There's only one way to build physical, mental & spiritual strength: Keep watch & pray. Gospels: Week 11 — Jesus' Suffering and death Logos.com SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... After leaving the Upper Room, Jesus has given His disciples some of the most intense teachings of the Bible as they made their way through the inky blackness of Jerusalem, all while the establishment - the Pharisees and Sadducees - put their plot to kill Jesus in action. Matthew 26:36–47 (NASB95) 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” 39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45 Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!” 47 While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 44 Q. Why does the Apostles' Creed add, “He descended to hell”? A. To assure me in times of personal crisis and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, especially on the cross but also earlier, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell. Summary Imagine that as you settled in to hear a Sunday sermon, the preacher instructed the congregation to open their Bibles to John 14, but then never announced the particular verses delimiting the day's passage. Instead, after reading all 31 verses of John 14, he went on to read chapters 15, 16 and 17 as well. Then the preacher went back and unpacked the significance of all of the mind blowing doctrines in these extraordinary chapters that detail all that Jesus taught His disciples in His last hours with them. After hours of intense preaching, the chords of the doxology ring out and you can finally get up. How exhausted would you be? How exhausted would the preacher be? This is what it would have been like as these twelve men - Jesus and His disciples, minus the one who'd already left to rat them out - entered Gethsemane. Jesus commanded eight of them to sit, while He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John) a little farther into the garden. As He speaks to them, Matthew writes nothing of Jesus' exhaustion, but only because His other problems were far more pressing. Matthew notes that Jesus began to be grieved and distressed - quite literally, Jesus was racked with crippling anxiety. Jesus Himself confirms and expounds upon Matthew's observations, telling the three that He wasn't just grieved, but that He was deeply grieved, to the point of death. Jesus' mental stress and grief as He anticipated what lay immediately before Him had crushing physiological effects; in fact, it almost killed Him before He was even arrested. Yet Jesus three followers - meant to function here in Jesus' final hours more as peers than disciples - fell victim to their own set of physiological challenges: three times, after pleading with them to keep watch and pray, Jesus returns to find them sleeping. Their spirits were willing, but their flesh was weak. Dig Deeper Had Jesus succumbed to the overwhelming grief and distress, His death would have certainly been tragic, but it would not have been the cup He needed to drink in order to save His people. But at this point, all Jesus could do was to fall on His face and pray. And it should be no surprise at all for us to see that His three short prayers perfectly exemplify the AAA Prayer Pattern, for after all, it's the way He taught us to pray! ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: My Father; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: not as I will, but as You will; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; But it wasn't possible for the cup to pass. Jesus must drink it, for it was His Father's that all who belonged to Him would be saved by having their sins atoned for with perfectly holy blood, ironically shed by the very hands that deserved it. Yet Jesus' three prayers did not go unanswered. Jesus entered the garden with His soul deeply grieved and at the point of death. But after praying, Jesus' mental and physical stamina have been strengthened for the task, as opposed to the disciples, who although they got a couple of hours of sleep, would find their strength quickly failing as they fled. So it's important to read Jesus' final words in the garden in the proper tone of voice. When Jesus called out to the disciples to get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand, He's not fearfully calling them to flee. He's purposefully walking toward Judas and the approaching large crowd with swords and clubs. Jesus was not a victim. Though betrayed, He was not caught. Rather, in one of the greatest displays of physical, mental and spiritual strength ever, He gave Himself up. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that not only would your spirit be willing, but that your flesh would be strengthened to follow Christ; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Finish your week being reminded that your all powerful Father provides. PSALM 104 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. 3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; 4 He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers. 5 He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. 8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth. ------ 24 O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions. 25 There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great. 26 There the ships move along, And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it. 27 They all wait for You To give them their food in due season. 