JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 27

PENTECOST

Pentecost Sunday is a commemoration and celebration of the official birthday of the Christian church, marked by the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the early believers. Pentecost Sunday is observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter and ten days after Ascension.1

“[Y]ou will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5 ESV).

The effects are seen in the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost changed all their outlook. The Scriptures were made luminous in the light of the Holy Ghost. The change in their characters was even greater than the change in their knowledge. The Gospels portray these men as proud and contentious, selfish and cowardly; but the first pages of the Acts of the Apostles tell another story. Pentecost transformed them.2

Under the training of Christ the disciples had been led to feel their need of the Spirit. Under the Spirit’s teaching they received the final qualification, and went forth to their lifework. No longer were they ignorant and uncultured. No longer were they a collection of independent units or discordant, conflicting elements.3

“[L]et us recall and realize all the mighty and marvelous signs of this first Pentecost, and its instant and immediate results and effects; of conquered cowardice, of utterance, of courageous speech, of other tongues.”4

The preaching of the cross of Christ was the very center and heart of the message of the apostles. It was not the teaching of Christ, nor the example of Christ either. What they preached was His death on the cross and the meaning of that event.5

[T]hey were to proclaim to the world the truths entrusted to them. The events of Christ’s life, His death and resurrection, the prophecies pointing to these events, the mysteries of the plan of salvation, the power of Jesus for the remission of sins.6

“[T]he gospel must be proclaimed. The wonderful truth that through Christ alone could remission of sins be obtained, was to be made plain.”7

[W]e should read the writings of the New Testament as God’s very words, still living and powerful to speak to our hearts today with the authority of God himself. No other words spoken today can ever equal the words of Scripture itself in authority, in purity, or in power.8

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(27) Abiding Miracle

            1. Joe Carter, “9 Things You Should Know About the Christian Calendar,” 1 December 2019, The Gospel Coalition, 3 July 2021 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-christian-calendar/.

            2. Samuel Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2000) 169-170.

            3. Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1911) 45.

            4. W.C. Doanne, “Commentary on Acts 1:2,” 1876, James Nisbet’s Church Pulpit Commentary, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/2-1.html#verse-cpc.

            5. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Walking With God Day by Day (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003) April 2nd.

            6. Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1911) 27.

            7. White, 31-32.

            8. Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1988) 49.

            9. W.C. Doanne, “Commentary on Acts 1:2,” 1876, James Nisbet’s Church Pulpit Commentary, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/2-1.html#verse-cpc.

            10. Samuel Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost (Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2000) 35.

            11. Chadwick, 37.

            12. Chadwick, 40.

            13. Chadwick.

            14. Chadwick 43.

            15. W.C. Doanne, “Commentary on Acts 1:2,” 1876, James Nisbet’s Church Pulpit Commentary, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/2-1.html#verse-cpc.

            16. Alexander MacLaren, “Commentary on Acts 2:1,” Alexander MacLaren’s Expositions of Holy Scripture, 16 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mac/acts-2.html.

            17. MacLaren.

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 26

THE ASCENSION

“Ascension Day commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter although some denominations move it to the following Sunday.1

“The ascension has been included in every important creed of the church because it teaches the enduring complete humanity of Jesus as the only mediator between God and man.”2 “[E]verything that stands between us and God has been dealt with and has been removed.”3

“The ascension is Christ’s return to heaven from earth. Jesus lives, now and forever, as true man and true God to mediate between God and man. He will come again as he left, fully God and fully man.”4

“[T]he God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, according to the working of his great might, raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand” (Eph 1:17,19-20 ESV).

