August 27, 2017
Scripture:
Scripture:
Hymn 68 - Christ is the Saviour of Sinners
Prayer
We’ve been going through the six court hearings that Jesus went through. Before we go on, though, I want to read what happened between the Sanhedrin hearings (the Jewish hearings) and the Roman hearings. The Jews were in their own land, but the Romans were ruling over them, and they had to be convinced before anyone was put to death.
Matthew 27: 1-5. Some people think that Judas was trying to trick the priests. He knew that Jesus had the power to escape them; He’d done it before. However, the time had come for Jesus not to use His power, but to yield Himself to the will of His Father. Judas saw what was happening, and thought, “What have I done?” He knew that Jesus was innocent. Poor Judas! He was only a pretender, he wasn’t a real believer. He was overcome with reproach and sent himself into Eternity.
Luke 23:1-2. The Jews led Jesus to the governor, Pontius Pilate, and presented their case. They claimed that Jesus turned the people from God’s ways, and that He also taught that they shouldn’t pay taxes to Caesar (Caesar was the top Roman ruler). This claim wasn’t true, because Jesus actually taught that we should render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. God is higher than any Caesar.
The Jews also said that Jesus claimed to be king. This was actually true, because that’s who Jesus was. He hadn’t come to rebel against Rome, though. He had come in humility instead.
Luke 23:3-5. Pilate heard what the priests had to say, but said that he found no fault in Jesus. The priests didn’t like that, of course, and put on more pressure, trying to help Pilate understand how bad Jesus was.
Vv.6-7. Pilate didn’t want to condemn Jesus, so when he heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he thought he saw a way out. Herod was the king of Galilee, and so Pilate sent Jesus and the priests to him, and got them out of his hair for a few minutes. Next time, we’ll see what Herod had to say.
Titus 1:7-16
Hospitality is being hospitable. It’s wonderful if God’s work can be done this way. Hospitality more often then not centers around food. It brings people closer together not only through conversation, but also through sharing what you have with them. Bishops were to be lovers of it. It shows concern for others through fellowship and communion. Our Brother Norman shared that when he was young they barely had enough food for themselves, much less for others. When he moved to Montreal not only was he invited to the McDowell household a lot, but also he would hear Mr. McDowell calling others inviting them to supper and then to the Gospel meeting. He was a lover of hospitality and souls.
Darby translates the second part of this verse as , “a lover of goodness”. We read though that, “there is none that doeth good”. Only God is good. Oswald J. Smith wrote a tract called “Do Good People Go to Heaven”. In it he says, “I guess they might if there were any”. It’s not goodness getting you to heaven, but we are to look for it in others. We should look for the type that also looks for goodness in others as well. (Philippians 4:8) Someone who might be good will be drawn to things with goodness and virtue.
Sober can have a narrow definition. Someone who is under the influence isn’t sober. Here it could mean self-control or sincere. You could say about someone, “he is very sober minded”. If someone is sober not only are they not going over board with drink , but also they are self-controlled, sincere, and real or honest.
God is just. He is always on the side of right. We’ve all had experiences where we felt what was done was unjust.We need people doing things justly. The world is so far from that, and it’s an unpopular idea. It’s similar to unholy.
Temperance can also mean self-control. This can be connected with characteristics for things that aren’t best for us physically and spiritually.
Darby translates the beginning of verse nine as, “clinging to the faithful word”. I wonder what they had as the word back then. God had given them the old testament and Paul’s teachings. This is coupled with “as he hath been taught”.
A gainsayer is someone who opposes you. The people who oppose you need to be convinced. You need to address their negative side and convince them of what’s right. This could also be two crowds that need to encourage and exhort to convince the gainsayers.
The Cretians were probably Gentile with Jews scattered through. Unruly means not going with the rules. They go by their own way, and don’t maintain order. They say things that are not true or nice. They said things on their mind so well they convinced whole households for filthy lucre. This certainly must have been challenging for Titus.
Hymn 96 - If I gained the world but lost the Saviour
Prayer