Bible Text: Luke 8:16-18 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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May 7, 2023
“Hear and Understand, Believe and Obey”
Luke 8:16-18

Six weeks ago, March 26, was the last time we were in Luke chapter 8, after which we spent several Sunday’s studying the events of Passion Week, followed by an extended study on the post-resurrection appearances of Christ.

As we open our Bibles today, let’s begin with a brief overview of Luke 8:4-15. As you may recall, this is a parable about a sower who sows seed on four different types of soil; but the seed is only able to grow and produce fruit in one of the soils.

After Jesus had told the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-8), He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  His disciples didn’t understand so they

(9-10), “began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. And He said, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

Then Jesus (Luke 8:11-15) explained the parable to His disciples; revealing to them the spiritual truth it contained.  He is not just talking about a sower casting seed onto different types/conditions of soil, the seed is the gospel of Christ and the soil is the human heart, but only one of the heart conditions receives the seed, begins to grow, and produces fruit, i.e., only one of the hearts hears, understands, believes, and obeys the Word of God concerning Salvation.

Mark 1:14-15, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”  17, Come, and follow Me.”  So, what exactly is the gospel?

1Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

1Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 23, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you see?  At the moment of genuine belief in the death [payment for your sins] and resurrection [demonstration of eternal life] of Jesus Christ you are born-again by God’s Spirit, and you will indeed bear fruit, [do the things that please God], for you have been born of God’s Spirit, becoming a child of God, a believer and follower of Christ, a first person witness to the Salvation of God in Christ.

When you hear and understand, you either believe and obey the message of Christ, at which time all your sins are forgiven (past, present, future), or you continue to reject the message of Christ, remaining dead in your sins.
Read Luke 8:16…  In the Bible, light is often used as a metaphor for the spiritual truth and spiritual life that comes from God, referring to all things that reveal and exemplify God; whereas darkness usually refers to those things that are void of God’s person, presence, pleasure, and power.

So light is a synonym for all things God, and darkness is a synonym for all things void of God, i.e., anything that is offensive toward or displeases God.

John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

1Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 

Matthew provides a parallel passage to Luke 8:16 (Matthew 5:14-16), “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

     God’s Church is illustrated as a lighted city on a hill; while true believers are said to be the individual lamps in each of the homes of the lighted city on the hill.                                                                                           Believing in Christ brings you into God’s Kingdom where you receive eternal life from God, in fact, the very Light [or revelation] of God, in order that you will expose unbelievers to the marvelous revelation of God in the Person of Jesus Christ.

2Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

Our purpose as Christians, is to let God’s Light show through us, so that those who are living in darkness might be exposed to God’s love and forgiveness.

Read Luke 8:17-18…  The Spirit of God exposes everything, i.e., nothing is hidden from God (Hebrews 4:12-13), “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him [to whom we must give account].”

God knows all things, even what is in our hearts.  God’s forgiveness and eternal life is granted to all who hear the message of Christ, understand it, believe it, and demonstrate obedience to it; for we have come out of the darkness of unbelief, into God’s marvelous Light, by believing in God’s Son.

See Ephesians 5:8-13…  All of us, at one time, were guilty of sin, separated from the light [revelation of God] and the life [eternal life with God], we were living in darkness; but now we are children of light, seeking to do that which pleases God.  We are not to participate in the fruitless deeds of darkness; but instead we are to expose them for all to see; for everything exposed by the light is made known.

See Ephesians 5:14-17…  The truth of God’s Holy Word, through the work of God’s Spirit, exposes all sin, so that those who are spiritually dead can be made alive through repentance of sin and belief in the Savior.

Unbelievers are spiritually dead [asleep] living in sin’s darkness, unaware of their lost condition and the judgment of God’s Wrath to come.  God wants them to wake up and receive God’s forgiveness for sin and eternal life, through His Son.

Paul offers an invitation in verse 14, to all who are not children of God, so that they might come to the light of Christ and be saved, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Then Paul continues in verses 15-17 saying, “be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,” “making the most of your time,” “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  What is God’s will, what does He desire?
1Timothy 2:3-4, “God our Savior, …desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

 

In John 14:6, Jesus declares that He is the only way to God, and the only truth from God, and the only life with God; and that no one comes to the Father but through Him, God the Son [i.e., no one is made right with God, no one is forgiven their sins, no one goes to heaven] apart from believing in Christ’s sacrificial death as full payment for our sins, and His sovereign resurrection from the dead as demonstration that He is the resurrection and the life.

1John 1: 5-7, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

God’s Word, from beginning to end, demonstrates God’s plan to separate light from darkness, forever (cf. Genesis 1:1-4; Revelation 21:23-24; 22:3-5).

Speaking to those who believe in Him, Jesus said (Matthew 5:14) “You are the light of the world.”  16, ”Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Has anyone come up to you lately and asked you what the iight is that is shining through you?  Probably not!  But if you are a Christian (a believer and follower of Jesus Christ), you will desire for the light of God to be seen in and through your life, so that, when an unbeliever asks you why you are different from the rest of the world, you can tell them it is all because of God’s Son.

John 3:16-19, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” 36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, for the wrath of God abides [remains] on him.”

He who has ears, let him hear!

Jesus Christ, God the Son, took our punishment for sin upon Himself, dying in our place on the cross, according to the Scriptures, He was then placed in a tomb, but on the third day, He rose from the grave alive, according to the Scriptures, demonstrating His authority over sin, death and judgement.

But that is not all, He promised that He is coming back to take all those who believe in Him, to be with Him in heaven forever, where there will no longer be any darkness; and there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain, or death, for all those things have passed away and will never return.

Now to God our Father, to God the Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and to God the Holy Spirit, be the glory forever and ever, Amen!

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Matthew 16:13-16 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd | Above are the
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April 30, 2023
“Who Is Jesus Christ?”
Matthew 16:13-16

Introduction

“Who is Jesus Christ?”

After 2,000 years people still wonder about the man called Jesus.

 

Matthew 16:13-16

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,
He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah;
but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.”

 

Who is Jesus Christ and why do we believe in him?

 

A Good Man

 

Misunderstood Rabbi

 

Revolutionary Jesus

 

Ecumenical Jesus

 

To answer the great question of history,
“Who is Jesus Christ?”

We turn to the New Testament and look at

 

5 Important Facts.

 

Fact #1 – Fulfilled Prophecy

 

Fact #2 – Jesus made astounding claims concerning himself.

 

Fact #3 – Supernatural Power

 

Fact #4 – The Empty Tomb

 

Fact #5 – Transformed Lives

 

Closing:

 

Jesus’ second question to his disciples is more
personal and the most important.

“Who do you say I am?”

 

Where do you stand?

How do you answer this question,
“Who is Jesus Christ?”

Your eternal destiny hangs on your answer.

 

Jim Shepherd

Bible Text: various verses | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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April 23, 2023
“Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Part Two”

Last week we studied some of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus: in the Garden near the tomb, on the road to Emmaus, in the upper room (10 Disciples present), and a week later in the upper room (11 Disciples present).  All of these events took place on a Sunday.

     Please turn to John 21:1-14…  The disciples had previously been told by Jesus (Matthew 28:10) to, “Go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” 16, “The eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.”  Did you notice, it says the eleven disciples went to meet Jesus at a specified mountain in Galilee.

Back to John 21:2…  There are seven apostles in this story, “Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of [Jesus’] disciples were together.  It is very likely that the two unnamed disciples are Philip and Andrew, for they were often listed with Peter, James, and John (cf. Matthew 10:2-3, Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). .

Peter said to the other six (John 21:3), “I’m going fishing,” and they said, “We will also come with you.”  They got into a boat (perhaps belonging to Peter, or maybe John), and they fished all night and caught nothing.

It would appear that Peter and some of the others who had been fishermen when Jesus called them, were now going back to their former occupation.

John 21:4-5 tells us they hadn’t caught anything and Jesus standing on the shore, unrecognized by them, tells them to try the right side of the boat; they obey, and their net becomes filled with of fish.

John says to Peter, “It is the Lord.”  Peter jumps into the lake, but he others remain in the boat, but when they finally reached the beach and got out of the boat, they could see there was a small fire with some fish and bread cooking.  At this point Jesus tells them to bring some of fish they have caught, but the net of fish is still in the water, offshore.  On hearing the Lord’s command, Peter grabs ahold of the net and pulls it up on the land, full of fish, 153 large fish.  John (a fisherman by profession) is amazed (John 21:11) that such a huge catch of large fish has not torn the net.

