What Mary kept in her heart, Part One

Sunday 27 Dec 09, Sermon at Kampar Wesley

Luke 2: 41 - 52 NKJV

(This post was completed on 06Jan2010 at 23:25hr)

Luke 2 spans almost 30 years in NT history. Beginning at the birth of Jesus, from Luke 2: 1 when Caesar Augustus (Octavian 27BC - AD14) was in power to the incident in Luke 2: 51-52, when Jesus was 12 years old, who returned with his family to Nazareth and was submissive to them for the next 18 years, until Luke 3: 1 when Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus ruled (AD14 - 39), during the ministry of John the Baptist, when Jesus began his ministry at 30 years old (Luke 3: 23).

In this chapter, are recorded two instances of Mary having heard remarkable and astonishing words from others, and had kept those words in her heart.

Firstly, in Luke 2: 19, after hearing the good tidings from the shepherds , Mary "kept all these things and pondered over them in her heart". The Greek word for "kept" used here is sunthereo, which carries the meaning of "to preserve" (see: new wine preserved in new skins, Luke 5:38).

Secondly, in Luke 2: 51, after hearing the child Jesus' reply that he had to be "in his Father's business", Mary "kept all these things in her heart". Another Greek word is used here for "kept", namely diathereo, which means to "keep carefully and continually". (see Acts 15: 29, the council elders in Jerusalem sent instruction to the Gentile churches in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia, telling them to "keep" themselves from unholy practices.)

This morning, I'd like to invite you to join me in pondering over at least three things which Mary preserved and kept carefully in her heart.

I Jesus is the Son, who is begotten by God (Luke 2: 41 - 52, 1: 26 - 33)
II Jesus is the Sacrifice, who is prepared by God (Luke 2: 21 - 35), and
III Jesus is the Saviour, who is chosen by God (Luke 2: 8 - 19)

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I Jesus is the Son, who is begotten by God (Luke 2: 41 - 52, 1: 26 - 33).

It was the Passover Feast and that year Jesus was twelve years old. Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem, as they had always done each year. When the days of the feast were over, they embarked on their journey home without realising that Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem, thinking that he was somewhere with some other friends or relatives travelling together in the caravan.

Verse 44 tells us that they had already gone a day's journey out of Jerusalem when Joseph and Mary began looking for Jesus. When they failed to find him, they returned to Jerusalem (v.45), and this would have taken a second day. They would have spent a good part of the third day looking around for Jesus and so, as verse 46 records for us, it was after three days that they found Jesus in an unlikely place for a twelve year old child: the temple at Jerusalem. And he was doing the most unlikely thing: asking the rabbis difficult questions and giving them amazing answers,

Mary said to Jesus, (verse 48), "Son, why have you done this to us? . . ." The Greek word translated as "Son" used here is not huios, meaning a son, but instead it is teknon, meaning a child. This shows that Mary regarded at the boy as being still a child, who was not old enough to be responsible for himself yet. According to the book of Niddal in the Mishnah, the oral traditions of the Jews, the age 12 is one year before a boy is responsible for his religious commitments.

This little boy Jesus gave his mother a very astonishing answer, in verse 49b, "Don't you know that I must be about my Father's business?" In Greek, it is written literally as "don't you know that I must be in the things of my Father?". (Some authorities translate this as "I must be in the house of my Father")

"But they did not understand his answer" v.50

Then Jesus went with Joseph and Mary back to Nazareth and he was subject to them, but Mary kept all these things in her heart. (diathereo, meaning to keep continually in mind)

These astounding words from Mary's child would have reminded her of the words of the Angel Gabriel which she had heard twelve years earlier, recorded in Luke 1: 35, announcing to her that she would bear the Son of God in her womb: "The holy Spirit will come on you, and God's power will rest upon you. For this reason, the holy child will be called the Son of God."

Thus these were the first words that Mary had kept in her heart: that the son she had borne, whom she had raised all those twelve years, was the Son of God, a son who had begun to go about his Father's business, in his Father's house.

Later in the NT, the book of Hebrews tells us that God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed the heir of all things (Heb. 1: 2). And quoting from the OT scriptures:

Psalm 2: 7 says, "The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You'.

2Sam 7:14 says, "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son . . ."

The Apostle, in his epistle to the Galatian church wrote:

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" Gal 4: 4

Whereas in Gal 3: 26, he wrote, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

Furthermore, in Romans 8:17, it is written that we are ". . . heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

Thus, this is the first thought that we ponder over this morning, a thought that Mary had preserved and kept carefully in her heart: that the child Jesus was no ordinary child. He is the son of God, through whom God speaks to all of us in these last days, a son who is appointed heir of all things from God. And through our faith in the son of God, even in our suffering together with him, we are also made sons of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us keep this thought carefully in our hearts too, just as Mary, the mother of Jesus had kept it in her heart.

