Chris Marshall Resources

Today, we turn to the Book of Isaiah, who was a prophet from 740 BC to as late as the 680’s BC.  The length of time of Isaiah’s work has led some biblical scholars to assume Isaiah is not the writing of one prophet but of two or even three.  The challenge before us is not to determine if the writing contains one, two, or three authors, but to consider what Isaiah said, and why?  Once we do that, we must see how it applies to our lives today, given we serve the risen Jesus.  Isaiah lived under the old covenant, and prophesied the coming of Jesus.  He also prophesied about the doom coming to Israel if she didn’t repent and return to God.  While calls to repentance can apply in every age, because we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, as we read much of Isaiah, it will be more as historical background than as pertinent to our daily lives.  Isaiah’s word to Israel was and is God’s word.  It’s application in our lives, though will be more in terms of principles to apply and promises given and already answered than as prophesy of future events.

In Isaiah 1, we read of the kings of Judah (Israel’s southern kingdom) during which Isaiah prophesied.  We read from the outset how both Israel and Judah have turned against the LORD and have suffered His judgment.  Remember in Isaiah’s time, the people of God were under the Law of Moses, which required obedience for the people to be blessed.  The people had not been obedient.  They had turned from the LORD and worshiped idols.  Therefore, they had suffered God’s judgment.  He tells the people He doesn’t want their sacrifices and burnt offerings.  He wants obedience.  He does promise that though their sins were like “scarlet,” they would be washed as white as snow. (Sin is often called “black,” by people, because they think of it as being darkness. The color God associated with sin was scarlet or red.)  As we read through chapter 1, we see the repetition of the LORD’s condemnation of evil, a call to repentance, and a return to Him.  He calls Jerusalem a “whore,” and that image is often used throughout the books of the prophets, because the LORD saw Israel and Judah as His bride.  They often indulged themselves in worshiping false gods, particularly Baal.  This led to the analogy of God’s people being a whore.  This tells us how profoundly personal the LORD considers our relationship with Him.  Far from being a distant God who is unconcerned with our daily lives, He loves us and wants us to put our relationship with Him before any other.  That is His desire, because He has done that with us!

Isaiah 2 begins with a promise of Jerusalem being the central place where people will come to worship the LORD and to learn His laws.  This is a future promise, because at the time the people of Judah and Jerusalem were engaged in unfaithfulness.  The latter portion of the chapter deals with “The day of the LORD.”  Nearly all the prophets spoke of the day of the LORD.  It was a future time when He would judge all nations.  As we read in chapter 2, the judgment on the idol worshipers, which was virtually every nation, was to be severe.  This is in keeping with the LORD’s view that His people are precious, and anyone or anything that would turn us away from Him deserves judgment and punishment.

Isaiah 3 is a scathing rebuke on Judah and Jerusalem.  Isaiah not only rebukes them for what they have been doing, but tells of the LORD’s judgment and punishment to come. While the previous chapter offers a promise to Judah and Jerusalem, chapter 3 makes it clear this is not an unconditional promise.  The promises of the old covenant were always conditioned on the people obeying the LORD.  The people had rejected that condition, and the consequences would be severe.

As we return to Mark 6, we find Jesus returning to His hometown to teach.  While the people were amazed at His teaching, they began to question it, because they knew Him. He had grown up among them, so they were skeptical.  Jesus told them a prophet was never honored among his own people.  Because of the people’s lack of faith, Jesus could not do many miracles there.  Do you find that interesting?  Jesus’ ability to heal had some connection to people’s faith.  That statement has been used down through the centuries to tell people they failed to receive healing, because they didn’t have enough faith.  While that might be true at times, Jesus’ point was the whole group held no faith in Him, and their collective disbelief was the reason for His failure to heal many.  It wasn’t that Jesus couldn’t heal many people.  It was that He didn’t, because they failed to believe He could.  They saw Him as merely human, and not as God’s Son.  When we pray in faith, we don’t always receive what we want, but Jesus always hears us and responds.  If we’re part of a group that doesn’t believe He is the Son of God, we ought not be surprised when He doesn’t answer our prayers, (although He might!) but even then, He might answer to demonstrate His love for us, and to show us He is real.