“Jesus ‘sits’ to portray the sufficiency of his saving work on earth; he continues a vital, active ministry as he reigns over all creation.”5

Christ’s new status as the God-Man meant God gave Him privileges He did not have prior to the incarnation. If He had not lived among men, He could not have identified with them as the interceding High Priest. Had He not died on the cross, He could not have been elevated from that lowest degree back to heaven as the substitute for sin.6

Though the full penalty for our sins was paid at the cross, Christ’s priestly work didn’t end there. It continues to this day in heaven, where Christ ‘appears in the presence of God on our behalf’ (Heb 9:24). Our eternal redemption was secured—not simply by Jesus dying on the cross—but through Jesus entering heaven by means of his own blood. In short: no ascension, no salvation.7

“[T]he ascension wasn’t simply Jesus going home; it was Jesus being enthroned.”8

Christ is a teacher that He may be a king; Christ is an example that He may be a king; Christ is a Savior that He may be a king; this is the great end and object that He has in His life, His death, His resurrection, and His second coming—that He may set up a kingdom among the sons of men to the glory of God.9

“Jesus Christ, [is] the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:5 ESV). “O King, live forever, and we shall find our life in Your life, and glory in promoting Your glory.”10

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(26) The Savior Lives No More to Die

1. Joe Carter, “9 Things You Should Know About the Christian Calendar,” 1 December 2019, The Gospel Coalition, 3 July 2021 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-christian-calendar/.

            2. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2517.

            3. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Great Doctrines of the Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003) I:348.

            4. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2526.

            5. ESV Study Bible.

            6. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 501.

            7. Justin Dillehay, “What Jesus’s Ascension Does for Us,” May 30, 2019, The Gospel Coalition 15 February 2021 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/4-reasons-ascension-matters/.

            8. Dillehay.

            9. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons on New Testament Men (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications 1994) 115.

            10. Spurgeon.

            11. Isaac Watts, “Christ’s Victory, Death, and Dominion,” 1838 Gadsby’s Hymn Book, 15 February 2021 https://bethlehemswell.com/hymns/168/.

            12. Watts.

            13. Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring, “Crown Him with Many Crowns,” 1851, Hymnary, 15 February 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/crown_him_with_many_crowns.

            14. Isaac Watts, “Christ’s Victory, Death, and Dominion,” 1838 Gadsby’s Hymn Book, 15 February 2021 https://bethlehemswell.com/hymns/168/.

            15. Watts.

            16. Samuel Medley, “Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also,” 1838 Gadsby’s Hymn Book, 15 February 2021 https://bethlehemswell.com/hymns/751/.

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 25

DISCIPLES WAITING FOR THE PROMISE

[JESUS’] right to send the Spirit into the hearts of fallen men was acquired by His atonement. It was the well-earned reward of all His toil and sufferings. One of the chief results of the perfect satisfaction which Christ offered to God on behalf of His people, was His right now to bestow the Spirit upon them.1

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:45-49 ESV).

Ten days they waited together attempting to comprehend this power that was coming. They also had plenty of time to ruminate their commission of proclaiming CHRIST’s ability to grant repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

This SPIRIT would: “teach them all things, lead them into all truth, take of the things of Christ, and show them to them, and bring to their remembrance all things they had seen and heard.”2

The SPIRIT would fortify and inspire them with “courage and greatness of soul with undaunted courage, and resolution, and boldness.”3

And it is the same power the SPIRIT endues to us who believe. “[T]hough God promised special grace to the apostles, and Christ bestowed it on them, we ought to hold universally that no mortal is of himself qualified for preaching the gospel, except so far as God clothes him with his Spirit.4

“That bountiful supply of the Spirit was designed for the erecting and equipping of the New Testament church.”5 We, too, are to wait to be “aided by the power of the Holy Spirit.”6

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(25) At the Temple Praising

            1. A.W. Pink, The Holy Spirit (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications), http://www.mountzion.org. 30, brackets mine.

            2. John Gill, “Commentary on Luke 24:49,” 1999, John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible, 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/24-49.html#verse-geb.

            3. Gill.

            4. John Calvin, “Commentary on Luke 24:49,” 1840-57, Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible, 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/24-49.html#verse-cal.

            5. A.W. Pink, The Holy Spirit, (Pensacola, FL: Mt. Zion Publications), http://www.mountzion.org. 30.

            6. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on Luke 24:49,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/24-49.html#verse-bnb.

            7. “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer . . .” (Acts 1:14 ESV).

            8. “ . . . he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22 ESV). “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,” (Luke 24:45 ESV).

            9. “And they . . . were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:52-53 ESV).

            10. “ . . . stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49 ESV).

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 24

THE GREAT COMMISSION

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and made disciples of all nations teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:18-20 ESV).

