A Word about the Promise of Abundant Life

Today I am commenting on John 10:1-10, which reads:

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

One nice thing about the relatively itinerant life of the ministry is the chance to learn new things.  In New Orleans we learned a French word “Lagniappe,” which means “a little something extra.”

In Christ we have a similar experience of something extra.  Not only does He offer us eternal life, and forgiveness of sins, but he also offers an abundant life here on earth.  Let's look at it from John 10.

The Thief of Abundant Life: 

The world is full of thieves. Too many people covet what others have, and they take it in any way that they can. This makes us lock doors, have alarms, and have guards. Theft is common and few people escape being a victim of it.

When I was a pastor in east Alabama, I routinely saw three of the four members of one particular family in church every Sunday. The three which came varied from week to week, but I never saw all four in church at the same time. When I inquired about this unusual pattern of attendance, I was told that they always left someone at home in their isolated farmhouse to keep watch on it and their tractors and other farm implements.

The most insidious thieves are the ones you don't see. I once had my suitcase stolen during a train journey in the United Kingdom. Apparently, the thief simply boarded the train during a stop at a station, walked through the train, grabbed a random bag, mine, off the luggage rack, and then left the train. I was none the wiser until I reached my destination and my suitcase was gone!

In a different way, the embezzler, the tax cheat, and the bribed government official are also unseen thieves as are processes in your body that you can't see but which are dangerous. For example, a woman I know must be careful with the dosage of her thyroid medication, because if the level becomes too elevated it will cause her calcium levels to drop, robbing her of bone mass. Things like this can make you miserable, but you don't know why.

Spiritual thieves are even more dangerous. These scheme to get our loyalty, time, money, enthusiasm. Once they get them, they waste them, and give nothing back. Some of these thieves include Satan, false religions, secular humanists, and other charlatans. Satan is chief among these; he is jealous of God and he will do anything he can to hurt him. That usually means hurting God's people, the ones whom God loves.

The Door to Abundant Life:

Sheep need a shepherd to survive and to thrive. Sheep are not very smart, and they have poor eyesight. They have few defensive weapons to protect themselves. Sheep don’t have any means to resist an attacker except to lumber away. The phrase “As meek as a lamb” has a solid basis in reality.
 
In this passage, Jesus calls Himself The Good Shepherd. Like a human shepherd, He leads the sheep, He feeds the sheep, and He protects the sheep. He is entirely responsible for the sheep and the sheep thrive or die at His hand.

One of the most important tasks of a shepherd was to create a sheepfold where the flock could be protected at night and where they could have rest. The 1st Century was a period long before the advent of barbed wire or fencing like we know it today. What shepherds would do would be to create a corral of thorns which would protect the sheep on three sides. But, what about the opening at the front of the sheepfold? What would close that opening and protect the sheep? Quite literally it was the shepherd. The shepherd would sleep across the door to the sheepfold and by his personal sacrifice, by laying down his own body across the door, the sheep would be protected and could have a good night's rest.

Without The Good Shepherd the sheep would be lost. They would not have the protection of the fold. They would be led by the thieves into a dead-end trap. They would be devoured by the wolves not kept at bay. They would starve. Just like a glowing coal removed from the fire soon cools, a sheep separated from the shepherd would not last long. That’s one reason why the “Parable of the Good Shepherd” was so appropriate to tell in 1st Century Palestine.

Jesus remains The Good Shepherd and his people are the sheep of his pasture. He does for us, today, what he taught his disciples about The Good Shepherd in John chapter 10. He cares for us!

The Extent of the Abundant Life:

Abundant life comes through protection:

Protection from those who take, but never give back, like the leaders of religious cults and other dangerous, autocratic groups.

It comes from protection from those who teach destructive practices, like those who say, if it feels good, do it.

It comes from protection from those who treat us with disrespect. Child abuse, spouse abuse, and sexual abuse are rampant in the world. The Good Shepherd extends His protection to the least, the last, and the lost.

Abundant life also comes through provision:

The Good Shepherd provides a relationship with God which gives meaning to life.

The Good Shepherd provides us with the ability to establish good relationships to people which gives us fellowship.

The Good Shepherd provides a mission for our lives which gives us fulfillment.

The Good Shepherd provides us the Holy Spirit which gives us comfort, encouragement, and the reassuring presence of God in our lives.

Finally, abundant life comes through promotion of a Godly lifestyle:

God's way is the best way; He will teach us that better way if we let him.

One of my favorite memories of the pastor who baptized me was from a church fellowship that occurred when I was still a child. I was sitting with the pastor and his sons and we were enjoying the menu which included spaghetti. A slight problem developed when one of the pastor's sons began eating the spaghetti but making a very big mess on the table. The pastor patiently taught his son how to take his fork and roll the spaghetti up on the fork before he would put it in his mouth and that way the pasta would not flop around and make a mess by flinging the spaghetti sauce on all who were nearby. In the same way, God teaches us the best way to live so that we don't make a mess of our lives.

If we learn from The Good Shepherd we’ll develop an abundant lifestyle, which will be seen by all as we embody the Fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Conclusion:

God wants us to have more than just eternal life.  He wants us to enjoy our lives on this world He created for us.

This promise of abundant life is readily available. All we must do is seek it through Christ, The Good Shepherd!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Saved for Good Works from Psalm 116

Today I am commenting on Psalm 116. Verses 1-4 and 12-19 read:

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, save my life!"

What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

YouTube has become a staple of the internet and many people will turn to that social media outlet to discover all kinds of information. One of the most popular genres of YouTube video is the product review.

Many product reviews on YouTube will produce a glowing report of how a product is the best at doing a particular thing that a reviewer has ever seen. Actually, what I find more interesting are the product reviews that reveal that a particular item doesn't actually work as advertised.

In this passage of Scripture, we see David responding to the realization that his lifestyle did not work to foster a relationship with God. Let's look at some elements of his confession in Psalm 116.

First, We See God’s Initiative:

The Old Testament is a rich source of understanding about the qualities of God. I remember one of my seminary professors complaining mildly that he had tried to write a book on the doctrine of God in the New Testament. The problem was that the New Testament depiction of God is totally in line with the Old Testament depiction of God and He could find nothing new there, so he couldn't write the book.

As frustrated as my professor was, the truth is we can easily discover all the character qualities of God by studying the Old Testament. We know God is all knowing, we know God is ever present, and we know God is all powerful. These are the classic depictions of God in the Old Testament.

Another thing we see about God in the Old Testament is that he is all benevolent and all loving. These are common understandings of the qualities of God as reflected in the Old Testament Scriptures, but in this case, David adds an additional factor to that list of the qualities of God.

What David reveals in Psalm 116 is the character quality of taking the initiative. God took the initiative to create the world. He took the initiative to create humankind. He took the initiative to correct the world through the flood. He took the initiative to call out Noah to save humanity from the flood. He took the initiative to call out Abraham to create a people to share the good news of God's love to the world. He took the initiative to make David king of Israel. Most importantly, however, is that God took the initiative to reach into people’s lives and to save them individually from their sin.

David admits that the only reason he loved God is because God loved him first. Sadly, this is the human condition; if God did not take the initiative and the relationship was left to human beings, there would be no relationship with God. Blessedly, however, God did take the initiative. He did come to be in our lives, and we should be eternally grateful for that.

We Also See David’s Need:

It is true that David was a man after God's own heart. We also know that God specifically chose David to be King over Israel and to put an anointing on his life. While both of these things are true the fact is that David was also human, which means he was also a sinner.

As David lived his life, he made many mistakes. We know he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and we know he conspired to murder Bathsheba’s husband and to cover it up. We also know that David disobeyed God and conducted a census of Israel in violation of God's direct guidance. We know that in Psalm 40 David had described himself as stuck in a miry pit. David's problem and his need are apparent: like all of us he had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

There can be no argument that David was the greatest king of Israel. He certainly was the greatest warrior in Israel, and he expanded Israel to its greatest extent both geographically as well as geo-politically. But even David was a frail and limited human being. If David knew that he could not lift himself out of the miry clay even with all his accomplishments what do you think that implies for us normal ordinary everyday human beings?

I think we need to realize that if David with his anointing from God, with his calling from God, with all his human attributes, could not live a sinless an righteous life without God's help none of us can do that either.

Next, We See God’s Solution:

When God surveyed David's life, he could have done several things. He could have walked away and turned his back on David and let nature take its course. He could have coddled David and appeased him to try to gain his love and affection. He could have destroyed David, and started over again in the same way he obliterated the world and started over at the time of Noah's flood.

He did none of those things.

Instead what He did was He reached into David's life and He saved David from his sin.

When David repented and turned to God. God forgave him and by God's grace, He restored David to a position of fellowship with God. He knew David could not do anything on his own to satisfy His level of perfect righteousness and so He took the initiative he reached into David's life and when David repented God forgave him.

That same salvation is available to us today. When we repent and take on our lives the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, then God will forgive us, and He will restore us to fellowship in the same way. But even better than with David, God will send to us the Holy Spirit to live in our lives so that we will abide in his presence spiritually all the time. This is an even greater anointing then David experienced, and it is one that will help us to love God even more fully than David ever could.

When we allow Jesus to save us, and when the Holy Spirit inhabits our lives, we are all blessed in an even greater way than David was! What wonderful prospects those are!

Finally, We See David’s Response:

My pastor is fond of a saying that goes, “A half truth is a whole lie.” If we were to leave our discussion of these verses at the salvation granted by God to David, we would not be giving the whole story. We must recognize David's response to the grace given to him by God.

Just like God had several options in dealing with David's sin, David also had several options when it came to deal with his position of living in God's grace. He could have failed to recognize the power of God's grace and kept on trying to live a perfect life to earn salvation through works. I have known more than one person who felt like God could never forgive them because of the awful things they had done in their lives. To them I would say if God could forgive David by his grace then God can forgive anyone. Therefore, it would be a fruitless thing for David to try to earn salvation by works when that salvation had already been granted by God's grace.

David could have accepted God’s salvation and, realizing that it was given by God's grace, he could have kept on sinning. Paul talks about this in Romans and he and David reject that course of action. Both realized that once we have received God's grace the proper course of action is not to continue to sin wantonly and in fact Paul rebukes that thought quite strongly. In Romans Chapter 6 Paul wrote:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

David gives a good description of that new life. It is a life that loves God emotionally, attitudinally, an in action. it is a life that publicly gives testimony to the saving grace and love of God the father. It's a life of good works not for salvation, but because of salvation.

Conclusion:

As I conclude today's comments I think I can say with confidence that both David and Paul would agree with the saying which goes, “We are not saved by good works but we are saved for good works.“

We all should realize the impossibility of being able to do anything that would please God in our own power and in our own might. however, once we've received our salvation by grace through Christ, we should make sure our lives honor the gift of God that we have received and which cost our Lord so dearly.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Pleasant Things from Psalm 16

Today I am commenting on Psalm 16:1-11, which reads,

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

My wife and I were blessed to serve as international missionaries for seven years. Sometimes, however, we found that life on the mission field was stressful, especially in Africa.  For example, you never knew when a friend might want to visit, and it could happen anytime of the day or night. Their sense of time wasn’t like ours but if a friend came by, you had to entertain them and speak their language, even if you were very tired and your brain was “fried.”   It got to the point that if even a passing car rattled our compound gate, I got tense.

As tense as we could be at home, we could be just as relaxed when we took a break at a hotel along the coast.  We’d step into our room, turn on the air conditioner, and feel the tension melt away.  We found those breaks to be so very pleasant!

Things have been tense lately.  People are worried about the COVID-19 virus and about the economy. We have lost people to illness and other people have lost their jobs. It is time that we remind ourselves of the pleasant things we have in God.  Psalm 16 gives us a look at some of them, and we need to see them clearly in light of today’s tense situation.

First, We Need to See Pleasant People:

David confessed that he found his refuge in the Lord, and in that process, God used a number of factors to give him refuge, including some pleasant people. Who were these people?

First, they were people set apart by God. This is what the term “holy” means. Holy people are not perfect, but they are designated by God for a purpose. That purpose includes becoming a blessing to Him and to His people.

