PASSION WEEK SERIES: UNQUESTIONABLE

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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.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is He?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Matthew 22:41-46

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

As we continue working through Passion Week and the events that created the salvation opportunity for all people, we come to an interesting fact concerning the scriptural accounts of Jesus' final week on earth. For there is no mention of anything that happened on the fourth day, the day we would call Wednesday in modern times. The speculation is that there was a lot of preparation going on, good and bad. Jesus would be getting Himself prepared for what would be His last supper with His disciples while the Jewish religious leaders continued to plot Jesus’ arrest and subsequent demise.  

So given that the scriptures have no account of events on the fourth day, I want to go back to day three and capture a passage that we should not let get by us, a passage that removes any doubt as to Jesus' identity. Look at these words from the 22nd chapter of Matthew:

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is He?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions.  Matthew 22:41-46

At the beginning of this series, we found Jesus making His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and being treated as royalty even though the scriptures indicate that the people didn’t really know that Jesus was the Messiah who had been predicted by the prophets of old. The word of God tells us that the crowds who welcomed Jesus so warmly thought He was just a mere “prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matthew 21:11).

With this, it’s little wonder that Jesus would return to the matter of who He was and, of interest, He chose to address those who opposed Him the most. We know this because the scriptures tell us Jesus went to the Pharisees who “were gathered together” and thus an easy audience for Jesus to address. Keep in mind that these were the Israelite religious masters of the day, those who knew the law best and strictly enforced it among the people, although they themselves never perfectly adhered to it, a fact we know drew the ire of Jesus.

The Pharisees, with their staunch, legalistic knowledge of the word of God and the messages spoken by the prophets, found themselves facing a simple question from Jesus regarding the lineage of the Messiah, the prophesied holy One who was expected to come in power and authority to rule and reign God’s people and vanquish all their enemies.

Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is He?”

There wasn’t a whole lot of deliberation or disagreement in the Pharisaic response for they told Jesus that they thought the Messiah was “the son of David.”

I think what happened next was simply fascinating as Jesus was building up to the true point He wanted to make. The Messiah question was just setting the stage for a final move that would be as beautiful as a chess master working His opponent toward checkmate.

What did Jesus do to put His opposition right where He wanted them?

He went back into the Old Testament scriptures and drew straight from the words of David himself. Quoting Israel's former king from the 110th Psalm, Jesus said:

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”  Psalm 110:1

Note that the first Lord, who represents the Lord God Almighty, was not speaking with David nor was He talking to Himself. Rather, He was speaking with David’s Lord, the second Lord mentioned, and that Lord was none other than the Messiah or Jesus Himself.

Thus, if the Lord God Almighty was speaking to the Messiah as Lord and David was identifying the Messiah, not as his son but as his Lord's, then how could the Messiah be David’s son?

Jesus had masterfully debunked the Pharisees' theory and clearly identified Himself as the Messiah, the very Son of God. 

 

It left the Pharisees speechless. 

We know this because the scriptures tell us that “no one could say a word in reply” to the question Jesus answered. In fact after this encounter. we read where "no one dared to ask him any more questions.”

In other words, Jesus’ identity was unquestionable. It was then in New Testament Jerusalem and it still is today.

It was and is unquestionable that Jesus was, and is, God’s Son, the prophesied Messiah, and David’s Lord.

It was and is unquestionable that Jesus went onto sit, and still sits, in authority and power over all creation at His Father’s right hand.

It was and is unquestionable that Jesus had been, and still is, elevated above all of His enemies. As the Psalm proclaimed, they are the footstool under His feet.

Friends, as we come to this fourth day of Passion Week, Jesus has established who He is in unquestionable fashion and as we enter into the final days of His life, we are soon to see that there is one more fact that is unquestionable:

Jesus Christ is indeed the Savior of all, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

PASSION WEEK SERIES: THE REJECTED SON

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@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.

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.”

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:”

“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew He was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that He was a prophet.

Matthew 21:33-46

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

Today is the third in a series of devotions centered on what is known as Passion Week, the week that spans from Palm Sunday to Easter.

In our first devotion, we looked at Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, an arrival marked with a pomp and circumstance reserved for royalty. Indeed, the King of all kings had arrived in the holy city but when the people were asked who Jesus was, you’ll recall they said He was just a prophet from Nazarene, prompting the question, “Did they really know who He was?”

