Lesson for April 13, 2025: Thirst-Quenching Water

Matthew 5 lesson for 4/6/2025. From Confusion to Clarity.

Today's lesson: Happy Are The Harrassed for Righteousness Sake Matthew 5:10

Background text:

Zechariah 9:9
Matthew 21:1-11
Already examined by Jewish officials of the Sanhedrin (Matt. 26:57-67)
Already examined by Pontius Pilate (27:11-26)
Jesus is sentenced by the procurator to be crucified
Paul describes Jesus' voluntary humility (Philippians 2:6-11)

On Sunday, the 26th of January, we learned that the poor in spirit are blessed:

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We talked about the woman with the issue of blood, and how her faith in Jesus' divine power healed her. And we reflected that those who are poor in spirit are people who are in need of healing — physical, emotional, spiritual.

On Feb. 2nd, we learned that:

Beattitude Two: Matthew 5:4 -- 4 Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad.

At its simplest, a beatitude is a declaration of divine blessing. What is a Divine Blessing? Definition: A divine blessing is a gift of God’s favor. It conveys happiness, satisfaction, or pleasure that is based on who God is, not on the contingent circumstances of the person receiving the blessing.

Matthew 5:4, the second of eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced on God’s people, declares that the grief-stricken are blessed because they will be “comforted” or “made glad.” In reading background Scripture for the 2nd beatitude, we saw Jesus raise a recently deceased man as Jesus and His disciples were entering a city called Nain.

Jesus’ beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew remain one of the best-known passages in the New Testament. They are not, however, the only beatitudes in the New Testament. Four additional divine blessings are recorded in the Gospel of Luke (6:20, 21 [2x], 22); one in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome (4:7); one in the Epistle of James (1:12); and seven in the Book of Revelation (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14).

When added to the eight beatitudes in Matthew 5, these total to 21 beatitudes in the New Testament.

Isaiah 30:18 is a beatitude. The Psalms have more than two dozen beatitudes, such as Psalm 1:1 and 119:1-2; and Proverbs offers at least eight, such as Proverbs 3:13: “Happy [blessed] are those who find wisdom and those who gain understanding.”

One Sunday in February, we studied the beatitude found in Matthew 5:5 — ⁵Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth. We read about two people who went up to the temple to pray, one a tax collector who beat his breast at knowing his sin, the other a self-righteous Pharisee.

It’s not that God refused to offer mercy to the Pharisee because of something the man did or did not do. For whatever reason, the Pharisee never asked for mercy. Not having asked for it, he didn’t receive it. The tax collector, on the other hand, aware of his need, asked for mercy and received it.

See how Jesus recaps this lesson on humility: look at Luke 14:11 — ¹¹Luke 14:11 states, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

In studying Matthew 5:5, we acknowledged that we are prideful and sometimes put our desires ahead of God's desires for us and the world. Our prayer: save us from self-righteousness.

We have studied the 4th beatitude, found in Matthew 5:6 — ⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

We saw the Pharisees seek to chastise Jesus because His followers didn't follow the rules of the elders that had been handed down. Jesus' response was: ⁷Hypocrites! Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you, ⁸ This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. ⁹Their worship of me is empty since they teach instructions that are human rules.”

We've studied the 5th beatitude, found in Matthew 5:7 — ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

There again, the Pharisees were upset with Jesus and His disciplines — this time because the disciples were not washing their hands before eating.

By the first century, the Pharisees had been around for a couple of centuries and were (as we might put it) definitely gaining political traction. They were still a small sect, but their authority throughout Judea and Galilee had far outstripped their size.

A renewal movement led by laity, they desired to extend the purity codes found in Scripture to all Jews (not just priests). They called their righteousness-focused reinterpretation of Scripture “rules handed down by the elders” (Mark 7:3): ³The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.**

The sixth beatitude, found in Matthew 5:8, states, ⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". We read the 6th beatitude last Sunday. Jesus and His followers have finished their last supper together, and have crossed over the Kidron Valley to a garden, where Christ would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot.

We talked about Jesus' foreknowledge of how He would be betrayed, and we saw His power when He confronted the soldiers and they fell down.

Jesus takes control of the confrontation with the temple police and the Roman soldiers, but Peter is spooked, pulls a dagger, and lunges at the nearest assailant, and cuts off his ear. He is brusquely reprimanded by Jesus, who informs him (and the rest of his disciples) that this is His time and His fight, not theirs.

With the benefit of hindsight and two-thousand years gone by, we may shake our heads at Peter going off-script, and cutting off the servant's ear. But perhaps we should, instead, sympathize with him, for we ourselves do not always recognize the will or way of God as it unfolds before us in real time, either.

Engaging in immediate (and successful) damage control, Jesus commanded Peter to “put your sword away.” He then reprimanded him for attempting to interfere with the divine significance of what was taking place: “Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Today we turn our attention to the 7th beatitude, found in Matthew 5:9 — ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

As almost anyone who has experienced a conversion in life (religious or otherwise) can testify, there are almost as many things left to fix in one’s life after conversion as there were prior to conversion. That is not to make light of conversion. It is to highlight a humbling truth about ourselves. Rarely do we understand ourselves so well that we can confess and repent of all our faults in one sitting.

It may be possible to point to a moment in time when we first began the hard work of examining ourselves in light of the truth of Scripture. We are saved by repenting of our sins, believing upon Christ and His resurrection, and admitting our need for a Savior, not just to ourselves but publically. We must profess Christ. That's salvation.

But, sooner or later, it probably dawns on us that conforming ourselves to Christ will remain a lifelong process. It’s not that we are hesitant to address or even to acknowledge our faults; it’s that some (if not many) of our faults don’t even become clear to us until we experience significant spiritual growth &mdash and that can take years, decades.

