Holy Week

Palm Sunday

First Posted April 5, 2009

Zechariah 9:9-10 – Our Coming King
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-16 – Rock of Refuge
Philippians 2:5-11 – Jesus is Lord
Mark 15:1-39 – Jesus before Pilate
(or Mark 14:1-15:47)

Zechariah:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (God's chosen people; the Church; the heavenly city)! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem (the city of God; the Church; the heavenly city)!

Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9-10; compare Mark 11:1-10).

The Lord will end war. The chariot (of war) will be removed from Ephraim (the second son of Joseph: Genesis 41:52, who received a double blessing; Genesis 48:10-14). Warfare will cease and the Lord will command peace between God's people (Jerusalem, the people of God), and the nations (the Gentiles). The eternal king's dominion will be from the “River” (the Euphrates; the “cradle of civilization”) to the ends of the earth (the most distant place on earth, and the end of this Creation).

Psalm:

I seek refuge in the Lord; may I never be put to shame. May I be delivered because of his righteousness. O Lord hear my plea and rescue me quickly. Be my solid rock of refuge and my fortress to save me.

Yes! You are my rock and my fortress! Lead me and guide me for the sake of your name (person; character; reputation). Deliver me from the trap that has been set for me, since your are the one in whom I seek refuge. I commit my eternal soul into your care and protection because you are my redeemer and faithful God!

I am in distress; my eyes, my eternal soul and my physical body are worn out with grief and crying. Be gracious to me. I have spent my entire life in sorrow and sighing. My physical body is wasting away and has lost physical strength.

“I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have passed out of mind, like one who is dead. I have become like a broken vessel” (Psalm 31:11-12). For I have heard the slander of many; fear was all around, while they took counsel together against me; they schemed to take away my life. “But I trust in thee, O Lord. I say, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and persecutors! Make thy face to shine on thy servant: save me in thy steadfast love” (Psalm 31:14-16)

Philippians:

Have the same mental outlook as Jesus Christ. He was God in human form, but he did not expect to be treated in equality with God. Instead he emptied himself of his personal desires, and became totally human, and the servant of us all.

In human flesh, he submitted his will to God's and became obedient to God even to the most brutal physical death on the cross. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

Mark Background:

Jesus had been betrayed and arrested. He had been illegally tried during the night** by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious supreme court of seventy priests and elders, headed by the high priest (Mark 14:53-65).

Mark:

As soon as morning came the Sanhedrin had a meeting and bound Jesus and delivered him to Pilate (the Roman administrator of Judea). Pilate asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews, and Jesus replied that Pilate and the Jewish leaders had said so. The Jews accused Jesus of many things, and, and Pilate asked Jesus why he did not rebut their charges. But Jesus did not reply, causing Pilate to wonder.

It was the custom for Pilate to pardon a Jewish prisoner for the Passover festival. A notorious criminal named Barabbas was a prisoner. Pilate suggested that he release Jesus to them because Pilate realized that the religious leaders had condemned Jesus out of jealousy. But the Jewish leaders stirred up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas, a rebel and murderer, and they demanded Jesus' crucifixion. Pilate asked them what Jesus had done deserving execution, but they just kept demanding Jesus' crucifixion. So to appease the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas and scourged Jesus and condemned him to be crucified.

Commentary:

The prophecy of Zechariah was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, on his entry into Jerusalem, which the Church celebrates as Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1-10).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 31, which is attributed to David. David is the great shepherd-king of Israel prefiguring Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14), fulfilling the prophecy of an eternal king to inherit the throne of David (2 Samuel 7:5-13; Psalm 89:20-29). Psalm 31:13 is echoed in Jeremiah 20:10, and both are fulfilled in Jesus' crucifixion (Mark 15:29-32).

Jesus trusted in God to be his rock of refuge and his fortress from his enemies; and his belief was fulfilled. Jesus was the “pioneer,” the “trailblazer,” showing us how to live according to God's Word. God's Word is eternal, and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. We can receive the same fulfillment of God's Word as we trust and obey Jesus.

The Apostle Paul taught believers to follow the example we have in Jesus Christ. Jesus surrendered his own will and became obedient to God's will, even to death on the cross. Jesus expected to serve others rather than to be served. Jesus' example is what we are to follow.

There is a day coming when Jesus will return to judge all who have ever lived on this earth. In that day everyone will bow before him and acknowledge him as Lord of heaven and earth. In that day our eternal destinies will be fixed and unchangeable. How much better it is to learn now that Jesus is the sovereign Lord, so that we can learn to live according to his will now, while we have the opportunity!

The Jews regarded themselves as righteous by their obedience to the Law of Moses, but they weren't really obeying the law. The religious leaders met during the night to try Jesus, which was illegal, but they gave the appearance of legality by meeting briefly in the morning to confirm what they had already decided.

The Jewish religious leaders didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah (Christ; both words mean “anointed”), the Lord's “anointed” eternal king, the Son of David and heir to the eternal throne of David, but they accused him of that claim, because they thought it would be perceived by the Roman governors to be a threat to their empire. The Jewish people followed the lead of their leaders and chose to release a rebel and murderer, Barabbas, who was a real threat to the Roman Empire and to themselves, and condemned their eternal Savior and King to crucifixion.

This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek God our Creator, and find and have fellowship with him (Acts 17:26-27), and this is only possible through Jesus Christ by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. 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).

Jesus has taught and demonstrated the way to know God, to know divine eternal truth and to have true eternal life (John 14:6). We can either follow Jesus' teaching and example, or the example and teaching of our worldly leaders. Following Jesus leads to eternal life; following worldly leaders leads to eternal death and destruction in Hell with all evil

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)?

*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Matthew 27:1-26n, p. 1209, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.

Holy Week – Monday

First posted April 6, 2009

Isaiah 42:1-9 -- The Lord's Servant
Psalm 36:5-10 -- Fountain of Life
Hebrews 9:11-15 -- The New Covenant
John 12:1-11 -- Anointing at Bethany

Isaiah:

See the Lord's servant, whom the Lord upholds; the Lord delights in his chosen one. God has put his Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to all nations. He won't be a “rabble-rouser” or harangue people in the street. He won't break people who are spiritually bruised, or extinguish those who are spiritually dimly burning wicks. He will steadfastly bring forth justice. He won't fail or be discouraged before he accomplishes his purpose to establish justice through all the earth. The distant lands wait for his law to be brought to them.

