John’s Gospel – Lesson 4

In the last few weeks the Apostle John has taken us from a Genesis-like start to his Gospel through God's revelation through the Word or λόγος to John's testimony prior to Jesus' public ministry, the call of the Disciples, and then a "private" miracle or sign at Cana when He turned the water into wine.

 

We briefly discussed miracles last week and I wanted to give a better definition than what I gave last week. Grudem says that "A miracle is a less common kind of God's activity in which he arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to himself." This definition is carefully chosen to take into account God's providence whereby God preserves, controls, and governs all things. Some definitions have poor consequences when you examine them. For example, one definition of miracle is "a direct intervention of God in the world." But this definition assumes a deistic view of God's relationship to the world, in which the world continues on its own and God only intervenes in it occasionally. That is far from biblical. Yet another definition of miracle is "an exception to a natural law" or "God acting contrary to the laws of nature." But the phrase "laws of nature" in popular understanding implies that there are certain qualities inherent in the things that exist, "laws of nature" that operate independently of God, and that God must intervene or "break" these laws for a miracle to occur. Nothing is independent of God. Another definition of miracle is "an event impossible to explain by natural causes." This definition is inadequate because it assumes that God does not use some natural causes when he works in an unusual or amazing way, and it assumes again that God only occasionally intervenes in the world. Unfortunately it also minimizes actual miracles and increases skepticism since many times when God works in answer to prayer the result is amazing to those who prayed but it is not impossible to explain by natural causes. So the skeptic can reject it simply because some extreme physical cause can be proposed. So a miracle is a less common kind of God's activity in which He arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.

 

The miracle or sign of turning water into wine was "semi-private" (as Jesus politely reminded his mother that it needed to be) and was for the disciples and some awe struck servants. Of course, for us, it looks forward to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and marks the end of Old Testament ritual purification. This week we will cover the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus. In this part of the Gospel, John contrasts and parallels the responses of those who encounter Jesus.

 

John 2:13-17

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."

The Old Testament Temple was constructed as a place of God's presence on earth for Worship. Emmanuel was foreshadowed in the Temple but Emmanuel was and is the Temple. So Jesus objection was to the pollution to the earthly representation to His image. Pollution and dead hearts will be a recurring theme. The activities could have been conducted outside the Temple. People had to come long distances for Passover and found it more convenient to purchase animals for worship than to bring them from home. That is a nice thing and it was customary for it to be done across the valley from the Temple and not in the temple. In addition, the coinage used to pay the Temple Tax had to be pure. You couldn't just bring in impure silver from the boonies and expect it to be accepted so you needed a money changer. It appears they may have been charging more than a fair amount to make the conversion but it was a useful service. So both of these things facilitated worship but they were out of place. They made it easier to get worship done efficiently and on time but they made it harder to worship. They were out of place. It was man-centered worship rather than God-centered worship and Jesus drove them out of the temple.

 

The Scripture quotation used by the Apostle John is interesting because it isn't from a Messianic Psalm. It is from Psalm 69 and it is a Psalm of David in which he describes persecution because of his zeal or love for the Temple and worship of God. So John, remembering the Psalm, realized that Jesus as David's offspring had this same characteristic passion for purity in worship and in the Temple.

 

John 2:18-22

So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

 

Jesus acted with authority and as a prophet so the Jews wanted a sign. They asked who do you think you are and can you prove it with a sign from God? The actions of Jesus were prophesied by Malachi.

 

Malachi 3:1-4

"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

 

So, in reality, Jesus driving out the animals and money changers was a sign. Signs act as signs to those who conform to the law and are a curiosity to those who are spiritually dead. Jesus gave them a perfect answer and His point was to draw attention to the real Temple. Signs don't save people because they don't change hearts. These signs point at, or testify to, Christ but the Holy Spirit saves spiritually dead people to glorify Jesus and the Father. Signs are sometimes associated with salvations of those whom are being raised from death to new life by the Holy Spirit but real signs would never distract from the glory of Christ in the miracle of salvation of sinners.

 

John 2:23-25

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Remember that we have three stages mediated by the Holy Spirit for the glory of Christ. Those stages are given Latin names and they are noticia, assensus, and fiducia. These correspond to an awareness of the Gospel facts, conceding that the facts are true, and then finally saving (fiducia) faith. We see that here in the response to the signs that Jesus was doing. The Bible makes it clear that all believing is not fiduciary in regards to regeneration. In fact, as we've said before, if you have noticia and assensus then you are simply qualified for serving as a demon. Jesus was aware that men often hear only what they want to hear and remake His words to fit their sinful desires. The Jews wanted a political solution to remove the Romans from their midst. With a few exceptions, the belief in this verse was not based in repentance and the desire for salvation from sins. This belief was that provisional and empirical belief that tests out Jesus to see if He is can make things better for the sinner. This is the lucky rabbit's foot approach to religion.

 

John’s Gospel - Lesson 3

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This week we'll go over Jesus' call of the first disciples. I want to stress what John the Apostle or author of this Gospel stressed and that is the way in which the call of the disciples is a call of Grace. It is not based on the skills of the disciples. In addition, it is Jesus who is glorified in the calling and it is not man who is glorified in the seeking. That last point is fleshed out in this Gospel very clearly.

John 1:35-39

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

We have many titles for the name of Christ in the Gospel of John. Here is a fairly unique name. John the Apostle records John the Baptist as calling Christ the "Lamb of God" or "Agnes Dei". It is a name that we've become attached to but it is only found in this form in the Gospel of John and in John's Revelation. It is part of Christian worship to use that name for God. Most people don't realize that it is only recorded by John the Apostle. Some critics have said that John the Apostle must have made up the title and put it in the mouth of John the Baptist. However, if you ever need to explain this title, remember first of all that John the Baptist was a prophet and as a prophet could speak a word directly from God and expound the truth of God in a new way. This was obvious from his ministry of baptism offered to the Jewish nation. Secondly, remember that in Isaiah 53 the messiah as the suffering servant is compared to a lamb. Moving backward in time, then thirdly remember that the blood of the Passover lamb on the door posts of the Egyptian bondage caused God's wrath to pass over that house and leave the first born male alive. Finally, remember Abraham and Isaac. Abraham knew God's grace. He knew that Isaac was the child of promise and not the child of merit. If God called for the life of Isaac then all Abraham could do was trust the promise and offer him up.


