MESSAGE FOR US TODAY JULY 23 AND JULY 24 JULY 23 verily, verily, I say unto you, He who enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters in by the Door is the Shepherd of the sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the Door of the sheep (Jn. 10:1–2,7). The Scribes and Pharisees claimed to be shepherds. Jesus contrasted Himself with them. He was the Good Shepherd. He came in by the door into the sheepfold, and He was Himself, at the same time, the Door of the sheep. Let it be understood: The Door of which He spoke was a blood-splattered Door; it was typified by the blood-splattered door of the first Passover in Egypt (Ex. 12:7). The True Shepherd came in by the Door. That is, He submitted to all conditions ordained by Him Who built the sheepfold. These conditions were given through Moses. Accordingly, Christ was born of a woman under the Law, was circumcised, and fulfilled all that the Law demanded and predicted concerning the Messiah. He was Jehovah’s Perfect Servant, living by every Word that proceeded out of the Mouth of God, continually doing those things that pleased Him. Consequently, on presenting Himself at the Door, the doorkeeper, i.e., the Law, immediately admitted Him, and the sheep recognized His Voice. He, therefore, had access given to Him and to His sheep, despite the Pharisees and Priests. Out from under the condemnation of the Law, He led His sheep—He Himself going before them to Calvary. The sheep followed Him, for their safety consisted in knowing the One Voice which was Life to them. Further, He was the Door of the sheep. He was their authority for going out and their means for entering in. The sheepfold, which to them had been a prison, He turned into a refuge; so they went in for safety and went out for pasture. The sheep enjoyed safety and liberty. He plainly said, “I am the Door.” This means that the Church is not the Door to Christ, as the Roman Catholic Priests teach, but Christ is the Door to the Church, one might say! Salvation is, therefore, very simple! He promises Eternal Life to all who base their claim for entrance upon Him Alone. The Good Shepherd died for the sheep; the Great Shepherd lives for the sheep (Heb. 13:20); and the Chief Shepherd comes for the sheep (I Pet. 5:4). JULY 24 and when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he who was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go (Jn. 11:43–44). The impotent man (Jn., Chpt. 5), the blind man (Jn., Chpt. 9), and Lazarus picture Israel as morally impotent, blind, and dead. Of these three demonstrations of Christ’s Deity, the last, as would be obvious, was the greatest. The sick may be healed, but there is no remedy for death. Death convicts man as being a sinner and conducts him to judgment, for, because of sin, original sin, it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. So Jesus waited for sin to do its utmost in Lazarus’ body, and then went to manifest His Divine Glory in raising it to life. When told of Lazarus’ sickness, the Master said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the Glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (11:4). The Greek Text actually says, “he shall not fall prey to death,” which is the way it should have been translated. The Lord does not get glory out of sickness, but He most definitely does get Glory out of the sick being healed. Now He will raise Lazarus from the dead, a miracle of astounding proportions, especially considering that Lazarus had been dead for four days. No one ever died in the Presence of Jesus, not even the two thieves. As Jesus was on the way to the home of Lazarus, Martha went to meet Him, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died” (11:21). But Jesus calmly told her, “Your brother shall rise again.” Martha answered by saying, “I know that he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day” (11:23–24). Jesus probably had Martha stand before Him and He may have put His Hands on her shoulders so she would look straight at Him, even though the Bible does not clearly say this. Then He, in essence, said to her, “Martha, you are looking at the Resurrection. I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (11:25). Our Lord was telling Martha that the Resurrection is not a philosophy or even a doctrine or dogma, but rather a Person. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Resurrection, exactly as He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6). This means that all the power of Resurrection, all the power of Life, is lodged in His Person. Resurrection is the end of death; consequently, death has no more to do with the redeemed. It has done all it can do. It is finished. The redeemed live in the Life that put an end to it. For them, the old life and its death and judgment no longer exist. When Jesus was on His way to the tomb, and when He stood before the tomb, five things happened: 1. “He groaned in the Spirit and was troubled”: He literally groaned indignation, most probably because of the malice of Satan in bringing such sorrow upon man. 2. “Jesus wept”: Once again, this was for the plight of the human race because of the Fall. Man was never meant to die, but sin brought death, with all of its attendant horror. 3. “Jesus said, You take away the stone”: It might be said that one can take away the stone, or one can throw stones. Which are you doing? 4. “Jesus prayed”: He didn’t have to pray at this time, because He already knew the Will of the Father; however, for the people’s sake, He prayed. Prayer must ever be our mainstay. 5. “He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth”: As someone has well said, “There was such power in His Command, that if Jesus had not called Lazarus by name, all of the Righteous in the graves would have come forth.” The Scripture then says: “And he who was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go” (11:44). So this great Miracle portrays the fact that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life; as such, He is also able to raise man from spiritual death, thereby giving him Eternal Life. For all who will believe, the Word is: “Loose him and let him go.” POSTED BY PASTOR GIL
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:03:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015