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Tag: Gospel

The Gospel is Good News to all who will humbly accept Jesus and listen to His teaching.

We refer to the four books of the Bible which tell the story of Jesus Christ as the Gospels. These books are named for their authors: Matthew, a Jewish Apostle; Mark, a disciple of the first generation who recorded accounts of Peter and the Twelve; Luke, a gentile Physician and disciple of the first century; and John, one of the Twelve Jewish Apostles chosen by Jesus.

  • Interrupting Jesus 12 – interrupting sin

    Interrupting Jesus 12 – interrupting sin

    `…  to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy…  build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince… the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. Daniel 9:24-25 KJV excerpt

    I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

    Jesus answering the religious leaders. Luke 5:32 KJV

    The following is the conclusion of a 12-part series on Interrupting Jesus.

    What interruption are you expecting to your day today? What interruption to your mission and ‘to do’ list? Who has stepped into time you thought was your own?

    Will you take time, like a loving and merciful God, to love those who get in the way of what you had planned for today?

    Jesus made people the focus of His time. No sinner was too unimportant to receive His love and healing. You are not so important or unimportant for God Incarnate to grant you grace, forgiving your sins.

    The LORD had interrupted men like Abram, Moses, David and the Prophets. The LORD made covenant and promise. He has given the Law to Israel and made judgment on nations. God IS the LORD!

    Why would the eternal GOD interrupt the time of history, even the measured mortality of one man or one woman?

    The LORD is Almighty, yet God loves the world – the sons and daughters of the generations – enough to interrupt the rebelliousness of our sin with the love, mercy and grace of a Perfect Heavenly Father.

    God interrupted the sin of mankind in the Person of Christ Jesus.

    Jesus loved every sinner who interrupted His mission and ministry; from His mother at the wedding where He turned water into wine, to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, to the tax collector Zaccheus in the tree, to you and me.

    Jesus Christ loves the people of the world with a personal love and forgiveness of God the Father.

    Every generation has looked for God or selfishly ignored God.

    The LORD may not have appeared to your grandfather Abraham and your father and mother. The LORD may not have promised a home to your twelve children in a land of milk and honey. The LORD may not have given your leader the Law or appeared to your High Priest. The LORD may not have called you to rebuke kings and nations or given you writing on the walls of history.

    For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:17

    The LORD God is known. The LORD IS. In the Person of Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God is present to those who believe, repent and obey His will; those who believe in Him, as a faithful child follows a loving Father.

    Ungodly men seek to do as they please and lead other men into their own sinful ambitions. Israel and all nations look to strong men to lead us into a promise of land and riches for our own ambitious pleasures. False prophets and evil leaders of men will seek your sacrifice for their gain of land and riches.

    Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple had been destroyed. September 21, 520 B.C., Temple rebuilding resumes and is completed in 515 B.C., only to be destroyed once again. A faithful exiled Hebrew Prophet had predicted this and more from Babylon (modern day Iraq) under Nebuchadnezzar and later under Cyrus II of Persia (modern day Iran) who overthrew Babylon and allowed some of the Hebrew captives to return to Judah.

    Daniel, Prophet of God, lives a godly and high priestly life in a foreign land from about 605-535 B.C. Here the testimony of God through Daniel:

    Daniel 9:

    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 to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years…

    “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

    5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.

    6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame…

    11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside,refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity…

    15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly…

    The Israel of Moses and Joshua had not yet received the true promise of the promised land. Jacob and the twelve sons of Israel did not reap the harvest of the leading of God. David and even Solomon would suffer defeats of a mighty kingdom and evil kings to follow did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

    Prophets of the LORD, like Jeremiah and Daniel had warned the people of their sin, yet like us… like those leaders of defeated Judah who lived comfortable in their ‘religion’… most souls will not have the ears to hear the LORD. Israel did not expect the kind of Messiah the LORD had sent to personally give accountability for our sins. Jesus was not a leader like them.

    Five hundred years after the Prophet Daniel, Herod the Great [37-4 B.C.] envisioned himself as the kind of King Israel should have to restore the kingdom. Many others recognized the true godliness of a Prophet like John the Baptist.

