The Acts of the Apostles 54

Subtitle: The Justification of Believers

Acts 13:33-41.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 10, 2023.

We are picking up today part of the way through Paul's address in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch.  They had joined the group's meeting on the Sabbath, and have been asked to share with the assembly.  Paul takes advantage of the situation to declare that Jesus is the Messiah.

However, Paul emphasizes their, our, spiritual need, the need to have our sins forgiven, and to be justified before God.  We will talk more about what this means.  Yet, imagine having all of the sins of your past removed from your account before God because of Jesus!

It is amazing to me how many Western people have some kind of belief in karma.  They think that if they do enough good things to outweigh their bad things, then they should be acceptable.  Of course, the Eastern religions posit reincarnation because they know that such a work would be difficult to achieve.

However, the Bible says that we will only have one mortal life to live and then we will face judgment.  There will not be an innumerable number of attempts to get it right.

Rather than the image of scales, we should see the image of cleanliness.  I grew up in central Idaho where there is not much pavement and lots of dirt.  I loved the look of white clothes, and white shoes.  However, they would very quickly be stained with dirt, pitch, etc.   The real question is this.  How can I get it sparkly clean again?

It is good to do good things, but that cannot clean the stain of the bad things you have done.  How can I be cleansed?  How can I be justified before God so that, when I'm standing before God, and I've done all of this, He may justify me?

This is why Paul's sermon was important to them that day, and is still important to us today.  It is through Jesus that we can be forgiven and justified.  You can have the help of Jesus by the Holy Spirit to battle sin in your life and move forward justified.  For the Christian, death itself becomes the final stroke against sin in our life.  It is God's final help to us.  "Here son, let Me help you."  For the believer, death is not a loss; it is a gain, a promotion, a victory!

Let's look at our passage.

Paul continues preaching in Antioch of Pisidia (v. 33-41)

Paul had earlier revealed that the man Jesus had come forth as had been promised by God to David.  Jesus was the One that God promised David would come from his offspring.  This Jesus was the ultimate Seed of David, and was now God's Savior for Israel, and even for the Gentiles.  They were there that day to tell them this good news.

Yet, the good news also has some attendant bad news.  The rulers and those who dwell in Jerusalem crucified him.  What?  But, don't fear.  God has raised Jesus from the dead.  He now has provided salvation for all who will believe on him. 

This is all as the Old Testament Scriptures had promised.  God had promised to send a Savior and, even in the face of their faithlessness, He had done it.  In fact, God did it in a way that actually used their sinfulness to accomplish it.  Jesus had to die in order to pay the price.  It wasn't right what they did, but it accomplished a good thing because of the love of God.

This is part of our human condition; it is not just a Jewish thing.  Christianity was never intended to be a list of 10 things you have to do, or 7 sacraments that will keep you good.  It is a relationship with God where He puts His Spirit within you.  We are now enabled to walk with God because Jesus has laid down his life for us.  In fact, Jesus has laid himself down for us as a foundation that we build on, or a road that we walk on.  Each step I take in Christ, I am walking on him.  It is holy ground, and I had better take my shoes off.  That is how much he loves us.

Paul uses the phrase "raised up" 7 times in this passage.  One time about David, and six times about Jesus.  It starts out by referring to him being raised up as a Savior, just like God raised up David to be a king in the place of Saul, just like God raised up prophets to speak to the sins of Israel.  It is a metaphor that refers to the power of God coming on a person and enabling them in any particular task.  However, it has a double meaning.  It also hints at the raising up of the resurrection, which God did with Jesus.  In fact, Paul could have gone on to emphasize that Jesus was raised up even higher at his ascension, into the heavens and at God's throne! 

Paul then reminds them of some of those Old Testament prophecies starting with Psalm 2:7.  This psalm opens with the kings and rulers of the earth planning to cast off the LORD and His Anointed One (Messiah).  It doesn't detail their plan, but quickly moves to a rebuke from God. 

By the way, the Apostles in Acts 4 quoted these first three verses as talking about their day: Herod, Caiaphas, Pilate, and others plotting to get rid of Jesus.

Yet, Psalm 2:4-9 shows us that God will not change His mind, regardless of what the kings and rulers do to cast off Messiah.  Verse 6 literally says, "I, I have set My king on My holy hill!"  The word for set has the sense of being poured out, and in this context, would be a reference to the installation ceremony, coronation, of the king where he is anointed for the position he now takes.   Yet, also notice the emphasis that God gives to Himself.  He doesn't care what the great powers of the earth think.  He is the great God whom no one can overrule.  Four times He emphasizes His activity, His choice for Messiah, and His place for Messiah to rule.

Verse 7 then has the Messiah declaring what the Father has told him.  "You are My Son, Today I have begotten you."  The begotten language is not saying that Jesus is a created being, or that God literally procreated and made him.  In the context, you can see that the Anointed One is being rejected and cast off.  He already exists, and is even made to be king.  The begetting is connected to his installation as king.  Something has happened during the rebellion of the kings of the earth that has brought Messiah into a new relationship with the Father.

All of this is a direct connection to God's covenant promise to David in 2 Samuel 7.  He told David that one from his line would not only inherit the forever kingdom from God, but he would be a son to God and God would be a father to him.  Upon the resurrection, Jesus now stood as the immortal, but human, son of David who could inherit all things.  He had become the perfect Redeeming King for Israel and the Nations of the earth.

I think that we have a misunderstanding about Jesus.  We can think that his interpretation of the Old Testament came out of left field and was completely unforeseen.  However, it is clear, as you walk through David's psalms, the prophets of the Old Testament, and certain portions of the Law of Moses, that some of these people understood far more than we give them credit.

Of course, Jesus was always the Son of God in that He dwelt with him from the beginning in relationship.  Yet, something unique happened on the event of His resurrection that no amount of being divine could replace.  He was now the perfected, immortal son of David, son of Abraham, Son of Noah, Son of Adam, who could inherit all things.

Of course, any age since the first century can be seen as raging against God and His Anointed.  We can see this today in our republic.  Why do all the powerful people in our land rage against God and His Messiah, Jesus?  Why do they imagine a vain thing, that they can cast off any restraints of godliness in our society?  They project that they shall cast off Jesus, his people, and any restraint on their future plans.  That is today's spirit, and that is an antichrist spirit, an anti-Christ spirit.

Yet, today as well as in the first century, the God of the heavens laughs.  You don't have a say in this, no matter how powerful you are among humans.

Verse 12 of Psalm 2 warns the kings of the earth to kiss the son lest they perish in the day that his wrath is kindled just a little.  So, we live in a time where the wrath of God is paused, and men, both small and great, are given opportunity to make their peace with Jesus, to come to terms with God's choice of Jesus, which we cannot overturn.

The next passage that Paul quotes is Isaiah 55:3.  Though he is continuing to talk about Jesus, this begins the explanation of what he means by the "sure mercies of David."  Paul clearly sees it speaking of the resurrection of the Messiah, which Psalm 2 doesn't reveal.  Notice that Isaiah 55:3 speaks of us coming to God in a way that our "soul" will live, and we will receive an everlasting covenant with Him.  Whatever the sure mercies of David are, Isaiah saw them as connected to our souls living and entering into an everlasting covenant with God.

