Monthly Archives: November 2013

Dying To Rule

Bible Study, , ,

DYING TO RULE

“He then asked, ‘And you — what are you saying about me? Who am I?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ Jesus then warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had said.

“He went on, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, high priests and religion scholars, be killed and on the third day be raised up alive.'” Luke 9:20-22 (The Message).

Peter was rosy with enthusiasm and inspiration when he declared, ‘You are God’s Messiah,’ but he had no clue what it meant.

It was imperative that Jesus correct their misconception of what the Messiah was all about, but it was as though He were talking to a stone wall. In this situation the disciples had selective hearing because they did not want to believe that Jesus was anything else than a deliverer from their hated enemy and oppressor, Rome. They saw and read everything through the spectacles of their misunderstanding.

He didn’t even need to tell them not to broadcast what He had revealed to them because it was as though He had never said it. It was an invisible barrier between Him and them. I believe that He longed for them to understand what He was telling them so that He would have emotional support, especially when the time drew near for Him to go to Jerusalem for the ordeal.

Jesus often used the term, Son of Man, to refer to Himself in preference to “Son of God”, which had a double-barrelled meaning. It was much more than a reference to His humanity.

In Daniel 7:13, 14, Daniel saw in his vision a human-like figure approaching the throne of God. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

“Son of Man” seems to have a three-fold meaning: He was human; He was representative man, and He was anointed of God to have the authority and power to rule. But, at the same time, He was recognised as more than just a man because He received the worship of all nations and His kingdom was supreme and eternal.

Would the disciples have recognised in His use of “Son of Man” to refer to Himself, that He was clearly stating who He was? Possibly, but they only saw half of the implications of that title. Daniel spoke of His authority, power and glory, but Isaiah spoke of His suffering.

We get the clearest prophetic picture of the character and the suffering of the Messiah in Isaiah’s “servant songs”. With hindsight it is easy for us to see in Jesus the fulfilment of these prophecies but those who lived before the cross could not make sense of them as long as they missed the atoning work of the Messiah as essential to His mission.

As we wait for the return of our Messiah to take His place as king over all the kingdoms of the earth, it is easy for us the miss the clues to His coming if our focus is on the geographical and political. We scan the horizon for some evil political figure who will brazenly declare that he is God, but miss the fact that the spirit of antichrist operates in every religious figure within the church who lures people to follow him instead of Jesus.

These charismatic figures have huge followings, and people flock from all over the world to hear them and yet, as the Father urged the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to Him,’ Jesus is as near to us as our breath. Not even Moses or Elijah can take His place.

Once again I urge you, “Follow Jesus. You will never get lost.”

Glimpses Of The Great God: Day Nine

Devotion, ,

 DAY NINE

 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and His understanding no-one can fathom

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Here God reveals Himself as one who never grows weary or runs out of strength.  He is the One on whom we can lean and in whom we can find rest.  He gives us supernatural strength to go on when we think we cannot.  The secret is to wait on Him.  Waiting does not meaning sitting around hoping something will happen.  Waiting on God means actively putting our confidence in Him to do for us what He has promised.  Are you so tired that you feel you just can’t go on; life is too difficult and problems seem to pile up into a mountain?  Put everything aside for a while and get alone with God.  Read His promise over and over until faith rises in your heart.   He will give you strength to go on!

 

 

 

 

Glimpses Of The Great God; Day Ten

Devotion, , ,

DAY TEN

 But now, this is what the Lord says —

He who created you, O Jacob,

He who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name;

you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour…

Do not be afraid, for I am with you…

Isaiah 43:1-3a; 5a

What a wonderful description of our Redeemer!  He is the God who is always with us.  He does not always shield us from the troubles of life, but He does promise to be with us and to hold us steady through the flood and fire.  Whatever trouble comes your way, God assures you that He is there.  His very presence is all you need because calamity cannot overwhelm Him and as long as He holds your hand, you will stand steady and secure until the trouble is over.  Why does God care so much for you?  Simply because He bought you and you belong to Him.  He will never allow you to be overcome by anything in this life.  He will strengthen you to overcome every test for His glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Who Do You Say That I Am?”

Bible Study, , ,

“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”

 “One time when Jesus was off praying by Himself, His disciples nearby, He asked them, ‘What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?’ They said, ‘John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back.’ He then asked, ‘And you — what are you saying about me? Who am I?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ Jesus warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had said. Luke 9:18-21 (The Message).

Luke said nothing about the circumstances and environment of this event – which happened at Caesarea Philippi, the “red light” district of Israel — or Jesus’ altercation with Peter because of his misunderstanding of what He, as God’s Messiah, had come to do.

Jesus, it seems, wanted His disciples to be clear in their minds about His identity. They needed to distance themselves from the opinion of the people around them because, without the absolute conviction that He was the Messiah, they would not have the strength or perseverance to stay with Him when the going got tough.

The crowds who thronged Jesus were dazzled and enamoured by His personality and His miracles but they still fell short of their understanding of who He was. He was a prophet, yes, even one of the great prophets of history come back from the dead — that was a possibility — but not the Messiah. They could not rise to that, especially as their spiritual leaders repudiated His claims and were bent on annihilating Him because He was a threat to them.

