Lesson 960

(Lesson 960)(04-30-14) Luke 8:1-18

"And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have."

In today's quote, Jesus used the the parable of the sower to explain how His coming would be accepted by some of His own people, but not others.

We should note that Jesus explained the parable to His Apostles, but left it a mystery to the others who were gathered to hear Him.
The reason Jesus left the mystery was because He knew there would be only a few of the Jews who would accept Him. He knew some would try to believe and fail and that others would only pretend to believe. Jesus also knew those people would not be able to understand, until after He had completed His sacrificial ordeal, that the old Law had been fulfilled and the new law of faith would then be in place.

This lesson, like so many Jesus taught specifically to the a Jewish audience, is often misunderstood and misrepresented.

There are those who believe Jesus was preaching that, in order to be saved, one must be perfect because Jesus said, "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." In fact, this was part of the mystery those Jews weren't able to understand. Jesus knew then that He alone could provide the "perfection" necessary for those who would, by faith, seek remittance of sins.

Jesus went further to explain just that, "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have."

This meant that those who truly believed in God and, prepared themselves for the coming of His Savior, would be given the sin remitting power that would be offered through His Son, but those who relied strictly upon their obedience to the old Law, their own "perfection", they would have that security taken away also. ~

Lesson 959

(Lesson 959)(04-29-14) Luke 7:36-50

"And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

In today's lesson, Jesus demonstrated the difference between how a repenting "sinner" should be treated as opposed to how His Pharisee host, a respected representative of the Jewish hierarchy, would have her treated.

Jesus welcomed the actions of the woman, a "sinner", and saw her deeds as attempted penance, acts of worship and love. The Pharisee perceived the woman to be nothing more than trash that should have been thrown out and ignored.

Using a metaphor, Jesus explained that the woman, whom the Pharisee had regarded as little more than nothing, had actually expressed much more desire for, and deserved more, acceptance and forgiveness than the hypocrites who were supposed to already know and be abiding by God's law.

Jesus told the woman, your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you.

We should note that the woman mentioned in today's quote, a "sinner", was saved by her faith alone. Jesus forgave the woman's sins and saved her because she had demonstrated her faith in Him.

Jesus spent much of His ministry condemning the hypocrisy of the Jews. Today's quoted is just a small part of that condemnation.

If we look around now, in our modern times, we see many of those who claim to be "good Christians people", treating some of those around them in the same hypocritical manner the Pharisees treated those they perceived as "sinners".

We must remember that we are not responsible for the sins of others, it is not our responsibility to judge them nor condemn them. We are ONLY to live our lives as examples of the Christians described in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, we are to teach that gospel to every person who is willing to hear it.

When Jesus sent out His messengers while they were still restricted by the Law of Moses, He gave them explicit instructions as to how to teach His gospel and explicitly to whom they were to teach it, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."(Matthew 10:14) That simply meant, don't try to teach those who won't listen.

Today's lesson is about Jesus' willingness to forgive those who believe in Him, and it is also about the hypocrites who set themselves apart from the very people who need to learn about God's grace.~

Lesson 958

(Lesson 958)(04-28-14) Luke 7:24-35

"And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John."

Today's quote explains the difference between a true man of God (John the Baptist) and the pompous and hypocritical leaders of the Jews. (Scribes, high priests, lawyers, Pharisees, and Sadducees.)

While speaking of John, Jesus said, "This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist:"

Making the point that John was more important than all the old prophets and that appearances are very deceiving, Jesus asked those who had gone out to meet John the Baptist and to hear his message, if they had expected him to appear dressed in the finest clothing with ritualistic ornamentation like the Jewish priests of that day invariably presented themselves.

We, as representative of Jesus Christ today, should give some consideration to the way today's Pope and countless other "church" and religious leaders present themselves. We should then compare them to the appearance of the divinely sent, true messenger of God, John the Baptist who appeared wearing very simple clothes made of goatskin.

Jesus made a specific point demonstrating that those who would follow Him should be a different kind of people. The true believers in Jesus would not then, and will not now, hypocritically dress and act so as to separate themselves from the common people.

Jesus insisted that His followers demonstrate constant and sincere humility. The true followers of Christ would be a caring people, totally unlike what the Jewish leadership of that day had become, and also unlike those "church" leaders who dress to set themselves apart today.

It is also very important to remember what the mission of John the Baptist actually was. He was NOT sent to preach the gospel of Christ, as many mistakenly believe, John the Baptist was sent to PREPARE THE WAY for the COMING of the Messiah, who's mission would not be completed until He had made His supreme, sin remitting sacrifice, and returned to the right hand of God the Father.

John preached to those who came to hear him; "saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2 in part.), and administered water baptisms according to Mosiac law and Jewish tradition.

Water baptism (Total immersion in flowing water) was required of every Jew each time they entered into any kind of religious activity. In this case, they were baptized to ceremonially cleanse themselves in preparation for the coming of the prophesied Messiah.

There will be much more discussion of Christian "appearance" and water baptism as these lesson progress.~

Lesson 957

(Lesson 957)(04-27-14) Luke 7:11-23

"And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about. And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

Today's quote demonstrates Jesus' power over the death. Jesus touched the weir and simply said, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.", and the man sat up and began to speak.

Jesus went on the heal many of the sick and infirm in Nain.

After John heard rumors of the miracles Jesus had performed John the baptist sent emissaries to ask if He was indeed the promised Messiah. Jesus told the men, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

It is truly hard to believe that there are still those who doubt that Jesus ever existed. To imagine a conspiracy so vast, so as to have involved millions of people, is to ridiculous to contemplate.

We should all thank God every minute of every day for those who gave, and those who continue to give, all they had/have to make sure that the wonderful news of God's salvation endured through the ages so that we too can know the promise of eternal life in the presence of the Master of the universe, and all else.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."~

Lesson 956

(Lesson 956)(04-26-14) Luke 7:1-10

"Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick."

Today's lesson is a very good lesson on faith. It very clearly demonstrates the outcome that can be accomplished when one practices his/her faith in the absolute.

Although the Centurion, mentioned in today's quote, believed in God and had built a synagogue for a place to worship by the Jews, he was not a Jew himself. That fact is made evident by what the elders said, "For he loveth OUR NATION, (meaning the Centurion was not of that nation) and he hath built us a synagogue." Jesus also confirmed that the Centurion was not a Jew when He said, "I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, NOT IN ISRAEL." This also meant that the Centurion was not of Israel, the house of the Jewish Partiarch, Jacob.

The faith of that Centurion was total and absolute. He had NO doubt that if Jesus simply said the words, or just willed it in his mind, the servant would be healed.

The importance of knowing the Centurion was not a Jew is twofold: One, it is an example of Jesus taking the time, while going against Jewish tradition, to minister to a Gentile who the Jews traditionally considered unclean.

The second reason we should make the determination about the Centurion is to confirm that Jesus brought His sin remitting salvation primarily to the Gentiles knowing that the Jews, would, for the most part, turn their backs on Him. Jesus knew that it was the Gentiles, through the ministry of Paul the Apostle, who would eventually take over the building and spreading of His Church, and who would carry it into the future ages.

Paul, as we will learn as these lessons continue, was directly chosen and designated to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
This all ties into today's lesson in that the faith of the Gentiles, as demonstrated by the Centurion, was far greater than anything Jesus had seen from His people, the Jews.~

Lesson 955

(Lesson 955)(04-25-14) Luke 6:43-49

"For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."

Today's lesson is like all New Testament lessons, a very important one. This lesson is also another one that is often misunderstood and therefore misrepresented by many of today's "Christian" isms.

By using the parable, Jesus explained that if a lost soul makes a profession of faith and then goes about his/her daily life as if there has been no spiritual change, doing the same things they have always done, that person simply never truly believed in the first place. In short, their "belief" had no foundation.

Jesus used the parable of a solidly founded house and the one with no foundation that got washed away to make the point that any professed and effective faith that will eventually lead to eternal salvation, must be founded on the security of knowing that the power of Jesus Christ is sufficient to hold up against anything that might arise against it.

Jesus was saying, in essence, that for ones faith to be pure, they must, from the very beginning, and beyond any doubt, know that the man named Jesus, who is indeed the Christ and is the virgin born Son of God, the promised one who has come to intercede for the sins of all who will believe in Him, and that it is He who has the ultimate and only power to remit sins.

The confusion about this lesson causes many to believe that Jesus preached that those who follow Him must live perfect, sin free, lives. We know that it is impossible for ANYONE, other than Jesus Himself, to live or to have lived, without sin in the flesh.

Even Jesus, denied that He was "good", (Mark 10:17-21) "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."

In this quote, Jesus, being an obedient Jew, first preached the rules of the Law of Moses to that young man, but the very last words of the quote verifies what has been said in today's lesson, "go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."

Jesus, in essence, challenged that young man to follow after Him and have absolute faith in Him, abandoning everything else in his life, relying totally on Him for his eternal need.

Those of us who are saved have the security of knowing that our sins will always be justified by the sacrifice Jesus made for us, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4:5)

Just as Paul said, the righteousness Jesus demanded in today's lesson is only accomplished through absolute faith in Jesus Christ.~

Lesson 954

(Lesson 954)(04-24-14) Luke 6:39-42

"And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. "

The "Christianity" we hear and read about in the news every day, has come to be an exact replica of the doctrine that was practiced by leaders of the Jews during the time of Christ.

Daily, we hear some "evangelist" openly and loudly condemn the sins of others while wallowing in hypocritical denial of their own sinful selves.

It is easy to find someone, claiming to be a devout Christian, who will readily tell you all about the sins of someone else, but they will never condemn themselves for their own daily sins, nor will they ever condemn themselves for the sin of being judgmental toward their neighbors.

To quote part of the parable Jesus used in today's lesson, "why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye."

If we judge the sins of others equally guilty of that same sin, "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." (Romans 2:1)

To simplify the lesson, those of us whom have believed in Jesus Christ, though we still sin in our physical bodies, we are exempt from the guilt of that sin because our sins are JUSTIFIED by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."(Romans 3:21-27)

Their is NO condemnation for a child of God, nor should a child of God EVER condemn someone else. Those who are lost NEVER need our condemnation, they need only that we teach them about the saving grace God through Jesus Christ our Lord and that we demonstrate that grace in our daily lives.~