As we continue through Mark 6, Jesus continues to perform amazing miracles such as feeding the 5,000, and walking on water, but He also sends out the twelve to do their own mission work.  Jesus didn’t come to heal everyone, or to cast out every demon.  He came to establish the Kingdom of God, and to bring our salvation.  He did that in an extremely unusual way: through training up a small group of people, who would testify to His Lordship, and offer prayers for healing and deliverance to any who desire that. They would also establish communities or fellowships of people in places all over the earth, where the “body of Jesus Christ,” would be lived out in such a manner that those on the outside would want to come in!

Song of Songs, chapter 7 begins with the continuation of Solomon’s words of love for his bride, and concludes with her calling him to come to her for their love to be consummated.  This chapter can make the prudish a bit concerned. Is this kind of thing supposed to be in the Bible?  While there may be few prudes left in the world, the passage makes it clear God both made and affirms sexual love in its proper setting: a committed marriage between a man and a woman, who are both committed to God. While Solomon’s “beloved” was hardly his only wife, after all he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, the Song of Songs shows us what is appropriate between a husband and wife when it comes to physical expressions of love.

Song of Songs concludes in chapter 8 with an expression of how powerful love can be. We’re told love is as strong as death, and that many waters cannot quench it.  The final words of the book address the bride’s younger sister, and are somewhat anti-climactic given the overall theme of the book.

As we return to Mark 5, we read of three major healings Jesus performed. First, Jesus healed a man who was possessed by as many as 2,000 demons.  He called himself, Legion, because he had so many demons.  The sad reality in this account is after Jesus healed the man, and the people of the area saw this once terribly violent and affected man, calm, whole, and in his right mind, they asked Jesus to leave.  This was too much for them to accept.  The man begged Jesus to let him go with Him, but Jesus told the man to go back and tell everyone in the cities of that area what the Lord had done for him.  The man did and we’re told everyone who heard what happened was amazed.

Next, while Jesus was on the way to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter, a woman worked her way through the tremendous crowd that was pressing against Jesus and touched Him.  With that touch, the woman was healed of a terrible bleeding disorder.  The woman had broken the Law of Moses by coming among the people in the crowd, and by touching Jesus.  Her bleeding disorder made her “unclean,” and therefore, she was prohibited from being near other people.  Her desperation made her ignore the Law, and her faith made her well.  Jesus recognized healing power had gone out from Him and asked His disciples who had touched Him?  They thought the question absurd given the density of the crowd, but the woman realized Jesus knew what had happened.  She came before Him, bowed down and told the whole story.  She had no idea how Jesus would respond.  Would He condemn her?  The short answer is: No! Jesus said “Daughter, your faith has healed you…”  This woman is the only person Jesus ever called daughter.  What a tender response. It might be one of the most powerful interactions Jesus ever had with someone He healed.

Finally, while Jesus was delayed with the woman, servants came from Jairus’ house to tell him his daughter had died.  Jesus told Jairus the girl had only fallen asleep.  They continued to Jairus’ house. When they entered, the scene was that of wailing and mourning.  Jesus told everyone the girl was only asleep, but they laughed at Him.  When they made their way to the girl’s room, Jesus took her by that hand and told her to get up.  She did!  As a dad, I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to have been Jairus in that moment.  I would have followed Jesus anywhere!  As we go about our lives, we must remember how much Jesus loves us, and how powerful He is to impact our lives.  Whatever healing we need: spiritual, physical, emotional, He has the ability to touch us.  He calls us sons and daughters.  He literally died for us, rose for us, reigns in power over us and prays for us.  The focus of our faith is Jesus.  He changes everything. As we go about this day, our faith in Him makes all the difference.

Song of Songs chapter 4, which also includes the first verse of chapter 5 is Solomon’s description of his bride as she stands before him at their wedding.  As we read the poetry one thing is obvious: the images are time bound.  He describes her teeth as a “flock of goats,” and her neck as being like “the tower of David.”  While the descriptions were undoubtedly well-received in his day, they don’t sound romantic in ours.

As we move to chapter 5, it is somewhat confusing in that at first the bride cannot find her husband.  When he knocks on the door of her chamber, she tells us she cannot come, because she hasn’t dressed.  Then when she goes to the door to answer, and he is not there, so she goes out after him.  She tells us she was found by the city watchmen and bruised by them.  Then the scene shifts to her offering a description of her beloved, another beautiful, but time-bound bit of poetry.

