Jesus Cleanses the Temple

April 6, 2014 Background Scripture: Isaiah 56:6 – 8; Jeremiah 7:8 – 15; Mark 11:15 – 19 Lesson Passage: Isaiah 56:6, 7; Jeremiah 7:9 – 11; Mark 11:15 – 19 “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.” God’s desire and intentions are to communicate with people who love Him and have put their trust and confidence in His word. If this communication takes place nowhere else, it is expected to take place in God’s house or the place God chooses to put His name. The invitation to commune or talk with God is extended to all people. God makes this clear throughout the Holy Scriptures. Although God works through individuals or in some cases groups of people, His work is always used as a means to reach all people. When the story of redemption is told, the redeemed are described as representing every kindred, tongue, people, and nation. That is an all encompassing list that represents all of humanity. When God puts His name on a house, surely it is a place where conversation between God and mankind should take place. To use the dwelling for any other purpose can be a violation of God’s intentions—especially if sincere prayer is not being offered there at any time. However, people will sometimes unknowingly (or due to a lack of concern or fear) pollute God’s house through sinful living. Many are opposed to talking openly about the liberty that saints have in Jesus Christ. The saints of God walk in a newness of life that is free from the bondage of the Law of sin and death. This is the security of the believer. Once a person has been saved, they are forever kept by the power of God unto eternal life. This salvation does not leave us free to live as we once did. God has made us aware that our former lifestyle was contrary to His will. In fact, the lifestyle we were delivered from had us at enmity with God. We were God’s enemy before we repented and were regenerated and delivered from our previous way of life. God forbid that we should dare to live like that again. Some who oppose the biblical teaching of eternal security believe that it is equivalent to telling people that they have a license to live in sin without consequences. God’s word is clear concerning the wrongness of this way of thinking. God instructed Jeremiah to warn the people that their old way of life is an abomination to Him. Furthermore, He did not deliver us so we could return to those abominations. God makes it clear that salvation is not a license to sin. God will not tolerate sin forever—even among His people who are called by His name. God offered Shiloh as an example of His reaction to people who once attempted such a thing. He made that place a spiritual wasteland. Shiloh was once called by God’s name but it was polluted by the wicked lifestyle of God’s people who lived in that land. Therefore, God scattered the people and destroyed the place. In today’s lesson, Jesus demonstrated in person what God had decreed through the prophets down through the ages. God has disdain for those who profane His house of prayer. Jesus did not make another declaration concerning this but rather he demonstrated God’s disapproval through his actions and by reminding them of what God had already decreed. The people profaned God’s house and Jesus cleansed the temple. Robert C. Hudson March 26, 2013

Triumphant and Victorious

March 30, 2014 Background Scripture: Zechariah 9:9, 10; Matthew 21:1 – 11 Lesson Passage: Zechariah 9:9, 10; Matthew 21:1 – 11 Palm Sunday for many is simply the Sunday that occurs one week before Easter. When asked to elaborate, additional details may be offered that describe Jesus riding into Jerusalem while well-wishers and worshipers were spreading palm leaves and clothes in the path before him. However, when one steps back and considers the prophetic significance of what many in that day must have seen as an impromptu parade, we see a lot more than a parade. This is the prophesied offering of Jesus to the Jewish community as their Messiah. God had promised him for well over a thousand years. Every time the Jewish nation found itself in more trouble than they could handle, it seems as though the promised Messiah always served as a reminder that better days were coming. This was especially so when the nation’s punishment included exile into a foreign land. The day would come when they would stand above their enemies and never taste defeat again. The Anointed One would rule over them forever after he destroyed their enemies. The excitement of this promise must have loss its luster after years of going through the cycle of apostasy, punishment, repentance, and restoration. The fact is the restoration always appeared to be to a state that was less than the previous one prior to the apostasy. To the righteous among them, surely the question was, How long will this all last before God’s promise is fulfilled? Theologians today opine that Heaven was silent for four hundred years from the prophecy of Malachi until the preaching of John the Baptist. John presented Jesus to the Jews as their long awaited Messiah. They constantly examined him publically for three years. Some examinations were particularly gruesome and disrespectful. Jesus kept healing and teaching through the process. His teachings were different and challenging to the religious establishment. They found it difficult to accept much of it. This led to much confusion since the miracles he performed were indeed ordained of God. Jesus’ miracles reminded them of what they had learned about the days of the Old Testament prophets. No one had been able to do these things in a sustained way without the help of God. But some of his teachings were very disturbing to the most learned among them. He presented what appeared to them to be a conflict of character. How could he blaspheme God and turn around and do His biddings at the same time? How could he break The Law of the Sabbath and use it to do God’s will at the same time? He didn’t even bother to wash his hands before he ate. How could he be holy and keep company with sinners? Jesus seemed to have no respect for the traditions of the elders which was held in higher esteem than the Law itself at times. Yet, the masses went after him. And now this is upon them. He parades into Jerusalem riding a colt of a donkey while his followers praise him as though he were God. He refused to stop them even after he was admonished to do so. No, this was the moment of his formal presentation to the Jews as their Messiah after three years of public scrutiny. He would not ride in as a victorious king but rather as a meek and humble lamb who was preparing to triumph over mankind’s greatest enemy, death. In a sense, this was the pre-victory party. In seven days, it will be clear to many that he is both triumphant and victorious. Robert C. Hudson March 22, 2013