The older I have gotten, the more in awe I have become of God's graciousness and love in saving me. The older I've become, the more I've come to notice all the flaws and short-comings that Christ overcame for me, at the cross.

The more we grow spiritually, the more certain it is that we will view some of our personal beliefs, characteristics, and acts as problematic, as sinful matters that need to be rooted out.

In our Bible Study this past Wednesday night, among other things we talked about how nowhere in the New Testament are Christians called to be militant, to take up arms, to engage in violence. Christ could have conquered, but He chose to let them nail Him to a cross. As Christians, we are called to peace.

Yet, I can remember growing up playing imaginary “shoot-’em-up” games involving “cowboys and Indians” and never experienced any pangs of conscience about them or even thought twice about what my friends and I were doing. It was only as an adult, when a more enlightened friend wondered aloud to me why I didn’t also play “Nazis and Jews” as a kid, that my inability to think critically about such “innocent games” was exposed and I became capable of thinking differently.

God in Christ calls us to be harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 says ¹⁶“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

The words we speak are to build others up. Ephesians 4:29 reads ²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Sometimes I fail at this.

As peacemakers, we’re to have nothing to do with malice or envy or slander. 1 Peter 2:1 — ¹Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

Next Sunday we will conclude our study on the beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. The 8th beatitude is found in Matthew 5:10-12, and states "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".

We haven't yet begun to suffer serious persecution. We've been very blessed and sheltered in our particular location in the world, and at this particular time in history. But at some point, Scripture tells us, that will change. Here is a thought to ponder:

The person “who will endure hardship rather than weakly abandon his convictions is happier than the one who will yield his convictions rather than suffer.”

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Why do you think peacemaking receives so little attention today? (Perhaps it is considered ineffective. Perhaps because it can take such a lengthy investment of time and good will. Perhaps because its goal is not just the cessation of violence but the redemption of all parties.

Blessed are the Merciful

Matthew 5: 7 —Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

The Greek word makarios (Μακάριος) means "blessed," "happy," "fortunate," or "privileged". It appears in the New Testament 50 times. Meaning Makarios is the closest Greek word to the English word "happy". It can describe someone who has a special advantage or desirable position. For example, the ancient Greeks used makarios to describe their gods, who were blessed with divine power.

Last Sunday we studied the third beattitude, and we looked at the continuum running from pride to humility.

We read — in Luke 18:14, Jesus' words: All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up."

We might summarize it this way: “Blessed are they who recognize they can’t earn God’s favor, for to them Jesus will give the desires of their heart.”

Scripture readings today will be taken from:

• Matthew 5:6
• Matthew 15:1-20

Lesson Purpose: To incorporate Jesus’ definition of righteousness into our conversations.

Matthew 5:6 in the Common English Bible reads like this: 6 Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

Ask Aaron or Okie to read the above verse from the KJV or the NKJV, respectively.

Matthew 15:1-20

1Then Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why are your disciples breaking the elders’ rules handed down to us? They don’t ritually purify their hands by washing before they eat.” 3Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you? 4For God said, Honor your father and your mother, and The person who speaks against father or mother will certainly be put to death. 5But you say, ‘If you tell your father or mother, “Everything I’m expected to contribute to you I’m giving to God as a gift,” then you don’t have to honor your father.’ 6So you do away with God’s Law for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you. 7Hypocrites! Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you, 8This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. 9Their worship of me is empty since they teach instructions that are human rules.” 10Jesus called the crowd near and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.” 12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by what you just said?” 13Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be pulled up. 14Leave the Pharisees alone. They are blind people who are guides to blind people. But if a blind person leads another blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.” 15Then Peter spoke up, “Explain this riddle to us.” 16Jesus said, “Don’t you understand yet? 17Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. 19Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. 20These contaminate a person in God’s sight. But eating without washing hands doesn’t contaminate in God’s sight.”

What passage of scripture was Jesus referencing in Matthew 15:7?

Isaiah 29:13 says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me".

Agree or disagree? The Pharisees’ insistence that persons ritually purify their hands before they consumed food had a lot going for it!

• We tell our children to wash their hands before they eat
• We expect food employees to wash their hands before exiting restroom.

But Jesus insisted that such practices—no matter how appropriate—don’t make persons righteous. If the desire behind a set of actions is to display righteous behavior, God has already shared with us a long list of actions that please God, such as “Honor your father and your mother,” “Don’t murder,” “Don’t engage in sexual sin,” “Don’t bear false testimony,” and so on. These are the actions to emphasize.

We must not confuse our assent to or dissent from constantly evolving “human rules” with making us righteousbefore God. Demanding that our ethical code be adopted by all doesn’t make it God-ordained any more than it makes us righteous.

Saying 'yes, sir' or 'yes, ma'am' may be polite, but doesn't make us righteous. Wearing deodorant helps socially, but doesn't make us righteous. Social activism makes us feel good, but it doesn't make us righteous.

On Sept. 25, 2022, I launched a series of lessons about Abraham the patriarch. And lots of Sunday mornings later, I said that perhaps the most important thing we could understand about Abraham was Genesis 15:6 — Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

In Matthew 5:6, the fourth of eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced on God’s people in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord declares that people who desire righteousness are blessed because they will “be fed until they are full.”

Earlier, we read Matthew 15:1-20. That Gospel story — about a dispute, instigated by some Jerusalem-based Pharisees and scribes with Jesus — also appears in the Gospel of Mark.

Jesus redirected an initial query about the performance of ritual purity acts into a rejection of rituals that contradict what God in Scripture says to do.

