Author: Chris Marshall

Today we turn to the final book of the Bible: Revelation.  This book has caused a great deal of controversy through the millennia.  The book is a record of the vision Jesus revealed to the Apostle John, about the “end times.”  The controversy has often been over whether the book provides a “timeline” for the end, which can be determined from examining it.  Some claim the book was only given as a comfort for those who suffered so deeply for their faith in Jesus in the first century but has no instruction for today.  As with the rest of God’s word, it had meaning for the people in the time it was written and for today.  As we read through Revelation, we will find some bizarre images, which some take literally, while others take metaphorically.  On this much we can agree: Revelation makes it clear Jesus will return and when He does, He will establish His kingdom and reign forever!

Revelation 1 starts with a “beatitude,” a blessing, for those who read it aloud, and for those who hear it and keep it.  We’re told what it records is for a time that is “near.”  (While we might see 2,000 years and counting as anything but near, we must remember in God’s timing 1,000 years are as a day.)  Next, we’re told the letter is addressed to the seven churches that are in Asia.  In chapters 2 and 3, we will read specific letters to each of the churches, but here they are greeted, and then John tells us many characteristics of Jesus in language taken mainly from images of the Hebrew Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament.  Here’s how He is described: ¹³and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.Revelation 1:13-16 (ESV)

We read the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. While the letters are addressed to seven individual churches, numerology is important in the Book of Revelation.  The number seven symbolizes God, perfection and completeness. Thus, the “seven churches,” can also symbolize the one universal church.  As we will see, the letters are written in a specific format with a salutation, then comes either commendation, condemnation, or a combination of the two.  Finally, the letter closes with encouragement to continue doing well to receive a reward, or a challenge to correct the errors or face permanent condemnation.  Let’s look at each letter briefly:

The first letter was addressed to the Church in Ephesus.  The letter starts with commendation for not permitting false teaching in the church.  But then comes the condemnation: you have abandoned the love you had at first.  The challenge every church faces is to hold the tension of truth andlove. The Ephesian Church had tipped to the side of focusing on truth but letting go of love.  This leads to legalism and Pharisaism.  Jesus challenged them to regain their love or their “lampstand” would be removed.  Yet, those who held true would be given the opportunity to eat from the tree of life!

The next letter was addressed to the Church in Smyrna.  This church received only commendation for holding true during times of trial and suffering.  They were told a time of imprisonment was coming that would last “ten” days.  The ten is in quotes because it is a symbolic number.  Round numbers and multiples of tens often signify indefinite periods of time in this book.  The promise to the Smyrnans is those who stand firm or conquer the period of suffering, will not be hurt by the second death–by hell.

The third letter was addressed to the Church in Pergamum.  Once again, Jesus commends the people for their faithfulness in suffering, but condemnation comes in the form or renouncing those who participated in sexual immorality and the teachings of the Nicolaitans.  As we see, while these words were directed at the Church in Pergamum at that time, the words are true of people in all churches of all times.  The reward for victory was to be given a white stone with a new name known only to the one who received it.  That means having a special name given to you by Jesus that only you and He know!

The fourth letter was addressed to the Church in Thyatira.  It holds commendation for those who have been faithful and have endured suffering with patience.  Yet, it also condemns those who practice sexual immorality.  This letter makes it clear some of each group were part of the church, and those in sin were called to repent.  Those being faithful were called to remain faithful.  The promise for those who overcome in this situation, is they would rule the nations with Jesus!

The letter to the Church in Sardis, which is found at the beginning of Revelation 3, contains only condemnation. They had a reputation for being alive, but they were dead.  Imagine being told that by Jesus!  It isn’t how we appear on the surface the matters, or what people think of us.  What matters is how our hearts stand before Jesus.  He promised those who overcame would be given white robes, symbolizing purity and victory.  He also promised them their names would never be blotted out of the book of life.

The sixth letter is addressed to the Church in Philadelphia.  This church receives only commendation. Jesus tells them He has opened a door for them that no one can close.  He tells them He will bring false believers in front of them to bow before them.  He tells them if they continue to remain faithful as they have been, He will make them “pillars” that will stand forever.  What a promise!

