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Jude and the Hebrews writer were the only two New Testament scribes to use the term Majesty. It is probably not by happenstance that each of them used the term to refer to Deity rather than humanity, or as we have styled before, Majesty belongs to God.

In his second usage of the word, the author of Hebrews said, "Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man."…  ( Click for more )

Majesty belongs to God. As Jude put it, "To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1.25). Perhaps the best way to begin this discussion is by thinking about the way we use the term Majesty in our culture.

In countries that are ruled my monarchs, it is quite common to refer to those at the top of the government as "Your Majesty." This is the case whether the ruler is a king or a queen. Those who address the king or queen commonly refer to them as His Majesty or His/Her Royal Majesty.…  ( Click for more )

Glory belongs to God. As Jude put it, "To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1.25). We concluded our previous installment with these words: "The Glory of God is not a glory to be compared with the glory of man. Don’t make the mistake of creating God in your image but see yourself as a creature made in His image!"

Even of the realm in which God exists Paul wrote, "All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another…  ( Click for more )

"To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1.25). A benediction is man asking of God the blessings he thinks he needs; a doxology is man’s attempt to ascribe to God the blessings and honor He deserves. This, the final verse of Jude’s doxology, lifts God to His rightful place and mentions four great avenues or themes of blessings: 1) Glory, 2) Majesty, 3) Dominion, and 4) Power. These, Jude says, are to be recognized "Both how and forever." This ten-part miniseries will look…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Luke 22.39-46

There were very few people who loved Jesus more than His apostles (save Judas, of course). However, on this fateful night, even their great love for Him could not stay the exhaustion that their sorrow brought upon them. The time had come! Jesus was on this very night to be betrayed into the hands of sinners and begin the arduous and excruciating journey to Calvary.

“Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Isaiah 52.1-3

Jesus slept at some odd times, at least the way His disciples saw it. He slept while a storm on the Sea of Galilee terrified them horribly (see Matthew 14.23-27). Sometimes, Jesus’ disciples slept at the most inopportune time, like the time of His imminent arrest and death (see Matthew 26.36-46). Sometimes other people in the New Testament fell asleep resulting in almost laughable, if not so serious, consequences (for example Eutychus in Acts 20.7-12). However, no case of sleepiness was more unfortunate, inopportune, and deadly than the spiritual…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Matthew 23.37-38

Hear more of Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23.37-38). We will focus on a portion of this text as we continue our theme of Jesus Wept while Jerusalem Slept!

The term “how often” suggests that Jesus’ wish for Jerusalem was not a fleeting feeling;…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Matthew 23.1-15

Only a couple of days had passed since Jesus had wept as He entered the great city of Jerusalem (Luke 19.41). When He came into the city, He found what He had always found – men consumed with doing evil in the name of religion. His passion for truth and His compassion for those who followed these evil leaders moved Him to cleanse the Temple of these hypocrites and to denounce their evil ways (Luke 19.45-46).

This was not the only time He had purged the temple of these types of influences; He first did this about three years previous at the…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Luke 19.41-46

Passion and compassion are closely connected words. In fact, if one looks closely at the word compassion, he will find passion nested inside of it. Passion defined connects with love, affection, devotion, and similar emotions for some thing or some one. By definition, compassion connects with other people. As people, we may be passionate about many things, e.g., our jobs, our cars, our boats, our things! However, compassion defined involves other human beings and feelings of empathy for their condition. Jesus was passionate and compassionate. Jerusalem…  ( Click for more )

I asked my friend what was the most radical position, in a religious context, he had ever seen where a matter of judgment was held to the exclusion of doctrine. In other words, what had he witnessed people do that may have been right in itself, but when pressed to extremes, became harmful or even contradictory to other Bible teachings. He began to talk about a couple of things, one of them being the Lord’s Supper and how it was observed; he also mentioned how some had pressed the idea of one [communion] cup to the point of making it a matter of fellowship.

I had a hidden…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Mark 10.13-16

“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10.13-16)

The disciples who rebuked those who were…  ( Click for more )

Focus Text: Luke 19.37-40

“Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.’”…  ( Click for more )

This message completes our brief study of the subject of mercy. We will use it to summarize some of our findings as well as to present a final challenge regarding mercy.

The Bible teaches that God is the Father of mercies (2 Corinthians 1.3-4). This means that He is the origination point from which all mercy has derived. He is not only the point of origin, He is also the Champion of mercy in its various forms and in innumerable instances. Hence, to speak of God as the Father of mercies is but to affirm His constant character of ultimate goodness especially when it come…  ( Click for more )

Can I depend on God’s mercy to save me? The Universalists seem to think that God’s love, mercy, and grace will ultimately triumph over all evil, resulting in the eternal salvation of every mortal who ever lived. Is this a proper concept of mercy? If not, what view ought I to adopt concerning God’s mercy and those to whom it is manifested?

Some fundamentals are in order. Though God’s love, mercy, and grace are essential to the salvation of every soul, none of these can save apart from a righteous response from the hearer of the gospel. God’ love is…  ( Click for more )

No study of mercy could be complete with considering the 136th Psalm. It is quoted in its entirety here. It is not difficult to discover its theme. Read it slowly and let it's truth sink deep into your heart.

1Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

2Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever.

3Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever:

4To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever;

5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever;

6…  ( Click for more )

Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Hebrews 4.14). He is also the mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better promises (Hebrews 8.6). As our High Priest, He performs the functions of our Priest while we serve as underling priests within His Kingdom. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2.9). Consider these relationships as we continue to consider the role of Jesus Christ in extending mercy…  ( Click for more )

Did you know that there are weightier matters of the law, things that are prerequisite to pleasing God? By prerequisite, we mean that if they are not done, all other religious efforts are of no avail. We could put it like this for purposes of illustration. Having a driver’s license is prerequisite to pleasing the enforcers of our traffic laws. It makes no difference how well a person can drive, how careful he/she might be, how knowledgeable the person is; without a license, the policeman still has a “beef” that just cannot be satisfied. A license is prerequisite…  ( Click for more )

“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But like men they transgressed the covenant; There they dealt treacherously with Me.” (Hosea 6.4-7; emphasis mine, jb)

We are looking at this passage because: 1) It is a text that deals with…  ( Click for more )

"Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, ‘Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” (Matthew 9.10-13). …  ( Click for more )

Jesus was the epitome of mercy. As we discussed in yesterday’s message, He spoke of the necessity of mercy in the Beatitudes, His introductory comments to the Sermon on the Mount. Even before this public appearance, in fact, even before He was born, it was a foregone conclusion that mercy would be a trait closely associated with Him and His work. Our focus today will involve this conclusion and the manner in which it was expressed by Mary, the mother of Jesus.

What follows is a statement made by Mary to her cousin Elizabeth: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit…  ( Click for more )

“But now He [Jesus Christ] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.” (Hebrews 8.6-7).

The passage just cited makes a clear distinction between the first covenant, the one which involved the literal mercy seat, and the better covenant that involved Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the second. The first covenant was one which God authored and put forth for Israel to accept and follow.…  ( Click for more )

The mercy seat was a place, but it was also a symbol. The symbology of the mercy seat is declared in the name by which it was called. Mercy was available at the mercy seat; mercy was an attribute of the One whose presence was manifested there. Mercy was and is an attribute of God. He was and is a merciful God and it is this trait of mercy from which all inclinations to relieve or avert suffering derive. In other words, mercy is the deep-seated and compassionate attribute of God that prompts Him to act in order to relieve or avoid suffering in other living creatures.

The suffering…  ( Click for more )

The mercy seat was a literal part of the furniture of the tabernacle in the wilderness and subsequently of the Temple in Jerusalem. Someone authorized the mercy seat, specified how it was to be constructed, what functionality it was to have, and guarded its sacred purposes. In addition to that, an entire nation of people was willing to stake their eternal future on the legitimacy of that piece of furniture and the rites associated with it. Our focus today will be on the real connection that existed between the mercy seat and mercy!

If the Old Testament is to be believed at all…  ( Click for more )

Today's message introduces a word that is rather common in the English language and which has a direct but perhaps somewhat enigmatic connection to the mercy seat and the tabernacle. The word is scapegoat. We will explore the origins of this phrase and the connection which it has to mercy and to the mercy seat.

“And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall…  ( Click for more )