Living by Faith

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

LIVING BY FAITH

Gal 2:17-21

17 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"  

NIV

This is a most difficult concept to understand, but we think it might mean that if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, which is being justified through faith and then because of our freedom from the law, we feel we have a license to sin. Paul is stating that would mean Jesus promotes sin. Paul makes it clear that this is not the case. Living for Christ, having the freedom from the law does not mean Jesus promotes us to sin. Being a believer does not give us freedom from deceit and holy morality. The idea of rebuilding what was destroyed seems to reference the idea promoted by the Jews about circumcision. Because of being justified by faith, the law which requires circumcision has no bearing on justification by faith. That law was destroyed by Christ. But if the Gentiles were forced into obedience to the law, hence rebuilding the law, it would only prove them to be sinners, or lawbreakers for no one can be justified by the law and therefore if they are not justified they are lawbreakers, sinners, condemned. It is the same with us. Because we are justified by faith in Jesus, we have been set free from the law and the penalty of death for breaking that law. However, that does not give us a license to sin. Yet at the same time, it does not mean that we should rebuild a complete set of rules and regulations or customs which we determine would have some bearing on our justification. That is to say, we cannot say we have any partnership in our justification as it is solely an act of God. However, we do need to exercise faith in Jesus. Some would say that it is our act of partnership, but we cannot even have faith unless it was not given to us by God. In some sense we are responding in the affirmative, using that faith to believe rather than rejecting that faith. But it is merely a response to that which God has done for us. We cannot act on our own to cause our justification. So let us not try to rebuild a law from which we have been ser free. Let us not endeavor to live by rules we establish but live in Christ. Our old self has been put to death with Christ and we now live in Christ. This then would mean we do live in accordance with Christ by faith. Paul makes it clear that as we live in this body, which is still prone to sin, we live by faith in Jesus who loves us and gave himself for us. We cannot set aside that grace trying to gain righteousness by the law, or in our case those rules of do’s and don’ts. If we think our righteousness has anything to do with how holy we try to live, or how well we abide by those rules and regulations, then Jesus died for nothing. That is not to say we should not make every effort to live to please God. But what does that mean? Does no smoking, no drinking, no dancing, no whatever other rules we think are right and holy, please God? What about no gossip or no greed, or no jealousy or no envy or no holding a grudge, does the please God? How can we live a perfect life? We are all still subject to some form of sin in our lives as long as we live in these bodies. So then how can we do or not do anything in the flesh that pleases God? The one thing we know for sure is that it pleases God if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We have been told that the one work of God is to believe in the one he sent, Jesus. So we live by faith. We no longer live as us, which is living as sinners condemned, but we already died and now live in Christ. The life we live in the body, we live by faith.

Justified by Faith

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

Gal 2:14-16

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

NIV

Paul is still correcting Peter in his behavioral change once certain Jews showed up. Peter was eating with Gentiles but then withdrew because of the other Jews, so then Peter was more concerned about appearances than truth. Paul told him that was not acting in line with the truth of the gospel. The whole of the idea Paul was making is that none of us can be justified by the law, or as what the law requires, works. We cannot be justified by anything we do whatsoever. It might be easy to get caught up in the trap of “Good deeds”, thinking that is how we earn something in the kingdom. But the truth Paul was telling Peter is there is no Jewish custom which justifies a man. All of them, Jew and Gentile alike are sinners and the only way to be justified is through faith in Jesus Christ. Observing any set of laws, or rules and regulations may gain us access to membership into a particular club, such as a church or denomination, but observing them has absolutely nothing to do with our justification, our salvation, and our relationship with our Lord. Of course, Jesus did say that if we love him we would obey his commands. The problem is when we start trying to decipher between his commands and our added on club rules. There are many things Jesus said that we would be blessed if we developed certain attitudes in our lives, but they were not commands. There were many parables or examples as to how we should interact with others, but again they were not commands. Jesus did tell us there were two commands which encompassed everything. That is to love the Lord our God with all of our being, our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength or body, and love our neighbor as ourselves. However, even doing all of that, if that is totally doable, does not justify us. Justification is an act of God, not an act of man. However, if we could define faith as an act of man, then we have a part in our justification. Yet, even our faith is a gift of God, for he gives every man a measure of faith. It is what we do with that measure of faith God gives us which could be defined as our part in justification. If we accept that faith and use it to believe in Jesus Christ then we are justified by faith.

Grace over Law

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

GRACE OVER LAW

Gal 2:11-13

11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

NIV

Hypocrisy is clearly wrong. The Greek word translated as hypocrisy in this context means the acting of a stage player. This means being someone who you are not, pretending to be another person, or it could also simply mean being deceitful. This was what Paul opposed Peter to his face. While he was visiting the Gentile church in Antioch he ate with the gentiles, accepting them as brothers in the Lord, seeing no difference between himself and them, although Peter being a Jew was circumcised and the Gentiles were not circumcised. However, when those Jews who were trying to convince the Gentiles they needed to be Jews first, that is life under the law, be circumcised, then they could become believers in Christ, Peter changed how he acted toward the Gentiles. Clearly, this was wrong. This makes us wonder how much, and if we change at all in the presence of other believers then when we are with non-believers. Are we the same all the time? Are we a stage player in church, or in the company of the community of faith? In other words, have we built our own façade for when we are in church? Paul is going to continue with his little discourse about this situation, but just this much is enough to give us a reason to examine how we live and if we are two different people, one with believers, and one with non-believers? Of course, that would mean we would have to be in some social setting with non-believers? We would have to be out having dinner with them and enjoying the same freedoms they do regarding food and drink. But would we have an adult beverage out in the open or would we be afraid someone from church would come in and see us having a glass of wine or something else and judge us? That is most likely the only thing today which involves the dining experience which would cause some ruckus in some churches. It does seem a little bizarre some believers make such a fuse over drinking wine or some other adult beverage and yet they see no wrong in judging others, or in gossip or some other form of sin in which they are engaged, whether knowingly or not. What Paul is even more opposed to is that Peter’s hypocrisy influenced Barnabas to act in the same manner. What we have to see is that we should be who we are and be who we are. Of course, if our freedom causes a brother to sin, will we have another problem. Should we refrain completely from the freedom we have in Christ just because another believer will judge us, and thus sin by his judgment? Paul will continue to answer that question in regards to living under the law or to have been freed to live by faith. So then why do we set all these rules and regulations upon ourselves and others? At times it does seem a bit confusing as to which is which and how we should live. Yet, we should always choose grace over the law.

