Today, the expression “the poor” invariably refers to the specific socio-economic group of those who are impoverished, who often do not have homes, resources, or even proper food and clothing.  But when we read the expression “the poor” in the Bible, we should realize that while the term can certainly represent those who were financially under-privileged, it can also mean other groups and individuals. We can only fully understand many scriptures when we keep this in mind.

In the Old Testament, the poor are frequently the disenfranchised: day workers, slaves, beggars, widows, the sick, and resident aliens who were protected and assisted by various laws (see for example, Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 19:33–34; Deuteronomy 10:17–19; 24:17–22; etc.).  But “the poor” are not always members of this socio-economic group.  Often, those in a position of need – such as individuals  needing protection – are described as the poor.  We find an example in the Psalms where David exclaims  “Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them”(Psalm 35:10).

In fact, “the poor” may not be fiscally poor at all – as when King David places himself in the same category as the poor and needy: “But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may your salvation, God, protect me …  The poor will see and be glad … The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people” (Psalm 69:29,32–33). In this example we see also the concept of the needy being expanded to include all Israel on the national level, and this is explicit in other psalms such as Psalm 9: “The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug … all the nations that forget God. But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish” (Psalm 9:15–18). 

It is particularly important to understand this national application of “the poor” in order to understand Old Testament verses such as Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” – a scripture which in context clearly applies to all Israel, and which was quoted, of course, by Jesus, not meaning that he would preach to only the economically poor, but to all of Israel.

The New Testament writings also have their own usage of the term “the poor.”  The Greek language had two terms for poor people: penes and ptochos.  Penes refers to a person with limited resources who did manual labor – many of the disciples were from this group – as opposed to the wealthy who did not have to work (as we see in many of the parables which speak of landowners being absent or only appearing after some time – as in Matthew 21:33–41; 24:45–47; 25:14–30; etc.). On the other hand, ptochos refers to an individual without any resources at all – beggars, the blind, lame, and others who had no family support and who often lived in the city streets or outside the cities (as we read in Luke 14:21–23).  Both types of poor are mentioned frequently in the New Testament.

The New Testament also alludes to many cases of people dropping from the category of “working poor” (penes) to “destitute poor” (ptochos) as a result of their following Jesus and being disowned by their families. It is in that light that we should understand Jesus’ words about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25–34) and many of his other sayings in the context of giving up or losing one’s family and becoming extremely poor for the sake of accepting the gospel.

More generally, severe taxation under the Roman Empire led to an ever-increasing number of the working poor becoming even poorer, while the rich who profited from doing business with the Romans became ever richer (which is why, by the time the apostle James wrote his epistle he so strongly criticizes many of the rich and speaks of the great poverty of the poor).
But although “the poor” in the New Testament often means the physically impoverished,  it can also mean the spiritually needy as we saw in the Old Testament. This can lead to confusion for the modern reader where there was none originally.  It explains why Jesus is recorded in Luke as saying “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20), but in recording Jesus’ same Sermon, Matthew has “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).  While “the poor” means only monetarily poor to us, the New Testament writers could say either “the poor” or “the poor in spirit” and have the same meaning.

Finally, as we also saw in the Old Testament, the expression “the poor” can mean the people of Israel – and in the New Testament, God’s people as a whole. It was to this wider “poor” that Jesus announced he had been sent, and – because it includes the “poor in spirit” – it can include all of us.

By  Terrell Perkins

There are those who claim they know 'the secret key' to understanding the scriptures. There is indeed a key that unlocks the scriptures and in some respects it is a secret... at least to some people. Do you want to know the key to understanding the scriptures? It's love. Every page, every paragraph, every word, flows with God's love for His children. That the Scriptures exist is proof of God's love. He created us out of love. He gave us His law out of love for us. He allowed His only begotten son to become one of us, to suffer pain, humiliation and death at the hands of human beings out of His love for mankind.

The problem arises when we misunderstand what love is and what it is not. Love is NOT just what we feel... love is what we DO. Scriptures tell us the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness. Most of the fruits of the spirit are qualities about dealing with someone else. Bliss is most commonly confused with love because bliss feels good. Bliss isn't bad as long as it is not mistaken for spiritual growth. We can experience bliss while looking at a beautiful sunset or experiencing a 'perfect moment.' Just like there are counterfeit gospels, there are also counterfeits for love. Bliss can also be a counterfeit for love. In Eastern and New Age religions bliss is often mistaken for love.

Bliss can be a counterfeit love for 'spiritual' people. Bliss is what those who are 'spiritual but not religious' most often feel. To show real love there must be another. And the other is always imperfect. That's what makes love so special. Love is getting into the trenches and getting dirty. We don't love the perfect... we love the imperfect. Bliss doesn't feed the hungry, visit the lonely, comfort the sick or give a coat to someone who's cold... love does these things.

Love may be said to be like a pearl. Do you know how pearls are formed? You put something irritating in an oyster, like a grain of sand, and a pearl is its response. Love covers imperfections like a pearl covers a grain of sand. 

Bliss is what we feel. Love is what we DO.
Bliss is about ourselves. Love is always about another.
Bliss is content to remain alone. Love always reaches out.
Bliss is not doing. Love is DOING.
Bliss can be completely self absorbed. Love is NEVER self absorbed.
Bliss is static. Love is dynamic.
Bliss can be like a stagnant pond....Love is like a river of living water.
Love always grows, always moves.

Christ didn't condemn a fig tree to die because he didn't like trees... it is a lesson for us.
We MUST bear fruit! The fruits of the spirit are all about dealing with other/imperfect people. God's Word defines what spiritual growth is the way DNA defines what physical growth is. True spiritual growth is always guided by the template of love like physical growth is guided by DNA.

Don't be deceived. We don't grow by watching a sunset... we grow by reaching out of ourselves to others. We first have to learn to love ourselves, then we have to learn to extend, to grow, our sense of ourselves. That's what love is... extending our sense of ourselves to include others. Hurt doesn't stop it, misunderstanding doesn't stop it, disappointment doesn't stop it, pain doesn't stop it... Love keeps coming like a pounding wave that eventually turns a mountain into sand. Love is what will transform the universe and us if we let it.

*Read more by Terrell Perkins at https://blacksmithscorner.blogspot.com/

"For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:29).

When we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we commemorate the sacrificial death of Jesus (Matthew 26:26–28), but in his letter to the Corinthian church Paul tells us that to do so without “discerning the body” brings judgment on the one/s participating. What does this mean?  There are two major interpretations of Paul’s statement, and we will look at each of these. But first notice the immediate context of what Paul says:

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.  (1 Corinthians 11:27–29).
 
In these verses the apostle emphasizes that Christians must not sin against the body and blood of the Lord (verse 27), and should examine themselves before taking part in the Lord’s Supper to avoid doing so unworthily (verse 28). But this does not of itself explain what he meant by “discerning the body” in verse 29.

Most commonly, what Paul says is seen in a reference to the sacrifice of Christ. We know that in the Lord’s Supper, the cup represents Christ's blood, and the bread represents his broken body. Thus, although a great many manuscripts of the New Testament simply say we must not partake of the emblems of Christs death without “discerning the body,” some manuscripts add “of the Lord” and the NIV and some other versions follow this tradition to make the verse clear. 

Seen this way, Paul’s warning is against not recognizing the sanctity of the fact that Christ's body and blood are represented in the elements of the bread and wine – in other words, not discerning or differentiating them from regular food and drink. This would certainly fit with Paul's instructions in the following verses regarding not coming hungry to the Lord's Supper and treating it as a regular meal as some in Corinth were doing  (1 Corinthians 11:34).

Additionally, Paul tells us that partaking of the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper is “proclaiming the death of Jesus” (1 Corinthians 11:26). So if we proclaim the death of Jesus in this way, yet are disobedient to him in our everyday lives, we invite God’s judgment and punishment for not discerning his body (1 Corinthians 11:29–30).

The second view of Paul’s warning understands “the body of Christ” to refer to the Church – which Paul specifically tells us is the figurative “body of Christ” in this same letter: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). This is because, as Paul explains elsewhere, Christ is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23) and we are baptized into him – becoming members of his body (Galatians 3:27; etc.).

Paul also reminds the Corinthians of our role in Christ’s body specifically in the context of the Lord’s Supper: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).  In chapter eleven Paul continues this theme of the church being one body and treating our church family appropriately: “So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together” (1 Corinthians 11:33). 

Clearly, both the views of 1 Corinthians 11:29 explained above fit not only what Paul writes generally in his letters, but also the specific context of what he says regarding “discerning the body” in this verse. It is perhaps impossible to tell which meaning Paul originally had in mind – or if he was stressing both.  But both principles are valid and whether Paul intended to stress one or both of them, both are necessary in keeping the Lord’s Supper as we should – properly discerning our relationship with Christ and with one another.

When we think of salvation, we tend to think of it in a single dimension – that of Christ’s sacrifice and the resulting possibility of salvation from our sins. This is, indeed, the central aspect of salvation as taught in many verses of the New Testament, but there is a scriptural passage we tend to overlook, or read over, that shows God’s salvation of those who turn to him is even broader.

In the opening chapter of his Gospel, Luke tells us that before Jesus’ birth Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied by the Holy Spirit:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us  … to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear…  to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God… to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:68–79).
 
The passage shows that Zechariah clearly identified the coming Messiah who would be heir to David’s throne, and who would provide salvation for his people from “our enemies and all who hate us,” from “sins,” and from “darkness and the shadow of death.” 
 
First, we see the Messiah would save his people from their enemies, and while Zechariah may have presumed this was salvation from physical enemies of that time such as the Roman conquerors of Judea, we know from the larger prophetic picture the Bible gives us that the physical salvation of God’s people from their enemies would come later – at the Messiah’s return. But there is also a spiritual application of this prophecy: Jesus did save his people from their spiritual enemies – the spiritual powers that desire our destruction (1 Peter 5:8–9), and this aspect of our salvation is certainly in place now (2 Corinthians 10:3–5).
 
Next, we see that Zechariah foretold the Promised One would bring salvation to his people through the forgiveness of their sins.  Luke 1:31 records the angel told Mary “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” which means, of course, “salvation,” and Matthew’s account makes this explicit for us by saying “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). While we often think of this salvation in a somewhat abstract way – like the canceling of a debt, or the overturning of a guilty verdict – we should remember that  in reality it is salvation from the very Wrath of God. We may concentrate on God’s loving kindness and mercy in forgiving us, but we are forgiven our sins to save us from God’s wrath, as the apostle Paul made clear: “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9). Sometimes we need to remember this to see the full extent of this aspect of the salvation we are given.
 
Finally, Zechariah’s prophecy shows us that we are saved from ourselves. In saying that we are saved from “living in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79), we are told that we are saved from the way we naturally live according to our own carnal minds (Ephesians 2:3).  As Matthew’s Gospel puts it: “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16).  This does not only refer to sin and sinfulness, but to the sad darkness that clouds most human minds so that we hurt ourselves and others endlessly for lack of knowledge of what is good, sane, and right (Hosea 4:6).
 
So Zechariah’s prophecy shows us in a single passage the three forms of salvation we receive through the work of the Son of God: we are saved from the spiritual enemies who would destroy us, saved from God’s righteous judgment of sin, and also saved from ourselves and from ultimately destroying our own well-being and happiness due to our spiritual blindness.  Zechariah’s inspired words show that God saves us from far more than an abstract spiritual debt – rather, in his kindness, he saves us in every way that we need to be saved.  

There are some areas of life where understanding needs to precede action.  When we visit a doctor or other medical professional, for example, we want them to understand what the situation is and what is needed before they take any action in prescribing medications or treatments.  In cases like that, understanding obviously has to come before action. 
     
But in other areas of life we find situations where this “normal” way of things is reversed, and we simply have to act before we understand, counterintuitive as that may sound.  Falling in love might be a good example – we have to experience love before we can really understand it.  Following God’s instructions is often one of these situations. No amount of philosophizing can help us understand why it really is more blessed to give than to receive, for example – it is only when we do give that we begin to understand how we are blessed in giving. But it is easy to forget that sometimes action has to come before understanding. We may make the mistake of not acting on what we see in the word of God because we don’t understand why we should do or not do a certain thing.

Yet the Bible is very clear about the reality of “action before understanding” when applied to its teachings.   Notice, for example, how David expressed this fact in the Psalms: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding” (Psalm 111:10). This is not saying that if you have good understanding you will follow God’s ways (though that is true, of course), but that following God’s instructions leads to understanding them.  Another verse that makes this same point is found in the book of Exodus. According to many translations, directly after God gave the Ten Commandments and other laws to ancient Israel the people said: “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7 NKJV). But the Hebrew literally says “we will do and we will hear” or “we will do and we will understand.”  Here again, as in many other instances, doing comes before “hearing” – action before understanding.

In the New Testament the principle is spelled out even more clearly. The Gospel of John records Jesus saying: “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” (John 14:21).  This does not mean something esoteric and mystical – by “showing” himself to those who are obedient, Christ simply meant that they would come to understand and know him, just as we say “Ah! I see it now” when we come to understand something. But once again, the order is action before understanding.

In fact, this principle lies at the very heart of much of what the New Testament tells us. Compare these two very important verses in the book of Acts: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38); “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32).  The apostle Paul taught very clearly that: “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). When we put these verses together we see that we cannot understand spiritual things until we receive the Spirit of God, and we have to act – to repent and be baptized – before we can receive the Spirit.  So action must come before full understanding even from the very beginning of the Christian life.

The important thing for us to remember is that this principle does not only apply to us as new Christians – it applies to us every time we see some new guidance in God’s word.  The instruction may be clear as to what we must do, but we may only understand the guidance once we follow it – that is simply the way God often teaches us.  

Many of the individuals mentioned in Hebrews’ great “Faith Hall of Fame” chapter (Hebrews 11) understood that faith means we must sometimes act before we understand – we must obey before we fully comprehend.  These people seem to have learned a lesson we all must learn in the course of the Christian life: that faith often enables our obedience and our obedience often enables our understanding. 

In his first letter to the Corinthian church the apostle Paul wrote: "Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers."  This seems clear enough, but notice what he wrote next:  "So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”  (1 Corinthians 14:22-25)

These words of the apostle Paul regarding the use of Spirit-given languages (“tongues”) and prophecy in the Church may seem completely contradictory.  Paul initially says that tongues are a sign to those who are unbelievers, and that prophecy is given for believers – for those in the Church (verse 22).  But then, in the following verses, Paul continues with an example in which he says that if an unbeliever comes to a church and hears people speaking in unintelligible speech the outsider will thinks that they are out of their minds. On the other hand, Paul says, if the unbeliever comes in and the church is prophesying then he or she will be convicted and will worship God.

The key to reconciling this seeming contradiction between the point Paul makes, and the example he gives, is found in understanding that Paul means tongues are a sign to unbelievers, not to their conviction and belief, but to confirm their unbelief. We see this in what he says in the verse directly before those we are looking at: “In the Law it is written: ‘With other tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,’ says the Lord.” (verse 21). 

In other words, tongues are a sign to the unbelieving, not that they might believe, but that they are condemned in their unbelief in not turning to God so that they might understand.  Understood this way, there is in fact, no contradiction. Tongues are a (negative) sign to unbelievers, while prophecy – which Paul is stressing in this chapter is more important than tongues (verses 4–5; 19) – is a (positive) sign to believers. On the other hand, if unbeliever’s hear words they can understand (prophecy) they may be convicted and converted, Paul says. While tongues sometimes serve to strengthen unbelief, prophecy serves to strengthen belief.

The context of these verses makes this all clear. The Corinthians were misusing the gift of tongues so that there was no benefit to the church in their use. Tongues used this way – without interpretation (verses 13; 27–28) – were not of any use to believers or unbelievers alike.  Prophecy on the other hand, was helpful to those in the church because it conveyed the word of God to them, and even unbelievers, Paul reminds them, might be instructed and brought to faith by an intelligible message that convicted them of sin by revealing “the secrets of their hearts,” and helped them to see God's indwelling presence in the church (verses 24-5).

In this example, as in other parts of Paul’s writings, we must be aware that the apostle often appears to say one thing but then another as he looks at issues from different angles.  This is no different from us saying that someone is too short when it comes to playing basketball, but not short enough to be good at gymnastics (where being shorter and having a lower center of gravity is actually an advantage).   Paul has sometimes been called the most difficult of the apostles to understand (2 Peter 3:16) but we can better understand his writings by always keeping in mind the flexibility of his thinking.

More than any other New Testament book, the Third Gospel teaches us what it means to be humble.
 
Not surprisingly, humility is displayed in all the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. For example, although we tend to think of Matthew as the gospel of kingship – the gospel that frequently alludes to the messianic kingly role of Christ – Matthew also records many examples of humility in the lives of Jesus and others. But none of the four gospels focuses as clearly on the humility of the Son of God and his teachings on the subject as does the book of Luke.

A Life of Humility

Luke alone describes the humble nature of the physical birth of Jesus – beginning with Mary’s affirmation of her humble state (Luke 1:48, 52), and the details of Jesus’ birth that underscore the relative poverty of his parents (Luke 2:24, etc.).  Like Matthew, Luke tells us that Jesus had no fixed home (Luke 9:58), but alone among the gospels Luke tells us that Jesus’ ministry was only possible because of the support of others who were better off (Luke 8:1–3). 

Luke alone records how Jesus was humbly subject to his earthly parents throughout his early years (Luke 2:51), and gives us dozens of details illustrating Jesus’ humble way of life – such as the fact that except on one occasion, he is pictured as traveling either by foot or by boat in an age when many – and certainly anyone due respect – traveled by horse or donkey. 

Luke also stresses how Jesus lived a life of spiritual humility, and this is frequently seen not only in what the evangelist tells us regarding Jesus’s words about himself (Luke 22:27; etc.), but also, for example, in the fact that although he was worthy of many titles and was called “the Son of God” by others, in Luke’s Gospel Jesus refers to himself as simply the “Son of Man.”

Humble interactions

Luke also carefully records details of Jesus’ interactions with others who expressed humility.   Perhaps the greatest example of this kind of reciprocal humility that is found in the Gospels is seen in the story of the centurion who implored Jesus to heal his servant. Only Matthew and Luke record this story (Matthew 8:5–13; Luke 7:1-10), but Luke’s additional details are informative.  In addition to the great humility of the Roman officer who declared “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you” (Luke 7:6–7), this story also shows the humility of Jesus – not only in his willingness to go to the sick rather than having them brought to him, but also because Luke tells us the sick man was not an important servant, but simply a lowly slave (doulos). 

In similar ways, Luke provides us with many other examples of humility in action – some of them unexpected. For example, although we know Jesus came to serve (Matthew 20:28) Luke repeatedly shows us that his humility allowed him to be served by others. For example, the evangelist tells us that Jesus attended meals in the homes of others where he was served by the hosts (Luke 10:40–42; etc.), and he gives us the story of the woman who washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair in an extreme act of service (Luke 7:36-50). In these examples, Luke teaches us that in our relationships with other people, there is a balance between the humility of serving and the humility of being willing to be served – supporting the needs of others and not being too proud to be supported in our own needs (Luke 4:38–39).

Teachings on Humility

Luke shows us that Jesus emphasized the defining character of his disciples was to be humility.  While Matthew records Jesus’ words “those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12), Luke gives this same teaching not once, but twice (Luke 14:11; 18:14), showing its additional importance for Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ teaching.  

Some of Jesus’ most memorable teachings on humility are also recorded in Luke. Early in his Gospel, Luke tells how the disciples argued as to which of them would be the greatest, and how Jesus said “it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest” (Luke 9:46–50).  Importantly, Luke shows that late in Jesus’ ministry the disciples were still arguing in this way, and Jesus retaught them in even more detail. “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them … But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves … I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:24–27). 

Luke also records Jesus’ instruction to those who picked the places of honor at a banquet –  “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke14:7–11). And to those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector  to teach the same lesson: “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:9–14).

A Handbook of Humility

In both the teachings of Jesus that it records, and in examples drawn from Jesus’ ministry, the book of Luke focuses on humility more frequently than any other gospel – or any other book in the New Testament.  Many additional teachings on humility that Luke records do not mention humility directly, but show how this quality affects every aspect of our Christian lives. For example, in Luke 17, although the words “humble” and “humility” appear nowhere in the chapter, the concept underlies a great deal of what Luke tells us.

So it is worth remembering – it is to Luke that we should turn if we want a handbook of practical and applied humility, and we will also see much more of the message of his gospel if we remember that even when it is not obviously focusing on this quality, Luke is the gospel of humility. 
 
*This article is adapted from the author’s book, Lessons from Luke: Understanding More
of the Message of the Third Gospel. Download a free copy, here.
 

Around the turn of our present era – just before and during the life of Jesus – two Jewish rabbis lived and rose to considerable fame. Even if you have heard of one or both of these teachers of the law, you may not know much about them – despite the fact they both had considerable influence on what we read in the New Testament today.

The first of these teachers, Hillel the Elder, also known as  Hillel the Great (c. 110BC – AD 10), lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod and became the most famous Jewish scholar of that era. The second scholar was Shammai (50 BC – AD 30), who tradition says was a Pharisee who became a leading Jewish teacher and whose influence was also considerable in the development of Jewish thought.

Although their lives overlapped, Hillel was about sixty years old at the time of Shammai's birth; but some of their interactions are recorded, and their teachings were completely different. Generally speaking, Hillel’s teachings were more lenient and compassionate, while those of Shammai were more strict and severe. A famous example is that Shammai said it was wrong to tell an ugly bride that she looked beautiful, while Hillel said that all brides are beautiful on their wedding day. While Shammai and his followers believed only worthy students should be admitted to study the law of God, Hillel and his disciples stressed that the law may be taught to anyone, in the hope that the person would grow and become worthy.

Shammai’s strictness could be extreme. He and his followers said that if someone forgot to ask a blessing on a meal and had left the place where he ate, the person must return to that place to recite the blessing.  Hillel said, however, that the person could recite a blessing in the place where they realized their omission. But While Shammai could be overly strict, sometimes Hillel could be overly lenient. For example, Shammai held that a man may only divorce his wife for a serious transgression, but Hillel allowed divorce for even such trivial offenses as burning a meal. 

This is why Jesus said  “anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery” (Matthew 5:32) – clearly distancing himself from the teachings of Hillel on this point. Jesus also phrased the “Golden Rule” of “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31) in a positive way, in contrast to Hillel’s famous but more negative expression of the same concept.   But in other ways, Jesus sided with Hillel over Shammai. While Shammai stressed the importance of the Jewish people and their temple, Hillel – and Jesus after him – was more accepting of non-Jewish people and looked beyond the temple (John 4:21). 

But Jesus did not follow either of the major rabbis’ teachings exclusively, and in a sense, his agreement with them was often coincidental. This is seen in the fact that the discussions of the two scholars and their followers contributed to the belief that the oral law – as expounded by Hillel and Shammai –  was just as binding as the written law of God. Jesus firmly rejected this approach of many in his day by citing Scripture: “They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (Matthew 15:9).  Nevertheless, much of what we read in the Gospels is a result of Jesus rejecting or confirming what Hillel and Shammai taught on various points – the major theological views of his day. 

The influence of these teachers on the apostle Paul was also extensive – especially because Paul had studied with the scholar Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) who was the grandson of Hillel.   The book of Acts relates that Gamaliel intervened on behalf of the apostles of Jesus when they were seized and brought before the Sanhedrin – doubtless because many of their teachings agreed with aspects of his own and that of his grandfather, Hillel. Nevertheless, we see many instances in the writings of Paul where the apostle disagreed as well as agreed with the views of his celebrated teacher, and the views of Hillel and Shammai before him.

Ultimately, we can study and understand the New Testament without the teachings of the great rabbinical thinkers of New Testament times, but knowing something of their views can sometimes help us better understand what Jesus and Paul had in mind when they gave examples of how and how not to interpret the law of God.
 
* For more information on the historical background of the New Testament, download our free e-book Inside the Four Gospels: Four Portraits, Many Lessons here.

Don’t have time to read a whole e-book? Want to get the key ideas and principles in just a few minutes?  Or perhaps you would like to get a better idea of what an e-book is all about before investing the time to read the whole thing.  If one of these situations applies to you, or you would simply like to enjoy a podcast style discussion of one of our books, we have good news for you.

We are now producing Deep-Dive podcasts for a number of our e-books. These podcasts give a more in-depth look at a book’s central ideas than a simple blurb can do, and are stimulating ways to  engage with the book’s content and message. We now have the first podcasts available – providing short but meaningful looks at e-books we are sure you will enjoy. Listen to the podcasts on our sister-site, here, and check back often as we will be adding new podcasts each week.

If you are looking for a truly worthwhile goal to set for this new year, consider taking one of the many Bible courses that are available online. A good number, such as those available from Cornerstone Bible Courses, are completely free.  Cornerstone’s carefully prepared non-denominational and non-commercial courses provide in-depth information on the Bible – without advertisements or other distractions – to those who cannot attend Bible school or seminary, or who simply want to understand the Bible at a deeper level in their own personal study.  Significantly, all course materials – including e-textbooks – are provided for free and there are no charges of any kind.  If desired,  an optional  final exam can be taken online and a personalized certificate of completion is provided for all passing grades. You can download a free course and study materials today from the Cornerstone site, here.​​ 

And the Cornerstone courses are not the only Bible courses available online.  The Online Bible College Association is a new and growing association that provides an excellent service by listing worthwhile Bible courses they have personally checked to ensure they are not scams, and  provide quality, trustworthy material. A number of the courses they list are free. You can visit their helpful site and check it occasionally for new additions, here.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”  (Luke 2:14 KJV).

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14 ESV)

The angelic annunciation to the shepherds that is recorded in the Gospel of Luke is among the best known of all the stories of the New Testament, yet the wording of this annunciation as it is found in various versions of the English Bible is profoundly different.

While virtually all translations are in agreement regarding “Glory to God in the highest,” there is much disagreement as to what was promised on earth. Older Bible translations such as the King James Version and a very few modern ones, such as the World English Bible, state that the coming of the Messiah brought the promise of peace and good will to “all men.”

But most modern Bible versions state that the promise of peace was not made to all, but to “those on whom God’s favor rests” (NIV), “those with whom he is pleased” (ESV), or some variant of one of these (as AB, ASV, BLB, BSB, CSB, ISV, NAB, NASB, NLT, and many others).

There is obviously a great deal of difference between these translations – on the one hand peace is offered to all people, and on the other hand only to those with whom God is pleased. Why the divergence, and which of these readings should we choose?  The first question is the easiest to answer.  The KJV was based on the  Byzantine Text family which uses the Greek word eudokia in Luke 2:14, while most other English versions follow the Alexandrian Text which has the nearly identical eudokias – but although the difference consists of only one letter, the meaning is quite different, as we saw in the respective translations.

As far as which reading is preferable, there is division among New Testament textual scholars, but in general it is true that the oldest manuscripts we have favor the reading found in the older manuscripts of the Alexandrian Text and hence almost all modern translations opt for that reading.  As is often the case in such questions, there are arguments on both sides of the issue; but ultimately, even if the textual matter is unresolved, we can answer the question theologically – by looking not only at what the immediate context of Luke is, but also what the whole Bible tells us.  

Biblically, it is unlikely that God’s promise of peace refers to everyone regardless of their attitudes and actions. Nevertheless, in verse ten of the same chapter Luke says the angel announced “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” So there is certainly a sense in which the good news – the message of the Messiah’s birth – was made available to all. This is the wider sense in which John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” But that same verse tells us that despite the universal availability of the gift, it is still only “whoever believes in him” that “shall not perish but have eternal life.”

In the same way, Luke 2:10 gives us the universal availability of God’s promise of peace, but verse 14 tells us that it is “those whom God approves” or “those with whom he is pleased” who receive the promise. It is those who have God’s goodwill, or favor – because of their faith in him and in the one whom he sent – who find peace.

We catch a glimpse of this selective reception of peace in the teaching of Jesus himself. In Luke 10:5 Jesus tells his disciples, “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” This is the offer of peace that is freely made to all. But Jesus continued by explaining “If someone who promotes peace is there [literally “a son of peace,”] your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you” (verse 6).  It is only those who are the “sons” or “daughters” of peace who receive the peace God offers. 

As for whether we personally are a son or daughter of peace, the answer is simply whether or not we accept the news of the Messiah’s coming, and what that means in our lives.  If we do, then – as the angel announced – we will experience the peace the Messiah’s coming brought.

The word “gospel” means “good news” and in that sense, all the four gospels contain a joyful message. But there is one gospel that focuses on joy – we might almost say it is filled with joy – and that gospel is Luke. Joy may not be as noticeable as some of Luke’s other themes, but it is a very real emphasis of his gospel, nonetheless.  Luke begins and ends his account of the life of Jesus by focusing on joy, and between these two “bookends” he mentions joy more than any other gospel – in fact, more than any other book of the New Testament.

At the beginning of his gospel, Luke (alone) records two events in which great joy is  evident. Luke gives us a “prequel” to his account by recording the birth story of John the Baptist – whose parents are told “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” (Luke 1:14). Luke notes that while still in Elizabeth’s womb, John “leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44) at the sound of Mary’s voice, and that even her neighbors and relatives shared her joy (Luke 1:58).

In the same way, in Luke’s account of the nativity of Christ, joy is equally evident when the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds with the words: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10).  That “good news” was, of course, the beginning of the “gospel” – a message of potentially unparalleled joy for everyone (“for all the people”) that through Jesus Christ those who were lost and doomed could now be saved.
Once we enter the body of Luke’s gospel, we find multiple references to joy. Luke records Jesus’ admonition that we find joy even in times of persecution (Luke 6:23), that those like the seed that fell on rocky ground only temporarily receive the word with joy (Luke 8:13), that the seventy–two Jesus sent out returned with joy (Luke 10:17), and that Jesus himself was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21).

But it is the joy of the lost being found that underlies much of what the Evangelist writes.  Joy is at the heart of the three parables he records regarding the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), the woman who searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), and the father who daily looked for the return of his lost son (Luke 15:11–32). Each of these parables ends with a joyful celebration: the shepherd invites everyone to rejoice with him, as does the woman when she finds her coin, and the father whose son had been lost has finally returned.

But while Matthew records, for example, some of the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12–14), Luke alone includes Jesus’ words “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety–nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). In the same way, all four gospels record the miracles of Jesus, and the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples, but only Luke records the joy of the people at Jesus’ works (Luke 19:37), and only Luke (Luke 24:41) and John (John 20:20) record the disciples’ great joy at seeing their resurrected Lord.

When we look for it, we find joy throughout the third gospel. Given what we have seen of this continued focus, it is perhaps not surprising that Luke’s account ends in exactly that way – with the words “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy ...” (Luke 24:52).

If we want to read a gospel account that highlights the joy that Jesus and his disciples had, or we would simply like to read the Bible’s most joy–filled book, we need look no further than Luke.

*Extracted from our free e-book Lessons from Luke: Understanding More of the Third Gospel. Download a free copy here.

Is it possible to have two truths that are opposite, yet both are still true? That’s not just a philosophical question, but one with important theological and practical implications.  Theologically, we know that Jesus was both God and man, but what about views of the Christian life that seem to be diametrically opposed, yet both are true?

For some, Christianity is about reaping the many physical as well as spiritual blessings God’s word apparently promises those who walk in his ways. For others the Christian life is not one of success, but of suffering, and life for these believers may be a hard one – especially if they are focused on fighting the sins and problems of the present evil world. But we can miss the point of Christianity if we live at either end of this spectrum. 

When we only focus on and seek the good things associated with the blessings of the Christian life, we can fall prey to the errors of unbiblical prosperity gospel teachings – and our Christian walk can become short-sighted and self-centered.  The truth is, true Christianity has always involved suffering for the sake of God or of others.  Jesus himself said that “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33 NLT), and we can see this from one end of the New Testament to the other – from John the Baptist being thrown into prison and executed (Matthew 14:1–12) to the apostle John being reviled and banished to the Island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Seen this way, Jesus’ primary command was “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

On the other hand, when we only focus on the suffering involved in Christian life – we can become discouraged and fail to appreciate the many things in life that God intended us to enjoy.  Jesus himself said that “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10), and the apostle Paul tells us that God is a God “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17). Seen this way, walking with God is exemplified by the  Psalmist’s words “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

But these two approaches and attitudes are not really contradictory. The truth is, the Christian life involves both suffering and success, pain and blessing – and it is intended to be so.  

The same Jesus who said: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), also said “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking” (Luke 7:34).

The same Paul who wrote: “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3), and “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29) also wrote “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:23), and “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

So  there is no contradiction when Paul stresses both truths together: “we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). And while we may tend to only think about the positive aspect of this statement as being in the future, other scriptures show that it also means now:  “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:5). In fact, Paul repeats this idea of present suffering and blessing just two verses later “And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:7).

That is why Paul described himself to the Corinthians as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).  As Christians, we suffer and we rejoice, we are afflicted and we are blessed. We ask for and receive blessings, yet we accept suffering when necessary to better walk with God and to serve others.  Any Christian life that only seeks blessing or suffering is not an authentic and true Christian life.  Any life that embraces both is truly Christian and truly blessed.

What one thing do you think almost all the men and women mentioned in the Bible as faithful followers of God had in common?  The answer – apart from the obvious one of their righteousness – was that they all are said to have had to wait.  We may not always think about this aspect of the lives of the spiritual “Hall of Fame” greats, but it is the one consistent trait of their stories.

Abraham and his wife Sarah waited for a son – God let them wait for twenty-five years until their waiting was eventually rewarded (Genesis 21:5). The same is true, of course, of Abraham’s waiting to inherit the land God promised him. Although he only received a small portion of it in his lifetime (Genesis 23:17-20), he was willing to wait faithfully for the fulfillment of the promise.  

The patriarchs descended from Abraham waited in the same way. Isaac waited twenty years for a son (Genesis 25:20), Jacob waited fourteen years for a wife (Genesis 29:18-30), and Joseph waited thirteen years – some of them in prison – before God brought him to the position of greatness he had promised him.

Moses waited forty long years in the wilderness before seeing the land God had promised. Joshua and Caleb waited in the wilderness, too, and then during the years of struggle before the promised land was finally taken.

David was anointed king years before he became king, but waited patiently till God brought his destiny about. In fact, David speaks often in his psalms about waiting – for example “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits … my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:5-6 ESV).

We see many of the prophets of Israel and Judah having to wait  – sometimes even to hear God’s message (Jeremiah 42:7, etc.). The prophet Habakkuk was told regarding God's vision for him “If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed” (Habakkuk 2:3 NLT).

And we find many others who had to wait. The patriarch Job waited under great suffering till God healed and restored him (Job 7:3), and Noah, Daniel and other heroes of the Old Testament are all said to have waited.  

In the New Testament, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist,  had to wait till she was old to have a child. Simeon and Anna are said to have waited years to see the Messiah. Jesus himself had to wait some thirty years to begin his mission of salvation – and had actually waited for untold time since its planning (Revelation 13:8). The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem before they could begin their Spirit-empowered ministry (Acts 1:4); Paul had to wait many times in his ministry (Acts 28:30; etc.); and you and I are told to “Wait patiently for the LORD … Yes, wait patiently for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14 NLT).

In our own lives we may have to wait for things we need and for things we long for – perhaps we are waiting for work, or for a husband or wife, or for needed healing, or something else.  It can be hard to continue to wait, especially when what we hope for seems nowhere in sight, but we should remember that we are not alone in our waiting.  God lets us all wait for something and rewards us when we seek him first and continue to trust him. As Jeremiah proclaimed: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25 ESV).

We may have to wait, but we should never give up the trusting expectancy God desires us to have. Just because a needed answer has not come yet, we should also not give up on praying for it. Jesus gave several parables to teach this, telling his disciples “that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1-8 NIV).

Above all, we need never doubt that while we wait, God works with us in mind – and he works to make things worth our waiting.  As the prophet Isaiah learned and confirmed for us, God is a God “who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4 ESV).

Many Christians who have read the words of the apostle Paul “Do everything without complaining” (Philippians 2:14), accept this teaching in the understanding that if we have true faith we do not ever need to complain, but this is not really true.  The Bible shows there is a right time and a right way to voice our frustrations and complaints in life (see our article “Go Ahead and Complain!” here). 

The Old Testament book of Habakkuk provides a clear example of the kind of complaint that God accepts – and is more than willing to hear – and provides a helpful lesson in faith at the same time.   The prophet Habakkuk lived in a difficult time – when many problems plagued ancient Judah and the nation was clearly about to be crushed by the powerful and brutal Babylonian Empire. 

This was the time in which Habakkuk respectfully took his complaints to God, asking the age-old questions “Why do you allow bad things to happen to good people?” (Habakkuk 1:1–4; 13) and “Why do you allow good things to happen to bad people” (Habakkuk 1:13–17).  In the course of the book, we see that God graciously answers Habakkuk’s complaints and by its end we see the prophet’s faith is greatly strengthened (Habakkuk 3:17–18).  But along the way this book gives us valuable lessons regarding times when we feel we have valid complaints we desire to bring before God.

1. Faith can complain!  Habakkuk shows us as clearly as any other biblical book that God is willing to listen to our heartfelt complaints (they are specifically called complaints at the end of Habakkuk 2:1), and that they need not go unverbalized, which so often leads to the actual degradation of faith.

2. We should expect God to answer. Habakkuk exclaimed “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me” (2:1). The prophet apparently received a direct verbal answer from God and while that may not be our experience, God is able to lead us to find answers if we faithfully expect them.

3. We must be willing to wait for an answer. We saw in the last point that Habakkuk said he was willing to wait till he received an answer and when it came, God told him “the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

4. We need to remember that God expects us to trust him till the answer comes.  That is how we express faith in our lives rather than simply refusing to honestly voice our complaints. Habakkuk summarized this truth in saying “the righteous person will live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV and the majority of translations) – timeless words that are quoted no fewer than three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

5. We need not doubt that it will work out in the end.  After Habakkuk verbalized his frustrations and complaints to God – and eventually came to see what he needed to understand – he could confidently accept that when God’s time was right “ the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:4).

6. We can rejoice in God’s wisdom. This is clearly a lesson Habakkuk learned: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,” Habakkuk wrote “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17–18).

7. We should offer praise with our complaint. A final aspect of right complaining that Habakkuk displays is that he combined praise with his complaints – both as he complained to God (Habakkuk 1:12–13; etc.), as well as when he received the answers for which he was looking (Habakkuk 3:19).

The Bible contains numerous examples of righteous individuals – Moses, Job, David, and many others – who complained to God in a sincere and respectful way, and who found answers to their questions. But the book of Habakkuk is perhaps unique in showing us that taking our complaints to God is not only not a lack of faith, but also it can actually be faith strengthening.

Atheists have long pointed to the suffering in the world as “proof” that God cannot exist – claiming that if God were all powerful and all loving, he would not let suffering occur.  But to find the very simple answer to this dilemma of why suffering exists, we need only take a step back from the question and ask why do humans exist? 

The Scriptures make it clear that humanity exists because God wishes to share everything he has with his human children (Romans 8:32) – for all eternity (John 10:28).   But as C.S. Lewis wisely pointed out, God will not give eternal life to anyone who will make themselves and others eternally unhappy.  The only way this can be achieved is to have a physical world in which people are born but cannot live forever unless they choose to live in a way that would make them and others happy – and then those people are given eternal life by God (1 Corinthians 15:49–52).

Once we understand this great purpose of human life and see that a temporary physical existence is necessary before we can be trusted with an endless spiritual existence, it is not difficult to see that while we are physical beings, we have to be capable of experiencing pain.  If we were not, we would unknowingly put our hands on burning hot objects, or injure and destroy ourselves in any of hundreds of other ways.  We have to be able to experience pain – suffering – in order to live in a temporary physical world. 

Some may ask, “Wouldn't it be better if people were not born rather than being born into a life with the potential to experience pain or suffering?” But we should ask ourselves if a newborn baby that has to be slapped on the bottom by the delivering doctor – in order for the sudden pain to jolt it into breathing – would choose not to experience years and years of potentially happy and fulfilling life just to avoid that initial few seconds of hurting? 

In exactly the same way, our experience of pain during the relatively brief years of our physical lifetime will be ultimately well worth enduring for the painless eternity we are offered in the life after this one. This is what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18 ).   Paul goes on to explain this in more detail:

"For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us" (Romans 8:22–24 NLT).

So suffering had to be for a short time if we are to live eternally without causing ourselves or others ongoing pain. But we must also realize that in this life we bring much suffering on ourselves – we all sin, and sin inevitably leads to suffering. Other suffering is accidental, or caused maliciously by others. 

But God does not just allow us to suffer and ignore the fact that we do. He understands that suffering may try our faith. But he knows that if we trust him and endure, our faith is made stronger for being tested (James 1:2–4).  He even uses our suffering to help us. God may allow pain to help us turn to him, to examine ourselves, and to become more like him.  Also, we cannot really learn true empathy and kindness by simply deciding to have these qualities – they often come only by seeing how we need them ourselves when we suffer. Paul says this explicitly: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4).  Even Jesus learned through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8) and was able to become an understanding helper to us (Hebrews 4:15–16).   When we experience suffering, we also learn more of the depth of the love of Christ who endured immeasurable suffering on our behalf.

And there is yet another, extremely important dimension to the suffering that the Christian may endure. From John the Baptist, who was beheaded (Matthew 14:1–12), to Jesus and the early apostles, the New Testament is full of examples of those who suffered righteously. But if we suffer as a result of our faith – through persecution of some kind – then, as Peter wrote, “you share the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:12). And as Paul reminds us, we will be rewarded for this: “we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17).

Of course, even those who are spared persecution in this life encounter suffering in one form or another – we all do. And when we do, we can not only be confident that this is the only way God could make the world for our eventual benefit, but also that God will use the suffering we endure, if we ask him, to guide and grow us now, and to bless and reward us in that future time when he will end humanity’s temporary suffering, and he “will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4 NLT).  Our present sufferings are, indeed, nothing compared with what God plans to give us as a result of them.

People who study the apostle Paul’s armor of God passage most often focus on the pieces of that spiritual armor: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, etc. However, I ask you to consider the reason Paul gives for putting on that armor of God. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul writes: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (emphasis mine). Verse 13 continues that theme: “take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” And then verse 14 begins, “Stand firm.”

 Are you picking up a pattern? “Stand firm” is not limited to Ephesians 6. Paul encourages the Galatians to stand firm (5:1), as well as the Philippians (4:1) and the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:15). James also encourages believers to stand firm (5:8), as does Peter (1 Peter 5:9). Standing firm spiritually is a major theme of the apostles’ teaching.

My favorite “stand firm” passage is 1 Corinthians 16:13: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” This verse consists of four terse commands, each closely related to the others.

Command 1: Be on your guard. In Greek, this command is expressed in one word: gregoreo. In its secular usage, this was a military term meaning “Be alert! Be vigilant!” Paul borrows this command from the military and applies it to our spiritual warfare against the lies and enticements of the world, the flesh, and the devil. “Watch out!” he commands throughout his inspired writings. Watch out for false teachers and false gospels. Watch out for temptations to stray from focusing on Jesus. Be on your guard!

Command 2: Stand firm in the faith. Paul uses “the faith” here exactly as Jude uses it in Jude 3: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” In other words, the faith in which we are to stand firm is the good news about Jesus, that Jesus himself preached: In Jesus, the kingdom of God has come.

Command 3: Be courageous. As in Command 1, this term in the Greek is one word: andrizomai. A more accurate translation might be “Act like men!” Courage is part of that, but the emphasis seems to be upon maturity. “Exercise a mature-in-the-faith courage!” is Paul’s command. Maturity in the faith is a theme throughout 1 Corinthians. In 14:20, Paul has just pleaded with these believers “do not be children in your thinking . . . but in your thinking be mature” (NASB). To stand firm in the faith, one must be mature in the faith.

Command 4: Be strong. A bit more Greek? This command is a verb in the passive voice. Passive verbs receive rather than perform action. A better translation than “Be strong!” is “Be strengthened!” The spiritual strength we need to stand firm in the faith is not something we can create ourselves. It is something God creates within us as we submit to Him in Christ. Be strengthened!

Four spiritual imperatives: Stay alert! Stand firm! Behave mature! Be strong with God-given strength! That’s a recipe for Christian faithfulness.


By Loren Stacy – Reprinted with permission from The Bible Advocate July-August, 2021.

There are four  things every Bible reader thinks they know about the story of the first woman:
 
1. Her name was Eve
2. She was created from man’s rib
3. She tempted the man to sin
4. She was told she would suffer pain in childbirth for her sin.
 
What many Bible readers do not know is that each one of these four points is debatable. For example, regarding the woman’s name as “Eve,” this is only true if – taking the story literally – God spoke to the first man and woman in Hebrew. That may or may not be true, of course, but we should remember that the woman was called Eve  – “Life” in Hebrew – because  she became the “mother of all living” only later as time progressed (Genesis 3:20).  In any case, archaeologically and linguistically we know that there are many languages older than Hebrew – which is actually somewhat of a “late-comer” among the known languages of the world. In a much older Sumerian (Mesopotamian) story, the god Enki unlawfully ate plants, and various parts of his body became diseased. A goddess who healed Enki's rib was called Ninti, whose name means “lady of the rib” or “lady of life” – evoking the story of Eve whose name means “life” and who was said to be created from the rib of Adam.
 
The creation of Eve from Adam’s rib is also another point of debate. We will not look at that here as the situation is complex and far from settled. But it is worth noting that other translations and understandings of Genesis 2:21–23  do exist.  Instead of focusing on this point we will look at the two others listed above (points 3 and 4), as these have doctrinal significance for our understanding of the message of Genesis 3.
 
As for Eve tempting Adam, we should remember first and foremost that the biblical account never actually uses the word “tempt.” Rather, it simply says that Eve took the forbidden fruit and ate it and “also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).  In this, the biblical story is actually very different from the ancient Mesopotamian story – found in the Epic of Gilgamesh – where the character Enkidu who lives in the “Edin” wilderness is seduced by a temple prostitute after which his wild animal companions reject him and he feels forced to leave the area of the Edin. Although the biblical account makes no mention of sex being the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, some Christian traditions have interpreted it that way, while others reject the interpretation as having no biblical basis (see Genesis 1:28 – spoken before the forbidden fruit incident).
 
But perhaps most interesting of all – and most biblically significant – is the insubstantial nature of the idea that Eve was cursed, for her sin, to endure pain in childbirth.  In most translations we read something to the effect that “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing, in pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16 ESV, etc.).  But the Hebrew word typically translated “pain” in this verse is actually the word for “work” or “toil” – the same Hebrew word used in the following verse when God tells the man “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it.” (Genesis 3:17 NKJV, etc.). Interestingly, some translations – such as the NIV’s “with painful labor you will give birth” – try to straddle the fence with this verse by including the literal “labor” or “work” as well as the traditional rendering of “pain.”
 
Furthermore, the word translated “childbearing” in this verse in many Bible versions is actually the Hebrew word for “pregnancy.”  So a more literal reading of  the curse on the woman is that God told her “I will increase your toil and your pregnancies.” The punishment on the woman was not fundamentally different from that placed on the man – it was simply expressed in a different way.
 
In all – or at least the majority – of these ways we see that the story of Eve has been interpreted, translated, and understood by its readers in somewhat different ways to what the Bible actually says.

The book of Jeremiah contains a statement by the prophet that many find troubling: “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”  (Jeremiah 4:10).    On the face of it, this statement – which appears to accuse God of deception – contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches that God cannot and does not lie (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18; etc.).  But several explanations are possible to account for this apparent contradiction and we will look at them in turn.

First, it has been suggested that by a small change to the vowel points of one Hebrew word in this verse, the meaning can be better understood as “they shall say” (meaning the false prophets who had foretold peace – Jeremiah 6:14; 14:13; 23:17; etc.)  rather than Jeremiah himself being the speaker.  Viewed this way, the verse would mean that the false prophets were complaining to God that he had not brought about what they said he had predicted. This kind of irony – ridiculing the prophets who claimed to be speaking under inspiration from God – is certainly possible and would fit the context well, but there are other possible explanations that do not require any change to the biblical text.

It is possible that Jeremiah implies that God allowed the people of Judah to be deceived by the false prophets they themselves supported (Jeremiah 5:31). This seems to be the case in other situations such as that which we find mentioned in the book of Ezekiel: “And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel” (Ezekiel 14:9 ESV). This appears to also be the case in what the apostle Paul wrote: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). From this perspective, God does not directly mislead his people, but permits others to do so, especially when it fits his purpose of allowing the rebellious people’s hearts to be hardened.

It is also possible that Jeremiah’s statement is  posed as a question rather than  a statement – in other words, the prophet is asking “How can it be, God, that you allow people to be deluded by false prophets?”  Viewed this way, Jeremiah is wondering or marveling out loud about the situation rather than making a critical statement. 
 
But there is a final and perhaps more likely possibility regarding the meaning of Jeremiah 4:10. Importantly, that verse is not the only passage where the prophet appears to emotionally accuse God of “deceit.”  In Jeremiah 20:7, using a synonymous word, Jeremiah states “You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me” (see also Jeremiah 15:18; etc.).   So, if we accept the words of Jeremiah 4:10 at face value, it is possible that Jeremiah meant that he had received God’s earlier promises of the peace that would eventually come to God’s people (Jeremiah 3:14–18; etc.) without realizing that this peace would only come later, after Judah’s inevitable downfall. Seen this way, Jeremiah may simply have supposed the positive eventual outcome was closer than it really was.

It is easy to presume that the Old Testament prophets had a kind of divinely granted understanding so that they knew when and how the prophecies they were given would be fulfilled. But we should remember that this was not the case at all.  The apostle Peter reminds us that “This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you” (1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT) or, as the ESV translates this verse, the prophets were “trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing.”

So, in conclusion, while we may not know for sure which of the various possible meanings of Jeremiah 4:10 is the actual meaning of the verse, it is certain that there are several ways in which the verse can be understood without it contradicting other, clearer, biblical verses.  As is so often the case with difficult scriptures, Jeremiah 4:10 may seem confusing, but in reality, there is no reason why its intended meaning need be seen as not being in harmony with the rest of the Bible.

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​The Gospel of Luke is frequently seen as the “Gospel of the Lowly.” It is said to be the gospel that champions the marginalized in society – women, the sick, tax collectors, and  perhaps especially, the poor. And it is easy to see Luke as the Gospel with a social conscience: it is Luke the physician who notices and looks with care at the lowly – often recording their words when no other gospel does. Near the very beginning of his account Luke alone records the words of Mary that God has looked with favor on “the humble state of his servant ... He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:48, 52–53).  In Luke, we are told Jesus was commissioned to preach good news to the poor (Luke 4:16; 7:22); and while the beatitudes in Luke speak of the blessing of the poor and the hungry, there are corresponding woes (only in Luke) on the rich and full (Luke 6:20–26).

Similarly, in Luke’s Acts, among other examples, we are told about poor individuals begging for alms (Acts 3:2–3), that some believers sold their possessions to help the poor and needy (Acts 4:32–35), and that the churches sent financial help to the poor in Jerusalem (Acts 24:17).

So we can be forgiven if we see all these (and many more) examples in Luke-Acts and presume that Luke champions the poor and needy. But is this really what Luke does? Luke certainly does often show the poor in a favorable light and also gives examples of the rich abusing their power and refusing to part with their riches (for example, the parable of the “rich fool” living a life of greed in Luke 12:16–21, and that of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31).

Looking at Luke Again

But this is not all that Luke does. Of the four gospel writers, Luke has the most to say about riches and poverty, but if we look closely, Luke speaks not only for the poor, but for the rich also.  We should not forget that Luke was doubtless not a poor man himself (physicians were as well paid in his day as they are in ours), and we should remember that Luke and Acts were apparently written for a rich man – the “noble” Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). More importantly, while Luke gives examples of the righteous poor, he actually gives more examples of the righteous rich.

Luke details and praises the works of a number of individuals who unquestionably qualified as being very well-off in that society. We need only look at the centurion whose servant Jesus healed and who, as a benefactor, had built a synagogue for the Jews (Luke 7:2–4) or the centurion Cornelius who Luke tells us was “devout and God-fearing” and who “gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly” (Acts 10:2). We read also of Zachaeus who had become wealthy as a tax collector, but who gave half of what he had and displayed great generosity when he heard the gospel (Luke 19:1–10). Likewise, Luke 8:1–3 lists a number of women (including the doubtless well-off Joanna, the wife of the manager of King Herod’s household) who we are told  supported Jesus’ ministry financially. These and other well-to-do individuals were all rich yet living righteously. And we should not forget Joseph of Arimathea, the wealthy man (Matthew 27:57), who gave his own tomb for Jesus and who Luke describes unequivocally as a “good and upright man” (Luke 23:50–53).

When we see all these rich but righteous individuals, we realize that Luke’s negative examples from among the wealthy are not a criticism of the rich, but of the rich who are captive to their worldly riches – as with the story of the rich young ruler who did not follow Christ when he had opportunity to do so (Luke 18:18–30). 

Looking closer still, we find that Luke not only mentions godly rich men and women, but also he often seems to alternate examples of unrighteous rich and righteous rich individuals (for example, the rich young ruler in Luke 18 and Zachaeus in Luke 19; etc.). This pattern can hardly be coincidental and  indicates that Luke was consciously showing both – purposefully setting one alongside the other and showing the universal acceptance of the gospel by rich and poor alike.  
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The realization of this fact gives us a clearer understanding of Luke’s message. Luke does not “champion the poor and put down the rich” as is so often said. Rather, Luke levels the field – he equalizes rich and poor before God, showing the poor that they are elevated in God’s calling and reminding the rich they are humbled in theirs (as James 1:9–12 so clearly states). The rich are not put down in Luke’s writings – they are shown as having special responsibilities and opportunities to help others. But in showing this Luke emphasizes that there are many righteous rich, just as there are many righteous poor.