How to overcome sin in our lives. Step #1: Be proactive

Let me begin with a question – What sins are you struggling with? You know, things you know are wrong, but continue to choose to do. Is there one in particular?

Perhaps you feel like you don’t even have control over it anymore; that you are a slave to your sin. Like Paul says in Romans 7:19 – “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want, is what I keep on doing.”

In the next few weeks, I want us to look at four specific steps that you can take to be free; to overcome your sin. These are things that we learn from Jesus and Peter as they faced testing when Jesus was arrested. For Jesus the question was – ‘Will he give up his life in obedience to God in order to save the world?’ For Peter the question was – ‘Will he be faithful to Jesus even at risk to his own life?’

Step #1 is to be proactive. This means acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty. And if you are struggling in a particular area, you know that there will be continued difficulties ahead.

We see Jesus being proactive in Mark 14:27-42, our focus text for today. Here we are told what both Jesus and Peter did right before they entered into their time of great testing.

First of all we learn from this story that -

1. We need to know God’s will ahead of time

- before we come into a test. It makes sense doesn’t it? You can’t walk on a path when you don’t know where it is, or can’t see where it’s going. In the same way, we must know God’s will, in order to do God’s will.

Now, we learn God’s will primarily through studying the Scriptures:

• Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
• Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

We especially need to learn from Jesus and the New Testament, since Jesus gives us the complete and final revelation of God’s will.

Peter didn’t understand God’s will or plan or what was going on. Earlier he had rebuked Jesus when he said he had to die (Mark 8:33) and he is still confused about all this.

In our story Peter tells Jesus, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you” – Mark 14:31. He must have thought Jesus was going to Jerusalem to start a violent revolution. He was ready to die in this context. That’s why later, when Jesus was arrested, he took a sword and cut off a man’s ear – Mark 14:47.

But when Jesus gave himself up without defending himself, Peter is confused and doesn’t know what to do. Although he had opportunities, he did not act ahead of time to learn God’s will.

Jesus, however, knew God’s will for his life. Before he ever got to Jerusalem he told his disciples, “The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will . . . kill him” – Mark 10:33-34. In our story he quotes Scripture – Zechariah 13:7, which says, “. . . it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd (the Messiah), and the sheep will be scattered.’”

Jesus knew God’s plan, and unless God intervened and offered up another way, he knew he had to walk this difficult path.

So we learn from this that if we enter a time of testing without knowing God’s will we will easily fall into sin. But, if we know God’s will before we enter a time of testing we can choose to do it, even if it is difficult. This is what the example of Jesus shows us.

Second, we learn from our story that-

2. We need to pray ahead of time to be spared testing

We know from Scripture that there are some good reasons to ask God to spare us testing, especially in the area where we are struggling.

First of all, we are really weak and give in to sin easily. It’s just like Jesus said in our story, “the flesh is weak – Mark 14:38. And when we are put under pressure we often choose to sin. We fail in our faithfulness to God. In humility we need to recognize this.

• As Paul said, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” – 1 Corinthians 10:12.
• As Proverbs says, “Pride goes before a fall” – Proverbs 16:18.

We have to recognize our vulnerability.

We also have to recognize that we have a powerful enemy. And as we saw last week, Satan comes before God requesting permission to test us. He does this in order to cause us to sin. He hopes that we will fail, so that we will be condemned and judged. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that he “prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour.”

These two realities point out that we should “pray that (we) may not enter into testing” – Mark 14:38, as Jesus tells the disciples in our story. Satan seeks permission from God to test us. And we should counter this by asking God, “do not lead us into testing but deliver us from the evil one” – Matthew 6:13, as Jesus teaches in the Lord’s prayer.

We are saying, ‘God, the enemy is powerful and I am weak. Have mercy on me. Don’t let me be tested, lest I sin against you.’

Peter did not pray to be spared. He thought he could pass any test that came his way, despite the weakness of the flesh and the power of Satan. Even though Jesus said to the disciples – “you will all fall away” – Mark 14:27, Peter told Jesus, “even though they all fall away, I will not” – Mark 14:29.

This overconfidence manifested itself in that, Peter did not watch and pray. Rather, he was asleep. Satan was seeking permission to test him (Luke 23:31), but Peter didn’t counter Satan by asking God for mercy.

Jesus prayed to be spared. He was aware of how difficult the test would be. Mark tells us that he “began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.’” – 14:33-34. He did not want to die the shameful death of a criminal. He didn’t want to be tested in this way.

So He prayed that “the hour might pass from him” – Mark 14:35. He prayed fervently, three times, “remove this cup from me” – Mark 14:36, which is another form of the prayer “do not lead (me) into testing.” He asked for God’s mercy.

Now sometimes in mercy God will hear us and answer our prayers. But God will not always spare us testing, as in the case of Peter and Jesus. They were both tested. When this happens, if we have watched and prayed ahead of time, at least the test will not catch us off guard. We will be alert and prayerful as we enter into it.

Let me end by asking -

Are you proactive?

Are you acting ahead of time knowing that there will be tests and struggles ahead? So many times the battle is lost before we even get to the test, because we haven’t done what we could have done ahead of time.

1. Have you learned God’s will? Do you know what the Scriptures say about your area of struggle so that you can stay on the path that God has for you?

2. Do you pray to be spared testing mindful of your weakness and the enemy you face?

These are specific things that you can do before a test, before Satan pressures you and entices you to give in to the weakness of your flesh. I encourage you to put them into practice this week.

William Higgins

How Satan Works

We are continuing on in our series – How to Overcome Sin in Our Lives, or how to get rid of sinful behaviors and habits that have taken root in our lives. We have heard the call to stop sinning – to put away those sins that we know about and yet choose to do anyway. And then, what we are doing, both last week and today, is laying some groundwork for understanding how to be free.

Last week the topic was, ‘How sin works.’ We talked about where sin comes from and why we sin. Today our focus is on, ‘How Satan works’ to encourage us to sin. The reason for this is that we will never understand the extent of the struggle that we are in to stop sinning, if we don’t understand Satan and how he works.

We have to recognize the reality and power of evil that is around us, that goes beyond just human evil; that is much deeper and darker. We can’t see it with our eyes directly, but it is real nonetheless.

There is a war going on in the spirit realm. And we are a part of it whether we know it or not; whether we act to defend ourselves or simply get swept away by it.

