And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. (Luke 2:8-17)
There are many who would try to tell you that Jesus was not a real historical figure. There are also those who would tell you that Jesus was not a real man, who was flesh and blood. This belief is associated with Docetism, it is an early Christian heresy. Some churches in the Oneness Pentecostals and Unitarians stress the divine, spiritual nature of Jesus. What the gospels give us is several eyewitness accounts to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of a real true to life, flesh and blood man, who was of divine origin. He was not a creation of man, nor of God, rather he is God. The gospel of John says that he is the very word of God who created all things. Christmas is our remembrance of when God came down and dwelt among his people, and then laid himself down as a sacrifice for the sin of man. Once this penalty was paid. He (Jesus Christ) picked up his life and returned to his throne at the right hand of the Father. Make no mistake, these things happened.
There are also several other witnesses concerning Jesus, that are extra-biblical. There are historical accounts from ancient Roman and Jewish historians and official. These accounts corroborate the existence of a real man who is named Jesus. These documents support the gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus under Pontius Pilate. They document the early growth of the church and their early belief in the deity of Jesus.
Flavius Josephus (Jewish Historian, c. 90 AD): Mentions Jesus, James (his brother), and reports of him as the Messiah, aligning with Gospel accounts. [1]
This is the approximate time that many believe that the Apostle John wrote his 3 letters and the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Tacitus (Roman Historian, c. 110 AD): Confirms Jesus’ execution by Pilate and the early Christians’ worship of “Christus”. [2]
Pliny the Younger (Roman Governor, c. 112 AD): Wrote to Emperor Trajan about Christians worshipping Christ as a god, confirming his historical reality. [3]
Mara bar-Serapion (Syriac Philosopher, c. 73 AD): Wrote about the Jews killing their “wise king,” connecting it to the fall of the Jewish kingdom. [4]
This is the time shortly after most of the New Testament letters were written and would have been in deep circulation in the Christian communities
Lucian of Samosata (Greek Satirist, c. 180 AD): Sarcastically noted Christian’s worshipping “that crucified sophist,” confirming his followers and crucifixion.[5]
So, the Roman Empire, Jewish historians, and Greek philosophers and satirists knew that Jesus was born, dies on a cross, and was believed to be resurrected. They knew that he was a physical man who was born, and that he did die. They may not have believe that he was also divine, however, they knew that others believed in the resurrection and the divinity of Jesus Christ.
Among the gospel accounts, we have Luke. He was a physician who was a close companion to Paul, who is an Apostle of Jesus Christ. I say “is” because the gospel of Mark states, He (God) is not a God of the dead, but the God of the living. (Mark 12:27, emphasis mine)
Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. He was not an eye-witness. But apparently for Theophilus he undertook this query into the truth claims of the Apostles by interviewing eyewitnesses and conducted thorough research. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, he wrote an orderly, accurate account for a Gentile (non-Jewish) audience of the actions and beliefs concerning Jesus of Nazareth. He found ample evidence and credibility of the witnesses to put his name, reputation, and life on the line for the biography and historical record he produced.
This is why Luke speaks with full confidence and authority when he writes.
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. (Luke 1:1-4)
Luke tells us that the things he has taken down and proclaimed to us are the things that are most assuredly believed by the followers of Jesus Christ. This is resemblant of his mentor and fellow servant Paul, who wrote the Corinthians saying, “For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you…” As Paul, Luke has given us a trustworthy testimony of Jesus Christ.
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Concerning the manuscripts, there are vast numbers of copies of manuscripts containing various parts or all of Luke. Papyrus 75 (P75) contains large portions of the writings of Luke and John which dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century. Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are fourth century manuscripts that offer an almost complete witness of the New Testament including Luke. We can trust the transmission of this gospel account through history with these evidences of preservation.
We can trust the gospel of Luke. It tell us a lot concerning the birth of Jesus the Christ. It tells us that he was born in the city of David (Bethlehem). His father Joseph was of the lineage of David and because if a census he was required to return to his familial home. This caused the fulfilment of prophecy where it tells us the messiah will come out of Bethlehem. Luke’s gospel account tells us that on the same night that Jesus was born, angels appeared to nearby shepherds.
Something you may not know about these nearby sheep and the proximity of Bethlehem to Jerusalem. But Bethlehem is just a short walking distance to Jerusalem and to the Temple. The “Tower of the Flock” is located near Bethlehem and was historically linked to the raising of sacrificial animals… suggesting that the flocks were nearby. For the Passover the lambs for the sacrifice for the sin offing had to be without blemish. Tradition tells us that these shepherds near Bethlehem were watching these flocks of lambs intended for Temple sacrifices. How fitting that theses angels were sent to the Shepards, whose duty was to watch over the lambs of God.
John the Baptist declared two times that Jesus is the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). No this was no coincidence and we must see that this is revealed in this gospel for our benefit, so that we may believe on Jesus as the Lamb of God. As Paul put it, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) We can now get a little understanding why the angels then sang their next report with joy and gladness, scripture:
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men
God has sent his son, in the flesh to do what we could not do. He would be the spotless lamb, a lamb without blemish. What man could not do because all men are already condemned under sin, Jesus could do because he was not tainted by original sin. Many believe that it is impossible for a men to not sin. Yet God requires it as though it is possible.
In the Gospel of John we are told of a woman who was caught in adulty and when Jesus forgave her. John 8:10-11 reads:
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Yet we still have this issue with sin. Because of the nature delivered to us from the fall. We were conceived in sin. We were born into sin. We were further conditioned into sin. Sin is all that we have known. We do not even have a reference for what it truly means to be righteous. But Jesus was not conceived in sin. The scripture tell is that the angel told Mary, what you have conceived is from the Holy Spirit and the baby is Holy. This made him spotless from before he was born. He had come to pay the debt for sin for the whole world. In order to do that he had to step into man’s place. Therefore, he had to become a man. Then in his sinlessness, God the Father imputed all our debt unto him. Then he judge him and put him to death. This paid the sin debt. So Jesus did what no one else could do. He removed sin.
Not just a sin, or your past sin. Certainly not just some sins. Instead, John the Baptist tells us that Jesus took away the sin of the world. That is all sin! Sin had been delt with.
1 John 2:2 – And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10 – Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This propitiation means that Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross satisfied God’s righteous anger against sin, appeasing devine wrath and making it possible for mankind to be forgiven and reconciled to God. This act of justice through Christ’s blood atonement demonstrated God’s love while upholding his holiness. This is what led Paul to write the Romans saying:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:24-26).
This is why Jesus is the only way to eternal life. This is why Christmas is so important to remember. This is why we need to know that Jesus was not some made of person. This is why we need confidence in the manuscripts. It is because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Trust in Jesus and celebrate his birth, loud and proud, in confidence that what you know is the truth. – Amen
The Annals. Vol. Book 15, chap. 44, by Tacitus. Internet Archive, 109.
[1] (Josephus 1987) About a.d. 110. Tacit. Annal. 15.44.—Nero, in order to stifle the rumor, [as if he himself had set Rome on fire], ascribed it to those people who were hated for their wicked practices, and called by the vulgar Christians: these he punished exquisitely. The author of this name was Christ, who, in the reign of Tiberius, was brought to punishment by Pontius Pilate the procurator.
[2] (Tacitus 109) Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Chrestians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most pernicious superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. [Source: Annals, Book 15, Chapter 44]
[3] (PBS.org 1998) they assured me that the main of their fault, or of their mistake was this:-That they were wont, on a stated day, to meet together before it was light, and to sing a hymn to Christ, as to a god,
[4] (Jesus Skeptic 2021) A copy of the letter from Mara Bar Serapoin to his son concerning Jesus can be found here.
[5] (Lucianofsamosata.info 2015) Greater discussion on this letter and his comments and the other information available at this site.
And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.(Mark 2:14-17)
Many in society mistake the calling of Jesus. We tend to do to one extreme or the other. This story is one of those events that people love to use to take their side on “What Would Jesus Do?”.
There are those who look at this story and use it as a basis to say that Jesus loves everyone. They would not be in error to say that. These are also those who would say that Jesus accepts us the way we are. They would not be in error to say this either. In Matthew Jesus said, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” (Matthew 9:12, emphasis added). Keep in mind that the purpose of the physician is to make one well, not to leave a person in sickness and death. In addition, I want you to remember what Jesus said to Levi. He saw Levi at the seat of customs. He saw Levi in his sin, and going about his life, doing what Levi does. He say Levi heading to death because of his lifestyle. Then he called Levi and said, “Follow me”.
Jesus’ calling of Levi recorded in Luke 5:27-32 gives us a similar tale. Jesus saw Levi at the seat of custom. The seat of custom was a booth that was set up in a particular place where the taxes to Rome could be paid. It was near the city gate so that those who passed through the gates could easily be levied. Those who collected the taxes were referred to as publicans. They were despised by the Jews because they worked for the occupying government of Rome, and they were seen as traitors to their people and thieves. They were rightly seen as oppressors. Through their efforts the local garrison was funded at the expense of the occupied people.
Levi (also known as Matthew) was one of these Jewish tax collectors who worked for the Roman government. He was considered ceremonially unclean because of his association to the pagan government. In addition, no good Jew would be found socializing with such a vile traitorous person. As a Jew he was also raised up to know God. However, because of his occupation and the resulting stigma he was not allowed to enter the synagogue. He was an outcast to his own people, and quite possibly to his own family.
