RESTORED AND EMPOWERED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As for you, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.

Then the Lord will appear over them; His arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; He will march in the storms of the south, and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.”

“The Lord their God will save His people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in His land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.”

Zechariah 9:11-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we return to the Book of Zechariah in the Old Testament after a brief shift to the Gospels for a devotional season covering Passion Week. As we come back to chapter 9, you may recall we left off with a prophecy of a Messianic event, a majestic event that would see Zion’s king arrive, lowly and riding on a donkey. The prophecy promised this king would bring peace to the nations as he ruled over all the ends of the earth (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Of course, the king mentioned was none other than Jesus who entered Jerusalem just as promised, riding on a donkey to fanfare reserved for royalty. Indeed, the King of the world had come but unfortunately, a vast majority of the Israelites, to include their religious leaders, didn’t recognize or acknowledge it.

So we pick up after this prophecy and find the Lord coming back more to the near future for His people, a near future where they would be restored and empowered. Look again at these verses here as we finish the chapter:

As for you, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.

Then the Lord will appear over them; His arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet; He will march in the storms of the south, and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.”

“The Lord their God will save His people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in His land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.”  Zechariah 9:11-17

As we look at this passage, it’s important to get our bearings on where we are in Israelite history as these words in Zechariah are presented.

You’ll recall that Zechariah is a post-exilic book which simply means that the setting within the book is after the seventy year Israelite exile to Babylon, the end result of God’s judgment on His people and the land He had given them. The people of God had chosen to live in complete disobedience to Him, adopting the pagan worship practices of other people who weren’t driven from Canaan when the Israelites invaded. Sure, there were plenty of other sins committed but the one that got God riled up the most was the blatant disregard and disrespect His people showed Him by worshiping false gods and idols. God had warned their ancestors that He was a jealous God and would not stand for them placing any gods before Him (Exodus 20:3-4). His jealousy bore itself out in wrath and punishment as He sent first Assyria on the northern kingdom of Israel before unleashing Babylon on Judah in the south. The result of these two attacks was a once flourishing land left in ruin, including the holy city of Jerusalem and God’s holy temple within. Canaan was left nearly uninhabitable and it didn’t really matter because God displaced the Israelites and sent them away into captivity for the aforementioned seventy years.

If the people thought it was fine to abandon God, now they would see what it felt like to be abandoned as God would not bring the Israelites relief until they had served His imposed penalty.

Well, that time did come and God did as He promised, allowing a remnant of Israelites to return to the Promised Land to rebuild the nation, their homes, their relationship with Him, and His temple. You’ll recall the Babylonians had been overthrown by the Persians then and it was the Persian king Cyrus, his heart moved by the Lord, who made the proclamation allowing the Israelites to return (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).

Why is it important to remember which empire was in control as the Israelites returned home?

Because it factors into the closing verses of Zechariah 9 and its associated vision.

God was restoring His people, freeing them from their exile and returning them to their nation, their fortress. He promised a rich restoration for the Israelites, vowing to provide twice what they lost after being plundered by the Babylonians. He also empower the Israelite people and use them as instruments of His use in battle, first referring to Judah as His bow and Ephraim as His arrows before speaking of them in general as being like a warrior’s sword. Indeed, the Lord would be their commanding officer, appearing over them and sounding the trumpet for His people to attack, all the while providing them protection and shielding in the heat of war.

So who would this conflict be against?

Note that the Lord mentions Greece and we know because of history that this did happen as the Greeks overcame the Persians and then faced a revolt by the people of Israel, a rebellion known as the Maccabeean Revolt, sparked when the Greeks tried to ban the Torah and force the Israelites to worship their gods. The Israelites were victorious in defeating the Greeks, retaking Jerusalem but much work was needed in God’s temple within the city. After the Greeks used it for their pagan practices, the temple needed rededicated to the God of Israel and the Jews made sure that happened, once again lighting the sacred menorah, a seven branch candlestick. The event is observed annually during Chanukah, a word which means “rededication” as those of the Jewish faith light their own menorahs in commemoration and honor of the event. The menorahs remain lit for eight days to remember how the temple menorah managed to remain lit for eight days despite a deep shortage of oil to burn.

So we know that these words of prophecy would soon come true for the Old Testament Israelites in Zechariah’s day, just as the verses about Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem. They would just be validated before well before the Triumphal Entry happened.  

