Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ³  and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face.

 ⁴  Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”

 ⁵  Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.  Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”

 ⁶  So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!”  Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”  John 19:1-6.

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The prophet Isaiah prophesied this scourging and what it accomplished.  “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;  The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:5.

The apostle Peter likewise stated that the scourging accomplished our healing.  “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness;  for by His wounds you were healed.”  1 Peter 2:4. 

The Heidelberg Catechism helps us understand this Scripture for today, what was accomplished by the scourging as part of Christ’s suffering even though Christ was innocent, and the following words “He suffered” which are in The Apostles’ Creed:

“Question 37.  What dost thou understand by the words, “He suffered”?

Answer.  That he, all the time that he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and soul, the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind:  that so by his passion, as the only propitiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and obtain for us the favor of God, righteousness and eternal life.

Question 38.  Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate, as judge?

Answer.  That he, being innocent, and yet condemned by a temporal judge, might thereby free us from the severe judgment of God to which we were exposed.”

Psalm 40:11                                                                                                                      “You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me;  Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.” 

Psalm 111:8
“They are upheld forever and ever;  They are performed in truth and uprightness.”

 ³⁰  They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.”

 ³¹  So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.”  The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”

 ³²  to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.”  John 18:28-32.

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Regarding this word of Jesus that was fulfilled as stated in this last verse of 32,  Jesus prophesied:  “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”  Matthew 20:18-19.

Scripture confirms that the word of God is always fulfilled.  Scripture points this truth out many times.  Not one word of God has failed.  Here is a link to the keyword “fulfill”.  In the verses given, not every verse is relevant, and there are also other Scriptures which teach the same truth without using the word “fulfill”, but this will at least give the reader some examples – Click here: BibleGateway.com – Keyword Search: fulfill  

One of my favorite Scriptures is Joshua 23:14.  Joshua stated:  “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed;  all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.”

We too, men and women of all ages, can and should declare the faithfulness of God.  It is particularly important that we of old age (elders, literally and figuratively) declare the faithfulness of God.  We have the respect of the congregation and other observers.  We have the most experiences over the years to give examples of God’s faithfulness and to give the most believable conclusion of the faithfulness of God.            

“¹²  The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
         He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
    ¹³  Planted in the house of the LORD,
         They will flourish in the courts of our God.
    ¹⁴  They will still yield fruit in old age;
         They shall be full of sap and very green,
    ¹⁵  To declare that the LORD is upright;
         He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”  Psalm 92:12-15. 

“²³  The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
         And He delights in his way.
    ²⁴  When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
         Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.
    ²⁵  I have been young and now I am old,
         Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
         Or his descendants begging bread.
    ²⁶  All day long he is gracious and lends,
         And his descendants are a blessing.”  Psalm 37:23-26.

 ²⁷  Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.”  John 18:17 and John 18:25-27.

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Peter tends to get all the blame, but we remember Mark 14:27-31 which contains both the prophecy of Jesus that not only Peter, but also the other disciples, would fall away and scatter after the arrest of Jesus.  “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’  “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”  But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.”  And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.”  But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.”  Mark 14:27-31.

What hope is there for us if all of Jesus’ disciples, who saw with their own eyes Jesus’ miracles and heard His teaching and were in His presence, fell away and scattered?

The hope for all of us is not based on the strength of will-power of man or strength of faith of man.

The hope for all of us is based on God and that we receive faith as a gift of God.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9.

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

As there is unity between the disciples in falling away and scattering, there is unity in the disciples and all of us receiving that gift of faith, that wisdom of God, that righteousness, that sanctification, and that redemption.

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”  1 Corinthians 1:9-10.

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Jesus did speak in parables.  “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”  Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”  Matthew 13:10-11. 

But, Jesus also spoke openly as he states here.  And, we should think about how we can follow Jesus’ example here.  Moreover, we do not know who are the elect and who are not, so as to be able to effectively use parables at least to the extent Jesus did.  The call to us is to preach and teach openly and broadly and clearly.

