Tag: Sorrows

33.c. “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards”

 

Mat 2:23   And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 13:53  And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

 Matthew 11:6   And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

 Isaiah 53:3    He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 Mark 6:3    Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

 Luke 7:23     And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

 John 6:42    They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

 1 Corinthians 1:23-28  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

A miracle conception, humble birth, the Son of God, with brothers and sisters of a carpenters family, in a small village of little recognition, Nazareth and spoken of by prophets is where Jesus seems to have the same type of rejection as was from the Jewish leaders. Their unbelief limited the mighty works that He had done in other villages. They were offended that He was teaching them as one with authority, wisdom, and understanding. They could only see Him as Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary. Who was He to come back home and proclaim things of God? 

Rejection of Jesus results in a continuation of life without Him. Many think life is fine this way and they close their ears and eyes to things of God. Like these people from His hometown who rejected Him personally are those who now continually reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They say it is a made-up story, a fairytale. They seem to have made up their minds and become firmer and firmer in their rejection of the Son of God. They find no value and purpose in Jesus in their lives. 

To those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He is more than just the Son of God. He is their redeemer, friend, power, strength, joy, peace, courage, and rest. He gives them life, a life more abundant and purposeful. He has given them hope of eternal life. He gives them strength to face all trials and troubles because He said He would never leave them or forsake them. He gives them peace that passes all understanding. He gives them light in a dark and lost world. He guides their paths through this life. He has promised that He will be with them forever and ever. Though He cannot be seen, He is more real than what we can see and touch. He is able to redeem the vilest and lost person and give that person new life. How can anyone reject Jesus Christ and the gospel of redemption, salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life? We do well to remember to honor and glorify the Son of God, Jesus, in all we say, think and do.

32.d. “Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

 

 

John 3:22  After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison). Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

 Isaiah 53:2-3    For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 Isaiah 53:12   Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 Daniel 2:44-45   And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,  just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

 Psalms 72:17-19     May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.  Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

John the Baptist understood it was good for him to become less visible and known, for Jesus to become more visible and known. In even larger aspects, this should be the motto of every Christian, especially leaders among God’s people. Jesus should become greater and more visible, and the servant should become less and less visible.

 John the Baptist shows us that we may be very popular and outwardly successful, and still be humble. John the Baptist had fame and crowds that modern celebrity pastors could only dream of, yet he was an example of genuine humility. John that Baptist also did not quit his work just because Jesus was doing similar work and doing it for more people. He labored on, content to do what God called him to do even though Jesus gained more and more attention and John less and less.

When we intentionally choose in all we say, think, and do, to do for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ, it is then we will not even notice our fading but rather more and more of Jesus radiating in and through us and others. 

31.y. “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

 

Matthew 8:18  Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

 Luke 14:33    So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

 Isaiah 53:2-3   For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 Matthew 19:29     And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

With the miracles associated with the ministry of Jesus, following Him might have seemed more glamorous than it really was. Jesus perhaps received many spontaneous offers like this. Jesus didn’t tell the man “No, you can’t follow Me.” But He told him the truth, without painting a glamorized version of what it was like to follow Him. This is the opposite of techniques used by many evangelists today, but Jesus wanted the man to know what it would really be like. This man did not ask for permission to dig a grave for his deceased father. He wanted to remain in his father’s house and care for him until the father died. This was obviously an indefinite period, which could drag on and on.

 The man wanted to follow Jesus, but not just yet. He knew it was good and that he should do it, but he felt there was a good reason why he could not do it now. “If the scribe was too quick in promising, this ‘disciple’ was too slow in performing.” Jesus was not afraid to discourage potential disciples. Unlike many modern evangelists, He was interested more in quality than in quantity. “Nothing has done more harm to Christianity than the practice of filling the ranks of Christ’s army with every volunteer who is willing to make a little profession, and to talk fluently of experience.” (Carson)

Jesus pressed the man to follow Him now and clearly stated the principle that family obligations – or any other obligation – must not be put ahead of following Jesus. Jesus must come first.  “Much of the concerns of politics, party tactics, committee meetings, social reforms, innocent amusements, and so forth, maybe very fitly described as burying the dead. Much of this is very needful, proper, and commendable work. (Spurgeon) 

What each person must settle in their own hearts and minds – is what I am doing – what I have been called or led to do, and am I doing it for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ.  Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being one all of the time. All of our thoughts, words, and actions should fall under our careful eyes and be viewed by and through God’s Word to ensure that in all things and at all times we are honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ. Some of the godliest people I have met are not pastors or preachers but those who, in whatever vocation God has led them, give themselves wholly to being a disciple who honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all they do at all times.

17.e. “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride;”

John 17:32   Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

 Hebrews 4:15   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

 Job 30:25    Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

 Psalms 119:136     My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

 Isaiah 53:3   He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief

 Jeremiah 13:17     But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

 Luke 19:41    And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

The grief and tears of Mary and Martha moved Jesus. God sees the tears of the grief-stricken and is moved with compassion.  Jesus sees our tears and is touched by our tears.  According to Trench, the sense of was troubled is “‘And troubled Himself.’ The phrase is remarkable: deliberately summoned up in Himself the feelings of indignation at the havoc wrought by the evil one, and of tenderness for the mourners.” It means that Jesus wasn’t so much sad at the scene surrounding the tomb of Lazarus. It’s more accurate to say that Jesus was angry. Jesus was angry and troubled at the destruction and power of the great enemy of humanity: death. Jesus would soon break the dominating power of death. “Jesus had humanity in its perfection, and humanity unadulterated is generous and sympathetic.” (Clarke) “He suffered all the innocent infirmities of our nature.” (Spurgeon)  

“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Spurgeon put it like this; “these words were not helpful to anyone. Spurgeon noted that all this “what if” talking is vain, of no use. “Perhaps the bitterest griefs that men know come not from facts, but from things which might have been, as they imagine; that is to say, they dig wells of supposition, and drink the brackish waters of regret.” “Suppose that Jesus is willing to open the eyes of the blind, and does open them; is he therefore bound to raise this particular dead man? If he does not see fit to do so, does that prove that he has not the power? If he lets Lazarus die, is it proven therefore that he could not have saved his life? May there not be some other reason? Does Omnipotence always exert its power? Does it ever exert all its power?

Disaster and Loneliness

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Psalms 16:4
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.

Psalms 32:10
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

Psalms 97:7
All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!

Jonah 2:8
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Joshua 23:7
that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them,

Ecclesiastes 8:12
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.

Isaiah 3:11
Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Romans 2:8-9
but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,

Proverbs 13:21
Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.

Many sorrows pursue those who are self-seeking, not obeying or seeking truth, and not fearing God. I wonder what worthless self seeking things I chase after through out the year, month, week, day. How do I identify those things in my life that are not God honoring but are self-seeking?  Reading God’s word with a desire to know and serve Him more is a good place to start.  On top of reading, add listening to what it is saying to my heart with a willingness to obey.  How many days start and finish without a thought of honoring and serving Him?  How many days could have been better with Him leading and me following?  Start each day with purpose to listen, obey, honor and serve Him. We all meet up with sorrow this side of eternity.  Sorrow without God is sorrow without hope and that is disaster and loneliness.

Joy Set Before Him

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross

Matthew 27:27
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God

Philippians 2:8
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

Psalms 69:19
You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair

Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions

The verse that always sticks in my head and heart is “for the joy set before Him he endured the cross”.  He could have called down a legion of angels but did not do it.  We are the joy He bore the cross for.  He knew our helpless state before a Holy God and chose to bare our sin so that trusting in Him and this sacrificial act we would be saved.  However it does not end there.  He also said that He would send us a helper (Holy Spirit) to speak to our heart and soul and lead us through this life in a way that honors and glorifies God.  How much do we truly endure for Him?  The absolute best we can give is our whole heart’s desire to live and obey His guidance everyday.