But note that there’s still one other future event mentioned here, one we can’t afford to overlook. For if the battle with the Greeks happened before Jesus would enter Jerusalem to begin His last week of human life, then what we find in the final verses of this passage would come long after both events.

For we find the Lord God Almighty promising a coming day, a day of the Lord when He would save His people as a shepherd saves his flock. Indeed, we know God sent Jesus, His one and only Son, to be the Good Shepherd for His people, a Shepherd who would lead His flock to the greenest pastures ever, the pastures of heaven where they would live thriving in glory and beauty forever. It’s a day all Christians long for, a day of fulfillment like the ones the Israelites experienced when they were restored and empowered.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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ON CENTER STAGE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped his feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”

Matthew 28:1-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

My wife and I have been to quite a few concerts over the last nearly 25 years together. They all typically have the same format. There is one stage and a series of performers will play and sing on it, each one a little more prominent than the one before until you get to the main event, the performer who has the top billing and the one everyone has usually come to see the most.

Well, as we look at the scene unfold at the tomb on the morning of Resurrection Sunday, we find a series of people take center stage with the best coming last. Look at the opening ten verses from Chapter 28 of the Gospel of Matthew:

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped his feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”  Matthew 28:1-10

As the curtain goes up at sunrise after the Sabbath, the dawning of the first day of the week, we find a group of women taking center stage. Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (Mary, the mother of Joses and James) were counted in the number. Mark adds Salome and if you look at Luke, you’ll see him add a woman by the name of Joanna. All and all, we don’t know the exact number of women but here’s what we do know and this is an important reason why they were opened up the resurrection event on center stage:

First, the women had been with Jesus during His ministry in Galilee. The twelve disciples usually were the ones who got all the attention in the scriptures as we look at the travels and ministry work of Jesus but we can’t lose sight that there was a group of women in their company as well, women who tended to Jesus’ needs and were present during much of His teachings. In fact, as we will soon see, they were with Jesus when He prophesied about His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. More on that in a moment.

Second, the women were present at Jesus’ crucifixion, watching Him suffer and die at a distance. Jesus’ remaining eleven chosen disciples weren’t there with the exception of John, the disciple who the scriptures tell us Jesus loved, the disciple Jesus’ entrusted with the care of His mother Mary. It was fitting that the women would be the first to go to the tomb and experience the resurrection first hand before anyone else did.

Back to our passage for today where we find the women going to the tomb, concerned about how they would get the large stone rolled away as we learn from the Gospel of Mark.  

It was time for the next event participants to take center stage.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The women were worried about the stone but as we see, God had a plan in mind to move it and it would have been the last thing the women would have expected. For as they got to the tomb, a “violent earthquake” struck and an “angel of the Lord” descended from heaven before “going to the tomb” and rolling back the stone where he sat. Luke’s account tell us this angel had a counterpart and both were dressed in clothing so brilliantly white that it would look like lightning or snow to the onlookers who included the women and the Roman guards, allotted by Pontius Pilate the day before to ensure no one came and took Jesus’ body, a concern carried by the Jewish chief priests and the Pharisees.

Well, as the angels took center stage, we found nothing but fear strike the eyewitnesses. The guards passed out (were like dead men) but the women were very much alert and aware of what was happening so one of the angels sought to put them at ease saying, “Do not be afraid”. He then added:

“I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

When you look at Luke’s account, we find that the angels ask them why they were looking for living among the dead, reminding them that Jesus had predicted His death by crucifixion and subsequent resurrection when they were with Him in Galilee. And with that, the women remembered (Luke 24:5-8) what Jesus had said and set off quickly to do what the angels had told them to do, to go and tell the disciples what they had seen. The scriptures tell us that they were still frightened from what they had seen but also feeling joy as they had learned their Master was alive.

It was time for the top person to assume their place on center stage.  

For the women had no sooner started off to report to the disciples that Jesus Himself appeared before them! Indeed, He WAS alive! They could see so themselves.

Imagine how you would have felt if you were one of the women who had watched Jesus suffer and die while nailed to a cross just a few days earlier. His body was broken and lifeless then but now He was very much alive as He greeted them. His welcome as well as the mere sight of Him opened the floodgates of joy and reverence within the women who clasped His feet and brought Him their worship. If Jesus hadn’t known before how much He was beloved by these faithful ladies, He definitely knew now. For there was no doubt that He was the main person they wanted to see, the only One who would have brought such elation to them on center stage.