MInistry

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

MINISTRY  

Gal 2:6-10

6 As for those who seemed to be important — whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance — those men added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.   8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

NIV

We are not sure as to who Paul is referring to when he mentions those who seem to be important in appearance. Our scholars make an attempt to rewrite this phrase using the Greek, but it seems they are not using the Greek as it is written. They want to say the phrase should say, “As for those who are of the high reputation it does not make any difference to my ministry”. The problem is they leave out the part that a person’s continence or appearance does not matter to God. What the truth about this whole idea that it did not matter to Paul how others appeared as far as they high position, reputation, or how they thought about their own importance as the original Apostles. It did not affect his calling God had placed upon his life or the effectiveness of his ministry.  Paul goes on to say that it was on the contrary that when they saw God had entrusted him with the task of preaching to the Gentiles they extended the right hand of fellowship to him. The point Paul was making is that God was at work in the ministry of Peter as well as in his ministry. It is not the work of men, but the work of God in men. What we glean from this truth should certainly have an effect on how we approach our ministry and that of others. It would appear it does not matter how someone appears to be Godly or have a ministry, or appear important in the church. That is not to say they are not Godly or have a ministry or are important in the church. What we should consider it does not matter how God works in them as much as how God works in us and our calling and ministry. We should not focus on how God works in them as much as how God works in us. This is not a competition to see how great we are in the church or how much we do or how busy we are doing ministry stuff. As Peter and Paul came to the agreement that Peter was to preach the Gospel to the Jews and Paul was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, we should come to that same kind of agreement. We each have a calling that is different than others. God works in each of us, just maybe not in the same way, as he calls each of us to a different task. He gifts each of us according to the task he has purposed for us to fulfill. However, there are also some general tasks to which we all have been called, such as they agreed both of them should remember the poor. Maybe that is the only general theme we all should remember, the poor. But it would seem throughout scripture they are many other general themes, such as loving each other which covers all of the other themes. So then let us agree, each of us will have God working in us to accomplish that which he has called us to, and we will focus on our calling and his working in us, while at the same time praising God for how he is working in the lives of others, and remember all that we can do together in those general themes.

Not Running in Vain

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

NOT RUNNING IN VAIN 

Gal 2:1-5

2:1 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4[This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

NIV

It seems more of a travel log, in a sense. Paul had just accounted for the three years following his conversation and now he gives them a time reference of after another fourteen years. It is most likely within these fourteen years Paul had made his first visit to these Galatians and preached the gospel. This would most likely account for the church Paul was responsible for starting there and now because of false teachers coming after him, he writes this letter to set the record straight. He tells them of his travels to Jerusalem, the great city, the center of Judaism, the place of the temple. However, Jerusalem was also the center of Christianity although it was not known by that name yet. We are not sure just what the revelation Paul had for the reason he went to meet with the brothers in Jerusalem, although it appears it was about this matter of circumcision. Paul wanted to double-check his life’s work, his preaching the gospel was not in vain. Again, this appears this was centered on the freedom in Christ and that Gentiles would not be held to the law regarding circumcision. The idea of making them slaves was being a slave to the Law. This should give us some insight as to how we should approach the Gospel as well. It is not a matter of Jesus plus anything, such as the idea of this good work. Yes, after we are redeemed after we accept Jesus, we do things for the kingdom of God, we do some form of works in that sense. We run the race, we preach the gospel, and we live for Christ. We set aside the old self who sinned as a regular course of action and put on a new self who desires to live rightly, although that is not even completely possible, being but a human living on a corruptible body. Even Paul who we have a tendency to lift up had the same infirmity in his humanity doing that which he did not want to and not doing that which he wanted to. But the point is the pure gospel is not about Jesus plus anything form of a religious act of righteousness, or works. Salvation is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ and that is all. A free gift does not require work to earn it, then it would not be a free gift. This is the message Paul was preaching, but the false brothers who had infiltrated their ranks were only there to spy on them, making it appear they were part of the believers, but only for the purpose of spreading false teaching. Is that not also true today? We have so many who claim to be Christians who are only pretending to be among the ranks of believers, so to spread their own form of the gospel, which is more of their own message rather than the message of God. There are so many false teachings being spread through the church it is difficult for many to discern the truth. Some have such silver tongues their ideas sound good, while others attempt to wow people into false beliefs with their intellectual arguments, which again may sound right, but are not actually based on the true gospel message. Paul wanted these believers in Galatia to not be deceived by those who would add something to the free gift of salvation. However, we also have to say Paul taught how a believer should live. There is freedom in Christ, but not to go on sinning, or doing anything we want when we want. But this letter is about the free gift, the freedom from the law, from the list of rules in order to be saved. Circumcision was not required for them. The law is not required for us to be saved either. But once we are saved, once we have been set free, we should not allow ourselves to be placed back in bondage. Let us not run our race in vain.  

Praise God Because

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

PRAISE GOD BECAUSE

Gal 1:18-24

18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles — only James, the Lord's brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24 And they praised God because of me.

