The Living Word

Bible study on the set readings widely used by various churches and chapels and a weekly storytelling video. Also at www.medium.com/the-living-word and https://thelivingword.substack.com

Powered by Genesis

Archives for March 2020

April 5: Passion Sunday — How Jesus paid for our redemption

March 25, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

April 5, 2020. Passion Sunday. TLW12A

Sunday Bible readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, shared across the denominations.

Theme: Jesus paid a high price for us to be able to call Him Lord

Read the passage first and let it speak for itself. The link takes you to the NIV text which combines accuracy with clarity. The order follows the sequence of the Bible, which is a progressive revelation from Old Testament, to a Gospel account, to the teaching of the early church who knew the perspective and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Following the Bible’s own sequence makes it much easier to grasp the overall thrust of what God is saying through it.

Then there are links to the verse-by-verse commentary and brief application.

Isaiah 50:4-9 — The messenger of good news knows God’s purpose will bring pain and shameful accusation – but also vindication

Isaiah verse-by-verse

Matthew 27:11-54 — Following Pilate’s sentence, as Jesus surrenders His life on the Cross, an earthquake destroys the temple curtain

Matthew verse-by-verse

Philippians 2:5-11 — How God became man in Jesus, the humble servant put to death under a curse and now honoured as Lord of heaven and earth

Philippians verse-by-verse

And also read: Psalm 31:9-16

Isaiah 50:4-9 — The messenger of good news submits to God’s purpose


There will be pain, and shameful accusation – but also vindication


4-5 The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens Me morning by morning, wakens My ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign LORD has opened My ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.

“A well-instructed tongue” – in this third Servant Song the Messiah, submissive to God, is being perfected through unwavering persistence.

“The word that sustains the weary” – refers back to an earlier prophecy, that the Lord, “who will not grow tired or weary”, sends His messenger with the good news that “He gives strength to the weary”, Isaiah 40:28-31.

6 I offered My back to those who beat Me, My cheeks to those who pulled out My beard; I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting.


“I offered My back” – and other torment, what Jesus experienced at His crucifixion, Matthew 26:67, 27:30.


“Mocking” – see Matt. 27:27-31 (below).


7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.


“Shame” – at first, but the servant foresees the God-ordained outcome.


8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against Me? Let us face each other! Who is My accuser? Let him confront Me!


“Vindicate” – or justifies. Christ fulfilled this prophecy. As the human but sinless Saviour, He is uniquely empowered to cancel charges brought against those who choose to belong to Him.


• See Romans 8:31-34, 1 Timothy 3:16.


9 It is the Sovereign LORD who helps Me.


REFLECTION

This preview of what Jesus went through for us, helps us regain God’s perspective when we are wearied by the constant attacks of the enemy of our souls.

“Who is My accuser?” is the language of a legal victory in a courtroom. “Accuser” is similar in meaning to satan, adversary, reminding us that our spiritual enemy relies on finding legal grounds to oppress (our sin) and is stymied by the removal of those grounds (by finding grace, in Jesus).


QUESTION

When life is draining and we feel discouraged, where do those thoughts come from?

Matthew 27:11-54 — Pilate sentences Jesus to be flogged and crucified


As He surrenders His life, an earthquake rips apart the temple curtain

11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him, “Are You the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

“The governor” – the Roman historian Tacitus records Christ’s execution after sentencing by the prefect Pilate “in the reign of Tiberius”. The blasphemy accusation held little sway for a Roman official, so the Jews framed Jesus as a political rebel deserving of death.

12-14 When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against You?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge — to the great amazement of the governor.

“Great amazement” – Pilate has not encountered a defendant who did not plead for mercy; if allegations of treason were true, Pilate would have been forewarned.

15-16 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.

17-18 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him.”

“That innocent man” – a disturbing nightmare was a significant sign to people of that time, Roman law was clear that an innocent man should not be put to death, and Pilate’s judicial instinct told him the charges were constructed. Yet he was more influenced by fear of the crowd.

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus executed.

21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.

22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

23 “Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

“Why?” – Pilate clearly thought the crowd would want the release of a doer of good, rather than Barabbas, seen as a violent robber in Mark 15:7, John 18:40. The crowd that noisily acclaimed Jesus as He entered the city, now proved strangely fickle.

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
“His blood is on us” – the self-curse found fulfilment among those present in the Jerusalem’s bloodshed and destruction in AD 70 (but is not an indictment against Jews in general).

