Category Archives: Bible Study

Apr
23
2012

The Doctrine of Vocation in the Sermon on the Mount

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Seeking the kingdom of God first does not require a life lived apart from the world. Matt Perman wrote a short post about the myth (excerpt follows):

Jesus says “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6).

In the Middle Ages, before the Reformation, it was thought that life was divided into two areas — the “perfect life” and the “permissible life.” Those in “full time Christian service” lived the perfect life, and everyone else was relegated to second class — your life was acceptable, but not most important. If you wanted to live a truly important life, you had to be in “ministry” (which was also conceived of very differently then).

Jesus explodes this error.

He doesn’t do this by saying “the things of the world are as important as the things of God.” The teaching of the Bible is not that there are no priorities in life. Seeking the kingdom of God is the most important thing.

But the revolutionary teaching of Jesus and the Bible is that you don’t have to be a pastor or missionary or full-time Christian worker to do this.

Wherever you are, whatever your job, you can and must seek the kingdom of God first.

via The Doctrine of Vocation in the Sermon on the Mount : What’s Best Next.

Apr
16
2012

Authority from Ray Ortlund’s blog

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“The Rabbis spoke from authority, Jesus with authority.  Those who heard Him ‘were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes’ (Mark 1:22.  C. H. Dodd renders ‘He taught them like a sovereign, and not like the Rabbis’).  W. Manson . . . cites the saying of Justin Martyr, ‘His word was power from God.’  ‘Thus says the Lord’ is typical of the Old Testament, but Jesus’ characteristic expression is ‘Truly, truly, I say to you.’  The difference is significant.  Jesus appealed to no other authority as He spoke to men of the deep things of God.”

Leon Morris, The Lord from Heaven (Downers Grove, 1974), pages 13-14.  Italics his.

via Authority – Ray Ortlund.

Apr
03
2012

Don Carson’s Meditation on the Suffering Servant

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NOW THE IDENTITY OF THE perfect Servant comes into sharp focus. Isaiah 53, or better, Isaiah 52:13–53:12, is the fourth of five Servant songs that describe him. “See, my servant” (Isa. 52:13), God says, echoing the introduction to this Servant in Isaiah 42:1. The “arm of the LORD,” God’s saving power, has been promised in Isaiah 51:9 and 52:10. Now the question becomes, “[T]o whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” (Isa. 53:1). The implicit answer in this high point of Isaiah’s prophecy is that God’s saving power is nowhere more clearly seen than in the work of the Servant. In the previous chapters God has repeatedly promised forgiveness to his people, but its basis has not been established. Here all becomes clear: “my righteous servant will justify many … he will bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11). He is a priest, sprinkling the unclean (Isa. 52:15); he is a guilt offering, removing their iniquities (Isa. 53:10).

The first of five sections (Isa. 52:13–15) anticipates the whole: “My servant will act wisely,” God says, anticipating the conclusion. Beginning with the Servant’s exaltation (Isa. 52:13), this stanza descends to his appalling suffering (Isa. 52:14) and ends with the “sprinkling” of many nations and the stunned reaction to it. “Sprinkling” with blood, oil, or water is in the Old Testament bound up with cleansing, i.e., with making a person or thing fit to come before God. Normally this has reference to Israel or its institutions, but not here: this is for “many nations” (Isa. 52:15). The stunned reaction testifies that God’s wisdom overthrows and confounds all human wisdom (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18–2:5).

