1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.4 And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. (Matthew 8:1-4)
Leprosy is a debilitating condition that deadens the nerves that sense pain in the human body. A person with leprosy can burn themselves, step on a nail, all kinds of injuries and not even feel them. Because they don’t feel their injuries, they often become infected losing to the loss of fingers, toes, even whole limbs. In our times there are people who will minister to them and help them, because even now modern medicine cannot completely eradicate this disease. But in the time of Jesus, the leper was the untouchable outcasts of society. No one went near them, no one had compassion on them. They could not intermingle with their family and friends. Whenever anyone came near them they had to shout out “Unclean!” as a warning so that no one would accidentally stray too close.
A few things happen then in this scripture that need to be taken note of. 1) The leper came to Jesus and worshiped him. The leper recognized that Jesus was worthy of his worship. 2) Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leper, something that probably nobody, least of all the leper expected. By this time Jesus had the 12 following him as well as probably hundreds others. This was not like when other sick people were brought to him, or other people with diseases approached him. For the leper to get close enough to be healed, close enough for Jesus to reach out his hand and touch him. I don’t doubt that there were some who tried to keep the leper away from Jesus. But by reaching out to the leper and actually touching him, Jesus was doing more than healing his physical body. He was restoring his humanity, acknowledging that the human touch can be a powerful thing that we all need. 3) Jesus required him to go and show himself to the priests of the temple. And to offer the sacrifices that he was required to make. Why not just have him follow him? Why make him go to the temple and offer sacrifices? Especially since being a leper he likely had little money, except maybe some alms given to him. But Jesus himself gave the answer to why in his command to the leper, it was to be a testimony to the priests. In the Old Testament it was the priests who were required to confirm that someone had been healed from leprosy, before they could be reestablished to the community.
The thing that caught my eye today and moved me is the leper’s request of Jesus. Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean. For a lot of people this is their attitude about their sin and coming for forgiveness. They doubt whether God is willing to forgive their sins. Or even more tragic, is that like leprosy, sin can deaden the spirit to the point that too is not able to recognize the pain of separation from its creator. The wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ is that God is indeed willing, no matter your sins. If you want proof, look no further than the Christmas season.
The Incarnation, the idea of God becoming a baby in a manger, as much as the cross, shows the lengths that God will go to rescue his children. Over the course of history there have been kings who have abdicated their thrones, in order to marry the women they love. But no throne so rich as the one for the King of Kings. Never before has the Creator become the created. The babe lying in a manger is all the proof you should need to recognize that God loves you. Not only that he loves you, but that he keeps his promises. One of the most abundant promises in all of scripture repeated time and time again, in a variety of ways is this. If you repent of your sins, call on the name of Jesus, he is faithful, he will cleanse you of all sin, and clothe you with the righteousness of Christ.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I know in whom I believe.
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12)
The Apostle Paul is in prison and Timothy is afraid for him, and he had good reason to be. Scholars agree that this was the apostle’s last letter that he wrote before he was executed. But Paul is writing to comfort his son in the faith. In verse 8 he tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel or of him being a prisoner, and in verse 11 that the reason he is in prison is because he has been preaching the gospel.
Then in verse 12 he packs a whole lot of truth about what it means to be a Christian into one sentence. The first thing he tells him after reminding him that it is for preaching the gospel that he is suffering these things. Is that he is not ashamed. Repeating an earlier statement from Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe: first to the Jew then to the Gentile.” Paul says that even though I am in prison, even if I don’t make it out. Even if I have suffered through many trials and tribulations, because of the gospel, I am not ashamed of it. In Philippians 3:8 Paul says and I’m paraphrasing I count all things as loss, compared to knowing Christ.
Why does he say this? Why does he continue on by saying I’m not ashamed to be in these prisons, in these chains. Because I know the one in whom I’ve believed. Here we come to the crux of the sentence, why Paul is able to say the things he has said in this letter to Timothy. He knows the one in whom he has believed. Who is the one in whom he has believed? It is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Risen Savior, Jesus. But to really understand why Paul says he is not ashamed because of the one in whom he has believed. You have to understand how Paul understands Jesus’s role as Savior and Messiah. We remember that Paul was not always called Paul, but was born Saul. Saul was a Pharisee, born of the tribe of Benjamin, someone who had lived his whole life, in observance to the law. At one point he says I was the Pharisee of all Pharisee’s. He thought he understood what the Messiah’s role would be until Jesus came and did everything differently than what he expected. Here was one who came, and proclaimed himself the Son of God, and yet he died. He did not overthrow the Romans, usher in a new and mighty age for Israel. Instead Jesus came and went to the cross, and died a horrible, painful violent death. For Saul the Pharisee, this could not be the Messiah. Then when the apostles began preaching that this same Jesus was resurrected, that he was the Savior of all mankind, the Messiah the Jews has been longing for. He could not accept it, he began to persecute the new faith. He had some put in prison, some executed. That is until he was overcome by a light on the way to Damascus. Once Jesus made a personal introduction to him, his whole life changed.
