There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
For the institution of ordinances, and particularly that of the ministry.
I thank you that you have not only declared your word to Jacob, but your statutes and rules to Israel, to your people: You have not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know your rules. Psalm 147:19-20(ESV)
That the dwelling place of God is with man, and he will dwell with them; Revelation 21:3(ESV) and that he has set his sanctuary in their midst forevermore, Ezekiel 37:26(ESV) and there will meet with the people of Israel. Exodus 29:43(ESV)
I thank you that you have made known to your people your holy Sabbaths, Nehemiah 9:14(ESV) and that there still remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Hebrews 4:9(ESV)
And that when the Lord Jesus ascended on high he gave gifts to men, Ephesians 4:8(ESV) not only prophets, apostles, and evangelists, but shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all the people of God attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Ephesians 4:11-13(ESV) and that while they teach your people to observe all things which Christ has commanded, he has promised to be with them always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20(ESV)
The first is more commonly discussed, but is sometimes neglected. Matthew 2:16 suggests that Jesus was somewhat close to two years old when the events in the surrounding context occurred. See here, including the comments section, and here for discussions of the passage. The timing of the Matthew 2 events goes a long way in explaining why Matthew’s material is so different than Luke’s (the two authors are covering different timeframes) and addresses other objections.
The other verse to keep in mind, which is seldom understood or discussed as it should be, is Luke 1:56. See my post on the passage here and my explanation of some of its implications here, for example, among other posts in our archives that discuss it. Joseph and Mary probably went to Bethlehem during the first half of her pregnancy, not at the end of it. Luke 2:4 picks up where 1:56 left off. If you understand Luke 1:56 and its implications rightly, other issues in Luke and elsewhere will fall into their proper place, and some objections that are often brought up will be weakened or eliminated.
Ver. 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Reek that is higher than I.—David’s refuge:— This psalm, like very many others, begins with tears and ends with praise. It is very often so, in coming to a throne of grace day by day. Many a believer has gone down upon his knees with a broken heart, and has risen with it healed and fully cured. I. DAVID’S RESOLUTION. “I will cry unto Thee.” Now, the term “cry” is of very frequent use in Scripture, and it is very expressive. It signifies earnestness—it signifies desire for relief; it is the expression of want. A child cries, a child cries long before it can speak: and how prevailing is that cry! How a mother’s heart yearns at the cry of her infant! II. THE CIRCUMSTANCES. “When my heart is overwhelmed.” You see the circumstances here are most serious. He might have taken up the language of Hezekiah and said, “Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.” But still, although he was overwhelmed, he pursued the right course. For what is the remedy in affliction? “Is any afflicted? Let him pray”—“pray.” It is, perhaps, reasonable, and to a certain extent natural, that men under the pressure of affliction should go down upon their knees. Many a tear has been dried so; and the deeper the sorrow, the more reason there is to cry to God. III. But, you see, not only the circumstances, “When my heart is overwhelmed,” but “From the end of the earth”—IN WHATEVER PLACE YOU MAY BE. The psalmist mentions the end of the earth, however distant he might be from that which was the appointed place of prayer, the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, where the saints were in the habit of assembling together. We know now under the Gospel dispensation, that wherever there is a place of prayer, the most obscure position cannot cut off the communication between a spiritual heart and Heaven. How blessed is this! For our encouragement, how very numerous are the instances recorded in the Word of God of definite prayers on the part of God’s saints, and definite answers on the part of God! No fewer than eighty-eight distinct prayers of men of God, and eighty-eight distinct answers from the Lord, are recorded in the Old Testament; and no fewer than forty-eight instances of the same kind occur in the New Testament. And, doubtless, these are only just sprinkled in that we may be encouraged, whenever we find them, to see that there is a reality about it—that God’s saints of old have endeavoured to cultivate this state and condition, and that God has marked it by His especial favour. IV. WHAT THE PSALMIST PRAYED FOR—“Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” This gives us an idea of safety in the midst of trial, and support when one is almost ready to be swallowed up. Now, the rock that you and I must look to is the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to Him the Holy Spirit must lead us. We need to be led, or we shall never come to Him. And observe in the next verse to the text the way in which the psalmist draws his encouragement. “For Thou hast been a shelter to me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” You see, the experience of the past may confirm our hope for the future, for He is the “same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever,” and “they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee.” (J. W. Reeve, M.A.) Faith and its aspirations:— I remark, first, that this is the expression of faith, as distinguished from science, and it justifies that faith. The present age is not, I think, to be characterized above all others as an age of intellect. It is an age of wonderful control over the forces and facts of nature. By this knowledge, certainly, man has great power, as he has by all intellectual acquisition. Intellectual strength is a wondrous faculty. In yonder closet there sits a pale thinker, in body puny almost as an infant, shrinking from the cold, and withering under the heat like a sensitive plant. And yet upon some occasion that man will stand up, and his words will run like an electric shock through the hearts of thousands, and they will be swayed by the sheer force of his mind like the leaves of the summer forest. He sets his pen to the vindication of some truth, and his documents flying abroad, alarm councils, change faiths, and alter polities. It is possible you may find a few rare instances of men who can make out what is called a scientific religion, and live by it; having a cause for every effect, and a law for every crisis; finding the source of their own suffering at the end of the scalpel, and counting up their beating pulses by the tick of the watch. But there are few people who can stand on the level of the mere facts of nature and say it is enough to know that the earth turns on its axis, and that all things move in order. We want something higher than all this. These forces of nature have no particular sympathy with us. They are relentless, silent, stern. We crave something akin to ourselves—something near to our own souls, as nature is not—something that is higher than ourselves, to lift us up. It must be above the facts that prevail around us. Therefore, we say, what comes through science does not make up the complement and perfection of human nature. We need an element of faith—that kind of faith with which this grand old psalm was written. The soul wants something more than what the mere intellect gives; something that can reach the depths of its affections, and strengthen it in its moral weakness. So I come to observe, finally, that there are occasions in life when religion demonstrates itself to be a special need and prompting of the soul; when not only is this text found to be the language of religion, above all science and all mere morality, but above all mere logical arguments, above all debates, above all controversy; when there breaks out a demonstration of the truths of religion in just such language and experience as that which is contained in the words of the text—“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (E. H. Chapin.) The believer’s refuge in distress:— I. There is no speck in this earth, no place in the vast extent of God’s boundless creation, WHERE HIS POWER, WISDOM AND GOODNESS DO NOT EXTEND. For whither will you flee, where the hand of God cannot reach you; or where the eye of God cannot see you, and witness your every thought, word and deed? “Who by searching can find out God? Who can find out the Almighty unto perfection?” For what proportion can any series of finite numbers bear to Infinity? II. CONTEMPLATE THE PERIOD WHEN THIS URGENT REQUEST IS MADE, AND WHEN THIS EARNEST SUPPLICATION IS POURED FORTH; namely, when the heart is overwhelmed, when the spirit is sorrowful, and when the soul is bowed down; when deep calleth unto deep, and when the waves and billows roll over the sinking and sorrowing soul. It would be easy to explain why the heart of the sincere Christian is often overwhelmed. Not only has he his troubles and trials in common with the rest of the world, but he has those which are peculiar to him as a member of the household of faith—as a traveller who is journeying to a foreign country—peculiar to him as a citizen of that city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God—peculiar to him as a soldier who is marching through an enemy’s country to take possession of the promised land. III. THE GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL ENCOURAGEMENT EVERY TRIED, TEMPTED AND TREMBLING SINNER HAS TO REPAIR TO THIS ROCK OF DEFENCE. For every believer freely acknowledges, and from his inmost spirit feels, that he is a weak, defenceless creature, unable to contend in his own strength against the powers of sin and death leagued against him; he finds that he has not only to wrestle against “flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”; consequently he had need to take upon him the whole armour of God—he had need to fly for refuge to a stronger arm than his own for protection. (N. Meeres, B.D.) Man’s need of the superhuman:— Unless the rock be beyond our height it cannot shield us from the sun-glare, nor from the arrows of the enemy. We need— I. A FAITH THAT IS BEYOND THE RANGE OF EARTHLY KNOWLEDGE. Daniel Webster said he would not believe in a religion whose doctrines he could comprehend. II. A POWER TO HELP US THAT IS BEYOND OUR OWN POWER, in order to conquer ourselves. (Homiletic Monthly.) The higher life:— We all feel within us that there is something higher, purer, and more firm and endurable than the ignoble and unstable level on which we are living just now. We feel that a higher state is what we should aim at; and it is this instinct which always seems to draw us on. When a man reverently reads the life of Jesus and the writings of the apostles, he feels there is a higher, nobler and purer life to which he is drawn; and I think a prayer in harmony with our feelings is this, “Lead me to the rock, or to the life, that is higher than I.” One feature of this higher life, and one step towards it is this—that in the midst of our crosses and worries and troubles we shall endeavour to be patient and cheerful. Cheerfulness is a great promoter of happiness in ourselves and others. If we have not naturally a cheerful disposition, we should try to cultivate it. “Assume a virtue if you have it not.” We may learn many a lesson of the higher life from the book of Nature. Some one has advised us to go to the ant for a lesson in industry, to the dove to learn innocence, and to the serpent to see wisdom; but let us go to the robin redbreast for a picture of cheerfulness. What can be a finer lesson in patient cheerfulness than the warbling of the robin on your window-sill in a winter morning, when the whole earth is like one hard piece of ice? Tucking one leg under his wing to keep it warm, the robin chirps and warbles to us a lesson of unalloyed patience. There is a step which leads us still higher; it is to be gentle. Gentleness is very high up on the rock of the heavenly life, and therefore it is a step which is rather difficult to mount. Gentleness is the disposition of God. Twice in the Bible we have these remarkable words, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Another characteristic of the higher life is willingness to voluntarily suffer for the good of another. I trust we all believe in this kind of religion. We may have it by prayer. “Lead me,” says the psalmist; “I cannot be self-denying for others unless Thou lead me to be so. Lead me therefore, O God, and it can be done.” (W. Birch.) The sheltering rock:— I. THE SEASON REFERRED TO—“When my heart is overwhelmed.” There are such seasons in Christian experience.
From a sense of the Divine claims we owe obedience (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37).
From the pressure of heavy trials (Psa. 55:12–14).
