Church Doctrine: Jesus Messiah

When we meet someone special, we want to know all that we can about them. When I met my husband, the first thing I learned about him was that he is an Alabama Crimson Tide fan through and through. Thus, I became a Bama fan too. I discovered his favorite foods and learned from his mother how to cook them. I made it my mission to know him. I guess it worked – we will be celebrating our 39th anniversary this year. Last week I told you that if you want to know God, you should get to know Jesus. If you want to know Jesus, you should learn a little about the Jewish faith. This is His background and it is important to understand who He is. It also gives us insight into details that we, as non-Jews, miss.
The Jewish people lived under outside rule since the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in the late 6th century BC, followed by the Medes and Persians, Greeks, and Romans at the time of Jesus. Because the Lord had promised a Redeemer—the Messiah, Israel looked for a military liberator to break the hold of other nations and restore their independence. They missed Jesus entirely because they didn’t have God’s perspective. They failed to see that they were under the control of the devil and that death was their true enemy.
In the church, this week has, for centuries, been called “Holy Week” and “Passion Week.” Today is Palm Sunday and marks the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Jesus openly presented Himself as Israel’s Messiah and King. He chose a time when all Israel would be gathered in Jerusalem, a place where huge crowds could see Him, and a way of proclamation that was unmistakable.
The people lined the road, praising God, waving palm branches, and throwing their cloaks in front of the colt. They shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt 21:9) because they recognized what Jesus was proclaiming. They began to spread their clothes in the colt’s path to provide a “royal carpet” and they cut branches from palm trees, adding them to their garments on the ground and waving them before the Lord.
He fulfilled every prophecy about the Messiah. He also fulfilled the first prophecy made about Himself as the one who would crush satan’s head (Gen 3:15). This is Jesus, Beloved. Son of God. Son of Man. King of Israel. Is He the King of your heart?

Jesus Messiah

I love etymology – the study of words and word origins and how their meanings have changed throughout history. There was a time when “cool” meant not hot or cold. Then cool described someone who was hip and fashionable, someone to be admired and emulated. From there cool came to mean aloof, and then it evolved into dispassionate or unemotional – which could be a good thing or a bad thing. A cool person was unruffled in a crisis. Or they completely disengage with others. A cool retort, a cool movie, a cool snap in the weather, a cool dude, a cool demeanor – they all used the same word but applied different meanings.
The ruling principle in hermeneutics – the interpretation and application of the Scriptures – is to discern the author’s original intent and the best way to do that is to research the original language of the text. I have discovered so many fascinating and challenging things by studying the Bible with a concordance at the ready. (And don’t forget about the importance of context, context, context.)
Here is a cool word study (did you see what I did there?) as an example. In the creation account, after all the birds and animals and creatures were named, the Scriptures says: “But for Adam, no suitable helper was found” (Gen 2:20). The word helper is ezer and it means one who assists or supports in times of hardship and struggle. It is the same word used by the Psalmist to describe the Lord: “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield” (Ps 33:20). (We’ll dig into “shield” another day – fascinating!). When the Israelites defeated the Philistines in Mizpah, Samuel set up a stone of remembrance and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us” (1 Sam 7:12). Robert Robertson wrote the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and included the line: “Here I raise my Ebenezer” a reference to this passage and to God’s help in his own life.
One of my favorite words is “Messiah” – the divine title of the Lord Jesus. In the ancient Hebrew, “ah” was the root word for “the Lord.” A name that ended in “ah” always referenced the Lord. Now I’m taking a little creative license here, but look at the word again and think about this: Have you ever gotten yourself in a mess? Jesus is the Messiah. Do you see it Beloved? Jesus is Lord (ah) over the mess (Mess) I (i) made of my life. That’s good news for us messy people!!

Advent 2023: (Not) Just Another Baby

“The Virgin of the Angels” William-Adolphe Bouquereua (1825-1905)

Joy had a bumpy week with us this week. She was not at her best – there were many tantrums and tears and lots of “NO!” punctuated with stomping feet. She is a strong-willed little girl with a lot of emotion. Heaven help us. She especially fights bedtime. But when she finally falls asleep – usually curled up on Poppy’s arm – I look at her and all the frustrations of the day melt away.

To watch a child sleeping is to see the sweet face of innocence. Their eyes are closed to the world; mouth in soft repose as a tranquil, near-holy hush settles over their whole being. They say that when a baby smiles in his sleep, he has been kissed by an angel. If that is true—and why would we doubt it—the Infant Jesus must have smiled the whole night through. This Child was loved and adored on earth and in heaven.