 

It was imperative that His disciples get it. It must have encouraged Him to know that they, probably through discussion among themselves, had at least recognised that He was more than just a prophet. Whatever their understanding of Messiah was, was yet to be revealed. It turns out that they were set on believing that He would deliver them from Roman occupation and restore the glory of David’s kingdom and nothing more than that.

Although He repeatedly tried to get them to understand what His messianic role was, it was only after all the horror of His crucifixion and the miracle of His resurrection that they came any closer to understanding that the deliverance of which He spoke was more than political and that God’s kingdom was broader than Israel.

It’s a great pity that there are large parts of the church today that have just as narrow a concept of who Jesus is as the disciples and the people of Jesus’ day had. Many denominations narrow God’s kingdom down to their particular theology or way of doing things. Some preachers insist that it’s all about “faith and prosperity”, while others go so far as to declare categorically that there is no salvation outside the boundaries of their “church”. They have removed Him from the throne and put themselves in charge.

But Jesus refuses to fit into anyone’s mould or to be anyone’s servant. He does not belong to anyone’s denomination or subscribe to anyone’s theology. His criterion for participation in the kingdom of God is far simpler and less regulatory than that.  He said, ‘Follow me.’ Those who don’t do that, immediately disqualify themselves from being His disciples.

As simple as that instruction is, it will take a lifetime to understand and carry out His command. Following Jesus implies watching, listening, learning, practising, falling, getting up, starting again, going on, imitating, obeying, repenting, relearning, over and over again, like an infant learning to become a responsible adult.

Anything less than, or other than that, is just not Christian. As He said, ‘If you don’t do that, you are disqualified.’ It’s time for us, who call ourselves believers to get back to the Word of God and stop inventing our own brand of Christianity. The measure I use, which helps me to stay on course, and especially when I see and hear what goes on in the name of Jesus, is to ask the question, “Is that why Jesus came?”

It is the Bible, not popular preachers, that gives us the answer.

It’s All About The Tassels

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IT’S ALL ABOUT THE TASSELS

“While He was still talking, someone from the leader’s house came up and told him, ‘Your daughter died. No need now to bother the Teacher.’

“Jesus overheard and said, ‘Don’t be upset. Just trust me and everything will be alright.’ Going into the house, He wouldn’t let anyone enter with Him except Peter, John, James and the child’s parents.

“Everyone was crying and carrying on over her. Jesus said, ‘Don’t cry. She didn’t die; she’s sleeping.’ They laughed at Hm. They knew she was dead. Then Jesus, gripping her hand, called, ‘My dear child, get up.’ She was up in an instant, up and breathing again! He told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were ecstatic, but Jesus warned them to keep quiet. ‘Don’t tell a soul what happened in this room.'” Luke 8:49-56 (The Message).

What is it with Jesus? One minute He’s shouting, ‘Who touched me?’ and the next He’s telling the parents not to tell anyone what happened in the room where their daughter was raised from the dead!

None of this will make sense until we understand about the tassels. In Numbers 15:37- 38, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels (Hebrew – tzitzit) on the corners (Hebrew – kanaph) of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them…'”

 

Each tassel had five knots and four spaces, representing the five books of the Torah and the four letters in the name YHWH. They were to put the tassels on their outer garment or cloak (Deuteronomy 22:2) which eventually became the prayer shawl or talit. The corners (kanaph) of the talith were called the wings.

Now Malachi’s prophecy in Malachi 4:2 (NLT) begins to take on a new meaning. “But for you who fear my name, the Sun (it can also be translated “servant”) of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings (kanaph),” This was a Messianic promise.

When the woman with the issue of blood touched the tassels of His prayer shawl, she must surely have understood Malachi’s prophecy and experienced the healing which the tassels symbolised.

Now let’s look at the phrase Jesus used when He spoke to the child. Mark recorded Jesus’ actual words: ‘Talitha koum.’ The translation into English blurs the true meaning. It should read ‘Talit ha koum’ — ‘The talit is here. Get up.’  Jesus, the Messiah was there, in the room, wearing the talit which symbolised the name, the Word, the nature and the ways of God.

This entire episode, to the man who was intimately involved with the life of the synagogue, the centre of religious activity in the town, must have had deep significance. He and his wife had actually witnessed the fulfilment of Malachi’s prophecy.

Just to be told not to tell anyone that Jesus raised his daughter from the dead made no sense because they all knew she was dead — Luke made sure of that when he said that they laughed at Jesus — and they all saw her alive again. It only makes sense when we understand that Jesus forbade them to tell anyone how it happened.

It was always Jesus’ intention that people decide for themselves, based on their interpretation of the evidence, who He was. The final proof of His identity was yet to come, in His resurrection from the dead. In the meantime, He did not want to attract followers who were either out for entertainment by watching His miracles or after him for what He could give them.

And Jesus is still looking for true disciples who follow Him because He is Lord! Are you one of those?