Week 22 : Luke 8:1 - 9:62

In Luke 9:27-36, three of the Lord's disciples witnessed His transfiguration on Mount Hermon. Before and after this great event, Jesus revealed to His disciples that He must go up to Jerusalem to be delivered up and crucified, so that He could perform His redemptive work in God's economy.

Yet none of this had any real impact on His disciples. Instead, they were too busy contending among themselves as to who was the greatest amongst them. The Lord needed to teach them concerning humility - that is, not thinking overly much of yourself - and tolerance - being able to accept people who don't follow everything you do, for the sake of keeping the oneness:

And He said to them, Whoever receives this little child because of My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for he who is least among you all, this one is great. And John answered and said, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us. But Jesus said to him, Do not forbid him, for he who is not against you is for you.
Luke 9:48-50

One of the biggest problems for Christians is the matter of humility and tolerance, especially of other Christians. To many divisions exist because believers insist that they are right, that their way is right, and that if you don't follow their way, then you are not a true believer. According to the Lord's teaching, we should be like little children, who are unburdened with such high concepts, and instead are able to take on a new thought.

Week 21 : Luke 5:1 - 7:50

Luke chapter 7 describes three seemingly unrelated events. Entering Capernaum, Jesus healed the slave of a centurion, raised a widow's dead son, and appraised His forerunner, John the Baptist.

In the first case, the centurion recognised the Lord's authority. His word is very revealing: "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof... But speak a word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it." (Luke 7:6-8). The centurion did not say that he was one in authority, or one of authority, but rather he was under authority. He was an officer with men under him, but he derived his authority by submitting himself to those above him; and as such, he recognised that the man Jesus was also under authority, submitting to the will of the Father, and this submission gave Him all the authority in heaven and on earth.

In the second case, Jesus demonstrated His divine attributes of love, tenderness, sympathy and compassion in His human virtues, in a most pitiful situation. A widow, who had already lost her husband, was now watching her only son, who had just died, being carried out of the house on a bier. Without being asked, He touched the bier and said, "Young man, to you I say, arise" (Luke 7:14). This is an even stronger example of His word of authority; the authority required to raise a dead man is far higher than that needed to heal a sick man.

In the third case, John the Baptist, in prison, sent his disciples to provoke Him, no doubt into doing something miraculous to release John. John's disciples may well have been bothered that the One who had just shown such authority and sympathy, would do nothing for His forerunner in his situation. John's question was, "Are You the Coming One, or should we expect another?" Of course, John was not in doubt concerning the Christ - after all, he had been the one to strongly recommend Him to people, and the one who had baptised Him. Jesus's response was, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel aanounced to them. And blessed is he who is not stumbled because of Me" (Luke 7:22-23). Because of his situation, John was in danger of being stumbled. In verse 22, Jesus spoke of the blind receiving their sight; nowhere in the Old Testament was there such an event. This would have been strong proof to John that this One was indeed the Messiah.

In spiritual significance, the blind receive their sight first. In the Lord's salvation, He opens our eyes, so that we can receive Him and walk to follow Him. The lame signifies those who cannot walk in God's way. After being saved, the lame can walk by new life. The deaf signifies those who cannot hear God. After being saved, the deaf can hear His voice. The dead signifies those who are dead in sins and offences, unable to contact God. After being regenerated, they can fellowship with God in their regenerated spirit. The poor signifies everyone without Christ, without God, and without hope in this world. Upon receiving the gospel, they are made rich in Christ.

The Lord's word was intended to strengthen John that he might carry out the course that was laid for him (that would end in his martyrdom), and receive the blessing.

Week 20 : Luke 2:21 - 4:44

After His baptism by John in the Jordan, and His temptation and testing in the wilderness by the devil, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. There, He taught in the synagogues, until one day, He came to Nazareth, the city where He had been raised for the previous 30 years, living a perfect, normal human life. On that day, a Sabbath, He entered into the synagogue, and stood up to read:

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee"
Luke 4:17-19

What is jubilee? In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel came up out of the wilderness and entered into the good land that God had promised them, each tribe and each person was assigned a portion of that land as their possession. The land was rich, and yielded food abundantly; yet not all the Israelites were good farmers, whether they lacked the skill or were simply lazy. Eventually, some ran out of money, and were forced to sell their land in exchange for food and money. Of course, that would then eventually run out, and they had to sell themselves as slaves. Yet God made provision for even these - every 50th year, a year of jubilee was declared, and all the slaves were to be freed, and everyone was to be restored to their original possession.