Like all tax collectors he has a reputation for being a thief. This is because in addition to the taxes collected, the collector could also keep any excess revenue they collected. This was considered their wages by the occupation forces of the Roman Empire. Tax collectors were heavy handed and were authorized to use force, the threatening of imprisonment, slavery, and in some cases execution for non-payment. The fact that Levi could host such a great feast to welcome Jesus and to show him off in front of all his friends is evidence that Matthew was good at his job. Levi would have been properly viewed as an extortioner of his own people. The combination of all of these things would mean that the only people that Levi could associate with were people who were like himself, or worse.
Levi (who would be Matthew), evidently did have a desire somewhere in his heart to know God. This account does not tell us much about Levi’s secrets, but one thing is that Jesus knew his heart was seeking. Jesus came into this crowded area that was full of people trying to see him. Matthew knew that he could not dare to come to see the prophet from Galilee that everyone was talking about. But he had a desire to speak with him. But he knew that he was unclean and there was no way that a prophet would speak to him, a sinner beyond redemption.
But he did speak to him. Jesus came for Matthew. Jesus looked right at him, and said, “Follow me…”. Matthew’s response was immediate. He left what he was doing and followed. He was excited and joyous that Jesus had chosen to speak to him. The biggest news maker since John the Baptist was here and wanting to eat at his house. So, he did what every young hotshot would do. He had a party. He invited everyone he could. He wanted everyone to see his guest.
Jesus and his disciples were now eating and drinking with sinners. They were with the rejects of proper Jewish society. These were the dregs who everyone looked upon as unredeemable. Even they themselves has believed that they were just too broken for God to love. What Jesus saw was the same thing that he saw in the Garden of Eden… Adam was hiding in shame. He was naked and afraid. God sought him out, picked him up, and clothed him. Adam deserved death, but God showed mercy to Adam and delayed the onset of his death. He even promised him that he would redeem Adam back to himself (God) in Jesus. This was a mystery that Jesus was beginning to reveal. How the Son of God would become the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Therefore, redeeming Adam and all of his descendants who would believe on Jesus as the Christ.
In this crowd at Levi’s home was undoubtedly a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. People from all walks of life, some important, some nobody knew their names. All were lost and needing to see the light, they all needed redemption. The mystery is finally revealed to us in full in the writings of Paul’s gospel. Paul charges that regarding sin, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile.
Romans 3:9-10 – What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Romans 3:29 – Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
According to this Apostle, there is only one God, he the God of all people. God created man (Adam), and since all men come from Adam, then God is the God of all men, the only God.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men (Titus 2:14)
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. (Romans 12:15)
There is the mystery, that one man brought sin in the world and it infected everyman since. In order to kill the infection and heal all of men, then if would take one man. This man would have to be sinless in order to do the job. Since no man can be sinless, it would have to be that God would become a man. Live sinlessly and pay the penalty for sin (death) so that Adam and his children could live with God. This is why Jesus is the only way to God.
Those who are highly religious cannot see the unfolding of the mystery in our daily lives. Our text reveals false piety. “And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?” How quick are we to forget that WE are only here because of the mercies of God? Sometimes we forget that we could not earn our own way. We had to have Jesus come to us where we were. He had to call us out of our sinful lusts and evil desires. He is the one who had to show the light upon our path and gently guided us to the safety of his shelter. He is the physician that healed our souls form the damages of sin.
The Psalmist wrote,
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. (Psalm 25:6-7)
O Lord, let us never be so cold hearted to forget the redemption we have at the suffering of your holy servant, and the blood that he has shed for us all.
Jesus told the scoffers, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. It is the sick who need the doctor, not those who are well. When we see a person who is diseased, do we tell them to turn away and to heal themselves before they can come to the doctor? Do we tell the blind to make your eyes whole so you can see the physician? No, we do not. We have urgent care clinics, emergency rooms, ambulances, and medivac aircraft for those who need such urgent care.
These hypocrites were put in those places and given those offices that they might guide those lost men, women, and children to God, not turn them away. They were to educate them on who God is, what his requirements were, but also to treat the wounded, anoint the sick, and pray for the dying.
But back to those who would say, What Would Jesus Do? Let’s see what he did when he say Levi. He said, “Follow Me”. Then he told the Pharisees, I have come to “call… sinners to repentance.”. Yes, Jesus met Levi in his sin, but, he did not leave Levi where he was. Jesus called him out of his sin. He called him to Repent, and to Follow. He called him to turn away from his old life and his old manner of living, thinking, believing. He called him to a new life. He called Matthew to follow his teachings. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) He called him to be discipled. Not to just make a confession of faith, but to act on that faith in following him and submitting to his teachings.
Jesus expected Levi to accept the truth of God. He expected Levi to die to his old sinful life. Paul wrote, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5) Jesus expected Mattthew to live in the newness of the righteousness of God in him, Jesus. Like a good physician expects his good patient to trust his diagnosis and follow his treatment plan, Jesus expects you to trust in him. You too can have a good prognosis if you obey the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.
Let us daily give thanks to Jesus Christ our God that he is our healer. He is the one who called us out of darkness and death into his eternal light. Let us no more walk in the bondage of sin that he delivered us out of. Let our hearts say, Yes Lord, you are truth, you will be done in me as it is in heaven.
Islamic Apologist have made the claim that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God, nor God himself. They acknowledge that Jesus was a messenger of God. They equate him to Moses and other prophets. But they do not see Jesus as superior nor an equal prophet to Muhammad. Muslims maintain that Jesus was only sent to be a prophet to the Jews. Muhammad was a superior and final prophet that was sent to the entire world. There argument is a simple one that says there is no scriptural evidence that God would become a man. They point out that it is a fallacy of logic for the infinite to also be finite; like making a round square. They have said that there are no Old Testament scriptures that speak of the Son of God to come to the earth as a man. They argue that Jesus himself did not ever claim to be God, and so his disciples are wrong.
However, scripture does speak of God sending his Son as a child of men. Isaiah 9:6 specifically says that “a child is born” to us -to man. The title given to this child, born of men will be “the Mighty God, The everlasting Father”. This prophecy is in direct contradiction to Muslim claims that God never prophesied that he would come in the flesh. Here we see that God said a child is given and his name is God. The child is synonymous with the everlasting Father. This is a fulfilment of an earlier prophecy that God himself gives in the garden of Eden. Where, in Genesis 3, God speaks to the serpent and warns him that the offspring of the woman (child) would bruise the serpent’s head. Interestingly God says that a future descendant of the woman would bruise “his”, the serpent’s head. Not a future serpent offspring, but his head; the serpent that God is speaking to. Tied into this prophecy is the understanding that when the child bruises the head of the serpent, the serpent will also injure the child’s heal. The prophet Zechariah gives a chilling prophecy in relation to this point also. In speaking on God’s behalf he recounts what God said, in saying, “they shall look upon me (God) whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10). This seems ample evidence from the Old Testament prophets that God said that he would not only come in the flesh, but that Israel themselves would look at him after they pierced him. What a clear reference to the crucifixion of Jesus, where they pierced his hands and feet and then stood there looking up at him as he hung on the cross. God hung on the cross while Israel looked upon his pierced hands with the blood of the sacrifice running down his arms. Then there is the sign that God told through the prophet Isaiah. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) This maiden giving birth to the one who would be titled as Immanuel (God with Us) is the sign that God has given us his son, thus, God IS with us.
To alleviate the prophecy of the virgin birth they are willing to concede that Jesus was a significant prophet, the Messiah, and born of a virgin, but he was just a human servant of God, not divine and not equal to God. This approach is a weakness that even the Muslim can recognize, because they have to admit that God said the sign of his coming would be a miraculous birth that did not involve a human father, but a divine act of God. Once faced with this they will quickly switch to another approach. There next argument is that Jesus never claimed to be God.
As for the claim that Jesus never said that he was God, “In such words”. One can take a philosophical look at the error in this argument first. A claim to be someone or something is not necessary to be legitimate. Legitimacy is derived from a variety of sources. Claiming to be something or someone can give one limited credibility, however, true credibility is never accepted by one’s own mouth. There must be validations to establish the legitimacy of a claim. If someone claims to be a ruler, then they must have subjects to validate it. If one claims to be a teacher, then they must have students. If one claims to be a millionaire, then they must have financial statements. Witnesses, documentation, physical or historical evidence must be present to validate a truth claim. For instance, Muslim tradition attributes many physical miracles to Muhammad including the splitting of the moon, providing water and food for thousands, and healing the sick. However, the Quran itself presents a conflict for those claiming Muhammad performed physical miracles. Some Islamic scholars like Muhammad Asad argue the Quran establishes Muhammad never performed a single miracle other than bringing the Quran itself. It is not philosophically required of even profitable for Jesus to claim to be God. It is however necessary to have real witnesses, documentation, deeds, and historical, archaeological evidence, in this case, to validate the truth claim, that Jesus is God; of these we have no shortages.
Jesus may have never claimed to be the Son of God in the synaptic gospels. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the author of the gospel of John viewed Jesus as God incarnate. John is very clear on his assertion that Jesus is the very Word of God who existed before the Creation, and who is the very Creator of everything that was created. He is, therefore, God (John 1:1-3). Furthermore, there is evidence in the Gospels that Jesus did make truth claims on being God. He said in John 14:12, “…because I go unto my Father.” . Making a direct claim to be the Son of God. In John 8:58 Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” This statement says that he was the God that Abraham worshipped. These are just a few of many statements where Jesus affirmed his deity.
