Category: Christ’s earthly ministry

Twice Healed

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house” (Matthew 9:6,7 KJV).

Many today emphasize Jesus’ miracle-working power, but few ever grasp why He performed those healings….

In the context of today’s Scripture (Matthew 9:2-8), and its parallel passages of Mark 2:3-12 and Luke 5:18-26, four people carry a man who is “sick of the palsy” (paralyzed, although plagued with involuntary tremors) and bring him to Jesus Christ in order to be healed. The Lord Jesus declared, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20).

Some of Israel’s religious leaders are now irritated: “And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth” (Matthew 9:3; Mark 2:6-7a; Luke 5:21). “Who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7b; Luke 5:21). Jesus, God manifested in human flesh, read their minds (Matthew 9:4; Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22)! Today’s Scripture (cf. Mark 2:10,11; Luke 5:24) is Jesus’ response to their disbelief. His reply affords us an opportunity to see why He healed sick people during His earthly ministry.

Jesus commanded the paralytic to arise from his bed and go to his house: the Bible says the man “immediately” jumped up and walked home (today’s Scripture; cf. Mark 2:12; Luke 5:25)!

Just as illness hinders the physical body from functioning properly, so sin disrupts the soul and spirit from doing what God designed them to do. Those crippled people the Lord Jesus Christ healed depicted Israel’s spiritual condition (impotent due to sin and laden with pagan idolatry), unable to be His vessels to the equally sinful Gentiles.

Why did Jesus heal sick physical bodies? The Jews needed a sign (1 Corinthians 1:22): “That ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” To prove to Israel that He could heal their souls (forgiveness). The paralytic’s healing demonstrated that Jesus Christ indeed could deliver Israel from the greatness sickness of all—sin!

A Creature of Darkness Not in Darkness

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

“And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God” (Luke 4:33,34 KJV).

Israel may not recognize her Messiah, but this devil does!

You would think that, after almost 2,000 years, the Church the Body of Christ would know its doctrine, duty, walk, and destiny. Alas, darkness prevails—as if Paul’s epistles were never written! The Body of Christ cannot adequately affect the culture around it for God’s glory because, like the lost world, not even most professing “Christians” know sound Bible doctrine.

Sadly, Satan and his cohorts usually know more about what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing, than His own people. Satan knows God is not dealing with Israel as He did before Paul’s salvation (many Christians still do not understand that). The devil knows that Paul is our apostle (many Christians still do not know that). Satan knows about false “bibles” (many Christians are still oblivious to that). The devil is aware that God is currently administering grace and not law (many Christians still do not understand that). The devil knows we the Church the Body of Christ are not “spiritual Israel” (many Christians do not know that either).

Spiritual ignorance also plagued Israel, as the LORD affirmed: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… thou hast forgotten the law of thy God” (Hosea 4:6). Hundreds of years later, we read in today’s Scripture that while Israel does not recognize Jesus as her Messiah, a fallen angelic spirit of Satan says to Jesus, “I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.” That devil was more aware of God’s program than Israel, God’s earthly people, was!

We who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour are “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). Hence, let us walk in spiritual light: let us walk by faith in sound Pauline Bible doctrine and not be in darkness….

Good Riddance! #5

Saturday, April 13, 2013

“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13 KJV).

God’s people have never been welcome here in “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) because He has never been welcome here. In short, if lost people could utter two words to us Christians after we have been raptured out, it would be, “Good riddance!”

The context of today’s Scripture uses the historical narrative of Cain and Abel to reinforce the doctrine the Holy Spirit is communicating through the Apostle John: “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:11-13).

John, writing to believing Jews who will live after our Dispensation of Grace—that is, who will live during the seven-year Tribulation—uses material the Bible already taught to further educate them. We can gain two main points from this passage.

Firstly, John reminds them of the kingdom doctrine Jesus Christ uttered to His little flock (believing Israel) during His earthly ministry: “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). These Jewish believers are to love one another, just as Jesus Christ loved them (contrast this with today’s Scripture).

Secondly, John reminds believing Israel that just as unbelieving, disobedient Cain murdered his brother, Abel, the man of faith and God’s prophet, so her unbelieving brethren (that is, apostate Israel) will seek to persecute and kill her. Remember, Jesus Christ warned “a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:32-42). Speaking of the Tribulation, Jesus predicted His Jewish followers would not only be hated by the unbelieving Gentiles, but also by unbelieving Israel (who are all following Satan’s evil world system and the antichrist’s apostate religious system).

John, in today’s Scripture, reminds his audience suffering in the Tribulation, that Satan’s world system and its members have always hated the Lord Jesus Christ’s people. They should not be shocked, nor should they lose heart….

Good Riddance! #1

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13 KJV).

