Meditating on the gentle compassion of Christ, who did not come to break bruised reeds

The following quote is by Richard Sibbes, from his little book The Bruised Reed (I added the color subtitles to divide the quote into sections):

Christ Jesus came to prophetically bless those who are weary:
See the gracious way he executes his offices. As a prophet, he came with blessing in his mouth, `Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Matt. 5:3), and invited those to come to him whose hearts suggested most exceptions against themselves, `Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden' (Matt. 11:28).

Christ is a gracious Shepherd caring for all of His sheep:
How did his heart yearn when he saw the people `as sheep having no shepherd' (Matt. 9:36)! He never turned any back again that came to him, though some went away of themselves. He came to die as a priest for his enemies. In the days of his flesh he dictated a form of prayer unto his disciples, and put petitions unto God into their mouths, and his Spirit to intercede in their hearts. He shed tears for those that shed his blood, and now he makes intercession in heaven for weak Christians, standing between them and God's anger.

Christ is the humble King of the poor in spirit:
He is a meek king; he will admit mourners into his presence, a king of poor and afflicted persons. As he has beams of majesty, so he has a heart of mercy and compassion. He is the prince of peace (Isa. 9:6). Why was he tempted, but that he might `succor them that are tempted' (Heb. 2:18)? What mercy may we not expect from so gracious a Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) who took our nature upon him that he might be gracious?

Christ is a Doctor for the brokenhearted:
He is a physician good at all diseases, especially at the binding up of a broken heart. He died that he might heal our souls with a plaster of his own blood, and by that death save us, which we were the procurers of ourselves, by our own sins. And has he not the same heart in heaven? 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' cried the Head in heaven, when the foot on earth was trodden on (Acts 9:4).

Christ is the Judge who is compassionate toward those who repent:
His advancement has not made him forget his own flesh. Though it has freed him from passion, yet not from compassion towards us. The lion of the tribe of Judah will only tear in pieces those that `will not have him rule over them' (Luke 19:14). He will not show his strength against those who prostrate themselves before him.

Christ will not fail to help us if we obey Him:
FOR OURSELVES: 1. What should we learn from this, but to `come boldly to the throne of grace' (Heb. 4:16) in all our grievances? Shall our sins discourage us, when he appears there only for sinners? Are you bruised? Be of good comfort, he calls you. Conceal not your wounds, open all before him and take not Satan's counsel. Go to Christ, although trembling, as the poor woman who said, `If I may but touch his garment' (Matt. 9:21). We shall be healed and have a gracious answer.

(Taken from Chapter 2 of The Bruised Reed)

Grace Abounding: My Speech Audio from last Sunday

I spoke briefly last Sunday (Easter) at my church on Jesus: God in flesh, Rejected, Resurrected and Accepted. My goal is to learn from the Bible how Scripture presents Christ to us as the object of our faith and hope, in order that we may also take what Scripture says and share it boldly but graciously in a world that rejects Him. (See 1 Corinthians 15:1-2,3-4,5-6).

Here is the audio recording

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JESUS: RESURRECTED & ACCEPTED

And finally, here is the third part of my little speech I hope to share (in order to help us look to Christ and glorify Him more) this Sunday:

JESUS: RESURRECTED

But the story doesn't end at the cross. The promise in the last half of Isaiah 53:10 was that "he would prolong his days", that is, Christ would come back to life. According to the Scriptures then, after three days in the tomb, Jesus came back from the dead.

He appeared first to the women at the tomb (Matt. 28:9; John 20:18), then to Peter, and then to the rest of the apostles (1 Cor. 15:5). He ate with them, spending time with them, proving that he was physically alive and not a ghost (Luke 24:36-43). Although some doubted, Thomas repented calling Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). After that, it was stated by Paul that he also appeared to more than 500 believers at one time (1 Cor. 15:6).

This was to fulfill what was written in Psalm 16, "For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol (i.e., the place of the dead), or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life" (Psalm 16:10-11).

After Jesus ascended back to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit, as He promised, and filled the apostles with power from on high to preach and to baptize and to teach believers in the Way. Everyone who believed received the Holy Spirit and were baptized and continued in the apostle's teaching and fellowship.

The apostles all taught that it is not through works according to the Law that we can be justified, but only through the work of Jesus Christ when He lived, died and rose again for us who trust in Him.

Paul wrote in Romans 5, that while we were helplessly weak (to be righteous in ourselves), Christ died for the ungodly. He said God showed his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He also said that being now justified by His blood, we shall much more be saved from the wrath of God through Him. And that having been enemies of God, we are now reconciled, much more shall we live through Christ. (Romans 5:8-10).

