the will of God

All According to Plan

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9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” – Mark 9:9-13 ESV

Being a disciple of Jesus must have been an emotional roller coaster. For three years, these 12 relatively uneducated men were exposed to mind-blowing, never-before-seen miracles and received a daily dose of profound, difficult-to-understand teaching that left even the scribes and Pharisees dumbfounded. Their time with Jesus was an adventure but also a head-spinning whirlwind of cryptic sayings and confounding experiences.

As Peter, James, and John made their way down the mountain, their minds must have been reeling from what they had just witnessed. Just minutes earlier, they watched Jesus transform right before their eyes. Suddenly, without warning or explanation, Jesus began to emanate a brilliant light. Mark described it this way: “his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them” (Mark 9:3 NLT). These three men had seen Jesus do many inexplicable and unprecedented things over the last three years, but nothing quite like this. Seeing Jesus walk on the water in the midst of a storm made a distinct impression. In fact, they had initially thought He was some kind of ghostly apparition. So what must have been going through their minds as they saw Jesus transfigured?

When the long-departed prophets Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared, the disciples seemed to begin putting two and two together. They knew that something spectacular was happening. As they took in the scene unfolding before them, they must have wondered if this was it — was Jesus getting ready to usher in His Kingdom? Had Moses, the great deliverer, come to help Jesus in His quest to free the people of Israel from their captivity under the Romans? Was Elijah’s appearance proof that the time had come? Was this the fulfillment of the long-awaited prophecy?

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” – Malachi 4:5-6 ESV

But the miracle on the mountain ended as quickly as it began. Suddenly, Elijah and Moses were gone, and Jesus stood before them just as He had been before. The glory was gone, but the moment’s impact lingered with the disciples. Peter, James, and John must have been bursting at the seams, eager to tell the other nine disciples what they had witnessed, but Jesus threw cold water on their plans, commanding them to keep it all to themselves until the proper time.

…he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. – Mark 9:9 NLT

Now stop and think about that statement for a moment. The disciples had just witnessed Jesus speaking to Moses and Elijah, and their minds must have been filled with thoughts of the coming Kingdom. Their hopes and dreams of Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah were about to come true. Yet He brings up the same topic He had raised before the transfiguration.

Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. – Mark 8:31 NLT

Peter found this news unacceptable and told Jesus so. But his verbal dismissal of Jesus’ words earned him a stern rebuke. Now Peter, James, and John were hearing Jesus bring up the same incomprehensible and objectionable subject again, and Mark makes it clear that they had no idea what Jesus was talking about.

…they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. – Mark 9:10 ESV

The disciples didn’t lack a concept of the resurrection; as Jews, they believed in a future resurrection of the dead. They were familiar with the writings of Isaiah and Daniel.

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light,
    and the earth will give birth to the dead. – Isaiah 26:19 ESV

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. – Daniel 12:2-3 ESV

John would later record another occasion when Jesus told Martha that her dead brother Lazarus would “rise again” (John 11:23 ESV). She responded, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24 ESV). She believed in a future resurrection at the end of the age, and so did the disciples. But they struggled to understand how any of this related to Jesus establishing His Kingdom.

Confused by Jesus’ words, the disciples ignored them and focused on the scene they had witnessed on the mountaintop. They had seen Elijah with their own eyes, and this most likely had led them to believe that the prophecy of Malachi was being fulfilled. So, searching for clarification, they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” (Mark 9:11 NLT).

Their question had a purpose. They had just seen Elijah, so they were asking Jesus to confirm that His messiahship was about to begin. One thing was meant to follow the other. Elijah had appeared; now it was time for Jesus to do His part. The disciples must have been thinking of another familiar Messianic passage from Malachi.

“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.” – Malachi 3:1-4 NLT

Malachi’s imagery seems to corroborate what the disciples saw on the mountaintop: the blazing Messiah, reigning from His temple, and restoring Israel to its former glory.

The disciples seem to have linked their sighting of Elijah to the timing of the Messiah’s appearance. They had just seen Elijah, so it must be time for Jesus to drop the charade and reveal Himself for who He really was: The Messiah of Israel. It was time for Him to get down to the serious business of ruling and reigning from David’s throne. They no longer needed miracles or difficult-to-understand messages.

Jesus assured them that their interpretation of Malachi was correct. “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready” (Mark 9:12 NLT). But the scribes and the disciples had left out an important part of the prophecy: Elijah would come first, but the Messiah would also have to endure great suffering. The people of Israel had conveniently ignored the many Old Testament passages that alluded to the Messiah’s death. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, King David wrote about how men would treat the Messiah.

But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” – Psalm 22:6-8 ESV

Matthew records this prophecy’s fulfillment.

So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” – Matthew 27:41-43 ESV

The prophet Isaiah predicted the tremendous suffering and agony the Messiah would endure at the hands of sinful men.

See, my servant will prosper;
    he will be highly exalted.
But many were amazed when they saw him.
    His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human,
    and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. – Isaiah 52:13-14 NLT

He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care. – Isaiah 53:3 NLT

But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed. – Isaiah 53:5 NLT

He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. – Isaiah 53:7 NLT

Jesus wanted His disciples to know that the same Scriptures that predict Elijah’s coming also predict the suffering of the Son of Man. So, He asked them, “Why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt?” (Mark 9:12 NLT). He wasn’t expecting an answer; He was making a point. God has a divine order; He has a plan, and every detail of that plan must unfold in order, including the Savior’s suffering. Then Jesus dropped the real news that must have exploded like a bombshell on the unsuspecting disciples.

“But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.” – Mark 9:13 NLT

Jesus wasn’t referring to the Elijah they saw on the mountaintop; He meant John the Baptist. The angel who visited Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, confirmed this in his message.

Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” – Luke 1:13-17 NLT

When Jesus and His disciples descended the mountain, John the Baptist was already dead, a victim of King Herod’s wrath. Jesus let the disciples know that John’s death would precede His own.

“…they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” – Matthew 17:12 ESV

The disciples’ experience on the mountaintop left them eagerly anticipating the long-awaited Kingdom. But something else had to happen first; the Son of Man must suffer and die. The cross had to precede the crown. Ridicule and rejection must come before resurrection and reigning. Jesus would have to endure the pain and ignominy of crucifixion before He could experience the joy of glorification. It was all part of God’s plan, and while it made no sense to the disciples, the apostle Paul later explained the method behind God’s seeming madness.

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.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:6-8 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.

Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

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22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. – Mark 8:22-30 ESV

In this passage, Mark combines two incidents from Jesus’ life to convey an important truth. In the first, Jesus performs the second miracle that Mark records in his gospel. Chapter 7 records Jesus healing the deaf man who also suffered from a speech impediment. And there will be some similarities between these two miraculous healings.

Jesus and His disciples had traveled from the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee to the town of Bethsaida, located not far from the sea’s northernmost tip. This was not the first time Jesus had been to Bethsaida. In fact, Matthew reports that Jesus delivered a stinging indictment against the city for its inhabitants’ stubborn refusal to repent.

Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn’t repented of their sins and turned to God. “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.” – Matthew 11:20-21 NLT

This rather harsh statement from Jesus provides insight into the miracle Jesus performed. When Jesus arrived in Bethsaida, a group of people brought a blind friend in need of healing. Mark says that these compassionate friends “begged him to touch the man and heal him” (Mark 8:22 NLT). What Jesus did next was both interesting and insightful.

