Starving

 

Mark unfolded for people who Jesus is by telling about His ministry. In Mark 2:1-3:6, he told five stories of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. At first, they questioned Jesus’ authority to forgive. Jesus realized the unasked questions they raised in their hearts and minds and replied to them. After that, He met with open opposition to His teaching, healing, casting out of demons, and forgiving people of their sins.

The reason the religious leaders challenged Jesus is that God ordained the tribe of Levi, their tribe, to be His priests. These priests were God’s intermediaries between Him and the Israelites. The rabbis and Pharisees taught and enforced God’s Laws, led holy services, offered sacrifices for the sins of the people, and were leaders in the community. For this, God provided them with a place to live, income, and food. The religious leaders enacted 633 laws based on God’s Laws to help the Israelites learn how to be righteous before God. Over time, these manmade laws caused the Pharisees to get a bloated sense of worth and righteousness. They ended up using the laws to broadcast their own piety. Putting their piety next to other people would show the sinfulness of the people. This standard made the religious leaders appear righteous to the Israelites. The religious leaders’ intentions had changed. God appointed the religious leaders to guide the Israelites to focus on Him. Instead, they focused on themselves.

After Jesus’ last encounter with the Pharisees in the chiasm in Mark 3:1-6, those leaders joined the Herodians to catch Jesus breaking the law. They wanted to arrest and kill Him. By doing this, these leaders would remove Jesus’ influence. They aimed to regain their own self-declared stature in the nation. These Pharisees considered their status and self-declared righteousness more important than killing an innocent man by crucifixion.

In the next section of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry in Galilee reached its apex. Jesus continued to teach. He called the twelve disciples, and they began to understand better who Jesus was. The Pharisees and scribes hated Him more openly. More people were curious about Jesus and swarmed to Him, not having a deep understanding of who He is and what He came to do on earth. Whether or not a person believed what Jesus said, the crux for them and for people now, is that Jesus’ presence requires a response from each person.

The Multitude

⁷ Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large multitude from Galilee followed, and also from Judea and from ⁸ Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard about everything that He was doing and came to Him. (Mark 3:7-8 [NASB])

Remember, Jesus summarized His preaching and purpose in Mark 1:14-15. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” After this passage in Mark’s Gospel, Mark showed Jesus’ ministry of teaching, healing, casting out demons, and forgiving people of their sins. He recalled Jesus said He is the Son of Man, as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14. Of the other Jews who watched Jesus do these things, some trusted in Him as the Messiah. Other people still questioned if He was the promised Messiah. Another group of people resolutely sided with the Pharisees, deciding He was not the Messiah. With this new section of his Gospel, Mark tells his readers of the multitude of people who flocked to Jesus. They were like sheep without a shepherd.

Mark 3:7-8 provides answers to the questions of who, what, why, whom, and for whom. Mark established the setting in which Jesus ministered. Jesus, from this time, rarely entered cities and large towns. He avoided them because the Pharisees sought to charge Him with a crime and arrest Him. Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life for the sins of others. That time had not come yet, though. He did not flee from the cities and towns out of fear. Jesus did not go to these places because the Pharisees were in them and the time had not come yet for His sacrifice. More people must learn about Jesus first. Because of these two things, Jesus stayed in the places outside of villages, towns, and cities. He no longer needed to visit people. They traveled to Him.

Verse seven recalls, “Jesus withdrew to the sea.” The sea about which Mark wrote was probably the Sea of Galilee because of the closeness of it to Jesus’ “home away from home.” The Gospels record Jesus often going to a place away from people. Sometimes He wanted to pray and other times He wanted to refresh Himself or teach His appointed apostles. Mark does not explain why Jesus walked to the sea this time. Jesus may have gone there to retreat and refresh Himself. What questions are important in this setting who and by whom?

Jesus walked to the sea with His disciples. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus had not appointed His twelve disciples yet. Disciples followed Jesus. These disciples followed Him to observe and learn. Besides the disciples (people who regularly follow Jesus), a “large multitude” of people followed Jesus to the sea. Strong’s dictionary defines a “multitude” of people as a vast number of people. In the stories of Jesus’ ministry, the gospel writers often used “multitude” to refer to the 4000 and 5000 people Jesus fed on the hillside. Whether 100 or 5000 people followed Him that day, the important thing is people came to watch and listen to Jesus. This may have been their first or second time, but they had received information about Jesus and wanted to observe and listen to Him for themselves. Who led and taught this group? Jesus. To whom did Jesus address His message? The multitude of people.

Jesus’s reach grew. Mark wanted people to understand about Him. He wanted them to realize the good news spread beyond the borders of Israel. The curiosity about Jesus grew. Mark said a multitude of people came from Galilee, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, Tyre, and Sidon. If you study a map of Israel, Galilee is the northern part of Israel. Samaria is between Galilee and Judea. Judea is the southern part of Israel. Below Judea is Idumea. On the upper left border of Israel, Tyre and Sidon laid, both on the Mediterranean Sea. The other side of the Jordan included the nine cities of the Decapolis, Nabatea (Arabia), and Syria. Jesus drew people from these regions. To these people, He addressed His message, and they saw what happened. This answers the question of what.

Who were the people who traveled to watch and listen to Jesus? Galileans descended from a mix of Jews, Romans, and Greeks. People from other nations lived in Galilee because of the Roman road built through Capernaum. Judea was about 109 km (67.7 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. It was a Roman province, too. The people of Judea were mostly Jews. Jerusalem was 123 km (76.5 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. It was the capital of Judea and in it, the Jewish Temple stood. The ruler of Judea was a Herod whose lineage came from outside Israel. He ruled Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. (Note Mark did not include Samaria in this list from where the multitude came.)

