22 Pentecost - Sunday B

Isaiah 53:10-12 -- The Suffering Servant

Psalm 91:9-16 -- Our Refuge

Hebrews 4:9-16 -- God’s Promised Rest

Mark 10:35-45 -- True Greatness

Isaiah:

God declared through Isaiah, his prophet, the promise of the Messiah, the suffering servant who would be the Savior of and intercessor for God’s people. It was God’s will that the Messiah suffer and die as the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word). God promised that the suffering servant would see his spiritual offspring, and have long (eternal) life as the reward for his obedience to God’s will and purpose. God’s will and purpose will be successfully fulfilled in his servant. He will see the fruit of his suffering and will be satisfied.

By his (divine) knowledge, the righteous servant will make many accounted righteous (in God’s judgment), and the servant will pay the ransom for their sins. Because of his obedience, God will reward his servant with greatness, and the servant will share his reward with the (spiritually) strong, [who endure and persevere in faith (obedient trust) in the servant (Jesus Christ)]. The servant accepted suffering, death and dishonor, being judged as a criminal, so that he could pay the penalty for our sin, and make intercession for our forgiveness and salvation (from eternal condemnation and death) to God.

Psalm:

God promises that those who take refuge in him will be protected from evil and danger. God will give his angels to protect God’s people. God’s protection will keep them from stumbling, and give them power over the spiritual young lions and snakes of this world.

Because God’s servant trusts and obeys God in love, God will deliver him. God will protect his servant because his servant knows God’s name (God’s person and character). God will answer when his servant calls (see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right), will be with him in troubles, will rescue and honor him, will reveal his salvation to him and give him long (eternal) life.

Hebrews:

God has created a day of rest for his people. God ceased his labor on the Sabbath, and we must also cease ours on the Sabbath in order to enter into God’s rest. The Israelites who disobeyed God’s Word in the wilderness were forbidden to enter into the Sabbath rest of God’s people in the Promised Land.

We must be careful not to loose our chance for rest by the same sort of disobedience. “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). In our examination by the Lord on the Day of Judgment, no one will be able to conceal anything; he will know every detail of our lives, our every thought and intention, and we will be accountable to him.

Jesus, the Son of God, is our great High Priest, who has ascended into heaven, so let us hold on to our “confession;” our obedient trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, as our intercessor in God’s presence. Jesus has experienced every trial and temptation we might face, but without sinning (note that Satan used Isaiah 53:11-12 to tempt the Lord in the wilderness; Matthew 4:6-7), so he is able to sympathize with us, and is able to save us and give us power over temptation, so that we can successfully resist. So we can and should come to his “throne of grace” where we can receive mercy (undeserved forgiveness) and grace (unmerited favor) to help us when we are in need.

Mark:

Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus knew he would be crucified, and on the way, he told his disciples, for the third time (Mark 8:31, 9:31; 10:32-34), plainly, of his impending crucifixion. James and John were members of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, but they were preoccupied with their worldly concept of status and success, and failed to hear and understand what Jesus was saying. They wanted to be among the ruling elite in God’s eternal kingdom.

Jesus asked them if they were able to share the same “cup” (destiny), and the same “baptism” (divine commission; calling). They replied that they were able, but they hadn’t yet understood what that cup and baptism would require. Jesus told them that they would share the same cup and baptism (as will all disciples), but that wouldn’t give them special status and power in God’s kingdom.

Jesus called the rest of the disciples to gather around, and Jesus told them that greatness in God’s kingdom is not based on worldly concepts. Worldly rulers expect to be served, but greatness in God’s kingdom is based on servanthood, exemplified in Jesus, who came to serve us, rather than to be served. Jesus came to take our sins upon himself and die for them to ransom us from the penalty of our sin (the penalty is eternal death; Romans 6:23).

