Passage of the Day - December 19, 2012

Luke 1:39-45

³⁹ Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

Question:  “If infant baptism is acceptable and normal, then why was Jesus baptized as an adult?”

Answer:  “Because John the Baptist was only six months old when Jesus was born.”

I even used this question before.  I’m ashamed that I did.  Many times the thoughts that are in our head can be so easily crushed by a simple reading of God’s Word.  Sometimes one can be amazed at what the Bible really says when one views Scripture through a different doctrinal lense.  The question is, “Which lenses give us the clearest picture?”

FYI, I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil on a business trip with very limited internet access.  Thank you for your patience.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)  

Passage of the Day - December 15, 2012

Matthew 14:21

²¹ There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Luke 9:14

¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.

Matthew 21:9

⁹ The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!”

Matthew 21:12-17

¹² And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.¹³ And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant ¹⁶ and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” ¹⁷ And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

Luke 19:45-48

⁴⁵ Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, ⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den.”

⁴⁷ And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, ⁴⁸ and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.

***

Wait, wait, wait!  I thought I was supposed to write about baptism.  What is this?  What an odd conglomeration of verses!  What do these verses have to do with baptism?  Surprisingly, a lot.

We must start analyzing the issue of believers-only-baptism vs. infant baptism by knocking down the myths and/or weak arguments.  The largest argument against infant baptism is that there is no mention of children being baptized in the Bible.  This is true; there are no specific references to children or infants being baptized.  However, there were “entire households” mentioned, but many argue that we have no idea what was included in these “entire households”.

But, what does that have to do with the verses above?

We know that the Book of Acts was written by Luke, the same author as the Book of Luke.  Did you notice anything about the passages above?  Did you notice how Matthew adds the detail of children and Luke leaves that detail out?  This neither proves nor disproves anything about baptism, but it does expose how the fact that there is no mention of infant baptism mentioned in the Bible (with Acts having the most accounts) is very shaky ground for restricting infants from being baptized.  If the author shows a pattern for leaving that detail out in other writings, then we have no real way of knowing if children were included in “entire households” or not.  Therefore, we will need to examine the issue in other ways. 

I have not come to a complete conclusion on the matter, and I hope this series will help in that regard.  I also hope that you sharing in this adventure will be as eye-popping as it has been for me so far.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)  

Passage of the Day - December 14, 2012

Matthew 2:1-2

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Revelation 19:11-16

¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

One of the primary problems in Israel’s history is that they wanted to be ruled by a king.  God gave the nation of Israel His Law, but they would not obey it.  They rebelled against the word and will of God.  God sent them judges who God used to bail Israel out of the heaps of trouble they would get themselves into.  However, they eventually wanted to be like other nations and be ruled by a king.  God warned them against that, but the Israelites insisted.  God’s law wasn’t good enough.  God granted the people what they lusted for (always the most terrible judgment); He gave them a king.  As we know, Israel’s history of kings is abysmal at best.

Jesus Christ, the anointed King of the Jews and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is different.  He is not merely King; He is the Word of God.  He is the embodiment of God’s original intent.

This now concludes the discussion of how viewing Jesus as the Word of God brings to new life various passages of the Bible.  Tomorrow we will begin an investigation on baptism.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)  

Passage of the Day - December 13, 2012

Hebrews 5:1-10

5 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; ² he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; ³ and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. ⁴ And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”;

⁶ just as He says also in another passage,

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷ In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. ⁸ Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. ⁹ And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, ¹⁰ being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

We have been examining different passages through the lens of Jesus being the Word/Message of God.  This perspective has made the Book of Hebrews much easier to understand.

Here we see that according to the Law, the high priest would offer sacrifices on behalf of the people and himself for their sins.  It was a shadow of things to come.  Jesus Christ has not only become the eternal High Priest; He is the eternal Sacrifice.

Since Christ is our eternal Sacrifice, we know that all our sins will forever be paid for.  Since Christ is our eternal High Priest, we know that we always have a mediator between us and God.  This is why Jesus could accurately say “No one comes to the Father except through Me”.

We learned yesterday that Jesus is the eternal Prophet and the eternal Prophecy.  That means we should listen to Him for what He says is what God says.  Today we learn that Jesus is the eternal High Priest.  That means we should communicate with God through Him.  We should honor Christ’s position as High Priest.  We also learn that Jesus is the eternal Sacrifice.  This means when we partake of His body and blood, we do so with the knowledge that it was our sins the His body had to be offered and His blood had to be spilt.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)  

Passage of the Day - December 12, 2012

Matthew 21:33-46

³³ “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. ³⁵ The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹ They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
⁴² Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. ⁴⁴ And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.

Over and over God sent prophets to Israel to warn them of their unfruitfulness and the damage they were inflicting upon themselves.  They wouldn’t listen.  They would ignore and then eventually beat and/or kill them.  God provided them His very Son.  They still would not listen and even killed Him.  The difference was that God’s Son was not only a Prophet, but He was the actual Prophecy.  He was, and is, what Scripture is all about.  This is what makes Jesus Christ greater than Mohammed.  Mohammed is said to be the great prophet of Islam, but Jesus Christ is the Prophecy.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)  

Passage of the Day - December 11, 2012

John 19:31-37

³¹ Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; ³³ but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. ³⁶ For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

What is the significance of Christ’s legs not being broken?  Have you ever wondered about that?  Sure, it keeps with the ordinances concerning the Passover lamb, but what was the significance of the lamb’s bones not being broken.  I would argue that everything in the Old Testament was a foretaste of the New.  Jesus Christ was pierced, scourged, nailed, hung on a cross, spat upon, and placed in a tomb to rot, but Jesus Christ was never broken.  Let me say that again.  The Word of God was pierced, scourged, nailed, hung on a cross, spat upon, and placed in a tomb to rot, but the Word of God was never broken.  The significance of no bone of Jesus being broken is that God’s Word was never broken.  God’s Word can never be broken because God is true.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)  

Passage of the Day - December 10, 2012

John 10:24-38

²⁴ The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? 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, these testify of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will 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 the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”
³¹ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” ³³ The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Has it not been 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 them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

In verse 29 we see that Jesus calls the Father greater than all.  In verse 36 we see that Jesus was sanctified (set apart, declared holy) and sent by the Father to do the works of the Father.  In this 15 verse passage, Jesus refers to the Father nine times.  The Message of God always points back to God.

We can get tripped up with passages like these when we use terms like “co-equal”.  This passage clearly teaches a subservient nature to the relationship between the Father and the Son just as the message of any person is subservient to the author of the message.  We have also seen that the message of the person is, in effect, the person.  Unless this concept is understood, it is very difficult to marry this passage to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)