"More than that," Paul wrote, "we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (Romans 5:11).

JESUS: ACCEPTED

This is the heart of the gospel, the good news of God. This is what makes it possible for a poor man in Peru to weep over the fact that God reconciled Him through Christ after he heard Scripture being read in his native language. This is what makes it possible for a wealthy American to give up pursuing his own glory and in turn seek the glory and joy of God in Christ. This is what makes it possible for us to be both bold and loving, strong and gentle, firm and gracious as we go and share it in a world that rejects the Son of God. We know through the cross that God is Sovereign over all people. We also know now that He kept His promises to send the Messiah, and He will keep His promise to send Him again at the end of the world to save all of those in His Kingdom, and to condemn all those who without it.

After the verse I read where John said Jesus came to His own, and His own did not receive Him, the next verse says, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). It follows by saying that this was God's decision to give them a new birth, "who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13).

As children of God, those who receive Christ and all that He is according to the Bible, also have eternal life. Jesus said that a son remains in the house forever (John 8:36), and that He came to give eternal life to those the Father has given Him (John 10:28).

The cross of Christ is the answer to so many of our problems.

Maybe you think God is mean to let all kinds of evil happen? But look how He graciously took the punishment of our evil upon Himself at the cross.

Maybe you think you are too sinful to be forgiven and justified by God? Then look How God completely satisfied His judgment on the cross for you, if you will believe.

Maybe you think you don't have enough faith to trust Him? Then look How it is God who works through the cross to make you acceptable by faith. He gave His Son, will He not also give you faith if you want it?

Maybe you think you are not good enough? Then look at the cross, where the righteousness of Jesus Christ was exchanged for your sinfulness, so that you could have His righteousness.

Maybe you think you cannot be holy? Then look at the cross, where Jesus Christ sealed the guarantee that will make you holy by His Spirit.

If you haven't received Him, then receive Him by simple trust right now. If you have received Him already, then keep on walking before Him in the same way that you received Him, by faith, trusting His love for you through the cross!

Don't be like the people who rejected Jesus at the cross, but rather, let us follow those who believed in Him when He rose from the dead.

Let His steadfast love and grace through the cross always be our motivation for faithful obedience to Jesus, our Lord and King.

Amen.

JESUS: REJECTED

Here is the second part of my little speech I'm preparing for church this upcoming Easter Sunday:

JESUS: REJECTED

But although He created the world, and He came to His own chosen people, Israel, through whom all the promises of Scripture were given, He was not known nor received by them (John 1:10-11).

This is how the Son of God was treated when God came as a man to earth:

• He was sought after to be killed by Herod and became a fugitive in Egypt as an infant.
• He was disbelieved by His own home town, and when His words offended them, they tried to throw Him over a cliff.
• He was disbelieved by His own brothers.
• He was hated by the religious leaders of His time, who repeatedly plotted to have Him arrested and put to death.
• He was accused of being demon possessed.
• While many believed in Him during the time He was healing and doing miracles, everyone forsook Him when He was arrested.
• A man who had followed Him, heard His teaching, saw Him heal thousands and perform countless miracles, betrayed Him for money and afterward, Judas committed suicide.
• Peter, who was one of Jesus' three closest followers, swore with curses that he did not know Him after the betrayal.
• Only false witnesses spoke at His trial, nobody defended Him.
• The high priest and all the Sanhedrin accused God's Son of blasphemy.
• He was punched, spit on, mocked and condemned.
• Pilate wanted to let Him go as innocent, but the Jews insisted that He die in place of a murderer.
• The Romans beat Him and mocked Him and crucified the Son of God.
• Jesus was rejected and hated all His life, from His birth to His death.
• When God came into the world, the world quickly got rid of Him.

The words of Jesus came true when He said, "And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their works were evil" (John 3:19). And Isaiah had written long before that, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3).

Jesus taught that each one of us are in the same sinful condition apart from His saving grace. He said we are slaves to our sin if we do not continue in His Word, because only the truth will set us free (John 8:31-32, 34). Jesus also described our hearts as the source of all kinds of evil in Mark 7:21. No one is guiltless, because Jesus said in Mark 10:18 that "No one is good but God alone." Jesus clearly taught that all human beings, including you and me, are sinfully wicked by nature and need to be born again and cleansed from our sins. Therefore, we should not think that we are somehow morally better than those who rejected Christ, since we have the same sinful nature as they did.

Nevertheless, His rejection and murder, Jesus had said, happened to fulfill what was written in Scripture (Matthew 26:24,31; Luke 20:17; 22:37; 24:46; John 15:25). Isaiah 53:10 said, "Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."

