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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
>’(((><

Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the Sunday Service
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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
Sunday audio and YouTube recordings.

Links from Our Website:
 
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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
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Bible Text: Matthew 5:3 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd | Above are the
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March 5, 2023
“Blessed Are The Poor in Spirit”
Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

 

Introduction

 

 

First half of the Beatitudes describe what we need to become.

 

Second half of the Beatitudes describe how we are to help.

 

 

Blessed – What does this mean?

Does “blessed” mean happy?

Blessed means, “being near to God.”

Each step we take toward God we are more blessed.

 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

 

Who are the poor in Spirit?

 

Traits of the spiritually poor:

 

No need to justify themselves (they are who they are) (sinners),

Humble (nothing to offer a righteous God),

In need of righteousness,

They understand sin separates them from God and a need for Jesus.

They have total dependence in and openness with God.

 

We are all beggars before God.

 

“Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

 

It’s what all of us hunger for above all other things.

It is what we are starving for.

It’s home for each of us. (Are you homesick?)

It is ultimately wherever Jesus is.

 

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me,

he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

 

 

 
Jim Shepherd
 

 

Bible Text: Luke 7:31-35 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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February 26, 2023
“Parable of the Ill-mannered Children ”
Luke 7:31-35

 

Last week we read and studied Luke 7:29-30.  Let’s look at those two verses again, before we move on.

Both John and Jesus were fairly well accepted at the beginning of their ministries; but over time, some of the common Jews, and most of the religious leaders, grew tired of hearing them preach the need for people to repent of their sins, get right with God, and do what pleases God, or suffer His wrath to come.

The religious leaders rejected John’s message, who was executed by Herod; just as they rejected Jesus’ message, leading to His execution, a couple of years after John, because Jesus didn’t fulfill the expectations off the religious leaders in Israel, that the Messiah-King would free Israel from the oppression of Rome and usher in a time of peace and prosperity, as the Son of David.

     Read Luke 7:31-35…  Jesus compares those who reject John and Himself, to being like bratty children, who are disobedient and discontent, with an uncooperative and obstinate attitude toward authority.

Disobedience was considered a capital crime in Israel.

Deuteronomy 27:16, “‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”

Deuteronomy 21:18-21, “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst.”

Aren’t we glad we are not living under OT Law, for disobedience is so offensive to God that it was punishable by death in the OT; and that shouldn’t surprise us, for the first act of humanity that brought the curse of sin upon all of us was an act of disobedience (Genesis 2:16-17), The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Aren’t we glad we live under the Grace of the NT?

Romans 3:21-26, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 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; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

But you know, apart from the love of God that is given to us in and through Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us (Genesis 8:21), “the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”

2Timothy 3:1-5, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men.”

In Luke 7:31-32, Jesus is providing an analogy [or parable], comparing how Israel has responded to God’s Prophet (John the Baptizer) and God’s Messiah (Jesus).

Last week we studied how John called people to be repent and be baptized and then directed them to Jesus Christ for salvation, as we read (Matthew 3:8-12), “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance… The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. …I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I… …He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Water symbolizes a desire for a clean conscience (cf. 1Peter 3:18-21), to acknowledge your sins publicly, seeking God’s forgiveness. The Holy Spirit speaks of the spiritual birth (John 3:5-8) of each genuine believer who (Ephesians 1:13-14) is indwelled by God’s Spirit, and has been (1Corinthians 12:13) spiritually placed into the Body of Christ, the Church (Colossians 1:18), of which Christ is the Head. Fire symbolizes judgment for those who reject Christ; for they do not have the Holy Spirit, and are therefore doomed to a fiery and eternal destruction.

Look again at Luke 7:31-32…  Jesus is comparing the current generation to children playing in the market place.  The word generation is used in Luke’s narrative regularly as a term for an unbelieving and wicked people.

Luke 9:41, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?”

Luke 11:29, “This generation is a wicked generation.”

Luke 17:25, “He [Christ] must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”

We also see the negative use of the word generation when comparing those who belong to God and those who reject Him, as Peter proclaimed in Jerusalem (Acts 2:40), “Be saved from this perverse generation!”  Paul, exhorting the believers in Philippi declared (Philippians 2:15), “prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.”

What Jesus says in Luke 7:32 is really interesting, when you look at the significance of the two major events in Jewish culture: weddings and funerals.

Jerusalem had no playground areas or parks, but it did have a large open area [agora = a place for public gatherings] in the middle of the town, used as a market place where commodities could be sold and purchased; but when it was not being used for business, the children would often play there.  And what is one of the first things little children often play? dress up, I’ll be the daddy and you be the mommy, or vice versa.

Jesus seems to first be telling a story of some children who were trying to engage other children in playing a make-believe wedding, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.”  Jewish weddings were extravagant and sometimes lasted a week, with lots of music and dancing and feasting, in houses and through the streets.  Evidently some of the children chose not to participate, but instead to mope and brood and resent those who were having fun.

Jesus also seems to be speaking of the other major event in Jewish culture that children might play, a make-believe funeral, “We sang a dirge [lament, burial hymn], and you did not weep.”  Funerals would involve both private and public mourning, a long procession of friends and family taking the dead to be buried, and all the while there was fasting and weeping.

In this analogy, the spoiled, dissatisfied, ungrateful, and ill-mannered children who wouldn’t join in and play, represent the unbelieving in Israel who rejected the message of the gospel that came through God’s Prophet and God’s Messiah, as it will become more clear in verses 33-34, these unbelievers remain at enmity with God, dead in their sins.

Read Luke 7:33-34…  Jesus now uses the illustration of a wedding and a funeral to apply to Himself and to John.  Jesus says John came neither “eating nor drinking,” i.e., John didn’t live like the common Jew, he wore camels hair clothing (far from wedding attire) and ate locusts and wild honey, and lived out in the desert away from civilization, associating with no one and never participating in normal Jewish culture or religious celebrations.

John demanded that the people of Israel repent and do what is right; the people, especially the religious orthodox, were resentful of this wildman from the desert, some evidently said John must have a demon to live the way he did.  People soon tired of his crude and uncivilized look, and his constant call for them to mourn over their sins, repent, and get right with God or suffer God’s wrath.  John’s life and very short ministry was like a funeral without any celebration or joy.

Jesus, the Son of Man [His favorite name for Himself], grew up and lived a fairly normal Jewish life, compared to John.  Jesus traveled throughout Israel, attended the major feasts and celebrations in Jerusalem, and He had close contact with hundreds (if not thousands), teaching, comforting, feeding, healing, forgiving sins, and challenging others to follow Him.

Although Jesus attended funerals (Luke 7:11-16; 11:1-44), he always raised back to life those who had died; but Jesus’ life was much more like a wedding, and His disciples (cf. Matthew 9:15) were called, “The attendants of the bridegroom.” Jesus’ first miracle (cf. John 2:1-11) was at a wedding, where He made wine out of water, the best wine anyone had ever tasted.

It was said that Jesus came eating and drinking and that He was a glutton and a drunk who associated with sinners.  The religious leaders were appalled that Jesus would gather with sinners (Luke 15:1-2), “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them,” and so they confronted Jesus’ Disciples (Matthew 9:11), “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?’”

But the truth is, although Jesus mingled with sinners, He never sinned Himself; for He came to save us from the consequences of our sin, by taking our punishment upon Himself at the cross, as the Lamb of God.

John 1:29, “John saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”

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

Hebrews 9:22, “All things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness,” 26-28, “But now once at the consummation [completion, fulfillment] of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him,” (Hebrews 10:10), “We have been sanctified [made holy] 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.”

