The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 13:10-17 comments: Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity

Luke 13:10 ¶  And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11  And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12  And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13  And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14  And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. 15  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 16  And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? 17  And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

I have known elderly people who were bent over from various diseases. Some call this ‘old-age posture’. This does not say, though, that the woman was elderly although old-age in this culture came a lot earlier than it does now for women with primitive medical assistance and unending, back-breaking work day-in and day-out. There could have been several reasons for this woman’s trouble. But, Jesus healed her with words here that are classic, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. If we are not loosed here we will be loosed upon our physical body’s death and we will not be in the presence of the Lord in a crooked, broken body of flesh but in a glorified body, redeemed by God.

Romans 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

As Jesus made His statement of why it was perfectly justified to heal this woman on the Sabbath He made a point that Satan had bound her. This gives us a clue as to the origin of certain diseases. A careful reading of the book of Job will show us that this is possible. Although it is clear that God can directly ordain someone to suffer from a disease it is also clear that He can give Satan permission to do that and we would never know the difference on this earth, while we are in this body.

Job 2:3  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he

will curse thee to thy face. 6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but

save his life.

2Corinthians 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

And yet;

Deuteronomy 28:58  If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 59  Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60  Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61  Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

You cannot possibly know whether God has permitted Satan to harass you or whether it is part of God’s perfect, direct will. You can treat the physical symptoms and underlying physical and emotional causes of a disease but you will not know now from where it came. But, it is clear in this passage that Satan doesn’t just afflict important people like Job. He deals his misery to common people as well. In fact, death is his bailiwick on this earth now.

Hebrews 2:14 ¶  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

There is an implication in passages like this that while we seek the most advanced medical knowledge to treat the unpleasant, painful, and even deadly issues of life we must also look to the spiritual side of illness. Consider the following;

James 5:14  Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Exodus 28:40-43 comments: linen breeches versus trousers, more Fundamentalist errors in reading comprehension

Exodus 28:40 ¶  And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. 41  And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 42  And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 43  And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

One of the most interesting things about this passage is found in verse 42. Fundamentalists in America make a big deal about women not wearing slacks, pants, or trousers. They refer to them as the Biblical breeches. The problem with that is that breeches are underwear that go from the loins to the thighs.

Loins and thighs are references to the parts of the body that contains the reproductive organs and organs of waste elimination. On the outside of the body it is the area where a sword or dagger is hung.

Genesis 35:11  And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins

 

Song of Solomon 7:1  How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.   

Judges 3:16  But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

Pants wearing didn’t become common in Europe until the 8^th century AD, after the fall of the western Roman Empire.[1] The first recorded wearing of pants was for the horse-riding Scythians of the 8^th century BC. The Romans regarded wearing pants as a sign of being barbarians due to the horse-riding hordes that constantly threatened the empire. How people have twisted the Bible when they have an agenda to push is amazing. The God of the Bible values modesty and this was a very clear command and a warning but twisting the Bible to suit a social agenda is not acceptable.

---

[1] LiveScience, “Explained: Why We Wear Pants,” July 16, 2012. https://www.livescience.com/34077-wearing-pants-horse-riding.html

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 13:6-9 comments: a fig tree

Luke 13:6 ¶  He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Israel is likened to a fig tree in the Old Testament. Here is one example;

Hosea 9:10  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

This statement about God’s forbearance and patience as Christ asks the Father for more time with the warning that there is a specific limit to God’s patience. The time is coming when the fig tree that is not bearing fruit will have to come down.

For the Christian, which each one is a type of the nation of Israel, God also calls for fruit to be produced through the work of the Holy Spirit in how we treat God, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our fellow men and women in general.

It has been mentioned previously that the fruit or proof of having the Holy Spirit indwelling is found in Galatians, chapter 5. They are sharply contrasted against the dead works, the works of the flesh. The entire passage and warning bear repeating here.

Galatians 5:13 ¶  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

If we do not bear fruit how long should God have patience with us before He cuts us down in this life on earth?

We, too, should be grateful that we, when unbelievers, had one more season of restraint before judgment was to come upon us in this life. And it was God’s forbearance that gave us time to be saved for eternity as we wallowed blindly in our stubborn selfishness.

Romans 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Exodus 28:31-39 comments; the priest's clothing cont.

Exodus 28:31 ¶  And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32  And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. 33  And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34  A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 35  And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not. 36  And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37  And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38  And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. 39  And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.

The ephod is blue and it is one piece with the opening for the head reinforced so it would not be torn in taking on and off. It was more like what we think of when we think of as a long poncho. According to Matthew Henry the Medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides said that the sides were not sewn so the arms for free to move although others say there were arm holes. Think of the similarity with Christ’s outer garment.

