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Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “Remaining Focused On Your Calling In A World of Distractions” Mark 1:14-45

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

Remaining Focused On Your Calling In A World of Distractions

Mark 1:14-45

Introduction

“We say we turn to our phones when we’re “bored.” And we often find ourselves bored because we have become accustomed to a constant feed of connection, information, and entertainment. We are forever elsewhere. At class or at church or business meetings, we pay attention to what interests us and then when it doesn’t, we look to our devices to find something that does. There is now a word in the dictionary called “phubbing.” It means maintaining eye contact while texting.”[1]

Today we are going to see that Jesus is having to fight really hard to stay focused on His purpose in ministry. There are distractions that are constantly trying to derail his ministry. As a disciple of Christ, you too have a ministry that you are constantly being tempted to abandon. Let’s see how Jesus stays focused.

Prayer

Jesus Knows His Ministry (vv. 14-15)

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

We don’t know how much time has passed, but Jesus has emerged from his 40 days of being tempted in the wilderness. John’s arrest gives us a rough estimate of time, “after John was arrested.”[2] “Mark placed the beginning of Jesus’ ministry after the imprisonment of John.”[3] Jesus then goes into Galilee and is “proclaiming the gospel of God” – Here the “gospel means, for Mark, the message of Jesus himself.”[4]

Having started his ministry, Mark wants us to understand clearly that this message is about God (Jesus is the Son of God), and it is from God (the gospel of God) – it is not a manmade, human thought up myth.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” – “The time” means the time foreseen by prophets, the time fixed in God’s foreknowledge; “The hour has struck.”[5] The Jewish people had longed for God to reestablish his earthly kingdom, where they would be His chosen people amongst all the other nations. The coming king would overthrow all empires that threaten His people, and he would reign as king.

Jesus says, this reigning of God on the earth, “the kingdom of God” is here. He is taking back territory, He is building His kingdom now. So how do we make sure that we don’t miss this “kingdom of God that is at hand?” Jesus says, one must, “repent and believe in the gospel.”

They were to believe that what God had promised in the Old Testament books was now being brought forth, “The time is fulfilled.” Jesus is saying “A new order is at hand. Get a new mind that fits it.”[6]

The good news (gospel) of God’s kingdom being brought back is here – but they didn’t understand that this kingdom would be men’s souls, and their territory He would be getting back would be people not pieces of land, but men’s hearts.

Jesus Must Pass On The Ministry (vv. 16-20)

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus surrounds himself with a group or people who will be with him all the way through his ministry. They will be able to give an account of what he did, what he said, and how others reacted to him. Jesus wants the gospel to spread to “the uttermost.”

“Follow me”— is a technical term for discipleship. Jewish teachers called their disciples to follow them: one would not presume to follow without an invitation. “The call to come after someone implies discipleship because it is the disciple who breaks all other ties to follow his master as a servant.”[7]

And the phrase, “fishers of men” was an Old Testament figure of speech (Jeremiah 16:16) – where God was sending fishermen and hunters to catch/restore Israel. In the Jeremiah and other Old Testament passages – God playing the role of fisherman is ominous in tone, one of judgement.

We find ourselves surrounded by the net, and we are hunted like prey by evil – Jesus’ disciples (like in Jeremiah 16) reverse the tables and become the fisherman, seeking to catch and release men from their sin. Jesus came preaching, and the calling to His disciples is that they are be apart of restoring people back to God (away from judgment); restoring people to wholeness.

Mark emphasizes that “they left their nets” and “they left their father Zebedee” – being called by Jesus to become His disciples involves leaving something behind (break ties). Why is it important to emphasize what they left behind? Why not just say, “and they followed Jesus?”

To follow Jesus you have to leave things behind – a sinful lifestyle, a way of thinking about God, family, your career path, what you think makes you safe, even how you think the world works – everything has to be laid down. We are going to see that the disciples constantly think they understand the world, only to have Jesus turn it upside down. The Message of the gospel has to spread – but it has to be the right version of the gospel, it has to be God’s version.

Jesus’ Presence Strikes Fear in the Heart (vv. 21-22)

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

With several disciples, Jesus now travels about twenty miles to Capernaum, enters the synagogue there and “was teaching.” But Jesus’ teaching was distinctively different than other teachers of His day. “he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” – “The scribes were the official teachers or expounders of the Torah; as a member of a school, the scribe would teach what he learned from his master – viz., the scribal tradition.”[8]

The people reactions to Jesus’ teachings was astonishment; but this also conveys fear and alarm. Jesus taught with authority, meaning that there is no room for theological discussion, theoretical discussion, you were left with the impression that this was the Word of God. “In the presence of Jesus men are disturbed, and this disturbance is the precise act of fishing which Jesus had called the four fisherman.”[9]

Eventually, these disciples would be preaching on their own – and their preaching would also cause people to be amazed, astonished, and faced with the question of “what to do with Jesus?” Also, if we go back to (v. 15) “the kingdom of God” – as reclaiming the hearts of men, reigning in the hearts of men. Jesus is showing his disciples how to preach the truth of the gospel, and that when He is gone, will multiply to truth outward (a multiplication effect instead of one man).

