Reading the Bible Together

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then can condemn? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Righteous Branch

¹ “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. ² Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. ³ “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. ⁴ I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.

⁵ “The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.

⁶ In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteous Savior.

⁷ “So then, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ ⁸ but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹ We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.

² You say, “I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge with equity.

³ When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm.

⁴ To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.

⁵ Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak with outstretched neck.’”

⁶ No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.

⁷ It is God who judges:
He brings one down, he exalts another.

⁸ In the hand of the LORD is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.

⁹ As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,

¹⁰ who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

Passage for the Day

 1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.  2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

    6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

    9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

    “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

    11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

    14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

    18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Points of interest:

·         ‘the region of the Gerasenes’—this Gentile area, across a small sea from the Jewish region of Galilee, is known by several different names in the gospels: the Gerasenes, the Gadarenes, the Gergasenes.  It’s like the Jews can’t quite keep the names of their neighbors straight: “You know, the nice couple next door.  Their name starts with a ‘g.’”

·         ‘a man with an evil spirit’—the people of the ancient Near East—and, in fact, almost all human cultures throughout history and around the world today—believed that the spiritual realm was a normal part of everyday life, and that some, though not all, problems we face have a spiritual explanation.  This man’s very significant problems are caused by the direct influence of a group of malevolent spiritual beings.

·         ‘This man lived in the tombs’—cemeteries, besides being spooky, were considered taboo in both Greek and Jewish cultures.  They were always built outside of the city limits.  So, this man is living apart from everyone else, in a taboo place, surrounded only by dead people.

·         ‘For Jesus had said’—Mark tells us the story a bit out of chronological order, to communicate just how confusing the interaction was. 

·         ‘Come out of this man’—Isaiah told us in chapter 42 (Wednesday of last week) that it was the Messiah’s mission to free prisoners.  Jesus frees this man from his imprisonment to the evil spirits.

·         ‘begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area’—we get a rare glimpse into the organization and psychology of evil spirits.  Apparently, they’re assigned to particular areas, and it’s a great shame to be kicked out of their district.

·         ‘He gave them permission’—even more surprising than the evil spirits begging is that Jesus actually grants their request.  I don’t know exactly why Jesus would do so.  Maybe, he’s willing to listen to anyone, even a demon, who recognizes his authority.  One thing is clear: Jesus would rather have these demons bother two thousand pigs than one human being.

·         ‘The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank’—I don’t know if this is exactly what the evil spirits had in mind.  Were they just trying to go out with a bang, or were they unable to control the pigs?

·         ‘dressed and in his right mind’—casting out the evil spirits does, in fact, solve the man’s problems.

·         ‘and they were afraid’—it’s curious that their fear comes from seeing the man in his right mind, rather than from hearing about the pigs. 

·         ‘Go home to your own people’—understandably, the freed man wants to go with the person who gave him his life back.  Perhaps surprisingly, Jesus says, ‘No.’ It’s the first time in the gospels Jesus does so.  I think he has in mind something that will benefit both this man and his people.  The man will be reunited with the friends and family he lost during his time of madness; and his friends and family will hear about the man who has the power to bring spiritual freedom.  I think this man is the first of the people Isaiah talked about in chapter 66 (March 21^st): he’s an exile, but not a Jewish one, sent out to gather more exiles.

Taking it home:

·         For you:  Ask God today that he would give you sensitivity to the spiritual world around you. Jesus was able to look beyond what he saw right before him—a man with some pretty severe problems—and know that something was happening at a spiritual level. Pray that like Jesus with Legion, you would have eyes to see beyond the physical, that you would have the ability to discern what God and other spiritual forces are doing around you.

·         For your six: Ask God to give you insight as to how he is at work in your six. Pray that if there is anything spiritual going on that is not from God that it would leave them and go somewhere else (maybe to some pigs…or just to Jesus so that he can decide what to do with them).

