gradual process of aging is part of the process by which our bodies now are subject to “corruption,” it is appropriate to think that our resurrection bodies will have no sign of aging, but will have the characteristics of youthful but mature manhood or womanhood forever.

When a person responds to the call of God and recognizes that all have sinned. Remembering that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ. That person will be able to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead and be saved. That is what Easter is all about.

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

210321 The Road to the Cross

John was an eyewitness to Jesus’ life and ministry. When he wrote his little letter that we call First John he described his relationship to Jesus as, being from the beginning that he had heard, and had many vivid memories. John the Baptist had a special place where he preached and baptized people on the east side of the Jordan River. Jesus called his first disciples at that place. It was called Bethany but it is not the same as the home of Lazarus and his sisters. John recalled the threats being made to Jesus that could cause him to step aside. Because it was not time for him to be crucified. Luke had recorded Jesus’ words at about the same time frame that John is talking about. Jesus said, it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. Luke 13:33.

The Pharisees and priests had been attempting to kill Jesus for most of his ministry. The truth is Jesus came into the world for the very purpose of being killed by the religious leaders of the day. Wherever he went people followed him. Many of them believed the words of John the Baptizer who had told the truth about Jesus. You don’t have to have much talent to tell the truth. That’s exactly what John did! He did no miracles he just told the people to repent and believe in Jesus who would come later. Now we come to the end of Jesus’ public ministry. But not to the end of John’s Gospel. We are actually very near the middle of the gospel.

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. ⁴¹ And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And many believed in him there.

This place must’ve been important to Jesus because he himself was baptized there. It was there that men began to recognize who Jesus really was. Remember the words of John the Baptizer, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:28).

 

Now Jesus arrives at the place where he began his public ministry. While they are waiting out their time a messenger arrives from the village of Bethany that was near Jerusalem. The message was simple esus’ friend, Lazarus, was sick and near death. Jesus assured his friends, probably including the messenger, that this sickness was not going to end in death. Instead, it was going to glorify God. That which was about to happen would be the seventh “sign” in John’s gospel. The six previous “signs” included turning water into wine; healing a nobleman son; healing the invalid at Bethesda; multiplying loaves and fish; walking on the water; and, curing a man that was born blind. 

Upon receiving the message Jesus intentionally waited two more days. During that time frame Lazarus died. Before this event, Jesus had brought people back to life. The widow’s son at Nain and Jairus’ daughter. Both of these occurred immediately after death. What Jesus was about to do was much more dramatic. He was going to bring someone back to life after natural decomposition was well on its way.

Lazarus must’ve died immediately after the messenger was sent to Jesus. One day’s travel would have been involved both ways and two days Jesus waited made the process four days. This was pointed out by Martha when Jesus ordered the stone to be moved from the tomb. Even with the spices that had been wrapped around Lazarus’ body there would be a strong smell. We are not told how strong the smell that lingered was but I like to think the odor was pleasant. After all the creator of the universe, the one who had called everything into existence, spoke the powerful words, “Lazarus, come out!”

When the dead man did come out Jesus told the crowd around, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

In a metaphorical sense this pictures a lost person coming out of the tomb of sin into the light of salvation. When that happens those who already have seen the light, Christians, need the make a part of their ministry unbinding them from whatever holds them back.

How might that work out? People who come to faith in Christ have lots of spiritual and social baggage. The opinion of most people, especially the “good” people in the community, is that lives cannot be changed. Repentance should lead to redirection. When a person repents the church should provide support and deliverance. Undoubtedly there will be relapses. Addicts will be drawn back toward their addiction. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the problem of breaking addiction. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11). After pointing out a list of sinners that the church might not want to be identified with Paul blew me away with “and such were some of you.”

Praise God just because a person commits sin they do not need to stay in that dark world. These changed people are commended a few verses on with, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) The price that purchased these people who had all kinds of publically known sin in their lives was the blood of Jesus. We must remember that we are not our own. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The road to the cross that Jesus was walking would without a doubt lead to changed lives. We can help new believers by welcoming them into our lives. Of course, we must recognize the need to not be taken in by the world’s ways that remain in the lives that God is in the process of changing.

Jesus’ disciples understood the danger they had put themselves in. While still in Bethany beyond the Jordan Thomas, who was a twin had said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16). Had the Pharisees had their way that is exactly what would’ve happened. When someone in the crowd reported Lazarus’ resurrection to the Pharisees they called a council to consider their problem. If they let Jesus go on the way he was there would be many thousands following him. If that happened the Romans would come and take away their limited freedoms. John’s comment on the problem was found in verse 54.

Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

The leaders of the opposition – priests and Pharisees – issued what amounted to an arrest warrant with the addition that anyone who knew where Jesus was must turn him in. Six days before the Passover he surfaced in Bethany at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. A dinner was prepared with a large turnout to see Lazarus as well as Jesus. Because of the presence of Lazarus many people repented and trusted in Jesus.

The next day Jesus found a young donkey and rode it into the city. The prophet, Zechariah, had written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”. (Zechariah 6:6). That was hardly what would have been expected by the people. The priests and teachers would have been aware of this promise.

His path into the city was through the Tyropoeon Valley. It was also known as The Valley of the Cheesemakers. If you have ever smelled Cheese being made you will understand that this is not the high rent district.

There is a model of the city of Jerusalem at about AD 45. I believe that  the Jews did not want to present the city as it was at the time of Jesus’ ministry and especially at the time of his death.

In 1985 Cherlyn and I were there. As our guide explained the layout of the city he came to the Tyropoeon valley he told us that this was the district where most of Jesus’ followers lived and worked. Jesus certainly lifted up the poor and needy.

 

Some of Jesus’ greatest teaching was done in the last 6 or 7 days of his life as the Messiah. In John 12:44-50 Jesus assured his disciples, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Jesus saw the end coming and he urged the disciples to unify after Judas left.

(John 13:31-35) “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. ³³ Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ ³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus promised help to live the life. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. ²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:23-26)

He concluded those teachings with a prayer. (John 17:1-5) “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

He even prayed for us – all believers through the ages. (John:17:20-23)

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

It is amazing to me that while facing his trial and death Jesus took thought of the future believers. All of those who would recognize that all have sinned and need to repent. Because sin pays its wages – death. But God showed his love for those who will come to him by sending his son to take our sins on his body and nail those sins to the cross. So that those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe in their hearts that God has raised him from the dead can be saved.

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

210314 God, in Christ, Working Reconciliation

 God, in Christ, Working Reconciliation.                                                      210314

This chapter begins with a reminder that our physical bodies are only tents when compared to our heavenly body which is a building made by God’s hand. This physical body is all we know and it is the best most of us can do. We are reminded, while we are in this body, we groan but we should rejoice. God has prepared us for our future by giving us the Holy Spirit who will take us through all our struggles. God’s guarantee can be trusted. We are assured by the Word that God will not allow us to be tempted more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Let’s look at….

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

You see, we must allow the Spirit to rule our decisions and directions. We need to recognize the presence of the Spirit, who is the resident in our life, to become the President of our life! That is the only way we can make it from day to day. When a person comes to faith in Christ every need will be met. Saved -- means you are a new creature! The old life starts passing away.

Paul wrote this truth to the Ephesian church. He encouraged them to live the way they learned! We need to remind ourselves that we have been called with a purpose. We need to act out the Christian Life. Not pretend to be in the faith – instead proclaim we are in the faith.

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20-24).

We are to pattern our lives after those who through faith and patience become heirs of the promises (Hebrews 6:12b). We are not to pretend to be Christians we need to prove we are Christians. Not imitations instead we are to be intentional believers.

Looking back to 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 we see that we are to strengthen our faith by our actions. We are new creatures in Christ! Let’s act it out! Make it live! Not in our strength alone. Notice how the Bible presents our actions. We are not told to do the best we can! We must remember, All this is from God not from us. It is God who Through Christ reconciled us to Himself.

When he did that he gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God reconciles us and enables us to join Him in ministry. Some of you listening to, or reading, these words are thinking, or saying outload, “I can’t minister reconciliation to others.” I don’t have the talent or training I need. I want to assure you, God equips those he calls. It is Christ in us who does the ministry. God never looks at human ability; mental, physical or spiritual! The only ability God wants is AVAIL-ability. He will provide everything else we need. And he never leads us into a problem he can’t handle.

Take Paul’s words to heart. (Romans 5:9-11) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Justified by His blood! Saved by Him! Reconciled by God! Saved by His Life!

So that we can rejoice in God! We can do those things only through our Lord Jesus Christ! The reconciliation we received from the Lord Jesus can be shared with others. We have overcome our separation from God and God strengthens and equips us. After all He took the penalty we deserve. He stood in our place taking our place on the cross. When He represented us he called and equipped us to become channels of His atoning Grace to a lost and dying world.

There are four terms that show how Christ’s death met the four needs that we have as sinners:

1. We deserve to die as the penalty for sin.

2. We deserve to bear God’s wrath against sin.

3. We are separated from God by our sins.

4. We are in bondage to sin and to the kingdom of Satan.

These four needs are met by Christ’s death in the following ways:

(1) Sacrifice

Christ died as a sacrifice for us. To pay the penalty of death that we deserved because of our sins, “He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

(2) Propitiation

Christ died as a propitiation for our sins. To remove us from the wrath of God that we deserved, “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” 1 John 4:10.

(3) Reconciliation

To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God. Paul says that God “through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” 2 Corinthians. 5:18–19.

(4) Redemption

Because we as sinners are in bondage to sin and to Satan, we need someone to provide redemption and thereby “redeem” us out of that bondage. When we speak of redemption, the idea of a “ransom” comes into view. A ransom is the price paid to redeem someone from bondage or captivity. Jesus said of himself, “For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). If we ask to whom the ransom was paid, we realize that the human analogy of a ransom payment does not fit the atonement of Christ in every detail. Though we were in bondage to sin and to Satan, there was no “ransom” paid either to “sin” or to Satan himself. They did not have power to demand such payment, nor was Satan the one whose holiness was offended by sin and who required a penalty to be paid for sin. As we saw earlier, the penalty for sin was paid by Christ and received and accepted by God the Father. But we hesitate to speak of paying a “ransom” to God the Father, because it was not he who held us in bondage but Satan and our own sins. Therefore at this point the idea of a ransom payment cannot be pressed in every detail. It is sufficient to note that a price was paid (the death of Christ) and the result was that we were “redeemed” from bondage.

We had to be redeemed from bondage to Satan because “the whole world is in the power of the evil one” 1 John 5:19, and when Christ came he died to “deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” Hebrews 2:15. In fact, God the Father “has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” Colossian. 1:13.

As for deliverance from bondage to sin, Paul says, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus … For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” Romans 6:11, 14. We have been delivered from bondage to the guilt of sin as well as from bondage to its ruling power in our lives. It is impossible for us to live a life that destroys, of defeats, sin. Sin is not just outward actions such as lying, cheating, murder, and such. Sin is found in our attitudes and thoughts. This is not just an idea that came along with Jesus. The Ten Commandments not only prohibit sinful actions but also wrong attitudes. The tenth commandment tells us, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Ex. 20:17). Here God specifies that a desire to steal or to commit adultery is equally sin in his sight. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount also prohibits sinful attitudes such as anger (Matt. 5:22) or lust (Matt. 5:28). Paul lists attitudes such as jealousy, anger, and selfishness (Gal. 5:20) as things that are works of the flesh opposed to the desires of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Therefore a life that is pleasing to God is one that has moral purity not only in its actions, but also in its desires of heart. In fact, the greatest commandment of all requires that our heart be filled with an attitude of love for God. One of the scribes came up to Jesus and asked which commandment is the most important. Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

How has God dealt with sin? Peter answered, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24.

Jesus answered the need to break the power of sin with the most popular verse in the Bible. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews came to Jesus one night to talk. Jesus said to him, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John3:16.

Looking back to 1 Corinthians 5:21. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and 6:23 adds the wages of sin is death. But God loved us so much that he shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” Romans 5;8. We are all born sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and cannot save ourselves. Jesus came to bear our sins and give salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 10:9-11, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

 

 

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

210214 Walk by Faith

Paul has come to recognize the possibility that the Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming may not happen during his lifetime. This should not be an overwhelming disappointment instead we should be encouraged by the fact that God has prepared us a building in heaven to be occupied when our earthly tent finally gives up. The Holy Spirit has been given as a guarantee.

The Greek word translated In the English Standard Version as “guarantee” only appears three times in the New Testament. Apparently the most common use would be, “money which in purchases is given as a pledge or down payment that the full amount will be paid.” Paul certainly did not mean to indicate that the Spirit is a deposit to be returned which would indicate one could lose their salvation. It may help us to know that in modern Greek the word, “arrabon”, can mean “engagement ring”.

So how can the Spirit be God’s pledge of the Christian’s inheritance? I believe it would be through his empowering of the Christian’s daily spiritual development and growth. We can be encouraged by 2 Corinthians 4:16, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” And, Ephesians 3:16 “that according to the riches of his glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

The presence of the Holy Spirit gives us a guarantee that God will do, in us, whatever he has promised.  He is ever present to guide, guard and protect his people. In Philippians 1:6 we are told, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Add to that Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” One of our greatest needs is the assurance of salvation. We need protection from our enemies both physical and spiritual. After all while Satan is roaming the earth looking for someone to devour.

(1 Peter 5:8) We should not be fearful. The eyes of the Lord are constantly seeking people whose hearts are wholly his so he can show his strength on their behalf. (2 Chronicles 16:9)  I am so grateful to God that the completion of our salvation does not depend on us but instead depends on God himself. Nothing could be more sure. God, through his word, assures us that he will meet all our needs including the need to know. We can rest in him as we journey through this life. Jesus promised, (Matthew 18:20), “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And, (Matthew 28:20) “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

When I was about 15 years old I had a Harley Davidson motorcycle. One day I was doing one of my favorite things, sitting at the counter in the drugstore, I heard my motorcycle start up. We never locked anything in this days. I ran to the door and saw my machine going away with two men on it. They were local toughs! I went to the payphone and called home. My Dad was there and he told me that he would come immediately. When he arrived he asked me if the two guys had a car, I pointed it out and he went to it and raised the hood. Dad did something to the car and put the hood down and we waited. The hoodlums arrived and Dad asked them if they had asked permission to ride my motorcycle. They answered, “No”. My Dad pointed to me and told them to give me five bucks. Now my Dad was over six feet tall and very much a man. After a short hesitation the money was forthcoming. As they handed me the money Dad handed them the rotor out of their distributor. Then he told them they had best not take my motorcycle again without permission.

We have a heavenly Father that cares for us in a similar manner. When we face difficulty in the day-to-day events we should quickly go to the payphone called “prayer” and he will come to our aid. He will stop the hurt and fix the problems. The Lord Jesus has promised and he always keeps his word. He may not fix the problem exactly the way we want, or expect, but He will not abandon us.

When we face danger we need to take the advice Joshua was given when he faced the problem of taking over the leadership of Israel after Moses died. God said to him, “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous,” (Joshua 1:5-6).

Paul gives us assurance, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

We have many reasons to be of good courage. Even though we certainly face hardships that cause us to groan while awaiting our heavenly body we have the Holy Spirit as our guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, ²² and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Our Father guarantees our salvation. I feel really sad that so many believers are not confident that God will take them through to heaven. Paul definitely suffered physically and was constantly under attack spiritually. All of that opposition was used by God to strengthen his faith. He reminds us that even though we are under attack we live by faith not by sight. The pattern of a faith-walk is to be courageous, informed and faithful. We should desire to be at home with the Lord. Our day-to-day activity should focus on pleasing the Lord.

When we live by faith the Lord Jesus Christ becomes our defense attorney. We must appear before the judgement seat. There, the Lord will evaluate believers’ lives in order to give eternal rewards. Our punishment has been carried by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, for believers, judgement is not to determine who will be saved or lost but what rewards will we receive.

But we must guard against misunderstanding here: Even though there will be degrees of reward in heaven, the joy of each person will be full and complete for eternity. If we ask how this can be when there are different degrees of reward, it simply shows that our perception of happiness is based on the assumption that happiness depends on what we possess or the status or power that we have. Our true happiness consists in delighting in God and rejoicing in the status and recognition that he has given us. The foolishness of thinking that only those who have been highly rewarded and given great status will be fully happy in heaven is seen when we realize that no matter how great a reward we receive, there will always be those with greater rewards, or who have higher status and authority, including the apostles, the heavenly creatures, and Jesus Christ and God himself. Therefore if highest status is essential for people to be fully happy, no one but God would be fully happy in heaven, which is certainly an incorrect idea.

Instead we each have a reward container. It will be filled at the judgement. Some will have a cup, others a jar – say a pint, quart or gallon, some will have a storage tank (50 gallon or 100 gallon). 

It would be morally and spiritually beneficial for us to have a greater consciousness of this clear New Testament teaching on degrees of heavenly reward. Rather than making us competitive with one another, it should cause us to help and encourage one another that we all may increase our heavenly reward, for God has an infinite capacity to bring blessing to us all, and we are all members of one another. We would more eagerly heed the admonition of the author of Hebrews, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25). Moreover, in our own lives a heartfelt seeking of future heavenly reward would motivate us to work wholeheartedly for the Lord at whatever task he calls us to, whether great or small, paid or unpaid. It would also make us long for his approval rather than for wealth or success. It would motivate us to work at building up the church on the one foundation, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10–15). According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

The Christian life is a struggle, but it is not without equipping and training. I want to share with you a quote from Erasmus Sarcerius, a German Theologian who lived during the 16^th century, “The spirit and the flesh are opposed to one another like two powerful lords who are always waging war with each other. One of them orders us to do spiritual things, the other carnal ones. One of them tells us what is good, the other what is bad, and so on. “Flesh” means anything in the heart that does not live according to the Holy Spirit. The flesh is that part of a person that does not do what God wants but differs from him. The flesh is also our complete human nature, with both its higher and its lower senses. The spirit is whatever lives in our heart by the Holy Spirit. The spirit is that part of us that does what God wants and that is born again by the Holy Spirit so that it can do good works that are alive and spiritual. When the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, it rebounds on the spirit with its own impure desires and outwardly evil deeds, because it is the flesh that tempts the spirit to have such wicked thoughts and do such evil things. When the spirit desires what is contrary to the flesh, it rebounds against the flesh with its own pure desires and outwardly good deeds, because it is the spirit that provokes the flesh to have good thoughts and to do good deeds, and it is the spirit’s job not to give in to the temptations of the flesh.”

 

Paul encourages us with these words Galatians 5:16-26, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Do not struggle against the flesh that is a lost cause! Instead, live by the Spirit’s direction and you will not be comfortable when the flesh lifts its ugly head. You will find a commitment to Christ Jesus is not only possible but live by the Spirit and you will grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus! Today could your day to begin a restful walk in the power of Jesus. If you feel the call to come to Jesus he will not turn you away. He is the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep who hears his voice.

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

 

210131 An Eternal Home

 This passage I have chosen as the central message today represents a change in the Apostles’ thinking with regard to the second coming of Christ. 

Possibly an extreme crisis that had recently happened to him made him more aware of the weakness of his human body. He refers to this in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

We will look at the evidence in what was probably the first letter that Paul had written to any church. 1 Thessalonians Paul clearly stated: “We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). No question, he spoke of being alive at the coming of the Lord. About five years later we find Paul writing about folding our earthly tent which is our body. Let’s look at what he had to say:

 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

This passage begins with confidence, “We know”, not, “We think” or “We believe” but “We Know” that if our earthly tent – our body -- die “we have” a building in heaven. Not “we might have” but “we have”! Take note, our future home is not an upgrade on the present “tent” we live in. Our future home is “a building from God”!

It is certainly appropriate that our new – eternal -- bodies will no longer be weak and temporary because we will live in them forever. John saw our future bodies and spoke of them in his first little letter. 1 John 3:2, ^“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Our heavenly dwelling will be patterned after the present dwelling of Jesus. It will be, or it is, radically different from our present body.

Paul wrote about the difference between our present body and our future body in detail in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.  There, the Apostle asks the question, “what kind of body” will the dead have? Then he uses the difference between seeds that are planted and when they return they are raised in glory. The seed is alone when it goes into the ground and it dies only to be restored to a new, powerful life. After the death to life event there are many seeds. According to IowaCorn.org there is about 800 kernels on the average ear of corn. So we can see the seed and stalk comparison is encouraging. This tent we live in is like the single kernel and our future body will be much more complicated – raised in power. “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” (15:42-44) The future body that we live in is everything we need.

In one sense we already possess, or own, that future body. In Ephesians 2:4-7, We find: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The biggest problem, in dealing with this scripture and these ideas, is we do not “feel” as if we have been raised up and seated with him in the heavenlies. Wordsworth, English poet of the late 16^th and early 17^th century, hit the nail on the head when he wrote the poem that begins with the passage:

“The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—“

We are in bondage to the world and its customs. We will never consistently feel like we are living in heaven. We really need to get our feeler on board with the truth of God’s Word. Bill Gillham in Lifetime Guarantee put it this way, “You are actually seated in heaven, according to God’s Word, experiencing God’s rest (above your circumstances). You are secure, loved, and treasured:”

We are not aliens to heaven we are citizens there. Paul wrote in, Philippiians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

The process of transformation from dead in sin to dead to sin is called sanctification. Back to 2 Corinthians 5, the confidence we need to live by is “we have a building”

And that building is from God who, as the writer of Hebrews assures us, is the founder of our salvation. The architect and builder of our lives is God the Father in union with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Together the Trinity planned a process through which mankind would be eternally saved.

If you can visualize a table that has all the ages, from beginning to end, existing forever. We only see a part of what is happening now and remember some of those things that happened in the past with no hope of seeing the future. God, on the other hand, sees it all.

 

God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah in chapter 46 verses 8-10, “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, ⁹ remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, ¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,”

Back to 2 Corinthians 5. Paul referred to our tent being a burden that causes us to groan longing to put on our heavenly dwelling. I will be honest, I am not eager to die. I am not afraid to die. The Bible tells us that Jesus became human at the right time and was born of Mary. He lived a sinless life. Again, at the right time, He took our sins into His body, nailed it to the cross, took it to the grave and left it there.

We should let the eyewitnesses speak.

Peter told it this way, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Paul wrote a more complete statement of faith: (Corinthians 15:3-8) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

John recorded in (John 1:10-14), He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John added, (John 20:30-31) Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

 

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

210110 What did Mary Know?

 From the time of Jesus’ birth until he was 12 years old nothing indicates to us that he was anything other than an obedient son. At the age of 12 he went along with Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem for Passover. He had been so trustworthy, up until then, that Mary and Joseph could leave Jerusalem expecting him to be in the group that was traveling together. When they discovered he was not with the group they returned to Jerusalem only to find him asking questions and giving answers to the teachers in the temple. Luke tells us, “And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” Luke 2:48-51.

During the preceding 12 years Mary and Joseph did not fully understand who they were dealing with. If they had, he said, they would have known he would have been in his Father’s house.

Jesus continued to live in the family home in Nazareth for another 18 years. At the end of that time he began his ministry.  What did Mary know? She knew what had happened and, she knew that he was an obedient son. She knew what Gabriel had told her about her son. He would be named Jesus. He would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High. He would receive the throne of his father, David. And even more amazing, of his kingdom there would never be in end.

Mary visited with Elizabeth, who had conceived the child that would become John the Baptist. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, told Mary that the baby in her womb was her Lord.

I am not sure we can say that Mary understood a lot of what was happening. We do know that she testified that she treasured these things in her heart.

After Jesus began his ministry his family was invited to a wedding at the little town of Cana in Galilee. While they were there a problem occurred. The wine ran out! I assume that Mary felt some kind of responsibility for the couple getting married and wanted to be sure they were well cared for. What did Mary know? When we look at what happened next begin to answer that question. John recorded the event for us. John 2:1-5 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

What did Mary know? She knew that her son could solve any supply problem they might have. He did not disappoint her. He had the servants fill six large stone water jars, over 100 gallons, and when they drew out what the jars contained it was the best wine. I do not know from the text whether Mary expected water to be turned to wine or did she just simply believe her son could solve the problem, whatever it was? We are not told the answer to that question but we can see from the story that Mary had faith in the ability of her son.

These jars were the ones from which servants would draw water that was then poured over the hands of those who came to eat. This wasn’t simply about washing their hands before dinner; this was a religious ceremony. And what does Jesus do? He replaces the ceremonial water with wine. Symbolically, he replaces the old religion of rituals with the new wine of a joyful relationship.

You might be confused by what Jesus said when speaking to his mother (v. 4). What does ‘My time has not yet come’ mean? In one sense we know the answer, because we know what the climax of the Gospel is: the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here, Jesus was pointing out that what he came to do could be put into the category of ‘Now, but not yet’. The miracle of the abundant wine was fulfilling prophecies made to describe the wonders of God’s kingdom, but it was only a partial fulfilment. The new wine eventually ran out. But that real, actual, substantial kingdom where Jesus will perfectly reign was still to come.

After the wedding Jesus and his disciples, along with his mother and his brothers, went to Capernaum. Occasionally, the gospel writers tell us that Mary and his brothers were present while he was teaching. However, that did not mean they believed in him as the Messiah or a prophet.

Actually when Jesus began his ministry his family tried to stop him. Mark told the story. Mark 3:21, And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

That event led to Jesus redefining family in a way that is hard for us to accept. As we look further in Mark’s account (vv31-35) we find: And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mary had known all of his life that Jesus was different. As his public ministry continued he openly asserted that his “family” were those who do the will of God. In order for him to remain obedient to God’s plan for his life he would have to give up customary relationships.  Jesus certainly loved his mother. He had been subject to her for most of 30 years. After his arrest he will show how much he loved her.

He was different! That is a major understatement! At the same time he lived such a “normal” human life that the people who knew him best, the neighbors, those who he had worked alongside of for 30 years saw him as the carpenter. He had patched up their houses and likely made furniture and pretty much anything made of wood. All the while Mary, his mother, treasured all of these events in her heart. 

His brothers had major difficulty with all that they saw what he did and what he taught. They even challenged him to go expose himself to danger by going to Jerusalem, “If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”

John remembered that event and it is recorded in John 7:1-5 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him^{. 2} Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. ³ So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. ⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even his brothers believed in him.

It must have been very painful to Mary. She would have many memories to reflect on. One thing she knew -- there would be pain in her life. Simeon was waiting at the Temple when Jesus was presented to the Lord.

Luke 2:34,35, And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”                                                              

Mary had a good many events to treasure and store in her heart. The fulfilled promises from God through Gabriel would begin to make clear what she had been told. She, along with others, would stand at a distance to see him nailed to the cross. Simeon had told her, “And a sword will pierce through your own soul also”. Now 30 years later outside the city where he was presented to the Lord he was crucified. As his human life was coming to an end the crowds fell away. We do not know when Mary arrived in Jerusalem. Was she in the crowds who proclaimed him   All four gospels list women who were looking on as he was being crucified. We are not told that they watched as he was so cruelly beaten. She may have been present when Jesus came out of Pilate’s judgement hall. She may have watched as the crowed demanded that Pilate crucify Jesus while releasing a notorious prisoner, a man called Barabbas.

Jesus was weakened by the scourging to the point the Romans made one of the onlookers, Simon of Cyrene, take the cross to the place of execution.

The followers of Jesus feared for their lives. At first they stood at a distance. Then they moved closer as time passed. Finally John the disciple and at least three of the women, all named Mary, stood by the cross.

For those who have not gotten over Jesus’ rejection of his mother John recorded the event. Seeing his mother and John, the disciple whom he loved, standing nearby he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” Mary saw all of these things as they unfolded.

There is no mention of any of the other disciples. Peter intended to be there but had denied he knew Jesus three times before the trial. I believe he was too ashamed to be present. The next time we see Peter he was hiding in an upper room while some women went to the tomb on the third day after he was crucified. What Mary saw was the unfolding of the gospel. We are dependent on the written truth.

Paul wrote out the gospel. In his letter to the Romans he presented the gospel.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” The gospel revealed the righteousness of God. And not our righteousness. In fact our righteousness is like dirty clothes at a party. In his 2^nd letter to the Corinthians chapter 5 verses 20 and 21 Paul wrote: “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Our righteousness will not meet our needs. The baby Jesus, that his mother spent 33 years watching, and learning from, God’s righteousness was revealed to Mary and though out history. Again we go to Paul for words of hope and salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Have you put your faith in him so that his righteousness could be revealed in you? I pray that you will be sure you have come to know him. Mary was his human mother and it was necessary for her to understand that her son was, and is, her only hope of salvation. We do not have any good things to do in order to be saved – Neither did she! “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; ⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

210103 Mary Did You Know?

In 1991 Buddy Greene and Mark Lowery combined their talents and came up with a very popular song. It’s called, “Mary Did You Know?”

Let’s let Mark tell the story, “In 1984, Jerry Falwell, the pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA, called and asked me to write the program for their next Living Christmas Tree. As I wrote the ‘speaking parts’ I began to think about Mary. I have always been fascinated with the concept that God came to earth.

In a conversation with my mother, I remember she said, ‘If anyone on earth knew for sure that Jesus was virgin born - Mary knew!’ That was a profound statement that stuck with me. One thing they couldn’t take from Mary was that she knew her Child was not ordinary.

At the cross on Mount Calvary, while Jesus was dying, her silence was a great testimony to the fact of who he was and is. He said to them, ‘When you have seen me, you have seen the Father.’ Of course, for this they nailed him to a cross, and his mother never said a word.

As my mind went back to the manger scene, I began to think about the power, authority and majesty she cradled in her arms. Those little lips were the same lips that had spoken worlds into existence. All of those things were contained in the young child lying quietly on her bosom. Even now, he was the very one who had given life to his mother, Mary.

I began writing a list of questions I would like to ask Mary if I could sit down with her - questions such as, ‘Mary, do you know who is in your arms?’

‘Did you know the one who holds creation together, and the one who holds you together is lying helpless in the manger?’

‘Did you know that your baby boy will walk on water, give sight to a blind man and calm a storm at sea with his hand?’”

Lowry carried his lyrics with him for the next seven years. In 1991, he asked his good friend, Buddy Greene, to write suitable music for his poem.

Greene said, “Mark handed me his lyrics, and I held on to them for about two weeks. One day I pulled them out and looked at them. They seemed to suggest a minor key approach to writing an accompaniment. I completed the musical setting in about 30 minutes. I called Mark at his home in Georgia and on the phone played and sang the song to him. He was ecstatic! He said, ‘That’s it!’

Two weeks later, we met in Mark’s hotel room in Nashville where we recorded the song on a small portable machine. It was then taken to Michael English who was preparing to make an album. He was the first person to record “Mary, Did You Know?”

We must not leave the Biblical account behind. In the next few weeks I would like to present what we believe Mary might have known. We need to think on what was clearly known about her baby boy and also what might have been.

Her first introduction to the baby happened while she was engaged to be married but before she was married. Luke gives such details that only Mary would have known. It is my opinion that the gospel writer must have interviewed Mary. Luke 1:26-39, In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Some preachers and teachers believe Mary may have been as young as 12 or 13 years of age. Usually these teachers also believe Joseph was 15 to 17 years of age. However, the Bible teaches that men were not able to go to war before age 20. I realize marriage is not warfare, at least it should not be. At the same time, I believe 20 would be an appropriate age for Joseph at the time of Jesus’ birth.

In the culture of the first century there does not appear to have been an adolescent gap between childhood and adulthood. The way people were brought up was simply go to bed one night as a child and wake up in the morning an adult!  We do know that there was no such ceremony as bar mitzvah at the time of Jesus’ birth. The first record of such an event was during the 15^th century!

