Month: September 2024

And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
John 6:42*

When talking about the inspired word of God, there is no such thing as a coincidence. Christ was the stepson of a man named Joseph. It could have been Judah, Hezekiah or Zebulon, but it wasn’t. Jesus was the son of Joseph.

Joseph never made a big deal about adopting Jesus. That would have just stirred up more gossip and disparaging remarks about Mary. He took Mary’s son as his own, provided for Him and made Him his legal heir. That’s why everyone knew the man as Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Joseph.

There is another very important Son of Joseph that doesn’t appear in the Bible, but was written about by Jewish sages long before the New Testament was written. Rabbis and scholars earnestly searched the scriptures awaiting the Messiah and were perplexed at what seemed to be contradictory descriptions of the LORD’s Anointed. Sometimes the Messiah appeared to be a majestic, conquering King. Other times He was like a suffering servant. Their conclusion was that two Messiahs must be coming.

For the sake of discussion, these two were labeled “Moshiach ben David” and “Moshiach ben Yosef” (“Messiah, Son of David” and “Messiah, Son of Joseph”). Although most awaited the Messiah that would put an end to Roman domination, just as David conquered Israel’s enemies, it was clear in much of Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would be like the patriarch Joseph who delivered his people through suffering. Portions of scripture such as Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53 were believed to refer to the Messiah, Son of Joseph.

So when the unbelieving residents of Galilee called Him the Son of Joseph, they only confirmed what their rabbis taught them would come of the Messiah; “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”(Isaiah 53:3).

What the first century Jewish people didn’t understand was that there weren’t two Messiahs coming, but one who would come twice. The first time He came as Messiah, Son of Joseph to redeem mankind through His suffering. At His second coming, He will cause all enemies of God to bow the knee and He will bring the Davidic dynasty back to the throne. 

December 9 

“Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?
And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
Mark 6:3

The folks in Christ’s hometown of Nazareth resented Him and that caused real attitude problems: “Who does he think he is anyhow? He’s just a common laborer, a woodworker. He doesn’t come from a good family. After all, he’s Mary’s son; he was born out of wedlock.”

People back then and there were judgmental just like they are today. They felt anyone who they labeled as “illegitimate” could never obtain greatness much less do anything for God. Being the Son of Mary meant “bad blood.”

The self-righteous are never so wrong as when they convince themselves that they are better than others. Mary descended from royalty and could trace her bloodline back to King David, and then even back to Adam.

Jesus has two genealogies recorded in scripture. Matthew traces Jesus’ birthright through His adopted father, Joseph, who could have had title to the throne of David if they were still doing that kind of thing at that time. One big problem with this succession of legal heirs is that it included King Jeconiah who was cursed by God in Jeremiah 22:24-28. The prophet said that “Coniah” and his descendants would be cut off, meaning that the Messiah could not come through Joseph. This presented a prophetic contradiction for the Messiah. Only the miracle of the virgin birth could solve this problem.

People assumed Jesus to be Joseph’s son, but the genealogy of Christ in Luke 3 is actually Mary’s. She was a descendant of David, but not of Jeconiah.

Christ had all the legal rights to the throne of David, because Joseph adopted Him and made him his own. He also had to have a human blood line back to David, without being Coniah’s relative. The King of Kings was able to fulfill scripture, because He was the Son of Mary. 

December 8 

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Philippians 1:6

It’s probably just me, but when I read the title and verse above, the word “circumlocution” comes to mind. That means using a whole lot of words to say something that could be said in just a few.

Now, it’s not the same as rambling, because that usually gets off-topic. Circumlocution is on-topic, but verbose.

With that said, I put a lot of thought into trying to condense the title He who has begun a good work in you and I couldn’t come up with anything that was an exact fit. The closest I got was “I.T. guy.”

An I.T. guy is a person who works with Information Technology (i.e., computers) and sets you up with all the software you need to get everything started. Once that’s done, he’s just a phone call away whenever the computer crashes or gets sick with a virus. You have confidence that he’ll be there to complete the job until the day the warranty runs out.

Christ began the good work of salvation in the lives of every believer, but His work and relationship with each continues on a daily basis. He cleans, sanctifies, and glorifies each saint as they go on in their daily walk of faith. This relationship is not only continuous, but progressively gets better until either the Christian dies and enters glory or the church is raptured.

Well, my explanation of the title He who has begun a good work in you has become somewhat circumlocutious, not to mention a little garrulous and pedantic. I should have just given my paraphrase of the verse instead: “Being confident of this very thing, that Christ’s got ya covered” (Philippians 1:6 RKV).

September 1

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 1:18

I’m not really into computer games, but I do know people who are addicted to them. One particularly dangerous game is Candy Crush. The idea is that as candy appears on the screen, the good stuff is collected with a flick of the thumb without touching poison; that will kill you. But not to worry, you’re given five lives.

