Tag: Jesus

The Thief and Us

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Holidays

The thief on the cross gives us a good look at the cross and at ourselves.

His Crime and Ours (v32) – Luke calls him a criminal or lawbreaker.  In Matthew, he is called thief or rebel.  His crime is ours.  We too are all lawbreakers – breaking the law of God.  We are thieves.  God created us to live for his glory and we live for our own – stealing God of the glory he deserves in our lives.  We are rebels against our Creator.  This is our crime.

His Sight and Ours (v33) – The thief is hung on a cross next to Jesus.  If the thief turned his head he could see the suffering of Jesus.  He could see Jesus’ back ripped open from the lashings.  He could see Jesus’ head pierced by the thorns.  He could see Jesus’ agony as he hung on the cross striving for breath.  May his sight be ours.  It is good for us to stop and see the suffering of our Savior, to remember what he endured for us.  May this be our sight.

His Need and Ours (v34) – The thief hears the words of Jesus as he asks the Father to forgive those who hung him there.  This was the thief’s need too – to be forgiven of his sins.  To be forgiven of his crimes, his law-breaking, his thievery, his rebellion.  His need is ours.  We too need to be forgiven for our disobedience and rebellion.  We too need to have our sin and guilt washed away.  This is our need.

His Mocking and Ours (v35-38) – The thief hears the rulers and soldiers mocking Jesus.  In Matthew 27, we read that both criminals joined in the mocking.  Before he repented, this thief ridiculed Jesus like all the others.  Perhaps his mockery was yours.  At one time you mocked, you ridiculed, you scoffed at Jesus being your Savior.  Was this your mockery?

His Change and Ours (v39-40) – As they hang there the on those crosses, the other thief continues to mock, but something happens to the thief we are considering.  He has an incredible change of heart.  He stops ridiculing Jesus and starts rebuking the other thief.  What brought such a change?  Grace.  God graciously changed his heart.  His change is ours.  We too were changed by God’s grace.  This is our change.

His Sentence and Ours (v40) – The thief was under a sentence of condemnation.  He was dying for what he had done.  His sentence was ours.  We too were under a sentence of condemnation for our sins.  The wrath of God laid heavy upon us – we too deserved to die.  This was our sentence.

His Confession and Ours (v41) – The thief confesses that he is a criminal, a sinner.  He confesses that he deserves the punishment he is receiving.  His confession is ours.  We too confess that we are sinners deserving God’s punishment.  This is our confession.

His Cry and Ours (v42) – The thief cries out for Jesus to remember him.  This is a cry of faith.  He can do nothing to save himself, and so he looks to Jesus.  He puts his trust in Jesus.  His cry is ours.  We too cry out to God in faith, trusting in him alone to save us.  This is our cry.

His Hope and Ours (v43) – Finally the thief hears the promise of Jesus that gives him hope.  Jesus promises that the thief will be with him in paradise that very day.  His hope is ours.  In the midst of trials and in the face of death, our hope is that we will one day be with Jesus in paradise with no more suffering or pain or death.  This is our hope.

In the thief we see ourselves.  We see our crime, our mocking, our sentence, and our need of forgiveness.  We see our Savior’s suffering, our change by grace, our confession, our cry of faith, and our hope that comes through the cross of Jesus.

Acts Articles – Jesus 03C

On By BrianIn Book of Acts

In Acts 3, Peter gives us an incredible description of Jesus from many angles.  He is the Rejected and Suffering Servant.  He is the Holy and Righteous One.  He is the Author of Life.  Today, I want to briefly consider two more descriptions of Jesus and our response.

First, Jesus is the Prophet Moses Foretold in v22-23.  Back in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Moses spoke of another prophet who was to come to whom the people must listen.  Peter declares Jesus is the one Moses spoke of.  And so we must, as Moses warned, listen to him.  Are you listening?

Second, Jesus is the Offspring Who Brings Blessing in v25-26.  Back in Genesis 22:18, God had promised Abraham that in his offspring all the families of the world would be blessed.  And in Jesus indeed have the nations found great blessing.  Peter mentions just some of them in Acts 3:

  • Jesus blots out our sin (v19).  On the cross he bore our sins that they might be washed away.
  • Jesus turns us from our wickedness (v26).  He not only removes the penalty for sin, but also the power of sin.  Where before we walked in sin, now we follow him.
  • Jesus brings time of refreshing (v20).  This may refer to the Holy Spirit who now dwells within us.  Truly the presence of the Lord refreshes us – a foretaste of the day when we will dwell with God forever.
  • Jesus will restore all things (v20-21).  One day when Jesus returns, there will be a new heavens and earth without suffering, sin, or death.