Chapter 6 offers an interchange between the bride and her beloved, with a few brief comments by the choir or the others who are in the background.  The description Solomon offers of his bride is once again poetic, but time bound, something we men wouldn’t want to use to impress our wives.

As we return to Mark 4, we’re reminded of how action-oriented this gospel is, because here we turn to a body of teaching for the first time.  Jesus tells several parables concerning what the Kingdom of God is like. We read the familiar (to us) Parable of the Sower (sometimes called the Parable of the Soils).  Jesus also talks about the Kingdom of God as being like a mustard seed, and like a growing plant, that grows on its own (a literal translation would be close to “automatically.”)  The chapter ends with action, though, as is Mark’s trademark.  Jesus and the disciples took a boat out on the sea.  Jesus, tired from the day, fell asleep, but a storm came up threatening to swamp the boat.  The disciples, at least a quarter of whom were fishermen familiar with sailing, grew terrified and wakened Jesus, asking Him whether He didn’t care if they drowned. Jesus spoke to the wind and waves, and immediately the sea became calm.  The disciples responded in wonder, as any of us would. While the storm Jesus calmed was a literal storm, it reminds us He is able to calm the “storms” of our lives as well.

Today, we turn to Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, as it has been known traditionally.  This book of the Bible nearly didn’t make it as a book of the Bible, because there’s not much in it about God.  Additionally, the focus is romantic love.  Some have seen it as an allegory for our love for God, but it’s clear that the book is written from a man to a woman who are in love.  The poetry gets a bit graphic at times, as well as strange to the 21st century reader’s ears.

In chapter 1, we see how the “song” is set forth: the woman speaks, then the man replies. At times a “chorus” adds a descriptive phrase or comment.  We’re told the man is King Solomon.  It would be a good guess the woman is the pharaoh of Egypt’s daughter, because of some of the references Solomon makes.  He describes her as a “mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.”  While poetry is often geared to the era in which is written, the specific reference makes it likely the lover is pharaoh’s daughter.  As we read the back and forth between the couple, it is obvious they are young and “in love.”  I put “in love” in quotes, because the comments are emotional comments.  The in love experience is primarily physical and emotional.  It is a good thing designed by God.  Otherwise, we wouldn’t be reading about it here, but it is also temporary, put in place so that a couple might be attracted to each other, and develop a relationship where true love, what the New Testament calls “agape” can develop.

In chapter 2, many images from nature are used to describe the love between Solomon and his love.  She describes him as a gazelle and stag.  One of the comments made that has often been expanded on and allegorized is the “little foxes” that spoil the vineyards. Many a Christian author and preacher have expanded on what those “foxes” are that attempt to come in and ruin the love relationship between a husband and wife.  Whether that was Solomon’s intent, the point is well taken: Many challenges face a couple who are committed to living in a committed marriage relationship as husband and wife.

In chapter 3, the bride is waiting for the wedding, and we aren’t certain whether she dreams she went into the city at night or she did, looking for Solomon.  She finds him and brings him home.  Then the scene changes to Solomon arriving with an impressive entourage for his wedding, so now, we’re more certain the bride was dreaming at the beginning of the chapter.

As we return to Mark 3, we see the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees grow.  Jesus healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on a Sabbath.  Before doing it, Jesus asked the religious leaders whether it was lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath, but they wouldn’t respond.  This filled Jesus with anger at their lack of concern for the man. He healed the man and we’re told the Pharisees went out and found the Herodians and conspired to eliminate Jesus.  This alliance, the Pharisees and the Herodians, was so unlikely.  These two groups hated each other, but because of their common concern that Jesus was dangerous, and would ultimately cause the Romans to attack Israel when the crowds determined to make Him king, they worked together.  As we go through the rest of the chapter, Jesus continues to impress the crowds and antagonize the religious leaders.  His actions disturb His family to the point that they want to come and take Him home, but that doesn’t happen.  The religious leaders accuse Jesus of using the power of Satan to cast out demons.  Jesus tells them this is absurd, because a house divided against itself cannot stand.  He also tells them any sin committed by humanity will be forgiven, except this sin against the Holy Spirit.  While some have stated the sin against the Holy Spirit is committing suicide, the obvious point of Jesus is it is a sin against the Holy Spirit to attribute His work to Satan.  Jesus’ power to heal was not demonic, but was the Holy Spirit.

