Good News 9-08-21

Peter and I feel privileged to be able to pray for you, our wonderful loved ones of all ages and cultures. When praying for some of our older friends, and of course Peter and I fall into that “older” category too, I found myself asking the Lord why it is that many times we older folks face some of the same struggles as those who are younger, but we often have to endure the suffering with weakening bodies that have less strength to fight with.

That seemed a little unfair. However, the Lord very lovingly explained the situation from a little different perspective. He said:

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven, and that is also true of the challenges people face at different times of life. Every season of life has both suffering and faith, weakness and strength, sorrow and joy. These experiences may take different forms at different ages and stages of life, but they are balanced with other gifts that enable each to bear what they have been called to face.

All can be overcomers. All face struggles that are tempered by My love and shored up by the grace and gifts that I have provided. My promise to, in some form or another, make “a way of escape” is for young and old. I will not allow you to face more than you can bear as you cling to Me.

What the Lord is saying here reminds me of the beloved poem, which I think we all know, written by Annie Johnson Flint, called “He Giveth More Grace.” It was written when she was still young.

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

There’s no question that the struggles are many as we grow older, but the Lord is also faithful to provide what we need in response to what we face. We may not have as much to work with in the physical as far as strength, endurance, overall good health, etc., but He makes up for those lacks in other ways. Looking at this issue as He sees it helped me to understand the always amazing balance that Jesus brings to our lives as we stay close to Him.

Yes, change can be difficult as we get older, but Jesus has given us the power to change our perception of the situation we are in, and that kind of change is revitalizing. One of my favorite verses, especially now in this season of life, is 2 Corinthians 4:16:

Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.1

Or, in another translation:

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.2

Some things are more difficult in old age, but overall, the experiences of a lifetime and the wisdom that often comes from experience can provide insight as to how to cope and even to turn our challenges into something very good.

Here is another prophecy with words of encouragement on this issue:

When troubles abound for My children, My grace does much more abound. In old age the smiles may more often come through the tears, but they can bring an even deeper abiding joy as well, because they are sooner to be wiped away forever. The older you grow, the closer you get to your heavenly reward.

What is the hardest part of a race? Some might say it’s the final stretch before the finish line, but that is not necessarily so in many cases. The end may be the most taxing part of the race for your body, because you are feeling close to the end of your physical strength, but in some cases, the most difficult part of the race is the middle.

In the beginning you are exuberant and full of energy. Life feels fresh and clean, and the sun and air are invigorating! You feel invincible!

But by the middle of the race, you’re dirty and sweaty and beginning to tire. The climb is hard and the sun is hot. The initial exuberance you felt has lost some of its sheen.

What appeared to be exciting and full of promise is becoming a lot of hard work, and it’s discouraging to face the mountains still to be crossed that seem to loom a lot larger than they did at the beginning of the race. You’ve taken a beating from the run, and you begin to wonder if this was such a great idea after all.

You’re wondering if you can endure long enough, because that finish line seems such a long way away still. In the middle of a race, you don’t have the sight of that finish line to propel you forward the way it can as you near the end. Many of your battles are ones of endurance and striving to keep your vision strong in the midst of the struggles you face.

Embracing old age is not for the faint of heart, either, but if you choose to see your struggles in the right perspective, and you place your trust in Me the best you can, then you can face these later years with a quiet confidence and peace, in spite of the difficulties.

Work with Me day by day, because you’ve learned from decades of experience that that is always the best way. Trust Me that we will overcome the difficulties together, and I will bring a deep abiding joy that isn’t built on anything of this earthly life. It’s built more solidly on what is coming, instead of on the remnants of the past. That is how old age can become something glorious in spirit.

Your finish line is starting to come into view, and while the pace may be slower, what awaits you can give you added determination to push on. So often your perspective can make a world of difference.

When you can shine in the midst of inability, whatever your age, that is a beautiful victory. So, use all that your life experience has taught you.

* * *

When Victor Hugo was more than eighty years old, he expressed his faith in this beautiful way:

Within my soul I feel the evidence of my future life. I am like a forest that has been cut down more than once, yet the new growth has more life than ever. I am always rising toward the sky, with the sun shining down on my head. The earth provides abundant sap for me, but heaven lights my way to worlds unknown.

People say the soul is nothing but the effect of our bodily powers at work. If that were true, then why is my soul becoming brighter as my body begins to fail? Winter may be filling my head, but an eternal spring rises from my heart. At this late hour of my life, I smell the fragrance of lilacs, violets, and roses, just as I did when I was twenty. And the closer I come to the end of my journey, the more clearly I hear the immortal symphonies of eternal worlds inviting me to come. It is awe-inspiring yet profoundly simple.

* * *

“[You] have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.”—Isaiah 46:3b,43

1 NIV.

2 NLT.

3 BSB.

MAY 21, 2021

The Greatest Thing in the World—Part Four

Love Defended

By Henry Drummond

Now I have a sentence or two to add about Paul’s reason for singling out love as the supreme possession. It is a very remarkable reason. In a single word it is this: it lasts. “Love,” urges Paul, “never faileth.” Then he begins again one of his marvelous lists of the great things of the day, and exposes them one by one. He runs over the things that men thought were going to last, and shows that they are all fleeting, temporary, passing away.

“Whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away.” It was a mother’s ambition for her boy in those days that he should become a prophet. For hundreds of years God had never spoken by means of any prophet, and at that time the prophet was greater than the king. Men waited wistfully for another messenger to come, and hung upon his lips when he appeared, as upon the very voice of God. Paul says, “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail.” The Bible is full of prophecies. One by one they have “failed”; that is, having been fulfilled, their work is finished; they have nothing more to do now in the world except to feed a devout man’s faith.

Then Paul talks about tongues. That was another thing that was greatly coveted. “Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.” Take it in any sense you like. Take it, for illustration merely, as languages in general. Consider the words in which these chapters were written—Greek. It is gone. Take the Latin—the other great tongue of those days. It ceased long ago. The language of Wales, of Ireland, of the Scottish Highlands is dying before our eyes. The most popular book in the English tongue at the present time, except the Bible, is one of Dickens’ works, his Pickwick Papers. It is largely written in the language of London street-life; and experts assure us that in fifty years it will be unintelligible to the average English reader.

Then Paul goes farther, and with even greater boldness adds, “Whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.” The wisdom of the ancients, where is it? It is gone. A schoolboy to-day knows more than Sir Isaac Newton knew; his knowledge has vanished. You put yesterday’s newspaper in the fire: its knowledge has vanished. You buy the old editions of the great encyclopedias for a few cents: their knowledge has vanished. Look how the coach has been superseded by the use of steam. Look how electricity has superseded that, and swept a hundred almost new inventions into oblivion. “Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” At every workshop you will see, in the back yard, a heap of old iron, a few wheels, a few levers, a few cranks, broken and eaten with rust. Twenty years ago that was the pride of the city. Men flocked in from the country to see the great invention; now it is superseded, its day is done. And all the boasted science and philosophy of this day will soon be old.

Knowledge does not last. Can you tell me anything that is going to last? Many things Paul did not condescend to name. He did not mention money, fortune, fame; but he picked out the great things of his time, the things the best men thought had something in them, and brushed them peremptorily aside. Paul had no charge against these things in themselves. All he said about them was that they would not last. They were great things, but not supreme things. There were things beyond them. What we are stretches past what we do, beyond what we possess. John says of the world, not that it is wrong, but simply that it “passeth away.” There is a great deal in the world that is delightful and beautiful, great and engrossing; but it will not last.

All that is in the world, the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, are but for a little while. Love not the world therefore. Nothing that it contains is worth the life and consecration of an immortal soul. The immortal soul must give itself to something that is immortal. And the only immortal things are these: “Now abideth faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is love.”

Some think the time may come when two of these three things will also pass away—faith into sight, hope into fruition. Paul does not say so. We know but little now about the conditions of the life that is to come. But what is certain is that love must last. God, the eternal God, is love. Covet, therefore, that everlasting gift, that one thing which it is certain is going to stand, that one coinage which will be current in the Universe when all the other coinages of all the nations of the world shall be useless. You will give yourselves to many things, give yourself first to love. Hold things in their proportion. Let at least the first great object of our lives be to achieve the character defended in these words, the character—and it is the character of Christ—which is built round love.

I have said this thing is eternal. Did you ever notice how continually John associates love and faith with eternal life? To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever. Hence, eternal life is inextricably bound with love. We want to live forever for the same reason that we want to live tomorrow. Why do we want to live tomorrow? Is it because there is someone who loves you, and whom you want to see tomorrow, and be with, and love back? There is no other reason why we should live on other than that we love and are beloved.

Eternal life also is to know God, and God is love. This is Christ’s own definition. Ponder it. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” Love must be eternal. It is God. That is the philosophy of what Paul is showing us; the reason why in the nature of things love should be the supreme thing—because it is going to last; because in the nature of things it is eternal life.

Now I have all but finished. How many of you will join me in reading this chapter once a week for the next three months? A man did that once and it changed his whole life. Will you do it? It is for the greatest thing in the world—love. You might begin by reading it every day, especially the verses which describe the perfect character. “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself.” Get these ingredients into your life. It is worth giving time to. No man can become a saint in his sleep; and to fulfill the condition required demands a certain amount of prayer and meditation and time, just as improvement in any direction, bodily or mentally, requires preparation and care.

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love. As memory scans the past, above and beyond all the transitory pleasures of life, there leap forward those supreme hours when you have been enabled to do unnoticed kindnesses to those round about you, things too trifling to speak about, but which you feel have entered into your eternal life.

I have seen almost all the beautiful things God has made; I have enjoyed almost every pleasure that He has planned for man; and yet as I look back, I see standing out above all four or five short experiences, when the love of God reflected itself in some poor imitation, some small act of love of mine, and these seem to be the things which alone of all one’s life abide. Everything else in all our lives is transitory. Every other good is visionary. But the acts of love, they never fail.

Thank God the Christianity of today is coming nearer the world’s need. Live to help that on. Thank God men know better, by a hair’s breadth, what religion is, what God is, who Christ is, where Christ is. Who is Christ? He who fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick. And where is Christ? Where?—“Whoso shall receive a little child in My name receiveth Me.” And who are Christ’s? “Every one that loveth is born of God.”

Public domain. Condensed and slightly adapted from the original, published in 1891:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16739/16739-h/16739-h.htm.

Faithfulness in Forgotten Places

Why Small Obedience Matters to God

Article by

Scott Hubbard

Editor, desiringGod.org

When the Holy Spirit cultivates his fruit in our lives, he often works in ways we would never pray for (Galatians 5:22–23). To grow the fruit of love in us, he may give us an enemy; to grow the fruit of peace, he may allow conflict to come near. And to grow the fruit of faithfulness, he may send us to forgotten places.

Forgotten places are those corners of the world where no one seems to be watching, where our efforts go unseen, unthanked. Perhaps we labor among diapers and dishes, cubicles and emails. Or maybe, more painfully, among unfruitful mission fields, rebellious children, or spouses whose love has cooled. All of us live in forgotten places sometimes; some live there all the time.

Drudgery as a Disciple

We should beware of underestimating the spiritual strain of such monotonous and seemingly unrewarded toil. The daily duties in forgotten places may be small, but pile them up over months, years, or decades, and you may start to sympathize with Oswald Chambers when he writes,

We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus.

“To grow the fruit of faithfulness, God may send us to forgotten places.”

Chambers may overstate his case — but not by much. In truth, the forgotten places can feel like a wilderness, and many days come when we find ourselves searching for something to keep us going, some water from the rock to sustain us in this desert (Psalm 105:41).

We will find it, not in the forgotten places themselves, but in the God who sent us here, who is with us here, and who promises to reward us here.

God’s Providence

At times, we may stare at the responsibilities in front of us and wonder how we landed here. How did we wander into this wilderness of drab days and hidden obedience? We have become familiar with the backward glance, wondering if we missed a turn somewhere. How clarifying, then, to remember that our life situation is not ultimately a matter of chance, nor of any mistakes we have made, nor even of the string of events leading up to the present, but of God’s providence. The tasks in front of us are, at least for today, God’s assignment to us.

To be sure, God’s providence does not nullify the decisions — and perhaps the mistakes or sins — that led us to this station in life, nor does it discourage us from striving after better circumstances: we are more than twigs in the stream of God’s purposes. But God’s providence does teach us to see, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, that “leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.” No matter how we got here, the forgotten places are ultimately from our Father’s hand.

Over and again, God describes our own plans and efforts as significant, but his as decisive — even over the most personal matters of life. He determines when and where we live (Acts 17:26). He assigns to us a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). He apportions spiritual gifts as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). He entrusts to us a number of talents — whether five, two, or just one (Matthew 25:15). He gives us a specific ministry (Colossians 4:17). He even calls us to a particular life (1 Corinthians 7:17).

In time, this forgotten place may give way to somewhere different — and depending on the circumstances, we may be wise to seek that change. But for now, we can look at the responsibilities in front of us and say with relief, “My Father’s hand has led me here.”

God’s Pleasure

God not only sends us to the forgotten places, however; he also meets us there. When we labor in obscurity, he is near (Psalm 139:5). When our work escapes the notice of every human eye, it does not escape his (Luke 12:7). He catches every whispered prayer, every Godward groan. He stands ready at every moment to mark the smallest tasks we perform in faith.

The wise man tells us why: “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). God delights not mainly in the greatness of the work, but in the faithfulness of the worker. What else could explain the New Testament’s insistence that even the lowest, most invisible members of society are “serving the Lord Christ” when they walk faithfully in their callings (Colossians 3:24)? The smallest duties done in faith become duties done for Christ.

“God delights not mainly in the greatness of the work, but in the faithfulness of the worker.”

The missionary Hudson Taylor was fond of saying, “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.” Cooking a meal, filling a spreadsheet, buying groceries, wiping a child’s nose — these are little things. But if done faithfully for Christ’s sake, they become greater than all the triumphs and trophies of an unbelieving world. They become the delight of our watching Lord.

God’s Promise

Once we have traced God’s providence in the past and felt his pleasure in the present, he would have us consider the future, when all our obedience will be rewarded.

When many Christians imagine judgment day, we assume the spotlight will fall on the grand acts of sin and righteousness. And surely it will — but not only. Remarkably, when Jesus and the apostles speak of that day, they often focus on life’s ordinary moments.

“On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,” Jesus tells us (Matthew 12:36). On the other hand, God will reward his people for the smallest good works they do by his grace: for giving to the needy (Matthew 6:4), for praying in the closet (Matthew 6:6), for fasting in secret (Matthew 6:18), even for giving a cup of cold water to one of Christ’s disciples (Matthew 10:42).

The apostle Paul similarly writes that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10). But then in Ephesians he clarifies the kind of good he has in mind: not just extravagant good, impressive good, or above-average good, but “whatever good” (Ephesians 6:8). Come judgment day, every scrap of unseen obedience will find its fitting reward.

Living and dying in forgotten places, then, is no infallible index of our labor in God’s eyes. Many saints, in fact, will not know the true worth of what they’ve done for Christ until Christ himself tells them (Matthew 25:37–40).

Exceptional in the Ordinary

Chambers, after remarking on the grace required to endure drudgery as a disciple, goes on to write, “It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes.”

Again, Chambers may slightly overstate his case. God sometimes does call us to do exceptional things for him: to adopt children, to launch ministries, to plant churches, to move overseas. But the point still holds, because none of us will do anything exceptional unless we have first learned, through ten thousand steps of faithfulness, to be exceptional in the ordinary.

We are not on our own here. Faithfulness, remember, is a fruit of the Spirit. And to bear that fruit in us, he would have us treasure up the providence, the pleasure, and the promises of God that hem us in behind and before, and follow us into every forgotten place.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ public ministry comes to an end in chapter 12. For the most part, the next five chapters focus on His final teaching to His disciples.

Before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.1 

This opening verse of chapter 13 sets up the timing, showing that the events which were to transpire happened right before the Passover feast. We’re told that Jesus knew that “His hour had come,” meaning the time of His death, the time He would depart out of this world. Throughout this chapter, we read other references to Jesus knowing what was going to happen.2 He was not taken by surprise.

Because Jesus knew that He had little time left, He put emphasis on teaching His disciples, and this continues through the next five chapters of this Gospel. In this opening statement, we’re also told something about Jesus’ relationship with those who had followed Him during His ministry. He loved His disciples all along, and He would love them to the end—an end which was drawing close.

The next sentence is a long one and it makes up three verses, so I’ll cover it verse by verse.

During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him …3

We’re not told where the supper was taking place, nor do we know exactly when it happened, only that it was sometime before the Feast of Passover. As readers, we are informed that the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus; however, this was unknown to the disciples at the time.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God …4

The Gospel writer makes the point that Jesus had command of the situation. Just as He knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world, we now read that He knew that the Father had given all things into his hands and that He was going to return to His Father. Jesus was about to take a very low place, but He knew that He was going to return to the place of the highest honor in His Father’s presence.

… rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.5

Jesus got up from the table and took off His outer garments. He was likely left wearing only a loincloth, as a slave would wear. He then took a towel and wrapped it around His waist. The Greek word translated as towel refers to a linen cloth or apron which servants would put on when doing their work. This is the end of the sentence which comprises three verses.