The final letter, to the Church in Laodicea, is famous for the line, “Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Billy Graham often used this verse to invite non-believers to put their faith in Jesus.  But Jesus addressed it to those who were supposed to be following Him but weren’t.  He said they were “lukewarm,” and because of that, He would spit them out of His mouth.  Again, we see how it applied to the particular church to whom it was written, but it also applies to every believer who has ever lived.  Our goal is to be “hot” for the Lord, and not “lukewarm”!

As we move to Revelation 4, we experience our first celebration of worship in heaven.  As we read the chapter, the imagery is hard to imagine.  That is as it must be.  How can anyone describe the indescribable?  John attempted to tell us what heaven is like with earthly words and images.  Until we experience it ourselves, none of us will be able to imagine it fully.  Thankfully, John paints us several pictures of God, the “throne room,” and other parts of heaven.  As we read through the book of Revelation, our minds will be informed, and our spirits will be touched!

As we return to Luke 20, Jesus’ authority is questioned by the Pharisees, but Jesus turns the question on them, and asks where John the Baptist’s authority originated.  They couldn’t (or wouldn’t) answer the question, so Jesus left their question unanswered as well.  Next, Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants, which we’ve experienced before in Matthew and Mark.  The gospel writers saw this as a clear statement of how the religious leaders were going to treat Jesus, and three of the four included it.  Next, we read of the religious leaders testing Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, followed by a question about the resurrection. The chapter closes with Jesus asking the leaders whose son the Christ/Messiah is?  He showed them the Messiah is both the Son and the Father of David.  We see again it’s always best not to test Jesus, because He always passes, and usually makes the “testers” look foolish in the process.

Today we turn to 2 John, 3 John and Jude. Each of these letters is brief, and in the big picture of God’s word might not even seem to be incredibly important.  But as Paul reminded Timothy all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and correcting us in His ways. 

In 2 John, John addresses the letter to “The elect lady and her children.”  This could be a local Christian church.  In any case, John’s message is similar to that of his larger focus in 1 John: stay faithful and obedient to Jesus.  One additional focus comes to light: we must offer hospitality to true believers, but we want to avoid doing so for false teachers.  John closes by writing he has much more to say but wanted to do it in person instead of through a letter.  This reminds us our faith is first and foremost a relational faith.  It is not simply words of instruction.

In his brief 3 John, John praises Gaius a local church leader whose faithfulness to Jesus and the Church are evident.  At the same time, he points to Diotrephes as an object lesson in how not to live as Jesus’ follower.  Diotrephes was arrogant and resistant to offering hospitality to those who deserved it.  Again, John closes by writing he had much to say, but wanted to say it in person rather than with pen and ink.

Jude, who was likely another half-brother of Jesus, wrote to correct false teaching, to challenge some false teachers directly, and also to encourage the faithful to continue in their obedience to Jesus.  This brief letter closes with one of the most beautiful ascriptions of praise or doxologies in the entire Bible: ²⁴  Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25 (ESV) 

As we return to Luke 19, we read of Jesus’ powerful interaction with Zacchaeus, who was a tax-collector, but Jesus treated Him with love and respect.  As a result, Zacchaeus repented and said he was going to repay anyone he had cheated. Jesus proclaimed Zacchaeus had received salvation.  Jesus then told the Parable of the Ten Minas, which reminds us Jesus expects us to “multiply” whatever He entrusts to us in serving His Kingdom.  Following this we read of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, where Jesus is acknowledged as the Son of David.  Unfortunately, the accolades were short-lived as a brief five days later the same crowds were shouting, “Crucify Him!”   The chapter closes with Jesus driving the moneychangers out of the Temple.  Jesus’ confrontations with the religious leaders as we move through the next five days of His life will prove to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and the religious leaders will fulfill Jesus’ prophecy by arresting Him, trying Him, finding Him guilty, and turning him over to the Romans to be crucified.

