In This Issue

• "THEY WERE AFRAID TO ASK"
• "YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE"
• A GLIMPSE AT PSALM TWO
• UPCOMING GOSPEL MEETING SCHEDULE
• MORE INFORMATION...

"THEY WERE AFRAID TO ASK"

It was in the region of Caesarea Philippi that Peter made the confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. It was in that region that Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain and was transfigured in their presence, as Moses and Elijah of Old Testament fame also appeared and talked with Jesus. It was also in that vicinity that Jesus' apostles had failed in their attempt to work a miracle in behalf of a boy who was possessed of a demon. Jesus indicated that a shortage of faith on the part of the apostles was a contributing factor to that failure.

In Mark 9:30-32, Mark tells us that Jesus and the apostles "departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, 'The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.' But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him." 

Jesus had informed His apostles of His approaching death immediately after Peter's confession in Mark 9:31. Peter, not willing to believe that such would happen, rebuked Jesus for expressing such an idea. Jesus had, in turn, rebuked Peter and sought to prepare Peter and the other apostles for realizing the vast difference between God's plan of redemption and their own selfish desires.

When the apostles tried and failed to work a miracle because their faith fell short, Jesus saw again the importance of further instructing and grounding them in what they would need to know to carry on His work on earth after He had returned to heaven. This is the most likely reason He sought to travel from Caesarea Philippi to Capernaum without attracting the attention of the multitudes. And this is why He tells them again in Mark 9:31 what He had already told them in Mark 8:31. The wisdom of Jesus in continuing to emphasize the truth of the upcoming crucifixion is underscored by the fact that after repeatedly telling them in the plainest of language, "they did not understand this saying." E. Bickersteth, in the Pulpit Commentary reflects on this passage: "They saw that something very dreadful was about to happen. Their Master's words and looks showed them this. But it was a mystery to them… They did not understand why he was to die, and how these words of his about his death could agree with those in which he had told them that his kingdom was at hand. Perhaps, on the whole, they inclined to the view most pleasing to them, that Christ would not die; for this was what they wished and most desired. And so they tried to persuade themselves that his words… were to be understood in a figurative sense and not a literal. But anyhow, they dreaded to ask him."

We too must be on guard lest we fear unpleasant truths and seek to ignore them or to explain them away.

--Clarence R. Johnson

"YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE"

Paul said, "for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God's" (I Corinthians 6:20). The apostle has shown the Corinthians that sin is to be no part of their lives. He relentlessly pursues sin with a view to its destruction. He specifically notes that they are to "flee fornication" (v. 18), and then hauls the matter into the light of the Spirit of God which exposes it: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" (v. 19). He then slays that sin at the cross, saying "ye are bought with a price." And what a price that was! They were no longer their own, but belonged to somebody else!

That is the great fact - "ye are bought!" The worldly might say this is mere merchandising, and that is precisely the point - "bought with a price" expresses the term with a double force. "With a price" indicates the greatness of the cost, that being the very life of the Son of God. The great alternative is there - either we are bought, or we are not redeemed!

But Paul asserts that Christians have been bought, and that brings consequences, the obvious one being, "ye are not your own." When a thing is bought, it then belongs to the one who bought it. Christians, who compose the body of Christ, the church, belong to Him; they are His people. The conclusion then is that we are not ours to indiscriminately do what we wish. Our bodies, says Paul, are a temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). Therefore, we are not free to abuse and misuse it; it must be used in service to the one who owns it. Suppose someone took something that belonged to us and appropriated it for his own selfish ends without our permission. Such would not be acceptable to us. So it is with Christ - we must use our entire being as he has directed in his word.

When we finally realize that "we are not our own;" that we, as it were, are the "property" of Jesus Christ, only then will we be able to dedicate and devote ourselves entirely into His service. Our problem seems to be that we verbally assent to belonging to Christ, but often the proverbial "Indian giver" in us comes out and we "take ourselves back." No, it must not be this way. When one gives self to Christ, he must give all the way and for all time.

We can belong to Christ nominally or actually. The real thing will come out in the way that we demonstrate our willingness to belong to Christ in this life. There is no better proof as to whether or not one realizes that he has been "bought with a price" than the way he lives his life before God and other men.

--Bill Moseley, Put the Brethren in Remembrance

A GLIMPSE AT PSALM TWO

"Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed: 'Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!' He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury: 'But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.' 'I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee'" (Psa. 2:1-7).

The worst scheme ever devised by man was undoubtedly the plot made and the consent given towards the crucifixion of God's beloved Son. Many of the very ones who had hailed the Lord during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem were soon heard shouting out from the same mouths just a few days later to "crucify Him!" They were willing to take the full responsibility of His execution, and this they affirmed by saying, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. 27:25).

The psalmist prophesied that the kings would take their stand and the rulers would take counsel "against the Lord and against His Anointed," which Peter shows to have been fulfilled in the days of Christ when "both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel" took their stand against Jesus whom God had later anointed (Acts 4:24-28).

This same Jesus, however, God had also raised up to become a "King upon Zion" -- God's "holy mountain." Earlier, Peter had expressed that Jesus had been crucified by the "predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God" in order to then be "raised up again" (from the dead) to become both "Lord and Christ." By so doing, Jesus fulfilled the promise to David that God would set one of his descendants upon his throne to rule (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:22-36).

It's interesting that God the Father uses the expression "Today I have begotten Thee" (Psa. 2:7) with reference to the Lord's resurrection. Notice also the following from Acts 13:23-37, as we sum up some of its highlights: Though they had found no fault in Him, Jesus was unjustly put to death. God, however, raised Him from the dead "and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem." By raising Jesus from the dead, God had fulfilled His promise "as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'Thou art My Son; today I have begotten Thee.' And as for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no more to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David'" (vv. 33,34).

As we reflect upon the words of the psalmist, the fulfillment of his prophecies are clearly defined in the New Testament. Jesus is the great King who is now reigning over all. Though the people had become uproarious, and the kings of the earth had taken their stand and the rulers had taken counsel together against Him, which led to His crucifixion, God was able to raise Him from the dead and exalt Him to His right hand in glory, where he now reigns as the great King of kings and Lord of lords.

Are you allowing Christ to reign in your life? Though God is omnipotent in His undying strength, because of the free will He has given you, you have the power to shut Him out or to let Him in. The choice is yours. Won't you respond to His gracious invitation to enjoy an eternity of blissfulness in ultimate glory? That sounds pretty good to me. The Lord shows that in order for one to be saved, that individual must believe (Heb. 11:6; John 8:24), repent (Luke 13:5; Acts 2:38), be baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21), and continue in the faith throughout life (Heb. 10:35-39; Rev. 2:10). If we can help you in learning of the plan of salvation more thoroughly, feel free to contact us at the address shown in this bulletin.

--Tom Edwards, Gospel Observer, Feb. 24, 1991

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