It was God who sent His Son to die. It was God who worked through the events of the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus, by crushing him under the wrath and judgment that our sins deserved.


But of course, the story doesn't end here at the cross...

JESUS: GOD IN FLESH

OK, so I've been making some edits to my little speech for Sunday. Here's the first part, "JESUS: GOD IN FLESH", and following will be two more, "JESUS: REJECTED" and "JESUS: RESURRECTED & ACCEPTED".

JESUS: GOD IN FLESH

Jesus is God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth.

We read in John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into existence that has come to exist."

Isaiah said the royal child who was to be born would be called, "Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

Micah wrote that the Judge of Israel from Bethlehem, who would be struck with a rod on the cheek, had His origin from of old, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:1-2).

The gospel of John presents Jesus from beginning to end as completely and 100% Divine, God revealed in human flesh.

So also Jesus is the "One like the son of man" spoken of in Daniel 7:13.

John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

So while Jesus is God, He is also 100% human. A flesh and blood man who ate food, fasted, became hungry, worked, rested, felt physical and emotional pain, was tempted just like we are (but without sin), wept with sorrow, rejoiced and sang hymns. The Scripture was fulfilled which said, "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14), which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).

He is the fulfillment of God's Word in Genesis 3:15, where God promises a man who will defeat Satan, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you will bruise His heel."


The next post will be on the REJECTION that God experienced when He came in His Son to our world.

God's Redemption History

After the fall into sin of Adam and Eve from the paradise of God, God cursed the ground and subjected man to hard labor for food, and he subjected woman to pain in childbearing and conflict in relationships. When God cursed the serpent, He declared that a Son from the woman would come who would deal a crushing blow to Satan, while the serpent would wound the heel of that man.

Adam's son, Abel, was a righteous man by faith, but was murdered by his brother Cain. Then Adam and Eve had Seth, who had a descendant called Noah. God showed grace to Noah and his family by sparing their lives in the ark, during the destruction of the world through the Flood. From Noah's three sons the earth was repopulated. Noah blessed his son, Shem, from whom came a man named Abram. God called Abram away from his homeland, and promised him another land, where He would make a great nation from his descendants. From that nation, God said He would bless every nation who would bless Abram, and those who cursed Abram would be cursed. God changed Abram's name to Abraham and showed him that his descendants would be slaves for 400 years in Egypt, but that God would deliver them. Abraham believed God, and so God counted him to be a righteous man by faith.

Abraham and his wife Sarah did have a son according to the promise, even though they were both very old. From that son, Isaac, came Jacob, and from Jacob, came the twelve tribes of Israel. They all moved to Egypt during a famine, and their descendants later became slaves in Egypt. After 400 years, God raised up Moses, by whom He miraculously delivered Israel out from slavery in Egypt and brought them through the desert wilderness to the land of Canaan. Because the people had rebelled and disbelieved the Word of God, every single one of them except 2 died in the desert, and their children went in to take the land under the leadership of Joshua, who's name means "God saves." God instituted sacrifices for the people under a high priest, in order to remind them of their sin and need for forgiveness. But they often turned away from God to idolatry.

From the nation of Israel, God raised up a king, named David, to rule His people. David trusted in the Lord God, so the Lord promised that one of his descendants would rule on the throne forever. From the family tree of David, God brought Jesus into the world, who's Hebrew name is Joshua, and means "God saves." The angel that appeared to Joseph and Mary told them to name him Jesus, because "He will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). He was also called Immanuel, meaning "God with us."

Jesus fulfills all the promises, and showed himself to be the Son of God and Son of David by the miracles he performed. His rejection and death at the hands of his own people, proved that he was the Messiah, or Christ (Anointed One), which the Scriptures had predicted. When Christ rose from the dead, he showed himself to his disciples, who could not believe He was alive until after they saw him eat and drink with them. These men He filled with the Holy Spirit, and sent them to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name, that all who believe would receive the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ when they repent. Everyone who believed was baptized, shared together the symbolic Lord's supper, and continued living under the teaching of the apostles as they put their hope in Christ. This salvation came as a work of God, and it extends not only to Jews, but to every person on earth who receives it as a free gift, and accepts God's testimony about His Son.

Reader, will you turn open the pages of the Holy Bible, and learn from them who Jesus Christ is, and how He came to save you from your sins if you trust Him? God promised that His final judgment is coming on this world, and everyone who is not born again by the Spirit of God will be condemned to eternal hell. But Jesus provides eternal salvation for all who come to Him by faith before His return. Praise God that He accepts every sinner who repents! Don't wait or ignore Him, because Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, and all who truly turn to Him have access to God the Father and are His beloved children!