Paul then goes to Psalm 16 to show us what David would have considered to be the sure mercies that God had promised him.  This psalm has David praising God for the hope that he has.  He particularly has the belief, a promise from God, that his soul will not be left in Sheol, or the grave (vs. 10).

Just like Job (see Job 19:25-26), David believed that he would be resurrected some day.  His destiny was not to be stuck in a spiritual holding place called the grave.  Yet, he also believes that God will not allow His Holy One even to see corruption.  Either David is speaking of himself as God's holy one, or he is referencing the promised one that was to come from his line, the Messiah.

Of course, Paul argues that the people of Israel know that David died, went into the grave, and decayed.  Either God's sure mercies to David failed, or David spoke of himself being released from the grave some day and the Messiah not even seeing decay, which implies a death.

The Psalms as a prophetic collection lays forth the idea that the promises of God to David would be filled in one of his seed who would be the perfect Anointed of God.  The Psalms lay out the case of God raising up David, the failure of David, the promise of God to David of an Anointed Son, and the promised fulfillment.  This is why the Psalms end in a collection of praises, Hallelujah Choruses!  Jesus is the Greater David, just as he is the Greater Moses, the Greater Adam, etc...  He is just Greater!

It was Jesus who saw no corruption.  On top of this, at the resurrection of Jesus, we are told in Matthew 27:52-53 that many Old Testament saints were resurrected at that time as a kind of first fruits of the resurrection of the righteous.  Most likely, David was in this group.  So, God kept His word completely to David in the person of Jesus.

If David knew that these things would happen, how come the religious leaders of the days of Jesus didn't?  It is the same for us.  When you spend too much time going after the things of the flesh (but in a religious way, mind you), you start to lose and forget God's word.  You stop understanding the things of God and hand down confusion to the next generation, and it continues.  Lest we become despondent, remember that the world isn't falling apart.  It is simply falling into place.  God is teaching us through the events that happen, both good and bad.

Having established the facts of what Israel has done, what God had promised them, and then what God had done in their day, Paul moves to what this has to do with them, or anyone for that matter.  They were 500 miles away from Jerusalem.  How does this impact them.  We are not only thousands of miles away from Jerusalem, we are also separated from these things by nearly 2,000 years.  So, what does this mean?

God has a message for Israel and for the nations of the world.  That message has not ceased to be relevant all of these years later.  Through Jesus, anyone can put their faith in him and be forgiven of all their sins.  The word is literally to have your sins removed, like something that is so sticky that only God can get it off of you.  Jesus has become the perfect Savior, and the good news is that he is a savior for Israel and the Gentiles.

In verse 39, he also speaks of justification.  The word essentially means to be made right, or just, in God's sight.  Some have used the play on words, just-as-if you had never sinned, to define it.  However, the biblical picture of us standing with God on the shores of the New Heavens and the New Earth (see Revelation 21-22) is not so much that it is as if we had never sinned.  It is more that we have come out of a conquered place, and have been restored.  That restored place is much stronger and powerful than the place Adam and Eve stood in back in the Garden.  They were innocent of the knowledge of good and evil.  We will not be innocent children, easily tricked.  Rather, we will be powerful sons of God, full of the knowledge of what evil has to offer, and what the love of God means to us.  There will be no Satan in that day, but if there was, no one would listen to him.  This is justification. 

We should note that Paul speaks about things that the Law of Moses could not justify.  The Law was not intended to justify anyone, but there is a certain kind of justification within it.  Yet, the justification that Jesus offers justifies everything about us.

Paul ends with a warning to the people about rejecting Jesus.  It is interesting that Psalm 2 also ended with a warning to the kings and rulers of the earth.  The last line of that psalm reads, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him [God's Messiah]."  Of course, that is the question isn't it.  What will you do with Jesus?  Paul quotes from Habakkuk 1:5, which addresses those who are despising God and His work.  Am I a despiser?  No matter how gracious God is, and how far He goes to remove our sin and make it possible for us to be right with Him, there is no grace for those who despise God and His Anointed Savior, Jesus.  Isaiah says, "There is no hope for the wicked."  Habakkuk says to the despisers, "marvel and perish."  These are strong words, but when you realize all that God has suffered and gone through in order to save them, and yet they reject Him, then it makes complete sense.

We cannot have salvation, the sure mercies of God, redemption, forgiveness, and justification without true repentance.  The door to repentance is the presentation of the person and work of Jesus.  To reject Jesus is to take your stand against God and His Anointed King.  It is also to take your stand against your own hope of salvation.

"Eternity, eternity, where will you spend eternity?"  Another song says, "What will you do with Jesus?  Neutral you cannot be.  Some day your heart will be saying, 'What will he do with me?' "  Now is your turn to judge Jesus, but know that some day very soon it will be him judging you.  Yet, in his mercy, God gives us time and many chances to come to our senses.  O praise God for all of His mercies!

Justification of Believers audio

The Acts of the Apostles 53

Subtitle: Far from Home

Acts 13:13-32.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 27, 2023.

Today, we are looking at Paul's first missionary journey into Gentile lands.  Of course, there were others with him, but he is the common thread throughout them all.

The very act of leaving the safe place of home and going to unfamiliar places to share Jesus is an act of faith, boldness, and courage.  The disciple Peter before the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a courageous talker.  Yet, he failed when it really mattered.  His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak. 

How do you deal with that?  In truth, this is a picture of every single one of us.  We deal with it by seeing our weakness, accepting it, and then turning to Jesus in faith.  He then fills us with His Holy Spirit, and we partner with the Holy Spirit by being a person of prayer (something Peter failed to do the night of the betrayal of Jesus), being a person of the word, and letting the Spirit show us how to walk out the righteousness of Christ in our life.

After the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it wasn't impossible for Peter to make a mistake, but he was a different man.  He had become a man of faith, courage, and boldness in the Lord.

We may not do all of the things that we see written in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, but may we be filled with the faith, boldness, and courage that comes from the Spirit of God.

We should always be thankful for the blessing of home, especially if you had a home that honored Jesus.  When I was a kid, I remember being homesick.  My mother was having a baby, and I stayed at my cousin Terry's house.  We always played together and had a blast, so it was perfect.  Yet, after a certain number of days, I began to be homesick.  The silly thing is that my house was 1 block away at the time.  I am thankful for the home I grew up in.  Christians should be home makers.  No matter what you are starting with, the Lord Jesus will help you to create a safe place for your children, teach them the truth of Jesus, and to do so in love, with loving discipline.  Let your home become a place where there is a sense of belonging, being cared for, and helped in every way.

All of that said, there is a sense in which we are not at home in this world (it is not Jesus enough), and yet we are always at home, no matter where we are, because Jesus is always with us by His Holy Spirit.  Christ is with us, and we will always find brothers and sisters of like precious faith when we reach out.

