Thursday, June 15, 2006

THE GATHERING

Matt. 12:30. "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Jesus has clearly and truthfully presented His case before the religious leadership that He is the very servant of God that has been revealed to them in their Old Testament scripture. There is only light or darkness, life or death, truth or deceit and one must align himself with one side or the other; there is no middle ground; no gray area. He has proven that He is Messiah, the Son of David.
One cannot avoid the alignment as Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against Me.” Indifference is not an option. He who is not actively engaged in the kingdom is identified as he who does not gather with Me. This pronounces anathema on a “superficial Christianity”. If you are aligned as one who does not gather you necessarily are one who scatters or actively prevents those who would be receptive kingdom citizens. Christ demands our all, and those who are most joyful and blessed are those who are identified as those who gather with Me.
H. Ernest Nichol writes in his hymn:
We’ve a Savior to show to the nations, who the path of sorrow hath trod, that all of the world’s great peoples may come to the truth of God. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday light, and Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.
We have a great responsibility to gather.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

THE STRONG MAN

Matt. 12:29. "Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Mark 3:27. "But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
We return to the idea of Beelzebul, the lord of the dwelling, as this theme returns. Jesus continues to strengthen His position and offer more concrete evidence against the charges brought against Him initially.
The kingdom of God is contrasted by the word “or” in this verse to show the opposite of their initial charge to be true. This is posed in the question, “how can anyone enter the strong man's house (the lord of the dwelling = Beelzebul) and carry off his property (his kingdom; citizens/minions) unless he first binds the strong man?” The idea that is expressed here is one of strength; who is the strong man? Would the strong man be the one who enters the dwelling to carry off his property or is the strong man the individual who is all tied up?
The answer and outcome begins when he first binds the strong man (who is really the weaker), and then he will plunder his house. This has already taken place once; right before Jesus began His ministry. This was discussed in detail right after His baptism when He overcame Satan’ temptations in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). It will culminate in the resurrection when Satan’s ally, death, is defeated. Paul tells us in 1Cor. 15:50-58 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. 55. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57. but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. This is the gospel, the good news! There is hope and it is not in vain.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

     Matt. 12:27-28. "And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges. 28. "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
     The question now has become, who is on whose side? Jesus asks the scribes, And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons [your protégés] cast them out?”  With a tinge of righteous sarcasm, Jesus alludes to asking them as He says, “Consequently they shall be your judges.”
     I am not, at this point prepared to prove or disprove the facts of the Pharisees having power to cast out demons. However their friends and associates claimed that they did and they were proud enough to publicly take the glory for this ability. The point examined is, by whose power was it done; God’s or Satan’s? There is no way that they would align themselves with Satan and Jesus has given an airtight argument as to Satan being divided. Those questioning the origination of Jesus power to cast out demons could only come from God because He is the only One stronger than Satan. Even the sons of these mentors would have to side with Jesus on this argument.
     Jesus now puts it all on the line for His would be adversaries to either reject the truth or ally with Satan, or align themselves under His authority. He does this by an airtight conditional clause begun with the “if” (protasis) and logically following the truth of that condition it will lead to the “then” (apodosis). He lays forth: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God; the origination of My power, then it is the only logical conclusion that the kingdom of God has come upon you.” There is no question as to the vulnerability of Satan’s power by Jesus so an alignment must transpire.
     The most important question anyone must answer is “what do I do about Jesus?” That most important question is still being asked by the resurrected Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15)
     It is interesting to note that in this place, Matthew abandons his more commonly used phrase, “the kingdom of heaven,” for the fully orbed “kingdom of God.” This kingdom has come upon you and continues to call its citizens by the means of those inside proclaiming the gospel to those on the outside so that they may enter. This mighty kingdom will one day culminate without opposition. What a day of rejoicing that will be! The next question; will you be in it?

Monday, June 12, 2006

GOVERNMENTAL SUICIDE

Matt. 12: 25a. And knowing their thoughts He said to them

Mark 3:23a And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables,
     
Jesus, knowing their thoughts, called them to Himself so as to confront these scribes and Pharisees face to face to show them the gravity of their error. This is Jesus first public showdown with the orthodox Jewish leadership. The confrontation is a line drawn in the sand, dividing that which is of God and that which is of Satan, and to point to the fact that it is absolute; one has no option but to side with one or the other. This is not to say that He ever withdrew His gracious invitation to the scribes and Pharisees to become citizens of His kingdom.
     It is now half-way through His ministry that will lead to His crucifixion in another year and a half. It is at this juncture that Jesus began speaking to them in parables. The parabolic method is a way of conveying spiritual truths by using physical examples. We now see the Master of this device employ His skill as He presents His case to those “would be” prosecutors.

Matt. 12:25-26
25. And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste 26. "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?

Mark 3:23-26
23. And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24. "And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25. "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26. "And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!
     
Jesus, in the immediate preceding verses is charged with being in the possession of and operating under the power of Beelzebul. He now names this mythical god that they identify Him with as none other than Satan. Jesus asks, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” This kind of thinking is absurd because No ruler would destroy his own unity and powerbase. This statement would be rationalizing that Satan would be providing the ammunition to destroy his own defenses and kingdom. Jesus reaffirms this absurdity by stating parabolically, “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” We all have heard the cliché: divide and conquer; this is an exact example of that saying. This would be to commit governmental suicide. As Matthew records, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.” Mark records: “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
     The argument is made from the greater to the lesser starting with the kingdom and then focusing on the house and then individually toward Satan. Mark so plainly records, “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!”

Sunday, June 11, 2006

BEELZEBUL

Matt. 12:24-26. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
25. And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
26. "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?

Mark 3:22-26. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."
23. And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24. "And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25. "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26. "And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!

The apple does not fall far from the tree as we see when we compare the scribes with their student Pharisees and their irrational response to an obvious display of Jesus casting out demons. The question posed is, from where is the does His power originate? MacArthur writes, “Outside the Trinity, Satan is the most intelligent being in existence, and he certainly does not assign his forces to fight against each other and internally destroy his own program.”

We now discover Beelzebul. He is first encountered in 2Kings 1:1-4 Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2. And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness." 3. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, `Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4. "Now therefore thus says the Lord, `You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" Then Elijah departed. William Hendriksen explains, “The New Testament passages substitute Beel [= Baal] zebul for – zebub. Beelzebul means, “lord of the dwelling.” The reason for the change in spelling is not clear. It may have amounted to no more than an accident of popular pronunciation. Another explanation is that there is a play on words, for – zebul resembles zebel: dung. Thus, those who despised the Baal of Ekron were able, by means of a slight change in pronunciation, to heap scorn upon him by conveying the thought that he was nothing but a “lord of dung.” Baal-zebul is also known as “lord of flies” who controlled these insects seen closely associated with dung. We will see deeper into this god as the story unfolds.

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