“He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”” (Luke 24:6–7)
They had all heard those words before – they had all heard Him say that He would rise again; but all who had followed Him, without exception, had been overwhelmed with grief over the death of their Teacher, Leader and Friend. No doubt this Saturday, the Saturday following His death – Passover on the Jewish calendar – was a day of sorrow.
Sunday morning, some of the women who had followed Him – Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and other women (see Luke 24:10, Matthew 28:1) were returning to the tomb where two days earlier they had seen Joseph or Arimathea and Nicodemus lay the body of Jesus to rest – they were going to anoint the body of their dead friend not to celebrate their risen Lord (Mark 16:1).
But He wasn’t there.
They thought that someone had stolen it – stolen the body of the Lord (John 20:2):
“Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.””
The disciples did not believe the report of Mary and the women (Luke 24:11):
“And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.”
Two men, Peter and John went to investigate the claim of the women for themselves and wondered after having entered His tomb at the grave cloths in which Jesus had been laid to rest – the blood stained handkerchief which had been around His head and the linen cloths stained with the some of the blood which had flowed from His side on the cross neatly “folded together in a place by themselves” (John 20:5-10). They wondered most of all that Jesus was NOT in the tomb….
But after they had departed the tomb, Mary Magdalene, who had remained there, stood by it weeping. She peered into it and was greeted by two angels who asked her: “Why are you weeping?” (John 20:11) Then she turned and as she did another figure who seemed to her to be the gardener, greeted her saying:
““Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”” (John 20:15)
Then, that gardener spoke her name, “Mary!” and she knew it was Him! He spoke only a few words to her, He told her to tell the others including Peter, who had denied that He knew the Lord, to meet Him at the place in Galilee which he had mentioned to them before (see Mark 16:7).
In excitement she ran to declare the news to the disciples – she had seen the Lord – He is ALIVE!!!
“What’s so good about Friday” asked the voice over the two way radio; the demands of an understaffed and overwhelming night shift had exasperated the man to the point of asking a question that I could not ignore.
So, what makes this particular Friday – good?
My honest answer and the answer of the scriptures is – nothing….nothings good about it….IF Sunday hadn’t come.
Let me ask you, if death had gotten the last word in Jesus’ life would there be any basis for our faith?
The answer comes from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth where we read the following [1 Cor. 15:12-19] :
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Paul’s answer to our question is “No, there would be no basis for our faith at all if Jesus had not risen.”
The Passion Week as Jesus went through it was the conclusion of the Lord’s mission on earth, the fulfillment of His obsession with the work of His Father to redeem mankind. The Passion Week is, above all other descriptors –the week of Jesus’ most incredible suffering and cruelest torture as our substitute, in our place, paying the price for the sins of all mankind.
At His crucifixion, Jesus Christ was dishonored and
humiliated, a fact which led one modern church historian, the late Dr. Bruce
Shelly to make this statement:
“Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event, the humiliation of its God.”
With His own blood mixed with the spit of His torturers clinging to and dripping from His face, falsely accused and mockingly adjudicated by the religious leadership of the day, Jesus was nailed to and hung from the cross to pay for the sins of mankind – yours, mine and everyone else”s.
The Apostle Paul said in (Colossians 2:14) that God in Christ had “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.N
The “handwriting of requirements which were against us God nailed to the cross of Christ” was the Law of Moses, both the ceremonial and the moral code. One commentator wrote:
“Three
expressions describe the law: (1) it is written in ordinances, expressed in decrees
and commandments; (2) it was against us, had a valid claim on us; (3) it was
contrary to us, because we couldn’t meet the claim. Paul states that bond was:
(1) blotted out; (2) taken out of the way; (3) and nailed to His cross. This
was once-for-all removal (2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:15–16; Gal 3:13). In the East, a
bond is cancelled by nailing it to the post. Our bond of guilt was nailed to Christ’s
cross.”[i]
In a very real sense Jesus became not only the perfect and final Passover lamb but the perfect scapegoat and sin offering to God, slain to atone perfectly for our sin (Heb. 9:12) “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” You and I once stood as debtors condemned under the Law of Moses – the Ten Commandments but Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses (Matt. 5:17) liberating us from condemnation and cancelling the debt against us.