Ecclesiastes 10 reads much as a chapter in Proverbs once again.  We’re shown the difference between wise and foolish actions, and the one that stands out the most to me is the wisdom of taking time to “sharpen the ax” so it will not take so many blows to fell the tree.  Many years ago, Steven Covey focused on this as one of the seven habits of highly effective people.  While it might seem best to always just start swinging the ax, taking the time to sharpen it before work begins, whatever it means to “sharpen the ax,” will always yield greater productivity in the end.

Ecclesiastes 11 is a bit more challenging to understand than some of the chapters in the book, but it commends putting our “eggs” in more than one “basket,” as we invest our efforts and our resources.  We’re reminded that if a farmer looks at the skies, he will never plant his fields, meaning there is always the possibility of rain, or wind, or of some calamity related to the weather.  While we learned in chapter 10 the importance of sharpening the ax before we work, there does come a time when the ax is sharp and we need to start cutting!

Ecclesiastes 12 starts with a strong reminder to live our lives fully when we are young, because as we get older we will find many aspects of our life aren’t what they used to be. At the age of 62, I am finding King Solomon was so right.  I am grateful to have invested most of my life in serving Jesus, and calling others to trust Him as Savior and Lord.  I don’t have many regrets, but the ones I have focus mainly on taking so long to let the Holy Spirit lead my life in the area of inappropriate anger, and of not investing my time as wisely as I could have.  I’m grateful to still be able to many things effectively, but some of the challenges of aging are starting to have their impact.  King Solomon closes by reminding us there is no end of writing books and too much study just makes us tired in the end. Therefore, fear God and keep His commandments.  That is good advice, as good as it gets.  As we fear God and keep His commandments, we demonstrate the kind of wisdom that shows we are abiding in Him.

As we return to Mark 2, we see it is one of the shorter chapters in the book. Jesus heals a paralytic, but not before forgiving the man’s sins, which caused the religious leaders to wonder who Jesus thought He was.  Before it was all over he had shown them!  Next, Jesus called Levi or Matthew to follow Him.  This also upset the religious leaders, because Matthew was a “sinner.”  Jesus addressed that matter simply: He had not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repent.  (Had the Pharisees not been so self-righteous, they might have seen Jesus was pointing out they were also sinners.)  Mark includes the conversation Jesus had with those who questioned why the disciples of John and the Pharisees fasted, but His disciples did not?  Jesus’ response is clear: He is the Bridegroom (It wasn’t so clear at the moment that the Church is His bride!), and no one fasts at a wedding reception.  Jesus had come to introduce something radically new, and while He was with us introducing it, the party was on.  During His absence for a time, we are called to fast.  Finally, Mark records Jesus and the disciples going through a grain field, and the disciples plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath–the day of rest. According to the Pharisees this was breaking the Law of Moses.  Jesus responded with examples of how King David broke the Law of Moses with impunity, and then pointed out He was the Lord even of the Sabbath.  So, we see by the end of chapter 2, Jesus had already set himself up as the Lord of a new movement, which would have a new covenant, and ultimately a new commandment that would supersede all the laws in the old covenant.  The new commandment is found in its most complete form in John 15:12:  ¹²“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  John 15:12 (ESV) We are far from the moment Jesus gave that new commandment, but even in Mark 2 we are well on the way to Jesus establishing Himself as someone radically different from the old covenant prophets.

Ecclesiastes 7 reads somewhat like a chapter in Proverbs.  It contrasts wisdom with folly, but also adds a fatalistic tone, with the end of something better than the beginning, better to go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting, and so on.  We see little hope in the chapter, or in the book, as King Solomon has only a slight focus on the hope we have in such great measure because of Jesus’ presence in our lives.

Ecclesiastes 8 starts with an admonition to obey the king.  While it might seem a bit self-serving for a king to command his readers to obey the king, it was, indeed, wise for anyone living in Israel to obey the king, because God had put him in place.  As the chapter continues, Solomon reminds us to fear the LORD even though we see the righteous dying early, and the wicked prolonging their days.  The reason we must fear the LORD is because we cannot know His ways.  The implication is we might think we know better than God, but we don’t.

In Ecclesiastes 9 we are told the same fate befalls us all: death. Not really a bumper sticker concept!  Then King Solomon tells men to be content with their wives, and to enjoy this simple blessing.  He closes out by reminding us again that while the same fate befalls us all, it is better to be wise than to choose folly.

