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Tag: Psalms

DEATH cries out! from many perspectives
A poem of death’s despair.
From cries of pain

Surrounded by suffering

Entombed in death

Men and women

Hung their heads

In death’s despair.

+

His pain I now know

His suffering I deserve

From this dark place of justice

My sorrow must pierce.

Roger Harned - TalkofJESUS.com
“ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?”
22:1 אֵלִי אֵלִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי רָחֹוק מִֽישׁוּעָתִי דִּבְרֵי שַׁאֲגָתִֽי׃
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“Eli, Eli, lama” are Hebrew words in the Hebrew Bible (Ps. 22:2)
David said “lama azavthani” (why have you forsaken me?) and 
Jesus said “lama sabachthani” (why have you sacrificed me?). 
-source [2016 site not secure]: http://messiah-study.net/sabachthani.htm
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Jesus from the Cross

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.
John 19:32-34 CSB

Zechariah 12:10 וְשָׁפַכְתִּי עַל־בֵּית דָּוִיד וְעַל יֹושֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלִַם רוּחַ חֵן וְתַחֲנוּנִים וְהִבִּיטוּ אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־דָּקָרוּ וְסָפְדוּ עָלָיו כְּמִסְפֵּד עַל־הַיָּחִיד וְהָמֵר עָלָיו כְּהָמֵר עַֽל־הַבְּכֹֽור׃

DEATH! surrounding a Cross

Is your own heart pierced by the cry of death — the death of a loved one, that of your own inevitable failing flesh?

Would your soul cry out even from the grave that the death of God’s own Son should have been your own?

What those imprisoned in the dark dungeons of death must have thought as Jesus cried out as Sacrifice of Blood and Flesh from the Cross!

Who is the Son of Man entering the Jerusalem of the Jews?

In the year of our Lord, 2020, of these last days of a new covenant, I have been sharing the Good News of John.

We cannot cover all of the nuances of reactions to the Messiah entering Jerusalem for the Passover some two thousand years ago, but look back to some of the thoughts of those encountering Jesus between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday which the church celebrates with great joy.

The context of their first century perspective also includes witnesses of many signs of the Messiah including healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, miraculously feeding crowds of followers and raising the dead who include recently Lazarus of Bethany.

The Apostle Philip & the crowds

John 12:

9 Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead.

10 But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

The Apostle Philip, of course, travels with Jesus when the Messiah returns to Bethany. Crowds follow them into Jerusalem and friends of the Apostle hear about Jesus the Rabbi of their friend Philip.

21 So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

23 And Jesus answered them, saying,

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified…

Jesus has much more to say and then this witness before them:

“…and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.”
John 12:27b-28a NASB

Then a voice came out of heaven:

“I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.

Philip witnesses this truly awesome scene after Jesus had said,

“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…
John 12:24 NASB

Thomas: ‘Lord, we know not..’

Don’t you have to love a guy who just has to ask the questions you want to ask the Lord?

Peter was one of these sometimes clueless Disciples who asked Jesus the obvious. We have heard much preaching on Peter, this anointed Apostle of the early church, about his denials and restorations in this Holy Week.

Like Peter, a man of bold faith, Thomas, a man of bold questions often gets a bad wrap for questions and doubt exactly like ours.

Observe the Lord’s Supper from this perspective of Thomas.

The Lord got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself, after which Jesus washes his feet along with the other eleven.

[Later] He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.”

22 The disciples began looking at one another…

33 Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come…’

36 Simon Peter said to Him,

“Lord, where are You going?”

Jesus answered,

“Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”

37 Peter said to Him,

“Lord, why can I not follow You right now?

[Thomas must have also have wondered what Peter so typically blurts out.

Why? We all wonder.]

John 14:

Perhaps Thomas’ perspective was something like this:

‘Jesus was troubled in spirit then Judas left {on an errand for the festival, I guess.’}

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2 CSB – Jesus comforting Disciples about death and resurrection

… And you know where I am going, and you know the way

5 Thomas said to Him,

“Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”

Be honest, fellow saint:

Don’t you have days of doubting the resurrection as well?

Yet though you may quote the assurance which follows of Jesus to Thomas, your faith frequently falters .

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:6 NASB

Again, fellow believer, consider the gravity of Jesus’ exclusive claim.

For the Lord draws a line in the dust we often omit, when witnessing to win others to Christ through our own blurred vision of this life.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life;

no one comes to the Father

but through Me. –

John 14:6

Jesus’ exclusive ____line____ in the dust between death and eternal life

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him,

“Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?

Let’s pause a moment there, fellow saint of Christ:

Has Jesus been so part of your routine that you have failed to know your Lord?