John 19:23  Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

The bells would alert people that Aaron was still alive when he went into the holy place alone.

Leviticus 16:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; 2  And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 3  Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. 4  He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

    5 ¶  And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 6  And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. 7  And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 11  And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: 12  And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: 13  And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: 14  And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

    15 ¶  Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: 16  And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17  And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. 18  And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19  And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

   

20 ¶  And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: 21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 22  And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. 23  And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: 24  And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. 25  And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. 26  And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

Aaron acts as a mediator between God and man in his office as priest. For Christians, Christ is our mediator. There are many verses about Christ bearing our sins and I will not post them all but this one is applicable to what Aaron is doing. We need no priest other than Christ, fully human and fully God, who in His humanity is our priest.

1Timothy 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…

Aaron is to bear the iniquity of the holy things and make acceptable to God the Hebrew’s fallible and weak offerings to him. Our worship without God’s help is a meager and pathetic thing. We don’t even know how to pray as we ought, we are so blinded by our sin nature. We need help.

Romans 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

We must always remember that our prayers, our worship, our faith is made acceptable to God not by our sincere intentions or by how wonderfully spiritual we think we are but by God Himself. Aaron is a picture of this function of God.

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 13:1-5 comments: cause and effect

Luke 13:1 ¶  There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2  And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Jesus continues, as someone speaks of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and his atrocities against Galileans at worship. He responds with a question that points at reality. When someone suffers do you think they were being singled out as the worst of the worst? Are there not many others just as evil or sinful who go unpunished? But, if you do not repent and turn from your sins and turn towards God you will also perish.

He brings up a point about an accident, the falling of a tower that killed eighteen persons. Again, He asks them if they think these victims were the worst people in Jerusalem. Of course not, but unless you repent you, too, shall perish.

Repenting of your sins against God and turning to Him is a fundamental doctrine of Christ. Paul wrote;

Hebrews 6:1 ¶  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Dead works are defined Biblically as works of the flesh, sins. Read Hebrews, chapter 9 for the context.

Hebrews 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

To repent is to turn from something, changing your mind about it and rejecting it.

Exodus 32:12  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

Ezekiel 18:30  Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

Exodus 28:6-30 comments: the breastplate of judgment

Exodus 28:6 ¶  And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. 7  It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. 8  And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9  And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10  Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. 11  With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. 12  And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names

before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. 13  And thou shalt make ouches of gold; 14  And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.

Exodus 28:15 ¶  And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. 16  Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. 17  And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. 18  And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 19  And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 20  And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. 21  And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. 22  And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. 23  And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 24  And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on theends of the breastplate. 25  And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it. 26  And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. 27  And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. 28  And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. 29  And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. 30  And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.

My wife, Beth, had this wonderful thought that I want to try to do justice to in regard to this description. The Urim and Thummim are one means by which communication is made from God.

Numbers 27:21  And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

Without going into detail on the electrical conductivity properties of gold and how it is used in cellphones and other electronic devices or in the sound conductivity of stones what we may have here is a communication device for when the priests were away from the ark of the testimony. In fact, I have read commentators who speculated on this saying things like this was like an advanced walkie-talkie or using some other analogy. This brings to mind a peculiar statement that Jesus makes that on the surface just sounds like hyperbole but may have a much more profound meaning.

Luke 19:40  And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

I believe it was Peter Ruckman who speculated that stones were natural recording or transmitting devices. Whatever the case, this is very interesting to consider when the material elements are combined with the electrical impulses coming from Aaron’s heart who knows what we are talking about specifically? Like many other things in the Bible narrative, God’s revelation of His ministry of reconciling man to Himself, the Holy Spirit just breezes by these things without a concern for the detail we crave.

The breastplate of judgment has four rows of stones in it. This, surprisingly, may give us a clue as to the office that Satan held before he tempted man and woman to question God’s word. The Holy Spirit sometimes gives two descriptions in one by likening and comparing one subject to another so we have an understanding of the nature of both. Assuming that God is likening the king of Tyre to Satan in Ezekiel 28, giving us a description of Satan while comparing that king to him, we have these words;

Ezekiel 28:11b…Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Was Satan, also known as Lucifer, God’s priest in Eden? Is that why Adam and Eve seemed to have no problem conversing with him in his form as a serpent, a dragon, reptilian but beautiful? He must have been a magnificent creature as we have other dual descriptions in Isaiah 14 with Satan as Lucifer, the Light-Bearer, the Shining One as per Strong’s dictionary, and in Job 41, the king over all the children of pride (Job 41:34).