To fully appreciate Jesus’ actions, one must consider everything that had happened up to this moment. Earlier that same day, Jesus transformed seven loaves of bread and a few fish into a meal that fed thousands. He had followed up that miracle with a warning to His disciples about the “leaven of the Pharisees.” After seeing His miracle of the loaves and fish, the religious leaders demanded a “sign from heaven” to prove His claim to be the Messiah. These prideful, arrogant men were blind to all that Jesus had done, refusing to accept His miracles as proof of identity. So Jesus warned His disciples not to let the Pharisees’ teaching influence them. The unrepentant hearts of these self-righteous men caused them to reject Jesus and encourage others to do the same. Like yeast spreading through a batch of dough, their unbelief was beginning to permeate and influence the people of Israel. But the disciples failed to understand the meaning behind Jesus’ warning, thinking instead that He was upset that they had failed to bring enough bread. So, Jesus addressed their inability to comprehend His words.

“Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?” – Mark 8:17-18 NLT

Notice the last thing Jesus said to His disciples before they left for Bethsaida: “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:21 ESV). All of this sets up what happens next and reveals God’s sovereign hand behind everything Jesus did. It was no coincidence that a blind man was brought to Jesus. His lack of sight symbolized the disciples’ lack of understanding. The way Jesus chose to heal the man was intentional and purposeful. First, He isolated the man from his well-meaning friends by leading him outside the village. Once they were alone, Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and touched him. But why? Couldn’t Jesus have simply commanded the man to see? Did this healing require spit and human contact? The text also seems to show that Jesus’ first attempt to restore the man’s sight failed.

…spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”

The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” – Mark 8:23-24 NLT

Jesus’ methodology seems odd, and its outcome appears less than successful. But everything Jesus did was intentional. Unable to see what Jesus was doing, the blind man could hear Jesus spit and feel it on his eyes. He could sense Jesus’s hands gently touching his eyes. Yet, when he opened his eyes, his sight was only partially restored. He could see, but not clearly; everything was fuzzy and indistinct. He describes men as looking like trees walking about.

This man had gone from complete blindness to partial sight. His condition, though much improved, was not what he had hoped for. Blurred sight was far better than no sight at all, but it was still not ideal.

Earlier, Jesus had healed a deaf man by restoring his hearing. This time, He restored the sight of a blind man. Both hearing and seeing are metaphors for the human capacity to understand. That is why Jesus had said to His disciples: “You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?” (Mark 8:18 NLT).

They had seen Him heal the deaf man and heard His warnings about the Pharisees. Yet, they still did not fully understand, just as the blind man did not fully see. But Jesus did not intend to leave the man with imperfect sight.

Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. – Mark 8:25 NLT

Jesus finished what He began. He didn’t leave the man with slightly improved sight; He completely restored his vision so he could see everything clearly. This two-part healing provides an important lesson. It reminds us that Jesus came to restore far more than physical sight or hearing. He came to open the eyes of the spiritually blind so that they might see the glory of His presence. He came to open the ears of the spiritually deaf so they might hear the good news. But what they see and hear must include the full scope of God’s redemptive message.

The disciples thought they understood who Jesus was. They saw Him as their long-awaited Messiah. They had high hopes that He would set up His Kingdom on earth and reward them with places of honor and prominence in His administration. But when they heard Jesus speak, they became increasingly confused by what He said. When He began to talk of His pending death in Jerusalem, they struggled to comprehend and accept His words.

The apostle Paul reminds us that God’s plan is far greater than we can understand. Much of what we experience in this life appears out of step with our understanding of God’s will. We are like men with partially restored sight, viewing everything through distorted lenses that give an imperfect image of reality.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. – 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT

The disciples didn’t fully comprehend who Jesus was and what He had come to do. But Jesus was gradually opening their eyes to the truth of His ministry and mission. In time, they would see clearly. But as Paul reminds us, we will not fully understand God’s ways until His plan of redemption is complete.

After telling the newly sighted man to avoid returning to the village, Jesus and His disciples went north to Caesarea Philippi. On the way, Jesus struck up a conversation with His disciples and asked, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27 ESV). He wanted the disciples to wrestle with the various rumors concerning His identity. In a sense, Jesus asked them to reveal who people thought He was. When they saw Him perform miracles, what did they conclude? When they heard Him speak, who did they think they were listening to? The disciples revealed that the people had all kinds of opinions.

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.” – Mark 8:28 NLT

The people were like the man with partially restored sight. They could see, but not clearly. Their view of Jesus was incomplete and inconclusive. Notice that no one mentions Jesus being the Messiah. When the people looked at Jesus, it was like they were viewing Him through distorted lenses; He appeared indistinct and blurry.

This prompted Jesus to turn to His disciples and ask them the same question: “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29 ESV). Since deciding to follow Jesus, these men had spent their every waking minute with Him. They had witnessed all of His miracles and heard every one of His messages. They enjoyed intimate access to Jesus and the privilege of hearing Him explain some of His more cryptic parables. So, who did they understand Him to be? And the ever-impulsive Peter was the first to respond, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29 ESV).

In his gospel account, Mathew records that Peter added the further description: “the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 ESV). Speaking on behalf of all the disciples, Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. His words revealed a level of understanding and insight that the rest of the people did not share. But Matthew lets us know that Peter did not come to this conclusion on his own.

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 16:17 ESV

God had revealed this insight to Peter. In that moment, his partially blinded eyes opened, and he saw the truth of who Jesus was. Peter’s statement was like an epiphany. Even as the words came out of his mouth, Peter must have wondered whether he truly believed them. He would later reveal that his understanding of who Jesus was and what He had come to do was still cloudy and indistinct. He would continue to wrestle with the weight of his words and the expectations of his heart. But the time would come when he and his fellow disciples would see everything clearly and distinctly.

It is one thing to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah; it is another to believe it. It will become increasingly vital that the disciples understand the Messiah’s God-given role. Their expectations must take a back seat to God’s will. They envisioned the Messiah as a conquering king who would reestablish the kingdom of Israel. Their hopes were based on a flawed and incomplete understanding of the Messiah’s role. But Jesus did not come to rule and reign; He came to suffer and die. Even at His trial before Pilate, He said, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 NLT).

Jesus was the Messiah, and He was also David’s son and heir to his throne. But before He could wear the crown, He had to bear the cross. Which is why He told Pilate, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true” (John 18:37 NLT). And Pilate, blind to the reality of Jesus’ identity, calmly replied, “What is the truth?” (John 18:38 NLT). 

The answer to that question is simple, yet difficult to understand. The spiritually blind can’t perceive it, and the spiritually deaf can’t hear it. But Jesus clearly articulated it:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” – John 14:6-7 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.

You Missed the Point

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53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. 

2 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” – Mark 6:53-7:13 ESV

One can only imagine the conversations that took place in the boat as the disciples made their way to the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Just minutes earlier, they had been fighting the winds and waves of a ferocious storm when Jesus suddenly appeared to them, walking on the water. Not recognizing their friend and teacher, they thought He was some kind of ghostly apparition. But Jesus spoke to them, entered the boat, and calmed the storm around them. The rest of their trip to the region of Gennesaret must have been filled with whispered discussions about what they had just witnessed.

These men, desperately trying to take in everything that had happened over the last few days, struggled to reconcile their experiences with their expectations. They wanted to believe Jesus was the Messiah, and He had given ample evidence to convince them, but they were still doubtful. Mark indicates that “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).

Arriving in Gennesaret, they disembarked and were immediately engulfed by crowds trying to reach Jesus. News of their arrival spread quickly, and before long they found themselves immersed in the circus-like atmosphere that followed Jesus.

Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. – Mark 6:56 NLT

It seems the people of Gennesaret had heard rumors about the woman who had touched the edge of Jesus’ robe and was healed. This news emboldened people to take matters into their own hands, resulting in Jesus being swarmed as they tried to touch Him to be healed. And Jesus graciously allowed them to invade His personal space so that “all who touched him were healed” (Mark 6:56 NLT).

But others wanted to lay their hands on Jesus, not to be healed but so that they might arrest Him. A contingent of Pharisees and scribes arrived from Jerusalem solely to find evidence to convict Jesus of breaking the law and justify His arrest. As experts in the Mosaic Law, the scribes and Pharisees were well equipped for the task the high priest had given them. Their extensive knowledge of Israel’s written and oral laws gave them a virtual treasure trove of potential rule violations with which to convict Jesus. Surely He was breaking some obscure law they could use as evidence against Him. If nothing else, they hoped to discredit Jesus by portraying Him as ignorant of God’s laws or guilty of willfully ignoring them.

So it is no surprise that they approached Jesus and demanded that He explain his disciples’ questionable behavior.

“Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” – Mark 7:6 ESV

To help his readers understand, Mark provides a parenthetical explanation of Jewish purification rites.

The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles. – Mark 7:3-4 NLT

These “ancient traditions” were not part of the Mosaic Law but had been created and passed down by men. Essentially, they were man-made add-ons to God’s law, unrelated to physical cleanliness or hygiene. People followed these rules and rituals to demonstrate and declare their righteousness; it was all about appearances. Jesus would later say of them, “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show” (Matthew 23:4-5 NLT).

He goes on to level serious accusations against these self-ascribed icons of righteousness.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” – Matthew 23:25-28 NLT

Their righteousness was a facade, a carefully crafted image meant to obscure the true condition of their hearts. And when these men confronted Jesus about the unacceptable habits of His disciples, He responded by quoting Scripture.

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.” – Mark 7:6-8 NLT

Jesus used the Old Testament Scriptures against them. Using the writings of one of their revered prophets, Jesus exposed their self-righteous indignation for what it was: nothing more than prideful pretense. They were hypocrites and pretenders. In fact, the Greek word hypokritēs referred to an actor in a play, someone who assumed another’s character.

These men had fooled everyone into believing that they were holy and righteous. But they made their own man-made rules more important than God’s commands. They gave precedence to their “traditions,” even creating loopholes that let them violate God’s laws.

“You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” – Mark 7:9 NLT

Jesus gave specific examples of how they treated God’s laws unfairly.

“For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’” – Mark 7:10-11 NLT

Jesus was referring to their law of corban. This man-made law allowed someone to dedicate something as an offering to God without requiring them to relinquish possession of it. As Jesus reveals, it was nothing more than a convenient way to tie up assets so they wouldn’t have to share them with others. This directly violated God’s law. The Ten Commandments made it clear that the Jews were to honor their parents, and in a society that lacked any kind of welfare system, this would have included the provision of financial support. But corban provided a convenient loophole. By dedicating their resources to God, a Jew could avoid providing assistance to their needy parents. But because they weren’t required to turn their dedicated assets over to God immediately, they could use them for their own benefit. Jesus exposed the law of corban for what it was: Lawlessness.

“In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition.” – Mark 7:12-13 NLT

These men had no right to question Jesus about His disciples’ behavior. In his estimation, they were like whitewashed tombs, clean and pristine on the outside, but full of spiritual decay. Their sanctimonious self-righteousness was little more than a poorly veiled display of moral pretense and hypocrisy.

By trying to judge Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees left themselves open to judgment, and Jesus did not hold back. He wanted His disciples to understand that God’s laws always took precedence over men’s rules and regulations. Jesus came to fulfill every one of the laws given by His Heavenly Father. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared His God-ordained mission: to fulfill every one of God’s laws.

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” – Matthew 5:17-19 NLT

The scribes and Pharisees ignored God’s law and replaced it with their own. This fateful decision made them the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Their desire to appear righteous before men rendered them unrighteous before God. These men cared more about their reputations than about honoring God. Obsessed with making and keeping their own set of religious standards, they lost sight of God’s will for their lives. Centuries earlier, the prophet Micah had accused the people of Israel of succumbing to the same self-righteous, short-sighted mindset.

What can we bring to the Lord?
    Should we bring him burnt offerings?
Should we bow before God Most High
    with offerings of yearling calves?
Should we offer him thousands of rams
    and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
    to pay for our sins?

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
    and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
    and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:6-8 NLT

They had missed the forest for the trees. In their vain attempt to appear righteous, they worked diligently to keep God’s laws, but failed to understand God’s heart. Jesus summed up the whole intent of God’s law when He said, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40 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.

Father and Son Reunion

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35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.  – Mark 1:35-45 ESV

Mark clearly shows that Jesus exuded power and authority, revealed in His words and actions. When He spoke in the synagogue in Capernaum, the people took notice, but when He cast out the demon, they were blown away. Jesus simply spoke a word of command and the demon was forced to leave the man he had been tormenting. The same thing happened when Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law. With nothing more than a spoken word, Jesus exorcised her debilitating fever and restored her to health.

But in today’s verses, Mark offers a glimpse of the source of Jesus’ power and authority. After a full day of activity, Jesus rose early the next morning, well before dawn. His disciples were likely still asleep when Jesus rose and “went out to an isolated place to pray” (Mark 1:35 NLT).

Mark provides no details concerning Jesus’ destination or the content of His prayer.  But this early-morning excursion reveals Jesus’ intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father and His desire for fellowship and instruction. The four gospels reveal that Jesus made a habit of seeking time alone with His Father. He regularly sought these secluded moments to communicate with His Father, to seek His will, and to demonstrate their unity of mind and mission. In his gospel account, John records Jesus confessing, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does” (John 5:19 NLT).

Jesus’ earthly mission had physically separated Him from His Father. Jesus’ incarnation broke their eternal, uninterrupted relationship. Paul describes how Jesus willingly left His Father’s side, setting aside His divine privileges to take on human flesh.

…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. – Philippians 2:6-7 ESV

In His temporal, human form, Jesus could no longer enjoy the intimate fellowship He had always experienced with His Father. Jesus was no less divine, but by becoming human, He experienced the inevitable separation that all men encounter. Jesus committed no sins that could break His fellowship with the Father, but His humanity prevented Him from entering His Father’s presence. So, he regularly sought time to seek His Father’s companionship and guidance. Once again, John records Jesus’ admission of dependence on His Father.

“I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.”  – John 5:30 NLT

“I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.” – John 12:49-50 NLT

Jesus, the Son of God, regularly sought time alone with God, but not just for fellowship. He also sought to know the Father’s will. Isaiah offered a Spirit-inspired, prophetic glimpse into this unique relationship between the Father and His Son.

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
    so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
    and opens my understanding to his will.
The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me,
    and I have listened. – Isaiah 50:4-5 NLT

Mark gives no indication of how long Jesus was gone, but when His disciples awoke, they wondered where He was and immediately began searching for Him; when they found Him, they asked Him where He had been.

This scene is reminiscent of one recorded by Luke in his gospel account. It took place in Jerusalem when Jesus was only 12 years old. He had traveled to the capital city with the rest of His family for the annual Feast of Passover. But when the feast ended and His family began their return trip home, they discovered Jesus was missing. They returned to Jerusalem, and three days later they found Jesus in the temple, “sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions” (Luke 2:46 NLT).

When Mary and Joseph expressed their frustration and concern to Jesus, He responded, “But why did you need to search?…Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49 NLT). The young Jesus used a Hebrew idiom best translated as, “Didn’t you know that I must be in the [things] of my Father?” Even at 12, Jesus sought the things that concerned His Father. Now, more than 17 years later, Jesus was still seeking to be “in the things of” His Father.