Mark listed areas where people came from outside of Israel. Idumea was one of those areas. Herod Archelaus ruled over Judea, Idumea, and Samaria during the latter part of Jesus’ life. He came from the Edom/Idumean part of the Roman empire, which was south of Judea. Edom/Idumea was not part of Canaan that God gave to His people, Israel. How did Herod become a Jew and become acceptable as a leader to the Jews? During the rule of the Maccabeans (Hasmoneans) 165-63 BC, the Jewish leaders—Maccabeans/Hasmonians—coerced the Edomites to convert to Judaism and submit to circumcision. Because this made Herod the Great a Jew in the eyes of the Hasmoneans, Hyrcanus, a Hasmonian leader, approved the marriage of his daughter to the future Herod. This first Herod over Israel was Herod the Great. He came from Idumea. Herod the Great lobbied the Roman emperor so he could be the ruler of Israel in the Roman empire. The Roman ruler made him an ethnarch over the Jews. Herod the Great died and his sons and daughter inherited portions of his territory. Herod Archelaus, one of Herod the Great’s sons, ruled over the southern part of his father’s territory. The Romans renamed Edom to Idumea. From this region, Mark said people traveled to see and hear Jesus at the sea. These people walked for about 256 km (159 miles) to the Sea of Galilee.

Mark noted three other areas from where people came. People came from Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were 63 km (39 miles) and 83.8 km (52 miles) from the Sea of Galilee. These two cities were located in Phoenicia. The people of Phoenicia made purple cloth and were sailors. They descended from early Canaanites, who occupied Canaan before God gave the land to the Israelites. Phoenician and Israelite royalty married each other and never warred against each other. Rome overthrew the Phoenicians and ruled them. The third group of people came from the other side of the Jordan River. These people came from Nabatea (Arabia) and descended from Ishmael. The east side of the Jordan included people from Syria, too. These people were not part of the Israelite promise from God. Yet, God sent Jesus to save all people. That includes the people of Ishmael.

Each person of that multitude came to listen to and watch Jesus. They sought the truth for themselves about what they heard from other people. Did some of them earnestly hope Jesus was the Messiah, or did they seek entertainment? Considering the distances which the people traveled to see and hear Jesus, one must wonder who would walk that far just for entertainment.

The Preparation

⁹ And He told His disciples to see that a boat would be ready for Him because of the masses, so that they would not crowd Him, ¹⁰ for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had diseases pushed in around Him in order to touch Him.

Jesus told His disciples to make a boat ready for Him. Why would Jesus need a boat? He did not fish. He did not say He wanted to get to the other side of the sea. Though, if Jesus wanted to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee quickly, going across by boat was the quickest route. The width of the sea is 13 km (8.1 miles).

Jesus explained He wanted the boat to be ready for Him because of the multitude. He wanted to be able to separate Himself from the crowd. Did this mean Jesus wanted to run away from them? Definitely not. Jesus already told the disciples a few times why He came to earth. More towns and villages needed Him to visit so more people could hear about Him. Jesus did not want to flee this crowd of people.

Why would Jesus want the disciples to prepare a boat? Consider what Jesus had done so far. He had healed a paralyzed man and made a withered hand new. Jesus had healed Simon’s mother-in-law and cast out evil spirits from people. The people from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, the other side of the Jordan River, Idumea, Tyre, and Sidon came to observe Jesus. Some of the people may have wanted Jesus to heal them. Others may have just wanted to touch a part of Jesus’ clothing. The idea of touching, as Mark recorded it, conveyed the understanding that a person wanted to touch someone in a way that changed him or herself. They wanted to touch Jesus for a personal gain, such as healing. People in our time want to be near a person of influence, talk with him or her, and/or get his or her autograph and picture to say and prove they, themselves, are important to other people, too. This crowd of people around Jesus wanted something from Jesus, too. They wanted to understand if He was truly the Son of Man and if He truly healed people and cast out demons.

For this multitude of people from throughout Israel and the surrounding nations to be near Jesus, they would have had to crowd Him—push and jostle Him. Healing people, having people crowd around Him who touched and jostled Him, would have wearied Jesus physically and mentally. It might have caused physical harm to Him and other people. Jesus did not want anyone hurt. If Jesus found Himself tightly enclosed among the people, He might have found it difficult or impossible to teach this crowd. What do people do now to get a crowd of people to watch and hear them? They stand separated from the people, often on a raised dais, so the entire mass of people can look at and listen to them. So that the crowd would not crush Jesus and more people could watch and hear Him, Jesus told His disciples to get a boat ready.

Jesus would not flee people seeking Him. God spoke about seekers in the Old Testament. He said, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13 [NASB]). God spoke through Azariah in 2 Chronicles 15:2b when He said, “If you seek Him (the LORD), He will let you find Him.” David wrote in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and rescued me from all my fears.” Instead of fleeing, Jesus brought the LORD near to them with His presence and His sacrifice. He stayed with the crowd but prepared to stand in the boat to teach them. Jesus declared who He is and made Himself ready for people to find Him, for those who sought the Son of God.

The Proclamation

¹¹ And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” ¹² And He strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.

Jesus desired people to seek Him and come to know Him as the Messiah. People sought healing and exorcising of evil spirits. More of them wished to see for themselves if what they had listened to another person saying about Jesus was true. Jesus took every opportunity to share with the people that God incarnate has come to save them. He came to earth to preach, teach, heal, and give freedom from sins and eternal death. This opportunity Jesus had with the multitude was no different.

