The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Advent Hope" for Friday, 9 December 2016
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Today’s Reflection:
WHAT WE CELEBRATE during Advent and Christmas is the completely new way God comes to us in Jesus Christ. We also celebrate the new persons we are becoming because God sent Jesus, God’s own beloved Son, to the world God loved so much. …
Our Advent celebrations are based on our hope that God will bring a new heaven and a new earth in which all creatures have everything they need for life and live together in harmony with one another.[Blair Gilmer Meeks, Expecting the Unexpected]
From pages 16-17 of Expecting the Unexpected: An Advent Devotional Guideby Blair Gilmer Meeks. Copyright © 2006 by Blair Gilmer Meeks. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What do you hope for during Advent?
Today’s Scripture:
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.[James 5:7, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals.
Today’s Reflection:
WHAT WE CELEBRATE during Advent and Christmas is the completely new way God comes to us in Jesus Christ. We also celebrate the new persons we are becoming because God sent Jesus, God’s own beloved Son, to the world God loved so much. …
Our Advent celebrations are based on our hope that God will bring a new heaven and a new earth in which all creatures have everything they need for life and live together in harmony with one another.[Blair Gilmer Meeks, Expecting the Unexpected]
From pages 16-17 of Expecting the Unexpected: An Advent Devotional Guideby Blair Gilmer Meeks. Copyright © 2006 by Blair Gilmer Meeks. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What do you hope for during Advent?
Today’s Scripture:
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.[James 5:7, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals.
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The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Carry a Little Quiet" for Thursday, 8 December 2016
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Today’s Reflection:
CARRY A LITTLE QUIET inside you
while the world continues
in rush and rage
fighting and frenzy.
Carry a little quiet inside you
so that the worry and war
trouble and tumult
do not capture you in their grip.
Tarry in the Son-filled meadow of the heart
beside the still waters
where God’s Spirit refreshes and renews.
Carry so much quiet inside you
that you have some extra calm
to share with me.[Safiyah Fosua, The Africana Worship Book: Year A]
From page 37 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
How can you include times of quiet throughout your day?
Today’s Scripture:
The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD![Psalm 146:10, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals.-------
Today’s Reflection:
CARRY A LITTLE QUIET inside you
while the world continues
in rush and rage
fighting and frenzy.
Carry a little quiet inside you
so that the worry and war
trouble and tumult
do not capture you in their grip.
Tarry in the Son-filled meadow of the heart
beside the still waters
where God’s Spirit refreshes and renews.
Carry so much quiet inside you
that you have some extra calm
to share with me.[Safiyah Fosua, The Africana Worship Book: Year A]
From page 37 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
How can you include times of quiet throughout your day?
Today’s Scripture:
The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD![Psalm 146:10, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals.-------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Prayers for Those Who Morn" for Wednesday, 7 December 2016
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Today’s Reflection:
GOD OF LOVE, many are lonely and grieving during this Advent season. Send your healing Spirit to all who mourn, that they may know your comforting presence with them. Amen.[Beth A. Richardson, Child of the Light]
From page 59 of Child of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2005 by Beth A. Richardson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. GOD OF LOVE, many are lonely and grieving during this Advent season. Send your healing Spirit to all who mourn, that they may know your comforting presence with them. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.[Psalm 146:9, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals. -------
Today’s Reflection:
GOD OF LOVE, many are lonely and grieving during this Advent season. Send your healing Spirit to all who mourn, that they may know your comforting presence with them. Amen.[Beth A. Richardson, Child of the Light]
From page 59 of Child of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2005 by Beth A. Richardson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. GOD OF LOVE, many are lonely and grieving during this Advent season. Send your healing Spirit to all who mourn, that they may know your comforting presence with them. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.[Psalm 146:9, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals. -------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Prepare the Way of the Lord" for Tuesday, 6 December 2016
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Today’s Reflection:
HOW DO WE WAIT FAITHFULLY for God in the wilderness? The prophet Isaiah says, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”
We pave a straight path for God through acts of kindness, justice, generosity, and compassion. When we love, God will come. “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me,” John says.