The Psalmist wrote in (Psalm 30:5)
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”
What’s so good about Friday? The supervisor who asked that question has, no doubt, long forgotten the answer I gave which resulted in a memorable silence on the usually crowded radio frequency. But I told him what I’m telling you: Friday is “good” because it was on that day that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and on Sunday, He arose from the grave alive again!
Apart from the resurrection, the Lord’s death would have been a painful moment of grief and loss for a handful of men and women who had loved and trusted in Him but because He did not remain dead – because He rose again both His death and His resurrection have impacted the lives of millions upon millions over the ages.
God has placed great significance upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ – He has seen to it that it is written (Romans 10:9-10):
“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Apart from faith in the Risen Savior and His resurrection –
you cannot be saved.
Death did not have the last word in our Savior’s life and I for one rejoice in that fact. The question is, will it have the last word in your life? It doesn’t have to…you don’t have to die in your sins; you don’t have to face God’s judgment alone. Jesus died for your sins as well as mine and he rose again to make everlasting life possible for you in Heaven with Him – all that is required of you to start off is faith.
Joy awaits – will you trust Him today?
[i]
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 2461–2462). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Our celebration concerning the resurrection of Christ, like the ancient Jewish celebration of Passover has certainly changed over the generations since Jesus rose from the grave. In years past, the occasion has been marked by much tradition – sunrise services, special attire (bows, dresses and suits) along with the more secular aspects of the day – Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets full of chocolates and other seasonal candies as well as family get-togethers; but this year it will be different.
This year it will be like the first Passover in this one way: we will all be “staying safe and sheltering in place.” Just like the Israelites in Egyptian captivity, shut in their homes awaiting the deliverance of God from a plague He was using to set His people free (see Exodus 12:13), we will be shut in our homes awaiting deliverance from a plague as well. For those of us who have believed in the resurrected Lord, the passion week, including Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday will be a time to reflect on the salvation made available to us through the suffering, death and resurrection of our Savior – a time to consider the things which made for our peace.
This year, we will not be able to rely on our pastors and special “in house” church services to share the important message of this season with people who would otherwise not come to church. Even if some church doors ARE open, it is doubtful but that a few of the faithful will attend; the unbelieving, because of the pandemic will most likely stay home as ordered. Now it is up to you (as it really always has been) to share either from across the yard, over the phone, through an email or by a text message – the importance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that what He did, He did for your neighbor too (good or bad); now is the time to let your light shine in the darkness. Perhaps you could start by asking them this simple question:
“What does Easter mean to you?” After giving them time to respond, you might tell them that it made peace with God possible for you and then ask them, “Do you know the things that have been done on your behalf to make peace between you and God?”
You could then tell them what Isaiah the prophet said of Jesus over seven hundred years before Jesus did those things:
“The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. “For the Lord God will help Me; therefore, I will not be disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.” [Isa. 50:4-7]
Plucked beard, beaten back, spit covered face…this is only part of the price that was paid for your peace with God. Jesus Christ, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, weeping as He went, was coming there to die on an instrument of torture…for you. He wept not at the apparent futility of His sacrifice nor in fear of His imminent suffering and death. His tears fell with understanding – He knew what His people (the Israelites) would have to suffer in the future because of their present rejection of His gracious sacrifice (see Luke 19:43-44); likewise, He knows what you will have to suffer for your rejection as well.
Amid the noise of the crowd upon the celebration of the Passover, one Man riding on the foal of a donkey entered into Jerusalem with tears in His eyes – His face was set like flint; His destination: the cross of Golgotha there to fulfill His Father’s will in making peace possible to all who will allow Him to apply His blood to their lives. This is the passion of the Christ – He loved His Father so much as to die at His command for us:
“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)
“…He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5–6)
Point them to Him “… who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
It was God’s plan and will that His Son should come and die in our place and for our sins to make redemption from God and peace with God possible for ALL who would believe in Jesus Christ.
