John

Jesus is God in flesh, The eternal Word come to earth

Summary:
John, which is the last of the four Gospels, is quite different than the other three (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). These three are referred to as the “synoptic gospels” because of their common focus and the fact that they relay many of the same events in the life of Jesus. John on the other hand, has a very narrow focus for his account, mainly to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who has come to earth to die as God’s sacrifice for human sin. He wants people to be brought to spiritual life through belief. To this emphasis, John draws upon specific and targeted events and teachings of Jesus. The author of the Gospel of John is John-the disciple whom “Jesus loved,” whose brother was James. John also penned 1, 2, and 3 John as well as Revelation. John begins his gospel with, “in the beginning.” Here we find Jesus-the Word, creating all things with God. He is not only “with God,” but “is God,” a key theological point in our understanding of Jesus that separates many religions.

Some important points to understand about the book of John:

• Key chapter: John 3, including the most quoted and preached verse in all of Scripture John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• The conversation with Nicodemus and the testimony of John clearly point to the fact that “being born again” is the only way to find the “Kingdom of God.” 
• Theme verse: John 20:31 These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name (John uses the word “life” 36 times in his gospel, double the amount of any other gospel).
• John presents his gospel in a topical rather than a strict chronological manner. He highlights Jesus’ first miracle turning water into wine at the wedding celebration at Cana (not mentioned in the synoptic gospels). This event is followed by Jesus clearing the temple, which appears at the end of the other gospels.
• John clearly presents the deity of Christ through his seven “I am” statements: “I am the bread of life” (6:35, 48); “I am the light of the world” (8:12; 9:5); “I am the door” (10:7, 9); “I am the good shepherd” (10:11,14), “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25), “I am the way the truth and the life” (14:6), “I am the true vine” (115: 1-5).

Numbers

Israel wanders in the desert for forty years due to her unfaithfulness to God

Summary:
The book of Numbers opens with the recording of God’s people approximately one year after the Exodus.  The name of the book corresponds to the two census lists found in the book, although the Hebrew title of the book may better reflect its total contents, “in the desert.”  Numbers narrates the story of Israel’s journey from Mount Sinai (where God gave his people the Law) through the desert of Moab (a long extended detour) to the border of Canaan (God’s promised land to them).  God’s people, whom He has redeemed from slavery in Egypt and made a covenant with, respond to God with rebellion, unbelief, and ingratitude.  God will not be mocked, so in response to their rebellion, God declares that this generation will never live in the promise land, but will live their lives out in the desert (this will include Moses).  Only the next generation will enjoy the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.  

Some important points to understand about the book of Numbers:

• The book of Numbers has three broad divisions, based on three geographical locations.  Chapters 1-12 narrates Israel at Sinai moving towards the promised land and ending in Kadesh.  Chapters 13-20 narrates the journey from Kadesh to the plains of Moab.  The final chapters 21-36 finds Israel on the plains of Moab anticipating the conquest of the promised land with a new generation.[1] 
• In the Old Testament, the sole purpose of taking a census was to determine how many men of fighting age were in a population.  As Numbers begins we see a census taken for this purpose.  God is organizing a military camp in which God (Yahweh) is at her head to establish His kingdom on earth in the midst of the surrounding nations.[2]  
• Throughout the book of Numbers, we see God’s wrath in a very real way.  His wrath is always displayed against disobedient and rebellious people. We see God’s wrath against the surrounding nations, but also with his own treasured people, the nation of Israel. This is a quality that has not changed with God.  On the flip side, God is merciful and loving, and throughout Scripture we see His ever present and continued desire for those who rebel against Him, to return to Him in repentance.  This picture of mercy is painted on the canvas of every book in the Old Testament (look for it!) 
• The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion    Numbers 14:18

[2] Ibid, 185.

Luke

Jesus, the perfect man, Came to save those who are lost

Summary:

Luke, which is the third of the four Gospels, was penned to a man named Theophilus (1:3), who was most likely a patron of Luke’s and possibly his publisher.[1]  The message of Luke’s Gospel was to extend to more than Theophilus, to those to whom the book would be circulated.  The author’s name does not appear in the book, but has been attributed to “Luke,” most likely a Gentile physician who was a close companion of Paul.   Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist and includes the genealogy of Jesus going all the way back to not Abraham (as found in Matthew), but Adam.  Within the chronological narrative of Jesus’ life, we find both growing opposition as well as growing belief throughout the book.  We find that those whose belief is growing are called “to count the cost of discipleship” while those who oppose Jesus and his teachings will not be appeased until He is crucified.[2]  Ultimately Christ’s resurrection from death completes His purpose, “to seek and to save what was lost.” 

Some important points to understand about the book of Luke:

• Unlike Matthew who writes primarily to a Jewish audience, Luke is the least Jewish and offers a universal message of salvation.  His Gospel is both the lengthiest as well as the most comprehensive. 
• Luke’s focus can be summed up in the following verse: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10)[3].   
• The Gospel of Luke should be considered a “two part volume” with Acts.  Acts continues the message of the Gospel of Luke.  
• As you read through Luke, you will find that he begins his account of Jesus’ ministry on the outskirts geographically and moves inward towards Jerusalem as Christ approaches his death.  He begins with events in and around Galilee (4:14-9:50), moves to events in Judea and Perea (9:51-19:27) and then moves to the final week of Christ’s life (19:28-24:53).[4]  Look at a Bible map to get a better understanding.
•  Luke takes a special interest in particular people groups in his writing.  Keep an eye out for his concern (and ultimately God’s concern!) for women, the poor, the family circle, and sinners. 

[1] The NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 1532.

[2]  Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa, Talk thru the Bible (USA: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2002), 327.

[3]“NIV,” 1532.

[4] Ibid, 1533.

Mark

Jesus is God’s Son, A servant who suffers for all people

Summary:

Mark, which is the second of the four Gospels, was likely penned first.  It is both the shortest and simplest Gospel and moves through the narrative quickly by the repeated use of the word “immediately.”  Although John Mark was not an apostle, he had a close association with Peter, who became his primary source of information [one requirement for a book to be included in the canon of Scripture was to have either apostolic authorship or else the author had to have a close association with an apostle].  Mark does not begin his narrative with Jesus as a baby, but rather as an adult.  John the Baptist [named the Baptizer because of the many baptisms he performed] baptizes Jesus before He is sent into the desert and tempted by Satan- the text does not describe the temptation, however. 

Some important points to understand about the book of Mark:

• Unlike Matthew who writes primarily to a Jewish audience, Mark writes most likely to Gentile readers.  Mark explains Jewish traditions and customs as well as translates Aramaic words. 
• Mark’s focus can be summed up in the following verses: “Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45 NIV).  Each chapter adds to this understanding that Christ came for both service and sacrifice.  He becomes the model for our lives. 
• Mark portrays Jesus’ ministry through his preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out of demons.  We see that his healing and casting out of demons are direct signs of His ushering in the Kingdom of God, or in other words, the dynamic reign of God.
• There is an emphasis on miracles in this book, with eighteen recorded.  It is in these miracles that one sees both Christ’s power, but also His compassion.[1] 
• The first half of the Gospel of Mark focuses on the outer geographical regions of Galilee and Perea.  Christ is validating His claims as Messiah.  When Peter exclaims in chapter 8 that Christ is indeed Messiah, Jesus changes his focus to strengthening his disciples as the narrative moves closer to Jerusalem and Christ’s impending death.

Matthew

The bridge between the Old Testament and New, Matthew. Announces and portrays Jesus as the long awaited Messiah and King 

Summary:

Matthew is the first of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) which means, “good news.”  Put simply, the Gospels give us the biographical picture of Jesus’ life. It is here that we see exactly how Jesus lived his life, and what was important to him. After four hundred years of prophetic silence (this is the time between the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, and the New Testament) we see God’s redemptive plan for salvation moving forward.  Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus noting that he is a son of David (this will denote a fulfillment of God’s promise to David that he would have an everlasting kingdom 2 Sam 11:16) and the son of Abraham. The fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (see last week’s notes) is fulfilled in Jesus who is the ultimate “seed” that will bring “blessing” to the whole world. Jesus, the King is unique among kings: he is born in poverty; his birth is miraculous; he flees to Egypt; he battles Satan in the wilderness and then begins his ministry.  The smallest details of his life and birth prophesied over a period of a thousand years are fulfilled in this King of Kings.

