Tag Archives: temple

LUKE’S GOSPEL…WHOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS?- 46

Bible Study, ,

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ story uncovers a deeply-embedded false notion that we, corrupted humans, can somehow do something to satisfy God’s righteousness enough to turn away His wrath because of our sin. Many false religions have this notion built into their belief system. 

Humans are naturally plagued with the idea that, somehow, we are obliged to seek God’s approval by our own efforts. Even those who claim to be God’s children have this persistent, pernicious, underlying thought that we must do something to prove that we are “good enough”. 

A rich man came to Jesus with the question, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” Wrong question!

Jesus’ parable highlights this trend, even in some parts of the global church, that is still alive today. It’s there, whether we like it or not. Some streams of the church function on this notion…in others, despite the teaching of “Christ alone”, this thought still persists in the subconscious mind of the believer. (I guess this idea must be a part of our old nature which still carries guilt and seeks to appease an affronted God). 

Jesus’ story had a target audience that openly taught and believed that God could be satisfied by compliance with His laws. The more fastidious and meticulous they were at obeying His laws, and even the man-made laws that were designed to protect His law, the more “righteous” they were in their own eyes. 

This law-conscious group consequently despised the riff-raff who didn’t “keep” the law and whom they, therefore, disdained and dismissed as “sinners”.  So, Jesus deliberately chose, in His story, to contrast a Pharisee with a tax collector because, in the eyes of the Pharisees, tax collectors were the epitome of “sinners” because they collaborated with the hated Romans. 

In Jesus’ story, the prayers of these two men revealed the core of their thinking. 

The Pharisee’s prayer, according to Jesus was, in fact, not even  addressed to God but only to himself. Jesus deliberately contrasted him with the tax collector, “I’m better than that guy!” but his words dissipated at the limit of his breath. Despite God’s breath being in him, he was so corrupted by his own importance that it was not God’s breath that came out of him but the “hot air” of his own belief system. His “thanksgiving” was focused on a rehearsal of his own hollow achievements. 

The Pharisee left his place of prayer…not justified, not changed…just the same self-righteous sinner who was a little more pleased with himself, a little more entrenched in his own delusional pride than he was before he prayed. 

Now…the tax collector! Somewhere, somehow, something  had happened to trigger his conscience. Did he see, for the first time, some of the outcomes of his extortion in the poverty of the people he had heartlessly defrauded for his own benefit? Did he see hungry, dirty children crying in the street because of him? Did he really “see” his own grand home beside the hovel of his neighbour because of his greed? 

His conscience bit deep into his soul. With downcast eyes, his shame washing over him like a tidal wave, he beat his chest in despair, crying out, “Oh God, forgive me! Please forgive me for my greed. Forgive me for what I have done to my own people. Have mercy on me for I have sinned grievously.” 

Which one did God hear? Which one did the Father listen to…was His own heart attuned to self- congratulation or a cry for mercy? What does the Word say?

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As the terrifying wave of guilt had drenched him with fear, so the gentle blanket of peace began to enfold the guilty sinner. Forgiven! Justified! Declared “Not guilty!” the tax collector romped home, his heart as light as a feather. 

Which one would you rather be?

To end where we began, we must cultivate in our hearts, no matter what we do or achieve for God’s kingdom in this life, this overriding thought…”God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus alone is my hope for eternal life. Without Him, I am nothing. 

Pride says, “I did it all by myself!” Humility says, “Father, forgive me for have sinned!”

…“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

No matter what we do “for God”,  if it’s not done “in God” or “through God”, it is nothing, like banging a empty drum. Our only motive is the gratitude that reveals our love for the one who had done it all for us. 

To be continued…

MARK’S GOSPEL…TIMELINE OR SIGNS – 31

Bible Study, ,

Mark 13:3-8, 13 NIV

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” 

Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.”

Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains…Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭6‬-‭8‬, ‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A somewhat complicated answer to a simple question! Jesus had just made a bold statement…

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The disciples were marvelling at the massive temple structure they were leaving, a seemingly indestructible monument compared with the other buildings surrounding it. They looked up at its stone walls, huge blocks of rock, cut from a far-away quarry and hauled over rough terrain to be placed, one on top of the other, to form this beautiful “house of God.” How it was done was a miracle of engineering. 

Jesus, always seeing things from a different perspective, interrupted them. “This seeming permanence isn’t permanent. This huge monument to man’s ability will soon be a heap of rubble.” 

“What! How is this possible?”Intrigued by Jesus’ reply, the disciples, no doubt led by Peter, asked a simple question that released a stream of mystifying “signs” that seem impossible to piece together.

Clever humans have tried to create a timeline out of Jesus’ signs, which He didn’t intend. Rather, His clues were meant to show them, not when but that it would happen. 

Woven together into a tapestry of prophecy, Jesus presented His disciples with a picture of events soon to happen, fulfilled by the Roman army under Titus, which destroyed Jerusalem, slaughtered many Jews and scattered the Jewish believers across the Roman Empire, and events that would herald His return. 

Jesus gave them precise instructions for their survival when God’s judgment fell on Jerusalem. 

““When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Run…and pray!

Not long before, with tears streaming down His face, Jesus had predicted this horrifying event. So terrible would be the destruction that Jerusalem would be razed to the ground, the temple included. 

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭41‬-‭44‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“These are the beginning of birth pains…” 

These few words hidden in the text are the clue to understanding this prophecy. Not a timeline but signs. All these predictions… deception, wars, natural disasters, persecution…have been a part of human history from the beginning of time.  Nothing new but…the signs lie in the increase in volume of these adversities. 

“Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”

Every generation has had those who predict the end in their time. Some have even put a date to their predictions and yet… we are still here,  eagerly awaiting Jesus’ return. 

So, how do we respond to these sobering words? I don’t think Jesus ever meant us to try to work out the exact date of these events heralding His return. The danger of doing so is that we might be tempted to live carelessly until the predicted date of His return comes closer. 

At the end of this long discourse He gives us His prescription…

““But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 

It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭32‬-‭37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Be faithful to your assigned task! Then you will be ready. 

“The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭42‬-‭43‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Keep watch! Not for the signs that are being fulfilled but for the enemy who would deflect you and derail you from faithfulness to the Master on your journey to the Father. 

MARK’S GOSPEL…PANDEMONIUM – 27

Bible Study, ,

Mark 11:15-18 NIV

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In an instant, Jesus’ peaceful donkey-ride into Jerusalem turned into chaos. What did He think He would was doing? He was supposed to be leading a celebration, claiming the title of “King of the Jews”, and setting up His rule of righteousness and peace over His people but, instead, He was literally setting the cat among the pigeons. 

A one-man show! His disciples were aghast! They could not believe what they were seeing…sheep and goats running wild, birds flapping and flying in glee, men diving after coins rolling everywhere, chairs and tables tossed about like matchboxes…and Jesus was acting like He was having fun!

Except He wasn’t! He was angry, livid in fact, shouting as He sent animals, birds and furniture flying, and men scattering, “Get out of here! This is a ‘house of prayer’. How dare you turn it into a market, you bunch of thieves!”

What was Jesus’ case…this “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”? Has he suddenly morphed into a revolutionary? Yes, in a sense He had but no, not in the sense we humans think! 

From His earliest years, Jesus had always been “about His Father”. He was indifferent to people’s opinions. He had a one-track mind. No one was going to trample on His Father’s honour, not even the highest authority in the land, without His reaction. 

It was quite clear that these people who were bargaining and bartering right in the temple courts were there by permission. The religious authorities were in cahoots with them, obviously getting their cut of the profits. Jesus was not fooled by their so-called “service” to the people…declaring the sacrificial beast “imperfect”, confiscating it to sell to the  next worshipper…guess what, yes, the very animal previously confiscated and declared “unfit” for sacrifice! It was a clever, money-making racket…carried out in the only part of the temple where Gentiles were permitted to come and pray, and Jesus saw through it. 

Do you suppose, for a moment, that the religious hierarchy would let this challenge to their authority pass without reacting? Would they perhaps ignore this terrible exposure, embarrassment, humiliation…let it pass without reaction? Not a bit of it! They were nailed and Jesus must pay! 

“The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”

Knowing full well that His action would have drastic consequences, Jesus did what He had to do! This was no act of uncontrolled rage. Jesus’ anger was righteous and justified. His Father’s “house”, intended to be the place where Gentiles could also connect with God through sacrifice and prayer, had been degraded into a shop run by crooks. 

And so, the die was cast. Jesus must die, and He knew it! Once again, He was working in tandem with the Father’s plan and timetable, not a random act of emotion but a calculated  response to evil that would trigger the countdown to the cross. 

Passover, in a few days time. was the moment when history, prophecy, time, and eternity would meet at 3 pm, when the Passover lamb and Jesus would die in perfect synchrony to take away the sin of the world. 

THE BATTLE BEGINS

Bible Study, ,

THE BATTLE BEGINS

“The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute Him. In His defence Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too, am working.'” John 5:13-17 (NIV).

The battle royal has begun, the oldest and fiercest battle in the world, the war between religion and truth.

Satan’s modus operandi is to ensnare people through deception to believe his lies which take many forms, so that he can control them through fear. Religion is one of his most potent lies — whatever form religion takes — that people are able to reach their god through their own efforts.

The Pharisees’ god was a demanding disciplinarian who could only be appeased through strict obedience to his rules (to which their rabbis had added a whole lot more to be on the safe side) and through the shedding of much animal blood. The Sabbath was a very important part of their rule-keeping ritual and they were incensed when anyone “broke” any of their prohibitions.

When Jesus healed the paralysed man on the Sabbath and instructed him to carry his sleeping mat, they found themselves up against an implacable enemy. Jesus refused to back down and compromise the truth that the Sabbath was a gift from a loving Father to allow them to rest, and not another day for them to try to appease Him by keeping rules.

God’s commandments were never intended to be restrictive, making life burdensome and unpleasant. He was regulating the lives of a group of people who only knew slavery and the abuses they had suffered at the hands of their cruel Egyptian masters. He had to teach them to be human again. He also had to teach them the meaning and consequences of sin and holiness so that they could show the world what their God was like.

God’s “Law” was a marriage covenant, setting the boundaries within which they would flourish in their relationship with their “husband”. He wanted them to live in union with Him so that they could carry out their task of having dominion over the created order under His authority as He intended from the beginning. The Hebrew word “torah” means “teaching”, not “law” as in dictatorial restrictions. God was teaching His people how to live again.

God wanted them to be a family of sons and daughters, living in harmony with Him and with one another, but they had made it into a slave-master religion, ruled by fear, not love. David was one of a very few of God’s people who really understood His intention and got past the rigmarole of rules and ritual to an intimate father-son relationship. 

The strict rule-keeping of the Pharisees closed their hearts to the suffering of their fellow beings which angered Jesus as much as His rule-breaking angered them. God was not so callous as to ignore the needs of people and animals when problems happened on the Sabbath. If an animal fell into a pit, they could not leave it there until the next day just because it was the Sabbath. They were to rescue it regardless of Sabbath “rules’.

Jesus was no less concerned about suffering people. When their need came to His attention, He did what was necessary to get them out of their “pit” but the Pharisees reacted against Him because He made God too “nice”.

Jesus’ response to the Pharisees was to inform them that, although God rested on the Sabbath, He was still working. That sounds a bit contradictory, doesn’t it? God rested from His creative activity but He is fully involved in the work of re-creation. Man messed everything up and God is busy putting things right again. Jesus was also involved by His mission and ministry on earth. The cross would be the defining moment, providing the motivation and the power to reconcile people to God and to set them on the new way to restoration and wholeness.

The Pharisees neither understood not did they want to understand. They preferred their way because it gave them status and power. They rejected the possibility of a new status, sons of God, and a new power to overcome sin and become imitators of God as dearly loved children. It was their choice.

What’s yours?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NAOS – THAT PART OF THE TEMPLE WHERE GOD RESIDES

Christian life,

NAOS – THAT PART OF THE TEMPLE WHERE GOD HIMSELF RESIDES.

Right from the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus made His mission known. To the religious leaders, who challenged Him, He responded….

… “Destroy this temple (naos), and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 2:18‭-‬19 NLT

Jesus specifically used the Greek word, “naos” for “temple” which John interpreted to mean His body as the “naos” which, according to Strong’s concordance, means ‘the shrine… that part of the temple where God Himself resides.’

What an awesome thought! From the moment of His conception, Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, took on a body which became the temple in which God resided. He took on a human name, Jesus, as well. Now both His body and His name are part of His human identity forever.

When Jesus ascended into heaven in His resurrected body, He did not shed that body and become pure spirit again. Paul tells us that it is “the man, Christ (His official title and office) Jesus (His human name which means  ‘Saviour’),” who is the Mediator between God and man.

His full name is “the Lord Jesus Christ”, signifying everything that He is now, in His glorified person – the Lord (Supreme Authority), Jesus (the Man) Christ (Messiah, the Anointed One).

Who Jesus is now, the God/man in a resurrection body, acting for us as mediator and high priest, has huge implications for us as believers.

Firstly, according to Paul, we are now the “naos” in which God resides in the person of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit lived in Jesus here in earth, so now He lives in us.

“19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20 NLT

Secondly, Paul made it clear {to the Corinthian Church} that Jesus rose from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection, guaranteeing the full harvest of all who believe in Him when He returns. His resurrection is the victory over the last enemy, death, and spells the final judgment and punishment of Satan and his demons in the lake of fire.

Not only does Jesus’ resurrection guarantee ours but His resurrection body is also the blueprint for our resurrection bodies. John tells us…

“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”
1 John 3:2 NLT

How do we know that our resurrection bodies will be exactly like Jesus’ body?

“35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”… 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man (Adam) , we will someday be like the heavenly man, (Jesus) …

51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
1 Corinthians 15:35‭, ‬49‭, ‬51‭-‬53 NLT

The writer to the Hebrews assures us that God’s plan is to restore the family likeness to Jesus, the Son in all God’s children…

“10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
Heb. 2:10‭-‬11 NIV

During  the time of the Old Covenant, no one was able to see God’s face and live. God shielded Moses from the sight of His glory by hiding him in the cleft of a rock.

“20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Exodus 33:20 NIV

However, in the New Covenant, we shall see Jesus face to face, we shall see and hear with heightened awareness all the sights and sounds of God’s realm. It will be quite a noisy place according to John’s visions in Revelation!!

Look at what Paul has to say about “now” and “then”.

“12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
1 Cor. 13:12 NIV

There are also implications for us in this life because we have this hope of resurrection bodies and perfected minds and senses and the likeness to Jesus as perfect sons. Our time on earth and the lives we live now are an  “apprenticeship” for the life to come.

1. We are to honour God with our bodies.

… “God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20 NLT

2. We are to purify ourselves

“2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”
1 John 3:2‭-‬3 NIV

“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
2 Cor. 7:1 NIV

3. We are to persevere…

“23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful…”

4. And we are to encourage and build one another up…

“… 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Heb. 10:23‭-‬25 NIV

Not even our wildest imagination will be able to conjures up what God has in store for us.

“9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”
1 Cor. 2:9‭-‬10 NIV

In response to all the glorious  promises God has given us and the changes that await us, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, Paul burst out…

“33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11:33‭-‬36 NIV

And with David, we respond…

“17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.”
Psalm 139:17‭-‬18 NIV

“20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20‭-‬21 NIV