This is the Word of God, the Creator of heaven and earth and everything in them; “who gives breath to the people, and spirit to those who walk in it” (Isaiah 42:5d,e). He is the Lord, who has called his servant in righteousness. He has taken his servant by his hand to lead and protect him. God has given his servant as a covenant to the people, to be a light to the nations (Gentiles), “to open the eyes of the (spiritually) blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:7).

God's name is “Lord,” he will not share his glory any other, nor will he allow his praise to be given to idols. Look and see; what God has declared in the past has been fulfilled. Now he is revealing new things before they come about.

Psalm:

O Lord, your steadfast love is as high as heaven; your faithfulness extends to the clouds. Your righteousness is as solid as the mountain of God. Your judgments are as deep as the ocean. You preserve man and animals.

Your steadfast love is most precious. People will find refuge in “the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 36:7b; like a hen gathers and protects her chicks). They will be abundantly satisfied with feasting in your house, and will drink from the river of your delights. “For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light do we see light” (Psalm 36:9). May your steadfast love for those who know you never end, nor your salvation to those who are upright in heart.

Hebrews:

Christ has come as the high priest of the good things that have and will come through him. He is our high priest interceding for us in the holy-of-holies (the presence of God) in heavenly tabernacle (not the earthly replica made by humans; not of this Creation). He has entered with the blood of his own sacrifice (the blood of the only begotten Son of God), not the blood of animal sacrifices, thus securing an eternal redemption (buying our forgiveness and release from the penalty of law, which is eternal death; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). If the blood and ashes of animals sanctifies and purifies human flesh, how much more will Christ's blood, offered through the eternal Holy Spirit purify us from the works of the flesh that bring eternal death, so that we can serve the (eternally) living God. “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may received the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant (will and testament).

John:

Six days before the Passover (the Lord's Last Supper) Jesus and his disciples came to Bethany (on the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles from Jerusalem). This was where Jesus had raised Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha) from the dead. Mary and Martha made dinner for Jesus, and Lazarus was present at the table. Mary took a pound of expensive, genuine nard (“spikenard;” Nardostachys jatamansi; from the Himilayas in India, costing about $60.00 USD in 1960 dollars; 360 days pay for a laborer at the time of Jesus; an ointment, cosmetic, perfume, and stimulant, reserved for anointing on special occasions*), and she anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. Judas (Iscariot; Jesus' betrayer) criticized Mary for her extravagance, saying that the ointment should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Judas didn't really care about the poor, but he kept the money box and would steal from it. Jesus told Judas to stop criticizing Mary. Mary had anointed Jesus for the day of his burial. There are always opportunities to give to the poor, but Jesus was not going to be around, physically, very long.

When news of Jesus' presence was known, the crowds came, not just for Jesus, but because of Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus. So the Jewish leaders planned to kill Lazarus also, because many of the people were believing in Jesus because of Lazarus' resurrection.

Commentary:

God's Word is eternal and is fulfilled over and over, as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. The ultimate fulfillment of the Lord's Servant is in Jesus Christ, but the nation of Israel was called to also be God's Servant. Israel turned away from that call. The true Church of “born-again” Christian disciples is the new Servant of God.

God put his Holy Spirit upon Jesus at Jesus' baptism, as testified by John the Baptiser (John 1:31-34). Jesus was fully God by the Holy Spirit, and also fully human by his mother, Mary (Colossians 2:8-9). Jesus accomplished his purpose on the cross (John 19:30). Satan was defeated at the cross of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Jesus' crucifixion made it possible for us to receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, by cleansing us from sin (disobedience of God's Word), and making it possible for us to receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 16:7).

God has given us physical life in this temporal Creation. This lifetime is our only opportunity to seek and find God, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27; Deuteronomy 4:29; 2 Chronicles 15:2).

God has always intended, from the beginning of this Creation, to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. This temporal lifetime is our only opportunity to learn to know, trust and obey God, and our only opportunity to be spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life.

Spiritual “rebirth” is only by 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). Jesus only gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to those who will walk in (live in obedience to) it (Isaiah 42:5 d, e; see Romans 8:1-9). 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). The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is a discernible, ongoing event (Acts 19:2). Any one who is uncertain hasn't been reborn.

God has given his Servant, the Messiah (“Christ;” both words mean God's “anointed” eternal Savior and eternal King of God's eternal kingdom), to be the mediator of a New Covenant of Grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus initiated the New Covenant (Testament) on the night of his “Last Supper,” the celebration of the Feast of Passover before Jesus' betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:26-28).

During Jesus' physical, earthly ministry he opened the eyes of the blind and freed the prisoners of sin and darkness (Luke 4:16-21; Luke 7:20-22). Jesus' miracles of physical healing were intended to demonstrate that he was also able to heal spiritually.

Anyone who trusts God's Word will learn and know that God's Word is absolutely true and reliable. It is eternal and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. When he reveals what he is doing and will do in the future, we can be confident that what he says will be done.

We are all born physically in bodies which inevitably die. We try to find ways to postpone death or ways to rationalize it. Some try to overcome the fear of death by belief in re-incarnation. God's Word declares that mankind dies once and then comes judgment; not “nothingness” and not “re-incarnation. Jesus came in a physical body and died a physical death to show that there is existence after physical death, and to save us from bondage to sin and the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

The first humans, Adam and Eve, were tempted, and yielded to sin, in hope to be “like God,” knowing good and evil, and being eternal (Genesis 3:4-5). Satan lied to them, telling them they wouldn't die. They didn't die physically and immediately, but they died spiritually and eternally at the moment they yielded to sin. They couldn't be trusted to refrain from the tree of good and evil, so they couldn't be trusted with the tree of (eternal) life (Genesis 3:22).

Jesus came to restore to us the fountain of life, the river of “living water” (John 4:13-14; 7:37-39). Jesus came to give us spiritual light: the light of righteousness, spiritual enlightenment and eternal life (John 1:4, 5, 9; 3:19-21).