NIV

Much of this part of the narrative is of historic value in the sense it contains the initial travels of Paul after his conversion. We do not know what he did in those three years he spent in Arabia and Damascus. It is not recorded in the Acts of the Apostles by Luke as perhaps these three years were spent alone with the Lord, in meditation, receiving and affirming his calling to preach the gospel of the Gentiles. Luke does record that Paul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus and immediately began preaching the gospel. But that was only a couple of days out of the three years. The scholars we checked also have no clue or insight as to what Paul was doing for those three years, so again we have the sense he was learning from the Lord, he was in prayer, meditation, and communication with the Lord. But that is only our supposition. However, it would make sense, he needed time to clarify what had happened to him when Jesus appeared to him and what transpired as the result of that encounter. Maybe we could learn a lesson here about spending more time with the Lord, learning from him, clarifying our purpose, our calling. Paul does report to the Galatians as part of his testimony that he was once a persecutor of the church and now is one sent with authority to preach the gospel. The portion of his testimony which strikes a chord is the fact as although he was personally unknown to the churches of Judea and they had only heard the report about his conversion from a persecutor to one now preaching the faith and they praised God because of him. We wonder how many people we praise God for who have been converted from hating the church, to now doing wonderful acts of service to our Lord. We wonder how many people are praising God on account of us for once we were haters of the church and spoke bitterly against it, and now have been saved and are serving our Lord in whatsoever manner he calls us to. Do we praise God for each other as believers? Maybe jealousy, envy, gossip, bitterness, inability or refusal to forgive those who we think offended us or pride keep us from thanking God and praising him for each other. But whether we praise God for each other or not, we know the angels rejoice over every sinner who has come home.

Luke 15:10

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

NIV

So then why would we not rejoice over each other, for we are all sinners who have repented and come home to the kingdom of God? We wonder how long those angels rejoiced are they still rejoicing over our repentance of some forty-five years ago. We cannot know for certain, but what we know is we should always rejoice over every sinner who has come home, and that is all of us. So again we say rejoice. Praise God because of you, because of me.

Set Apart

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

SET APART

Gal 1:13-17

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

NIV

Paul gives the testimony of his conversion from his pre-Jesus life to that which he now lives as a believer in Jesus. He does not give many details but enough to let them know he was a good Jew, one that hated Jesus and the people who believed in him. Paul says that God had set him apart from birth and called him by his grace and was pleased to reveal Jesus to him. This makes us wonder if God set us apart from birth. We too, at least me, held a certain contempt toward the people of faith, or at least toward what I called "organized religion". My mantra was, “all they want is my money, why should I have to pay to pray?” We can relate to Paul in his previous life as far as Christians are concerned. But did God set us apart from birth? We know he placed a call upon us. Because God is omniscient he knew we would accept Jesus, and exactly when that would happen. So then we could say he set us apart from birth. But that also might sound like he predestined us to be saved at a specific time in our lives. If that were the case, why then did God wait so long for Paul to be saved? Why would he not want Paul to be saved while Jesus was alive? How old would Paul have been? But the fact is God set him apart, which does mean God predetermined Paul would be the one to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. So then why would we not think God has predetermined us to be used in some way for his kingdom? Yet, at the same time, God has given every man the freedom to choose his own destiny. He calls, but we do not have to answer his call. He may have predetermined us to be saved, but that does not mean he made us accept Jesus, that he forced Jesus upon us, without our consent. There is a great difference between predestination and the foreknowledge of God. In his foreknowledge, he set us apart for his purpose, his plan, that we might have an effect in this world for his kingdom. Man has not called us into the service of the Lord. We have not consulted any man for their approval of our calling. We were called by God to serve in the exact way we are serving, spreading his message with our words and maybe with our deeds. God knew us before we were born, and he has always known what his plans were for our lives. He also knows the plans he has for those who refuse to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. He has plans for the justified and plans for those who refuse to be justified. He absolutely gave us the freedom to choose our destiny, but he is the one who planned what each destiny is. We are just choosing one or the other plan of God. We can never choose our own plan, for everything is from God. What we do know is that we have been set apart for his service.

Revealed by God

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

REVEALED BY GOD

Gal 1:11-12

11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

NIV

Paul is making sure the Galatians know that what these others have come to confuse them adding something else to becoming a believer other than by faith. Again these men were Jewish believers but were insisting Gentiles had to become Jews in the sense of being circumcised in order to be believers as they felt Jesus came to the Jews as a Jew and thus salvation was for the Jews and the Jews alone. What a narrow closed-minded way of thinking. Of course, it is likely none of the gospels had been recorded as yet, especially John’s where he makes that statement about God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so whosoever believes will not perish, but have everlasting life. This meant the gentiles were included in whosoever believes. This is the gospel that Paul preached although he too had not heard John make that statement, but was informed of the pure gospel through a revelation from Jesus Christ. But there is also a great truth about religions made up by man. There is a host of religious beliefs which are just made up by man. A system devised to have some kind of idol to worship which allows man to adjust the content of that belief in order to fit their own personal agenda. We could make a list of those organizations, but that would serve no purpose. The fact is we know there is only one true gospel.   Of course, we were raised in a country that is primarily considered a Christian nation, which now has been challenged as we host so many religions that a former President said we are no longer just a Christian nation. However, the point is we were brought up thinking about Christianity and were faced with the choice to believe or not. We may have tried some of the other beliefs such as Yoga, Buddhism, or Zen, but we found the flaws until we came to the truth about Jesus Christ. But even among us believers in Jesus, we have various beliefs. Some have added to the pure gospel. Some have created a belief system of their own, one they want so to feel they have the real truth. It is difficult to keep the gospel as simply as it is. Salvation is available through faith in Jesus Christ and faith alone. This faith is a divine gift from God as well. We cannot make up our own faith, it is a gift of God so that everything is from him, for us and nothing is from us. We cannot make up any form of our faith, all we can do is respond to what God has done and is doing in and for our lives. This gift of faith, this measure of faith he has given to all men, is all we need to believe. We respond to that faith and exercise it by accepting his gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We cannot take anything from that, nor can we add anything to it. This is what Paul is telling the Galatians. There is one true gospel message and it has been revealed by God.

