Acts 11:12-18

Freely given. Freely give. God offered the life of His only begotten Son once and for all in exchange for ours. He has given us the key to living out this life here on earth…the Holy Spirit. He remains with us our whole life. He will guide us home!

We have been given all of Christ to share it with all of His creation.

The Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were scandalized to learn of Peter’s sojourn in the house of the Gentile Cornelius. Nonetheless, they had to accept the divine directions given to both Peter and Cornelius.  They concluded that the setting aside of the legal barriers between Jew and Gentile was an exceptional ordinance of God to indicate that the apostolic kerygma was also to be directed to the Gentiles. Only in Acts 15 at the “Council” in Jerusalem does the evangelization of the Gentiles become the official position of the church leadership in Jerusalem. Catholic Bible.

The ancient Christian kerygma as summarized by Dodd from Peter's speeches in the New Testament Book of Acts was:

1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the "latter days" foretold by the prophets.
2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
3. By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as Messianic head of the new Israel.
4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ's present power and glory.
5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ.
6. An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation.

Peter’s language and reasoning here seem to echo Gamaliel’s argument to the Sanhedrin that if God is indeed behind the Church’s message and mission, then no one will be able to stop it. Faithlife Bible.

Christ places believers in the care and safekeeping of the Holy Spirit until the day He returns.

Finally the Jewish Christians that made up the early church understood Jesus’ commission to them: they were to bring the gospel message to the Gentile too. NKJ Bible.

Acts 11:12–18 (NKJV)

¹² Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ¹⁴ who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Acts 15:8 (NKJV)

⁸ So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

Acts 15:9 (NKJV)

⁹ and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Matthew 4:23-25

There is nothing impossible for our Lord, Jesus Christ…nothing. 

Just Believe!!  Jesus changes everything…

This summary of Jesus’ ministry concludes the narrative part of the first book of Matthew’s gospel. The activities of his ministry are teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing. Catholic Bible.

People during this time did not distinguish between physical diseases and the ill effects of unclean, evil spirits. Matthew makes no statement about these maladies in this verse beyond observing that Jesus cured them all, regardless of their cause. Faithlife Bible.

Teaching … preaching … healing summarizes Jesus’ earthly ministry. NKJ Bible.

Matthew 4:23–25 (NKJV)

²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. ²⁴ Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. ²⁵ Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

Luke 4:40 (NKJV)

⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

Isaiah 41:17-20

God is full of compassion, mercy and grace. He cares for the marginalized of the world...the widow, the orphan, the poor. He shows no partiality to those of wealth or stature. In truth he expects more of those to whom He has given much!

The people’s reception of God’s power and care is the primary concern. God’s hand indicates His power and strength. NKJ Bible.

Only God can create!

Isaiah 41:17–20 (NKJV)

“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,Their tongues fail for thirst.I, the Lord, will hear them;I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights,And fountains in the midst of the valleys;I will make the wilderness a pool of water,And the dry land springs of water.I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,The myrtle and the oil tree;I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pineAnd the box tree together,That they may see and know,And consider and understand together,That the hand of the Lord has done this,And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

John 3:1-17

We must not call that which God has cleansed unclean. We see His creation in part... He sees the whole.

Jesus’ work continues; His coming suffering and death is not the end, but the beginning. Although He is troubled by His coming death. He wants His disciples to have confidence in their knowledge that His death does not mark the end of His ministry. Jesus has known all along that Judas was (or would be) influenced by the devil to betray Him.In this moment, when facing Judas, Jesus is not encountering a mere demon; He is facing the one He has called the “murderer from the beginning” of time.  Jesus knows His identity in God, yet He will choose to die because of God’s love for people.

Cleansing rituals were part of everyday life for Jews of the first century. Jesus suggests that His work in the believer eliminates the need for repetitive cleansing. Faithlife Bible.