Today we turn to the Apostle John’s first general letter to the church.  In all, John wrote or dictated five books: The Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John, and Revelation.  The reason I said wrote or dictated is the Book of Revelation has the worst Greek writing in the entire New Testament, while the Gospel of John has some of the best.  How could the same person have written both?  If we think about it for a moment, it isn’t hard to see what might have happened.  When John wrote the Book of Revelation, he was in exile on the island of Patmos.  He didn’t have a “scribe” someone to whom he could dictate what he experienced.  He had to write it himself.  He was a Hebraic Jew by background, born and raised in Israel.  He wouldn’t likely have been too good at writing Greek.  It would have been a second or third language for him.  In the Book of Revelation, we find a number of “Hebraisms,” which means the writing is in Greek, but the words or phrases themselves are rooted in Hebrew words and phrases. Why bring this up when we’re about to read 1 John?  Because John authored a significant portion of the New Testament, and I wanted to point that out.  1 John is by far the longest of the “Johanine” letters.  The other two are only one chapter each.  In 1 John, John lays out his theology of Jesus, and reminds us he and the other apostles wrote from lives of personal experience: They had heard Jesus’ words personally.  They had seen Jesus perform miracles and they had touched Him personally.  That included seeing and touching the risen Jesus!  What an amazing opportunity they experienced, and because of that experience, John was able to speak clearly about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and the significance of each for our lives.  John’s experience allowed him to verify Jesus was fully God and fully man, which was often doubted in the early Church, and false teachers seemed to present ideas that elevated either Jesus’ humanity or His divinity but denied the reality of His being both fully God and fully human.

In 1 John 1, John sets forth his basic premise: We have seen, heard and touched Jesus in our lives. Therefore, we know He is God’s son, and the light of the world.  All who walk in that light will know the light of life.  John also reminds us whoever claims he has no sin is self-deceived or a liar, but when we confess our sins to God, He is just and faithful to forgive those sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  What a powerful and important truth: We don’t serve a God who rejects us if we aren’t perfect.  He knows we aren’t perfect, which is why Jesus died for us.  When we admit these imperfections, our sins, and everything about us that is broken, God is eager to forgive us and help us be made whole.

In 1 John 2, John reminds us we are called to live holy lives, but when we sin, and repent, we have an advocate–Jesus­­–who will forgive and restore us.  John makes it clear if we continue to live habitually sinful lives, we are deceived if we think we belong to Jesus.  John reminds us of Jesus’ new commandment to love one another.  For John that is the litmus test of our faith.  If we say we love God, but don’t love each other our claims are false.  John writes at some length about the “antichrists” who were already in the world and the antichrist who was to come.  John rightly points out anyone who is working against the ways and will of Jesus is an “antichrist,” which means being opposite or opposed to Christ.  John reminds us we are children of God.  What an amazing position and relationship!  Regardless of who we are or who our biological parents may be or have been, we are children of the living God through the shed blood of Jesus!

1 John 3 is a powerful chapter that starts with the reminder that we are called children of God through Jesus and that is what we are!  John reminds us we won’t continue to live lives of sin when Jesus is in charge of our lives. In 1 John 3:16 we read these powerful words: ¹⁶By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.1 John 3:16 (ESV) Most of us know John 3:16 (from the Gospel of John): For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  But 1 John 3:16 reminds us of Jesus laying down His life for us and then calls us to lay down our lives for one another! It’s easy to rest on John 3:16, but a genuine faith is going to move forward in laying down our lives for each other.

1 John 4 starts with a reminder we aren’t to believe every “spirit,” but we must test the spirits to make sure they are from God.  The test is simple: Any spirit who says Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.  Any spirit that doesn’t make that confession is from the antichrist.  John goes on to write a great deal about God and His love.  John reminds us God doesn’t merely exhibit love: God is love.  As we would expect, John also goes on to say our own love of God is shown in our love for one another. Anyone can say, “I love God,” but as John reminds us if we don’t love our brothers and sisters whom we have seen, we most certainly don’t love God whom we have not seen. 