There is a certain class of great truths in which two seemingly polar opposite realities must be embraced at the same time.  It appears paradoxical to say that we should remember that this world is not our home, and yet, we are always home, no matter where we are in this world.  Another example of this is called the Stockdale Paradox. [Note: in the audio, I was unsure of the name of the paradox, and I surmised it might be called Stockwell.]  Stockdale was a POW during the Vietnam war, and spent years being tortured and held captive.  After he was returned following a treaty, he pointed to this paradox that helped him to survive.  He had to be brutally honest about his true circumstances, but also, never lose hope that he would prevail in the end.  Further, he emphasized that we could confuse these two things, and needed to keep them separate, yet held firmly.

So, we are not home yet, and we know it.  However, when I leave this world and my spirit goes to the Lord, it will not be a complete surprise because I have been at home with him for years now.  It will be more of a sense that says, "Wow!  It is even better than I imagined!"

Let's look at our passage.

The Gospel goes to Anatolia (v. 13-15)

Here's a good map for understanding the places that are talked about in this passage:  map.

Paul and Barnabas had gone from the coast of Syria to the island of Cyprus.  There they shared the Gospel and ended up on the western end of the island in Paphos, the seat of government for the island.

From there, they will sail northwest to what we call Turkey today.  It is sometimes referred to as Asia Minor, but the book of Acts also refers to a region called Asia, which is only a small part of this isthmus.  So these terms can be confused.  Another term used for this area is a name the Greeks gave to the place, Anatolia (Gk. for "east").

The coastal city called Perga is in the area called Pamphylia.  As you go north you quickly hit mountains.  At their divide, you enter a lesser region called Psidia.  At this time, Psidia is administered for Rome under the Galatian region.  Thus, Luke's story jumps pretty quickly to a city of Psidia called Antioch.

Yes, this is another city called Antioch (long story).  This city is either called Antioch of Pisidia, or Pisidian Antioch to distinguish it from other places with the same name.  By the way, Paul and Barnabas started this journey from Antioch of Syria, or Syrian Antioch.  This should help us get a feel for where these things are happening.

When they first land at Perga, there is no mention of preaching there.  They quickly head into the interior of Anatolia.  Some have speculated that Paul may have picked up a sickness like malaria (the area has mosquitos) because of Paul's statement in Galatians 4:13.  He says that he first preached the gospel to the Galatians due to sickness.  The city Pisidian Antioch is in the region of Galatia, and so are the towns that will mentioned later on in this missionary journey.  I take time to mention this particularly because of what happens next.

We are told that John Mark departed from them and went back to Jerusalem.  This wasn't on the agenda.  Mark was brought along to help them on the journey.  We are not told why.  However, we can be fairly certain that it wasn't for a good reason because, in Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas will argue about taking Mark with them on a second missionary journey.  We can talk about their discussions then.

For now, I will focus on John Mark.  He may have left simply out of homesickness.  Even adults can grow weary of being on the road and dealing with the stresses of new territories.  Of course, there could also be a sense of fear.  They had encountered spiritual opposition on the island of Cyprus through Elymas Barjesus, Paul was now sick, and they were headed into the interior of this Gentile place.  Mark may have just hit the end of what he was able to face.  Regardless, Mark finds himself far from home, and chooses to go back to Jerusalem where his mother and family were.  However, he is also quitting on the work that God had given to Paul and Barnabas.  This is important because, even today (more so then), it is important to have a strong group of guys when you travel foreign lands.  He is leaving them in a weaker position, at least, in the natural.

I will say that there is no sense that John Mark is departing from the Lord, and apostatizing.  However, he is quitting on the work that God had made him a part of.  He may be thinking that it was really Barnabas and Paul's calling and not his.  This may not be a salvation issue, but it is serious.  We are volunteers and not hirelings, but the Spirit of God is working in us to fit us for the work that He desires for us to do.

Am I fit for the work that God has for me?  In some ways, natural ways, I am not.  However, trust and faith in God helps us to be fit, and to become even more fit. 

All work sounds good in theory, but it entails a lot of sweat and sore muscles, which aren't so fun.  Imagine someone coming up with this amazing idea.  "I'm tired of foraging every day, but I noticed that grain will grow up out of the ground from places where we drop it.  Why don't we clear about 10 acres of land here and plant it all with grain.  Then, we can harvest it all right here close to home, and we won't have to forage!"  This is a brilliant idea, but it also involves long hours of blood, sweat, and tears, removing stumps, plowing virgin ground, protecting the young plants and then harvest.  It is a lot of work.  Perhaps, you could give up on such a daunting task and simply forage a couple of hours every day.

Work is a good thing even though it is difficult.  There is a joy in the reward that comes from the work.  However, over time as we mature, we begin to gain an appreciation for the work itself.  Like an old, trusted friend, we begin to enjoy the expenditure of strength that is good for us in and of itself.

In life, you will always run into things that are too big, and too hard for you.  You would rather be home, or in an easier place, an easier time.  Perhaps, you can even now smell the cookies that mom used to make for you in the kitchen, and taste the tantalizing swirl of hot cookie and cold milk.  Being fit for service is not a one time deal.  It is not a one and done chance.  In God's economy, if we fall short, the Spirit still works to bring us back around.  Yes, it's bigger than you, and he that is in the world is also bigger than you.  Yet, He that is in you is greater than them both!

After John Mark leaves them, Paul and Barnabas head into the interior on the edge of Galatia to a town called Pisidian Antioch.  There is a synagogue in this town, so they attend on the Sabbath (Saturday).

Synagogues focused on reading the Law and Prophets, with commentary, exhortations, and worship.  It is not mentioned in the Old Testament because this activity did not develop until they came back from Babylon.  They had been there 70 years, and precious few really knew how they were supposed to serve Yahweh.  Synagogues developed as teaching centers. Yet, they also became invaluable in far away Gentile lands where they would have little interaction with Jerusalem and its ceremonies.  The early church meetings were somewhat patterned after these teaching centers.

At some point they ask Paul and Barnabas as visitors to address the group if they wished.  This may be a courtesy knowing that Paul has studied in Jerusalem, but it may simply be a rural area hoping to hear news of things in Jerusalem, etc.  Regardless, Paul will take advantage of this opportunity to speak.

Paul preaches in the synagogue (v. 16-33)

We have an extended sermon from Paul here.  We will look at part of it today and the rest on a subsequent Sunday.  In some ways, Luke is giving us highlights of how the Gospel spread from Jerusalem into Gentile lands, even to Rome, the seat of the empire.  However, at times, Luke does what he does here.  He moves in with a microscope and gives us the notes version of sermons preached by the apostle Peter and the apostle Paul, as well as others (deacon Stephen being one in particular). 

In any address, you are aware of your audience and speak accordingly.  This would be mainly Jewish people, as well as some Gentile God-fearers.  They would be aware of Jewish history, the theology of God, etc.  Thus, Paul quickly runs through things that he would not be able to do if he was speaking to Greek philosophers on Mar's Hill in Athens.

He starts with a basic reminder of Israel's history.  Yet, he emphasizes some important things.  They became a nation when God chose them and exalted them out of a low position in Egypt.  He brought them out of Egypt with an uplifted arm.  The arm of the Lord, as well as the hand of the Lord, is an Old Testament picture that represents God powerfully stepping in and helping you in a time of need.  It connotes acts of power, miracles, and signs and wonders, as well as the closeness of God.  Of course, the New Testament reveals that Jesus is, and has always been, the Hand of God and the Arm of the Lord.