“Jesus commanded his disciples and now commands us also to teach believers to observe all that he commanded.”1

“Men are ignorant of Divine things, and must be taught. Only those can be considered as proper teachers of the ignorant who are thoroughly instructed in whatsoever Christ has commanded.”2

Now to teach all that Jesus commanded, in a narrow sense, is simply to teach the content of the oral teaching of Jesus as it is recorded in the gospel narratives. However, in a broader sense, ‘all that Jesus commanded’ also include the Epistles, since they were written under the supervision of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore the New Testament epistles also endorse this view of the Old Testament as absolutely authoritative words of God, then it becomes evident that we cannot teach ‘all that Jesus commanded’ without including all of the Old Testament as well.3

“[T]here is only one method of evangelism: namely, the faithful explanation and application of the gospel message. [T]he test for any proposed strategy of evangelistic action must be this: will it in fact serve the word?”4

“These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them [to].proclaim as you go saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matt 10:5,7 ESV). “[H]e gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction”(Matt 10:1 ESV).

To call persons to the ministry belongs only to Him who can give them power to cast out unclean spirits.”5  “[T]hey were to make disciples who obeyed the commands they had received.”6

[T]hree things Jesus did to shape disciples. Observation: He let them listen and watch as He lived. Impartation: He made sure they had authority and power in His name. Delegation: He sent them out to do what they had seen Him do—heal and deliver, both spiritually and physically, the helpless and harassed.7

Imagine what kind of disciples we might develop if we employed His simple, focused method: powerfully declare and demonstrate His kingdom, make sure disciples are filled with spiritual authority and power, and place them in front of dire human need that only the power of God can meet.8

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(24) Following His Lead

            1. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 27.

            2. Adam Clarke, “Commentary on Matthew 28:20,” 1832, Adam Clarke Commentary 22 June 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/matthew-28.html.

            3. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 27.

            4. J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979) 86.

            5. Adam Clarke, “Commentary on Matthew 10:1,” 1832, Adam Clarke Commentary 15 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/matthew/10-1.html#verse-acc.

            6. Doug Newton, Fresh Eyes on Famous Bible Sayings (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2018) 139.

            7. Newton, 141.

            8. Newton, 142.

            9. “ . . . he . . . gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1 ESV).

            10. “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them . . . proclaim as you go saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 10:5,7 ESV).

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 23

PREPARING DISCIPLES FOR HIS DEATH

JESUS prepares His disciples at the Passover meal and on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane: “He wants to prepare them for what is about to happen. The New English Bible characterizes the five chapters of John, chapters thirteen through seventeen, as ‘farewell discourses.’”1

In the first ‘farewell discourse,’ JESUS gives an example of how to treat each other by washing His disciples’ feet. (John 13).

“The whole matter of Christ’s death and resurrection was not grasped by the twelve. The reason may have been that they were enamored with other ideas about the Messiah and how His earthly rule would operate.”2

“Ignoring the Lord’s repeated instruction that He was going to Jerusalem to die, the disciples still thought the physical manifestation of the kingdom was about to appear and were busy maneuvering for the places of prominence in it.”3

[T]hey were thinking about who was the greatest of them, so that none was willing to stoop to wash feet. When Jesus moved to wash feet, they were shocked. Through this action Jesus taught the lesson of selfless service.4

“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21 ESV). “The Sent One (Jesus) has now become the Sender, commissioning his followers to serve as his messengers and representatives.”5

[T]hey shall know that Christ continues in them, communicates his power to them, and has not forsaken them by his resurrection, by his abiding and conversing with them for forty days after, by his going to heaven to prepare a place for them, by his sending his Spirit to them, and by his indwelling presence, to administer every degree of comfort, light and power, which would be requisite to render their afflictions supportable, their own souls holy and happy, and their ministry successful.6

 “We must learn from the four Gospels and for a doctrinal exposition of it we must turn to the Epistles. ‘Abide in Me,’ ‘learn of Me,’ ‘follow Me,’ are the contents and summing-up of the Christian statute-book.”7

Only those willing to carefully assess the cost and invest all they had in His kingdom were worthy to enter. This speaks of something far more than mere abandonment of one’s material possessions; it is an absolute, unconditional surrender.8

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(23) I Go Prepare a Place

            1. Thomas Lane Butts, “Jesus Prepares the Disciples,” 18 February 2012, Ministry Matters, 12 February 2021 https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/2477/jesus-prepares-the-disciples.

