Sermon Shorts from Spurgeon — Sermon 18: The Tomb of Jesus

There is something gloomy and noisome about a vault. there are noxious smells of corruption; oft-times pestilence is born where a dead body hath lain; but fear it not, Christian, for Christ was not left in hell—in Hades—neither did his body see corruption. Come, there is no scent, yea, rather a perfume. Step in here, and, if thou didst ever breathe the gales of Ceylon, or winds from the groves of Araby, thou shalt find them far excelled by that sweet, holy fragrance left by the blessed body of Jesus; that alabaster vase which once held divinity, and was rendered sweet and precious thereby. Think not thou shalt find aught obnoxious to thy senses. Corruption Jesus never saw; no worms ever devoured his flesh; no rottenness ever entered into his bones; he saw no corruption. Three days he slumbered, but no long enough to putrefy; he soon arose, perfect as when he entered, uninjured as when his limbs were composed for their slumber. Come then, Christian, summon up thy thoughts, gather all thy powers; here is a sweet invitation, let me press it again. Let me lead thee by the hand of meditation, my brother; let me take thee by the arm of thy fancy, and let me again say to thee, “Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

From the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 1, Sermon 18 by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Sermon Shorts from Spurgeon – Sermon 6: Sweet Comfort for Feeble Saints

When God puts his hand to a man, if he were worthless and useless before, he can make him very valuable. You know the price of an article does not depend so much upon the value of the raw material to begin with—bruised reeds and smoking flax; but by Divine workmanship both these things become of wondrous value. You tell me the bruised reed is good for nothing; I tell you that Christ will take that bruised reed and mend it up, and fit it in the pipes of heaven. Then when the grand orchestra shall send forth its music, when the organs of the skies shall peal forth their deep-toned sounds, we shall ask, “What was that sweet note heard there, mingling with the rest?” And some one shall say, “It was a bruised reed.”

From the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volume 1, Sermon 6 by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

https://ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons01/sermons01.vi.html

They Shall Call His Name Emmanuel

In the first chapter of Matthew, Joseph the carpenter is visited by an angel who gives him an important message. Joseph had been thinking about what he should do because Mary was pregnant–and he knew the child was not his.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:20-23)

There are three critical points regarding the divine nature of Jesus in these verses. First, Mary conceived a child “of the Holy Ghost”. This pregnancy was unusual to say the least. There was no human father who impregnated her. Rather, Jesus was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. The fact that Mary was a virgin is well established in Scripture, both in Matthew 1:23 and in the prophecy Matthew quotes.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

In addition, Mary herself admits this fact.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (Luke 1:31, 34)

So the Holy Spirit, Who is also divine, brought about Mary’s miraculous conception of Jesus. So the sin nature of mankind was not passed down to Jesus. (Romans 5:12; Hebrews 4:15) This is vital to the doctrine of Jesus’ divinity.

Second, the child’s name is “Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Only God can forgive sin. (Jeremiah 31:34; Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21; Romans 3:25) And that is exactly what Jesus did. He removed our sin from us and nailed it to His cross. (Colossians 2:14) Jesus’ name means “Jehovah is salvation”. That’s Who He is. He is Jehovah. He is salvation. He is the One Who saves us from our sins.

Third, Jesus is called “Emmanuel”. As Matthew 1:23 states, this name means “God with us”. Jesus was the personification of God Himself. This is consistent with John 14:9 where Jesus tells Philip, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The angel revealed to Joseph that the child in Mary is God in the flesh.

The Pope Changes the Text of the Lord’s Prayer

The Pope has approved changing the Lord’s Prayer from “lead us not into temptation” to “do not let us fall into temptation”.  This was not done on textual grounds, but from a “theological, pastoral, and stylistic viewpoint”.  Excuse me, but since when does that trump the biblical text?

https://www.christianpost.com/news/pope-francis-approves-change-to-the-lords-prayer-despite-opposition-its-deeply-problematic.html

History of the Text

I looked at several English translations going back to Tyndale (1534) and they all have the traditional reading.  The reason is that the Greek text is clear and there are not even any textual variants for that verse.  All Greek textual traditions read the same.  The only other possible translation I can see is “may You not lead us into temptation” which emphasizes the subjective mood of the verb, but that doesn’t address the Pope’s concern.  Continue reading

Usury: Does the Bible Explicitly Prohibit It?

One of my pet peeves is politicians misusing Scripture.  I don’t care what letter they have after their name or what their political persuasion is.  Here the topic is usury in the Bible as it relates to U.S. interest rates.  (Relating these two things is a stretch anyway, since the biblical text’s statements about usury were between individuals, but here we go.)

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-religious-right_n_5cde4ba3e4b00e035b8d3c38

usury interest

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