Jesus invites the men to come and have breakfast with Him (John 21:12-13), and although they are still not absolutely sure it is Him, they don’t ask any questions, for in their hearts they must know it is Jesus.

It appears that they drew close to where Jesus was cooking, although they didn’t take anything to eat; at least, not until the Lord took some of the bread and the fish and gave it to them.  The resurrected Lord is still providing for these guys.

John  tells us (verse 14), this is the third time Jesus has revealed Himself to His disciples since He rose from the grave (see John 20:19-20, 26-29).

     The next appearance of Jesus seems to take place on the mountain in Galilee, possibly the same place where He had given the Sermon on the Mount.

Please turn to 1Corinthians 15:6, “He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.”

Jesus had told His followers to go to Galilee and there they would see Him, as most of them were Galileans.  This may be the mountain on which Jesus gave the Great Commission (Matthew 28). No more is known of this appearance.

See 1Corinthians 15:7a…  It is likely that the James mentioned here is the Lord’s half-brother, who did not come to saving faith until he saw the risen Lord; although we don’t know where Jesus appeared to him, James later become a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church, and the author of book of James.  There are four James mentioned in the New Testament (cf. Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:12-16), James the brother of John (sons of Zebedee), James the son of Alphaeus, James the father of Judas (not Iscariot), and James the half-brother of Jesus.  There is no more information about the appearance in 1Corinthians 15:7a given in the Scriptures.

See 1Corinthians 15:7b…  I believe the statement, “then to all the apostles,” mostly applies to what occurred in John 20:26-29.  If you’ll remember, it was on the second Lord’s Day after Jesus rose from the grave, when Jesus appeared to all eleven of the disciples who were hiding in a house with the doors/windows secured.

But there is also a possibility that “all the apostles” could be related to what is recorded in Acts 1:1-13, where all eleven of them are mentioned by name.

See 1Corinthians 15:8-9…  All the others to whom the Lord had appeared, had seen Him while He was alive and after He had risen from the grave, during the 40 days before He ascended back into heaven; but the Lord didn’t appear to Paul until several years later, after He had already returned to heaven.

Paul says, “and last of all He (Jesus) appeared to me also, as to one untimely [abnormally] born.  For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

No wonder Paul felt like one abnormally born, the other apostles had walked

with and lived with Jesus for three years, being taught by Him; whereas Paul had not only rejected Him as the Messiah, he had persecuted His followers.

And yet Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, several years after He had ascended into heaven (cf. Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-11; 26:1-18).

Did Saul actually see and hear the Lord?  See 1Corinthians 9:1, Acts 9:1-7.

Note: The Greek word phone [fo-nay] translated voice, means audible sound or speech.  The most common use in the Bible is for the voice of God, humans, angels, or any audible sound in general (cf. John 3:8; Revelation 1:10-15).

 

Jesus provided demonstrable proof and convincing evidence through His appearing to a great number of people, recorded in the Scriptures, as Luke writes, (Acts 1:3), “After His suffering [His death by crucifixion], He showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

Then there is the testimony of the church, millions of changed lives throughout history (cf. John 1:12-13; 3:1-8).  Most importantly, there is the personal indwelling of the God’s Spirit, confirming your spiritual birth into God’s family [the church, the body of Christ], and the assurance of eternal life with God, while at the same time (on this side of heaven), there is the continuing process of growing in your knowledge of and relationship with God, ,while being conformed to the character and nature of Christ, in obedience to the Word of God, to glory of God the Father.

The continuing testimony of those who belong to the Lord is the witness of Christ in this present and future generations.

Romans 10:13, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

1John 1:1-3, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

John was a first-hand witness to what Jesus said and did, including His death and resurrection.  John was not only an Apostle, but he was one of Christ’s most intimate followers, along with Peter and James.

John focuses on the historic reality of Jesus Christ (the God-man); while the false teachers of that time claimed belief in Christ, yet denied that He was both God and man.  John desires that all Christians form and hold to a proper view of Christ’s humanity and divinity.

Notice how John states that he (and the other Apostles) have heard, have seen, and have touched Christ.  John emphasizes how he personally looked upon and touched Jesus during His earthly ministry before and after His resurrection.

John writes via his own personal testimony, that God did come in the flesh and He did provide forgiveness and eternal life.  John declares that those who have genuine fellowship with the Father through Christ, will know, believe and teach what is recorded here.

 

This letter was written about 50-60 years after Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension; and yet, John has a vivid recollection of all that Jesus did, said, and was.  How is that possible (cf. John 14:15-17), “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” (25-26), “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”.

In 1John 1:1-3, John reemphasizes his own personal experiences and eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life on earth.  This first-person testimony is very important, especially in light of all the false teachers in those days (as well as today) who arrogantly and falsely proclaim about the Christ they have never seen, heard, touched, ,or known.

You and I, as God’s people, are to testify to others about the personal and growing relationship we have with Jesus Christ, as we prayerfully communicate with God, reading, studying and applying His Word to our life, learning to trust Him for what we need and thanking Him for all that He provides.

Everyone who genuinely seeks forgiveness for their sins has eternal life and fellowship with God the Father through Christ the Son, who is the Word of God.

John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

John 5:26-27, “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.” 39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

John 11:25-26, Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

John 14:6, “I am the [only] way [to God], the [only] truth [from God], the [only] life [with God]; [and] no one comes to the Father [is made righteous, goes to heaven, is granted forgiveness and eternal life] but through Me.”

1John 5:11-12, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

    God’s people are to be witnesses, just as was John and the other apostles were witnesses; we must be ready and willing to share the message of Christ with anyone and everyone who will listen.

God’s people are messengers; Christ is the Message.  Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life and the Living Water, and everyone who believes in Him will be saved (2Corinthians 5:18-21), “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,  namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 
Jesus Christ: Crucified, Resurrected, Coming Again!
 
 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: various | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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April 16, 2023
“Resurrection Appearances of Jesus: Part One ”

Over these past weeks, we have studied the events surrounding Passion Week: Christ enters Jerusalem for the last time; He pours out His heart to the people about God’s love for them; He sets aside the old covenant of Passover to establish the new covenant of the Lord’s Supper; He is arrested and taken to stand before five mock trials in the early morning; after which, He is beaten and then crucified. On the cross Jesus speaks seven times, according to the Scriptures, He then dies, is buried, and on the third day He comes out of the tomb alive.

Jesus appeared to His followers over a 40 day period, before He ascended up into the clouds with His disciples watching.  Today we’ll look at the biblical record concerning the Lord’s post-resurrection appearances.

Please turn to John 20:1-9…  It is Sunday morning, the first day of the week.  Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark, and she finds that the stone covering the entrance to the tomb has been moved aside, Jesus is gone!

Mary runs to find Peter and “the other disciple” [cf. John 18:16; 20:2, 3, 4, 8, 25] whom Jesus loved” [cf. John 13:23, 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20], and to tell them that the Lord’s body is gone.  When Peter and John heard this they ran to the tomb.

John (verse 4, “the other disciple) gets to the tomb first and looks in to see the burial cloths, but he doesn’t go in (verse 5), he waits for Peter to arrive, and of course Peter goes right in the and finds that Jesus’ body is gone.

John now enters, and seeing the linen burial wrappings lying there, John recounts the moment (verse 8-9) saying that he now believed what he and Peter had previously not understood, that Jesus must rise from the dead on the third day.

     Please turn to John 20:10-17…  Peter and John left the tomb to go to where they were staying in Jerusalem, perhaps in the upper room where they had celebrated the Lord’s Supper, and perhaps where the Holy Sp[irit came at Pentecost.

Mary had evidently returned to the garden and was just outside the tomb weeping, when she saw two angels near where Jesus’ body had been laid (although she just saw them as men, not knowing that they were angels).

The angels ask (verse 13), “why are you weeping?”  She shared her concern that the Lord had been taken away and she didn’t know where He was.  Mary then turned around (we aren’t told why), perhaps she sensed someone was there?  Jesus is now standing there, but Mary doesn’t recognize Him in His resurrected body.

Both Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:1-10 also record Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene (and other women) at the tomb after they had seen the angels, and Jesus instructs them to go tell the disciples that they will see Him in Galilee.

Back to John 20:15…  Jesus asks Mary why she is crying, and who she is looking for?  Thinking that He is the gardener she asked Him if He knows where Jesus’ body has been taken, so that she might go and get it.

