"The mark of the true Church is the preaching of Word of God in which the Lord is made manifest to us, as the books of the Prophets and Apostles declare Him. And, consequently, we join to the Word the Sacraments and the administration of ecclesiastical discipline, such as God has ordained."
"Moreover, since apart from the act of Baptism, the water is no Sacrament, but plain water, and apart from the administration of the Supper, the bread and wine are no signs of the body and blood of the Lord, but only bread and wine, it follows that superstitious devotees of these things, do not worship even the Sacraments, but only and simply the creations of God. If these could speak, they would doubtless rebuke those who worshipped them for such horrible blasphemy."
-Theodore Beza (1519-1605), The Christian Faith, 52.
Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Mark 2:18-22.
“And
Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the
bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they
cannot fast” (Mark 2:19).
In
Christ’s early ministry he attracted both disciples and critics.
In
Mark 2:18 the critics ask, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples
fast not?” They were essentially accusing him of not teaching orthopraxy, right
conduct.
We have Christ’s response in v. 19 with his own question: “Can
the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?”
He poses here a parable or an analogy. Christ is like a
Bridegroom who has come. In a first century Jewish wedding, the bride and the
wedding party would wait for the coming of the Bridegroom (see Christ’s parable
of the wise and foolish virgins regarding his second coming in Matt 25:1-13). When the Bridegroom arrived the wedding
celebration began.
Here in Mark 2:19 Christ speaks about his first advent or first coming. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, came into this world to claim his Bride, the people of God, the
Church. Those who are his disciples are “the children of
the bridechamber.” They are part of the wedding party. The coming of the long-expected
Bridegroom (the Messiah) is a time of joy and celebration and gladness. It is
not a time of “affliction” of the soul and fasting.
This
is Christ’s response to these critics. There are times for feasting and times
for fasting. Weddings are not funerals. The Bridegroom has come. Joy and
gladness are in order. This was the proper response of his disciples.
Christ then adds in v. 20 what is
essentially a prophecy of both the cross and his ascension: “But the days will
come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they shall
fast in those days.” The disciples will be filled with great sorrow over all
these things.
An underlying point is being made. Christ is taking to himself the
title of being the Bridegroom. If you look at the Old
Testament, you will find a rich treasury of references to the one true God of
the Bible as being the Husband or Bridegroom of his elect people, his Bride.
Consider just one example:
Isaiah 54: 5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the Lord hath
called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth,
when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great
mercies will I gather thee.
When Christ declares himself to be the Bridegroom, he is declaring
himself to be God. His first disciples thus confessed, “Jesus is Lord.” They were
filled with joy at his first advent, and his disciples on earth will be filled
with joy again at his second coming when we are called to “the marriage supper
of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). Christ is the Bridegroom!
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
"As the seed, however good it may be, does not produce its fruit at the moment which it is sown, but must necessarily remain in the ground, so it is not proper to restrict fruit and efficacy of the Word to the same hour in which it is sown, nor that of the Sacraments to the moment in which they are administered. For the fruit manifests itself in the hearts of the elect at the time determined by God."
-Theodore Beza (1519-1605), The Christian Faith, 48.
Note: Devotional article based on last Sunday's sermon on Mark 2:13-17.
“And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him” (Mark 2:14).
The early
ministry of Christ on earth involved the calling of his disciples. In Mark
1:16-20 we have the call of two sets of fisherman brothers: Simon and Andrew,
James and John. In Mark
2:14 there is the call of Levi (also known as Matthew), the publican (tax
collector). The description is minimal. No doubt Christ knew this latter man
and had spoken previously with him. The Evangelist Mark describes the moment in
which action was demanded, a command given, a response required. A call goes
forth. This is the effectual call to faith and the call to apostleship.
To Simon and Andrew Christ said, “Come ye after me, and I
will make you to become fishers of men” (1:17).
To Levi he said, “Follow me” (2:14). This is the call to
discipleship, to enroll in the school of the Lord Jesus Christ, to become his
apprentice, to learn from him.
Paul said to the Corinthians, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1).
Peter
called upon men to follow in Christ’s steps (1 Peter 2:21).
Christ
himself said in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
To follow Christ means you can’t follow the crowd. You can’t
follow anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ. Our God is a jealous God. And Christ
is a jealous Christ. Christ himself said, “No man can serve two masters” (Matt
6:24).
If you follow Christ, you have to deny yourself. You have to
leave some things behind.
I spent a summer after college leading young men on weeklong
backpacking trips in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. The night before we
left for the trip, we had the boys lay out the things they wanted to take, and
then we usually had to cut that into at least half. We had to get the weight lower
to avoid blisters, fatigue, and dragging behind.
As Christians, we have a race to
run, and we cannot get bogged down with needless burdens that will hold us back
from following Christ. We must certainly never turn back. Christ said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
The response of Levi is also simply
and minimally recorded: “And he arose and followed him.” Christ is honored when
our obedience to his call is similarly prompt and sincere.
Let us deny ourselves, take up our
cross daily, and follow him.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jeff Riddle
"In that our regeneration is never completed here below, -- there is always the battling of the flesh against the Spirit (Gal 5:17), there is yet, I say, deep darkness in our understanding (1 Cor 13:9-12), and great rebellions in us against God (Rom 7:15-24), -- it follows that the best work which can come from the best man in the world, if he were examined with rigour, would be found to be nothing other than a polluting of the graces of God. It is thus that we see a clear pure stream is polluted when it passes through a dirty vile place."
-Theodore Beza (1519-1605), The Christian Faith, 30.
How many *sons* of Alpheus were apostles?
