eternal life

A word of encouragement

The Apostle Paul was God’s chosen instrument to tell the non-Jewish people throughout the world that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for their sins (Acts 9:15). Initially, Paul was sent out by the Holy Spirit to the Island of Cyprus with Barnabus, a native of the island (Acts 4:36; 13:4-5). Later, Paul and Barnabus went to Antioch in Pisidia where Paul was asked to speak in the Jewish synagogue (Acts 13:14-15). Paul’s intent was to share a word of encouragement with his fellow Jews, “but when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” (Acts 13:45-46).

The Jews’ attitude toward Paul caused him to leave Pisidia and travel farther into Asia on what is now thought of as his first missionary journey. Before he left Antioch, Paul preached the gospel to almost the whole city and we are told in Acts 13:48 that of the Gentiles, “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Paul’s success with the Gentile converts in Antioch of Pisidia was due to the word of encouragement that he shared with them from Isaiah 49:6. Paul told them:

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:47)

The fact that God wanted everyone to receive salvation (2 Peter 3:9) was a well-kept secret that the Jews didn’t want to get out (Romans 16:25). As long as Paul focused his good news on the Jews’ favored position with God (Acts 13:17-43), the Jewish people in Antioch were interested in hearing what he had to say. However, when Paul shifted his attention to the Gentiles and the world at large, the Jews “stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabus and drove them out of their district” (Acts 13:50).

Paul’s word of encouragement, which was meant for the Jews, but ended up turning them against him, was rooted in God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to raise them from the dead (Acts 26:6-8). Paul explained that God raising the dead was possible because through Christ, people were freed from the penalty of sin (Acts 13:39). The Greek word that is translated freed in Acts 13:39, dikaioo (dik-ah-yoˊ-o) is “spoken especially of the justification bestowed by God on men through Christ, in which he is said to regard and treat them as righteous, i.e. to absolve from the consequences of sin and admit to the enjoyment of the divine favor (Romans 3:26, 30; 4:5; 8:30, 33; Galatians 3:8)” (G1344).

Paul used what was likely a familiar passage from the prophecy of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:5) to jar the Jews into thinking about the word of encouragement that he was presenting to them. Paul reasoned with them, stating, “Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you” (Acts 13:41). Habakkuk’s prophecy went on to declare that the Chaldeans, “guilty men, whose own might is their God!,” (Habakkuk 1:11) were about to destroy Judah and Jerusalem. This message conveyed the fact that God didn’t need to save the Jews, he could give his gift of salvation to anyone he wanted to, even to the most undeserving among the godless Gentiles.

Acceptable to God

For thousands of years, the Jews thought being the chosen people of God meant that they would be the only ones that God would save through his Messiah. Jesus himself sent out his disciples to minister to the people with the instruction, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:5-6). In what initially seemed like an unusually harsh encounter with a Caananite women, Jesus made it clear that anyone who puts their faith in him is acceptable to God. Matthew 15:21-28 states:

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

The Caananite woman’s humble attitude toward Jesus enabled her to gain his affection and also demonstrated her belief that he was Israel’s Messiah. The woman’s statement, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” (Matthew 15:27) revealed that she understood God’s grace, that it was an undeserved gift that she had no right to claim for herself, but something that was accessible to anyone who was willing to seek it out.

The conversion of Paul opened the door for the gospel to be spread to the Gentile nations. The Lord Jesus Christ said of Paul, “he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). In spite of Paul being selected to take the gospel to the Gentiles, Peter was the one who was given the first opportunity to preach to a Gentile audience.

Peter had a vision from God that perplexed him, followed by a command from the Holy Spirit to go with three men who were looking for him (Acts 10:17-21). Peter didn’t hesitate to go with these men even though they told him they were taking him to see a leader of the Roman army (Acts 10:22). When they arrived at the centurion’s home, we are told in Acts 10:34-35, “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’” Peter’s insight into the purpose of his visit and the work that God wanted him to be a part of resulted in a major turning point for the spread of the gospel and the growth of the first century church. It was also an important first step in the launch of the Apostle Paul’s ministry.

Cornelius, the Gentile that Peter was sent to preach the gospel to, was described as “an upright and God-fearing man” (Acts 10:22). The Greek word that is translated upright, dikaios (dikˊ-ah-yos) is used “especially of those whose hearts are right with God” and is also “spoken in the highest and most perfect sense of God (Jn 17:25; Ro 3:26; 1 Jn 2:29)” (G1342). Dikaios is translated as righteous in Galatians 3:11 where it says, “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” From this statement we can infer that Cornelius was a man who lived by faith. Cornelius was also a God-fearing man. This meant that Cornelius worshipped God. Cornelius had an adoration of God that caused him to show God reverence, to stand in awe of him as a person (G5399).

Cornelius’ reputation as an upright and God-fearing man made him a likely candidate to receive the kingdom of God, but it wasn’t enough to save him. Cornelius still had to go through the process of being saved in order for him to have eternal life. Peter told Cornelius about who Jesus was and what he did on the cross so that Cornelius could believe and be saved. Peter concluded with the statement, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (10:43). We are told in Acts 10:44, “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.” The Holy Spirit’s presence in Cornelius and the others who heard Peter’s message was tangible evidence that they were not only acceptable to God but had become members of his family. “Many believers received the Holy Spirit at the same time, which is similar to what had happened previously at Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-4) and Samaria (Acts 8:14-17)…The special manifestation of the Holy Spirit that allowed these Gentiles to speak in tongues proved that God had given them the same ‘gift’ (Acts 10:45) as the Jews” (note on Acts 10:44-48).

Living Water

Ezekiel’s prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem encouraged the Jewish exiles because it included details about God’s future blessing on Israel. One of the prominent aspects of God’s future blessing was a new temple and the restoration of daily sacrifices. The reason Ezekiel’s prophecy was likely misunderstood was because the temple in his vision was intended for the millennial reign of Christ, a future event that will take place after God’s judgment of the world during the great tribulation.

The new temple that Ezekiel saw in his vision had many of the same characteristics as the old temple except for the presence of a person referred to as the prince (Ezekiel 44:3) and water flowing from the temple that became a river that could not be passed through (Ezekiel 47:5). There is no additional information about the prince associated with the temple anywhere else in Scripture, so it makes sense that there would be confusion about his role and the timing of his entry on the scene. As for the river that flowed from the temple, it is referred to as the river of the water of life in Revelation 22:1 and Jesus told John, “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:6-7).

Jesus talked about the spring of the water of life during his ministry on earth. In a conversation he had with a woman of Samaria, Jesus said anyone who drank living water would never be thirsty again (John 4:13). Jesus met the Samaritan woman at a well where she was drawing water. John 4:7 tells us the conversation started with Jesus asking the woman for a drink. John 4:9-14 states:

The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus told the Samaritan woman that if she would have asked him, he would have given her living water (John 4:10). The connection Jesus made between the spring of water and eternal life (John 4:14) indicated that he was offering the Samaritan woman the gift of salvation, to be born again (The Samaritan Woman at the Well, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 1202).

John elaborated on Jesus’ teaching about living water in John 7:37-39. In this passage, John explained that the Holy Spirit was the living water that Jesus promised to those who believed in him. John said, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). Jesus said whoever believed in him would have a river of living water flowing out of his heart (John 7:38). In terms of receiving the Holy Spirit, that meant believing in Jesus was the only thing that was necessary for a person to be saved.

Ezekiel’s vision of the water flowing from the temple provided some insight into the intended effects of believers being filled with the Holy Spirit. In his vision, Ezekiel saw that the farther the water flowed, the deeper it became. When believers walk with the Lord, the presence of the Holy Spirit should be more and more evident over time. In Ezekiel’s vision, the water emptied into the Dead Sea and purified it. Walking with the Lord should result in areas of the believer’s life that are broken (health, finances, relationships) being restored to a healthy state. The fruit trees on the banks of the river in Ezekiel’s vision represented the fruit of the Spirit which should be a constant source of spiritual nourishment to people around us. The living water in Ezekiel’s vision not only made the waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure (Ezekiel 47:8), wherever the water of the river flowed, life flourished (Ezekiel 37:9). This is a picture of believers having a positive influence on the people around us. Not only should the believer’s life be changing for the better as she walks with the Lord, but other people’s lives should be too.