We read the first twenty verses from Matthew 15 — that's more than half of the entire chapter. We could subdivide that passage into three parts:

Part 1 — proud ritualists confront Jesus (Matt. 15:1-9)

1Then Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why are your disciples breaking the elders’ rules handed down to us? They don’t ritually purify their hands by washing before they eat.” 3Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you? 4For God said, Honor your father and your mother, and The person who speaks against father or mother will certainly be put to death. 5But you say, ‘If you tell your father or mother, “Everything I’m expected to contribute to you I’m giving to God as a gift,” then you don’t have to honor your father.’ 6So you do away with God’s Law for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you. 7Hypocrites! Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you, 8This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. 9Their worship of me is empty since they teach instructions that are human rules.”

Part II — Jesus gives the crowd the correct understanding (Matt 15:10-11)

10Jesus called the crowd near and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.”

In Part 3 (verses 12-20), Jesus reexplained—this time to his disciples—the point of the dispute between himself and the Pharisees and scribes.

12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by what you just said?” 13Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be pulled up. 14Leave the Pharisees alone. They are blind people who are guides to blind people. But if a blind person leads another blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.” 15Then Peter spoke up, “Explain this riddle to us.” 16Jesus said, “Don’t you understand yet? 17Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. 19Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. 20These contaminate a person in God’s sight. But eating without washing hands doesn’t contaminate in God’s sight.”

Previous beatitudes spoke surprisingly of divine blessing being shared with persons whom the general culture would have said were clearly deficient:

• the poor in spirit
• the grief-stricken
• the humble

This beatitude is no different. It declares strikingly that God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty. Matthew 5:6 Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

I told you three Sundays ago that the first two beatitudes were likely based on Isaiah 61:2-3; today's beatitude (the 4th) may be based on Psalm 107:9. For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness is a poetic metaphor. Hungering and thirsting are suggestive of very deeply desiring something that is needed.

In her Magnificat, Mary says the following, in Luke 1:53:

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

This is sometimes known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary. Let's read it in full in Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of the Almighty’s servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is God’s name. God’s mercy is for those who fear God from generation to generation. God has shown strength with God’s arm; God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. God has helped servant Israel, in remembrance of God’s mercy, according to the promise God made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

More than once, the psalmist spoke of his deep yearning for God in terms of thirst: “Just like a deer that craves streams of water, my whole being craves you, God. My whole being thirsts for God” (Psalm 42:1-2). This may sound more familiar as it reads from the King James: As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

The prophet Amos spoke similarly. “The time is coming [says God] when . . . people will be hungry, but not for bread; they will be thirsty, but not for water. They will hunger and thirst for a message from the Lord” (Amos 8:11, Good News Translation).

Simply put, “righteousness” is the will of God for us. It is doing and being what God desires of us and longs to share with us.

Specific details regarding what actions or characteristics constitute righteousness can be found throughout Scripture:

• Genesis 15:6
• Deuteronomy 10:12-13
• Micah 6:8
• Psalm 15:2-5
• Isaiah 56:1
• 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

Beatitude #4: Matthew 5:6 6 Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

A helpful paraphrase of Jesus’ beatitude would read, “Blessed are those who long to live as God desires them to live, for God will enable them to do so.”

Jesus wasn't against handwashing. Instead, he severed the connection between righteousness and the ritual in question by declaring that defiled food has no effect on one’s personal righteousness. Since there is no connection between the two, the ritual is a wasted exercise. Performing it isn’t harmful, but neither is it beneficial. The ritual is—quite simply—immaterial.

These Pharisees (with whom Jesus had just spoken) weren’t interested in the promotion of God’s righteousness. They were merely campaigning for a ritual that, contrary to their claims, didn’t safeguard righteousness at all; it only offered the illusion that it was doing so.

Unlike what the Pharisees suggested, sin is not a minor issue we can eliminate from our lives simply by washing our hands before we eat. Sin is far more serious than that.

Long years later, the hymn writer¹ would again ask the question, “What can wash away my sin?” The answer, then, would be clearer. “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

¹Robert Lowry was an American preacher who became a popular writer of gospel music in the mid-to-late 19th century. His best-known hymns include "Shall We Gather at the River", "Christ Arose!", "How Can I Keep from Singing?" and "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus".

Purpose To consider whether ambition or humility is the truest signpost to God

Assessed properly, humility is the abandonment of rose-colored self-evaluations.

Jesus did not tell parables to amuse, distract, or even educate his hearers. Usually, although not exclusively, about what matters to God (and why), the stories were meant to change how his hearers lived.

Matthew 5:5 5Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.

Luke 18:9-14 9Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust: 10“Two people went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself with these words, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like everyone else—crooks, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of everything I receive.’ 13But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to look toward heaven. Rather, he struck his chest and said, ‘God, show mercy to me, a sinner.’ 14I tell you, this person went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”

Key Verse: “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Sometimes Jesus told parables that were full of grace. Sometimes they were full of judgment. Sometimes we’re not sure how to understand them. Yet the parable for this lesson seems so straightforward at first. We’re not to compare ourselves favorably to others, especially if that leads us to belittle others. Instead, we are to act humbly, not trust in our own goodness, and depend on God’s mercy.

Besides God, there are two characters in this parable. One is an obvious good guy (a Pharisee); the other is an obvious bad guy (a tax collector). There was little to like about tax collectors. They had bought so deeply into the Roman political system that they were universally despised by Jews.

The Pharisees, however, were almost universally respected. True, some of Jesus’ harshest criticisms were directed at them, but these men were dependable, learned, and religiously devout. After the Holy City was destroyed and the priesthood collapsed, it was the Pharisees who reconstructed the Jewish faith into the Judaism we know today. They were good guys. If you believe the Pharisees were pious frauds, it’s time to let go of the stereotype. It is unfair and patently untrue.