You are Complete in Him

"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority..." 

(Colossians 2:8-10 NASB)

Why should we never ever let anyone take us captive with their philosophies and religious traditions?

Answer: because we are already made complete in the One in whom the fullness of God dwells bodily. 

In other words, Christ is God and we have all we need in Him. We do not need to add traditions, philosophies, empty ideas, or anything else that would lead us away from being completely satisfied in Christ. Because in Jesus dwells all the fullness of God, and we are complete in Him. 

Praise and glory and honor be to God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gives us His Spirit! Amen.

Romans 9:5: Christ is God over all blessed forever!

I did a little study of Romans 9:5 concerning the Deity of Christ tonight. I looked up the Strong's numbers with the Greek on my e-Sword program, then wrote down my own translation from what I could understand.

Here is my English translation from the Greek (literal word for word and in the original order): Romans 9:5:

Whose the fathers and from whom the Christ (Anointed) the according flesh the is over all God blessed into the forever. Amen.

There is an important phrase in this verse referring to Christ as God. However, because ancient Greek had no punctuation marks, there are different possible ways to arrange the word order and punctuation when translating in English. I tried to reword/organize the last half of this verse in these three different ways (emphasized):

1. "To whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all God blessed forever. Amen." (Where the last phrase is not as specific. Is Christ over all God, or over all God-blessed? Or is it both?)

2. "To whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." (This wording more accurately ascribes Deity to Christ, calling Him "God over all.")

3. "To whom are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, the blessed God forever. Amen." (This phrase fits with the Jewish tradition of blessing God whenever speaking His name.)

In either case, Romans 9:5 contains a crystal clear declaration that Jesus Christ is in fact God Almighty, and at the same time human.

Here are some popular translations (emphasis added):

KJV: Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

NKJV: of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

ESV: To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

NLT: Their ancestors were great people of God, and Christ himself was a Jew as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

NIV: Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

NASB: whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. (Note: most translations above list this wording used in the NASB as an alternative, either one works in the Greek)

RVR1960: de quienes son los patriarcas, y de los cuales, según la carne, vino Cristo, el cual es Dios sobre todas las cosas, bendito por los siglos. Amén.

LBLA: de quienes son los patriarcas, y de quienes, según la carne, procede el Cristo, el cual está sobre todas las cosas, Dios bendito por los siglos. Amén.

Amazing verse! Use it whenever you encounter someone who tries to say that Jesus Christ is not God, or that Christ is not equal with the Father. Clearly, we have an infinite, unfathomable, yet intensely personal God, who has sent His Son into the world in human flesh, that we might be reborn in His resurrection image and likeness. Truly God is amazing!

We have to die with Christ in order to be raised with Him

It is painful to die, especially the kind of death that Jesus Christ our Lord died when they beat Him, mocked Him and hung Him on a tree. However on the third day, Jesus resurrected and appeared to His disciples who were astonished with great fear and great joy.

Death is painful and hard and brings many tears, while resurrection is joyful and happy and brings tears of relief.

Let us remember, that as followers of the eternal Son of God, we are going to suffer and die with Him in order that we may share in His great resurrection joy.

Our death is to self, to sin and to this evil world, yet our life will be forever to God. Oh, even the most hurting Christian can praise Him for that! Hallelujah! Amen.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34).

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:24-26).

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:10-11).

...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11).

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; (2 Timothy 2:11).

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18).

Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize... by grace of course

“We may depend upon it that one great reason of the low tone which prevails amongst Christians will be found in the fact that the eye is taken off Christ and fixed upon some lower object.” –C. H. Mackintosh

Whatever other objective goal we have in mind, if it is not under Christ, it will be a worthless pursuit in the end (Phil. 3:7).

To forsake all earthly gain for to find Christ Jesus as our God, Lord, Teacher, Righteousness, Savior, Friend, our “all in all” (Eph. 1:23), is to gain indescribably infinitely more now and forever.

If you do not believe this, it isn’t because your eyes have seen the true glory of the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself up to death to redeem you. Your tongue may have tasted some of His goodness, but never have you consumed Him as your very bread of life. You may have agreed to His goodness and glory, as He is worthy of all worship, but never have you desired Him as your very all in all, in all His attributes.

If you do believe this, then perhaps you have let your first love grow a little cool, so that now other things have clouded your mind besides knowing Christ, being found in Christ and being conformed to Christ. Since this has been my experience, I gratefully throw myself at His pierced feet in repentance and fear, where I find both my pardon and my prize in Him.

The Lord is a Triune God, the only Living One! In all fear and trembling, let us give all praise and thanks to Him who loved us! Amen.

A Portrait of Jesus in the gospel of Mark, part 3

These are very brief summaries of each chapter from the gospel of Mark. Here are chapters 5 and 6:

5. After the storm, Jesus and his students went to the other side of the sea, where they met a man who was possessed with many violent demons. Jesus drove the demons out of the man into a herd of pigs, which ran into the sea and drowned. The town's people were very afraid when they saw what happened, so they begged Jesus to leave them. Then the man who had been restored to his right mind wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus told him to go home and tell his friends "how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." (Mark 5:19). So he went through ten cities telling all about how much Jesus had done for him, and the people marveled. Jesus also blessed a woman for her faith when she touched his robe and was instantly healed. Then he went to a religious leader's house and restored the man's daughter to life, so that her parents received their daughter back with amazement.

6. People were also amazed at the wisdom of Jesus. But even his own home town still did not believe him. He then sent his 12 students to the towns, giving them power to heal as they preached everywhere that people should repent. During this time, King Herod killed John the Baptist, who was the forerunner for Christ. With all the crowds of people seeking Jesus, it was hard for him and his students to find rest. But Jesus had compassion on the people, and fed 5,000 men (plus thousands of women and children) with only five loaves of bread and two fish. His students recovered 12 full baskets left over after everyone was satisfied. Then he went up a mountain by himself to pray. He returned to his students late in the night, walking on the water toward their boat. They were terrified when they saw him, thinking it was a ghost, but he said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." (Mark 6:50). Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind calmed down. As Jesus traveled through more towns and villages, multitudes came to be healed of their sicknesses, even by a touch of his robe.

A Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, part 2

Continuing my summary of the Gospel of Mark (chapters 3 and 4):

3. The religious leaders became even more upset with Jesus, especially since he kept healing people on the Sabbath day. But he declared that it was right to do good on that day, because he was "Lord of the Sabbath." This made them mad enough to conspire to destroy him. However, they could not deny that Jesus really did miracles. He even freed people from demons, so they accused him of driving out evil spirits by the prince of evil. Therefore Jesus warned that whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, and he showed them the error of their thoughts by telling them it is impossible for evil to cast out evil.
Jesus also went away to pray alone, and afterward he deliberately chose 12 men to be his students [disciples]. He also chose Judas Iscariot, who would betray him.

4. Everywhere Jesus went, he was always teaching and preaching. He often spoke in parables (stories that have a spiritual meaning). He told them of the sower who sowed some seed on bad soil, and some on good soil. The seed that fell on the bad soil did not last, while the seed on good soil produced fruit. Later he explained that these are different people who hear the Word of God. Some believe it but later fall away, while others continue in it with patient endurance and later produce the fruits of a transformed life. This was a warning for anyone who hears the gospel, since some hear without being saved.
On the same day, Jesus and his students were in a terrible storm on the sea. His students were surprised to find him asleep, so they woke him in fear. Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, saying, "Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4:39). Everything calmed immediately, and he said, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" (Mark 4:40). They were absolutely astonished at who this could be, since he commanded wind and sea, and they obeyed him!

From the Series: A Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

• part 1

A Portrait of Jesus in the gospel of Mark, part 1

How wonderful it is to meditate on the Lord Jesus, whom we know as "Christ" (the Anointed, who fulfills all of the Old Testament prophecies that God would come in human flesh and be King forever)! The gospels were also written to be evangelistic, to help others come to believe in the one God the Father has consecrated and sent to be the Savior of the world. That is why I am writing a summary of the Gospel of Mark. I will be posting summaries of each chapter, until all 16 chapters are completed, then I hope to use what I learn to write an evangelistic tract about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Here are the first 2:

The Gospel According to Mark
A Brief Summary about Jesus Christ, the Son of God

1. The word "gospel" means "good news." It is called "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1). To fulfill prophecy, John the Baptist came as a witness calling people to repent, turn from their sins and return to the Lord in preparation for the Christ [the Messiah or Anointed One]. Jesus himself was baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove, while God the Father testified from heaven saying, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11). Immediately Jesus went away to be tempted by the devil, resisted every temptation and returned preaching, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel." Jesus also called some fisherman to follow him, taught with astounding authority in the Jewish synagogues, commanded an unclean spirit to come out of a man, healed Peter's mother-in-law from a fever, taught crowds the Word of God, went to pray alone, and then healed many more from various diseases and ailments. He even had compassion on a leper, being willing to touch him to make him clean.