1 John 5 closes with a strong reminder that when we love God and believe in Him, we will obey His commandments.  As I’ve mentioned in other posts, one of my mentors, Pastor Dale Milligan, often said, “To love God is to trust God enough to obey Him.”  Talk is free when it comes to loving God, but when we live out that love in obedience, in the power of the Holy Spirit, others know we are Jesus’ followers.  John goes so far as to say we will overcome the world when we live in loving obedience to Jesus.  John concludes the letter by writing he has written to keep his readers in the truth, to remind them God hears their prayers and responds to them as they live in His truth and love.  He writes to call them again to holy lives and to remember no one who knows God continues to live sinful lives. He closes with the simple admonition: keep yourselves from idols.  While that might not seem to apply to us, we must remember not all idols are statues made of wood, metal or stone.  Even the good things in our lives can become idols when we value them more than we value our relationship with God.

As we return to Luke 18, Jesus tells His disciples the Parable of the Persistent Widow, which He told them to remind them of how important it is for us to persist in prayer.  After that, Jesus told the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, which reminds us how important it is to remember we’re all sinners, and the humble prayer of confession and repentance is the most important prayer we can offer.  Next, families bring their children to Jesus for Him to bless them.  The disciples don’t see the value in this until Jesus rebukes them and invests time with the children.  That tells us we must value and invest time in children as well.  Jesus then has a conversation with a rich, young ruler who wants to know how to gain eternal life.  Jesus tells the man to have riches in heaven, he must give up his worldly wealth.  The man was unwilling, because he had great wealth.  How sad that the man gave up the opportunity to be with Jesus as one of His followers, because he couldn’t let go of material wealth!  After this, Jesus tells the disciples a third time of His impending crucifixion.  We’re told they didn’t get it at all.  Finally, the chapter closes with Jesus healing a blind man.  Luke tells us Jesus focused on the man’s faith as being responsible for the healing.  As we think about the matters in our lives, whether physical or spiritual that need healing, we must exercise our own faith as our part in the healing process.

Today we turn to Peter’s second letter to the universal Church of his day.  In this letter, Peter focuses on correcting heresy or false teaching.  He also reminds us to live faithfully as we’re waiting for Jesus’ return.

In 2 Peter 1, Peter exhorted his readers to continue in the faith and to grow in the faith they had received from Jesus Christ.  Peter also appealed to his experience of the transfiguration as evidence Jesus is truly Lord.  He tells his readers he is going to be dying soon, and he wants to ensure that after he is gone, they will continue in the faith.  He reminds them the prophetic word must be interpreted faithfully in accordance with the truth of God.

In 2 Peter 2, Peter rehearses many types of false teaching and false teachers who were seeking to lead people away.  Peter offered a “laundry list” of the types of false teaching and immorality they faced.  He reminded his readers of God’s protection from the evil we face, using Lot as an example of how God has protected His people since ancient times.  As we seek to follow Jesus in our lives, we must remember the importance of holiness and godliness, which come from learning the truth of God and living it out in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In 2 Peter 3, Peter reminds everyone to prepare for Jesus’ return, because He is returning.  Some had told the believers Jesus wouldn’t be returning, because He hadn’t returned yet.  Peter reminded them for the Lord a thousand years are as a day, and He wasn’t being slow in returning, but patient.  My prayer is for the Lord’s patience to continue, because I don’t want the billions of people in the world who don’t know Him to miss the opportunity to be saved.  Peter closes by reminding the folks the importance of the Scriptures and includes the Apostle Paul’s writings in the list of the Scriptures.  That is important to us, because in Peter and Paul’s day, the Scriptures were the Jewish Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament.  Peter’s own words help us to see Paul’s writings are God’s word, too.

As we return to Luke 17, Jesus reminds us how important it is for us to be faithful to Him, and particularly important not to lead one of His “little ones” to sin.  Then Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one returns to give Him thanks.  The one was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked why only one of ten returned to say, “Thank you.”?  It’s a great question.  Sometimes, we take so much for granted, and forget every good and perfect gift comes from God.  When we remember, it leads us to have a heart of gratitude.  The chapter closes out with Jesus talking about the time of His return and the importance of being ready.  So often, I remind us more important than when Jesus will return is thatHe will return, so we must be ready when He comes!

Today we turn to Peter’s first letter to the Church at large.  Peter wrote two letters, and each was intended to encourage, challenge and correct.  Peter’s pastoral side comes out in the letters, and he wanted to encourage those who were suffering for their faith in Jesus to persevere and to expect Jesus’ rewards for their faithfulness.  We see he might be coming to consider Jesus’ return as something that won’t happen as quickly as the apostles and other believers thought originally.

