Healings in Luke (5) - Bro. Jacob Lewis
Luke 18:35-43: The Healing of the Blind Man
In John 9:5 just before Jesus heals the blind man he declares: “I am the light of the world”. After the healing in verse 39 Jesus shows that that light could give sight, it was this that could make those that ‘see’ blind. He could enlighten the hearts and the minds of those seeking the light of the Truth and expose the blindness of men who, although they claimed to ‘see,’ were in fact lost in darkness. The Pharisees nearby overheard the accusation being made against them and asked: “Are we blind also?” Jesus’ response in verse 41 shows the enormity of their crime in their refusal to believe that he was the Messiah: “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, we see; therefore your sin remaineth”.
The healing of the blind man in John 9 is one of four accounts in the Gospels of blindness being healed. We read about these accounts in Matthew 20:30-34, Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43 which this thought will focus on. What can be seen from reading these passages is that the accounts all sound similar to one another, with Bible scholars divided about whether the blind men mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke are the same or different persons. All three accounts took place in Jericho when Jesus was making his last journey to Jerusalem for the Passover but there are marked differences, leading some critics to believe that the chronology of the scriptures is inaccurate. Matthew and Mark record the miracle taking place when Jesus left Jericho while Luke records it when Jesus enters Jericho. Furthermore Mark and Luke only mention one blind man while Matthew says there were two. In this case it is necessary to establish a chronology that includes all three passages and which does not leave room for any contradictions.
At this time Jesus and his disciples were travelling to Jerusalem by way of going through Jericho. They crossed the River Jordan and passed through the eastern gate of the city where the blind man called Bartimaeus was sitting. Since Passover was approaching, Bartimaeus would have been in a good position to beg from the throng of pilgrims passing through the gate. It was at this point he heard that Jesus was approaching and having heard much about him from his previous teachings, called out to him: “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” His first pleas were not answered as the crowd that had gathered around Jesus and his disciples told him to keep quiet and they moved on, leaving Bartimaeus in a faith-testing situation.
At this point in the passage Biblical scholars believe that Jesus stayed in Jericho for the night in the company of Zaccheus (Luke 19:5). News of this would have spread throughout the city and must have reached Bartimaeus who was still determined to meet Jesus and have his sight restored to him. Thinking about the Lord must have brought the passages he heard in the synagogues to mind, namely in Psalm 146:8; ‘The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous’ and also in Isaiah 42:1,6: ‘Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him… to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.’ Filled with faith by these writings inspired Bartimaeus enough to bring a fellow blind companion with him to the gate that Jesus and his disciples would pass through on their way to Jerusalem.
Having arrived at the gate by dawn, both men waited for Jesus to approach and they soon caught word of this from the masses passing by. Once again Bartimaeus, this time aided by his friend, made the same call: “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” The reader will notice that the language used here is remarkably similar between the three passages of scripture in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Mark 10:47 the call is exactly word for word, and in Matthew 20:30 the wording is slightly different but still has the same meaning: “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.” Since the language between the passages is similar and the miracle took place in Jericho, it seems very likely that the blind men written about are Bartimaeus and his unnamed companion rather than three separate persons. This is further strengthened by the fact that in all three passages the two men call out to Jesus twice before he hears them.
Despite being rejected by the multitude, the two men persisted with their call until Jesus heard them and asked them to be brought to him. It is notable here that instead of being aided to walk towards Jesus, Bartimaeus cast away his garment and walked to him by his own strength (Mark 10:49). This teaches us that personal effort is needed to obtain the benefits of divine grace. As soon as Bartimaeus and his friend reached Jesus, he asked them: “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” They answered him: “Lord, that our eyes may be opened” (Matt 20:33). Jesus, being moved by compassion towards them (Matt 20:34), then answered them: “Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.” The two men immediately received their sight, laying their eyes on Jesus who told them: “Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole” (Mark 10:52). Instead both men followed after Jesus to Jerusalem, their faith having been answered, prompting them and the multitude to praise God (Luke 18:43).
A valuable lesson is shown for us here. The miracles of the Lord were not preformed merely to demonstrate his power but rather to impress important principles of the Gospel. We are all ‘blind’ until we are healed through the Word, only then can we ‘see.’ Bartimaeus is a type of the true believer who turns to Christ as his saviour and who persists until the Lord, recognising his faith, grants him his plea. Then, being able to choose his own path, Bartimaeus follows Christ, glorifying God, on the way which ultimately leads to God’s city when the Kingdom comes. As miraculous as the healing of blindness is, there is a basic need for all to ‘see’ the Truth of God.
Healings in Luke (4) - Bro. Ben Harper
Luke 11:14-26
This first part of the passage documents the healing of the mute man after which Jesus was accused of casting out demons in the name of Beelzeboul.
“Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marvelled. But some of them said, 'He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons', while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.”
The name Beelzeboul (Beelzebub or Baalzebub) quite simply means Lord (Ba'al) of the Flies. It is translated Beelzebub in the Vulgate which was carried over into the Authorised Version, while the Greek is Beelzeboul and most modern versions for whatever reason drop the letter 'o' from the Beelzeboul to get Beelzebul, while in the Old Testament Baalzebub is found 2 Kings 1 as the god of Ekron.
Beelzeboul is considered falsely to be either Satan or something similar like his chief lieutenant, this is mainly based on the fact he was called the prince of demons. The meaning of his name certainly does not indicate this and the same goes for the connection with Baalzebub of Ekron for Baalzebub was a false god, an idol. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 equates demons and idols and in 8:4 quoting Deuteronomy 4 demonstrates that idols/demons don't exist, also it is interesting to note the Greek word daimon (translated demon) is used in the LXX for the word Hebrew word idol. Beelzeboul is not considered a living being in Scripture so any suggestion of he being Satan or some other supernatural agent working with him has no foundation whatsoever.
Jesus' authority as being sent of God is challenged by some of the crowd and others tested him seeking a sign from heaven. Jesus easily deals with both.
“Every Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his Kingdom stand?”
“And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?”
Here Jesus without difficultly dispatches the notion of him being league with Beelzeboul by demonstrating the contradiction in their claim and that if he is not in league with prince of demons he must be of God. We learn from Matthew's account that those of the crowd were in fact the Pharisees and from Mark the Scribes also and in the second quotation Jesus reflects the question back at them. Many claimed to exercise power over demons in those days, Josephus writes of one Eleazer who “cured” someone and the proof was that a cup of water some distance away spilt over. How so different from this account where the mute man “spoke”. The only way left for the Scribes and Pharisees to avoid this was to drop their argument or admit that their so called healings were total nonsense.
“But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you”
The word “come” is a strange Greek word meaning 'to come before, precede, anticipate, to come to, arrive at, to reach, attain to'. This possibly means the Kingdom has come first to you or that these miracles were a foretaste of the future things to come? However it is the reference to the “finger of God” which is quoting Pharaoh's magicians when they told Pharaoh that they could not replicate the Third Plague, that of Lice, In Exodus 8:18-19. This quite easily could be a reference to those false healings and the other possibility is in Exodus 31:18 where the Ten Commandments were written on stone by the “finger of God”.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him and overcomes him, he takes away his armour and divides his spoil”
The majority of this statement comes from Isaiah 49:24-26 and shows how the strong man is a tyrant (Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic of a righteous man) and the prey of the tyrant shall be rescued and the stronger man he is Jesus. In Isaiah it says “your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob”. Isaiah 53:12 is quoted when Jesus talks about the spoil and also this passage interestingly talks of Jesus of being rejected and of course he was at the Crucifixion but also in this passage there is a rejection.
“When an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
A evil spirit being a wicked thought or practise (Ephesians 2:2-3) and Jesus being the place to find rest (Matthew 11:28-30), it is of no surprise it finds no rest and the house it returns to may be Israel. The nation repented at the arrival of John the Baptist but that wasn't enough, The house needs to be filled with the things of God and if left empty will be filled again with evil things. Not only is it important to remove the negative in our lives, we must fill it with the positive. As Jesus says in verse 28; “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”Healings in Luke (3) - Bro. Sam Hawkes
In Luke 6:6-10 we have the account of Jesus healing the man with the withered hand. The beginning of this chapter provides us with some background to the healing. Verse 1 tells us that on the Sabbath Jesus and his disciples were walking through the corn fields plucking and eating the corn, we then have the Pharisees once again disputing with Jesus, verse 2;
"Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?"
With that question we have the theme for the healing of the man with the withered hand, as that too was on a Sabbath day.
Jesus answered their question by talking about the account of King David when he ate the showbread in the house of God (1 Samuel 21). Jesus in essence was showing them how it is necessary to look past the law to do the true work of God. This is what the Pharisees had a problem with in their legalistic approach to serving God.
So with the background of the Pharisees arguing with Jesus about work on the Sabbath day we come to verse 6, which introduces the man with the withered hand;
"And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered"
Then in verse 7 we have the ever present Pharisees waiting for their chance to make an accusation, but Jesus knowing their thoughts, alludes to the message he is trying to portray about looking past the law to do the works of God, and he asks a question;
"Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it?"
Jesus then in verse 10 gets the man to stretch forth his hand and he restores it whole like the other.
