The final post in our short series will take is to a morning on the sea-shore…

A morning on the sea-shore (John 21:1-12)

Notice that Peter is first to act as always! He proclaims “I go a fishing”, and this is despite having already seen the risen Lord! Perhaps inactivity bothered Peter, and maybe a little doubt and uncertainty had sent in? Peter’s reaction is to do something, and here he returns to what he knew best – fishing! I find this interesting as the Lord had told them specifically when he called them that their days of fishing were behind them - “I will make you fishers of men”. Also, remember that Peter had said previously “we have left all, and followed thee”, this included the family fishing business! Notice how quickly they are able to find a boat however, no doubt Peter’s previous contacts would have assisted him there - “they went forth, and entered into a ship immediately”. The other thing apparent from this is how Peter is seen to be an influencer, as the other disciples quickly follow him. There are no doubt some practical lessons to be learned here;

• It is easy to fall back into old ways, no matter how well we have walked with the Lord!
• The world will readily welcome us back, always too ready to see a believer fail and return to its snare!
• Finally, we must be careful how we behave, and the decisions we make as we may influence and stumble other believers!

However, despite a team of experienced fishermen toiling all night, they catch nothing. Notice that come the morning, the Lord appears on the shore – he is never far away from his people, and he is always there at the right time! He calls to them “children have ye any meat?” it is a lovely address, affectionate and perceptive, he knows the questions to ask of us! Of course the Lord knew the answer to any question he poses, he merely asks to challenge and provoke a response. Remember that the Lord Jesus had shown his authority and command of the seas of Galilee on several other occasions, he was the almighty creator of heaven and earth, he knew those waters and the animal life within intimately like no other master fisherman, and he had full command over them! I think here the Lord wanted to bring his disciples closer to him, for fellowship and communion, to focus them once more on things spiritual before he ascends and leaves them. Perhaps we are the same, maybe we are too easily distracted and need to be brought close once again to the Saviour and focus once again on eternal and spiritual things?

I would like to draw this short post to a close by just bringing something else out from this morning scene by the sea-shore, something a little different that I hadn’t noticed before but I feel there is an application to be made here. Perhaps there is a small and simple picture here of that coming day when as the hymn writer says, “we’ll all gather home in the morning, on the banks of the bright jasper sea, we’ll meet the redeemed and the faithful, what a gathering that will be!” I am referring of course to that time when we shall leave this world and meet the Lord Jesus, whether one by one through the means of death, or all together if we go by the rapture, when the Lord shall come again - “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

The night for those disciples had been long, exhausting and full of disappointments, a fitting picture perhaps of our time in this dark world, but note there was something better to come - “but when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore”. The morning comes, and the Lord himself is there to greet them, and what a welcome greeting! You can almost hear the joy in the exclamation of John - “it is the Lord!” and Peter once again acts first, he was first to get into the boat, now he is first to get out of it as he runs to meet the Lord! I am reminded of the verse in 1 Thessalonians 4 - “for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven… to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord“ What a wonderful and lovely prospect for the believer! I trust this brings encouragement to the heart of every true Christian, that no matter how long, lonely and difficult the night seems, there will be a joyful morning when we shall all finally meet the Lord and spend eternity with him!

I trust these simple thoughts will bring us joy and encouragement as we journey together toward that coming meeting.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Following on from our short post the other day we are going to continue with our ‘morning scenes’ and look at…

A morning at the cross (Mark 15:1, 20, 22, 25)

Here was a morning like no other; many mornings had been before, and many since but not like this one! Unique due to the events unfolding just outside Jerusalem, this morning stands apart in history. This was a morning that would see the very Son of God journey to Calvary bearing his cross and giving his life for the sinner!

Mark, the vibrant and dynamic chronicler can only express this event simply yet poignantly using just 10 words; “and it was about the third hour, and they crucified him”. Oh the wonder of it! That the very eternal Son of God would come to this earth, step into this scene of time and be subject to hours and days, mornings and nights, weeks and years! And that there should ever be an hour, at approximately 9am on that day, when he would be taken and crucified. What a tremendous truth this is, one that is too much for us to take in and understand – but we believe it! We thank God for the death of Christ at the cross of Calvary, because of this we are saved!

The account in Mark uses the phrase “they crucified him“ thus emphasising the role and guilt of man in those events. Yes this was the divine plan, God was playing out his sovereign and permissive will in the events at Calvary but nevertheless, wicked men were the willing agents – a truth which is born out in the preaching in the early Acts where people like Peter boldly proclaimed the guilt of those Jews, to convict them of their sin and their need for repentance (Acts 2:23, 3:15). Just as a side note, I trust that when we publicly preach the Gospel or indeed witness to others, that we do preach about sin and how men must repent toward God in order to be saved! It is all very well preaching about the love of God and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the message is somewhat incomplete unless we tell men they are sinners and that they need to repent and come before God humbly for forgiveness! We have the authority of the Word of God for this, and true repentance is crucial if men are to be saved.

Praise God that this morning at the cross was eventually followed by a morning at the tomb – a morning of resurrection! I’m reminded of the words of the hymn - “He arose, he arose, Hallelujah! Christ arose!” I find it interesting that the Apostles in those early days of the Church, also preach this truth as they addressed the people, how important it is to preach a risen Saviour! He’s alive today and is ascended and at God’s right hand in majesty and power! How crucial this truth is to our faith, that the Lord Jesus rose, the work was complete and perfect and God has received him back into heaven, where he ever lives to make intercession for us. I hope we believe this and maintain this truth vigorously. It should encourage us and fill us with joy, hope and cheer as we seek to serve the risen Saviour. We close by thinking of the majestic words of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1:18 “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen…”

Yours in Christ, Mark

I have enjoyed some recent thoughts from some ‘morning scenes’ in the gospels, and they have been very enjoyable for me at least anyway, so I share them here so that others too may be encouraged. We will look at the morning scenes one by one, starting today with a morning at the temple.

A morning at the temple (John 8:1-5)

We read that the Lord Jesus went “early in the morning he came again into the temple…” and it seems that shortly after he arrived they brought him an adulterous woman. Of course they were looking to present a situation to the Lord that they hoped would cause him to fail and then they could capitalise on this.

Here we have a perfect demonstration of that poignant truth illustrated in Isaiah 55:8 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” as this sinful woman is brought to the Lord he chooses to act in grace and mercy, rather than to judge or condemn her to death. It is important to note that the woman was guilty, there was no doubt about that! Although her male counterpart is suspiciously absent, they were both under the death penalty according to the law of Moses. The law said that she should be stoned (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:32) but what we see instead I believe is a practical demonstration of what John speaks of in his gospel - “for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:7). Aren’t we ever thankful for the grace of God in our lives? For the fact that it was “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. I always find it lovely to see that the only one who was qualified to cast a stone chose to graciously spare the woman rather than move in righteous judgement against sin. He had said that only those without sin should pick up stones to stone her, and so of course, they were not qualified – but he was! He was the sinless, spotless Son of God. Praise God for the words of that hymn - “who is a pardoning God like thee, or who has grace so rich and free?!”

There is another item of interest in this account that I found quite humbling, and that is that the Saviour stoops and writes in the dust of the ground. Although dust is not mentioned in the King James version it is mentioned specifically in other renderings of the verse. Firstly I am always amazed at the lowliness and humility of the Lord Jesus! Not only in his condescension in coming into this world, but here we see him stooping further still and writing in the very dust of the earth he had created. How incredible to think that the very Son of God, the one who is God manifest in flesh stooped and his finger inscribed a message in the dust of the ground for those witnessing to see and read! The message has long been erased and forgotten, we can only speculate as to what he wrote.

I find dust a fitting medium for the Lord’s message. Here he is faced once again by the sin of mankind, both from the guilty woman and the wicked hearts of the men who sought to test the Lord. How it must have grieved the heart of the Saviour to see this behaviour from the creatures of his hand. But a message is wrote in the dust of the ground, dust from which man had been created in the beginning! Remember the indictment of man in response to the fall and the entrance of sin – “for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return” - sobering words indeed, as the mortality of man is described vividly by God. As sinful and mortal men they should have fixed their focus on things spiritual, of getting right with God through repentance and faith in the Saviour but sadly this was not the case.

Let us be ever mindful of the priorities in our lives, and perhaps show more of the grace and compassion that the Saviour demonstrated so fully and freely in his earthly ministry!

Yours in Christ, Mark

I have been enjoying this mini study so much recently, so I have decided to add some more thoughts to this subject – remember we were looking at the Nazarite condition that stipulated that he must abstain from touching that which came from the vine. Wine and the fruit of the vine speaks primarily in the scriptures of joy.

You may recall that last time in my blog post here in early February we were thinking about how there is very little said about the Lord Jesus in relation to joy in the scriptures. This is for good reason as it was prophesied that he would be characterised by sorrow and grief whilst down here, and not by joy. We thought of how he brought much joy to others though, at all stages of his life, and we do praise God afresh that he was wiling to be the “man of sorrows” and “bear our griefs and carry our sorrows” so that our “joy might be full”!

However, I have been thinking recently that there are three things I believe spoken of in the scriptures that bring joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus, and I share them here for our mutual encouragement and to warm our hearts towards the Saviour.

When a sinner repents (Luke 15:7-10)

“there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth”

How wonderful to think that when we repented of our sin and trusted Christ as our Saviour there was joy in the very presence of God and his angels in heaven! Something that undoubtedly also brought joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ!

A life of faithful and fruitful service (Matthew 25:21-23)

“thou hast been faithful over a few things… enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”

Again, we marvel that ever our contribution and service down here should ever bring joy to the Lord! But this is the truth of it, there is joy for Him at the end of a life of faithful and loyal service and surely this should encourage us in our lives for Him, no matter how meagre or paltry our service may seem to us, it brings pleasure, glory and joy to the heart of God!

My third and final example comes from Hebrews 12:2

“Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” (NLT)

I have quoted the New Living Translation here as it seems to more accurately convey the meaning here but the Amplified also says “he for the joy (of obtaining the prize…)” so we must ask ourselves; what is the prize he endured to obtain? What is the joy that awaits him?

Fellow believers, I believe that this is you and I. We are the prize and the joy for which he was prepared to endure the cross of Calvary, wonderful thought! I refer you to Isaiah 53:11 “he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied” or as the New Living Translation puts it; “when he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied.”

I thought of the lovely words of that great hymn;

He and I in that bright glory,

One deep joy shall share,

Mine to be forever with him,

His that I am there.

Surely this should move our hearts to give thanks and worship Him? Consider that there is joy for the Saviour the day we came to know him as Saviour; he has joy as a life of faithful service for him is reviewed; and as he looks over the countless myriads of souls in heaven in his presence, ransomed and bought by his precious blood at Calvary, yes there is joy too and satisfaction for his soul! The soul that was poured out unto death, the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief in his life on earth obtains much joy from the sinner that repents and believes on Him, this is a wonder indeed!

I trust these simple thoughts will compliment and complete the previous post and that we will all enjoy them and be encouraged as we continue to worship and serve our great Saviour.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Have you ever thought about the different groups of people there at the cross of Calvary? There are many ways you could look at this subject but it occurred to me the other day that there were 3 groups of people who were described in relation to their position. There were those that STOOD, those that SAT and those that PASSED BY. I enjoyed this short study and we will share some simple thoughts here.

Those that STOOD

There were many people standing in the vicinity of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ that day 2000 years ago, but I wanted to just focus this study upon the women that came from Galilee to be at the cross. Luke says;
“and all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.” Luke 23:49 ESV

I don’t know if you have ever thought much about this, I know I hadn’t until I looked at this properly! Why should these women follow him from Galilee? Why would it specifically be recorded that women followed him from Galilee?
Remember that this was a day when women were treated unequally, and were seen as second-class citizens. The Lord himself rebuked the Pharisees for their harsh treatment of women and widows in particular.

It was then that my mind turned to the frequent times when the Lord Jesus brought blessing, comfort, and protection, honour and respect to the lives of the women of his day. Here are just a few occasions, there are many more:

• He had compassion upon the woman of Canaan and her daughter
• He had time to bless the widow of Nain by restoring her son
• He protected the woman taken in adultery when the men of her day were ready to stone her
• He made a specific journey through Samaria to speak with that woman by the well
• He cast evil spirits out of many women including Mary Magdalene
• He gave special place to their children – “suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God” I think these women appreciated this and were drawn to the Saviour due to his gentle and kind nature. Well might we sing “gentle Jesus meek and mild, look upon a little child” and “there’s a friend for little children…”
• He had a special address for those joyful daughters of Zion as he entered Jerusalem on that triumphant day. Interestingly He also had a specific address for those weeping women that day that he was led out of Jerusalem bearing his cross.
• Finally remember that touching moment at the cross when the Saviour made provision for his mother that day. Surely only he truly understood those words spoken of her that “a sword shall pierce through your own soul also”…

Those that SAT

“and sitting down they watched him there” Matt 27:36

Again, I don’t know if you have ever thought much about this, or whether this verse had struck you at all. Upon reading this passage it struck me afresh the callousness and cruelty of men, that they should torture, abuse, humiliate and then crucify an innocent man, one who had exhibited nothing but goodness, love, compassion, kindness and grace in his life and then watch him, mocking him and deriding him as he dies. Not only this but they were not prepared to suffer an ounce of discomfort as they did so, but rather they would take their comfort and ease as the Saviour died in agony. Is it no wonder that the Word of God reminds us in Psalm 1 (words which ultimately are fulfilled in the Saviour) “blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers…” ESV

Interesting that in a future day the tables will be turned, and the Lord himself shall sit and laugh in derision at the futile rebellion of those armies of men in a future day; “he who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” Praise God that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen and ascended to his Father’s right hand and one day will be glorified and acknowledged as Lord by all, and will be victorious over all his enemies!

Those that PASSED BY

Even more so than the other 2 points, I genuinely had never thought about this one or noticed this before. Only Matthew and Mark record this (interesting as Matthew speaks primarily to the Jew and Mark to the Gentile)
“and they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads…”

Once again the heartless cruelty and casual wickedness of man’s nature is shown. These people were passing by, going about their daily business as if nothing had happened! Here they pass through the scene at Calvary, not stopping to take in the significance of the event, or to show sorrow or even a modicum of compassion towards the blessed man who hung upon that cross! Think about it – what on earth could have been more pressing or more important to them at that time? But no, they put if from their minds, merely shouting their derision and scornfully mocking him as they pass by. I am reminded by the poignantly prophetic words of Lamentations 1:12 “is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger…” It was nothing to them!

Praise God the Lord Jesus was not marked by their same spirit! He would not pass the suffering one by! Think of that parable of the Good Samaritan, a picture of the Lord Jesus and the stricken, helpless and needy sinner. He would not pass us by, but saw us in our need, wounded, destitute and ready for death but he stepped in and moved in love and grace toward us, praise God for the lovely character of our Lord Jesus Christ!

May God bless these thoughts as we continue to remember and worship our Lord and Saviour.

Yours in Christ, Mark