Archive for March, 2024

He is not here, but is risen; remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee. Luke 24:6

Campbell Morgan once said that the resurrection is the most stupendous, supernatural miracle that the world has ever known. It supercedes everything else – because if He is not risen from the dead then everything else collapses! Dr. Morgan does not exaggerate or overstate the case. Without the resurrection, you or I would have no basis on which to place our faith, no eternal purpose to our beings. In fact, without the resurrection, you would not be reading this message today. The resurrection is the anchor that holds all of our hopes for eternity. On this day in which Christendom marks the victory of the Lord Jesus over death and the grave, we note the all important value of this occasion, and note that it was of the resurrection that the Lord Jesus taught, and that the apostles proclaimed.

In our text, the angel reminds the disciples that Jesus had told them that He would rise from the dead. During His ministry, as He preached and performed miracles in Galilee, He had declared that He would be put to death, and that He would rise again and meet with them in Galilee (Matthew 26:32). Initially, the disciples had heard only that He was to be put to death, and they were saddened at that prospect. But Jesus had clearly told them that He would rise again. The disciples missed that point. If they had heard it and understood it, they would have gathered expectantly at the sepulchre to await His coming forth. Initially, they missed so much by not believing, although they were eventually overwhelmed with joy and praise when His resurrection became fully known. We will also miss much by failing to accept unreservedly the words of the Lord Jesus in His promises to us.

But we have more than just the promise of the Lord Jesus concerning His resurrection. We also have the proof as declared by His apostles. He appeared to them on several occasions, spending time with them and, in the case of the sceptical such as Thomas, displaying to them the reality of his bodily resurrection. They were convinced, and had every reason to be so. And because they were convinced, they threw themselves unreservedly into the proclamation of His resurrection. As they went forth with the Gospel from Jerusalem and into the uttermost parts of the world, they carried with them the joyful news that Christ Jesus arose from the dead. It is part and parcel of the Gospel message that you and I have received. We know that He died on the cross. We also know that He rose from the dead. By faith we receive the guarantee that God is satisfied with the sacrifice, a guarantee confirmed by the resurrection.

He is risen. He said He would rise again. The apostles confirmed to us that He did. Today, we believe it with joy. -Jim MacIntosh

And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all. Luke 6:19

Isaiah 53:4 reminds us that the Lord Jesus would have – when He came as the Messiah – a ministry of healing: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. The Hebrew terms that are translated griefs and sorrows are the words for sicknesses and pains. The Lord Jesus did not set Himself up as a doctor; healing the sick was just part of His ministry as He made His way through this world. But heal He did, and much blessing resulted. The healings brought a great deal of attention to Him, and huge numbers thronged to hear Him preach and teach. Unlike the fake healings performed by the charismatic charlatans of today, the Lord Jesus performed miraculous restorations of life, health, and usefulness among those who were dead, sick, and disabled. Our text tells us why He could perform these miracles; it speaks of virtue going out of Him.

Note that our account is written by a doctor, a man who knew all about sickness and disease, a man who could confirm whether the lame and blind were actually disabled. Luke confirms the miracles with his medical authority. And he also confirms the manner in which those miracles were performed. No pills or potions were dispensed, no physical manipulation was applied, no incantations were uttered. No, Luke tells us that there flowed from the Lord Jesus a virtue, or power, that was greater than the diseases and infirmities. People reached out and touched Him, and were healed. There were no exceptions or limitations. The virtue, or power, was sufficient for all who came and touched. If we think about it, we should not be surprised. After all, the One the people were touching was none other than the Creator of the Universe, the One Whose power holds all things in existence. Yes, the miracles were amazing, but the source was none other than the Giver and Sustainer of all life. The virtue that flowed from Him at this time was just a tiny display of His almighty power. Can we wonder whether He can and will perform miracles around us today?

Despite the claims of the charismatics, the purposes of God are not fulfilled today by physical healings. The Lord Jesus healed people as proof of His deity and power. The early disciples used healings as a display and proof of the workings of the Holy Spirit. Such sign gifts are not needed today. Yes, it would be wonderful if illness and disabilities could be banished. But these bodies of ours are but shells that temporarily house our eternal souls. And today, our God is working to save immortal souls, a far more valuable purpose than that of healing mortal bodies. Just as virtue from the Lord Jesus could heal bodies in Bible times, so His virtue is saving souls in our time. Every precious soul that encounters Him is saved.