23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”[10] 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

“In his excited cry three elements appear – recognition, repulsion, and dread. The repulsion is first expressed, then the dread, and then the recognition of his character, which of course, the foundation of both.”[11] The demons recognize what Jesus’ presence means, way before the people who are gathered around him understand.

Which do you think causes them more alarm, his teaching or the fact that he just cast out a demon? Look at their response, ““What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”[12]

Jesus Heals Many (vv. 29-34)

29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

“And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him” – Jesus doesn’t want the demons to tell others about him. He also doesn’t want those he healed to tell others about Him. Why? This is a thread that runs through Mark, what scholars call the “Messianic Secret.” Jesus wants to reveal that He is the Messiah, but He wants to do it in such a way that the people understand.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee (vv. 35-39)

35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Mark mentions Jesus going to a “desolate place” three times in his gospel (1:35; 1:45; 6:31-33), and in each reference it is after he/or the disciples have encountered large crowds of people and miracles were done. Jesus deliberately withdraws from the people to return to an area which has the characteristic of the wilderness where he encountered Satan and sustained temptation.[13]

Mark doesn’t tell us what happened when Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness but it seems to deal with the clamor of the crowds. He is turning from their praise, returning to a place which recalls his determination to fulfill the mission for which he has come into the world.

The disciples are looking around and seeing all the people, and want to continue to capitalize of Jesus’ growing popularity. “Everyone is looking for you.” Or “Why are you hiding when we have this opportunity for you to do more miracles! Look how popular you are!

In response to the crowds looking for Jesus, He says let’s go to the next town, “that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” Jesus does not want to become a miracle worker side show. He wants to preach the “good news of the gospel.” The disciples think it’s all about the popularity, the show, the numbers. Jesus does not want the people to misunderstand why He is there.

The crowds response were not appropriate because it did not involve repentance of sin, but attraction to Jesus as a performer of miracles (how Jesus made them feel).[14] Jesus could heal thousands and thousands of people, yet if they don’t repent of their sin, and place their faith in Christ, you haven’t done anything with the eternal, what ultimately really matters.

“and there he prayed” – Jesus separating himself to pray occurs three times in Mark, here at the beginning of his ministry, “in the middle after the feeding of the five thousand (6:46), and at the conclusion in the Garden of Gethsemane (14:32-42)” – These are all three critical moments in His ministry.

Why is this a crisis point? Because there is the danger to fail in His mission before He even gets started. “The crisis is the shallow and superficial response of the people to Jesus.”[15] The people of Capernaum had no interest in Jesus beyond the miracles or any interest in coming under the reign of God.[16]

Jesus Cleanses a Leper (vv. 40-45)

40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

The leper did not stand at a distance nor was he yelling “unclean” as the law stated and as we see in other healings of lepers in the NT. The “leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling,” – He is showing himself to be a person who acts in his own self-interest, not thinking about how his actions affects others. “Desperation may not be the most noble motive for seeking help, but Jesus does not scorn it.” Jesus shows compassion toward his illness, but anger toward his heart.

The tone of how Jesus responds to the leper seems to be one of anger. “Moved with pity” – some translations have “moved with anger,” also, when Mark says, “sent him away,” it is the same phrase for driving out demons. Jesus shows compassion by touching him, when no one else would touch him, but it is clear that Jesus is angry about something.

He tells the man “sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone” “Don’t tell anyone, be quiet.” So does the man stay quiet? (v. 45) “But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news”

“The command was not obeyed. Now the former leper could go anywhere, in and out of the cities freely. But the one who healed him could no longer openly enter a town without the immediate crush of the crowd.”[17]

“The man had gotten his heart’s desire, but regarded not the heart’s desire of the Healer.”[18]

“Exuberant Rebellion” – the man acted out of his feelings, not according to the mission of God. This man is doing what seems right to him, in direct rebellion of clear teaching of Scripture; he is doing what feels good, despite clear instructions from the Lord. Mark ends this section with this man’s example. “I am going to use Jesus to get what I want, while at the same time ignoring what He has to say.”

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[1] Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, Penguin Publishing Group.

[2] “Mark apparently wants to show that John, the forerunner, completed his God-appointed task; and only after that had occurred did Jesus enter his ministry.” Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Press, 1984) 624.

[3] James A. Brooks, The New American Commentary, Volume 23, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1991) 46.

[4] George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 7 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1951) 655.

[5] Buttrick, 657.

[6] Ibid, 656.

[7] William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993) 67.

[8] Buttrick, 660.

[9] Lane, 72.

[10] “It was commonly believed that if one knew the name of the demonic power, he might exorcise it.” Clifton Allen, General Editor, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1969) 275. Also see, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1984) 627.