 Some important points to understand about the book of Matthew:

• Matthew writes primarily to a Jewish audience and thus assumes an understanding of Jewish practices, festivals, etc.  You may need to go to the original context in the Old Testament to understand these. 
• Matthew (Levi) is a tax collector by trade before Jesus calls him to be one of his disciples (Mt 9:9-13). 
• Matthew’s main purpose in writing his Gospel is to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus IS the long awaited Messiah, and He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament predictions/prophecies of Messiah. 
• One key verse for this book is Simon Peter’s proclamation, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16). 
• The Gospel of Matthew includes Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount  (Mt. 5-7) with the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer  as well as The Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20). 
• A Full 60 % of Matthew’s 1,071 verses include the spoken words of Jesus.[1]
  

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[1] Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa, Talk thru the Bible (USA: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2002), 312.

Leviticus

Focuses on the worship and walk of the nation of God, In other words…holiness

Summary:

The book of Leviticus chronologically follows the Exodus.  God, with a mighty hand has delivered the nation of Israel from slavery and bondage in Egypt.  From here on out in the text, God will refer to himself as “the LORD your God who brought you up out of Egypt.”  He alone is responsible for their salvation and deliverance.  In Exodus we find the directions for the building of the Tabernacle (or temporary temple- also called the tent of meeting-this is the place where God will meet with His people).  It is here in Leviticus that God gives the laws and regulations for worship including instructions on ceremonial cleanness, holy days (Sabbath, Passover, and the Day of Atonement-Yom Kippur), moral laws and the Year of Jubilee.[1]

Some important points to understand about the book of Leviticus: 

• The author of Leviticus is not stated, but has traditionally been understood to be Moses. 
• In Leviticus, spiritual holiness is symbolized or seen in physical perfection.  This is why we see the demand for “perfect” animals for many of the sacrifices. This is also why God requires priests without deformity and people with skin diseases to be banished from the camp until healed. 
• Aaron, Moses’ brother becomes the high priest and it is from his line that all of the priests will come-the tribe of Levi or the Levites. 
• Lev 17:11 tells us “the life of the flesh is in the blood…it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”  We begin to understand that a life must be taken to atone for human sin. 
• God institutes for the nation of Israel, animal sacrifice.  At the death of an innocent animal, unintentional sins are forgiven. Later one would come and shed his blood (Jesus Christ), bringing about the only lasting atonement (reconciliation- making us “one” with God).[2] 
•  One key verse for this book relates our responsibility as God’s people to accurately represent Him to others, “Be holy, because I am holy” (Lev 11:44 NIV).

[2] Ibid., 123.

Exodus

God delivers His people, the Israelites from the chains of slavery. After living in Egypt for nearly four hundred years

Summary:

The Israelites have been living and prospering in Egypt since their arrival due to the famine in the land.  Joseph (Abraham’s great grandson) has since passed and the Pharaoh that had been favorable to Joseph has died as well.  “The Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them” (Ex 1:7).  The new king is threatened, and thus puts slave masters over them and oppresses them with forced labor. Interestingly, the more the Israelites are oppressed the more they multiply and spread, which leads to Pharaoh’s decree to kill all future male Hebrew babies.  It is here where we first meet Moses and observe the thwarting of Pharaoh’s evil plan, by women: the midwives (1:17), the Israelite mothers (1:19), Moses’ mother and sister (vv. 3-4), and the Pharaoh’s daughter ((2:10). [1]  God seems to be surprisingly absent from the narrative until Ex 2:23b-25 when “the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.  God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”  There is something profound in our crying out to God.  It is throughout the rest of the narrative that we see God’s hand in redeeming his people from slavery, his giving of the law to teach them how to properly live life, and his bringing of them into a land of “milk and honey.” 