However, Islam does not accept the witness of the New Testament writings. They believe that the writings of the New Testament and especially the gospels have been altered and changed over time. They believe that the belief of Jesus being God was a slow change that occurred over time, after the ascension and after the death of the apostles. Of course, Muslims do not give credit to the Bible as a whole, not even to the New Testament. The Quran declares that the Injil (the Gospel) was revealed as the Word of God. The Muslim speaker, in the debate in question, quickly developed another argument: No matter what the other books of the Bible can say, Jesus is not God in the Gospels
The Quran expressly forbids the worship of Jesus, as Allah (God). Those who say, “Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. The Messiah ˹himself˺ said, “O Children of Israel! Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord.” Whoever associates others with Allah ˹in worship˺ will surely be forbidden Paradise by Allah. Their home will be the Fire. And the wrongdoers will have no helpers. (Sura 5:72)
So this approach is common for the Muslim to take in controlling the parameters of what they will accept as suitable defenses to their argument. The Muslim has removed the Christian’s right to use his holy scriptures, yet asserts the authority of the Quran over the New Testament as being more reliable. While questioning the sacred scriptures of other religions, Islam cannot accept the scrutinizing of their writings. In continuation of this limiting of the scope, the Muslim apologist then turns to rely on the Textual Criticism theory of scholars like Bart Ehrman, who argues that the concept of Jesus’s divinity evolved over time, and that not even the apostles or the early church believed that Jesus was divine.
Cliffe Knechtle, and Christian apologist has numerous videos where Muslims have used this argument. When asking Cliffe to prove the deity of Chrit, they say that he cannot use the Gospel of John. The reasoning is that the Gospel of John is believed to be the last gospel written, around 90-95 AD and that it has subsequently been altered to agree with the new Christian view of the deity of Christ. This gospel speaks explicitly of the deity of Jesus. However, these anti-Christian apologists believed that all the previous writings in the New Testament did not call Jesus God, and the church did not believe nor worship Jesus as God until way alter and the Gospel of John was rewritten to include the deity for future generations. The reliability of this gospel is called upon, because of its strong announcement of the deity of Jesus.
Therefore, to the Muslim, the Gospel of John becomes a tainted argument for the deity of Christ. Scholars like Bart Ehrman, MDiv, PhD, a New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, and the historical Jesus and early development of Christology came about, also claim that the church did not believe in the deity of Christ until the Nicene creed was adopted in 325 AD. Dr. Ehrman commented in his Introduction to his book, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee,
One of my theses will be that a Christian text such as the Gospel of Mark understands Jesus in the first way, as a human who came to be made divine. The Gospel of John understands him in the second way, as a divine being who became human. Both of them see Jesus as divine, but in different ways.
This is a concept that is made more popular by the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code.
Hence the Islamic apologist will not listen to the Christian who turns to John 3:16 to defend his claim on the deity of Christ. He has deemed this gospel of no use in the debate. This is like telling a mechanic to repair an engine without using any tools. However, there is other evidence that can be used to see that Jesus is the Son of God. The anti-Christian is counting on the ignorance of the average Christian to be unable to overcome this layered attack, which is primarily based on inaccurate fact-finding and blatant lies.
The deity of Jesus Christ is not a last-ditch effort to deceive Jews and Muslims into converting to Christianity. The deity of Jesus Christ is a foundational truth of Christianity. Without the belief in the deity of Christ, there would be no such thing as Christianity. This belief is supported by compelling evidence from the New Testament, including Jesus’ self-proclaimed divine titles, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, miraculous works, Jesus’ exercise of divine authority, historical records, and even archeological finds. The Apostle Peter wrote, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”. (1 Peter 3:15) We should have a great understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. (Romans 1:16). The Apostle John said that he wrote his Gospel so that you could believe on Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and in believing you could have eternal life. If we must not use the writings of John to prove the truth of Jesus as the Son of God, then how can we?
When confronted by these Islamic apologists Cliffe Knechtle used some very simple logical arguments. They did not depend upon flowing from one point to another. Which is good, because every time he started to answer a question, the Muslim would interrupt and change the condition of the question or move to another question altogether. Cliffe continued with his answer and incorporated the new question into his answer. His method was that he used an orderly framework on the understanding of Christ, his person, his works, the manner in which he was addressed, and even Jewish customs and practices at the time. This would most definitely include the strong-rooted monotheistic practices rooted in the Mosaic Law. His framework was similar to the HANDS method discussed by Robert Bowman Jr. and Ed Komoszeshi in their book, Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case For The Deity of Christ.
The HANDS method is a simple acronym used to organize your knowledge about Jesus Christ and is quite useful in giving an answer for the reason of your faith in Jesus, as the Son of God. The acronym can be easily adapted to things you already know and understand as a Christian. It can be easily recalled because it also is related to a story most of us know concerning “doubting” Thomas in the Gospel of John.
Bowman explains, “Just as an examination of the nail prints convinced Thomas he was beholding the hands of deity, a closer look at the Bible reveals Jesus shares the HANDS of God.” The acronym stands for: Honors, Attributes, Names, Deeds, and Seat of God. In looking at these you can organize your thoughts into arguments that are not impacted by the changing or rephrasing of the question. At the root of the answer is that Jesus has been given and accepts the same honors that are due God. Jesus also, has the same unique attributes that God exhibits which make him God. Attributes would be things like omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternal, holiness, and those things which originate from who God is. Jesus also identifies himself with the same names or titles that are only used by God to refer to himself; titles like “I AM”. In scripture Jesus also performs the same deeds that can only be done by God. An example of this would be the healing of the diseased, or the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Then also, Jesus has the same authority of God and therefore shares the same seat as God.
In using this framework an apologist does not need to memorize endless amounts of scripture. The believer in Jesus can find one or two scriptures per category and memorize those. He can even use the spelling out of HANDS in his mind to keep a logical flow to the argument. By way of example the H that represents HONORS we only need to consider how honors are shown to military commanders, foreign dignitaries, or magistrates. For those we see red carpets are rolled out for their entry, displays of military prowess are shown, trumpets and honor guards are presented, and gifts may even be exchanged. An awareness of importance in the dignitary is openly shown.
An example from the Old Testament can be found in Exodus 20:2-3 where God tells the Israelites that they will worship no other God, because he alone is God. This is an expectation of honor that is only due to God. He is supreme and honors will not be given to any other god. In the book of Hebrews, the author tells us that Jesus is more honorable than Moses. Moses was compared to a house, and Jesus as the one who built the house (Moses), so he has more honor than Moses. (Hebrews 3:1-5) When we see a feat of architecture, we might admire the building. However, all the praise and admiration go to the architect who designed and oversaw its construction. The book of Hebrews which was written somewhere between 64-68 AD also tells us that Jesus is to be glorified forever. (Hebrews 13:21) Remember in Exodus, cited above, the Jews were forbidden to worship anyone of anything as God except God himself, yet Matthew records, “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33) The gospel of Matthew was written somewhere around 50-60 AD. This is within 20-30 years of the ascension of Christ. Yet these lifelong Jews who were forbid by the Law of Moses, and the traditions of their ancestor to worship anything, or anyone else as God, worshiped Jesus as God before he was even crucified.
This basic technique of using the HANDS of God (Jesus) to defend one’s belief in the deity of Jesus is quite simple and easy to speak to. The same types of arguments can be progressed through the rest of the acronym to show scriptures from the Old Testament on the Attributes of God. Then you can match those with verses in the New Testament that show the same attribute of God in Jesus. The key thing here is that studying and memorization of the scriptures is principal. Many who do not believe on Jesus prey on the ignorance and unpreparedness of the believer. They exploit the believers lack of knowledge in their own bible and cultural history. To tell people about the Honors, Attributes, Names, Deeds, and Seat of God, you must know God and the honor that is due him. You must know what the attributes of God are. You need to be acquainted with the names and titles of God are and what they mean. You should also recognize the authority that comes with the seat of God. An ambassador cannot represent or speak to things that they do not know. Modern Christians are not the only ones who have been deceived because of their ignorance. From a historical viewpoint it is true that some early people who called themselves Christians did not believe the same things concerning Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote the Galatians concerning these false gospels.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)
Paul said, “so soon removed”, he had recently taught the Galatians the truths about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God and could not understand how they could listen to lies presented by others. These false teachers had no apostleship, and no connections with the true church. We suffer from the same issues today. Kieth Green, a Christian evangelist and musician, was fond of saying, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to Mac Donald’s makes you a hamburger.” Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;…”(Matthew 7:21a) From the very 1st Century there were early departures from the true doctrines of the church that included Arianism, Adoptionism, and Docetism. However, this does not mean that the church did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Historical evidence for the belief in Jesus Christ’s divinity comes from both biblical sources and early Christian writings, as well as from the actions and writings of the early church, and writings of those who witnessed the church in action. These sources demonstrate that the belief in Jesus’ divinity was not a later development but was present from the earliest days of Christianity. The gospels and even the earliest books of the New Testament attest to Jesus as being worshiped and honored as the Son of God.
The apostle Paul was an avid evangelist who continued to stay in touch with the churches of Asia through letters that taught the doctrines of the church in his absence. His earliest writings of 1 Thessalonians are believed to have been between 49-51 A.D. This puts them within 15 years of the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. Prior to the writing of these letters Paul had been spreading the preaching of Jesus being the Son of God throughout the region. He had been to Antioch Syria, Cyprus, Perga, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lustra, Derbe, Pamphylia, and even to Jerusalem by this time, suffering for the cause of the deity of Jesus Christ. Paul had been starved, beaten, stoned, left for dead all for the gospel of Jesus. Surely, he would not have suffered all of this if he did not fully believe in Jesus as God.