Paul says in Ephesians 6:11-12, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Now to understand Satan’s “schemes” as Paul puts it, means moving beyond the cultural caricatures of Satan – you know as a little red guy with horns, a pitchfork and a pointy tail. We have to move beyond this to a biblical understanding.

So let’s begin. In God’s order of things -

Satan is a prosecutor

His job is to find evil, bring it to God’s attention and then punish it. This is what we see him doing in Job 1-2, seeking to test Job.

Although Satan has a role to play in God’s scheme of things, Scripture is clear that he is evil.

• Jesus calls him the “evil one” – John 17:15.
• Jesus tells us that he was “a murderer from the beginning” – John 8:44.
• And Scripture tells us that he has been “sinning from the beginning.” – 1 John 3:8.

God may use him, but we should never think that Satan has our best interests in mind, or even God’s. As we will see, he attempts to get us to sin in order that he might condemn and destroy us. He is all about entrapment.

Satan has a threefold strategy

- to lead us to sin. 1. He tries to catch us unprepared. Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” – 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is like a lion, who picks off the weak and the unprepared. He tries to catch us unaware, off guard, complacent, ignorant, proud or weak, so that he can devour us.

This is why Peter says that we are to be sober-minded and watchful. If you knew a hungry lion was in the area looking for food, would you not be alert? Well, spiritually speaking, there is one.

2. He distorts the truth. He lies, deceives and in general seeks to confuse us with regard to God’s truth and God’s will for our lives. He can even quote Scripture, but with the wrong sense, to lead us astray, as he tried when he encountered Jesus in the wilderness.

Jesus tells us that he “has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” – John 8:44. Paul tells us that he “has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ”  – 2 Corinthians 4:4. We are also told that he is “the deceiver of the whole world” – Revelation 12:9.

He does all this to lead us to sin. He doesn’t want us to know God’s will, lest we choose to do God’s will; lest we come to understand the gospel and God’s plan for our lives.

3. He tests us. This is when we are put in a difficult situation that puts pressure on us to sin; to give in to the desires of our flesh to take the easy way out instead of doing God’s will.

Now first, he has to ask God’s permission. We see this happening with Job in Job 1:9-11. Job is a good man, but Satan thinks that if his life is made hard, that he will show himself to be bad. This is also the case with Peter and the other apostles when Jesus was arrested. Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat” – Luke 22:31 (NIV) He sought permission to test them.

If he gets permission, then he puts us in a test. This might be persecution as in Revelation 2:10, which says, “Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested . . ..”  It might be difficult life circumstances as in Matthew 4:1-11, when Jesus was tested in the wilderness.

Whatever the situation, once we are in a test, Satan entices us to sin; to give in to the desires of our flesh; to disobey God in order to find relief for ourselves from the test. He tells us, ‘It’s OK, it won’t hurt you, everyone else is doing it.’ For instance, he told Jesus, who was hungry from fasting, ‘What’s wrong with performing a little miracle and turning these stones into bread?’

Satan uses “the world”

- as he tries to lull us into complacency, as he distorts the truth and as he tests us.

The world, in the New Testament, often refers to all the people, values and ideas in the world that are not submitted to God, indeed that oppose God and God’s will and walk in their own way.

Satan is closely connected to the world. He is called:

• the “god of this world” – 2 Corinthians 4:4.
• the “ruler of this world” – John 16:11.
• we are told that he rules over the nations of the world  – Luke 4:5-6.
• And we are told that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” – 1 John 5:19 (NRSV).

And the world is all about pressuring us to sin. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:7, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!” That’s what the world does.

So as it ruler, Satan uses the world as his instrument, to put further pressure on us to sin. The world teaches us that sin is normal and OK. And if we try to live according to God’s will, the world pressures us to conform to it. This is peer pressure to fit in; to go along with the crowd; not to be made fun of, or ostracized.

If we do give in to the desires of our flesh and sin, under pressure from a test and the influence of the world -

Satan turns on us and accuses us before God

Zechariah 3:1 tells us about how Satan stood before God and accused Joshua the high priest of sin. Revelation 12:10 calls Satan the “accuser of the brothers” and tells us that he accuses us “day and night before our God.” Again, he is like a prosecutor seeking our condemnation for our sins.

And once this condemnation is secured -

Satan becomes an agent of God’s judgment

Paul says that when we sin, “we give opportunity to the devil” – Ephesians 4:27; we open the door to let the destroyer come into our lives. He, then, holds us under his power. Paul talks about those who are snared by the devil; “captured by him to do his will” – 2 Timothy 2:26. Finally, he has been given the power of death to punish us – Hebrew 2:14. In this verse he is described as “the one who has the power of death.” He works in our lives to bring us to the final destruction of eternal death; the final judgment.

Conclusion

In 2 Corinthians 2:11 Paul talks about not being “outwitted by Satan.” He goes on to say that he is not “ignorant of his designs.” I have shared this with you today because I don’t want you to be outwitted or overcome by his designs and schemes.

Yes, we have a powerful enemy; one who seeks our destruction. But the good news is that Jesus is more powerful and he can save us and teach us to overcome in every way, as long as we look to him and rely upon him. As 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Jesus is greater that Satan.

William Higgins

How Sin Works

We are into week two of our series – How to Overcome Sin in Our Lives. We are looking at how to get rid of our sinful behaviors and habits which enslave us and destroy us.

Last week we heard the call to stop sinning; to put away those sins that we know about and yet choose to do anyway. And if this is indeed our goal, then we need to understand ‘How Sin Works’ – which is our focus today.

First of all we look at the biblical concept of -

The flesh

The flesh refers to our human weakness and frailty apart from God. As Jesus said, “the flesh is weak” – Mark 14:38. It is our mere humanity when we try to do things in our own way – not God’s way; when we try to fulfill our own purposes – not God’s will; when we do things in our own strength – not God’s strength, struggling and failing all the way.

More specifically, the flesh can refer to our human desires – our longings and our fears. For instance, Paul speaks of “the passions of our flesh . . . the desires of flesh and senses” in Ephesians 2:3 (NRSV).

Now, God gives us basic desires, for instance the desire to meet our needs for food, clothing, shelter; to be comfortable; to be secure; and to have relationships with others – and on and on. There is nothing wrong with these. Its what we do with them as we put them into practice apart from God that’s the problem. We act on these desires for our own selfish ends, not Gods, and according to our own wisdom, not God’s. We twist and distort them.

