doubt

Fixated On the Physical

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” – Mark 8:11-21 ESV

After dismissing the crowd that had benefited from His miraculous transformation of the bread and fish, Jesus and His disciples sailed across the Sea of Galilee to Dalmanutha, in the region of Magadan (Matthew 15:39). It seems likely that the disciples had stashed in the bow of the boat the 7 baskets of leftover bread and fish they had gathered. Mark offers no insight into the conversations these men may have had as they sailed to their next destination, but it makes sense that they would have discussed that day’s events, including the miracle Jesus had just performed.

As soon as their boat touched the shore, another contingent of Jewish religious leaders met them. Matthew records that, on this occasion, the Pharisees were accompanied by Sadducees.

“. . . the Sadducees were a wealthy, conservative party concentrated in Jerusalem. Their members were from aristocratic families of patrician and priestly stock. They refused adherence to the tradition of the elders and advocated a rigorous application of the law of Moses to the life of the nation. In general, they espoused a political and religious policy, including cooperation with Rome, aimed at preserving the status quo.” – Kingsbury, J. D., Conflict in Mark: Jesus, Authorities, Disciples. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 1989

Both the Pharisees and Sadducees had representatives who sat on the 70-member Sanhedrin, the high council of the Jews. But these two powerful, highly influential religious sects were not on friendly terms. While they shared a common belief in God and held the Hebrew Scriptures in high regard, they differed on many issues, including the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees rejected the idea of an afterlife, arguing instead that the soul simply perished at death. So, they rejected the whole concept of resurrection and a system of rewards and punishments after death. They also rejected any notion of a spiritual dimension populated by demons and angels, and these beliefs put them at odds with the Pharisees. Yet these two opposing parties were willing to set aside their differences to take on their common enemy: Jesus.

Mark indicates that these men confronted Jesus, “seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him” (Mark 8:11 ESV). They were not interested in seeing Jesus perform a miracle; they had already witnessed many of His more spectacular displays of power. They demanded a “sign from heaven”, some kind of celestial proof that would verify His claims once and for all. They had refused to accept any of His many miracles as evidence of His divine calling. Instead, they accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Mark 3:22). As Mark states, this latest encounter was nothing more than a test, an attempt to force Jesus’ hand and expose Him as the fraud they believed Him to be.

Exasperated by their stubborn refusal to receive Him as their Messiah, Jesus “sighed deeply in his spirit” and responded, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation” (Mark 8:12 ESV).

Jesus exposed their true intentions. Nothing He could have done would have satisfied their demand because they were already convinced He was a charlatan, and no sign or celestial manifestation would change their minds. Mark indicates that Jesus simply walked away, leaving these men with neither a sign from heaven nor the definitive proof that He was a fraud. But, in his gospel, Matthew adds an important detail to this same scene. He reports that Jesus confronted these men about their inability to recognize the obvious.

“You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” – Matthew 16:2-3 NLT

They could predict the weather based on “the signs” in the sky, but they couldn’t recognize the Messiah despite the overwhelming evidence around them. According to Jesus, everything He had said and done was more than enough proof of His claim to be the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah. He would not give them any other “signs” besides “the sign of Jonah.”

“Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” – Matthew 16:4 NLT

This wasn’t the first time Jesus used this kind of language with the religious leaders. Matthew records an earlier encounter in which Jesus said the very same words and added, “For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40 NLT). Jesus used the well-known story of the Old Testament prophet Jonah to predict His own pending death, burial, and resurrection. The Jewish religious leaders would have been familiar with Jonah’s story but would not have understood the connection Jesus was making.

Jesus condemned these men for their stubborn refusal to accept Him as their Messiah. Jonah had been “resurrected” from the belly of the great fish and had taken God’s message to the people of Nineveh. As a result, they believed and repented. But Jesus reveals that even His death, burial, and resurrection would not be enough to make these stubborn religious leaders believe. He even predicts the outcome they will face for their unbelief.

“The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.” – Matthew 12:41 NLT

The Ninevites Jonah preached to were Gentile pagans, yet when they heard the message from God’s prophet, they repented and were saved. But the Jewish religious leaders refused to receive the message from the lips of the Son of God, choosing instead to remain unconvinced and unrepentant.  Unwilling to debate further, Jesus and His disciples got back in the boat and sailed away.

What happens next reveals much about the men Jesus had chosen as His disciples. Mark records that they got back in the boat and then adds, “they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat” (Mark 8:14 ESV). So they hadn’t brought the seven baskets of leftovers after all. We’re not told what they did with all that food, but only that they brought a single loaf of bread to share among 13 hungry men. Perhaps they thought Jesus could multiply that loaf too, so they decided to travel light and left the rest behind.

Whatever the thought process behind their decision, Jesus used the moment to teach a valuable lesson. His response to their oversight was a warning.

“Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” – Mark 8:15 ESV

Confused by Jesus’ words, the disciples immediately assumed He was upset with them for failing to bring enough bread. They likely began casting blame, each accusing the other for this obvious lapse in judgment. Jesus had to remind them that the quantity of bread wasn’t the issue; He wasn’t talking about literal bread at all.

“Why are you arguing about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear? Don’t you remember?” – Mark 8:18-19 NLT

Had they already forgotten what He had done? Were they so hard-hearted that they couldn’t recall how He had miraculously fed thousands of people on two separate occasions with nothing more than a few loaves and fishes? Their problem wasn’t a lack of bread, but a lack of faith. Despite all Jesus had said and done, they still struggled to accept Him as the Messiah. Matthew adds that Jesus confronted them for their deficit of faith.

“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?” – Matthew 16:8 ESV

They were fixated on the physical realm, arguing over who was responsible for their lack of bread. But Jesus was warning them about the teachings of the religious leaders. These men posed a serious threat because their prominent positions allowed them to propagate dangerous doctrines that could keep others from hearing and accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Jesus later condemned them for the infectious, deadly nature of their influence.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!” – Matthew 23:13-16 NLT

Jesus posed a rhetorical question to His disciples: “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:21 ESV). He knew the answer and was well aware that only after the Holy Spirit came would the disciples comprehend all He had said to them while He was with them. But He would continue to use His confrontations with the religious leaders as prime teaching opportunities to instruct His 12 disciples. He wanted them to keep believing, regardless of what the Pharisees and Sadducees might say.

The morning after Jesus had fed the 5,000, they showed up expecting another free meal. When Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven’ (John 6:32 NLT), they responded, “Give us that bread every day” (John 6:36 NLT). They missed the point. Their physical appetites prevented them from grasping the spiritual truths Jesus was trying to convey, and Jesus’ disciples suffered from the same problem. Despite their close relationship with Jesus, they were struggling to understand His identity as the Son of God. His miracles amazed them and His words confounded them, but they remained fixated on the physical realm.  

Their greatest need was not physical; it was spiritual. Jesus had proven He could provide bread, but they really needed the Bread of Life. They remained focused on the temporal, but Jesus kept exposing them to the eternal, just as He did with the Samaritan woman. He gave her a similar message.

“Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” – John 4:13-14 NLT

The woman’s response was immediate and predictable.

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” – John 4:15 NLT

Jesus didn’t rebuke the woman for her lack of understanding; instead, He confronted her about her sinful lifestyle. He exposed that the real source of her problem was not physical but spiritual. She needed living water. Yet, when the disciples returned and saw Jesus talking with this woman, they were shocked. Yet John records that she “left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’” (John 4:28-29 NLT).

When Jesus exposed the depth of her sinfulness, His ability to discern the darkness of her life shocked her, but His willingness to offer her eternal life amazed her. She believed and was saved, along with many of her neighbors. She forgot all about the well, the water, her past sins, and her less-than-stellar reputation in her community. She met the Messiah and was changed — for eternity.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Take Heart, It Is I”

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. – Mark 6:45-52 ESV

Three of the four gospels include this story, and all three indicate that it happened immediately after the miracle of the bread and the fish. Context is essential to understanding what happens and offers much-needed insight into Mark’s rather condemning conclusion: “they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.” (Mark 6:52 NLT).

