How Jesus Corrected and Confronted His Opponents and Hypocrites

1. Jesus Corrected and Confronted Publicly: Jesus corrected the false teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees by teaching His disciples to be on constant guard against it. He corrected their misinterpretations by appealing to His own authority. He repeatedly said, ”You have heard it was said…but I say to you…” Jesus would often speak with His disciples, and the crowds around Him, about the dangers of false teachers’ doctrine. It is not, as many suppose, godly not to talk about the problems with false teachers and teaching.

2. Jesus Corrected and Confronted Directly: Jesus directly confronted false teachers in the church with the repetitious, “Woe to you…hypocrites.” When they came to trick Him, Jesus frequently silenced the Chief Priests, Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees but putting them in their place with Scripture. On one occasion He came right out and said, “You’re wrong, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God.” Jesus was not afraid to tell people–in the most confrontational way–”You’re wrong.”

3. Jesus Resorted to Metaphorical “Animal” Name Calling: Jesus often exposed the true nature of the wickedness of false teachers by using animal names to metaphorically describe them. He called the Pharisees the “offspring of serpents,” Herod “a fox,” false teachers “wolves,” and unregenerate Gentiles “dogs.”

4. Jesus Corrected and Confronted by Means of Comparison: Jesus rebuked the unbelief of the covenant people by singling out the faith of a Gentile centurion who said to Jesus, “Only speak and word and my servant will be healed” (Matt. 8:5-13). Christ compared the greatness of their unbelief with the greatness of this man’s faith. He then went on to explain the eternal punishment those who did not believe would undergo.

5. Jesus Corrected and Confronted Wrong Motives and Excuses: A self-seeking man boastfully promised to follow Jesus anywhere because he thought it would mean political or financial gain for him. Jesus corrected his wrong motives by telling him that he would be following a homeless Messiah (Matt. 8:18-22). He then corrected another man who used his aging father as an excuse about why he could not follow Jesus at that time, by telling him that he was as spiritual dead as His father would soon be physically. An outstanding treatment of this passage can be found in Sinclair Ferguson’s sermon “The Cost of Discipleship.”

6. Jesus Resorted to a Physical Act of Righteous Anger: Jesus corrected the greed and corruption of the money changers in the Temple by making a whip and physically driving them out. He also threw their tables over. I’m sure that many in the church today would say that Jesus was “emotionally unstable” and “erratic.”

How Jesus Corrected His Beloved Disciples

When we see how Jesus corrected His own disciples (who gave Him plenty of opportunities to do so!) we find that there is a great deal more tenderness and patience. Jesus characterized Himself as being “gentle and lowly in heart.” While this was the characteristic mark of the Savior, it was often accompanied by strong, unexpected and confrontational rebuke of their actions. Consider the following:

1. Jesus Rebuked in Order to Correct Role Relations: Jesus corrected his mother at the wedding in Cana of Galilee by telling her “Woman, what of you and Me?” when she told Him “They have no wine.” He was rebuking he for thinking that she had authority over Him. The meaning of Jesus’ response was essentially, “This concern of yours is My work, not for you and I to take care of together. I am not under your authority in this matter.” (See George Hutcheson’s Exposition on John, p. 32 ff. for a good treatment of this text.) Jesus also confronted James and John when they tried to use Him to get to the top. Jesus responded to their request by saying, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.” Basically, Jesus was telling them that He would pave the way to heaven for all His disciples by drinking the bitter cup of the wrath of God at the cross.

2. Jesus Rebuked Unbelief in His Disciples: Jesus corrected His disciples on a boat in a storm by showing off His power and rebuking their unbelief. He told them, “O you of little faith.” He then stilled the wind and the waves with a rebuke (Matt. 8:23-27) . He also rebuked the unbelief of the two on the road to Damascus, as well as the disciples in the house, after His resurrection.

3. Jesus Rebuked By Means of Comparison: Jesus corrected Martha’s anxious heart by pointing to her sitter sitting at His feet and listening to His word. He basically said, “You should be more like your sister.” This might strike some as being a psychologically harmful way to correct people, nevertheless, the Son of God did it! (Luke 10:41-42). Jesus also pointed to a woman putting a few pennies in the offering box to teach His disciples the value of having a generous heart, as over against the rich who putt in a little out of their abundance.