Approval

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

APPROVAL

Gal 1:10

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

NIV

Just one verse which says it all about how we are to live as believers.  How much of our time do we spend trying to impress other people? It seems many try so hard to dress just right so as to look good. It appears some have to drive a certain type of car which denotes success. The amount of money spent on cosmetics is just an indication of how important our appearance is, either one's self-image or for the benefit of impressing others with our good looks, although “good looks” could be very subjective, no matter how much one applies to the face and hair. It is not about trying to make our face look better, but about making our heart look better. Man looks at the face, but God looks at the heart. Our true looks are expressed in our eyes and our attitude toward others. The only way for this type of appearance to happen is to have Jesus in our hearts and for us to be more concerned about pleasing him and people. However, because we do have Jesus in our heart, or rather the Spirit and are committed to having him have the influence upon our heart then we will have this loving, caring appearance emanating from our eyes and our speech will follow suit. As a result, we might well be having an influence on people, and in some sense giving them a sense of pleasure. But we are not seeking to win their approval. If we live for the approval or acceptance of others, then can we truly say we are a servant of Christ? That is the question we have to answer. Is it about being in the crowd? Is it about being accepted as one of the guys or one of the ladies? We have so many groups or little clicks in every aspect of life, even in the church. Are we concerned because we do not belong to any of those little groups? Nope, not a bit. We stand as we stand, as long as we stand with the Lord. However, just because we are not trying to win their approval and are asked to join their little band of brothers of the clan of sisters, does not mean we should be rude to them either. Because we are making every effort to live to please the Lord, then we simply love them all. Because we have Jesus we then should show that love in our expression and our words of kindness and encouragement. But let us always remember we are not about seeking their approval, but the approval of God.

One Pure Message

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

ONE PURE MESSAGE

Gal 1:6-9

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

NIV

Paul gets right to the point right after his salutation. From what is known both from the rest of this letter and historically, after Paul had visited Galatia and preached the gospel message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, there were others who followed him with something different. Those who followed him were Jews who believed that Jesus came for the Jews and in order for a gentile to be saved, he had to first become a Jew. This meant he had to be circumcised as Jews were. So then in this gospel, they were preaching it was Jesus plus circumcision. Paul was extremely upset over these men perverting the simply message of the gospel, in fact, he says their gospel is no gospel at all. Anything other than faith in Jesus Christ and faith alone is not the truth, but a false gospel. It would seem even today we have some who would add to faith in Jesus. Some would preach that in order to complete the salvation experience one must be baptized, which is adding to faith in Jesus for salvation. Although many say they believe salvation is through faith they add their own ideas as to what that means. Some will make more out of what James says about faith without works is dead. That could imply that faith plus works bring salvation, that faith alone is not enough, it is dead faith, meaningless faith unless it is accompanied by good deeds. How does that interpretation mesh or agree with what Paul wrote to the Romans when he says that if a person believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, they will be saved. How do any works at all fit with that? It is the same message he preached to the Galatians. The gospel message is pure. We only have to go to the gospels to see how pure it is. Although some would consider John 3:16 so overused, they dismiss its purity of truth. The central theme is God loves us so much he sent Jesus to die for our sins, and whosoever of us people believe in Jesus will not perish, but have eternal life, that is being saved, have salvation simply because we believe, nothing else, just believe, just have faith and faith alone, without any other stipulations. Now, once we are saved, does that mean we can go about living in the same manner we did before we were saved? Of course not! There should be a change that occurs because we now are following Jesus rather than the devil. It would be much like if we were to move from, changed our citizenship from, Iran or China or Cuba to America. Life would be much different, we would experience far more freedom and in some sense have far more blessings. When we change our citizenship from this world to the kingdom of God we are completely free from the penalty of sin, guilt, and shame. We are free from death. This is the gospel Paul preached to the Galatians and anyone else who preaches anything else is condemned. We cannot pervert this pure message of faith and faith alone in order to be saved. Paul will get into more details later in his letter, but he had to set the record straight from the start. There is only one pure message.

For His Glory

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

FOR HIS GLORY

Gal 1:3-5

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

NIV

It is amazing how so much can be said in so little amount of words. We have contemplated these words, grace, and peace, so often that their meaning is immediately harkened within our hearts and mind. This word grace is the one which has been defined as graciousness, or a manner of the act, or as the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives, and sometimes seen as the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace. In other words, it is all about our relationship with God and his influence in our lives. This brings us to consider if there could be other influences in our lives. Surely the devil would want to influence us. The world and its ideologies would want to influence us. In Fact, our very self would rather have its own way in our lives. There are many voices screaming for our attention. The fact is, we have the freedom to choose which voice, which influence we listen to. For us believers, we hope it is the grace of God that is dominating. Again, as we have pondered regarding the peace of God, this particular Greek word is not the same as the Hebrew word Shalom, but a type of peace which can be used to define the absence of the havoc of war, the state of national tranquility, however, that does not apply in the context as Paul is bestowing the peace of God upon believers. The application then takes on the definition of the tranquil state of our soul, assured of our salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with our earthly lot, whatsoever sort that is. There is so much in just those two words that we could most likely spend much time exploring the magnitude of them in our lives. Yet, Paul also includes in this salutation the fact that it was Jesus who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. He makes the point that no one took the life from Jesus, no one put him to death that he laid his life down for us. This was according to the will of our God and Father. This is a total act of God alone. He is the only source of our freedom from this present evil age. There is absolutely nothing we can do to free ourselves. There is no way that we can gain our freedom other than through faith in Jesus Christ. If we are not in Christ, if we have not chosen to accept Jesus, we would still be in chains, in bondage to this evil age. We also have to remember our freedom, the reason Jesus rescued us from the present evil age, is not for our glory, or even for our benefit, although we surely gain many benefits, such as having his influence in our lives and having a tranquil soul, as well as many other benefits, but our rescue is because our God and Father will it, for his glory for ever and ever.