Mark’s harsh-sounding critique seems to paint the disciples in an unflattering light, but in context, it gives the reader a fair and honest assessment of their ongoing spiritual transformation. They were works in progress. Their comprehension of Jesus’ true identity was in a constant state of flux, and complicated by their own personal agendas and expectations. Their concepts of the Messiah were shaped by their Hebrew roots and strongly influenced by the religious indoctrination they received as young boys at the local synagogue in their hometowns. Their experiences with Jesus were informative and instructive, but also confusing and at odds with their preconceived notions of the coming Messiah.

Jesus didn’t operate according to their expectations. His miracles, though powerfully impressive, didn’t seem to usher in the Kingdom the disciples had long anticipated. His words, while spoken with authority and filled with interesting stories and fascinating parables, didn’t always make sense. He spoke cryptically and about subjects that seemed out of keeping with someone who had come to be King of Israel.

So, this particular story must be viewed within the immediate context of the surrounding events. Mark indicates that as soon as the disciples finished gathering the 12 baskets of leftover loaves and fish, Jesus instructed them to take a boat to the village of Bethsaida. Jesus then dismissed the crowd and went to a secluded spot for some time alone with God the Father. Mark provides no details concerning this divine conversation between Father and Son, but it is safe to assume that it mirrored the other prayers of Jesus recorded in the gospels. These moments of isolation and intimate communion with His Heavenly Father were important to Jesus. During these occasions, Jesus shared His heart and received instructions. Perhaps He prayed for the disciples, sharing His frustration that they could not grasp the meaning of His messages and miracles. Jesus knew God had given these men to Him, but He also knew they struggled to understand who He truly was and the real purpose behind His incarnation.

After Jesus finished His time in prayer, He made His way back to the shoreline, where He saw the disciples “making headway painfully, for the wind was against them” (Mark 6:48 ESV). John indicates that “they had rowed about three or four miles” (John 6:29 ESV). 

Don’t minimize the circumstances surrounding this scene. It was around 3:00 a.m.; the sky was pitch black, the wind howled furiously, and white-capped waves pounded against the sides of the small fishing boat. The disciples, four of whom were professional fishermen, struggled to keep the boat afloat as it headed to their final destination. And Jesus witnessed all of this from the safety of the shoreline.

But then He did something extraordinary and unexpected. He stepped out into the sea and began to walk on the water, and Mark adds a very important detail to his narrative.

Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them… – Mark 6:48 NLT

Jesus walked toward the disciples but was fully intending to walk right past them and on to Bethsaida. He wanted them to see Him and take hope and confidence in Him. If He could walk on the waves in the midst of the storm, they had no reason to fear. Just the sight of Jesus walking calmly and confidently on the tops of the waves should have instilled peace in the disciples’ hearts. Instead, they reacted with fear.

…but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. They were all terrified when they saw him. – Mark 6:49-50 NLT

They hadn’t been looking for Jesus, so when He suddenly appeared, they didn’t recognize Him because they weren’t expecting Him to show up in that inhospitable context. It’s interesting that the disciples showed no fear until Jesus appeared unexpectedly. There’s no indication that the disciples feared the storm. They were simply struggling against the wind and waves, trying to make their way to Bethsaida as Jesus had instructed. But their demeanor quickly shifted from focused determination to abject fear when they spotted this strange figure walking toward them amid the storm’s darkness and violence.

Sensing their terror, Jesus quickly identified Himself to the frightened men.

“Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” – Mark 6:50 ESV

They had not recognized Him because they had not expected Him. In fact, no one in the boat had called out to Him. In the midst of their difficulty, they had forgotten all about Jesus. They were so consumed with the task at hand that they forgot the very one who had sent them on this storm-tossed, ill-fated excursion. Seeing Jesus calmly walking on the water amid the storm should have been enough to remind them of His power and authority. They had just seen Him feed thousands of men, women, and children with nothing more than five small loaves and two fish. They had returned from a recent missionary journey, having cast out demons and performed other healing miracles. But in the wee hours of the morning, amid a storm-tossed sea, no one thought of miracles or the Messiah. They just wanted to survive.

In a characteristic act of mercy and grace, Jesus changed His plans and joined the disciples in their struggle. Rather than walk by, He entered the boat with them, and as soon as His foot touched the deck, “the wind ceased” (Mark 6:51 ESV). His presence brought peace, and the disciples “were utterly astounded” (Mark 6:51 ESV). Mark uses the Greek word existēmi, which literally means they were beside themselves. One has to ask why this particular miracle had such an impact on them. Had they not seen Jesus do other incredible, mind-blowing miracles? What was it about this one that left them “beside themselves” in wonder?

Mark provides the answer:  “for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51 ESV). They had not connected the dots. The bow of the boat likely held the 12 baskets of leftovers they had gathered. But they still could not understand the significance of the miracle Jesus had performed. By transforming five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed an army, Jesus had clearly demonstrated His divine power and authority over the creation. He had done the impossible. Yet, the disciples did not understand. They fully grasped the reality of the miracle because they had seen it happen, but they were blind to the message it was intended to send: Jesus was God.

Mark notes that their hearts were calloused and hardened. In their fallen human state, they couldn’t discern the message behind Jesus’ miracles. They failed to connect the dots and see the picture being revealed right before their eyes. But step by step, miracle by miracle, Jesus continued to disclose Himself to these men. He patiently and persistently displayed His power and authority so that, eventually, their beliefs about Him would align with God’s will, not their own.

They believed Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, but He was demonstrating His identity as the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus wasn’t just a man whom God had anointed as David’s seed and the rightful heir to his throne; He was God in human flesh and possessed all the power, rights, and privileges of deity. The apostle Paul explained Jesus’ divine identity in powerful terms.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8 NLT

The disciples didn’t understand. Even when they had previously witnessed Jesus calm the storm, they were forced to ask, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41 ESV). His power was evident but inexplicable. This Rabbi from Nazareth could control the winds and the waves, but the disciples couldn’t grasp His true identity. Jesus was God, but because of their hardened hearts, the disciples failed to recognize Him. Yet, they would have been familiar with Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
    and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
    Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I will be honored by every nation.
    I will be honored throughout the world.”

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
    the God of Israel is our fortress. – Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Peace. Be Still!

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  – Mark 4:35-41 ESV

It had been a long and event-filled day for Jesus and His disciples, and as it came to an end, they sought to escape the constant pressure of the ever-present crowds. Jesus instructed the disciples to take Him by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, but Mark indicates that “other boats were with him” (Mark 4:36 ESV). It seems that there would be no rest for the weary. Perhaps these additional boats were carrying home those who had traveled from other towns in the region to see Jesus. Or it could be that when some of those who had been following Jesus saw Him sail away, they decided to continue their pursuit by boat. They wouldn’t let Him out of their sight.

Interest in Jesus was at an all-time high. His miracles had clearly attracted many, but His messages about the Kingdom had also proven to be a draw. Rumors were already circulating that Jesus might be the Messiah, and His healing of the man with the withered hand (Mark 3:1-6) prompted some to wonder if those rumors might be true. These same people had seen Jesus heal those possessed by demons and had heard the demons shout, “You are the Son of God” (Mark 3:11) as He had cast them out.

But not everyone believed; His own family members had claimed He had lost His mind (Mark 3:21), and the religious leaders declared that He was in league with Satan (Mark 3:22). The reviews were mixed, yet the crowds continued to show up, day after day. Even as Jesus and His disciples made their way across the Sea of Galilee, some followed in His literal wake.

But something significant happened as they crossed the sea. As Jesus slept in the stern of the boat, “a great windstorm arose” that turned the placid surface of the sea into a boiling cauldron, with waves so high that they washed over the sides of the boats. The unique geography surrounding the Sea of Galilee makes it extremely susceptible to these kinds of sudden and violent storms. These extreme weather conditions often appeared without warning, leaving even the most seasoned fishermen fearing for their lives.

So, even though Simon, Andrew, James, and John were all professional fishermen, they were just as concerned as the other disciples. The boat quickly filled with water, and the risk of capsizing was becoming increasingly likely. Yet, amid the chaos and confusion, Jesus remained in a deep sleep, likely indicating His extreme weariness. But in fear and desperation, the disciples woke Him up and exclaimed, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38 ESV).

