The Assurance of Sin
When John writes his epistle to those who believe in the name of the Son of God to assure them of eternal life (1 John 5:13), he includes awareness of sin. The unbeliever who walks in darkness may not perceive his sin or be pained by it, but the believer will be gripped by his sin and grieve over it with a godly sorrow.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8, NKJV)
Isaiah was never more acutely aware of his sin than when he stood in the presence of the glory of God. While the seraphim joined in heavenly chorus, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa. 6:3), the prophet of God cowered in painful recognition of his sin and peril in the presence of the holy God. “Woe is me, for I am undone” (Isa. 6:5). Yet while Isaiah was powerless to do anything to save himself, God acted on his behalf so as to declare, “Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged” (Isa. 6:7).
Our sin is never more glaring, never more grievous, never more hideous than it is in the light of the glory of God. The closer we draw to God, the more painfully aware we will become of our sin and shame. That realization is what lies behind John’s assertion: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
Truth is in accord with the light. It testifies to the way of God and the glory of the gospel.
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The Bridegroom
The bridegroom’s arrival is representing Christ’s return and the end of this present evil age. May we prepare with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind to be ready when He comes that we might go forth to the marriage supper of the Lamb!
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.Matthew 25:1
The subject of the parable may be the ten virgins nevertheless the focus of this parable is the bridegroom.
It is the bridegroom that the virgins were waiting for. It is the bridegroom who is coming. It is the bridegroom who closes the door. Like with other elements of the parable so with the bridegroom the Lord does not refer to new concepts and ideas but rather uses those things which are known from Scripture to paint the picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. The prophet Isaiah famously illustrated the rejoicing of God over His people as a bridegroom rejoicing over the bride: “For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee” (Isaiah 62:5).
Early in Christ’s ministry the Lord gave evidence that He was that bridegroom of Isaiah 62 and that He is one and equal with God, when He said, “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast” ( 9:15). Immediately after revealing Himself as the bridegroom, a ruler came to Jesus worshipping Him. What greater confirmation of the identity of the bridegroom than this? Jesus revealed Himself as the bridegroom and immediately Jesus the bridegroom was worshipped. Jesus Christ Himself is the bridegroom.
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The Son & The Sabbath
Not only was rest given for the enjoyment of Lord Adam of Eden: the ultimate beneficial reason for the giving of the Sabbath to the human race, was so that when the Word took Flesh, Jesus, Himself, might sanctify this day of rest. From before the world was made, the Logos fully intended to use the Sabbath Day to bring blessing to the world.
Over the past two weeks, given Christ’s statement in the Gospels, I’ve been mulling over the question of how the Sabbath of Creation connects with Christ as Son.
The Sabbath was Made by The Son.
We are plainly told in Genesis that, having concluded Creation work, God set Day Seven apart. At this particular junction in divine revelation, Moses is not concerned with the Persons of the Godhead: if explicit mention of the Father, Son and Spirit of Yahweh is held back to the Baptism of Christ, we know from New Testament references that, as The Pre-Incarnate Logos, God the Son was The Agent of Creation who also gave the Sabbath Ordinance.
In all of the external works of God (or opera ad extra), all Three Glorious Persons of the Godhead are active: we must clearly state that if the Father ordained the Sabbath by the Spirit, the Seventh Day of Rest, equally, is the Son’s gift to mankind. Or, at risk of stating the matter in an anachronistic fashion, the origin of the Sabbath can be traced to the now-Enfleshed Word. His sanctifying that day by setting it apart as special could have been intensive (most sacred), factitive (made sacred), or declarative (marked sacred), or perhaps all three. Whatever the precise nuance involved in demarcation of the Seventh Day, let us be very clear that having made that Day, the Sabbath belongs to Him. It is not an exaggeration to call it the Sabbath of the Son.
The Sabbath was Made for The Son.
Not only was rest given for the enjoyment of Lord Adam of Eden: the ultimate beneficial reason for the giving of the Sabbath to the human race, was so that when the Word took Flesh, Jesus, Himself, might sanctify this day of rest. From before the world was made, the Logos fully intended to use the Sabbath Day to bring blessing to the world. Not only did Christ hallow this day of worship growing up, but for 3 three years of Sabbaths, this time was set apart, from the rest of His hectic weeks, for some of His most notable words and works of public ministry among Jews.
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What Does “Becoming Fishers of Men” Look Like?
Jesus uses his authority (his power) in order to “fish men” out of the clutches of demonic oppression. He sets the on the bank and into flourishing. That is what it means to “become fishers of men”. And the disciples must learn this lesson. It isn’t about catching enough fish to sink your boat and brag to your buddies about your haul, or to get filthy rich off your catch. You are “fishers of men” to rescue them from the wildness of the sea, to rescue from the clutches of idolatry, and to set free into flourishing under Jesus’ authority.
I didn’t really grow up in church. I think I had a spell in 7th or 8th grade where I went to youth group some—but that had more to do with pretty girls than Jesus. I do, however, remember bits and pieces of one sermon I heard. It involved what I assumed was an expert fisherman explaining to us what Jesus meant by “becoming fishers of men”. He talked about bait and lure and “reeling them in”.
I think that metaphor stuck with me a little because when I first started teaching the Bible I put together a sermon on Jesus’ call to be fishers of men. And guess what I did? I studied fishing methods and I applied them to evangelism. If you want to catch people with the gospel you need to attract them with a lure.
That was a silly Bible study that I put together. For one, the fishing methods in the first century do not exactly match the methods used in trying to catch a bass in Northeast Missouri. But secondly, it missed an Old Testament connection. Jesus’ turn of phrase actually comes from Jeremiah 16.
16 “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the LORD, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 17 For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18 But first I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
Jeremiah 16 is in the context of judgment of the nations while the Lord restores Israel. These “fishers of men” will be overturning the works of idolatry as the fortunes of God’s people are restored.
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