[11] W. N. Clarke, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Volume 2 Mark and Luke (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 25.

[12] C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

[13] Lane, 81.

[14] Ibid, 82.

[15] Gaebelein. 629.

[16] Brooks, 53.

[17] Allen, Volume 8, 278

[18] Clarke, 31.

Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “The Beginning of When the World Was Changed” Mark 1:1-13

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

The Beginning of When the World Was Changed

Mark 1:1-13

Introduction

As we begin our study of the gospel of Mark we need to understand that each gospel is different yet united by telling the same story. They are like the southern accent. Many people think there are two southern accents (Redneck and Plantation) but I can assure you there are many varieties of southern speak. And just for your information, I know how to properly wear a pair of overalls, I do not let one side hang down, undone, and no I do not know how to play the banjo.

Matthew – has lots of facts, full stories, so this accents rolls around in the mouth like those in Tennessee. They are thinking about the words as they say them. They use the word y’all, and talk about football, and whose playing this weekend.

Luke-Acts – two large accounts of Jesus and the church beginning, is like southerners in Savannah or Montgomery. Full, large words, you take time to unpack the words, and they are spoken in the back of the throat. S-A-V-A-N-A-H – this is the Long Horn Leg Horn southern.

John – as the synoptic gospel is doing it’s own thing. It’s used to its own space. This is Alabama, their mouths are open wide, noses scrunch up, and they talk nasally. “What’s Ya’ll doing Friday night? We are going to mamas for lunch after church.”

Mark – is like going to the bayou of Louisiana. People speak quickly, words are cut in half and combined with other words. You add in Cajun and French, When Mississippi people are talking you better hang out to figure out what’s going on. “do like that there.” “Living in uptown.”

Prayer

The Introduction of Jesus

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. This is when it began to move from town to town, person to person, from the country roads of Galilee, to the city streets of Jerusalem. It made it’s way to the poorest of the poor, and to the wealthiest and most powerful. It made it’s way through generation, after generation and when I was nine years old, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made it’s way to my VBS classroom and took root in my heart.

“The gospel does not mean a book, or the message delivered by Jesus, but “the Christian proclamation of the divine message of salvation through Jesus Christ.”[1]

We are told quickly that this account is about Jesus who was the Son of God, “later demonic forces acknowledged Him as “the Son of God” (3:11; 5:7) and at the cross the Roman centurion asserts, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (15:39).”[2]

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.[3] 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.[4] 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

(v. 2) “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet” – more specifically it says, “just as it is written.”[5] It was foretold that this would happen, and it did happen “just as it was written.” This is an exact prophetic fulfillment. Mark begins his account by stating how Jesus fulfilled prophecy, even from “the beginning.”

The quotation is from Isa. 40:3 verse 2b is from Exodus 23:30. The gospel is not something new that has suddenly appeared – it has long been anticipated since Genesis 3:15 “. . . he [Jesus] shall bruise your head, and you [Satan] shall bruise his heel.” Since the beginning of time there was a promise that a Savior would come and save mankind from sin – this is the beginning of that great story.

“It had been at least three hundred years since a word had come from God.”[6] It had been a long time since God gave Israel a “word from the Lord.”

John is not crying out in the marketplace or cities, or temples – the Baptizer was “one crying in the wilderness” The desert region in which John started his ministry of baptism is sometimes in the Old Testament called Jeshimmon, which means “devastation.” The people who had not heard from the Lord in generations, now as foretold John the Baptizer was yelling out in the wilderness, “the Savior of the world was coming,” and he’s coming to devastation. The world had been devastated by sin, and now God is going to make it right again.

So out in the wilderness there was a great movement of God, “all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him” His cry was that someone was coming and we need to prepare ourselves for His arrival.

And his message was “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight, — God’s Word applies to us today, so how does one today, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight? It is what John the Baptist said then, yet we are still to take it and use it today.

We are given hints to the answer to this question in what follows in Mark’s account – John’s actions (baptizing for the forgiveness of sin; His dress (simple and humble camel hair and a leather belt), His diet (eating what is around him), His understanding of himself (there will come one who is greater than I) but ultimately all of these things point to John’s message “repent of your sin.”

“The preparation was to be made in their hearts. The way of the Lord is through the heart. They prepared “the way of the Lord” by preparing and making their hearts fit for receiving the Lord.”[7]

There was a massive movement of God where “all the country of Judea, and all Jerusalem” (v. 4) “John appeared,” (egneto Ioanes) The word used for appearing is not in reference to an event (en), but an epoch (egneto).[8] His appearing marked the beginning of something new, and God highlighted by moving in thousands of people’s hearts and minds. “John is treating the Jewish nation as pagans who need to repent, to confess their sins, and to come back to the kingdom of God.”[9]

“Jerusalem is at least twenty miles from the Jordan River and about four thousand feet above it. It was hard going down the rugged Judean hills to the Jordan and even harder coming back up.”[10] Those going to see John were feeling the drawing of God to repent of their sin. “It is not remorse; not admitting mistakes; not saying in self-condemnation, “I have been a fool.” This is more than saying, “I’m sorry for one’s sins.”

[Repentance] It is a moral and spiritual revolution.”[11] It is a radical mindset change toward sin. It is “a change that will have, if genuine, its appropriate “fruits.””[12] (v. 3) “baptizing in the wilderness” – another word to define baptism is to be overwhelmed. John’s baptism was a picture of a people overwhelmed by the guilt and weight of their sin.

The road is made straight in our lives, and the way is prepared (for the Savior) when we humble ourselves before God and say, “I am a sinner” and I hate the sin that is in my life – I want it gone. (v. 5) says that they were “confessing their sins.” In this admission and understanding, you are not alone; Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Our introduction of Jesus is that it begins with a recognition that we have a sin problem – the good news is that God has provided an answer. Many of John’s disciples left John to become followers of Jesus because now that we have seen our sin for what it is, and we repent and seek righteousness – we can do nothing with our sin. We need a Savior.

Before we leave John, I want to highlight his words, “I am not worthy” – thousands of people were coming to see John and to be baptized by him. Anywhere he went, he would have been recognized. There was a mighty movement of God surrounding him. He was preaching constantly – yet, in the original language it says, “I am not suitable, a fit person – to do for him even this most menial service.”[13]

This was his humble utterance of a comparison between him and the Savior before Him. None of us are suitable, none of us are fit to do anything for the Lord. Isaiah 64:6 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (like filthy rags).

(v. 8) John says, “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” – John’s water baptism was a symbolic picture of people being overwhelmed with their sin and wanting to repent from it – so they show this inward heart’s feeling by being overwhelmed in water. When we place our faith in Christ, we are overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He (Jesus) will overwhelm you by surrounding you, immersing you, with the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus began his public ministry there were two events that took place first;

his baptism by John, and the temptation.

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee[14] and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The first time we see Jesus in Mark’s gospel is at His baptism. No shepherds, no wise men, no angels appearing to Mary and Joseph – our journey with Jesus begins with a voice from heaven. Mark was not written for “a people who would have little interest in the genealogy of Jesus, or anything but the work by which he had become precious to them. So while John begins from eternity, Matthew from Abraham, and Luke from the events that preceded the birth of the forerunner, Mark finds the forerunner already at work, and introduces Jesus at the time of his baptism.”[15]

(v. 9) “9 In those days” – When the movement of God was in the wilderness, and people were being overwhelmed by their sin – “Jesus came from Nazareth” There was a calling, a direction by God, to put down his carpenter’s apron and hammer, and go to where God was moving among the people. He was waiting for the right time – for the announcement.

Jesus “was baptized by John in the Jordan” – Jesus is being overwhelmed, not with a weight of sin, but with the calling to begin His ministry. He was officially beginning the Messianic work of being the Savior of the world. So that when John brought him up from the water – immediately “he saw the heavens being torn open.”

“the Spirit descending on him like a dove” – At Jesus’ baptism is the only place that the Holy Spirit is described to us to be “like a dove.”[16] When Jesus begins his public ministry, He asks for a scroll of Isaiah to be brought to him, and he reads Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

“And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son” – In verse 1 the reader is told that what we are reading is, “the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” and now here is a voice from heaven affirming that Jesus is the Son of God. Now the story that unfolds in the rest of the book, is not about a good moral teacher, or a historical narrative of a Jewish moral man – it is the story of how salvation was brought to humanity through the Son of God, Jesus Christ[17] (who is loved by God the Father).

The Temptation of Jesus

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Now that the Spirit has descended upon Jesus, the first thing the Spirit does is to lead him toward the Temptation for forty days. But even though Mark’s account is brief, it does give a detail that is not found in the other accounts, where it says “And he was with the wild animals.”

Mark doesn’t tell us any details about what happened between Jesus and Satan, whether the animals were against Jesus or for Him; and we don’t know what the angels did in the wilderness to minister to Jesus. Only that Jesus and Satan were battling for forty days.

“For the first time since events in the Garden of Eden, Satan confronted a completely sinless person. However, whereas Adam was created a sinless being, Jesus was sinless by virtue of His being the very Son of God!”[18]

A. Ironside remarks, “It was fitting that he should be tested before He began His gracious ministry. His temptation was not to see if perchance he might fail and sin in the hour of stress, but rather to prove that He would not fail, because He was the absolutely sinless One.”

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[1] George Arthur Buttrick, Commentary Editor, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 7 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1980) 648.

[2] James McGowan, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series, The Gospel of Mark (Chattanooga, Tennessee; AMG Publishers, 2006) 10.

[3] “The outpouring of the Spirit was understood traditionally as an established characteristic of the messianic age (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 36:25-27; Joel 2:28); however, John’s use of the expression “Baptize you with the Holy Spirit” here, was both new and unique.” McGowan, 11.

[5] Buttrick, 649.

[6] Rodney L. Cooper, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 2000) 7.

[7] C.E.W. Dorris, A Commentary on the Gospel According to Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; The Gospel Advocate, 1970) 17.

[8] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 253.

[9] Robertson, 254.

[10] Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 620.

[11] Buttrick, 649.

[12] Clarke, 16.

[13] Clarke, 18.

[14] “Jesus probably began his public ministry about A.D. 27, when he was approximately thirty years old.” Gaebelein, 621.

[15] W. N. Clarke, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Mark and Luke (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 15.

[16] Clarke, 21.

[17] On two other occasions God spoke from heaven about Christ (Mark 9:7) – at the Transfiguration and during the last week at the temple (John 12:28). . . Jesus did not “become the Christ” at His baptism. He was already the Messiah, already God manifest in the flesh. This event dramatically inaugurated His public ministry.” McGowan, 12.

[18] McGowan, 13.

“Three Witnesses to The Resurrection” Matthew 28:1-20

Three Witnesses to The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1-20

Introduction

The British minister, W. E. Sangster, began to lose his voice and mobility in the mid-1950s. He had a disease that caused progressive muscular atrophy. He recognized the end was near, so he threw himself into writing and praying. In the midst of his suffering he pleaded, “Let me stay in the struggle, Lord. I don’t mind if I can no longer be a general, but give me just a regiment to lead.”

Sangster’s voice eventually failed completely, and his legs became useless. On Easter morning just a few weeks before his death, he took a pen and shakily wrote his daughter a letter. In it he said, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice with which to shout, ‘He is risen!’—but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.”[1]

Prayer

The Women (vv. 1-10)

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake[2], for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

(v. 1) “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb” – “the verb means to behold, as a spectacle;[3] They designed also, if it should appear practicable and appropriate, to ‘anoint him’ (Mark 16:1), and brought with them spices (Luke 24:1) which they had provided the evening before, when the Sabbath was past (Mark). As they went (Mark 16:3) they were concerned about the question, “Who will roll the stone away?” for they knew from the internment that “it was exceedingly great.”[4]

Sometime before the women’s arrival an angel “descended from heaven,” rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it when they arrived. Accompanying the angel’s descent was an earthquake. And their appearance “like lightning, and his clothing white as snow” and arrival “earthquake and descending from heaven” caused the Roman soldiers who stood guard to passed out from fear. It says, “the guards trembled” – It has the same Greek root as earthquake. The ground shook, and the soldiers shook.

Cornelius Lapide says, “The earth, which trembled with sorrow at the Death of Christ as it were leaped for joy at His Resurrection.”[5]

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

(v. 6) “He is not here,” We are not given any details about the resurrection itself, only that by the time the women arrived, Jesus was not there. “The stone was not rolled aside to let Jesus out but to let the women in.”[6] How Jesus escaped we don’t know.

(v. 7) “he is going before you to Galilee” – This does not mean that they will not see him before Galilee, but “that on a certain mountain in Galilee was to be the great meeting, where many disciples should receive the Great Commission,”[7] Even at the tomb, this is not the end of Jesus’ ministry. He is still pointing people toward redemption, salvation, and purpose.

Matthew 26:32 “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

People respond in different ways to angels and their messages. John the Baptist’s father when approached by an angel doubted, In Luke 1:18-20 “And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” But the women believe what the angel says, because it matches up with what Jesus had already told them, and they depart quickly.

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The women departed with their instructions to tell what they had seen and experienced and it was “with fear and great joy.” We will see that when we draw close to things of God, there will be a combination of fear and joy. They had the greatest news that was possible to have. To them “anything seemed possible now.”[8]

It was while they were hurrying to honor the Savior and bring joy to his disciples, that they met Jesus. If we want to have an encounter with Jesus, then we should run to do good to others and bring joy to the body of Christ.

(v. 9) “took hold of his feet and worshiped him” – “held him, literally seized him or grasped, showing great humility and veneration.”[9]

The angel says, “tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead,” but Jesus says, “go and tell my brothers” – this is a distinct difference between mankind and angels. While we were made “a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7),” we are “co-heirs with Christ”, and they are not (Romans 8:17). Jesus calls those who have denied Him, abandoned Him, and forsaken Him for dead, “brothers.” Jesus as the Creator of everything, gives His life for His creation so that we may be together as family.

God described Himself to us as Father, Jesus reveals Himself to us as brother, Paul uses the Greek word for love “Philadelphia” as the love that Christians have for each other (brothers and sisters in Christ). God created the world and established the family, Paul establishes the church family, and at the end of time we will be gathered to heaven and live together in eternity with our heavenly Father as a family.

The angel tells them to go to Galilee, Jesus himself says to go to Galilee – something very important is going to happen at Galilee.

The Guard (vv. 11-15)

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.[10]’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The soldiers saw with their own eyes the angel descend and roll away the stone, and even before they collapsed in fear may have even seen the risen Lord. Then they give an accurate account to the chief priests, who seem to believe the account as well. Then they assembled the elders, who believe it as well. It’s important to understand that each of these groups believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead.

But the consequence of this truth was too much to take – so they sought to cover it up.

Earlier in Matthew, Jesus and Pharisees were arguing over following the law regarding the Sabbath. A man had a deformed arm was suffering, so Matthew 12:13 “Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” The Pharisees knew Jesus performed miracles, and now they know He rose from the dead – but what is the consequence to them? What do you do with Jesus?

C. S. Lewis once said, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[11]

The soldiers were given an assignment to guard the tomb. “According to Roman discipline, they were liable to very severe punishment for losing what they guarded.” (v. 14) “And if this comes to the governor’s ears” – So they say, “spread this false rumor, take this money, and we will make sure that no harm comes to you.”

The soldier’s account fails on two points, 1) if they were asleep, how do they know it was the disciples that stole the body? Sleeping people don’t make very good eyewitnesses. Also, if one of them awoke, why was not an alarm sounded and the disciples arrested?[12] 2) Why would a Roman soldier go around admitting to doing a bad job?

The soldiers were persuaded to spread a lie they knew not to be true, and to pretend that Jesus did not rise from the dead for money. Money kept them from repenting and giving their lives to what they knew to be true.

How much evidence is enough? If your heart is set against the things of God, and the Holy Spirit is not drawing a person, there is no amount of evidence that will change a person’s heart. They will even believe a lie that is harder to believe than the truth itself.

The Disciples (vv. 16-20)

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(v. 16) “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee” – Why were there only 11? Judas had betrayed Jesus and had hung himself. The disciples had time to replace him with another to complete the 12 – why had they not replaced Judas? Because there was no point, the Jesus movement was dead.

The church father Jerome said, “Their doubting increases our faith.” Some found it hard to believe that the person a far off (it was in a group of 500) before them was the resurrected Christ. “And Jesus came (near) . . .” When Jesus is close we begin to understand the power and truth of the resurrection. When you draw near to Jesus, He will make things clear. He has no desire to be the far-off God, he wants to be the close-up God of your life. In the Garden of Eden in Genesis God would come close to Adam and Eve, “in the cool of the day,” but sin caused that relationship between mankind and God to be distanced. Christ’s death and resurrection brings us back close to God.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” – Satan and all his dominion poured out all the hate, the vile, and blasphemy he could aim at Jesus the Son. Then all of the Father’s wrath was poured upon Jesus on the Roman cross for the salvation of the world. He was scourged and beaten beyond recognition. He was raised on the cross, pierced for our iniquities.

He was laid in the tomb, dead – and now upon the resurrection ,the crown of thorns is removed, the rod used to beat him and then placed in his hand as a scepter is gone, and the mocking robe laid over him by the Roman soldiers is removed – Jesus the Son, now sits victorious at the right hand of the Father, having “All authority” – there is nothing that exists that is not under his reign.

Jesus then gives the disciples what is known as the Great Commission. (v. 19) “Go therefore” – Don’t miss the therefore; We are to make disciples of this resurrected Jesus. We who are Jesus’ disciples know that our Jesus sits with authority over all of creation as King, Supreme Ruler, all bow before Him. There is no one who will not have to give an account to Him.

We go under His authority, to speak and act as His representatives, his ambassadors, his children – but He is the resurrected Lord, therefore, He alone is worthy to be praised, worshipped, honored. Therefore, we tell the world about Him. Therefore, we share His gospel.

This is “the most sublime enterprise that ever human beings have been called upon to accomplish.”[13] Every nation should be discipled to be under His lordship, to keep His commandments.

“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – baptism, as a disciple, follows one’s salvation because it “symbolizes burial and resurrection, the actual burial and resurrection of Christ, and the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer in union with Christ (Rom. 6:3).”[14]

“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” – While baptism is an act of obedience, done one time – observing Christ’s commands is an ongoing act, that we seek to follow Christ’s teachings every day. As a disciple maker learning Christ’s commands is not enough – a disciple maker must teach the disciple how to follow that teachings as a well. “to observe all . . .” There are no sections of Jesus’ teachings that have become antiquated, irrelevant, or untrue.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” – The word “behold” is used in many places throughout the Bible to signal to the reader something spectacular. Jesus promises to be with us, always. How spectacular is that – this resurrected God, who died for the sins of the world, who has ultimate authority or all of space and time is with us – enabling us to carry out this “Great Commission.”

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[1] https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/he-is-risen

[2] Seismo egeneto megas, Robertson, 240.

[3] Matthew 27:55-56 “There were also many women there [at Jesus’ death on the cross], looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

[4] John A Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 584.

[5] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 242.

[6] Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Matthew All Authority in Heaven and on Earth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publsihing, 2013) 901.