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.6

One author explains: Proper etiquette … taught that guests, begrimed from journeying through the dusty streets, should, on arrival, have their feet washed by a slave. This was a particularly humble task, included in a list of works which a Jewish slave should not be required to perform.7 Though it was a humble task, Jesus washed and dried His disciples’ feet.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”8 

It seems likely that the disciples had been silent while Jesus was washing their feet. It was only when He came to Peter that words were spoken. In a sense, Peter was speaking for all of the disciples, as he considered it inappropriate for the one whom he had earlier called the Holy One of God9 to wash his feet.

Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”10

It doesn’t seem that Jesus was offended at what Peter said, but He did caution him by pointing out that Peter would come to understand at a later time. This is similar to other comments found in the Gospel of John. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.11 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.12 It may be that the afterward refers to when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, after Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”13 

Even though Jesus had pointed out to Peter that he would later understand the significance of His actions, Peter still rejected the idea of Jesus washing his feet. Jesus’ response was blunt. Unless Peter let Jesus wash his feet, he would have no part with Him. This was similar in tone to other rather strong statements Jesus made: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”15 One author wrote: Quite simply, Jesus is telling Peter that refusing the love about to be displayed in the washing of his feet would simply prove that he was not one of Jesus’ “own who were in the world” (v. 1), but belonged instead to “the world” itself.16

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”17

Having rashly stated that Jesus would never wash his feet, he now wants his head and hands washed as well. Peter seems to have been an impetuous person, one who acted quickly without much thought or care. We find another example of this in the account of Jesus’ transfiguration, when Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.18 Though impetuous, Peter’s comment about Jesus washing his hands and his head was probably sincere and it gave Jesus the opportunity to make a point to the disciples and to all who read this Gospel.

Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”19

Jesus pointed out that if one has bathed and afterwards goes out, such as to the feast which the disciples were presently attending, then they only need to wash their feet, as they are clean. Jesus was making the point that His disciples were clean from sin, in the sense that they were believers and had been forgiven of sin.

The one exception was Judas Iscariot.

He knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”20 

Earlier in this Gospel, we are told that Jesus was aware who would betray Him. (Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)21 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”22 Jesus didn’t name the traitor at this point, so His disciples didn’t know who it was. Before the end of the meal, He would let two of His disciples know who was going to betray Him.

(To be continued.)

Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

General Bibliography

Bailey, Kenneth E. Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008.

Biven, David. New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus. Holland: En-Gedi Resource Center, 2007.

Bock, Darrell L. Jesus According to Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.

Bock, Darrell L. Luke Volume 1: 1:1–9:50. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994.

Bock, Darrell L. Luke Volume 2: 9:51–24:53. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996.

Brown, Raymond E. The Birth of the Messiah. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah. 2 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

Carson, D. A. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1987.

Charlesworth, James H., ed. Jesus’ Jewishness, Exploring the Place of Jesus Within Early Judaism. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1997.

Chilton, Bruce, and Craig A. Evans, eds. Authenticating the Activities of Jesus. Boston: Brill Academic, 1999.

Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Updated Edition. Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.

Elwell, Walter A., ed. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988.

Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.

Evans, Craig A. World Biblical Commentary: Mark 8:27–16:20. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000.

Evans, Craig A., and N. T. Wright. Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.

Flusser, David. Jesus. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1998.

Flusser, David, and R. Steven Notely. The Sage from Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus’ Genius. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.

France, R. T. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.

Gnilka, Joachim. Jesus of Nazareth: Message and History. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.

Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.

Green, Joel B., and Scot McKnight, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

Guelich, Robert A. World Biblical Commentary: Mark 1–8:26. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1989.

Jeremias, Joachim. The Eucharistic Words of Jesus. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990.

Jeremias, Joachim. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1996.

Jeremias, Joachim. Jesus and the Message of the New Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.

Jeremias, Joachim. New Testament Theology. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971.

Jeremias, Joachim. The Prayers of Jesus. Norwich: SCM Press, 1977.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume 1. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume 2. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

Lewis, Gordon R., and Bruce A. Demarest. Integrative Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.

Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976.

Manson, T. W. The Sayings of Jesus. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957.

Manson, T. W. The Teaching of Jesus. Cambridge: University Press, 1967.

McKnight, Scot. Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.

Michaels, J. Ramsey. The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.

Milne, Bruce. The Message of John. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.

Morris, Leon. Luke. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988.

Ott, Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Rockford: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1960.

Pentecost, J. Dwight. The Words & Works of Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981.

Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.

Sheen, Fulton J. Life of Christ. New York: Doubleday, 1958.

Spangler, Ann, and Lois Tverberg. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.

Stassen, Glen H., and David P. Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2003.

Stein, Robert H. Jesus the Messiah. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

Stein, Robert H. Mark. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.

Stein, Robert H. The Method and Message of Jesus’ Teachings. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.

Stein, Robert H. The New American Commentary: Luke. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 1992.

Stott, John R. W. The Message of the Sermon on the Mount. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978.

Talbert, Charles H. Reading the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.

Williams, J. Rodman. Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.

Witherington, Ben, III. The Christology of Jesus. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Witherington, Ben, III. The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001.

Wood, D. R. W., I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman, eds. New Bible Dictionary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

Wright, N. T. After You Believe. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2010.

Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.

Wright, N. T. Matthew for Everyone, Part 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

Young, Brad H. Jesus the Jewish Theologian. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1995.

1 John 13:1.

2 John 13:3, 11.

3 John 13:2.

4 John 13:3.

5 John 13:4.

6 John 13:5.

7 Milne, The Message of John, 197.

8 John 13:6.

9 John 6:68–69.

10 John 13:7.

11 John 12:16.

12 John 2:22.

13 John 13:8.

14 John 3:5.

15 John 6:53.

16 Michaels, The Gospel of John, 729.

17 John 13:9.

18 Mark 9:5–6, Matthew 17:4, Luke 9:33.

19 John 13:10.

20 John 13:11.

21 John 6:64.

22 John 6:70.

MAY 18, 2021

The Sacrifice of Praise

A compilation

Audio length: 14:08
Download Audio (12.9MB)

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.—Hebrews 13:15

*

We have so much to praise God for every day, there’s great power in giving honor to Him. The Bible is filled with examples of praise and worship when we see His power released, life-changing miracles, dramatic stories of the enemy being halted or defeated, hearts being changed and drawn closer to Him.

