John 8:9-11

His banner over us? LOVE.

His love covers a multitude of sin! 

John 8:9-11

9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Sin no more implies that Jesus forgave her. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin. NKJ Bible

The legal problems intended to entrap Jesus always result in embarrassment for the accusers or questioners, as Jesus’ response is always unexpected and cuts directly to the heart of the problem. Jesus makes the case that no one is without sin other than God, and thus no one is permitted to pass judgment by any authority other than what God has given them. Only God has a pure motive. Faithlife Bible

In this matter Christ attended to the great work about which he came into the world, that was, to bring sinners to repentance; not to destroy, but to save. He aimed to bring, not only the accused to repentance, by showing her his mercy, but the prosecutors also, by showing them their sins; they thought to insnare him, he sought to convince and convert them. Matthew Henry Commentary

Luke 9:56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Mark 2:17

There is no man righteous…no not one!

We are all in desperate need of our Savior,

 Christ the Lord.

Mark 2:17

17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

With this statement, Jesus is neither affirming nor denying that the Pharisees are righteous. He is simply pointing out that the call to repentance and offering of forgiveness are for those who need it—sinners. Faithlife Bible

In this instance Jesus was speaking tongue-in-cheek when He used the word righteous. None are righteous, though some, such as the Pharisees, fancied themselves as such. Instead, Christ came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus did not condone the activities of sinners, but required repentance—a change of mind that recognizes the need of a Savior and recognizes Jesus Christ as the only Savior. NKJ Bible

Matthew was not a good character, or else, being a Jew, he would never have been a publican, that is, a tax-gatherer for the Romans. However, Christ called this publican to follow him. With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. A faithful, fair-dealing publican was rare. And because the Jews had a particular hatred to an office which proved that they were subject to the Romans, they gave these tax-gatherers an ill name. But such as these our blessed Lord did not hesitate to converse with, when he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh. And it is no new thing for that which is both well done and well designed, to be slandered, and turned to the reproach of the wisest and best of men. Christ would not withdraw, though the Pharisees were offended. If the world had been righteous, there had been no occasion for his coming, either to preach repentance, or to purchase forgiveness. We must not keep company with ungodly men out of love to their vain conversation; but we are to show love to their souls, remembering that our good Physician had the power of healing in himself, and was in no danger of taking the disease; but it is not so with us. In trying to do good to others, let us be careful we do not get harm to ourselves. Matthew Henry Commentary

Matthew 6:8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Matthew 9:12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Zechariah 13:9

 God corrects those He loves, those believers who have chosen to accept Jesus. He will not leave us as He found us. 

It is said that in the process of refining silver the silversmith can never take his eyes off the silver until he can see his image in it.

Zechariah 13:9

9 I will bring the one-third through the fire,

Will refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them.

I will say, ‘This is My people’;

And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

A covenant formula expressing the intimate relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Hosea uses this formulaic language to describe breaking as well as restoring the relationship. Faithlife Bible.

The remnant that survives will be purged, purified, and reestablished in a covenant relationship with God. The smelting pot uses intense heat to separate the dross from pure metal. Once refined, precious metal must be analyzed to determine its value. The expressions this is My people and the Lord is my God recall the covenant and speak here of a covenant renewal to a spiritually revitalized Israel. NKJ Bible.

Because of the sin of the Jews in rejecting and crucifying Christ, and in opposing his gospel, the Romans would destroy the greater part. But a remnant would be saved. And if we are his people, we shall be refined as gold; he will be God, and the end of all our trials and sufferings will be praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry commentary.

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Jeremiah 30:22 ‘You shall be My people,And I will be your God.’ ”

Malachi 3:3 | He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Galatians 5:1-6

Those whom He makes free…are free indeed!

We are now free to do all things in faith through love. 

We are totally and completely made whole in the love of God which He gives in Jesus. We love because He first loved us!

Galatians 5:1-6

5 Stand  fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

The goal of the Christian life is to express faith in Christ through love, not to live under the requirements of law. Believers are called to demonstrate their faith through sacrificial love for others because their faith is placed in the one who first demonstrated such love.

The freedom given by Christ liberates believers from the law. In Jewish tradition, the image of the yoke was often used to describe the law’s role of guiding people in righteousness. Paul redirects this imagery to clarify the law’s effect now that Christ has come: It does not lead or teach people anymore, but instead enslaves them. 