Sent

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

SENT

Gal 1:1-2

1:1 Paul, an apostle — sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

NIV

Is Paul the only person who has even been sent by Jesus Christ? And why was he sent? What was the purpose Jesus sent him? How did he know Jesus sent him? Although it is true Jesus after his resurrection and ascension appeared to Paul as a bright light temporarily blinding Paul and spoke to him, which caused Paul’s, whose name was Saul at that time, conversion. But he never knew Jesus as a man, or heard any of his teachings or was instructed in any of the ways of the truth if the message of salvation. Actually Paul, as Saul, was a persecutor of those who followed Jesus. Now, he is claiming Jesus sent him on this journey into Galatia and now is writing them this letter. That should mean we too should live as Jesus has sent us, for that is indeed what he has done. We are not just born and live our lives however we want, do whatever suits our fancy, go wherever we desire and one day die. There has to be more to life than simply going about our daily living. Life as a believer is not just incorporating Jesus into our lives. It is about living for Jesus, doing what he calls us to do, living where he calls us to live, working where he calls us to work, for we have been sent. If he has a plan for our lives, and he does, then we should be about obeying that plan. Because Paul was not sent from men nor by man, then why should we be any different. We are men or people and thus we should not be sending ourselves. We should not be living according to our own plans, doing what we planned, going where we planned and living where we planned. Do we only believe in God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for our salvation and everything else is up to us? No, we have to believe we too have been sent to where Jesus has directed us to. He is a lamp unto our feet. He is light onto our path. Where he leads we will follow. So Paul, after having been with these Galatians, having taught them the truth, finds out others have come to distract them from the truth, so he writes this letter to reaffirm what he taught them and discredit those who are disseminating an erroneous or false message. Should we not be concerned as well about false teaching? But then, with so many differing interpretations, causing so many different denominations, who is to say who has the truth and who has false teaching? Does anything other than the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ matter? Does all the fluff and puff, the little differences matter? Salvation is through faith and faith alone. There is no work, no deeds, and no set of rules or regulations, no lists of do’s and don’ts which make any headway in our salvation. This is what we are going to continue to discover as we make our way through this letter of Paul to the Galatians. Still, it is a good journey to discover all the nuisances within this letter which lead us to faith, both in Jesus and that we have been sent.

Amen

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

AMEN

John 21:17-25

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."  19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"  20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" 22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."  23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"  24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

NIV

We had to go back and grab verse 18 from our last look into this chapter of the gospel in order to put in context the next truth Jesus revealed. After asking Peter three times if he loved him, Jesus went on to tell Peter he was indeed going to be crucified just as Jesus had been. Peter was not going to live out his life and die of old age, even though Jesus told him when he was old, this would happen to him. The fact is that all our days are numbered, we do have limits on our number of days and we cannot exceed them by even one day.

Job 14:5

5 Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

NIV

Jesus knew the very day Peter would die and he was telling him so. We have to believe we are just like Peter in that sense. The Lord knows the day of our death, in fact, he has set the time even before we were born.

Ps 139:16

16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

NIV

However, is it possible to live beyond the days God has determined for us to live? One man in the Bible did ask and was granted fifteen more years. God allowed Hezekiah’s will to override God’s will in that sense. (I also know in a personal way, the day of my great heart attack that I too had reached the limit of my days, but God granted my request to stay in order my wife would not have to be alone. I am not sure how long he extended my limit, but I am grateful for each of those days). The other truth which also bears to the same truth is when Peter asked, “what about John?” Of course, John does not identify himself by name. What Jesus tells Peter, is that how many days John has to live, whatever limit God has ordained for John should not concern Peter. The fact is we should not be concerned regarding the days of another person’s life, but we should be focused on the days of our lives. What does it matter what someone else does or how they live or follow Jesus. We need to remain focused on the days the Lord has given to us. We should not waste the number of our days. God promised a long life to those who obeyed his word, and destruction for those who did not. This could apply to eternal life versus eternal death, but it could also apply to the number of our days on this earth. In that sense, God, in His foreknowledge extended the limit of our days on that day of our confession of faith. Either way, we should not waste the number of our days and live them to the fullest for his glory, Amen.

Do You Love Me More Than These?

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THEN THESE

John 21:15-19

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."  16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."  17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."  19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" 

