Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. I hope it continues to be helpful for you. I just wanted to give you a head’s up on why I’m sporadic on posting right now. 

I have a major lesson I’m preaching tomorrow evening that is taking a lot of research. I’m preaching a series of lessons in Ohio beginning this Sunday and the in Indiana beginning next Friday. On top of all that, I am officially behind on getting my classbook ready for the Bible class I’m starting in December. 

All that together means that while I’m still reading my Bible, I just have to put my posting here on the back burner. 

Please keep up the Bible reading and I’ll post as soon as my schedule settles back down.

By the way, if you don’t want to keep coming back to check, you can put your e-mail address in that box at the top left of the blog and subscribe. That way, when I can get back to regular posting, it will come directly to you in your e-mail.

Hopefully I’ll be back in full swing before Thanksgiving. If not, Happy Thanksgiving.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

The story of the soldiers at Jesus’ tomb grabbed me today. 

The Jews asked Pilate to provide soldiers to guard the tomb. He granted that request. Some suggest that he actually said to the Jews, “You have your own guards; you see to it without mine.” However, the fact that the Jews might have to smooth things over with the governor if he found out about Jesus’ body being gone says to me that these were his soldiers. He did, in fact, grant a guard for the tomb.

After the events of that special Sunday, these guards told the story that the disciples came and stole the body while they were asleep. What an amazing story. Was anyone really to believe that soldiers who would be killed for such an admission really fell asleep on the job and allowed the disciples to steal the body? Further, are we really to believe that a bunch of ragtag fisherman and assorted rebels were willing to stand up against a guard of Roman soldiers? On top of that, who thinks it is possible for this group of disciples to roll back the large stone without waking any of the soldiers? Not to mention, this whole story sounds like something cooked up in an Encyclopedia Brown story. I can see now as Encyclopedia’s dad tells him the story, perplexed about getting to the bottom of this mystery. Encyclopedia closes his eyes, thinks deeply and then smiles. We all know the answer is coming out now. “Dad, the soldiers must be making up this story. If they were asleep, how do they know it was the disciples?”

Here is what grabbed me about this story. If I’m looking for reasons to doubt, the devil will supply them. The devil will always throw out some possibility that makes it seem like the story of Jesus just didn’t happen. And God has allowed these stories to go on. Why? Because as Philip Yancey points out in his books, if there is no room for doubt, it wouldn’t be faith. Regrettably, some people can’t handle the idea of faith. Therefore, if there is any room for doubt, they’ll doubt. That’s a sad state. 

Why not take God at His word? Have faith in Him. I know the world will think you are foolish…for now.

***Question: What do you do to increase your faith?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Well, my fall schedule is keeping me hopping and making it hard to get to the computer to post about each day’s reading. I hope you are keeping up with the reading in your Bible even if there haven’t been regular posts to keep up with here. What God says is definitely more important than what I say. However, I do think it helps for us to discuss these things. Therefore, I’m back.

The wise virgins of Matthew 25:1-13 really caught my attention today. They had purchased extra oil in case the bridegroom didn’t show up quickly. The foolish only bought enough for the moment they bought some. They didn’t plan for difficulties. Then the bridegroom was on his way and the foolish virgins realized they didn’t have enough oil. They asked the wise for some, but the wise said, “If we do that, there won’t be enough for both of us. Hasten to the market and purchase some for yourselves.”

This refusal always gives me pause. Aren’t we supposed to sacrifice for others? Were the wise virgins being greedy? What might the foolish virgins think of them if they refused?

This little tidbit reminds me that I don’t need to be codependent. That is, my emotional well-being does not need to be governed by the emotional responses of others. The wise virgins looked at what was right and wrong, not what everyone else would think of their actions. How easy it might have been for the foolish virgins to manipulate the wise. “I can’t believe you won’t help me in my need. That’s just not very Christlike. How stingy.” How easy it would have been for the wise to get caught up in playing emotional games, “I know if I give some of this oil I won’t have enough either, but what will they think of me. I don’t want them to resent me. I definitely don’t want them thinking that I’m not very spiritual or sacrificing.” 

They didn’t have to do any of that. They had done what was right. To give away their oil would have impacted their relationship with the bridegroom. They didn’t have to cave to any of the emotional manipulation and pressure of the foolish virgins.

Should we be people who sacrifice and serve others? Absolutely. However, that doesn’t mean caving to emotional manipulation. That doesn’t mean walking a line defined by the overbearing expectations of others, especially of others who are placing this burden on us because of their own wrongs. 