During this time with the crowd, people observed Jesus. They listened to Him. Evil spirits inhabiting people saw Jesus. Though people tried to deny Jesus as the Son of God, evil spirits could not deny Him. Instead, they proclaimed who Jesus is. Mark records another of these instances in verses eleven and twelve. In Mark 1:23-26, and 34, unclean spirits declared Jesus is the Holy One of God and submitted to His authority. Mark 3:11-12 shows this once again, except the demons call Jesus something different. They shouted a genuine witness declaring Jesus’ divinity.

Based on what Mark said in these two verses, Jesus met people possessed by evil spirits. He wrote, “And whenever the unclean spirits saw Him.” This phrase connotes more than one encounter with evil spirits among this multitude of people. Satan’s minions were not more powerful than Jesus. They recognized when they met someone of greater power, as seen in verse eleven. The evil spirits—demons—fell prostrate at Jesus’ feet. The spirits controlled the people which they inhabited. They made the people fall prostrate before Jesus. These demons recognized who Jesus was. Because they inhabited people, the people would recognize who Jesus is—the Son of God.

The spirits declared this exact thing about Jesus. They shouted, “You are the Son of God!” Though no person so far in Mark’s Gospel declared this about Jesus, the demons could not silence themselves. They had to shout it just as Jesus said, even the stones would declare who He is (Luke 19:40).

The demons could not silence themselves from telling the truth. Jesus, though, had the power and authority to command them not to make Him known. In verse twelve, He “strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.” Jesus ordered these demons not to tell people who He is. Did this powerful and authoritative warning make the people even more curious and more determined to tell others about Jesus—what He did and spoke?

Jesus recognized the right time for people to listen to and accept Him as the Son of God. This time, when the multitude met Him at the sea, was not the right time. Because of that, Jesus commanded the demons to be silent. He wanted the changed hearts of people who trusted in Him for salvation. He did not need or want the confessions of the evil spirits.

Application and Conclusion

Luke 19:10 records Jesus saying, “The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost.” Matthew 18:11 states this, too. Jesus did not come to seek one person to join Him for eternity in heaven. He wants all people to know Him and believe in Him for salvation. For this reason, Jesus traveled to many towns, villages, cities, and hillsides. He healed and cast out demons with divine power and authority. Jesus taught the Scriptures as one who was acquainted well with them and God’s intention for them.

Jesus did not flee from a crowded seaside. He did not run for fear of His safety. Jesus chose a way for all the people in the crowd to hear and see Him. His reach extended beyond the borders of Israel by this time. People from the entire area sought Jesus because they had heard about Him. People starved for more. They did not realize they starved for Jesus until they met Him.

Today, mass media allows the teaching of God’s word and His interventions in this world to be known when it happens. Still, many people from different tribes, nations, and languages have not heard about Jesus. At the time of Mark 3:7-12, Jesus realized He should appoint people to take His message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Since that time, every believer in Jesus has become His messenger in their own sphere of influence and thousands in other nations. Jesus declared this in Matthew 28:18-20, when He appointed the apostles to go make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. After that, they were to teach everything He commanded them. Jesus reiterated this for every believer, as Luke recorded in Acts 1:8. Jesus said, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

What does this mean for you today? Ask yourself these questions.

1.     Do I believe Jesus is God’s Son and have I trusted in Him and received from Him salvation from my sins and eternal life with God?

2.     Have I told anyone about Jesus and His love for them?

3.     If not, what keeps you from obeying Jesus’ command to each believer? How much do you hate someone not to tell them?

Jesus still heals even now. He gives freedom to people enslaved by people and things like unhealthy habits. Jesus casts out demons. He gives sight to the blind. Jesus loves you and wants you to be with Him in His kingdom for eternity. People are starving for hope. The gospel of Jesus fills each person’s need so they starve no longer. 

It is time for you to make a choice:

Are you starving for what the world does not offer?

Jesus will meet you at your need.

He will fill you with what you crave and need.

God loves the people on earth so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to die for their sins so that whoever believes in Him will not die eternally separated from Him, but to have eternal life with Him. (John 3:16 [my paraphrase])

 

 

 

WAKE UP

 

Wake up, you people.

Wake up to the voice of God.

Hear the awesome roar of His voice,

And know He is almighty.

 

Wake up, you people.

Wake up and know the voice of God.

Hear His amazing proclamation,

And consider His lovingkindness.

 

Wake up, you people.

Wake up and heed the voice of God.

Hear and know He is the Lord,

And obey His righteous commands.

 

Wake up, you people.

Wake up and praise your God almighty.

Declare He is Lord over all,

And shine His light for all people.

 

Wake up, you people.

Raise your hands in praise to the Lord,

Maker of heaven and earth,

And Redeemer of all who believe.

Declare His unfailing love.

Proclaim His bountiful blessings.

Shout to the heavens of the magnificence of God;

And tell people of His sacrificial love for them.

 

The Lord is mighty and worthy of praise.

Lift your hands and sing,

Great is the Lord and worthy of praise.

He reigns from everlasting to everlasting.

Praise the Lord!

 

(In response to Isaiah 51:1, 4, & 7)

Triumphant Freedom

Overview of Earlier Colossians Bible Studies

Through the first eleven Bible studies of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we’ve learned of the background of the letter to the Colossians and have studied Colossians 1:1-2:10. The study called Background of Paul's Letter to the Church at Colossae taught us about the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual aspects of Asia minor that affected the Christians in Colossae and Laodicea. We learned how Paul identified himself and Timothy with the Christians in Colossae and Laodicea and helped those Christians identify with them in the Bible study titled Identification. In the Bible study called Thanksgiving in Colossians, Paul thanked God for the Christians in these cities. He continued his prayer, as studied in Glorious Might, by asking God to give the Colossian and Laodicean churches His spiritual wisdom and understanding so they would bear fruit in good works. Paul continued to intercede for the believers to God asking Him to strengthen them with power, steadfastness, and patience, and that they joyously give thanks to Him.

In Colossians 1:13-20, Paul told about God and Jesus Christ, and how Jesus’s sacrifice is enough for salvation. He taught in the study titled Snatched and Delivered that the Father is the one who rescues believers and transfers them to Jesus for salvation. Paul explained Christology in Colossians 1:15-20. Jesus is the exact embodiment of the Godhead, Paul informed them, as written about in Superabundant Peace. The study titled Attaining Hope covers Colossians 1:21-23 and shows how Paul used if… then clauses  as a teaching tool. With this technique, he explained who the Christians were before their salvation by Jesus and then what Jesus would do if they exercised the faith God gave them. If the people would believe in Jesus, He would save them from their sins and death. Paul continued speaking about God in Colossians 1:24-29. In this passage, he told of his calling by Jesus and his stewardship to God. Paul explained that Jesus told him to proclaim the “mystery of God,” Jesus Christ is for all people, not just for the Jews. Jesus died to cleanse people from their sins and give salvation from sin and death to each person who trusts in Him. Paul taught God calls to people with gentle persuasion. Later he would contrast the way and purpose of God’s calling with the false teachers’ method of proclamation. The study titled God's Power and Gentle Persuasion teaches about Colossians 1:24-29.

In Colossians 2:1-5, Paul returned to a favorite topic of his, rejoicing while or because of suffering. In this passage, he showed his pastoral care and concern for the Colossian and Laodicean Christians as noted in the Bible study titled Rejoicing During Trials. Paul encouraged the Christians to stand strong and unified in love so they would attain “to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, Jesus Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3 [NASB]). He taught this so the false teachers would not trick the Christians with persuasive arguments and would not delude them about the surety of their salvation and their hope of glory. Paul continued to remind the Colossian and Laodicean churches of their salvation by Jesus through faith in Him. In Overflowing Gratefulness, He told these believers that because they trusted in Jesus and received salvation from Him, they could know they were rooted firmly in Him. Paul told them that though their salvation was in the past, they were to continue being rooted in Christ, being built up, and being established in their faith. These present continuous verbs showed growth as a Christian happens throughout a person’s life and comes from an active staying in a close relationship with God. Salvation happens at a point in time, but growth and sanctification should be the continuous aim of each believer.

With Colossians 2:8-10, Paul taught more about the “mystery of God” of which he wrote in Colossians 1:26. He taught in depth about the philosophical thoughts the Christians of Colossae and Laodicea faced in Colossians 2:8-10. Paul taught that the false teachers proclaimed human, empty, and deceptive philosophies that came from the elementary principles of the world. He contrasted them with Christ’s teachings that came from His full divinity and made believers complete. Paul wrote Jesus Christ is head over all rule and authority. The Bible study called Freedom from Deception teaches about this passage.

The Fullness of Christ in Believers

With Colossians 2:11-15, Paul explained about the completion Jesus gives. He taught in six statements what each believer receives through the fullness of Christ when He completes him or her. The surety of salvation through and power from Jesus, through His indwelling Spirit, gives each Christian the ability to reject teachings of philosophy from men and women that offer nothing compared to the superabundant fullness, the completion and perfection, that comes from Christ.

Spiritual Circumcision occurs by Jesus Christ

“… and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision (performed by) of Christ.” (Colossians 2:11 [NASB])

This verse written by Paul speaks of one law Moses gave to the Israelites, the circumcision of a son on the eighth day of his life. Paul brought this up to highlight two important things about the Colossian and Laodicean Christians and each Gentile believer; they were not Jews. They did not have the privilege of sonship or daughtership of God under the Mosaic law. Gentiles are not part of the people of God because of their non-Hebrew lineage. From this, the Gentile people understood they were outside the law and outside God’s old covenant. Twice in chapters one and two, Paul told them of the mystery he received from God to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles. In these two Bible passages, people can understand the salvation from Jesus is for each person born in and outside the people of Israel.

When we look at the Greek words of this verse, we realize Paul meant, “In Christ, you also received the sign of circumcision from Him that shows your dedication to Him, your eradicating the fleshly desires with His power and strength, and His removal of your sins. God, not man, does this circumcision. Instead of the foreskin being removed, God removes the from the body the human nature that alienates each person from Him.” Each Gentile experienced alienation from God in two ways, by non-Jewish birth (covenant) and by fleshly sins (law). Yet, Christ, by His death and resurrection, made a relationship with God possible for each person who lives. Because Gentile Christians had not received circumcision by human hands, that did not mean they needed it when they became Christians. Paul said their God circumcised their hearts when they trusted in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God.

Jesus, with His death and resurrection, broke down the two walls between God and Gentiles, the walls of ancestry and sin. His death and resurrection provides the circumcision each believer needs to be in a covenant relationship with God. God gave the Mosaic law to lead people to Him. The Messianic covenant provides access to and relationship with God through salvation and reconciliation. The Mosaic law did not reconcile people to God. Sacrifices required in it did not remove a person’s sins and empower them to avoid sin. It reminded them of their sinfulness, but they still felt guilt for those sins.

