Christ the spotless Nazarite (2)

Following on from our previous look at the Lord Jesus as the spotless Nazarite in relation to the touching of dead things, I wanted to look this time at that other feature of the Nazarite life: "he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink" (Numbers 6:3). I am looking at these Nazarite features purely with our blessed Saviour in view, so this is a devotional rather than a practical look at these things.

Throughout the Bible, wine and the fruit of the vine are typically a picture of earthly energy and joy, but we will come onto that in more detail later. Wine is also often linked to the Holy Spirit, I am thinking now in particular of Ephesians 5:18 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" The idea here is that believers should not be filled with the excess and recklessness of wine which speaks of this earth but that we should be driven and controlled by the Holy Spirit as befits the believer. With this in mind I looked at a few scriptures from the beginning of the Lord's earthly ministry to see what it said about his relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 4:1 says on that occasion that he was LED by the Spirit into the wilderness. The idea is to be led up or guided, and how lovely it is to think that the Saviour was guided by the Holy Spirit, his steps were always in sync with the Spirit and the Father, those 3 persons of the godhead!

Mark 1:12 records the same incident but says that he was DRIVEN by the Spirit into the wilderness. The word really means "cast out" so it carries with it a forceful and decisive act. An alternative rendering indicates to us that He was driven from within, so we have now the idea of the Saviour moving decisively, with passion and purpose driven from within by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4:1 again records this but here the language is"Jesus being FULL OF the Holy Ghost" The word means "full up" and the verse also carries with it the idea of being "controlled by". Here we learn that Christ was filled by and controlled by the Holy Spirit! It filled and controlled Him and directed His every thought, word and deed.

We recall that in OT times the Spirit of God would come upon men and enable and empower them to accomplish some might deed for God, but these men were always marked by failure or sin in some area of their life. Not so with our Lord of course, as we said last time - He was the perfect, spotless example of the Nazarite, ultimately separated to God for his service and glory!

Let us return to the idea of wine speaking of earthly joy, what does it say about the Lord Jesus and joy? Well, I was interested to see that in the gospels the references to joy are almost always in relation to other people:

• There was Joy at his Birth - Matt 2:10, Luke 2:10


• There was Joy in his Life - Luke 13:17


• There was Joy at his Death - John 16:20 (these are sad and solemn words indeed...)


• There was Joy at his Resurrection though - Matt 28:8, Luke 24:41


• There will be Joy at his coming again - John 16:20 and 22 (praise God!)

Of the Saviour himself though, we remember that it was prophesied of him that he would be "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief", this was the portion of our Saviour own here! Lamentations 1:12 also ultimately speaks of Christ "look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow", there was no sorrow like that which the Lord Jesus experienced at the cross of Calvary for you and for me. Isaiah goes on to say "surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", how this should humble us and affect us in our lives. Let us lift our hearts and offer up thanks and praise to our God for his beloved Son and our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.

I trust these simple thoughts will have warmed our hearts towards the Lord Jesus Christ and that they will be of enjoyment and benefit to God's people.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Things that weren't told

John 21:25

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

It seems that from what John indicates here at the close of his gospel, that we are only told a fraction of all the things that could be told about the earthly ministry of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. When one looks at the first chapter of Mark's gospel we see there an action-packed full day from v21 to v34 for the tireless servant of God. We see also in v35 that the next day he rises a great while before day for prayer! Sometimes we think we've had a busy day but I think nothing compared to the full days of the Son of Man. The example of Creation in Genesis 1 must surely be our guide as to how God uses his days. Each day there was mighty accomplishments and awesome creatorial feats, each divided by the statement "and the evening and the morning were the xxx day". There must have been so much more that went unrecorded in those 3 and a half years f public service! Perhaps we will know more of this when we get to glory and spend eternity with Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9-11

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

If our first reference took us to the PAST, then this reference takes us to the PRESENT. Sometimes we here v9 quoted in relation to our future in Heaven, but then v10 reminds us that these things are for us here and now, as revealed by the Spirit of God!