Whether they realized it or not, their reaction to the storm and their response to Jesus revealed much about the condition of their faith in who He was. In this moment of uncertainty, they addressed Him as “teacher.” Unlike the demons, the disciples of Jesus didn’t acknowledge Jesus as “the Son of God” or call out to Him as their Messiah. In the middle of a life-threatening storm, they saw Jesus as nothing more than a physically worn-out Rabbi who was sleeping while they were suffering.

But if you read the accounts of this event in Matthew and Luke, it becomes clear that at least a few of the disciples saw Jesus as more than just a Rabbi. In the confusion of the circumstances, the disciples shouted as they tried to make themselves heard over the howling wind and crashing waves. One of them cried out, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” (Matthew 8:25 ESV). Another one shouted, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Luke 8:24 ESV). Those terms, “Lord” and “Master,” indicate only that the men in the boat regarded Jesus as their official leader. They were turning to Him for guidance and wanted to know what He thought they should do about their dire circumstances.

This whole scene began with Jesus’ rather innocuous statement: “Let us go across to the other side” (Mark 4:35 ESV). When He said those words, the disciples thought nothing of them. Most of these men had made the same trip countless times, but this time was different. Yet Jesus’ words were more than a suggestion; He pointed to a destination and assured their arrival there. But the unexpected presence of the wind and the waves had caused the disciples to lose hope and to take their eyes off the objective of their trip. They no longer cared where they were going or why they had begun the trip in the first place. All they cared about was their own physical safety.

Mark matter-of-factly states that Jesus “rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’” (Mark 4:39 ESV). Matthew adds, “there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:26 ESV). At Jesus’ words, the wind and waves immediately subsided, the storm ceased, and the threat of danger faded away. Chaos and confusion gave way to a great calm. Just picture the scene for a moment. The disciples stood in the boat, drenched to the bone. They breathed heavily from all their efforts to row, bail water, and keep the boat afloat in the storm. But now, they were surrounded by placid waters that gently lapped on the bow of the boat. The crisis was over in an instant.

But these men were also dumbstruck by what they had just witnessed. When they woke Jesus, they had no idea what He would do. They had no preconceived expectations for how He would get them out of their predicament. But He spoke, and the waves and winds immediately ceased. Calamity was replaced by calm.

But Jesus’ next words had the greatest impact. He looked at His disciples and said, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40 ESV). Luke records that Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25 ESV). This simple question seems to reveal what Jesus was trying to expose. He was addressing a pre-existing condition. The storm had not caused their lack of faith; it had only exposed it. Jesus knew they had struggled with His identity since the day they first met Him. Despite all the miracles they had seen Him perform and the messages they had heard Him deliver, they still questioned His identity. They were filled with doubts and questions. Could He truly be the Messiah? Was there a chance his family was right, and Jesus was nothing but a lunatic? What about the religious leaders? Could these learned men be telling the truth? Had Jesus been doing miracles by Satan’s power?

All of these thoughts must have crossed their minds at one time or another. But in the heat of the moment, when the storm pressed in, and their lives were threatened, the disciples began to have serious second thoughts about Jesus. But He was completely aware of the thoughts that had filled their minds as they faced what they believed to be their certain deaths.

After Jesus rebukes them, Mark describes the disciples as “filled with great fear” (Mark 4:41 ESV). The storm was over, but their fear remained; this was a different kind of fear. They were awestruck by what they had just witnessed. With nothing but His words, Jesus had completely eradicated a violent storm. He spoke, and the winds and waves obeyed. This experience left them dumbfounded, but not speechless. Mark records that they turned to one another and said, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41 ESV).

Their response reveals their limited understanding of who Jesus was. Matthew reports that they asked, “What sort of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27 ESV). This man was their Rabbi, teacher, Lord, and master, but He had just done the unthinkable and inexplicable. He had displayed mastery over the forces of nature.  The miracle they had just witnessed was like something from the writings of Moses. It reminded them of the day God parted the waters of the Red Sea so the people of Israel could pass through on dry ground (Exodus 14). It was like the time God delivered the people of Israel by destroying their enemies with hail and prolonging the battle by causing the sun to stand still in the sky (Joshua 10).

What Jesus had done had been God-like; it had God’s handprints all over it. But all they could manage to say was, “What sort of man is this?” Was He a teacher, a prophet, a holy man, or could He possibly be who He claimed to be: the Son of God? At this moment, they were still wrestling over who Jesus was, but in time, their faith would grow. Mark later records Jesus asking these same men, “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27 NLT). They responded, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets” (Mark 8:28 NLT). But when Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29 NLT).

With each passing day, their faith and confidence grew. The more time they spent with Jesus, the more convinced they became that He was the long-awaited Messiah. But centuries of faulty interpretation of God’s promises clouded their understanding of the Messiah’s role. Like their ancestors before them, they were looking for a Savior, but not one who would deliver them from slavery to sin and death. They expected a king who would rise to power, free them from Roman oppression, and restore Israel to power and prominence. If Jesus could still the raging storm, He could certainly defeat Israel’s enemies. At least, that was their hope. But when Jesus said, “Peace. Be Still!” He wasn’t just addressing the wind and waves; He was speaking to the storm raging inside the hearts of His disciples. They were being blown by the winds of expectation. They were storm-tossed by waves of doubt and disappointment. If Jesus was the Messiah, what was He waiting for? Why was He wasting time in Galilee when He should be mustering an army to take the battle to Rome? 

These men were confused and conflicted. They had heard Jesus say, “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34 NLT). But in the garden, when armed guards came to arrest Jesus and Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus said, “Put away your sword…Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” (Matthew 26:52-54 NLT).

Jesus was the Messiah, but He had come to His Father’s will, not to fulfill the expectations of His disciples. He was bringing a Kingdom, but it would not be what they longed for. And while they continued to watch, wait, and wrestle over their understanding of who Jesus was, He would quietly say, “Peace. Be Still!”

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Family of Faith

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” – Mark 3:31-35 ESV

An examination of the gospel accounts in Matthew and Luke reveals that Mark took some liberties with the timeline of this event. Both of the other two gospel writers indicate that Jesus had other things to say after His response to the accusation that He was demon-possessed. According to Matthew, Jesus had some very direct and condemning words for the scribes who had been so quick to dismiss His miracles as the work of Satan. Jesus used the metaphor of a tree. If a tree is good, it will produce good fruit. If it is bad, it will produce bad fruit. So, you can know the state of the tree by examining its fruit. Then, Jesus drove home His point.

“You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” – Matthew 12:34-37 NLT

 Matthew adds that these very same scribes, accompanied by some Pharisees, would later approach Jesus and demand, “Show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority” (Matthew 12:38 NLT). These are the same men who accused Jesus of being demon-possessed. They had flatly stated, “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons” (Mark 3:22 ESV). Now, they demand that He perform a sign to validate His authority. But Jesus called them out, exposing the true nature of their hearts.

“Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign…” – Matthew 12:39 NLT

Nothing Jesus could do would convince these men of His God-given authority. He even alludes to His pending death and resurrection by recounting the familiar story of Jonah.

“…as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” – Matthew 12:40 NLT

Even His death, burial, and resurrection would not convince these men. They would never accept His claim to be the Son of God.

“…you refuse to repent.” – Matthew 12:41 NLT

“…you refuse to listen.” – Matthew 12:42 NLT

And Matthew records that Jesus wrapped up His condemnation of the religious leaders by comparing them to someone who had been freed of a demon. With the coming of Jesus, they had been exposed to the truth and offered freedom from their captivity to sin and death. But even after hearing the truth, they refused to accept it. So, Jesus indicates that their rejection of Him will have dire consequences. Their “demon” will return, bringing his companions with him, and leaving them in a worse state than before.

“…the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.” – Matthew 12:45 NLT

In his gospel account, Luke includes a series of parables that Jesus told the crowds. One was the parable of the soils, in which He explained, “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity” (Luke 8:14 NLT). And Luke adds another insightful message from Jesus.