28 You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their spirit, they expire And return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the ground. 31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever; Let the LORD be glad in His works; 32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD. 35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth And let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD! Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 26 Q. What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”? A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. Summary The opening chapter of the Bible describes God's creative power in a very understated way, by repeating the simple phrase and God said as He omnipotently called everything that is into being. This week's Psalm gives a glimpse into the powerful actions that God's Word brought about. As He created, God stretched out the heavens, made the clouds His chariot and walked upon the wings of the wind. He established the earth, covered it with the deep [waters], which, although they initially stood above the mountains, fled at the LORD's thunderous rebuke. He raised the mountains and sank the valleys, as He set boundaries for the waters so that they would not cover the earth. And God was not learning on the fly as He powerful brought reality into existence, as if He needed to try out a few different iterations to see what worked the best. Rather, His Word tells us that in wisdom He has made them all: the earth, which is full of His possessions, the seas and its animals - including the mysterious Leviathan, and even the ships that move along. There is nothing in all of creation that was not brought into being, or that does not belong to, the LORD our God, who is clothed with splendor and majesty and covered with a cloak of light. Dig Deeper Psalm 104 makes clear that God did not just create and let go, as if He just wound up some grand cosmic mechanism and sat back to let it autonomously go through all of its motions. Every animal, both small and great, all wait for the LORD to give them their food in due season. In other words, not only does every creature owe its very existence to the LORD, but continually depends upon Him for every bit of their sustenance. And our loving Father does not hold back! He opens His hand and satisfies with good. But there are also times where He hides His face, bringing dismay. When the LORD takes away their spirit [breath], they expire and return to dust. But then the LORD sends forth His Spirit, renewing creation. As the psalmist considers our Father's unbridled power and ongoing care, he makes three commitments: To sing praise to our God as long as he lives and has being; To make his meditation - that is, his deepest thoughts - pleasing to the LORD; To be glad in the LORD; These are the commitments that you make as well, every time you proclaim Bless the LORD, O my soul! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose glory endures forever! ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that, inasmuch as you have influence over, that your actions and words would let the LORD be glad in His works; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Jesus' comforting words mark a huge development in the Biblical narrative. Gospels: Week 10 — Jerusalem, commandment, service, and Supper SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... After washing the disciples' feet in the upper room after the Last Supper, Jesus explained to them that He would be betrayed by one of His own, and that even Peter would deny Him three times before the morning came. John, who opened His gospel with the announcement that the Word was the Light of all men, describes this extended conversation between Jesus and the disciples in a hauntingly profound way, simply writing immediately after Judas left, "And it was night." John 14:1-6 (NASB95) 14 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Belgic Confession Article 26: The Intercession of Christ We believe that we have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor: Jesus Christ the Righteous. But this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we have to look for another one, according to our fancy. For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth is there anyone who loves us more than Jesus Christ does. Although he was “in the form of God,” he nevertheless “emptied himself,” taking the form of “a man” and “a servant” for us; and he made himself “completely like his brothers." ---- What more do we need? For Christ himself declares: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to my Father but by me.” Why should we seek another intercessor? Summary The opening words of John 14 are but one of many times in the Bible that God tells His frightened children not to be afraid. But Jesus' encouragement to His disciples - and, of course, to us - to not let our hearts be troubled shines into one of the darkest moments in history. Jesus has been explaining to them that He would be with them only a little longer and that where He was going, they could not come. It would seem that the disciples had every reason for their hearts to be troubled; their entire world was quickly caving in. So Jesus, in an effort to calm our hearts, tells them a bit more, explaining that He was going to prepare a place for us in His Father's house. This little insight from Jesus marks one of the Bible's most important developments. We've