Every baby brings a sense of promise to his family. Mother and father have dreams in their hearts of who this child will be—a doctor, a teacher, a missionary, or a dancer, perhaps even a leader who will one day change the world. One mother knew that her baby indeed would. One mother held the true Child of Promise for all mankind, the Messiah who would bring peace on earth.

Oh, He looked like any other baby lying there in her arms, small, helpless, and beautiful. He cried like other babies. He needed to be fed and changed like other babies. But she had heard the angel say that her child would be the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Joseph said that the angel had come to him too, and told him that this Child “will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Her cousin Elizabeth had declared “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear” (Luke 1:43). And what about the shepherds that came from the fields with a wild and glorious story of singing angels (Luke 2:8-18)? It is any wonder that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19)?

To the rest of the world, it was just another night. To anyone who might have come upon the stable, he was just another baby. But a young mother—and all of heaven knew—peace had come to the earth, wrapped in rough cloths, sleeping in a manger.

Advent 2023: A Different Kind of Hope

Kids on Christmas morning hope for the newest toys and electronics under the tree. The soldier’s mother hopes for her son’s safe return for the holidays. Teachers hope to survive until Christmas break and students hope there will be no pop-tests before they reach the last day of class. Travelers hope for good weather and light traffic while law enforcement hopes for safe drivers and no accidents. The merchants hope for record sales and shoppers hope for great bargains. Christmas is synonymous with hope – but not for these reasons.

For the Jewish people, hope was in short supply. Their nation had long been under the control of others. Since 587 b.c. they had been subjects of Babylon, the Medes and Persians, and Alexander the Great. At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Romans ruled over Jerusalem. The Jews had hoped for God’s Messiah to rescue them from foreign oppression. They hoped for a leader who would overthrow the Romans and reestablish David’s throne and Israel’s independence.

 God would indeed send the Messiah to rescue His people from bondage and establish His Kingdom, but He would overthrow a greater enemy than the Romans. He would save more than just Israel and would rule over an everlasting Kingdom from David’s throne. He would not come in power with a sword in his hand and a crown on his head. He would come as a helpless baby with straw in His tiny fist and a crown of thorns in his future. He would not raise a scepter over Jerusalem but would be raised up on a cross outside the city gates. He would not overthrow Rome – He would overthrow death. Their hopes would be fulfilled – but not as they envisioned. It would exceed all they could ever ask or imagine.

Your hopes might be for something flashy and fun, or just simple and quiet this Christmas. You may have hopes that can’t be put in a box with a bow. You may hope for family scattered across the globe. You might hope for a restored relationship or a change in your circumstances. I can’t promise any of those things, but I am certain that in God’s good and loving hands, hope is a sure thing – a promise made and fulfilled in the same instant. It may not look what you thought it would be Beloved, but you have His Word that it will be full of life and Joy.

Advent 2023: Hope is a Baby Boy

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6

For hundreds of years the Jewish people watched and waited for the birth of this special child.  They looked to the heavens for signs of His coming. They held tightly to God’s promise, and their hope rested – as it should – on His faithfulness.  But they hoped for a Messiah who would free them from the rule of their enemies.  When Hope was born, they failed to recognize Him because He lay in a manger, instead of a palace or temple. He was surrounded by hay and the lowing of cattle rather than kings and priests.  They hoped for the Savior of the Hebrew nation. This Child, the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise, was the Hope, not just of the Jewish people, but of the whole world.

Today hopes for an end to poverty, violence, disease, and hatred.  But the true enemy of all humanity is evil – evil wrought by satan, the enemy of God and His creation.  The Jewish people expected a military savior, and our world today looks for a political savior, but God sent to us exactly what we needed – a holy and perfect Savior who would redeem us from our sins and rescue us from death and the righteous wrath of God.

The Lord promised us Hope and Peace and Joy and Love – and He fulfilled every promise in His Son, Jesus Christ.  The hope of all mankind came, not as a military conqueror, nor as a great political leader, but as a tiny and helpless baby – Jesus, the Child of Hope and Promise.

As we enter the month of December and ready our homes for Christmas, let’s prepare our hearts as well.  I hope you will join me every day up to Christmas for a devotional thought that will help us focus our hearts and minds on the birth of Christ. Jesus is the reason for the season. Beloved, you are the reason for the Savior.