As sure as a baby’s birth in a manger, a God will walk the path laid out. Love will encompass our world.
Baby of the manger, may each act of kindness be a straw in your crib, preparing the way for your coming. Amen.[Frank Rogers Jr.,
Disciplines 2017]
From the reading for December 10 by Frank Rogers Jr., page 408 in The Upper Room Disciplines 2017: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2017 Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. HOW DO WE WAIT FAITHFULLY for God in the wilderness? The prophet Isaiah says, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”
We pave a straight path for God through acts of kindness, justice, generosity, and compassion. When we love, God will come. “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me,” John says.
As sure as a baby’s birth in a manger, a God will walk the path laid out. Love will encompass our world.
Baby of the manger, may each act of kindness be a straw in your crib, preparing the way for your coming. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.[Isaiah 35:8, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals. -------
Today’s Reflection:
HOW DO WE WAIT FAITHFULLY for God in the wilderness? The prophet Isaiah says, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”
We pave a straight path for God through acts of kindness, justice, generosity, and compassion. When we love, God will come. “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me,” John says.
As sure as a baby’s birth in a manger, a God will walk the path laid out. Love will encompass our world.
Baby of the manger, may each act of kindness be a straw in your crib, preparing the way for your coming. Amen.[Frank Rogers Jr.,
Disciplines 2017]
From the reading for December 10 by Frank Rogers Jr., page 408 in The Upper Room Disciplines 2017: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2017 Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. HOW DO WE WAIT FAITHFULLY for God in the wilderness? The prophet Isaiah says, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”
We pave a straight path for God through acts of kindness, justice, generosity, and compassion. When we love, God will come. “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me,” John says.
As sure as a baby’s birth in a manger, a God will walk the path laid out. Love will encompass our world.
Baby of the manger, may each act of kindness be a straw in your crib, preparing the way for your coming. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.[Isaiah 35:8, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals. -------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Incarnation" for Monday, 5 December 2016
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Today’s Reflection:
IN THE SEASON OF ADVENT we are asked to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, for this manifestation of God in human form. What Christmas proclaims to us is that God was willing to close the gap between divinity and humanity by entering into the human experience, becoming one of us, knowing hunger and thirst, friendship and betrayal, hope and loss, and the agony of death. It’s a lot to take in, the implications of God incarnate. And because we can’t take it in all at once, by participating in the seasons of the church year we have the opportunity to take up the idea again and again as the season rolls around to Advent.
We imagine the birth of Jesus, the smells and sounds of the stable, the brightness of the star, the vulnerability of the baby, and the wonder of the shepherds. The temptation is to stop there and move on, to turn the Nativity into a sentimental tableau that has little meaning for the rest of our lives.
But if we study this idea of incarnation – of Jesus being fully human and fully divine – we must consider that this event comes about because God is trying to tell us something, show us something about God’s nature and our nature, about divinity and humanity and the intersection of those two realms.[Melissa Tidwell, Embodied Light]
From page 11 of Embodied Light: Advent Reflections on the Incarnation by Melissa Tidwell. Copyright © 2013 by Melissa Tidwell. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What does the word “incarnation” mean to you?
Today’s Scripture:
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.[Isaiah 35:3, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals.
Today’s Reflection:
IN THE SEASON OF ADVENT we are asked to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, for this manifestation of God in human form. What Christmas proclaims to us is that God was willing to close the gap between divinity and humanity by entering into the human experience, becoming one of us, knowing hunger and thirst, friendship and betrayal, hope and loss, and the agony of death. It’s a lot to take in, the implications of God incarnate. And because we can’t take it in all at once, by participating in the seasons of the church year we have the opportunity to take up the idea again and again as the season rolls around to Advent.
We imagine the birth of Jesus, the smells and sounds of the stable, the brightness of the star, the vulnerability of the baby, and the wonder of the shepherds. The temptation is to stop there and move on, to turn the Nativity into a sentimental tableau that has little meaning for the rest of our lives.