been working through this grand story now for nine months as we've read the Bible each weekday together, and it's so easy to become enamored with all of the fascinating trees we've come across along the way that we lose sight of the forest. But let's increase our literary altitude here so that we can once again see the entire forest, and not just a few particular trees. Man began in the Garden living in the very presence of God Almighty, who would come for fellowship with them in the cool of the day. But after exchanging the truth for a lie, we were evicted from God's presence, and one of His most powerful angels was sent with a flaming sword to keep us out. Ever since that fateful moment, God's people have been wandering - always figuratively, and often literally - longing to return to the way things were. Now here in John 14, Jesus announces that He would not only be going to prepare a place for us in His Father's house - that is, back in the immediate presence and peace of the God who evicted us - but that He would be coming again and receive you to Himself, that where He is, you may be also! So do you see the amazing reason that you have to not let your heart be troubled? Dig Deeper John 14:6 has been under attack ever since the moment that Jesus told Thomas that He is the way, and the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but through Him. Critics decry Jesus' words here as being abusively exclusive, because it flies in the face of the pluralistic worldview they cling to that there are many ways to God, and that Jesus is only one of them. Sadly, many of these critics fill pulpits in mainstream churches. D.A. Carson explains well the significance of Jesus' amazing claim, and how it summarizes so much of John's gospel: Jesus is the way to God, precisely because he is the truth of God and the life of God. Jesus is the truth, because he embodies the supreme revelation of God—he himself ‘narrates’ God (1:18), says and does exclusively what the Father gives him to say and do (5:19ff; 8:29), indeed he is properly called ‘God’ (1:1, 18; 20:28). He is God’s gracious self-disclosure, his ‘Word’, made flesh (1:14). Jesus is the life (1:4), the one who has ‘life in himself’ (5:26), ‘the resurrection and the life’ (11:25), ‘the true God and eternal life’ (1 Jn. 5:20). Only because he is the truth and the life can Jesus be the way for others to come to God, the way for his disciples to attain the many dwelling-places in the Father’s house (vv. 2–3), and therefore the answer to Thomas’ question [about how we can know the way to where Jesus would go]. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who through His Son Jesus, now welcomes us back in His House; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will cling to Christ Jesus, who is the only way, the truth, and the life; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Jesus showed that ultimate power looks far different than you might think. Gospels: Week 10 — Jerusalem, commandment, service, and Supper Logos.com John 13:1–17 (NASB95) 1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 69 Q. How does baptism remind you and assure you that Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross is for you personally? A. In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, in other words, all my sins. Summary We've seen before in our Bible reading together that John's gospel is different than the other three. John provides less of a synopsis of Jesus' activities (which is why the other three accounts are often referred to as the synoptic gospels) and features more insight and commentary on Jesus' character and divine nature. This difference is well demonstrated in today's passage. While the synoptic gospels all record various elements of what we often refer to as the Last Supper, John skips over those details. Ironically, the only aspect he passes along is that during the supper, the devil put into the heart of Judas Iscariot... to betray Jesus. John puts his focus on what happened after the supper, and in doing so, he's the only gospel writer to pass along the account of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. Feet have never really been considered one of the more attractive areas of the human body, and in that age in which the streets were dusty, grungy and filthy, they were even less so. People reclined as they ate then, a position that seems awkward to us, but one that keeps a persons dirty feet as far as possible from their food. So Peter's emphatic refusal to allow Jesus to wash his filthy feet seems appropriate. Jesus, of all people, deserved the place of highest honor, not a position of such low servitude. But Peter suddenly and faithfully reverses himself when Jesus makes it clear that if Jesus doesn't wash him, Peter would have no part in Jesus. Dig Deeper One commentator describes both the Last Supper and Jesus' feet washing exercise as "enacted parables." Remember, a parable is a shocking story with a spiritual meaning, and Jesus' actions in both the Supper and in washing feet are filled with both! John opens this passage by reporting that having loved His own who were in the world, Jesus loved them to the end. He showed this love in the most humble way He could, with the self sacrifice demonstrated here eclipsed only by what He'd show on the cross a few days later. Jesus did this all knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands. Yet Jesus used this immensely infinite power to serve others in the most menial way He could. By cleaning the filthiest part of the disciples' bodies, Jesus prefigured how His ultimate self sacrifice would cleanse us from the filthiest of our sins. Jesus expected His disciples - and us - to pattern our lives in this same way, explaining that He gave us an example that we also should do as He did. It's not the particular act of foot washing that we must model in our day and age, but rather it's Jesus' humble attitude. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, to whom we will depart when we're taken out of this world; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the same humble, self-sacrificial attitude that Jesus demonstrated; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Jesus is a different type of King than what many want. Gospels: Week 10 — Jerusalem, commandment, service, and Supper The Bible App SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... Rival factions of the religious establishment in Jerusalem have joined forces seeking to kill Jesus. Word about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is spreading like wildfire, so... John 12:10–19 (NASB95) 10 ...the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. 12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the [Passover] feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” 14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.” Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 31 Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”? A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet... and priest... and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us. Q&A 123 Q. What does the second request of the Lord's Prayer mean? A. “Your kingdom come” means, Rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you. Keep your church strong, and add to it. Destroy the devil’s work; destroy every force which revolts against you and every conspiracy against your Word. Do this until your kingdom is so complete and perfect that in it you are all in all. Summary John is the only gospel writer to report on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and as is evident in the way John slyly tells of the chief priests planning to put Lazarus to death also as he segues into what's often referred to as Jesus' triumphal entry, "it is difficult to overemphasize the impact the raising of Lazarus had on the people who had come to Jerusalem" (source). Israel at this time simmered with national and messianic hopes, much of it fueled by resentment of Roman rule. So when vast numbers of pilgrims come into the city from the surrounding countryside to celebrate the Passover - the festival that more than any other reminded Israel that God had once liberated His people from a foreign oppressor -the scene is set for a potentially explosive situation. No doubt by this point many in this crowd had heard about Jesus' miracles over the last three years - especially since many of those who'd come to Jerusalem for Passover were from the Galilean region that Jesus was from. So as the word spread that Jesus has not just given a blind man sight or simply healed some lepers, but had raised a man four days dead, many were seeking for Jesus, wondering if He would come to the feast (John 11:56). After all, this would be the perfect moment for Jesus to seize the day (carpe diem - to borrow from Roman poetry of the day) and claim His crown. So as Jesus came near Jerusalem, the crowd took the branches of palm trees, just like their ancestors had done to celebrate victories (which you can read about in the apocryphal book of Maccabees), and they began to chant a paraphrase of Psalm 118: “Hosanna [Save us]! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” If Jesus intended to seize an earthly throne, there could hardly have been a better moment. Dig Deeper But John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and writing from a perspective decades after Jesus was glorified, when he and others remembered the things written of Jesus by the Prophets, uses a different passage to describe Jesus' royal role (as do the other gospel writers), paraphrasing the prophet Zechariah's ninth chapter “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” Commentator D.A. Carson notes the significance of this: Jesus does not enter Jerusalem on a war horse (cf. Is. 31:1–3; 1 Ki. 4:26), which would have whipped the political aspirations of the vast crowds into insurrectionist frenzy, but he chooses to present himself as the king who comes in peace, ‘gentle and riding on a donkey’ (Zc. 9:9) Richard Phillips brings all of this into perspective: Against the backdrop of this well-known prophecy, we see how strongly Jesus’ manner of entry served as a rebuke to Jerusalem’s mood. Little did the Jews appreciate that the kind of Messiah they sought was directly contrary to the Savior whom God had promised to send. What a warning this is to us, as Christians and churches, that our spiritual agenda be the one that God has actually mandated in his Word! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent a Savior coming in His name; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would be ruled by the Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more you submit to you King; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Don't miss salvation because you're clinging to the 'places' you have. Gospels: Week 10 — Jerusalem, commandment, service, and Supper CONTEXT: Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead, an action which was immediately reported to the religious establishment. John 11:47–57 (NASB95) 47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. 