Study Starter: Do We Teach Children Faith?

Study Starter: Do We Teach Children Faith?

by: Christopher Wiles

     Last week I introduced you to the Hebrew concept of “Chaos” through our children’s Sunday school songs. Today, let’s get better acquainted with the Hebrew concept of “Faith” through the exact same vehicle.  So begin listing your kids’ Sunday School songs that talk about the word “faith.”  Hmmm, Jesus Loves Me?  Nope.  Deep N Wide? Nuh uh.  Father Abraham? Nada.  Arky Arky?  Zip.  Lord’s Army? Zero.  Jesus Loves The Little Children?  Zilch. 

     I can’t find any mention of faith in my searches of children’s Sunday School Songs.  Why aren’t we teaching our children about FAITH?!?!

     Ahhh, but an understanding of Faith from a Hebrew perspective may help us out.  For starters, today, we tend to view faith as a cognitive activity, similar to belief.  Therefore if we simply jump through the cognitive hurdles to believe that Jesus came, died, and rose again, then we have faith, right?  Not quite. 

Exodus 17:12 "EMUNAH" is a steadying action!

     Faith in the Old Testament is a much more active and volitional word than our modern world teaches. “EMUNAH” shows up as a noun 49 times in the OT, but mostly in the book of Psalms (see Vines Expository Dictionary for more).  The first time we’re introduced to it is in Exodus 17:12 when Moses’ hands were heavy, but Aaron and Hur held up his hands until sundown. What they did was made Moses’ hands “steady” (KJV) or faithful.  Thus we have a good foundation for what faith really is.  It is a steadying force in our lives.  That jives well with the Bible.com devotional on Hebrew faith that states, “But the Hebrew word for 'faith' - emunah - is less about KNOWING, and more about DOING.  'Emunah' literally means ‘to take firm action’, so to have faith is to act.”

     This abstract concept that combines our beliefs, our decisions, and our actions is tough to understand, which is why James tries to help followers of Christ by writing, “¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:14-17

     So, are we teaching our kids about faith, even though we don’t actually sing about the word “faith” with them?  Well, “Jesus Loves Me” does work on a fundamental belief.  “I’m in the Lord’s Army” encourages them to declare a position. “This Little Light of Mine” encourages children to admit that they are going to DO something about their beliefs as they sing “All around the neighborhood, I’m gonna let it shine…”

     So yes, we are teaching children about faith in the songs that we sing because faith is so much more than simply a word or a belief; it is believing, deciding, and acting.  Due to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, let’s strive to live faithfully the truth spoken in our children’s songs and in our Holy Scripture.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20

Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin.  You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.

Study Starter: Along Came Jesus Walking on the Chaos

Study Starter: Along Came Jesus Walking on the Chaos

by: Christopher Wiles

Along came Jesus walking on the water
Along came Jesus walking on the water
Along came Jesus walking on the water
Out on the deep blue sea. 

We have fun singing this little ditty to the kids as we teach them Bible histories, don’t we?  We make up hand motions.  We sing it with smiles on our faces. We may even get up and dance or mimic the gentle waves of the ocean.  While we tone it down to make it palatable for children, the Bible history recording Jesus walking on the water in Matthew 14 was anything but palatable for the disciples, it was CHAOS.

Let’s walk through a little bit of Hebrew history to understand the chaos.  First let’s travel through the primary Hebrew word for “water” which is “mayim”.  It’s used 580 times in the Old Testament and it occurs in every period of biblical Hebrew.  The word, “mayim” is actually a plural of the basic Hebrew letter for “M” pronounced “MEM.”  That letter was made, using what looks like waves of water.   Check out the letter in early, middle, late, and modern Hebrew writings:  