Commentary:

Jesus Christ has been God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from the very beginning of Creation, and has been "built into" the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). God has been progressively revealing that plan to us, first in Creation, then in the Bible, then in Jesus Christ, the “living Word,” (Messiah; both words mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively), and ultimately, in the gift of the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

The whole chapter of Isaiah 53 is messianic prophecy, revealed over five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, and which was perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus became the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, once for all time and all people, provided that we accept it by faith (obedient trust). “Born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciples are his spiritual “offspring” and the “fruit” of Jesus’ travail.

Jesus imparts divine knowledge to his disciples who trust and obey him. God’s Word is divine knowledge, unlike false, worldly “knowledge.” Jesus not only teaches the knowledge of God in the sense of information and wisdom, but in the sense of personal acquaintance, in the revelation of God’s character and person, in Jesus’ example, and ultimately and individually in his indwelling Holy Spirit, through whom we have personal knowledge of and fellowship with Jesus and God the Father (John 14:21-24). Jesus is the name (and the character and person) of God in human flesh (Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

God has rewarded his servant, Jesus Christ, with greatness; Jesus’ name is above every other name in heaven and on earth (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:20-22; Philippians 2:9-10) and God has given Jesus authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Jesus shares his eternal inheritance with his disciples who trust and obey Jesus. Jesus was sinless, but he was condemned by the religious leaders of his time for sin, and was punished by crucifixion as a sinner, between two robbers (Matthew 27:38).

God’s Word is eternal, and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Isaiah’s prophecy was perfectly fulfilled by Jesus, but it is also fulfilled in Jesus’ disciples as they trust and obey Jesus. We are called to be suffering servants, and as we do so, we receive the promises of God’s Word.

God’s Word is “living” and “active.” God’s Word, unlike the word of humans, has creative force; God’s Word is the Word by which the world was created (Genesis 1:3) and is sustained. Jesus is the living Word of God, who is eternally alive. God’s Word is the sword of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is going to return on the Day of Judgment to judge the physically and spiritually living and dead (Matthew 25:31-46). Everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to him (John 5:28-29), and the standard of judgment will be God’s Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ. Jesus knows every detail of our lives (John 2:25; John 1:47-51; 4:16-19). Jesus knows our every sin, and yet he offers abundant mercy and grace, the forgiveness of all our sins. Jesus will either be our Savior or our Judge and executioner (but we condemn ourselves by unbelief; John 3:16-18).

Believers are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, to accept the “cup” and “baptism” of the suffering servant, to complete the mission of Christ to bring salvation from eternal condemnation to a lost and dying world. What kind of “disciples” will we be? Will we be distracted by worldly concepts and pursuit of worldly status and success, and miss the “call” and “anointing” the Lord has for us; or will we produce spiritual “offspring,” “fruit” for salvation, and share in the eternal life and inheritance of Jesus Christ in God’s heavenly “Promised Land,” the place of Sabbath rest from the struggle in the battlefield of this world? Will we fight the good fight of faith in this world, so that we can find rest in eternity, or will we pursue comfort and pleasure now, and spend eternity in misery and agony in Hell?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

22 Pentecost - Monday  B (Variable)

To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost

Psalm 126 -- Bringing in the Sheaves

The Psalmist recalled how God restored the fortunes of Zion, (the remnant of Israel; after Judah’s seventy year captivity in Babylon). The exiles were filled with joy; they had longed for their return to their land for so long that they thought they must be dreaming. God was glorified among the nations for his great act of restoration for his people. The Psalmist acknowledged the great things God has done for his people.

The people of God were again in need of restoration. The Psalmist asked God to again bless and restore his people; that the “desert” of their present circumstances would be transformed by the “river” of God’s blessings. God’s people sow God’s Word with tears, but they will rejoice in the harvest, and they will return to the Lord of the harvest, bringing the “fruit” of their sowing with them.

Commentary:

Being God’s people doesn’t remove us from trials and hardships in this lifetime. Serving the Lord is going to require sacrifice and labor. As we begin to follow the Lord, he will show us that he can bring us through those trials and hardships. So we grow in faith (obedient trust), and when the going is tough, we are sustained and encouraged by recalling the Lord’s faithfulness and past deliverance and restoration.