What does this mean then to the New Testament believers? The good land symbolises Christ, Who by right is our rich portion and eternal inheritance. However, due to the fall, we were disenfranchised, removed from the enjoyment of Christ, and sold into the slavery of sin. So after a period of time, the Lord came to the earth to announce the jubilee, accomplishing redemption for us so that we could be restored to what we had lost. Hallelujah! We have been restored to our lost possession, our full enjoyment of the unsearchable rich Christ!

Can you imagine how one such slave would have looked forward to the year of jubilee? No matter how low your situation, you still had a hope for the future, when you would return rejoicing to your restored possession. A Christian's life should be one full of constant rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 5:16) for the return of our enjoyment of Christ. The low gospel is that Jesus loves you and died for you, so that you won't go to hell. The full gospel is the proclamation of the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee!

Week 19 : Luke 1:1 - 2:20 (Part 2)

When looking at Matthew 1:1 - 3:17, I compared some of the Christian tradition that surrounds the birth of the Lord Jesus with what the Bible actually says happens. Since the Gospel of Luke also provides a detailed account of His incarnation, it would be profitable to do likewise.

And in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all the inhabited earth.... And all went to be registered, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to David's city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be registered with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. And while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to bear, And she ore her firstborn sonl and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn"
Luke 2:1, 3-7

These verses show us God's sovereignty in His arranging of the geopolitical sphere so that the many prophecies concerning the Lord's birth would be fulfilled. Every king, every kingdom is under His control; and the Roman empire was no different. According to His arrangement, the Roman empire controlled the whole area around the Mediterranean, bringing relative peace and prosperity. This made it possible and safe for people to travel the potentially long distances to be registered in the emperor Augutus's census; which, by no coincidence at all, brought Joseph and Mary out of Nazareth, a despised city in a despised region, to Bethlehem, the prophesied location of the Messiah's birth.

His life began in a manger in the lowest estate because the inn was occupied by fallen mankind with his busy activities. However, there were some whose activities were not so fallen, and who at that time were being diligent in their work:

And there were shepherds in the same region, spending their nights in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them...
Luke 2:8-9

Their work in shepherding the flock (which not only provided food for man, but also offerings to God) and their diligence in keeping the night watch qualified these lowly people to be the first to receive the good news of the birth of the Man-Saviour.

These verses should also make us reconsider the timeframe of the Lord's birth. Christianity celebrates Christmas on December 25th, the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere (and the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere, where I currently live). Yet the harsh conditions at that time of year would have meant two things: firstly, it would have been difficult and dangerous for travellers, and especially for pregnant women such as Mary, to be forced to travel for days or weeks at a time in the middle of winter. Jesus Himself would later testify concerning the danger of travel in winter in that region: "And pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on a Sabbath" (Matthew 24:20). Secondly, the shepherds were in the fields taking care of their flocks. December is the middle of the rainy season in Israel, and the sheep were taken from the fields and corralled in winter accommodation by mid-October at the latest.

So December 25th could never have been even close to the date of His birth, which was most likely in early October. As many Christians realise, December 25th was actually brought in by the early Catholic church in the 5th century, largely as a way of encouraging the previously-pagan Roman subjects to convert to Christianity, while being close enough to the winter solstice with its heathen associations. Now a pagan feast celebrating the rebirth of the sun in the depths of winter was a feast celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Interestingly, though, there are only two occasions in the Bible where birthdays are mentioned, and both are connected with murder. In Genesis 40:22, Pharaoh had his chief baker on his birthday while the celebrations were going on; and Herod had John the Baptist beheaded at his birthday celebrations. So celebrating birthdays, and especially that of the Lord Jesus, are entirely unscriptural.

The Bible tells us many things: how to worship, how to deal with money, how to preach the gospel, how to observe the Lord's Table, and everything else pertaining to the Christian life. Yet not once are we told to celebrate Christmas. We're told to remember His death, and we do so every time we share the bread and the wine, but we're never told to remember His birth. Please remember that next time September comes round and the tinsel goes up in the supermarkets.