Here’s a couple of examples of this:

• God created us with a desire to meet our basic needs, but in our self-centeredness we turn this into greed – a craving for more and more beyond what we need.
• God created us with sexual desire, but we seek to fulfill it in our own way, not God’s way, and so it leads us to sexual immorality.

So the flesh is not some alien thing, or some other nature in us, it is simply our humanity in all of its weakness, self-centeredness and self-reliance as we try to live our lives apart from God, according to our own desires and in our own strength.

Next, then, we look at -

Where sin comes from

These desires of our flesh lead us into conflict with God’s will for our lives. For instance, God requires things like love and sacrifice. But our flesh is all about self-interest and comfort. It wants the easy way out. It wants to feel secure. It wants to choose its own way.

So there is a conflict between what God wants for us and the desires of our flesh. Paul said, “For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other . . .” – Galatians 5:17 (NRSV).

Where does sin come from? It comes from us – our human weakness. When, in the midst of this tug of war we give in and choose to follow the desires of our flesh and not God’s way.

James speaks of this process when he says, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin . . ..” -  James 1:14-15.

Now lets look at -

Why we sin

God designed us to seek after peace – our well-being and fulfillment. This is the way we are made. It is programmed into us. But it has always been God’s plan that we find our peace through him and his will for our lives.

And, indeed, this is the only way we will find real peace. God is our maker, after all, and God knows what is best for us and what will bring us fulfillment.

But we think we know more than God. So we try to find peace in our own way, apart from God. So instead of doing what God wants us to do, we seek after peace through the flesh; through our own self-centered pursuit of what makes us comfortable and soothes our fears.

When we do this -

Sin enslaves us

This is how sin works. It’s not something to mess with. Sin is powerful! It is a slave master which comes to rule us. We voluntarily submit to it, but it comes to take over our lives.

• As Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” – John 8:34.
• Paul says that all of us have been “slaves of sin” -Romans 6:17.

Now, for sure, most who are caught in this slavery don’t see themselves as weak or in bondage, but as strong and free, choosing their own way in life. When we walk in the flesh we think, ‘we don’t need God!’ As Paul says in Romans 8:7, “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.”

And it is this very pride that keeps us in our slavery. For even as God offers to set us free, we push God away. We don’t need God. We can take care of it ourselves.

But if honesty prevails or if enough time elapses, we realize that we are indeed simply miserable slaves. Hebrews 11:25 talks about the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” It may be fun for a while, but it doesn’t usually take long before the other shoe drops. We come to realize that what once seemed good and the answer to our problems, we now hate because it is ruining our lives.

And as we saw last week, eventually -

Sin destroys us

Notice the theme of death in each of these verses. Proverbs says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death” – Proverbs 14:12 (NRSV). The flesh is all about making our own choices apart from God and doing what we think is right. But this is where it gets us. It ends in death.

Paul says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption,” that is, you will die – Galatians 6:7-8.

Listen in full to the verses where James talks about temptation, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters.” – James 1:14-16

Notice these last two Scriptures have the phrase, “do not be deceived.” That’s because we always think there will be an exception for us; we are special; we are different. But there won’t be. Don’t be deceived. If you indulge your sin, it will destroy you.

The tragic irony of sin

Jeremiah 2:13 says it well. Speaking of us, the Lord says, “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

God is “the fountain of living waters,” pure, bubbling, refreshing; providing all we need to quench our thirst and give us life.

But in our pride we choose to go our own way and we forsake God. We follow after the flesh digging our own water holes, thinking this is the way to happiness. But our water holes don’t hold water! And so we are left with nothing – thirsty, despairing, dying.

The very thing that would give us life and peace, we will have nothing to do with. This is our pitiful state, when we walk according to the flesh.

————————

Let me leave you with two questions today. In your area of struggle, whatever it is: anger, bitterness, sexual immorality, greed, whatever – do you understand that God has a better way for you to find fulfillment? You are searching for something, looking for peace. But your sin is not the answer. It will not satisfy you. It will only destroy you. God has a better way.

And then the really important question. Do you have enough trust in God to give up your sin – your own way of finding peace – to let God give you peace?

This takes faith, but it’s what we have to do. We have to surrender to him and his ways. This is the path to true peace.

William Higgins

The Call to Stop Sinning

We are starting a new series today – How to Overcome Sin in our Lives.  We are looking at how to grow in our faithfulness to God and specifically how to get rid of our sinful behaviors and habits which enslave us and keep us from experiencing all that God wants for us; which make us miserable and destroy us.

If you are here today and you are not yet a Christian – you have not experienced the forgiveness of your sins and the rebirth of the Spirit – this is for you. It is the good news that you can be set free through Jesus!

But it is just as much for Christians – who continue to allow sin to rule in their lives. Perhaps it is:

• Anger – where anger has come to control you and it harms those around you.
• Bitterness – where you allow resentments to poison your heart, so that your life is full of complaining, criticism of others and unforgiveness.
• Lack of self-control – where you become controlled by your sexual desires and you are led to sexual immorality in thought and deed. As an example of this, according to one set of statistics 50% of Christian men struggle with pornography.
• Dishonesty – where you come to depend on lying, deception or half-truths to get what you want or to get yourself out of trouble.
• Addiction to drugs or alcohol – which you think will bring some relief from your problems, but only enslaves and makes things so much worse.

And there are many other areas that could be named. Whatever your struggle the message of this series is that Jesus has provided for our freedom and he shows us the way to experience this freedom.

Our focus today is that before we can experience the freedom Jesus brings, we must hear and respond to the call to stop; to stop giving in, to stop excusing it; to stop sinning. There can be no freedom unless you acknowledge what is going on and choose to turn away from it.

But . . .

Someone may object ‘We can’t stop sinning! We’ll never be perfect.’ And that is certainly true. We will fail and we will continue to be involved in sins of ignorance – doing what is wrong without even knowing about it. So we don’t need to worry about the question of perfection. That’s not what this is about.

The call to stop sinning is focused on sins that we know about and yet choose to do. This is what has to be dealt with. And, brothers and sisters, this will keep us more than busy. And then we can trust that in time God will show us other sins, that we are not now aware of, so that we can deal with these as well.

The call to stop sinning is not about being ‘perfect.’ It is about walking in the light you have and then getting more light as you go along.

Now, lets hear the clear and consistent call of the Scriptures to -

Stop sinning!

