Alternate Plans
Bible Order: Num 19–21
Chronological Order: Lev 14–15
Why Are You Still Here
We begin the book of Mark today. Mark was a nephew of Barnabas. Mark’s name is actually John Mark. His Jewish name was John and his Latin name was Mark (really Marcus). This is the Mark that went with Paul on his first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas had a falling out over Mark but eventually everyone made up.
There are four Gospels, two written by apostles and two written by intimates of apostles. The book of Matthew was written by the apostle Matthew. John was written by the apostle John. The book of Luke was written by Luke who was a close friend and intimate of Paul the apostle. Mark was written by an intimate of Peter. Yes Mark traveled with Paul for a time but Peter refers to Mark as his “spiritual son” and the book of Mark is considered to be “Peter’s Gospel”.
The book of Mark was one of the first books of the New Testament to be written and it was the first Gospel written. The book skips over Jesus’ birth and growth. It picks up with the beginning of His ministry. Actually it picks up slightly before that with John the Baptist who was the messenger sent to prepare the way of the Messiah as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. We will read the second half of this first chapter of Mark tomorrow but when taken as a whole more activity takes place in this chapter than in any other chapter in the entire Bible.
Jesus was sent to do a job and as soon as it was time to start He got busy. As you read how busy and intentional Jesus was in executing His ministry I want to ask you to compare that with how busy and intentional you have been with your ministry. What? You don’t have a ministry? I think you are wrong about that. Jesus saved you and made you right with the Holy God. Why has He left you here on earth? If you are now restored to right relationship with Him why hasn’t He taken you home to be with Him?
You are still here for the same reason God sent Jesus; He has a job for you to do. Your job may not be to sell all you have and move to Africa to share the Gospel, or to stand before a pulpit and proclaim the Gospel in a church or on TV, but those aren’t the only ministries to be done. God has given you talents, abilities, income, relationships, and spiritual gifts and He has given them to you so you can do the job He has given you to do. So what is that job? I don’t know but you won’t know either if you don’t ask.
Brothers, I want to encourage you to get intentional about the job God has given you. Find out what that job is and then get busy doing it. That is, after all, why you are still here.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Alternate Plans
Bible Order: Num 16–18
Chronological Order: Lev 12–13
Inheritor Of Eternity
We finish the book of Matthew today. We’ve read how Christ was born, grew up, called His disciples, performed miracles, and finally died on the cross. It would have been a pretty miraculous story even without the resurrection but it wouldn’t have stood the test of time. No, the resurrection is actually what it is all about, and the reason Christians throughout history have had hope for eternity. Without the resurrection the disciples would never have had the courage of their convictions. Remember that before the resurrection all of the disciples ran away when the mob came to get him; after the resurrection all but one of the disciples were martyred for their steady proclamation of the Gospel and their stubborn refusal to deny Jesus.
Before I go further with this thought I want to make one side note. The Roman guards saw the stone roll away from the front of the tomb and the angel sit upon that stone and converse with the women who had come to visit Jesus’ body. To this day there are many who claim that the guards fell asleep; that Jesus’ followers came and carried off His body. That false claim was established long ago when the chief priests told the Roman guards the following:
Matthew 28:13-15 ESV
“…Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.”
Why would the chief priests tell these guards that if the governor heard of the story about them falling asleep they would keep the guards out of trouble? The penalty for a Roman guard who fell asleep on duty was death. Did you hear me? A guard who fell asleep on duty wasn’t thrown in the brig, he was killed. Roman guards did not fall asleep on duty. The best explanation opponents of the truth can offer for the disappearance of Jesus’ body is that a group of the best trained, most professional soldiers the world had ever seen up until that time had fallen asleep on duty – something for which they would have executed.
It is amazing to me the fantastic stories people will come up with to deny the resurrection of Jesus. Some say that the disciples overwhelmed the guards and took Jesus’ body. This is laughable. Eleven cowering fishermen and tax collectors overwhelmed trained Roman guards? Please. Or how about this one; Jesus wasn’t dead; He only fainted and then revived while lying in the darkened tomb for several days. I guess that means that He revived enough to roll a massive stone away from the mouth of the cave and then sneak away undetected by the guards. Really, a guy who just went through crucifixion and went for several days without food wakes up with the strength of several men? Boy the crazy stories non-believers are willing to swallow are beyond belief.