We are called to be “sowers” of God’s Word, the Gospel (“good news”) of Jesus Christ. First we must obtain good “seed;” we must be discipled in the Church by mature “born-again” disciples until we are also “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have to know the Word of God: the Bible, and the “living Word,” Jesus Christ, the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word in human life.

I’m totally convinced that the meaning and purpose of this lifetime is to seek and come to a personal knowledge of and fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus died on the cross once, for all time and all people, as the only sacrifice, acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Our forgiveness makes it possible to be restored to fellowship with God, and those who trust and obey Jesus receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9) who only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

The Holy Spirit is the river of  “living water” (John 7:37-38), which flows out into the spiritual desert of this world from the hearts of Jesus’ “born-again” disciples and gives true (eternal) life to those who are willing to receive Jesus. Jesus is the source of that river. Christians are to be channels of “living water” to those who are dying of spiritual thirst. The people around us will see our transformation and restoration by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and God will be glorified.

Christians are by definition “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) “disciples” of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). We are to sow the seed of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit working through us will produce the harvest. We cannot accomplish Christ’s mission without having received and experienced the full and accurate Gospel, and without the personal relationship, guidance, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit within us.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

22 Pentecost - Tuesday B (Variable)

To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost

Jeremiah 31:7-9 -- Return and Restoration

Jeremiah was a prophet in the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 627 to 560 B.C. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. and effectively ceased to exist. Judah became the remnant of Israel, the people of God. Jeremiah warned Judah that punishment was going to come upon them because of their idolatry and disobedience of God’s Word, but despite the warnings of the prophets and the example of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Judah didn’t repent. Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be captive in Babylon for seventy years, but that a remnant would return to the Promised Land.

Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled. Judah was taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadrezzar (Nebuchadnezzar) in 587 B.C. and returned in 517 B.C., after seventy years. The Lord brought a remnant back “from the north country” (Babylon) to the Promised Land as he had promised. God promised to bring them back from the farthest corners of the world. They would return with weeping (for joy) and with consolations. The Lord promised to lead them beside brooks of water, and in a straight path in which they would not stumble (compare Psalm 23:2-3). The Lord is the father of Israel, and regards “Ephraim” as his first born.

Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, had received his grandfather, Jacob’s, blessing which belonged to the firstborn (his brother, Manasseh; Genesis 41:51-52; 46:20; 48:10-14). Judah was not “entitled” to God’s grace (unmerited favor), but God chose to make Judah, the remnant of Israel, his “firstborn.”

Those of his people who went into exile because of sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and idolatry (loving any thing or person as much as or more than God) died in Babylon; seventy years is a life sentence for any adult at the time of the deportation. The people who returned were a renewed people.

Judah was to have learned to trust and obey the Lord during the exile in Babylon, and so be willing to be led by the Lord in straight paths without stumbling. God spared and restored the remnant of Israel so that his plan of salvation through Jesus Christ could continue and be fulfilled. God is able and faithful to fulfill his promises without our help and cooperation. But we will bear the consequences and loose the blessing God wants us to have, unless we cooperate with his will.

The history of God’s dealings with Israel is intended to be a parable, a metaphor for life in this world. Babylon represents the exile to Hell of those who refuse to trust and obey God’s Word. But God is also able to restore his people and bring them back to his eternal Promised Land, if they learn to trust and obey his Word in this lifetime. When we die physically, our destiny is fixed for all eternity; there’s no way of coming back from Hell.

Judah should have learned from the example of the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Because Judah didn’t learn from God’s Word proclaimed by God’s prophets and the history and example of God’s dealing with the Northern Kingdom, Judah had to experience God’s condemnation for themselves.

This lifetime is our “exile” from God’s eternal kingdom. The meaning and purpose of this lifetime is to seek and find God (Acts 17:26-27) and to learn by trial and error to trust and obey him. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our salvation from the eternal “Babylon” of Hell (Acts 4:12) and our restoration to the “Promised Land” of God’s eternal kingdom (John 14:6).