The first question we need to ask is what draws us closer to the bridegroom. We need to do that no matter what others think about us or say about us. If what we have done is right and brings us closer to Jesus, then it doesn’t matter if others think we are bad. We’re not. If, on the other hand, what we have done is wrong and takes us away from Jesus, then it doesn’t matter if we have convinced everyone in the world that we are spiritually great; we aren’t. 

That is the key to why these virgins were wise. Not only did they prepare so they could be close to the bridegroom and be ready. They did not allow the emotional manipulations of others to overtake their desire to be with the bridegroom. They didn’t allow their desire to impress others to overtake their desire to be with the bridegroom. They didn’t allow their fears of hurting their relationships with other people to overtake their desire to be with the bridegroom. When the bridegroom came, they were ready.

***Question: How do you keep your relationships with others from hindering your relationship with Jesus?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today, when the disciples were rebuked by Jesus for not understanding His statement about the leaven of the Pharisees, I was struck by something. Jesus said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how may baskets you gathered? Or the seen loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:8-11).

I sometimes read this story thinking, “Had I been there, I would have gotten it. I mean, come on guys, He had just fed the four thousand in the last chapter. How on earth could they miss this?” However, how many times in my own life do I do the exact same thing? I get worried and stressed about how we’re going to make it through the month. I get worried and stressed about how we’re going to live through retirement. I get worried about how things are going to work out over some problem in the congregation. I get worried and stressed about some relationship.

What do I do in those moments? Do I say, “God is in control”? Do I say, “I just need to submit to God, He can work everything out if I’ll just do what He says”? No. I usually begin to try to manipulate and control things so they will work out the way I want. Do you know what happens then? I usually just get more stressed because I can’t control everything.

While the point in my life is a bit different than the one Jesus was making to the apostles, I think there is a point to be made here. Jesus was able to feed five thousand with five loaves. Jesus was able to feed four thousand with seven loaves. If Jesus was able to do that, I can trust Him to take care of and provide for me. I don’t need to be in control. I need to simply spend more time in God’s word being reminded of what God has done and what God is doing. I don’t have to get stressed out about what I’m going to do. I simply need to relax, trust God, and do what He says. He’ll take care of me. That is how powerful He is.

***Question: How do you increase your trust in God?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

I realize the multitudes who listened to Jesus were fickle and not really to be taken as a strict guide for our behavior. However, their response in Matthew 14:13 grabbed my attention today.

“When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities” (NKJV).

That can’t have been very easy or convenient. But the multitudes wanted to follow Jesus. The fact that He seemed to be going in a direction they couldn’t directly follow, didn’t stop them.

The struggle for me is that Jesus is not remotely trying to get away from me. He is not remotely trying to have some time alone. Yet, I do not always chase Him down as this multitude did. I need to gain this desire to be with Jesus. I need to want to be with Him so much, that I chase Him down. Even if it means the inconvenience of running on foot around the Sea of Galilee when I’d rather sit on my backside and follow my own will.

That is the question for me today. How badly do I want to get closer to Jesus?

***Question: How do you get close to Jesus?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Okay, I’ll admit it. Today’s Give Attention to Reading is a shameless plug for my book The Gospel of the Kingdom: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. What we call the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12 always stands out to me as I read these chapters. I thought I’d share with you one of the sections in Chapter 23: The Golden Rule.

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (NASB).

Summing Up

Admittedly, on the surface, this statement, though profound and deep, seems to be just thrown into the mix of the Sermons conclusion. However, the use of “therefore” denotes some kind of connection with what has preceded.

D. Martin Lloyd Jones suggests it connects back to Christ’s teaching on judgment in Matthew 7:1-5. Thus saying, if we wish to judge others properly we should treat them as we want to be treated. Paul Earnhart suggest it is the logical follow through of Matthew 7:6-11. As God treats His children, we ought to treat others. He gives good gifts. We should also, treating others the way we want to be treated. Both make decent arguments. In fact, the Golden Rule fits in both places.

Instead of making a direct connection back to the most recent statements in the Sermon, this is a summary of the entire treatise. The reason the Golden Rule flows from both sections in this final chapter is because it flows from every section.

As stated in the last chapter, Earnhart demonstrated a magnificent structure between Jesus’ section on judgment and His section on the Father’s love and gifts. The first section warned kingdom citizens who might ten toward Pharisaic application of the kingdom principles. The second section flowed to those who might be paralyzed by fear they cannot fulfill the kingdom principles. This Golden Rule summarizes those kingdom principles, providing a rule of thumb for how to live up to their standards–treat others how you want to be treated.