The name of Jesus

Peter and John’s arrest after healing a man who was unable to walk resulted in them being interrogated by all who were of the high-priestly family in Jerusalem. It says in Acts 4:7, “And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?” The religious leaders already knew the answer to this question (Acts 4:2). The reason why the leaders asked Peter and John what name they used to perform the miracle was to see whether or not they were willing to associate themselves with Jesus and risk being punished by them as he was. Luke tells us that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when he answered them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well” (Acts 4:8-10).

Peter’s boldness was a remarkable contrast to his earlier denial of the Lord (Luke 22:54-62). The filling of the Holy Spirit enabled Peter to say things that he might otherwise have held back because of fear. It says in Acts 4:13 that, “when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” The religious leaders saw a similarity in the way Peter and John were behaving and the way Jesus behaved when he was on trial. Peter and John were uneducated, common men. The only thing that set these men apart and made them different than they were before was the filling of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence in their hearts.

Peter’s statement about Jesus was a clear-cut declaration of the religious leaders’ rejection of Israel’s Messiah. Peter said, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12). Peter indicated that the name of Jesus is connected with people being saved and that there is no other name by which we must be saved. Name is “used to imply authority, e.g., to come or to do something in or by the name of someone, meaning using his name; as his messenger, envoy, representative; by his authority, with his sanction” (G3686). When Peter said there was no other name by which we must be saved, he was saying that there was no other authority for a person’s sins to be forgiven, and eternal life to be granted to him besides the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was a very controversial and dangerous statement for Peter to make, given that Jesus had been condemned and crucified by the men he was speaking to.

The religious leaders were reluctant to challenge Peter’s declaration about them because the man who was healed was standing right in front of them. They asked themselves, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name” (Acts 4;16-17). The religious leaders thought they could control the situation by preventing Peter and John from using the name of Jesus. “But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). The reality of what had happened was too much for Peter and John to contain.

After they heard about what had happened with the religious leaders, the friends of Peter and John prayed for the same boldness that they had displayed (Acts 4:24-30). At the conclusion, Luke tells us, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). The boldness of these believers was characteristic of a frank and fearless mind (G3954). They were so confident in the name of Jesus that they spoke freely about having a relationship with Christ.

Reaping what we sow

Paul’s letter to the Galatians was intended to establish the true means of salvation and to make it clear to everyone that faith in Jesus Christ is the only basis for having a relationship with God. Paul told the Galatians, who were some of the first Gentiles that were converted to Christianity, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:15-16). Justification by faith, one of the key doctrines of the early church, was essential for separating Christianity from Judaism, the belief system of the Jews.

Paul concluded his letter to the Galatians with an important lesson about being led by the Spirit. Paul argued that the freedom believers have to live their lives without following the Mosaic Law does not mean that they have no obligation to do what God wants them to. Paul encouraged believers to keep in step with the Spirit so that they do not fulfill the desires of the flesh because “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). Paul then reminded the Galatians of a principle that was demonstrated over and over again by the nation of Israel in their relationship with God. Paul warned the Galatians:

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8, NLT)

Sowing and reaping was a common analogy that Jesus used in his messages about the kingdom of heaven. In his parable of the sower, Jesus identified several obstacles to sowing to the Spirit (Matthew 13:18-22). Jesus said the key to successfully sowing to the Spirit is “good soil” (Matthew 13:23) or rather, a heart that is receptive to receiving the truth of God’s word. “Jesus spoke in parables to explain spiritual truths, but those who had already rejected him did not have divinely enlightened minds with which to perceive those truths, and no amount of explanation would make them understand (1 Cor 2:14). They could watch and hear Jesus with their physical eyes and ears, but they were not capable of understanding the truth in their hearts because they had rejected him (2 Cor 4:3, 4)…People do not hear and see because their hearts are full of wickedness, consequently, they fail to understand the truth that has been given them. They are so opposed to God’s message that they harden themselves against it, lest they should understand it and ask forgiveness of God. Once they reject Jesus they also reject the possibility of understanding the parables that Jesus told (Isa. 55:6-8)” (note on Matthew 13:10-17).

King Ahab and his wife Jezebel are examples of people who reaped what they sowed in the Old Testament even though they thought they could get away with ignoring God’s word (2 Kings 9-10). King Ahab was killed in battle and Jezebel was “thrown from a window, trampled by horses and eaten by dogs” (2 Kings 9:30-37). “God ensures we receive our just desserts. Spiritual growth, therefore, means learning to think about where our actions will lead and acting accordingly” (What Goes Around Comes Around, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 359). Paul described this process as walking by the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, and also living by the Spirit. The idea that Paul was trying to convey was one of dependence, the believer’s need for the Holy Spirit to show him which pathway to take.

Paul said believers should not “grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). The Greek words Paul used that are translated due season, idios (idˊ-ee-os) kairos (kahee-rosˊ) denote a personal or private appointment, “equivalent to a fixed and definite time or season” (G2450) “pertaining to self, i.e. one’s own” (G2398). This means that each individual person will have their own time or season for harvesting what they have planted. For those who have rejected Jesus, that time may not come until after the person dies, when he or she stands before the Lord at the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). For those who have sown to the Spirit, they will reap the fruit of the Spirit during their lifetime (Galatians 5:22-23) and eternal life afterward (Galatians 6:8). The key to getting there is not giving up. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Jesus came to save sinners

The Apostle Paul was brutally honest whenever he shared his testimony about his conversion to Christ. Luke, a doctor who cared for Paul in the later years of his ministry, recorded many of the details of Paul’s story in the book of Acts. Luke tells us that Paul, who was formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, stood by approving of the execution of Stephen, the first martyr of the church (Acts 8:1). Luke said, “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:1-3).

Luke’s account of Paul’s dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus is recorded in Acts chapter 9. Luke began by stating that Paul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples when he headed toward Damascus where he planned to round up more Christians. Luke went on to say:

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Later in the book of Acts, Luke recorded Paul sharing his testimony with some people in Jerusalem. In the later account, Luke used a different phrase to convey Jesus’ instruction to Paul. Luke said, “you will be told all that is appointed for you to do” (Luke 22:10). The word appointed refers to Paul being ordained by God for his ministry of preaching the gospel.

Paul’s pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus were intended to capture the essence of this ministry, what you might call Paul’s lessons learned for the men he expected to take over his work after he was executed. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul talked about false teachers who did not understand the gospel’s core message, which was, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul began explaining this important doctrine to Timothy using himself as an example of someone who desperately needed to be saved. Paul told Timothy, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:12-14).

Paul went on to explain that the reason Jesus saved him was so that he could make him an example for others who might think they don’t need or deserve the gift of salvation. Paul said, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Tomothy 1:15-17).

Paul described himself as the foremost of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15-16). What Paul meant by foremost was that he outranked all other sinners as an enemy of Jesus, as an opponent of Christ’s gospel. It wasn’t until he was converted on the road to Damascus that Paul realized he was completely wrong about everything that he had believed about Jesus. Paul said afterward that he had been acting “ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). Paul was living in a state of unbelief before he embraced the gospel (G570). Paul credited the grace of our Lord overflowing for him with faith and love as being the catalyst for his miraculous transformation.

A mystery revealed

God’s promise to give Abraham the land of Canaan forever (Genesis 13:15) implied that his ownership would extend beyond this temporal sphere. God did not explain to Abraham how his promise would be fulfilled, but we are told in Hebrews 11:19 that Abraham believed God was able to raise people from the dead, implying that life after death and eternal life were a part of God’s plan for the nation of Israel.

The fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham became clearer after the people of Israel began to occupy the land of Canaan. During the reign of King David, God said he would raise up one of David’s offspring, a physical heir to David’s throne who would establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:13). Second Samuel 7:8-16 “is both an explanation and a clarification of God’s promise to Abraham. It represents an unconditional promise to David that he would be the father of an everlasting kingdom (v. 16)” (note on 2 Samuel 7:4-16), but it does not specifically state how this was going to be accomplished.

Things began to unravel for the nation of Israel when the northern kingdom was sent into exile because of idolatry. It says in 2 Kings 17:21-23, “When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit great sin. The people of Israel walked in all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Isreal out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.” The Assyrians resettled Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, with “people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim” (2 Kings 17:24).

The prophet Jeremiah warned the people of the southern kingdom about the impending disaster for Jerusalem, but no one believed him. When Jeremiah announced, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words” (Jeremiah 19:15), it says in Jeremiah 20:1-6:

Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”

Jerusalem was captured just as Jeremiah predicted (2 Kings 24:10-17). The king of Judah was taken prisoner, and it says in 2 Kings 24:14 that Nebuchadnezzar “carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.”

Among the people that were taken captive were four youths: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; who were both of the royal family and of the nobility that were “of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:3-4). “Scholars suggest three possible reasons for taking the youths of nobility and royal family into captivity: (1) to hold them as hostages, thereby ensuring the loyalty of their families; (2) to develop men who already had some education to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s rapidly expanding bureaucracy; (3) and to indoctrinate them with Babylonian ideals in the hope of employing them as liaisons between Babylon and the province of Judea” (note on Daniel 1:4, 5).

Daniel 1:8 tells us that “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.” And it also says of Daniel and his companions in Daniel 1:20 that, “in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.” God used this situation to reveal mysteries about his plan for the nation of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and threatened his magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers, “if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your house shall be laid in ruins” (Daniel 2:5), Daniel went to his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah “and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:18).

Daniel believed that God could reveal King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him and also provide him with an interpretation of the dream. The fact that Daniel and his companions were in exile in Babylon didn’t seem to affect Daniel’s faith or his reliance upon God for deliverance from King Nebuchadnezzar’s threat of death. The Aramaic word that is translated seek conveys the idea of praying to God or seeking out a person, asking a person for something (A1156). Daniel’s reliance upon God was based on his belief that God was compassionate and still had affection for his chosen people.

It says in Daniel 2:19 that the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. In other words, Daniel received a direct revelation from God, similar to the one John received and recorded in his book of Revelation. The Aramaic word that is translated vision signifies a literal sense of sight, the observation of something with the eye. Daniel 2:31 suggests that Daniel saw the same thing in his vision of the night that Nebuchadnezzar did in his dream. When Daniel interpreted the dream, he told Nebuchadnezzar, “You saw…As you looked…” (Daniel 2:31-35).

The mystery that was revealed through Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had to do with four world empires that would lead to a kingdom being set up by God that would never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44). Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom was the first of the four world empires and that the final kingdom would “break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (Daniel 2:44-45).

King Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction to the mystery being revealed to him showed that he recognized God was more powerful than the gods whom he worshiped in Babylon (note on Daniel 2:46, 47). Daniel 2:46-47 states, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, ‘Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.’” “The king bowed before Daniel in recognition that Daniel was the servant of the true God” (note on Daniel 2:46, 47). In spite of the king’s recognition that Daniel was a servant of the true God, Nebuchadnezzar was not yet willing to submit himself to God’s authority (Daniel 3).

God is faithful

Knowing you are lost is an important first step in the process of salvation. Without an awareness that you are separated from God, you will not seek a remedy to the situation. “God does not want to have to bring hardships into peoples lives, but he may do so in order to teach, convict, and bring them into a right relationship with him” (note on Lamentations 3:33). It is often through suffering that our need for salvation becomes most evident to us. That is why God uses suffering to bring us to the point where we realize we need to get right with him.