The letter “mem” and the word “mayim” get their basic meaning from something that is troubled, stirred, choppy, or wavy.  You can see that usage in passages such as 2 Samuel 22:17 where David writes about the Lord rescuing him from his enemies in which he says, “He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.”  David is referring not to actual water, but to the Chaos that water represents.  These are the same chaotic and troubled “waters” found in Genesis 1:2 “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

In the beginning, in God’s effort to bring order to “mem” or chaos, God put light, stars, plants, animals, and mankind.  Just like David, when “mem” or chaos rises to the surface of our lives, we realize that God intervenes to bring calm.  When the “mem” or chaos gets so bad like when the disciples in Matthew 14 who were in a boat being buffeted in the middle of the chaos, God walks right across the “mem” to save us.  Just as He did for Peter, our Lord and Savior invites us to have faith and join Him, as we conquer all the “mem”, “mayim”, and “chaos” in our life.  

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)

Along came Jesus walking on the water, out on the deep blue sea. 

Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin.  You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.

Study Starter: The Death of Methuselah

Bulletin Study Starter: Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

The Death of Methuselah - By Christopher Wiles

Study Starters are ideas from my personal study that are intended to get you thinking about a Bible topic by piquing your curiosity concerning spiritual things.

The Death of Methuselah

Recently, some numbers in my morning study (from Genesis 5-7) got me doing some mental math and I found a startling discovery.  Methuselah died the year of the flood!  It seems odd that the Bible doesn’t mention that the longest man to ever live (969 years in Gen 5:27) died near the flood, and maybe even in the flood.  It also seems odd that I’ve never read a commentary about Methuselah's death, nor ever had a professor mention it, nor heard it in a sermon. How did I stumble upon the idea of Methuselah dying in/near the flood?

First, start with Genesis 7:6 which states Noah was 600 years old when the flood came.  Next, look at Noah’s father, Lamech, who was 182 years old when Noah was born (Gen 5:28).  Lamech lived a total of 595 years after Noah was born(Gen 5:30) which puts his death 5 years before the flood.  But what about Methuselah, who was Lamech’s father?

Methuselah was 187 years old when Lamech was born (Gen 5:25).  So Methuselah was 369 years old when Noah, his grandson, was born (187+182=369).  We can determine how long the flood happened after Methuselah's birth by adding 369+600 (remember, the flood was 600 years after Noah was born (Gen 7:6).  When you add 369+600, what do you get?  969 YEARS!  The flood happened 969 years after Methuselah was born, which is also how long Methuselah lived (Gen 5:27).

So that makes me ask a few questions “Did Methuselah die in the flood?”  “Was Methuselah an unrighteous man since Noah was the only one spoken of as righteous? (Gen 7:1)”  “Were Methuselah and Lamech corrupt and violent like the rest of the earth? (Gen 6:11-12)”  “Might Methuselah have broken the 1000 year mark if he had been found righteous at the flood?”

A quick Google search shows there are several theories and Jewish traditions to read on  the death of Methuselah, the oldest man to ever live.  What do you think?  What’s your theory?  May this finding encourage you to pay attention to those “boring” genealogies for they may have a story to tell all on their own!

“The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.” - Proverbs 10:27

An Old Testament Reflection of Jesus' 2nd Command

Study Starter: An Old Testament Reflection of Jesus' 2nd Command

by: Christopher Wiles

photocred: joshjackcarl.com

    Jesus blew minds away when He simplified and summed up the commands with  "Love the Lord your God," (Mt 22:37) and "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mt 22:39)  He furthered the declaration which silenced Pharisees and Sadducees by adding, "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."  (Mt 22:40)  These brazen commandments were really nothing new, but rather a simplification of the ten commandments as they were twice shared by Moses to all the children of Israel. (Ex 20:1-17 & Deut 5:7-21)  The challenge for us today is to determine what this simplification looks like in our lives.  In this two part work, we'll first look at the 2nd Command (love your neighbor) and how that was reflected in daily life of the people whom originally were told not to covet, lie, steal, cheat, murder, or dishonor others.

