Job 13
Job describes “friends” as physicians of no value verse 1- 6
Lo – mine eye hath seen all this – mine ear hath heard and understood it
What you know – the same do I know also
I am NOT INFERIOR unto you
Surely I would speak to the Almighty
and I desire to reason with God
BUT you are forgers of lies
you are all physicians of no value
O that ye would altogether hold your peace
and it should be your wisdom
Hear now my reasoning
and hearken to the pleadings of my lips
Job informs “friends” that their counsel is worthless verse 7- 12
Will you speak wickedly for God?
and talk deceitfully for HIM?
Will you accept HIS person? Will you contend for God?
Is it good that HE should search you out?
Or as one man mocks another – do you so mock HIM?
HE will surely reprove you
IF you do secretly accept persons
Shall not HIS excellency make you afraid?
and HIS dread fall upon you?
Your remembrances are like unto ashes
your bodies to bodies of clay
Job wants to defend himself before God verse 13- 16
Hold your peace- let me alone – that I may speak
and let come on me what will
Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth
and put my life in mine hand?
Though HE slay me – YET WILL I TRUST IN HIM
BUT I will maintain mine own ways before HIM
HE also shall be my salvation
for an hypocrite shall not come before HIM
Job wants to be heard verse 17- 19
Hear diligently my speech – and my declaration with your ears
BEHOLD – now – I have ordered my cause
I know that I shall be JUSTIFIED
Who is he that will plead with me? – for NOW – IF I hold my tongue
I shall give up the ghost
Job asks the LORD for an audience with HIM verse 20- 25
Only do not two things unto me
THEN will I not hide myself from YOU
Withdraw YOUR hand far from me
and let not YOUR dread make me afraid
THEN call YOU – and I will answer – OR let me speak
and answer YOU me
How many are mine iniquities and sins?
make me to know my transgression and my sin
Wherefore hide YOU YOUR face – and hold me for YOUR enemy?
Wilt YOU break a leaf driven to and fro?
Wilt YOU pursue the dry stubble?
Job acknowledges LORD control over his life verse 26- 28
For YOU write bitter things against me
and make me to possess the iniquities of my youth
YOU put my feet also in the stocks – and look narrowly unto all my paths
YOU set a print upon the heels of my feet
And he – as a rotten thing – consumes – as a garment that is moth eaten
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with
God. (3198 “reason” [yakach] means to prove, decide, judge,
reprove, correct, or be right)
DEVOTION: Have you ever thought your friends were you enemies? Have you ever thought that God is your enemy? Should those who are followers of Christ ever think that God is their enemy? Do some think this thought? Have you thought this thought?
Job is having a hard time with all the counsel his “friends” are giving him. He calls them “physicians of no value.” That is a great way to describe individuals who say they are coming to help you but only cut you down. When we are suffering, we don’t need individuals like these three “friends.”
The third “friend” has told Job that he was a sinner and that is why all this was happening to him. Job tells them that he is not inferior to them. Job tells them that they are of no value as counselors. They are forgers of lies. Job wanted to prove to God that he was right and his “friends” were wrong.
The “friends” had their first counsel given and Job would have none of their counsel. He knew that he was right with God but he didn’t understand what was happening in his life.
Job asks the LORD many questions. Have we ever had something happen in our life and our “friends” knew we were guilty of something but we knew we weren’t and couldn’t prove it? It is happening to Job.
He makes a wonderful statement regarding his relationship to God “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” We need to make the same statement in our lives. Our friends might think we are guilty of something but God knows the truth. We need to trust the LORD.
The end of our life might not settle the disagreement but it is settled in eternity. God knows the truth. That should be all that matters to us. Sometimes we worry more about what people think than what the LORD thinks of us. HE is the only important one. Look to HIM for guidance.
Job concludes this chapter with a request of the LORD – Let me have my day in YOUR court!!!
Have we ever wanted our day in court with the LORD? Should we want such a thing? The only reason we can have eternity with HIM is because of what Christ did on the cross for us. Without Christ our eternity would be in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels.
CHALLENGE: Don’t ask for your day in court. Trust that everything that is happening to you is for your “good.” It will make you a better servant of the LORD.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 But you are forgers of lies, you are all physicians of no
value. (7495 “physicians” [rapha] means heal, cure, healer,
someone who practices a treatment, repair, mend, to sow
together, surgeon, doctor, or to cause or promote restoration of health)
DEVOTION: Here we find Job describing his three “friends” from his perspective. They have all given their first speech to him accusing him of being a sinner that deserves what he has received and he should just accept this fact and confess his sins and God will restore him to his previous life.
His evaluation of their comfort is that they are liars who don’t understand what is happening and cannot understand that he has not sinned as they have said and neither has his children sinned to deserve this type of treatment. So they are lying to themselves and to him about what is taking place.
Also he was expecting them to sympathize with him while he is suffering the loss of his children and his possessions. He states that they are healers with no value. It was like he went to the doctor for a physical problem and he sent him away without giving him any help. He went home from the doctor’s office no better off then when he went but got a large bill to boot. He knew he needed help but none was given.
We many times find ourselves having spiritual problems that need to be fixed but all the people we go to give us different answers but no solution. We want answers to what is going on in our life but they seem to be stuck with: “ take two aspirin and call me in the morning” types of healing to spiritual problems.
If we want genuine answers, we have to make sure we find individuals who will give us answers that help solve the problem. We should look for answers in the Word of God and pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to us through the Bible and those who are genuine counselors who evaluate what is happening to us in a Biblical manner with no easy answers that Job’s “friends” thought they were giving.
CHALLENGE: If we are asked to help someone we need to make sure we don’t come to conclusions before we know the genuine problem. We have to be genuine comforters to those who are struggling.
___________________________________________________________
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 Though HE slay me, yet will I trust in HIM: but I will maintain mine own ways before HIM. (3198 “maintain” [yakach] means to argue, to be found to be right, to rebuke, chasten, to have an argument about something, or prove.)
DEVOTION: “Our hope is built on Jesus’ blood and righteousness” is found in a song we sing in church at times. We sing the words and they encourage our relationship with the LORD. HE is the one who gives us hope. HE is the one who gives us answers through HIS Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Job is stating the fact that he is basing his relationship with the LORD to the point that God could end his life and he would only have hope in the LORD alone. He is not trusting in anyone else or anything else.
He is also going to take his case to the LORD himself which can only be done in his prayer life which is just communicating with God one to one. We can come to the LORD honestly and ask HIM what HE is doing in our life and wait for an answer from HIM. It might take time and it did in the case of Job because his “friends” had more speeches to give. They were not done even though Job said they were wrong in their evaluation of the events of his life.
There are going to be people who are wrong in their evaluation of the events of our lives and we need to realize that they think they are right no matter what we say to them. We have to learn this lesson from the book of Job and other places in the Word of God when God was working in other people’s life with those around them not really understanding what God was doing.
The best example of this is the life of Jesus while HE was here on this earth. HE told them why HE was here but they didn’t listen and told HIM HE was wrong in HIS thinking. HE was God in the flesh and they told HIM HE was wrong. Do you think we will have the same thing happen to us? It will happen just like it did in the life of Job.
Remember that you have to make sure you are keeping short accounts with the LORD and HE will give you peace that passes all understanding in whatever trial HE allows in your life. HE is the final authority!!!
CHALLENGE: We need the same attitude as Job when we are going through our trials. HE loves us but HE also wants to cause us to grow.
_________________________________________________________________
: 23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin. (6588 “transgression” [pasha] means wantonness, crime, wrongdoing, offence,the
violation of a law or a duty or moral principle.)
DEVOTION: Job is willing to let the LORD instruct him as to what he should do with his present circumstances. He wants HIM to show him where he has gone wrong because these “friends” were not even on the right planet regarding what was happening in his life.
He knew they were wrong in their evaluation of the events of his life but he didn’t have an answer either. He knew that he was a sinner but he had been keeping short accounts with the LORD by offering sacrifices for himself and his children on a regular basis. He had the reputation with the LORD that was excellent because the LORD used him as an example of a genuine believer to Satan. There can be no other testimony greater than the LORD’S statement regarding Job’s character.
Job was willing for HIM to show him what he had to do and say that would improve his relationship with HIM. We have to do the same in our life. We have to go to the LORD on a regular basis and say to HIM “show me where I can improve.”
Have you done this lately? We need to do it when we have time to listen to HIS answer. Job did listen at the end of the book. He was willing to receive instruction and pray for those who were not giving him good counsel. Would we be willing to do the same or would we want the LORD to send major trials into their lives to get even with them for their bad attitude toward us?
CHALLENGE: We all have to realize that we are sinners who need to confess our sins and realize that the LORD will forgive us.
_________________________________________________________________
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Conversation with God verse 22
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
____________________________________________________________
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Almighty verse 3
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 3, 7, 8
HIS person verse 8
HIS excellency verse 11
HIS dread verse 11
Power to slay Job verse 15
Provider of salvation verse 16
Hide HIS face verse 24
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Job verse 1- 28
wanted his “friends” to hold their peace
wanted “friends” to hear his reasonings
wanted “friends” to hearken to his pleadings
friends have bodies of clay
wanted friends to hold their peace
wanted his life to be in his hands
trusted in the LORD
will maintain his own ways before God
wanted “friends” to hear his speech
he ordered his cause
knows he will be justified
if I hold my tongue – I shall give up the ghost
not hide himself from God
he will call on God
wanted God to answer his call
knows his iniquities, sins, transgressions
write bitter things against him
Enemy verse 24
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Forgers of lies verse 4
Physicians of no value verse 4
Speaking without answers verse 5
Wickedly verse 7
Deceitfully verse 7
Contend with God verse 8
Mocking God verse 9
Respecter of persons verse 10
Hypocrite verse 16
Iniquities verse 23, 26
Sins verse 23
Transgression verse 23
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Not inferior verse 2
Reason with God verse 3
Wisdom verse 5
Reprove verse 10
Fear of the LORD verse 11
Trust verse 15
Salvation verse 16
Justified verse 18
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Give up the ghost verse 19
____________________________________________________________
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
____________________________________________________________
QUOTES regarding passage
27 Job saw himself as a prisoner of war with his feet in stocks and branded as a slave, viz., עַל־שָׁרָשֵׁי רַגְלַי תִּתְחַקֶּה (ʿal-šoršê raglay tiṯḥaqqeh, “putting marks on the soles of my feet”). For this practice see Hammurabi’s Code (ANET, p. 176, n. 227). The middle of this tricolon (“you keep close watch … “) applies equally to the colon that precedes and the one that follows. There is no dislocation (cf. Pope, in loc.). (Smick, E. B. (1988). Job. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 926). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
______________________________________________________________
13:20–28. Having stated his readiness to present his own self-defense at the risk of God’s striking him dead, Job then turned to God with his argumentation. But first he requested that God not intimidate him (cf. terror[s] in 9:34; 18:11), the defendant, in court. It was only right that he be given a fair trial (cf. 9:16–19). Then Job offered to meet God as either defendant or plaintiff. But when he asked God to enumerate his sins (cf. 6:24), God did not appear in court. Job asked God why He remained silent and considered Job His enemy (cf. 19:11; 33:10). To torment a … leaf or chase after … chaff was to molest the worthless, to hit a frail, helpless person who was down. Why, Job wondered, should God conjure up past sins of his adolescence and punish him for them? There was no sin at the present that deserved such terrible affliction. Why would God treat him like a prisoner, watching him closely (cf. 7:19–20; 10:14; 31:4) and marking his feet so He could trace Job’s steps?
After this sudden dash of daring, Job quickly subsided into a feeling of despair, continuing to pine away like a rotten moth-eaten garment. (Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 735). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
_____________________________________________________________
(3) Desire (vv. 18–28). These words are addressed to God. Job has “prepared his case” (v. 18, NIV) and is sure that he will win. Job has two desires: that God would remove His chastening hand and give Job relief, and that God would come to Job in such a way that He would not frighten him. Job is asking God to meet him in court so they can talk over God’s “case” against Job and Job’s “case” against God. In verse 22, Job gives God the option of speaking first!
Why does Job want to meet God in court? So that God can once and for all state His “case” against Job and let Job know the sins in his life that have caused him to suffer so much. “Why should God pay so much attention to me?” asks Job. “He treats me like an enemy, but I’m just a weak leaf in the wind, a piece of chaff that is worth nothing. I’m a piece of rotting wood and a moth-eaten garment, yet God treats me like a prisoner of war and watches me every minute.” Job felt the time had come to settle the matter, even if it meant losing his own life in the process. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (p. 52). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
____________________________________________________________
13:27 watch all my paths. In another context these words would speak of protection, but here, Job questioned whether or not God had held him on too tight a leash. The comment amounts to saying that God is being overly rigorous toward Job’s sin, as compared to others. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Job 13:27). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
__________________________________________________________
Ver. 27. Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, &c.] Which is one kind of punishment of offenders, and a preservation of them from making their escape; and is a security and reservation of them for further punishment sometimes; and so Job looked upon his afflictions as a punishment for he knew not what, and with which he was so surrounded and enclosed, that there was no getting out of them any more than a man can whose feet are set fast in the stocks; and that he was here kept for greater afflictions still, which he dreaded. Aben Ezra interprets it, thou puttest my feet in lime; and this is followed by others, suggesting, as a man’s steps in lime are marked and easily discerned, so were his by the Lord; but this seems to be foreign from the mind of Job, who would not make such a concession as this, as if his steps taken amiss were so visible: and lookest narrowly into all my paths; so that there was no possibility of escaping out of his troubles and afflictions; so strict a watch was kept over him; see chap. 7:12. according to Ben Gersom, this refers to the stocks, it keeps all my ways; kept him within from going abroad about the business of life, and so may refer to the disease of his body, his boils and ulcers, which kept him at home, and suffered him not to stir out of doors; but the former sense is best: thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet; either it, the stocks, made a mark upon his heels, with which they were pressed hard, as Gersom; or rather God set one upon them, afflicting him very sorely and putting him to an excruciating pain, such as is felt by criminals when heavy blows are laid upon the soles of their feet, to which the allusion may be; or else the sense is, that he followed him closely by the heels, that whenever he took a step, it was immediately marked, and observed by the Lord, as if he trod in his steps, and set his own foot in the mark that was left. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 304–305). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
_______________________________________________________________
20–28. We see the mourner here, as in several instances before, using language wonderfully bold with God, which nothing but the firmest faith in Christ could warrant. Indeed, if the believer goes to God in the Redeemer’s righteousness, and seeks justification in the name of the only begotten Son of God, this may and will induce an holy confidence. Happy the soul who can thus draw near! But without this, when God calls, who could answer? (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Job–Psalms (Vol. 4, pp. 50–51). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
___________________________________________________________
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD.
___________________________________________________________
Acts 9
On his way to Damascus, Saul has a divine revelation of Jesus and is converted.
INSIGHT
From God’s perspective, the relationship between Christ and the church is a very close and dear one. Jesus is the Son of God; the church is His bride. To harm the church is to harm Christ. Though Paul never laid a hand on Him, Jesus spoke from heaven, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (v. 4). Just as Paul did, we must strive to gain God’s perspective on who we are. We are His bride, His chosen one, the delight of His life. When we see ourselves as He sees us, we can be more successful at living as we should
(Quiet Walk)
_____________________________________________________________
SPECIFIC PROMISES FULFILLED
…they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn.
Zechariah 12:10
Prophecy tells us that Christ is to be “a light to lighten the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), a most astounding thing to have said to the Jews. But it was said many times in the prophecy of Isaiah, in 42:6 and 60:3 and in other places. We are also told in Isaiah 53 that His death is to be vicarious. We are told that He will enter into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), and you remember how that was fulfilled. We are told that He is to be sold for thirty pieces of silver, and that with His price a potter’s field will be purchased (Zechariah 11:12-13). We are told that lots would be cast for His garments Psalm 22:18). We are told that He will be given vinegar to drink in His sorrow (Psalm 69:21). We are even told that He would utter certain words on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). Psalm 22:16 says that His hands and feet will be pierced, and Zechariah 12:10 adds, “…they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they s hall mourn.” And we are told in Isaiah 53:9 that He will make His grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death, and we know that He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
The Bible also exhorts us to consider Him because He is the only one by whom we can be reconciled to God and by whom we can know God. We read in Hebrews 12:24 that He is “the mediator of the new covenant.” He said Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Anyone who says a thing like that must be looked at and considered. If we value our salvation and want to know God, we must listen to such a person.
A Thought to Ponder: We are told in Isaiah 53 that Christ’s death is to be vicarious.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 250-251, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
____________________________________________________________
Sacrifice and Service
“Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.” (Philippians 2:17)
Paul saw himself as “poured out” as an offering (Greek spendo) on the “sacrifice and service” of these precious friends. This special word is used only one other time, when Paul was “ready to be offered” at his death (2 Timothy 4:6).
Paul’s ministry among the Philippians resulted in the godly lifestyle of the church. They became sacrifices (Greek thusia) much like the Lord Jesus “hath given himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2) and as we are all told to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is [our] reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
The service that is commended of the Philippians is a public service undertaken at one’s own expense (Greek leitourgia). Several men in the church at Antioch were noted for their ministry (Acts 13:2 uses the same word), and some in Macedonia and Achaia were also acknowledged for giving contributions to the saints at Jerusalem (Romans 15:26-27).
Paul’s joy and rejoicing at the godly activity of the faithful saints at Philippi are the key to understanding the tone of the entire book. He had “poured out” himself, even being “shamefully entreated” during his ministry there (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Yet while writing this poignant letter back to the church, he gives joyful greetings to them at the certain knowledge that his ministry among them has resulted in their sacrifice and service.
Would God that all of us could see our offerings for the sake of others with the same passionate expectation. Often our Lord calls on us to give of ourselves in selfless ways so that others may learn from our example. Sometimes, we must even pour out our own souls (1 Thessalonians 2:8) for the sake of the gospel.
(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
____________________________________________________________
Help from the Holy Spirit
Return, faithless people. I will cure you of backsliding. Jeremiah 3:22
While my classmates and I used to skip the occasional lecture in university, everyone always made sure to attend Professor Chris’ lecture the week before the year-end exams. That was when he would unfailingly drop big hints about the exam questions he’d set.
I always wondered why he did that, until I realized that Prof. Chris genuinely wanted us to do well. He had high standards, but he would help us meet them. All we had to do was show up and listen so we could prepare properly.
It struck me that God is like that too. God can’t compromise His standards, but because He deeply desires us to be like He is, He’s given us the Holy Spirit to help us meet those standards.
In Jeremiah 3:11–14, God urged unfaithful Israel to acknowledge their guilt and return to Him. But knowing how stubborn and weak they were, He would help them. He promised to cure their backsliding ways (v. 22), and He sent shepherds to teach and guide them (v. 15).
How comforting it is to know that no matter how big the sin we’re trapped in or how far we’ve turned from God, He’s ready to heal us of our faithlessness! All we need to do is to acknowledge our wrong ways and allow His Holy Spirit to begin changing our hearts.
By Leslie Koh (Our Daily Bread)
_____________________________________________________________
Fear the Right Fear
“Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (Isaiah 8:12-13)
The people of Judah were terrified by the imminent prospect of invasion by the cruel Assyrian hordes who had been further strengthened by a confederacy with Judah’s own brethren in the 10-tribe kingdom of Israel. It is indeed cause for concern when compromising Christians join ranks with ungodly pagans in opposing those who defend the true Word of God, for such a combination seems almost too strong to resist. A modern example is the current collaboration between the secular evolutionists and those Christian evolutionists and “progressive creationists” who oppose Christians who stand for the literal truth of the biblical record of creation and Earth history.
This is cause only for concern, however, not for fear! Just as in Isaiah’s day, we must fear God—not men. In the coming judgment it will be far easier to explain to God why we had too much faith in His Word than too little!
These verses are referred to by the apostle Peter in a well-known New Testament passage: “Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:14-15).
Therefore, when unbelievers and compromising believers join forces against those who fully believe the Bible, the proper response is not panic, or submission, or even belligerent opposition, but an implicit confidence in God and His Word, accompanied by a gracious “answer” (literally “apologetic”) in defense of the truth, given in a meek spirit and in fear only of God. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
__________________________________________________________________
The Empty Tomb and the Resurrected Lord by Al Mohler
The pattern of the Christian year is an exercise of the Church’s discipline. The annual celebrations of Christmas and Resurrection Day force the Church to ponder again the truths of Christ’s incarnation and resurrection.
Christians understand that every Lord’s Day is Resurrection Day, but this Sunday is the festival which draws all Christians face to face with the empty tomb and the truth of the resurrected Lord.
Resurrection Sunday is the central event in the church year–the climax of worship, expectation, and celebration. This celebration is also an acid test of the Church’s faithfulness and conviction.
The secular world has done its best to make a mess of Christmas, but it has largely ignored our celebration of the Resurrection. Where commercialism intrudes, it comes in the forms of eggs and chicks and rabbits–none of which claim any connection with the Resurrection. The fact is, the secular world will attempt to domesticate, commercialize, and tame the babe in the manger–but it will run at breakneck speed from the cross and the empty tomb
That cross stands as condemnation on all human attempts at self-righteousness, and the fallen world will do all within its power to hide the cross from sight. The empty tomb is the seal and confirmation of the cross, and the world will shield its eyes.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead separates Christianity from all mere religion–whatever its form. Christianity without the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is merely one religion among many. “And if Christ is not risen,” said the Apostle Paul, “then our preaching is empty and your faith is in vain” [1 Corinthians 15:14]. Furthermore, “You are still in your sins!” [v. 17b]. Paul could not have chosen stronger language. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” [v. 19].
Yet, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been under persistent attacks since the Apostolic age. Why? Because it is the central confirmation of Jesus’ identity as the incarnate Son of God, and the ultimate sign of Christ’s completed work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. Those who oppose Christ, whether first century religious leaders or twentieth century secularists, recognize the Resurrection as the vindication of Christ against His enemies.
Those who would attack the Church and reject its gospel must direct their arrows at the most crucial truth claim of the New Testament and the disciples: That Jesus Christ, having suffered death on a cross, though sinless, having borne the sins of those He came to save, having been buried in a sealed and guarded grave, was raised by the power of God on the third day.
As Paul well understood, Christianity stands or falls with the empty grave. If Christ is not raised, we are to be pitied, for our faith is in vain. Those who would preach a resurrectionless, Christianity have exchanged the truth of the gospel for a lie. But, asserted Paul, Christ is risen from the dead. Our faith is not in vain, but is in the risen Lord. He willingly faced death on a cross and defeated death from the grave. The Resurrection is the ultimate sign of God’s vindication of His Son.
As John A. Broadus preached over a century ago: “It was the signed manual of the Deity, it was the seal of the Sovereign of the Universe affixed to His claim, it declared Him to be all that He had ever professed to be, and so it establishes the truth of all His teachings and the truth of the whole Christian society. The great fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the central fact of the evidence of Christianity.”
Believers have no reason to be defensive concerning the Resurrection. To the contrary, any denial of the Resurrection is a denial of the Savior. The biblical evidence is overwhelming.
As the disciples preached in the earliest Christian sermons, “This Jesus God has raised up, of whom we are all witnesses . . . . Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” [Acts 2:32,36].
The Resurrection was not a dawning awareness of Christ’s continuing presence among the disciples, it was the literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead. The Church is founded upon the resurrected Lord, who appeared among His disciples and was seen by hundreds of others.
The Church does not have mere permission to celebrate the Resurrection, it has a mandate to proclaim the truth that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrected Lord gave the Church a sacred commission to take the gospel throughout the world. As Paul made clear, the resurrection of Christ also comes as a comfort to the believer, for His defeat of death is a foretaste and promise of our own resurrection by His power. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” [1 Corinthians 15:53].
So, as the Church gathers to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we should look backward in thankfulness to that empty tomb and forward to the fulfillment of Christ’s promises in us. For Resurrection Day is not merely a celebration–it is truly preparation as well. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the promise of our resurrection from the dead, and of Christ’s total victory over sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very center of the Christian gospel. The empty tomb is full of power
_____________________________________________________________
We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.