Month: April 2023

Psalm 88 is a lament that vividly expresses the distress of the Psalmist as he grieves the loss of those he loves. There is real honesty in these verses as he articulates his feelings of abandonment, helplessness & hopelessness in the darkness of anguish. But underneath all his despair is a glimmer of hope…a confidence in God and the faith to persevere through the suffering. Most times we lament to God, “If You really loved me, you wouldn’t allow this to happen.”…looking at God’s love through our circumstances and the suffering we’re experiencing. When we should really be looking at our suffering through the truth of God’s love for us. Ephesians 3:14-19 is an excellent display of the Lord’s love, showing us clearly Christ’s love for His people…a love that is inclusive, inexhaustible, and self-sacrificing. So when the darkness of grief abounds in your soul, know that God hears you in the darkness & is right there beside you.

Instead of the Jewish leadership recognizing the mighty hand of God in the resurrection of Lazarus, they plotted how to quickly dispose of him. Rather than acknowledging the miracle of a corpse being recalled back to life, they only saw Lazarus as a threat to their positions. For in this twisted popularity contest, they saw themselves losing to Jesus as He gained more followers. And this only fed to their insecurities…endangering their authority, and jeopardizing their power over the people. They couldn’t deny that Lazarus was indeed walking among them…but if they had anything to do with it, it wouldn’t be for too long.

When God places a burning bush on your path, there’s no time to get ready…You need to be ready. The burning bush that caught Moses’s attention symbolized God’s Presence…revealing Himself & His all-consuming holiness as He called Moses into service. Just think of all the wasted time if Moses had questioned or doubted what he saw, or if he had told God, “I need to get ready first before I’m available.” So we also need to be prepared at any given moment to be used of God with willingness & obedience…for we’ll never know when a burning bush will appear before us.

Here Jesus was addressing Judas Iscariot after Judas had made a heartless & inconsiderate remark about Mary pouring an extravagant amount of Nard on the feet of Jesus & wiping them with her hair. Judas only saw the beautiful expression of love & devotion as a terrible waste – thus belittling the gift, the giver, & the recipient. Jesus was quick to come to Mary’s defense knowing that His time was near, and the opportunities to be in His presence & serve Him here on earth would never come again.

Just as yesterday’s post showed how Caiaphas’s utterance was solely directed by God…so this Scripture shows how very little we have control of. Human will & exertion are nothing before the supreme Will & authority of God. Take for instance God’s words to Pharaoh in Exodus 9:16, “But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My Name might be proclaimed.” Pharaoh might of thought he was the most powerful man on earth & had the Jews right where he wanted them…but in reality, he was a mere pawn in God’s hands to be used for His glory. Or we could look at Balaam, a pagan prophet with a considerable reputation for supernatural powers who was hired by the Moabite king, Balak, to curse the Israelites. Three times Balaam started his oracle & three times his curses turned into blessings for the Jewish people. We may think we’re in control, but as Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

The resurrection of Lazarus had a double result – faith in some & unbelief in others. And this was evident especially within the Jewish Leadership. They only saw Jesus’ Ministry as a threat and feared it would provoke a uprising of the people…to the point that the Roman government would violently crush the insurrection, and with it take all their position & authority. Thus Caiaphas callously & shrewdly suggested that if they killed Jesus it may bring security for the entire nation. But in doing so, Caiaphas unknowingly uttered a prophecy that was far more profound than he could ever realize. It echoed Isaiah 49:6 that speaks of Christ & His Gospel Message as the light for the nations, and that His salvation would reach to the ends of the earth. Unwittingly, Caiaphas was used mightily of God, showing that Jesus’ death was necessary for salvation, not only for the Jews but for the whole world…His death not merely protection from a military invasion of Rome, but ultimately from eternal punishment.

In the Old Testament a yoke symbolized submission & slavery. When the Law was first given by God it was a good gift to His people…but man turned it into an unbearable & unreachable burden. And when the Law was understood as a way of earning salvation, it became a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) In contrast, the yoke of Jesus, while demanding, is easy because it’s from One who is meek & lowly in heart. For when we take His yoke upon us, we will walk in perfect rhythm with Him, following in His steps. (I Peter 2:21) And because Jesus fulfilled the Law’s requirements perfectly… He can provide true rest for our souls, or as Psalm 116:7 says, “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

In our service for the Lord we usually start out with great courage & the right motives…but then we take on burdens that aren’t meant for us to bear. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28 to, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give your rest.” When the immense feelings of responsibility, possible failure, or despair in serving the Lord are overwhelming…it’s time to roll those burdens over onto more capable shoulders…namely the Lord’s. For He can take away the weariness & disappointment – replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself & His Presence.

Just as death no longer has authority over Jesus Christ, the Living One, it no longer has reign over the Believer’s life. Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sins, once for all, making the Way possible for us to come to the Father…a bridging of the gap so to speak, between sinless God & sinful man. But the hinge-pin of these verses…the single phrase we should carefully consider is, “In the same way”. If we are alive to Christ, like Him, we must then consider ourselves dead to sin, for a corpse can’t sin. And this new life isn’t just a gift of eternal life from God…it’s the gift of the indwelling God, the Holy Spirit.

Usual Jewish burial customs dictated that a corpse would be thoroughly washed & anointed with perfumes such as nard, myrrh, & aloes. The body would then be wrapped in a simple white shroud…the face covered with a special cloth out of honor & dignity…and the hands & feet tied with strips of linen. Rationally, a dead body can’t hear…but when Jesus shouted into that tomb it was the divine power of God’s voice that enabled life to return into Lazarus. The same is true of the spiritually dead when God’s call raises them to life. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” Divinely, God’s voice can penetrate the dead tomb of our hearts, enabling us to hear, obey, & walk out of the grave into His glorious light.