They then spent 40 years in the wilderness.  Paul deftly says that God "put up with their ways."  This is a reminder that, even at their beginning, God extended mercy to them over the top of their resistance, and even rebellion.

God was faithful to bring them to Canaan and give them victory over the seven nation that were there.  They were then given an inheritance in the land.  It is always good in the midst of blessing to remind ourselves that the mercy of God has brought you into it all along the way.  I do not deserve even one of His blessings.  I have come to it by His grace all along the way.

In verses 20 through 23, Paul reminds them of how their governance changed after this.  For the first 450 years, they essentially had a tribal-clan structure.  However, they kept turning to idolatry, and God's judgment would be to let their enemies dominate them, enslave them to a degree.  They would invariably start crying out to God for help.  This brought about the idea of the judges.  The word for judge emphasized that they would give the decision of Lord.  However, as you read the book of Judges, you see that the primary requirement to being a Judge over Israel was to first have been empowered by God's Spirit to help deliver, or save, Israel from their enemies.  The victory over their overlords was proof that God was with a person, and then they would serve as a Spirit-empowered judge over Israel.  This was not a monarchy, and so when the Judge died, the people would without fail end back up in bondage, cry out, and receive another Deliverer who would then judge them for a season.  This went on for 450 years.

At this point, they wanted a king and so God gave them Saul son of Kish.  Their desire for a king was not for noble reason.  They wanted a king because the nations around them had kings.  This was clearly not the reason they continued to be enslaved.  Notice that there is a sense of the rebellion of Israel in both of these governing styles.  Judges 17:6 says, "In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."  In 1 Samuel 8, God tells Samuel that their desire of a king was a rejection of Him. He was not pleased, but gave them their request because He could use it for His purposes.

Saul was a monarch that satisfied their flesh (head and shoulders above the rest).  He was great in the flesh, but weak and small in the spirit.  Paul nicely states that God "removed" Saul and raised up David because David would do His will.  The Messianic promise is given to David who is the perfect man after God's heart who does His perfect will (even better than David).  This Messiah would first deliver, save, Israel and then He would proven the right to Judge Israel.  In fact, Jesus is the Savior and Judge of all the earth and the heavens.  He is the ultimate King.

In verses 24 to25, Paul reminds them of the ministry of John the Baptist.  He emphasizes the testimony of John that Messiah would follow Him.  He preached repentance in preparation of the coming of Messiah.  Thus, Israel should expect Messiah to have shown up by now.

In verses 26 to 29, Paul emphasizes that God has sent them with the Word of Salvation for the people of this synagogue.  He is declaring that the promised Savior has come and that word of this salvation has come to them through Barnabas and him.

Of course, this good news begins with bad news.  The people and rulers of Israel did not recognize the Savior, nor did they understand the message of the prophets that they read every Sabbath.  Because they did not know God and His Word like they should have, they executed the Savior even though they could nothing wrong with him.

We should note that Paul is not pointing the finger at the Jewish people.  He was one of them!  He had rebelled resisted and had believers in Jesus put to death.  This is what we all are without God's help.

Yet, even this execution of Messiah was a fulfillment of all that the prophets foretold concerning Messiah.
It is very important for us to be a people of the Word of God, but it is even more important to know the word along with the Spirit of God.  If we let Church be a matter of the flesh, and not relationship, then we will only follow the same path.  We have to guard our hearts and watch ourselves through prayer.

Even when God is undeniably working through a man, as He did with Jesus, we are able to deny the undeniable.  They did this in the wilderness when they resisted Moses who had clearly proven that God was with Him.  Yes, and, many are doing the same today.

Some may go the other direction.  They may discount the word of God as the moldy word of God, and continually seek a new word from God.  The written word of God keeps us anchored in the true Spirit of God, but it cannot take His place.  If we study the word in exclusion to relationship with the Spirit of God, then we only create an idol.  However, if we neglect the word, then we easily fall prey to the many deceiving spirits out there.

How can I know that I am hearing the Holy Spirit?  You focus on being a person of the Bible, but also a person of prayer seeking God's help to understand. 

Finally, in verses 30 to 33, Paul speaks about the resurrection.  "But God raised Him from the dead!"  Hallelujah.  I praise God that He often overrules the choices and decisions of people to fight His purpose.  He will not control your choice, but neither can you control His choices.  Hallelujah!  If Israel had their way, they would have never entered the promise land.  Yet, God in His mercy took them back out into the desert for 40 years, until a whole generation of unbelievers died.  Then, He led their kids back to the promise land.  "Do you want to go in this time?  Yes, sir!  I'm tired of living out in this desert!" 

May God help us to grow weary of living in the wilderness.  The sooner we die to things of the flesh, and turn to God's Holy Spirit for help, the sooner we will be able to move beyond desert times in our lives (not that they are all bad).

Paul emphasizes the many witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus, and Paul and Barnabas are in Pisidian Antioch as witnesses of these things.  God had fulfilled His promise to the fathers of Israel, and thus, to them.

We will pause here on Paul's sermon.

We mentioned how John Mark turned back at a point far from home.  Yet, Paul is a man who is far from home as well.  Yet, he stands faithfully with the Lord Jesus Christ.  When we go in the name of Jesus, he is always with us.  And, if he is with us, then we are never far from home.  It is a matter of your mind.  Far from home is relative.  To some, going to another State is no big deal.  Whereas, to others, going across the street may be very intimidating.

God has a work for us that, in some ways, takes us away from our homes.  Going out from the place of comfort, a place blessed by God, is uncomfortable, but His blessing goes with us wherever we minister.  May God help us to hold on to that sense, "Jesus is with me!"  You don't have to fear, or at least, you don't have to fear for very long.  Who knows what we are going to run into.  Maybe, we will run into a sorcerer who is foaming at the mouth in jealousy.  Whatever it is, God is with us, and we don't have to be afraid.  We can be courageous, bold, and filled with faith because we are filled with His Holy Spirit.

Far from Home audio

The Acts of the Apostles 44

Subtitle: Peter Preaches to the Gentiles

Acts 10:34-43.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 11, 2023.

Today we are going to see the emphasis that God will save "whosoever" will come to Him and believe on Jesus as Lord and Savior.

This idea, that God wanted Gentiles to come directly to Jesus for salvation without first becoming a Jew, and that He would make no distinction between them as Gentiles or Jews, is historically an unthinkable thing for most Jews of that day.  To them, everything in the Old Testament pointed towards the Gentiles need to come under the Law of Moses and then be joined to Israel.

Lest we treat this as some kind of special Jewish prejudice, we should recognize that all nations think and speak of themselves in terms that can be boiled down to this.  We are "The People" and all other nations are something less.  We should not be so quick to accept that this is what the Jewish Scriptures were promoting.

We also have a tendency to promote that all ethnic groups are good and it is wrong to critique them.  However, this is simply refusing to face the truth of history.  Even by modern man's ever changing definition of what is good, there is a tendency to cherry pick certain ethnic groups for castigation, and turn a blind eye to other groups. It is the result of the mentality that the end justifies the means.