The “therefore” of the Golden Rule links back to the Beatitudes. We sinned. We are destitute. We blow it all the time in our relationship with God and God’s creation. Therefore, we are poor in spirit, mourning our condition, meekly submitting to God and before others, hungering and thirsting for righteousness. As we look around at those who have sinned against us, we do not see enemies. We see people in our same boat. We see people just like us. Therefore we treat them the way we want to be treated, with mercy, striving to make peace.

The “therefore” of the Golden Rule links back to the principles of salt and light. Do we want people to hide the strait and narrow way from us? Do we want them to simply become just like us or hide the truth from us so we continue to wallow in sinful misery? Of course not. We want their salt and light. We want their help along the path of righteousness. Therefore, we strive to be the salt and light in our world to help others come to God’s kingdom and righteousness.

The “therefore” of the Golden Rule links back to Jesus’ “you have heard…but I say to you” statements. When we have messed up and angered people, do we want them to call us names, hating us and plotting evil against us even if it falls short of murder? Of course not. We want them to come to us, helping us overcome the tempter and forgiving us. Therefore, we do the same for them. When someone has sinned against us, do we want them to hang on to their sin, putting up a barrier between us? Of course not. We want them to apologize and make things right. Therefore, when we have sinned against others, we do not let th esun go down on the problem. Instead we go to them and reconcile quickly.

Do we want others coveting our wives or husbands, lusting after them? Of course not. Therefore we do not covet the husbands and wives of our neighbors. Do we want our spouse to lay a stumbling block before us, sending us out into the world even if it is with a certificate of divorce? Of course not. Therefore we do not do the same to our spouse, but strive to make our marriage work. Do we want others laying a stumbling block before us sending their spouse out into the world causing those who might marry the divorced spouse to commit adultery? Of course not. Therefore, we do not lay that stumbling block.

Do we want people to lie to us because they developed an elaborate system of verbal finger crossing? Of course not. We want them to tell us the truth and honor their commitments no matter how they were verbalized. Therefore, our yes means yes and our no means no.

Do we want people to take advantage of us or retaliate whenever we have messed up and done something wrong? Of course not. Therefore, we bend over backwards to endure the wrong ourselves instead of retaliating against others.

Do we want people to hate us because we are the enemy? …because we are a different nationality, skin color, socio-economic class or because we have messed up in the past against them? Of course not. We want them to love us, seeking our best interests even when we have not always sought theirs. Therefore, we treat them in the same way, loving them, doing good for them at all times.

The “therefore” of the Golden Rule links back to Jesus’ teaching on judgment. Do we want people to judge us hypercritically or hypocritically? Do we want them to take every opportunity to castigate us into hell? Of course not. We want them to seek our eternal welfare, helping remove the speck in our eye, not hindering us because of the log in theirs. We want them to extend mercy, helping us, not to extend judgment cutting us loose and letting us go into God’s judgment. Therefore, we treat others with mercy, striving to help them overcome instead of merely judging them as awful sinners worthy of hell.

The “therefore” of the Golden Rule most definitely links back to Jesus’ teaching on our Father’s love. Do we want to receive stones and serpents from our Father or anyone for that matter? Of course not. We want the good gifts of loaves and fish. Therefore, we strive to give those good gifts to others as well.

When we fear that we cannot actually live up to the deep theological teaching of the Sermon and we wonder exactly how a particular principle applies to real life, we can follow this practical rule of thumb. However we want others to treat us; we should treat them.

————————

***Question: What is your favorite part of the Sermon on the Mount? Why?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. Warning, more shameless plugging ahead. If you want to learn more about the Golden Rule or the Sermon on the Mount. Feel free to purchase The Gospel of the Kingdom: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount from my web store or you can order it from your local bookstore.

It is tough narrowing down something to write about on today’s reading. After all, I’ve written an entire book on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. But there is one statement that almost always stands out to me as I read this sermon.

Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

That verse simply surprises me. Of course, there are the obvious things not mentioned here. It doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for money, wealth, health, fame, power, influence, pleasure, a good time, happiness…” It says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

However, there are some even more surprising omissions from this verse. Notice that it doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for mercy, forgiveness, grace, heaven.” That surprises me because those are usually the things I hunger for. However, that is not who Jesus claims is really blessed.

