____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 30, 2000 ____________________________________________________ The Land of Jesus The Wilderness of Judea by Stan Cox It is located west of the Dead Sea in Judah. It is mountainous. It is almost completely devoid of any vegetation. It boasts an annual rainfall of less than 2 inches. Still, it is the home of nomadic Bedouin families whose lifestyles remain almost unchanged over several thousand years. It is perhaps the most striking terrestrial feature of this small, but geographically varied land. It is the Wilderness of Judea. Seeing the land brings to sharp focus various events which transpired in Bible history. From the wanderings of the Israelites in similar rugged terrain, to the temptation of Jesus before he began his public ministry, the Wilderness holds a position of drama in Bible history. During a trip to Israel in March of 1999, I had opportunity to travel by bus from Jerusalem, along the Dead Sea, all the way south to Massada. That day I had the opportunity to put my hand in the mineral saturated water of the Dead Sea. I ascended via cable car the face of the mountain upon which the ruins of Herod's great fortress (Massada) sits. I had opportunity to see the caves of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were stored by the sect of the Essenes, and eventually discovered (according to the most reliable sources) by a Bedouin shepherd boy in the 1940's. I saw the ruins of Jericho, and traversed the ``Jericho Road'' on the way back to Jerusalem. All of these places impressed me deeply. However, I think the most impressive aspect of that day was the miles and miles of unending desolation that we traversed by bus. I looked at that landscape, and was able to understand better what our Lord must have gone through as He ``was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil'' (Matthew 4:1). ``In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, `Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: `The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ``Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.''' And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey'' (Matthew 3:2-4). John the Baptist was a rugged and severe man. His personal appearance and demeanor mirrored that of the land from which he came. Much like the prophets of old, his was a message of repentance. When he saw the insincere Pharisees and Sadducees approach, he did not in any way spare their feelings as he called them to repentance. He said, ``Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire'' (Matthew 3:4-12). His example serves us well as we attempt to confront the leaven of false teaching and hypocrisy in our time. The wilderness of Judea was the site of Jesus' temptation by the Devil. Matthew records this in chapter four, verses 1-11, ``Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, `If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.' But He answered and said, `It is written, ``Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.''' Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, `If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ``He shall give His angels charge over you,'' and, ``In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.''' Jesus said to him, `It is written again, ``You shall not tempt the LORD your God.''' Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, `All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, `Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ``You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.''' Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.'' Jesus must have suffered immensely during his fast. Not only was He deprived of food...for 40 days and 40 nights, but He also wandered about, on foot, in some of the most desolate and harsh country on earth. And yet, He resisted the devil. He serves as our perfect example, and a worthy sacrifice for sin. ``For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need'' (Hebrews 4:15-16). The entire land of Israel is beautiful. Each area of the country arrests your attention in its own way. You have the coastal towns, which overlook the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. You have the verdant hills of Galilee. You have Mt. Hermon, and the volcanic soil of the North, contrasted with the Negev desert to the South. You have the pure headwaters of the Jordan, issuing from springs at Caesarea Philippi, and you have the Dead Sea, 1,400 ft. below sea level, and so saturated with salt, potash, magnesium, calcium chlorides and bromide (the concentration is 25% solids, in contrast to sea water at 5%) that it is unable to sustain any life whatsoever. Even this lifeless sea is strikingly beautiful, and is famous for the medicinal qualities of its water. Unfortunately, the country is spoiled by tourism. This is a bit of a ``Catch-22,'' for as you go from place to place you find yourself wanting everyone else to go away so that you can be alone. Alone at the Garden Tomb, alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, alone in the little village of Capernaum. In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the crowds in Jerusalem, however, you can stand at the Northern Palace Villa atop Massada, look out at the miles of desolate Wilderness, and you can visualize the loneliness and suffering of our Lord as His great war with the Devil was fought and won. ``Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.'' -- Via Watchman Magazine, November 1999 ___________________________________________ God Wants People! by Robert F. Turner Jehovah called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying concerning the children of Israel, ''...if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples'' (EXO. 19:3-6). And in DEU. 7:6-f, ``For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.'' And when Hosea prophesied that Gentiles would be acceptable to God, he said, ''...and I will say to them that were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God'' (HOS. 2:23; ROM. 9:25). God wants people!! His creatures, made in His image, have sinned and turned from Him. The Father gave His Son to die on the cross because He loved us, and wants us to return to the fold. He does not want our money. He does not need anything ``seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things'' (ACT. 17:25). But He wants us because He loves us -- does not want to leave us lost in sin (JOH. 3:16). Are we grown so calloused we cannot be moved by such an unselfish love? Christ died for people. ``But God commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us'' (ROM. 5:8). The whole plan of salvation, as respects us, is God's plan to change people. Our hearts are changed by faith, (ACT. 15:9) as we come to put our trust in Him alone. In repentance we turn from our sins (MAT. 21:28-f) to do the Master's bidding. In baptism, the guilt of the old life is removed, and we rise to walk in a new life (ACT. 2:38; ROM. 6:1-4). We become new creatures in Christ (2CO. 5:14-17) and no longer walk the ways of the flesh. It is of such people that Peter writes: ``Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy'' (1PE. 2:9-10). God wants a people, to dwell in them. Christ says, ``If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him'' (JOH. 14:23). In HEB. 8:10 the Lord says, ``I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.'' God wants a people, by whom He may be glorified (ROM. 15:6-7). God wants a people to save eternally. ``He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God'' (REV. 21:3). We will never grasp the true significance of the scheme of redemption until we make it a very personal matter; until, in the words of the old spiritual, ``it's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer!'' God doesn't want a fine church building! Usually that is something we want. God doesn't want great numbers, for numbers sake. God wants a people -- who are truly his own. -- Via Plain Talk, February 1967 ___________________________________________ Comforted Mourning by Jim R. Everett Laughter, while it is briefly enjoyed, is good medicine for the soul but it teaches no real lessons. When the wise man said, ``It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart'' (Ecclesiastes 7:2), he was not teaching a morbid, pessimistic outlook on life. Rather, he was trying to convey the truth that one should view life seriously and contemplate its inevitable end. He also recognizes that there is an appropriate time to laugh as there is an appropriate time to weep (Ecclesiastes 3:4). But what did Jesus mean when He said, ``Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted'' (Matthew 5:4)? Is there some practical, intrinsic value in mourning, in going about downcast? Is He talking about the ``funeral nut'' who gets his kicks from seeing people cry? No. In fact a person who walks about life downtrodden and mournful over all the bad things is not only totally unproductive, he is also destructive. The beatitudes actually stress attitudes which are prerequisites to entrance into the kingdom. In this instance those who mourn are assured that they will be comforted. Mourn? For what? Mourn for sin! As only those who recognize themselves as ``poor in spirit'' (i.e., poverty-stricken before God) can see their dependence on God, only those who truly are grieved by their sins can be comforted by God. It is only when we come to ourselves and recognize that we have sinned against heaven, that we will seek heaven's forgiveness. Psalms 51 expresses David's deep grief over his sin against God. He evidently wrote it after Nathan told him the story about the little ewe lamb and said, ``Thou art the man'' (2 Samuel 11-12). The impact of that consciousness caused David to grieve deeply for his sin. When Paul wrote the first epistle to Corinth, he rebuked them and the man living in incest (1 Corinthians 5:1-ff). Evidently, the needed reproving accomplished the necessary change so that when he wrote the second epistle he said, ``Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner...For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death'' (2 Corinthians 7:9, 10). Only those who truly mourn for their sins can repent. Because God wants men to be with Him, He commands all men everywhere to mourn for their sins and repent. Jesus is actually saying in this beatitude that ONLY those who mourn will be comforted. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________