But Abraham has that great confession of faith that all the Old Testaments saints held to. When Isaac was carrying the wood up Mt. Calvary and asked "where is the lamb" in Genesis 22:8, Abraham said "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering". Abraham gives us all a new name for God. That name is "God will Provide" or Jehovah Jireh. Abraham was a sinner. Isaac was a sinner. God is a Holy God who will not tolerate sin. Abraham rightly hoped for God's mercy and for God's provision. I pray that if we sing those songs of Jehovah Jireh we'll never think about physical needs but only of the depth of our spiritual need met by the mercy of God.


Another thing we see in the text of John's Gospel is the work of the Holy Spirit all around the Lord. Here two disciples of John the Baptist just turn away from John and follow Jesus. It was the custom to walk along behind the Rabbi and they find themselves following Him as if they were already disciples. Jesus asks them what they want and the best they can come up with is, "where are you staying?" So they stayed with him because it was already afternoon (4 pm is approximately the 10^th hour). If you had asked these two disciples if they chose Jesus then I think it is likely that at the time they would have said they had. And if a reporter had been working on a story for the religious page of the Jerusalem newspaper the reporter would likely have said that they obviously decided to choose Jesus over John the Baptist for their Rabbi. However, Jesus explains what happened to them in John 15:16 when He says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." This is something that we struggle with because of our natural ignorance of the Holy Spirit. If we are truly a child of God then we have affection for Christ. We tend to attribute our affection for Christ to our own nature and to ignore what Scripture teaches about our unregenerate nature and our need for the work of the Holy Spirit.


Remember that John the Baptist said that he wasn't qualified for the position of least honor as a disciple of Jesus. Jesus confirmed that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven was greater than John the Baptist. All of these disciples are being called by the Grace of God. It is unmerited blessing just as your calling as a disciple is unmerited.

John 1:40

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

The author of this Gospel doesn't use his own name in the text so it is likely that the first two disciples were John and Andrew (since only Andrew is mentioned). Then they went and got Simon and introduced him to Jesus who renames him Cephas or Peter (Aramaic and Greek for Rock). The Holy Spirit is active here in sweeping the disciples toward Jesus. Andrew is recorded as being the first disciple to identify Christ as the Messiah but men waffle and these revelations took time to pierce to the core.

John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Here we have the call of Philip and Nathanael. Notice that each call is unique but each call is a call of Grace. The Holy Spirit is orchestrating events and bringing the right individuals together. Nathanael has an attitude and is discouraged. It isn't fully clear why he is troubled but things were bleak and the Romans were really the ones in charge. We don't want to speculate too much about Nathanael's condition but his response to Jesus' comment shows that he likely had a crisis moment with God. Maybe he told God he needed an answer or that he needed a savior. In any case his crisis under the fig tree was sufficient to make it rational that when Jesus told him that He saw him then Nathanael knew that Jesus was the Son of God and King of Israel (two more names for Jesus).


We are also confronted with the two natures of Jesus again in this verse. Remember that Jesus is fully God and fully man without confusion, change, mixture, or separation. So when Jesus told Nathanael that He had seen him under the fig tree then Jesus in His divine nature could do that because He would not be limited as His human nature was. Keep that in mind for reading all of Scripture because that understanding was hard to come by and we don't want to be slack and sloppy in understanding Scripture. We want to be a workman who is not ashamed and rightly handling the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15)

John 2:1-5

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

Mary was a smart woman and you should always try to obey the command of Mary found in this verse. That is to do whatever Jesus tells you to do. This was great advice for all servants for all time. It is necessary to clear up some cultural points for our understanding. First of all it was very important to be able to provide enough wine for the entire celebration and it may last a week. Drunkenness wasn't an objective but to have your fill of wine and celebrate was an objective. It was very embarrassing and there is some evidence it was a legal problem if the groom came up short on wine. Perhaps they were not wealthy but for some reason the wine was gone. Mary didn't want them (him) embarrassed and came to Jesus and told Him that they were out of wine. The clear implication was that Jesus was supposed to fix the problem. Jesus' response was very polite. We don't use the word "woman" in this way but this was a very polite and He was simply saying that this would require a miracle and my time for miracles is not yet come. Mary, as only a mother can do to a son, lines up some help and tells them to do whatever Jesus says to do. She had been watching Him for 30 years and she apparently knew that He could do something. But, in complete submission to the Father, Jesus performed the first of His recorded miracles. He gives a testimony of His purpose and sets a symbolic separation between the Old Testament purification rites and the wine of the New Kingdom (Luke 5:36-37).

John 2:6-12

Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Everyone in the feast would have gone through a ritual washing as they entered. Jesus would have washed and watched others wash. He understood why and what the purification pointed to in His life. These stone jars were the containers for the water used in these "rites of purification" and they were pretty big. So Jesus had the servants fill them up to the brim. That gave about 150 gallons of water that Jesus turned into wine. It was good wine and not vinegary stuff with dregs. The bridegroom was subjected to a shock of relief in God's provision. Again we have "Jehovah Jireh" and it isn't just wine. It is a promise of real cleansing and real righteousness. The person in charge of the feast was confused about why the groom held back the good stuff.


The people came in purified on the outside by the ritual washing of the Old Testament and then drank wine that foreshadowed the wine of the New Covenant and blood of Christ on the Cross and the righteousness that would be purchased there. We are so blessed to know Him from the inside out rather than the outside in. In Romans 8:26-27 we see that God the Holy Spirit is in us and helps us in our prayer life. He doesn't wait for us but intercedes for us according to the will of God. That isn't a ritual purification of the outward man but God's Grace in our inward parts.