            2. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 339.

            3. MacArthur, 340.

            4. MacArthur, 403.

            5. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2070.

            6. Thomas Coke, “Commentary on John 14:20,” 1801-1803, Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/14-20.html#verse-tcc.

            7. Horatius Bonar, God’s Way of Holiness (Pensacola, FL: Mt Zion Publications) 86.

            8. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 305.

            9. “ . . . if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3 ESV).

            10. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do . . .” (John 14:12 ESV).

            11. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth . . .” (John 16:13 ESV).

            12. “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14 ESV).

            13. “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest” (Luke 22:24 ESV).

            14. “Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet . . .” (John 13:5 ESV).

            15. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ESV).

            16. “I am the vine; you are the branches . . .” (John 15:5 ESV).

            17. “ . . . take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV).

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 22

DOUBTING THOMAS

According to Strong’s Greek lexicon doubt means, ‘to waver, hesitate, be uncertain.’ Doubt is not rejection of belief, but holding a belief with hesitation and uncertainty. Thomas was not a doubter. He didn’t doubt the resurrection of Jesus—he fully rejected it until he could have physical proof.1

Thomas was the kind of guy who wanted to know for himself. He would not let others do his thinking for him. What did Jesus do with such a man? He made a special resurrection appearance for him. He condescended to Thomas and his desire to know for himself. Jesus came to Thomas on his level. He didn’t rebuke him. He didn’t humiliate him. He could see that deep down in Thomas’s heart, he really wanted to know God.2

“Scripture describes at least ten distinct appearances of Christ between the resurrection and ascension. He appeared: . . . (5) to ten of the eleven disciples, Thomas being absent; (6) to the eleven disciples (with Thomas present).”3

Eight days elapsed between the two appearances with Thomas absent and Thomas present; and during that period he found his way back to the group. He had once affirmed that he would die with the Lord (John 11:16); but, like the others, he had failed. However, he came back, and that is what counts.4

“Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:26-28 ESV).

“With these words, Thomas declared his firm belief in the resurrection and, therefore the deity of Jesus the Messiah and Son of God. This is the greatest confession a person can make.”5

“He came back, and Jesus came back to meet him. [A]nd therein is a promise of hope for all who will return to the Master.”6

“His invitation to all doubters is the same as to Thomas; investigate for yourself! Test the evidence, and like Thomas, be not faithless but believing.”7

“Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God” (Isa 50:10 ESV).

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(22) Thomas Was Gone

            1. Sean McDowell, “The Apostle Thomas Was Not a Doubter,” 28 July 2016, Sean McDowell, 12 February 2021 https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/the-apostle-thomas-was-not-a-doubter.

            2. Greg Laurie, “New Knowledge of the Skeptic,” 2 April 2007, Harvest, 12 February 2021 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/new-knowledge-for-the-skeptic/.

            3. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 480.

            4. James Burton Coffman, “Commentary of John 20:25,” 1999, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/20-25.html#verse-bcc.

            5. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 482.

            6. James Burton Coffman, “Commentary of John 20:25,” 1999, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/20-25.html#verse-bcc.

            7. “Jesus and Thomas,” Trusting in Jesus, 12 February 2021 https://www.trusting-in-jesus.com/jesusandthomas.html.

            8. “So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25 ESV).

            9. “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them . . .” (John 20:26 ESV).

            10. “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”  (John 20:28 ESV).

            11. Charles Spurgeon, Commentary on John 20:28,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/20-28.html#verse-tbi.

            12. Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown, “Commentary on John 20:28,” 1871-8, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/20-28.html#verse-jfb.

            13. “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”  (John 20:28 ESV).

            14. Sean McDowell, “The Apostle Thomas Was Not a Doubter,” 28 July 2016, Sean McDowell, 12 February 2021 https://seanmcdowell.org/blog/the-apostle-thomas-was-not-a-doubter.

            15. J. Hart, “A Form of Words, Though E’re so Sound,” Gadsby’s Hymnal #31, 12 February 2021 https://gracegems.org/C/gadsby1.htm.

            16. “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”  (John 20:28 ESV).

            17.  . . .that disciple, leaning back against Jesus . . .” (John 13:25 ESV).

            18. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead . . .” (Revelation 1:17 ESV).

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 21

THE EMPTY TOMB

“Christ’s resurrection is one of the central truths of the Christian faith and the only plausible explanation for the empty tomb. Many theories have been sinfully invented over the centuries to explain away the empty tomb, all of them equally futile.”1

“Though Jesus had predicted His resurrection numerous times, it was more than [His followers] could believe at that point. It would take His showing Himself alive to them by many ‘infallible proofs’ for them to believe.”2 (Acts 1:3)

“That the women came to anoint Jesus’ body on the third day after His burial showed that they, like the disciples, were not expecting Him to rise from the dead.”3 But GOD . . .

Jesus rose. His body had not decayed, for it was not possible for that holy thing to see corruption; but still it had been dead.  And by the power of God—by His own power, by the Father’s power, by the power of the Spirit, for it is attributed to each of these in turn—before the sun had risen, His dead body was quickened. This is the doctrine that is the keystone of the arch of Christianity.4

The guards at the tomb experienced paralyzing fear: “[A]n angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became as dead men”(Matt 28:2-4 ESV).

The angel proclaims the great truth that concerns everyone and will change the universe forever. It is with flight, trembling, astonishment, silence and fear that the women initially receive the angel’s message about God’s action in raising Jesus from the dead.5

But instead of paralyzing fear the women’s fear energized them: “So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy”(Matt 28:8 ESV). “[T]rembling and astonishment had seized them”(Mark 16:8 ESV).

“These graphic words indicate dramatically the soul-shocking nature of the truth those women had just learned.”6

Fear and great joy is: “A natural state of mingled feeling, in view of what they had seen and heard. Fear at what they had seen, joy at what they had heard, and both mingled because the latter seemed too good to be true.”7

“Energizing fear pulled them out of the paralyzed fear of obsession with themselves and into a world of GOD’s surprises.”8 “Suddenly they understood they were not the center of their own existence nor wanted to be!”9 That energizing fear became an excitement in waiting for what GOD would do next!

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(21) Energizing Fear

            1. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 472.

            2. John MacArthur, 471.

            3. John MacArthur, 470.

            4. Charles Spurgeon, “Resurrection,” Free Grace Broadcaster 235 (Spring 2016) : 3.

            5. Gerald O’Collins, “The Empty Tomb—What Does it Mean?” 21 April 2003, America, The Jesuit Review, 12 February 2021 https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2003/04/21/what-does-empty-tomb-jesus-mean-us-today.

            6. James Burton Coffman, “Commentary on Mark 16:8,” 1999, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/mark/16-8.html#verse-bcc.

            7. Philip Schaff, “Commentary on Matthew 28:8,” 1879-90, Schaff’s Popular Commentary on the New Testament, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/matthew/28-8.html#verse-scn.

            8. Eugene Peterson, Living the Resurrection (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress 2006) 17.

            9. Peterson, 28.

            10. Peterson, 30.

            11. Peterson.

            12. “ . . . the LORD of hosts . . . Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:13 ESV).

            13. Eugene Peterson, Living the Resurrection (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress 2006) 17.

            14. Peterson, 28.

            15. Peterson, 38.

            16. “And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:3 ESV).

            17. R. Macculloch, “Commentary on Isaiah 11:3,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 12 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/isaiah/11-3.html#verse-tbi.

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 20

THE RESURRECTION

“Easter Sunday is celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox, when the Sun crosses the equator going north. For this reason, Easter can fall on any date from March 22 through April 25.”1

“God raised him on the third day. [H]e is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.  To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:40,42-43 ESV).

