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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors, He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
“‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’”
God raised Him from the dead so that He will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “‘I will give You the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’”
So it is also stated elsewhere:
“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’”
“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.”
Acts 13:32-37
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In yesterday’s message, the fourth in this six devotion series from Paul’s message of exhortation delivered to a gathering of Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in a Pisidian Antioch synagogue, we saw how the Gospel can be offered in very concise fashion to others. This was important because there are those times when we only are with someone for a couple of brief moments, moments that will only offer us a few minutes to share a message that is of eternal importance for the hearer.
Now Paul had more than just a couple minutes with his synagogue audience but he still worked with efficiency as he shared the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. As he continued on from his Gospel “elevator speech”, we see in today’s lesson where he uses the scriptures to validate his message. Paul didn’t want his listeners to think he was telling a tale of his own making. Rather, he sought to make sure the synagogue congregation knew that everything was grounded in the work and word of God.
In regard of the latter, we see how Paul draws from Old Testament scripture in today’s passage to help reinforce his message, something we should do as well, anytime we are ministering to others. The class I have taught personally for so many years would tell you I am always exhorting them to validate everything against God’s word. It really is the litmus test for whether or not you’re being taught truth or falsehood.
The people of the Pisidian Antioch synagogue were very well versed in the words of the prophets and the psalms. A devout Jew himself, Paul had spent a lot of time worshipping in the synagogue setting so he knew the words that his audience could relate to. No doubt they had heard the words many times but had never connected them with Jesus. Paul sought to show the connection in his message.
First, we see him use words from the second Psalm, letting the people know that God had promised their ancestors to raise Jesus up from the dead and then fulfilled that promise for them. After Jesus was resurrected, God, the Father, brought His Son to His side in the heavens where they still abide together.
Next, we find Paul draw from the words of the prophet Isaiah to show how Jesus was connected to the Jews beloved King David. Although Jesus would suffer and die for the cause of saving mankind from their sins, in the end God would bless Him with the “holy and sure blessings” that He had promised to David. And indeed, God had kept His promise because He never fails to do so.
Finally, Paul goes back to the Psalms, this time the sixteenth psalm, to show that Jesus’ body could not have remained in the tomb, left to decay. He also showed how there was a vast difference between David and Jesus.
David had served at the will of God to fulfill His purposes during his lifetime but when he died, he remained dead. He was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed like them. David wasn’t resurrected by the way of God’s power and glory.
But Jesus was. He was God’s holy One and as the sixteenth psalm assured, God would not permit His “holy One” to see decay. And so it was. God raised Jesus from the dead and brought Him back to life, bringing Him to His right hand and placing Him in authority over all things in heaven and on earth.
The resurrection was not only real but it validated the scriptures foretelling of it. Paul wanted to make sure the people knew this and we should follow his lead when we are talking about Jesus. The Old Testament set everything up for the New and the Bible in its entirety from beginning to end is all about God’s redemption story for all mankind.
As Christian believers, we need to know God’s word, all of it, so we can effectively deliver messages of exhortation to anyone the Lord might bring our way. My prayer is that the messages the Lord gives me through this ministry to share will help you in that regard.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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