In the second and third stanzas (Isa. 53:1–3, 4–6) the speakers are witnesses. God has repeatedly called on his people to bear witness to him (Isa. 43:10, 12; 44:8), but they have been blind and deaf. Now, not only do they attest that the Lord alone is God (Isa. 43:12), but they bear witness to what God has done through his suffering, vindicated, exalted Servant. At first, reactions to him are cautious, and then negative (Isa. 53:1–3). He grew to be despised and rejected by men: “we esteemed him not,” the witnesses say. Indeed, when he was barbarically killed, many thought it God’s providential judgment (Isa. 53:4)—and they spoke better than they knew. But the witnesses come to grasp that “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities”—a substitutionary lamb (Isa. 53:5–7). In the fourth stanza (Isa. 53:7–9) Isaiah reflects on the Servant’s silent suffering and ambivalent death and burial (Had God accepted his work?), to end in the fifth (Isa. 53:10–12) with resounding affirmation of the purposes of God. God’s Servant will act wisely (Isa. 52:13); “by his knowledge” he will (literally) cause many to become righteous, “and he will bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11). Reflect on Matthew 1:21. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

via Deuteronomy 26; Psalms 117–118; Isaiah 53; Matthew 1 – For the Love of God.

Mar
20
2012

The Servant’s Substitutionary Suffering

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Isaiah’s description of the servant in Isaiah 53:4-6 shifts back and forth between the servant’s work and the resultant blessing on God’s people. The following chart highlights the numerous links.

 

Suffering on behalf of others
VerseThe Servant's PartThe People's Part
Isaiah 53:4he took
he carried		our infirmities
our sorrows
Isaiah 53:5he was pierced
he was crushed
his punishment
his wounds		for our transgressions
for our iniquities
brought us peace
we are healed
Isaiah 53:6laid on himthe iniquity of us all

 

These verses, perhaps as much as any in the Bible, highlight the servant’s substitutionary (vicarious) suffering on behalf of others.

 

(Taken from Sidebar 17.2, page 207, in Encountering the Book of Isaiah by Bryan E. Beyer)

 

Mar
15
2012

The Suffering Servant in the New Testament

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The significant usage of this passage (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) by many New Testament writers provides early testimony to the link the early church made between Isaiah’s words and the life and ministry of Jesus.

 

Links between Isaiah's words and Jesus
Isaiah's Verse(s)New Testament Citation(s)
Isaiah 52:15Romans 15:21
Isaiah 53:1John 12:38; Romans 10:16
Isaiah 53:4Matthew 8:17
Isaiah 53:7-8Acts 8:32-33 (Septuagint)
Isaiah 53:91 Peter 2:22
Isaiah 53:12Luke 22:37

 

(Table taken from Sidebar 17.3, page 211, in Encountering the Book of Isaiah by Bryan E. Beyer)

 

Mar
13
2012

A Completed “Memory Moleskine”

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I have been using the “memory moleskine” since I started with Philippians last year. Tim Brister’s idea revolutionized my thinking about Scripture memorization, and along the way, changed how I manage my private devotions.

My devotions over the years have always varied from hot to cold, working on something or doing nothing at all. I have used teaching Sunday school as a devotion of sort, yet I never really felt that lesson preparation should be my only devotion.

Now though, I am deliberately and systematically choosing what to memorize. In turn, I am choosing what to spend time on. The time spent focused on memorizing has also become time spent in study and worship.

With each passage in my “memory moleskine”, I read one to several commentaries about that passage. I take notes and look for links pointed out within the books. I seek out new applications and new means to draw nearer to Christ.

With our just finished study of Philemon, I used Peter O’Brien’s commentary to help me understand better Paul’s letter. The picture below is one page of how my notebook ended up looking. The entire notebook is also available.

 

Feb
16
2012

Praying in your room

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In Matthew 6:5, Jesus turns to a very familiar act, that of praying, and directly and more strongly tells his disciples that they must not be like the hypocrites when they pray. The hypocrites were praying to impress, with a motivation entirely centered on what others thought. The hypocrites contrived to be in places where their prayers would be visible to all (and maybe heard as well). They wanted the attention of folks so their astonishing piety could be observed.

It is a solemn warning to all of us who pray in public on a regular basis. There is nothing wrong with public prayers – at the start of a church meeting, or a Bible study, or during a worship service. It is good and proper for God’s people to come before him together in prayer. And I’m not saying we shouldn’t prepare to pray in public – making sure our tongue isn’t tied up and our grammar or phrases don’t distract. Yet, we need to be cautious that our praying isn’t done to impress those listening. Our prayers bring us to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16); it is him we should be pointing others to in our prayers.