    John 1:

    19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

    20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

    During the time of the Messiah in the Person of Jesus Christ, men of Judah, living under the strong rule of a Roman Empire, expected a Messiah King to restore their land to the glory of David and Solomon. Jesus Christ, a Son of Man, came to us that all might be restored to the glory of God by receiving forgiveness of our sins through His Holy and Perfect Sacrifice.

    The LORD God is just. The Lord God is a loving Father. Christ Jesus IS sacrificed for us. He IS risen to return once more to judge all souls in the Light, forgiving those who repent and turn back to the righteous LORD.

    Three years of earthly ministry of Jesus Christ lead to the gates of Jerusalem more than once, a final time as the Passover Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind on a Cross. An interruption of the centuries and generations by Almighty God gives rise to all nations and all mankind – hope to all the generations for the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with the LORD God, our Father in Heaven.

    Not only does Jesus interrupt history with a resurrection of His soul, as one might expect; but the greatest interruption of all: Jesus rises from the grave of death in the body and appears to more than five hundred over a time of fifty days!

    The Prophets and the Psalmist had spoken and written of the Messiah, who would be King of the Jews. The Scriptures had spoken of the King to whom all will bow down. It was not to happen on earth, in the brief lifetime of Jesus of Nazareth or in yours or mine. Yet Scripture and the promises of the LORD will be fulfilled.

    Another interruption is yet to come:

    Daniel is not the only true Prophet to see the handwriting on the walls of what the LORD will surely do. Read more of the Prophets about the day of the LORD.

    Jesus Christ, our Lord, also warned of His return on the clouds. The Apocalypse written at the close of the New Testament is well-known to the world as an interruption of history yet to come, though the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John is little understood even by believers.

    Do you live your life in expectation of the return of Christ our Lord on the clouds?

    Revelation 21

    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “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.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end…

    Do you give the souls who interrupt your day the same love and compassion Christ Jesus has given us by showing a most personal interest in our forgiveness of sins?

    Revelation 22 KJV

    11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

    12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

    13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

    14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

    LORD, interrupt our mortality with your own loving immortality.

    Amen.

  • Interrupting Jesus 10 – a child of God

    Interrupting Jesus 10 – a child of God

    Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. – Proverbs 20:11 KJV

    The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Proverbs 23:24 KJV

    Before we look at the role of children and a rather well-known interruption of Jesus, I would like for us to briefly consider the role of Jesus as Son of God.

    GOD, the LORD Jehovah, is Creator of all men, Father of all mankind and Ruler of all creation.

    I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. – Isaiah 43:15 KJV

    In a sense we are all sons and daughters of God; yet Jesus IS God Incarnate, a begotten Son of God the Father by a woman born to man.

    It hadn’t been so many years since Jesus as a young man had became known to the rulers of the Temple.

    Luke 2:40-52 English Standard Version (ESV)

    40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

    Just a couple of quick questions for you as a 21st century parent:

    • Do you spend time in the Bible with your children so that they will become strong in the Lord and filled with wisdom?
    • Do you regularly observe the teaching traditions of the church with your children?

    The Boy Jesus in the Temple

    41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it…

    Joseph and Mary trained up Jesus in the way He should go, that when the time came for a young man to seek the favor of God that their young adult would obey the Lord.

    46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers…

    52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

    The leaders would be older men with years of understanding from scripture and from life. Jesus is now just thirty years old, a relatively young teacher at the beginning of His ministry, who though not married is of age most other men have sons of their own. This iterate Rabbi is not the stately grandfather who sits in the Temple or Synagogues only to share their wisdom of age.

    The Apostle John tells a story of how Jesus uses the faith of a young boy to bring many to faith.

    Jesus is teaching the crowds. The Apostles are serving Him and ministering to the crowds. It has been centuries since the Kingdom of Israel. It has been centuries since the miracles of the Prophets.

    Which generation will see the restoration of the Kingdom, the people ask? Which generation after all these will see the coming of the Christ?

    The people followed Jesus to hear the Lord teach and to witness His righteousness and power and healing.

    John 6:

    3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples…  5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

    Imagine that your son comes to you and says, “I want to go with the neighbors who are going to see Jesus of Nazareth teach on the mountainside.”

    “Just a moment young man,” says the good Jewish mother. “Not without some food and water you don’t.” And the mom packs her son a lunch and sends him out with it and skin of cold water from their well for the long day ahead.