• Jesus tells us to “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). As the word repent means – we are to turn from sin and begin to do God’s will in our lives.
• Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, “Go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11).
• Jesus told the man he healed, “Sin no more” (John 5:14).
• Paul says, “Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more”  (1 Corinthians 15:34, NRSV).

This is clear enough, right? It only needs to be said once to demand our agreement and obedience. But sometimes repetition can have its own persuasion. So in that spirit, let’s continue on -

• Hebrews says, “Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NRSV).
• Peter says, “You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.” (1 Peter 4:3, NRSV). Any amount of time is enough already! As Peter says in v. 2, we are now to live the rest of our lives not by “human desires, but by the will of God.”
• Paul asks, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2).
• Paul says, “Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

The seriousness of this call is confirmed when we look at -

What happens if we do not stop sinning

I will let these Scriptures speak for themselves:

• “The person who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20, NRSV).
• “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
• Jesus tells us, those who do not repent “will perish” (Luke 13:5).
• “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption” – that is, eternal death. (Galatians 6:7-8).
• “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21).
• “For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrew 10:26-27, NRSV)

These Scriptures are numerous and clear, and we could add more. And if we have any sense, they should cause us to fear allowing any sinful pattern to take root in our lives; and to act with speed and determination to get rid of any that have taken root.

But . . .

Someone will say, ‘How can we stop sinning? We’re simply forgiven sinners!’ What we must learn is that grace is not just about having our past sins forgiven. Grace also transforms our lives so that we can now do God’s will. We can’t do it in our own strength, in the power of the flesh. But God can enable us to do this.

As Peter says, God’s “power has given us everything needed for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3, NRSV). Nothing is lacking. As Paul says, “for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13, NRSV). God can empower us to walk in such a way that we please him. This is what this series is about, learning how to do this; how to receive this and walk in it. And when we do this -

We can be free!

Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” We know what this is about. But he also said, “if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed” – John 8:34, 36. Do you know what this is about? Paul said this to his converts, “Thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin . . . having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” – Romans 6:17-18. Jesus can give us freedom. He provides us with God’s power and grace through his death on the cross. And he teaches us how to put this into practice through his life example.

This is the good news of the gospel. Are you struggling? Is life hard? Are your despairing? There is hope because of Jesus!

Let me end today by encouraging you to be honest and identify your area of struggle – name it. And then as we move forward in the Sundays to come, put into practice what you learn so that you can experience the freedom that Jesus brings.

William Higgins

Jesus Visits Home: Mark 6:1-6

Today we are looking at a story from the gospel of Mark about Jesus visiting home. This is an interesting story for several reasons. One is that it tells us about -

Jesus’ personal life

1. He was a carpenter – v. 3. This is the only place in Scripture that says this. Now this doesn’t mean exactly what it means today. It refers to someone skilled at working with wood, metal or stone. So it could also mean he was a blacksmith or a stone mason – or some combination of these.

Joseph was also a carpenter and Jesus, no doubt, learned the trade from him (Matthew 13:55). Also, just to note, he was a skilled worker. So he would not have been dirt poor, at least when he was a carpenter.

2. He had a family - v. 3. He is “the son of Mary.” This is an unusual phrase since one would normally make reference to the father. This might indicate that Joseph has already died. Four brothers are mentioned as well as “sisters.”

Lets look more closely now at -

The story

- to see what else we can learn. vs. 1-2- “He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue . . ..”

Jesus had become famous in other parts of the country and now he has come back to his hometown, Nazareth. There is a bit of the dynamic of ‘local boy does good’ and so they are now curious to see what’s going on.

It was Jesus’ pattern to minister in synagogues, and this is another example. It says, “he began to teach.” He was, no doubt, teaching about the coming of the kingdom, the need for repentance and the call to live by his ethical teaching.

v. 2 – “. . . and many who heard him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?’”

Mark uses “astonished” several times to refer to people being amazed and impressed by Jesus. Here it is used in a negative way. People are shocked; they are appalled.

Different bible versions punctuate the questions in v. 2 differently. I am working with the English Standard Version. Two things stand out:

• wisdom – “what is this wisdom given to him?” This is related to his teaching ministry which they have just experienced.
• mighty works – “how are such mighty works done by his hand?” This is related to his healing-miracle ministry that they would have heard about.

Their concern is with the source of these things. He must not have taught or done miracles before he left Nazareth and so this is all new and shocking. Where did he get this stuff from?

They continue asking questions in v. 3 – “’Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’”

If the previous questions focused on “where” in asking about the source of his teaching and healing power, these focus on “who.” He is just one of us. Some of us changed his diapers when he was a baby. Some of us played games with him as a child. He did carpentry work on our house. The rest of his family is still here and they aren’t special!

Who does he think he is going around teaching and trying to heal people? What has gotten into his head? Jesus couldn’t grow up to be someone so important!

And the result of all these questions comes out at the end of v. 3 – “And they took offense at him.” Literally, they stumbled. They weren’t able to get past their knowledge of Jesus as a normal person; an average guy. And so they weren’t able to recognize him for who he was – the Messiah, or, as we will see, to receive what God was doing through him. They didn’t believe.

v. 4 – “And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.’”

Jesus acknowledges what’s going on. They know him as just one of them, not as a prophet or as the Messiah. Its hard to see someone as a mighty servant of God when you changed their diapers or played with them as a child. Over familiarity is the obstacle here.

As the proverb says, prophets are typically honored, except in their hometown, by those who can’t see them as prophets. And so the town rejected Jesus.

And the last part of the saying – “his relatives and in his own household” -shows that even Jesus’ family didn’t accept him or his ministry. This would have included Mary, his mother and James his brother, later the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

They had expressed their unbelief earlier in Mark 3:21 when they came to him concerned about him, because they thought he was “out of his mind.” And now they reject him in this way.

This is all a foreshadowing of further rejection down the road for Jesus.

vs. 5-6 – “And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.”

I have always been intrigued by these verses. In chapters 4-5 of Mark, Jesus shows himself to be the great teacher, giving the parables of the sower, the mustard seed and the harvest. He also shows himself to be the Lord of nature – calming the stormy sea. In 4:41 the disciples ask, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him.”

He also shows himself to be the Lord over all evil when he casts out a legion of demons and sets the man free. He is the great healer, who cured the woman whom no doctor could cure. And to top it off he shows himself to be the Lord of life when he raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.

This is a portrait of Jesus as victorious in every way. No obstacle is too big for him – nature, demons, sickness or death. But then he comes home and he is stopped in his tracks. And what is the obstacle that stopped him? He is stopped by their unbelief.