What is the real motivation for my action? Is my hunger simply to receive God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness? At times it is. Sadly, when my hunger is to receive God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness, I’m still satisfied with living in my sins. After all, it is my sin that increases God’s mercy and grace. Having sin is not such a bad thing when my motivation is just to receive God’s grace. I can even turn it into this great spiritual thing of “Look at how much I love God because of how much I have to be forgiven” (cf. Luke 7:47). Of course, I know this motivation doesn’t work because Paul said it didn’t in Romans 6:1-2.

Is my real motivation just trying to get to heaven? Sometimes it is. Sadly, when that is my motivation, I usually have a checklist mentality trying to earn something.

Consider the following self-conversation I might go through when my motivation is just trying to get to heaven. “Alright, what have I got to do today so I can go to heaven? Read my Bible; check. Prayed; check. Gone to church; check. Served someone; wait a minute, how much serving do I really have to do? I served someone a few weeks ago, surely that is enough to go to heaven; check. Have I done anything that will keep me out of heaven? Committed adultery; Nope. Committed murder; Nope. Stolen; Nope. Lusted; oops. Guess I better get my prayer of confession out of the way so that one won’t be on my record. Dear God, forgive me for sinning today. Prayer of confession; check. Alright I’m good. Now I can go on with the rest of my life doing what I really want to do.”

Do you see how that probably isn’t the best possible approach to serving God? 

However, what if my motivation were really that I’m hungering and thirsting for righteousness? My mourning is not because I’m going to hell, but is because I’m not righteous. I’ve fallen short of God’s glory. Now there’s some real poverty of spirit. My meekness is not merely enough to scrape by so that I can slide into heaven’s gates just before they come crashing closed. No, it is about surrendering to God because I know His way will make me righteous. When I’m hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I’m not interested in checklists or earning anything. I’m not interested in minimum requirements of holiness or maximum allowances for temptation and sin. I’m not trying to figure out how far down a path of immorality I can go before I’m no longer allowed to go to heaven. When I’m hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I’m interested in one thing. 

What does God want me to do next?

That’s it. That’s my only concern. I don’t get bogged down in arguments about have-tos, requirements, proof. I just want to know what is God’s next right thing for me. I won’t ask, “Haven’t I already done enough of that?” I’ll just do whatever is the right thing to do. 

When that is my motivation, so many of the modern religious arguments get flushed down the drain. Suddenly, I no longer have to argue about whether God’s way is the right way. I just do it because I know it is. I know His way will make me righteous.

Finally, when hungering and thirsting for righteousness is my motivation, I no longer compartmentalize my life. With the other motivations, I do. I try to figure out what I have to do to get forgiveness, when that is done, I move on to other things. I try to figure out what I have to do to go to heaven, when I’m done I can move on with the rest of my life. When my hunger is righteousness, it doesn’t end. Even after following God for weeks in His righteousness, I’m still hungry for that and so I’m still asking, “What is the next right thing?”

I have to ask myself, “What am I really hungry for?”

***Question: How do you increase your hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1).

Whoa! Now that is shocking.

The Spirit led Jesus out to be tempted by the devil? There are some lessons I need to learn from this.

First of all, I think I need to learn to be comfortable with statements about being led by the Spirit. Because of the errors of pentecostalism and modern emotionalism, I’m usually pretty leery of any such statements. And yet, the New Testament is filled with that kind of language. Even Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. I need to be led by the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:25), though I admit, I don’t think that phrase refers to some internal SPS (Spiritual Positioning System).

Second, the leading of the Holy Spirit will not always put me in easy situations. This is the bigger lesson I need to get. I hear so many people today attributing things to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. However, almost without exception, people only attribute something to the guidance of the Holy Spirit if it made their lives easier or gave them what they wanted anyway. I rarely hear anyone talk about how the Spirit led them somewhere and it brought hardship on them. But look at the Holy Spirit’s guidance of Jesus. 

The Spirit led Jesus:

1. into the wilderness
2. on a 40 day fast
3. to be tempted by the devil

I don’t know about you, but neither of those three things make it on my top ten list of things I want to do today. These are all hardships. Yet, the Spirit led Jesus right into the midst of them.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the Spirit’s guidance always leads us into hardship. I’m certain there are great many things the Spirit leads us to do that directly make us happier and makes our lives easier. I just want us to note that the Spirit’s guidance often leads us into places we wouldn’t go because the path of least resistance isn’t always helpful.