We need to learn to be led by Jesus. As we begin to follow Jesus with the commitment to trust and obey him, he gives us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, through whom we are “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to spiritual, eternal life. Only Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit within us will guide us in straight paths and keep us from stumbling.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

22 Pentecost - Wednesday B (Variable)

To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost

Hebrews 5:1-10 -- The Great High Priest

The author contrasts Jesus Christ with Judaism. Human priests are humans chosen and appointed to be mediators between men and God; to present offerings and gifts to God on their behalf. Since they share human weakness they have empathy for those who sin, because the human priests also sin, and human priests must offer sacrifices for their own sins as well as those of the people. Priests cannot assume the office of priesthood by their own initiative or worthiness, but must be called by God, as Aaron (high priest of Moses) was.

Likewise Jesus did not exalt himself to the office of priesthood, but he was called by God, in fulfillment of God’s Word. The verse in Psalms where God declared Jesus his Son, whom he had begotten, was fulfilled at Jesus’ baptism by John the baptizer (Luke 3:21-22). God’s Word also declared him an eternal priest, after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Genesis 14:17-20).

During Jesus’ physical life and earthly ministry Jesus offered up prayers and supplication with loud cries and tears to God who was able to save him from death, and God heard him because of Jesus’ “godly fear” (awe and respect for the power and authority of God; Mark 14:32-42). Although Jesus was the Son of God, God allowed him to suffer in order that Jesus would learn obedience and trust in God’s Word. So Jesus became completely obedient and thus “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,” (i.e. Jesus; Hebrews 5:9), having been made, by God, our eternal high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

Commentary:

Christian ministers must be called and anointed by God through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). People can choose “Christian” ministry as a career, but unless they are “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8), by obedient trust in Jesus and the “anointing” of the indwelling Holy Spirit they cannot make “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ, or accomplish the mission and ministry of Christ;

Melchizedek was a king of Salem (i.e. Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18; the Lord God of Israel), “the maker of heaven and earth.” Abram (later named Abraham, the Patriarch) had defeated an alliance of four kings and their armies with a small force of men, and on his return Melchizedek went out to meet Abram in the Valley Shaveh (the Valley of the Kings), bringing bread and wine, and blessed Abram and praised God for giving Abram victory over his enemies (Genesis 14:19-20). Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had recovered from his enemies (Genesis 14:16).

Melchizedek is the forerunner and illustration of Christ. He was King of Salem (meaning “Peace”) and King of Righteousness (the translation of his name; Hebrews 7:2). He was also the high priest of God Most High; creator of heaven and earth (the God of Israel). He met Abram, who had conquered his enemies by faith in God, in the Valley of the Kings, bringing bread and wine, as a feast of celebration of the victory and praise to God.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophetic image of Melchizedek. Since Melchizedek has neither family, nor birth nor death recorded in scripture he therefore is, symbolically, eternal (Hebrews 7:3). The early kings of Israel were both king and priest as was Melchizedek. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of an eternal priest-king. The vision of Melchizedek bringing a sacrificial offering of bread and wine, celebrating God giving us victory over our earthly enemies against great odds, is fulfilled in the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus struggled with the call of God upon him to trust and obey God’s Word even unto great physical suffering and death on the Cross. As he headed toward Jerusalem where he knew he would be crucified he tried to prepare his disciples for what would happen, telling them three times that he would die, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:32:34). His disciples unknowingly and unintentionally added to Jesus’ temptation to turn aside from God’s will and call (Mark 8:32-33).

Jesus knew his betrayal and arrest would take place at Gethsemane that night, and he went there with his disciples to wait for it. While he waited, he prayed with great anguish, asking God if possible for Jesus to be saved from his destiny, but accepting, in obedient trust, God’s will (Luke 22:39-46). His prayer was heard and answered. Jesus received the grace and strength to trust and obey God’s will, and God delivered him from physical death by raising him to eternal life.

Jesus’ obedience to God’s will shows us the way to triumph over our spiritual enemies including death. His resurrection demonstrates that there is existence after physical death. Jesus has become our eternal priest, making intercession on our behalf, once and for all, for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word) as we trust and obey Jesus. Jesus has become the eternal Lord and King of God’s heavenly “Promised Land.”

Jesus is Lord, whether we acknowledge him or not. Jesus has received power and authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Jesus is going to return of the Day of Judgment in great glory and power, and he will judge everyone who has ever lived on earth; the physically and spiritually living and dead. Those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus will receive eternal life in the kingdom of God in heaven; but those who have rejected Jesus and refused to trust and obey him will receive eternal destruction in Hell with all evil (John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right)

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

22 Pentecost - Thursday B (Variable)

To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost

Mark 10:46-52 -- Blind Bartimaeus

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew he would be crucified. With his disciples and a large crowd following, Jesus was leaving Jericho when he passed a blind man, the son of Timaeus (“Bar-“ means “son of”), sitting at the side of the road. Hearing that Jesus of Nazareth was passing, he called out saying “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47). People told him to be quiet, but he kept calling loudly. Jesus had mercy on him and called him to come to Jesus. The crowd relayed the message, telling Bartimaeus to be encouraged. Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus. Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him, and Bartimaeus asked Jesus to restore his vision. Jesus told him to go his way; the blind man’s faith had healed him. “And immediately Bartimaeus received his sight, and follow him (Jesus) on the way” (Mark 10:52b).

Commentary:

Bartimaeus was physically blind, but he was aware that something special was happening along the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he called out to Jesus, addressing him as the “Son of David” (the Messiah; the Christ; the eternal heir to the throne of David).

Bartimaeus was hoping and watching for the promised Messiah. He undoubtedly knew from scripture that the Messiah would heal the blind (Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1; Luke 4:16-21); this was a sign that would accompany the coming of the Messiah. A blind man would certainly note that. Believing that Jesus was the Messiah, he cried out in faith (obedient trust) asking to be healed of his blindness. He didn’t let the attitude of people around him discourage him, and he persisted; he kept calling until Jesus answered.

When Jesus answered and invited him to come to Jesus, Bartimaeus jumped up eagerly and came to Jesus. He didn’t let his blindness prevent him from coming. When he came to Jesus he knew that his need was for vision, and he asked Jesus to heal it. Jesus commended his faith, and the man’s vision was restored. Jesus told Bartimaeus that he could go on with his daily life, but Bartimaeus used his healing to follow Jesus.

Jesus did many miracles of physical healing (and feeding), but his real mission was to heal and feed us spiritually; his physical miracles were to demonstrate that Jesus can also heal and feed us spiritually and to give us spiritual, eternal life, through obedient trust in Jesus. In order to receive spiritual healing we have to recognize our spiritual need and we have to come to Jesus in trust that he can and wants to heal us. We must begin to obey what he commands, with the commitment to use that healing to be a disciple; a follower of Jesus’ teachings.

Timaeus means “defiled.”* Bartimaeus had been born “defiled;” he was the Son of one who was “defiled.” The “Son of defiled” was calling on the “undefiled” (Hebrews 4:15) Son of God to heal Bartimaeus’ “defilement.”

We are all born “sinners;” we share in the “sinful nature” of our earthly father, Adam. All have sinned (sin is disobedience of God’s Word) and fall short of God’s righteousness (“right-doing” in God’s judgment; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10).

All of us are born spiritually blind, all of us are born physically alive but dead spiritually, until we recognize our spiritual need and turn to the only one who can heal us and raise us from spiritual death to eternal life. Only Jesus can heal us and save us from eternal condemnation and eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

To be spiritually, eternally alive, we must be “reborn” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 5-8), now, during our physical lifetime. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16)

Jesus is passing by; do you notice? Do you realize who he is? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

22 Pentecost - Friday B (Variable)

To be used only if there is a 23 Pentecost Sunday - Otherwise skip to 27 Pentecost

Proverbs 3:11-20 -- Divine Wisdom

Philippians 1:3-11 -- Growing in Christ

Proverbs:

We are exhorted not to despise the discipline of the Lord, or to become tired of his correction of us. We are reproved by the Lord as a son or daughter by the father who loves them.

