The Resurrection is Everything

This from 1 Cor 15.17-19 (a favorite chapter of Scripture). Paul does not mince words here. He is short and to the point. If Christ has not been raised, Paul writes, futile (worthless) is your faith. He emphasizes futile by putting it first in the clause. He doesn't want us to miss this. Everything rests on the resurrection. If Christ is still dead, then we should stop wasting our time and eat, drink, and be merry, because we will die tomorrow and that will be the end of that. Fortunately, as Paul points out, Christ has been raised; our faith is not vain; we have hope in our resurrection to be with Christ in glory!

3 Day of Darkness

Thus Moses records the plague of darkness with which God struck the Egyptians in Exod 10.22,23. One can imagine the intensity of the darkness since it was brought by God and his destroying angels (Ps 78.49). It must have been a darkness with which the Egyptians were not familiar, able to stymy what light the Egyptians could produce. This was emphatically not an eclipse or any sort of darkness that can be explained naturally. It was the hand of God, and therefore, one assumes, a supernatural darkness; one that brought fear to the Egyptians throughout the land. The Israelites were protected.

Adam Clarke has some interesting comments: So deep was the obscurity, and probably such was its nature, that no artificial light could be procured; as the thick clammy vapors would prevent lamps, &c., from burning, or if they even could be ignited, the light through the palpable obscurity, could diffuse itself to no distance from the burning body. The author of the book of Wisdom, chap. xvii. 2–19, gives a fearful description of this plague. He says, “The Egyptians were shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness: and were fettered with the bonds of a long night. They were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished and troubled with strange apparitions; for neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear; but noises as of waters falling down sounded about them; and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances.

Reject the Disciples' Message = Reject Christ = Reject God

Yet another outlandish statement from Christ this morning (Luke 10.16). The one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me. Pretty much as clear as it could get. Christ is saying this: The message that you (72 disciples) brought was given by me. Whoever rejects it, rejects me. I brought my message from God the Father, whoever rejects it, rejects him. Christ is therefore claiming to bring a message directly from God. Can you imagine that? Who says stuff like this? No one ever has, not before or since. Except Christ. He says it without hesitation, without shame, without any sense of irony, much like Joseph told his brothers about his dream. We can either believe it is true, or we can reject it (and thereby reject Christ); we are not free to say that Christ was a good man, but nothing more. Good men do not say stuff like this, if it isn't true.

Astonished at His Majesty

Luke uses a curious choice of words at the end of the section in which Christ casts a demon out of an epileptic boy (Luke 9.43). Luke says that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. Then he follows with his comment about the reaction of the crowd. All were astonished at the majesty of God. Matthew and Mark who record this same incident do not include this comment. I'm wondering why the crowd was astonished at the majesty of God when the boy was healed? It seems like a more natural comment would be to say that the crowd was astonished at the power of God to heal, or maybe the crowd was astonished that God did heal. Why majesty?

Luke must be trying to tell us something here. BDAG defines μεγαλειότης as quality or state of experiencing high esteem because of awesome performance, impressiveness. Louw-Nida further defines it as: : a manifestation of great power—‘mighty power, mighty act.’ which Luke seems to want to communicate that those who witnessed Christ's actions and words understood that they were not witnessing the ordinary here. They were witnessing the extraordinary. Christ could not be a man with a penchant to heal. He was something beyond that, and his commanding an evil spirit out of the boy demonstrated the fact.

The Mystery of God's Ways

In Exod 5.22,23, this morning. God orders Moses to go free the people from slavery. After some "encouragement" from the Lord, Moses goes. He declares his purpose to the people. They believe, bow their heads, and worship. And then...things get worse, much worse. The people have to find their own straw to make bricks, and still have the same daily quota of bricks. Moses expresses his feelings to God here. Why did you ever send me?...You have not delivered your people at all. I no doubt would have felt the same. Moses expectations did not meet God's actions, which is a problem one sees over and over again in the Scriptures (the whole book of Job comes to mind).

What do I take from these verses. God's actions and my expectations will often not mesh and God feels no obligation to explain himself. This is where faith and trust come in, not to mention God's promises in Scripture.

The Correct Response to God's Intervention in our Lives: Worship

Whatever else one can say about the group of Israelites that came out of Egypt, their initial response to Moses's message that God had sent him to deliver his people from captivity was absolutely correct. Moses tells us the people believed; they bowed their heads; they worshipped (Exod 5.31).