In 1 Peter 1, Peter tells us he was writing to those who had been dispersed because of their faith throughout the known regions of the world. He encouraged them to maintain the hope of their faith, because as those who were born again to a new hope, they were assured of their ultimate rescue through Jesus.  Peter also emphasized we are called to be holy, that is set apart for God’s purposes in our lives.  While our “flesh” is temporary, we can be assured of our futures, because they are tied to God’s eternal word.

In 1 Peter 2, Peter calls the people “living stones,” and just as Jesus, the true living stone, caused offense, but ultimately overcame, so will we.   Peter then moves to exhorting his readers to submit to authority.  He mentions submission to the emperor and governors first and speaks of submitting even when it means suffering.  Next, Peter challenges slaves to submit to their masters, even when they were treated improperly.  Peter also points out there is blessing for suffering when you are doing right, but not when you suffer for doing wrong.

In 1 Peter 3, Peter continues his conversation about submitting, by telling wives to submit to their husbands.  He reminds the wives their faith might be the means by which their husbands come to know the Lord.  Peter tells husbands to live with their lives in and understanding way, and to treat them well.  Otherwise, their prayers might not be answered.  Peter closes out the chapter by reminding his readers to be willing to suffer for doing good, and always to be ready to give an explanation for the hope they have in Jesus.  He reminds them Jesus also suffered for doing right, and in so doing brought them salvation!

In 1 Peter 4, Peter reminds his readers they are stewards of God’s grace and must not misuse it.  He continues to write about the importance of being willing to suffer for doing right, and to remember when we have suffered in the flesh, we are done with temptation.  The chapter helps us to recognize the world will not agree with our lives when we put Jesus first, and thus, we can expect some discomfort.

In 1 Peter 5, Peter exhorts the elders, pastors and overseers, who are all one group of people, to lead the people effectively and humbly.  Peter reminds all of them to live in humility and to remember the devil is roaming around like a hungry lion seeking to devour them.  The good news is when we trust in the Lord and live in His will, the lion has no opportunity to devour us.

As we return to Luke 16, Jesus tells an odd parable.  It is odd in the sense that Jesus affirms a “shrewd” manager who was going to be fired, who used his master’s debtors as a means of finding a new job.  He did it by cutting deals with each of them, so one of them might consider hiring him, because of his efforts of cutting their debts toward his master.  Jesus’ point is the people of the world are wiser in using money than we are, so we need to be wiser in this area.  Jesus closes the chapter with the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  Both died and the rich man, who had never helped Lazarus who was poor, or thought of anyone but himself was sent to hell, while Lazarus went to heaven.  The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus across the chasm between heaven and hell to give him a drink.  Abraham responded it wasn’t possible.  Then the man begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers about their need to change.  Again, Abraham said it wasn’t possible. Even if it was possible, Abraham pointed out the brothers had Moses and the prophets to lead them to God.  If they wouldn’t respond to that truth, sending someone back from the dead wouldn’t either. What a great blessing it is that we have the word of God, and the words of Jesus to instruct us about the matters of our life and salvation!

Today we turn to the Book of James.  James was the half-brother of Jesus.  Many have pointed out James becoming a believer and follower of Jesus is strong evidence for the resurrection.  After all, when Jesus was living, James and Jesus’ other brothers didn’t believe He was the Messiah.  To be honest, if any of my brothers were ever to convince me they were the Messiah, they would have to rise from the dead, too!  Anyway, James wrote his letter to challenge the believers who were scattered because of the persecution of the church in his time.  The book is practical and focused on the good works we must do as Jesus’ followers.  The heavy emphasis on works, even caused Martin Luther, the great German reformer to call it an epistle of straw.  He emphasized the grace of Jesus much more strongly than the works we do, but James offers a helpful reminder:  Faith without works is dead.  We aren’t saved by our works, but salvation always issues in good works.