Today, we return to Mark’s gospel. This will be our fourth time through this brief gospel. By now its content is becoming familiar to us.  We know Mark 1 does not include a birth narrative, that Mark starts with a bit of prophesy from the Old Testament and then moves right to the ministry of John the Baptist.  It has been said repetition is the mother of learning.  When it comes to reading the Scriptures that is true, and repetition makes the accounts our own.  While our handheld electronic devices make it easy for us to have Jesus’ words at our finger tips virtually everywhere, sometimes when we are having a conversation with someone it is helpful to be able to consider what Jesus said in specific situations, and to share that with someone.  Many times, over the years, the Holy Spirit has brought a passage to my memory at just the right time.  I did my part by reading the Scriptures over and over, and the Holy Spirit does His part by bringing it to mind at the precise moment it will have the most impact.  I’m not saying we ought to quote Jesus’ words to all our unbelieving friends, but a word given at the right time can be used powerfully to comfort the afflicted or afflict the comfortable, as one of my mentors used to tell me.

As you read through Mark 1 again, start to recall the flow from John the Baptist, to Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the wilderness, to His first proclamation of the message to repent because the Kingdom of God is near, to His calling of the first disciples, and so on.  Pastor Mark Geppert, the founder of the Southeast Asia Prayer Center often says, “The question isn’t how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times has the Bible been through you?” As we read Mark again and again, the story becomes clear, then it becomes more real, then in the power of the Holy Spirit we start living it out in our own lives.  That process is to be normal for those who follow Jesus, and it does start with what we’re doing right now: reading and reflection on His word!

Ecclesiastes 4 is brief and speaks of the evil that occurs under the sun.  The one bright spot in the chapter is the reminder when we have a friend life is more bearable.  After all, when we have a friend, if we fall down, the friend can pick us up.  He also tells us “a cord of three strands is not easily broken.”  Some have read into this King Solomon meant Jesus as the third strand.  That is possible, but not apparent from the context.  It is true in any relationship, when Jesus is at the center of it, the relationship is not easily broken.

The first seven verses of Ecclesiastes 5 remind us how important it is to fear God, to follow through on our commitments and vows to Him.  Once again, King Solomon has struck on the key, but moves immediately to focusing again on the vanity of wealth and honor. In the end, the conclusion is once again to enjoy one’s food and drink, and the labor God has given us to do.

Ecclesiastes 6 repeats the vanity of having wealth that will be left to one’s children without having the opportunity to enjoy it or to know how it will be used.  The wise and foolish will both die, and King Solomon tells us perhaps the stillborn child is better off than one who lives a long time, but never gets to enjoy life.  The fatalistic nature of these words of Solomon tell us he was not focusing on the hope of an after-life as he wrote these words.  That hope makes all the difference in how we think and how we live each day.

As we return to Luke 24, we come to the amazing reality of Jesus’ resurrection once again. Jesus’ resurrection is the pivot point of history.  The moment Jesus revealed Himself to the women, to the men on the road to Emmaus, to Peter, and then to the remaining disciples the world was forever changed.  That small band of men and women, who had believed Jesus was the Messiah, now knew beyond any reasonable doubt He was and is the Messiah!  While it would be ten days after Jesus returned to heaven, before the Holy Spirit  came to those same believers, empowering them to do the “greater things” Jesus promised them they would do in His name (See John chapter 14), Jesus’ resurrection assured them of who He was and is: the Holy One of God.  Many in our day doubt the resurrection of Jesus, but the transformed lives of those early believers is powerful evidence.  They had run from the Jewish and Roman authorities the night Jesus was arrested.  After His resurrection, they stood boldly and proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection before anyone who would listen.  They stood their ground when threatened with imprisonment and death.  They remembered Jesus’ admonition not to fear those who could destroy the body, but rather the One (that is the LORD!) who is able to throw both the soul and the body into hell.

One of the most important applications of Luke 24 in our lives today is to remember the centrality of Jesus’ resurrection in our lives. Because Jesus lives, we live also. Jesus promised to return when He returned to heaven.  That means we must be ready.  We don’t want to found unprepared when He comes.  Nor do we want to miss the opportunity to tell others about Him.  This life is so short, and we must be sure we share Jesus and His salvation with those in our spheres of influence who will listen.