Jesus continues instructing Thomas:

He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say,

‘Show us the Father’?

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?
John 14:10a NASB

The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Between Gethsemane & Doubt

We know that Thomas and the Disciples fail to keep alert in the late hours after Jesus shares the New Covenant Cup of communion and broken bread symbolizing and making memorial of what is about to happen to His broken Body and shed Blood of Sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus prays, is betrayed by Judas as the eleven stand near, then bound and taken away to appear in secret before those who will judge their Messiah. They will then sentence their Redeemer to death on a Cross — ALL in fulfillment of Scripture.

We may self-righteously go on about Peter denying Jesus as he also attempts to run away from death for a time.

In fact, all of us may only escape death — for a time.

CHRIST DIED!

The Apostle John relates more details of these events worth your perspective on DEATH from the darkness of these days.

DEATH then Resurrection

From the depth of isolation and despair

of darkness and fear

of the judgment of your dust

in the grave —

beyond the — line — of hope

found only in Jesus

we peer dimly from the depths

of our soul seeking the Light

of the Resurrection —

the Way of Truth

to eternal life

born anew

in a raised body and soul

to the glory of the LORD

our Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

John 20:

Perspectives of these first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection

Mary of Magdala (a small village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee) discovers Jesus’ tomb EMPTY!

“They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
Mary tells Peter and John

They all return to the tomb with the sealed stone rolled away.

“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

“Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” [My great teacher, master.]

Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Later Appearance to the Disciples

When it was evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews.

Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them,

“Peace to you.“

20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21 Jesus said to them again,

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.”

22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit…

Did you miss the RESURRECTION OF JESUS?

Don’t some of the most important things in life often happen when you least expect?

Returning later to the scene of the Disciples (but not all of them) in the locked room), Thomas returns.

He missed it! (and perhaps was somewhat sceptical when he heard the witness of his fellow Disciples).

“We’ve seen the Lord!”

“Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Eight more days pass

What disappointment. To have followed Jesus the Messiah as He walked the earth for three years of His ministry prior to His fulfillment of Scripture. AND you missed HIS return!

His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst…

“Peace to you.“

And the Lord, turning to Thomas,

“Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

“My Lord and my God!”

And yet again…

John tells us:

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book…

John 21:

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias…

12 Jesus said to them,

“Come and have breakfast.”

None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise.

14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

CHRIST IS RISEN!

— a traditional opening to a sunrise service on Resurrection Sunday or other Easter Sunday worship.

And the joyous response of the congregation of worshipers:

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

ALLELUIA – ἁλληλουϊά

praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah!

יָהּ הָלַל

Yet without DEATH! resurrection remains irrelevant

— that is, until the inevitable inescapable day.

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN!

You will die — your body returning to dust…

And your soul — the spirit that is you in this ever-so-brief mortal life…

What will the judgment and resurrection be like for your fallen flesh and soul forgotten?

Jesus reveals even more to John long after the deaths of all the other Apostles.

apokalypsis Iēsous Christos

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.

And He placed His right hand on me, saying,

“Do not be afraid;

I am the first and the last, and the living One;

and I was dead, and behold,

I am alive forevermore,

and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Revelation 21:

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

אָמֵן אָמֵן

amen, amen.
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Even so, Come Lord Jesus.
AMEN.
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April 11, 2020
Are we children of Ephraim? – Psalm 78
A child of blessing

Ephraim was the second child of Zaphnath-Paaneah and Asenath. His father’s high position second only to Pharaoh gave Ephraim every advantage as he was brought up with all the riches of the palace.

You may recognize him as brother of Manasseh and both brothers known as sons of Joseph, son of Israel (Jacob).

He was much like the church we know in the US now. These sons and their families grew up with practically everything a man could desire. But one change in leadership would relegate them to lesser roles before they lost faith in the wilderness.

Even though they had followed the Lord when Moses returned to save Israel from slavery, during forty years in the wilderness each year of yearning for former days turned their hearts from the Lord.

Think about their roles as followers of God in the way Asaph contemplates years later. Think also closer to home, considering your own push-back from faithfulness from the Lord who would save you.

Psalm 78
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 God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel
 A Contemplation of Asaph.
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9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11 And forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.

How like US

Forget for a moment your own heritage.

Perhaps your forefathers came to a land of promise or a home of the free. They may have bought passage to new hope in a land of milk and honey, a hopeful homeland of riches.

Or perhaps they fled in huddled masses from persecution, slavery and imminent death. Oh, the hope of our poor and tired aliens embarking on a pilgrimage of promise.

Who will you trust if not the Lord?