Ask them, “Now that you know the things that made for your peace………will you receive it?”
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, tears streaming down His cheek He considered both the first Passover as well as the reason He was there that day. I believe that He remembered “the things that made for the peoples peace” when they were in bondage in Egypt – two things then made for their peace:
…God’s hand and sanctified blood
“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying…” (Exodus 12:1)
“‘… I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12–13)
As Jesus rode in to the city of Jerusalem, the place where God said he would place His name (2 Kings 21:4), and the place, which after having been renewed one day in a distant future, God will dwell with men face to face (Rev.21:2); He wept because He saw that just as the people had seemed to have forgotten what God had done to deliver them on the actual day of Passover they also did not recognize the things which God was doing in the moment of Christ’s “triumphal entrance” into the city to make peace with God possible for them.
You see, just as in the first Passover, two things were about to work together again for the peace of God’s chosen people:
…God’s hand and sanctified blood.
When we talk about God’s hand we should understand that we’re speaking of God’s strength – He delivered Israel from Egypt by His strong and mighty arm:
“Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” (Exodus 6:6)
He brought the plagues upon Egypt and later in His continuing act of deliverance toward His people He would part the waters of the sea and enable the people to cross the sea bottom as if on dry land.
So, let me ask you something…was there power in the blood of the Passover lamb?
“No.” No there was no power in the blood of the Passover lamb; it’s blood, painted on the lintel and posts of the door (Ex. 12:22) was symbolic of the obedience of those who put it there according to God’s command. There was no power to save in that blood but when God saw the blood, recognizing and honoring both the peoples obedience and His own promise, He spared them from the destroyer (see Exodus 12:23) covering their door Himself. The lamb’s blood was sanctified by God but the power to save was His alone…
…in Jesus Christ both God’s hand and sanctified blood are present.
Jesus is the power of God – today He not only sits at God’s right hand but is in fact God’s right hand man – He is the strength of God and unlike the blood of the Passover lamb Jesus’ blood has power – power to do more than cover one’s sins it cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7) and removes sins penalty (Ephesians 1:7), power to give one a right standing before God, power to deliver one from death…Jesus’ blood has power. Here’s the thing, the Bible states that “… according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22). In order for the power of Jesus’ blood to be effective in our lives to grant us forgiveness and bring us to peace it had to be shed.
Jesus wept not only because He was about to give His life for the peace and deliverance of his people and they neither knew it nor cared; He also wept because He knew the price that all who reject Him will pay.
It was by God’s hand and sanctified blood that His grace and forgiveness is ours today. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8), praise Him for “His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41–42)
Amid the shouts of glad hosanna’s and the celebrations of those who had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to keep the Passover there rode into the city a Man on the foal of a donkey. The Man wore no crown and carried no scepter; He did not wave at the crowd as one might do in a parade; even so the people laid palm branches and robes (John 12:13; Luke 19:36) in the path of the animal upon which He rode to honor Him…
…this man was Jesus.
As he rode, the Bible tells us that the whole multitude of them who were following Him shouted “hosanna to the Son of David” and “blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The things they were saying and the praise they were lifting up were due to the things which they had seen this man do, for in their sight He had most recently raised the dead man Lazarus back to life with a word (John 11:43). In the weeks and months which had led up to that moment, they had seen Him heal the sick and cast out demons; they saw Him feed huge multitudes of people – thousands of men, women and children – with supplies that appeared to be not nearly enough at first. They heard Him teach, they saw Him live, they believed that He was the Son of God and they believed that He was to be their conquering king; the One who would set them free from the captivity of Rome; thus they celebrated the Man on the donkey making a Passover pilgrimage into a parade.
But the Man on the donkey did not celebrate; He did not ride with His hands clenched together over His head as if to say “look, I’m the champion, the winner, the King!” As Jesus rode into Jerusalem at the beginning of the celebration of the most important holy day in Israel – the Passover; He remembered the things which had made for the peoples peace as they struggled under the heavy hand of bondage in Egypt…He was there.