Jesus loved His disciples, even though He knew that one would betray Him, another would deny Him, and all would desert Him for a time. The washing was a symbol of spiritual cleansing. If Peter did not participate in the cleansing, he would not enjoy fellowship with Christ. Given Jesus’ dramatic statement, Peter had no choice but to submit. Only this time he went too far in the other direction. At first he wanted to tell the Lord what to do (v. 8). Now he wanted to dictate the manner in which Jesus did it. But Jesus told him he did not need a bath; he only needed Jesus to wash his feet that were dusty from the road. This is symbolic. A believer has already been “cleansed.” He or she only needs the cleansing of daily sins that comes through confession. Thus Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet not only is a model of service, but it represents the ultimate in service—forgiveness of sins.

 The Lord was using His practical action to give an example of love to His disciples. NKJ Bible.

John 13:1–17 (NKJV)

 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

1 Corinthians 12:3 (NKJV): 

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Phillip 2:11

and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

Ruth 4:1-13

November 23rd, 2018

We are redeemed through God the close relative of Israel and Jesus the Redeemer of all believers. He willingly gave up His life in exchange for ours.

In addition to redeeming the land, Boaz also redeemed Ruth by taking her as his wife. In contrast to the land, Ruth was not bought. She did not require a purchase price nor was Boaz required to redeem her. He willingly chose to be her redeemer.

Ruth 4:1–13 (NKJV): Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ”And he said, “I will redeem it.”Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.”

Job 15:1-5

Think before you speak! God’s plans are beyond our understanding. They are not always evident to man.

Job proved Satan wrong!

 Eliphaz’s sarcastic questions were meant to disparage Job’s wisdom, but here he unknowingly references the divine council  scene where the satan figure challenged God to afflict Job. Neither Eliphaz nor Job was present for that, so neither of them understands the true reason for Job’s suffering. While trying to point out Job’s lack of wisdom, Eliphaz inadvertently reveals his own lack of understanding. Faithlife Bible.

Job 15:1–5 (NKJV): Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,And fill himself with the east wind?Should he reason with unprofitable talk,Or by speeches with which he can do no good?Yes, you cast off fear,And restrain prayer before God.For your iniquity teaches your mouth,And you choose the tongue of the crafty.Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;Yes, your own lips testify against you.

Isaiah 59:4 (NKJV): No one calls for justice,Nor does any plead for truth.They trust in empty words and speak lies;They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.

John 10:22-39

Everyone wants to be liked and respected but ultimately it matters little what others think of you. We humbly identify as the sons and daughters of our living God. Our lives should reflect that.

Pleasing God, now that matters!

In addition to subtle allusions to His divine nature, Jesus has explicitly identified Himself as the Son of God. Faithlife Bible.

The Feast of Dedication was celebrated for eight days in December. In 167 b.c., Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple in Jerusalem, as prophesied in Daniel 11:31. The Maccabeans restored and purified the temple. In commemoration of the restoration, the Feast of Dedication was instituted. Today it is also known as the Feast of Lights or Hanukkah.

John 10:22–39 (NKJV)

²² Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³ And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

³¹ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

³³ The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ³⁷ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” ³⁹ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

John 17:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Mark 3:20-21

Familiarity breeds contempt? How could it be that those closest to us cannot see the change within us and be glad? Jesus knew rejection. God sees the heart of a person!

God in the form of a perfect human being lived and breathed within His circle of family and friends and some… knew Him not.

Within the narrative of the coming of Jesus’ relatives is inserted the account of the unbelieving scribes from Jerusalem who attributed Jesus’ power over demons to Beelzebul. There were those even among the relatives of Jesus who disbelieved and regarded Jesus as out of his mind. Against this background, Jesus is informed of the arrival of his mother and brothers [and sisters]. He responds by showing that not family ties but doing God’s will is decisive in the kingdom. Catholic Bible.

Jesus’ family might have wanted to preserve their reputation. The political ramifications of Jesus’ actions and teaching also could have caused His family to attempt to restrain Him, for fear of reprisal from Roman authorities or local Jewish leaders. Alternatively, they might have not have believed that Jesus was the Messiah and so attempted to silence Him to avoid being ostracized from the religious system (believing that it, too, would reject Him). Since Jesus has been at the center of a crowd almost continuously since His first teaching in Capernaum, it is unclear why His family reacts now. Faithlife Bible.