Of Ephraim’s blessing

Note centrality of Ephraim & Manasseh, Joseph’s sons to the promised land and a divided people of the LORD

12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

Do you, even in your days of difficulty, remember what the Lord has done for you and your fathers in days past, how the Lord has saved you?

13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.

Here is Asaph’s embrace of the Lord’s blessing many years prior to his own life in the Kingdom of David.

How like the blessings thousands of years later of the ‘new world,’ a new land to conquer and colonize. Ephraim was one blessed by the Lord, but the promise of the Lord was long forgotten.

Sin and Rebellion

Egypt or England will call it rebellion, or course. But your journey of hope from oppression must remain in the hand of the Lord.

We know in your heart that our forefathers were not without sin. The cause of our exodus from a former existence was not so righteous as our national celebrations would have us believe.

Though Asaph laments of his founding fathers, we could well apply their rebellion to our own hearts.

But they sinned even more against Him
By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
Psalm 78:17 NKJV

18 And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”

The PERSON of GOD

If God IS a Person, then how does He feel about your sin?
How does God the Father react to the sin of His child?
Roger Harned – talkofJesus.com on Psalm 78

21 Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious;

So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.

I’ll own it – I’m a rebel like Ephraim. Lord forgive me.

And remember this, along with His many blessings to our forefathers, your own faithful or rebellious children, and what the Lord does for you.

23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24 Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
25 Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.

Do you remember the miracles of the Lord’s blessings?

Here we are so blessed more than most, yet craving the past and coveting the riches of others. Are we not like Joseph’s sons – Ephraim, the most blessed, whose rebellion failed to trust in the Lord?

The Father’s wrath

29 So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not deprived of their craving;

But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.

How like the children of Ephraim we are!

We plea to the Lord our God, ‘Father, give us this one thing we must have.’ Then, we think, because our Father has blessed us we will tell him of our next desire for blessing.

32 In spite of this they still sinned,
And did not believe in His wondrous works.

33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.

34 When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.

Have you taught your children?
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SPOILED CHILDREN
A meditation of J.C. Ryle 4 min. 23 sec.
John Charles Ryle was born of well-to-do parents at Macclesfield England, 10 May 1816, appointed first Bishop of Liverpool. "His successor in Liverpool described him as ‘the man of granite with the heart of a child.’ - source
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Have you told your children of blessing that God our Father, the Lord, must be their Lord or they will suffer His wrath?

Do you fear death and judgment (or even judgment, then death)?

In fear have you promised God one thing, then in your comfort forgotten your Father?

Psalm 78: (cont.)

35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.

36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

A Father’s love
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Exodus 34:6 Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out:
 “The LORD, the LORD God,
 is compassionate and gracious,
 slow to anger,
 abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
 7 maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations,
 forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.

 Yet He will by no means excuse the guilty;
 He will visit the iniquity of the fathers
 on their children and grandchildren
 to the third and fourth generations.”
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Do you, forgetful unfaithful claimant of the Lord, remember your repentance?

Have you returned to the way of your sin, though your fathers repented and told you the faithfulness of the Lord?

The Father’s compassion

וְ֭לִבָּם לֹא־נָכֹ֣ון עִמֹּ֑ו וְלֹ֥א נֶ֝אֶמְנ֗וּ בִּבְרִיתֹֽו׃
Psalm 78:37 WLC

But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

Psalm 78: (continued)

52 But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55 He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

Testing the Lord

56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58 They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

Does any sin of ours deserve the wrath of God our Father more than our worship of idol after lifeless idol, while we fail to remember our Father and Shepherd?

Consequence of the Sin of Ephraim

When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men..
Psalm 78:59-60 KJV

The Very Presence of God left the Tabernacle of worship for Israel, because of their rebellion.

Psalm 78: (CSB)

67 He also rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.

God then chose Judah

70 He also chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds…

… He brought him
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.
- Are we children of Ephraim?
- Children of Moses or of David?
WHO HAS THE LORD CHOSEN?

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: yes Israel was chosen and blessed.

Joseph, who came to be known in Egypt as Zaphnath-Paaneah, was blessed over his eleven brothers who finally bowed down to him.

Then the LORD through a final blessing by Joseph’s father Israel blessed his sons, Manasseh the eldest, but giving the greater blessing to Ephraim.

Yet through disobedience of the sons of Ephraim Israel’s blessing fell upon Judah.

God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness – Psalm 78

And after this all of Israel and its ten tribes were given over to their enemies Judah remained.

But in time by their own wickedness, refusal to hear the Lord’s Prophets and turning against the Lord their God, the LORD also gave Judah over to its enemies.

A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help – Psalm 79

Another Psalm of Asaph – a short reading of 13 verses

Then the Lord brought back a remnant to Judah. They again discovered the Law of Moses in the Temple the Lord had abandoned.

Yet again after a short time they again turned against the Lord their God. And for a time no word of the Lord was heard in all Israel. Again as Israel, Judah failed to listen to the Lord’s Prophets.

“Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great, even beyond the borders of Israel.’
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of me? says the LORD of Armies to you priests, who despise my name.”
Malachi 1:5-6a CSB

1:6 בֵּן יְכַבֵּד אָב וְעֶבֶד אֲדֹנָיו וְאִם־אָב אָנִי אַיֵּה כְבֹודִי וְאִם־אֲדֹונִים אָנִי אַיֵּה מֹורָאִי אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאֹות לָכֶם הַכֹּֽהֲנִים בֹּוזֵי שְׁמִי וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמֶּה בָזִינוּ אֶת־שְׁמֶֽךָ׃
Masoretic text of Malachi 1:6

The Son before Abraham

The Good News of the Son – John 3:

“For God loved the world in this way:

He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

Do you, sons and daughters of blessing, sons and daughters of great blessings through the Lord our God, believe in the Son of the Father, the Messiah Jesus, the Son of Man and only Son of God in whom you have eternal life rather than God’s wrath, as we well deserve?

What must you do?
February 29, 2020
WE Have Been Here Before – in Awe of JESUS
We show no awe of Jesus in our no-salt ‘christian’ lives. Oh, perhaps in a stanza of singing, a sentence of sermon or a moment of compassion in our encounter with another; but for the most part we Christians fail to show any awe of Jesus in our worship or daily lives.

Our church and yours will most likely witness the “aahhh” of a baby born in Bethlehem directed for our children. Ah, not awe — the small sprinkling of Christ for the community, rather than Spirit led worship of the Christ who still lives.

AWE!

The forgotten awe of the Lord God witnessed in the past becomes the superstition of today’s disbelief.

When we read of the awe of Jesus we quickly overlook it. How easily we miss a personal awe of the Lord.

So just for a moment put yourself in the sandals of some witnesses we missed in Jesus’ introduction. (For the Gospel shows us much more than the ‘ah’ of a babe in a manger.)

The Gospel of Matthew

1:20b … an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream… 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him.

Note: Maji: Matthew 2:1 A caste of wise men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science

2:2 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

The Gospel Mark

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

The Good News (εὐαγγέλιον) of Luke

1:8 … he was serving as priest before God… 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah…

26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David…

2:9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid…

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Luke 2:14 NASB – Strong’s G2107 – eudokia Blueletterbible.org

33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

Does Jesus still amaze you after hearing HIS STORY each year?

Do you hear the awe in these witnesses of Christ? And like them do hold HIM in awe as well?

34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—

Prophecy – Simeon recalls and applies prophecy of the Messiah to Jesus, the Son of Man born in a manger in Bethlehem.

The Gospel of John

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.
John 1:2 KJV of Christ Jesus ‘this one, visibly present here

The Lamb of God in a manger

The Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “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 is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

John the Baptist was in awe of Jesus. Are you?

51 And He said to him [Nathanael], “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Awesome! Truly, the Gospel records many instances of awe connected to Christ Jesus.

What is Awe?

φόβος – phobos

You know the greek root and its connection to fear, dread, terror and that which strikes terror.

Yet we marginalize our phobias even of miracles. And awe in this sense startles our sense of the natural. For our human understanding must be finite and understanding of the infinite baffles us.

We mention the fear of the shepherds who witnessed the awe of angels at Jesus’ birth. Yet seldom will we note the supernatural motivations for the multitudes of followers who subsequently had to see and hear the Messiah Jesus.

In just one scene here in Nain, imagine yourself as part of the crowd gathered for the funeral of this man. Jesus, of whom you have heard, walks up and touches the coffin.

“Young man, I say to you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying,
“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and,
“God has visited His people!”
Luke 7:14-16

Luke further records witness of the first century church.

Everyone kept feeling a sense G5401 of awe; G5401 and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
Acts of the Apostles 2:43 – awe = Literally: fear was occurring to every soul

Fear as Consequence of Awe

We frequently live in fear during this brief mortal journey of our life.

Do we fear man and circumstance or the Lord?

Therefore here this one example of awe from the Hebrew Bible [Old Testament] as wisdom for our fear.

33:8 יִֽירְאוּ מֵיְהוָה כָּל־הָאָרֶץ מִמֶּנּוּ יָגוּרוּ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵֽל׃
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
Psalm 33:8 Masoretic Text; NASB
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To be continued...
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December 15, 2019