NIV

Remembering that Peter denied Jesus three times after also being the one who confessed that Jesus was the Son of the Living God. How bold Peter was in his confession when he told Jesus that even if all the other disciples fall away, he would never. Then he turns right away within the same evening deny he ever knew Jesus those three times and hearing the rooster crow, went out and wept, feeling remorse. Now as Jesus has prepared this meal of fish and bread, having given them such a large catch of fish they had to drag it behind the boat to shore, he gives Peter the opportunity to repair his words of denial three times. Jesus asks Peter three different times if he loved him. With each response of Peter of, Yes Lord, you know I love you, Jesus tells him to feed his lambs, take care of his sheep, and feed my sheep. Much has been said about Peter being the first leader of the Church, the first pope. However, this may not be about Jesus telling Peter to take charge of everything as much as it is about mending the heart of Peter because of his brokenness over his denying Jesus those three times. Those denials may well have been the reason Peter decided to go fishing, doing that which he knew how to do well. But even that proved unprofitable for him and again Jesus showed him how much he needed to be a follower of Jesus. Is that not the case with us as well? Whenever we fall the Lord in some way, he is always there mending our broken heart over our failure. Jesus does not want us to live in the brokenness of failure, or in a sense denial of him. He always gives us that opportunity to confess our love for him and he calls us to his service. We can hear his words within our heart and soul, “Do you love me, more than these?” That is a question that has been debated. What did Jesus mean when he asked Peter about loving him more than these? What were the “these”? Did he mean the other disciples? Did he mean did Peter love him more than the other disciples loved Jesus? Did he mean did Peter love him more then he loved the other disciples? Did he mean did Peter love him more than the food he supplied for him? The point Jesus was making is Peter needed to put Jesus first before anything else in life. This is the point he makes in our lives as well. We cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both God and money, or self, or the things of the world. We cannot chase after the material things or emotional attachments more then we chase after Jesus. Yes, we are to love one another, even those who do not love us. But in doing that we are following Jesus, loving him more than these.  

Casting Our Net

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

CASTING OUR NET

John 21:1-6

21:1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

NIV

They must have left Jerusalem, maybe in the night, so as not to be seen by the Jews who they feared. Having locked themselves up in that room where Jesus appeared to them twice. So Peter and the sons of Zebedee we know were fishermen when Jesus called them. The others we are not sure of their trade, but it appears they too were fishermen. It is difficult to understand that after they had seen Jesus alive just a  couple of days after they watched him crucified, dying and being put in the tomb, they would not just go fishing. But that is their life, what they know, and how they make their living. Many, if not all of them still had families to support, now that all the funds given to support the ministry of Jesus had dried up, and they both needed to eat and support their families by selling the catch of the day to the local restaurants, pubs, and grocery stores. It was usual that fishermen would go out in the evening to cast their nets and bring the catch into the docks for the early morning sales from their boats. This time, in this narrative, they failed to catch even a single fish. This was their trade, they only source of income, and with all their efforts they caught nothing. Maybe with being gone for three-plus years traveling around the countryside with Jesus they forgot how to fish. That is unlikely, once a fisherman, always a fisherman. It is like learning any trade of skill, such as riding a bike, no matter how long it has been, we just climb on and pedal away. So they caught nothing, how disappointed they must have felt. They were not going to make any income today. But as they approached the shore, Jesus was standing waiting for them. He could have just walked out to the boat and instructed them where to find the fish, but no he waited on the shore with a fire burning ready to cook them a meal of fish and bread, much like he did for the five thousand earlier. So as they approached he called out asking if they had any fish. They answered no, and then he told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. Had they been casting their nets all night on the left side? We simply do not know that answer, but because Jesus told them to cast their nets on the right side, they did. From the narrative it would seem, at this time, they did not know it was Jesus. So why would they follow some strangers' suggestion to cast their nets again? Even when we do not know it is Jesus, we may well be following his directions. So they cast their nets and low and behold a net so full they could not lift it into the boat. It is interesting how we can labor in our own efforts and accomplish so little, even nothing at all. But when we follow the directions of Jesus, we accomplish more then we can take in. All our skills, all our education, our intelligence, our professional abilities still may not accomplish what we are meant to do for the kingdom of God. Sure we can gain much fame and fortune, even enough wealth to store it up for some rainy day, or those golden years of life. But have we cast our nets on the right side of the boat? Have we done that which Jesus has directed us to do? Our true accomplishments in life are in following what Jesus tells us. That does not mean we cannot be a doctor, lawyer, or candlestick maker.  But we should only be casting our nets only as he directs. Just as when he first called them as they were fishing, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”. So we cast our nets.

Believe and Be Blessed

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BELIEVE AND BE BLESSED

John 20:24-31

24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"  27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."  28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

NIV

For many years Thomas has been labeled as “The Doubting Thomas”, but that is what we believe is a bad rap. Thomas just did not want to take the word of the others, as he wanted to experience Jesus for himself. It is the same as with us. How could we believe in Jesus just because someone says they believe in Jesus? We need to experience Jesus for ourselves, just like Thomas. Besides, Thomas was the first of any of the disciples to call Jesus, his Lord and his God. Peter declared to Jesus that he believed Jesus was the Son of the living God, but never called Jesus, “My Lord and my God” as Thomas did. Of course Jesus made it clear that Thomas believed because he saw Jesus first hand for himself, however, blessed are those, such as us, who have not seen and yet believe. But just because we have not actually seen Jesus physically like Thomas did, we have experienced Jesus in our lives. He has touched our hearts and minds and we have seen miracles happen. He has sent the Holy Spirit who lives within us and testifies to the truth. We just know that we know that we know the truth of the gospel message. We have the confidence because the Spirit bears witness to Jesus. This is not an intellectual investigation that has developed our theology regarding the triune God, but an inner knowing, an experiential happening within. We can also know that we are blessed because we believe. The void people who do not believe have created many negative emotions that we are not prone to. We know the peace of God. We know the Joy of the Lord. We know the love of Christ. We know of our eternal life. Those who do not believe cannot know what we do. But we can tell them so they too can believe and be blessed.