The phrase "stretch forth thine hand" is an interesting one; we see it a lot in the book of Exodus, with the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt into the wilderness, Moses time and again stretches forth his hand under instruction from God to save the people (Exodus 9:7,22, 10:12, 14:16 etc). And we see this picture of the hand being stretched forth to help people in Proverbs. In chapter 31 we have the virtuous woman, and in verse 20 it says;
"She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hand to the needy"
So the phrase Jesus uses "stretch forth thine hand" has with it many positive aspects of helping, healing and saving, and if the Pharisees knew their Old Testament they would know this, and hopefully see that good works are lawful on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:12).
Another point about this healing I once heard concerned Moses; when Moses received the ten commandments from God he carried it upon two tablets of stone, presumably being carried one in each hand. Now presuming the commandments were split in half we have the commandments regarding God on one tablet and the commandments concerning your neighbour on the other. Now figuratively a man with a withered hand would only be able to carry one of these tablets, he only had room for one half of the Law. Because of the Pharisees being there I would say that it would be the commandments for your neighbours that were missing as they had only eyes for the first half. But we read in Mark 12:29-31;
"The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these"
So Christ saw the commandments regarding loving thy neighbour as being as great as loving God, even though loving thy neighbour is in the second half of the commandments, he saw them as one and the same. This is where the Pharisees fell down, they could serve God, but they had a withered hand and weren't loving their neighbours.
In Jesus healing the withered hand of the man, it figuratively showed that to be whole, one had to love God and love his neighbour, a lesson that applied to the Pharisees then and to us today.Healings in Luke (2) - Bro. Dan Stevenson
In Luke 5:17-26 we find the incident of Jesus healing the man sick of the palsy, who was lowered through the roof of a house where Jesus was present in Capernaum. In verse 15 of the chapter we read;
“But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities”
This then is still early on in the ministry of Jesus, the sermon on the mount has yet to be preached and the twelve apostles aren’t called until chapter 6.
The word of this Galilean healer reached the religious authorities and a delegation consisting of doctors of the law from “every town in Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem” was assembled to investigate the stirrings caused by this miracle worker. However, the nature of these men was of that described to us in Matthew 13; “seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand”. They were full of self righteousness eager to behold the mote in their brothers eye whilst being blind to the plank in their own.
We are told in verse 17 “the power of the Lord was present to heal them”, and yet they are ignorant to it. It’s at this juncture that we are introduced to the man sick of the palsy, the man is desperate to be “laid before Jesus” so that he may be healed of his infirmity, but cannot enter the house due to the multitudes outside. So the man’s companions who are carrying him upon his bed break the tiling of the house so the man can be lowered to the masters feet. Here we have an interesting comparison coming out of the record, with the spiritually paralytic “doctors of the law” in the company of Jesus, with no idea about their infirmities, when the power of the Lord was present to heal them, being too wise in their own conceits to see the need for their redemption. This is poignantly juxtaposed with the urgent and humble reaction of the literally paralytic man who is having difficulties in trying to reach Jesus and saw the necessity of the Master for his own healing and redemption from sin.
We then get the interesting event in verse 20 where instead of saying to the man “take up thy bed and walk”, Jesus tells the man “thy sins be forgiven thee”. Understandably the Scribes and Pharisees present were shocked to hear of this, the scriptures are clear in stating that God has the ultimate power of the forgiveness of sins we’re told in Daniel 9 “To the Lord God belong mercies and forgiveness’s”.
They thought that Christ was speaking blasphemies and stating that you have the power to forgive sins is indeed blasphemous, however there are incidences in the Old testament whereby the power of forgiveness is delegated by God to beings directly governed by his will. This occurs in the wanderings in the Wilderness in Exodus 23:20;
“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him”
So we see here God sending his angel to guide the children of Israel into the promised land, who had the power to forgive transgressions. The angel would have been the representation of God on earth, whilst not actually being God himself he would have carried out the complete will of Yahweh and therefore was licensed with the capability to forgive sins because “my (Yahweh’s) name is in him”. It’s the same here with Christ in the Gospels, we’re told in John 14 “he that have seen me has seen the Father”. Christ was a perfect manifestation of God whilst not being God, this then allowed him the same authority to forgive sins when he was on earth, as Jesus always carried out God’s will wholly.
In verse 22 Jesus then queries the doctors of the law by asking; “whether it be easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, arise take up thy bed and walk?” Of course humanly speaking it is easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee, as there is no way of quantifying the successfulness of the miracle, any charlatan could claim he had the power to forgive sins, and it would on an empirical level be impossible to disprove. Whereas to say arise take up thy bed and walk is more difficult because the success or failure of the miracle is directly observable, so only one with the Holy Spirit could perform such an act.