From the keenness of temptation to which the very best of men are subject. Moses, David, Daniel, Job, and even our Lord Himself, were all tempted.
From the anticipations of future evils. II. WHITHER THE PSALMIST DESIRES TO BE LED—“To the Rock that is higher than I.” “The rock” gives the idea—
Of strength (Ps. 62:2, 6, 8).
Durability: “I am the Lord, I change not.” “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,” etc. III. THE GROUNDS OF THE PSALMIST’S PLEA—“from the ends of the earth.”
This prayer is prompted by a consciousness of need.
It is addressed to the true source of ability.
It is encouraged by past experience (Ps. 61:3). (G. Stockdale.) God the saint’s rock:— There are two things here—
The state wherein the psalmist was—“the end of the earth,” in loneliness and distant from the house of God. And his heart was overwhelmed, and he fainted under his distress.
The course he takes in this state. He cried unto the Lord. His faith made him do so, for faith makes the heart sensible of affliction, and complain of it unto God, and earnestly endeavour to come near to God. What it craves is, that God would lead him to the rock, that is, that God would give him access unto Himself by Christ, in whom God is our rock and refuge. I. NOTE SOME INSTANCES OF THIS CRY OF FAITH (Jonah 2:2, 3). David in many instances. II. THE GROUNDS OF IT.
Faith does this, because it is able to distinguish between the covenant itself, which is firm, stable, invariable; and the administration of the covenant, which is various and changeable; I mean the outward administration of it. And this God teaches us (Psa. 89:30–34).
Faith will naturally thus act, as it is the principle of the new nature in us that came from God, and will tend unto Him, whatever difficulties lie in the way. III. WHAT IT IS, THAT IN SUCH AN OVERWHELMING CONDITION AS I HAVE DESCRIBED, FAITH REGARDS IN GOD, to give it a support and relief, that it be not utterly overwhelmed.
The first thing faith considers in such a condition is the nature of God Himself, and His excellencies. There are three or four circumstances that may befall us in our distress, that faith itself can get no relief against them, but from the essential properties of the nature of God.
Believers may be brought into distress in all places of the world: in a lion’s den with Daniel; in a dungeon with Jeremiah; they may be banished to the ends of the earth, as John to Patmos; or they may be driven into the wilderness, as the woman by the fury of the dragon. Now, what can give relief against this circumstance of distress which may befall the people of God? (Jer. 23:28).
God is ever the same.
There is relief to be found in God, and only in Himself, in the loss of all, when nothing remains. This was Habakkuk’s comfort if all should fail him; yet, saith he, “I will rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation.”
The last circumstance of distress is death, with the way and manner whereby it may approach us: and how soon this will be we know not. The soul’s relief lies in God’s immutability, that we shall find Him the same to us in death as He was in life, and much more. (J. Owen, D.D.) The strong sanctuary:— An ineradicable sense of dependence inheres in every finite being as he is brought into conscious life. A created nature must go out of itself and make its sanctuary in a greater and a holier nature before it can be rightly centred and rationally satisfied. This predisposition to lean, to nestle, to seek sanctuary, is the common birthmark of everything in which there is the breath of life. Rather than have no refuge at all, the troubled man will fly to one who is weaker and less discerning than himself. He will consult an authority he cannot trust rather than be shut up within the ring-fence of his own infirm and imperfect personality. The castaway on an unknown shore will make the savage he has tempted into his service a confidant, and will teach his own speech to the parrot, so that he may hear some other voice, rather than be abandoned to his own resources. The general who has lost a battle, and whose habit it has been to maintain a severe aloofness from every member of his staff, will take counsel in the days of his defeat and humiliation with a dependant, and discuss schemes of campaign with a cook or a campfollower, rather than be left to himself. The lost traveller in the desert will yield himself at last to the instincts of his horse or camel, for he has a maddening horror of the repeated misjudgments which are taking him farther and yet farther from wells of water and palm-trees and the tents and habitations of men. We must have some kind of refuge outside ourselves, if it be but the beggar’s cave. It would be a poor look-out for us if there were nothing within our horizon measuring up to a loftier altitude than our own few paltry cubits of stature. What a wilderness of peril, torture, trepidation, this earthly life would be if there were no high tower, no strong fortress, no enduring refuge, open for us to run into! We need to lean on one towering aloft above this poor, decrepit nature of ours, to fly to the overshadowing power of the Most High, to penetrate the inmost secrets of His love. We demand that which transcends ourselves, and yet is at the same time gentle, gracious, sympathizing. “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Nothing which is on our own level can quiet our fear and appease our distress. Fleeing from ourselves and from all the terrors that pursue us, bidding farewell to the very sins that seem as inseparable from us as our shadows, we may make our dwelling-place and our abiding home in the brightness of His ever faithful presence. This strong and enduring sanctuary can only afford its peace and shelter to our troubled spirits when we are willing to accept terms of reconciliation with God. “God is a refuge for us,” and we cannot hide in the refuge and at one and the same time be estranged from God. The melancholy perplexity of many around us consists in this, that they crave a hiding-place from the evils and terrors which infest human life, and yet they cannot or will not turn their faces Godward. The centrifugal tendency seen in Cain when he fled from the face of the Lord, and yet shuddered at the thought of the pain, execration, antagonism, which were everywhere confronting him in his flight, reappears in us. We want to leave both God and the terrors which beleaguer our steps behind; and the two things are absolutely incompatible. We must humble our pride, consent to be contrite, accept God’s truce, if we are to come into the impregnable sanctuary of His gentleness and power. (T. G. Selby.) The rock higher than I:— Palestine was not only a land that flowed with milk and honey, but a land of rock and river, and of towering mountains, presenting to his eye a diversified scenery of valley and height, of hill and dale. To apply the term Rock to God, as the refuge and defence of His people in times of difficulty and danger, as the natural rocks were to the distressed Israelites, became as it were a proverbial form of speech, which almost ceased to partake of the nature of metaphor. The Lord is my rock and my fortress. Who is a rock, save our God? Then he forsook the God that made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. So in the New Testament Christ is called the Rock that supplied the Israelites with means to quench their spiritual, as the rock of Horeb quenched their natural thirst. He was the Rock that followed them. The prayer, then, of David in the text, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I,” is a prayer for all people and in all times. Adversity is a painful school, but it seems to be the order of God’s providence that the majority of men, if saved at all, should be saved so as by fire. The weakness of humanity requires to be demonstrated, not only in the truth of Scripture, but in their own persons, in order to bring conviction to their minds and to impress their hearts. When merry, we find it easy to sing psalms; it is only when afflicted that we heed the injunction to seek relief in prayer. It is only when sick that we apply to the Great Physician, when lost that we seek to be saved. Not the mighty, the noble, the wise, but sinners are called to repentance; it is only in weakness that we are made strong. When we are victorious upon the plain we turn our backs to the fortress and the rock; it is the routed army that flees to it for shelter and support. But God is no less the needed Rock that is higher than we in prosperity; indeed, if possible, the more needed than in adversity. Of the two we think the history of the human heart will show that the former is the more dangerous and the more fraught with perils to the souls of men. There is no one of us but at some time has felt the need of the Rock that is higher than I. If we have had full garners, we have feared lest in gaining the world we might perchance lose our own souls; if we have been called to suffer and endure, we have wanted beneath us the everlasting arms to be our comfort and support. It is a necessity of our natures, it grows out of our relations to God. We are His creatures; He is the source of our spiritual and natural life, and it is only His sustaining power that can preserve that life in being. If left to ourselves, Scripture, reason, experience, all teach us that we grope as the blind, we totter and fall, and are made painfully conscious of our own weakness and infirmities. To give us confidence, to enable us to to forward without faltering or fear, we must have some other reliance than our own strength and efforts, some other trust than our own unaided resources in the fierce warfare with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Are we weak? there is the source of strength. Are we sorrowing? there is comfort. Are we penitent? there is pardon. Were it merely a Rock, the symbol of strength alone, of that power which can destroy as well as save, our faith might falter and our hopes might fail; but it is the Rock of Love as well, Jesus is a High Priest who can be touched with a feeling for man’s infirmities, for He was tempted and tried in all points as are we, only without sin. (G. F. Cushman, D.D.) Christ our Rock:— I. THE STATE DESCRIBED.
Man is an emotional being; so delicate and subtle is the organization of the human heart, that a single sound will influence it. So highly wrought that it may be operated upon by the most refined instrument which creature skill ever constructed. So tenderly susceptible, that a word is often times enough to lift it into ecstasy, or depress it to despair—so sensitive, that the glance of an eye can fill it with joy, or transfix it with grief.
We may understand, therefore, how it is, that in some circumstances, under strong influences—a sudden influx of joy, or prosperity, or under a storm and inundation of woes—the heart becomes overwhelmed. The Christian is not exempt from the troubles and trials of life; and, in addition to them, how frequently is he overwhelmed with a sense of his own unworthiness—his imperfections; the smallness of his faith—and the coldness of his love. How often does he make the language of the psalmist his own, and say unto God, “When my heart is overwhelmed within me, lead me,” etc. II. THE IMPORT OF THE PRAYER. Here is the expression of conscious weakness, “Lead me.” He feels the need of assisting grace, and Divine support—and with the self-diffidence and conscious weakness of a little child, he tries to grasp his Father’s hand—“Lead me.” “Higher than I.” This implies confidence—faith in God—in the sufficiency of Christ. He acknowledges in Christ some one to look up to, superior to any human source; here is humility. (J. D. Carey.) The appeal of the human to the Divine:— No irreligious man, no liver of the lower life, no man sunk in the material, could pray this prayer. It is the cry of the spiritually awakened man, for only he knows there is anything higher than himself, and only he would ever cry out for its possession.
This man’s conception of Deity has two sides to it—a physical and supernatural. He conceives God in the form of a natural and poetical image; sees Him as a Rock. To others God might be Father, lover, friend, but to him He was the rock, that against which birds and armies and tempests dash themselves to pieces, but also that on which flowers bud out of the winds, and birds build their nests, and men hide from the march of tempests. But it is possible that in this other phrase—“higher than I”—we have another conception of the Divine. Change “higher than I” into “too high for me,” and you have the conception which held his mind. Too high! i.e. on a higher level, of another order, of a greatness I can never attain, nor match, nor rival! Too high, i.e. God is everything man is not. Man, frail, tainted, limited, weak, foolish. God, enduring, holy, omnipotent, unchangeable, all-wise. Too high! i.e. beyond human apprehension! “Too high for me,” makes Him the unknowable, the unsearchable splendour, homed in unapproachable light, and worshipped from afar.