At this point (verse 16) Jesus calls her name, “Mary,” at that moment she recognizes Him, saying “Rabboni!” [Teacher, expressing honor and reverence.]

Jesus (verse 17) tells Mary not to cling to Him, but to go to His disciples and tell them she has seen Him.

We don’t know how much Mary was aware of, perhaps the apostles had told her what Jesus to them, that He was going to the Father (John 14:2-3), “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”  But until then, the Holy Spirit [Spirit of Christ] would come to live in them (cf. John 14:16-20; 16:7).

Please turn to Luke 24:13-35…  Jesus appears to two disciples as they are walking on the road to Emmaus, about 7 miles away, on the day of His resurrection.  They are not part of the eleven remaining disciples of the original Twelve (Judas now deceased).

We are given the name of one of them (verse 18) Cleopas; and although he is named nowhere else in the New Testament, he must have been known to the followers of Christ, or he wouldn’t be named here.

These two disciples (verses 13-16) don’t seem to have any idea that it is Jesus who approaches them and begins to walk with them, listening to them explain to Him about the things which have happened concerning Jesus the Nazarene (verses 17-24), how He was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people; and that He had been arrested by the Chief Priests and turned over to be crucified, that He was buried, and yet when some of His followers went to the tomb they found it empty, but there were angels there telling them that He was indeed alive!

Jesus reminds them (verses 25-26), how the prophets foretold Christ would suffer, die, and be buried, yet He would rise from the grave on the third day.

Then (verse 27), “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures,” (cf Genesis 3:15). 1John 3:8, “The Son of God appeared… …to destroy the works of the devil.”

As Jesus and the two disciples approached Emmaus (verses 28-29), it is getting dark, so they invite Him to stay with them at their house.  And go inside, sit at a table, and prepare to having something to eat.

Jesus takes the bread and blesses it, then breaking it, He begins to give it to them (verses 30-31), “their eyes are opened and they recognize Him; then He vanishes from their sight!”

These disciples (verses 32-35) now understand the stranger is Jesus, their hearts burned within them while Jesus explained the Scriptures.  They immediately head for Jerusalem, where they find the eleven and those with them, gathered together saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter].’

Only Paul (1Corinthians 15:5) and Luke (Luke 24:34) mention that the Lord appeared to Cephas first, before any of the other Disciples.  Perhaps because Peter would be the first to preach the Gospel of Christ in Jerusalem, and he would be the first Pastor over of the church of God.  Why is he called Cephas,. Peter, and Simon?  Both Cephas [Aramaic] and Petros [Hebrew) mean “rock,” translated as Peter in English.

Jesus said (John 1:42), “‘You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).”

Just moments after the events of Luke 24:33-35, Jesus shows up on the evening of that first Sunday.  John 20:24 tells us that one of the disciples (Thomas, called Didymus) was not present when Jesus came that first Sunday.

Read Luke 24:36-43…  Jesus passes right through the walls and/or locked doors of the house where the disciples are gathered.  He appears right in front of them, even though (John 20:19) “…the doors were shut…”  The word translated “door” means a large solid door.  The word translated “shut” means locked or secured, often with a heavy bolt that slid through rings attached to the door and the door frame; this door would have been nearly impossible, to break down.

So, the disciples were hiding behind locked doors (John 20:19), “for fear of the Jews,” no doubt fearful of being arrested and hung on a cross, like Jesus.

Back to Luke 24:44-47…  Jesus then reminded them of things He already had told them, and began to show them how the Old Testament Scriptures spoke about Him (verse 45), “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

What did Jesus mean by “all things written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” being fulfilled?  Jesus had said this to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:25-27), speaking about His suffering, death and resurrection, recorded in, although not limited to, these: Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:1-12; Daniel 9:25-27; Psalm 16:10; Psalm 22:27-31.

Jesus spoke of these and other OT passages to His disciples, on several occasions (see Matthew 16:21;  Matthew 17:22-23; Matthew 20:18-19), declaring His victory over Satan, Sin, Death, and Judgement; all of the prophecies about the Holy One [the Messiah, the Christ] fulfilling the plan, purpose and provision of God, were fulfilled by Him: God’s Son, Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. Hebrews 1:1-3, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

 

Please turn to John 20:26-29…  We are told here that after a week, on the following Sunday, the Lord came to them again; but this time, Thomas was present. The Lord invited Thomas to touch His wounds, that he might believe, for previously Thomas had said (John 20:25), “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

We are not told if Thomas reached out and touched the wounds in Christ’s body (verse 27), but we have Thomas’s confession of faith and belief (verse 28), “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”  Jesus accepts his faith, while declaring that those who believed in Him without seeing Him (verse 29) will indeed be blessed. There were thousands of believers in Israel at the time of Jesus’ resurrection from the grave, most of them hadn’t seen the risen Lord, and probably would never see the empty tomb; but they believed that Christ had risen and appeared to many of His followers; who were witnesses of this truth.

None of us here today have seen the risen Lord or looked into the empty tomb; and yet, many of us believe that He has risen from the dead, just like He said He would, and we have the indwelling assurance of the Holy Spirit that we have been born into God’s eternal family. Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” 17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Acts 2:21, “‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.””

1Timothy 2:3-6, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

Hebrews 10:10 “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” 14, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified,” 17-18, “‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

 

John 1:11-13, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

1John 5:1-5, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”-11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: various | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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April 9, 2023
“Good News of the Resurrection!”

     Today we celebrate the Good News of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

     Read Mark 2:1-11…  As Jesus is proclaiming the good news in a crowded room, we are told that four men carry in a paralytic but they can’t get to Jesus through the crowd, so they go up the outside stairway to the roof, dig through the thatch and earth roof, remove the tiles, and then lower the man in front of Jesus to the room below.

     It says (verse 5), Jesus “saw their faith,” and said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  It was clear to everyone that the man’s greatest need was to be able to walk, to be healed of his paralysis; but Jesus basically says, ‘I have healed your spirit, forgiving your sins.’ This man has just received eternal life, but he still can’t walk.

Some religious leaders hearing Jesus’ statement about forgiving sins, consider this to be blasphemy, for only God can forgive sins.

     Many of the Jews at that time, believed diseases and afflictions were the result of one’s own sin, i.e., this man’s paralysis was caused by his sin. Jesus confronts the Jews (verse 9) saying, “Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?

Anyone could say, “your sins are forgiven,” but who could verify whether or not it had happened?  But to say, “Get up… and walk” that miracle was clearly demonstrated and witnessed by all who were there.

By healing the paralytic, Jesus validated His claim and authority to grant forgiveness; for just as sure as there was physical healing, there was also spiritual healing, the forgiveness of sins.

The emphasis in this event is not the healing of this man’s body, but the healing of this man’s spirit. So, how does this relate to the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Well, we are told in the Scriptures that Jesus came to take upon Himself our punishment for sin’s penalty.

Read Isaiah 53:3-12…  He was despised and rejected by men… pierced for our sins; the punishment that brought us peace with God was poured out on Him, and by His shed blood we are spiritually healed, for He has paid the penalty for all our sins. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. He was put to death; and yet He came out of the grave alive.

What if we only had proof of Christ’s death, but no resurrection?  If you had been the paralytic man spoken of in Mark chapter 2, it would be like Jesus saying to you, “your sins are forgiven, really, trust Me!”  But there is no way for you to know if that is true, until after you die and wake up either in heaven or in hell.

 

But, if along with saying to you, “your sins are forgiven,” Jesus also said, “now, to prove that you have received forgiveness, and that I have such authority, ‘I say to you, get up and walk, you are healed of your paralysis,’” if indeed you could now walk, you would also know that you had received forgiveness for your sins.

In John’s vision (Revelation 1:17-18), he records the Lord’s words, “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ sovereignly confirms and declares that Jesus, through His own shed blood, did in fact take the punishment for our sins, and therefore, we have forgiveness and eternal life!

1Peter 3:18, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”

Listen, Jesus died on a Friday and was placed in a tomb before sundown, and on Sunday morning His body was missing; He had risen from the dead!

Read Matthew 28:1-15…  If Jesus did not rise from the grave, as He said He would, and His body was missing, then, someone had to take His body away.  But who could have done that?  There are three groups to consider:

The Jewish Religious Leaders: They didn’t want Christ’s body removed from the tomb; for a missing body could be perceived as a resurrected body.

