February 12

Genesis 45; Mark 15

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 19: WHAT WAS THE SIN WHEREBY OUR FIRST PARENTS FELL FROM THE ESTATE WHEREIN THEY WERE CREATED?
Answer: The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit
Scripture: Genesis 3:6, 12, 13.

Genesis 45

Ready:
Picking up at the conclusion of Judah’s plea for mercy before Joseph after discovering the allegedly stolen cup in Benjamin’s bag.

Seeing What’s There:
To me this is a highlight of the Bible and a story that is impossible to read without tears.  The things that jump out at me in this chapter are:

• Joseph’s joy and loving reception of his brothers who were so wicked to him many years earlier
• Joseph’s perception that his brother’s sinful actions were ordained by God for a purpose
• The bond between Joseph and Benjamin that 20 years cannot hinder
• Pharaoh commits a great deal of resources to bring all of Jacob’s family to Egypt and offers them the best land
• Jacob’s joy over a son resurrected by his Almighty God who can do more than we can ever ask or think

Theme:
The Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can bring the dead to life, can restore dead relationships, and can use mankind’s worst sins to accomplish his great purposes in his people's lives and across this earth.

Thinking About the Message:
    v1-15.  This emotionally charged passage includes Joseph forgiving his brothers on account of the fact that what happened to him, though the immediate result of their terrible sin, was actually purposed by God in order to accomplish God’s greater purpose across the earth and in the family of Jacob.  Does this sound like the promise to Abraham in Gen 12:1-3 (great name, blessing to all the families of earth)?  I take it that God’s great story and the purposes that he has in this universe will be orchestrated to display his glory by his accomplishing it despite our sin and rebellion against it.
    v16-24.  The brothers are sent with amazing provisions and resources to help get the entire family back to Egypt.  Moses adding the statement of Joseph to his brothers that they should not quarrel along the way is a nice touch to remind us that this is not a made up story but a real account of a real family and these brothers were sure to have quite the conversation on the journey as they reconsider the last 20+ years of their lives.      v25-28.  Jacob was trusting God but still human he was weak in spirit and sorrowful over his lost children and who knows what he was thinking regarding God’s claim to have already made a great nation out of Abraham.  Was he utterly confused as he sat there looking at his grandchildren wondering if this was how it was supposed to go down?  Is he supposed to lose all his children and now the grandchildren take it from here?  God blows him away by, in his mind, resurrecting Joseph and providing abundantly for him and his entire household.  Jacob seems now ready to die like old Simeon who was ready to go once he saw baby Jesus.  Off they go to Egypt.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    I take the main meaning of this chapter to be that God does not simply redeem our sinful actions and turn it into some good but he plans ahead of time that he will accomplish his purposes through the sin that he knows will happen.  I see this not as God reacting but acting.  Joseph did not say “you sent me here but God found a great use for it”.  He said basically, “You did not send me here, God did.  God sent me before you for a purpose.”  This is quite different than "chaos from your sin hindered the plan of God but he recovered by bringing something unplanned but good from it.”  The implication is that even heinous sins and injustice and suffering in this life are not without purpose and meaning.  This includes the smallest imaginable circumstances like the falling of a sparrow from the sky and the hair falling from my head (Matt 10:29-30).  The significance for me is that I can trust Almighty God to have all things under control and therefore there is true cause to rejoice in suffering (Rom 5:3, Col 1:24) and the be thankful in all circumstances (Eph 5:20) since I know that absolutely each and every one of them is under the sovereign reign of my loving Father who puts his omnipotent goodness to work (Eph 1:19) for my good with all his heart and soul (Jer 32:41).  This knowledge is what Paul wants me to have when he prays in Ephesians 1:16-23 and this is how I can have peace beyond understanding (Phil 4:7) when I give God my cares.

Valuing the Message:
This message redeems all the “bad" things in my life.  This message should have amazing significance if I understand the level of care that God takes in the smallest and biggest things that happen to me.  I need to decide if indeed I take God to be exercising what seems to be a complete reign over all things or if I believe that he resists holding this kind of control for some other purpose.  Many take both sides on this but I see this text today motivating my assertion that God Almighty rules his creation and accomplishes his purposes.  

Reflecting to Feel the Impact of the Message:
Reflecting on this message I would need to reinterpret all the circumstances that I ever faced (like the brothers on the road back to Canaan who Joseph warned not to quarrel).  I think God calls me to transform my thinking and come to a realization that he promises to do me good (Jer 32:41) and to work all things out for good (Rom 8:28) and to accomplish all his purposes (Is 46:10) and to work all things according to the counsel of his will (Eph 1:11) because he actually does this with intentionality and because he is indeed exercising sovereign rule over all things.  This would change how I relate horizontally with others who hurt me.  It would give me a different response to the guy cutting me off on the road or the guy swindling me out of my cash or the drunk driver.  Knowing that all responsibility remains on the wrong doer and that I am to do justice and love mercy I know that fighting for justice and peace is right but I can do so without fear that evil runs out of control and actually threatens the very purposes of God in my life or in this world.  This chapter helps me see that God’s purposes are even accomplished by the evil and thus Satan is God’s lackey that serves God’s cause with the worst that he can ever do (like slay his only begotten Son at the hand of his own people).

Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions.  Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.

Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.

Mark 15

Ready:
The previous chapter covered institution of the Lord’s Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane and the Jewish Council deciding to kill Jesus for blasphemy after he is betrayed by Judas.

Seeing What’s There:
This chapter covers the Roman trial of Jesus (but leaves out the account of Jesus before Herod- as do all the gospels except Luke), the scourging and mocking of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, and finally his burial by a respected member of the Jewish Council named Joseph of Arimathea.

Key Verses:
Mark 15:1-2, 5, 9-11, 14-15, 17-18, 29-32, 33-34, 37-39, 43

Theme:
According to the will of God, the rejected King of the Jews takes the unmerited punishment of God so that his people will receive God’s unmerited favor.

Thinking About the Message:
    v1.  The council had determined they would kill Jesus the night before but they met again in the morning to formalize their decision without being under the cover of night to perhaps settle their own seared consciences a bit.
    v2-5.  Just as he did before the Jewish Council Jesus affirms statements of truth but chooses not to respond to lies and false accusations.  He gives Pilate a qualified affirmation that he is indeed the King of the Jews but Mark (informed by Peter) gives an abbreviated account of this interaction, which Luke expands on by his eyewitness research (Luke 18:33-38).  Jesus explains that he is indeed the King of the Jews but that his Kingdom is not of this world.  He also seems to be speaking directly to Pilate because he asks Pilate if he came up with the idea that he was the King of the Jews or if the Council had told him this…but Pilate will not answer.  Though Jesus never claimed to be establishing an earthly kingdom, he was probably represented that way by the Jews because they knew this was treason and the only thing that would be likely to result in death by the Romans.  So Jesus was here acknowledging a true statement but correcting Pilate’s misunderstanding of the truth that he spoke.
    v6-15.  Pilate had begun some tradition of releasing a prisoner to the Jews during the Passover Festival, which began Friday and runs through the Sabbath for a total of seven days in remembrance of God protecting the Israelites from the last plague upon Egypt during their exodus.  In this festival the passover lamb is selected on the 10th day of the month, and then slaughtered and eaten on the 14th day.  I draw a parallel here since we know Jesus is himself the passover sacrifice (1 Cor 5:7) I figure it must line up with the passover festival.  Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 9th day (before sundown on Sunday) and was welcomed warmly and cried out for salvation with “Hosanna!” (Mark 11:9).  Then the next day (the 10th day of the month) he angered the Jewish Council by his cleansing of the temple so that they sought a way to destroy him (Mark 11:18).  Jesus would take the passover meal with his disciples (Mark 14:12) on the 14th day (after sundown on Thursday) and then be killed before sundown on Friday (Mark 15:25, 33... still the 14th day) before the Sabbath begins (Mark 15:42).
    v16-20. Jesus is mocked as he had prophesied (Mark 10:34) and he takes abuse from people whom he sustains by the word of his power as they rightly call him King but show him no honor and no thanks but only hatred.
    v21-41.  Interesting that Mark throws in the account of Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus’ cross with his two boys watching.  I wonder what sort of conversation that family had over the years!  His identity and authority are openly mocked and challenged with suggestions that he rescue himself…thankfully he had settled himself the night before in the garden and he was resolute in his purpose.  Even with the weaknesses of a man, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah held on with loving obedience and paid the penalty that was not his, except by his union to me! In verse 31 the curtain tears representing high point of what occurs on The Day of Atonement when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the temple to splash the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat.  Jesus demonstrates that he has entered and he has accomplished the sacrifice and satisfied God’s wrath.
    v42-47.  This is a neat twist that there is a man on the Jewish Council who has secretly been a follower of Jesus despite and he now takes the risk of being known and persecuted by donating his tomb to hold Jesus’ body.  The other gospel accounts come together to paint the picture more fully than just this passage (Matt 27:57; Luke 23:50-52; John 19:38).

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
More here than can be said, but Jesus clearly was a willing and obedient sacrifice for his people and he took what was due to me that I might have what was only his- the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

Valuing the Message:
This is why there is life on earth.  The cross is the center of time and the apex of the universe and all of creation hinges upon it...