It was what followed afterwards, when the deliverance was not immediate and the burden grew worse instead of better, that the people failed, and then again in the desert, they failed multiple times.

It should be a lesson for us. We can start well and immediately veer off into the ditch; or we can start well and do well for awhile and then veer off into the ditch; or we can even be going along well for a long time and then...into the ditch. The Christian life is a life of watching and analyzing to make sure that we obey the Holy Spirit and stay faithful. We should emulate the Israelites first response: believe, bow, and worship.

John the Baptist: His Purpose

According to Luke 1.79, his purpose was to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. When I read this in my devotions this morning, I read it as, and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. I suppose the ESV's punctuation is the way that Zechariah intended his remarks to be taken, but I think that may way is equally as true.

We live, all of us do, in the shadow of death all the time. Who knows what the day will bring. Death lurks around constantly and often strikes when we do not expect it. So to say that John the Baptist's purpose was and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace, we speak truthfully, for that is exactly what he did.

May you realize that you live in the shadow of death and may John the Baptist's life and words still today guide your feet into the way of peace—at the foot of the cross.

Every Knee Will Bow...Every

Thinking about Rom 14.11, this morning where Paul quotes Is 45.23. There will come a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess to God, no exceptions, no excuses. Does this mean that everyone will come to faith in God through Christ? No. One can have a heart filled with rebellion and still be forced to acknowledge the truth, that God is king. Two types of people will bow before God: Those who love him and worship him and delight in him; and those who hate him, despise him, and yet are forced to bow because he is the king, and all will bow before the king.

Wise in Heart, Mighty in Strength

Such is our God according to Job in Job 9.4. Interestingly enough his comment is made to point out that if there is a conflict between a man and God, how can the man win that conflict? In the process, Job points out that God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.

Think about that. Wouldn't it be nice to have a counselor who is the epitome of wisdom? Wouldn't it be nice to know that, in your corner stands someone who is the very definition of mighty in strength? But wait. You already have that. It is God. God is wise in heart. God is mighty in strength. God is for his people. God is for you.

Wisdom and Self

Never be wise in your own sight, says Paul in Romans 13.16. What do you suppose he means by that? It's kind of like humility, I suppose, if you're thinking that you're humble, you're not. Ironically, enough, just before this statement Paul says: Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Perhaps humility and wisdom are linked in that way. Think you have it? Think you're wise? Think you're humble? You're not.

Wisdom, like humility, is other-directed; outward-directed. Dedicated to the aid of those whom God puts in one's path.

Christ: Death = Entering Life

Thinking about Mark 9.43-47, this morning. Christ calls dying entering life, or alternatively entering the kingdom of God. A couple of obvious things from this. First, for those who have been declared righteous by God death IS entering life, or entering the kingdom of God. Second, we glean this because the alternative that Christ pronounces here is entering hell. One enters hell at death, and so we conclude that death for the believer is entering life. Christ is more explicit in John 5.24, Truly, truly I say unto you. He who hears my voice and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.

Which leaves the obvious question: When you die are you going to enter life or are you going to enter hell? Those are the two possibilities Christ leaves for us.

When Christ Marveled

Christ marveled at two people in the gospels—at least that is all that the writers of the gospels recorded. He marveled at the faith of a Gentile—the centurion with the sick servant (Matt 8.5-13), and he marveled at the unbelief of some Jews (Mark 6.6). Christ was astonished or astounded or marveled at the unbelief in his hometown. They should have seen enough in order to believe in him. By his words and by his works, he was demonstrating that he was God's son, come in the flesh. However, they refused to believe because he was just the son of a carpenter; they knew him; they had seen him grow up. They missed their opportunity for salvation.

The Basis of Justification: Faith not Works

So argues Paul in Romans 4.2,3ff. Paul points out that his message is the same message of the Pentateuch when it says that Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Paul then points out that his message is the same as David who also proclaimed that righteousness before God came apart from works. Paul then, agrees with Moses and David on the nature of justification.

Chrysostom is very helpful here: There are two kinds of boasting—one of works and one of faith…. Paul’s great strength is particularly displayed in this, that he turns the objection around and shows that what seemed to favor the idea of salvation by works (viz., boasting) belonged much more truly to salvation by faith. For the man who boasts in his works is boasting about himself, but the man who finds his honor in having faith in God has a much better reason for boasting, because he is boasting about God, not about himself.