The man who finds (divine) wisdom and gets true understanding will be glad, because they are worth more than gold or silver. Wisdom is more valuable than jewels; nothing is more desirable. Wisdom brings long life, riches and honor. The ways of wisdom are pleasantness and peace. Wisdom is the tree whose fruit gives life, and those who posses her will be truly happy.

Philippians:

Paul, the Apostle, was in prison for proclaiming the Gospel. He was writing to the Christians in Philippi, Macedonia, the first Christian congregation founded by Paul in Europe. Paul was continuing his “discipling” of the Philippian Christians.

Paul gave thanks to God for their sharing in the Gospel, and prayed in faith that the Lord who had begun transforming them would bring them to spiritual maturity at the “day of Jesus Christ;” the Day of Judgment at Christ’s return. Paul was confident of this because the Philippians had shared in the grace (unmerited favor; blessings) of God in Paul’s imprisonment, and in the “defense and confirmation of the Gospel” (Philippians 1:7b).

Paul expressed his longing for the Philippian Christians, and prayed that they would grow and abound in the love and knowledge of Christ Jesus, “with all knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Commentary:

Christians are called to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to learn to live in obedient trust in Jesus Christ in accordance with his teachings. God sent Jesus into the world to show us how to live in obedient trust in God’s Word; Jesus came to show us a better way to live, according to God’s will, rather than according to the world and mankind’s sinful nature.

Worldly ways are opposed to God’s way. What the world seeks and calls “wisdom” is not true wisdom. The Wisdom of God is true wisdom, by which the world was created (Proverbs 3:19-20; 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). Jesus is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Jesus Christ has been God’s plan for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation, from the beginning of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus is God’s only way, God’s eternal truth, and the giver of true eternal life (John 14:6).

Living according to Jesus’ way requires discipline and self-denial, but the reward is true life now and for eternity. On our own we don’t know what we truly want; what we think we want doesn’t satisfy. As we surrender what we think we want and do what the Lord wants we find what is truly satisfying and eternal.

Paul is the prototype and example of a “modern,” “post-resurrection” “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Before Paul encountered the risen Spirit of Jesus on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-20), Paul (then known as Saul of Tarsus) was pursuing what he thought he wanted and though God wanted, but he wasn’t doing God’s will or what was Paul’s best interest. It wasn’t until Paul surrendered his will to God’s will through Jesus Christ that he found real life; real purpose and meaning in life.

Paul was transformed by the Holy Spirit as he yielded his will and became obedient to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). Paul became the principal figure in the New Testament after his conversion. Paul became the great Christian evangelist to the Gentiles (non-Jews). Paul was obeying the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) which Jesus gave to his disciples, to be carried out after they had been “reborn” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8), to make (“born-again”) disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them to obey all that Jesus taught.

Paul was teaching the disciples at Philippi to grow spiritually to spiritual maturity by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God wants to train us to be his children by the motivation of love rather than fear. God demonstrated that love by sending his Son to die on the Cross for our sin (disobedience of God’s Word) so that we wouldn’t have to die eternally for them ourselves.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is the ultimate expression of God’s love for us personally and individually. It is the Holy Spirit through whom we feel the love of God for us and through whom we can learn to express our love for God, when we realize who he is and what he has done for us. Paul is the example of that growth and transformation.

But the Lord is God whether we acknowledge him or not. He wants us to respond to him in love rather than fear, but if we refuse to accept and respond to his love we will receive his condemnation. The fear of God is the appropriate awe and respect for his authority and power. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight (Proverbs 9:10, compare Ps 111:10).

Jesus is the Holy One. Jesus is the only One who opens our minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). Jesus reveals the Wisdom of God to those who trust and obey Jesus. Only through Jesus Christ, by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, can we come to personal knowledge of and fellowship with Jesus Christ and God the Father (John 14:23).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?