    “Now off with you” the mother encourages her son, “and be back by dark.”

    Returning to John’s Gospel:

    8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 

    Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

    It is no small role this young man who wanted to see Jesus played in the faith of the five thousand.

    Another interruption: a father coming to Jesus for the sake of his young son:

    Luke 9:

    38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child…

    How many parents would willingly press through the crowds surrounding this Jesus Christ, a superstar descended from the mountain, just to have an uncontrollable child healed?

    “…  Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

    How every loving parent would love to have the Lord give your suffering child back to you. Jesus is not here only to feed the five thousand on the mountaintop. Jesus is present for even a child in need. Jesus IS here even for you.

    Jesus’ Disciples often thought of Him as a leader of men, here only to restore Israel and heal the faithful. How often we are wrong about the Messiah.

    Mark 10:

    13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

    15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

    16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

    First century families and the religious establishment often thought the teaching of Rabbis was important only to men, especially men of learning; certainly not to women (let her husband instruct her) or to children (who were only to obey without understanding).

    Jesus most often used the relationship of God as Father, a loving Father; therefore our Lord showed children the kindness of a loving Father in Heaven.

    Is it not important for us to lead our children by the example of our compassion?

    Jesus welcomed children to hear scripture, to receive healing, even to receive life. Children have so much value for a time that will last beyond a generation of our own.

    Christ Jesus welcomes woman and men to God’s Kingdom with joy. He teaches us to have a simple faith. Let Jesus be your Lord, as a loving father would be your parent.

    Men now relegate religion to the attention of the woman of the house ‘for the instruction of the children.’ Christianity is for children and moms, not working dads who know better than to bow down before anyone (let alone God). How sad for our broken homes that we would send children to Jesus and not hear the very Word of God for ourselves.

    We are a hard-hearted and sinful generation in a way more lost than those to whom Jesus first came on the mountainsides of Galilee and in the hills of Jerusalem.

    • When was the last time you interrupted GOD with a childlike praise?
    • When will your week finally conclude with your reverent worship of our loving Father?
    • When will we humbly bow down to GOD our Father and have the pure joy of Jesus as our Lord?

    How long, O man, will you count your days as if they are your own?

    Mark 10:24

    And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!

     

  • Interrupting Jesus 7 – a lowly woman

    Interrupting Jesus 7 – a lowly woman

    Luke 7:

    36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

    Nice. One of the leading men of your church asks you to dinner. Jesus did just what we would do: He accepted.

    37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment…

    alabaster-jarYou go to a nice house of one of the leading citizens in town and chit-chat while the food is being prepared. You begin enjoying your dinner and conversation; but like so many times during Jesus’ mission, some of the common people in town hear about the Messiah’s dinner plans and just show up uninvited.

    38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

    Now what?

    39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

    You are trying to convince an important religious leader that He needs to believe that you are the One God has sent to Israel as the Messiah. (If you or I had been sent all we would need here is a small miracle; or perhaps we would make a more persuasive logical argument from the Law or the Prophets, like so many times before.)

    Jesus (as we know) doesn’t deal with interruptions by people the same way you and I do, fortunately.

    He lifts up the lowly and humble and rebukes the high and arrogant.

    Jesus speaks the truth in love to his host.

    40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

    (Jesus has a way of telling stories which convicts softly.)

    The impact of a parable is in the love for the hearers convicted.

    41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

    43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.”

    And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

    [Note now the gentle body language of our Lord as He turns to the lowly woman, glorifying her, while He speaks the gentle truth of His rebuke for His host, the Pharisee, Simon.]

    Woman annointing Jesus' feet Olejek44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

    Three strikes for His host: no water, no kiss of greeting, no anointing. Here is where we fail in our everyday dealings with ordinary guests. Simon is most certainly convicted, while Jesus points to the humility of the woman who interrupted them as a better hostess, even though she is a sinner looked down on by society.

    47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much.

    But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

    • Do you dwell comfortably at a table of those with little to forgive?
    • Do you consequently lack compassion for those whose sins seem worse than your own?

    48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

    [The dinner and Bible study continues. The host and invited guests wonder at the compassion of Jesus as He sends this sinful woman away.]

    49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

    50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

    Shalom. Your faith in the Messiah Jesus has saved you.