He was dead. His enemies thought they had done him in, and they were glad. His friends thought he was done for, and they were sad. But heaven watching was preparing the music that should ring around the world declaring the defeat of evil, the mastery of sin, and the ransom of the race.2

It is a pledge and assurance that our sins are forgiven. Death was the penalty of our sin; the debt we owed to God; Christ engaged to discharge that debt for us; till He discharged it in full, He was to remain in the prison of the grave. His liberation from that prison was to be the token to us that the anger of God was appeased, that our whole debt was paid to the uttermost.3

[O]ur Lord by His work upon the cross, in addition to bearing the penalty and punishment of our sins as our substitute, was also destroying the works of the devil. He was delivering us from the bondage and the dominion of the devil, and was also delivering us from the territory of death. We are no longer dead in trespasses and sins; we do not belong to the realm of death, we are alive unto God. And likewise He has delivered us from the tyranny and power of sin.4

“It means that the Atonement is complete; it means that God the Father has accepted Christ’s work as a satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. It means that the problem of a future life has been solved.”5

Jesus the Messiah has come; he has lived, died, and risen among us, atoning once for all for our sins. [H]e has written his laws on our hearts. This new covenant is the ‘eternal covenant’ in Christ, through which we shall forever have fellowship with God, and he shall be our God, and we shall be his people.6

JESUS, I stood at the foot of the cross knowing in my heart You were the Son of GOD. Today I’m at the garden tomb where the stone has been rolled away. Now I believe history and again see with the eyes of my heart that You are the Son of GOD!

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(20) Have You Heard?

            1. Joe Carter, “9 Things You Should Know About the Christian Calendar,” 1 December 2019, The Gospel Coalition, 3 July 2021 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-know-christian-calendar/.

            2. G.C. Morgan, “Commentary on John 20:1,” 1983-1999 Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/john-20.html.

            3. H.L. Nicholson, “Commentary on John 20:1,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/john-20.html.

            4. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Great Doctrines of the Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003) I:345.

            5. J.H. Coward, “Commentary on John 20:1,” 1876, Church Pulpit Commentary, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/20-1.html#verse-cpc.

            6. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 522.

            7. Edmond L. Budry and George Friderick Handel, “Thine is the Glory,” 1904, Hymnary, 4 June 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/thine_is_the_glory_risen_conquering.

            8. Charles Wesley, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” 1739 Hymnary, 11 February 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/christ_the_lord_is_risen_today_wesley.

            9. Edmond L. Budry and George Friderick Handel, “Thine is the Glory,” 1904, Hymnary, 4 June 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/thine_is_the_glory_risen_conquering.

            10. Budry and Handel.

            11. Budry and Handel.

            12. Budry and Handel.

            13. Charles Wesley, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” 1739 Hymnary, 11 February 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/christ_the_lord_is_risen_today_wesley.

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 19

THE CRUCIFIXION

“And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts” (Luke 23:48 ESV).

“The people who had acted under the influence of the priests now yielded to superior influences and began to experience change of sentiment.”1 “Both Jew and Gentile left Calvary that evening heavy-hearted, self-condemned, and ill at ease.”2

The people who came to behold this melancholy spectacle, were wonderfully affected when Jesus gave up the ghost. They had been insistent, with loud voices, to have him crucified; but now that they saw the face of the creation darkened with a sullen gloom during his crucifixion, and found his death accompanied with an earthquake, as if nature had been in an agony when he died, they rightly interpreted these prodigies to be so many testimonies from God of his innocence. 3

God Himself had foreordained the very minutest details of how Jesus would die. Dying was Christ’s consummate act of submission to the Father’s will. Jesus Himself was in absolute control. Yet it was not Jesus alone, but everyone around Him—His enemies included—who fulfilled precisely the details of the OT prophecies. These events display [God’s] divine soverteignty.4

“[T]he cross ‘disarmed’ the demonic ‘powers’ and forged the final triumph over Satan.”5

[I]f we lived more in the atmosphere of the cross sin would lose its power, and every grace would flourish. When we draw very near to Him and have fellowship with Him in His sufferings we raise a hue and cry against the sin which slew Him, and resolve to be revenged upon it by departing from it ourselves.6

“The cross is that holy implement with which we make war with sin till it be utterly destroyed.”7 And this is how we “make war with sin:” “A disciple must deny himself (die to self-will), take up his cross (embrace God’s will, no matter the cost), and follow Christ.”8

“[P]ut off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22, ESV).