“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” – Luke 8:18 NLT

So, what does all this have to do with today’s passage? Everything, because it provides context. The way Mark describes the arrival of Jesus’ family could leave the impression that they just showed up right after His confrontation with the scribes. But as we have seen, Jesus had delivered a few other salient messages before their arrival. What He had to say is crucial to understanding His response to the news that His mother and brothers wanted to see Him.

John reveals that Jesus’ own family members struggled to accept that He was the Son of God. John flatly states, “…not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5 ESV). According to Mark, their disbelief led them to conclude that Jesus had lost His mind (Mark 3:21).

None of the gospel writers tell us why Mary and her other sons showed up. According to Matthew, Jesus was given the message: “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you” (Matthew 12:47 NLT). Mark indicates that they stood outside the place where Jesus was teaching and “called him.”

Had Jesus’ brothers convinced Mary that her oldest son was crazy? Had they come to take Jesus away? Even though Mary had been given divine insight into her Son’s identity and mission, she likely struggled with His strange behavior. His actions would not have validated the message the angel Gabriel had given her more than 30 years earlier.

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” – Luke 1:31-33 NLT

Since leaving their home in Nazareth, Jesus had traveled throughout Judea and Galilee, preaching, teaching, and performing miracles. Mary had kept up with His whereabouts and heard the rumors about Him healing and casting out demons. But she had also heard about the episode in Jerusalem when He had thrown out the money changers and overturned the merchants’ tables in the temple. She knew the religious leaders had made Him a target. And it is likely that she had heard all the rumors about her Son, including that He was demon-possessed. So she showed up with her other sons to talk to Jesus. As a loving and concerned mother, she wanted to see how He was doing. But when He heard that His mother and brothers were outside, Jesus responded, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” (Mark 3:33 ESV).

At first blush, this statement seems surprisingly harsh and uncaring, but we must consider the context. Jesus had been speaking about hearing and believing, and emphasized the tendency for some to reject His ministry and message. Luke records that Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah.

“When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.” – Luke 8:10 NLT

John reports that Jesus “came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:11 NLT).

Jesus had been teaching, preaching, and healing. He called the people of Israel to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4;17 ESV). Yet some still refused to believe, including His own brothers. So when Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He pointed to a relationship far more critical than mother to son or brother to brother. Being born into the same family as Jesus had not helped His brothers believe. Having a sibling relationship with Jesus was not enough to secure a faith relationship with Him. Even Mary and her sons had to believe who Jesus claimed to be.

This brings to mind a statement John the Baptist made to the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to the Judean wilderness to watch him baptize. When John saw them, he called them a “brood of snakes” (Matthew 3:7 NLT). Then he exposed the fallacy behind their assumption that, because they were blood descendants of Abraham, they were guaranteed a right relationship with God.

“Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” – Matthew 3:9-10 NLT

Notice his emphasis on the bad tree that produces bad fruit. He tells these men that being a blood-born relative of Abraham does not guarantee acceptance by God. John demanded that they repent and turn to God.

That was the very same message Jesus preached, and it applied to all, including His own family. They too would have to hear, receive, and believe. And Jesus turned and motioned to His disciples, saying, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34-35 NLT).

According to John’s gospel, Jesus gave the only “work,” or requirement, God has placed on mankind.

“This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” – John 6:29 NLT

Everyone, regardless of their social status, religious affiliation, economic standing, or educational achievements, was required to believe in Him as the one sent from God. Being born a half-brother of Jesus did not provide you with immunity or absolve you from having to believe in His identity as the Son of God. The disciples were struggling, but continued to express their belief in Jesus. Mary and her sons were likely wrestling with the disconnect between Jesus’ behavior and their expectations. He wasn’t acting like a king and, if He was the long-awaited Messiah, His behavior wasn’t what they expected. The religious leaders flatly denied that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

But Jesus made it clear. To have a relationship with Him, everyone had to believe that He was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. As Jesus told Martha at the graveside of her brother Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Sufficiency of Christ

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. – Colossians 2:8-15 ESV

Paul now warms to his primary task: warning the Colossian believers about the dangers of the doctrinal heresy threatening their congregation. He has established the preeminence of Christ and emphasized the foundational nature of His divinity and humanity. Now Paul presents a stinging indictment of the false teachers, labeling their rhetoric concerning Jesus as nothing more than a purely human-based philosophy based on tradition and filled with empty deceit. Paul’s use of the Greek word philosophia was not meant to refer to an academic or scientific study of thought but the teaching of “certain Jewish Christian ascetics, which busied itself with refined and speculative inquiries into the nature and classes of angels, into the ritual of the Mosaic law and the regulations of Jewish tradition respecting practical life” (The Online Bible: Outline of Biblical Usage).

Paul emphasized that the teaching infiltrating the Colossian church was purely speculative and not based on divine revelation. It was not according to or in keeping with the prophetic pronouncement concerning Christ in the Old Testament. Nor was it in line with Christ’s teachings concerning Himself. No, these men propagated false doctrines based on “the elemental spirits of the world” (Colossians 2:8 ESV). The word translated as “spirits” is στοιχεῖον (stoicheion), which might be better translated as “principles.” Paul seems to be juxtaposing Christ-centered teaching with worldly and man-centered teaching. According to Paul, the elemental or fundamental theories of a non-Christian, fallen world were insufficient to explain or guide the Christian life. The false teachers were vainly attempting to use human reasoning to explain spiritual truths.

Paul addressed this lack of spiritual discernment in his first letter to the churches in Corinth. He informed his audience that the gospel’s message was impossible to discern without assistance from the Holy Spirit.

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For,

“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to teach him?”

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 2:13-16 NLT

Paul explained that “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV). He followed up this statement by quoting Isaiah 29:14.

For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Then Paul excoriated the false teachers and religious traditionalists of his day, exposing them as frauds and fools who pridefully rejected the message of the gospel.

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. – 1 Corinthians 1:20-25 ESV

Some found the apostles’ teaching concerning Christ to be illogical and unacceptable. They found the idea that Jesus was the embodiment of divinity and humanity untenable and indefensible. For others, the belief in Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection was little more than wishful thinking or a fairy tale. But Paul refers to his teaching concerning Christ as the power and wisdom of God.

Paul considered the false teachers’ denial of Christ’s divinity a particularly egregious sin. That’s why he unapologetically stated, “In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9 ESV). This was a foundational truth concerning the doctrine of salvation, and, without it, the validity of Christ’s substitutionary death was rendered impotent. The sinlessness of Christ was based on His divinity; He was the unblemished God-man who was “tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 ESV).

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

To deny Jesus’ deity was to invalidate His entire ministry. He was the sinless and wholly righteous Son of God who took on human flesh so that He might do what no man had ever been able to do before. Jesus fully obeyed every one of the commands of God found in the Mosaic Law.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh… – Romans 8:3 ESV

The deity and humanity of Christ were both non-negotiable aspects of His character. Jesus was fully divine and entirely human. He was not a phantom or a god masquerading as a man. Some taught that Jesus only appeared to be human, and this erroneous teaching led to a distorted understanding of Jesus’ death on the cross. If He wasn’t truly human, then His death was little more than theater, a clever form of play-acting that accomplished nothing. It would mean the substitutionary nature of His death was invalid. Not only that, if Jesus didn’t die, then there was no resurrection, and if there was no resurrection, then mankind has no hope.

…if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. – 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 NLT

Paul assures the Colossians believers that the resurrection of Jesus was real and that its implications for their lives were substantial.

…you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. – Colossians 2:12 NLT

He wanted them to understand that they needed nothing more than Christ. Despite the claims of the false teachers, the believers in Colossae weren’t lacking anything from their spiritual experience. They had been filled with the fullness of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ indwelled them, making the nature of Christ available to them. They had also had the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. Unlike the Judaizers, who taught that Gentiles needed to be circumcised to be fully saved, Paul emphasized a spiritual form of circumcision.

When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. – Colossians 2:11 NLT

This was the same thought Paul had shared with the believers in Rome.

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. – Romans 2:28-29 NLT

Paul reminded the Colossians that, before encountering Christ, they had been spiritually dead because their “sinful nature was not yet cut away” (Colossians 2:13 NLT). But God took care of that problem.