In James 1, James reminds us when trials come our way, we ought to consider it “joy,” because the testing of our faith refines it.  James also reminds us God is always ready to give us wisdom, and He is the author of every good gift we receive in life.  James reminds us how important it is to have faith when we pray and not to be “double-minded.”  James concludes the chapter by reminding us true and genuine religion before the Lord consists of caring for widows and orphans in their distress and keeping ourselves unstained from the world.

James 2 offers us two clear admonitions: the first is not to show partiality to believers.  James reminds us it is often those who are wealthy who tend to subject us under themselves.   The second admonition is to remember faith without works is dead.  James reminds us Abraham’s faith was reckoned because he “believed” God, which James saw as an action.  He also uses Rahab as an example of righteous action when she saved the Israelite spies during the period of the Judges.  We need to remember our faith will issue in action when it is genuine.

James 3 offers an admonition that not many of us ought to be teachers, because we will be held to a higher standard.  It also reminds us of the importance of reining in the tongue, which is a difficult challenge for us all.  It also reminds us we all need the wisdom from above that is the only solution to all the challenges our sinful natures bring us.

James 4 offers warnings against worldliness, and James acknowledges the challenges of worldliness originate with the devil.  He offers us the solution to the devil’s work in our lives: humble ourselves, draw near to the Lord and resist the devil.  When we take these actions, the devil will flee from us. Notice, we must humble ourselves. That is key.  Humility is not natural to fallen human beings, but when we humble ourselves and draw near to God, when we live in the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives are transformed, and the devil runs away.  James also reminds us not to boast about what we are going to do, but when we make our plans to say, “If the Lord wills…” Boasting comes from the devil, but when we start our plans with the Lord’s will, we do well.

James 5 offers admonitions to the rich not to abuse their wealth or how they use it with people.  James reminds us all to be patient in suffering, which is such a vital reminder for us, because we live in a world that wants to medicate all suffering out of our lives or avoid it at all costs.  Sometimes suffering comes to us when we obey God, because the world isn’t in favor of God’s ways.  The chapter and the book close with some powerful reminders about the importance and effectiveness of prayer. James tells us prayer can bring physical healing as well as wholeness from our sins when we confess them to one another.  James closes out the book by reminding us Elijah was a man like us, but his prayers changed the world of his day.

As we return to Luke 15, we return to Jesus’ telling of three powerful parables that let the tax collectors and other “sinners” realize how much God loves them and wants them to be “found.”  Jesus told parables about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons.  In each, the point is God is looking for us and waiting for us and won’t stop looking or waiting as long as we have breath. The celebration in heaven is great when we are found.  I have always loved these three stories, because of how they demonstrate the depth of God’s love for us and His desire for us to be with Him. 

In Hebrews 12, the author reminds us to imitate Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  He also reminds us, because God loves us, He corrects us.  Only illegitimate children aren’t corrected for doing wrong.  He challenges us not to refuse God and His purposes for our lives.

Hebrews 13 offers closing exhortations.  This is somewhat of a “laundry list” of commands. It includes the command to be hospitable, to remember those in prison, to honor marriage, to remember Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.  It also takes the time to remind the people to honor their leaders, and to submit to them, because they watch over the people as those who must give an account to Jesus one day.  This is a solemn reminder we are an army and not just a family. God has called us to go throughout the world in Jesus’ name and present the gospel to everyone.  This requires leadership and “followership.”  As we respect both responsibilities, the gospel advances, and God’s Kingdom grows.

As we return to Luke 14, Jesus once again heals a man on the Sabbath.  Next, He tells several parables.  The first focuses on not taking the seat of honor when you attend a wedding or celebration, but to wait and let the host seat you.  It’s a way of saying, “Be humble.”  The next parable tells of a wedding feast to which the invited guests would not attend.  The master simply invited others to come, because the feast symbolizes His Kingdom, and He will have it be full.  Jesus follows this up with some comments about the cost of following Him, and the importance of counting the cost before we embark on the journey!  The chapter closes with Jesus reminding us the importance of continuing to maintain our “flavor,” as the “salt of the earth,” which He calls us to be. 