Although our piety probably does not qualify us to be named in the same breath as devout Pharisees, some of us are likely pleased with our level of church involvement. We worship. We pray. We listen to instruction. When we head home, we’re none the worse for wear but perhaps none the better for the time spent in God’s presence. And that’s the tragedy of the Pharisee in Jesus’ story! What could be more tragic than heading home from an encounter with God unblessed and unchanged?

There is another way in which we may be similar to the Pharisee. Have we ever said of a person or a situation, “There, but for the grace of God, go I?” We’re expressing our gratitude that we took the paths we did. But if we then take credit for the choices, we may begin looking down on people (who didn’t get the same breaks we did) as beneath us and not as good as us.

We may want to interject that there is nothing immoral about this. Perhaps. But here’s the tragedy Jesus was zeroing in on: What can God offer a people who are convinced they can look after them-elves, who are not convinced God has anything to offer us we need? The tragedy is that we can enter God’s presence but remain unchanged, maybe even grow resentful.

The other character in Jesus’ parable is not a wholesome guy. His life has been full of bad choices and missed opportunities. The only thing he has going for him is that he knows this. Like the tax collector, some of us are weathering difficult times. In the words of the confession, “We have not loved [God] with our whole heart. We have failed to be obedient. We have not done [God’s] will, we have broken [God’s] law, we have rebelled against [God’s] love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy.” All we can hope is that God will be merciful to us.

Of course, the gospel has nothing to do with what we accomplish but everything to do with what God offers. When the tax collector spoke to God a snippet of a psalm (“God, be merciful to me, a sinner”), he likely had no idea he was reciting the words of King David in Psalm 51.

He may not even have known that what he needed was grace. He only knew his need was greater than he could bear. Sick of being sick, he threw himself on God’s mercy.

If that describes us, listen to a word of gospel that is as life-giving today as when it was first spoken! Said Jesus, “This man went home justified before God.” The bad man received what the good man didn’t even have the good sense to ask for.

It’s not that God gives good things only to the haggard and the hurting. It’s that the haggard and hurting are often the only people who think God has something to offer that might benefit them.

Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.

Matthew 5:5, the third of eight beatitudes Jesus pronounced on God’s people in the Sermon on the Mount, declares that humble people are blessed because they will “inherit the earth.” The Gospel parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector, at prayer in the Temple in Jerusalem, appears only in the Gospel of Luke. It illustrates not only that God is “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34, KJV) but also that Mary’s declarations regarding God’s take on greatness and humility (Luke 1:52-53) are incisive comments on God’s way in our world.

The Gospel text divides into five brief parts. In Part 1 (Luke 18:9), Luke introduces a parable Jesus told that addresses the linkage between our actions and God’s bestowal of favor. In Part 2 (verse 10), Jesus names two characters depicted in the parable: a Pharisee and a tax collector. Part 3 (verses 11-12) recounts the Pharisee’s prayer to God. Part 4 (verse 13) reports the quite different prayer of the tax collector. Part 5 (verse 14) includes a surprising divine verdict on the two persons as well as the concluding judgment that hearers/readers are intended to make.

Matthew 5:5. Jesus’ first two beatitudes are linked directly to Isaiah 61:1-2. This third beatitude is similarly linked to Psalm 37:11...

"But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace"

...as well as its immediate echoes in Psalm 37:22, 34...

Psalm 37:22 "For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be eliminated".

Psalm 37:34 "Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off".

It should not surprise us that Jesus, who said that he had no interest in “[doing] away with the Law and the Prophets” but intended to “fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17), was steeped in the words of Holy Scripture.

“Humble” is a helpful translation that avoids the largely negative feelings associated with the word “meek” (KJV, NRSV, NIV). In a culture in which it is considered normative to be ambitious and self-assertive, the almost visceral reaction to and largely negative assessment of Charles Wesley’s hymn’s depiction of “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”1 unfortunately says more about the human qualities we value than those valued by Jesus.

It is worth recalling that Jesus said of himself that he was “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29, KJV), “gentle and humble” (NASB, NRSV, TEV).

And it was said of Moses that he was “very meek” (Numbers 12:3, KJV), “very humble” (NASB, NRSV, NIV), “a quietly humble man, more so than anyone living on Earth” (The Message). Neither man was considered by his peers to be arrogant, boisterous, or proud. Exercising humility or displaying meekness is regularly asserted by many to be an open invitation to be treated by others as a doormat, someone who can be walked over easily.

However, given Moses’ willingness to confront Pharaoh and the Egyptian people repeatedly (Exodus 5–11.) and even to argue with God (Exodus 32:9-14; 33:12-16; Numbers 14:1-20), the assertion is difficult to defend. The same is true of Jesus, who neither grew hesitant nor expressed fear when in the presence of prominent Jewish officials (John 18:19-23), detachments of soldiers (John 18:3-8), or appointed Roman officials (John 18:33-37).

Assessed properly, humility is the abandonment of rose-colored self-evaluations. It is the result of an accurate, “true estimate of ourselves.” 2 The meek are those who know that they “stand empty-handed before God in total dependence upon him.”3 Since God “shows favor to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34; quoted in James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5), that is not a bad situation to be in.

Proverbs 3:34 - "The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble."

“[Inheriting] the earth” is an oft-named divine promise in the Old Testament (for example, Psalm 25:13; Isaiah 57:13) first spoken to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-20; 17:8). Although it referred originally and specifically to the geographical land of Canaan/Israel, by extension it pointed to the certainty of God fulfilling God’s promises.

As Psalm 37:11 made clear, the humble will most assuredly “enjoy peace and prosperity” (NIV). Shalom shall be theirs.

With these thoughts in mind, we are ready to think about Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 as an apt illustration of this beatitude.

