Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures
Don Fortner, 1950-2020
Gospels through Acts
MATTHEW
Christ the King
I cannot stress this fact often enough or forcefully enough.—The Bible, the Word of God, is in its entirety a book about Christ. It is a Him Book. It's all about Him who loved us and gave himself for us. I do not mean by that that the Bible is a Christ centered Book. I do not mean that Christ is the primary aspect of divine revelation in these pages. I mean that Christ is the message of Holy Scripture.This is exactly what God the Holy Spirit tells us in Luke 24:27. Our Savior said to those two disciples on the Emmaus road, "O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken" (verse 25). Then, we read in verse 27, "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
The message of this Book is Jesus Christ and him crucified. This Book is not a book about history, or a book about morality, or a book about religious dogma. This is a Book about Christ and redemption by his blood. That is exactly what the apostle Peter tells us in Acts 10:43. The apostle Paul states exactly the same thing, declaring that the one message he preached, everywhere to all people, was Jesus Christ and him crucified. This message, he declares, is "all the counsel of God," the whole of divine revelation (Acts 20:27; 1 Corinthians 2:1–2).
Read 1 Corinthians 2:1–2. "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Now, look at Acts 20. Paul is about to leave his brethren at Ephesus, never to see them again. They urged him not to go to Jerusalem for fear that the Jews would kill him. Yet he declares, "I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem … that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus." And he tells us exactly what his course and ministry were, which he had received from the Savior. It was "to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:22–24). Now, look at verses 26 and 27. Here Paul defines what it is to preach the gospel. "Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. (27) For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."
The Book of God is a Book about Christ. In the Old Testament, the law, the prophets, and the Psalms declare, "Someone is coming." When we open the book of Matthew, that blessed Someone steps onto the stage and identifies himself as the incarnate God, our Savior (Matthew 1:18–23).
One Object of Faith
The Old Testament saints believed God just as we do, trusting Christ just as we do, and were saved by grace, trusting the crucified Lamb of God in exactly the same way we are. Christ was not then fully revealed. He was not personally identified. Yet, he was known and trusted as God the Savior, the Christ, the Anointed One, the promised Seed.
Beginning with the Gospel of Matthew, we move from the realm of shadow, type, and prophecy into the full sunshine of the Sun of Righteousness, the Son of God.
As we have seen, the Old Testament speaks of him on every page, but speaks in shadows, in types, in symbols, and in prophecies, all looking forward to the coming of that Someone whom Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham trusted. You cannot read the Old Testament without a sense of anticipation, thinking to yourself, this Book is talking about Someone who is yet to appear, who is a woman's Seed, an Ark of salvation, a sin-atoning Lamb, a man who is God, a Redeemer, a King like David, a Prophet like Moses, a Priest like Melchizedek, a divine Substitute, and a Savior.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John say, "Here he is!" When we come to read the four gospels, we say with Andrew and Phillip, "We have found the Messiah … the Christ … We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:41–45). "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). "You shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
Here we see Christ as he is. Remember, what he was is what he is; and what he is, is what we have. All the fullness of his character and being and life and glory (John 17:22) is ours. That makes the four gospels uniquely important. They tell us exactly who our Savior is.
The Sun of Righteousness has arisen with healing in his wings (Malachi 4:2). In the 39 books of the Old Testament we have been watching the unfolding of the dawn of that day which Abraham rejoiced to see, the rising of that Star of whom Balaam spoke, and of the great Light promised in Isaiah. We have been watching one cloud after another dissipate by the rising Sun. Now, the King of Glory, of whom David sang, has come. "We have seen his star in the east" (in the Old Testament) "and are come" (in the New Testament)"to worship him." We have "seen the Lord's Christ." As we pick up the New Testament, we say with old Simeon, who waited for the Consolation of Israel, our "eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" (Luke 2:30–32).
Why Four Gospels?
People sometimes wonder why we have four gospel narratives. The reason is really very simple.—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John show us our Savior's full character, his full person and work from four angles. They do not give us four different pictures, but four different views of the same picture. Really, they present the Lord Jesus like a statue, each allowing us to view the statue from a different side. I say that because in some ways a statue is better than a picture. A statue allows us to see the image it represents from all sides. The four gospels have been compared to the four cherubim of Ezekiel and Revelation.
• Matthew shows Christ as the King, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who has come to save his people from their sins.
• Mark presents him as Jehovah's Servant, who has come to fulfill his Father's will, the ox ready to serve and ready to be sacrificed upon the altar.
• Luke, the beloved Physician, presents him as the Son of Man, full of human sympathy and tenderness, as the cherub with the face of a man suggests.
• John, like the eagle soaring into the heavens, sets the Savior before us as the Son of God, with a majesty that transcends all our thought and imagination.
Christ the King
Let's take a brief view of Matthew's gospel, and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, our King. Here we see the royal majesty of our heavenly King and his great kingdom. Matthew, more so than all the other gospel writers, sets forth the Mosaic law, referring constantly to the Old Testament Scriptures, and shows that both the law and the Scriptures of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Christ, the King.
The Genealogy
Matthew 1:1–17 gives us our Lord's genealogy, tracing it back to Abraham. We read in verse 1, "The book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." He is set before us in verse 1 as the Son of Abraham to show us that he is that One with whom God's covenant was made, and as Abraham's promised Seed in whom all the covenant is fulfilled. He is set before us as the son of David (verse 6) to show us that he is the rightful Heir to David's throne, and that he has come to take possession of David's true kingdom and throne.
The Jews carped about many things, raised many questions, and made many accusations in their attempts to discredit our Savior's claims as the Christ, as God's Messiah; but never once did they question his genealogy. Why? Because it was a matter of public and biblical record that could not be disputed.
The Sinner's Savior
There is something especially precious in our Savior's genealogy that is commonly overlooked. Here, just before we are told that he came to save his people from their sins, three of his ancestral mothers are named who had a smear upon their names. Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law, who played the harlot and committed incest. Ruth was a Moabitess, a woman of a cursed race, a race that came into existence by Lot's incestuous behavior. Bathsheba was the adulteress wife of Uriah. Add to that the fact that our Savior is here identified specifically as the son of David by Bathsheba; and you can almost hear him saying, "Behold, I have come to save poor sinners!"
The Incarnation (1:18–25)
Our Savior's wondrous divinity is immediately presented in Matthew's record of the incarnation and virgin birth (1:18–25). Here is a picture of the New Birth. The Lord Jesus Christ was conceived in a sinner, conceived by the work of God the Holy Spirit, and conceived without the aid of a man. That is exactly how Christ is formed in us in the new birth.
Here is our Savior's name—"Jesus." Here is his mission—"He shall save his people from their sins." Here's the character of his people—Sinners; and they were his people before he came to save them, chosen in eternal election, and given to him as a Surety. Here is his divinity, the certainty of his success. Our Savior is himself God in human flesh, Emmanuel!
Old Testament Prophecies
Matthew 1 and 2 set before us a number of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by our Savior's incarnation.—He is Immanuel, the virgin born Savior (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22–23).—He is a Nazarene (Jude. 13:5; 1 Sam 1:11; Matthew 2:23).—He fulfilled Jeremiah's prophecy of weeping in Ramah (Jer 31:15; Matthew 2:17–18).—He was called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:15).—He was born at Bethlehem—(Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:5–6).
Wise Men
Matthew alone describes the visit of the wise men (ch. 2:1–13). The whole world at this time was expecting the advent of some Great One. These wise men came to Jerusalem asking, "Where is he who is born King of the Jews?" Their adoration of the newborn King foreshadowed his universal dominion (John 17:2; Romans 14:9). Matthew alone tells us how Herod, the usurper of David's dominion, sought to slay the heir to David's throne (2:14–23).
John The Baptist
In this Gospel John the Baptist appears preaching repentance and introducing the Lord Jesus as the mighty Judge who shall purge his floor with tremendous judgment (3:10–17). Our Lord Jesus Christ was immersed by John to fulfill all righteousness. At first John was reluctant to immerse the Savior because he recognized who it was that stood before him, and was humbled in his presence. But, when the Master said, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him," and immersed the incarnate God in the Jordan River.
The question is sometimes asked, "How did Christ's baptism fulfill all righteousness?" There can be but one answer. By his baptism, and by believer's baptism today, righteousness is fulfilled symbolically. By our baptism (immersion), we symbolically testify how it is that sinners are made righteous before God. Our sins are washed away and we are made righteous by our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, our Substitute.
This man is owned at his immersion as the Son of God. When our Lord was baptized John saw the Spirit of God descending and abiding upon him, thereby identifying him as the Son of God and the Messiah. And this is he in whom the Father is well pleased. When he came up out of the watery grave, the Father spoke from Heaven, declaring, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." This same word from Heaven was heard at the transfiguration (17:5). By these two things, the Lord God tells us that Christ, our ascended, exalted Savior, is that One in whom alone we find acceptance with God. As the Holy Lord God is well pleased with his Son, so he is well pleased with his elect in his Son, our Substitute.
The Temptation
Matthew's account of the temptation is detailed and instructive (4:1–11). He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. The devil came and found nothing in him. The word "tempted" would be more accurately translated "tested." Temptations (tests and trials) do not make any change in anyone. They simply reveal what the person is.
There is some debate about whether our Lord's temptations were real, and whether it was possible for him to sin. The temptations were real. Yet, there was no possibility of the holy, incarnate God sinning. The temptations proved that there was no evil in him (John 14:30). If you run a test on water, the test is real; but the fact that the test is real does not imply that there is impurity in the water. The test will simply show the water pure or corrupt. So it was with our Master's temptations. They showed that he is, indeed, "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners."
Christ's Kingdom
Beginning in Matthew 4:17, our Lord began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." The word "kingdom" appears fifty-three times in Matthew. Thirty-five times Christ's kingdom is called, "the kingdom of Heaven," an expression found nowhere else in the Gospels.
Chapters 5–7 give us our Savior's Sermon on the Mount. Here he tells us the nature of his kingdom. The Jews, because of their perverted understanding of the Old Testament, expected the Messiah to establish a physical, Jewish kingdom in the earth. Our Savior dispelled that notion at the very outset of his public ministry in this tremendous sermon.
He opens his sermon (5:3–13) with the beatitudes, declaring that those who are his servants, his people, those who enter into his kingdom are identified not by outward ceremonies but by inward grace (Philippians 3:3). The kingdom of Heaven is inward, not outward.
The service of his kingdom (chapter 6) is inward, heart service, not an outward show. Every form of religion with which I am familiar tells its adherents to show their religion to men by outward deeds. The Son of God tells his disciples never to attempt to show their religion by outward deeds that are seen, approved of, and applauded by men. Our giving, our prayers, our fastings are to be things arising spontaneously, kept in strict secrecy, and performed for God and before God.
True religion is a matter of faith in Christ, a matter of the heart. The only thing our Savior tells us to show is mercy, love, and grace. That is what is discussed in the latter part of this chapter. The law of his kingdom is love; and love is best displayed in forbearance, forgiveness, and uprightness.
Chapter 7 continues with the same subject, teaching us to guard against rash judgment concerning others. We ought to embrace as brethren all who profess faith in Christ (who profess to believe the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in him), without doubtful disputations (Romans 14:1). Then, our Lord brings his message to a pointed conclusion, urging us all to make certain we trust him alone, to make certain we have entered in "at the strait gate."
Miracles
In chapters 8 and 9 our Lord performed numerous, unparalleled miracles, displaying his omnipotent grace. He healed a leper, who came worshiping him, with a touch. He healed the centurion's servant by the mere exercise of his will. He touched Peter's mother-in-law and raised her from her sickbed.—"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" (Matthew 8:16–17).
He calmed the raging tempest by his mere word, healed a paralyzed man and forgave his sins, raised a man's daughter from the dead, healed a woman who had been diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years, and gave two blind men their sight. There can be no question about it, this man was and is God the Son!
Conversion
In chapter 10 our Lord names his apostles and sends them out to preach the gospel. In the 11th chapter he confirms himself to John the Baptist's disciples. In chapter 12 he shows himself to be Jehovah's Servant spoken of in Isaiah 42:1–4, that is the Lord of the Sabbath, and declares that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Healing the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, he hints that the Sabbath of the Old Testament portrayed the believer's experience of grace, finding life and rest in him. Then, our Lord shows us that conversion is nothing less than his own entrance into a man's heart, casting Satan out, and setting up his own throne in the heart by omnipotent grace.
The Parables
We have seven parables of the Kingdom in chapter 13, each beginning with "The kingdom of Heaven is like," except that of the sower, where we have the word "kingdom" in verse 11. Numerous other parables are recorded by Matthew, all describing the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, and the establishment of it by grace alone.
The parable of the sower tells us of the necessity of the Holy Spirit's work, making the heart as good ground to receive the gospel, and warns us of those things that rob men's souls of the blessings of the gospel.
The parable of the tares teaches us that we must never try to separate the tares from the wheat. That work is performed by Christ himself, through the preaching of the gospel.
The mustard seed and leaven parables tell us that the kingdom of God grows secretly, almost imperceptively, but constantly until all God's elect are gathered into it by his grace.
The parable of the treasure hid in the field speaks of Christ's purchased dominion over and possession of the whole world as the God-man Mediator (John 17:2), that he might obtain the treasure of it, the church of his elect.
The parable of the pearl of great price teaches that we must forsake all for Christ, who is the Pearl of great price.
The parable of the great net, like that of the tares, tells us that as long as time stands the kingdom of Heaven (the outward, visible kingdom and every local church) is a mixed multitude of good fish and bad, true believers and those who merely profess to be believers.
The parable of the lost sheep (18:10–14) portrays our Savior's determination to save his elect and his joy in saving them. That of the wicked servant (18:23–35) portrays our Redeemer's teaching (18:15–22) on the necessity and blessedness of believers forgiving those who offend them.
The parable of the laborers (20:1–16) is our Lord's picture of grace, displaying the fact that all God's elect are perfectly accepted in him. This parable is preceded by (ch. 18) and followed by (20:20) strife among the disciples regarding who shall be greatest in the kingdom of God. Because salvation is by grace alone, because there are no degrees of acceptance with God, because the whole of our salvation is bestowed freely for Christ's sake, there can be no degrees of reward in Heaven.
The parable of the vineyard (21:33–34) portrays the wrath of God to be visited upon the Jewish nation for slaughtering his Son.
The marriage supper parable sets before us the freeness of grace proclaimed by the gospel (22:2–14).
The parable of the ten virgins warns us of the danger of religion without Christ, outward religion without inward grace, and the great need of diligence in personally watching over our own souls (25:1–13).
The parable of talents (24:14–30) shows us our responsibility to be faithful stewards of that which the Lord God has put in our hands to use for his glory.
Divine Sovereignty
In all these parables the absolute sovereignty of God our Savior over all things is clearly exemplified. Our Savior declares that he has the right to do with his own what he will (20:15; Romans 9:15–18). In this opening book of the New Testament he asserts that he came specifically to redeem and that he effectually calls the many in this world who are his own elect (20:28; 22:14; 1:21), and only them.
Promises To The Church
In Matthew 16 and 18 the Lord Jesus identifies himself as the only Foundation upon which his church is build, and that the building of his church is his work alone. Immediately after making this declaration, he tells us that the way he would build his church is by the merit, power, and efficacy of his sin-atoning sacrifice (16:13–21). Then in chapter 18 (verse 20) he promises that he is always with his assembled saints when they gather for worship in his name. This church, this kingdom that Christ builds, he protects, provides for, and shall make triumphant over Hell itself.
Transfiguration
Along with Mark and Luke, Matthew tells us of the unveiled glory of the King in his transfiguration, foreshadowing his resurrection glory as Zion's King. He adds this touch, "His face did shine as the sun," and these words, "in whom I am well pleased," showing how perfectly our Lord fulfilled God's Law as a Representative Man (Matthew 17:1–13; Mark 9:2–13; Luke 9:28–36).
Meaningless Questions
In the 22nd chapter the Pharisees, Sadducees, and lawyers came asking meaningless questions about political matters, the resurrection, and the law. Their questions were made meaningless by the fact that they ignored the one great question—"What think you of Christ?" (verse 42). In chapter 23 our Lord condemns them and all who follow their path.
The Crucifixion
Chapters 26 and 27 give us a brief account of our Lord's betrayal, his mock trial, and the agony of his crucifixion and death as our sin-atoning Substitute. Forsaken by Heaven and earth, alone he endured all the wrath of God for us when he was made to be sin. Darkness covered the earth for three hours. Upon the cursed tree, he vanquished sin, death, Satan, and Hell. As Paul puts it in Colossians, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them, and leading them behind him as a conqueror would lead a train of captives in open display before the people. When at last he gave up the Spirit, the veil of the temple was ripped apart, showing that he has opened the way for sinners to come to God; and many were raised from their graves, showing that the sentence of death can never be executed upon those for whom he died.
Substitution is beautifully portrayed in the fact that Christ died in the place of Barabbas. Barabbas went free because a Substitute died in his place; and God's elect must and shall go free because Christ died in their place (Romans 8:1; 33–34).
The Resurrection
In his account of the resurrection (chapter 28) Matthew tells of the great earthquake, the angel whose face was like lightning, for fear of whom the keepers did shake and became as dead men, and of the Lord's bodily appearance to his disciples after he arose. He was sent to the tomb as a guilty criminal, worthy of death. He was released as a free man, without sin, "justified in the Spirit" and "declared to be the Son of God" our Savior, because he had accomplished our justification by the sacrifice of himself (Romans 4:25).
Our Commission
Finally, this Gospel gives us, as no other, our Lord's last royal commission. The risen Lord says to you and me, "Go tell the world what I have done."—"And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:18–20).
MARKChrist the Servant
The words of our Savior in Mark 10:45 give us a clear summary of Mark's Gospel. Remember, Mark's object is to present our Savior in his character as Jehovah's righteous Servant; and that is exactly how our Lord describes himself.—"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Distinct Purpose
Each of the four gospel narratives is distinct. Each one presents our Savior in a specific character. It is a mistake to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as four biographies of the Lord Jesus. They are not biographies at all. They are biographical character sketches. Each is intended to be different from the other. Each presents our Savior from a distinct different point of view. The four Gospels give us four distinct views of our Lord and of his work.
The Gospel of Matthew is written to present Christ as the King. The Gospel of Mark presents his character as Jehovah's Servant. The Gospel of Luke presents him as the Son of man. The Gospel of John presents him as the Son of God.
No Genealogy
Have you ever wondered why there is no record of our Lord's ascension in Matthew and John, and why there is no record of his genealogy in Mark? Luke gives his own record of our Lord's genealogy as a man; but John gives us neither a record of his genealogy or his ascension. Why? The answer is obvious when you remember the distinct purpose of each.
Matthew presents Christ as the King, and Luke presents him as the man promised in the Old Testament. In both cases a genealogical record is needed. Because Christ is the King from eternity, a record of his ascension in Matthew's case would be redundant. John presents the Savior as the incarnate God, that One who is immutably God over all and blessed forever. In his case, a record of our Lord's genealogy or his ascension would be contrary to his purpose. Mark only mentions the ascension, because his intent is to show us that as Jehovah's Servant, our Savior's mission is complete, successful, and accepted by the Father. Having finished his work, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High (Hebrews 1:1–3; 10:10–14).
Christ the Servant
Mark's Gospel narrative is "a joyful account of the ministry, miracles, actions, and sufferings of Christ" (John Gill). It is all about the obedience of our Savior to the will of God. He tells us nothing about the birth and early life of our Lord. He gives us very few details about our Master's sermons. Yet he gives greater details than others about his miracles. Mark's is the shortest of the four Gospels. Yet it is not in any way less significant. Mark used greater brevity than the others; but his narrative is just as important. Those who suggest that Mark simply copied down some facts from Matthew, or that he wrote what Peter told him to write both miss the purpose of Mark's work and undermine the inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture. Without question, he got information from those men who taught him the gospel; but he wrote by divine inspiration.
J.C. Ryle very properly observed that Mark's Gospel is "The independent narrative of an independent witness, who was inspired to write a history of our Lord's works, rather than of his words … Like all the rest of Scripture, every word of St. Mark is ‘given by inspiration of God,' and every word is profitable.' "
Mark Himself
The man God used to give us this inspired narrative of our Savior's obedience as our Representative, as the One who worked out righteousness for us, was a man like us, not always dependable, a sinner saved by grace, just like we are.
In other places he is called John Mark. He was the man who accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey and proved himself at that time an unfaithful servant. He could not take the pressure of the work: the constant opposition, the thankless labor, and the relentless long, lonely hours. So he ran back home to momma. This is not the only time we see Mark displaying such weakness.
If you want to meet Bro. Mark turn to chapter 14. There is an unnamed young man here, who is probably Mark himself. I say that because Mark does not give us the man's name and because this is the only time this incident is mentioned in Scripture. After our Lord's arrest in Gethsemane, we are told that the disciples forsook him. But Mark adds what is found in verses 51 and 52.—"And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked."
Yet, this is the man God chose to use to give us this portion of his Word. A less than dependable servant, a man who was at times very weak, was chosen to record for us the perfect faithfulness of that Servant of God of whom it is written, "He shall not fail," the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful for that fact. Aren't you? If the Lord used one failure, maybe he will use another (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).
Peter's Influence
Mark was Peter's son in the faith (1 Peter 5:13). He was converted under the influence of Peter's ministry and taught by Peter. He was, as well he should have been, greatly influenced by his pastor, Peter. His Gospel narrative naturally reflects the teachings and viewpoints we see in Peter.
In fact, if you will look at Acts 10:38, you will see that Peter gives us a very brief summary of all that is recorded for us in the Gospel of Mark. Speaking in the house of Cornelius, we read that Peter stood among them and told them exactly what Mark tells us in these 16 chapters.—"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
Matthew and John, like Peter and Paul, were apostles of Christ. As such, they learned the gospel from the Master himself. Neither Mark nor Luke was an apostle. What they learned of Christ, they learned, like us, through the preaching of others by the teaching of the Holy Spirit through the preached Word (Romans 10:17).
Profitable Mark
The human author of this Gospel narrative was John Mark, the son of Barnabas' sister, Mary (Acts 12:12, 25; Colossians 4:12). Paul and Barnabas eventually had a falling out because Paul refused to take Mark with them on his second missionary journey (Acts 15:36–41). But that is not the end of the story. At some point, Paul and Mark did some fence mending, and in his latter days the old man Paul found Mark to be one of few who were loyal to the gospel. As he was awaiting execution, he wrote to Timothy and said, "Take Mark, and bring him with you: for he is profitable to me for the ministry" (2 Timothy 4:11).