In Hebrews 9, the author points out how the earthly Tabernacle was ordered by God and is a type of the heavenly model.  Just as it took the blood of bulls and lambs to sanctify the people and the Tabernacle, the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus’ blood sanctifies the heavenly Tabernacle.  The chapter makes clear the forgiveness of sins comes only through the shedding of blood.  It also states with the blood of animals the sacrifices had to be presented over-and-over again, but Jesus’ death was once-for-all, just as we die once and then face the judgment.

In Hebrews 10, the author underlines Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice and continues to emphasize the difference between the Mosaic sacrificial system, which could not produce enduring forgiveness, and Jesus’ sacrifice, which does.  He goes on to write about the importance of encouraging and exhorting one another to love and good works, as well as to continue meeting together for worship and fellowship. While we might think the tendency to avoid gathering as Christians with one another for worship and fellowship is a rather recent development, we are assured folks were already doing so not more than thirty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In Hebrews 11, which is often called the faith chapter, faith is defined as the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.  Then we receive an extended list of names of heroes and heroines of the faith starting with Adam and Eve’s son, Abel, and continuing all through the Old Testament era, and up until what was the current time when the letter was written.  Men and women of faith were willing to give up worldly comforts, and even to die to experience God’s favor and ultimate blessing.  We’re told the world was not worthy of such people, and yet most of them never experienced what those living after the time of Jesus experienced: Salvation in Jesus’ name.  How important it is for us to remember the value of that salvation, and that faith in Jesus is of greater value than any worldly possession.

As we return to Luke 13, Jesus reminds the crowds how important repentance is, and that when bad things happen in life, they aren’t always a sign of God’s judgment.  Jesus then told the parable of the barren fig tree to point out how important it is for us to “bear fruit” as His followers.  Jesus healed a woman who had been “bound” by disease for eighteen years, but the religious leaders were upset, because He healed her on the Sabbath.  Jesus then told a couple of parables about the Kingdom of God.  The first reminded us of how the Kingdom works as leaven works in a lump of dough, and the second of the narrow door and way that leads to the Kingdom.  Finally, Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, because He knew His time on the earth was short, and He would die there because of the people’s lack of faith and repentance.

In Hebrews 5, the author contrasts every other human high priest with Jesus.  Each of them was weak and had to offer sacrifices for his own sins before offering sacrifices for the rest. Jesus needed to make no such sacrifice.  We’re told Jesus learned His obedience through suffering.  No one ever suffered as much as He had, and at each point He relied on His heavenly Father to bring Him through it.  The chapter closes with a reminder not to fall away.  We are told the readers are still “infants,” although by this time they ought to be mature.

As we move to Hebrews 6, the author tells his readers to move on from the “elementary teachings/principles” of our faith.  He lists six elementary principles: 1) repentance from sin; 2) faith in God; 3) instructions about baptisms; 4) the laying on of hands; 5) the resurrection of the dead; and 6) eternal judgment.  As we look at the six, two of them might surprise us a bit: instructions about baptisms (plural) and laying on of hands.  The other four are definitely elementary and fundamental teachings/principles of our faith.  These two are as well, because they establish the importance of baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the laying on of hands reminds us of the importance of this practice both when it comes to recognizing or commissioning leaders, and when we pray for others for healing.  That they are included in the “elementary” aspects of our faith, shows us both they are building blocks for the deeper aspects, and we must continue to teach and live them as we mature.  The words that follow these elementary teachings have caused much discussion and dissension.  Those being that it is impossible for those who have received the word and fallen away to be restored.  While they are true at some level, because they are part of scripture, most of the New Testament teaches about second chances.  Peter comes to mind.  He followed Jesus for three years and fell away in Jesus’ time of greatest need.  When Jesus rose from the dead, He restored Peter.  The truth of these words is we must do all we can to maintain our relationship with God and live in the power of the Holy Spirit, because “backsliding” leads to our ruin.  The remainder of the chapter speaks of God’s faithfulness and introduces us to Melchizedek, who will be the focus of Hebrews 7.

In Hebrews 7, Jesus is compared to Melchizedek, who was greater than Abraham.  The reasoning for Melchizedek being greater than Abraham is Abraham paid a tithe of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, and the lesser pays homage to the greater.  The further point is made that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, because He was of the line of Judah and not the line of Levi.  At the end of the day, we see again Jesus is supreme over any other earthly priest, because He is both human and God’s son.

In Hebrews 8, the author summarizes everything he has written about Jesus as the high priest, and then emphasizes He is also the high priest of the new covenant.  God had predicted the coming of a new covenant through the prophet Jeremiah, whom he quotes in this chapter.  Now the new covenant has come, and it is as superior over the old covenant as Jesus is superior over the former high priests.

As we return to Luke 12, we could sum it up in two words: Be ready!  Jesus focuses on the need to be ready to stand up for Him in the current age, and not to fear what others might do to us.  He tells the disciples of the coming challenges, but He also offers promises of blessing to those who are found ready when their “Master” comes.  As we read through the chapter, we see Jesus moves from topic to topic, but the common theme is readiness.  Be ready!

Today we move to the letter to the Hebrews.  We don’t know who authored this book.  While many believe it was the Apostle Paul, the letter doesn’t contain his name at the beginning or the end.  The topics also don’t align with Paul’s common teaching material in that they focus a great deal on the Jewish heritage of our faith.  Some consider it to be a book of history, because it contains so much reference to the Jewish Scriptures and particularly to aspects of the Law of Moses.  Jesus is considered the greatest priest, who unlike all the other priests in Israel’s history did not need to offer a sacrifice for his own sin, before becoming the once and for all sacrifice for us.

In Hebrews 1, the author introduces us to the reality that while God spoke to us through prophets in previous times, in these times He has spoken to us through His Son.  This Son is not only superior to the prophets, but also superior to the angels!

In Hebrews 2, we are told the amazing truth that because of what Jesus has done, we are His “brothers” (and sisters).  We get to be part of God’s family, because Jesus died in our place and paid the penalty for our sin.  We also read Jesus was tempted in His body, but did not sin, so we know we can resist when we are tempted, too.

In Hebrews 3, we are told Jesus is greater than Moses.  Moses is compared to the “house,” and Jesus is the “builder.”  The builder is greater than the house.  Thus, while Moses was seen as the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, Jesus is greater.  The author of Hebrews is building the case for Jesus’ sufficiency to serve as our prophet, priest and king once and for all.  The author also speaks of how the Israeli people did not “enter into God’s rest,” because of their unfaithfulness.  This line of discussion continues in Hebrews 4.

In Hebrews 4, the author speaks of our Sabbath rest, which is purchased by Jesus.  We often downplay the importance of rest and Sabbath as Christians living in the 21^stcentury, but the author of Hebrews reminds us how vital it is.  Then we have the amazing and often quoted words about God’s word being sharper than any two-edged sword, which reminds us of why we must read, learn and live it in the power of the Holy Spirit.  At the close of the chapter, we’re told Jesus is our great high priest. This is the point of the book of Hebrews: we have a new and eternal high priest in Jesus.

As we return to Luke 11, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and He offers what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  Some have said it would better be called “The Disciples’ Prayer,” because Jesus told them to pray it.  In reality, Jesus wasn’t telling them to pray those specific words, but to incorporate the aspects of the prayer in their prayers.  That doesn’t mean we ought not pray it, but we must always remember prayer is an opportunity to listen to God’s voice as well as to offer words to Him.  Jesus then offered them an example about the importance of persistence in prayer.  Jesus then went on to respond to those who said He cast out demons by the power of the devil.  He condemned such thinking in the strongest possible way.  Jesus offered a brief parable about the importance of not simply having a demon cast out of our lives and leaving ourselves “empty.”  The implication is we must replace the emptiness with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus avoided receiving the accolades for Himself or His mother when someone in the crowd shouted that His mother was blessed.  Jesus responded anyone who does God’s will is blessed.  Jesus then proceeded to condemn the Pharisees for their lack of doing what they taught.  Jesus often made this distinction when condemning the Pharisees.  They were hypocrites, because they knew the truth, but didn’t practice it.  We want to make certain the “hypocrisy factor,” which is the difference between what we profess to believe and how we live decreases daily as we live into the new life of Jesus in the Holy Spirit’s power!