Come!

In Revelation 22.17, this morning. Three times the word come is repeated (in one form or another) in this verse. It is a call for the Lord Jesus to come (again). It is a call from the Saints to Christ to come. It is also a call to those who are thirsty to come (to Christ!).

There is a close connection between this verse and Isaiah 55.1. “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah calls everyone who thirsts to come. John calls everyone who thirsts to come. It is the same call. It is a free call. It is the offer of the gospel, "Come to faith in Jesus. Come and accept his free offer of salvation. He died for you. It will cost you nothing. It cost him everything."

I like how Bengel comments on this verse (quoted in JFB): The whole question of your salvation hinges on this, that you be able to hear with joy Christ’s announcement, “I come,” and to reply, “Come.”

Words Describing a Humbled Heart

In 2 Chron 34.27, this morning. The key words in the verse are tender, humbled, heard, torn, and wept. These are all words that describe Josiah's reaction to hearing the words of the Law (which had apparently been lost). When Josiah heard the Scriptures read his heart was tender; he was humbled; he heard the words; he tore his clothes; and he wept before the Lord. All words describing a person who hears the word of the Lord and understands it and it changes him. Josiah has a humbled heart when he encounters God's word.

May we be like Josiah.

Wondering What God's Will Is?

Wonder no more. Proceed directly to John 15.12, Love one another. Voila! You have God's will for you. Sure it isn't all of God's will and it doesn't necessarily tell you the direction that you're supposed to take, but my point is that, sometimes God's will for you is very clear. In this case, Christ doesn't speak in parables. He doesn't hide what he means in a veil of obscure reference or a story. He simply tells us. My will for you is that you love one another. I like it when Christ is simple and straightforward...probably because that's the way I am.

Adam Clarke, in his commentary on this verse, tells an interesting story about the apostle John who wrote it:

So deeply was thus commandment engraved on the heart of this evangelist that St. Jerome says, lib. iii. c. 6, Com. ad Galat., that in his extreme old age, when he used to be carried to the public assemblies of the believers, his constant saying was, Little children, love one another. His disciples, wearied at last with the constant repetition of the same words, asked him, Why he constantly said the same thing? “Because (said he) it is the commandment of the Lord, and the observation of it alone is sufficient.” Quia praeceptum Domini est, et, si solum fiat, sufficit.

No Orphans in the Christian Faith

Thinking about John 14.18. I will not leave you as orphans. In a world in which orphans were virtually ubiquitous due to disease, this is a very precious promise. Christ was leaving—he had explained this in vv 1-6. He would not leave them as orphans. He promises to come to them. I will come to you. There are no orphans in the Christian faith. Christ promised he will come. He will come!

We know!

In John 9.24, this morning where the Pharisees encounter the man who had been blind from birth, but whose eyes Christ had opened. The whole encounter has a side element of comedy to it as the blue collar guy—without education and intellect—schools the guys who have all of the education and intelligence.

What struck me is that the Pharisees used the language of devotion. They call for the unnamed ex-blind guy to give glory to God. Sounds good! What could possibly be wrong with that. Then they say, we know that this man is a sinner. In the Greek the we is emphasized as if they were saying, "we and not you," or "of this we are sure." The language of devotion masked a spirit of pride that could not or would not see what was plainly in front of them, as the ex-blind guy points out for them: Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. Ouch! How that must have hurt.

The learning point is two-fold: First, I had better make sure that my heart does not hide unbelief and pride behind a mask of devotion. Second, it is possible that I can be so convinced that what I believe is correct—even when it is absolutely wrong—that I miss the truth, even when it smacks me squarely in the eyes. Be careful, O wandering heart!

Who Says This Stuff?!?

Thinking about John 8.23ff this morning. You are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Who says this kind of thing? It's absolutely breathtaking. Once again Christ forces us to take him on his own terms or to take nothing. He was not and never claimed to be a good, moral teacher. He claimed to be different. Unique. From above. We take him as that or nothing.

C. S. Lewis captures the import of Christ's words better than anyone I've ever read: A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

On Being a Judge

The Lord gives instructions to Jehoshaphat concerning how judges are to judge in 2 Chron. 19-6,7. It's a good list for any judge at anytime, anywhere.

1. Consider what you do because...

2. You judge for the Lord, not on behalf of men

3. The Lord is with you as you pass judgment

4. Let the fear of the Lord be upon you

5. Be careful what you do

6. Let the fear of the Lord be upon you

7. Be careful what you do

8. No injustice

9. No partiality

10. No taking bribes

Look and Believe

In John 6.40, this morning, a verse packed with meaning. The main point is simple and straightforward. Look and believe. The will of God the Father is that we look on his Son and believe. If we do this we will have eternal life. If we do this Christ will raise us upon on the last day. Great promises. Simple. Profound.

Confused about who Christ was?

Christ was not. Reading in John 5.17, this morning. It is the beginning of one of the most remarkable passages of the New Testament in which Christ clearly sets forth his sonship with God the Father. He understood it that way. The Jews understood it that way (John 5.18).

If you take a step back and ponder the meaning of the whole passage (John 5.17-47), it is absolutely breathtaking. What kind of person comes to the Jewish leaders and the most religious of Jewish society and says, "I am of one essence with God the Father!"? It was either on par with the utmost blasphemy, or it was true, or possibly as C. S. Lewis points out, Christ was crazy. We have only those three choices.

Imagine someone showing up in our day and culture and doing some impressive miracles and saying, "I am of the same essence as the God who created the universe." It would certainly cause us to catch our breath and say, "can it possibly be true? Who is this guy?" This is the claim that Christ was making.

John Calvin points out that possibilities and pitfalls in Christ's claim: So great is our depravity that we choose rather to perish of our own accord than to surrender ourselves to obey the Son of God, that we may be saved by his grace.

As for me, I will take Christ at his word and fall at his feet (gladly!) and call him Lord and God.

Who is Worthy? Christ is Worthy!

In Revelation 5.4,5,9,10, this morning. In vs. 4, John weeps because there was no one found worthy to open the scroll so that he could understand what was written in it. In vs. 5, we find that Christ is worthy to open the scroll. In vv. 9,10, we find out why Christ was worthy to open the scroll.

He is worthy because:

1. He died and rose again, thus conquering death.

2. By his blood he ransomed people for God from every tribe and people and tongue and nation (every!).

3. What Christ ransomed, he made kings and priests to our God.

Words to lift up one's spirits because the end is revealed. Christ ransoms. God wins! It's good to be on God's side!

You Must Be Born Again...Born from Above

Christ uses an interesting word when he tells Nicodemus that he must be born again in John 3.3. He says γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν The word ἄνωθεν can mean either again or from above. Which does he mean here? Most translations take it as meaning again. I'm wondering if he means both again and from above, because it is a new birth that happens from above.

At any rate, the most important thing, the thing we must not miss is that something has to happen to us. We must be born again, or born from above, or born again from above. Unless this happens we will not see the kingdom of God.

How then, can we make it happen. We cannot. Christ makes this very clear. He compares the movement of the Spirit of God to the movement of physical wind. Just like we cannot tell where the wind comes from or where it is going, but we can feel it on our cheek and see its operation on trees and clouds, so is the Spirit of God. We cannot force him to work. We do not know how he is going to work. We do not know where he is going to work next. We can only witness it in action. In other words, salvation is from God, not from our own efforts.

Don't miss this verse! You must be born again.

What Humility Is

Zephaniah defines humility practically for us in Zeph 2.3, according to him, the one who is humble will:

1. Seek the Lord.

2. Do his just commands.

3. Seek righteousness.

4. Seek humility.

John Calvin says: This phrase does not imply doubt of the deliverance of the godly, but expresses the difficulty of it, as well that the ungodly may see the certainty of their doom, as also that the faithful may value the more the grace of God in their case (1 Peter 4:17-19).

The EBC is more succinct: Only the “humble of the land” are exhorted because nothing can be done with the rest.

Two Men/Two Responses to Christ

In Luke 23.40-42, this morning, where we see two responses to Christ as men stare into eternity, a response we see again and again to the good news in both the Scriptures and history. On the one hand we see a man (a thief) who is interested in nothing more than a miraculous trip off of the cross so he can continue with what he was doing (being a thief). On the other hand, we see one of the greatest examples of faith in history. The second thief who speaks knows that he will die on this day. He knows that Christ is going to die and that the other thief is going to die as well. He rebukes his fellow thief because he understands that both of them are dying justly. They are guilty and deserve it. Even though he has presumably never met Christ, as he watches Christ's response he recognizes that Christ did not deserve to die.

Then come the words of great faith “But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”” (Luke 23:40-42 ESV) They are nailed to three crosses, to all appearances the Roman soldiers and the Jewish rulers have won the day because they will live and the three condemned men will not, and yet he calls for Christ to remember him when you come to your kingdom! Amazing faith. Faith that Christ acknowledges because he promises that Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.

The thief emphasizes the word we, when he says we indeed justly, and he also emphasizes worthy when he says (my translation) worthy we are to receive (death). He makes a contrast between he and the other thief, and Christ. They deserve death. Christ does not. For Christ do die is as he puts it out of place or absurd is the meaning of the word that he uses. For them to die is acceptable; for Christ to die is absurd.

