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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" (Matt. 28:19-20).
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March 11, 2018
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Contents:
1) Bible Prophecy (4) (Tom Edwards)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
Bible Prophecy (4)
Tom Edwards
Knowing that it was His Father’s will to make an atonement for sin
by death, Jesus did not try to defend Himself when before the
authorities in the three Jewish and three Roman “trials.”
This, of course, had also been prophesied seven centuries prior,
when Isaiah foretold the following about the Christ in Isaiah 53:7:
“He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So he did not open His mouth.”
Jesus remained silent even when many corrupt witnesses had come
forward to falsely accuse Him with malicious charges that might lead
to His death.
For instance, Matthew’s account of Jesus before Pilate says, “And
while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did
not answer. Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Do You not hear how many
things they testify against you?’ And He did not answer him with
regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed”
(Matt. 27:12-14).
Isaiah 53 is clearly prophetic about the Christ, and which is also
made evident by Philip in Acts 8. For Isaiah 53:7-8 is the
very passage that the Ethiopian eunuch had been reading, on his way
home from Jerusalem, when the Spirit told Philip to “go up and join
the chariot” (Acts 8:29).
Philip did so. And when he asked the eunuch if he understood
what he was reading, he answered, “Well, how could I, unless someone
guides me?” (v. 31). He then invited Philip into the chariot,
and Luke shows the passage the eunuch wanted to know more about:
“HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER;
AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT,
SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY;
WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION?
FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH" (vv. 32-33).
When the eunuch asked Philip for the explanation of this passage,
Luke then records that Philip, "beginning from this Scripture…
preached Jesus to him” (v. 35).
It is also interesting to note that in preaching Jesus, it must have
also included preaching of the need for baptism. For after
hearing Philip and seeing some water along the way, the eunuch then
said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (v. 36).
That Jesus would be mocked and insulted was also prophesied.
Notice, for example, Psalm 22, in which David is foretelling of the
crucifixion:
“All who see me sneer at me;
They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
‘Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him’” (vv. 7-8).
Matthew's account also brings out the fulfillment of this. For it
speaks of those who as they passed by the cross of Christ “were
hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who are
going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save
Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In
the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and
elders, were mocking Him and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot
save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from
the cross, and we will believe in Him. HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD
RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, “I am the Son of
God”’” (Matt. 27:39-43). (See also Luke 22:63-64.)
Isaiah also speaks in Isaiah 50:5-7 of more of the humiliating
treatment Jesus would go through — and willingly so:
“The Lord GOD has opened My ear;
And I was not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.
I gave My back to those who strike me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
For the Lord GOD helps Me,
Therefore, I am not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
Again, we turn to the New Testament and read of the Lord’s
determination to do His Father’s will — regardless of how difficult
it would be, such as concerning the cross: “My Father, if this
cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matt.
26:42).
How many of us can say as Jesus did of God, “for I always do the
things that are pleasing to Him” (Jn. 8:29). The ultimate of
that obedience is seen in Christ’s willingness to leave His blissful
existence in heaven to dwell on earth in human flesh and eventually
suffer a most torturous death on the cross. As Paul cites the
Lord’s humility and obedience as an example for us, he goes on to
say of Jesus, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not
regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of
men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross"
(Phil. 2:6-8).
That Jesus would be spat upon, as foretold in Isaiah 50:6, can be
seen in fulfillment in Matthew 26:67-68: “Then they spat in His face
and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said,
’Prophesy to us, You Christ, who is the one who hit You?’”
The spitting is also seen when Jesus was taken by the soldiers of
the governor into the Praetorium with all the Roman cohort around
Him. There, they “stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. After
twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a
reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked
Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on Him, and took
the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had
mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own
garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (Matt.
27:27-31).
Giving His back to those who struck Him (cf. Isa. 50:6) must have
been quite an ordeal in itself. It is said that the preliminary
scourging, prior to the crucifixion, was so severe that the one
receiving it would sometimes die prior to being nailed to the
cross. After the people had chosen the release of Barabbas
instead of Jesus, Pilate had “Jesus scourged and then “handed
him over to be crucified" (Matt. 27:26).
That the Lord also had His beard plucked (Isa. 50:6) is not
mentioned in the New Testament, but this prophecy shows it was
done. To the Oriental, it is said that the beard is “a
symbol of dignity“ and, therefore, “an extreme insult” to have it
plucked (Cambridge Bible).
One such example is that of David’s men who had half of their beards
cut by Hanun, who had been deceived into thinking that David’s kind
gesture in sending his servants to Hanun to console him in the loss
of his father was supposedly a means to spy out the city and
overthrow it (see 2 Sam. 10:1-4). As a result, David’s
men “were greatly humiliated.” So David instructed them to “Stay at
Jericho until your beards grow, and then return” (v. 5).
According to the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, “D'Arvieux gives
a remarkable instance of an Arab, who, having received a wound in
his jaw, chose to hazard his life rather than suffer the surgeon to
cut off his beard.”
May we never forget all that the Lord was willing to go through in
order to make salvation possible for us and for every lost
soul. And these prophecies indicate that the Lord had a clear
knowledge of what He would have to endure in order to become our
Savior -- and, in spite of that, He still willingly and fully went
through with it all!
(All Scripture from the NASB, unless otherwise indicated.
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-2-
News & Notes
There will be a gospel meeting at the North Valdosta church of
Christ March 11-16. Jonathon Reeders (of Tallahassee, FL) will be
the guest speaker. The church meets at 4313 North Valdosta Road,
Valdosta, GA, about 1 mile east of I-75. Week nights will
begin at 7:30. The sermons and other times will be as follows:
Sunday:
9 a.m. .......Your Place in God’s Story
10 a.m. ......The Battle Between Two Giants
11 a.m. ......A Village Believes
Mon:...........Who is the Lord?
Tue:.............The Altar, the Prophet, and the Lion
Wed: ...........Elijah on Two Mountains
Thu: ............Miracles of Jesus
Fri: ..............Follow Me
The above sermons have also been made available at the following
website: https://sites.google.com/view/northvaldostacoc/gospel-meeting-2018
Let us continue to remember in prayer Jim Lively, A.J. &
Pat Joyner, Charles Crosby, Shirley Davis, Cedell Fletcher, Frankie
Hadley, Judy Daugherty, Misty & Jason Thornton, Michelle
Rittenhouse, and Mary Vandevander.
WordPress version of this bulletin:
https://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/the-gospel-observer-march-11-2018/
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that
is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ
(John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5;
Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom.
10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the
remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4;
Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith, living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be
lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday services: 9:00
a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. (worship)
Tuesday: 2 p.m. (Ladies' Bible class) (New Time)
Wednesday: 7 p.m. (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912)
614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com (Gospel Observer website with
pictures in WordPress)
http://thomastedwards.com/go
(Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but
back to March 1990)
http://tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org/
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)