The Bible is a series of verbal “pictures.” God gave Moses the design of the earthly tabernacle to foreshadow the heavenly temple. The earthly priesthood was to foretell Jesus' heavenly priesthood.

Moses was the forerunner of Christ. Moses mediated the Old Covenant of Law as the forerunner of Jesus who mediates the New Covenant of Grace. Jesus' blood seals the New Covenant as the blood of animal sacrifices sealed the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is, in a sense, Jesus' Last Will and Testament, giving us an eternal inheritance at his death.

Knowing, and having foretold his crucifixion and resurrection at least three times (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19), Jesus had gone to Jerusalem with his disciples to celebrate the Passover (the Jewish commemoration of their release from slavery to sin and death in Egypt. The blood of the Passover Lamb had marked their houses to be “passed over” by the destroying angel when the last plague, the death of the first-born of Egypt, was carried out). The Passover feast became the Lord's Supper (the Last Supper; Holy Communion; the Eucharist) of the Church.

On that occasion, Jesus instituted and became the mediator (Hebrews 8:6, 9:15; 12:24) of the New Covenant of Grace through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus (Matthew 26:26-28; Ephesians 2:8-9). The Old Covenant had been given through Moses, to teach the righteousness of God. But no one was able to fulfill the requirements of the Law. The New Covenant allows us to be judged righteous as a free gift to be received by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16).

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)?

*Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, David Noel Freedman, “Nard,” p. 948, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids Michigan, 2000, ISBN 0-8020-2400-5

Holy Week – Tuesday

First posted April 7. 2009

Isaiah 49:1-6 Light to the Nations
Psalm 71:1-12 Prayer for Deliverance
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 20:1-9 (10-18)

Isaiah:

Listen, coastlands (nations nearby), and nations far away. God called his servant from before his conception and birth. He gave him a mouth with words as sharp as a sword (Hebrews 4:12). He hid his servant in the shadow of his hand. He made him like a polished arrow, hidden in his quiver. God called him his servant, Israel, in whom God will be glorified. He thought his labor had been in vain; his strength spent for nothing and vanity. But surely God will give him justice and reward his labor.

The Lord created him in the womb to be his servant, to restore Jacob to him and restore Israel to him. God has honored him; he has become his strength. The Lord says, “it is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations (Gentiles; non-Jews), that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah49:6).

Psalm:

Lord, I have taken refuge in you; may I never be put to shame. Rescue and deliver me, in your righteousness. You are my rock of refuge; a strong fortress to save me. Rescue me from the power of those who are wicked, cruel and unjust. My hope and trust have been in you from my youth. I have trusted in you from my birth; you have brought me forth from the womb. I constantly give you praise.

I am regarded with foreboding by many, but you are my strong refuge. I will praise and glorify you all day long. Don't forsake me in my old age, when my strength is gone. My enemies look for an opportunity to kill me. They think that God has forsaken his servant, so they may decide to pursue and seize me, thinking that there is no one to rescue me. Be not far off from me, Lord. Help me quickly.

Corinthians:

To those who are spiritually perishing Jesus' crucifixion seems foolish, but to those who are being saved the cross is the power of God. Paul quoted Isaiah 29:14 saying that God will destroy worldly wisdom and confound those who think they are clever. The Gospel doesn't attract the wise, the educated or the great orators. God has made worldly wisdom foolishness. In God's wisdom he designed this world so that mankind cannot know God through human wisdom. Instead he chose to save those who believe the Gospel we preach, which seems foolish to the world. The Jews demand “signs” (miracles; proof) and Greeks (Gentiles) want our Gospel to make worldly sense, but we preach Christ crucified which is an obstacle to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who respond to the call of the Gospel it is the power and wisdom of God. God in his most foolishness is wiser than humans, and at his weakest is stronger that we are.

John:

Jesus had been crucified on Friday, and his body had been placed in a new, unused tomb nearby. On Sunday, the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb before dawn, and saw that the stone sealing the tomb had been rolled away. She ran to where the disciples were staying and told Peter and John (“the disciple that Jesus loved”) that the tomb had been opened and was empty. She thought someone had removed the body. Peter and John ran to the tomb. John outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first. He looked in, without entering, and saw the shroud which Jesus had been wrapped in. When Peter arrived Peter went into the tomb, and saw the cloth which had covered Jesus' face rolled up by itself apart from the shroud. Then John also went in and believed (that Jesus had been raised from death), because they had not yet understood the scriptures that Jesus would rise from the dead.

The disciples went back to their lodging, but Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she looked into the tomb and she saw two angels in white, sitting where Jesus had been laid. They asked Mary why she was weeping, and she said someone had taken Jesus' body and she didn't know where his body was. As she said this she turned and saw Jesus standing nearby, but didn't recognize him. Jesus asked her why she was weeping. She said that if he had removed the body, she wanted to know where it had been laid. Jesus spoke her name and she recognized him and called him “Teacher.” Jesus asked her not to hold (cling to) him, because he had not yet ascended to God the Father. He asked her to go and tell Jesus' brethren that Jesus was ascending to God, his God and theirs; his Father and theirs. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples and told them that she had seen the Lord, and she told them all that he had said.

Commentary:

God's Word is eternally true and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Israel was called to be the Lord's servant, but they stumbled over the “stumbling stone,” Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:7-8). The Jewish religious leaders kept demanding Jesus to give them a sign (proof; a miracle) up to the moment of Jesus' death on the cross (Matthew 27:41-43). There were “signs” all around them; they just refused to believe.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate perfect fulfillment of the Lord's servant. Jesus is our example of what it means to be the Lord's servant.

The Church is the “New Israel,” whom God has called to be his servant, following the example of Jesus Christ. Individual believers are called to be the Lord's servants, to set aside our will and self-interest, and take up our cross and follow Jesus' example and teaching. God's call to be his servant extends to all people.

Jesus is the fulfillment and example of the promises of God's Word, including Psalm 71, for example. Jesus' obedience and trust in God's Word demonstrates that God can deliver us even from physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

This world has been designed according to God's will and purpose. God has always intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey God's Word. This world has been designed to allow us the freedom and opportunity for us to learn to trust and obey God's Word.

This lifetime is our opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life. This is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, 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). 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). It is possible to know with certainty for oneself whether one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

God was not surprised when the first people, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God's Word and ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:1-13). If people could not be trusted not to eat of the tree of knowledge, they could not be trusted not to eat the fruit of the tree of (eternal) life (Genesis 3:22-24). God has designed this Creation so that it is impossible for mankind to obtain eternal life with money, by worldly wisdom, by force or deception. The only way to obtain true, eternal life is through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

Jesus had told his disciples at least three times that he was going to be crucified and raised from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). His disciples didn't understand what Jesus was saying because it didn't make worldly sense.

When we begin to trust and obey Jesus he will reveal himself to us (John 14:21). He will open our minds to understand the Bible scriptures (Luke 24:45). He will remove the veil which lies over the minds of unbelievers, which is only removed by faith in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). We will know with certainty and testify that Jesus is eternally alive, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) through whom we have personal daily fellowship with our Lord.

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)?

Holy Week - Wednesday

First posted April 8, 2009

Isaiah 50:4-9a The Lord's Servant
Psalm 70:1-2, 4-6 Prayer for Deliverance
Romans 5:6-11 The Love of God
Matthew 26:14-25 Jesus' Betrayer

Isaiah:

The Lord has given his servant the ability and message of those who are educated, so that he can sustain those who are spiritually weary. Each morning he awakens his servant's spiritual ears, to hear with spiritual understanding. The Lord awakened me spiritually and I did not rebel and turn back. I did not resist those who struck me nor those who pull out my beard. I did not try to hide from those who put me to shame and spit in my face.

I have not been confounded, because the Lord helps me. So I am able to be as strong as flint, confident that I will not be put to shame. My vindicator is near, so who can oppose me. Let my adversary come to me and debate with me. Who can declare me guilty, since the Lord upholds me?

Psalm:

Please be willing to deliver me, O God! Hurry to help me O Lord. Let those who seek to kill me be put to shame and be confounded. Let those who sought my harm be defeated and brought to dishonor. Let those who gloated at my misfortune be embarrassed and ashamed.

Rejoice and be glad in the Lord all those who seek him. May those who love his salvation declare God's greatness! Hurry to help me, O Lord, because I am poor and needy. Hurry up and help me, O Lord, my help and deliverer; do not delay, O Lord.

Romans:

Christ died for us while we were ungodly and helpless. Most of us would be unwilling to die even for a righteous person, although sometimes one is willing to die for a good person. God's love for us is demonstrated in that Christ died for us while we were sinners. Since we are now justified (judged “not guilty;” the opposite of condemnation) by the blood of Jesus, we can be certain that he will save us from God's wrath. If we were saved by the death of God's Son while we were enemies of God, how much more will we be saved by his life. More than that, we can now rejoice in God through Jesus Christ who has provided our reconciliation.

Matthew Background:

Judas had been critical of the extravagance of Mary's anointing of Jesus with expensive ointment (Matthew 26:6-13; John 12:4-6). This was in Bethany as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate the “Last Supper” of Passover immediately before his crucifixion. The Passover was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a seven-day festival, with the Feast of Passover on the first day. In part it commemorated the last plague, the deaths of the firstborn of Egypt, Holy Week – Saturday B and the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt in such haste that they didn't have time to prepare anything but unleavened bread (Exodus 12:33-34).

After this, Judas, one of the Twelve of Jesus' original disciples, went to the Jewish religious authorities and asked them what they would be willing to pay for Judas to deliver Jesus into their custody. They gave him thirty pieces of silver (about one hundred and twenty days' wages), and from that moment, Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Commentary:

God's Word is eternal and is always fulfilled, over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Fulfillment is the test of prophecy (God's Word; Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

The Old Testament scriptures were foretelling and describing the coming of the Messiah (Christ; both words mean “anointed,” in Hebrew and Greek, respectively). Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Lord's servant, but Jesus was also demonstrating and providing an example for us to follow.

Jesus did not resist those who physically beat and spat upon him when he had been handed over to the Romans for crucifixion. The Jewish religious leaders declared Jesus guilty and had him executed, but God vindicated Jesus and raised him from physical death to eternal life. The Jewish authorities gloated as Jesus was being crucified (Matthew 27:41-43), but haven't they been defeated and put to shame? They have certainly not been able to get rid of Jesus Christ.

As the result of their rejection of Jesus God lifted his favor and protection from the Jews. God allowed Jerusalem and the temple to be destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies, and they were scattered throughout the world. Israel ceased to exist as a nation until Jews began returning after World War II. The temple has never been rebuilt, and there is no reason to, because the presence of the Lord is in the Church.

Israel was originally called to be the Lord's servant, but they turned away from that role. They chose to serve themselves rather than God. The Church is the “New Israel” the new people of God, called to be God's Servant.

The people of Israel marveled at the authority of the message Jesus preached, noting that he had not been formally trained (Matthew 7:28-29; 13:53-56). This promise is also fulfilled in his disciples. Jesus promised his disciples that they would receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of (divine, eternal) Truth (John 14:15-17) who would teach them all things and recall to their memory all that Jesus teaches (John 14:26) who would give them what they were to say at the time they were called upon to testify (Mark 13:11). I personally testify to this truth.

We are all called to be servants of God through Jesus Christ as Jesus' disciples. Jesus demonstrated that trusting and obeying God's Word is the way to know divine eternal truth, the only way to come to know and have fellowship with God our Creator, and the only way to have eternal life (John 14:6).

We are all called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. How we respond to that call is of great eternal consequence to each of us personally. Jesus came to restore the Jews to fellowship with God which had been broken by sin (disobedience of God's Word), but they rejected that call, choosing to do what they thought was their own will and best interest. Judas was called to be Jesus' disciple, but after knowing Jesus well, he chose to betray Jesus for four months' pay, and it cost him his physical and eternal life (Matthew 273-10).

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)?

Maundy Thursday

First posted April 9, 2009

The Church commemorates the institution of the Lord's Supper, on the night of Jesus' betrayal and arrest.

Exodus 24:3-11 Book of the Covenant
Psalm 116:10-17 Thanksgiving for Healing
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (18-21) Cup of Blessing
Mark 14:12-26 Last Supper

Exodus:

After Moses had received the Law from God, he presented it to the people to ratify and enter into the (Old) Covenant of Law with God. All the people agreed unanimously to keep all the words of the Covenant. So Moses wrote all the words (the Ten Commandments) and the ordinances (the laws governing the people and the worship) in the book of the Covenant. Then Moses arose early in the morning and built an altar at the base of Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb) and set up twelve pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Young men of the people were assigned to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings of oxen to God. Half of the blood of the sacrifices was collected in a bowl and and Moses threw it upon the altar (to consecrate it) and the other half of the blood he sprinkled upon the people. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of all the people. Moses told them to note the blood of the covenant sealing the Covenant between God and his people.

Then Moses (the mediator of the Covenant) and Aaron (high priest), Nadab and Abihu (Aaron's eldest and second son, consecrated priests) and seventy elders of the people went up to the top of the mountain and saw the God of Israel (The Oxford Annotated Bible suggests that they did not see God directly, only the bottom of his throne room above which God was enthroned*). There they ate and drank the feast of the Covenant.

Psalm:

Even when greatly afflicted the Psalmist continued trusting in the Lord, rather than other people, acknowledging that hope in other people is in vain.

How can we give to the Lord in thanks for his great blessings to us? We can “lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord ...and fulfill our vows in the presence of all his people” (Psalm 116:13-14).

The death of his saints are precious to the Lord. We are the Lord's servants, the sons and daughters of his servants. The Lord has freed us from our bonds. Let us offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord and call upon his name.

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is that not a participation (or communion) in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? We are all joined in one body because we participate in the one bread (the body of Jesus Christ.

Jesus had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast on the first night of the festival of “Unleavened Bread,” knowing that he would be crucified. His disciples asked him where they were to prepare for the feast, and Jesus told them to go into Jerusalem and they would meet a man carrying a jar of water. They were to follow him and enter the house he entered. They were to tell the householder that the Teacher asked where the guest room was where he was to eat the passover with his disciples. The householder would show them a large upper room furnished and ready, where they were to prepare the feast. The disciples did as Jesus told them and found it exactly as Jesus had said.

That evening Jesus and the Twelve came and as they were eating the passover Jesus told them that one of the Twelve was going to betray Jesus. The disciples were sad and each began to ask Jesus if it was he. Jesus said that it was one of the Twelve who was dipping bread in the same dish with Jesus. Jesus said that the Son of man (Jesus) would meet his destiny regardless, but his betrayer's destiny would be a great tragedy. In fact it would have been better for the betrayer to never have been born.

“And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them and said, 'Take; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, 'This is my blood of the (new) covenant, which is poured out for many.' Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God (Mark 14:22-25).

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Commentary:

God has been revealing his purpose for Creation from the very beginning. Jesus Christ has been designed into the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). God has been progressively revealing himself and his purpose for Creation to us, first through Creation itself, then through his Word, the Bible, and the “living Word,” Jesus Christ. His ultimate revelation of himself to us personally and individually is by the gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

God taught Israel to have a covenant relationship with God through a mediator, Moses. He taught them that everything and everyone who serves him must be cleansed with blood of a sacrifice, and that covenants with him are sealed with blood and a sacrificial feast.

God gave Israel the first Covenant, based on the Law of Moses, to demonstrate the righteousness God requires, and the inability of humans to keep all the Law all the time (Galatians 2:16, 3:10-12; 5:2-5; Romans 3:28; 8:1-9). Through the Old Covenant, sacrifices had to be made continually for the sins (disobedience of God's Word).

Under the Old Covenant, God's people could not have direct access to God's presence. Only Moses and the priestly family, and the seventy elders were allowed into God's presence on the mountain. The Tabernacle (portable temple) built to the ordinances given by God along with the Law to Moses, and later the temple in Jerusalem, had a separate area called the holy-of-holies, where the presence of God was symbolized by Ark of the Covenant (containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments). Only the high priest was allowed to enter, only once a year, only with a blood offering for his own sins and the sins of the people.

One of the ordinances God gave to Moses is that God's people were not to drink blood or eat meat which hadn't been bled. Blood was believed to contain the spirit of the animal. But when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, he gave us the cup of wine, his spiritual blood, to drink. God wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), not with the spirit of animals or demons (see 1 Corinthians 10:18-21)! Note, however, that the Holy Spirit is not automatically conferred upon anyone by participating in the Lord's Supper.

When Jesus established the “Lord's Supper” (“Holy Communion;” “Eucharist”) it was in the context of the Feast of Passover, which commemorated God's deliverance of his people from slavery and death in Egypt. A lamb was sacrificed, and the blood of the lamb on the door post and lintel marked the houses of the Israelites to be spared, “passed-over,” by the final plague of the death of the first-born of the Egyptians. Jesus' blood shed on the cross saves us from our “first-birth” in the flesh by which we are spiritually eternally dead through sin (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Salvation is received by us as we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior through faith (obedient trust).

Jesus instituted a New Covenant at the Last Supper. The New Covenant is salvation from God's condemnation of us to eternal destruction because of sin (disobedience of God's Word) by grace (a free gift; unmerited favor), to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). In the New Covenant we are freed from the condemnation of the Law, provided that we are obedient to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-9).

Notice the elements of the First Covenant. There was a Mediator, Moses, between God and his people. There was a Book of the Covenant, which is our Old Testament (or Old Covenant). There was the Blood of the Covenant, and the Feast of the Covenant.

Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant. Jesus is both our Mediator and our High Priest in the presence of God. The New Testament of the Bible is the Book of the New Covenant. Jesus' blood shed on the cross for all who are willing to receive it is the Blood of the New Covenant, and the Lord's Supper, is the Feast of the New Covenant. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb whose “body,” broken for us on the cross provides the feast.

The blood of Jesus cleanses us so that we can individually be temples of the Holy Spirit. 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). By the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit we have personal daily fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ (John 14:23).

At Jesus' death on the cross, the veil of the temple separating the holy-of-holies was torn in two from top to bottom, symbolizing that a new and better way into God's presence was opened through Jesus Christ (Mark 15:38) through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

How can we adequately give thanks to God for our salvation? By celebrating our salvation in the commemoration of the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner, having examined ourselves and having confessed our sins to the Lord, believing that Jesus died to give us forgiveness of all our sins, and in commitment to keep our vows implicit in the covenant feast. Our covenant vows are to trust and obey Jesus Christ and to call upon and rely upon him for our guidance and salvation; to live according to his teaching and example. The sacrifice God desires from us is the sacrifice of our thanksgiving and our obedience to his Word.

The celebration of the Lord's Supper is visual picture of fellowship with Jesus in the Feast of the New Covenant. We are his disciples celebrating the salvation Jesus provides for us by his crucifixion and resurrection. We are one with all “born-again” Christians through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. “Born-again” Christians celebrate the feast of the Covenant on the “mountaintop” in the presence of the Lord (Exodus 24:9-11).

When we begin to trust and obey Jesus, we will learn from experience, and our faith will grow as we learn that his word is absolutely trustworthy and reliable. The disciples did as Jesus had told them, to prepare for the passover feast, and they found it just as he had said (Mark 14:12-16). As they had entered Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week (Palm Sunday) they had followed Jesus' instructions about obtaining a donkey, and they found it just as Jesus had said (Mark 11:1-7).

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)?

*The Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version, Ed. by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Exodus 24:10 n, p. 98, New York, Oxford University Press, 1962.

Good Friday

First posted April 10, 2009

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 -- The Lord's Servant
Psalm 22:1-23 -- Prayer for Deliverance
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 -- Our Great High Priest
(John 18:1-19:42)
Jn19:17-37 -- Jesus' Crucifixion

Isaiah:

Watch and see! The Lord's Servant will prosper. He will be lifted up and highly exalted. His appearance has been so brutally disfigured that people will be astonished by him, and nations will be shocked. Kings will be speechless before him. They shall see what they have not been told, and will understand what they have not heard.

We have heard of Jesus, but who has believed? “The arm of the Lord has been revealed, but who has seen him? The servant grew like a stunted plant in dry ground. He had no physical beauty that would make him attractive or desirable. “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3).

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed” Isaiah 53:4-5). All of us have gone astray like sheep, and God has placed all our sins upon him.

He was persecuted and abused, but he did not speak in his own behalf, like sheep are mute while being sheared or like a lamb led to slaughter. He was oppressed and condemned to death. Who of this generation cared that his life was cut short, or that he was punished for our sins? “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death” (Isaiah 53:9 KJV), although he had done no violence nor lied to anyone.

But it was God's will to afflict him and cause him grief. “When he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days” (Isaiah 53:10). He will cause God's will to flourish. He will be pleased to see the fruit resulting from his travail. “By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11). Thus he shall inherit a portion with the great, and he will share a portion with the strong. He gave of himself unto death. He was accounted a transgressor, but it was our sins he bore, and he interceded for sinners.

Psalm:

“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Psalm 22:1; compare Mark 15:34). Why does God's help seem so far from responding to my groaning? I pray day and night, but God doesn't answer.

Yet God is holy; exalted in the praises of his people. Our forefathers trusted in God, and God delivered them. They cried out to God and were saved; they were not disappointed in their trust of God. God's servant is scorned and despised by people. He is regarded as a lower order of animal. “All who see me mock at me, they make mouthes at me, they wag their heads (compare Matthew 27:39-40); 'He committed his cause to the Lord, let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him” (Psalm 22:6b-8; compare Matthew 27:41-43).

The Lord has brought him forth from the womb and has kept him secure from infancy. He has been a servant of God from his birth. Now that trouble is at hand, there is no other to help.

People, like savage animals, ravenous, like roaring lions, with mouths wide open, surround God's servant. “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; thou dost lay me in the dust of death” (Psalm 22:14-15).

“Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet- I can count all my bones- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots” (Psalm 22:16-18; compare John 19:23-24).

May the Lord not be far from his servant; may he hasten to help his servant. May he deliver his servant's life, his soul from the power of the sword and the power of the dogs. Save him from the mouth of the lion and the horns of the oxen.

Then the servant will proclaim the name of the Lord to his brethren in the midst of the congregation. Praise the Lord, all people who fear the Lord and glorify him; all God's people. For he does not despise or abhor the affliction of those who are afflicted; he doesn't hide his face from them; he hears their cries.

The Lord's servant will praise him and fulfill his vows in the great congregation of God's people. He will feed and satisfy the afflicted. Those who seek the Lord will praise him. May they live forever!

All the people to the end of the earth will remember (what the Servant of the Lord has done) and turn to the Lord and worship him. The Lord is the sovereign ruler over all nations.

All the proud of the earth will be humbled before him. Those who are mortal and go down to dust and grave will bow before him. All future generations will serve the Lord and tell of him to coming generations; they will proclaim the deliverance that the Lord has accomplished to people not yet born.

Hebrews:

Now we have a great high priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God who has passed through the heavens (entered the presence of God), so let us hold fast to our belief. Because he has been tempted in every respect as we are, and yet has not yielded and sinned, he is able to sympathize with our human weakness. So we can approach the throne of grace (unmerited favor) and receive mercy and grace as needed.

When Jesus was living in a human body on this earth he prayed earnestly with loud cries and tears, and his prayers were heard because of his fear (awe and respect for the authority and power) of God. Even though he was the Son of God, he had to learn obedience to God through suffering. And having fulfilled his calling, “he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).

John:

After being mocked by Roman soldiers (Mark 15:16-20), they took Jesus out to Golgotha (meaning “place of the skull;” a hillock with a skull-like appearance outside the city wall), where they crucified Jesus between two others (criminals). Pilate, the Roman administrator of the province of Judea, before whom Jesus had been tried, had a sign placed on Jesus' cross saying “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Jewish chief priests objected to the wording, saying that it should indicate that Jesus only claimed to be the King of the Jews. Pilate refused to change the wording.

When Jesus had been crucified the Roman soldiers divided Jesus' garments into four piles, but Jesus' tunic was woven in one piece, so they cast lots (like rolling dice) for it, fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:18).

Standing by the cross were Jesus' mother, Mary, her sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw the women and his disciple, John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) standing there he commended his mother to John's care, and John did so from that moment.

Then, Jesus knowing that all was finished, said, in fulfillment of Psalm 69:21 (compare Psalm 22:15), “I thirst.” A bowl of vinegar (soured wine) was nearby and they filled a sponge and held it up to Jesus on a reed (hyssop; the caper plant, Capparis spinosa*). After receiving the vinegar, he said “It is finished,” and bowed his head and yielded up his spirit.

Because it was the day of Preparation (Friday, the day before the Jewish sabbath; and was especially holy because of the celebration of the festival of Unleavened Bread), the Jews asked Pilate to break the legs of those crucified, so that they could be taken from their crosses. So soldiers came and broke the legs of the criminals on each side of Jesus, but did not break Jesus' legs because he was already dead. One of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side, and water and blood came out. The Apostle John, the author of this Gospel was an eye-witness and testified to these things, so that the reader may believe also. These things were in fulfillment of the scriptures “Not a bone of him shall be broken” (Exodus 12:46c), and “They shall look on him whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10b).

Commentary:

First, it is most important to note that Psalm 22 is attributed to David, the great shepherd-king and forerunner of Christ. Remember that David lived about a thousand years before Jesus' first coming!

God's Word is eternal and is fulfilled over and over as the conditions for its fulfillment are met. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Lord's Servant. Israel was also called to be the Lord's servant, but they turned away from serving God to serve their own will and what they perceived as their self-interest. The Church is called to be the “New Israel,” the new people of God, and each individual believer is called to follow Jesus' example and teaching as the Lord's servants.

Jesus is the “living Word,” the ultimate fulfillment of God's Word, the Bible, lived out in human flesh in this world (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus was designed into Creation from the very beginning, and has been progressively revealed through God's Word from the very beginning (Genesis 3:15).

Worldly wisdom can't Holy Week – Saturday B understand how being mocked, abused and crucified could cause someone to prosper; how being executed as a criminal could cause one to be lifted up and exalted; how dying on the cross could defeat death and Satan (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Worldly people love physical beauty and admire worldly success, worldly wealth and power. They despise those who are worldly failures. They are righteous in their own judgment. The Lord has a different standard of righteousness. The Lord is the advocate for those who are humble, the poor and unsuccessful in worldly judgment.

God could have given his Son any physical body he chose. He chose a physical appearance that is not beautiful by worldly standards, to put worldly standards to shame.

Jesus didn't resist worldly persecution and abuse; he could have defended and acquitted himself, but he chose to submit to God's will and purpose.

Jesus was crucified and died as a criminal (the wicked) between criminals, in fulfillment of scripture (Isaiah 53:9), and in death, his body was cared for by rich men, Joseph of Arimathea (Ramah), a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious supreme court), and by Nicodemus (also a member of the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-52), and buried in the tomb of a rich man (Matthew 27:60; compare Isaiah 53:9 KJV).

Jesus was the beloved only begotten Son of God, but God allowed him to suffer in order to grow to spiritual maturity in obedient trust in God. As Jesus submitted to his heavenly Father's will, as an offering for sin, he experienced his spiritual success; he saw his spiritual offspring, all those who were saved and given eternal life through Jesus, and Jesus' days were prolonged unto eternity.

Jesus was quoting Psalm 22 and simultaneously fulfilling it on the cross. The Jewish leaders, “expert authorities” of the scriptures, were also, unconsciously, “quoting” Psalm 22:6b-8). The Jewish method of execution was by “stoning.” Psalm 22 contains an obvious description of what crucifixion feels like, although unknown to Israel before the period of their Roman domination (beginning around 63 B.C.**).

Almost everyone today has heard of Jesus, but how many of us have believed; have chosen to trust and obey Jesus as their Lord and Savior? How many of us have looked at Jesus' life and his works and have recognized him as the Son of God and God's eternal Savior and King?

Faith is not getting what we wish for if we believe “hard enough.” Faith is trusting and acting on that faith.

There is a Day of Judgment coming, when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to the Lord, according to what they have done in this lifetime. Those who have died will be resurrected, either to eternal destruction with all evil, or to eternal life with the Lord in the New Creation (John 5:28-29); Creation restored to paradise in heaven. The standard of Judgment and the Righteous Judge is Jesus Christ. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and eternal Savior, who have trusted and obeyed his teaching, will have been spiritually “reborn” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life now, in this lifetime, and will enter eternal life. Those who have rejected Jesus as Savior and Lord, who have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus, will be condemned to eternal destruction and death in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Jesus has become our great high priest, interceding for us in the presence of God in heaven. He has become the source of eternal salvation for all who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

The prayers of anyone who fears God (who respects and submits to the power and authority of God), will be heard; (*see Conditions for Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right). God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want, but he answers them to provide for our best interest. Jesus asked God to spare him from an excruciatingly*** painful death on the cross, but submitted his will to God (Matthew 26:39). God heard and answered Jesus' prayers, not by delivering him from the suffering of crucifixion, but by exalting him above all others in heaven and on earth (Philippians 2:10-11), and by accomplishing God's eternal purpose to give salvation from eternal condemnation, and eternal life for all who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

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)?

*Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “hyssop" digital edition, SwordPROJECT BibleTime 1.6.4 (for Linux KDE 3.5.7) http://wwwbibletime.org

**http://www.answers.com/topic/63%20B.C.

*** From Latin: "ex" meaning from, "cruciate" meaning to crucify. Crucifixion became the standard of extreme torture.

Holy Week – Saturday

First posted April 11, 2009

Isaiah 25:6-9 – The Feast of the Lord
(or Daniel 3:8-25)
I Corinthians 5:6-8 – Unleavened Bread
(or 1 Corinthians 15:20-26)
Galatians 4:1-7 – Freed from Bondage
Mark 16:1-8 - The Empty Tomb

Isaiah:

On this mountain (Zion; the temple mount; the heavenly Zion), the Lord of hosts (great numbers of people; vast armies) is preparing a great feast of rich food and fine, well-aged wine. On his mountain he will remove the veil which covers all people and nations. The Lord will eliminate death for all eternity, and he will remove the tears and the reproach of his people. This is God's promise.

