Pentecost Sunday B

First Posted May 31 , 2009

Psalm 104:25-34 -- Creation and Renewal by God’s Spirit

Ezekiel 37:1-14 -- Dry Bones

Acts 2:1-21 -- Birthday of the Church

John 7:37-39a -- The Feast of Tabernacles

Commentary:

God, our Creator, has breathed on us and given us the breath* of (physical) life (Genesis 2:7). Everything in Creation exists by the will and providence of God. God’s purpose for this Creation is to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to knowledge of, and fellowship with, God (Acts 17:26-27), which is only possible through Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). Jesus has been God’s plan from the beginning of Creation and has been built into the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14).

 Jesus died on the Cross as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we could receive the breath* of spiritual life, through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only one who baptizes (anoints) with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), which Jesus gives only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Lord sends forth his Spirit to give spiritual “rebirth” (John 3:3, 5-8) and renewal to his disciples, individually, and to his Church collectively.

The Church today, particularly the American Church, is full of a lot of “dry bones.” In many cases the Holy Spirit departed long ago, but the people haven’t noticed. The Church and its members need to see and realize their need for spiritual rebirth and renewal. We need to be willing to see the true situation and to hear the prophetic Word of God proclaimed. God is willing and able to revive the driest of bones if we are willing to see and hear God’s prophetic truth.

The first “New Testament” Pentecost was the birthday of the Church. Peter, who had been afraid to admit his relationship to Jesus to a menial servant girl on the night of Jesus’ betrayal (John 18:15-27), was immediately transformed into a bold and powerful evangelist when he had been filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:14-41). Paul (Saul of Tarsus), the prototype and example of a modern, “post-resurrection” “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ, was immediately transformed from a persecutor of the Church and Christians, into the great evangelist, ultimately, to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1-22).

The same Hebrew word can be translated as “wind,” breath,” or “spirit.”** Ezekiel’s prophecy involved a play on these words. On the Day of Pentecost, the anointing of the Holy Spirit was manifested as the sound of a mighty wind (Acts 2:2), and as tongues of fire, in fulfillment of John the Baptizer’s testimony that Jesus would “baptize” with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (The “fire” also referred to “refining” the faith of disciples through testing as metal is refined by fire.) Jesus described spiritual rebirth to Nicodemus using the same play on the word for wind and Spirit (John 3:6-8).

The Feast of Tabernacles was originally established by God’s Word as a commemoration of Israel’s wilderness wandering. It began on the fifteenth of the seventh month (September-October) and lasted seven days. The last day was apparently the greatest. It was associated with the harvest of olives and grapes, for oil and wine. *** Olive oil was used to anoint kings of Israel. [Christ and Messiah mean (God’s) anointed, in Greek and Hebrew, respectively.] Wine, the “blood” of grapes, was used as an element of the “Lord’s Supper,” (Holy Communion; the Eucharist). “Blood” symbolized the “life-force:” the “spirit.” Israelites were forbidden to drink the blood of any animal. God wanted us to participate in his Holy Spirit; not in the spirits of animals or demons.

After the Exile, two rituals had been added: the lighting of great golden lamps in the temple courtyard, as a commemoration of the leading of the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21), and a water ritual, where golden pitchers of water from the pool of Siloam were carried daily and poured on the altar. This ritual symbolized the water from the rock in the wilderness (Numbers 20:2-13) and also the Messianic deliverance.

This is the context in which Jesus declared that he is the source of water which quenches spiritual thirst, and the giver of the Holy Spirit, which becomes a spring of life-giving spiritual water in the believer, flowing outward and giving spiritual life to others. Please visualize water pouring down over the altar, onto the floor, flowing over the threshold and out into the world (compare Exekiel 47:1-5). Jesus’ declaration on the last day of the Feast was the fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word.

This is the Day of commemoration of the birthday of the Church. 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 same word is translated both “breath” and “Spirit;” RSV, Psalm 104:30a note “s.”