Calvin: I know not that, since the creation of the world, there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith; and so much the greater admiration is due to the grace of the Holy Spirit, of which it affords so magnificent a display.

Radical Leadership

It's hard to properly put into perspective Christ's admonition to his disciples to be servant-leaders in Luke 22.26. Leadership in the culture of 1st century Palestine had no examples of leaders who were servants. Servants served leaders; they did not lead by serving. We have 2000 years of the effects of the gospel, not to mention 2000 years of studying Christ's words so the statement is no longer radical to us. It must have been dumbfounding to the disciples.

ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως is how Christ begins his statement on being a servant leader, and it is a bold statement indeed, which can roughly be translated But you, not so, or But you not thus.

Cyril of Alexandria does a good job of putting this statement into its proper perspective.

When Christ says this, who can be so obstinate and unyielding as not to put away all pride and banish from his mind the love of empty honor? Christ is ministered to by the whole creation of rational and holy beings. He is praised by the seraphim. He is tended by the services of the universe. He is the equal of God the Father in his throne and kingdom. Taking a servant’s place, he washed the holy apostles’ feet.

The Means to (True) Life...

...is endurance in the faith, according to Christ at Luke 21.19. By your endurance you will gain your lives. Simple and to the point. Christ must not mean physical endurance, as if to say, if you endure like a marathon runner endures you will gain your lives, because then the Christian life would be about working out and who could become a contest of the physically fittest. We can rule that out because Paul said bodily exercise profits little. Christ must mean that by endurance in the faith you will gain your lives (or souls, or inner lives).

BDAG defines lives as seat and center of the inner human life in its many and varied aspects, soul and further as, the seat and center of life that transcends the earthly. Christ is then not speaking of physical life, but of eternal life. NET puts it most succinctly: By your endurance is a call to remain faithful, because trusting in Jesus is the means to life.

What Does it Mean to Love God?

I'm glad you asked, and John is happy to answer for us in his first letter to the churches. We demonstrate our love to God by keeping his commandments. It's that simple and that difficult. No rocket science needed. No difficult exegesis. No confusion. You say you love God? Show me your obedience to what he has commanded you to do.

We are prone to say that we love God and then do what we want, especially in our day and age. There are numerous Christians who profess love of God, but then live as if his commandments were non-existent. If this is you, then you do not love God. Plain. Simple. Straightforward.

Adam Clarke: It is vain to pretend love to God while we live in opposition to his will.

A Staggering Truth

God's love is perfected in our love of one another! Thus 1 John 4.12. What to say about this? It's at once an unbending responsibility and a high privilege. As we followers of Christ love one another, then God's love is perfected. So states the notes in NET: The love that comes from God, the love that he has for us, reaches perfection in our love for others, which is what God wants and what believers are commanded to do (see 3:23b).

I Am Against You

Four words that, when spoken by the Lord of hosts, I hope I never hear! This is what the Lord says to Nineveh and the nation of Assyria in Nahum 2.13. This prophecy was probably given around 640 BC and by 590 BC, Babylon had conquered Assyria and Israel. So prophesied. So done.

When the Lord of hosts says I am against you, whether you are a nation or an individual, you are going down. He is sovereign. Nations are not; neither are individuals.

God's Goodness and Bringing Judgment

In Nahum 1.7, this morning, where Nahum begins by proclaiming God's power and ability to bring judgment upon Nineveh, then suddenly in verse 7, he says the Lord is good. Why the sudden switch to commenting on God's goodness in the middle of a passage about him bringing judgment? I think John Calvin gets it right in his comment on the passage:

First, by saying that God is good, he turns aside whatever might be objected on the ground of extreme severity. There is indeed nothing more peculiar to God than goodness. Now when he is so severe, that the very mention of his name terrifies the whole world, he seems to be in a manner different from himself. Hence the Prophet now shows that whatever he had hitherto said of the dreadful judgment of God, is not inconsistent with his goodness.

If the Dead Could Speak...

...we would not listen to them. So says Christ in Luke 16.31. Christ recounts the parable of Dives who dies in his sin and is in torment. He begs Abraham to send someone from the dead to tell his brothers to repent so that they will not end up like him. Abraham tells Dives that they have all they need to repent (Moses and the Prophets). If they do not listen to what the Scriptures are telling them, they will not listen to dead men speaking.

We are no less hard-hearted than the Jews, so we would be foolish to sit back and point the finger at them. What Christ is saying here is that Man (with a capital M) has everything he needs to come to faith—the Scriptures. Whatever else he might hear is not as good as what he already does have. It's an astonishing statement, and yet if one studies the reaction of the people to Christ's resurrection, demonstrably true. When someone DID return from the dead and speak to them, the masses still were not convinced.