Some important points to understand about the book of Exodus:

• Chapters 1-18 relate to Israel’s release from bondage in Egypt while Chapters 19-40 record the directions of God to His people regarding how to live a life that reflects God and how to properly worship God. 
• Two themes dominate the narrative: Redemption as portrayed in the Passover and Deliverance as seen in the Exodus from Egypt. 
• Moses can bee seen as a “type” or predecessor of Christ.  Both are prophets, priests, and kings (Moses was never an official king, but acts as a ruler of Israel).Both are endangered in their infancy; both spend time in the desert; both voluntarily renounce power and wealth; and both are deliverers, lawgivers and mediators.[2] 
• In Exodus 20 we find the Mosaic Covenant, which is the law.  Now the people know how to live a life that is reflective of God.  They are to represent God to the neighboring nations.  The law in the Old Testament is a gift and not a burden.  It is here that we see God’s righteousness and holiness. 
• The first commandment is foundational for Israel as well as for us today, “You shall have no other gods before me.” 
• God refers continually to himself in this book as the redeeming God….this is who He is.  “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”  
• God “tabernacles” (the Hebrew word for dwell), with his people in the wilderness.  He does this be being present in a cloud by day and fire by night above the tabernacle or tent of the LORD.

[2] Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa, Talk thru the Bible (USA: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2002), 14.

Genesis

God creates the world and chooses a particular people (nation) through whom he would bless all nations. 

Summary:

The first book of the Bible is a book of beginnings. It is here that we find the origin of the galaxies as well as all of life.  Not to be confused with a science book, Genesis is written as a theological history- a highly selective spiritual interpretation of the redemption of man.  It lays the foundation for the entire Bible in its history and theology.  Chapters 1-11 (time span covered over two thousand years) sketch human history from creation to the tower of Babel, introducing important themes such as: the beginning of life, sin, judgment, family, worship, and salvation.  The remainder of the book, Chapters 12-50 (time span covered less than three hundred years) focuses on the lives of the patriarchs or fathers of the faith: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph from whom the nation of Israel and ultimately the Messiah, Jesus Christ will come. 

Some important points to understand about the book of Genesis:

• God’s plan for fellowship and a perfect life with the pinnacle of his creation, man and woman is thwarted in chapter 3 with the advent of sin. 
• A hint of Messiah’s/Christ’s future suffering and victory is given by God as he curses the serpent for deceiving Eve in the garden, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel” (3:15) 
• The first affects of sin are seen in Cain’s murder of his brother Abel.  As the book continues we see sin reaching the extent to which God has no other option but to wipe out all of life, aside from the righteous Noah, his family, and various animals. 
• After the flood and the earth repopulates, God chooses one man named Abram as patriarch of a specially blessed people, later to be called “Israel.”  Later in the book, God changes Jacob’s (grandson of Abraham) name to “Israel” and his twelve sons become the twelve tribes of Israel- thus the nation of Israel. 
• Central to all of Scripture is the Abrahamic covenant (akin to an ancient agreement between two parties).  Given in 12:1-3 and ratified in 15:1-21, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and gives three specific promises to Israel:

1)      the promise of a great land

2)    the promise that they would be a great nation. seed or descendants

3)    the promise of blessing, “I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (12:2)

Several times in the Exodus narrative we find ourselves jolted by the phrase, “And the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”  This is a tough one for us to swallow because our default theological position is that every single human being has the free choice to choose for or against God.  So when we hear these words, we struggle.

Before we dig into the issue at hand, it is important that we set a fundamental guideline for the reading and interpreting of Scripture.  Throughout the centuries, the church has relied on the principle of “letting Scripture interpret Scripture.”  In other words, when you run into a difficult passage that causes confusion, you should seek to let other, more clear passages help guide you.  Thankfully, in this particular case, there is a passage from the book of Romans that speaks directly to the issue at hand.  The Apostle Paul writes,

For God says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.  You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory…” (Romans 9:15-23)

In this particular section of Romans, Paul is addressing the issue of predestination and defending the sovereign right of God to determine who He will show mercy to.  In the earlier verses of chapter nine, Paul talks about the case of Jacob and Esau and how God chose Jacob over Esau before they were even born.  Before they did anything that would merit grace or judgment, God says, “Jacob I loved, Esau I hated.”  Paul then goes on to take up the issue of Pharaoh.

