The Heaton File

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-30)

Can I Surrender?

The idea of surrender is not very palatable to the human spirit. There is an innate part of the will of man that resists having to yield to another or allow something to control one’s life. The call of freedom has instilled the need to be free to choose and to live as one pleases, to seek life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While that may be the “American way,” it is not found in the relationship with the Divine. God has never been a democracy. Jesus is a King who demands complete obedience. If the will of man is not totally given to serving the Son of God, there can be no discipleship. The autocratic rule of Christ comes from the same authority as God the Father.

Adam and Eve did not obey the command of God and lost their place in the garden. The world in the days of Noah rebelled against the word of the Lord, and the Creator destroyed every human being on the face of the earth save eight souls in the ark. God demanded complete loyalty in the Law of Moses, but Israel sought after other gods and was destroyed. The message of Jesus was not a new theology. Obedience to the Father requires loving Him with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength. Anything less is unacceptable.

Jesus shows the reason His Father demands complete devotion. The Lord God is one. There are no other gods that man can worship in truth. God cannot be divided. He is a jealous God, and His name is Jealous! His righteousness demands complete devotion because of sin. There is nothing man could do to redeem himself back to God, and it took the blood of God’s Son to take away the wrath of God. The price paid for sin demands the price paid for complete surrender. It can never be a partial submission or half-hearted devotion. Loving God demands all the heart, soul, mind, and strength of a person to surrender completely everything in life to the will of God.

As King of kings, Jesus Christ is a monarch with absolute power. His word is law. As citizens of the kingdom of Christ, there is no appeal court to change the laws. Jesus rules according to the authority given to Him by God. When a person obeys the gospel of Christ, he must confess the Lord Jesus and believe that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection is what proclaimed Jesus to be Lord and Christ. Confession is surrender. Not partial. It requires everything about a man to serve the Lord. The heart must be completely given over to the word of God. Every soul must choose whom they will serve. The mind is governed and directed by the will of the Father. Every part of the strength of the child of God is devoted to the relationship of man and God. There can be nothing less than complete devotion.

The great challenge in the Lord’s church is the lack of devoted hearts of disciples. Too many hearts serve the Lord in a lackadaisical and casual manner. Showing up for worship services when convenient becomes the norm. There is no desire to grow in Christ or fellowship with the saints. Church is a bore, prayer life is “Now I lay me down to sleep,” and having a deep personal relationship with Jesus is foreign. Only when the Christian realizes the beauty and joy of surrendering everything to God is the gospel fully realized. God demands complete surrender, and what a beautiful surrender that becomes. Jesus died to show what full surrender means, and through His example, grace is learned by those who come to know Him. Through the Holy Spirit, the heart learns to let go of the world and embrace the love of God. Surrender. Give your heart, soul, mind, and body to God. You will not believe what wonderful blessings await you.

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

The Leadership Of The Home Takes Time

Dr. Charlie Shedd held a contest called “One Neat Dad.” He asked contestants to send letters recommending their dad for this great honor. Here’s a list of the 10 most appreciated qualities of “One Neat Dad.” He takes time for me. He listens to me. He plays with me. He invites me to go places with him. He lets me help him. He treats my mother well. He lets me say what I think. He is nice to my friends. He only punishes me when I deserve it. He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong. Qualities one to five are versions of the single word TIME. It takes time to listen. Playing takes time with a child. Going to places requires time. Helping a child takes time. It all comes out of the same four letters: T-I-M-E. Time was the most appreciated trait of “One Neat Dad.”

Parenting is fraught with danger, and no one does it perfectly. God has given the Bible as the parent’s guide to being a good father. The first trait of being a good dad is showing the value of family in the marriage relationship. The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Learning how to show love in marriage comes from God, who created the marriage bond. A good leader is always respectful of the ideas of others. As a father, a man must learn to cultivate in their children a mind that allows for discovery. Faith in God must be taught at the earliest age to establish trust in the child’s heart for the word of God. A father cannot teach what he does not know. Taking time to teach children demands a father to take time to prepare himself.

A good father involves others who will build upon the character of God in their children. Good company encourages good growth. Friends are important in the lives of children, and having associations that guide the heart of the child to be a spiritual person of integrity will serve them well in the challenges they face in life. A good father is not afraid of correcting their children’s behavior and, if necessary, punishing character that detracts from the will of God. Punitive discipline is taught by God as a means of molding good character. Leaving a child to himself will only show him how to destroy himself.