Read Luke 7:35… Jesus said (John 8:32), “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free,” (John 14:6), “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Wisdom [the truth of God’s Word] is vindicated [validated, justified, made effectual, proven to be true] by her children.  In Matthew’s parallel account of this narrative it says (Matthew 11:19), “wisdom is vindicated by her deeds,” i.e., true believers demonstrate new life in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10).

 

There are two main responses to the gospel in every generation, one of wisdom, and one of folly:

 

Those who hear and believe in Jesus Christ are children of wisdom (Proverbs 4:11), “I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in [the way of righteousness], (Romans 11:33), “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

 

Those who hear and don’t believe in Jesus Christ are like ill-mannered children who have chosen the way of the fool that ends in destruction (Psalm 53:1), “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God,’” (Romans 3:16), “Destruction and misery are in [his] path.

 

Both John and Jesus called Israel to repentance, all those who genuinely repented and trusted in Jesus received forgiveness; all those who rejected God’s messengers and God’s message, received judgement.

 

The same is true today, those who reject the message of Christ remain outside of the Kingdom of God, dead in their sins; but those who repent of sin and believe in God’s Son for salvation, receive forgiveness and eternal life, for they are children of God and citizens of God’s Kingdom, now and forever!

 

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.”

 

 
Pastor Mike
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Bible Text: Luke 7:29-30 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Above are the
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February 19, 2023
“John and Jesus: Similar but Not the Same”
Luke 7:29-30

 

Read Luke 7:26-28…  For the past few weeks we have been studying how, John the Baptizer is the greatest person to be born of a women, in the natural way; where as, Jesus was born of Holy Spirit, as the Son of the most High God.

Today we’ll compare the ministries of John and Jesus, for although they had similar missions, the results were quite different.

John fulfilled his purpose as the forerunner of the Messiah, calling people to baptism of repentance.  Whether a person accepted or rejected John’s baptism, had a polarizing effect in the nation of Israel, just as the angel of the Lord had told Zacharias at the temple, concerning the son to be born to his barren wife Elizabeth (Luke 1:15-17), “For he [John the Baptizer] will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Read Luke 7:29-30…  Many of the common people of Israel, along with some tax collectors, hearing John’s call to repent and be baptized, they came repenting of their sins, being baptized by John, as a public testimony of their confession.

Baptism was uncommon for Jews, and was normally for Gentiles, those outside the kingdom of God, who but desired to turn from their pagan gods, beliefs and practices, to worship the God of Israel and practice Jewish culture.

For a Jew to be baptized, like a Gentile, was basically a confession of being outside of God’s kingdom, acknowledging that their ancestry, covenants, traditions, and rituals, could not save them; they must repent of their sins, trusting in the Lord for salvation like all other people, or remain outside of God’s kingdom.

The Pharisees and the lawyers [experts in the Mosaic Law] rejected the very thought that they were sinners, outside of God’s kingdom; so they refused to repent and be baptized by John.  Being self-righteous law keepers, they considered themselves ceremonially clean before God and spiritually superior to everyone else.

Most of the common people in Israel were excited to a have John, a prophet of God, among them, for there had been 400 years of silence since God departed Israel, and no prophet had come from God; not until John came preaching, as the forerunner of the Messiah, just as Isaiah and Malachi had prophesied.

Matthew 3:7-12, “But when [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I…  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John had made it clear that the One coming after him, the Messiah [Jesus Christ,] would declare a similar message, saving all who repent and believe, while bringing judgement on all who reject His message.

Luke 3:10-14, “And the crowds were questioning him, saying, ‘Then what shall we do?’ And he would answer and say to them, ‘The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.’ And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’. And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.’ Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, ‘And what about us, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.’”

John, the forerunner of the Messiah, was telling the people what kingdom behavior looks like, for it had been written (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” (Leviticus 19:18), “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”

John’s preaching in Luke 3 was a preview and a practical application to what Jesus would teach and the Bible declares (Matthew 22:36-40), “’Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets,” (Luke 6:31), “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

Most of the religious leaders of Israel weren’t happy with the attention that John had received; they were glad that he was now in prison, unable to publicly proclaim his message that all of Israel needed to repent of sin and change their ways, or suffer the consequences of God’s judgement.  The religious elite of Israel would soon turn their attention to Jesus, seeking how to silence Him.

Both John and Jesus openly rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for their insolent and prideful indifference toward their sinfulness (Matthew 3:7), “When [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?.’”

Jesus called them hypocrites (Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29), blind guides (Matthew 23:16, 24), sons of hell (Matthew 23:15), fools (Matthew 23:17), whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27), serpents and a brood of vipers (Matthew 23:33).

The ministries and styles of preaching were quite different between John and Jesus; although, in the beginning of both their ministries, they were popular; but as time went by many of the people who heard them were offended by what they had to say, and some of their enemies became hostile.

Hostility toward John led to his own execution.

Matthew 14:3-5, “When Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Having been prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’ Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.”

After Jesus had begun His ministry and John had been beheaded, Herod so closely linked the ministry of Jesus with that of John, that he thought Jesus was John resurrected from the dead.

Matthew 14:1-2, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Hostility toward Jesus led to His own execution, but then, He didn’t stay dead.

Luke 4:16-22, “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’ And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’”

Luke 4:28-30, “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.”

Many attempts were made to arrest, capture, and kill Jesus, but it would only happen when God ordained it to happen, as Peter declares (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.”

The religious leaders of Israel refused to confess their sin, let alone would they repent and be baptized.  They rejected the authority of John as a prophet of God; they rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and they held contempt for anyone who would receive the teachings of either John or Jesus.

Both John (Matthew 3:7) and Jesus (Matthew 23:33), called the Pharisees, “a brood of vipers,” and they also condemned them (John in Matthew 3:7; Jesus in John 8:24) for their unwillingness to repent and be saved.

Israel’s religious leaders considered themselves to be righteous [right with God], because as Israel they considered themselves God’s chosen, God’s people of the covenants made through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.

Israel’s religious elite were superficially/outwardly keeping the law, and so, in their corrupted thinking they had no need to repent, let alone to be baptized.  Truth be told, they had no need for John the Baptizer or Jesus of Nazareth, for they considered them to be enemies of Judaism and therefore enemies of God.

John’s baptism of repentance was a one-time public declaration of a person’s awareness of being outside of the kingdom God, it was a statement of the condition of one’s conscience to which, at that time, there was no remedy, for Jesus had not yet been crucified.

Earlier we read from Matthew 3:11 where John said, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Water symbolizes a desire for a clean conscience, i.e., to acknowledge your sins, to publicly state that you have offended God and are seeking God’s forgiveness.

Holy Spirit symbolizes spiritual birth (John 1:12-13; 3:5-8) of each genuine believer (Ephesians 1:13-14, marked and protected by God’s Spirit; 1Corinthians 12:13, baptized [placed, immersed] into one body, the Church; Colossians 1:18, of which Christ is the Head).

Fire symbolizes judgment, those who reject Christ do not have the Holy Spirit in them, and are therefore doomed to a fiery destruction (Matthew 3:10, 12).

True repentance [the turning away from sin to salvation, from loving self to loving God] involves a deep sorrow brought on by the realization that you are a sinner, separated from the love and life of God, until you repent of our sin and believe in God’s Son for salvation, placing you in Christ.

2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

True repentance that leads to eternal life will bring about obvious, verifiable, observable, undeniable changes in the way you think, speak, and act; this teaching is reiterated throughout the New Testament, which declares that salvation, the eternal forgiveness for sins, is granted only to those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Mark 1:15, Jesus said, ”The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Peter at Pentecost preached (Acts 2:21), “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Acts 2:38), “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Peter, standing before the rulers and the elders of the people (Acts 4:12) declared, “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.”

Acts 10:34-43, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

John 3:16, “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.”

1Timothy 1:15, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

John came calling Israel to acknowledge their sins, repent, and change the way the live, by treating others the way they themselves want to be treated.

Jesus came calling all people to repent of their sins and believe in Him for forgiveness, so that we might be forever changed by God’s Spirit living in us.

 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.”

 
Pastor Mike
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Bible Text: Luke 7:28b | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above are the
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February 12, 2023
“The Least in God’s Kingdom is the Greatest of All”
Luke 7:28b

 

     Last week in Luke 7:28a, we studied Jesus’ declaration concerning John the Baptizer that, “among those born of women there is no one greater than him.”  That is indeed perplexing, especially when you consider Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.”

So, both John and Jesus were born of women, and yet Jesus says no one has been born of women who is greater than John.  How can that be?  Both John and Jesus had mother’s, however, Jesus had no earthly father for He was the Son of the Most High God; where as John was the son of Zacharias.

How can John be greater than God’s Son?  He can’t, so let’s try to sort this out.  First, every person who has been born, and all those who are yet to be born, are born via the sexual union between a human male and a human female, bringing about conception, pregnancy, and birth.  That is the normal process for all human beings, all except for One; Jesus [God’s Salvation], Immanuel [God with us] was both God and man; and although He was born of a woman, there was no human male involved with the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:26-35).

Jesus was indeed born of a woman, but there was absolutely no human participation in His conception.  In Matthew 1:20, Gabriel said to Joseph in a dream, “the Child who has been conceived in [Mary] is of the Holy Spirit.”

In Luke 1:30-35, Gabriel said to Mary, “You have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High… …Mary asked, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ Gabriel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

The terminology in Galatians 4:4, used of Jesus, “born of a woman,” is similar to that in Luke 7:28, used of John, “born of women.”

John the Baptizer is said to be greater than anyone who is born of a woman; but Jesus was also born of a woman, and there can be no comparison in greatness between John the Baptizer and Jesus Christ: God’s Son, Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Savior, and Judge over all.

Let’s see if we can’t come to an understanding of not just what Jesus said, but what He meant (Philippians 2:5-11), “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant [slave], and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 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.”

The humiliation of Christ, the willful emptying of the glory and majesty that belongs to Him as God the Son, is not fully illustrated by His taking on humanity (while remaining to be God), but by His submitting to death on a cross for our sins.

The phrase Son of God signifies that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God, and yet He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped; but instead He emptied Himself of all glory and majesty, in order to take on the role of a slave.

The phrase Son of Man signifies that Jesus was indeed born of a woman, born under the law, but there is one very important distinction between Jesus who was born of Mary, and every other person who is born of a woman, including John the Baptizer.

See Hebrews 4:14-15, Jesus the Son of God, is our great and heavenly high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, as “One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet [being] without sin.”

Hebrews 7:23-28, “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing [they were just mortal men], but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He [Jesus] is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those [former] high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever” [Jesus is that Son, the once for all sacrifice, for all sin, for all people, for all time; being not only the Perfect Priest, but also the Perfect Sacrifice].

Hebrews 9:26-28, “now once at the consummation [fulfillment, perfection] of the ages [Christ] has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

At the end of the day when the Lord was crucified, before He gave up His spirit and died, He said, “It is Finished!”  What was finished?  The enmity between the Holy and Righteous God of Creation and all of sinful humanity, was mercifully and eternally resolved, concluded, finalized, terminated, over and done with, because.

Hebrews 10:16, “‘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, 17, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

2Corinthians 5:21, “ He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf [He took our sins upon Himself], so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

John the Baptizer, in comparison to all other humans, was the greatest, and if Jesus had merely been the biological son of Mary and Joseph, not God’s Son, then John the Baptizer would have been greater than Jesus, because John’s mission and purpose was to prepare the hearts of the people for God’s Son, the only One who could save them from an eternal condemnation in hell, as John proclaimed (John 1:29), “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 3:25-26, “Some of John’s disciples came to him and said, ‘Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan [speaking of Jesus], to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.’”  John answered saying 28,  ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ, but, I have been sent ahead of Him.’” 30-31, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease [i.e., Jesus must become greater, I must become less]. He [Jesus] who comes from above is above all [first in position and priority, preeminent], he who is of the earth [John] is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all’ [Jesus came from heaven, therefore, He is greater than all].

Everything Jesus did was divine (see John 3:34-36), ‘For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God… The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand [making Him the greatest of all]. 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 on him.’”

Jesus is from heaven, not from the earth [He is God the Son, the Eternal Word of God, see John 1:1-4, 14-15, 18].

All people on the earth are born the naturally way, being the product of a human male and human female conceiving a child, no one is greater than John the Baptizer.

Look again at Luke 7:28, and this time let’s read the whole verse, “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Oh boy, yet another one of God’s great conundrums for us to try and make sense of, “he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”  The kingdom of God is made up of all those who belong to God the Father, by faith in God the Son, having been born-again into God’s family, by God’s Spirit.

John 1:11-13, “[Jesus] 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.”

John 3:1-3, “‘Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,’” 6-8, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”

All humanity is born through a natural biological physical birth.  But you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven through human birth or human flesh.

John 3:13-18, “No one has ascended into heaven, [except] He [Jesus] who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 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.”

But if no one born of women is greater than John, how can the least person in the kingdom of God be greater John?  John’s ministry, although greater than the ministries of all the prophets, was not on par with the ministry of Jesus, who died as God’s sacrificial Lamb, for the sins of all humanity.

In Luke 7:24, John’s disciples left to bring word back to him concerning what Jesus was doing (healing diseases, afflictions, casting out demons, and raising the dead); this would answer John’s concern as to whether or not Jesus was the Messiah.  But it would do nothing to save John, for very soon he would be executed, long before Jesus went to the cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the grave to demonstrate eternal life.

John would not see the fulfillment of the kingdom of God, nor would he have an understanding of all that was yet to be revealed concerning what has been promised to those who belong to God by faith in Christ.

John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and even though he was the greatest among men, he did not fully understand the mysteries hidden in the OT, that would be unveiled and revealed in the NT.

The saints in Hebrews 11, the Old Testament heroes of the faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and many others who listed there (Hebrews 11:39-40), “All these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

These men and women of the OT are godly examples, but while they lived on this earth, they didn’t really understand all God had promised, not until they died, or were caught up, like Enoch, to be with God, forever.

The hope that we have is made effectual through the sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection of God’s Son; for you see, the cross, the empty tomb, the post resurrection appearances and ascension of Jesus back into heaven, all mark the point in history when the promises of the OT became fulfilled for those who would live during New Testament times and beyond..

The OT Believers listed in Hebrews 11, as well as John the Baptizer, never realized the fulfillment of the NT revelations concerning God’s Son and the completion of the Canon of Scripture that tells of the rapture of the Church when Jesus returns in the air to gather all those still alive, who are His, and His subsequent glorious return to earth at the end of the Great Tribulation; after which, peace, prosperity, and longevity will be experienced by those who live during the millennial kingdom, at the end of which will be the White Throne Judgment; and after that will come the creation of the new heavens and new earth, where all those who belong to God will live forever, with Him.

John preached a baptism of repentance, telling the people that the Messiah had arrived; but John died before Jesus went to the cross, paying for all sins, then rose from the grave to demonstrate eternals life.

As Christians, we believe Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, and as ambassadors for Christ, we are to plead with sinners to be reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of God’s Son.

Jesus told His hearers (Luke 7:28) that, “among those born of women there is no one greater than John,” and yet, “he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than [John].”  John is the greatest human to ever be born, and yet, he could not proclaim the death and resurrection of the Savior, because it hadn’t happened.

John knew nothing of the great mysteries and revelations of Scripture that were inaugurated and made effectual at the death and resurrection of God’s Son, but we, as believers and followers of Christ have been given all of these being something John didn’t live to see.

But on this side of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, everyone who believes in Him for the forgiveness of sins, is saved and equipped for a mission that is much greater than anything John the Baptizer could ever do.  He couldn’t preach the death and resurrection of God’s Son, for it was still yet to come; but we like Paul (1Corinthians 2:2), must be “determined to know nothing… …except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

2Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 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.”

What does that look like?  For a person to become the righteousness of God in Christ?  John the Baptist didn’t experience that until he died; where as, every believer and follower of Christ who has lived, is living now, or will live in the future, is able to realize the righteousness of God in Christ (being on this side of Jesus’ death and resurrection); and therefore, even he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John, for we can say, along with Paul (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.”
     And all of God’s people said, Amen! 

Pastor Mike

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Bible Text: Luke 7:24-28a | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: Luke | Above are the
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February 5, 2023
“The Greatest Earth Man to Ever Live”
Luke 7:24-28a

 

Read Luke 7:24-28a…  Last week we studied how Jesus demonstrated His Messiahship in the presence of John’s disciples, who had come from John (himself in prison at Herod’s summer palace).

Luke 3:19-20, “When Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by [John] because of [his affair and unlawful marriage to] Herodias, his brother [Phillip’s] wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.”

Read Luke 7:24…  As soon as John’s disciples left to tell John what they had seen and heard, Jesus began to speak about John, asking a rhetorical question, and by doing so, saying that John was not like some reed being blown back and forth by the wind; he was a man of God, and quite frankly, he didn’t care what popular opinion or majority consensus was in Israel or the rest of the world.  John had been born for this sovereign mission.

In Luke 1:15-17, the angel Gabriel comes to Zacharias at the temple and says, “He [your son John] will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

In Luke 1:67, we read, “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying” at John’s birth, (vv. 76-80), “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Jesus was the promised Messiah, who would fulfill all the promises and Covenants of God: His blood would be shed and His life would be given to pay for our sins; He would be buried, but He would rise from the dead on the third day to demonstrate eternal life for all who believe in Him; everyone who believes Jesus to be God’s Son, Lord, and Savior, becomes a child of God and is eternally indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit, free from all condemnation for sin, forever!

 

Jeremiah 31:31-34, “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’”

Hebrews 10:14-18, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘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.”

See Luke 3:2-18…  Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people traveled 40-80 miles through the wilderness, to the Jordan River, north of Jerusalem, where John the baptizer was calling people to acknowledge their sin before God and repent, to turn away from sin and to turn to Jesus Christ the Savior for the forgiveness of sin.

Read Luke 7:25…  Jesus poses another rhetorical question to the people in order to tell them something about John, he did not wear clothing that was “soft” from the Greek word “malakos,” which is translated “effeminate” in 1Corinthians 6:9, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals.”

When the word malakos is used in reference to clothing, it brings to mind the lacy, frilly, puffy, effeminate clothing of royalty, like the English Kings gone by.

In direct contrast to the soft effeminate look, John was a rough and tough man’s man, not a wimpy male who, at a glance, could be taken for a woman.  John was a wilderness man; he didn’t live in luxury like the nobles who lived in “royal palaces.”  No doubt, this was a criticism of Herod who had incarcerated John for speaking out against Herod’s adultery, incest, fornication and other evil deeds.

 

John didn’t wear fine tailored clothes or eat a diet of expensive foods served on silver platters (Matthew 3:4), “John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”  John was the last of the Old Testament Prophets, and by Jesus’s own commendation, John had the most preeminent duty of any prophet, for although Isaiah, Daniel, and Malachi foretold the coming of the Messiah, John His cousin, witnessed, prepared the way for, talked with, and baptized the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Read Luke 7:26-27…  Jesus now speaks to the prophetic fulfillment of John’s calling and mission, saying to the people, “what did you go out into the wilderness to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’”

The coming of John was foretold in the Scriptures, for John was God’s prophet who would declare that the Messiah was now among men (Isaiah 40:3), “A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God,” (Isaiah 40:5), “the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

John was so full of the Holy Spirit that many of the people thought maybe he was the Messiah (Luke 3:15), “Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,” and so they came asking him (John 1:19-23), “when the Jews sent to John priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ They asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Malachi had prophesied the words of the Lord saying (Malachi 3:1), “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me,” (Malachi 4:5), “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

 

Was John actually Elijah somehow resurrected and returned before the coming of the Lord?  No!  Any erroneous confusion about John and Elijah is cleared up by comparing Scripture with Scripture, where it becomes apparent that John is the fulfillment of an Elijah-like prophet.  In Luke 1:17, Gabriel tells Zacharias that his son John, who is to be born to Elizabeth in her old age, “will go as a forerunner before [the Messiah] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

John was not a reincarnated Elijah, but a prophet of God who came in the “spirit and power of Elijah.”  Jesus declared (Matthew 11:13-15),“For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

John is the last Old Testament prophet, meaning that he was the last messenger to come from God before the commencement of the ministry of Jesus Christ, through whom the covenant of God’s Grace would replace the covenant of God’s Law (Hebrews 10:8-10), “‘sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the Law), then He said,‘Behold, I have come to do Your will.’He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Israel had disobeyed, turned away from, and rejected God’s authority, the priests offered defiled sacrifices, and the people worshipped pagan deities; therefore, God removed His presence and didn’t send a messenger to Israel for 400 years, not until the coming of John the baptizer, who would proclaim that God’s Salvation, the Messiah, had come, and John called all Israel to repentance.

From Genesis to Malachi, the Law and the Prophets tell of God’s plan, purpose, and provision of the Messiah. Up until John came and broke the silence between God and Israel, the prophets had written, “the Messiah is going to come!”  But when John came as the forerunner of Christ, He declared, “The Messiah is here!”

John’s mission was foretold by the prophets long before his birth.  The last words written by Malachi (Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6) tell us that God is going to send Elijah before the great and terrible Day of the Lord; Luke tells us (Luke 1:15-17) “that [John] will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah!”

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John wasn’t Elijah, in fact, he himself (cf. John 1:21) declared that he was not Elijah, nor was he the Christ.  But Jesus tells us that John “came in the spirit and power of Elijah.”  And as we read earlier (cf. Luke 3:18), it was John the baptizer who first, “preached the gospel to the people.”  John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and yet he is the first preacher in the New Testament to proclaim the Gospel of Christ!  No wonder Jesus said to the crowds (Matthew 11:14), “if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” And then Jesus said (Matthew 11:15), “He who has ears, let him hear.”

The phrase, “He who has ears, let him hear,” is quoted three times in Matthew, once in Mark, and two times in Luke, and each time, Jesus is testing the spiritual responsiveness and heart understanding of those who are there to hear what He just said, but more than that., too understand the deep meaning of what He said.  John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.  John came to fulfill God’s purpose and to display God’s presence and power, just as Elijah had done about 1,000 years earlier.

Listen! Jesus is saying that John came preparing the way for the Messiah, calling people to repent of their sins and believe in Him alone for forgiveness, as John declared (John 1:29-34), “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John testified saying, ‘I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me,’ ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.’”

John knew his priority was to present the Savior (John 1:15-18),  John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

 

It is all about Jesus Christ: Crucified, Resurrected, and Coming again.  Have you called upon Him to forgive your sins and save your soul?  Do you have the assurance of eternal life (Romans 3:23), “all have sinned,” (Romans 6:23), “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 5:8), “in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 8:1), “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (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.” 13 “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Jesus provides forgiveness for all your sins: past, present, and future].

Don’t leave here today without being absolutely sure that you have received forgiveness for your sins and that you spend eternity in heaven with God..

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.”

 

 
Pastor Mike
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