Jeremiah was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem. In his book of Lamentations, “Jeremiah alternates between accounts of the horrible aftermath of the destruction of the city and the confessions of the people’s deep sins, and then to the appeals to God for mercy” (Introduction to Lamentations). Jeremiah recounted, “My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city. They cry to their mothers, ‘Where is bread and wine?’ as they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mother’s bosom” (Lamentations 2:11-12).

Jeremiah encouraged the Jews to cry out to God for help. Jeremiah urged them, “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street” (Lamentations 2:19). The phrase pour out your heart refers to a prayer that expresses dependence upon God (H8210). Jeremiah wanted the people to admit that they needed God to rescue them from their circumstances.

Jeremiah suffered along with the rest of the people of Judah. Jeremiah said, “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long” (Lamentations 3:1-3). Jeremiah knew that God was sovereign over the events that were taking place but still expressed his confusion over the fact that God had allowed the suffering (note on Jeremiah 3:1-20). Jeremiah lamented, “He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD” (Lamentations 3:16-18).

In Jeremiah’s darkest moment, when his endurance was gone and there was nothing good left for him to hope for, Jeremiah turned his attention toward God. Lamentations 3:21-27 states:

But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bear
    the yoke in his youth.

Jeremiah’s statement “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” refers to a person submitting himself to God. Jeremiah linked this to receiving salvation from the LORD. Jesus was also talking about submission to God in the context of salvation when told his followers, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Jeremiah concluded that the LORD would not cast off his chosen people forever (Lamentations 3:31). God told Jeremiah, “I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them” (Jeremiah 32:37-40). The New Covenant was instituted the night before Jesus’s crucifixion during the Passover feast. It says in Matthew 26:27-28 that Jesus took a cup, and after he had given thanks he gave it to his twelve disciples, stating, “Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

God’s compassion is “a deep kindly sympathy and sorrow felt for another who has been struck with affliction or misfortune accompanied with a desire to relieve the suffering” (H7355). Jeremiah said the LORD would not cast off forever, “but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love” (Lamentations 3:31-32). The abundance of God’s steadfast love means that his kindness toward us has no bounds, it is a countless amount or something that can be multiplied by the myriad, a historical unit of ten thousand (H7230/7231). Paul said in Romans 5:8 that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Jesus explained to the religious leader Nicodemus that God’s love was so abundant that “he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and then, Jesus said to his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Jeremiah’s account of his own suffering included the solution that all of us need when we become aware of our lost state. Jeremiah said, “I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me; water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost'” (Lamentations 3:52-54). The Hebrew word that is translated lost, gazar (gaw-zarˊ) has to do with separation (H1504), and in this instance refers specifically to Jeremiah’s separation from God in the sense of him not having received salvation. Jeremiah said, “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ You came near when I called on you, you said, ‘Do not fear!’ You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life” (Lamentations 3:55-58).

Being made perfect

Jesus told his followers that they “must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), but he didn’t teach them how to achieve perfection. When a rich young man asked him what good deed he must do to have eternal life, Jesus’ response indicated that keeping the Ten Commandments wasn’t enough. Jesus said, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me” (Matthew 19:17-21). Selling your possessions and giving to the poor might not be that difficult for some people, but for the rich young man it went against everything he had been doing to live what he thought was a perfect life. It says in Matthew 19:22, “When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great wealth.”

Ephesians 4:13 tells us that perfection is about reaching spiritual maturity and that the standard we will be measured against is “the stature of the fullness of Christ.” A description of spiritual maturity can be found in Hebrews 5:14 where it says, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” The Greek word that is translated trained, gumnazo (goom-nadˊ-zo) is translated “exercised” in the King James Version of the Bible. Gumnazo also appears in Hebrews 12:11, which states, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasurable, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Discipline is one of the key elements of being made perfect. Hebrews 12:7-8 explains that God is treating us as his children when he disciplines us and that we should see discipline as a normal part of Christian living.

Hebrews 5:8 tells that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered.” Jesus experienced excruciating pain while he was dying on the cross. It was not something that he wanted to do. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed that he would not have to go through with it. Matthew tells us, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Doing his Father’s will was of supreme importance to Jesus. He told his disciples, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). Jesus never waivered in his commitment to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). It says in Hebrews 4:15 that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews 5:10 indicates that Jesus was designated by God as “a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.” Melchizedek met Abraham when he was returning from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him (Genesis 14:17). Abraham “gave Melchizedek a tithe because, as priest of God Most High, Melchizedek was a representative of God” (note on Genesis 14:18-20). Hebrews 7:3 tells us that Melchizedek “is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.” Because of the resemblance of Melchizedek to Christ, the brief encounter between he and Abraham was the foundation of messianic prophecy (Psalm 110:4, cf. Hebrews 5:6, 10; 7:1-28).

The end result of Jesus being made perfect was that he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Hebrews 5:9). Salvation in the Christian sense “is deliverance from sin and its spiritual consequences and admission to eternal life with blessedness in the kingdom of Christ” (G4991). Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that the will of God is your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). The Greek word that is translated sanctification, hagiasmos (hag-ee-as-mosˊ) “refers not only to the activity of the Holy Spirit in setting man apart unto salvation and transferring him into the ranks of the redeemed, but also to enabling him to be holy even as God is holy (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

It says in Hebrews 10:14 that by a single offering Jesus “has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Even though it might seem like you are still in the process of being made perfect, this Scripture indicates that Jesus’ death on the cross made you perfect for all time. When Jesus was confronted by some Pharisees who told him Herod was going to kill him, Jesus responded with a remark about being made perfect. Jesus said to them, “Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the third day I finish my course” (Luke 13:32). Paul echoed Jesus’ statement, not long before he was martyred. Paul told Timothy in his last letter to him, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, KJSB). Keeping the faith and being made perfect go hand in hand because you cannot be partially saved, either you are, or you aren’t. Paul said, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). The end result, being made perfect, doesn’t depend on us, it depends on Christ’s finished work on the cross.

Submission to God

Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that it was Adam’s disobedience that caused sin and death to come into the world (Romans 5:12). Paul indicated that Adam “was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14). What Paul meant by a type of the one who was to come was that Adam showed us by example how substitution works in God’s plan of salvation. Paul stated, “Therefore, as one trespassled to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousnessleads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19). Jesus’ obedience was in a sense undoing the result of Adam’s disobedience. Obedience requires compliance or submission to the authority of another person (G5218). Jesus told his followers that he came down from heaven not to do his own will, but the will of his Father and then, said the will of his Father was “that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life” (John 6:38-40).

Jesus’ submission to God involved him humbling himself to the point that he was willing to do something that no one else could, die for the sins of the world. Paul talked about Jesus’ example of humility in his letter to the Philippians. Paul said that believers should:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:3-11)

Jesus was looking to the interests of others when he became obedient to the point of death. Jesus explained his motive for doing this when he told his disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Jesus never waivered in his commitment to submit himself to his Father’s will, but on the night before his death, Jesus asked God to spare him from the suffering that was ahead. Matthew tells us, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’ And he came to his disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, ‘So could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ And again he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again” (Matthew 26:39-44). Even though Jesus was human, he was not subject to the same human nature that caused his disciples to fall asleep instead of praying for him (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus exists as “one person with two distinct natures, fully divine, and fully human without any mixture of the two” (The Doctrine of Jesus Christ, The Standards of Doctrine of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors). Hebrews 4:15 states, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus’ perfect submission to God resulted in his Father putting everything in subjection to him. Hebrews 2:7-8 states, “You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control.” The fact that at a predetermined point in the future nothing will be outside of Jesus’ control is why “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus partook of the same things that all humans do so “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Submission to God as opposed to lifelong slavery to the devil due to fear of death is a choice that each individual must make. Paul encouraged people to accept God’s free gift of salvation because it releases them from the law of sin and death (Romans 7:1-6). Paul stated, “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:15-17).