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II Jesus is the Sacrifice, who is prepared by God (Luke 2: 21 - 35), and

III Jesus is the Saviour, who is chosen by God (Luke 2: 8 - 19)

(to be continued, in subsequent posts)

Hungry and don't know what you're eating?

Friday, 4Dec09 Deutoronomy 8: 3 NET

So he humbled you by making you hungry . . .

I received an e-mail from Brother Tai just now, who asked me in jest why I had postponed a bible study to just to meet him and another pastor for tea. He asked, tongue-in-cheek, "Are you worried that the siew-mai will be sold out?" And he proceeded to remind me gently that man shall not live by bread alone. . .

Yes, indeed the Scripture says in Deut. 8:3 that man shall not live by bread (food) alone but by everything that proceeds from the mouth of God. Well, that includes siew mai, har gau and char siew pow, I guess!

More seriously, Deut. 8: 3 teaches us that God did two things to teach his people in the OT about being careful not to live just by bread alone. Firstly he humbled them by making them hungry in their wandering in the wilderness.

Then, secondly, he fed them food which they were not familiar with, "manna", which simply means "what is it". In this way, Israel, the people of God were to learn to live by every word from the mouth of God.

So, it appears that if we're sometimes too poor to have dim-sum for breakfast, but instead can only afford roti kosong and teh-o, let us give thanks to God our Father, who teaches us to live by his every word.

Thanks, Brother Tai, for reminding us of this verse, though you were half-jokingly referring to my alleged anxiety over the siew mai!

Let us learn from this teaching of Scripture to live by God's word everyday.

Terrible times in the Last Days

Wednesday 18Nov09 2 Timothy 3: 1 - 5 NIV.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

I had always associated terrible times with disasters, famine and plague. Little did I know that there are other terrible things that will happen too. Today I got a foretaste of what such terrible last days feel like.

I came across a video available from a popular chinese video sharing site showing a small child, from China, smoking a cigarette and cursing occasionally in front of the camera. This child looked like he's of pre-school age and the video appeared quite recent.

This video lasted only about a minute, and in that short duration the child finished the entire cigarette! All through the video, he was seen drawing deeply from the cigarette and towards the final moments he looked like he couldn't finish the whole stick. His forehead started to furrow, he started to frown and he almost wanted to cry. I suspect that an adult was nearby, watching over the child who was coerced into finishing the entire episode.

It was a cruel and heart-breaking one minute for me!

But the terrible times did not stop there. This video was made available by a friend on his social networking page and all the comments posted by people who watched it were almost entirely similar . . . they were all AMUSED!

I was disgusted by the fact that none of my friend's friends felt sorry for the poor child. Virtually none of them noticed the cruelty. The terrible times now felt even nearer. It's no longer those people in the video. It's not far away in China. It's right here at our doorstep that we find cruel, uncaring and unkind people. It may even be our very own friends!

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good v. 2, 3

The words in bold italics were emphasized by me. To see the terrible times around us, we don't have to wait for earthquakes, storms and fire to confront us. We don't have to come face to face with epidemics and famine. All we need to do is to open our eyes and look around.

People have gone increasingly brutal. More and more are without love, abusive, slanderous, without self-control. They are not lovers of good. Certainly not those adults in China who made the little child finish the entire cigarette in under a minute. And almost on par with them are those friends who watched the video and could only feel amused!

They appear to be:

. . . .treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. v4, 5

Dear Christian, we are living in terrible times. Let us look out for brutal people around us. They are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Of falling rain, rising flood and buffeting winds

Sat. 14 Nov 2009, Mathew 7: 21 - 29 NKJV

. . . the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. v 25

It has been raining almost relentlessly over the last couple of days. The skies have been overcast and the sound of rain falling on the roof has continued through the night. The weather has been very wet indeed.

I am reminded of the teaching of our Lord Jesus at the end of his sermon on the mount, where he said that whoever hears those teachings of his and does them is like a wise man.

And that wise man built his house on the rock.

It suddenly occurred to me, while reading this passage, that, besides the rock, there was something else that had escaped my notice. It's the rain, the flood and the wind beating against the house! That is the essence of our Lord's teaching about the wise man's house.

His house could withstand the falling rain, the rising flood waters and the buffeting winds. When the storm had passed, the wise man's house remained standing.

It did not fall.

In contrast, whoever hears the teachings of our Lord in his sermon and does not do them is like a foolish man. He built his house on sand. And it could not withstand the rain, flood and wind.

And great was its fall. v. 27b

Dear Christian, I urge you to hear and also to do the teachings of our Lord Jesus, as he taught them in his Sermon on the Mount. Let each of us build our own house on rock, not sand.

Under falling rain, in rising floods and through buffeting winds, let it be said of us: we did not fall!

Take no thought, Make no boast

Wednesday 21 Oct 09.
Matthew 6: 25-34 KJV James 4: 13-16 NKJV James 3: 5 NIV.

The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. James 3: 5

There are two pitfalls to avoid in Christian living.