Week 19 : Luke 1:1 - 2:20 (Part 1)

In coming to the Gospel of Luke, we should start by considering what sort of person Luke was, and how it defines his approach. According to Luke 1:2, he was not an immediate contemporary of the Lord Jesus; instead, he was a companion and coworker with Paul on several of the apostle's ministry journeys (Acts 16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:15). His account may be considered to be as much an expression of the apostle Paul as Mark's gospel was an expression of the apostle Peter.

According to Colossians 4:11 and 14, Luke was a Gentile physician, and he was writing to Theophilus, most likely also a Gentile, who occupied some official position within the Roman Empire. So he was a Gentile writing to another Gentile, based on careful research done from primary sources.

Whereas Matthew's gospel presents Jesus as the King-Saviour, and Mark's as the Slave-Saviour, Luke presents Jesus as the Man-Saviour, the One who is both the eternal God and a perfect, normal, genuine man.

Chapter one reveals to us the conception of this Man-Saviour. Luke 1:35 shows us that unlike every other man and woman ever born, Jesus was not conceived of a man and a woman; instead, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. This is a most astounding fact. This conception brought the eternal uncreated divine essence together with the created human essence, in the womb of a human virgin. These two essences weren't just added together, they were mingled together. We should be very clear, this did not produce a third essence, one which was neither divine nor human, this thought is utterly heretical. Although the Lord has the two essences, He is still a complete person - He is both God and man. We may even call Him a God-man.

As a God-man/Man-Saviour, He possessed both the divine attributes and the human virtues. The divine attributes are related to what God is. When we say, "God is love", or "God is truth", or "God is righteousness", those are the divine attributes. God is not just loving, He is love itself, He is truth itself. Humanity on the other hand, does not have these attributes; nevertheless, we do have the virtues of love, and truth, and so on.

What the Lord did not possess, though, was our sinful nature. Although John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh, Romans 8:3 tells us that the Lord came in the likeness of the flesh of sin. So although He was a man outwardly, inwardly He was God, without any of the taint of man's sinful nature, and His divine attributes were fully expressed and manifested through His human virtues.

Week 18 : Mark 14:43 - 16:20

And when evening had fallen, since it was the day of preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph, the honorable member of the Council, from Arimathea, who was also himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came; and gathering courage, he went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate marveled that He had already died, and calling to him the centurion, he questioned him whether He had been dead long. And when he found out from the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph purchased a piece of fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the fine linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which was hewn out of rock and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary the Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.
Mark 15:42-47

Jesus had suffered terribly on the cross for six hours as He carried out His redemptive work, rejected by the very ones He had come to save. Yet in His death, His situation was changed to an honourable one. Joseph of Arimathea, a well-known man (as indicated by the definite article in verse 43), together with Nicodemus (see John 3:1 and 19:39), retrieved His body, and prepared it for a burial of the highest human standard, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9.

God created the old creation within six days, and rested on the seventh day. Now, in the newly-hewn tomb, Jesus rested from His labours, enjoying His Sabbath, and waiting for the time to rise from the dead.

Jesus accomplished full redemption within six days, and rested on the seventh

Week 17 : Mark 11:27 - 14:42

Before partaking of the last Passover, the Lord prepared His disciples for what was to come after His death and resurrection. Starting in Mark 13, He prophesied concerning the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem (at the hands of Titus and the Roman army in 70 A.D.). Then He prophesied concerning the rising up of many claiming to be the Messiah, to deceive and lead many astray. Wars would follow, both civil wars and international wars; these will continue until the consummation of this age, at the end of the great tribulation. The disciples would be persecuted, some to death.

Having given His disciples many prophecies concerning the end times, He then gave them a charge:

But you, beware.... Beware, be alert.... Watch therefore.... Watch!
(Mark 13:23, 33, 35, 37)

He also gave them the parable of the fig tree. In Mark 11:13-14, Jesus had cursed the fig tree, signifying the nation of Israel, for its lack of fruit for Him, and the tree withered and died (Mark 11:20-21). Now He prophesied concerning life returning to the barren fig tree; its branch becoming tender, and then putting forth leaves, being the sign that summer is near. From the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel seemed dead and barren. But the reformation of the nation of Israel in the years after the Second World War, and then the later restoration of Jerusalem to Israel after the 6 Days War in 1967, show that life is returning to the withered tree, and that leaves are beginning to come forth.