Interestingly though Jesus takes the former option, this may have been in part to the dissolute manner of life which many commentators speculate had been lived by the Paralytic, although this is undoubtedly possible we cannot say with any degree of certainty that this was the case. A better line of reasoning would be that the purpose of Christ saying this was to prove himself as the son of God. There had been many in Israel’s history who had miraculously healed, Elisha had cleansed Naaman of his leprosy, Elijah had raised the Widow’s son, however none of these men had the power to forgive sins. Jesus by saying “thy sins be forgiven thee” to the Paralytic and the Paralytic arising and carrying off his bed, shows that the Son of man had special authority from his father and was more than just a prophet.
The use of the term “son of man” by Jesus about himself is also interesting in this passage. In the new testament it is used to show Christ as a representation for all of humankind. In the letter to the Hebrews and chapter 2 we are told;
“But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?” And in verse 9 of the chapter; “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man”
So in Luke 5 Jesus by using the term son of man is showing how God had divested his power in him to be the representative for mankind as a son of fleshly Adam, but through his sacrifice many other son’s of men could be brought to glory.Healings in Luke (1) - Bro. Ben Harper
In the gospel of Luke, the healings Jesus performed are emphasised. Luke, himself a physician, was inspired to record how Jesus emphasised the aspect of his ministry that dealt with healing by reading from Isaiah 42, Luke 4:17-21;
"And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him"
After having to leave his home town Nazareth, he went to Capernaum and immediately was fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah. We are told he was preaching and healing, however there is a spiritual aspect as well as literal aspect to the prophecy. Specifically;
"to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”
We were the captives, or slaves to sin as Paul says in Romans 6:22;
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life"
Now through Christ we have been set free from sin, or as in Isaiah, set at liberty from sin. One of the healings mentioned in Isaiah was that of recovery of sight to the blind. Isaiah 59 sheds further light on this, and is about the division between God and man and God’s plan to bridge the gap through a mediator (Isaiah 59:16) and to redeem us (Isaiah 59:20). In Isaiah 59:9-11 it is written;
"Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes; we stumble at noon as in the twilight, among those in full vigor we are like dead men. We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us"
We as sinners have justice far from us, hoping for light and righteousness but being in darkness, and blind. Christ has set us free and recovered our sight, he has healed us in a way no other physician could. We who are baptized, free and with sight, must now serve God faithfully and watch for his glorious kingdom.Insults - Bro. Tom Parkin
We are all guilty of insulting someone, at some point in time, but is it really that bad? Is it really wrong to call someone names behind their back, after all it doesn't hurt them if they never find out? Titus 2:7-8 seems to disagree, we read;
"In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness. and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us"
This verse clearly states two things; that we should set an example for others to follow, and that our speech should be "sound" insomuch as no one would be able to call us out on it. Clearly then if we go and insult others and say hurtful things we are not setting a good example for others, we give out a message of hurt, further if we insult people our speech is not entirely sound and people could use that against us, discrediting the truth through those who preach it (us!).
The Gospel of Matthew also sheds light on this subject, with Matthew 7:12 saying;
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets"
This is of course an obvious direction to take, but is none the less valid. Jesus himself telling us that we should only do, and therefore surely only say, things to other people that we would want them to say to us. Would I want to be called some of the things that I've said of others? Definitely not, and I'm sure the same can be said for most people. Also in Matthew 25:40, Jesus says;
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me'
This is talking of those who do good and help those in need, however surely we can also include in this the bad things we do to others too. Therefore if we insult someone, even behind their back with no chance of them ever finding out, we are in fact insulting Christ – and that is something blatantly wrong.
This idea is also quite similar to the old age 'would you do it if Jesus was watching?' A phrase used throughout my childhood by exasperated parents. This phrase does have scriptural depth though, as Christ says he will be 'with you unto the ends of the age' in Matthew 17:15-16. This means that Jesus will always be with us, to help us and guide us – but conversely will also be with us when we do wrong, when we sin and thus also when we insult others. God also is said to be everywhere, all knowing and ever present and is therefore also to be privy to our insults, however discreet we may think they are. In Luke 16:15 he said to them;
"You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight"
Here Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and tells them that whatever they do and however they appear to men, God knows their hearts. This is the same for us – God knows what we do and say and how we feel. He still knows what we say about people however well we try to hide it.
We are also told that we are watchmen, that we must preach and that we are responsible for the lives of those we do not preach to. Matthew 17:15-16 says;
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?"
This verse is talking about how to recognise false prophets, however I think the point still stands – people do not take grapes from thorn bushes, if we appear to be insulting others and being nasty people, then people may be less inclined to believe the message we preach, and if this leads to them not being saved then we will be responsible, and held to account, thus transforming that seemingly harmless insult into something that could potentially ruin not only our chance of salvation, but that of others.