4. Jesus Used Tragic Circumstances to Call People to Repentance: Some people told Jesus that Herod had mingled the blood of some Galileans with animal sacrifices. Instead of telling them how tragic this was–and how sorry He was to hear about it–He reminded them about the tower that had tragically and unexpectedly fallen on 18 people. He then made the most unlikely application, saying, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:1-5).

5. Jesus Corrected Bickering Men with a Child: Jesus confronted His disciples when they argued about who was greatest among them by taking a child and setting him in their midst. Correcting grown men with the mere presentation of a child was a seriously humbling rebuke.

6. Jesus Corrected Envy By Saying, “Worry About Yourself”: Jesus corrected Peter’s jealousy of John by telling him, “What if he remains until I come. You follow for Me.” (i.e. ”Don’t worry your pretty little mind about what I’m doing with anyone else. Just worry about your own relationship with Me.”)

Back in November Crossway Books published K. Scott Oliphint’s book God With Us: Divine Condescension and the Attributes of God which can be found here. Olphint offers us a rich and substantive theological feast in this volume. Wrestling with how the self-contained ontological Trinitarian God of Scripture can relate to his creation, Oliphint draws upon the incarnation of the Son of God as the paradigmatic case of divine condescension. The author makes a distinction between God’s essential and covenantal attributes and in this distinction we find some excellent theological exploration. You can find a full scale review of the book by Mark Jones over at Ref21 here as well as a new series of blog posts by Dr. Oliphint there as well. Christ the Center also interviewed Dr. Oliphint about the book here.

Debate over union with Christ and the relationship of justification to sanctification is all the rage in the blogosphere now and into the midst of this controversy steps Robert Letham’s Union with Christ: In Scripture, History, and Theology which can be obtained here. Similar to his study on the Trinity, yet significantly shorter, Letham demonstrates the significance, even the centrality of the doctrine to Scripture. Note that saying that union with Christ is a central concern of Scripture is not the same as saying it is a “central dogma.” A central dogma is a doctrine from which every other doctrine of a theological system is logically deduced. Union with Christ plays no such role in Scripture nor in Letham’s book. Letham avoids some of the detailed dispute now occurring in Reformed circles, but he also adds flavor of his own. Letham gives space to the doctrine of theosis or divinization or deification. The doctrine can be understand as the Eastern Orthodox formulation of the doctrine of sanctification, but it seems to suggest more than that. Letham is careful to affirm the Creator/creature distinction so he avoids the typical criticism of theosis that it lands in pantheism. However, it is not clear that Letham, in affirming that Christ’s divine nature suffused his human nature, does not accidentally provide the foundation for a doctrine of the ubiquity of Christ’s body. Letham does not deal with this, but it is a lingering question with which I am left. All this being said the book is a welcome addition to any theological library.

Christians ought not only read theology books but also books about history in general. Thomas S. Kidd’s Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots is a fascinating tale about one of America’s founding fathers which can be found here. Kidd, associate professor of history at Baylor University and author of many thought provoking books on American religious history, brings Patrick Henry to life for a new generation. Henry, long known for his “give me liberty or give me death” speech, was a complex man and Kidd does not allow us to create a flat, cardboard figure in our minds as we read through his biography. While Henry was a major player in the American Revolution he initially opposed the ratification of the US Constitution. Readers will discover that the debates between Federalists (those in favor of ratifying the Constitution) and the Anti-Federalists were anything but simple. I found myself at points sympathetic with one party over the other. What is clear is that Patrick Henry would be appalled at the current situation in the US. One interesting thing to note was Henry’s Christian rejection of the French Revolution. Initially encouraged by the movement in France, its increasingly apparent Deistic and atheistic flavor gave Henry cause for concern. Henry’s assessment of the French revolution resonates with that of a later Christian, Abraham Kuyper. You can find a fascinating interview between Thomas Kidd and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler here.

Take up and read.

At the very least we would want to say that the magnitude of Paul’s commands in this passage require that the incarnation really happened as recorded for us in Scripture. The pre-existent personal Son of God at a point in time took to himself a true body and a reasonable soul. This is not a myth and it is no fairy tale. As Paul tells us in 2^nd Corinthians 8, Jesus who was rich became poor for our sakes so that we might become rich in him. The Son of God humbled himself (however, he did not empty himself of his divine nature) and took the form of a servant and obeyed his heavenly Father to the point of an ignominious death on the cruel and wretched cross. The Son of God set aside his divine prerogatives and came to give his life as a ransom for many. This is all true doctrine. I might go so far as to suggest it is downright theological.

And this theological foundation provides for the superstructure of Paul’s ethical exhortations. Paul calls the Philippian church to possess certain godly attitudes which yield particular gracious actions. The church at Philippi ought to be of one mind and possess the same love. These affections will then work themselves out on the practical level with humility and unity. Paul called the saints to not look out for their own interests but also those of others. The church at Philippi could not manufacture these godly attitudes or these gracious actions. They are the supernatural result of a supernatural work of the Triune God of Scripture. We cannot find these attitudes by searching within. We cannot produce these actions with mere will power.

Because the Son of God did not hang on to his divine prerogatives and came to earth we as his disciples ought also to exhibit analogous attitudes and actions. Paul’s call to the Philippians and to us is based upon what Christ has done for us and for our salvation. Consider this: Jesus acted in unison with the Father and the Spirit when he determined in eternity past to take to himself a true body and a reasonable soul. The Son acted in humility and deference to the Father when he came to earth and experienced the miseries of this life and eventual death. The Son loved his own for whom he lived and died and so did not merely look out for his own interests. Since the Son did these things, we who have been joined to him by Spirit-created faith, ought to exhibit analogous character. But let us get the order right: we come to faith in Christ first and then we seek to follow after him as we live the Christian life.

Who says doctrine is impractical?

(Audio on this final video was taken from the video camera. Low Quality)

You can always buy a comparable one here for a third of the price less, or here for twice as much if you just can’t wait.

’tis most probable that those wise men that came from the east were some that had received instruction from the holy writing of the Jews that had been carried into the east, first to Babylon, which was many hundred miles to the east of Judea, and afterwards to Shushan in Persia, which was yet a great deal further to the east. There was Daniel, that great prophet exalted to great dignity, and there was Nehemiah, and there was Elisha and Mordecai; and these had the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Christ with them. And Daniel himself, who was set over the wise men of the east as their master, was himself a great prophet and wrote one of those books of Old Testament prophecy— whose prophecy of Christ is in some respects more particular than [that] of any other prophets— and probably wrote it in Persia when he was in great dignity there, and doubtless left instructions among the great and wise men of that eastern part of the world, whose master he was, concerning Christ, and probably might leave his own prophecy and the other prophecies of Scripture concerning the Messiah in their hands.

The word in the original that is translated wise men is magai. And learned men observe that there is to this day in those eastern parts of the world, and particularly in Persia, a sect called by this very name, Magai or Magi— and have been time out of mind— that have many parts of the Old Testament in their hands and have had ‘em delivered down from their forefathers for a great many ages. And it is supposed that they received ‘em from the Jews that were carried captive, and particularly from Daniel. ‘Tis certain that those wise men or Magi that came from the east to see and to worship Christ, had some further instruction and direction than they had by the light of nature, and that two ways:

1. They were probably instructed [in] one of the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the star that should arise out of Jacob. This they probably had from Balaam’s prophecy. Numbers 24:17, “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall arise out of Israel, that shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.”

Balaam himself, who prophesied thus, came out of the east and, it may be, from the same country that those wise men came from, and there might leave his prophecy.

2. They were instructed by immediate direction from heaven. There was [an] extraordinary hand of God stirring them up to come and seek Christ, and directing them how to find him; as is manifest, because God caused a miraculous star to appear for their direction. This star appeared to ‘em in their own country together with an intimation from God that Christ now appeared in Judea, as appears by the second verse. They see this wonderful star and they knew it was a sign that Christ was come, and so came into Judea. It seems this star appeared to them a while and then disappeared; and they came to Jerusalem to inquire after Christ and, while they were diligently seeking him, the star appeared to ‘em again, as in the next verse before the text: “When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”1

1. Jonathan Edwards, “Seeking After Christ“ Sermons and Discourses, 1739-1742 (WJE Online Vol. 22)

Simeon has a very penetrating eye. In this child this is no kingly mien or royal garb to see, merely the form of a poor beggar. The mother is poor, with hardly five pennies in her purse to redeem her child in keeping with the law. The child is wrapped in very poor swaddling clothes. Nevertheless, Simeon comes right up, without anyone’s testimonial, and publicly attests: This child is the Savior of the world and a Light to all the Gentiles. This is a remarkable sermon and wonderful witness on behalf of this child, as Simeon looks upon this little infant wrapped in shabby rags. By reasoned judgment he would have to say, “This is no king, but a beggar child.” But he does not allow his reason to judge by what his eyes behold, but denominates this child as a king, greater than all the kings in the world. For he calls Him a Savior, prepared by God for all nations, and a Light to lighten the Gentiles all over the world. Indeed for Simeon, this was to open one’s eyes wide and look far beyond oneself. His eyes behold the whole world, from one end of the earth to the other. Wherever, in the whole world, he says, there are peoples and Gentiles, there this child is a Savior and a Light. Thus he comprehends everything that the Holy Scriptures state, and associates it with the child now lying in his arms.

You can read the whole sermon here.

Isaiah in this respect finds his great New Testament counterpart in the apostle Paul. Notwithstanding the immense difference necessarily created by the modified conditions of time and environment, these two favored servants of God are remarkably alike in the distinctive features of their message. Isaiah is an Old Testament Paul and Paul a New Testament Isaiah. For both, there is the same deep impression of the infinite majesty and absolute sovereignty of Jehovah; the same intense realization of the awfulness of the divine justice and the inexorable nature of its claims; the unworthiness, the helplessness of sinful man; the same insistence upon the exclusive activity of God in the work of saving his people; the same prominence of the idea of faith as the only thing whereby man can appropriate the blessings of salvation; the same abounding truth in the marvelous condescension and overflowing grace of God; the same unlimited and unlimitable faith in the world-embracing character of the divine purpose. Paul seems to have felt something of the congeniality of Isaiah’s mind to his own. He quotes from him often and not seldom with that fine spiritual insight which penetrates beyond the surface meaning of a passage into the innermost mind of the author and divines the subtle shade of his momentary thought and feeling. “Isaiah is very bold” (Rom. 10:20), he exclaims with evident appreciation of a noble trait exemplified to a high degree in his own character.1

The following are helpful sermon series on the book of Isaiah:

Eric Alexander - Isaiah
Ray Ortlund Jr. - Isaiah

1. Geerhardus Vos “A Sermon in Isaiah 57:15“ [K:NWTS 3/2 (Sep 1988) 3-19]

2011

The Coming of Christ: The Son of Jacob (Matt. 1:1-19)

2010

How Christmas Brings You Everything You Need (Heb. 2:5-18)
Do You Need Anything For Christmas (Isaiah 7:14; 9:2, 6-7 Luke 2:1-7, 8-20)
Celebration: the Joy of Christmas
Adoration: the Effect of Christmas (Luke 2:8-18)
Adoration: the Effect of Christmas #1 (Luke 2:14)
Incarnation: the Meaning of Christmas (John 1:1-14)
Expectations: The Anticipation of Christmas (Matt. 1:18-25)
The Man with PCSS (Post-Christmas Stress Syndrome) (Matt 2:1-15)
Jesus, Name Above All Names: Jesus (Matt. 1:18-25)
Jesus, Name Above All Names: The Fourfold Name (Isaiah 9:2-7)
Name Above all Names (Phil. 2:1-11)

2009

The Last Appearance (Matt. 2:13-23)
The Dream Angel (Matt. 1:18-25)
Gabriel Goes to Galillee (Luke 1:26-38)
The Angel at the Alter (Luke 1:5-25)
Until He Comes (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

2008

Born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7)
Benedictus (Luke 1:57-80)
Magnificat (Luke 1:30-56)
A Troubling Visitor (Luke 1:5-25)
This is His Body (Luke 1:26-32)
The Real Meaning of Christmas

2007

Around the Manger:Shepherds (Luke 2:1-20)
Around the Manger: Jesus (John 1:1-18)
Around the Manger: Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
Exodus II (Matthew 2:13-23)

2006

An Angel’s View of Christmas: What Angels Long to See (1 Peter 1:1-12)
An Angel’s View of Christmas: What Angels Come to Do (Matthew 1:18-25)
An Angel’s View of Christmas: What Angels Want to Say (Luke 2:8-20)
Born Into a World of Poverty (Luke 2:1-7)
A Teenager’s Christmas (Luke 1 & 2)
The First Christmas (Luke 2:8-20)
Announced Very Unexpectedly (Matt. 1:18-25)
Prepared in Ancient History (Matt. 1:1-17)
Promised in Earliest Prophecy (Gen. 3:1-15)

2005

Jesus Christ: The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
Jesus Christ: The Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6)
Jesus Christ: Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)
Jesus Christ: Wonderful Counsellor (Isaiah 9:6)

Nicholas T. Batzig is the organizing pastor/church planter of New Covenant Presbyterian Church, a PCA church in Richmond Hill, Georgia.

If an innocent man could choose a piece of fruit over the infinitely valuable God (Genesis 3:6); If the most righteous man of his day could get so drunk that he passed out naked before his sons in his tent (Gen. 9:21); If the most faithful man of his day could father a child with his wife’s handmaiden (Gen. 16:1-4); If he could hand his wife over to other men–twice! (Gen. 12:11-15; 20:1-2); If the mother of promise could laugh at the words of the God of promise—and then lie to Him about doing so—(Gen. 18:9-15); If “righteous Lot” could greedily pick the most materialistic and sexually depraved place for he and his family to live (Gen. 13:8-13); if he could hand his daughters over to the sexually perverse men of the city (Gen. 19:4-8); if the son of promise could show partiality to his oldest son because he liked his hunting skills (Gen. 25:28); if he too could hand his wife over to another man (Gen. 26:6-11); if the namesake of Israel could swindle his brother for a birthright (Gen. 25:29-34)…so could I.

If the meekest man on the planet could act in such sinful anger and unbelief that God would not let him into the promised Land (Numbers 20:7-12); If his successor could disobediently covenant with pagans (Joshua 9); if two of Israel’s greatest judges could, in unbelief, doubt the immediate promises of God (Judges 4; 11); If the mighty man of valor could fall into idolatry at the end of his life (Judges 8:22-27); If the strongest man who ever lived could be defeated by wine and women (Judges 14-16)…so could I.

If the man after God’s own heart could commit adultery and premeditated the murder of one of his mighty men (2 Samuel 11); if the wisest man could foolishly allow his heart to be led astray by a thousand women to worship foreign gods (1 Kings 11); If the weeping prophet could charge God with deceiving His people (Jeremiah 4:10); if his penman could seek fame for helping him write his book (45:5); If the most evangelistically used Old Testament prophet could self-righteously run from the mission of God (Jonah 1-3)…so could I.

If the forerunner of Christ could doubt the identity of the One to whom he bore witness (Matthew 11:2-3); if the apostle Peter could try to stop Jesus from going to the cross (Matt. 16:21-23); could deny Jesus (Luke 22:54-61); could argue with the Lord about the Gospel and its implications (John 13:6-10; Acts 10:9-16); and, could support a division in the church over the doctrine of justification by faith alone (Galatians 2:11-21); if James and John could use Jesus to get to the top (Mark 10:35-37); if they could want to call fire down from heaven on those who did not believe the Gospel (Luke 9:51-55); and if the apostle John could fall down to worship Angels–twice! (Revelation 19:9-10; 22:8-9)…so could I!

We must resist the temptation of thinking we can stand in our own strength. We must depend on the grace of the One who said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If we fall, we must go to Christ—confessing our sin and hoping in His mercy. The Scriptures declare: “The righteous fallsseven times and rises again” (Prov. 24:16). To fall seven times means that you have been restored six. The greatest believers are subject to great weaknesses. In no way do these truths give a license to sin; instead, they give a sober realization that “nothing good dwells in us.” We must distrust ourselves, bear with the weak, and hold fast to Christ. We must flee to our great High Priest, who was tempted in all points as we are—yet without sin. We must go to Him for grace and mercy to withstand temptations; and we must go to Him for grace and mercy if we fall. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

“[In the epistle to the Colossians] errors and confusions in the Church are in view—a subtle theosophy and also a retrograde ceremonialism probably both amalgamating into one dangerous total. And St. Paul’s method for his converts there—what is it? Above all it is the presentation of Jesus Christ in the glories of His Persona and His work. He places HIM in the very front of thought, first as the head, Founder and Cornerstone of the Universe, Then as the Head, Redeemer and Life of the Church. With Him so seen he meets the dreamy thinker and the ceremonial devotee; Christ is the ultimate and only repose—alike for thought and for the soul.”1

One of the most helpful articles written on the subject was F.F. Bruce’s 1984 Bibliothecha Sacra article, “Colossians Problem Part 3: The Colossians Heresy.” In it, Bruce gives consideration to all the plausible explanations posited throughout the 20th Century. Focusing in on the phrase ”τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου,” in Col. 2:8, he draws together all the fragmented allusions of what the heresy actually was in light of the theology behind the τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (see my former post about it, here). I encourage you to take the time to read Bruce’s article and decide for yourself if he has accurately defined the Colossian heresy.

1. H.C.G. Moule Studies in Hebrews (New York: Hodder and Stouten, 1909)

Sermon Indexes

The Man of the House
Solid Foundations

That being said, there is one other devotional I want to recommend. It is one that is unsurpassed in Church History for it’s Christological riches. Charles Spurgeon once said of it’s author:

“[he] was the very least of commentators in the matter of criticism; he had no critical capacity, and no ability whatever as an interpreter of the letter; but he sees Jesus, and that is a sacred gift which is most precious whether the owner be a critic or no. It is to be confessed that he occasionally sees Jesus where Jesus is not legitimately to be seen. He allows his reason to be mastered by his affections, which, vice as it is, is not the worst fault in the world. There is always such a savour of the Lord Jesus Christ…that you cannot read him without profit. He has the peculiar idea that Christ is in every Psalm, and this often leads him totally astray, because he attributes expressions to the Saviour which really shock the holy mind to imagine our Lord’s using. However, not as a substantial dish, but as a condiment, place the Plymouth vicar’s work on the table. His writing is all sugar, and you will know how to use it, not devouring it in lumps, but using it to flavour other things.”

Spurgeon was speaking of Robert Hawker, Anglican vicar of Charles Church, Plymouth, Devon. It’s almost humorous to hear Spurgeon criticize Hawker for “occasionally seeing Jesus where Jesus is not legitimately to be seen,” since that is the very charge so many have laid to Spurgeon. Hawker actually wrote two daily devotionals: The Poor Man’s Morning Portion, and The Poor Man’s Evening Portion. It doesn’t take the reader long to see how rich they are in meditative thought on the Savior. I consider this work to be the most Jesus-centered devotional in church history. Reformation Heritage has published a very nice edition of the two volumes together in one. You can find it here. I am sure that you will not be disappointed by this devotional, even if you think Hawker sees Jesus where He “is not legitimately to be seen!”

Israel’s wilderness experience forms much of the background of the book of Hebrews. Early in the book, the writer drew a parallel between the experience of the first generation of Israel in the wilderness and the New Covenant church (3:1-4:16). The experience of the first generation of Israel served as a paradigm for every subsequent generation of the covenant people (Ps. 95; Heb. 3:7-11). The writer observed that New Covenant people belong to the same “house” (Heb. 3:1-6), have the same “Gospel” (4:2), the same “promises” (11:13-16), and the same “warnings” as the first generation of Israel in the wilderness (3:1-7). All the promises and warnings given to Old Covenant Israel come—with equal force—to us today (3:7-11). Israel’s physical experience was typical of the spiritual experience of the New Covenant church. Though not passing through a physical wilderness, we, nevertheless, pass through the wilderness of the world. We too are heading to a Promised Land (11:16).

Israel was delivered from the bondage of Egypt and brought to Sinai to be a worshipping community. The New Covenant church has been delivered from the bondage of sin and Satan and brought to Mount Zion (12:18-24). When we come together in public worship we join with all the saints on Earth and in Heaven. The gathered assembly is a primary means by which Christ’s people advance in their pilgrimage, because it is the primary place where the word of God is ministered. At Sinai, Israel received the word of God. The word was to be the singular guide for their wilderness journey. With the elders of Israel, Moses was entrusted with ministering the oracles of God to the Assembly. In the same way, the elders of the New Covenant church have been entrusted with the ministry of God’s word (13:7; 17). If we neglect the assembly we neglect the elders; if we neglect the elders we neglect the word of God; if we neglect the word of God, we, like so many unbelieving and disobedient Israelites, will “fall in the wilderness” (3:17).

The elders are not, however, the only ones called to care for the assembly. All members of the church are given the command to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:23-24). These verses explain that the fifty-five “one another” passages in the New Testament are to be carried out in the gathered assembly. Gathering to worship the Savior (12:18-24), we exhort one another to hold fast to Him (3:6; 4:14; 6:19; 10:23). The mutual exhortation of the saints keeps us in the wilderness way. There is a very real danger in neglecting this all–important grace. The writer alluded to this danger when he added the sobering phrase: “as is the habit of some.”

One of the surest ways to press on in our spiritual pilgrimage is to stay with the assembly. One of the surest ways to forfeit the promised rest (Heb. 4) is to wander from the assembly. If we do, we will wander into the wilderness to die the spiritual death of unbelief. So, let us “encouraging one another…as we see the Day drawing near.”

*This a modified version of the November 2011 Weekend Devotional publishing in Tabletalk Magazine.