To accomplish this task, God’s people must have certain character qualities. David calls them “noble,” which implies the qualities of excellence, gallantry, and worthiness. These people were distinguished personalities in David’s view, and they came to be in that state because of their submission to God and their acceptance of His rule in their lives.

David was delighted by God’s people and he was blessed by them. The longer we are away from our fellow church members due to the COVID-19 crisis the more we will miss them and the deeper our desire to fellowship with them will become. God intends His people to bless one another and David found great pleasure in relating to God’s people.

Next, We Need to See Pleasant Places:

David said that God had set the boundaries of his life.  Everyone has boundaries; God sets them for His people. He has defined the limits of our being and the scope of our lives. We go over these lines to our own detriment.

The office where I work is literally across the road from a busy airport. Like every airport it has defined approach routes for landing and departure routes for takeoffs, and I am glad these exist. It would be a bad day for many people if a pilot deviated from these established safety measures and crashed an airplane.

What David found was that these boundaries are pleasant; far from limiting, these lines are enjoyable, and beneficial.  Dr. James Dobson illustrated the benefits of boundaries by quoting a study of how children react to playgrounds which have a fence, as opposed to unfenced playgrounds.

Children in playgrounds with a fence were observed playing over the entire space, including adjacent to the fences. On playgrounds with no fences, the children did not venture out very far from the center of the playground and actually used a much smaller percentage of the space available to them. The fences actually gave the children more freedom. Likewise, God’s boundaries in our lives actually free us to live pleasant lives without the pain and regret that comes with the consequences of sin.

We Also Need to See our Pleasant Position:

David could be unmoved by adversity because he knew he was in God's presence.

During the social distancing measures we have implemented in an effort to quell the spread of COVID-19, we are finding many different ways to communicate using technology, and we are grateful to have so many tools at hand of which we can take advantage. One denominational leader commented that he was glad that our current situation did not occur back in the 1990’s because churches would not have all the internet tools that they have today. This is all to the good, but nothing replaces actually being in another’s presence.

When we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to us. That means we are always in God’s presence. This is a place of assurance, comfort, fellowship and hope!

Note, however, that David placed God in an honorable position. The right hand is the place of honor; we know that Jesus has sat down on the right hand of God the Father. Military personnel are taught to walk with a superior officer to their right. We need to place God in the place of honor in our lives. We do this by the way we live our lives, by how we allow the Spirit to lead us and infuse our lives with God’s grace and peace and mercy. When we do this we have confidence like David did, because, as Paul said, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

We Also Need to See the Pleasant Path on Which God Leads Us:

What is the path that David was referring to? A path is a way of life. It is the events of our lives on earth and the decisions we make, and the direction we take.

We know that God's path is narrow, not broad. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” It is a joy-filled path. It is a path of contentment, if not always a happy path.

Sometimes we don’t know where to go or what to do. Like Thomas during the Last Supper, we might cry, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Like Paul, we might admit that we sometimes don’t even know how to pray.

The good news is that God is our Guide. God will show us the way, and teach us His path. Jesus told Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Paul said that “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” This is an intimate process! In the 1st Century, disciples would sit and learn at their master’s feet. The same is true for us today as our Lord leads us!

 Finally, We Need to See our Pleasant Prospects:

Parents are concerned about the future for their children. They are concerned about their job prospects, their health prospects and their marriage prospects.

One father was questioning his future son-in-law about how he was planning to provide for the man’s daughter and their children. He asked the young man about his job prospects, and the fellow replied, “God will provide.” The father then asked about where the couple would live, how they would have health insurance, and what their plans were to save for retirement, and other probing questions. The groom-to-be answered again and again with the same refrain, “God will provide.” Later, the man’s wife asked how the interview with the future son-in-law went. The father answered, “Well, the boy hasn’t got a clue about real life, but at least he thinks I’m god!”

One preaching professor taught his students that every sermon needs to be able to answer the question, “So what?” This is the “so what” moment in this passage. All of the other elements of this Psalm are driving us to this point.

God is even more concerned about us than our parents were. He wants our lives to be fully joyful. He wants us to enjoy the blessings of life from His right hand, the place of power, honor, and goodness. He wants us to enjoy the eternal pleasures of His heaven, and in His power and provision we can!

Conclusion:

Isn’t it pleasant to get some good news? This is exactly what Psalm 16 gives us.

God has plans to give us pleasant things, both here on earth and in the hereafter. As John 10:10 tells us, “The thief comes not but to kill, steal, and destroy. I am come that they may have life, and that more abundantly.”

Even so come, Lord Jesus!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Looking Natural from John 20

Today I am commenting on John 20:1-18 which reads:

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

When we find ourselves in strange or awkward situations it is very difficult for us to “look natural” as if nothing unusual just happened. Take, for instance, a recent event that occurred when my wife and I were buying groceries at the beginning of the social distancing measures taken in response to the COVID-19 virus.

We had finished our shopping and we were at the checkout counter, when my wife complained that the store was too warm. What she actually said, however, was, “I’m burning up!”

I glanced around the store to see if anyone else had heard her declaration, and I was relieved that no-one seemed to notice. As soon as I could I pushed our shopping cart out of the door and into the parking lot. I then quietly said to my wife, “Sweetheart, it isn’t really the best thing to do in the middle of a pandemic to loudly announce in public that you are burning up!”

Blessedly, as I write this my wife and I and all of our family are safe and healthy and we are praying for all those affected by the COVID-19 virus. My point is, however, when something unexpected happens it is easy to feel awkward or out of place. It is hard to “look natural.”

What we find in our focal passage for today, however, is that everyone involved with this episode was acting very naturally. Let me expound on this idea.

First We See That Mary Came Looking For The Dead:

This was a natural act on several levels.

First, everyone who was a witness to the crucifixion knew Jesus had suffered a physical death. While some critics of the Christian faith claim that Jesus merely “swooned” or faked His death, the reactions of the observers gave lie to such theories.  As John himself related,

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.

No, regardless of what the skeptics say, Jesus died, and it was natural to look for a dead body in a cemetery.

It was natural for Mary Magdalene to come for Jesus as well.

She loved Him because He had transformed her life. She had been possessed by seven demons, but Jesus has freed her and she became one of His most dedicated followers. Mary knew that there is not enough time on Friday to properly anoint His body, so she wanted to show her love to Him in the only way she knew how, by anointing His body properly.

Finally, it was natural for women to do the dirty work.

From the dawn of time women have done the hard work of keeping our households running. This was as true in the 1st Century as it is in many places today. When my wife and I were missionaries in Africa, it was the women (or young girls) who would walk miles and miles with buckets on their heads so their families could have water. One of the major complaints of women in the 21st Century is that they work at a job during the day, and then they have to come home and work most of the evening at home.

Although it was natural for women to do much of the dirty work, Jesus clearly saw their worth as individuals. He, in a true counter-culture move for His day, taught them the Bible and treated them with a genuine respect. Of course, this was natural too, because Jesus is the master of everything, even the master of social norms!

Next, We See That Mary Didn’t Find What She Was Looking For:

Looking for something and not finding it is natural also.

It seems to be a part of the human condition in this fallen and broken world that we spend much if not most of our lives seeking something that we never find. What we seek is as varied as our own lives; some seek power, others seek relationships, some seek pleasure others seek money, most of us seek peace. The problem is that, as we seek these things, we are treating the symptoms and not the disease.

Mary didn’t find what she was looking for, because she was looking in the wrong place. Jesus wasn’t dead; He was alive, He’d been resurrected. Like Mary, we look for satisfaction in this life in the wrong place. This fruitless quest reminds me of the old song, “Looking for love in all the wrong places.”

The true cure for our longing is not in any earthly balm, but in seeking after Jesus. Compare 2 Chronicles 12:14, “He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord . . .” with Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Mary did seek Jesus with all of her heart, but there would be a detour before she found Him. This seems to be a natural part of life, too!

Next, Mary Looked For The Disciples:

Again, this too, was a natural reaction.

Mary was naturally upset to find the stone had been rolled away. Something was wrong and she needed help, and so she turned to the disciples, and, in particular, she turned to John and Peter.

This, too was natural.

John and Peter were two of the three closest disciples of Jesus. They, along with James, had been with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. They also were the one whom He drew close to Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed. They loved Him and He loved them. It was natural for Mary to turn to them in a time of trouble.

Naturally, Peter and John reacted quickly to the news from Mary. They raced to the tomb, and Peter, naturally, barged right on inside. Yet, as concerned as they were there was nothing to be done. The tomb was empty!

We know, now, that the empty tomb is a good thing. A empty tomb means that Jesus was resurrected and that He has power over death and hell and that He can give us that power too. Naturally, however the disciples did not yet comprehend these facts. They were no doubt stunned and bewildered, and they returned to their safe house to await what came next.

Mary, however was beside herself. She didn’t know what to do, so she just stood there, crying. She had given up looking for Jesus. That’s when He found her.

Finally, We See That Jesus Looked For Mary:

When Mary had given up looking for Jesus, Jesus came to look for her. This, too is natural. Jesus, Himself, said that He came “to seek and save that which was lost.” At this time in her life, Mary was feeling as lost as she ever had!

From the beginning of the Bible God has demonstrated His love for us by seeking after us. He came to walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden in the cool of the day. He came for Moses in the burning bush so that He could deliver Israel. God came to Isaiah in the night to call him as a prophet, and God came to earth in the form of a man to save all who trust in Jesus from their sins. It comes naturally to Jesus to take the initiative, and, like the shepherd of the parable, go and find the lost sheep.

Remember, Mary, like all of us, was a frail, limited, and fallen human being. She could do nothing to save herself. Indeed, in this instance, she couldn’t even find Jesus! It was when she was at her wits end, when she had nothing else to try, and when she had no-one else to turn to, that she found Jesus, because He was looking for her.

Conclusion:

My mother-in-law has always had a pithy way of saying things that lodge that thought firmly into my mind. One day she was talking about a young couple who had just been married. She said about their courtship that, “He chased her until she caught him.” In this case the opposite is true. Mary was looking for Jesus, and then He found her.

The same can be true for all of us today. Jesus wants a relationship with us. He will come to us, but we must give up our feeble efforts to make our lives something useful. When we do, He will catch us, and we will find Him.

And in Him we will have all we ever need or want!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Who is Jesus? From Matthew 21

Today I am commenting on Matthew 21:1-11, which reads:

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?” The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Asking who someone is who is involved in a dramatic event is a fairly common question and it is often used in a movie to set-up a big reveal or to make some other point of emphasis.

For example, in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” when the characters played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford were being chased by a posse they tried every trick they knew to shake off their pursuers, but time and again they failed. And every time they failed they would repeat the refrain, “Who ARE those guys?”

In a later role, Robert  Redford uttered almost the same words in a scene in the movie “Out of Africa.” During a celebration of the ending of World War I in Kenya on New Years Eve 1919, his character, unsteady on his feet from a day of partying, looked blearily at the crowd and mumbled, “Who ARE all these people?”

 On the first Palm Sunday a dramatic scene was played out in the streets of Jerusalem. The question the crowd asked that day was, “Who is Jesus?” This is the topic for my comments today.

Jesus is the One Possessing Knowledge:

One of the most amazing events on this first Palm Sunday was that Jesus knew that in the village ahead of them there was a “donkey tied, and a colt with her.” How could He know this? Matthew gives no indication that Jesus had ever been to that village, nor did Matthew indicate that Jesus had sent out scouts to prepare the way before this incident. In fact, it is obvious that Jesus sent out His scouts after giving them the knowledge of what they would find. What an amazing feat of foreknowledge! How could He know exactly what the disciples would find?

With the benefit of the instruction of the Holy Spirit, with the possession of the entire canon of Scripture, and with 20/20 hindsight, we have the answer to this riddle. Jesus is God and being God He is omniscient, that is He knows all things. The events of Palm Sunday are not the first time He exhibited this characteristic of God. In other vignettes in the Gospels He had known what His critics were thinking and what they were planning to do next. Palm Sunday is not as unique and amazing as it appears to be on the surface. In fact, it was simply Jesus being Jesus.

