Talk of JESUS . com

Tag: Bible

ONLY Scripture – Sola Scriptura

The HOLY BIBLE IS: The written word of God from scripture.

Disaster From Disobedience, A Savior From Before Eden – 8

A Savior From Before Eden

I introduced this series about a savior, Christ Jesus, who had confirmed to the religious authorities: “Before Abraham was, I AM!” Our evidence in Disaster From Disobedience, A Savior From Before Eden – 1 points back toward Jesus, our personal savior, who was here before the first adam.

We then examined Adam’s relationship with God both before and after original sin. Disobedience and consequence of sin follows. Brief glances at scripture will confirm man’s disobedience to the Lord God. Just from part 1 of our series scriptures about disobedience include: Exodus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and the Gospels of Luke and John.

Scripture – Reading, Study & Application

We have spent nearly a month [June 2018] just scratching the surface of man’s disobedience to God. Although I have touched on topics preceding the narrative of Genesis, we have much more to consider.

Our most recent look at Noah brings us only to Genesis 9, on page 15 of 1804 in my HCSB. I could easily envision a ‘Disaster from Disobedience – 30,’ but this is neither a novel nor exhaustive commentary. Today our brief attention spans require both an end to this series and connection to the next.

I trust the Lord will lead you deeper into scripture, revealing personal application of good and evil. I encourage you to study books of the New and Old Testaments in depth. To remain obedient to the Lord, we must apply the truth of scripture to our daily lives. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

These serial scriptural posts designed to incite specific study contain frequent links to Bible verses and study. Take a look as you read.

Before Israel, Before Abraham and After Noah

Moses’ five books do not and cannot explain everything. Yet in addition to creation, good and evil, sin, law and some subsequent history, parts of the Pentateuch provide God-given foundation to scripture’s purposeful truth. I would point you to a handful of concepts not to be missed in these scriptures.

Noah demonstrates one principle on dry land related to knowing good and evil, after the Lord’s cleansing and recreation of mankind. Although related to worship by Abel and Cain, this principle of good remains more important than any historical detail of the flood.

The rainbow becomes symbol of the Lord’s agreement. Sacrifice by Noah to the Lord is man’s continuing evidence of faithfulness, gratitude and obedience. Worship of the Lord always requires sacrifice. And right relationship with the Lord becomes a most-personal committed relationship.

The principle of this solemn agreement is known as covenant.

Covenant, consequential promise to inviolable truth.

We cannot study it in any detail here, but covenant always connects a sacrifice to an action with a sealed approval.

There is no good without God and no disobedience without disbelief.

Therefore, inviolable truth always relates both to the Lord and our relationship to others of mankind.

Truth has no foundation without God and human life no purpose without relationship to both our loving Creator and our fellow man.

Israel, Abraham, Joseph and other Jews

One concept important to our understanding of the Lord and promise involves the who, what, where and why of God’s chosen. It is a promised land, you are a chosen people. Again, concepts too important to slight, yet this series’ focus is on broken promises, followed by inclusion of others in the Lord’s redemptive plan.

(You can learn much more about God’s redemptive plan by study of adoption; an inclusive personal demonstration of God’s love we will not explore here.)

Moses explains nations and outlines their genealogies. Israel had been redeemed by the Lord from Egypt, where Joseph became powerful in the land. Understand that Joseph’s father Jacob holds promise of the Lord’s inheritance for his twelve sons.

Genesis 28:

Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him: “Don’t take a wife from the Canaanite women…

3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you become an assembly of peoples. 4 May God give you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”

Doesn’t this blessing sound somewhat familiar, like the Lord’s command to Adam and also to Noah?

‘Be fruitful and multiply…”

But Jacob is a liar and a deceiver. For he has purchased the blessing of the firstborn, Esau, who had no regard for the Lord. Now Jacob fears the fate of Abel, murdered at the hands of his brother.

Although the Lord will drive his descendants into Egypt from the promised land, Jacob will receive an inheritance.

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place…

“I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land that you are now sleeping on. 14 Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

There it is: God’s promise, as Jacob flees this ‘promised land,‘ an oft-repeated scenario in Israel’s history.

Does it seem a familiar story, a middle-east refugee fleeing danger in one land and living as an alien in another?

Israel’s Serial Soap Opera

So Jacob’s story gains in complexity (once again, not examined here) and the drama continues. He has four wives (not recommended) and twelve sons. (Daughters receive no inheritance and seldom receive mentions in these genealogies).

Many years pass and a married Jacob with children hears of and fears Esau’s approach. Once again Jacob hears from the Lord. In fact, he wrestles with the Lord (a most personal encounter).

Genesis 32:

Here is first mention of “Israel,” because the LORD makes Israel Jacob’s new name.

27 “What is your name?” the man asked.

“Jacob,” he replied.

32:28 וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עֹוד שִׁמְךָ כִּי אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּֽי־שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָֽל׃

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” He said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”

But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there.

Before Israel, God Prevails

Jesus the Messiah proclaimed, “before Abraham was, I AM!” His reference means more than genealogy, place, Law, leadership or religion, per se.