Once Saul understood Jesus’s role in the plan of salvation, once he understood the grace that God has shown him. He could not stop preaching about it, no matter what happened to him, he could not stop preaching the gospel. The idea that the Messiah prophesied in scriptures, born in Bethlehem, that the Savior who fulfilled all scripture. That this same Jesus who he himself had persecuted those followed. Would die for him? That the Son of God had loved him and gave himself for him. (Galatians 2:20). All of his life became an exercise in knowing this Jesus, proclaiming this Jesus, no matter the cost.
But Paul continues on, not only is he not ashamed because he knows the one in whom he has believed. But he also believes that Jesus is able to keep what he has committed to him until that day. What has he committed to Jesus? His everlasting and eternal soul, the one thing that will endure for all eternity. How can he be sure that Jesus is faithful and can be trusted with this most precious of gifts? Because he looks at the life of the Son of God and sees how he was faithful to his Father’s will.
One of the most polarizing questions since the death of Jesus is who was responsible for his crucifixion. For a long time the Jewish people were persecuted by the Catholic and Protestant churches for being responsible for his death. But the Bible paints a different story, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; “(Acts 2:23). In verse 9 of this chapter Paul tells Timothy that this has been the plan since before time began. So then the question of who put Christ on the Cross, is that the Father and Son put him there. The reason that Christ has to go to the cross is that God is holy, and no sin can be in his presence. He has also promised in his word to punish sin and pour out his wrath upon it. But God has also created us to dwell in fellowship with him through all eternity. We cannot keep his law, for all have sinned. We are all sinners. Therefore, we cannot enter into his holy presence, and are under his wrath and judgment. So long as we remain in our sin. God is also bound by his word in that without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin. (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22).
Therefore we need a sacrifice that can bear the punishment of sin, and absorb the wrath that God had promised to pour out on sin. Jesus being the only one ever born who did not sin, could therefore be the sacrifice. Jesus knew the wrath that was about to be poured on him as he prayed in Gethsemane, that is why he asked the Father to take the cup from him. But he knew that if he did not take the cup, that all of us would be doomed forever. Therefore, it was in obedience to his Father’s will, no matter the cost, that put Jesus on the cross. Paul looks at the sacrifice of Jesus, understanding the Old Testament scriptures, the promises God had made about how he was going to punish sin. That is what makes Hell so painful, it is a place made for God to pour out his wrath on the Devil and his angels. It is not a place designed for humanity to dwell. God through Christ already poured out his wrath for our sin. That is why it grieves the Father so much when we reject his offer of forgiveness and grace. Because he knows those that reject him are going to suffer a fate they were never meant to experience.
Paul says he is not ashamed, because he knows him on whom he’s believed, and he is persuaded that he is able to keep what he has committed to him until that day. What is that day? It is the day that all things are put the way they were meant to be. It is the day that those who have believed in the Son will enter into the Kingdom created for them. It is the day that all of the faithful look forward to with anxious expectation. Because we will be with the one who loved us and gave himself for us.
Can you say as Paul did, that I am not ashamed? Can you say as Paul did, that I know the one in whom I’ve believed. Are you persuaded as he was that he is able to keep what you have committed to him, until that day? If this is not your testimony, then you need to a Savior.
The Apostle Paul is in prison and Timothy is afraid for him, and he had good reason to be. Scholars agree that this was the apostle’s last letter that he wrote before he was executed. But Paul is writing to comfort his son in the faith. In verse 8 he tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel or of him being a prisoner, and in verse 11 that the reason he is in prison is because he has been preaching the gospel.
Then in verse 12 he packs a whole lot of truth about what it means to be a Christian into one sentence. The first thing he tells him after reminding him that it is for preaching the gospel that he is suffering these things. Is that he is not ashamed. Repeating an earlier statement from Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe: first to the Jew then to the Gentile.” Paul says that even though I am in prison, even if I don’t make it out. Even if I have suffered through many trials and tribulations, because of the gospel, I am not ashamed of it. In Philippians 3:8 Paul says and I’m paraphrasing I count all things as loss, compared to knowing Christ.
