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How Satan and Testing Work

January 31, 2010 by William Higgins

[re-written]

We are continuing on in our series – How to Overcome Sin in Our Lives, or how to get rid of sinful behaviors and habits that have taken root in our lives. We have heard the call to stop sinning – to put away those sins that we know about and yet choose to do anyway. And then, what we are doing, both last week and today, is laying some groundwork for understanding how to be free.

Last week the topic was, ‘How sin works.’ We talked about where sin comes from and why we sin. Today our focus is on, ‘How Satan and testing work.’ I want us to see, not just what goes on in our hearts with regard to sin, but what happens outside of us that can influence us to sin.

We have to recognize the reality and power of evil that is around us, that goes beyond just human evil; that is much deeper and darker. We can’t see it with our eyes directly, but it is real nonetheless.

There is a war going on in the spirit realm. And we are a part of it whether we know it or not; whether we act to defend ourselves or simply get swept away by it. Paul says in Ephesians 6:11-12, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 

But first a brief word about –

God and testing

Even as Christians, who seek to do God’s will, we have to confess that without God’s help we are mere flesh – weak and given to self-centeredness and pride.

But God wants us to grow and to come to a place where we humbly rely on him in our weakness, and to be transformed so that we find our true fulfillment in doing his will. And this is why he allows us to be tested – that is, to go through hard times and difficult struggles. He does this for our own good. As Hebrews 12:10 says, he tests us “for our good, that we may share his holiness.” Even Jesus was tested as Hebrews 5:8 tells us.

Satan and testing

Satan, however, the one who actually tests us, has a different agenda. Being aware of our weakness and pride – he uses testing to lead us to sin, judgment and destruction.

In God’s order of thins, Satan is a prosecutor. His job is to find evil, bring it to God’s attention and then punish it. This is what we see him doing in Job 1-2, seeking to test Job.

Although Satan has a role to play in God’s scheme of things, Scripture is clear that he is evil.

  • Jesus calls him the “evil one” – John 17:15.
  • Jesus tells us that he was “a murderer from the beginning” – John 8:44.
  • And Scripture tells us that he has been “sinning from the beginning.” – 1 John 3:8.

God may use him, but he has his own agenda which is opposed to God – and us. This is how he works:

1. He asks God’ permission to test us. We see this happening with Job in Job 1:9-11. Job is a good man, but Satan thinks that if his life is made hard, that he will show himself to be bad. This is also the case with Peter and the other apostles when Jesus was arrested. Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat” – Luke 22:31. He sought permission to test them.

2. He tries to catch us unprepared for testing. Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” – 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is like a lion, who picks off the weak and the unprepared. He tries to catch us unaware, off guard, complacent, ignorant, proud or weak, so that he can devour us.

This is why Peter says that we are to be sober-minded and watchful. If you knew a hungry lion was in the area looking for food, would you not be alert? Well, spiritually speaking, there is one.

3. He tests us. This is when we are put in a difficult situation that puts pressure on us to sin; where the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit come into clear conflict – and we have to choose. We will either look to God for help or give in to sin. We will either move forward with God or backward with Satan. And he banks on the latter being the more common response.

This might be persecution as in Revelation 2:10, which says, “Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested . . ..”  It might be difficult life circumstances as in Matthew 4:1-11, when Jesus was tested in the wilderness.

4. He distorts the truth. He lies, deceives and in general seeks to confuse us with regard to God’s truth and God’s will for our lives. He can even quote Scripture, but with the wrong sense, to lead us astray, as he tried when he encountered Jesus in the wilderness.

Jesus tells us that he “has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” – John 8:44. Paul tells us that he “has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ”  – 2 Corinthians 4:4. We are also told that he is “the deceiver of the whole world” – Revelation 12:9.

He does all this to lead us to sin. He doesn’t want us to know God’s will, lest we choose to do God’s will; lest we come to understand the gospel and God’s plan for our lives. And if we know God’s will he wants to confuse and deceive us.

5. He entices us to sin. As we struggle during a test, he tells us, ‘It’s OK, it won’t hurt you,” or, “everyone else is doing it.’ He will tell us anything to get us to sin. For instance, he spoke through Peter to Jesus – ‘you don’t have to go to the cross’ – Mark 8:32-33. 

6. Satan uses “the world” as he tries to lull us into complacency, as he distorts the truth and as he tests us.

The world, in the New Testament, often refers to all the people, values and ideas in the world that are not submitted to God, indeed that oppose God and God’s will and walk in their own way.

Satan is closely connected to the world. He is called:

  • the “god of this world” – 2 Corinthians 4:4.
  • the “ruler of this world” – John 16:11.
  • we are told that he rules over the nations of the world  – Luke 4:5-6.
  • And we are told that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one” – 1 John 5:19.

And the world is all about pressuring us to sin. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:7, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!” That’s what the world does.

So as it ruler, Satan uses the world as his instrument, to put further pressure on us to sin. The world teaches us that sin is normal and OK. And if we try to live according to God’s will, the world pressures us to conform to it. This is peer pressure to fit in; to go along with the crowd; not to be made fun of, or ostracized.

If we do give in to the desires of our flesh and sin, under pressure from a test and the influence of the world –

7. Satan turns on us and accuses us before God

Zechariah 3:1 tells us about how Satan stood before God and accused Joshua the high priest of sin. Revelation 12:10 calls Satan the “accuser of the brothers” and tells us that he accuses us “day and night before our God.” Again, he is like a prosecutor seeking our condemnation for our sins.

And once this condemnation is secured –

8. Satan becomes an agent of God’s judgment

Paul says that when we sin, “we give opportunity to the devil” – Ephesians 4:27; we open the door to let the destroyer come into our lives. He, then, holds us under his power. Paul talks about those who are snared by the devil; “captured by him to do his will” – 2 Timothy 2:26. Finally, he has been given the power of death to punish us – Hebrew 2:14. In this verse he is described as “the one who has the power of death.” He works in our lives to bring us to the final destruction of eternal death; the final judgment.

Conclusion

In 2 Corinthians 2:11 Paul talks about not being “outwitted by Satan.” He goes on to say that he is not “ignorant of his designs.” I have shared this with you today because I don’t want you to be outwitted or overcome by his designs and schemes.

Yes, we have a powerful enemy; one who seeks our destruction. But the good news is that although Satan is powerful – Jesus overcame him by the authority he has and the truth of God so that he did God’s will. And Jesus shows us how to follow in his path to be overcomers as well. And this is what we will look at next time.

William Higgins

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How Sin Works

January 24, 2010 by William Higgins

[Edited]

We are into week two of our series – How to Overcome Sin in Our Lives. We are looking at how to get rid of our sinful behaviors and habits which enslave us and destroy us.

Last week we heard the call to stop sinning; to put away those sins that we know about and yet choose to do anyway. And if this is indeed our goal, then we need to understand ‘How Sin Works’ – which is our focus today.

First of all we look at the biblical concept of –

The flesh

This refers to our human weakness and frailty apart from God. As Jesus said, “the flesh is weak” – Mark 14:38. This weakness is connected to our human desires, longings and fears. For instance, Paul speaks of “the passions of our flesh . . . the desires of flesh and senses” in Ephesians 2:3.

Specifically, the flesh is weak in regard to doing God’s will. That’s because the desires of our flesh lead us into conflict with God’s will for us. God requires things like love and sacrifice for others. But our flesh is all about self-interest and comfort. It wants the easy way out. It wants to feel secure. It is self-centered.

Paul says it this way, “For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other . . .” – Galatians 5:17.

Now, to clarify, God gives us basic desires, for instance the desire to meet our needs for food, clothing and shelter; or the desire to be in relationships with others. There is nothing wrong with these. It’s what we do with them as we put them into practice apart from God that’s the problem. Our self-centeredness twists and distorts these desires.

Here’s a couple of examples of this:

  • God created us with a desire to meet our basic needs, but we turn this into greed – a craving for more and more beyond what we need.
  • God created us with sexual desire, but we seek to fulfill it in our own way, not God’s way, and so it leads us to sexual immorality.

So the flesh is not some alien thing, or some “other” nature in us, it is simply our humanity in all of its weakness as we try to live our lives apart from God. And this is where sin comes from. It comes from us; as we follow our distorted desires, longings and fears – instead of following God’s path. To use the language of James 1:14-15 – “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin . . ..”

And then there is our –

 Human pride

– which makes everything worse.

God designed us to seek after peace and to find fulfillment. This is the way we are made. But it has always been God’s plan that we find our peace through him and his will for our lives. And, indeed, this is the only way we will find real peace. God is our maker, after all, and God knows what is best for us and what will bring us fulfillment.

But, we -and this is our pride – we think we know more than God. So instead of doing what God wants us to do, we seek after peace through the flesh. We do things in our own way, not God’s way. We act according to our wisdom, not God’s. We pursue peace through our own self-centered pursuit of what makes us comfortable; what soothes our fears; what we think will solve our problems.

And it might seem to work for a while. Hebrews 11:25 talks about the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” But it doesn’t usually take long before the other shoe drops. That’s because, although we may freely choose our sin, our sin comes to take over our lives. As Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” – John 8:34.

And we come to realize that what once seemed good and the answer to our problems, we now hate because it’s ruining our lives. Proverbs says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death” – Proverbs 14:12.

Now, for sure, most who are caught in this slavery don’t see themselves as weak or in bondage, but as strong and free, choosing their own way in life. When we walk in the flesh we think, ‘we don’t need God!’ As Paul says in Romans 8:7, “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.” And it is this very pride that keeps us in our slavery.

This is the tragic irony of sin. Jeremiah 2:13 says it well. Speaking of us, the Lord says, “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” God is “the fountain of living waters,” pure, bubbling, refreshing; providing all we need to quench our thirst and give us life. But in our pride we choose to go our own way and we forsake God. We follow after the flesh digging our own water holes, thinking this is the way to happiness. But our water holes don’t hold water! And so we are left with nothing – thirsty, despairing, dying.

The very thing that would give us life and peace, we will have nothing to do with. This is our pitiful state, when we walk according to the flesh.

————————

So this is what we are up against. But there is good news. Although the flesh is weak – Jesus has overcome it through the power that the Spirit gives to do God’s will even when it is very difficult. And we will look at how to follow his example in the teaching to come.

William Higgins

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The Call to Stop Sinning

January 17, 2010 by William Higgins

This message was updated – The seriousness of sin

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The Healing of Bartimaeus: Mark 10:46-52

January 3, 2010 by William Higgins

Today we are looking at the story of the healing of Bartimaeus. Let’s begin by working our way through this, as Mark tells it.

The story

v. 46 – “And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd . . .”

This gives us the setting. Jesus was leaving Jericho on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. This was a time when many pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem – and this explains the crowd that is going along with Jesus and his disciples.

But this was not an ordinary Passover for Jesus. He was bringing his mission to its completion. As he said to his disciples in Mark 10:33-34, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Jericho was about 20 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Pilgrims from Galilee would come south, around Samaria. And at Jericho they would cross into Judea and them move on to Jerusalem.

So then, as Jesus was leaving Jericho, traveling this route – v. 46 says, “Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.” Bartimaeus, being blind and without help, was reduced to being a beggar. Waiting for others to come by to give alms so that he could have what he needed to live.

Despite all that was happening with Passover coming and the festivities and people coming and going – Bartimaeus wasn’t going anywhere. He was sitting by the roadside, hoping that the pilgrims were especially generous.

v. 47 – “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Once he learned that Jesus was nearby, he acted. Apparently he had heard of Jesus. He calls him by name and uses a title – ‘Son of David’ – that points to an understanding of Jesus as the Messiah.

And he didn’t just call out once. It says, “he began to cry out.” He must have continued to repeat – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

It must have been loud and persistent because v. 48 tells us, “And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” He was causing quite a fuss and making people upset. So they tried to silence him; to make the annoyance go away.

What was his response? v. 48 says, “But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” He didn’t let the crowd discourage him at all, but continued calling out to Jesus, if anything, more loudly.

v. 49 – “And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.’” Even though Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to bring to fulfillment his whole life work and the crowd was with him and they were moving forward toward the goal – because of Bartimaeus’ cry of desperation, Jesus stopped. Two amazing words. Jesus made time for him. Jesus stopped to listen to him.

vs. 50-51 – “And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’” Bartimaeus’ eagerness and excitement come out in how quickly he comes to Jesus.

Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Have mercy on me” is the typical call of a beggar. Jesus is discerning what Bartimaeus wants – alms or something more.

Also, it’s important to note that when Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?” – he isn’t offering him a blank check, you know, ‘I’ll give you whatever you want.’ This is actually the same question that Jesus asked James and John in v. 36 in the story just before ours, when they wanted to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus in the kingdom. But Jesus told them no.

vs. 51-52 – “And the blind man said to him, ‘Rabbi, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” Bartimaeus’ request was granted.

Jesus tells him, “your faith has made you well.” Now this doesn’t mean that Bartimaeus healed himself, or that all that Jesus did was help Bartimaeus heal himself. Jesus healed him by the power and authority that God gave him. When Jesus says, “your faith has made you well” he is saying, your faith in me as the Messiah has made you well. Jesus is the key.

Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as the Messiah, as the one who could help him, and he acted on this. This was his faith. And because of it he was transformed. He was miraculously healed, but not only this. He went from sitting by the roadside, going nowhere – to following Jesus along the path to Jerusalem, a participant in what God was doing.

Alright, lets look at some –

Lessons

– we can take from this. 1. Jesus is the one who can help us with all of our problems. He is the Messiah; the one with the power of God to deliver, to heal and to make whole. Bartimaeus was right to look to him for help. And Jesus can transform us as well, making us whole and giving us new direction.

But not only does he have the power to help us, he is full of mercy and wants to help us and bless us. Jesus demonstrates his kindness and mercy by stopping to help Bartimaeus. And Jesus will be merciful to us as well, if we look to him.

2. Faith involves bold, persistent asking. Bartimaeus teaches us this. In v. 47 he cried out to Jesus for mercy. And in v. 48, when the crowd tried to silence him, he cried out all the more.

This is a picture of boldness. He did not care what others thought. And it is also a picture of persistence. He cried out until he got Jesus’ attention. He was a beggar and he knew a thing or two about how to ask for things! And so we learn from him.

In v. 52 this boldness and persistence is what Jesus called his “faith,” which made him well.

This same point about faith as bold persistence is made in other places in the gospels. Remember the Canaanite woman, who argued with Jesus until he agreed to help her? Jesus said that her bold persistence was great faith. Remember the story Jesus told about prayer in Luke 11:5-8? The man asked his neighbor for bread in the night and had his request answered only because of his bold persistence.

So this all teaches us how to pray; how to ask God for something. We are to be bold and persistent in our prayers.

Like with James and John in the story before this one, our faith doesn’t guarantee that our prayers will be answered. But if it is something that is according to God’s will, our boldness and persistence can be the difference.

Think of it. There were no doubt other blind beggars that allowed Jesus to walk on by. And they received nothing. We must be bold and persistent in our prayers.

3. Jesus has time for us. As we learn in the story, though Jesus was on his way to fulfilling his destiny, he had time to stop and help Bartimaeus with his need.

And so it is still. Jesus reigns from the right hand of God. And although such things are beyond our comprehension, I’m sure Jesus is quite busy overseeing and drawing all of history to its fulfillment. But Jesus still has time to stop; to listen to us, and to help us.

——————–

I encourage each of you this morning, whatever your need might be, take the time to look to Jesus. Call out to him boldly and persistently. Like with Bartimaeus, he has time to hear you and to help you.

William Higgins

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Jesus Speaks to the Church in Laodicea: Revelation 3:14-22

December 27, 2009 by William Higgins

We have come to the final letter in our series on the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. Today we look at what Jesus has to say by the Spirit to the church in Laodicea, and also to us.

Laodicea was situated on major north-south and east-west trade routes. It was a prosperous city, even able to rebuild after a devastating earthquake in 60 AD without imperial help. It was known for several things: its banking and financial industry, it textiles – including making clothes, and a medical school.

The situation in Laodicea

Something is seriously wrong. This letter is arguably the worst of the seven in tone and critique.

  • In v. 16 Jesus says, “I will spit (or vomit) you out of my mouth.” In other words, they make Jesus sick!
  • In v. 17 Jesus says, “You are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
  • They have shut Jesus out. v. 20 presents a picture of Jesus on the outside, knocking, hoping to get in.
  • They need to repent, as Jesus says in v. 19.

When we look at what’s going on, it isn’t exactly clear. They are doing well. In v. 17 Jesus has them say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” And all this in a time of persecution, which raises some questions. We have already seen in other letters that persecution can bring economic hardship. But they are doing just fine. Perhaps they are using their wealth to keep them out of suffering, through bribes or calling in favors and otherwise using their influence.

In v. 17 Jesus tells them the truth, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” They think they are faithful. They haven’t denied Jesus (having used their wealth to escape persecution), but in reality they aren’t standing up for Jesus. If it is true that they have bought their way out of testing, they are avoiding true faithfulness to Jesus.

In vs. 15-16 Jesus says, “you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The idea of this hot-cold contrast, with lukewarm in between seems to be that they are trying to be something in between two extremes. They are trying to have it both ways, being faithful to Jesus, but also not having to suffer for him. But the truth is they are neither standing up for Jesus (hot?), nor denying him (cold?), but are doing something in between (lukewarm).

The Laodiceans didn’t have good drinking water, so they would have understood Jesus’ image here of spitting out bad water. They would have gotten the message that Jesus doesn’t approve of their behavior.

Jesus’ message

v. 18 picks up on the last three words of v. 17 – “poor, blind and naked.” Jesus says, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

In this verse Jesus gives them the answers to their problems. 1. They are poor (even though their city is famous for its financial industry and wealth). The answer – “Buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich” – v. 18. Refining is a common metaphor for testing and persecution. Jesus is saying, gain true treasures that come through enduring testing.

2. They are naked (even thought their city is famous for its textiles and clothing industry). The answer – “Buy from me . . . white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen” – v. 18. In Revelation, white garments have to do with righteous deeds, including suffering (Revelation 19:8; 7:13-14). Jesus is saying, gain true righteousness through enduring testing.

3. They are blind (even though their city is famous for its medicine, including eye medicine). The answer – “Buy from me . . . salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” – v. 18. Jesus is saying, gain true vision so that you can realize your situation of unfaithfulness.

Jesus’ call to change. Although judgment is threatened, Jesus says in v. 19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” His warnings come from love, so that they will listen and have a change of heart and behavior.

In v. 20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Now this verse is popular and is often used to speak of becoming a Christian. But in context it is spoken to those who are already Christian, but need to repent because they are being disciplined by Jesus.) In this verse, Jesus is looking for those in the church in Laodicea that he can share fellowship with. This fellowship is pictured as eating a meal together. The path to this is repentance. They have shut him out, and so they must let him back in.

Jesus speaks to us

v. 22 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus is speaking to all who will listen in his churches. And so, once again, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Do we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying to us in this letter?’

1. We often don’t see when we are failing. The Laodiceans thought they were faithful and were probably expecting a good word from Jesus. They were clueless having deceived themselves.

And we too can be unaware of our own faults. We too can be deceived and oblivious to reality. This is why we need to be in relationship with God and with others so that we can receive admonition and correction.

We need others. When we isolate by ourselves; when we stop coming to church and stop reading the Scriptures and praying, we cut ourselves off from God and other. And we are setting ourselves up for failure.

But we are Americans and we love our privacy! But we are called to love each other enough to help each other see our faults, so that we can repent and receive God’s blessing in our lives.

2. Even when we fail, Jesus still loves us and invites us to come back. In v. 19 Jesus admonishes us because he loves us and wants us to change. And in v. 20 he knocks on the door of our hearts because he wants to be in fellowship with us.

Even when we sin and are under threat of judgment, Jesus still wants us to hear him and respond with repentance so that we can be in relationship. We may shut Jesus out of our lives, but he still pursues us.

3. Beware the dangers of wealth. All through the New Testament wealth is seen as potentially dangerous. In Mark 4:18-19, the parable of the sower, the seed among the thorns represents – “those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”  Wealth can choke out and kill our Christian faithfulness.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus says, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus is saying, don’t even desire an abundance of things.

When wealth is used to help those in need it is a blessing to all. But when it is used for personal comfort and security it becomes a stumbling block. This seems to be how the Laodiceans were using it.

4. Jesus wants us to be truly faithful to him. In v. 15 he says, “you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!” Like the Laodiceans, we try to have it both ways. We want to be faithful to Jesus, but we also want to be comfortable. We don’t want to experience the downside of faithfulness, you know, things like suffering and ridicule. And so we find ways to get out of this.

But you can’t have it both ways. To be faithful to Jesus means being faithful precisely when it is hard, and precisely when it takes away our comforts. We can’t be both hot (faithful) and cold (unfaithful) at the same time, that is, lukewarm. We have to be either hot or cold. Not just faithful on the surface.

As we end, lets remember Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness: v. 21 – “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

William Higgins

Posted in Revelation 3 | Tagged , , , , |

The Example of Mary: Luke 1:26-38

December 13, 2009 by William Higgins

Today we are looking at the Gospel of Luke and how the angel Gabriel announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. As we work through these stories we will see how Mary emerges as an example to us in a couple of different ways.

Let me begin by backing up and giving you a very brief overview of –

Luke chapters 1-2


John’s birth

Jesus’ birth
1. Birth announcement – 1:5-23Elizabeth’s response – 1:24-25 2. Birth announcement – 1:26-38Mary’s response – 1:39-56
3. The birth – 1:57-66Prophetic response – 1:67-79

John’s growth – 1:80

 4. The birth – 2:1-21Prophetic responses – 2:22-39

Jesus’ growth – 2:40-52

You can see the way these accounts of John and Jesus line up with each other, each having the same topics in the same order. And you can see how the story alternates between John and Jesus. We will focus in on the first part of sections 1 and 2 – the birth announcements – and see what we can learn. In these stories –

Gabriel comes to Zechariah and Mary

. . . to make his announcement about John and Jesus. There are a number of parallels in these two accounts and I want to use these to lay out  these stories. (The presence of parallels are noted by most commentators, but see especially John Nolland).

1. Their social situation is given

  • Zechariah is an older priest, married to Elizabeth – v. 5.
  • Mary is a young woman, betrothed to Joseph – vs. 26-27.

2. Their spiritual status is noted

  • Zechariah and Elizabeth are righteous people. v. 6 says, “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.”
  • Gabriel tells her that She is favored by God and the Lord is with her – v. 28.

3. The condition that keeps them from having a child is noted

  • “Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years” – v. 7.
  • Mary was a “virgin” – v. 27, engaged, but not yet married.

4. The angel Gabriel came to them

  • He appeared to him in the Temple in Jerusalem while he was offering up incense in the Temple during prayers – vs. 8-10; 13.
  • He appeared to her in Nazareth in Galilee – v. 26.

5. They were both troubled

  • He was troubled by the presence of an angel. v. 12 says, “And Zechariah was (literally) terrified when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.”
  • She was troubled by the greeting – “O favored one.”  v. 29 says, “But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”

6. They are told not to fear

  • “Do not be afraid” – v. 13 – “your prayer has been heard.”
  • “Do not be afraid . . . you have found favor with God” – v. 30.

7. Both are told they will have a child

  • “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John” – v. 13.
  • “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” – v. 31.

Gabriel also tells them both about the greatness and life mission of each child.

8. Both respond with a question to Gabriel

  • “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” – v. 18. In other words, we’re too old!
    • Mary asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin” – v. 34

9. Both are given a sign

  • “You will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words” – v. 20.
  • Elizabeth is with child. This is a sign to Mary that nothing is impossible with God, as Gabriel says in v. 37.

10. What they did after the encounter is told

  • He quietly waited for the fulfillment. What else could he do?
  • She responded in faith, “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” – v. 38.

This is an amazing number of parallels. But the significant thing is that these parallels are used to make contrasts between Zechariah and Mary, which show that even though Zechariah is good and blessed –

Mary is highlighted in these stories

Let’s look at this –

1. Their social situation: It was more exceptional that God would come to lowly Mary, as opposed to Zechariah who was a priest, in the Temple, at the time of prayer.

2. Their spiritual status: Zechariah and Elizabeth are righteous, but Gabriel himself tells Mary that she has God’s favor.

3. The condition precluding birth: Elizabeth’s birth would be miraculous, but a virgin birth is an unprecedented miracle.

4. Gabriel came: Zechariah was praying and had asked for a child. God took the initiative to come to Mary. She hadn’t asked for anything.

5. Both were troubled: She was not terrified, but more perplexed about what the angel said.

6. They were told not to fear: Even as she is told not to fear, her favored status is emphasized.

7. Both will have a child: John is great, but Jesus is greater. And it is the greater honor for Mary to have him.

8. Both asked a question: Zechariah responded with doubt. Mary simply wanted to know how God would do what he said he would do.

9. Both received a sign: Zechariah was judged for his unbelief – he couldn’t speak. She received a positive sign – Elizabeth was pregnant.

10. What they did after the encounter: She responded with true faith – ‘Do what you want Lord.’

I am showing you all this to make a point.

Mary is the example

She is the hero of the story. Zechariah is also blessed, but Mary is the focus. What can we learn from her?

1. Mary is an example to us that God loves to use the lowly to fulfill his will. She was of humble circumstances. This is especially so in contrast to Zechariah. He was a priest, a man – who had priority in this culture, and he was older. She had no official role, was a woman and young, somewhere between 14-20 years old.

She was not just lowly in circumstance, she was also inwardly humble. In vs. 28-29, the angel said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” This was a strange thing for her to hear and so she was trying to make sense out of it. She must not have thought of herself as greatly favored by God.

She referred to herself as a “bondservant” or slave in – v. 38. And later in the story she spoke of her “humble estate” in v. 48.

And yet as we learn in this story – God used lowly Mary in the most extraordinary way. As Elizabeth says in Luke 1:42-43, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

She reminds us of what Paul said in   I Corinthians 1:27-28 – “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are . . .”

She also reminds us of what Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” – that is, by God.

As she herself said later in Luke 1:52 – “God has brought down the mighty from their throne, and exalted those of humble estate.”

2. Mary is an example to us of how to receive God’s word in faith. She had amazing faith. She was told that God will do what had never been done in all of human history – the impossible. What was her response? She said in v. 38 – “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” ‘OK God, do whatever you want.’ This is amazing faith!

Did she think of the shame factor, that everyone would suspect that she was unfaithful? Did she think of the complications this would bring to her marriage. Joseph almost divorced her as we learn in Matthew. This was going to mess up her life!

But nevertheless hers was a response of faith. She believed, just as Gabriel said, that “nothing will be impossible with God” – v. 37.

Elizabeth notes Mary’s faith when she says in Luke 1:45, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

She reminds us of what Paul said about Abraham’s faith in Romans 4:20-21. “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”

She also reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Now, having said this it is clear that she was not perfect. Later she had doubts about what Jesus was up to, like the other disciples, and Jesus’ brothers. But Mary is an example to us in this story. She teaches us that God loves to use the lowly to accomplish his will. And she teaches us how to receive God’s word in faith, so that God can work in and through us.

May we learn from her example

William Higgins

Posted in Luke, Luke 1 | Tagged , , , , |

Literary structure and the seven letters

December 9, 2009 by William Higgins

In the first message I noted  the  literary structure in each of the letters, what I have outlined as five parts:

1. The address – “to the angel of the church in”

2. A description of Jesus – “the words of”

3. Jesus’ review of the church – “I know your”

4. A call to hear – “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”

5. A description of the reward – “the one who conquers”

Sections #4 and #5 are reversed in letters 4-7.

The letters themselves seem to be arranged in an inverted outline (chiasm):

A. Ephesus – the whole church is lax and is threatened with extinction

B. Smyrna – the whole church is faithful under suffering

C. Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis – some are faithful and some are not

B. Philadelphia – the whole church is faithful under suffering

A. Laodicea – the whole church is lax and is threatened with extinction

Posted in Revelation 2, Revelation 3 |

Jesus Speaks to the Church in Philadelphia: Revelation 3:7-13

December 6, 2009 by William Higgins

We are up to the sixth letter in our series on the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. Today we look at what Jesus has to say by the Spirit to the church in Philadelphia, and also to us.

Philadelphia was about 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It was founded the second century BC. It was called the gateway to the east. It was a conduit that helped spread Greek culture eastward. It was famous for it grapes, frequent earthquakes and volcanic soil.

The situation in Philadelphia

They are suffering. v. 8 – “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” v. 10 – “. . . you have kept my word about patient endurance.”

In these verses we see that they are marginalized. They have “little power.” “Patient endurance” speaks to persecution. This is a theme in the book of Revelation, that we must endure persecution. We also learn that they are faithful in the midst of this. Jesus says that they have “kept my word” twice, and they have “not denied my name.”

If we ask, ‘Why are they suffering?’ it’s the same as we saw in Smyrna, and other cities, the demands of Emperor worship. Some cities, especially in Asia Minor at this time, competed to see who was the most loyal to their government. One way to do this was to emphasize and require worship of the emperor. For instance offering up incense to the emperor and calling him a son of God; or the Lord and ruler of the world.

As we have seen, by Roman policy, Jews were exempt from this, because of their faith in one God. The early Christians saw themselves, rightly, as simply a form of Judaism. But because of conflict over the confession of Jesus as Messiah, Christians were put out of some Jewish synagogues. They were denounced, as it were, ‘you aren’t Jews,’ and so were now subject to persecution, including death, for refusing to worship the emperor.

All of this is the background to the language of Synagogue of Satan, as we saw before in Smyrna. v. 9 – “those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie . . ..” Just as some Jews had said of the Christians, ‘they say that they are Jews and are not,’ so Jesus says of them, ‘they say that they are Jews and are not, but lie.’

To be a Jew is to be on God’s side. But they are acting like God’s “adversary,” who is Satan. This is what the name Satan means. They are falsely accusing Christians and exposing them to persecution.

So the Christians in Philadelphia are in a difficult spot. They have been put out of the synagogue by unbelieving Jews, and are enduring persecution from idolatrous Gentiles.

Jesus’ message

There are no words of criticism or judgment. Rather Jesus has words of encouragement for them throughout the letter.

First of all, although they may be put out the door of the synagogue, Jesus gives them an Open door. This is the background to the key and door imagery in this letter.

v. 7 – “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” Jesus is the one who has the key of David. This comes from Isaiah 22:22, words spoken to Eliakim, the new steward of the house of David, under Hezekiah. “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” The one with the keys, has control over who gets into the king’s palace.

This is then applied to Jesus, as David’s son and the Messiah. He has authority over who is a part of the people of God and who gets into the kingdom of God, not the unbelieving Jews of the synagogue.

Jesus is saying, they put you out and marked you as excluded from God’s people, and from the blessings of the age to come. But “I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” -v. 8. These are powerful words of affirmation.

Next, Jesus tells them that They will be vindicated. v. 9 – “Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.”

This comes from several Old Testament texts that refer to the Gentiles acknowledging that Israel, the people of God, do have God’s blessing. For instance Isaiah 60:14 says, “The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”

But now this gets turned around and is applied to non-believing Jews acknowledging that these Christians are a part of God’s people.

They will be vindicated in that those who humbled them will themselves be humbled. Those who marked them as rejected, will learn that Jesus accepts and loves them.

Jesus also tells them that they will be Kept from the hour of trial. v. 10 – “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” There is a word play here. Since they have kept Jesus’ word, he will keep them from trial.

Now, many want to see this as a key passage about the end times, but it’s not. This is a promise to these specific people concerning a test that will affect them, not some later time after they are dead. Perhaps this refers to new pressure to coerce worship of the emperor under Domitian? This would affect the whole known world of these believers; the Roman empire. (Colossians 1:5-6 also uses the phrase “whole world” in this way.) They have already experienced some of this and been faithful, but the worst is yet to come. And Jesus is saying that they will be kept from this.

Finally, he tells them to Remain faithful. v. 11 – “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Jesus is coming to reward them. The reward is a crown. In Greek athletic contests the winner receives a wreath or crown.

If they fail to finish the race or are found to cheat, their crown can be seized. But if they “hold fast,” if they keep enduring, they will keep their crown. They will be overcomers.

Jesus speaks to us

v. 13 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Do we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying to us in this letter?

1. Rejection and ridicule (or worse) should be expected as a follower of Jesus. There was nothing wrong with these believers that they experienced this. It is because they are living faithfully. And so they are models for us.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Peter says in 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

It should be seen as unusual not to experience some of this. What does it say about us, if we are not experiencing some ridicule and rejection for our faith?

2. If you’re faithful to Jesus, it doesn’t matter what others say about your salvation. The Christians in Philadelphia were marked as rejected by some synagogue leaders. But Jesus affirmed his acceptance of them.

In the same way, others may say you are excluded, or even act to exclude you. But this doesn’t matter. All that matters is what Jesus says. And when Jesus opens the door for us – no one can shut it!

Not only are we in – a part of God’s people and of the kingdom of God – Jesus promises that we will be like pillars in God’s temple forever in the kingdom.

3. God can spare us testing. In Smyrna, where other faithful believers were experiencing persecution, they were told to expect more testing. In Revelation 2:10 Jesus says, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. . . for ten days you will have tribulation.” But those from Philadelphia will be spared. As Jesus says in  v. 10, “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming . . ..”

So God does at times spare us from testing. And this is why Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into testing, but deliver us from the evil one.” And we are to pray this, so that God will hear our prayer and have mercy on us.

4. You don’t have to be strong to be faithful as a Christian or as a Christian community. They weren’t from the biggest, most important town. They had “little power” as it says in v. 8. But they kept Jesus’ word. They did not deny Jesus. And they patiently endured difficulties.

And this faithfulness is acknowledged by Jesus. This is a very warm and encouraging letter, and the one in which he tells them that all will know that, “I have loved you” (v. 9).

We too may feel weak, small, insignificant. But we can still be faithful to Jesus and know his affirmation and love.

_____________

As we end lets remember Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness: v. 12 – “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

May we be among those so blessed in the final day.

William Higgins

Posted in Revelation 3 | Tagged , , , |

Jesus Speaks to Church in Sardis: Revelation 3:1-6

November 29, 2009 by William Higgins

We are up to the fifth letter in our series on the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3. Today we look at what Jesus has to say by the Spirit to the church in Sardis – and also to us.

Sardis was an important city, although more so in earlier centuries. It was known for its wealth centuries before, but was still doing well in Roman times. It was also a religious center. There was also a large Jewish community in Sardis – perhaps from the time of the Exile. Several from this community were wealthy and leaders in the city.

The situation in Sardis

Something is definitely wrong. It’s a very strong and negative letter. v. 2 – “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” Not a lot of specifics, so let’s look closer.

First of all, they are asleep – v. 2. This metaphor is used in several places in scripture and never in a good way. It means that you are not spiritually alert. You are complacent, apathetic, lethargic or just coasting along.

The language of “sleep” and of Jesus coming as a “thief” is used in:

  • Matthew 24:36-44 – talks about people “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” They are caught up in the routines of life and not ready for Jesus’ coming.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:1-7 – refers to people who say, “there is peace and security.” There is no need to worry, things will continue on as always. These are not ready for Jesus to return.

To be asleep is to live like things are normal, unaware of the spiritual reality of Jesus and his coming and our need to be serving him.

Another clue is the phrase “soiled garments” – v. 4. According to Revelation 19:8 “garments” have to do with the righteous deeds of the saints. This verse speaks of the bride of Christ dressed in “fine linen, bright and pure – for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

Soiled garments, then, pictures that they have allowed sin and unfaithfulness in their lives.

So they are asleep and have dirty clothes. Is sounds like they are just going along with society around them, compromising in order to continue to fit in. This might be why there is no mention of persecution in this letter. It looks like they are doing well – “you have the reputation for being alive” – v. 1, but when you look closely, they are dead. They are complacent and unfaithful. Only a remnant among them is faithful and alert.

Jesus’ message

Change now!

  • “Wake up” from your slumber and get moving (v. 2).
  • “Strengthen what remains and is about to die” (v. 2). Whatever is left, tend to it before it’s too late.
  • “Remember, then, what you received and heard” (v. 3). Get back to where you were when you started, when you first believed.
  • “Repent” (v. 3). Have a change of heart and mind that leads to changed behavior.

And Jesus is saying, change now, or else. There are strong threats of judgment. v. 3 – “If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.” Jesus will come, not referring to the second coming, but in a visitation of judgment. He will be against them.

And also in v. 5, the one who conquers, Jesus says, “I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” The message is clear. If you don’t overcome, your name will be blotted out. And as Revelation 20:15 says, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Jesus doesn’t mince his words. He speaks the truth to them. You may think you are OK, but you aren’t. And if you don’t remedy things, you will be judged.

Finally, Jesus encourages the faithful. Some in Sardis are still faithful. They have not soiled their garments. “They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy” – v. 4. This is referring to the day of resurrection and eternal life.

Jesus speaks to us

v. 6 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Notice again the plural. Jesus’ words to the church in Sardis are also words for us. And we need to have ears that hear his words.

1. Will we listen to Jesus when he speaks truth to us? These believers thought they were OK. But Jesus dealt directly and pointedly with them. He spoke the truth, you are dead!

We don’t know if they listened or not. But if Jesus comes to us and challenges us, when we think we are just fine, and he speaks the truth to us, will we listen? Will you listen?

2. Is our congregation dead or alive? Jesus says in v. 1, “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” This means a church can look alive, but really be dead – or dying. What would Jesus say to us?

What do you look for in a church that is alive? A certain kind of lively music or worship style? Charismatic leaders? Lots of programs? A big crowd?

According to Jesus, its not about any of these things. It has to do with our works of love and service to God and others.

3. Are you asleep? Jesus rebuked the believers in Sardis for being caught up in the normal routines of life – eating, drinking and giving in marriage, enjoying peace and security.

What about you? What’s different about you from the world around you? Are you just the same in your attitudes and actions as everybody else? Just trying to fit in with the world around you?

Jesus calls us to wake up as well. To put aside our complacency and spiritual apathy and renew our commitment to him; to be busy at his work, and to be ready for him.

4. Sometimes we have to get back to the basics. Jesus said to these believers who were complacent and unfaithful, “remember, then what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent” – v.3.

And sometimes we get off track as well. We allow sin in our lives or we get distracted by the demands of life from our commitment to Jesus. And we need to remember as well what it was like when we first became a Christian. The freshness of our commitment and the basics of the gospel.

________________________

As we end lets remember Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness: v. 5 – “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”

May we be among those who are so blessed on the final day.

William Higgins

Posted in Revelation 3 | Tagged , , , |

Jesus Speaks to the Church in Thyatira: Revelation 2:18-29

November 22, 2009 by William Higgins

We are once again back to our series on the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. Today we look at what Jesus has to say by the Spirit to the church in Thyatira – and also to us. This is the fourth and longest of the seven letters.

Thyatira was 35 miles inland from the Aegean sea. Its modern name is Akhisar. It was the least important of all the cities written to by John. It was not a religious or political center. It was situated at the intersection of several trade routes and was known as a trading town. It had a number of trade guilds or associations – e.g. tanners, potters, workers of wool, linen workers and dyers. In particular it was known for its purple dye. Lydia, converted by Paul in Philippi, was a dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira – Acts 16:14.

The situation in Thyatira

 First of all, Jesus commends them for their faithfulness. v. 19 – “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.”  So they’re doing well. If Ephesus had abandoned the love they had at first, The church in Thyatira is growing in its Christian walk. Their “latter works exceed the first.” The phrase, “patient endurance” may well refer to enduring persecution for their faith.

 But then we also have something bad – their tolerance of false teaching, which becomes the focus of the letter.  v. 20 – “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.”

 Jesus is referring to an actual woman in the church in Thyatira – a prophetess or teacher. But he uses ‘Jezebel’ as a code name to make a point. The real Jezebel was a wicked woman and a famous promoter of idolatry. She was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel. She supported 450 false prophets and tried to kill the true prophets of God. She led the people into spiritual harlotry – 2 Kings 9:22. So like this ancient woman, this Thyatiran teacher is leading these believers to practice idolatry and unfaithfulness.

 It is likely that all of the false teachers in these letters are a part of the same group – Balaam, Jezebel, the Nicolaitans. Under the pressure of the demands to worship the emperor, as we have talked about, they taught that you can offer up emperor worship. They said that you can eat the meat of the festivities. And most importantly, you don’t have to suffer for not doing these things!

In Thyatira this most likely took place in the context of their trade associations. These would meet together and offer up sacrifices to various gods and most likely the emperor at this time, and then feast together. This was how it worked, and if you didn’t do all this it would have been quite hard to earn a living in your trade. So there was real pressure to give in and compromise. And Jezebel is encouraging this.

 v. 24 refers to “the deep things of Satan.” The prophetess was probably saying, I teach the deep things of God. Something more profound than what John teaches. In Jesus’ language she is only teaching the deep things of Satan because her teaching leads believers to worship the emperor.

Jesus’ message

Once again, it is wrong to worship the emperor. If you do –

  • You are following Jezebel, a false prophet and an idolater.
  • You are practicing sexual immorality. Again this is almost certainly a figurative use. You are being unfaithful, or adulterous in your relationship with Jesus as Lord, acting like a prostitute.
  • You are eating food sacrificed to idols which is idolatry and thus a breaking of the first and second of the 10 commandments.

  There is a Psalm 2 theme in this letter. This is a Messianic Psalm, speaking of God’s coming ruler:

  • v. 18 which speaks of the Son of God, echoes Psalm 2:7.
  • v. 26 which talks about authority over the nations comes from Psalm 2:8.
  • v. 27 which refers to ruling with a rod of iron comes from Psalm 2:9.

This presents a contrast between Jesus, the promised Messiah, and the Roman emperor, who called himself the Son of God, and claimed to rule the world. The message is clear. Jesus is the only true Lord.

 Jesus also warns of judgment on Jezebel. vs. 21-23 – “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead.” Again the sexual language is used figuratively.

 Jesus has spoken to her already, probably through John or another prophet, but she refuses to repent.

 Note the seriousness of Jesus’ judgment:

  • She will be stricken with sickness—unto death?
  • Those who commit adultery with her (her followers?) will have great tribulation, which is exactly what they are trying to avoid by worshipping the emperor.
  • Her children (other false teachers?) will be killed.

 v. 23 – “And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.” (See – Jeremiah 17:10). This broadens things out to all the seven churches. Jesus knows what is in their minds and hearts and each person will be judged “as their works deserve.”

 Finally Jesus speaks a word to the rest. vs. 24-25 – “But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.” This is a addressed to those who have not gone along with Jezebel. Jesus lays no other burden on them, except to stop tolerating Jezebel (v. 20) and her associates. They are to hold fast to their commitment to him, to be faithful in their good works noted in v. 19, until Jesus returns.

Jesus speaks to us

 v. 29 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Notice again the plural. Jesus’ words to the church in Thyatira go beyond just that church. They are also words for us. And we need to have ears that hear his words.

1. Don’t tolerate false teaching. In v. 20 Jesus held it against them that they tolerated Jezebel, who was actively leading people astray. These are not those who agreed with her, but who simply tolerated her.

 Jesus commended Ephesus in this regard. In Revelation 2:2 he said, “I know . . . how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.” They tested the various teachers that came through and we should also test the teachers that we listen to. Whether on the radio or on TV or in our congregation. We should test them and not put up with false teaching.

 2. Commitment to Jesus can cost us economically. This is what these believers were facing. If they didn’t go along with the others in offering up wrong worship, they could be excluded from the networks and resources of their trade guild.

 Would we be faithful if it cost us economically in this way? Or in our own situation – do we compromise our Christian integrity in order to make more money?

 3. Jesus will judge us. In the case of Jezebel, Jesus gave her time to repent, but she refused and so he warned her of the consequences. Jesus gives us time to repent too, but if we don’t there will be serious consequences as well. Jezebel is stricken, others were to have great tribulation or be killed.

  Do we think of Jesus as just a warm and fuzzy nice guy? Do we think he will just always love and accept us no matter what, because I like him and he likes me? Well, Jesus also judges, and the judgment can be severe. He tells us himself that he is a stern master and that he expects a lot of us. As he says in v. 23, “I will give to each of you as your works deserve.” He will judge each one of us impartially based on what we have done.

 4. You can’t fool Jesus. He says in v. 23 – “I am he who searches the heart and mind.” Do you think you can hide from Jesus? That he doesn’t see what you do? That he doesn’t know what is in your thoughts and the intents of your heart?

 You can fool others, you can even fool yourself, but you can never fool Jesus. He sees right through us. So lets be honest with him and others and stop trying to hide things.

_______________

As we end lets remember Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness: v. 26-28 – “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.”

 May we be among those who are so blessed.

William Higgins

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