In 1st Thessalonians Paul opens with, “…unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”, Thus he equates Jesus with God. Later in chapter 3 Paul claims that Jesus is God again, “Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.” (1 Thessalonians 3:11). Colossians is another letter from Paul written from 60-62 AD where Paul says that Jesus is the Creator (God) who created everything. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:16-17).
Paul, according to the book of Acts, was originally a zealous persecutor of the church. He was a devout Jew from a sect called the Pharisees. These members of the Pharisees were looked upon with great respect in the Jewish community because they were distinguished by their strict observance of the traditional (Oral) law and the written law (Torah). He was a well-educated man, from a proud tribe of Isreal, in the original line of King Saul. Perhaps even named after him. Saul (Paul in Greek) caused great fear in the Chrisitan, so much that they fled Jerusalem. Then he was given special papers of authority to hunt down and imprison Christians so that they could be brought back for trial. Paul thought that every Christian should be stoned to death for worshiping Jesus as God. Then he met the risen Jesus on the road. This meeting with Jesus changed what Paul believed concerning the deity of Jesus.
Paul, an early convert who at first did not believe in Jesus, came to believe that Jesus is the very God of Genesis who created and who sustains everything. This was written and distributed prior to the writing of the Gospel of John. In the book of Acts (9:20) it tells us that when Paul was converted, “straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”. This means from the very start, the church taught that Jesus is the Son of God. Within a matter of months, Paul was persecuting Christians and having them stoned to death because they believed in Jesus as God, and then he himself began to teach the same thing after he met Jesus, as God.
In looking at extra biblical references of believers who believed that Jesus is the Son of God prior to the Nicene creed we can look at the writings of Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215), Tertullian (AD 150-225), Polycarp (AD 69-155), and Ignatius of Antioch (AD 50-117). These are all church fathers who believed in the deity of Jesus Christ. In 93 AD Josephus, an early Jewish Historian, published the Jewish Antiquities. In a portion of this known as The Tesitmonium Flavianum, Josephus records what many believe is a testimony about Jesus Christ and it shows that 1st Century Christians believed that Jesus was the Messiah and Son of God.
About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.- Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 §63(Based on the translation of Louis H. Feldman, The Loeb Classical Library.)
This and other comments made by Josephus, do not say that Josephus believed that Jesus was the Christ of the Son of God, but they do demonstrate that early Christians did believe in the deity of Jesus from the very beginning of Church history. Not only that it shows that they believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Messiah, the Son of God. These letters are a small sampling of many more. There are also archeological finds that support the early belief the of the church that Jesus is God.
In the area of Megiddo Prison, a discovery was made in 2005. This discovery has been dubbed as the greatest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is called the Megiddo Mosaic and dates to the early third century A. D. This site is one of the earliest found Christian worship centers in northern Israel. In this mosaic at this location is the earliest known inscription to identify Jesus as God. The inscription simply states it is to the “God Jesus Christ”.
Archeology can also refute the claims of the authenticity and reliability of the Gospel of John. Papyrus 52 (P52) is a witness discovered in Egypt which dates to the early mid-second century A. D.; approximately 125 A.D. This is long before the Nicene Creed. P52 is the oldest surviving manuscript evidence of any canonical text of the Christians. It contains on one side the verses of John 18:31-33 and on the other side, John 18:37-38. In these verses Jesus is on trial before Pilot. Jesus answers Pilots inquiries by stating that he “came into the world for this purpose”. He is fulfilling the will of the Father, he existed prior to his becoming a man. He is the truth of God. He came for this trial, this condemnation, this death on the cross, this resurrection.
When Jesus was asked what was his sign to show that he was the Messiah, he said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:” (Matthew 12:39) Jesus told them that as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights, so would the Son of Man (God) be in the heart of the earth (the grave) for three days and three nights. He also told them that if you destroy this temple, he will restore it in three days; meaning the temple of his body. The Apostle Peter recorded the importance of the resurrection in 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Paul reinforces this belief in Jesus being revealed as God and the hope that exists because of the resurrection many times. Once such reassurance is this, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18) As if Paul had to confront the same questions in the past, as are asked today, he wrote the Romans from 56-58 A.D. this testimony,
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Romans 1:1-4)
Paul is very clear about his office and relation to Jesus. He is his servant, his apostle. He was sanctified by God to share his gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is also clear that the gospel of Jesus that includes that he is the Son of God come in the flesh, crucified, buried, and resurrected was all foretold in the scriptures of what we call the Old Testament. Paul believes these things and these are very evidently things that he has been teaching from the beginning.
To preach a false gospel and Christ is to be damned (Galatians 1:8-9) If your Christology is not correct them you are not saved. Salvation comes from believing in Jesus as Christ and as the Son of God and the shedding of his blood for the atonement of sin. John 20:31 states, But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. This is why the Muslim seeks to remove the Gospel of John from the discussion of the deity of Christ. Because it is written that you might believe, and in believing, you have eternal life. Bless the Lord that God has recorded the truth in other parts of scripture, in historical testimonies, in archaeology, and in the hearts of men who believe.
The Apostle Peter recorded, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:” (2 Peter 1:1). Clear words from Peter, a 1st hand witness to Jesus’ ministry, confirming his belief that Jesus is God and Savior. Paul, passed down to a young pastor Titus, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:13). Paul wanted to confirm the faith of this pastor and teacher that Jesus is God and Savoir.
The Deity of Jesus Christ is defensible. It is a true testimony that is given by the Holy Apostles from before Jesus was crucified. It is a true testimony given by the earliest of Jesus’ disciples as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and the writings of John, Matthew, Peter, Mark, James, Jude, and Paul. It was believed and taught by the next generation of Pastors like Timothy and Titus. It was taught by Apollos, Percilla, and many other teachers within the first 10 years of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Roman officials wrote letters back and forth on how to deal with these kindhearted worshipers of Jesus Christ, who worshiped him as the only God. Archeology shows shrines over a thousand years old that are dedicated to the God Jesus. Then there are the hundreds of written witnesses from the forefathers of the early church, like Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Polycarp, and Ignatius of Antioch.
There are those who will refuse to see the truth. Their hearts have been hardened, and their eyes have been blinded. The truth falls upon deaf ears. But to those who are seeking the truth. The truth is Jesus is the Christ, the anointed of God, who is the Word of God, the Lamb of God who was sent into the world to redeem the world. He is God incarnate. Those who want to know God and are willing to hear the truth, and have faith in God, will be rewarded. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6). There comes a point where one has to make a choice to believe the truth, or to reject it. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Daniel 12 gives us a great picture of the end-of -the-age, and the deliverance of Israel. In this chapter there is one telling sentence that many scholars say that points a prophecy that is being fulfilled in our very time. That scripture referenced is this verse, Daniel 12:4, where it says. “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increase”. Some say that this is the telling sign that is bring fulfilled in our generation. The sign of going to and from and the increase in human knowledge. They point out the dynamic speed at which we can obtain knowledge on a subject these days via the internet. With apps like “hey Google”, “Alexis”, “Siri”, and other AI technologies we can find information on anything, and write our own dissertation, or even a book on knowledge that we did not have two minutes ago. It can then be published to the whole world in a matter of seconds. The availability of specialized and advanced training and collage has exploded across the globe. These institutions of higher learning are no long just available to the rich and elite in society, but they have been made accessible to the poor and the meek of societies all over the world.
As a result, before 1900 human knowledge increased at a rate of doubling every century. By the end of WWII human knowledge increased at a rate of doubling every 25 years. Today if is dependent on the field of knowledge, but in general human knowledge doubles every 13 months to 2 years. With the advent of AI, it is expected that we will soon be able to double human knowledge every 12 hours. This could very well be an indicator of the end times that Daniel is talking about.
If you also consider the “to and fro” aspect of the verse, then we can see an increase in the ability of people to travel long distances in shorter periods of time. We even have areas of the globe that were isolated for the entire history of the earth, that are now readily accessible through specialized vehicles and equipment. We have military submarines that have been recorded to go as deep as 1500 m below sea level. The Lockheed SR-71 can reach Mack 3.3 (2,100 mph). Trips around the globe that were once impossible are now completed in minutes. Many saber rattles point to these things as signs of the end times that were spoken of by Jesus and the prophets. These are discussed as signs of the apocalypse on podcasts and prophecy conferences from different corners of the globe. Admittedly, these could be a part of the meaning of the prophecy of Daniel mentioned here.
Scripture often has a dual application, one that we can readily see and one that is deeper in meaning, in context. The entire journal of Daniel is an example of this dual meaning. While we see the workings of how God is sovereign and judges Israel and then delivers them by his grace. That is not all to the story; in the deeper context we see the representation of Babylon as the World System that comes together to enslave Israel. We also see Daniel as a type of Christ who is to overcome the world and bring salvation to Israel from his obedience to the will of the Father. We see the playing out of the war between the antichrist and the Christ depicted in the enslavement of the kingdoms of the world to Babylon, and then the imminent redemption of the world by God through Darius. With all these things in mind, let us examine the context of this passage in Daniel.
First let us get some perspective. Apocalyptic or Eschatology (study of last things) written in the bible was not written to the world. It is written to the Church and to Israel and Judah. They are not intended to be scarry subjects that need to have a cell phone or newspaper in one hand and the scriptures in the other. They are meant as an answer to a question. When and How will you come? They are written as an encouragement. The Revelation of Jesus Christ given through the Apostle John was written during a time of intense persecution of the church. Saints were being tortured to death, martyred for their faith. There question was, when is Jesus going to return? What is going on with the promise? In similar fashion we have the writing of Daniel to Judah. Jerusalem and the temple have been destroyed; Judah is broken. The people have been enslaved and subjected to the rule of foreign gods. Some have been tortured and killed for their faith. The question becomes, where is God? Did he abandon us? When will he avenge his name and deliver his people?