The believer relives the death and resurrection by putting to death the old self and putting on the new. In one sense this is a past act, experienced at conversion. Yet this is also a present act, experienced in the corporate life of the church. In other words, both at conversion and in spiritual growth, the believer must relive the cross before experiencing the resurrection life. The Christian paradox is that death is the path to life!9

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(19) CHRIST Surren’dring All

            1. J.W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1914, The Fourfold Gospel, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tfg.

            2. J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2007) II:481.

            3. Thomas Coke, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1801-1803, Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tcc.

            4. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 436.

            5. Grant Osborne, “Cross, Crucifixion,” 1991, Holman Bible Dictionary, 18 June 2021 https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/c/cross-crucifixion.html.

            6. Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons on New Testament Men (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1994) 106-107.

            7. Spurgeon, 107.

            8. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 1841.

            9. Grant Osborne, “Cross, Crucifixion,” 1991, Holman Bible Dictionary, 18 June 2021 https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/c/cross-crucifixion.html.

            10. J. Lathrop, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tbi.

            11. W. Landels, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tbi.

            12. Charles Spurgeon, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tbi.

            13. James Nisbet, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1876, Church Pulpit Commentary, 11 February 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-cpc.

            14. J. Lathrop, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tbi.

            15. W. Landels, “Commentary on Luke 23:48,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://pro.studylight.org/commentary/luke/23-48.html#verse-tbi.

JESUS! In Word and Song

Posted by

0

WEEK 18

THE LORD’S SUPPER

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:53-54 ESV).

To ‘eat’ Jesus’ flesh has the spiritual meaning of trusting or believing in him, especially in his death for the sins of mankind. Similarly, to ‘drink his blood’ means to trust in his atoning death, which is represented by the shedding of his blood. The receiving of eternal life through being united with ‘the Son of Man’ is represented in the Lord’s Supper.1

Jesus himself is the origin of the Lord’s Supper. He commanded that it be continued. And he is the focus and content of it. The Lord’s Supper is to focus the mind on Jesus and especially his historical work in dying for our sins. As we do the physical act of eating and drinking, we are to do the mental act of remembering.2

“The power to excite remembrance consists in the appeal made to the senses. Here the eye, the hand, the mouth, find joyful work, and thus the senses, which are usually clogs to the soul, become wings to lift the mind in contemplation.”3

Jesus, who knew our forgetfulness, appointed this festival. Only as it assists remembrance can it be useful. [W]e need that there be a set sign and form to incarnate the spiritual and make it vivid to the mind. [I]t behooves us to keep the name of our Lord engraven on our hearts.4

Christ Himself has appointed this institution and selected for us the part of His mission which He considers the vital and all-important centre—‘This is My body, broken for you. This is the new covenant in My blood, shed for the remission of sins.’ Not His words, not His loving deeds, not His tenderness, does He point us to; but to His violent death, as if He said, ‘There is the thing that is to touch hearts and change lives, and bind men to Me.’ The part of it which most concerns us to remember was this: ‘that He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.’5

“Know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2 ESV).

“Our obligation duty, and interest all combine to enforce obedience to this last, solemn, and dying command of Christ.”6

“There is no other religion whose believers can look back to a founder who was content to say, ‘Be true to My memory. That is all I command. Let your most solemn worship embody the expression of this remembrance.’”7

To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu

ENDNOTES

(18) CHRIST Inside of Me

            1. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2035.

            2. John Piper, “Why and How we Celebrate the Lord’s Supper,” 13 August 2006, desiringGod, 11 February 2021 https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/why-and-how-we-celebrate-the-lords-supper.

            3. Charles Spurgeon, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:24,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-corinthians/11-24.html#verse-tbi.

            4. Spurgeon.

            5. A. Maclearen, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:24,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-corinthians/11-24.html#verse-tbi.

            6. N. Meeres, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:24,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-corinthians/11-24.html#verse-tbi.

            7. R.H. Story, “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:24,” 1905-09, The Biblical Illustrator, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-corinthians/11-24.html#verse-tbi.

            8. Don Fleming, “Lord’s Supper,” 2004, Bridgeway Bible Dictionary, 11 February 2021 https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/bbd/l/lords-supper.html.