But where does Jesus tell us to pray? In the closet! Jesus describes praying inside the small storage closet located in most single room homes of his day. There can be no desire to impress other people in prayers made in secret to our “Father who is in secret.” We must spend time with him in prayer and we must do it in total privacy.

 

Jan
29
2012

The Left and Right Hand of Giving

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In Matthew 6:2-4, Jesus tackles the first of three acts of piety. He describes the way of the hypocrite, seeking applause from those around, and the way of the kingdom, seeking God’s reward.

It’s interesting that giving to the needy is not expressly commanded in the Old Testament, but rather, taking care of the needy, as well as social justice, is. Yet, synagogues took on roles such as sometimes acting as a social agency and providing assistance for the needy. Giving to the synagogue became a mechanism for caring for the needy.

It also became a mechanism for seeking out the praise of others. We’ve all heard of the expression “blowing his own horn”, right? Jesus said those seeking recognition and praise for their giving were sounding the trumpet before them. We don’t know of an actual practice where that happened before someone gave; it appears that Jesus is using hyperbole to get his point across: don’t seek the praise of others in giving.

Jesus said your giving should be such a secret that even your left hand doesn’t know what the right one is doing. In Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Kindle edition), Randy Alcorn says this:

So what’s Christ’s point? Do your giving quietly, unobtrusively. Don’t cough loudly just as you’re giving. Don’t slam-dunk your offering in the plate. Drop your check in the offering or send it in the mail without drawing attention to yourself. Fold the check. Keep the envelope sealed. Give in a spirit of humility and simplicity, as an act of worship. Don’t give in order to get your name on a list. Don’t give in a spirit of self-congratulation. Don’t dwell on your gift, fixating on it, building a mental shrine to yourself. In other words, don’t make a big production out of it, either in view of others or in the privacy of your own heart.

We should not gain status in anyone’s eyes by focusing on our giving. To do so puts us in place of Christ. Our giving should be generous and sacrificial – and it should be between our Master and us.

 

Jan
09
2012

What did I learn?

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In the last two posts (here and here), I asked my two friends to discuss their experiences with memorizing Scripture over the last few months (and back to Philippians). I appreciate what they said and agree as well. Memorizing Scripture with them over this last year has been a growing time for me.

Yet, I came away from the Sermon on the Mount with a different set of feelings than Philippians. With Philippians, there was one major theme that impacted me more than others: the “long perspective”. Paul constantly and consistently spoke about aiming for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. He strove and worked and poured himself out to attain the resurrection from the dead, even desiring to share in Christ’s sufferings. Why would he do that? He saw Christ doing it for him, becoming a servant, obedient to death. I determined to work that perspective into my daily life, into my choices.

But my feelings are different after going through the Sermon on the Mount for the last four months. I came away from this passage cut to the quick. I realized how needy I am of grace – every day even! I found (and still find) my heart to be desperately wicked. When Jesus spoke of the “new righteousness” demanded by kingdom life, I found new crevices within my heart full of sin. Jesus spoke of right motives in our acts of piety, and I found selfish motives abounding in even my smallest actions. Jesus tells us to prioritize the eternal – the heavenly treasure – with a focused, healthy eye, serving the right master. My priorities often still focus on my stuff and my needs. Our judgments must be accompanied by a ruthless, internal dealing with our own sin; I judge wrongly (and too often), ignoring my own sin. The “golden rule” seems a higher sacrifice than I ever realized. And that “rule” sums up the Law and the Prophets – loving others interdependent with loving God.

I have been driven more to prayer. “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” I have asked for God to continue pouring out his grace on my sin. I want to build on the rock of obedience to be established for any weather.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
(The Valley of Vision, opening prayer)

 

Jan
03
2012

Outline of the Sermon on the Mount

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I’m including a link below to Grant Osborne’s outline to the Sermon on the Mount. I’ve found it helpful to step back and look at the whole flow from time to time.

The Sermon on the Mount Outline