God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. – Colossians 2:13-14 NLT

In doing so, God “disarmed the rulers and authorities” (Colossians 2:15 ESV). This is most likely a reference to “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV), which Paul describes as “the cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV). In conquering sin and death on the cross, God effectively silenced Satan and his minions, voiding the accusations of guilt and shame they level against God’s people. In Revelation 12:10, Satan is described as the accuser of the brethren, “who accuses them day and night before our God.” But, because of the atoning nature of the cross, Satan’s accusations carry no weight. His weapons lack any power against the children of God. But, just as Paul warned the believers in Ephesus, the Colossians were to “put on the whole armor of God,” so they might “be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV).

The false teachers were attempting to undermine the effectiveness of Christ’s death and resurrection by questioning its validity. These godless men were acting as pawns of the enemy by sowing doubts among the believers in Colossae. But Paul exposed their so-called truths as nothing more than cleverly disguised lies meant to deceive and destroy the faith of God’s people.

For Paul, the gospel was enough. No new teaching was required, and the power of the cross required no additional enhancement or improvement. As Paul told the believers in Corinth, the gospel’s message required no assistance from human reasoning or cleverly crafted rhetoric.

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, 4-5 NLT

Christ alone is sufficient to supply all our needs. He is enough to save, sanctify, and secure our future state as citizens of His eternal Kingdom.

Father, Youur Son is enough. He is all I need, and while I might find it difficult to comprehend how He came to earth and took on human flesh, I rest in the veracity of Your Word. You spoke through the apostle John and affirmed that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 ESV). He “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8 BSB).

He obeyed Your command, fulfilled Your will, and accomplished the mission You assigned Him, and I am the beneficiary of Your grace and the sacrificial gift of His life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV

As the Thessalonian believers continued to grow in their salvation and live in a manner pleasing to God, Paul knew they would do so in the hope that Jesus Christ would soon return. The imminent return of Christ was a common theme in the early church and proved to be a powerful motivational message for those facing the very real threat of persecution and even death. Paul regularly spoke and wrote about the second coming of Christ, reminding his children in the faith that His return was the ultimate goal.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. – 1 Corinthians 20:21 NLT

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. – Romans 13:11-12 NLT

Paul has already addressed the return of Christ three times in his letter to the church in Thessalonica.

…they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. – 1 Thessalonians 1:10 NLT

After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! – 1 Thessalonians 2:19 NLT

May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. – Matthew 3:13 NLT

The return of Christ was the endgame for Paul, and he eagerly anticipated it because Jesus had promised it.

There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. – John 14:2-3 NLT

And Paul was not alone in his confident claims concerning the Lord’s timely return. The apostle James also saw the imminent return of Christ as a powerful motivator when addressing believers experiencing life’s pain and difficulties.

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. – James 5:7-8 NLT

Peter, another one of the apostles, joined the chorus, reminding his readers that the Lord’s return would mark the end of all things.

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. – 1 Peter 4:7 NLT

And not to be left out, the author of the book of Hebrews encouraged his readers to use the reality of Christ’s return as motivation to model Christlikeness in their daily lives.

…let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

However, when you live with the eager anticipation that something will happen soon and it fails to materialize, disappointment and disillusionment can set in. As the days pass and the promise remains unfulfilled, you may begin to lose hope. And, as Paul knew, watching the deaths of their fellow believers was causing a certain amount of confusion and concern among the members of the early church. Why had they died before Jesus had come back? What would be their fate?

It seems that all the talk about the imminent return of Christ had left some of the Thessalonians with the mistaken impression that all who believed in Him would live to see it happen. But as time passed, some of their fellow believers had died. So, Paul attempted to provide them with clarification and further insight into all the talk about the “end of all things,” and he gets right to the point.

…now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13 NLT

Their grief was not just over the loss of their friends, but it also included their concern over the eternal state of those who had died. Had they not believed? Were they doomed to spend eternity in hell? Had their deaths been the result of falling away from the faith?

It is important to remember that the early church had minimal access to doctrine or well-informed insights into theological matters. In its infancy, the church depended on Paul and others for theological training and instruction on issues such as the end times. Paul’s letter to the Romans was his attempt to provide a detailed doctrinal analysis of the faith, expounding on the teachings of Jesus and the gospel so that members of the early church could gain a deeper, more foundational understanding of their faith.

Paul has already told the Thessalonians that he regularly prayed for them, “asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:10 NLT). And that is precisely what he is attempting to do in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

First, he addresses the 800-pound gorilla in the room: The untimely deaths of their fellow believers.

For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. – 1 Thessalonians 4:14 NLT

With this statement, Paul brings up another aspect of the end-time events of which they were unaware. This section of verses is one of the primary passages used to support the doctrine of the Rapture of the church. Paul is not talking about the Second Coming of Christ, but of His return for His bride, the church. The term “rapture” is not found in the Bible, but it is derived from the Greek word Paul uses in verse 17. There, he mentions that those who are still alive when Christ returns will be “caught up together…in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The Greek word translated as “caught up” is harpazo, and it means “to seize, to snatch away, to carry off by force.”

In the late 4th century, the Bible was translated from its original languages into Latin. In this translation, called the Latin Vulgate, the phrase “caught up” was translated as rapturo, from which the term “Rapture” comes.

Paul was informing his readers about an event that would precede the Second Coming of Christ and usher in the rest of the end-time events. There was no need for the Thessalonians to grieve over the loss of their friends because God had a plan. Those who had died had gone to be with Him. Their bodies had been buried, but their souls had gone to be with the Lord in heaven. When Jesus addressed the thief on the cross, He promised him, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43 NLT). There is no such thing as soul sleep or a holding place called Purgatory. Upon death, all believers go to be with the Lord.

Paul assures those left behind in Thessalonica that they will one day see their deceased friends again. In fact, they will accompany Christ when He returns for His church.

…when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. – 1 Thessalonians 4:14 NLT

But then Paul appears to contradict himself. He just said that the dead believers will come back with Christ, but then he states, “the believers who have died will rise from their graves” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 NLT). Well, which is it? Do they return with Jesus, or rise from their graves? And the answer is, “Both.”

Paul is describing the resurrection of their bodies. At the Rapture, the souls of all those who have died in Christ will return with Him and be reunited with their resurrected and transformed bodies. Paul talks about the need for this in his first letter to the church in Corinth.

But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.… It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. – 1 Corinthians 35-37, 42-44 NLT

In his second letter, he provides greater detail regarding these spiritual bodies.

…we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT

The departed saints will return with the Lord and be reunited with their new spiritual bodies, which God has prepared for them. Those who are still alive at the time of the Rapture will ascend into heaven, receiving their glorified bodies as they go. And the end result of all this? “…we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV).

Paul concludes by encouraging the Thessalonians to find comfort and hope in this new revelation about their lost friends and the church’s future Rapture.

Therefore encourage one another with these words. – 1 Thessalonians 4:18 ESV

As the early church evolved, its need for sound doctrine increased exponentially. The teachings of Jesus needed to be expanded and expounded upon, and Paul spent a great deal of time in his letters helping his far-flung flock understand the depth and detail of the gospel message. Many in the early church were still expecting Jesus’ imminent return and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. They were surprised by His seeming delay and confused by the trials they were forced to endure because of their faith in Him. For some, the “good news” was not turning out as expected.

But Paul wanted them to understand the depth and reliability of God’s plan. Jesus had not died to guarantee them their best life now, but to pave the way for eternal life. He knew a firm grasp of the end times was essential to their ongoing faith and would give them the strength to live with hope and confidence.

Father, even today, so many of Your children live with a cloudy understanding of Your plan for them. They live in fear and doubt because their lives have not turned out as expected. The presence of sorrow and suffering has caused them to question Your love and goodness. The difficulties associated with living the life of faith have diminished their hope and left them seeking comfort in the things of this world. They want their best life now and can’t imagine that You have something far greater in store for them that this world cannot offer. Would you help us to keep our eyes fixed on the prize and focused on the promise Your Son came to fulfill? He is coming back and He will finish what He began. Your plan is perfect but it is not yet complete. But, one day, You will fulfill all that You said You would do. We can count on it. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Committed to the Cause

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 ESV

Paul was under constant pressure to defend his apostleship because he was not one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples. However, as Paul points out, he had received his commission to take the gospel to the Gentiles directly from Jesus Christ Himself. But his opponents, of which there were many, questioned the validity of his claim to be an emissary of Christ. So, they attempted to undermine his ministry by raising doubts concerning his authority to speak and the veracity of his message. He was just a man, they claimed; his message was not from God, but was nothing more than the self-delusional rants of a self-appointed apostle.

This forced Paul to constantly validate his ministry and message. In the opening line of his letter to the Galatian church, Paul wrote: “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father” (Galatians 1:1 ESV). Just a few verses later, Paul told them:

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. – Galatians 1:11-12 ESV

And Paul went on to explain to them how that revelation came about.

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles… – Galatians 1:13-16 ESV

Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, confirms Paul’s description of that event and provides us with further details.

Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. – Acts 9:1-2 ESV

But while on his way to Damascus, fully intending to continue his persecution of the followers of Jesus, Paul had a life-changing encounter.

As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.

And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” – Acts 9:3-6 ESV

Paul (Saul was his Hebrew name), having been blinded by the light and bewildered by this unexpected change in his itinerary, made his way to Damascus. In the meantime, God appeared in a vision to Ananias, a Christ-follower living in the city, informing him to lay hands on Paul to restore his sight. Ananias expressed his reluctance because of Paul’s reputation for animosity against Christians, but God insisted that this was all part of His divine plan for Paul.

“Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” – Acts 9:15-16 ESV

And years later, Paul would stand before King Agrippa and recount the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus. And he would add the words of the message he received when Christ confronted him.

“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” – Acts 26:16-18 ESV

But what does all this have to do with chapter 2 of the book of 1 Thessalonians? Everything. In this chapter, Paul reminds the believers in Thessalonica of the day when he and Silas had first appeared in their city more than a year earlier. In the interim, and in his absence, enemies of Paul had been spreading rumors and suggesting that he was not what he claimed to be. They had been casting dispersion on both his message and his motives.

Yet Paul reminds them that he and Silas had arrived in their city after having been beaten and imprisoned in Philippi. The city officials in Philippi had forced them to vacate the premises because their presence had resulted in a riot, and Paul reminds the Thessalonians, “But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict” (1 Thessalonians 2:2 ESV).

If Paul had claimed to be an apostle simply to seek fame or fortune, he had been far from successful. His assertion of apostleship had earned him little more than rejection and suffering everywhere he went. He wanted the believers in Thessalonica to know that his only motivation was to declare to them the gospel of God – even in the midst of conflict.

Paul had the same message for the believers in Galatia. If he was simply out to gain the favor of men, he was failing miserably. In fact, if Paul had wanted to win a popularity contest, the last thing he would have done was present himself as an apostle of Christ preaching a controversial message of sin, judgment, and salvation. That’s why Paul told the Galatians, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10 ESV).

And Paul assured the Thessalonian believers that, despite what others were saying, he and Silas had been anything but deceptive or dishonest in their motivation.

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive… – 1 Thessalonians 2:3 ESV

They had not set out to please men, seek glory, or get rich. But they had been approved by God and entrusted with the gospel message. That’s why, when they had suffered in Philippi, they hadn’t abandoned their mission, but continued their efforts to spread the gospel, even in the face of extreme opposition and personal pain. If Paul and Silas had been in it for what they could get out of it, they would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. But as Paul makes clear, their motivation had been and continued to be heartfelt and God-ordained.

Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else. – 1 Thessalonians 2:4-6 NLT

Paul was anything but a people-pleaser, and his message was far from politically correct. He was an in-your-face, no-holds-barred kind of guy who delivered the message of the gospel unapologetically, making no attempt to water it down or make it more palatable and acceptable.

In delivering the gospel to the Gentiles, Paul had faced opposition from the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, who still questioned the validity of uncircumcised Gentiles having access to salvation. If nothing else, they believed these Gentiles had to first convert to Judaism. But Paul had stood his ground, demanding that the gospel message put no such requirements on Gentile converts. Salvation was based on God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Paul had also faced opposition from the Gentiles, who resisted his efforts to convert their people to this new religion or cult, called The Way. Paul’s message of the gospel was resulting in conversions among the Gentiles, leading these new believers to walk away from their false gods and their old ways of life to serve the one true God. Because the gospel brought about life change, these conversions were having an influence on the local communities and their economies. And, according to Luke, that’s exactly what happened in the city of Ephesus.

Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. – Acts 19:18-19 NLT

The gospel was powerfully transformative; it changed lives. That was why Paul was committed to carrying out his God-ordained mission to share the gospel with both Jews and Gentiles. He was motivated by love and compassion, not greed or fame. And he reminded the Thessalonians that he and Silas had come to them like innocent children, free from guile and with no ulterior motives. They had displayed the same love as a mother who feeds and cares for her children. She does so sacrificially and willingly, and not for what she can get out of it.

Paul assured them, “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too” (1 Thessalonians 2:8 NLT). They gave their lives away. They sacrificed, and rather than demanding payment for their services, they willingly shared all that they had. They risked all for the sake of the gospel and the salvation of the handful of Thessalonians who had heard and received it. And Paul would gladly do it again.

Father, What a picture of commitment to one’s calling. In fulfilling His God-given commission, Paul faced all kinds of opposition and rejection, and, yet, he never gave up. He had his motives questioned, his message maligned, and his ministry undermined at every turn. But, like the Energizer Bunny, he kept going and going and going. He wasn’t out to please men or pad his portfolio. Fame and fortune meant nothing to him. He was sold out to the calling of Christ and determined to tell others about the One who had radically and permanently changed his life. Give me that same passion and desire to make the gospel my highest priority. Keep me from making it about me or allowing the enemy to distract me from the call to make disciples of all the nations. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Faith Under Fire

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-7 ESV

It had been a year since Paul and Silas first visited the city of Thessalonica, located in the region of Macedonia in Greece. It had taken place on Paul’s second missionary journey. And the arrival of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica had been preceded by their imprisonment in Philippi, for the crime of casting out a demon from a possessed slave girl, “who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16 ESV). With the demon gone, the girl lost the source of her ability to tell fortunes, so her owners were deprived of their source of income.

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. – Acts 16:19-24 ESV

But while Paul and Silas were in prison, a miraculous earthquake shook the walls and threw open the doors of the cells, freeing every prisoner and causing the guard to attempt suicide. But rather than allowing this man to take his own life, Paul and Silas introduced him to Jesus Christ, the source of eternal life.

The next day, the magistrates sent for Paul and Silas and, upon discovering that they were Roman citizens, apologized profusely, set them free, and asked them to leave their city. So, Paul and Silas made their way to Thessalonica.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” – Acts 17:1-3 ESV

The circumstances that took place in Phillipi are important when considering the actions of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica. These two men had been falsely accused, violently beaten, and thrown in prison. And yet, while in prison, they occupied themselves by “praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25 ESV). When the earthquake provided them with the opportunity to escape, they chose to remain, using their freedom to help set the Philillian jailer free from his bondage to sin and death.

As soon as these two men arrived in Thessalonica, they made their way to the local synagogue, where for three consecutive Sabbaths, Paul preached the good news of Jesus Christ to a room full of Jews. While in Phillipi, Paul and Silas focused much of their attention on the Gentile population of the city, leading many of them to Christ. But Paul had a strong sense of compassion for his own people.

My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. – Romans 9:2-4 NLT

He longed to see his fellow Jews come to faith in Christ, which is why he always made it a habit to visit the local synagogue in every city he visited. But while Paul and Silas saw some positive responses to their message while in Phillipi, the overall reaction was less than ideal.

…some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar… – Acts 17:4-5 ESV

In an attempt to get their hands on Paul and Silas, the mob stormed the house of a local believer named Jason, in whose home the two missionaries had been staying. Unable to find Paul and Silas, the disgruntled Jews dragged Jason before the city authorities and accused him of harboring individuals who were promoting insurrection against Rome.

“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” – Acts 17:6-7 ESV

Paul and Silas were forced to leave the city under the cover of night and escaped to Berea, where Paul, as was his habit, made his way to the local synagogue. This time, they were received with open arms and receptive hearts.

…these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed… – Acts 17:11-12 ESV

With all that as background, we turn to Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica. What is amazing is that there was a church there at all. Paul and Silas had spent very little time in the city before they had been forced to flee for their lives. But while there, they had made an impact on the lives of a few individuals.

…some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. – Acts 17:4 ESV

And it seems that Jason represented a small contingent of Christians who were already in Thessalonica when Paul and Silas first arrived. This fledgling group of individuals formed the church there. They had been helped by Timothy, Paul’s young protegé, whom Paul had sent to serve as their minister and pastor.

…we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith. – 1 Thessalonians 3:2 ESV

Now, a year later, while ministering in Corinth, Paul wrote a letter to this small group to encourage them in their faith. Unable to make a personal visit, Paul put his thoughts in written form, with the intention of offering this young congregation some much-needed words of encouragement, exhortation, and clarification.

Paul had become aware of the conditions surrounding the church in Thessalonica. These people had not had it easy since their acceptance of the gospel message. Their conversions had come with a high cost, in the form of persecution and, to a certain degree, confusion.

Thessalonica was a wealthy and influential city in the region of Macedonia. It was a predominantly Gentile community with strong ties to Rome. Those who came to faith in Christ immediately found themselves in the minority and facing intense hostility. Jews who placed their faith in Christ were ostracized from the local Jewish community and were likely banned from the synagogue.

But Paul knew there was more going on than persecution and hostility. Like all new believers, these people were struggling with a certain degree of confusion. There was so much they didn’t know. Their knowledge of Jesus and their understanding of His ultimate return were limited. While they had received the anointing of the Holy Spirit and knew first-hand that the message Paul preached to them was true, they were limited in their understanding of what the Spirit-led life was supposed to look like. Yet Paul was able to commend them for the faithful work, loving deeds, and enduring hope. In fact, they had become an example of faith for all the believers in Greece.

Word of their faith in the face of persecution and difficulty had gotten out. News of their acceptance of Christ and rejection of worthless idols had spread, influencing others to follow their example. But their commitment to Christ had not been without cost. However, it had not been without real change either. These people had been radically transformed by the message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone.

Paul commended them. “So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 1:6 NLT).

Salvation had brought suffering, and the life of faith had placed them under intense pressure. Accepting Christ had led to rejection and ridicule, but they had remained faithful. A year later, Paul received news that they were still holding firm in their faith, and this letter was his attempt to encourage and exhort them to remain strong.

How easy it is for us to lose hope when our faith gets challenged or our walk with Christ becomes difficult. Accepting Christ requires nothing on our part, but walking with Him daily demands a determination to remain faithful, even in the face of difficulty. We have to trust Him when things don’t make sense. We have to believe in His love when the circumstances we find ourselves going through seem anything but loving. We have to rest in His promises, even when they seem unlikely or uncertain. The life of faith is anything but easy. But it is worth it.

Father, salvation cost me nothing. But the life of faith costs me daily. I have to die to self. I have to endure the animosity and alienation of this world. I have to give up my will for Yours. I have to sacrifice my desires and place the needs of others ahead of my own. I have to wait when I would rather act. I have to trust You when I would rather trust my own judgment. But any cost to me is well worth it. The gain is so much greater than any pain I might have to endure. The benefits far outweigh the costs. Thank You for that reminder today. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Curse of Low Expectations

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD‘s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

22 Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel. – 2 Kings 13:10-25 ESV

Keeping up with the revolving door of kings who reigned over Israel and Judah is hard enough as it is, but it becomes even more difficult when two kings with the same name end up ruling at the same time. That’s the case in this particular passage. Jehoash ascended to the throne of Israel after the death of his father, Jehoahaz, and it just so happened that the king of Judah bore the same name. It seems only fitting and a bit ironic that these two nations that shared the same predilection for idolatry and apostasy would end up with rulers who shared the same name. While their reigns would only intersect for a period of about two years, they shared more in common than their name. In the end, both men proved to be ungodly leaders who failed to lead their people back to the worship of Yahweh.

When Jehoash, the king of Judah, received a less-than-encouraging message from God, he ordered the stoning of the messenger. It just so happened that the man he executed was Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest. This was the same Jehoiada who had saved the infant Jehoash from the hands of Queen Athaliah by providing him with sanctuary in the temple for six years. On Jehoash’s seventh birthday, Jehoiada had anointed him as the king of Judah. But years later, after Jehoiada’s death, Jehoash began to listen to the counsel of his ungodly advisors and ultimately forsake Yahweh. As a result, Judah suffered defeat at the hands of a much smaller Syrian force. He was wounded in the battle and, while recuperating from his injuries, he was assassinated by two of his own officials.

And the king of Israel, who bore the same name, shared a similar story of unfaithfulness and rebellion. The author sums up his 16-year reign with the words: “he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit” (2 Kings 13:11 NLT). He, too, forsook the LORD and led the people to continue their love affair with false gods. And it’s interesting to note that the heir to his throne was his son, Jeroboam II, whom he had named after the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. His admiration for Jeroboam seems obvious but undeserved. After all, Jeroboam had been responsible for leading the Israelites into idolatry. When God split the nation of Israel in two after the reign of Solomon, He gave the ten northern tribes to Jeroboam as his kingdom. But Jeroboam responded to this gracious gift from God by erecting two golden calves and encouraging his people to forsake the worship of Yahweh. Yet Jehoash thought enough of this man to name his own son after him.

But sometime during his reign, Jehoash of Israel received word that the prophet Elisha was on his deathbed. Surprisingly, the king was grieved over this news and made a personal visit to see the dying prophet. While Jehoash was anything but a faithful worshiper of Yahweh, he knew that Elisha had great power and influence. This elderly prophet had proven time and time again that he spoke on behalf of God and was empowered by God. That’s why Jehoash greeted him with the somewhat cryptic statement: “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” (2 Kings 13:14 ESV). Evidently, Jehoash had heard the story of Elijah’s miraculous departure and Elisha’s role in it. Perhaps Elisha had shared with the king the details of that fateful day when God had used a whirlwind to take Elijah from the earth.

…as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. – 2 Kings 2:11-12 ESV

This event followed Elisha’s request that Elijah give him a double portion of his spirit. He was to be Elijah’s replacement, and he felt ill-equipped for the task. It could be that King Jehoash hoped Elisha would pour out his spirit on him as well. He understood that Elisha possessed power and had direct access to Yahweh. With the prophet’s death, all of that might be lost. But rather than pour out his spirit on the apostate king, Elisha commanded him to take his bow and shoot an arrow out the window.

Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD‘s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” – 2 Kings 13:17 ESV

Next, the prophet told the king to take his remaining arrows and strike the ground with them. Jehoash dutifully obeyed, but when he stopped after the third blow, Elisha responded in anger.

“You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.” – 2 Kings 13:19 NLT

In a sense, Elisha had poured out his spirit on King Jehoash. He had placed his hands on those of the king and, together, they had shot the first arrow out the window. He then assured the king of his victory over the Syrians. But the extent of that victory would depend on Jehoash’s faith. By limiting the number of times he struck the ground, Jehoash was unwittingly revealing his lack of faith. The first arrow had symbolized the LORD’s victory over the Syrians. When Elisha had commanded Jehoash to take the remaining arrows and strike the ground, he should have done so until the prophet told him to stop. Each blow was meant to symbolize a victory over the enemy. But Jehoash had chosen to limit his expectations. In doing so, he inadvertently limited his chances of success over his enemy.

Having pronounced his last prophetic message, Elisha died. But the author relates a story that reveals one last miracle associated with the prophet of God. Sometime later, the body of a recently deceased man was inadvertently thrown into the cave containing Elisha’s bones. When the body of the dead man came into contact with Elisha’s remains, he was immediately restored to life. Amazingly, the author provides no further details about the story to indicate what happened to this newly resurrected man or how the story came to be known. But its inclusion in the narrative was meant to reveal that, though Elisha was dead,  Yahweh was alive and well. Elisha’s departure was not meant to be mistaken for God’s abandonment of Israel. He was still fully capable of restoring life to the lifeless. The all-powerful God of Israel used the bones of a dead prophet to restore life to a dead Israelite, a clear symbol of His desire to renew those among His chosen people who were marked by spiritual death.

The author reminds his readers that God remained faithful to His disobedient people, refusing to abandon them despite their constant rejection of Him.

…the LORD was gracious and merciful to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. He pitied them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. – 2 Kings 13:23 NLT

The author also reveals that Yahweh kept His word concerning the fate of the Syrians. Jehoash experienced three separate victories over his enemy, matching the exact number of times he struck the ground with his arrows — no more, no less. God allowed Jehoash to recover some of the territory stolen by the Syrians, but the fighting would continue throughout the rest of his reign. The sad reality is that the same God who raised a dead man back to life was fully capable of restoring a spiritually dead nation. Still, their continued stubbornness and lack of faithfulness would prevent them from experiencing the life-transformative power of Yahweh.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Faith, Famine, and Fruitfulness

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

24 Afterward Ben-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.’ 26 Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 And he said, “If the LORD will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?” 28 And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body— 31 and he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”

32 Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 33 And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?” 

1 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the LORD, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the LORD himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”– 2 Kings 6:24-7:2 ESV

One thing that becomes painfully evident when reading God’s Word is that it often paints humanity in far-from-flattering terms. The characters found in the Bible are presented with all their flaws and foibles fully exposed. The reader gets to see the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of human nature in all their gory details. There are examples of mankind’s more positive traits, but they seem few and far between. From the opening pages of Genesis to the closing chapters of Revelation, the fallen nature of humanity is presented with painstaking accuracy.

Throughout the book, we see a litany of vices on display, including all of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth. Countless stories chronicle mankind’s stubbornness, arrogance, and selfishness, and they are intended to stand in stark contrast to the righteousness of God. Throughout the Bible, we see the sinfulness of man set against the stark backdrop of God’s incomparable holiness. The stories of mankind’s unfaithfulness, arrogance, pride, and sin are seamlessly woven together with the countless examples of God’s power and sovereignty. And today’s passage contains one such story.

For some time, Ben-hadad II, the king of Syria, had been trying to develop secret plans to invade Israel. But each time he attempted to put them into action, the Israelites were one step ahead of him. He discovered that Elisha the prophet had been receiving secret intel on all their planning sessions, and it had come directly from Yahweh, the God of Israel. Since Ben-hadad couldn’t do anything to stop the all-powerful Yahweh, he decided to capture Elisha. But, once again, his strategy failed miserably. When his troops laid siege to the city of Dothan, where Elisha was living, God blinded them. Then Elisha led them to Samaria, where the king of Israel spared their lives and hosted a feast for them. These men returned home, grateful to be alive.

But then we read, “Afterward Ben-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria” (2 Kings 6:24 ESV). We’re not told how much time transpired between Ben-hadad’s last failed attempt to attack Israel and this latest campaign. But he had not given up his intentions to conquer the nation of Israel. This man’s stubborn persistence is on full display. Despite what had happened to his troops the last time they went into Israelite territory, he was determined to carry out his latest plan.

As a result of the siege, the conditions inside Samaria quickly deteriorated. Food became scarce, and the people within the walls of the city became desperate. Price gouging was prevalent because there was nothing to eat. People were willing to pay exorbitant prices for anything that even remotely resembled food.

The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. –  2 Kings 6:25 NLT 

These were desperate times. And to make sure we understand just how bad things had become, the author reveals that the people had resorted to cannibalism. To drive home the dire nature of their circumstances, he shares the story of a mother sacrificing her infant son so that she and her friends could survive. This sickening story was told to King Jehoram as he walked along the city walls, surveying the worsening conditions of his people. What makes this incident all the more repulsive is that it involved deceit and dishonesty. Facing starvation, two mothers had agreed to kill their own children and eat their flesh just to survive. One had followed through on her commitment, but when it came time for the second mother to kill her child, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. In a desperate attempt to preserve the life of her child, the woman hid him.

The abysmal conditions within Samaria should have come as no surprise to the people of Israel because Yahweh had warned them that disobedience to His law would result in severe discipline.

“If in spite of all this you still refuse to listen and still remain hostile toward me, then I will give full vent to my hostility. I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins. Then you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.” – Leviticus 26:27-29 NLT

“They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land—the walls you trusted to protect you—are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land the LORD your God has given you.

“The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you.” – Deuteronomy 28:52-53 NLT

Upon hearing the woman’s story, King Jehoram was sickened and tore his clothes in mourning. Yet, rather than see the situation as a sign of God’s judgment against apostate Israel, the king decided to blame Elisha. After all, the prophet was Yahweh’s official spokesman and had proven to be a thorn in Jehoram’s side for some time.

“May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day.” – 2 Kings 6:31 NLT

Jehoram was about to make the age-old mistake of killing the messenger. He knew that Elisha spoke for God, so he assumed that if he could eliminate the prophet, the conditions in Samaria would improve. But Elisha was not the cause of his problem or the source behind the judgment Israel was experiencing. The siege and the resulting famine were the handiwork of the sovereign, all-powerful Yahweh. God had warned them what would happen if they turned their backs on Him, and now they were suffering the consequences.

Jehoram’s decision to kill God’s prophet was doomed to failure. However, fueled by anger, arrogance, and pride, the king sent a messenger to retrieve Elisha and bring him back to the palace for execution. But Elisha was one step ahead of Jehoram, having been informed by God of the king’s intentions.

“A murderer has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master’s steps following him.” – 2 Kings 6:32 NLT

When the messenger arrived, he found the door to Elisha’s home blocked. So, he dutifully delivered his message from the king.

“All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?” – 2 Kings 6:33 NLT

Jehoram acknowledged that God was behind the siege, but he also revealed his doubt that God would ever rescue them. Since he couldn’t vent his frustration on God, he was determined to take out his anger on God’s prophet. He was following the same strategy his mother Jezebel had used when Elijah defeated and killed the 450 prophets of Baal. Angered by the prophet’s unexpected victory over her false god, she ordered his death (1 Kings 19:2). Now, years later, here was her son attempting to thwart the plan of God by killing the prophet of God. Jehoram’s pride, arrogance, and anger are on full display. At no point does he take ownership of his godless leadership of the nation. He displays no remorse or repentance. Yet the prophet delivered an unexpected, seemingly inexplicable message to the king.

“Listen to this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, six quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver, and twelve quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver.” – 2 Kings 7:1 NLT

Things were about to take a dramatic turn for the better. In just 24 hours, God would miraculously reverse the conditions in Samaria. The long-lasting siege and the devastating famine would come to an abrupt end, and the people living inside the walls of Samaria would suddenly find food readily available and affordable. But the king’s messenger found Elisha’s prediction to be far-fetched and refused to believe a word he said.

“That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!” – 2 Kings 7:2 NLT

This arrogant man questioned the prophet’s words, but, more importantly, he displayed his doubt in Yahweh’s power, and Elisha warned him that he would pay dearly for his mistake.

“You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!” – 2 Kings 7:2 NLT

God was about to do something incredible, but this emissary of the king refused to believe it was possible. Like his boss, he had long ago given up any belief in Yahweh’s sovereignty and power. From his godless and apostate perspective, this problem was too big, even for God. For this unbelieving, apostate servant of the king, news of Israel’s reversal of fortunes was too good to be true. He refused to believe that the Syrians would suddenly abandon their siege and that the conditions in Samaria would miraculously change overnight. His faith in Elisha’s God was too small, so he forfeited any hope of enjoying the fruits of Yahweh’s favor.

The emissary’s doubts in Elisha’s words and Yahweh’s power reflect the spiritual state of the entire nation of Israel. His reticence to believe brings to mind the words of Yahweh recorded by the prophet Micah centuries later.

“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. – Malachi 39-11 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.