The  Majestic Mystery of Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

Isaiah records some wonderful and precious teaching and insights surrounding the Messiah. We have been given a brief and simple study of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. To me, this passage has captivated me with its majestic concept of the Suffering Servant. It has also made me aware of a mystery of grace which will never be plumbed or exhausted in the telling.

By placing the description of the affliction suffered by the person in Isaiah 53 with Roman torture (Matthew 27.) we have an insight to the suffering endured. What astounds me is the statement that He opened not His mouth. Why did the soldiers inflict such brutality before crucifying Him? I think this arose from various factors. They would have been feeling embarrassed by retreating and falling before Him in Gethsemane. There could possibly a sense of Jesus being innocent of the charges and to cover this they smashed Him the more. Being soldiers they had their orders which they must carry out.

They did their work thoroughly and professionally. I tend to think Satan was there exciting them and stirring their blood lust. Another reason could be that He had to pay the full price of sin covering all time and the worst of sinners. Isaiah 53:14 says His visage was marred more than any man. On the cross, when the sin of the world was on Him, Jesus became the vilest of the vile. This was too much for the Father. He turned His eyes away and cast darkness over the scene. What this means is that no one is beyond the power of forgiveness obtained by the substitutionary death of Christ. Remember Paul’s words. He was the worst of sinners, but not beyond the reach of grace.

When Jesus became the fulfilment of Isaiah 53 He incorporated ever so much more than paying the redemption price of your salvation. To limit the sacrifice of the suffering Servant to our personal redemption is to rob Him of His glory and power. 

1.      As Creator he redeemed creation from its bondage. Romans 8:20

2.     As the Son of God, He stood in the death sentence imposed on Israel, also called the Son.

3.     As the husband of Israel Jesus paid the penalty for her spiritual adultery.

4.     As the land owner of Israel, the country, His death cleansed it from iniquity.

5.     As the Servant He redeemed those He served, the nation of Israel.

6.     As the 2^nd Adam He ransomed the 1^st Adam and his progeny.

7.     As Eternal Life, He clothed Himself in mortality to destroy Death.

8.     As the Commander of Israel’s Army He paid for their insubordination.

All of this is verified by His resurrection from the tomb.  We endorse it by faith and allegiance. One day it will be proclaimed by sight when He, the risen Lord, returns in glory to rule. This underscores why He hasn't cast off the Nation ofIsrael. Yes, it s sidelined for the present, but in the day of His choosing, they will be re-instated.  

There can be no mystery to the reason we declare Jesus to be King of kings, Lord of lords, with a Name above very name in heaven, on earth or under the earth. What a privilege will be ours when we see Him and worship Him to the honour and glory of the Father! That's the culmination of  the magnificent mystery of the Messiah in Isaiah 53.

Word abuse makes 'Love' suffer

In English it is a four letter word. However, those four letters embrace almost a catalogue of meanings. Today’s blog concludes the 5 imperatives of 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. The word in the Greek is agape and mostly translated love. In the Language of the New Testament love can come under four heading. Eros, Storge, Phileo and Agape express the range of emotional relationships which come under the umbrella of the English ‘love. ‘Let all that you do be done in love’ 1 Corinthians 16:14 NRSV

A man can love his wife and car in the same breath, we can love God or a pet frog or other things too numerous to mention. The English word for love suffers from 'word abuse'. In turn, it produces confusion of understanding.  How easier it would have been to have a range of words, as in Greek, to expound 'love'. So, when Paul expresses this final imperative what word was chosen from the Greek language? Agape! This expresses the highest and most noble insight into expressing love. Whilst it can embrace emotion the word defines love as independent to it. Such love causes the person to rise above personal preferences for the sake of another’s welfare, even as the inconvenience of the one showing agape.