 

Today, we turn to the Book of Ecclesiastes, which was written by “the Preacher,” who is generally recognized to be King Solomon.  If we were to summarize the book in the vernacular of our day it would be, “Life sucks, and then you die.”  Solomon tells us of all the different approaches he had taken to discovering the meaning of life “under the sun,” or “under the heavens.”  The phrases “under the sun” or “under the heavens” are instructive, because it helps us see Solomon’s frame of reference: the here and now, the physical world and the physical life we live.  We do get glimpses that Solomon pictured something more.  He talks about eternity being placed in our hearts. While the idea of heaven and eternity weren’t well-developed among most of the Jews in Solomon’s day, Solomon at least hoped in something more than the “vanity” or futility of this life.  As we read its 12 chapters over the next four days, let’s not make the mistake of reading into them our post-resurrection of Jesus perspective, but let’s remember many of the principles we find here push us to a deeper gratitude to God for sending Jesus to redeem us from sin and death, to give us meaning and purpose here and now, as well as to live with Him for eternity!

In Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, the preacher tells us all is vanity or futility. He writes of the circular nature of so much in nature.  He writes of the futility of many human pursuits, because in the end we end up where we started.  He devoted the remainder of the chapter to the vanity of pursuing wisdom.  While he had pursued wisdom more diligently than anyone in Israel, he concluded the person with greatest wisdom experiences the most vexation and sorrow.  Perhaps, that’s where we get the saying, “Ignorance is bliss,” but Solomon’s consideration of wisdom as vanity, came from his making wisdom the goal or the end of life.  Wisdom is always a means to an end, a means to coming to know God, and to serve Him faithfully.  James would eventually point out the demons believe or know the truth about God, and shudder, because their lives are not transformed by Jesus or committed to serving him.

As we move to Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon devotes the first eleven verses to the vanity of having fun, accumulating possessions, and pursuing pleasure in life. As we move to verses 12-17 Solomon compares wisdom and folly and tells us while wisdom is better than folly, in the end everyone dies and is forgotten, so once again it is all vanity.  In the concluding verses, Solomon considers the vanity of toil.  The vanity here is after a lifetime of work, we must leave the return of our labor to someone else.  We don’t know whether our heirs will be wise or foolish, so we could work all our lives only to see our legacy wasted.  Solomon does conclude there is nothing better in life than to eat and drink and be satisfied with our work.  If this life is all there is, then that makes sense.  Thank God, this life is not all there is!

Ecclesiastes 3 was made famous by The Byrds, a rockband from the 1960’s although Pete Seeger had “written” the song in the late 1950’s.  It included a word-for-word transcription of the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes three.  There King Solomon tells us there is a time for everything that happens and a season for every purpose under heaven.  This is a powerful principle.  Our lives are lived in moments and seasons.  How important it is for us to understand which season we are in at the moment, and live accordingly.  Solomon drew a different conclusion.  While he made this statement: ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV) Solomon touched on eternity, and that God had put it in our hearts, yet he concluded in the remainder of the chapter no one knows whether human beings go to a different place at death than the animals.  He hoped we do, but wasn’t certain.  Again, thank God, we know we get to be with God forever, through the salvation purchased for us by Jesus.

As we return to Luke 23, we find that more than a third of the chapter is devoted to Luke telling us neither the Roman Governor Pilate nor King Herod found any reason to put Jesus to death.  The religious leaders had somehow convinced the crowds to vote against Jesus, and because of the potential political consequences of a riot, Pilate condemned Jesus to die. While the women cried, and wailed at seeing Jesus walking to His death, while carrying His cross, Jesus told them to mourn for themselves and their descendants, because this was only the beginning of much worse to come.  When Jesus was crucified most of the people who gathered mocked Him, and challenged Him to save Himself as He had saved others.  Two criminals were crucified with Jesus and one of them also mocked Jesus, but the other asked Jesus to “remember” him when He came into His Kingdom.  Jesus told the man he would be with Him that day in paradise.  Jesus demonstrated who He was in so many ways that day.  He called on His Father to forgive those who crucified them, because they didn’t know what they were doing.  He didn’t respond to the crowds’ mocking with insults of His own.  He surrendered His Spirit to His Father and died with dignity. The Roman centurion in charge of the crucifixion had undoubtedly seen many crucifixions, and as a result when he saw how Jesus died, he proclaimed “Surely this man was innocent.”  Jesus’ body was taken down by Joseph and Nicodemus and put in Joseph’s tomb.  The woman watched as they did so, because they were going to finish the embalming process when the Passover Sabbath ended on Sunday morning.

As Andy Stanley has pointed out, at that moment “Nobody expected no body.”  That is nobody expected Jesus to rise from the dead on Easter. Nobody believed what Jesus had told His followers over and over, “I will rise on the third day.”  As “Good” Friday ended, it appeared the movement Jesus came to initiate was over.  It wasn’t!

Proverbs 29 contains one of the most quoted verses in the entire book, verse 18.  In the ESV we read: ¹⁸Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.  Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) The more often quoted translation for this verse is the KJV:¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)  The key point is we must have the LORD’s vision in our lives, or we will be led astray.  The world offers us plenty of “visions” for our lives, and many of them are even noble visions.  The difference between a noble worldly vision such as feeding the hungry, or drilling wells for all the people in the world who are without clean water, and a godly vision, is the end result will be more than a physical blessing.  Jesus’ followers ought to feed the hungry and drill wells to provide clean water for people, and we ought to do it in Jesus’ name, so people will know it isn’t our vision.  It is His!  Jesus came to set the captives free.  He came to heal the sick, cast demons out of the possessed, and to free each and all of us from bondage to sin and death.  He calls us to do the same.  While we are reading the Old Testament book of Proverbs, and King Solomon didn’t see any of that vision, he was right in proclaiming without a prophetic vision, a vision from the LORD, we will never make the kind of difference we were created to make.

Proverbs 30 introduces us to the sayings of “Agur.”  This chapter is different in kind from the previous twenty chapters where we have read hundreds of sayings about the wise, the foolish, the wicked, and the righteous.  Here Agur offers us lists of things that amazed him, typically in groupings of three or four, but let’s focus on one of the first groupings the two things he asked of the LORD.  After admitting he wasn’t all that bright, and calling on the LORD for help, Agur asked the LORD to keep him from falsehood and lying, and to keep him from either poverty or riches.  The first is self-explanatory: falsehood and lying lead us to places we don’t want to be: broken relationships, bad reputation, and in extreme cases prison and death.  Agur explained why he didn’t want to be rich or poor. He was afraid if he became too rich he would forget God, but if he was too poor he would curse God.  The wisdom of that request can be lost on those of us who live in a culture where nearly all of us are wealthy by the world’s standards, but don’t consider ourselves to be rich.  The point is vital, though.  We can trust in our wealth instead of the LORD.  That’s why Jesus told us money would be the chief rival god in our lives.  Unless, we rely fully on God whether we are rich, poor, or somewhere in between, we risk forgetting or cursing God, too.

Proverbs 31 consists of two parts and comes to us from “King Lemuel.”  The first part tells us of King Lemuel’s mother’s advice to him and for all kings.  The focus is on living uprightly and avoiding the pitfalls that can come with women, and with drinking strong drink.  She advised Lemuel that strong drink ought to be reserved for the dying.  We can conclude she was meaning it in the same way the dying in our time often receive morphine to reduce their pain.  The major portion of chapter 31 is devoted to telling us the characteristics of a virtuous woman. The detail is significant, and the characteristics are far beyond what we might expect of a woman in that day. She lives with integrity. She is industrious and not only at home, but in the marketplace as a business woman.  She provides for her family, and shows charity to others. She brings blessing to her children and to her husband. Such a woman stands out in any era of history, and brings honor to the LORD, herself, and others.

As we return to Luke 22, the longest chapter in the book of Luke, we find recorded all the events from before the last supper, through to Jesus being condemned to die.  While we could invest a great deal of time here, let’s turn to the moment Peter denied knowing Jesus for the third time.  Only Luke tells us when Peter offered the third denial, he was standing next to Jesus.  Jesus looked at Peter as he offered the third denial.  What kind of look was it?  A look of condemnation?  A look of sadness?  A look of love?  We can only guess, but it would be a good guess that Jesus looked at Peter with love.  He already knew Peter was going to deny Him.  He had predicted it hours before.  He already told Peter he would return to Jesus, so Jesus must have looked at Peter with love, compassion, and understanding.  Even so, Peter went out and wept bitterly.  His crime was grave, and he had carried it out in the presence of Jesus.  Remember this: every crime is grave, and each of us carries them out in the presence of Jesus.  He is looking at us all the time.  He doesn’t look with condemnation.  After all, the Apostle Paul told us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  But those penetrating eyes, call us to repentance.  The Holy Spirit convicts.  The devil condemns.  Always remember, Jesus is looking, and calling us to follow Him, and to live out our calling as His followers.  When we fall or fail, He is looking.  He looks to restore us, so we can move forward loving Him and loving one another as He first loved us!