Read Matthew 27:62-65…  The Jewish leaders pressured Pilate to put a seal on the tomb and a Roman guard unit there to keep the body in the grave, for Jesus had said (v. 63), “after three days I will rise again.”

The Roman Soldiers: These elite soldiers [Praetorian Guards, Pilot’s personal security force] were stationed at the tomb, to make sure Jesus’ body stayed put. Moving the body or allowing it to be taken, was punishable by death; therefore, they made sure Jesus’ body remained in the tomb, but then, they had never faced one of God’s mighty angels, like the one who rolled away the stone, and at this sight they fainted with fear.
Jesus’ Disciples: This group of mostly fishermen wouldn’t dare move the body and falsify Christ’s resurrection; for if they knew Jesus did not rise from the dead, they had no hope of eternal life, and it would have been better for them to quickly and quietly get out of the area, and deny ever knowing Him.

Why would the Disciples continue to proclaim the risen Lord, if it were not true?  And why would the Jewish leaders have to bribe the Roman soldiers to spread the “stolen body” story, if it were indeed true?

Jesus had told His disciples on several occasions, that He would be rejected, arrested, put to death, buried, and on the third day He would rise from the grave, according to God’s sovereign plan, purpose, and foretelling.

Mark 8:31, “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

Matthew 17:22-23, “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were deeply grieved.”

Luke 24:44-48, “‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”

John 14:1-3,“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

John 14:29, “Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.”

After His resurrection, before ascending back into heaven, Jesus appeared many times to His followers; we will study those events next Sunday morning.

The only reasonable explanation for the empty tomb is that which is repeatedly taught in the Scriptures: Jesus rose from the grave, by His own divine power and authority (John 10:17-18), “I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Christ’s death provided forgiveness; His resurrection demonstrated eternal life (John 11:25-26), “Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’”

Moments later, going to where Lazarus lay buried, Jesus said (John 11:39-44), “‘Remove the stone.’  Martha, the sister of the Lazarus, said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.’ When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”

Do you see what just happened?  Jesus loosed Lazarus from the bonds of death, demonstrating that he indeed had eternal life, for Lazarus belonged to the Lord.

Hebrews 9:27, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” in Matthew 25:46 Jesus says those who reject Him, “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous [those who receive Him], will go away into eternal life.”  Let that sink into your mind and heart for a moment.

Listen, the resurrection is not just an event, it is also a Person.  Jesus is the Son of God, and all authority rests in Him. Resurrection to eternal life is through Him. The greatest hope that we have, and that we celebrate today, on this sacred holiday, is that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior, is the Resurrection and the Life.

1John 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Christ alone is “the Resurrection and the Life,” He experienced death for us, bearing our sins on the Cross; and yet, He now lives, having been raised from the dead on the third day; and so we can know that we have eternal life in Him!

Today, we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior from the dead.  Our celebration isn’t only looking back at some event in the distant past, or looking forward to some event in the distant (or maybe not so distant) future —Christ’s resurrection should impact our lives every single day.

God wants us to know that Jesus Himself is the divine hope for everyone who places their trust in Him. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies; and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”

Remember, after He made that declaration, He asked Martha, “Do you believe this?”  And so today, on Easter Sunday, I ask you a similar question:

Do you believe in and confess Jesus Christ as Lord?

Do you have the assurance in your heart [your spirit] that you belong to the Savior and that you will live, even if you die before He returns?

Take a moment, earnestly consider your relationship with God through Christ.

     For [God] says (2Corinthians 6:2), “‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation.’”

 

If you know that you have eternal life, praise God, Hallelujah!

 

But if you are unsure that you have salvation through Jesus Christ, please, I urge you, settle this issue right now, right here.

 

     Admit to God that you are a sinner (we all are).

 

Repent of your sins, asking God to forgive you (He turns no one away).

Believe in Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior – that He died for your sins, was buried, and He rose from the grave to proclaim victory over death and judgement.

 

Receive forgiveness for your sins and eternal life with God, then pray to God and read God’s Word daily, obeying what you understand, as you live your life for Him.

Participate in a Bible Believing, Teaching, and Practicing Church, as a member of Christ’s Body, serving through word and deed, as if serving the Lord Himself.

Jesus Christ, is the Only Way to God, the Only Truth from God, the Only Life with God, now and forever!

Good News, Good News, for you and for me.  Jesus arose and He lives, don’t you see.  Good News, Good News, let’s tell it to others, so they too might know this wonderful Savior who loves us all so.

Go from this place as a witness that Jesus Lives; for He has defeated sin, death and judgement, and is coming back to take all those who believe in Him, to be with Him in heaven forever.

 
He is Risen!
 
He is Risen Indeed!
 
 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: various | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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April 7, 2023 (Good Friday) (3pm)
“Why Today is Called Good Friday”

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for this special service.  I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to take time later to consider all that happened to the Lord on that Friday, long ago.  You’ll find the full chronology (and the scripture references) in your bulletin; but briefly, the biblical record tells of the Lord’s unjust arrest, followed by several mock trials, the expressed hatred displayed by the religious leaders, and then Pilate turning Him over to be flogged, followed by the contempt spewed out by the soldiers, religious leaders, and Jewish people, as they mocked Him.

And how does our merciful Lord respond to all this?

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” -Luke 23:34

Jesus asks the Father to forgive them for their ignorance, after they had knowingly and willfully rejected Him, and expressed contempt and hatred for Him..

In Peter’s first sermon he confronts the Jews (Acts 2:22-24), “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” i.e., He didn’t stay dead!

Paul said it this way (1Corinthians 2:8), “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s forgiveness is granted to us in Christ even though we do not deserve it, and even after all that was unjustly done to Him, He still asks the Father to forgive us.

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” -Luke 23:43

There were two criminals being crucified at the same time as the Lord, one on either side of Him.  One of them yelled insults at Jesus, while the other remarked that even though they deserved the punishment they were receiving, Jesus did not, for He was innocent of any crime.  Then the one speaking reverently about Jesus asked Him, Lord, please “remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”  Jesus answered, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”  It would seem that this criminal had saving faith, believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Jesus knew that His death was imminent and that He would soon be in heaven with His Father, and so, Jesus used the word “paradise” as a synonym for “heaven.”

Paul says (2Corinthians 12:4), “[that he] was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.”

John writes (Revelation 2:7), that all genuine believers in Christ “will eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’”

So, Paradise is the place of blessing and reward where all Christians go after death, or at the “rapture,” to be with God forever.

He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” -John 19:26–27

Just five days ago Jesus rode into town on the back of a donkey’s colt, and the people praised and adored Him; but Friday they cried out for Him to be crucified.

Jesus was betrayed, mocked, dishonored, beaten, unjustly condemned, and then nailed to a cross.  And yet, while on the cross, in great pain, Jesus takes the time to express His love and care for Mary, His mother, who He now entrusts to John, and from that very hour John took Mary into his household, treating her as his own mother.

What great love Jesus displayed for His widowed mother, and what trust He expresses in His disciple John.  This same John would outlive all the other Apostles, most likely took care of Mary in her final years, and then he would leave for us the Gospel of John, 1-2-3John, and the Book of Revelation.

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” -Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34

This is a quote from Psalm 22:1, speaking of the time when the Messiah (Jesus) would take upon Himself the sins of the whole world, paying for them with His own shed blood, as a ransom for all who would believe in Him.

Isaiah 53:5, “He took upon Himself our sins.”

1Corinthians 15:3, “He died for our sins.”

2Corinthians 5:21, “Even though He knew no sin, He became sin on our behalf.”

Galatians 3:13, “He became a curse for us.”

Hebrews 9:26, “He has done away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

1Peter 2:24, “He took our sins in His body on the cross.”

1Peter 3:18, “He died for sins, once for all.”

1John 4:10, “He became the propitiation [atonement, appeasement, acceptable payment] for our sins.”

Habakkuk 1:13 says God cannot look upon wickedness [sin] with favor, and so, God the Father had to turn away from His own Son, in a sense, abandoning Him, as God’s righteous wrath was poured out on the Lamb of God, for our sins.

Why is that included as one of the sayings of Jesus from the cross?  Because God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have always been together in fellowship, never apart;  but the fellowship between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit had to cease while Christ became sin and God poured out His wrath upon Him.