·         For America: God seems to be in the business of doing things that get him lots of attention.  Let’s ask that God would somehow equally get the attention of our nation. While I’m sure it would get all of our attention if Channel 7 reported on the nightly news that 2,000 pigs went rushing headfirst into the Charles, let’s pray instead for an industry that does already get all sorts of attention, all the time, from all sorts of people: the film industry. Pray God’s blessing over the film industry that is booming in Massachusetts.  Ask that God would use film as a way to focus our attention on things that are important to him.

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

¹³ “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his subjects work for nothing,
not paying them for their labor.

¹⁴ He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar
and decorates it in red.

¹⁵ “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,
so all went well with him.

¹⁶ He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?”
declares the LORD.

¹⁷ “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,
on shedding innocent blood
and on oppression and extortion.”

¹⁸ Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’

¹⁹ He will have the burial of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

²⁰ “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
let your voice be heard in Bashan,
cry out from Abarim,
for all your allies are crushed.

²¹ I warned you when you felt secure,
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;
you have not obeyed me.

²² The wind will drive all your shepherds away,
and your allies will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced
because of all your wickedness.

²³ You who live in ‘Lebanon,’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain like that of a woman in labor!

A maskil of Asaph.

¹ O God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

² Remember the people you purchased long ago,
the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—
Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

³ Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

⁴ Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.

⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.

⁶ They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.

⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

⁸ They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!”
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹ We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.

¹⁰ How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?

¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

¹² But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.

¹³ It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

¹⁵ It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.

¹⁶ The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.

¹⁷ It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, LORD,
how foolish people have reviled your name.

¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.

²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

²¹ Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.

²³ Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.

Passage for the Day

 5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 ”Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Points of interest:

·         ‘a centurion came to him’— the centurion was an official in the Roman military; thus he was definitely not a Jew (they were exempt from military service), and even more he represented the unwelcome foreign empire that had taken control over Israel. His position in the Roman army would equate roughly to a captain in the modern army.  Most likely the centurion was not running in the same circle as Jesus and his crowd of followers; but possibly in his patrolling duties he caught wind that there was a rising celebrity of sorts who could help him.  Like the Magi from the East in Matthew 2, this outsider intentionally makes his way to Jesus. Both in his infancy and his adulthood, Jesus draws people from far away to himself.

·          ‘do not deserve to have you come under my roof’—This could just be a polite formality, like the customary, ‘No no, you really shouldn’t bother.”  Saying, ‘yes,’ to such an offer could really become quite a responsibility for both of them.  Middle Easterners take giving and receiving hospitality quite seriously; so it’s doubtful that Jesus could just quickly ‘drop by’ the centurion’s home—it would more likely be an all afternoon and possibly evening affair.  Or it could be that the centurion is showing an admirable amount of sensitivity to Jesus’ status as a Jewish teacher: religious Jews avoided the homes of Gentiles, because of the higher likelihood that they’d encounter something prohibited by the kosher laws.   However, it is also quite possible that the centurion really does recognize something powerful about Jesus.  According to the social strata of the day, it would actually be the reverse of what the centurion is saying: this lower-class, roaming teacher figure, Jesus, wouldn’t deserve to go to the home of an established army official.   But the centurion feels like he is actually unworthy of the honor of having this man in his home.   Anyway it seems like Jesus’ response to the centurion’s statement would be something like “Okay, well, if you’re here with me, and your servant is sick at home, and you don’t want me to come to your house, what then would you like me to do?”

·         ‘a man under authority’— the centurion shows humility and surprising awareness of his rank and how the hierarchy of the system operates.  Instead of trying to sound good and point out his position in his organization, he actually does just the opposite. He is serving the mission of something much larger than himself and recognizes that any power or decision-making ability that he may have results from him being under the authority of the Roman Empire. The centurion recognizes equally that Jesus is serving a larger mission and has been given power under those parameters to do things like heal people.  There’s somewhat of a play on the word ‘under’—not only is the centurion unworthy to have Jesus under his roof, he is also under authority. What is more, he is coming to Jesus on behalf of a man who is also under him; he’s asking Jesus’ help in making good use of the authority he’s been given.

·          ‘not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’—all of Israel? This centurion gets quite the recognition from Jesus. And what is it that he is recognized for?—his incredible faith!  While this is big compliment to the centurion, it’s also quite the knock to everyone in Israel.  Jesus is saying ‘Look, here is this outsider who is showing all of you up.’  He makes the point to his fellow Jews that it’s not their endless striving to perfectly follow every law that matters; it’s believing, trusting and wholeheartedly recognizing who Jesus is that counts in the end.

·         ‘many will come from the east and the west’—Again we get the picture of people coming from just about everywhere to join in on the good stuff that God is doing.  Jesus seems to use the centurion’s coming as a way to point out that many others will come.  It also reminds me of what we read last week in Isaiah 56 and 66 about one day God gathering people from every tongue and nation. 

·          ‘at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’—Here we have this same great image also mentioned in earlier readings.  We see that what God is preparing and what people from everywhere are gathering together for is some type of huge celebratory feast (insert cheers…who doesn’t like feasts?).   Jesus refers to this feast in a somewhat matter of fact fashion—“THE” feast’—as if everyone know exactly to what he is referring.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are known as the patriarchs –i.e. the fathers of the Jewish faith who were incredibly revered and of utmost importance to devout Jews in Jesus’ day. It’s almost as if Jesus is name dropping a bit—kind of like mentioning Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, or Ted Williams to a bunch of arrogant baseball players in order to grab their attention.

·          ‘But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside’—It’s kind of a bummer and seems a little unfair that the subjects—the ones who are actually part of the kingdom—are the ones who miss the feast and instead end up in a pretty darn grim place.  This is a warning to the Jewish followers who are technically sons of the kingdom, being able to directly trace their bloodline back to Abraham. In theory they more than anyone else should have an automatic ‘in’ at this feast.  Jesus is reminding them of the true terms of God’s covenant (they had skewed these terms quite a bit over the years): that faith, not being part of a specific ethnic or cultural group, is the essential quality of the people of God.  It’s a wake-up call to the Jews: “Hey! You’re missing the point”

·         ‘Let it be done just as you believed it would’—Jesus responds to the centurion’s exact request and honors his faith by making his faith a reality.  In the beginning, it is the centurion who is responding and submitting to Jesus, and in the end it is Jesus who is responding and submitting to the wish of the centurion.   Jesus had the power to do things however he pleased, but instead he did it the way the centurion had proposed.  It seems like the trait of a great friend who will let you have things the way you want, as long as they get the joy of just spending time with you. The great miracle that happens results from some combination of faith and real interaction with Jesus. 

Taking it home:

·         For you:  Are you as admiring as I am of the centurion’s faith? As curious as I am about how he had so much of it? Having faith can be pretty complicated.  Sometimes, it seems like something only God can give; other times, it seems like something we have to exercise ourselves.  Let’s work on both aspects of faith today.  First, pick something big—your personal 40-days prayer request perhaps—and ask God to give you more faith to believe for that thing. Then, pick something a smaller that you do in fact have faith for—maybe its faith that God listens to you, or faith that he can calm your nerves, help you meet that deadline or find a parking spot downtown—and pray for that thing with boldness and confidence.

·         For your six: It seems noteworthy that while it was the centurion who had the faith, it was his servant who was actually healed.  Ask God to heal any of your six or their family of any sickness, pain or illness they might be experiencing. Next time you see one of your six and they mention that they are sick, offer to pray for them, believing that God will heal them.

·         For America: The centurion in this passage was a fairly powerful man, but that didn’t make him too proud to admit when he needed someone else’s help.  In fact, his own experience of authority actually helped him to recognize and respect authority in others.  Pray that, like the centurion, our country and all of its citizens  would be humble enough to admit our need, and to show respect for others’ authority.

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³ The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.