Reflecting to Feel the Impact of the Message:
“20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions.  Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.

Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.
Soli Deo Gloria! 

February 11

Genesis 44; Mark 14

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 18: WHAT IS SIN?
Answer: Sin is transgression of the revealed will of God which teaches that we are to act in perfect holiness from a heart of faith to the glory of God.
Scripture: 1 John 3:4; Romans 5:13; 14:23; 1 Peter 1:16; Matthew 5:48; 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Comment: Sin is any attitude or desire or action that explicitly breaks a commandment of Scripture, or comes from a heart of unbelief or is not done for the glory of God.

Genesis 44

Ready:
Picking up where They have finished eating dinner together and the brothers were amazed that Joseph was able to seat them according to birth order.

Seeing What’s There:
I see that after the merry evening of dining together Joseph sets out to test his brothers once more.  He again has his steward return all the money to the brother’s sacks and he also puts a silver cup in Benjamin’s sack.  In the morning the 11 brothers, having received Simeon back, are now headed back to Canaan with the grain they came for and all is well.  But then the steward rides up on the group after they get a little wasps away and he accuses them of stealing money and also Joseph’s cup.  Oddly he mentions that Joseph uses that cup to gain secret knowledge, although this is a ploy to maybe get them realizing that he might know about their sin just like he knew about their birth order.  The cup is found in Benjamin’s sack and they are distressed as they all return to face Joseph and the consequence of this alleged theft.  Judah tries to convince Joseph that they did not steal anything but that God has surely found out there sin, probably talking about their sin of selling Joseph into slavery.  Judah also tries to convince Joseph to keep him instead of Benjamin because he had pledged itself to Benjamin’s safety before Jacob and he feared that the loss of Benjamin would kill Jacob.

Thinking About the Message:
    v1-5.  Joseph seems to test the brothers again perhaps because he has decided that he wants to bring the whole family back to Egypt for their survival during the famine and he wants to see them sacrifice for the love of family when the decision is not prompted by starvation like the last test turned out.  In this scenario they can leave and return with all the grain that was stuffed in their bags and Benjamin, who is innocent, would be left behind.  Perhaps Joseph wants to see if the brothers will again leave the innocent younger brother to be taken into captivity for their gain even though it will crush their father.  This scenario will create a parallel situation where Joseph can see how they react this time.
    v6-13.  Here the ploy by Joseph plays out and the brothers come back to face the music.  They were so convinced that no cup would be found that they offered up the guilty party to death and the remainder as servants.  But since this was a plant, it is found and they are stunned and in anguish.  They can’t understand how this has happened except that God is clearly judging them for their previous sin.
    v14-17.  Here Judah steps up and gives an account admitting that hey have no way to prove their innocence and that God's judgement is upon them and they accept it.  I take this to be an admittance of their original sin against Joseph and not of taking the cup.  Judah asks that they might all remain as servants including Benjamin…basically asking that Benjamin's life be spared.  Joseph does not accept the offer but says he will spare Benjamin and keep him as a servant, releasing the others to go in peace with all their grain.
    v18-34.  Now Judah tells Joseph the bigger story of how they ended up back in Egypt again and some background on Jacob and his love for Benjamin and how Judah has pledged himself to his brother’s safety.  He explains that the brothers returning without Benjamin will kill Jacob and Judah pleads that he be the one to be held back so that Benjamin and the others can return and Jacob will not be destroyed.  I take this as Judah stepping up for the family and passing Joseph’s test.  Unlike last time where Judah failed to defend his younger brother and failed to have concern for his father.  Last time he would not risk himself before his brothers to protect Joseph, but now he accepts the risk and the judgement and he takes a stand for his younger brother who is innocent.  Judah acknowledges that it is the brother’s sin that will be the death of Jacob.  Judah takes responsibility for his family and shows leadership and integrity and love and submission to God.  This is a decent foreshadowing of the fact that it will be Judah who will receive the blessing of Jacob over the firstborn Reuben as well as the second and third sons (Simeon and Levi).

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    I take the main message to be that God expects us to accept the consequences of our sin and to honor God even in how we receive his discipline in our lives.  The implication is that we aught not to shake our fist as God when when we suffer in some way we don’t think we deserve, but we should remember that we deserve nothing but the judgement of God, regardless of the particular thing we are currently being blamed for or punished for.  I take the personal significance to be that I need to be humble and broken before God and not demanding of my rights but I rather I should acknowledge my sin and my failure to love and honor and thank him in all things.  I need to receive from his hand gratefully.

Valuing the Message:
This message is valuable in life because it keeps me away from entitlement or expectations of all my circumstances going my way.  This message puts life in perspective and helps me to know that God does not put all my actions in separate silos but that all I think and do speaks of how I honor God or not.

Reflecting on the Message:
I need to consider how I react to being blamed for things I didn’t do and for how I tend to defend myself.  I need to reflect upon the arrogance of my heart that thinks I have a righteousness that does not come from Christ.  I need to reflect upon God and his complete authority to rule over all circumstances of my life in order to teach me and shape me and to show me myself.

Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions.  Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.

Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.

Mark 14

Ready:
I am picking up after Jesus gave a number of prophetic statements and gave an encouragement, or warning, to remain awake and to be ready for his coming.

Seeing What’s There:
This chapter does not contain a great deal of teaching by Jesus and it mostly documents the beginning of the last stage of his life.  The things that jump out at me in this chapter are:

• Jesus alludes to the nearness of his death by allowing Mary to anoint him and describing it himself as an anointing for the grave that will be spoken of around the world in the proclamation of the gospel.
• Judas determines to betray Jesus and joins up with the similar intentions of the Jewish Council to kill Jesus
• Jesus takes the passover meal (last supper) with the disciples and declares that one of them in the room will be his betrayer
• Jesus declares that it has been predetermined what will happen to him but that this does not in the least relieve the guilt from the person who carries out the will of God to take Jesus to the cross
• Jesus institutes the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper with the bread and the cup
• After telling the disciples that they will all fall away Jesus speaks against Peter’s self confidence and he tells him how Peter will deny him 3 times before the night is over
• Jesus pleads with the Father to make another way where he does not need to bear the wrath to come.
• The disciples fail to keep awake and pray when time is short
• Jesus is treated like a violent criminal coming to arrest him with an armed crowd or mob
• Jesus is silent in the face of lies and false accusations against him before the Jewish Council
• He answers once the truth is stated about him being the Christ, the Son of God.  This he affirms, which motivates them to make their determination that he shall be condemned to die as a blasphemer
• As described by Jesus beforehand, Peter faces the challenge of his faith when he is weak and scared and he denies Jesus three times before the second rooster crow resulting in his breaking down and weeping as he remembered what Jesus had said.

Key Verses:
Mark 14:1, 8-9, 10, 18, 21, 22, 24, 30, 34, 35-36, 37-38, 43, 48, 50, 55-56, 61-62, 64, 71-72

Theme:
After giving the disciples an ordinance to remember what is about to occur at Calvary, Jesus resolves to be obedient to his Father and faces all the suffering that awaits him in submission and love.

Thinking About the Message:
    v1-2.  Ironic and sad that as the passover approaches, which was the preservation of the firstborn children of Israel during their exodus from Egypt, they are plotting to kill Jesus.  It is the very death of Jesus that was the sacrifice represented by the passover lamb that night in Egypt.  The God-man they are planning to kill without disrupting the passover celebration is himself the passover lamb.  Clearly God’s hand is at work even through the ignorance and hard hearts and sin of man.  No doubt scripture is to be fulfilled.
    v3-9.  Like the lack of fasting while the bridegroom is here I see that there will also be a time when the perfume should be sold to feed the poor, just not right now.  Right now the king is in our midst and we celebrate.
    v10-11.  Hearing what Jesus says and hanging our with his followers does not make me a true believer as it did not make Judas one.
    v12-16.  An interesting account that might be a bit of an amazement to the disciples who followed his instructions regarding where to setup for passover, but its unclear as to whether this was a supernatural arrangement of the circumstances to lead them to the room or not.
    v17-21.  Jesus reveals that one of the twelve will betray him but it is not clear to them which one.  Another gospel tells me that Jesus leaned over and told John but he did not share the information.
    v22-25.  This is where Jesus transforms the meaning of passover by having them eat of the bread and drink the wine that he gives as representative of his own body and blood that will be sacrificed to secure “the covenant” or as Luke calls it “ the new covenant”.  In this moment the passover was revealed to have been established by the crucifixion of Jesus and rested upon God’s view of the future event.
    v26-31. Here in his description of the disciples falling away and Peter’s denial I see that Jesus knows us and our weakness and we should heed his warnings and instructions and know that what he says indeed will always come to pass.
    v32-42.  In the amazing revelation of his human comprehension of what is to come Jesus prays in the Garden and asks Peter and James and John to stay up and pray as he prays a distance away.  Jesus faces the impending wrath of God that awaits him on the cross and he lays his human temptation of avoiding it before his Father who undoubtedly strengthens his only begotten Son and assures him of his love and the necessity of the cross in serving the glory of God.  This scene is a great reminder of the dual nature that Jesus has as the God-man with a human soul and human weaknesses just like me (but without sin).  It is a sad account that in this late hour as his betrayal is impending the closest disciples he has are falling asleep even as he warns them of their need to be awake and to be in prayerful reliance upon God to keep them from sin.  I hear this as a clue that this is the very thing that Jesus was doing.  He needed to be in prayerful reliance upon his father in order to keep his human weakness from running in fear of the suffering to come.
    v43-52.  Jesus is arrested and everyone splits, as he said would happen.  He is treated like a dangerous criminal even though he has never sinned once and has lived a life of complete love for God and others.  Jesus acknowledges that this treatment is in the fulfillment of what God has planned and intends and he submits to it.
    v53-65.  Here Jesus is tried before the Jewish council and he refuses to debate with the false accusations and twisting of his words and the lies that are cast at him.  He does, however, affirm a true statement that is made about him and this is what settles them in their conclusion that they have adequate cause to kill him as they had already decided needed to happen.  His affirmation of his identity as the Messiah and the Son of God coupled with his statement that he will return in the clouds coming from the right hand of God puts them way over the edge without any doubt.  No question is left in the mind of the council who Jesus is claiming to be as they make their decision to condemn him to death.
    v66-72.  Sadly Peter falls just as Jesus predicted and he weeps remembering that Jesus had warned him of this.  I can only imagine that the fact Jesus told him this was to happen gave him such hope and kept him from having a response more like that of Judas who killed himself.  Jesus had looked into his eyes and told him that he knew he would do this and yet he also said that when Jesus is raised up he would go before them in Galilee…so Peter can rest assured that since Jesus doesn’t seem to get anything wrong, then it’s just a matter of time until they are reunited in galilee!