A question we should consider today is this: If Jesus knows such things as where a particular donkey would be at a particular time, what does He know about us and about our lives? What does He know about the world and how His people should live? I think the answer is, just as much! Jesus knows things we don’t, but the good news is He is willing to teach us if we would just listen to Him! As Jeremiah 33:3 tells us, “‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’”

Jesus is the One Who has Authority:

Another factor on this first Palm Sunday was that Jesus demonstrated amazing authority. He told the two disciples to go, secure the donkey, and bring it back to Him, and they did! There is no indication that the disciples hesitated or had any doubts. They knew what Jesus had done in their lives, and they knew who He was in public and also who He was in private. He had immense moral authority in their lives and the way that they responded to Him demonstrated that fact.

The fact that Jesus exercised great authority in the lives of the disciples should not surprise us. These were men who had left their previous lives behind them to follow Him daily. What about the owner of the donkey though? Again, we have no indication that Jesus had ever been in that village, nor that He had ever encountered the owner. Yet, Jesus told the disciples, “If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.’” This is a powerful exercise of authority! How did He have such authority? How could He know that the owner of the donkey would comply?

All we need to do to understand what was going on in this situation is to look at John 1:1-5:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Again, Jesus is God and He is Creator. He brought this world into being and He owns it. As the owner, He has control over it, so borrowing a donkey for a few hours was not much of a challenge for Him, and neither are the details of our life. He has the authority we need to live and thrive; we just need to access it by being obedient to Him.

Jesus is the One Who was Foretold:

A factor we cannot ignore about this first Palm Sunday is that it had been prophesied long before it happened. Matthew quoted Zechariah 9:9, which reads, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah penned this prophecy over 500 years before the first Palm Sunday; how amazing is that?

The facts are that the Old Testament includes scores of prophecies about the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus. That He did fulfill all of these prophecies was a major theme of the Gospel of Matthew and it is the reason that the early church did not immediately require the assembly of the New Testament canon. They had a Bible which is what we now call the Old Testament, and according to the early church, it clearly testified to the deity of Jesus and His role as Messiah.

Josh McDowell is an accomplished Christian author and teacher who was originally a skeptic of the faith before making an attempt to disprove that Jesus was the Messiah. In doing so he actually convinced himself of the truth of the Gospel and became a Christian. He has quoted Peter Stoner’s book “Science Speaks” which gives the odds of a person fulfilling just seven prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament to be 1 in 10 to the 17th power. This would be like filling an area the size of Texas with that many silver dollars with just one of them marked for identification and then having a blindfolded person choose that one unique coin from across all of Texas. And that is with just seven prophecies! Jesus fulfilled over three hundred prophecies about the Messiah found in the Old Testament.  (See: https://www.josh.org/jesus-fulfill-prophecy/)

Jesus is the One who Deserves our Praise:

A final factor we need to consider about the first Palm Sunday is how very expressive the crowds were in praising Jesus. Just consider this picture:

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 

What a raucous crowd! It reminds me of a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans (without the beads, of course). People were shouting and praising Jesus to the point that the whole city was disturbed and asked “Who IS that guy?” Of course, the crowd answered as well as they knew how, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus was a prophet, but He was so much more than a prophet. No previous prophet had ever received such a reception in Jerusalem and in fact, most had been shunned and persecuted. Jesus, on the other hand was feted. Why?

The answer of course, is that we now know that Jesus was not just a prophet, but also the Messiah and the Savior of the whole world. We know Him to be God, and we know He deserves all our praise and all our worship.

Some of the Pharisees, the legalistic religious leaders of the day, knew something unusual was happening and they said,  “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:39-40)

Jesus was truly one who deserved their praise and today He deserves ours also!

Conclusion:

From the events of the first Palm Sunday we clearly see the answer to the question: Who is Jesus?
He is the Omniscient One, the Authoritative One, the Foretold One, and the Worshipped One.

Who Jesus is in this passage is not really the issue. The cogent question is this: Who is Jesus to you?

I trust and pray that He is both your Savior and your Lord! He deserves your fealty, and you need His love and power! May it be true in your life today!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt