A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
- Matthew 10:24-25

In this passage, Jesus borrowed a well-known saying from the first-century Jewish community. “A disciple is not above his teacher.” In doing so, He was reminding the disciples that He was indeed their Teacher and Master. What are the realistic expectations of someone who is the student or servant of a famous and well-loved teacher? Disciples who found themselves in that kind of scenario would anticipate to be treated with kindness, respect, and generosity. People may even butter them up just to get closer to their master.

Jesus set forward very different expectations for His disciples. The Messiah was not universally loved and accepted. The world, especially the elites, were diametrically opposed to Him. They had gone so far as to call Him Beelzebul. If the Master is maligned, hated, and cast out of society, how much more should the loyal servants of that Master expect the same or worse?

Our Old Testament connection today is this figure, Beelzebul. If there is a singular pagan deity in the Old Testament that is highlighted above the rest, it is certainly Baal. Nearly all of the Northern Kingdom was subsumed into Ahab and Jezebel’s cult of Baal. Elijah came along and undermined that entire enterprise during his mountain top contest in which Yahweh alone could send fire from heaven.

But, Ahab and Jezebel’s son, Ahaziah, continued on in idolatry. After falling from his roof and suffering a major injury, he did not inquire of God for help, but instead inquired of a pagan deity. Instead of worshiping the defunct god Baal, his preferred flavor of idolatry was for Baalzebul. In the Caananite languages surrounding Israel, the name Baalzebul meant “Lord Prince, or Lord of the Exalted House.” This likely indicates that Baal was their religion’s version of God the Father, and Baalzebul was the prince, or son. Baalzebul is literally a pagan counterfeit son of god.

The name Baalzebul has a different, more apt meaning: Lord of the flies. Over time, the name came to be a title for Satan himself. And, as the language changed, the name shifted to Beelzebul, which means “Lord of dung.” This is a fitting name for the devil. Yet, this is the pejorative moniker the Pharisees assigned to King Jesus. It is an incredible thing that Jesus didn’t vaporize them where they stood, or turn their tongues to sand in their mouths. But, in His infinite patience, He endured the scoffing as He kept the mission of salvation always in view. We, as His disciples, should expect similar treatment and should learn to respond in the same manner – full of grace and truth.

New Testament Reading – Matthew 10

Old Testament Reading – Genesis 38-39

Abiding in Christ

What does it mean to abide in Christ? The Greek word that is used here for abide means to remain in, not to depart from. This means that to abide in Christ has to do with walking closely with him. Jesus said in verse 4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” This is very clear, that the amount of fruit that we bear is directly correlated to how much we are abiding in Christ and how closely we have been walking with him. I know there have been seasons in my life where the scriptures are the last thing on my mind, where the intentions of my heart are not geared toward Christ, and I realize those are the moments where I am not bearing as much fruit as I can. But, when I am holding close to Christ, when I am running to the Word, when I am running to be surrounded by his people, when my heart has a disposition toward Christ with a desire to know him more, I can see how the fruit starts to grow. That is because I am feasting my eyes on Christ and finding my satisfaction in him means that I will be sober minded by the way that I live my life to glorify him. RC Sproul says about this passage “As Christians, we will bear fruit, but it will vary in degree. The closer we stay to Christ, the more fruit we will bear. The more we wander out from the center and neglect the means of grace that He has given us, the less fruit we will produce.” This is not just a one-way thing, but what we see is that Christ also has to abide in us. Verse 5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” The way that Christ abides in us is when we go to him with a heart that is humbled and acknowledge that we have sinned against a Holy God and repent of our sins and have faith that he took our place on the cross. That is when Christ abides in us through the person of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that teaches us all things that pertain to Jesus.

