The Anointed Iesus made Himself nothing

2024-07-07 Iesus made himself nothing.

Passage for today

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:5 – 8

 

Revised Standard Version

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9 – 11

 

Revised Standard Version

Our Lord Iesus the Anointed One was in the beginning with God. He was the Word of God from the beginning (ref John 1:1). Today we read from the above passage in Philippians chapter 2 that the Anointed One was originally in the form of God.

However, our Lord did not count his equality with God something to be grasped (Philippians 2:6 RSV). He did not hold on tightly to his position. Instead he was willing to let go and make himself nothing. Verse 7 tells us that our Lord "emptied himself".

Let us take a closer look what our Lord Iesus the Anointed One had to go through in the process of emptying himself, of making himself nothing:

• He took the form of a servant (v.7)
• He took the form of a human servant (v.7, 8)
• He took the form of a humble human servant (v.8a)
• He took the form of a humble obedient human servant who was obedient to God even to death (v.8b)
• He took the form of a humble obedient human servant who was obedient to God even to a cruel death on the cross. (v.8c)

It was because our Lord had gone through this painful process of emptying himself, from being in the form of God to becoming in the form of man, a humble slave who went to his death on the cross, that God has exalted him highly and has given to him the Name above every name (Philippians 2:9).

So high is the name of the Lord Iesus, the Anointed One, that at the Name of Iesus, every knee — in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, — will bow. And every tongue will confess that Iesus is Lord.

Finally, verse 11b tells us that all this will be done to the glory of God the Father.

In summary, we can say :

1. Iesus did not come to dictate the people around him. Instead he came to die for them
2. Iesus did not come to subjugate the world. Instead he came to sacrifice himself.
3. Iesus did not come to orchestrate a new earthly kingdom. Instead he came to obey God.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us also humble ourselves before God. Like our Lord Iesus, let us be humble obedient servants in His Kingdom so that God will also exalt us and make us sit with Him in the heavenly places.

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4 – 7

 

Revised Standard Version

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Today I am reminded of the following devotional messages which I have posted in my blog over the past fifteen years:

• 2020-04-06 The Heavenly Realm of the Son of God
• 2013-02-25 Whom shall we glorify?
• 2009-07-09 A name above every name

The Parable of Trust

2024-05-05 The Parable of Trust

14 For it is like a man, going into another country, who called his own servants, and delivered his goods to them.
15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability, and he went on his journey.

Matthew 25:14 – 15

 

World English Bible

12 So He said to them, 'A man of noble family travelled to a distant country to obtain the rank of king, and to return.
13 And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence

Luke 19:12 – 13

 

Weymouth New Testament

Wesley Methodist Church Kampar, Sunday Service, Matthew 25:14 – 30

This morning, for the first time after having read this passage numerous times over the last forty years, I realised that the Parable of the Talents, a name commonly given to the parable narrated by our Lord in Matthew chapter 25, is actually not a parable about how many talents are increased or multiplied by each of the three servants, but rather how trustworthy the servants have been in carrying out the work entrusted to them by their master.

My meditation on this parable brought to mind three observations about the Trust that the master showed to his servants and the kind of Trustworthiness shown by the servants as Trusteess, in taking care of the business entrusted to them. My observations are as follows:

Firstly, the Commitment of the Trust

The master was a businessman. He was from a noble family. When he wanted to travel to a distant country, he had to find some way to ensure his business continues to go on without disruption. He decided to entrust his money to his servants.

The account in Matthew chapter 25 tells us that he gave different amounts of money (or "goods" as mentioned in Matt 25:14, WEB) to each servant "according to his own ability" (Matt 25:15 WEB). In contrast, the account in Luke chapter 19 says that the master gave the same amount of money — one pound — to each servant (Luke 19:13 WNT).

Regardless of the amount of money given to each servant, the master had one purpose in mind — he wanted to entrust his servants with his business. He committed his goods, or money, into their hands to continue running his business while he was away on a long journey to a distant land. Luke 19:13b WNT tells us that he instructed the servants to "trade with the money" during his absence.

It was a commitment of trust.

Secondly, the Conduct of the Trusteees

We can see from the parable that the servants conducted themselves in two different ways.

Some of them conducted themselves in a trustworthy way. They carried out their duty to their master, to trade with the money entrusted to them. Regardless whether they were given much or little, these servants used their money to make gains by trading.

In Matthew 25:20, we read that the servant who was entrusted with five talents had gained five more. Further on in verse 22, we are told that the servant who was entrusted with two talents gained two more. They had proven themselves worthy of trust, when in the long absence of their master they had diligently carried on with doing the master's business with the money put into their hands.

Such was the conduct of the trustworthy servants.

In contrast, some servants conducted themselves in an untrustworthy way. They refused to carry out the duty of doing their master's business while he was away. They did not trade with the money given to them. They did not make any gains at all. The master's business came to a standstill at the hands of these untrustworthy servants.