For instance, according to Matthew 5:23-24, the Spirit guides me to have face to face talks with those I know have something against me. That is not easy. In Matthew 5:27-30, the Spirit guides me to get my lusts under control even if it means cutting of my hands or plucking out my eyes (let’s not get distracted by the hyperbole here). In Matthew 5:31-32, the Spirit guides me to make my marriage work even when my wife has made me really angry or has hurt me tremendously. In Matthew 5:38-42, the Spirit guides me to accept hurt without retaliation. In Matthew 5:43-48, the Spirit guides me to love my enemies, to pray for them and bless them. To be honest, none of these things make it on my top ten list of things I want to do today, but the Spirit is leading me there anyway. 

The practical take away is that the test for the Spirit’s guidance is not simply whether I like where it is leading. The test is does it fit with God’s word. If it does, then I need to follow, even if I don’t like where it is leading. I just need to trust God that where He is leading me is ultimately for my good and His glory.

***Question: What do you do to help you obey God even when you don’t like where He is leading you?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Warning: This will be a bit lengthy and perhaps a bit shocking. Please keep reading all the way to the end.

Matthew 1-2 used to trouble me greatly. I’ve always heard Bible prophecy is one of the top reasons to accept the story of Jesus and I believe that. I’ve heard the statistics about the number of prophecies and how they were filled exactly in Jesus. There are four direct quotes in Matthew 1-2 and one allusion. “Oh wow,” I thought, “Here in these first two chapters are five fulfilled prophecies.”

Isaiah 7:14 says the Messiah will be born of a virgin. Matthew 1:23 shows the exact fulfillment of that prophecy.

Micah 5:2 says the Messiah will come from Bethlehem. Matthew 2:6 says the scribes used this passage to help the wise men find the child Jesus.

Hosea 11:1 says the Messiah will come out of Egypt. Matthew 2:15 shows that is exactly what happened.

Jeremiah 31:15 says Rachel will weep for her children indicating a bunch of her children would be killed. Matthew 2:18 shows that is exactly what happened.

Then there is the fact that the scriptures teach that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene and Matthew 2:23 says that is exactly what happened.

Wow! Amazing! But wait. There’s a fly in this ointment. Have you ever looked at the actual prophecies?

Isaiah 7:14 does not say the Messiah will be born of a virgin. Rather it says that king Ahaz will be given a sign. A child will be born and by the time that child is old enough to choose good and refuse evil, the lands of Syria and Israel will be forsaken. The problem was these two kings were threatening Judah and Ahaz needed help from God. So, on first reading, this prophecy doesn’t appear to be about the Messiah at all. Unless God lied, it had an immediate fulfillment. In fact, it was likely fulfilled in the person of Maher-shalal-hash-baz in Isaiah 8:3-4. Hmmm.

Micah 5:2 doesn’t present much of a problem. It appears to be taking the rise of the Assyrians as an opportunity to provide a statement about the coming Messiah. That did happen as Micah said. No wonder the scribes and priests were able to pinpoint Bethlehem so readily.

Hosea 11:1 was not about the Messiah at all. In fact, it was not even prophetic in the sense we think of prophesy. It wasn’t describing something that would happen in Hosea’s future. It was describing something that had already happened in Hosea’s past. It was a reference to the nation of Israel and their stay in Egypt. God was reminiscing about His work with Israel and how they rebelled against Him. He called Israel out of Egypt, which called to mind His great work of mercy and deliverance for them. However, how did Israel repay Him? They continually went after false gods. Yikes. What do we do with this? It isn’t even a prophecy, let alone one of the Messiah.

Jeremiah 31:15 was not about a city wide slaughter of the children in Bethlehem conducted by Herod in his jealousy of the Messiah. Rather, it was about the captivities of Israel and Judah. Rachel was figuratively weeping for her children because they had been carried captive into foreign lands. If we keep reading in Jeremiah 31 we learn that this is actually a prophecy of the restoration of those nations that would eventually come. We know that happened under Cyrus. We read about it in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Finally, the most troubling one for me is that there is actually no Old Testament passage that says the Messiah will be called a Nazarene.

Okay, I have a problem. This number one test of truth is on shaky ground. Certainly, there is still the specific prophecy in Micah 5:2 that says something will happen with the Messiah in the future and it happened exactly like that. It was so specific and correct the scribes and priests could tell the wise men exactly which city to go to.

But 1 out of 5 doesn’t seem to be a good record. What is going on here?

The problem was not with the prophecies. The problem was with my western mindset. Having heard stories of Nostradomus and psychic hotlines, I had the idea that prophecy means foretelling an event and that event happening just as the prophecy said. A prophecy is a person saying, “So and so will do such and such on this day.” Then we wait to see if it happens that way. Certainly some prophecies are like that. Who can deny Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and how specifically they foretell the crucifixion? However, that is not the limit of biblical prophecy.