Bearing Fruit

I do believe that the fruit that Jesus is speaking about is that of our character and godliness. What makes me come to that conclusion is that Jesus said if we abide in his commandments we will abide in his love, he also said that by bearing fruit we would prove to be his disciples, and he also spoke of bearing fruit in loving one another. Bearing fruit means that we are connected to the one who produces the fruit in us, and as people taste our fruit it will be clear to which vine, they belong to. The Word is filled with commandments that are pointing us to look, speak, and act like Christ. It is in the fact that we love one another that people will see that we are his disciples. Bearing fruit means to grow in Christlike character. What is really great to see is in verse 7 Jesus says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Jesus knows very well that if we are connected to him, if we abide in him, and that we love him, we will ask things that would be for the glory of God and those things he will not keep from us. When we ask for patience he will give it, when we ask for love he will give it, when we ask for gentleness, kindness, faith, these are the things that he will not withhold from us, because these are the very fruits, he wants us to have. If you are lacking fruit in your life like I am, I urge you, examine your walk with the Lord, draw near to him, and ask him to help you bear fruit.

The Light of Jesus - In chapter 8:12 while they were still celebrating the feast of booths, Jesus made a statement. He said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Theologian DA Carson believes that John 9 thematically goes together with that statement. The writer John is making an emphasis on Jesus being the light of the world by showing us this miracle that Jesus did. There is no one else in life that experiences physical darkness more than someone who is blind. Someone who is blind does not have the ability to see the light. The people in this chapter thought that it was because of sin that he was blind, either he or his parents had sinned which caused his blindness. But that is very faulty thinking, just because we live in a fallen world does not mean that every sickness is because of sin. We can get sick because of sin, but sin is not always the reason the sickness comes. Instead, what this chapter presents to us is that he was born blind so that God’s works might be displayed. How is God’s work displayed? It is displayed through the person of Christ by showing that he was sent from God and has the ability to heal and restore. The light of Jesus was displayed in this instance by letting a blind man see the light of his creation. This showed that Jesus was no ordinary man, this miracle solidified the fact that he was the Son of God, sent by God. Jesus was shining the light of his power so all could see that he indeed had the power to bring light and life! This was a miracle that no one could deny actually happened.

The Reason Behind the Miracle - One thing we need to keep in mind is that the miracles Jesus performed are never the main point. Miracles are a means to an end that show something much deeper that is happening. Jesus did not merely just want to restore sight to someone who was blind, Jesus wanted people to see that just how he is able to open the eyes of a physically blind person, he is able to open the eyes of those who are dead in their sins. The main point of this passage is found in verses 35-39 where he is telling the blind man he just healed that he came to the world so that those who cannot see may be able to see. Jesus came into the world so that he would be able to open the eyes of sinners like you and me to be able to believe and experience the light of the world who comes to bring everlasting life to us. This light comes to shine in a dark place where sin is hidden, and he shined the light and exposed our sin. But as he exposes our sin, he provides a way for us to be forgiven. When our sin is exposed by the light, we can run to Christ knowing that he has the ability to cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. Jesus did not just want to heal the blind man, he wanted to rescue his soul from everlasting torture. Jesus is the light of the world that comes to take away our sin and to move us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.

The Feast of Booths - The feast of booths also known as the feast of tabernacles was the last celebration of the sacred year. This feast fell on Tishri, the Jewish lunar month that falls between September-October. The reason it is called the feast of tabernacles is because the Jews are celebrating the time Israel spent wandering in the wilderness and their exile from Egypt and the deliverance given by God. During their time in the wilderness, the Israelites lived in tabernacles. So all the Jews would travel to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Feast of tabernacles. The people would make booths of trees, leaves, and palm branches to live in for the eight days. The people already living in Jerusalem would build booths in their courtyards and flat roof tops to participate. During this feast there was a water-drawing and lamp-lighting ceremony to commemorate their wandering in the wilderness. The water drawing ceremony was a reminder of how God gave them water in the wilderness from a rock. In Exodus 17 when the Israelites camped at Rephidim there was no water for them to drink. God commanded Moses to strike a rock with his staff and when he did water flowed from the rock that quenched the thirst of the Israelites in that moment. That moment not only pointed to the savior but it pointed in the way God would use the savior.

Jesus Who Brings Living Waters - Now that we know what they are celebrating, the context sheds a lot of light for us. Jesus in verse 37-38 says “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Jesus is not just shouting out random statements. When the people are performing the water drawing ceremony he wants to show them that he is that rock that can quench their spiritual thirst. Jesus times this perfectly because as the people are remembering how their ancestors suffered thirst in the wilderness, Jesus offers himself as the rock from which living waters can flow out from. But the living waters he offers is not just enough to quench their physical thirsts, but it is enough to quench the thirst of the soul, one that has a deep longing to be satisfied. Instead of going to other things, instead of making other gods, instead of running to other people, Jesus says come to me because I can quench the deep thirst that you feel in your soul. Jesus is the rock that if you come to him will flow rivers of living water. He was showing the Jewish people that he was the Messiah that would take away their sins, he was the ancient rock and cornerstone that the Old Testament spoke of. In front of the Jews was the one who would be able to eliminate their thirst completely. The people knew what he was saying, they knew the story of the water that came from the rock and that is exactly why the Pharisees got angry and jealous at him because they knew that he was proclaiming himself to be the messiah to take away their sins. Brothers and sisters, if you have had a deep thirst in your soul that has not been satisfied by anything else, I urge you to run to Christ. Run to the savior, run to the Messiah, run to the rock that is able to completely quench the thirst of the soul. That rivers of living water flow out of your heart.

Judgment on False teachers and false teachings

Jude spends a lot of time addressing the false teachers in that church. There does not seem to be a specific false teaching that is mentioned but based on what he says it seems like these false teachers are living in an ungodly, evil, sexually immoral way, and denying Jesus. In verse 10 Jude refers to them as “unreasoning animals,” he is really rebuking them. These false teachers are taking advantage of the grace of the gospel, they sin and sin expecting to be met with grace. To combat these false teachers, Jude digs back into the Old Testament to remind the church what happens to people when they rebel against God and pursue ungodliness. Sodom and Gomorrah completely destroyed, the rebellion of Korah they were all sucked in by the earth as it opened underneath them. Several weeks ago, pastor Caleb wrote about Balaam and the way that he told the king that hired him to send over beautiful women so that the Israelites could defile themselves, after that happened, much judgment came over them. The reason Jude brings this up, is because he wants to show the false teachers that they will not get away with sinning against a HOLY GOD. He is saying you can be living your best life right now, giving into your passions, giving into sin, and leading people away but God will have your head. God is no one to play games with, and when you start to mess with his precious church, he will bring judgment. God is a ferocious lion that no one can tame, when he lets out his wrath none of them will be able to escape. God will execute his swift judgment on each of these false teachers who are perverting the grace of the gospel.

Perseverance

Even though most of the verses deal with combating these false teachers, the last 7 verses of this short book are glorious. Even though there will always be false teachings and false teachers in every age and era, God promises to hold fast to the true church. It is so refreshing to know that God is able to keep me from stumbling and that one day, on that glorious day I will be presented before him as blameless because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. The false teachers are going to be met with harsh judgment but those in Christ can wait in the love of God for his mercy. Did you notice that in verse 5 Jude says that Jesus is the one who saved the people out of Egypt? Even though the Old Testament does not make mention of the name of Jesus (but it says God delivered them) the New Testament is telling us that Jesus was the one that delivered them. That is because we see the triune nature of the Godhead working from the beginning all the way to the end. Jesus has always been at work in saving his people, Colossians 1 even says that all things were made through him and for him. Jesus did not just arrive on the scene when Mary gave birth to him, but from the beginning of time Jesus has been redeeming a people for himself and now in the New Covenant we have seen that play out. So, brothers and sisters, after reading this passage and seeing the work of the gospel through the history of humanity, be at peace that God is the one holding onto us through his Son Jesus Christ. That we may see the great mercy and love of God he showed us through the gospel. Vs 24-25 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with GREAT JOY. to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Church Problems

Right in the beginning of this chapter James immediately comes in saying “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” Notice that James does not ask them if they have been fighting but says “What is causing the fighting?” What you will also notice is that after asking this question he does not give the person an excuse for the fighting but instead says “Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” What James is saying is that the fighting is not because of someone else, the fighting stems from ourselves that we are being led and acting on our fleshly desires. He does not give them an excuse for pointing the finger at others but encourages each individual person to look deep within themselves for the cause of the issues of the church. There are many things that are listed here that James writes about, lust, murder, fighting quarreling, at the end of the day these are all symptoms of a heart that is prideful. When we desire something that someone else has it is because we think we deserve it, that’s pride. When we speak evil of someone else, it’s because in part what we are communicating is that we think we are better, that is pride. The reason these church problems are arising is because people have their hearts filled with pride instead of humbling themselves and asking God for what they do not have. Brothers and sisters, I know from personal experience that it is easy to think, why does that person have what I don’t have? But remember even if you obtain that which you desperately want, you will realize that you will still be unsatisfied. That is because things cannot satisfy us, only God can. James wants to help the church realize that God gives freely to whoever he wants because he does what he pleases, but instead of coveting others' stuff and fighting over it we should humble ourselves and ask for more of him.

God OPPOSES the Proud

Verse 7 “But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” This verse terrifies me. The word that is used here for opposed means to set a battle against, to set one's army to resist. That means that every person who is filled with pride, God is set in battle against them. Meaning that God will go against people who are prideful. The God of the universe waging a war against the proud. Why does it matter so much to God when people are prideful? It is because when we are filled with pride, we see ourselves as the judge, we see ourselves as god, we see ourselves as the righteous discerner of what good and bad is, when we are filled with pride, we think we are right and God is wrong. In reality, when we are filled with pride it's like trying to knock God off his throne, we know that is not possible. And when God opposes us, that means there is no grace. One commentator said that “pride is the death of grace.” When God opposes us, we are met with his army not his gracious hand. It is so important for us to realize that God hates pride, BUT he gives grace to the humble. When we humble ourselves under the hand of God, we can draw near to him, and he draws near to us. When we humble ourselves, we start to see that even if we don’t have what we want, we can be satisfied because we have God. When we humble ourselves, it helps to steward unity within the church seeking the interest of others far above our own. When we humble ourselves, we are met with much grace in the midst of many trials.

The Sin of Partiality

What does it mean to show partiality? To show partiality means having favoritism, an unfair bias, or a preference toward someone based on something. In this case, it seems like the audience James was writing to, had this problem that they would take in all the people who were rich, well put together, and had the ability to give and show them favoritism over those who were poor, probably looked rough, and had little to give. When the rich people came in, the people of the church would give them all the attention, give them the best service, and give them the best seats. When the poor came in, they would be ignored, belittled, and not loved. The reason this is sin is because by doing this they are not truly following the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” When we get to a point where we are showing favoritism to people based on outward circumstances like someone’s wealth then we stop loving them and become interested in what they have and not in the actual person. This also goes against God’s very character because God shows no partiality. God is not impressed by what we have or don’t have, but God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for all who repent and believe not caring what their social or economic status is. Once we start to show favoritism, we distort the pure message of the gospel because we show people something contrary to what we teach. Instead, the gospel calls us to love and welcome all people and preach the truth to them no matter what background they come from. If we start to show favoritism to people based on outward things, then we know we are committing the sin of partiality.

Faith Without Works

Sometimes it might be difficult to read through this and not think that James is teaching justification by works. I can assure you, that is not what he is doing. What James is teaching is that if you profess to be saved, yet you do not have a desire to do good to others, provide for their needs, or serve, it is questionable that you are actually saved. To James point, merely saying that you believe in God does not mean that you are saved because EVEN the demons believe in God. People who have been truly saved have been given a new heart with new desires. These new desires will align with the heart of Christ, and the heart of Christ is always seeking to serve others in their needs. That is why James says that if you do not have those kinds of works, it’s possible that you are not actually saved. He gives one example, if a brother from the church comes to you and says, “hey I haven’t had a meal in a few days and I am so hungry,” and your response to them is “I will pray for you,” and not offer them food that is questionable. This is just an illustration, there may be times where we don’t have the ability to actually give because we don’t have, and the Lord knows that. But if we have enough and we refuse to give a meal to a brother or sister who has not had one and that is always the pattern in our lives then it is safe to say we either need to pray God helps us to have a heart of service or that God actually save us. Works do not justify you, but having works can be a testimony of the salvation in your life. If we truly are to follow the command to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” then our salvation will work toward serving others, providing for others' needs when we have the ability for it, and being mindful of people who have less than we do. If the gospel is at work within us, we should strive to put the sin of partiality to death and work toward serving others knowing that the gospel gives us the grace to do so.