This section of Daniel is only a small part of that answer that is given by God. We cannot pull it out of context of the rest of the book, nor the rest of end-times prophecy. Daniel reveals that God has not abandoned Judah, nor Israel. Jehovah will send a savior to deliver Israel and Judah. He will send them the Messiah. This messiah was prophesied to come through the tribe of Judah. (Genesis 49:10) Before this messiah does come there will be a going of to and from and knowledge will increase. This will be an indicator that the figs are ready for harvest. Jesus himself spoke of these events of the end of days when he said. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” (Matthew 24:32-33) Jesus said that we should study and when these things are seen, we should be prepared for his arrival. So we must study the meaning of the text.
The text in question is a follow up on the preceding events. Remember Daniel is speaking to Israel and Judah. The antichrist will come and the lands will be divided. For 3 ½ years the power to divide the people of God will be given to this antichrist and many will be martyred for not bowing down to the foreign god. Then Michael will stand up and the deliverance of Israel and Judah will come. The righteous will be delivered and the wicked condemned. Then the scripture says, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”. Later it is repeated, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end (Daniel 12:9).
I remember when I was in school and when final exams came. Suddenly I was very interested in what the text of the books said. I needed to know all the information, that I should have already known, and would have known, if I would have studied and listened in class. I know needed the information for the final test, that would determine if I was to be a success or a failure. So the night before the exams I would study very intensely. Flipping through the pages, and the books, reading summaries. My eyes would go “to and fro” in search of any truth I could find to help me to anticipate the questions on the test and to prepare for the final examination. I suspect that this is the true meaning of this passage.
The meaning of this passage and the whole book was sealed until the end times. The understanding of this passage and others would not be comprehendible until the final days. Then people will get serious about seeking the true God. Israel would be willing to lay aside its religion and the ways of the world to seek God himself. They would search the scriptures and reread Daniel to see what they missed. In the end times they would accept a false messiah, and when their eyes were opened to their folly, they would seek out the true Messiah. Their eyes would be opened. What could be the event that opens their eyes? Well the two previous verses talk about the delivery of those whose names are found in the book of life, and the resurrection of the saints. It would appear that the rapture may be the trigger event that alerts the Jews that their messiah did come.
Knowledge is always shown to be from God in the scriptures. (Hosea 4:6-7; Psalms 119:66; Proverbs 1:5,7; 2:6; 9:10;1 Corinthians 12:8; 2 Peter 1:3; Isaiah 28:29) The increase in knowledge would be an increase in understanding of God and his Word. They would search the scriptures like a student studying for the final exam. James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote in his epistle, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5). So just as God seeks those who seek him, when the descendants of Israel ask for understanding, he will give it to them.
They will have their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit and they will see that Jesus is the promised Messiah; that they rejected. They will repent and turn to God. Then God (Jesus) will come to deliver them in righteousness and glory. Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” (Matthew 24:14-15). Jesus himself refers the Jews to look back to Daniel the prophet, in the last days to gain understanding.
We can certainly see how the common interpretation of this verse, Daniel 12:4, can mean that human knowledge will increase and that our ability to move about the world quicker and more freely would be increased. However, considering the surrounding scripture we cannot make the mistake of interpreting this verse with modern gentile eyes. We can instead take the information already given to the target audience. The target audience is the Jews in captivity and the Jews of the Tribulation.
Its purpose is to encourage them of a day of deliverance by their anointed Messiah. The surrounding text supports that the meaning of the book will not be understandable to Israel until the end is near. Then in the re-study of the book of Daniel, and the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekeil, Jesus, and other prophets, along with the events unfolding, they will finally understand the truth of Jesus Christ and receive their salvation. We as Christians, can already see these things and we should pray for peace for Israel and their salvation in Messiah Jesus.
THE JPS TANAKH-1917 (Hebrew Bible) is recognized as the most authoritative and preferred English translation of the Hebrew Bible according to The Jewish Publication Society. For almost a century this has been the prominent English version of the Hebrew Bible. In it Zechariah 13:6 reads, ” And one shall say unto him: ‘What are these wounds between thy hands?’ Then he shall answer: ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’”
The King James reads:
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
The Holman Christian Standard Bible reads:
If someone asks him: What are these wounds on your chest?—then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.
The American Standard Bible reads:
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds between thine arms? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
English Standard Version
And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
Contemporary English Version
And if any of them are asked why they are wounded, they will answer, “It happened at the house of some friends.”
This verse and the context which comes with it, is a clear prophecy to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In fact the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus refers to Zechariah 13:7 when he says, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” (Matthew 26:31). This pointing to the crucifixion is clearly indicated in the Hebrew Tanakh (1917) and in the King James Version. However, as we can see with these few samples above, almost every modern translation fails to show the piercing of the hands. This is an important part of the gospel. So important that God mentions it more than in just this passage.
“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” (Psalm 22:16).
My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. (Job 30:17)
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)
Is this not how the serpent beguiled Eve? By taking what God said and twisting it into something similar; but not the truth? Tell me again how it doesn’t matter what translation you are using. How they all say the same thing. Because these do not say the same thing. Were his wounds on his hands, his chest, somewhere between the arms, on his back, or just some unmentioned location (as in the CEV)? This removes one of the most important prophecies concerning the method in which the messiah would suffer.
Psalm 77 is to the chief musician, to Jeduthun and is a psalm of Asaph. Jeduthun and Asaph were Levites and two of three Masters of Music appointed by king David. (1 Chronicles 16:41-42; 25:1-6)
This is an awesome psalm of one crying out to God and having full confidence that his supplications have been heard. There is also a certain amount of spiritual maturity shown in the writer. Right off we see that he is willing to wait for and to accept the will of the Lord. He has full confidence in the Lord and his capabilities, cares, and goodness towards him.
The psalmist starts with a message of pure hope, “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.” He is very specific. I cried unto God, with my voice, and he listened. What a glorious faith that is, to know that God hears his children when they cry.
We also see the consistency of the prayer made. He says that he prayed hard all night, he ceased not. His soul could not be comforted. He remembered God in his distress, and he complained, he was overwhelmed with is plight. Here in this we see the confidence and confoundment the seeker has, he says that God sees him, he knows all that he does. Even when he sleeps, God knows when he awakes. So there is no mistaking that God knows what vexes his soul. He is confused as to when God will deliver him, or if at all. But he takes comfort in remembering what God has done for him in the past. So that even if God does not deliver him, he still knows that God is good. He is willing to accept the will of the Lord, for he trusts the judgement of the Lord.
In his remembrance of what the Lord has done he remembers that God is the same God who declared his strength to his people in how he delivered the sons of Jacob and Joseph. How he controls the seas, and the storms have no strength against his will. His ways are as unknown as the depths of the oceans. His plans are undiscoverable. His will is above all. Yet he chose to lead his people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. How beautiful is our God. How perfect is his way.
1 (To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.) I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. 10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. 11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. 13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. 16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. 17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. 18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. 19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
What a great place to be. On our knees, pleading our case before God. What a great assurance we have to know that he has bent his ear towards us. He has not simply nodded his head as he reads the morning headlines. He has not just read the summary of the book. He has instead given his full attention. In knowing all that is in our hearts, nothing was assumed. He has cherished every word that slipped through our trembling lips. Every tear cried, every agonizing groan had been felt by God, even my God… our God.
We can rest assure as the psalmist that we have been heard. That our cause has been understood and is under the perfect consideration of the one who is perfect in all of his ways. He who chose to deliver Israel, he who chose to deliver our very souls from sin and death. Surely we can have confidence that no matter what his decision may be, that our best interests are in his heart. Selah…
At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. – John 16:26-27
We live in a great age in the prophetic timeline. We live in the time of the Grace of God. We now have access to God in a way that the prophets of old so desired, and yet went to their graves not realizing. Moses met with God at the burning bush, had multiple conversations with God, and even went up to Mount Sinai several times to meet with God in the exodus. He saw the Lord descend from heaven in a pillar of fire and smoke. He even had a glimpse of God as he passed by Moses.
Abraham saw the angels of God and even the Son of God, talked with God, and was even called God’s friend. However, neither of these were allowed into the holy of holies. Neither of these had God indwell them with his Holy Spirit.
Even John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets who was on the cusp of the dispensation of the Gospel of Peace and the sending of the Holy Spirit did not have access to the Father as we do today.
We have intimate access to God that was previously not know. Even when Jesus told his disciples these words, “until now you have asked nothing in my name”. But now in that day, in this day we can ask in his name. We have a guaranteed audience and have been given access to the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ. No other religion in the world can make that claim, only Christianity. Therefore, we can ask in his name.
We are to ask and to continue to ask. Paul says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And so in this day we are to pray in his name and to pray continuously in his name. We must understand that we have full access and permission to approach God the Father in the name and authorization of Jesus Christ. For Jesus said, “I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you”. No instead he tells us that I do not need to go to the Father on your behalf, because the Father himself loves you and desires to hear from you directly. The Father loves us because we love his son and obey him. The Father knows that we love his son because we obey him. (John 14:23; John 15:16; 1 John 3:21-22; Philippians 2:11)
The Father testifies of the son on more than one occasion saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5) Because we have loved his Son the Father loves us. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). He knows that we love him because we listen to him, and we keep his commandments. (John 14:15) But as we read what Jesus said in our text, that the Father loves us “because ye have love me (Jesus), AND have believed that I came out from God.” So then loving Jesus unto obedience is necessary, but also the believing that he is the Son of God, and that he is from God. Jesus said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me…” (John 6:39).