For a dragon and a serpent being synonymous with each other and Satan based on context see;

Revelation 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Another description that reminds you of this breastplate of judgment is of the walls of the New Jerusalem, the cubed city described in Revelation, chapter 21, that is probably even now on its way to earth.

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 12:54-59 comments: discerning the time

Luke 12:54 ¶  And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. 55  And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 56  Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? 57  Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? 58  When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. 59  I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

Christ has spoken directly to His disciples and now He turns to the people in general. Here, Jesus talks about how they can predict the weather by what is clear and plain in the sky or in the direction of the wind but they cannot see what is going on right in front of them and make a judgment. He warns about judgment. They do not realize the day they live in as the day of God visiting them on earth. He visited Israel in blessing and in judgment in the past and now He has come bringing salvation or eternal loss if they reject Him.

Here is the Messiah, the Christ, offering salvation to the Jews and to mankind. Man is in rebellion against his Creator and he would do well for himself if he accepted that Creator’s terms before judgment came upon him.

People who are not blinded by self-conceit will come to a place in their lives where it is obvious that God is speaking to them through the events and circumstances that placed them where they are. If they will just acknowledge that the signs are showing them just how badly they need to repent of their wickedness and turn to God they can be saved. God doesn’t just speak through a person who is presenting the gospel. He speaks through the events of your life, the consequences of your sins, and the circumstances brought upon you either by yourself or others stumbling blindly through this world.

We must be ready and be about God’s business as the time of the end or our time of the end approaches not wasting our time in the idolatry of covetousness and glorifying things of this world that get in the way with our responsibility as Christians. God’s business does not include abusing each other, trying to control each other, dominating each other, being implacable, unmerciful, and self-righteous. God’s business is the kingdom of God and just as Jesus will tell us in Luke 17 that the kingdom of God is an invisible kingdom and is within us and in John 18:36 not of this world, Paul tells us in Romans 14:17 that it is not a physical thing but is in fact righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.  

Jesus has told us what is not important and what is. He was warned His Jewish disciples and the future Christian. He has given us commands and we would do well to consider them and weigh them carefully in our hearts. Time is short. If Christ does not return this year or the next you or I may certainly die and go see Him face to face in that time. It is not for you or I to know that time. But, be prepared.

Exodus 28:1-5 comments: Aaron and sons' holy garments

Exodus 28:1 ¶  And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2  And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3  And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 4  And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 5  And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

Consider the way spirit is used in this context. The spirit of wisdom is not a character trait. It is a gift from God. He has filled certain people in regard to the ability to create these garments for the priests with the spirit of wisdom. This is distinct from the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) or the Spirit of Christ (1Peter 1:11) or the Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2), all the same Spirit emanating from God, which the translators under the inspiration given to them by God showed us with a capital S each to signify the origin of that Spirit. The Spirit, uppercase S, is God in operation with a will while the spirit, lowercase s, is a thing either given to man or woman.

Numbers 5:30  Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.

A lowercase s signifies a power, an understanding, a skill, an emotion, or some other sense of understanding and wisdom.

Isaiah 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

It is interesting that some neuroscientists speculate that consciousness doesn’t seem to emanate from within a person but that a person’s mind is like a cellphone that receives a communication from somewhere else. We can hear someone speaking through the phone but they are not in the phone.

Of course, neuroscientists don’t necessarily believe that there is a world of spirit from where consciousness comes. But having no satisfactory explanation of why we are self-aware any more than a theoretical physicist can logically explain why there is something rather than nothing or an evolutionary biologist can show why such a complex thing as life should exist rather than just rocks and dust without inventing their own gods, dead and inert, but prime causes beyond our experience nonetheless, they consider consciousness as something that uses the brain, rather than something the brain creates.

Of course, there are many theories of consciousness. Many believe that our thoughts are the results of neurons in the brain firing up but they can’t tell you whether a thought requires ten neurons or ten thousand. It’s all guesswork right now. However, these theoretical scientists have faith in their religion that all truth will eventually come from their inquiries.

Nevertheless, our rapid explosion of actual scientific knowledge since this Bible was translated in the early 17^th century and the resultant technological advancements where in the last century we have been propelled forward faster than in all previous centuries combined is not because of extra radiation in the atmosphere or the superiority of modern man’s brain.

Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding has been given to us. We learn how to appropriate it and use it but we did not create it.

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 12:41-53 comments: Who then is that faithful and wise steward

Luke 12:41 ¶  Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42  And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44  Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47  And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48  But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Peter’s question is met by a direct answer from Christ regarding the labors of the apostles and even future ministers of the gospel. Paul referred to the ministers of the gospel as stewards of the mysteries of God.

