Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A Holy People

November 1, 2009

Background Scripture: 1 Peter 1
Lesson Passage: 1 Peter 1:13 – 25

The author of today’s lesson, the Apostle Peter, was a fisherman by trade. It is important to note that so that we look at his writing not as one who was a career theologian but as one who had a most astounding revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Peter, most likely, was the second person to openly state the revelation of Jesus’ true identity during the time of his earthly ministry. Peter’s statement, which Jesus validated had come from the Father in Heaven, was made as Jesus and his disciples came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. The first to publically reveal Jesus’ identity was John the Baptist who testified that it was God who revealed it to him. Today’s lesson passage is a summary statement of expected Christian behavior in light of knowing one’s identity in God through Jesus Christ. The passage begins with the word “wherefore”. The word “wherefore” joins today’s lesson to the pretext of Peter’s epistle. The pretext is Peter’s statement of the Christian’s spiritual identity and the process that God used to bring about this identity. First and foremost, Christians are the elect of God because of the Father’s foreknowledge of us. Because the Father knew us before we were, He also knew that we would accept by faith the grace that would be offered to us. Having such wonderful knowledge of us, then the Holy Ghost sanctified us, or set us apart for God’s own purpose, that we might be made obedient to the Father’s will for us. Finally, we were sprinkled with the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from sin. Here in his opening salutation, Peter relates the triune nature of God as he has revealed himself to us: Father, Holy Ghost, and Son, Jesus. It is for this reason that I thought it necessary to state that Peter was a fisherman by trade and not a theologian. God’s nature could only be described as such by one who has had an encounter with God. Our new birth has made us keenly aware of God’s mercy and the ever-present hope He has given us through the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection. We have been made beneficiaries of the promises of God which are being held in reserve for us in heaven. Furthermore, we who are saved, are being kept “saved” by God’s power so that He might reveal us at the end of time. This speaks to the question of whether a person who is saved can be lost again. Since we are kept by God’s power, if we could lose our salvation, then God by conclusion could not be omnipotent or all powerful. Peter reassures Christians that our salvation is safe in the hands of God. Peter suggested that this knowledge be used as encouragement for Christians who face persecution. A Christian going through persecution should be looked at as gold going through fire. The fire does not harm gold but instead separates the impurities and thereby makes the gold even more precious than before. The uniqueness of our salvation was spoken of by the prophets of old through the Spirit of Christ working in them. Created spiritual beings even desired to know the extent of God’s grace that was to be made available to persons who accept by faith God’s only begotten son, Jesus. It is with this backdrop that we enter into the text of today’s lesson. Christians are a holy people because of what God has done and because of God’s purpose for doing it.

Robert C. Hudson
October 23, 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009

Opting Out

October 25, 2009

Background Scripture: Mark 10:17 – 31
Lesson Passage: Mark 10:17 – 31

It seems not long ago that we were reviewing this particular incident in Sunday School. This passage of scripture tells of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young ruler. One needs to summarize all three accounts from the synoptic gospel writers to arrive at such a title. Luke refers to the man as a ruler while Matthew states that he was young. All accounts agree that he was indeed wealthy. These three descriptors, rich, young, and ruler make for a powerful concoction when confronted with the gospel. It is rare, even today, for a person to achieve all three at the same time. It is not so uncommon for one to have two of the three. Wealth often brings worldly influence and position but wealth and position typically come after many years of planning and hard work beyond our youthful years. On the other hand, when young people inherit wealth, it doesn’t always translate into the type of respect that offers influence and position. To be young, living large and in charge, is almost ideal from a worldly perspective. How many times did I wonder as a young man what it would be like to be wealthy and in charge? In fact, how many times as a young man did I wonder what it would be like to be wealthy OR in charge? The young man in our lesson today certainly seems as though he had it all. But what we see on the outside looking in can be very different from what the person on the inside is experiencing as he looks out. We see a young man who has all that the world has to offer but we are overlooking a young man who is in need of something that the world cannot offer him. He turns to the one who is able to meet his need, Jesus. Indeed, Jesus is the only one who has what the young man is looking for. So he comes to the right person. He also comes in the right way. The scripture says that he ran to Jesus and kneeled down before him. For a young person with so much going for him, this is a very humbling position to take in front of others. He also asked the right question. He wanted to know how to have eternal life. In other words, he wanted to know how to live beyond the typical lifespan experience. Note that he did not ask to be removed from this world nor from this life. Perhaps he just wanted to not die. If the life he was living was ideal, then perhaps the only thing bugging him was that his life would come to an end one day. Jesus then makes it clear that living good does not assure a person of living eternally. Jesus outlines from the Ten Commandments the behavior that defines good character and the young man acknowledged that he had done those things since his youth. Now the real requirement is presented to him. Jesus is the only way to enter eternal life and therefore it is necessary to follow him. Following Jesus may require turning loose or giving up some worldly things that may be a hindrance. What a tough choice this young man had to make. This choice could upset his Balance Sheet; His worldly Assets had become his spiritual Liability. His option was either this or that. He opted out of Jesus’ plan. What about you? Have you been presented with a tough choice concerning the kingdom of God?

Robert C. Hudson
October 14, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Begging to Get In

October 18, 2009

Background Scripture: Mark 7:24 – 37
Lesson Passage: Mark 7:24 – 37

Today’s lesson demonstrates one of the principal messages that Jesus taught his Jewish detractors. The message was that Gentiles who were not being evangelized would come to Jesus craving what he was offering to the Jews while many Jewish leaders openly rejected it. Furthermore, the Jewish religious leadership made matters worse by condemning other Jews for accepting Jesus. The setting for today’s lesson takes place in the predominantly Gentile populated regions to the Northwest and around to the East of the Sea of Galilee. The scriptures point out that Jesus went into the region and entered a house, supposedly secretly. After innumerable healings among the Jews, Jesus was confronted by fault-finding Pharisees who observed Jesus’ disciples eating without first washing their hands. They accused Jesus of not teaching his disciples to live according to the traditions of their forefathers. Jesus offered his critics a brief lesson on personal hygiene and cleanliness but apparently this was to no avail. Countless people were being healed of various ailments and the religious leaders of the Jews were more concerned about hand washing. Jesus decided to remove himself from this environment for some privacy and probably much needed rest. The Gentiles in that region had also heard about this miracle-working Jew and sought him even as some of the Jews had. What the Jewish leaders were trying to ignore and outright rejected, the Gentiles were eagerly seeking after. In the first instance in our lesson, Jesus is approached by a Syrophenician woman who falls down at his feet and begs him to cast a demon out of her daughter. Matthew’s account of this incident is a little more dramatic in stating that Jesus ignored the woman’s initial request. When his disciples asked that he send the woman away, he responded to them that he was only sent to lost Jews. As he later stated to Zacchaeus, he had come to seek and to save those who were lost. At this statement, the woman fell at his feet and again begged him to help her daughter. Jesus’ direct response to her seemed harsher than his ignoring her initial plea. In essence, his response was that the works he did were to be a testimony to the Jews that they might believe in him and accept the message of the gospel that he preached. Her response to this indicated that she desired only what the Jews despised. To her, what the Jews were rejecting was more than enough to satisfy her request of Jesus. Jesus declared this woman’s faith to be great and rewarded her diligence by granting her request. As Jesus and his disciples moved from the area Northwest and North of the Sea of Galilee to the region to the East, he was again met in this Gentile area by others bringing the lame and afflicted to him including one who was deaf and also had a speech impediment. Jesus healed them that were brought. This caused praises to be offered to the God of Israel because the healed and the witnesses to the healings recognized that this was Israel’s God who did the healing. The irony of all of this is that Jesus went into those regions to remove himself from the religious leaders of the Jews who were rejecting him and he was sought out by those he had not come to look for. While the Jews were rejecting the grace of God offered through Jesus, the Gentiles were begging for the same.

Robert C. Hudson
October 12, 2009

Monday, October 5, 2009

Recognizing Jesus

October 11, 2009

Background Scripture: Mark 5:1 – 20
Lesson Passage: Mark 5:1 – 13, 18 – 20

Our lesson today takes place in the region known as Decapolis. This region consisted of ten cities scattered east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. During the first century, this region was populated primarily by Gentiles. As Jesus and his disciples came into the land east of the Sea of Galilee, they arrived at a cemetery where Jesus was met by a demon possessed man. The record shows that this man had defied being bound by ropes or even chains and had, in fact, broken them. No one was able to control him even without the use of ropes and chains. He lived out among the tombs crying out day and night and cutting himself. He lived in nudity and isolation. As Jesus and his disciples came ashore, the man went out to meet them. It was obvious that the man was possessed because the demons in him addressed Jesus. Jesus had commanded the demons to come out of the man. The demons knew who Jesus was although his disciples had not as yet comprehended Jesus’ true identity. The demons begged Jesus to not torment them by sending them away from that area. This was not a simple possession by a demon. This man was possessed by a host of demons. The demons had to leave the man because Jesus commanded them to do so. They asked permission to be allowed to enter into a herd of nearby swine. After having done so, the herd stampeded into the sea and drowned. This appeared to all be a part of the demonic plan to wreak havoc in whatever way possible. Some locals who were eyewitnesses to what happened reported it in the surrounding area. This resulted in a crowd gathering to see what had happened. Upon their arrival they found two situations. The first situation involved seeing the man that was previously demon possessed. He was no longer nude and acting out but was clothed and acting sane. The second situation involved the disaster scene of approximately two thousand drowned hogs. The crowd that gathered was informed by the eyewitnesses that Jesus was the source of both situations. The crowd became afraid that a man who was once insane, nude and hurting himself was now sane and fully clothed. Meanwhile they were furious about the drowning of the hogs. This is what led them to demand that Jesus leave their area. Never mind that he was able to totally change people, they wanted him out of the area. The man who was once insane now appeared to have more sense than the rest. If Jesus was leaving, then he wanted to go with him. Although the people were afraid of him now, he did not want to continue to live around them. Jesus did not permit him to go with him but instead made a missionary out of him. Jesus sent him back to the people that knew him, his friends. He was told to tell his testimony of what the Lord had done for him. He went throughout Decapolis sharing his story and the people that heard it were amazed. The demons recognized Jesus but after they were cast out, this man had gotten to know Jesus for himself. He now recognized that Jesus was indeed Lord and he was determined to not keep it to himself.

Robert C. Hudson
October 3, 2009