With verse eleven, Paul taught against the false teachers who reasoned that the body and all material things were evil and all things spiritual were good. To them, circumcision and uncircumcision did not matter in the long run since it occurred to the body. To say Jesus gave a spiritual circumcision was laughable to them since Jesus lived in bodily form and, in their minds, was not God.

Spiritual Circumcision is Baptism

“… having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12 [NASB])

With verse twelve, Paul used a death-resurrection metaphor to explain how a believer’s spiritual circumcision is their baptism in Christ. The two actions of dying/being buried and then rising to new life relate to immersion baptism and circumcision. Immersion baptism, going down into water and then rising above it, is dying to self and rising to Christ.

When a person trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation, that person dies to him or herself, to fleshly, human desires, and rises to newness of life given through Him. This reflects Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection to life. Baptism symbolizes this death and new life. The spiritual circumcision Christ gives is His removing the sins of each person, those who die to his or her right to him or herself, from the sin-hardened heart. That reflects the dying to self and gaining new life in Christ when He removes the hard part. The removal of sins from each believer allows a right relationship with God. Jesus reconciles that believer to God.

Each person knows he or she sins. He or she carries the guilt of it. When the person faces his or her sinfulness, the guilt weighs on him or her. A person’s recognition of his or her sin and feeling the weight of that burden separating him or her from God is the way a person shares in Christ’s suffering on the cross. Jesus carried the weight of each person’s sins. The believer bore the weight of his or her sins. Jesus’ death took the weight of sin away and the person’s repentance, getting right with God, took the weight off him or herself. (Galatians 2:20 speaks of Paul’s understanding of being crucified with Christ and living his life with Christ living in him.) This reflects the initial part of baptism and circumcision, carrying of the weight of sins, realizing one’s separation from God.

Paul taught repentance and dying to self is a person’s burial together with Christ. The next part of immersion baptism, going down into the water, reflects repentance and giving up one’s right to his or her life to God for His purposes. Spiritual circumcision of the heart conveys the same thing. Only Jesus can do both actions-spiritual baptism and spiritual circumcision. He will not demand them, but only does this upon a person giving his or her life to Him.

Jesus’ resurrection expresses another part of baptism and circumcision, the arising. With baptism, a person must rise from the water after being immersed in it. This rising up is rising to new life in Christ. Just as Jesus came back to life after bodily death, a believer comes to life after being dead because of sins. The spiritual circumcision Christ gives to each believer is the removing of the hardened skin from his or her heart that occurred because of sin and gave a hardened heart. With spiritual circumcision, the heart can beat with God’s heart and will.

Both spiritual baptism and spiritual circumcision express the new life Christ gives by His victory over sin and death. Jesus victoriously reigns and gives each believer this victory upon repentance and death to his or her old way of living. The Christian lives a new life in God’s will with His wisdom, knowledge, power, and strength through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Spiritual circumcision and spiritual baptism are synonymous. They express death to the old way of living and resurrection to new life in Christ. This Christian life continues throughout the person’s lifetime. It begins at the moment in time when a person trusts in Jesus as Savior and repents of his or her sins. It carries on throughout the person’s life as he or she lives growing to know God more and become made more in the image of Christ each day. Christ will perfect the person upon entrance into His kingdom upon the Christian’s death. Until then, each Christian has the fullness of Jesus available to live each day walking with Him and growing to be more like Him. Paul made sure Gentiles knew Christ died for them, too, by his declaring the mystery of God, salvation for all people through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

Paul taught that the false teachers of that time did not understand bodies could return to life. They considered bodies evil. These false teachers thought each person’s goal was to rise to a state of spirituality. Bodies were unable to be spiritual. Since this was impossible, in their reasoning, Jesus could not save people from death or sins. Paul taught otherwise when He said God raised Jesus from the dead and His death and resurrection allows His followers to have resurrection life.

Covenant Relationship comes by Jesus

“When you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him (Christ)…” (Colossians 2:13a [NASB])

Once again, Paul returned to what had been the Colossian and Laodicean Christians’ obstacles to having a relationship with God. They were not Hebrews, and they were sinners. Paul said, because they had these two barriers between themselves and God, they were dead. This “dead” Paul used means spiritually dead and not devoted to God, but to sinning. From verses eleven and twelve, we understand the Colossians and Laodiceans were not Jews before becoming followers of Jesus. They were uncircumcised Gentiles. Because of that, they were not in a covenant relationship with God. These Christians were dead because of their sins and uncircumcision before they believed in Jesus Christ. They had been hostile to God because they and separated themselves from His divine influence. Yet, God had a plan. He made them and each person who believed in Jesus alive through Christ.

Nothing the Gentiles were able to do would earn them a reprieve from their just punishment. Nothing could make them Jews. They had a double strike against them. It seemed to obstruct any possible relationship with God. Those human issues did not stop God. He loves each person. God had a plan to reestablish a relationship with each person since before He created the world.

With this verse, Paul aimed at the false teachers in Colossae and Laodicea. As stated earlier, they did not believe in bodily resurrection. These teachers also did not believe God intervened in the lives of people. He was too distant from humanity. For them, God was always transcendent, never imminent. Yet, Paul taught God wants a relationship with each person, about which the Gnostics scoffed. The Christians in these two cities received this reminder from Paul so they would stand strong in their faith.

Assured Forgiveness comes through Christ

“… having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13b-14 [NASB])

In this verse, Paul wrote of two things Christ gives superabundantly to His believers. Christ gives assurance of forgiveness and He gives freedom from the law. Jesus forgives a believer of his or her sins. He cancels the debt certificate of sin. Jesus Christ erases the judgment against the Christian the law requires.

The separation from God for the Christians in Colossae and Laodicea had occurred because of sins and ancestry, Paul said. God’s plan made a way for that to change because He loves each person. Did this plan involve people doing certain things to receive forgiveness? Did sacrifices make a person clean from sin forever and remove the guilt from those sins? Can a person do enough good things to erase the rebellious actions he or she has done? Nothing any person can do will ever be enough to erase his or her sins and remove the guilt to provide a sinlessness that will allow him or her to be in the presence of holy God.

Paul explained how God made Christians alive with Christ. For each person who trusts in Him, He raises them to new life without sin. God forgives the transgressions of each person who believes in Jesus Christ. This forgiveness Paul spoke of comes from the Greek word charizomai and means to favor, pardon, and show grace. Because God wanted renewed relationship with each person and holy God will not be where sin is, just as light cannot be where darkness is, He freely showed His favor to people by granting forgiveness upon their belief and repentance of sins. God knew nothing a person can do can erase the judgment for sins, so He showed His favor towards people. Paul explained this to the churches in Colossae and Laodicea. God favored them and showed them grace.

Jesus’ love enacted through His sinless life, excruciating death on the cross, and resurrection provides total forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. Paul said, though ancestry and sins alienated the Colossian and Laodicean Christians from Him, God’s love made a way for them to have a saving and righteous relationship with Him. Their deadness due to sins and ancestry kept these people from life. Yet, their death to sin by faith in Christ made them alive.

This forgiveness of sins by Jesus’ death and resurrection “canceled out the certificate of debt comprising decrees against” them, Paul said. Just as when a person promises to pay a financial debt and signs it, so a moral debt causes a decree of judgment against a person unless repaid. Yet, a person cannot repay moral debt because no sinless person exists to pay the sinner’s debt.  Nothing any person can do, say, or think is good enough for repayment because it would come from a sinful person. Paul explained this in Romans 3:23 when he said, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [NASB]. Anything a person offers to repay the sin debt is tainted by sin. For these debts, decrees (laws) declare the guilt of people, just as the Mosaic law did. These decrees are against every person. They declare his or her sinfulness. No person can be sinless in his or her own strength. But God, in His love, forgives each person and cancels (erases, obliterates) the certificate of debt against each person who trusts in Jesus Christ. Though God meant for the Mosaic laws to lead people to Him, they reminded each person of his or her sins. People carry the guilt since they are unable to be sinless in their own strength.

Jesus Christ did not just erase the debt of sin; He nailed it to the cross. Christ caused their sins and guilt to die. He carried the sins of all people to the cross. Jesus bore the burden of those sins in Himself. He canceled the sin debt for each person who would believe in Him by dying to him or herself. A believer’s dying to him or herself is dying with Christ in His sufferings. That person puts off the old fleshly ways of living and rises with newness in Christ. He or she rises with His power to defeat temptations and His cleansing to be in relationship with God.

For the Christians Paul wrote to in this letter, he taught them they can know they have forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God because Jesus the Christ walked on earth, died, and rose from the dead.  His death canceled their sin debt. The decrees that held them in debt, bondage to this life, no longer had a hold on them. Jesus victoriously rose from the grave and broke those bonds. He paid the judgment penalty for each person’s sins, so sin and death no longer would have hold on them.

Paul wanted the Christians in Colossae and Laodicea to know the empty and deceitful philosophizing by men held no weight. This philosophizing was wrong because Jesus was a man and is fully God. His body did not stay in the grave, but defeated death, sin, and earthly decrees so that each person who trusts in Him would have a relationship with God. The Gnostics thought of God only as transcendent. They taught people are unable to ascend to the level of God and have a relationship with Him. Paul taught God always wanted a relationship with people. Ancestry and sin do not thwart His plans and desires. Jesus Christ gave the Colossian and Laodicean Christians, and all who believe in Him, access to God, as Romans 5:2 and Ephesians 2:18 say. The Gnostics taught sins occur because all material things are evil, including the body. Instead, a person can try to rise to the spiritual plane, they reasoned. These Gnostics taught that God did not interact with people. Paul taught that God loves people very much and wants to have a relationship with them. God made this possible through His Son, Jesus the Christ.

Freedom from Demonic Powers comes from Christ

“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Colossians 2:15 [NASB])

In this verse, Paul wrote of another thing Christ gives superabundantly from His fullness to His followers. Jesus Christ gives His victory over demonic powers to Christians. In the first part of verse fifteen, Paul said Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities.” With His death and resurrection, Jesus proclaimed His victory over demonic powers. This means He defeated demonic rulers and authorities and completely stripped them from people He claims for Himself. Jesus emphatically denounced these rulers and authorities before God and other beings. Christ claims the lives of each person who trusts in Him. He makes His power available to them so they can have victory over these rulers and authorities. His victory came in other ways, too. As part of the Godhead, Jesus created all things. As Creator and Redeemer, He is the most powerful of all beings. These demonic powers (rulers and authorities) have no ultimate power over each person who believes in Jesus Christ. Jesus gives the ability to defeat demonic powers from His fullness to His people so they can stand against rulers and authorities. God’s fullness for us is more than visible, tangible things like food and wealth. It includes spiritual power, surety, and victory.

Paul continued in this verse by saying Jesus made a “public display” of these rulers and authorities. He paraded them, as an example, in front of witnesses. Consider the young man who had many demons living in him. Jesus cast the legion out of him into a herd of swine (Mark 5:1-17). Jesus has and makes available to believers the ability to resist demonic powers. Through Him, Christians can have victory over them. Jesus took it a step further and said his public display of these demonic powers included a triumphal procession, a parade, celebrating God’s victory over them through His death. He conquered them as their supreme head and Creator and as the Redeemer of humanity.

The Colossians and Laodiceans had Christ’s victorious power available to them to defeat the demonically influenced teachers. Jesus gave it to them from His superabundance, from His fullness. Jesus will make Christians perfect when they get to heaven. They will have fullness on earth now because Jesus already has the victory over all beings, including evil powers. The Gnostics taught a spiritual lesson contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These false teachers allowed Satan to confuse and convince them of the rightness of this philosophy. They did not exercise the faith God gives each person to believe in Jesus. Instead, they took the rational way because of Satan’s deception. These false teachers philosophized and taught this deception, hoping to lead people away from Jesus and gain followers for themselves. The Christians in Colossae and Laodicea could have Christ’s strength and victory over these false teachers. They could proclaim triumphantly with Christ of their freedom from sin, the law, and demonic powers.

Thoughts to Consider

            Paul warned the Colossae and Laodicean Christians in verse eight about the trickery of the false teachers’ lessons concerning spirituality. Do not fall prey to secular wisdom, he told them. With verses nine and ten, Paul reminded these Christians, with a more focused lens, about Jesus having all the fullness of the deity. Because of that, Jesus makes perfect each person who believes in Him. He gives from His fullness, just like He gives His wisdom, knowledge, strength, etc. Jesus Christ gives from His fullness to make each person full (perfect/complete) and keep them growing toward perfection. The perfection the Gnostics taught was not true perfection. Only Jesus can make a person complete because He reigns over all rule and authority and is the Creator of everything that is. Because of who Jesus is, Christians can know with absolute certainty that all the fullness of Christ is available through the Holy Spirit to them. This means circumcision by human hands does not give salvation. God makes spiritual circumcision available for all people for those who believe in Jesus Christ, repent, and die to themselves. All other teachings and proclamations come from human reasoning and do not provide salvation or a relationship with God. Believers in Jesus Christ can know they are part of the new covenant with God. Because of this covenant with God, Christians realize they have forgiveness of sins and freedom from the law. Jesus canceled the sin debt certificate and judgment against each person who believes. He is supreme head, Creator, and Redeemer, He disarmed the rulers and authorities, the demonic powers. Each person who trusts in Jesus has this same power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit dwelling in him or her to combat these beings who teach and go against God’s truths. Christ’s fullness is available to each believer through the Holy Spirit to teach what each needs to know and to remind of all Jesus said.

Questions:

• Is there a teaching you have heard that keeps you from believing in Jesus?
• If not a teaching, what keeps you from trusting Jesus Christ as the Savior who died for your sins and offers you eternal life in a right relationship with God?
• As a believer, do you feel you are fighting a losing battle? Remember, you have the fullness of Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of rulers and authorities, available for you to stand strong against those demonic beings.
• If you are a Christian, what keeps you from telling other people about Jesus, the One who died so all humankind can receive cleansing from sin, cancellation of sin’s debt, and relationship with God?

For next week, re-read all of Colossians 2 and pay close attention to verses 16-19.

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize…” (Colossians 2:18a [NASB])

Victorious Unfolding

Who perceives his unintentional sins?

Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;

do not let them rule over me.

Then I will be innocent

and cleansed from blatant rebellion.

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to You,

LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

 (Psalm 19:12-14 [HCSB])

We've heard and/or read verse fourteen before today. We need to put it into perspective with verses twelve and thirteen. Today, let’s consider these verses together and understand what God wants to teach us.

Remember when you were a teenage or a pre-teen. You had more freedom, but you tested the boundaries to see how much power you had at home and school. One day, you decided to stay at school “to be with your friends” and arrived home later than your parents wanted. On another day, a friend needed help to understand what the teacher taught in class. You stayed at school to help him understand, then lost track of time. This good deed made you later getting home than your parents wanted. Which of these is a blatant sin and which an unintentional sin? Are the repercussions for the late home arrival going to be the same? Probably not, but why?

¹² Who perceives his unintentional sins?

Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

Verse twelve speaks about unintentional sins (accidents, mistakes, errors), not rebellious disobedience. The Psalmist said we do not know our unintentional sins. Often, after the result of our mistake occurs, we realize we sinned. One reason we may have sinned is we didn't realize God speaks against those types of things. Another possibility is we didn't realize the words from our mouth contained unintended harshness. These sins were unintentional and, possibly, unknown to us until God told us in our time with Him. Sometimes God makes us aware of these mistakes and accidents as we read our Bible. Other times, He will make us aware of them as we listen to a sermon or as we pray. Perhaps He will teach about them through a devotional. The important point is that, once shown, we acknowledge them, ask forgiveness from God, then ask for strength to live God’s way so that sin doesn’t happen again. (Note: Since we from that point know that action, word, or thought is a sin, no longer can we say the sin is unintentional.)

¹³ Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;

do not let them rule over me.

Then I will be innocent

and cleansed from blatant rebellion.