God’s people have never been welcome here in “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) because He has never been welcome here. In short, if lost people could utter two words to us Christians after we have been raptured out, it would be, “Good riddance!”

Our Lord Jesus Christ was certainly unpopular with the religious and political leaders of His day because they dared not submit to Him, the God of creation, and His righteousness. They hated His message, so they attempted to get rid of Him any chance they got. Ultimately, they were quite pleased to have Him hanging on Calvary’s cross and slowly dying, during which time they mocked Him, laughed at Him, and reviled Him!

Just hours before that crucifixion, Jesus reminded His Jewish followers: “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me” (John 16:1,2). Ironically, the Jews, only about half a day later, would kill Jesus because they believed He was an imposter, and they believed their JEHOVAH God would want Him to be put to death. Imagine their horror when He resurrected and started preaching again!

The Apostle Paul was called a “pestilent fellow” (Acts 24:5)—he was not just annoying to the hell-bound pagans to whom he preached, but he was also a “mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” Paul’s lost critics could not figure him out: he was a former Jewish religious leader who had hated Jesus Christ, and yet, for the past 25 years, he has constantly preached against Israel for killing her Messiah (Jesus), and unbelieving Israel had attempted to get rid of him for years! (For instance, read about the Jews fatally stoning Paul years earlier in Acts 14:19,20.) Regardless of who he was, he had to go, too!

We should not be surprised to experience the lost world treating us the same way….

Messiah’s Joy Amidst Calvary’s Grief #1

Friday, March 29, 2013

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 KJV).

Do you ever wonder what our Lord Jesus Christ was thinking about while He hung there on Calvary’s cross?

Psalm 22:1-21 provides us with a glimpse of Jesus’ thoughts as He endured that awful crucifixion: He is greatly tormented physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Various verses in Psalm 69 provide additional insight, especially as death begins to close in on His soul. Written about 1000 B.C., these and other “Messianic psalms” graphically describe assorted events in our Lord’s earthly life (in this case, His crucifixion)… centuries before they occurred!

What Jesus Christ thought about while suspended on Calvary’s cross was the Holy Scriptures. He had faith in the Old Testament passages that applied to Him. No matter what happened to Him, He knew it was His Father’s will, and His Father would be glorified. As He stated earlier, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup [of Thy wrath; Revelation 14:10] from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). “…The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29bc).

Do you realize what today’s Scripture is saying? Jesus Christ felt immense physiological and spiritual pain, but He thought about the overall view: “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame” (cf. Psalm 16:8-11). Yes, the Old Testament spoke of His suffering, and those Scriptures must be fulfilled, but it also testified of His glorious kingdom that would follow, and those Scriptures also were to be fulfilled in due time! “…The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11). While it did not diminish the extent of His distress and suffering, Jesus Christ kept in memory the glory His Father would give Him once He had endured the crucifixion (Philippians 2:8-11). It gave Him such joy. He felt grief unspeakable, but He also had joy unfathomable!

The Spirit of God and the Word of God #6

Sunday, March 24, 2013

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

As today’s Scripture demonstrates, the Spirit of God never operates apart from the Word of God.

Without the Holy Spirit, we would not have the completed Holy Bible.

The doctrine of Bible inspiration is best described by Jesus Christ in Matthew 4:4: “It is written [Deuteronomy 8:3], Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (cf. Luke 4:4).

In Acts 1:16, the Apostle Peter says about the Old Testament Scripture he is quoting, “which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake….” The Apostle Paul, also quoting the Old Testament, says in Acts 28:25, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers….” Jesus Christ Himself, when He quoted the Old Testament, commented: “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost…” (Mark 12:36). Our Lord Jesus asked, “Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God…?” (Matthew 22:31).

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20,21).

Thus, the Bible says of itself in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Interestingly enough, the root spir in inspiration means “breath, air.” The Greek word translated “inspiration of God” in 2 Timothy 3:16 is theopneustos. The root pneu forms the Greek word pneuma, meaning “spirit, air.” Pneuma is paired with hagion (“holy”), thus becoming pneuma hagion, translated as “Holy Spirit” or “Holy Ghost.” When we say the Holy Bible is “inspired of God,” did you know we are actually emphasizing the Person (the Holy Ghost) who gave it to us? Wow!

But, the Holy Spirit also plays a role in preserving those inspired words of God, so we could have them and understand them today….

The Spirit of God and the Word of God #4

Friday, March 22, 2013

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

As today’s Scripture demonstrates, the Spirit of God never operates apart from the Word of God.

About a week after the Lord Jesus Christ left planet earth in Acts chapter 1, the Holy Spirit came to earth in Acts chapter 2 to take His place, as He had promised weeks earlier in John 14:26: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he [a Person, not a force!] shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The Holy Spirit enabled Israel’s believing remnant to remember what Jesus Christ taught for three years, causing them to write the Four Gospels of His earthly ministry. Also, the Holy Ghost revealed to them additional doctrine regarding their prophetic (kingdom) program, which they would later use to write their other New Testament Scriptures (Hebrews through Revelation).

