Philippians 1:1-2 Bondservants

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [Philippians 1:1-2 NKJV]

A bondservant is not a servant. He is not like a butler or kitchen staff in great manor, who is employed, receives wages, and may find employment elsewhere at his own discretion. It is a much greater commitment.

Nor is a bondservant a slave as we normally think of slaves. A slave is captured or sold and forced into slavery.

A bondservant willingly gives himself over to slavery. It is giving yourself to a master to whom you owe your life and everything you have. It describes a relationship we should have with Jesus, our Lord and Master.

When Jesus died on the cross, He shed His blood to pay a life debt for us. We were all guilty of sin in God's eyes, and there is no good deed that could ever compensate for that sin. As a result of our sin we faced a punishment of eternal hell.

On the cross, Jesus took all of our sin upon Himself.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV]

Instead of punishment, we have received adoption.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [Romans 8:14-16 NKJV]

We owe Jesus everything. Our lives, our possessions, our time, our relationships...Everything.

Yes, we are children of God, and Jesus is our firstborn brother. Yes, we have freedom. But it is not freedom to do all that we desire; that is of the flesh. We have been set free from the bondage of sin.

Once we were slaves to sin. Involuntarily forced into slavery of sin leading to death and eternal damnation. 

We have been set free from slavery, so that we can give ourselves freely to be bondservants of Jesus.

Pray with me;

Jesus, I offer myself to You. I am your slave. I give myself freely to you so that you may control and direct every aspect of my life. 

Matthew 28:16-20 The Nature of God

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:16-20 NASB]

During His ministry on earth, Jesus set aside His authority as God the Son, and accepted limitations. For example,  He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [Matthew 15:24 NASB]

In His resurrection, He is free from limitations. He tells us, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Now He says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." 

The Old Covenant was made between God and the nation of Israel. The New Covenant is made between God and all the nations of the earth. It was His blood that sealed the covenant. It  was His resurrection that confirmed it.

It is because of what Jesus did that we who are not Jews have been grafted in to the promises of God. As Paul said,

And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [Ephesians 2:17-19 NKJV]

Jesus affirmed the nature of the triune God, and His own place in the Godhead, when He said that we should be baptized "in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

This is important because one of the first things cults will attack is the identity of God. They will deny the trinity.

They may claim that Jesus isn't God the Son, robbing Him of His divinity. If Jesus isn't God, then Christianity is a lie, and our faith is worthless.

They may claim that Jesus is God, but not part of a Trinity. Some say that the Father became the Son, and then became the Holy Spirit. They did not exist all at once. Again, this robs God of His nature. Consider the scene when Jesus was baptized.

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” [Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV]

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were all individually present.

The problem some people have is that God defies logic. People will logically ask, "How is it possible for there to be only one God, but three persons." They see it as foolishness. Paul said,

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV]

Without faith, it is impossible to understand. There is one God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, eternally existing in perfect unity. It is not a contradiction. It is His nature.

I give thanks to God that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us, and that He has called us to be His children through adoption. We can do no less than to receive His grace, and offer to Him our praise and worship.

Matthew 28:11-15 Fake News

Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. [Matthew 28:11-15 NASB]

When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, He answered,

“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." [Matthew 12:39-40 NASB]

Jesus fulfilled this sign by being in the tomb for three days. 

The chief priests were confronted with proof that Jesus was who He claimed to be. His body didn't just disappear as if someone had sneaked in and taken it. There was an earthquake. An angel whose appearance was like lightning came down to the tomb and rolled away the stone. Jesus rose from the dead after three days.

The priests were so consumed by jealousy and hate that they refused to see truth, even when they were confronted with it. They hated Jesus so much that they denied God, whom they claimed to serve.

We see the same thing in modern politics. The liberals hate the conservatives and the conservatives hate the liberals.

The conservatives can't conceive that liberals have tender motivations. Nor that some of their ideals may be good. If it comes from the liberal camp, it can't be good.

The liberals are the same towards conservatives. The President is, particularly, the subject of their vitriol. He could end hunger and bring about world peace and they would still find fault.

If we're being honest, we know that there is good and bad on both sides of the argument. There are Christian conservatives and Christian liberals. There are evil conservatives and evil liberals.

What we see in the News and on social media are the extremes. I personally know Christians who will post on Facebook about God's love, then post the most vile, hate-filled political rant. I know non-Christians who do the same. I see it come from both liberals and conservatives. In their mind, there is no middle ground; no meeting of the minds; no compromise.

And in their actions and words, there is no love.

Very few can state why they believe as they do, nor why they support or oppose specific legislation; their reasoning is that they hate the party who proposed it.

Just as the priests and elders spun the news of Jesus' resurrection to their own ends, so we spin the news of the day to meet our own biases. We will not allow ourselves to be persuaded by mercy nor reason. Nor by the truth.

I don't have any answers for the political climate of America. But as an individual Christian, I know how to live because the truth is in the Bible. Jesus is my Lord. His Spirit lives within me. By His Spirit, I can have peace within myself, and live at peace with others. I can love others, and consider them as more important than myself.

I know that my first and highest priority is to love God, and worship Him.

When I consider my citizenship in the kingdom of God, and seek His kingdom first, then I don't get too bothered by the tensions of modern politics.

Let's pray for our nation and its leaders. Let's pray for the News outlets that they will be able to see and report the events of the news instead of their own political views. And let us pray for one anther, that we will be able to see our priorities properly; that is, Jesus and His kingdom first, then fellowship with the saints, then our mission to be a light to the world. Finally, considering others to be more important than ourselves, we consider our own life and sanctification.

Matthew 28:1-10 The Empty Tomb

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” [Matthew 28:1-10 NASB]

I visited Jerusalem once. While there I went with a tour group to visit the garden tomb from which you can look up and see Golgotha. The tomb was carved out of the rock of the mountain. I had to stoop to enter. Inside was a small room, and to the side was a shelf, also cut out of the rock, where the body would be laid. One of the women on the tour group stepped out of the tomb and began to complain loudly, "There's nothing in there! It's empty!" 

We had to explain to her that that was the point. The tomb is empty because Jesus is risen. Understanding slowly dawned on her face. I imagine that an angel with a shining face might have sped along her understanding.

The problem was that she was expecting to see some kind of sign that Jesus had been there, such as an altar or shrine. 

So many historical sites in Israel have been enshrined. The place where they suppose Jesus was born has had a cathedral built around it. On the spot where they think He was born, the floor is overlaid with an intricate tile mosaic in the form of a starburst. Any actual understanding of Jesus' birthplace is obscured.

Another possible location of Jesus' tomb is in Jerusalem, enclosed within a shrine. The shrine is then enclosed within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Again, it is completely obscured.

It seems to me that is what religion does. It obscures the truth. Here are some examples.

Jesus said,

“But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. “And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. [Matthew 23:8-10 NKJV]

By this He means that God is our Father, our priest, our leader, our teacher. He has all authority, and all the rest of us are equal under Him. We are not to claim titles of authority. Yet religion has given us an intricate clergy with priests, fathers, reverends, bishops and so on, all claiming authority over their own flock of sheep. The Pope is considered a world leader of great power. This usurps God's authority, and obscures the unity that should exist among all believers.

Jesus also said,

“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,Hallowed be Your name. [Matthew 6:9 NKJV]

and,

“In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; “for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. [John 16:26-27 NKJV]

also,

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:16 NKJV]

Because of Jesus' redemptive work on the cross, we have the authority to pray directly to God the Father in Jesus' name. But religion gives us priests to intercede to the saints, who in turn will intercede  for us. This all confuses and obscures the simplicity and purity of our relationship with God.

I love that the garden tomb has been left empty and unadorned - in its natural state. Whether it is the actual burial tomb is irrelevant, because Jesus isn't found in the tomb. He isn't found in religion. He isn't found in churches, cathedrals or shrines. Jesus said,

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” [John 4:24 NKJV]

Religion obscures faith. If we rely on ritual, we have no need for faith. If we rely on doing penance for our sins, then where is the grace?

Salvation is simple. "Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." [Romans 10:9 NKJV] We are save by the grace of God through faith.

Living for God should be just as simple. We live by faith and by the grace of God. I pray for a church that will learn to worship God in spirit and in truth, and set aside the rituals, rules and bondage of religion.

Matthew 27:55-66 In The Tomb

Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave. Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone. [Matthew 27:55-66 NASB]

Jesus was in the tomb for three days. It is interesting to me that the chief priests and the Pharisees were concerned about Jesus' words, "After three days I am to rise again." They remembered His words while the disciples apparently did not. They acted on His words, while the disciples went into hiding.

It is well known that Satan can quote scripture. There are some atheists who can quote the Bible better than many Christians. Hollywood puts Bible quotes in many of its movies and TV shows; even while they are mocking God and/or glorifying evil. 

There are many movies about the life of Jesus, full of quotes from Jesus. Yet, as you look at the life of the actors, you see no evidence that they are Christian, even though they have been exposed to the life and teaching of Jesus. They merely played a role, and repeated lines.