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    I take the main message to be that Jesus’ perfect obedience and death is and has always been what protects his people from the duly merited wrath of God (Rom 5:18-19, Rom 3:24-26, Hebrews 10:4, 10-11, 1 Thess 1:10).  This turns out to be the new or everlasting covenant that was spoken of by the prophets (Gen 17:7, Jer 32:40, Jer 31:31) and this covenant does not nullify the law but fulfills it in us (Rom 8:4, Rom 3:31, Rom 10:4).  Without Jesus the law can only condemn, because of our sin nature (Rom 8:3).  The implication is that without being united to Christ in his death (Rom 6:4-5), by faith (Rom 3:22-25) then I am outside of this covenant.  Without drinking his blood and eating his flesh (John 6:53-58) by this faithful trust in his identity and his work (Mark 8:38) with a heart level belief that results in my outward confession (Rom 10:10) and living for him (Gal 2:20), then I am still outside of the family of God (Eph 2:12, Gal 3:7) and the wrath of God remains on me (John 3:36) under the law.  The significance for me is that I know it is Christ’s work that has secured my salvation and not mine.  I can rejoice in the remembrance of his work in the past and I can walk in victory enjoying his current work in me as I am prepared as a member of his bride waiting eagerly for my bodily redemption (Rom 8:23, Heb 9:28).

Valuing the Message:
I am motivated to value this message supremely because it exalts Jesus as the name above all names and as the foundation for all that came before and all that will ever be.  His sacrifice being the covenant of God that makes me a child of God is the most important thing I will ever hope to understand in life.  I should see this as the fact that grounds my existence and purpose in life.

Reflecting to Feel the Impact of the Message:
Reflecting on my life and on what God has done in Jesus should propel me forward in loving obedience and proclamation of his truth to the world if I truly feel the impact of the message.  I need to consider at what level I am trusting in his broken body and blood versus trusting in myself and my own efforts.

Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with the chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions.  Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.

Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.

Soli Deo Gloria! 

February 10

Genesis 43; Mark 13

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 17: DID OUR FIRST PARENTS CONTINUE IN THE GLAD OBEDIENCE FOR WHICH THEY WERE CREATED?
Answer: No, but desiring to be like God, our first parents forsook the obedience of faith, ate of the forbidden tree, sinned against God, and fell from the innocence in which they were created.
Scripture: Genesis 3:1-7; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Romans 5:12.

Genesis 43

Ready:
Yesterday we read about Jacob sending his sons to Egypt for grain and saw how Joseph tested his brothers and in the end Simeon remained in prison while Jacob and the 10 remaining brothers atet the grain and remind in Canaan for fear of losing more of the family to the “Egyptian Governor” (Joseph).

Seeing What’s There:
In this chapter the famine continues and Israel’s family runs low on food.  Jacob agrees to let all of his remaining sons (including Benjamin) to return to Egypt again to buy more food.  They agree to take all the money that was placed back in their sacks the first time plus more and then also gifts for Joseph in order to gain his favor.  Jacob fears losing Benjamin but Judah comforts him and warmly assumes responsibility for his younger brother…far different that Cain’s response to God in the Garden.  Jacob asks God to intervene with the Egyptian so that he would have mercy upon his boys and allow their safe return.  Next the brothers are all taken to Joseph’s house to dine.  But they all feared that they would be made slaves because of the money that was not left behind last time and they plead with a steward of Joseph’s house before Joseph returns.  They are assured that there was no mistake regarding the money and that God has indeed blessed them.  All 11 brothers wind up before Joseph bowed just as in him dream more than 20 years earlier, but Joseph still does not reveal himself.  The sight of Benjamin, his younger full brother, makes Joseph come to tears and he has to leave the room quickly to hide his tears.  Composed, he continues the meal and the brothers are all seated in order or birth to the amazement of the brothers, who surely did not reveal this detail.  They also notice that Benjamin is given 5 times as much food as the others.  The meal was “merry” and it must have been a wonderful surprise for the brothers who had feared greatly.

Key Verses:

“1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.”” (Genesis 43:1–2, ESV)

“4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You
shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’ ”” (Genesis 43:4–5, ESV)

“9 I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” (Genesis 43:9, ESV)

“13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”” (Genesis 43:13–14, ESV)

“18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.”” (Genesis 43:18, ESV)

“23 He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.” (Genesis 43:23, ESV)

“26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground.” (Genesis 43:26, ESV)

“30 Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.”” (Genesis 43:30–31, ESV)

“33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement.” (Genesis 43:33, ESV)

Theme:
God can be trusted with everything despite all circumstances or threats because he is almighty.

Thinking About the Message:
    v1-15.  In this passage Jacob and Judah have a dialogue about going back to Egypt.  Judah explains that they simply cannot return without Benjamin and Jacob is distressed.  Ultimately Judah pledges himself as completely responsible for Benjamin’s safety and Jacob finally relents.  Jacob sends them off asking with a trust that God is able to show them mercy at the hand of this man that they fear.  In verse 14 Jacob uses the title “Almighty God” which in Hebrew transliteration is El Shaddai and this name is only used thus far in relation to the renaming of Abraham and when Isaac sent Jacob off to get a wife, and then when Jacob was renamed by God.  This name suggests that God is unstoppable and omnipotent and when initially used in Genesis 17:1 it is associated with God renaming Abram to Abraham and declaring that he has already made Abraham a father of many nations (Gen 17:5) before it comes to pass.  God is stressing his sovereignty over all circumstances to come and the certainty of the outcome even though it is not yet realized.  Similarly, Jacob is trusting that this unstoppable God has power to interrupt man’s will and intentions (like he did with King Abimelech in Gen 20:6) in order to protect his family.  Jacob trusts that God is able, if he pleases, to grant that the man will be merciful.  However, despite this trust they do not dismiss all partnership with God.  They plan to win the man’s favor by brining a gift and also brining with them the money that was not taken last time plus additional money for the new purchase of food.
    v16-25.  Here the brothers fear that they are going to be taken into slavery for having not paid for the food the first time.  In an effort to maintain their freedom and recover Simeon they plead before the steward and explain what happened and offer the full price from last time as well as the money for the new purchase.  In verse 23 the steward warmly comforts them and assures them that their money was received the first time but he does not give them explanation for why is was replaced in their bags except to tell them that God, the God of their fathers was responsible.  I take this steward as recognizing that God’s sovereign hand is in this unfolding story and this must have been interesting to the brothers to hear an Egyptian acknowledging their God and giving him credit for their blessings.  Simeon is returned to the brothers by the steward as assurance that they are not in danger.
    v26-34.  In this passage all the brothers end up bowing before him in fulfillment of his dream those 20+ years ago.  Joseph is especially moved by the sight of his little brother Benjamin.  He still hides his identity and treats them to a feast.  He gives them a clue by seating them in birth order to their amazement and he also gives a clue in giving 5 times the food to his little brother Benjamin.    

Meaning, Implications, and Significance-
I take the main message from this part of the story to be that God is to be trusted because he is completely able to protect us from anything and anyone and he is not restricted by anything but his own good pleasure.  Jacob still puts human effort toward providing for the safety of his family and he had made a judgement that they were better off losing Simeon than losing more, which may not have been the noble decision but none the less he was protecting his family that remained.  It took a new threat in the form of starvation to push him into new risk taking.  But Jacob is calculating and he now acknowledges that there is no real risk except that God’s will may not always seem favorable in the moment.  Like Shadrach and his buddies Jacob still falls upon God in the end understanding that he does not know what outcome will be found, only that God is in control of it.  This is seen in the last statement of verse 14 where he basically says “if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”  I take this to be another way of saying “Thy will be done O Lord."