**The same word in Hebrew means “breath,” “wind,” and “spirit.” This text involves a play on these three words. RSV Ezekiel 37:9 note “f”

***Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, David Noel Freedman, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Feasts, Festivals, p 458, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2000, ISBN 0-8020-2400-5

Pentecost - Monday B

First Posted June 1, 2009

Psalm 149  -- Sing a New Song

God’s people are called to praise the Lord with music, singing and dancing, because the Lord takes pleasure in his people and gives victory to the humble. We sing a new song, inspired by God’s blessings to us. The Church is the new Israel and the new Zion, the City and stronghold of God on earth, which foreshadows and points to the eternal City of God in heaven. Jesus is the eternal king, who has already begun his reign in the hearts of his disciples.

We are called to praise the Lord, but we are also called to join the spiritual battle which is being waged on earth. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). Christians are called to equip themselves with the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the Bible so that we are able to fight the spiritual battle. Knowing the Bible is important and necessary, but we must also be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit who opens our minds to understand the Bible, who recalls to our memory the appropriate Word as needed, and sends us into the place in the battle where we can be effective. The spiritual battle cannot be won in our own human strength. It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can win the victory (Zechariah 4:6).

We’re willing to sing, dance and celebrate, but are we willing to participate in the struggle and join the battle? 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)?

Pentecost - Wednesday B

First Posted June 3, 2009

Romans 8:14-17 -- Led by the Spirit    

“All who are led by the Spirit are sons (and daughters) of God” (Romans 8:14). Only Jesus "baptizes" with (gives the gift of) the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17; Isaiah 42:5e). Disciples who are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) are no longer slaves to God by the Covenant of Law. They no longer have to fear God’s wrath and punishment, provided that they live daily according to the Holy Spirit (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). When we pray to God our Father by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us, our experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit bears witness to us that we are children of God. Because we are (adopted) children of God, we share with Jesus in the inheritance of our Father, provided that we share in Jesus’ suffering (in ministry, for the Gospel) as Jesus suffered for us, with the assurance that we will also share in his glory.

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)?

Pentecost - Thursday B

First Posted June 4, 2009

John 3:1-17 -- New Birth

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, the strictest sect of Judaism, and he was a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious court). Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. He was curious about Jesus, but unwilling to risk his status in the Jewish religious community by being seen openly with Jesus. He realized that Jesus was a teacher by the will and authority of God, or Jesus could not do the signs (miracles demonstrating who Jesus is) that Jesus was doing.

Jesus told Nicodemus “…unless one is born anew (i.e., “born-again;” ”born from above*) one cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The kingdom of God is all around us, but we cannot see it now, nor will we ever experience it in eternity, unless we’re “born-again,” now in this temporal lifetime. Jesus was describing the spiritual birth which is only by the anointing with the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17; 21, 23).

John (and Jesus’ disciples; John 4:2) baptized with water, for repentance and forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38; Jesus “baptizes” with the Holy Spirit). John came baptizing with water to call and prepare people to receive Jesus, and Jesus’ disciples, then and now, baptize with water for the same purpose. When we truly repent and prepare to receive Jesus by faith (obedient trust) we will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

The same word in both Hebrew and Greek can be translated “breath,” “wind,” or “spirit.” Jesus used this play on words to describe the Holy Spirit. Flesh cannot inherit eternal life; only those who are spiritually alive (reborn) can inherit eternal life. We don’t need to understand what causes the wind to blow in order to see and experience the effect of the wind, and so it is with the Spirit.

Nicodemus asked how this could be, and Jesus asked Nicodemus how Nicodemus could be a teacher of Israel without understanding and experiencing this reality. To be a teacher of God’s people, one must believe (trust and obey) Jesus and come to a personal relationship with Jesus through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It takes born-again disciples of Jesus Christ to make born-again disciples of Jesus Christ. The unregenerate (i.e., not born-again), can’t make born-again disciples, because if they knew how and what they’re missing, they wouldn’t be unregenerate. The Church needs to be careful to make born-again disciples, or there won’t be any from which to select leaders, and the Church must be careful to select only born-again disciples to leadership. In all too many nominal “churches” that is not the case.

Jesus’ message was proclaimed in “earthly” terms and examples. He healed physical illness, and provided physical bread, so that people could realize that he could also heal and nourish them spiritually, and he warned them that spiritual things are more important than physical things, because only spiritual things are eternal.

Jesus taught in parables; stories of common everyday earthly experiences of physical life, to illustrate and teach spiritual truths. Jesus’ use, here, of the word play on the Spirit and wind is an example. If we realize that Jesus has come from eternity in heaven to physical life in this temporal world we will believe (trust and obey) what he says about spiritual things; he is the only human being in Creation who has knowledge and experience of spiritual, eternal things.

In the wilderness, when the Congregation of Israel was beset with fiery serpents, God instructed Moses to create a bronze image of a fiery serpent and place it on a pole, to lift it above the heads of the people. So anyone who was bitten could look up and see the serpent and he would survive and not die (Numbers 21:6-8). Imagine an undulating image of a serpent attached horizontally to a pole by a socket or a hole in the middle. The image was cross-shaped!

Jesus used the collective experience of the fiery serpents by God’s people as a parable and a metaphor for what Jesus does for us. God’s people are wandering through the wilderness of this lifetime, led by the Holy Spirit, as Israel was led by the pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21). The fiery serpent is the enemy of our souls, Satan, and the power of sin and death. Jesus is our Savior, lifted up on a cross, so that anyone who is “bitten” by sin and (eternal) death, can look to Jesus lifted up on the cross, and be saved and have eternal life by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

God loves us. God’s purpose for this present temporal Creation is to create an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey him. God designed this Creation with the possibility of sin (disobedience of God’s word), so that we could have genuine freedom to choose whether to trust and obey God or not, but God has limited sin and disobedience by time. This Creation will pass away, and each of us is limited by our physical lifetime.

Jesus Christ has been designed into Creation from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). The reason and purpose of life in this world is to allow us to seek and find a personal relationship with God (Acts 17:26-27). Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for the forgiveness of our sin, restoration to fellowship with God, and salvation from eternal condemnation and eternal death (Acts 4:12; 14:6).

God sent his beloved only begotten (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:31-35) Son, Jesus Christ to die on the Cross as the only sacrifice acceptable to God for our forgiveness and salvation. His salvation is a free gift, unmerited favor, to be received by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. We are “sin- and eternal-death-bitten.” To be saved, all we have to do is look to Jesus on the Cross in faith (obedient trust; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar top right).

Jesus also died on the Cross so that he could demonstrate by his resurrection that there is existence beyond physical death, and he opened the way to eternal life so that we could follow him. Jesus’ death made it possible for us to be spiritually cleansed by his blood, so that we could receive the indwelling 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).

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)?

 *RSV John 3:3, note “e”

Pentecost - Friday B

First Posted June 5, 2009

Matthew 28:18-20 -- The Great Commission

After Jesus’ Resurrection, he had told his disciples, (the eleven of the original Twelve, minus Judas, who had betrayed Jesus) to return to Galilee where the risen Jesus would meet them (Matthew 28:10). When Jesus came to them in Galilee, on the mountain, as he had told them, Jesus declared that he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus told his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [notice the Doctrine of the Trinity], teaching them to observe (i.e. obey) all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus has come into the world with a message, the Gospel (which means “Good News”) of forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:6-8), salvation from God’s condemnation and eternal death (the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23), and restoration to fellowship with God which was broken by sin (John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Jesus is God’s only provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12)

Jesus taught by word and by example. Jesus demonstrated the method, “discipleship,” by which his disciples were to carry out The Great Commission. Jesus had begun the mission of preaching the Gospel of repentance, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life to the lost and dying world, he began making disciples, and his disciples were to continue and complete that mission of proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples.

But Jesus warned his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit before carrying out that mission (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:4-5, 8). Jesus began his ministry with water baptism by John the Baptist, and the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit from God, testified to by John (John 1:31-34), and Jesus promised his disciples a similar “anointing” by the Holy Spirit, which his disciples were to receive before continuing Jesus’ ministry. The Church is the modern equivalent of “Jerusalem,” the City of God on earth and the place of the Temple of God, which is in his people.

His disciples did as Jesus had commanded, and they received the “anointing” with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). Peter is an example of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit on a “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple of Jesus Christ. At Jesus’ betrayal, Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times, once to the menial servant of the high priest (John 18:15-27). But on the Day of Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and declared the Gospel boldly in one of the greatest sermons in the Bible (Acts 2:14-36).

Jesus had told his disciples to begin their witness in Jerusalem, and they would be led by the Holy Spirit to witness in Judea (the remnant of Israel) and then Samaria (the neighboring region, once the Northern Kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel, but then racially and spiritually “adulterated” by the conquest and occupation by the Assyrians), and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

This promise was fulfilled. In the persecution of Christians following the martyrdom of Stephen, the disciples were scattered. Philip went to Samaria (Acts 8:1) where he proclaimed the Gospel and Samaritans were converted. Philip was then led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:26; note “angel” can mean ‘spirit;” compare Acts 12:15; Revelation 1:1) to take the road to Gaza, where he shared the Gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch, an official of Ethiopia, who was converted and baptized (Acts 8:26-38).

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was converted by an encounter with the risen (and ascended) Jesus on the road to Damascus, and subsequently discipled by Ananias, received the Holy Spirit, and then immediately began preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and fulfilling The Great Commission (Acts 9:1-22. Paul is the example and prototype of the “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple of Jesus Christ, which we also can be!

Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples “always, to the close of the age,” (Matthew 28:20b) is fulfilled by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to come to his disciples and reveal himself to them in the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17, 21, 23), the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). Only Jesus “baptizes” with the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (Acts 14:15-17). The “anointing” with the Holy Spirit is a personally discernable event which the recipient can experience for himself and know with certainty (Acts 19:2). 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).

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)?

Pentecost - Saturday B

First Posted June 6, 2009

Romans 11:33-36 -- God’s providence

When we come to know and realize God’s plan for his Creation and for us, we will agree with Paul that the spiritual riches, wisdom, and knowledge of God far surpass human ability, and understanding and are worthy of all our praise! God’s judgements are flawless, and his ways are far above our ways. We cannot know or guess God’s ways unless he chooses to reveal them to us.

God has revealed his ways and his purpose for this Creation in his Word, the Bible, and in Jesus Christ, God’s Word fulfilled, embodied and demonstrated (John 1:1-5, 14). God’s fullest revelation of himself to us 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 him (John 14:15-17). God’s intention from the very beginning of this Creation was to create an eternal kingdom of his people who trust and obey him. Jesus has been God’s only plan and provision (Acts 4:12) for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God’s Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), salvation from condemnation and eternal death (the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23), and restoration of fellowship with God (John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation; sidebar, top right).

This present Creation is our opportunity to seek and come to knowledge of and fellowship with God (Acts 17:26-27). God wants to be found by us, and to have fellowship with us. Are we seeking to know and do God’s will? Have we read the Bible completely, and do we read it daily, seeking the guidance of God’s Word? Have we come to experience a personal relationship with God through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit?

Through the Holy Spirit we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). Through the Holy Spirit we can know God’s mind, and we can understand his Word (Luke 24:45) and know his will for us personally.

God doesn’t need our counsel; we need his, and he gives us his Counselor, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 14:15-17 RSV) through Jesus Christ (compare Isaiah 9:6).

Our forgiveness and salvation is by grace, the free gift of God, to anyone will receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one can earn, buy, or take, by force or deception, God’s favor and gift of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

Are we seeking to know and do God’s will, or are we only interested in getting God to do our will? God’s will will be done, whether we cooperate with God or not. Our choice will determine where we will spend eternity.

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)?