The second devotion in this series was centered on Jesus’ second day in Jerusalem, a day that saw Him cause a stir in the courtyard of the Gentiles after finding illicit money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals crowding a place intended to be a place of prayer. Through His actions, we were shown the absolute necessity of standing up and taking a stand for God the Father when the need presents itself.

And that brings us to today and the third devotion of this Passion Week series. As we move to the third day Jesus is in Jerusalem, we find Him going back to His ministry roots and teaching those who had gathered to listen to Him. Of course, that teaching took the form of parables and as we see in one of them, Jesus specifically targeted a certain audience while giving all a glimpse into what His future held.

Look again at this passage as we continue to draw from the 21st Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel:

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.”

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:”

“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew He was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that He was a prophet.  Matthew 21:33-46

Before we probe deep into the depths of what Jesus was trying to convey, we need to first define key components of the parable to help us in our understanding.

To begin, we need to look at the matter of the landowner and the vineyard. The landowner Jesus is talking about here is none other than God, His Father and ours. Note the vineyard would never exist had it not been for the landowner creating it first. The landowner planted the vineyard and put things in place to make sure the vineyard was protected and able to be productive.

So if the landowner was God, who or what did the vineyard represent?

We go to the Old Testament and the Book of Isaiah for the answer:

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines He delighted in. Isaiah 5:7

The word of God makes things easy for us. The nation of Israel is the vineyard, planted by God the landowner, to be productive for Him with His people being the tenants, the vines who God intended to bear fruit.

With these points in hand, we now have the base with which to look at the rest of the parable. Let's return to that and answer some questions while adding additional meaning to Jesus' teaching.

What did the landowner do?

He left the vineyard in the hands of His tenants who had an obligation to produce for the landowner. In other words, God’s people, the tenants, were not just living in the land for free. There was a rent to be paid to the landowner, in this case, the fruit that Jesus mentions.

The landowner allowed the tenants to live in the vineyard and, in return, they were to pay Him at the appointed time. The scriptures tell us that the landowner did not go directly to the tenants to collect what they owed him but rather sent a succession of messengers to collect what was due. Each was mistreated in some way with at least one of the messengers killed.

Who did the messengers represent?

They were none other than the prophets that God sent to His people and if you know anything about the Old Testament, you know the Israelites mistreated God’s prophets over and over and over again as they rejected God’s word and will to follow their own desires. We should note here that God was very patient with the tenants just as He was with His people before Jesus came. He could have sent immediate judgment on them for the way they disregarded Him and those He sent but He didn’t. He gave His people every possible chance to try and correct their ways before taking action against them and such was the case in the parable Jesus was telling.

Unfortunately, there came a juncture when the landowner realized that sending messengers was not achieving the desired result. And so the landowner came up with another idea. He would send his son because surely the tenants would respect him, the very flesh and blood of the landowner, the rightful owner of the land. And of course, the son represented none other than Jesus Himself, the very flesh and blood of God the Father.

Was the outcome be any different?

Sadly, it wasn’t. For when the tenants saw that the landowner had sent his son, they saw the opportunity to capitalize on the situation thinking that if they killed the landowner’s heir (the son) then they could take his inheritance. And so that’s what they did, they took the son, “threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.”

Hopefully, you are starting to get the big picture and what Jesus was getting at. For if the vineyard’s tenants were representative of the Israelites and the landowner’s son was representative of Jesus, Jesus was foretelling what was about to happen in Jerusalem.

 

For in three days, Jesus would be put to death, a death carried out by the Romans but instigated by the very chief priests and Pharisees who stood in the company of those listening to Jesus deliver this parable. As the scriptures tell us, the Jewish religious authorities certainly understood Jesus was talking about them but instead of repenting and turning their hearts away from making the parable come true, they instead immediately began to ponder ways to arrest Jesus with the intent of eliminating Him altogether before week's end.

So what’s our takeaway?