But if we study this idea of incarnation – of Jesus being fully human and fully divine – we must consider that this event comes about because God is trying to tell us something, show us something about God’s nature and our nature, about divinity and humanity and the intersection of those two realms.[Melissa Tidwell, Embodied Light]
From page 11 of Embodied Light: Advent Reflections on the Incarnation by Melissa Tidwell. Copyright © 2013 by Melissa Tidwell. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What does the word “incarnation” mean to you?
Today’s Scripture:
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.[Isaiah 35:3, NRSV]
This Week: pray for medical professionals.
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Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers. Call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center website.
Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers. Call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center website.
AmbroseDecember 07
St. Ambrose, born in AD 339, had no aspirations for the holy life. In fact, he didn't even learn any Scripture until he was thirty-five years old! Ambrose had a successful career as a lawyer, and was in fact the Governor of Milan when a riot broke out in his hometown. Since the Bishop of Milan had recently died, the task fell to Ambrose to keep the peace. In an attempt to quell the riot, Ambrose made an impassioned speech, begging both sides to use peaceful methods instead of violence. The Catholics and the Arians, who by this time were bitter enemies, were calmed by Ambrose's words of reason and logic. Suddenly someone shouted, "Ambrose for Bishop!" The chant was taken up by the crowd, and sure enough, Ambrose was made Bishop of Milan in 374.
As soon as he was elected Bishop, Ambrose gave away his large estate to the poor. When Milan was invaded by the Goths, a barbarian tribe, Ambrose gave all of the money he had for the ransom of captives. He even melted down some of the church's gold art to pay for the release of captives. When criticized for his action, Ambrose replied: "It is a better thing to save souls for the Lord than to save treasures." Ambrose was instrumental in the conversion of St. Augustine, and even made the emperor Theodosius do public penance when the emperor ordered the massacre of seven thousand Thessalonians. In AD 397, Ambrose died at the age of 57.
If St. Ambrose had taken the Spiritual Types Test, he probably would have been a Prophet. Ambrose is remembered on December 7.
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Lectionary Readings(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Second Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:5-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
Scripture Texts: Isaiah 35:1 The desert and the dry land will be glad;
the ‘Aravah will rejoice and blossom like the lily.
2 It will burst into flower,
will rejoice with joy and singing,
will be given the glory of the L’vanon,
the splendor of Karmel and the Sharon.
They will see the glory of Adonai,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen your drooping arms,
and steady your tottering knees.
4 Say to the fainthearted, “Be strong and unafraid!
Here is your God; he will come with vengeance;
with God’s retribution he will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped;
6 then the lame man will leap like a deer,
and the mute person’s tongue will sing.
For in the desert, springs will burst forth,
streams of water in the ‘Aravah;
7 the sandy mirage will become a pool,
the thirsty ground springs of water.
The haunts where jackals lie down will become
a marsh filled with reeds and papyrus.
8 A highway will be there, a way,
called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not pass over it,
but it will be for those whom he guides —
fools will not stray along it.
9 No lion or other beast of prey
will be there, traveling on it.
They will not be found there,
but the redeemed will go there.
10 Those ransomed by Adonai will return
and come with singing to Tziyon,
on their heads will be everlasting joy.
They will acquire gladness and joy,
while sorrow and sighing will flee.
Psalm 146:5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah!
James 5:7 So, brothers, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the precious “fruit of the earth” — he is patient over it until it receives the fall and spring rains.[James 5:7 Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Joel 2:23] 8 You too, be patient; keep up your courage; for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers, so that you won’t come under condemnation — look! the Judge is standing at the door! 10 As an example of suffering mistreatment and being patient, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of Adonai.
Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile, Yochanan the Immerser, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing; so he sent a message to him through his talmidim, 3 asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 4 Yeshua answered, “Go and tell Yochanan what you are hearing and seeing — 5 the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara’at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing,[Matthew 11:5 Isaiah 35:5–6] the dead are being raised,[Matthew 11:5 Isaiah 26:19] the Good News is being told to the poor[Matthew 11:5 Isaiah 61:1] — 6 and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”
7 As they were leaving, Yeshua began speaking about Yochanan to the crowds: “What did you go out to the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze? 8 No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? Well-dressed people live in kings’ palaces. 9 Nu, so why did you go out? To see a prophet! Yes! and I tell you he’s much more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom the Tanakh says,
‘See, I am sending out my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.’[Matthew 11:10 Malachi 3:1]
11 Yes! I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Isaiah 35:1-10
Verse 1
[1] The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
The solitary place — Emmanuel's land, or the seat of God's church and people, which formerly was despised like a wilderness, and which the rage of their enemies had brought to desolation, shall flourish exceedingly.
Verse 2
[2] It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
The excellency — The wilderness shall be as pleasant and fruitful as Lebanon, and Carmel, and Sharon.
They — The inhabitants of the wilderness aforesaid.
The glory — The glorious discoveries of God's power and goodness.
Verse 3
[3] Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Strengthen — Ye ministers of God, comfort and encourage God's people, who are now ready to faint.
Verse 4
[4] Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
Your God — Tho' he seems to be departed, he will come to you, and abide with you. He will shortly come in the flesh, to execute vengeance upon the enemies of God.
Verse 5
[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then — The poor Gentiles, who before were blind and deaf, shall now have the eyes and ears of their minds opened to see God's works, and to hear and receive his word.
Verse 7
[7] And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Streams — The most dry and barren places shall be made moist and fruitful; which is principally meant of the plentiful effusion of God's grace upon such persons and nations, as had been wholly destitute of it.
Rushes — Those dry and parched deserts, in which dragons have their abode, shall yield abundance of grass, and reeds, and rushes, which grow only in moist ground.
Verse 8
[8] And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
A way — The high-way and the way are not to be taken for two different ways, but for one and the same way, even a causey, which is raised ground, and a way.
Holiness — The people (walking in it) shall be all righteous.
For those — But this way shall be appropriated to those persons above-mentioned; the weak, and blind, and lame, whom God will lead and save.
Though fools — The way shall be so plain and strait, that even the most foolish travellers cannot easily mistake it.
Psalm 146:5-10
Verse 6
[6] Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
For ever — Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally faithful.
James 5:7-10
Verse 7
[7] Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit — Which will recompense his labour and patience.
Till he receives the former rain — Immediately after sowing.
And the latter — Before the harvest.
Verse 8
[8] Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Stablish your hearts — In faith and patience.
For the coming of the Lord — To destroy Jerusalem.
Is nigh — And so is his last coming to the eye of a believer.
Verse 9
[9] Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Murmur not one against another — Have patience also with each other.
The judge standeth before the door — Hearing every word, marking every thought.
Verse 10
[10] Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Take the prophets for an example — Once persecuted like you, even for speaking in the name of the Lord. The very men that gloried in having prophets yet could not bear their message: nor did either their holiness or their high commission screen them from suffering.
Matthew 11:2-11
Verse 2
[2] Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
He sent two of his disciples — Not because he doubted himself; but to confirm their faith. Luke 7:18.
Verse 3
[3] And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
He that is to come — The Messiah.
Verse 4
[4] Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Go and tell John the things that ye hear and see — Which are a stronger proof of my being the Messiah, than any bare assertion can be.
Verse 5
[5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
The poor have the Gospel preached to them — The greatest mercy of all. Isaiah 29:18; 35:5.
Verse 6
[6] And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Happy is he who shall not be offended at me — Notwithstanding all these proofs that I am the Messiah.
Verse 7
[7] And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
As they departed, he said concerning John — Of whom probably he would not have said so much when they were present.
A reed shaken by the wind? — No; nothing could ever shake John in the testimony he gave to the truth. The expression is proverbial.
Verse 8
[8] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
A man clothed in soft, delicate raiment — An effeminate courtier, accustomed to fawning and flattery? You may expect to find persons of such a character in palaces; not in a wilderness.