The power of the Lord Jesus to give eternal salvation to all who believe is the greatest miracle we can witness today. – Jim MacIntosh

And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. Luke 6:16

A man known as the Monster of the Miramichi went on a killing rampage in the summer of 1989 after escaping from custody while he was serving a lengthy sentence for murder. In 1986, Allan Legere had killed New Brunswick store owner John Glendenning in Blackville, for which he was given a life sentence. During a visit to a Moncton hospital for an ear infection in May of 1989, Legere escaped, despite being secured with handcuffs, a body chain, and leg shackles. Legere was captured seven months later after one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history. During his time at liberty, he murdered three women and a Catholic priest, and created an atmosphere of terror that is still disturbing to many people in the Miramichi region. He was a deeply evil man, one of the worst criminals in New Brunswick’s history. But his name is a fairly common one in the province. A man with the same name operated a garage in Saint John at the time. During the time that the killer Allan Legere was committing his crimes, and for some time afterward, the mechanic Allan Legere did very little business. His name was enough to turn people away. And so it is when we consider the disciple named Judas, the one who was not the traitor.

The name Judas, even without the surname Iscariot, has become synonymous with treachery and betrayal. But the other Judas in Jesus’ company was nothing like Iscariot. We know very little about him, other than his relationship to James. Most Bible historians identify him as the Thaddeus who is listed as a disciple in Matthew and Mark. The silence of Scripture concerning him means he was as good a disciple as the others, and was not singled out for any problem. So we can see in this Judas a man who is typical of most faithful and valuable Christians, a man who like most faithful and valuable Christians is not affected by what those around him might misunderstand him about. And it is certainly true that the world around us will often take offense at us because of what they don’t understand.

Judas – the faithful one – was interested in the work of the Lord Jesus, deeply committed to His Lord, and was to become a leader of the Christians during the months and years that followed Pentecost. One of his primary goals in life would be to see that others were brought to repentance and faith in Christ. That should be a primary goal for us, too. But around us are those who are traitors to the Word of God, those who seek to peddle false doctrine and who make a mockery of the Gospel. Because they call themselves Christians, their evil deeds and bad reputations are applied by many of those around us toward all who call themselves Christians. What can we do about that?

The only thing we can do when misunderstood about our Christianity is to be like Judas, or Thaddeus, and remain faithful to our Lord in all things. – Jim MacIntosh

And it came to pass in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

How many times have you heard people – preachers, perhaps, or someone in their prayers – refer to the Lord Jesus often spending His nights alone in prayer? But that statement is actually not true. Or if it is true, it is not recorded in the Scriptures. There are other references to His going to solitary places to pray, but it is not said that in those cases that He remained in prayer for the entire night. Today’s text is the only reference in our Bible to the Lord Jesus spending all night in prayer. While we are at it, let’s clear up another misconception about this verse. The last phrase ‘prayer to God’ is actually ‘prayer of God’ in the original Greek text. This makes it plain that His night in prayer was a divine conversation between God the Father and God the Son. Therefore, this must have been an incredibly important prayer session. I can think of at least two reasons why it was so.

The first thing the Lord Jesus did the day after his all-night prayer was to select from his disciples those who He would call apostles. These twelve men would be the companions of the Lord Jesus for the remainder of His earthly ministry. They would accompany Him, assist Him, learn from Him, and seek to copy Him during those years. But more importantly, they would be preparing to carry out His commission in the years that would follow. The role of these men would be crucial to all of Christianity, because it was them who would lead and instruct the early Christians, teaching them what they had learned from the Lord Jesus, and guiding them into all truth. Ephesians 2:20 reminds us that we are build on the foundation of the apostles. Without the work of those great men, we would never have had the guidance and impetus to spread the Gospel throughout the world. We would also be missing all of the doctrinal direction for our lives, for the establishment and preservation of Assemblies, and for the work of God in this day of grace. How glad we should be that the Lord Jesus spent the night in prayer before making those selections of apostles.

But among those selections, we see the choice of Judas Iscariot to be one of the twelve. This was not a mistake; the Lord Jesus knew all about this man and about his upcoming role as the traitor. And yet, after a night of communion with His Father, the Lord Jesus called the name of Judas Iscariot among his appointees. From this we understand the deep, eternal commitment of the Son to do the Father’s bidding as the Lamb of God Who would take away the sin of the world. By choosing Judas, He would be setting in place the process that would lead to His betrayal, His sufferings, and His death. Is it any wonder that the prayer session lasted all night?