1. God is a God that is able to reconcile people

When Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon he is encouraging Philemon not to see him only as a slave but as a brother in Christ. The gospel and God’s kingdom transcends any social status, wealth, club, or people group we can have or be a part of. Ephesians 4 teaches us clearly that when we are in Christ, we are one body and one people in the Lord, therefore we should treat each other as being one in the Lord. Even though Philemon might have a right to punish Onesimus when he returns, Paul urges him to take a look that he is not the same person that ran away, but he is born again just like Philemon is. (v.16) “no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.” When Paul says this, he is showing Philemon that this slave that ran away is now part of the same family he is in, which means that since God showed him kindness by saving him, Philemon should show kindness to him by forgiving him and treating him as family. Only God is able to restore relationships that are broken through his grace. Only God can help us to truly forgive those who sin against us. Only God can help us extend kindness to others when it seems unfair. That is because God’s kindness has shown us that he has forgiven us of far greater sins we have committed against him. God is able to reconcile two people who have issues with each other, not because of anything in them, but because God’s grace is powerful and able to enable them to forgive.

2. This is a pure picture of the gospel

In (v.18-19) Paul says “If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it.” What does this remind you of? There was a debt that we owed to a living God, and there was no way for us to pay that debt. We deserve God’s wrath and justice but instead we have been met with so much grace. Why? Because Jesus is the one who took our charges and put on his account, Jesus is the one who paid for our debt. In this passage Paul is merely doing what was done for him first, that Jesus paid his debt for him. This is such a picture of the gospel that what we owed someone else paid for. The book of Philemon does not only show us that God can reconcile people’s relationships, but that he has reconciled us to himself. Paul grew to love Onesimus so much that he was willing to take on his debt for him. Jesus loved us so much that he took our debt for us. In Philemon we find a vivid picture of the gospel.

It’s reading chapters such as this that prove to me why knowing the Old Testament is crucial to understanding the New Testament. Throughout his entire letter, the author of Hebrews relies on the fact that his audience has a solid Old Testament foundation. His arguments are rooted in events and history found written in the Old Testament. Let’s consider some of the statements he makes.

Lesser to Greater

Throughout this chapter, the author of Hebrews basically makes his argument from the lesser to the greater. Remember, the author's objective is to show how Christ is greater. He is greater than the angels; he is the greater high priest, and now we see him as the greater sacrifice. In the last chapter, chapter 8, he spoke about how earthly priests and the entire system of priesthood found in the Old Testament served as “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” Many things found in the Old Testament served as types and shadows that served to point us to Christ, who is the fulfillment of all things found there. This same truth can be applied to the sacrifices spoken about here in chapter 9; while the blood of bulls and goats were sacrificed within the Old Covenant system, they, along with the blood they shed, were only shadows at best, whereas Christ and his blood is the fulfillment. I won’t say too much about this since chapter 10 elaborates on this a lot more.

“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”

One thing that the Old Covenant system taught us is that sin deserves death. This is a fundamental truth to understand. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death”; every sin’s just punishment is the death penalty. We sinners deserve the eternal death of Hell under the full wrath of God. You see, God is just, and it is because he is just that he must punish sin. God cannot let sin slide; he must judge justly. Every sin must be accounted for, every crime must be paid for in full. Like convicted criminals, we must pay for our crimes. There has to be death, there must be blood. But the Old Covenant system also taught us that our sin can be laid on another; within the Old Testament, these were sacrifices. These sacrifices could take the penalty that the Israelites deserved, death. But as we will see in chapter 10, they could not actually take sin away. Christ’s sacrifice is the fulfillment of these shadows, his sacrifice is superior and actually can take away the sins of His people. Let us understand this. The reason Christ had to die is because the just punishment for sin is death. Someone’s blood had to be spilled, and that blood was Christ’s. What a great God we serve.