Watch therefore, for you do not know when the Master of the house comes, whether in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrowing or in the morning; lest He come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!

(Mark 13:35-37)

Week 16 : Mark 9:7 - 11:26

Having spent some three years mostly in the area around Galilee, far away from Jerusalem, at the beginning of Mark 10, Jesus began His final journey to Jerusalem. He had to return to the holy city for the accomplishing of God's eternal plan. As the Lamb of God (John 1:29), He had to be offered to God at Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Isaac and enjoyed God's provision of a ram as a substitute for his son (Gen. 22:2, 9-14) and where the temple was built in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 3:1). It had to be there that He would be delivered, according to the counsel determined by the Trinity of the Godhead (Acts 2:23), to the Jewish leaders (9:31; 10:33) and be rejected by them as the builders of God's building (8:31; Acts 4:11). It had to be there that He would be crucified according to the Roman form of capital punishment (John 18:31-32 and note; 19:6, 14-15) to fulfill the type concerning the kind of death He would die (Num. 21:8-9; John 3:14). Moreover, according to Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 9:24-26), that very year was the year that Messiah (Christ) was to be cut off (killed). Furthermore, as the Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), He had to be killed in the month of the Passover (Exo. 12:1-11). Hence, He had to go to Jerusalem (v. 33; 11:1, 11, 15, 27; John 12:12) before the Passover (John 12:1; Mark 14:1) that He might die there on the day of the Passover (14:12-17; John 18:28) at the place and the time foreordained by God.

I still find it incredible that there is so much detail contained in the verses cited above, yet they prove beyond all doubt the sovereignty of God in His move. Everything - the time, the place and the method of execution - were all prophesied hundreds or thousands of years in advance. Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would be killed 483 years after the proclaimation of the Israelites' return to Jerusalem from captivity, on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar, that is, the Passover. Just as was the case when the magi came to seek the birth of the King-Saviour, the religious establishment, who should have known all the details and should have been actively looking for this One, instead were blinded by their knowledge.

The place of His death was typified by Abraham's offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah, another name for Mount Zion, the highest peak of the mountains on which Jerusalem was later built.

The manner of His death was foretold in Number 21:8-9; when in the wilderness, the Israelites complained against God and Moses, and God sent fiery serpents amongst them which killed many men. Moses then interceded for them, and God commanded Him to make a bronze serpent, and to lift it up on a pole, that if someone were bitten and then looked upon the bronze serpent, they would be saved. This is revealed in John 3:14-15 as one of the highest prophecies concerning Christ:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, That everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.
(John 3:14-15)

When Christ was incarnated, He came only in the likeness of the flesh of sin, not having any sin in Him. Similarly, although the brass serpent looked like a serpent (the expression of Satan), it did not have the venom (the sin). Jesus was a genuine man, and although He looked like sinful Man, there was no sin in Him. By being lifted up, that is, crucified, He became our salvation from sin and sins. If we behold Jesus, if we receive Him, then by His blood, we are saved from every sin (1 John 1:7).

Execution by crucifixion was not the Jewish means of capital punishment, which was death by stoning; instead, it was a method brought in by the Romans, who had occupied the Holy Land. Again, this just goes to prove God's sovereignty, by arranging for the Romans to be in power, that the type in Num. 21:8-9 would be fulfilled (there are many other prophecies that were fulfilled by the Roman occupation - for example, without Caesar Augustus's decree for a census, Joseph and Mary would never have come to Bethlehem to fulfil Micah 5:2's prophecy concerning the place of the Messiah's birth).

So, do you ever find yourself doubting the Word of God? Just read all the above verses, and be restored in your faith - God prepared all these things thousands of years ago, and raised up every situation necessary to bring them to fulfillment. Hallelujah for His Word!

Week 15 : Mark 6:1 - 9:6

In Mark 7:31-37, the Lord healed a man who was deaf and spoke with difficulty. It is a common medical condition that those with significant hearing problems also have problems with their speech, since speaking is based on hearing. However, there is also a spiritual significance to this case; here, the condition signifies one who cannot hear the voice of God, and who is therefore unable to praise Him (Isa. 35:6) and speak for Him (Isa. 56:10).