Jesus is the Prophet to whom we must listen.  And he is the source of many blessings for us to enjoy!

Acts Articles – Jesus 03B

On By BrianIn Book of Acts1 Comment

In Acts 3:15, Peter portrays Jesus as the Author of Life.  He is the source of life.  Again we have this indication that Jesus is God, for of course God is the source of life.  He gives physical life, as he gave physical healing to the lame man earlier in Acts 3.  He also gives spiritual life; we can find spiritual healing in him.  Let’s apply this truth to ourselves today.

Jesus gives us life.  He gives us spiritual life, abundant life, eternal life.  As Jesus makes clear in John 17:3, eternal life is knowing the Father and His Son.  Eternal life is to have a relationship with God.  This is what makes us different from the rest of the world.  We have a real relationship with our Creator.  The rest of the world is spiritually dead – separated from God.  But Jesus gives us spiritual life, a relationship with himself. 

What a privilege!  The more we grasp this truth, the more we ought to cultivate this relationship.  We should want to grow in this relationship.  God has given us a book to know him better.  And we can speak to him at any time.  Jesus has given us life – a relationship with him.  Are we cultivating this relationship or squandering it?

Acts Articles – Jesus 03A

On By BrianIn Book of Acts

In Acts 3:14, Peter portrays Jesus as the Holy and Righteous One. 

He is the Righteous One:  Once again we find an echo from Isaiah 53, this time verse 11, where the suffering servant is referred to as the righteous one.  Other echoes come from Isaiah 32:1, Jeremiah 23:5, and Zechariah 9:9 which all predict that the coming Messiah King will be characterized by righteousness. 

He is the Holy One: That Jesus is the holy one suggests that Jesus is to be understood as God, for we see such references to God in Isaiah 40:25, 43:15. 

He is the Holy and Righteous One: The title in general speaks of his perfection – he is holy and righteous.  This again echoes from Isaiah 53, where verse 9 speaks of the suffering servant having done no violence and having no deceit in his mouth.  Peter later will echo Isaiah 53 in I Peter 2:22 where he says Jesus committed no sin, nor was their deceit in his mouth.

So Jesus is the Messianic King.  Jesus is God.  Jesus is without sin.  Two applications for today:

First, Jesus is our King and God to whom we owe our total allegiance and worship.  We are to obey him in all things.  It doesn’t matter if we feel like it.  It doesn’t matter if we want to obey.  It doesn’t matter if we think Jesus is right or not.  Regardless of our feelings, wants, and thoughts, we must obey.  We must submit.  And we must worship.  Worship includes submission, but then goes further to include praise and honor.  We must offer up our praises to our great God.  We must live for his glory.

Second, Jesus is our righteousness.  He lived a perfect life.  We don’t.  We fail to give Jesus our total allegiance and worship.  But the good news is that his perfect life is attributed or accounted to us.  II Corinthians 5:21 speaks of this miraculous exchange where the Suffering Servant bore our sins, and we now bear the righteousness of the Holy and Righteous One.  In Christ, we change clothes.  He takes my filthy dirty rags upon himself, and he gives me his pure white robe to wear.  So now when God looks at us, he doesn’t see our sin, he sees only the perfection of Christ.  He sees us righteous.  What a glorious truth!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points1 Comment

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Christ Is All – Charles Spurgeon (via Trevin Wax)
This is our soul’s grandest desire, that Jesus’ name be lifted high,
and His throne be set up among the people, to the praise of the glory of His grace.

The Gospel of the Holy Spirit – Trevin Wax
Too many evangelicals see the good news that we are saved from sin and from God’s wrath and stop there. We forget that we are saved for a relationship with God (to know Him and love Him) and for His mission (His redeeming work to seek and save the lost). And it’s the Holy Spirit that enables that relationship and empowers us for mission.

What Sanctification Is and Is Not – J. C. Ryle (via Tim Challies)
An inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer.

The Church and Idolatry – Jared Wilson (via Ligonier Ministries)
On Sundays, our sanctuaries fill with people seeking worship, and not one person comes in set to neutral. We must take great care, then, not to assume that even in our religious environments, where we put the Scriptures under so many noses, that it is Jesus the exalted Christ who is being worshiped.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day truly worshipping our great God!

Jesus Predicted in the Old Testament

On By BrianIn PASSION Collections

Throughout the book of Acts, the apostles preach about Jesus from the Old Testament.  Here a helpful list from Ben Falconer of at least many of the ways the Old Testament does indeed point to Jesus:

He is the promised seed of Adam who would crush Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15).