When the disciples found Jesus, they told Him, “Everyone is looking for you” (Mark 1:37 ESV). Jesus was in great demand, but while the disciples and the crowds desperately sought Him, He spent much-needed time alone with His Father.

When the disciples asked where Jesus had been, He didn’t explain His actions; He simply replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came” (Mark 1:38 NLT). Notice that Jesus emphasizes His intention to preach, which ties directly back to something Mark wrote in verses 14-15.

Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” – Mark 1:14-15 NLT

The Father had sent Jesus to earth with a clear mission objective: He was to preach that the King of God was near and call the people of Israel to repentance. Jesus spent three years declaring the good news that God’s Kingdom was coming and that He was the means by which all men could enter that Kingdom. He would eventually offer His own life as the atoning sacrifice that would pay mankind’s sin debt and make entrance into God’s Kingdom possible.

Mark describes what happened next: “So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons” (Mark 1:39 NLT). Jesus not only preached but cast out demons. He declared the coming of God’s Kingdom while, at the same time, single-handedly and systematically dismantling the kingdom of Satan. In a sense, Jesus was telegraphing the future impact and import of His coming crucifixion. With His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus destroyed Satan’s monopoly over the lives of men. The apostle Paul described the impact of Jesus’ substitutionary death.

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. – Romans 6:6-7 NLT

While Mark indicates that Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in synagogues and casting out demons, the first miracle he describes involves a leper, not a demon. This man, who was obviously a Jew, suffered from a horrible disease that left him in pain and agony but also ostracized him from his faith community. Lepers were considered ceremonially unclean, and the visible symptoms of the disease would have made him an object of scorn and derision.

But despite his condition, this man approached Jesus, expressing his desperate need for help and his firm belief that Jesus could heal him.

“If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” – Mark 1:40 NLT

Mark provides no explanation for this man’s remarkable expression of faith. Most likely, news of Jesus’ healing power had spread to his community, and this man saw in Jesus a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be freed from his disfiguring and, ultimately, deadly disease. With great specificity, Mark describes what happened next:

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” – Mark 1:41 NLT

Jesus saw in this man a tangible illustration of every Israelite’s predicament; they were all unclean and condemned to a life of permanent separation. But, unlike this man, their separation was spiritual and left them alienated from God. They carried about them the scars of their sins, which made them unacceptable and unclean to a holy and righteous God. Like the leper, they could do nothing to help themselves. But Jesus demonstrated compassion and care.

This time, rather than using words alone, Jesus reached out and touched the man, and His actions were intentional. Despite the man’s unclean condition, Jesus willingly and deliberately touched him. According to the Mosaic Law, this action would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean, but He willingly took the risk. In a sense, Jesus took on the man’s leprosy and left him whole. This encounter with the leper foreshadows what Jesus would accomplish for all mankind with His death on the cross.

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. – 1 Peter 2:24 NLT

He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows… – Isaiah 53:4 BSB

Mark reveals that the man’s condition was changed instantaneously.

Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. – Mark 1:42 NLT

Jesus commanded the man to tell no one, but to go straight to the temple to have the priest confirm his healing and present a thank-offering. According to Mosaic law, a leper had to be examined and declared free of the disease before he or she could be restored to fellowship within the community. Jesus also warned the man not to tell anyone what had happened. This may seem like a strange and unnecessary command, but when the man violated it, it becomes easy to see why Jesus gave it in the first place. No one can blame the man for his enthusiasm and excitement; he wanted everyone to know that he had been healed.

But as the news of his healing spread, Jesus was confronted by a mass of humanity, clamoring to see this miracle worker from Nazareth. As a result, Jesus was forced to take His ministry outside the crowded confines of the cities. But His relocation did little to stop the steady flow of people seeking healing, help, and hope.

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 Baptism By Fire

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9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:9-15 ESV

Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark dedicates no part of his gospel to Jesus’ birth. Instead, he opens with very brief descriptions of Jesus’ baptism and His testing by Satan in the wilderness. Even when covering these two significant events, Mark provides few details. He uses them as further proof of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, but then moves quickly past them to focus on Jesus’ ministry.

Almost in passing, Mark mentions that Jesus was from Nazareth. Since Mark does not cover the birth of Jesus, there is no mention of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. For the purpose of Mark’s gospel, the most important details concerning Jesus began with His adult life. He is not negating the importance of the incarnation but is simply focusing his gospel on the launch of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus had spent His life growing up in Nazareth, a nondescript village in Galilee. Even among the Jews, Nazareth mattered little and was held in low esteem. In fact, when Philip first met Jesus, he told his friend Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45 ESV). Upon hearing the name of Jesus’ hometown, Nathanael sarcastically responded, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46 ESV). Yet from this unlikely and unimpressive locale came the Savior of the world.

Luke reveals that Jesus was 30 years old when He left Nazareth and arrived in the wilderness of Judea, where John was baptizing (Luke 3:23). Jesus chose to inaugurate His ministry by being baptized. Mark makes it clear that John’s baptism was “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4 ESV), and was meant to be a public expression of an individual’s admission of sin and need for forgiveness. By submitting to baptism, they indicated their willingness to repent and be cleansed of their sins in preparation for the Messiah and His coming Kingdom. 

But why was Jesus baptized when Scripture makes it clear that He was sinless. The author of Hebrews states that Jesus “was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 BSB). Paul adds that “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).

The author of Hebrews provides insight into the motivation behind Jesus’ decision to be baptized by John.

…it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. – Hebrews 2:17 NLT

Not only did Jesus take on human flesh and become one of us, but He willingly underwent the same ritual of baptism in order to associate Himself with sinful humanity. Though He was sinless, He submitted to John’s baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It is the same reason Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified. Despite His sinlessness, He willingly died a sinner’s death on the cross, serving as the sacrificial substitute for sinful humanity.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. – 1 Peter 2:24 BSB

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. – 1 Peter 3:18 ESV

Paul succinctly states that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3 NLT). Jesus became one of us in every way so He could give His life on our behalf. By being baptized by John, Jesus fulfilled the will of His Father. Matthew records that when Jesus arrived at the Jordan River and asked John to baptize him, John was reticent.

John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” – Matthew 3:14 NLT

But Jesus insisted, telling John, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires” (Matthew 3:15 NLT). Everything Jesus did obeyed His Father’s will. He would later claim, “I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will” (John 6:38 NLT). He compared His faithful adherence to His Father’s will to nourishment and sustenance.

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.” – John 4:34 BSB

Another reason for His baptism was that it foreshadowed another kind of baptism He would undergo as part of God’s sovereign will. Later in his gospel, Mark records a difficult exchange between Jesus and two of His disciples. It happened immediately after Jesus told all His disciples what would take place in Jerusalem.

“The Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.” – Mark 10:34-35 NLT

At least two of His disciples failed to hear what Jesus said. His blunt admission about His pending treatment by the Jewish religious leaders went in one ear and out the other. Their minds were fixated on Jesus’ earlier statements about His coming Kingdom.

“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” – Mark 13:23 ESV

“Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” – Mark 13:24-25 ESV

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” – Mark 13:29-30 ESV

 His disciples heard what they wanted to hear and interpreted Jesus’ comments as a guarantee of a place of prominence in His Kingdom. This led the two brothers, James and John, to ask Jesus for a favor.

“When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” – Mark 10:37 NLT

Their bold and self-centered request infuriated the other disciples, but Jesus soberly responded: “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” (Mark 10:38 NLT). 