In conclusion then we should all try to make more of an effort to be civil to one another, not rising to anger and not insulting each other. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the moment, and it is something we should all think on, myself especially. The best conclusion however is from the words Paul was moved to say in his letter to Corinth in 1 Corinthians 16:14;
"Let all that you do be done in love"Longsuffering - Bro. Daniel Lewis
The word "longsuffering" might not mean much to us or perhaps its just that we do not understand it. Considering longsuffering might be quite a difficult thing for any of us because the word itself is not a very attractive one.
The idea that we should suffer long isn’t very appealing but understanding this word is important because it is given as one of the nine listed fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Those words were penned under inspiration and we know that all scripture is given for our benefit that we might be instructed in righteousness.
Now a more modern equivalent of longsuffering would be 'long tempered' or perhaps 'slow angered' but it is sometimes translated as 'patience' and we might make the mistake of thinking that all longsuffering is, is infinite patience but there is a distinction to be made and its important we understand the difference because one is a fruit of the spirit and the other is not.
Probably the best example of this distinction is in the example of Job. Job is a character who is very well known for his patience but not so well known for longsuffering (James 5:11). One problem that we might come across when studying our Bible is that the words we have in front of us might not be the original words that were used. In this chapter James mentions the patience of Job. The Greek word for "patience" is 'Hupomone' and this is the word that is being used in verse 11.
Now if we look back we will see that the word "patience" appears four more times in this chapter and you would think that it is the same word used in the verse we have just read but you would be wrong because the first four words have been wrongly translated and are actually the Greek word 'Makrothumia' which has the same meaning as our English word "longsuffering". So the point here is that James, under inspiration, uses a new word to describe Job.
Now no one can deny that Job was a very patient man and he possessed an active patience by which he understood that no matter what happened God was in control and so only good could come out of it but Job still had an important lesson to learn and it concerned longsuffering, because when we examine the life of Job we will see that he was a very patient man in that he was patient with hope but that he was not longsuffering.
Earlier it was mentioned that a modern equivalent of this word could be 'slow angered'. If we were to read some of the conversations that Job had with his friends we would soon see that there were two sides to his character because in the conversations Job quickly becomes exasperated by them and in another sense of the word you could say he looses patience with them. Job seemed angry that they did not sympathise with him and if we had time to read Job you might ask who could blame him. But surly this was the fault in his character, that he lacked longsuffering by being short tempered and its something which I’m sure we’ve all experienced before.
Luckily we have the word of God to teach us the fruits of the spirit and we should learn from the example of Job who eventually prayed for his friends rather than being angry with them and that I think is the first thing we should do when we feel angry with someone or something (James 5:13). So once we realise that longsuffering means slow to anger we are well on our way to understanding this fruit of the spirit.
In Nehemiah God is described as slow to anger so its appropriate that we his children should bear his likeness and strive to be like him. Incidentally the Greek word for "patience", 'Hupomone' is never used to describe the character of God doubtless because God does not bear tribulation as we do but Peter mentions the longsuffering of God in relation to the times of Noah (1 Peter 3:20).
Slowness to anger is a characteristic of God for which we can be extremely grateful. Peter says in his second epistle that we should “account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” because despite our daily sin he bears with us and is always ready to forgive. Even in the days of Noah God waited whilst the ark was built so that righteousness could be preached in the hope that more would be saved. Of course God knew that only eight would be saved so God waited all that time for only eight people. Even today God waits whilst we preach the word but we know that he will not wait forever and that in the end his anger will be vented on the nations of the Earth.
So longsuffering might mean slow to anger but it does not mean no anger. We all feel angry at times and its not possible for us to avoid this but what matters is how we express our anger because keeping it inside will only do ourselves harm and when we do release it, it will doubtless hurt others as well.
In Ephesians 4 Paul writes “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”. Anger is not a sin but we must be careful that it does not consume us and that we react to it in the wrong way.
And we must remember to be forgiving towards ourselves and those who anger us because as Matthew writes “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”
The Importance of Creation - Bro. Tim Palmer
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”. The opening words of the Bible are a masterly understatement (like so many other phrases in Genesis 1) of the commencement of the Creation of the Universe and everything within it. As we know the chapter goes on to describe the formation of the richly diverse spectrum of life-forms on Earth.
Creation and its God-less antithesis evolution are particularly relevant topics in 2009, which as has been much publicised is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and 150 years since he published ‘On the Origin of Species’. This thought will attempt to emphasise just how important Creation is and also argue that clear Biblical teaching about Creation should be part of our preaching efforts
God’s Creation, particularly that of the Earth and man upon it, is referenced on a huge number of occasions throughout the scriptures, sometimes in the most unexpected of contexts. One arena where it unsurprisingly features is in the lofty tome of the Psalms.