Verse thirteen speaks of another set of actions, thoughts, and words. These are willful sins. Willful sins are the deliberate breaking of a law, command, or precept. If you have children or remember being a child, you remember a child often tests or pushes the boundaries to see if he or she can get away with something. He or she will check to see how firm the boundary is. These actions, thoughts are words are willful sins. Willful sins fall in the list of moral laws concerned with things like killing, stealing, lying, etc. God explicitly commands in the Ten Commandments, do not kill, do not steal, and do not bear false witness along with several other commands. Another sin that falls into this willful sin category is letting your neighbor starve when you have food in your home. Jesus taught about loving your neighbor as you love yourself in Matthew 22:37-40. Willful sins are rebellion against the moral laws, commands, and precepts of God.

For both types of sin, unintentional and willful, the Psalmist, once made aware of them, imperatively requested God to cleanse him from them and not let them rule/reign over him. The Psalmist recognized he had no power to cleanse himself from sin or to keep himself from sinning. He was powerless. The Psalmist recognized God's holiness and ability to make a person holy. He recognized God’s ability to guide a person's mind, thoughts, and actions. God can do these things because He is omnipotent (all-powerful) and Ruler of all created things, since He is Yahweh God, the One before time and beyond time.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to You,

LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

With God's cleansing of and rule over him, the Psalmist declared God made him clean/righteous. Being cleansed from sin and made righteous makes a person’s words, thoughts, and meditations acceptable to God. When God cleanses a person and reigns over him or her, the person can be in His presence and raise his or her thoughts, words, and meditations to Him in praise and worship. Only God’s cleansing makes a person clean and able to be in His presence. The Psalmist declared, "Oh Lord, You are my Rock and my Redeemer!" when he realized his cleansing and ability to lead a righteous life came from God.

With God’s rule and strength, He keeps us strong against temptations to sin. He is the One who saves and cleanses us from sin. Because of these, our reaction is to praise and worship Him.

Revisiting your pre-teen self, did you unknowingly break a family rule and experience your parents teaching you why that was not a good thing to do? Probably, they still continued to love, lead, and provide for you. On the other side of the coin, did you intentionally disobey your parents? Did they discipline you? Did your parents continue to love, lead, and provide for you after that? If your answer is yes to each of these, your parents were modeling their parenting after God’s example. If you have read through the Bible, you will encounter examples of when God did not protect or provide for His children, the Israelites, immediately. They had disobeyed Him too many times and needed a stricter discipline. For most of us, having our parents discipline us about a broken rule is all we need to correct our behavior or mistake.

Are you listening to God today?

Today, God is speaking to you. Are you listening to Him? What is He saying to you? God wants to have a love relationship with you. Will you listen as He tells you about your sins? Will you confess your sins to God and ask Him to cleanse you? Will you allow Him to reign in your life as King?

True peace comes with God’s forgiveness and reign in your life.

We each try to delay, block, or deny hearing God when He tells us about our misdeeds, and incorrect words and thoughts. We don't want to face them or Him. Perhaps we refuse to change our lives. Still, what He said won't leave our minds, hearts, and spirits. For peace, I urge you to turn to God in prayer now. Ask Him to make you strong enough to admit your sins and repent. Ask Him to be your Savior and cleanse you. Allow God to reign as King of your life. Experience the growth of your character and your relationship with God as a victorious unfolding.

Your life can be a victorious unfolding with God.

Lord, today, You have shown me a sin, many sins, if I am honest, and I want You to cleanse me from them, please. I have refused to recognize You in the past, but now I give up ruling my life. I give my life to You, Lord. Please take my life and make it what You want and use it for Your purposes. Please, Lord, keep me from being rebellious and hard of heart. Remind me when I stray in that direction, that You are God, and I am not. I am Your's, Lord. You reign supreme. Your love and power never fail. Thank you for cleansing me from my sins and being King over my life. Thank you, Father. Amen.

Peace

Paul wrote this passage in Romans 8 for us and others for such a time as this. Read what he wrote to encourage the Roman believers.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39 [NLT])

Nothing can ever separate us from the Love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not coronavirus. Not lack of ventilators. Not slowness of a countries' leadership. Not lack of medicine or lack of beds. NOTHING can separate from God those who have been cleansed by Jesus' death, those who have believed He is the Son of God, who came to take away the sins of the world.

What are you letting cause you distress and inner turmoil at this time? That is just Satan trying to make you forget Who is mightier, most faithful, most loving, most merciful, most gracious, ever-present, all-knowing, and almighty. Don't forget about YAHWEH God, the Alpha and Omega, from before time and beyond time. He is greater than anything Satan throws at you. YAHWEH GOD is our KING, LORD, SAVIOR, CREATOR, PROVIDER, HEALER, REDEEMER, FATHER, SHEPHERD, and the ONE AND ONLY GOD! There is no other God!

So, what is bothering you and unsettling your mind today? Pray to God. Ask Him to help you cast Satan away from you. Pray Scripture. Read God's promises. Proclaim them aloud. Listen and sing songs of praise and worship to God. Proclaim Him your GOD! He is with you in every breath your lungs take, in every beat your heart makes, in every breeze that blows across your arms, and in every sight of His creation you glimpse. Praise GOD for even the rocks will cry out, "Hosanna to the King of kings!"

If you are struggling with the overwhelming news from this pandemic and are worried about now and the future, you can message me, and we can chat. If you want to pray with me, we can pray. If you just want to know you are not alone, write to me and we can talk. God is with us, for us, and in us since we are His children by His grace and mercy given to us through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

May God bless you today as you

seek Him,

find Him, and

gain His strength to walk through your day.

Jesus told His disciples, "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So, don’t be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 [NLT])

Accept His peace. It's right there, just accept it.