PastorRodney’s Weblog

View Details

2026.08.09 Numbers 27; Bold Faith and A Good Shepherd;Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260809_numbers-27.mp3

Faith. How do you define faith? What does your faith look like? We’re in Numbers 27. We’ve seen what unbelief looks like. We’ve witnessed grumbling, complaining about God’s good gifts. We’ve seen the people come to the very border of the land God promised to give them, and they respond

Numbers 13:31 …“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

We’ve seen the people rebel against God’s authority, going their own way, refusing to be shepherded. We’ve seen a whole generation fall in the wilderness because of their unbelief. We’ve even seen this next generation stray from the Lord to worship other gods, and 24,000 of them died in the plague. The census of Numbers 26 ends this way:

Numbers 26:64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Bold Faith; The Daughters of Zelophehad

But here in Numbers 27 we see a bold example of faith.

Numbers 27:1 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

God had promised to give the people the land. The land is currently occupied by giants, in walled cities, greater and stronger than they (Nu.13:28; Dt.9:1-3). They have yet to set foot across the Jordan, into the land. They have battles yet to fight. Much is uncertain. But they are moving forward in faith. God said he would give them the land, that he would drive out its inhabitants before them, so they are taking God at his word and moving forward. These women have a question that is completely irrelevant outside the land. Their question is not based on an ‘if’ but on a ‘when’. When God gives us the land, what does this look like for us? We believe God will do what he promised to do, and when he does, what is our lot in that; what is our inheritance?

This is a great definition of faith; taking God at his word, believing he will do what he has promised. Faith is not quantitative, as if we need more of it; when asked to increase their faith, Jesus told his disciples that with even the smallest amount of faith, nothing is impossible (Lk.17:5-6). Faith does not have power in and of itself, so that if I believe something hard enough, it will come true. No, faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed. Faith in a lie is useless, no matter how firmly you hold it. But faith in God’s promise is as sure as the God who made those promises.

We find this same definition of faith in Romans 4, when Abraham, in spite of his circumstances believed that God would do what he had promised.

Romans 4:20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Faith gives glory to God because faith is simply depending on God to do what he has said he would do.

We were introduced to these five women in Numbers 26:33, the fifth generation from Manasseh, daughters of Zelophehad who had no sons but only daughters. In a patriarchal society, property rights are passed down through the sons; not because men are better than women, but because there needed to be a way to keep the land inheritance within the tribe to whom it was given. This allowed for marriage outside of one’s tribe, and still maintain the God-given property rights of each tribe. These women make the case that their father had not forfeited his property rights because of joining in overt rebellion against YHWH. These women were making a legal petition for the property rights of their father to not be lost because he had no sons; and they found a hearing before Moses and Eleazar and the chiefs of the tribes at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Walk in Light of God’s Revealed Word

Moses heard their plea. This is a special circumstance, a circumstance for which there is no law, no word from the Lord, no precedent. God has given his people his word. He has revealed his will. He has given them his law, and he expects them to act in accordance to his word, not to walk contrary to what he has said, and not (like Balaam) to seek another word from the Lord (Nu.22:19), a different answer contrary to what he has already spoken, because ‘God is not a man, …that he should change his mind’ (Nu.23:19).

When we already have God’s will revealed in God’s word written, faith is never seeking a different answer according to our own desires. God expects us to take what we have been given, apply his principles to our circumstances, and walk in his wisdom.

But this is a circumstance to which God has not spoken. Like the case in Numbers 9:8, Moses does not go beyond the word of the Lord and speak on his own. He takes the question to the Lord and waits for his answer. And God gives him more than an answer to this specific question; he sets a precedent and gives instructions that will guide them in similar future decisions.

Numbers 27:5 Moses brought their case before the LORD. 6 And the LORD said to Moses, 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. 8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the LORD commanded Moses.’”

These daughters of Zelophehad bracket this last section of Numbers as chapter 36 gives further clarification on the implications of this decision on inheritance in the land as the people prepare to enter in. These daughters of Zelophehad set a bold example of faith in the promises of God, trusting him to do what he said he would do, and living in a way that displays their confidence in God. These women setting an example of confident dependence on God stand in stark contrast to the Midianite women who led the people to gratify their own desires and go after other gods.

Unbelief and Its Consequences; Death

The flesh must be put to death (Rom.8:13; Col.3:5).

Numbers 27:12 The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Although Moses was a man of faith, even he stumbled. He acted in unbelief (Nu.20:12). He acted out of anger and frustration, out of pride and selfishness. He and his brother Aaron failed to uphold the Lord as holy in the eyes of the congregation. He acted in disobedience. Disobedience has consequences. He would not set foot in the promised land. Like Abraham before him, he would die in faith having seen it from afar, but not having received the things promised (Heb.11:13).

We see Moses continue to receive God’s word through the end of Numbers, now with Joshua by his side transitioning into leadership. Deuteronomy consists of Moses giving God’s instructions to the people on the plains of Moab before they enter the land, and Deuteronomy ends (32-34) with the account of Moses’ death on Mount Nebo. Moses records in Deuteronomy 3 his petition to the Lord on this occasion to be allowed to enter the land, and the Lord’s refusal. When we fail to walk by faith, there are consequences.

Our Need For a Shepherd

But here Moses’ heart is displayed:

Numbers 27:15 Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, 16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

Moses had experience shepherding the flock of another (Ex.3:1). And as frustrating as that often was, he cared for the sheep. His concern was that this people be cared for as they enter into the land without him. Moses did not appoint one of his own sons; he did not select his own successor; he took this need to the Lord. He appealed for one who would go out before the people and come in before them; that is shepherding language, leading to pasture and bringing back to the fold, but more specifically that is military language, (1Sam.8:20; 18:13) one who would lead them out to battle and bring them back safely.

Moses was concerned that God’s people not be hungry, lost and vulnerable, lacking direction and protection, like sheep without a shepherd.
Spirit Filled Joshua (and the Shepherds of Israel)

Numbers 27:18 So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.”

Hoshea, son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim (Nu.13:8,16); renamed Joshua, assistant to Moses from his youth (Nu.11:28); who led Israel’s army (Ex.17), who spent time with Moses on the mountain and at the tent of meeting (Ex.24:13; 33:11), who objected that Moses’ authority might be undermined by others prophesying (Nu.11:28), one of only two spies who brought back a good report of the land (Nu.14), who was full of the Spirit, was the Lord’s choice. He was to be given some of Moses’ authority, commissioned publicly. But there was a difference; the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend (Ex.33:11; Dt.34:10); Joshua was to receive direction through the priest who would mediate the Lord’s instructions.

Numbers 27:22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.

Joshua faithfully led the people to victory in the promised land,

Judges 2:7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. … 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

The time of the Judges was a time where ‘Everyone did what was right in his own eyes’ (Jdg.17:6; 21:25). The Lord took David from the sheepfolds to shepherd his people (Ps.78:70-72), but even David fell short. The time of the kings was described this way: ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd.’ (1Ki.22:17). The prophets had scathing rebukes for the shepherds of Israel who fed only themselves (Is.56; Jer.23;25;50; Ez.34; Zech.10)

The Good Shepherd

But already God was pointing beyond Joshua to someone greater; a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord would know face to face, who would speak all his words (Dt.18:15,18; 34:10).

Isaiah prophesied:

Isaiah 40:9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

And to Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 34:15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

Jesus said in John 10:

John 10:7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

The greater Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth;

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.08.02 Numbers 26; The Conquest Generation; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260802_numbers-26.mp3

A Tale of Two Generations

God led his people out of slavery, out of Egypt. He brought them to the mountain where he entered into a covenant relationship with them, he took them to be his people, and gave himself to them to be their God. They built him a tent to dwell with them, in the middle of the camp. He led them to his promised land, protecting and providing for them all the way. But they rejected him, his love, his land, his leaders. They broke their covenant with God, so they would die in the wilderness, but God promised that their children, the next generation would enter the land. The book of Numbers began this way:

Numbers 1:1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.

Now here we are, 40 years after leaving Egypt, again on the borders of the land, having been protected by God from spiritual warfare waged against them from the mountains of Moab, having egregiously sinned against God by engaging in immorality with women who led them break the first command of their covenant and go after other gods, after 24,000 of them died in a plague, in Numbers 26 we read:

Numbers 26:1 After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” 3 And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 4 “Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and upward,” as the LORD commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

Miriam is dead. Aaron the high priest is dead, his son Eleazar now taking his place. Moses is soon to die. This is a census of the next generation; those military age men who under Joshua’s leadership will conquer the land, enter in and posses it. God promised to give them the land, but not without a fight. Already they have defeated the Amorites, Sihon and Og, and possessed their land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as Mount Hermon (Dt.3:8).

The Census; Tribes, Clans and Warnings

In Numbers 1, the head of each tribe was listed, the would-be heroes of Israel, who fell in the wilderness. In that chapter each tribe was numbered with this repetitive formula: ‘…Of the people of [tribe], their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: those listed of the tribe of [tribe] were [number].’

Chapter 26 gives us more detail, listing the families by their clans; the formula here is ‘The sons of [tribe] according to their clans: of [son’s name], the clan of the [son’s name]ites; [each clan is listed] …These are the clans of the [tribe]ites, [total number].

Numbers 26 is a review of history; it is a reminder of the failures of the fathers, a warning not to follow in their footsteps. The chapter begins ‘after the plague’, a warning from chapter 25 to flee sexual immorality, to ‘have no other god before me’, a reminder of the 24,000 who died in the plague.

Eleazar the priest is mentioned as son of Aaron, a reminder of Aaron and Moses’ anger and pride in chapter 20, where they forfeited entering the land because of unbelief and a failure to uphold YHWH as holy (Nu.20:12).

The Census

5-11 this census begins with Reuben the firstborn and his sons; Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; with a focus on Pallu’s son Eliab, and his sons Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram (Nu.16) provide another warning as prominent men,

Numbers 26:9 …chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD 10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. 11 But the sons of Korah did not die.

They rebelled against the God-appointed leadership of Moses and Aaron. Having been entrusted with authority and responsibility, they were not satisfied, but jealous; they wanted more. Korah, a Levite, is listed here because of his association with this rebellion. But sons don’t have to fail the same way their fathers failed. The sons of Korah did not follow in their fathers footsteps, and instead went on to author some of the Psalms we now enjoy.

12-14 Simeon is listed next, with his sons Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul.

15-18 Gad is listed with his sons Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli

19-22 Judah fathered Er and Onan, who became a warning against wickedness and selfishness toward inheritance rights (Ge.38). We aren’t told what Er did, but he was wicked in the sight of the Lord; what other opinion matters? Er, Onan and Shelah were born of the daughter of Shua a Canaanite. Perez and Zerah were born of his daughter-in-law whom he thought was a prostitute, but all this is overlooked. Perez’ line is traced through Hezron and Hamul. We find out in Ruth that Hezron became the ancestor of David; Matthew (1) and Luke (3) trace the genealogy of Jesus through Judah, Perez, and Hezron.

23-25 lists Issachar as the father of Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

26-27 records Zebulon as father of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

28-37 follows the birth order of Joseph’s sons, listing Manasseh first, although Numbers 1 listed Ephraim first according to the Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 48. Manasseh’s lineage is traced through his son Machir, who fathered Gilead, who fathered Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. Hepher fathered Zelophehad, who had no sons but only daughters; Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These five daughters of Zelophehad, unusual in a list of male descendants, also unique in that they constitute the fifth generation, take center stage in chapters 27 and 36 as they petition Moses for inheritance rights.

35-37 lists Ephraim as the father of Shuthelah, Becher, and Tahan; Shuthelah fathered Eran.

38-41 trace the descendants of Benjamin, Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham; Bela fathered Ard and Naaman.

42-43 tell us that Dan had only one son Shuham, through whom his large tribe descended.

44-47 Asher fathered Imnah, Ishvi, Beriah; Beriah fathered Heber and Malchiel, Asher’s daughter Serah is also mentioned.

48-50 Naphtali concludes the list with his clans Jahzeel, Guni. Jezer, and Shillem.

Here’s a comparison list (slide) to show the changes in the numbers of each tribes; some increased, some decreased (Simeon significantly, possibly because of his part in the Baal-Peor plague in chapter 25).

Numbers 26:51 This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.

What is amazing is that in spite of grumbling, disobedience, unfaithfulness, and God’s judgments, including the plague killing 24,000 at Baal-Peor, the overall number of Israelite males dropped by less than 2,000.

Military Men and Inheritance Allotment

The census includes only militarily eligible men age 20 and up, those who could go to war. Life is war, and God was giving Israel a promised land to conquer. The roster of the military would be essential as they began to occupy hostile land.

But this census had another purpose;

Numbers 26:52 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 53 “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

The census gave them the information they needed divide the land equitably to accommodate the different sized tribes. The division of the land was ultimately to be done by lot, a way to take it out of the manipulative hands of men and allow God to apportion the land as he willed. Numbers 34 specifies the boundaries of the land, which would be divided in Joshua 13-19.

Levites and the Lord their Inheritance

The tribe of Levi was not to be numbered among the military, as they were assigned a different battle; guarding the sanctity of God’s tent and God’s people. In Numbers 3-4 they were numbered as a substitute for every firstborn male of the other tribes and they were organized around God’s tent and assigned different responsibilities for transporting God’s tent according to their divisions. But the promised land would provide a more permanent home for God’s tent, and eventually the temple, so their duties would be different. They would not inherit land (the Lord was their inheritance); they were to be given cities scattered among the other tribes (48 cities assigned in Joshua 21) to continue to guard the sanctity of God and his people.

The three sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari; Gershon fathered the Libnites; Kohath the Hebronites and Korahites; Merari the Mahlites and Mushites.

Numbers 26:58 …And Kohath was the father of Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD.

There is a focus here on Amram, another son of Kohath, through whom came Aaron, Moses and Miriam, leaders of Israel. And here is another warning; Aaron had four sons. After the climax of Leviticus 9, when the tabernacle was complete and the priests were set apart for service, and the appropriate offerings were presented, God’s glory filled the tabernacle and fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering. Caught up in the moment, (Lev.10) Nadab and Abihu took each his censer and offered incense before the Lord. But they violated God’s clear instructions; they worshiped in a way that seemed right to them (Prov.14:12; 16:25), they presented their own fire, and fire came out from the Lord and consumed them. We are not free to approach God in any way we see fit. There are not many paths to God. Jesus said the way is wide to destruction; few find the narrow path to life (Mt.7:13-14).

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Access to God is exclusively through our Lord Jesus. We cannot clean ourselves up; we must be washed in his blood. We cannot come with our own righteousness; we must come clothed in his.

An Entire Generation Dead by Unbelief

The concluding statement also includes a warning.

Numbers 26:63 These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

A son born to parents some 20 years after they left Egypt would now be 20, eligible to be numbered in this census. A 19 year old who was not numbered in the first census would now, 38 years later, be 57. The only men over 57 that remained were Moses, Caleb, and Joshua, and Moses would die before they entered the land. God is faithful to his promises.

Numbers 14:21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

God is faithful to his promises both in judgment on the faithless and in his gracious promises to those who trust him

Conclusion:

God is faithful to all his promises. But he is just and demands holiness of his followers. Flee sexual immorality and idolatry; love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. Beware anger and pride; always treat the Lord as holy. Be on guard against jealousy, wickedness, selfishness. Approach God in the one and only way he has authorized, through the blood of Jesus Christ his only Son. Enter through the narrow way, the way of utter dependence on the finished work of another.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.07.26 Numbers 25; Jealous God; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260726_numbers-25.mp3

The new generation is camped on the plains of Moab, poised to enter God’s promised land. In chapters 22-24 Balak king of Moab recruited the renown sorcerer Balaam to travel around 400 miles to curse Israel, to weaken them, so that he could drive them from his land. But the Lord makes it clear that he cannot curse those whom the Lord has not cursed; three times at great expense he attempts to curse them, but instead the Lord puts a blessing in his mouth for Israel. Frustrated, Balak sends him off without pay, but not before the Spirit of God delivered a magnificent promise of the coming God-king who would descend from Jacob, who would crush the nations. At the end of his seven oracles blessing God’s people and cursing their enemies, we read;

Numbers 24:25 Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

This is the last we hear of Balaam… or is it? Numbers 25 shifts the scene back down to Israel, camped on the plains of Moab, oblivious to the spiritual warfare waged against them on the mountains above, or how God stood as their defense.

Covenant Relationship and Covenant Treason

Meanwhile down on the plains…

Numbers 25:1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

This is shocking! This next generation, who witnessed their fathers falling in the wilderness because of unbelief, who were now experiencing victory over their enemies, experiencing the sovereign protection of the Lord from their spiritual enemies, and even when they sinned, they confessed their sin (21:7); this is the generation that began to replace grumbling with singing (21:17). These are the ones now on the verge of entering into God’s promised land, indulging themselves in the lusts of the flesh. Women and food. Sexual immorality, meat sacrificed to false gods, idol worship.

The sexual immorality was real, but it was a picture of a deeper issue; it was covenant unfaithfulness not only of each man to his spouse, but of the community to their God. In Numbers 5 we have the procedure for resolving the guilt or innocence of a wife suspected of unfaithfulness by a jealous husband; the penalty for marital unfaithfulness was death (Lev.20:10). God portrays himself as a husband jealous for the exclusive affections of his wife.

Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

Isaiah 62:5 …as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Jeremiah 3:20 Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.’”

Jeremiah 31:32 …the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 16:32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!

There are so many parallels in the relation of husband and wife that Paul, teaching on the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5 says ‘This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.’

The First Commandment; Competing Loves

The terms of his covenant relationship with his people were laid out in Exodus 20, which begins this way:

Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

The question is who do you love? Who is your first love? Who holds your affections? Who has your attention? Who captures your imagination? To whom are you devoted?

God warns of this very danger in Exodus 34:

Exodus 34:12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

This generation saw their fathers indulge in the same kind of unfaithfulness; while Moses was on mount Sinai, receiving the signed copy of their covenant relationship with God, the people made a gold bull idol, feasted before it, worshiped it, and indulged in sexual immorality (Ex.32:6-8). Here, the pagan prophet Balaam is compelled to speak God’s blessings over the people from the mountaintops, and the people on the plains commit covenant treason, bow to worship a different lord (Baal), feast before him, and indulge in sexual immorality. By their actions they transferred their allegiance from YHWH to Baal, entering into a covenant relationship with the false god Baal. No one can serve two masters. Where supernatural cursing failed, at the allure of carnal pleasures, they caved.

This is catastrophic. At the golden calf incident in Exodus 32

Exodus 32:9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

God was ready to wipe out the whole nation and start over with Moses. Moses interceded for the people, and called for the Levites to purify the camp, and about 3,000 men died that day (Ex.32:28).

Leadership Inaction and its Consequences

Numbers 25:4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

God instructs Moses to hold the leadership of the tribes accountable for their failure to lead, their failure to restrain the people under their charge. This is covenant treason. Execute the leaders publicly to turn God’s wrath away from the entire nation. This seems severe, but this is gracious; God will hold the leaders accountable for their failure to lead, possibly 12 men, the chief of each tribe (1:4), or if these were the chiefs of thousands (10:4), that would be just over 600 men; they were to die in place of the entire nation.

But it seems Moses doesn’t follow the Lord’s instructions. The fierce anger of YHWH was set against Israel, and Moses instructed the judges (were these the same men sentenced by the Lord to die (Dt.1:15-16)? Or were these the 70 appointed in Numbers 11 to share the burden of the people with Moses?); Moses instructs the judges to ‘kill those of his men who had yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.’ But even this we don’t see happening; instead we see weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Grieving over sin is good, but was this disobedient inaction on the part of the leaders of Israel? It’s hard to say for sure. The sin of the people was so flagrant, and the passivity of the leaders implying consent, so that a son of the chief of Simeon had the audacity to parade a Midianite woman into the tent for immoral purposes in full view of Moses and the whole congregation.

Immorality and its Consequences

Numbers 25:7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

Phinehas is the grandson of Aaron, his father Eleazar is now the high priest which would leave Phinehas in charge of Levites. The Levites were commissioned to protect the sanctity of the tabernacle.

One of the lies of the enemy is that my sexual sin only affects me. It is true that it does affect me; ‘…the sexually immoral person sins against his own body’ (1Cor.6:18); why would anyone willingly destroy his own soul? But the lie that it is no-one else’s business, is a lie. Sin affects not only the individual who sins, but those around him, and ultimately the entire community. Paul addresses this issue in the church in Corinth, rebuking their complacent leadership, and says ‘purge the evil person from among you’ (1Cor.5:11-13).

Jesus takes the sexual purity of his followers seriously:

Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

We might be shocked at Phinehas’ action, but he took his God seriously. He took the sanctity of the people of God seriously. He took sin seriously. Because God accepted his action, the plague which had already broken out among the community was stopped. Still, 24,000 people died in the plague. To put this in perspective, that is about 4 percent of the original census of the people. In response to the golden calf, the Levites killed about 3,000 men (Ex.32:28). After God’s judgment on Korah (Nu.16:49), when Aaron took his censer and ran into the midst of the rebellious congregation to stand between the dead and the living to make atonement, 14,700 had died. That’s almost 10,000 less than died in this plague.

Zeal for The Lord’s House

Numbers 25:10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

Whatever we might think of Phinehas’ actions, YHWH approved. He was jealous with YHWH’s jealousy. By his action he turned away God’s wrath against the people. Like the Levites who went through the camp and killed those who were worshiping the calf, who were then entrusted with the service of the tabernacle, so God rewarded Phinehas’ zeal with the a covenant of peace and a perpetual priesthood.

Jesus, on seeing his Father’s house made into a house of merchandise, made a whip of cords and drove the moneychangers and those who sold out of the temple courts;

John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Sin is serious. Two people engaged in immorality died a violent death run through by a spear which turned away God’s wrath. Jesus, the only innocent one, was publicly humiliated, hung up before the Lord, and he turned the wrath of God away from all who would run to him for rescue. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities (Is.53:5). Every sinner who will turn to him will find forgiveness and freedom in his cleansing blood.

Public Shame and Dishonor

Numbers 25:14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian.

These were prominent leaders of the community, both of Israel and the Midianites. Cozbi means ‘false’ or ‘deceiver’; probably a derogatory name given to describe her character. Where Phinehas is honored for his zeal for the Lord, these two bring public shame and dishonor on their families for their treasonous actions.

Proverbs 7 describes the fool who is led astray by a prostitute as an ox being led to the slaughter.

Consequences for Causing to Stumble

Numbers 25:16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

Where the men of Israel who committed covenant treason were punished for their actions, those who tempted them also had consequences. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

The Instigation of Balaam

Balaam, the pagan sorcerer who was prevented from cursing Israel and thus forfeited his pay does not appear at all in chapter 25, because the chapter puts the responsibility for sin right where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of those who succumbed to temptation. But there’s a backstory to this story. We are told in Numbers 31 that

Numbers 31:7 They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

I thought we had heard the last of Balaam?

Numbers 31:15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

Balaam forfeits the opportunity to die the death of the righteous for personal greed; although he was restrained from cursing Israel, he knew enough of YHWH’s character to get the people by their own sin to turn God’s anger against them. Such are the wiles of our enemy, who prowls about, seeking whom he may devour.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.07.19 Numbers 24:14-25; The Coming Star and Scepter; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260719_numbers-24_14-25.mp3

Israel is spread out on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the promised land. Unbeknownst to them, Balak king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel for him. God made it explicitly clear to Balaam that he was not to go beyond God’s word, because God had blessed Israel. Balak took Balaam to three high places where he could look out over the camps of Israel; at each high place he built seven altars and sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

On the high place of Baal, YHWH put a word of blessing in his mouth for Israel; God alone is the true source of blessing and cursing; Israel is unique, set apart from all the nations, chosen by God, and the Lord has made them numerous as the dust. They are viewed as upright, and Balaam wishes to share in the blessings they will enjoy in the afterlife.

From the top of Pisgah, YHWH put another word of blessing in his mouth; ‘God is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should change his mind.’ He infallibly keeps all his promises. God is with his people as their King, and he views them as righteous. He is for them, and no forms of divination or sorcery can overthrow his blessings on them. They will conquer all their enemies.

Then from the top of Peor, the Spirit of God came upon Balaam, and his eye is opened. He describes them as the restored garden of Eden, and he points to their fruitfulness, a source of blessing to many. He points to a coming King who will defeat their ancient enemy, whose kingdom will be exalted, who will crush the nations, all who are opposed to them. He recites God’s blessing upon Abram from Genesis 12; ‘Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you’ (Nu.24:9; Ge.12:2).

Balak is frustrated; “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them” (23:11); “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all” (23:25); ‘And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. …“I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor”’ (24:10-11).

Numbers 24:12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’?

Balaam reveals his heart; his attention is still fixed on silver and gold as both Peter and Jude warn (2Pt.2:15: Jd.1:11),

Balak had commanded him to cease from speaking and return home without pay, but the Spirit of the living God was upon Balaam, and compelled him to speak. No sacrifices were required, no compensation expected, no seeking omens; God would have the final word, and his blessings could not be stopped, not by any attempt at cursing, not by the king of Moab, not by a pagan diviner for hire. Balaam is bound to not go beyond the word of YHWH; to speak only what YHWH speaks.

Balaam Oracles 4-7

Numbers 24:14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

15 And he took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,

and knows the knowledge of the Most High,

who sees the vision of the Almighty,

falling down with his eyes uncovered:

17 I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near:

a star shall come out of Jacob,

and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;

it shall crush the forehead of Moab

and break down all the sons of Sheth.

18 Edom shall be dispossessed;

Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.

Israel is doing valiantly.

19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion

and destroy the survivors of cities!”

20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first among the nations,

but its end is utter destruction.”

21 And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Enduring is your dwelling place,

and your nest is set in the rock.

22 Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned

when Asshur takes you away captive.”

23 And he took up his discourse and said,

“Alas, who shall live when God does this?

24 But ships shall come from Kittim

and shall afflict Asshur and Eber;

and he too shall come to utter destruction.”

25 Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

Here we have four uninvited oracles again under the control of the Spirit of God, which rounds out the total to seven. These final four shift the focus from who God is and his blessing on his people, to the consequences on those who oppose God’s people. The last three are very concise, directed toward specific people groups. The first is the longest, with a preface about Balaam, and points to a coming king who will conquer his enemies.

Balaam’s eye has been opened by the Spirit of God come upon him. He hears the words of El, he has been given knowledge of Elyon, he sees a vision from Shaddai. He is face down on the ground with his eyes finally opened.

A Scepter Shall Rise out of Israel

And what he sees is something that will come in the distant future, in the latter days. The one he sees is not now and not near, a distant coming future one. He describes this one as a star and a scepter. A scepter is a rod carried by royalty which symbolizes authority and judgment. A rod can also be used as a lethal weapon. Jacob’s blessing on his son Judah as a lion has been echoed in the second and third oracles of Balaam.

Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

There will be a coming King, a ruler bearing a royal scepter with which he will crush the skulls of his enemies.

A Star Shall Come Out of Jacob

The star imagery is more surprising. ‘A star shall come out of Jacob’. The descendants of Abraham were promised to be numerous as the stars. But stars in the Bible often point to superhuman beings. The Lord challenges Job in Job 38 ‘where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth’

Job 38:6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

The morning stars are pictured as sons of God or celestial beings who sing together and shout for joy. Psalm 148 makes a similar connection:

Psalm 148:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

God’s people were clearly warned against worshiping these celestial beings:

Deuteronomy 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

God’s holy angels are quick to reject worship (Rev.19:10; 22:8-9). We are never to worship created beings. Deuteronomy 32 describes idolatry:

Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.

Isaiah 14 reveals the power behind the king of Babylon:

Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Lucifer in pride aspired to be like the Most High, he sought to rule over the stars or celestial beings. He sought the worship God alone deserves. But he and his angels will be cast down (Rev.12:4,9).

Jesus in the gospels connects the stars falling from heaven in the last days with the powers of the heavens being shaken (Mk.13:25); ‘the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Eph.6:12). Amos 5:26 and Acts 7:41-43 mention worship of a star-god.

The Coming Human / Divine King

Satan is an impostor, but this prophecy points to a coming one who is both king and divine. And as one who comes out of Israel, descended from Jacob, he must also be human.

We see all these pieces, the anticipation of a divine/human God king come together in several prophecies.

Scepter of a God-King

Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, … 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

In Psalm 2 we see the coming King who will rule with an iron scepter, but this one, called YHWH’s Anointed or Messiah is also the begotten Son of YHWH. Psalm 45 is even more clear:

Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

The scepter and throne belong to God eternally. But this God-king has been anointed by God, your God. Who is the God-King, and who is anointing him? Hebrews 1 quotes Psalm 45 in contrast to angels who are never to be worshiped, and says it is ‘of the Son he says ‘your throne O God, is forever and ever…’

Hebrews 1 also says that the Son ‘is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature’. Isaiah 60 says:

YHWH will rise like the sun; the glory of YHWH will break the darkness and shine with his glorious light.

Peter comments on his experience on the mountain when Jesus’ glory was revealed and ‘his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light’ (Mt.17:2); Peter says:

2 Peter 1:19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

Jesus himself claims in Revelation 22

Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Jesus, the coming star and scepter, the God-King, is both the source of David, and the descendant of David in his humanity.

Jesus The Conquering King

And he will crush the skull of his enemies and dispossess them; in him Israel is doing valiantly. This “one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” Moab, who waged spiritual warfare against Israel, Moab’s head will be crushed. Edom, who refused Israel passage, will be dispossessed. Amalek, ancient enemy of Israel who attacked when they left Israel shall be utterly destroyed. The Kenites, one of the inhabitants of the land (Gen.15:18-22) will be taken captive and their city burned. ‘Alas, who shall live when God does this?’ Who shall live? No enemy of the Lord will live. Only the one who runs to Jesus to take refuge in him from his coming wrath. Have you taken refuge in Jesus? Today he is a star shining in the darkness, a light to fix your eyes on as you navigate through this present darkness. But one day he will rise in all his glory and dispel all darkness, and if you are part of that darkness you will suffer his wrath. Run to Jesus, hide in him, and you shall live. Truly live.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.07.12 Numbers 23:27 – 24:13; The Coming King and his Exalted Kingdom; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260712_numbers-23_27-24_13.mp3

Balak king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel for him. God made it explicitly clear to Balaam that he was not to go beyond God’s word, because God had blessed Israel. Balak took Balaam to the high place of Baal, and YHWH put a word of blessing in his mouth for Israel. Balak to him to the heights of Pisgah, and YHWH put another word of blessing in his mouth.

Numbers 23:27 And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balak just doesn’t get it; in the last blessing, God revealed his character and nature; he is not a man or a son of man. He does not lie, he does not change his mind. God has blessed them, and there is no sorcery that can overturn God’s blessing. God is with his people, he is for them, and he will fight against those who fight against them. He took him to the top of Peor, another high place for worship of Baal, a place which will gain an ill reputation in chapter 25. Different location, same procedure; again seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams.

The Spirit of God Came Upon Him

Numbers 24:1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,

This is different. God said ‘there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel’ (23:23), so Balaam does not look for omens; the word is the same as ‘enchantment’. He finally recognized that ‘it pleased YHWH to bless Israel’ so instead of his usual occult practices, he ‘set his face toward the wilderness’, and ‘lifted up his eyes’ and saw the camp of Israel.

And the Spirit of God came upon him. God had spoken to him, and put words in his mouth, but this time was different, God’s Holy Spirit came upon him, and rather than a word put in his mouth, the Spirit of God upon him inspired him to speak. We don’t see Moses or Aaron in this whole section of Numbers, and this language is not used throughout the five books of Moses about either one of them. In Numbers 11, YHWH took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on 70 of the elders of Israel, who prophesied. In response to Joshua,

Numbers 11:29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”

We see God’s Spirit come upon some of the prophets and judges and kings of Israel, even on some common Israelites who prophesied, but here we see the Spirit of God come upon an unbelieving pagan sorcerer. In the New Testament he spoke through Israel’s unbelieving high priest Caiaphas (Jn.11:49-52). As we’ve learned from the donkey incident, the Lord can speak through whomever he chooses.

Israel Camping Tribe by Tribe

Verse 2 tells us that Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Back in chapter 2, God organized Israel around the tabernacle, three tribes on each side, east, south, west and north. We are given the census of each tribe in chapter 1, and if we lay that out, looking out from the mountains west northwest over the plains, the organization of the camp would have taken the shape of a cross.

Blind Eyes Opened

Numbers 24:3 and he took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,

who sees the vision of the Almighty,

falling down with his eyes uncovered:

5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,

your encampments, O Israel!

6 Like palm groves that stretch afar,

like gardens beside a river,

like aloes that the LORD has planted,

like cedar trees beside the waters.

7 Water shall flow from his buckets,

and his seed shall be in many waters;

his king shall be higher than Agag,

and his kingdom shall be exalted.

8 God brings him out of Egypt

and is for him like the horns of the wild ox;

he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,

and shall break their bones in pieces

and pierce them through with his arrows.

9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion

and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?

Blessed are those who bless you,

and cursed are those who curse you.”

Balaam the seer had been blind. Blind to what his own donkey saw so clearly, the angel of YHWH with drawn sword standing in the way to oppose him, because his way was perverse before the Lord. His own greed had blinded the seer from seeing the spiritual realities around him. But now, the Spirit of God having come upon him, his eye has been opened. He hears the words of El. He sees the vision of Shaddai. Falling face down on the ground at the presence of God almighty, he can finally see.

A Fruitful Garden (Like Eden)

And he begins to see Israel as God sees her; “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.”

One of the primary complaints of the people as they crossed the wilderness was a lack of water. Now this vision is of abundant water; wadis or river ravines spreading out, gardens beside a river, carefully planted like Eden by YHWH himself (Gn.2:8-9; the holy place in the tabernacle was full of garden of Eden symbolism). The tents, the encampments of Israel the Lord considers lovely. As we saw last time, Israel was considered upright; the Lord ‘has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel’ (23:1,21), not because they were without fault, we’ve read the story, we know better. But because God is with them, and because they belong to him, he views them with a righteousness not their own, a righteousness credited to their account.

God views Israel as YHWH’s garden of Eden restored, like cedars beside the waters. In Psalm 1 the righteous are compared with

Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

In spite of all their failures and flaws, as long as his people abide in him, he will prune them and they will bear fruit (Jn.15:1-5)

Living Water From Finite Vessels

The water metaphor now changes; not only are they well watered like a carefully planned garden, they become a water source that spreads out to bless others. A bucket or jar is usually used for drawing water, for containing, carrying, or storing water; it is not a source of water. But the picture here is flowing or living water flowing out of a finite clay jar. ‘We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us’ (2Cor.4:7). Jesus said to the sinful woman at the well:

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” … 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus said in John 7

The Exalted Kingdom of the Coming King

This word for water can also be used for seed, and the focus of the prophecy moves to descendants, to children spreading out like water, like streams in the desert bringing with them abundant blessing. The concepts flow from blessings to offspring, to a coming King and his coming kingdom.

Numbers 24:7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

A king named Agag shows up in 1 Samuel 15, about 350 years later; this could be a prediction of his future defeat by the first king of Israel, or Agag could be a contemporary king of the Amalekites, after whom the king in 1 Samuel is named, or instead of a personal name it could be a royal title of the kings of the Amalekites. The Amalekites attacked Israel in Exodus 17 after they came out of Egypt; they defeated the people when they presumptuously attempted to enter the land after their rebellion and disobedience in Numbers 14.

There is a coming king who would be far superior to the ancient enemy of Israel. This coming King’s kingdom would be exalted. Although this may find a partial fulfillment in Saul, ultimately it points to the king who was God, who became human,

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Conquering King, Lion of Judah

In the last oracle, it was plural; God brings them out of Egypt; he is for them like the horns of a wild ox; now God brings him out of Egypt; and is for him like the horns of a wild ox. If we trace the nearest antecedent, the ‘him’ must be referring to the coming King whose kingdom shall be exalted. Matthew 2:15 sees the prophecy of Hosea 11:1 fulfilled in Jesus; “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Balak feared the tongue of the domestic ox; he should have feared the horns of the wild ox. There is one coming, one to be feared.

Revelation 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. …15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Revelation 6:15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

This coming king is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev.5:5). It would be wise not to poke the Lion. Balak attempted to wage spiritual warfare against God’s people, assuming that this pagan sorcerer had the power to bless and to curse. He summoned Balaam with the words: “for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Nu.22:6). But back in Genesis 12, God told Abraham;

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God will not contradict himself. By attempting to curse Israel, Balak brought no harm to Israel, but instead put himself under God’s curse. The coming King will crush the head of the serpent, and all who align themselves with him.

The Price of Misguided Spirituality

Numbers 24:10 And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’?

Balak was frustrated. Not only did he not gain any traction against God’s people, but all his efforts to the contrary only brought further confirmation of God’s blessing on his people. So far, Balak had on each of these three occasions sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams on seven altars. That’s 21 bulls and 21 rams. Just to help wrap my head around what that might have meant, quick search gave me today’s prices; an average bull goes for around $6,000 and a ram around $500 (and those estimates are on the low end); that would total somewhere around $136,500. For nothing. And that doesn’t include the animals sacrificed for the welcome feast. The price of misguided spirituality is high. Not only does it promise and not deliver, it will ultimately cost you everything. The Lord invites us:

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.07.05 Numbers 23:13-26; Unchanging God; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260705_numbers-23_13-26.mp3

Balak king of Moab, out of fear and ignorance of God’s word, hired the renown sorcerer Balaam to curse God’s people; he said:

Numbers 22:5 …“Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

The Lord told Balaam

Numbers 22:12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

For Balaam, this was merely a step in the negotiation process. Balak sent a more prestigious delegation with a more irresistible offer, and Balaam sought a different answer from the Lord. He got his wish;

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”

Balaam eagerly went on his way,

Numbers 22:22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. …

Three times his donkey turned away, three times she received a beating from her master.

Numbers 22:32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

Balak received Balaam with a feast, and the next morning brought him to Bamoth-baal, and made seven altars and offered seven bulls and seven rams, and Balaam went to a bare height to hear from YHWH. God sent him back with a message of blessing.

I cannot curse those that YHWH has not cursed. They are a people set apart, they are numerous as the dust, and Balaam expresses his desire to die the death of the upright and be identified with them in the afterlife.

Numbers 23:11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

But he’s not giving up. He thinks maybe a change of scenery, a change of perspective, a different angle might change the outcome.

Blessings From Pisgah (Nebo)

Numbers 23:13 And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” 14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.” 16 And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

Same procedure, different location. From the high place of Baal, now to the field of Watchers, to the top of a cleft. Pisgah is identified with Mount Nebo, where Moses went up to see the land from a distance before he died (Dt.3:27; 34:1). The goal is still the same; ‘curse them for me from there.’ Again YHWH graciously puts a word in Balaam’s mouth. ‘What has YHWH spoken?’

Numbers 23:18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;

give ear to me, O son of Zippor:

19 God is not man, that he should lie,

or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

20 Behold, I received a command to bless:

he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,

nor has he seen trouble in Israel.

The LORD their God is with them,

and the shout of a king is among them.

22 God brings them out of Egypt

and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

‘What has God wrought!’

24 Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up

and as a lion it lifts itself;

it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey

and drunk the blood of the slain.”

Ontologically Different

God tells us something about himself that we need to know. God is not a man, or a son of man. God is ontologically different than man. He is a different sort of being altogether. God is not a man, and he is not descended from man. Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation, but mankind was created by the uncreated Creator. Moses prayed in Psalm 90

Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

God has no beginning or end; he is the uncreated Creator of all that is. God said to Moses ‘I AM that I AM’ (Ex.3:14); Jesus said ‘before Abraham was I AM’ (Jn.8:58).

Balak is fixated on the threat of Israel, and assumes the gods can be manipulated to do what he desires. He needs to know who God is. God is essentially different than his creation. Humanity is dependent; God is independent. God does not change ‘I the LORD do not change’ (Mal.3:6); humanity is constantly changing; we are born, we grow, we die. We lie. We change our minds. We may have the very best of intentions, but circumstances which are out of our control prevent us from doing the thing we intended to do. There are no circumstances outside of God’s control; what he says he will do, what he speaks he will fulfill. God always fulfills his promises, and that is good news for us who have very great and precious promises in the gospel. He who promised is faithful; all God’s promises are ‘yes’ to us in Jesus (2Cor.1:20).

The Command To Bless

This is the first time that Balaam has admitted that he received a command to bless and not to curse. He admits that he is powerless to overcome God’s blessing; if God has blessed, and he has, that is the final word; it cannot be revoked, it cannot be overcome, overturned. God’s blessing is rooted in his own unchanging character. We have God’s word on it.

Imputed Righteousness

Verse 21 is surprising; He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. In the last blessing, Balaam called them ‘upright’. If you’ve read Numbers so far, this should come as a shock. Numbers is a chronicle of the misfortunes and troubles of rebellious Israel. Grumbling, complaining, rebelling, rejecting God’s promises, rejecting God’s leaders, rejecting God’s promised land. A whole generation sentenced to die in the wilderness for unbelief. Defeat by enemies, lethal serpents, graves of craving, no food, no water, loathing God’s good gifts. How can God say he has not beheld misfortune, nor seen trouble seen in Israel? That’s pretty much all we’ve seen!

The Psalmist cries out in Psalm 130

Psalm 130:3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

If God keeps record of wrongs, we are all in trouble. But God is a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, forgiving. Not only does he forgive us when we trust in Jesus, but he removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps.103:12). He forgives, and he will remember our sins no more (Jer.31:34). Not only does he remove our sins from us, but he clothes us in the perfect righteousness of his only Son (Rom.4:6). By faith we ‘receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness’ (Rom.5:17). In Jesus we ‘become the righteousness of God’ (2Cor.5:21). I am ‘found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith’ (Phil.3:9), so that when the Father looks at me, he sees nothing but the perfect righteous record of Jesus Christ.

We’ve seen that God disciplines the one he loves. His purpose is holiness. But here we see that God doesn’t talk about the flaws of his beloved with outsiders.

Ephesians 5:25 …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

We’ve read the story, we see glaring issues that need to be addressed. But what God says to this pagan sorcerer, this outsider is ‘He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel’.

YHWH God is With Them

‘The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them’ (v.21). This is a powerful encouragement. God is not far off, blessing from a distance; he is with them, in their midst. ‘There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Pr.18:24); “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb.13:5)

The tabernacle was the tent of God, in the middle of the camp. The pillar of cloud and fire was a visible manifestation of the presence of God among them. Remember, at this time there was no king in Israel; God was their king in his royal tent, leading and directing them. God’s presence was with them. What an amazing and powerful comfort to have God visibly present among them. God encamped in the middle of the camp of Israel, ministered to by priests, protected by Levites, approached only through blood sacrifices.

Brothers and sisters, we have something better! We do not have the visible presence of God in fire and cloud, we have constant access through faith to the throne of grace! (Rom.5:2; Heb.4:16). We, believers in Jesus, are the temple of the living God (1Cor.3:16; 6:19). The triune God has taken up residence in us (Jn.14:23; Rom.8:9-11). Jesus has truly come to be Immanuel, God With Us! The victory shout of the King of kings is among us!

Wild Ox and Ravenous Lion

In Numbers 22,

Numbers 22:4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. …

Balak feared the tongue of a domestic ox, but Israel’s God is much more dangerous than he anticipated! God is untameable; ‘He is for them like the horns of the wild ox’ (v.22). The picture is lethal, uncontainable, powerful. If we jump ahead to verse 24 The people are compared to a lioness and a lion on the hunt; ‘it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.’ This is much worse for Moab than an ox licking up the grass. Moab, by its spiritual act of aggression, has drawn the attention of the wild ox, the hungry lion.

No Sorcery Against God’s People

Balak had hoped to weaken Israel by cursing them; in verse 23 Balaam admits: ‘For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel’. What he has been hired to do is not possible. God has blessed them, and there is no way by the powers of the occult to overthrow God’s decree of blessing. Numbers 24:1 tells us that enchantment was what Balaam had been attempting in his curses turned to blessings. Divination is what he was hired to perform for Moab. In Deuteronomy 18, participation in these occult activities is comprehensively condemned as abominable to the Lord. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed (Is.54:17).

What Has God Wrought!

Numbers 23:23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

‘What has God wrought!’

What has God wrought? Stand in awe, in amazement, in worship. Bow the knee; look at what God has done! God took a Jacob, a manipulating thieving deceiving heel-grabber and made promises to him. He had it out with God, and God gave him a limp, and a new name; one who prevails with God, prince of God. God took a Jacob and made him into Israel; God takes sinners and turns them into saints; God made a way for sinners to be forgiven, for their sins to be remembered no more, look what God has done! God took slaves and set them free, he came to dwell among them, to be with them. Look what God has done! He led them through the wilderness, provided for their needs, promised to defeat their enemies before them, to give them a good land. Look what God has done! God viewed them as righteous, a righteousness not their own, righteousness credited to their account; look what God has done! Behold what God has wrought!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.06.28 Numbers 23:1-12; If God Is For Us; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260628_numbers-23_1-12.mp3

Miriam is dead. Aaron is dead. Moses will not enter the land. He is absent from the narrative of Numbers 22-24. Aaron was commissioned to put YHWH’s name on the people in blessing:

Numbers 6:24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Aaron is gone, but God is still able to bless his people, and he can use whomever he wishes.

Israel is camped on the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho. God’s people had taken the long detour around Edom when they refused them passage, because God refused to give Israel the land of their relatives. They passed by Moab and crossed the Arnon into Amorite land and conquered Sihon and Og and possessed the land from the Arnon river to Mt. Hermon in the north, to the borders of Ammon (the Ammonites were also relatives through Abraham). Moab, ignorant of God’s word of protection over them (Dt.2:9), and in fear because of their circumstances, attempted to wage spiritual warfare against this great horde who had already defeated the ones who defeated them. They were no match militarily, so they attempted to weaken them spiritually by hiring the pagan diviner Balaam from Aram. God had forbidden Balaam to go (22:12), but on his persistence, allowed him to go with the clear restriction ‘but only do what I tell you’ (22:20). Because he went, God’s anger was kindled, and he sent his Angel to oppose him ‘because your way is perverse before me’ (22:32). His dumb donkey was more perceptive than the spiritually blind seer, turning away from destruction three times, receiving blows from her master, whose anger was ignited because of the disobedient beast.

Numbers 22:28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

Balaam’s anger flared against his animal who embarrassed him by disobeying him in order to save his life. God’s anger flared against Balaam, who disobeyed his first command “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (22:12).

The Lord has to open the eyes of this spiritual man who claims to have his eyes open, to enable him to see what his donkey had already seen, the Angel of YHWH standing with drawn sword to oppose him. Balaam acknowledges his ignorance of this spiritual being’s presence, confesses his sin, and offers to turn around ‘if it is evil in your sight’ (22:34). If!

Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

Balak comes out to meet him, expresses his frustration at the delay, but Balaam has learned just a little from his humbling journey, and answers

Numbers 22:38 …’Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.”

Balak sacrifices oxen and sheep, likely as a feast for his esteemed guest, and in the morning he ‘brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.’

Chapters 23 and 24 consist mainly of Balaam’s four oracles, framed by the preparations to receive a word, and the response to that word.

Preparations for the First Oracle

Numbers 23:1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, 4 and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.

Seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams; numbers like seven were full of symbolism and significance; seven the number of perfection or completion, like the seventh day of rest from creation, or the seven lamps for light in the tabernacle, blood sprinkled seven times to purify or set apart. Here in this occultic context, the number was likely more superstitious.

Balaam said ‘perhaps’. Perhaps YHWH will come to meet with me. He acknowledges that he could not guarantee the effectiveness of his practices, that YHWH God of Israel is free to reveal himself to whom he wishes whenever he wishes; and he is just as free to withhold revelation when he chooses not to reveal himself. Balaam is not in control of this situation; he is subject to YHWH’s will and YHWH’s purposes.

Ezekiel 21 gives us some insight into the occult practices of ancient diviners:

Ezekiel 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand comes the divination …

Although we are not told in this passage, it is possible that the liver and other parts of these sacrificial animals were examined in an attempt to discern secret messages. But that is not where the message was received. God met Balaam. Balaam pointed to his procedure of offering seven bulls and seven lambs on seven altars, but YHWH put a word in Balaam’s mouth. God had already demonstrated that he can open a donkey’s mouth, and he can just as well control a pagan diviner’s mouth to speak his truth. Quite apart from any merits of the sacrifices, God chose to reveal himself. He chose to communicate.

Oracle 1: Blessing from Bamoth-baal

And this is the word YHWH gave him to speak:

Numbers 23:7 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“From Aram Balak has brought me,

the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:

‘Come, curse Jacob for me,

and come, denounce Israel!’

8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

9 For from the top of the crags I see him,

from the hills I behold him;

behold, a people dwelling alone,

and not counting itself among the nations!

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob

or number the fourth part of Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright,

and let my end be like his!”

The LORD is the Source of True Blessing

Balak summoned Balaam to curse Israel; Balak had requested:

Numbers 22:6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

But in Genesis 12, YHWH promised Abram:

YHWH God claims to be the true source of blessing and cursing, and no pagan diviner, no matter how learned or skilled or powerful in dark arts, can overturn what God has decreed.

After rehearsing the glorious gospel, Paul exults:

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If God is for us, if God has blessed us, and he has abundantly blessed us in the gospel: he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all; if God is for us, who can be against us? No physical or supernatural power will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus said:

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

We are kept according to 1 Peter 1:5, not by our own strength but by God’s omnipotent power.

A People Set Apart

In verse 9 Balaam describes the character of God’s people as ‘a people dwelling alone, not counting itself (or not counted) among the nations’. God said

Deuteronomy 14:2 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

God’s choice of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob set them apart from every other nation; he gave them laws and customs that distinguished them from all the other nations, ultimately to be a blessing to the nations. They are a holy people, a separate people, a unique people; a people set apart to be God’s own treasured possession. They are not one nation among many, just another people group. They have been set apart, holy to the Lord.

Innumerable as the Dust

And in verse 10 Balaam’s words affirm that the promise of God to Abraham from Genesis 13 has been fulfilled;

Genesis 13:16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

The Lord re-affirmed this promise to Jacob as he fled from his brother Esau:

Genesis 28:14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

The Glorious End of the Upright

Balaam calls Israel upright, and desires that his own end, his own death and what happens after would be like theirs. He understands that God’s blessings will follow them even beyond death, and he wants to be a part of that. He acknowledges that God’s blessing is on them, and he would rather be identified with righteous Israel than with unrighteous Balaak seeking to bring a curse on them.

Response: What Have You Done To Me?

Balak’s question is interesting; what have you done to me? He still assumes that the power to bless and to curse resides in Balaam, that God could be manipulated to do what he wishes, that God could be bought with sacrifices of costly animals that ultimately already belong to him. He feels that Balaam has of his own will done the opposite of what he is hiring him to do. He takes it as a personal offense against himself. The question Balak ought to be asking is ‘what have I done to myself?’ Balak and his people, the Moabites, had nothing to fear; as descendants of Abraham’s relative Lot they were under God’s protection. But out of fear and ignorance of God’s word, they sought through the dark arts of a sorcerer to bring a curse on God’s people, and thus put themselves under God’s curse.

Balaam is beginning to learn something; much like his own donkey he is serving as a mouthpiece for the words that YHWH puts in his mouth. The messenger of YHWH stands ready with sword drawn to prevent this greedy sorcerer from going beyond God’s omnipotent word. “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

An Invitation to Experience God’s Blessing

There is an invitation here; an invitation to experience God’s blessing by blessing Israel. Balaam longed to ‘die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!’ This was not out of his reach. God promised Abram ‘I will bless those who bless you.’ God’s promise is available even to a pagan sorcerer to experience God’s blessing by aligning himself with God and with his people.

Balaam has a choice; continue to pursue temporary gain in a futile attempt to curse those God has blessed, a way that is perverse before him (22:23), or turn and reject the promised riches of Balak and truly seek the blessing of Israel. How will you respond?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.06.21 Numbers 22:14-41; The Blind See-r and his Seeing Donkey ;Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260621_numbers-22_14-41.mp3

Israel is spread out on the plains of Moab, camped opposite Jericho, the rebellious generation buried in the wilderness, their children now poised to enter the land. Moab, under God’s protection because they were descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot, acting out of fear and ignorance of God’s word, send for a pagan seer with a reputation for blessing and cursing to curse Israel.

They were ignorant of the fact that God forbade Israel to attack Moab or take any of their land (Dt.2:9). They were also ignorant of the fact that God had blessed Israel in his blessing on Abraham. They were ignorant of the promise that YHWH would bless those who bless God’s people, and curse those who dishonor God’s people (Gen.12:3). They foolishly put their faith in a pagan diviner to seek to overturn the promises and blessings of God. But even though Israel was oblivious to the spiritual warfare being waged against them, God stood in their defense.

When the first delegation of princes from Moab came to summon Balaam,

Numbers 22:12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

God’s answer was clear. But what Balaam didn’t say was telling. Balaam didn’t tell the delegation that he couldn’t curse the people. He didn’t say that God had blessed the people. He didn’t say that he didn’t want to go with them; only that YHWH refused to let him go with them.

The Second Offer; More and More Honorable

Numbers 22:14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’”

Balak did not understand Balaam’s declining of his first offer as a final no, but as a step in negotiating a better price. So he sent more and higher ranking delegates with an open-ended offer. Whatever you want, I will give you.

Seeking Another Answer From God

Numbers 22:18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”

Balaam claims not to be able to go beyond the command of YHWH his God. Is Balaam a believer? He claims YHWH to be his God. Is everyone who claims the name of the Lord a true believer? Are all who claim the name of Christ true Christians, genuine followers of Jesus? Jesus says ‘no’.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Balaam’s answer sounds like he is determined to obey the Lord, but his words betray his heart; he is still negotiating; he wants more than Balak’s house full of silver and gold. If he was truly determined to not go beyond the command of YHWH, he already has that; “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” (22:12). Period. That seems pretty clear. Who are these men with you? Why invite them to stay the night? Why seek another word from YHWH, when he has made his will abundantly clear? Is the Lord a man that he should change his mind (Nu.23:19)?

Does God Change His Mind? Whose Voice Will You Heed?

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”

Does God change his mind? First he says ‘you shall not go with them.’ Now he says ‘rise, go with them’. What is going on here?

God says ‘if’; if the men have come to call you. God knows they were there, he knows why they came. Who are these men with you?The question is not if they are more in number and more honorable men; they are mere men. Will you listen to the voice of man, or the call of God? Whose voice will you heed?

Does God change his mind? Sometimes when we are not satisfied with God’s word to us, and we determined to get a different answer, God ‘gives us our request, but sends leanness into our souls’ (Ps.106:15KJV; Nu.11:18-20). We demonstrate that we want what we want, we do not want him, we are not content to take God at his word and trust that his ways are perfect. When we refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer and demand our own way, sometimes God gives us what we crave, to our own harm.

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”

If you are determined to listen to the voice of man and go, then go, but my word will be the final word; you must do exclusively what I say. You are free to reject, to choose to disobey my word to your own harm, but my word of blessing, my word of promise cannot be thwarted even by your willful disobedience.

God’s Righteous Anger and The Angel of YHWH as his Satan

The next verse is shocking in sheer brazen defiance. Balaam is mute in his disobedience; he got what he wanted, the Lord’s permission, so without a word,

Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road.

We might wonder why God was angry when Balaam did the thing God gave him permission to do, but when we keep in mind the bigger picture, that Balaam only reluctantly obeyed God’s first word and then sought another word until he got permission to do what he wanted to do, it makes sense. When the angel of YHWH becomes your adversary (the Hebrew word is ‘satan’), and he stands in your way with a drawn sword, you should know that you have chosen the wrong side. But this spiritually gifted see-r is blind to what his donkey sees. The donkey saves his master from God’s wrath by turning aside, and is rewarded with a beating from his blind master.

The Blind Seer and his Seeing Ass

Numbers 22:24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he struck her again.

Again his donkey sees what the man who claims to have his eyes opened is blind to. Again she protects her owner and gets beat for her efforts.

Balaam’s Unrighteous Anger Erupts

Numbers 22:26 Then the angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

This third time, with nowhere to turn, this perceptive donkey simply lays down under her master. She refuses to take him to his destruction, despite how much he might deserve it. In verse 22 it was God’s righteous anger that was kindled against Balaam’s determination to go; here Balaam’s unrighteous anger flares against his faithful animal who refuses to go against the Lord’s will, and results in him beating his faithful animal.

A Conversation with His Ass; God Will Use the Humble

If you’ve never heard this account before, this is where the story takes a most surprising turn:

Numbers 22:28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

God will put words in the mouth of this skilled spiritual seer to speak, but here he shows that he can use anything and anyone to communicate his truth. The reformer Martin Luther took great courage from this text; he wrote:

“And Balaam’s ass was wiser than the prophet himself [Num. 22:21–35]. If God spoke then through an ass against a prophet, why should he not be able even now to speak through a righteous man against the pope?” (LW 44:135-36).

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

That a donkey’s mouth was opened to speak to its owner is surprising, but what happens next might be even more shocking; Balaam actually engages in an argument with his animal!

Numbers 22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

Balaam is so concerned about his own reputation, he is blind to the danger he is in. Balaam says that his donkey made a fool of him, but he is the fool who went against the clear command of YHWH. This is the famous seer with a reputation for spiritual insight and power, but he is blind to the spiritual realities that his donkey so clearly sees. This is the one with a reputation that his words have power to curse and to bless, but he is impotent to control his own donkey with his words, and wishes for a sword to kill his donkey. His donkey is more reasonable than this spiritual man in a fit of blind rage.

The Seer’s Blind Eyes Opened

Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.”

The pagan seer was spiritually blind until YHWH opened his eyes to see the real reality of his situation. Balaam now understands why his donkey laid down under him, and in fear he does the same. If we were in any doubt about the integrity or motives of Balaam, the angel of YHWH clears away the fog; ‘I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.’ His way was perverse in the sight of the Lord who sees the heart, and for this Balaam deserved to die. But his wise animal was innocent.

Proverbs 12:10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

Balaam’s ‘Confession’

Numbers 22:34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”

Balaam starts out in the right direction. He owns his sin, and confesses his own blindness to the spiritual realities around him. But even if he failed to see the invisible angel, he should have known that his heart was opposed to God. Was he really that blind to the condition of his own heart? And he says ‘if’. If? is there any question if it is evil in the sight of the Lord? His angel stood in the way three times to oppose him, and would have killed him if his beast had not turned aside. He declared ‘Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me’. At he very beginning, God had said clearly “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” How does this blind seer twist this into an ‘if”? Such is the thinking of those blinded by their own desires.

Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

God is teaching this pagan diviner a lesson; that he may go willfully on his own way, but God will have the final word. What he says will prevail. Even after all this, Balaam continues down his reckless path.

Numbers 22:36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. 37 And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”

Balak expresses his anger toward Balaam’s delay. He took it as an offense against his honor. Who are these men? The question that should still be ringing in Balaam’s ear is ‘who will you listen to?’ But by his actions he has made his choice clear.

Numbers 22:38 Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” 39 Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him. 41 And in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.

Balaam has at least learned something. He confesses his own inability, his own dependence on God. Even the pagan diviner, however reluctantly, has to bow the knee and acknowledge the sovereignty of YHWH God of Israel.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.06.14 Numbers 22:1-13; Spiritual Warfare and Divine Blessing; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260614_numbers-22_1-13.mp3

God has brought his people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, to Mount Sinai, where he entered into a covenant relationship with them, extended forgiveness to them even when they broke his covenant, led them through the wilderness to his promised land. They rebelled and preferred the familiarity of slavery to the adventures of obedience, and God granted their request; that generation would die in the wilderness, but their children would enter in. Miriam died. Aaron died. Moses would die. Brother Edom (Esau) refused them passage so they took the long detour by way of the Red Sea around Edom. They kept east of Moab, crossed the Arnon into Amorite territory, a people who had taken the land from Moab. Israel defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites and possessed his land to the border of Ammon. Israel defeated Og, the giant-king of Bashan, and possessed all the land from the border of Moab to Mount Hermon in the North.

An Unknown Threat; Balak King of Moab

Meanwhile, and unbeknownst to them, another story was unfolding with Balak king of Moab and the elders of Midian as recorded in Numbers 22-24. An alliance is formed to undermine the strength of Israel and render them vulnerable to attack. A different kind of enemy, a hidden enemy conspires to destroy God’s people.

Anxious for Nothing

Numbers 22:1 Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” …

We were told in Numbers 21:26 that “Sihon the king of the Amorites, …had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.” Now Israel has defeated the one who previously defeated Moab, and Moab is afraid.

These verses describe Moab as ‘in great dread of the people, overcome with fear of the people’. YHWH’s words about Israel’s defeat of Sihon are coming true:

Deuteronomy 2:25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

When the bully that beat you up gets beat up, you could draw one of two conclusions; you have a rescuer, or you have a bigger bully to be afraid of. Moab chose the latter. On one level, their fears were accurate and well founded; Israel’s God was fighting for them, and no one can stand against YHWH. But on another level they hand nothing at all to fear. YHWH had said to Moses:

Deuteronomy 2:9 And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.’

The Moabites were motivated by fear; but their anxiety was entirely unfounded; YHWH had been forbidden Israel to attack Moab. Here’s the thing; it is unlikely that Moab would have know of this word of the Lord to Moses. They simply looked at the recent events and the current circumstances, and drew assumptions. They were anxious for nothing, because they didn’t know God’s word. This is what a lack of the word of God results in. What you don’t know can hurt you!