     Deuteronomy is a second telling of the law, which came a dismal forty years after the Israelites suffered through their unfaithfulness and fear by traipsing through the wilderness.  Israel is poised to accept God's gift of the promised land this time, but Moses puts them on pause to stand on a mountainside and share again the Decalogue (10 commandments, Deut 5:7-21) and what it should look like as we live it out (Deut 6-26).   My recent study in Deut 24 gives me insight into the 2nd part of the 10 commandments.  It tells us what daily living would look like if people followed "love your neighbor as yourself." Check out some of the words in these excerpts from the "sundry laws."

• The former husband isn't allowed to take her again to be his wife… (24:4)
• When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army… (24:5)
• No one shall take a hand-mill...in pledge, for he would be taking a life… (24:6)
• If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countryman… then that thief shall die... (24:7)
• When you make your neighbor a loan… you shall not enter his house to take his pledge… (24:10)
• You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor or needy… (24:14)
• Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons… (24:16)
• Nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers… (24:16)
• You shall not pervert the just due a sojourner… (24:17,19,21)

• You shall not pervert the just due a … orphan… (24:17,19,21)

• You shall not pervert the just due a … widow … (24:17,19,21)

     Loving your neighbor as yourself in just this one chapter includes: honoring your wife, being merciful to the family, showing grace to a debtor, giving justice to your countryman, treating fairly the poor, being accountable for only your own mistakes, blessing the visitor to your land, taking care of the orphans, and providing for the widows.  This lists of laws in your Old Testament study might seem a little tedious, till we realize they are still the basis of how Jesus expects us to treat people today. 

     Now, take inventory of your own actions in the past week.  How have you loved your neighbor?  Enjoy reading through more of the sundry laws in Deuteronomy 6-26 as they teach us all how to love our neighbors just as the Lord desires.

Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin.  You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.

Rare Steak or Power in the Blood?

Study Starter:  Rare Steak or Power in the Blood?

by:  Christopher Wiles

What's the beef with blood in the Bible?  In our Wednesday evening adult studies Bible class, we've had recent lively discussions on passages including Deuteronomy 12:23,  "But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat."  Then compound the implications of that verse with the commands given in a letter from the Jerusalem Council to the Gentile churches. "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:  You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things." (Acts 15:28-29)

Wow, with such strong scriptural admonitions against eating blood, what do we do about traditional foods today such as the German blood pudding, blood soup, and blood sausages?  Should we be warning all those carnivorous men and women who enjoy eating their steak rare?  Should we be teaching more on this topic as part of the plan of salvation since it seemed good to the Holy Spirit?

Seeing Eye to Eye with God's Word

We must be cautious in reading verses separate from the rest of the Bible.  It was Jesus who said, "It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” (Matthew 15:11)  Don't forget Paul who carried that Acts 15 letter from Jerusalem to the Gentile churches.  This same Paul, in a letter to the church at Colossi, said, "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." (Colossians2:16)  Consider also that time Jesus gathered with His closest disciples to share deep truths just before He was betrayed and crucified.  "Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Matthew 26:27-28)

Agreeing with God's Word

Within a document as varied as the 66 books of history, wisdom, poetry, letters, and apocalyptic writings of the Bible, we can unintentionally pull out scriptures that seems contradictory, as if God's Word doesn't agree with itself.   Thankfully we have a good God who gives understanding through His Holy Spirit as we study, meditate, and ponder God's good Word.  For us, Gentiles, in churches today striving to follow the wisdom and patterns of the New Testament, it is essential that we pray for God's guidance and that we study with "best practices" such as considering the context of our passages.

Enlightenment from Jerusalem and beyond.