We owe so much to the devotion of the Lord Jesus to His Father’s will. That night in prayer is a wonderful display of that devotion. – Jim MacIntosh

And they were filled with madness, and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:11

Filled with madness… isn’t that rather an exaggeration? Actually, it’s not. Madness against the Lord Jesus was actually fairly common during His years of ministry. And it’s just as common today, although the madness is levelled at Jesus’ followers. Take the case of the Ashers Baking Company in Northern Ireland. The bakery was approached by a group called Queerspace to bake a cake featuring the Sesame Street Muppets Bert and Ernie, with the group’s slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’. The owners of the Ashers bakeries are Christians, and declined the cake order because, as the company’s general manager Daniel McArthur said, ‘it was at odds with our beliefs and with what the Bible teaches’. The Equality Commission, a publicly funded organization in Northern Ireland, brought a civil action against the Ashers, alleging that the bakery breached statutory duty not to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of goods or services. Despite widespread public support for Ashers, as shown in polls taken at the time, the commission did pursue the case to court, in fact to the Supreme Court which ruled in favour of the Ashers. Here’s where the madness comes in. Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson accused the Equality Commission of spending up to a quarter of a million pounds of taxpayers’ money to seek court damages of £500 from the bakery’s Christian owners. That’s madness. And it’s against the Lord Jesus.

Our text describes the reaction of the Pharisees to the healing of a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. Concerned more about their petty interpretation of the Law of Moses than with the welfare of a disabled man, these Pharisees boiled with wrath against the Healer. The Lord Jesus had shown them up for what they were, despicable and uncaring hypocrites. Today, there are many people who don’t like what the Lord Jesus and His Book have to say about them, either. And they take out their anger in every way that they can. There are groups in Canada, for instance, who could hardly wait for the Liberals to win the 2015 federal election, which lead to open season on all those who oppose abortion on demand, and all those who disagree with the endorsement and promotion of homosexual causes including same-sex marriage. The madness continues.

What the Lord Jesus did for the disabled man was the right thing to do. Just as it is the right thing to do for Christians today to lead godly lives and to proclaim the Gospel. But those around us whose sinful lifestyles and practices are exposed by our obedience to our Lord will not like it. Some of them will turn on us in anger and spite. They will openly attack the Bible, and they will openly attack the Christians. Some of the Lord’s people have already experienced the madness. And more of us will experience it soon.

Pray that we may with patience endure the madness of those who oppose our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh

And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath day? Luke 6:2

On one occasion, several boys who appeared to be in their early teens showed up at the tent a few minutes before the start of the Gospel meeting. They sat in a back corner, quietly chatting among themselves. Watching them, I said to Murray McCandless, ‘Look at that, they don’t even know enough to take off their caps!’ I indicated that I might go over and remind them to do so. But Murray stopped me. ‘Let them be,’ he said. ‘We’re just glad that they are here.’ Murray was right, of course. There is no telling whether a word from me might cause those boys to take offense and leave. As it was, they stayed and listened respectfully to the Gospel messages. What difference did it make if they kept their caps on, as long as they were hearing the Gospel? I was almost like those Pharisees in our text who were more interested in Jesus’ disciples’ behaviour than in Jesus’ message.

The crime didn’t seem to be so big. The disciples were hungry, and as they passed through a grain field, they pulled off some grain, rubbing the husks off in their hands as they ate. The law of the sabbath as given by Moses forbade doing work of any kind on that day, although it did not forbid the eating of food. But the Pharisees had developed a set of regulations to define exactly what they thought the law intended, in terms of the amount of work that was legal and that was not legal. They had determined that the gathering of any food from the field constituted the act of reaping, which was illegal. They had also determined that all food preparation must be done before the sabbath. So when the disciples rubbed the grain in their hands to remove the husks, they were in violation of the Pharisees’ rules. To the Pharisees, the rules were more important than what the law was intended to do. The intent of the law as Moses wrote it was to give the Israelites a day of rest; it was never its intention to force the people into strict religious observances. So why did the Pharisees create and enforce their sabbath rulebook? It was all part of their religion of works in which not even common sense was allowed to intervene. We have never been guilty of anything like that, have we?

A young brother began going on Saturday afternoons to a park near his home to distribute Gospel tracts. But when one of the elders of his Assembly discovered what tracts he was distributing, he ordered the young Christian to stop. The tracts were apparently written by a man that the elder disapproved of. Why did the elder not simply provide the young man with tracts that he deemed acceptable, rather than shut down a Gospel work and discourage a young Christian from a valuable exercise? This is an example of what we need to avoid when it comes to dealing with those around us in legal ways. We can do more harm than good by enforcing rules for the sake of enforcing rules.