Eventually, the ascended Lord Jesus Christ initiated a new program—our Dispensation of Grace—by saving Saul of Tarsus and making him Paul the apostle of the Gentiles. God had now begun forming a new group of believers, the Church the Body of Christ, who would do in the heavenly places what the nation Israel would do in the earth. The Apostle Paul received the doctrine for this dispensation by a direct revelation from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11,12; Ephesians 3:1-4).

Moreover, via Paul’s audible preaching and his written epistles, Romans through Philemon, the Holy Spirit was the Person of the Godhead responsible for revealing that secret (mystery) program and its respective doctrine to God’s holy apostles and prophets: “[The Dispensation of Grace] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:5). Even today, the Holy Spirit enables us to understand God’s Word (today’s Scripture).

Let us see how else the Holy Spirit works….

The Spirit of God and the Word of God #3

Thursday, March 21, 2013

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

As today’s Scripture demonstrates, the Spirit of God never operates apart from the Word of God.

For approximately three years, the Lord Jesus Christ ministered throughout the land of Israel. After the Jews had crucified Him, and after He resurrected, another prophecy needed fulfillment—His ascension to His Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1). Once He ascended, His apostles and disciples were to continue His work on earth by leading all of unbelieving Israel to trust Him as Messiah. These Jewish believers were just ordinary people, weak and fallible. How could they execute the work that Jesus Christ had started?

The Lord Jesus promised: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he [a Person, not a force!] may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16,17).

Jesus Christ asked His Father to send the Holy Spirit on this “little flock” of Jewish believers, thereby equipping them to carry on His ministry in His absence. The Holy Ghost—“the Spirit of truth”—would testify of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost would speak to unbelieving Israel via the believing Jews “bearing witness” (John 15:26,27). Christ explains: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:… when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth… He shall glorify me” (John 16:7-14).

When the Holy Spirit was poured out on believing Israel in Acts chapter 2, they were then able to preach God’s Word as Jesus Christ had done earlier….

The Spirit of God and the Word of God #2

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

As today’s Scripture demonstrates, the Spirit of God never operates apart from the Word of God.

When God wants something done, He speaks it, and it happens. For instance, during the creation week, as described in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we repeatedly read the phrase: “And God said… And God said… And God said…,” et cetera. The various systems of creation came into existence and became operational whenever the Lord Jesus Christ spoke: the heaven, the heavens, the earth, all life forms, and so on appeared whenever their Creator commanded them to be so. Furthermore, we read in Genesis 1:2: “…And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Although “God created all things by Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9), the Holy Spirit was also present during the creation week, and He too was active in the creation of the universe.

Our Lord Jesus Christ told His Jewish disciples, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he [a Person, not a force!], the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:12,13). Christ is referring to the (future) day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), when He will baptize Israel’s believing remnant with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4,5). The Holy Ghost will then speak words through them so unbelieving Jews can hear God’s Word, know what God is doing, and how to be saved from their sins. Later, the Holy Spirit will cause those men to write the New Testament Scriptures (the “all truth” and “things to come”).

The Holy Spirit does not operate haphazardly, nor does He work apart from God’s Word. Wherever the Holy Spirit is, the Word of God is present; wherever the Word of God is, the Holy Spirit is present….

Ye Are Gods? #4

Saturday, March 16, 2013

“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” (John 10:34 KJV).

What did Jesus Christ mean in today’s Scripture?

When Jesus claimed, “I and my Father are one” (verse 30), the Jews want to stone Him to death (verse 31).

“Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” (John 10:32-36).

Our Lord Jesus Christ is forcing them to remember the contents of Psalm 82 by quoting one of its verses:

  • By quoting verse 6, “Ye are gods,” He is equating His audience in John chapter 10 with the evil and unbelieving rulers of Israel of centuries past. They are all antagonistic against God’s will (in Psalm 82, instead of ruling as God would, they rule Israel in wickedness; in John chapter 10, they reject God the Son and want to kill Him). Jesus’ audience knew they were wicked!
  • Psalm 82:7 said, “Ye are gods… but ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” Jesus reminded His audience that their punishment was coming!
  • Also, Psalm 82:8—“Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations”—was in their minds. They were not accomplishing God’s will, so God (Jesus Christ) would have to perform His will without them (John 10:36-38). Jesus’ audience knew their God had arrived!

By quoting Psalm 82, Jesus reaffirmed His deity and confirmed their unbelief! The Jews understood what Jesus said: they were so irritated and convicted that they unsuccessfully re-attempted to physically seize Him (John 10:39). Behold the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ! 🙂