1. First, consider the broader context of the NT.  We don't see the prohibition of blood anywhere else.
2. Consider the context of the covenant moving from the external purity of OT to inward purity of the NT, as evidenced in Matthew 15:11 (see above) and Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
3. Consider the context of Acts 15 where we see discrepancies in the practices of the Jews and Gentiles within predominately Gentile churches such as Antioch (15:1).  The Jews were teaching that one couldn't be saved without circumcision, including Gentiles.  There were problems between the two culture systems existing within the church.  It appears that the Jerusalem Council, in an effort "to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (Eph 4:3) gave the Gentiles four big ideas to abstain from so as to maintain unity with the Jewish Christians in their congregations.  While it wouldn't be a personal sin to eat blood, it would be a moral struggle for Jews growing up under the law of Moses. This is the concept behind the often quoted 1 Corinthians 8:9, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak."

My To-Go Box

After all that meaty conversation, I'll summarize what I take away from the table after this spiritual meal. 

• There are no purity prohibitions on food today (drunkenness is a different issue), except that we try not to consume things that cause groups of believers to question our faith, out of respect for their faith.
• We are grateful that the Jews believed there is Life in the blood, because that sets up our belief that through the Blood of Christ, we find eternal Life today!
• Be grateful for blood and the power of life it gives for all who would know and obey Jesus!

So that's what I've got cooking on the subject.  There's a lot more information and scripture we can go to if you want more discussion, but I think it would have belabored the blog and points would have been lost if I posted it all here.  I'm curious your thoughts, especially those of you with Jewish backgrounds.  What do you think? I'd love to listen and learn.   Oh, and thanks for the invite, but I'm not interested in eating your blood pudding and I like my steak medium well. 

"We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus." - Hebrews 10:19b

Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin.  You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.

Speaking of Blood, don't forget that we have a blood drive coming up this weekend so that you can donate life to another!  Sign up at www.washingtoncoc.org to give blood between 12-4pm on Sunday, Feb 26th. 

The Beginning of Love

Study Starter:  The Beginning of Love

By: Christopher Wiles

image from plusquotes.com

Love is in the air!  With Valentine’s day fast approaching everybody is talking about love.  However, people always talk about love in our culture.  They talk about loving pizza, loving pets, and loving the President. (Really, some people do!  Check it out on FB here.)  Sometimes I think we’ve gotten love confused with the word “like”.  The best way to help us keep on the straight and narrow on true love is to teach from the Bible and model it for everyone around us.  Here’s the skinny about love from Hebrew.

Hebrew,  why not start here?  Some Jews & Christians consider Hebrew to be the first language through which God spoke in creating the world.  Our English word “Love” is in Hebrew “ahavah” (H160) which is made of four basic Hebrew letters “AHVH” (aleph-hei-vav-hei). I think it is possible the root of the word is the “HV ” which means “to give”.  This comes from Strong’s number H3051 “YHV”, but the Y drops out in the imperfect tense when and you put an “A” in its place to make “AHV” (Qal imperfect 1^st common singular.  You can download the Hebrew parsing charts HERE and go to page 17 for verbs beginning with "Y"). If all of that made no sense, just know the two following concepts.

• The word “AHAVAH” is used over 40 times (that’s AHAV with a feminine “AH” ending) and often talks about sacrificial love.  
• When you add the “A” (aleph) on the front of "HV" to make it “AHV” you get the phrase, “I WAS GIVING” or “I AM GIVING.” 

Thus, I believe the word "love" originally having roots in the phrase “I give.”  You can find this word used in Genesis 29:20 after Jacob has given seven years of his life for Rachel, “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the LOVE (AHAVAH) he had to her.”  You can also find it in 1 Kings 10:9 stating “The Lord LOVED Israel forever” and “Hatred stirs up strife, but LOVE covers all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12) 

What does that mean for us?  Maybe we would be best served to use our word “LOVE” when we are talking about giving to someone rather than just enjoying something.  This Valentine’s Day, give a gift to someone you love, whether a spouse, friend, child, or neighbor.  Give them the gift of your LOVE.  

Oh, and don’t forget why we choose to give that special gift.