Valuing the Message:
To value the lesson here we must decide how we understand God’s sovereignty and rule over our circumstances that involve the will and intentions of other humans.  This lesson is significant to great extremes of assurance when dealing with terrible evils and tragedies if indeed God is completely in control of all that befalls us.  If we believe that he is not exercising control due to him respecting man’s free will as more valuable, then we must resolve how to deal with tragedy that no longer has purpose or meaning (intentionality) except to illustrate how wicked man is in the exercise of his own will and perhaps to lean us toward longing for God’s restoration of his full reign.

Reflecting on the Message:
I take this message as teaching me about God’s character and how he works in ways we can never hope to understand here on earth.  Ponder what you think about God and how he is involved or not in the daily circumstances of your life.  Think about how much you see yourself under the reign of chaos or under God’s loving care.  Search for other scripture to help you reflect on God and on your own heart.  Think about how this truth should make you feel toward God and toward the world you face.

Responding to God & Reacting to His Lesson:
Tell God about your observations and your thoughts and your struggles with each chapter and determine how it will change or impact your thinking and your decisions.  Be sure to react in some way to the truth rather than remain silent.

Proclaiming the Truth to Others:
Decide who you can share what you have learned with and ask for God’s help in reaching out to love others.

Mark 13

Ready:
The last chapter taught me about the eternal devotion that I enjoy toward Jesus and that true religion (walking in this devotion to Jesus) results in a life of humble service and dependence upon God rather than self-seeking consumption and self-exaltation.

Seeing What’s There:
This chapter has been divided to consist completely of prophetic statements by Jesus made privately to just a few disciples.  Jesus tells about the end of temple worship and he tells about some signs of the end times where the whole creation as well as its inhabitants are affected by what he calls “birth pains”.  He tells them that there will be people who falsely claim to be the Messiah and that there will be wars and rumors of wars before the end comes.  He describes earthquakes and famines upon the earth.  Then he tells the disciples to be on their guard because they must take the gospel to all nations, but they will be heavily persecuted for this.  He promises them that it will be the Holy Spirit who does the real speaking when the gospel is preached.  Jesus describes some scenario where there will be a great tribulation kicked off by a unique religious event that is not good.  He warns that there will be great suffering and that God will cut the period short to preserve the lives of some chosen group of believers.  He tells them to not pay attention to anyone who claims to know where Christ is because it will be evident to every human on earth when he arrives.  This is because the entire earth will be darkened and stars will be falling from the sky and something crazy in space will happen that will be obvious to the entire world.  He explains that everyone will see him coming down from heaven and that the angels will gather together all the Christians from the ends of the earth and the ends of heaven.  Then Jesus uses the fig tree as a picture of how to recognize these end times approaching by watching for the changes.  He tells them that "this generation” will not pass away until all of this comes to pass but that nobody knows exactly when it will happen.  He even reveals that the information is veiled to Jesus (in his humanity).  He concludes with a warning to stay awake and pay attention and be ready.

Thinking About the Message:
    v1-2.  Jesus responds here to a statement praising the beauty of the temple buildings.  It seems that Jesus may be referring to the end of temple worship here in a broad sense or he could be specifically talking about the destruction of the temple that came in AD 70 by the Romans.  Either way I see Jesus making it clear that the temple is not the substance, but like marriage it is a symbol representing a bigger truth.  Let us not become too enamored with temporary guardians but hunger for the real deal that will never pass away or crumble.
    v3-8.  Here Jesus introduces the idea of birth pains and I take this to be related to how the creation waits with eager longing (as Paul says in Romans 8:18-25) for the revealing of the sons of God.  It is as if the earth knows that it was created for a purpose.  It is as if God’s creation becomes restless as the end draws near and anticipates the final revealing of the remaining children of God.
    v9-13.  Without trying to nap down the timing of how what Jesus speaks of is fulfilled I hear the message of this paragraph as telling the disciples that they will suffer for the gospel and that they must trust God to give them words and to have a purpose for their suffering…to bear witness.  I see the correlation to John 14:26 where Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit who will cause them to remember all that Jesus had said and this no doubt would informer their witness.  Even for the apostles, what greater words could they give them to tell them what Jesus said…with his mouth and with his life?  I see Colossians 1:24 where Paul says that he is filling up the sufferings of Christ for them, which I take to mean that there is purpose to his suffering in that it bears them witness of the suffering of Christ for his sheep by example.  2 Timothy 1:6-14 also speaks of suffering for the gospel and how the Holy Spirit guards a good deposit in them, which is the word and witness of Christ.  Paul’s confidence in the gospel being the power of God to salvation leads him to a willingness to suffer on behalf of this message.  And the suffering is now even part of the message itself according to Colossians.  Families will be split up and great divisions will occur over Christ in this life and we are to endure until the end with a hope in Jesus and an ultimate devotion to God when earthly relationships fail.
    v14-27.  I take from this passage the fact that we must not listen to others about some appearance of Christ but we must listen to his Word and we must know that there will be impostors.  We need to trust that he will make himself plainly known when he comes in glory and not buy the lies of any secret arrival of Christ.
    v28-37.  I take the fig tree and then the closing statement about not knowing the day or the hour to be a balance of recognizing the signs of the times and being prepared but not trying to claim knowledge of the degree of imminence. We must focus on being awake and ready always and not on trying to figure out the exact timing…which should not make a difference in how we live…unless we intend to get ready at the last second.  This was covered with the parable of the 10 virgins where 5 of them were out buying oil at the last minute and they missed the arrival of the bride groom!   Paul captures this in Romans 13:11-14 where he tells us that our salvation is near (he is coming!) and that it is time to wake up.  The night is far gone (which I take to be our former ignorance) and the day has come (our enlightenment) so we should cast off the works of darkness (stop living for sin) and put on the armor of light (Christ).  We should walk properly and not fulfill our selfish passions that are devoted to this seen world around us but we should focus on Christ in order to not let this flesh rule us…because this keeps us from loving others, which is the goal that gives reason for this being awake (Romans 13:8-10).  Sleeping is selfish.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I hear the message of being resolved to stand on the truth of God’s Word and to not buy into falsehood about any secret arrival.  I hear that there will indeed be such impostors and tricks and so these words will not be wasted.  The implication is that Christians need to interpret what they see and hear according to God’s Word and not according to emotion or experience because their will be great effort by the enemy to fool even the true believers…diligence in holding fast to God’s Word is needed.  The significance to me is that I need to know his Word and I need to not be ignorant.
    2.  I hear the message that we must be prepared for the arrival of our King and we must remain awake.  I take the implications to be that Jesus expects his followers to be fixed on living with purpose of love, which requires not sleeping, but labor.  The significance to me is that I am not to lounge around soaking up the world but I am to cast off all that keeps me from loving God and loving others so that I can charge ahead as a faithful witness of the hope of Jesus…because the end is coming (by death or by Christ's arrival).
    3.  I hear the message that if someone wants to have a response to the trials and the tests and if they want to redeem their struggles and suffering by making them a testimony of God’s almighty goodness, then they need to use those opportunities to be witness of the life and words of Jesus.  I see the implication being that the disciples (and us today) were to look to the Holy Spirit to inform their witness and to remind them of Jesus’ words and life.  The significance for me is that my reading and familiarization and even memorization of God’s Word is important and since I did not live the experience of the disciples the only way the Holy Spirit will “Bring to remembrance” Jesus’ words and testimony is if I read his words…regularly.

Valuing the Message:
I see this message as being very important based on the emphasis that Jesus put on remaining awake and on the nature of the warning about even the true believers (elect) being fooled.  This message is one that should result in some action and some reflection on my preparedness.

Reflecting on the Message:
I need to consider how I am doing at living on mission and at being focused on the witness of my life.  I need to wrestle with God over my heart and my divided desires and my distractions and my tendency to be selfish and to spend my time not for witness and love of others but for myself.  I need to consider how much I study his word and inform myself to be prepared and to have words to speak that have real authority.  I need to consider if I am letting the works of darkness rule me or if I am letting Christ rule me.
Soli Deo Gloria! 

February 9

Genesis 42; Mark 12

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 16: WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN WHEN HE WAS FIRST CREATED?
Answer: When God had created man, he made a covenant with him that he should live and enjoy all the benefits of creation, but that he would die if he forsook the obedience that comes from faith. God commanded him not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and thus forsake his child-like dependence upon God for all things.
Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17; Galatians 3:12; Romans 5:12.

Comment: The “knowledge of good and evil” is the ability to judge independently what is beneficial (good) and harmful (evil) for yourself. What God is forbidding is that man should choose to be independent from God in his evaluation of things. He is command- ing man to walk by faith in the wise and loving care of his heavenly Father. (See the use of this phrase in Gen. 3:5, 22; 2 Sam. 14:17; Is. 7:15; 2 Sam 19:35.)

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Genesis 42

Ready:
The previous chapter established Joseph’s position in Egypt and he is now in a place of great authority and he has a family and he has “forgotten” about his past troubles and his family in Canaan.  Joseph still fears God and deals justly and with integrity but has seemingly resolved to live out his life in Egypt.

Reading thoughts:
In this chapter I see the famine bring Israel to Egypt for survival.  Most of Jacob’s sons travel to Egypt to buy grain but they encounter Joseph there without realizing it.  Joseph plays on as if he does not know them and there comes a conflict between them as to the honesty of their story as Joseph inquires of them.  Joseph hold back Simeon and the rest return with grain to Jacob.  They are supposed to return to Egypt with Benjamin to prove their story (and save Simeon) but this is a challenge because Jacob resists for fear of losing his last son from Rachel.  This family is being put to the test…

Key Verses:
Gen 42:3-4, 6-7, 8-9, 15, 19, 21-22, 23-24, 28, 35-36, 38

I see the theme as- Jacob puts tests the honesty and righteousness of his brothers.  Will they recognize their sin and repent?  Will they value Simeon and return for him even though it is dangerous?

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-5.  Ten brothers head to Egypt at Jacob’s direction to buy grain.  Jacob holds back the youngest Son (though he is about 33 years old) since he is the last child he has from Rachel and he is worried about the dangers they may encounter on their journey.
    v6-17.  When they arrive to buy grain in Egypt Joseph notices them immediately but they don’t know its him and he is also using an interpreter to speak to them (he uses Middle Egyptian as best I can tell).  Joseph may have asked them more questions than this record indicates because in the next chapter we learn that the brothers claim he asked specific questions about their father and other brothers.  He treats them rather rough and seems to be testing them with regard to their honesty.  It is quite possible he is trying to determine himself how to view them.  He had “forgotten” abut them and now here they are and he remembers his dream and they are now bowing before him as in the dream.  It must all suddenly rush to him that God’s hand was in this whole adventure.  Certain that he must determine if his family is faithful and righteous in their dealings (since the brothers were not that way 20 years ago) he sets them up with a test of their character.  He requires that Benjamin join them if they want to live.  He tells them they will need to send one brother back for him but locks them up for three days first.  It seems he is establishing a fear in them that he really might kill them if Benjamin does not come.
    v18-25.  While they are in prison for three days Joseph, no doubt, has time to think and pray about what to do and he decides to let all but one brother head back since it would be a greater test of the family to only have one brother left behind.  After explaining this to the brothers, through the interpreter still, Joseph gets emotional and cries (privately) when he hears them talking amongst themselves about their sin against Joseph and how they saw his distress when he had begged them not to sell him to the Ishmaelites.  Moses records for us that they were near Joseph having this conversation but the interpreter must not have been right there and they didn’t think Joseph understood their discussion.  The brothers considered this a judgement of God against them because of the blood of Joseph (who they might presume to be dead) and they agreed to leave Simeon behind as required.  Joseph has his men sneak all their money back into their sacks before they leave and though this is a blessing it will come to them as a test because they will need to interpret why this happens.
    v26-38.   On the way back with the grain they realize that all their money is also in their sacks and they are panicked.  They know this can be a setup by the "Egyptian Governor” and they may also consider that it could be contested that they sold Simeon.  They know that this means danger either way and are afraid.  They also interpret this as a judgement of God.  Once home they fill in Jacob and request Benjamin return with them but Jacob will have no part in that.  He figures they have lost Simeon and he will not lose another…especially Benjamin.  The decision is stalled and the brothers remain home for now and it appears that Simeon is doomed.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I take the message from this small part of the big story to be that families fail and families divide and families are traumatized because of sin.  The implication is that we can avoid much distress and division and scandals if we walk according to God’s ways and if we honor our parents and if we love our brothers and if we keep a devotion to our God in all of this.  Personal significance to me is that I can cause division in my family or I can bring harmony and unity to my family depending on how I love God and love them.  I have an opportunity to lead them in seeking God or in seeking other things.  I have an opportunity to lead them in a sole mission or in a diversity of missions.  I have an opportunity to train them in righteousness or in partiality.  I have an opportunity to instill a value of trusting God and risking for the lost or of protecting ourselves in unbelief. 

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Mark 12

Ready:
In the previous chapter Mark recorded the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and we see Jesus’ identity and authority declared but then ignored.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus rout the Pharisees with a condemning parable of the kingdom of God being handed to the Gentiles due to Israel's hardness of heart over the past 1400+ years.  From there the various Jewish sects come forth with attempts to trap Jesus in his words in order to come up with an excuse to arrest him.  Jesus corrects their understanding of devotion and of resurrection and marriage and he is sure to set their minds to the fact that the coming Messiah is not a mere man but is God in the flesh.  Mark then documents Jesus’ presentation of the opposite examples of the scribes who seek attention and recognition for their “spirituality” and are consumers of wealth and honor against the example of the poor widow who quietly goes about loving the Lord and giving generously more than she can even afford to give without anyone being the wiser of her sacrifice.

Key Verses:
Mark 12:1, 6-7, 9-12, 14, 16-17, 23-24, 25-27, 29-31, 35-37, 38-40, 43-44

I see the theme as- Devotion to earthly authority and even my spouse is temporary and serves as a dim shadow of the real substance.  My highest and permanent eternal devotion is to Jesus, the God-man who loved me and gave himself for me, and this active subjection to his authority will result in a life of true worship, from the heart, that looks like this: I love God above all and I love others sacrificially, seeking not my own glory, but God's.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-12.  Here Jesus lays out a judgement against Israel for rejecting all the messages of the prophets and now the very Son of God.  The entity of the law and the prophets was pointing toward the coming of Jesus but they reject him and nullify all of the law and prophets by this.  Jesus makes reference of a Psalm that speaks about the gates of righteousness being opened (Psalm 118:19-23) and salvation being provided by this cornerstone that was rejected by the builders.  Peter in Acts 4:9-12 answers to the Jewish council and explicitly states that Jesus himself is this cornerstone.  The part of the Psalm that says it was the Lord’s doing and is marvelous in our eyes reminds me of Romans 11 where Paul explains that God hardened Israel’s hearts and has an amazing plan for bringing together all of his church in the end.  Paul himself exults with marvel at the conclusion of chapter 11 (Rom 11:33-36).
    v13-17.  I take this to be a teaching that we indeed owe our subjection to the governing authorities and Paul later explains that all authority is from God and they even carry out God’s wrath upon the wrong doers (Rom 13:1-7).  But the reason for this subjection, therefore, is because it is God who established them as an authority.  Our ultimate authority is God himself but we have a shadow of or a representation of our subjection to God expressed by our subjection to this under-shepherd.  We owe some taxes to the government but we first owe our hearts and lives and resources to God.  We honor God with all that we are, in part, by paying taxes to the government.  Jesus’ answer astonishes them because the could not imagine a subjection to the Romans ultimately being a subjection to God.  He had handled their impossible quandary with a bigger truth that they did not expect…and it also speaks to their misunderstanding that the Messiah would come with a primary purpose of giving them freedom from the Romans and from the constant oppression of other nations.
    v18-27.  Now the Sadducees take a stab at Jesus with a riddle they expect to trap him with.  They did not believe in an afterlife in physical bodies because they had bought into the Greek teachings of Plato and others that supposed the body to be evil and the goal of life was to get out of and stay out of the body.  They try to create a scenario where people having resurrected bodies would find an impossible problem…but they don’t really do a very good job with their challenge.  Jesus exposes the weakness of their trap is that they don’t know the scripture or the power of God.  I take this to be a subtle reminder that our marriage in heaven is to Christ (Isaiah 61:10) and that God has the power to make mortal bodies immortal in glory.  Jesus has been demonstrating to power of God to cleanse and repair bodies and to remove sin.  These Jews do not understand that all this expresses how it is that God can take a body that lived in sin for all its life and then in a moment translate it into a perfectly immortal vessel to house the immortal soul of that believer for eternity in perfect holiness and cleanliness.  They are falling to understand that marriage is an earthly picture of the real deal that is to come.  Earthly marriage is momentary…temporary…until the reality is upon us.
    v28-34.  Here is the crux of our purpose on planet earth.  Our devotion of heart and mind and body is to God.  This results in a loving of others because God is love.  God charged Abraham (Gen 18:19) with commanding that his family to walk in righteousness (vertical relationship with God) and Justice (horizontal relationship with others).  Here Jesus expresses the “Shema” (as Jewish tradition calls it) from Deut 6:4-5 and adds the love of neighbor as it’s natural result.
    v35-37.  Here Jesus uses scripture to show them that they have been missing an important point.  They are waiting for the Son of David to come as their Messiah but they are not willing to accept him as God in the flesh because of their devotion to a misunderstanding of the Shewa (Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one…).  They cannot accept Jesus or any other Messiah as God because there is only one God.  Jesus pains himself to express that he and the Father are one (John 10:28-31) and he even speaks of the Holy Spirit coming (John 14:25-26) but the triune Godhead is too much for the establishment.  But some were waiting expectantly, like Simeon and Anna, who expected his coming (Isaiah 25:9, Luke 2:25-32, 36-38).  The Father intends our devotion to be to his Son whom he sent to redeem us…we are his bride.
    v38-44.  Here Jesus gives the example of the self-exalting scribes who have an abundance and do not truly have a devotion to God that spills into loving others.  Mark places this account against the widow’s offering perhaps to get to what he thought Jesus was saying.  He was contrasting the shallow religiosity of the scribe against the true religion of the widow.  True worship and devotion to God results in sacrificial living and reliance upon God, not self-exaltation and consumption of wealth.  This widow was not concerned with what others thought of her devotion to God because it was a devotion to God.  Jesus spots her heart and her loving of God and loving of others and he wants the disciples, and me, to know that this is true religion.  It does not take riches to be generous to God or to man.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I hear the message of subjection to earthly authority is proper but subjection to God in all things is even more appropriate.  I hear the message that earthly marriage is good but temporary.   I hear the message that we must love others and that our Savior is God in the flesh.  I hear the message that Devotion to God is from the heart and it is sacrificial and it does not seek self-exaltation. The implication of all this is understanding that ultimate devotion to Christ drives true, but momentary, devotions here on earth that are undergirded and made stronger because they are an outflow of our waiting and preparing for our true marriage in heaven where we receive new bodies and are perfected.  This devotion to our true and eternal bridegroom will result in pouring his love out to others sacrificially.  The significance for my life is that I can reflect upon my heart and look for patterns that show my motives and where my heart level devotion is directed.  Am I putting earthly devotion above my devotion to Christ?  Alternatively, am I honoring God in how I subject myself to the governing authorities and how I love my bride?  Am I seeking the praise of men or simply seeking to love God and others.  Am I living to enjoy what the world offers or am I living to help others join me in enjoying what God offers?  Then I can re-align myself with a gaze fixed ahead on the prize of Christ and ask God to continue his sanctifying work in me.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

February 8

Genesis 41; Mark 11

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 15: WHAT ARE GOD’S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE?
Answer: God’s works of providence are the holy, wise, and powerful acts
which he preserves and governs all his creatures, and all their actions.
Scripture: Nehemiah 9:6; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; Psalm 103:19; Matthew 10:29-30.
 
Comment: It would be helpful to discuss this with your child in relation to the common concept of “luck.” Is there such a thing as luck in a world ruled by the providence of God? “The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord” (16:33). You will also need to stress that many of God’s acts of providence may not look “holy and wise” (like storms that kill thousands of people). But then stress that God has his secret purposes (Deut. 29:29) that we are never great enough to see, and the Judge of all the earth always does right (Genesis 18:25).

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Genesis 41

Ready:
In the last chapter Joseph interpreted dreams for two prisoners that were from Pharaoh’s house.  These two had opposite dreams and results and the survivor was released and restored as Joseph interpreted to be so but then the guy “forgot" about Joseph and did nothing to help him.

Reading thoughts:
This chapter is the big turning point for Joseph.  I see him gain the favor of Pharaoh and he gains great power and authority over all of Egypt.  By listening to the Lord’s warning Joseph helps Egypt to prepare for a terrible famine that impacts the whole earth.  Egypt is prepared and survives well and makes provision for others out of the abundance that was preserved by Joseph.  He even has a couple of children by his Egyptian wife.

Key Verses:
Gen 41:1-4, 12-13, 14, 16, 25, 28-32, 34-35

I see the theme as- God uses Joseph’s candor and integrity and fearless commitment to speak the truth in order to accomplish his will in preserving Egypt under the severe famine, placing Joseph in a position of authority in Egypt second only to the Pharaoh himself.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-13.  Pharaoh in the last chapter has hanged his chief baker so we know that he is a hard man and that he does not take much disrespect or irreverence from his court.  It could be that people were fearful to misinterpret or to offend Pharaoh in their response but regardless of the cause he could not get anyone to interpret his dreams.  I suppose if I had a recurring dream that was vivid and I felt conviction by God to interpret it maybe I would give it consideration but on a daily basis I think nothing of whatever dreams I may have.  The cupbearer finally came though and he spoke up for Joseph, since it was now going to be helpful to him and to Pharaoh in sending this uncomfortable scenario of nobody being able to please Pharaoh.
    v14-36.  Here Joseph is humble to give full credit to God as the one interpreting the dreams and Joseph merely passes on the message.  He really functions as a prophet in this sense.  Joseph makes it clear that he hopes for a favorable interpretation but since it does not come from him... perhaps the Pharaoh will have mercy if he does not find the interpretation favorable.  Joseph then hears and interprets the dream and more than that he gives Pharaoh advice on how to deal with the coming famine.  This includes placing someone over all the land with authority over food production and storage.
    v37-45.  Pharaoh seems to look at his servants with a smirk saying something like “Hmmm, where in the world would we find someone who is clearly blessed by God and wise over such matters who is responsible and has integrity and who would know how to lead our people in preparation for this great famine…I wonder if there is anyone who could handle this.”  Of course, Joseph is the only answer and so it goes that Joseph is given all authority in Egypt over everything but matters that need the Pharoah’s judgement from his throne.  Joseph is given riches and prominence and a wife and all he could probably want as far as earthy possessions and accomplishment.
    v46-56.  Joseph had been in captivity since he was 17 with varying degrees of authority and prominence due to God’s blessing but now he is highly lifted up and at the age of thirty he is placed in the highest position possible in the whole nation of Egypt.  He has lived in Egypt now longer than with his family in Canaan (23 years).  Joseph stores up food in each City (not one big storehouse somewhere) and during the seven years of abundance he has a couple kiddos.  Sadly he names the first one Manasseh, which means something like “to forget” because he had forgotten all his hardship and all his father’s house.  Forgetting his father’s house is the sad part.  It seems that he completely moves on mentally and emotionally and is content now to have no attachment to Jacob or his 11 brothers.  Now would seem to be the time that he could reach out to them since he is in no sense in captivity any longer.  but he spends 7 years focused on per parring for the famine and on making his own family without considering Jacob.  The famine comes and Joseph is put in charge of how and when the storehouses are used and also of the sale of food to outsiders since the famine was affecting the whole earth.  This would have set Egypt up as quite the super-power in that time.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  Like I read in Psalm 128 it seems to be the message here that the Lord blesses those who fear him:
“1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psalm 128:1–4, ESV)
The implication is that a right view of God and submission to his reign in one’s life is the pathway to happiness.  Surely the Lord took Joseph through many trials and challenges and disappointments along the way but the overarching theme is blessing.  The significance for my life is that I do not need to find my own way of manipulating my circumstances by human wisdom and shrewdness but I can rely on God and I can walk in fear of him and make my decisions based on his Word rather than on what I think will protect me in the moment.  I can trust that doing it God’s way is the right way even when the results do not immediately appear favorable.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Mark 11

Ready:
Yesterday Mark presented opposing views of salvation with the juxtaposition of the blind beggar against the rich young man.  The rich young man wanted to know how he could accomplish his own salvation by his “doing” and the blind beggar saw (in a manner of speaking) that it was Jesus who needed to “do” something… out of mercy.  Sandwiched between these stories was Jesus’ description of his work of redemption on the cross and from the grave.  I saw that the one who received from Jesus became a follower and the one who sought to give something to Jesus went away empty.

Reading thoughts:
Here is the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem as Jesus and told the disciples they were headed there.  But the disciples were amazed that he was intent on coming here (Mark 10:32) since he claimed that he would be tortured and killed in Jerusalem.  Jesus sets out fulfilling prophecy with his entrance to the City of David and the crowds welcome him warmly with shouts of joy and cries for salvation that sound like they surely recognize him as the coming Messiah…but in five days time this cry will turn to “Crucify him!"

Key Verses:
Mark 11:8-10, 13-14, 15, 17, 22-23, 28-29, 30, 33

I see the theme as- The identity and authority of Jesus is declared and ignored.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-11.  Here is Palm Sunday!  Jesus entered Jerusalem to begin Holy Week where in the end he will be crucified and then rise from the dead.  Verses 9-10 make it sound like the crowd recognizes Jesus as the coming Messiah and they cry out for salvation with “Hosanna!”.  Of course this is ironic because the crowd will cry out “Crucify him” in five days.  Knowing who Jesus is, or thinking I know who he is, and surrendering my life to him are different things.
    v12-14.  I think this part of the parable illustrates how Jesus wants us to know that the religious system of the Jews (as they have used it) amounts to a leafy tree that is useless since it gives no fruit.  It has the appearance of truth but it lacks any real result.  It cannot feed the soul.  It can dress up the pathway but it leaves the pilgrim empty.  A reliance and boasting in the law leaves nothing to be added to the soul that hungers for God.  Jesus hungered and the tree offered nothing.  The law offers me nothing.  Jesus curses this empty religion because it fools people into thinking that it is the source of righteousness when it is barren.  Jesus has decided to show the reality of this tree.  I don’t think it is any mistake that this sign is given as he come into Jerusalem since it is the center of Judaism and the seat of where the law has been misused as a means to merit righteousness before God (Rich young man from the last chapter) rather than as a means to understand our need for Jesus (blind beggar named Bartimaeus).
    v15-19.  I take the cleansing of the temple here to be related to the fig tree story (since it is placed between the two halves of it).  I think Jesus is illustrating that the misuse of the law and the entire religious system that Moses presented to Israel has been used to gain power and prestige and wealth and personal gain.  It has become a testament to the Jew’s boasting in the law (Rom 3:27-28).  Jesus makes it clear that the temple is a place for spiritually sick people (sinners) to cry out (pray) to God and to rest in God’s mercy that is to come through the promised offspring.
    v20-25.  Here the disciples find the fig tree that Jesus had cursed the day before is now totally withered to the root.  I take this to be a condemnation upon Israel’s failure to trust in God but rather they trusted in a law that failed them because they were not pursuing the righteousness of God, but of men (Rom 10:2-4, Rom 9:30-32).  Putting trust in the means instead of in the goal is a fatal error.  So too here thinking that a trust in the desired outcome (as can easily be taken from this teaching on prayer) is ruled out by Jesus’ first statement…”Have faith in God”.  So the whole teaching must be taken in the context of the object of faith is God and not the requested outcome.  Once the faith is in God we can apply the rest of Scriptural teaching on prayer and we see that Jesus is denied his request to not drink the cup in the Garden (Mark 14:36) and we see that Shadrack and his buddies do not claim to be able to control the hand of God but submit to his will all the while never doubting God’s ability to deliver them (Dan 3:16-18).  Note that it could even be in Mark 11:23 that the “he” in “what he says will come to pass”  can be God and not the person praying.  God is a more natural person to be saying things and then those things come to pass.  So trusting that whatever God says will indeed come to pass and trusting in him to do his holy and good will, I can pray with confidence that he will not withhold any good thing (Rom 8:32, Matt 7:9-11).  An example is the centurion who asked Jesus to say the word in order to heal his servant.  The centurion did not say to Jesus "I know it’s done in my asking with faith", he said “say the word and my servant will be healed" (Matt 8:8-10).  Trust in and submission to the authority of the one who can grant the desired answer is the only thing being taught here.   But since I am often ignorant as to what is good or bad for me or in God’s great plan I can never have ultimate confidence in my requested outcome…especially if I come from a place of submission to the will of God rather than my own.
    v27-33.  He demanded that they answer and it seems he is recalling their silence in Mark 3:4-5 when they would not respond to his question that was exposing their previous error.  They refused to acknowledge truth already and now here Jesus demands that they take a position and then refuses to give them more truth explicitly because they already deny what they have been given…reminds me of Matt 7:6 and his admonition to not throw pearls before pigs.  Jesus is pretty plainly teaching that he has the authority of God to cleanse the temple and to teach in the temple and to heal on the Sabbath and to wither a tree to expose its bare roots.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I hear the message that Jesus came with the full authority to accomplish all of God’s holy will without restriction and that a trust in him attaches the believer to this omnipotent hand of blessing but a trust in something of our own doing (which is void of any authority) will be fruitless.  The implication for today is that a believer can only trust in God’s authority and his purposes and that it is possible to misuse the law or prayer or anything that is not grounded in the true purpose of God as reveled in his Word.  The significance for my life is that I must trust in God and in his power to accomplish what is good for me in my life…even when it seems gnarly (like being sold into slavery- Joseph).  I need to cry out to him for help trusting that he can accomplish anything and not rely on my own efforts toward righteousness.  I cannot boast or even look to my own righteousness or I am filling the temple with my supposed riches, while the roots are withering away right under my feet.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

February 7

Genesis 40; Mark 10

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 14: HOW DID GOD CREATE MAN?
Answer: God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Scripture: Genesis 1:27-28; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24.
 
Comment: In saying that we were created after his image “in knowledge, righteousness and holiness,” we do not mean we know all God knows, nor that we are a fountain of righteousness and holiness the way he is. We mean that we were capable of sharing his knowledge and righteousness and holiness in a relationship of trust and love unlike any other creature under the angels.

Genesis 40

Ready:
In the last chapter Joseph was left in prison because of Potiphar’s wife and he is now running the prison because of God’s amazing hand of blessing upon him within an through his crazy circumstances.

Reading thoughts:
I see in this passage that Joseph has a divine appointment with these two men.  In prison he meets the Pharoah’s cupbearer and chief baker who have been imprisoned for an unknown offense to Pharaoh.  Both re troubled by dreams they do not understand and Joseph interprets the dreams for them.  The dreams come true as Joseph interpreted but the Cupbearer, whom Joseph had asked to pass a good word to Pharaoh on his behalf when the dream came true, did not do so but rather he forgot about Joseph…and he continued to help run the prison (for a couple more years).

Key Verses:
Gen 40:2-3, 5, 12, 14, 18, 21-23

I see the theme as- God sets up interactions between people and God moves them toward the fulfilling of his intentions.

Rumination thoughts:
Broadly reflecting upon this chapter is appears that Joseph is living Rom 8:26-29 and he seems to take in stride the circumstances that would naturally be seen as discouraging setbacks.  I don’t take much from the dreams as they are not the main message of the story, but the fact that God brought these officer’s from Pharoah’s house and Joseph together through all the sinful wrong actions against Joseph, beginning with his brothers, is amazing.  God has a work he is doing with Joseph that requires Joseph to be placed in charge of Pharoah’s affairs and this is brought forth by a series or crazy circumstances that Joseph would never know to ask for (Rom 8:26-27) just as I do not always (or usually) know what to pray for.  Even the two guys with the dreams are intermediate players and the real significance will come when Joseph has an audience with Pharaoh in the next chapter.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  God orchestrates and weaves together events in history to accomplish his will in keeping his promises.  The implication of this is that he has made promises to work his omnipotence (Eph 1:19) for my good (Jer 32:40-41) so that all things work out (Eph 1:11) in a manner that I will be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:28-29).  I do not doubt that God has the power to move mountains and hearts and cars and bullets and anything else in all creation but I do not know how he may desire to use the circumstances in my life so I take the significance not in trusting certain outcomes but from trusting a loving shepherd (deliverer) who will bring me into the circumstances that will accomplish his pruning and loving work of making me like his Son and delivering me to the bridegroom as one prepared (Col 1:22, 2 Cor 11:2, Jude 24, Is 61:10-11, Rev 19:7-8).

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“private”

Mark 10

Ready:
Yesterday I read about the transfiguration and about Jesus’ teaching to me about keeping a focus on him and about taking sin seriously and about not being a hindrance to new believers.

Reading thoughts:
I see Jesus continue his teaching on not causing others to sin and then moves into relying on him like a child relies upon a parent for provision rather than seeking to earn or merit or accomplish my own salvation.  I see Jesus reveal the destination of Jerusalem to the group and he marches there resolutely, to their amazement, since he explain what will happen their is his suffering and death.  The chapter closes with a man in the opposite scenario of the rich young ruler and Jesus teaches where salvation is found.  The main teaching revolves around two questions…one of them is a lie and results in death…”What must I do, Jesus?” or “What do you want me to do for you, Bartimaeus?”  Am I speaking or listening?

Key Verses:
Mark 10:11-12, 15-16, 17-18, 21-22, 25-27, 33-34, 32, 43-45, 51-52

I take the theme as- A broken, humble, others focused reliance upon Jesus and his “doing" is the only way of salvation.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-12.  I see this section a continuation of not causing others to sin because in divorce we make our spouse an adulterer, unless we divorce for cause of adultery (Matt 5:32).  So in essence, all marriages that end, end in adultery.  I think God cares deeply for marriage because he has built it as a picture of the marriage of Christ with the church (Eph 5:25-33) and this groom will not divorce his bride regardless of her faithlessness but he will secure her by his own faithfulness and he combines the concepts or justice and mercy in this marriage (Hosea 2:19-20).  I see this marriage of opposites (righteousness and justice v steadfast love and mercy) to be related to Rom 3:21-27.  He accomplishes righteousness for us on the cross in order to make it just for him to show us the mercy that he has showed since the garden when he did not kill Adam.  God fulfills the unilateral covenant of Gen 15:17 by an unbreakable marriage resting only upon his own righteousness and faithfulness.  Divorce shatters this picture and also causes the spouse to sin.  Surely it can not always be avoided and it is sad when this is the case and these people need support and love and grace in dealing with picking up the pieces of their lives. I have know too many men who’s wives have left them…
    v13-52.  No more time but look for the opposing questions and the viewpoints of the rich man who wants to know what he needs to do for God vs the beggar who understands that it is the opposite…he needs God to do something for him.  Do I have to merit my salvation or is it already accomplished in Christ and I need merely to follow him?  These accounts are sandwiched around Jesus explaining what he will do for us…die and rise again.  Jesus teaches that we are to come to him for healing and not to demonstrate our righteousness.  Not to ask “How can I show you my righteousness or how can I do the right things to be righteous?”  Jesus says, "you just let me handle that righteousness bit and follow me if you want healing from your sin and state of death.  Trusting in me is the answer."

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!

February 6

Genesis 39; Mark 9

Daily Catechism

QUESTION 13: WHAT IS THE WORK OF CREATION?
Answer: The work of creation is God’s making all things [out] of nothing, by the word of his power and all very good.
Scripture: Genesis 1:1, 31; Hebrews 11:3; Exodus 20:11; Romans 4:17.

Comment: Before creation there was only God in the holy fellow- ship of the Trinity. Therefore his creation is always different from ours: we start with something.

Genesis 39

Ready:
Yesterday I saw how God brought Perez to Judah in an unexpected way and how Judah’s sin was not enough to stop God from delivering on his promises.

Reading thoughts:
After being purchased by his distant cousins (the Ishmaelites) Joseph is sold to an important Egyptian named Potiphar.  Joseph has the golden touch here and although God allows some additional hardship and challenges he blesses all that Joseph does and causes his to have favor with all because of God’s clear blessing.  Joseph is quickly in charge of all that Potiphar has and he is greatly respected.  If it were not for Potiphar’s wife he would have likely continued to run Potiphar’s house for many more years.  Joseph is wise and honors God and his master in his dealings with Potiphar’s wife but it still puts him in prison.

Key Verses:
Gen 39:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9, 13-14, 19-20, 21-22

I see the theme as- God’s blessing is upon Joseph regardless of his circumstances and more than that- through his circumstances, though not obvious right away at each turn.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-6.  Here Joseph excels in managing Potiphar’s affairs.  God seems to gift Joseph in management as he gifted Jacob in sheep breeding.  Joseph’s responsibility and honesty and integrity seem to produce great confidence in Potiphar and I take this favor to be God’s intervention as much as any skills that Joseph displays.  I get this because verse 5 says the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake, which seems to indicate God intervening himself, not just Joseph being a wise manager.
    v7-10.  It gets dicey here but Joseph stands upon his convictions and he maintains a fear of God despite his riches and place of honor and responsibility.  It seems that Joseph has not lost sight of his God and of righteousness in the midst of such crazy blessings.  It might seem that coming out of such a tragic family event and the loss of his family that he might be bitter toward God and that the new environment could have been opportunity for him to despise the God of his father who allowed this all to happen…but no.  Of any of the brothers, it seems Joseph knows God and trusts him.
    v11-18.  Here Potiphar’s wife gets crafty and after failing again and again at getting Joseph to take her offer she finds the chance to blame him for something he didn’t do and this gets him in hot water.
    v19-23.  After being put in prison for the crime he did not commit, Joseph continue’s to carry God’s blessing and he gains the favor of the prison keeper and soon Joseph is running the prison.  It seems that Joseph is bound to be in charge of anything that he gets involved in!  God’s hand is supernaturally upon this man, no doubt.  The true golden child.

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  I hear a message that though someone may fear God and do everything right, God may still have a plan that includes hardship and trials and unfair treatment and scandal.  The implication is that right living today does not guarantee the circumstances that I would ask for.  God’s blessing can be balled up into what seem to be very bad circumstances.  The significance for me is that I can trust God to be at work in the good days and the bad days and whether I am receiving plenty or am in want.  God has the power and authority and right to prosper me or to bring suffering and both can be his blessing.

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Mark 9

Ready:
Yesterday I read Mark’s account of Jesus teaching on his identity and his work of redemption and how we must not be ashamed of (expect to be disappointed or fail to trust in) his name or his words.

Reading thoughts:
I see (and hear) God announcing that the new way he speaks to mankind id by his only begotten Son and we should listen to him as the one who carries the very authority of God just as the law and the prophets did in the Old Testament times.  Like Moses going up the mountain to receive the initial revelation from God relating to the law, here Jesus and a couple of the disciples come down the mountain in similar fashion to find the disciples not worshiping a Golden calf but failing to keep unclouded faith in Christ and this hinders their ability to cast out demons with his authority.  Probably still stewing over only Peter, James, and John getting to go up the mountain with him, the disciples argue with one another over who is the greatest and Jesus knows this despite their effort to hide it.  Using a child and using outsiders who are preaching Jesus, he teaches them that the kingdom is about bringing in new followers and is about advancing the kingdom and not about their status and their following.  He warns them that they are to support and build up others and to be at peace with others, not tear them down.  Jesus speaks with incredibly extreme examples to make the point of how seriously we are to oppose sin in our lives that would be a hindrance to anyone hearing the message of Christ.

Key Verses:
Mark 9:2-4, 7, 14, 18-19, 23-24, 28-29

I see the theme as- Jesus carries the authority of God and is his now his unique mouthpiece.  His followers need keep their focus on him and not upon themselves in order to remain a positive impact in the growing of the kingdom of God.

Rumination thoughts:
    v1-8.  Here I mostly take the Father announcing that he has completed the time of the OT where he revealed himself by the law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) and that he is now going to reveal himself and his plan of redemption to mankind by his own Son who stands with them in human flesh, similar to Moses and Elijah.  This is big and sets Jesus as authoritative and thus whatever he speaks should be taken as the Word of God and could all have been recorded as scripture.  Indeed John mentions something like this at the end of his gospel that Jesus did much more than he documented but he couldn’t possibly write it all down.
    v9-13.  Here the three disciples that went with Jesus (Peter, James, and John) are trying to figure out what Jesus means by telling them to keep quiet about what they saw until he rises from the dead.  They are perplexed possibly because they could be picturing the resurrection to be something in the after-life only, at which time the vision they saw on the mountain would not so much matter…I dunno, but they didn’t understand the concept of when it would then be ok to tell the others about what they saw.
    v14-29.  Here Jesus and the three come down the mountain and find a scene that is not so good (though maybe not as gnarly as what Moses found Aaron and the Israelites up to when he came down from Mount Sinai (Ex 32:7-10).  Based on the remainder of his teaching in the context around this and considering the account in Matthew it seems that the disciples may have been focusing on their own authority or influence and “power” and not quite relying on God to exorcise the demon at hand.  Jesus ultimately tells them that this kind is only driven out by prayer (some versions add “and fasting” because some manuscripts have it).  This could be taken a couple of ways but I think in context the best way to take it is to say that reliance upon God to do the exorcising is the way to make it happen.  The fact that the disciples were arguing about who is greatest and sneering at other people doing the Lord’s work makes it pretty clear that they were lifting themselves up and had a pretty high view of themselves.  Paul teaches in Romans 12:16 to live in harmony with others and to not think too highly of ourselves.
    v30-32.  Again Jesus teaches them briefly about what is to come but they don’t understand because they seem to be focused on the earthly scenario and not the bigger idea of the kingdom of God.  It could be that it was pride that made them “afraid to ask him” when they didn’t understand his teaching.  None wanted to look like less than the other perhaps and they all wanted to wear a mask of greatness and prominence.  This can happen to me or anyone today and I need to guard against such mask wearing and be transparent and real and dependent upon God.  I must admit what I don’t know and seek understanding from the Lord.
    v33-37.  Here is their arguing about who is greatest that Jesus pretty well despises.  He tells them that to be great is to be a servant and they should be doing the work of mothers and their maids…they should be receiving children and caring for them.  This is not seen as a high and lofty job by anyone in this day but Jesus lets them know that this is the mission.  To bring people into the kingdom and care for them and grow them up.  They are to be about this work and not concerned with thrones and titles and prominence.  The path to God is the one that seeks to love those who would seem to be the least important…not seeking out fame and prestige by ministering to the elite who have the power to grant great recognition.
    v38-41.  Jesus illustrates this further by turning a question they ask against them.  They question Jesus on what to do about others who are not in their group (Jesus’ disciples) but are casting out demons in the name of Jesus.  Like Paul in Romans who rejoices that the name of Christ is preached even by those that do it out of selfish ambition (Phil 1:17-18), Jesus tells the disciples to not worry about it.  It seems within context to see that the disciples were earthly minded and looking at keeping this privilege and authority to themselves, but Jesus tells them that if they are lifting up the name of Jesus then they are surely not against them.  There may be many people in this world who are different than me and who are in a different “camp” regarding various disputable teachings and such but we all lift the name of Christ and we are all to live in harmony and to praise God that he works through all of us to accomplish the growth of his kingdom.  There is great temptation here to hold an ownership or an authority of my own that Jesus hits on next…
    v42-50.  I take this teaching to be Jesus making it painfully clear (by hyperbole…aka exaggeration) that we are to make great effort to avoid causing others to sin by our selfish focus on ourselves and our own message when Christ is the salt.  We cannot leave a focus on the reliance upon Christ out and expect to have a gospel message for anyone.  Christ is what gives life to the gospel and to lead anyone onto sin by getting them focused on us or to make new believers stumble because of our sin is bad news.  We are supposed to be drawing people into Christ and not running them off.  We will be made thirsty for Christ through trials and hardships and we must keep this reliance upon Christ rather than a trust in ourselves or a concern over our own reputation and name.  We should have a thirst and reliance upon Christ, thus making much of his name and not a thirst for my own reputation, living at peace with others without concern that they follow me…let them follow Christ!  I relate this to Paul’s teaching on how to remove obstacles of the gospel though how we suffer well and rely on God and rejoice in spite of suffering (2 Cor 6:1-10).  The embedded teaching on taking sin seriously and taking extreme measures to avoid it is also an important lesson to draw from this.  I am not saved by routing out sin but if I am saved, this supernaturally follows (Romans 6:1-4, Titus 2:11-14, Rom 8:13-14).

Meaning, Implications, and Significance
    1.  Jesus is God with us and he speaks with the very authority of God and it is the message of his identity and his work of redemption that is to be the focus.  Jesus is the aim.  Thirst for Jesus is the goal and sometimes this thirst comes by trials and hardship in our lives.  The implications then and now is that we must not let sin (like pride) get in the way of the gospel message being received by others.  The significance to me is to know that my life will help or hinder the growing of his kingdom based upon my focus and reliance upon Christ that conquers, by drastic measures if needed, my sinful desire for personal recognition and gain and comfort.  If I let my life be about thirst for comfort or recognition or gain...how am I pointing people to Jesus?  Do I even draw new believers into the same habits?  Do I tie a millstone around my neck?  Let me thirst O God, let me thirst for your Son alone!!!

Response:
“Private”

Reaction:
“Private”

Soli Deo Gloria!