John 1:1-2, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God,” 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth,” 18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Jesus is the Word, God’s revelation to the world; He is the full and final testimony from God to mankind about God’s salvation (Hebrews 1:3), “He [Christ] is the radiance of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of [God’s] nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Not only is Jesus the Word, but He was with God before anything was made that has been made.  The Greek for the phrase (John 1:1) “was with God,” means “face to face,” i.e., the Word [God the Son] was in an intimate, up close and personal, fellowship with God the Father before anything was created, and they have always been together, never apart; but that fellowship had to cease while Jesus took upon Himself our sin and God purred out His wrath upon Him.  Jesus experiencing that separation from the Father cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

“I am thirsty.” -John 19:28

Jesus didn’t want to drink the sour wine, it couldn’t quench anyone’s thirst, let alone someone who was only minutes away from death.

But it says (John 19:28), “knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”  In a sense, Jesus hastens the end to come, for this is the fulfillment of Psalm 69:21, “for My thirst they gave Me vinegar [sour wine] to drink.“

“It is finished.” -John 19:30

Jesus’ cry, “It is finished!” is one Greek word, pronounced teh-tel-es-sty [tetelestai].  This phrase was part of everyday life and language in Jesus’ time:

When a servant completed a difficult task for his master, he would say teh-tel-es-sty [the job is done]!

When the Jewish people went to the temple with their sacrifice, the High Priest would examine what had been brought and respond with the Hebrew equivalent of, “You have fulfilled your obligation with this offering.” 

When a merchant at the market place made a sale and payment was handed to him, he would say teh-tel-es-sty, i.e., “I accept your payment in full.”

Jesus took our punishment for sin; He cancelled our sin debt to God by paying it Himself, with His own life, so that we might be made acceptable to God the Father.  Sin separates us from God, and therefore the curse of sin must me removed before we can be in God’s presence.

It was for this reason that God’s Son came to earth, salvation now being complete, Jesus says, “It is finished!”

Isaiah 53:5-6, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Romans 3:23-24, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 10:13 “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Jesus’ declaration, ”It is finished,” is God’s sovereign and eternal verdict for all who believe in Jesus Christ, having become victorious over sin, death, and judgment, through the sacrifice of God’s One and Only Son.

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” -Luke 23:46, cf. Psalm 31:5

The Son of God accomplished all that the Father had sent Him to do.  He fulfilled all righteousness bringing salvation and redemption to all who believe in Christ; and after completing His sacred, sovereign and eternal work Jesus says, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

God the Son gave up His spirit, He did not just die as a result of the beatings, blood loss, and torture.  His body was going to die when He sovereignly chose for it to die, but His spirit is eternal and cannot die, so it left His body.

John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

As Jesus hung on the cross, there was total darkness from 12 noon until 3 pm, as God’s wrath was poured out on the Lamb of God, God’s One and Only Son.

After Christ had received full punishment for the sins of the world, the communion He had with the Father was restored, for the work He had come to do was now finished and redemption had been granted to all who believe in Him.

John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish”

John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 20:31, “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

1John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

When anyone repents of their sins, believing in Christ for forgiveness, they receive eternal life, and that life will be demonstrated as they follow the teachings found in God’s Word, the Bible.  And that is why such a horrible and sorrowful day is called Good Friday, the day God’s Son took our place, our punishment, paying our sin debt to God in full.

But the story of Jesus Christ doesn’t end at the cross, He died that Friday and was taken down and buried, but on the third day after His death, He came out of the grave alive.

Come back on Sunday when we will celebrate what the Bible teaches about the Good News, the Greatest News, that Jesus Christ rose from the grave in order to provide eternal life to all those who will repent of their sin, believing in Him for salvation, and following Him by reading and seeking to obey God’s Word.

 
Pastor Mike
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April 2, 2023
“The Passion of God in Christ”

Today we begin Passion [Holy] Week, it is set off by our Lord entering Jerusalem on a Sunday.  The people praise Him as the Messiah as He rides through the town on a donkey; but five days later, on Friday, the people will cry out for Him to be crucified, and He will be put to death, then laid in a tomb, and on Sunday morning, one week from when He entered Jerusalem, He will rise from the dead, just like He said that He would!

There is much written in Scripture about Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem (Matthew 21-28 (8 chapters), Mark 11-18 (8 chapters), Luke 19-24 (6 chapters), John 12-20 (9 chapters), for a total of 29 chapters.  Out of the 89 chapters that comprise all four Gospel accounts, almost 1/3 of them are devoted to this one week period of Jesus’ life!

When I taught through the Book of Mark, I prepared 20 sermons on this one-week period of Jesus’ life; when I taught through the Book of Matthew, I prepared 22 sermons on this same one-week period of time; and when I taught through the Book of John, I prepared 29 sermons (4 months of Sundays) on this one-week period in the life of Jesus.

Holy Week is sovereignly supercharged and prophetically rich, mostly because it contains Christ’s sacrificial death on a cross (paying for all our sins) and His sovereign resurrection from the grave (demonstrating eternal life).

Apart from Creation Week when everything was made that has been made, Passion Week, from the time of Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem, to His arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection, is the most fulfilled prophecy week recorded in God’s Word.

The OT records many prophecies to be fulfilled during Passion Week by the Messiah [Hebrew], the Christ [Greek], meaning the Anointed One, Holy One, Rescuer, Deliverer, Redeemer; this is Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord & Savior.  Through Him, God’s sovereign plan to save us from sin’s curse was made effectual.

The prophets declare:

Isaiah 53:1-12 (700 BC)…  He will be despised and forsaken, led like a lamb to slaughter, and put to death for our sins.

Exodus 12:46 (1400 BC)…  None of His [Passover Lamb’s] bones will be broken.

Psalm 22:16 (1000 BC)…  His hands & feet pierced.

Psalm 22:18 (1000 BC)…  Lots [i.e., dice] will be thrown for His garments.

Psalm 69:21 (1000 BC)…  He will be given vinegar to drink.

Zechariah 9:9 (500 BC)…  He will enter Jerusalem on a the colt of a donkey.

Zechariah 11:12 (500 BC)…  He will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver [cf. Exodus 21:32 (1400 BC), tells us that is the price of a slave].

Zechariah 13:7 (500 BC)…   His friends will desert Him.

Psalm 16:8-11 (1000 BC)…  He will rise from the dead.

Psalm 110:1 (1000 BC)…  He will ascend back into heaven.

Next Friday at 3 pm, we’ll study the events that occurred on the day that Jesus was crucified; and next Sunday, we’ll study the events of the day He rose from the grave, but today we begin Passion Week.

Read Mark 11:1-3…  Jesus and the Twelve approach Bethphage, a town near Bethany [home to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (cf. John 11:1), friends of Jesus].

Bethany (2 miles from Jerusalem) is near the Mount of Olives where Jesus taught about the End Times (see Matthew 24); it is where Jesus ascended back into heaven (see Acts 1:9-12), and it is where Jesus will return to earth (cf. Zechariah 14:3-5).  Revelation 1:7 says Jesus will be, “coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.”

     Read Mark 11:4-7…  We are told that Jesus sends two of His disciples into Bethphage to find a young donkey.   They find and untie the colt and when asked why they are doing so, they respond, “the Lord has need of it,” and the owner of the donkey tells them to go ahead and take it.  The people in that area knew of Jesus and His disciples, and that He was referred to as “the Lord,” and His Disciples were called “the Twelve.”

In Matthew’s account of this event he mentions the donkey, her colt, and the fulfillment of a messianic prophecy (given in Zechariah 9:9) Matthew 21:5, “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Read Mark 11:8-10…  This display on the part of the people is reminiscent of an ancient practice of showing homage to a new king.  In Mark’s narrative the people seem to be expressing their acceptance of Christ’s claim as Messiah, the One who will sit on the throne of David, as King over Israel.

The people are throwing down their outer garments, along with branches (cf. John 12:13, palm branches), as they express their hope and desire to be freed from Roman occupation and oppression, and for their Messiah-King to bring back peace to Israel.

Scripture is very clear that Jesus Christ, is the Messiah who was to come.

Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

Matthew 1:1, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ [the Messiah], the son of David, the son of Abraham.” 18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 22-23, “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’”

Matthew 2:1-2, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’”

In Matthew 27:11, Jesus standing before Pilate (the governor), is asked, “‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you say.’”

In Mark 11:9-10, the people are shouting, “Hosanna!”  This is a contraction of the words “save” and “please,” forming a prayerful supplication with great expectation that leads to adoration, praise, and joy (Psalm 118:25-26), “O Lord, do save, we beseech You; O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”

The name Jesus [Greek], is translated from the name Yeshua [Hebrew], which means “God saves,” or “God rescues,” simply put, this is God’s Salvation in human flesh, Immanuel [God with us], God’s Son, Savior.