“We LOVE because He first LOVED us.” (1 John 4:19)

Footnote: I first found the idea of the connection of love & giving in Jewish Magazine (Apr 1999) but the Hebrew Lexicon work verifying the possible etymology is all my own, which explains why you don't see any source citations.

Love that gives is our motivation for Valentine's Day. Check out some fun Hebrew etymology here. https://t.co/OAJlPRLsVm pic.twitter.com/33JJEhLt52

— Christopher Wiles (@TopherWiles) February 9, 2017

Living Lessons & Study Starters are articles written for the weekly Washington Church of Christ bulletin.  You can find more by clicking HERE or searching for "Study Starter" in the right sidebar search.

Study Starter: The Great Commission

Study Starter: The Great Commission by Christopher Wiles

I regret that we as humans aren't perfect.  Sometimes our best efforts can still fall a little short.  I see this especially in our English translations which are sometimes limited and can actually take us away from the emphasis the original Biblical writers intended.  Take for instance the Great Commission, which you have likely heard for years and know by heart. 

Matthew 28:19-20a (KJV) "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you;"

Due to this translation, we have a tendency to boil the beautifully simple Great Commission down into three basic and  equivalent commands:  Go, Teach, and Baptize. 

Yet one look at the Greek words show that these are not parallel commands at all.  We find out that KJV translation of the verse 19 "teach all nations" is written differently from the "Go, Baptize, and Teaching".   Here's the parsing of the words in Greek

Go (v. 19) - πορευθεντες (poreuthentes)-  a participle meaning "going"

Baptize (v. 19)  - βαπτιζοντες (baptizontes) - a participle meaning "baptizing"

Teach (v. 20) - διδασκοντες (didaskontes) - a participle meaning "teaching"

Here's  what verse 19 "teach" looks like

"Teach" (vs. 19) - μαθητευσατε (matheteusate) - an imperative verb commanding "make disciples"

Here's the rub of it all.  Most translations and sermons put all four of these verbs into parallel commands such as "Go, teach, baptize" or maybe four commands such as "Go, Disciple, Baptize, Teach".  Yet when Matthew recorded Jesus' words in Greek, the first word for "teach" (KJV)  or better translated "Make disciples" (NIV), is given first priority.  "Make disciples" stands out from among the rest because it is the only direct imperative command in Jesus' Great Commission. 

To sum it up, the Jesus' Great Commission directly commands us to MAKE DISCIPLES.  Then Jesus gives us a three step process into HOW to make disciples: by going, baptizing, and teaching.   Keep studying and consider how your disciple making is going. 

How Do You Treat Satan?

Bulletin Study Starter: Sunday, June 29^th, 2014

How do you treat Satan? - By Christopher Wiles

Study Starters are ideas from my personal study that are intended to get you thinking about a Bible topic by piquing your curiosity concerning spiritual things.  Hopefully they’ll inspire you to open your Bible and look into them more on your own. 

Jude: When was the last time?

A good friend and brother in Christ recently shared, “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a sermon or done a study out of Jude.”  True, Jude, the brother of Jesus, doesn’t get the time and notoriety that Paul, John, Peter, and even his other brother, James, gets.  Yet there’s a lot we can learn from this follower of Christ and the one short chapter he writes to us.

After listing a bunch of sins of some specific unbelievers Jude names a sin that doesn’t get a lot of study time.  He says people are guilty of “reviling angelic majesties.” (v. 8) What in the world does that mean?  To illustrate the level of respect we should have for God’s created beings he shares that Michael the archangel respected Satan so much that even he wouldn’t directly rebuke Satan or pronounce judgment against him. (v. 9) Jude says these sinners revile things they don’t understand and by these things they will be destroyed. (v. 10)

When was the last time you considered your attitude toward Satan?  Sometimes preachers (myself included) are guilty of mocking and joking about this created being that even Michael won’t talk bad about.   Sometimes we’re guilty (myself included) of teaching kids lyrics to pep-rally-type songs that trash talk Satan saying things like “If the Devil’s in the way we will run right over him,” “If the Devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack,” and a more recent camp/VBS song titled “Little Square Box” which says:

“But if I had a little square box

to put the Devil in,

I’d take him out and STOMP HIS FACE (Kids yell while stomping the ground)

and put him back again.”

Have we been guilty of reviling, trashing, or goading someone we shouldn't?  I’m definitely not suggesting we not have fun, passion, and boldness in our preaching, singing, and children’s songs but I am wondering if we have forgotten the message from Jude to beware reviling angelic majesties that we don’t understand.  What do you think?

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Study Starter: The Case for Marriage

Study Starters: The Case for Marriage

By: Christopher Wiles

Since I primarily preach expository instead of topical there are some topics of interest that may not make its way frequently into sermons.  Polygamy (taking multiple spouses) came along in one of my recent daily morning readings and some church members have recently asked about it. 
                In Deuteronomy Moses is offering Israel much needed guidance just before they enter the promised land.  The Lord inspires him and Moses realizes they might say “I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me.” (17:14) How right Moses would be a few hundred years later.  He gives this further instruction “He (Israel’s King) shall not have multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away.” (17:17)

I think the clearest evidence that monogamy (have only one spouse) is God’s ideal is that Christ taught on marriage in Matthew 19:3-6.  In that He quoted from the Genesis creation account, in particular Genesis 1:27 & 2:24 saying “the two will become one flesh.”  Yet I have read where some contemporaries say, “King David had multiple wives and he was a man after God’s own heart.”  On top of Jesus’ teachings, Moses’ offering in my morning reading of Deuteronomy really highlights God’s desire for our marriages. 

About 400 years before David, Moses told people not to have a king with multiple wives.  He knew it would cause problems, and he was right.  Take a look at what happened to David’s son, Solomon, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods.” – 1 Kings 11:4a.  God knew this would be a problem for kings and told them not to do it in advance.  David’s problems arose when he took Bathsheba for another wife and things got even worse when sibling rivalry and incest took place between half-brothers and half-sisters in his messy family tree. (2 Samuel 13) The narrative of David in 2 Samuel only offers three positive chapters of David’s kingship (8-10) as opposed to 10 negative chapters (11-20).  I was also thinking as I was looking through timelines, David was either a "young'un" or possibly not born when the "after His own heart" verse was written in 1 Samuel 13:14.  David didn't kill Goliath until three chapters later in 1 Samuel 17. 

God was right, a man with multiple wives would spell trouble.  Oh but wait, so would having a human as king (1 Samuel 8).   My morning reading in Deuteronomy 17:14-17 further solidifies the view that God intended marriage to be between one man and one woman.  What does that reading do for you?

Caesar's Household

Study Starter: Caesar’s Household

By: Christopher Wiles

I marvel at the spread of the gospel of Christ.  The speed at which it travelled, the depth at which it spread in all cultures, the variety of the class systems who grasped it’s grace amazes me.  So I wonder in awe at a seemingly small and insignificant verse found in the tail end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

“All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.” – Philippians 4:22

Paul likely resides within the prisons of Rome as he writes his letter of joy to his family in Christ near 600 miles away (as the crow flies).   Ending his letters with salutations is not abnormal, yet Paul draws a purposeful distinction by throwing in the Greek word “malista” here.  This word often translated “chiefly” “especially” or “greatly” gives us an idea that the deep healing faith in Christ seeping into Caesar’s house would encourage Christians.  Here’s why it would encourage them and should encourage us today.

The “Caesar” at the time of Paul’s writing was Emperor Nero who was one bad man.  Adam Clarke’s commentary writes of Nero thus, “a more worthless, cruel, and diabolic wretch never disgraced the name or form of man.” Nero was infamous for his treatment of his enemies and of Christians.  One particular story of drowning his stepson on a fishing trip to remove a potential rival sticks out in my mind as a particularly diabolical act.