Luke 18:9. As was true of most of Jesus’ parables, this story (one of the last that he told) had a particular audience in mind. In the Gospel of Luke, only the parables of the talents (Luke 19:12-27) and the tenants (20:9-16) remained. While some had almost immediately transparent meanings, they were not simple tales told so that even children could understand them. Often, the stories left (and still leave) hearers deeply puzzled, requiring them to ponder the tales at length if they want to understand them.

Readers must be careful not to equate “certain people” with the Pharisees. Identifying the “bad guy” in the story with persons whom we believe we are not is a self-serving attempt to distance ourselves from the story’s harsh conclusion.

Indeed, the rest of the verse carefully clarifies that the “certain people” are those who “[convincee] themselves that they [are] righteous and who [look] on everyone else with disgust.”

Since classifying people as good or bad, right or wrong, or wise or foolish is something that almost every single one of us does, it is critically important to pay close attention to the two ways Jesus described these “certain people.”

(1) They were “convinced” that they “were righteous.” That is, they believed that they were thinking the only correct—and thus approvable— way to think about the issue(s) in question. (2) Because they (alone) were thinking rightly, anyone thinking or acting differently was clearly wrong and could therefore be “looked on . . . with disgust,” regarded “with contempt” (NASB, NRSV), “scorned” (NLT), “despised” (KJV, RSV, TEV), or “looked down on” (NIV).

In telling this story, Jesus was not suggesting that there aren’t right and wrong ways to think or act. Nor was he declaring that right and wrong, or good actions and bad actions, are beyond our ability to determine. Nor was he suggesting that it is necessarily wrong to have specific beliefs or to make particular judgments. Nor was he declaring that any belief or judgment should be tolerated as equally admissible as any other. His very telling of the story was an attempt to correct something that he considered wrong and to advocate something that he considered right.

No matter how right we may convince ourselves we are on a political, social, or religious issue, being right never gives us permission to despise those who disagree with us or treat them with contempt. As Cyril of Alexandria (376–444) said long ago, “No one who is in good health ridicules one who is sick for being laid up or bedridden.”

Verse 10. “Two people went up to the Temple to pray.” While there were scores of synagogues in Galilee, Judea, and in other regions throughout the Roman Empire, there was only one Temple, which was located in Jerusalem. Situated on a 35-acre mount that had been leveled by construction workers approved by King Herod, the Temple complex was enclosed by walls that towered 100 feet above the streets of Jerusalem. Thus, persons literally “went up” to the Temple.

Described by the prophet Isaiah as “a house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7), the Temple complex was open for public prayers twice daily, at 9 am (Acts 2:15) and 3 pm (Acts 3:1). Of course, persons could pray privately at the Temple at any time.

“Pharisees” were Jewish laypersons who took God’s call to live holy lives so seriously that they declared that priestly standards of conduct were applicable for all people. Although the numbers of persons who committed themselves to a strict Pharisaic way of life remained small (probably never more than five percent 30 Adult Bible Studies Teacher of the Jewish populace), by the time of Jesus the religious renewal movement had become a political force in Judea and Galilee that had to be reckoned with.

While some New Testament critiques of some of the Pharisees encourage some Christians today to disparage all Pharisees as “hypocrites,” the power of this parable’s conclusion (Luke 18:14) to surprise hearers/readers is severely compromised if the Pharisee in the story is considered at the outset to be a villain rather than a holy man.

A tax collector was a Jew in the employ of Roman overseers responsible for collecting official (and unofficial) taxes, tolls, duties, customs, and other fees from the Jewish populace. Because these agents obtained their salary by overcharging persons however much they believed they could reasonably collect—a standard practice granted and approved by the overseers—tax collectors were generally disapproved of by Jews as traitors of the Jewish people. Just as first-century Jews would have believed that Pharisees were generally honorable and pious, so they would have believed that tax collectors were dishonorable thieves, not heroes.

Verse 11. Adopting the usual posture for prayer, the Pharisee “stood.” His prayer began appropriately as well, with thanksgivings to God. However, instead of thanking God for what God had done––not making the Pharisee a Gentile or a slave, for instance—he spoke of the things he had not done. He was not guilty of breaking any of the Mosaic laws; he didn’t steal, give false testimony, or commit adultery. Nor, he added, espying in the distance a traitorous figure, was he like “this tax collector,” extorting questionable tolls from his fellow Jews.

Verse 12. In addition, his piety had advanced to the point that he no longer fasted only one day a year on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) or even one day a week; he fasted “twice a week,” probably on Mondays and Thursdays, the days on which Moses was said to have ascended Mount Sinai to meet with God and to have descended the holy mountain with the Ten Commandments in hand. And his tithing practice was equally well-developed; he paid a tithe on everything. To offer a contemporary parallel, he didn’t just tithe his net; he tithed his gross. Before turning our attention to the tax collector, it’s important to acknowledge that nothing mentioned by the Pharisee would have been considered a bad thing—then or now. What church today would not be thrilled to have a member who tithed his gross income, was a regular practitioner of private piety, could honestly say that he kept the Ten Commandments fully intact, and did not engage in shady, traitorous deeds of any kind?

Indeed, if we’re looking for something to slight, about the only thing we can say concerning the man is that he has drawn our attention to the good deeds he does, as well as to his successful avoidance of bad deeds. That, and perhaps this: “Proper thanks to God for one’s lot in life never involves condescension toward others.”

Verse 13. As noted by the Pharisee, there was also present at that time of public prayer a “tax collector.” One gets the sense that he felt uncomfortable and rather ill at ease in the Temple complex, for he “stood [apart from others,] at a distance.” Furthermore, as he spoke privately to God, he couldn’t quite bring himself to lift his eyes heavenward (as Jews then regularly did and as we today tend to do, too). The picture Jesus painted of the man was that he was distraught in spirit, unsure if he even should be speaking to God. He was, after all, not a good man. He was a tax collector. So, keeping his eyes averted, perhaps with a deeply furrowed brow, he repeatedly “struck his chest” in anguish (Luke 23:48), much as a priest today might do during the worship services of Lent and Holy Week. The act is a visual acknowledgement of his unholy status.

Knowing that there was nothing to which he could draw God’s attention to commend himself to God, all he could do was be honest and throw himself on the mercy of the strict judge before whom he stood. “God, show mercy to me, a sinner.”

Verse 14. Jesus concluded his story with a shocking, even breathtaking declaration. The tax collector, not the Pharisee, “went . . . home justified.” The conclusion is so shocking that it forces us to reread the parable immediately; surely, we must have missed or misread something.

On second (or third) reading, many readers decide that the Pharisee’s “problem” was that he praised his own goodness rather than thanking God for helping him to act rightly. That may be, although it is quite possible to read verse 13 as his list of the things he does—he fasts, he tithes—to express his gratitude to God There is, however, a simpler reason as to why the tax collector “went . . . home justified” and the Pharisee did not. It’s not that God refused to offer mercy to the Pharisee because of something the man did or did not do. For whatever reason, the Pharisee never asked for mercy. Not having asked for it, he didn’t receive it. The tax collector, on the other hand, aware of his need, asked for mercy and received it. Jesus’ concluding comment, a repetition of Luke 14:11, reinforces the point.

And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles. - Acts 2:43

Ten Hebrew nouns and eight verbs reference 'fear'. The Greek words 'phobos' and 'phobeo' later stand in for their Hebrew counterparts. 'Phobos' alluded to panicked flight, or the object or cause of fear, or it could allude to reverential respect. 'Phobeo' was 'to terrify'.

In the Septuagint (sep-TWO-uh-jint), these Greek words phobos and phobeo are consistently used to translate those eighteen Hebrew nouns and verbs relating to fear.

When we think about fear, we can imagine a semantic continuum, from mild unease all the way to stark terror. Septuagint derives from the Latin versio septuaginta interpretetum, i.e., translation of the seventy interpreters*.

By around 354 CE, these translated Hebrew scriptures were beginning to be commonly referred to as The Septuaginta. According to legend, 72 Jewish scholars were tasked by Ptolemy II, the Greek pharoah of Egypt, to translate the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) from Hebrew to Greek, for inclusion in the Library of Alexandria.

What prompted my interest in the word fear as it is often used in scripture is Acts 2:43: and fear came upon every soul: and many wonders were done by the Apostles. Our Wednesday night Bible study group questioned the precise nature of that fear. Some other translations make it clear that this 'fear' was awed reverence and worshipful respect for the Lord, who was the source of these wonders and signs. The Amplified Bible reads A sense of awe was felt by everyone. The Common English Bible says much the same, and elaborates God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles.

The scriptures frequently make reference to such reverential fear: Ex 14:31; Lk 1:12; Ge 31:42,53; Acts 2:43

All throughout Deuteronomy is the theme of fearful obedience to the Lord as the proper outgrowth of recognizing his sovereignty.

The English clergyman William Durnall famously wrote We fear fear so much because we fear God so little. He authored a length book expounding upon Ephesians 6. It is freely available in PDF, mobi, and epub formats.

So then, the fear of the Lord is the reverential awe and worshipful stance we assume toward the Almighty God. Proverbs 9:10 reads The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

One time many years ago, the king of Hungary found himself depressed and unhappy. He sent for his brother, a good-natured but rather indifferent prince. The king said to him, "I am a great sinner; I fear to meet God." But the prince only laughed at him. This didn't help the king's disposition any. Though he was a believer, the king had gotten a glimpse of his guilt for the way he'd been living lately, and he seriously wanted help. In those days it was customary if the executioner sounded a trumpet before a man's door at any hour, it was a signal that he was to be led to his execution. The king sent the executioner in the dead of night to sound the fateful blast at his brother's door. The prince realized with horror what was happening. Quickly dressing, he stepped to the door and was seized by the executioner, and dragged pale and trembling into the king's presence. In an agony of terror he fell on his knees before his brother and begged to know how he had offended him. "My brother," answered the king, "if the sight of a human executioner is so terrible to you, shall not I, having grievously offended God, fear to be brought before the judgment seat of Christ?"

The term "fear of the Lord" is not a popular one today.

a. Those who do not follow Christ think there is no reason to.

b. Those who do follow Christ don't want to mention it because it might scare someone away.

c. So it is neither politically or religiously correct in our society.

Yet, the Bible talks about it a lot...in fact the phrase is mentioned 73 times in the NLT!

1 Peter 1:17-25 reads 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.[a] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

David McCullough in his book MORNINGS ON HORSEBACK tells this story about young Teddy Roosevelt: “Mittie (his mother) had found he was so afraid of the Madison Square Church that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the ‘zeal.’ It was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what a zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon. He had heard the minister read about if from the Bible. Using a concordance, she read him those passages containing the word ZEAL until suddenly, very excited, he told her to stop. The line was from the Book of John, 2:17: “And his disciples remembered that it was written, ‘The ZEAL of thine house hath eaten me up.”’

People are still justifiably afraid to come near the “zeal” of the Lord, for they are perfectly aware it could “eat them up” if they aren’t one of His. Our Lord is good, but He isn’t safe.

Let's take another look at Proverbs 9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If that is true, and it is, then fear of the Lord is not a barrier or hindrance, but is instead a breakthrough to growth and eternal fulfillment. But the word 'fear' requires clarification, doesn't it? After all, the Bible says the following in 1 John 4:18 -- Perfect love casts out fear.

