These are the meat and potatoes of the Christian life! [vi] In the Reformation Study Bible R.C. To me this is a false dilemma. It was perhaps at its height at the end of the 19th century when medical cures were being found, the industrial revolution was in full swing, and great revivals had swept across the world many times over the course of the past several hundred years. I leave his ways to himself, for they are far, far above meThere are windings and tos and fros in his ways, which blind bodies like us cannot see.. John probably views the death and resurrection of Christ as inaugurating the long-awaited kingdom of the end times predicted by Daniel, which will now continue throughout the church age. It shows us His deity, His majesty, His obedience to the Father and His love for us. And when I heard, and the tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and defied Him to melt my soul. Even in the midst of all this seeming chaos, Jesus is getting everything He wants. [xiii], Amils believe that the first resurrection is simply that spiritual resurrection that has taken place and realized during the intermediate state. It this doesnt turn you off, then I hope you are able to enjoy the study! o Memorize Scripture:[xiii] Chuck Swindoll says, I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. And again, we repeat it, until these affections be renewed, and turned into a fresh channel by the gracious drawings of the Father, it is not possible for any man to love the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, they just left and went back to their homes leaving Mary at the tomb with her sorrow. This is where we find Peter, and this is where we find ourselves apart from the grace of Christ. It is passages like this which kept Spurgeon busy for hours at a time! (Psalm 23:1-3), Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. So you are now alive to the things of Christ and you rejoice in the kingdom into which He has brought you., Pastor Warren Wiersbe puts it this way, It is not intellectual problems that keep people from trusting Christ; it is the moral and spiritual blindness that keeps them loving the darkness and hating the light., C.H. Ought we not to ask how John has written of such things in other parts of his book? The kingdom was in their midst became (sic because) the King was there. Can you imagine if we looked around the world today and every other nation except one the size of Rhode Island worshiped wooden blocks and golden statues? That is not human logic; this is a statement motivated by someone with perspective on a higher plane of reality. This next parable was one that women of Jesus day could relate to which actually cuts to the point that Jesus cared more about relating timeless truths to the lower classes of men and women than to the rich and powerful. It's a short poem, but a deeply moving one. He always ordains and acts according to what will bring him the most glory this is the wisdom of God. [3] He restores my soul. She didnt yet understand that this man Jesus was not just the Messiah sent from God, He was the Author of life. They failed to grasp the significance of Jesus teaching, and their failure cannot be attributed merely to intellectual incapacity. Thomas Schreiner[vii]. Cant they just let this go? Jesus gospel is simple and life changing. To get a better picture of the cycle, remember that just as Joseph went ahead of the Israelites into the land of Egypt, so also Daniel went first into Babylon into exile before the rest of his countrymen joined him. [10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. As Paul says: But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. [2]It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. And even they, in a negative sense, bring Him glory, since He displays His holiness by judging them. Collection administered by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The word is actually embrimaomai, which literally means, snort like a horse! The idea here, as MacArthur says, includes a connotation of anger, outrage, or indignation. He is sorrowful over the unbelief of the people as in Luke 19:41-44. Sin is not simply what we do, its who we are we are sinners. Is Jesus reign something future, or is it now and to be seen with our eyes in the future? I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 11:8-10The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again? [9]Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? (Romans 1:24-25, ESV). A mind and heart that look through the gray havens of today to the eternal riches of His presence in heaven. Finally, we must understand the significance of His resurrection in light of being a plant in His garden, and Spurgeon articulates this important truth well: One other thought. SIDE NOTE: D.A. Thats when you realize you had gotten an extra $300 out of the ATM and put it in an envelope for tomorrow thats why it wasnt showing up in the online statement! And yet again, we must read as much with our hearts as with our minds, applying both to the task. However, God commands us to have agape love toward everyone. For even though the millennium the 1,000 year reign of Christ mentioned in the first few verses of chapter 20 takes up a very short space in terms of the book itself, its importance is seen in how we interpret what its saying. YOU WILL NEVER DIE. Nor would thieves likely have left the wrappings, containing expensive spices, behind. [10] Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Is John contradicting himself? Gods desire and purpose for His image bearers is that we know Him. This is the day Jesus rose from the dead and thats why even to this day, 2,000 years later, we call it The Lords Day and worship Him together on this day. These angels had a perspective that was grounded in reality thats why they can rightfully and astoundedly ask, Why are you weeping???. Spurgeon called Human Inability and that can be located by clicking here. While Im not sure if Spurgeon was aware of and influenced by this poem, its hard not to see the parallels! Imagine working all day long, getting dinner made, getting the laundry going, the kids finally in bed, the house somewhat clean (if youre lucky), and you sit down to get the money ready for grocery day tomorrow. What a wonderful feeling and a wonderful knowledge that is. Therefore I must patiently wait for His plan to unfold even amidst trial. [30] But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him! [31] And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. [27] And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound. [28] But he was angry and refused to go in. We are told that this is what saving faith looks like. Piper closes his thoughts on the matter this way: When Jesus died, he glorified the Fathers name and saved his Fathers people. Our natural tendency is not to love the light but to run from it, to hide from it and hate it. And He appears precisely at the point where his presence is required, because all other voices for conveying to her the gladsome tidings have failedThe first person to whom He showed Himself alive after the resurrection was a weeping woman, who had no greater claim upon Him than any simple penitent sinner has. http://www.gotquestions.org/phileo-love.html#ixzz3FWIhOYPt. Prior to this verse, the Lord Jesus has been the one speaking, but many scholars believe that John 3:16 is actually John now commenting, and given the flow and narrative of the passage, I believe that this is correct. This really puts me to shame. "We shall see his face," that is, we shall see clearly and plainly all that has to do with our Lord; and this shall be the greatest bliss of heaven. He doesnt give a specific time, but he says, while it was still dark. For me, who is not a morning person, this astounds me. [33] Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. The future aspect of the kingdom is its final consummation.[iii]. God grant we may be! The amillennialist would remind us of verses like we find at the end of Marks gospel, So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19 also see Ephesians 1:20-23)[i]. That is what is going on here Jesus has come to usher in the exodus and as He does this, He establishes His kingdom. Morris comments, The result of the miracle, as always, is division. But she didnt yet comprehend the power of the man she knew as Jesus. So perhaps its only natural for her to sprint out to see the Lord. Martha was the one who was busy with much serving, so busy that she didnt have time to sit and learn at the feet of Christ. Annas is not currently the high priest, but has been in the past, and is so powerful that he is actively involved in the affairs of temple and his son in laws administration of things. As Moses says, this Word of God is our very life surely it is worthy of our attention today. This is a very curious scene to say the least! In order to understand most of the NT especially the words of Jesus and the book of Revelation we need to understand this important principle. Carson summarizes, Whatever potential for future service he (Peter) had therefore depended not only on forgiveness from Jesus, but also on reinstatement amongst the disciples., I Agape your Phileo and Raise you an Agape. His love is poured out upon us through His Holy Spirit. "It hath not entered the heart of man, the . But what John is highlighting here by leaving this part in about Peter is to say that humanly speaking we try so very hard to be in control. First, the hopeless, helpless condition of Peter and all humanity who might try and save themselves and indeed there is a need of saving. [15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. We have children who are sick. The usual summary is that Agape is more a love of choice a sacrificial love. Mary asks this man, the only question on her mind: where is Jesus? Thompson was running, running. http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-memorize-scripture, [xiv] He says a ton of great things here. Perhaps thats what is so beautiful about this chapter. They have dared to come before the burning bush without taking off the sandals, and in their ignorance and impudence theyve come to apprehend the One who fashioned the cells of their existence. (Exodus 33:9-11). I said to Dawn: Be suddento Eve: Be soon; With thy young skiey blossoms heap me over. After looking into this a bit more I found that Spurgeon wasnt the first person to come up with this analogy! Do you welcome and surround yourself with sinners who need saving? Father! [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 15:14-15 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. This is the nitty-gritty of sanctification, and its also why reading the Bible and meditating on Christs actions here and every word that proceeds from His mouth, is so important. Comments will be approved before showing up. And that group includes me. He wields His power and knowledge with wisdom and His plans are never foiled. They suffered from hard hearts that resisted the revelation of God in Jesus (Mark 6:52; 8:17, 21). Their hearts loved His heart. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. o Children have a taste for simple foods, simple drinks, and simple deserts. Then she sees something that Peter and John didnt, 20:12-13 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. It does not attract, rather the reverse. If our spiritual state were to be attributed to ourselves, or to our minister, or to some of our fellow Christians, we might not feel that we were tinder a great necessity to be fruitful; but if Jesus be the gardener, and is to bear the blame or the honor of what we produce, then let us use up every drop of sap and strain every fibre, that, to the utmost of which our manhood is capable, we may produce a fair reward for our Lords travail. You immediately start combing your purse, your wallet, your statements, you stop and think you must be missing something somewhere. We are not going against the harmonies of nature when we are supposing him to be the gardener., If we would be supported by a type, our Lord takes the name of the Second Adam, and the first Adam was a gardener. Well, if the flock is the church then we must necessarily believe the feeding and tending are also metaphorical devices. Notice two things. They were vexed to see even more unanswerable proofs that Jesus was the Christ, and irritated to feel that their own unbelief was more than ever inexcusable.. Christ permeates Pauls writing to such an extent that it would be impossible to read around it. And likewise He can use sickness and death in our lives to both refine us (Ps. Perhaps this is obvious, but Christ never boasted in Himself but allowed His truthful teaching, His actions and the testimony of others to glorify Him. Peter was so wrapped up in his own welfare that when it came to dying for Christ he was far from ready. God planned it all from before the world began. Earlier in chapter five, Christ said this: But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. They were actually illegal trials meant to ram through a decision based upon fear and hatred of Jesus. The main thing we should take note of in these verses is that what Christ was doing was for the purposes of bringing glory to God (as mentioned earlier), and the phrase above so that you may believe does not modify that purpose or even add to it, but rather it explains more specifically how He will be glorified. 307. George Ladd once said that, the Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among men, and that this Kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of the age, has already come into human history in the person and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver men from its power, and to bring them into the blessings of Gods reign The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history, and consummation at the end of history., Section 4 Heart of Darkness: The Power of Unbelief, 11:45-48Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, [46]but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Only then do I feel like I have an excuse to lose my temper. He is quick to say, however, that we must have caution in adding more to the thing than that which is already there. I love the fact that angels and all Gods elect children can look at the cross and say, see how He loved them!. (f) I think, besides this, that the respective positions of the disciples and Christ, when they first saw Him, may possibly be intended to represent the respective positions of Christ and His people during this dispensation. Hendriksen notes about 7 of them just as a sampling, but even a cursory search of the internet seems to reveal a plethora of others. Presently, Kate and I would really like to sell our house. Plenty of people have heard the gospel, but not everyone sees it as glorious. We just need to glean a few things to understand the context, Needless to say these great truths these are deep truths and they arent going to make a whole lot of sense to someone still stuck on the basics. He knew that soon His great passion would be upon Him. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. His charge is a moral charge you treasure not them up in your hearts, consciences, and memories, but let them slip out, and forget them says Owen. so much so that when these Pharisees saw Jesus eating with sinners it was enough to throw them into convulsions. The Hound of Heaven. Let that reality sink in! We cant go very far without noting a few things in this new chapter. Certainly one of the most difficult things for us humans to deal with is the truth that God, in His eternal purposes, has allowed, yea even willed, for terrible calamity to befall those whom He loves. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Jesus she reasons would never have allowed my brother to die.. He enters into our sorrows with us. But he learned the hard way that leaning on Christ is the only way to make it through this life. So long as the devil is the prince of this world, and the hearts of the many are unconverted, so long there must be strife and fighting. The number one hundred fifty-three represents 100 for the Gentiles, 50 for the Jews, and 3 for the Trinity. [3] And this we will do if God permits. His sovereignty is manifested in ordaining, and indeed bringing about, the salvation of those who seemed (by all worldly standards) to have wandered beyond the reach of salvation. Pink notes the fulfillment of a few OT types: in crossing the brook Cedron, accompanied by His disciples, another Old Testament type was most strikingly fulfilled. ", But Thompson also knew the unrelenting love of Jesus, the hound of heaven. What caused Peter and John to leave like this? Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, [16] but Peter stood outside at the door. The kingdom of God means that God is King and acts in history to bring history to a divinely directed goal. It is not a courtroom, or a white throne in revelation; it is the exposure of Christs ministry of truth upon the wicked hearts of mankind. This also has ramifications for how we understand the millennium. Clearly there was the implication that they would like Jesus to come to their aid, and there was certainly the suggestion that he might help them by healing Lazarus. As John MacArthur says, The apostle skillfully demonstrates that the shameful, debasing things done to Christ failed to detract from His person, but rather offered decisive proof of His glory.. When Jesus returns it will not be to establish a kingdom, but rather to consummate a kingdom which has been established from before the foundation of the world, and which He reigns over at this very moment. It seems that they had already agreed upon raising Lazarus, and that now Christ is thanking God the Father for hearing Him and for granting this miracle so that He may be glorified that people might believe. Jesus, the son of Man, and greater son of David, has taken up staff and rescued the sheep of His Fathers flock, delivering them from exile to a new exodus a spiritual exodus an exodus from sin and death. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurried and unperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His divine grace. It is simply this: their reality, their perspective was heavenly. I think there are two tricky things here. Behold 153. Yet this verse is also one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted verses in Scripture. Jesus, in effect, was showing them that they didnt understand Him because they didnt understand the nature of the person of the messiah and his mission. He brings us out of darkness into His marvelous light by His sovereign initiating love. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. It is the evidence of faith, and the outward reality of a changed heart within us. Now, let this be a stimulus to your fruitbearing, that Jesus is the gardener. The response of Jesus comes to us packaged in the shortest sentence in Scripture. (1 John 4:9-10). Christ inaugurated a kingdom (the already) and with that inauguration has brought forth fruit first by His cross work, and now by His Spirits powerful work here on earth through the spread of the gospel. 153 fish,all the species/nations of the world can fit into the net and the net is not broken.. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. We read in Romans 3:11 that no one understands; no one seeks for God. And in Ephesians 2:2 we read that as unbelievers we followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. In John 8:44a Jesus says of those who are unbelievers, you are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your fathers desires., Theologian R.C.
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