Verses 24 and 25 of Matthew chapter 25 tells us that the servant who had been entrusted with one talent began making excuses when asked by his master to give an account of what he did with the money. He said he had buried his one talent in the ground while the master was away because he "knew" his master was a hard and demanding person who "reaped where he had not sown".

Such was the conduct of the untrustworthy servant.

Thirdly, the Consequence of Trustworthiness

The trustworthy servants were highly commended by the master. They were given a promotion to be entrusted with more wealth. (Matt 25:21, 23 NIV).

In both verses 21 and 23 of Matthew chapter 25 (NIV), the master told the trustworthy servants:

Come and share your master's happiness!

As a consequence of their trustworthiness, the servants became partakers of their master's happiness.

The opposite happened to the untrustworthy servant. His master called him "wicked and lazy" (Matt 25:26 NIV). The one talent that had been entrusted to him was taken away by his master and given to the most capable servant, the one who had shown his ability to use his ten talents to gain ten more.

Our Lord explained the taking back of the one talent from the untrustworthy servant with these words:

For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

Matthew 25:29

 

New International Version

What does this mean? What kind of consequence does this verse imply for both the trustworthy and the untrustworthy servants?

I have been struggling with this teaching of our Lord, both in Matthew 25:29 as well as in Luke 19:26. In particular, I ask myself why does the Lord practise such unfairness, that those of us who already have much will be given even more whilst those among us who have "nothing" to start with, even whatever little we have will be taken away from us.

Doesn't this tell us that God appears to rob the poor to reward the rich? God forbid that I should think thus.

Today I have come to a new understanding of Matthew 25:29 — that everyone of us who has trustworthiness will be given more wealth in the kingdom of God. And anyone among us who does NOT have trustworthiness, whatever little wealth we have will be taken away from us in the kingdom of God.

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Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us ponder over the gifts, the "goods" or "talents", that our Lord Iesus has entrusted to us in this world to carry out His business. Are we living as trustworthy servants?

Are we doing his business in the kingdom of God while he is away? Will our Lord find us trustworthy when he returns to receive us to be with him in heaven? Our Lord told his disciples in John chapter 4:

"My food," said Iesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

John 4:34

 

New International Version

Let us also have the same mind as our Lord Iesus. Let us make it our food to do the will of our Lord who has sent us into the world, with gifts that he has given us.

Let us do his will. Let us finish his work.

The man of lawlessness

Passage for today

3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this?
6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders,
10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 – 10  Revised Standard Version

Today in my devotion, I am reminded of the Day of our Lord — the day of His second coming when He will take all of us to be with him forever (1 Thess 4:17).

However, before that day arrives, there will be a rebellion, a world-wide rebellion against God. At that time a "man of lawlessness" (also called the son of perdition) will appear, calling himself god and deceive "those who are to perish" by the power of Satan, even with signs and wonders.

Brothers and Sisters in Iesus the Anointed One, let us be watchful against the appearance of the man of lawlessness and the great rebellion he brings along. Verse 7 in the passage above tells us that this lawlessness had already begun to work, even in those early days of the Apostle and the Thessalonian Church. Let us beware of the son of perdition who comes to deceive many.

Let us wait for the Day of our Lord.

Wed 21Aug2024

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We can turn to our Lord Iesus to guide us, to teach us, to comfort us and to make us steadfast as we wait for the Day of our Lord. Below is a short devotion I wrote about two years ago, in December 2022.

• May our Lord help us

You received the Anointed Iesous as Lord

Passage for today

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6, 7  New International Version

This afternoon during my reading of the New Testament, I came across for the first time the expression, "receive Christ as Lord". It is found in Paul's Epistle to the Colossians, chapter 2 verse 6.

This expression "receive Christ as Lord" forms the basis for the Apostle's discourse in the rest of the chapter. I'd like to post the passage from Colossians 2:6 - 12 NIV, with key words underlined for emphasis, for us to ponder over as a devotional reading.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him
strengthened in the faith as you were taught
and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive
through hollow and deceptive philosophy
which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world
rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.
He is the head over every power and authority.

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ.

having been buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through your faith in the working of God
who raised him from the dead.

A Tale of Two Generations

Passage of the Day
Judges 2:6 – 10

8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, that knew not Jehovah, nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel.
Judges 2:8 – 10  American Standard Version

I wrote these notes towards the end of last year on 12Nov23, the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost in my church calendar.

In Judges chapter 2, we read that the children of Israel served Yehovah while Joshua was alive. They continued to serve Yehovah while the elders were alive after Joshua's death. These were the elders who had seen all the great things that Yehovah had done among them from the days when Joshua led them across the Jordan and brought down the walls of Jericho (verse 7).

Then another generation grew up.

This new generation of Israelites did not know Yehovah (verse 10). They did not know what Yehovah had done.

Soon they began to do evil in the sight of Yehovah (versesf 11 - 12). They served the baals. They forsook Yehovah, the God of their fathers. They worshipped various gods of the people around them.