One is to be anxious about our future, being constantly preoccupied with securing a good future for ourselves, literally about "what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink".

Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on . . . Matthew 6: 25

Our Lord teaches us not to worry about our future. "Take no thought," he says in the King James Version of the Bible, telling us to avoid the pitfall of anxiety over our bodies, our food and our clothing, and I should think, our tomorrow!

Another pitfall is to be arrogant about our future, being proud of our accomplishments and carelessly confident of our capabilities to get what we want for our future. We begin to "make great boasts" James tells us.

James 4: 13 - 16 has a warning for many of us who boast of great plans for our future, to "go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit . . ."quite forgetting that we can never know what will happen tomorrow.

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. . . . .But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil

A wise Christian would say to himself, "If the Lord wills, . . ." before he tells anyone how he intends to live or what he plans to do in the future. In this way he avoids the pitfall of being arrogant about his future.

So dear Christians, let us take no thought for our lives, and make no boast with our tongues.

A time for mourning

Sunday 18Oct09, Matthew 5: 4, Ecclesiastes 7: 2

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted Matt. 5: 4

Yesterday my wife and I attended the funeral of a dearly beloved Sister in Christ who went home to be with the Lord after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Both she and her husband, Michael, were members of our student Christian Fellowship in university back in the early 80's. We've lost touch with one another over the years, but renewed contact by e-mail only this year.

And she has left us now.

She leaves behind Michael, with three grown-up children Nigel, Audrey and Dennis. There was quiet bereavement at the home during the funeral, with some effort made in keeping back the tears as the family members greeted and welcomed the guests, many of whom were fellow members of the varsity CF many years ago.

It was indeed a time of mourning.

Mourning is a time of grief. It is a time of sadness and tears. And it is often a time of weeping. In Genesis 23: 2, it is written that Abraham wept over Sarah when she died at an old age. Later, in Genesis 50: 1 - 10, Joseph wept over the death of his father Jacob. Together with Joseph, the Egyptian officials mourned for seventy days. Verse 10 says, everyone lamented loudly and bitterly.

Likewise, in Mark 5:38, we read that people cried and wailed loudly when Jairus' daughter died from illness. Mary also wept, in John 11:33, when her brother Lazarus died. Even our Lord Jesus wept when he subsequently arrived at their home.

Mourning is also a time of sojourn. Mourning takes time. It does not end upon completion of the funeral and the burial. The grieving continues for a time.

Recall that in Genesis 50:10, the entire cortege in Egypt mourned at Jacob's funeral for seventy days. In old testament times, a woman taken in battle must be allowed to mourn for her dead husband for at least a month. This period of mourning can be likened to a journey, a pilgrimage, at the end of which is the comfort of God.

Revelations 21: 4 tells us that at the end of our sojourn there will be no more death. No more sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain. Mourning can be likened to our pilgrimage on this earth. When one mourns, one becomes a sojourner for a short time towards the comfort of God. At the end of one's sojourn, God gives relief. He takes away the sorrow and crying.

Finally, mourning is a time of blessing. In his sermon on the mount, our Lord Jesus teaches us that those who mourn are blessed because they will be comforted. (Matt. 5: 4). That is the foremost reason why mourning is a time of blessing. Those of us who suffer grief and bereavement are blessed by the comfort of God our Father. A blessing which can only be received and experienced in times of mourning.

We may also think of another reason why mourning is a time of blessing. Ecclesiastes 7: 2 tells us that it is better to go to a funeral than to a feast:

Better to go to the house of mourning

Than to go to the house of feasting,

For that is the end of all men;

And the living will take it to heart.

Thus, it is a blessing of reminder, of taking to heart, each time we attend a funeral, when we mourn together with the bereaved, that we remind ourselves this is the end of our days on earth, as we pass on to better days with the Lord in paradise.

Dear Christian, let us ponder over the blessing of mourning. Blessed are those who mourn.

A matter of life and death

Tuesday, 29Sep2009. Philippians 1: 21 - 24, 3: 4b - 7 NIV

I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 1: 23, 24

The apostle Paul was torn between life and death. For him, to go on living in this world is to labour fruitfully for Christ, but to die and be with Christ is far better.

On one hand, he had all the reasons to live and to enjoy a meaningful and prestigious life in this world. He was a true Jew, born into a respectable family, of the tribe of Benjamin, a "Hebrew of Hebrews". He was highly educated, a practising Pharisee who persecuted the Christian church with great zeal. And no one could find fault with him with regards to keeping the Mosaic Law. Therefore, he said of himself,

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. 3: 4b

Yet, on the other hand, after he became a Christian, the apostle Paul realised "the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ" (3: 8). Twice in 3:7-8, he stated that he considered all his accomplishments as "loss" for the sake of the Lord.

I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 3: 8

So what was Paul's conclusion? He wrote in 1: 24, ". . . but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body."

Dear Christian, let us emulate the apostle in choosing between life and death. Let us say together with him, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2: 20 NKJV