Technically, the game is free. The iPad app is free, playing time is free, and additional lives are free. The loophole comes in the fact that, if someone loses his five lives, there is a waiting period of one half an hour before he can get another life. Since lives come five at a time, that means being offline two and one half hours. That seems like an awful long time when a player is almost to the next level, so for just 99 cents automatically billed to the credit card, the gaming addict can continue without the distraction of returning to reality.

One man was billed $236 in one month for all those extra lives, and another man literally ruptured a tendon in his thumb for playing “Crush” non-stop for days at a time. (He needed surgery to regain use of his hand). People will pay a lot to continue to live just a little longer in their own fantasy world, but they always die again and again.

People would pay millions to get another physical life, if that was for sale, but they would still just die again another day.

Jesus lives and was dead. But that’s not the amazing part. He conquered death, drained it of its power, and is Alive Forevermore.

If medical science could stop the aging process and find a cure for every disease that exists, everyone would still die someday. The good news is that true life is not found in our feeble bodies; it’s found in our souls and spirits. Christ came to this world to bring us life in abundance. Eternal life begins now, gets better every day, and lasts forever. Even when the body breaks down and is buried, we, through the Savior, can be alive forevermore.

November 17

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4

Most Americans aren’t into cartoons as they used to be. When I grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s, most homes subscribed to both a morning and afternoon newspaper. In the back of the last section would be forty or so different comic strips. It’s safe to say that the “funnies” were the how and why I learned to read. They also taught me how to recognize and interpret symbols.

If a comic strip character had smoke coming out of his ears, he was angry; if there was a series of Z’s over his head, then he was asleep. When there was a light bulb in a bubble over his head, it was clear that the figure had an idea.         

Actually, I’ve seen this scenario played out in real life during my forty years as a teacher. Every now and then, I presented a lesson to a classroom of bored students, when someone actually got what I was teaching! It’s very noticeable. Their eyes lit up as if a light bulb turned on in their head. They were truly enlightened. There is even a term for this in pedagogy. It’s called an “Aha moment.”        

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Light of Men in a world of spiritual darkness. Just as sightless people don’t have a clue about color or sunsets, the unregenerate are clueless about righteousness and judgment. The god of this age has blinded those who do not believe, so they can’t see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). However, that veil of deception can come down and the light of God’s holiness can come into even the darkest hearts. Through the years, I’ve seen many people come to know Christ as Lord and Savior and I can testify that there is no greater Aha moment then when someone realizes that their sins are forgiven and they have eternal life. A great spiritual light bulb turns on in their soul when the Light of Men comes into their lives.

October 21

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

Babies sin because it’s their nature. No one needs to teach them how to lie, steal, or destroy; they are born with that ability. In fact, one of my son’s first words was a lie. He had recently turned one and still wasn’t walking or talking, but he could crawl everywhere, stand up on his own, and understand lots of words.

As my wife was cleaning one of the bedrooms, she noticed that the house was strangely silent and the toddler was nowhere to be seen. As she moved towards the kitchen, she called out, “Stephen, are you touching the stove?”

There were very few “no-no’s” in the house, but that was definitely one of them. The one year old was defiantly touching the stove and began looking around to see if mom was near. When he couldn’t see his mother, he assumed that she also couldn’t see him, so he proudly lied, “No!”

The sin nature might raise a chuckle when seen in a small child, but it gets very ugly very quickly, and it is not a condition that cures itself. That old nature has to die and a new nature has to come in to replace it if sin is to ever lose its power over us.

Christ never had that addiction to sin. He certainly knew what sin was, but had no desire to do it. He was sinless by nature, so on the cross he swapped rap sheets with humanity. He gave mankind a clean slate and took on Himself trillions of terrible sins, which he paid for with His death.

Coming to the Lord Jesus in faith means that sin’s power over sinners is broken. Those who were trapped in a habitual cycle of self-destruction receive a new desire to live in God’s will. They are changed, all because of Him who Knew no Sin.

March 11 

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:18

Heads are basic equipment on animal bodies. Fleas, microscopic dust mites, and even earthworms all have heads, although they may be hard to see. The head is the controlling force in all of God’s creatures, great and small. The head is connected to the various systems by way of nerves, so it can regulate the heart, lungs, and muscles. Every second, millions of bits of information are sent back and forth between the head and different parts of the body.

The Lord Jesus is Head of the Body, the church. That certainly means that He is in charge and over the church, but the title is also used to show that the church is more like an organism (a living thing) than an organization.

The human perspective views the church more in terms of the structure and hierarchy of an institution. This concept was vividly illustrated for me in a mural painted on the back wall of the Catholic cathedral in the town of Baños in Ecuador, South America.