Hebrews 9:12-14

He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

John’s Gospel – Lesson 2

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We need to spend a bit more time on John the Baptist or "Baptizer" as we move on into the Gospel of the Apostle John. As I mentioned last week, you may think of John as the last of the Old Testament Prophets. He had been exposed to a revelation of the holiness of God and lived a very separate life with a very real awareness of his own sinfulness. A revelation of God's holiness produces that effect in a man and tears down pride.

 

His mother's name was Elizabeth and she was the older cousin of Mary. His father was named Zachariah and he was a priest. John's birth was miraculous because Elizabeth had always been barren. Gabriel told Zachariah he would have a godly son who would minister like Elijah and that Elizabeth would be the mother. Zachariah, being old like some of us, argued with an angel in the Holy of Holies and therefore he got the sign of Gabriel's truthfulness and authority by being unable to speak. If Gabriel brings a message from God then don't argue. Mary said the right thing. Mary said "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." That is how you talk to Gabriel and walk away still able to talk. Their culture is different from ours but Elizabeth was judged for not having children and then when she got pregnant it was Zachariah who was viewed as hitting a home run one handed with his eyes closed. The relatives were insisting on naming the new baby Zachariah to celebrate his success and poor Elizabeth was about to be overruled until Zachariah independently confirmed that the baby's name was to be John.

 

John lived under a special set of vows that made him a Nazerite like Samson only John actually kept kosher while Samson did not. I mentioned last week that John really stirred things up and for the historians first century it was John who was the big news. This was because he was the first prophet in 400 years. He opposed the religious authorities of the day by calling everyone to a baptism of repentance. He opposed the ruler of the day too and that eventually resulted in John's decapitation. John was such big news during his ministry that the priests and Levites wanted to know the "who" and "why" of his radical outreach.

 

John 1:19-20

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

In this verse, John states in the strongest way that he is not Christ because one of the rumors that had been circulating was that John himself was the Christ. We will get to a series of "I am" statements of Jesus but I especially like that this verse (because of Greek grammar) transliterates something like "not I am that Christ". Translators complain about this Greek sentence but John the Baptist is closing off all discussion of him being Christ.

 

In writing this Gospel the Apostle John was standing in a particularly firm way against those who were called Gnostics. The many types of Gnostics have a root similarity in that they seek special knowledge. Gnosis is part of our words like diagnosis and prognosis and this special knowledge claimed by the Gnostics lets those "in the know" be more spiritual than even an Apostle. So, if you can stay with me on which John I'm talking about, it is particularly ironic after 2000 years that there exists a Gnostic group called the Mandeans in Iraq that claim to follow the teaching of John the Baptist. I'm sure that their version of John the Baptist's teaching is an odd Gnostic enhancement to the truth but they are dwindling away in our day. This is because the river formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates called the Shatt al Arab waterway (where they baptize) near Basra is so small and polluted they can no longer baptize in it and are forced to use an indoor pool. This was covered in a New York Times story in June of this year. John the Baptist would never have attracted attention to himself in this way and he knew that he simply went before Christ. The cult of the Mandeans is a Gnostic distortion of truth as the Gnostics in all ages are. However, for John the Baptist, the Pharisee's reporters wouldn't go back without some sort of answer.

 

John 1:21

And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."

John was not physically Elijah and a misunderstanding of prior Scripture (Malachi 4:5) had lead the Pharisees to expect Elijah in person. John was preaching in the spirit of Elijah and Jesus confirmed that for us in Matthew 11:14. God doesn't do reincarnation. Herod was even afraid that John the Baptist was reincarnated in Jesus (Mark 6:16). John knew his role and was as willing as a sinful man can be to fulfill his role in the most important event in history.

 

John points to Isaiah 40 and says that he is a voice crying out in the wilderness. John could live along the edges of civilization but the wilderness of most importance was the wilderness of human sin that was the "civilization". We usually picture John preaching with the wilderness behind him but really the wilderness of snakes and vipers was in the city. John's call was for those hearts to get ready by repentance (turning from their sinful ways) for the Christ.

 

John 1:24-28

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

So the reporters ask a dumb question. If John the Baptist was the voice of one crying out in the wilderness then he is baptizing to prepare hearts for the Christ. John could have told them to go read Isaiah and stop acting like you haven't even had your bar mitzvah yet. But he answers, as he should, by faithfully pointing to Christ.

 

It was customary for the disciples of John's day to follow and minister to the teacher. They would take care of all the details of life for the teacher as payment for being disciples. So you might imagine that the lowest of the low in the disciple "food chain" would be the disciple in charge of sandal strap untying and tying. It is very important that we realize that what John the Baptist says was not expressing false humility or hyperbole. This is statement of fact. In Matthew 11:11 Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John needed the Savior. Think of this. John was the best. He was better than Mary. He was a better Elijah than Elijah. But he didn't qualify for the Kingdom without that righteousness that was imputed to him from Christ the Savior. You need that conviction of sin and awareness of God's holiness that is given by the Holy Spirit as he works within you. John was right about the sandal and Jesus confirmed it. How about you? Do you have that same awareness of your need for a savior?

 

John 1:29-34

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

This was John's salvation. John knew to his core that his sins would condemn him without God's Grace. This was true even though he was the best son of Adam the earth had seen and his awareness of sin was in part the product of being the best son of Adam the earth had seen. God the Father sent John the Baptist and told him to look for God the Spirit to descend on God the Son. John had to be shouting really loudly. Even though John knew Jesus and even responded to Jesus "in utero" but he didn't see as the Lamb until it was revealed to him. God didn't let John know until the right moment that his ministry was being completed and that the Son of God was beginning His ministry.

 

While John's baptism is from heaven as Jesus stressed, we are not baptized with John's baptism. Our baptism is not simply a baptism of repentance. We are making a claim and giving a testimony that John the Baptist would have made had he had a different role.

 

Acts 18:24-28

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

Apollos was a very sharp guy that God used for the Kingdom. However, at this point he had missed the point about baptism and needed to have it explained to him more accurately. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:20-21 that baptism corresponds to, or is a type of, Noah and the other 7 passing through the flood waters of God's wrath against sin. The flood was God's judgment and the Ark was God's Grace. We see it again in the deliverance of Jonah. The storm was God's judgment and the fish was God's Grace of Salvation. Noah and the other 7 and Jonah couldn't survive God's righteous judgment of their sins without Grace.

