Jesus reply to Peters declaration was to prophecy that in just a few short hours Peter was deny Him not once, but three times. John simply says, Jesus wept. But we also read that when Jesus hears what Mary has to say, his spirit is greatly troubled. His troubled soul is noted at two different points in this passage. He may have been proclaiming to Peter the kind of love sacrificial love, love of difficult choices, noble love that He had for His sheep. Ryken says, The word sinners was the catch all for people who had a notorious reputation for bad behavior thieves, drunkards, prostitutes, and anyone else who refused to conform to the holy habits of the religious community.[1]. It is passages like this which kept Spurgeon busy for hours at a time! Her breathless voice bursts out the news and immediately Peter and John take off for the tomb. These verses metaphorically insist that Jesus is safe as long as he performs his Fathers will. There are no choices here. Today let us remember the beautiful thing about the gospel Jesus does all the work. Mary beholds two angels sitting inside the tomb where Christs body had been laid. [xi] We must inculcate His truths into our minds and lives. The brook Kidron is the Hebrew name for Cedron and means dark waters, and as A.W. So Davids Son and Lord, crossed the Cedron while Judas was betraying Him to His foes. HE BOY SPURGEON continued in quest of Christ for five yearsfrom the time when he was between ten and eleven years old until he was between fifteen and sixteen. [xvi] In the context of Hebrews 5 the call is to understand better the mystery of the priesthood of Christ. The number of men here is likely to be around 200 or so. First, the idea that the world will be saved through Him, despite the fact that we just heard John use the word world to refer to a wide group of people, all humanity in fact, we now hear him use the word world in a more selective way those who will be saved. 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Prior to this verse, the Lord Jesus has been the one speaking, but many scholars believe that John 3:16 is actually John now commenting, and given the flow and narrative of the passage, I believe that this is correct. The power of God was with Peter, look at what Luke tells us in the next chapter (Acts 5): [12] Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. Christ could either stay beyond the Jordan and enjoy a vibrant ministry (10:40-42), or He could fulfill the will of the Father and accomplish His ultimate destiny and mission here on Earth. That is why we have the fellowship of the church. But I think we might safely infer from this passage that Marthas priorities have shifted from ones that are busy and self-centered, to ones that are Christ-centered. Annas is not currently the high priest, but has been in the past, and is so powerful that he is actively involved in the affairs of temple and his son in laws administration of things. Well, we know enough about Peter to know that it isnt simply because of a weak disposition within Peter. Youve heard of seeker-sensitive churches, but in this chapter we learn that it is God who is the seeker, and we see his character and his chase highlighted herein. It was here that I found the poem The Hound of Heaven by English poet Francis Thompson. Wed love to move closer to church and to my work. By asking God to change our hearts desires to match that of His Sons. John is concerned to show that Christ Jesus understands our pains, He understands our sorrows. This is a trait of a true follower of Christ. Thats when you realize you had gotten an extra $300 out of the ATM and put it in an envelope for tomorrow thats why it wasnt showing up in the online statement! [10]But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.. Praise God that we have been found by God in our sinful state and enjoy the privilege of being united to Christ through His loving, relentless pursuit! (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV). They dont want to hear that they are sinners and that their sin is wrong. Carson. But we know how the story ends, do we not? The answer, simply, is nothing. And ill can brook delay; 11:4 But when Jesus heard it he said, This illness does not lead to death. Realize that God is calling you not to a life of intellectual boredom, but to a renewed mind and transformed heart a mind which sees terrors as joys and trials as blessings. So John came first with his warning of the radical nearness of the kingdom. Not, Tend your flock, but Tend my sheep.. [xv] However, we build upon this foundation in order to plumb the deeper mysteries and glories of Christ.[xvi]. Thus to be DULL OF HEARING is to have hearts loaded down with other matters worldly matters, and minds that are clouded with other priorities. Wesley's Journal, Vol. If heaven is rejoicing at these things, ought we not to give them our attention as well? But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:7-8). We must teach others the Word of God this is the feeding of the lambs. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. [7]Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. That image comes from Francis Thompson, a 19th century British poet who wrote "The Hound of Heaven." Although Thompson was a follower of Christ, he struggled with poverty, poor health, and an addiction to opium . 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. She supposed Him to be the gardener. You need milk, not solid food, [13] for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. We weep because we are dying and we live in a dying world. I suppose it is also necessary to address the fact that some say that by the way Mary and Martha address Lazarus as the one loved by Christ, that Lazarus is perhaps the author of this gospel and not John there are other times, of course, when the author refers to himself as the beloved of the Lord. Specifically, of course, on the revealing of the glory of the Son, which MacArthur says, blazes in this passage against a dark backdrop of rejection and hatred on the part of the Jewish leaders.. The man Jesus was a threat to the socio-political stability of the Jewish state, and he needed to be dealt with. Presently, Kate and I would really like to sell our house. That verse helps us understand why Jesus was so indignant.
hound of heaven spurgeon
hound of heaven spurgeon