Jesus was going to be “immersed” in an overwhelming form of suffering that no one else could have endured, and it was God’s will for Him to do so. Jesus later described the unbearable nature of His future baptism by fire.

“I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.” – Luke 12:50 NLT

Despite the terrible nature of His pending death, it was His Father’s will, so Jesus was determined to carry it out. It was also the Father’s will that the people of Israel come to John in the wilderness and submit to the “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John had clearly called them to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2 ESV), and they were expected to obey God’s will. So, by submitting to baptism, Jesus gave them an example of faithful obedience, even though He had no sins to repent of and no need for forgiveness. 

After Jesus fulfilled His Father’s by being baptized, Mark records that something incredible happened.

…when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” – Mark 1:10-11 ESV

A supernatural sign appeared from heaven, accompanied by God’s voice declaring His pleasure for His Son. This scene provided a divine seal of approval: God the Father validated Jesus’ identity as His Son and declared His complete satisfaction with all that was about to happen. The next three-and-a-half years of Jesus’ life would have God’s full blessing and approval.

But this fantastic scene is followed by the rather strange statement: “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12 ESV). Mark is indicating that what follows in his narrative is also to be understood as God’s will for Jesus’ life. Jesus, the Son of God, was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to fulfill the will of God. His destination was the wilderness where, for 40 days, He would undergo a series of temptations by Satan. Mark doesn’t mention it, but Jesus would go without food and water during this grueling ordeal. As a result, He would be weak and famished. His physical condition would have deteriorated. But as Jesus told His disciples, His nourishment came from doing the will of His Father.

The author of Hebrews declared, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). His suffering allowed Him to fully understand and empathize with those whom He came to save.

Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. – Hebrews 2:18 NLT

Jesus survived His baptism by fire. He overcame the enemy’s temptations and emerged from the wilderness 40 days later, completely sinless and fully obedient to His Father’s will. Untarnished by Satan’s attacks and affirmed of His Father’s pleasure, His real earthly ministry could begin.

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.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

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8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. – 1 Timothy 2:8-15 ESV

Paul continues his emphasis on prayer, encouraging Timothy to make it a high priority in his life and ministry. Certain things can hinder our prayers and destroy our witness as believers; Paul mentions anger and controversy. Jesus Himself warned us that “if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23-24 NLT).

Disunity can derail our prayer lives, but so can our actions. Our behavior among those for whom we are praying can powerfully affect whether they eventually experience the salvation for which we are praying. Paul addresses an issue that was a problem in his day and remains a problem in the church today: immodesty of dress among Christian women. He writes, “I want women to be modest in their appearance” (1 Timothy 2:9 NLT). This wasn’t just Paul’s personal preference; it was his instructions as an apostle and spokesman for God. The women in the church at Ephesus were sending mixed messages. They were to be spreading the gospel, but some were so interested in their appearance and focused on drawing attention to themselves that they were doing more harm than good. Good looks had replaced good behavior as the focus of their lives. They had become fixated on their outward appearance rather than the condition of their hearts.

The next issue Paul addresses with Timothy remains a hot-button topic even today. It had to do with the role of women in the assembly of the church, and with order and headship. But in context, it concerned the spread of the gospel. Anything we do that hinders or hurts the gospel message is to be avoided at all costs. In this case, the newfound freedom women had discovered in Christ was not to become a form of license that created disorder within the local body of Christ. There was to be order, decorum, and a God-given structure to the body of Christ, with Christ himself serving as the head.

God gave men the responsibility to serve in a place of authority and responsibility, both within the local church and the home. It had nothing to do with value or worth, but with divine order and human responsibility. The real issue Paul is addressing is women assuming authority that God did not give them. Ultimately, Paul’s concern is the spread of the gospel. Again, disunity and anger seem to be tied to what Paul is saying. If those outside the church look inside and see disunity and disharmony, their interest in the gospel will be negatively impacted.

God provided an order and authority structure to the body of Christ. In His grand scheme, men were to lead the church and were responsible for teaching the Scriptures. This in no way implies that women are incapable or unqualified to teach the Word of God. It has to do with authority and responsibility, not capability. God placed men in the role of teachers and leaders within the local church. When this order was ignored or violated, it caused disunity and discord.

Paul was reminding Timothy that order within the church and the spread of the gospel should take precedence over the need to look good or be seen as influential. It was important that men “pray with holy hands lifted up” – free from controversy and anger. Our goal should always be the gospel. Whether male or female, our greatest concern should be that others come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our need to be noticed, in charge, seen as attractive, powerful, influential, and even spiritual has to take a backseat to God’s non-negotiable command to make disciples. That should be the focus of our prayers and the emphasis of our lives.

When Paul talks about women being submissive, he is not suggesting subservience and subjugation. Again, his point is about order and divinely ordained authority. He encourages the men to be prayerful, uncontentious, and not quarrelsome. He tells the women to be modest in dress, respectable in appearance, and self-controlled in behavior. At the heart of Paul’s message is the power of and need for prayer in the life of the believer. As Dr. Thomas L. Constable so clearly explains, “Prayer is so important because it invites God into the situation we pray about and it secures His working on behalf of those in need” (Dr. Constable’s notes on 1 Timothy, 2007 Edition).

Prayer expresses our dependence upon and need for God. It is at the core of godly living. To live a life without prayer is to live a godless life. It communicates to Him that we have no need for Him in our lives. God desires His people to live godly lives – lives that are empowered by His Spirit, obedient to His Word, and dependent upon His help. To forsake God does not require that we completely turn our backs on Him or worship other gods in place of Him; it can simply mean that we have chosen not to depend on Him. We can become self-sufficient, autonomous in our decision-making, and convinced that we can somehow live our lives in our own strength and according to our own wisdom.

Solomon had wisdom and knowledge given to him by God, yet he ended up turning his back on God and worshiping idols made with human hands. Not exactly the wisest decision he could have made. But even godly wisdom is useless if we don’t put it into effect; it is useless to us if we choose to disobey it. Godliness is nothing more than God-centeredness, living our lives completely dependent upon Him. It is to lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:3-4 ESV

When we live godly lives, made possible through Christ’s work on the cross, we become living testimonies of God’s grace and His life-transforming power.

Father, You have called us to live set-apart lives. That means we are expected to look and act differently. Our lives are to reflect the indwelling power of the Spirit that shows up in obedience to Your Word and submission to Your will, even when we don’t fully understand or agree with it. You haven’t asked for our opinion or provided the option of opting out. When we read these verses, a part of us bows up and wants to push back on what we hear Paul saying. His views seem antiquated and out of step with our more modern and enlightened culture. But he was simply conveying what the Holy Spirit inspired him to write. These are Your words, not his. And I must trust that You know what You are doing. The world is watching and always assessing the truth of what we claim to believe. They are suspicious of our claims and wary of our rhetoric about faith, love, and life-transformation. We claim to have a saving relationship with You, but they fail to see any difference. You have called us to live set-apart lives that reflect our status as Your children. We are to live as lights in the darkness, reflecting Your glory to a lost and dying world. But to do so, we must obey Your will and trust that You know what is best. 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.

Conflicted, But Confident

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18 Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. – Philippians 1:18-26 ESV

Paul opens this section of his letter by reconfirming his determination to rejoice in his circumstances. While news of his imprisonment had disturbed the believers in Philippi, for Paul it had been just another God-ordained opportunity to spread the gospel. If others attempted to take advantage of his situation by serving as messengers in his absence, so be it. As long as Christ was being lifted up, Paul was perfectly okay with it all, even if some of these people were motivated by envy rather than a sincere love for the lost.