We speak openly.  “Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.  You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.  Now in a like exchange–I speak as to children–open wide to us also.”  2 Corinthians 6:11-13. 

We speak broadly.  “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15. 

We speak clearly.  “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”  Romans 1:20. 

Who can speak as openly, broadly, and clearly as we should?

But, there is hope!

2 Corinthians Chapter 3 contains the hope of the Holy Spirit within us.  Here is a powerful and beautiful description of who we are.  This chapter compares us to a letter “known and read by all men”.  Following the link to the entire chapter, I will quote a few of the verses.  Click here: 2 Corinthians 3 – Passage Lookup – New American Standard Bible – BibleGateway.com

^“You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;  being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”  2 Corinthians 3:2-6.

“Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,”  2 Corinthians 3:12.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:17-18.

 ⁹  to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

 ¹⁰  Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.

 ¹¹  So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath;  the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”  John 18:7-11. 

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Regarding the fulfillment of His word, it is likely that Jesus was referring to what he said in the prior chapter, John 17:12:  “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me;  and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” 

Many, including myself, use John 17:12 to teach eternal salvation such as taught in the “P” of “TULIP” which is “Perseverance of the Saints a/k/a Preservation of the Saints”. 

And yet here, in John 18:9, the fulfillment was not some eternal salvation such as taught in the “P” of “TULIP”.  Here, in John 18:9, the fulfillment was an earthly deliverance from being arrested along with Jesus at this time.

There can be double fulfillment, and I do believe that is the case here.  But, we should not ignore the earthly fulfillment.  I think there is also an important lesson to be learned when we focus on the earthly fulfillment in today’s Scripture.

We want to do God’s Will while we are on earth in addition to be eternally saved.  The disciples likewise intended to be able to be faithful and loyal to Jesus and to stick by His side.  Jesus told them many times that He would be arrested, suffer, and die. 

In Matthew 26:31-33, we read about Peter’s intent:  “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.’  “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”  But Peter exclaimed:  “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”

Likewise, “the sons of Zebedee” were confident that they also would be faithful and loyal to Jesus.  In Matthew 20, 22-23, we read:  “But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”  They said to Him, “We are able.”  He said to them, “My cup you shall drink;  but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

And yet, here we also see the fulfillment of the Word quoted by Jesus:  “‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED”.

However, rather than Jesus using this “scattered sheep” Word at this time in the face of His disciples to rebuke or shame them, Jesus turns the focus on Himself and fulfills another Word by staing:  “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”

Likewise, when Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus did not condemn him by saying:  “I told you so!”.  Rather, Jesus let the rooster do the crowing.

But, much more important than Jesus’ gentleness with His disciples, there is hope in this passage that the disciples too could drink the Cup that their Father gave them.

There may be times in our earthly life, like this one in the disciples’ life, that we think is most important.  We too may think we totally blew it.  But, we must have faith that Jesus will not lose us too.  We can remember verses such as this Scripture for today (John 18:9), other verses such as Ephesians 2:10, and Philippians 1:6.  

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10.         

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6.

And, we also know that in addition to our Sovereign LORD accomplishing His work through us;  we have a Sweet Savior Who will not condemn us when we fall, but instead, Who will intercede for us and love us. 

“³⁴  who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

 ³⁵  Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 ³⁶  Just as it is written,
         “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
         WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

 ³⁷  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

 ³⁸  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

 ³⁹  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:34-39.

 ³  Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

 ⁴  So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

 ⁵  They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

 ⁶  So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”  John 18:1-6.

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Calvin in his Commentary on this last verse of the Scripture today, John 18:6,  states:

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Today’s Scripture begins with a name of God:  “righteous Father“.  Jesus  states:  “… I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  John 17:26.

We are reminded of Jeremiah 9:23-24.  “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”

What should we state about the lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness of God?! 