Aha! So there must be two kinds of fear. There is the dreadful fear that will fall upon the unrighteous: And said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." - Revelation 6:16

It is important that we Christians have the proper, reverential fear and awe of the Lord. Yet, unfortunately, we are perhaps more saturated with the heathen culture than we sometimes realize, a culture whose media often portrays God as a kindly old grandfatherly, white-bearded figure. But Hebrews 10:27 states But only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. Fortunately, God freely offers us shelter from this wrath, through Christ. And not just shelter: we are justified and adopted as God's children.

John Calvin, the great Reformer, wrote: justified by faith is he who, excluded from the righteousness of works, grasps the righteousness of Christ through faith, and clothed in it appears in God's sight not as a sinner but as a righteous man. By faith in Him we receive not only forgiveness, but also a righteous standing before God.

As Christians, we are truly blessed in that we literally have nothing to fear, either in this earthly life or in eternity. Romans 8:1 tells us There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Dropping down a few verses to Romans 8:15... For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

If, then, we no longer have a spirit of bondage to fear of punishment, who then do some Christians seem to still wrestle with that fear? Lack of grounding in scriptural doctrine, and because of the attacks of Satan and his demons. I think it very easy for those who diligently seek the Lord, to be attacked by Satan, the Accuser. Although the blood of Christ has cleansed and continues to cleanse us, the devil will continue to whisper condemnation to our consciences. This is spiritual warfare (Eph 6:13; 2 Cor 10:4)

Let's end with Romans 8:38-39:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Over the next few Sundays, I want us to step into the life of Abraham and his descendants. Perhaps the first thing to spring to my mind when thinking of the patriarch Abraham is his great faith.

Faith is defined by the Dictionary of Bible Themes as a constant outlook of trust towards God, whereby human beings abandon all reliance on their own efforts and put their full confidence in Him, his word and his promises. As Christians, we know that faith is foundational to our relationship with God and we can trace that theme throughout Scripture.

We'll start our examination of Abraham's life and faith by taking a look at Hebrews chapter 11, where faith is defined as follows: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. (Heb 11:1-2). Abraham was a stranger and a pilgrim in the land of Canaan, just as Christians today should be foreigners to the ways of the world. We'll dig into the scripture momentarily, but first let's back up a step and think a bit about the epistle to the Hebrews.

We've studied the Gospel of John in our Wednesday night Bible study, using a book written by the American, Reformed theologian, R. C. Sproul, and we're currently studying Acts with a study guide by the same Presbyterian pastor.

Interestingly, Sproul preached his final sermon on Hebrews 2:1–4 on Sunday, November 26, 2017. That's 59 Sunday School lessons ago, if you're counting each Sunday. His final sentence in that sermon was this: “So I pray with all my heart that God will awaken each one of us today to the sweetness, the loveliness, the glory of the gospel declared by Christ.” By Wednesday of that week, he developed a cold that continued to worsen. He entered the hospital on Saturday, December 2, 2017, and passed away on December 14th at the age of 78.

Sproul was acutely aware of his own sin and of God’s mercy and grace in forgiving him. This was the cause of his desire to be kind to others. Most Sundays on the short drive home from church, R. C. would ask his wife, Vesta, if he had been kind to people in the sermon. [Okie, do you ask Tammy for a critique each Sunday on the ride home?]

Hebrews

• authorship debate
• intended audience
• broad thematic strokes
  • supremacy of Christ
  • the superiority of grace over law
  • necessity of faith in order to please God
  • warning not to fall away

Hebrews - Who Wrote It?

The apostle Paul wrote about half of the New Testament. Specifically, some say he only wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven books of New Testament, while others say fourteen. So which is it—thirteen or fourteen? The difference of opinion is over one book: Hebrews. Who was its author?

The letter closes with the words "Grace be with you all" (Hebrews 13:25), which is the same closing found in each of Paul’s known letters (see Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 16:23; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 6:18; Ephesians 6:24; Philippians 4:23; Colossians 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:18; 1 Timothy 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:22; Titus 3:15; and Philemon 25). This is one reason that many laity and scholars have, historically, attributed Hebrews to Paul.

And indeed, church tradition teaches that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, and until the 1800s, the issue was closed. However, though a vast majority of Christians—both and scholars and the laity—still believe Paul wrote the book, there are some tempting reasons to think otherwise.

There is no salutation, the letter simply begins with the assertion that Jesus, the Son of God, has appeared, atoned for our sins, and is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven (Hebrews 1:1-4). It's not like Paul to fail to begin a letter with a salutation. Some sort of personal salutation from Paul appears in all of his thirteen known letters. So it would seem that writing anonymously is not his usual method; therefore, the reasoning goes, Hebrews cannot be one of his letters.

Second, the overall composition and style is that of a person who is a very sophisticated writer. Even though he was certainly a sophisticated communicator, Paul stated that he purposely did not speak with a commanding vocabulary (1 Corinthians 1:17; 2:1; 2 Corinthians 11:6):

1 Cor 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Cor 2:1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

2 Cor 11:6 I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

Some attribute Luke as its writer; others suggest Hebrews may have been written by Barnabas, Silas, Philip, or Aquila. There is some archaeological evidence that the biblical Priscilla was a person of major influence in the early Church. Some have suggested that she wrote Hebrews. Others think the style of writing more indicative of a polished orator such as Apollo.

In his The History of the Church, third century Greek historian Eusebius quotes the Egyptian historian Origen: If I were asked my personal opinion, I would say that the matter is the Apostle's but the phraseology and construction are those of someone who remembered the Apostle's teaching and wrote his own interpretation of what his master had said. So if any church regards this epistle as Paul's, it should be commended for so doing, for the primitive Church had every justification for handing it down as his. Who wrote the epistle is known to God alone: the accounts that have reached us suggest that it was either Clement, who became Bishop of Rome, or Luke, who wrote the gospel and the Acts.

Origen of Alexandria, also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, and homiletics.

If you read that last bit quickly, it almost sounds like some sort of medical diagnosis: exegesis and hermeneutics, and homiletics. That sound to you like something that requires an E.R. visit and some stout antibiotics?

And that word ‘hermaneutics’? I first thought that sounded like when a veterinarian neuters an animal.

Definition of theology: a scholar who studies of the nature of God and religious truth.

Definition of exegesist: one who critically dissects and explains the meaning of scripture.

Definition of hermeneutics: the study of, or teaching of, the methodology of exegesis.

Definition of homilectics: that branch of theology which treats of homilies or sermons, and the best method of preparing and delivering them.

On First Principles by Origen of Alexandria, written around 220-230 AD, is one of the most important and contentious works of early Christianity. It provoked controversy when written, provoked further debate when translated into Latin by Rufinus in the fourth century, and was the subject, together with its author, of condemnation in the sixth century. As a result, the work no longer survives intact in the original Greek. We only have the complete work in the Latin translation of Rufinus, and of course in later English translations.

In other works by the historian Origen, Hebrews is attributed to Paul's authorship. In the 4th century, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo supported Paul's authorship: the Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the Reformation. Scholars argued that in the 13th chapter of Hebrews, Timothy is referred to as a companion. Timothy was Paul's missionary companion in the same way Jesus sent disciples out in pairs. The writer also states that he wrote the letter from "Italy", which also at the time fits Paul.[29] The difference in style is explained as simply an adjustment to a distinct audience, to the Jewish Christians who were being persecuted and pressured to go back to traditional Judaism.[30]

Regardless of the human hand that held the pen, the Holy Spirit of God is the divine author of all Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16).

Hebrews - What Are The Broad Strokes?

Theologically speaking, scholars generally regard the book of Hebrews to be second in importance only to Paul’s letter to the Romans in the New Testament.

The book of Hebrews plumbs the depths of Christianity by addressing many false beliefs, missteps, and hardships that believers faced. In this get-back-to-basics book, the author was writing with the purpose of clarifying that only Christ, not sacred traditions or new ideas, was to be the center of a life of faith.

The late Dr. Walter Martin, founder of the Christian Research Institute and writer of the best-selling book Kingdom of the Cults, quipped in his usual tongue-in-cheek manner that the Book of Hebrews was written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews telling the Hebrews to stop acting like Hebrews. In truth, many of the early Jewish believers were slipping back into the rites and rituals of Judaism in order to escape the mounting persecution. This letter, then, is an exhortation for those persecuted believers to continue in the grace of Jesus Christ.

The book of Hebrews was written primarily to Jews who had converted to Christianity, but were now perhaps a little unsure as to the person of Christ.

Jesus is portrayed throughout as the perfect revelation of God and superior to Angels, Moses, Melchizedek or the Priesthood; and indeed was the Perfect Sacrifice that instituted the New Covenant. (Chaps 5-10)

It’s natural to read this book in view of our daily life, but it’s better to read it in light of who it was written to: men and women who were wrestling with faith in a life and death way that we may never experience. Hebrews wasn’t written merely for the purpose of correction or encouragement but also to fortify their souls because they were in desperate need. It is mentioned several times throughout this book that the audience was a specific group of believers who were facing persecution for their faith. With this solemn purpose in mind, we can look to Hebrews when life feels complicated, we feel our faith wavering and we need our souls realigned to truth.

Among the many topics the book covers, one topic it speaks to most extensively is faith. The author wanted the readers to hold fast to their commitment to God no matter what came their way. Faith in Christ was the foundation for this level of commitment.

According to Hebrews 11, faith is believing that God exists, that he rewards those who seek him and that we can hope in him because his promises will always be true. After the author defines faith, they put flesh on it in ways that both the intended readers and Christians today can look to to understand how to live an authentic life of faith.

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Now let's turn our attention to Hebrews, chapter 11: I'll be reading from the New International Version. The New International Version (NIV) is a translation made by more than one hundred scholars working from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. It was conceived in 1965 when, after several years of study by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the National Association of Evangelicals, a trans-denominational and international group of scholars met at Palos Heights, Illinois, and agreed on the need for a new translation in contemporary English. Their conclusion was endorsed by a large number of church leaders who met in Chicago in 1966. Responsibility for the version was delegated to a self-governing body of fifteen Biblical scholars, the Committee on Bible Translation, and in 1967, the New York Bible Society (now Biblica) generously undertook the financial sponsorship of the project.

The translation of each book was assigned to a team of scholars, and the work was thoroughly reviewed and revised at various stages by three separate committees. The Committee submitted the developing version to stylistic consultants who made invaluable suggestions. Samples of the translation were tested for clarity and ease of reading by various groups of people. In short, perhaps no other translation has been made by a more thorough process of review and revision.

The Committee held to certain goals for the NIV: that it be an Accurate, Beautiful, Clear, and Dignified translation suitable for public and private reading, teaching, preaching, memorizing, and liturgical use. The translators were united in their commitment to the authority and infallibility of the Bible as God's Word in written form. They agreed that faithful communication of the meaning of the original writers demands frequent modifications in sentence structure (resulting in a "thought-for-thought" translation) and constant regard for the contextual meanings of words.

In 1973 the New Testament was published. The Committee carefully reviewed suggestions for revisions and adopted a number of them, which they incorporated into the first printing of the entire Bible in 1978. Additional changes were made in 1983. In 2020, Zondervan published another updated version with 100 new articles and over 1,000 new study notes.

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

links to peruse in preparing SS lesson for 10/9/2022: https://knoji.com/article/facts-about-the-hebrews/