This discovery and conception of the Divine is not without its effect on the man. First it creates a thirst, a desire in the man. The vision breaks up his self-content, and fills him with a heavenward longing. “O Rock, Thou the timeless, the restful, the immutable, let me hide myself in Thee.” Man is but the lichen that would root itself on the unshaken and unshakable. The other effect is of a different character. It is said that the revelation of God is the revelation of a man’s self. When Job saw God, he cried, “I abhor myself.” When Isaiah beheld Him, he exclaimed, “I am a man of unclean lips.” Everywhere else man is the all—the king—only in the temple is he the little helpless child with no language but a cry. Man can see the good, dream it, idealize it; he can long for the good, love it, worship it, but it is his disappointment and his hell that he knows it is not in him to be it, to win it, nor possess it.
With this point the experience seems to terminate. When man reaches the point of inability, he reaches the end. There is nothing more for him to do than to sit down, fold his hands and wait for the inevitable. If he cannot, he cannot, and he can only acquiesce in his helplessness. But such a termination is impossible. The point where man breaks down is the point where the Divine enters and begins its miracles. The revelation is meant to set the human in action, to lift him to something higher. Instead, therefore, of the conception ending with inability, it ends with a sobbing prayer. It is an appeal for means—“Cut steps in the cliff that I may climb it, let down the rope and draw me up.” It is an appeal for help—“I stagger with fatigue and weakness, put an arm round me and help me up the stone-strewn steeps.” It is a cry for guidance—“Take my hand and guide me, and put my foot on the first stair of the stairway that leads to Thee.” It is a cry for light—“I am confused with fear and doubt, give me light that I may see the way that leads to Thee.” It is a cry for shelter—“Suns smite me, and sanddrifts sweep over me, and the whole landscape reels and swims; lift me into the shadow of Thy wings.” It is a cry for salvation—“I cling to Thee, but the storm beats and the waves drag and my hold is slipping, put out Thy hand and draw me from the hungry waters.” It is the prayer of the helpless, the appeal of the human to the Divine—man in his weakness casting himself on the benevolence and omnipotence of Deity, man in his despair abandoning himself to God. Lead me, let me reach Thee, dwell with Thee, and be one with Thee for ever. (C. E. Stone.) The high rock:— I. PRAYER IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE—in every place, and in every condition of our spirit. I think David meant, by the expression, “the end of the earth,” a place where he should be far away from his friends, far away from human help, and far away from God’s sanctuary.
God’s people are sometimes brought into such a condition that they are far away from friends. Perhaps you know what it is to have a trouble which you are compelled to bear yourself, which you could not describe even to those in your own house, though your friends would have been ready to help you if they had known; yet it was such that, with all their readiness, they would not have had ability to assist you in it, the biggest words could not have told it, and the bitterest tears could not have spelled it out. You were far away from friends in reality, though they were all round you. Now, this is what David meant by “the end of the earth,”—far away from friends,—yet even then, when friend and helper and lover failed, did he cry unto his God.
Again, he meant, by “the end of the earth,” far away from human help. There are times when we are sighing after spiritual mercies, when we are groaning under the withdrawal of God’s countenance, when our sins are hunting us like packs of wolves, when afflictions are rolling over us like huge billows—when faith is little, and fear is great, when hope is dim, and doubt becomes terrible and dark—then we are far away from human help; but, blessed be God, even then we may cry unto Him.
By “the end of the earth,” I think, too, David means at a distance from the means of grace. Sometimes, by sickness, either personal or the sickness of our relatives, we are detained from the house of God; at other times, in journeying by land or upon the sea, we are unable to be in God’s sanctuary, and to use the means of grace. II. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN EVEN A BELIEVER CANNOT GET TO CHRIST AS HE DESIRES. Sometimes God, in His sovereignty, is pleased to show a man his sin, and not to show him his Saviour, for a season; he strips the sinner, perhaps he leaves him to shiver in the cold before he clothes him, just to let him know what a boon that robe of Christ’s righteousness is. He sometimes gives repentance and faith at the same time, just as the thunder sometimes follows the lightning at once; at other times, He gives repentance, and then He makes us tarry for many a day before He gives us full assurance of our interest in Christ; but they are sure to follow one another, sooner or later. “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Oh, help me to believe! Lord, enable me to see the need of Thy Son, give me the power to look unto Him who was pierced, and, as Thou hast given me eyes to weep, so give me eyes to look on Him, and grace to rejoice in Him as mine.” III. We are now coming to that part of the text which most of all delights my soul, the thought of JESUS CHRIST, WHO IS THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN WE ARE. Here is a man who is a great sinner. “Ah!” he says, “I am indeed a great sinner; my iniquities reach so high that they have ascended above the very stars; they have gone before me to the judgment-seat of God, and they are clamouring for my destruction.” Well, sinner, come thou here, and measure this Rock. Thou art very high, it is true; but this Rock is higher than thou art. Here comes another forward; he is not a man full of doubts and fears, but he is a man of hopeful spirit. “Oh!” says he, “I have many sins, but I hope that the Lord Jesus Christ will take them all away. I have many wants, but I hope that He will supply them. I shall have many temptations, but I hope that He will ward them off. I shall have many difficulties, but I hope He will carry me through them.” Ah! man, I like to see thee have a good long measuring-rod, when it is made of hope. Hope is a tall companion; he wades right through the sea, and is not drowned; you cannot kill him, do what you may. Hope is one of the last blessings God gives us, and one that abides last with us. If a man is foodless, and without covering, still he hopes to see better days by and by. Now, sinner, thy hopes, I would have thee to see, are very tall, and very high; but remember, this Rock is higher than any of thy hopes. “Well,” cries another, “from what I have heard, and what I have read in God’s Word, I am expecting very great things of Christ when I shall see Him as He is. Oh, sir, if He be better than the communion of His saints can make Him, if He be sweeter than all His most eloquent preachers can speak of Him, if He be so delightful that those who know Him best cannot tell His beauties, what a precious—what a glorious—what an inconceivable Christ He must be!” Ah, I am glad thou art measuring Christ by thine expectation! But let me tell thee, high as thy expectations are, He is higher than thou art. Expect what thou mayest; but when thou seest Him, thou wilt say with the Queen of Sheba, “The half was not told me.” Now, as some of you will be exercised with troubles, remember that the Rock is higher than you are; and when your troubles reach you, if you are not high enough to escape them, climb up to the Rock Christ, for there is no trouble that can reach you when you get there. (C. H. Spurgeon.) The saint’s asylum in distress:— I. THE DISTRESS SUPPOSED. “When my heart is overwhelmed.”
By distressing temptations.
By providential visitations.
By inward fears and depressions. II. THE ASYLUM REFERRED TO. “The rock higher than I.” III. THE PRAYER PRESENTED. “Lead me to the rock,” etc.
Conscious insufficiency.
Confidence in Christ’s all-sufficiency.
Earnest desire to feel our connection with Christ. (J. Burns, D.D.) Overwhelmed:— Imaginea vessel at sea, and you can get an idea of the meaning of our text. It has been labouring in a storm; sometimes lifted up to heaven, as though its masts would sweep the stars; then again descending until its keel seemed dragging on the ocean bed; first staggering this way, and then that way, reeling to and fro, now rushing forward and now starting back—like a drunken man, or like a madman who has lost his way. At last, a huge sea comes rolling on; its white crest of foam can be seen in the distance, and the sailors give up all for lost; on comes the wave, gathering up all its strength till it dashes against the ship, and—down the vessel goes, it is overwhelmed. The decks are swept, the masts are gone, the timbers are creaking, the ship descends, and is sucked down as in a whirlpool; all is lost. “Now,” says David, “that is the case with my heart; it is overwhelmed, drawn into a vortex of trouble, borne down by a tremendous sea of difficulty, crushed and broken; the ribs of my soul seem to have given way; every timber of my vessel is cracked and gone out of its place. My heart is overwhelmed within me.” Can you now get an idea of the extreme sorrow of the psalmist’s spirit? “Yet,” says he, “even then will I cry unto Thee.” Oh, noble faith, that can cry amidst the shrieking of the tempest and the howling of the storm! Oh, glorious faith, that from the bottom of the sea can shoot its arrows to the heights of heaven! Oh, masterpiece of faith, that from a broken spirit can present prevailing prayer! Oh, glorious triumph, that from the end of the earth can send a prayer which can reach all the way to heaven! (C. H. Spurgeon.) The highest rock:— This Rock is higher than thou art. All thou hast enjoyed of Christ is but as the beginning of a topless mountain. When I have been in Scotland, I have gone up some of the hills there; and I have thought, “This is a very high place indeed; what a fine view there is, what a height I have reached!” “Ah!” some one has said, “but if you were to see the Alps, this hill would only seem like the beginning, you would only have got to the foot when you had climbed as high as this;” and so it is with you. By your experience, your sweet enjoyment, you think you have reached the top of the mountain; but Christ comes and whispers to you, “Look yonder, far above those clouds; you have only begun to go up; this hill of communion is only one step; as yet you have only taken a child’s leap; you have farther to go, far higher than you could imagine or conceive.” Ah! this is indeed a Rock higher than thou art, the highest in communion, and the next to the throne of God. (Ibid.) Continuance in prayer—a test of sincerity:— “Will the hypocrite pray always?” No, as the wheel wears with turning, till it breaks at last, so doth the hypocrite. He prays himself weary of praying; something or other will in time make him quarrel with that duty, which he never inwardly liked; whereas tim sincere believer hath that in him which makes it impossible he Should quite give over praying, except he should also cease believing. Prayer is the very breath of faith; stop a man’s breath, and where is he then? ‘Tis true the believer through his own negligence may find some more difficulty of fetching his praying breath at one time than at another, as a man in a cold doth in his natural breath. Alas, who is so careful of his soul’s health that needs not bewail this. But faith to live and this breath of prayer to be quite cut off is impossible. The Christian’s wants, sins and temptations continually return upon him, he cannot but continue also to pray against them. “From the ends of the earth will I call unto Thee,” said David; “wherever I am, I’ll find Thee out; prison me, banish me, or do with me what Thou wilt, Thou shalt never be rid of me.” (W. Gurnall.)