This unbelief keeps him from being able to do what he wanted to do and what he could do among them. It limits him and his ministry to them.

Our story ends with a measure of symmetry. If they were astonished at him at the beginning, in the end he is amazed at them – for their lack of faith.

Lessons

1. This story is a reminder that rejection by others is a part of serving God. Even by friends and family.

Jesus said in Luke 6:22 – “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!” He also said in Matthew 10:36 – “a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”

Jesus didn’t just teach this. He experienced it, as we see in this story. And if Jesus experienced this, who are we to think that we won’t have a taste of this?

2. We also learn that we must let God minister through whom he chooses. Every great man or woman of God is a normal person – they grew up and had a family. They don’t just drop out of heaven ready made with a halo over their head.

And sometimes because we know them, we can’t receive from them. We can’t receive what God want to say and do through them. We put them in a box.  But we should be open to receive of God from any person that God chooses to speak through. This is true of leaders and also as we seek to minister to one another with the gifts and callings that God gives to each of us in the body of Christ.

3. Our lack of faith can hinder God’s work. This story is a warning to us. Do you get the message? We can stop Jesus in his tracks even though there may be much that he wants to do in us and through us.

Did you know that we have such power? The way God has set things up – We have a role to play if God is going to do all that he intends – to help us and bless us. We have to believe to receive.

There is no limit to what God can do if we allow him. Jesus said in Mark 10:27, “all things are possible with God.” Ephesians 3:20 says, God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” But we have to believe. We have to open up our lives to him in faith, rely on him and trust in him to do it.

William Higgins

The Healing of Bartimaeus: Mark 10:46-52

Today we are looking at the story of the healing of Bartimaeus. Let’s begin by working our way through this, as Mark tells it.

The story

v. 46 – “And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd . . .”

This gives us the setting. Jesus was leaving Jericho on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. This was a time when many pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem – and this explains the crowd that is going along with Jesus and his disciples.

But this was not an ordinary Passover for Jesus. He was bringing his mission to its completion. As he said to his disciples in Mark 10:33-34, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Jericho was about 20 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Pilgrims from Galilee would come south, around Samaria. And at Jericho they would cross into Judea and them move on to Jerusalem.

So then, as Jesus was leaving Jericho, traveling this route – v. 46 says, “Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.” Bartimaeus, being blind and without help, was reduced to being a beggar. Waiting for others to come by to give alms so that he could have what he needed to live.

Despite all that was happening with Passover coming and the festivities and people coming and going – Bartimaeus wasn’t going anywhere. He was sitting by the roadside, hoping that the pilgrims were especially generous.

v. 47 – “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Once he learned that Jesus was nearby, he acted. Apparently he had heard of Jesus. He calls him by name and uses a title – ‘Son of David’ – that points to an understanding of Jesus as the Messiah.

And he didn’t just call out once. It says, “he began to cry out.” He must have continued to repeat – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

It must have been loud and persistent because v. 48 tells us, “And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” He was causing quite a fuss and making people upset. So they tried to silence him; to make the annoyance go away.

What was his response? v. 48 says, “But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” He didn’t let the crowd discourage him at all, but continued calling out to Jesus, if anything, more loudly.

v. 49 – “And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.’” Even though Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to bring to fulfillment his whole life work and the crowd was with him and they were moving forward toward the goal – because of Bartimaeus’ cry of desperation, Jesus stopped. Two amazing words. Jesus made time for him. Jesus stopped to listen to him.

vs. 50-51 – “And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’” Bartimaeus’ eagerness and excitement come out in how quickly he comes to Jesus.

Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Have mercy on me” is the typical call of a beggar. Jesus is discerning what Bartimaeus wants – alms or something more.

Also, it’s important to note that when Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?” – he isn’t offering him a blank check, you know, ‘I’ll give you whatever you want.’ This is actually the same question that Jesus asked James and John in v. 36 in the story just before ours, when they wanted to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus in the kingdom. But Jesus told them no.

vs. 51-52 – “And the blind man said to him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” Bartimaeus’ request was granted.

Jesus tells him, “your faith has made you well.” Now this doesn’t mean that Bartimaeus healed himself, or that all that Jesus did was help Bartimaeus heal himself. Jesus healed him by the power and authority that God gave him. When Jesus says, “your faith has made you well” he is saying, your faith in me as the Messiah has made you well. Jesus is the key.

Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as the Messiah, as the one who could help him, and he acted on this. This was his faith. And because of it he was transformed. He was miraculously healed, but not only this. He went from sitting by the roadside, going nowhere – to following Jesus along the path to Jerusalem, a participant in what God was doing.

Alright, lets look at some -

Lessons

- we can take from this. 1. Jesus is the one who can help us with all of our problems. He is the Messiah; the one with the power of God to deliver, to heal and to make whole. Bartimaeus was right to look to him for help. And Jesus can transform us as well, making us whole and giving us new direction.

But not only does he have the power to help us, he is full of mercy and wants to help us and bless us. Jesus demonstrates his kindness and mercy by stopping to help Bartimaeus. And Jesus will be merciful to us as well, if we look to him.

2. Faith involves bold, persistent asking. Bartimaeus teaches us this. In v. 47 he cried out to Jesus for mercy. And in v. 48, when the crowd tried to silence him, he cried out all the more.

This is a picture of boldness. He did not care what others thought. And it is also a picture of persistence. He cried out until he got Jesus’ attention. He was a beggar and he knew a thing or two about how to ask for things! And so we learn from him.

In v. 52 this boldness and persistence is what Jesus called his “faith,” which made him well.

This same point about faith as bold persistence is made in other places in the gospels. Remember the Canaanite woman, who argued with Jesus until he agreed to help her? Jesus said that her bold persistence was great faith. Remember the story Jesus told about prayer in Luke 11:5-8? The man asked his neighbor for bread in the night and had his request answered only because of his bold persistence.

So this all teaches us how to pray; how to ask God for something. We are to be bold and persistent in our prayers.

Like with James and John in the story before this one, our faith doesn’t guarantee that our prayers will be answered. But if it is something that is according to God’s will, our boldness and persistence can be the difference.

Think of it. There were no doubt other blind beggars that allowed Jesus to walk on by. And they received nothing. We must be bold and persistent in our prayers.

3. Jesus has time for us. As we learn in the story, though Jesus was on his way to fulfilling his destiny, he had time to stop and help Bartimaeus with his need.

And so it is still. Jesus reigns from the right hand of God. And although such things are beyond our comprehension, I’m sure Jesus is quite busy overseeing and drawing all of history to its fulfillment. But Jesus still has time to stop; to listen to us, and to help us.

——————–

I encourage each of you this morning, whatever your need might be, take the time to look to Jesus. Call out to him boldly and persistently. Like with Bartimaeus, he has time to hear you and to help you.

William Higgins

Jesus Speaks to the Church in Laodicea: Revelation 3:14-22

We have come to the final letter in our series on the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. Today we look at what Jesus has to say by the Spirit to the church in Laodicea, and also to us.

Laodicea was situated on major north-south and east-west trade routes. It was a prosperous city, even able to rebuild after a devastating earthquake in 60 AD without imperial help. It was known for several things: its banking and financial industry, it textiles – including making clothes, and a medical school.

The situation in Laodicea

Something is seriously wrong. This letter is arguably the worst of the seven in tone and critique.

• In v. 16 Jesus says, “I will spit (or vomit) you out of my mouth.” In other words, they make Jesus sick!
• In v. 17 Jesus says, “You are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
• They have shut Jesus out. v. 20 presents a picture of Jesus on the outside, knocking, hoping to get in.
• They need to repent, as Jesus says in v. 19.

When we look at what’s going on, it isn’t exactly clear. They are doing well. In v. 17 Jesus has them say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” And all this in a time of persecution, which raises some questions. We have already seen in other letters that persecution can bring economic hardship. But they are doing just fine. Perhaps they are using their wealth to keep them out of suffering, through bribes or calling in favors and otherwise using their influence.

In v. 17 Jesus tells them the truth, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” They think they are faithful. They haven’t denied Jesus (having used their wealth to escape persecution), but in reality they aren’t standing up for Jesus. If it is true that they have bought their way out of testing, they are avoiding true faithfulness to Jesus.

In vs. 15-16 Jesus says, “you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The idea of this hot-cold contrast, with lukewarm in between seems to be that they are trying to be something in between two extremes. They are trying to have it both ways, being faithful to Jesus, but also not having to suffer for him. But the truth is they are neither standing up for Jesus (hot?), nor denying him (cold?), but are doing something in between (lukewarm).

The Laodiceans didn’t have good drinking water, so they would have understood Jesus’ image here of spitting out bad water. They would have gotten the message that Jesus doesn’t approve of their behavior.

Jesus’ message

v. 18 picks up on the last three words of v. 17 – “poor, blind and naked.” Jesus says, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

In this verse Jesus gives them the answers to their problems. 1. They are poor (even though their city is famous for its financial industry and wealth). The answer – “Buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich” – v. 18. Refining is a common metaphor for testing and persecution. Jesus is saying, gain true treasures that come through enduring testing.

2. They are naked (even thought their city is famous for its textiles and clothing industry). The answer – “Buy from me . . . white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen” – v. 18. In Revelation, white garments have to do with righteous deeds, including suffering (Revelation 19:8; 7:13-14). Jesus is saying, gain true righteousness through enduring testing.

3. They are blind (even though their city is famous for its medicine, including eye medicine). The answer – “Buy from me . . . salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” – v. 18. Jesus is saying, gain true vision so that you can realize your situation of unfaithfulness.

Jesus’ call to change. Although judgment is threatened, Jesus says in v. 19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” His warnings come from love, so that they will listen and have a change of heart and behavior.

In v. 20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Now this verse is popular and is often used to speak of becoming a Christian. But in context it is spoken to those who are already Christian, but need to repent because they are being disciplined by Jesus.) In this verse, Jesus is looking for those in the church in Laodicea that he can share fellowship with. This fellowship is pictured as eating a meal together. The path to this is repentance. They have shut him out, and so they must let him back in.

Jesus speaks to us

v. 22 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus is speaking to all who will listen in his churches. And so, once again, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Do we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying to us in this letter?’

1. We often don’t see when we are failing. The Laodiceans thought they were faithful and were probably expecting a good word from Jesus. They were clueless having deceived themselves.

And we too can be unaware of our own faults. We too can be deceived and oblivious to reality. This is why we need to be in relationship with God and with others so that we can receive admonition and correction.

We need others. When we isolate by ourselves; when we stop coming to church and stop reading the Scriptures and praying, we cut ourselves off from God and other. And we are setting ourselves up for failure.

But we are Americans and we love our privacy! But we are called to love each other enough to help each other see our faults, so that we can repent and receive God’s blessing in our lives.

2. Even when we fail, Jesus still loves us and invites us to come back. In v. 19 Jesus admonishes us because he loves us and wants us to change. And in v. 20 he knocks on the door of our hearts because he wants to be in fellowship with us.

Even when we sin and are under threat of judgment, Jesus still wants us to hear him and respond with repentance so that we can be in relationship. We may shut Jesus out of our lives, but he still pursues us.

3. Beware the dangers of wealth. All through the New Testament wealth is seen as potentially dangerous. In Mark 4:18-19, the parable of the sower, the seed among the thorns represents – “those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”  Wealth can choke out and kill our Christian faithfulness.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus says, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus is saying, don’t even desire an abundance of things.

When wealth is used to help those in need it is a blessing to all. But when it is used for personal comfort and security it becomes a stumbling block. This seems to be how the Laodiceans were using it.

4. Jesus wants us to be truly faithful to him. In v. 15 he says, “you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!” Like the Laodiceans, we try to have it both ways. We want to be faithful to Jesus, but we also want to be comfortable. We don’t want to experience the downside of faithfulness, you know, things like suffering and ridicule. And so we find ways to get out of this.

But you can’t have it both ways. To be faithful to Jesus means being faithful precisely when it is hard, and precisely when it takes away our comforts. We can’t be both hot (faithful) and cold (unfaithful) at the same time, that is, lukewarm. We have to be either hot or cold. Not just faithful on the surface.

As we end, lets remember Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness: v. 21 – “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

William Higgins

The Example of Mary: Luke 1:26-38

Today we are looking at the Gospel of Luke and how the angel Gabriel announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. As we work through these stories we will see how Mary emerges as an example to us in a couple of different ways.