Psalm 8:3-4 gives mankind a measure of context;
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
Passages such as this can help to give us a sense of perspective – truly we are but specks in the vast and wonderful Universe in which we live. In the grand scheme of things we are entirely insignificant, at least humanly speaking. Bearing this in mind it becomes even more wonderful that God is willing to work with us and shape us as vessels fit for participating in his purpose.
Remembering our origins should induce humility as it says in Psalm 33:8-9;
“Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast”
The context of this passage is clearly the Creation (see also verses 6&7). It is interesting to note the concepts that appear slightly earlier in the Psalm - verses 5&6 read;
“For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD”
It then goes on to refer to the heavens being made. So the act of Creation is associated with truth, righteousness, judgment and goodness – an interesting point which would be worthy of tangential study.
In Job 38 God in his infinite wisdom chooses to challenge Job by referring to many aspects of his creation. He asks Job to explain how various entities and ‘natural’ phenomena came into being and how they are maintained. Of course Job has no answer, but the important implication is that God knows all these things, because he created them. It may seem like a trivial point but God knows how everything he has made works, and mankind despite all its lauded scientific advances lags far behind. Our God is rational and does not ask us to believe blindly – although this chapter of Job and many of the Psalms remind us how superior God is to man.
Isaiah 45 and the surrounding chapters form a fascinating section where the God of Israel expounds to His people his might and power, in stark contrast to the worthlessness of other gods and idols. Time and time again he refers to the Genesis creation, and links it to the formation of the nation of Israel. The keywords ‘created’, ‘made’ and ‘formed’ with their variants occur about 30 times between chapters 40&49. These chapters are often quoted in Sunday night lectures, rightly so because they recount God’s method of defending himself as the one true God.
In Isaiah 44, after demonstrating the folly of worshipping graven images, God asserts his supremacy over his pretenders by reminding Israel of his status as all powerful Creator;
Isaiah 44:24 “Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself"
Absolutely crucially Isaiah 45 tells us why God created the heavens and the earth;
Isaiah 45:18 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else”
Here we have the vital link made between the Creation and God’s long-term plan. The earth was established to be inhabited. We can learn from elsewhere that the inhabitants are ultimately the saints who will help fill the earth with God’s glory, with their head Jesus, the “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). It is humbling to think that we can be part of the reason that God made our wonderful planet!
We thus have one compelling reason why we should not overlook Creation when preaching – because it is inextricably associated with God’s wider plan, which incorporates (if we have the sense to allow it to!) our future destiny.
To learn how preaching took place in the 1st Century we must turn to Acts and use what we find as a template for our own efforts today. It is interesting to note how often Creation is mentioned.
Paul, in declaring the true God on Mars Hill, right at the outset of his speech calls him “God that made the world and all things therein” (Acts 17:24). The first thing that Paul talked about echoed the earlier praise of the company of Peter & John who “lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is” (Acts 4:24). When Paul and Barnabas were worshipped as gods they preached to the people of Lystra in the following way;
Acts 14:15 “And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein”
Once again God is marked out as the Creator, and once again this is the first thing that is said of him.
Stephen refers to the God whose hand made all things (Acts 7:50) and the truth of early Genesis and of the Creation is affirmed by Jesus (see for example Mark 10:6, Mark 13:19). Jonah, when challenged by the mariners in the ship during the tempest replied “I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9). The crux of the argument in Romans 5 relies on the literal truth of the Genesis record of Eden. The list could go on. Thus we see Creation is a so-called ‘golden thread’ interwoven throughout the scriptures and forms a key component of their message.
To omit preaching that the God of the Bible is our Creator is to omit an essential part of who he is, as well as missing out on opportunities to indicate his plan and purpose with the earth and mankind upon it. We cannot adequately declare God without declaring him as the Maker of all things as the apostles did. Just as we cannot ignore the old covenant when preaching the new, when talking about the new creation we cannot overlook the old.
There are those who think we should not cover Creation & Evolution in preaching work today. The examples above show that the apostles preached God as the Creator (nearly always the first thing they said) and renounced the false alternatives (e.g. the “vanities” of Acts 14). 1 Peter 3:15 states;
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”
We have already briefly considered that God does not ask for irrational belief. Creation vs Evolution is such a hot topic that sooner or later we are bound to be asked why we go against the grain in believing in Creation and rejecting Evolution. We must be ready to give an answer. Our belief in God the Creator and our hope of his plan for his creation is rational and scripturally sound. The above verse shows the importance of having reasons for what we believe, and passages such as Job 38 show that God knows the ‘how’s and ‘why’s of Creation, so technical and logical evidence for Creation and against Evolution is not an area we should avoid.