Exell, J. S. (1909). The Biblical Illustrator: The Psalms (Vol. 3, pp. 137–144). Fleming H. Revell Company; Francis Griffiths.
The Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. (Acts 23:11)
Are you a witness for the Lord, and are you just now in danger? Then remember that you are immortal till your work is done. If the Lord has more witness for you to bear, you will live to bear it. Who is he that can break the vessel which the Lord intends again to use?
If there is no more work for you to do for your Master, it cannot distress you that He is about to take you home and put you where you will be beyond the reach of adversaries. Your witness-bearing for Jesus is your chief concern, and you cannot be stopped in it till it is finished: therefore, be at peace. Cruel slander, wicked misrepresentation, desertion of friends, betrayal by the most trusted one, and whatever else may come cannot hinder the Lord’s purpose concerning you. The Lord stands by you in the night of your sorrow, and He says, “Thou must yet bear witness for me.” Be calm; be filled with joy in the Lord.
If you do not need this promise just now, you may very soon. Treasure it up. Remember also to pray for missionaries and all persecuted ones, that the Lord would preserve them even to the completion of their lifework.
31. Why is He called “Christ,” that is, “Anointed?”
Because He has been ordained by God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit,1 to be our chief Prophet and Teacher,2 who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption;3 our only High Priest,4 who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us,5 and who ever lives to make intercession for us with the Father;6 and our eternal King,7 who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.8
Because by faith I am a member of Christ,1 and thus a partaker of His anointing;2 so that I also may confess His name;3 present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him;4 and with a free conscience fight against sin and the devil in this life,5 and hereafter, in eternity, reign with Him over all creatures.6
1 1 Cor 12:12-27; 2 Joel 2:28 (Acts 2:17); 1 Jn 2:27; 3 Mt 10:32; Rom 10:9-10; Heb 13:15; 4 R 12:1; 1 Pt 2:5, 9; 5 Gal 5:16-17; Eph 6:11; 1 Tim 1:18-19; 6 Mt 25:34; 2 Tim 2:12
Christmas is a time of blessing, love, warmth, and peace. Even non-Christians enjoy this season in their way, expressing generosity and care to those around them. We all seek to put hard feelings, pettiness, and trouble behind us.
Christians exult in the celebratory season because the Son of God, very God, Perfect God, poured His infinite self into human flesh to live and die for our sins, and also to impute His righteousness to us. We remember the babe in the manger but also the Man-God on the cross taking all the Father’s wrath for sin.
If a person gets that far in their thinking, it’s usually as far as it goes. We do not like to think of the wrath of God. But we must think of it, because this is the eternal destination for unbelievers.
The next step after the Babe, after the cross, even after the ascension, is to ponder His judgment. He came to save, but He will also punish. He is King, Priest, Prophet, Friend to repentant sinners, and Judge for those who won’t.
Christmas is a good time when unbelievers are thinking of Christ, whether they want to or not. It can be called Gospel season…
Think of those who bask in their sin, refusing God’s Gospel, and die in unrighteousness. They are consigned to hell. Jesus took the wrath for sinners, yes, but we must repent of those sins and fall at the feet of Jesus, else when a person meets Him they will hear those fearsome words, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire.” (Matthew 25:41). The wrath is real.
I have been thinking lot about hell lately. I have unsaved family members. Some of those have heard the gospel from me, some from others. I’ve received negative reactions, dismissals, and rejections. I’ve heard “Away with your dogma!”, “Religion is a crutch for stupid people,” and “I’m fine, I served on the church board and I’ve done good deeds.” Sinners really hate the gospel.
But the reality of hell hangs over them. Some have gone on to their place, including my father. He died at the scene of a car accident he caused. The newspaper took a photo of his tarp-covered body, one elbow sticking out, crumbled car behind him. He was tootling along the highway one second and the next, he was in hell (probably). Of course I can’t know for sure, but after 84 years of rejecting Jesus in his confirmed atheism, one surmises the outcome is not good.
Jonathan Edwards preached about heaven, and in his follow-up sermon, Edwards preached the famous sermon about hell titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It is a startling sermon even today. Edwards was no showman and reportedly read his sermons in practically a monotone, but the weight of the words and the reality of hell caused people to fling themselves out of their pews toward the altar crying “What must I do to be saved?!”
I think of a portion of that sermon that hits my soul like a bowling ball on a mosquito,
“It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: for ‘who knows the power of God’s anger?’” ~Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.
In whose hands are you today? Have you looked to Jesus? Charles Spurgeon was suddenly gripped by a faltering shoemaker, a layman who took over the pulpit that snowy morning, who kept saying from Isaiah 45:22 over and over again—”Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Spurgeon looked. He saw, his eyes were opened.
You do not have to be a skilled preacher, an astute theologian, or an experienced evangelist to share the gospel with someone. Spurgeon said the layman who took over the preacher-less pulpit that morning didn’t even pronounce all the words right, “but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text.” It’s the TEXT that saves, not your delivery of it. God’s word is powerful with the Holy Spirit behind it, whispering it along, or in some cases like mine, hammering it into my stony heart to shatter all my self-sufficiency.
“Is My word not like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?” (Jeremiah 23:29).
Here is a Founders article on The Horror of Hell. It does not carry the same sweetness as thinking of the Babe in swaddling cloths, but it is the default destination of everyone who, in this Christmas season, looks upon a Nativity set and goes their unrepentant fleshly way.
The Horror of Hell by Tom Ascol. “So, what should we think of hell? Is the idea of it really responsible for all the cruelty and torture in the world? Is the doctrine of hell incompatible with the way of Jesus Christ? Hardly. In fact, the most prolific teacher of hell in the Bible is Jesus, and He spoke more about it than He did about heaven. In Matthew 25:41–46 He teaches us four truths about hell that should cause us to grieve over the prospect of anyone experiencing its horrors...”
We’ve flowed through the first section of this series, in looking at verses that prophesy Jesus’ coming, His arrival, and His early life.
Starting today, from Day 12-16 we will look at verses that focus on Jesus as The Son. We begin by examining a pivotal verse in the Bible:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Further Reading
Ligonier: What does ‘the world’ mean in John 3:16? Understanding how undeserving the world is of God’s love is the key to John 3:16. Only then will we appreciate the unexpected gift that God gives. This point was well made many years ago by the esteemed theologian Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield. In his sermon “God’s Immeasurable Love,” Warfield probes the meaning of the term “world” (Greek kosmos) in John 3:16 in order to plumb the depths of God’s love. What is the meaning of “world” in this passage?
Ligonier: John 3:16 and man’s ability to choose God It is ironic that in the same chapter, indeed in the same context, in which our Lord teaches the utter necessity of rebirth to even see the kingdom, let alone choose it, non-Reformed views find one of their main proof texts to argue that fallen man retains a small island of ability to choose Christ. It is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What does this famous verse teach about fallen man’s ability to choose Christ? The answer…
Crosswalk: Why John 3:16 should be more than a slogan For many people John 3:16 reads like a Hallmark card sent from God. In fact, when some Christians speak of the Gospel they use a play on the words of the Hallmark corporate slogan: “God cared enough to send His very best.” But John 3:16 is not a message of sentiment. When God sent His Son into the world, He was not having an emotional response to the tragedy of sin.
Spurgeon: Devotional on John 3:16, His Love, His Gift, His Son This text is a polestar, for it has guided more souls to salvation than any other Scripture. It is among promises what the Great Bear is among constellations. Several words in it shine with peculiar brilliance…
Q: How do we guard our minds against deceptive spirituality?
We live in a time when deceptive spirituality is everywhere. Social media influencers promote “energy healing,” self-help teachers repackage Eastern mysticism, and even some churches adopt practices that blur the line between biblical Christianity and pagan spirituality. The danger is subtle because deception rarely presents itself as deception. It often arrives wrapped in language that sounds compassionate, uplifting, or even Christian.
Here is how believers guard their minds with clarity and confidence.
1. Saturate Your Heart and Mind with Scripture
Discernment begins where God speaks, His Word. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” A mind anchored in Scripture is trained to spot counterfeits quickly. The enemy thrives where biblical literacy is weak. He falters where God’s Word is treasured.
2. Stay Anchored in the Sufficiency of Christ
Many forms of deceptive spirituality promise something more:
a deeper experience.
secret knowledge.
emotional highs.
spiritual shortcuts.
But Colossians 2:10 reminds us, “You are complete in Him.” You do not need spiritual enhancements outside of Christ. He is enough. His Word is enough. His Spirit is enough. Most spiritual deception begins with one subtle belief, “Christ is good, but I need something more.” Guard your heart from that lie.
3. Pay Attention to What a Teaching Says About Sin and Salvation
Deceptive spirituality always distorts the gospel.
Sin becomes “brokenness,” not rebellion.
Salvation becomes self discovery, not repentance and faith.
Holiness becomes optional, not essential.
First John 4:1 calls believers to “test the spirits.” Every spiritual message must be measured against Scripture, especially its view of sin, Christ, and the cross.
4. Watch for Practices Rooted in Pagan or Occult Ideas
Practices like yoga, manifestation, astrology, and enneagram mysticism are not spiritually neutral. They grow from worldviews that oppose the gospel. Ephesians 5:11 says, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness.” Christians do not redeem pagan spiritual practices, we reject them.
5. Walk in Wise, Accountable Community
Believers grow safer and sharper together. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise.” Faithful pastors, discipleship relationships, and godly friends help us recognize danger we might miss on our own. Isolation is spiritually dangerous. Community is spiritually protective.
6. Fill Your Mind with What Leads You Toward Christ
Philippians 4:8 calls us to dwell on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy. Your spiritual intake shapes your spiritual discernment. What you consume forms who you become. Guard your mind by choosing what fuels love for Christ and obedience to His Word.
A Closing Encouragement
Deceptive spirituality thrives in a distracted and spiritually hungry world. But by God’s grace you can stay clear minded and anchored. Fill your heart with Scripture. Hold fast to Christ. Test every message. Walk with wise believers. Choose what draws you closer to the Savior.
The God who calls you to discernment also gives you the wisdom to walk in it.