He is the descendent of Abraham through whom every nation on earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3).

He is the son of Judah, who reigns eternally as king, whose garments are washed in the blood of grapes, and whose hand is on the neck of his enemies (Gen. 49:8-12).

He is the Passover Lamb who was slain to protect God’s people from the Angel of Death (Exod. 12).

He is the greater son of Israel who came out of Egypt, and He is the great redeemer who brings his people out of a bondage and slavery that is far worse than anything the Israelites experienced there (Exod. 12-14).

He is the true bread from heaven that actually nourishes and feeds his people (Exod. 16).

He is the Rock from whom the only life-giving water flows (Exod. 17).

He is the fulfillment of the Law, perfectly obeying not only the 10 Commandments, but all 613 from the day of his birth (Exod. 20).

He is the One through whom we enter into our lasting Sabbath rest, not just for one day out of seven, but for every day from now through all eternity (Exod. 23:10-12).

He is our great High Priest who offers his very body as an atonement for the sins of his people (Exod. 28-29).

Continue Reading….

Acts Articles – Jesus 02

On By BrianIn Book of Acts

In Acts 2:22-42, Peter moves from preaching about the Spirit to preaching about the work of Jesus and calls for a response.  He focuses on four aspects of the work of Jesus:

  • His Life (v22) – Peter especially considers his miracles as evidence that Jesus was sent by God.  If Jesus was sent from God, we had better pay attention.
  • His Death (v23) – The Jewish leaders and Roman officials were guilty of killing Jesus.  At the same time, God planned for Jesus to die to bring about forgiveness of sins (v38).  If God planned this, we ought to pay attention.
  • His Resurrection (v24-32) – God raised Jesus from the dead.  Psalm 16 predicted that the coming Messiah would rise.  And the apostles are witnesses of his resurrection.  If God raised Jesus from the dead, then again: we need to pay attention to him.
  • His Ascension (v33-35) – Jesus ascended into heaven.  He sent the Holy Spirit upon his people.  And he is now exalted at the right hand of God as Lord as was predicted in Psalm 110.  If Jesus is reigning, we need to pay attention to him.

The work of Jesus is not just trivia; we need to pay attention.  The work of Jesus points to Jesus as Lord and Messiah (v36), and calls for a response:

  • We must believe.  Though not stated, it is clearly implied.  The people would not be cut to the heart, repent, or be baptized if they didn’t believe Jesus is and did what Peter has just preached.
  • We must repent (v37-38).  We should be cut to the heart over our sin, and turn from our sin to Jesus.  The results are forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
  • We must be baptized (v38, 41).  The rest of the New Testament makes clear that this is not a requirement for salvation, and yet it is tied closely to it.  Saved people get baptized, publicly identifying themselves with Jesus.
  • We must be connected to a local church (v41-42).  The new believers were immediately added to the church and devoted themselves to the ministries of the church.  So should we.

May we pay attention to the work of Jesus and respond appropriately!

Acts Articles – Jesus 01A

On By BrianIn Book of Acts1 Comment

In Acts 1:9-11, Jesus ascends into heaven.  He returns to the Father to reign at his right hand.  We must understand this as a real event.  The disciples really saw this happen.  Indeed, Luke seems to go out of his way to make this clear as he fills the narrative with “seeing: words: looking, sight, gazing, looking (again), and saw. 

And this departure brings about a real change.  For 40 days, Jesus has been appearing and disappearing before the disciples, but this time is different.  As the angels make clear, they won’t see Jesus again until he returns to usher in the fulfillment of the kingdom.  And so today we live in expectation of his return.

As we struggle through the hardships of this life, we have this expectation, this hope that Jesus is coming again.  And when he comes, life will change.  There is coming a day when sin and death and suffering and pain and tears will be no more.  We can endure today because of the hope of what is yet to come.

And yet this expectation also reminds us of our responsibility.  When your employer gives you a task and says he or she will be back later, you had better work on that task.  In the same way, Jesus has given us a task and he is coming back.  Until he does, we need to busy with that task. We need to be busy living as his witnesses, longing to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Christ Working Through Us

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes1 Comment

We serve the ascended and reigning Christ.  The world may mock our King.  We may disdain his rule by our own sinful rebellion – but the fact is, he reigns.  And we can participate in the spread of his kingdom not simply by imitating how he lived while on earth but by making ourselves “holy available” to his dynamic, life-transforming presence within us, by letting him change the way we see, think, feel hear, speak, and serve.  It’s the life of Christ in us, continuing his work, exercising his reign, manifesting his presence. 
– Gary Thomas in Holy Available