Well, God had sent His Son Jesus to try and get His people to produce the fruit He expected them to provide. But as we know, the Israelites were going to reject Jesus and kill Him just as readily as the tenants killed the landowner’s son in the parable, an act that would bring God’s judgment upon them, a judgment that would soon fall on the Jewish religious leaders that Jesus was teaching. Ironically, they would be the very wretches who would be brought to a wretched end and such will be the case for anyone who chooses to reject God’s Son, Jesus. For a day is coming when the once rejected Son who was crucified, died, was resurrected from the dead, and ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father will return as the victorious Judge of the world. When He does, he will take those who placed their belief, faith, and trust in Him as Savior to the new heaven and earth while vanquishing everyone else into the lake of fire where they will be utterly destroyed with the earth and heavens as we know them now. Until then, we are still God’s people, placed in His creation vineyard to bear the fruits of the Spirit and lead others to their salvation through Jesus, the once rejected Son who now serves as the Blessed Savior, the precious Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

PASSION WEEK SERIES: TAKING A STAND

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.

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Matthew 21:12-13

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

In yesterday’s devotion, we saw Jesus enter Jerusalem to the cries of the crowd who proclaimed:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

The Gospel of Mark tells us that it was late when Jesus entered the temple courts during His first day in the holy city and so He went out to Bethany (1 1/2 miles to the east of Jerusalem) with His disciples (Mark 11:11). The next day, the second day in what is commonly referred to as Passion Week, Jesus returned to the temple courts and what He witnessed brought on His ire as documented by our scripture excerpt from Matthew, Chapter 21:

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”  Matthew 21:12-13

So what got Jesus so riled up?

Some background is needed to understand His actions.

First, it’s important to know that the main part of the temple where the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies existed was surrounded by four courtyards, each with limits as to who could be within them. The closest courtyard to the temple was reserved only for the priests which made sense as they were the only ones who could perform duties in the temple.

The next courtyard outside of the courtyard of the priests was the courtyard of men and outside of that was the courtyard of women. It should be noted that not all men could be in the courtyard of men nor could all women be in their designated courtyard. Rather, only those who were Israelites, male or female, whichever applied, could be within their respective, designated places.

This left one remaining courtyard, the one furthest from the temple proper. This was called the courtyard of the Gentiles and anyone could be in this courtyard, even though you probably wouldn't find any Israelites hanging out there as they typically didn't hang out with the Gentiles and, in fact, viewed themselves as spiritually superior. 

 

Now, it was during Passover week and the city of Jerusalem had filled with God believers and Gentiles. The temple was packed with Israelites who had come to offer up the prescribed sacrifices and outside the temple, a marketplace had been created with two distinct transactions taking place at tables which had been placed within the courtyard of the Gentiles.

The first transaction involved currency exchange. Many people came to Jerusalem from points outside of the city, points that carried their own currency. That currency would need to be exchanged to do business with the temple as only shekels would be permitted to pay the temple tribute. The money changers had a reputation for levying exorbitant fees for exchanging currency from people who often had little money to begin with. The money changers knew the people wanted to be faithful to paying the temple tribute and would do what they needed to in order to remain faithful to God and His holy place. And so they took advantage of the people’s desire to be obedient to the Lord.

The other transactions that took place surrounded birds and animals that people could purchase for sacrifice. The animals offered within the temple courtyard could also be bought outside the temple grounds in the city but as a matter of convenience, people would often look to make their purchases inside the Gentile courtyard. The sellers of the sacrificial birds and animals knew this and would drastically elevate their prices, sometimes as much as twice as much as people would pay elsewhere.

And so what we find in common within the marketplace within the courtyard of the Gentiles was an exercise in sinful money grabbing within a place that was meant for righteousness and prayer, something that Jesus did not settle for. The Gospel of John tells us that He “made a whip out of cords” (John 2:15) before He drove out all who were buying and selling there, overturning the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling birds and animals.

It was quite a chaotic scene before Jesus makes a declaration that shows us the motivation for His behavior. He proclaimed to all who could hear Him:

“‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

You see, the temple courtyards were not simply social gathering places for those assembled there. They were to be holy places where people could go to pray and draw nearer to God. Jesus knew the words of His Father spoken in the days of the prophet Isaiah:

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:7b

God’s house, His holy temple, had indeed become just that for there was a place where people from all nations could pray unto Him, even the Gentiles. The only problem was that the place of prayer for the Gentiles had been turned into a place of commerce and a sinful one at that. The money changers and sellers had taken the "house of prayer" that God had intended the courtyard to me and made it a “den of robbers”.

Jesus just would not allow that to happen as He would never permit anything to violate the standards set in place by His Father and so He took action and made a stand, even when He knew His actions would not be popular.