The Breath of God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE BREATH OF GOD

John 20:19-23

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"  20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."  22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 

NIV

There is great doubt with our scholars regarding this appearance of Jesus within this room where the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews. There is agreement about the fear of the disciples. When Jesus having been falsely charged by the Jews and conspired to have Pilate crucify Jesus, it would be natural they thought they could be next. The controversy which exists is about the door, whether it was merely shut or shut and locked or locked and barricaded. The reason for this doubt of being lock is the appearance of Jesus. If the door was just closed, then no miraculous appearance would be needed as he would have simply opened the door and entered. The Greek does not give us any clues as to if the door was locked. The Greek word does imply shut up. So it is possible Jesus just opened the door and entered. But we have to consider if the disciples were that fearful of the Jews, simply being in a room behind a closed door which anyone could open did not give them much protection from being found and arrested. These same scholars discount the disappearance from the men he meant on the road to Emmaus when after spending time with them and eating with them and then after he broke the bread, they recognized it was Jesus, he vanished from their sight. In that account which Luke records, but John does not, the Greek words mean to cause to be invisible. Yet those same scholars imply that in the confusion and surprise of these two men, Jesus took the opportunity to get up and leave without their noticing. Why do intelligent men, supposed to be scholars refuse to accept a miracle? The door was locked and maybe double locked. Fear brings out the best effects to hide securely so as to not to be easily apprehended. So we are of the belief Jesus miraculously appeared as he was in the glorified state, able to appear or disappear at will. He was no longer bound in a purely physical body, he is divine, and it was in this glorified body he ascended through the air, as floating upward until disappearing in the clouds as he went back to heaven. So he just appeared in the room with the door still shut and locked and maybe even barricaded. His words are straight forward, “Peace be with you”. This is the peace of Christ that still rests on us. Some churches take the opportunity to call the time of greeting one another, as the time of passing the peace. This is what we should all being doing all the time, is passing the peace of Christ to one another throughout our life. This would then put to rest any other feelings which are of a negative nature toward each other. The truth regarding having the peace of Christ and being able to share his peace with others is seen in what Jesus does to his disciples in this room. He breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. He preceded saying that by telling them that as the Father sent him, he was sending them. That also means he is sending us. We would say that was just for the disciples, but we know it is for all believers from many other passages. He may have been sending them out to share the same truth he had been teaching and he was given them the same authority he has through the influence of the Holy Spirit. He was giving them authority to forgive sin. First, we should consider this breathing on them and telling them to receive the Holy Spirit. Is that the time they were given the Spirit rather on the Day of Pentecost? But the point here is that he breathed on them. It is in the same manner God breathed life into Adam. Jesus breathes the life of the Spirit into his disciples and this is what happens to us when we receive the Holy Spirit, which some call being baptized in the Spirit. Jesus breathes the life of the Spirit into our inner being. He is the influence of God within us. This comes back that that Greek word Charis, which is translated as grace. It carries the meaning of the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives. Within the context of this passage, we have to believe Jesus has given us the influence to not just live in peace with each other but to pronounce this peace unto others. To be at peace with God and to be at peace with each other, because Jesus has breathed on us. So then we forgive others, we hold no grudge, we hold no contempt, we hold no bitterness, or ill-feelings at all against anyone, for we forgive them their sin. Jesus said that if we forgive we will be forgiven but is we do not forgive we will not be forgiven.

Matt 6:14-15

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

NIV

It is clear in this context Jesus was saying the same thing, bring peace and forgiveness to all others. That is the authority we have because Jesus has breathed the Spirit within us. We have the breath of God.

I Have Seen the Lord

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!

John 20:10-18

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"  18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

NIV

We are of the option that after Peter and John saw Jesus’s body was gone and not knowing what had happened, they went home. Although John said they saw and believed, we are not sure what they believed because he also said they did not understand from the scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Nevertheless, they went to their homes. We would have to think they thought it was all over, their last three years were no doubt the most exciting years of their lives, traveling all over the countryside, going to Jerusalem and now after seeing Jesus die on the cross and be buried, his body now gone, what was left, but to go back to their homes. However, Mary just could not leave, she was so filled with grief, and she lingered at the tomb and wept. She looked one more time into the tomb, maybe hoping beyond hope Jesus would be there, but what happened was a move of God, an act of compassion on this woman, Mary, who had stood by Jesus to the end. What she saw were two angels and they asked her why she was crying. We know what happened, but at the time all Mary knew was that someone had taken the body of Jesus and she did not know where they put him. This would indicate Mary still was of the state of mind that Jesus was indeed dead. Then there was another man, in the garden and Mary turned noticing him standing there. Again, we know it was the resurrected Jesus, but Mary did not at this time. Jesus asked her why she was crying as if he did not know. There is an amazing statement Mary tells Jesus. She asked him if he knew where someone carried him away. She did not tell, who she thought was a gardener, that she was looking for Jesus, maybe she assumed the gardener would have known this was the tomb where Jesus had been laid. But she also said that if he knew where they had taken him, she would go and get him, which would have to mean she would bring his body back and put it where it belonged, in this tomb. It was the first day of the week, so would it be alright to touch a dead body and not be ceremonially unclean? Maybe she did not care, all she was concerned with is finding Jesus. However, Jesus had other plans, he simply spoke her name, “Mary” and that is all it took, she knew immediately she had found Jesus and he was alive. The reason Jesus told her not to touch him or cling to him at this time is highly debated by scholars and none have come to an absolute conclusion so then we will not either. However, the most fitting reason might be that Jesus did not want Mary to be the only one to know he was alive, and that he did not intend for her to stay there with him paying him homage, prostrating herself at his feet. He wanted, as the narrative tells us, to go and tell his disciples he was alive. It was not about actually touching him, as he told Thomas to do just that, to put his fingers in his scars. It was about going and telling others. So Mary did just that telling them, “I have seen the Lord!” Is it not the same with us, that when we hear Jesus speak our name, we can say, I have seen the Lord?