We get a sense Jesus didn’t want the homecoming to last too long because He had much for the women to do. We read where He dispatched them to do what the angels had asked, to do and tell the eleven disciples (referred to by Jesus as His “brothers”) to go onto Galilee where they would get to see Him themselves. And the women did just as Jesus commanded.

Today, over 2,000 years after the events of that Resurrection Day, we still come to worship our risen Savior and are left with the same overwhelming joy and devotion that the women at the tomb felt. The only difference is that we don’t go to the tomb looking for the dead when Jesus was very much alive. We know He lives and is intimately involved with every aspect of our lives as Christians as we wait for that day when He returns again to take center stage, coming from heaven to earth to claim all who placed their faith and hope in Him as Savior, and usher them into eternal life with Him and God the Father forever.

Amen.

PS: Tomorrow I will resume our study of the Old Testament book of Zechariah.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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THE DAY IN BETWEEN

Can I pray for you in any way? 

 

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 27:62-66

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We often place our focus during Passion Week on the crucifixion, observed on Good Friday, and the resurrection, celebrated on Easter Sunday. But what about the Saturday in the middle? What about the day between?

I would like to focus on it in today’s devotion for as we will see, there was some action taking place on a day where inaction was to be the spirit of the day by people who knew better but obviously didn’t care. Look at today’s scripture passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Matthew 27:62-65

It was the day after Preparation Day. In other words, it was the Sabbath, a day that God had commanded to be kept holy, a day when there was no work that was to be done (Exodus 20:8-10). You see, that’s what Preparation Day was all about. Any work to prepare for the Sabbath was to be done on Friday before sunset and on the Friday prior to the Sabbath at the center of our devotion today, there was certainly a lot of work that had been done, good and bad.

First, Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried and convicted although perfectly innocent, severely beaten, and crucified on a cross where He died alongside two real criminals, one of which gained salvation in his last moments of life.

After Jesus was dead, His body was taken from the cross and given to Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Jewish Council (Mark 15:43) but also secretly a disciple of Jesus (John 19:38). Before sunset on Preparation Day, Joseph, joined by Nicodemus (John 19:39), wrapped Jesus’ body in linens with spices (myrrh and aloes) according to Jewish burial customs before placing it in a new tomb, owned by Joseph (Matthew 27:60) and located in a garden near where Jesus was crucified (John 19:41-42). Joseph rolled a big stone to block the tomb’s entrance (Matthew 27:60) and then he and Nicodemus went home to rest as the Sabbath was about to begin.

Joseph and Nicodemus weren’t the only people at the tomb when Jesus was laid to rest. For the scriptures tell us that Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses and James, were also there and thus knew where Jesus was buried. They quickly left there and got to work preparing spices and perfumes to anoint Jesus’ body right after the Sabbath ended (Luke 23:56), at dawn on Sunday, the first day of the week. But before that day came, they would rest on the Sabbath in obedience to what God had commanded (Luke 23:56).

So in sum, Joseph and Nicodemus were obedient in observing the Sabbath. Ditto for Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and many other Jews who committed themselves to do the right thing and remain loyal to God, their Father and Master. Too bad, the people you would think would be expected to be faithful to God were the very people who weren’t.

But then again, the Jewish religious authorities were notorious for not practicing what they preached, weren’t they?

In fact, Jesus called them out for being hypocrites over and over and over again during His ministry. It was one of the main reasons they wanted to get rid of Him.

And so, on the Sabbath day, the one after the Preparation Day, we find the chief priests and Pharisees conducting business with Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, the one they had influenced before to do their dirty work and crucify Jesus because by law they couldn’t do it themselves. Their concern this time around was based on a promise Jesus had made to them and His followers, a promise that He would not remain dead but would rise from the dead on the third day.

To the religious leaders, they thought this meant that a plan was in place for the followers of Jesus to be duped that He was really raised from the dead, a plan that would have Jesus’ disciples stealing the body from the tomb and then convincing others that He had actually been raised from the dead when they hadn’t. Thinking Jesus a liar and deceiver, they proposed that the final fallacy would be worse than any that Jesus had manifested while He had been alive.

And so Pilate, believing the Jewish religious leaders, ordered a Roman guard to be allotted to the chief priests and Pharisees for the explicit purpose of keeping watch over the tomb after it had been sealed, all of this done on the Sabbath, the day in between.

With that, all would remain in place until the light of day came on Sunday, the day after the Sabbath, the day when God would work His greatest miracle ever and resurrect His Son from the dead.

It’s a day we’ll look at when we finish this Passion Week series tomorrow.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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