Verse 9
[9] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
More than a prophet — For the prophets only pointed me out afar off; but John was my immediate forerunner.
Verse 10
[10] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Malachi 3:1.
Verse 11
[11] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
But he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he — Which an ancient author explains thus:-"One perfect in the law, as John was, is inferior to one who is baptized into the death of Christ. For this is the kingdom of heaven, even to be buried with Christ, and to be raised up together with him. John was greater than all who had been then born of women, but he was cut off before the kingdom of heaven was given." [He seems to mean, that righteousness, peace, and joy, which constitute the present inward kingdom of heaven.] "He was blameless as to that righteousness which is by the law; but he fell short of those who are perfected by the spirit of life which is in Christ. Whosoever, therefore, is least in the kingdom of heaven, by Christian regeneration, is greater than any who has attained only the righteousness of the law, because the law maketh nothing perfect." It may farther mean, the least true Christian believer has a more perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ, of his redemption and kingdom, than John the Baptist had, who died before the full manifestation of the Gospel.
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The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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Second Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:5-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
Scripture Texts: Isaiah 35:1 The desert and the dry land will be glad;
the ‘Aravah will rejoice and blossom like the lily.
2 It will burst into flower,
will rejoice with joy and singing,
will be given the glory of the L’vanon,
the splendor of Karmel and the Sharon.
They will see the glory of Adonai,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen your drooping arms,
and steady your tottering knees.
4 Say to the fainthearted, “Be strong and unafraid!
Here is your God; he will come with vengeance;
with God’s retribution he will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped;
6 then the lame man will leap like a deer,
and the mute person’s tongue will sing.
For in the desert, springs will burst forth,
streams of water in the ‘Aravah;
7 the sandy mirage will become a pool,
the thirsty ground springs of water.
The haunts where jackals lie down will become
a marsh filled with reeds and papyrus.
8 A highway will be there, a way,
called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not pass over it,
but it will be for those whom he guides —
fools will not stray along it.
9 No lion or other beast of prey
will be there, traveling on it.
They will not be found there,
but the redeemed will go there.
10 Those ransomed by Adonai will return
and come with singing to Tziyon,
on their heads will be everlasting joy.
They will acquire gladness and joy,
while sorrow and sighing will flee.
Psalm 146:5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah!
James 5:7 So, brothers, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the precious “fruit of the earth” — he is patient over it until it receives the fall and spring rains.[James 5:7 Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Joel 2:23] 8 You too, be patient; keep up your courage; for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers, so that you won’t come under condemnation — look! the Judge is standing at the door! 10 As an example of suffering mistreatment and being patient, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of Adonai.
Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile, Yochanan the Immerser, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing; so he sent a message to him through his talmidim, 3 asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 4 Yeshua answered, “Go and tell Yochanan what you are hearing and seeing — 5 the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara’at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing,[Matthew 11:5 Isaiah 35:5–6] the dead are being raised,[Matthew 11:5 Isaiah 26:19] the Good News is being told to the poor[Matthew 11:5 Isaiah 61:1] — 6 and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”
7 As they were leaving, Yeshua began speaking about Yochanan to the crowds: “What did you go out to the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze? 8 No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? Well-dressed people live in kings’ palaces. 9 Nu, so why did you go out? To see a prophet! Yes! and I tell you he’s much more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom the Tanakh says,
‘See, I am sending out my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.’[Matthew 11:10 Malachi 3:1]
11 Yes! I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Isaiah 35:1-10
Verse 1
[1] The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
The solitary place — Emmanuel's land, or the seat of God's church and people, which formerly was despised like a wilderness, and which the rage of their enemies had brought to desolation, shall flourish exceedingly.
Verse 2
[2] It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
The excellency — The wilderness shall be as pleasant and fruitful as Lebanon, and Carmel, and Sharon.
They — The inhabitants of the wilderness aforesaid.
The glory — The glorious discoveries of God's power and goodness.