1Corinthians 4:1 ¶  Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

He moved from covetousness to being watchful to now a warning to the shepherds of His flock. Disobedience to this warning is apparent all through Christian history as it was all through the history of the Jews before Christ. The primary duty of a minister of Christ is to feed the flock of God with His words, not to lord it over the flock as some kind of boss man.

1Peter 5:1 ¶  The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3  Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Down through the last two thousand years abusers among the so-called clergy have run rampant through the flock of God doing great harm. We hear about Catholic priests today who abuse the most helpless members of their congregations, but we also must consider the thousands of Baptist pastors and youth ministers who have done the same. Jesus talks about how the fowls of the air, used in typology for the Devil himself in Mark, chapter 4, will lodge in the shadow of the tree and in its branches, the tree that grows unnaturally large as the kingdom of God and Heaven in Luke 13:19 and Mark 4:32.

Jesus also warns that there are counterfeits among the brethren in Matthew 13:24 regarding the wheat and the tares. In the Old Testament God has an accusation about the false teachers in Israel. Understand that Biblically defined, with and uniting synonyms in most contexts, a pastor is a teacher as per Ephesians 4:11 and prophets are preachers and teachers as per Nehemiah 6:7 and 2Peter 2:1.

Jeremiah 23:1 ¶  Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2  Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 3  And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4  And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8  But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

    9 ¶  Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. 10  For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. 11  For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12  Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. 13  And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14  I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the

LORD. 17  They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18  For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19  Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20  The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21  I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22  But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23  Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24  Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25  I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26  How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets

of the deceit of their own heart; 27  Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28  The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30  Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31  Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32  Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

    33 ¶  And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. 34  And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. 35  Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36  And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37  Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38  But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39  Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40  And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

Peter devotes what has come down to us as a chapter to the damage wrought by Christian false teachers in 2Peter 2.

2Peter 2:1 ¶  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

    3 ¶  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

    7 ¶  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

    10 ¶  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Here, in this lesson Jesus is giving it is worse for you to know the truth and to act on it unwisely and disobey than it is for you to not know the truth at all. Perhaps that can be one meaning of Paul’s statement in Romans.

Romans 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 ¶  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

The truth that Jesus reveals will not produce unity in the world but cause divisions down to the very household and family of believers and those who reject Him. There can be no middle ground with Christ. You either trust Him or you don’t. This fire is already kindled by the work of the dividers and the false teachers and elders who plague the cause of Christ as evidenced by the multitude of Protestant denominations and the three great branches of Christianity that are polluted by leaven, a type of hypocrisy and false doctrine in Matthew 16:12 and here in Luke 12:1.

Matthew 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Luke 13:20  And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

[The woman of this parable may be a reference to Ashtaroth, the fertility goddess of the Canaanites of the Old Testament, who is basically the same as Ishtar, the goddess of liberty and prostitutes of the Babylonians whose statue sits in New York Harbor as Lady Liberty, and various feminine incarnations of Satan around the world including the Japanese Amateratsu, the Roman Diana, or the Greek Artemis among others. It should not be hard to think of Satan as both masculine and feminine as some of the gods of the ancient world were portrayed as both male and female. For instance, the Egyptian god, Atum, was also called the great he-she.]

It appears that what Jesus is saying here is that His servants must be expectantly awaiting His return at any time and going about the business He has given them of expressing the fruit of the Spirit in the world, loving God and their fellow mankind, particularly the brethren, not abusing or mistreating those who God has placed in their care and, most importantly, feeding the flock of God. Those who know the most have the most expected out of them and will suffer loss in that degree based on their unfaithfulness.

James 3:1 ¶  My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

As was mentioned earlier in the parable found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and upcoming in Luke 13 of the mustard seed that grows unnaturally into a great tree, in the Christian church organization there are many unsaved fake tares, false wheat, and these counterfeits are hiding among its branches and in its shadow.

2Corinthians 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

They will find their place in the lake of unquenchable fire when a reckoning is made, with the ignorant unbelievers, though their punishment will be greater.

Matthew 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

   

Verse 50 appears to be likening the coming crucifixion to a baptism for the man who is also God (see Matthew 20:22.) He is focused on it and it is His mission and His purpose. He must be killed by man, paying the price for man’s sins against Himself as God, and then rise from the dead after 3 days.

Straitened is a synonym of being narrowed or focused, restricted by something, either a thing, person, or circumstance. See the definition of strait in the following in the context.

Matthew 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The gate and the way are strait and narrow. I hope you can see one way the Bible defines itself here.