We will talk more about this, but for today, we see that God's heart was never operating out of favoritism.  He is going to save and fill with His Holy Spirit a group of Gentiles without making them fulfill the Law of Moses.

Let's look at our passage.

God shows no partiality (v. 34-35)

As Peter walks into the living space of Cornelius' quarters, there is a whole group of Gentiles gathered to hear him.  These are the friends and family of Cornelius.  It is here that Peter makes a powerful statement up front.  God shows no partiality, or favoritism.  This phrase is also translated as "no respecter of persons."  The underlying meaning comes from a word that literally states that He does not receive the face.  God is not looking at the face of the person and accepting them for external reasons.  God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

Humans easily fall into this pattern and are sometimes blind to how much we do it.  However, God's judgments are not based upon superficial things.  He does not have a grid of things like: ethnic group, skin color, pedigree, gender, etc., by which He filters out people that He will receive.

You may remember seeing an image or picture of Lady Justice holding scales in her hand and wearing a blindfold.  The idea is that justice should be meted out purely upon the facts of a case and not upon whom is coming before us.   This is a good reminder for us as humans because we generally have to be blindfolded in order to make a just decision.  I wonder how different our halls of injustice would be if our judges and juries were actually "blind" to the superficial identities of the defendant and the plaintiff.  However, even this would not fix everything.

Yet, God does not need a blindfold.  We are all His creation.  He is not a part of our group.  He was not a god created by the Israelites to reflect themselves as the ideal back to themselves.  He holds them accountable to Truth.

The closest thing we have to this in our world is when two children cannot get along and seek a judgment from their parents.  Yes, parents can have a favorite, but a good parent will recognize that both kids generally need to grow up and that both generally need to be disciplined.

God is not just better than parents.  He is perfect in His judgments.  He created us all and is not willing for any of us to perish, but that all should come to repentance.  Yet, some will still refuse to repent.

Lest you think I am making the Old Testament sound better than it is, you should look at Deuteronomy 10 (particularly verse 17) [also 2 Chronicles 19:7].  Moses reminds Israel that God's choice of them was not an act of favoritism.  They were not His pet nation.  No, He called Abram before He was a nation, and not because He foresaw that a perfect nation would come from his offspring.  In fact, the existence of different ethnic groups, nations, is directly connected to a judgment from God against a global rebellion against Him.

God does not call Israel to take their place, but to be a blessing to all the nations (Genesis 12:3).  In the Deuteronomy 10 chapter, we also see God warning them to love the "stranger" in their midst.  There judgments were supposed to render "the judgment of the Lord."  Don't read that as God will stamp His approval on your judgments.  Rather, when we give a judgment, we are certifying that we believe this is what God's judgment is in heaven.  If we can't say that, then we should not make the judgment.

If you are still not convinced, then read Deuteronomy 32.  This chapter lays out that God knew they would be an obstinate and rebellious people (overall).  Of course, this would be true of any human people that He could have chosen.  An honest reading of the Old Testament will come to the conclusion that Israel was not treated with favoritism.  Rather, God was teaching them and doing a work through them that would help all nations (who were all in rebellion against Him by the way).

Peter also states that he "perceives" that God shows no partiality.  This word can be the result of my effort to look into something like a scientist.  I might perceive something, i.e., the light bulb of understanding turns on in my mind.  However, it can also be the result of a process where I am the student and another is teaching me, be it simply life, or God.  Peter is experiencing this second aspect.  God has been teaching and showing him that He is not showing favoritism with Israel simply because the Messiah was from their nation, and his apostles are from Israel.

This is a theme in the Old Testament.  God is a teacher, but humans generally hear Him, and yet, do not hear Him; they see and don't see.  Only the Holy Spirit of God can help us to hear and see what God is trying to teach us.  Even then, the Spirit of God will not override our choices.  The resistant and rebellious will go on over the top of God's teaching and be deaf and blind to it.

By the time we finally "perceive" what He is saying, God has been knocking on our door for a long time (at least when it comes to issues of repentance).  We must be careful as Christians (like Peter) that we do not harden our heart to what His Spirit is trying to teach us.

Have you ever taken any heat for doing what God put on your heart to do?  If not, then get ready.  If you follow Him, there will be plenty of people who will line up and take pop shots at your decision.  It is important for you to have done the hard work in prayer and in studying the Scriptures, so that you can have confidence that God is leading you.

In verse 35, Peter restates the point that God shows no partiality.  They are "accepted by Him."  There is a direct access to Jesus, or better yet, to God the Father through Jesus the Son.  It doesn't matter how much idolatry the person is coming out of, or how wicked their society has been.  A person from any nation can approach Jesus for salvation.

We should praise God for people who are hungry to hear the Word of God.  Some are like pouring water on a duck's back, whereas others soak it up.  However, we must not adopt the attitude that we only speak to "receptive people."  Jeremiah would have never spoke in obedience to God, if he had adopted that attitude.  We might be a voice crying in the wilderness, but we are a voice that belongs to God and is pleasing Him.  There are many people who have turned to the Lord after the deaths of their godly parents.  The parents did not get to see the fruit of their labor in this life, but they will in the life to come.

Peter mentions two things that are the hallmarks of a blameless man in the Old Testament.  The first is a person who fears God.  It is our tendency today to shrink away from this phrase, but in the battle with sin, it is an important, necessary issue.  Instead of ignoring God and His decrees, instead of pushing the teaching of the Holy Spirit away, this person halts and takes God seriously.  Something within them warns them that they had better not rush on and ignore this warning.  They pay attention to God and come after Him with a heart of loyal obedience (don't read that as perfection).  They do this while others ignore, mock, scoff, and continue on in sin.

It is not that God wants us to be afraid of Him all the time, as if He is going to smash us at any time everyday.  The fear of the Lord is that warning signal that rises up in our heart when we are tempted to sin, or stepping off the path of righteousness.  It is a warning that reminds us that we are in danger of making ourselves an enemy of God, the good and just God in Whom there is no partiality.

Peter also adds to this a person who works righteousness.  They do what is righteous, not in their own opinion, but as directed (defined) by God.  Peter is not saying that Gentiles can be saved by their own righteousness.  This is clear by what is said next, "accepted by Him."  This is about being locked out of approaching God's throne and asking for grace.

The Church must never teach a self-righteousness for acceptance and salvation before God.  We are acceptable and forgiven on the foundation of the righteousness of Jesus.  However, one who accepts the righteousness of Jesus will go after him and live out the righteousness of Jesus by the help of the Holy Spirit.  We can end up in the opposite ditch by steering too hard out of the ditch we are in.

The movie Jesus Revolution depicted the clash that occurred when hippies of the late 60's and early 70's tried to come to church.  They didn't have a suit on, a tie, or even shoes sometimes.  Yet, where in the Bible does it say such a person cannot approach God with the rest of us?  Anyone who comes to Jesus for salvation has only just begun to be cleaned up by his teaching and the help of his Holy Spirit.  Cleaning fish is dirty business, but God gets down in the muck and the mire with us, and by His Holy Spirit, He gets His hands dirty.  Will you join Him in that work?

What He wants from you is patient faith.  By your patient faith in His work, you will take possession of your soul and then make a difference in your part of the world.

Peter breaks down the Gospel (v. 36-43)

Peter then tells them exactly what he told the people of Israel on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and ever since.  Gospel simply means good news.  So, what is the Good News?  It all centers on Jesus.  He is the good news:  who he is, what he did on this earth, his death and resurrection, God the Father's decision, and now our opportunity to have peace with Him.

Another way of thinking about the Gospel is to look at the action and reaction.  God the Father sent Jesus to be the Anointed King.  Israel rejected him and put him to death (with Roman help of course).  God responded by resurrecting Jesus from the dead in a heavenly, glorified body.  He also makes him to be the king of heaven and earth.  God's wrath will be poured out on humanity, but first He allows all men everywhere to believe on Jesus (his work and position) and have peace with Him.  So, God has put the "ball" of choice in your court.  What are you going to do?

We may not feel comfortable with being put in the pinch, but the truth was that we were already enemies of God.  We were already living for sin and not for righteousness.  It is not easy to be set free from sin, and to be clear, it is not "fun" for our flesh to be freed from sins, but it is a joy for our spirit and soul.  There are some things that you may not want to let go of.  Sometimes we can become very hard to the nudging and correction of the Holy Spirit.

I see this when we deal with one another.  We can be in an argument or debate with people and find ourselves playing this game where we are not wanting the truth.  We are only trying to win.  We become nit-picky towards every little thing that is said and ignore any overall truth that is not dependent upon nit-picking grammar, and other irrelevant details.  There are too many people "winning" arguments in this world (in their mind at least).  Two people walk away from a debate and are completely convinced that they won. 

In fact, we are getting to the place where we define winning as not even listening to an argument that is not congruent with our thoughts.  We cancel the other side and call it a win.  We stick our fingers in our ears and refuse to talk with one another because we have become so afraid.  Do you know what we are afraid of?  We are afraid of the Truth.  We are afraid of God breaking through that shell and into our hearts.  We are afraid of finding out that we fall short.  But, please hear me.  The day on which you realize the truth that you completely fall short is a wonderful day.  It is a wonderful day because now you can find Jesus and He will become your foundation of righteousness. 

I tell you.  Every good thing that I have done in my life is really worthless in the end, if it wasn't for Jesus helping me to do it.  Preaching the Gospel is good, but if you are doing it to get the approval of parents and grandparents, if you are doing it to become famous and influential, if you are doing it for any reason other than Jesus has told you to do it, then it is as if it were filthy rags. 

God in His mercy sent Jesus because He knew we could not do it alone.  Take His hand and live!

When you think about the Gospel, it is mind boggling that God offers peace right after they have executed His Son.  It is not what you would expect.  This does not mean God was pleased with what they did.  In fact, they could not have crucified Jesus without His cooperation.  Jesus laid down His own life.  He knew that His willing sacrifice would open the door for Israel and the Gentiles to have terms of peace with God.

Let us be clear.  Peace with God is only available through putting your faith in His solution, which is Jesus.  Christians are those who have entered peace with God through Jesus, and then have become ambassadors to others on how they can have peace with God too.

Cornelius is a God-fearer, but he needed to learn about the Messiah and put his faith in him, just like the Jews of Jerusalem needed to do.

We can compare this to Noah's family in the ark.  As long as they remained in the ark, they would be safe.  It was God's designated place of protection.  If they jumped off the ark in the midst of the flood, their fate would be the same as those who never entered in the first place.  Jesus is our ark, and we enter him by putting our faith in him and following him.  We have a safe place to fight sin and become like Jesus.

In verse 36, the interjection, "Jesus is Lord of all," might sound like an abrupt insertion.  However, it is key to the point.  God in Deuteronomy 10:17 is described as, "the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome."

This highlights that Jesus has received a position that is higher than all authorities, like that of God the Father. He is not confusing them, but recognizing that the Father has put Jesus over all things.  Yes, it is a statement of divinity, but it is also a statement that helps us understand why his death brings Gentiles, all people, to the table.  Even in the Old Testament, God made it clear to Israel that He had not abdicated His throne over all powers in heaven or on earth.  Similarly, Jesus is not only receiving authority over Jews, or Europeans, or light-brown skinned people of the Near East.  He is lord of all, and so his terms of peace are to go out to all peoples.

In verse 37, Peter relates that they are quite aware of what Jesus had done, and how he had been executed.  Such a story would have affected anyone in the area, and especially those tasked with "keeping the Roman peace" in Judea and its surrounds.  Yet, Peter mentions the important points of what had happened.  Starting from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, he points out that: Jesus was baptized by John, Anointed by the Holy Spirit at that time (i.e., began his Messianic ministry), and He did good and healed those oppressed by the devil.  Yet, "they" killed him by hanging him on a tree (crucifixion).  Yet, God raised Jesus up on the third day, and showed him openly to the disciples.

Thus, Peter points out in verse 39 and 41 that he and the disciples were witnesses of all of this, especially the resurrection.  Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that over 500 people saw the resurrected Jesus and many were still alive decades later.

Peter is recognizing that the message is first for the Jewish people.  They were the ones among whom God had done this work, so they should hear the truth of it first.  However, it is also for Gentiles who also had rebelled against God in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel.  Paul teaches the same thing in Romans 1:16:17.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." (NKJV)

The point is not one of partiality, but one of God's call and purpose.  Even in its disobedience, God would save the remnant of Israel and use them to send the Gospel to the Gentiles.  God's calling is without repentance because He called them knowing full well how they would act and what they would do.

Today a person can step into that place where they hear the truth and respond to the Spirit of God that is within the words of the Gospel.  We become witnesses of those who received the message from witnesses all the way back to the eye-witnesses.

They ultimately testify that God has made Jesus the judge of all humanity (the dead and the living, past and present, Jew and Gentile).  You can't bribe him, nor can you ignore him.  Hebrews 9:27 says, "it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."  This means that you will come before him to receive judgment.

At that point, you will not be accepted or rejected based on your genealogy, church attendance record, etc.  He will simply judge you in righteousness, according to the truth. 

This would be devastating news if the second part of Peter's statement were not present.  Those who believe in him will receive "remission of sins," that is forgiveness.  This means that your sins will be removed from you legally and immediately upon faith in Jesus.  From that point on, your faith in Jesus and obedience to the Holy Spirit will practically remove sin from your life in a process that is lifelong.  We should not use this as an excuse to be lazy because God knows our heart.  Sometimes laziness is an excuse for despising the chores given to you by the one in authority, and that is equivalent to despising the authority.  Jesus is able to discern the truth behind such matters in our life.

It is sad that barriers  have been continually lifted up by Christians that God does not intend to be a barrier.  Our love of sin is a big enough barrier.  Our pride is a big enough barrier, that we do not need to add more.  Jesus laid down his life to remove the barriers to people coming to him.  At least, we can say that he did everything for us, but repent in faith over the top of our protesting flesh.