 

We testify in our baptism that we were justified in Christ as He went though the hell of God's wrath on the Cross. I'm testifying that He died for me specifically.

 

Romans 3:21-26

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Even John the Baptist needed to be "in Christ" as we do. Scripture says "in Jesus Christ" or "in Christ" over and over. We are carried through the waters God's wrath that should have destroyed us like they should have destroyed the Children of Israel except for God's Grace in parting the Red Sea (I Corinthians 10:2). God held the waters back in Grace. The Corinthian church was warned about giving a false testimony like many of the Children of Israel gave after the baptism in the Cloud and in the Sea.

 

Romans 6:1-4

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

At this point we are really talking about a doctrine known as "limited" or "particular" atonement. It gave us the name of "Particular Baptists" a long time ago. I like the term "specific atonement" because Christ knew who he was redeeming.

 

When you were baptized you were testifying with water that you were there in Christ by the gracious election of God when Jesus died on that tree in the hell of the Father's wrath for your sin. That is a serious confession and one that we are charged to work out with fear and trembling. I think you can see why I like lots of water at a baptism.

 

John’s Gospel – Lesson 1

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Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels. Matthew focuses on Jesus' kingship, Mark on Jesus role as servant, and Luke on Jesus' humanity. These three Gospels are called synoptic because they give an overview or comprehensive view of the life of Jesus. That is not the purpose of John's Gospel. John is concerned with your theology and doctrine. John wants you to know about Jesus' divinity and the Gospel. He is not concerned with giving you a timeline for Jesus life or even covering all the events that John knew of in Jesus' life.

 

There is no reason to think that the authorship of this book is in dispute. John refers to himself within the Gospel as the disciple "whom Jesus loved" and the author had all the characteristics that John would have as an eyewitness and a Jew. The Gospel was probably written late in John's life. The language is simple but the concepts are profound. John puts into relatively simple Greek all the theology you could ever want. You could spend your life studying this book of the Bible and not exhaust the truth in it.

 

John gives the reason for writing the book in chapter 20 verse 31 when he says it was written "that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31). Fundamentally then John wants to focus on the person and work of Jesus. History is still there but John wants to make sure that you know who Jesus was and how He brought salvation to you. John wants you to have the correct belief (doctrine) so that in believing you will have salvation.

 

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

This almost sounds as if we had jumped back to Genesis 1:1 but rather than the earth being in view we have Christ and the Trinity in view. John begins with the deity of Jesus and it is in the forefront of this Gospel. This verse and many others teach us fundamentals that we have the blessing of Church history for understanding. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are distinct persons and yet are each in essence fully God and there is only one God. We do not believe a contradiction and that is because we believe that God is three in person and one in essence. We are limited in our understanding of the Trinity but that doesn't seem strange to me. I think it would be more surprising if God were easy to understand "up close and personal". In part I think that because we seem to have such a hard time understanding ourselves and others. The key point to remember is that you are not proposing a contradiction in which God is both three and one at the same time and in the same sense. The sense is different here. God is three in person but only one in essence.

 

You'll almost surely be exposed to error on the topic of the Trinity. The Church periodically drifts from sound doctrine and then eventually responded when called back to sound doctrine repeatedly. For example, modalism is a heresy that teaches that God is one and pretends to be each of the persons of the trinity at various times. Think of a cup with a bulldog at one position, a tiger at another position, and a yellow jacket at a third position so that you can only see one mascot at a time. It isn't a cup many of us would be comfortable with. Scripture teaches that the three persons of the Trinity are actually distinct persons. They are not the same person. If you order materials from "LifeWay" then you may be exposed to this heresy by the writings of TD Jakes. However, in the last few weeks there seems to have been a change in what Lifeway distributes from TD Jakes. The heresy being taught was condemned by the Church before 500 AD. Even if stubborn people didn't purposely teach false doctrine about the Trinity we would still find those who are young in the faith inventing these same errors as first approximations trying to understand God. However, being young and untaught is different from being stubborn and un-teachable. We may all make mistakes with imprecise language but we need to allow Scripture to correct us and we need to be discerning about what materials we use. If we wish to study error, then the materials of a man who is a modalist might be of value but we would not wish to be exposed without exercising discernment. If you are exercising discernment then you'd keep the works of a heretic off the shelf with the milk. Mixing the error in with the milk is how we drift away.

 

John 1:2-5

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

Even here we begin to see the "economy" of the Trinity. What I mean by that is we see the roles in perfect unity and harmony practiced within the Trinity. Christ is eternally begotten of the Father. He was in the beginning with God. In perfect agreement the Father created through the Son who submitted so that all things were made through Him. Nothing was made without the Son because the Father and Son were in perfect harmony and unity. Also from the foundation of the earth in this Gospel we see the foreshadowing of the pact between Father and Son for redemption. The Son had life within Him. The Holy Spirit brings this life and men have life because as men to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

 

John points back to the beginning of Genesis in which "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" Genesis 1:2. We were lost and without hope living in the kingdom of darkness when the Holy Spirit was sent and we were moved into the Kingdom of Light. The light is shining and the darkness of fallen mankind has not extinguished God's work.

 

In these five verses we have an opening that teaches us about the Trinity and foreshadows the entire Gospel according to John. The Holy Spirit, through John, gives a tremendous introduction to the Gospel.

 

John 1:6-8

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

 

This is John the Baptist or John the Baptizer. He had a very special role. I'm sure I've heard a sermon or two on how we all need to bear witness about the light. Nobody has the role that John had. He was baptizing the Jewish Nation. That was a radical move since the baptism rituals were saved for gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism. John was stirring up controversy but his ministry was another of God's gifts of grace to a people whose hearts had drifted away. God's holiness along with the nearness of the redemptive work and the impending judgment on the Jewish Nation had such an impact on John that his life manifested itself as an Old Testament prophet. This lifestyle stirred up additional controversy because the Jewish Nation hadn't had a prophet in the 400 years since Malachi. So God sent a prophet, the last of the Old Testament prophets if you want to think of it that way, to point at Jesus and call Him the Lamb of God.