2. As he traveled through each town, crowds came to hear Jesus preach and be healed by him. A crippled man was brought to him on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:5). Some scribes thought he was blaspheming, since only God could forgive sins. But Jesus proved his authority to forgive by telling the man to get up and walk home. Immediately the man got up and walked! This amazed all the people. Then some religious leaders criticized him for eating with sinners and tax collectors. So he explained that it was not the righteous [or good] people who needed him, but sinners that he came to call to repentance [because those who think they are good see no need for a Savior].

From the Series: A Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

• part 2

JESUS: Intro Evangelism Message

I'm in the thought process of writing more of my own evangelism tracts. One time, I experimented on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, asking confessed unbelievers if they would allow me to share for two minutes about who Jesus is and what He did. This was at the bus stop lines, and we normally walked down the line handing out tracts and speaking to people one on one. Although most turn away their faces, there are always a few who are willing to talk for a few minutes.

That was when I started sharing Christ briefly, by mainly focusing on His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension, ending with His promise of the Holy Spirit to those who believe. I would describe in vivid detail the bloody suffering and death of Jesus, and every time those unbelievers heartily accepted a tract or a New Testament from me after hearing about how Jesus suffered and loved sinners. Well, now I've begun writing this down, only in more detail, and it will be much longer than a two minute brief presentation, but more like a tract/pamphlet.

Here is what I've written so far. Feed back will be very much appreciated by anyone. (Keep in mind, that this is a work in progress, and will need to be edited. Thanks.)

Who was Jesus?

The fact is undisputed that a Jewish man named Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the land of Israel and that he was from Nazareth. He taught in Galilee, and was known by the Jews and many people from other nations. In fact, his name has been the only name that the Christian faith has proclaimed from the first century, 2,000 years ago, even until now. No one who has taken the briefest look at the past 2,000 years of history can deny that the impact this one man has had on the world is like no other who has ever lived. Even if you don't believe religiously in Jesus, you cannot deny the uniqueness of his character, which has convinced millions of people to learn of his teachings. It was Jesus who began the most despised sect of Jews that ever existed. It was Jesus who was so hated by religious leaders, that they passed the death sentence on him, even without a just cause. It was Jesus who made people rejoice with great joy and hope, while others gnashed their teeth at him in rage. It was Jesus who was hunted down to be murdered from his infancy. His parents had to flee away from Israel and hide in Egypt, while king Herod ordered a gruesome massacre of all two-year-old and under male babies in that land. It was Jesus who was accused of being a bastard, because his mother conceived him before she was married. Yet the holy Scriptures tell us it was because she (a virgin) had been chosen by God to bring His Son into the world, who would save His people from their sins.

Being no ordinary teacher, Jesus travelled through towns and villages, speaking in the Jewish Synogogues and declaring to people that the kingdom of God was about to come, as their Scriptures had predicted. People were amazed at how he spoke, with power and with authority, and yet without flaw. Multitudes crowded around him to be healed of all their diseases and ailments. It was testified that he had brought people back to life after they were dead. Even those who did not like Jesus could not deny his miracles, they just said he did it by an evil power. When Jesus forgave a man's sins, the religious leaders accused him of blaspheming, because "only God can forgive sins," they said. Some didn't like him because he spent time teaching those who had been publicans and immoral. Unlike the sophisticated teachers of his day, he held little children in his arms and blessed them in the name of the Lord. He also touched people with skin diseases and they were healed. They said he opened the eyes of the blind, gave hearing to the deaf, made mute people able to speak, made cripples walk, made deranged people return to their right mind. Spirits of demons which had oppressed and possessed people were driven out by Jesus when he commanded, and those people were set free. Sinners, found at his feet, the joy of knowing their sins were forgiven. They were transformed from being rebelliously selfish to being humble and obedient like no others. Jesus was a preacher to the poor, a doctor to the sick, a merciful shepherd to the wayward and wandering, a deliverer to those held captive.

Those who were against him said he was a deceiver, a blasphemer, a drunkard and a glutton, and that he had a demon in himself. Yet Jesus was the complete opposite of all that they accused him. It made them mad when he exposed their hypocrisy in broad daylight. Therefore we are told that many times his enemies conspired to kill him.

To those outside his way, Jesus was either a lunatic or an extremely crafty fraud. But to those inside his following, Jesus was more than just a man, though they could not believe it until after he rose from the dead. They saw him walk on water, command a storm to obey his voice and calm down, turn water into wine at a wedding, make a tree wither and dry up, feed thousands of people with a few pieces of bread. His closest friends saw him transform himself into a glorious man shining with light bright as the sun or as lightning. They called him a prophet, and even "the Son of God," which for a Jew, could get them expelled from their strict monotheistic (belief in only one God) religion. Jesus himself believed and taught there is only one true and living God, and that all people must repent and worship Him alone. He even claimed to be from Him and to be His only begotten Son. That is why Jesus made himself a whip and angrily drove out those merchants from the temple of God, because he said, "you have turned my Father's house into a den of thieves." Far from committing any sin, with the deepest conviction, Jesus upheld the holiness and worship of the one true and living God.