“It will be said on that day, 'Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation' (Isaiah 25:9).

I Corinthians:

Boasting of ourselves isn't good. “A little leaven (yeast; causes bread to rise; symbol of sin) leavens the whole lump” (of dough; 1 Corinthians 5:6b). So let us cleanse ourselves from all “leaven,” and really be unleavened as we should be. Christ our sacrificial lamb of the Passover has been sacrificed. So let us celebrate the festival (The Lord's Supper; the Passover feast on the first day of the seven-day festival of Unleavened Bread), “not with the old “leaven” of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

Galatians:

An heir is restrained, like a slave, under guardians and trustees, until he reaches the age of inheritance set by his father, even though he owns the estate. Likewise with us, when we were spiritually immature we were subject to worldly understanding and our physical urges. “But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoptions as sons” (and daughters; Galatians 4:4-5). We know we are sons and daughters of God because God has given us the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, through whom we are able to call God, “Abba,” Father. So we are not a slave (to the law) but a son, and if we know we are sons and daughters, we can be certain that we are heirs of God through Christ.

Matthew

When the sabbath (Saturday) had ended (at sundown; Leviticus 23:32), Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James (“little James;” and wife of Cleopas), and Salome (wife of Zebedee; mother of James and John, and probably sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus) bought spices to prepare Jesus' body for burial, and went very early to the tomb just at sunrise (on Sunday). They were wondering how they could roll the stone (which was very large and disk shaped, and rolled in a groove at the base of the entrance) blocking the entrance to the tomb. As they came in sight of the tomb they found that the stone had been rolled away. They entered the tomb and saw a young man in a white robe (an angel) sitting on the right side, and they were amazed.

The angel told them not to be alarmed; he said he knew they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified, and he said that Jesus had risen and was no longer there, as they could see. The angel told the women to go and tell his disciples, and especially Peter (who had denied knowing the Lord on the night of Jesus' arrest), that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee, and they would see Jesus there, as Jesus had told them (Mark 14:28). The women “fled” from the tomb in fear and trembling, and they told no one (except the disciples), because they were afraid.

Commentary:

God had been teaching Israel, through the “ordinances” of the Law of Moses, to keep certain feasts and festivals. The feast of Passover was to commemorate the event of the last plague, the death of the first-born of the Egyptians, which convinced the Egyptians to allow the Israelites to leave. A perfect blemish-free lamb was sacrificed for the feast, and the blood of the lamb was to be used to mark the doorpost and lintel of the homes of the Israelites, so that the destroying angel would “pass over” the Israelites.

Passover was the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, which commemorated the unleavened bread the Israelites ate on their Exodus from Egypt, because they had left in such haste that they were unable to allow bread to rise (Exodus 12:33-34).

Jesus and his disciples had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Jesus knew and had told his disciples at least three times that he would be crucified and would rise again on the third day, but his disciples didn't really understand what he was saying. Jesus instituted the New Passover, the New Covenant of grace (unmerited favor; a free gift) to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus, at the Passover feast, on “Maundy” Thursday, the night of his betrayal and arrest.

Moses had been the mediator of the Old Covenant (“Testament”) of Law. He wrote the law and ordinances of the Old Covenant in the Book of the Old Covenant, The Old Testament of the Bible. Israel ratified and sealed the Old Covenant with a blood sacrifice and Feast of the Covenant.

Jesus is the the “New Moses,” the mediator of the New Covenant. The New Testament of the Bible is the Book of the New Covenant. Jesus' blood shed on the cross is the Blood of the New Covenant. Jesus is the perfect unblemished “Lamb of God,” sacrificed on the cross, who provides the Feast of the New Covenant and whose blood is the Blood of the New Covenant, marking us as God's people, and sparing us from eternal destruction of the wicked.

On the night Jesus instituted the New Covenant he told his disciples that he wouldn't celebrate the feast again until he celebrated it new with his disciples in the kingdom of heaven (Mark 14:25). The prophecy of Isaiah was pointing to the New Covenant which Jesus established at the Last Supper, and ultimately to the celebration of the Lords' Supper fulfilled in the kingdom of heaven (the marriage feast of the Lamb and his bride the Church).

There is a veil ([sic] vail) lying over the minds of all people, preventing them from understanding and seeing the glory of God's Word (2 Corinthians 3:13-16), which is only removed by Jesus through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). The risen Jesus opens the minds of his disciples to understand the biblical scriptures (Luke 24:45).

We are all born physically alive but spiritually dead (“unborn”). This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to true, eternal, life. This is only possible through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, by 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). 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).

It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself, whether one has been “born-again,” without having to rely on the word of a pastor or theologian (Acts 19:2). We shouldn't be asking them; they should be asking us!

Believers should be waiting within the Church (the New Jerusalem on earth), seeking the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, before being sent out into the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; Matthew 28: 19-20). It is only by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that we can praise the Lord (compare Galatians 4:6), testify to his salvation, and proclaim the Gospel in the world by his guidance and empowerment (Zechariah 4:6).

The Law was given to teach us God's standard of righteousness, and to restrain evil until the coming of Jesus Christ, in both physical and spiritual senses: Christ has come physically, and does come, individually and personally in the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And Christ will come again, at the end of time, for this Creation, and for us individually and personally, to judge the living (“quickened”) and dead, in the physical and spiritual senses.

In that Day of Judgment, we will each be individually and personally accountable to God for what we have done in this lifetime. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and have trusted and obeyed Jesus will have been “born-again” and will enter eternal life in God's kingdom restored to paradise in heaven. Those who have rejected Jesus and have refused or failed to trust and obey Jesus will be condemned to eternal death and destruction in hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Jesus came into this world to become the one and only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God's Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and our salvation from eternal death and condemnation, which is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23; see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus' resurrection from the dead was witnessed by more than five hundred eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6), and is attested to by every truly “born-again” Christian ever since, beginning with the Apostle Paul. Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that his word is true, the Word of God (John 14:10, 24) with the creative force of God's Word (Mark 4:39-41; compare Genesis 1:3, 9), and that there is existence beyond physical death; not “nothingness;” not reincarnation (Hebrews 9:27), as he said.

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)?