The Jews were waiting for their Deliverer to come and liberate them from gentile rule [at this time is was Rome]; they believed the Messiah would destroy Israel’s oppressors and bring peace and prosperity, but Jesus did not do that, so they rejected Him then, and orthodox Jews still reject Him (John 1:11) “He came to His own [the Jews], and those who were His own did not receive Him,” i.e., they rejected Him.

But Jesus is coming again (Revelation 19:11), “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”

13, “His name is called The Word of God.”

16, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written,

“KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Jesus is the God’s Son, the Messiah-King (Philippians 2:9-11), “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Read Mark 11:11…  Jesus looks around the inner and outer courts of the Temple, nothing is hidden from His gaze; He then returns to Bethany for the night (about 2 miles distance), as it had been a very long day.

And so, the first day of Passion Week comes to a close; but there is much more to take place over the next five days, as Jesus pours out God’s compassion on those in Jerusalem, on Monday and Tuesday, sharing God’s great love for them and His plan to save them.  Scripture is silent about Wednesday, it seems Jesus stayed outside the city, resting.

Thursday was Passover, but it would forever be changed to the Lord’s Supper. (The Old Covenant of Law, through the shed blood sacrifices of yearling lambs; would give way to the New Covenant of Grace, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Lamb, who was the once for all sacrifice for all sin, for all time, for all those who believe in Him for the forgiveness of sin.)

 

All of this, according to the sovereign plan and purpose of God; that we might be made acceptable to God, having been rescued from sin’s condemnation, by believing in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Jesus took our sins upon Himself, because there was no other way to save us.

Romans 3:10-12, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

23-24, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified [made righteous] as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

The divine and sovereign creativity of God is demonstrated and exemplified in Creation Week; but the divine and sovereign love and compassion of God for lost sinners is demonstrated and exemplified in Passion Week.

Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth confesses, resulting in salvation.”

John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  He is the only way to God, the only truth from God, and the only Life with God (for all who repent of sin, believing in Jesus Christ as Savior).

There are only two groups of people in the world: saved sinners and unsaved sinners.

Those who belong to God through Christ, called Christians, are forgiven sinners, saved by God’s grace for all of eternity.  Those who reject Christ remain unforgiven.

As we prepare to take Communion, the Lord’s Supper, please search your heart and consider (Romans 10:13), “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of their sins] will be saved.”  Have you done that?  Have you asked Him to forgive you sins?  If not, why haven’t you?

I’m a sinner, you’re a sinner, we’re all sinners.  But are you a forgiven sinner?

Don’t leave here today without accepting the free gift of forgiveness for sin and eternal life through Jesus Christ the Lord.  God loves you, He wants to save you, but you have to come to Him by faith, repenting of sin, believing in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Why did God do away with Passover and establish the Lord’s Supper?

 

Because God’s Grace, Mercy, and Love supersedes the Law, and does away with the condemnation of sin, for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ to save them.

Hebrews 9:22, “according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Hebrews 10:3-4, “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins”

9-10, “He takes away the first in order to establish the second. We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

16-18, “‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,’ He then says, ‘and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

John 1:29 says Jesus is, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

1John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

God wants everybody to be saved and to have the assurance of salvation.  Jesus Christ was put to death for our sins, He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the grave; everyone who believes in Him for the forgiveness of sins is saved.

In a moment we are going to pass out the bread, at which time I will give you a little instruction, and then we will do the same with the juice.  If you have any doubts about your relationship with God, if you are not sure you are saved, simply ask God to settle it in your heart right now (Romans 10:13), “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for the forgiveness of their sins] will be saved.”

In 1Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul writes, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes [again, until He returns].”

John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

When we take the Lord’s Supper we remember how much God loves us, what God has done to save us; and that He is coming back to take us to be with Him in heaven, forever

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 8:16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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March 26, 2023
“Showing God’s Light”
Luke 8:16

Last week we studied the parable of a sower casting seed onto soil.  Jesus often used parables [analogous stories] to teach sovereign truth to those who could hear and understand what He was talking about.

Read Luke 8:16…  Here we have a parable about the proper use of a lamp.  You normally light a lamp in order to make use of the light given off by it.  Once you have lighted it, you wouldn’t think of covering it up; but you might raise it up and put it on a stand or a wall-mounted holder, in order for its light to cover a larger area of the room.

Our power goes out from time to time (here on the coast), so many of us have a few battery operated and/or oil filled lanterns available, and perhaps an assortment of long burning candles, so that we are prepared when the lights go out.  When that happens, I really like the smell of lamp oil burning, along with the ambiance created by a lighted wick under a glass globe [or chimney] as light radiates into the room.

But is Luke talking about something other than the proper use and benefit of a lamp? Yes he is!  Last week in Luke 8:8, after Jesus had told the parable of the sower, and before He explained it to His disciples, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” [or Listen! Hear!]. 9-10, “His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. And He said, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

Then Jesus explained the parable to His disciples; revealing to them the spiritual truth it contained.

He was not just talking about a sower casting seeds onto soil, He was talking about how human hearts respond to the Word of God concerning the gospel.  The gospel is as Paul expressed it (1Corinthians 15:1-4),

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

At the moment of genuine belief you are born-again by God’s Spirit, and you will indeed bear fruit, i.e., do the things that please God, for you have become a child of God, a believer and follower of Christ.

In the Bible, light is often used as a metaphor for the spiritual truth and spiritual life that comes from God, referring to all things that reveal and exemplify God; whereas darkness, in the Bible, is usually symbolic of those things that are void of God’s character, i.e., the revelation of His presence, pleasure, and power.

Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained [revealed or shown] Him.”

John 14:6-7, Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

1Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 

When Paul stood before King Agrippa (Acts 26) making a defense for the charges brought against him by the Jews, he recounted what had happened on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9), when he was confronted by Jesus and fell to the ground and became blind (Acts 26:15-18), “The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’”

Wow!  Paul was blind and Jesus is telling him that he will be sent to the Gentiles “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God.”  Do you see that?  Those who belong to God are Light in the Lord, those who reject Christ are darkness with the devil himself.

In Acts 9:8-9 we read, “Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

See Acts 9:10-20…   Saul’s spiritual vision is healed completely, yes he regains his physical sight, but more importantly, he is granted spiritual life and his spiritual sight is clear, for (verse 20) “immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’”

2Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 6, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

In Matthew (5:14-15) and Mark (4:21), we find parallel passages to the what read earlier today in Luke 8:16, but Matthew’s account is much more revealing, so let’s take a look and see what it reveals.

Read Matthew 5:14-16…  Jesus illustrates God’s Church as a lighted city on a hill; travelers in the valley below or on hills far away can see the lights of this city, it serves as a beacon to them.  Believers are like individual lamps in individual homes, providing light to the occupants, who would otherwise be in darkness.

Christians are to shine God’s light, for we were all, at one time, living in darkness, guilty of sin, separated from the light and life of God.  Believing in Christ brings you into the Light, where you receive Life from God.

John 12:46, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”

1John 1:5, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  “Light” = God’s righteousness and truth; “darkness” = all that is false, all that does not please nor honor nor reflect God.

Hebrews 1:3 declares God’s Son to be the “radiance of God’s glory,” the very “Light” of God; and if Christ is in you, His light will shine in and through your life.

God’s original plan included separating Light from Darkness; He will one day remove darkness forever.

Genesis 1:1-4, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

Revelation 21:1-4, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” 23, “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

Revelation 22:5, “And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them.”

    Hear again Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

     Our purpose as Christians, is to let God’s Light shine through us, so that those living in darkness might find their way to God’s love and forgiveness.

1Peter 2:11-12, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

1Peter 3:15, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

As God’s children, we are to live in such a way that unbelievers see the Light of God in us, for Christ is our example (1John 2:4-6), “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

Ephesians 5:1, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” 6-13, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”

Paul offers an invitation (Ephesians 5:14-17) to those who have not believed and received Jesus Christ, to those who do not have the light and life of God, “For this reason it says [Isaiah 60:1], ‘Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is,”

(Romans 12:2), “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

1John 1:5-7, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

 

 

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 8:1-15 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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 (AM insert) – March 19, 2023
“A Changed Heart Produces Fruit”
Luke 8:1-15

Read Luke 8:1…

1 Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

 

Not long after the dinner at the Pharisee’s house, where the woman had wiped Jesus’ feet with her tears mixed with perfume, Jesus began to travel from one city and village to another, in the region of Galilee, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God.  