26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

“Flogged” – Roman flogging was so brutal it sometimes killed the victim. The “By His stripes” quotation about our healing being in Jesus’ wounding sees this as part of the execution, Isaiah 53:5. 1 Peter 2:24.

(RETURN)

27-29 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.

“Mocked Him” – Isaiah 50:6 (above). His trial by the Jews, Matt. 26:67-68, mocked Him as a prophet; now He is mocked as king. See also vv. 37-44 below.

• For further study: Jesus’ unique spiritual authority combines that of prophet, priest and king, Hebrews 1:1, Hebrews 10, and Hebrews 2:8.

• Read also Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

30-31 They spat on him, and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.

32-34 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced Him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

“A man from Cyrene, named Simon” – Simon, from N. Africa, is named as someone later known in the community of believers.

The place of the skull” – either a skull-like rocky place, or where skulls remained from previous executions – or both. None of the gospels mentions a hill.


35-37 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38 Two rebels were crucified with Him, one on His right and one on His left. Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

41-43 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him. “He saved others,” they said, “but He can’t save Himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

“Let God rescue Him” – “let God deliver Him”, an allusion to Psalm 22:8.

44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him.

“Rebels… crucified with Him” – as predicted, He was “numbered with the transgressors,” Isaiah 53:12, Luke 22:37.

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”).

“Why have You forsaken Me?” – Jesus had to experience the full extent of God’s wrath (holy requirement for justice) for the sins of humanity – possibly the bitterest blow of all. Matthew translates the Aramaic for us.

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48-49 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit.

“Cried out” – not anguish but the victory shout of “It is finished!”, John 19:30. Jesus had completed His purpose in coming into the world and in this tortured death had settled the redemption charge for the sin of all mankind.

51-53 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

“Curtain” – the Holy of Holies in the Temple was divided off by heavy woven barrier; remarkably the earthquake ripped it. At this point, the order of priesthood was made redundant because through Jesus it was now possible for every believer to come into God’s presence, needing no other intermediary.

• For further study, see Ephesians 2:11-22; Hebrews 6:19; Hebrews 9:1-10:25.

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely He was the Son of God!”

“Terrified” – the earthquake, and the prisoner like no other, revealed the divine connection.

REFLECTION

Any one part of what Jesus took on Himself is too much for us – false accusation, shame, brutality at the whipping post – and the horror of dying a cursed death on a cross taunted by mockers. Jesus knew it would be horrific. Yet He understood that He had to satisfy the wrath, the legal remedy of justice, for His Father. Only a sinless human being could pay the price for us to know Him as Savour and as Lord, – and Jesus did.


QUESTION

Given the enormity of what Jesus did for us, what inhibits us from joy and praise?

Philippians 2:5-11 — How God became man in Jesus

The servant put to death under a curse is now honoured as Lord of heaven and earth


5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:


6-7 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.


“Being in very nature God” – this hymn of praise contrasts Jesus’ pre-existence and divinity with His incarnate existence in which “He made Himself nothing” in human likeness, but drew on the Holy Spirit’s empowering. We can live above ourselves with Jesus-like love for others, continuing His ministry, by the enabling of the same Holy Spirit.


8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!


“Even death on a cross” – Jesus went voluntarily to the most shameful of deaths possible for a Jew. This divine exchange included coming under a curse from God on our behalf, Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13.


9-11 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“Jesus Christ is Lord” – “Lord” refers to the right to rule. Disciples of Jesus “bow the knee” by acknowledging His Lordship of our lives, as well as all creation.

REFLECTION

How do we go about having the same mindset as Jesus? This praise hymn to Jesus both raises the question, and ends with the answer, which is about celebrating His Lordship of us.

Like the old saying, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” When we hold someone in awe, we’ll want to do what they do and take on their values. This sets us wanting to live above ourselves – and welcoming the enabling of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, makes it possible.

Calling Jesus our Lord is not, ultimately about obedience. That is being a Pharisee. It is about loving who He is so much, that we WANT to grow like Him.


QUESTION

Which comes first, doing what Jesus says, or being with Him and wanting to grow more like Him?


PRAYER

Father God, we are so grateful for Jesus, making a way for us to You in such a horrific self-sacrifice, so we can have fellowship with Him as Lord of our lives.

We thank you, too, that in Jesus we have His authority to say ‘no’ to evils like the present pandemic, and a welcoming ‘yes’ to what we hear You saying.

Humbly we give You charge of our lives again — and volunteer again as junior partners in Your saving strategy. Amen.

=—-=—-=—-=

Isaiah verse-by-verse (TOP)

Matthew verse-by-verse

Philippians verse-by-verse

Filed Under: Foundational, Lent, Special day, Year A

March 29: Dry bones brought to life

March 18, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

March 29, 2020. “Dry Bones” Sunday. TLW12A

Sunday Bible readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, shared across the denominations.


Theme: How the Holy Spirit brings our ‘dry bones’ to life

Read the passage first and let it speak for itself. The link takes you to NIV text which combines accuracy with clarity. The order follows the sequence of the Bible, which is a progressive revelation from Old Testament, to Gospel account, to the teaching of the early church who knew the perspective and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Following the Bible’s own sequence makes it much easier to grasp the overall thrust of what God is saying through it.

Then there are links to the verse-by-verse commentary and brief application.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 — a vision of dry bones brought to life
The prophet calls the Holy Spirit to bring resurrection

Ezekiel verse by verse


John 11:1-45 – The miracle that brought Lazarus back to life
The seventh sign showing Jesus to be the Messiah of God

John verse by verse

Romans 8:6-11 – The hold of the flesh opposes God’s Spirit
When we become Christians, the flesh nature tries to hold on

Romans verse by verse


And also: Psalm 130


Ezekiel 37:1-14 — a vision of dry bones brought to life

The prophet calls the Holy Spirit to bring resurrection


1-3 The hand of the LORD was on me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, You alone know.”


“He brought me out by the Spirit” – God gave him a detailed, graphic vision.


“Valley… full of bones” – a battlefield graveyard which symbolises the spiritual death of the exiles. The vision underlines the promise of new life: “I will give you a heart of flesh… and I will put My Spirit in you…”, Ezekiel 36:16-38.


4-6 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’


“Prophesy” – ‘speak forth’ a declaration in faith.


”I will put breath in you” — ruach means both breath and spirit.


• For further study: John 3:1-21. Jesus expected Nicodemus, knowing this passage, to understand the concept of a new spiritual birth by the Holy Spirit.


7-8 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.


9-10 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ”


“Prophesy to the breath” — or ‘speak in faith to the Spirit’ is the Scriptural basis of the ancient prayer, “Come Holy Spirit”. We can and should invite the fuller presence of God’s life-giving Spirit.


10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.


11-12 Then He said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.


13-14 Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ”


“I will put My Spirit in you and you will live” – at first, resettlement of exiles (Ezekiel was an exile prophet). Longer range fulfilment: spiritual rebirth and life of the Holy Spirit experienced by the church following Pentecost.


• For further study, see John 3:5-8; John 11:25-26; Romans 8:9-17; Col. 3:1-4.


REFLECTION

This is exactly what happens when by faith we ask Jesus to be Lord, and are born from above. This is an invitation for the Holy Spirit to enter, we come to life spiritually, and we recognise Jesus in a way we couldn’t before, as our Lord. This passage gives good biblical grounds for us to entreat God for renewal, and to speak the life of the Spirit into the ‘dry bones’ of institutional Christianity.

What God wants, is what we should be asking for, and in faith speaking out.


QUESTION

Sometimes things remain when really they have died. Where are the “dry bones” that God wants you to pray into new life?


John 11:1-45 – The miracle that resurrected Lazarus

The seventh sign showing Jesus to be the Messiah of God


1-3 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.


Bethany – a village on the side of the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem.


4-7 When He heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days, and then He said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”


He stayed… two more days” – Lazarus needed a healing touch, yet Jesus delayed, which seemed uncaring. He loved the family but was obedient to God’s timing, for His greater glory.


8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”


9-10 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”


“Walks in the daytime” – meaning doing what God wants and following His timing.

11 After He had said this, He went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”


12-13 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought He meant natural sleep.


14-15 So then He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”


16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”


17-20 On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.


“Four days” – a day after the soul had finally departed the body, according to common folk belief.


21-22 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask.”


23-24 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”


25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”


“I am the resurrection and the life” – meaning He is “I AM”, Lord, over life and death, and also Lord of new and eternal life through believing in Him.


27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”


28-31 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.


32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”


33-34 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” He asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.


“He was deeply moved… and troubled” – “a deep anger welled welled up within Him”, NLT and The Message; while empathising with Mary’s grief He took issue with the hypocrisy and unbelief of the bystanders, v.37.


35 Jesus wept.


36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”


37 But some of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”


38-39 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” He said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.”


“Cave with a stone… across the entrance” – a tomb of this kind would have been quite commonplace at that time. It indicated a relatively well-off family.


40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”


41-42 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that you always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent Me.”


43-45 When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.


“Many… believed” – as v.40; other witnesses to the miracle reported Jesus’ actions maliciously to the Pharisees in Jerusalem, v.46.

REFLECTION

Ezekiel, in his vision, was told to speak life to the dry bones, and saw them resurrected. Here, Jesus follows what He has ‘seen’ in prayer and speaks life to a corpse wrapped up and buried in a cave, and Lazarus, miraculously resurrected, stumbles into view. This is the seventh sign recorded by John in which Jesus showed Himself, rather than declared Himself, to be Messiah. A short time later Jesus would be back in Jerusalem for Passover Week, ending with His own death on the cross, and then resurrection following a similar burial to Lazarus.

Following the world order of things, everything becomes sick or wears out or goes wrong; but by contrast, turning to the Lord of life is always a lifegiving move. It aligns us with Him, so that the life of the Lord can flow into our situation.


QUESTION

Think of a time (or times) when prayers seemed to go unanswered and everything was going pear-shaped – but later you could see God’s higher purpose.

Romans 8:6-11 – The rule of the flesh opposes God’s Spirit


When we become Christians, the flesh nature tries to keep its grip on us


6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.


7-8 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.


“Governed by the flesh” – the selfish and independent ‘human’ nature, resisting what God wants for us, is life-sapping, not life-giving.


9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.


“Have the Spirit of Christ” – which comes by you deciding to trust Jesus for your salvation and looking to Him as Lord. Telling Him (and others) of that intention underlines the decision; otherwise we can continue in a kind of nominal assent, which does not unseat the independence of the selfish nature, or allow room for the Holy Spirit to lead our steps.


10-11 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.


“He who raised Christ from the dead” – the Holy Spirit is the all-powerful life-giver and the resurrection of Jesus proves that. To the extent that we invite Him, we find Him empowering and life-giving.


REFLECTION


What, or who, is the power that made resurrection happen – the dry bones brought to life, Lazarus emerging from the tomb, Jesus Himself raised to life on the third day? This teaching for Christians in Rome speaks of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ in the same sentence (v.9). Jesus spoke the command to Lazarus’ body and the Spirit of God re-created his deceased body as a living person.

Our humanness gets in the way of what God intends, but the Holy Spirit is the one who kindles life in our human spirit and empowers us to live for Him – as we turn (and keep on turning) to Jesus and call Him Lord.


QUESTION


How do we make room for the Holy Spirit to give us His new life and empowering to live for Jesus? How do we make it difficult for Him?


PRAYER


Father God, as we come to You submitted to Jesus, we know that You are the giver of life.

Left to ourselves we can only die back, but as we open ourselves to You we always find renewal.

At this time, where our flesh nature so readily entertains the fear of death, we thank You, that in You we have the opposite spirit of peace, joy and hope.

May we be strong in the Spirit of Christ and in our small way, lifegiving to others as You are lifegiving. Amen.

Filed Under: Lent, Year A

March 22: God’s way is sacrificial love

March 11, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Mothering Sunday — March 22 TLW11A

Previous week March 15   Following week March 29

Sunday readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. First read the passage in its entirety (NIV text) and let it speak for itself; then, the links below take you to the verse-by-verse commentary.


1 Samuel 1:20-28 — Hannah’s motherly instinct is to put what is right before what she wants, and she gives up her son to fulfil her vow 

together with Psalm 34:11-20

1 Samuel verse-by-verse


John 19:25-27 — in His dying breaths, Jesus honours His mother, trusting His disciple John to look after her

John verse-by-verse


Colossians 3:12-17 — As people of joy in the Good News of Christ, we carry the kind of love that can let go and forgive

Colossians verse-by-verse


1 Samuel 1:20-28 — Hannah makes a great sacrifice on behalf of her son 


This mother’s instinct is to put what is right ahead of what she wants


20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”


“Samuel” – sounds like “asked of God” or “heard by God” in Hebrew.


21-22 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”


23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good His word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.


“Make good His word” – an earlier, unrecorded word from the Lord or, possibly, Eli’s pronouncement, v.17.


24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.


“After he was weaned” – much older than we would expect; he could have been five years old.


“Three-year-old bull…ephah of flour” – or three bulls, either way a substantial offering, indicating that Elkanah was prosperous.


25-26 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.


“As surely as you live” – a way of emphasising the truth of words. Hannah exalts the Lord by her testimony of what He has done.


27-28 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshipped the LORD there.


“The LORD has granted me…” – following Eli’s earlier words; Samuel is the direct answer to that blessing.


“I give him” – honouring the Lord with sacrificial love. In turn, the Lord honours her with further sons and daughters, 1 Sam. 2:19-21


Psalm 34:11-20


11 Come, my children, listen to Me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.


12-13 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.


“I will teach you” – like “Come My children”, the language of the Bible genre called wisdom literature. Wisdom here has three components:

  1. “fear of the Lord”, meaning awe and worshipful attitude;
  2. intentional avoidance of evil, especially evil speech; and
  3. v.14, doing good.


14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.


15-16 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.

“Turn from evil” – always be ready to change a behaviour and come back to God. These verses are quoted by Peter in his letter to summarise the loving and relational Christian lifestyle, 1 Peter 3:10-12.“The eyes of the Lord” – watching over and protective of those who are maintaining a relationship with Him; by contrast, those whose independence from the Lord leads to evil attract His attention in a different way.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

“Brokenhearted… crushed” – exaggeration for effect, of how “the righteous” have dealt with their human pride and stubbornness.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;


“Many troubles” – the psalm is clear that the prevalent evil that we must distance ourselves from, v.14, will bring trouble for both the wicked and the righteous. However there is a very different outcome for the wise and God-fearing who experience God’s love and attention, and can face difficulty with greater resilience.


20 He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.


“Not one of them… broken” – the apostle John, commenting on the Roman custom not being fully followed for Jesus, alluded to this together with Exodus 12:46, making the connection between Jesus and the passover lamb, John 19:36.


REFLECTION

Hannah’s ability to lay down her right to what she most wanted, a son to bring up, sets the bar high by any measure of sacrificial love. She was determined to do what was right by the Lord and what was best for the son she had been given.

The psalm brings out two related themes:

  1. how the Lord seeks out those who push through to do what is right by Him, and
  2. that doing what is right comes at a cost: “The righteous person may have many troubles…”

However, the psalm shows us that the person who persists in doing what the Lord wants, through troubles, sees a very different outcome from the “evil person” who is presented for contrast. There is real cost and difficulty, but with it comes the promise of deliverance: “The LORD delivers him…” One definition of an “evil person” might be one who gives, but with the motive of coercing the Lord into rewarding the action. Like Hannah, we trust the Lord with what gives us and give back to Him, without strings, what counts as His.


QUESTION

What are the similarities between Hannah as a mother, and Mary the mother of Jesus?


John 19:25-27 — Jesus honours His mother with His dying breaths


He trusts His disciple John with the responsibility to look after her


25 Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.


“Near the cross… stood” – a number of women, considered a low risk and not kept away as men were. “His mother’s sister” may have been Salome, wife of Zebedee, making the writer a cousin of Jesus, and giving greater reason for His assignment of Mary’s care to John, v.27.


“The wife of Clopas” – possibly the disciple that Luke named as Cleopas, who encountered the resurrected Jesus on the way to Emmaus, Luke 24:18.


• For further study, compare Matt 27:55–56; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:. Mark 16:1.


26-27 When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.


“Took her into his home” – in Jewish family law Jesus as eldest son had provision to assign the care of his mother to another. Jesus’ brothers may not have believed in Him at this point, John 7:5. According to tradition, Mary moved with John to Ephesus and both are buried there.


John is teaching the wider point, that those witnessing the scene were the heart of the new community of believers gathered at the Cross (a fair definition of the Church) and Jesus wanted them to start putting into practice what He had commanded earlier, to love and care for each other.


• For further study, see John 13:34, 15:12, 17.


REFLECTION

Here we feel a mother’s grief and loss, although it seems impossible to put ourselves in Mary’s place, witnessing the horrific execution of her own son. However, this scene gives us a window to see the kind of relationships that Jesus wanted to be the hallmark of the new community of gathered believers.

  1. It is family. Some of those standing near the Cross were related, some were not, but they were all family in another way, through sharing a close relationship with Jesus.
  2. It is about relationships, not the kind that are measured by order of importance (hierarchy) or order of influence (authority), but the mutuality of belonging to one another – “Here is your son… your mother”.
  3. It is enduring, not transient. This was not an arrangement till Mary got over her grieving, but an adoption for Mary to make her contribution and receive from others as part of this koinonia community – the ‘communion’ or fellowship word that came to mean the gathering to break bread and remember Jesus together.


QUESTION  

How good are we at the ‘belonging’ of fellowship? What can be difficult for people joining a close fellowship?


Colossians 3:12-17 — Put on the kind of love that can let go and forgive 

Be people of joy in the Good News of Christ


12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

“God’s chosen people” – a phrase from the law of Israel about the people of Israel, Deuteronomy 4:37, is now applied to the Christian community, 1 Peter 2:9. Being chosen by God (the theological word is ‘election’) is a common theme in the Bible but never separated from the other face of the coin, our choice and Christian responsibility: here, to live as God’s chosen people in loving attitudes.


13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.


“Forgive one another” – a central part of the Good News is that, in Jesus we can know we are completely forgiven by God, which brings “the peace of Christ”, v.15 below. But our being forgiven brings the expectation that we, on our part, will readily forgive, and treat others with the generosity of spirit we received from God.


• For further study, read Matthew 6:12, 14; 18:21-35.


14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.


“Put on love” – another central part of the Good News, because knowing that we are loved by God, enables us to love in our relationships with others. Our imitation of God’s unconditional love for us, is the glue that binds together the distinctive values that witness to others, as in v.12 above.


• For further study, read Matthew 5:43-48; Mark 12:28-33; Romans 13:8–10; 1 Corinthians 13:1–13.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.


“Let the peace of Christ rule” – knowing Jesus brings us a wholeness, through freedom from bitterness and anger, because it empowers us to practice God’s grace in our relationships, vv.13-14. To paraphrase: ‘Let Christ rule your heart — and therefore Christ’s way be the umpire of all your actions.’


16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.


“The message of Christ” – specifically, let the Good News of Christ be the central, joyful core of discipleship and worship. More broadly, Jesus’ teaching generally.


“Hymns and songs from the Spirit” – a parallel thought to “be filled with the Spirit”, Ephesians 5:18, which results in singing and gratitude. “Hymns” refers to songs of praise, e.g. Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Timothy 3:16 and “songs from the Spirit” singing in tongues and other freestyle, inspired and prophetic forms of worship.


17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.


“Do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” – not a formulaic saying but an intention to honour God and give glory to Him by Christlike speech and actions.


REFLECTION


The third strand about learning God’s way and living it out, highlights the inner life we have. Mothers are given the ability to bring comfort – compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience sound like the mother most of us can remember crying out for at times.

But they are not just maternal or feminine attributes! This “peace of Christ” is what the Holy Spirit gives all believers who receive new life in Jesus. It comes from the love for others, that we find through knowing that we are loved ourselves, and this is at the heart of the Good News message of Christ.

That love for others, the unconditional kind that comes from the Holy Spirit, is what enables us to bear with the dysfunctions of others and go further – forgive them the way God forgave us. That is where we find inner peace.

Keep that truth fresh and central, the apostle seems to say, and you will find yourself being good news to others and bringing glory to God as you go.


QUESTION

Who has caused you hurt and distress, through being unfair, untrue, unkind and unappreciating? Have a trusted friend pray with you and help you apply v. 13 above to forgive from the heart and have the Lord’s peace.


PRAYER

Thank You, Father, that we can give, and also give up, knowing that You first gave. You give us love, joy, peace and every provision – and you also give us the generosity of spirit to forgive others and cancel out the moral debt they owe us, just as You forgave us our debts. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit to live trusting You, and giving glory to You, by the inner peace we carry. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

TOP – 1 Samuel

John 19 passage

Colossians 3 passage

Filed Under: Lent, Special day, Year A

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Search TLW

RECENT POSTS

  • March 19: Spiritual Discernment — What Is False, What Is True March 18, 2023
  • March 12: God’s sheer goodness to undeserving people March 12, 2023
  • March 5: Knowing God’s Good Promises — by Faith March 4, 2023
  • Feb. 26: Jesus’ Integrity and Victory overcomes Adam’s Sin February 27, 2023
  • Feb. 19: Mountain-top encounters are a powerful testimony to others February 17, 2023
  • Feb. 12: Loving God is living a transformed life in Jesus February 11, 2023
  • Feb 5: What a True Worshipper and Disciple Looks Like January 31, 2023
  • Jan 29: What the Lord Really Requires from Us January 28, 2023
  • Jan 22: Light in a dark place — the kingdom of God revealed January 22, 2023
  • Jan.15: God’s Grace of Renewal in Jesus January 13, 2023

Categories

Pages

  • ‘Cancel culture’ has ancient roots
  • Jesus tells us to exercise our lazy faith
  • A short prayer to receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord
  • A story of three ‘opposites’
  • Apprentice — You’re chosen!
  • Are You a Disciple on Mission with Jesus — or a Church Club Devotee?
  • Be prepared! God’s plan of salvation is going ahead!
  • Be Real, Be Attentive, Be Ready In Faith…
  • Being Authentic — God loves relationships that are real
  • Blessing others with God’s wisdom, not our opinions
  • Bringers of God’s Glorious Presence
  • Called and then sent
  • Called to respect God’s way
  • Choose Life
  • Choosing God’s Way
  • Does God Really Have My Heart?
  • Don’t let spiritual pride become your downfall!
  • Encountering God for ourselves
  • Explaining… Salvation. Who chooses who?
  • Explaining…. How we experience God
  • Faith on Trial
  • Falsehood vs Faithfulness and How To Know The Difference
  • For All of us Trapped by Historic Sin, God Has a Way Out
  • From Mistakes to Mission
  • Getting Better at Faith — Learning to Live in Partnership with God
  • God Is Always Doing a New Thing
  • God Is Calling Others To Walk With Him
  • God Says Those Who Seek Me Find Me
  • God’s Gracious Exchange — New Life for Old
  • God’s heart and ours
  • God’s presence comes with heaven’s brilliance
  • God’s Word — Catalyst for Change
  • God’s Heart of Love for Those Who Are Distant from Him
  • God’s word comes through God’s words
  • Growing in Hearing and Trusting God
  • Having God’s Heart — the Heart of the Gospel
  • Help! Learning to trust God in sticky situations
  • Holy Dissatisfaction Gets Us Reaching for God’s Freedom
  • How big is your God?
  • How Can God Change My Life?
  • How Do we Understand God’s Grace?
  • How Does Revival Come? It’s Not About Us
  • How entering God’s kingdom is the way to find His righteousness
  • How faith comes: by hearing and believing what God says
  • How God calls the imperfect to achieve the impossible
  • How God Gave Us His Nature To Live His Way
  • How God Guides Us In His Way
  • How God helps us to know Him personally (May 17)
  • How God is glorified
  • How God lights up our dark places with His presence
  • How God Offers Us the Gift of Being Made Right with Him
  • How God Works His Purpose In Our Lives
  • How God’s repeated works of salvation give us confidence
  • How salvation comes
  • How the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit is gained — and lost
  • How the Holy Spirit Restores God’s Order
  • How to be in the flow of God’s love and compassion
  • How to Keep an Eternal Perspective Amid Life’s Urgencies
  • How to speak life into dry bones
  • How We See God’s Glory
  • Jesus — sight unseen
  • Jesus is Lord for all who turn to Him
  • Jesus, The Inclusive Saviour
  • Keeping a true course
  • Knowing Jesus and making Him known
  • Knowing the Good Shepherd — it’s personal
  • Learn What Being Spiritual Really Means
  • Learning to be impartial
  • Learning to honour God in His gifts to us
  • Love and joy that transforms
  • Loving God also means loving others
  • Made new and still being renewed
  • One thing that sets us apart
  • Our Faith in God Shines Through How We Live
  • Partners in Mission
  • Partnership, God and Us
  • Pictures of heaven’s future purpose
  • Removing three barriers to God in our lives
  • Renewal — How Jesus Enables Us to Live the Best Version of Ourselves
  • Renewed and restored
  • Right and wrong sources of power
  • Seeing through the Pain to the Promise
  • So, who is this Jesus?
  • Spiritual Confidence is Yours with a Little Practice
  • The Big Story
  • The call to kingdom life and values
  • The Grace and Glory of God Appear — and Our Part In It
  • The Great Realisation
  • The Jesus Prayer
  • The reality of Jesus’ lordship
  • The spiritual battle: truth and deception in the church
  • The tests of life and God’s justice
  • The Tests of the Heart
  • Three Common Pitfalls to Avoid
  • To know Jesus is to have fellowship in Him
  • Trust, believe and honour
  • Understanding God’s grace + our faith = new life in salvation 
  • Understanding God’s gracious generosity
  • Understanding the kingdom of God
  • Understanding the new covenant in Jesus
  • Understanding… How we learn to see where Jesus is present
  • Unexpected — The King Who Serves
  • Watchmen of God’s way
  • We Celebrate God Made Man — How Much Do We Trust Him?
  • What God speaks, endures
  • When Jesus Comes Near It Changes Everything
  • Who Has Your Heart?
  • Who is Jesus? Where is Jesus? How Mystery Leads Us to Revelation
  • Who Is The Jesus We Know?
  • Why as Christians We Never Get to Stand Down
  • Why God’s Grace Is Too Good To Be Untrue
  • Willing to change?
  • Wisdom with humility is the path to true greatness
  • About…
    • The pros and cons of the lectionary format
    • A personal guide through the maze of Bible versions
  • About TLW print edition
  • Explaining…
    • Explaining… Christmas: the call to worship
    • Explaining… God’s call to all
    • Explaining… How God works beyond our boundaries
    • Explaining… How God’s grace doesn’t work by our rules
    • Explaining… How to see ourselves as God sees us
    • Explaining… How too easily we can be frustrating God’s plan
    • Explaining… Our assurance in the kingdom of God
    • Explaining… Revitalisation — God’s kingdom vs our control
    • Explaining… the ‘review and renew’ that God is doing
    • Explaining… Why the good news is good
    • Understanding… The danger in our complacency
    • Explaining the kingdom of God 1
    • Explaining conflicts that arise as a result of our faith
    • Explaining Pentecost
    • Explaining the Trinity
    • Explaining our identity as Christians — royal priesthood
    • What Jesus’ mountain top encounter with God means for us
    • Explaining the covenant with Abraham
  • Understanding…
    • Understanding… Holiness and the Great Commandment
    • Understanding… how deception undermines God’s truth
    • Understanding… How we raise our expectation
    • Understanding… Revival
    • Understanding… Stepping out in faith
    • Understanding… the difference between reacting and responding to God
    • Understanding… The freedom that is ours in Christ
    • Understanding… the generosity of God
    • Understanding… The invitation we must respond to
    • Understanding… The need to be ready for the Lord’s return
    • Understanding… The way agreement and conflict play out in the kingdom of God
    • Understanding the Good News – God’s grace
    • Inexpressible and glorious joy
    • The need to be reborn from above
    • Understanding the Trinity of God
    • First-century gnosticism

PREVIOUS POSTS

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017

Download TLW in A4/A5 booklet form

TLW49A-Dec-11.final-Booklet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to The Living Word

You get a lot more out of the Sunday service readings if they are already speaking to you. TLW is about reading and re-reading these Scriptures with some commentary to bring out what is hidden and make connections with cross references. This is different from liturgy because it is a Bible study, putting the Bible passages in sequence from OT, through the NT gospel era, and then through the lens of the post-resurrection, early church in the power of the Spirit. Enabling this progressive revelation points to a theme.  The translation used is the readable and widely-used 2011 edition of the New International Version (NIV) Bible. Commentary is drawn from a wide range of sources and is Bible-centric and theologically neutral. As we read and reflect and allow the Holy Spirit to help us hear God through His word during the week, we prepare ourselves to hear afresh and receive the Sunday sermon in church or chapel.

For convenience, use the ‘Subscribe’ box below to receive a short email with the Bible passage and notes for each weekday (and that’s all!).

Unsubscribing is just as easy.

A little about me and my vision for The Living Word

I live in the Marches, a green and beautiful expanse of hills between England and Wales where churches and chapels share duty to the Christian faithful in every valley, and churchgoing is still part of the community life. However, there are few Bibles to be seen in these buildings, and home-based groups for fellowship and Bible study are rare.

I want to encourage Sunday worshippers in churches and chapels to enjoy reading the Bible during the week, to get used to hearing God for themselves through His word, and to be  spiritually prepared for the message they will hear on Sunday from the lectionary readings they all share. It is no substitute for meeting and worshipping together, nor for Holy Spirit-inspired preaching. It supports both by encouraging the personal growth of church and chapel members of any denomination. It offers faith encouragement for those no longer able to, or no longer wanting to take part in, formal physical church.

My background is not in churches that use the lectionary and I bring a breadth of tradition and spiritual understanding to the writing.  I have pastored a number of churches and been involved in a variety of other missional initiatives with a ‘kingdom of God’ agenda.

As well as The Living Word and its weekly video I also post regularly on www.freshbread.today and www.thelivingword.substack.com with a podcast as well as video and written content. There is also a Facebook page at fb.com/TLWbiblestudy

Revd Ian Greig BD (Hons), DPS

SEE ALSO other Living Word Publications

Substack newsletter and podcast (free subscription) — audio podcast, video and written content all in one place

Fresh Bread Today — the freshest bake, with a bit of a tang, unpackaged and uncut. His word to live by, today.

Believe the Good News – finding the good news and encouragement all through the Bible

GLOW – God’s Love Over Weobley, encouraging prayer and spiritual fellowship. With a local flavour for this NW Herefordshire village.