Jerusalem

God called a man named Abram to “Leave your country, your people, and your household and go to the land I will show you.” He promised to make Abram “a great nation . . . and a blessing to all the peoples on earth” (Gen 12: 1-3). Why Abram? Simply because he was God’s sovereign choice. Abram and his wife Sarai obeyed the Lord and set out for an unknown destination. God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah and promised them a child of their own. But after twenty-five years and no baby, she insisted that Abraham sleep with her servant Hagar who would bear a son for Sarah. This they did and they were pleased with the boy named Ishmael. Until.

Sarah miraculously conceived in their very old age – she 90 and he 100 and gave birth to Isaac, the promised child of the Lord. Abraham sent Hagar and Ismael away to protect Isaac’s inheritance. And this is the root of the unrest in the Middle East and the hatred for Israel. The nations that descended from Ishmael – the Arab and Muslim nations today – contend that as Abraham’s firstborn son, he – and thus they – are the rightful heirs to the land God gave his father, the territory of Palestine. But Isaac’s son, Jacob – renamed Israel – and his descendants are heirs to the land according to the Lord.

But the war on Israel goes even deeper than Isaac and Ishmael. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God declared the destruction of satan through the “seed” of the woman: “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen 3:15). One of Eve’s sons – Seth – was the line through whom Abraham and the nation of Israel came. A Jewish baby – a descendant of Seth and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob/Israel was born. Jesus, who is also the Son of God is the seed of the woman from Genesis 3:15. Until his birth, satan used Israel’s enemies to try to obliterate the Jewish people and stop his destroyer from coming. (See Pharoah’s attempt to kill all the Jewish baby boys and the story of Esther.) But He came anyway. Satan thought he had won when Jesus died and was buried, but He came back to life. Prophecy declares that He will come back again and complete the destruction of satan which God proclaimed way back in the Garden. But the Jewish temple – which the Romans destroyed in 70 AD – must be rebuilt on its original site in Jerusalem before He returns (See Rev. 11). That site is the current location of the Islamic Dome of the Rock – the Muslim’s most holy temple.  

Satan is still trying to destroy the Jewish people – the nation of Israel – to prevent the rebuilding of the temple – and Christ’s return. That is why we must “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). It is about so much more than a strip of land in the Middle East. It is about the return of the Lord, the destruction of evil, and the ushering in of Christ’s eternal rule and reign. Don’t be afraid of what you see in the world, Beloved. God has not lost control. Not even for a second.

Tell the Good News

Everywhere you go you will meet people who need the Lord. At the supermarket, at work, at school, at a football game, and yes, even at church. Somebody somewhere needs Jesus. The Jesus who saved you and made you His own. But not everyone will grasp the message of Jesus in the same way. The Apostle Paul understood that and adapted to his audience wherever he went. Please read Acts 17. There’s a lot here and we’ll be in this chapter for a couple of weeks.

Paul and his companions were in Thessalonica, an important city in Greece with a large Jewish population. Paul followed his usual custom of speaking to the Jews in the synagogue and spent three days sharing about Jesus. Luke said that his evangelism method was to “explain and prove that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ’” (vs 2-3). Paul went back to the Scriptures – what we know as “The Old Testament,” brought out the Messianic prophecies and proved that Jesus fulfilled them all. He tailored his message to his audience – the Jews would understand Messianic prophecies. They had been looking for the Messiah for hundreds of years. This was the perfect way to get their attention and deliver the gospel message. And some of the Jews received the message and believed.

Skip over to verse 16 and Paul is now in Athens, a large metropolis of education and philosophy – but not much Jewish influence. Paul had to shift gears, but he did not shift the message. He toured the city, getting to know the people and the culture and building a bridge to carry the truth. He approached them from their interest in religion and even referenced one of their own poets. They had built an altar “To an Unknown God” and Paul used that altar as a springboard to share the gospel. Their “Unknown God” was the God of the Universe, the Creator of everything – including them. He was worthy of all worship and obedience and He commanded “all people everywhere to repent” before He sent the judgment (v. 30-31). Paul’s message garnered interest and response.

Years later Paul wrote in Romans 10: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (v. 15). Someone you will meet today needs the good news. Wherever you go, Beloved, put on the beautiful shoes of the gospel of peace and tell the story of Jesus.