Read over the passage from Romans above again but this time imagine you are Paul.  Imagine you grew up a Jew.  Imagine you participated in all the festivals including Passover where they tell the story of the Exodus again and again.  Notice anything missing from Paul’s argument here?  Even though he is speaking of the Exodus, he never mentions the salvation of the people of God!  This is a striking omission!  Just think, Paul could have argued that God did what He did in order to punish Pharaoh for enslaving God’s people.  Paul could have argued that this was the route God needed to go in order to truly deliver His people from bondage.  That if God didn’t completely and utterly humble Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt, they might try to reconquer Israel in the Promised Land.  Paul mentions none of these things because the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart has really very little to do with the people’s salvation.  Instead, it has everything to do with God’s glory.

In Exodus 9:16, God says to Pharaoh, “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”  God is concerned primarily with His own glory here.  Pharaoh fancied himself a god and all of the plagues and all of the pain and suffering that Pharaoh goes through serves the purpose of declaring to the world and to all of human history who truly is Lord of the universe.  As God will say a little later on to the Israelites, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  Our God is a jealous God, my friends.  Jealous for His glory.  Jealous for His name.  And He chose Pharaoh for the purpose of declaring His own glory throughout the earth.

I know this is hard for us to accept.  But just because it is hard doesn’t mean it isn’t clear.  The Bible states unequivocally that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  I know many commentators shy away from accepting those words at face value but if the Word of God is truly the Word of God, then we must submit ourselves to it’s authority and accept what it says as true.  Paul himself struggled to accept this but at the end of the day he concludes that man is in no position to question God.  The clay doesn’t question the potter.  The creature doesn’t question the Creator.  We accept and we trust God knows best.

BRIDEGROOM OF BLOOD…Sounds like a great title for a really bad horror movie, doesn’t it?  Quite frankly there are no good answers for this particular question as the passage seems to come out of left field.  But let’s get it in front of us so we can see what we’re talking about and perhaps discern God’s truth.

At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.  Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

This particular passage follows on the heels of the burning bush discourse where God meets Moses and calls him into service.  Moses will be God’s prophet and deliverer for God’s people.  This is not a call Moses accepts readily.  In fact, he argues at length with God about his insignificance, his fears, and his lack of polish in his public speaking.  God refuses to accept any excuses Moses makes and instead equips him with powerful signs to show the people of Israel and a partner in ministry, his brother Aaron.  Moses finally accepts the call and begins his journey, along with his Midianite wife and sons, to Egypt.

And this is where things get tricky.  Along the way, after they have stopped for the night, the Bible says that the Lord sought to put Moses to death.  Talk about a curve ball!  What happened to the call?  To the commissioning of Moses as God’s servant?  Did God send Moses out only to kill him along the way?  Is this just some cruel, twisted game?  Certainly not.  While the meaning of the passage is obscure and it’s appearance in chapter four very jarring, it is still God’s Word and therefore cannot be dismissed.  I believe we learn something very important here about Moses.  As was stated above, Moses resists God’s call at first.  He is uncertain.  He struggles.  He is afraid.  And even after he accepts, he still was not fully surrendered to the Lord.  Despite his Hebrew heritage, he had refused to circumcise his son.  We don’t know why.  Perhaps it was due to the influence of his wife who was a Midianite, not a Hebrew.  Perhaps it was due to his Egyptian upbringing.  Whatever it is, we aren’t given reasons why Moses chose to disobey God, we only know that he did.  And we know God takes his disobedience seriously. So seriously, in fact, that He came against Moses in judgment.  Judgment so severe, it was going to cost Moses his very life if he did not repent and obey.  Thankfully, Zipporah was willing to perform the circumcision even though it was distasteful to her (thus the bridegroom of blood comment) and we now know the rest of the story.

What do we learn from this passage?  God takes hypocrisy – particularly in leadership – seriously!  Moses could not effectively lead God’s people if he himself was unwilling to submit to God’s law.  God had established circumcision as the sign of His covenant with His people.  By failing to follow God’s command, Moses leadership was compromised and thus God met him along the way to confront and bring him in line.  Only when Moses was fully submitted to the authority of God could he become the leader God had called him to be.

This begs the question…what area or areas of your life have you not yet surrendered to God?  Heed the warning in this passage and let God be Lord of all – not just some – of your life!