Judgment and Mercy.

 Genesis 5-6, Matthew 3

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. – Genesis 6:5-6 NLT

We have been introduced to Satan, who helped bring sin into the world. But we have also been made aware of the "seed" who will prove to be more than a match for Satan, someday defeating him, and bringing an end to his reign and rule on earth. The purpose behind the genealogy of chapter 5 of Genesis was to link the one to come, who would fulfill the curse on Satan, all the way back to Adam. The coming "seed" or offspring of Adam would be a man, a descendant of Adam and He would bring judgment on Satan for his role in the fall of man. So as chapter six opens up, we see that man has multiplied and, at the same time, so has sin. But there is a glimmer of hope in the story. Redemption is coming. All is not lost.

What does this passage reveal about God?

The creator of the universe is faced with a creation that has been marred by sin. He is not caught off guard or surprised by this situation, but He is grieved at what He has to witness. All that He had made and deemed "good" has been damaged by sin. Man's decision to reject God's authority and doubt God's Word has led to a world that is quickly losing its original glory and a human race that is quickly losing any semblance of having been made in the image of God. "The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil" (Genesis 6:5 NLT). Time has passed, and generations of men and women have been born. Sin has increased and so has the extent of wickedness among men. God, as holy and righteous, must deal with the sin of mankind. He cannot stand idly by and do nothing. His sense of justice demands that He punish the guilty for their rebellion against Him. "So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, 'I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them'" (Genesis 6:6-7 NLT).

But there is a glimmer of light in this dark scene. We are told that "Noah found favor with the Lord" (Genesis 6:8 NLT). At first blush, it would appear that Noah was somehow deserving of God's favor. Among all the other men who lived at that time, he was the only one who lived up to God's standards. But this would be inconsistent with what we know about God and man. The Psalmist wrote, "Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!" (Psalm 14:1-3 NLT). This would have been true of Noah as well. Was he better than the rest? More than likely. But he was no more deserving of God's favor than anyone else living at the time. The point of the story is that God, in His grace and mercy, determined to show His favor on Noah. In the midst of His fully justified judgment, God chose to extend mercy to a few.

All of mankind was deserving of God's judgment, and yet God chose to redeem a few. Chapter six tells the story of God's judgment in the form of a worldwide flood. But it also tells the story of a miraculous deliverance. God commands Noah to do the impossible: build an ark or large boat, in a land where there are no lakes or seas. God required Noah to step out in faith, taking Him at His word, and place his trust in something he had never seen before. The ark would prove to be Noah's source of salvation. It would shelter he and his family, providing protection from the judgment to come. God, the judge, would prove to be the Savior as well. In Noah, God would preserve an offspring of Adam, so that ultimately, the "seed" would be born who would eventually bring spiritual salvation to mankind. The flood did not remove sin from the earth. It punished the sinners, but sin remained in Noah and his children. They would quickly end up perpetuating the problem.

But this story was meant to be a precursor to an even greater event to come. The book of Matthew records the coming of the "seed" of Adam. Jesus, the Son of God, was born as a man, a descendant of Adam through the lineage of Mary. The gospel of Luke records in painstaking detail Jesus' family tree all the way back to Adam, the first son of God. And Matthew gives us the record of the inauguration of Jesus' earthly ministry. The place was the river Jordan. Jesus has been baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist, and "after his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him" (Matthew 3:16 NLT). God Himself announces Jesus as "my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy" (Matthew 3:17 NLT). Noah would survive the flood, but so would sin. The flood did not eliminate the problem, it just postponed the inevitable. The ark could only forestall the future punishment to come. God was still going to have to deal with the problem of sin, and Jesus was to be the solution. The story of the flood is a story of God's redemptive nature. He wants to preserve. He desires to show mercy and extend grace. But He must also punish sin. To not do so would be inconsistent with His character as God. But the good news is that God had a plan that would satisfy His justice and illustrate His love at the same time. The story contained in Matthew and the other gospels is the unveiling of that remarkable plan.

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man is sin-saturated. In spite of all that God had done for them, the descendants of Adam had continued to rebel against God, listening to the lies of the enemy and seeking their own selfish agendas. In just a few short generations, things had degenerated to such a degree that God was forced to conclude "that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil" (Genesis 6:5 NLT). Not a pretty picture. While Noah was somewhat of a bright spot in the darkness of the day, even he was undeserving of God's mercy and grace. He too would prove to be a sinner just like the rest. Given enough time, he would show his true stripes and reveal that sin was part of his nature. And yet God showed grace. God redeemed the irredeemable. He gave hope to the hopeless. He extended mercy to the undeserving and grace to the unworthy. Apart from God, all men are without hope. Sin has so infected us that we are damaged beyond any hope of restoration – if left to ourselves. But the good news is that God has not left mankind without hope. He provided a Savior, a better ark, who will rescue mankind from the judgment to come. But like Noah, man must place his faith in the unknown and do the impossible – take God at His word and trust His plan for salvation. Jesus proved to be an unlikely source of salvation. He was not what the people were expecting. But He would prove more than sufficient to save any who would place their faith in Him. The ark saved Noah from physical annihilation. Jesus saves mankind from spiritual extermination. No matter how bad things may appear to be, there is always hope in Jesus.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

God is not one-dimensional. His judgment and justice is balanced by His love and mercy. I can find it so easy to view Him from my limited perspective and lose sight of the fact that God is far what I can see. Ultimately, God is a god of redemption and restoration. It is far too easy to focus on His judgment and miss the real story of the Bible. Yes, judgment is coming. It is inevitable and will be fully deserved. But there is also salvation coming, and the amazing thing is – it is totally undeserved. It is the product of grace, not merit. Man's coming judgment is well-deserved and completely justified. But his salvation is a gift, provided for by God, and an illustration of His incredible love, mercy and grace. The story of the flood and the coming of Jesus both remind me that I have a God who is far more complex than I can comprehend. I have no business judging His actions or questioning His motives. I need to learn to spend more time trusting Him rather than questioning Him. He has proved Himself faithful over and over again. The Bible is a record of His unfailing faithfulness and unwavering love for mankind – in spite of our ongoing unfaithfulness and lack of love for Him.

Father, forgive me for the many times I have judged You and questioned Your goodness. I have no justifiable reason to doubt You. Yours is a story of constant faithfulness and love. Your relationship with mankind has been marked by incredible patience and mercy. We have been repeatedly unfaithful and ungrateful. And yet You have provided a way for us to escape our well-deserved punishment and enjoy a restored relationship with You. Your redemption of mankind is an amazing aspect of who You are. Never let me forget just how guilty I was before You showered me with Your grace. Amen.

And So It Begins.

Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23; John 1:29-34

“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” – John 1:29 NLT

More than likely, John the Baptist did most of his preaching and baptizing along the Jordan River in the region known as Peraea, just east of Jerusalem. It is a wilderness area, but close enough the capital city that crowds could make their way there to see this unusual phenomenon, this prophet named John. It is in this semi-remote region that God chooses to launch the earthy ministry of His Son, the Messiah. After nearly 30 years of relative obscurity living in the city of Nazareth and within the environs of Galilee, Jesus makes His way to the River Jordan where John is baptizing all those who have repented of their sins. That day, in the crowd, John sees Jesus, his own cousin, and immediately exclaims, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Jesus asks John to baptize Him, but John tries to talk him out of it. He tells Jesus, "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, so why are you coming to me?" (Matthew 3:14 NLT). He knew that Jesus' baptism was different than his own. He had been telling the people, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11 NLT). But Jesus insists, because He knows this is all part of God's divine plan for Him. He tells John, "It should be done, or we must carry out all that God requires" (Matthew 3:15 NLT).

What a fascinating scene. Here is John, this wild-looking prophet of God, dresses in camel's hair, surrounded by a crowd of anxious onlookers, having an intimate and animated discussion with Jesus. To the crowd, He was just another man. Despite John's pronouncement that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world, they did not comprehend who Jesus was. This appears to be an exchange between the two cousins. Two men who had been set apart by God prior to their own births as part of God's redemptive plan for mankind. Somewhere in the wilderness on the banks of the Jordan River, God inaugurates His Son's public ministry. And He does it by having Jesus identify with the people by following in the same act of baptism John had been calling them to. While Jesus had no sin to confess or repent of, as God's representative for mankind, Jesus acknowledged the sins of mankind by submitting Himself to John's baptism. He was modeling for the people obedience to God's will and encouraging them to return to God in repentance and submission. Jesus was the ultimate substitute for mankind. His life would be lived on their behalf. His death would serve to replace their own need to die as payment for their sins. His baptism was a public declaration and confession of mankind's sinfulness and need for repentance.

And Matthew, Mark and Luke each tell us that as soon as Jesus came up out of the water of the Jordan, something remarkable happened. "As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, 'You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.'" (Mark 1:10-11 NLT). It is amazing to think that the very Son of God received the Spirit of God as a part of the launch of His earthly ministry. Jesus, the God-man, was filled with the Holy Spirit and would be directed by the Spirit throughout His earthly ministry. And as the water continued to drip off of the face and clothes of Jesus, God the Father acknowledges His love for Him. God broadcasts His love for Jesus for all to hear, but it was mainly for the ears of Jesus. And it is interesting that this expression of love proceeded what was going to be one of the most difficult periods of Jesus' life, His own temptation in the wilderness. God loved His Son, but was still going to require that He undergo a very difficult trial at the hands of the enemy. How often do we doubt God's love in difficult times? How easy it is to feel unloved by God when things don't go quite the way we would like them to. But God let it be clear up front, that His Son was beloved and loved. Everything that was about to happen during the next three-and-a-half years was within God's loving plan for His Son. And so it begins.

Father, what a way to start a ministry. Your Son, identifying Himself with the common, sin-suffering man. But that was His role. He was the God-man. He had been born like a man, raised like a man, worked like a man, and would spend His next three years living like a man in the midst of all the sin and suffering this world had to offer. He was going to live the life that You required and that no other man could live – sinless, perfectly obedient, and in complete submission to Your will. All so that His ultimate death would be totally sufficient to satisfy Your demand for justice. Thank You! Amen.

Repent!

Matthew 3:2-12; John 1:19-28

“I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” – Matthew 3:11 ESV

John was a unique character, to say the least. We're told that his "clothes were woven from course camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist" (Matthew 3:4 NLT). His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. But while his attire and dietary choices may seem a bit odd, his role was out of the ordinary. John, the cousin of Jesus, had been chosen by God for a very important task. He was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. His job was to preach a message of repentance to a people who had long ago replaced their relationship with Yahweh with a mindless, heartless exercise consisting of rule-keeping and religious rituals. Their God was distant and silent. Their hearts were cold and their faith was weak. So John was given the task of calling them back to God. John was the first prophet of God to speak on behalf of God in over 400 years. And like the prophets of old, John's message was one of repentance. He was calling the people to return to God. The Greek word for repentance literally means to "change one's mind." They needed to change what they believed about virtually everything – from their views about God, sin, righteousness, and religion. As Jews, they had become convinced that being simply being descendants of Abraham was enough to guarantee their relationship with God. But as John warned the religious leaders, "Don't just say to each other, 'We're safe, for we are descendants of Abraham,' That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones" (Matthew 3:9 NLT).

They needed to change their mind about God. They needed to change their mind about obedience. They needed to change their attitude about righteousness. They needed to come back to God in repentance and asking for His forgiveness. He had been silent for 400 years for a reason. They had refused to listen to the prophets. They had refused to live in obedience to His will. And now, if they were going to be able to accept the coming of the Messiah, they would need to repent of their sins and return to God, asking for His forgiveness. And those who did, were baptized by John in the Jordan. But that was simply the first step in the process. John's baptism, while essential, was incomplete. They were still going to recognize and accept Jesus as the Messiah sent from God. Their baptism was an outward sign of their commitment to God. But they were going to need to have their hearts transformed. That would require a different kind of baptism, a baptism of the Holy Spirit. One of the greatest changes of mind they would need to undergo would be their misconception that somehow they could produce their own righteousness – that through self-effort, they could earn favor and acceptance with God. John was calling them to repent of their wrong ideas and false forms of righteousness, and to turn back to God for His help. Holiness could not be achieved with God's help. Righteousness could not be obtained alone. John was preparing the way by restoring the people's dependence on God. Their ability to accept the Messiah would be directly tied to their reliance upon God. They needed to acknowledge their own sinfulness and rebellion, so that they could freely accept God's salvation in the form of His own Son, Jesus Christ.

Father, we too need to change our mind about You and what is required to have a right relationship with You. Too often, we believe that it is our own self-effort that earns us favor with You. We get it into our minds that we can somehow keep You pleased by doing more. We work hard. We do religious things. We attempt to live our lives in ways that will somehow keep You happy. But we fail to recognize that we need You. We need to repent of our self-righteousness and return to You for help. Only You can make us holy. Only You can help us live the lives You've called us to live. And it is all made possible through the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prepare the Way!

Matthew 3:1; Mark 1:1-4; Luke 3:1-2

“Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight.” – Mark 1:3 ESV

Luke gives us the specifics. "It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness." (Luke 3:1-2 NLT). The timing was precise. The long delay was over. The Messiah's arrival was near.

John, the son of Zechariah, later to be nicknamed John the Baptizer, was to set the stage for the entry of Jesus into His public ministry. Interestingly enough, John's commission sent him to the Judean wilderness to begin his proclamation of the Messiah's arrival. Not exactly a prominent assignment or an ideal place to begin his tenure as the Messiah's advance PR team. The Judean wilderness was not exactly user-friendly. It was a harsh and hostile place, far from the political and religious action taking place in Jerusalem. But it was all part of God's divine plan and in fulfillment of the Word of God given to Isaiah hundreds of years earlier. "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight" (Mark 1:2-3 ESV).

John began his ministry right where he lived – in the wilderness. It was all part of God's elaborate, detailed and predetermined plan. It had been 30 years since Jesus arrived on the scene as a newborn baby in Bethlehem. John, a cousin of Jesus, had been born at roughly the same time. His life had been set aside by God for this very moment. His assignment had been predetermined by God and predicted by an angel 30 years earlier. "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared" (Luke 1:13-17 ESV).

The time had come. John was ready. His assignment was clear. The Messiah was near. God was about to do something out of the ordinary, unexpected, unpredictable, unorthodox and unlike anything that had ever happened since the creation of the world.

Father, this story never ceases to amaze me. You could have brought Your Son into the world in so many other ways. Yet You chose this path. You decided to bring it all about under these circumstances and including these obscure individuals. I am reminded of the necessity of John's obedience. He was set apart by You before birth, yet it was essential that he be willing to do what You had called him to do. His parents had kept the requirements given to them by the angel. Mary and Joseph had done their part in the raising of Jesus. And now it was all coming together. Because You had ordained it that way. Your ways are not our ways. "Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!" (Romans 11:33 NLT). Amen.