Opposition to Jesus came not only from His enemies. Jesus’ own people, no doubt close friends and perhaps even relatives, heard of His teaching and assumed that He was out of His mind. NKJ Bible.

Mark 3:20–21 (NKJV)

²⁰ Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. ²¹ But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

Matthew 13:55 (NKJV)

⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

Psalm 69:8 (NKJV)

⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers,

And an alien to my mother’s children;

Mark 6:3 (NKJV)

³ Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

Ezekiel 8

Our Father is jealous for HIS creation. He wants us to choose His love for us and to love Him in return. 

Have we allowed the things of this world to become our idol?

BUT…

We have no other Father. 

We are created in His image. 

He offers us an eternity with Him. 

He will not share His glory with false idols.

We must choose to accept His gift of salvation or reject it. The choice is ours to make!

jealous | ˈjeləs |

adjective

• feeling or showing suspicion of someone's unfaithfulness in a relationship
• (of God) demanding faithfulness and exclusive worship.

This is the essence of Ezekiel’s vision: The idolatry in the temple has driven Yahweh away. Faithlife Bible.

The people thought that just because the temple stood among them, whatever wrong they might do could not bring ultimate disaster. They thought the temple guaranteed their security. They did not realize that their evil had actually caused God to leave His temple, which would then no longer be their protection. NKJ Bible.

The statue which provokes the Lord’s outrage against the insults of his own people; perhaps the statue of the goddess Asherah set up by Manasseh, king of Judah (cf. 2 Kgs 21:7; 2 Chr 33:7, 15). Although his successor, Josiah, had removed it (2 Kgs 23:6), the statue may have been set up again after his death. Catholic Bible.

Ezekiel 8:5–6 (NKJV)

⁵ Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

⁶ Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.”

Ezekiel 8:17–18 (NKJV)

¹⁷ And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸ Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Deuteronomy 32:21 (NKJV)

²¹ They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;

They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols.

But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;

I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

Hosea 2:19-23

When we come to the end of ourself…we find God! 

When we finally realize that it is not about me but it is all about Him... and Him crucified for my sins...we have found everlasting truth. He gave His life for me and all who would accept Him as an eternal gift. What a glorious God we serve.

The betrothal was the legal moment before cohabitation when the dowry was paid to the father of the bride. In this remarriage the Lord gives the bride price to Israel herself “forever.” Justice and judgment refer to equity and fairness of conduct. The next two terms, “loyalty” (hesed), the steadfast love between the covenant partners, and “compassion,” maternal love are characteristic of Hosea.

Earlier, the name “Jezreel” telegraphed disaster and destruction. Now, the image is positive! God will plant and rebuild Israel. Faithlife Bible.

Betrothal was a binding commitment, the last step before the wedding and consummation. The Lord emphasized that the new marriage between Himself and Israel would be permanent. Lovingkindness means “devotion, commitment.” Israel would respond positively to the Lord’s love and acknowledge that He is her husband and benefactor. NKJ Bible.

Hosea 2:19-23 (Catholic Bible)

19

I will remove from her mouth the names of the Baals;

they shall no longer be mentioned by their name.

20

I will make a covenant for them on that day,

with the wild animals,

With the birds of the air,

and with the things that crawl on the ground.

Bow and sword and warfare

I will destroy from the land,

and I will give them rest in safety.

21

I will betroth you to me forever:

I will betroth you to me with^* justice and with judgment,

with loyalty and with compassion;

22

I will betroth you to me with fidelity,

and you shall know the LORD.

23

On that day I will respond—oracle of the LORD—

I will respond to the heavens,

and they will respond to the earth;

Hosea 2:19–23 (NKJV)

¹⁹ “I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me

In righteousness and justice,

In lovingkindness and mercy;

²⁰ I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,

And you shall know the Lord.

²¹ “It shall come to pass in that day

That I will answer,” says the Lord;

“I will answer the heavens,

And they shall answer the earth.

²² The earth shall answer

With grain,

With new wine,

And with oil;

They shall answer Jezreel.

²³ Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,

And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;

Then I will say to those who were not My people,

‘You are My people!’

And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”

Jeremiah 31:33 (NKJV)

³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.