I wonder….did they remember?
Truly they couldn’t possibly have remembered, they were not there; and as is so often the case, with every subsequent generation more and more was lost of the significance of that Holy day until it became nothing more than a day of coming together and partying. Sure the rules of keeping the Passover were observed, no work on that day, the ritual slaying of a year old lamb and the consumption of that meat with bitter herbs and unleavened bread; there was the religious ritual but it was, I expect, not the holy convocation that God intended for it to be since the only one weeping that day was the Man on the donkey colt…
…the man Jesus Christ.
On that occasion, Jesus was coming to establish a different kind of Passover, one for which He was the sacrificial Lamb whose blood was to be shed for the forgiveness of sins not just of the Israelites, though it seems clear that if they had believed in Him at that moment none of us would ever have tasted of His grace (see Romans 11:25), but for you and I as well.
As we come to the week of His passion – the week when He suffered humiliation and death for our sake it would be good to reflect during the next several days over the purpose of His coming and the price He paid for our salvation and worship Him for His sacrifice.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” (Psalm 23)
Green pastures…still waters – you can just about hear the gentle
breeze blowing in the trees and through the grass as the water gently passes
by; it just doesn’t get much better than that – this is a picture of the peace
of God. I love that picture don’t you?
If such a place as that spoken of in this passage is the only place where we
may find peace and rest for our souls you and I are in deep trouble because
it’s a rare occasion that we get to a place like that.
Does that mean that we can’t have the peace that David spoke
of in these verses?
No, the peace of God is not circumstantial –it isn’t dependent on where you’re at physically; it is dependent on where you are spiritually. The peace from God is first a mindset that comes from a confidence that all will be well and that confidence comes from trust. Isaiah said of God, [Isa.26:3] “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” King David, the ‘under-shepherd’ of God’s people Israel wrote this psalm as a dependent follower of the living God; his mind was stayed on, concentrated on, and focused upon – God. No matter what was happening on the outside, he had peace because it was his God rather than his circumstances that gave him peace.
Think about that for a moment.
The pandemic affecting the world has led to the shut down of nearly everything. Some people haven’t stopped working – truckers, first responders, doctors, nurses and others in the medical profession, retailers and grocers to name a few, but the majority of us have been told to stop and stay home. But what if what most of us have viewed as a negative situation could really be for our good? When He makes us to lie down, when He gives us a moment to rest in green grass – what do you do? You only have two choices: you can choose to lie down OR you can choose to refuse to lie down.
God uses, He turns, He makes “…all things work
together FOR GOOD to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Even something like what the
world is going through right now.
What is the Lord’s purpose in THIS moment that we are all
going through?
Consider the fact that some of you, prior to this “storm”
were complaining about how tired you were. Some of you, prior to this “season”
were so busy that your spiritual life was suffering; some of you were so busy
that your family life was suffering and some of you were so busy that your
marriages were suffering. Some of you, prior to this moment were longing to get
closer to God but because you were so busy could never find the time.
In this moment, He has slowed you down. In this moment, He
has caused you to lie down. In this moment, He has given you an opportunity to
rest yourself, an opportunity to repair your relationships and an opportunity to
search for, listen to and hear Him.
Have you slowed down or are you now complaining about what
might happen because you’re not busy at work? He has given you a moment to
catch up, check up and listen up – are you?
Like some of you, I’m pretty stubborn – I like to be in
control of my life. When I’m told to sit down, I want to stand up. When I’m
told to be silent, I want to talk. I’m the guy who thinks to himself after he’s
been told to sit down, “I’m sitting on the outside but I’m standing up on the
inside!” All joking aside, the reality
is that like it or not, God IS in control – not you and not me. Jesus told us
not to worry. Why, because it changes nothing. He said in (Matthew 6:27): “Which
of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Worry
changes nothing but your attitude and your health – stress kills – worry fixes
nothing.
Considering the opening statement in (Psalm 23), can you say that the Lord is YOUR Shepherd?