Verse 3
[3] Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Strengthen — Ye ministers of God, comfort and encourage God's people, who are now ready to faint.
Verse 4
[4] Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
Your God — Tho' he seems to be departed, he will come to you, and abide with you. He will shortly come in the flesh, to execute vengeance upon the enemies of God.
Verse 5
[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then — The poor Gentiles, who before were blind and deaf, shall now have the eyes and ears of their minds opened to see God's works, and to hear and receive his word.
Verse 7
[7] And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Streams — The most dry and barren places shall be made moist and fruitful; which is principally meant of the plentiful effusion of God's grace upon such persons and nations, as had been wholly destitute of it.
Rushes — Those dry and parched deserts, in which dragons have their abode, shall yield abundance of grass, and reeds, and rushes, which grow only in moist ground.
Verse 8
[8] And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
A way — The high-way and the way are not to be taken for two different ways, but for one and the same way, even a causey, which is raised ground, and a way.
Holiness — The people (walking in it) shall be all righteous.
For those — But this way shall be appropriated to those persons above-mentioned; the weak, and blind, and lame, whom God will lead and save.
Though fools — The way shall be so plain and strait, that even the most foolish travellers cannot easily mistake it.
Psalm 146:5-10
Verse 6
[6] Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
For ever — Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally faithful.
James 5:7-10
Verse 7
[7] Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit — Which will recompense his labour and patience.
Till he receives the former rain — Immediately after sowing.
And the latter — Before the harvest.
Verse 8
[8] Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Stablish your hearts — In faith and patience.
For the coming of the Lord — To destroy Jerusalem.
Is nigh — And so is his last coming to the eye of a believer.
Verse 9
[9] Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Murmur not one against another — Have patience also with each other.
The judge standeth before the door — Hearing every word, marking every thought.
Verse 10
[10] Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Take the prophets for an example — Once persecuted like you, even for speaking in the name of the Lord. The very men that gloried in having prophets yet could not bear their message: nor did either their holiness or their high commission screen them from suffering.
Matthew 11:2-11
Verse 2
[2] Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
He sent two of his disciples — Not because he doubted himself; but to confirm their faith. Luke 7:18.
Verse 3
[3] And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
He that is to come — The Messiah.
Verse 4
[4] Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Go and tell John the things that ye hear and see — Which are a stronger proof of my being the Messiah, than any bare assertion can be.
Verse 5
[5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
The poor have the Gospel preached to them — The greatest mercy of all. Isaiah 29:18; 35:5.
Verse 6
[6] And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Happy is he who shall not be offended at me — Notwithstanding all these proofs that I am the Messiah.
Verse 7
[7] And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
As they departed, he said concerning John — Of whom probably he would not have said so much when they were present.
A reed shaken by the wind? — No; nothing could ever shake John in the testimony he gave to the truth. The expression is proverbial.
Verse 8
[8] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
A man clothed in soft, delicate raiment — An effeminate courtier, accustomed to fawning and flattery? You may expect to find persons of such a character in palaces; not in a wilderness.
Verse 9
[9] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
More than a prophet — For the prophets only pointed me out afar off; but John was my immediate forerunner.
Verse 10
[10] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Malachi 3:1.
Verse 11
[11] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
But he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he — Which an ancient author explains thus:-"One perfect in the law, as John was, is inferior to one who is baptized into the death of Christ. For this is the kingdom of heaven, even to be buried with Christ, and to be raised up together with him. John was greater than all who had been then born of women, but he was cut off before the kingdom of heaven was given." [He seems to mean, that righteousness, peace, and joy, which constitute the present inward kingdom of heaven.] "He was blameless as to that righteousness which is by the law; but he fell short of those who are perfected by the spirit of life which is in Christ. Whosoever, therefore, is least in the kingdom of heaven, by Christian regeneration, is greater than any who has attained only the righteousness of the law, because the law maketh nothing perfect." It may farther mean, the least true Christian believer has a more perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ, of his redemption and kingdom, than John the Baptist had, who died before the full manifestation of the Gospel.
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PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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