Israel’s father was Isaac, יִצְחָק Yitschaq (laughter), given by the Lord when a childless old couple doubted any possibility of fulfillment of a promise in their old age. In fact, controversy yet remains about the first born of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian.

The continuing drama of Genesis 17 could warrant much more study; but let us concede the meaning of Israel’s name. God prevails. Yes, God prevails even when life drives us in a direction away from God’s promises.

The Lord’s covenant though Abraham is confirmed:

18 So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to You!”

19 But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring.

Before Abraham, many descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth chose between good and evil as they populated God’s creation. And we will see in our next series a continuing theme of disobedience to God by Israel’s descendants as well.

Why would the Lord choose Israel as a people led by Him? Remember Jacob’s new name means, God prevails.

Joseph and Israel’s Eleven Other Sons

We have not yet spoken of the Law of Moses and its defining choices of good and evil. The sojourn of Israel into Egypt and back is yet another story and illustration that God prevails.

If you have never noticed a connection between Genesis and Exodus, you may want to focus on Joseph. We tend to see Israel (Jacob) and then Moses and later David as most important to Israel’s history. Yet we often overlook the role and connection of Israel’s preeminent son, Joseph.

A continuing theme of man since Adam has been disobedience, a theme which we will continue. Moses will give us God’s Law and Joseph will demonstrate God’s goodness.

May the Lord walk with you in the wilderness of your heart.

To be continued in our next series, God willing…

June 30, 2018
By What Authority? – Leaders, Law, Scriptures, God
What authority in A.D. 2018?
Leaders during the time of Jesus’ teaching
Scriptures
God
Jesus Is Equal with God
The Authority of the Son
What authority in A.D. 2018?

Can you come up with a proverb from scripture anymore applicable to leaders of this 21st century?

They self-appoint a leader with strong-arm authority as Caesar for life. Or perhaps the rich and powerful will poison your opposition, if not literally, at least in the press. The evil ones manipulate the election, anointing and celebrating key world leaders. They imprison, assassinate or remove vocal opponents from the spotlight of the multitudes. All new, right?

Certainly not. For such political intrigue preceded the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, not only among its religious authorities, but also across the world in Rome.

Even though the popularity of Jesus, King of the Jews, threatened local leaders, the criminalization and public execution of Jesus could deter others from opposing the authority of the politically appointed.

Leaders in the first century

Israel is not a country; therefore Roman states and authority do not parallel Jewish identification of a former Judah and Israel.

As mentioned in previous posts in this lenten series, Rome’s conquest of the Mediterranean led to installment of Jewish leaders with limited power.

As Rome itself grew from republic to empire a strong military sought alliances with influential kings and leaders, including Herod the Great. Greek influence (Hellenism) gave way to Roman order.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

– Genesis 49:10

Leaders during the time of Jesus’ teaching

After Herod’s death, three sons (two named Herod and Philip) administered separate Roman-ruled provinces. Religious divisions and insurrections also sought to weaken Roman rule by selective terrorism.

The religious/political leaders of Jerusalem divided into three parties, really as much political beliefs as traditional religion. The Lord was not foremost in the philosophies of most of the Jewish elite, which included the Sadducees and Scribes or the more middle class Pharisees. The Essenes were sort of the monks of the day, with limited influence from the wilderness on the religious rule of the cities. (John the Baptist is thought to be one of the Essenes.)

All of this turmoil preceded the birth of the Messiah Jesus during the reign of Herod the Great and continued even beyond Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, ruled by Herod Archelaus.

The natural question to Jesus by leaders on all sides of political and religious belief would of course be, “.. who gave you this authority?” – Matthew 21:23

Leaders of every political persuasion and religious belief had already challenged Jesus frequently in His three years of teaching. Everyone knew of His power, righteousness and positions in matters of Law, the Scriptures and God.

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying,
“What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
Mark 1:
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. – John 1:17

Sadducees believed the Law was literal and authority came though the Priests. Jesus challenged their authority, but not that of the Law.

“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. 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… – Matthew 5:17-20

Jesus had explained to his Disciples:

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.

Religious officials hearing him would likely have understood that Jesus identified them as the weeds in the parable of the weeds.

Pharisees too were far from immune to identification with sin and hypocrisy by Jesus. They had a tendency to impose priestly law and complex interpretation of the Law on the common people. Jesus challenged them.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. – Matthew 23:23

This Jesus, arriving at the gate of Jerusalem, worshiped by huge crowds is no stranger to these religious leaders. In fact, the Son of Man, the Messiah of Scripture is a direct challenge to their own future.

Scriptures

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. – John 5:39-40 NIV

Again, even now, no book is so controversial as the Bible.

Sadducees interpreted the written word of God so literally as to not leave room for the many modes of literary expression. Pharisees loved to spin their own interpretations of God’s word with such complexity as the Lord never intended. They added an oral law of their own making.

The Essenes actually had it right, using inspired exegesis of the Bible.

Jesus told Parables, but also quoted scripture to explain why the religious authorities failed in their teaching of scripture. The religious officials of Jerusalem knew what Jesus had previously spoken during the festival of the booths.

John 7:

… 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. … then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people…

¹³Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching…

19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”

… 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? …

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.’”

… 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

This Jesus of Nazareth was well known in Jerusalem and controversial as well, even prior to His entry into Jerusalem, even after the resurrection of Lazarus.

God

Isaiah 44:22 מָחִיתִי כָעָב פְּשָׁעֶיךָ וְכֶעָנָן חַטֹּאותֶיךָ שׁוּבָה אֵלַי כִּי גְאַלְתִּֽיךָ׃

John:

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.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’

Jesus Is Equal with God

^5:18This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

וְכָל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ לִמּוּדֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְרַ֖ב שְׁלֹ֥ום בָּנָֽיִךְ׃

^6:45It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”

Zechariah 9:9 גִּילִי מְאֹד בַּת־צִיֹּון הָרִיעִי בַּת יְרוּשָׁלִַם הִנֵּה מַלְכֵּךְ יָבֹוא לָךְ צַדִּיק וְנֹושָׁע הוּא עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל־חֲמֹור וְעַל־עַיִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנֹֽות׃

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The Passover Lamb

Matthew 21:23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said,

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
March 24, 2018
Your Mistake – You don’t know the Scriptures – 2

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

Matthew 22:29 NLT

Pharisees

We began this series with the priest of the second Temple Ezra, Looking Back at times preceding the fall of Jerusalem and the first Temple. Continuing with contrasts of Looking Back in real time from our 21st century, we examined a recent history of the Sadducees, whose auspicious beginnings were relatively new in the time of Jesus.

The question of the preceding centuries before Christ addressed who is in charge in a captive Israel, rather than that those in charge must first serve God.

We learned that the Sadducees had only been around since only about 175 years at the time of Christ’s teachings. In fact, the Essenes, like John the Baptist, and also the Pharisees could only trace their roots back to this same time.

Again, think of it in terms of today as looking back to the time of the American Civil War between the divided 33 states of the U.S. Yet the larger question to all generations is: should we look to our leaders for morality?

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” – Matthew 16:6

Sadducees had it wrong, because they did not believe the evidence of the resurrection. They filtered scriptural knowledge of others by their own strict literal Hebrew translation, which may or may not have been accurate. The other two parties of Jewish belief were the Pharisees and the Essenes.

Pharisees and the Essenes

John the Baptist had withdrawn from the towns ruled by Romans and the religious controversies of power. He believed as the Essenes in a continuing spiritual life after death if we forsake our worldly ways in this mortal life.

Matthew 3:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” …

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Even though the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, they also believed more in intellectual wisdom than in following the foolishness of the Lord. The Essenes on the other hand were seeking the Messiah of Scripture, the promised Teacher of All Righteousness. This is why John sent his disciples to Jesus and asked, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” – Matthew 11:3b – NKJV

Pharisees would have seen Jesus agreeing with them on the resurrection as a victory. Yet Jesus cautioned the crowds against their hypocrisy even more than opposing practices of Sadducees, Scribes or other political leaders.

Pharisees had likely been complicite in the elimination of their popular Essene rival, the prophet John, who Herod beheaded. Now the most popular opposition in Israel (which was, of course, a nation no more) was Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps this charismatic itinerant rabbi is no more knowledgeable of Scripture than a common carpenter’s son. He cannot have done the miracles to which the multitudes give witness. They should easily be able to convince the crowds against this Jesus.

Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying,

“Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?”

Not real complementary of these religious leaders of Jerusalem. Jesus did not speak against Herod with the prior intensity of John the Baptist or against their Roman governors. Now the Lord shows the Pharisees a Roman coin and tells them to pay their taxes and ‘give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” – v.21a

Jesus also reminds us: ‘and (give) to God the things that are God’s.” – v.21b

Matthew, the gospel writer, Disciple and former tax collector records the reaction of the Pharisees to Jesus’ answer to the question Pharisees had carefully crafted to trip Him up.

When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. –Matthew 22:22

Thriving on Controversy

Pharisees were common people just like you and me, but ambitious to many faults.

In many ways Pharisees are no different than the politicians and self-absorbed religious leaders of today. They argued amongst themselves endlessly about subtleties of religion and culture they thought most applied in these changed times. They legislated their own interpretations of the Law of Moses to educate their disciples to obey as equal to written Scripture and the Torah.

Pharisees interpreted Law written for Priests and worship into laws forced upon all Jews by additional strict rules of interpretation. These oral laws given to fill in the gaps of what the Law does not prescribe required their own scholarly interpretation, as well as obedient application in everyday life by followers of the Pharisees. A few centuries later these new oral traditions would evolve into various versions of modern judaism.

Jesus challenged the elevation of Pharisees and other religious participants into authority and glory reserved for Almighty God. The Pharisees sought to dethrone Jesus the Nazarene by catching the Lord off guard in His exclusive claims to powers reserved for God. Even the Scribes agreed of His blasphemy. For no man, after all, can forgive sins; but many have witnessed that Jesus spoke these words to those He healed:

Your sins are forgiven…

To be continued…

Your Mistake – You Don’t Know the Power of God

March 11, 2018