48 If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him. Canons of Dordt Point II, .Article 9: The Fulfillment of God’s Plan This plan, arising out of God’s eternal love for his chosen ones, from the beginning of the world to the present time has been powerfully carried out and will also be carried out in the future, the gates of hell seeking vainly to prevail against it. As a result the chosen are gathered into one, all in their own time, and there is always a church of believers founded on Christ’s blood, a church which steadfastly loves, persistently worships, and—here and in all eternity—praises him as her Savior who laid down his life for her on the cross, as a bridegroom for his bride. Summary The first word of today's passage - therefore - is one of language's most powerful words, bridging the gap between cause and effect. The raising of Lazarus was Jesus' penultimate miracle - or sign as John refers to them (it wasn't His ultimate miracle, of course; that honor clearly belongs to His own resurrection). But It's not hard to understand how quickly word spread of Jesus commanding a four-day-dead man to walk unaided out of a tomb, resulting in a massive therefore moment for everyone: for some, the effect of this most amazing cause would be to have their belief in Jesus solidified, but for others, the effect was to have their hearts hardened all the more. Those in the Jewish religious establishment found themselves squarely in that second camp. Their hardened hearts finally gave their otherwise fiercely opposed parties - the minority Pharisees and the majority chief priests (the Sadducees) - some common ground: from that day on, they planned together to kill Jesus. Their logic was plain to see: If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. By place they weren't referring to their homes, the temple, or any other physical location, they were referring to their elevated places of status and authority. Ironically, it was because they valued their places so much that they ended up losing both their place and their nation to the Romans approximately three and a half decades after they had Jesus crucified. All of us have a place of our own that we long to cling to rather than surrender it to Christ. What sort of place are you stubbornly trying to hang onto for yourself? And what sort of therefore is this resulting in for you? Dig Deeper Commentator Robert Mounce has an interesting take on Caiaphas: Caiaphas’ cynical solution to the problem of Jesus, the worker of miracles, was pure utilitarianism—“You don’t seem to grasp the fact that it is in our interest that one man die rather than the entire nation be destroyed." In other words, the welfare of Israel rested on their willingness to do what is necessary to preserve it—i.e., to put this man Jesus to death. The power of the human mind to rationalize a course of action, no matter how devious, is marvelous to behold. Better to kill a single person than to let an entire nation perish. Sounds reasonable, but it makes the fatal mistake of disregarding the rights of the individual. All socialist doctrine fails at its basic premise—i.e., that the good of the masses is to be preferred over the good of the individual. History has shown the vacuity of this deceptive doctrine. It is only when the rights of the individual are protected that the welfare of the group is enhanced. Caiaphas' 'prophecy' would indeed come true: one man would indeed die for the people. But Jesus' death wasn't political in nature, the way Caiaphas had envisioned it. Rather, Jesus died to redeem God's people by atoning for our sin so that we would become, as Peter would go on to describe it, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession... The establishment sought to kill Jesus to protect their own sacred turf. But God, in His immense sovereignty, used their sinful logic for your salvation, so that, as Peter's proclamation ends, you may proclaim His excellencies. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who "powerfully carries out His will... the gates of Hell seeking vainly to prevail against it." ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would surrender all of the places in your life to the Lordship of Christ; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Good praise music is always theologically based. PSALM 103 A Psalm of David. 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; 3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; 4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; 5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. 6 The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. 14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer. 17 But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them. 19 The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. 20 Bless the LORD, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 21 Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. 22 Bless the LORD, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the LORD, O my soul! Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 56 Q. What do you believe concerning “the forgiveness of sins”? A. I believe that God, because of Christ’s atonement, will never hold against me any of my sins nor my sinful nature which I need to struggle against all my life. Rather, in his grace God grants me the righteousness of Christ to free me forever from judgment. Summary The Psalms are certainly the songbook of Scripture, filled with lyrics fit for every purpose, occasion and situation life brings. But we need not wonder how David felt as he penned these words in Psalm 103! Seven times over (no surprise there... seven is the Biblical number of completion) David issues the command to bless the LORD. The word bless has a huge semantic range. What that means is that the word can mean different things in different contexts. We often ask for the LORD's blessing in our lives, and when we do so, we're asking that God give us the strength and provision we need in the moment. As one Hebrew lexicon puts it, to ask for a blessing can mean to "invoke divine favor, with the intent that the object will have favorable circumstances at a future time." But that's not how David uses the word here in Psalm 103. After all, God doesn't need a blessing from us or anyone else! Instead, David uses the word bless to "extol, thank for greatness/goodness, and speak words of the excellence of an object." This is why the NIV and a few other translations often uses the word praise in place of bless. And once again, notice how theologically based David's praise is - David blesses the LORD for who He is: he pardons iniquities, heals diseases, redeems lives, crowns with lovingkindness, and satisfies us with good things. Look for this sort of theological basis in all of the songs you sing this coming Sunday. To genuinely bless the LORD as you sing, you need to know well Who and What you're blessing! Dig Deeper We've seen often how it is that, just as our songs are divided into verses, psalms are divided into strophes. Psalm 103 has four of them. But whereas the verses to our songs are almost always all the same length and meter, that isn't the case for psalms. It's not always easy to find the breaks between each strophe... every English translation I'm looking at divides them slightly differently as they format Psalm 103! But even though each translation is a bit different, the second strophe is far longer than the other three in all of them. And when we begin to unpack it, it's easy to see why David stretched this strophe out - it's all about how the LORD is compassionate and gracious. David keeps going; our God is slow to anger. It's not that He never gets angry, but that even though even the smallest of our sins deserves His full wrath, He's patient with us, because He abounds in lovingkindness - that is, His ḥěʹ·sěḏ covenant love (mentioned 4x). He doesn't give us what our sins and iniquities deserve, and He has removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. Psalm 103 helps put to rest a recurring misunderstanding that so many people have about God - that in the Old Testament, He's full of fury, and somehow in the New Testament, He finally mellowed out. That's not at all the case! Just like His Son is the same yesterday, today and forever, so is our Father! The LORD has always had compassion on those who fear Him. So in all His places of dominion, Bless the LORD, O my soul! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the LORD, who has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that all that is within you will BLESS the LORD; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Jesus gives you two key commands about the end times. Gospels: Week 9 — Christ’s authority and coming judgment CONTEXT: Jesus is with His disciples in Jerusalem, just days before He'll be arrested and crucified. Matthew 24:1–14 (NASB95) 1 Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. 9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Belgic Confession Article 37: The Last Judgment Finally we believe, according to God’s Word, that when the time appointed by the Lord is come (which is unknown to all creatures) and the number of the elect is complete, our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, bodily and visibly, as he ascended, with great glory and majesty, to declare himself the judge of the living and the dead. He will burn this old world, in fire and flame, in order to cleanse it... Summary This discussion between Jesus and His disciples is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse, simply because it took place on the Mount of Olives. But this is about the only aspect of this passage that everybody agrees on. It's one of a few tricky sections of scripture that good Christians, who otherwise agree on nearly every other point of Biblical doctrine, are going to come to very different conclusions on. It's important to remember that Matthew 24 has fifty-one verses, and that we only read the first fourteen of them here today. The chapter gets more difficult as it goes on. The opening verse contains a critical detail that's easy to sail over: Jesus is coming out from the temple as this discussion begins. The disciples trigger it very unintentionally, as they simply point out the famous and architecturally stunning temple buildings that they're seeing (remember, these are small town guys!). But that little tidbit is more than just an insight as to how impressed the disciples were by the big city. Jesus frames His entire response around it: Do you not see all these things - referring to the temple complex. This helps us understand that the primary subject of Jesus' comments is the well documented destruction of Jerusalem and the temple which would take place in A.D. 70, about 37 years after Jesus spoke these words. Yet at the same time, Jesus is speaking of a much more than just the temple when He explains that not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. He's also referring to His coming, and of the end of the age. So nearly every prophecy Jesus makes in this chapter is partially fulfilled in 70 A.D., but will be finally fulfilled when Christ returns. Dig Deeper Reams of paper and oceans of ink have been given to various interpretations of what Jesus says here. But since we (thankfully) only have a few paragraphs left here in this space, we'll focus on the two imperatives (commands) that Jesus gives to His disciples, and by extension, to us. See to it that no one misleads you It's no surprise that Jesus begins His answer to the disciples' curiosity about when will these things happen with this command, since our enemy's entire strategy is to lie and twist the truth. Many will come in My name, Jesus explains, and will mislead many. This means that you need to carefully evaluate every bit of preaching and teaching you hear - both from the pulpit, and even more so from your device - to ensure that it is consistent with the full counsel of God's Word. This is a key reason you need to be reading God's Word each day, so that you can properly evaluate what you hear, for Jesus goes on to warn that many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. See to it that you are not frightened Fear was the first instinct of Adam and Eve when they were mislead, so we read this command over and over again all throughout the pages of Scripture because we continually need to be reminded of it. Every day that you read or watch the news, Jesus warns that although you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars, you need not be afraid, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. It's easy to think that there's a sharp increase in terrible events happening around the world, but it's only because we have instant access to everything that happens. Nations have risen against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms, and in various places there have been famines and earthquakes all though history, so these bad things happening don't necessarily portend Jesus' sudden return. Remember, our Father is sovereign, and as we remind ourselves here often, That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. So hold tight to Jesus' promise here that the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who through His Spirit will enable His chosen to endure to the end; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and wisdom to not be misled and not be frightened; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Jesus calls us to an attitude of servant leadership. Gospels: Week 9 — Christ’s authority and coming judgment The Bible App CONTEXT: The religious establishment - the Pharisees & Sadducees - have been tightening the screws on Jesus, trying to trap Him in His words. By the end of the week, they'll have convicted Him in their sham trials and talked the Roman authorities into crucifying Him. Matthew 23:1–12 (NASB95) 1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Belgic Confession Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Summary 'Do what they say, not what they do.' That's what Jesus commands the crowds and His disciples to do in regards to the religious establishment of His day - to do and observe all that they tell you. The problem wasn't their source material - they were teaching God's Law, after all - the problem was they were saying good things but not doing them. This sort of hypocrisy, as Jesus explains, lays heavy burdens on men's shoulders. Perhaps you've heard this phrase before in our own day and age, even though it's often leveled unfairly: some people 'weaponize' God's Law. Just as any good thing - like a hammer - can be used to inflict serious injury, so too can God's Law be used to manipulate, crush and hurt people. The problem, of course, wasn't God's Law. It was the insecurity of those who had been entrusted to teach it. Rather than selflessly pointing people to truth and the beautiful ways that God has designed people to live, these false teachers only promoted themselves. Jesus pointed out that they do their deeds to be noticed by men and that they loved the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues. Their goal wasn't to build up God's covenant people, it was to inflate their own image and prestige. Not only were they hurting people as they did so, but they stole the honor and glory of God for themselves that they should have been sharing with their students. Dig Deeper The lesson here certainly isn't that teaching and instruction must be avoided, for such activities form the very basis for the entire concept of discipleship. Jesus lays down a guiding principal that must govern the attitudes of all who seek to follow Him - especially those who've been called and gifted to guide others into the knowledge of both God's Law, and His Gospel (both of which are mutually dependent upon and inseparable from the other). What Jesus explains is the concept that's come to be known as servant leadership. A servant leader has no desire for fancy titles, such as Rabbi or its more modern equivalents. Nor does such a teacher seek to establish a hierarchy in which some lord it over others. Reformed churches seek to hold the Bible's tension on this topic. On one hand, we honor and respect those ordained to ministry (1 Thess. 