Worthy is the Lamb

March 23, 2014 Background Scripture: Revelation 3:7; 5:5 – 13; 6:12 – 7:17; 22:16 Lesson Passage: Revelation 5:5 – 13 God sent forth an announcement through the prophet Ezekiel. The announcement declared that there was an open position that needed to be filled. God sought for a man to stand in the gap between the people of the land and Him. This man would be accountable for interceding on behalf of the people and thereby building a hedge around them. One caveat for job applicants is that the people of the land are totally undeserving of such a man for they have gone against the counsel and will of God. Yet God’s love for the people moved Him to announce that there was an open position. The report in the book of Ezekiel ended on a somber note: “but I found none”. We can thank God today because His mercy endures throughout all generations. After the age of the national prophets and Israel’s return to Palestine, it seemed as though Heaven fell silent for four hundred years. John the Baptist broke the four hundred year silence by proclaiming that the intercessor that God sought was among Israel in John’s day. John the Baptist went on to proclaim him to his disciples. Yet, the Jews rejected him as had been prophesied. However, to all who received him, he gave them the right and privilege to be called children of God. As we fast-forward to the end of time and look back, we see that all would not receive him although they had an opportunity to do so. So at the end of time the question is posed again in a different manner. As the Ancient of Days sat upon His heavenly throne holding a sealed book in His hand, an angel then asked, “Who is worthy to open the book by breaking the seven seals on it?” Again, the search went out as it did during the days of Ezekiel’s prophecy. This time the search was not limited to just the people of the land. The search also covered heaven and beneath the earth. John the Revelator cried because of the dim prospect that an intercessor would be found to receive the book and to break the seals and reveal the contents of the book. John the Revelator was comforted by an elder in Heaven when he was told there was one already in Heaven who met the qualifications. When John looked, he saw a Lamb that appeared to have been slain but yet He was alive. The Lamb approached the divine throne and took the book out of the hand of the Ancient of Days. This action prompted a spontaneous praise from the heavenly saints who declared that the Lamb was worthy because through His death, many were brought to eternal life from all nationalities, languages, and races of people. Having been raised from death and made executor over His own last will and testament, the Lamb had elevated those who trusted in Him to levels of kings and priests before God. Those who were once not a people had become God’s people through the sacrifice of the Lamb. They were preserved through the ages by the Lamb’s intercession to God on their behalf. The Lamb then used His God-given authority to remove the seals from the book and time was brought to an end so that eternity future could begin its unending reign. Every creature in all places declared the blessings of God upon the Lamb because He was found worthy. We are assured today that when time has given way to eternity, the intercessor will be recognized by all and acknowledged by all. The Lamb is worthy to be praised by all throughout eternity. Robert C. Hudson March 10, 2013

Peter’s Report

March 16, 2014 Background Scripture: Psalm 110; Mark 12:35 – 37; Acts 2:22 – 36 Lesson Passage: Psalm 110:1 – 4; Acts 2:22 – 27, 29 – 32 Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost provides most of the background and lesson passage for today’s lesson. With the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon him, Peter preached the gospel to a bewildered crowd in Jerusalem. The entire message centered on Peter’s declaration of who Jesus is. Peter strongly defended Jesus’ humanity while also declaring his divine nature. He reminded them that they were aware of the miracles and deeds Jesus did in their midst for approximately three years. The miracles were done as a sign that Jesus was indeed sent from God and the signs were indisputable evidence of it. In spite of his goodness to them, Jesus was betrayed and crucified. Jesus died and was buried but God raised him up as proof that death and the grave could not hold him. All of this was according to the foreknowledge and approval of God. God spoke through David by way of Psalm 110 concerning an eternal priesthood. Some thought the Psalm was David’s literal reference to himself. However, it is clear that the Psalm was prophetic because it spoke of the king who would also be an eternal priest. David died and his body decayed in the grave. Put another way, David historically did not demonstrate putting on immortality as he wrote about in the Psalm of the eternal priesthood. David’s mortality is evident in that he remained dead. Jesus, on the other hand, was not allowed to remain in the grave indefinitely although he died. Rather, God quickened him or made him alive again on the third day and thus preserved his flesh from decay. God assured David that he would have a descendant who would have an eternal nature and could therefore establish an eternal kingdom. David wrote prophetically of this descendant who we know as Jesus. Peter’s sermon combined the prophecy of God with Peter’s eyewitness account. Peter witnessed what God had prophesied and thus he declared it in his initial sermon. Others had also witnessed the same thing. Peter’s closing statement was the explanation for why the people were bewildered. The crowd heard the Galileans speaking in the native tongues of those from throughout the various regions. Luke recorded fifteen different groups who represented many different languages in the crowd that heard this strange discourse in their native language. How could this be? Peter’s response provided the answer. Jesus, who had been raised from the dead by God, ascended back to God and received the promise of the Holy Ghost. Having received the promise, Jesus richly blessed his followers by allowing the Holy Ghost to be poured out as an anointing upon them. The gift of speaking in an “unlearned” tongue was the proof of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Jesus’ followers had received the promise of the Father and were now praising God for his wonderful works. Today’s lesson revisits Peter’s report to the bewildered crowd. Robert C. Hudson March 7, 2013

Son of David

March 9, 2014 Background Scripture: Psalm 89; Isaiah 9:1 – 7; Matthew 1:18 – 2:6; Luke 1:26 – 33 Lesson Passage: Psalm 89:35 – 37; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Matthew 1:18 – 23 There are a handful of people recorded in the bible who had a relationship with God that was nothing short of remarkable. God’s relationship with David is an example of just that. David’s initial innocence and heart that was quick to repent when confronted by God or His representative is noteworthy. The bible does not give us a record of David choosing God. Rather, biblical history shows us just the opposite—God chose David. When David appeared to have been rejected by his own family as someone who could possibly achieve greatness one day, God made choice of David above his older brothers. David’s older brothers were soldiers in Israel’s army but God gave Israel victory over their enemy by the hand of the shepherd boy, David. Later, God elevated the shepherd boy to be king over all of His people. David grew in favor with his brethren and he was feared by his enemy. All of this was the result of God’s hand upon David. God went further and declared that He would establish David’s throne forever. David’s descendants would continue to rule over God’s people without end. There was nothing David did to deserve such graciousness from God. God extended this unmerited favor to David. From the time of David throughout the remainder of Israel’s history, God continuously renewed his promise to David. Israel has long used songs as a method of preserving their history. As the children of Israel praised the Lord through singing, the words of their praise gave forth a strong testimony of their long-term relationship with God. Through the psalmists, who were inspired of God, God reminded Israel of his faithfulness to her and the many promises and warnings they received throughout their generations. In Psalm 89, the words reflect God’s covenant with King David and his descendants. God promised to establish an eternal dynasty through the descendants of King David. The promise also includes warnings that God would chastise David’s descendants who would dare to sit on the throne and walk in disobedience to God. God promised to use the rod of men to punish them. Again, the promise of God included a provision of the eternal existence of the throne of King David. This provision was echoed by the prophet Isaiah. Through the prophet Isaiah, God renewed His promise of an eternal king to reign over the eternal kingdom. Isaiah also included the reminder that the eternal king would be a descendant of King David. From the time of King David to the time of the prophets during and after the monarchy of Israel, the promise of the eternal kingdom was reiterated time and again. Again, Israel’s praise and worship songs kept the teachings of the patriarchs alive. There was a king coming through the lineage of King David who would rule Israel forever. The fulfillment of the promise finally arrived in the region of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great. An angel of God announced to a virgin named Mary that the time had come for the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. Since Mary was to be used and she was not yet married, this created a dilemma for the man to whom she would be married. This dilemma was resolved when the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream and reassured him that what was happening was of God. This baby is Jesus. He descended through the lineage of David and he is the eternal king. Robert C. Hudson February 25, 2013