When trying to figure this out, I didn’t just say, “Oh well, Matthew was so wrong, I can’t believe him.” My first thought was how could Matthew make such obvious mistakes? That just didn’t make sense to me. When I saw what seemed to be such obvious mistakes and I considered that Matthew was painstakingly trying to prove to his Jewish brethren the truth of the Messiah, I had to ask if there was something about prophecy that Matthew and his readers understood that I didn’t. I’ve learned that is exactly the case.

For the ancient eastern mindset, prophecy was not an issue of directly foretelling an event and it happening. Rather, what Matthew was demonstrating was that Jesus did not simply fulfill direct statements like Micah 5:2. Rather, He was the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament in general. Matthew is pointing out that Jesus is an amazing figure whose story mirrors that of God’s people for their whole existence. Was Israel called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1)? That wasn’t just a story about Israel. That wasn’t just a story about the past. That was a marker for the future. When Jesus comes along and follows that same story, He stands out. Did Rachel weep for her children when children of Israel were killed in wars and taken captive (Jeremiah 3:15)? Look at what happened when Jesus was born. She wept again as her children were killed when the Messiah came on the scene. Was a child born to a maiden during the days of Ahaz as a sign for deliverance to Judah (Isaiah 7:14)? How much more is the birth of a child to a virgin a sign of deliverance for God’s people.

What about that Nazarene issue? This is really powerful. Matthew, talking to Jews, speaks in Jewish idiom. The issue of being called a Nazarene was not simply about where a person was from. Rather, being a Nazarene was no badge of honor. For the Jews of the first century, saying someone was a Nazarene meant they were backwoods and not to be honored. Notice Nathaneal’s response in John 1:46. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” While the words, “He shall be called a Nazarene” are not in the Old Testament. The teaching that the Messiah will not be someone who comes in the world as obviously worthy of honor was taught. Isaiah 53:1-3 gave that specific message. The Messiah would not be someone deemed worthy of honor. Or, as the Jews would say, He would be a Nazarene.  When the Old Testament prophesied how not honorable Jesus would seem and then God has Him grow up in the very city that represented lack of honor to the Jews, that is pretty powerful.  

So what is the wrap up on this? The wrap up for me is that the veracity of Jesus is more secure. Jesus’ life is not merely a series of events that follow straight line prophecies. Rather, not only does He fit some prophecies like that, His very story demonstrates fulfillment of the entire story of God’s people throughout history. God weaved the story of the Messiah through the history of Israel and Jesus fulfills it. To me, that is amazing.

Born of a virgin, called out of Egypt, without the obvious appearance of honor, surrounded by the mourning for children but a sign of coming deliverance and restoration–Jesus fulfills it all. He doesn’t just fulfill a few instances of prophets foretelling the future. He fulfills the entire story. That doesn’t just happen by accident. It is too bad we don’t have time to look even closer at the similarities between stories  like that of the 12 sons of Jacob and the 12 apostles of Jesus. It’s actually pretty phenomenal.

I hope this look pushes you to dig more deeply in these prophecies to see the truly amazing story of Jesus and fulfilled prophecy.

***Question: What amazes you about the story of Jesus?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 hit me as poignant in my life today. 

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

There are some shocking things about God in this passage.

First, He gives us free will. He doesn’t force anyone to believe His truth. We don’t have to believe His truth. However, if we refuse to love His truth, we become targets for Satan, ripe for the picking. 

Second, God lets those who refuse to love the truth be deluded. Of course, the sad thing is, those who are deluded do not realize it. In fact, they may think they are the wise ones. They build argument on top of argument, thinking they are laying a logical foundation. However, it is only a house of cards that will come crashing down in the end. Every delusion will be exposed in the judgment.

Third, when we tie these things together I think we see what others have said. God has given enough evidence for those who are willing to believe to find good reason to believe. But He has left enough unstated that those who wish to doubt can find reason to do so. Why? Because He is not spoon feeding us. He is encouraging us to grow in faith. For the worldly wise, this is foolishness. They simply cannot wrap their minds around a God who would do this. If God won’t fit in their box, they think He must not be there at all. This passage demonstrates God won’t be boxed. He acts as He sees fit.

There is a practical warning here. I must take care that I do not allow myself to be deluded by Satan and the only way to avoid that is to love the truth.

***Question: On a practical level, how do you love the truth?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC