Month: May 2024

Christ’s Spit #4

Friday, May 31, 2024

“And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue” (Mark 7:33 KJV).

Why did Christ spit while healing people?

As the Lord Jesus Christ was compassionate toward these disabled men of Mark chapter 7, Mark chapter 8, and John chapter 9, so He is merciful even now toward the entire world. Billions of souls are still spiritually blind, deaf, and speech-inhibited. Deceived by the evil world system, they cannot see, hear, or speak the simple Gospel of the Grace of God. Yet, we can and will!

“Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Just like the Lord imparted physical health to the disabled, so He offers to graciously provide us with spiritual health. On Calvary’s cruel cross, He took upon Himself the penalty for our sins. He suffered as our substitute, that we not pay for our sins forever in Hell and the Lake of Fire. “For he [God the Father] hath made him [God the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Romans 3:23-28: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Also read Romans 4:1-5.

“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30,31). Here is how we have the spit (life) of Christ applied to our account!

*NOTE: Saints, by God’s grace, we have now closed 13 full years of daily Bible studies here at “333 Words of Grace!”

Christ’s Spit #3

Thursday, May 30, 2024

“And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue” (Mark 7:33 KJV).

Why did Christ spit while healing people?

Re-read Mark 8:22-25. As we can see, Christ again employed spitting as a method of healing. This time, He ministers to a man who was blind. Why did He spit on the man’s eyes? Recall our earlier comments as touching the miracle in chapter 7. These eyes are functionally dead. If they are to work as the Creator intended, He must intervene by imparting life and lubrication (saliva) to them. He does just that, thereby showing Israel how He can restore them to see spiritual truths clearly.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2; cf. Matthew 4:16). “And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness” (Isaiah 29:18). “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house…. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:6,7,16).

Re-read John 9:1-7. The Lord Jesus cured this blind man by first spitting on the ground, mixing His saliva with the clay/soil, and then placing this concoction directly onto the man’s eyes. Finally, He sent the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man returned with his sight! What we want to see here is Jesus’ spit (life) was again instrumental in restoring organs that were functionally dead. The washing with water rinsed away the dirt and spit. You can see verses 10-15 for additional information. Israel is granted spiritual sight, free from the blindness of sin and Satan!

Still, there is more….

Christ’s Spit #2

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

“And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue” (Mark 7:33 KJV).

Why did Christ spit while healing people?

Re-read Mark 7:31-35, today’s Scripture in its context. Listening to these verses, we understand this poor man was both unable to hear and speak properly. However, the Lord Jesus healed him… in a most bizarre way. He spit on His finger and then touched the man’s tongue! While we find that rather disgusting, that was the way Jesus chose to cure him. Why?

If we come to appreciate more about saliva, we can get a better understanding of Jesus’ procedure. Approximately 99 percent of saliva is simply water. (The other one percent is made of various enzymes and proteins that aid in tasting and digesting food, and protecting from tooth decay.) The man’s tongue is functionally dead. In Scripture, water symbolizes life. “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Revelation 21:6). “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb…. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:1,17). Thus, one way to look at the Lord’s behavior here is Him imparting water/life to the man’s tongue.

Moreover, saliva lubricates our tongue and lips to facilitate our speech. We can also see Christ as moistening the man’s mouth, making it easier for him to talk for the first time in who knows how long! What is being demonstrated here? Israel, now converted from Satan, can speak forth God’s Word to evangelize the Gentiles in the Millennial Kingdom (see Zechariah 8:20-23, for example). Read verse 23: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”

There is still more….

Christ’s Spit #1

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

“And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue” (Mark 7:33 KJV).

Why did Christ spit while healing people?

Today’s Scripture in context: “[31] And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. [32] And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. [33] And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; [34] And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. [35] And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.”

Now, Mark chapter 8: “[22] And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. [23] And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. [24] And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. [25] After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.”

Finally, John chapter 9: “[1] And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. [2] And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? [3] Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. [4] I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. [5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. [6] When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, [7] And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”

We study this more fully….

The Greatest War Hero

Monday, May 27, 2024

“For God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, when we remember those who sacrificed their time and lives to provide our physical freedom. Likewise, as Christians, we have spiritual freedom, which was more costly. Someone had to die to give us the eternal life we now enjoy….

Scripture describes a spiritual warfare between good and evil, God’s truth program versus Satan’s lie program: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11,12; see also verses 13-20).

Satan distracts mankind from God’s pure Word, the Bible, keeping unbelievers lost (dead in their sins), and preventing unbelievers and Christians from knowing God’s will. The devil draws them away (seduces them) from God’s Word by using religious tradition and human “wisdom” (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Galatians 3:1-3).

God loves us, so at Calvary’s cross, Christ fought for us sinners, died in battle (today’s Scripture), shed His divine sinless blood, and eternally rescued us from Satan and sin: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14,15).

Hebrews 9:12 says Jesus Christ has “obtained eternal redemption for us.”

If we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). Now, God can use us for His glory for all eternity.

Beloved, let us rejoice in our victory over sin, death, and hell that Jesus Christ secured for us by going to Calvary’s rugged cross! Jesus Christ is now alive forevermore—He is our Hero, the Greatest Hero!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study “The Greatest Hero,” which can be read here or watched here.

Jeremiah 29:11 and Right Division #7

Sunday, May 26, 2024

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV).

What is the truth about today’s Scripture?

Today’s Scripture is connected to the Jews’ Babylonian Captivity (see verse 10). For 70 years, the Kingdom of Judah would live in the foreign territory of Babylonia because of habitual violation of the Law of Moses. However, a remnant would come back to the Promised Land. In the short-term, that was the return under Zerubbabel and Ezra (see the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi). In the long-term, however, it speaks of a regathering of Israel even future from us. That would be Christ’s Second Coming in Matthew 24:30,31.

Read the verses immediately following today’s Scripture: “[12] Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. [13] And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. [14] And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” Israel’s believing remnant will recognize their apostate nation is doomed under the Old Covenant—but will be blessed under the New Covenant. As God drove the Jewish people from the land of Canaan during the Babylonian Captivity, so He will bring them back to the land of Canaan at Messiah’s return. See also Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Psalm 126:1-6; Isaiah 11:11,12; Jeremiah 16:14,15; Ezekiel 36:16-38; Zephaniah 3:20; et cetera.

We study the Bible “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15), carefully separating Israel from the Body of Christ, prophecy from mystery, Peter from Paul, earth from heaven, and law from grace. After the “evil” or curses of the Law have fallen on Israel and Jerusalem (Jeremiah 21:10; Jeremiah 39:16; Jeremiah 44:27), the “thoughts of peace” will be brought to pass (the “expected end” or hope of today’s Scripture). This is the LORD dealing with Israel, not us! “For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them” (Jeremiah 32:42).

Jeremiah 29:11 and Right Division #6

Saturday, May 25, 2024

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV).

What is the truth about today’s Scripture?

Notice other Pauline promises of God to the Church the Body of Christ. Unlike today’s Scripture, these verses are to and about us! “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39). “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13). “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:12,13). “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18). “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:…” (Philippians 1:6).

“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

We now summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Jeremiah 29:11 and Right Division #5

Friday, May 24, 2024

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV).

What is the truth about today’s Scripture?

If we resort to quoting Jeremiah 29:11 in a desperate attempt to be comforted that God will bless us with good fortune, we are also forced to “name and claim” these curses in Jeremiah!

“For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire” (Jeremiah 21:10). “Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee” (Jeremiah 39:16). “Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them” (Jeremiah 44:27). God would curse unbelieving Israel for breaking the Old Covenant, but, as today’s Scripture asserts, He would then bless them under the New Covenant at Christ’s Second Coming and subsequent Millennial Kingdom.

As opposed to taking Israel’s verses and making them our own, we can see the writings of our Apostle Paul—God’s spokesman to us (Romans 11:13)—and rejoice in His promises to and about us. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:…” (Ephesians 1:3). “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;…” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

There are still other Pauline promises to us….

Jeremiah 29:11 and Right Division #4

Thursday, May 23, 2024

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV).

What is the truth about today’s Scripture?

It is extremely easy to isolate Bible verses from contexts. After all, it has been done for centuries upon centuries upon centuries—and, blindly following this example, a great many sincere souls do not realize their error. Since whole theological systems and entire denominations have been constructed on these “proof-texts,” such a habit of ripping verses out of their settings is not so readily abandoned. To complicate matters, religious tradition is difficult to address because it is a personal, sensitive topic. Still, if we have any hope of understanding and enjoying the Bible, we must start treating the Scriptures with more respect.

All of the Bible is for us, it is all for our learning (Romans 15:4), but not all of the Bible is to us or about us. Whenever we find good news in Scripture—such as the promise of a blessing (see today’s Scripture, Jeremiah 29:11)—that does not automatically mean God the Holy Spirit is addressing us. If we will believe the verse, we must also believe the context when it restricts the verse to a specific audience, time, and/or place.

Since it is shoddy handling of the Holy Bible, we must forsake our tendency to leave all the curses for Israel while claiming all the blessings for ourselves. In Jeremiah chapter 29, both the blessings and the curses belong to Israel instead of us. If we do “name and claim” today’s Scripture as applicable to us, we must also “name and claim” the fact we will be deported to Babylon for 70 years (verse 10). Such Bible usage makes no sense, does it? At this point, someone inevitably voices a concern: “But is it not true that God has something good in store for us as members of the Church the Body of Christ?” Definitely, without a doubt, we have some wonderful promises from God—but we do not have to commit spiritual larceny (steal Israel’s verses) to “name and claim” them!

Let us see God’s Word to and about us….

Jeremiah 29:11 and Right Division #3

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV).

What is the truth about today’s Scripture?

So as to appreciate the full meaning of today’s Scripture, we have to look at it in context. Jeremiah’s focus is the Babylonian Captivity of the Kingdom of Judah, which commenced approximately 600 years before Christ. Judah’s people have violated the Law of Moses by engaging in idol worship, so the curses or punishments are now being meted out. Yet, false prophets were spreading lies about how no such chastisement was coming. They supposed Judah’s people exiled to Babylon would soon return to the land of Canaan. Such wrong information deceived their audience, and the LORD through Jeremiah exposed them. They needed to settle in Babylon because they would remain in that foreign territory for seven decades.

Re-read verses 5-10: “[5] Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; [6] Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. [7] And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. [8] For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. [9] For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. [10] For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.”

Now, today’s Scripture: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” This is Judah’s return to Canaan and restoration from the Babylonian Captivity….

NOTE: Regarding our New Testament Survey Project, we have now finished Romans verse-by-verse and will soon begin 1 Corinthians verse-by-verse. All Romans videos are archived here.