Some people hold that Joseph was an older man because he is not mentioned after the trip to Jerusalem for Passover when Jesus was 12. The Bible is silent on the subject and therefore we must also be careful. I suspect that those who hold to an older Joseph want to support the teaching of Mary’s perpetual virginity. Since the Bible does not mention Joseph again, he probably died before Jesus’ ministry began. That allows for 30 years of marriage. During those years there was plenty of time for Mary to conceive other children. After all Jesus was introduced as her “firstborn son” (Luke 2:7). That certainly implies there were others. Matthew remembered and recorded: While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. (Matthew 12:46). Mark, in his gospel recorded the words of the people in Nazareth, “Is not this the carpenter, son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” (6:3). Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, (1:19) referred to James as the Lord’s brother!

Now let’s go back to the original question! “Mary Did You Know?”

First of all, she knew that this child conceived in her definitely came from God. She is one of the few people on earth who ever met an archangel! Luke assures us that it was Gabriel who was sent from God to the little town of Nazareth to a young woman named Mary. The angel began his time with Mary greeting her, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Remember she is a virgin committed to marry a man named Joseph. Remember also, we do not know for sure her age or Joseph’s age. As such she was not expected to be totally comfortable in the presence of one of the highest angels. She should not be concerned about her fear because almost every time an angel presents itself to anyone that person is first described as being afraid, or at least troubled by the contact. So Mary knew she was confronting one of God’s highest and mightiest angels.

Second, she must know that the Lord is with her because the angel said he was! I am not sure she had that concept pinned down very tight. Imagine her position — one day she is simply the engaged daughter of a family in a small town, off the beaten tracks. She had little to do other than prepare for her wedding day or week as it was at that time. Now she was in the presence of angelic authority. I am sure she needed to know that God himself had sent the message!

So throughout her life she knew that the Lord was with her.

The angel assured her that she had found favor with God. I am not as sure as many are that she was surprised by this statement. She might not have been a reader in synagogue for two reasons: first, she was probably too young. Second, she was a woman. She was highly favored by God so I believe she had a fellowship with the God of Israel

Next, she knew that the child that would be conceived in her womb was the son of the most high, the heir to David’s throne! She knew that he would have a name that had deep meaning. “Jesus” is a variation on the name “Joshua”! The meaning of the name Jesus would not be a surprise to her. She would know that it meant “the Lord is salvation”!

When the same angel appeared to Zechariah, a mature priest, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. Anyone who says they are comfortable around angels never met one. Certainly they have never met an archangel. Those are not little cherubs with chubby cheeks and tiny wings they are powerful warriors that live in the presence of God himself.

From what Gabriel said Mary would have known that the child would be the heir of David the King. From that throne this child would rule over the House of Jacob forever. His reign would be such that he would rule forever — his kingdom would never end. I am impressed by Mary’s question. She did not ask how the heir of David would be in her. Instead, Mary immediately questioned, “How will this be, since I’m a virgin?” She did not want to get into the complications of the spiritual side of Jesus. She wanted to know how she could be involved.

Gabriel had an answer, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of The Most High will overshadow you.” Nothing is impossible to God.

From this exchange Mary knew that the most High God would place a baby in her. She would have known that the child came from God and not a man. The human part of Jesus came from Mary and therefore she must have been of the House of David! Jesus certainly did not inherit anything from Joseph. Joseph really impresses me as being a man who would take care of a baby that he was not the physical father of. We don’t know how soon Mary produced more children that would have been Joseph’s.

In this exchange Mary’s final words were, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

If Mary had any doubts her visit to Zachariah and Elizabeth would have helped settle them. Let’s read Luke’s account, “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:39-45).

We are told by Elizabeth that Mary believed what she had been told. This was an affirmation of Mary’s faith as well as the faith of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They believed what they had been told and confirmed for Mary what she had been told.

We have little evidence as to what the next 12 years. Luke 2:40 tells us that upon the return to Nazareth, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. and the favor of God was upon him”.

When Jesus was 12 years old you went with his parents — as they were called – when the celebrations were over and the family left with their friends to go back to Nazareth Jesus stayed behind. They traveled at least a full day before they realized he was not with them. Because of this I believe he was very trustworthy. They searched for him along the way and throughout the city. Their search ended when they got to the Temple they found that was where he had been the whole time. During those 12 years Mary and Joseph did not fully understand who they were dealing with. If they had, he said, they would have known he would have been in his Father’s house.

Jesus continued to live in the home in Nazareth for another 18 years. At that time he began his ministry.

Luke 2:50-51 tells us that, “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. ⁵¹ Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

When I was first impressed to present this sermon I wasn’t sure I would find enough material for more than one. Next week I will take up the same subject.

Mary was a Godly woman but, like all of us, she needed a savior. Her baby would take the sin of all who come to him in faith and died as our substitute. By God’s grace, through faith, we have the hope of salvation. Have you come to him for salvation? Today could be your day of salvation.

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.