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork”
So let us be prepared to remember our Creator in the days of our youth and declare him, as Jonah did, as Paul did, and as Jesus did. By God’s grace we have the chance to be eternal inhabitants of the earth, so let us obey our Maker in the time that remains.Modern day issues - Bro. Dave Mothersdill
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Galatians 5:16
In the above verse Paul tells us to live by the spirit. By this he means that we should assimilate as much of Christ’s character as we can. In order to live by the fruits of the spirit it is clear that we need guidance on what to avoid. Paul gives us a list of these things in Galatians 5:19-21;
“Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like”
The list given by Paul is extremely broad covering many different forms of sin. We will focus on just three moral / ethical issues that we as young people face each day. As always we should look to God’s Word for guidance. The three issues that we will consider are: swearing, drinking and gambling.
Swearing
This is something that we all encounter every day, whether at school, university or at work. Generally speaking, people around us swear and blaspheme on a daily basis. But we know that we should not be doing this. The Bible is very clear on this. We read in Ephesians 4:29;
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”
There are also verses which tell us that the mouth speaks what is in our hearts. We read in Luke 6:45;
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks”
If we have got into a bad habit of swearing then we need to consider this verse and think about what we are filling our minds with. We are instructed to rid ourselves from swearing, Colossians 3:8 tells us;
“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips”
People often swear to insult or offend and we know that this behaviour is not how we should be living. We should be gentle and meek and speak profitably to the people around us. We read the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 19:14 and should strive to do likewise;
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer”
Drinking
One of the main sources of peer pressure today concerns alcohol. It’s commonly thought that if you don’t drink, you’re not cool. But what does the Bible say about drinking? Fortunately for us there is a multitude of passages to turn to. Paul addresses the topic of alcohol on numerous occasions in his letters. In Romans 13:13 we read;
“Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy”
This passage is hard-hitting. Many Christians would think nothing of having one too many drinks but Paul here includes it in the same sentence as orgies, sexual immorality and debauchery – three things that would never be considered by a Christian. In 1 Corinthians 6:20 Paul emphasises the point further by stating;
“…nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”
This clearly shows that excessive drinking is condemned by the Bible. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be self-controlled or sober so that we might defeat our human nature. Drinking alcohol isn’t forbidden in Scripture, but excessive drinking is. If we feel we are easily tempted by alcohol we should leave it alone.
Gambling
Firstly, it is important to understand what gambling actually is. Gambling can be defined as the voluntary risk of a sum of money. This money is usually placed on a game, be it a sporting event or in a casino. So what verses then can we read to show God’s principles on this issue? We read in 1 Timothy 6:10 that ‘get rick quick’ schemes conflict with the teachings of God;
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”
Gambling can very easily become an addiction and we know from Matthew 6:24 that we cannot serve God and Mammon (or “money” as the word can be translated). We are continually blessed by God and therefore should not waste the money we receive. Excess money should be saved for future needs or given to the Lord’s work, and not gambled away. We should have trust and faith in God that He will provide for us, and we should be content with what we have been blessed with. We read in Hebrews 13:5 the following;
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”
We can also see from Ecclesiastes 5:10 that;
“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless”
We are warned that we should not get caught up with riches and wealth. It is very easy to be consumed by it. Instead of gambling we should earn a fair wage. Proverbs 13:11 states;
“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow”
This passage tells is that money not earned in a fair wage (the dishonest money) will soon be gone, however when a fair wage is earned then it will grow.
It is telling that nowhere in the Bible do we read of gambling used as entertainment or presented as an acceptable practice for the followers of God. Also, we can ask ourselves how we would feel after benefitting from other people’s losses. We know that this is the opposite way in which we should be living.
In summary then, Paul’s list at the start shows us what should be avoided if we want to live in the Spirit. From this list we have looked at three particular issues that we face in our every day life and, using passages from the Bible, found evidence to show that these things are unacceptable. We can apply this same principle to many other issues we encounter in our lives.