The fact that faith could infiltrate into the abode of the greatest Christian persecutor of the times would indeed bring joy and hope to our brothers and sisters in Christ abroad in the Roman empire.  Who were the converts?  How deep did the faith travel in Nero’s house?  These are questions we don’t have many answers to, although Josephus the Historian does mention that Nero’s second wife, Empress Poppea, was a “deeply religious woman”.  Could faith in the God above reached all the way up to Nero’s wife?  We likely won’t know till we see the saints on the other side of life. 

Yet we can be filled with joy and hope at the thought of Christ’s gospel reaching the presence of even the most resistant of places.  Have you given up hope on someone because of their desire to oppose the will of God in their life?  Take courage, if grace can reach deep into Caesar’s house, it can reach anywhere. 

“Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid.  Just believe.’” – Mark 5:36b

Why was Jesus Baptized?

Study Starter: Why was Jesus baptized?

By: Christopher Wiles

There are a lot of famous Johns throughout history that we love to talk about.  There’s John Locke, the philosopher.  How about John D. Rockefeller, the famous entrepreneur?  John Candy was a famous funny man; John Cena is a famous athlete; John McEnroe had awful hair and attitude but amazing tennis skills.  

 Of all those John’s we could talk about, why don’t we focus on two John’s and Jesus who come together in one chapter of the Bible so that we can understand an answer to a perplexing question: 

WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED?

If John the Baptist was immersing people for repentance and remission of sins (Luke 3:3), then what good motive did a sinless Messiah need for traveling 100 miles  (Matt3:13, John 1:28) to be baptized by John?  Matthew, Mark, and Luke don’t give us a lot of info as to the “why?” except that Matthew records Jesus in the following argument to JTB, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt 3:15)

Thanks for making the purpose of your baptism abundantly clear Jesus.  So what was this righteousness that needed to be fulfilled?  I can’t find any prophecy in the OT that speaks of baptism.  The closest I can come  up with is when priests had to be sprinkled, shaved, and washed to begin their ministry (Num 8:7) or when Moses washed Aaron and his sons (Lev 8:6).  Yet we don’t see anything about Jesus being sprinkled or shaved, nor was Jesus a priest according to the line of Aaron (he was of the order of Melchizedek in Hebrews5:8-10). 

From the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) we’re back to the question. WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED?  WHAT WAS FULFILLED? 

I’m thankful that John “the beloved disciple” was a different sort of writer.  He often explains things for the curious guy like me in crystal clear ways that I love to read his inspiration.   Disciple John’s explanation is pretty simple really when he starts telling the history of John the Baptist in correlation with Jesus.  God told John the Baptist in Disciple John's historical retelling, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” (John1:33)  Then Disciple John records Baptist John saying “I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”  Baptist John reveals to Israel (John 1:31) that Jesus is the Chosen One and John the Disciple reveals it to us.  Therefore, Jesus' baptism was to announce to JTB, Israel, and us that JESUS IS THE CHOSEN ONE.  Fulfillment of JTB’s direct revelation came in this righteous act as well.    I’m thankful for God using these two famous John’s to bring us understanding, aren’t you?  

  

Baptism was an important start to Jesus’ ministry; so important that all four gospel writers talk about it.  Matthew records Jesus directing disciples to baptize people at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry too.  Nine baptisms are recording in the book of Acts,  and the remaining letters of the new testament speak of baptism at least 15 times in the KJV. Needless to say, from the beginning to the end of the New Testament, understanding baptism and participating in it was big deal to many of our heroes of faith, and even to the Son of God Himself.  God declared to the world Jesus as His Chosen One through Baptism.  Have you declared yourself as God’s child through the same manner?

  

^“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” – Galatians 3:26-27