We are reminded that these things are the deep things of God and v11 may be better rendered "the thoughts of God", what a tremendous thing! That we can know the thoughts and mind of God should surely thrill the heart of every believer. They have not been told or revealed to the world, they can know nothing of this, these things are revealed to believers by the indwelling Holy Spirit, later on we read "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." What a privilege! There is always more we can obtain from God's Word, we shall never exhaust it, the Spirit will always reveal new things to us, but we must apply ourselves and read and study the Word if we are to benefit from it. As we have learned though, these things are not obtained by academic achievement or intellectual prowess, but are available to every believer by the Holy Spirit who "shall teach you all things."

1 Kings 10:4-8

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,
And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.
And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

Sometimes we apply these verses to our present experience with coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but I would like to look to the FUTURE with this reference. After all, these words were spoken as the Queen of Sheba met King Solomon face to face, so I would like to encourage our hearts by reminding us that one day soon we shall meet the "greater than Solomon", great David's greater Son. John tells us in Revelation 22; "And they shall see his face..." how this should lift our hearts!

So the Queen surveys the scene before her and she took it all in - the glory of the king, and surely nothing will compare to the glory of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in that coming day. She takes in the glorious abode he had built, and surely our minds turn to John 14; "In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." She sees the multitude of servants and their apparel, and my mind went to Revelation 19 when John describes the Church - "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." 

The Queen proclaims - "Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom" and my mind once again turned to the future scene described in Revelation 22 - "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" No more sadness, sorrow or suffering!

The Queen is overcome and amazed, for the half was not told her and surely this is will be our response when we see all that God has in store for us! I think of that chorus we sometimes sing:

"Wonderful Savior, wonderful Friend,

Wonderful life that never shall end;

Wonderful place, He has gone to prepare,

Wonder of wonders I shall be there!" 

 

"Be Opened!"

Today we are going to come away from Nehemiah again to look at some thoughts from the Gospel's. As you know we have been looking into Mark's Gospel and the other day I was looking at the occasion in Mark chapter 7 where the Lord opened the ears of the deaf man. It got me thinking of other things that were opened in connection with the Lord's earthly ministry, and there are 7 detailed below for our mutual benefit.

1. The heavens were opened (Mk 1:10)

At the outset of the Lord's public earthly ministry the heavens were opened and the declaration was made; "this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased"

2. He opened the Book (Luke 4:17)

Soon after the Lord began his public ministry we see that he goes into the synagogue and opens the Book, demonstrating his perfect knowledge and mastery of the Word of God.

3. He opened his mouth to teach them (Matt 5:2)

The Lord was always ready to teach the people, and he did so with words of truth, wisdom, power and authority.

4. His ears were opened (Mk 7:35)

The Lord blessed those around him, and was motivated by love and compassion for the creatures of his hand. On this occasion he said "Ephphatha, that is, be opened" and the ears of that deaf man were opened and the string of his tongue was loosed!

5. And their eyes were opened (Matt 9:30)

We could look at this account or Mark 8, or John 9 and we would see that the Lord was able to open eyes that had never seen the light of day. How blessed it must have been for those individuals to firstly see the face of the Saviour, the one who had healed them and transformed their lives! For us we will have to wait until we are in the glory - "they shall see his face"

6. The graves were opened (Matt 27:52)

As the Lord gave his life on the cross the graves were opened and many rose from the dead, giving us a foretaste of what will happen when the Lord comes to the air; "the dead in Christ shall rise first"

7. Luke ch 24

The scriptures record 3 things were opened in Luke chapter 24:

a) Opened Eyes: As the Lord broke bread in the home of those two saints on the road to Emmaus, the scriptures say that their eyes were opened and they knew him. That word knew means that they recognised him due to some distinctive feature or mark. It has been speculated that perhaps these two saints were among those who were fed by the Saviour and witnessed him breaking bread and recognised the way in which he broke it. Perhaps, but how nice that he should open their eyes that they might recognise him!

b) Opened Scriptures: The Lord opened their eyes so they would recognise him and be encouraged by his presence, but he opened the scriptures to them so that they would be edified and instructed about him. So it is for us, we need to seek his presence and person but we also need to learn about him from his Word!

c) Opened Understanding: Finally, the Lord appears to his disciples when they too were breaking bread! It seems that the person of the Lord Jesus is inextricably linked and associated with the breaking of bread. All the more reason therefore for us to be there and participate! He opens their understanding so they can fully understand the scriptures, this reminds me of the role of the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and teach us all things.