When you read the epistle to the Corinthians it is evident that love was selective, lacking or misunderstood. That is why Paul went to lengths to compile that beautiful piece of love in chapter 13. Agape isn’t bounded by family, cultural or moral fences. It is an open expression of the agape shown to us through Christ and Calvary. This is why such love is costly, behind it and overshadowing it is the cross. It is so easy to get all enthusiastic about following Jesus, who doesn’t need what He offers. Trouble is the Lord puts a two letter word in from of our enthusiastic excitement. “If” is the word of choice and at the same time a sifter of the heart. For “if” points the individual to a cross, personalised and nonnegotiable! Any person who calls Jesus Lord and Saviour has shared in the crucifixion of Christ according to Romans 6. Then the holy Spirit takes that person to the ‘discipleship fitting room’ for the cross the person has been chosen to wear.

How does that relate to agape love in our lives? Primarily in subordinating personal comfort, preference and wisdom to the Master’s honour. This is more than bible reading and worship, important and essential though they be. Love for Christ confronts the personal cross in regards to relationships. In a sense there is often a wrestling match unseen by others except Heaven and the Devil’s realm, which is our Gethsemane. ‘Let all that you do be done in love’ sounds so spiritual and easy, that is until God calls upon you to do something distasteful.

Think about some of the scenarios possible. ‘Love your enemies,’ but they hate me! Pray for them, feed them, treat them with respect even though they are unrepentant. Justice they will face but we are not the judge, we are disciples. This applies to those with whom we disagree morally and with whom we may debate quite strongly. Fear of contagion may arouse disgust but Christ Jesus calls us to help them if they have needs we can meet. That isn’t condoning, it isn’t even liking the person. It is our obedience to Christ and the price expresses the cross placed upon us. It is allowing the Lord to call them to account at His time and place. It offers us an opportunity to witness to our Lord and Saviour.

Apply this principle of love and personal cross to your own scene and enjoyable relationships. Not always easy is it! Putting oneself ‘out’ for the sake of another can be costly and inconvenient. Why bother? It is the right thing. It is what the Lord delights in. It makes agape a reality (even though it may suffer a little from ungraciousness in the initial stages). It often metamorphoses into a blessing.

Paul concludes these five imperatives on the theme of love because without it the previous four won’t impress God. They will be without substance. They will be the sound of gongs and cymbals (Ch. 13).

In conclusion may I be permitted to rearrange just a little these five imperatives? 

‘Let all that you do be done in love.’ This will require you to ‘keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, and be strong!’

©Ray Hawkins29 Jan. 2017.

Healing: False guilt, Faith, and the Cross.

Guilt is able to be pardoned and atoned for. False guilt is another matter. It is that emotion of being told you have failed in some area over which you had no control. It is seen in some children of divorced parents. They have a sense of guilt that they caused the problem.  This is so untrue, yet when believed has tragic consequences, for they are haunted by such ‘ghosts’ most of their lives. Because there is nothing tangible to seek forgiveness about or make atonement over it cannot be remedied, Well, almost nothing. Knowing and taking to heart the truth that they are not to blame can evaporate the ‘ghosts’ over time.  

This also applies to sickness and healing. A false viewpoint by a person as to why he or she hasn’t been healed can strangle a Christian’s spirituality. They try and mask it in many ways with church attendance, prayer and good works. Still, their doctrine haunts and the Devil sprays his doubts about as to their spirituality.

Peter, in his first letter says, ‘Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from our sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed’ (1 Peter 2:24). This verse is used by certain groups to insist followers of Christ should not be sick or infirm. The reason for such conditions is placed strictly down to the individual’s lack of faith. What does such a doctrine produce? False guilt! What effects does it have? A loss of Joy, thinking of oneself as being second rate and trying all types of spiritual exercises to manufacture ‘faith.’

How then can this be remedied? Being a doctrinal matter it can only really be corrected by a proper understanding of the doctrine of healing. This has been the motivation and background to the previous studies. As the verse in Peter is used to promote all-inclusive healing (body, soul and spirit) we must examine it. What does he mean by healing? Can it be understood by the word ‘righteousness’ in verse 24 and in verse 25 ‘astray’ and ‘returned.’ ‘For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.’ The Bible insists that there is no one who is righteous, except Jesus the sinless one. It is by His achievements on the cross that Jesus dealt with our unrighteousness. Our going astray, wandering purposely or aimlessly in our own egos, made God irrelevant. That was until the Holy Spirit grabbed our attention and pointed us to the cross. Here began our return to the Sovereign Lord.

Both those verses by Peter are traced back to Isaiah chapter 53. If you have read the previous studies you will realise this is God’s specific answer to Isaiah chapter 1. There, the whole body, that is the Nation of Israel, is sick, diseased, terminal! God’s remedy? The suffering Servant which pointed to Jesus. The health there mentioned is to national redemption, forgiveness, wholeness,  refreshed covenant relationship and mission. It had no specific reference to individual ailments or infirmities.

Peter’s quoting of Isaiah 53 is particularly relevant when you realise the people to whom he was writing. They were Jewish believers in five countries of the nation’s Dispersion. It would appear Peter was explaining to these persecuted believers that they were in fact the first fruits of Isaiah’s prophecy to the Nation. Therefore rejoice despite being maligned, oppressed and rejected!

How then do we consider the indisputable fact of God’s acts of healing? Grace! He is the Sovereign Lord and His ways and purposes are higher, nobler and wiser than what we can conceive. There isn’t any reason why a sick person shouldn’t pray or be prayed for. The attitude that must underpin all prayer is the Gethsemane attitude,  'not my will but yours be done.’ This isn’t a cop-out. It is an act of faith in our Heavenly Father’s goodness, flavoured by a desire that regardless of personal healing or continued illness, infirmity or disability He will be honoured.

Only then will false guilt, brought on by a misunderstood or misapplied passage be ‘evaporated’ by the Truth of God’s word. Oh the joy of a conscience at peace and worship without doubt.

©Ray Hawkins Sept 2015.

The Untouchable Name

Babylon is the city and power, spiritually, militarily and politically, spoken against in the Bible. Its history as recorded details a concerted attempt to oppose the Yahweh and His purposes. Genesis 10:8-12 and 11:1-9. This city became the foundation and the fountain-head of the occult. Isaiah and Jeremiah have strong word to say about and against Nimrod’s creation. The book of Revelation lays plain Yahweh’s wrath and judgement stored up for a coming day.

Why is the Lord so implacable towards Babylon? It is more than its opposition to the person of Yahweh, for such can be forgiven. The issue is expressed through personalising the city’s boast. Such inflammatory words became a declaration of war. Isaiah 47:8 ‘Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, “I AM, and there is none beside me…” (Nineveh had same spirit ‘she said to herself, “I AM, and there is none besides me”’ Zephaniah 2:15). To use the words ‘I am’ in such a way is to claim the untouchable Name. It is to challenge the legitimacy of the Lord God’s right to be God alone.

We become aware of God’s unique, untouchable Name in His call to Moses at the burning bush. ‘God said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM:” and he said, “Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel I AM has sent me to you.”’ Exodus 3:14. Here also is His framework for the Covenant the Almighty made with Israel, for it is bound up in His Name. In giving to the Nation (and through them to us) the Ten Commandments God stresses ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.’ Exodus 20:7.

Mystery Babylon (Revelation 17:5) not only takes Yahweh’s Name in vain, it wants to, plans to, and will fight to claim it. That is why the Scriptures are so loud in their call for people to get out of this city. Its defeat and doom is spelt out in Yahweh’s word. To ignore such a call is to share in the consequences of the judgement.

The Eternal’s defence of His untouchable Name has implications for Jesus. It is recorded, especially in the Gospel by John that the Man of Galilee lay claim to being ‘I AM’. His use of such terms as ‘I am the Bread of Life’ or ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ may seem unthreatening, however, there is no getting away from John 8:58. ‘Jesus said to them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.”’ To His disciples in John 13:19 He makes a similar claim. In the Greek it reads “From now I tell you before it happens, that you may believe when it happens I AM.” Then in Gethsemane when Judas and soldiers came to capture Jesus He twice mentioned that He was ‘I AM’. On the second occasion the soldiers fell backwards and tumbled over.

Now how do we as followers of Jesus Christ know he isn’t on the same trajectory of judgement as Babylon? Have we sure and certain evidence that His claim is valid? Here is where the battle ground of faith is fought. The Bethlehem Baby, the Calvary Christ, is He the Son of God and the ‘I AM’? If so how do we know? By His resurrection from the dead! His claim is vindicated as well as His mission of redemption. Once again we are confronted by the words of Thomas in the upper room when he said “My Lord and My God.”