Now I’m sure none of you have ever looked at recent events and circumstances through the lens of your own fears and made assumptions, even made plans and acted accordingly. Balak looked at Israel camped adjacent to them and what Israel had done to the Amorites, and wrongly assumed Israel’s intentions toward them. I’m sure you’ve never assumed the intentions of another person? You know what you get when you assume? We’ll see more of that next week, as we get farther into this story. Fear is the opposite of faith.

Jesus told his followers in Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Seek God, seek his righteousness, seek his kingdom, O you of little faith! Get to know him through his word. Know his word.

Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Waging Spiritual Warfare

The king of Moab assumed Israel’s intentions, responded out of anxiety and fear, and an ignorance of God’s word. And his response betrayed a greater ignorance of God’s word.

Numbers 22:4 …So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Balak knows he is no match for Israel; they have defeated the kings who previously defeated Moab. It seems he is aware that there was a supernatural aspect to those victories. The God of Israel was fighting for them. So he engages in a different kind of attack; he endeavors to wage spiritual warfare against Israel. He seeks to hire a man with a powerful spiritual reputation from Mesopotamia near the Euphrates river. Balaam’s name was found on inscriptions discovered in a multi-chamber structure in Deir Alla, Jordan, possibly a temple of some sort. Part of the inscription reads ‘the book of [Ba]laam, [son of Beo]r, a seer of the gods. To him came the gods at night. [And they spoke to] him…’

Balaam has a reputation for blessing and cursing. The king of Moab said ‘I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.’ Now that phrase should get your attention if you know your Bible. In Genesis 12,

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God is the source of all true blessing. This was God’s promise to Abram, before he left Haran, likely the same area Balaam was from. Lot, father of the Ammonites and Moabites, left Haran with Abram in response to this word from the Lord. This word should have been passed down and known to the Ammonites and Moabites. But the king of Moab is apparently unfamiliar with this, and he attributes the power of blessing and cursing to a pagan diviner.

Joshua 13 describes Balaam as ‘the one who practiced divination’. Deuteronomy 18 warns:

Deuteronomy 18:9 “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. 15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

This kind of spiritual warfare is real, but it is forbidden to God’s people. It is an abomination to him, because he has given us something so much better. He has given us his own infallible word. God spoke through Moses, and Moses points to someone greater, to a prophet like me, a prophet who does not hear in dreams and visions, but knows the Lord, speaks to him face to face. Moses commands us to listen to the coming prophet, the better Mediator, the only begotten Son of God, to Jesus. If we have God’s incarnate Word, access to the throne of grace through the blood of Jesus, his own Holy Spirit living in us, why would we seek any other word?

Who is Your Lord?

Numbers 22:7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

This is interesting. Balaam uses YHWH, the covenant name of God. Does this mean that Balaam is a believer in the true God, or just that someone in his line of work has to know all the names of all the different deities?

God speaks to Balaam. “Who are these men with you?” Why does the omniscient God asks questions? Not because he lacks information. He asks questions to make us think, to teach us, to cause us to search our own hearts. When God shows up in the garden after Adam rebelled, and asks ‘where are you?’ (Gen.3:9). He’s not asking about a location on a map; he’s asking about the condition of his heart. He’s giving him an opportunity to confess, to come clean. It’s not that God doesn’t know who these men are or where they came from or why they are there. He’s pursuing this pagan diviner. Balaam knows something of YHWH, he knows his name, but if he knows anything about this God, he knows he is using methods and taking direction from men that are opposed to God and his people. Will Balaam do things his own way, will he hire himself out for riches to do a job he knows is directly opposed to YHWH God of Israel? Who will he obey? To whom will he bow the knee? Who is your Lord? Will you serve YHWH, or an earthly king, or yourself and your own desires? God is speaking to Balaam, revealing himself to Balaam, inviting him to examine his heart, his motives, his allegiances, who he’s listening to, what he’s doing, where he’s going, and why.

Balaam’s answer is more in the line of giving God a summary of the information, as if he didn’t know already.

Numbers 22:10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

God’s command is clear. ‘You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people’ and he gives the reason ‘for they are blessed’.

Balaam appears to follow God’s command. ‘Go, for YHWH has refused to let me go with you.’ But what Balaam leaves out is more telling than what he says. He lays the blame on YHWH for forbidding him to go. It is not reluctance on the part of Balaam; he is willing. And he leaves out God’s second command ‘you shall not curse the people’. And he leaves out this foundational truth ‘because they are blessed’.

It would be good if the story ended here (and we’re going to leave off here for this week), but I want us to think about what God says.

God’s Purpose to Bless

You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. Deuteronomy 7 says:

Deuteronomy 7:6 “…The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

God chose to set his love on them; God is determined to bless them. We’ve been walking with this grumbling and complaining people through the wilderness, as they have rejected God and experienced his discipline. This disobedient people, a whole generation of whom have died in the wilderness, are blessed? ‘The Lord disciplines the one he loves’ (Heb.12:6).

The Israelites have no idea what is happening behind the scenes; they are completely oblivious to the spiritual warfare that is being waged against them. But God sees, God knows, God is standing in their defense. God is not discussing with Balaam their faults, failures and flaws; he simply says ‘they are blessed.’ Why? Because God chose to bless them. And the one God blesses is blessed.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

2026.06.07 Numbers 21:10–35; Turning Sorrow into Song; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260607_numbers-21_10-35.mp3

Numbers 20 chronicles death; death of Miriam, death promised to Moses and Aaron, the death of Aaron the high priest, and the transfer of his responsibility to his son Eleazar to serve the next generation.

Numbers 21, this next generation faces opposition and cries out to the Lord for help, and he gives them victory where they had previously been defeated. But their hearts still need to be transformed. There is no water, and so they speak venomous words against the Lord and against Moses. They call his good gifts, his provision ‘worthless’. They called the bread from heaven ‘worthless’. Jesus said:

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” …35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

In a conversation about God’s miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness, Jesus claimed to be the bread who comes down from heaven, the bread of God. In describing this bread as ‘worthless’, they foreshadow a rejection of God’s provision in Jesus, and outside of Jesus there is nothing but to be given over to the power of the serpent. But as rebels, through their mediator, they cried out for rescue, and God decreed that his own curse on them be lifted up for all to look at, and whoever would look would live (Jn.6:40). You, who have spurned Jesus as insufficient, not enough for you, deemed his cross repulsive, repugnant, offensive, recognize your desperate situation and look to Jesus, lifted up on a cross, who became a curse for you; turn away from you sins, turn to Jesus, look and live!

Numbers 21 records the beginnings of transformation in this next generation. They began by seeking the Lord’s help and experiencing his gift of victory, but they tried out their parents’ habit of grumbling and complaining, and found that it ends in death. They confessed their sin, and God provided a way for them to escape the death they deserved.

Turning Sorrows into Song; March to the Land

In the rest of Numbers 21 we see a transformation of their grumbling and complaining into rejoicing, celebration of God’s provision, into song. The people begin to turn their sorrows into singing.

Numbers 21:10 And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. 11 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD, “Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon, 15 and the slope of the valleys that extends to the seat of Ar, and leans to the border of Moab.”

This travel narrative advances quickly toward the land. It is a staccato list of the movement of the people (a more complete list is in Numbers 33); there is no narrative, no record of grumbling or complaining. After the detour around Edom by way of the Red Sea, they travel north crossing the brook Zered east of Moab and then across the Arnon river into Amorite territory.

God gave specific instructions in Deuteronomy 2 not to engage Edom or the descendants of Esau in battle, for he had given them the region of Seir as a possession. He warned them not to engage Moab or the descendants of Lot, for he had given them Ar as a possession. Later he would warn not to attack Ammon, the other descendants of Lot. Crossing the Arnon would bring them into Amorite territory, a people who were not related to Abraham. An excerpt from ‘the Book of the Wars of YHWH’ is cited, a scrap of poetry or song describing the geography of the area. They sing of the valleys, the slopes, the rivers.

God’s Gracious Provision: Water

Numbers 21:16 And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— 18 the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” …

Here YHWH himself takes the initiative. ‘Gather the people together that I may give them water’. God knows our needs before we even ask (or complain; Mt.6:8). Sometimes the Lord withholds his blessings until we look to him, until we are gathered together so that we recognize it is the Lord that is providing our needs. Here the people are gathered together to receive a gift from the Lord, and here for the first time since crossing the Red Sea (Ex.15:1), they break into song. Spring up O well! Rather than leading them to an oasis, rather than striking or speaking to a rock, this time they were gathered together to dig a well at the Lord’s direction. This could be a work song, as the people encouraged one another to dig. Notice this was not top-down leadership, where the princes and nobles sat under palm branches while they supervised the workers working. No, the leaders led by serving, by digging, working together at the instruction of the Lord to provide water for the people. And this was an occasion for singing, celebrating the provision of the Lord (Ps.5:11). He alone is the source of our every blessing.

Sihon King of the Amorites Defeated

Numbers 21:18 …And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert. 21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.

The Amorites were among the Canaanite tribes that the Lord had promised all the way back to Abram (even before he was renamed Abraham) that he would drive out before them (Gen.15:16-21). In fact it was the Amorites whose iniquity would bring about God’s judgment when he led his people in to dispossess them.

The people sent a diplomatic message to Sihon king of the Amorites with the same offer they had made to Edom; Sihon responded the same way; he refused them passage and mustered his army to meet Israel in the wilderness.

But this time went differently.

Numbers 21:24 And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.

The history given here that the Amorites had taken this land from the former king of Moab becomes important 300 years later in Judges 11 when the Ammonites come against Jephthah and demand he return the land Israel took from them. He responded that the land in dispute was not taken from Ammon, but from the Amorites, who took it from Moab, and Israel will possess whatever YHWH gives them to possess; Ammon can possess whatever their god Chemosh has given them to possess (Jud.11:21-24).

This time, with no divine prohibition to prevent them, Israel engaged in battle with the Canaanites. Where their fathers were afraid even to attempt to approach the inhabitants, their children stepped out in faith and the Lord gave them victory. Again they break into song.

Numbers 21:27 Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. 28 For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon. 30 So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.” 31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

This is a victory song, a taunt song mocking the powerless false gods of other nations. Moab’s god Chemosh has sold his sons and daughters to an Amorite king, and now YHWH has shown himself more powerful than even the victorious Amorites or their false gods. It matters what god you worship! The Lord gave his people total victory over their enemy.

Og King of Bashan Defeated; The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Numbers 21:33 Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”

Here YHWH gives them a word of encouragement; ‘do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand’. Was not the previous victory enough to carry them on? We learn from Deuteronomy 3 that:

Deuteronomy 3:1 (For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.)

Og was a remnant of the Rephaim, a giant whose bed was 13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide, and it was put on display by the Ammonites in Rabbah. This is exactly what ignited fear in the 10 spies:

Numbers 13:28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. …33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Rephaim, Anakim, Nephilim. Goliath was 9.5’ tall (1Sam17:4). Giants. ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand’. When David faced Goliath he understood

1 Samuel 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, …that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

‘The battle belongs to YHWH. That the earth may know that there is a God in Israel’

Numbers 21:35 So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

Deuteronomy 3 records

Deuteronomy 3:4 And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. 6 And we devoted them to destruction, …

A Greater Purpose: The Fame of the Name of YHWH

These lands east of the Jordan were given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. But there was a greater purpose in all this.

Deuteronomy 2:24 ‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

YHWH making a name for himself; In Joshua 2, Rahab told the spies:

Joshua 2:9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

The people of Gibeon deceived Israel into making a covenant with them:

Joshua 9:9 …because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

God is glorified when he triumphs over his enemies, when he extends mercy to those who turn to him, and when his people rejoice and sing. Psalm 135 says:

Psalm 135:8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast; 9 who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants; 10 who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, 12 and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel. 13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. 14 For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.

The fame of the name of YHWH, his renown endures forever. YHWH vindicates his people, and has compassion on his servants.

God’s fame, his renown, is put on display most eloquently in the name above every name (Phil.2), the name of Jesus, who humbled himself to become human, to become obedient to death, even death on a cross, to rescue rebels. He was lifted up on a cross, so that whoever would acknowledge their need for him, look to him for rescue, would be given the gift of eternal life.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

06/16 Philippians 3:12-13; Held and Taking Hold; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240616_philippians-3_12.mp3

Paul has made it clear in Philippians 3 that his greatest treasure, his primary pursuit, his ruling desire, is to know Christ and be found in him. He had his own righteousness according to the law, but he counts it as loss, worthless, excrement, in comparison with the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, gaining Christ, being found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but the righteousness from God that depends on faith. He is eager to know Christ fully, to know experientially the power of his resurrection, to enter in to the fellowship of his sufferings, to have his life conformed to the self-sacrificial love expressed most clearly in Jesus’ death for others.

Salvation Already and Not Yet

Paul pointed to justification in verse 9, God’s declaring a sinner to be righteous because of being found in Jesus. He points us to the process of ongoing salvation (or sanctification) in verse 10; experiencing the resurrection power of new birth; being made alive in Christ. He points to experiencing intimacy with Jesus through sharing in his sufferings, our lives beginning to take the shape of his self-sacrificial death for others. And he points us forward to his future hope; if somehow he might attain to the resurrection out from among the dead. Paul is not presumptuous; God’s promises are sure, but he is not there yet. For Paul and for us the final resurrection is still a future hope.

Paul wants to make it clear that he’s not there yet. He’s not done yet. It’s not over yet. Paul is in prison, the finish line is in view; he doesn’t know if he will live on in the flesh, which would mean fruitful labor, or to depart and be with Christ, which is far better (Phil.1:22-23); but whatever is coming, he is not going to ease up or slow his pace; he is stretching forward with every sinew to seize the prize.

But it is not already in his possession. He has not already obtained.

Listen to how Paul puts it in this passage:

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Do you hear how he describes the Christian life? Does this sound like a life characterized by sitting back, relaxing, coasting? He describes it as pressing on, pursuing, taking hold or grasping, straining forward, fully engaged eager pursuit of the prize. For Paul, the Christian life is not over; it is just begun. Now is not the time to relax and coast, now is the time to press forward and earnestly pursue.

Take Hold [ἔλαβον] and Fully Take Hold [καταλάβω]

Paul repeats some important words in these verses, and it would be easy to miss the connections in our English translations.

This word ‘obtained’ means to take or to receive. But Paul repeats a compound form of this word 3 times in verses 12 and 13. He attaches an intensifying prefix meaning ‘fully’; to fully obtain or take hold of. Here’s a translation that attempts to bring out this repetiton;

Not that I have already taken hold …

but I pursue if I might even fully take hold

for which I was even fully taken hold of by Christ

brothers, I myself do not consider that I have fully taken hold

Range of Meaning

The New Testament was written in Greek. Words in Greek (or any other language) have a range of meanings, and can be used differently in differing contexts; it is helpful to look at the different ways a word is used to get the full flavor of a word and help to determine what might be the best translation in a particular context. This is one reason different translations differ slightly in how they carry the meaning over into English, and why it can be helpful to read different translations to get a fuller understanding.

This compound word ‘fully take hold’ or in the ESV ‘made it my own’ shows up 15 times in the New Testament. In Mark 9:18 it is used of an unclean spirit seizing or taking hold of a person. John 1 we will come back to look at in a minute; in John 8:3-4 the scribes and Pharisees bring Jesus a woman who was seized or caught in the act of adultery; they took hold of her and brought her before Jesus. John 12:35 Jesus warns of the darkness overtaking you. Acts 4:13, 10:34, and 25:25 use the verb more figuratively of perceiving or understanding; taking full hold of mentally. Romans 9:30 and 1 Corinthians 9:24 use it similarly to Philippians in the context of pursuing something in order to take hold or attain it. Ephesians 3:14 Paul uses it in his prayer that we may have strength to comprehend or fully take hold of mentally together with all the saints the surpassing love of Christ for us. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 uses it similar to Jesus in John 12 of the day of the Lord not surprising or overtaking us as if we were in darkness. So the word can carry meaning ranging from physically apprehending someone; seizing them, to more metaphorically being overtaken by and surprised by something, to grasping or apprehending mentally.

Fully Take Hold in John 1 [κατέλαβεν]

John 1:5 is notoriously difficult to nail down which of these meanings fits the context best, probably because John seems to like to choose words that have a range of meanings and intend to communicate all of them. John 1 speaks of Jesus the eternal Word and says;

John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome [κατέλαβεν; fully taken hold of] it.

English versions translate the word in John 1 as ‘comprehend, apprehend, overcome, overpower, overtake, master, extinguish, suppress, put out, defeat, understand, grasp, or perceive’. These are all within the range of meanings of this word within the context of light shining in the darkness. The contexts helps to shed some light on John’s use of this word; he goes on in verse 9

John 1:9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive [παρέλαβον] him. 12 But to all who did receive [ἔλαβον] him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

John 1:11 uses a compound with a different prefix; to take in or receive near; verse 12 uses the base word to take hold of or to receive, and puts it parallel to believing in Jesus or knowing Jesus. So darkness not fully taking hold of the light seems to mean people not knowing or recognizing Jesus, not receiving him in, not believing in him.

We see a similar thread in John 3:19

John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Darkness not taking full hold of the light means not loving the light, it means people not receiving, believing in, knowing, or loving Jesus.

Taking Hold and Being Perfected [τετελείωμαι]

In Philippians 3:12 Paul puts the base word ‘take hold’ in parallel to being perfected. He has not already received or taken hold and is not already perfected. The immediate context is the hope of future resurrection out from among the dead, but in the broader context this hope of future resurrection is the final and full climax of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, gaining Christ and being found in him. So this being perfected, this taking hold that Paul says is ‘not yet’ is a taking hold in the sense he describes in 1 Corinthians 13;

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

It is what John describes in 1 John 3;

1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

It is what Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 3

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

We are being transformed by beholding Jesus, but we do not yet see him face to face, so we are not yet what we will be when we see him as he is. But this is what Paul is pursing; the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, knowing him in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ultimately attaining to the resurrection from the dead, ultimately knowing him fully even as he is fully known.

This is what Paul says that he is pursuing; he is pressing on if even to fully take hold, fully grasp, fully apprehend.

Pursuing and Taking Hold

This word for pursuing points to an intense and purposeful going after. In the negative sense, it is often translated ‘persecute’. It can be used of pursuit in hunting or in military contexts. The Greek translation of Exodus 15 uses both these words for pursuing and fully taking hold to describe the intention of Pharaoh’s army in pursuit of God’s people through the Red Sea;

Exodus 15:9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

Paul once was purposefully going after Christians and ultimately Christ, seeking to persecute, to destroy. Now he was purposefully pursuing the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and being found in him.

Being Fully Taken Hold Of By Christ [κατελήμφθην]

But his pursuit of fully grasping Christ is grounded on and a response to a prior act; he presses on to seize Christ because Christ Jesus has already fully taken hold of Paul.

Paul recounts being apprehended by Christ in Acts 26

Acts 26:9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. 12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles— to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Paul was fully apprehended, fully laid hold of by Christ. He was not pursuing Christ, he was persecuting him. He was interrupted in his pursut and completely re-directed. He was blinded so that he could truly begin to see. And he was commissioned to open the eyes of the blind. His understanding of righteousness was radically altered; no longer through law-keeping, but through forgiveness and faith in Jesus.

Because of he had been fully apprehended by Jesus, he made it his pursuit if possible to fully know Christ.

Paul’s language of uncertainty is no doubt of God’s faithfulness to his promises; rather it is a realistic acknowledgment that the promises are still future and not yet fully realized, and a humble distrust of self.

Jesus said:

We are securely held in God’s omnipotent grasp, the grasp of the Son and the Father together. It is because of this that we can purposefully pursue fully grasping him, while humbly acknowledging that we will not know him fully as we are fully known, until we see him face to face.

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Have you been apprehended by Christ? Has he fully taken hold of you?

What is your life’s pursuit? What is your driving passion? Is there anything more valuable than taking hold of Christ?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

06/09 Philippians 3:11; The ‘IF’ of the Resurrection; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240609_philippians-3_11.mp3

Paul gives us his flawless resume in Philippians 3:4-6, but he concludes that whatever righteousness he had attained by means of law-keeping, he considered loss, a liability, offensive filth, compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. He counted it valueless compared with being found in Christ, not having his own righteousness derived from the law, but a righteousness that is based on faith, believing, receiving the promises of God given to us in Christ.

He goes on in verse 10 to express the incomparable worth of knowing Christ in terms of his life-giving resurrection power, supernatural power that allows us to experience suffering as fellowship with Jesus, and allows us to view this life as an opportunity in humility to lay down one’s life in service for the good of others; to view this conformity to Christ’s self-sacrificial death as great gain.

Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. … 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Resurrection Out From Among The Dead ἐξανάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν

Paul points to future bodily resurrection of believers in verse 11. He uses an unique word for resurrection; he prefixes the word ‘out of’ to the usual word for resurrection; it is a being raised out of, and he adds a clarifying phrase ‘out of’ or ‘out from among the dead’. His language fits well with teaching elsewhere that specifies that ‘the dead in Christ will rise first’ (1Thess.4:16); that ‘Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!’ (Rev.20:6); this is in contrast to ‘The rest of the dead’ who ‘did not come to life until the thousand years were ended’ which is also called ‘the second death’ (Rev.20:5-6, 14).

For Paul, knowing Christ begins with experiencing the transforming power of his resurrection in the new birth, and then moves into a fellowship in his sufferings, being conformed to his death, and this results in bodily physical resurrection out from among the dead.

If Somehow [εἴ πως]

What is startling about what Paul says here is the measure of uncertainty he introduces into his hope of future resurrection. He uses the word ‘if’. ‘If somehow’ (NASB) or ‘if by any means’ (KJV) I might attain to the resurrection from the dead. What does Paul mean by ‘if somehow’?

Paul uses phrase ‘if somehow’ in Romans 1:10 in his prayers, asking ‘if somehow’ in the will of God he might visit Rome.

He uses it again in Romans 11:14, where he magnifies his apostolic ministry to Gentiles in order to make Israel jealous, ‘if somehow’ to save some of them.

This phrase is used in Acts 27:12,

Acts 27:12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

Even though ‘the voyage was now dangerous’ because of the time of year, and in spite of Paul’s warning that the voyage would end with much loss, the majority chose to set sail, ‘if somehow’ they could attain to a more suitable harbor. We know how this ended, and the ‘if somehow’ was certainly not a sure bet. It is interesting that this passage uses not only the ‘if somehow’ phrase, but also the word ‘loss’ (27:10) that Paul used in Phil.3:7-8, and the same words ’reach’ or ‘attain to’ as the desired goal of ‘if somehow’ (27:12; Phil.3:11).

Paul’s hope, his goal, his desire is to reach, to attain to the resurrection of the dead. But why does he frame this in a way that implies that there is at least the possibility that it won’t happen?

Disqualified; Vain Believing

It will be helpful to see that this is not the only place that he raises the possibility of failure on his part. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says that he lays down his own rights, voluntarily becomes a servant to others, for the good of others.

1 Corinthians 9:23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Paul recognizes the danger of disqualification, so he disciplines himself so that he will not be disqualified but will obtain the blessings of the gospel that he preaches. There is a real danger of disqualification, and Paul is intentional about avoiding that danger, and invites us also to run so that we may obtain the prize.

Later in 1 Corinthians 15, where he reminds us of the gospel, the good news of Christ crucified for our sins and raised in victory, he says:

The gospel is a message to be proclaimed. It is a message to be received. But it is to be received in a way that it effects lasting change. It is a message that we plant our feet in, a message that saves us – it changes us. It is a message we hold fast to. There is such a thing as believing in a vain, empty, worthless way, a mere mental assent to the facts of the gospel, without embracing Jesus as your greatest treasure, in a way that it doesn’t change you. This is a warning. There is a real danger. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom.1:16) … unless you believed in vain.

In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul exhorts us to

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

You see the self-distrust here, the honest acknowledgment of the possibility that we are phony, outside of Christ. The need for straight-forward self-assessment and self-examination. The danger of self-deception is real. So test yourselves.

Jesus and Endurance

This teaching is not original to Paul. It is rooted in Jesus’ own teaching. In Matthew 13 (Mk.4; Lk.8) Jesus taught about different responses to the word. One hears the word and does not understand it.

Matthew 13:20 … one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

Matthew 13:22 …one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

These are three different ways to heart the word in a worthless way that proves unfruitful. Hearing without understanding and the word is snatched away. Hearing and receiving with joy, but walking away when things get hard. Hearing but allowing the cares of the world and desire for prosperity choke out the word. There is only one who hears the word and understands it and bears fruit. Jesus said ‘the one who endures to the end will be saved’ (Mt.10:22).

Is Endurance Up To Us?

What does this mean? Does it mean that our salvation is ultimately up to us, based on our performance, contingent on our own ability to keep the faith? If this is what Paul means, it would flatly contradict what is taught clearly in the rest of Scripture, and even in this passage.

The whole point of this passage is that Paul was pleased with his own performance; but he came to count his performance as worthless compared to knowing Christ. He counted his own righteousness from the law as rubbish, and instead pursued a righteousness that comes through faith in the finished work of another. The one thing he pursued was knowing Christ and being found in him. His embrace of suffering and sacrifice was to enjoy fellowship with Jesus, not to earn points. His longing for the resurrection was a longing for the final step in knowing Christ, no longer through a glass darkly, but face to face (1Cor.13:12). Paul had come to understand that all the points he earned that he once considered gains were liabilities that he had to let go of and flush, because they were in the way of knowing Jesus.

In Philippians 1, Paul said

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Where is the works in this verse? It is God’s work from beginning to end. He began the good work, he will bring it to completion. We are a work in progress, but it is not our work; ultimately it is God’s work.

Paul does talk about our obedience and our work in Philippians 2

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Obey. Work out your own salvation. This sounds like it is up to us. But he grounds our work on a prior work of God.

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We can only work because God is at work in us. We work only because God works in us the will to work. We work, but God initiates and sustains that work. We work, but it is because he began the work in us and will bring it to completion.

This fits what he says here; knowing Jesus is the one thing of surpassing worth. Knowing Jesus means knowing the power of his resurrection. That is first. We were dead, unable to do anything. We must experience his death-defeating life-giving resurrection power. Only by his transforming power can we know him in the fellowship of his sufferings, only by his resurrection power can our lives begin to take the shape of his self-sacrificial death for others.

Based on the whole thrust of the passage, the ‘If’ cannot put us back under a system of earning our resurrection by some effort on our part.

Romans 8

Romans 8 holds some similarities with this passage in Philippians;

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Notice the ‘if’s’? If you live according to the flesh, you will die. If you live by the Spirit, if you do battle not in your own strength, but in the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit, you will live. These are real contingencies, real ‘if’s’. But he goes on:

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Notice the contingencies combined with confidence? ‘You have received the Spirit of adoption.’ ‘We are children of God’. ‘We share in the inheritance.’ And then comes the ‘if’; if indeed we suffer with him in order that we also are glorified together with him. The resurrection glory is contingent on suffering with Christ. Jesus confidently asserted to his followers ‘If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you’ (Jn.15:20); ‘In the world you will have tribulation’ (Jn.16:33).

Romans 8 puts contingencies together with confidence, and Romans 8 is also where we find the unbreakable chain of God’s bringing to completion what he begins in us; ‘29 those whom he foreknew he also predestined … 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.’ (Rom.8:29-30).

Salvation is the work of God beginning to end. From foreknowledge to predestination to calling to justification to glorification, it is all God’s work. And it is as good as done because God started it. And yet there are real contingencies. If we live according to the flesh, we give evidence that we have not been predestined, called, justified. We give evidence that we are not children of God and have not received the Spirit of God.

In Hebrews 6, after a sobering warning of the danger of falling away, the author says

Hebrews 6:9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.

There are real warnings, real danger, real conditions, but this is coupled with real confidence, not in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.

The coming verses will help clarify how this all fits together.

Humble ‘IF’

Paul acknowledges with awe his own undeserving ‘if’. He doesn’t presume on grace. He is no longer leaning on his own ability. This is a humble ‘if’. He has learned to be suspicious of himself. This ‘if’ does not doubt God’s promises; it only doubts self.

If somehow. What does this ‘if’ require? More work on his part? No, it requires resurrection power at work in him. It requires him to begin to see differently, to have his blind eyes opened to count differently, to count Christ of surpassing worth. That is a work of the Spirit of God. It requires him to count his own righteousness as rubbish, and receive a righteousness not his own, a gift to be received through faith. It will require God’s persevering grace to keep him through every suffering, to keep his eyes on the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

05/26 Philippians 3:10; Knowing Him in Resurrection, Suffering and Death; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240526_philippians-3_10.mp3

In Philippians 3, Paul gives us his resume, but concludes he has counted all his gains as loss, he counted everything as loss, he suffered the loss of all things, he counted it all rubbish.

All on account of Christ, on account of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of him, in order to gain Christ and be found in him. Paul was willing to trade it all in, to throw it all away because he found a treasure worth infinitely more.

He counted his own righteousness in the law, his own blameless performance, the righteousness that comes from the law, a liability, a loss. He counted it all loss in order to gain God’s righteousness, the righteousness that belongs to the one who is hidden in Christ, the righteousness that is his through believing in Jesus.

Knowing Him

In verse 10, he helps us understand this surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

To know Jesus is the one thing of surpassing worth. But what does it mean to know Christ? We have seen that this knowing is much more than knowing about Christ. Knowing him is knowing a person, which means relationship. It means intimacy. It means mutual sharing, fellowship, communing. This is relational; knowing and being known.

There are two aspects of knowing Jesus that Paul brings out in this verse. They are knowing power and knowing fellowship. Knowing Jesus means both knowing the power of his resurrection and knowing the fellowship of his suffering.

Why Resurrection Before Suffering?

Why do these things appear in this order? Why resurrection, then suffering, then death? The natural order we expect would be to start with suffering, and move through death and into resurrection. That is how Jesus experienced them. Why does Paul put the power of his resurrection first, and conclude with suffering and death? This sequence is startling; is it significant?

Paul is talking here about knowing Christ, about relationship with Jesus, and we could argue that our journey with Jesus begins with resurrection. Look with me for a moment to Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Our natural condition is already dead. Dead men walking, walking in disobedience, following the demonic. Pursuing our own passions and desires. Dead, separated from God, deserving his wrath. That’s where we all start.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Our journey with Jesus begins with us already dead, and God in loving mercy and rescuing grace makes us alive. That is resurrection power! That is where we start with Jesus. 2 Corinthians describes this resurrection as a kind of new creative act of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4 …the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. …6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God spoke light and life into darkness and death. This is a poweful creative act. This is resurrection power.

Back in Ephesians 1, Paul paralleled the language he used in Ephesians 2 when he prayed:

Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

We need supernatural light given to us in order to perceive the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, resurrection power that takes those dead in their transgressions and sins and makes us alive and raises us up and seats us with Christ in the heavenlies. This is where our experience with Jesus, our knowing Christ begins. With our resurrection.

Knowing Him in The Power of His Resurrection

This helps us understand what it means to know the power of his resurrection. We know it, not in the sense of a mere understanding of what it is, not only a future hope like Martha expressed to Jesus at her brother’s funeral ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day’ (Jn.11:24); Paul talks about that in verse 11. But we know his resurrection power experientially. We have tasted it. For us it is a present reality.

This resurrection power that was at work preventing Jesus’ corpse from decaying, the body who bore the full weight of God’s wrath in punishment toward my sin, the power that brought that body back to life, gave real physical human life after death; a body that still bore the marks of crucifixion, but could now eat and drink and be touched and appear in a locked room, and ultimately could ascend to the right hand of his Father, and be seated on his throne in glory. That resurrection power is the same power that is at work in us today.

We have tasted this resurrection power because we were dead, and God made us alive. Paul writes in Romans 6

Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

You see the parallel he draws in this verse? He doesn’t say ‘just as Christ was raised from the dead, so we too one day will be raised from the dead’. No, he is looking at our present reality, the life transforming resurrection power presently at work in us who believe, that enables and equips us to walk today in newness of life. He goes on in Romans 8 to say:

Here he names this resurrection power that is resident in us. It is the Spirit of the triune God, who now lives in every one who belongs to Jesus, who is able to give life to these mortal bodies, to empower us to walk today in step with the Holy Spirit. This is Holy Spirit resurrection power that we can know experientially today.

Knowing Him in The Fellowship of His Suffering

This understanding of knowing him in the power of his resurrection also helps us understand what it means then to know him in the fellowship of his suffering, and why this comes after knowing the power of his resurrection. If we have immeasurably great Holy Spirit power at work in us today, we have this power to enable us to enter in to fellowship with Jesus through suffering.

We need resurrection power to enter into suffering redemptively.

Suffering does not necessarily lead to fellowship with Jesus. Suffering can destroy people, make them bitter, resentful, angry. It is not merely the fact that we suffer that gives us a deeper intimacy with Jesus. It is the resurrection power that allows us to experience suffering as fellowship with Jesus.

Peter tells us:

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Peter tells followers of Jesus not to be surprised when fiery trials and suffering comes our way. Jesus said “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you (Jn.15:20).” Suffering should not surprise the follower of Jesus. Rather, he says, we ought to rejoice, because this is a fellowship in Christ’s sufferings.

1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Peter uses the same words for sharing or fellowship in suffering that Philippians uses. Peter tells us that there is suffering that Christians experience that is ‘according to God’s will’ and suffering that brings glory to God. It is not the mere fact of suffering, but why we are suffering and how we respond to suffering that brings glory to God. What better way to let your light shine among men so that they see your good works and glorify your Father (Mt.5:16; 1Pet.2:12) than to embrace suffering for the joy of fellowship with Jesus? That is Holy Spirit resurrection power on display!

Paul exhorts Timothy

2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

‘Share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God’. Suffering that brings glory to God is suffering endured in the advance of the gospel. Paul’s suffering was because of his appointment as preacher and apostle and teacher of the good news. Suffering that glorifies God is suffering endured ‘by the power of God’. This suffering revolves around ‘our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel’; this is resurrection power to share in suffering for the sake of the gospel.

Knowing Him in Being Conformed To His Death

This knowing him in the power of his resurrection and in the fellowship of his suffering culminates in being conformed to his death. What does it mean to be conformed to his death? Does that mean we must all become martyrs? This word ‘conform’ echoes back to Philippians 2, where Paul used the root of this word to describe Jesus, who ‘being in the form of God, humbled himself by taking the form of a servant’ This word ‘form’ is the root word of the compound ‘conformed’. To call us to be formed after the pattern of Jesus’ death is to call us to have the mind of Christ; ‘in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not to his own interests, but to the interests of others (Phil.2:3-5). It is to die to ourselves, to our own interests. Through love in humility to serve others.

God’s life transforming resurrection power has raised us up to newness of life, so we joyfully embrace suffering in the advance of the good news of Jesus, so we die to ourselves in humble service to others. In all this we taste a deep and real fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ; we begin to know him as we walk with him, as we allow him to live through us.

How do we know we are on the right track in our understanding what it is to know Jesus in resurrection, suffering and death?

This is the pattern of Jesus that is held up to us in chapter 2. And we are given the example of Paul;

Philippians 2:17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

And the example of Timothy;

Philippians 2:20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

And the example of Epaphroditus,

Philippians 2:25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, … 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

The Philippians themselves had fellowship or partnership with Paul in the gospel; they were partakers or fellow-partners with him of grace in his suffering in the advance of the gospel (Phil.1:5, 7)

This is what it looks like to find intimacy with Jesus, to know him in the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/19 Shavuot (Pentecost); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240519_pentecost.mp3

He is Risen! (He is Risen indeed!) Y’all look a little confused. Do you know what day it is? Today is Shavuot (which means weeks). Do you remember back to resurrection Sunday? Seem like a long time ago? That was a week of weeks or seven weeks ago. Leviticus 23 lays out the feasts of Israel, starting with Passover (which we now celebrate as Good Friday, and then Firstfruits, which was the day after the Sabbath, the Sunday following Passover (Jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection). Leviticus 23 goes on to describe Shavuot

Leviticus 23:15 “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. 16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD. 17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD. …

Seven sevens after Sunday firstfruits of barley was another Sunday presentation of firstfruits, this time the first of the wheat harvest. Why does this matter?

Jesus’ 40 Days of Appearing

Luke begins his Acts of the Apostles this way:

Think back to resurrection Sunday. Think about what you did that day. Think about any conversations you might have had. Think about how many conversations you have had since. Jesus appeared to his disciples during the forty days following his resurrection. ‘He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs’. The resurrected Jesus spent time with his disciples before he ascended to the right hand of his Father.

Acts 1:9 describes ascension Thursday, 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection:

Acts 1:9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Pentecost Fully Fulfilled

Jesus ascended to the right hand of his Father, having finished the work he sent him to do. Ten days later, Acts 2 reads:

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

Pentecost is the Greek name for the Hebrew holy day Shavuot; it means ‘fifty’ because it is the fiftieth day after Resurrection Sunday, or the Firstfruits that fell within Passover week.

Luke uses an interesting word that is translated ‘arrived’; the KJV translates it ‘when the day of Pentecost was fully come.’ Young’s Literal Translation reads ‘the day of the Pentecost being fulfilled’. This word filled or fulfilled means ‘to fully fill, to fill completely, to accomplish’, or ‘to complete’. Only Luke uses this word; it is found here and in two places in his gospel, once in Luke 8:23 of the boat being fully filled, and again in 9:51 he speaks of the days being fulfilled for Jesus to be taken up, as he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Earlier in Luke 9, on the Transfiguration mount, Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah about his Exodus he was about to fulfill at Jerusalem. At the end of Luke’s gospel, Jesus:

Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

15 times Matthew says something like

Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

Jesus said:

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Luke is pointing us to the fact that the feasts of Israel were prophetic, pointing to Jesus, and that they were fulfilled in Jesus. ‘Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed’ (1Cor.5:7). Christ the firstfruits of the resurrection (1Cor.15:20, 23). When the day of Pentecost was fully fulfilled…

Pentecost and Sinai

So what was Shavuot or Pentecost, and in what way was it fulfilled? Jews throughout much of history connect Shavuot with God’s giving the Law at Sinai after the Exodus. They calculate 50 days from Firstfruits after the original Passover event to Moses receiving the law, God’s covenant contract with his people.

Exodus 19:16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Moses received the covenant documents outlining the conditions of the relationship, as well as detailed instructions on the construction of the Tabernacle, God’s tent where he would dwell in the middle of his people. God appeared on Mount Sinai in fire. When the Tabernacle (and later the Temple) was completed, God’s glory cloud descended and filled the tabernacle and rested on it in fire (Num.9:15-16). The fire was an indication of God’s presence there.

Pentecost and the Spirit

Keep this in mind as we jump back to Acts. In Acts 1, Jesus

Acts 1:4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

John had said:

Luke 3:16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The disciples seem most interested in Israel and the coming kingdom.

Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

But God’s purpose for Israel was that they would be his witnesses, a light to the nations (Is.43:10; 49:6).

Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus commissions his disciples to be his witnesses, a light to the nations, to bring his message of salvation to the ends of the earth. But wait. Wait for the promise of the Father. Wait for the promised Holy Spirit. Wait to receive enabling power from the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Tongues of fire divided and rested on each of them. Acts 1 lists the 11 Apostles, but it also mentions the women and Mary and Jesus’ brothers. We are not told if the fire rested only on the Apostles, or on the entire group of about 120. Either way, do you see what is happening here? Jesus has inaugurated the New Covenant in his blood (Lk.22:20); he has created a New Covenant people, and he has put his Holy Spirit in them. The fire that indicated God’s presence on Mount Sinai, and on the Tabernacle and Temple now divides and rests on individual believers.

In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul switches from an agricultural (seed planting) metaphor to a construction metaphor.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

He says that we are God’s building and he warns us to take care how we build because our work will be revealed by fire. Then he says:

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

You all are God’s temple. We may not see visible tongues of fire, but now believers in Jesus are a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph.2:20-22). God has created a New Covenant community, the church, no longer under the old covenant law which cannot change the heart, but now empowered by the Holy Spirit who transforms believers from the inside out.

Multi-Ethnic Community

Because Pentecost was one of the three pilgrim feasts where attendance in Jerusalem was required, Jews from everywhere were gathered.

Acts 2:5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Where God scattered man in rebellion against him at Babel, confusing their languages, here he brings people of diverse languages and cultures together supernaturally to hear the good news.

Peter proclaimed the good news:

Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. … 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. … 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Peter exhorted them to turn and believe, receive forgiveness and be baptized.

Acts 2:41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

The rest of the book of Acts follows the outline Jesus gave when he commissioned his disciples to make disciples of every nation; in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The gospel crossed ethnic and cultural barriers, and brought Jew and Gentile together into one body.

Jesus’ promise ‘I will build my church’ (Mt.16:18) began at Pentecost. It is still going on today.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

05/12 Philippians 3:9; Competing Righteousnesses ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240512_philippians-3_9.mp3

Paul’s greatest treasure, the thing he longed for, what he pursued more than anything, the one thing he valued above every other thing, the one thing of surpassing worth was ‘knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’; to gain Christ, to be found in him.

In verse 9 he clarifies what it means to be found in Christ.

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Paul defines being ‘found in Christ’ in terms of competing righteousnesses; Not having my own righteousness, the ‘of law’ kind of righteousness, but the ‘through faith in Christ’ kind of righteousness; the ‘of God’ righteousness, the ‘on faith’ righteousness.

What Is Righteousness?

In order to better understand these competing righteousnesses that Paul refers to here, we first need to understand what righteousness is. And for that we need to go back to the law. God said in Exodus 23:

Exodus 23:6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

Righteousness is a justice issue. The context is the lawcourt. It is about right judgment. ‘Innocent’ is put parallel to ‘righteous’; the righteous one is one who is cleared or acquitted as innocent. It is not right to punish the one who is righteous. Neither is it right to justify or acquit or exonerate the wicked. A just judge must justify the just, and condemn evildoers. Right judgment is to declare righteous those who are in the right. It is a wicked judge who takes a bribe and condemns the innocent or clears the guilty. The LORD says ‘I will not acquit, justify, declare righteous the wicked.’

So righteousness is a justice issue. The one who is righteous is the one who is in the right, who has done no wrong, who is innocent.

Competing Righteousnesses

Keep that in mind when we look at what Paul says about these competing righteousnesses.

He lays out the contrasts between these competing righteousnesses; on one side he says it is ‘my righteousness’; it ‘of the law’ – it belongs to the law, finds its source in the law. On the other side, it is the righteousness that is through faith in Christ, righteousness that belongs to God and finds its source in God, a righteousness that is founded upon the faith.

My Righteousness

We understand the righteousness that is ‘my righteousness’ the righteousness that is ‘of the law’. The one who does what the law requires, who does not do what the law forbids would have an inherent righteousness that that one could call his own.

Paul tells us in Romans 2

Romans 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Those who do the law, who keep the law, who obey the law are righteous in themselves, and they will be justified or declared righteous. God must recognize them as righteous who are in truth righteous.

James makes it clear that God doesn’t grade on a curve. He says in:

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

60% is not barely passing. 75% is not a C. Righteousness is pass/fail. 99% is falling short of the perfect standard. It’s a fail.

Paul claims to have this kind of righteousness; this is the one side of his contrast. He just finished reading us his resume, and he concluded in verse 6 ‘according to righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.’ Blameless! Paul claims to have his own righteousness which is from the law.

Paul’s resume of his righteousness consists of outward measurable conformity to the righteous standards of the law. If he were called in to the court of the Pharisees and they started calling witnesses, all would attest to Paul’s righteousness. There was no observable inconsistency, no outward shortcoming that anyone could point to. Paul is confident that were he called before the council, he would be found blameless.

Paul is not claiming sinlessness. According to God, who sees the heart, Paul says ‘none is righteous, no not one’ (Rom.3:10); ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Rom.3:23). He concurs with the Psalmist:

Psalm 130:3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Paul had a righteousness of his own, a righteousness that comes from the law. But what did he do with that righteousness? How did he count it?

How do you feel about your good works? Paul had come to value his own accomplishments, his own resume, his own righteousness according to the law as rubbish, trash, feces, filth; offensive.

Paul counted his own righteousness as loss, a liability. He purged this righteousness that was his own, that was from the law, from his heart. His own righteousness became less than nothing, a liability. He jettisoned his own righteousness …for what?

The Righteousness of Christ

Philippians 3:7 …for the sake of Christ. 8 …because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake …in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Paul forsook his own righteousness in order to gain a different kind of righteousness. The first thing we notice about this righteousness is that it is a righteousness that was not his own. It didn’t belong to him, it didn’t come from him, it didn’t originate in him. It came from outside, it was a righteousness that belonged to someone else. It was a foreign, an alien righteousness. It was not intrinsic to him, it was extrinsic. It was a righteousness that had nothing to do with him.

It also had nothing to do with the law. It had nothing to do with performance or merit. It wasn’t a righteousness rooted in his resume. It was totally unrelated to how well or how poorly he adhered to the standards of the law. It was a righteousness utterly unrelated to and different from righteousness of the kind that came out of the law; he already had that, and had counted it loss and rubbish.

Righteousness Through Believing

This righteousness was a righteousness that came to him through faith in Christ. It was a righteousness that was his through believing, through trusting, through depending. This righteousness was righteousness received as a gift, through a promise believed.

Romans points us to ‘the righteousness of God revealed from faith for faith’ (1:17). Romans 4 also contrasts the righteousness of works and the righteousness that comes as a gift through faith.

Romans 4:2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

This is the righteousness Paul is pursuing; a righteousness not rooted in performance, not wages for work done, but a gift given to all who don’t work but believe. An alien righteousness credited to those who believe God’s promise to justify the ungodly.

The Problem of God Justifying the Ungodly

This is where the problem comes in. To justify is to give the legal verdict of righteousness, to acquit or exonerate, to declare righteous. But we already saw that God will not acquit the wicked, and this sounds exactly like what God is doing in Romans 4, God who justifies the ungodly.

Proverbs 17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

This casts a question mark on the character of God. How can he be just and the justifier of the sinner who simply believes? The next verses in Romans 4 help to clarify;

Romans 4:6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

God counting a person righteous apart from works is connected to his forgiving, sin covering grace. But how? If we back up to Romans 3, Paul answers this very question.

We saw Romans 3 declare ‘None is righteous, no not one.’ Romans 3 goes on to say

Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. …

This is the competing righteousness that Philippians talks about; the righteousness of God apart from the law, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus for all who believe.

Remember no one is righteous, no not one. Paul claimed an observable righteousness connected to his blameless lawkeeping, but before God he fell short just like the rest of us.

Romans 3:22 …For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

There it is! Justified by grace (that means we don’t deserve it) as a gift (it is not earned). It comes through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. To be found in Jesus is to be in his own purchased possession, to be hidden in him. And here’s that great word propitiation! Jesus’ blood poured out as the once-for-all sacrifice that satisfies the wrath of God against my sin. God’s just punishment poured out on Jesus in my place, forgiveness purchased at infinite cost, given to me freely as a gift, received simply by believing, trusting, depending on him, his word, his promise.

In Romans 10 Paul speaks of his fellow Jews, who like him were:

Romans 10:3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

Law righteousness requires perfect obedience. We seek to establish our own righteousness, but in so doing we refuse to submit to God’s righteousness, the righteousness that comes through faith, to everyone who believes. Paul’s goal is to be found in Christ; we either cling to our own righteousness and forfeit Christ, or cling to Christ and forfeit our own righteousness. Which will it be?

Receiving Righteousness By Faith

Are you ready to count that which was gain to you as loss for the surpassing worth of gaining Christ? How do we receive this righteousness of God through faith?

Romans 10:6 But the righteousness based on faith …8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Those who are ashamed are those who are trusting in their own righteousness, and they find out that all their righteous deeds are like an unclean garment (Is.64:6). Those who will never be ashamed are those who are trusting in the righteousness of another.

Isaiah 53 says of Jesus:

We are counted righteous in Christ, because the Father’s wrath was satisfied in Jesus, because he bore my sins in his body on the cross. And now,

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…

Clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Philippians 3:6 …as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Are you clinging to your own righteousness? If so, you are not in him. Are you willing to forfeit your own righteousness and cling to Christ today?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/28 Philippians 3:8-9; Found In Him; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240428_philippians-3_8-9.mp3

What does it mean to be in Christ? The Bible says a lot about believing in Jesus; it is the only requirement for salvation; repent, turn from what you were trusting in and believe the gospel. But what does it mean to be ‘in Christ’? In this passage in Philippians, Paul counts it his greatest treasure to be found in Christ. What does it mean to be ‘found in him’? What is the big picture of what it means to be ‘in Christ’?

Change in Accounting

We have seen in this passage that Paul has every religious advantage, but he has learned to account differently. That which was a credit to him, an asset, a benefit, he counts rather as a liability. All his religious accomplishments were a dangerous source of potential pride, a source of boasting in the flesh.

Paul’s accounting has changed radically since he met the risen Lord. All his gains he counted as one big liability. Everything that was a gain to his confidence in the flesh he now counts as loss because he has found something of infinitely greater value; knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

This was not mere knowing of Christ or knowing about Christ. He says ‘knowing Christ’, a real knowledge of a real person, reciprocal -both knowing and being known, a real personal relationship. Intimacy, communion. Knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. He is the Lord, the sovereign, the one who holds all authority, Lord over all. But Paul owns Jesus as my Lord, the ultimate authority in my life, the one to whom I gladly bow, the one whom I serve. This relationship with Christ is the one thing of surpassing value, against which every other gain he counts as loss.

Actual Loss

Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, …

Paul not only counted every personal gain as loss because of Christ; he actually experienced the loss of all things. Once poster child for the Pharisees, hunting followers of Jesus, now himself a follower of the Jesus he once persecuted, his own turned against him. They sought his death, He suffered mob violence, was conspired against, forced to appeal to Roman law for protection from being handed over to his own countrymen, now imprisoned in Rome.

This gives indication of who was impressed by his credentials; confidence in the flesh earned him the applause of people who took confidence in the flesh, but God was not impressed by his self-righteousness. When he came to account his own self-righteous gains as losses, he lost the confidence of his peers who took confidence in the flesh. Paul experienced real loss; following Jesus cost him deeply. He literally lost it all on account of Jesus.

[σκύβαλον]

He lost it all, but he was now counting differently. Those fleshly confidences he now counted as [σκύβαλα]; refuse, rubbish, filth, feces. Paul had finally come to his senses, and realized that he had been holding up his own fleshly confidence like an impudent child holding up his own poopy diaper and waving it around in order to impress God with his own accomplishments.

What he had once put his confidence in, he now considered vile, repulsive, offensive. This word [σκύβαλον] may have as its root ‘that which is thrown to the dogs’. Dogs eat some disgusting things. Wild dogs were filthy, diseased, dangerous. They were indiscriminate as to what was clean or unclean. It is ironic that in verse 2 Paul warned against those who insisted that non Jewish believers in Jesus be put under Old Testament law, and called them ‘dogs’. Now he says that all his own righteous accomplishments he considers unclean, only worthy to be thrown to the dogs.

Gaining Christ

But Paul has a purpose in discarding his own accomplishments on the rubbish heap. He sees relationship with Jesus as that which is of surpassing worth, and his goal is to gain Christ. He once considered his good works as gain, but he now counts them as sewage in order to gain Christ. Gain is often used in the context of finances; Jesus tells in Matthew 25 of the servants entrusted with their master’s money, who traded and gained more. But ‘gain’ is also used relationally. Jesus in Matthew 18 says:

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Here gain is used of restoration of relationship. Both Paul (1Cor.9:19-23) and Peter (1Pet.3:1) use this word in the context of evangelism, loving and serving people in order to gain or win people with the gospel.

When Paul says his goal is to gain Christ he is not saying that he is able to acquire Christ as a possession he could put in his pocket, to spend when he needs it. He is speaking of a relationship restored.

Knowing Christ, gaining Christ, are different ways of saying that relationship with Jesus is the greatest treasure.

Found In Him

He says it another way in the next verse; ‘and be found in him’. To be found in Christ is another way to describe our relationship with Jesus. Being ‘in Christ’ it is a rich New Testament truth.

Jesus taught his followers about abiding in him in John 15, like a branch abides in the vine. He taught in John 6 that those who feed on his flesh and drink his blood abide in him and he in us (Jn.6:56).

A sermon series on the riches that are ours in Christ could fill up a whole year or more. Here’s just an short list of some of the things that belong to us because we are in Christ:

‘he chose us in him before the foundation of the world’ (Eph.1:4)
‘In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses’ (Eph.1:7; cf. 4:32; Rom.3:24; Col.1:14)
‘salvation that is in Christ Jesus’ (2Tim.2:10)
‘justified in Christ’ (Gal.2:16-17)
‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Rom.8:1-2)
‘freedom that we have in Christ Jesus’ (Gal.2:4; cf. Rom.8:2)
‘the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus’ (1Cor.1:4; cf. Eph.2:7; 2Tim.1:9; 2:1)
‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom.6:23; cf. 6:11; Jn.1:4; 1Jn.1:5; 2Tim.1:1)
‘in him you also, …were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Eph.1:13; cf. 1Jn.3:24; 4:13)
‘sanctified in Christ Jesus’ (1Cor.1:2)
‘in him we have obtained an inheritance’ (Eph.1:11; cf. Phil.3:14)
‘the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom.8:39; cf. 1Cor.15:24; Gal.5:6; 1Tim.1:14; 2Tim.1:13)
‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation’ (1Cor.5:17; cf. Eph.2:10)
‘in him all things hold together’ (Col.1:17; cf. Eph.1:10)
‘we, though many, are one body in Christ’ (Rom.12:5; cf. Gal.3:28; Eph.2:13, 21-22)
‘saints in Christ Jesus’ (Phi.1:1)
‘approved in Christ’ (Rom.16:10)
‘in every way you were enriched in him‘ (1Cor.1:5)
‘you have been filled in him’ (Col.2:10)
‘rooted and built up in him‘ (Col.2:7)
‘establishes us… in Christ‘ (2Cor.1:21)
‘in whom we have boldness and access with confidence’ (Eph.3:12)
‘in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Col.2:3; cf. Eph.4:21; 1Jn.2:8; 5:20)
‘all the promises of God find their Yes in him‘ (2Cor.1:19-20; Eph.3:6)
‘in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2Cor.5:21; cf. Phil.3:9)

Do you see why Paul counted every gain as loss in the face of what he had to gain by being found in Christ?

In Christ

What exactly does it mean to be ‘found in him’? I want to look together at a few passages that will help us grasp this awesome truth of what it means to be ‘in Christ’

Ephesians says a lot about being in Christ. But the first thing I want you to notice in Ephesians 1:1 is who the letter is addressed to. It is ‘to the saints who are in Ephesus’. What does it mean for the saints to be ‘in Ephesus’? Well, we know Ephesus was an ancient city in Asia Minor, and Paul had established a church there. To be ‘in Ephesus’ probably meant you lived there, or at least you happened to be found there when the letter from Paul arrived. ‘In Ephesus’ tells us about physical location. Now look down at Ephesians 1:3:

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

What does it mean that God has blessed us in the heavenly places in Christ? Ephesians 1:20 points to God’s awesome power

Ephesians 1:20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

First of all, God’s resurrection power was at work in Christ’s physical body. That is the sphere where his power was at work. Then the resurrected Jesus was seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenlies. That sounds like a physical location. But it’s described more as a position than a location; a position of authority; at God’s right hand; above every other authority that exists through time and space.

Let’s keep going in Ephesians 1:22-23;

Ephesians 1:22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Jesus’ authority over all things includes his authority over the church. But notice, Jesus is a gift given by the Father as head over all things to the church. And the church is not an entity outside of himself that he rules; it is connected to him, part of him. It is in him. The church is his body. We are in Christ, connected to him as branches to a vine, as a body to its head.

Now look at Ephesians 2:6, where God ‘made us alive together with Christ,’

Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

What is this talking about? This doesn’t seem to be pointing to our future physical resurrection. This is talking about our spiritual resurrection when we were dead in trespasses and sins. It says that God made us alive together with Christ (that’s the new birth, salvation by grace), and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places. Just as we were physically alive walking around in our sins and trespasses, but God says we were spiritually dead; so now we are spiritually given new life in Christ, and because we are identified spiritually as ‘in him’, we share in his current position of authority. This is not an out-of-body thing; this is not where we physically are; this is our position in Christ. Similar to the way the Ephesians lived in Ephesus, so the Christian lives in Christ and is found in Christ.

This is our union with Christ, our connection with Christ. Because we are inextricably united with Christ, because we have been made alive with Christ, raised up with him, seated with him, we have been given new eyes to perceive the spiritual blessings we have been blessed with through our union with Christ.

But our union with Christ didn’t start with our being made alive. Galatians 2:20 says:

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I was dead in trespasses and sins, and he died the death I deserved. The old me was united with him in his death, buried with him in baptism, and now a new me, a new creation is raised up with Christ.

Colossians 3 is another passage that sheds some light on this being ‘found in him’.

Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: …

You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Do you deserve to be raised up with Christ? Do you deserve to be seated at the right hand of God? Could you retain that position if you somehow got there?

Let me ask this; does Christ deserve to be raised up above every power, seated at his Father’s right hand? Could he possibly ever be dethroned? It is only by amazing grace, only by union with Christ that we are safe. This is why Paul is so joyfully willing to count every human effort as filth, if only he can be found in Christ, hidden in him.

Will you be found in him, hidden in him?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/21 Philippians 3:8; The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Christ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240421_philippians-3_8.mp3

[Phil.3:1] Paul is warning the church of Judaizers who push Torah observance on Gentile believers in Jesus. He reminds us to rejoice in the Lord, because when we are actively rejoicing in Jesus and the good news he secured for us on the cross, our joy in Jesus helps keep us safe from false teaching that would lead us astray – astray from the simplicity and clarity of the gospel. The gospel is simple; whoever comes to Jesus, whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life.

[Phil.3:2-3] Paul paints the law-righteousness group as indiscriminate dogs, evil workers, mere cutters of the flesh. He says we believers in Jesus, Jew and Gentile together, we are the true circumcision, the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. We worship the Father by the Spirit, we glory in Christ Jesus, we put no confidence in our own fleshly abilities or accomplishments.

[Phil.3:4-6] Paul cuts off any who might think that Paul loves grace so much because he just didn’t measure up, because he couldn’t handle the rigors of following the law, so he opted for an easier route. He says ‘if anyone has confidence in the flesh, I more.’ And he lists his resume; impeccable on every count. As to lineage, flawless. As to observance of the righteous standards of the law, faultless. He had a better lineage, a better performance record than any those who were promoting their false gospels. If anyone had anything to boast about, he had more. If anyone could have been justified before God by keeping the law, it would have been Paul.

A New Way of Counting

[Phil.3:3, 7] But Paul had learned a new way of accounting. What did he do with all his accomplishments? What did he do with his resume of religious righeousness under the law? He met the risen Jesus, the one he had been persecuting, and Jesus taught him to count differently. Although he had reason to trust in himself, he learned he must put his confidence only in Jesus. He had reason to glory in his flesh, but he must glory in, boast only in Jesus. His religious service had been performed in his own strength as a means to please God, but he experienced the Holy Spirit of God now creating genuine worship and service from his transformed heart.

He says ‘because of Jesus, whatever was gain to me, this I have reckoned loss’. He has come to consider it loss, because every gain he listed on his resume only kept him from acknowledging his need for Jesus and coming to Jesus for salvation.

Indeed

He expands this in verse 8. The English word ‘Indeed’ represents a stack of five Greek connecting words; we could translate it ‘but in fact then indeed even’ [ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε καὶ]. Paul likes to stack up words to emphasize his point. Paul tells us that not only did he finally come to count his ‘gains’ as losses on account of Christ; he continues to count everything that way. When he met the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, that encounter forever changed the way he viewed everything. It not only affected the way he viewed his past accomplishments, he continued to count everything that would be of advantage to his own righteousness a total loss.

We would emphatically agree that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, but we often feel that now that we are saved, we have a lot of work to do. No, Paul says this is an ongoing counting. I am not justified by faith and then seek to please God by my sanctified performance. As he said to the Galatians;

Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

The Danger of Good Deeds

Even after his conversion, Paul continued to count any good works he did as a dangerous source of pride in the face of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

Remember, what he is talking about are his good deeds. He doesn’t say he changed his mind and they were now considered bad deeds. It is not bad to be born an Israelite. It is not bad to be circumcised. It is not bad to pay careful attention to God’s word, to have passionate zeal for God, to pursue righteous obedience to God.

But even good things, if viewed as a means of gaining favor with God, become poisonous to our relationship with Jesus.

Our lists might be different from Paul’s, but we do the same kind of thing, don’t we? ‘I don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t chew, don’t go with girls who do; I don’t look at things I shouldn’t, I live a moral life, don’t litter, always obey the speed limit, attend church every Sunday and at least one midweek Bible study, I volunteer to clean and serve and take a moment to pray for everything posted on the prayer chain. I take a meal to people who need it, and talk about Jesus every time I get the chance. I get up early every morning and spend time reading my Bible and praying. All good things. But when the good things I do are viewed as my good works that make God look on me favorably, I am counting incorrectly. I need to look at all the good things I do as loss, as dangerous sources of pride that could cause me to turn away from Jesus and put confidence in my flesh.

Does this mean I should stop doing these things? No, not necessarily. It means I need to constantly be on guard against my inner accountant, who wants to tally up all the good things I do and hold them up and say ‘this is why I should be having a good day. This is why God should answer my prayers. Look at all the good things I’m doing for God. He should be more inclined toward me, because of all the things I am doing for him.’ That is not gospel thinking. That is not gospel accounting. Paul says he continually takes all the good things he does for God and puts a big warning label on them; ‘Danger! Put no confidence in these things. Do not boast in these things. Count all these things as loss not gain.’

The One Thing of Surpassing Worth

What could make Paul talk like this? He was willing to count all the good things he had going for him as loss, because he found something of surpassing worth. Jesus talked about finding ‘treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field’ (Mt.13:44). He sold everything he had. How? Not grudgingly. In his joy. Why joy? Because what he found was worth more than everything he had. He was willing to give up all to get the one thing. Jesus said:

Matthew 13:45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Jesus said to the man who claimed to have kept the commandments from his youth;

Mark 10:21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

There’s one thing. One thing of surpassing worth. But Jesus told this guy to do several things. He told him to sell everything he had. He told him to give to the poor. What’s the one thing? He told him to get rid of some of the things that were in the way of the one thing, to count them as loss compared to the one thing. Getting rid of the things in the way, counting them as loss is not the one thing. They were in the way of getting the one thing. What’s the one thing? Get rid of whatever’s in the way of coming to Jesus, following Jesus. Jesus is the one thing of surpassing worth.

Paul says:

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. …

The one thing of surpassing worth, the one thing against which all other things, even good things, are counted as loss is knowing Christ.

Knowing vs. Knowing About

Knowing Christ is more than merely knowing about Christ. Who is your favorite actor, musician or athlete? What do you know about them? You might be able to list their stats, their accomplishments, even things about their personal lives. You might be able to quote lines they have said, or even imitate some of their mannerisms. You might know a lot about them. But do you know them?

Knowing a person includes at least three kinds of knowledge; Real, relational, and reciprocal knowledge.

Real

When we talk about knowing and believing in Jesus, we need to be clear about what we mean. It is important to believe true things about Jesus, and to believe in the right Jesus. It is imporant to believe that Jesus is the uncreated creator of all that exists, equal to and in relationship with his Father. It is essential that we believe in Jesus as he defines himself to be in the Bible, and as his apostles authoritatively proclaimed him to be, not in a Jesus as any of the religions of the world paint him to be. We need to pursue real knowledge of the real historical Jesus. That is important, knowing and believing the right Jesus and the right things about Jesus. But that is not enough. James says ‘even the demons believe – and shudder! (Jas.2:19). Demons recogninzed Jesus of Nazareth as ‘the Holy One of God (Mk.1:24). They knew true things about him, they knew who he was. And they hated him.

Relational

Knowing Jesus must go beyond knowing about him. It must be relational. Knowing a person is different from knowing a vehicle or a tool. You can be familiar with a tool, know it inside and out, know what it is made of and how it works, and know how to make it work for you. But that is not a relationship. A boss might even have a similar kind of understanding of an employee; they know how you respond to different circumstances, and they know how to interact with you to get you to do what they need you to do. But that is not the kind of knowlege we are talking about. We are talking about knowing a person, and that indicates relationship. In John 6, Peter says exactly the same thing that the demons said about Jesus in Mark 1, but in a very different context. The demons knew who Jesus was and were terrified of him.

In John 6, Jesus had taught some difficult things about himself; that he is the bread come down from heaven to give his flesh to give life to all who feed on him. He said:

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 6:66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Do you see the difference? The demons knew Jesus to be the Holy One of God, and they were terrified and sought to avoid Jesus. Peter had come to believe that Jesus was the Holy One of God, the exclusive source of eternal life, and this mean that he would stick with him, walk with him, learn from him, follow him. They would not turn away just because he said some difficult things. They were committed to him, to be with him, to listen to him, to follow him. They trusted Jesus and entrusted themselves into his care. That is what we mean when we say ‘believe in Jesus’; trust him, love him, entrust yourself to him.

Paul counts all as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Jesus is Lord, YHWH God come in the flesh, to be obeyed, to be followed, to be surrendered to and submitted to. He is the Lord. But Paul says he is my Lord. It is personal.

Reciprocal

Jesus said:

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

This knowledge is not only relational, it is reciprocal. It involves both knowing and being known. You might know a lot about your favorite athlete, actor, or musician, but if they don’t know you, you don’t have a relationship. Jesus made this the essential thing. He said:

Matthew 7:22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

It doesn’t matter all the good things you do in Jesus’ name; it matters that you know him, that you follow him, that he knows you. In fact, if you are doing good things, but you don’t have a relationship with him, he actually declares you ‘workers of lawlessness’. He doesn’t consider the good things you do for him in your own strength as good at all. This is why Paul counts even the good things he does as loss compared to the one thing of surpassing worth; knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Do you know him? Are you willing to take all the good things that are to your credit and count them all together as loss, as a liability, as a dangerous source of pride and self-confidence, are you willing to put no confidence in your flesh, and put all your confidence in Jesus, in the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord? Is he the one treasure you will gladly give up all else in order to gain him?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/14 Philippians 3:4-7; The Loss of Religious Righteousness; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240414_philippians-3_4-7.mp3

Paul has just warned the church of the dogs, the evil-workers, the mutilators, those who push Torah observance on Gentile believers in Jesus. He affirms that we, Jew and Gentile together as believers in Jesus, justified by faith in the finished work of Christ and not by works of the Law, we are the circumcision; the genuine circumcision which is of the heart by the Spirit of God, not by human hands. Those whose hearts have been changed by the Holy Spirit are characterized as those who worship by the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus, who put no confidence in the flesh.

What does it look like for a believer to put no confidence in the flesh? This is what Paul takes up next, in Philippians 3:4-9.

Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is praised as a virtue by our society. We might even be tempted to argue; ‘What is wrong with self confidence? I don’t need less self-confidence, I need more! You’ve probably seen books or seminars advertised on how to boost your confidence. A quick internet search reveals ‘How to Be More Confident: 9 Tips That Work’, ‘What is Self-Confidence (+9 Proven Ways to Increase It)’, ‘6 Proven Ways to Build Confidence’; and a definition ‘Confidence comes from a latin word fidere’ which means “to trust”; therefore, having a self-confidence is having trust in one’s self.’ Another search result: ‘Building Strong Self-Belief: 16 Tips and Activities; Learn what self-confidence and self-belief are, how they are related to self-esteem and self-efficacy, and how to develop them.’

Here’s what Paul said: believers in Jesus are those who ‘put no confidence in the flesh’. Believers are those who are undergoing a circumcision of the heart, whose fleshly confidence is being cut away by the Spirit of the living God.

It seems so second nature for us to slide into a self-confident mindset. It is second nature, because we all have a sin nature that we inherited from Adam, and we are at war. Peter said ‘The passions of the flesh wage war against your soul’ (1Pet.2:11). Jesus:

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

‘Bearing one’s cross’ was no cliché of nobly facing undeserved hardship. Condemned criminals were the only ones who took up a cross. It was only enemies of the state, the treasonous worst of the worst, who were condemned to be crucified. It was a public display of guilt on the way to execution, the condemned one’s embrace of what they deserve. To deny self is to deny any good in me, any merit that would exempt me from execution. To take up my cross is to own my sin before a just and holy God, to be willing to publicly acknowledge what I deserve. Followers of Jesus are those who put no confidence in the flesh. Paul wrote in Romans 7:

Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. …

I More

But Paul’s negativity toward self-confidence is not because he himself lacked any grounds for it. Some might accuse that Paul is down on self confidence because he knew he didn’t measure up. Since he couldn’t live the law, he took the easier route and threw himself on God’s grace as his only hope. To prove that this is far from the truth, Paul boasts a little; ‘And indeed I myself have confidence even in the flesh; if anyone else presumes to have confidence in the flesh, I more.’ Paul is not abandoning self-confidence because he lacks it; no, he claims to have more of it than anyone else.

Paul’s Resume

To demonstrate what he means, he gives us his resume.

Philippians 3:4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Paul claims to have plenty to boast of, more than anyone else. He gives seven bullet points of his credentials; the first four who he was by birth and lineage; the last three as to his own pursuit of law-righteousness.

Eighth Day Circumcision

He starts with circumcision, because that seems to be the issue at hand; Judaizers were pushing circumcision on non-Jewish believers as a means of pleasing God. His language is terse and to the point; Circumcision? Eighth day. Under the Old Covenant, according to Genesis 17, all male descendants of Abraham through Isaac were to be circumcised as the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham to give them the land of Canaan and to be their God. Slaves, and other brought in to be included in the covenant were to be circumcised, but children born of Abraham and his descendants were to be circumcised on the eighth day. Paul was not a convert to Judaism like some of those who were pushing law on Gentile believers; he was an eighth-day’er. He was born to faithful believing parents who kept the covenant. If anyone wanted to boast about letter of the law issues, he had it.

Of The People of Israel

Next he goes to lineage; he is of the family line of Israel. From Abraham through Isaac not Ishmael, through Jacob not Esau; Jacob renamed Israel because he prevailed with God (Gen.32:28). Israel, the father of the nation of Israel. Paul is a true Israelite by descent.

Tribe of Benjamin

Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel. He received honor from his brother Joseph. Moses blessed Benjamin as ‘The beloved of the LORD’ (Deut.33:12). The tribe of Benjamin was a small but militarily powerful tribe that played a prominent part in many of Israel’s battles (Ps.68:27). They were closely connected with Judah, and Jerusalem was within the boundaries of the territory allotted to Benjamin. Benjamin and Judah remained faithful to God when the northern tribes of Israel strayed into idolatry (1Ki.12:21-24). Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, who saved the Jews, was of the tribe of Benjamin (Est.2:5). When the captives returned to Jerusalem, the tribe of Benjamin was among the first to return and rebuild the temple (Ezr.1:5).

Paul was a true Jew, descended from Israel, of the noble tribe of Benjamin.

Hebrew of Hebrews

Paul calls himself a Hebrew of Hebrews. This could have to do with language, saying that he was raised in the mother tongue of God’s people, not a Greek speaking Hellenist, who blended the traditions of his people with those of the pagan nations around. In spite of being born in Tarsus, he was pure blooded and thoroughly brought up in the way of the Hebrew people.

In relation to his lineage, birth, upbringing and customs, all circumstances beyond his own control, he was given every advantage.

According to Law, Pharisee

Now he moves on to list that which he did have an active role in choosing which path he followed.

He begins with his relation to the Law. He was no Sadducee, who denied the supernatural, angels and the resurrection. Pharisees were ‘the strictest, most precise, most exact party of Jewish ceremonial observance’ (Ac.26:5). They observed the law most rigorously, and sought to follow every jot and tittle of it. Paul was brought up in Jerusalem, “educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers” (Ac.22:3). If anyone wants to question his relation to the law, he was the most conservative of the conservatives, the strictest of the strict.

According to Zeal, Persecuting the Church

But his was no cold formal quiet religiosity. Nor was it something he inherited from his parents, but didn’t own himself. He was passionate about what he believed and willing to risk all to advance it. He believed it with his whole heart. According to zeal, persecuting the church. He acted on the truth he believed. When Stephen was accused of blasphemy, Paul was on the side of those who took justice into their own hands and demanded the death penalty. When people were being led astray by what he believed to be a false messiah, he took action to eradicate it from the earth, pursuing believers in Jesus from city to city, binding, imprisoning, seeking the death penalty for both women and men (Ac.22:4).

Paul persecuted the church; he holds this up as an indicator of his surpassing zeal for Judaism; but this implies that the logical outcome of strict adherence to Judaism was persecution of Christianity; Law and grace are incompatible; you simply can’t have both. One must fully reject the other.

It is interesting that here, writing to the church in Philippi, Paul recognizes that in his zeal for Judaism and the law, what he was persecuting was the church, the true assembly of saints called out by God, the church Jesus promised to build, against which the gates of hell would not prevail (Mt.16:18). But Paul was acting out his convictions as a Pharisee, and this meant persecuting the church. If anyone claimed to be zealous for the law, he was more.

According to Righteousness which is in the Law, Blameless

According to righteousness in the law, he was found blameless. Standing before the Jewish council in Acts 23, he could say:

Acts 23:1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

He had a clear conscience before God as to fulfilling the requirements of the law. He left no requirement undone, he violated no command. He considered himself blameless, and other Pharisees examining his life would have agreed. He was scrupulous in observance of the law, and held himself to the highest standard. If anyone had reason to boast in their righteousness in the law, he had more.

Paul was not claiming to be sinless. He came to understand the teachings of Jesus that pointed beyond outward moral observance to what is in the heart, and Paul affirmed ‘none is righteous, no not one (Rom.3:10). Paul confesses in Romans 7 that the more inward command against covetousness showed him the sinfulness of his own heart.

But like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus, Paul could say with a clear conscience ‘all these I have kept from my youth’ (Mk.10:20).

If righteousness was to be found in the law, he had found it. He was considered blameless.

Paul’s circumcision, his pedigree, his upbringing, his exacting relation to the law, his zeal for the law, his righteousness in the law, all blameless. If anyone had confidence in the flesh, he had more.

Some might have thrown the accusation in Paul’s face that the religious life was just too hard; he just couldn’t handle it, so he defected and chose an easier path. Some in pride make similar accusations today. Paul wants to be clear, it was not because of any inadequacy or shortcoming on his part; he simply found that all his self-righteousness that he had accumulated was less than worthless; he found something of far greater value.

Religious Gains Became Loss

What did Paul do with his confidence in the flesh? He had lived by it for years. He tallied up every ground for fleshly self confidence that he had accumulated over a lifetime of strict religious adherence, and entered it in the balance sheet as gains, but when he met the Christ, the Messiah, all his gains became a loss; all his assets became one big liability.

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

When he met Jesus, his whole method of accounting was turned on its head. He had to learn to count differently. Paul learned:

Romans 9:31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,

Paul learned that all his confidence in self actually counted against him, not for him. His confidence in himself, in his own credentials, in his own performance, pushed him farther away from acknowledging his need and in dependence putting his trust in the work of another who worked on his behalf.

Paul says:

Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. …21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Paul began to understand that confidence in the law as a means of righteousness is opposed to grace and actually makes void the gift. To have confidence in self is to say that Jesus didn’t need to die. I don’t need him. I can do it on my own.

True believers are those who count differently, who worship by the Spirit, who glory in Christ Jesus, who put no confidence in the flesh.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/07 Philippians 3:3; Worship, Boast, Confidence; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240407_philippians-3_3.mp3

Joy and Rejoicing

Paul is filled with joy and thanksgiving when he thinks of and prays for the church in Philippi (1:4). Paul rejoices that Christ is being preached where he is, even if some intend to cause him trouble by it (1:18). His desire is not only that his readers make progress in their faith, but also that they be filled with joy in the faith (1:25). His joy will fill up as they grow in unity with one another (2:2). It is his joy to give himself in sacrificial service to others, and he invites his readers to rejoice with him (2:17-18). He anticipates their joy in seeing Epaphroditus again, the one they heard was dangerously ill, and he expects they will receive him with joy (2:28-29).

Here in chapter 3, he exhorts them to the safety of rejoicing in the Lord. Ultimately our joy must be in the Lord. If we find our joy in Jesus, we won’t so easily be sidetracked by lesser pleasures. If we fix our joy on Jesus, we won’t soon be led astray by bad doctrine.

Beware the Dogs

Paul warns against those who want to identify as Christians, but claim to have found just a little bit more. They insist that they love Jesus, but shouldn’t we also want to please God by keeping his law? With biting irony, Paul says that those who mix law and gospel are as undiscerning as unclean dogs. Only believers who are made new by the Spirit of God can do works that are truly good; those who seek to please God by their own efforts are found to be workers of evil, flaunting their own filthy rags. Those seeking to observe Jewish rituals, but in a way that is out of step with the free gift of God’s grace, those Jewish rituals become no better than dark pagan practices.

Not Works But Faith in Jesus

Paul couldn’t be clearer. As he said in Galatians:

Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

And in Romans:

Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Circumcision: Outward or Inward?

Circumcision was the physical sign of the Old Covenant (Gen.17); but God is never impressed with hypocrisy, when the outward sign is not matched with the inward reality. Even as far back as Deuteronomy, there was a promise of something new:

Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Jesus rebuked hypocrisy and addressed issues of the heart:

Matthew 15:7 You hypocrites! … 8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; …11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Paul tells the Galatians:

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Galatians 6:5 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

He tells the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 7:19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

Only as a new creation, born of the Spirit of God, having received the Spirit through faith in Jesus, can keep God’s commands to love God and love neighbor. Believers in Jesus are circumcised in the heart, by the Spirit (Rom.2:28-29).

Three Characteristics of the Circumcision

So Paul says:

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

He gives us three descriptors of those who have experienced ‘the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead’ (Col.2:11-12).

Worship [λατρεύοντες]

He says we ‘worship by the Spirit of God’. This word ‘worship’ is interesting; often it refers specifically to the rituals of worship or service in the Old Testament tabernacle or temple. Hebrews 9 describes the ‘regulations for worship’ (that’s the noun form) under the first covenant (9:1). In 9:6 it uses the noun form again to describe the ‘ritual duties’ of the priests. Hebrews 9:9 points to the:

Hebrews 9:9 … gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper [λατρεύοντα], 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

‘The worshiper’ (that’s the verbal participle form of this word). Then he goes on to draw the contrast:

Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent ( not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve [λατρεύειν] the living God.

‘To serve’ is the verb form of this worship word. Hebrews is contrasting the temple worship under the Old Covenant, that could never purify the conscience of the worshiper, with the once-for-all perfect sacrifice of Christ, whose blood purifies our conscience from the guilt of our dead works and sets us free to worship the living God.

Paul uses this word to describe Christian worship with this graphic imagery in Romans 12:

Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship [λατρείαν]. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, …

Because of Romans 1-11, because of the abundant mercy of God to us displayed in the gospel, we now worship with our bodies as living sacrifices, made holy and acceptable to God by the blood of Jesus.

By The Spirit of God

We worship by the Spirit of God. In Romans 2, Paul says that circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit (2:29). In Romans 8 Paul contrasts:

Romans 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Every one who belongs to Jesus has the Spirit of God living in them. This is why the good works of unbelievers are unacceptable to God; they are not generated by the Spirit of God, but rather by the flesh which in its self-sufficiency is opposed to God.

Paul made it clear in Galatians that we receive the Spirit not by the works of the law, but rather through hearing with faith (Gal.3:2,14) It is by the Spirit that we have life and a spiritual walk (Gal.5:25). In Ephesians 2:11-18 is it through Jesus that both uncircumcised Gentile and circumcised Jew have access in one Spirit to the Father. Notice the triune God conspiring together in our salvation; it is through the blood of Jesus, in the Holy Spirit that we have access to the Father.

Jesus himself promised in John 7

John 7:37 …“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Whoever comes thirsty to Jesus, whoever believes in Jesus receives the Spirit of God. It is those who trust Jesus alone that can worship by the Spirit of God.

Glory [καυχώμενοι] in Christ Jesus

He says we ‘glory in Christ Jesus’. The word ‘glory’ can also be translated ‘boast’ or ‘exult’ or ‘rejoice’. The Bible normally excludes all boasting as evil. Romans systematically establishes that ‘all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin’ (3:9),

Romans 3:19 …so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Paul then asks the question:

Romans 3:27 Then what becomes of our boasting [καύχησις]? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Our boasting is excluded by the gospel, because the only contribution we make to God is our sin. Paul goes so far as to point out to the Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

God chose you, the foolish, the weak, the low and despised, the nothings to ensure that no one would be able to boast in himself. Paul is quoting Jeremiah here:

Jeremiah 9:23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

We are not to boast in our own strength, abilities or character; we are to boast in God’s character, in our relationship with this God.

Earlier in the chapter, Paul makes it clear that what he preaches is the seemingly foolish and offensive message of the cross, of Christ crucified (1Cor.1:21-24)

Paul in 2 Corinthians, after making a fools’ parody of the boasts of the false teachers, concludes this:

2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Jesus said to Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Paul boasts in Romans 5

Romans 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice [καυχώμεθα] in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice [καυχώμεθα] in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, …

Romans 5:11 More than that, we also rejoice [καυχώμενοι] in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

In Ephesians 2, salvation is by God’s free gift of grace alone to those who do not deserve it, so that no one may boast (2:4-5,8-9)

Believers in Jesus do not boast in ourselves, unless it is in our own weaknesses, in order to put on display the magnificence of Jesus. We boast in God, in knowing him, in his own character and goodness, in his amazing salvation. In Galatians, after rebuking the boasting of the false teachers in the flesh, he says:

Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

Put No Confidence [πεποιθότες] in the Flesh

The final negative follows; if our only boast is in Jesus, then clearly we ‘put no confidence in the flesh’. So many of us so desperately want something to do, something to contribute, something that will make me feel good about me. But that is the point of the gospel; I am not good. I am a transgressor that got myself into a whole heap of trouble, with no hope of digging myself anything but deeper. It is because I am in such bad shape that the gospel is such good news. The gospel is a proclamation of the cross; the execution that I deserve was placed on Christ, the perfect, spotless, sinless Lamb of God. The wrath of God that is so justly coming my way, Jesus stepped in and drank that cup in my place.

If that is the gospel, only a great fool would place any confidence in his own flesh. If that is the good news, anything we attempt to contribute nullifies the nature of the gift as grace. We cannot go halfsies with God – he will not allow it. He will not allow human contribution in any measure, which would be to allow boasting in his presence. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone so that no one can boast in his presence, praise God!

Where does my confidence lie? Not in me!

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/31 Resurrection Sunday (firstfruits); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240331_resurrection-firstfruits.mp3

He is risen!

(He is risen indeed!)

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Good Friday (Passover)

Friday we celebrated Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus crucified. Good Friday was a Passover; as the Jewish day began at sunset, Jesus began that day with a Passover meal with his disciples.

Luke 22:15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

That night he crossed the brook Kidron, prayed earnestly to his Father that if possible the cup of wrath he was to drink on the cross would pass from him; nevertheless not his human will but the will of the Father be done. He was betrayed by a friend with a kiss, gave himself up into custody after securing the protection of his followers, endured humiliation and mocking in his trials before Annas and Caiaphas, and at daybreak on Passover morning was condemned by the council and brought to Pilate to have him executed. He was brutally beaten, publicly humiliated, exhausted, collapsing under the weight of the cross he was forced to carry to the place of execution. At around 9 in the morning, he was nailed to the cross, from noon to about 3 pm darkness fell over the land as he bore my sins in his body on that cruel tree (1Pet.2:24). Jesus cried out the words of Psalm 22 ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me’. Then he cried out with a loud voice ‘It is finished’ (paid in full), and surrendered his spirit into the hands of his Father. The earth shook, the heavy curtain that barred sinners from the presence of a holy God was ripped from top to bottom. A soldier thrust a spear into his side, releasing a flow of blood and water.

A secret follower from the Sanhedrin, Joseph requested the body from Pilate, who had the soldiers confirm beyond doubt that he was already dead. Just before nightfall as the Sabbath was beginning, with the help of Nicodemus,

Matthew 27:59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Luke tells us:

Luke 23:54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

The Sabbath; The Sealed Tomb

Matthew 27:62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

On the Sabbath (Saturday), the Jewish leaders busied themselves making sure a dead man stayed dead and his body didn’t disappear. The disciples, on the other hand, had scattered in fear and confusion after his arrest and execution. Saturday they rested according to the commandment; Saturday after sundown the women buy spices. Sunday morning finds the women coming to the tomb to intending to finish embalming the body of their Lord with spices and ointments.

Sunday is filled with confusion; an early morning earthquake, appearance of angels, soldiers paralyzed with fear, reports of a missing body and the stone rolled away, disbelief, disciples running to check, finding an empty tomb, Mary even claiming to have seen the Lord, disciples traveling to Emmaus, other disciples hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. Matthew records it this way:

Matthew 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

6 Feasts of Israel; 3 Pilgrim Feasts

To help us understand what was going on, we are going to look back to the Old Testament to look at the appointed feasts of Israel.

Leviticus 23 gives us the six primary feasts of Israel; three spring feasts, and three fall feasts. Three of these feasts were pilgrim festivals and had to do with different parts of the harvest; Deuteronomy 16 summarizes these three pilgrim feasts;

Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was connected with the firstfruits of the barley, the earliest maturing crop. The Feast of Weeks was also called the Feast of Harvest (Ex.23:16), 50 days after the first of the barley harvest and connected with the wheat harvest. The Feast of Booths, also called the Feast of Ingathering, was at the end of the agricultural year and included produce like grapes and olives.

What does this have to do with Jesus and the resurrection? Remember, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples after dark on Thursday evening, which was the beginning of the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. He was crucified on Passover, (still the 14th) and Passover is connected with the feast of Unleavened Bread. Passover is the 14th of Nisan, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread runs from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan, so this whole 8 day cycle is often referred to as ‘Passover’. That’s why we see in the gospel accounts this whole period of time being referred to as Passover, not just the actual Passover meal on the 14th of Nisan. Luke tells us:

Luke 22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.

Here’s what Leviticus says:

Leviticus 23:4 “These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

The Hebrew calendar was based on the lunar cycle, so the 14th day of the month could fall on any day of the week. Whatever day it fell, it would start an 8 day cycle; the Passover, followed by a feast on the 15th and concluding with a feast on the 21st. But Leviticus goes on to describe another part of this feast:

Leviticus 23:9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 And the grain offering with it … a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, … 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

As part of the feast of Unleavened Bread, on the day after the Sabbath that fell during that feast, a firstfruits offering of barley was to be offered. This was the first of the first, and was to be offered to God before anything from that harvest year was eaten. The firstfruits, like the firstborn, belong to the Lord; a reminder that every good thing we receive is a gift from God, and ultimately belongs to God. This firstfruit sheaf of barley was to be waved before the Lord on the day after the Sabbath. All Hebrew days were calculated in relation to the weekly Sabbath. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, so the day after the Sabbath is the first day of the week, Sunday.

God gave Israel this law after the Exodus from Egypt, on the front end of the 40 years of wilderness wanderings, during which he patiently provided for his rebellious people who grumbled and rejected his promised land. But finally under Joshua, the next generation crossed the Jordan river on dry land and entered the land on the 10th day of the first month (Josh.4:19; Ex.12:3); the day the Passover lambs were to be selected .

Joshua 5:10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

God did what he promised to do. He provided for the needs of his people even in the wilderness wanderings. He brought them safely across the Jordan during the spring floods, and he gave them the early barley harvest in the land to eat.

Jesus the Firstborn and Firstfruits

Again, this is resurrection Sunday. What does all this have to do with Jesus and the resurrection? In Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5, Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reminds us of the good news that saves us;

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential to the gospel. He says

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. … 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. … 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Christianity stands or falls on the real, historical, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul goes on:

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, …

Jesus in fact was raised from the dead, and as Luke tells us:

Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Paul gives us not only the fact of the resurrection, but the laundry list of eye-witnesses to whom he appeared, and invites his original readers to check his sources for themselves. He goes on:

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits of the resurrection. He is connecting us back to this Old Testament pattern. Jesus died on Passover. He was raised from the dead on the day after the Sabbath, when the first of the firstfruits was to be presented before the Lord. What does firstfruits mean? No one was allowed to eat any of the produce until the firstfruits were offered to the Lord. Firstfruits is a promise of more to come. It was a small sheaf taken from a field of barley, and it meant that there was a bountiful harvest as a gift from God to be enjoyed. If Christ is the firstborn from the dead, the firstfruits of the resurrection, that means there is more to come! That means us! Without the resurrection of Jesus, our hope is limited to this life only. But if the resurrection of Jesus is true, then we have hope beyond the grave.

In John 12, Jesus, anticipating his crucifixion;

John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. … 27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

The glory of Jesus is that he conquered death by dying. He died for our sins. He went down into the grave like a grain of barley, and he burst forth as the firstfruits of an abundant harvest.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/29 Good Friday; Passover; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240329_good-friday.mp3

2024 Good Friday Service

Welcome:

Welcome! I’m glad you’ve joined us for our Passover celebration! Jesus said about his final meal with his disciples:

Luke 22:15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

The Last Supper, the Lord’s Supper, was a Passover meal. Jesus sent Peter and John into Jerusalem to prepare for this meal, and shortly after sunset (in Jewish reckoning, the day begins with sunset) the disciples gathered for this meal. The dialogues recorded in the Gospel according to John chapters 13-17 took place around that meal. It was late that night when Jesus went across the Kidron valley to the Gethsemane garden to pray, where he was betrayed with a kiss and gave himself over to the mob. The mock trials before Annas and Caiaphas the high priest took place under cover of darkness, the verdict being given at daybreak to give the appearance of legitimacy. Then he was brought to Pilate to procure the Roman death sentence. It was the third hour (about 9am) of Passover day when Jesus was crucified. Darkness covered the land from the 6th to the 9th hour (from noon to about 3pm), when Jesus cried out ‘It is finished!’, and the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Jesus’ body was laid in the borrowed tomb, just before nightfall as the Sabbath was beginning.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5 says:

1 Corinthians 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Jesus Christ, in offering up himself on the cross, is our Passover lamb.

As we sing, as we hear from the Scriptures, I invite you to reflect on Jesus, who he is, what he came to accomplish. Remember, he came for you.

Reading 1; [Cole] (Deuteronomy 16:3)

“Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the LORD your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the LORD will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.

Reading 2; [Jessalyn] (John 1:29-36)

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

Reading 3; [Audrey] (1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:24)

…you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Message; [RZ]

The Passover was instituted at the Exodus from Egypt. God’s people had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. God instructed Moses:

Exodus 4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

God sent the 10 plagues, decimating Egypt and demonstrating YHWH’s superiority over all the Egyptian gods. Before the final plague, he instructed his people to take a lamb.

Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

It was the blood of the lamb that caused the Lord’s wrath to pass over those who were covered by it.

If we jump ahead to Jesus, in Luke chapter 9, Jesus

Luke 9:28 … took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

In a glimpse of the glory of the kingdom of God, Jesus was conversing with Moses and Elijah. What were they talking about? Luke tells us that they spoke of his departure. The Greek word translated ‘departure’ is [ἔξοδον], exodus; it can refer to a departure or death. They spoke of Jesus’ exodus, that he would accomplish (literally fulfill) in Jerusalem. Where Moses was used by God to deliver the people out of slavery in Egypt through the Passover event, Jesus is the greater deliverer who accomplished a greater exodus from a darker slavery. The children of Israel were set free from their bondage under Egypt, but they were not set free from the darkness of their own hearts. Jesus, in applying his own blood to his followers, breaks the power of sin in our lives. He took the guilt and shame and punishment for our sins on himself and paid the price in full. He gives us a new heart, new desires, new life; he makes us part of his new creation. Jesus leads his followers out into real freedom.

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Christ our Passover lamb was sacrificed for us. Jesus gave his own body to be torn, his own blood poured out, so that when his blood is applied to my life, to my sin, the wrath of God passes over me; I am covered, I am clean. I am made new, the new covenant, new life, his Holy Spirit now lives in me, making me new from the inside out.

The blood of the Lamb must be applied. An Israelite could hear what God was about to do, believe it, believe that God would do what he said he would do. Would that faith save him? No, a lamb must give its life, and the blood must be applied, for ‘when I see the blood, I will pass over you’. It was not enough just to look out the window and see a lamb being sacrificed, and say ‘praise God!’ It is not enough just to believe that Jesus lived and Jesus died. It is not enough to believe the historical facts. The blood must be applied. I need to acknowledge that apart from the blood of Jesus, I am under God’s wrath. Jesus died for me, because I am a sinner and rightly under God’s wrath. Jesus, the only innocent one, died in the place of sinners. May this be your prayer tonight: ‘Jesus, I am a sinner deserving your wrath. Would you apply your blood to me, would you cover me and give me your Holy Spirit to make me new inside?’

Reading 4; [Petra] (Revelation 5:5-6, 9-14)

…behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, …

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/24 Philippians 3:3; We Are The Circumcision; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240324_philippians-3_3.mp3

Paul in Philippians 3 grinds the gears to warn the church of an impending danger, Judaizers who push Torah observance on Gentile believers contrary to the Jerusalem decision of Acts chapter 15.

He flips the tables on the Judaizing false teachers, calling them indiscriminate dogs who can’t discern between what is clean and unclean; what Jesus had said about food (Mk.7:18-19), God revealed to Peter about Gentile believers; what God has made clean, do not call common (Ac.10:15). He calls them ‘workers of evil’; encouraging people to walk away from God’s grace and seek to please him by their own ‘good’ works. He calls them ‘mutilators’; comparing their insistence on circumcising non-Jews to the pagan nations who cut themselves to seek to draw the attention of their false gods.

He encourages the believers to rejoice; rejoice in the Lord, for this is safe. Rejoicing in Jesus, rejoicing in the cross, in his finished work for sinners will remind us how absurd it is to think we could ever do something to earn or contribute to our own salvation. He exhorts us to walk worthy of, to live consistent with (1:27), to work out the salvation that God has freely given to us (2:12-13), but this in no way implies or encourages Gentile believers to submit to Old Testament regulations. We are to be on guard against those who would take away our freedom and seek to impose on us regulations that were never meant for us.

Paul in another dramatic turn makes this startling claim, emphasizing the ‘we’. I, Hebrew of Hebrews, now apostle to the Gentiles, together with you, a church made up mainly of uncircumcised Gentile believers, we are the circumcision.

Circumcision; Physical Sign of the Old Covenant

To understand what he is saying, it will be helpful to go back and understand what circumcision was all about, what this means and what this does not mean. Circumcision was first introduced in Genesis 17, when God made a covenant with childless Abram (this is where God changed his name to Abraham); God promised to make him fruitful, the father of nations, to be his God, and to give to him and to his descendants the land of Canaan.

Genesis 17:10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

True Circumcision a Matter of the Heart

Circumcision was the physical sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants. But it was meant to be a physical reminder of an inner covenant commitment to God. As early as Leviticus we read of the treachery of walking contrary to God described as an ‘uncircumcised heart’ (Lev.26:40-42). Moses in Deuteronomy 10 exhorts the generation who would enter the land to fear YHWH God, walk in his ways, love him, serve him with heart and soul and keep his commandments;

Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.

Deuteronomy 30:6 points to the hope of God himself circumcising you heart, so that you will love YHWH God with all your heart and soul. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel warn of the danger of uncircumcised ears that cannot heed the word of the Lord (Jer.6:10); of those uncircumcised in heart and flesh (Ezek.44:7,9); exhorting rebellious Israel to ‘remove the foreskin of your hearts’ (Jer.4:4).

In Acts 7, Stephen rebukes the unbelieving Jews of his day who rejected their Messiah;

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

Even under the Old Covenant, even for the Jew, circumcision was to be much more than a mere mark on the flesh. It was meant to be a physical sign of a genuine heart change.

Gentile Believers Not To Be Troubled With Torah

As we saw last week, there were those of the circumcision party who insisted of Gentile believers in Jesus “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses” (Ac.15:5); “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Ac.15:1). The first church council ruled that salvation for both Jew and non-Jew is by grace, not by works of the law (Ac.15:11). Salvation comes through hearing the word of the gospel and believing (Ac.15:7). ‘We should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God’ (Ac.15:19); ‘by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear’ (Ac.15:10)

A Gospel Issue

Shortly before this Jerusalem decision, Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia to warn that this is a gospel issue (Gal.2:4-5,14); he warns:

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—

This is a gospel issue, an issue of how the Holy Spirit transforms people. We do not become worthy to be inhabited by the Spirit of God by our performance; we receive the Holy Spirit by hearing with faith, and he comes in and begins to transform us from the inside out. If it is by the Spirit that we begin this journey in the New Covenant, we certainly do not progress by reverting back to Old Covenant law-keeping.

Paul even connects this back to Abraham:

Galatians 3:6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. …14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

We, believing Gentiles, becomes sons of Abraham through faith; we are justified by trusting in Jesus. In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham comes even to the Gentiles. Paul is passionate that this is a gospel issue. In Galatians 5 he says:

Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

The Argument of Romans

Paul fleshes this out in Romans; he begins by saying that the gospel is ‘the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (Rom.1:16). Then he establishes our need for salvation; we all are under God’s wrath. In chapter 1, Gentiles are under God’s wrath for rejecting the light given to us in the created world. In chapter 2, Jews

Romans 2:23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Physical circumcision is only valid if it is a sign of an inward reality. Circumcision under the Old Covenant was a pointer to a new and better circumcision under a New and better Covenant, circumcision of the heart by the Spirit of the living God.

Paul concludes that both Jews and Greeks are under sin, guilty before God. All, Jew and Greek, have sinned, and all, both Jew and Greek;

Romans 3:24 …are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. …

In chapter 4, Paul points to Abraham, who was not justified by works, but ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ (Rom.4:3; Gen.15:6). He points out that this was Genesis 15, before Abraham was circumcised;

Romans 4:11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Abraham becomes the father of two distinct groups; all Gentiles who believe without being circumcised, and the Jews who are not merely circumcised, but who also put their trust in their Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Ethnic Jews and Circumcision

Paul was accused of ‘teaching the Jews …to forsake the law of Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to [Jewish] customs’ (Ac.21:21). In Acts 21, Paul ‘related …the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry’ (Ac.21:19), and the Jerusalem elders glorified God. But because of these accusations, they encouraged him to demonstrate ‘that you yourself also live in observance of the law. But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment…’ (Ac.21:24-25). They were differentiating between Jews who believed in Jesus who were encouraged to observe the law, and Gentile believers who were not required to observe the law. Neither Jew nor Gentile was required to abandon their own ethnicity to follow Jesus, but both were only ever saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Even these distinct ethnicities were both reconciled to God through the cross, which broke down the dividing wall of hostility and knit us together in one body, the church (Eph.2:13-16).

Even back in Acts 16, Paul inviting the half-Jewish Timothy to accompany him in ministry had him circumcised to remove a hindrance to the gospel among the Jews. Paul was not against Jews observing their law; he was against looking to that law as a means of salvation for Jew or Gentile. Paul himself claimed in 1 Corinthians 9 that he was ‘not himself under the law’, neither was he ‘outside the law of God but under the law of Christ’.

When he asks the rhetorical question in Romans 3:1-2 ‘Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?’ His answer is ‘Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.’

The Law of the Spirit

In Romans 8 Paul goes on to say that all who are in Christ are under a different law, ‘the law of the Spirit of life’ not the ‘law of sin and death’,

Romans 8:4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

This righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled when our hearts are circumcised by the Spirit of God;

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

We all, Jew or non-Jew, are adopted as sons of God through faith, having received the Spirit of God when we put our trust in Jesus.

In Colossians 2 Paul points to this promised circumcision of the heart; addressing Gentile believers

Colossians 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

This is how Paul can say ‘we’ believers in Jesus regardless of ethnicity, ‘are the circumcision’. Circumcision made in the flesh by human hands (Eph.2:11) cannot change the heart.

Distinction and No Distinction

So Paul says in Galatians 3:

Galatians 3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

In reference to salvation the distinctions are demolished. In Christ the dividing wall of hostility is broken down. We have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Male, female, slave, free, Jew, Greek, all are saved by the grace of God and not by any kind of merit.

This does not mean that there is no distinction of any kind. Paul continues to address the unique and distinct roles of men and women, slave and free, and he continues in Romans to recognize ethnic distinctions and expresses his

Romans 9:2 …great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Romans 10:1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Romans 11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. … 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

In Romans 11:11, Paul asks of his fellow Jews:

Romans 11:11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! 13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

He concludes:

Romans 11:30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/17 Philippians 3:2; Beware the Dogs! Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240317_philippians-3_2.mp3

Rejoice!

In the first two chapters Paul exhorted the church in Philippi to unity, to humble others-centered self-sacrificial service to others. He pointed them to our Lord Jesus, who is the ultimate model of self-humbling others-centered sacrificial service. He held up Timothy and Epaphroditus as examples of those who had a genuine interest in others, who were willing to risk it all to serve others. Now he grinds the gears to warn the church of a dark danger lurking. The best defense is a good offense; he tells them:

Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Joy in the Lord is our strength. This letter is saturated with joy, and he encourages them that their joy in the Lord is safe. Joy is a strong defense against all manner of attacks and temptations. And now he alerts them to a serious threat.

Watch Out!

Philippians 3:2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

This verse is tricky to translate because Paul uses alliteration and biting irony that is difficult to bring across into another language and culture. His statements are terse and sharp, three times he repeats a staccato ‘look out’ or ‘watch out, beware’ and each of the words he chooses starts with a ‘K’ sound. One commentator attempted to capture this in English this way: “Beware the curs! Beware the criminals! Beware the cutters!” [Thielman; NIVAPP, p.167]

Opposition to Evangelizing Gentiles (Acts 8-15)

Judaizers had dogged Christian ministry from the earliest days. Remember, Jesus authorized his follower to make disciples of all nations beginning in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth (Mt.28:19; Ac.1:8). But it wasn’t until Acts 8(:1), when persecution scattered believers into Judea and Samaria; it wasn’t until Acts 10, when God gave Peter a vision telling him that ‘what God had made clean, do not call common or unclean’ (Acts 10:15), that he finally got it and went with the Gentiles at his door to reluctantly visit Cornelius’ house. But he still didn’t fully get it, as he seemed surprised when this house full of non-Jews heard about forgiveness through the Jewish Messiah, and believed, and were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Of course this got Peter in trouble with some of the other Jews, who criticized him for obeying God (Ac.11:1-3). After explaining how God orchestrated these things, ‘they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”’ (Ac.11:18).

But the opposition didn’t end there. Paul and Barnabas went through Cyprus to Asia Minor making disciples among the Gentiles and planting churches, and the Jews in those areas pursued him from city to city and stoned him and left him for dead (Ac.14:19). They returned to their sending church in Antioch,

Acts 14:27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Praise God! Praise God for all that he has done! What a blessing that the door of faith stands open even to non-Jews.

The Circumcision

Acts 15:1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Here’s the issue. Judaizers were demanding that for a person to follow the Jewish Messiah, they must first come under the covenant of circumcision, they must first convert to Judaism. They were making circumcision a salvation issue. Paul and Barnabas and some others were sent to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem with this question. In Jerusalem,

Acts 15:5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

Read Acts 15 for the decision of what has become known as the Jerusalem council. The conclusion? Salvation for both Jew and non-Jew is by grace, not by works of the law (Ac.15:11). Salvation comes through hearing the word of the gospel and believing (Ac.15:7). ‘We should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God’ (Ac.15:19).

Now some 14 years later, Paul is aware that this danger still lurks. He may be concerned that the Judaizers will make their way into Macedonia, and he intends to inoculate the church there against that heresy.

Beware The Dogs

So he warns them ‘Beware the dogs’. This is shocking irony if we understand Paul’s culture. Dogs were not thought of as ‘man’s best friend’. Dogs were feared and despised. To call someone a dog even today is considered an insult. It was the greatest self-deprecation to refer to oneself as a dead dog (2Sam.9:8).

From a Jewish perspective, dogs were unclean animals that would indiscriminately eat anything. Under levitical law, animal carcasses that were unclean to eat could be thrown to the dogs (Ex.22:31). Even Jesus said ‘Do not give dogs what is holy’ (Mt.7:6). It was considered the greatest humiliation and disgrace to be eaten by dogs; this was the fate of wicked Ahab and Jezebel (1Ki.21:19, 23). The Psalm of God-forsakenness that Jesus quoted from the cross contains these lines:

Psalm 22:16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 19 But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! 20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!

Jews considered Gentiles dogs, because like dogs they would eat indiscriminately, clean and unclean foods. Jesus on one occasion even referred to a Gentile woman as a dog. A Syrophoenician Canaanite Gentile woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon begged Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. Matthew records that Jesus basically ignored her. His disciples then beg Jesus, not to heal her, but to send her away, ‘because she is crying out after us’.

Matthew 15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

There’s a few things to notice here. The gospel is for the Jew first and also for the Gentile (Rom.1:16); earlier when Jesus sent out his disciples, he sent them only to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Mt.10:5). Jesus here says he himself is sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He makes a distinction between the lost sheep and the sheep who don’t think they have strayed. He came not for the self-righteous in Israel, but the sinners. He came to seek and to save those who were lost (Lk.5:31-32).

Notice also that Jesus doesn’t do what his disciples ask; he doesn’t send her away. He allows her to remain, to continue to ask.

And Jesus softens the normal word for ‘dogs’ here. Normally it is [κύων]; here he uses the diminutive [κυνάριον], little dogs or puppies. It seems he is giving her some hope. She picks up on this and runs with it.

Matthew 15:27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Where Jesus often rebukes his own disciples for their lack of faith, he commends this woman for her great faith, and he does what she asked of him.

But there’s more going on here. Both Matthew (15) and Mark (7) record this event with this Gentile woman right after Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees, whom he calls hypocrites, who honor God with their lips, but their heart is far from me; right after his teaching that:

Mark 7:15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

Jesus taught:

Mark 7:18 …that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” ( Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Jesus taught that true defilement doesn’t have to do with what you eat. It’s about your heart. The Pharisees, who were meticulous about being ceremonially clean, were defiled by their wicked hearts. This Canaanite woman, who was unclean by Jewish standards, was made clean through her simple faith in Jesus. Where the Pharisees viewed themselves as righteous and scorned Jesus, she viewed herself as needy and desperate, and looked to Jesus as her only source of help, help that she received in due time from Jesus.

Jesus flips the tables and calls the self-righteous religious people unclean dogs, and he invites this desperate and needy sinner to come eat from the Master’s table.

Paul with similar irony calls the meticulous religious box-checkers unscrupulous ‘dogs’, and warns the church ‘beware of the dogs.’

Beware The Evil-Workers

Paul warns; beware the evil-workers. Those who promote doing what the law requires Paul here calls workers of evil, and he warns the church to watch out for them. How can those who promote obedience to God’s law be considered workers of evil?

It matters not only what you do, but why you do what you do. Obedience to God is good. Doing good is good if it’s done for a good reason. Think of the familiar verses in Ephesians 2;

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Good works are good, but salvation is never a result of the good we do. Salvation is God’s free gift, received by simply taking God at his word. We are saved for good works, not by good works. If I turn this around, and seek to work for my salvation rather than from my salvation, then the good works I do are no longer good, they are evil. If I do good works so that I can boast about my own accomplishment, my good works turn into pride, an offense against God, in the words of Isaiah ‘all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment’ (Is.64:6).

As we saw in Acts 15, the circumcision party said:

Acts 15:1 … “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

By requiring circumcision, Judaizers were looking at outward conformity to the law as a means to attain our own righteousness, not the law as a way to measure how far we fall short of God’s perfect standard, as a means of celebrating the grace God freely gives to lawbreakers. They made much of their own righteousness, which undermined the very reason Christ died. They were actually seeking to foster pride and self-righteousness, and as such, they became workers of evil.

Beware the Mutilators

Beware the dogs! Beware the evil-workers! Beware the mutilators! Paul here is making a play on the word ‘circumcision’ calling it ‘excision’. Circumcision is a compound word that means to cut around; Paul uses a compound word with the same root that means to cut down or cut off. Earlier Paul wrote to the Galatians:

Galatians 5:12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

Paul is comparing this requirement of circumcision for Gentile believers as a destructive cutting or mutilation. In 1 Kings 18, when Elijah made a showdown between the one true God and the prophets of Baal; the false prophets, in a vain attempt to get the attention of their god,

1 Kings 18:28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

Their self-mutilation was utterly worthless, an abomination to God, and Paul says that those who demand circumcision of Gentile believers are more like pagan self-mutilators than they are the people of God.

Application

What do we do with this? I don’t know of anyone today pushing circumcision on followers of Jesus. But there are plenty who seek to add requirements to the gospel. There are plenty who are pushing Torah observance for Gentile believers. We believe in Jesus; Jesus and; Jesus plus. But Jesus plus anything is nothing. Beware. Be alert. Be on guard. Watch out for those who seek to add to Christ’s finished work, who add prerequisites for receiving God’s grace. Beware of boasting in self. Rather rejoice in the Lord, for when our joy is fixed on Jesus, we are safe.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/10 Philippians 3:1; The Stability of Joy; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240310_philippians-3_1.mp3

Exhortation to Gospel Shaped Humility and Unity

Paul is exhorting the church in Philippi to gospel shaped humility and unity. He started by a joyful thanksgiving when remembering them in his prayers, confident in the sovereign God who began a good work in them will also bring it to completion, and he prays

Philippians 1:9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul prays that their love abound more and more, and he exhorts them:

Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

In chapter 2, he invites them:

Philippians 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

And he holds up Jesus, who was for all eternity fully God, equal to his Father, yet he willingly humbled himself by becoming human, submitting to a death he didn’t deserve for the sake of others, for us! He is now exalted at his Father’s right hand as Lord over all, to whom we all owe allegiance.

In response to Jesus’ humility, we ought to take the salvation purchased for us on the cross, and allow it to work itself out in our daily lives, so that we live consistent with the gift we have been given. We are to work out what God has sovereignly worked in us, to live for his pleasure.

This looks like doing all things without grumbling or disputing, holding fast to the word of life.

In 2:17-18 Paul points to his own joy in being poured out in sacrificial service to others.

In 2:19-24 he points them to the example of Timothy’s selfless others-focused gospel ministry.

In 2:25-30 he points to Epaphroditus, who risked his very life as a co-laborer in sacrificial service to others.

Chapters 1 and 2 Paul prays for, exhorts to, and holds up examples of humble others-centered living out of love, earnestly pursuing the good of others above our own.

Transition to Sober Warning

Here in chapter 3, he concludes this section and transitions to a new topic, a sober warning of a grave danger. This transitional verse, 3:1, has caused much debate and speculation among biblical scholars. He just exhorted them to joyful humility and others-centered sacrificial service to others, and in the next breath he unleashes what some have described as a ‘rhetorical flame-thrower …Beware of the dogs!’ [Markus Bockmuehl, BNTC p.177].

The word translated ‘finally’ is sometimes used to introduce concluding remarks (Phil.4:8; 1Thes.4:1; 2Thes.3:1; 2Cor.13:11; Eph.6:10), but this occurs in the middle of this short letter, so this has led some textual critics to imagine that what we have as the rest of chapter 3 was part of a different letter inserted carelessly into this letter, a speculation that has no shred of textual evidence. Some have conjectured that Paul meant to conclude here, and on further reflection decided he had more to say. I’m sure you’ve never heard a preacher say ‘in conclusion’, and then go on to preach for another half-hour, have you?

This word translated ‘finally’ literally means ‘the rest’ and could be translated ‘furthermore’ or ‘moreover’ (1Cor.1:16; 4:2; 2Tim.4:8); a transition word used to draw an inference and introduce a further thought.

Saturated With Rejoicing

Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

What are ‘the same things’ he is writing to them? Here again, scholars have conjectured a past teaching or letter about false teachers, and his severe warning here is reminding of that past communication. But this verse specifically mentions writing, and while it is possible that Paul had written to them before, this too is conjecture.

It is best to take the text as it stands, and look at the context. What in the context might indicate a repetition in his writing that he is drawing their attention to? The command immediately preceding this statement ‘to write the same things’ is a command to ‘rejoice in the Lord.’

Woven throughout the texture of this letter is joy. Paul opened with joy in his prayer for them (1:4), he rejoiced and resolved to rejoice whenever Christ was rightly proclaimed, regardless of motives (1:18). He lived to serve others for their ‘progress and joy in the faith’ (1:25). He invited his readers to bring him joy by their gospel humility (2:2). He was glad and rejoiced to be ‘poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith,’ and he invited them to be glad and rejoice with him (2:17-18). His sending Epaphroditus to them was meant to bring them joy and rejoicing (2:28-29). After this command to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ (3:1), in 4:1 he will call them ‘my joy and crown’, and command them again ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice’ (4:4). He rejoiced in their care and concern for him personally (4:10).

This letter is saturated with joy. In chapters 1 and 2, Paul has mentioned joy or rejoicing no less than 9 times, and in chapter 4 he will make mention of rejoicing and joy another 4 times. Listening to this letter read in their church, by this point the Philippians have probably picked up on this persistent undercurrent of rejoicing.

Steadfast, Stable, Stand Firm

If this is indeed the repetition that Paul is referring to, what does he mean that it is no trouble for him but for them it is safe? Paul’s own heart is overflowing with joy regardless of his own circumstances, and it is natural for his joy to spill over and saturate this letter. But how is there safety in rejoicing? This is why some would more naturally expect safety in warning against false teachers, safety in sound doctrine, safety in the truth. Why safety in rejoicing?

This word ‘safe’ can be translated ‘sure, secure, without failing’; it points to stability and firmness. So far, Paul has pointed to the consistent partnership of the Philippians with him in the gospel (1:5), and his confidence in the completion of the good work God had begun in them (1:6). His own confident expectation was that Christ would be honored in his body by life or by death (1:20). He has encouraged the Philippians not only to rejoice, but to ‘stand firm in one spirit’ (1:27), to ‘hold fast to the word of life’ (2:16); he held up Timothy’s proven character (2:22); and Epaphroditus’ steadfast service even to death (2:29-30). Toward the end of the letter, Paul exhorts them to ‘stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved’ (4:1).

Paul cared deeply about steadfastness, consistency, faithfulness, unshakably standing firm through every circumstance.

Stability Found In Rejoicing

But how is this safety and stability found in rejoicing? Paul had himself resolved to rejoice whenever Christ was preached, even if some did it out of false motives like selfish ambition, envy and strife, seeking to add affliction to his imprisonment (1:15-18). He made a choice to rejoice in his own salvation and in the salvation of others. Paul lived not only for the church’s progress in the faith, but also for their joy in the faith (1:25). Joyless belief in the gospel is not an option. The good news is good news, and it must be celebrated! For Paul, ‘holding fast to the word of life’ (2:14-16) is inextricably linked to attitude. It must be without blemish, blameless and innocent, free of the crooked and twisted grumbling and complaining of this world. Paul chose joy in suffering as his own life was continually being poured out; he viewed his life as a drink offering poured out in joyful worship (2:17). Those who risk their life in service to Christ are worthy of honor, to be celebrated with joy (2:29-30).

The Logic of Joy

The connection between joy and stability might not seem obvious at first glance, but if we think about it, it makes sense. If we can rejoice not only in favorable circumstances, but also in adversity, in opposition, in sacrifice, suffering, sickness, even death, then our joy is unshakable. If our joy is found in changing things, then it will be volatile and flimsy. But if our joy is placed in the unchanging reality of God and the gospel, then it is an anchor that will hold us steady even through uncertain times.

Joy and Stability in the Old Testament

We can see this connection between rejoicing and stability throughout scripture. Nehemiah 8:10 says

Nehemiah 8:10 …the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The Psalms overflow with rejoicing; Psalm 5:11 says

Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.

Rejoicing is connected with God as a refuge, a place of safety; with God’s protection over his people. Psalm 16 says

Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. … 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

God’s presence is joy, fullness of joy. When we fix our eyes on the Lord, when we walk with the Lord we will not be shaken, our hearts will overflow with joy, and we will dwell in security.

Habakkuk ends with joy in the Lord even in the face of adversity;

Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. 19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.

Joy even in times of famine and hardship, because joy is in God, who makes our footsteps sure.

Jesus and Joy

Jesus said:

John 10:10 …I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

And he went on to talk about our absolute security in him:

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Jesus in John 15 invites us to abide in him and we will bear much fruit. He says;

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Joy is linked to our life-sustaining connection with Jesus. Jesus continues in John 16, pointing to his own crucifixion;

John 16:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

This unshakable joy is rooted in the crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus who was not supposed to die, Jesus whose death brought great sorrow, but whose death was the very reason he came into the world, whose death brought salvation and security, abundant and eternal life, un-lose-able life. When our joy is in Jesus crucified for sinners, Jesus risen again, exalted at the right hand of his Father, Jesus coming again for us, that joy no one can take from us. That joy is fixed and firm, an anchor for our souls.

Rejoice in the Lord

Paul tells us to ‘rejoice in the Lord’; what he has assumed, he now clarifies. The object of our joy is essential. Our joy must be rooted and grounded in, fixed on Jesus. All other joys are fleeting and feeble. For joy to be fixed and firm and stable, it must have Jesus as its source, its object, its domain.

Paul has said that the brothers’ confidence was ‘in the Lord’ (1:14); his own hope and confidence was ‘in the Lord Jesus’ (2:19, 24); and their reception of a faithful worker was to be ‘in the Lord’ (2:29); under the sovereign hand of a good God. Now our rejoicing is to be ‘in the Lord’; rejoicing because Jesus is exalted sovereign Lord over all, the one to whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess. The Lord to whom we gladly surrender ourselves.

Rejoicing Is Safe

Rejoicing is safe. This joy can keep us from pride, because it is joy in Jesus who died for sinners like me. This joy can keep us from grumbling and complaining, because when we are rejoicing in the good news of Jesus who humbled himself for us, what is there to grumble or complain about? This joy can keep us from becoming ingrown and self-focused, because it is joy in Jesus who loved us and gave himself up for us. This joy can keep us faithful even in adversity, even in sickness and in the face of death, because if our joy is Jesus, then to die is gain. This joy can keep us safe from false teachers, because joy in the Lord expels confidence in the flesh.

Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/03 Philippians 2:25-30; Epaphroditus, Risk in Service to Others; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240303_philippians-2_25-30.mp3

In Philippians 2:19-30, Paul is communicating his plans, expressing his hope to visit them personally, explaining his intent to send Timothy soon, explaining why Ephaphroditus was returning to them presently. But this is no irrelevant ancient historical tidbit. Behind the news, he is holding up these two men as examples of Christlike character. In this letter, he exhorts the Philippians to love, to unity, to others-centered humility; and now he is holding up these two as tangible examples of what it looks like to allow the gospel to shape one’s heart, one’s mind, one’s life.

Philippians 2:19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Timothy served consistently alongside Paul in the gospel. Timothy was a living example of Philippians 2:3-4

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Epaphroditus

In verse 25 he moves from Timothy’s Christlike example, to that of Epaphroditus. We know of Epaphroditus only from this letter. We know that he was from Philippi, and according to chapter 4 he was sent by that church to Paul with a gift, and to care for Paul’s needs while in prison. The Philippians know Epaphroditus, but here Paul commends his character to them with five roles in which he has served both Paul and the Philippians. The first three relate to Paul; the last two relate to the Philippians.

My Brother [ἀδελφὸν]

Paul starts by calling Epaphroditus ‘my brother’. ‘Brother’ denotes siblings, children from the same parents. ‘Brother’ is sometimes used to describe an ethnic relationship; Paul refers to the unbelieving Jews as ‘my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh’ (Rom.9:3). But most often, ‘brother’ is used of brothers in Christ, sons and daughters of God through the gospel, adopted into his family. Paul addresses the Philippian church as ‘brothers’ in 1:12, and in 1:14 he refers to ‘brothers, confident in the Lord’ who were emboldened to speak the word without fear. Paul calls Epaphroditus ‘brother’, a sibling in Christ, a member of the household of faith.

My Fellow-Worker [συνεργὸν]

He calls him a fellow-worker. Paul considers Epaphroditus a co-laborer, a smaller group of those who have labored alongside him in the gospel. Prisca and Aquila (Rom.16:3), Urbanus (Rom.16:9), Timothy (Rom.16:21; 1Thes.3:2), Apollos (1Cor.3:9), Titus (2Cor.8:23), Euodia, Syntyche, Clement (Phil.4:3), Aristarchus, Mark, Jesus Justus (Col.4:11), Philemon (Phm.1:1), Demas, Luke (Phm.1:24). He commends:

Romans 16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.

This is a high commendation to be considered a co-laborer in the gospel with Paul.

My Fellow-Soldier [συστρατιώτην]

Paul affirms Epaphroditus as a fellow-soldier. Paul was well familiar with Roman soldiers, who rescued him from mob violence and risked their lives to protect him on more than one occasion, under whose watchful eye he was now imprisoned (Ac.28:16). He applies this compound word to only one other person in the New Testament, to Archippus (Phm.1:2). Paul exhorts Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

This is high praise of Epaphroditus. A brother in Christ; not only a brother but a co-laborer; not only a fellow-worker, but my fellow soldier, risking his life with me on the battlefield of faith.

Your Apostle [ἀπόστολον]

Next, Paul moves to commend Epaphroditus in his relationship to the church that sent him. He calls him ‘your messenger’, literally ‘your apostle’. The title ‘Apostle’ is usually reserved for the 12 that Jesus appointed as Apostles, together with Matthias, selected out of those who followed Jesus from the baptism of John through his resurrection appearances, to replace Judas, and Paul, to whom the Lord appeared and commissioned personally. The word [ἀπόστολος] apostle literally means a delegate or ambassador, one set apart and sent out on a mission with authority (Jn.13:16).

In Hebrews 3, Jesus, sent out by his Father, is called ‘the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him’ (Heb.3:1-2);

1n 1 Corinthians 16, Paul is instructing the Gentile churches to take a collection for the persecuted saints in Jerusalem, and he invites them to send delegates to accompany that gift. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul again refers to this gift and those sent from Macedonia to accompany the gift as ‘messengers (lit. apostles) of the churches’.

Here in Philippians, Paul refers to Epaphroditus as ‘your apostle’, one commissioned and sent out as a delegate of this church, authorized to deliver their gift to Paul.

Your Minster [λειτουργὸν] to My Need

Paul calls Epaphroditus ‘your minister to my need’. This word group translated ‘minister’ is an interesting one; it means a public servant, used of civil authorities as appointed by God in Romans 13:6. But most often, with its Old Testament background, it refers to the ministry of temple worship.

In Luke 1, the priest Zechariah was serving as priest in the Jerusalem temple, and when his time of ‘service’ or ‘ministry’ ended, he returned home and John the Baptist was conceived.

Hebrews 8 is pointing to Jesus our greater High Priest;

Hebrews 8:1 …we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

Paul in Romans 15 used this priestly analogy to describe his own ministry to the Gentiles;

Romans 15:15 …because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister [λειτουργὸν] of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service [ἱερουργοῦντα] of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

He also uses this priestly service imagery to describe the financial collection from the Gentiles to be offered to the Jewish saints in Jerusalem:

2 Corinthians 9:12 For the ministry of this service [λειτουργίας] is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

Peter views all believers as

1 Peter 2: 5 …a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

That is his meaning here in Philippians; he calls Epaphroditus ‘your minister to my need’ and in verse 30, he describes his service as

Philippians 2:30 …risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me [τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός με λειτουργίας].

In chapter 4, he thanks them for their partnership in the gospel;

Philippians 4:18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God [τὰ παρ’ ὑμῶν, ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας, θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ].

Paul had described his own joy in Philippians 2:17 in Old Testament sacrificial terms:

Philippians 2:17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering (lit. on the sacrifice and service) of your faith [ἐπὶ τῇ θυσίᾳ καὶ λειτουργίᾳ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν], I am glad and rejoice with you all.

Paul views Epaphroditus’ as a minister, serving in person where the Philippians could not.

Sending Epaphroditus

Paul inserts this high praise of Epaphroditus into his sentence before he says that he is sending him to them. The word order of the original goes something like this: “But I considered necessary Epaphroditus, the brother, and fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier of me, even your apostle, and minister to my need, to send to you.” Without these five intervening titles, the sentence structure is simple; ‘I considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you.’

It seems Paul felt the need to explain why he was sending Epaphroditus. They sent him to Paul with a gift, and to minister to his needs in prison. This may have been a semi-permanent assignment, and they didn’t expect him back so soon, especially with Paul still in prison.

Strong Desire [ἐπιποθῶν]

Philippians 2:25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

Epaphroditus has been longing for the Philippians. This is the same word Paul used in chapter 1 to describe his own longing for the Philippians with all the affection of Christ Jesus (1:8). Paul longed to see other churches and individuals (Rom.1:11; 2Tim.1:4), and other churches longed to see him (1Thes.3:6). Peter uses this word to describe the strong desire babies have for milk (1Pet.2:2), and Paul uses it to describe the strong desire we have for heaven (2Cor.5:2).

Strong desires are not evil. We are made to feel, to have strong emotions. Our desires become sinful when we long for the wrong thing. Paul doesn’t have anything negative to say about Epaphroditus’ longing for the Philippians; his desire seems to run parallel Paul’s own, and to Timothy’s ‘genuine concern for your welfare.’

Deeply Troubled [ἀδημονῶν]

Epaphroditus not only has deep desires, but is deeply troubled. He has been distressed because you heard he was ill. He is not troubled over his illness; he is troubled because you heard about it. He is concerned that they would be concerned. Somehow Epaphroditus heard that they heard that he was sick. He couldn’t just shoot them a quick text or email saying that he was fine. And if you are a parent, you know that that wouldn’t be enough. “Hey dad, I was in an accident, but I’m ok. What kind of accident? How bad? Can you send pics? What do you mean ok? As in still alive? Or walked away without a scratch? Really I just want to see you, to know you’re ok.” Epaphroditus isn’t focused on himself or his sickness; he is troubled over their concern for him, and putting their troubled minds at ease. This word ‘distressed’ is a strong word; the only other place it is used is in the accounts of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane; when he

Mark 14:33 … began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”

Near Death in Service

Paul confirms, the rumor you heard was true.

Philippians 2:27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

The rumors were true, but it was worse than you may have heard. He was sick, close to death. Paul praises the mercy of God in sparing Epaphroditus, and himself, because Paul cared deeply about this man, and it would have piled grief upon grief to see him suffer and die all in the process of bringing service to the Apostle. Now that he is well enough to travel, Paul feels an urgency to send him to them.

Paul is sending him, he is not sending him back. He was sent to Paul to minister to him, and he was at Paul’s disposal to keep or to send on as he saw fit. Paul is not sending him back as if he had failed to render the service needed; Epaphroditus had fully discharged his duty, and Paul was sending him now to them because that is what he considered most necessary. He is sending him to them to free himself from sorrow, but also to bring them joy. Paul is confident that the church in Philippi will rejoice at seeing again the one they heard was ill.

The Honor of Risky Service

Philippians 2:29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Paul instructs them to receive him in the Lord. This is the third time Paul has used this phrase ‘in the Lord’ in this section. His hope to send Timothy quickly is ‘in the Lord.’ His confidence that he himself will come soon is ‘in the Lord.’ Now he instructs them to receive Epaphroditus ‘in the Lord’. Seeing him show up may have been a surprise, not what they planned or expected; they were likely anxious and grieved that he had fallen ill. But all this is under the sovereign hand of a good God. Jesus is highly exalted as Lord over all, and he can order circumstances (even what we consider bad circumstances) to bring about his good purposes. All this is to be received ‘in the Lord.’

And he is to be received with joy. This letter is saturated with joy. Paul sends him so that they will rejoice, and he instructs them to receive him with joy.

And honor such men, those who come near to death, those who risk their own life in the work of Christ, in service to others. Because they are following Jesus, who in service to others,

Philippians 2:8 …he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/25 Philippians 2:19-24; Timothy, An Others Centered Life; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240225_philippians-2_19-24.mp3

Timothy An Illustration of An Others’ Centered Life

Paul has exhorted the Philippians to gospel shaped unity. He has held up the pattern of our Lord Jesus, who humbled himself to sacrificially serve others. He again exhorted them to work out God’s salvation in their own lives in ways that take the shape of gospel unity. He pointed to his own joy in being poured out for others.

Now in 2:19, he seems to switch gears and give them information about two individuals, Timothy and Epaphroditus, and information about his plans for the future, his hope to send Timothy to them soon, his own hope to visit them personally, and an explanation of his immediate sending of Epaphroditus back to them. We might be tempted to breeze past this section as a dated and irrelevant piece of antiquity. But when we look beneath the surface, we see that he is continuing to encourage them toward joyfully serving others in a way that knits us together in gospel unity.

If we extend our outline of the passage we see this clearly:

1:27 – 2:4 exhortation to gospel unity

2:5-11 motivation of Jesus’ humility that brings glory to God

2:12-16 exhortation to work out your gospel unity

2:17-18 motivation of Paul’s joy in sacrifice for others

2:19-24 motivation of Timothy’s selfless concern for others

2:25-29 motivation of Epaphroditus’ risk in service to others

Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus are all held up as illustrations of Christlike joyful sacrificial service to others.

All My Hope Is In The Lord Jesus

Paul frames this section with his confidence in the Lord Jesus. In verse 19 he says ‘I hope in the Lord Jesus’, and in verse 24 he says ‘I am confident in the Lord’. Paul’s hope, Paul’s confidence is in Jesus. He is living his life in dependence on, trusting in the Lord Jesus. He is living by faith in the Son of God. His whole life, all his plans, his every hope, all of it is placed under and subject to the sovereign lordship of Jesus. Jesus who emptied himself, humbled himself, Jesus who is now highly exalted by his Father as Lord over all, to whom every being in the universe is ultimately subject. Paul has plans, has purposes, has desires, but all of that is gladly submitted to the sovereign purposes of his Lord Jesus.

Back in chapter 1 he outlined his confidence in Jesus and his own conflicted desires;

Philippians 1:19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. 27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Paul makes plans, but he is willing to allow Jesus to change and disrupt those plans for his greater glory. Remember in Acts 16,

Acts 16:6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. …9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

This is the sovereign interference that brought them to Macedonia, to Philippi in the first place. Paul weights his options, makes his plans, and moves in that direction, all with an open hand, allowing Jesus to direct (or re-direct) his steps. Remember, Paul is a prisoner, likely in Rome, but ultimately he is a prisoner of the Lord Jesus (1:13), bound to serve him.

Others Centered Joy

Paul’s purpose for sending Timothy is to find joy in the things concerning them;

Philippians 2:19 …so that I too may be cheered by news of you.

He is interested in them, specifically in their progress in the gospel. As he said in chapter 1, he is eager to

Philippians 1:27 …hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Their gospel unity will bring peace to his soul. It is Paul’s joy to be poured out on the sacrifice of their faith, and he invites them to rejoice with him. There is an undercurrent of joy in sacrificial service in this pasage; it matters how you serve, with what attitude you serve; not with grumbling and disputing. This is others centered joy. Paul is concerned about them, praying for them, interested to hear about them.

Timothy’s Driving Passion; Of Equal-Soul

Why Timothy? ‘For I have no one like him’. The word Paul uses to describe Timothy is literally, ‘equal-souled’ [ἰσόψυχον]. The soul refers to the inner life, the inner person, we might say the driving passion, the heart and mind. In 1:27 he called them to be of one mind (μιᾷ ψυχῇ; literally with one soul) striving side by side for the faith of the gospel; they were to have a unified driving passion to advance the good news of Jesus. In 2:2 he exhorts them to think the same, have the same love, be fellow-souled [σύμψυχοι] and think the one thing. They are to have a common soul, a common driving passion. In 2:19 Paul intends to send Timothy to them in order that he might be cheered [εὐψυχῶ], literally ‘good-souled’ by what he hears about them. If he hears that they are striving for the gospel with one soul, having a common soul or passion for the main thing, then it will be well with his soul.

Here in 2:20 he says of Timothy that there is no one ‘of equal soul’ [ἰσόψυχον]; with the same driving passion as him.

Genuine Anxiety For Others

What makes Timothy so unique? What is his driving passion?

Philippians 2:20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned [μεριμνήσει] for your welfare [τα περι υμων].

Timothy had genuine care and concern for the things of the Philippian church. This was Paul’s heart; knowing the things of this church would put his soul at peace. The word used to describe Timothy’s concern is the word most often translated ‘anxiety or worry’. Jesus warns us clearly against anxiety about our own stuff, what we will eat, what we will wear, coloring our hair, even if we will live or die (cf. Mat.6:25-34; Lk.10:41; 12:11-26). Jesus compares anxiety to life choking thorns that prevent fruitfulness (Mt.13:22). Paul commands the Philippians (4:6) ‘Do not be anxious about anything’.

But this anxiety word can be used in a positive way of deep care for the things of another. Paul teaches about gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 that are to be used not for selfish advantage, but to build others up;

1 Corinthians 12:25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Paul lists the afflictions he endured as an apostle;

2 Corinthians 11:28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Paul looks at Timothy’s genuine anxiety not for himself, but for the heath of this church as a deep and healthy care and concern, born out of love for the other. Timothy’s motivating passion was to see this church thrive, and Paul says ‘there is no one like him.’

Seeking Your Own Things Or The Things Of Others?

Philippians 2:20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare [τα περι υμων]. 21 For they all seek their own interests [τα εαυτων], not those [τα] of Jesus Christ.

Timothy’s care is for ‘the things that have to do with you’. This is the same phrase that Paul used when he wanted to hear of ‘the things that have to do with you’ in 1:27 and in 2:19 when he expected to be cheered by knowing ‘the things that have to do with you’.

The norm for sinful fallen humanity is ‘seeking the things that have to do with oneself’, and that is the natural tendency even for followers of Jesus. This is why Paul exhorts them;

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves [εαυτων]. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests [τα εαυτων], but also to the interests of others [τα ετερων].

This is why he holds up Jesus, who

Philippians 2:7 but emptied himself [εαυτον], by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself [εαυτον] by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We naturally seek our own interests, the things that have to do with me. We need the Spirit of God to turn our ingrown focus outward, to give us genuine care and concern for the things of others; ultimately for the things of Jesus Christ.

This keeps us on track. Care and concern for the things of others is not just submitting to the desires and whims of others, not giving up our own things to help others in their self-seeking concern for their own things. Those who seek their own things are contrasted with those who seek the things of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ driving passion is for the glory of his Father, and the Father seeks to glorify his Son. What are the things of Jesus Christ?

Ephesians 5:2 …Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. …25 …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Christ is passionately pursuing the welfare of his bride, the church; the purity of his church, the beauty and splendor of his church. Timothy was aligning himself with Jesus in pursuing the glorious gospel shaped beauty of the church. Timothy was genuinely seeking to advance the interests of Jesus Christ, not his own.

Mentoring Timothy

Acts 14 records Paul’s first visit to Lystra, where he was stoned and left for dead by the Jews, but made many disciples, among whom was likely young Timothy. In Acts 16 Paul invited the highly recommended Timothy to accompany him on the rest of his journeys, during which he was trusted with multiple errands for the apostle. Timothy is mentioned in 7 of Paul’s letters to churches, likely delivering some of these letters as delegate of the apostle. Timothy would have visited Philippi in Macedonia several times over these years. Paul later wrote 2 personal letters to Timothy to encourage him in his service to the church in Ephesus. He said:

2 Timothy 3:10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. … 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it

Gospel Service

Timothy followed Paul as Paul followed Jesus.

Philippians 2:22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

The Philippian church was well acquainted with Timothy’s proven character. They had been recipients of his ministry and had opportunity to observe him, from the first time Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke came to Philippi, and over the next ten plus years.

Paul refers to Timothy as ‘my fellow worker’ (Rom.16:21); ‘my beloved and faithful child in the Lord’ (1Cor.4:17; 2:Tim.1:2); ‘our brother’ (2Cor.1:1; Col.1:1); ‘God’s coworker in the gospel’ (1Thes.3:2); ‘my true child in the faith’ (1Tim.1:2). Here he likens Timothy’s relationship to him ‘as a child to his father’ and he says he served (literally slaved). We might expect Paul to say ‘he served me’, but instead Paul says ‘he served with me’. Together Paul and Timothy served the gospel. Together they did what they did to advance the good news of Jesus. All Christian service is serving in the gospel; no doubt this includes evangelism; proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers; but it also includes encouraging believers to grow in congruence to the gospel, to live gospel shaped lives.

Confident Hope

Philippians 2:23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Paul reiterates the hope he began with; On the one hand, he hopes to send Timothy soon, as soon as I look to the things that have to do with me. Paul is sending Epaphroditus back to the Philippians, but he is in need of Timothy’s service for a time. On the other hand, he is confident in the Lord that he himself will quickly come. Paul has used this word ‘confident’ or ‘persuaded’ in 1:25, where he stated his confidence that he would remain ‘for your progress and joy in the faith’. In 1:6 he said ‘I am sure (confident) of this, that

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure (confident) of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul hopes in the Lord to send Timothy quickly. Paul is confident in the Lord that he himself will quickly come. Paul uses hope and confidence in parallel, because biblical hope is not wishful thinking; it is a settled confidence based on the character of God and his word.

Are we those who look only to our own interests, or is our primary passion the interest of Jesus and the gospel?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

09/03 Philippians 1:9-11; Gospel Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230903_philippians-1_9-11.mp3

Prayer and Praying

We are in Philippians 1, looking at prayer. Paul gave thanks to God in all his remembering of the Philippians, always in all of his prayers on behalf of all of them, making his requests with joy because of their fellowship with him in the gospel from the first day right up to the present, when they sent Epaphroditus to him in prison to minister to his needs. Paul is confident that ‘he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. His confidence in all of them is warranted, btuecause he holds them in his heart; and they all are fellow-fellowshippers with him in this grace in both in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Paul calls God as witness that he longs for all of them with the affections of Jesus Christ. Gospel confidence, that grows out of gospel partnership, that expresses itself in gospel prayer.

In verses 8-11 he talks about his praying; who he prays for (all of them); how often he prays (always); and the ground of his thankfulness for all of them (their gospel partnership in God’s grace). In verses 9-11 he gives the content of his prayer for them, and observing the prayers of others, especially prayers recorded for us in the Bible, is a great way to learn how to pray and what to pray for.

Love Abounding

Paul prays for their love to abound still more and more. This means that they are practicing love (and this love is ἀγάπη love; God’s own self-sacrificial pursuit of the greatest good of the one who is loved). But they, like all of us, have room to grow in love, to deepen in love, or as Paul puts it ‘that your love may abound still more and more’. Paul has expressed his own thankfulness, his own joy, his own confidence in them. He has said ‘I have you in my heart’ and ‘I long for you (expressing intense emotional desire) with the affections (literally with the bowels; the gut level emotions) of Christ Jesus. It is clear that Paul loves the Philippians.

And it is clear that the church in Philippi loves Paul. They sacrificed to serve him, to minister to his needs; they sent Epaphroditus, who almost died in seeking to serve Paul. They supported him emotionally, physically, spiritually, both personally and in his gospel ministry from the day they met him.

But we will learn that they have room to grow. In chapter 2 he exhorts them to unity and humility; he warns them against rivalry, conceit, and self-focus. He warns against grumbling and disputing. In chapter 3 there is danger of false teachers who out of pride put confidence in their own performance. There is division in the church; in chapter 4 he even names two ladies and publicly begs them to agree in the Lord.

It is worth noting that love lacks an object. Paul does not tell them to love God or to love Paul or to love each other more. He is praying that their love abound; that they be more characterized by love. Love always has an object, but the focus here is on the one who loves, not on that which is loved. God is love (1Jn.4:8,16), and we are to become more like God.

Informed Discerning Love

‘This I pray, that your love abound still more and more, in knowledge and all insight.’ True love is not blind. God knew what his love would cost him when he set his love on us. Nor is love mere emotional sentiment or even a powerful attraction. Paul expresses a deep and powerful emotional connection with this church, but when he prays for their love, he prays that it would abound not in emotional attachment, but in knowledge and insight.

E.F. Scott wrote in 1955 “Nothing perhaps is more harmful than the easy good nature which is willing to tolerate everything; and this is often mistaken for the Christian frame of mind. Love must fasten itself on the things which are worth loving, and it cannot do so unless it is wisely directed”

Love is not a nebulous nothing open to be defined however we wish; John tells us

1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Love is defined by sacrificial service for the good of others. God loved in this way; that he gave (Jn.3:16).

Scottish minister John Eadie (1858) wrote “We give κοινωνίᾳ a more extensive meaning, and consider ἀγάπη as its root and sustaining power. It is love for Christ’s image and Christ’s work – for all that represents Him on earth – His people and His cause; that holy affection which, while it unites all in whom it dwells, impels them to sympathize with all suffering, and co-operate with all effort, in connection with the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” (p.19).

Love is the root of gospel partnership, gospel fellowship. The Philippians partnered with Paul, sent people to minister to him, sent financial assistance to him, out of love. Love for Paul, yes. But love for the gospel; ultimately love for the God they came to know through the gospel. So Paul prays that their love abound still more and more in knowledge and all insight. In 1 Corinthians 8:1 Paul warns of the danger of knowledge without love; here he prays that their love would be characterized by knowledge. Personal, experiential knowledge.

1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. …16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Knowledge is dangerous without love, but love is fueled by knowledge. The more we know God, experience him, abide in his love for us, the more we will be characterized by love.

Paul prays our love would be characterized by knowledge and all insight. Insight is a word that shows up often in Proverbs. It is a wisdom word, that discerns how best to express and apply love in ways that are most fit to the specific situation. “The combination of knowledge and depth of insight unites the personal knowledge of Christ and a practical understanding of people” (Hansen, PNTC, p.59). And that is what Paul prays next;

Approve What Is Excellent

That by testing you may approve what is excellent. The refiner’s fire proves the genuineness of gold. In this way our love ought to abound in knowledge and discernment, so that we can prove that which stands out as best, even among other good options. What does love look like in this particular circumstance? There may be multiple ways to show love, but which is best? Knowledge and discernment are needed to approve what excels above other choices.

Sincerity Without Stumbling

Paul prays that our love will abound, and he prays that we will be pure and blameless in the day of Christ. Pure, sincere, without moral stain, washed clean by the blood of Jesus and transformed by his Spirit. And blameless, not causing another to stumble, giving no offense (1Cor.10:32). Love must have pure, sincere motives. Love must not put a stumbling block in another’s way.

Paul prays that we would be pure and blameless to the day of Christ. Paul’s desire is:

Ephesians 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Pray for What you are Certain of

I want us to notice something about prayer here. In verse 6 Paul expressed his confidence that the one who began a good work in us would bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. Here he prays that we would be found pure and blameless on the day of Christ. If you are confident that something will happen, do you pray for it to happen? Paul did! He is absolutely confident in the rock-solid theological truth of the faithfulness of God to finish what he starts. So he prays that the Philippians would be pure and blameless on the day of Christ. Paul believes that God will do what he promised, and he asks God to fulfil what he promised. If this doesn’t make sense to us, I think we are misunderstanding prayer! When Jesus taught his followers to pray (Mt.6:9-13), he taught them to ask that God’s name be treated as holy, that his kingdom would come, that his will would be be done. We can be confident that it will! At the name of Jesus every knee will bow. God’s kingdom is among us, because King Jesus is with us, and God’s will will not be thwarted. So praying this prayer is asking God to do what we are already certain he will do. Prayer is not attempting to convince God do to something outside his will and contrary to his character. Prayer is aligning ourselves with God’s nature and will, and inviting him to do what he promised to do. This is what John instructs us to do:

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

This understanding helps makes sense of what James writes:

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Faith is believing God will do what he said he will do. If we think we are asking God to do something contrary to his will or character, then it’s not out of faith, and we can have no confidence.

Paul expresses his confidence in the faithfulness of God, and then he calls on God to fulfill his promises. And then he spends the rest of the letter exhorting and persuading the Philippians to take steps to align themselves with God’s will, because he is confident that ‘he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.’ Paul’s confidence translates into prayer and loving and wise steps to bring about the thing that would bring glory to God.

Filled with Righteous Fruit

‘That you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.’ Pure and blameless are negative; they describe what we must be without. But he describes not only what we must lack, but what we must be filled up with. His prayer is that we be crammed full, completely filled up with, filled to overflowing with the fruit of righteousness. Righteous fruit must be found in us. We could look to Paul’s Galatian letter for a definition of this righteous fruit;

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; …

Through Jesus Christ

And it is clear this is fruit. It does not originate in us. It is not from us. This is not the works of the flesh. In Galatians it is called the fruit of the Spirit; the Spirit of God generates the fruit in us. Here in Philippians the means through which the fruit is produced is identified; it is fruit that comes through Jesus Christ. Jesus himself told us;

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

In order to bear fruit for God, we must be abiding in Jesus. Our love must abound in knowledge; intimate abiding knowledge of Jesus.

To the Glory and Praise of God

This fruit comes through Jesus, it is fruit of the Spirit, but it is for something, something much bigger than us. We are not meant to be blameless and fruitful so that people look at us and say ‘wow!’ Remember, Paul begins this section by thanking God, because God is the one who deserves to be thanked. He is rejoicing in the Philippians’ partnership in the gospel, but he doesn’t directly thank the Philippians, because this is all grace. They are co-participants with Paul in grace. They are getting what they don’t deserve. The fruit is from the Holy Spirit, it comes through Jesus Christ, and it is to the glory and praise of God. The ultimate purpose of our fruitfulness, is to glorify God. Jesus said:

John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Jesus said:

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

08/27 Philippians 1:3-8; Gospel Communion Gospel Confidence; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230827_philippians-1_3-8.mp3 We are in Philippians 1; today we are going to look at prayer. Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace […]

View Details

08/20 Philippians 1:2; Grace and Peace; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230820_philippians-1_2.mp3 Introduction Today we’re going to jump back into Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Paul and Barnabas had brought the gospel into modern day Turkey, and established churches there (c. AD 46-47; Acts 13-14). A few years later (AD 49-51; Acts 16), he returned […]

View Details

08/13 Psalm 5: God’s Character and Our Only Hope; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230813_psalm-5.mp3 The Psalms are the songbook of the church. They offer us words to pray when we have no words, when we don’t know how or what to pray. They can fuel our devotion to the Lord. And if we understand them rightly, […]

View Details

08/06 Psalm 4; Fiery Darts and Inner Peace; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230806_psalm-4.mp3 Have you ever become aware that people are talking about you, but not in a good way? Have you ever been slandered? Your reputation dragged through the mud? Rumors spreading, lies circulating, comments, insinuation, you get those looks? You just know (or at […]

View Details

07/23 Messiah’s Dependent Prayer (Psalm 3); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230723_psalm-3.mp3 We are going to look at Psalm 3 today. To bring you up to speed, the last two weeks we looked at Psalm 1 and 2, which together serve as the introduction to the collection of Psalms. Psalm 1 speaks of the blessed man, the […]

View Details

07/16 The Lord’s Messiah (Psalm 2) Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230716_psalm-2.mp3 Psalm 2 is connected to Psalm 1. Psalm 2 is quoted in Luke 13:33, where this Psalm is quoted as the second Psalm, but there are some manuscripts of Luke with a variant reading that say this quote is from the first Psalm. That’s a […]

View Details

07/09 The Blessed Life (Psalm 1); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230709_psalm-1.mp3 The Pursuit of Happiness “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So reads our Declaration of Independence […]

View Details

06/25 The Glory of God to the Nations (Psalm 96); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230625_psalm-96.mp3 Today I want to talk about what we call missions; bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who don’t yet believe, to those who may have never heard, to the nations, to the world. I invite you to look with […]

View Details

05/21 Philippians 1:1; Deacons; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230521_philippians-deacons.mp3

We are studying Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi.

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Servant Leadership

The Apostle Paul introduces himself and his co-laborer Timothy simply as servants; literally slaves; Paul had learned from Jesus what it means to lead in Jesus’ kingdom;

Mark 10:42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Saints and Overseers

Paul addresses the saints; those set apart, sanctified, made holy by the blood of Jesus. He addresses the saints together with two groups of responsible leaders in the church; overseers and deacons. Both are plural, and both groups exist in the one church in Philippi.

We took last week to examine what the Bible has to say about overseers, a term which is used interchangeably with elders or shepherds or stewards; different descriptions or metaphors of one role or responsibility; those who watch over, protect and care for, those who lead and feed with the word, the flock of God which he purchased with his blood (Acts 20:17,28). Overseers /shepherds /elders were to be appointed in every church (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).

Deacons

Today we will look at the other official role in the church, a role called ‘deacons’.

Deacon is another Greek word transferred over into English; [διάκονος] is the noun referring to the one who serves; it is translated as attendant, servant, minister, or transliterated as deacon.

[διακονία] is the noun referring to the service rendered; translated depending on context as serving or service, ministry, distribution, relief.

[διακονέω] is the verb to serve, translated, ministering, serving, helping, or delivering aid.

Servant (noun) [διάκονος]

We see the noun [διάκονος] ‘servant’ is used for servants in various capacities; Jesus uses it of every one of his followers who wishes to be great in his kingdom; ‘whoever would be great among you must be your servant’ (Mk.10:43).

It is used of the servants at the wedding in John 2 who fill the massive storage containers with the water that became wine (Jn.2:5,9). It is used in Jesus’ parables of a king’s servants who carry out his decrees of punishment (Mt.22:13);

Paul uses the term in Romans 13 to refer to government officials as ‘God’s servant for your good’ who ‘bear the sword’ to ‘carry out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer’ (Romans 13:4).

He even uses it to refer to false apostles as servants of Satan (2Cor.11:14-15)

Paul refers to himself and Apollos as ministers, servants of the gospel, of the new covenant, servants of God, of Christ.

He refers to Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1); Tychicus faithful servant (Eph.6:21; Col.4:7); Epaphras a servant of Christ on your behalf (Col.1:7).

Even Christ is said to be a servant to show God’s truthfulness and confirm the promises to the Jews (Rom.15:8).

Service Rendered (noun) [διακονία]

The noun [διακονία] referring to the service rendered is used of Martha’s hospitality, who was distracted with much serving (Lk.10:40); many times this word is used of the apostolic ministry (Ac.1:17,25; 21:19; Rom.11:13, etc.). [διακονία] is service as a Spirit given gift to build up the church (Rom.12:7; 1Cor.12:5). The whole church, every member, is to be equipped by its leaders ‘for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Eph.4:12).

There was a specific ministry given to Archippus (Col.4:17) and to Timothy (1Tim.4:5). The household of Stephanas’ devoted themselves to the service of the saints, possibly hosting the church in their home (1Cor.16:15).

Angels are even said to have ministry to those who are to inherit eternal life (Heb.1:14)

[διακονία] as Supporting Those in Need

There is another important use of the term [διακονία] to refer to the service of practical financial support of the poor. 2 Corinthians, Romans and Acts all mention this ministry (Acts 6:1; 11:29; 12:25; Rom.15:31; 2Cor.8:4; 9:1,12-13). In 2 Corinthians 8-9 it is clear that Paul is taking up a collection to be given to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Paul informs the church in Corinth of the eagerness of the churches of Macedonia (Philippi was the first church planted in Macedonia)

2 Corinthians 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief [διακονίας] of the saints—

2 Corinthians 9:1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, … 12 For the ministry [διακονία] of this service [λειτουργίας] is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,

In Acts 6, (and we will come back to Acts 6 in a bit) there is the specific issue of the daily distribution, or food service to widows in the Jerusalem church.

To Serve (verb) [διακονέω]

The verb [διακονέω] also shows up in various contexts. Angels ministered to Jesus after his 40 day fast and temptation (Mt.4:11); Peter’s mother-in-law ministered to Jesus and the disciples after Jesus healed her (Mt.8:15). There were many women who ministered to Jesus and his disciples throughout his ministry; as they had received supernaturally and spiritually, so they gave back physically and tangibly. Martha, and her sister Mary extended hospitality to Jesus (Jn.12:2). At the crucifixion,

Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered [διηκόνουν] to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. (cf.Mt.27:55-56)

Luke tells us clearly that this ministry of the women to Jesus included practical financial support.

Luke 8:2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them [διηκόνουν] out of their means.

Paul mentions the service of the household of Onesiphorus to him in his chains (2Tim.1:16-18) as well as of Onesimus (Phm:13)

Peter uses the verb to point to the Old Testament prophets serving us (1Pet.1:12), and he uses it to point to grace gifts enabling us to serve one another (1Pet.4:10-11)

[διακονέω] as Administering Support to those in Need

Paul uses the verb also to refer to his bringing financial aid to Jerusalem (Rom.15:25; 2Cor.8:19-20); he says in 2 Corinthians 8 of Titus and the preaching brother;

2 Corinthians 8:19 And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered [διακονουμένῃ] by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered [διακονουμένῃ] by us,

The financial gift was being ‘deaconed’ ar administered by Paul and his co-workers, so Paul felt obligated to carry the money with appointed delegates of the churches so that in handling the money, there would be accountability and they would be seen to be above reproach.

Jesus will use our service, our ‘deaconing,’ ministering to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, those lacking clothing, the sick and those in prison as evidence of the genuineness of our faith in him.

Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister [διηκονήσαμέν] to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

Qualifications for the Diaconate (1 Timothy 3:8-13)

Here in Philippians, we have deacons or servants distinguished as a group of leaders alongside the overseers. In 1 Timothy, Paul encourages those who aspire to serve as overseers, and he gives the necessary qualifications for the overseer/shepherd/elder. Then in verse 8 he gives the necessary qualifications for those who fill the office of deacon:

1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons [Διακόνους] likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons [διακονείτωσαν] if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons [διάκονοι] each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons [διακονήσαντες] gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Every believer is a saint, and every follower of Jesus is called to serve, to minister to others, but not every believer is called or qualified to fill the office of deacon of the local church. Every deacon must first be a saint, but not every saint can serve as a deacon.

Acts 6 and the Division of Ministry

In Acts 6, although the title ‘deacon’ does not appear, the noun form of the word pointing to the service rendered by a deacon appears twice and the verb ‘to serve’ or ‘to deacon’ appears once. Acts 6 tells of the Apostles officially recognizing the seven who were appointed to serve. Acts 6 comes after Acts 2-5. To understand Acts 6, we need to know what was happening. In Acts 2, when the gospel was proclaimed and the Lord God called people to himself, and people believed, and the church was growing exponentially, we are told:

Acts 2:44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

The gospel changes people. Jesus re-orders what is important to us. 1 John 3:16 says:

1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The gospel, that Jesus, out of love, laid down his life for us, transforms us, births his love in us. We see this happening at the birth of the church in Acts. In Acts 3, Peter and John have no money, but heal the lame man who was begging. This gets them taken into custody by the religious leaders, but the church continued to grow from 3,000 to 5,000, and by the end of chapter 4,

Acts 4:32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

In Acts 5, we see corruption entering already, Ananias and Sapphira seeking to buy status through benevolent giving, lying to the Spirit, and falling down dead as Jesus purified his church. The sharing was not compulsory; it was voluntary.

Acts 6 we see the grumbling beginning in the body:

Acts 6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution [διακονίᾳ].

The Greek speaking Jews from the dispersion were feeling slighted in the daily distribution for needy widows. This is the word for service rendered. So the Apostles took action.

Acts 6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve [διακονεῖν] tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry [διακονίᾳ] of the word.”

Here we have the first division of labor. The daily service to widows and the unity of the church is essential, but so is the service of the word. It is not right to neglect the one to do the other. So they gave qualifications for those who would deacon tables and manage the daily deaconing of resources. They would devote themselves to prayer and deaconing the word. So the assembly chose seven,

Acts 6:6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Every believer is a minister, called and equipped to do the work of the ministry. Deacons, men of character, alongside their overseers/shepherds are appointed in the church to administer equitably the practical care for those in need in the body. This is meant to free the overseers/shepherds to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

05/14 Philippians 1:1; Saints and Overseers; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230514_philippians-overseers.mp3

We are beginning to look at Paul’s letter to the church in the Roman colony of Philippi, a church planted by Paul, and Silas, a leading man from the Jewish Jerusalem church, a prophet, and Timothy, a believer from Lystra in Asia Minor, well spoken of by the brothers, whose mother was Jewish but his father was a Greek, and Luke, the beloved physician who apparently stayed behind in Philippi to help establish the growing church.

Paul begins the letter by identifying who is writing, and to whom he is writing.

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Apostles as Slaves

Last week we looked at Paul the Apostle (the verb ἀποστέλλω means to send out; the noun ἀπόστολος means a messenger, delegate, ambassador, authorized and sent out with authority). Paul was sent out by the resurrected Jesus with his authority to proclaim his message. But Paul and the other Apostles had learned from Jesus that his kind of leadership is servant leadership, so Paul refers to himself along with Timothy simply as ‘slaves of Christ Jesus’.

Today we’ll begin to look at who this letter is addressed to. It is ‘To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons’.

The Saints

Paul names the Jesus followers in this church as ‘saints’. The word ‘saint’ simply means holy or set apart. They are set apart from the world, set apart to God, to belong to him, to be useful to him.

This is no special class of believer; this would include the businesswoman Lydia from Thyatira, whose heart the Lord had opened, the formerly demonized slave girl who was set free, and the callous Roman jailer who came to the end of himself and realized his need for a Savior.

And this is no status achieved by effort or personal godliness. From the moment those three believed in Jesus, they became saints, holy ones, set apart for God. Not because they were holy in and of themselves; they only are saints because they are ‘in Christ Jesus’. They are set apart for God. They have been sanctified; made holy by the blood of Jesus, clothed in his perfect righteousness. Everyone who simply believes, puts his or her trust in Jesus alone, depends on Jesus, is connected with Jesus, is in Jesus, and is therefore called a saint.

Overseers

This letter is addressed to the saints, together with the overseers and deacons. Today we will examine what an ‘overseer’ is, and Lord willing next week we will look at what the Bible says about ‘deacons’.

Overseer is a good translation of the Greek word [ἐπίσκοπος], which is a compound word made up of the prefix [ἐπί] which means over, and the noun [σκοπός] which means a sentry, a watch. An overseer is one who looks to, keeps an eye on, watches over, watches out for those under his care. Bishop was the Old English word used to translate [ἐπίσκοπος] in the King James Bible.

Overseers Equivalent to Elders

The first time this word ‘overseer’ [ἐπίσκοπος] shows up is in Acts 20:28

Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to [προσέχετε] yourselves and to all the flock [ποιμνίῳ], in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [ἐπισκόπους], to care for [ποιμαίνειν] the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Spirit-Appointed

This verse tells us a lot about overseers. First of all, Paul acknowledges that it is the Holy Spirit who appoints overseers in the church. Paul had briefly visited Ephesus on his return from his second journey when the church in Philippi was birthed (Acts 18:19-21) and then for about 3 years (AD52-55) on his third journey, until “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Ac.19:10). It is likely that Paul had at least a part in establishing the leadership of the church in Ephesus as he did in so many others, but he acknowledges that ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who appoints the overseers of the church.

Overseers Shepherd

This passage also says much about what the overseers are to do. They are to shepherd the flock, the blood bought church of God. The word ‘pastor’ comes from the Latin for shepherd or herdsman, which was derived from ‘pascere’; to pasture or feed. We’ll come back to this in a minute.

Watch Out For Wolves

But let’s zoom out to what’s going on in this passage. In Acts 20, returning from Macedonia and Greece, Paul was sailing past Ephesus in order to make it to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. He stopped in the coastal town of Miletus, about 30 miles south of Ephesus.

Acts 20:17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders [πρεσβυτέρους] of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

There’s several things to see here. Paul tells the overseers to shepherd diligently with specific attention to the danger of wolves; false teachers who twist things. That danger can come from outside or in. Even overseers from among themselves who draw disciples after them; to draw a disciple after a prominent leader is to draw that disciple away from Jesus, whom we all ought to follow.

Paul places primary emphasis on the word. He gave them an example, he ‘did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house’ (v.20). His mission was ‘to testify to the gospel of the grace of God’ (v.24). His conscience is clean, because ‘I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God’ (v.27). In verse 32 he says ‘And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.’

Elders are Overseers

Remember who Paul is talking to here. He called for the elders of the church in Ephesus. Addressing the elders, he called them to shepherd with diligence, because the Spirit had made them overseers. So elders are overseers who are called to shepherd God’s church.

Elders Appointed in Every Church

Remember back in Acts 14, when Paul and Barnabas first preached the gospel in Asia Minor,

Acts 14:21 When they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe] and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had appointed elders [πρεσβυτερους] for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

They appointed elders in every church. Elders, who would oversee and shepherd the flock of God. We see this word ‘elders’ throughout the gospels and much of Acts referring to the Jewish leadership, the elders, together with the chief priests and the scribes. This goes all the way back to Moses in the Old Testament, establishing elders as leaders of Israel, to share the burden of leading, who according to Exodus 18:21 were to be ‘able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe’; according to Numbers 11:16-17 ‘whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them’; upon whom the LORD put his Spirit; according to Deuteronomy 1:13 ‘wise, understanding, and experienced men’.

Notice, Paul called for the elders (plural) of the church. In Acts 14 they appointed elders (plural) in every church. Paul writes to Titus:

Titus 1:5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

Plurality of Elders

Notice it doesn’t say they appointed an elder in every church or town; elders and overseers are always seen as plural, except when describing the qualifications for an elder or overseer.

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

Paul exampled this himself; he was always taking along a Barnabas, a Silas, John Mark, Timothy, Titus, Luke; co-workers, co-laborers, comrades. When Jesus sent out his apostles, he sent them out in pairs (Mk.6:7; cf. Lk.10:1)

Overseers/Elders are to Steward God’s House

Paul goes on to give Titus specific instructions for appointing elders in every town;

Titus 1:6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer [ἐπίσκοπον], as God’s steward [οἰκονόμον], must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Again we see elder and overseer used interchangeably. We see necessity of character, and the priority of the word; holding firm to what he has been taught, giving instruction in sound doctrine, and rebuking wolves.

Paul gives Titus another description, another metaphor for the elder/overseer. An overseer is God’s steward [οἰκονόμος], or household manager. Stewards feature in some of Jesus’ parables;

Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Stewards are put over God’s household, to manage it, but they are first servants, who will give account to their Master.

Jesus Gifts the Church with Shepherd/Teachers

When Paul writes in Ephesians 4, he is speaking from the perspective of Jesus giving gifts to men.

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Jesus has gifted shepherd/teachers to build up the body, foster unity, deepen our affection for Jesus, guard against false teaching, equip the saints for ministry.

The Chief Shepherd

Peter, who had denied Jesus three times; Peter, when Jesus spoke with him after the resurrection, Jesus said to him “Feed my lambs”; “Tend [or shepherd] my sheep”; “Feed my sheep” (Jn.21:15-17).

When Peter writes to the churches ‘in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1Pet.1:1), he says:

1 Peter 5:1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder [συμπρεσβύτερος] and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you [ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ θεοῦ], exercising oversight [ἐπισκοποῦντες], not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge [κλήρων], but being examples to the flock [ποιμνίου]. 4 And when the chief Shepherd [ἀρχιποίμενος] appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders [πρεσβυτέροις]. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd the flock of God, exercising oversight, but he reminds us that the chief Shepherd, Jesus is coming back. He said in chapter 2

1 Peter 2:25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus is the chief Shepherd. Jesus is the Overseer. Every elder who shepherds, oversees, manages the house, is under the chief Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep [τὸν ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν], by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

05/07 Philippians 1:1; Apostles as Slaves; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230507_philippians-apostles-slaves.mp3

Philippians is a letter, and as an ancient letter, it follows the standard letter format for the time; author, readers, greeting, body and conclusion.

Letter Greetings

It starts with who it’s from; this would serve like the return address on our envelopes; you know who it’s coming from before you start reading the contents. It is interesting to compare this letter with other letters we have in the collection we call the New Testament.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, …

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, …

Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

2 Peter 1:1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

That’s not all the letters, but it’s enough to see something strikingly different in the introduction to Philippians. In 9 of his 13 letters, Paul referst to himself as an apostle; an apostle of Christ Jesus 6 times; apostle of Jesus Christ once; servant and apostle twice; a prisoner of Christ Jesus once. He just gives names with no titles twice; 5 times he mentions specifically the will of God; once the command of God; twice that he was called, once specifying that it was not from men nor through man, bu through Jesus Christ and God the Father (Gal.). We read here in Philippians:

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Only once, here in Philippians does he simply refer to himself as a servant of Christ Jesus without mentioning his apostolic commission.

Apostles of Christ Jesus

Paul and Peter are apostles, and they are not afraid to write it in their letters. It’s worth taking a minute to understand what an apostle is or was. First the word itself; apostle is a Greek word [ἀπόστολος], not an English word. It means ‘one who is sent’; specifically one who carries the authority of the one who sent him. [ἀπόστολος] is the noun form of the verb [ἀποστέλλω] which means to set apart or send out. We see this for instance in Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 13

John 13:16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger [ἀπόστολος] greater than the one who sent [πέμψαντος] him.

We see the disciples named apostles in Mark 3.

Mark 3:13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles [αποστολους]) so that they might be with him and he might send them out [ἀποστέλλῃ] to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: … (cf. Lk.6:12-16)

He called them, he appointed them – notice ‘so that they might be with him’. He intends to send them out with his authority to preach and to cast out demons. But they must first be with him. We see these ‘sent ones’ with Jesus in Mark 3-5 as he teaches, heals, rebukes, calms the storm, casts out demons, even raises the dead, And then in Mark 6,

Mark 6:7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out [ἀποστέλλειν] two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (cf. Mt.9:37 – 10:42; Lk.9:1-6)

Then we see them return from their mission in Mark 6:

Mark 6:30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. (cf. Lk.9:10)

Sent out with his authority, then returning to give report to the one who sent them out with his authority.

At the end of Luke’s gospel, Jesus again commissions his disciples; but here he speaks of another sent one;

Luke 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.49 And behold, I am sending [ἐξαποστέλλω] the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

He picks up the story in Acts 1; he commands his disciples to wait for the promise of the Father; he wrote of:

Acts 1:1 …all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

And then he says to his apostles:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

John also connects this commissioning of his sent ones with his authority and the giving of the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent [ἀπέσταλκέν] me, even so I am sending [πέμπω] you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

17 times in John’s gospel, Jesus refers to himself as sent [ἀπέστειλεν] by his Father. Jesus himself is called in the book of Hebrews (3:1) ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’.

Jesus is our great Apostle, sent to earth by his Father. The requirement to fill the number of the 12 according to Acts were “men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts.1:21-22). And Paul,

1 Corinthians 15:8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain….

These are the ‘capital A’ Apostles of Christ Jesus, sent out personally by him. Others, like Barnabas (Acts.14:4, 1Cor.9:5), Epaphroditus (Phil.2:25), Titus and the other brothers (2Cor.8:23) are called ‘apostles’ (usually translated ‘messengers’) in that they were sent out by the churches. In this sense we have apostles who are sent out by our churches, although I wouldn’t use the term because it would confuse the issue.

Servant/Slave

Here in Philippians, Paul doesn’t use his title ‘Apostle’; rather he simply refers to himself as a servant, really a slave. The Old Testament law contained much protection for slaves, and kidnapping people to sell as slaves carried the death penalty (Ex.21:16). A slave could become a slave voluntarily or through circumstances, often a debt he couldn’t pay. Slave/master relationships could be good, even to the point that the slave voluntarily gives up his opportunity for freedom and chooses to remain a slave for life. Like Joseph in Potiphar’s house, and like many of Jesus’ parables, a slave could be a house-manager, in charge of and responsible for the master’s resources, even placed over other slaves. But at the bottom of it, the relation of a slave to his master is that of a total claim; the slave does what his master commands or suffers the consequences. The slave is not free to do what he wills. He is bound by and subject to his master’s will. Jesus spoke of the absurdity of having more than one master (Mt.6:24). This is the whole context of redemption; that we were bought with a price.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

As a believer in Jesus, I am not my own. We were slaves to sin (Jn.8:34). But now we belong to another, to Christ. We were purchased ‘with the precious blood of Christ’ (1Pet.1:19), ‘who gave himself for us to redeem us …a people for his own possession’ (Titus.2:14). When we say ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Rom.10:9), we are owning him as master, who holds absolute right over his slaves. We exist to do his bidding.

This is the badge Paul is wearing, this is his identity. He is an Apostle, but he is first a slave of Christ Jesus. He acknowledges Jesus as his Master.

It is with this understanding that Paul can write to slaves:

Ephesians 6:5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service [δουλεύοντες] with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

The gospel transforms and obliterates the master/slave hierarchy. Slaves are ultimately slaves of Christ, and should make it their aim in all things to please him. Masters have a master who is the master of their slaves, so they ought to be very careful how they treat God’s property.

The gospel transforms the way we interact with people. The gospel turns our social structures on their head. Jesus’ kingdom is an upside-down kingdom. Jesus’ teaching causes us to rethink what we think we know about leadership and authority. When James and John’s mother came to Jesus asking him to give them positions of authority in his kingdom, he rebuked her and them, ‘you do not know what you are asking’ (Mt.20:22; Mk.10:38).

Mark 10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant [διάκονος], 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave [δοῦλος] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served [διακονηθῆναι] but to serve [διακονῆσαι], and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Greatness in Jesus’ kingdom is measured not by authority but by selfless self sacrificial service to others. Jesus challenges his apostles in Luke 17:

Luke 17:7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly [περιζωσάμενος], and serve [διακόνει] me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Servants serve. That is their duty. They don’t look for a reward for doing what they are obligated to do. They have an obligation to their master. Servants owe service to their masters; masters require service from their slaves. Jesus reminds his apostles (Lk.17:5) that they are his servants. He is the one sending them out to serve.

But Jesus radically transforms our thinking on everything! Remember James and John’s attempted manipulation of Jesus to secure positions of authority in his kingdom? They didn’t understand! They didn’t understand on one level, what Jesus taught them in Matthew 10:
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I am sending you out [ἀποστέλλω] as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. …22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant [δουλος] above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

They didn’t understand the cost of authority. They thought prestigious positions meant luxury and ease. But not in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom. If he is the master they are serving, they should expect to be like their master in suffering.

Butt they didn’t understand on another level the radical upside-downness of Jesus’ kingdom. They wanted to secure positions of authority in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus said in Luke 12:

Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

They attempted to manipulate their way into power; the Father freely gives them the kingdom. Freely you have received, freely give (Mt.10:8).

Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What are you pursuing? What is it you treasure? What is it you love?

Luke 12:35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

Listen how upside-down Jesus’ kingdom is!

Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants [δοῦλοι] whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service [περιζώσεται] and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve [διακονήσει] them.

This is not just hypothetical. This is not just empty philosophy and fine sounding rhetoric. Jesus showed us just how upside-down his kingdom is.

John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13: 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger [ἀπόστολος] greater than the one who sent [πέμψαντος] him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/30 Philippians; The Church in Philippi (Acts 15-16); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230430_philippians-church.mp3

Unquenchable Joy

Last week we began to look at the background and context of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We saw that it was written from prison, but it was written out of an overflow of joy to a church that brought Paul much joy. Paul’s joy was not contingent on his circumstances. He recognized that he was not primarily a prisoner of the Roman empire; he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and that brought him joy. He saw that his imprisonment provided him unique opportunities and served to advance the gospel, and this brought him joy. The prospect of release or execution he viewed as a win/win alternative, and this brought him unquenchable joy. His reflection on this church and their partnership with him in the gospel caused him to overflow with thankfulness to God, and he prayed for them with joy.

Philippian Jailer

Last week we met one of the believers in the church in Philippi, a jailer, who had imprisoned Paul and Silas. After an earthquake opened the doors and broke the bonds of those in prison, assuming his prisoners had all escaped, the jailer was about to end his own life, when Paul intervened, shouting ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here’ (Acts.16:28). Self-sacrificial love of the victim for his persecutor softened the heart of this jailer, and he longed for the freedom this prisoner was enjoying.

Acts 16:30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

The Philippian jailer and his family were some of the people who made up the church in Philippi.

Today I want to back up in the story and look at how the gospel came to Philippi, and introduce you to some of the other members of this church family, as well as some of Paul’s co-workers who brought the gospel to Philippi. Acts 16 is the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey.

1st Missionary Journey (Acts 13-14; c. AD. 46-49)

On his first journey, he was accompanied by Barnabas, a prophet and teacher from the church in Antioch, and John Mark, who later wrote the gospel of Mark. They sailed to the island of Cyprus, and then on to Asia Minor, where John Mark jumped ship and returned to Jerusalem. Barnabas and Paul continued from Perga north to Pisidian Antioch, and then east into the regions of Galatia, to the cities of Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. It was in Lystra that Paul was stoned and left for dead by the Jews. But he got up, went back into town. After preaching the gospel in Derbe, they retraced their steps, encouraging the disciples and appointing elders in every church, and then returned to Antioch in Syria and reported to the church what God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)

Acts 15 describes the first church council, that addressed the issue of salvation by grace through faith, apart from works of the law. Some from the Pharisees were insisting that the Gentile believers be circumcised and be required to keep the law of Moses. Peter testified that when the Gentiles heard the word of the gospel and believed, God made no distinction, giving them the Holy Spirit, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Peter argued:

Acts 15:10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

The Jerusalem church wrote to the Gentile churches that they were not obligated to keep the law of Moses, but that they ought to abstain from idolatry, and from blood, from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality, so as not to give unnecessary offense to the Jews in their regions. They sent this letter by Paul and Barnabas, Judas and Silas.

Silas only shows up here in Acts 15-18. He along with Judas Barsabbas, Jewish believers from Jerusalem, are called ‘leading men among the brothers’ (Acts.15:22), and ‘prophets’ who ‘encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words’ (Acts.15:32).

2nd Missionary Journey (Acts 16-20; AD 49-51)

After a sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul in Antioch over allowing John Mark to accompany them again after deserting them, (yes, even apostles have sharp disagreements) Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, and Paul took Silas and traveled north through Syria and Silicia, strengthening the churches that had been established on the first journey.

Timothy

When they came to Lystra, the city where they stoned Paul on his first visit, he reconnected with a young believer Timothy, likely one who responded to the gospel Paul proclaimed on his first visit, as Paul calls him ‘my true child in the faith’ (1Tim.1:2).

Timothy was ‘well spoken of by the brothers’ (Acts.16:2), both in his hometown of Lystra, and in the nearby city of Iconium. Paul wanted this young Lycaonian man to accompany him on the rest of his journey, so he had him circumcised. Not because keeping the law had anything to do with his salvation; the letter he was delivering from the Apostolic council made that clear. But because his mother was Jewish, and his father was Greek, and this would have created an unnecessary obstacle to the gospel among the Jews in that region. So Timothy joined the missionary team.

Acts 16:4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

The Spirit’s Guidance for Missions (Acts 16)

Acts 16:6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

How did the Holy Spirit forbid them to speak the word in Asia? How did the Spirit of Jesus prevent them from entering Bithynia? Was it a lack of opportunity? Was it genuine attempts that were thwarted by circumstances? Was it some kind of internal sense that they had? Was it a clear word from the Lord to them? Paul was eager to preach the gospel to everyone everywhere, no matter the cost. What we do know is God is able to sovereignly direct the steps of his ambassadors.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

So they end up traveling a seemingly fruitless and possibly frustrating 350 miles and end up in Troas on the Aegean Sea.

Acts 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Macedonia, now northern Greece, across the Aegean from Turkey. One interesting thing to note about this verse; did you happen to notice the change in personal pronouns? Pronouns matter! Verse 8 and prior uses the second person plural, but for the first time in Acts, verse 10 switches to the first person plural. ‘They, they, them’ changes to ‘we, us’. Luke wrote the gospel that bears his name, and the book of Acts, and for the first time, Luke subtly is including himself in the narrative. Luke is only mentioned by name 3 times in the entire New Testament, but it seems Luke, the beloved physician (Col.4:14) joined the team in Troas. Acts 17 reverts to the second person ‘they’, so it seems that while Paul, Silas and Timothy left Philippi and traveled on, Luke may have remained in Philippi to serve the new church there. The ‘we’ resumes in Acts 20, when ‘we sailed from Philippi to Troas’.

Acts 16:11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

To the Jew First

To understand what happens next, we need to see Paul’s standard operating procedure. In Acts 1, Jesus commissioned his followers to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Paul made it his practice throughout Acts to find a Jewish synagogue and start his evangelism there. In Antioch in Pisidia, they started by proclaiming Jesus in the synagogue. On the next Sabbath, seeing the crowds, the jealous Jewish leaders began to contradict them.

Acts 13:46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

In Romans he makes it explicit that the gospel is to the Jew first and also to the Greek (1:16). Now back to Acts 16;

Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

Apparently there wasn’t a large enough Jewish population to have a synagogue (tradition states that a minimum of 10 Jewish men was required), so the Jews in Philippi would meet by the riverside on the Sabbath to pray.

Lydia

Acts 16:14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Lydia was a business woman from Thyatira. Purple was a prized commodity, and very valuable, so she was likely quite well off.

Thyatira was in Asia, where they had been ‘forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia’ (Acts.16:6). We are told Lydia was a worshiper of God, literally a God-fearer, which meant that she was a Gentile who was interested in learning about and following the God of the Jews. We might say she was a seeker, religious, desiring to know the one true God. When Paul and his co-workers ‘spoke to the women who had come together’, ‘the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said’. Have you had that experience? Sometimes it is difficult to pay attention. Some people’s hearts are closed to the gospel. That’s a spiritual problem with a spiritual remedy. It is not the persuasiveness or passion of the preacher; it is the Lord who opens hearts to the gospel.

Lydia was religious, she was what we might call a ‘good person’, but she didn’t know Jesus. She had a spiritual problem that required supernatural intervention.

Acts 16:15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Jesus himself opened this woman’s heart wide to receive the gospel, and she and her household were baptized (remember, they were meeting by the river). Her heart was opened, and her home was also opened. A new believer extended Christian hospitality to the missionaries. It is quite possible that her house became the home of the new church in Philippi.

The Girl Twice Owned

Acts 16:16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

Next we meet a girl twice owned. She was a slave, property of men who used her for their own profit. And she had a spirit of divination; or this unclean spirit had her. It is interesting to note that what she said was the truth. Demons were the first in Jesus’ ministry to recognize him for who he truly is, and he silenced them. This girl is not a seeker, she was being used and controlled. She is spiritual, but allied with the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph.6:12). There is no indication that she wanted to be delivered.

Acts 16:18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

This wore on Paul and grieved him for several days, until he finally turned and commanded the demon to leave her. This was a completely different kind of evangelism from Lydia; this was a power encounter with the enemy, demonstrating that ‘he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world’ (1Jn.4:4).

We assume that being now set free from the enemy, no longer of any use to her human masters, she believed in the Jesus who set her free and belonged to his church.

This is what got Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in prison. Why only Paul and Silas, and not Timothy or Luke? Probably because they were the only ones obviously Jewish, and the accusation is that ‘these men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.’

The Heartless Jailer

This is when they are given opportunity to be a light in a literally dark place, singing and praying in prison. They may have hoped that the other prisoners would believe, because they were listening.

The jailer wasn’t listening. He didn’t seem to care about anything but himself. Paul and Silas were beaten and bloody, they were in need of medical attention, medical attention that Luke the physician could have offered, but the jailer put them in the stocks and then went to bed. He didn’t care if they lived or died. He only cared that they didn’t escape, for to let a prisoner escape was to forfeit your own life. And rather suffer public humiliation and formal execution, he chose to end his own life. He wasn’t seeking anything. He was just doing his job, and seeking to preserve his own honor. Paul had to yell to prevent him from doing himself in.

This was evangelism through self-sacrificial suffering. This man had done them no favors. They could have escaped, but they knew that their freedom would cost the jailer his life. So they willingly endured suffering so that he could live, just like their Lord had suffered so that they could live. Jesus said:

Luke 6:27 “…Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also…

It was their self-sacrificial love for their enemy that got this hard Roman jailer’s attention, that showed him a need he didn’t know he had, ‘and he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.’

The Church in Philippi

A wealthy religious businesswoman, a demon possessed slave girl, a hardened Roman jailer. This was the birth of the church in Philippi; radically different people who met Jesus in radically different ways, all transformed by the gospel, all united by the gospel into one body, the church.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/23 Philippians; Joy in Suffering (Acts 16) ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230423_philippians-intro.mp3

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

We are going to launch today into a study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It will help us in understanding this letter to see it in its historical background and context. This was a real letter, correspondence, written from a real person, Paul, together with his co-worker Timothy, to a real church that was established through his missionary efforts, in a real city, the city of Philippi in Macedonia.

History of Philippi

Philippi was fortified by and named after Philip II of Macedon in 358-357 BC, the father of Alexander the Great, Alexander who conquered the Persians and advanced Greek culture throughout the known world. By 168 BC Rome had conquered Macedonia. In 42 BC, after the assassination of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius on the plains near Philippi. Octavian defeated Mark Antony at the battle of Actium in 31 BC, and took for himself the title of Augustus. Thus Philippi was established as a Roman colony and enjoyed the privileges of Roman citizenship and exemption from many taxes.

Written From Prison

Paul says he was writing from prison. He mentions his imprisonment in 1:7, and he encourages them in 1:12-14 that his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel even among the guards in the Praetorium, that his imprisonment is for Christ, and that it has imparted boldness to the brothers. Paul doesn’t know if he will live or die, but he lists the advantages of either; he is confident that ‘to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (1:21).

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem during Pentecost, 57 AD (Acts20:16), transported for his protection to Caesarea. After 2 years in prison there, he finally appealed to Caesar to protect himself from the plots of the Jews. They began the journey to Rome in the fall of AD 59, experiencing shipwreck on the journey, finally arriving in Rome in the spring of AD 60, as recorded in Acts 21-28. Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles ends with Paul in Rome:

Acts 28:30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Philippians is one of four letters that are considered Paul’s ‘prison epistles’, most likely written from Rome, around AD 60 – 62.

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon all mention Paul’s imprisonment.

He refers to himself as a prisoner of or for Christ Jesus (Eph.3:1, Phm.1:1, 9) a prisoner for or in the Lord (Eph.4:1), an ambassador in chains (Eph.6:20). He says he is in prison on account of the word, declaring the mystery of Christ (Col.4:3), that he was imprisoned ‘for the gospel’ (Phm.1:13), and he asks his readers to ‘remember my chains’ (Col.4:18).

Paul was in Roman custody from the spring of 57 through somewhere around AD 62. But this was not his first experience with prison. Already in AD 55 / 56, Paul had written to the Corinthian church about his ‘far more imprisonments’ (2Cor.11:23). Later, probably during a second Roman imprisonment that will likely end in his death, he writes his second and final letter to Timothy, and although he is ‘bound with chains as a criminal’, suffering for the gospel, he exults ‘but the word of God is not bound!’ (2Tim.2:9)

Written From Joy for Joy

But it is not as if Paul is depressed, dejected, languishing away in prison. He recognizes that he is first of all a bond-slave of Jesus; he was bought with a price. He is a prisoner of Christ and for the gospel. So he seizes every opportunity he has been given to advance the gospel and encourage the believers. In Philemon, we learn of Onesimus, a runaway slave, ‘my child, …whose father I became in my imprisonment’ (Phm.1:10). In Philippians we learn that through his imprisonment the gospel advanced throughout the whole praetorian guard (1:12-13), even those of Caesar’s household (4:22).

Philippians was written from captivity. But it is written from joy, and it is written for joy. Paul mentions joy and rejoicing some 16 times in these four short chapters. He prays for them with joy (1:4). He rejoices and will rejoice that Christ is preached, even if from wrong motives (1:18). He is confident that if he lives and is released, it will be for their joy in the faith (1:25). He invites them to fill up his joy by their humble unity (2:2). He encourages them to ‘do all things without grumbling or disputing (2:14) and even if his life is poured out like a drink offering, he will have joy and rejoice together with them all, and they ought also to have joy and rejoice together with him (2:17-18). he sends Epaphroditus back to them so that they would rejoice and receive him with joy, for he risked his life in service to Christ (2:28-29). He exhorts them to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ (3:1), and he calls them his joy (4:1). He exhorts them again to ‘rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice’ (4:4). He rejoices in the Lord greatly because of their care and concern for him (4:10).

Paul’s joy is not rooted in his circumstances, so it cannot be quenched by his circumstances. His joy is in the Lord. His joy is in a person who died for him and rose again, who will never die again. As he wrote to the Romans:

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prison can’t stop praying, chains cannot break koinonia – communion; the deep Christian bond of fellowship we have with one another, so he prays for them with joy and thanksgiving.

The threat of death is no damper to joy, because death for the believer means seeing Jesus face to face, and that is gain, far better, for in his presence is fullness of joy. To continue on here is joy in fruitful labor, in the advance of the gospel, and in the advance of your joy in the faith.

Example of Joy in Suffering (Acts 16:19-34)

The Philippians knew that this was no empty rhetoric, spiritual sounding talk with no substance. Paul had lived it out in front of them. Acts 16 tells the story of Paul’s arrival in Philippi.

After some successful evangelism in the city, Paul cast a demon out of a slave girl, which stirred up the anger of those who were profiting by her. Because they stood up for the helpless and defended the weak,

Acts 16:19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

This was the official welcome they received in Philippi. Accusations, without fair trial, stripped and beaten with rods, bruised and bloodied, thrown into prison, feet fastened in the stocks. How did they respond? It’s easy to say ‘rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice’ when the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and all is right with the world. But how do you respond when treated unfairly, punished unjustly, when your progress and plans are interrupted, derailed? When darkness falls, and it seems the morning will never dawn?

Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

I wonder, what time were they beaten and thrown in prison? Did it take them until midnight to quit sulking and grumbling and get their hearts right and start praying and singing? Did they wait until everyone was asleep and decided ‘now lets make some noise and wake everybody up? I don’t think so. It seems they had learned from their Lord how to respond to unjust treatment. It seems they had already learned what Peter would later write:

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Acts 16:26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

Supernaturally vindicated by God. Now how do you respond? Ha! Now you see! God himself has come to our defense and set us free. We’re outta here! And I hope you get what’s coming to you!

Acts 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

I understand Paul and Silas stayed. But I do want to know, how did they persuade the other prisoners to stick around? Joy in the midst of suffering is compelling, attractive. These two had demonstrated they were truly free, even when beaten, thrown in prison and locked in the stocks. They demonstrated they had a greater purpose than their own personal life, liberty and the pursuit of their own happiness. Were the other prisoners willing to forego the opportunity for escape to find out more about this true freedom?

Acts 16:29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

They were prepared to give an answer for the hope in them. They were true opportunists; seizing every opportunity and turning it into a gospel opportunity. They were not polarized in their thinking; we are the good guys, and those are the bad guys. They understood, we are all the bad guys, and we have been given mercy and grace that we don’t deserve by the only One who is good. Now we have the privilege of extending that same mercy and grace that we were given to other bad guys so that they can experience the same transformation by which we have been transformed.

Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

The joy of the oppressed brought repentance, transformation, and joy to their oppressor. The jailer was set free by his prisoners. The joy of the sufferers became the joy of the jailer. In the middle of the night, they had church! The sufferer’s wounds were washed; the sins of the guilty one were washed away by Jesus. The one responsible for preventing their escape welcomed them in to his own home and extended them hospitality. They broke bread together, jailer and prisoner, Gentile and Jew, now brothers at the same table.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/16 Accomplishments of the Resurrection ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230416_accomplishments-of-resurrection.mp3

He is Risen!

Our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters, who follow the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, celebrate Easter, Resurrection Sunday today. When it happened is vastly less important than that it happened, and we ought to rejoice in the fact of the resurrection of Jesus every day. Rightly we emphasize the cross, what Jesus accomplished by his sufferings and death, because that is the emphasis of the New Testament. A full one third of the gospel accounts are given to the final week of Jesus’ life that culminated in his crucifixion. The blood of Christ, the cross of Christ is so central to the gospel message that the good news message can be referred to in shorthand as ‘the word of the cross’ or ‘Christ crucified’ (1Cor.1:18,23).

We rightly give our attention to the cross, but if we neglect the resurrection, we fail to pay attention to an essential part of the good news.

Last week we looked at some of the Old Testament foreshadowing and the hope of the resurrection. Today I want to go deeper and look at what the resurrection of Jesus accomplished; the theology of the resurrection, what it means for us today.

Raised for our Justification (Romans 4:25)

In Romans 4, Paul draws a distinction between the accomplishments of the death of Christ and his resurrection. He says that Jesus:

Romans 4:25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Jesus was betrayed by a friend, delivered up to the council, then delivered over to Pilate, and although publicly declared innocent, he was ultimately delivered up to the soldiers to be crucified. It was on our account, on account of our sins that he died; it was for our trespasses. Throughout the Scriptures we see the substitutionary nature of Christ’s death. He died for our sins. He paid a debt he didn’t owe. He suffered, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. An innocent victim died in place of the sinner, to appease the righteous wrath of a holy God. He was delivered up for our trespasses.

And he was raised for our justification. What exactly does this mean? He was raised is passive; something that was done to him, just like delivered up is passive – it is something done to him by another. We see repeatedly that it was the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus also claimed to be the one who would raise himself up from the dead, but here the focus is on the Father raising him from the dead.

The Father raised Jesus up for our justification. Raised up can be both from and to. We might think primarily on what he was raised up from; he was raised up from the grave, up out of death. But he was also raised up to life, he was raised up for something. He was raised up and exalted, we learn in Philippians, to a position of great honor and authority. He was raised up to a resurrection kind of life. And this seems to be the focus of this passage; he was raised up on account of our justification or for our justification.

Justification; Legal Verdict of Innocence

Resurrection doesn’t just show up out of nowhere at the end of Romans 4. Resurrection is the context of the passage. Romans 4 is pointing us back to the faith of Abraham. Romans 4 tells the story of Abraham being justified by faith not works. Now before we go any farther, we need to understand what is meant by ‘justification’ so we can make sense of this passage. The way we typically use the word ‘justification’ goes something like this; my justification for driving 80 in a 65 is that I had this really important place to be, and I was running a little late, and I didn’t want to keep anyone waiting, so I was just trying to make up a little time. And after all, no one really goes the speed limit; I was just blending in to traffic. Justification is my excuse for why the wrong thing that I did was actually permissible. The Bible uses the word somewhat differently. It does carry the idea of a legal defense, but instead of trying to make the wrong sound ok, justification actually points to the legal verdict. If I go before the judge, and he hears my case, and he finds me guilty, I am condemned and sentenced. But if I go before the judge, and he reviews all the evidence, and he finds me innocent of the charges, he declares me not guilty; I am justified. I am declared righteous. I can walk out of the courtroom head held high; all the charges against me were found unsubstantiated. Justification is based on objective findings, on my record, on my performance, on my works. Did I do what I am being charged with or am I innocent of the charges. This is what makes Romans 4 so startling. Romans 4 begins with the dismissal of all the evidence.

Romans 4:1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

Whatever Abraham did or didn’t do is irrelevant to the case. His performance is not even under review. He gained nothing by his own righteousness, and he lost nothing by his lack thereof. Abraham’s own record does not even enter in to the decision. Abraham simply believed God, trusted God, took God at his word, and that dependence on God was credited to him as righteousness. He was justified, declared innocent. Paul wants to make sure we don’t miss this.

Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Wages are earned. Wages are owed to the one who works. But that is not how Abraham was justified. He wasn’t declared righteous because of his performance, because of his works, because of his godly character. The fact is he was not godly; he was ungodly. But he was given a gift; a gift he didn’t earn and doesn’t deserve. He believed in a God who somehow justifies ungodly people as a gift.

Delivered Up for our Trespasses

In the next verses he makes the point that ‘blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, whose sins are covered, against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’ This is the accomplishment of Jesus’ death. We can be forgiven, because he was condemned in our place. Our sins are covered, washed away by the blood of Jesus. My sin is not on my record, it is not counted against me, because it was charged to Jesus’ record.

By Grace Through Faith

He makes the point that this justification is completely apart from any kind of covenant faithfulness or law-keeping. It is a gift.

Romans 4:16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” …

Resurrection

This is where the theme of resurrection comes in:

Romans 4:17 …—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

God promised an aged childless man with a barren wife that he would be the father of nations. He had to believe in God’s power to create something out of nothing, to give life even to the dead.

Romans 4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

This is what faith is; believing God will do what he promises to do; taking God at his word. Even if that means acknowledging his own deadness and helplessness and believing God can bring life out of death.

Romans 4:22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

This is written for us. Abraham’s faith in God’s resurrecting life giving power was credited to him as righteousness. Our belief in God’s resurrecting power is credited to us as righteousness, because we believe in a God who raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus died on account of our trespasses, to grant us forgiveness, to bring our account out of the negative, to bring us to zero. He was raised to bring us his own righteousness, to credit his righteousness to our account.

Contrast; Adam (sin and death) and Christ (righteousness & life)

The Father raised Jesus up for our righteousness, for our justification. This word for justification is a different form of the more common word for justification; this specific form is only found also in Romans 5:18. This section of Romans 5 contrasts Adam and Christ. Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.

Romans 5:16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Death could not hold Jesus because he was intrinsically righteous; death had no claim on him, because he never sinned. He was subjected to death for our sake, because of our sin. The resurrection declared Jesus righteous. His one act of righteousness leads to declaring the many righteous, and if we are counted righteous in Christ, that justification leads to resurrection life for all who believe.

Dead, Buried, Raised with Christ; Romans 6

Romans 6 goes on to connect us, to identify us with Jesus in his death;

Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

We died with Christ and are raised to a new kind of life. God considers us righteous because we believe in him. We must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (6:11).

Dead to Law, Married to Christ; Romans 7

In Romans 7, our covenant with the law is broken by death, so we may be married to a living husband, to Christ;

Romans 7:4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Resurrection Life through the indwelling Spirit; Romans 8

Romans 8 goes on to tell us that because the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in every believer, we now have Spirit given resurrection life in us;

Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

He goes on to tell us we are adopted as sons, we are heirs with Christ, we share in his glorious inheritance, and our transormation breaks in on this broken dying creation bringing hope of new life, new creation.

Born Again through the Resurrection (1Peter 1:3)

Another passage that points us to the resurrection of Jesus and what it accomplishes is 1 Peter 1. Peter says this:

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

This passage tells us that our new birth comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Father, by his great mercy, caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. How does the resurrection of Jesus connect to our new birth?

When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, he made us alive in Christ by his amazing grace. That’s resurrection power; life out of death. Where his death conquers our sin, his resurrection secures our new life.

The Holy Spirit is the one who gives life, brings about the new birth, and Jesus promised to send the Spirit to live in us after he ascended to the right hand of his Father. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Ezekiel 37; Can These Bones Live?

Son of man, can these bones live? A valley of bones, very dry, scattered on the surface of the valley. Ezekiel sees Israel dead but unburied, bones parched, lifeless, strewn on the ground, fruitless, a blessing to none, making all who come in contact with her unclean. Prophecy over these bones, say ‘O dry bones, hear the word of YHWH. Thus says the Lord God ‘behold, I will cause ruach; breath, wind, spirit, to enter you, and you shall live. I will put ruach in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am YHWH.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/09 Resurrection Sunday: The Glories to Follow; Raised on the Third Day; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230409_glories-to-follow.mp3

We’ve been looking for the weeks leading up to Good Friday at Jesus statements that all the Scriptures are all about him, specifically his sufferings.

The prophets who prophesied predicted not only the sufferings of Christ, but also his subsequent glories. Jesus said to the disciples on the road to Emmaus:

Luke 24:25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Today is resurrection Sunday, and I want to look with you at some of what the prophets pointed to as the glories to follow.

Psalm 22

Last week we looked at Psalm 22, which Jesus pointed us to from the cross, when he quoted its first line:

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

Psalm 22 predicts the shame and mocking that Jesus experienced,

Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

We even hear verse 8 on the lips of those who mocked him:

Psalm 22:8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” (cf. Matthew 27:43)

The Psalmist pictures him as being surrounded by enemies, with none to help him in his day of trouble. He laments:

Psalm 22:14 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; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Hands and feet pierced, bones out of joint, dehydrated, soldiers gambling for his last stitch of clothing, dying of a broken heart. What detailed and graphic description of crucifixion a thousand years before Jesus walked the earth!

But in the middle of verse 21, there is a shift;

Psalm 22:21 …You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Jesus was God-forsaken on the cross, for us. God ‘did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all’ (Rom.8:32). Is the rest of the Psalm disconnected, unrelated to Jesus? Or is is pointing us beyond the crucifixion, on to the joy of the resurrection?

Psalm 22:22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

Hebrews (2:9-12) quotes this verse to tell us that Jesus, ‘who for a little while was made lower than the angels’, who is now ‘crowned with glory and honor’ is not ashamed to call us brothers. I (Jesus) will tell of your name (the Father) to my brothers (that’s us!); in the midst of the congregation (that’s us) I (Jesus) will praise you (the Father).

Psalm 22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

The Father has not despised the affliction of Jesus. “In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD (Is.54:8). The one who was rejected because he bore our sins is now accepted, the one who bore our shame is now honored, the one abandoned and alone now stands with a great company of blood-bought brothers in the congregation.

Psalm 22:25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 28 For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

What started with Jacob and Israel is now extended to the ends of the earth, to all the families of the nations. Jesus is king of the nations. His kingship extends even to those who could not keep themselves alive. All who go down to the dust, the dead shall live and bow the knee.

Because he

Philippians 2:7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 53

Two weeks ago, we looked at Isaiah 52-53, which pointed to the Suffering Servant disfigured beyond human recognition (52:14), who was despised and rejected, who:

Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The innocent substitute pierced for us, bearing in our place the just punishment for our sins. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, ‘Yet he opened not his mouth’ (53:7)

Isaiah 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;

Cut off, killed, dead and buried, and cut off without offspring, without descendants. But verse 10 goes on mysteriously to say:

Isaiah 53:10 …when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Which is it? ‘His generation …cut off out of the land of the living’? Or ‘He shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of YHWH shall prosper in his hand’?

Isaiah 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

It is because of the anguish of his soul the Father is satisfied, and by bearing their iniquities, the righteous one makes many to be accounted righteous. It is because he poured out his soul to death and bore the sin of many that the Father will divide him a portion with the many. This is pointing beyond sin-bearing death to resurrection life! His death gives life to many, his offspring, his generation, those born again by the Spirit of God. That’s us! The righteous one makes many to be accounted righteous. That’s every believer in Jesus, having no righteousness of our own, but clothed in his perfect righteousness. And he will divide his inheritance with the many – that’s us! Jesus, the only Son, welcomes us to share in his own glorious inheritance!

Luke 24:25 …“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Daniel 7

Jesus points Daniel 7 and his coming glory in answer to the question of the high priest ‘tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God’

Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (cf. Mt.26:63-64)

Raised on the Third Day

Jesus himself predicted multiple times that he would be killed, but that he would be raised on the third day. At the beginning of his ministry, after cleansing the temple in John 2:

John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus:

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (cf. Mk.8:31; Lk.9:22)

Matthew 17:22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed. (cf. Mk.9:31)

Matthew 20:18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (cf. Mk.10:34; Lk.18:33)

Certainly the Scriptures point us to the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. But where should we see that he would be raised on the third day?

The Third Day

If you look up ‘three days’ or the ‘third day’ in the Old Testament, you find out that a lot happened on the third day. The earth brought forth vegetation, bearing fruit and seed on the third day (Gen.1:11-13). Joseph’s interpretations of the prisoner’s dreams were fulfilled on the third day (Gen.40:20). Joseph released his brothers on the third day, but kept Simeon in place of them all (Gen.42:17-19). Moses requested release of Israel to go three days journey into the wilderness (Ex.3:18). The Lord brought three days thick darkness on the land of Egypt (Ex.10:22-23). After crossing the Red Sea, Israel went three days in the wilderness before finding water (Ex.15:22). At Mount Sinai, God told the people to prepare for the third day, when he would come down to meet with them (Ex.19:11,15-16). It was three days after the death of Moses that Joshua was to lead Israel through the Jordan and into the promised land (Josh.1:11; 3:12) It was the same three days that the spies hid themselves, after promising salvation to Rahab and her house (Josh.2:16, 22). It was three days God sent the angel of the Lord against Israel because of David’s sin; it was on the third day that the Lord stayed his hand at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam.24:13). It was three days that Esther and all Israel fasted before she risked her life to go in to ask the king to spare the lives of the Jews (Esth.4:16; 5:1). Hosea, speaking of the return of Israel from exile, says:

Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Jesus himself makes the connection with Jonah who was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Mt.12:39-40; Jonah.1:7); Jonah says he cried out to the Lord from the belly of Sheol (the place of the dead; Jonah.2:2).

Abraham’s Only Son Resurrected

Maybe one of the clearest connections to the resurrection is Genesis 22, where Abraham was told to sacrifice his son, his only son, whom he loved. It was on the third day (Gen.22:4) that Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice to the place of sacrifice. It was the third day that Abraham promised that he and his son would go to worship, and that they would return. Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

The resurrection of the son of promise was on the third day.

Freewill Peace Offerings

Buried in the Levitical laws of the offerings are these little tidbits; in Leviticus 7:17 and repeated in Leviticus 19:6 we are told that a peace offering that is offered voluntarily must be eaten on the same day or the next day; anything left to the third day must be burned; it is tainted or spoiled. In John 11, Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

John 11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

What does this have to do with anything? Both Peter and Paul quote Psalm 16 as being fulfilled by the resurrection of Jesus;

Psalm 16: 8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. [Acts 2:25-28, 31; 13:35-37]

Jesus was raised by his Father very early, before dawn on the third day.

Firstfruits

Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 is talking about the resurrection, and refers to Jesus’ resurrection as the firstfruits (1Cor.15:20,23). If we look back to Leviticus 23, we see the Firstfruits in relation to the Passover;

Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

The Firstfruits was presented before the Lord on the day after the Sabbath, on the first day of the week.

This is why Paul, when he rehearsed the gospel, could say…

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared…

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

Good Friday Service: Preaching Christ Crucified; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230407_good-friday-service.mp3

All Hail King Jesus

Welcome [RZ]

Reading 1 [Ephesians 1:7; 2:12-18]

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

Reading 2 [Philippians 2:4-8]

Sing to Jesus

The Cup Was Not Removed

Reading 3 [Colossians 1:19-20; 2:13-4]

Man of Sorrows

There is Power In the Blood

Message (1Cor.; preaching Christ Crucified)

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

Reading 4 [1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:24; 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21]

You Cannot Be Stopped

Welcome:

Good Friday is the most important holy-day on the calendar. Christmas is monumental, that God became human, was born of a virgin, placed in food trough for animals because no one wanted to make room for him. Easter, or resurrection Sunday, is joyous because we don’t follow a dead religious leader; Jesus is alive, and we can enjoy relationship with him today. But that’s all because of what happened on Good Friday. Good Friday is why he came.

Jesus said:

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus came to give his life. He was born as a human, so that he could lay down his life for us. That he was raised on the third day was evidence that what he did on the cross was acceptable to his Father in heaven.

1 Corinthians 1:23 says ‘we preach Christ crucified’. Tonight your are going to sing songs and hear Scriptures that point us to the meaning of the crucifixion. And it’s personal, so I ask you to open your heart to receive. It’s personal. He came for you; he died for you!

Reading 1

(Ephesians 1:7) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

(Ephesians 2:12-18) remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Reading 2

(Philippians 2:4-8) Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Reading 3

Colossians 1:19-20) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

(Colossians 2:13-14) And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Message:

Paul said that the gospel, the good news, is summed up in the cross; the cross is so central to the good news that he can use ‘the cross’ as shorthand for the gospel.

1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The good news, the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom.1:16) and it is the word of the cross. In verse 23 he says:

1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified… 24 …Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

In chapter 2, Paul says:

1 Corinthians 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The message is simple. The message is clear. The good news message we preach is the word of the cross; Christ crucified.

So as not to leave us in any doubt, he concisely lays out this ‘word of the cross’ in chapter 15. He wants to remind them of the gospel he preached. Here it is:

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared…

This is the most important thing. This is of first importance. If you don’t get anything else, you have to get this. It’s what makes Good Friday good; it’s the good news, the word of the cross. Christ died. That’s the historical fact. Secular historians record that Jesus was a historical person who was crucified by the Romans. You can believe that Jesus died, and that’s just believing history. But the gospel is more than mere historical fact; it gives the reason. It answers the ‘why’. Why did Jesus die? Because he made some political enemies? Because he was a threat to the religious leaders? Because he said some controversial things and offended people? Because one of his own close followers turned against him and betrayed him? Here’s the why: Christ died for our sins. The execution of Jesus was because the wages of sin is death. But Jesus was perfect. Sinless. He never sinned. Not once. Not in thought, word, deed, never neglecting the good he ought to have done. He died because of sin, but it wasn’t his sin he died for. He died for our sins. My sins. Your sins. Why did Jesus hang naked, suspended between heaven and earth by nails driven through flesh into wood? Why did he endure the just wrath of holy God poured out? Because of my sins. Your sins. He died for our sins. He died as a substitute. He died in my place. And this was according to the Scriptures. All the Scriptures point us to this. If you’ve been in church the last 4 Sundays, we’ve walked together through some of this. The sacrificial system of tabernacle and temple pointed to this. An innocent lamb butchered in place of a guilty person. Blood splattered to appease justice. A victim died, but it wasn’t the one who sinned. The wages of sin is death, and the price was paid, but the life given was not the life of the sinner. One animal for one sin of one person, until the rivers around Jerusalem ran red with blood. But it was never enough. It was a picture, to point us to the vastness of our need.

An infinite sacrifice was needed. An infinitely worthy substitute. Christ, the long-awaited promised Messiah-King; Jesus, the one who was with God and who was God, who left his Father’s side to become human, so that as the perfect human he could offer himself willingly once for all for our sins. Christ died for our sins in accordance with all the Scriptures. He was buried – he was really and truly dead. But he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (Sunday’s coming!) and he appeared, offering evidence to hundreds of eye witnesses that he is really and truly alive.

That’s the good news for sinners who deserve the wrath of God. If you don’t believe that’s you, you don’t understand you. But this message, this word of the cross, demands a response. Paul laid out the necessary response in verses 1-2:

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.

He proclaimed the gospel, that Christ died for our sins. His hearers received the message. They took it. He delivered it; they received it. Have you ever had a pizza delivered to you? The delivery guy brings it to your house, stands outside knocking, ringing the doorbell. You’ve got to receive it. Open the door. Take it. But the gospel isn’t something you pay for or earn; its a gift. And the gospel isn’t something you receive once and then throw it in the trash and move on to other things. Paul says that you’re standing in it, holding fast to it, being saved by it. This is not a passing thing, a once a year thing. This is an all day every day embrace of the life preserver. You understand that you’re completely sunk apart from the gospel, so you hold on for dear life and never let go.

Paul warns that there’s something called believing in vain. That means it is worthless. Empty. It gets you nothing and does nothing for you. There’s a lot of people who say they believe in Jesus. A lot of people even do things for Jesus, in the name of Jesus. And he will say to many ‘ I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Mt.7:23). Have you received the word of the cross; that you are a sinner who deserves hell, but Jesus died for your sins? Are you standing on that good news as your only foundation, clinging to it as your only hope? If you are, then you are being saved by it. Salvation is not something you do; it is something only Jesus can do; and it happens to you when you truly believe in Christ crucified.

This is personal, and it demands a response. Right now I’m evangelizing you; I’m proclaiming, I’m delivering the gospel to you. I didn’t make this up; I received it. And now it’s your turn. Right here, right now, will you receive it?

Reading 4

(1 Peter 1:18-19) knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

(1 Peter 2:24) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

(1 Peter 3:18) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

2 Corinthians 5:21) For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

04/02 Lent; The Sufferings of Christ; Psalms [Palm Sunday] Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230402_sufferings-of-christ.mp3

In the weeks leading up to Good Friday, we have been examining Jesus’ claim that all the Scriptures are all about him. In Luke 18, to his twelve disciples on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus said:

Luke 18:31 …“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”

After the crucifixion, to his despairing disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus said:

Then to his disciples gathered in Jerusalem, Jesus said:

Luke 24:44 …“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

The Law of Moses, the Prophets, the Psalms; the three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures, all point to Jesus; specifically to his sufferings.

Two weeks ago we looked at the five books of Moses, how it all points to Jesus. Last week we looked at the prophets, how they point us to Jesus.

The Prophets testify that we are engraved on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:14-16; John 20:25, 27). That the heavens would be clothed in blackness, that he would be scourged and shamefully spit upon (Isaiah 50:3-7; Luke 9:51; Matthew 26:67; 27:26, 30, 45; John 19:1). That he would drink the cup of God’s wrath (Isaiah 51:17-23; Matthew 26:39, 42). That we would be redeemed without money (Isaiah 52:3; 1 Peter 1:18-19). That he would be high and lifted up (Isaiah 52:10-15; John 3:14; 12:32). That he would bear our griefs; carry our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). That he would be pierced for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities; that our chastisement would fall upon him (Isaiah 53:5). That YHWH would lay on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). That he would be stricken for the transgression of my people (Isaiah 53:8). That YHWH would crush him as an offering for guilt and would be satisfied with his offering (Isaiah 53:10-11). That it would be by his righteousness that many would be counted as righteous (Isaiah 53:11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 19:30; Colossians 2:13-14).

Today, I want to turn to the Psalms, how they point us to Jesus. Understand, when Jesus referred to the second division of the Scriptures as the Prophets, that included more than what we class as prophetic books. It included Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Similarly, when Jesus referred to the Psalms, he was referring to the third division of the Scriptures, which began with the books of Psalms, but included the other wisdom literature, as well as books like Ruth, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles. We obviously don’t have time this morning to cover all that ground together, so we will limit ourselves to the book of Psalms.

As early as Psalm 2 we see the leaders conspiring against the Lord’s Anointed, the Messiah

Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

We also see that this Anointed Messiah is the only begotten Son, destined to rule the nations. [Acts.4:25-26; 13:33; Heb.1:5; 5:5]

Psalm 2:6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

We are warned of coming judgment, and we are encouraged to take refuge in the Son.

Psalm 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Palm Sunday; Hosanna!

Jesus quoted Psalm 8 on Palm Sunday in reference to the children crying out ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’ [Mt.21:16]

Psalm 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

What was on the lips of the crowd that day as they welcomed the King with palm branches comes from Psalm 118;

Psalm 118:19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. …24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! [Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 12:13]

Zeal For Your House

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he drove out the money changers, and his disciples remembered [John 2:17] that it is written in Psalm 69

Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, …

Hated Without Cause; False Witnesses; Betrayed by a Friend

But Psalm 69 starts out this way:

Psalm 69:1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?

… 7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.

Jesus was hated without cause [Jn.15:25]; even his brothers did not believe in him [Jn.7:5]. Psalm 35 also speaks of his enemies without cause plotting to take his life, and malicious witnesses rising up against him [Mt.26:59-60].

Psalm 35:7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. …11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.

Psalm 41 speaks of his betrayal by a friend, one who ate bread with him. [Jn.13:18]

Psalm 41:5 My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. 8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.” 9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Scourged

Of his scourging, Psalm 129 says:

Psalm 129:3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”

Sour Wine

When Jesus thirsted on the cross, they gave him sour wine to drink, fulfilling Psalm 69.

Psalm 69:14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. 16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 17 Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! 19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. [Matthew 27:34, 48; Mark 15:36; Luke 23:36; John 19:28-29]

The Emotional Anguish of the Cross

In the Psalms we get a taste of the emotional anguish of the cross, the sense of utter abandonment, the despair. It is striking that the details of the phyisical trauma of scourging and crucifixion are absent from the gospels.

Matthew’s gospel records Pilate releasing to the crowds Barabbas, and we are simply told:

Matthew 27:26 …and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

The soldiers in the Praetorium stripped him, put a scarlet robe and crown of thorns on him, a reed in his right hand, and mocked him, spit on him and beat him, then put his own clothes back on him and led him away to crucify him (27-31). Verse 35 simply states ‘when they had crucified him…’

Mark records the same sequence of events, and says in 15:24 “and they crucified him…”

Luke records:

Luke 23:33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

Anyone familiar with crucifixion would understand the excruciating agony; (crucifixion is where we get our word excruciating). But Jesus was not the only one to be crucified. Luke’s account tells us that there were at least 3 men crucified that day. History tells us that tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people were executed in this way.

The Scriptures focus not on the physical torment, but on the meaning of Jesus’ death. They answer the question ‘Why?’

Psalm 22

And the Psalms give us insight into the heart of Jesus, his emotions, what he was feeling. Jesus quoted the opening words of Psalm 22 from the cross, inviting us in to his experience.

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Jesus received no answer, no salvation, a dark and desperate distance from his Father; he was abandoned; he was forsaken, so that we could be rescued, reconciled, received. Jesus experienced the death, the separation from the Father that our sins deserve.

Verse 3-5 go on to affirm the holiness, the trustworthiness of God.

Psalm 22:3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

This confident assertion of God’s faithfulness can make the experience of abandonment even more difficult; God rescued others, why is he not rescuing me? They were not put to shame, yet I am being put to shame. Why? They deserved to be put to shame, Jesus carried their shame. The mocking, the scorn, the

Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

His accusers even throw his trust in God back in his face; if God truly delights in him, as he claims, why is he not delivering him now, in his greatest moment of need? The leaders of Israel take verse 8 on their lips in Matthew 27:43. Even a convicted criminal on an adjacent cross joins in the mocking. Jesus, God come in the flesh, is dehumanized, reduced to the lowest life form; a worm writhing in pain. The truth is that in order to save others, Jesus could not save himself (Mk.15:31).

Psalm 22:9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. 10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

Jesus always lived in complete dependence on his Father. Now, when every human friend has forsaken him, even his Father seems far off.

Psalm 22:12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. 14 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; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Nails driven through flesh into wood. Cross lifted up, dropped into place, jarring every bone out of place. But we are reminded in Psalm 34:20 [John 19:36] that not one bone was broken.

The one who said to the woman of Samaria,

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

This one experienced unquenchable thirst, so that we could drink of his living water and never be thirsty forever.

Extreme fatigue, exhaustion, dehydration, exposure to the sun, searing pain in each effort to take a breath. Suspended naked while the soldiers gambled for this clothing. Jesus was exposed and vulnerable, so that our shame would be covered, so that we could be forever clothed in the robes of his perfect righteousness.

‘My heart …is melted with in my breast.’ When the soldier pierced his heart with a spear, we are told [Jn.19:34] that immediately blood and water gushed out.

Psalm 22:19 But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! 20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

The physical torture was nothing compared to the anguish of being separated from his Father. Separated so that we could be brought near.

The remainder of Psalm 22 celebrates and worships in response to God’s salvation. And the Psalm concludes with the words ‘he has done it’; akin to what Jesus uttered from the cross after those hours of darkness ‘It is finished!’

And then in the words of Psalm 31:5 [Luke 23:46] ‘into your hand I commit my spirit!”

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/26 Lent; The Sufferings of Christ; Prophets; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230326_sufferings-of-christ.mp3

Moses and The Prophets All About Jesus

In these weeks leading up to Good Friday, we are digging it to Jesus’ statement that the entirety of Scripture is all about him. In Genesis, we saw that God created everything good, but we rebelled, sold ourselves into slavery; we created the need for a rescuer. And God promised that one day the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, but it would come at great cost. The serpent would inflict a deadly blow, crushing his heel.

The Torah or instruction of Moses is all about Jesus. From the ark that brought 8 people safely through the waters of God’s just judgment, to the sacrifice of the only Son, in God’s provision of a ram as a substitute, in the Exodus rescue out of slavery, in the Passover blood that protects, in the pillar of light that guides, in the gracious provision of bread from heaven and water gushing from the stricken rock, in the tabernacle, where God pitched his tent among us, in the blood of bulls and goats that could never take away sin, in Moses and the priests who mediated between God and man, in the curse lifted up on a pole, that all who look would live, all of this and so much more point us to Jesus.

Jesus said that everything written in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms about him must be fulfilled (Lk.24:44). Today I want to look at the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be ours (1Pet.1:10-11), We could look at all the prophecies that predict with unfailing precision that Jesus was to be virgin born (Jer.31:22), called Emmanuel, God with us (Is.7:14); born in Bethlehem (Mic.5:2); born in poverty (Is.53:2; Lev.12:8); that he would begin ministry in Galilee (Is.9:1-2); that he would be a descendant of Jesse and David (Is.11:1; Jer.23:5-6; 33:15); anointed by the Spirit (Is.11:2; 61:1-2); that he would be hailed as King, humble, riding on a donkey (Zech 9:9).

But what Jesus was focused on, and what we want to see today is specifically the prophecies about the sufferings of the Christ, and this is the majority and most detailed of the prophecies.

Peter said in Acts 3

Acts 3:17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

In the Jewish collection of Scriptures, the Prophets included Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Twelve (what we call the minor prophets; Hosea thru Malachi).

Joshua

We see Joshua, whose name in Greek is Jesus, YHWH is Salvation, leading the people through the Jordan river and into the promised land, extending mercy and salvation even to Gentile sinnners like Rahab. Jesus is the scarlet thread woven throughout the Old Testament.

Judges

After Joshua, God’s people spiraled down in sin, but God sent Judges, savior deliverers to rescue them. In Gideon, we see God’s power on display through weakness and foolishness. Jesus humbled himself, became weak, in order to rescue the weak.

Jesus is the greater Samson, with perfect sinless moral integrity, was betrayed for money, bound, publicly humilated, mocked and shamed, yet filled with the Spirit, willingly stretched out his arms and gave up his life to bring a great deliverance.

Samuel

Hannah, a barren woman, is given a son; she rejoices in God’s salvation, who will raise up the poor and needy and humble the proud. The prophet Samuel, dedicated to the Lord, would anoint for the people a king who would save them from their enemies.

Kings

The people rejected God as their king and demanded that they have a king like the nations around them. God gave them kings who demonstrated that every human king would fall short of what they longed for. Jesus would be the greater David, man after God’s own heart, who would stand in the place of the people, fight their battle; one champion in place of many, and destroy the giant who threatens them. But Jesus is also the greater David, who in great anguish of soul, as rejected king, crossed the brook Kidron, flowing with blood from the temple mount and filth from the city, crying out and sweating as it were great drops of blood, as he anticipated being rejected not only by men but by his Father in Heaven.

Jesus is the greater Solomon, Jesus the greater temple where we enter in to meet with God. Jesus the greater sacrifice that once for all takes away our sins.

The Prophets – Suffering Servant of Isaiah

The prophets were given a vision of this coming Messiah-King who would conquer and reign victorious over his enemies. But they were also given a vision of the Suffering Servant of YHWH, which was unexpected, difficult to understand.

Isaiah 49 says:

Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…

I wonder of Thomas thought of these verses when he put his finger in the marks of the nails? (Jn.20:25,27)

Isaiah 50 says:

Isaiah 50:3 I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.” …6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Luke tells us (Lk.9:51) that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. When accused of blasphemy before the high priest, and again by the soldiers before Pilate ‘they spit in his face and struck him’ (Mt.26:67; 27:30). Pilate had Jesus scourged or flogged (Mt.27:26; Jn.19:1). The gospel writers tell us when Jesus was crucified, from noon to 3pm there was darkness over the whole land (Mt.27:45).

Isaiah 51 talks about the wrath of God against his people.

Isaiah 51:17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. … 21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine: 22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; 23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”

Isaiah and Jeremiah point to the cup of Gods wrath being passed to the enemies of Israel; the Lord says he will take it from your hand and you shall drink no more. But Matthew tells us that Jesus prayed in the garden ‘if it is possible, let this cup pass from me… if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done’ (Mt.26:39, 42).

Isaiah 52 says:

Isaiah 52:3 For thus says the LORD: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.”

Peter tells us that we were ransomed ‘not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot’ (1Pet.1:18-19). Isaiah 52 goes on:

Isaiah 52:10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

YHWH has bared his holy arm to bring about salvation, but not in the way we would have expected. Verse 13 says:

Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. 14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— 15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.

The Son of Man was lifted up like the serpent on a pole, so that whoever looks to him, whoever believes in him may have eternal life (Jn.3:14; 12:32). The prophet goes on in Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 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. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

He bore our griefs, he carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement that brought our peace fell upon him. YHWH laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was striken for the transgression of my people. He had done no violence, spoken no deceit, yet YHWH crushed him as an offering for guilt. YHWH was satisfied with the anguish of his soul. And his righteousness makes many to be counted righteous. He bore our iniquities, he poured out his own soul to death. He bore the sins of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.

This is vicarious or substitutionary atonement; He stood in my place, he took the punishment I deserve. He paid my price. Jesus is my proxy. My griefs, my sorrows, my transgressions, my iniquities, my guilt, my sins were imputed to him, credited to his account and he paid the price in full. He is the only perfectly righteous one, and he makes me to be accounted as righteous.

The sufferings of Christ were because of me. I created the need, I created the debt, that he gladly paid.

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

The good news is that Christ died for our sins – my sins – in accordance with the Scriptures. He suffered in my stead. He bore my sins in his body on the tree (1Pet.2:24).

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Τετέλεσται – It is finished. Paid in full. The debt is cancelled.

Colossians 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things, and enter into his glory? (Lk.24:26-27)

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/19 Lent; The Sufferings of Christ; Torah of Moses; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230319_sufferings-of-christ.mp3

Moses Wrote About Jesus

Jesus claimed that all of the Scriptures are all about him. Jesus said to the religious leaders in John 5:

John 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

The Scriptures bear witness about Jesus. They point us to Jesus. Eternal life is only found in Jesus. We must come to Jesus to receive life. There is no life outside of Jesus. Searching the Scriptures must bring us to Jesus, or it is worthless; the Scriptures are meant to lead us to Jesus.

John 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

According to Jesus, Moses wrote of Jesus. The first five books, the Torah, Genesis through Deuteronomy were ultimately written about Jesus.

Jesus said to his despairing disciples after his resurrection:

Luke 24:25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Genesis 1-3 and Our Need

Last time we looked at the beginning of Genesis, where God created everything good, created man and woman to be his image bearers, to embody his good and kind authority over the rest of creation under his absolute good and kind authority. But we chose to rebel, to play god, to determine for ourselves what was right and wrong. In place of God’s blessing, we brought a curse on ourselves and on all of creation. The wages of sin is death, and death has tainted and distorted and twisted God’s good world. We forfeited paradise, expelled to a life of pain and toil, sweat and thorn, until we return to the dust from which we were created. Access, fellowship with God barred by fearsome cherubim and flaming sword. But even in this, a word of hope. The twisting serpent would crush the heel of the seed of the woman, but her seed would crush the head of that ancient serpent. Already by chapter 3 of the first book of Moses, we had created the need, violated God’s good command, and brought death into the world. But already in chapter 3, God promised that one day one man, born of a woman, born under law (Gal.4:4) would redeem us who had sold ourselves into slavery. One born under the curse would become a curse for us.

Jesus said in Luke 24:44 “that everything written about mein the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” We don’t have time today to look at everything written about Jesus in the Old Testament, but I would like to begin with the books of Moses and at least get a taste, a bird’s eye view of some of the things that Moses wrote about Jesus.

Cain to Noah; Noah Found Grace (Genesis 4-9)

Genesis spirals quickly from bad to worse as mankind continues to rebel against God and his authority. Adam and Eve have a son, but rather than end the serpent’s tyranny, he embraces his anger and kills his younger brother in cold blood. The genealogies of the descendants of Adam are punctuated by ‘and he died’.

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Noah found grace. God instructed Noah to build a box 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high, out of wood, sealed with pitch.

Peter in 1 Peter 3:18 points us to Christ who suffered once for our sins as a substitute, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. And he connects this with Noah and his family who were brought safely through the water

Jesus, by his suffering, protects us from the wrath of God, bringing us safely through the purging purifying waters of judgment. Baptism pictures our dying with Christ and rising again to a new kind of life.

Abraham and Isaac; Sacrifice the Son (Genesis 11-25)

By chapter 11 humanity is in overt rebellion, gathering to make a name for themselves, and building a tower up to heaven. The Lord scattered them, and turns his attention to one man, Abram and his barren wife Sarai, and God calls Abram to leave home and he will bless him, he will make his name great and make him into a great nation that will be a blessing to all the families of the earth.

In Genesis 21, God keeps his promise. He visited Sarah and she conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age. In chapter 22, God calls Abraham to take his son, his only son, whom he loves, and offer him as a sacrifice on one of the mountains of Moriah. At this point, Isaac was old enough to bear the wood for burnt offering up the mountain with his father. In answer to his son’s question about the missing lamb, Abraham said “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Gen.22:8).

Apparently without a struggle against his elderly father, Isaac willingly allowed himself to be bound and placed on the altar, and Abraham raised the knife to slaughter his son. God stopped Abraham, and provided a ram to offer instead of his son.

Genesis 22:14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Thousands of years later, on that very mountain, the Father took his Son, his only Son, whom he loved, and offered him as a sacrifice in my place, for my sins.

Exodus Deliverance (Exodus 1-20)

In Exodus, God’s people are afflicted, ruthlessly made to work as slaves, lives bitter with hard service. The Pharaoh ordered all the male children to be killed, but Moses the deliverer was miraculously protected.

God finally freed his people from Egypt by killing every firstborn male in Egypt. But he gave his people the Passover; a lamb without blemish was to be slain for each household, the blood put on the doorpost, so that

Exodus 12:13 … when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5

1 Corinthians 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Jesus is our Passover lamb. When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain in Luke 9,

Luke 9:30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

This word ‘departure’ is literally his ‘exodus’ [ἔξοδον]. Jesus was about to fulfill [πληροῦν] his exodus in Jerusalem. He would provide a way out, he came to set his people free, free from our sins

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

When the Lord set his people free,

Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Jesus said in John 8;

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In spite of God’s awesome rescue and his manifest presence with them, the people grumbled and complained. They complained they had no food to eat. So God rained bread from heaven (Ex.16:4).

In John 6, after Jesus fed the 5,000, the people were asking for another sign, to fill their bellies. They said:

John 6:31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. … 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The people quarreled and complained against Moses because they had no water to drink. The Lord told Moses;

Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

I will stand before you on the rock and you shall strike the rock. Moses was told to strike the Lord who stood before him on the rock, and water would come out. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

Christ was the rock stricken before the elders, that flowed with life giving water. This is why the punishment on Moses was so severe when later, in Numbers 20, the people again were grumbling, and Moses disobeyed by striking the rock again. The Lord told him to speak to the rock this time, to tell it to yield its water. But instead he struck the rock a second time. Jesus was stricken once for all, and now he gives living water to all who simply ask.

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” …14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

In spite of their grumbling and complaining along the way, God brought them to Sinai, to the mountain to meet with him. They would be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, his own treasured possession.

Exodus 20:18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” … 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

Moses became the mediator between the Lord and his people.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Moses said that the Lord would raise up a prophet like me from among your brothers (Deut.18:15-19; Acts 7:37). Jesus is the greater Moses, the better mediator of a better covenant (Heb.9:15; 12:24).

Tabernacle (Exodus 25-40)

We think of Exodus as the exodus of the people out of Egypt. But that is only the beginning part of Exodus. Exodus is about God entering into a covenant with his people, taking them to be his own people. Exodus 19-24 lay out the terms of the covenant, and record the covenant ceremony. Exodus 25-31 are the detailed instructions given to Moses on building the tabernacle, the tent where God would dwell in the midst of his people. Exodus 35-40 are a detailed account that the tabernacle was constructed exactly according to the plan given to them. But right in the middle is chapter 32, while Moses is still on the mountain receiving God’s instructions, the people are breaking all God’s commands, making and image of gold, worshiping and offering sacrifices to the thing they had made, eating and drinking and indulging themselves. God’s wrath burned hot against the people, and he threatened to consume every one of them and start over with Moses. This is what they deserved. But Moses implored the Lord to remember his promises and forgive their sin and be with them. The promised land without the presence of God with them was not worth having.

God gives good gifts we don’t deserve. God would come dwell in the midst of this sinful rebellious people. God would pitch his tent among them and live with them. In John 1, we are told that the divine Word who was with God and who was himself God, who created all things,

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word ‘dwelt’ is the verb ‘to pitch a tent’ or ‘to tabernacle’ [ἐσκήνωσεν]. The eternal divine Creator Word became flesh and tabernacled with us, God with us, pitched his tent among us.

The Sacrifice and Priest (Leviticus 1-10)

In Leviticus, the procedure for safely approaching the holy God is laid out in detail. Sinners require sacrifices and offerings.

Hebrews 10:3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Leviticus proscribes the procedure for purifying priests that could approach God to offer sacrifices. Only one man, the high priest, only once a year, on the day of atonement, only with blood could ever enter the most holy place.

Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

The Curse Lifted Up (Numbers 21)

Numbers records the people becoming impatient with God and Moses,

Numbers 21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”

They even turned God’s good gifts into grounds for complaint. Why did you save us from slavery? Why have you faithfully and supernaturally fed us in the wilderness? We loathe your good and gracious gifts.

Numbers 21:6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Look and live. Simple. Too easy. Why a serpent on a pole? The serpent represents the curse, the consequences of our sin. How can simply looking at the curse lifted up deliver? Because that’s what God said. It was believing God, trusting God’s word. He said look and you shall live. So look! Jesus said:

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

The Son of Man must be lifted up; as the curse hung on a tree. He became a curse for us. And when he is lifted up on the cross, whoever looks will live. Whoever believes in him has eternal life. We are condemned already. The wages of our sin is death. When we look to Jesus, he is condemned in our place. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1).

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/12 Lent; The Sufferings of Christ; Genesis 1-3; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230312_sufferings-of-christ.mp3

All Scripture About the Sufferings of Christ and His Glories

Peter spoke of the salvation that belongs to us who trust in Jesus:

1 Peter 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

According to Peter, the prophets by the Spirit of Christ prophesied about the grace that is now ours; specifically pointing to ‘the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow’. In this they were serving us who have now received grace through the good news of Jesus Christ crucified and risen. I thought it would be fitting, in the weeks leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, to look at some of these prophecies that point us to the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

Peter learned this from the Lord himself. Jesus said to two of his despairing disciples whose hopes had been crushed by the crucifixion:

According to Jesus, the crucifixion was not a tragedy; it was essential. And it was the plan all along, prophesied by all the prophets beginning with Moses, who wrote the Torah, Genesis to Deuteronomy. According to Jesus, all the Scriptures are about Jesus, specifically his sufferings and his glories.

Luke records that later on that evening of Resurrection Sunday, Jesus appeared to his disciples gathered in Jerusalem and said:

Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

The Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms, our entire Old Testament, was written about Jesus, about his sufferings that brought about our forgiveness.

God’s Good Creation; Genesis 1-2

Today we are going to begin at the beginning of the Law of Moses, in Genesis. In the beginning God already existed. In the beginning, God created everything that exists with his word. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and he formed them and filled them with all kinds of living creatures, and everything God created was good.

Then God created man in his own image; male and female, to reflect his character and his good and kind authority to the rest of his creation.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And’ God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good’ (Gen.1:31).

Genesis 2 rewinds and zooms in on the details of his creation of man and woman in his image.

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God established the rhythm of work and rest, and planted a bountiful garden filled with everything pleasant and good, everything needed, everything to be enjoyed.

Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

God gave purpose and dignity, value and worth. He gave man responsibility and authority, but authority under his own good and absolute authority. Of every tree of the garden, pleasing to the eye and good for food, you shall surely eat. Only one tree is off limits, under penalty of death. The good gift of God is eternal life, but the wages of sin, of disobedience, of rebellion, is death. Even this, man exercising authority over all creation, yet under God’s good authority, with boundaries, was good.

The first thing that was not good in all of God’s good creation was that there was yet no woman.

Genesis 2:18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

God created woman out of the side of man, to be the complement that completes him.

Genesis 2:23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Rebellion; Genesis 3

All this, God said, was very good. But in chapter 3, we are introduced to the crafty serpent. He too was a created being, not in any sense equal to God. But he planted seeds of doubt and began to question the goodness of God and the truthfulness of his word. “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen.3:1). “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen.3:4-5).

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Man had set himself up as God, defining for himself right and wrong. Man had chosen to believe an alternate narrative, a conspiracy theory really; that God was not good and gracious and awesome, but weak and afraid, fearful of competition. What God said was off limits was not for our good, to protect us, but to prevent us from becoming all that we could be. It was a vicious lie, as they quickly came to discover.

The Wages of Sin

The consequences of the first sin began to unfold. What was clean and pure and beautiful and good became stained and tainted, twisted and dirty. Shame, guilt, covering up, hiding, then blaming, accusing. The LORD God still initiating, pursuing, seeking, calling. What must it have been like to walk with the LORD God in the garden in the cool of the day? But that fellowship had been shattered, destroyed, lost.

God had given them every good thing to enjoy, and blessed them. But in their rebellion they brought a curse on themselves instead. Mortality. The wages of sin is death. An end to every good gift. Man was made from dust, and now will return to dust. The ground cursed, so that it brought forth thorns and thistles, so that man would eat of it by the sweat of his face all the days of his life. Work no longer full of purpose and joy, but now meaningless toil. Pain for the woman in childbearing, pain in relationships. Authority no longer pure and good, for protection and blessing, but twisted and abused for personal gain.

God’s Grace Displayed in Death

Genesis 3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Expelled from God’s good and beautiful garden. Expelled from intimate fellowship with God. Driven out, forbidden re-entry with fearsome creatures and a fiery flashing sword.

But even in this there is grace. Cut off from the tree of life so that mankind could not live forever in this broken, twisted, fallen state. Death became a mercy. ‘Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin’ (Rom.5:12). Death entered God’s good creation, and all creation has been groaning under the weight of sin ever since (Rom.8:22). But this groaning is groaning for something, something lost, that this is not how it was meant to be, in hope that it may one day be restored. The way to the tree of life was guarded, so that it could be opened again one day.

God’s Grace Displayed in Substitution and Clothing

God had said ‘in the day you eat of it you shall surely die’ (Gen.2:17), and everything in God’s good creation began to die that day. Death did happen that day in the sense of separation from intimate fellowship with God. But Adam and Eve were not the first to experience physical death. Before God expelled mankind from the garden, Genesis 3:21 says:

Genesis 3:21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Skins or hides come from animals, and the implication is that God himself made the first sacrifice of a substitute. Blood was spilled, something died that very day, but it wasn’t the ones who had rebelled. This was a gruesome and graphic picture of the wages of sin, but also an amazing grace. It should have been Adam’s throat that was slit and Adam’s blood that was spilled. But this pointed to satisfaction of justice by the sacrifice of a substitute. God graciously covered their shame and clothed them in the skin of another, an innocent victim. The leaves of their own efforts stitched together were utterly inadequate to cover them. God himself made a better covering, clothed them in a garment of his own making.

The Seed of the Woman Bruised but Victorious

God also cursed ‘the great dragon, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world’ (Rev.12:9)

Genesis 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This is often called the first preaching of the good news. The serpent is cursed, and his ultimate doom is promised. The serpent crushing blow will come from the seed or offspring of the woman. This promises that Eve will live to see another day, will live to have a son. But beyond that, the language of ‘the seed of the woman’ points far ahead to the virgin birth. It promises that one day, this epic battle between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent will end in the Seed of the woman bruised but victorious.

Execution by crucifixion seems much more lethal and extreme than a mere bruising of the heel; the dejected disciples on the road to Emmaus probably felt that the serpent had crushed the skull of the Son of God. The great dragon himself may have thought that he had won; ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours’ (Mk.12:7). But this is the great irony, that in dying he destroyed death, and in being crucified, he became a curse for us;

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

It was in his being crushed in our place that Jesus crushed the skull of the serpent.

Swallowing Death and the Cup of Wrath

Listen to the prophet Isaiah speak of that day:

Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, 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 27:1 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2 In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 3 I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; 4 I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together.

Jesus swallowed up death, taking death into himself and dying. Jesus removed our shame and the curse by becoming a curse for us. Jesus strips us of our fading leaves and the filthy rags of our own righteous deeds and clothes us in his own perfect righteousness (Is.64:6; 61:10).

This is how the Lord slays the dragon; his wrath toward us is gone, because his only Son drank down the cup of God’s wrath toward sinners (Rev.14:10; Mt.26:39,42). The curse is reversed and forgotten, and our Lord Jesus himself is the keeper of his pleasant garden. And he invites us in, to enjoy sweet fellowship with him.

Luke 24:25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

03/05_Daniel 12:8-13; Blessed is He Who Waits; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230305_dan12_8-13.mp3

Daniel 12 begins ‘At that time;’ at the time of the end predicted at the end of Daniel 11; the time of the Man of Lawlesseness who takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God (2Thess.2:3-4).

Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

Question 1; How Long?

This vision began in chapter 10, revealing the spiritual warfare behind the scene of this vision; the vision itself stretches from chapter 11 through the beginning of chapter 12. Then a heavenly messenger asks a question, then Daniel himself asks a question.

We’ve seen this format before in chapters 7 and 8; Daniel is given a vision; a sweeping overview of history; and then he or an angel asks a question about some of the details for clarification. A broad answer is given, but he is still troubled; he asks a further clarifying question. That happens here again in chapter 12.

Daniel 12:5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. 6 And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

How long shall it be till the end of these wonders? The answer is important; two hands raised in oath before God. Three and a half years; forty-two months, 1,260 days, to shatter the power of the holy people. A sobering message about the humbling of God’s people Israel. This time will be a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But there is a limit set by God. And it is for a good purpose.

Question 2; What Will Be the Outcome?

Now it is Daniel’s turn to ask a question.

Daniel 12:8 I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?”

At the beginning of the vision, in chapter 10, we are told that Daniel ‘understood the word and had understanding of the vision’ (10:1); and in 10:14 the messenger said that he ‘came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come’.

But now Daniel is troubled. He heard the answer, this word about the shattering of the power of the holy people, but he did not understand. Even his question is a bit fuzzy; it seems he is not entirely sure what even to ask; what the end, what the outcome? His question is likely addressed to the man clothed in linen, above the waters. O my lord, what will be the outcome? What will be the latter end, the consequence, what will issue from this?

Go Your Way

Daniel 12:9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

Daniel is commanded to ‘go your way’; go about your business, go back to work, go about your daily life. You don’t get an answer to everything. This word was revealed to Daniel, and he wrote it down, but it was not for Daniel. These words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. God will preserve his word for future generations. Daniel, you don’t understand, and the wicked will not understand, but the wise at the time of the end will understand. It is good to be familiar with these words even if we don’t fully understand, so that if we are that generation who see these things unfold, we will be wise and be able to connect what is happening with what God promised that he would bring to pass.

Many Purified

Many will be purified and made clean and be refined. Back in chapter 11 we saw that

Daniel 11:35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

How does stumbling or falling bring about refining? If we were counting on our own performance, our own righteousness, then our stumbling would defile us, not purify us. But if our stumbling serves to remind us that we have no righteousness of our own; that even our righteous deeds are as filthly rags in his sight, that we are wholly dependent on the righteousness of another, then our stumbling can drive us to cast ourselves more fully on his abundant mercy. ‘Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it?’ (Rom.6:1-2). ‘But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ (1Jn.2:1)

We see this startling imagery in Revelation

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, …13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Robes washed in blood? Blood stains things, it doesn’t get out stains! This is graphic and unexpected imagery that something washed in blood comes out white. We are told in 1 John 1:7 that ‘the blood of Jesus… cleanses us from all sin.’ Jesus’ blood, the blood of the Lamb purifies, cleanses, removes the stain of our sin and guilt. Jesus ‘has freed us from our sins by his blood’ (Rev.1:5).

30 or 75 Day Extension

And just when we think it’s over, the heavenly messenger throws in this teaser.

Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. 13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

What is this? We’ve seen the half of a week or time, times and half a time in Daniel 7:25; 9:27; 12:7 and Revelation 12:14. We’ve seen the 1,260 days or 42 months in Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6 and 13:5. Three and a half years is 42 months or 1,260 days if a month is 30 days (which Revelation 11 and 12 seem to make clear). Now this messenger mentions 1,290 days and 1,335 days; 30 and then 75 days longer than the 1,260 days. What is this about?

It seems the starting point is the same; here we are told that these time periods start counting ‘from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up’. In Daniel 9:27 ‘for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.’ In Daniel 7:25 this is the time ‘the saints are given into his hand,’ the hand of the arrogant little horn, or the beast of Revelation 13. According to Revelation 11, this is the time that the holy city is trampled by the nations; in Revelation 12, this is the time the woman Israel is nourished in the wilderness. It seems the 1,260 days begins with the ceasing of sacrifices and offerings and the Man of Lawlesseness taking his seat in the temple, proclaiming himself to be God. It seems the 1,260 days ends when the Lord Jesus kills him with the breath of his mouth and brings him to nothing with the appearance of his coming (2Thess.2:8).

If the 1,290 days and the 1,335 start at the same point, then these periods extend an extra 30 and then an additional 45 days beyond the second coming of Jesus in power and glory. What might be the purpose of the additonal month and then month and a half?

Judgment of Sheep and Goats

This text does not tell us, but Jesus does tell us more about his coming in Matthew 24 and 25. He says in Matthew 24:

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

…29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Revelation 19 describes it this way:

Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

… 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

And then in Matthew 25:

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. … 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. … 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We don’t know for sure, but it is possible that this judgment of the sheep and the goats accounts for the period of 30 days after the coming of Jesus.

Establishment of Millennial Reign

Revelation 20 continues the story:

Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

The saints come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus gives the parable of the talents. In Luke’s version of the parable, Jesus says:

Luke 19:12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ … 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

Again, we don’t know for sure, but it is possible that this delegation of authority for the thousand year reign of Christ on earth accounts for the next 45 days of Daniel’s vision. This would explain the blessing on those who wait to attain the 1,335 days. We don’t fully understand this. Daniel didn’t understand. But those who are wise shall understand.

Peter tells us:

1 Peter 1:10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Daniel didn’t understand everything he wrote. He was serving not himself but us.

Daniel 12:13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

Daniel was to be content with what he did know; he would not know everything. Now an old man, he would soon lay down to rest in the grave. But that would not be the end of Daniel. He will one day stand in his allotted place at the end of the days.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/26_Daniel 12:4-7; Shattering the Power of the Holy People;Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230226_dan12_4-7.mp3

Daniel is told of a time of great trouble for his people, a great deliverance for those whose names have been written in the book, a great resurrection, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt, a great glorification of the righteous.

Seal The Book

Daniel is told to shut up the words and to seal the book. This does not necessarily mean that he is to keep it secret or hide it. In chapter 6, when the lion’s den was sealed over Daniel, it was to protect it, so that ‘nothing might be changed concerning Daniel’ (6:17). It’s like our tamper evident caps; don’t buy it if the seal has been broken; someone might have tampered with the contents.

In Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah was told to buy a field while Babylon had Jerusalem under siege, as a witness to God’s people that although they will go into captivity, God promises to restore the land to his people.

Jeremiah 32:9 “And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

The seal was not meant to conceal; there was an open copy available to be read. But the sealed copy was to preserve and protect the contents from being tampered with. Jeremiah would be dead and gone when this legal document would be opened.

Daniel is told to shut up and seal the book, the scroll, or the record. This at least applies to the vision of chapters 10-12, but likely could apply to the entire book of Daniel. Back in chapter 8:26 Daniel was told to ‘seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.’ Daniel is told to authenticate and preserve his writing for future generations, because it is for ‘the time of the end’. John, in contrast, is told ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.’ (Rev.22:10)

Daniel is instructed to ‘shut up the words and seal the book’, but ultimately it is God who according to verse 9 will ‘shut up and seal the words until the time of the end.’ God is the one who promises to protect his own word, so that ‘heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away’ (Mt.24:35); ‘until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished’ (Mt.5:18).

Many Run To And Fro

Daniel is told that ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.’ Some have taken this to picture advances in travel and information technology, but that is probably not the main point of the passage. The phrase ‘run to and fro’ is used of seeking or searching out something; the eyes of the LORD run to and fro (2Chr.16:9). Jeremiah (5:1) is told to run to and fro to see if he can find anyone ‘who does justice and seeks truth’. Even Satan (Job.1:7; 2:2; cf.1Pet.5:8) is said to roam to and fro on the earth. In Amos 8,

Amos 8:11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.

Likely this running to and fro is a search for knowledge, a search for truth. This book is to be sealed, because in the time of the end, there will be a search for truth. And unlike the days foretold to Amos, because Daniel’s book has been preserved, knowledge shall increase. Much of Daniel has been brought to light by the unfolding of history and revelation. We are privileged to understand more today about some of what Daniel wrote than what Daniel himself understood when he wrote it.

The End of These Wonders

At the beginning of this vision in chapter 10, Daniel had been fasting for three weeks, and was on the banks of the Tigris river.

Daniel 10:5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

Daniel saw a mighty heavenly messenger, likely the Son of God himself, as the description matches closely the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:12-18. Now he sees two others.

How long shall it be till the end of these wonders? ‘Wonders’ is a word used of the mighty signs that God performed over Egypt. The Lord told Moses

Exodus 3:20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.

After crossing through the Red Sea, in Exodus 15 Moses sang:

Exodus 15:4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. 5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. 8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

‘Wonders’ is a word used for the terrible judgments God poured out on his enemies. ‘How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?’ What are ‘these wonders’ that the angel is looking to be ended? A similar question was asked in chapter 8;

Daniel 8:13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?”

There the question was to the length of the persecution under Antiochus. Here the question must relate to the ‘time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.’ Looking back to the end of chapter 11,

Daniel 11:36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.

‘How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?’

The Lord Takes an Oath

Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

The Lord takes an oath. This is serious. Lifting a hand to heaven is a way of expressing the seriousness of the oath. But I don’t know of any other time where two hands are lifted to heaven in taking an oath. This is doubly certain. And if this one clothed in linen is the Son of God, then God is swearing by himself.

It will be for a time, times and half a time. We have heard this before. In chapter 7, the little horn ‘made war with the saints and prevailed over them’ (7:21). Daniel is told:

Daniel 7:25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

In Daniel 9, the prophecy of the 70 sevens (or weeks)

Daniel 9:27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Half of a seven is three and a half.

Revelation 11 says that the outer court of the temple will be

Revelation 11:2 …given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

Forty-two months is three and a half years. 1260 days is 42 months if a month is 30 days. This is the time the temple court and the city is given over to the nations.

We see this time period again in Revelation 12 as the time the woman Israel is protected from the dragon;

Revelation 12:6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

And then in verse 14

Revelation 12:14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

Israel is nourished in the wilderess for a time, times and half a time, 1,260 days.

And then in Revelation 13:5

Revelation 13:5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

A time, times and half a time; half of a week, forty-two months, 1,260 days. When the little horn makes war with the saints and prevails over them, when they are given into his hand. When he puts an end to sacrifice and offering. When the nations trample the holy city. When the two witnesses prophesy. When Israel flees and is nourished in the wilderness. When the beast is allowed to exercise authority and to make war on the saints and to conquer them.

How long will this be permitted to continue? How long till the end of these wonders? God himself raises his right hand and his left hand and swears by him who lives forever that it will be for a time, times and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

Shattering the Power of the Holy People

God swears that there is a limit. It will be three and a half years, forty-two months, 1260 days. This time will bring about the shattering of the power of the holy people. This is a devastating word.

In Jeremiah 51 God said of Babylon shattering his people:

Jeremiah 51:20 “You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms; 21 with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer; 22 with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman; 23 with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.

Isaiah 30 spoke to God’s disobedient people:

Isaiah 30:8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever. 9 For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; 10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, 11 leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” 12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; 14 and its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.” 15 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, 16 and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. 17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. 18 Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. 19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.

Shattering is not pleasant, but for those who walk in pride it is necessary. God’s proud and rebellious people will finally be shattered so that they cry out to him, and when they do, they will find God waiting to be gracious to them, exulting to show them mercy. As soon as he hears their cry, he will answer.

Zechariah 12: 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/19_Daniel 12:3; Wise Witnesses Will Shine; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230219_dan12_3.mp3

A heavenly messenger battled angelic adversaries for 21 days in order to deliver a message to Daniel about ‘what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come’ (10:14). This was a message of a great conflict (10:1) and Daniel needed to be strengthened by three touches from this messenger, to be able to kneel, to be able to speak, and finally to be strengthened to receive this word.

The kings to the north and south of Jerusalem would trample over the beautiful land for the coming 370 some years, culminating in the persecution under Antiochus IV who in great wrath would invade the land, put many to death, set up a statue and make sacrifices to a false god in God’s holy temple; the abomination that makes desolate. The prophecy then skips forward thousands of years to the yet future coming persecutor of God’s people, who, prefigured by Antiochus, will ‘oppose and exalt himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God’ (2Thess.2:4).

Things will get much worse, but it will be worth it in the end. It will be a time of trouble unparalleled in all history, but there will be a great deliverance; all those whose names are found written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world (Rev.13:8; 17:8) will be delivered. Resurrection is coming, the persecutors and unbelievers to shame and everlasting contempt; those who are found in Christ to everlasting life.

Daniel 12:3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

The wise shall shine. Who are these wise ones? Something similar was said about the wise in chapter 11 that sheds light on their identity.

The Wise Stumble and Stand Firm

Daniel 11:32 …but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

Note, the wise are not those who never stumble or fall. ‘We all stumble in many ways’ (Jas.3:2). In this context, the stumbling or falling is by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. When we stumble, when we fall, we need help, and we will receive that help. And the stumbling is for a good purpose; it is ‘so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end’ (11:35). Persecution is real, but it is for a good purpose. It is refining, purifying, cleansing. Romans 8 says:

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus does not promise us a trouble free life. In fact he promises ‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’ (Jn.16:33). Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Wise Know and Are Known

The wise are not those who never stumble. The wise stand firm even though they stumble, even when they fall, because the wise are those who know their God. ‘The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action’ (11:32).

This is not merely knowing about God. Many who say ‘I believe in God’ mean that they believe that there is some higher power out there somewhere. They may even know a lot about God, what God is like, what the Bible says about God. They may be able to affirm correct theology about God; they may be able to recite creeds about the nature of God, and to list many of his attributes. To truly know God, it is essential to affirm the truth God reveals about himself, and we ought to pursue knowing everything God reveals about himself. Knowing God is not less than knowing these things about God, but it is more.

When it comes down to it, on that day it is never about what you do; it is not even about what you know, it is all about who you know. Jesus says:

But Lord, I knew all about you, I studied you, I did all these great things in your name. Look at my resume. Look at my list of accomplishments. Look what I did for you. ‘I never knew you’.

What matters is relationship, intimacy. Everything else grows out of that. We were made for intimacy, for affection, to delight in and to be delighted in. We were made to know God. We were created to be known, to be loved with an everlasting love (Jer.31:3). This is our confidence, this is our hope.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

The wise know their God. He is theirs and they are his. They belong to one another. Is God yours? Do you belong to him? Have you entered in to that covenant with him, where you take him to be your God, and he takes you to be his own treasured possession? Do you know your God? Jesus is the only way, the only door by which we may enter into this relationship. He has reconciled us to God through the cross; it is through him we have access in the Spirit to the Father (Eph.2:16,18)

The Wise Witness

The wise know their God, ‘and the wise among the people shall make many understand; (11:33). In 12:3 the wise are described as ‘those who turn many to righteousness.’ The wise know their God, but they refuse to keep him to themselves. Good news must be shared, spread, proclaimed; make many understand, turn many to righteousness. We find ourselves in a culture where every opinion has a platform except the truth. To claim anything as absolute, objective, universal truth is to open yourself to being publicly shamed for being narrow, closed minded, even a hater. But the risk of personal cost is small when weighed against the eternal consequences for those who have not heard, who don’t know Jesus. The risk of offending is a small risk, when compared to ‘the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord’ (Phil.3:8). Remember, the gospel is good news, that although the wages of our sin is death, ‘the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom.6:23). He who wins souls is wise (Prov.11:30). Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2Tim.4:5). God through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We Shall Be Like Him

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

The wise, although they stumble they stand firm, those who know their God, those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the brightness of the sky above, like the stars forever and ever.

The words shine and brightness are the verb and noun form of the same root, and the verb is almost always used of teaching or warning; we could translate ‘illumine or enlighten like the light of the sky’.

On the mountain with Peter, James, and John, as Jesus was praying;

Luke 9:29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Matthew records:

Matthew 17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Jesus was dazzling, radiant, brilliant, shining like the sun. This was a glimpse of his glory which he had with his Father before the world existed. But Luke tells us that these two Old Testament saints ‘appeared in glory’. Jesus is rightly the center of attention, and Peter is rebuked for putting them all on the same level. We are not told exactly what it means that they ‘appeared in glory’ but I think we can conclude that they were glorious. Psalm 17 says:

Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, … 15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

There is a sense in which beholding is becoming. We begin to reflect him, to image him, as we were created to do.

This is the present reality of the believer. This has already started! As we behold the glory of the Lord through his word, we are being transformed by his Holy Spirit. This sheds light on Jesus’ command to

Matthew 5:16 …let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Paul tells us in Philippians to

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, …

When we refuse to grumble, when we refuse to argue, when we hold fast to the world of life, we shine as lights in a crooked, twisted, and dark world.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Already we are being transformed, already we are his children. Already we can shine as lights in the world. But what we will be one day has not yet appeared. We will shine like the brightness of the sky above, like the stars forever and ever.

1 Corinthians 15:50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed. We shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/12_Daniel 12:2-3; Resurrection Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230212_dan12_2.mp3

Necessity of Resurrection

The gospel, the good news, the message of our salvation is that Chrsit died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to many. This is the gospel we received, the base and foundation of our life, the reality we stand in, by which we are being saved, if we hold fast to it (1Cor.15:1-5)

According to Luke, Jesus:

Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Paul says:

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. … 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

The resurrection is essential to the gospel. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we have assurance that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Because he was raised from the dead, we have confidence that we too will be raised.

It Will Get Worse, But It Will Be Worth It

Daniel 12 is the conclusion of the vision given to Daniel about a time of great trouble for God’s people. Daniel 11 records the conflict between the kings of the north and south from Daniel’s day, up to the time of Antiochus Ephiphanes, and on to the end times, with a final future persecutor of God’s people, the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction.

2 Thessalonians says:

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day [the day of the Lord] will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

…8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Daniel is told that persecution will continue against God’s people, in fact it will escalate, will get worse, but that it will be worth it.

Physical Bodily Resurrection

Daniel 12 points ahead to the resurrection. Resurrection is something different than the fact that our souls or spirits will go on consciously after death. Paul says that for the believer to be away from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Cor.5:6-8), but our ultimate hope is not to be away from the body; ‘not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life’ (2Cor.5:4). When Jesus appeared after his resurrection, he made it clear to his disciples that he was not a disembodied spirit, but real, physical, tangible human. He invited them to touch him, he ate in front of them to demonstrate his reality (Lk.24:36-43).

Old Testament Teaching on the Resurrection

Daniel 12:2 is probably one of the clearest statements of the resurrection in the Old Testament. Because of this, some have thought that it is the only statement about the resurrection, and that the Old Testament really didn’t teach the resurrection. This is simply not true.

Job said:

Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Psalm 16 says:

Psalm 16:10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Both Peter and Paul (Acts 2:31; 13:34-35) apply this verse to Jesus, who rose on the third day, before his body began to decay.

Isaiah 25 says:

Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

And Isaiah 26:

Isaiah 26:19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.

Martha, when their brother Lazarus had died, affirmed her belief in the resurrection.

John 11:23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Paul affirmed that the Jews of his day believed in the resurrection of the just and the unjust (Acts 24:14-15).

Daniel 12 would have been foundational to this understanding that ‘many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt’

Resurrection with Distinction; Some to Life, Others to Shame

Daniel was told that there will be distinctions in the resurrection; many, not necessarily all, will be raised to everlasting life. Others will be raised to shame and everlasting contempt.

He says those who sleep in the dusty earth shall awake. This is an echo of Genesis; we are told:

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

And after we rebelled, God said that we will ‘return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return’ (Gen.3:19)

We return to dust, but now Daniel is told we will awaken out of the dust. This awakening is the same for both groups; if it is literal, bodily physical for the one, then it is the same for the other. And the same word ‘everlasting’ is applied to both; if life is eternal, so is the shame and contempt.

The only other place this word ‘contempt’ appears is in Isaiah 66:24

Isaiah 66:24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

This is a graphic image of the just condemnation of those who rebel against God. It is an image that Jesus uses in Mark 9 to warn us of the dangers of hell (Gehenna),

Mark 9:47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Daniel used the word ‘shame’ in chapter 9 when he confessed that because of their sins, ‘Jerusalem and your people have become a byword (reproach or shame) among all who are around us (9:16).

We have acted shamefully and we deserve shame and everlasting contempt. But Psalm 69 uses this word ‘shame’ when points to Jesus:

Psalm 69:9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

Jesus offers to take our reproach, our shame on himself. Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree. We either receive the gift he offers of the great exchange; our shame for his perfect righteousness, or we choose to bear our shame for eternity. This is glorious good news, but it is also a sobering reality.

Jesus; Resurrection of Life or of Judgment

Jesus himself in John 5 drew a contrast between the resurrection of life and the resurrection of judgment.

John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

This ought rightly to terrify us, because ‘none is righteous, no not one’ (Rom.3:10). Our only hope is to be clothed in the perfect righteouness of our Lord Jesus Christ (Is.61:10; Col.1:21-22). And this is offered to all who would belive.

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Two Resurrections in Revelation 20

Last time we looked in Revelation 12-13 at the war in heaven and the epic struggle between the dragon and the seed of the woman behind the earthly events. Once the dragon is thrown down from heaven he has great wrath because he knows his time is short. Now we pick up the story in Revelation 20.

Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

That time of trouble will be unequaled in history, but remaining true to the testimony of Jesus and the word of God whatever the cost will be worth it. Those beheaded souls came to life. They were resurrected. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 20 separates the resurrection of life from the resurrection of judgment by a thousand years. The first resurrection here includes those followers of Jesus who died during that time of great trouble.

Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The rest of the dead, those who did not have a part in the first resurrection, were judged according to what they had done, and all who are judged according to their deeds will be seen to have sinned and fall short. They died once, and they will be raised to experience the second death, the lake of fire. There are the books, and there is another book. Either your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev.13:8; 17:8) or you are judged based on the record of what you have done.

Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life are accepted because the record of debt that stood against them was nailed to the cross, and they are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. They are blessed and holy, because they cast themselves on the mercy of Jesus, and their faith was counted to them as righteousness. They did not work but believed God who justifies the ungodly (Rom.4:4-5)

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/29 Gospel Unity and the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12-14); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230129_the-church.mp3

We’ve been looking at the church, that we together are the light of the world. We’ve seen that the church is a community of people called out from the world by the Lord Jesus Christ, a community built on his identity, and united by the new birth. It’s not that we were worthy; none is righteous; our blind eyes have been opened, we have been forgiven, given a new identity. Once we were darkness; now we are light in the Lord.

Jesus promised to build his church, and he promised that his church would overcome. We as his followers are to devote ourselves to the Apostle’s teaching, which we now have written. We are to devote ourselves to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. We are to abide in Jesus and bear much fruit. This is fruit that the Spirit produces, because our identity has been transformed by the Holy Spirit who now lives in every believer in Jesus.

We are to abide in Jesus, his word abiding in us, and bear much fruit. We are to bear one another’s burdens, we are to bear with one another in love. Keep short accounts. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Freely, graciously, undeservedly.

Today I want to look at the roles each of us plays in this diverse community, this body called the church. To do that we will look at 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14.

Every Believer is Spiritual (1 Corinthians 12:1-3)

1 Corinthians 12-14 deal with who is spiritual and the issue of spiritual gifts. It seems there were questions in Corinth about who was more spiritual than whom and what gifts were necessary evidence of the Spirit in the believer. Chapter 12 lays down some theological groundwork. Paul starts the discussion by pointing to the fact that every genuine believer in Jesus has the Holy Spirit, and is therefore ‘spiritual’, because belief is the work of the Holy Spirit. No spiritually blind spiritually dead person can truly say ‘Jesus is Lord’. The Holy Spirit creates life in a dead heart and opens blind eyes so that a sinner can see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and believe in him. Saving faith, believing in Jesus as Lord, is evidence of Holy Spirit transformation, evidence of true spirituality. There are no more spiritual or less spiritual believers. We are all born again of the Spirit.

Diverse Gifts For the Common Good (1 Corinthians 12:4-31)

Then he points to the diversity of the gifts all given by one triune God. He highlights the fact that the gifts are given ‘for the common good’ (12:7). He uses the metaphor of the body, one organic whole made up of very unique and diverse parts or members, all interdependent and necessary.

1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

He reminds us of the fact that God sovereignly apportioned the gifts as he willed, God so composed the body ‘that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another’ (12:25)

He affirms that there is a priority in the gifts, but they are gifts; it is God who appointed those gifts in the church. He makes it clear that no one possesses all the gifts, that we all need one another.

Then he tells us at the end of chapter 12:

1 Corinthians 12:31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

We are commanded to be zealous for higher gifts. But he will show us a still more excellent way. The superabundant way is love. Without love the gifts are empty, worthless, even irritating, like a noisy gong or clanging symbol.

Love the Heart of the Gifts (1 Corinthians 13)

1 Corinthians 13 is nicknamed ‘The Love Chapter’ and is often used in weddings, and it has good application to that, but that’s not what it was originally about. 1 Corinthians 13 is between chapters 12 and 14, right in the middle of a discussion of spiritual gifts; it is primarily about relationships in the church, how we ought to treat one another as followers of Jesus. It’s a picture of the fruit of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This is the heart that must underlie and shape the use of gifts in the body.

Paul points out that the gifts are temporary, given for the good of the church in this age, in contrast with love that will never end. Love is the more excellent way.

Pursue Love

In chapter 14, Paul comes back to a specific discussion of two particular gifts of the Spirit, and gives some clear practical instruction for life in the church body. He says:

1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

He tells us to go after love. Love is being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, who perfectly demonstrated love to us. This is a command. Pursue love; make love your aim in everything. Everything we do ought to be characterized by love. Yet this does not mean that we turn away from or neglect the gifts of the Spirit. Instead we are to be zealous for the spiritual gifts so that we can use them in love for the common good. This command is picked up and repeated from the end of chapter 12; earnestly desire spiritual gifts. God’s gifts are good, and are to be desired, to be sought after by God’s people.

Prophecy over Tongues

But some gifts are more to be desired than others. Paul takes two speaking gifts and elevates prophecy over tongues as the gift we are to pursue. There are differing opinions on what exactly each gift looks like, and we’re not going to take the time to go through all that today, but if we are careful to observe what this passage says about these gifts, we can get a pretty clear picture.

This passage describes tongues as speaking to God, uttering mysteries in the Spirit that no one understands. The tongues speaker builds himself up. If the tongue can be interpreted, then it can build up the church.

Prophecy is described as speaking ‘to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation’. The one who prophesies builds up the church.

Both are good. Both are desirable. But prophecy is better, based on the criteria of building up the church, based on love.

Building Up

Paul said back in chapter 8;

1 Corinthians 8:1…This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

In chapter 3, he talked about laying a foundation as a skilled master builder. This is an architectural metaphor that paints a picture of construction, providing structure, strength, stability. This is manual labor that requires effort, skill, and patience. We are not in the business of building up buildings, we are called to build up people, to invest in them to provide structure, strength, stability. Prophecy also provides encouragement, to call alongside, to give counsel, encouragement, caution. Prophecy provides consolation, to comfort or console someone who is fainthearted or grieving. Prophecy is speaking to others in order to strengthen, to counsel, to comfort.

Self-Edification

The contrast with tongues in verse 4 is that the one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, where the one who prophesies builds up the church. It is not wrong to build oneself up. We should be building ourselves up. Jude commands:

Jude :20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

It is right and proper and good to seek to build yourself up. A healthy church is made up of healthy individuals. But that is not why we gather as the church. We gather to build up one another. I don’t come to church primarily for what I can get out of it, but how I can serve others. Love does not seek its own.

Paul has nothing bad to say about tongues. In fact, he says in verse 5 “I want you all to speak in tongues”. Speaking in tongues is a good gift of the Holy Spirit. He has already said, at the end of chapter 12, that not all speak in tongues. But, if it were possible, he wishes that all could speak in tongues and enjoy the benefit of uttering mysteries in the Spirit to God. He desires that we all speak in tongues, but even more that we prophesy. He says that the one who speaks prophecy for building up and encouragement and consolation is greater than he who speaks in a tongue, unless it is interpreted, so that the church is built up. The goal of assembling together is to build up the church.

How Will I Benefit You?

Paul uses himself as an example in verse 6. He conjectures; what if I come to visit you and do nothing but speak in tongues? Some in Corinth may have been asking for that very thing. They may have wondered if Paul was as spiritual as they were, because they had likely never heard him speaking in tongues. He might be able to impress some with his advanced spirituality and elevate his status in their eyes, but that is not the goal. Listen to the question he asks. Underline it. Circle it. Write it on the inside cover of your Bible. Make this your question whenever you interact with another person. Paul asks: “How will I benefit you?” It might do me good to speak in tongues, and it might lift me up in your eyes, but what profit will it have for you? Paul’s goal is to be useful to them. Imagine what the church would be like if every one of us had this as our driving passion whenever we gathered: “how will I benefit you?”

1 Corinthians 14:6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

Unintelligibility Creates Barriers

All of these are speaking gifts. The difference between tongues and revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching is that they are intelligible while tongues are unintelligible. If he spoke in tongues, no one would understand him. He wants to benefit them, and he can only be of benefit to them if they can understand him. Uninterpreted tongues fail to communicate, but instead create confusion, erect boundaries and alienate others, making them feel like outsiders. Why would those who have been united as brothers and sisters in Christ engage in a practice that makes each other feel like foreigners?

Love Seeks To Build Up

Paul gives some clear instructions to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 14:12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.

To be zealous for spiritual gifts is a good thing. He has commanded this in 12:31 and 14:1. Paul is simply trying to channel their zeal in a more healthy direction. Seek those things that build up the church. Seek those things that will benefit others. If you speak in a tongue, ask God to give you the ability to interpret that tongue into intelligible language so that you can use your gift to build up others. Spiritual gifts without love are noisy irritating things. Love seeks not its own. Love seeks the good of the other.

Passionate Intelligent Worship

1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.

Paul started this section saying that the one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God. Speaking to God can take the form of prayer, songs of praise, giving thanks. Someone who speaks in an unknown tongue is praying or singing or giving thanks with his spirit, but his mind does not understand what he is saying. Paul is eager to engage not only his spirit, but his mind also. Worship is to be both passionate and intelligent. Neither cold intellectualism nor content-less emotion is pleasing to God. We are to love God with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind. We are to think profoundly and feel deeply about Jesus. Notice Paul is not only thinking of himself. He is aware of the outsider. He is thinking of the seeker, the visitor. Sometimes our goal is to be lost in the experience of worship. But if we are so wrapped up in the experience that we become oblivious to the outsider and disregard his or her needs, then we are not acting in love. We can find application for this well beyond the issue of tongues.

Gifts and Self-Control

1 Corinthians 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Paul claims to be a tongues speaker extraordinaire. The Corinthians were fascinated with their supernatural ability to speak in unknown tongues, and it characterized their worship gatherings. But Paul claims to exceed them all. He is not speaking to them about something he does not understand. He has the gift, he wishes they all had it, and he thanks God for it. But just because he has the gift does not mean he will insist on finding an opportunity to exercise it publicly. It seems that this was a gift Paul restrained and used only privately. In the presence of others, out of love, with self-control, he would rather speak five intelligible words so that they can be instructed than countless words in an unknown language. Paul’s goal was not to find expression for his gift, but to ask “how will I benefit you?”

1 Corinthians 12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Corinthians 14:12 …since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

…26 … Let all things be done for building up.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/22 Gospel Unity and The Three Bears (John 15; Galatians 6; Colossians 3); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230122_the-church.mp3

What is the church? The church is created by Jesus, people called out by Jesus to follow him, redeemed by his death and resurrection. The church is built by Jesus on his own identity as its one cornerstone, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, who point us to Jesus. The church is a New Covenant community birthed by the Spirit, united by the Father into one diverse body, devoted to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

We saw in Matthew 5:14-16 that the church is called to be the light of the world; to point the world to the light that is our Lord Jesus Christ. The ‘you’ and ‘your’ are plural; y’all let your light shine so that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. There is a group identity; we, together, are called to be the light of the world.

Gospel Unity and the Three Bears

Today I want to look at gospel unity and at the three bears. This may sound like a fairy tale, but I assure you, it is not. This is real life for follower of Jesus, and with his help, it is possible. My desire is that this will stick in our hearts and minds, and we will pursue gospel unity and the three bears in all of life, especially in the life of our church family.

Remember, the prerequisite to seeing these three bears is belonging to Jesus, being born again, being a part of the body of Christ. Jesus said ‘you must be born from above, born again, born of the Spirit of God.’ Jesus must be lifted up on a cross, so ‘that whoever believes in him may have eternal life’ (Jn.3:15) ‘Whoever believes in me,’ Jesus said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’ (Jn.7:38). This is the gospel, the good news that unites us into one body, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he rose again on the third day, (1Cor.15:1-5) and he is alive and at work in us today. Our unity is not superficial unity like a common interest or preference; our unity is a profound gospel unity. The three bears are tied to our gospel unity, our new identity in Christ.

Bear #1; Bear Fruit

In Luke 8, Jesus talked about a sower who scattered the word of God on four different kinds of people. Some seed fell along the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on good soil. Some seed was trampled underfoot and snatched away by birds, some sprang up but withered because it had no root, some grew up but was choked out by weeds,

Luke 8:15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

When the word of God takes root in a person’s heart, it bears much fruit. Some 30, some 60, some 100 times what was sown. This is the first ‘bear’. Bear fruit.

Bad Root – Bad Fruit

In Matthew 7 Jesus warns of those who are false. False teachers, false prophets, false believers. He says:

Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

The kind of tree determines what kind of fruit it will bear. We as followers of Jesus are meant to bear good fruit. John the Baptizer admonished the religious leaders who were coming to him; ‘bear fruit in keeping with repentance’ (Mt.3:8). Live a life consistent with turning from your sins and turning to Jesus. What is inside will come out and you will be seen for what you really are in time.

Abiding in Jesus

Jesus gives us the secret of bearing fruit in John 15. Jesus said:

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Jesus tells us that we must be rooted in him, connected to him, abiding in him if we are to bear any real fruit. He is the source of life, and our life and fruit bearing are completely dependent on remaining connected to him. By his word we have been cleansed of our sins, and it is our connection with him that keeps us from withering and being fruitless. Don’t be surprised, by the way, at the Father’s pruning. Fruit-bearing branches are pruned, and the pruning process no doubt is painful, but it is for the purpose of increasing fruitfulness.

Jesus emphasizes the fact that we are utterly unable to bear any fruit outside of our connection with him. He repeats that and makes it abundantly clear. ‘The branch cannot bear fruit of itself. Apart from me you can do nothing.’ We do plenty apart from Jesus, but it is all rotten fruit, and that will be seen in time.

Abide Through His Word and Prayer

Jesus continues:

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

One way we abide in Jesus is through his word and prayer. We stay connected to him when we hide his word in our hearts; we get to know him, what he desires, we enjoy relationship with him, we allow his word to shape our hearts, and we ask him to do those things that would bring him the most glory.

This is about demonstrating the root stock. We prove to be Jesus’ followers when we feed on his word and ask God to work in us and through us for his glory. Fruit is evidence of if we truly are his followers.

Abide in His Love by Loving Others

John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

You are loved. Loved by Jesus. Abide in Jesus, abide in his word, abide in his love. We abide in his love when we do what he wants us to do. When we desire to please him. This is the path to fullness of joy, Jesus’ joy abiding in us. Remember, joy in Galatians 5 is fruit of the Spirit.

Abiding in his love looks like keeping his commandments. What commandments? The next verse leaves us without any doubt.

John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

This is my command; love one another. I have loved you, I have shown you what love looks like. You are loved, so love one another. Love, according to Galatians, is fruit that the Spirit produces. If we abide in Jesus, in his word, asking him to fill us with his love for others, we will bear fruit, lasting fruit, fruit that brings glory to God.

In our loving gospel unity, we will bear much fruit that glorifies the Father.

Bear # 2; Bear One Another’s Burdens

The end of Galatians 5 contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

In Galatians 6 he goes on:

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

There is a sense in which we each bear our own burdens; as he says in Romans 14, we are each accountable to the Lord Christ; it is before our own Master that we stand or fall. We will give an account for every careless word we speak (Mt.12:36). Each one’s work will be tested by fire (1Cor.3:12-16). That is a burden we each alone must bear.

But there is also a sense in which we are called to bear one another’s burdens. That is bear #2. The context here is restoration to one caught in any trangression. Don’t think of yourself as superior or beyond temptation. Don’t provoke or envy one another. Don’t come at your brother in a spirit of condemnation; there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1). Your brother is caught, overtaken. He needs help. He can’t do it alone. He needs spiritual help given in a spirit of gentleness. We are called to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, the law of love; love your neighbor as yourself (Gal.5:14).

Romans 15 puts it this way:

Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Bear one another’s burdens, bear with the failings of the weak, build him up, for his good. Christ bore our burdens on the cross. Bear one another’s burdens.

Bear # 3; Bear With One Another

Colossians 3 tells us

Colossians 3:12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

This is bear # 3, the last and maybe most difficult bear of all; bear with one another.

Based on our identity in Christ, God’s chosen, holy, beloved, bear with one another. You are going to need compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience for this. Bear with one another. It is one thing to bear one another’s burdens; it is another thing to bear with one another. To put up with each other. If you have a complaint against another, you should complain, right? Find somebody to tell. That’s not what this says. Graciously forgive each other. You don’t have to bear with one another if everything is fine. This means there will be complaints, there will be blame, there will be faults. Bear with one another. If you have a complaint against another, you carry it. You release them from the debt. Graciously forgive. The standard is high. Graciously forgive as the Lord has forgiven you, you must forgive. Bear with one another.

Ephesians 4 puts this in the context of our gospel unity.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. … 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

We are to pursue unity, gospel unity. The unity of the Spirit in this one body, the church. We are to pursue the unity of the faith as we all get to know Jesus better. Not just head knowledge but experientially. We get to know Jesus better as we enter in to his experience, as we walk like Jesus walked, in humility and gentleness with patience, as we bear with one another, as we forgive one another as Jesus has forgiven us.

Gospel unity bears fruit, fruit that abides.

Gospel unity bears one another’s burdens.

Gospel unity bears with one another in love.

May we walk in gospel unity and bear much fruit to the glory of God.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/15 What Is The Church? (Matthew 16; Acts 2) Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230115_the-church.mp3

We’ve been looking at Jesus’ commission (Mat.5:14) that we together are the light of the world; ‘You (plural) are the light of the world.’ Our new identity shapes how we walk in step with that new identity, reflecting the light of Jesus in this dark world. There are actions, thoughts and attitudes to put off, that are part of our old way of living; and actions, thoughts and attitudes to put on as consistent with our new identity. But what does that ‘you’ plural mean? We are such an individualistic society. How are we togther to be the light of the world?

The beginning of a new year is a good time to reflect together on who we are, what our mission is, what our purpose is, so that together we can move in unity toward the same goal.

Today I want to examine the question ‘What is the church?’

An Assembly of People Called Out to Follow Jesus

We are going to start in Matthew 16, where Jesus said he would build his church. Jesus is asking his disciples privately what people are saying about him. Then,

Matthew 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The word ‘church’ [ἐκκλησία] means ‘called out’ a called out assembly or gathering; people called out of their homes or out of slavery; to assemble, to come together for a specific purpose.

Jesus speaks of building his church in the future tense; ‘I will build my church.’ So the church is a new thing, different from what we saw in the Old Testament. Jesus is calling out a people to follow him. It is Jesus’ church, Jesus’ assembly; the church belongs to Jesus.

Founded on the Identity of Jesus

This promise ‘I will build my church’ comes out of a discussion of the identity of Jesus; Who do people say that the Son of Man is? But who do you say that I am? The church is built on the rock solid foundation of the supernaturally revealed identity of Jesus as the Christ – the promised Messiah, the unique only-begotten Son of the living God. Peter didn’t come up with this on his own; it was given to him, revealed to him by the Father. The Father testifies to the identity of his only Son.

I’ve always assumed that this was a supernatural enlightenment of Peter at that very moment Jesus asked the question; the lights came on for Peter and he spoke by the Holy Spirit; ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus doesn’t say when the Father revealed this to Peter, but it could have been all the way back in Matthew 3 at Jesus’ baptism, when;

Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

John testified that Jesus is ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (1:29). John said that although Jesus was born 6 months after him, Jesus ranks before him because he existed before him (1:30). John testified ‘that this is the Son of God’ (1:34).

Andrew, who had been following John, went and told his brother.

John 1:40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).

Peter was believing the word of the Father about Jesus and the testimony of John, which were communicated to him by his brother Andrew. Jesus affirms ‘flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’

This was confirmed firsthand to Peter in Matthew 17, when Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the mountain, and God interrupted Peter’s speech:

Matthew 17:5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Later, Peter writes of this experience:

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Eyewitnesses of the majesty, the glory, the splendor, the magnificence of the Lord of us, YHWH; Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ. This is the foundational truth on which the church is established (2Pet.1:12). Jesus will build his church on the foundation of his own identity as promised Messiah, unique Son of God.

A New Covenant Community

Remember, this is new; Jesus will build his church on the foundation of the testimony of his Father about his own identity. The church is the New Covenant community; the fulfillment of the inner Spirit wrought transformation promised in Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 11, Ezekiel 36 & 37; that Jesus taught about in John 3, where he said ‘You must be born again’ (Jn.3:3-7)

Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

This is the background of Jesus’ statement in

John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus said at the last supper, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk.22:20).

The Promised Spirit in You

In Jesus’ great commission to his disciples in Luke 24, he said:

Luke 24:46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, so wait. Jesus had told them in John 14 of the promised Holy Spirit,

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

The Holy Spirit, him, not it (pronouns matter!) a person of the triune God, is everywhere present. As God, the Holy Spirit is always present everywhere. But Jesus is promising a new relationship that we have with God the Spirit. He said to his disciples, you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. This promise of the permanent ‘in you’ relationship of the Holy Spirit to believers is what was promised in the New Covenant in Jeremiah, in Ezekiel.

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This all looks forward to the time when the Spirit would be poured out on believers in Jesus.

Luke continues his story in Acts:

Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came on the apostles and Peter interpreted it as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel 2 of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh. He preached Jesus as the promised Christ, crucified and risen.

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

When the crowds heard Peter preaching about Jesus,

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

They were cut to the heart. By whom? This was the conviction of the Spirit of God through the word of God. Peter tells them to repent; turn from whatever you were trusting in and trust Jesus alone. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul in Romans 8:9 makes it clear that everyone who belongs to Jesus has the Spirit of God dwelling in them. Notice he says the promise is for everyone, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. God the Spirit is cutting them to the heart; YHWH God is calling people to himself, to repent and believe in Jesus. The church, the [ἐκκλησία], is a called out assembly or gathering, those called by the Spirit out of darkness into the light of Jesus.

The Lord Building His Church

Acts 2:41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Those who received his word were baptized. They were immersed in water, an outward picture of what had happened inside, as they had been immersed by Jesus in the Holy Spirit, as John had predicted (Mt.3:11). Notice the careful wording ‘there were added that day about three thousand souls’ and in verse 47 ‘the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved’. It was the Lord, the Lord Jesus building his church as he had promised; ‘I will build my church.’

Devoted to Apostles’ Teaching and Fellowship

While we are here in Acts 2, notice what the church was about. Verse 42 tells us what they devoted themselves to; they were devoted to the apostles’ teaching. They had the apostles, who were teaching them. We have the apostles’ teaching today in the form of the New Testament.

Peter wrote:

Peter, knowing he would soon die, wrote a letter, so that ‘after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.’

By the way, the apostles, following the example of their Lord Jesus (Lk.24:27), opened the Old Testament and showed how it all points to Jesus (Acts 3:18; 17:2-3; 26:22-23;1Pet.1:10).That is why we are a church ‘of the Bible’; we are passionate about, devoted to hearing and obeying God’s word, seeing how it all points us to Jesus. The church devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.

And they were devoted to the fellowship. The [κοινωνια], partnership, communion, community. They were devoted to having things in common, meeting the needs of one another, meeting together, being together. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread, remembering Jesus together in communion or the Lord’s supper. They devoted themselves to the prayers. Praying together. Praising God together, praying for one another, seeking the Lord together. Being constant in prayer.

Teaching, fellowship, breaking bread together, praying together. This is what the church devoted themselves to.

Summary

Who are we? What is the church? The church is this New Covenant community created by Jesus, called out by Jesus, by his death and resurrection, birthed by the Spirit, united by the Father into one diverse body, devoted to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. The church is built by Jesus on his own identity as its one cornerstone, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/08 The Fruit of Light; Ephesians 4-5 Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230108_advent-fruit-of-light.mp3

This advent we have been looking to Jesus, Jesus who is the light of the world, the true light who comes into our world, who opens blind eyes, who allows us to see the good news of the glory of God, because the glory of God is revealed, shining in the face of Jesus. Jesus is the great light who overcomes our darkness. Jesus is the light dawning in darkness and the shadow of death.

You Are The Light; New Identity (Matthew 5:14)

Jesus turns to us, his followers and says

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

You are the light of the world. Jesus has given us a new identity.

Ephesians 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Our identity was darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. We are called, commissioned now to be the light of the world, to walk as children of light, to open blind eyes, to point people to Jesus, the light of the world.

We, together are the light, because Jesus says you plural, y’all are the light of the world. Y’all, together, as my followers, as the body of Christ, let y’alls light shine.

The question I want to ask today is ‘What does it mean, what does it look like for us to walk as children of light?’

Reflecting the Character of Jesus (Matthew 5:1-16)

We saw last time that the context of Matthew 5:14 is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; the beatitudes. Maybe we should call it the Jesus-attitudes. We reflect Jesus’ character, and ultimately the character of the Father when we are humble, poor in spirit, when we grieve with those who grieve, when we are meek, when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when we show mercy, when we are pure in heart, when we make peace, when we are persecuted and rejected. Jesus calls us salt and light in this world. He is calling us to follow him, to reflect his character, to shine his light, as he reflected the character of his Father.

We are to let our light shine so that it is not hidden but seen, observable by those around us, but we are to let it shine in such a way that our good works are not identified as ours, originating in us; but that they were wrought in God, fruit of the Spirit’s work in us.

Works Wrought in God (John 3:19-21)

In John 3, to the one who came to him by night, Jesus said:

John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Understand, John 3 does not draw a contrast between good people and bad people, but between everyone and those who have been supernaturally transformed by a work of the Spirit of God. Everyone, all people love darkness because our deeds are evil. Everyone does wicked things and we do not want to be exposed. The context of John 3 draws a contrast between two groups of people; those who believe in Jesus and those who do not believe in Jesus. John 3 explains the necessity of the new birth, being born of the Spirit. Those who do the truth come to the light to put clearly on display that it is a supernatural work of God; any good that I do is done not in my own strength, but is wrought in God. It is evidence of the new birth; it is the work of the Spirit of God. The light exposes not only the deeds but their source.

Being children of light is a result of being born from above, born of God. Because we are children of light, because we have that new identity, we ought to walk in step with that new identity.

Walk Consistent with your New Identity (Ephesians 2:1-5)

Ephesians describes us (2:1-5) as the walking dead, walking in our trespasses and sins, children of wrath, until by God’s great mercy and grace he made us alive. Our identity is radically transformed. The second half of Ephesians grows out of this foundation.

Walk consistent with your new identity; who you are in Christ. Walk in step with the Lord. Be humble, be gentle, be patient, put up with others, love others, preserve unity, pursue peace.

Put Off the Old Self (Ephesians 4:17-24)

Ephesians 4:17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

You are no longer in the dark. Do not walk as if you were still darkened in your understanding, ignorant, hard hearted, calloused, feeding your lying desires. Your old identity is dead; put it off. Set it aside. You have a new identity in Christ; renewed minds, the new self; created to reflect the glory of God. Put it on. Walk in your new identity.

Put On the New Self (Ephesians 4:25-5:7)

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Speak truth. Keep short accounts. Work hard and be generous. Let your words minister grace. Be kind. Forgive as you have been forgiven.

Ephesians 5 continues:

Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

You are no longer sons of disobedience. Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. As beloved children, imitate your Father in heaven. Walk in self-sacrificial love.

Exposing the Darkness (Ephesians 5:8-13)

Ephesians 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. …

There is a battle raging between darkness and light. We are to be light in the world, and the darkness will not overcome. Even shameful secret things, when they are exposed, brought to light, lose their power. When dark deeds are rebuked by the light, they are exposed for what they are, and that which was dark becomes light.

Ephesians 5:14 …Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

—

Isaiah 51:17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

Isaiah 26:19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Awake O sleeper, you who were dead in trespasses and sins; God has made you alive by his grace. The light of Christ will shine one you. Now you are light in the Lord.

Contrasts

Ephesians 5:15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Paul gives graphic descriptions contrasting darkness and light, life in the flesh and life in the Spirit, the old self and the new self. He lists concrete practical tangible daily life examples that paint a picture for us of what these two radically divergent paths look like.

The old self is characterized by futility, alienation, ignorance, a hard and calloused heart. Our old identity was darkness, sons of disobedience and children of wrath, we were unfruitful, our deeds were shameful and hidden. We were are asleep, dead, drunk, debauched.

In contrast, the new self is characterized by humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, pursuing unity and peace. Our new identity is created after likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. We are beloved children, we are light in the Lord, bearing the fruit of light, we can walk pleasing to the Lord. We are awake, alive, wise, understanding, filled with the Spirit.

Our old self was driven by sensuality, pursuing impurity, tainted by desires that lie to us, promising more than they can deliver. The shameful secret deeds of darkness include sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness (which is idolatry), filthiness, corrupting foolish talk, crude joking, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice.

Our new self seeks to imitate God, pursuing God’s pleasure, living life sacrificially as a fragrant aroma to God. The fruit of light looks like lay-down-your-life self-sacrificial love for others, submitting to one another under God, pursuing that which is good, right and true, forgiving those who wrong us as we have been forgiven by Jesus.

Our words are to give grace, to be characterized by thanksgiving, giving thanks always and for everything. Our hearts overflow with song to the Lord and to one another.

Assessing Our Reflection

Jesus calls us to be the light of the world. It can be valuable to assess how accurately we are reflecting his light to the world around us.

What desires drive you? What do you most long for that you don’t have? Is your primary passion to pursue your own pleasure? Or to seek to please the Lord? Has your heart become calloused or numb?

How is your thought life? Who are you when no one is looking?

How do you respond to difficult people? People who disagree with you? Humility, gentleness, patience, pursuing unity and peace? Or are you proud, rough, short, irritable, quick to condemn, to distance? Do you allow bitterness to grow? Slander? Malice? How are you at bearing with one another in love?

What shape do you words take? Are they good and right and true? Do they give grace? Or are they foolish, shameful, impure, corrosive? Do they build up or tear down? Complaining or giving thanks always for everything? Does your heart overflow with a song to the Lord?

Are you drained, exhausted, tired of trying to be something you know you are supposed to be, but don’t really want to be? Or that you desperately want to be but are consistently coming up short?

What is it that you are putting on display to the people around you? Do they see the character of Jesus? Do they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven?

Transformation Rooted in the New Birth

Remember, the new birth is where this comes from; it is rooted in your identity. You must be born again! Jesus offers hope! Jesus can transform your desires. This is the fruit of light that the Holy Spirit produces in us, as a result of our new identity in Christ. Don’t be a dog that returns to your vomit. Live and walk according to your new identity; Jesus has called us to be the light of the world; by God’s grace we are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/01 [Advent] Identity: Children of Light; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230101_advent-lights.mp3

This advent we’ve been giving our attention to Jesus the light of the world.

Jesus the True Light [John 1]

John begins with the pre-existent Word; the one who was with God and who was himself God, the Creator of all things. In verse 4 he says:

John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

We learn in verse 8 that John…

John 1:8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Jesus is life, the light of the world, the true light who was coming into the world. John 1:14 describes the wonder of this entrance of light into our dark world.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The eternal Word became human, took on flesh, pitched his tent among us. Jesus is the light of the world. The only-begotten Son of God puts on display the glory of God. He shows us God’s grace, he shows us God’s truth, in ways we can comprehend. Verse 18 says:

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

God become flesh makes the invisible God known. The only-begotten God makes his Father known.

Jesus says:

John 8:12 … “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Jesus is the light, and he invites us into his light.

Believe While You Have The Light [John 12]

In John 12, Jesus, looking toward his death, warns that it is urgent that people believe in him while the light is shining.

John 12:35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” …

The light is among you for a little while longer. While you have the light, believe in the light.

Light in the Darkness [Matthew]

Matthew uses the words of Isaiah 9 to describe the coming of Jesus as light:

Matthew 4:16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

Jesus is the true light who entered our world, the great light shining in darkness, chasing the shadows of death away.

You Are the Light [Matthew 5]

But in Matthew 5, Jesus says something startling to his followers.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world.

Let that sink in. Jesus is the true light who came into our world, but Jesus now turns to his disciples and says ‘You are the light of the world.’

How do you feel about that? We admire, we stand in awe, we worship Jesus. He is the true light. Unrivaled, unequaled, unattainable in his perfections. He has life in himself; he is the self-existent one. And that life is light, glorious, brilliant, flawless.

But he turns to us and commissions us. He is about to leave this earth. You are to be the light of the world. How is that even possible?

Qualified; New Identity [Colossians 1; Ephesians 5]

Look at what Paul says to the saints in Colossae;

Colossians 1:11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Jesus is one-of-a-kind, unparalleled, unique. There is no one like him. He is the only-begotten Son. He is the Creator of all that exists, and everything exists for his pleasure. Jesus is the flawless image of the invisible God; the perfect reflection of his Father. He is the true light that shines in the darkness.

We are not qualified. We all have sinned and fall so far short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23). We can’t reflect the glory of the Father like Jesus does. Paul tells the Ephesians

Ephesians 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

He doesn’t just say that we were in the dark, or we were less bright, just kind of dark; we were darkness. That was our identity. Jesus is the light. We were darkness. Unworthy. Disqualified.

But now you are light in the Lord. In Jesus you have been given a new identity. Now you are children of light. Now you are light in the Lord.

Colossians says that the Father has qualified us, he has made us sufficient, competent, fit, he has made us qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He rescued us out of the kingdom of darkness. He transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Our allegiance has been transferred to a different kingdom with an infinitely better King. Jesus redeemed us; he bought us out of slavery. At the cross, Jesus purchased our forgiveness; he cancelled the record of debt that stood against us (Col.2:14). We were darkness, but we have been made competent to be light. We give thanks to the Father, because this is his gift to us.

Called Into His Light [1 Peter]

1 Peter 2:5 says this:

1 Peter 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Acceptable. We are priests offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God. Peter then draws a contrasts between us who believe and those who do not believe in Jesus, and says in verse 9

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

We have been chosen, called out of darkness, called into light, his marvelous light. We are his, we belong. We belong to him; we are a people for his own possession. We have been made acceptable through Jesus Christ. We have been called out of darkness and are now in the light, and we are to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus. We are to point others to the true light.

Paul Sent to Open Blind Eyes [Acts 26]

When Saul the persecutor was knocked to the ground by a brilliant blinding light, brighter than the sun, he was told:

Acts 26:16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles— to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

God commissioned Paul to open blind eyes, to turn people from darkness to light, to rescue people from the grip of the devil. Those who believe in Jesus receive forgiveness of sins, and an identity among the saints, those who are sanctified, set apart, made holy by faith; by believing, by depending on Jesus.

This Treasure in Jars of Clay [2 Corinthians 4]

Paul describes his ministry in 2 Corinthians 4. He says he received this ministry by the mercy of God. His desire is that everyone would see the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, the image of God (2Cor.4:4).

2 Corinthians 4:5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God’s powerful Word created light in Paul’s dark heart, light to see Jesus. Paul was called to open other blind eyes to the light of the good news of the glory of Jesus Christ. But he did not seek to draw attention to himself; he proclaimed Jesus Christ as Lord. He was among people as one who serves (Lk.22:27).

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Light shone in Paul’s dark heart. And he was commissioned to carry that light to others. But he carried around that darkness-destroying eye-opening light in a fragile earthen vessel. He was afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down,

2 Corinthians 4:10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

The powerful overcoming light of Jesus shone out of his fractured fragile frame so that Jesus would be seen for who he is, so that his life which is the light of men would shine even more brightly, so that it was evident that the surpassing power was not from Paul himself; it belongs to God shining through this jar of clay.

Back to Matthew 5

With all of this in mind, let’s go back to Matthew 5, where Jesus calls us, his followers, the light of the world.

Jesus compares his followers to a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, a lamp put on a stand, designed to give light to all in the house.

The context of Matthew 5:14 is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; the beatitudes. He says blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those hungry for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, the persecuted. He calls us salt and light in this world. Jesus is calling us to follow him, to reflect his character as he has reflected the character of his Father.

Jesus says ‘you are the light of the world.’ You plural (y’all) are the light singular. This is where grammar is so important. He doesn’t say you individually are the light. He doesn’t say y’all plural are lights plural. He says you all; corporately, as the body of Christ, together, make up the one light. This is the responsibility of the church, all of us together. Y’all together are the light of the world.

He says in verse 16:

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Y’all are the light of the world. That is your new identity in Jesus Christ. Y’all together let your light shine so others can see it. But let the good works that we do shine in such a way that attention is not drawn to us, but puts on display the life of Jesus in us, shining through us, fragile fractured earthen vessels, sinners, forgiven, transformed by God’s grace into sons of light, so that God gets all the glory.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/25 Christmas Sunday Morning; John 1; Light; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221225_advent-light.mp3

Luke records the prophecy of Zechariah:

Luke 1:78 …the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Matthew records the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah:

Matthew 4:16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”

Life and Light in the Beginning

The gospel of John begins this way:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The Word, who is himself God, yet is distinct from the Father, who eternally existed with his Father, who is the Creator of all that is, he is the source of all life. And the life that is in him is light to all people. His life brings light in the darkness, a light that will conquer the darkness.

In the beginning, when darkness covered the surface of the deep, and the Spirit was brooding over the waters, God spoke, and his divine Word brought light into existence.

The divine Word has life in himself, and that life is light, a light that overcomes the darkness.

Light Enters and Overcomes Rejection

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

The true light was coming into the world, and John was sent ahead by God to point people to the light, so that they would believe.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

This is treasonously wrong. He, the divine Maker, the divine Light entered into the world he had made. But the world that he made did not know him. His own people that he had come to, refused to associate with him. This is treasonous, this is hopeless, this is messed up, this is broke. But even into this mess, he brings light and hope. The darkness is deep and strong, but it will not overcome the light.

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word, the Light, comes giving gifts. Some did receive him. Some believed. But this didn’t happen because of human will or effort. These are the ones who were born of God, born of God’s will. God brought life and light and belief out of death and darkness and rejection. He adopted these ones. He gave them new life, the freedom to become his children. This is truly the greatest gift.

God Incarnate

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word, this God who was with God and who was God, God who already existed in the beginning, became something he had not been. He became flesh. The Creator entered in to his creation. God incarnate, God with flesh on, God with us. He pitched his tent among us. The glory of God dwelling in an earthly tabernacle.

We learn something here about this God who was with God from the beginning, who is himself God. We learn that he is as an only Son from the Father. He is the only-begotten, the utterly unique one-of-a-kind Son. The Son has always been with the Father, in relationship with his Father. The Father is God and the Son is God. But the Son is not the Father and the Father is not the Son. “Neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance” (Athanasian Creed). He is the only Son from the Father.

Glorious Grace and Truth

The Son shares the glory of his Father, and he allows this glory to be seen by becoming flesh and living among us. His glory is displayed in an overflow of both grace and truth. Grace, that free and overflowing giving that is never earned or deserved, yet always balanced with absolute truth, perfect integrity, never looking the other way or pretending something is what it isn’t.

John 1:15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)

This one came after John. The announcement came to Mary when her relative Elizabeth was in her sixth month (Lk.1:36). But John says the one born later is greater; he ranks higher, because he existed prior. He was, he existed. He arrived six months later, but he always was.

John 1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

He came giving gifts. He entered this world full, complete, whole, when we were needy, fractured and empty. He is the abundant giver; we receive from his generous hand. Grace; unearned, undeserved favor and kindness; given freely to those who have no qualities that merit that favor. It is not just grace, he gives grace piled up on top of grace, heaping, overflowing, lavish, rich, excessive, free.

The law was given through Moses. The law is absolute, harsh, exacting. Justice is meant to be blind. It doesn’t matter how much your story tugs at our heart strings; you commit the crime, you do the time (Prov.6:30-31). The law brought death to transgressors. But mercy triumphs over judgment (Jas.2:13). The law exacts punishment. Grace extends mercy to those who deserve only judgment. His overflowing fullness pours out on us grace upon grace.

Here the divine and eternal Word, the true Light who gives light to everyone is finally named. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus; YHWH is Salvation, because he shall save his people from their sins (Mt.1:21). The Christ, the promised long expected Messiah-king. The one who will finally rule with truth and grace. He is the true word, absolutely. We know what grace is because of Jesus. He is the true light that breaks in to our sinful hopeless darkness with grace; undeserved kindness. Grace upon grace.

God Makes God Known

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

No one has ever seen God; God is immortal, eternal, invisible (1Tim.1:17; Col.1:15); God is spirit, not physical (Jn.4:24). No one has ever seen the Father. The one-of-a-kind only-begotten God, this one who is, who has always existed in intimate relationship with his Father, this God has made the Father known. Jesus has exegeted God, he has unfolded his true character and nature, put his glory on display in flesh and blood. The only begotten God has brought to light the character and nature of the Father.

Jesus is Life and the Light who came into the world to give true light to everyone. He came that we might receive him. He came that we might believe.

John 3

John 3 picks up this theme of the incarnation as light coming into the world. In verse 13 Jesus claims to be the only one who descended from heaven,

John 3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Light has come, the only-begotten one-of-a-kind Son of God was sent into the world as the light, to save us, but we love darkness because our deeds are evil. But he came to overcome our darkness, so that whoever believes in him has eternal life, whoever believes is not condemned, whoever believes comes into the light so that the darkness is exposed, and it is clear that any truly good works are ‘not I but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal.2:20; 1Cor.15:10).

Believe in the Light

Jesus says in John 8

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus says in John 9

John 9:4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus says in John 12

John 12:44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Light has come into the world. Believe in the light, that you may not remain in darkness, but become sons of light. Allow Christ to overcome your darkness. Receive from his generous hand grace upon grace.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/18 Isaiah 7-9, Immanuel; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221218_advent-immanuel.mp3

Last time we looked at Zechariah, who prophesied that his son John

Luke 1:76 …will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

We saw in this an echo of Isaiah 60

There is a darkness covering the earth, and a thick darkness the peoples; the darkness of our transgressions, iniquities, and sins, our rebellion against God. And we are groping in the darkness and can’t find our way out. But a glorious light is about to dawn; YHWH himself will arise upon you, his glory will be seen upon you. Jesus, YHWH come in the flesh, is the light shining that overcomes the darkness. In him we find forgiveness of our sins.

We saw in Revelation that the new city Jerusalem

Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb

God himself comes and overcomes our darkness.

Matthew 4

Today I want to look at another prophecy of Isaiah, one that Jesus is said to fulfill in Matthew 4, another prophecy about Jesus being the light.

In Matthew 4, after Jesus is baptized by John, after being tempted by the devil,

Matthew 4:12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Historical Backdrop

To really appreciate the significance of this prophecy, we need to set the stage of Isaiah 9, which Matthew quotes here. After Solomon, God’s people were divided between Israel and Judah, the north and the south. Jerusalem was capital of Judah, and Samaria capital of Israel in the north. There was frequent war between Israel and Judah, and in chapter 7 Isaiah addresses Ahaz, the wicked king of Judah.

Isaiah 7:1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

Here’s what is going on. Prior to the Babylonians and the Persians, the Assyrians were the major world power in the middle east, from about 900 to 600 BC. Assyria wanted Egypt, and tiny kingdoms like Edom, Aram, Phillistia, and Israel were in his path. The only hope for these small kingdoms was to form alliances with one another, and Israel had joined with Aram (which later became Syria), and pressured Judah to join them. When Judah resisted, they attacked, seeking to strengthen their position. After an earlier unsuccessful attack, rumors were now circulating of a plot to overthrow Jerusalem and replace Ahaz a descendant of David with their own king who would be sympathetic to their cause. The heart of Ahaz and the hearts of the people were quaking like leaves in the wind.

God sent Isaiah with a word for Ahaz.

Isaiah 7:3 And the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son [whose name means ‘A Remnant Shall Return], at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord GOD: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

God would stand up to keep his promises to David. Isaiah meets Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool. Before Ahaz’ son Hezekiah dug the tunnel to bring the water in to Jerusalem underground, their water source was exposed and vulnerable. Ahaz is preparing Jerusalem for a siege by seeking to secure his water source.

God gave Ahaz a warning; be careful; do not fear. The threat is real, the rumors are true, but the sovereign God says ‘it shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.’ The Lord encourages Ahaz that the only stable place to stand is to trust in his God.

But it seems Ahaz was not listening. The voices around him were drowning out the one voice he should pay attention to. The gracious Lord spoke to Ahaz again.

Isaiah 7:10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.”

Like Gideon before him, God graciously offers to confirm his word with a sign to fortify faith in him. But Ahaz, like the devil himself, quotes Scripture back to the Lord, which sounds pious, but is a cover for his refusal to believe. Ahaz has his own plan, so he is not interested in God’s; according to 2 Kings 16:7-8 he takes treasures from God’s temple to hire the king of Assyria (remember, this is the greater enemy) to attack Aram and his brothers in Israel.

This is a decisive point in the history of the Davidic dynasty. Remember, God made promises to David, that ‘I will raise up your offspring after you …and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. …And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever’ (2Sam7:12-13, 16). Here God tells Ahaz, descendant of David ‘If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all’, and Ahaz rejects the good word of the Lord and chooses to rely on political maneuvering and military alliance. What will become of David’s dynasty? What will become of the promises of God?

The Promise of Immanuel

Isaiah 7:13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

Ahaz had rejected the Lord, but God gave the house of David a sign anyway. The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name ‘God with us’. Although the house of David had deserted their God, God had not deserted his people or his promises. He is with them, and despite their unfaithfulness, he will keep his word. Remember, Isaiah was instructed to bring his son ‘A Remnant Shall Return’ with him.

In the short term, in just a few years, the land of Israel and Aram, the immediate threat to Judah, will be deserted. In 733 BC Tiglath-Pileser invaded Israel and took Galilee and all the land of Naphtali, among other cities (2Ki.15:29). In 722 Samaria fell to Assyria under Shalmaneser. But as the prophecy goes on,

Isaiah 7:17 The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

This will be worse for the dynasty of David than the kingdom being divided under Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Not only will Assyria come against Israel and Aram, they will also come against Judah and shave it bare (7:20). In 701 BC Sennacherib invaded Judah, took all the fortified cities, and laid siege to Jerusalem (2Ki.18:13).

In chapter 8 Isaiah is told to name his son Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means ‘Speed-Spoil-Haste-Booty’; indicating the swiftness and plunder Assyria would gain as they invaded the land. Isaiah predicts that they will not only take Damascus and Samaria, but pictures the Assyrians as a mighty river overflowing its banks and sweeping into Judah; ‘it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel’ (8:8).

Immanuel’s land will be filled with enemies, but they are warned:

Isaiah 8:9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

The enemies of God and their plans will come to nothing, because Immanuel, God is with us.

Ahaz’ unbelief was a turning point leading to the destruction of Israel and the subjugation of Judah, until they went into captivity in Babylon. Their freedom gone, the dynasty of David dissolved, until the heir to the throne worked as a poor carpenter in Nazareth…

Do not Stumble in the Darkness; Fear God Alone

Isaiah is warned not to fear

Isaiah 8:11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

Fear the Lord alone. He is a sanctuary to those who take refuge in him, but he is a rock of offense and stumbling to those who will not.

So Isaiah affirms:

Isaiah 8:17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

He warns against the danger of seeking insight in the demonic darkness, of dealing with the dead through mediums and necromancers. Rather, we have God’s word!

Isaiah 8:20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Isaiah 9

This is the dark backdrop that leads us up to Isaiah 9, which says:

Isaiah 9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Even the northern kingdom, annihilated by Assyria never to rise again, even Galilee, even the land of Naphtali, covered with gloom and anguish, even on those who dwelt in demonic darkness, on them the light has shone. Jesus was known by his hometown, Nazareth of Galilee. His first sign, turning water into wine at a wedding, he did at Cana in Galilee (Jn.2:1,11).

Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.

‘Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.’ Isaiah goes on:

Broken as Midian

Isaiah 9:3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

The breaks them as on the day of Midian; it was Midian who hired Balaam to curse Israel (Num.22); it was Midian who seduced Israel into idolatry with their women (Num.25). It was Midian who oppressed Israel in the days of Gideon, and the Lord broke the power of Midian with a word and with light shining in the darkness, as Gideon and his 300 men broke the jars that held their torches and blew their trumpets and shouted (Judg.7). Light breaks in on the darkness!

Isaiah goes on with an announcement of light and hope that will break the darkness forever.

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/11 Isaiah 60; Sunrise Breaks the Darkness Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221211_advent-darkness-sunrise.mp3

Last time we looked at the prophecy of Zechariah in Luke chapter 1 that his son John would prepare the hearts of people to meet their God; that he would prepare the way for the coming of YHWH. Zechariah rejoiced that, like the Exodus from Egypt, God had taken notice of his people; he had come down to visit them in their need. He had come down to buy them out of the slavery they had sold themselves into – he had come to redeem. God had raised up a horn, a ruler in the lineage of King David, in fulfillment of all the prophecies about Messiah, the Anointed one. God would rescue his people from their enemies; enemies without and within. He would extend tender compassion toward those who have no hope. He would remember his promises, his covenant, his oath that he swore to their ancestors. God was about to keep his word.

Zechariah prophesied over his newborn son:

Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Zechariah’s words echo back to the exodus from Egypt, but they also resonate with Isaiah’s warnings about the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, and the ultimate hope of God’s people in their coming Servant-King. He speaks of a sunrise visiting us from on high, that gives light to those in darkness and death, that guides our feet in the way of peace.

Isaiah 60 reads like this:

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house.

And down in verse 16:

Isaiah 60:16 …and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. 18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. 19 The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Today I want to look at this concept of light breaking in on darkness and death in Isaiah.

Context of Isaiah

Isaiah is writing in the eighth century BC [c.740-680 BC], over 700 years before Christ. He was a contemporary of Micah and Hosea. He lived in Judah during the time of the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital Samaria [722] and their attempted siege of Judah and Jerusalem in 701 BC, where king Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, and the angel of the Lord defeated the Assyrian army.

Isaiah was called to confront the sins of God’s people that were bringing about God’s judgment. Isaiah starts out this way:

Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. 5 Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. 7 Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

God is pleading with his disobedient people. Their rebellion leads to misery and destruction. He addresses their corruption, their idolatry, as they go through the motions of worship, but their hearts are far from him.

Isaiah 1:24 Therefore the Lord declares, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes. 25 I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy. 26 And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

God is not only against the sinful nations, but he will even turn against his own people, but with the purpose of purifying them by the fires of judgment. Even in the fire there is hope and a good purpose. But he envisions a day;

Isaiah 2:2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

God will bring about a day of peace, when all the nations will worship the God of Israel.

This is the overarching message of Isaiah; God will judge the nations, and God will judge his own people for their sins. But as fire purifies, he will purify his people, and one day they will be righteous and faithful to him, a light to the nations. God himself will bring this about.

A Future Light will Overcome

Isaiah 60 looks far ahead to this future day when God’s glory will be seen; when ‘the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.’

But this light overcomes the darkness. To better appreciate the light, we need to understand what the darkness is. Zechariah says:

Luke 1:78 …the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death…

Isaiah says:

Our Darkness

What is this darkness and thick darkness that covers earth and peoples? What is this shadow of death? We only need to look back at the context to see.

Isaiah 58 confronts Israel over their meticulous observation of God’s rules. They were doing all the right things, but for the wrong reasons, with the wrong heart. They were seeking to earn points with God by keeping the rules. They were frustrated that God seemed not to notice all their good works and was not answering their prayers.

Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness. 4 No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity. 5 They hatch adders’ eggs; they weave the spider’s web; he who eats their eggs dies, and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched. 6 Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways. 8 The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made their roads crooked; no one who treads on them knows peace.

God is not limited, unable to answer, unable to hear; but your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. Their laundry list of injustice is long, and their good works are like hatching snake eggs, like trying to make clothing out of spider’s webs. Isaiah goes on with a graphic description of the darkness:

Isaiah 59:9 Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men. 11 We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: 13 transgressing, and denying the LORD, and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. 14 Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. 15 Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

Sin is the darkness we manufacture when we turn away from the light of God’s presence, when we ignore the light of his truth.

God Himself Wars Against our Dark

Isaiah 59:15 …The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. 17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment. 19 So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the LORD drives.

We can’t fix our situation. We are groping in the darkness and can’t find a way out. All we accomplish is digging the hole deeper that we are in. God saw our desperate situation, and he himself took action. He took up his armor and waged war against the darkness in us. He brought us salvation with his own arm.

Isaiah 59:20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD. 21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

God is the Redeemer. The LORD himself transforms us by his Spirit. He makes promises to us and he himself will keep them.

…16 …and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

…19 The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. 21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

God himself destroys our darkness and becomes to us our everlasting light. This is the hope that Zechariah saw was being fulfilled in Jesus.

Luke 1:76 … you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

We are those who have openly rebelled, who have turned away from the light, who are sitting content in our own darkness, not even seeking a way out from the shadow of death. And Jesus breaks in to give us light.

But this light in Isaiah 60 is more than metaphorical. It seems to be quite literal. No longer will we need the light of sun or moon, because the glory of the Lord will be seen; he will be our everlasting light. We see this fleshed out in the Revelation of Jesus given to John. In Revelation 21, in the new heaven and the new earth, in the new Jerusalem, where:

Revelation 21:3 …“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” …

The holy city Jerusalem came down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel (v.10-11).

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus died to transfer us out of the kingdom of darkness and into his kingdom in marvelous light. The light has broken in, the darkness is dissipating, but the sun will one day shine in full strength. We celebrate Advent, the coming of Jesus. As sure as Jesus came the first time in fulfillment of all the prophecies, he is coming again. This is the final future hope that Jesus brings. For all of us who are found in him, the sunrise shall visit us from on high, and we will see him face to face. Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/04 Luke 1:68-79; Visitation and Redemption Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221204_advent-visitation-redemption.mp3

Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

These are the words of Zechariah, a priest of the division of Abijah, father of John who baptized in the Jordan river.

Preparing People for the Lord

Before Zechariah and Elizabeth conceived, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah as he served in the temple and announced that they would have a child, and they were to name him John.

Luke 1:16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

He, John, would turn many to the Lord their God. He, John, will go before him, the Lord their God. John’s mission was to prepare Israel to meet their God. He would bring about reconciliation, repentance for sins, he restore many to faith in the Lord their God. He would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, as prophesied by Malachi.

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

The Prophecy of Zechariah

John the Baptist was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth in their old age. Eight days later, at the circumcision, his father who had been mute for the entire pregnancy because of his unbelief, finally spoke:

Luke 1:64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

Imagine nine months of silence, processing the message of the angel, searching the Scriptures, seeking the Lord.

Visitation

Let’s walk through this prophecy given through Zechariah, to understand what he is saying.

Luke 1:67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people

The first thing that overflows out of his heart is praise. He worships. He blessed God, the Lord God of Israel. He praises God because he recognizes two things the Lord has done. He has visited and redeemed his people.

This word for visitation is an echo of the Exodus. 400 years of hard labor in Egypt and the people groaned and cried out for rescue.

Exodus 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

And God came down, appeared to Moses in the burning bush, commissioned him to set his people free. After 40 years tending sheep in the wilderness of Midian, Moses returned to Egypt and announced to the elders of Israel that God had appeared to him, and what God had sent him to do.

Exodus 4:31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

The LORD had visited his people. He was attentive to their situation. He heard. He saw. He knew. He was willing to intervene on their behalf. He had come down to help. He had visited them in the exodus. But John was to prepare the way for the coming of YHWH. God himself was coming down to visit his people!

Redemption

The Lord has visited his people. And he had made redemption. Redemption is another concept that connects back to the exodus.

Exodus 6:6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

To ransom or redeem is to purchase or buy back out of slavery. Land and people could be redeemed.

Leviticus 25:25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.

Leviticus 25:47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him,

This was the Old Testament version of bankruptcy. If you couldn’t pay your bills, you could sell your land. If you still couldn’t pay, you could sell yourself and your family to serve someone for a period of time, until you worked off your debt, or until you were redeemed. A relative could pay off your redemption debt and purchase your freedom.

The people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, and God said he would show up to redeem them out of their bitter slavery with his mighty strength. Zechariah understood that the people of Israel had sold themselves into bondage to sin for over 400 years, and God was coming to visit them and to pay the purchase price to buy them out of their slavery.

A Horn of Salvation

God has raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David. A horn is a symbol of an animal’s strength or power. We’ve been studying Daniel, where we’ve seen that a horn of a kingdom or empire is a powerful ruler or king. God has raised up a powerful king who is a descendant David, as promised.

The Old Testament is rich with prophecies of the coming Messiah-King. When king David desired to build a house for the Lord,

2 Samuel 7:11 …Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. …

God promised David that one of his descendants would be established as king forever.

Psalm 132:11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.” 13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: 14 “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. 17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”

One of David’s physical descendants would be a horn, an anointed Messiah, who would sit on David’s throne.

Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

This is the promised Messiah-King, a horn of salvation as promised throughout the Holy Scriptures.

Salvation from Our Enemies

Luke 1:69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;

This coming King would mean salvation, rescue from all the enemies of Israel. Throughout history, God’s people have been hated, mistreated, persecuted. We’ve learned from Daniel that the enemies of Israel are both physical and spiritual, both earthly nations and the spiritual forces of evil battling in the heavenly realms. This coming Messiah-King will bring salvation from every enemy.

Covenant Keeping Mercy

Luke 1:72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, …

Mercy is tender compassion extended to those who are needy and desperate, who have no other hope.

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

God is a God who shows steadfast love, compassion, covenant faithfulness. He is a God who makes covenant contracts, who obligates himself with binding promises. He made promises to Abraham, that he would bless him, that he would multiply his offspring as the stars, as the sand on the seashore, that he would give him the land from the Nile to the Euphrates, that he would cause him to be a blessing to all the nations (Gen.15:18; 22:17-18).

Freed to Serve God without Fear

Luke 1:73 …to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Messiah will deliver his people from the hand of their enemies. But salvation from enemies is not the end goal; it is a means to a greater goal. Their rescue is for a purpose; that being delivered, we might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness all our days.

Just like in the exodus, the goal was not simply deliverance from slavery; the goal was that they would be free to worship and serve the Lord. The goal was not to be autonomous and independent, but to be bound to a better Master, to serve a good and generous King.

They were set free to serve him without fear. Without fear of enemies, but even more without fear of God himself, who gave them into the hand of their enemies when they rebelled against him.

They would be set free to serve him in holiness and righteousness forever, which meant that they would have to be made holy and righteous, because in and of ourselves we are neither holy nor righteous. This is the greater salvation that God must bring about. God must make his people righteous; he must make us holy, so that we can worship him as we were created to do.

Prepare the Way for YHWH

Zechariah then turns from a hymn of praise to God, to prophesy over his son John.

Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

John was a prophet, and more than a prophet (Lk.7:26). Luke 3 connects the role of John to what was prophesied in Isaiah 40.

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

John would prepare the people to meet their God, and he would prepare the way for the appearance of the glory of YHWH!

Forgiveness, Mercy, Light, Peace

In what ways must we be prepared to meet God?

Luke 1:77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Zechariah had prophesied of rescue from enemies and redemption from slavery, but here the salvation is specific; we are to know salvation in the forgiveness of our sins. It is ultimately me that I need to be rescued from. It is my sin that brings the just punishment of death and separation from God. If I am to serve God in holiness and righteousness, I need all my sins washed away. And through Jesus, that is the salvation we can know today. God is merciful; he extends tender compassion to those who are completely without hope. We deserve death and darkness, but he gives light. He guides our feet into the way of peace, the gospel of peace, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We sit in darkness under the shadow of death, but the sunrise is coming! Because of God’s abundant mercy, the Son himself, God’s only Son, will visit us from on high! Come Lord Jesus!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

11/20_Daniel 11:36-45; Antichrist the Antitype Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221120_dan11_36-45.mp3 We are looking today at the end of Daniel 11. The first 20 verses of Daniel 11 sweep through the coming 360 years of the future history of God’s people and God’s promised land from Daniel’s day, up to the time of a leader who will […]

View Details

11/13_Daniel 11:21-35; Antiochus the Prototype; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221113_dan11_21-35.mp3 The Big Picture of Daniel 11 Daniel 11 scans history from Daniel’s own day, through the fall of the Persian empire, and on to the Greek dynasties following Alexander, hovering for half the chapter on one obscure Seleucid king who reigned for 9 years. Here’s what […]

View Details

11/06_Daniel 11:1-20; Israel in the Midst of Nations; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221106_dan11_1-20.mp3 Heavenly Warfare Turn with me to Daniel 11. Daniel 10, 11 and 12 are Daniel’s record of the introduction, contents, and conclusion of his final vision. Daniel 10 gives us a glimpse into the unseen realm of angel forces battling behind the scenes […]

View Details

10/30_Daniel 10:12-21; Not Against Flesh and Blood; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221030_dan10_12-21.mp3 A Glimpse of the Unseen Realm Daniel gives us a glimpse into the unseen realm. Like Balaam in Numbers 22, hired by the king of Moab to pronounce a curse over Israel; his donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path […]

View Details

10/23_Daniel 10:7-12, 15-19; Daniel’s Weakness and God’s Strengthening Touch; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221023_dan10_7-12,15-19.mp3 Today we are going to look at human weakness and God’s strengthening touch in Daniel 10. Historical Context; Passover 50 yrs after temple destroyed Daniel 10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who […]

View Details

10/16_Daniel 10:1-7; Mourning and a Vision of Glory; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221016_dan10_1-7.mp3 Context of the Book We are in Daniel chapter 10 today. Chapters 10-12 are a record of one final and extensive revelation given to Daniel. Chapter 10 is an introduction to the prophecy, chapter 11 includes the word itself, and chapter 12 is […]

View Details

10/09_Daniel 09:27; The Abomination of Desolation Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221009_dan09_27.mp3 We are looking at the word the Lord gave to Daniel about seventy sevens “decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both […]

View Details

10/02_Daniel 09:26-27; Understanding the Final Seven; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20221002_dan09_26-27.mp3 We’ve been looking at Daniel 9, Daniel’s prayer about Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years captivity for God’s disobedient people. He understands that they are nearing the end of the seventy years, and he confesses his sins and the sins of his people, and prays that […]

View Details

09/18_Daniel 09:25-26; Understanding the Sixty-Nine Sevens; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220918_dan09_25-26.mp3 We have been listening in on Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9. He had been reading the prophecies of Jeremiah that predicted 70 years of captivity because of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. Daniel was looking at how long he had been in Babylon, and the […]

View Details

09/04_Daniel 09:25-27; Messiah Cut Off; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220904_dan09_25-27.mp3 Daniel is praying. He perceived in the scrolls the number of years according to the word of YHWH to Jeremiah that must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem would be seventy years. Daniel himself is nearing 70 years in Babylon, and Babylon has […]

View Details

08/28_Daniel 09:24; An End To Sin; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220828_dan09_24.mp3 Daniel is praying, confessing his sins and the sins of his people. He is presenting his plea for mercy, that the Lord would turn away his anger and wrath from his city Jerusalem, and that the Lord would make his face shine on his sanctuary. […]

View Details

08/21_Daniel 09:20-23; Prayer Interrupted; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220821_dan09_20-23.mp3 A Pattern of Prayer We’ve been listening in to Daniel’s prayer in Daniel chapter 9, learning how he prays. Daniel 9 is a Jewish prayer from an exile in Babylon asking for the restoration of Jerusalem and God’s holy temple. We are not under the same circumstances, […]

View Details

08/14_Daniel 09:15-19; Grounds for Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220814_dan09_15-19.mp3 Daniel is praying and we get to listen in on his prayer. We get to learn from someone so devoted to prayer that he would rather be thrown to lions than give up his time with God. Today we get to look at the grounds or […]

View Details

08/07_Daniel 09:15-17; Petitions of Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220807_dan09_15-17.mp3 Daniel teaches us how to pray, and in verses 15-16 he finally gets to the request of his prayer. His prayer was birthed out of meditation on Scripture, he was pursuing God himself in prayer, giving his attention to him, seeking relationship. He reminded himself in […]

View Details

07/31_Daniel 09:11-14; Context of Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220731_dan09_11-14.mp3 We are listening in and learning from Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9. His prayer was stirred by his meditation on Scripture. His primary pursuit was to seek the Lord; not God’s gifts but God himself. He gave the Lord his face, his full attention. Daniel 9:3 […]

View Details

07/24_Daniel 09:7-10; Contrast of Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220724_dan09_7-10.mp3 In Daniel 9, we get to listen in on a model prayer from a man who persevered in prayer. We can learn much from Daniel, and I hope you are maturing in your prayer life as we listen in on Daniel’s prayer. His primary pursuit in […]

View Details

07/17_Daniel 09:5-6; Penitence in Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220717_dan09_5-6.mp3 Daniel is teaching us to pray. Daniel was a man of prayer, he was in a disciplined habit of prayer, and we get to listen in on his prayer in chapter 9. Daniel was studying God’s words, and it spurred him to pray. Daniel sought the […]

View Details

07/10_Daniel 09:4; The Person to Whom We Pray; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220710_dan09_4.mp3 We are learning to pray from Daniel. He sets the example for us, habitually praying whether it cost him nothing, or whether it cost him everything. He sought the face of God in prayer. His purpose was not primarily to get answers, but […]

View Details

07/03_Daniel 09:3; Posture in Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220703_dan09_3.mp3 We are learning how to pray from a man who was devoted to prayer. We know from chapter 6 that Daniel: Daniel 6:10 …He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. […]

View Details

06/26_Daniel 09:3; Pursuit of Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220626_dan09_3.mp3 Daniel a Man of Prayer Daniel was a man of prayer. He was a man who knew his God. His prayers shaped his character. He feared his God more than he feared kings or lions. In fact, when he knew he would be thrown to the […]

View Details

06/19_Daniel 09:3-19; Daniel the Mediator; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220619_dan09_3-19.mp3 Daniel 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according […]

View Details

06/12_Daniel 09:1-2; The Prophecy of Jeremiah; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220612_dan09_1-2.mp3 Daniel 9 comes in the first year of Darius the Mede, likely another name for Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon in 539 BC, on the night of Belshazzar’s feast recorded in Daniel chapter 5. This is the Darius who intended to put Daniel in […]

View Details

05/22_Daniel 08:9-14, 23-27; The Little Horn and the End; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220522_dan08.mp3 In the third year of Belshazzar, the final king of the Babylonian empire, about 11 years before Babylon fell, Daniel, transported in vision to Susa, the future capital of the Persian empire, was given a vision of the coming Medo-Persian ram who […]

View Details

05/15_Daniel 08:1-8, 15-22; The Wisdom of God; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220515_dan08.mp3 Daniel chapter 8 switches back to the Hebrew language, the language of God’s chosen people. Daniel 2-7 was written in Aramaic, the language of Babylon, the language of the nations. Chapters 2 – 7 focus on God’s people sent into captivity, serving as ambassadors […]

View Details

05/08_Daniel 08 intro; The Message of Daniel ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220508_dan08.mp3 Today we transition from Daniel 7 to Daniel 8, which moves us into a different section of the book. Before we dive into chapter 8, I think it would be useful to pause and orient ourselves as to where we are in the […]

View Details

05/01_Daniel 07:15-28; Persecution of the Saints; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220501_dan07_15-28.mp3 Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 In chapter 2 we saw Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a multi-metallic statue representing four Gentile kingdoms reigning over the earth up to the time when a stone cut out without hands strikes the feet of the statue, crushes the kingdoms of […]

View Details

04/24_Daniel 07:15-18; Who Receives the Kingdom? Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220424_dan07_15-18.mp3 In Daniel 7, an exiled Jew in captivity in Babylon was given a comprehensive vision of the Gentile nations who would rule over God’s people, depicted as ravenous beasts, extending to the very end of time, when the Ancient of Days takes his seat on […]

View Details

04/17_Philippians/Revelation; The Resurrected Son of Man; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220417_resurrected-son-of-man.mp3 Resurrection Sunday Last week we looked at the glorious Son of Man; this was Jesus’ favorite title for himself by far; 82 times in the gospels Jesus referred to himself as ‘the Son of Man’. While others called him Christ, or Son of God, or […]

View Details

04/10_Matthew/John; The Glory of the Son of Man Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220410_suffering-son-of-man.mp3 Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Passion week; Jesus’ resolute journey to the cross. After his arrest under cover of night, Jesus was dragged before the high priest. Because he had done nothing wrong, the chief priests and the whole council were […]

View Details

04/03_Daniel 07:11-14; The Son of Man; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220403_dan07_11-14.mp3 How long O Lord? Psalm 13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long […]

View Details

03/27_Daniel 07:9-10; The Ancient of Days ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220327_dan07_9-10.mp3 Today we move into Daniel 7:9-14; the center, the very heart of the book of Daniel. We saw that chapter 7 is the center, the hinge of the book; linked linguistically and structurally to the Aramaic section of chapters 2-7, but linked by its […]

View Details

03/20_Daniel 07:1-8; Four Beasts from the Sea; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220320_dan07_1-8.mp3 Narratives/Apocalypses Daniel chapter 7 is the hinge of the book, that links the two sections of the book together. The first six chapters are mostly narrative, giving us the accounts of saints under persecution, God’s people displaced from their land, suffering oppression and opposition […]

View Details

03/13_Daniel 06; Jesus in the Lion’s Den ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220313_dan06.mp3 Example or Gospel? The first six chapters of Daniel give us narratives, accounts of what happened to Daniel and his friends in Babylon, and they have many lessons for us on how to live with integrity in a culture that is hostile to […]

View Details

03/06_Daniel 06:24-28; Poetic Justice and Pursuit of the Nations ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220306_dan06_24-28.mp3 Daniel’s confidence in his God was unshaken regardless of his circumstances. What he thought, what he felt, what he did was not contingent on what other people thought of him, or expected of him, or even what they plotted against him. […]

View Details

02/27_Daniel 06:21-23; The Presence of God in the Pit; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220227_dan06_21-23.mp3

Daniel was conspired against by those who were envious of his favored position. They could find no ground of accusation against him, so they manipulated the king to mandate that all prayer go through the king alone.

For Daniel, it was unthinkable to alter his habit of communion with his God. Every good thing comes from God, and it would be sin to fail to give him the thanks he is due.

Daniel 6:13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

The trap is sprung, the king is caught, Daniel will be the defenseless casualty.

Daniel 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

Despite his best efforts, king is cornered, helpless to effect any deliverance for Daniel.

Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

Daniel was beyond help. His fate was sealed. No one could intervene, for good or evil, except the Lord alone. The king knew that, so he entrusted Daniel to God’s intervention; “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” It is not clear if he was stating the desperate facts ‘your God must deliver you,’ expressing his confidence ‘your God will deliver you,’ or offering a wish or prayer ‘may your God deliver you.’

Daniel 6:18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Whatever he knew of Daniel’s God, he spent a uncomfortably long sleepless anxiety filled night.

The Living God

Daniel 6:19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

The king had hope. He didn’t stay home and assume the worst. Had he spent the sleepless night wrestling in prayer? What did he learn about Daniel’s God during this night? The day before he had said ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you.’ Today he adds ‘O Daniel servant of the living God.’ Has he come to recognize, regardless of the outcome, that Daniel’s God is more than just Daniel’s God, that he is the living God? Daniel would only be alive if his God proved to be alive and active, at work, intervening on behalf of his servant. Jeremiah, some 50 years earlier said:

Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

Job said:

Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.

Daniel himself back in chapter 5 rebuked the wicked Belshazzar on the night Darius conquered him:

Daniel 5:23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. …but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Darius now acknowledges Daniel’s God as the living God. A king who understands that God is the living God, who understands where his own life comes from and who sustains his every breath, will be a better ruler than a king who does not recognize the God who gives life.

Higher Allegiance

Darius addresses Daniel as ‘servant of the living God …whom you serve continually.’ Daniel was his top administrator, put in a position of authority to serve the interests of the king. Back in chapter 2 the Chaldeans referred to themselves as servants of the king (2:4,7). Darius rightly could have addressed Daniel as ‘O Daniel my faithful servant.’ Why doesn’t he? It had become clear that although Daniel did faithfully serve the king and the kingdom, he held a higher allegiance. He faithfully served the king because he served his God, and this is what his God would have him do. When the edict of the king contradicted the will of his God, there was no question whom he must obey.

And this does not sound derogatory on the lips of Darius, as if he were frustrated by the fact that Daniel had a higher allegiance. Rather it seems to be a title of honor and respect, Darius recognizing the privilege and value of having a servant of the living God in his administration.

O King Live Forever!

The king’s voice was filled with anguish, but he spoke out loud, addressing his question to a Daniel he didn’t know was alive or dead.

Daniel 6:20 …“O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”

The first thing the king heard from the lion’s den, and the first words recorded in this chapter that were spoken by Daniel was ‘O king, live forever!’ Not ‘help!’ Not ‘how could you?’ Not ‘hurry up and get me out of this pit!’ Daniel was more concerned about the life of the king than his own situation or safety. Daniel showed appropriate honor and court etiquette addressing the king even from the lion’s den.

Remember, his accusers had:

Daniel 6:13 …said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

Daniel demonstrates that he does pay attention to the king and is genuinely pursuing what is best for the king, even if that means disobeying the king’s own edict at great personal cost. To pray to God, no doubt praying for the king and for the kingdom, is what is best for the king, whether the king likes it or not.

Daniel states that he was found blameless before his God, and also before the king he had done no harm. Again, notice the persistent priority. It is more important to be found blameless before God than it is to be found to have done no harm to the king. But this is also cause and effect. It is precisely because Daniel was seeking to please his God above all else, that he had done no harm to the king. It was God’s command through the prophet Jeremiah to ‘seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile’ (Jer.29:7). His obedience to God resulted in seeking the good of king and kingdom.

The Justice of God

Daniel 6:22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; …

Once the king saw through the conspiracy, he was much distressed and made every effort to protect the guiltless and bring about justice, but he could do nothing to deliver Daniel. He was constrained to execute the innocent. Murderous jealousy had won the day. But that was not the end of the story.

God is just. But so often justice does not prevail. We often ask ‘Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? (Jer.12:1). But God is just, and this is not the end of the story. ‘Leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord”’ (Rom.12:19). The Judge of all the earth shall do what is just (Gen.18:25).

Daniel may have cried out for justice like David in Psalm 7

Psalm 7:1 O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, 2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. 3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, 5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. — Selah

The Presence of God’s Messenger

God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths. Is this one thing or two things that God did? Did God send his angel and that angel shut the mouths of the lions? Or did God shut the lions’ mouths, and God sent his angel to be with Daniel? We are told precious little about what actually happened that night in the sealed lions’ den.

But I think we can take some cues from what happened in the fiery pit in chapter 3; there it was Nebuchadnezzar who observed “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Dan.3:25). He concluded ‘God …sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him’ (3:28). Should we imagine the angel busily fending off and muzzling lions all night, or should we rather see Daniel enjoying sweet fellowship with the divine messenger throughout the night?

As we see throughout the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord or the angel of God often seems to be a divine person; God himself, not merely a created angel. Likely this divine messenger is the Word who was with God and who was God, before he became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn.1:1,14). God is with his people in the fire, and he is with his people when they are unjustly accused and thrown to the lions. God is personally with us when the stone is put in place and the tomb is sealed and we are left for dead. Jesus said ‘I am with you always’ (Mt.28:20). ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Heb.13:5).

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. …5 Fear not, for I am with you;

The king was worried, anxious, stressed all night, in anguish, at daybreak came in haste to the sealed den. But now we see why Daniel was not hurried or anxious to get out of the den. In the midst of his darkest night, he was experiencing intimacy with his God. The one he spoke to regularly three times each day was with him.

Daniel might have been singing Psalm 57

Psalm 57:1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. — Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! 4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! 6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. — Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

Joyous Good News!

Daniel 6:21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

The king, who was much distressed and had labored until the sun went down to rescue Daniel, the king who had spent a tormented sleepless night, the king who went in haste at the break of day to the den of lions, who cried out in anguish on the way, is now overjoyed at the good news that God was able and Daniel is alive. Finally, Daniel is taken up out of the den, and he is seen to be unharmed.

The Gospel

Do you see yourself in this story? So much of this story is about Darius. We see his circumstances, his efforts, his emotions. Proud, thinking the world of himself, he fell for flattery and was sold a bill of goods. You don’t need God; you can live for yourself, get glory for yourself.

But when their lie is exposed and you come to your senses, you realize the ones you thought were your friends were playing you, using you to accomplish their own ends.

But you’ve made foolish choices that can’t be reversed. Distressed, you labor to right your wrongs, to make up for what you’ve done, but you simply can’t. What you’ve done can’t be undone.

But you are undone. In your grief you recognize your foolish pride will cost an innocent person his life. You cry out to God as a last resort, hoping against hope that somehow he can rescue. In anguish you cry out, and surprisingly, you hear an answer. You find out that God can deliver. God can even raise the dead. This is grounds for exceedingly great joy.

This is the gospel. I’ve been lied to. My pride, my self-sufficiency doesn’t ultimately satisfy; rather it is an offense to the living God in whose hand is my very breath. I can labor and try, but I can never undo what I have done. And the wages of my sin is death. It is agonizing to see an innocent man die because of what I have done, but Jesus died willingly, in my place, he was sealed in a tomb, but he didn’t stay dead. He conquered death and rose from the grave and gives me real joy in his presence.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/20_Daniel 06:16-20; Contrasting Confidences; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220220_dan06_16-20.mp3

Daniel was the victim of conspiracy. The king himself was conned by his top officials, and now found himself forced to condemn his most competent and trusted official, the 80 plus year old enemy of the state, Daniel, who was caught in the very act, flagrantly violating the king’s latest edict, in his own home, upstairs, on his knees, praying to his God, just as he had always done.

We can estimate the age of Daniel because we know that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and took some of the nobility captive in May or June of 605 BC, and Cyrus conquered Babylon October 29, 539 BC, 66 years later. Daniel was likely around 14 or 15 when taken as a youth to Babylon, so he would have been about 80 when Babylon fell to Medo-Persia. We don’t know how far into Cyrus’ reign this event took place, but Cyrus II (the Great) reigned until 530 or 529, so Daniel would have been between 80 and 90 years old during his reign.

Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. 12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.” 16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions.

The Quiet Confidence of Daniel

In what do you put your confidence? Is your confidence contingent on your circumstances? Let me ask the question a different way; what kinds of things happen to you that wreck your day or derail your week? What sends you into distress or depression or despair? What is it that creates fear or anxiety in you? What has that effect on you?

When Daniel became aware of the conspiracy, that prayer was outlawed under penalty of death, he continued in his formed habit of prayer. Not only that, but he continued to see God as good and worthy of thanks. ‘He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously’. He gave thanks.

What if God doesn’t answer your prayers? Or he doesn’t answer in the way you had hoped? Daniel was thrown in the den of lions. The Lord didn’t intervene. Look at the quiet confidence of Daniel. He was not shaken by the king’s edict from his settled pattern of prayer, and he wasn’t shaken by the prospect of facing hungry lions. It seems nothing at all in his outward circumstance could shake his confidence in God.

And Daniel makes no complaint. In fact, based on the record we have in the text before us, Daniel doesn’t say anything at all. He didn’t speak a word in his own defense. Daniel doesn’t speak until verse 21. Might we learn something from Daniel here? In what at least outwardly looked like the biggest crisis of his life, Daniel spoke to no one but God.

Back in chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, when they defied him by refusing to bow to his statue, and they calmly asserted their confidence before him;

Daniel 3:17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Daniel had made it clear by his actions that he would pray to no one but the Lord his God, deliverance or no deliverance, regardless of the consequences. And in Daniel’s case it was the desperate king who uttered his hope that Daniel’s God might rescue him from the hungry lions.

The Desperate Crisis of the King

Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

Daniel was quietly confident in his God, but Daniel’s crisis got the king praying. Darius was desperate. How many of us only seek the Lord when our circumstances are desperate? We don’t know if the king every prayed before, especially seeing that he signed an edict that for 30 days no prayers should be offered except to him alone. But he discovered through his circumstances that he wasn’t enough. In spite of his distress, in spite of setting his mind to deliver Daniel, in spite of his labor till the sun went down, in spite of being the king, he could do nothing. At the end of himself, he finally offers a wish, we might even call it a prayer to Daniel’s God. (I guess, since he was the one offering this prayer, it wasn’t illegal!) He desired to deliver, to rescue, but he had to acknowledge that he was unable to bring about the desired deliverance, and if any rescue was to come to Daniel, it must be from Daniel’s God, to whom Daniel faithfully prayed.

So the king appeals to Daniel’s God in desperation, as a very last resort. Daniel prayed consistently before the crisis, as a settled habit, three times daily. For Daniel, prayer was not a tool for crisis management, but a rhythm of relationship.

We can learn both from Darius and from Daniel. Darius shows us that even if we gain all earthly power, some things are still out of our hands. We are not ultimately in control. We make foolish decisions out of pride, and we have to suffer the consequences of those decisions. Ultimately, we are not enough. We need outside help. Circumstances can show us our need and drive us to our knees.

But Daniel shows us a better way. Daniel lived above his circumstances. He started every day with an acknowledgment that God is God and he is not, that in himself he is not enough, that he is a needy sinner daily in need of God’s amazing grace. And God delights to give grace to sinners who ask him! And he went back to God throughout his busy day. Daniel shows us that spending time, regular time enjoying relationship with the sovereign God of history frees us from being reactionary to circumstances. When our circumstances are staring us in the face, they loom large and fierce. But when we arise from bowing at the feet of the omnipotent One, we gain perspective on those same circumstances. They are tamed, on a leash held by his sovereign omnipotent hand, awaiting his command to do his righteous bidding, ultimately for his glory and for our ultimate good. Daniel could look lions in the snarling teeth and not be afraid, for he knew the one who held their leash. Your snarling circumstances today are on a short leash. Our God is sovereign, and we can enjoy peace in his presence in the middle of the storm.

Faithful Service to God

Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

What commendation from the king! He knew that Daniel served his God continually. The king also knew that Daniel served him and his kingdom faithfully. He intended to set him over his whole kingdom, ‘because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him … with regard to the kingdom’. But in his serving the king, the king knew that he was serving his God. Daniel was obeying God’s command through Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

In Daniel’s seeking the welfare of Babylon, he was serving his Lord. We read in Colossians:

Colossians 3:22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (cf. Eph.6:5-8)

We are all called to be ministers, full time servants of the Lord Christ. Whatever you do, business owners, manual laborers, food handlers, public servants, elected officials, students, educators, administrators, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. Darius understood that Daniel was serving his God continually as he was serving Babylon with integrity.

The Deal Sealed

The deal was sealed. No one could now intervene either for or against Daniel save the Lord alone. No foul play from the deceitful officials, no rescuing intervention from the distressed king. Nothing could be changed concerning Daniel, for good or for ill, without the seals being broken. Daniel’s fate, and his tomb, were sealed.

The Frightened Faith of the King

Daniel 6:18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Here we see the frightened faith of the king. He hoped against hope that Daniel’s God might be able to deliver him. Had the story of the Hebrew’s God delivering the three from Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace some 60 years earlier come down to him? He had hope, but it was feeble and frail. He spent the night fasting, no diversions were brought to him, sleep fled from him. He had a faint hope in God, but it was no quiet confidence like Daniel. He was full of anxiety, worried and afraid. No doubt his vivid imagination got the better of him, the aged Daniel gruesomely torn in pieces by the ravenous beasts. Was it slow and agonizing, or was it over quickly? What grizzly evidence would he find at the crime scene in the morning? Would there be anything left? What would become of the kingdom, if his top officials were such scheming manipulating self-seeking deceivers? What would he do without his trusted Daniel?

Maybe his fasting was merely an expression of grief and mourning. Maybe he felt he could manipulate God by denying himself pleasure and food. He labored by his own efforts until the sun went down to deliver Daniel, and now he spent a sleepless night fasting and denying himself until the sun came up. Fasting can be a good thing, used to train our own hearts that it is God who truly satisfies, not the good things of this world. But fasting is misused if by it we think we earn God’s favor or coerce him into answering our prayers.

The king is holding on to hope, but it is faint and fleeting. He went in haste to the sealed tomb. He cries out in anguish as he comes near. He doesn’t know if Daniel is dead or alive, but he addresses a question to him in desperate hope. ‘Has your God been able to deliver you from the lions?’ His question is different than the confident statement of the three before the king;

Daniel 3:17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

They had no question about God’s ability. He is able. Is anything too hard for the Lord (Gen.18:14)? But Darius does not yet know this God. Has your God been able? He expressed his wish ‘May your God deliver you’ and now he asks the question; ‘Has your God been able to deliver you?’

This reminds me of the father who brought his demon possessed boy to Jesus’ disciples, but they were not able to cast it out. Explaining the situation to Jesus, he says:

Mark 9:22 …But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

He brought his boy to Jesus, hoping he could help. Now desperate, he pleads with Jesus ‘if you can do anything…’ At the beginning of Mark’s gospel,

Mark 1:40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”

He expressed confidence in Jesus’ ability. You can. No one else can, but you alone can. The question is not in God’s ability, but in his will. Is it his purpose in this circumstance to deliver in this way, or will he choose to be glorified another way? When Paul prayed three times that the messenger of Satan would leave him, he received this answer:

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

It is never a question of God’s ability. Jesus responded to the doubting man who asked if he could do anything:

Mark 9:23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Jesus is gracious. He condescends to our faith or lack thereof. His ability doesn’t change. Our experience of his presence changes depending on where our attention is fixed. Darius spent a sleepless night filled with anxiety and fear. Daniel was able to rest and enjoy the presence of the sovereign omnipotent God before whom he regularly bowed. God’s ability doesn’t change, but our experience will either be joy in his presence or fear at our circumstances depending on what or Who has captured our attention.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/13_Daniel 06:11-15; Paying Attention; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220213_dan06_11-15.mp3

Daniel 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” 6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

No legal battle, no protest, no petitions, no arguing his case or even asking permission.

Daniel, conspired against, facing death, is not controlled by outside influence or circumstance. He continues to do what he loves, what he is committed to. Daniel acts as a truly free man, in contrast to the other high officials, consumed by jealousy and lust for power; in contrast to the king, blinded by flattery and manipulated.

Making Petition and Plea

Daniel 6:11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.

They came as a group, as a mob. Remember, Daniel is in his own house, in his upper chamber, down on his knees. Not the most public or conspicuous place to be caught, except by those so consumed by envy that the assembled together to catch him in the act.

We are told they found Daniel ‘making petition and plea before his God.’ What radical rebellion! What a menace to society! What a dangerous man. Daniel is in his 80’s, probably around 83 years old, a threat to public order, praying alone in the privacy of his home.

He was ‘making petition’; this is the very language of their edict, found in verses 7, 12 and 13. Daniel was making petition; he was seeking, he was asking, he was requesting. What his enemies had manipulated the king to outlaw was the very thing they found him doing.

He was making petition and plea; this word ‘plea’ can mean either to seek or to show mercy; to ask or to give favor or grace. This same word was used in 4:27 to encourage the king to show mercy to the poor. Daniel was seeking grace and mercy, maybe even for those who had conspired against him.

Before His God

Daniel was making petition and plea before his God. Not the king. That’s the issue. It doesn’t matter the content of your prayers so much as to whom they are directed. You can make a request and seek mercy and grace from the tree in your back yard, or a special rock you carry around in your pocket, but that’s not going to help you. You can pray to your own conception of God as you imagine him to be, but that is not the same as praying to the God who really is.

Here’s another excerpt from C.S. Lewis’s fictional correspondence from the demon Screwtape:

“But even if He defeats your first attempt at misdirection, we have a subtler weapon. The humans do not start from that direct perception of Him which we, unhappily, cannot avoid. They have never known that ghastly luminosity, that stabbing and searing glare which makes the background of permanent pain to our lives. If you look into your patient’s mind when he is praying, you will not find that. If you examine the object to which he is attending, you will find that it is a composite object containing many quite ridiculous ingredients. There will be images derived from pictures of the Enemy as He appeared during the discreditable episode known as the Incarnation: there will be vaguer—perhaps quite savage and puerile—images associated with the other two Persons. There will even be some of his own reverence (and of bodily sensations accompanying it) objectified and attributed to the object revered. I have known cases where what the patient called his “God” was actually located—up and to the left at the corner of the bedroom ceiling, or inside his own head, or in a crucifix on the wall. But whatever the nature of the composite object, you must keep him praying to it—to the thing that he has made, not to the Person who has made him. You may even encourage him to attach great importance to the correction and improvement of his composite object, and to keeping it steadily before his imagination during the whole prayer. For if he ever comes to make the distinction, if ever he consciously directs his prayers “Not to what I think thou art but to what thou knowest thyself to be”, our situation is, for the moment, desperate. Once all his thoughts and images have been flung aside or, if retained, retained with a full recognition of their merely subjective nature, and the man trusts himself to the completely real, external, invisible Presence, there with him in the room and never knowable by him as he is known by it—why, then it is that the incalculable may occur.” [C.S.Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, IV]

It didn’t matter so much that he was praying, as to whom he was praying. That is the real threat. If he truly has access in prayer to the God who is, if that God actually answers his requests and grants him favor, what does that mean for his enemies?

They recognized the danger of prayer, and attempted to outlaw it, to redirect it. Daniel’s enemies were manipulating the king, and if they could reroute all prayers to go through the king, that would put them in ultimate control.

The God-King Entrapped

Daniel 6:12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”

The trap is fully set, not only for Daniel, but for the king. Unbeknownst to him, they have the king backed into the corner they contrived. They address him as ‘O king, O king, but they had no regard for him or his position. They merely intend to use him to secure their own desires.

They boldly came near the king with their cornering questions. This is the same word used back in 3:8;

Daniel 3:8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man …shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

They came forward or came near to the king. To come near the king uninvited is presumptuous and dangerous as we learn a bit over 50 year later from Queen Esther when she risked her own life entering the court of Ahasuerus (or Xerxes I), king of Persia.

Esther 5:2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

These men presumptuously draw near to the king and ask him to confirm that he did indeed sign the injunction forbidding the petitioning of anyone but the king, and that the consequence for disobedience was death. The king affirms that it is now law and that it cannot be revoked.

Daniel Defamed

Notice how they introduce Daniel. Not Daniel, one of your top three officials, not the Daniel who became distinguished above all the other officials because an excellent spirit was in him, not Daniel whom you intend to set over the whole kingdom, not Daniel the man of integrity that has served under the administrations of multiple kings. No, they introduce him as Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah. That was almost 70 years ago! He has lived through the rise and fall of the Babylonian empire, served multiple kings with integrity, and now is highly favored by the king of the Medo-Persian empire. And his resume? ‘He is one of the exiles from Judah.’ He is basically a slave, a captive, a nobody. He is one of the leftovers of one of the many conquered peoples deported by Babylon from their homes. An exile has the audacity to disregard both the king and his laws. This cannot be tolerated.

No Respecter of Persons

He ‘pays no attention to you, O king’. This assumes that there is a person who ought to be respected. They argue from the king’s priority of position, that he ought to be the one to whom everyone owes attention. This is how they got the injunction signed in the first place. If he pays no attention to you, who is he paying with his attention? To whom do we owe our attention? (Rom.13:7)

There is some truth to the accusation. Daniel is truly no respecter of persons. His allegiance is to no human. God alone deserves our undivided attention, our utmost respect, and this is exactly what Daniel understands. ‘He went to his house… He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously’ because he knew to whom he was in debt to pay attention. (Mt.22:20-21)

This is exactly what made him the right man for the top job. Allegiances change, empires change, kings and kingdoms fade away. If his allegiance as an exiled Jew was to the Jewish nation, he would do what he could to undermine those currently in power. If his allegiance was to Nebuchadnezzar or the Babylonian empire, could he be trusted by subsequent kings or by the conquering empire? If his primary allegiance was to himself and to seeking his own advancement, like these other high officials, could he be trusted to do what was in the best interest of the king and the country, or would he use other people, including the king, to advance his own interests?

His allegiance was to God alone, who transcends all kings and kingdoms, and who is unchanging and unchangeable. This higher allegiance required him to make sacrifices and decisions that were not in his own personal interest, but in the interest of others.

Or To The Law

He pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed. It’s personal. He pays no attention to you. But it’s also official. He disregards the law. If it was only a personal offense, you could choose to let that offense slide; you might be considered gracious. But you can’t let an offense against the law slide, or you would be unjust, and risk the total breakdown of society. That’s why these officials made sure to get it in writing and have the king sign it so it could not be revoked.

But Daniel did pay attention to the king, and he did keep the laws. He would not be trusted by the king if he did not. But he also knew when a law was out of its jurisdiction. Laws are meant to be for the good of society, the protection of people, to maintain proper order. Galatians 5 lists the fruit of the Spirit and concludes ‘against such there is no law’. What is more loving than to pray for someone, to bring them before the throne of grace and plead for their good and the blessings of God to be on them? A law that forbade prayer was in effect attempting to outlaw love, and that is no law! Daniel understood, as the apostles understood, that authority is appointed by God and rulers are God’s servants for your good (Rom.13:1,4). They also understood that when government reaches beyond its proper jurisdiction and attempts to regulate or prohibit our obedience to God, ‘we must obey God rather than men’ (Act.5:29).

Mighty To Save

Daniel 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.

Notice the contrast between the calculatingly vengeful officials set on destruction, and the distressed laboring king with his mind set on deliverance. These officials should have been the ones laboring to protect the interests of the king; after all, he had appointed them ‘so that the king might suffer no loss’. And losing Daniel would be a great loss to the king. Under ordinary circumstances, the king would give the order for someone serving him to come up with a solution to his problems. But he is realizing he really has no friends in his own administration. Daniel is the accused, and everyone else is a co-conspirator against him. The king himself had fallen into their trap. If there is to be any help, he must see to it himself.

The response of the king demonstrates the depth of his respect for this exile from Judah who ‘pays no attention to you’. He ‘was much distressed’. He ‘set his mind to deliver Daniel.’ ‘He labored …to rescue him.’ His eyes were opened to the conspiracy, their jealousy, and his own folly. So he sought to do whatever was in his power to save Daniel.

But it is God alone who saves (Is.63:1; Zeph,3:17). And we may try, but we can’t help him. The king labored till sundown, but all his labor was in vain. This was out of his hands. It is God who rescues, who delivers.

The Folly of the Wicked

Daniel 6:15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

The audacity of these men! They show up as a group and lecture the king about his own laws. They have the king trapped; they know it and he knows it, and they gloat.

But I don’t think their plan was very well thought through. They were after Daniel’s position. He was in the way and they wanted him gone. But did they actually think, after openly manipulating the king and cornering him to act against his will in executing his most trusted official, that he would then turn around and entrust them with anything? We have to expect in the folly of the wicked, that even if they succeed in destroying Daniel, they inevitably will fall into the trap that they have set. Psalm 7 says:

Psalm 7:1 O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, 2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

Psalm 7:14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. 16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. 17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

02/06_Daniel 06:10; The Holy Habit of Prayer; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220206_dan06_10.mp3

The time to develop a habit of prayer is not when prayer has been outlawed. All the high officials, jealous of Daniel, conspired against him, manipulated the king to pass an edict that would entrap Daniel because they knew him to be a man of integrity who was committed to pray to his God.

We saw last time that Daniel’s fear of the Lord freed him from the fear of man.

Daily Rhythms of Gospel Thankfulness

Daniel was also freed by his pattern of prayer to continue to do what he valued most. He continued to do what he had done previously, in the same way he had always done it.

Holy habits are good. We are creatures of habit, and we need to develop godly rhythms to keep our priorities where we want them to be, or we will drift. If we don’t establish righteous routines, we will end up not doing what we most want to do. Daniel prayed ‘as he had done previously’. Habits take time to develop, and persecution is not the most convenient time to decide to develop a new habit. These routines were already firmly established in his life.

We are not told what Daniel prayed on this occasion, other than that he ‘gave thanks before his God’. And keep in mind, he is fully aware of the edict and the conspiracy and the consequence for disobedience. He is facing death in the lion’s den, and he isn’t desperately pleading for God’s intervention or judgment on his enemies; his prayer is characterized by thanksgiving. There is always something to be thankful for. This comes from the discipline of reminding oneself regularly of who God is, how good he is, preaching the gospel to yourself daily, and maintaining a rhythm of gospel thankfulness.

Where, When and How

We don’t know exactly what Daniel said in his prayers, But we are told where, when and how Daniel prayed, and this is instructive for us. ‘He went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously’.

Direction of Prayer; Toward Jerusalem

Daniel prayed with his windows open toward Jerusalem. Remember, Daniel lived through the Babylonian captivity of Judah. Some 420 years earlier, at the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed:

1 Kings 8:46 “If they sin against you— for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

420 years later, from captivity in Babylon, the temple in ruins, Daniel recalled these promises and regularly prayed toward Jerusalem.

No Longer About a Place; Anytime Anywhere Prayer

We no longer need to pray in a specific direction. In Jesus’ conversation with the woman of Samaria,

John 4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

For centuries, it had been about a place. When the Israelites entered the land, God commanded them to tear down and desecrate every high place of false worship. Deuteronomy 12 says:

Deuteronomy 12:4 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way. 5

But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go,

The Samaritan temple was an abomination, because God had chosen Jerusalem as the place where he made his name to dwell. Jesus goes on to tell the Samaritan woman:

John 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Because God is spirit, because God is not confined to a geographic location, because God is everywhere present, God hears our prayers offered anywhere, in any direction. David said in Psalm 139:

Psalm 139:7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! …10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

It is no longer about a place. We can pray anytime, anywhere. In fact, we are commanded to pray without ceasing’ (1Thess.5:17)

A Place For Prayer

But Daniel had a specific place for prayer. ‘he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.’ This does not mean that he would not pray anywhere else. Throughout the day whenever the need arose to seek direction from the Lord, doubtless, Daniel prayed, right then and right there, as we read of Nehemiah when he was in the king’s presence:

Nehemiah 2:4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, …

Daniel doubtless prayed throughout his day, wherever and whenever, but he had also set aside a specific place and time for prayer. It is important to know that God hears our cry wherever we are. But it is also helpful to us, because we are creatures of habit, to create a routine with a specific place for prayer.

The fact that he prayed in his house, in his upper chamber indicated that he was not trying to make a spectacle of himself or seeking the attention of others when he prayed. But neither was he trying to hide. His windows remained open toward Jerusalem. His enemies knew of his habit of prayer, or they never would have used prayer as the grounds of their conspiracy against him.

One author writes:

‘He cannot hide the fact that he prays. When prayer is fashionable, it is time to pray in secret (Matt 6:5-6), but when prayer is under pressure, to pray in secret is to give the appearance of fearing the king more than God: one must “render to Caesar…” (Matt 22:21; cf. Acts 4:18-20; 5:29) (Hippolytus).’ [Goldingay, p.131]’

Posture For Prayer

Daniel not only had a specific place for prayer, but he had a routine posture for prayer. He got down on his knees. Psalm 138:2 says:

Psalm 138:2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

It was customary to bow to a king to acknowledge their superiority. In Esther, Haman was enraged because Mordecai the Jew refused to bow down or pay homage to him (Es.3:2,5). Bowing in prayer is a physical way to demonstrate an attitude of submission to the Lord.

C.S. Lewis, in his little classic ‘The Screwtape Letters’, a collection of fictional letters from a more experienced devil instructing his nephew in the art of temptation, says this on the subject of prayer.

“The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. When the patient is an adult recently re-converted to the Enemy’s party, like your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember, or to think he remembers, the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood. In reaction against that, he may be persuaded to aim at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal, and unregularised; and what this will actually mean to a beginner will be an effort to produce in himself a vaguely devotional mood in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part. One of their poets, Coleridge, has recorded that he did not pray “with moving lips and bended knees” but merely “composed his spirit to love” and indulged “a sense of supplication”. That is exactly the sort of prayer we want; and since it bears a superficial resemblance to the prayer of silence as practised by those who are very far advanced in the Enemy’s service, clever and lazy patients can be taken in by it for quite a long time. At the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls.” [C.S.Lewis, Screwtape Letters, IV, p.11-12]

While it is true that we no longer need to pray in a specific direction, and while God can hear and answer our prayers just as well if they are prayed while driving our cars with our eyes wide open or in our closet on our knees with our eyes closed, there is something helpful to us to create habits and routines; and as Screwtape observed ‘whatever their bodies do affects their souls.’

The Bible doesn’t proscribe but often describes posture in prayer.

Psalm 143:6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. — Selah

Hands lifted or stretched out is a common posture for prayer, whether bowing or standing. Probably the more common posture in the Bible is standing. Jesus describes the Pharisee and tax collector;

Luke 18:11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men… or even like this tax collector. …13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Standing in the presence of the King indicates an on your feet readiness to do whatever he commands. Kneeling or prostrating oneself is an expression of unworthiness and humility, seeking mercy in the presence of greatness.

I remember when I was probably 6 or 7 years old and we would visit my grandparents. They were in their mid 80’s at the time, and after the evening meal, we would read the Bible around the dinner table, and then we would all get down and kneel next to our chairs to pray. And my grandpa could pray! He could pray for what seemed like hours! I got to know the intricate weave of the wicker seats of those chairs very well, both from staring at them for what seemed like hours, and from seeing that pattern impressed in my brother’s face when he woke up after the time of prayer finally ended. But the act of getting on our knees indicated even to a young boy the seriousness, the gravity of what we were doing. My grandparents were entering into the very presence of the Holy One, and it was appropriate for us to get on our knees in his presence.

Pray Out Loud;The Importance of Words

We aren’t told if Daniel prayed out loud, but that was the normal custom, and it would be difficult to prove that he was praying or to whom he was praying if his enemies had not heard what he said. Again, I am not saying we have to pray out loud; God can hear the cry of our hearts just as clearly as the cry of our lips. It is likely that Nehemiah’s prayer in the presence of the king was quick and quiet.

But there is something helpful to us to pray out loud, if for no other reason but to help our minds focus on what we are doing and to keep them from wandering. Anyone else set out to pray, and quickly find your mind running off in a million directions? Try articulating the words you are praying out loud; or quietly mouthing the words if you’re not in a place you can pray out loud; see if that helps. Writing out your prayer would provide the same benefit.

Make Time For Prayer

Daniel had a specific place and posture for prayer, he likely prayed out loud, and he had established routine times for prayer. This doesn’t mean that he did not also converse with God spontaneously throughout the day, but it does tell us that he had disciplined himself to set aside specific times for prayer, likely morning, noon and night.

It seems that these times of prayer were connected to the regular routines of the temple offerings. Daniel tells us in chapter 9 that he was speaking in prayer (notice it was verbal) at the time of the evening sacrifice (and temple sacrifices had ceased around 50 years earlier). In Luke 1, it was at the time of the offering of incense (which was done every morning and evening; Ex.30:7-8) that ‘the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense’ (Lk.1:10). Psalm 55 is the only other place I’m aware of that talks about praying three times a day:

Psalm 55:16 But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Budgeting Time

Budgeting is a tool to plan what you want to do with your money, so you don’t end up wondering where it all went. How many of us find that there’s still a lot of month left at the end of our money? Following a budget helps prioritize and plan what you want your money to do for you. Time is a lot like money, there’s only so much of it to go around, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. If you don’t budget your time and set aside time for the things that are most important to you, you will end up wondering where all your time went and why you never got around to doing some of the things you said were so important to you.

Establish daily rhythms of gospel thankfulness, discipline yourself to prioritize prayer. We don’t have to choose between structure and spontaneity; it is best to do both. Pick a place. Utilize posture and verbal prayer to keep your attention where you intend for it to be. Budget regular time for your prayers.

Give yourself grace. We are not under law but under grace. But that shouldn’t cause us to pray less, but more. We have so much more clarity on the gospel, so much more to be thankful for. Fix your eyes on Jesus, and you will want to enjoy time in his presence.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/30_Daniel 06:1-10; True Freedom; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220130_dan06_1-10.mp3

In Daniel chapter 5, Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. Belshazzar had proclaimed Daniel third in the kingdom for interpreting God’s handwriting on the wall, an empty promise and a short-lived position, but it became the final official act of the final king of the Babylonian empire to honor an exiled Jew. We read at the end of chapter 5

Daniel 5:30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Darius the Mede (probably the Median name of Cyrus the Persian) came to power in Babylon on October 12, 539 BC.

Darius installed Daniel as one of the three highest officials in his kingdom, and intended to elevate him over the entire kingdom. But prominence comes at a price; those elevated to high positions are exposed to greater scrutiny and criticism.

Daniel 6:4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

The king’s favor toward Daniel aroused the jealousy of the other high officials, who desired to lift themselves up by finding fault with Daniel. But they could find neither guilt nor negligence. Not only did Daniel not do wrong, he did not omit to do any good that he ought to have done. Despite their search, they uncovered no sins of comission or omission. Daniel was a man of integrity.

Daniel 6:5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Their failure to find fault did not deter them in their lust for power to take down Daniel. So they hatched a conspiracy. They would use Daniel’s integrity against him. They decided to manufacture a conflict between his devotion to his God and the law of the land.

Daniel 6:6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

They lied. They said all the high officials agreed; but Daniel was obviously not privy to their plot. They used flattery to manipulate the king. They leveraged political advantage; it would benefit the king to consolidate power and test the allegiances of the diverse subjects in his empire. They pushed for a legally binding edict.

Daniel 6:8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

Who is Truly Free?

Let’s think for a moment about freedom. We cherish freedom. We talk a lot about freedom, and historically we in this country have been willing to fight for our freedoms. But what is freedom? Let’s think about the freedoms of the characters in this narrative.

The king – was he free? We would say, of course he was free! He was the king, the conquering king, the highest authority in his Medo-Persian empire. He got to make the laws. He was free to execute whomever he willed. He was the final authority on right and wrong in his vast empire. He passed this law, which was within his authority. It was what seemed best to him; it was what he wanted to do, and he was free to do it. He was free.

But we also see behind the scenes how he had been manipulated and played by his top advisers. They used him to accomplish their own ends, they entrapped him with his own law, and by the end of the story we see this king with his hands tied, forced to submit to his own law and do what he did not want to do, that which was not to his own advantage, to enforce the execution of his most trusted official, who had likely become a trusted friend.

What about the conspirators? Were they the ones with true freedom? They were able to use the king to carry out their own desires. He became a puppet, and they were seen to be pulling the strings. They did what they wanted, they got what they wanted, and the king and the law served their purposes. But were they truly free? They did what they wanted, but they are seen to be slaves to their own jealousy and lust for power. Their desires controlled and consumed them, and in the end, they end up being thrown into the very trap that they had set for their enemy.

Daniel: Freedom in Captivity

What about Daniel? He had been elevated to a high position that came with a measure of authority, but ultimately he was an exile, taken captive by the previous empire and displaced from his homeland. He was now serving the conquering king of the victorious empire. And he found himself trapped, hard pressed between two laws; he was caught between obeying the law of his God, and obeying the law of the land. He was forced to make a choice, but it was a lose-lose decision. He was neither king nor conspirator – he was the victim of the conspiracy. He found himself accused, arrested, and sentenced to die with no one who could rescue him. In this story, he is the one with the least freedom of all.

But who is truly free? The manipulated king or the conspirators who are slaves to their own lust? Look again at Daniel:

Daniel is an exile, victim of conspiracy, subject to the hostile laws intended to entrap him, and yet he is the one who appears to be acting with true freedom. Where the king was blinded by flattery and lies, Daniel’s eyes are wide open. He sees through the conspiracy and understands the intent of the new law. But he is not manipulated by it; he continues to do what he has always done. Where his enemies are obsessed with their desire for power, he is content in his place as servant to the king, and ultimately as servant of the Most High God.

Even the fear of death holds no power over him. His actions seem truly free, simply continuing to do what he most desires to do, what he considers most important, without being influenced in the least by his changing circumstances or the winds of popularity or the actions of others.

I know it seems far-fetched, but what would we do if the government told us that we could no longer meet together to worship and pray? What would you do if prayer was suddenly outlawed in our country?

Notice what Daniel doesn’t do. He doesn’t run to petition the king, he doesn’t seek to expose the conspiracy, he doesn’t try to rally people to his cause. He doesn’t make himself a spectacle. Neither does he try to justify a neglect of prayer or attempt to conceal his practice of prayer. He doesn’t allow circumstances to control his response. He does what he has always done, in the same way he has always done it. He prays.

Under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar he prayed. Under the reign of Belshazzar he prayed. Under the reign of Darius he prays. When it was legal he prayed. When it became illegal, he continues to pray. He prayed as he had done previously.

Daniel acts as a truly free man. One author writes:

‘In fact, Daniel’s “seemingly innocuous act” was “more … revolutionary than outright rebellion would have been. Rebellion simply acknowledges the absoluteness and ultimacy of the emperor’s power, and attempts to seize it. Prayer denies that ultimacy altogether by acknowledging a higher power” [(Wink, Naming, 110-11) cited by Goldingay, p.131]

This author goes on:

‘So “what happens when a state executes those who are praying for it?” It is “demonstrating the emperor’s powerlessness to impose his will even by death. The final sanction had been publicly robbed of its power.”’ [(Wink, Naming, 111) cited by Goldingay, p.133]

Daniel was truly free.

Prayer and Thanksgiving

Notice the content of Daniel’s prayer. We aren’t told what he prays, but it seems he isn’t crying out to God in a desperate plea for help in his present emergency, or calling down judgment on his adversaries. We aren’t told the content of his prayers. We are simply told that ‘he prayed and gave thanks before his God’.

Here’s some of what the New Testament commands us about prayer and thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Do you suppose ‘always’ includes both good circumstances and those we would consider bad? Do you think that ‘for everything’ includes giving thanks for trials and tribulations as well as for blessings? Peter (1Pet.4:13) and Paul (Rom.5:3) and James (1:2) all tell us to rejoice in trials and sufferings. Jesus goes so far as to tell us

Luke 6:22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Give thanks always and for everything, even for trials and suffering.

Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Daniel understood that the king was sovereign. He was aware of the king’s edict. He was likely aware of the jealousy and conspiracy of his peers. He understood the risk, he knew the penalty for disobedience was death, and he prayed anyway. We don’t know if Daniel’s heart was pounding out of his chest when he went to his upper room to pray, but we know he was human, and he probably had normal human physiological responses to threat and risk and danger. We know Jesus was human, and when he agonized in prayer anticipating the cross and all that that meant for him, his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground (Lk.22:44). Daniel had every reason to be anxious, and he may have been, but he took it to his Lord in prayer with thanksgiving.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Do everything you do with thankfulness to God. Not merely with a thankful attitude, but actually giving thanks, saying thank you with words.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Daniel had a great reason to cease praying. It would very likely cost him his life. But he did not cease to pray. His circumstances were adverse. He was alone and the world was against him, and yet he gave thanks to God.

The Habit of Gospel Thankfulness

There is always something to thank God for. I think it would be fair to argue that Daniel had less to be thankful for than we do. He lived the majority of his life as an exile in a foreign land. Most of his life his people were scattered and the temple of his God lay in ruins. He lived before the cross, hundreds of years before the coming of Jesus to save us from our sins. I think it is fair to say he understood the gospel less clearly than we do today. And yet he made a habit of giving thanks to God. Get in the habit of daily reminding yourself of the gospel, the good news, and giving thanks to God for his great salvation.

Freedom from the Fear of Man

Daniel understood the essential and necessary nature of prayer. It may cost him his life to do it, but he refused to live without it. We can discipline ourselves to develop the habit of gospel thankfulness, but how can we overcome our fear of man?

Jesus said:

Mark 8:35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Daniel knew he could compromise to save his life, but by saving his skin, he would forfeit what was truly life. Jesus said:

Luke 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Daniel’s fear of the Lord weighed greater than his fear of man. And his fear of man was legitimate and real. But his fear of the Lord set him free, truly free from the fear of man.

Daniel probably resonated with David in Psalm 56

Psalm 56:1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. …9 ..This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

David acknowledges his fear, but he chooses to put his trust in God. Because his trust is in God, he will not be afraid, because ‘What can man do to me?’ They can ‘kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.’

Psalm 118 says

Psalm 118:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! …5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Give thanks to the Lord. Fear the Lord, and he will set you free. Truly free. Free from the fear of death, from the fear of man.

Proverbs says:

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Are you entangled, ensnared, in bondage to the fear of man, or are you safe, enjoying true freedom, drinking deeply from the fountain of life of the fear of the Lord? Are you truly free?

Romans 8:31 …If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/23 – The Church; Devoted to Teaching and Fellowship; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220123_the-church.mp3

Supernatural Community

Last week we looked at the church as a supernatural Holy Spirit wrought unity, an organism, a body of diverse and unique believers knit together by the work of the Holy Spirit opening blind eyes, giving us new birth and new life, immersing us individually into one body in Christ. The Spirit of God makes us part of something bigger than ourselves.

We saw at the end of Luke and the beginning of Acts that Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples of all nations, but not to go out and attempt this in their own strength; rather to wait. Wait for the promise of the Father, wait to be clothed with power from on high, wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were all together in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit fell, and what happened caused crowds to gather to see what was going on, and Peter took the opportunity to preach about Jesus, his life, death and resurrection.

He concludes his message:

Acts 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Then we read:

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

This is evidence that the Holy Spirit was at work through the words of the apostle. The Spirit brought an awareness of their sin against God, conviction of sin, and a hunger to be right with God. God gave them the gift of a responsive heart to the gospel message; God gave them the gift of repentance.

Acts 2:37 …“Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Jesus promised to build his church. This is Jesus at work by the Holy Spirit opening hearts to the gospel, granting repentance and faith, baptizing people into the body of Christ, adding believing souls to his church. The church is a supernatural Spirit wrought organism.

What The Church Is About

What comes next in Acts 2 tells us what this newly birthed church was about, what they devoted themselves to, what they held to be essential. And this is written for us, to instruct us in what we are to focus on, to remind us as the church of what we are to be about, what we ought to devote ourselves to. Listen to the text:

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Devoted To (προσκαρτερέω)

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, and the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. They devoted themselves to these things; they persevered in, they were constantly diligent and faithful; literally they were strong toward. This word is used in Acts 1:14 to describe what the disciples together with the women who followed Jesus were doing in the upper room after the ascension of Jesus; ‘they were devoting themselves to prayer.’ In Acts 6 this word is used when the apostles said “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Ac.6:2). Deacons, men of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom should be appointed to serve;

Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

In Mark 3:9, Jesus tells his disciples to have a boat standing ready for him, set apart, devoted exclusively to his use, so he could escape being crushed by the crowds.

Romans 13 tells us to pay our taxes so that our governing authorities as God’s servants can devote themselves to pursuing justice, defending the innocent and carrying out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (13:6).

Romans 12 and Colossians 4 both use this word to tell us to ‘be constant in’ or ‘continue steadfastly in’ prayer.

This is a strong word. This is what we are to be about, to undistractedly focus our attention on, to give ourselves to, to set other things, even good things aside so that we can attend earnestly to these things.

The Apostles’ Teaching

What things?

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. The teaching was primary. In their day, the apostles were alive and were teaching, and the church devoted themselves to their teaching. They listened diligently, and even wrote it down, word for word. The book of Acts is punctuated throughout with transcripts of sermons the apostles preached. The necessary qualifications for this ministry of apostleship according to Acts 1 was:

Acts 1:21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

Peter communicates this unique apostolic role as eyewitnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to Cornelius in Acts 10.

Acts 10:40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

Jesus met with his disciples after his resurrection;

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

Peter himself, toward the end of his life (AD 64-67?) writes:

2 Peter 1:12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Peter, aware his own death was drawing near, didn’t appoint a successor, but wrote a letter, so that after he is gone, the believers ‘may be able at any time to recall these things.’

Ephesians 2 tells us that the church, the household of God is

Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

Today we have the written record of apostolic teaching, and we can devote ourselves to hearing and obeying the apostles’ teaching.

The Fellowship

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

They devoted themselves secondly to the fellowship. The koinonia, the communion, the community, the sharing. Diverse people were immersed into one body by the Holy Spirit, made one in Christ, and they devoted themselves to one another. They enjoyed the fellowship.

What is fellowship? It’s not just catching up on the weather and sports and news and your opinions on politics and whats going on in your family and other happenings; I can scroll your social media feed to find all that out. What is true Christian fellowship?

I think the rest of this passage actually helps clarify for us what authentic and distinctly Christian fellowship is. This passage lists four things the church was devoted to; the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. Those are four things the church was devoted to, but are they four distinct things, or are they two things, and the second thing is further defined and clarified by two other things? If there are two primary things; the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, then the next two things; the breaking of the bread and the prayers help us understand what true Christian fellowship consists of.

The Breaking of the Bread

True fellowship is a visceral experience of our connectedness by the Holy Spirit in this one body. We experience this unity when we break bread together. This expression can simply mean to have a meal together, and it is also used more specifically to point to remembering Jesus in communion; when Jesus:

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

This is an essential part of our body life together – remembering Jesus, the gospel that makes us one. When we come back to the cross and remind ourselves and each other over and over and over again of the good news that Jesus died for sinners like me and like you, and we have a place at his table, not by our own worthiness or merit, but only by his gracious undeserved invitation, it keeps us humble and keeps us looking at each other in the proper light. I am so desperately wicked and my heart is naturally so evil that Jesus’ own body had to be broken to pay my price. I am not competing with anyone else; I am not better than anyone else; I am here by invitation of the King, by sheer undeserved grace. We have that in common. In Jesus, we have communion with one another. We have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We together are reconciled to God in one body through the cross. Through Jesus we both have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph.2:13,16,18)

The Prayers

And that is a second thing that defines genuine Christian fellowship; the prayers. In Jesus every one of us has access in one Spirit to the Father. We can enter his presence with thanksgiving and praise. And we have access to speak to the triune God on behalf of one another. We can make intercession, we can pray for one another. We can bear one another’s burdens; I can take your burdens that are to heavy for you to carry alone, and you can take my burdens directly into the presence of God. Ephesians 6 instructs us to:

Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Colossians 4 tells us of:

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

This is true Christian unity and community, praying for one another, fighting for one another in prayer. Try this: if you are hurt or offended or irritated by someone, if you have ill feelings toward a brother or sister, pray for them. Not that God would strike them down and that they would get what they deserve. Remember, you have access by faith into this grace in which you stand. Remember, you don’t want what you deserve. You are a sinner and you have access to pray to the Father by grace alone, through the blood of Christ. Really pray for them, and see if that doesn’t change the way you feel about them, and increase the unity and community that you experience with them.

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Devote yourself to the apostles’ teaching. Devote yourself to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Evangelistic Community

Let’s look briefly at the rest of this passage.

Acts 2:43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Notice the church didn’t devote itself to evangelism. But a healthy church devoted to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers is evangelistic and naturally reproduces. This is what Jesus said:

John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Awe and wonder came upon everyone. The church that is devoted to biblical teaching and true Christian fellowship draws the attention of unbelievers.

Many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, but the signs and wonders weren’t the focus. The church was not devoted to the wonders and signs of the apostles; they were devoted to the teaching of the apostles. The signs and wonders served to draw attention to the teaching, to who Jesus is. In the next chapter, we see Peter and John healing a lame man, which drew a crowd, and they took the opportunity to preach the good news about Jesus, and called people to turn to Jesus to experience forgiveness.

All who believed were together and had all things in common. This is demonstration of the fellowship created by the Holy Spirit. Because we are made one in Christ, we want to be together. We like being together. We enjoy spending time with others who belong to Jesus.

And we care about one another. Because we are adopted into the same family, we have a family bond, and we look out for one another. If one of us is in trouble, we do what we can to help out.

‘And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.’ This affirms that individuals owned property and belongings, and that they were free to sell them and do what they wanted with the proceeds. That is confirmed by what Peter says to Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5. This was not coerced or compulsory. This is what they wanted to do. At the end of chapter 4 it says:

Fellowship meant caring practically, tangibly for one another. In love serving one another. Back to chapter 2:

Acts 2:46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

They wanted to be together. They attended public worship together. They gathered in one another’s homes. They ate together. They were characterized by joy and generosity and worship. And Jesus was building his church. ‘the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.’

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/16 – The Church; a Spirit Wrought Body; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220116_the-church.mp3

Spirit Wrought Church

We asked the questions last week; What in the world are we doing here? Just who do we think we are?

We answer: We are a church. We are the blood bought and dearly beloved bride of Christ, the body of Christ, the flock of God. We are the temple of God, the church of the living God, the household of God, the pillar and buttress of the truth.

What in the world are we doing here? We bear witness to the identity and transforming power of Jesus to make people new inside, to forgive and give life, to conquer sin and set captives free. We are advancing against the very gates of hell, taking ground from the enemy of our souls.

We looked last time at Matthew 16; that the church is founded on the identity of Jesus, the promised Messiah-King; Eternal Son of the Living God, and Suffering Servant, the crucified one who died for our sins and rose again.

We saw that the church does not belong to us; it belongs to Jesus; he calles it ‘mine’. And it is not our responsibility to build; Jesus said ‘I will build my church.’ The church will advance against and overcome the gates of hell through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We have been commissioned to make disciples, baptizing and teaching all nations to obey Jesus, and Jesus promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age.

The church is supernatural. Everything about this is supernatural. The church is a Spirit wrought organism.

Make Disciples; But Wait

At the end of Luke’s gospel, after the resurrection, Jesus said:

Jesus commands his followers to proclaim repentance and forgiveness to the nations in the name of Jesus, but he orders them to wait. Wait for the promise of the Father. Wait until you are clothed with power from on high. We are to make disciples of all nations, but do not attempt to do this in your own strength. It’s supernatural. Wait.

Luke continues the story in his next volume, the book of Acts. He says of the resurrected Jesus in Acts 1:4

Wait for the promise of the Father; this is a command, an order from Jesus. Wait. You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He explains in verse 8:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

You will receive power through the baptism of the Spirit, when the Spirit comes upon you, to be witnesses for Jesus to all the nations. Do not step out ahead and attempt to do this on your own. Wait. This is supernatural business. Wait to be clothed with this power from on high.

After Jesus said this, the disciples watched as he was taken up into heaven, and then they returned to Jerusalem, to the upper room, to wait. In Acts 2, we read:

There was a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit coming on them, and the Spirit caused them to speak in other languages, something that drew a crowd from the diverse multi-lingual masses who were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. Peter interpreted this event as a fulfillment of Joel 2, where God promised to pour out his Spirit on all flesh. Peter used this opportunity to preach Jesus to the crowds, his crucifixion and resurrection. He concluded:

Acts 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

What they are witnessing is the fulfillment of the prophesied promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is evidence of the identity of Jesus. Peter says:

Acts 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Peter used this opportunity to point to the identity of the crucified and resurrected Jesus as both YHWH the Lord in the flesh, and the promised Messiah.

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Notice what is happening here. They were cut to the heart. This is supernatural. This is the Spirit’s power at work through the testimony of his people. This is not merely powerful and persuasive preaching. This is God’s Spirit at work opening the hearts of people.

Salvation is Of The Lord

This is what Paul talked about in 2 Corinthians 4; It is by the open statement of the truth that we commend ourselves to everyone’s consciences in the sight of God.

2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

There is a satanic blindness clouding the minds of unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

It is God who creates light, who opens blind eyes, who sets captives free. God gives light and life. Paul had experienced this firsthand and quite literally on the road to Damascus, where Jesus blinded him physically for a time so that he could truly begin to see.

God creates light in the hearts of satanically blinded unbelievers, to give us ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’

John’s gospel uses the metaphor of birth; in John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that in order to enter the kingdom of God, ‘you must be born again.’ You must be born from above, born of the Spirit.

Jesus said that all who receive Jesus, all who believe in his name, become children of God,

John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Salvation belongs to the Lord (Ps.3:8). New birth is of God. The lifting of satanic unbelief and blindness and the imparting of supernatural light to see Jesus for who he really is, is of the Lord. This is nothing but the work of God in salvation.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

The Gift of the Spirit

In Acts, Peter testifies to the identity of Jesus, and

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

This is evidence of a powerful supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. God is opening blind eyes. God is bringing about new birth.

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

God was calling them to himself. They received his word. They repented. They had a change of heart and mind. They turned away from whatever they were trusting in, and turned to Jesus alone. They believed in Jesus and were baptized as a public declaration that they had believed. About three thousand souls were added to the church. God added them. God supernaturally saved them. We are told a few verses down:

Acts 2:47 …And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

God is mighty to save. Jesus promised that he would build his church. And here at the beginning of Acts, we see him doing just that. This is a supernatural work of the Spirit of God.

Jerusalem & Judea

Peter said that this promised gift of the Holy Spirit;

Acts 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

It is for you; all the Jews assembled in Jerusalem to keep the Jewish feast of Pentecost. But he says that the promised Holy Spirit is also for your children, and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

Samaria

After the stoning of Deacon Stephen, and because of Saul’s persecution of the church, the believers were scattered and went about preaching the word. In Acts 8, Phillip proclaimed Christ to the city of Samaria. Remember, Samaritans were despised by Jews, considered half-breeds.

Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

This was unusual, but necessary for the unity of the church, to unify Jewish believers with Samaritan believers. Peter and John were eye-witnesses that the same Holy Spirit that they had received had been given to the Samaritans. And it demonstrated to the Samaritan believers their dependence on and connection with the Jewish believers. Remember, Jesus had given the keys of the kingdom to Peter in Matthew 16. Peter was used by God to bind together Jewish and Samaritan believers.

The Ends of the Earth

In Acts 10, Peter was hungry, on the rooftop, waiting for lunch, and God gave him a vision of a sheet full of unclean creatures, and he said ‘rise, Peter, kill and eat.’ When Peter refused because of his Jewish integrity, the Lord said to him ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ About that time men sent by Cornelius, a Roman centurian, knocked on the door, looking for Peter. Peter went with them to the centurian’s house.

Acts 10:28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

Peter proclaimed the good news of peace through Jesus to them, his identity, his life, death and resurrection. Peter concluded:

Acts 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” 44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

Peter and those who were with him became witnesses that God had poured out the gift of his Holy Spirit even on the Gentiles.

Peter responded:

Acts 10:47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

This led to criticism of Peter by the circumcision party. In Acts 11, Peter reported back to the church in Jerusalem; how Cornelius

Acts 11:13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

The Holy Spirit bound together Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles who believed in Jesus. The Spirit was uniting believers in Jesus across ethnic and religious boundaries.

This is what Paul points us to in 1 Corinthians 12:

1 Corinthians 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

He says to the uncircumcised Gentile Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Jew and Gentile, reconciled together in one body through the cross; through Jesus, together we have access in one Spirit to the Father.

In Romans, he draws the distinction no longer between Jew and Gentile, but now between those who are in the flesh and those who are in the Spirit.

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The Spirit of the living God lives inside of us. We have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. The Spirit himself bears witness that we belong to God. And because we belong to God, we belong with each other.

We are part of something supernatural, something God did. Something God is still doing, that we get to be a part of! We are one Spirit wrought body, immersed by the Spirit into the body of Christ.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

01/09 – Who are we? What in the world are we doing? the church); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20220109_the-church.mp3

What in the world are we doing here? Just who do we think we are?

It’s good on occasion to pause and ask ourselves questions like this to gain clarity on our identity and to refocus on our purpose.

– pray –

Church – a Gathering or Assembly of Dissimilar People

Who do we think we are? We are a church; the word ‘church’ simply means an assembly or gathering, people called out, called together. There are lots of different kinds of gatherings. Our city council meets together regularly. There’s the Parent Teacher Association, 4-H, Lion’s club, the archery club, Friends of the Library, the humanitarian council. There’s a lot of different organizations that meet together with their own unique goals and purposes and missions.

We are an assembly of different people from different ethnic and geographic backgrounds, different upbringings, different ages, different family dynamics, different occupations, different incomes, different walks of life, different personalities and preferences, different styles, different struggles, different opinions, different hobbies. We are a diverse people; what brings us together? Just who do we think we are?

What We Do; Sing, Pray, Listen to the Word, Ordinances

And what in the world are we doing? When we gather, we sing together. What other gathering do you participate in where you sing together, except maybe a choir or a sporting event where our national anthem is sung?

We sing and we pray; we talk to someone we can’t see, and we assume that he hears and cares and can actually do something about what we talk to him about.

We sing, we pray, and we read and study an ancient book together. But it’s not a discussion group; instead we typically have one guy claiming to speak with authority and telling you how to live your life based on what we find in this ancient book, written at a very different time in history to very different groups of people in different geographic and cultural settings, and yet somehow we believe that it is relevant to us today; in fact we expect it to shape the way we live our lives.

We also observe ancient rites or ordinances. We take a small bit of bread and a cup of juice, and we all eat it together, as commanded in this ancient book. Those who want to become part of our gathering, we ask them to be immersed in water, fully clothed, in front of everyone.

Does any of this seem just a bit strange? Imagine inviting a friend who has no familiarity with what we call ‘church’. ‘I’d like you to come with me. You’ll have to get up early on a weekend morning when you’d normally be sleeping in, and we will gather together with a bunch of people we have very little in common with, some of whom we probably disagree with over important life issues. We sing songs to a crucified man who claimed to be God, who we believe is now alive, we talk to him, we take bread and juice that symbolize eating his flesh and drinking his blood. We listen to someone talk at us out of this ancient book and tell us how to live our lives. Oh, and if you decide you want to become part of our gathering, you’ll need to get dunked in water in front of everybody.

A Subversive Kingdom

By the way, this gathering has been viewed throughout most of history by governments in power as subversive and dangerous. Many churches today have to gather secretly, but they continue to gather. Politically we may be on different pages, with different goals and priorities. But we agree on this; whatever human governments are over us, our primary allegiance is to a different kingdom and a different King; our citizenship is in a different country. And although human governments will rise and fall, the kingdom we belong to will one day rule over all others and will last forever. Do you see why many human governments feel threatened by this kind of assembly?

Exclusive and Universal Claims

Here’s another thing that makes a lot of people really uncomfortable about what we call church. If you spend any time in a gospel preaching church, you will hear talk of being lost and being saved. Our society is all about self help and self improvement and positive affirmation. But the central message we as the church have is that everyone is hopelessly lost and broken with no possibility of self improvement; no way to fix ourselves (Is.53:6; Rom.3:23). We are completely helpless and utterly dependent on outside help that we don’t deserve. We talk about sin – that going our own way and doing whatever we think might make us happy – is not a good thing to be celebrated, but a bad thing worthy of eternal punishment by the God whose world this is (Is.59:2).

This is a shockingly negative message about us, and a surprisingly narrow claim in today’s world. Everyone is lost and condemned, and the one and only way of rescue is believing the message churches proclaim about a Jewish Messiah who was crucified for sinners and raised from the dead.

This message is incredibly narrow (Jn.14:6), but the claim of the church is that it is universal in scope. This is not just our truth that is true for us because we find it compelling; we claim that it is absolute truth that will prove true for you whether you believe it or not. We have been entrusted with this message, and we have been commissioned to bring it to every person and every people group around the globe, because it is the one and only way to be rescued from what we deserve.

Let’s review; what have we said so far about the church? We are an assembly of dissimilar people with very little in common, who gather to sing and pray to someone who isn’t visibly present, we hear teaching from an ancient book that we seek to live by. We tell people that they aren’t free to do whatever they want or whatever they think will make them happy; rather they are accountable to the God who created all things and whom they have offended by their assumed independence. We rehearse rites that remind us of a crucified man who claimed to be God and who rose from the dead. We immerse in water those who turn away from their own path and entrust themselves to this crucified One. Although we seek to submit as far as possible to our local governments, our ultimate allegiance lies with a greater King of a greater kingdom to which we belong.

How do you think this will go over with your neighbor, your co-worker, your boss? How can we possibly expect anyone to listen to this kind of a message? Could this message gain any traction in today’s world?

Why get up early on a Sunday morning and gather with dissimilar people where you might catch a cold or worse, and when you can get better content online in the privacy of your home on whatever subject interests you whenever it’s most convenient? In a world of viruses and virtual meetings and telecommuting, why actually come to meet together in person?

Meeting With a Person

Here’s the most important reason to come to meet together in person; because we come together to meet with a Person. Although Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord is not visibly with us, he is indeed with us. Jesus said ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’ (Heb.13:5);

Matthew 28:20 …And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In the context of seeking lost sheep, and church discipline, and extending lavish forgiveness to those who sin against us repeatedly Jesus said:

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Doing church with dissimilar people is messy, but it is Jesus who brings us together. It is Jesus that we have in common.

The Identity of Jesus

In Matthew 16, Jesus took his disciples away from busily serving the crowds, and he asked them ‘who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ After listing several of the popular opinions, ‘John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets’ Jesus asked them ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The identity of Jesus is the foundation stone of the church. Jesus is the promised Christ, the Messiah, the anointed Prophet, Priest and King, one who will reign forever on David’s throne. Jesus is the eternal Son of the living God, the only begotten, God of God, eternally existing in relationship with God and as God; God with us, who came down.

The identity of Jesus is essential, it is central, and it is something that is supernaturally known. Jesus affirms that Peter didn’t come up with this on his own. It isn’t merely one more opinion about Jesus. This is the revelation of the Father about his only Son. And it is on this revelation of the identity of Jesus that Jesus will build his church.

But what Peter said was not complete. He was missing part of the story.

Jesus wanted to make sure his followers understood that he was the promised reigning King, but he was also the suffering Servant, the one who would bear the sins of many, he would be like a lamb led to the slaughter, he would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, he would bear our griefs and carry our sorrows; the Lord would lay on him the iniquity of us all (Is.53).

It is on the identity of Jesus as coming King, Divine Son of God, suffering Servant that his church will be established.

I Will Build My Church

Notice, the church does not belong to us, and it is not our job to build the church. It is not our job to persuade people to believe that Jesus is the Messiah King, Son of the living God, who died for their sins. It is our commission to proclaim the truth about him, to bear witness that we have experienced him as such. But Jesus claims to be the one who will build his church. Using the unlikely message of the gospel, that we all are sinners and have all fallen short, but that Jesus bore in his body the consequences of my sin, died the death I deserve, so that I could be forgiven and live to enjoy relationship with him; using the unlikely announcement of a crucified Messiah, Jesus will build his church and his church will advance against the very gates of hell.

Do not be ashamed of Jesus. Do not be ashamed of the good news of the Messiah crucified for sinners. It is the very power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom.1:16). Jesus is building his church, and the gates of hell will not be strong enough to stand up against the advance of Jesus’ church.

Who Do We Think We Are?

Just who do we think we are? We are the blood bought and dearly beloved bride of Christ, the body of Christ, the flock of God. We are the temple of God, the church of the living God, the household of God, the pillar and buttress of the truth.

What in the world are we doing here? We are bearing witness to the identity and transforming power of Jesus to make people new inside, to forgive and give life, to conquer sin and set captives free. We are advancing against the very gates of hell, taking ground from the enemy of our souls.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/26_Born Under Law to Be Salvation (Luke 2:21-35); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20211226_advent-born-under-law.mp3

Luke records the birth of Jesus in a shepherd’s cave in Bethlehem

Luke 2:6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Throughout this passage Jesus is shown as greater that John. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, a priest, a righteous man, who was in the temple offering incense. A child would be born to this barren couple in their old age. Zechariah doubted, so he was unable to speak until the child was born. After he returned home, his wife Elizabeth conceived in the natural way.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, just Mary, in nowhere Nazareth, doing nothing worthy of mention. God was extending his grace; unearned favor and kindness. Mary too questioned the angel’s message, but not out of unbelief. She would conceive in an entirely supernatural way; so that the child would be called holy, the Son of God.

It was revealed by the angel to Mary that her barren relative Elizabeth had conceived in her old age. Mary visited and Elizabeth blessed Mary the mother of her Lord. Mary rejoiced in God’s grace.

It was revealed by an angel to shepherds out in the fields the good news that a Savior, Christ the Lord was born to them that day, and a multitude of the heavenly armies appeared worshiping God. They visited the cave and found the baby lying in a food trough, and they spread the word that the angel had told them.

When John was born, Elizabeth was surrounded by rejoicing relatives and neighbors.

When Mary gave birth, they were far from home, forced by a Roman census, seeking refuge in a cave, likely alone.

When the boy born to Zechariah and Elizabeth was circumcised on the eighth day, they named him John, the name given them by the angel.

Real Flesh and Blood

We will pick up the story in Luke 2:21.

Luke 2:21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Again, this points to the fact that Jesus was greater than John, alluding to the uniqueness of Jesus’ conception. But Jesus’ supernatural conception in the womb of a virgin should not lead us to believe that he was less than fully human. An early false teaching or heresy named ‘Docetism’ taught that Jesus only appeared to be human; because they believed that matter is evil and only the spiritual is of value, they taught that Jesus only appeared to be flesh and blood, but was really immaterial, an apparition. Here’s where this verse is helpful to keep us from wandering into error. You can’t circumcise a spirit or an apparition. The fact that Jesus was circumcised gave historical tangible evidence that he was really and truly human. He was not less than fully human, but he was more. The eternal God who has no beginning or end became human at a point in history, took on flesh so that as a human he could take our place, die the death we deserve, pay the price our sins demand.

When he was circumcised on the eighth day, he was named Jesus, ‘YHWH saves’; the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb of the virgin.

Purification

Luke 2:22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

There’s a lot going on in these verses. Leviticus 12 outlines the procedure for a male child to be circumcised on the eighth day, and the mother is to remain separate from holy things for another 33 days, until the days of her purifying are completed. So this presentation before the priest at the temple with a burnt offering and a sin offering would occur 40 days after the birth.

It is interesting that Luke mentions the time for ‘their’ purification. We would expect ‘her’ purification, because according to the law only the mother needed to make the purification offering. This may indicate that Joseph was much more hands-on involved in the birth than was customary, so he also needed purification according to the law, because of contact with blood. We can’t be sure, but this may point to Mary and Joseph being alone for the birth, without the help of other women who would in normal circumstances help with the birthing process.

Poverty

One thing we do know from Luke’s statement is that this couple was poor, too poor to offer the customary year old lamb for the burnt offering. Leviticus 12 made allowance for someone who could not afford a lamb to offer two turtledoves or two pigeons, one in place of the lamb for the burnt offering and the customary one for the sin offering.

Mary had emphasized her ‘humble estate’ already in 1:48 and 1:52; in that verse she mentions the Lord filling the hungry with good things; quite possibly she was poor enough to know hunger.

Mary was too poor to offer a lamb for a burnt offering, but this points us to something bigger. Abraham in faith said ‘God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering’ (Gen.22:8). Mary could not afford the required lamb, but with her was ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (Jn.1:29).

Presentation of the Firstborn and Redemption

There’s something else going on in these verses besides the purification of the couple with the proscribed offering according to the Law of Moses.

Luke 2:22 …they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)

Jesus was Mary’s firstborn. Back in the Exodus, God said:

Numbers 3:13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.”

Exodus 13:12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

According to Numbers 3:47-48, the price for redemption of a man was five shekels. Luke says nothing about the five shekels, but he does say that ‘they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord’. This reminds us of Hannah, who prayed earnestly for a child, and promised if the Lord would give her a son, she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life (1Sam.1:11). Jesus in a unique way belongs to the Lord as the firstborn.

It is likely that they did pay the redemption price for the firstborn, but Luke records the event in such a way as to pique our curiosity and leave room for the theological understanding that Jesus did not need himself to be redeemed, but he came to redeem us.

Born Under Law

Repeated in this section is mention of the law.

Luke 2:22 …according to the Law of Moses, …23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, … 24 … according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, …27 … according to the custom of the Law, …39 …when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, …

They were living by the book. Everything was done according to the law. Nothing was omitted. Jesus was born under the law, and he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill them (Mt.5:17).

Galatians 4 says:

Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Jesus, God’s Son, was born under the law to redeem those under the law. Because he was born under the law, it was essential that he keep the law fully and perfectly, and this applied even to what was done for him by his parents after his birth. Jesus was born under the law and kept the law perfectly in order to fulfill the law for us, so that his perfect record could be credited to our account, so that he could redeem us from the demands of the law, demands that we could never meet.

Simeon and Anna

After John’s birth, his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied about the coming of the Lord, and that John would go before the Lord to prepare his ways.

After Jesus’ birth, the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon and he blessed God and blessed the family in the temple courts. The prophetess Anna thanked God and spoke of Jesus to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

We don’t know much about Simeon. We are not given his lineage, but he was righteous and devout and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel.

Waiting for the Consolation of Israel

He was waiting. Isaiah 25 says:

Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, 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.”

He was waiting for the consolation or comfort of Israel.

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

Simeon knew that God himself would come and would himself wipe away our tears. Simeon was waiting, because Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Anointed.

Note the triune God at work in this scene. The Holy Spirit was upon him. The Spirit led him to the temple at that specific time. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would see YHWH’s Anointed. Three distinct persons; one God. By the Spirit he took Jesus in his arms and blessed God.

Luke 2:28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

Salvation in a Person

My eyes have seen your salvation. Simeon was looking for rescue. God had promised to rescue his people, and Simeon said ‘I have seen your rescue.’ But nothing had changed in his circumstances. Jerusalem was under Roman occupation. The fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem was due (at least from a human perspective) to a Roman census requiring registration in one’s hometown. The Jews would look to the Roman governor Pilate to carry out Jesus’ execution (Jn.18:31). They would cry out ‘we have no king but Caesar’ (Jn.19:15).

How can Simeon say ‘my eyes have seen your salvation’? He was holding the infant Jesus, and he recognized that the salvation that God was sending was not a thing but a person. Jesus is God’s salvation. Jesus is Israel’s comfort.

But Simeon saw by the Spirit that God’s salvation in the person of Jesus was bigger even than Israel.

Luke 2:30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

This salvation in Jesus God has prepared in the presence of all the peoples. This is not just a national salvation. This is a global salvation. Jesus means salvation to the Jews, yes; but he also means salvation to the Romans, to the non-Jews. Jesus is light to the nations!

Isaiah 49:3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” …6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Costly Salvation

Luke 2:33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Simeon turns from blessing God to blessing Mary and Joseph. This is a blessing, but it is a hard word. Jesus will be the watershed, the dividing line. Jesus is a sign from God, but he will be opposed. Many will rise because of him; he will lift up the humble and lowly, but many will stumble over him and fall because of him. There may be a superficial facade of religiosity, but Jesus will reveal what is truly in the heart. Many will oppose him, and ultimately crucify him. This is a sobering word to Mary. A sword will pierce her soul. Salvation is glorious good news, but salvation is not cheap. The Lord’s salvation comes at a great cost. Jesus was born to Mary, but as the angel declared to the shepherds, the Savior, Christ the Lord was born to them, for the benefit of sinners. Sinners who need saving, sinners who need rescue. And this rescue is infinitely costly.

Grace is God’s favor freely given to those who don’t deserve it, but grace is not free. To the recipient a gifts is given freely, but a gift comes at a costs to the giver. A great way to remember what grace means is by the acronym God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. God’s riches are freely given to all who will receive, but they come at great expense to Christ.

Isaiah 53:3 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. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/24_Christmas Eve; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20211224_advent-christmas-eve.mp3

Christmas Eve Service 2021 (6:30pm)

Intro Video: The Call of Christmas (Zach Williams) 3:46

Intro Video: O Come All You Unfaithful (Sovereign Grace Music)

Children’s Choir:

Go Tell it on The Mountain (2 verses)

Silent Night (3 verses)

Welcome; Reading: John 1:1-5; 9-18 (the Word became flesh)

Congregational Hymn: O Come O Come Emmanuel [6 verses]

Reading: John 4:10-14; 23-26 (Jesus came down as living water; Samaritan woman) [Shane&Kim]

Congregational Hymn: Hark the Herald Angels Sing (4 verses)

Reading: John 6;33-35; 37-38; 46-51 (Jesus came down as bread to give life to the world) [Mike&Lacee]

Message: Wonder of the incarnation

Congregational Hymn: O Come All Ye Faithful (4 verses)

Reading: John 12:27-28; 18:37; 14:6 (Jesus born to be the Way, Truth and Life) [Daniel & Flic]

Congregational Hymn: Joy To The World (4 verses) [lighting of candles]

Welcome

Welcome! It’s Christmas Eve! Tonight we are going to sing some historic hymns and carols. As you sing along or just listen, pay attention to the words. These old songs are packed with truth. Allow your heart to be amazed at who Jesus is, why he came. We will have some readings from the Gospel of John tonight. They will not be the typical Christmas story; but they are some things about Jesus or things that Jesus himself said that give insight into who Jesus is, and why he came. We will begin at the beginning, John 1.

Reading 1: Rodney & Deanna; John 1:1-5; 9-18

[DZ] John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

[RZ] …9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

[DZ] 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 ( John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Reading 2: Shane & Kim; John 4:10-14; 23-26

[S] John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” …13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

[K] …23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Reading 3: Mike & Lacee; John 6:33-35; 37-38; 46-51

[M] John 6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. …37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

[L] …46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

__________________________

Message

God from all eternity, the self existent one, holy, utterly unique, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, unchanging, without beginning or end, the Creator of all that exists, perfect, the Second Person of the one triune God, enjoying perfect relationship with his Father and the Spirit throughout eternity; God became human. God came down. God with us. Remaining what he was, he became what he was not. Continuing to possess all the attributes of God, he became human, conceived in the womb of the virgin, born in a shepherd’s cave in Bethlehem, wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a stone food trough for animals. The eternal Word who was with God and who was himself God, became flesh and dwelt among us.

Is your heart filled with wonder? Are you amazed that he came? That he stooped so low?

The wonder of the incarnation. This is staggering. Immanuel – God with us; the infinite, the eternal Creator of all that exists, condescended to be born into his creation. This should cause our jaws to drop in awe.

But what should cause us even more amazement is why he came.

In Mark 2, Jesus had invited a loathed sellout Jew who was working for the Roman IRS as a tax collector to be one of his closest followers. He was at Levi’s house (also called Matthew)

Mark 2:15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Think pimps, prostitutes, drug lords, traffickers and politicians. The lowest of the low, dishonest, despised, the worst, the scum of the earth. Jesus was enjoying a meal with the likes of these.

Mark 2:16 …“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Not only is it staggering that God came down, lowered himself to become human, become part of his creation, but he came for sinners. He came to associate himself with the ones who had rebelled most blatantly against him and brought ruin and chaos and ugly and pain and disorder into his beautiful and good creation. These are the ones he chose to spend time with.

He came as Immanuel, God with us -with US, you and I. He came for sinners. He came for the sick. He came for those with nothing to offer him.

Do you find yourself in that company? Likely not many of us here are drug dealers, child abusers, pornographers, murderers. But do you really feel you are that much better? Jesus said:

Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…

—

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; …

Are you amazed that he came for you? The Word became flesh; He did not come with law; we condemned ourselves already; He came with grace, grace toward the undeserving. Grace is God’s favor and kindness toward those who don’t deserve it. And I don’t deserve it. I deserve only his wrath. But he came for the broken, the outcast, he came for the sick, for sinners. He came for those who don’t deserve it. He came to seek and to save the lost (Lk.19:10).

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Philippians 2:5 …Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

This is amazing grace! Jesus was born to die on a cross for your sins. My iniquity, your iniquity was laid on him. He came to pay my price, to die as my substitute. He came to die the death I deserve, so that I can now enjoy what I don’t deserve; eternity in relationship with him.

Have you come to him to receive? Jesus is the greatest gift, and we can offer him nothing in exchange.

John 4:10 “If you knew the gift of God, …you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Come to Jesus to receive. Come needy! Come broken! Come desperate! Come with nothing to offer but everything to gain. Come to be forgiven. Come to receive the gift of relationship with him. Come, and you will receive grace upon grace upon grace!

_______________________________________________

Reading 4: Daniel & Flic; John 12:27-28; 18:37; 14:6

[F] John 12:27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” …

[D] John 18:37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

[F] John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/19_4th Sunday of Advent; Nativity & Shepherds; (Luke 2:1-20); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20211219_advent-nativity-shepherds.mp3

Historical Narrative

Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

This happened. Luke gives geographic and historical details to anchor his account in a real place at a real time. Luke set out to compile a narrative, an orderly account of historical events based on eyewitness accounts, to give certainty that what we believe about Jesus is real, true, historically verifiable (Lk.1:1-4).

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to the temple to announce to Zechariah that he and his barren wife Elizabeth would have a child in their old age, and John would be used by the Spirit to prepare people to meet their God; he was to prepare the way for the coming of YHWH.

About 6 months later, Gabriel appeared to Mary in Nazareth, and communicated to her that by God’s grace, she, a virgin, would bear a son, who would be Son of the Most High God; the Holy one – completely unique, in a class by himself; the promised Messiah who would rule from the throne of David forever. She was to call his name Jesus – YHWH is salvation.

Journey to Bethlehem

Now, approaching the time of birth, the expecting mother with her husband-to-be made the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; either by the most direct route, about 70 miles, due south, right through the heart of Samaria, a route often avoided by devout Jews; or the longer route, about 90 miles, avoiding Samaria by traveling east, following the Jordan valley to Jericho, and then traveling up to Jerusalem. The ascent from Jericho to Jerusalem was steep and dangerous, the setting of Jesus’ parable about the good Samaritan, where the Jewish man fell among thieves.

We know that Joseph went up from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Mary his betrothed, who was with child. We could ask ‘Why?’ Luke gives an answer that the Roman Caesar had made a decree, likely for the purpose of taxation. We are not told if the decree demanded that a very pregnant Mary appear with him, or if she came because she didn’t want to be apart from Joseph at the birth, or possibly Joseph sought to protect her from the malicious rumors and gossip circulating around Nazareth about the questionable origin of this pregnancy.

Whatever the apparent cause, God providentially moved a Roman emperor to issue a decree that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to fulfill the words of the prophet Micah

Micah 5:2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The one whose coming forth is from ancient days; the one who is to be ruler in Israel, was to be born in Bethlehem.

Luke emphasizes that:

Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up …to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

Jesus’ legal father was of the house and lineage of David. So he went up to Judea, to the city of David. All 45 times this phrase occurs in the Old Testament, it refers to Zion, the stronghold of Jerusalem. But twice in this passage Luke uses ‘the city of David’ to refer not to Zion in Jerusalem, where David established his throne, but to Bethlehem, where David was from.

Jesus the Firstborn

Such a simple description of this monumental event. The time came, and she gave birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son.

Colossians uses ‘firstborn to refer to Jesus in two senses:

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Hebrews declares Jesus to be greater than angels;

Hebrews 1:5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Jesus is firstborn over all creation; firstborn from the dead, God’s firstborn son.

As the creed says:

“I believe …in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man;…” [Nicene Creed]

The Manger and the Inn

There was no place for them in the inn. We should probably not picture a commercial hotel or motel with rooms for rent; the inn where the good Samaritan brought the injured Jewish victim and paid the innkeeper to care for him in Luke 10 is a completely different word. The word used here is also found in Luke 22:11 referring to the furnished guest chamber Jesus used to eat Passover with his disciples. It would be more accurate to think of an airBnB in a family’s home, a room where family or other guests could stay.

The historic site for the birth of Christ is a cave, similar to caves still in use in Israel today, where shepherds can shelter their sheep. Mangers used in Israel were carved stone troughs used to feed or water animals. Because the guest chamber was already occupied, the couple sought shelter and privacy in a shepherd’s cave, and when Jesus was born, he was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in an animal’s feed trough.

The Glory and Fear of the Lord

Luke 2:8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

This is the third angelic announcement in Luke; this time the angel is unnamed, he appears to a group rather than an individual, and the glory of the Lord is also present. This glory is described in Exodus as a cloud;

Exodus 24:17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.

No wonder the shepherds were filled with great fear. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Job28:28; Ps.111:10).

Evangelizing Shepherds

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

I bring good news; this is the word for evangelize; to proclaim the gospel. The angel proclaims the gospel of great joy to the shepherds; joy which will be for all the people. Good news produces joy.

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

This had to be a shocking and confusing statement. An angel shows up to a bunch of shepherds in the middle of the night with a birth announcement; everybody will be filled with joy because a baby is born to you! Do you think the shepherds were looking around at one another wondering who of them the angel is talking to? Born to who? To you! The ‘you’ is plural; to you all! How is Jesus born to a bunch of shepherds? Jesus is not born to them as if they were the parents. He is born to them in the sense that he is born for their advantage. This says something about them to whom the good news is proclaimed; it says they need help. The one born is a Savior; because they need saving. He is a rescuer, because they are in deep trouble and need to be rescued.

the glory of the Lord; more acutely than flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror revealed to them in their gut the trouble they were in. They were filled with great fear because the presence of God revealed to their hearts their own guilt, their own sinfulness, and the Lord is a consuming fire. None of them had to ask ‘Savior? To save from what?’ They all felt it in their bones that they all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death (Rom.3:23; 6:23).

But the angel told them to fear not. Look, I’m preaching the gospel to you, good news that creates great joy. And it will extend beyond you; it is good news for all the people. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None is righteous, no not one. All need a Rescuer. And listen to the identity of this rescuer. He is Christ, the promised anointed Messiah king; born in the city of David to sit on David’s throne. He is the Lord; YHWH himself come to save us from the wrath of YHWH toward our sins.

What an announcement! The promised Messiah, the Lord YHWH come down, is born to you, for your benefit, to rescue you. Messiah has come, the LORD has come down, and brings salvation and great joy to sinners. This angel shows up to a representative group of ordinary sinners like you and me and proclaims that it is for you that this long awaited one is born. He is born to you!

The Sign of the Manger

Luke 2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

This must have been unexpected. Zechariah asked for a sign in unbelief; Mary in honest curiosity asked how this will happen, and she was given Elizabeth as evidence that nothing is impossible with God. These poor shepherds were too stunned to ask for a sign, but a shocking sign was given unasked. The King of the universe, the Lord, Messiah, a Savior is born to you. To us shepherds? Here’s how you will know. You will find the baby wrapped up and stuck in a food trough for your sheep. That’s not where royal kings are put! But he is the good shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep (Jn.10:11). Food goes in a food trough, not a baby. But this is the one who will say:

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Here’s a sign for you, that he came for you; you will find him in a food trough.

Glory and Peace

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

As if one angel wasn’t paralyzing enough, the whole angel army shows up in battle formation proclaiming the glory of God, and declaring terms of peace on earth. God graciously grants peace to those on whom his favor rests. God extends grace and peace that brings great joy to ordinary undeserving sinners like these shepherds.

Examining the Gospel

Luke 2:15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

The shepherds had been told good news of great joy. What did they do with it? They didn’t just sit on the information. When they picked themselves up off the pasture, they went to see ‘this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ They heard the gospel preached by the angel, but they recognized the angel was a messenger bringing them the word of the Lord. They had been graciously given a sign, so they went with haste to examine the evidence. This wasn’t something that could wait. It won’t wait ‘till morning. It can’t wait ‘till a more convenient time. This was the most important thing ever. It interrupted and took precedence over everything else. The gospel does that. It interrupts us and demands our immediate attention. Behold, now is the day of salvation! (2Cor.6:2)

This is the third mention of the animal’s food box. Mary gave birth and laid the baby in a manger; the angel gave a sign of a baby lying in a manger, and the shepherds came and saw the baby lying in a food trough, just as they had been told.

Responding to the Gospel

Luke 2:17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Here’s what we can learn from the shepherds. We are sinners just like everyone else. If you don’t believe it, ask God by his Holy Spirit to convict you of your sinfulness and his righteousness and the coming judgment. Jesus came to you, for you, because you need to be rescued. If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. Don’t take my word for it. Go examine the evidence for yourself. The shepherds heard the good news; they had the gospel preached to them. News too good to be true. So they checked it out. And they found it to be precisely as they had been told. They heard the good news, they tested the good news, they believed the good news, and then they proclaimed the good news. Good news of great joy that will be for all the people. The good news is to you, but it isn’t intended to dead end with you. News this juicy, this joyous, must be passed on and on and on.

And ultimately it results in glory to God. The God of glory brings peace to the earth through the condescension of Jesus, and the earth responds by glorifying and praising God for the great thing he has done. Father, may your name be glorified on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for giving us this day the Bread of life, who is Jesus.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/12_3rd Sunday of Advent; Virgin Conception (Luke 1:26-56); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20211212_advent-virgin-conception.mp3

Wonder

Our hearts so easily become numb to wonder. The cares of this world grow up and choke out the word so that we fail to be amazed at what is truly amazing. Last week we looked at Zechariah and Elizabeth; Zechariah was a priest, and both were ‘old’ and ‘advanced in years’. The angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, appeared to Zechariah in God’s temple in Jerusalem as he offered incense, and promised an answer to his prayers; God would send his Redeemer to rescue his people. Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son in their old age, and this one they were to name John would prepare the way for the coming of YHWH the Lord. The angel said:

Luke 1:16 And he [John] will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he [John] will go before him [the Lord their God] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

John’s role was to go before the Lord, to prepare people to meet their God.

We pick up the story in verse 26, six months later. For many of us, this is a familiar story, so before I read these verses, take a moment to prepare your heart to hear them as if you’ve never heard them before. Allow your heart to be filled with wonder.

Galilee – Nazareth – Mary

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

An angel sent by God to Galilee, the rural redneck backwaters of Jerusalem. To the city of Nazareth. Can anything good come out of Nazareth (Jn.1:46)? This is the perfect setting for a story about a no-name low income wrong side of the tracks going nowhere couple.

We are told nothing about who Mary is, her ancestry, her lineage, even her character. This is in stark contrast to Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were both of priestly lineage, from the house of Aaron. “They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Lk.1:6). Nothing is said about Mary other than that she is a virgin, betrothed to be married to Joseph who is of the house of David.

Gabriel had been sent to Zechariah, a priest, chosen to offer incense in the temple in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, the one place on earth where God caused his name to dwell (Deut.12:5;16:2;26:2). Six months later, Gabriel is sent to nowhere Nazareth, to nobody Mary, just a simple ordinary poor peasant girl in no special place doing nothing of significance.

Recipient of God’s Grace

Luke 1:28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Mary is greeted as one who is highly favored; she is an object of God’s grace, free and undeserved. Grace is God’s favor and kindness extended to sinners who did nothing to earn it.

We are told that Noah (Gen.6:8); Abraham (Gen.18:3); Moses (Ex.33:17); Gideon (Jud.6:17); and David (Ac7:46) found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

The Lord promised to be with Abraham (Gen.21:22), Isaac (Gen.26:24), and Jacob (Gen.28:15), Moses (Ex.3:12), Joshua (Deut.31:6, 8, 23), Gideon (Judg.6:12), and Solomon (1Chr.28:20). Ultimately God promised to be with his people in person in Immanuel, God with us (Is.7:14; Mt.1:23).

These are awesome statements. Zechariah was troubled and fear fell upon him when he saw the angel Gabriel standing in the temple. Mary was greatly troubled at the words of the angel, wondering what it could mean that she had found grace, and that the Lord would be with her.

So Gabriel says it again:

Luke 1:30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Mary, you have found grace with God. You don’t deserve this, you didn’t earn it, it is God’s free and sovereign grace that he gives to whom he will. Mary, you are a recipient of God’s amazing grace. This is all grace.

Jesus Eternal King

Now listen to the message:

Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

You shall call his name Jesus – YHWH saves; YHWH is salvation.

He will be great. Zechariah was told that John ‘will be great’ in a qualified sense; ‘before the Lord’ (v.15). But Jesus will be great absolutely. There is no qualification, no limit to his greatness.

Jesus will be called ‘the Son of the Most High’. Zechariah was told ‘your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son’, so John would be called the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The Most High God will be Jesus’ Father.

Luke 1:31 …And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

The Lord God will give to Jesus the throne of David. This is the Messianic promise, the long hoped for anointed King, the one descended from David, yet greater than David. When David aspired to build a house (a temple) for the Lord, God responded:

2 Samuel 7:11 …Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

…16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

God promised to build David a house, a dynasty, that would last forever. This is a staggering promise. Before we go on, let’s look at David’s response to God’s promise.

2 Samuel 7:18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God.

David is filled with awe and wonder at who God is and what he has promised. He sits in stunned amazement. He responds in awestruck humility; ‘who am I? ‘what is my house?’ ‘What more can David say to you?’ You are great, you are gracious, it is your good pleasure, there is no God like you, you do it all for the sake of your Name and for your own glory. These are great and gracious, unexpected, un-asked for promises, and David is filled with wonder.

These promises to David were to some extent fulfilled in Solomon his son. Solomon his son did build a house (a temple) for the Name of the Lord, and he did reign with unequaled wisdom and splendor, enjoying a glorious and peaceful rule over Israel for 40 years, but ‘when Solomon was old’ his heart turned away ‘after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father’ (1Ki.11:4,42). Because of his sin, the kingdom was divided under his son Rehoboam, and the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah spiraled into more and more disobedience to God, until God gave them over to their enemies and they were conquered and carried off into captivity.

But God had promised to David’s offspring ‘I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever’

Psalm 89:3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” — Selah

This hope of an eternal kingdom was still alive in Isaiah’s day, who saw the fall of the Northern kingdom of Israel, who warned Judah that they too would experience the consequences of their sins. Isaiah prophesied:

This is the promise affirmed to Mary.

Luke 1:31 …And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Her son Jesus will sit on David’s throne forever. Jesus’ kingdom will be the promised eternal kingdom. These are staggering promises to a girl from Galilee only betrothed to be married.

Virgin Conception

But Mary has a question.

Luke 1:34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

She is not asking for a basic biology lesson; it is because she understands the basics of biology that she has a question. She is a virgin; literally she has not known a man. She is betrothed to be married. She understands that a father is required for conception. But the angel said:

Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…

And he also said:

Luke 1:32 He… will be called the Son of the Most High.

In what sense will this child “be called the Son of the Most High?” How will she conceive in her womb? Who will the father be? Her question does not stem from incredulous unbelief like Zechariah’s; she seeks clarification. She is struggling to understand what this will mean.

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.

Zechariah was told that John ‘will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb’ (v.15). But John was conceived after Zechariah returned home to his wife Elizabeth. Jesus will be conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most high will overshadow you. Jesus will be greater than John in that he is conceived by the Holy Spirit.

This in no way implies inappropriate sexual activity like we hear about in Greek mythology, where demigods were produced by the illicit relationships of the gods with mortal women; in the Bible fallen angels were condemned for having relations with human women (Gen.6:1-4; Jude:6-7). The Holy Spirit is holy, and Mary remained a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. This is the creative power of God, who speaks a word, and things that do not exist come into being.

Luke 1:35 … “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, …the power of the Most High will overshadow you

Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son…

This makes sense of the somewhat cryptic promise in Genesis 3:15, where the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. The seed is normally attributed to the man, but in this case no human father is involved. Luke makes the creation connection in his genealogy in chapter 3, where he traces Jesus’ line all the way back through David, through Abraham, to Adam the son of God (3:23-38).

Luke 1:35 … therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.

Because the conception in the womb of the virgin is a result of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High, the child will be called the Son of the Most High; the Son of God. The child will be called holy. To be holy is to be set apart, completely unique and distinct, in a class by himself.

John’s birth was miraculous, a result of the supernatural intervention of God, but it was not without precedent. Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age (Gen.18:11-12). At the promise of the angel, Samson was born to Manoah and his barren wife (Judg.13:3). Samuel was born to Hannah in answer to her prayer (1Sam.1:2,19-20). But Jesus’ birth will be completely unique and unprecedented.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mary asks for no sign, demands no proof, but Gabriel graciously points her to evidence to encourage her.

Luke 1:36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary was a humble recipient of God’s amazing grace. She believed and she received God’s grace toward her. She gladly submitted herself to God’s word. Nothing will be impossible with God.

Wonder and Worship

As we wrap up today, I will simply read the response of wonder and worship of both Mary and Elizabeth, and as I read, I invite you to enter in to their wonder at what God has done, enter in to their worship. Be amazed. Savor and celebrate this greatest of good news.

Luke 1:39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke 1:46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

View Details

12/05_2nd Sunday of Advent; Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20211205_advent-zechariah-elizabeth.mp3

Wonder

We were meant to wonder and worship. This season especially is a time when we ought to be filled with wonder and awe at what God has done.

The gospel – the good news – that Jesus came; that Immanuel, God, became human; God with us. And that he came not because we were so good, but because we were so bad, because we were without hope and without God, because we needed rescuing. Jesus came to take our place, to die as our substitute, to bear the penalty we deserve. He came to reconcile our broken relationship with God, to bring us near to God. All of this ought to stop us in our tracks with our jaws dropped and our hearts filled with awe and wonder.

But so often we are distracted; last time we looked at what Jesus told us in his parable about the sower and the soils, ‘the cares and riches and pleasures of life’ (Lk.8:14) grow up and choke out the truth of God’s word in our lives, and we fail to wonder, we fail to worship. Our wonderers are broken.

My goal is not to fill your head with more information or teach you something you don’t already know. My goal in these advent weeks leading up to Christmas is for us to stop, to look, to pause, to behold, to let our jaws drop in wonder, and to worship.

Childless and Godly

Today I want to look at Luke 1, where we find the account of Zechariah and Elizabeth, an older relative of Mary the mother of Jesus.

Luke 1:5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

We are introduced to this godly Israelite couple. They were both of priestly lineage, descended from Aaron. They were not sinless, as this story demonstrates (no one is), but they were seeking to obey God, to be faithful, to do what is right. We are told this to remove a question we might have about their childlessness. Children are a blessing from God, and to be childless was sometimes viewed as punishment from God. This couple was old, post-menopausal, past they age of being able to bear children, and they had no child, but this was not punishment or a sign of God’s displeasure. They were both righteous before God.

Temple and Priests and Incense

Luke 1:8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

Zechariah was one of around 18,000 priests, serving the Jerusalem temple in rotation. King David had organized the priests into 24 divisions according to 1 Chronicles 24, each to serve for one week, twice a year. Incense was to be burned on the altar of incense that stood just outside curtain of the most holy place every day, both morning and evening when the golden lampstand was tended (Ex.30:7-8). Zechariah was on duty at the temple and was chosen to enter the holy place and offer the incense on the altar of incense, a once in a lifetime honor.

Angels

Luke 1:11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

Zechariah was troubled. This is a classic understatement. Remember, the destroying angel killed all the firstborn of Egypt in one night (Ex.12:29; Ps.78:49-51). An angel killed 70,000 Israelites in a day (1Chr.21:12-15) One angel slaughtered 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (2Ki.19:35). When angels are described in detail the Bible, they have four or six wings and four faces and are full of eyes (Is.6:2; Rev.4:8; Ezek.1:5-14). The typical human response is to fall on your face in fear and worship (Rev.19:10;22:8).

What Prayer?

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Your prayer has been heard. What prayer? I always assumed it was his desire for a child, but his response to the angel’s promise of a son shows that that was probably the furthest thing from his mind, and something he had long since given up on. More likely it would be the prayer he was offering in the temple as he offered the burnt offerings, a prayer for God to redeem his people Israel (Ps.25:22). We will see more of what was on the heart of Zechariah toward the end of this chapter. Jerusalem was under Roman rule. The hated Herod the Great had been appointed by Rome as king of Judea. This was the Herod who was soon to order the execution of every male child two years old and under in the whole region of Bethlehem. Israel needed a redeemer, and the very appearance of this angel in the temple was indicating that God was answering this prayer.

This is not merely the answer to the longing of a childless couple. Many would rejoice at his birth. The child’s name was to be John – YHWH is gracious. The Spirit of God would empower him to turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. This was the root of the problem. The problem wasn’t the Roman occupation. The Roman occupation was a symptom. God’s people had turned away from him. This promised child would be used by God to turn the hearts of many back to God.

Who is ‘Him’?

The next phrase is interesting – look at verse 17; ‘he will go before him’. This is where grammar gets really important. Who is the ‘he’ and who is the ‘him’ that ‘he’ is going before? The ‘he’ and ‘his’ throughout this passage refers to John. But who is John going before? The nearest antecedent to ‘him’ comes at the end of verse 16 ‘the Lord their God’. He will go before him. John will go before the Lord their God. Pause and let that sink in. John is to prepare the way for the coming of Israel’s God. John will be filled with the Spirit of God to turn people’s hearts to the Lord their God, and John will go before the Lord their God. The Lord God is coming! Coming to Israel! God is going to visit and redeem his people! God is coming down, and John is to prepare the way for him!

The rest of this verse confirms that we are on the right track.

Luke 1:17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

The closing words of Malachi prophesied:

The great and awesome day of the Lord is coming, and God is sending an Elijah to turn the hearts of the people so that when he comes, he does not have to come with complete destruction. God is coming, and John’s role is to ‘make ready for the Lord a people prepared.’

Disbelief

Luke 1:18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

This is the wrong kind of wonder. This is the wrong kind of stunned disbelief. Zechariah wasn’t standing in stunned disbelief, in awestruck wonder, reveling at the revelation of the angel. He was actually disbelieving, doubting, wondering how this could be possible. He was calculating, and his calculations added up to the fact that what the angel said was impossible. He was old and his wife was old – too old to have children.

His ‘I am’ is emphatic. I am an old man. Here’s a big part of our problem. Zechariah was righteous before God; he wanted to honor God, but he was way too focused on himself, what he brought to the table, his own inability; the impossiblity. If he had been thinking less of himself and more of God, he might have remembered another couple, a barren couple, a couple likely much older than he was (Abraham and Sarah were pushing 100), and God said to them in their disbelief ‘Is anything too hard for the LORD?’ (Gen.18:14).

Perspective in the Presence of God

The angel confronts Zechariah’s ‘I am’ with an ‘I am’ of his own.

Luke 1:19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

Gabriel had his focus right. He was one who stood in the presence of God. If you spend your time in the presence of God, you get your focus right. Remember, this interchange was happening in the temple in Jerusalem, the place of God’s presence. Zechariah had this once in a lifetime opportunity to offer prayers in the very presence of God, but his focus on himself eclipsed the presence of God from his view. He was being told good news; the best news ever, from an angel sent to him by God, and he couldn’t believe it.

Word leads to Wonder Leads to Words and Witness

Here’s the thing. The good news, the gospel message, the word of God is meant to lead us to wonder. And our wonder is to be expressed with words. Our wonder at the word of God is meant to be expressed in words and witness. Because of Zechariah’s disbelief, because he was unwilling to receive the word, he would be unable to speak a word. He was given good news – great news – but because he didn’t believe it, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about it.

If we receive the gospel, the good news as truly good and truly true, if we wonder at the gospel with awe and amazement at the goodness of God toward sinners like us, it will be just natural for that wonder to overflow with words. We will want to tell people – everyone – what God has done. We won’t be able to help ourselves – we just have to gossip the gospel. If we are hesitant to speak, it might be because deep down we really doubt. It could be that we have failed to stop and take it in, to catch our breath in wonder at the greatness of the good news.

Luke 1:21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.

Something wonderful was happening, they didn’t know what, but they sensed it, and they were filled with wonder.

Luke 1:23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

We’re going to skip ahead nine months in the story, to verse 57

Luke 1:57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered.

Here’s some more wondering going on; YHWH is gracious. Why name him that?

Luke 1:64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

After nine months of silent frustration bottled up because of unbelief, he finally burst forth with worship. How frustrating it must have been to have such good news and to be unable to share it. But he learned his lesson, now he believed, and he was brought to worship. And his words created more wonder, and more words. There was fear, there was good gossip, and all who heard laid these things up in their hearts with wonder.

Visited and Redeemed; as Good as Done!

Luke 1:67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

This reveals some of the things that were on Zechariah’s heart, things he was praying about in the temple that day. God, you made promises to your people. You made a covenant. People hate us. Show us mercy! Save us from our enemies! Remember your covenant! Bring us back to you; bring our hearts back to worship and serve only you.

The Lord God of Israel has visited and redeemed his people. Was this true? Had God visited and redeemed his people? Nine months earlier, God had sent a message by an angel to a priest in temple, bringing good news; good news that God was coming to visit his people. Three months earlier, God had sent an angel to a virgin and told her that she would conceive and bear a son – the Son of the Most High. Mary, pregnant with Jesus, had visited Elizabeth, and by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth recognized ‘why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ (v.43). The Lord had visited his people. Immanuel, God with us, was growing in the womb of the virgin. He would be born to be the redeemer, the one who would save his people from their sins, the one who would be obedient to death, even death on a cross, to save us from our sins. Zechariah was beginning to understand that when God gave a promise it was as good as done. God was good for his word. The act of redemption would take place on a hill outside Jerusalem some 30 years later, but God had

visited and redeemed his people.

You will go before the Lord. The sunrise shall visit us from on high. The Lord God of Israel is coming! God with us. Immanuel. Prepare the way for YHWH! Wonder and worship!

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

PastorRodney’s Weblog: Recent Episodes

Rodney Zedicher