Paul’s use of “slavery”  and “freedom” echoes the story of the exodus, when God delivered Israel from the Egyptians through a series of mighty deeds. He led them out to the wilderness  to make a covenant with them. God saved them without their obedience to the law, as the law had not yet been given to them. Soon after, however, the people began to complain about God’s provision and leadership. Some even pleaded for a return to Egypt—the land of their enslavement. Because of their ingratitude and disobedience, God allowed a generation of Israelites to wander and die in the wilderness.

If the Galatians allowed themselves to be circumcised, they would nullify Christ’s work on their behalf, since His death had already redeemed them from the law. Paul does not mean that (circumcised) Jews cannot become believers or that Christ’s value can be diminished by the law. His point is that anyone who insists on living under the law fails to trust in Christ. For Paul, Christ’s work is completely sufficient in the life of the believer. Therefore, to trust in the value of circumcision is to diminish the worth of Christ. If someone depends on the law for justification, they have effectively rejected God’s gift of grace in Christ. 

God’s gift of the Holy Spirit confirms believers’ status as His children and empowers them to obey God. God’s people are no longer defined by their keeping of the law; rather, their status before God depends exclusively on their faith in Christ. Paul therefore asserts that it no longer matters whether people are circumcised—that is, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Because of the new creation begun by the work of Christ, all who trust in God’s gift of grace and receive His Spirit belong to the family of God. Faithlife Bible

The legalistic Jewish teachers in Galatia were urging believers to be circumcised. Paul points out that being circumcised changes the entire orientation of salvation away from God’s grace to one’s own actions. One who is circumcised in an attempt to gain God’s acceptance is obligated to keep the whole law, which history has abundantly demonstrated no one can do.

Fallen from grace is understood by some to refer to the loss of salvation. However, fallen from may refer to their attitude and to the message that it communicates, rather than to their eternal salvation.

Faith in Christ brings about not only justification before God, but also growth in the Christian life until we are completely glorified by God and freed from the presence of sin. This is the hope of righteousness. We can be assured that we will be declared righteous before the Lord on that last day, because we have a foretaste of that righteousness from the Spirit who lives within us.

By faith it is possible to fulfill Christ’s command to love one’s neighbor. NKJ Bible

Let us learn, therefore, to magnify this our liberty, which no emperor, no prophet or patriarch, no nor any angel from heaven hath obtained for us, but Jesus Christ the Son of God, by whom all things were created both in heaven and earth. Which liberty he hath purchased with no other price than with his own blood, to deliver us, not from any bodily or temporal servitude, but from a spiritual and everlasting bondage under most cruel and invincible tyrants, to wit, the law, sin, death, and the devil, and so to reconcile us unto God his Father. Now since these enemies are overcome, and we reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, it is certain that we are righteous before God, and that whatsoever we do, pleaseth him. And although there be certain remnants of sin yet still in us, they are not laid to our charge, but pardoned for Christ’s sake. Luthers commentary.

True faith is a working grace; it works by love to God, and to our brethren. May we be of the number of those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. The danger of old was not in things of no consequence in themselves, as many forms and observances now are. But without faith working by love, all else is worthless, and compared with it other things are of small value. Matthew Henry commentary.

John Piper has said, “Slavery is when you choose to deal with [God] as a banker who needs your investment to produce dividends for his customers.” If your aim is to increase dividends, Christ will be a poor fund manager. The dividends God pays aren’t based on our investment, but his. The reality is this: There’s nothing we can do that will make God love us more than he does already, nor is there anything we can do that will make him love us less. Christ is the surety of that. Denial and hopelessness are remedied only by living in this truth more deeply. Otherwise every force of the world, the flesh, and the devil will conspire to drive us back into ourselves, to redirect our attention onto our performance—filling us with pride when improvement seems at hand or despair when it doesn’t—rather than looking at the cross objectively before us. Live in Liberty the spiritual message of Galatians.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,

Ezekiel 20:21-25

We cannot ignore Gods’ presence in our lives and expect His guidance. He will allow us to fail so that we, in repentance, can be changed by the power of Holy Spirit!

God is worthy of all glory. He will not allow us our idols of money, power and control over Him. 

Only for His names sake are we saved.

Our praise, our obedience, is in thankfulness for His enduring love and patience. The salvation in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sanctification process through Holy Spirit are His gifts offered freely. He gave everything to save all who accept Him.

Ezekiel 20:21-25

21 “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries, 24 because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

25 “Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’

The laws and rules were deemed not good in that the people were unable to meet the standard they set. The people’s failure placed them under the condemnation of the law rather than the blessings of the covenant. The verse expresses the people’s experience of the law and the crisis of judgment present in their lives. Faithlife Bible.

God commands that His Sabbaths be continually maintained by His people as sacred—distinct and separate from all ordinary days. NKJ Bible.

Numbers 25:2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

Ezekiel 6:9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.

John 1:9-11

Every person born in to this world has been given the light of Jesus Christ. We can accept Him or reject Him. God wants a family of those who embrace Him, not out of fear but of love.

God is love.

No greater love exists than the love of a Father who allowed His only begotten Son, all God and all  man, too willingly die for the sins of the world. This agape love is beyond our human comprehension and remains with us all the days of our existence here and after our physical death. 

John 1: 9-11

9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

The Greek word used here, kosmos, the world, occurs 78 times throughout John’s Gospel. Sometimes it refers broadly to the whole created order, but most of the time it refers specifically to humanity in rebellion against God and hostile to Christ. Not only did the entire world not recognize its Creator, but God’s chosen people rejected their Messiah. Faithlife Bible.

In order to give due notice to the incarnation of Jesus, this verse may be rephrased: “That was the true Light coming into the world, which enlightens every man.” Jesus became man in order to reveal the truth to all people. Depending on the context, world can refer to (1) the universe; (2) the earth; (3) humanity; or (4) the human system opposed to God.

Receive here means “to receive with favor” and implies “welcome.” Instead of a welcome mat, Jesus had a door slammed in His face. The themes of rejection and reception appear again and again throughout the Gospel of John. NKJ Bible.

Christ was the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Christ was in the world when he took our nature upon him, and dwelt among us. The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world. He was in the world, but not of it. He came to save a lost world, because it was a world of his own making. Yet the world knew him not. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Isaiah 49:6 Indeed He says,‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

We are not called to judge society. God will handle that. We are called to judge those who are believers in Christ. Keeping in mind that we also were once just like them!

With humility we judge knowing that we were once in their same shoes. 

Holding each other accountable for our actions. 

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges.

Paul is not referring to the sexually immoral people of the world (his mission field), but to those who call themselves Christians and participate in sexual immorality. He views such people as dangerous to the overall health of the congregation since they may entice others to follow them in sin. Paul may be referring either to meals in the church community or to all meals in general, even those between individuals. Faithlife Bible.

Paul here corrects a misunderstanding arising out of his previous letter. He had commanded the Corinthians to withdraw themselves from sexually immoral people. In this letter, Paul explains that he was not speaking of the pagan culture around them. If they withdrew totally they would be unable to function in the world. Instead, he was talking about the immorality in their midst. They should judge the sin among themselves, while still reaching out to the lost in Corinth. Christians are called to influence the world, not run away from it. They are agents of God to carry the light of Jesus Christ into a dark world. Eating together is a key part of fellowship and closeness with others. The Corinthians were not to have fellowship with those who claimed to be Christians but whose lives were dominated by sin.

The church’s responsibility is to discipline its members while trusting the Lord to judge the world. NKJ Bible.

Christians are to avoid familiar converse with all who disgrace the Christian name. Such are only fit companions for their brethren in sin, and to such company they should be left, whenever it is possible to do so. Alas, that there are many called Christians, whose conversation is more dangerous than that of heathens! Matthew Getty Commentary.

Matthew 18:17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Luke 6:37  “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Ephesians 5:5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.

Hosea 9:7-9

The Church, is not to be a place to weld political or cultural power, it is a place to worship and ask for the intervention of God in our lives and the lives of all people. 

In His house there should be mercy, compassion and acceptance. We should  be caring  for the poor, the oppressed and the immigrant in our midst.

Was George Floyd our violent deed that ignited civil war in America?

Without love as our center for all of Gods’ creation we are without the only power that matters…the power of Holy Spirit to accomplish for Gods’ Kingdom what we ourselves cannot.

Hosea 9:7-9

7 The days of punishment have come;

The days of recompense have come.

Israel knows!

The prophet is a fool,

The spiritual man is insane,

Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.

8 The watchman of Ephraim is with my God;

But the prophet is a fowler’s snare in all his ways—

Enmity in the house of his God.

9 They are deeply corrupted,

As in the days of Gibeah.