The untouchable Name will have no rivals. Nor will it allow those who take it in vain or pollute its holiness escape discipline and loss of reward. I AM is the unique revelation of our eternal God and the wonderful, wonderful and amazing fact is, by faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour, we honour that Name (Philippians 2:10-11). In it we are baptized according to Matthew 28:19; Go...teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…’

 

©Ray Hawkins 27^th July 2015

2 Gates, 2 Destinies.

Life is a series of choices and their consequences. Some are simply fun such as the team you choose to support. Others can be deadly, as when a person chooses so called recreational drugs such as ‘speed’. It can lead to psychotic behaviour and death. In the religious realm to accept the Koran as your guide can make you a jihadist. Staying in the sun may give you more than a tan. Sex is promoted as fun without side effects. Yet there is shame, jealousy, infections to name a few.
In Matthew 7:13-14 regarding the Kingdom of God Jesus spoke about choices. He referred to two gates and their impact upon your destiny. These 2 gates do not meet us at birth. At a later time we are confronted by their claim and invitation. What then did He mean by The Wide Gate?
It offers an easy life. Self is the guiding principle. The attraction of being your own god is strong. At the beginning of the road there are many enjoyments and few restrictions. Jesus advises “Look further down the road”.

Now this road has many lanes: Moral, ‘I’m a nice person and I’m good enough for God, whoever or whatever he/she/it may be’. Spiritual, ‘All belief systems are okay by me’. Intellectual, ‘There isn’t any absolute truth’. Self-esteem/success, ‘When I’m rich, famous or successful I will be happy and life will be meaningful’. Unfortunately Jesus knows where such attitudes lead. He calls it ‘death’. Proverbs 16:25: ‘Sometimes there is a way that seems to be right, but in the end it is the way to death’.

Death comes in many forms: Relationships break-up and die, health breaks down, morality is degraded and disappears, spirituality is a masquerade, intellectual pursuits lead no-where because life has no absolutes, and ultimately all that comes to a rejection by God (who has been used or ignored) for all eternity.

What did Jesus say about The Narrow gate?
Jesus doesn’t soften the facts surrounding the ‘narrow gate’ simply to get people to enter it. It is ‘strait/narrow’ (stenos). In other words it has boundaries. It is restrictive, unlike the wide gate. This implies you must be prepared to ‘make some self-sacrifices’ to walk through it. Why would you pay such a high price to your ego? Jesus calls you to see where the road leads. It is to life! This is one of the purposes for Christ and Christmas, John 10:10b: ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’.

Luke uses a word about the ‘narrow door’ in 13:24 in another setting showing that the choice isn’t easy. It is often accompanied by ‘effort’ as the Greek word highlights. The word can be translated as ‘agony’. For some the agony is to be rejected by family/caste. Others lose careers/inheritances. It is a death sentence for some. Most of us agonise because it means we have to say, and over the years repeat it “Not my will but yours be done” (this can be symbolised by the words of Jesus about ‘taking up your cross and following Him’.) Therefore, it is important to look not at the entrances but at the consequences and destinies offered. 

This narrow road also has a number of lanes: There is the lane of Worship. What a privilege we have to call God ‘Father’ and to worship Him by faith and gratitude for who He is and what He has done in our lives. The lane of service offers us the opportunity to express our abilities for the honour of the Lord and the welfare of others.  The lane of Witness is more than words yet includes them as we explain to others why we walk the narrow way. The lane of stewardship expresses the fact that what we have and are is not Ego centric but Christ centred and is used wisely and with purpose.  Each lane requires being in step with Christ Jesus’ word, being faithful to the task in hand and aware that we have personal accountability (1 Corinthians 3:13-15. 9:24-27). The end of the road is to meet up with Jesus in His realm and be with Him forever. That makes the agony of the Narrow way more than worthwhile.

