Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ²⁶  “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.

 ²⁷  “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.”  Mark 13:24-27.  (Emphasis added.) 

Sometimes, we “miss the forest from the trees”.  We focus so much on the details that we ignore (or don’t understand) the big picture.  We focus so much on the details of the tribulation and our speculations as to exactly what will happen, how it will happen, and when it will happen, that we miss the biggest point and the biggest comfort that God “will gather together His elect”. 

I often think of my youngest son (now in college) when he was in preschool.  Just before I would drop him off at Walter Fuller Recreational Center which served as the neighborhood daycare center, he would cheerfully ask:  “Dad, are you going to pick me up at the end of the day?”.  He and I both knew the answer to that question, but he liked to ask it and I liked to hear it.  I was delighted to hear that question, and I was delighted to respond.  “Yes, son, I will pick you up at the end of the day.”  He would then cheerfully leave the car and run to play with his group.  

My youngest son focused on the big picture.  He knew that no matter what happened in daycare that I would pick him up at the end of the day.  He knew that daycare could be rough, and the day could be long, but he trusted me and was still cheerful, because he focused on the fact that I would pick him up at the end of the day.

We should have that attitude of focus, faith, and cheerfulness.

Today’s devotion covers Mark 12:41-44.

“41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.

43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;

44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44.

It is easier for rich people to give “out of their surplus”. They don’t need what they give as an offering to survive. But, the poor widow gave the two small copper coins which she needed to keep to buy food.

Nothing is expressly said here about the poor widow’s faith. But, her actions speak louder than words. Her offering was a demonstration of faith. She trusted God to provide food for her through a different source (other than through her two coins) and keep her alive.

“16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the LORD sustains the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance. …

25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.” Psalm 37:16-19 and 25.

Nothing is expressly said here about whether or not the widow was a cheerful giver. I think we tend to imagine the widow as sad and sour and slow as one would expect an old widow in poverty. But, her actions speak louder than words. The widow was not afraid to give at the same time as the rich people. She could have given when no one was looking, or she could have asked others to make the deposit for her. But, this poor widow seems eager and cheerful and willing to participate in the offering’s festivities at the same time with the rich people.

“Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7

 ³⁷  “David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?”  And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.”  Mark 12:35-37. 

We know the importance of Jesus Christ being God.  What is the importance of Jesus Christ being “the son of David”? 

Jesus had to also be “very man”.

In a recent devotion, we read Question and Answer 15 of The Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. 15. What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for?
A. For one who is very man, and perfectly righteous;  and yet more powerful than all creatures; that is, one who is also very God.  (Emphasis added.)

Hebrews 2:14-18 states:  “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.  For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.  Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

We can now understand why Jesus Christ had to be “very man”, but why did Jesus Christ have to specifically be “the son of David”?

To fulfill God’s purpose and promise, Jesus Christ had to also be king and inherit the kingdom of his ancestor David.

Isaiah 9:6-7 states:                                                                                                                                “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
         And the government will rest on His shoulders;
         And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
         Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 
 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
         On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
         To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
         From then on and forevermore 
         The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

Jeremiah 33:14-18 states:  ” ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.  ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.’  “For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;  and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.'”

Ezekiel 37:24-28 states:  “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.  “They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.  “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.  “My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.  “And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”‘”

Mark 11:10
“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;  Hosanna in the highest!”

 ³⁰  AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’

 ³¹  “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:28-31. 

The issue to be considered is whether these are two commandments or one commandment.

It is noteworthy that Jesus does not stop his description of the foremost commandment after verse 30 with “just” “LOVE THE LORD”, but He continues his description of the foremost commandment through verse 31 by including “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR”. 

It is also noteworthy that Jesus uses the singular verb “is” rather than the plural verb “are”.

It is also noteworthy that Jesus uses the singular word “commandment” rather than the plural word “commandments”.

But, what about Jesus’ use of the word “second”?

I think that Jesus is using the word “second” as in the sense of a “second” part of the foremost commandment and not in the sense of a “second” separate commandment.  When Jesus uses the word “these”, I think Jesus is using the word “these” as in the sense of “these” parts and not in the sense of these commandments.

So, what is the importance of whether these are two commandments or one commandment?

We could use the interpretation that these are two commandments as a justification of our behavior of not loving our neighbor as much as we should.  We could think and act as if these commandments are completely separate from each other and even in competition with each other.  We could justify our actions of not loving our neighbor, because such loving neighbor actions would subordinate or at least interfere with our foremost duty to love God. 

How often that happens in practice!  We can be cold to others but think we are pious toward God.  We can give to God but ignore our duties toward our parents.  See Mark 7:10-13.  We can pray and give our best wishes to others but fail to give our neighbor food and clothing.  James 2:15-16.

Faith without works is dead. 

James rightly concludes:  “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?  Can that faith save him?”  James 2:14.  John likewise comes to the same conclusion:  “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”  1 John 3:17.

^“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  Galatians 5:14.  (Emphasis added.)  

1 John 2:5-10 states:  “but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.  By this we know that we are in Him:  the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.  Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.  On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.  The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.  The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”

James 1:27
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

In conclusion, certainly, this devotion does not include all of our specific duties to love God and our neighbor as ourself.  I specifically do not want to ignore or minimize our duty to worship God as we should.  However, even in our worship, we must remember Jesus’ words.  “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go;  first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”  Matthew 5:23-24.  Hopefully, these Scriptures will convince us that part of our duty to love God is to also love our neighbor.  Through God’s grace and the Holy Spirit producing the fruit of the Spirit, which includes love, we can love God and our neighbor as we should.

We tend to pass by these verses in a rush, without much thought, thinking:  “I know that!” 

Unlike the “Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection)”, we believe in the resurrection of Christ and also that Christians who die are resurrected and are given imperishable bodies and are very much alive.  See all of Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, particularly verses 12 through 15:  “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;  and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.  Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.”  1 Corinthians 15:12-15. 

 ¹⁵  “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?”  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me?  Bring Me a denarius to look at.”

 ¹⁶  They brought one.  And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”  And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

 ¹⁷  And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  And they were amazed at Him.  Mark 12:13-17.  (Emphasis added.) 

What does it mean to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s besides the obvious point of paying taxes?

Generally, we are called to respect what is right in the sight of all men.  “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  Romans 12:17-18.

Specifically, we are called to be “… in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”  Romans 13:1.  

Thus, in Matthew 17:24-27, we see Jesus and His disciple pay the poll tax, so as to not offend those who questioned them, even though they were exempt.   

We are also reminded of Christ’s example of humility in Philippians 2:5-8:  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”   

But, we are also called to render unto God the things that are God’s.  So, what are the things of God?

“And he answered, ” YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND;  AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  Luke 10:27

“He has told you, O man, what is good;  And what does the LORD require of you  But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”  Micah 6:8

“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.”  Jeremiah 9:24.  (Emphasis added.)