For more from Contending for the Word Q&A please visit our page at Servants of Grace or at our YouTube.
Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” (11:20–27)
When word reached Martha that Jesus was coming into the village she went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. The actions of the two sisters are in keeping with the picture of them in Luke 10:38–42. Martha was the bustling, active one (“distracted with all her preparations”; Luke 10:40), Mary was the quiet, contemplative one (“seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word”; v. 39). According to Jewish custom, those who suffered the loss of a loved one remained seated while the other mourners consoled them. But Martha, in keeping with her forceful personality, left her house and went to meet Jesus as He approached. When Martha reached Him, the disturbing thought that had been uppermost in her mind (and her sister’s; v. 32) for the last few days came pouring out: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Although obviously heartbroken, she was not rebuking the Lord for failing to prevent Lazarus’s death. As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, the sisters’ message had arrived too late, humanly speaking, for Jesus to have returned to Bethany in time to heal him. Martha’s words were simply a poignant expression of grief mingled with the faith she expressed in her next statement: “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” That confidence, however, evidently did not extend to Jesus’ ability to resurrect her brother, as her later hesitation when the tomb was opened makes clear (v. 39). She seems to have had faith in the Lord’s power to heal, but not in His power to raise the dead (perhaps the possibility had not even crossed her mind). Nonetheless Martha recognized that Jesus had a special relationship with God. She was therefore confident that through His prayers some good could still come out of the tragedy. Jesus responded by assuring her, “Your brother will rise again.” He meant that Lazarus was going to be resurrected immediately, but Martha missed the point. She assumed that Jesus, like the other mourners, was comforting her by pointing out that Lazarus would rise again at the end of the age. Martha, however, was already familiar with that truth, and so she replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” The resurrection of the body was taught in the Old Testament (e.g., Job 19:25–27; Ps. 16:10; Dan. 12:2), and affirmed by the Pharisees (though not by the Sadducees; Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:6–8). It was also, as Martha knew, the teaching of Jesus (cf. 5:21, 25–29; 6:39–40, 44, 54). Ironically, while she believed Jesus had the power to raise her brother in the distant future, she did not think that He could also do so immediately. Challenging Martha to move beyond an abstract belief in the final resurrection to complete faith in Him, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” This is the fifth of the seven “I AM” deity claims in John’s gospel (6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 14:6; 15:1, 5). Martha’s focus was on the end of the age, but time is no obstacle for the One who has the power of resurrection and life (cf. 5:21, 26). Jesus will raise the dead in the future resurrection of which Martha spoke. But He was also going to raise her brother immediately. The Lord called her to a personal trust in Him as the One who alone has power over death. Jesus’ next two statements, “he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die,” are not redundant. They teach separate, though related, truths. The one who believes in Jesus will live even if he dies physically because He will raise him on the last day (5:21, 25–29; 6:39–40, 44, 54). And since everyone who lives and believes in Him has eternal life (3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54), they will never die spiritually (see the discussion of 8:51 in chapter 32 of this volume), since eternal life cannot be extinguished by physical death. As a result, all who trust in Christ can exult, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55). When Jesus challenged Martha, “Do you believe this?” He was not asking her if she believed that He was about to raise her brother. The Lord was calling her to personally believe that He alone was the source of resurrection power and eternal life. R. C. H. Lenski writes,
To believe “this” is to believe what he says of himself and thus to believe “in him.” It is one thing to hear it, to reason and to argue about it; and quite another thing to believe, embrace, trust it. To believe is to receive, hold, enjoy the reality and the power of it, with all that lies in it of joy, comfort, peace, and hope. The measure of our believing, while it is not the measure of our possessing, since the smallest faith has Jesus, the resurrection and the life, completely, is yet the measure of our enjoyment of it all. (The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel [Reprint; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1998], 803)
Because of His infinite love for Martha’s soul, Jesus pointed her to the only source of spiritual life and well-being—Himself. Martha’s affirmation of faith in Jesus stands with the other great confessions of His identity in the gospels (1:49; 6:69; Matt. 14:33; 16:16). It anticipates John’s purpose statement for writing his gospel: “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (20:31). Martha emphatically (the Greek text has the personal pronoun in addition to the verb) declared three vital truths about Jesus: Like Andrew (1:41), she confessed that He was the Christ, or Messiah; like John the Baptist (1:34), Nathanael (1:49), and the disciples (Matt. 14:33) she affirmed that He was the Son of God; and finally, like the Old Testament had predicted (cf. Is. 9:6; Mic. 5:2), she referred to Him as He who comes into the world—the deliverer sent by God (Luke 7:19–20; cf. John 1:9; 3:31; 6:14).
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). John 1–11 (pp. 462–465). Moody Press.
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”
John 11:17–26
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
About fifty years before the birth of Jesus Christ a letter was written by a well-known Roman, Sulpicius Severus, to the great orator Cicero on the occasion of the death of Cicero’s beloved daughter Tullia. It is a magnificent letter. It expresses deep sympathy. It reminds the orator that his daughter had only experienced a lot common to mankind and had passed away only when the freedom of the Republic was itself failing. It is warm and moving. But in spite of these great qualities the letter contains nothing of a hope of life beyond the grave. In reply, Cicero thanks his friend for his sympathy and enlarges upon the measure of his loss. A century later the apostle Paul was in contact with Christians who had become similarly discouraged by the death of their friends, as the result of which he too has left us a letter. But Paul’s letter is different. True, it acknowledges sorrow; but it also breathes hope. It deals with death, but it also knows the comfort of a resurrection. In it Paul writes, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.… Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thess. 4:13–14, 18). These letters present a remarkable contrast, for they throw into relief that new awareness of the future life introduced by Christianity. Cicero was not unaware of Plato’s arguments for immortality or of any of the other arguments advanced in his day, but these were poor comfort in face of the cruel horror of death. Paul, on the other hand, moves in a new spirit of hope and confidence.
A Troubled Believer
Before we look at Christ’s statement regarding the resurrection and of himself as “the resurrection and the life,” we need to look at the one to whom he spoke it. For the person to whom he spoke was Martha, and Martha is an excellent example of a certain type of believer, of whom we have many today. These do not distrust the Lord, but neither do they believe with that full confidence that would allow them to lay aside their care and rest in his good provision. They believe, but they are always troubling themselves with questions of “How?” and “Why?” and “What if?” and so miss the blessing that could be theirs if they would only believe more simply. Such faith always attempts to limit God or, which is the same thing, to scale down his promises. Notice that Martha limited the Lord’s working both to time and place, for she said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). We need to recall here that Jesus had deliberately delayed his return to Bethany for two days so that he eventually arrived in Bethany four full days after Lazarus’ burial. Some have felt that Jesus delayed until Lazarus had died (and have imagined this to be cruel), but a careful thinking through of the days will show that this probably was not true. If we number the days one through four, we can reconstruct what happened. On the first day, as Lazarus was getting worse, the sisters sent to Jesus. Apparently Lazarus died some time after the departure of the messenger and was quickly buried, so that this day counts as the first of the four in which he lay in the tomb. Quick burials were customary in such a hot climate. The next two days Jesus stayed in the area of the Jordan; that is, days two and three. Then, on the fourth day, Jesus returned to Bethany and performed the resurrection. Lazarus was therefore already dead by the time word of his illness reached Jesus; Jesus knew of it and therefore delayed his return, not that Lazarus might die but for an entirely different purpose. The reason Jesus delayed his return from the Jordan was that there might be no doubt that Lazarus was dead and that there might therefore be no cause for doubting the miracle. Thus we know that from the beginning he intended to perform it. Martha did not see this, however, so when Jesus returned to Bethany her first words were a bit of rebuke. And they expressed her own limited faith, as I have indicated. “If you had been here,” she said. That is, she felt that Jesus could have done something four days earlier but that he could not do what was obviously necessary now. True, one verse later Martha says, “But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask” (v. 22). But we know that her “whatever” did not include a resurrection, for she was quick to rebuke Christ later when he asked that the stone be rolled away from the tomb of Lazarus. Moreover, Martha also clearly tried to limit Christ by place; for she said, “If you had been here,” that is, in Bethany. It implied that Jesus could not have healed her brother from a distance. A little later she does the same thing when she reacts to Christ’s promise concerning her brother—“Your brother will rise again”—by saying, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. 24). In the same way many of us also seek to limit Jesus. We believe that he is able to do all he says he will do—but not now and not here. At least we do not expect him to and are genuinely surprised or disbelieving when he does. The second characteristic of Martha’s strange faith is that she treated the words of Christ impersonally. The first recorded words of Jesus after his return to Bethany were a tremendous promise. He said, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). But instead of taking this in the best and most personal sense—as a promise that Jesus was about to restore her brother to her—Martha pushed the words off into the future as though to say that they had no relationship either to herself or her situation. This is also what we do with Christ’s promises, many of us. We believe them, in a sense, that is, as they apply to others or to a far distant time. But we do not receive them personally. For us, the glorious promises of God become something like a mighty fleet that has been put in moth balls, or like antiques in the attic. They have value, we suppose; but practically we get nothing out of them. The story is told of a gentleman who visited the home of a poor French couple a long time ago where he saw a note for one thousand francs papered to the wall. He asked them how they got that particular piece of paper. They answered that they had found a poor soldier, who had been wounded, and that they had nursed him in their home until he died. He had given it to them. It was such a nice memorial of him, they thought, that they had caused it to be plastered to the wall where they would always be able to see it. Naturally they were surprised when they were told that it would be worth quite a little fortune to them if they would turn it into money. Unfortunately many Christians do that with God’s promises. But they should not—that is the point. As Spurgeon once wrote, they should have “grace to turn God’s bullion … into current coin.”
A New Revelation
We have looked at Martha, then. Let us now look at Jesus and at the way in which he dealt with her. She had come expressing a poor kind of faith, a faith that was half faith and half doubt. Even her words had a hint of rebuke about them. But Jesus did not get angry with her for her weak faith, or rebuke her in turn for her attitude. He could have said, “Martha, Martha, what poor thoughts you have of me. I have been with you for a long time and you still do not know that I am both willing to and will raise your brother.” He could have said something like that, but he did not. Rebuke in a time of great sorrow is not helpful, and is uncalled for. Besides, it would even have been misunderstood; for Martha thought she was expressing great faith in Jesus when she said, “But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask” (v. 22). Instead, Jesus used the opportunity to teach Martha more of himself. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (vv. 25–26). What did Jesus teach Martha? His first words were words to her condition specifically. She had attempted to push the resurrection off to the last day. Jesus replied by saying that he himself was the resurrection and that, therefore, wherever he is there is life. In this case, the Lord Jesus Christ was present physically; so there was going to be physical life. Lazarus would live again. When Jesus returns physically at the end of this age, there will be a physical resurrection then also. At other times, as today, Jesus is present spiritually; so there is a spiritual resurrection rather than a physical one. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have experienced this resurrection. You were dead in trespasses and sins, but you have been brought to life by Jesus. Likewise, all who know the Lord Jesus Christ will experience a physical resurrection. So at this point, having spoken directly to Martha’s situation, Jesus goes on to develop his teaching. “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (vv. 25–26). These comments can mean any of three things. First, both halves of Christ’s saying can be taken spiritually. If we do this, the sense would be, “Whoever believes in me, though he were spiritually dead, yet shall he become spiritually alive. And whosoever is spiritually alive and continues to believe in me shall never die spiritually.” The advantage of this interpretation is that it takes the terms in the same sense. If it is followed, the major thought is that the one who believes in Christ, having received the eternal life of God, will never be lost. The second interpretation is one that takes the first half of Christ’s words physically and the second half spiritually. It would give us a meaning somewhat like this: “He who believes in me, even though he should die physically, yet he will live physically [that is, there will be a final resurrection]. And whosoever is spiritually alive and believes in me shall not die spiritually.” The advantage of this interpretation is that it relates to Martha’s problem directly—the problem of physical death answered by physical resurrection. The disadvantage is that the terms, particularly the term “life,” must be taken in different senses. The third interpretation takes both halves of Christ’s statement physically, that is, as applying to the time of Christ’s second coming at which time those who are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air while those who have died will be raised physically. This, while true, does not seem to relate to the situation in John 11. But if it were the meaning of the verses, we would have to read them like this: “He who believes in me, though he shall have died physically by the time of my return, yet shall he be raised. And whoever is a believer and is still living at the time of my return, shall never die physically but shall be caught up to heaven.” This was the interpretation of C. H. Spurgeon and some other commentators. Which of these is to be preferred? It is probably impossible to say with certainty; for, since the statements involved in each view are true in themselves, each could be possible. In my opinion the second is the most likely in that it begins with Martha’s situation but then goes on to present a higher principle. If this is the case, then Christ’s promises are all-inclusive. There is a promise of spiritual life and physical life. There is a promise of life now and also life to come. Moreover, it is clearly stated that this life is only for those who believe on Christ and who are therefore members of his covenant people.
A Direct Application
This brings us to our conclusion, which is at the same time (let us note) the conclusion that Jesus pressed upon Martha. It is a conclusion in the form of a question: “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). Jesus had made a statement (“I am the resurrection and the life”); he had elaborated upon it. Now he asks, “Do you believe this? Do you really believe it?” This is the question I would like to leave with you also. Do you believe Christ’s teaching? As you think about it, notice that Jesus speaks of faith and not feeling. He did not say to Martha, “Do you feel better now, Martha? Have you found these thoughts comforting? Do you feel your old optimism returning?” According to Jesus it was not how she felt that was important, but what she believed. Feelings are deceiving. Moreover, they come and go. On the other hand, faith is an anchor fixed in bedrock. To believe the words of Jesus is to believe in One whose promises are absolutely trustworthy. Notice also that Christ was specific. He did not say, “Martha, do you believe generally?” He said, “Martha, do you believe this? That is, do you believe the specific truths I have taught you?” I ask that question of you. I trust that your answer may be different. Do you believe this? You should be able to say, “Yes, Lord, I believe it. I believe all that is written in your Book. “I believe in one great God, who has made this earth and has placed me upon it. I believe that I am sinful. I believe that this same God in love and wisdom sent the Lord Jesus Christ to die for me that I might be saved. I believe that Jesus existed with God and as God from the beginning, that he became man, that his death was a substitutionary death for me by which my sin has been removed as far as the east is from the west and on the basis of which it will be remembered against me no more. I believe in Christ’s historical, literal, and bodily resurrection, by which God has demonstrated that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is acceptable to him as an all-sufficient atonement for the sin of his people and in which he has also given a foretaste of the coming resurrection of all who believe on him. I believe in the person and power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that he opens blind eyes to see Christ and moves rebellious wills to embrace him to their salvation. I believe that he illuminates the written Word of God so that those who are saved can understand it and obey it. I believe in the fellowship of the saints. I believe in the church. I believe in God’s providence, by which nothing enters the life of the Christian that is not the product either of God’s direct or permissive will. I believe that God chastises his children. I believe that he is determined to perfect the character of Jesus Christ in all who are united to Christ by faith. I believe that Jesus will one day return from heaven even as he was seen to go into heaven—bodily and in time. I believe that in that day there will be a final resurrection of believers to the life of heaven and of unbelievers to judgment. In hell there will be suffering. In heaven there will be a life of blessing prepared in advance by God for those whom he has chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.” There is much more that can be said, of course. But every Christian should be able to say at least that. “Do you believe this?” You should be able to echo the teaching of the written Word in answer to the question of the living Word, rounding it off with a hearty, “Yes, Lord, I believe all that is written in your Book.”
Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John: an expositional commentary (pp. 849–854). Baker Books.
25, 26. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never, never die; do you believe this? Here follows another great I AM, the fifth one. There are seven. For the others see on 6:35; 8:12; 10:9; 10:11; 14:6; and 15:5. Subject and predicate are again interchangeable. Jesus is the resurrection and the life; the resurrection and the life, that is Jesus. Both the resurrection and the life are rooted in him (cf. Rom. 6:8, 9; 1 Cor. 15:20, 57; Col. 1:18; 1 Thess. 4:16). Note the order: first resurrection, then life; because resurrection opens the gate to immortal life. Jesus is the resurrection and the life in person (see on 1:3, 4), the full, blessed life of God, all his glorious attributes: omniscience, wisdom, omnipotence, love, holiness, etc. As such he is also the cause, source, or fountain of the believers’ glorious resurrection and of their everlasting life. Because he lives we too shall live. With him removed, nothing but death is left. With him present, resurrection and life is assured. The Prince of life is ever the conqueror of death. Not only is he this by and by in the resurrection on the last day; he is this always. That is exactly the truth which Martha failed to grasp. Hence, Jesus placed emphasis upon it here, in order that the spark of hope might be kindled once more in Martha’s breast, and that it might be fanned into a briskly burning, open flame. What Martha scarcely dared to hope was about to become real, for he, who was the Prince of life also at this moment, was victor over death, over death in every form. The remainder of this glorious I AM is a systematic development of the opening words. Jesus is the resurrection; hence, “he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Jesus is the life; hence, “everyone who lives and believes in me shall never, never die.” This is beautiful parallelism, synthetic in character. The second clause reinforces the first, but does not merely repeat it! First, the believer is pictured at the moment of death. One naturally thinks of Lazarus, but what is said is true of every believer who dies physically. The words are: “He who believes (abidingly) in me (note present participle ὁ πιστεύων followed by εἰς; and see on 1:8; 3:16; and especially on 8:30, 31a), though he die (physically), yet shall he live (possessing everlasting life in glory). Next, the believer is pictured as he lives here on earth, before death. We read: “And everyone who lives (spiritually; see on 1:3, 4; 3:16) and believes (abidingly) in me, shall never, never die (shall most certainly never taste everlasting death; shall never, never be separated soul and body from the presence of the God of love).” See also on 3:15–17; 6:47. Even physical death fails to quench the believer’s real life; on the contrary, such death is gain, for it introduces him into the full enjoyment of life. In the first clause believing is followed by living. The life of heaven is meant. It is true, of course, that even here on earth the believer has a foretaste of this heavenly life (3:36; cf. 3:16).—In the second clause living and believing (a kind of hendiadys: living by faith) is followed by never dying. We have here an instance of litotes: shall never, never die really implies: shall most certainly live forever, yes forever. Note the strong negative: shall never, never die (οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα). The whole is beautiful parallelism, in which the second clause confirms and strengthens the first. The arrangement, moreover, is climactic. This will be seen immediately: that the believer at death enters upon life in the state of perfection is comforting, but not unfamiliar; that the believer residing here on earth is given the assurance that he will never, no never die, is astounding! Cf. also Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 4:16. Thus gloriously the miracle itself (11:38–44) is introduced and illumined, so that when it occurs it shall be viewed not as an end in itself but as an illustration of what Christ is and wishes to be for all those who trust in him. Thus, the miracle will be seen in its true character, namely, as a sign, pointing away from itself, to Christ, and making him manifest in all his glory. An unbeliever rejects both propositions of this glorious I AM (i.e., both 11:25b and 11:26a), and also the statement in which the two are rooted (11:25a). He is of the opinion that death ends all. Hence he cannot accept the statement: “He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” He also conceives of physical death as being the real thing, the grim reaper; hence, for him the idea that this death could ever be robbed of its real power is nonsense. It is by faith, by faith alone, that these great truths are accepted. Hence, Jesus demanded that Martha should personally appropriate what she had just now heard from his lips, namely, that as a result of what he is—namely, the resurrection and the life—the life of a believer ever conquers death. “Do you believe this?” says Jesus to Martha. There follows a beautiful confession:
Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to John (Vol. 2, pp. 149–151). Baker Book House.
The fall of Britain: How has it happened and who’s caused it? The fall of Britain is being presided over by a governing elite who hate our country. “It’s not just the dismal Labour Party and the charisma-free zone that is Keir Starmer, it’s the conservatives in name only, who wanted to be the heirs to [Tony] Blair, it’s the communist Greens … it’s the bureaucrats who’ve been captured by the left, and the judiciary who are a self-perpetuating oligarchy,” “This calamity – the fall of Britain, the fall of England, the fall of London – is being presided over by a governing elite who hate our country.
Israel to mediators: Hamas knows where body of last hostage is Israel sends message to mediators, stressing that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, know where the body of Yasam officer Ran Gvili is located, and that Hamas can access it. He added, “Hamas already understands they have no choice but to move toward disarmament and demilitarization. Either they agree to it, or we will dismantle their weapons ourselves. We will not leave in Gaza a threat to the State of Israel.”
IDF eliminates terrorists who crossed yellow line in southern Gaza Earlier on Saturday, in two separate incidents, IDF troops identified several terrorists who crossed the yellow line and posed an immediate threat to them. Following the identification, the troops fired and eliminated three of the terrorists in order to remove the threat.
Rare recordings of Bashar al-Assad exclusive video footage showing former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in private conversations with his former adviser Luna al-Shibl, with Amjad Issa, al-Shibl’s assistant, in the car. Bashar al-Assad and his adviser mocked in their conversation soldiers in the Syrian army who kissed al-Assad’s hand, and also the Syrian police and the interior minister in his government. Assad also mocked the Syrian public, noting that they, “spend money on mosques when they have nothing to eat.”
A consensus on Gaza appears to emerge among Arab states at Doha Forum A number of officials from various Arab states gathered in Doha over the weekend for the Doha Forum. They appear to be coming together in a consensus regarding Gaza and the need for the Trump-backed ceasefire deal to move to a new phase. The White House also appears to want this to happen. Among the statements at the Doha confab, there was Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who said on Saturday that the rapid deployment of an international ceasefire monitoring force should happen soon “under the second phase of a peace deal for the Gaza Strip,” Arab News reported.
What does Trump’s National Security Strategy mean for Israel, Iran, and Gaza? The Middle East doesn’t get much attention in US President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy, and that is what makes it important for Israel and the region, at large. Much of the discussion about the strategy focuses on its view of Europe. It was already clear that the administration was skeptical of Europe and wanted to focus more domestically and on the Western Hemisphere.
Hamas Braces for Israeli Operations Abroad, Continued Clan Opposition in Gaza Hamas is increasingly preparing for what it sees as an imminent Israeli attempt to assassinate senior leaders abroad, urging members to tighten personal security as the group simultaneously works to consolidate its weakened position in Gaza and reassert control over the enclave.
Palestinian Official Calls Drop Site News Founder an ‘Apologist’ for Hamas, Ex-Obama Aides Say They ‘Love’ the Site A Palestinian diplomat accused a popular new anti-Israel website of running cover and acting as an apologist for Hamas. Abdal Karim Ewaida, the Palestinian ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, posted on social media about Drop Site News on Tuesday, after the website reported that the Palestinian Authority was planning to ban Hamas and other terrorist factions from running in future elections.
White House Releases New National Security Strategy Indicating Renewed Focus on Western Hemisphere The White House late on Thursday night released its new “National Security Strategy,” indicating a sharp pivot of the nation’s strategic focus toward the Western Hemisphere while recalibrating US engagement with Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. “After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere,
The ‘Times Of The Gentiles’ And The Beginning Of Israel’s Preeminent Position Amongst The Nations As we continue to focus on the many different events which will ultimately find their fulfilment in God’s prophetic program, one of the most dramatic changes facing the world is the end of Gentile domination. You see, at this moment, the world is still in a period referred to as “the times of the Gentiles.” However, this period does have an expiration date. Gentile domination is specifically concerned with the city of Jerusalem,
Very strong M7.0 earthquake hits near Yakutat, Alaska A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.0 struck near Yakutat, Alaska, at 20:41 UTC on December 6, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.8 at a depth of 10 km. According to the National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC), there is no tsunami danger from this earthquake.
Nearly One Million UK Toddlers Hooked on Social Media Children as young as three are scrolling social media feeds built for adults. New analysis has emerged suggesting almost a million UK children aged 3-5 years old are using platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. That includes an increase of 220,000 this year alone, with usage spiking despite application age limits and an ever-mounting pile of harmful evidence.
If you’re sick of a watered-down, Christ-less Christmas, here’s your chance to do something about it On 13 December, Unite the Kingdom (“UTK”) is holding its “Putting Christ Back Into Christmas” outdoor carol concert in central London. “This event marks the beginning of a new Christian revival in the UK – a moment to reclaim and celebrate our heritage, culture and Christian identity. This event is not about politics. It is not about immigration. It is not about Islam or any other group. It is about Jesus Christ – fully and completely,” its webpage says. “Join us on 13 December as we lift up the name of Jesus, celebrate His birth, and ignite a renewed spirit of Christian unity across our nation.”
Mamdani Taps Felons, Antisemites for Key Committees – Some with Ties to Nation of Islam’s Hatemongering Farrakhan Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is populating his key committees with exactly the kind of people you would expect… felons, antisemites, anti-police activists, and Democratic Socialists of America members (i.e., communists). It would appear that most of them are Muslim, and religion evidently tops morality and criminal behavior in his selection process. He has chosen 400 “experts” for his 17 transition teams.
Trump to unveil Board of Peace on Dec 15, amid Israeli concerns over Hamas disarmament As the U.S. is rapidly advancing toward Phase Two of the Gaza peace deal, President Trump is expected to announce the composition of his transitional “Board of Peace”(BoP) body on December 15. This high-level council, chaired by Trump, will oversee temporary governance of Gaza, supervise reconstruction funding, and prepare the ground for eventual handover to a reformed Palestinian Authority. The council will preside over an international executive board that will manage operations, and a new Palestinian technocratic government, consisting of experts unaffiliated with Hamas or Fatah, who will handle the administration.
Most self-identified Christians think doing ‘good things’ is enough to get to Heaven New research reveals that most self-identified Christians think doing “good things” for others is enough to secure them a spot in Heaven, in what one leading researcher views as the latest example of a widespread embrace of “unbiblical beliefs” among American Christians.
Trump, flanked by first lady Melania Trump, cited John 1:4 from the Gospel.
“Tonight, this beautiful evergreen tree glows bright on the dark and cold winter night and reminds us of the words of the Gospel of John: ‘In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.’ Beautiful words,” Trump said.
“With the birth of Jesus, human history turned from night to day. His Word and His example call us to love one another, to serve one another, and to honor the sacred truth that every child is specially made in the image of God,” he continued.
Just before quoting John, the President also recognized the true reason for the season, saying, “During this holy season, Christians everywhere rejoice at the miracle in Bethlehem, more than 2,000 years ago, when the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, came down from heaven to be with us.”
You can view the President’s comments in the video below:
President Trump’s usage of the word “our” is striking. Is he calling Jesus Christ hispersonal savior, or is he simply referencing Christ’s lordship over America?
We do not and likely never will know President Trump’s heart on this matter. However, we have prayed for years for him to be personally saved. Furthermore, we know the Lord has been working on him ever since an assassin nearly took his life last July.
Whatever the President’s personal beliefs are, it is clear he is sensitive to and reverent toward the Gospel. Let’s thank God for giving us a President who honors Him and knows His Word!
Are you encouraged by the President’s comments? Share your prayers and praises below.
(Excerpt from Breitbart. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
.@POTUS at the National Christmas Tree lighting: "During this holy season, Christians everywhere rejoice at the miracle in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago when the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be with us." pic.twitter.com/ufJfFWhXJa
Providence Baptist Church on RSBN featuring Pastor Dr Rusty Sowell live from Providence Baptist Church in Beauregard, AL Sunday Morning Worship 12/7/25
WATCH: Chicago Public Schools Blew $23.6 Million on Luxury Trips
Public school districts exist for one purpose: educating children. They are entrusted with public dollars, charged with preparing the next generation for citizenship and the workforce, and expected to manage resources responsibly.
But in many major districts, that mission has collapsed under political control, financial irresponsibility, and a refusal to prioritize students. Few places illustrate this breakdown more clearly than Chicago Public Schools.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, a recent report from the CPS Office of Inspector General detailed $23.6 million in improper or wasteful travel spending—dollars that should have gone directly toward recovering from historic learning losses.
Instead, district employees used public funds for high-end hotel suites, airport limousines, first-class airfare, and “professional development” conferences that resembled vacations more than training. One staff member extended a four-day seminar into a weeklong stay at a Hawaiian resort costing nearly $5,000.
Another principal booked a luxury suite on the Las Vegas Strip and quietly extended the trip to celebrate an anniversary. In one school alone, 24 employees billed taxpayers $50,000 to attend a single Las Vegas conference.
The abuses extended overseas. CPS employees charged more than $142,000 for travel to South Africa, Egypt, Finland, and Estonia—complete with hot-air balloon rides and game-park safaris. These trips took place while Chicago families were told that there wasn’t enough money to fully address learning gaps or chronic absenteeism.
Most troubling, the waste accelerated when federal pandemic relief funds flooded district budgets.
Of the $23.6 million identified, $14.5 million was spent in just 2023 and 2024.
The money had been intended to repair the academic devastation caused by the Chicago Teachers Union’s decision to keep classrooms closed for 78 weeks—one of the longest shutdowns in the nation.
Instead of investing in tutoring, extended learning time, or literacy interventions, district officials treated the funds as a travel account.
The consequences are measurable. Only about 40% of CPS students can read at grade level, and just 25% meet math standards. In certain neighborhoods, proficiency rates sink into the single digits.
Nearly half of the district’s students—and an outright majority of high schoolers—are chronically absent. A school system cannot prepare students for college or employment when tens of thousands no longer attend regularly.
The connection between chronic absenteeism and public safety is well-documented.
Communities struggle when an entire generation is disconnected from education and opportunity. No city with academic outcomes this low can realistically expect improvements in long-term safety or economic mobility.
The issue is not confined to Chicago. Across the country, elected officials have redirected money toward political initiatives instead of classroom instruction.
In New York, lawmakers used the 2025 “People’s Budget” to expand ideologically driven personnel programs rather than academic recovery. They proposed $8 million to increase teacher-diversity pipelines—even though New York City’s teaching workforce is already 42% black, far above the city’s black population share.
They spent hundreds of thousands for cultural-inclusivity initiatives and educator conventions while 154,000 New York City students are homeless and nearly half of students statewide fail basic reading exams.
New York spends more per pupil than any state—over $39,000—yet performance continues to decline.
If funding alone determined outcomes, New York would be the best school system in America. Instead, it reflects a national crisis of priorities.
That is why school choice has become so compelling to families. Charter schools provide 30-50% more instructional time than traditional public schools and consistently show stronger achievement gains.
A study in North Carolina found that entering a charter high school reduced a student’s likelihood of committing a crime by roughly 30%. Milwaukee’s long-running voucher program produced similar declines in criminal behavior among participating students.
When families have options, they choose learning environments where expectations are higher, engagement is stronger, and resources reach classrooms instead of bureaucracy.
Chicago’s financial abuse and New York’s budget decisions highlight a simple truth: families—not systems—should control educational decisions.
NATOs European Member States + Turkey via Wikimedia Commons
The Trump administration, according to officials cited by Reuters, has quietly informed EU diplomats that the United States expects Europe to assume most of NATO’s conventional defense responsibilities by 2027.
Euroglobalists allegedly have privately confessed this wake-up call is beyond their grasp, even if they drastically slashed their ballooning social welfare budgets.
Pentagon representatives are said to have delivered the message during a closed-door meeting in Washington, warning that, as things currently stand, U.S. participation in core NATO coordination structures is set to be scaled back considerably.
For decades, Europe has relied on American military might to maintain its unity and protect it from outside threats while funneling billions into social welfare expansion, left-globalist ideological adventures, and mass-migration policies.
The shift comes just as the White House released its new national security strategy, bluntly declaring that “the days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over.” The document makes clear that wealthy Western European nations must assume primary responsibility for their immediate region while the U.S. adopts a supporting role.
President Trump’s “Hague Commitment,” which demands NATO members spend 5 percent of GDP on defense, is now official U.S. doctrine. European governments endorsed it on paper, but few have any realistic path to—or any intention of—meeting it.
Pentagon officials told European delegations that Washington is no longer satisfied with Europe’s pace of rearmament. They have warned that failure to meet the 2027 goal could lead to the U.S. stepping back from joint planning mechanisms.
Several lawmakers in Washington are aware of the message and fear Europe will once again fall short. Yet the Pentagon, thus far, hasn’t clarified how exactly it intends to measure Europe’s progress or what reforms would count as meaningful.
European officials say privately that the timeline is implausible regardless of how success is defined. Defense industries across the continent face years-long production bottlenecks for basics like ammunition, artillery, and missile systems.
Even if Europe had the money—and the political courage—to rebuild its militaries, factories cannot supply key items fast enough. Meanwhile, the United States provides intelligence and surveillance capabilities that Europe cannot duplicate.
NATO headquarters in Brussels offered vague assurances that Europe is “taking more responsibility,” choosing not to address the 2027 deadline directly. Brussels continues to promote its own 2030 defense target despite analysts calling it wildly optimistic.
Trump officials say past administrations merely complained, while this one intends to enforce real burden-sharing. It’s abundantly clear, however, EU leaders resent being sidelined from Washington’s Ukraine peace talks while still being called upon to spend more on defense.
To make matters worse, negotiations to end the nearly 4-year-long bloody inter-Slavic conflict in Ukraine have stalled yet again, and with no breakthrough emerging.Tensions between the EU and US over the war continue to escalate, and the $140 million fine that Brussels leveled against Elon Musk’s X hasn’t helped.
Putin is now visiting India to strengthen Russia’s long-standing partnership with New Delhi. The diplomatic show underlines how little geopolitical influence Brussels actually wields, despite its lofty self perceptions.
Across the Old Continent, public confidence in transnational institutions like the EU and NATO is eroding as crises at home pile up—energy shortages, skyrocketing prices, sustained increases in violent crime over the years, housing pressures, strained social welfare systems, and social fragmentation driven by unrelenting mass migration from the Third World.
Increasingly, citizens across Europe see their own needs ignored while leaders obsess over Ukraine and NATO posturing. That’s why, of course, Europe is witnessing a surge in support for right-wing populist and anti-globalist parties that aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.
Some members of Germany’s military privately worry the country cannot defend itself, let alone serve as Europe’s new security backbone. Recently, Germany’s decision to introduce a voluntary military service program for 18-year-olds sparked widespread protests from both the political right and left.
Trump’s strategy documents frame the future as a world where allies carry their own weight while the U.S. acts as “convener and supporter.” Whether Europe can fulfill that role—or even survive without American cover—remains an open question.
Rep. Claudia Tenney discusses New York Sanctuary State policies and the release of thousands of criminals with Fox’s Kayleigh McEnany
The state of New York has reportedly released nearly 7,000 illegal aliens from jail, including 29 individuals who were linked to homicide cases, in defiance of ICE detainer requests.
Per the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 6,947 illegals have been released, after committing 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 199 burglaries, 305 robberies, 392 dangerous drugs offenses, 300 weapons offenses, and 207 sexual predatory offenses.
Republican New York Congressman Claudia Tenney joined Fox’s Kayleigh McEnany on Saturday to discuss the new development.
She also revealed that Letitia James knows about this but “doesn’t care,” and she’s even trying to prosecute local sheriffs for cooperating with ICE. According to the New York Post, Attorney General Letitia James is snooping around and probing Oswego County Sheriff Don Hilton and the Nassau County Sheriff’s office for misconduct for cooperating with federal law enforcement.
WATCH:
McEnany: This is incomprehensible to me, people who immigration authorities want just let out in the streets of New York?
Tenney: Yeah, this is a sanctuary state, as you know, still is a sanctuary state run by the Democrats completely. Even the governor faces a veto proof majority in the legislature, and now we’re going to end up having, you know, a pro-sanctuary Mayor coming in the first of January. But yeah, there are 1000s, almost 7000 people with these advanced criminal records like, you know, murder, you said, homicide, rape, extortion, you name it, just about every crime— child, sex crimes that are led into our state every single year, at least this last year.
And this is all done, and Letitia James, our Attorney General, was alerted. She doesn’t care. She even goes after and is trying to prosecute any of the local governments who want to cooperate with what is called the 287(g) program. That program allows local police to coordinate with ICE if we have dangerous criminal aliens within the confines of a county or a city.
She is interfering with that. She’s actually prosecuting my home Sheriff for actually cooperating. And my district in upstate New York, New York 24, my entire northern border is the Canadian border, and we have had almost 90% of the people on the foreign terror watch list under Joe Biden were coming in across the northern border. So, it’s a very dangerous place and a very easy place for safe haven, especially with a sanctuary state like New York.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons sent a letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James calling on her to put the safety of Americans first and honor ICE arrest detainers of the more than 7,000 criminal illegal aliens in the state’s custody including murderers, sexual predators, and those convicted of or charged with weapons offenses.
New York’s failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in therelease of 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since January 20. The crimes of these aliens include 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 199 burglaries, 305 robberies, 392 dangerous drugs offenses, 300 weapons offenses, and 207 sexual predatory offenses.
There are currently 7,113 aliens in the custody of a New York jurisdiction with an active detainer. The crimes of these aliens include 148 homicides, 717 assaults, 134 burglaries, 106 robberies, 235 dangerous drugs offenses, 152 weapons offenses, and 260 sexual predatory offenses.
In September, ICE sent a letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James asking for cooperation in honoring ICE detainers on criminal illegal aliens. Her office did not respond.
“Attorney General James and her fellow New York Sanctuary politicians are releasing murderers, terrorists, and sexual predators back into our neighborhoods and putting American lives at risk,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.“We are calling on Letitia James to stop this dangerous derangement and commit to honoring the ICE arrest detainers of the more than 7,000 criminal illegal aliens in New York’s custody. It is common sense. Criminal illegal aliens should not be released back onto our streets to terrorize more innocent Americans.”
As The Gateway Pundit reported, incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has vowed to oppose ICE and not allow deportations unless an illegal alien is convicted of “serious crimes.”
This came after President Trump hosted Mamdani at the White House. Two emerged from their meeting, appearing highly optimistic about their agreement to work together for the benefit of New York during a press conference. Trump, shockingly, even told reporters that he expects to work with Mamdani on crime and illegal immigration.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) performed a study on AI-enabled toys that are available for Christmas this year and found that no matter the platform, AI toys were universally dangerous for kids.
There’s no polite way to open this one, so let’s just be honest about the optics. President Trump publicly met with Syria’s terrorist “president” Ahmed al-Sharaa, a man who helped kill US troops as a member of al Qaida. Trump said al-Sharaa is a “Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter. He’s a real leader. He led a charge, and he’s pretty amazing.” What? This guy’s terrorist bands currently are killing Christians, Kurds, Druze, and other sects in Syria. You can wrap it in strategy or diplomacy, but the reality is simple: this is a man whose movement shed American blood. This is not to denigrate President Trump in any way, but that kind of meeting is questionable. No amount of lipstick on a pig changes what it is.
Then came the meeting with New York City’s mayor, a self-declared socialist whose record includes pro-Hamas rhetoric, anti-Israel policies, and open hostility toward the Jewish community. This isn’t hidden. It’s public record. Yet when the cameras rolled and the microphones came out, President Trump stepped out and said, “He’s just different.” That line ricocheted across the country like a brick through a window. “Different” is a strange way to describe a man whose ideological leanings line up with the very movements that threaten Israel, undermine American values, and excuse violence in the name of political identity. Loyalists say Trump didn’t give Mamdani anything, but just the public meeting was gift enough.
Now, let’s address something head on. A vast majority of Daily Jot readers are strong Trump supporters. Many of us defend him daily, voted for him consistently, and believe he is the best president in modern history. I understand that loyalty. I also understand the responsibility of honest commentary. Loyalty doesn’t mean shutting off discernment. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us, “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
When a political leader begins courting terrorists on Tuesday and socialist ideologues on Thursday, Christians should raise an eyebrow. Not out of rebellion, but out of biblical wisdom. The question is not whether he’s your guy. Why the sudden wave of Islamic appeasement? Is it diplomacy? Is it strategy? Is it naivety? It appears as a dangerous drift dressed up as pragmatism. These people are against the very God of the universe.
The world is indeed unstable. The Middle East is aligning in ways that echo the end times by the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel. Anti-Israel sentiment is growing across Western institutions. Terror-linked leaders are being welcomed into polite political society. And in the middle of all that, there’s a revolving door of visits at the White House by a Muslim terrorist and a Muslim terrorist sympathizing socialist. This is perplexing at best. Yes, there is the argument of peace. And the argument that Trump is a master strategist. And I know I will lose subscribers with this Jot. But we have to be honest here. There is also an argument of a lack of discernment with matters of Islam. These meetings deserve scrutiny and discernment in these very prophetic times. This could be diplomacy or strategy, or it could be, say it with me, stupidocrisy.
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