Watchman Magazine

Just what happened on the mount of transfiguration?

The events themselves are simple enough to reconstruct with the inspired account of the beloved physician, Luke. In his gospel narrative, we learn that Christ led Peter, James and John up into the mountain to pray, where his appearance was transfigured into something glorious and majestic. Through drowsy eyes, the three apostles witnessed both this transformation and a subsequent conversation that Jesus had with Moses and Elijah, lawgiver and prophet respectively. Their discussion concerned our Lord’s impending death in the city of Jerusalem.

Aroused and impetuous, Peter offered to construct three tabernacles for the Christ and his two Old Testament friends, indicating his notion that they were equally deserving of this special treatment. Just then a voice came out of the cloud and corrected the apostle, "saying, ‘This is my beloved son. Hear him.’" The lawgiver and prophet had disappeared and Jesus alone remained before them.

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In all of the Gospel accounts, the writers record the events surrounding Jesus’ betrayal. While recounting those events, each writer tells about one man whose ear was cut off during the incident. The Gospel of John tells us that Peter wielded the sword and identified the man whose ear was cut off as Malchus, a servant of the high priest (Jn. 18:10).

Malchus was a part of an angry and illegal mob which came for the express purpose of facilitating the murder of Jesus. The plot to seize Jesus and frame Him on false charges was a plan which had been in the leaders’ minds for a long time. As the servant of the high priest, Malchus certainly had prior knowledge and participation in the scheme. What he saw and heard on that night was, no doubt, beyond his expectation.

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(Questions at the end of each lesson are borrowed from Jeff Asher)

Lesson 1
The Parables of the Lost Ones

I. Introduction

A. Read Text - ALWAYS Read the Text FROM THE BIBLE

• Luke 15: 1-7; Parable of the Lost Sheep
• Luke 15:8-10; Parable of the Lost Coin
• Luke 15:11-32; Parable of the Prodigal Son

B. Memory Verse - Luke 15:6 - “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
C. Other BIBLE readings - Psalm 23; 1 Samuel 17:32-37; Isaiah 40:11; 2 Corinthians 7:6-12; John 3:16-21; Romans 5:1-12; 1 Peter 1:12; Matthew 18:10; Matthew 3:1-12; James 4:1-10
D. Retell each Parable in your own words

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Every year most American go through the exasperating experience of filing for income tax. I know of nothing more frustrating than reading the convoluted language of the IRS forms to figure out which provisions apply to me. I am beginning to think that the legal jargon of the IRS laws are a plot to force all of us to employ lawyers for assistance.

Evidently, the lawyers of Jesus’ day also sought to obscure the clear point of God’s law by clouding the issue with complex definitions and provisions to qualify that law. Let’s notice one such instance recorded in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus encounter with one lawyer went as follows:

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live” (vs. 25-28).

God’s law was plain enough for anyone to understand. Its charge to all was clear. Unless one complicated the simple commands of God, their meaning was obvious.

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IntroductionNo subject is more important than that of religious authority. This is made clear by Jesus’ presentation of the judgment scene when some will say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). Iniquity is working without law, or violating existing law. These persons had done “many wonderful works,” but by the wrong authority. They claimed to have done them in the name of Christ, that is, by His authority, but Jesus denied it. Jesus did not question their sincerity, or their morals, but their authority. Sincerity, good morals, nor anything else can substitute for the proper authority in religion.All people understand the necessity of having a singular standard of authority in every realm but religion. We all are happy that we have a singular standard of authority in money, weights, measures, time, etc. What if you went to the bank to cash a check and the teller said, “Come on back and help yourself, we have no standard here.” You might think that would be great, but it wouldn’t be if your creditor used the standard of 500 or a thousand cents to the dollar. What if everyone could set his own standard in weights and measures? One merchant uses 16 ounces to the pound and another 26? What if you go to the airport to catch a plane to Chicago scheduled to leave at 12 noon, and the clerk tells you that plane left early this morning. You say, “but my ticket says it was to leave at noon.” The clerk says, “Oh, well, we don’t use those standards here, we just fly whenever we decide to.” Without standards of authority the world would be in hopeless chaos. That is precisely what we have in religion. Every man is a law unto himself, as in ancient Israel, “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). Sincerity, good morals, majority view, good feelings, emotion, etc. are all substitutes men use for the authority of Christ.