Paul knew that any success he enjoyed in his ministry had not been because of his powers of persuasion, but because of the power of the gospel. In writing to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul reminded them of the treatment he and Silas had suffered in Philippi because of their preaching of the gospel. Not long after their arrival there, they had cast out a demon from a young slave girl. With the exorcism of the demon, she lost her ability to act as a fortune teller for her masters, and they lost a much-needed source of revenue. In an act of revenge, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrates of the city, where the two men were severely beaten and thrown in jail. Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that all of this had taken place just before he arrived in their town.

You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. 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 2:1-6 NLT

Despite all that had happened in Philippi, Paul and his companions boldly declared the gospel in Thessalonica, even in the face of opposition. They did so, not for money or the praise of men, but to please God as His faithful messengers. So, Paul was unconcerned with the motives of others. As long as they were preaching salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, he was satisfied and could rejoice. He was not in the ministry for what he could get out of it. For him, it was a calling, not a job, and He never saw himself as a gifted spokesman using his talents to further the Kingdom of God. He even describes himself as nothing more than a fragile clay jar containing the treasure of the gospel message (2 Corinthians 4:7). When he wrote to the Corinthian believers, he reminded them that their conversions were due to the power of the Spirit, not his own eloquence.

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. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. 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 2:1-5 NLT

But as Paul wrote to the Philippian believers from his house arrest in Rome, he divulged the tremendous internal conflict he was having. It had nothing to do with a fear of death; he knew that was a possible outcome of his pending trial before Nero, and he was perfectly at peace with that. In fact, he flatly stated, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23 ESV). He saw death as a reward, not a punishment. But he also struggled with the desire to continue his ministry among the churches he had helped to start. As much as he longed to be with the Lord, he also felt that his work on Christ’s behalf was far from over. That’s why he told the Philippians, “I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith” (Philippians 1:25 NLT).

One thing motivated Paul’s actions and attitude: bringing glory to the name of Christ. If he could do that through deliverance from prison and a continuation of his ministry, so be it. But if his trial resulted in a death sentence, he saw that as a gracious deliverance by God from this sin-marred world. When all was said and done, Paul simply wanted to honor Christ in all that he did, which is why he stated, “I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die” (Philippians 1:20 NLT).

Paul was not making much of himself. He was not bragging about his superior spirituality or attempting to set himself up as an icon of righteousness and religious virtue. He was attempting to encourage the believers in Philippi to share his perspective on life. He didn’t view his arrest and imprisonment as a setback or a sign of God’s disfavor; he sincerely believed that it was all a part of God’s will for his life. By maintaining his focus on Christ and trusting God’s will, Paul had “learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11 NLT). That is why he could say, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12 NLT).

He knew the Philippian believers were facing their own set of difficulties. They would have to struggle in their faith journey, just as he had. He wanted them to stay strong, to remain committed to the cause of Christ, and to see God’s sovereign hand in all that happened in and around their lives.

Paul was convinced that he would be released and would one day see them again. But in the meantime, he wanted to encourage them to persevere. Later in this letter, Paul writes these powerful words of testimony and encouragement.

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us… – Philippians 3:14 NLT

Then he follows up this statement of personal conviction and commitment with a call for them to follow his lead.

Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. – Philippians 3:17 NLT

In the verses that follow, Paul provides the Philippians with specific details concerning the conduct of all who claim heavenly citizenship as God’s children. Their journey of faith would be easy or trouble-free, but God had equipped each of them with the indwelling Holy Spirit and placed them in the body of Christ.  They had all the resources they needed to thrive, not just survive what lay ahead.

Paul was torn between two opinions; he was ready to see his Lord and Savior face to face, but he was also anxious to continue his ministry of exhortation and evangelization around the world. He was prepared to face the ongoing struggles of doing God’s will in a fallen world, but he considered death as a promotion, not a punishment. So, whether he faced a long life of service to God marked by pain, persecution, and opposition, or if his next step was heaven, he would rejoice because he was in God’s good and gracious hands.

Father, it’s difficult to understand how Paul could so calmly and confidently state his willingness to continue suffering for the cause of Christ or to face death by execution at the hands of the Romans. It makes him sound like some kind of super saint or, at worst, an overly zealous disciple with a death wish. But he was sincere and meant every word he said. I can’t imagine undergoing a fraction of what he suffered in serving You. I am quick to complain about the smallest setback and reluctant to do anything that might cause me the slightest inconvenience. Yet, as Paul suffered a prolonged confinement in Rome, he wrote some of his powerful and impactful letters. He regularly shared the gospel with all those he met, including the Roman guards who kept him imprisoned. He prayed, not for his release, but for the wellbeing of other believers as they attempted to navigate life in a fallen world. He was the consummate shepherd and a faithful messenger who took his role seriously. He loved life, not because of the personal pleasures it afforded him, but because of the opportunities it provided for sharing the gospel. He longed for death, not because it would provide an escape from the trials of this world but because it would reunite him with Your Son for eternity. Open my eyes, so that I might see life and death the way Paul did. I don’t want to simply admire his dedication and determination; I want to embrace it for as many days as You give me on this earth. 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 Cost of Commitment

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2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. – Colossians 4:2-6 ESV

Paul has emphasized the relationship between believers and their need to love one another. He encouraged them to “make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you” (Colossians 3:13 NLT). They were to respond to one another patiently and lovingly as brothers and sisters in Christ, forgiving as they had been forgiven, and seeking to promote an atmosphere of Christlike peace and harmony.

Now, Paul calls on the Colossian believers to make prayer a priority in their lives, and he practiced what he preached. He opened his letter with several statements concerning the ongoing prayers that he and Timothy prayed on their behalf.

We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Colossians 1:3 NLT

…we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. – Colossians 1:9 NLT

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. – Colossians 1:11 NLT

Prayer was a vital part of Paul’s ministry and life. With responsibility for the spiritual well-being of so many congregations spread over such a large geographic area, Paul was limited in his ability to make personal appearances. So, he utilized prayer to call on the power of God to protect and provide for his far-flung flocks. Paul understood the power and necessity of prayer, and considered it the most vital resource for living the Christian life.

The author of Hebrews, whom many believe to have been Paul, wrote, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 BSB). Paul wrote something similar in his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. – Ephesians 3:12 NLT

Paul was committed to cultivating the interpersonal relationships of the Colossians believers. He wanted them to live out their Spirit-transformed lives by displaying Christlike behavior toward one another. But he also desired that the Colossians maintain a healthy and ongoing dialogue with their heavenly Father. For Paul, prayer was the primary way for a believer to express their dependence upon God. He viewed prayer as far more than a means of getting what we want from God; prayer was a way for the believer to align their will with that of the Father. It was an essential form of two-way communication between the Heavenly Father and His child.

Through prayer, petitions could be shared, and directions could be received. For Paul, prayer was an expression of faith that demonstrated the believer’s dependence upon and trust in God. It was a privilege provided by a gracious God that allowed His children to call upon Him at any time. For Paul, prayer was to be a delight, not a duty. He was familiar with the Proverbs that promoted the efficacy of prayer.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. – Proverbs 15:8 ESV

The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. – Proverbs 15:29 ESV

He would have known what King David had written concerning God and the prayers of His people.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them. – Psalm 145:18-19 NLT

And he would have heartily endorsed the words of James.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. – James 5:16 BSB

So, as Paul begins to close out his letter to the Colossians, he emphasizes the need for prayer. He urges them to devote themselves to the practice of prayer. And he warns them to be “watchful” (grēgoreō), a word that carries the idea of being alert and ready to see how God will answer their prayers. When God does answer, and He will, they are to express their gratitude for His gracious intercession. Prayer requires faith, but not blind faith. It has God as its object and, therefore, answers to prayer should come as no surprise. Prayer and thanksgiving should go hand in hand because God is a faithful God who longs to fulfill the desires of His people. He not only hears the prayers of His children, but He answers them.