Why does he say this? Why does he continue on by saying I’m not ashamed to be in these prisons, in these chains. Because I know the one in whom I’ve believed. Here we come to the crux of the sentence, why Paul is able to say the things he has said in this letter to Timothy. He knows the one in whom he has believed. Who is the one in whom he has believed? It is the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Risen Savior, Jesus. But to really understand why Paul says he is not ashamed because of the one in whom he has believed. You have to understand how Paul understands Jesus’s role as Savior and Messiah. We remember that Paul was not always called Paul, but was born Saul. Saul was a Pharisee, born of the tribe of Benjamin, someone who had lived his whole life, in observance to the law. At one point he says I was the Pharisee of all Pharisee’s. He thought he understood what the Messiah’s role would be until Jesus came and did everything differently than what he expected. Here was one who came, and proclaimed himself the Son of God, and yet he died. He did not overthrow the Romans, usher in a new and mighty age for Israel. Instead Jesus came and went to the cross, and died a horrible, painful violent death. For Saul the Pharisee, this could not be the Messiah. Then when the apostles began preaching that this same Jesus was resurrected, that he was the Savior of all mankind, the Messiah the Jews has been longing for. He could not accept it, he began to persecute the new faith. He had some put in prison, some executed. That is until he was overcome by a light on the way to Damascus. Once Jesus made a personal introduction to him, his whole life changed.
Once Saul understood Jesus’s role in the plan of salvation, once he understood the grace that God has shown him. He could not stop preaching about it, no matter what happened to him, he could not stop preaching the gospel. The idea that the Messiah prophesied in scriptures, born in Bethlehem, that the Savior who fulfilled all scripture. That this same Jesus who he himself had persecuted those followed. Would die for him? That the Son of God had loved him and gave himself for him. (Galatians 2:20). All of his life became an exercise in knowing this Jesus, proclaiming this Jesus, no matter the cost.
But Paul continues on, not only is he not ashamed because he knows the one in whom he has believed. But he also believes that Jesus is able to keep what he has committed to him until that day. What has he committed to Jesus? His everlasting and eternal soul, the one thing that will endure for all eternity. How can he be sure that Jesus is faithful and can be trusted with this most precious of gifts? Because he looks at the life of the Son of God and sees how he was faithful to his Father’s will.
One of the most polarizing questions since the death of Jesus is who was responsible for his crucifixion. For a long time the Jewish people were persecuted by the Catholic and Protestant churches for being responsible for his death. But the Bible paints a different story, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; “(Acts 2:23). In verse 9 of this chapter Paul tells Timothy that this has been the plan since before time began. So then the question of who put Christ on the Cross, is that the Father and Son put him there. The reason that Christ has to go to the cross is that God is holy, and no sin can be in his presence. He has also promised in his word to punish sin and pour out his wrath upon it. But God has also created us to dwell in fellowship with him through all eternity. We cannot keep his law, for all have sinned. We are all sinners. Therefore, we cannot enter into his holy presence, and are under his wrath and judgment. So long as we remain in our sin. God is also bound by his word in that without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin. (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22).
Therefore we need a sacrifice that can bear the punishment of sin, and absorb the wrath that God had promised to pour out on sin. Jesus being the only one ever born who did not sin, could therefore be the sacrifice. Jesus knew the wrath that was about to be poured on him as he prayed in Gethsemane, that is why he asked the Father to take the cup from him. But he knew that if he did not take the cup, that all of us would be doomed forever. Therefore, it was in obedience to his Father’s will, no matter the cost, that put Jesus on the cross. Paul looks at the sacrifice of Jesus, understanding the Old Testament scriptures, the promises God had made about how he was going to punish sin. That is what makes Hell so painful, it is a place made for God to pour out his wrath on the Devil and his angels. It is not a place designed for humanity to dwell. God through Christ already poured out his wrath for our sin. That is why it grieves the Father so much when we reject his offer of forgiveness and grace. Because he knows those that reject him are going to suffer a fate they were never meant to experience.
Paul says he is not ashamed, because he knows him on whom he’s believed, and he is persuaded that he is able to keep what he has committed to him until that day. What is that day? It is the day that all things are put the way they were meant to be. It is the day that those who have believed in the Son will enter into the Kingdom created for them. It is the day that all of the faithful look forward to with anxious expectation. Because we will be with the one who loved us and gave himself for us.
Can you say as Paul did, that I am not ashamed? Can you say as Paul did, that I know the one in whom I’ve believed. Are you persuaded as he was that he is able to keep what you have committed to him, until that day? If this is not your testimony, then you need to a Savior.
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