[7] Broadus, 586.

[8] Robertson, 242.

[9] Broadus, 586.

[10] “The absurd and blasphemous medieval Jewish legend called “Toldoth Jeshu” expands this allegation.” Broadus, 588.

[11] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

[12] Frank E. Gabaelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 591.

[13] Broadus, 592.

[14] Ibid, 596.

Staffing Your Team: “Generalist v. Specialist”

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series: Return of the King “Hold What Ya Got” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

2 Thessalonians Sermon Series:

Return of the King

“Hold What Ya Got”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Introduction

Growing up in the church can be wonderful but it can also be very difficult. On one hand you have the blessings that come from a Christian family (provision, love, order, godly instruction, an extended church family), but the draw-back is that you are not allowed and certainly not encouraged to question the doctrines and traditions that you have grown up under.

So, predictably, when a young person, who has grown up in the Christian home begins to question and ask, “How do we know this to be true?” the church squirms and looks down and believes that all is lost. This generation is lost to the world because they don’t want to do things the same way we did things – but all they want is an answer to a very reasonable question.

The danger of passing the baton from one generation to the next is that man made tradition (the method) is held on the same level as God’s Word (the message). So, when the younger ask the older, “why do we do it this way?” and “Can we do it another way?” there erupts arguments. Today Paul is telling a young church to hold to the traditions they have received – but it’s not the traditions that you may be thinking of.

Prayer

It is Going to Be Ok (vv. 13-14)

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This new church had endured horrible persecution. Many in the church services would have been nursing the wounds of that persecution. Then, they had received the false teaching that Christ had arrived, and they had the emotional relief that all their suffering was over, they would be with Christ in moments.

Then Paul writes them back, saying no, Christ will return, but there are things that have to happen first. So back down the emotional roller coaster they go again – figuring out how do they stay faithful under the weight of persecution and hardship.[1] It is not enough just to correct people’s doctrine – Paul also understands that he needs to address their spirit, they need to be encouraged.

Timothy Dwight once said, “The Bible is a window in this prison-world, through which we may look into eternity.” Paul is wanting the church to look through the window of his words to remind them of the eternal glory of being with Christ.

So Paul goes back in eternity, and will end in the future kingdom. “God had planned their place, and their final glory is Jesus Christ.”[2] Firstfruits is an agricultural term of where a crop will come in, and there will be several more yields in the season. Paul is thankful for the believers at Thessalonica because they are “firstfruits” of many more that are to come.

When discussing the salvation of those at Thessalonica, he points back to them being chosen way before the establishment of the church, and then to their being able to experience the glory of the Lord in eternity. His view of salvation is an eternal, high-level perspective. It is much bigger than the difficulties and hardships that they are currently enduring. Their lives and the work they are to be doing has been established “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

Paul says, “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. . . he called you through our gospel” – The process of salvation seems to follow this order; God chooses a person in eternity past to be saved[3], they are called through the sharing of the gospel, the Holy Spirit sanctifies them, and they then believe the truth.

God chooses you, then through “sanctification by the Spirit,” – sanctification is act of making something or someone clean or holy.[4] We see a picture of this when Moses encounters the Spirit of God in the burning bush. Exodus 3:5 “Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

God wants Moses to come into His presence “For God so loved the world”, so he takes the first step (the burning bush). Moses chooses to investigate “this strange sight” then God tells him how to be clean in his presence (take off your shoes). Moses then removes his shoes – there is a relationship where man enters into the presence of God – God draws and man follows the direction.

Sanctification occurs in the beginning of salvation, where the blindness of sin is removed enough so that a person may respond to the gospel – but it is also a life-long process of removing sin and becoming like Christ in holiness. But this same process of man cooperating with the Spirit in dealing with sin – it remains a choice their entire lives.

There are two sides in the matter of salvation. The initiative and the power are God’s; the necessary response is man’s. In these verses there is a movement of God first, then we respond to that calling and the movement of the Holy Spirit. And, as first-fruits, there is more to come. Their work in the church will lead to others coming to saving faith.

Also, before we move on from these verses, we do see that all three of the Trinity are involved in the salvation of people. All three are involved in the work of salvation.[5] Gould says, “It is clear that our salvation is rooted in love, planned in eternity, initiated in time, and consummated in glory. Essentially, salvation is all of grace since it is originated in God’s loving choice, wrought through the power of God’s Spirit, bestowed by answering God’s call, and perfected in the glory of God’s Son.”[6]

All that is needed for salvation, God has provided (with all that he is).

Hold What You Got (v. 15)

15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

When I was a kid I would go and help my grandfather, who learned to be a carpenter after he retired. He would hold one end of the board, and I would hold the other and place it on the desired mark. He would check it for level, and they he would always say, “hold what you got” – in other word this is exactly where I want the board to be, just hold it still.

(v. 15) Paul says, “stand firm and hold to” – “to have a masterful grip on a thing” the same word for take hold is used in Mark 1:31[7] where Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, “And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” We are to hold on masterfully to the traditions.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” You take God’s word and hold it up where it needs to be – “hold what you got.”

The word for traditions (meaning to pass on something from one person to another) can be used in a bad sense such as Col. 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

And the word tradition can be used in a good sense such as, 1 Cor. 11:23 referencing the Lord’s Supper “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,” and here in our passage today.

When we say tradition, it is not a reference to a way of doing things (like contemporary or traditional music, or order of worship). This is not what is being passed along. Paul is referring to his, Silas and Timothy’s teachings they have received while they were there.

So there are things that tend to get passed on from one group to another group, one generation to the next generation, and we must discern if it is empty human tradition, or the teachings of Scripture. “Sound doctrine is vital. The Thessalonians are to disregard the voices of theorist and fanatics, and keep “the word.’”[8]

For them, they had Paul’s spoken word as he stayed with them, and then later wrote them with letters. Robertson says, “The worth of the tradition lies not in the form but in the source and the quality of the content.” Consider the source, where is this tradition (body of teaching) coming from?

Jesus even said several times, “You have heard it said (meaning other teachers), but I say to you. (Matthew 5-7).” Many of the religious teachers in Jesus’ day had not interpreted the Scriptures correctly.

He criticized the Pharisees for slavishly following their traditions (their interpretations and additions) and making them more authoritative than the Scripture (Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:3).[9] Our ultimate source of tradition is the Bible, it is our ultimate source of authority.manuscripts,

How do we know that what has been passed on to us today, has not been corrupted with time? Like the children’s game of telephone.

There are several ways to establish the reliability of the Bible. The first is manuscript evidence.[10] So a manuscript is a copy of a section of the Bible. “There are now more than 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. Add over 10,000 Latin Vulgate and at least 9,300 other early versions and we have more than 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence.”[11] These manuscripts stretch out over many years and yet remain incredibly the same.

The differences that are found among these thousands of manuscripts are changes to the spelling of words (which would count as a variant), and repeats of words as they were being copied (and and, the the), and there are no variances that would change any doctrinal concepts. Today you can go to the British Museum and see the Codex Alexandrinus that was written in AD 400, and it contains almost the entire Bible.

There is also many archeological examples of cities or personalities mentioned in the biblical text, and then those cities being discovered, or the names of the person being mentioned in texts found on the site of the archeological discovery. In other words we see again and again this field of study proving the Bible to be accurate. Archaeologist Nelson Glueck asserts, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.”[12]

Also, in 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy was out looking for a lost goat, threw a rock into a cave on the west side of the Dead Sea. He heard the sound of shattered pottery and went in to investigate, where he discovered ancient copies of various books. They were leather scrolls, rolled up, placed in linen coverings, and sealed in clay pots where they had sat for 1,900 years (AD 68).

There were several other caves discovered and many other copies of Old Testament books – one example is that it placed a manuscript of Isaiah 1,000 years earlier than before; and it was incredibly accurate to the earlier version. These Dead Sea Scrolls push the time line of the dates of manuscripts even earlier than before.

We Have a Job to Do (v. 16)

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Paul closes this section with a prayer. Everything relating to salvation and the church ultimately comes down to God’s power working within it. Through God’s grace we know that we have an eternal home, and in that have a “good hope.” But we are still here in this world, having to face the reality of a sinful fallen world – and in that we have a work to do, a word to share.

Paul is praying that God will comfort the church and to settle them down to focus on the important work they are to be doing – sharing the gospel.

Esther 4 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

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[1] “The artificial and strenuous excitement of the hope of Christ’s immediate return, and their disappointment at his delay, had left their minds fatigued. The irritation in their midst caused by a few incorrigible busybodies and confirmed loafers had left their nerves frayed. They needed uplift, so Paul takes them up to a high place where they can have a conspectus of their own state, the religion in which they believe, and God’s purpose for them in the present and in the future.” George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1955) 331.

[2] Buttrick, 331.

[3] See also 1 Thessalonians 1:4 – Chosen by God.

[4] David Noel Freedman, Editor-in-Chief, Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdman Publishing Company, 2000) 1166.

[5] J. Glenn Gould, Beacon Bible Commentary, Volume 9 (Kansas City, Missouri; Beacon Hill Press, 1965) 524.

[6] Gould, 524.

[7] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 4 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 54.

[8] Gould, 525.

[9] Ronald F. Youngblood, General Editor, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Tennessee; Nelson Publishing, 1995) 1272.

[10] Suggested reading on this topic: Norman L. Geiser and William E. Nix, From God to us, How We Got Our Bible (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1974)139 ff.

[11] Josh McDowell, Compiled by Bill Wilson, The Best of Josh McDowell, A Ready Defense (San Bernardino, California; Here’s Life Publishers, 1993) 43.

[12] Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Nashville, Tennessee; Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) 89.