Hearing the Word of God, apart from faith, doesn't make a person a believer. Being able to quote the scriptures doesn't do it either. Jesus said,

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” [Matthew 7:24-27 NASB]

It is not enough to merely hear the Word; we must act on it. I can quote Paul, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" [Romans 10:9 NASB] and never be saved. I can quote, but never choose to believe. Or I can say, "I'm a private person" and never make a confession of faith. 

Remember, Jesus said, 

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 10:32-33 NASB]

I am firmly convinced of this teaching;

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB]

But what does that faith look like? James says,

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. [James 2:14-19 NASB]

So it is clear that we are not saved by works, but by faith. But true faith will produce good works. Giving to charity will not save you. There are many unbelievers who give generously to some marvelous charities. But if your giving doesn't come from a place of faith in Jesus as Lord, then your giving is ultimately useless.

We are told,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23 NASB]

Most of these attributes of the fruit of the Spirit involve relationships with others. If you love, you will give and help people. You will be patient, kind and gentle. These are not things to be forced, but will grow out of your relationship with Jesus.

Don't rely on scripture memorization and good works for your salvation. Only draw near to God, and He will draw near to you, and all these other things will follow.

Matthew 27:45-54 Jesus Took Our Sins

Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” [Matthew 27:45-54 NASB]

I think that when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” that was the moment He took our sin upon Himself. In that moment, He felt the separation from God that results from sin.

Although Jesus was tempted in every way like us, He lived a sinless life. 

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:15-16 NASB]

God came to live among us as a man. He was born a baby, grew through childhood and adolescence to adulthood. He lived the complete human experience, and knows what it is like to be human. There was only one thing lacking.

Throughout His life, Jesus never knew the separation from God that all of humanity feels because of our sin. On the cross, He experienced, for the first time, the shame, guilt and fear that accompanies sin. The Father was always present in Jesus' life, but then He felt abandoned. It must have been overwhelming; a torture far worse than the cross. It's no wonder that Jesus cried out.

I don't believe that God the Father ever truly abandoned His Son. Only it was the separation caused by sin that made Jesus feel abandoned.

We are born into this world with a sinful nature. When we confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, then we are born again. The Holy Spirit lives within us, and allows us to have communion with God. When Jesus died, the veil enclosing the holy place in the temple was torn in two. Symbolically, this means that God no longer meets people in a temple. Instead, He inhabits our hearts, so that we are all the temple.

When we continue to sin, we bring upon ourselves the guilt and shame of sin, and we experience anew the separation. God doesn't leave us. He doesn't abandon us. But because of sin, we feel separated from Him.

Jesus, our High Priest, knows how we feel. Because of His sacrifice, we need only to come to God in repentance, and we will find that He is there, and has always been there for us.

When we learn that sin has been overcome in our lives, and we no longer live in it, we can walk through life in the Spirit, in communion with God. 

Matthew 27:32-44 The Crucifixion

As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words. [Matthew 27:32-44 NASB]

The phrase "adding insult to injury" comes to mind. Jesus is on the cross. In just a few hours it will all be over. The priests and elders have won.

But winning was not enough. They had to gloat. Even as He was dying on the cross they continued trying to discredit Him through their mockery. They are implying that His death proves that He is not who He said He was.

Of course, they were wrong.

Ironically, in spite of being priests, and knowing the Levitical Law, they did not understand the nature of sacrifice. Their imaginations didn't extend further than the blood of bulls and goats spilled on the altar.

We are told;

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time,  sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. [Hebrews 10:11-14 NASB]

Under the Law, the priests would sacrifice over and over for the sins of the people. The blood of the bulls and goats were a symbol of the covenant between God and Israel. But the blood of animals could never truly cleanse the sins of the people, and had to be repeated again and again. The Bible teaches that these things were mere copies or types of the original, heavenly reality;

Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. [Hebrews 9:23-28 NASB]

In their ignorance, the priests and elders played into God's hands. By killing the Son of God, they played their role in creating a New Covenant that replaces the Old.

For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. [Hebrews 9:15-16 NASB]

Jesus was a willing sacrifice. He could have called legions of angels for His defense. But He did not resist. Instead He allowed Himself to led like a lamb to the slaughter.

He did this for us; so that we would be forgiven. There is no need for us to make a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins because Jesus was our sacrifice. 

All He asks from us is faith. Paul tells us, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." [Romans 10:9 NASB]

If you are reading this and have never made Jesus your Lord, I would urge you to pray this prayer;

Heavenly Father, I confess that Jesus is my Lord. I believe that He died for me, and has risen from the dead. I ask You to forgive me of my sins, and fill me with Your Spirit. Thank You for your salvation. Amen.