He will remember their iniquity;

He will punish their sins.

The man of the spirit refers to the prophet who experienced God’s revelation through His Spirit. These lines about the prophet being a fool and a madman likely reflect Israel’s reaction to the prophet’s preaching. Israel never repented from iniquity, making the prophet’s conditional message of restoration appear foolish. A prophet, like a watchman, was responsible for giving warnings about danger. Faithlife Bible.

Sinful Israel disdained God’s true prophets, regarding them as raving maniacs. The Hebrew word translated insane is used of David when he pretended to be a madman before the Philistine king. Enmity refers to strong resentment that can give rise to violent behavior. A watchman would look for approaching armies and then warn the people so that they could secure the city and prepare for battle. The prophets were like watchmen because they were sent by God to warn the people of judgment and urge them to repent.

As in the days of Gibeah is a reference to the rape and murder of a young woman by men of Gibeah, an event that started a civil war. Those who witnessed this violent deed remarked that it was the worst crime committed in Israel’s history until that time. However, the sins of Hosea’s generation rivaled the infamous Gibeah murder. NKJ Bible.

Time had been when the spiritual watchmen of Israel were with the Lord, but now they were like the snare of a fowler to entangle persons to their ruin. The people were become as corrupt as those of Gibeah, Jud 19; and their crimes should be visited in like manner. At first God had found Israel pleasing to Him, as grapes to the traveller in the wilderness. He saw them with pleasure as the first ripe figs. This shows the delight God took in them; yet they followed after idolatry.  Matthew Henry Commentary.

Isaiah 10:3 What will you do in the day of punishment, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your glory?

Lamentations 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

Hosea 10:9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah; there they stood.The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

Zechariah 7:9-11

We will learn our lessons one way or another…but we will learn them. Why? Because He loves us and will not leave us as He found us! To act differently brings division. Without love as our motivation…we are just useless noise.

God cares for the poor, the oppressed and the immigrant.

Micah 6:8

Be fair.

Be forgiving

Be humble

Zechariah 7: 9–11

 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Execute true justice,

Show mercy and compassion

Everyone to his brother.

10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,

The alien or the poor.

Let none of you plan evil in his heart

Against his brother.’

11 But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.

Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.

The prophets continually emphasize that the ethical aspects of God’s law are just as important as the ritual aspects. Social justice is a prominent theme of prophetic teaching. Israel’s stubborn refusal to listen to the prophets and repent resulted in the judgment the prophets warned about. The prophet describes the hardening of one’s heart—an act of defiant stubbornness. Faithlife Bible.

Zechariah’s four admonitions highlight the practical social concerns that many of the prophets emphasized. 

Execute true justice: Judicial decisions must be made without partiality or bias. 

Show mercy and compassion: Loving commitment and concern should guide our relationships with others. 

Do not oppress: No advantage is to be taken of the helpless and less fortunate. Let none of you plan evil: Evil scheming against others is prohibited. 

Sacrifices and worship are of little interest to God if they are not accompanied by practical piety. The consequence was God’s judgment—they were scattered. NKJ Bible.

Zechariah 8:16 These are the things you shall do:Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;

Luke 8:45-48

 Faith alone pleases God! 

In order to have faith you must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who believe that through Him nothing is impossible.

Luke 8:45-48

45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Luke’s third demonstration of Jesus’ messiahship in this chapter involves two miracles. The first testifies to His power over sickness and the human body; the second shows His power over death.

The woman might have feared that Jesus would be angry, since she did not ask permission—especially if touching Jesus made Him ceremonially unclean. Alternatively, her trembling may simply indicate an appropriate level of awe and reverence at the display of Jesus’ healing power. Faithlife Bible.

This miracle highlights not only the authority of Jesus, but also the response of faith that God honors. NKJ Bible.

Mark 5:34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Luke 7:50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Micah 2:1-3

News today of more insurrection planned for the Capital as President Biden prepares his first national speech. God help America.

For this is an evil time!

Micah 2:1.2.3.

2 Woe to those who devise iniquity,

And work out evil on their beds!

At morning light they practice it,

Because it is in the power of their hand.

2 They covet fields and take them by violence,

Also houses, and seize them.

So they oppress a man and his house,

A man and his inheritance.

3 Therefore thus says the Lord:

“Behold, against this family I am devising disaster,

From which you cannot remove your necks;

Nor shall you walk haughtily,

For this is an evil time.