Yet the reality is that way too often, daily struggles or constant life demands can crowd out our praise and worship to God. … Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise. We may not feel like it. We’re struggling. We’re weary.

Or maybe we feel like God has let us down. He may seem distant to us, like He doesn’t really care about what we’re struggling through or worrying about. Painful life blows and losses may have recently sent us spiraling. We’re still trying to get our feet on the ground and put broken pieces back together again.

Here’s what can make a lasting difference. When we make that decision to fix our eyes on Him, and daily give Him praise, no matter what’s staring us straight in the face, we suddenly realize that God has already begun to release the grip those struggles can have over us. …

When we feel pressed and burdened, weighed down with cares, and in despair without hope, God reminds us that He is able to provide all that we need. He promises to bring beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of despair.1 We can trust that He can do in us, for us, what we are never fully able to do for ourselves.

If you feel stuck in hard places today and can’t see a way out of your current situation, God wants to fully cover you in garments of praise. He gives you a new name, and will cause His Spirit to rise up within you. … God dwells close to us when we praise Him. He lives there. He looks for it. He inhabits the praises of His people.2

We have a choice every day in this life. We can choose to live absorbed in worry and stress, on the fast track of busy, focused only on what surrounds us, and tuned in to the roar of the world. Or we can ask God to help us take our eyes off all that may be swirling around, our problems and mess, and the voices of others. We can look up to Him, the one who holds it all together, and who holds us in His hands.

God desires our whole heart. He waits for us to return if we’ve drifted away. He longs for us to know the power of His presence in and through our lives. He desires to bless us more than we could ever imagine. His Spirit urges us onward, calling us closer.

May He help us to look up again today, to remember His goodness and power in our lives, and to offer Him worship and praise.—Debbie McDaniel3

A worthy sacrifice

The entire book of Hebrews is about a new way of life and a new way of worship. Previously the Jews had been burdened with fulfilling the law, but by his sacrifice and death-defeating resurrection, Christ had set them free from its impossible standards.

Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament that had once brought a pleasing fragrance to God are now replaced with the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name in spirit and in truth.4

A sacrifice is a gift to God declaring that he is worthy, and we are not. It is also, by definition, difficult. A sacrifice hurts, it’s costly, it takes effort—and the ultimate sacrifice cost the Messiah, Jesus Christ, his life. Likewise, for us, a sacrifice of praise won’t always be easy and effortless, but difficult and costly…

Because of Scripture, we know that we don’t just confess God’s name when it feels good, looks good, or benefits us in some way. We offer praise, as Hebrews 13:15 says, “continually.” This means without ceasing, in all circumstances. Like Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

It is our duty to offer “the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”5 Therefore, I am learning to commit to acting out the duty of praise as the beginning of joy rather than the result of it.

And, as this verse says, we’re able to do all this “through him.” Through Jesus, we’re able to see the great, great love of our great, great God who holds everything in the palm of his hand and bends it to his will with a word. Through Jesus, our mediator, we’re able to access the Father in order to give him due praise.6

Nehemiah says, “The joy of the Lord is our strength.”7 Through praise we enjoy God—imagine that! Praise focuses us on where our joy comes from and where our gaze should be, and the result is our strength! Whether through prayer, meditation on God’s Word, thanksgiving, or praise, we can lift tired hands even when it’s hard—especially when it’s hard—and say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD!”8—Amy Dunham9

A heart of praise

When I was a kid, I recollect feeling gratitude or thankfulness for things that gave me immediate gratification. If I got something I wanted that made me happy, I was glad. If not, I wasn’t. It was pretty simple; I was grateful for good things. The scripture “Be thankful in all circumstances”10 is something I am still learning to apply in my life. Expressing gratitude when things happen that I don’t want, when I’m disappointed or down, does not come naturally at all.

However, in life we are going to experience hardships and difficulties and downright bad days, regardless of who we are or what we believe. That’s the nature of life. But the beauty of having belief and faith in God is that while God doesn’t always rescue us from the problems, He does always give us the strength to face them, tackle them, and overcome them through our faith. The apostle Paul was a terrific example of having gratitude and giving praise to God in the face of extreme hardship and adversity.

Here are some of the highlights of the difficulties Paul experienced, documented in the book of Acts:

  • Paul and Barnabas were persecuted and expelled from Antioch (Acts 13:14–50)
  • Paul was stoned in Lystra (Acts 14:19–20)
  • Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23–39)
  • There was an insurrection against Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:12)
  • Paul was attacked by a mob in the temple of Jerusalem and was taken to prison (Acts 21:26–22:23)
  • There was a conspiracy against Paul’s life (Acts 23:12–13)
  • Paul spent two years in prison at Caesarea (Acts 23:23; 24:26–27)
  • Paul was shipwrecked and bitten by a snake on Malta (Acts 27 and 28)
  • Paul spent another two years as a prisoner in Rome (Acts 28:30–31)

Yet in spite all of these challenges and suffering, Paul was still able to say: “I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in,”11 and “Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”12

It’s relatively easy to be grateful when life is going well and smoothly, but it’s during the times when it feels like all hell is breaking loose or we’re facing problem after problem that being grateful is the last thing we want to do, and probably the hardest thing to do as well. But if we can learn to praise God even when things are difficult, we will find that He in turn gives us strength to face and even embrace those times of trouble, trusting in the ultimate good He will bring about in them.13

The verse that says God inhabits the praise of His people14 is a reminder that when I am grateful, I am recognizing that God dwells in me, and by His grace and strength, He gives the power to overcome anything and be “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”15

A word for praise that’s often used in Scripture is “magnify.” Psalm 34:3, for example, says, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” When you aim a magnifying glass at an object, it makes the object appear larger. It doesn’t actually change the size of the object itself, but it changes your perception of the object—it appears bigger and more prominent to you. That is a fitting illustration of what happens when we praise God. Our perception of Him and His presence in our lives expands. And when our vision is more focused on God and His power and love for us, it helps put all the little daily worries, concerns, and troubles in perspective.

