In This Issue

• THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM
• IN THE NEWS...
• ABOUND IN THIS GRACE ALSO
• UPCOMING GOSPEL MEETING SCHEDULE
• MORE INFORMATION...

THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM

The Bible says that "after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.'" (Mark 1:14-15).

The ministry of John the Baptist had been foretold by two Old Testament prophets in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6. In chapter 6, Mark will tell us the outcome of John's arrest. But for now, notice that Jesus' Galilean ministry begins after John's arrest. Jesus' message is the same as that which John had preached before Him, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). John's ministry preceded that of Jesus by about six months.

The Israelites had looked, had yearned, and had prayed for centuries for the kingdom of God to appear. Many of the Old Testament prophets had given hope that someday that great event would take place. For instance Daniel had prophesied during the time of Babylonian rule that three world empires would follow Babylon: Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. He said, 'in the days of these [Roman kings], the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. (Daniel 2:44).

By the time Jesus appeared on the scene, Babylon had long since fallen, Medo-Persia had perished at the hands of Greece, and Greece had given way to Rome. In the days when the Roman kings or Caesars ruled the world, John came preaching that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jesus, six months later, underscored that same message. The time had come. The kingdom that the nation of Israel had yearned and hoped and prayed for was so near you could almost touch it. It was finally at hand.

Unfortunately, almost everyone had misunderstood the spiritual nature of that kingdom. They expected Christ to be a military leader, and His kingdom to be a political rule with national boundaries Even His closest followers thought of this worldly kind of kingdom until after Jesus' ascension, and some of them sought special places of authority at His right hand and left hand as He ruled, Matt. 20:21.

He had tried to tell them that His kingdom would not come with pomp and circumstance, but was to be within them, Luke 17:20-21. He insisted, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36). When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on Pentecost of Acts 2, they realized the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, and that He had already been raised to the throne, as Lord and Christ, Acts 2:29-33. 

--CRJ

IN THE NEWS…

SCHOLARS: OLDEST EVIDENCE OF JESUS?

Washington (CNN) --A limestone burial box, almost 2000 years old, may provide the oldest archeological record of Jesus of Nazareth, according to several experts who announced the finding Monday. [October 21, 2002].

The ossuary, as the bone boxes are known, dates to 63 AD. and has an inscription in Aramaic which translates to: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” said Andre Lemaire, an expert in ancient writing who identified the writing on the box in Jerusalem last spring.

Writing about his findings in the new issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Lemaire, who teaches at the Sorbonne in Paris, calls it "very probable that the box belonged to Jesus’ brother James, the leader of the early church in Jerusalem."

Some scholars expressed doubt that the box, which is 20 inches long by 11 inches wide, could be definitively linked to Jesus, a Jewish carpenter by trade revered by Christians as the Son of God.

“We may never be absolutely certain. In the work I do we’re rarely absolutely certain about anything,” said Kyle McCarter, a Johns Hopkins University archaeologist, who said that the finding was probable, but that he had “a bit of doubt.”

While most scholars agree that Jesus existed, no physical evidence from the first century has ever been conclusively tied with his life. Two scientists from the Israeli government’s Geological Survey tested the box last month-- inspecting the surface patina and inscription under a microscope. They concurred that the object is more than 19 centuries old, the archaeology magazine reported.

"It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that these three names refer to the personages so identified in the New Testament," said Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Many of the conclusions reached by experts relied on the inscription written on the ossuary. The boxes commonly were used by Jewish families between 20 B.C. and 70 AD. to store the bones of their loved ones.

Lemaire said out of hundreds of such boxes found with Aramaic writing only two contain mentions of a brother. From this, scholars infer that the brother was only noted when he was someone important.

James, Joseph and Jesus were common names in ancient Jerusalem, a city of about 40,000 residents. And Lemaire estimates that there could have been as many as 20 Jameses in that city with brothers named Jesus and fathers named Joseph. But it is unlikely there would have been more than one James who had a brother of such importance that it merited having him mentioned on his ossuary, Lemaire said.

Lemaire found the box in June by accident, said Shanks, who was able to inspect the box personally. The owner is reported to be a collector of ancient Jewish artifacts. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought the box some 15 years ago from an antique dealer for $200 to $700, Shanks said.

The boxes "are not popular on the market because ... people don’t want a bone box in their living room," Shanks said.

The collector, who is Jewish, was not aware that Jesus had a brother. And he only discovered the interest in the object when he met Lemaire at a dinner party last spring and asked him to decipher some Aramaic written on a number of collectibles. Shanks said.

The box owner “didn’t realize the significance,” Shanks added. "He threw up his hands, 'How could the Son of God have a brother?'"

Plans are under way to exhibit the box at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada during the annual meeting of Bible scholars in November, Shanks said.

But he said whether or not the box belonged to Jesus’ brother, it still provides a powerful link with the past.

“This is something that provides a bridge over time,” he said. “My reaction is not so much excitement as it is awe.”

--Jeordan Legon, CNN.com

ABOUND IN THIS GRACE ALSO

Open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8 and read carefully the first twelve verses. Paul is urging the Corinthians to perform that which they had promised a year ago (vv. 10-11; 2 Cor. 9:1f): viz., a generous contribution to the needy saints in Jerusalem. This passage is often used to urge larger church contributions, but in this article we call your attention to an element apart from, yet most essential to, the gift itself.

V. 1, Paul wants the Corinthians to know of this grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. '' This grace'' is identified in v. 2 as ''the riches or their liberality.'' it was remarkable that churches in "affliction'' and "great poverty'' would give generously. V. 3, they gave 'beyond their power;'' and v. 5, "not as ... hoped" Paul "expected'' churches to give of their abundance to relieve churches in want (v. 4), but these churches gave of their living (cf. Mk. 12:44).

However the amount of their gift is not the chief point here. The "grace'' bestowed on them was the attitude or disposition that prompted generosity. The Greek word translated ''liberality'' in verse 2, is translated "simplicity'' in 2 Corinthians 1:12, and ''singleness'' (of heart) in Ephesians 6:5. When Paul wrote of liberality he had a disposition or inclination of heart in mind, rather than certain amounts of money. They were "willing of themselves" (v. 3), and ''prayed us with much entreaty'' to take the gift (v. 4). The key to such an attitude is that they "first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God'' (v. 5).

Then in v. 6, Paul asked Titus to "finish in you (the Corinthians, rft) the same grace also.'' It is the "grace" that Paul wants to abound. Notice v. 7, ''as ye abound'' in faith, utterance, knowledge, diligence and love to us, "see that ye abound in this grace also. Some questions come to mind; why is this called "grace," and how does God "bestow" such grace upon us?

A brief definition of ''grace'' is "unmerited favor''; and this disposition, like ''love,'' is inherent in the very nature of God. With respect to our justification, it expresses itself in God's gift of his Son (2 Tim. 1:9). The term is also applied to the revelation of Gods will (Eph. 3:21), various gifts (Rom. 12:6f), and blessings from God. But man is expected to partake of the divine nature. God is love, and to truly know and be known of God we must imbibe the spirit of agape love that is seen in God (1 John. 4:7f). In our 2 Corinthians text God is gracious. The "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ'' (v. 9) is cited as our example, when Paul calls on saints to "abound in this grace also." He wants us to partake of this disposition - looking with favor upon the needy (physical or spiritual), and expressing our grace by our actions. God ''bestows" this grace upon us by example and teaching (as in our text).

Why is it that Paul speaks "not by commandment'' (v. 8)? ''This grace,'' while bestowed by God through teaching and example, must find its expression in actions that come from our hearts. The gift itself must be "as a matter of bounty, and not of covetousness" (2 Cor. 9:5). We accept the instructions of God in our hearts, partake of the divine nature, then act upon the urgings from within. Every man ''as he purposeth in his heart" "not grudgingly", or of necessity, but ''cheerful'' (V. 7). There is no expression of grace in the gift that is wrung from us by pressure from without. There is no way to force genuine righteousness. Yet, we have not proven the sincerity of our love (v. 8) until there is a performance out of that which we have (v. 11).

Brethren, this is a great text. We must cease to lie to God every time we make a stingy half-hearted offering as though it was ''according to our ability.'' We must learn the meaning of gracious giving (first, giving ourselves), and then "see that ye abound in this grace also."

--Robert F. Turner, Guardian of Truth, March 4, 1993.

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