What then is the will of him (God the Father) that sent him (Jesus the Son of God)? • That all that the Father gives him should not be lost, not one • That all that Father gives him should be raised up on the last day • That all that see and believe on him (Jesus Christ) should have everlasting life • That all that see and believe on him (Jesus Christ) should be raised up also on the last day
Therefore we can come before the Father with boldness to lay our petition before him. To pray and to seek and to find. For he says in our text that all we need to is ask. Ask for it. Ask for what it is that you desire of a sincere and concrete heart. In other places he tell us to seek, and to seek earnestly. So then we are to seek in earnest fervent prayer. For James, the half-brother of Jesus tells us that the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16) In east-Texas we would say that man’s words “hold water”. There is weight in the fervent prayer of a righteous man. It is because of who he is, who he knows, and what they mean to one another. Trusting in someone’s words means to trust that someone. John the one whom Jesus loves, said, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1 John 5:14-15) It is with great relief that Jesus tells us in our text that all we need do is to ask.
In the time of the Temple period only the High Priest was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. The High Priest had to go through quit a lengthy ritual to enter into the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt. To fail at any point in the preparations could lead to his death. Now we have free access to God. We can enter his gates with full joy knowing that we need not fear death. We do not have to worry if we have been properly cleansed, because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has taken care of all the requirements and removed all uncleanliness from us. We do not have to earn the right, pay a fee, or even plead for the audience. We only have to come and ask. Simply ask. We must never fail to ask. To ask should be our first act.
If one has never asked God for anything, then they must be an unbelieving, unregenerate soul. For if we truly believe that we can have anything we need to please the living God and to be of service to him, to receive the rewards he gives to those who ask, then surely we would ask. It is true that if you do not believe, you will not ask.
Therefore, • If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God (James 1:5) • If any lack in our health, let him ask • If any lack in our homes, let him ask • If any lack in a sound mind, let him ask • If any lack in matters of the spirit, let him ask For we know this, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask of him?” (Luke 11:13). We do not need a formal set of words. We only need to ask. Just as we would to anyone in whom we trust.
We do not need to worry about how accurate our word order is, or how proper our speech. There is no special formula. There is only the sincere desire of the need from a pure and upright heart. Not a seeking of evil, but because of a great care for goodliness and the desire in righteousness. For how can we ask in his name and pour out a selfish desire? Lord, please listen to me for his sake (Jesus).
When I was a young man, I went over to help my dad with a plumbing issue that he had. I did not have the right tools and could not afford the tools needed to complete the task. My dad sent me to the local hardware store. He told me that I should go see the owner and explain what tools and material were needed and who they were for. Then once all the items were totaled up the owner told me all I had to do was to sign on the receipt. I told him I did not have the money for the items, he told me it was ok, because I asked for them in my father’s name, and he trusted my father’s name. He knew that my father’s name was honorable and that he would take care of the bill. I left the hardware store with everything I needed to complete the repairs because I had asked in my father’s name.
You see Jesus says, use my name when speaking to the Father. For Jesus also said, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24) We are allowed to use that honor in speaking to the Father. The honor associated with the name of the only begotten Son who the Father is well pleased in. Therefore, this should be our governance, if Christ would not pray for it then I should not either. If our desire should conflict with the desire of the Father then we should decline our will to his. Who would dare bring shame upon another’s name by asking inappropriately for something that would be out of character for the one of who’s name they are asking in?
Surely if I would have gone into that hardware store and asked for an excess of materials, or for items that were not warranted for me to use for the job I was sent for, then he owner of the store would have been wise and denied my requests. In addition, any other time I approached and used my dad’s name, then he would have had suspicions against my motives. Eventually, he would not let anyone receive goods on my dad’s name. I would have ruined the reputation of my dad’s name. Shamefully many Christians have already ruined their witness for Christ, by abusing his name. We therefore should not, cannot defile the precious name of Jesus with such a request.
What then is the “day”? For Jesus does say, “At that day ye shall ask in my name…”. It is the day in which he has returned to the Father. It is the day in which the Comforter has been sent unto us. In reading the preceding chapter we see that this in all in the context of persecution. In that day, when persecutions arise, you will ask of the Father in my name. One thing is guaranteed that when persecutions arise so does the voices of the children of God.
Was not Gideon found hidden in the winepress while threshing his wheat in order that the Midianites might not discover him? Did not Israel turn to the Lord and cry to him for deliverance because of the persecution of the Midianites? Did the Lord then answer, and give Gideon all that was needed to deliver Israel from the Midianites, and return the prosperity of the land? Undeservedly, they asked. The Lord was gracious in his deliverance. Why? Because he loved them and desired to do good things for them.
The Lord God desires to do good for you. Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Psalms 37:4 – Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Titus 2:14 – Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
If you are in persecution for Christ, then you shall ask in his name, and it shall be done unto you. When they beat upon for your testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pray, and ask. The Holy Spirit will equip you in your time of need. For the scripture reads, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” (Matthew 10: 19-20)
We pray not only in persecution, but also in deliverance and in the days of plenty. We then give thanks and ask for the continued blessings of God. We ask for wisdom to remain obedient and to never become slack in our praises. Ask and he will give you, because he loves you, and desires good things for you. Pray therefor for your real need. The hunger and desire to the believing is to be in his presence. Does not he say, in that day YOU WILL ASK?
You will ask because it will be your God given desire to pray. The Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance all things that we have been taught concerning the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit who prays for us and who teaches us to pray. So in our time of Joy we ask, and in our time of trial we ask. In the suffering of those we love, we ask. We ask in his name. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) For the labor of which we must set upon is intensive. We have not yet entered into his rest, for those who have entered into rest, labor no more. We instead look to him and pray in his name, our high priest unto God the Father, knowing that he has provisioned for us access to the grace of God. We can labor then and not faith, because we can pray, and ask what we will, for his will. We can pray, and pray without ceasing. For in that day, this day, we can ask what we will of the Father in Jesus’ name and the Father will give to us, because of the love for us and the honor to the Son. The Father is honored that the Son has been obedient and glorified the Father with his children. Every good Father loves his children. Pray, and pray now.
The name Nehemiah means Comforted of Jehovah. As we read through the book of Nehemiah we can surely see how God was the only comfort for Nehemiah. He faced insurmountable odds of completing such an enormous task. God shows through Nehemiah that what ever tasks he sets us to, that he will be faithful to equip, defend, and enable us to the completion his ordained will, and for the glory of his name. God will leave or abandon us, and God remains faithful to his promises. He is a God who redeems and sanctifies.
The book of Ezra told of the events of the Jews return to their homeland after their exile to Babylon, for seeking other gods. From Ezra we heard about the near 50,000 former captives that had returned to Palestine. We also see Ezra’s struggles in rebuilding the Temple and the great efforts of Ezra to re-educate the Jews on their Hebrew ancestry and the Law of Moses.
The book of Nehemiah continues this story with Nehemiah receiving grave news concerning the state of things in Jerusalem. In this continuation of the saga of the restoration of Israel we see the providence of God, and the intricacy of his planning. God has positioned Nehemiah in a position that gives him access and favor of King Artaxerxes. We also are given a proper manor in which we should deal with situations of great distress that are out of our hands.
Nehemiah has received word that the city and survivors in Jerusalem are, “in great affliction and reproach.” In addition, Nehemiah is told that the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and the gates lay destroyed by fire. This leaves the city defenseless to bands of marauders and enemies of the Jews. There is no sense of cohesion, nor security from within or without. In learning of these things, Nehemiah weeps and mourns in fasting and prayer for days. He pleads with God for mercy and confesses the sins of his nation. He reminds God of his promise to restore Israel if they repented and returned to keep his commandments. Then Nehemiah calls to the Lord that he knows that the Lord has indeed redeemed his people by his great power and his strong hand, and that abandoning his children after delivering them is not in his nature. Then we see that God opens the door for Nehemiah to come to Jerusalem with the blessings of King Artaxerxes, and with the full authority of the king and his protections to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.
In this exchange we see that Nehemiah not only wept, confessed sin, and sought the Lord before he did anything else, but in the waiting on the Lord, Nehemiah also made plans and preparations for when the Lord would answer him. Oh, what a model of faith we see in Nehemiah. This is the constant pattern we see in the book of Nehemiah. We should take note of this faith and responsibility to God that Nehemiah demonstrates. For every obstacle that presented itself in attempts to thwart Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the wall and the re-education of the Jews towards their heritage and the Law of Moses was met with prayer and seeking of God first. God answered Nehemiah faithfully with resources, protections, and wisdom.
Jewish tradition tells us that Nehemiah is the author of this book. There is such detail and firsthand knowledge concerning the events which took place in this volume that leads to Nehemiah as the author of this chronicle. There is not knowledge of the life of Nehemiah prior to this event. However, we can ascertain that he was raised in teachings and study of the scriptures. We can also see that since he was the cup bearer to the king, he must have been a man of integrity. King Artaxerxes himself must have been very familiar with Nehemiah’s character and attitudes, because he noticed a change in Nehemiah’s demeanor. In addition, Nehemiah was a very trusted servant who was given the authority of the king as his Governor over Palestine. How great a witness we could have if we, as Christians walked in the integrity of the Lord, and in whom was no reproach found from our secular authorities appointed over us. For it is God who appoints kings of nations, not men.