 

John 1:9-13

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

John gives us another reason to love the True Light and that reason is "Common Grace". Grudem defines common grace as "the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation." We can summarize common Grace in the following categories:

 

1. The Physical Realm – praise God for the beauty of creation and how He provides for us in creation,
   
2. The Intellectual Realm – praise God that even though we are fallen creatures we are able to act rationally and distinguish error in many ways. The blessings of science and technology are the result of common grace even though we may be poor stewards of those blessings at times,
   
3. The Moral Realm – praise God that even though we are fallen creatures mankind is restrained and prevented from all the evil that would be pursued otherwise. Even most atheists act as if there were a God who requires them to be moral,
   
4. The Creative Realm – praise God for the creativity of the arts, music, athletics, cooking, writing, and crafts,
   
5. The Societal Realm – praise God for government and organizations in human society, and,
   
6. The Religious Realm – praise God for the way He blesses the unsaved through the actions of the saved.
   

 

Have a look at Grudem if you'd like to see a more detailed description of the function of Common Grace and read about Special Grace. So the True Light that is the source of all this blessing was coming into the world and deserved all praise and honor and glory from every creature. However, the world did not know Him and His own did not receive Him.

 

In Special Grace or that Grace that brings salvation we see Grace prevailing against the darkness. The True Light was coming into the darkness but it was not overcome by the darkness because Christ knew those who were His and He was bringing another birth. We'll see even more clearly how this works in later chapters but your new birth put you in a new place with regard to God. You are no longer a child of wrath but instead you are born by the will of God as His child. We say this first step is monergistic because there was one worker and that worker was God. If you are a Christian then, in response to the Gospel (the Call), He changed your heart in such a way (Regenerated) that you received Him and believed Him (Conversion) and your sins were covered (Justification) so that you were then in God's family (Adoption). That process is part of what is called the "Order of Salvation" or "ordo salutis". Of course there is no holy paperwork that delays each step. It is considered a process in a logical sense but it is something that happens in an instant.

 

John 1:14-18

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.' ") And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

 

It is important to remember that the Word is eternal. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. He had no beginning and He will have no end. He "became flesh" as in pitched His tent among us. The Apostle John is giving you a firsthand account of the glory of the Son and also the Apostle John is giving firsthand testimony to the witness of John the Baptist. We see that we have all received from His fullness both in Common Grace and in Special Grace if we are Christians. We also see that Jesus was the end of the law for righteousness sake because of the grace and truth he brings.

 

Even the end of this section is very Trinitarian. We can't see God but God who is at the Father's side has made Him known. Christ made our every prayer Trinitarian. That is because we pray under the leading of the Holy Spirit to the Father with our sins forgiven and clothed in the righteousness of the Son who is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. I hope you'll keep that in mind as you take communion this morning.

 

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 56

Audio

Today we study Chapter 66. This is the last chapter and the last of the summary section of Isaiah. We continue from Chapter 65 with the Lord speaking.

 

Isaiah 66:1-2

Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

These verses come right after a flash forward to the end times. The verses have a particular fit in the context of God revealing that He will make a new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17). It isn't just going to take a new temple dedication or new temple to restore things to their proper relationships. It is going to take God moving forth in a new creation. God is calling on the men of Isaiah's day (and for us) to realize the severity of the situation. We are redeemed from a life of rebellion against God. In Ephesians 2:1-3 God states that you, the redeemed "were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." You were (and all that don't know God are) guilty of treason against God. Of course we consider our "self" rule to be our right. We have no justification for that attitude but it flows from our sin nature. We were comfortable in our sin nature so long that, in general, it is hard to hear God saying that we were dead, and following the prince of the power of the air, and that we were sons of disobedience. Wayne Grudem says that, "God's holiness means that He is separated from sin and devoted to seeking His own honor." The first part of that definition is almost self evident and flows from almost anyone's idea of "holy". The second part should be terrifying. It should be terrifying because it will be worked out and expressed by an omniscient and omnipotent God. Our God of infinite perfections in all His ways will not leave sin unpunished. He will not leave it alone in your life, church, nation, or planet. He will seek His own honor because it is the perfect and righteous thing to do. God's mercy and love keep Him from removing all sin immediately and destroying all men in the process. When we know that God is going to deal with sin and don't tremble it is because we have forgotten how deep our sin nature runs. When Isaiah thought that he was a dead man and shouted at the revelation of God's holiness (Isaiah 6:5) it wasn't simply because of the separateness of God's holiness but he also had a sudden knowledge that our God is a consuming fire and a fear that he would find out firsthand about that fire (Isaiah 33:14).

 

Isaiah 66:3-4

"He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight."

All the ritual sacrifices become an offence when they come from those who seek their own ways, delight in things that God has forbidden, and ignore God's Word. Israel had a problem with incorporating false religions into their lives (Ezekiel 8). In these verses Isaiah pairs the permissible with the impermissible. When your heart is divided it is separated from our Holy God. You can't stand divided in the presence of God. Even stuff can divide our hearts and separate us from God (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). In the context here with Isaiah wrapping up I think we need to prepare for another series of verses with prophetic telescoping of time.

 

Isaiah 66:5

Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: "Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy'; but it is they who shall be put to shame.

Ahaz and Hezekiah were likely in Isaiah's mind when he was inspired to write this verse. Isaiah would have had many who expressed the attitude that God should show up and fulfill what they wanted Him to do. They would have ridiculed Isaiah as naïve and unaware of the political situation. But flash forward and consider this prophecy in the light of Christ. He was despised and rejected by men. He heard the "If you are the Son of God …" introduction from the tempter (Matthew 4:3) and from men to begin their sinful responses to His light (Matthew 27:43). And yet Jesus knew that their lack of love for Him was to their shame (John 8:42).

 

Isaiah 66:6

"The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the LORD, rendering recompense to his enemies!