If He is, let Him lay you down to rest; don’t worry, don’t
let your wants consume your thoughts – be content in this moment. If the Lord
is YOUR Shepherd, let Him lead you beside still waters and restore your soul
(v.2-3) – draw near to Him, seek Him, find your rest in Him; let Him turn even
this moment into something good in your life.
Is He your Shepherd? Let His presence in your life comfort
you (v.4) – because He IS with you, you need not fear.
Is this moment REAL?
Yes.
Is Almighty God MORE REAL? Yes.
Is our Great God MORE THAN ABLE? Yes, His word declares that HE is able to deliver us either FROM the fire (see Daniel 3:17) or THROUGH it (see Daniel 3:22-26).
It is not my intention to diminish or dismiss the
seriousness of this season into which the whole world finds itself. But neither
can I diminish or dismiss that He who is God over both the hills and the valleys
of life IS also IN CONTROL!
What is God’s purpose in this moment for you? For some, it
is a time to rest, for others it may be a time to restore relationships and
reflect on Him who saved you and also for others it may be a time to finally
repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ. Take the time! Use it for the
purpose for which it has been given! Whatever the purpose, the opportunity may
not come your way again.
Lately, I’ve been reading posts from people about how uncertain their lives have become due to the onslaught of the Covid19 virus. People are uncertain about their jobs, their future, their health and the health of others; they are uncertain about the things they’ve been hearing from leaders, social media, news outlets and even their neighbors – they are uncertain if they’ll have enough food and supplies to weather this pandemic, unclear as to how long it will last and just as unclear of what to expect once its over.
Prior to the current pandemic most of us had a confidence about tomorrow using a kind of emotional barometer which led us to believe that because we had a job today we’d have it tomorrow or because we or a loved one was alive and well today we or they would be alive tomorrow; but does ANYBODY really KNOW what tomorrow holds?
There is One who does – Almighty God knows the end from the beginning:
“Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,And I will do all My pleasure…” (Isaiah 46:9–10)
The God who knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7) hold tomorrow in the palm of His hand (Psalm 139:16, James 4:13) and commands the rising and setting of the sun (Job 9:4-8). Our God and His Son Jesus Christ are the SAME yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). In a world of uncertainty, He is a constant that you can turn to and count on! He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) His presence is a constant in our lives during seasons of crisis and during seasons of calm (Psalm 46:1; Hebrews 13:5). The words He spoke and the promises He’s made are all “yes and amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20) – they are guaranteed! (see Romans 15:8-12)
Frankly, before we believed in Jesus Christ, Almighty God was as He has been – He never changes (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17). But, prior to our faith in Jesus Christ we only knew one thing – that one day each of us would cease to be. We didn’t know when or how but we knew that everyone eventually breathes his or her last. When we came to trust in the Lord (assuming you have) we gained access to a whole host of otherwise inaccessible constants or “sure things” – things which can give you peace amid the uncertainty.
I would like to remind those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ of some constants that we CAN cling to in these uncertain days:
God is in control:
“But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” (Psalm 115:3)
“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)
“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)
“(His Son), who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:2-3)
God will not and has not forsaken us: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 41:10)
Jesus who died for our sins and rose from the dead will return again for us before He judges the world:
““Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1–3)
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)
“For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10)
Through faith in Jesus Christ, death – whenever that may be – DOES NOT HAVE THE LAST WORD in our lives: “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
God’s promises (as we’ve already said) like His person and character NEVER change or fail.
A time may come in the future, when we might be caught off-guard and taken by surprise (as many were this time) by a crisis of some kind and as a result, lose sight of the constancy of Christ and His promises but that does not and can not change the FACT that He IS an unfailing, eternal God who has made and eternal promise to those who believe in Him!