That’s why Paul asked the Colossians to pray for him. He understood the power of prayer and was not ashamed to request their prayers on his behalf. But Paul was specific in terms of his prayer request. He wanted them to pray that God would open up additional opportunities for him and Timothy to share the good news concerning Christ. At first glance, this seems like an unnecessary prayer because the spread of the gospel was God’s will. He didn’t need to be coerced or cajoled into opening up new opportunities for unbelievers to hear the news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. According to Paul’s letter to Timothy, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV). So, why was it important that the Colossians pray this prayer on Paul’s behalf?

It seems that Paul wanted them to pray in keeping with the will of God. It was clearly God’s will that many would be saved, and the Colossians had the opportunity to align themselves with God by praying for His will to be accomplished. In doing so, they would be setting their minds on things above, not on earthly, temporal things (Colossians 3:2). They would be praying in keeping with God’s revealed will.

What makes Paul’s prayer request even more fascinating is that he shared it while under house arrest in Rome. Notice that he did not ask them to pray for his release or request that they pray for his protection or provision. They would have known about his confinement in Rome and his pending trial before Emperor Nero, and it would have been natural for them to desire his acquittal and liberation. And it was not that Paul preferred confinement to freedom. During his imprisonment in Rome, he wrote to the church in Philippi, expressing his belief that he would one day be released.

I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. – Philippians 1:19 NLT

But Paul went on to express his conflicted spirit over the prospect of deliverance from imprisonment by either death or acquittal. He sincerely desired to be with the Lord, but could not imagine leaving his work undone.

I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. – Philippians 1:20-24 NLT

By focusing their attention on the spread of the gospel, Paul was helping them to understand that God’s will trumped his own. If God deemed it necessary for Paul to be released in order for the gospel to be spread, He would make it happen. But Paul’s prayer request was selfless in nature; he wanted the good news to go out and for God to get the glory.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul declared God’s sovereign will concerning his imprisonment.

I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. – Philippians 1:12-14 NLT

Paul longed to be with Jesus, but he was also committed to the work to which he had been commissioned. So, for Paul, it boiled down to the will of God. The gospel must go out, and if God wanted Paul to be an ongoing participant in that mission, God would orchestrate Paul’s release. If God set Paul free, he asked that the Colossians pray for him to have clarity when proclaiming the message of the gospel.

Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. – Colossians 4:4 NLT

He reminded them that they too must live out their faith, constantly mindful of its impact on “those who are not believers” (Colossians 4:5 NLT). As they prayed for God’s will to be done, they must also live their lives in accordance with God’s will for them. They were to be salt and light, living wisely and circumspectly, always recognizing their role as Christ’s ambassadors on earth. That is why Paul encourages them, “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone” (Colossians 4:6 NLT).

Their words were just as important as their works. Their daily interactions with the unsaved would be vital to the continued spread of the gospel, and their patient, loving treatment of one another would demonstrate the life-changing nature of the good news.

In a sense, Paul encouraged his flock in Colossae to practice the model prayer that Jesus gave His disciples.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:10 ESV

Their petitions and their actions were to be in keeping with God’s will, and they were to pray and behave in ways that aligned with His revealed will for the world. Even facing possible death, Paul’s primary concern was that the gospel would continue to spread and the lost be restored to a right relationship with God. The Colossian believers were integral to that mission being accomplished, and he had the same expectation of them that he shared with the church in Philippi.

…you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. – Philippians 1:27 NLT

Father, Paul is such an inspiration. His dedication and determination to carrying our Your will almost seems superhuman and impossible to replicate. But he was just a man. The same Holy Spirit that lived in him lives within me. I have experienced the same miracle of salvation and am undergoing the same process of sanctification that Paul went through. He was a sinner saved by grace and so am I. But I long to share his zeal for the gospel and his boldness to preach the good news of Jesus Christ regardless of the risks or the perceived results. He often found himself in trouble and faced substantial opposition to his efforts to carry out Your will, but his prayer requests were rarely self-focused. He was all about the spread of the gospel and was willing to suffer if it meant that more people could hear the message of salvation. For Paul, imprisonment wasn’t an obstacle; it was an opportunity. He truly believed that Your grace was sufficient and Your power showed up best in his weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I want to share his outlook on life, his faith in Your all-sufficient power, and his commitment to fulfilling Your will — regardless of the cost. 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 God-Ordained Mission of Submission

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22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. – Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV

In verse 21, Paul called the Ephesians to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21 NLT). This admonition was stated in the context of doing God’s will and living in a way that pleases Him. But to many contemporary Christians, submission is a four-letter word that conjures up images of slave-like subjugation and subservience. Verses 23-24 strike fear into the hearts of many pastors and cause them to avoid them like the plague. If they preach these verses at all, they present them as a culturally driven anomaly with little or no application for modern-day believers.

Many view this passage as old-fashioned, a throwback to some cultural context that has no bearing on our more sophisticated modern milieu. They conclude that Paul was writing to a people trapped in an antiquated social structure that no longer applies. Either that, or he was just misogynistic and trying to keep women in their “proper” place.

But what most of us fail to realize is that submission is a non-negotiable requirement of every believer in Christ. These two verses, like so many others in Scripture, are typically lifted from their context and treated in isolation. But Paul has been talking about how believers are to live their lives, calling them to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He repeats that thought in Chapter 5.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV

The New Living Translation translates verse 15 as “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.” Paul was calling the Ephesian believers to live differently from their unsaved neighbors. Their behavior was to set them apart as children of God. They were to walk in love, as children of light, exhibiting the wisdom of God, not the foolishness of the world.

The verses that often get overlooked when dealing with this passage are located right before it. In them, Paul gives an admonition to every believer, male or female.

…be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians 5:18-21 ESV

Submission is expected of every follower of Christ. A lifestyle of submission is one of humility and honor, not subservience and servitude. When done properly, it reveres Christ by modeling the very lifestyle He lived. Jesus Himself described His mission in terms of submission and a servant-like attitude.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:28 NLT

The apostle Paul told the believers in Corinth to imitate Christ’s example.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 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. – Philippians 2:5-7 NLT

This has nothing to do with Jesus’ rights. As the Son of God, He was divine and all-powerful. He created the world and all those who lived in it. Yet He was willing to submit to His Father’s will and set aside His divine privileges and prerogatives in order to serve mankind by sacrificing His life.

In the upper room, on the night that Jesus was to be betrayed and arrested, He washed His disciples’ feet. Setting aside His robe, He wrapped Himself in a towel and did what none of the others would have dared to do. As He knelt before them, performing the role of a lowly servant, Jesus told His disciples, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand” (John 13:7 ESV).

When He finished, Jesus said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:12-17 ESV).

Jesus’ act of submission was meant to be a living lesson for the disciples about what their lives would be like in the days to come. He was calling them to a life of service and sacrifice, where their wills would take a back seat to God’s. He expected them to submit to one another out of reverence for God and love for one another. Titles were not to stand in the way. Rights were to be set aside. Status was to be ignored. Submission was to become a key characteristic of their lives. And what the disciples did not yet understand was that Jesus’ demonstration of foot-washing was simply a foreshadowing of His ultimate act of service on the cross.

When James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, came to Him and arrogantly asked for positions of prominence in His coming Kingdom, the rest of the disciples became angry and jealous. Jesus denied their request by presenting them with a radically different expectation for their futures.

