Jesus Lost

By Paul Earnhart

When Jesus was twelve years old, His parents took him to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.  These journeys to Jerusalem must have been festive occasions.  All devout Jews made the journey.  A large company would set out from each village - friends, acquaintances and families travelling together, walking along the road visiting as they went.  It is easy to imagine older people walking together while the younger folks and children walked with those their own age.

After spending perhaps a week in Jerusalem, the people began the long walk back to Nazareth.  Historians tell us that it was common for worshipers as they were leaving Jerusalem to make one more visit to the temple.  And it is likely that the 12-year-old Jesus became so deeply interested in what was going on there that He did not even know when His parents left.  Luke 2:43 tells us that the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of it.  And verse 44 tells us that they did not even miss Him until nightfall.  When they finally found Jesus back in Jerusalem three days later, they asked, "Son, why have You treated us this way?" (Luke 2:48)  But the problem was not with Jesus, it was with them.

Why was Jesus lost?  It was not that He was rebellious; it was not that His parents were wicked or selfish.  Rather, they were careless; Luke 2:44 tells us that they supposed He was with their relatives and friends.

Millions of children are being lost today - spiritually.  It is not that they are rebellious, or necessarily that their parents are wicked or selfish.  It is just that parents are careless about the religious training of their children.  Perhaps they think that someone else is taking care of that - maybe friends or acquaintances.  But that responsibility is placed directly on parents, and they cannot escape it.  Eph 6:4 says to parents: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

The Parents of Jesus Went to Worship

By Paul Earnhart

Jesus was the Son of God, but He was entrusted to earthly parents when he came to live on the earth.  Parents can learn much by observing Joseph and Mary, the two individuals with whom God entrusted his Son.

Luke 2:41 tells us that His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.  Going to Jerusalem each year was not easy for them. It involved a journey of 50 miles or more each way, a journey which they most likely made on foot. This meant that they had to abandon their occupation and lose the income for more than a week. Then they had to go to the extra expense of spending a week or two away from home. The Law required it, so they did it.

And that was only one of three feasts which the Law required them to observe in Jerusalem. We may be sure that if the parents of Jesus went for one, they went for all.  Such obedience was a good example for Jesus.  But they were not content simply to give Jesus a good example.  They took Jesus with them.  In Luke 2:42-52, we read about one of those journeys which they made when Jesus was 12 years old.

Some parents do not involve their children in religious activities.  They say, "We will just wait until our children are old enough to decide for themselves what they want to do about religion." Such parents do not let the children decide what they will do about going to school or about coming home at night, but they want to let them decide about religion. God did not entrust His son to parents who reasoned that way.  Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them.  And in Jerusalem he demonstrated a knowledge of the scriptures which indicated that those parents had had Him in weekly synagogue worship and had taught Him God’s word even at home.

Are you that kind of parent? Do you take your children to worship faithfully?  Do you teach them God's word in your home?

The Waiting World

By Paul Earnhart

Galatians 4:4 says that “When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman."  In many ways, the world was ready for the coming of Jesus.  The wickedness of the Gentile world had reached the ultimate.  Without a law from God, they had sunk lower and lower into sin and violence.  Intelligent people realized that their gods were no gods and that there was no influence in the world that could rescue mankind from its hopeless condition.

The Jews had a law from God, but they had not kept it.  They had substituted their own traditions for the law of God and substituted tradition keeping for true morality and piety.  It was at this point that God sent His son into the world.  Poor Jewish shepherds were informed of His birth and came to see Him the night He was born.  An aged man by the name of Simeon had been looking for the coming Messiah and had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the hope of Israel.  He was filled with joy when Mary brought the baby Jesus to Jerusalem where Simeon lived.  Though King Herod tried to kill him, there were other Jews who rejoiced in His coming.  And Gentiles were also represented.  The wise men who came from the East were Gentiles.  They saw His star in the East and came to worship Him.

Within a few years the influence of that infant child had been felt throughout the world and millions had been converted from sinners to saints. 

Once again, sin reigns in our world.  We have probably not declined so far as the Gentiles had in the ancient world.  But we are fast moving in that direction.  Even religion has deteriorated into a mere formality wlth many people.  There is little genuine heart and life involvement.

Jesus is still the answer – the hope of the world.  Regardless of the direction others may take, we can worship Jesus as did the shepherds and wise men of ancient times.  He is the way for us to escape sin and its consequences.