Everything Jesus taught was perfectly accurate and in harmony with the 39 books of the Jewish Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). Everything he did and said were in direct fulfillment of what those books had prophesied he would say and do. Those books were in fact written about Jesus, who is the Christ (Greek for Messiah, meaning "Anointed"). Jesus was anointed with the powerful Spirit of God, in order to live a life of perfect submission and obedience to his heavenly Father. This was in order to preach and teach, to perform miracles, to free those held under sin's bondage and Satan's, to give life to the dead, to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe in his name, and one day, upon his return, to rule as supreme King over all the earth.

to be continued...

Married to Christ (Romans 7:4)

I just published my latest Bible study, but unfortunately, I have not had time to update some issues with my As It Is Written blog, so I am publishing this study here for anyone interested. It is on the topic, "What does it mean to be married to Christ," from Romans 7:4. I hope you enjoy, it is a short one. :)

Seeing and Savoring Christ in Psalm 119: Aleph

Psalm 119 has been a blessing for many saints throughout history. It is one that has refreshed and renewed my zeal and desire to know and to live by God's Word. However, I realize there are many Christians who do not realize that this Psalm, as well as the rest of the Psalms in Scripture are written about Christ (Luke 24:44). It is my desire to meditate on Christ in this Psalm as I memorize it.

We begin with Aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
We know that many saints have walked blamelessly at times before men (Gen. 6:9; Job 1:8), but who has been blameless in God's sight ? Yet Christ came to walk blamelessly in the law of the LORD for us who believe in Him, in order that He might present us blameless to the Father through Himself (Eph. 1:4). Only now, through Him and by His Holy Spirit are we made willing and able to walk as blamelessly as we can until He presents us perfect on the day of Christ (Phil. 1:10; Col. 1:22; 1 Thes. 3:13, etc.). All glory to God for that!

2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
who seek Him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways!
Again, only through Christ are we able to do these things, and yet who has kept his own heart steadfastly on God without doing any wrong? Only Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
There is a standard all men and women must meet in order to be right with God, His commandments must be kept diligently. This prayer is a longing to fulfill that command. What a blessing of divine grace and benevolence that Christ the Lord has fulfilled this requirement as a substitute for His own people (Matt. 3:15; Rom. 5:19)!

6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.
There is no shame for those who do not break God's commandments. The shame of Adam has been passed to all his offspring (Gen. 2:25 and 3:7,10; Rom. 5:12), accept for the Son of Man, the New Adam, who knew no sin (1 Cor. 15:45,47; 2 Cor. 5:21). Christ learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb. 2:10, 5:8), and so His praise comes from a truly upright heart, because He has both learned and fulfilled God's righteous rules for us. What a blessing it is to have His steadfast obedience imputed (counted) to such worthless sinners as us who are called and chosen in Him (Rom. 5:19; 8:30)! What mercy and grace! We may now praise Him with a new heart as we learn His righteous rules through our Prophet, Priest and King.

8 I will keep your statutes,
I will not forget your word.
Thank God that we have one who has not forgotten the word of the Lord and has kept His statutes blamelessly. What a privilege it will be when we find ourselves transformed into His exact likeness (1 John 3:2)!

This is looking to Jesus in Aleph, from Psalm 119. Let us not forget what our Lord came to do. Hallelujah!

David Mathis' thoughts on Christ as the Life

In Him Was Life, by David Mathis from the Desiring God blog. This is an excellent meditation on the Life that is in Christ. Thinking of death and of Life...
Grace to all who are hidden in Him!
~Penn

Grace Abounding: Grace Gems!

So I finally joined the Grace Gems mailing list. It has been a long time, well over 3 years, that I have been reading materials published on the Grace Gems website. It was my friend, Mark "Grace," who first introduced me to them. But now I was again inspired to return to the habit when I saw that Rita had been posting the daily Gems on her blog New Human Life, and Stephanie also got hooked over on Thirsty Soul.

The story behind my experience with Grace Gems began on a cold and cloudy day in Pittsburgh (like most days there)... well I could go on with a long story, but the short of it is that Mark "Grace" would print sermons from the Spurgeon Archive and give them to me to read (from the famous and amazing spurgeon.org website by Phil Johnson who also does "Pyromaniacs"). Mark would print out sermons from Grace Gems also and pretty much throw them at me so I would read them after he had read them and left his highlights all over (we were opposed to each other theologically and doctrinally back then). Nevertheless, I would read them anyway.