At the bottom of the fresco, a poor peasant farmer is seen holding a rosary and kneeing before a priest. Behind him are much bigger beads of a huge rosary that forms a circle around the enormous painting. The background rosary connects the viewer’s eyes from the priest to a bishop, and from a bishop to a cardinal, and then to the pope. As the rosary beads continue around, they connect to the saints and then to the Virgin Mary and then finally to Jesus. Viewing this made me so sad, because the lesson being taught was that there is a lot of bureaucracy needed to get to the Lord. But the worst part was that, in portraying Christ at the end of the line, He looked more like the tail than the head.

Our Savior is the Head of the Body so is connected directly to each part. In my body, if my little finger is cut, a message is sent directly to the brain. It doesn’t go to the hand, then the wrist, then the arm, then to the shoulder. The head is immediately aware of what’s happening all over the body and coordinates the parts to work together.

December 6 

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,” says the LORD of hosts.
“Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones.”
Zechariah 13:7

The night that the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He quoted the verse above on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:31). The urgent message that He needed to tell His disciples was that within hours, their Shepherd would be taken and all of them would be scattered. Obviously, this was the fulfillment of a Messianic prophesy, but hidden in this Old Testament verse is another title of Christ: “the Man who is My Companion.”

In context, the Shepherd knew His sheep, but was also a companion of the LORD of Hosts. Other descriptive titles of Christ are much better known: For example, Son of God, Servant of God, and Glory of God. These names emphasize the Lord’s deity and are a stark contrast to simply being a companion.

There is more to this title than initially meets the eye. The emphasis here is the humanity of Christ. The Savior’s equality with God (Philippians 2:6) is unquestionable. He is the God/Man who came to restore fellowship with His estranged creation. He reached out to multitudes, but He established a true bond of friendship with twelve special men. Jesus was more than just a rabbi, teacher, and shepherd to his disciples; He was a companion.

Christ not only taught the apostles things about God, but also demonstrated a relationship with God that was hard to even imagine. Clearly, Jesus was the companion of the Almighty, and both the Father and the Son delighted in the relationship. The Lord would be alone for hours communing with God and the disciples also experienced the reality of this relationship.

When Christ died on the cross, He reconciled the world to Himself. He restored the broken communications and communion with God, and He allowed former enemies to become friends.

The bottom line is this: The Lord Jesus Christ is not only my God and Savior, He is the Man who is My Companion.

December 5 

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they
shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:23*

Getting three wishes granted is the stuff fairy tales are made of. However, in the real world, only two men since time began were given the opportunity to have anything they wanted, and they had only one chance to get it right.

Solomon was the first and he requested wisdom. This choice so pleased God that the king also received power, long life, and fabulous wealth. The second didn’t expect much from God, so He turned down the offer altogether.

The year was 753 B.C. and the political situation in Jerusalem was desperate. The armies of Syria and Northern Israel had just made an alliance to invade and conquer Judah. Just as there seemed no way out of a bad situation, God sent Isaiah to the unbelieving King Ahaz with very good news. The threatened attack would never take place. In fact, the powerful Northern enemy would itself cease to exist in 65 years. To show the certainty of deliverance, Isaiah told the King that the Lord would do any miracle he desired (Isaiah 7:1-14).

“No, don’t bother, I won’t ask,” was Ahaz’s response.

“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign,” the prophet declared “Immanuel will come.”

It was the greatest thing that anyone could ever wish for. Immanuel means, “God with us,” and that meant the distance between man and his Creator would be gone forever. Born of a virgin, the God-man would be totally unique and would come bringing deliverance for all people.

The sad thing was that Ahaz lost in every way. He never got his heart’s desire, and he never saw God’s promise. Because of spiritual apathy, even people today pass up life’s most wonderful opportunity. They miss knowing Immanuel and the deliverance from destruction He offers.

*See also Isaiah 7:14, 8:8

December 4 

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many
sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 2:10

For those who are not into comic books, there are lots of superheroes out there. There is Captain America, but there are also Captain Britain, Captain Canuc, and Captain Universe. You can even find Captain Atom, Captain Comet, Captain Video, and Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Shazam). Calvin and Hobbs also had their own superhero (Captain Napalm). Now we add to the list one more: The Captain of Salvation. The only difference between this one and all the others is that this superhero is real and the rest are pretend.

The Lord Jesus is a superhero in His own right. He conquered the power of sin and death and hell by dying and then rising again from the dead. He defeated His arch villain, Lucifer, crushing his demonic army. The Captain of Salvation proclaimed His power before beginning His first adventure: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).  

No one else can do what the Savior has already done “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:9,10).

Who is this guy who single-handedly rescues people from the penalty of sin? He is the Captain of Salvation!

July 22