For any who made the Wide gate their choice is there any chance for them to leave it. Of course, but it is difficult. It requires humility to admit you made a bad choice and want to change. It takes courage to call out to the Lord Jesus you have ignored and ask Him to rescue you. It takes faith in His word to accept His offer to remove you from the Broadway, forgive and cleanse you for placement on the Narrow way. Then it takes gratitude to let loose His grace in you so that you can enjoy the life promised.

Is Jesus being unfair to ask this of anyone?

No! It was a similar choice He had to make. Remember Matthew 4:1-11 where He was put under a severe three way trial by the Devil. He could have chosen the ‘Broadway’ to being a celebrity, to proving His Sonship and to ruling the world. He rejected them because they were the way to failure and death. In Gethsemane Jesus revealed the price for Him of the Narrow way – accepting the ‘cup’ that led to Calvary. But Hebrews 12:2 reveals that He also looked towards the end of the narrow way. Some of that joy He would enter into would involve you putting your trust in Him. He would rejoice in the privilege you give Him to take you off the way to destruction. It would include you one day meeting Him face to face and sharing His realm for ever. The writer of Hebrews then invited the readers to walk with the Lord on that same victory road to life, in daily living and into eternity.

©Ray Hawkins 5.1.2015

Agony in the Garden.

A garden on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, East of the Temple mount was a favourite place for Jesus. There He could look at the temple adorned by King Herod but empty of the presence of God’s glory. This is still called Gethsemane and is a favourite place for pilgrims. It was to this garden Jesus and His disciples went to after the Passover meal in the upper room. It was night. The account of this evening is recorded in the Gospels and when put together is full of pathos, intrigue and mystery. In the presence of weary men who fell asleep Jesus wrestled in prayer knowing the cross was waiting for Him on the morrow.

We will never plumb the depths of Gethsemane and Jesus’ prayer battle. He who is called the Son of God/Son of Man was about to become the Passover Lamb. He would also fulfil the meaning of the bronze serpent mentioned in John 3. The Son who said He and the Father were one was on the verge of knowing a separation. The Son of Man who had come to do the Father’s will was about to be made sin and cursed! Not for anything He had done or thought. Jesus became such a hideous spectacle in the sight of Heaven on our behalf. He was about to take our place in God the Father’s judgement of our treason, rebellion, indifference and arrogance towards God and His commands.

I don’t believe Jesus’ agony in the garden was about a fear of failure. It was much, much more than that. The cry on the cross says it all: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” It was at that moment when the Father and the Holy Spirit turned away from beholding Jesus that the horror Jesus wrestled with in the garden took place.

Gethsemane is the preparation and the battleground of the cross. Many are the accounts of brave men and women enduring inhumane treatment and death. Jesus was a brave man but more than that. He endured the wrath of the Father. That was when Jesus became our sin bearer. He endured the taunts of kinsmen, betrayal of friends and the glee of the demonic as He suffered. Jesus became the scum of the universe. No one will ever be beneath Him in this. The One we call Lord became the lowest form of life in all of eternity at that moment for us. This is so important. It means that the lowest of the low can still find hope, forgiveness and understanding from and with Jesus as the risen Lord. No one can say that they are too wicked for Jesus to forgive and make into a new person. Jesus can lift all of us out of our rottenness and being enemies of God and take us up to the Heavenly places!

Gethsemane became the culmination of Jesus commitment to doing the Father’s will (John 5:30). We should be humbled by the words of Jesus ‘”Not my will but yours be done.” It came from the Man Jesus whose body was soaked in sweat and blood, and who would have been weary and aware of what was waiting for Him.

I find it remarkable that in this garden, as the soldiers came to arrest Him, Jesus with a word caused them to fall back in disarray. (John 18:6) What were the words? I AM! There are more than 7 ‘I AM’s’ in John. In Gethsemane is the final one. Our Lord in placing Himself into the bonds of the soldiers did so confessing His eternal deity. This was repeated in a different manner before the High Priest under oath.

It was in Gethsemane that the battle for your salvation and mine was won. As we grow older in our faith and understanding may we become more and more grateful and committed to Him whom we call Lord!

As the festival of Passover draws near and the Easter celebration is linked with it, remember Jesus fulfilled it for you. What is our response to His act of redeeming grace?