December 10, 2017
Scripture:
Hymn 37 – Tell me the old, old story
Prayer
Last time we saw two unlikely men – Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea – bury Jesus. Joseph had begged Pilate to give him the body. It is almost like he said, “That’s enough! I’m not going to let these soldiers abuse that body any more.” They took Jesus down from the cross, and – using myrrh and aloes so that it wouldn’t smell – wrapped His body in linen. They expected the body to decay, but we’re told elsewhere that it never did. They brought the body to Joseph’s brand-new tomb, laid it inside, and rolled a stone across the door. The Chief Priests had Pilate set a guard over the tomb – guarding a dead man! – and sealed it. This all took place late on Friday.
John 20:1-8. Now we’re at the first day of the week; Sunday. Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre early with some spices to anoint Jesus’ body. However, the stone had been rolled away, and so she ran and told Peter and John, “The stone has been rolled away, they’ve taken the Lord’s body, and we don’t know where they’ve taken it!”
Peter and John ran to the tomb – Peter a bit slower because he’d just denied Jesus three times – and sure enough it was true: no body! They went inside, saw the linen clothes lying there, and believed. What did they see that made them believe? Perhaps what was left was like a cocoon; the form of the linen clothes around the body was there, but no body was in it. Jesus had a glorified body, and we know that He didn’t need to use doors to enter a room anymore, so maybe he exited the linen in a similar manner, so that those who saw it would believe He had risen from the dead.
James 1: 21 - 27
What is superfluity? It means “excess” or “abounding.” These verses are still about the word on God. The first part is about laying aside these immoral things. We spoke previously of the wrath of man. It is possible for us to have righteous anger, against the lack of morals in our culture today. However, we must not hold anger against those who harm us. We need to avoid these things and lay aside this wickedness. In place of this, we must receive the “engrafted word.” Where is this engrafted? In our hearts. We know of engrafting fruit trees with branches from other fruit trees: when this is done, the new branches become just as one of the original branches. We can have God’s word hidden in our hearts in the same way. Why is this important? It is “able to save your souls.” This is not just the salvation of our souls, but of our lives as well.
Verse 22: When we first hear the gospel, we learn that all has been done for us. But after we are saved, we must soon become doers of the word. James uses the example of a mirror: through the word, we can see what we are truly like. But when we look and see ourselves, do we just ignore it? Or do we take it to heart? God has given us the Holy Spirit so we are able to put these things into practice. In this way, we are blessed beyond those in the Old Testament, who had to follow the law without the Holy Spirit. Some think that following the word of God is a restriction, but James calls it the law of liberty. Think of a dog and a leash: if the dog is well-trained, there’s no need for the leash if the dog is well-trained.
Hymn 190 - Saviour, lead us by Thy power
Prayer