Proverbs 27 sounds much like the other chapters we have been reading.  The verse I want to highlight is vs. 17: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  The new English translations read: As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. That statement is true, but the original was sex exclusive. King Solomon lived in a day, when women were not considered equal to men.  All we have to do is read of his 700 wives and 300 concubines and we know that.  While, I fully endorse the truth that any person can sharpen another person, let’s consider the original: one man sharpens another. We live in a culture where men are often confused about what it even means to be a man.  Many factors have contributed to that confusion, but sometimes in the name of equality, we have forgotten God created human beings male and female.  In His infinite wisdom, God created us as men and women.  We have physical differences that are notable.  They play a role in procreation, but they do so much more.  As modern scientists have mapped our brains, we have come to understand we have neurological differences as an aspect of those physical differences that mean men and women think differently, respond differently at an emotional level, and so much more.  At our core, we have the same ability to connect spiritually with God, but our connections are unique.

When Solomon said as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, he was saying men are supposed to make each other better.  We are to challenge, encourage, and correct one another.  I remember growing up in a church where men were noticeably absent. It was nearly all women and children. The pastors I had in my early childhood either scared me or made me wonder whether I wanted to be a Christian.  Thankfully, my Uncle Chuck was a Christian and a “real” man.  I put the real in quotes, because I don’t mean he could drink more alcohol than other men.  He didn’t drink alcohol.  I don’t mean he could beat up more men than other men.  I never saw him fight.  I mean he had a strength that ran so deep my dad, an angry and difficult man, became respectful and kind in his presence.  Uncle Chuck certainly sharpened my dad, even when my dad wasn’t following Jesus.  I’m grateful I have men in my life who do that for me, and have had them all my adult life.  If you are a man, I challenge and encourage you to develop such friendships among men, or at least with one other man.  We were created to go through life together, and part of that if we are men is to have another man or men who hold us accountable to growing as men.

Proverbs 28 contains several verses that deal with wealth and poverty. One of them is a bit unexpected considering the people of King Solomon’s day considered wealth a blessing from the LORD, and poverty as a sign of His displeasure. Here it is: ⁶Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. Proverbs 28:6 (ESV) Here King Solomon speaks not of whether a person is rich or poor, but whether the person has integrity or is “crooked in his ways.”  While poverty is not a blessing, it is a blessing to live in poverty with integrity rather than living with wealth and being wicked.  This is an acknowledgement that being poor is not always a sign of the LORD’s displeasure, nor is wealth always a sign of the LORD’s blessing.  Riches can be gained by dishonest means, and one can live in poverty simply because of the condition and location of one’s birth.  Far better to look at the heart of a person than to the wealth or lack of it, if we want to know that person’s standing before the LORD.

As we return to Luke 21, Jesus foretells two futures: the near future and the end of time future.  One of the surest proofs of Jesus lordship is how accurately he predicted the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  That took place only about forty years after His resurrection and return to heaven.  He told the disciples when it happened “not one stone will be left on another.”  That literally happened.  When the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD., they took every stone and threw it down from the Temple Mount precisely as Jesus said would happen.  Jesus told us we must be ready for this future time. He told His disciples to be ready for an event that would happen in some of their lifetimes, and He told all of us to be ready when He, the Son of Man, returns.  Many in our day, are not ready, and are not even concerned about the future return of Jesus. They are concerned about “more important matters.”  Nothing is more important than being ready for Jesus’ return, because if we are we “live ready.”  That means we awake each day with anticipation of Jesus’ return, and an understanding of the urgency with which we must live the day, not in a sense of agitation and restlessness, but in a sense of working, because we know the “night” is coming, and we won’t be able to work any longer.   Being ready for Jesus’ return is the surest way to live each moment with passion and compassion in His name!