Born To Be King

By Paul Earnhart

Jesus was born to be King.  He was of royal blood, a direct descendant of David. This is the point being made in that long list of names you will find in the first chapter of Matthew and in the third chapter of Luke.

When the angel appeared to Mary, and foretold the birth of Jesus, he added: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David: and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:32,33).

When the wise men came seeking Him, they asked for Him who was born king of the Jews. They must have expected Him to be a political king reigning over an earthIy kingdom, for they made the inquiry in Jerusalem, the political center of Judaism. But Jesus was not there.

Herod, who was reigning as a Roman king, was greatly disturbed by the thought of one being born to be king of the Jews. He wanted no rival for his throne, and he began immediately to seek for Jesus to kill Him. When he did not find Him, he ordered the death of all baby boys in the area of Bethlehem.

Both the wise men and Herod were mistaken about the kind of King that Jesus would be. In fact, most of the Jewish nation were mistaken about that. Jesus spent much of His ministry trying to convince the people that He did not come to overthrow the Roman government and set up an earthly throne in Jerusalem. He came to be a spiritual king, reigning over spiritual Israel.

Jesus is reigning today over spiritual Israel. After His resurrection He boldly declared: " All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Mt 28:19) . One who has all authority is a king. In Col. 1:13, speaking for all Christians, Paul writes that God delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son."

Don't make the mistake of Herod. Don't walt for Jesus to come back to set up an earthly kingdom. Accept His authority now and leave the domain of darkness to be a citizen of the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Humility

By Larry Coffey

A few weeks ago, a friend told me about a man she knew who had decided he no longer wanted to undergo kidney dialysis on which his life depended. As a result, he died in less than 24 hours. She further stated he had instructed his family to have Frank Sinatra’s popular song, “My Way,” played at his funeral services. That song always makes me think about humility, or the lack thereof.

The lyrics of the first stanza of that song are as follows:

“And now the end is here

 And so I face that final curtain

 My friend I’ll make it clear

 I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain

 I’ve lived a life that’s full

 I traveled each and every highway

 And more, much more

 I did it, I did it my way”

There are three more stanzas to the song all of which end with “I did it my way.”

A number of themes are found in the Bible such as faith, love, obedience, and others which include humility. The Bible clearly teaches no one can please God who is not humble in spirit. We see many Bible examples of those who were not humble, those who did it their way. In Ex. 5:2, Pharoah says, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, l will not let Israel go.”  God said to Pharoah, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” (Ex. 10:3) We know how that ended for Pharoah.

Nebuchadnezzar was the great king of Babylon. He rejected Daniel’s advice and said in Daniel 4:30, “Is this not the great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” He did it his way. While he was speaking, the kingdom was taken from him and he ended up in the fields eating grass. After learning his lesson, his kingdom was restored and his speech changed as recorded in Dan. 4:37, “I praise and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just, and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” In Acts 12, we have King Herod receiving praise and being exalted in pride, and he was eaten by worms and died.

The biggest threat to our efforts to be humble is success. It is hard for the Super Bowl winner not to think how great he is. Or, the CEO of a large corporation not thinking the success of the company is due to his unique skills. However, it is not limited to these kinds of successes. I have known gospel preachers who were sought out for gospel meetings across the country and being told what wonderful preachers they were, to allow that success to affect their humility. Dee Bowman told a story about a preacher friend. He said they were talking on the phone on a Monday and he asked how services had gone where the preacher spoke on Sunday. The preacher said great. He said it was probably the best lesson he had ever preached. When Dee asked the topic, the preacher said “Humility.” I suspect Dee was jesting. I do well remember Gerry Sandusky when receiving compliments for his preaching, always deflected the comments about himself by responding, “Isn’t God great?”

No one is exempt from the temptation to think highly of themselves. We all have degrees of success and it is easy to start taking credit for the abilities and opportunities God has given us. No matter what we may achieve, it is God that needs to be thanked. God said in Is. 57:15, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.”  Is. 2:11 says, “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

Of course, our best example of humility is Jesus. In Mt. 11:29, he said he was meek and lowly in heart. In John 13, he washed the disciples’ feet. In Phil. 2:8 we read, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He said in Mt. 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

We must remember it is not “my way” that is important. Rather, it is God’s way to which we must humble ourselves and follow.