Acts: Tell Them About Jesus

The book of Acts highlights the moving of the Holy Spirit to bring the Church to life and growth. She is still a living, growing, entity, saved by the Son, infused by the Spirit, and called out to do the good work of the Father. Barnabas, the encourager, and Saul, the persecutor-turned-proclaimer were the first to be called and set apart to ministry. The church blessed them and sent them into the mission field. Please take a few minutes to read Acts 13.

The Spirit led them into Asia to a city called Pisidian Antioch. Paul (the name switch from Saul to Paul happens in verse 9) and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue where they were invited to share a “message of encouragement for the people” (v. 15). Paul began by touching on the history of Israel, particularly their disobedience to the Lord. He traced the descendants of Israel’s favorite King, David directly to Jesus and then shared the gospel, declaring that this Jesus was the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies of long ago. He told of His death, burial, and resurrection. He said that Jesus accomplished what the Law of Moses could not do – justify sinful people before a holy God.

The reaction of the people is typical of even our modern world. Some received the message and were hungry for God. Some hated the message and the messengers. Some believed and were saved. Some refused to believe and remained dead in their sins. What did our intrepid missionaries do? Paul and Barnabas went where God was working – to the Gentiles who “were glad and honored the word of the Lord” (v. 48). The ground was fertile in the Gentile community and they took the seeds of the gospel and sowed generously. If you’ve read this far you realize this isn’t my typical encouraging devotional. It’s a Bible lesson because “Everything that was written . . . was written to teach us.” This passage teaches us that the church’s priority is the gospel. Not social justice or programs or making people feel good in their sin. It is telling people about Jesus the Son of God and Savior of the world. It also tells us that not everyone is going to receive and believe our message. But someone will and we must be faithful to the call – even for one soul. Because the gospel is the word of encouragement the lost word needs. Weary, beloved servant of God – do not give up on your ministry. Sow the gospel wherever the Spirit takes you. God is faithful and much Joy awaits

Make Jesus Your Own

Jesus met a sinful woman at a well and he changed her life. Then she told her neighbors and  “Many of the Samaritans…believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39). But they didn’t just take her word for who He was. They spent two days listening to Jesus, and they came to personal knowledge and a personal relationship with Him. “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (v. 42). (Read John 4:1-42)

Too many of us have settled for a second-hand relationship with God. We go to church every Sunday and listen to the words that are preached. We may go to Sunday School and hear the lesson brought by the teacher from the material of a writer who doesn’t know us. We may even go so far as to attend a Bible study class and listen to the leader, and read the lesson. But we often fail to make it our own. We settle for what someone else tells us about God, and we wonder why He is so distant. But God created you so that you might have a deeply intimate and personal relationship with Him. Jesus came to interact personally with people. He sends His Holy Spirit to live in us – you can’t get more intimate than that. God knows your heart and your needs, and He has a Word just for you. He has a purpose just for you. You won’t find it anywhere else but at His feet.

I will teach the Bible for as long as He gives me breath. There is so much to learn, and so much to share, the Word of the Lord never gets stale or boring. But my ultimate goal is to teach myself out of a job – to stir in you a hunger and passion for the Word, and the God who wrote it. I pray that you make His Word your own and that you never settle for a second-hand relationship with the One who created you, loves you, and died for you. Beloved, I pray that you will be able to say, with Job, “My ears had heard of you – but now – my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

Advent 2022: The Ancient Story of Christmas

When we tell the Christmas story we tend to tell it as if God send Jesus as a reaction to the state of humanity. But look at the words of the Old Testament prophet: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). This is a prophecy of the coming Messiah – the Son of God and King over Israel. Did you catch the last line: “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”? The word “ancient” in Hebrew means eternal. It speaks of the eternal nature of God the Son and the plan that has been in place from before the creation of the world.

God was not taken aback when Eve grabbed for the forbidden fruit. He did not look upon the mess humans had made and concluded that this was the only solution. He did not send His Son in reaction to man’s sin. The Bible says that Jesus was “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Jesus said that the kingdom was “prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). The plan for redemption – the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ – was established before God ever said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).

When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are celebrating the plan of the ages. We are celebrating – not just the reason for the season – but the reason for creation. When we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating God’s eternal purpose – to reveal His love. Do you understand what that means for you? Long before your affair, the abortion, that little white lie that exploded on you, the time you shook your fist at heaven, the decisions you made that kept you awake at night  – it was all foreseen before you were born. The Baby in the manger was not in reaction to your sin but was out of His great heart. God was not shocked by your sinful actions. He made the way, Beloved before you needed the way. Because He has loved you from ancient times.