They provoked Yehovah to anger (verse 12).

We can see a distinct difference between the old generation of the children of Israel and the new generation —

• The old generation of Israelites saw the great works of Yehovah under their leader Joshua and the elders who outlived him. And they believed in Yehovah.
• The new generation, however, only heard about the great works of Yehovah from the elders in their families. They had not witnessed the works of the LORD. Sadly, they stopped believing in Him.
• Eventually, they began to forsake Yehovah. They went to serve baals and various gods of the people around them.

One may say that the new generation of Israelites would not have turned away from Yehovah had they seen Him continue to work among them. Perhaps they would have held on to their faith in the LORD if they were taught by their elders to pray to Yehovah in times of need or trouble, and to see the hand of Yehovah working in answer to their prayers.

If they had done so, the new generation of Israelites would no longer be just a generation who merely heard about the works of Yehovah but, instead, would have seen Yehovah answer them when they cried out to Him in their prayers. They would have become a new generation of Israelites who saw God supply their needs and deliver them from evil.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us show, and lead and teach the next generation of believers among us to pray. Let us lead them to seek God our Father in Heaven, to depend on His Providence, and to experience Him answering their very own prayers.

Let us turn the next generation from merely hearing about God to actually seeing the Hand of God at work among them.

Fourteen years ago, I wrote about the patience of our Lord Iesus in teaching His disciples to open their eyes and see the work of the Father among them, link below.

• The Lord was patient with his disciples (May2010)

Iesus at the home of Simon the Pharisee

Passage of the Day

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Luke 7:36 – 38  New International Version

The account in Luke 7:36 – 50 about our Lord's having dinner in the household of a Pharisee named Simon, shows us at least two failures on the part of Simon when he saw the sinful woman weeping at our Lord's feet and said to himself,

If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner. (verse 39)

His failure to do

Simon the Pharisee failed to wash Iesus' feet with water whereas the sinful woman washed His feet with her tears

He failed to greet the Lord with a kiss whereas the woman kissed His feet unceasingly.

And he failed to anoint the Lord's head with oil whereas the woman anointed His feet with costly perfume.

His failure to see

Simon saw an ugly sinner when he looked at the woman weeping at the Lord's feet. He couldn't see a beautiful person loved by God.

He only saw the woman's sins. He didn't see her remorse and her penitence.

He saw her unholy hands touching the Lord's feet. He couldn't see God's holy hands touching the woman's heart.

Conclusion

In the end it was the woman, not Simon the Pharisee, who received forgiveness, salvation and peace from the Lord.

Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ (verse 48).
Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’ (verse 50).

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us look at people with compassion like our Lord did that day in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Let us see the beautiful person loved by God our Father. Let us pray for their hearts to be touched by the hand of God. Let us pray for sins to be forgiven. Amen.

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Two years ago I wrote a short comment on seeking forgiveness from God our Father, link below:

• If My people who are called by My Name

3+1 God's appointed time

Passage of the Day

Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig-tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?”
‘ “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” ’
Luke 13:6 – 9  New International Version

The significance of the number 4 in the Old Testament

These notes were first written five years ago on 01 September 2019 09:36 hrs

The number 4 symbolises the "appointed time" of God, starting from the 4th day of creation when sun moon and stars were completed, to divide day from night, and to indicate months and years, and seasons. In other words, God's appointed times began from Day 4.

And towards the last days, it is by the 4th Trumpet that the prophecy is given in Revelation 8:12 – 13 — that Three Woes will be coming upon the world. These Three Woes will be heralded by the 5th, 6th and 7th Trumpets respectively.

See my notes on The First Four Trumpets.

Link: The meaning of numbers in the Bible

In addition, Jewish tradition looks at 3+1 as the fulfilment of God's plans, e.g. in Amos chapter 1, we see a pattern of 3+1, where we read of God's impending judgment on Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon, "For three sins, and for four".

Link: Judaism numbers

This allusion to the number 4, particularly to 3+1, of God's appointed times sheds light on the Parable of the Fruitless Fig Tree in Luke chapter 13, verses 6 to 9.

In this Parable, the fig tree was fruitless for 3 years, and the vineyard keeper asked the owner to give it one more year to bear fruits. It implies that the fruitless tree will suffer judgment at God's appointed time of 3 + 1 years.

Note that this parable was told in the context of the Lord Iesus warning in Luke 13: 1-5 about the peril of not turning away from sin. In this passage, the Lord warned his people, that regardless of whether one dies peacefully in his sleep, or in a violent death like the Galileans who were slaughtered by Pilate's men, or like those who were crushed by the falling tower at Siloam, they would all perish unless they repented.

unless you repent, you too will all perish. Luke 13:5

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus, let us take heed of God's appointed time. Let us repent.

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Below is a link to a post I wrote two years ago about bearing fruits worthy of repentance, a call by John the Baptist:

• He who has two coats