And He took him aside from the crowd privately and put His fingers into his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He groaned and said to him, Ephphatha! that is, Be opened. And immediately his ears were opened, and the bond on his tongue was released and he spoke clearly.
(Mark 7:33-35)

Firstly, the Lord dealt with the man in private; He was doing this for the benefit of this one man, as is confirmed by His later charging him not to tell anyone - and not for the benefit of others, that they would see and marvel, or take it as a great sign. The Lord did not care for this sort of method.

Secondly, by dealing with the man's hearing, the man was now qualified to receive God's word, signified by the spittle (something which emanated from the Lord's mouth). When we can hear and receive God's word, we are full of praise for Him, and this issues in our speaking for Him. Do you find it difficult to speak the things concerning God? This is a sure sign that you have problems hearing His Word.

This healing was preceded by the Lord's spiritual feeding of the Syro-Phoencian woman; then immediately after the healing, His disciples were able to feed four thousand. Taken together, these three cases show us that if we are able to hear God's Word clearly, and are then able to speak it, to speak for God and to speak forth God, our speaking will be a feeding, and we will be able to supply many by our speaking.

Week 14 : Mark 2:13 - 5:43

In Mark 2:23-3:6, Jesus seemed to go out of His way to provoke the Pharisees. Firstly, He led His disciples through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and they picked the ears of grain and ate them. Although the picking and eating of the grain was permitted by God (in Deut. 23:25), doing so on the Sabbath was seemingly in violation of the Fourth Commandment (Deut. 5:15); so the Pharisees thought that they had good ground on which to accuse Him.

Yet Jesus's response served only to demonstrate both their hardness of heart, and their lack of knowledge concerning the scriptures. He pointed out how David, when he was being pursued by Saul's men, came hungry to the Tent of Meeting, and ate the bread of the Presence, which was supposedly reserved for the priests alone. Since David and his followers were not held guilty by God for such an act, surely the Lord and His disciples were equally justified. He showed the Pharisees that they cared more for the ritual of the Sabbath, rather than the hunger of the people:

And He said to them, The Sabbath came into being for man; and not man for the Sabbath. So then the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
(Mark 2:27-28)

As the Son of Man, the very God who had ordained the Sabbath, He had every right to change what He had ordained concerning the Sabbath.

Immediately after this case, Mark goes on to present the second breaking of the Sabbath. Jesus went in to the synagogue, where a man with a withered hand was. The Pharisees were watching Him carefully to see if He would break the Sabbath again; and Jesus called the man to stand in their midst, and told him to stretch out his hand. The man responded to the Lord's life-giving word in faith, and stretching out his hand, it was healed.

Here, Jesus was demonstrating again that He cared more for the condition of His people, even a single member, than any dead ordinance. Sabbath or no Sabbath, the Lord is interested in healing the deadened members of His body (signified by the withered hand). To Him, regulations do not matter; the rescue of His fallen sheep means everything.

The Pharisees, of course, were greatly perturbed by this, and together with the Herodians, sought to kill Him.

Week 13 : Mark 1:1 - 2:12

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:1

So begins the gospel of Mark. Whereas Matthew presents us with the genealogy of the King to establish His antecedents and status, and Luke recounts His human ancestry to prove that He is a genuine and proper man, and John describes His divine origins as the eternal God, Mark introduces the Lord in a most simple and straightforward way. Mark's intention is to present to us the servant of God, a Slave-Saviour. There is little record of His speaking (for example, on the kingdom of God in Matt. 5-7), but much detail concerning His deeds in the carrying out of His gospel service. This is because in the case of a slave, no-one is interested in their background, their origins, nor what they say. The only value of a slave is in what they do, and this is the particular flavour that permeates Mark's writing. Mark's gospel is the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Christ as the Slave of Jehovah in Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; 49:5-7; 50:4-8 and 52:13-53:12.

If you go into a museum and look at Western artistic portrayals of the Lord Jesus (or, this being a blog, do a Google search), you will undoubtedly see an attractive and pleasant image. However, according to Isaiah:

Even as many were astonished at Him - His visage was marred more than that of any man, and His form more than that of the sons of men... He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him."
Isaiah 52:14, 53:2

There was nothing outwardly attractive or captivating about this Man, yet He drew countless to Himself, through the beauty and excellence of His deeds in His gospel service.

Week 12 : Matt. 26:27 - Matt. 28:20

In the Lord's crucifixion as portrayed in Matthew 27, we see man's unrighteousness to the highest degree. Unrighteousness upon unrighteousness was done to the Lord Jesus: the Jewish leaders were unrighteous in arresting, judging and binding Him; the Roman leader, Pontius Pilate, was unrighteous in handing Him over, despite finding Him to be innocent; Judas, of course, was unrighteous for betraying Him; and the Roman soldiers were unrighteous in their treatment of Him, mocking, beating and spitting on Him, and forcing Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross. In His crucifixion, Jesus fully exposed man's complete unrighteousness.

However, Jesus did not only expose the unrighteousness, He also bore it. For three hours from midday, all the sin and unrighteousness of the world were placed upon Him - as He bore this weight, "darkness fell over all the land" (Matt. 27:45). This was the point at which the righteous God could come in and judge all the unrighteousness of His creature.

This matter of God's righteousness is fundamental to the gospel, as it is the basis upon which we are saved. The apostle Paul said:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, both to Jew first and to Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in it out of faith to faith, as it is written, "But the righteous shall have life and live by faith."
Romans 1:16-17

The gospel is powerful not because of God's love or grace toward us, but because He is righteous. It is possible for love or grace to fluctuate, but God's righteousness cannot, for it is one of His highest attributes:

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne.
Psalms 89:14

It is upon this righteousness that the kingdom of God is built. History reveals to us that all human government is unrighteous to one degree or another, but God's government is built upon His righteousness. Having judged us once in Christ's crucifixion, God cannot, according to His righteousness, judge us again; so we may have the full assurance that, having been saved by His love and grace, our salvation is eternally secured by His righteousness.

I really enjoy the following hymn by Watchman Nee:

1. Why should I worry, doubt and fear?
Has God not caused His Son to bear
My sins upon the tree?
The debt that Christ for me has paid,
Would God another mind have made
To claim again from me?

2. Redemption full the Lord has made,
And all my debts has fully paid,
From law to set me free.
I fear not for the wrath of God,
For I’ve been sprinkled with His blood,
It wholly covers me.

3. For me forgiveness He has gained,
And full acquittal was obtained,
All debts of sin are paid;
God would not have His claim on two,
First on His Son, my Surety true,
And then upon me laid.

4. So now I have full peace and rest,
My Savior Christ hath done the best
And set me wholly free;
By His all-efficacious blood
I ne’er could be condemned by God,
For He has died for me!
Hymns #1003

Week 11 : Matt. 25:1 - 26:26

The Parable of the Wise Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) is one of two parables that the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples in Jerusalem, shortly before His arrest. It follows a series of prophecies concerning the beginning of the end times, spoken in an open and clear way, so that the Jews would hear and understand. However, according to Matt. 13:12-13, when the Lord spoke in parables, it was so that only His followers would understand. This implies that the content of the parables concerns the church.

The parable starts with 10 virgins, taking their lamps and going forth to meet the bridegroom. Ten is the major part of twelve (see Gen. 42:3-4, 1 Kings 11:30-31 and Matt. 20:24), which signifies that this parable concerns the majority of the believers, those who have died before the Lord's return (the remaining two are the man working in the field and the woman grinding at the wheel, who are raptured while alive at the Lord's coming in Matt. 24:40-41). 2 Cor. 11:2 likens the believers to virgins, while the lamp signifies our bearing of the Lord's testimony, for which we need the filling of the Spirit, signified by the oil. The bridegroom, of course, is Christ, the most attractive and pleasant Person in the universe (John 3:29, Matt. 9:15).

Five of the virgins were prudent and brought with them vessels of oil; the number five is composed of four plus one, signifying that man (signified by four) with God (signified by one) added to him bears responsibility. That five virgins are foolish does not imply that half of all believers are foolish; instead, it implies that all believers must bear the responsibility for being filled with the Holy Spirit.

In verse 5, we see that the bridegroom delayed - the Lord has still not returned - and while waiting for His return, the believers eventually "became drowsy and slept" i.e. died. However, the cry goes out at midnight, "Behold, the bridegroom! Go forth to meet him!", which refers to the resurrection of the dead believers at the time of the great tribulation, as prophesied in 1 Thess. 4:16 and 1 Cor. 15:52.

However, the foolish virgins did not have sufficient oil in their vessels for their lamps i.e. they had not paid the price sufficiently to be filled in spirit during their lifetime, and so even after their resurrection, there is the need for that price to be paid. That the prudent virgins would not share their oil with the foolish implies that we cannot be filled in spirit on behalf of others. While the foolish virgins represent believers who are regenerated with the Spirit of God and indwelt by the Spirit of God, just as the prudent ones are, they have not been sufficiently filled with Him to have their whole being saturated with Him.

Instead, they are advised to go and buy oil, in other words to pay a price for the filling of the Spirit. Such a cost includes giving up the world, dealing with the self, loving the Lord above all, and counting all things loss for Christ. Those who sell the oil refers to the two witnesses, the two sons of oil, referred to in Zech. 4:11-14 and Rev. 11:3-4, being Moses and Elijah.

But while they are filling their vessels, the prudent virgins are raptured, because they are ready and they are watchful, and during their life, they paid the price to be filled in Spirit. They are admitted to the wedding feast, the 1000 years of the millennial kingdom, where they enjoy the presence of the King. The door behind them is shut so that the foolish virgins cannot enter. We should be clear that this refers not to the door of salvation - the foolish virgins have not lost their eternal salvation, but they do miss the 1000 years of enjoyment in the millennial kingdom. They miss their dispensational reward, but do not lose their eternal salvation.

This last point is quite crucial, and many Christians miss the distinction. In many places in the New Testament, the Word talks about the losing of salvation, where in other places it talks about eternal salvation. All Christians should be very clear - when they receive the Lord Jesus, they receive the eternal life, and will be saved from eternal judgement and eternal perdition. However, the other aspect of salvation is the dispensational reward, and that is only given to those who overcome, who pay the price to be filled in Spirit, who are watchful and prudent. Those who fail to meet that qualification are not qualified to enjoy the reward during the millennial kingdom, and instead will suffer some kind of governmental discipline during those thousand years, until they are matured. Then they will enter into the New Jerusalem for eternity with the overcoming believers and the nation of Israel.

Week 10 : Matt. 22:43 - 24:51

For just as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage... so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. At that time two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes.... For this reason, you also be ready, because at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of Man is coming.
Matt. 24:37-44

So warned Jesus concerning the need for His believers to be watchful and ready, that they would not miss His second coming.

In the days of Noah there were two conditions existing: people were befuddled by eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and they did not know that judgement was coming, until the flood came and took them away. Similarly, at the time that the Lord returns, people will be befuddled and distracted by the necessities of this life, and will not realise that God's judgement (signified by the flood) is coming upon them.

In the beginning, eating, drinking and marriage were ordained by God for man's existence; however, Satan now utilises these necessities to occupy man and keep him from God's interest. Even a glance at the world situation will confirm that man is fully occupied with material things and has no sense of the coming judgement.

However, a small number of His believers will be watchful and sober. The two men and the two women signify believers, living their normal lives. The two men are working in the field - they're not sitting in a Bible study group; the two women are grinding at the mill - they're not fasting or praying in a prayer meeting. However, one of each group is taken by the Lord at His secret coming, that is, raptured before the great tribulation comes. What is so special about the man and woman who are raptured, and why are the other two not?

This is surely a matter of their condition related to life. Those who are taken have matured in life, while those who are left are, spiritually speaking, immature. This means that in our life, we must firstly be diligent in our work, but at the same time, we must take care of our spiritual condition. We cannot give our all to our work and neglect our growth in life; nor can we be super-spiritual and reject the requirement to work for our daily needs. Instead, we must be balanced and normal.

Week 9 : Matt. 20:17 - 22:42

In Matthew 21:1-11, the Lord made His final visit to Jerusalem. The heavenly King, riding not on a horse, but on a lowly donkey and its colt, came not to minister, preach, teach or perform miracles, but to present Himself as the Lamb of God to be slaughtered, to be crucified.

The story of the Passover is one of the most well-known stories in the Old Testament, together with the many plagues on Egypt, and the flight of the Israelites through the Red Sea. However, these stories are also immensely rich in spiritual significance, and none more so than the Passover lamb. On the night of their flight from Egypt, the children of Israel were to prepare a lamb:

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male... And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole congregation of the assembly of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.... And the blood shall be a sign for you upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there will be no plague upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt"
Exo. 12:5-7, 13

For four days, the lamb would be examined to confirm that it was unblemished, before being killed by the whole congregation. Its blood would then form the basis of their salvation from God's punishment. These verses clearly typify the Lord Jesus, and in Matthew 21-22, we see Him coming to Jerusalem to be examined over a number of days, by the Pharisees, the Herodians, the Sadducees and a lawyer. Each group prepared questions to ensnare and entrap Him, yet in each case, His answer silenced them. For instance, the Herodians, a group of Jews who took sides with Herod's regime and who took part with him in bringing Grecian and Roman manners of life into Jewish culture, asked Him:

Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
Matt. 22:17

If Jesus answered Yes, they would condemn Him before all the Jews, who opposed giving tribute to the occupying Romans; if He answered No, they would condemn Him before the Romans as one promoting rebellion. Yet the Lord's answer defied their expectations:

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, Why do you tempt Me, hypocrites? Show Me the coin for the tribute. And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, Whose is this image and inscription? They said, Caesar's. Then He said to them, Render then the things that are Caesar's to Caesar, and the things that are God's to God.
Matt. 22:18-21

When they handed over a coin from the tribute at His request, they were defeated; the coin from the tribute was a denarius, a Roman coin.

For days, He was examined by the religious, cultural and political leaders, yet they could find no fault in Him. Even Pontius Pilate declared several times that he could find no fault in Him (Luke 23:14, 20, 22). Therefore, He was fully qualified to be the Passover lamb, crucified by all the people, and, through the shedding of His blood, redeeming whosoever believes into Him (John 3:16).

Week 8 : Matt. 17:9 - 20:16

Moreover if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to hear the church also, let him be to you just like the Gentile and the tax collector. Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens. For where there are two or gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.
Matt. 18:15-20.

These verses, concerning the way to deal with a troublesome brother in the church, reveal something very precious. In Matt. 16:18, the Lord Jesus revealed the church for the first time, the universal church as the unique Body of Christ. But here, we see something related to the practice of the believers in a certain locality. While the Body of Christ is universal, spanning both time and space (starting from the day of Pentecost and stretching forward to the day when the millennial kingdom ends and the New Jerusalem descends from heaven, and including every believer in every place), it must also be practical, because as finite beings, we can only exist in one place at one time. The church has a universal aspect, and it has a local aspect.

In order to be in the kingdom of the heavens in a practical way, we need to be in a local church. According to the context of verse 17, both the reality and the practicality of the kingdom are in the local church. In a chapter dealing with relationships in the kingdom, the Lord speaks eventually of the church. This proves that the practicality of the kingdom today is in the local church. Without the local church, it is impossible to have the practicality and reality of the kingdom life. Many Christians today talk of the kingdom life, but without the practical local church life, this talk is in vain.

What is a local church? A local church is not a building on the corner with a pointed roof and a bell; instead, 1 Cor. 1:2 shows us that it is simply all the believers in a city; the believers in Corinth were "the church of God which is in Corinth". The situation that Paul addressed in Corinth was full of division, sin, confusion, abusing of gifts and heretical teachings, yet the apostle still called it "the church of God", because the divine and spiritual essence which makes the assembled believers the church of God was actually there. If you look at Christianity today, the believers are divided into a 1001 denominations, taking a person or a practice as a means of denominating, or differentiating themselves. This is absolutely wrong, for God Himself is one, and cannot be divided; yet these believers together, each having the divine and spiritual essence of the Triune God, whether they know it or not, whether they practice it or not, are the church in that locality.

In chapter sixteen, the Lord revealed the universal church. But the universal church requires the practicality of the local church. Without the local church, the universal church cannot be practiced; rather, it will be something suspended in the air. The local church is the reality both of the kingdom and of the universal church.