Now I've read dozens of sermons by authors like Charles Spurgeon, J. C. Ryle, J. R. Miller, Jonathan Edwards, J. C. Philpot, Octavious Winslow and so many more. All I can say is that they have only blessed me abundantly in meditating on the Person and work of my Lord Jesus Christ. They have taught me to know Christ, not just to know about Him. And so I'm pretty excited to get daily quotes from these guys in the mail. That is why I'm posting this today, to share the benefits I reap from reading great authors. I hope others can do the same.

God bless!

Penn ~ a hell-deserving sinner,
saved, satisfied and sanctified
in Christ Jesus my Lord.

Now, here is the one I got from the introduction message:
"Remember that it is not hasty reading—but serious
meditation on holy and heavenly truths, which makes
them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not
the mere touching of the flower by the bee which
gathers honey—but her abiding for a time on the
flower which draws out the sweet. It is not he who
reads most, but he who meditates most—who will
prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest and
strongest Christian." Thomas Brooks

Faith

This is a repost on Faith, which I wrote before on my other blog months ago, but I thought I could use the reminder, so I'm posting it again here. (Also, if any are interested, check out the new reftagger info on my last post. You may like it? Also, please pray for me as I study Romans 5:1-11 this week/weekend. This is such an important passage, and those I'm teaching are so important to me as well. Thanks, grace to all looking to Jesus!).

"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." (Hebrews 11:24-26 ESV).

Faith is a strange and alien thing to a blind and fallen world. Faith sees Christ as worth the cost of separation, mistreatment, reproach, and loss of worldly wealth here and now, for something far more rewarding in the future. To the eye of faith, Christ is worth it. No faith is like no sight - it sees no worth in Christ as the only true and lasting treasure.

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..." (Philippians 3:7-9 ESV).

Oh Lord, grant me such faith, and let all those who hope in you rejoice! Amen.

Knowing Christ By a Personal Revelation

I thought these questions I transcribed from a gospel tract were good for some healthy self-examination:

He said to them, "But who do you say I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt 16:15-17).

The most important question we can be asked is this: Do we in reality know the living Christ? It is not: Are we religious? Are we members of local churches? Do we read the Bible? We might be very religious, yet not know Christ in the heart. We may be very loyal to our local church, we may study the Bible, we may "say our prayers," or even love to read religious books and study doctrine. But these soul searching questions still remain - Have we ever seen ourselves as lost, vile sinners before a Holy God? Have we ever been stripped of our self-righteousness and laid low in the dust of humility? Have we ever by faith perceived the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ, all because of a direct and personal revelation to us by God the Holy Spirit?

When Christ is made known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he is made known as the very well-spring of blessing to the soul. If we know Jesus no more than the world does, or than those who are intellectuals among men, then we do not have the real blessing. If we only know the Lord of glory by what we have found out by reading or talking to others, without the help of the Father's drawing power, then it is not the blessing of true salvation. If we do not know more of Christ than what flesh and blood can reveal, we are nothing more than Pharisees or Sadducees - religious, but lost without God - separatists or rationalists, but not recipients of revelation and regeneration. May the eternal Jehovah reveal to us our true and undone condition before Him!

Among the vast religious throngs of this earth there are to be found true people of God. Those chosen of the Father are also redeemed by the Son, and made alive by the Spirit. The elect of God know by deep acknowledgment of their sin that they are blind and ignorant by nature. The true children of God have been made humble; they confess their total dependence on the grace and mercy of Christ, and place their entire confidence and faith in his credible righteousness and shed blood. In the Lord Jesus Christ alone do "we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph 1:7).

It is only when the Lord himself deals with us, taking us in his powerful hand, that we are truly taught who Christ is. We may have heard about Jesus, but we only know him as "the Son of the living God" when illuminated and made alive by God the Spirit. Jesus came forth from God, and the power to know Christ comes forth from God also. If we have Christ, we have eternal life! If we do not have Christ, we have nothing but dead, lifeless, counterfeit religion. Our blessed Master said, "No man can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draw him" (John 6:44). May divine power draw you this day! May we see Christ in all his beauty! May we come to worship and serve only him. Christ is to be seen, but in the light which he himself supplies. May that light shine on you even now, and to our glorious God be all the glory!

(Adapted from "Do You Know Christ By Personal Revelation" by W. F. Bell. Available from Chapel Library.)