    

Although Luke doesn’t record a specific area for this phase of Jesus’ ministry, the parallel narratives

 

(Matthew 13:1-3;

1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

 

Mark 4:1-3)

1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.

2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,

3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow

 

tell us, Jesus was teaching by the sea [of Galilee] and such a large crowd had gathered that He got into a boat; the crowd was on the shore, and He said to them, ‘Behold, the sower went out to sow’… and then He proceeded to tell them the parable of the Sower.

 

Jesus used every opportunity [sea shores, hillsides, public squares, highways and byways, synagogues, and individual homes] to share the good news, God forgives all the sins of those who repent and believe in Him.

 

Notice again, Jesus was “proclaiming [kerusso = to publicly announce a legal and binding message that was to be heard and responded to] and preaching [evangelizo = to announce the good news of the gospel] the kingdom of God.”

     

The terms kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are interchangeable; although kingdom of heaven is only used by Matthew (31 times), because he was writing to the Jews and they believed it was sacrilegious to use the name of God, so instead they used the place where God exists to refer to Him [in heaven].

     

Jesus used the terms synonymously to refer to the kingdom or sphere of those who are saved

 

(Matthew 19:23-26),

“Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ And looking at them Jesus said to them, ‘With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”

 

In Mark 1:15,

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

 

But what is the Gospel? 

 

In John 3:16

Jesus proclaims, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life,”

 

(John 3:36)

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides [remains] on him.”

 

The awesome message of the gospel is repeated three times in God’s Word

 

(Joel 2:32;

32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD

Will be delivered;

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

There will be those who escape,

As the LORD has said,

Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

 

Acts 2:21;

21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

 

Romans 10:13),

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

declaring that anyone, everyone, who repents of their sin and believes in God’s Son for salvation will be saved from sin’s condemnation by the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God

 

(John 1:29),

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 

“who takes away the sin of the world!” 

 

So, salvation comes by believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and at the moment of genuine belief you are granted eternal life

 

(Romans 10:17),

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

 

1Corinthians 15:1-4,

1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,

2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

 

Back to Luke 8:1… 

1 Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

 

Notice that while Jesus was proclaiming and preaching the gospel, “the Twelve were with Him.”  The men Jesus chose as disciples were ordinary men, most of them fishermen, who would become Apostles [except for Judas].  They would be sent out, after receiving the Holy Spirit

 

(cf. Acts 1:8),

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

 

as witnesses and heralds of the gospel, “in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

     

At this time in the narrative the Disciples are neither preaching, teaching, or healing, for they are in training, listening, observing, and learning what their mission will be, when they are sent out later in chapter 9.

 

Read Luke 8:2-3… 

2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

 

There are others following along with Jesus and the Twelve, including some women who are named here: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna.  Mary was from Magdala, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.  She was healed of seven demons, although we don’t know when or where.  Joanna was he wife of Chuza, a high ranking official who served as Herod Antipas’s steward.  Both Mary and Joanna were witnesses of Jesus’ burial, resurrection, and most likely His crucifixion.  We don’t know anything about Susanna, as she appears nowhere else in the Scriptures.

 

There are other women followers of Jesus recorded in the Scriptures: Mary the mother of Jesus, and her sister, also Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and Mary the wife of Clopas, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee (James and John), also Salome, Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer; Anna the prophetess at the Temple when Jesus was being dedicate to God, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, and many unnamed women from both Galilee and Jerusalem

 

(cf. Matthew 27:55-56;

55 Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him.

56 Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

 

Mark 15:40-41;

40 There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome.

41 When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

 

John 19:25).

25 Therefore the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Jesus accepted all those who believed in Him, people from all levels of Jewish society. 

 

Luke says

 

(cf. Luke 8:3),

3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

 

there were “many others contributing, out of their private resources, to support Jesus and the Disciples.

 

See Luke 8:4-8…

4 When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:

5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.

6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

8 Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

 

 

A farmer sowed [broadcasted] seed that fell:

 

1) along a path, birds ate it… 

 

2) on rocky places where it sprang up, but the sun caused the plants to wither and die… 

 

3) among thorns that grew up and chocked the plants… 

 

4) on “good soil,” producing a crop up to 100 times as much.

 

 

Read Luke 8:9-10… 

9 His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.

10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.

 

The Disciples question the parable’s meaning.  Parables test the spiritual understanding of those who hear them, “He who has ears, let him hear.”  It is possible hear something, and not really know or understand what was said.  If they would hear the spiritual message and understand their need for forgiveness, they would repent and be saved. Christ illustrates this truth by using an everyday life activity of Palestine – a farmer with a bag of seed over his shoulder walks in a cultivated field throwing handfuls of seed, until the field is covered.

 

Read Luke 8:11-15…

11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.

12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

 

Jesus explains the parable: the seed is the Word of God, the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ; the soil represents four different human heart response to God’s Word.

 

Soil #1 – Luke 8:12…

12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

 

Walking paths (narrow roads) were created around the fields; this untilled and hard packed earth prevented seeds from taking root; this refers to those who hear the Word of God (the Seed) but they don’t understand, their hardened heart cannot receive God’s Word, His message of salvation, they remain in unbelief.

    

This type of hearer is indifferent, for there is no response to the Gospel, no sense of remorse, guilt, or need for the Savior, this is unbelief

 

(cf. Ephesians 1:13-14)

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

and therefore, without God’s Spirit, remain unsaved, guilty of sin.

         

 

Soil #2 – Luke 8:13…

13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

 

The rocky places were underlying beds of solid rock [limestone] just below the depth of the plow blade, allowing newly germinated plants to spring up and appear healthy and hardy; but because of their shallow root system, they would quickly wither and die as the sun rose and heated the earth.

 

This type of hearer is superficial, at first appearing active in the church by attending prayer meetings, Bible studies, Sunday worship, etc.; but, because there has been no repentance, no regeneration of his spirit by God’s Spirit, he is unable to resist the pressure of friends, family, etc., who may criticize him for his faith, so he quickly falls away, for he never really belonged to Christ

 

(cf 1John 2:18-19).

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

 

Soil #3 – Luke 8:14…

14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

 

Thorns infested much of the soil in Palestine, but weren’t visible right after cultivation.  However, as the grain began to grow, so did the thistle bearing weeds which would quickly displace the grain by taking away the moisture, nourishment, and sunlight, literally choking the grain to death!        

    

This hearer is worldly, and although he is involved in some of the activities of the church, his real focus is in the world, not in Christ.  Being overcome and chocked by the worries of life, deceitfulness of wealth, and influence of pleasure, he is enslaved by the things that don’t lead to godliness, rendering him incapable of producing fruit

 

(cf. 1John 2:15-17).

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

 

Soil #4 – Luke 8:15… 

15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

 

This time the seed is sown on “good” soil.  What makes this dirt “good” and the dirt in the other three examples “not good?”  Remember, these soils represent different heart conditions and responses to the gospel.

 

The “good dirt” represents the heart of a receptive and repentant hearer, one who hears and believes the message, acknowledging that he is a sinner, repenting of his sin, and trusting Jesus Christ alone for salvation.  

 

This man not only hears, but also obeys God’s Word, doing what it says, demonstrating that he has responded to the message of the gospel and is born again

 

(cf. James 1:22-25).

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

 

In John 3:3,

3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

 

Jesus went on to say

 

(John 3:6-8),

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 

Romans 3:10,

10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

 

Romans 3:23,

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

Romans 6:23,

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Romans 5:8,

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Romans 8:1,

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

How do you become “in” Christ Jesus?

 

Romans 10:10,

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

John 1:12-13,

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

If God is your Father, you will desire to please Him

 

(Ephesians 5:1),

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

 

If you don’t have a desire to please God, if you don’t care about others, if you have no desire to share Christ with unbelievers, you are either totally disobedient and living in sin, or you don’t belong to God and you are still bad dirt.

 

2Corinthians 13:5,

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

 

Think about it, God formed Adam out of dirt, and breathed life into him. God created humans and said they were good; but that was before sin entered the world.  Ever since the first children were born to Adam and Eve, we have all been born in sin, being born as bad dirt.   

    

It is Jesus who turns bad dirt into good dirt

 

(Acts 4:12),

12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

(Romans 10:13),

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

God turns no one away!  Hard hearts are softened and made receptive by the message of God’s love made effectual through God’s Son, to all who will repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior: crucified, resurrected, and coming again

 

(cf. 2Corinthians 5:17-21),

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><
 

Bible Text: Luke 7:36-50 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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March 12, 2023
“Change That Shows”
Luke 7:36-50

(full sermon notes)

 

Read 7:36-38… 

 

As we have previously studied, both John the Baptizer and Jesus the Messiah confronted the Pharisees as hypocrites.  At this time in our narrative, John is still imprisoned at Herod’s palace and Jesus is preaching the gospel, while bringing comfort and healing to the people..

We will read Luke’s account of John’s execution, when we get to chapter 9:7-9, which chronologically follows the event of Jesus sending out the Twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal diseases, Luke 9:1-6.

Luke was serious about providing an accurate account in his narrative (Luke 1:1-3), “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order.”

And so it shouldn’t surprise us to find that both Matthew’s and Mark’s gospel accounts follow the same timeframe as Luke’s, in reference to Jesus sending out the Twelve (Matthew 10:1-15; Mark 6:7-13), along the subsequent record of John’s death which seems to follow that event (Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29).

Back to Luke 7:36…  Jesus is, no doubt, fully aware of the Pharisee’s real intentions for inviting Him to his house for a meal.  We will learn that this Pharisee’s name is Simon, and like other Pharisees, he hopes to somehow discredit Jesus as the Messiah, or better yet, have Him arrested as a blasphemer, and removed from the public’s eyes and ears.

Note: Luke will, in subsequent chapters, record two more incidents where Jesus is an invited guest to the house of a Pharisee (11:37-54; 14:1-24).  It was common practice for one of the religious elites to invite a traveling Rabbi to their house for a meal and conversation; this allowed them to engage the Rabbi in theological discussions in order to clarify certain teachings and/or traditions, while also giving the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law an opportunity to display their knowledge concerning these things.  However, for the most part, the Pharisees hoped to force Jesus into incriminating Himself as an enemy of orthodox Judaism, and therefore, in their unbelieving hearts and minds, as an enemy of God.

See again Luke 7:37-38…  Evidently, this woman had heard that Jesus was present, so she came to find Him.  When she entered the Pharisee’s house she wasn’t immediately recognized, although she is said to be (verse 39) a “known” sinner, most likely a prostitute, as she carried valuable perfume in a vial made of alabaster vial [expensive marble from Egypt]; and if the self-righteous Pharisee had recognized her coming into his house, he would have forbidden her to enter.

You might be wondering how this “known” sinner gained entrance to the Pharisee’s house?  Well, it was quite common, that when a Pharisee was showing off his religious elite position with a ‘by invitation only’ meal, in order to entertain a favored Rabbi, the doors and windows of his house would remain open so that people could listen from outside or come in and find standing room around the invited guests who were seated at the table.

`    Anyway, the woman is in the house and has approached Jesus and is standing behind Him.  She seems to be overcome with emotion to be in the Lord’s presence, and she begins weeping, using her tears to wipe Jesus’ feet.

Note: In order to wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair, she would have hd to let it down [In the Jewish culture of Christ’s day, it was considered indecent for a woman to let down her hair in public, because it was symbol of her beauty as a woman, and it was reserved only for the eyes of her husband, if married, or the eyes of her father, if not married.

She begins kissing Jesus’ feet and anointing them with her perfume.  This is too much for the self-righteous Pharisee to take; and no doubt, some of the guests are wondering why this woman would think she could approach, touch, and make such a display of emotion in front of all these favored guests.

Read Luke 7:39…  The Pharisee who invited Jesus seems to be challenging as to whether or not Jesus really is a prophet of God; after all, if Jesus can’t sense that she is a sinner, He must not be from God; for no man of God would allow such a woman to touch Him.  In the mind of the Pharisee and the other religious leaders, Jesus is not the Messiah!

See Luke 5:17-21…  Some Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to check out Jesus, and they were sitting and listening to Him, as He taught.

Jesus is going to perform a miraculous healing (Luke 5:17) it says, “the power of the Lord was upon Him.”

Jesus is now proclaiming the good news in a crowded room, when four men (cf. Mark 2:3-4) carry in a paralytic, but can’t get to Jesus through the crowd, so they go up the outside stairway to the roof, dig through the thatch and earth, remove the roof tiles, then lower the man through the exposed beams to the room below (as dirt, no doubt, showered all those underneath).

Luke 5:19 says, Jesus “saw their faith,” and said to the paralytic, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”  It probably seemed clear to most everyone that the man’s biggest need was to be able to walk.

The paralytic and his friends believed Jesus could heal him.  Jesus exposes the condition of the man’s heart which can’t be seen, forgiving his sins.  This man has just received forgiveness for sin, but he still can’t walk.

     See again Luke 5:21, “The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?’”

Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Isaiah 44:22, “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud and your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

Jeremiah 31:34, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more,” (Hebrews 10:17-18), “‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

The Pharisees who witnessed Jesus forgiving sin, considered Him to be a blasphemer, for only God can forgive sins.  Jesus knew what was in their hearts, so He responded (Luke 5:22-25), “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—‘I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.’ Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.”

The religious leaders, for the first time in the Biblical record, directly oppose Jesus in Luke 5, but they would continue to oppose, reject, capture and kill Him, but not until God allows it to happen (Acts 2:22-24), “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Jesus claimed to be God, because He was God, He could not be captured or put to death, until God said so.  No one could take Jesus by force (John 10:17-18), “I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Read Luke 7:40-43…  We are now told the Pharisees name, Simon.  Jesus speaks to Simon, in order to teach him sovereign Biblical truth, through the use of a parable about two men.  These men each owe money to the same person; one owes 500 denarii, the other owes 50 denarii [a denarius is equal to one day’s pay for a common laborer].

Neither of the men are able to pay what they owe to the lender, who graciously forgives both their debts.  Jesus asks Simon (verse 42) which of the debtors will love the benefactor more, to which Simon replies (verse 43), “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”   Jesus tells Simon he has answered correctly.

Read Luke 7:44-48…  From the very moment the woman came into Simon’s house, she did not cease to show love to the Lord; where as, Simon didn’t show Jesus the hospitality of allowing His feet to be washed (a common custom in Israel at this time).

The point is, the woman’s display of love toward Jesus was not in order to receive forgiveness, but because her sins, of which there were many, had already been forgiven.

The phrase spoken by Jesus to the woman, “Your sins have been forgiven,” is in the perfect tense, which describes an action that has already taken place, i.e., the woman had already been forgiven her sins, even before she came into the house.

This woman’s display of love and affection for Jesus was not done in order to get something from Him; for she had already been granted forgiveness.  This woman had already repented of her sins, believing in Jesus to save her.

Simon, on the other hand, like most Pharisees, considered himself to be right with God simply because he was an Israelite; much like the Pharisees who came out to John the Baptizer at the Jordon River, unwilling to repent of their sins, they remained at enmity with God, condemned to an eternal hell.

     Read Luke 7:49-50…  Jesus doesn’t say, your sins are now forgiven.  He says, “Your sins have been forgiven,” describing something already completed in the past, that continues to provide results in the present and the future.  When you sincerely ask God to forgive your sins, all your sins [past, present, and future] are forgiven.

The love this woman expressed for Jesus was because she had already received forgiveness for all her sins, through faith in Jesus Christ.  Where as Simon, and the rest of the self-righteous religious leaders, reclining at the table with Jesus, instead of repenting of sin and believing in Him for forgiveness (verse 49), “[They] began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man who even forgives sins?’”

The woman’s expressed love for the Lord was in response to the love and forgiveness she had already received because of her faith in God’s Son (verse 50) Jesus said to her “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that God is and that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ [God’s Son, Lord and Savior], you have received forgiveness for all your sins and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, concerning those who would believe in Him (John 8:32), “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  What is the Truth?  Jesus said (John 14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

What does that mean?  Romans 3:10-12; 23-24; 6:23; 5:8: 8:1; 10:9-10, 13.

2Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus died on a cross to set you free from sin’s penalty taking our punishment for sin and then demonstrating eternal life by His own resurrection from the grave.

Jesus died for you, so that you might live for Him, now and forever.

Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (cf. 2Corinthians 5:17).

     If you have genuinely been changed by Christ, it will show, for you will seek to honor God (Colossians 3:17), “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

 

 

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><