5:12-13, 1 Tim. 5:17, Heb. 13:17), but at the same time, as our Confession summarizes what Jesus teaches here in Matthew 23, we understand that ministers all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ. Of course Jesus' teaching here best explains the attitude that we must all have, whether or not you've been called to teach and lead: the greatest among you must be your servant. Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, Jesus explains, but whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, He who is in heaven; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the Holy Spirit will instill an attitude of servant leadership in you; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

Don't spurn your King! Put on the new clothes He's given you and come to the feast! Gospels: Week 9 — Christ’s authority and coming judgment Matthew 22:1–14 (NASB95) 1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Canons of Dordt Article 8: The Serious Call of the Gospel Nevertheless, all who are called through the gospel are called seriously. For seriously and most genuinely God makes known in his Word what is pleasing to him: that those who are called should come to him. Seriously he also promises rest for their souls and eternal life to all who come to him and believe. Article 9: Human Responsibility for Rejecting the Gospel The fact that many who are called through the ministry of the gospel do not come and are not brought to conversion must not be blamed on the gospel, nor on Christ, who is offered through the gospel, nor on God, who calls them through the gospel and even bestows various gifts on them, but on the people themselves who are called. Summary Remember what a parable is - a shocking story with a spiritual meaning. And Jesus' parable here in Matthew 22 has plenty of both shock value and spiritual insight. The parable begins rather innocuously with a king - who clearly represents God the Father - sending His slaves - that is, prophets, apostles & preachers - to call those who had been invited to a wedding feast for his son - no mystery there as to who the son represents. But the plot thickens when the invitees were unwilling to come. D.A. Carson writes, "They slight the king, whose invitation is both an honor and a command." So the king tries appealing to their appetites, telling them the dinner consisting of fattened oxen and livestock is ready. He follows up with a gentle command reminding them of His authority: come to the wedding feast. But those invited thought they had better things to do. They went their way, one to his farm, another to his business. Then things got really ugly - they seized his slaves and mistreated and killed them. They weren't just blowing off an invitation, they were in outright rebellion. So the king responded appropriately, as a king who seeks to protect his kingdom must. He sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Dig Deeper It's at this point that Jesus amps up the shock value even higher. Having shown his justice to the invited nobles who'd rebelliously showed they were not worthy, the king now sends his slaves out to invite as many as you find. God wants His gospel invitation proclaimed loudly to anyone and everyone, both the evil and the good. This time, the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. But then a new problem gets presented: the king saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes. The king is conciliatory towards the man at first, calling him his friend. Perhaps the man was poor and didn't have the requisite attire, and the king could supply an outfit for him. But the man had no excuse. He didn't even beg for mercy. He was speechless. Like those who spurned their invitation, this man had no respect for his king. The king's response was swift, furious and harsh - but also justified. The man was to be bound and thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What Jesus wants us to understand here is that the kingdom of heaven has a serious dress code that will not and can not be relaxed. Perfect righteousness is a must. In Revelation 7, John sees a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation... clothed in white robes. An angel explains to John that they were those who had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. They had the required righteousness, and it wasn't their own! It came from the bridegroom Himself! You, along with everyone else, have been invited to an eternal feast that you don't deserve to attend. Don't let the busyness of your pursuits - farms and businesses - drag you into rebellion! None of your 'clothes' are good enough, but you've been given the spotlessly white wedding clothes such a feast requires through the blood of your Savior, the King's Son. So don't be found speechless before the king! Jesus closes this shocking story with a shocking statement: many are called, but few are chosen. You can find increasing assurance of God's sovereign choice as you take off your filthy, sinful clothes and put on Christ. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the King, who calls many, but chooses few; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for calling you, and pray that you would grow in your assurance that He's chosen you as well as you respond to His gracious invitation; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: