Beloved Son

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 20:9-26

TO CHEW ON: “‘Then the owner of the vineyard said,”What shall I do? I will send my beloved son…”’” Luke 20:13

In the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Luke 20:9-16)—which the chief priests and scribes recognized as a parable against them—Jesus called the son that the king finally sent, in the king's words “my beloved son.”

If we are at all familiar with the Bible, flags will go up at that expression. We’ve heard it before.

• The prediction that God would send a Son occurs as early as Psalm 2:7:

“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

The Messiah that Isaiah predicted was described in offspring terms:

“And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him-  Isaiah 49:5.

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand - Isaiah 53:10.

• When Jesus arrived, God the Father said it publicly at His baptism:

“And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” - Matthew 3:17 (also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

He said it again on the Mount of Transfiguration:

“‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him’” - Luke 9:35 (and Peter recalled the experience in 2 Peter 1:17-18).

• In confronting the Jewish religious leaders, who were so offended by His claims they sought to kill Him (as in our reading as well) Jesus said it plainly to them: 

“‘For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does’” - John 5:20.

As we approach the Advent season when we focus on the expectation and fulfillment of God sending His Son, I am particularly moved by the adjective “beloved.” This was no robotic, mechanical gift from cold, distant God but a tearing apart of His very self as He entrusted His Beloved Son to Earth’s murderous gardeners; entrusted Him to what He knew would happen, indeed what had to happen in order to restore sinful man back to relationship with Him.

It's a gift that makes it possible for us to say with Paul:

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” - Colossians 1:13.

Hallelujah!

PRAYER: Dear Father, as a parent I understand how beloved a child is. That You would send Your Son Jesus to be treated as He was and sacrificed for me is hard to comprehend, but wonderful. Thank You! Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Twice Son of God

Family Tree (Image: Pixabay.com)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 3:23-38

TO CHEW ON: “Now Jesus Himself ... being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph … the son of Adam, the son of God.” Luke 3:23,28.

What strikes me as I read this genealogy of Jesus, tracing His line from His “supposed” earthly father Joseph to Adam, is the last phrase: “the son of God.” Talk about a double-edged conclusion!

As a descendant of Adam He was the son of God as the created human being is the descendant of its creator. But He was also the Son of God in the sense of being part of the trinity and a direct Son of God (John 3:16).

There are two genealogies of Jesus. If we compare this one to the one in Matthew (Matthew 1:1-16) we find many differences. Bible scholars have suggested several possible solutions to this (these below found in the IVP Testament Commentary, accessed through Bible Gateway):

1. Matthew traces Joseph’s line while Luke traces Mary’s.

2. There are different ways of tracing Joseph’s line. Matthew’s is the natural line, Luke’s the royal line (and some think it’s the other way around). This assumes some Levirate marriages (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).

3. Mary had no natural brother so was an heiress  to Heli (or Eli), who adopted Joseph as a son.

The bottom line is, the Bible doesn’t tell us or give real evidence for any of the above explanations. But the IVP Commentary does state beautifully the intent of this Luke genealogy:

“Jesus has a claim to the throne through David and is related to all humankind through Adam. He has the proper roots to be God's promised one. He has the right heritage to inherit this ministry of deliverance. His roots extend to David, Abraham and Adam. God has carefully designed his plan. There are no historical surprises in Jesus. Ultimately all humanity is a unit, and Jesus is concerned with more than deliverance of the tiny, elect nation of Israel. With him comes realization of the Old Testament hope for that nation, but bound up in him also is the fate of all people” - IVP Testament Commentary on Luke 3:23-38 (emphasis added).

Jesus’ double sonship gives verses like the ones below context and clout:

“When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” - Matthew 2:14,15.

“And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” - Matthew 3:17.

“‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God’” - John 3:16-18.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You are the Son of God in two ways and for that, and Your death in my stead, this human daughter of God is forever grateful! Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus revealed as King and Priest

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 6:13-7:14

TO CHEW ON: "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law." Hebrews 7:12


Have you ever read the Old Testament laws and sacrifices and imagined living under that system? It was a system that was detailed, complicated, and time-consuming for both the priests who carried out the sacrifices and rituals, and the people who brought the animals, grain, meal, oil and commemorated the feasts etc.

In our reading in Hebrews the writer is building a case to prove that that system has been changed by Christ. He uses the mysterious Old Testament character Melchizedek in his proof.

Melchizedek lived during Abraham's time. When Abraham met him he called him "priest of God most high." Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham gave him a tithe of his possessions (Genesis 14:18-20).

Melchizedek appears again in Psalm 110 where David, addressing Messiah, said,  
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek" - Psalm 110:4.

Here in Hebrews 7, the writer draws our attention to many facts about Melchizedek. Those of us familiar with Jesus and what the Bible says about Him recognize Jesus in these details:
* He was a king as well as a priest - Hebrews 7:1.
* His name meant "king of righteousness" - Hebrews 7:2.
* He appeared without ancestors or descendants - Hebrews 7:3.
* He resembled the Son of God - Hebrews 7:3.
* He was superior to Abraham in that he blessed Abraham and Abraham gave tithes to him (Hebrews 7:7,9).
*He lives on—doesn't die like mortal men - Hebrews 7:8.
* Levi, the father of the tribe of priests, acknowledged Melchizedek as his superior through Abraham (in that Levi "was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him") - Hebrews 7:10.
* This new priest was from the tribe of Judah, not a member of the priestly tribe of Levi at all - Hebrews 7:14.

The writer of today's portion promises that this new new priestly order (Melchizedek / Christ) will impact the system of laws and sacrifices that God dictated to Moses (Hebrews 7:12, our focus verse). Tomorrow we'll see how.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for pictures of Jesus woven through the Old and New Testaments.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The litmus test of true spirituality

"Jesus and the Woman at the Well" - John 4:5-26

Illustration from Treasures of the Bible - Jesus' Ministry

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 John 4:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

In our time when it's fashionable to be "spiritual," it's more important than ever to "test the spirits" as John here tells us to do. The writer of my Bible's study notes on this passage elaborates:

"Believers are not to be so gullible that they indiscriminately accept pronouncements of all prophets who claim to be of God… A spirit is indeed behind every prophet…" - Peter E. Prosser, study notes on 1 John, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1787.

John names the two types of spirits. The prophetic spirit that speaks from the Spirit of God he calls the "spirit of truth" (1 John 4:6), while a false spirit he calls the "spirit of Antichrist" and the "spirit of error" (1 John 4:3,6).

How can we tell which is which? John here also gives us a simple test. He says that spiritual truth is all tied up in Jesus and our reaction to Him. The true spirit, whose message source is the Spirit of God "… confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh…" - 1 John 4:2.

This is more than mere mental assent to the fact that a person named Jesus of Nazareth once lived and was a remarkable person.  More from the study notes:

"The crux of a test is a spirit's acknowledgement or rejection of Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God. A confession of Jesus involves more than an admission of His identity (see Matthew 8:28,29; Mark 1:24; 3:11). It is a profession of faith in Him and submission to His sovereignty. … a confession proclaiming the truth that Jesus is the incarnate Christ is of God and testifies to both His full humanity as our Saviour-Redeemer and HIs full deity as Lord and Sovereign King - Ibid (emphasis added).

And so when missionaries come to our door, or when our friends talk to us of the usefulness of their spiritual practices, or we watch documentaries or read books on modern spirituality, we should be on the lookout for the answer to that test question: What do they say and believe about Jesus?


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this test of spirituality and whether or not particular belief systems and practices are from You. Please sharpen my discernment. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.