I am sure there is much that could be added to this study, I trust that these few simple thoughts will be to our mutual blessing.

Yours in Christ, Mark

"full of" a short study

As we approach another weekend where are hearts and minds begin to think upon the Saviour, let's share some thoughts together concerning the Lord Jesus. Recently I have been thinking about the little phrase "full of" and it's use in relation to the Lord Jesus and there is a nice train of thought that I would encourage you to follow up on as we consider these thoughts together.

John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth."

This verse takes us back to his incarnation, and does it not amaze us once again to remember that the very Son of God came down into this sinful world? But John recalls the difference and uniqueness of this One, he was 'full of grace and truth' . As we examine that life, surely we can see abundant evidence of both grace and truth in equally perfect measure in that blessed life.

Luke 4:1 "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness."

When we consider this verse it reminds us that the Lord Jesus was always in the current of the Father's will as he was ever filled with and governed by the Holy Spirit. This directed his movements, actions and words. It serves as a challenge to our hearts - do we live our lives in constant reference to the Holy Spirit and seek to do God's will? We as believers should strive to live lives led by the Spirit and 'live by faith' dependant upon Him, or do we relegate God to the back of our minds usually?

Mark 8:19-20 "When I brake the 5 loaves among 5000 how many baskets full of fragments took ye up?"

[caption id="attachment_89" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The countryside by Galilee, a possible site for the feeding of the 5000?"][/caption]

The baskets were FULL OF fragments, the Saviour is most specific in his words! The provision on that occasion we recall was 'super-abundant' (enough for their needs and far more!). How wonderful to note the compassion and provision of the Saviour, he never did things partially or 'just enough', he always fully met the need and exceeded expectations! How different from the world in which we live, which always seems to disappoint on so many levels. Of course this same Lord Jesus has promised his abundant provision to his believing people: "unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..." What a Saviour is ours!

Luke 5:12 "And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy..."

Just as the baskets were full of fragments, so was this man FULL OF leprosy, and what a wretched sight he must have been. Rejected by society, poor and destitute with a debilitating and terminal condition - until he met the Saviour that is! The question he asked was "if thou wilt" and the lovely answer was "I will, be thou clean". And the scripture records that that leper felt something that he had not felt for a very long time, the compassionate and kind touch of another human being. What a lovely touch by the Lord Jesus! Of course leprosy is a picture of sin that we use in the gospel so we can use this as a picture of ourselves, made destitute by sin with it's awful mark on our lives, destined for death and judgement - until the Saviour stepped in and saved us by grace and changed our lives forever, thanks be to God!

Mark 15:36 "and one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar... and gave him to drink..."

[caption id="attachment_92" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="An example of an ancient Roman sponge on a stick"][/caption]

Finally we close our few thoughts by coming once again to Calvary. From reviewing our other points we see a life full of love and compassion, grace and truth and obedience to God. But when we come to the cross we see the Son of God hanging on a cross in agony and shame, despised and rejected by men and forsaken of God. At the height of his suffering, just when you would think there might be someone to offer relief or to show compassion upon one who had done so much good, what do they offer the very Son of God? A sponge full of vinegar (sour wine). How ironic to see that when we look at the life of the Saviour, we see the phrase 'full of' used to describe his lovely and wonderful virtues and characteristics, but when it comes to man it is used to show his wickedness and cruelty instead. How typical of the world, and still today they offer to Christ the disdain and rejection that they offered to him then - yet to all who repent and believe he will be their Saviour.

To us as believers as well, the world will never encourage, relieve or satisfy us as Christians, it will only offer us instead the proverbial 'sponge full of vinegar'. We should turn to Christ instead "in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" who is our refuge, an ever present help in time of need.

We trust these few simple thoughts will warm our hearts to worship and encourage us at the same time.

Yours in Christ,

Mark