Nehemiah shows us the importance of living a godly life, in a secular work environment. Nehemiah was not a priest, nor was he some great prophet. He was a single man, who feared God, loved his people, and endured many hardships. God uses people from all corners of life, and every kind of careers. Surely each one of our secular jobs is a mission field that the Lord has appointed us to. Give thanks to the Lord for where you are today and plan for where he leads you tomorrow.
There seems to be a lot of confusion over the question of prayer, and if God answers all prayers. Many Christians sit in pews and listen to pastors who teach that God answers all prayers. The pastors say that sometimes God will say “yes”. They will admit that sometimes God says “no”, or even “maybe”, or “wait”. These are all valid answers. I have seen examples of such answers that I have given to my own children in seeking to be a good parent. Children sometimes ask for things that are not good for them. Or for things that are inappropriate for them. However, there were times to when they were asking things with the wrong attitude, or the while they were being punished, or things that they just knew that I would not allow, but they asked anyway.
On those occasions, I simply ignored the pleading. I had all the right to as a parent. Just because I was asked, it did not mean that I must answer or even that I had to listen. You may have been in a similar situation with your children. Lucky for us we serve a God who is the essence of what is good. He loves us from his goodness, and his goodness gives us love. Therefore, He always seeks our best interest, within his will. We are his children, and we are treated as such. But, what about those who are not his children? Does God have to pander to their requests? Does he have the right to disregard their prayers?
The Holy Bible starts out with a simple assumption, that God exists. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) If God exists, and he created the heaven and the earth then God is sovereign. We either must believe that or not. Now if we believe that God is sovereign then we must believe that he is not under our jurisdiction. He is free to determine what he must and must not do. God gets to choose his own actions. God’s actions are governed by his own character.
This character is what has been the demonstration of what is true in love, charity, longsuffering, righteousness, and all things that are good. Our since of justice comes from the character of God. God as creator does not have to answer for himself to his creation. We simply must accept that he can choose to answer any prayer that he so chooses to answer. In accepting that as truth we must also accept as truth; God can choose to not answer, and even ignore some prayers. We do not dictate the terms to God. It is God who dictates terms to his creation.
To ignore the sovereignty of God would put us in the same place as Satan. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Ezekiel 14:12-14) You would think that we would see and understand that to stand in the presence of God and make demands of him is to put ourselves in the position of God. This is what happened in the Garden of God in Eden. There Satan tempted Eve to sin, by telling her that she would be like God. (Genesis 3:5) We must listen to what the Word says and not what we desire. So, are there times that God chooses to ignore prayers? What does the Word say about unanswered and ignored prayers?
Well James the half-brother of Jesus wrote, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3) The epistle of James is believed to have been written around 49-50 AD, that would make it the earliest written letter written, after the Ascension of Christ, in the New Testament. Here James is answering the same question that we are still asking today. Why doesn’t God answer all prayers? In this short sentence James tells us that if we ask to consume it in our lusts, that is to say, to satisfy fleshly desires, or in self-serving desire, then you are asking in vain because God will not honor that prayer. So, the motivation of our prayer has to be sincerely unselfish. So, is it wrong to ask for the things we need? No, Jesus himself told us that we should ask that our joy may be full. Jesus also says that we should seek the kingdom of God first, because the Father knows everything we need, and he will supply our need. So, James does not contradict Jesus. Both Jesus and James, tell us that we should ask with the proper motivation.
We also see that the Lord will not hear those who think immorality in their heart. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms 66:18) What an eye opener this verse is. To put it in context, the writer is actually praising God for hearing his prayers, and NOT those of the wicked. He draws a contrast and comparison between himself as a righteous man before God who seeks to do the will of God and those who do not seek the will of God. These who enjoy and keep sin in their hearts will have their prayers unanswered because they are separated from God and God will not hear them. Pay close attention to what Isaiah says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) Iniquities are knowledgeable sins. These are sins we know are wrong and choose to continue in them. These separate us from God, and then he will not hear us. This is what leads the Apostle John to write, “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” (John 9:31) There seems to be a theme developing here. The theme that wrongly motivated prayers and a desire to continue in sin are some things that motivates God to NOT answer prayers. Heck it even seems that he ignores those who do such things.
In fact, God tells the prophet Jeremiah, because Israel has violated these two principles and rejected God, he will not hear them when they pray, and he forbids prayer for them. Did you hear that? Don’t believe me? Listen to Jeremiah 14:10-12, “Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.” Wow he will not hear their prayers, not anyone else’s prayers for them. He will not listen even if they fast, no matter how often nor how long they pray, because they have rejected him. I think that it is fair enough to say that the doors of heaven can be closed to those who leave God, should he so choose.
Ok so far we see that God can choose to ignore prayer from those who have improper motives rooted in selfishness. God will not hear those who choose to live in sin, or who have forsaken God for another god. Now we move on to those who have actually rejected God. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Word of God and the Word of God was with God in the beginning and created all things. The Word also tells us, “The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.” (Proverbs 3:19-22) and then scripture also tells us that this wisdom of God that Created, this Word of God that Created, this Jesus that Created, if you reject him. Then you will cry out and the Father will not hear you.
• Proverbs 1:24-28 – Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: • Matthew 10:33 – But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. • John 14:6 – Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
There we clearly that the rejection of Jesus Christ means that the Father does not know you. That would mean that he is not your Father. You would not then be his child. He would be under no obligation to hear those who have rejected Jesus. God does have a real heart for those who listen to him, those who abbey his will, and those who care for others. So much so that Zachariah tell us that God proclaims that those with hard hearts, who refuse to listen to the Lord and his commandments he will not hear. (Zechariah 7:11-13). Proverbs 28:9 tells us that those who turn there ears away the hearing of the Law of God, God considers their prayers an abomination. That means that God thinks that those who do not even bother to listen to his law and then want to pray to him, that their prayers are an outrage. There is another form of ignoring that God does not particularly care for and will cause prayers to be unheard. Those who ignore the plight of the poor, when they ask of God, their prayers will be, likewise, ignored. (Proverbs 21:13) God will not hear the prayers of those who mistreat his people either. These are those who hate good, love evil, who seek to hurt and kill the Saints of God.
• Psalm 18:40-41 – Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not. • Micah 3:2-4 – Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
These have cried in the past and the Lord choose to ignore their pleas. There are other examples of prayers that do not get answered. Prayers from those who worship idols (Jeremiah 11:11-14; Ezekiel 8:15-18. Those who do not believe will not receive anything from the Lord. (James 1:6-7).
So then if we are all unrighteous, who does God hear? Those who seek and call upon him in belief that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him to know who he is.
• James 1:5 – But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. • Jeremiah 29:12 – Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. • Job 33:26 – Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man. • Psalm 91:15 – “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. • Psalm 145:18 – The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. • Psalm 65:2 – O You who hear prayer, To You all men come.
• Jeremiah 36:7 – Perhaps their supplication will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” • Matthew 7:11 – If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! • John 14:13 – Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. • John 14:14 – If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. • John 16:23 – In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. • John 15:7 – If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. • James 5:16 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. • Matthew 21:22 – And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” • 1 John 5:14 – This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. • 1 John 5:15 – And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. • Romans 10:12 – For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
Scripture is clear. God is sovereign and he chooses to ignore those who do not recognize or who ignore his sovereignty. But to those who sincerely seek him, and desire to know him. He will reveal himself to them. Those who are repentant and who confess that Jesus is the Son of God who died, was buried, and rose again from the grave, and desire to perform his will, God will hear, and answer. He will fulfill the desires of that person’s heart. God hears those who hear him. If you first ask to hear God, he will let you hear him, that your joy may be full. You want to hear something really neat? God prays for us. (Romans 8:27; John 17:15; 1 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 9:15) In addition, for those who accept Jesus as Christ, those have been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21) This means the unrighteous man that John said God would not hear… we are no longer that unrighteous man. Therefore, God hears us, because of Jesus Christ, in order that the Son of God may be glorified of the Father. What wonderful news!
There is something that puzzles me greatly in the American churches. Lifeway Research and Ligonier Ministries partnered together to conduct a survey that they refer to as the State of Theology. Now this survey was conducted which included the results of 3000 Americans. This survey asked questions like:
• True or False: God is a perfect being and cannot make a mistake • True or False: There is one true God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit • True or False: God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam • True or False: Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God • True or False: Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God • True or False: The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being • True or False: Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation
Now these are just a sampling of the questions that were asked in this survey. These questions can tell where an individual stands on these issues; and they are issues. These are the issues of life and death. What you believe on these affects your eternal fate.
We should expect that those who do not call themselves Christian should not believe in certain things that are in the bible. However, we should expect that “evangelicals” should believe what the bible says, and that the bible has authority over every other ancient and modern writings, philosophies, cultures, religions, or political and economic influences. While there is a wide difference in what people say that an evangelical is, the National Association of Evangelicals makes these distinctions to identify its members to the world.
• The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe. • It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. • Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin. • Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.
An evangelical should not be defined on political, social, or cultural trends that are made up in American or world societies. They should be distinct and adhere to these basic beliefs at a minimum.
Historically evangelicals have shared a strong conviction that (1) it is their duty to convert others to be “born-again”, (2) it is their duty to actively express and demonstrate the gospel through missionary work and social reform programs, (3) they have typically taken the defense that the Bible is the ultimate authority on spiritual matters and obedience is a necessity, and (4) the historical crucifixion of Jesus Christ is what makes it possible for redemption of humanity.
It would seem then, that an evangelical is someone who confesses to believe in Jesus Christ for their savior and Lord. This survey shows that many evangelicals to not believe in basic biblical truths. Many evangelicals do not believe: • Jesus is God, Creator, and has always existed • The bible and the information within it are accurate and true • Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation • Belief in Jesus is a requirement by God to receive eternal life • The Holy Spirit is an equal part of the Trinity of God • Hell is a real place where the unbelieving will be punished forever • Jesus will return to judge all the people who have ever lived on earth • Sex outside of marriage is a sin • Abortion is a sin • The Bible condemns homosexuality and all sexual immorality along with other sins
I cannot understand how those who say that they believe in the authority of scriptures can be so mislead that the very foundation of their belief is Jesus is in error. Paul the Apostle would have said, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; bur there be some that trouble you , and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7) How is it that you who call yourselves followers of Jesus Christ, who have professed to believe the gospel are so far removed from the very truths you profess to believe. If you do not believe the gospel that was first delivered to you, and have taken on a new gospel, then you do not believe in the gospel of grace that was revealed to you.
This means that their faith would be in vain. John wrote, “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31) Again he wrote, “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” (1 John 3:23) The question is, do you believe what was written for your benefit? We are given the scriptures so that we can know what it is that we should know about God and to know that what we believe is correct. If we are told in just these two samples of scripture that Jesus is the Son of God and, we are commanded to believe that he is the Son of God; then failure to believe means that we are lacking something very important in our faith. The truth that Jesus is God, and that he is the Son of God is a requirement of belief in Jesus that cannot be ignored. If we then do not believe in this, we are not believers in Jesus, and we are not saved. We have simply… NOT believed on the name of Jesus.
Scripture also tells us, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) It is just as simple and clear as that. You see God does have all authority. He has chosen that men can be saved in only one way, believe that Jesus is God and that he became flesh and died for men, that their sins may be forgiven. This is the only way, belief in Jesus. This is what believing in Jesus means, if you don’t believe everything the scriptures say concerning him, then you don’t believe in him, or in the authority of his name as the living Son of God.
The problem is that we have progressively listened to the serpent in the garden. When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, he made her to question the authority of the Word of God that she had received. Once this doubt was in her head, she was vulnerable to the rest of his attack. Here is the account of the temptation of Eve in the garden.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:1-6)
In here we see somethings that we should take note of, as those who believe. The first is that the form that Satan had taken. He was in the form of a serpent. The serpent in creation was subject to Adam and should have been confronted and put in his place with the authority God had given to Adam. Instead of putting the serpent to silence Eve listened to him. Second, the serpent is described as more subtle. This means that he was very intelligent and quite crafty. Notice that his approach is to say “Yeah, hath God said”. Did God really say this? Surely God didn’t mean you could not eat of that tree… Right there he usurps the very words of God and pulls the authority associated with it into question. If what she thinks that God said is not what God actually said, then it may not be wrong to eat of every tree in the garden after all. Thus, it is with society. The serpent had slowly taken away the belief that what God has given us in scripture is accurate. This has been done through philosophies, pseudo sciences, textual criticisms, false teachers, errant preachers, and teachers who do not teach the whole counsel of God, and cults. Worst of all is that there is a new English version of the Bible out every day it seems. With so many versions in just English alone then how can you know which is the word of God? These have eroded trust in the bible and those who wield it.
If the Bible is not accurate, it cannot be trusted. If it cannot be trusted, then it may that Jesus is not the only way to salvation. It could be that we could save ourselves. It could be that God cannot tell us what is right and wrong. It could be that there really is no heaven nor a real hell. It could be that we do not even need to be saved at all. Do you see the progression?
Still there is this verse that calls to us. “But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” What things have been written that we may believe? Well that is the entirety of the Holy Bible. We are taught in the scriptures who God is. God is the creator, and as such he has supreme authority. In fact, his authority is beyond question. So, if God says something, it is fact and is trustworthy. If God caused 40 different authors located in three different continents over a span of almost 2000 years to reveal himself to us and to tell us something so urgent that we need to know, then shouldn’t we listen to it and take it for truth also?
These things are written so that you may believe… that seems like such an important statement. What then can we believe if we take the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. To start with we can believe that Jesus is God, and Creator. (John 1:1-3) Here the Apostle John tells us that Jesus is the living breathing Word of God. He says that Jesus was always with God from before the beginning because he is 100% God. John tells us that God did not make anything without Jesus, because Jesus is the one who created everything. So, in Genesis when it say, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”, that was Jesus who did the creating. In the first few verses of Genesis we see all three parts of the Trinity of God at work. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in existence, and in union together. (James 2:19; Deuteronomy 4:35; Deuteronomy 6:4) Here we see that there is only one God in existence. This sole God created everything we have ever known in our lives and in the history of mankind. The theory of evolution is just that a theory. In fact, there are three different theories of evolution in existence today and they have all changed over time, as new science if brought out. This new science is more and more proving the Genesis narrative of creation.
Jesus as God has always existed. Since he has always existed, he was not created. Instead, he was the one who created everything. This gives him full authority over all of creation. This means that everything else written in the Bible is true also. So later when John also writes to us, “and the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14), that this same Jesus, who is the Word, who is God, became a man and then walked among us. You see, Jesus was not a man who became God. There is no place in the bible where a man has ever become God. Neither is there anything written in the bible that says any other spirit, angel, or creature became God. There is only one God. No other God has ever existed. Anyone who tells you that you can become a god, or that Jesus is one of many Gods is telling a lie, from Satan. By the way, Satan is not a God either.
This Jesus, who is God in the flesh, walked among us and did teach many things about God, and how we should live, and what heaven is all about. He also taught us what hell is like. He affirmed the scriptures that tell us that God is a God of justice and he pours out his wrath on the unrighteous (sinful and rebellious). But Jesus also let us know of the great love and mercy that God has. Jesus was not just a great teacher of spiritual truths, he was the embodiment of the truth of God. This same creator who originally breathed life in to the first and every man since creation, also came to ensure that we can have eternal life in the presence of God. He was perfect and did not sin. Then Peter tells us this Jesus “who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) Why did he do this? Love. God loves you.
We cannot earn our way into heaven. We cannot buy our way into heaven. We cannot be a good person at heart and gain our way into heaven. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So here we are. We have all sinned in some way. Even if we had not the original sin of rebellion that was passed down from Adam, we have all still sinned. That is evident in our life. If does not matter how insignificant we may think our sin is, or even if we do not think it as a sin. If we have murdered, or if we have just told a little white lie or taken a pen from the office stationery at work, it is still a sin. The cost for that sin is death. Death is the result of failing to meet the standard of God. Because God is so holy, things that are not holy cannot enter his presence. Jesus made the way for man to enter the presence of God. He took that price of sin, the debt you owe, and paid it. Jesus died in your place. Jesus died, no one else. There was no angel, no ancestor or yours, no saint, and certainly no devil that stepped in and took the shame of your sin and bore it on their shoulders and died because of. That is why Jesus is the only way to heaven.
Then something happened to attest to us that Jesus is indeed God. He overcame death. Only God can defeat death because only God has the power and authority to. You see, death did not come into existence until after the fall of man. The fall of man did not happen until after the creation. God was before the creation. Jesus is the creator. God is the only one who can bring man back to God. Since there is only one God, he sent a piece of himself, as Jesus, for the specific purpose of redeeming us and all of creation back to himself. Jesus came, died, was buried, and rose from the dead, then he ascended to heaven where he resides waiting to return to take possession of the earth. But, to take possession, he will have to judge all of creation. Love is what keeps him on his throne in heaven. It is the will of God that no one should perish in hell. He desires that all should be saved. So, he is giving you every opportunity to live. You see in we are deceived by the devil so easily because we like to sin. Let us go back and visit John again. John 3:16 is one that everyone loves to quote, the believer and the unbeliever also. But we never seem to get past to the other verses that accompany it. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:16-21) God does love. God did sacrifice his only Son for this love. God does require that you believe on this sacrifice and honor the name of his son, Jesus. Salvation is a free gift given to those who believe. But, did you catch the latter verse? “…but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” The ones who do not believe are already condemned; not chosen to be condemned. No, these are already condemned because of their own lack of belief. They have chosen to “not“ believe and chosen to reject Jesus, because they love their sin to death. That is why we are so easily deceived. We love the darkness. Only those who love the light, receive the truth. What should we do then? “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19) Well, we should repent. Repentance must come before salvation. Repenting is a confessing to God that His ways are perfect and that you are not. You agree with his authority to say what is acceptable and what is not. Then confessing those things to him that you agree are not acceptable, those things we call sin. Confessing to lay those down and to never return to them again. Luke 13:3 tells us that except we repent… we will die. Repentance is first. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Confession is a part of repentance. We do not need to confess to a man, in fact in some cases it may be better not to. Confession is made to God, it is him of whom you are believing in, not a man. So, then repentance and confession are made to Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 tells us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The key here is to believe. Believing on Jesus is a choice. It is a choice and not a feeling. You are choosing to believe what the scriptures have said about God, and Jesus as the Son of God, and the sacrifice he made for you. This is what we call faith. We believe, not because we have seen, but because the trust that what God has said in the Bible is accurate and trust worthy. Without this giving of our trust in the truth of God and Jesus, then it is impossible to receive salvation. “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) It does not matter if you call yourself a Christian already, what matter is does Jesus know who you are?
Jesus said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23) Paul, one of Jesus’ apostles, tell us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We need to make sure of what we believe and why we believe it.
If you are not yet ready to believe, keep seeking him through his scripture, the Holy Bible. The Bible is what God has chosen to reveal himself to us by. Do not be a fool. There is no need to look anywhere else to seek God. Find a church, get into Sunday School, and attend a Pastor’s class or two and study earnestly in your bible. When your ready, ask God, and he will reveal himself to you.
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