Now, back to my main point, the disciples were cowering, disillusioned rabble while Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified. We know later they became incredibly brave even unto death for the sake of the Gospel. What happened? First off, the word “Gospel” means good news. What is the good news? The good news is resurrection; it is life after death. Yes the good news is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior but He is all of that because He conquered death. We could not be resurrected if He hadn’t died for us and been resurrected first.
The resurrection is what caused the disciples to transform in to brave men. These men had been too stuck on the natural world and man’s way of doing things. If Jesus was to be King then He had to conquer right? That meant He had to take sword and shield and beat all comers on the field of battle right? If Jesus died He couldn’t have been the Messiah could He? How could He win His victory if He were dead?
These men didn’t understand that Jesus didn’t come to fight man; He came to fight sin. He came so He could defeat death. His was as spiritual battle, and He won by going to the cross and then rising from the grave. Seeing Jesus resurrected is what opened their eyes to the truth of who Jesus is and gave them the courage necessary to look death in the eye with no fear. Don’t you see? The disciples ran when Jesus was arrested because they were afraid to die, once they saw He conquered death they were no longer afraid. They lived the rest of their lives unafraid of death or trouble for they knew without doubt that they were inheritors of eternity.
Are you a Christian? Are you afraid of death? Are you afraid of difficulty? How can you have those fears and belong to Christ? Don’t you know your eternity is settled? You have nothing to fear! You can face anything this dead and dying world can throw at you because you have eternity through Christ. Death has no power over you. Fear is banished from you heart. Do you know without a doubt that you are an inheritor of eternity? Act like it!
The last thing Jesus said to His followers before ascending to Heaven was this:
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
Share the Gospel brothers. Invite people to church. Do the job Jesus told you to do with the courage of your convictions.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Alternate Plans
Bible Order: Num 14–15
Chronological Order: Lev 9–11
Don’t Forsake God
In my post yesterday I showed that prophecy from Psalm 22 was fulfilled in Christ at and on the cross. I made the case that Jesus went through the suffering of Psalm 22 so we Christians could claim the blessings of Psalm 23 – you know “The Lord is my shepherd… though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil”. In today’s reading we hear Jesus say something that makes one wonder.
Matthew 27:46 ESV
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
Jesus was put on the cross at the third hour which would have been 9:00 am. From the sixth hour, noon, until the ninth hour, 3:00 pm, darkness came over the land. Darkness symbolizes separation from God. Satan is the Prince of Darkness because he is separated from God. Now we have Jesus upon the cross. He has become the innocent lamb who is to be sacrificed for the sin of Man. As the sin of mankind comes upon Him, He is separated from God. Sin does that, it separates us from God. That’s what your sin does to you, it separates you from God. Our sin requires blood and without the sacrifice of innocent blood, our own is required. Jesus is that sacrifice.
When Christ was born the heavens were illuminated by a bright star that shown down on a sinful world; Jesus is the light of the world. Here on the cross that light was being taken out of the world. Darkness descended, most likely an eclipse of the sun (or is that Son), as He was taken out of the world.
As the end approached Jesus cried out a question, why had God forsaken Him? Actually He knew what was going on. He didn’t have a question that needed to be answered, but the rest of us did. How often have we asked how God could allow bad things to happen to us? In essence we ask why God has forsaken us. It is not God that forsakes us. We forsake Him when we sin. Jesus was separated from God by our sin which was a result of us forsaking Him. When Jesus says “my God, why have you forsaken me” He is actually quoting the first verse of Psalm 22. Jesus is pointing us to that particular bit of Scripture to show us that He is the Suffering Servant of prophecy.
So to recap, Jesus felt the great pain and agony of being separated from God but He was aware of what was happening and why it was happening. His statement about being forsaken was actually a quote intended to reveal once again who He is.
Brothers, have you ever thought about the fact that our sin is actually us forsaking, abandoning, renouncing God? I know this notion hurts but it should. If the idea doesn’t hurt, my heart breaks for you. If it does hurt, I am filled with hope for you. Let that hurt continue to motivate you to continue in becoming the man God created you to be. When you stumble in sin, get on your knees with your broken heart, confess your sin to God, repent of it, ask for forgiveness and then get up and continue on the path He has laid out for you. Don’t forsake God!
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Alternate Plans
Bible Order: Num 11–13
Chronological Order: Lev 6:8–8:36
His Sacrifice For You
I want to point out a few things in today’s reading. We have a very short passage to read today and one of the first things we see as He comes to the place of His crucifixion is Jesus being offered a drink that He declines to take.
Matthew 27:34 ESV
“they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.”
Mark 15:23 states that the wine offered to Jesus was mixed with myrrh while Matthew here says it was gall; it may well have been both. The wine was offered to deaden pain. Myrrh gave sour wine a better flavor while gall gave wine a bitter taste. Both, however, had a narcotic or stupefying effect. Jesus refused to dodge the pain that He had agreed to take. He was not going to deaden His suffering. He was most assuredly desperately thirsty but He would not lessen the suffering He came to carry. God gave Jesus a cup from which to drink and He took it all undiluted.
The word translated wine could also be rendered “vinegar”. The Roman soldiers may have added gall to make the wine unpleasant for Jesus, while others may have added myrrh to mitigate the sour taste of the wine or vinegar being offered Him. Bottom line, this verse demonstrates a fulfillment of prophecy.
Psalm 69:21 ESV
“They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.”
This is a prophecy about the Messiah and describes perfectly what they gave Jesus as He approached the cross.
The very next verse in our reading is also a fulfillment of prophecy.
Matthew 27:35 ESV
“And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.”
The 22nd Psalm is a prophecy of Jesus on the cross. Much of what happened to Jesus in these last few hours was foretold in this Psalm of David. Here we see Jesus as the scape goat, as the lamb that was slain for the sins of Man. This is Jesus with the sin of world placed upon His shoulders; His separation from God complete because of this sin. Among the verses that describe what would happen to Jesus is this:
Psalm 22:18 ESV
“they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
If you have time, go read Psalm 22; it will break your heart. What is neat is that the famous 23rd Psalm follows the horror of the 22nd.
Psalm 23 ESV
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Every Christian today enjoys the promise of the 23rd Psalm because of what Jesus suffered in the 22nd. The 23rd Psalm is not possible without the 22nd. The chief priests, scribes, and elders said that Jesus saved others but He couldn’t save Himself. It was true that Jesus saved others. It was not true that He couldn’t save Himself. Never forget that He chose to go to the cross and to remain there through torture and taunting so you could have eternal life, so you could claim the 23rd Psalm. Those mocking men could have never understood the self-sacrifice necessary for the Son of God to remain up there on that cross unto death. Those men likely never sacrificed what they wanted for the benefit of another in their entire lives.
Jesus voluntarily took the pain and suffering that are your due and He took it without anything that would make Him senseless to that pain. He made it possible for you to claim the 23rd Psalm. Never forget His sacrifice, and live your life like it means something to you.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Alternate Plans
Bible Order: Num 8–10
Chronological Order: Lev 1:1–6:7
Don’t Point Your Fingers At The Jews
There was a time when many Christians believed that the Jewish people were doomed because they crucified Jesus Christ. When bad things happened to Jews some Christians would think to themselves that they had it coming. This is a horrible error and it diminishes an important truth about Jesus’ sacrifice. The Jews did not crucify Jesus Christ. Now that statement may shock some of you and you may point to the following verse as proof that I am wrong.
Matthew 27:20-23 ESV
“Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’”
So here the kind Roman Governor wanted to release Jesus but the conquered Jews forced him to crucify Him. Clearly the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus, right? Wrong. First, when Jesus entered Jerusalem He was so loved by the vast majority of Jews that the chief priests were afraid to arrest Him in public. It was only a minority of Jews who wanted Jesus killed. Second, the chief priests were rushing Jesus through the judicial process late at night when few of the majority could interfere. The people shouting “Crucify Him” belonged to the minority group that followed the chief priests. Can anyone say “special interests”? Third, Pilate was not some innocent and benevolent public servant. He had absolute power and he could very easily have let Jesus go. He did not have to obey the demands of a small but vocal group. Fourth, it was the Romans, the Gentiles, that mocked and beat Jesus before they crucified Him. They thoroughly enjoyed their sadistic administrations.
The fact of the matter is that it wasn’t the majority of Jews that killed Jesus, it wasn’t the minority of Jews who killed Jesus, and it wasn’t the Gentiles that killed Jesus. All of us, Jew, Gentile, then, now, killed Jesus. We are all to blame. He came to die for the sins of all. All of us are guilty of sin and His blood. No one, including Pilate, can wash their hands of His blood. No one is innocent; His blood is on all our hands. His blood is on your hands. How can you blame others for what you did?
I suspect each of us thinks that if we had been there things would have been different. If we were there we wouldn’t have run when He was arrested. If we were there we wouldn’t have stood by while they killed Him. The fact of the matter is we were there and we pounded the nails into his hands and feet. Every sin, every lie, every lustful thought, every self-centered act we ever committed was one more strike upon those nails. This is a great truth of the cross – we are all guilty. Don’t point your finger at the Jews because three of your own fingers are pointing back at you. Each of us deserves to be hanging there upon the cross, but He is there in our place.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Alternate Plans
Bible Order: Num 7
Chronological Order: Exod 40
I Hope You Hurt When You Sin
Do you ever feel like you keep putting Jesus back up on that cross? What I mean is when you stumble, and I know you do, how do you feel about it? Do you feel guilty? Do you have an ach in your heart? Do you feel like you betrayed Him and have once again pounded the nails into His hands and feet? If you are hoping I’m going to say you shouldn’t feel that way I’m going to disappoint you. I sincerely hope you do feel that way. Now don’t get me wrong, Jesus was put upon that cross once and for all and when I say all I mean for all who will accept His sacrifice by confessing their sin, repenting, and submitting their life to Him. Jesus does not go back up on the cross because you sinned, you don’t have that much power, but I hope you feel like you did put Him back up there.
Sin is exactly why Christ suffered so horribly upon the cross. His suffering was the only hope for any of us. He can’t be crucified again but with the Holy Spirit residing within us sin must naturally hurt us as if we were there watching them hammer the spikes home all over again. I think one particular sentence from today’s reading expresses the hurt we must feel when we sin and the Holy Spirit brings us up short.
Matthew 26:75 ESV
“And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Peter, so proud of himself, stated to Jesus that he would never deny Him or desert Him. He did both of those things at the earliest opportunity. Notice that he didn’t feel the pain of his denial in the first or second instance; he only felt the pain after the third denial. His response after the third denial, however, was bitter. Here was Peter, a big, strong, confident fisherman reduced to blubbering. I know how he felt. I have often had to weep bitterly at doing something I knew I shouldn’t have done.
When I have stumbled, my heart hurts and I do indeed feel like weeping, and yes there have been occasions that I have done so. Now maybe you think this isn’t very manly, but let me tell you that there are very few things that can make me cry. Just thinking about Jesus and His sacrifice upon the cross for me, however, will get the water works pumping every time. I am not ashamed of my tears. I am ashamed of my sin. I am ashamed that every time I sin I am denying that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.
Do you have children? Do they do wrong even though you’ve taught them better? Are they really bad kids? Most are not, they just get wrapped up in themselves and they make a mistake. As a parent I want to see that they are truly sorry for their actions. I want to see that what they did hurts enough to discourage them from doing it again. I know if it doesn’t hurt enough they will make the same mistake again and again. I also know that repeating those mistakes will hurt far more than the broken heart required for change.
I had an interesting conversation with my fellow church staff members the other day. We were discussing the fact that pain is the precursor to change. We would rather sit still with a throbbing pain that continues for years than to undergo the pain of surgery necessary to permanently repair the cause of that throbbing pain. It’s kind of like inertia. Things at rest remain at rest until a force works upon it that is stronger than the pull of gravity.
Sin is like that. We can get stuck in our sin, and until the consequences and discomfort of our sin reach a point where it is more painful to continue in sin than it is to change what we are doing, we will continue in our sin. This is why I hope that you hurt when you sin. I hope you hurt so much that you are willing to let go of that sin, to confess it, repent of it, and ask forgiveness for it. Why do you continue to sin in the same way? You continue in the same sin because it doesn’t hurt enough to stop. If you belong to Jesus He will make it hurt until you do stop. The smart move would be to stop with your first spanking rather than continue until you cry in anguish from the searing pain.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Mark 1:1–20