Friends, we need to follow the lead of Jesus and stand up for God, reinforcing His righteousness and holiness, every chance we get. We may not find ourselves fashioning whips out of cords and driving out money changes and sellers from sacred courtyards but there are plenty of other instances when we need to be speaking out and standing up for God’s word, will, and way.

One thing is for sure. The world today is trying to force God and Jesus out of every aspect of life every chance it gets. Persecution is on the rise, even in nations that proclaim themselves to be democratic and free. As a result, it should come as no surprise that sin is becoming increasingly rampant, acceptable, and permissible.  

As we continue through the holy week and beyond, this is not the time to stay silent and be inactive. It’s time to take a stand and follow the example that Jesus set.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

PASSION WEEK SERIES: DID THEY REALLY KNOW WHO HE WAS?

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.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21:1-11

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

Today marks the start of what is referred to as Passion week as Jesus makes His entry into Jerusalem where He will meet His earthly end before being resurrected to life in power and into authority, defeating death and the grave.

So let’s go to where it started and an event that has been called Palm Sunday and/or the Triumphal Entry, whichever you prefer. Let’s look at Matthew’s account of this event:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  Matthew 21:1-11

I think the first thing we need to note here is that this wasn’t a random, impulsive, happenstance kind of event.

Like so many other aspects of Jesus’ life, prophecy had predicted what was to come and in this instance, the prophecy had come from the prophet Zechariah who foretold of a future king who was coming, righteous and victorious, a king who was worthy of their shouting and rejoicing.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

As we look at the scene painted in our scripture from the Gospel of Matthew, we see that Jesus, the prophesied king, had now come to Jerusalem but I wonder:

Did the people really know who He was?

Zechariah had said that a King was coming, and not just any king (small "k") but rather the King of kings and Lord of lords, a King that deserved all the pomp and circumstance of any other king who had come to Jerusalem and more. 

And so the people followed all the customary traditions when royalty would come to the city. Some spread their cloaks out on the road while others cut branches from trees and placed them on the path Jesus would travel on. There weren’t just a few people. God’s word tells us there were crowds there who went ahead of Jesus shouting and proclaiming praise to Him. And we aren’t left to wonder what they were saying because the scriptures tell us:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

The people who came to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem knew something about the man who was riding across the cloaks and branches on a donkey. They acknowledged Him as David’s son, a man in the lineage of their beloved former king who had a reputation for being someone who was after God’s own heart. They declared Jesus as being blessed because they saw Him as coming in the name of the Lord. They called for adoration in the highest heavens because of this special King's coming.

But did they really know who He was?

We read that the clamor of Jesus’ arrival moved from the road leading to Jerusalem into the city itself. His coming caused quite a stir and the commotion led people within the city to ask:

“Who is this?”

They truly didn’t recognize this Man who had come with great fanfare, this Man who had been predicted through prophecies of old. And in answer to the question of the people who had just seen Jesus, the crowds who had given Him a royal welcome replied:

“This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

That’s how they saw Jesus and it showed that even they didn't really know who Jesus was. They didn't view Him as the Son of God who had been sent to save them and all mankind but rather as a mere messenger who had been sent from God to speak to them.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, the people didn't know who He was and so it’s little wonder that in just five days, they would be shouting different words toward Him:

“Crucify!”

Need another hint that the people of Jerusalem were clueless about Jesus' real identity?

Go to the cross and hear the crucified Christ say this to His Father God:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

If the people had really known who Jesus was, they wouldn't have falsely accused and convicted Him, brutally beat Him, and then execute Him through crucifixion.

Today, we have so many people in our world who either don't know Jesus at all or think they know Him but they really don’t for if they did, they would be respecting and revering Him. They would be bowing down and worshiping Him. They would be striving with every ounce of their being to live like Him in all that they do. And they would realize that without Him, they have no hope in this life.

Friends, as we enter this final week of Jesus’ life, let our prayer be that all would come to really know Jesus for who He is:

The Good Shepherd who was willing to lay down His life for us, His sheep (John 10:11).

The Lamb of God who gave Himself up freely as a living sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Savior of all who would come to save all who would place their trust and believe in Him as the only way to God the Father (John 3:16, John 14:6).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

PUT ON YOUR ARMOR, EVERY DAY (PART 6)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@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.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

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

Going into battle requires a lot of preparation. I saw that first-hand during my more than 28 years serving in the United States Navy during deployments for Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom.

