September - Reading 6

Good afternoon -

Our Scriptures for today are:

Luke 22:1-13

Hebrews 4:1-11

Proverbs 21:1-16

Isaiah 14-16

May God bless the reading of His Word.

 

Good evening -

I am rather intrigued about this concept of Judas' possession. As Aaron has indicated, this was a necessary element for the salvific Sacrifice of Christ to occur. We know from the story of David and the census (1Chronicles 21) that God uses satan to bring about His purpose and indeed if Judas was possessed then Christ certainly recognized his enemy before Him as we will see tomorrow after the Lord's Supper. Matthew Henry's commentary on these first few verses of Luke 22 offer a pretty good insight:

http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/MatthewHenryComplete/mhc-com.cgi?b ook=lu&chapter=022

It should also be noted that it is a plausible theory that the arrangements made for the Lord's Supper are done in the manner described in verses 7-13 so that Judas would be unaware of the location and thus not disrupt this most important event.

Isaiah in chapter 14 has moved into the punishment that would befall Babylon. I keep stressing in these commentaries that babylon has not even risen as a major power yet. The Northern Kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians and their was much political maneuvering happening at this time. It is a verycomplicated political picture, nearly as complex as today's world. The famous passage of 14:12-15 have been interpreted by many as a reference to Satan and the words "morning star" in verse 12 are interpreted as Lucifer in the Latin vulgate and thus appear that way in the KJV. Further support of this position appears in Christ statement in Luke 10:18. The more literal interpretation is of course that Isaiah is referring to the king of Babylon.

Chapter 4 of Hebrews picks up on the same thought that ended chapter 3. The "rest" of the Jews upon entering Canaan was a temporary reprieve whereas in Christ we are offered a permanent rest in salvation.

May God bless you

- Clint

[ September 07, 2002, 12:00 AM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Luke

Sunday School lesson 1/16/05

Luke 22:1-38

As we enter chapter 22, we are examining the final hours before the trial and eventual crucifixion of Jesus. Therefore these moments are especially significant as they are the final interactions with the Twelve while Jesus was in His corporeal form. Almost all of chapter 22 has parallels in the other Synoptics (Matthew and Mark) and the institution of the Lord’s Supper has a parallel in John and 1 Corinthians.

Luke 22:1-6 The Plot to Kill Jesus

Technically speaking, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover were two separate events. Passover designated the slaying of the ritual paschal lamb on the 14th of the seventh Jewish month, Nisan or anciently Abib, which was followed by the domestic meal that evening marking the beginning of the 15th of the month. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was the seven days from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan. However, by the time of Jesus the two holidays had become synonymous in daily terminology and were used interchangeably.

The chief priest and the scribes had already made the determination that Jesus must die at this point. Their problem was how to bring this act about. They feared that an overt act would bring about a public outcry (Mark 14:2). With the Passover being upon them, there may have been as many as 100,000 Jews who had made the pilgrimage to the holy city. With the strongly growing sense of nationalism among these Jews, even a small outcry could erupt into a riot, which would have resulted in the Romans intervening with violent results. The resolve of the religious leaders was resolute, however, and they therefore welcomed the surprising intervention of one of Jesus’ inner circle.

Judas’ betrayal is, of course, a topic rich for discussion. First we must ask, why did he do it? Luke’s explanation of “Satan entered him” is not to say that Judas was possessed bodily by the devil, but rather that he came under his influence. Many theories have arisen as to why Judas would relent to the influence of Satan. To assume that it was merely for the thirty pieces of silver as reported by Matthew seems lacking. Some have suggested that it was because Judas had come to recognize that following Jesus was not fulfilling his ambition of sharing in the messianic rule. Others have conjectured that Judas felt that the betrayal would spur Jesus into action and make Him exercise the miraculous powers he had against the Jewish leaders and Romans. In this view, the betrayal is an act of perverted loyalty that would precipitate the onset of the messianic kingdom.

With the cooperation of Judas, the conspirators against Jesus would be given an opportunity to take Him when there were no crowds about, thereby avoiding the powder keg of the volatile, occupied Jerusalem during the Passover.

Luke 22:7-38 The Last Supper

Luke 22:7-13 The Place of the Supper

As an indicator to the modern student of how significant the events described here are, there are five separate New Testament accounts of the events herein described: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13; and 1Corinthians 11. All of these accounts agree that Jesus partook of a meal with the Disciples on that night. There are slight variances in the accounts, however. While the Synoptics put the event on the Passover, John indicates that it was before the Feast of the Passover. John furthers this chronology in John 18:28 by stating that when Jesus went before Pilate, the Jews did not enter the palace in order that they would remain ceremonially clean in order to eat the Passover. John also seems to set the time of death at the time when the paschal lamb was slain. Some have also suggested that Paul references the Johannine chronology in 1Corinthians 5:7. It may also be significant that Paul does not associate the Lord’s Supper with the Passover.