The Hebrew term “woe” is used here as a divine threat. In this form, the prophetic oracle is called a “woe pronouncement.” These wicked individuals lay on their beds at night thinking of evil plots. They cannot sleep because they are consumed with wickedness. The Hebrew word used here typically means “god”; however, when used of people it denotes strength or might. These evildoers were powerful, wealthy people with the ability to carry out their schemes and profit by them.

The image is that of an animal with a yoke placed on its shoulders that it cannot remove. The mistreatment of others has given these evildoers the impression that they are better than those upon whom they prey. Faithlife Bible.

The ethical teaching of the prophets regularly included oracles of judgment against greed, theft, and oppression, actions of the powerful in attacking the weak. To covet is not just to have a passing thought; it is a determination to seize what is not one’s own. While the wicked devised iniquity, God made some plans of His own. The idea here is that the disaster of God would be inescapable. NKJ Bible.

Woe to the people that devise evil during the night, and rise early to carry it into execution! It is bad to do mischief on a sudden thought, much worse to do it with design and forethought. It is of great moment to improve and employ hours of retirement and solitude in a proper manner. If covetousness reigns in the heart, compassion is banished; and when the heart is thus engaged, violence and fraud commonly occupy the hands. The most haughty and secure in prosperity, are commonly most ready to despair in adversity. Woe to those from whom God turns away! Those are the sorest calamities which cut us off from the congregation of the Lord, or cut us short in the enjoyment of its privileges. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Amos 5:13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time.

Acts 8:31-36

Just  B.E.L.I.E.V.E.

Acts 8:31-36

31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;

And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,

And who will declare His generation?

For His life is taken from the earth.”

34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

His humbleness and willingness to seek answers creates an opportunity for Philip to guide him into the knowledge of Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah. The eunuch was reading Isa 53:7–8 in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the ot). This passage is about Yahweh’s Suffering Servant; it is one of the key Messianic passages in the ot. This passage about the Suffering Servant relates his death to Israel’s sacrificial system. The voluntary submission of the Suffering Servant to death would atone for sin and vindicate his innocence.

Isaiah proclaims that the Messiah was grossly mistreated, and His death was unjust. Through this injustice, the one without guilt would bear the punishment for His guilty people. Philip used the fourth Suffering Servant song (Isa 52:13–53:12) to explain the gospel of Jesus’ sacrificial death, victorious resurrection, and the significance of Jesus’ actions for all people. In answer to the eunuch’s question, Philip would have explained that the prophet is speaking about an individual suffering servant, who takes on the sin of all of humanity. He would have then connected the suffering servant prophecy to Jesus. 

Not long after this passage in Isaiah is the proclamation that eunuchs will be able to join God’s people (Isa 56:3–5). Isaiah reverses Deut 23:1, which excludes eunuchs from gathering with the assembly of Israel. Philip may have also made this connection.  After Philip’s message, the necessary element (water) is presented for the eunuch to demonstrate his allegiance to Christ. Faithlife Bible.

First-century Jews did not speak much about a suffering Messiah. The Jewish people, facing the yoke of Roman rule, believed that the Messiah would come as the Lion of Judah, a delivering King, not a weak lamb. They believed and taught that the suffering One spoken of by Isaiah was the suffering nation of Israel. Most likely this eunuch had heard the “official” teaching of this passage in Jerusalem but still had some questions. Philip showed him that suffering One was Jesus. He had to suffer on the Cross for the sins of all of humanity. Having heard the message of Christ’s sacrifice for sin, the eunuch responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus, an early church father who lived between a.d. 130 and 202, wrote that the eunuch returned to Ethiopia and became a missionary to his own people. NKJ Bible.

The Ethiopian was convinced by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, of the exact fulfilment of the Scripture, was made to understand the nature of the Messiah’s kingdom and salvation, and desired to be numbered among the disciples of Christ. Those who seek the truth, and employ their time in searching the Scriptures, will be sure to reap advantages. The avowal of the Ethiopian must be understood as expressing simple reliance on Christ for salvation, and unreserved devotion to Him. Let us not be satisfied till we get faith, as the Ethiopian did, by diligent study of the Holy Scriptures, and the teaching of the Spirit of God; let us not be satisfied till we get it fixed as a principle in our hearts. As soon as he was baptized, the Spirit of God took Philip from him, so that he saw him no more; but this tended to confirm his faith.  Though baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, with water, it is not enough without the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Lord, grant this to every one of us; then shall we go on our way rejoicing. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.

Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Acts 17:2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

Acts 18:28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Mark 1:14-15

 Just believe! The Kingdom of God is at hand…

Holy Spirit, the very heart and power of the Trinity, resides in believers here on earth.

Mark 1:14-15

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying,  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Mark begins his account of Christ’s ministry with events after John was put in prison, as do the other synoptic Gospel writers. John is the only writer who informs us of a number of events that took place before John the Baptist’s imprisonment.

Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. It was the subject of much OT prophecy, and the theme was familiar to Jesus’ listeners. Repent, and believe are both acts of faith. When a person accepts the only true and worthy object of faith, that person readily turns from inferior substitutes. NKJ Bible.

As soon as John the Baptist is arrested, Jesus emerges from the wilderness to declare the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth. In this context, the Greek word used here, kairos, indicates a period of time predetermined by God. The Greek word used here, basileia, can denote a geographical territory or the reign of a particular monarch. The kingdom of God refers to God’s reign over all of creation and humanity. Jesus’ teaching in Mark reveals that members of the kingdom of God are marked by childlike humility, concern for the poor, sacrificial service, and love for God and neighbor. 

The language Mark uses to describe God’s rule demonstrates its dynamic character: The kingdom comes, it grows like a seed, and people can enter it, but only by responding to God’s will. Yahweh is described as enthroned in heaven and in His temple in Jerusalem. It is this reign that Mark’s Gospel affiliates with Jesus. Jesus’ ministry involves the cleansing of Yahweh’s temple (the symbol of His earthly presence), and Jesus Himself is the epitome of that presence: His body is described as God’s temple. The ot also affiliates God’s reign with the Davidic dynasty in parallel, later in Mark’s Gospel, a crowd proclaims that Jesus has inaugurated David’s kingdom.

There are obvious examples in history before this time of Yahweh reigning on earth, such as when Israel was established in the promised land or when Yahweh’s temple was built in Jerusalem. However, God’s full reign—as seen in the garden of Eden shortly after creation—had not existed since sin entered the world. God’s presence on earth has arrived in the flesh in Jesus. Jesus is saying that since that has occurred, it is only a matter of time until the justice and order that mark God’s reign are in place over all the earth. Since Jesus announces the advent of a new kingdom, belief in the gospel entails allegiance to the new king, Jesus. Faithlife Bible.

Psalm 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.

Matthew 3:2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mark 9:1 And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”

Hosea 10:3-6

Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, our only hope of salvation.

The world is consumed with her idols of power, money and control in place of the fruit of the Spirit. The world will know believers by their fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

The world needs her King. REVIVAL!

Hosea 10:3-6

3 For now they say,

“We have no king,

Because we did not fear the Lord.

And as for a king, what would he do for us?”

4 They have spoken words,

Swearing falsely in making a covenant.

Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear

Because of the calf of Beth Aven.

For its people mourn for it,

And its priests shriek for it—

Because its glory has departed from it.

6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria

As a present for King Jareb.

Ephraim shall receive shame,

And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

This foreshadows the end of the northern kingdom. In applying the punishment of exile to the golden calf the Hebrew text reflects the ancient Near Eastern practice of deporting the idols of conquered cities. Their false god was unable to save the nation. Faithlife Bible.

The verse anticipates the people’s response when God’s judgment came to destroy Israel’s political stability and independence. Llike hemlock in the furrows of the field refers to poisonous weeds sprouting up in a field and choking out the crops. In the same way God’s judgment would replace His blessings. The Assyrians often carried off the idols of their defeated foes. Israel’s foreign alliances would prove disappointing. NKJ Bible.

A vine is only valuable for its fruit; but Israel now brought no fruit to perfection. Their hearts were divided. God is the Sovereign of the heart; he will have all, or none. Were the stream of the heart wholly after God, it would run strongly, and bear down all before it. Their pretences to covenant with God were false. Even the proceeding of justice was as poisonous hemlock. Alas, how empty a vine is the visible church even at this day! But all earthly prosperity is but a collection of bubbles, soon destroyed like foam upon the water. Sinners will in vain seek shelter from that Judge, whom they now despise as a Saviour. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

Deuteronomy 31:17 Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’

Hosea 5:13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,And Judah saw his wound,Then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb; yet he cannot cure you, nor heal you of your wound.