How important are the rules that we expect those around us to follow, compared to the value of reaching sinners with the Gospel? – Jim MacIntosh

But the new wine must be put into new bottles, and both are preserved. Luke 5:38

The parable of the old and new wine and wineskins is an excellent illustration of the differences between the dispensations of law and grace. First, we need to understand what happens when wine is placed into the wineskins – or bottles as our text has it. The wineskin was made from the skin of an animal, most often a goat. When the new wine – actually grape juice freshly pressed – was put into the skin, it would begin to ferment and to expand. The skin would expand with the wine, being new, and it would be porous enough to allow the gases from the fermentation process to escape without bursting the skin. But such a wineskin could not be used often; as it aged, it would lose its flexibility so that it could no longer expand with the wine, and it would no longer be porous enough to allow the gases to escape. It was important to use only new wineskins for new wine. God’s working among His people in the Old Testament was the old wine that was perfectly fine for the wineskin of the law. But the new wineskin of grace was needed for God’s working among His people in this new dispensation.

The people of Jerusalem were amazed on the day of Pentecost to see and hear the incredible change in the apostles and those who were with them. They had never seen anything like that before. It was a demonstration of the amazing explosive action of the Holy Spirit working in the believers, something that was unknown in the Old Testament under the law. Also evident that day was the dynamite of God unto salvation in the preaching of the Gospel. Three thousand converts in one day was also proof that the new dispensation would rapidly expand beyond the bounds of Israel into the entire world of Jew and Gentile alike. The old wineskin of the law limited God’s workings to the children of Israel and to their proselytes. We can see the illustration of the old and new wineskins being displayed on the basis of activity alone. But the illustration goes much further, taking us into doctrines and prophecy that include us in our dispensation of grace and beyond.

If we compare the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy with the epistles in our New Testament, we will find some common principles, but vastly different instructions. Directions that applied specifically to the Israelites and their lives simply could not apply to the Christians functioning throughout the world in the dispensation of grace. We have liberty and direction to display the workings of the Holy Spirit among us. No Old Testament prophet foresaw the day of grace. It was not until the New Testament that we received prophetic revelations concerning us, as God’s program moved throughout the world and through the centuries toward the end time events foretold by Daniel and others in the Old Testament.

The new wineskin of grace will soon reach its capacity as the new wine runs its course. A new wineskin of judgment is coming, but not for us. God’s program is amazing! – Jim MacIntosh

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Luke 5:32

Many years ago, I was with a group of young fellows travelling home from a Gospel meeting. We had some good singers in the car, and we spent most of our time on that trip singing Gospel hymns. At one point, a thought came to me, and I expressed it to the lad sitting beside me, ‘Why are we singing Gospel hymns when all of us here are saved?’ For an answer, he simply nodded toward the driver of the car, an unsaved brother of one of our group. I had forgotten about him. Gospel hymns were still appropriate because one of our number was still in need of repentance. As far as that goes, Gospel hymns are always appropriate for our enjoyment, even though the message in them is no longer directed at ourselves. We are now the righteous who are no longer in need of repentance, at least the repentance that leads to salvation. But there are folks around us who have a form of so-called righteousness that prevents them from finding repentance.

Some will teach that baptism is the path to righteousness, and they are trusting in that ordinance. This teaching flies in the face of Revelation 1:5 which declares that Jesus Christ loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. The water of baptism will not produce anything but self righteousness.

Neither will the approach that is known as ‘lordship salvation’. This doctrine misinterprets the word ‘repent’, which means to change one’s mind, and take it to mean forsaking one’s sins. The Scriptures clearly teach that forsaking our sins is a result, not a cause, of salvation. We have no power to forsake our sins, and those who think they do are exercising a form of self righteousness. Acts 20:21 speaks of repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. It says nothing of repentance against sin or anything else. David J. Stewart had the following strong words about lordship salvation: ‘Lordship Salvation puts the cart before the horse. You cannot mutate the ROOT and the FRUIT of a believer’s faith into one, for in so doing you have created a works-based salvation, which is NO salvation at all.’ I agree with Mr. Stewart.

Another deadly form of self righteousness is that of those who claim we must persevere, or hold onto, our salvation after we receive it. But this makes no sense, when we consider that salvation is a work entirely of God and not of ourselves. If it is God’s work, it is God alone who can maintain and preserve it. Salvation – past, present, and future – was purchased for us at the infinite cost of the precious blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:12, 1 John 1:7), and there is no price that we could ever contribute to add to that.

Perhaps the simplest and most common form of self righteousness is that of good works. In fact, most of the so-called Christian denominations teach this false doctrine. But Titus 3:5 clearly states: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us.