I will never "finish" myself in becoming like Jesus.  It is God who completes the work.  It is best to see yourself working with Him in your heart and mind.  You do what you can, and He does what you can't.  Jesus has an immortal body, so none of us will be in his image until we too are in resurrected bodies.  You cannot do that in yourself.  God must do this for you.  He has promised to do this for all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Our problem today is not the Jew versus Gentile issue.  I will admit that there are some that have reversed this and despise the Jewish people.  This is sin, of course.  In the 1970s of the United States of America, the problem was those hippies.  Further back, it would have been those black people, those Indians, etc.  God helps us to see that we are all simply sinners in need of the grace of Jesus.  We should bar no one who wants to do so from coming to Jesus in repentance.  If we do so, we may find that the Lord's judgment of us in the coming day is not as favorable as we thought.

Peter Preaches audio

Such Love-Part 1

Subtitle: He Became One of Us

John 1:14-18; Philippians 2:5-11.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Today we begin a 6-part series about God's love, and how we should respond to it.

Love is a matter of call and response, or action and response.  In a way, God is always the initiator of love because of His eternal nature.  We are always the responders.

I want to refresh our memories of just how much God loved us in the coming of the one we know as Jesus, or in Hebrew, Yeshua.  On top of His love 2,000 years ago, we have His great love for us today, for you, and for others.  Do you not realize that God's amazing love will be embracing you even unto your last breath?  His amazing love will even be with humanity to the end of this age, and into eternity.

Let's look at our passage today, and remind ourselves of God's great love.

The Word became flesh (John 1:14)

In this chapter, John speaks of the One called "the Word" who is identified in verse 17 as Jesus Christ.  The Word becoming flesh points back to that moment in time when Mary first conceived.

The miracle of the incarnation is often doubted.  It is believed that Mary clearly made up the story.  However, does this square with all of the evidence?

Let's just go with the cynic on this one and assume that Mary did make it up.  Her pregnancy would have either been by Joseph, or some other man that she is unwilling to name.  Modern man may scoff that they didn't know science like we do today.  Thus, the people of Nazareth were easily duped.

Of course, this is not what happened and is very snobbish towards that generation.  They knew exactly how a woman became pregnant.  No one believed Mary's story at first, not even Joseph.  He was going to put her away silently.  However, Joseph changed his mind and married Mary.  They lived their lives with the stigma hanging over their heads that they had not waited for the proper moment to be intimate.  No one would have bought their story.

Here is the rub.  If Mary was lying, then Jesus should have fallen within the range of the Judeans of his day.  He might be a little smarter or not, but we would not expect him to stick out among the greats of Israel, much less all mankind.  The miracles of Jesus, his death and resurrection, are not explainable by a natural conception.  Of course, the skeptic continues to deny everything.  None of the miracles happened.  The resurrection didn't happen.  Over the top of all the eye witness testimony, the skeptic's biases reign supreme.   There is just too much evidence that something strange was going on with this Jesus of Nazareth.

In the opening verses of this chapter, it is clear that John is using language from Genesis chapter 1, "In the beginning..."  The apostles of Jesus had come to see the reality of who Jesus really was.  He is the Son of the Most High God, but not in the way that humans would understand sonship.  Even before anything was created, the eternal Son existed as the eternal Word of God.  How does John come up with the idea that there was a "Word" of God in the Genesis 1?  Well, primarily he doesn't "come up with it."  He understands it by the revelation of Jesus and the Spirit of God.  However, it is important to see that Genesis 1 describes the Father saying, "Let there be light,"  When we speak, words go forth from us.  Of course, God is not flesh and blood and there is no air around Him to propagate sound waves.  However, something greater is being revealed.  The One who created man, with the ability to speak and send powerful ideas out into the world around him, is able to "speak" and send forth "word" in a greater way.  What is not made clear in the text of Genesis 1 is explained in John 1.  The eternal Word was the eternal Son who went forth to accomplish what the Father desired.  John is also probably looking at Proverbs 8, in which wisdom is personified and depicted as working with God at Creation.  In a sense, John is saying that Proverbs 8 is not just poetry.  It is revelation that is not clear until the Wisdom of God, the Word of God, took on flesh.

This is the amazing part.  This One who has eternally existed not only with God, but as divine, became human.  This speaks to the depths that God was willing to go in order to save us, to show His love for us.  Yes, God is good and therefore He will do good things, but He doesn't have to be that good!  This call and response of love cannot be broken down into "laws."  Anyone who says, "This is what you have to do in order to love me," has something wrong in their heart.  They are not speaking with love themselves.  Love must be free to act and to respond.  Love must not be controlled and manipulated; true love will not dictate to other how they "must" show love.

This brings us to Philippians 2:5-11.  It uses language from Genesis 1 as well (verse 26).  In Genesis, man is made in the "likeness" of God.  He is not God, but is like Him enough that a personal relationship can develop between them.  We see this in Genesis 3 when it tells us that God would come down in the cool of the day to meet with Adam and Eve.  In Philippians, something is happening in the opposite direction.  Though man is made in God's likeness, through Jesus, God has taken on the nature and form of a man.  The Word didn't just become like a man.  Rather, He became a man.

This begs the question, "What was He thinking?"  The context of Philippians 2 is the kind of mind that Christians need to have.  Thus, Paul points back to the incarnation, taking on of flesh, of the Word of God in Jesus.  We need the same kind of mind that Jesus had when he agreed to such a plan.

Of course, becoming human is nothing to us because we are human.  Jesus was divine and the creator of all mankind.  Taking on the nature of a human is a big deal.  In fact, Paul parallels the act of Jesus taking on the likeness of humans with him taking on the form of a slave.  He didn't just become human.  He became a human slave for God the Father. 

Again, what was the eternal Son thinking?  What is this love of God that would go to such lengths, to such depths, in order to save us?  As humbling as becoming human is for God, this was not the depths of his love.

The Philippians passage uses three verbal phrases to describe the depths of God's love for us.

First, he "emptied himself."  It doesn't say exactly what he emptied himself of.  In the context, the mind of Christ is in view.  Thus, we might ask ourselves this question.  What would I have to empty myself of in order to do something like that?  Of course, Jesus is not proud and arrogant.  However, he did create all things, and has dwelled in eternal glory with the Father.  He would have to empty himself of all the reasons and thinking that would object to such a plan of salvation.  It would be an attitude that says, "I am this (a glorious God); I shouldn't have to do that (become human, etc.). 

As humans, we are altogether too familiar with that attitude.  It is not an attitude of love.  This is why Paul is pointing us back to the incarnation.  We need to first understand just how amazing it is that the Word would do this for us, and then make the leap to the fact that we should do the same for others.

Second, Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus "humbled himself."  At its root this word speaks of a lowering of position.  The eternal Son abased himself in taking on human flesh.  Yet, as a man, we see him washing the feet of his disciples.  He wasn't just becoming a great king of the earth that everyone would serve.  Instead, he was a slave of God to serve us.  He lived without purpose and will of his own, and instead, lived out only the will and purpose of the Father in heaven.  Since the men whose feet he washed were his disciples, they would then have to figure out how to lower themselves even lower than their master.  How is that possible?  Only by the grace and help of God's Holy Spirit; that's how.