This sounds like a prophecy of the events recorded in Matthew 27:51-54 "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." This would have caused an uproar and a sound in the temple. The curtain was ripped in two from top to bottom and God's presence departed from the temple.

 

Then we see the fulfillment of God's presence coming to dwell in the hearts of believers through the Holy Spirit making one nation of many different nations (Acts 2). What a tremendous fulfillment of promise. I think the following describe the outpouring of God's Spirit in Acts chapter 2 in the first of many revivals.

 

Isaiah 66:7-14

"Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?" says the LORD; "shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?" says your God. "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance." For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

I know that some apply this Scripture to the nation Israel. The continued existence of that nation is remarkable and I pray for revival there before the end times. However, it seems to me to be far more natural to the context to see this verse fulfilled in the Body of Christ as the Holy Spirit was poured out on the earth. We came into existence quickly by the power of God through the Holy Spirit. We are called the Holy Nation and God calls us Israel and Jerusalem. The picture of milk points forward to new believers who need spiritual milk to grow and get it from the Church (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12-13; 1 Peter 2:2). Peter saw 3000 come into the Kingdom in one day. But God's judgment was also on the way for the earthly city.

 

Isaiah 66:15-17

"For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many. "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.

After Pentecost in the mid-thirties AD about 35 years later a terrible judgment came upon the earthly city Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Jewish historian Josephus said that he hesitated to mention it because it seemed too strange to believe but many had told him that they saw and heard chariots in the air over Jerusalem in those days. It was a horrible time and the earthly temple was destroyed for what I think was the last time and never to be rebuilt again. The events in the first century drove the Church out from the Holy Land into other nations and eventually the world.

 

Isaiah 66:18-21

"For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

And so He has built His Church from all nations. In hindsight we can understand the "bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord" since we know that God is grafting us in and making from all nations offspring for Abraham. Well if Isaiah is going to touch on the events surrounding the crucifixion, Pentecost, and the spread of the Church worldwide you know he must end with a look down through time to the final judgment.

 

Isaiah 66:22-24

"For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD. "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

So once again we touch on eschatology. Your personal view of the end times, to be consistent with Scripture, must include a remade heavens and earth along with our eternal life in worship of Him. In culmination, God's holiness has removed all sin. Judgment is also coming. God will be glorified either by a man as God's grace is poured out or in judgment on men. Hell and judgment aren't popular these days but they must also be included in your eschatology to be consistent with the Word. Hell will serve eternally to magnify the work of God that saved us by His grace and His mercy. We will never get over being thankful for our Salvation. Nunc dimittis.

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 55

Audio

Today, we continue in Chapter 64 and keep in mind that we are in the summary section of Isaiah. Isaiah opens Chapter 64 with prayer and intercession for his nation.

Isaiah 64:1-4

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

God had shown His power before and Isaiah's "Oh" in verse 1 has both an "Oh if only you would" and an "Oh if only you had" meaning. Motyer says, "We too who are so often baffled by the way the Lord runs the world can identify with the spirit which wonders why he has acted in some other way – why he has not done something to check evil, change circumstances and people, rescue his own – rather than, as it appears, doing nothing!" p. 519.

Of course we know that He all things are under His control and our ignorance is a stone that we fall on. We appropriate, by faith, the promise that God, "acts for those who wait for Him". That sort of waiting is patient, confident, and expectant. That sort of waiting is the normal Christian life. God calls on us (wait is in the imperfect tense) to have this as a habitual attitude. Think of the faithful servant who pays attention to his master to receive all that the master has for him and to give faithful service in all that the master calls him to do. That is a picture of waiting on God.

Isaiah 64:5-7

You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

Just like Romans 3:10-18 we find that none of us spontaneously call upon God's name, or take hold of Him, or seek Him. If God continually hides His face then we melt in the hand of our sin. When we neglect God in worship ("calls upon your name") and/or as our source of strength ("rouses himself to take hold of you") we find ourselves on dangerous ground even as Christians. The consequence is horrible for the unsaved if they ignore God and He ignores them because, in the end, God is glorified in judgment upon them. God will either be glorified by each man or He will be glorified in His judgment of that man.

Antony Flew died on April 8^th. The New York Times titled his obituary "Antony Flew, Philosopher and Ex-Atheist, Dies at 87". They said that when he decided that God probably did exist in 2004 the result was that he "dismayed the unbelieving faithful". In 2007 he co-wrote a book titled, "There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind". Christian apologists rejoiced at his comments and the "unbelieving faithful" rejected his arguments. Since they rejected Aristotle it only seems fair that they would reject Mr. Flew. I can say without any reasonable doubt that Antony Flew was smarter than anyone in this room. Based on what his friends and enemy's say about him, I would also suggest that he was more fair minded than anyone in this room. And yet, Scripture teaches that Mr. Flew (based on all we can know) is not going to be with the Church in the afterlife. He never believed in an afterlife and he said, "I want to be dead when I'm dead and that's an end to it. I don't want an unending life. I don't want anything without end." Mr. Flew doesn't get to decide that. I'm afraid that he is now in his 10^th day of eternity without any atonement for his sins. So we are not as smart as him or as fair minded as him but most if not all of us in this room are washed in the Blood of the Lamb. You had better be amazed by God's sovereign saving grace this morning and call upon His name and rouse yourself to take hold of Him.

Isaiah 64:8-12

But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people. Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins. Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?

Isaiah continues in intercessory prayer. I think the picture of the clay being beaten down by the potter in preparation for some other work is amazing here. The judgment is a preparation for forming a new people. We often have a happy picture of the potter making new things and forget the beating of the clay to mix it and remove air pockets so that the clay would be uniform and ready for becoming something useful. Isaiah is crying out that the preparation of the clay has gone on long enough and asks for God to end the punishment and speak. God speaks but it is not a word of comfort.

Isaiah 65:1-7

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a nation that was not called by my name. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Behold, it is written before me: "I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their bosom both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together, says the LORD; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their bosom payment for their former deeds."