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(At the Parking Lot)

“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left” (Luke 23:33).

“And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull…then they crucified Him” (Matthew 27:33-35).

Visitors coming to tour Jerusalem learn rather quickly that it is a modern, living city. While our biblical knowledge of Jerusalem forever seals it in the past, ancient and timeless, unchanged and undisturbed, today’s reality is quite different. The blare of car horns, hordes of tourists, electronic technology and modern architecture compete with ancient ritual, bearded men, cloaked women and sites where holy events took place. If ever there is a dichotomy of space and time, it is Jerusalem with its contrast of old and new, sacred and profane, reverent and blasphemous.

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“Form of God” and “Form of a Servant”

The New Testament begins in Matthew with the introduction to Jesus Christ as He came in His humanity and ends in Revelation with the declaration of the eternal power which is His as deity. The two views are not contradictory, nor did the one develop over time out of the other. The same Gospel of Matthew that declares the humanity of Jesus in His birth also announces Him as Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:18-24). The same book of Revelation that portrays the deity of Christ also proclaims Him as the “offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). Throughout the word of God, the humanity and deity of Jesus are presented as co-equal facts. Both elements are seen to exist in unity in the person of Christ. While one may be given emphasis in a particular passage to stress a point under consideration, no writer denies or seeks to lessen either the divine or human nature of Christ while on earth.

Despite the clear teaching of God’s Word in revealing the twofold nature of Christ, men have compiled various man-made doctrines regarding the person of Christ. Colin Brown has an excellent synopsis of such doctrinal conflicts throughout history in his article on the “Person of Christ” in the new ISBE. Some have totally or partially denied the deity of Jesus while others have totally or partially denied His humanity. It is interesting to note that the first dispute in the early church arose over the fact of Jesus’ humanity. Those closest to the eyewitnesses and other pertinent evidence about the life of Christ had no question about His deity. Almost twenty centuries later, the modernists of our time readily accept Jesus’ humanity, but concoct increasingly absurd theories of interpreting the New Testament aimed at denying His deity. In this article, we will concentrate on the plain teaching of the Bible regarding the twofold nature of Christ in the unity of His person.

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We have all heard the tale that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The Roman historian Tacitus, who was born ca. 56 AD and began his writing career shortly before 100 AD, tells us that Emperor Nero was a remarkably immoral man. In 64 AD, during Nero’s reign, a horrible fire - the worst in its history to that point - engulfed Rome. There were many who believed that Nero had commanded the fire to be set, because he wanted to build a new city bearing his own name. And, indeed, a rumor spread that while the city burned Nero took to the stage and sang about the fall of Troy.

Of course, the emperor needed to squelch these suspicions and rumors, or risk a revolt. So, he instituted great programs and projects to appease the people by providing for their needs. He also saw to it that the new city was in many respects grander than the one that had burned. And, of course, he offered conspicuous prayers and sacrifices to a number of prominent Roman “gods”.

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In the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, we find Philip the evangelist being sent by God to the deserted road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. Once there, Philip saw the chariot belonging to the eunuch who was treasurer to the queen of Ethiopia. The Spirit told Philip to overtake the chariot. When he did so, he found the eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah. Specifically, he was reading the passage known to us as Isaiah 53:7-8. Philip established that the eunuch did not understand the prophecy he was reading, and the eunuch asked Philip for help. “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35).

This is an amazing thing. Philip began preaching Jesus from the book of Isaiah, which was written more than seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth. How could this be? How could a book written centuries before Jesus was born be used to teach someone about Him? If we go to the passage that the eunuch was reading, we will see that, on its own, it is indeed difficult to understand. However, when we view it through the lens of the New Testament, we can get a glimpse of how Philip could have used this passage to lead the eunuch to Christ. We will also see that it becomes very difficult to explain how or why Isaiah wrote such a passage - unless he was truly inspired by God.

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