“⁵  Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
         Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
    ⁶  Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
         Your judgments are like a great deep
         O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
    ⁷  How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
         And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
    ⁸  They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;
         And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.
    ⁹  For with You is the fountain of life;
         In Your light we see light.
    ¹⁰  O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
         And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.”  Psalm 36:5-10.

And, our “righteous God” brings that righteousness to us “by His doing” through His Son Jesus Christ.  “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”  1 Corinthians 1:30-31.  

Our hope is based on Christ within us:  “I in them.”  John 17:26.  

“… Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Colossians 1:27. 

“If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”  Romans 8:10.

 ²¹  that they may all be one;  even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 

 ²³  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

 ²⁴  “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”  John 17:20-24.

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Today, through today’s Scripture, we get a better understanding of the unconditional covenant wherein God brings us together, united, within the same bond of family as the Holy Trinity:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

This unity is based on the same position, same glory, and same love.

Let us take a look at the verse which speaks about the unity based on the same position.  “that they may all be one;  even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  John 17:21.

Let us take a look at the verse which speaks about the unity based on the same glory.  “”The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;”  John 17:22.

Let us take a look at the verse which speaks about the unity based on the same love.  “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”  John 17:23.

What is the purpose of this unity?  “… so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  John 17:21.  “… so that the world may know that You sent Me …”  John 17:23.  In essence, this is eternal life.  “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  John 17:3.  

The Methodists seem to believe that they are better than the nondenominationals and resist unity with them.  The Baptists seem to believe that they are better than the Methodists and the nondenominationals and resist unity with them.  The Reformed and Presbyterians seem to believe that they are better than the Baptists, Methodists, and nondenominationals and resist unity with them.  The Protestant Reformed seem to believe that no one else is truly Reformed and resist unity with everyone else.

And, before all my friends, particularly at the Protestant Reformed Churches, complain that I am too hard on  them.  I need to admit that there is a lot of truth to Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  We should seek the kingdom of God with the focus and diligence as if only one of us with obtain it.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  Matthew 13:44-46.  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win.”  1 Corinthians 9:24

Just like a father drives his children to be the very best out of love, and does not let them think that they can slide by “good enough” in life, we should exhort others.  And, we are not just talking about being successful in life.  We are talking about eternal life.  Nothing is more important!  We cannot let others think that they are safe coasting down the beautiful river on a sunny warm day when there is a waterfalls around the bend. 

Not even the Apostle Paul was presumptuous or satisfied with his standing.  “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;  but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;”  Philippians 3:13-15. 

So, considering all of this:  our sinful pride, our sinful selfishness, our ignorance, our clumsiness at reaching unity, and yet also the truth, how can we reach that unity?

But, there is hope! 

God is the one Who perfects us in unity.  “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity …”  John 17:23. 

But, God also uses us.  We should not just rest content, unwilling to do anything, thinking of ourselves as superior.  1 Corinthians 4:7  “For who regards you as superior?  What do you have that you did not receive?  And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

So, what can we practically do?  Send a reply to other people’s  emails.  Write a letter.  Pick up the phone.  Visit others.  Get out there into the world.  We are commanded to love others.  Do we really love others if we don’t contact them?  Do we really work love other Christians and work toward unity, if we have little contact with those outside our own church or our own denomination?

 ¹⁵  “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

 ¹⁶  “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 ¹⁷  “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

 ¹⁸  “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

 ¹⁹  “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”  John 17:13-19. 

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We could stay in our ivory towers.  It does make sense and can be defended by picking out a verse and some language in an article in a Reformed Confession, here and there.  But, Jesus sends us out into a dark and dirty and dangerous world.

 ¹¹  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

 ¹²  But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

 ¹³  “But go and learn what this means:  ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Matthew 9:9-13.

We are reminded of Jesus’ example.  “What do you think?  If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?  “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.  “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”  Matthew 18:12-14.

Yes, it is a dark and dirty and dangerous world out there. 

But, there is hope!

We are not sanctified by the means of grace within our ivory tower.  We are sanctified by the Man of grace Who sends us out into the world to be salt and to be light and to bring in that lost sheep.