So sinner and saint alike – believer and unbeliever alike:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.“
Tucked away, in the middle of the narrative about Cain and Abel is a question that most people answer incorrectly – “Am I my brother’s keeper?” First let me say, how brazen this reply was from a man with blood on his hands to answer the question of an all knowing and all-powerful God concerning Cain’s brother. There is much to learn from the passage in (Genesis 4:1-12) about how sin lies in wait with a desire to rule over us (Gen. 4:7) but that instead we should rule over it, however I’d like to draw down on the impertinent question in (v.9) “am I my brother’s keeper” because in light of the current state of the world both prior to and in the grips of the corona virus “pandemic,” it is a question to be addressed and answered by each of us.
I recently read a story on LinkedIn telling about of a couple of Marines who, as pilots were regularly tested on tactics, weapons systems etc. The two “senior pilots” were very knowledgeable and well-studied so as to avoid having their reputations tarnished in those testing situations. In advance of an upcoming weapons test, some younger and less experienced pilots entered into the squadron; the senior pilots did not know and did not care about how or whether the new guys were ready for it. When the “smoke” from the test cleared and they were graded it came as no surprise to the senior guys when they “aced” the test; the new guys however all failed and received a well deserved chewing out but it was when the tactics officer called the senior guys out that the real surprise came – they were chewed out for their irresponsible failure to train their younger “brothers.” This is what the author wrote about it, “We had a responsibility to actively seek out the less experienced pilots, teach them and guide them along the path to success.” It was his understanding from that chewing out by a tactics officer that he WAS his brother’s keeper.
How do you respond when those around you struggle, falter or fail? What’s more, what are you doing to help them succeed?
Are we our brother’ (or sister’s) keeper as Christians?
Perhaps we’re too competitive with each other to care about
how our teammate on the field of life – be they a brother in the faith or a
fellow human being – is making out, let alone to come alongside them and offer
them a word of encouragement or a helping hand. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes
it takes a global pandemic to wake people up and even then, many draw down on
the one thing that matters most to them – their own survival. But what if more
of us adapted the attitude of Jesus “who, being in the form of God, did
not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient
to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
(Philippians 2:6–8)
Jesus self-sacrificially laid everything down for the sake
of others.
When Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ
loved the church (see Ephesians 5:25) he was pointing to the self-sacrificial
mind of Christ towards all mankind and showing us that esteeming others better
than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) and looking out for the interests of others
(Philippians 2:4) is a Biblical mandate for the follower of Christ.
Consider for a moment that the four men who went to great
lengths to get their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus (Luke 5:17-20) were
acting as their brother’s keeper. The (HB) word shâmar here translated
keeper also means guard, protector and attendant – It conveys the idea that love
for one another should drive us to look out for each other; love and concern
drove those men to action for their brother’s sake.
Perhaps you don’t think
the other guy is YOUR responsibility? Consider these passages:
While arguing for a faith that does, James wrote: “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” (James 2:15-16)
In response to people seeking to know what “works worthy of repentance” looked like John the Baptist said: ““He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”” (Luke 3:11)
“By this we know
love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his
brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God
abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in
deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:16–18)
Laying down our lives doesn’t always mean to physically die
but often it means to lay aside our self-interests and selfishness for the sake
of those in need (see also Acts 2:44-45, 4:32).
The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6–7)
Jesus said, ““You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:39)
Concerning whatever spiritual , physical or emotional burden or weight, Paul wrote: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
“Brethren, if a
man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a
spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
(Galatians 6:1)
Again Paul wrote: “Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:34–35)
Are you your brother’s keeper? Like it or not – YES!
We live in a moment of crisis. People need supplies, people
need hope, people need encouragement, people need support and most of all
people NEED Jesus. There are people in our community working to meet those
needs – first responders, doctors and nurses, truck drivers, people in various
aspects of Christian ministry like Christ’s Kitchen in Victoria. In the days,
weeks and perhaps even months that this crisis continues, pray and seek the
Lord for ways that you can attend to, protect and guard your brother or sister
in the faith as well as your fellow man. The difference you make may be eternal…
Can you redeem time lost? Not always – all opportunities to share God’s love are limited opportunities and available only as long as the Lord allows. Time marches on, people change, move on, grow old and pass away. But sometimes God allows us a second chance to share – don’t miss it if you get one; resolve now to be a person who will care enough to help another person come to faith in Christ.
You can redeem the time you have left or that someone else in your life has left remembering what Jesus said in [John 9:24]: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” We have the strange notion that God has given us life for our own pleasure and purposes and while the time IS coming when we will be at rest (in heaven, with Jesus ) for now we must work while it is still day – while we still have breath we must redeem the time for the sake of the spiritual need of others.
Redeem the time you have because it is most likely that you will never have the given opportunity or set of circumstances to impact the lives of those you meet for Jesus again. Each experience in time is unique with so many variables that duplicating the experience is next to impossible.
As in my
visit with the young
man on the plane trip to Buffalo; outside that one moment in time, I will never
have the same
opportunity to reach out to him again. Redeeming the time is making the most,
in Christ’s name,
out of every opportunity to share the love of God with others.
Redeem the time because you may never see the person you are visiting with again. We’ve already said that life is a fragile thing. It is important that we stop taking for granted that we’ll have another chance to tell someone about Jesus. Will the bed ridden, sick and indigent be around tomorrow? Will the fittest man, a picture of health, in the prime of his youth be around tomorrow? Will we, the bearers of the message be around tomorrow? Life is a vapor (James 4:14). No one knows their own length of days let alone someone else’s .We must come to understand that when the Lord puts someone into our lives, even temporarily, it is our only opportunity to reach them in Jesus name. We must make the most out of every moment in which we live as followers of Christ to reach people. We must come to see those we meet in life as people for whom Christ died but who don’t know it or believe it yet.
Finally, we must remember as one commentator said, not only to redeem time lost, and time left but time loaned; we must remember that we do not manufacture time, if we did, none of us would ever run out of it. The fact is that like everything else pertaining to life, God has given us time; let us make the most of it in light of His purpose and the worlds need. Buying up opportunities, which is another way of saying redeem the time will cost you something in terms of your own wants and desires – lay your life down for the gospel, for the cause of Christ and the purpose of God – the price you pay to tell is not as high as the price Christ paid to provide but it may lead to the priceless redemption of another soul – that IS what redeeming time is all about.
Somebody once said, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what should be done today because procrastination is the thief of time.” What he meant by that I think is that we usually procrastinate when we have the time to do what’s needed but we’d rather not, thus we put off to another time which may never come what we had the time to do today and in this way procrastination robs us of time.
In the Ephesian
letter Paul calls the days that they were living in evil; he said, “Redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.”
What’s Paul saying? Well, without
denying God’s sovereignty over all of His creation I think that Paul is drawing
our attention to the fact that we live
in a delicate world.
Men still choose to do evil instead of good. Sometimes their choices just affect themselves, and sometimes they affect others, sometimes many others. On 9/11 several men boarded planes which crashed into the Trade towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field, killing thousands out of hate. And on any given night someone carelessly chooses to drink and drive, wrecks and kills someone; or another gets angry and takes another man’s life, etc.; wars and rumors of war, famines, pestilence’s, earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:6-8), hurricanes, typhoons, tornado’s, blistering heat, freezing cold, ‘global warming’, hate, greed, injustice, etc. – we live in a delicate world.
We are obviously not in full control of our time here on earth. You
could avoid people, traffic, cities and still be a victim of
someone else’s careless or violent act. You may live a morally pure life and still contract AIDS from a blood transfusion during surgery
(all though that is less likely today than in
recent years). You could drive carefully and cautiously and still be a party in
a fatality
wreck because of ‘the other guy’ – and so on.
It should alarm us
that life isn’t nearly as predictable as we would like it to be. Likewise, it should be just as alarming to understand that the threads that moor each
of our lives in time can be easily broken by any one of a number of things. It
should alarm us that life can end at any moment, ours or someone else’s, and that
their eternal destiny hangs in the hope that someone tells them about Jesus, and that they believe. These alarms should move us to act, to listen,
to care, and to get involved in the lives of others; they should stir us to
urgency regarding the sharing of the gospel.
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