Palm Sunday is all about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  It represents all that we want in the natural.  Jesus presents himself to Jerusalem as her awaited Anointed King from God.  We do not object to God coming down and becoming human in order to conquer our foes and lay them at our feet.  However, we do balk because we do not know what our true enemy is.  One day we are saying yeah for team Jesus, and then he does something we don't understand and we are ready to crucify him.

Just as Israel was looking for Messiah to show up and conquer the Romans, so we do today.  The Ukrainians hope for God to show up and crush the Russians.  Americans may complain that if God would just show up and destroy those who are taxing us to death, then we would be good.  Really?  The truth is that Israel's problem was not actually the Romans, and the problem for American's is not your tax-happy State capital, or Washington D.C.  Our problem is sin that is entrenched in our own hearts.  We will point out every sin, but our own.  This is our greatest problem: we are in bondage to sin.

The Word dwelt among us

Back in John 1:14, we are told that the Word became flesh and then dwelt among us.  John again uses language from the Old Testament, this time from Exodus 25-40.  The word for "dwelt" connects back to the animal skins of the tent, or tabernacle, God had Israel build in the desert.  This verb could be translated as "and tented among us."

Yeshua is literally God,  Yahweh, tenting among us.  Remember, the whole purpose of the tabernacle was to create a place that God could dwell in among the people of Israel.  As they camped in the wilderness, the tabernacle was there in the center of their camp.  The presence of God was visible in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

This visible presence of the Lord had become a thing of the past by the first century.  However, it is important to understand this picture of God dwelling among His people within a structure of animal skins.

This brings up the age old contention between Christians and Judaism, the idea of the Messiah being divine.  Is this just a Christian perversion?  Are Christians teaching things that are not in the Old Testament, either because they don't understand Hebrew, or they are purposefully twisting the Scriptures?

The presence of God was always understood to be a mystery in ancient Israelite worship.  If one pays careful attention to the text, you might accuse the writer of contradicting themselves.  On one hand, the Scriptures pound home the idea that mortal humans cannot see God without dying, and yet God is able to reveal Himself in lesser, or mediated forms.  The bush that Moses sees is somehow Yahweh, and yet it is not fully Yahweh.  The fire and smoke on Mt. Sinai is somehow Yahweh, and yet not fully Yahweh.  The same scary manifestation of fire and smoke on the mountain, then moves to the tabernacle as a less scary pillar of cloud (a somewhat different manifestation, yet of the same).  We see Moses speaking with God in the tabernacle, but at the same time he asks God to look down from heaven (Deuteronomy 26:15).  Moses was not contradicting himself.  He simply knew that God was capable of manifesting in a mediated form on the earth, while still being God in heaven.

This is the mystery of the presence of God.  It is never fully explained.  It is simply revealed and discovered by Moses and Israel.  Even the New Testament does not completely demystify this mystery of the person and presence of God.  Yet, Moses had no problem accepting that God could be "tenting" among His people within animal skins (the tabernacle) while still being resident in heaven.  Thus, before the first century, rabbis would speak of the Invisible Yahweh and the Visible Yahweh (a mediated form of the invisible God).  God is One, and yet He can somehow localize without leaving heaven.

This comes to a head in Exodus 33 to 34.  There Moses is talking with God.  He is asking God to go with them, even though Israel has been sinful and rebellious.  God promises to send His Presence with them.  At this point, Moses asks God to see His glory.  God agrees to let him see His receding glory, that is, not its fullness, because Moses could not handle it. 

The even is described in chapter 33, but happens in chapter 34.  God tells Moses to stand on a certain rock.  God would then come down and pass before Moses.  God's hand would simultaneously place Moses in a cleft of the rock, and shield him from seeing God's face.  Yet, as God passes by, He removes His hand so that Moses can see His back as He goes away from him.  Meanwhile, God is "declaring" the name of the Lord.  I will come back to this declaration of the name of the Lord in a moment.

Notice that in this passage God is spoken of in human terms: face, hand, and back.  This is a mediated human form, yet not a human.  Thus, we can see that there is no great leap to understand that just as Yahweh could tent among His people in animal skins, appear to Moses in human form, all while being resident in the heavens, so in Jesus, Yahweh could tent among His people in human skin, while still being resident in the heavens.

Why would He do this?  What love is this?

We beheld His glory

Finally, John 1:14 tells us that they beheld his glory.  Just as Israel saw God's glory come down upon the mountain, then onto the tabernacle, so God's glory was made visible in the person and work of Jesus.

I would like to point out that God's glory is not just one thing in the Old Testament.  There are many different expressions, forms, and even layers to the manifest glory of God.  No human has ever seen the unmitigated glory of God.  We cannot handle it.  Then, we see the powerful glory that scares people like at Mt. Sinai: smoking fire, Loud voice, trumpet blasts, shakings, etcetera. 

Then, there is the kind of glory that Moses saw that is a human like figure.  This connects with the Angel of Yahweh passages as well.  This Angel is more than a created spiritual messenger for God.  God's Name is somehow in Him, and he forgives sins (Exodus 23:21).  Moses saw this human form of God's glory declaring the "Name of the Lord."  What was the declaration?  Exodus 34:6-7, "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”  God's glory is displayed in God allowing Moses to glimpse what He could of Him, but it is also wrapped up in the truth about God's nature.  He is Mercy, Grace, Patience, Goodness, Truth, Forgiveness, and the fear of the guilty.  Thus, John alludes to this passage as well when he says of Jesus in John 1:14 that Jesus is full of grace and truth.  In Jesus, Israel receives a greater glimpse of what Moses saw on the mountain. 

Of course, some of Israel saw a greater glory in Jesus than the others similar to Moses seeing God's glory greater than Israel did.  The disciples saw Jesus do things that others didn't, like walk on water and calm a storm with just the words, "Peace, be still."  However, James, John, and Peter saw the Lord's face transfigured into a glorious brightness that the other nine did not see.

Yet, the miracles and such demonstrations were probably not the greatest glory that Jesus expressed.  A case can be made that his death on the cross was the greatest display of the glory of God.  On that day, he fully revealed the heart and nature of God the Father, not only to Israel, but also to the Gentiles.  The heart of God is full of Grace, and yet also full of Truth.  He will bend over backwards to save us, even to the point of dying for us, but we must turn to Him in truth.

Today, I want us to understand what it says about the love of God that He would even come down and take on the nature of a human.  The heart of God has always been about relationship with us, and to dwell with us.  Revelation ends with us dwelling with God and the statement, "They shall see His face."  We will have been fitted to not only dwell in His presence, but also to look into the face of the full glory of God without dying!  This relationship has always been His goal.  It was there in the Garden of Eden until the serpent and sin broke that fellowship.  It was there with Israel in the wilderness, until sin and rebellion broke it.

All humanity is full of rebellion against God, and against His Anointed King, Jesus.  Yet, even now He holds out His hand in an offer of peace.  He offers the joy of dwelling with Him throughout eternity.  This is the love of God.  How can I say no to such love?

Such Love 1 audio