Let me begin by backing up and giving you a very brief overview of -

Luke chapters 1-2

John’s birth	Jesus’ birth
1. Birth announcement – 1:5-23 Elizabeth’s response – 1:24-25	2. Birth announcement – 1:26-38 Mary’s response – 1:39-56
3. The birth – 1:57-66 Prophetic response – 1:67-79 John’s growth – 1:80	4. The birth – 2:1-21 Prophetic responses – 2:22-39 Jesus’ growth – 2:40-52

You can see the way these accounts of John and Jesus line up with each other, each having the same topics in the same order. And you can see how the story alternates between John and Jesus. We will focus in on the first part of sections 1 and 2 – the birth announcements – and see what we can learn. In these stories -

Gabriel comes to Zechariah and Mary

. . . to make his announcement about John and Jesus. There are a number of parallels in these two accounts and I want to use these to lay out  these stories. (The presence of parallels are noted by most commentators, but see especially John Nolland).

1. Their social situation is given

• Zechariah is an older priest, married to Elizabeth – v. 5.
• Mary is a young woman, betrothed to Joseph – vs. 26-27.

2. Their spiritual status is noted

• Zechariah and Elizabeth are righteous people. v. 6 says, “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.”
• Gabriel tells her that She is favored by God and the Lord is with her – v. 28.

3. The condition that keeps them from having a child is noted

• “Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years” – v. 7.
• Mary was a “virgin” – v. 27, engaged, but not yet married.

4. The angel Gabriel came to them

• He appeared to him in the Temple in Jerusalem while he was offering up incense in the Temple during prayers – vs. 8-10; 13.
• He appeared to her in Nazareth in Galilee – v. 26.

5. They were both troubled

• He was troubled by the presence of an angel. v. 12 says, “And Zechariah was (literally) terrified when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.”
• She was troubled by the greeting – “O favored one.”  v. 29 says, “But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”

6. They are told not to fear

• “Do not be afraid” – v. 13 – “your prayer has been heard.”
• “Do not be afraid . . . you have found favor with God” – v. 30.

7. Both are told they will have a child

• “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John” – v. 13.
• “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” – v. 31.

Gabriel also tells them both about the greatness and life mission of each child.

8. Both respond with a question to Gabriel

• “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” – v. 18. In other words, we’re too old!
  • Mary asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin” – v. 34

9. Both are given a sign

• “You will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words” – v. 20.
• Elizabeth is with child. This is a sign to Mary that nothing is impossible with God, as Gabriel says in v. 37.

10. What they did after the encounter is told

• He quietly waited for the fulfillment. What else could he do?
• She responded in faith, “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” – v. 38.

This is an amazing number of parallels. But the significant thing is that these parallels are used to make contrasts between Zechariah and Mary, which show that even though Zechariah is good and blessed –

Mary is highlighted in these stories

Let’s look at this -

1. Their social situation: It was more exceptional that God would come to lowly Mary, as opposed to Zechariah who was a priest, in the Temple, at the time of prayer.

2. Their spiritual status: Zechariah and Elizabeth are righteous, but Gabriel himself tells Mary that she has God’s favor.

3. The condition precluding birth: Elizabeth’s birth would be miraculous, but a virgin birth is an unprecedented miracle.

4. Gabriel came: Zechariah was praying and had asked for a child. God took the initiative to come to Mary. She hadn’t asked for anything.

5. Both were troubled: She was not terrified, but more perplexed about what the angel said.

6. They were told not to fear: Even as she is told not to fear, her favored status is emphasized.

7. Both will have a child: John is great, but Jesus is greater. And it is the greater honor for Mary to have him.

8. Both asked a question: Zechariah responded with doubt. Mary simply wanted to know how God would do what he said he would do.

9. Both received a sign: Zechariah was judged for his unbelief – he couldn’t speak. She received a positive sign – Elizabeth was pregnant.

10. What they did after the encounter: She responded with true faith – ‘Do what you want Lord.’

I am showing you all this to make a point.

Mary is the example

She is the hero of the story. Zechariah is also blessed, but Mary is the focus. What can we learn from her?

1. Mary is an example to us that God loves to use the lowly to fulfill his will. She was of humble circumstances. This is especially so in contrast to Zechariah. He was a priest, a man – who had priority in this culture, and he was older. She had no official role, was a woman and young, somewhere between 14-20 years old.

She was not just lowly in circumstance, she was also inwardly humble. In vs. 28-29, the angel said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” This was a strange thing for her to hear and so she was trying to make sense out of it. She must not have thought of herself as greatly favored by God.

She referred to herself as a “bondservant” or slave in – v. 38. And later in the story she spoke of her “humble estate” in v. 48.

And yet as we learn in this story – God used lowly Mary in the most extraordinary way. As Elizabeth says in Luke 1:42-43, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

She reminds us of what Paul said in   I Corinthians 1:27-28 – “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are . . .”

She also reminds us of what Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” – that is, by God.

As she herself said later in Luke 1:52 – “God has brought down the mighty from their throne, and exalted those of humble estate.”

2. Mary is an example to us of how to receive God’s word in faith. She had amazing faith. She was told that God will do what had never been done in all of human history – the impossible. What was her response? She said in v. 38 – “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” ‘OK God, do whatever you want.’ This is amazing faith!

Did she think of the shame factor, that everyone would suspect that she was unfaithful? Did she think of the complications this would bring to her marriage. Joseph almost divorced her as we learn in Matthew. This was going to mess up her life!

But nevertheless hers was a response of faith. She believed, just as Gabriel said, that “nothing will be impossible with God” – v. 37.

Elizabeth notes Mary’s faith when she says in Luke 1:45, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

She reminds us of what Paul said about Abraham’s faith in Romans 4:20-21. “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”

She also reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Now, having said this it is clear that she was not perfect. Later she had doubts about what Jesus was up to, like the other disciples, and Jesus’ brothers. But Mary is an example to us in this story. She teaches us that God loves to use the lowly to accomplish his will. And she teaches us how to receive God’s word in faith, so that God can work in and through us.

May we learn from her example

William Higgins

Literary structure and the seven letters

In the first message I noted  the  literary structure in each of the letters, what I have outlined as five parts:

1. The address – “to the angel of the church in”

2. A description of Jesus – “the words of”

3. Jesus’ review of the church – “I know your”

4. A call to hear - “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”

5. A description of the reward - “the one who conquers”

Sections #4 and #5 are reversed in letters 4-7.

The letters themselves seem to be arranged in an inverted outline (chiasm):

A. Ephesus – the whole church is lax and is threatened with extinction

B. Smyrna – the whole church is faithful under suffering

C. Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis – some are faithful and some are not

B. Philadelphia – the whole church is faithful under suffering

A. Laodicea – the whole church is lax and is threatened with extinction

Jesus Speaks to the Church in Philadelphia: Revelation 3:7-13

We are up to the sixth letter in our series on the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. Today we look at what Jesus has to say by the Spirit to the church in Philadelphia, and also to us.

Philadelphia was about 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It was founded the second century BC. It was called the gateway to the east. It was a conduit that helped spread Greek culture eastward. It was famous for it grapes, frequent earthquakes and volcanic soil.

The situation in Philadelphia

They are suffering. v. 8 – “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” v. 10 – “. . . you have kept my word about patient endurance.”

In these verses we see that they are marginalized. They have “little power.” “Patient endurance” speaks to persecution. This is a theme in the book of Revelation, that we must endure persecution. We also learn that they are faithful in the midst of this. Jesus says that they have “kept my word” twice, and they have “not denied my name.”

If we ask, ‘Why are they suffering?’ it’s the same as we saw in Smyrna, and other cities, the demands of Emperor worship. Some cities, especially in Asia Minor at this time, competed to see who was the most loyal to their government. One way to do this was to emphasize and require worship of the emperor. For instance offering up incense to the emperor and calling him a son of God; or the Lord and ruler of the world.

As we have seen, by Roman policy, Jews were exempt from this, because of their faith in one God. The early Christians saw themselves, rightly, as simply a form of Judaism. But because of conflict over the confession of Jesus as Messiah, Christians were put out of some Jewish synagogues. They were denounced, as it were, ‘you aren’t Jews,’ and so were now subject to persecution, including death, for refusing to worship the emperor.

All of this is the background to the language of Synagogue of Satan, as we saw before in Smyrna. v. 9 – “those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie . . ..” Just as some Jews had said of the Christians, ‘they say that they are Jews and are not,’ so Jesus says of them, ‘they say that they are Jews and are not, but lie.’

To be a Jew is to be on God’s side. But they are acting like God’s “adversary,” who is Satan. This is what the name Satan means. They are falsely accusing Christians and exposing them to persecution.

So the Christians in Philadelphia are in a difficult spot. They have been put out of the synagogue by unbelieving Jews, and are enduring persecution from idolatrous Gentiles.

Jesus’ message

There are no words of criticism or judgment. Rather Jesus has words of encouragement for them throughout the letter.

First of all, although they may be put out the door of the synagogue, Jesus gives them an Open door. This is the background to the key and door imagery in this letter.

v. 7 – “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” Jesus is the one who has the key of David. This comes from Isaiah 22:22, words spoken to Eliakim, the new steward of the house of David, under Hezekiah. “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” The one with the keys, has control over who gets into the king’s palace.

This is then applied to Jesus, as David’s son and the Messiah. He has authority over who is a part of the people of God and who gets into the kingdom of God, not the unbelieving Jews of the synagogue.

Jesus is saying, they put you out and marked you as excluded from God’s people, and from the blessings of the age to come. But “I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” -v. 8. These are powerful words of affirmation.

Next, Jesus tells them that They will be vindicated. v. 9 – “Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.”

This comes from several Old Testament texts that refer to the Gentiles acknowledging that Israel, the people of God, do have God’s blessing. For instance Isaiah 60:14 says, “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.”

But now this gets turned around and is applied to non-believing Jews acknowledging that these Christians are a part of God’s people.

They will be vindicated in that those who humbled them will themselves be humbled. Those who marked them as rejected, will learn that Jesus accepts and loves them.

Jesus also tells them that they will be Kept from the hour of trial. v. 10 – “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” There is a word play here. Since they have kept Jesus’ word, he will keep them from trial.

Now, many want to see this as a key passage about the end times, but it’s not. This is a promise to these specific people concerning a test that will affect them, not some later time after they are dead. Perhaps this refers to new pressure to coerce worship of the emperor under Domitian? This would affect the whole known world of these believers; the Roman empire. (Colossians 1:5-6 also uses the phrase “whole world” in this way.) They have already experienced some of this and been faithful, but the worst is yet to come. And Jesus is saying that they will be kept from this.

Finally, he tells them to Remain faithful. v. 11 – “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Jesus is coming to reward them. The reward is a crown. In Greek athletic contests the winner receives a wreath or crown.

If they fail to finish the race or are found to cheat, their crown can be seized. But if they “hold fast,” if they keep enduring, they will keep their crown. They will be overcomers.

Jesus speaks to us

v. 13 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Do we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying to us in this letter?

1. Rejection and ridicule (or worse) should be expected as a follower of Jesus. There was nothing wrong with these believers that they experienced this. It is because they are living faithfully. And so they are models for us.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Peter says in 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

It should be seen as unusual not to experience some of this. What does it say about us, if we are not experiencing some ridicule and rejection for our faith?

2. If you’re faithful to Jesus, it doesn’t matter what others say about your salvation. The Christians in Philadelphia were marked as rejected by some synagogue leaders. But Jesus affirmed his acceptance of them.

In the same way, others may say you are excluded, or even act to exclude you. But this doesn’t matter. All that matters is what Jesus says. And when Jesus opens the door for us – no one can shut it!

Not only are we in – a part of God’s people and of the kingdom of God – Jesus promises that we will be like pillars in God’s temple forever in the kingdom.

3. God can spare us testing. In Smyrna, where other faithful believers were experiencing persecution, they were told to expect more testing. In Revelation 2:10 Jesus says, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. . . for ten days you will have tribulation.” But those from Philadelphia will be spared. As Jesus says in  v. 10, “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming . . ..”

So God does at times spare us from testing. And this is why Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into testing, but deliver us from the evil one.” And we are to pray this, so that God will hear our prayer and have mercy on us.

4. You don’t have to be strong to be faithful as a Christian or as a Christian community. They weren’t from the biggest, most important town. They had “little power” as it says in v. 8. But they kept Jesus’ word. They did not deny Jesus. And they patiently endured difficulties.

And this faithfulness is acknowledged by Jesus. This is a very warm and encouraging letter, and the one in which he tells them that all will know that, “I have loved you” (v. 9).

We too may feel weak, small, insignificant. But we can still be faithful to Jesus and know his affirmation and love.

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As we end lets remember Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness: v. 12 – “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

May we be among those so blessed in the final day.

William Higgins