We see now what it meant for the Son of God to empty himself and become poor. It meant a laying aside of glory (the real kenosis) ; a voluntary restraint of power; an acceptance of hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice and misunderstanding; finally, a death that involved such agony—spiritual even more than physical—that his mind nearly broke under the prospect of it. (See Lk 12:50 and the Gethsemane story.) It meant love to the uttermost for unlovely human beings, that they through his poverty might become rich.  The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear. We talk glibly of the “Christmas spirit,” rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes...

  2:7-8 “And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.”  Paul wishes to unite the saints in Philippi in the holy bands of love.  To do this, he takes them to the cross. In the cross there is a cure for every spiritual disease.  There is food for every spiritual virtue in the Savior. We never go to him too often.  Spurgeon Study Bible Notes; Philippians 2:7

  Emptying himself means that he made himself null and void and renounced his privileges and rights.  He exhibited the opposite of “vainglory” (kenodoxia, GK 3029; NIV, “vain conceit”; v. 3), which ascribes false honor to oneself and asserts one’s pride of place over others.  The KJV translation, “made himself of no reputation,” captures Paul’s intent here in v. 7. David E. Garland, “Philippians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians–Philemon (Revised Edition), ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 220.

  The means whereby the incarnation came about is the virgin conception, commonly known as the virgin birth—the miraculous action of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary—so that what was conceived was fully God and fully man in one person forever (Mt 1:18–25; Lk 1:26–38).  He did this in order to become the Redeemer of the church, our Prophet, Priest, and King, and thus to save his people from their sins (Mt 1:21).  By becoming one with us, the Lord of Glory not only shares our sorrows and burdens, he is also able to secure our redemption by bearing our sin on the cross as our substitute and being raised for our justification (see Rm 4:25; Heb 2:17–18; 4:14–16; 1Pt 3:18). Stephen J. Wellum, “Incarnation and Christology,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1666.

  Typology and Jesus Mt 2:15 New Testament writers understand Jesus to be the fulfillment of the Jewish story told in the Jewish Scriptures. One way they emphasize Jesus as this fulfillment is by highlighting an OT figure, object, or event, and then connecting it to Jesus. In this correspondence, the OT “type” is shown to be brought to completion in Jesus (who is sometimes called the “antitype”). For example, Matthew connects Jesus with Israel by citing Hos 11:1, which speaks of God’s son, Israel, coming out of Egypt. Matthew shows that Jesus, like Israel of old, will be delivered from Egypt by God (see Mt 2:15 and note; 2:20–21). Therefore Israel is “a type” of Jesus (with Jesus as the “antitype”). For another example, consider the temple in John’s Gospel. Jesus fulfills the purposes of the temple (God’s presence with his people; cf. Jn 1:14–18). And according to Jn 2:13–22, Jesus could speak of his body (his self) as the temple (Jn 2:20–21). John also goes on to show how vari...

  When a man (like Herod) or a woman (like Herodias) divorces their spouse in order to marry another, this is not the circumstance for which Moses’ words about divorce was intended.  On the contrary, this is abusing the Law of Moses to commit adultery . But publicly, Jesus used the Pharisees’ trap to continue to talk about his own agenda. Peter Bolt, "Mark," in The NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible, ed. R. Albert Mohler Jr. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021), 1365.

  Three times the Lord Jesus speaks of “hell.” Three times (in the footnotes of the NIV, ed. note) he says, “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”  These are awful expressions. They call for reflection rather than exposition. They should be pondered, considered and remembered by all who claim to be Christians.  It matters little whether we regard them as figurative and symbolic. If they are, one thing at least is very clear.  The worm and the fire are symbols of real things. There is a real hell, and that hell is eternal. J. C. Ryle, Mark, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 140.

  I remember this Southern Gospel group when I was a kid. They were an evangelism team. The music with the keyboards may sound a bit hokey, but the lyrics are significant in our consumeristic age. 

  Jesus Christ confirmed that John the Baptist was continuing the tradition and responsibility of the prophets, beginning with Elijah. Jesus also added what the prophets had been saying all along, “Listen to Me (look at Me) when I’m talking to you.” Another affirmation of the importance of Elijah in redemptive history was his appearance with Moses and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus had taken three of His disciples—Peter, James, and John—away to share a glimpse of His holiness and glory (Matthew 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36). During this surreal moment of intense light, sudden cloud cover, and a voice from heaven, the disciples saw Elijah talking with Moses and Jesus. There in one moment were three common men in the presence of three very uncommon men. Peter, James, and John were seeing Moses, the giver of the Law; Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God; and Elijah, the man who was called to be God’s mouthpiece to those who had received and broken the Law—people desperate...

  J.C. Ryle on Mark 9 v 33-34 (CSB) 33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34 But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. How strange this sounds! Who would have thought that a few fishermen and tax collectors could have been overcome by rivalry and the desire of supremacy?  Who would have expected that poor men who had given up everything for Christ’s sake would have been troubled by strife and dissension as to the place and precedence which each one deserved? Yet so it is. The fact is recorded for our learning.  The Holy Spirit has caused it to be written down for the perpetual use of Christ’s church. Let us take care that it is not written in vain. It is an awful fact, whether we like to admit it or not, that pride is one of the commonest sins which beset human nature. We are all born Pharisees. We all naturally think far better of ours...

  The problem is not that Hell exists , for it must, since God is holy.  Rather we must distinguish between the biblical meanings of good and evil because the problem is that men don’t want to understand that sin is offensive in the eyes of a supremely holy God.  Sin is not rated by a scale.  Hell is eternal separation from God and can be pardoned only by a truly supreme sacrifice, accomplished by the substitutionary death of the Son of God on the cross.  The afterlife is determined in the land of the living by how people respond to Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself to rescue lost souls, “snatching them from the fire” (Jude 23 NIV). Billy Graham, The Reason for My Hope: Salvation (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013).

9:10–11 The case is clearer with Rebekah because she had twins. God’s choice of the younger twin before their birth showed his gracious election and indicated again that God’s blessings are his to hand out and that they were not an automatic birthright of all ethnic Jews; see note at v. 6. 9:12–13 The divine purpose was revealed from the beginning of the Hebrew nation when God chose one twin over the other. The prophet Malachi traced God’s differing treatment of two nations to this divine choice (Mal 1:1–5). Both nations were punished for their sins, but only one received grace. I have loved Jacob means God chose or elected his descendants (the nation of Israel), whereas I have hated Esau means that God rejected the nation that stemmed from him (Edom). 9:14–15 Is there injustice with God? is a rhetorical question, inspired by the fact that it is difficult to grasp the fact that God does not need to treat all sinners the same in order to be just. Jesus taught the same truth in the pa...

  Mark 9 v 21(CSB) 21 “How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father.  We read a fearful description of the miseries inflicted by Satan on the young man whose case is here recorded. And we are told that he had been in this awful state “from childhood” (verse 21). We must labor to do good to our children even from their earliest years. If Satan begins to harm them so early, we must not be behind him in diligence to lead them to God. How soon in life a child becomes responsible and accountable is a difficult question to solve.  Perhaps far sooner than many of us suppose. One thing at all events is very clear: it is never too soon to strive and pray for the salvation of the souls of children —never too soon to speak to them as moral beings and tell them of God and Christ and right and wrong.  The devil, we may be quite sure, loses no time in endeavoring to influence the minds of young people. He begins with them “from childhood.” Let us work hard to c...

  Phoebe Was a Deacon, Not Just a Servant As we saw earlier, Paul begins greeting the Roman church with a specific commendation:   I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant [diakonos] of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. (Rom. 16:1–2) Though many interpret diakonos informally (e.g., a servant-hearted person), there are better reasons to believe that the word signals the formal position of deacon. First, the ending of the word is masculine, not feminine. This would have been an odd way for Paul to refer to a woman—unless, of course, he’s not describing her character but designating her office. Second, it is significant that Phoebe is called a diakonos of a specific church. Throughout the New Testament this term is often used in a general sense—and rightly translated “servant” or “minister”—since the person’s labo...

  DEACONESSES IN CHURCH HISTORY The presence of women deacons or deaconesses throughout Christian history has not been uniform, nor always even common. Nevertheless, they have always existed in the church, and so the practice cannot fairly be dismissed as a recent trend. Here is a historical sampling. Pliny the Younger, Governor of Bithynia, Letter to the Emperor Trajan (AD 111–113):   Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition. Clement of Alexandria (AD 150–215):   We are also aware of all the things that the noble Paul prescribed on the subject of female deacons in one of the two Epistles to Timothy. Origen of Alexandria (AD 184–253):   [Romans 16:1] teaches … two things: that there are … women deacons in the church, and that women, who have given assistance to so many people and who by their good works d...

  Jesus’ authority pervades Mark’s Gospel. He calls disciples to follow him (1:16–20), casts out demons with a word, declares that the paralytic is forgiven of his sins (2:1–12), identifies himself as the end-time bridegroom (2:19–20), claims to be the Lord of the Sabbath (2:23–28), says that those who do God’s will are part of his family (3:31–35), stills a storm with his words (4:35–41), sends others out to preach the kingdom (6:7–13), feeds crowds of five thousand and four thousand (6:30–44; 8:1–10), functions as the interpreter of the law (7:1–23), demands that people follow him (1:17; 2:14; 8:34; 10:21), warns that those who are ashamed of him and his words will be punished (8:38), teaches that children should be received in his name (9:37), cleanses the temple (11:15–17), identifies himself as the last and the most important of God’s messengers (12:1–12), triumphs in controversy with religious leaders (11:27–12:44), predicts the destruction of the temple (13:1–37), calls on ...

  Mark 7 v 21-23 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”  In his words, Jesus calls us to humbly admit that the biggest danger to each of us is not the sin that lurks outside us, but the iniquity that still resides in our hearts. Once you admit this, you begin to get excited about God’s grace in Jesus Christ. If your biggest problem lives outside of you, you don’t really need grace, you just need situational or relational change.  I understand why many people who call themselves Christians are not excited about grace. If you think your environment is your problem, you won’t esteem grace, but once you admit that you’re your biggest problem, you will celebrate the grace that rescues you ...

  Listen to the hard-to-hear words of Mark 7:20–23 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”  Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey guys, it’s very simple. The problem is, you live in this broken and evil world that isn’t functioning as I intended. It’s populated with sinful people who will seduce you into doing what’s wrong. So if you want to live a godly life, you have to determine to separate yourself from both.” But that’s how we tend to think. I’ve heard adulterous husbands say to me, “Paul, if you lived with my wife, you would understand why I did what I did.” I’ve heard adulterous women blame the seductive power of the man. I’ve heard parents of a pregnant teenager blame TV, YouTube, and ...

  The Deeper Problem     For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts,  sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice,  deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. MARK 7:21–22 Few words of Jesus were more blunt—and few were less likely to win Him the affection and praise of those who opposed him. They saw themselves as holy and pure, but Jesus cut through their veneer of “righteousness” to reveal the inner pride and evil that actually motivated them—and not only them, but every human being. Why, over twenty centuries later, is our world still filled with conflict and war, turmoil and insecurity? Jesus said the basic problem is in our hearts —and the reason is because we are alienated from our Creator. Instead of giving God His rightful place at the center of our lives, we have substituted the “god” of Self. Only Christ can change our hearts—and through us begin to change our world. Does this mean we can never make any prog...

  When Jesus had finished probing the hearts of the people with whom He came in contact, He said: “Out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21–22). Jesus taught that the human heart was far from God: darkened, unbelieving, blind, proud, rebellious, idolatrous, and stony. He taught that the human heart in its natural state is capable of any wickedness and any crime. A teenage boy was arrested in New York for having committed one of the most vicious murders of our time. His mother exclaimed, “But he is a good boy!” She had not stopped to realize that an unregenerate human heart is potentially capable of any crime. A certain poet has written: Quicken my conscience till it feels  The loathsomeness of sin. That is the reason why many of the peace treaties which have been signed in human history have not been kept and war has ensued....

  Men, Are You Submissive? TGC Link SEPTEMBER 30, 2021   |    MICHAEL J. KRUGER Submission. Of all the words in the Bible, this may be one of the least popular. After all, our cultural moment is not one that values a posture of submission to authorities. On the contrary, our world insists we should challenge and critique those over us. The classic bumper sticker captures it well: “Question Authority.” And if submission is already an unpopular concept, it only grows more unpopular in verses like  Ephesians 5:22 : “Wives submit to your husbands as unto the Lord.” Indeed, this passage (and its counterpart in  1 Pet. 3:1 ) has been ground zero in the submission wars, both in our churches and the broader culture. But letting these verses take center stage can give the mistaken impression that the Bible teaches that only women submit. In reality, Scripture has a more comprehensive view. Everybody Submits to Somebody The Bible is clear that everybody submits ...

  Sola Gratia: The Erosion of The Gospel Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches. God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace. Thesis Three: Sola Gratia We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to...

  In time John’s popularity came to the palace of Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee. Herod called for John and listened to him preach. Mark tells us that at the beginning Herod heard John gladly and did many good things as the result of John’s preaching (Mark 6:20). Unfortunately, Herod enjoyed John’s preaching only so long as John preached in generalities . When he was specific enough to speak out against the fact that Herod was then living with his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, Herod’s enthusiasm cooled. John had said, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” This so angered Herodias that eventually she succeeded in having John arrested and later killed. James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 253.

Mark 6 v 7-9 (CSB) 7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The plan, of course, is genius. Dump a year's supply of manna into cold storage and, guaranteed, you will forget God until the supply disappears (Deut. 8:10—14). Such prosperity would be a curse. God's strategy is to give us enough for today and then, when tomorrow comes, to give us enough for that day too.   Do you see how this is exactly what we need? Fears and worries live in the future, trying to assure a good outcome in a potentially hard situation. The last thing they want to do is trust anyone, God included. To thwart this tendency toward independence, God only gives us what we need when w...

  The New Testament word for repentance means changing one’s mind so that one’s views, values, goals, and ways are changed and one’s whole life is lived differently. The change is radical, both inwardly and outwardly; mind and judgment, will and affections, behavior and life-style, motives and purposes, are all involved. Repenting means starting to live a new life. The call to repent was the first and fundamental summons in the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2), Jesus (Matt. 4:17), the Twelve (Mark 6:12), Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:38), Paul to the Gentiles (Acts 17:30; 26:20), and the glorified Christ to five of the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 19). It was part of Jesus’ summary of the gospel that was to be taken to the world (Luke 24:47). It corresponds to the constant summons of the Old Testament prophets to Israel to return to the God from whom they had strayed (e.g., Jer. 23:22; 25:4–5; Zech. 1:3–6). Repentance is always set forth as the path to remis...

Discernment and Dismissiveness. A call to question our own discernment process. In Mark 6 v 2-3 (CSB) we read:   When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished . "Where did this man get these things?" they said. "What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands?  3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- We should be astonished  by Jesus because we are born ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of our Christian walk, by the grace of the Spirit, should include ongoing wonder and delight in Jesus. It should be the kind of astonishment that leads us toward greater humility.  However, as you see in Mark 6 v 2-3 , not all are astonished that way.  Sometimes pe...