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25Light - Bro. Andy Jenkins
The idea of light is a frequently recurring one in scripture. How much, however, do we actually know about it? What does light symbolise? Why is it important to a modern disciple? Here, we shall attempt to answer some of these questions. In 2 Corinthians 4:6 we are told that;
“God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”
Light then, is used to portray “the knowledge of the glory of God”. This passage also makes mention of events in Genesis chapter 1. From this chapter we know that the first thing God created was light. From this we can establish the important principle that light comes first, and this makes a lot of sense. What do we need to be able to read and study God’s word, but light? Without it, study becomes impossible. Genesis 1 also tells that “God saw that it (light) was good”. This is echoed in Ecclesiastes 2:13-14;
“Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness”
The wise writer of Ecclesiastes argues that light is altogether better than darkness, and adds that while a fool will walk in darkness, or, to take the earlier analogy, without the knowledge of God, a wise man keeps his eyes on the head, that is, Christ. How appropriate it is, that when the children of Israel left Egypt, the land of spiritual as well as physical darkness (Exodus 10:22), at their head was a pillar of light-giving fire. 1 Thessalonians 5 is a chapter full of exhortation relevant to our topic. We are reminded in verse 2 that those who prefer the night are often unsavoury characters such as thieves. Verse 7 says that;
“They that sleep sleep in the night: and they that are drunken are drunken in the night”
Although this is obviously not literally true, as it is not impossible to sleep or drink in the day, the point stands that there are certain obvious qualities which night has which make it advantageous to those so disposed to do. This links in with verse 2, in that those who sleep are incapable of watching for the second coming of the master, and those who are prone to excessive drinking, or other such habits which render them inebriate, may as well be asleep, for they are just as likely to be in an equally unready state. These people are also talked about in Job 24:16;
“In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime”
These people know what light is, but do not welcome it in itself. They find it useful only insomuch that it allows them time to plan what they will do at night. This applies not only to the thieves and drunkards talked about in Thessalonians, but can be attributed to the wider world as well. Even people who live reasonably “good” lives (in the world’s eyes), but who still live in darkness in that they do not know God, hold similar views towards such things as a moral code. They see it as something which has limited use, to be abided by whenever they see fit, and do not understand or appreciate it for what it is: a God-given ticket to a better life. Let us return to 1 Thessalonians 5, and, this time, to verses 5&6;
“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober"
We must try to stay in the light of the day, and not offer thieves, who like to work at night, an opportunity. You will, no doubt, have noticed the use of the word “try” in the previous sentence. It is inevitable that we will fall short, as everyone does. We must remember that darkness does not have to do anything to triumph, it merely has to wait for the fuel supporting the light to run out, and the light will disappear. We must endeavour to study God’s word as much as possible, that our lights flicker as little as possible. Our lamps must be tended, as the parable of the virgins so aptly reminds us in Matthew chapter 25. We can take comfort from the thought however, that a lamp is just as easily reignited as it went out; a bulb just as easily replaced. So then, let us finish by drawing our attention to Matthew 5:14-16;
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light to the whole house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven”
Modern day disciples are told to spread the light of the knowledge of God’s glory to all, both near and far. Let us all try to make a bigger effort to help our own and others’ lights shine all the brighter, until the knowledge of God’s glory fills the earth, as the waters cover the sea.Thankfulness - Bro. Joel Ritmeyer
Are we always thankful for the things that our God has provided for us? Do we thank God daily for them? Is our thankfulness sincere? Do we mean what we say, or are we just doing it as a formality, a routine? God, the supreme being has given us the opportunity to have everlasting life! Are we responding to this offer the way we should be?
It is easy for us to live life on the edge of the line, staying on the right side but only just, enjoying the best of both worlds. Are we enjoying the friendships of the truth but still being sucked into the things that the world offers? Is this being truly thankful to our God? We need to evaluate our lives. Are we living our lives in TOTAL dedication to God?
We have so much to be thankful for. Our life in the truth has better standards, morals and friendships; friendships with people you have something in common with; friends who are your friend because of what they can put into a relationship, not just what they can get out. Our life in the truth is something to be thankful for. The people in the world sometimes seem to have everything they want and we seem to be stuck to rules and boundaries, but it is the other way round, the people of the world have nothing and we have everything. Someone once said that even if he didn’t get a place in God’s kingdom he still would have had a far greater life than anyone out in the world. It is so true! We can spend our whole lives surrounded by believers; influences for good but are we thankful for all this?
God expects a thankful attitude for all his blessings, the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers illustrates this in Luke 17:12-18;
“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger”
The stranger was the only leper that came back to give glory and thanks to God. Do we ever forget to say thanks to our God for giving us the chance to be healed from our human nature? So, we as Gentiles, grafted on to the olive tree of Israel, have every reason to give thanks for the wonderful promise he has given to us.
There a many excellent expressions in the Psalms, which we can use to give thanks - Psalm 103;
“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s”
Verse 3 of that chapter is especially important. We sin, God forgives us, we sin again, and God forgives us again. This process goes round and round, it happens time and time again, but still God has the mercy to forgive us. Surely we cannot overlook this fact, how can we not be thankful for our ever-merciful God. He is always prepared to forgive us if we constantly strive to overcome the transgression that He has forgiven us for. It says in Prov. 24:16: “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again”.
All the great men remembered daily to thank their God and it makes specific mention of their thankfulness in the scriptures. The great prophet Daniel is one of the most obvious characters. We see this in Dan. 6:10 where it says;
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”
His prayer which has been recorded for us in Dan. 2:23 portrays this for us;
“I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter”
Let us take this lesson from a great role model and “give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”.