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:42-45 ESV

Among you, it will be different. In His Kingdom, sovereignty would be marked by slavery, and honor would be achieved through humility.

So what does all this have to do with wives submitting to their husbands? In this chapter, Paul will use a number of earthly relationships to illustrate Christian submission. He will talk about husbands and wives, children and parents, and slaves and masters. As believers, we do not operate in a vacuum. We are not independent agents, acting on our own and focused solely on our individual walk with God. We live in a communal context. Wives have husbands, and it is in that context that they are to practice submission.

Notice that Paul says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands;” he does NOT say that all women are to submit to ALL men. Paul’s discussion of submission has nothing to do with the value or significance of women in general; it has everything to do with the context of marriage. What more difficult place to practice submission than in a marriage?

Just as the disciples would never have lowered themselves to wash the feet of one another, wives will find it difficult to submit to their husbands, especially if their husbands fail to love as Paul commands. Yet submission is non-optional and is a willing coming under the other, recognizing them as more important than yourself. This is what Paul told the believers in Philippi.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:3-4 ESV

A wife’s submission is NOT an admission of her husband’s superiority, but a recognition of God’s divine order. He has made the husband the head of the household, not because He is smarter, more spiritual, or even better equipped to lead, but so that there might be order in the home. God holds the husband responsible, just as He held Adam to a higher standard than Eve when it came to their mutual sin against Him.

Submission is essential to every relationship in which we find ourselves as Christians, and it is one of the hardest things for us to do. We long to be first and tend to view ourselves as better than others. We long to be in control, but when we submit to others, we are really submitting to God. We are coming under His divine authority and recognizing His righteous order for His creation.

At the end of the day, submission is about trusting God. It involves the realization that He is in control and has authority over the husband. A believing wife must submit to her husband “as to the Lord,” trusting God to lead him and protect her. But the temptation will be to step in and take over, especially when the husband fails to lead and love well. But when the wife attempts to take over, she is actually stepping outside God’s ordained plan. Submission will not always make sense and will not always appear to work. It may even be uncomfortable at times. But even Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, offering Himself as a ransom for many. Submission is not a dirty word; it is the God-ordained way of life for every believer.

Father, subnission is difficult for all of us. We inherently want to be in charge and dislike playing second fiddle to anyone. We even find it hard to submit to those we love and respect. But, ultimately, we are not submitting to another person, we are submitting to You. That is why Paul makes it clear that wives are to submit “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22 ESV). Our submission is to be focused on Your will, trusting that You know what is best for us. As Paul told the Colossians, we are to work willingly at whatever we do, as though we are working for the Lord rather than for people (Colossians 3:23) Submission is countercultural and, oftentimes, counterintuitive. As the Son of God and Creator of the universe, Your Son had every right to demand the submission and subjugation of humanity. But “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8 ESV). And You have called us to follow His example and live out that same sacrificial, selfless lifestyle in all our relationships. With the Spirit’s help, we can do it, and when we do it, we imitate Christ and glorify You. 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.

Walk the Talk

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15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV

Once again, Paul brings up the issue of the believer’s walk or how they conduct their life. He has already told his readers “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He has warned them, “You must longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17 ESV). In verse one of this chapter, he wrote, “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:1 ESV). And then he gave his readers yet one more admonition: “Walk as children of the light (for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true)” (Ephesians 5:8-9 ESV).

Now, in verse 15, he provides yet one more word about the daily conduct of believers.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time. – Ephesians 5:15 ESV

Paul had a strong conviction that a believer’s belief and behavior were to be inseparable. Faith in Christ was to have a direct impact on every area of life, including the believer’s attitudes and actions. A Christian’s walk and words were to reflect his new nature. But it is interesting to note that the verses above are all imperatives.

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling.

Walk not as the Gentiles do.

Walk in love.

Walk as children of the light.

Walk not as the unwise.

These are commands, not suggestions, and they require forethought and proper consideration. If you want them to be part of your life, you must think about them and plan for them. Like all the commands in Scripture, they are non-optional, yet not always obeyed. We can choose to ignore each of these commands. That is why Paul was so emphatic. He begged his readers not to act thoughtlessly, and he put it in very blunt terms: “Do not be foolish” (Ephesians 5:17 ESV).

To “be foolish” was to act without reason or reflection; to act rashly, without forethought or proper consideration. Living the Christian life requires a bit of brainpower and intellectual capacity. We have to think about what we are doing, and that requires planning and deliberation. In verse 10, Paul wrote, “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10 NLT). That requires thought and consideration. You must stop and consider the deed before you commit to doing it. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul provided them with a key to making this happen.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2 NLT

God wants to redeem our thought lives so that we think as He does. But that requires knowing His will or what He would have us do. Which is why Paul said, “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT). And just in case his readers couldn’t follow his train of thought, Paul gave them a real-life example.

Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. – Ephesians 5:18a NLT

Think about it; what good ever comes from getting drunk? Who has ever been proud of their behavior after a night of heavy drinking? Paul suggests that it would be wiser and more beneficial to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18b NLT). It should be obvious that when Paul compares being drunk with wine with being filled with the Spirit, he is talking about control. When one is inebriated, they are under the control of alcohol because it determines their behavior. It causes them to do and say things that are out of character.

To be filled with the Spirit is to choose to let Him dictate and determine your behavior. There is a big difference between being indwelt by the Spirit and filled by the Spirit. Every believer receives the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation. But while we have all of the Spirit all of the time, we are not always “filled” or controlled by the Spirit. We can choose to ignore Him. We can determine to disobey Him. But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and under His control, our behavior will give evidence. Paul provides a glimpse of what that should look like.

Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:18-20 NLT

Earlier, Paul warned, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30 ESV). We grieve the Spirit when we choose to live our lives apart from His power and without His guidance. When we do so, we rob Him of His primary role in our lives. He exists to assist us as we navigate this fallen world, but when we refuse to live under His control, we deny Him the joy of producing His fruit through us. We end up quenching His fruit-bearing power and produce “bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander” instead (Ephesians 4:31 ESV). The Spirit longs to make us kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, thankful, and submissive to one another, but He will not force His will on us. It is a choice we must make. That is why Paul says, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NLT).

It is God’s will that we be filled. That is the whole reason He provided the Holy Spirit in the first place. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “For this is God’s will: that you become holy” (1 Thessalonians 4:4 NET). But holiness is unachievable without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness of sins is great, but even an absence of sin does not make someone righteous or holy. God’s intention is to transform us from unrighteous to righteous, from unholy to holy. His ultimate goal is our glorification, when we will be set free from all sin and made perfectly righteous.

It is essential that we stop and consider what God is doing in our lives. We must constantly question why we would choose to do anything that is contrary to His will for our lives. He desires for us to be holy, so why would we do anything that prevents that from happening? That is why Paul tells us, “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT). We must think before we act.

Father, sometimes I fail to think about what You are doing in my life. It is so easy to take my salvation for granted and rest on the promise of my forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. But You are in the transformation business and Your Spirit is constantly working on my life so that my Christlikeness increases with each passing day. But this is a process I must willfully choose to participate in. That means I must think about it and actively pursue those things that please You, instead of me. You have said that we are to be holy as You are holy. That is a call for us to live set-apart lives that reflect Your character and differentiate us from the rest of the world. But again, that is not something that comes naturally, even after salvation. Without the Spirit’s help, I will always gravitate to my old sinful habits. I will do what pleases me and model my life after this world. But thank You for providing the Holy Spirit who never leaves me and never gives up on me. Without Him, my pursuit of holiness would be hopeless. But with His help, I am becoming more like Christ. 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.