Peter Misselbrook's Blog
Jan 15 2020 - Luke 7:36-8:3 – And also some women

In Luke 8:1-3 we have a wonderful cameo of Jesus travelling around with his disciples as he preaches in a variety of towns and villages. Our picture of Jesus and his disciples is often of a group of men. Here we are told that it included women. More than that, these women played a vital role in supporting Jesus’ ministry out of their own means (Luke 8:2-3).

They must have been women who were comparatively wealthy for them to be able to offer such support. Indeed, we are told that one of them was “Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household” (8:3). What an irony! Herod “the Great”, father to the Herod mentioned here, had murdered baby boys in Bethlehem in an attempt to destroy Jesus at birth; now the wife of the man who manages his son’s household is providing significant support to his ministry. Indirectly, Herod Antipas – the Herod who had put John the Baptiser to death and was later to mock Jesus at his trial – is now financing Jesus’ ministry. His was a household divided against itself. His kingdom was doomed to perish while the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will triumph and last for ever.

God delights in turning opposition to his kingdom to his own advantage. That, after all is what we see at the cross.

Why do the nations conspire
   and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
   and the rulers band together
   against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
   and throw off their shackles.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
   the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
   and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
   on Zion, my holy mountain.”

I will proclaim the LORD’s decree:
   He said to me, “You are my son;
   today I have become your father.
Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
   the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
   you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Therefore, you kings, be wise;
   be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear
   and celebrate his rule with trembling.
Kiss his son, or he will be angry
   and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
   Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2)

There may be times when we are fearful for the future of the kingdom of God. We see declining church attendance, unsympathetic legislation, the rise of militant Islam … How can we survive in such an unsympathetic environment?

We need a fresh view both of the big picture and of the fine details. We need to recapture the vision of God’s sovereign purpose to glorify his Son and to have him recognised and owned as Lord of all. He will not allow his purpose to be defeated. God always has the last word. And we need also to be more aware of the many small stories of people whose lives have been touched and transformed by Jesus and who are making a difference in the work of the kingdom. Jesus still has his Mary Magdelenes and Joannas. We too can make a difference.

Living God, creator of the universe and sovereign Lord over all that you have made, help me to see that in Jesus you are establishing your kingdom in this world and that it is a kingdom which cannot be shaken. By your Spirit increase my faith, hope and love: a faith that trusts Jesus fully; a hope that is confident that all creation shall one day share in his resurrection glory; a love poured out in the costly devotion of ceaseless prayer and tireless work in the cause of the kingdom.

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Jan 15 2019 - Genesis 15:1-21 – The covenant and its guarantor

Abram's nephew, Lot, had settled in the city of Sodom. But four kings with their armies had made war on Sodom and Gomorrah and had taken its inhabitants captive, including Lot and his family. Abram had raised a private army and rescued Lot. In doing so, he also recovered all the people and goods of the king of Sodom and returned them to him. Though the king of Sodom pressed Abram to take a reward from him, Abram would not do so (Genesis 14).

In response to this, the Lord appeared to Abram and told him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward” (Genesis 15:1). God himself is Abraham’s inheritance.

But Abram cannot resist asking about the heir whom God has promised him. Must he be content with Eliezer his servant being his heir? No, says the Lord, you will have a son of your own. God tells Abram to look up at the night sky; his heirs will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and will possess this land where Abram is now living as a stranger.

Abram, we are told, believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. The righteous person is the one who trusts in God and in the promises he has made – even against the odds.

Nevertheless, Abram asks “How can I be sure?” (15:8). His question gives rise to an extraordinary demonstration of God’s commitment to do what he has promised.

Abram is told to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon. He is to cut each of the first three animals in half, arranging the halves opposite each other in a line along the ground. As the sun went down, Abram fell into a deep sleep in which the Lord appeared to him in a vision. The Lord said, “Know for certain that your descendants … will come back here.” The covenant promise of descendants and land is repeated.

Then, in the darkness of nightfall, Abram sees a smoking brazier and flaming torch passing between the severed halves of the animals. This is the Lord – think of the pillar of fire and smoke which would later be the symbol of his presence with the Israelites in the wilderness. By this strange symbolism the Lord made a covenant with Abram (15:18), assuring him that his descendants would inherit the land.

Walking between the halves of severed animals was a recognised means of making a solemn promise in the ancient world. The person making the promise was saying, “If I fail to do what I have promised, may what has been done to the animals be done to me.” God assured Abraham of the certainty of his promises by underwriting them with his own life.

We who are heirs of the New Covenant know that all of the promises of God are sealed to us through the broken body and shed blood of God’s Son. They are promises which have been secured for us at the cost of the shed blood of God himself – see the extraordinary affirmation in Acts 20:28 which is reflected in the hymn of Charles Wesley:

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Heavenly Father, you are a covenant making and covenant keeping God. You have promised to bless us and have underwritten your promises with the life of your own Son. Help us never to doubt you but to believe what you have said. Help us to know for certain that you alone are our very great reward and that you will surely bring us into the inheritance that belongs to all who trust in Jesus Christ.

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Peter Misselbrook