As author Melody Beattie once wrote, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”—Daveen Donnelly

Published on Anchor May 2021. Read by Simon Peterson.
Music by Michael Dooley.

1 Isaiah 61:3.

2 Psalm 22:3.

4 Leviticus 23:18; John 4:24.

5 Hebrews 13:15.

6 1 Timothy 2:5.

7 Nehemiah 8:10.

8 Isaiah 6:3.

10 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT.

11 Philippians 4:11 ISV.

12 1 Thessalonians 5:18 BSB.

13 Romans 8:28.

14 Psalm 22:3 KJV.

15 Romans 8:37.

May16

THE EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY (PART 3)

2019-04-23
Peter Amsterdam

(Points from this article were taken from How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt1) In this third article of the series, we will continue to examine the positive effects that Christianity has had on the world since the death and resurrection of Jesus. The focus in this post will be twofold—the advent of hospitals and schools. Hospitals There is some evidence of a concept of healthcare facilities prior to the rise of Christianity. In ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt (5000–2000 BC), some sort of hospitals existed, and as early as the 5th century BC in India, the Buddhist religion had institutionalized healthcare facilities. In Roman times there were military hospitals for soldiers, but these were not available to the public. For the first three centuries, Christians were intermittently faced with severe persecution; therefore, the only way they could care for the sick was to take them into their homes to tend to their illnesses. Once Christianity was legal and could be freely practiced, beginning in 324 AD, Christians were in a much better position to provide institutional care for the sick and dying. The church council of Nicaea in 325 AD instructed bishops to establish a hospice in every city that had a cathedral. The purpose of a hospice was not only to care for those who were ill, but also to provide shelter for the poor and for Christian pilgrims. This aligned with what Jesus taught. I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”2 The apostle Peter wrote, Show hospitality to one another without grumbling,3 and the apostle Paul instructed church leaders that an overseer (bishop) must be … hospitable.4 As a part of hospitality, church leaders were expected to take in both strangers and other Christians in need, which included helping to care for the sick and dying. The first hospital was built by St. Basil in Caesarea, Cappadocia (Eastern Turkey), about 369 AD. The next was built in a nearby province, Edessa, in 375 AD. The first hospital in the West was built in Rome about 390 AD by Fabiola, a wealthy widow who was an associate of St. Jerome, an important Christian teacher. She founded another hospital in 398 AD, about fifty miles southwest of Rome. St. Chrysostom (d. 407) had hospitals built in Constantinople in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. By the sixth century, hospitals had become a common part of monasteries. In the ninth century, during the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, numerous hospitals were built. By the mid-1500s there were 37,000 Benedictine monasteries that cared for the sick. By that time, hospitals were plentiful in Europe. While the Crusaders, who fought eight wars between 1096 and 1291 to liberate the Holy Land from Muslim rule, deserve harsh judgment for some of their actions, one thing they did right was to construct hospitals in Palestine and other Middle Eastern areas. They also founded healthcare orders, which were dedicated to the provision of healthcare for all, Christian and Muslims alike. The Order of Hospitallers recruited women for nursing the sick. The Hospitallers of St. Lazarus devoted themselves to nursing. The Knights of the Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem not only operated and maintained hospitals, but also admitted the insane. They founded a Christian insane asylum in 1409 in Valencia, Spain.5 In the United States, one of the very first hospitals was founded by the Quakers in the early 1700s, and that was one of only two hospitals until the early 1800s. In the second half of the 1800s, many more hospitals were built, usually by local churches and Christian denominations. The hospitals were often named after the denomination which sponsored them, such as Baptist Hospital, Lutheran Hospital, Methodist Hospital, and Presbyterian Hospital. Others were given names such as St. John’s, St. Luke’s, St. Mary’s, etc. Education Another area influenced by Christianity was public education for all children. Today, free public schools are common; however, this wasn’t always the case. Prior to the 1500s, most education in Europe, especially at the elementary level, was supported and operated by the church in cathedral schools. Sadly, few people overall were literate, as very few attended the church schools. Martin Luther (1498–1546) advocated a state school system in which students of both sexes would be taught in the local language in primary schools, followed by Latin secondary schools and universities.6 His coworker Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) persuaded the civic authorities in Germany to start the first public school system. Luther also advocated that the civil authorities should compel children to attend school. Over time, Luther’s idea of compulsory education took root in other countries. Today the concept that every child should attend school is written into law in most countries. Education for the Deaf Teaching the deaf an inaudible language largely originated because of three Christian men—Abbé Charles-Michel de L’Épée, Thomas Gallaudet, and Laurent Clerc. L’Épée was a priest who developed a sign language to use in teaching the deaf in Paris in 1775. His goal was that the deaf would be able to hear the message of Jesus.7 Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc brought L’Épée’s sign language to the United States. Laurent Clerc, born in a small village near Lyon, France, lost his hearing when he was one year old. He attended the National Institute for Deaf Children of Paris and eventually became a teacher there. Thomas Gallaudet, a clergyman who wanted to help the deaf, attended the school where Clerc taught in order to learn sign language. These two men decided to travel to the United States in order to open the first school for the deaf there. Before returning to Europe in order to learn more about working with the deaf, Gallaudet said to a deaf girl, “I hope when I come back to teach you much about the Bible, and about God, and Christ.”8 The two men started a school for the deaf in 1817. In 1864, Gallaudet’s son founded the first college for the deaf, which later became known as Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Education for the Blind Not much is known about care for the blind in the first few centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection. In the fourth century, Christians operated some facilities for the blind. In 630, a typholocomium (typholos = blind + komeo = take care of) was built in Jerusalem. In the thirteenth century, Louis lX (St. Louis) built a hospice for the blind in Paris. In the 1830s, Louis Braille, a dedicated Christian Frenchman who lost his sight at an early age, developed a means by which the blind could read. He came upon a system used by the military which incorporated raised dots to enable the reading of messages in the dark. From this idea he developed his own system of pricked raised dots which allowed the blind to read. On his deathbed, he said, I am convinced that my mission is finished on earth; I tasted yesterday the supreme delight; God condescended to brighten my eyes with the splendor of eternal hope.9 Universities It is commonly accepted that the oldest existing university in Europe is the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1158. It specialized in canon law (church law). The next university in Europe was the University of Paris, founded in 1200. It originally specialized in theology, and in 1270 it added the study of medicine. Bologna became the mother of several universities in Italy, Spain, Scotland, Sweden, and Poland. The University of Paris became the mother of Oxford and of universities in Portugal, Germany, and Austria. Emmanuel College, a British Christian college within the University of Cambridge, became the mother of Harvard in America.10 Harvard University, one of America’s most prominent, was established to train ministers of the gospel. Its original motto was (in Latin) Truth for Christ and the Church. It was founded by the Congregational Church. Other prominent American universities were also founded by Christian denominations, such as the College of William and Mary (Episcopalian), Yale University (Congregational), Northwestern University (Methodist), Columbia University (Episcopalian), Princeton University (Presbyterian), and Brown University (Baptist). Christianity played an important role in the history and development of educational facilities and hospitals, and thus has helped to make the world a better place. (To read the next article in this series, click here.) Notes Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 1 Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004). 2 Matthew 25:36–40. 3 1 Peter 4:9. 4 1 Timothy 3:2, also Titus 1:7–8. 5 W. E. H. Lecky, History of European Morals (New York: Vanguard Press, 1926), 81. 6 Martin Luther, “Preface,” Small Catechism, in The Book of Concord, ed. Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 338. 7 Harlan Lane, When the Mind Hears (New York: Random House, 1984), 58. 8 Ibid., 185. 9 Etta DeGering, Seeing Fingers: The Story of Louis Braille (New York: David McKay, 1962), 110. 10 Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, 187.

Copyright © 2019 by The Family International.

May 15

THE EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY

(PART 2)

2019-04-16
Peter Amsterdam

(Points from this article were taken from How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt1)

In this Easter season, we continue to look at the profound effects that Christianity has had on the course of human history since the death and resurrection of Jesus. This article will focus on the fundamental change that Christianity wrought regarding the dignity and status of women.

Throughout the reign of the Roman Empire, women lived under the law of patria potestas, which declared that the paterfamilias (male head of the family) had absolute authority over his children, even adult ones. Married women remained under the authority of their father unless the marriage was a manus marriage, which meant that the woman ceased to be under the authority of her father and came under the control of her husband. As such, a husband could legally physically chastise his wife. If she committed adultery, he could kill her; if she committed some other serious offense, the husband was generally required to get the consent of his extended family before killing her. A manus marriage gave the man complete authority over his wife, so that she only had the legal status of an adopted daughter.

Women were not allowed to speak in public settings. All places of authority, such as city councils, the senate, and legal courts were only accessible to men. If women had any legal questions or complaints, they had to convey them to their husbands or fathers, who would take the matter to the proper authorities on the woman’s behalf, as women were required to remain silent on such matters. In general, women were held in very low regard.

In the Jewish culture throughout the rabbinic era (400 BC to 300 AD), there also existed a strong bias against women. They weren’t allowed to testify in court, as they were considered unreliable witnesses. They were likewise barred from all public speaking. They weren’t allowed to read the Torah out loud in the synagogues. One rabbinic teaching proclaimed that it was “shameful” to hear a woman’s voice in public among men.2 Synagogue worship was conducted by men. Women in attendance were separated from the men by a partition.

Some Jewish women were confined to their homes, and didn’t even approach the outer door of their homes. Young women remained in parts of the house specified as the women’s quarters to avoid being seen by men, and when they had (women) visitors, they would host them only in these parts of the home. Married women in rural areas had a bit more freedom of movement, as they helped their husbands do the farming. However, it was considered inappropriate for them to work or travel alone. Any income a married woman may have received, including inheritances, belonged to her husband.

Throughout the Gospels, we find that Jesus had a very different attitude toward women than was customary at that time, one which raised their status. Through both His teachings and actions, He rebuffed the common beliefs and practices which espoused that women were inferior to men. One example is His interaction with the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John. At that time, Jews didn’t interact with the Samaritans at all, yet Jesus requested that she give Him a drink from the well. She was surprised and wondered why He would ask her to give Him a drink, as the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.3 Jesus not only ignored the fact that she was a Samaritan, but He also spoke with a woman in public, which contravened the oral law (Jewish religious laws which were not included in the original Laws of Moses but were added over the centuries): He who talks with a woman [in public] brings evil upon himself.4 A similar rabbinic teaching stated that a man may not converse with a woman in the marketplace.5

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that women followed Jesus, which was very unusual at that time, as other Jewish teachers and rabbis did not have women disciples.

The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.6

There were also women [at His crucifixion] looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.7

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared first to women, and instructed them to tell the rest of His disciples that He had risen.

After the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. … But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” … And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”8

The early church followed Jesus’ precedent, ignoring cultural norms regarding women. Women played an important role in the church, as seen in the Epistles of Paul stating that they had churches in their homes. In the letter to Philemon, he addresses Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house.9 Nympha was a woman who had a church in her home in Laodicea.10 He referred to Prisca and her husband Aquila, who had a church in their house, as my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.11

In the book of Romans, Paul wrote: I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae.12 The Greek word translated as servant is diakonos, which is sometimes translated in the Epistles as deacon and other times as minister. Paul refers to himself as diakonos numerous times in the Epistles. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace.13 Paul used the same Greek word diakonos when referring to his co-workers and co-leaders. He referred to Tychicus as a faithful minister in the Lord14 and Epaphras as a faithful minister of Christ.15 So when he commended Phoebe as a diakonos of the church, it appears that Paul was acknowledging that she was a deacon or minister within the church.

Paul made the point that within Christianity, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.16 Jesus, Paul, and the early church worked against the concept of keeping women secluded, silent, subservient, and segregated in worship.

Jesus’ message of salvation resonated with women in the early church, so much so that early church historians maintain that generally women were more active in the church than men were. St. Chrysostom, in the fourth century, said:

The women of those days [early apostolic church] were more spirited than men.

The historian W. E. H. Lecky stated:

In the ages of persecution female figures occupy many of the foremost places and ranks of martyrdom.17

German church historian and theologian Leopold Zscharnack wrote:

Christendom dare not forget that it was primarily the female sex that for the greater part brought about its rapid growth. It was the evangelistic zeal of women in the early years of the church, and later, which won the weak and the mighty.18

In the early centuries, women outnumbered men in the church, and thus some of them married unbelieving men. When they did, the overwhelming majority of children from these “mixed marriages” were raised within the church.19

For the first 150 years of Christianity, women were highly regarded within and very important to the church. Sadly, after that time, some of the church leaders began to revert to the practices and attitudes of the Romans relating to women, and women were slowly excluded from leadership roles within the church. Over the next three centuries, church leaders incorporated views of the inferiority of women into general Christian understanding.

Clement of Alexandria (d. 215) taught that every woman should blush because she is a woman.20 Tertullian (d. 220) said:

You [Eve] are the devil’s gateway … You destroyed so easily God’s image, man. On account of your desert, that is death, even the Son of God had to die.21

Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) argued that women were to pray in church by only moving their lips. He wrote:

Let her pray, and her lips move, but let not her voice be heard.22

These attitudes were both misguided and wrong.

Even with these distorted attitudes toward women, there were still many ways in which women were on equal footing with men within the church throughout that time. For example, women received the same instruction as men when becoming members of the church, they were baptized in the same fashion as men, they participated equally with men in receiving communion, and they prayed and stood with men in the same worship setting.23

While there was some divergence from what the New Testament taught across the centuries, there were also major legal changes for the better concerning women throughout the territory of the Roman Empire. Within a half-century of Christianity being legalized, Emperor Valentinian l repealed the one-thousand-year-old patria potestas in 374 AD so that the paterfamilias no longer had absolute authority over his wife or children.

Women were granted substantially the same rights as men in control of their property … They also received the right of guardianship over their children, who previously were the sole possession of men.24

This also meant that women had a choice in who they married, instead of having their husband chosen by their father, which had been the case in ancient times. This also allowed them to marry later. Because of Paul’s teachings, husbands started seeing their wives as partners, both spiritually and practically. Today, women in the Western world are no longer compelled to marry someone they don’t want to, neither can they be legally compelled to marry as a child bride—as still happens in some places in our world.

During Jesus’ lifetime, and before, many ancient societies, especially in the Middle East, allowed polygyny (a man being married to more than one woman at the same time). Many of the Jewish patriarchs and kings such as Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, and others had multiple wives. While Jesus entered a world that accepted polygyny, when He spoke of marriage, it was invariably in the context of monogamy.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.25

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents…26

St. Paul seems to add support to the concept of monogamy when he writes that bishops/overseers should be the husband of one wife.

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife.27

The literal translation from the Greek of “the husband of one wife” is “one-woman man.” While there are other possible ways of interpreting what Paul wrote, historically the understanding leans toward monogamy in marriage. A number of the early Church Fathers in the second and third centuries wrote against polygamous marriage. When marriage is mentioned in the New Testament, it is understood to refer to monogamous marriage. The Christian view of marriage as comprising a monogamous relationship has permeated the laws of Western society.

In the Gospels, we see that Jesus had compassion for women who were widows. He raised a widow’s son from the dead,28 denounced the Pharisees for taking financial advantage of widows,29 and commended the poor widow who sacrificially gave two mites as an offering to the temple.30 The apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, instructed the Ephesian church to honor widowed mothers, and in the Epistle of James we read,

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.31

In the early second century Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, wrote:

Let not the widows be neglected. Be thou, after the Lord, their protector and friend.32

Later, widows were often chosen to be deaconesses in the church.

Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the salvation it brought to those who believe in Him has made a monumental difference in countless lives over the centuries. His example and teaching caused His disciples and the early church to accord a higher level of dignity, freedom, and rights to women. Therefore, women today in countries which have been influenced by Christianity for the most part have more freedom, opportunity, and human worth than in countries without that influence.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Notes

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004).

2 Berakhoth 24a.

3 John 4:7–9.

4 Aboth 1.5.

5 Berakhoth 43b.

6 Luke 8:1–3.

7 Mark 15:40–41.

8 Matthew 28:1, 5–6, 9–10.

9 Philemon 1:1–2.

10 Colossians 4:15.

11 Romans 16:3. See also 1 Corinthians 16:19.

12 Romans 16:1.

13 Ephesians 3:7.

14 Ephesians 6:21.

15 Colossians 1:7.

16 Galatians 3:28.

17 W. E. H. Lecky, History of European Morals: From Augustus to Charlemagne (New York: D. Appleton, 1927), 73.

18 Leopold Zscharnack, Der Dienst der Frau in den ersten Jabrhunderten der christlich Kirche (Gottingen: n.p., 1902), 19.

19 Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), 127.

20 Instructor 3.11.

21 On the Apparel of Women 1.1.

22 Procatechesis 14.

23 Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, 110.

24 William C. Morey, Outlines of Roman Law (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1894), 150–151.

25 Matthew 19:5.

26 Luke 18:29.

27 1 Timothy 3:2.

28 Luke 7:11–15.

29 Mark 12:40.

30 Luke 21:2–3.

31 1 Timothy 5:3–4, James 1:27.

32 Ignatius, “The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp,” in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1:94.

Copyright © 2019 by The Family International.

May 14