Mark's Message
Instead of opening with a record of our Lord's incarnation and birth, instead of telling us about his youth and early years, Mark begins at once with his ministry. Look at verse 1 of chapter 1—"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." This is the beginning, but not the end, for there is no end to the story Mark tells. He is telling us the God-story of redemption, grace, and salvation by God's Servant, "Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
Our Lord tells us that the story will go on forever, even in eternity. This is too wondrous to grasp; but our Lord tells us that in that great day called "eternity," "he shall gird himself and make (us) to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve (us)" (Luke 12:37).—We will never come to the end of the story. The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God is everlasting.
Time Fulfilled
After describing the ministry of John the Baptist and our Lord's baptism by him (1:2–13), Mark gives a very brief description of the wilderness temptation (verses 12–13). Yet, even in his brevity, Mark adds some things that show the greatness of that trial by which the faithfulness of Jehovah's Servant was proved.
Matthew and Luke tell us that our Lord was "led" of the Spirit into the wilderness. Mark's words are stronger.—"The Spirit drives him into the wilderness." It is Mark who tells us the temptation lasted forty days, and that the Lord was "with the wild beasts" in the wilderness.
Then, he begins to describe our Lord's earthly ministry in verses 14 and 15 of chapter 1.—"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent you, and believe the gospel."
Mark tells us that our Lord stepped onto the scene of history and declared that the time God had promised for the accomplishment of his promises of redemption were fulfilled. That meant that the kingdom of God was now in the midst of men. If we enter into that kingdom, we must enter in by faith's door, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. In due time, Christ came here to die for the ungodly (Romans 5:6; Galatians 4:4–5;).—"When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." He came here as Jehovah's Servant (Philippians 2:5–8).
First Disciples
Immediately after announcing our Lord's appearance in Galilee, calling sinners to repentance, Mark shows us what is meant by that. In verses 16–18 we are told how that the Lord Jesus called his first disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and John. Those who repent and believe, those who come to and follow Christ, those who are born into his kingdom are called by him. And those who are called by him forsake all and follow him.
Full of Activity
The Gospel of Mark is a book full of activity. He moves rapidly from one place to another and from one miracle to another. The words "immediately," "forthwith," "anon," and "immediately" meet us constantly in these 16 chapters. Many of the chapters begin with the word "And." If Mark were telling us his story orally, we might say, "Slow down. Catch your breath. You're moving too fast." That is exactly the sense the Holy Spirit intends to give us in this book. Mark is describing God's faithful Servant, our all-glorious Christ, whose meat and drink it was to do the will of his Father. He had nothing to call his own, not even his time.—O Lord, my God, give me grace to be such a servant!
Mark moves like lightning as he declares our Lord's works in Galilee, casting out demons and healing the sick (1:21–3:12; 5:25–34; 6:53–56; 7:24–37). He gives us display after display of our Lord's power and authority as that Servant into whose hands the Father has given all things.—After giving us four kingdom parables in chapter 4, he calmed the raging sea and the troubled hearts of his disciples with his mere word (4:35–41).—He cast demons out of the poor Gadarene (5:1–20).—A woman was healed of her twelve-year issue of blood by the touch of his garment (5:25–34).—He raised Jairus' twelve year old daughter from the dead (5:35–43).—He fed hungry multitudes by miraculously multiplying little (6:34–44; 8:1–9).—Twice we read of him giving sight to the blind.—Repeatedly, we read of our tender Savior having "compassion" upon needy souls.
Pictures of Grace
These miracles were intended to display our Savior's power and authority as that man who is Jehovah's Servant, that man who is God, to show that he has power and authority by virtue of who he is and by virtue of the sacrifice he made in eternity and was about to make at Calvary, to forgive sins (2:9–10).
It is therefore obvious that these miracles were intended to be pictures of his wondrous works of grace in saving lost sinners.—Like the leper, saved sinners have been made whole by Christ, the Priest, who touched us and made himself unclean to make us clean. We are made whole by the omnipotent touch of his grace.—Like the woman with that twelve-year issue of blood, who had spent all she had on physicians of no value, we are made whole by virtue we get from touching him.—Like the Syrophenician woman, we who have no claim on the children's bread have obtained mercy by faith in Christ.—Like the Gadarene, we have been made whole and set free by the Master's word of grace.—Like the blind men, our Lord has given us eyes to see him and to see "every men clearly."—Like Jairus' daughter, the Lord Jesus Christ raised us up from the dead.
Determination to Die
Beginning in chapter 8 (verse 31), we see a marked determination in our Savior, Jehovah's Servant. He set his face like a flint to go up to Jerusalem, to suffer all the wrath of God as our Substitute (Isaiah 50:5–7).—"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."
The Lord Jesus did not come here hoping that the Jews would allow him to be their king, sitting on a physical throne in Jerusalem. He came here as the King to suffer and die, rise again the third day, and ascend to his throne to give eternal life to his elect by the virtue and efficacy of his blood atonement. He came here to do the will of his Father, suffering death as our Substitute at Jerusalem, and nothing could deter or hinder him from accomplishing his purpose.
Peter's Reaction
Look at Peter's response to the Lord's declared purpose (8:32).—"Peter took him, and began to rebuke him." Matthew gives a fuller quotation of Peter's words.—"Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be unto you" (Matthew 16:22). Peter said, "Spare yourself of this, Lord." That is always the response of the flesh to trouble. "Spare yourself." Then the Master sternly rebuked Peter, saying, "Get you behind me, Satan: for you savor not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men" (verse 33).
Gill suggests, I think accurately, that, "the Lord rebuked him in a very severe, though just manner; being touched in his most tender part, and dissuaded from that which his heart was set upon, and he came into the world for; whose keen resentment is seen by using a phrase he never did but to the devil himself." The Master knew the source and cause of Peter's comments. The flesh, like Satan, is always opposed to the will of God. The flesh always chooses that which is easiest on and most appealing to the flesh.
That this is the meaning of this conversation between Christ and his errant disciple is obvious because of what follows in verses 34–38. If we would follow Christ, if we would be his disciples, if we would be God's servants (That is what it is to be a believer!) we must give up our will to his will. We must surrender the rule of our lives to the rule of God our Savior. That is what Jehovah's righteous Servant did in the example he left us in the rest of Mark's Gospel (1 Peter 2:21).
Transfiguration
In chapter 9 we have Mark's account of the Transfiguration.—"And he said unto them, Truly I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, until they have seen the kingdom of God come with power" (verse 1). Then the Lord Jesus led Peter, James, and John up on the mountain and they literally did not taste of death until they saw the King coming in glory. Peter refers to this in 2 Peter 1:16–18.
"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount."
The suggestion is that God's purpose for his elect and the purpose of Christ's redemptive work is that we should not taste of death. He came to deliver us from the awful taste of death. Our all-glorious Savior tasted death for everyone he came to save that we might never taste it (Hebrews 2:9), that we might ever behold and be the recipients of his glory as Jehovah's righteous Servant (John 17:22–26).
Then he identifies his family, those who shall behold and enjoy his glory forever, his children, the citizens and heirs of his kingdom. They are those who, in this world, cast all their care on him (9:17–24), becoming as little children taken into his omnipotent arms, trusting him as Lord and Savior (verses 36–37), and blessed in and by him. Mark alone tells us that he took the little children up in his arms when he blessed them (10:13–16).
Money Changers
Our Lord's last week on earth before the crucifixion begins in chapter 11. Here again Mark tells us about a very significant event the other Gospel writers were not inspired to record. "And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple" (verses 15–16).
This is not the same event John spoke of in John 2:13–16. That event took place at the beginning of our Lord's ministry. That which Mark records took place at the end of his ministry. For the second time, the Lord Jesus overthrows the tables of the money-changers, and cleanses the temple. Mark says, he "would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple."
According to the Mosaic law, it was the responsibility of the priests to catch the blood of the sacrifices on the brazen altar in the outer court and carry it into the holy place before the altar. Once each year the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle that blood upon the mercy seat. All of this was highly symbolic of Christ's sin-atoning work.
He of whom the priests and the sacrifices were types had come to put an end to all this. He would not allow any man to carry anything through the temple. In other words, he ended the sacrifices. He is the end of the law (Romans 10:4). In this act our Lord was saying, "The Lamb of God has come to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
More Questions
Mark chapters 10–13 are primarily concerned with the questions people asked the Savior. In chapter 10 he answers the Pharisees questions about divorce, the rich young ruler's question, the disciples' question about salvation, and James and John's question about greatness. He tells the Pharisees that marriage is forever. He told the rich young ruler that the way to eternal life is faith alone, that faith that surrenders all to Christ as Lord and God. When the disciples heard the conversation between Christ and the rich young ruler, and heard the Master's explanation of why that man so rich in material property and religious morality did not believe, they said, "Who then can be saved?" The Master answered, "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible."
In chapter 11 he answers the questions of the priests, the scribes, and the elders who come out of hatred for him and try to trap him with their questions about his authority to purge the temple. He answered them by refusing to answer them.
In chapter 12 the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and a scribe tried to trap him with their questions. The Lord Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and answered them accordingly. The Pharisees and Herodians were trying to get him to say something that could be used to accuse him of stirring insurrection against Caesar. The Sadducees tried to trick him into saying something that might be twisted into a denial of the resurrection. Then a scribe tried to trick him into speaking a word against the law.
In chapter 13, as they sat on the Mount of Olives, Peter, James, John, and Andrew ask the Lord Jesus what he meant when he spoke of the destruction of the temple. They said, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled" (verse 4). The rest of the chapter is taken up with our Savior's answer, warning them and us of the great danger of following false christs.
A Good Work
Multitudes talk about good works. Usually their intent is to defend their pretended good works of self-righteousness. In chapter 14 Mark shows us an event that displays what a good work is.—"A woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head" (verse 3). Others, including the disciples, sharply criticized her.
"And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble you her? she has wrought a good work on me. For you have the poor with you always, and whensoever you will you may do them good: but me you have not always. She has done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Truly I say unto you, Wherever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her" (14:6–9).
The Master said, "She has wrought a good work on me." That is the only time in the Bible anything done by a sinful human being is specifically called "a good work" by our Lord. That fact is very instructive. Good works are not what most imagine they are. A good work is a work of faith. This dear lady seems to have been the only person who understood and believed what the Lord had said about his death and resurrection. A good work involves personal sacrifice. It is always costly. A good work is a work of spontaneous love wrought for Christ. A good work is doing what you can for the Savior. A good work is a work that God our Savior never forgets.
The Crucifixion
Beginning with chapter 15, we have the account of the crucifixion. Mark describes this as an act of horrible brutality done in the name of justice and righteousness. The Lord Jesus appears to be a defeated man, a tragic failure, and his cause hopelessly lost. He is hounded, bludgeoned and spat upon. Finally, he is crucified upon the cursed tree between two thieves. Is this Jehovah's Servant?
No wonder the high priests, as they saw him hanging naked, upon the tree, covered in his own blood and the excrement of men, laughed and said, "He saved others; himself cannot save" (verse 31).
That is a strange statement. Yet it is one of the most remarkable statements of gospel truth ever to fall from the lips of men. It shows that God is able to make even his enemies praise him.
Three Things
As we read this account, we see three things that they could not make our Lord do. First, they could not make our Lord speak.—"And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answer you nothing? behold how many things they witness against you" (verse 4). He could have called twelve legions of angels to deliver him; but the Master said nothing, and Pilate wondered.
Second, they could not make him drink.—"And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not" (verse 23). Why not? The mixture offered him would have relieved our Lord of some of the agony he endured. Had he drunk what they gave him, he would have saved himself the effect of the agony of the cross and the weight of the burden of all Hell and all the wrath of God pressing upon him; but he would not. He would not spare himself.
Then, third, they could not make him die.—"And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the Spirit" (verse 37). "He unspirited himself." He dismissed his spirit. He did not die at the hands of the Jews or the Romans. He died at the hand of God, by his own voluntary will, as Jehovah's Righteous Servant (John 10:17–18).
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:8–11).
The Resurrection
When we get to the last chapter and the resurrection of our Lord, we see his reason. He was silent and refused to appeal to Pilate or the crowd, because he was laying the basis for a coming day, when in resurrection power and glory every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He would not drink to dull his senses, because he was laying a basis upon which even those who stood around the cross might enter into a life eternal. He was laying the foundation upon which God can be just and the Justifier of all who believe. He was determined to die, that he might be exalted as Lord of all, to give eternal life to as many as the Father had given him.
He would not let men take his life; but he voluntarily laid it down himself in order that he might overcome our greatest enemy, death, and forever deliver all who would believe in him from the power and awful sting of death. That is the Gospel.—He saved others, but himself he could not save. That is Mark's story.
My Favorite Verse
Before I send you home, let me give you my favorite verse in Mark's Gospel. It is not surprising to me that it is Mark and Mark alone who says what he does here (16:7). In this verse, he who was himself a disciple who had been unfaithful, speaks a word about his beloved friend and father in the faith, his pastor, Peter. He tells us that the young man who stood by the tomb of the risen Lord said to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, "Go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goes before you into Galilee: there shall you see him, as he said unto you."
It is as though he was reminding Peter, and all of us who are like Peter (weak, faltering, failing, sinful followers of Christ), that God's forgiveness of our sins in Christ is full, absolute, and complete. Christ died for our sins. That means, between us and our God and Savior, everything is all right!
The book of Mark began with the words "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." In the last two verses of chapter 16 we have the continuation. The Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Servant, is still carrying on his work, working through the preaching of the gospel by his church.—"So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into the Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following."
LUKEChrist the Son of Man
As we have seen in our studies of Matthew and Mark, each of the four gospels were written by divine inspiration, each revealing the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, but each one was intended by the Holy Spirit to set forth a particular, distinct aspect of our Savior's person and work. Neither of the gospel narratives give us a complete view of Christ; but all four taken together tell us plainly and fully who the Lord Jesus Christ is, what he did, why he did it, and where he is now.• Matthew was written to show us that our Lord Jesus Christ is the divine Messiah, the Redeemer-King promised in the Old Testament Scriptures.
• Mark was inspired to present the Lord Jesus as Jehovah's righteous Servant.
• John's gospel sets forth the glorious divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ as God the Son, the second person in the holy trinity.
• Luke's gospel was designed and written to show us the perfect and glorious humanity of our Savior. Just as John shows us that our Redeemer is the Son of God, Luke shows us that he is the Son of Man.
Son of Man
Luke was inspired of God to present our Savior distinctly as "the Son of man". That is the title our Lord used to describe himself more than any other. As we read the Gospel of Luke, the One we meet here is the Redeemer-King Matthew described, the Righteous Servant Mark portrayed, and the incarnate God John declares. He is the same Person; but Luke presents him primarily as the Man who is God, while John presents him as the God who is also man.
Luke gives us more details than either Matthew or Mark about our Savior's birth. Luke alone tells us a little bit about our Lord's childhood. He stresses, more than the other gospel writers, our Redeemer's dependence upon his Father in prayer, his poverty, and his sympathy with men. He does this because it is his purpose to show us that our Savior's perfect humanity is just as essential to his saving work as his divinity. He could not accomplish his mission were he not both God and man in one glorious person. Luke's message is essentially contained in the words of our Lord in chapter 19.—"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (19:10).
Luke and Acts
Luke specifically wrote his gospel to a man named "Theophilus". This is the same man to whom he addressed the Book of Acts. Both Luke and Acts were written specifically for this man Theophilus (Acts 1:1–2). We know nothing about him, except what Luke, himself, tells us. This Theophilus was a man of rank and honor. Luke calls him "most excellent Theophilus." Not many noble are called (1 Corinthians 1:26), but some are. God has chosen some of all ranks. The name Theophilus means either "lover of God" or "loved of God". The Book of Acts is really a continuation of Luke's Gospel, as he indicates in the opening verses of Acts 1. The Gospel of Luke describes the works of Christ while he was on the earth. In the Book of Acts Luke picks up right where he left of in his Gospel narrative, only in Acts he describes the works of the ascended Christ through his church.
"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 you in order, most excellent Theophilus, That you might know the certainty of those things, wherein you have been instructed" (Luke 1:1–4).
"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, says he, you have heard of me" (Acts 1:1–4).
In Acts 1 Luke describes his gospel as "a treatise of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up." Though they did not record every word and deed of Christ (John 21:25), Luke and the other gospel writers did record all that the Holy Spirit inspired, all that we need to know, particularly all that Christ did and said relating to the salvation of his people; his obedience to the Father, his conformity to the law, and his death as our Substitute, by which he brought in everlasting righteousness and obtained eternal redemption for us.
Things Most Surely Believed
Then Luke tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ gave his commandments by the Holy Spirit to chosen apostles, and by them to his church. All the doctrines and ordinances, faith and practice of the church are by the commandment of Christ, laid down in the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Both in Acts and here, at the very outset of his Gospel, Luke tells us that his intention in writing this gospel narrative was "set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us" (1:1).
Contrary to popular opinion, believers are people who believe some things, some specific things, and all believers believe them. All Christians do, most assuredly, believe some specific things. We believe those things revealed in the Book of God. Anyone who does not believe that which God reveals in the Inspired Volume of Holy Scripture is not a Christian, is not a believer, and does not know God, no matter what he may profess. Roger Ellsworth wrote, "The church is a community of faith, a community that tenaciously holds with overpowering conviction to a distinct body of truths."
Yes, there are some things all true Christians believe. Luke makes no bones about this. Neither should we. Let men accuse us of being narrow-minded dogmatists, out of step with the rest of the religious world, and heap upon us whatever ugly names they choose, the Word of God plainly declares that some things are vital. Some things must be known and believed. Those who do not believe these things are not saved.
• Luke tells us that he wrote his gospel "to set forth in order those things which are most surely believed among us." All who are, like Theophilus, lovers of God love those things most surely believed among us. What are those things? Luke does not leave us to decide for ourselves what they are. He tells us plainly some of those things most assuredly believed by all who know and love, trust and worship the God of Glory.
• Luke shows us that all men are sinners in need of God's salvation,—lost, ruined, dead in trespasses and sins, under the curse of God's holy law, and totally incapable of changing their condition. He tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, like the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost Son (chapter 15).
• Luke also shows us that the Man, Jesus, is the Christ and that he is the incarnate God. All who are taught of God believe that the Son of God came into this world in the flesh (1:35; 9:20).
• Every believer gladly confesses, with Zechariah, that the Lord Jesus Christ has effectually accomplished and obtained salvation for sinners by his obedience and death as the sinners Substitute (1:68). Remember, that which Zechariah spoke concerning the accomplishments of Christ, he spoke being filled with the Holy Spirit. He tells us that Christ accomplished redemption and explains exactly what that means (1:67–79).
• This salvation which Christ obtained for his elect by his blood atonement, by effectual, accomplished redemption, comes to sinners by the gift of God, according to his own sovereign, eternal purpose of grace in Christ, as a matter of pure grace (4:25–27).
• And Luke shows us that God's grace in Christ is so abundantly free that every sinner in this world who needs it has it (9:11). It is still true today—The Lord Jesus Christ heals all who have need of healing. That is to say, he saves all who need salvation.
Luke's Distinctives
As we read the Gospel of Luke, we cannot help noticing that Luke tells us many precious things that are not even mentioned by any of the other inspired writers.—Luke alone gives us historic information about Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, and tells us about John's birth.—Only Luke tells us about the angel's announcement to Mary of our Savior's birth.—It is only in Luke's Gospel that we read of Simeon, Anna, and Mary's song.—Luke alone gives us information about our Redeemer's childhood.—None of the other Gospel narratives tell us about the conversions of Zacchaeus and the dying thief.—Only Luke gives us the parables of The Good Samaritan, The Pharisee and the Publican, The Prodigal Son, and The Rich Man and Lazarus.—Only Luke tells us about the Lord's walk with two of his disciples along the Emmaus road after his resurrection. How thankful we are for these things! For these things we are indebted to Luke, "the beloved physician."
Luke Himself
Who was this man, Luke? As we have seen, both this gospel narrative and the book of Acts were written by Luke. But who was Luke? He was a man of such modesty that he never mentioned his own name, even when he wrote about events in which he played a prominent role. Yet, he was, obviously, a man of remarkable usefulness in the early church.
Paul calls him, "Luke the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). As I observed concerning Theophilus, not many of the wise and noble of this world are called, but some are; and Luke was one of them. He was Paul's constant, faithful companion. He accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey as far as Philippi. There, after the Lord raised up a gospel church, Luke stayed behind, probably to take care of and further instruct the young saints at Philippi in the things of God.
Seven years later, while Paul was on his third missionary journey, he and Luke joined up again at Philippi. As Paul went on his way to Jerusalem, Luke went with him. When Paul was arrested at Caesarea, Luke was with him. Luke was still by Paul's side when they sailed for Rome. He went with his friend through the perils of the sea and stayed by his side when he was arrested at Rome. Luke alone stayed with Paul to the end. When Paul was about to lay down his life as a martyr for Christ, he wrote, "Only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11).
Luke was a Gentile, as his name indicates, the only Gentile who was chosen of God to write a portion of the Inspired Volume of Holy Scripture.
The Son of Man
Luke gives us a portrait of the Son of Man, the Man Christ Jesus. All the gospel writers show us both the divinity and the humanity of Christ; but John was distinctly written to set forth our Lord's eternal deity; and Luke was distinctly written to show us his perfect humanity. Let us never forget that our Lord Jesus Christ lived upon this earth the life of a perfect man, completely obedient to the will of God, as our Surety, Representative, Mediator, and Substitute, without sin in nature, thought, word, or deed. Had he not been a perfect man, he could not have been our Savior. Therefore, Luke was inspired of God to show us the perfection of our Savior as a real man.
The Lord Jesus Christ was a Man of great courage. He was not a hard, abrasive man; but he was a courageous man. This boldness and courage is seen most distinctly in our Lord's preaching. He knew that he was his Father's Servant. Therefore, he spoke the Word of God with unflinching courage (chapter 4). When he was advised to flee from Herod, he said, "Go tell that old fox that I am doing what I came here to do, and that he can't stop me" (Luke 13:32).
When the time came for him to lay down his life as our sin-atoning Substitute, our Savior set his face like a flint to go up to Jerusalem, that he might accomplish the will of him that sent him (9:51). Fearlessly and unfalteringly, our Savior steadily walked, step by step, with determinate resolution, up to Mt. Calvary to lay down his life for us, according to the will of God, not in defeat but in victory, not to be pitied but worshiped.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was also a Man of great tenderness, compassion, and sympathy. He declared in his very first sermon, that he came here to preach the gospel to the poor, to set the captive free, and to give sight to the blind (4:18–19). Luke constantly portrays the Lord Jesus as a man full of compassion, drying tears of sorrow, pitying the outcast, entertaining despised publicans, receiving sinners, healing all who had need of healing. Let every man learn from the Master.—Manhood, real manhood involves both courage and compassion.
Moreover, and this is very, very important, as the perfect Man, our Lord Jesus Christ was a Man of implicit faith. He believed God perfectly. He lived in constant fellowship with God as a Man. What an example of consecration and faith he gave us! His very first recorded words were, "I must be about my Father's business" (2:40). His last words before his final breath of mortality were, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (23:46). On at least eight other occasions, Luke describes our Lord Jesus as a Man of faith, calling upon God his Father, our Father, in prayer.
1. At His Baptism (3:21)
2. After Healing The Leper (5:16)
3. Before Choosing His Disciples (6:12)
4. Before Peter's Great Confession (9:18)
5. At His Transfiguration (9:29)
6. Before Teaching His Disciples How to Pray (11:1)
7. In Gethsemane (22:42)
8. As He Hung upon the Cross (23:34)
As God's servants in this world, we all must confess, with shame and sorrow, that we are often weak, hard hearted, and unbelieving. But, blessed be God, that Man who is our divine Savior lived before God in the perfection of manhood for us—Perfect In Courage,—Perfect In Tenderness, Mercy and Compassion,—Perfect In Faith! But he is more than an exemplary Man …
Luke presents this holy Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, to us as God's Salvation. He brought salvation to sinners. He won it by his obedience. He bought it with his blood. He secured it by his ascension into Heaven. He gives it by his grace. But Luke tells us more. He tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ himself is Salvation (2:25–32). Salvation is not a creed, a confession, a church, or an experience. Salvation is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the blood and righteousness of Christ and adore his doctrine; but it is the Lord Jesus Christ himself that we trust, love and worship.—"Unto you that believe, HE is precious."
The gospel we preach is the good news of salvation accomplished and secured by the obedience and death of the God-man, Christ Jesus. Luke, speaking in perfect harmony with all the prophets and apostles, tells us that this salvation is God's Salvation.—His work, his property, his gift. It is a finished work. It is a work accomplished for sinners of every race, Jew and Gentile, everywhere. This salvation demands faith in Christ, a faith that only God himself can give, a faith that willingly bows to Christ as Lord, a salvation to be preached to all the world.
Luke's object is to show us the humanity of our Savior; but his humanity would be of no value to us, all that he was and did as a man would be totally without benefit to us, if he is not God. So Luke shows us that this great man is much more than that. He shows us that this great Man is the almighty God.
He has all power over all things and exercises it all the time. The God-man, our Mediator, has complete authority overall evil (Lk 4:12, 35, 9:38, 11:14). He controls all of what men call "the elements of nature" (Lk 8:22–25, 9:12–17, 5:4–11). He has total dominion over life and death (Lk 8:41–42, 7:11–15). He has total dominion over sickness, disease, and trouble (Lk 5:12–13, 7:1–10, 4:35–38, 5:18–25, 6:6–10, 18:35–43). He has power in Heaven and in earth to forgive sins (Lk 5:24, 7:48). He has the power and authority to bless people (Lk 6:20–22), and to give people eternal life in Heaven (Lk 23:43; 24:50). All things are in his hands (John 17:2).
Gospel For Sinners
The gospel of God is a gospel for sinners; the good news of redemption obtained and salvation finished for poor, needy, lost sinners. And Luke's Gospel is just that. It is good news for needy sinners. Luke shows us the compassionate love of Christ in becoming Man to save us. He traces our Lord's descent back to Adam, and shows him as the Son of Man and the Son of God, the Savior of men. He is both the "Son of the Highest" and the Son of the lowest.
Like Matthew, Luke gives us our Lord's genealogy (3:23–38); but it is not the same. Matthew's account of the genealogy begins with Abraham and traces the Savior's lineage up to Joseph. Luke begins with the Savior himself and traces his lineage back to Adam, and then to God himself. Matthew shows us our Savior's lineage through Joseph, him "being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph" (Luke 3:23). Luke traces his lineage through Mary.
The Shepherds
Instead of the visit of the Magi, Luke tells us of the common shepherds to whom the Savior's birth was announced as glad-tidings of peace to all people, "To you is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."
Simeon and Anna
Aged Simeon said, "Mine eyes have seen Your Salvation," as he took the Holy Child in his arms. And Anna "spoke of him to all that looked for Redemption in Israel." Luke records his compassion to the Widow of Nain (7:11–18), and of his tenderness and mercy toward the woman that was a sinner (7:36–50). Luke tells us the story of Zacchaeus and of the consequent murmuring of the Pharisees because he had gone to be a guest with a man which was a sinner (19:1–10).
The Parables
The parables recorded in Luke's Gospel are intended to display both our Redeemer's compassion and his saving power and efficacy. The Parable of The Good Samaritan shows us how condescending Christ is in the exercise of his saving mercy. The Parable of The Pharisee and the Publican show the contempt of our Savior for self-righteous religionists and his great mercy, love, and grace to needy sinners. The Parable of The Importunate Widow shows us how that all who need and seek his grace find it at the throne of grace. The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son shows us the great joy there is in the very heart of God over the lost one that is found. In the Parable of the Great Supper (14:16–24; Mat 22:1–14), it is Luke who tells us of the Lord's command to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. And the words, "Yet there is room," seem to echo throughout these 24 chapters.
Luke alone tells us that when our Lord beheld the city, he wept over it (19:41–44). It is Luke who describes the Savior's bloody sweat in Gethsemane (22:39–46). Luke tells us of the saving power possessed by our Savior as he hung upon the cursed tree, displayed in saving the dying thief, even in his agony, gathering as it were, even in his agony, the first-fruits of his atonement (23:39–43).
Luke alone gives us the account of our Lord's walk along the Emmaus Road with two of his troubled disciples after his resurrection (chapter 24). It may be, as some have suggested, that Luke was one of those two disciples. He tells of our Lord eating a piece of broiled fish and some honey to show us his perfect humanity, even after his resurrection. Yes, blessed be his name, that Man, who is risen and exalted, is still a man touched with the feeling of our infirmities, full of sympathy, and is the omnipotent God, able to help in time of need!
The Last Scene
The last scene in the Gospel of Luke is a scene that Luke alone gives us (chapter 24). First, in verses 44–47, the Savior condescends to confirm the shaken faith of his fearful disciples and opens their understanding, to understand the Scriptures.
"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
Then, he issues his commission to his church, assuring us of the power of his Spirit to do his work (verses 48–49).—"And you are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high." And in verses 50–53 the crucified, risen Son of Man ascends to Glory to take his place on his throne as the God-man, and blesses his people as he ascends his throne. As he did, we read, "And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands," those nail pierced hands into which the Lord God has placed the reigns of the universe as our Mediator, "and blessed them," as the High Priest whose sacrifice God had accepted. "And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into Heaven." There he sits, King forever, our almighty and all-prevailing Advocate, God over all, full of mercy, love and grace. "And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God." Let us worship him, obey him with great joy, and ever be found praising and blessing our God because of this Man who is our Savior. "Amen."
JOHN
Christ the Son of God
The apostle John tells us exactly what his purpose was in writing his gospel narrative—"Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name" (20:30–31). John wrote his Gospel to show us that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God; and he begins his message by stating that fact clearly, emphatically, and beautifully—"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God" (1:1–2).
There is one word used throughout these 21 chapters. That one word is the key to all things spiritual, the key to spiritual life, spiritual knowledge, and spiritual understanding. The word is "believe." John uses it 98 times in this Gospel. His intention is that "we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, we might have life through his name." May the God of all grace give us grace to go on believing "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."
Distinctive Features
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called "The Synoptic Gospels" because they each give us an orderly, well-arranged narrative of our Savior's earthly life and ministry, describing (for the most part) the same events in different ways and for different purposes. John's Gospel is different. It was written much later than the other three. In the Gospel of John we are given the inspired reflections of an old man who had faithfully served the Son of God many, many years. With one foot in Heaven, he tells us of his all-glorious Savior, the Son of God, that we might believe him. John's Gospel is neither a historical biography nor a theological textbook. Rather, what we have here is the loving adoration of a saved sinner for his great Savior, describing the greatness, grace, and glory of the Son of God as he had experienced it.
There are several things that stand out as distinctive features of John's Gospel. Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John does not mention any of our Lord's parables. Yet, he was inspired to describe miracles not recorded by the other writers. John alone tells us about the Lord Jesus turning water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana (2:1–11), the healing of the nobleman's son (4:46–54), the healing of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda (5:1–9), the feeding of the 5,000 (6:1–14), the Lord Jesus coming to his disciples walking across the stormy sea (6:15–21), the healing of the man born blind (9:1–7), and the resurrection of Lazarus (11:38–44).
The miracles described by John seem to have been specifically intended to lay the foundation for something our Lord was about to teach. When the Master was about to teach some great truth, he performed a miracle to illustrate what he was about to say. He had a way of getting people's attention.
Just before he drove the money changers out of the temple and told how that he was about to build a greater, more glorious temple by his death and resurrection, our Savior turned water into wine.—"This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him" (2:11). Just before declaring himself to be the Son of God, into whose hands the Father has committed all things in chapter 5, our Lord healed the nobleman's son and the impotent man. Just before telling us that he is the Bread of Life in chapter 6, our Savior fed 5,000 men with five loaves of bread and two small fish. The Lord Jesus came walking across the stormy sea, showing his dominion over all things, teaching us to trust him, just before his disciples saw the multitudes abandon him because of the gospel he preached (chapter 6). In John 8:12 our Savior declared, "I am the light of the world: he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Then, in chapter 9 he healed the man who was born blind and said, "I am the light of the world." After declaring to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25), the Master went out to the tomb and raised Lazarus from the dead.
"I Am"
Another distinctive feature of John's Gospel is the fact that he alone gives us the seven "I AM" sayings of Christ. Seven times the Lord says, "I AM." These sayings are very precious and give us a delightful, instructive picture of our Redeemer. "I AM" is the name by which the Lord God revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 3:13–14. By taking this title and name as his own the Lord Jesus declared himself to be God, and did so at least seven times.
1. "I am the bread of life" (6:35).—If we would live, we must eat this Bread.
2. "I am the light of the world" (8:12).—If we would see, we must have this Light.
3. "I am the door of the sheep" (10:7).—If we would enter into life, we must enter by this Door.
4. "I am the good shepherd" (10:11).—If we are saved, we must be saved by this Shepherd.
5. "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25).—If we would be partakers of resurrection glory and eternal life, he who is the Resurrection and the Life must be ours. We must trust him.
6. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (14:6).—If we would have eternal life, we must be in the Way, know the Truth, and be given the Life.
7. "I am the true vine" (15:1).—If we would bring forth fruit unto God, we must be grafted into this Vine.
The significance of our Lord using the words "I AM" with reference to himself must not be overlooked. This enraged the Jews because they understood exactly what he meant by them.—He was saying, "I am the eternal God, Jehovah, the Redeemer and Deliverer. I am everything, for I am God." Using these two words, "I AM," with reference to himself, he identified himself as the covenant God of Israel. Liberals and religious infidels today may not recognize that fact; but the Jews who heard the Master understood him perfectly (John 8:58–59; 10:31–33).
John also gives a distinct emphasis to the fact that the Lord Jesus spoke of a specific time and hour for which he came into the world (2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20; 12:23, 27–28; 13:1; 17:1).
Divisions
In chapters 1–12 John tells us who Christ is, giving highlights of his life and ministry during the three years of public, earthly ministry. In chapters 13–21 the apostle gives an account (an account none could give except a tender-hearted old man, full of love for Christ) of our Lord's last night upon the earth, his death as our Substitute, and his resurrection.
Christ our God
That Man Luke described, the Servant Mark portrayed, and the King Matthew declared, Jesus of Nazareth, is himself the Christ, the Son of God, our eternal God and Savior. That is what John asserts with utter dogmatism in chapter 1. John declares that this man is the Word who is God (verse 1), the second person of the holy trinity, altogether equal with the Father (verse 2), the Creator of all things (verse 3), and the incarnate God our Savior (verses 10–18, 29). This Man who is God is the Lamb of God, spoken of and typified throughout the Old Testament, by whose sacrifice our sins are taken away.
Best Things Last
In chapter 2, when our Lord turned the water into wine and began to show forth his glory, the governor of the feast said to the bridegroom, "Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now" (verse 10). That is exactly what our Savior does in his wondrous works of grace. He saves the best wine until the last (1 Corinthians 2:9). As good as the experience of God's grace in Christ is here, it is but a foretaste of that which awaits us in heaven's glory.
The New Birth
In the first chapter we are told that sinners are made to be the sons of God and are born again by the will of God alone (11–13). In chapter 3 we have our Lord's discourse on the new birth with Nicodemus. Here he shows us both the nature and necessity of the new birth. Until a person is born again he can neither see nor enter into the kingdom of God (verses 3, 5). And this new birth is altogether the work of God the Holy Spirit sovereignly giving life and faith to whom he will (verse 8). Then, the Master told Nicodemus that the only way any sinner can live before God, the only way we can be saved is by trusting him as our sin-atoning Substitute (verses 14–18).
All grace, all salvation, all life, all hope is in Christ. Do you believe on the Son of God? Do you trust Christ alone as your Savior? That is the one thing that must be settled. To believe Christ is to have life. To abide in unbelief is to abide in death, under the wrath of God. That was John the Baptist's message and that is the message of God's preachers in every age and place—"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. (36) He who believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he who believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him" (verses 35–36). "He who has the Son has life; and he who has not the Son of God has not life" (1 John 5:12).
The Samaritan Woman
In chapter 4 John gives us a tremendous picture of God's grace. Our Lord Jesus "must needs go through Samaria" because there was an elect sinner there for whom the time of love had come. Grace chose her. Grace marked the place at which grace would be given. Grace brought the Samaritan woman to the appointed place at the time of love. Grace brought Christ to the sinner. And grace brought the sinner to Christ and gave her faith.
The Impotent Man
In chapter 5 our Savior came to the Pool of Bethesda. There were many around the pool who were impotent, blind, halt, and withered. But the sovereign Savior came there to show mercy to one certain man, a certain chosen sinner who had been impotent for 38 years. "And immediately the man was made whole" (verse 9).
That is another picture of God's saving grace. It is sovereign, distinguishing, effectual grace. Spiritually, God's elect are totally impotent. We could never be saved if any part of salvation depended on us. But that is not the case. The Lord Jesus saves poor, impotent sinners by his own almighty arm of omnipotent mercy (Ephesians 2:1–5).
Witnesses to Christ
In the second half of chapter 5 our Lord Jesus shows himself to be the Christ by numerous witnesses. As we read these verses and others like them (10:16–18), we must not imagine that our Lord is declaring anything that might suggest him being inferior to the Father. Rather, our Lord is declaring his voluntary subjection to the will of his Father (Isaiah 50:5–7) as our Mediator and Surety.
"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Truly, truly, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that himself does: and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom he will. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who honors not the Son honors not the Father which has sent him. Truly, truly, I say unto you, He who hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Truly, truly, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the Son to have life in himself; And has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true" (John 5:19–31).
John the Baptist bore witness to him as the Christ, the Lamb of God, the eternal Savior (verses 33–35). His own works bear witness that he is the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior (verse 36—His Miracles—His Satisfaction—The Rent Veil). The Father bore witness to Christ (verse 37—At His Baptism—At His Transfiguration), trusting him as our Surety (Ephesians 1:12), putting all things in his hands as the Son of Man (verse 27), and giving him all pre-eminence (Colossians 1:18; Philippians 2:8–11). And the Book of God bears witness to him, that he is indeed the Christ (verses 37–39). Moses (verses 46–47), in all the books of the law, bore witness to him, typically and prophetically, and by the veil being rent when he had fulfilled the whole law, satisfying the wrath and justice of God as our Representative.
The Offence of the Gospel
Multitudes followed our Savior, not because they were converted by his grace, but because they had eaten the loaves and fish. They were religious because they found religion profitable. They followed Christ outwardly because of what they gained by doing so. But, then, our Lord preached a message that offended the crowd. We read in John 6:66—"From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." What did he preach? What was it that so greatly offended the multitudes? It was the message of God's free, sovereign, saving grace, the same message that offends lost religious crowds throughout the world today. It was the declaration that salvation is by the will of God alone (verses 37–40). He asserted that fallen man's natural, total depravity makes salvation by the will of man impossible (verse 44). Our Master declared that salvation is altogether the work of God's free, sovereign, irresistible grace (verse 45) and this salvation can be possessed only by faith in Christ, eating his flesh and drinking his blood, trusting his righteousness and his atonement as our only ground of acceptance with God (verses 47–58). This salvation was obtained by Christ laying down his life for chosen sinners scattered throughout the world (verse 51).
"These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Does this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (John 6:59–66).
These were the same people who sought just a short while earlier, to take him by force and make him a king (6:15).
"If Any Man Thirst"
In the seventh chapter "the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand." His brethren tried to get the Lord to go up to the feast, to show himself to the world, but he refused. Later, he went up to the feast privately. Then, on the last day of the feast, as our Master beheld the multitudes going home from their empty, meaningless religious ritual, he proclaimed a great, gracious, magnanimous invitation to needy souls that is echoed around the world to this day, wherever the gospel is preached.—"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He who believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (verses 37–38).
The Adulterous Woman
The eighth chapter opens (verses 1–11) with a tremendous picture of redemption and grace in Christ. A woman taken in adultery, scorned by men and condemned by God's holy law, is freely and fully forgiven of all sin by the Son of God who stooped to the earth and rose again.
Disciples Indeed
Beginning in verse 31 of chapter 8 our Lord gives us four unmistakable marks by which true disciples, true children of Abraham are identified in this world: (1.) They do the works of Abraham (verse 39). That is to say, they believe God. (2.) True disciples love Christ (verse 42; 1 John 4:19). (3.) They receive, bow to, and believe God's Word (verse 47). (4.) They keep Christ's doctrine (verse 51). They continue in his Word (verse 31) and holdfast the gospel.
The Good Shepherd
In the 9th chapter our Lord healed a man who was born blind. Because of the goodness of God, which he experienced, the Jews churched him. They kicked him out of their church because the Son of God gave him sight. When they did, the Lord Jesus took him into his arms and into the sheepfold of his grace. Then, John gives us our Savior's great discourse on the Good Shepherd (chapter 10). Christ is the Good Shepherd. He has some sheep. He voluntarily laid down his life for his sheep. He calls his sheep by name. He must and shall save his sheep. He gives his sheep eternal life. His sheep shall never perish!
Lazarus
The 11th chapter tells us about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, our Lord's beloved friends, and the sickness and death of Lazarus by the will of God and for the glory of God. Then, we see the Son of God raise Lazarus from the dead by the Word of his omnipotence. What a picture this is of God's saving operations of grace! Like Lazarus, I was dead. Like Lazarus, the Lord Jesus loved me. He came to where I was. He called me by name. I came forth to him. And he set me free.
Chapter 12 opens with our Lord in the home of his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus again. Mary anoints him for his burial. As he sets his face toward Calvary, our Lord declares that which he would there accomplish by the sacrifice of himself—"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die" (verses 31–33).
Foot Washing
Chapter 13 begins the second section of John's Gospel. Everything, from here through the end of chapter 19 took place in the last hours of our Savior's earthly life. In chapter 13 he gives us an example of how we ought to love one another by washing his disciples' feet. He did not do this to establish foot washing as a church ordinance, but to show us how to love one another. Love involves action, not sentimental words. Love bows low and gladly performs the most menial task for the sheer comfort of its object.—"By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another" (verse 35).
Then our Lord told Peter how that he would deny him three times before the morning sun arose.—"Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, where go you? Jesus answered him, Where I go, you can not follow me now; but you shall follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake. Jesus answered him, Will you lay down your life for my sake? Truly, truly, I say unto you, The rooster shall not crow, until you have denied me thrice" (verses 36–38).
Immediately after that, we read those sweet, sweet words of comfort and assurance in John 14:1–3.—"Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." How Peter must have cherished those words after his fall and restoration!
Comfort
Chapters 14, 15, and 16 are filled with words of tender comfort and instruction for God's people in this world in which we must endure constant sorrow and tribulation.—"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (16:33).
The Lord's Prayer
Then, in chapter 17 John gives us the Lord's great, high priestly prayer for us, in which he prays not for the world but for his elect, asking his Father to keep us throughout our days on earth, through all our tribulations, and then to bring us safe to glory. Only in eternity can we know the full scope of our Lord's words recorded here.
"And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which you have given me: for you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known you: but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. And I have declared unto them your name, and will declare it: that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them" (17:22–26)
When I compare John 17:5 with John 17:22, I am utterly overwhelmed. Can it be true? Has the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our all-glorious Redeemer given to everyone of his elect all the glory the Father gave to him as our covenant Surety and Mediator, all the glory that he now possesses as the God-man in Heaven? Are we really and truly so perfectly one with him and so perfectly accepted in him that we shall all fully possess all the glory the Father gave him as the reward of his obedience unto death? Yes, O my soul, yes, it is true! He who is God and cannot lie declares it to be so!
Gethsemane
Chapter 18 brings us with our all-glorious Christ into Gethsemane. But John leaves out most of the things described by Matthew and Luke. Instead, he tells us of our Savior's care for his disciples when the soldiers came to arrest him, emphasizing the fact that he is God in total control, even over those who arrested him. Here again, we have a picture of redemption and grace. As if to demonstrate that he is God over all, not a helpless victim, the Savior takes the initiative. He asked the soldiers, "Whom seek you?" When they told him they had come for that man called Jesus, he declared, "I AM," and they fell down as dead men. Those men, representing the law by which he was to be executed, were slain before him. Then, the Master said, "I AM" ("He" is in italics.), "If therefore you seek me, let these go their way." That is exactly what our Savior says to the law of God. You can't have me and my sheep. If you take me, you must let my people go free.
"It is Finished"
In chapter 19 our Savior is crucified. In verse 30 we read these great, triumphant words of our victorious Redeemer,—It is finished!"—"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the Spirit." What was finished? The law was finished, being satisfied (Romans 10:4). The prophets were finished, being fulfilled. All the work he came to do (Matthew 1:21) was finished. Atonement was finished. Righteousness was finished. Judgment was finished. Sin was finished.
Restoration
Chapters 20 and 21 tell us about our Lord's resurrection and his appearances to his disciples after the resurrection. By his death and resurrection as our Substitute, our Lord Jesus reconciled us to our God, restored all that we had lost by the sin and fall of our father Adam, and restored us entirely to our God. Is it not most fitting that John shows us the restoration of his fallen disciple in this context? The Lord Jesus came to Peter in grace, assuring him of his love and forgiveness, and assuring Peter of his love for his Savior.
Conclusion
We read in John 21:25, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." When John says, "I suppose," he is still writing by inspiration. It is as though the Lord God is telling us,—"You cannot imagine how big my Son is, how great he is, and what wonders he has accomplished. If you go into every detail of who he is and what he has done, the world itself would not hold the books it would take to declare it all." There could not be a more fitting conclusion of the Gospel of the Son of God.
ACTS
The Unfinished Story
Some things are finished. How we ought to rejoice in that blessed fact! When our Savior cried, "It is finished," all the work he intended to accomplish on earth was finished. Nothing was left undone that he came here to do."Nothing, either great or small;
Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus did it, did it all,
Long, long ago!
When He, from His lofty throne,
Stooped to do and die,
Everything was fully done;
Hearken to His cry—
‘It is finished!' Yes indeed,
Finished every jot.
Sinner, this is all you need.
Tell me, Is it not?
Weary, working, plodding one,
Why toil you so?
Cease your doing, all was done,
Long, long ago!
Until to Jesus' work you cling
By a simple faith,
Doing is a deadly thing.
Doing ends in death!
Cast your deadly ‘doing' down,
Down at Jesus' feet.
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete!"
Since Christ died and rose again for all God's elect, righteousness is finished,—sin is finished,—atonement is finished,—satisfaction is finished,—the law is finished,—the curse is finished,—judgment is finished,—condemnation is finished. Our all-glorious Christ has put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself. "By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
But the work of Christ as our Mediator and Surety is not yet finished. It will not be finished until he has brought all his sheep into the fold of his grace and presents all God's elect unto the Father, holy, unblamably, and unreproveable in everlasting glory. His work will not be finished until the Father has put all his enemies under his feet, until every knee bows and every tongue confesses, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord.
It is this ongoing work of the risen Christ in the earth that the Book of Acts describes. In his Gospel narrative Luke told us all that our Lord Jesus Christ "began to do." Here, in the Book of Acts, he tells us what our risen, exalted Lord and Savior continues to do in the earth, through his church, by the preaching of the gospel, and the power and grace of the Holy Spirit.
"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, says he, you have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" (Acts 1:1–5).
The Book of Acts is an inspired history of the apostolic ministry of the early church, covering a period of thirty to thirty-five years. The central theme throughout the book is the ascension and Lordship of the crucified Christ, our Savior and King.
Twofold Witness
Peter declares, in Acts 5:32,—"We are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to them that obey him." Throughout these 28 chapters, we see the mighty work of the ascended Christ in this world, by the gospel through the twofold witness of his church and his Spirit. It was Christ who shed forth the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (2:33). It was Christ who chose the men who were sent forth to preach the gospel and chose their various fields of service.
Our Savior's last words to his church before he ascended into Heaven were, "You shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (1:8). But those men, as is so often the case with God's church today, failed to see the breadth of the work the Lord had given them to do. And, again, as is so often the case today, their unwillingness to put aside social, racial prejudices greatly hindered their usefulness.
Though the Lord Jesus plainly told them to carry the gospel to all men, they confined their preaching of the gospel to Jerusalem until the Lord graciously forced them to obey him by sending persecutions that scattered the disciples everywhere.—"Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word" (8:4). The blood of the first New Testament martyr, Stephen (chapter 7), proved to be, as our God assures us, that all things are, according to his purpose for the salvation of his elect (Romans 8:28–30). It was one of the means used in the purpose of our all-wise God to prepare Saul of Tarsus to be the great Apostle of the Gentiles (8:1–4).
Preaching
The Book of Acts tells us much about preaching. Those who were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word. Philip preached Christ in Samaria. And the Lord gathered many sheep into his fold. Soon, Caesarea (8:40), Phenice, Cyprus, Antioch (11:19), and Damascus (9:2) all heard the gospel.
The disciples went everywhere preaching the Word; but what does that mean? What did these disciples preach? The words, "preach," "preached," and "preaching," are used thirty-seven times in the Book of Acts. It is not insignificant that every time they are used the subject preached was Jesus Christ and the resurrection. If the Book of Acts is to be taken for our standard (and it is), it must be concluded that unless Christ has been preached no preaching has been done. The Book of Acts demonstrates that our Lord Jesus Christ was the singular subject of preaching in the earliest days of Christianity.
We see our Savior's direct, sovereign intervention in bringing chosen Gentiles into his kingdom (chapter 10). Peter carried the Gospel to the Jews at Pentecost (ch. 2), and to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius (ch. 10), and so fulfilled his promise concerning "the keys of the kingdom of Heaven" (Mat 16:18–19).
If you read the Book of Acts in one sitting, you will find that the history recorded here moves rapidly. It is, as Roger Ellsworth put it, "exhilarating reading," as our God's wondrous works are set before us one after the other, in city after city. On one day the Lord graciously added about 3000 souls to his kingdom, all confessing Christ in believer's baptism (2:41). On another day about 5000, hearing the gospel, believed on the Son of God (4:4).
Witnesses
In Acts 1:8 our Savior tells us plainly what the lifelong work and responsibility of every believer is.—"You shall be witnesses unto me" (Isaiah 43:10, 12; 44:8; Luke 24:48). First, we read, "You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you."—Without question, this refers to the special, apostolic power that came upon those men chosen to be our Lord's apostles. Yet, it certainly has meaning for us today. No one can ever be saved, serve God, or lay down his life in the cause of Christ as his witness until the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him in regeneration. "Salvation is of the LORD!" It is by God's grace alone (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8–9). Then, when the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, the Son of God says, "You shall be witnesses unto me."
A witness is one who accurately and honestly relates to others that which he has heard with his own ears, seen with his own eyes, and felt and experienced in his own heart. He does not relate secondhand information. He declares only what he himself knows to be true (1 John 1:1–3). It is the privilege, responsibility, and honor of every believer to be a witness for Christ in his generation. This is every believer's calling and vocation in this world. Every true Christian is a missionary. Every true believer is an evangelist. Every true follower of Christ is a preacher. Every true child of God is his witness.
The word "witness" is the word from which we get the word "martyr." Christ's witnesses are his martyrs, people who lay down their lives in the cause of Christ. Go ahead and work your job so that you can pay the expenses of life; but do not forget that your calling, your life's work, is to be his witness. Let nothing interfere with that.
After making that great promise of grace that is given in verse 8, promising to immerse his church and kingdom into his Spirit, promising to give his church the abiding unction and power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus ascended up into Heaven before the eyes of his disciples, as if to say, "I am going to my throne, be assured of my promise."
Faithful, but Fallible
The very next thing we see in the Book of Acts is the fact that God's servants, his witnesses in this world, all of them, are sinful, fallible mortals. As someone said, "the best of men are only men at best."
Acts 1:12–26 covers a brief waiting period (just 10 days) between the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The things that are recorded here were written by Luke by divine inspiration for our learning and admonition. If we are wise, we will lay them to heart.
First, the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled every prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures relating to his incarnation, life, earthly ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension (verse 12). When Luke tells us that the disciples returned from the mount called Olivet to Jerusalem, he is, almost casually, telling us that Christ stood upon Mt. Olivet when he ascended to Heaven, just like the prophet Zechariah said he would (Zechariah 14:4; Ezekiel 11:23). The mount had been divided in two parts by a great earthquake in the days of Uzziah. Our Lord ascended from that part of it which was near Bethany (Luke 24:50). It was there that he began his sufferings (Luke 22:39). It was most fitting, therefore, that he should cast off the reproach of his sufferings there by his glorious ascension.
Second, the path of blessedness and usefulness is the path of obedience (verses 12–14). The disciples returned to Jerusalem because the Lord commanded them to do so (verse 4). There their enemies awaited them. There they were most likely to suffer and be persecuted. But the Lord's commandment was clear. So they returned (Proverbs 3:5–6).
There, in a large upper room, they met together in prayer, united in heart, waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Much needed to be done. They had a message to proclaim. Sinners were perishing. But the Lord had commanded them to wait. So they waited. They were waiting upon the Lord, waiting for God to move, waiting for God to come upon them, waiting for God to open the door before them (Psalm 27:15; 62:5–7; 1 Chronicles 15:13).
We must obey his Word and wait for his direction. In all things the point of our responsibility is the commandment of God. We must obey him. Obeying his Word, the disciples were filled with the Spirit and greatly used of God for much good.
Third, even the best of men are only men at best (verses 15–26). So long as we are in this world we will be prone to error and sin. We stray in many ways and err in many things. Even true, faithful servants of God are weak, fallible men of flesh and blood. This is manifest in the fact that Peter led the disciples to choose an apostle God had not chosen.
Peter's Mistake
Without question, Peter was a faithful man. He had the heart of a true pastor. On other occasions he acted rashly from bad motives, but not here. His motives were good. He wanted what was best for the glory of God, the people of God, and the gospel of God. The sin of Judas had made a vacancy in the apostolic office. Twelve apostles were originally chosen and ordained. As there were twelve tribes in Israel, descended from the twelve patriarchs, so there were twelve apostles. They are the twelve stars, which make up the church's crown (Revelation 12:1). For them, twelve thrones were reserved (Matthew 19:28). Peter read Psalm 69:25 and concluded that it was the responsibility of the church to fill the vacancy left by Judas' apostasy. His error was an error of judgment, not of motive or principle.
He humbly recognized the sovereignty of God in all that had happened (verse 16). He understood that the death of Christ was the work of God for the redemption of his people (Acts 2:23; 4:27–28). He realized that God had sovereignly overruled the evil deeds of Judas to accomplish his own eternal purpose (Psalm 41:9).
Peter sorrowfully remembered the fall of his former friend and companion (verse 17–19). He said no more about the subject than was necessary. Though he and Judas had been close friends, he bowed to the will of God and honored the judgment of God upon his friend. Peter knew that the only difference between him and Judas was the grace of God (1 Corinthians 4:7).
He reverenced and honored the Word of God (verse 20). Peter sincerely wanted to obey the Scriptures. He thought he was doing what God would have him do. He was motivated by an earnest desire for the glory of God. With genuine reverence, he sought the will of God (verses 21–25).
Peter should have sought the Lord before he appointed Justus and Matthias. Never say to God, "Lord, I am going to do this or that, you choose which you want me to do." Rather, go to God and say, "What will you have me to do?"
When the lots were cast, Peter led the church to ordain an apostle God had not chosen (verse 26). It was true; the Lord's intention was for his church to have twelve apostles, twelve and only twelve. David's prophecy must be fulfilled. Another apostle must take Judas' place. But, like the others, he must be personally chosen and ordained to the office by Christ himself. The Lord had not chosen Justus or Matthias for this office. He had chosen Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8).
How could Peter have made such a mistake? He sought to determine the will of God by casting lots. Like David, he made the mistake of seeking to determine the will of God by seeking the will of the people (1 Chronicles 13:1–4). He tried to accomplish the will and work of God by the wisdom and energy of the flesh. As a result, Matthias was chosen to do what God had neither called him to do nor gifted him to do.
Still, Peter was God's appointed leader for that early church. In spite of his many errors, faults, and falls, Peter was God's man, and the people of God rightfully submitted to his rule as their pastor (Hebrews 13:7, 17). Though he was a fallible man, he was a faithful man. He preached the gospel of Christ, sought the will of God, lived for the glory of God, and served the people of God. Blessed is that congregation who has been given such a pastor after God's own heart (Jeremiah 3:15). Faithful pastors do sin. Faithful pastors do err in judgment. Faithful pastors do even err in doctrine. Faithful pastors do make mistakes. Faithful pastors need the prayers and the love of God's people (1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13, 25; Hebrews 13:18).
Pentecost
Acts 2 records the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Joel 2), of John the Baptist's message, and of our Savior's promise in Acts 1:8. The Jews were gathered in Jerusalem for the annual observance of the Feast of Pentecost. That Old Testament, legal observance was highly symbolical. The feast of Pentecost was a picture of the ingathering of God's elect by the mighty operations of God the Holy Spirit.
On this day the Lord Jesus immersed his church and kingdom into the Holy Spirit. This, Peter tells us, was God's declaration that Christ, of whom David was a type, had ascended to his throne as King in Zion. This signal event was identified, as Joel had prophesied, by the disciples proclaiming the gospel in the languages of those who heard them (2:5–11), and the resulting ingathering of souls was great (2:41). Those 3000 souls were but the first fruits of that great harvest that is sure to come. When all the elect are gathered from all the nations of the world unto Christ, they shall be a multitude more numerous than the stars of Heaven and the sands upon the shore.
Deacons
Acts 6 records the next great event in the history of the early church. Seven deacons were chosen by divine order to take care of the carnal affairs of the church, so that the apostles could give themselves to prayer, study, and preaching. That this was done by divine order is evident from the fact that Paul was later inspired to instruct Timothy (1 Timothy 3) about the men and their work who are ordained as deacons. Though they may, like Stephen and Philip, be teachers and preachers, the purpose of deacons in the local church is to serve the Lord by serving his church and their pastor, relieving the pastor as much as possible of anything that might interfere with his labor in the gospel.
It should be noted that there is no requirement here, or elsewhere in the New Testament, that every local church must have deacons, or that the deacons must be seven in number. Circumstances must determine the need. This local church had about 10,000 members before any deacons were needed. Each local assembly must decide for itself when deacons are needed, how many are needed, and which men in the assembly are gifted for the work of a deacon.
Saul of Tarsus
The offense of the gospel was so great and persecution became so intense that one of the first deacons, Stephen, was stoned to death, while preaching the message of redemption and grace by Christ (7:1–60). Another deacon, Philip (chapter 8), preached the gospel in Samaria and saw many converted. Then, he was carried away by the Holy Spirit to proclaim Christ to a solitary Ethiopian. When the time comes for one of God's chosen to be called, he will by one means or another cause the chosen, redeemed sinner to hear the gospel (Romans 10:17). Our God works in ways beyond our imagination. By leaving the great scene of revival in Samaria and preaching Christ to this one Eunuch from Ethiopia, Philip was used of God to send the gospel into and through Africa!
Then, we come to chapter 9 and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, one of the chief persecutors of Christ, his church, and his gospel. Saul the persecutor was transformed by grace into Paul the angel of God by whom the gospel would be carried to the Gentiles.
The apostle Paul tells us plainly that his conversion experience was an example and pattern of all true conversions (1 Timothy 1:16). Because his conversion is the pattern by which all conversions must be examined, it is recorded in great detail three times in the Book of Acts (9:1–22; 22:4–16; 26:9–19). If you and I are saved by the grace of God, we have experienced the same thing Paul experienced on the Damascus Road.
Salvation begins with divine election (Acts 9:15). Saul was saved in time because he was chosen in eternity. Were there no election, there would be no salvation. We would not and could not choose the Lord, but he chose us, and his choice of us made certain that we would choose him (John 15:16). Election is the cause of faith. Faith in Christ is the fruit and evidence of election.
Salvation comes and faith is wrought in the chosen sinner by divine revelation (Acts 9:3; 22:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Paul was made to see the Lord Jesus Christ and the glory of God in him. He saw how that God could be both just and the Justifier of all who believe, through the substitutionary sacrifice and blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw Christ and heard his voice.
Salvation is the result of a divine call (Acts 9:4–9). Saul of Tarsus heard God's call. It was the irresistible call of grace. All the chosen, redeemed sheep of Christ, at the appointed time of love, hear his voice and follow him. The call of the Spirit that comes to chosen sinners by the preaching of the gospel is always effectual (Psalm 65:4). It causes dead sinners to live and come to Christ. This is the pattern of all true conversions. Do you follow the pattern?
Cornelius
In the 10th chapter the Lord God sent Peter to preach the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile, and his household. When Cornelius and his friends heard the gospel, the same thing happened in Joppa that happened when he had preached at Jerusalem, God poured out his Spirit there upon the Gentiles, just as he had in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (10:34–38). This was the second and last outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was done here to confirm to Peter and the Jewish believers with him that God is no respecter of persons, and that his elect are found among all people.
This is exactly the meaning Peter gave of this, when he got back to Judea and found his friends upset because he had gone to eat with and preach to Gentiles, and that some of the Gentiles had received the Word (11:1–2, 15–18).
"And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
Peter and Paul
The Book of Acts primarily moves around the labors of two men: Peter and Paul. The Lord Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus to make him "a minister and a witness" (26:16), to send him "far hence unto the Gentiles" (22:21). In Paul's three great missionary journeys the Lord made his will known to his servant with unmistakable clarity.
Peter was primarily the Apostle to the Jews. Paul was primarily the Apostle to the Gentiles. He was the last apostle to be called. It was Paul, not Matthias, who was ordained of God to take Judas' place. The Book opens with Peter preaching the gospel in Jerusalem, the great center of the Jewish nation. It closes with Paul preaching the gospel in Rome, the great center of the world power.
Missions
No book has ever been written about missions that compares with the Book of Acts. Those the Lord had chosen were recognized by the local church in which they served him, and were sent out by God through his church, without a mission board, without deputation (going from church to church begging for bread); and wherever God sent them when they preached the gospel, "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (13:1–3, 48).
The Lord opened the way before his servants, directed them to his elect, prospered his Word, provided for them, and protected them wherever they went. When Paul wanted to carry the gospel to Asia, the Holy Spirit refused to let him go. When he tried to go to Bithynia to preach Christ there, "the Spirit suffered them not." At last, they were sent to Philippi (16:6–13). Why? There were some elect sinners there for whom the time of love had come. Yes, God sovereignly hides the gospel from some and reveals it to others, as he will (Matthew 11:25–26; Romans 9:15–18). At Philippi Paul preached to some women by a river's side, and the Lord opened Lydia's heart to receive the Word. Then, Paul and Silas were arrested, because the time had come for God to save the Philippian jailer and his household.
In chapter 17, they entered into Athens. When Paul beheld a "city wholly given to idolatry," he preached the same gospel to the "wise and learned" idolatrous Greek philosophers" that he had preached to Lydia and the jailer. (A faithful man's message is never adapted to suit his hearers. It is always the same.) Then, at Corinth (chapter 18) there was such an uproar in the city because of the gospel that Paul's life appeared to be in jeopardy.—"Then spoke the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not your peace: For I am with you, and no man shall set on you to hurt you: for I have much people in this city" (verses 9–10).
Directed by the Spirit of God, the early church pursued a specific method.—They went everywhere preaching the gospel. They did not go out building schools and hospitals. "They went everywhere preaching the word." They went from one city to another preaching the gospel. "Some believed and some believed not;" but neither the message nor the method varied. Jerusalem, Samaria, Antioch, Cyprus, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome all heard the message of redemption and grace in Christ. They were steadfast, straightforward, and successful. They went out in utter dependence upon the living God, with unquenchable zeal and undaunted courage. Their one aim was to fetch God's elect home to their Savior. Their only message was Christ and him crucified. The only weapon of their warfare was the gospel of the grace of God.
Jerusalem Conference
In Acts 15 Luke gives us the historical narrative of the conference at Jerusalem. Paul explains the theological issues of the conference in Galatians 2. This conference was not a church council to debate and determine what doctrine should be believed and preached. When Paul went up to Jerusalem, his mind was already made up. He refused to budge an inch, or give any ground at all to the legalists (Galatians 2:5, 21). He went to Jerusalem only so that the doctrine of the believer's absolute freedom in Christ from the law of Moses might be publicly avowed, even by those whose primary sphere of ministry was among the Jews. At the Jerusalem conference, the apostles and elders, and the church as a whole, being led by the Holy Spirit (verse 28), publicly denounced legalism and stripped all preachers of law and legality of all credibility.
Predestination and Responsibility
When we get to Acts 27 Paul is a prisoner on board a ship headed to Rome, when a tremendous storm arises. Here we are given a very instructive lesson with regard to divine predestination and human responsibility. As far as anyone could tell, all hope of salvation was gone (verse 18). But that was not the case at all. God had purposed that every man on board the ship would be saved from the storm and that Paul would be brought to Rome. He assured Paul of this, and Paul assured the people on board the doomed ship that they would all come to land without harm (verses 21–25).
"After long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God has given you all them that sail with you. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."
Later, when he saw the shipmen about to abandon the ship, he told the centurion and the soldiers that if any abandoned the ship they would perish, urging them to believe God, relax, and take some nourishment. (verses 31–35).
"Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that you have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat."
How could Paul say such things after declaring the absolute certainty of God's purpose and promise? He fully understood that the point of man's responsibility is the command of God, not the purpose of God. He understood that God has not only ordained the ultimate end of all things, but also all the means by which he will accomplish the end. He understood that every man is responsible to obey God's command. And he understood that disobedience to the revealed will of God ends in death.
Broken Pieces
Would you be used of God as these men and women were? Read Acts 27:44, and let me give you one more lesson. "And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land."
God uses raging storms, wrecked ships, broken pieces, and snake bitten men (28) for the building of his kingdom. Brokenness, humility, and contrition of heart are essential to usefulness in the kingdom of God. Only broken hearts know God and walk with God. "If you want to see the height of the hill of God's love you must go down into the valley of humility" (Rowland Hill). Brokenness, contrition, humility is nothing but a just estimate of ourselves. It is neither more nor less than an honest, heartfelt sense of our utter nothingness. Humility and contrition are the knees of the soul. Christ will never take us into his arms until we lay ourselves at his feet, as David did in Psalms 32 and 51, broken with a sense of personal sinfulness.
Pray for a broken, contrite heart. God uses broken things (Acts 27:44). Brokenness is the beginning of the life of faith. Brokenness is the root of all true revival in the soul. It is painful. Our flesh opposes it. But we must be broken. We will never break ourselves. We must be broken by grace. Our wills must be broken to God's will. Brokenness is dying to self. It is the response of the renewed heart to Holy Spirit conviction (Zechariah 12:10). Because conviction is continual, brokenness is continual.
Brokenness is the spirit of Christ. Christ, who is God, took upon himself the form of a servant. He willingly gave up everything for us. As a Servant he had no rights of his own, no home of his own, no possessions of his own, no will of his own. He did not have so much as an hour to call his own. When he was reviled, he reviled not again, but committed himself to God. He went willingly, but with broken heart, to Calvary, where he was made to be sin for us.—Brokenness is found only at the foot of the cross.
"Lord, bend this proud and stiff-necked I,
Help me to bow my head and die,
Beholding Him on Calvary
Who bowed His head and died for me!"
Brokenness means having no plans, no time, no possessions, no money, no life of my own. It is to be crucified with Christ. It is a constant yielding of ourselves to God. We must seek it; but only God can give it. If we are his, he will. He receives none, but those whom he breaks. Only God can break us.
If he uses us, he will break us. And if he breaks us, he will use us. Paul, along with his shipwrecked companions, came to shore on an "island called Melita" (Malta), wet and cold. As they gathered wood and built a fire, a deadly snake bit Paul on the hand. When he shook it off, without suffering any harm from the viper (Mark 16:18), the barbarians thought he was a God. As a result of all that took place, the Lord God miraculously opened the door (using venomous self-righteous Jews, barbaric Romans, a storm at sea, a ship wreck, some broken boards of the ship, a snake's bite, and even the idolatry of a barbaric island tribe) to open the way for the gospel of Christ to be preached among the tribesmen of Malta. Let us ever adore the wisdom and sovereignty of our God.—"Surely the wrath of man shall praise you: the remainder of wrath shall you restrain" (Psalm 76:10).