It is also a possibility that Jesus and His Disciples celebrated the Passover prior to the event called for on the Jewish calendar. Such an occurrence would not be without precedent among the Jews but for now, we do not have any truly satisfactory answers for the complex question of the chronology of events with the data we have available.

Concerning the Lukan account at hand, the task of arranging the meal is delegated to Peter and John. This responsibility would normally have been handled by the leader of a group of pilgrims, in this case, Jesus, but the context of the Passage indicates that open movement within the city at this juncture would have been dangerous. The preparation of the Passover meal would have included the purchase, sacrifice, and cooking of a lamb, and the provisions of unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine.

Because of the crowded conditions in the city, securing a room for the meal would have been difficult. It appears, however, that Jesus had prearranged with a believer in Jerusalem. The signal Peter and John would look for would be the uncommon sight of a man carrying a water jar, a task primarily accomplished by women. Though some feel that Jesus was acting on some prescient knowledge about the man, the text implies that the man with the water jug was a convert because of the use of the term “Teacher.” This provider had already made some preparations in that he had furnished the room, probably with some cushions or couches and perhaps a low table. Though we tend to envision the setting based on Da Vinci’s Last Supper, such a setting would have been foreign to the customs of New Testament Palestine.

 

Hebrews

Hebrews 3:16-19 The Peril of Unbelief

The Passage contains five questions and a conclusion. It is obvious that the audience was familiar with the story of the Early Hebrew nation’s nomadic beginning. It does, in fact, take up a large portion of the Torah. Most of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and Numbers and most of Deuteronomy make up this story. This was the time when a fledgling nation was being shown the power of God first hand. They were fed from Heaven and watered from stones. A religious and political system was being formed through a leader who was in daily personal communion with God. They were offering all the monetary wealth they had to create religious articles for use in the worship of God. Though untrained and ill equipped, they were defeating enemies that should have easily vanquished them. They were a holy nation, a consecrated and peculiar people marching towards a piece of real estate purchased centuries before by the ancestor they all held in common.

Yet for all these displays of God’s power, The Hebrew people never were able to retain their faith. From the very first days of freedom from Egypt they complained bitterly about the conditions and what they viewed as unavoidable calamities. Even Moses’ brother and sister tried to topple him from power and faced punishment. The first generation of Hebrews clearly demonstrated that no amount of demonstrations can make someone have faith. The Hebrews show us that belief and obedience are all part of the same concept - faith.

The analogy is clear. When we begin our Christian pilgrimage it is merely the first step on a great journey. Along the way, we are prone to unbelief. Despite the great things God has done for us we lose faith in seemingly impossible situations. We shrink from conflict against seemingly impossible enemies. We are anxious about our daily needs. We are not in the rest of God! Jesus told us not to worry about food and raiment but to seek first the Kingdom of God. The instruction seems so simple but, like the Hebrews, some of us harden our hearts, they sin, their minds become deceived, they harden their hearts, they do not believe, and finally they turn to apostasy. The Christian pilgrimage goes wayward just as the Hebrew exodus did.

Hebrews 4:1-3 Creative Fear of God

The creative fear God wants in the Christian life is not what God will do to us but the fear of what we will do with the promise of God. There is no doubt that God will keep His promises. We, however, run the risk of falling short of the conditions on which that promise is made.

There are more references to the promises of God in Hebrews than any other Book in the New Testament. These promises are personal and the author uses phrases like “us” and “any of you.” Into these pronouns the reader can insert his own name.

The Good News” in the context of this Passage is that God will provide ample rest. We have received that news through the Gospel. The Hebrews received it from God Himself through Moses. The door to spiritual rest has been opened. The Hebrews closed it “because it did not meet with faith in the hearers.”

Verse 3c regarding the foundation of the world presents many difficulties in interpretation. Barnes offers these comments:
Although the works were finished, etc. This is a difficult expression. What works are referred to? it may be asked. How does this bear on the subject under discussion? How can it be a proof that there remains a "rest" to those who believe now? This was the point to be demonstrated; and this passage was designed clearly to bear on that point. As it is in our translation, the passage seems to make no sense whatever. Tindal renders it, "And that spake he verily long after that the works were made from the foundation of the world laid," which makes much better sense than our translation. Doddridge explains it as meaning, "And this may lead us further to reflect on what is elsewhere said concerning his works as they were finished from the foundation of the world." But it is difficult to see why they should reflect on his works just then, and how this would bear on the case in hand. Prof. Stuart supposes that the word "rest" must be understood here before "works," and translates it, "Shall not enter into my rest--to wit, rest from the works which were performed when the world was founded." Prof. Robinson (Lex.) explains it as meaning, "The rest here spoken of, 'MY rest,' could not have been God's resting from his works, (Ge 2:2,) for this rest, the Sabbath, had already existed from the creation of the world." Dr. J.P. Wilson (MSS. Notes) renders it, "For we who have believed do enter into rest (or a cessation) indeed () of the works done (among men) from the beginning of the world." Amidst this variety of interpretation it is difficult to determine the true sense. But perhaps the main thought may be collected from the following remarks.
(1.) The Jews, as the people of God, had a rest promised them in the land of Canaan. Of that they failed by their unbelief.
(2.) The purpose of the apostle was to prove that there was a similar promise made to the people of God long subsequent to that, and to which all his people were invited.
(3.) That rest was not that of the promised land, it was such as God had himself when he had finished the work of creation. That was peculiarly his rest--the rest of God, without toil or weariness, and after his whole work was finished.
(4.) His people were invited to the same rest--the rest of God--to partake of his felicity; to enter into that bliss which he enjoyed when he had finished the work of creation. The happiness of the saints was to be like that. It was to be, in their case, also a rest from toil--to be enjoyed at the end of all that they had to do. To prove that Christians were to attain to such a rest was the purpose which the apostle had in view--showing that it was a general doctrine pertaining to believers in every age, that there was a promise of rest for them. I would, then, regard the middle clause of this verse as a parenthesis, and render the whole," For we who are believers shall enter into rest--[the rest] indeed which occurred when the works were finished at the foundation of the world--as he said [in one place] as I have sworn in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest." That was the true rest--such rest or repose as God had when he finished the work of creation--such as he has now in heaven. This gives the highest possible idea of the dignity and desirableness of that "rest" to which we look forward--for it is to be such as God enjoys, and is to elevate us more and more to him. What more exalted idea can there be of happiness than to participate in the calmness, the peace, the repose, the freedom from raging passions, from wearisome toil, and from agitating cares, which God enjoys? Who, torn with conflicting passions here, wearied with toil, and distracted with care, ought not to feel it a privilege to look forward to that rest? Of this rest the Sabbath and the promised land were emblems. They to whom the promise was made did not enter in; but some shall enter in, and the promise therefore pertains to us.

 

Hebrews 4:4-8 The Appointed Day

The Sabbath day was first created as a day for man to stop and contemplate his God and Creator. It represented the seventh day of creation when God stopped His creative process and contemplated His work. All through Biblical history the promise of rest was given to the people of God. It is seen at the end of creation, at the implementation of the Sabbath, at the offer of the Promised Land and now at the promise of Heaven.

God has spoken for the final time. That is the theme of the first section of Hebrews. This is the final offer for rest and it will only be accomplished through Christ, the architect of the new order of creation. It appears from verse 8 that the argument had been thrown against the preacher’s sermon that even though Moses failed and did not enter the Promised Land, Joshua did. The second generation of Hebrews entered the Promised Land. They received the promise. They entered His rest. But, says the preacher, God spoke again through David in Psalm 95:7-8 once again offering rest. Therefore, entering the Land of Promise was not the same as entering God’s rest. Canaan was not what God had intended as the final destination. There was still a spiritual rest that would come later and would be spoken of throughout the Old Testament.

Hebrews 4:9-11 Our Final Rest

The rest promised to the first generation of Hebrews is the same rest promised to us through Christ. That promise has echoed for millennia for the people of God. It was God’s intention that we have it from the very foundations of the world. When we enter that rest we can stop our anxiety. We enter that peace that surpasses all understanding. All that is required of us is obedience. If we are disobedient we face the same fate as the first generation of Hebrews. The unbelieving heart bars the doors to the promised Land. It did then, it does now.

 

Our Scriptures for 9/7 are:

Luke 22:14-23

Hebrews 4:12-16

Proverbs 21:17-31

Isaiah 17-20

 

Our Scriptures for 9/7 are:

Luke 22:14-23

Hebrews 4:12-16

Proverbs 21:17-31

Isaiah 17-20

 

Our Scriptures for 9/7 are:

Luke 22:14-23

Hebrews 4:12-16

Proverbs 21:17-31

Isaiah 17-20

 

Our Scriptures for 9/7 are:

Luke 22:14-23

Hebrews 4:12-16

Proverbs 21:17-31

Isaiah 17-20

 

Our Scriptures for 9/7 are:

Luke 22:14-23

Hebrews 4:12-16

Proverbs 21:17-31

Isaiah 17-20