He is Alive

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HE IS ALIVE

John 20:1-9

20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

NIV

One of the most exciting narratives in the whole of scripture and still, John says that he and Peter still did not understand. But it was Mary Magdalene who first went to the tomb. There is much written about this Mary of Magdala, a town we had the privilege to visit while in Israel is said to have been her hometown. That is why she is referred to as Mary Magdalene and she is referred to more in the scriptures that many of the disciples. We believe from other accounts it was she would pour the expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. It was Mary Magdalene whom Jesus healed by casting out seven demons from her. It is any wonder she was a close follower of Jesus and poured that perfume on him. She is mentioned as one of several women who supported the ministry of Jesus. Mary Magdalene was at the cross with the mother of Jesus. It would make perfect sense she watched as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus removed Jesus from the cross and took him to this new tomb. She knew where the tomb was and she with Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women who went to the tomb early in the morning with spices they had prepared which we find in the record Luke made. We cannot be sure how they intended to use the spices as the stone which was rolled in front of the tomb would have been very heavy and it was under guard as other accounts tell us. However, Luke records that when they arrived at the tomb the stone was already rolled aside and they went into the tomb but did not find Jesus. He was gone, he has been resurrected, but they did not know or understand that yet. Still, Luke tells us two angels appeared to them asking them why were they looking for the living among the dead.

Luke 24:1-12

24:1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"  8 Then they remembered his words.

This is most interesting that the resurrection was first witnessed by these women and they remembered all the words Jesus had told them about this event. It seems we always hear about the disciples being the twelve men, but these women traveled along with Jesus as well, hearing all his teaching. Nevertheless, this is the core of all the gospel message, for if there is no resurrection, there is nothing at all. What purpose would anything Jesus did, coming from heaven to live as a man, healing all that came to him, teaching all the truth he did, and then dying on the cross for our sins, if he remained in the tomb? That would mean we too would remain in the grave, and then life would have no other meaning then life itself and that beer slogan of years past, “You only go around once in life, so grab all the gusto you can”, would have significant meaning. But it does not, for the true meaning of life is in Jesus, because he not only took our sins away, he did not stay in the grave, it arose, he was resurrected, his physical body was alive, glorified and able to walk through doors and ascend into heaven. This is the life we too will have upon then death of this body, it too will be raised from the grave, glorified and ascend into heaven. Jesus promised us. He said that we would be where he is, that in fact, he would come back to earth and get us. We do not only go around once in life, we have life eternal after this life, in fact, the day we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we began our eternal life. Death has no sting for us, it cannot hold us, and Jesus has told the devil and death itself to let his people go. He is alive.

Appearance of Righteousness

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

APPEARANCE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

John 19:31-42

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"   37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."  

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.   40 Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

NIV

If Jesus was not divine this would be the end of the story of his life. He is hanging dead on the cross, however as John records not a bone in his body was broken, which was in fulfillment of scripture. Moses had been given instructions to tell the people in preparations for the Passover, they were not to break any of the bones of the Passover Lamb when they killed it and roasted it. Here, the Lamb of God had been sacrificed so for those who believe, the death angel will Passover them.  Although the Jews had just committed murder, in a sense, as they were the ones who were responsible for Pilate having Jesus crucified, now they are concerned about the law, having bodies on crosses during the Sabbath. The law they were observing was that they could not look upon a dead body because they would then be ceremonially unclean. It was alright to have him crucified, but not be dead on a cross during their Sabbath. This is in a sense simply paying attention to the law they want to and ignoring the commands of God, they do not want to such as “You shall not commit murder”.  It seems we believers of today are not much different. What commands of God are we obligated to keep? Are we still under the Law? No, we are not, yet the Ten Commandments are the Law. SO why do we think we need to obey them, but not obey everything Jesus said? Did he not say we are to love our neighbor as ourselves? Do we really do that? It does not appear we do, even within then the church. We have people who get their feelings hurt and stop coming to church. We gossip about others, we hold grudges, we judge, we get jealous or envious of others, we have ill-feeling toward some, or avoid them. With all these human emotions going on, where is the love? Jesus said that even if we have any hatred in our heart we have committed murder. The Jews were just as human as we are, and no matter how spiritual they acted, they were flawed human beings, sinful in their hearts, unable to attain perfection no matter how much of the Law they tried to hold to. So they wanted the bodies down and the Roman soldiers had no reason not to go break the legs of the criminals on the crosses. However, in their cruelty, as men are disposed, they would have preferred to allow those on a cross to die this suffering method of suffocation over an extended period of time. No quick death, it might take days, for them to finally not be able to catch their breath. With their feet nailed to the cross, they would have to push themselves up by their legs to breathe at all because of the weight of their body on their arms which were extended upward and outward. This was a horrible long agonizing way to die. The Jews had submitted Jesus to this type of suffering, yet they were only concerned with the appearance of righteousness. The two men who might have at one time been concerned about appearing righteous were the ones who took Jesus off the cross and prepared him in the traditional method for burial. They, who were once secret in their belief in Jesus were now openly confessing their belief. Both Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus and did the decent act of washing him, and wrapping his body with spices in linen as was the custom and put his body in a new tomb in the nearby garden. This is also interesting that God chose this specific time in this specific place for Jesus to come to earth. What if he came during our lifetime in our culture? We would have put his body in an airtight sealed metal coffin, then placed that coffin in a concrete value and buried it six feet deep in the ground. Of course, nothing is impossible with God, but it might have been a little more difficult for the resurrection of Jesus to happen, and for someone to see the burial clothe all folded up, and the body is gone. Again, God has everything in control. But we should pay attention to this concept of how the Jews only wanted to appear righteous. Break their legs, so they will die now, so they can be ceremonially clean. Although we too are just flawed humans, we should understand we need to be concerned about not trying to appear righteous when we know full well we are not, for Jesus is our righteousness. What is worse, is that we may even attempt to deceive ourselves thinking we are righteous. So let us not have the appearance of righteousness, but appear as simply believers as Joseph and Nicodemus were.