We are righteous. But it is only because we were sinners who God called to repentance! – Jim MacIntosh

But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? Luke 5:30

The Malvern Hills Presbyterian Church in Asheville, North Carolina, had a sign out front that read, ‘This church is not full of hypocrites. There’s room for more!’ At least they were being honest. There are very few churches these days that don’t have a sizable percentage of hypocrites in their congregations. They go out of their way to appear pious and respectable. And in most cases, they go out of their way to shun and avoid those who don’t appear to be as respectable and pious as themselves. And don’t point the finger at the denominations, either. Consider how out-of-place many of the non-Assembly people look that are invited to our Gospel meetings or to our conferences. Most of us will do what we can to make them feel accepted and comfortable, but it’s hard for them to ignore the fact that they look a little different and talk a little different, and some people give them the obvious sideways glances. In effect, they are probably thinking that people are wondering about those who are hanging around with them. They suspect that we are not as comfortable as we should be with ‘publicans and sinners’. Are we?

Luke’s account of this incident is different from that of Matthew and Mark’s Gospels. In those first two books, the scribes and Pharisees question why Jesus is eating and keeping company with publicans and sinners. But in Luke, the question is directed at the disciples: why do ye? It was not just the Lord Jesus who was at Levi’s great feast, it was his disciples. They were following their Master’s lead, and were eating and drinking with those attending the feast. The scribes and Pharisees obviously did not think that was right. But if the Lord Jesus was doing it, the disciples should be doing it as well. And so should we. This was in fact a Gospel supper, an effort by the new convert Levi to reach his friends and former associates. It was very successful; the attendance was overwhelming, and we have no idea how many of those folks were saved as a result of their introduction to the Guest of honour. Just as we will never know the results of our efforts to reach out to people with the Gospel in a welcoming and friendly way.

One of the problems we have as we witness for our Lord is convincing people we are sincere and not just peddlers of religion. It makes it all the more important that our lives are in order, that we are not living something different from what we profess. If we are caring, kind, and honest, people will have few stones to throw at us. The more we pattern our lives after our Lord, the more we will be accepted as speaking for Him. Those who condemn us for being like the Lord Jesus are the ones in the wrong, just like the scribes and Pharisees were.

The more we know of the Lord Jesus, the more impressed we are at His humility and compassion. And the more likely we will be to be like Him. -Jim MacIntosh

And Levi made Him a great feast in his own house, and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. Luke 5:29

You may have heard an old song called ‘Dust on the Bible’, in which a man goes into a home in which he saw no Bible in evidence. When he asked for a Bible so that he might read a portion, a family member brought to him a Bible that was covered with dust. Such a condition reveals that the family seldom read the Bible. But if they seldom read the Bible, they probably had very little time or room in their lives for the One of Whom the Bible speaks. Today, fewer homes have a Bible in them at all, and most of the people around us have very little thought or time for anything concerning God. So it is refreshing to find a man in Luke 5 who not only had time for the Lord Jesus, but who also opened up his home to make a great feast for Him. What a great idea!

Once in a while at our house, we put on a feast for our family. Sometimes it’s a breakfast, sometimes it’s a Thanksgiving Day or Christmas dinner. But those feasts are to satisfy our physical hunger, to please our physical palate. They are not specifically to honour the Lord Jesus, as Levi’s feast was. But it seems to me that if we are enjoying the person of the Lord Jesus as we should in our lives, our homes will be experiencing a great feast every day. Just as a physical feast indicates an abundance of enjoyable food, so a spiritual feast indicates an abundance of spiritual blessing and enjoyment of it. That is the great feast that our Lord wants us to enjoy in His presence.

A great feast in our own home in honour of the Lord Jesus sounds wonderful, and Levi was undoubtedly delighted that he could do so. It cost him a great deal, for sure, but it was an expense that he was more than willing to pay. It will cost us something to have a great feast for the Lord Jesus, too. It will cost us the time and effort that we put into other things, such as entertainment and hobbies and activities that have little or no spiritual value. It will cost us in time that we will need to prepare, including prayer and meditation on the Word of God. It will cost us in terms of sharing our resources with the Lord’s people, with the Gospel workers, with missionaries, and with folks we are trying to witness to. Just as Levi invited a great company to his feast, the Lord never intends for us to keep our spiritual feast to ourselves. He will make sure we have enough and to spare for all that we can entertain.

When was the last time you enjoyed a great spiritual feast for the Lord Jesus? Don’t delay; it will be worthwhile! – Jim MacIntosh