Sojourners and Pilgrims

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 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world,...
Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”   [1Peter 1:1,17]

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Sojourners and Pilgrims

  Peter reminds believers that they are sojourners and pilgrims in the world and that this fact should leave its stamp on all their behavior. They are sojourners in the sense that they are living in a foreign country where they do not have the rights of citizens. They are pilgrims in the sense that they are obliged to live for a while in a place which is not their permanent home.
The meaning here is, that Christians have no permanent home on earth; their citizenship is not here; they are mere sojourners, and they are passing on to their eternal home in the heavens. They should, therefore, act as become such persons; as sojourners and travelers do. They should not:

•    regard the earth as their home.

•    They should not seek to acquire permanent possessions here, as if they were to remain here, but should act as travelers do, who merely seek a temporary lodging, without expecting permanently to reside in a place.

•    They should not allow any such attachments to be formed, or arrangements to be made, as to impede their journey to their final home, as pilgrims seek only a temporary lodging, and steadily pursue their journey.

•    Even while engaged here in the necessary callings of life - their studies, their farming, their merchandise - their thoughts and affections should be on other things. One in a strange land thinks much of his country and home; a pilgrim, much of the land to which he goes; and even while his time and attention may be necessarily occupied by the arrangements needful for the journey, his thoughts and affections will be far away.

•    We should not encumber ourselves with much of this world's goods. Many professed Christians get so many worldly things around them, that it is impossible for them to make a journey to heaven. They burden themselves as no traveler would, and they make no progress. A traveler takes along as few things as possible; and a staff is often all that a pilgrim has. We make the most rapid progress in our journey to our final home when we are least encumbered with the things of this world.


Foreigners and Strangers on this Earth

 You are foreigners and strangers on this earth!
“Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you. Always let others see you behaving properly, even though they may still accuse you of doing wrong. Then on the day of judgment, they will honor God by telling the good things they saw you do. ” [1 Peter 2:11-12(CEV)]

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

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 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”   [Matthew 7:7-8]

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The Parable of the Persistent Widow

  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

   “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

  And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18 :1-8

  The parable of the praying widow teaches that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. The parable pictures an unrighteous judge who was ordinarily quite unmoved by fear of God or regard for fellow man.  The widow came to the judge persistently, asking him for justice. The unjust judge was unmoved by the validity of her case the fact that she was being treated unjustly did not move him to action. However, the regularity with which she came before him prompted him to act and brought a decision in her favor.

  When an unjust judge would act in behalf of a poor widow because of her persistence, how much more will the just God intervene in behalf of His own people.  Do not give up, but continue in prayer until you see the deliverance.






Persistent Widow & Unjust Judge

 

Persistent Widow & Unjust Judge


  “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’     “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think,  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” [Luke 18:2-5]

"...there is no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness"

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 “As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”  When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard. ”   [1 Kings 21:15-16]

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"...there is no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness"

The scene is in Jezreel, where Ahab and Jezebel had a palace. Adjoining the palace was a vineyard owned by Naboth. Ahab desired to annex the vineyard so he could plant a vegetable garden there.  Naboth refused to sell or exchange his land, since the law of Israel decreed that property should remain in the family to which it was originally assigned.

When Jezebel found her husband vexed and sullen and learned of Naboth’s refusal to sell his vineyard, she assured Ahab that the vineyard would soon be his. The treacherous Jezebel thus framed Naboth so that it would appear he was being executed for breaking the law of God.

When Ahab was on his way to take possession of the vineyard, Elijah met him and condemned him for murder and theft. Elijah predicted that Ahab himself would be slain, that his male descendants would be slain, ending his dynasty, that the body of Jezebel would be eaten by dogs. The severity of Ahab’s punishment is explained by the extremes to which he went into idolatry—“there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness.”

When Ahab heard his doom, he humbled himself before the Lord. For this, the Lord decreed that the judgments on his wife and family would not take place until after Ahab’s death.

If we learn anything from these verses, it is that God is a God of grace and mercy. ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ [Ezekiel 33:11].




Elijah brings God's Word to King Ahab

Elijah brings the Word of God to King Ahab


 “Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.  Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!” [1 Kings 21: 17-19]

 

A Crown for the King!

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 “The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”  When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,  and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.  “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”  Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. ”    [John 19:7-11]

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A Crown for the King!

It was most unjust for Pilate to scourge an innocent Person. Perhaps he hoped that this punishment would satisfy the Jews and that they would not demand the death of Jesus. Scourging was a Roman form of punishment. The prisoner was beaten with a whip or a rod. The whip had pieces of metal or bone in it, and these cut deep gashes in the flesh.

The soldiers mocked Jesus’ claim to be King. A crown for the King! But it was a crown of thorns. This would have caused extreme pain as it was pressed onto His brow. Thorns are a symbol of the curse which sin brought to mankind. Here we have a picture of the Lord Jesus bearing the curse of our sins, so that we might wear a crown of glory. The purple robe was also used in mockery. Purple was the color or royalty. But again it reminds us of how our sins were placed on Jesus in order that we might be clothed with the robe of God’s righteousness. How solemn it is to think of the eternal Son of God being slapped by the hands of His creatures! Mouths which He formed are now being used to mock Him!



Crown of thorns

Crown of thorns


 “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.  The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe  and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.” [John 19:1-3 ]

 

 

"Crucify Him!"

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 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.    “You have said so,” Jesus replied.  The chief priests accused him of many things.  So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.  A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.  The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. ”    [Mark  15:2-8]

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"Crucify Him!"

The chief priests poured out a torrent of charges against Jesus. Pilate couldn’t get over His poise in the face of such overwhelming accusations. He asked Him why He didn’t defend Himself, but Jesus refused to answer His critics.

It was the custom for the Roman Governor to release one Jewish prisoner at this feast time—sort of a political sop to the unhappy people. One such eligible prisoner was Barabbas, guilty of rebellion and murder. When Pilate offered to release Jesus, taunting the envious chief priests, the people were primed to ask for Barabbas. The very ones who were charging Jesus with treason against Caesar were asking the release of a man who was actually guilty of that crime! The position of the chief priests was irrational and ludicrous—but sin is like that. Basically they were jealous of His popularity.

Pilate asked what he should do with the One whom they call the King of the Jews. The people chanted savagely, “Crucify Him!” Pilate demanded a reason, but there was none. Mob hysteria was rising. All they would shout was, “Crucify Him!”

And so the spineless Pilate did what they wanted—he released Barabbas, flogged Jesus and delivered Him over to the soldiers for crucifixion. It was a monstrous verdict of unrighteousness. And yet it was a parable of our redemption—the guiltless One delivered to die in order that the guilty might go free.

During His First Advent, the glory of His deity was veiled in a human body.  But when He comes again in power and great glory, the veil will be removed and everyone will know exactly who He is.

Dear friend, do you believe in the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, who died for your sins, that you might be delivered. Salvation is a gift of God. You have to receive it in faith.  “Indeed, the "right time" is now.  Today is the day of salvation.” [2 Cor. 6:2].


Jesus or Barabbas?

 

Jesus or Barabbas?


  “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate,  knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.” [Mark 15:9-11 ]