In this sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we have seen how battle preparation also applies to the spiritual side of every person and especially Christians who have chosen to believe in God and His Son Jesus who He sent to save mankind. Here was the lead in to discussing the parts of God’s armor that every believer needs to put on daily.

“...be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Vv. 10-13

The call is for spiritual readiness in regard to protection against Satan, the enemy of God and His people. All Christians are to don the full armor of God, not just some parts but all of them which include:

1. The belt of truth

2. The breastplate of righteousness

3. The shoes fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace

4. The shield of faith

And today, we add the final two pieces...

5. The helmet of salvation

and

6. The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God

Let’s look at each and what they mean.

A helmet would be worn in battle for obvious reasons. For a soldier isn’t going to be able to do anything without the ability to think and thus the brain needs protected. Like the breastplate protecting the heart, lungs, and other vital organs, the helmet likewise provide defense against damage to the head that could be terminal.

So how does this link to salvation?

I think the devil is always trying to get into a believer’s mind. The enemy is uber-skilled in playing head games.

Satan can easily get a Christian to start thinking they are unworthy of God’s favor, placing extreme emphasis on the sins the person has committed. At its worst, these mental attacks can convince a person they shouldn’t even be alive anymore, that there is no redemption possible for them.

This is where the helmet of salvation is so critical to put on. Through this special helmet, the Christian believer is always mindful that they have been justified, their sins covered by the shed blood of Jesus, their Savior. Through Christ, they have been washed clean and pardoned from the eternal damnation and torment found in God’s judgment. Therefore, hope is never lost and no one should ever allow themselves to believe it has been. They won’t as long as they put on their helmet along with the other elements of God’s full armor.

Now let’s shift to the sword of the Spirit which we see is the word of God.

No one in their right mind would ever go into physical war without a weapon and the same applies to our spiritual self. Thankfully, God gave us a weapon through the Bible, His holy Word but to be able to use the weapon, you have to know it. Skilled warriors don’t go into combat without knowing how to use their attacking instruments of war and neither should any Christian.

And yet, there are millions of Christians out there with just a surface knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. As a result, they are vulnerable to the attacks of the devil and unskilled in how to fight back with their spiritual sword.

When we look to the scriptures, we find Jesus perfectly showing us how to use this weapon. Look at this breakdown of what happened in the first verses of Matthew, Chapter 4.

First, let’s set the background.

After His baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days and nights. As soon as He emerged from this period of fasting, He found the devil waiting and eager to attack but Jesus had on His full armor of God with His sword of the Spirit ready.

We see where Satan goes for Jesus’ point of weakness immediately. Knowing that He was hungry after fasting for the forty days and nights, the devil tempts Jesus by saying:

“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” v.3

To which Jesus replied, wielding His sword from the word of God:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” v.4

Highly skilled swordsmanship, wouldn’t you say?

But Satan wasn’t ready to give up. He went back at Jesus with a second attempt, taking Him to the holy city of Jerusalem and the highest point of the temple before saying:

“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”Psalm 91:11-12

Note an important fact here. Satan knows the scriptures too and if he tried to use them to deceive Jesus, he will definitely try to use them against you, me, or any other believer. Here, we find him using verses from the Psalms but Jesus gets out His sword of the Spirit and slices through Satan’s attempt by invoking words from Deuteronomy, proclaiming to the enemy:

“It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 6:16

You would have thought that the devil would have just given up then but he didn’t, showing how persistent Satan is. We can never let our guard down and as we see, Jesus was ready for His enemy’s third attempt which went like this:

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

Going back to the book of Deuteronomy (6:13), we find Jesus finish the battle with Satan by once again wielding His sword of the Spirit with perfect mastery.

What was the result?

We go back to Matthew 4 and read this:

Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him. v.11

Unable to get past Jesus and the full armor He wore, especially His skilled scriptural sword play, the devil left and God took care of His Son with the angels. Through this action, we see how the Lord is not only equipping us for war with the enemy but also ready to help us heal after being in the fray.

Satan is coming for every single Christian. There is no questioning this so every single Jesus believer had better be prepared by putting on the full armor of God daily, not leaving any part off. It’s the only way to stay safe while we live this life on earth.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com