Read the history of what was going on in these days. It was a dark time with pagan practices permeating Judah and Jerusalem. We've discussed syncretism before in which God's people combine the practices of the religions and philosophies that surround them. This is something that we still do. It takes time and grows slowly and that is why looking back to the reformation and to the first century is so important. We tend to measure ourselves by the last generation and that is a very poor way to hold a straight line. Deviations just magnify with time and the first century Jerusalem was in this reprobate status (Romans 10:21) with the exception of those whom God saved. 

Isaiah 65:8-10

Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, 'Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,' so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.

So even in the winepress of His judgment, God will keep a people. God brings forth those who have sought Him. He continues to honor the unconditional covenant He made with Abraham and David. And of course you are a chosen people. You are the children of Abraham by adoption but that confers your status as children of Abraham more surely than your earthly heritage does. Once again remember that we'll see some of Isaiah that is his day, some that is Nehemiah's day, some Christ's day, and some the end times. Also remember that it will occur without warning. That is the hazard of talking with God who is transcendent. 

Isaiah 65:11-16

But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in." Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord GOD will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name. So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.

God is going to come for a purified Church. He gives us food and drink, makes us rejoice and sing, gives us a new name, and causes us to look to Him for all our needs. In your spiritual life, He gives you communion, a rejoicing heart, the name Christian, and a reliance on Him for your righteousness. Your sins are forgotten and hidden from His eyes. So there you are again taking communion with a new name with your sins forgiven in 700 BC.

Isaiah 65:17-25

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the LORD.

I went over this verse when I was discussing eschatology on Sunday nights. It seems to indicate that your eschatology must allow for a millennium in which Christ rules but has not yet judged the world since sinners are there but radical changes have occurred. This causes the most trouble for those of a premillennial view and you are all supposed to hold that view. However, most haven't really dealt with it in their minds. This is obviously not heaven (death, sinners, and babies are present) but, just as obviously, this has not yet occurred. Isaiah has jumped thousands of years to give us a view of an incredible time on earth. In these chapters Isaiah asked God if He would keep silent and He said no but judgment would come, a people with a new name would come, and someday His rule would radically change the way things work "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now (Romans 8:19-22). Amen.

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 54

Audio

Today, we continue in Chapter 62 and need to keep in mind what God did in the Church. God is building us together as a Temple for worship in Zion. The Old Testament saints are not separate from us. The Old Testament saints are part of us.

 

Isaiah 62:1-4

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.

We need to remember that we have come to Zion and are now part of Zion by God's mercy and Grace. We will make up Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2) some day as the Bride of the Lamb. Righteousness is ours. Salvation is ours. We are called by a new name because God did something that was surprising. We find these things in the New Testament. One place we see it is in Hebrews.

 

Hebrews 12:22-24

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

We are truly blessed. Our salvation is far greater than we know. Scripture gives this as a finished work. Even now, in a sense, we enjoy this heavenly position and because of the righteousness of Christ we can enter in to this without fear of judgment. Another important verse explaining this is found in Peter.

 

1 Peter 2:4-10

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

You yourself, if you are a Christian, are selected and placed within the spiritual house that God is building for the purpose of worshiping Him. Regardless of your race according to the flesh, your race is God's Chosen Race. As we think of the Church, our entire holy nation is a royal priesthood. We are possessed by God for a purpose. Our purpose is to glorify Him for calling us out of darkness into His light. John the Baptizer prophetically spoke of those who followed Christ as the bride (John 3:29) and the Book of Revelation fills out the idea (Revelation 21:2, 9; Revelation 22:17).

 

Isaiah 62: 5-7

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

We see this prophecy fulfilled explicitly in the Apostle Paul with regard to the Church when he (acting as a watchman) is correcting the theology of the Corinthians and he says, "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2). When we see a passion for service and scripture in our youth then we need to remember to thank God and, in prayer, give Him not rest until He establishes Jerusalem (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven).

 

Isaiah 62:8-9

The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."

I think the question you must ask here is, "Is this an Old Testament foreshadowing of communion?" We see spiritual fulfillment of many of the associated verses. The warnings against an unworthy participation in the Lord's Supper in the New Testament (especially bringing disharmony to communion; 1 Corinthians 11:27-32) seem consistent with God's provision for protecting the produce from enemies here. It seems we should at least say it is consistent with communion. The grain would then be the bread and the wine would be the cup of communion and there is no room for the unsaved at communion and even a Christian is warned to be sure and "discern" the Body of Christ (display a harmony in the Body) in communion. God is the one who is fencing the table of His provision in this case. He will give our grain and wine to us and not to anyone else.

 

Isaiah 62:10-12

Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples. Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him." And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken

This is consistent with numerous New Testament Scriptures referring to the Church. Most of this we've just discussed in the verses from Hebrews 12 and 1 Peter 2. We know we are the heavenly Zion, we enter in by the gate which is Jesus (John 10:7-9), we are the Holy Nation, once we were not a people but now we are God's people so we are redeemed. God will never forsake His heavenly Zion nor His building there. We are sought out and not seekers except as driven by the Holy Spirit (Luke 19:10; Romans 3:11). People seek (Matthew 7:7-8) but they seek as sheep looking for the sheepfold under the ministry of the Shepherd as a vast quantity of Old Testament and New Scripture indicates.

 

Isaiah 63:1-6

Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth."

Judgment is coming. Edom means red and Bozrah means vintage referring to a winepress. We saw that Jesus stopped at the comma in 61:1-3. Someday the final judgment will occur and give meaning to the word justice. Without God throne, justice is an empty word that describes an imaginary concept. One striking motif in these verses is that the Anointed One is working out both salvation and judgment by Himself. The hearts of men failed utterly (Romans 3) apart from the Holy Spirit. God will either be glorified in your life or upon you in judgment. His justice is perfect. You want Grace and mercy. In the end, we will glorify Him even for His judgment of sinners.

 

From the following verse to the end of the book of Isaiah we find remembrance and prayer for what God has done and will do for His people.

 

Isaiah 63:7-9

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely." And he became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

These verses set of a period of remembering God's faithfulness to His people and even in their judgment in Egypt God was there and He heard them crying out and redeemed them. He didn't redeem because of their nature. He redeemed because of His promises to Abraham and David based in mercy and Grace.

 

Isaiah 63:10-14

But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.

God was faithful to keep a people even when judgment was required. Isaiah is calling for God to manifest Himself again like He did before to guide and dwell in the midst of His people.

 

Isaiah 63:15-17

Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary. We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

The struggle for Isaiah is why he is dwelling faithfully in an unfaithful land. He cries out to God for His intervention in the life of His nation. Israel doesn't listen to Isaiah and turn from their error. He also knows that God in His mercy could turn Israel around but He doesn't. We often can't understand why God shows mercy in some cases and not in others. However, remember that mercy is never required. By definition mercy is delivered as an act of undeserved favor or blessing. They can never claim that God was unfair. They can only claim that He was just. Our sovereign God can make us (as an unsaved people or nation) wander from His ways simply by removing His hand of correction and harden our hearts so that we never think twice.

 

We, as Christians enjoy a special position in which God will discipline us as a father to correct us. We may not think that conviction of sin is pleasant or His discipline is pleasant but the product is the preservation of my soul for heaven. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

 

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 53

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Today, as we begin in chapter 60, God keeps telescoping time so be aware that we will be jumping in some verses from Isaiah's day (about 700 BC) to Jesus day (about 33 AD) to the end of time at least thousands of years after Isaiah.

 

Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste. The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious. Isaiah 60:10-13

These verses point to a restoration and we did see that in the time of Nehemiah. The verses also indicate a time of blessing like the reign of David or Solomon. Remember the reference to Tarshish just last week because of the shipping trade. In these verses the security of the nation is shown by the open gates. Like Solomon's day, the nations bring their wealth and their best products for the temple. God's foot rest is an expanding concept in Scripture. First, it is the Ark of the Covenant (Psalm 132:7; 1 Chronicles 28:2). Secondly, it is the Temple (Ezekiel 43:7). Thirdly, it is the entire world (Isaiah 66:1). Here the Isaiah focus is on the Temple first but then in Jesus' day there is a focus on his actual feet in the actual Temple that was prepared between Nehemiah's day and Jesus' day. Then as God pulls the Church out of all nations and races of mankind we have the earth as His footstool.

 

The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah 60:14-16

Now we are beginning a jump to the end times. I don't want to belittle the restoration that has occurred but we have yet to see this fully worked out in the nation Israel prior to Jesus or the Church post Jesus. So in the kingdom age, regardless of your millennial persuasion, there will be no constant fighting between Israel and other nations. On the contrary the relationship will be intimate and God will be uniformly acknowledged as Savior and Redeemer.

 

Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Isaiah 60:17-20

This is clearly an end times or eschatological verse that begins poetically by describing how God will raise the level of blessing so that only metals are used in building. No stones or wood will be used in building. In Isaiah's day, this is a very blessed and wealthy way to go. They are driven and motivated by peace and righteousness. No violence or destruction is present. They wall of protection is Salvation. The gates of commerce are Praise. No sun or moon is present but only God and the light of His glory. So this is another partial picture of the millennial rule of Christ over His Church.

 

Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it. Isaiah 60:21-22

This continues the millennial blessings and seems to indicate that no unbelievers will be present or at least no tares will be growing with the wheat. In any case it is all God's work that He will be glorified and He promises to do it in the right time.

 

Now sometimes Jesus will help us out and tell us specifically when a prophecy is fulfilled. I'm going to stop at a comma on verse 2 of Chapter 61. It will likely be the only time I stop in the middle of a verse in this approximately 1 year study of Isaiah. But I'm stopping because Christ stopped.

 

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, Isaiah 61:1-2a

After His 40 day fast Jesus started His ministry and He read these verses in Nazareth, sat down, and then said "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in you hearing." We know for sure when this one was fulfilled. However, notice that it came right after a portion that telescoped to the end of time. That is typical but at least we have Christ's own words telling us when this one was fulfilled.

 

Note that Jesus stopped in mid-verse. Now this comma is a long comma. Many people say that this is a 2000+ year comma but I think it may be best to think of it as a 40 year comma. I think you'll likely decide based on your millennial view.

 

… and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. Isaiah 61:2b-3

I think that the context fits better with an interpretation of a 40 year comma. The "day of vengeance of our God" would then indicate the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Then the following verses describe the establishment of the Church. Jesus stopped where He did on purpose because it wasn't yet the day of vengeance or for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would come after His resurrection (after Easter). We can see that God did plant oaks of righteousness for us in the early Church so that those pastorates, and we after them, have enjoyed the gifts of beauty, gladness, praise, and righteousness. I think that we clearly see the way in which the establishment of the Church was comfort to those who mourn in Zion. They didn't expect the resurrection and they were hiding in an upper room even after the resurrection. It was Pentecost (May 23, 2010 this year) when the Holy Spirit empowered us as a body to accomplish the works that God has called us to do.

 

They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Isaiah 61:4-6

The Church rapidly began to be a group of strangers and foreigners who were being blest and built up spiritually into the dwelling place of God. We are priests and ministers by God's calling and power and the wealth and glory of the nations are their people and we call them into the Kingdom.

 

Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed. Isaiah 61:7-9

God's work on the Cross frees us from shame and we have a double portion don't we. Our sins are forgiven and His righteousness imputed to us. We learn to rejoice in our lot and then in our eternal land we'll have a double portion and everlasting joy. God loves justice and without Him it has no meaning on this planet. God's covenant with us is everlasting and we have the confidence that we'll be kept safe through to eternity and not fall away. As the Church we are to be a light on a hill. From age to age the nations will be able to look on the true church and acknowledge that we are the offspring of Abraham and that God has blessed us.

 

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. Isaiah 61:10-11

What else could we say than this for Easter Sunday? Blessed be the Holy One of God. He has looked on our condition and given us a crown on our head instead of the ashes that should be there. He has made us a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood. God has caused us to sprout up in His imputed righteousness and praise to come out of our mouths by His power in Spirit and in truth. He is risen. He is risen indeed.