A successful dad’s most important trait is leading his family to eternal life. There will be time for work and recreation, but if a father is not leading his children to the throne of God, he has failed as a father. All earthly rewards will fade, but the eternal is everlasting. Parents only have one lifetime to guide their children to heaven. There is no greater reward than to know your children are going to heaven. The Bible is the father’s handbook. It requires the time and patience to instill in the heart of a child to love God. What a child knows about eternity will largely come from the experiences they receive at home. The world will not be as giving to teach the Biblical principles of truth and righteousness. Successful dads will learn the word of God for themselves and then share that teaching with their children. This requires time, and that time is precious. Training and admonition take time.

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:13-14)

Principles Of The Sabbath On The First Day Of The Week

The Sabbath was a very important part of the Law of Moses ordained by God for Israel to cease from various activities of normal day life. The seventh day of the week was to be a holy day. The first six days of the week were to be used for all labor and work, but on the seventh day, it was to be the Sabbath of the Lord. God told Israel that no work was to be done on that day. This included all family members, servants, cattle, and the strangers that came into the land. Part of the reason for the Sabbath was to commemorate the creation of the world and that God ceased from creation on the seventh day. God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy.

Moses instructed the Israelites that the Sabbath was to be kept as a sign between God and the people to know that the Lord sets His people apart from the world. The Sabbath was to be a holy day set apart for personal worship to the glory of God. Anyone who profaned the Sabbath day was to be put to death. Capital punishment was reserved for crimes the Lord considered very serious. Murder was to be punished with death. Profaning the Sabbath would also bring the death penalty. During the wilderness wanderings of Israel, a man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath. He was stoned to death according to the word of the Lord. It was clear that whoever did any work on the Sabbath day was put to death.

The prophet Isaiah described the joy of keeping the Sabbath as a time of delight. God did not give the Sabbath law to Israel for oppressive reasons but to help guide the hearts and minds of the people to know Him and to focus their lives upon the benevolent blessings of a caring and nurturing God. It took great faith to leave off working for a whole day when life existed by what a man did every day. Trusting in the Lord was one of the main lessons learned on the Sabbath. Honoring the word of God came from honoring the Sabbath as a day of rest to worship the Lord. The Jews learned valuable lessons on the Sabbath to turn their hearts toward God. Isaiah encouraged the people not to live for their own pleasures or seek their own will. The Sabbath was a day to center everything in life upon God.

When Jesus Christ came to establish the kingdom of God, He took away the Law of Moses, including the Sabbath. The Law of Moses was only given to the Jews (the Gentiles were not bound by the Sabbath law). As the early church began to learn the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit instructed the followers of Christ to worship the Lord on the first day of the week. This day would become a day to remember when Jesus rose from the dead and delivered sinful man from the wrath of God. One of the key elements of the early church was gathering on the first day of the week to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross through the Lord’s Supper.

Sunday is the first day of the week and the day the church gathers to take of the supper of the Lord in a manner keeping with the will of God. In many churches, Sunday is no longer a day to give to the Lord as a time of delight to worship Him. Sunday is not a holy day of the Lord to honor Him. The attitude of many in the church is that Sunday is a day to do what they want to do, find their own pleasures, speak their own words of excuses, and not gather with the saints to reflect upon the sacrifice of Jesus. One of the greatest reasons people of God excuse themselves for refusing the word of God is because their jobs are more important than obedience. A slight headache can keep one from serving God. When company drops in, plans to worship drop out. Taking vacations includes vacating the worship of God. A person can miss months and years of communion with little concern or care.

The Law of Moses prescribed certain laws about how the Jews were to give or tithe. Under the law of Christ, tithing is no longer bound, but the principles remain for the Christian to give as he purposes from his heart. The Law of Moses bound the Sabbath with the severe penalty of death for those who dishonored the seventh day. Under the law of Christ, the Sabbath is no longer binding, but the principles remain for the Christians to honor God on the first day of the week – every first day of the week. There will be no excuses for those who refuse to honor God on the first day of the week, and for some, it can mean eternal death. Paul warned the Corinthians against taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner and that, in so doing, they were guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. How much worse punishment do you suppose, will they be thought worthy who deny the supper of the Lord? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him because He not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:16-18)

Seeking To Kill Jesus

The Jewish leadership hated the man from Nazareth and actively sought the means to have him killed. Their hatred was not just an emotional outpouring of a strong dislike of the man; they hated him with such a passion there was nothing to be done but to murder him. Ironically, they did not consider the desire to kill Jesus a case of murder but religious justification based on the interpretation of the Law of Moses, which they had changed with their customs and laws. The Law of Moses was very strict concerning the Sabbath. During the wilderness wanderings, a man was found picking up sticks on the Sabbath day and was stoned to death by the congregation. The Law prescribed that anyone who profaned the Sabbath would be put to death. A person who did work on that day would be cut off from the congregation.

The Jews charged Jesus with breaking the Sabbath. They wanted to put Him to death for healing a man diseased in his body for thirty-eight years. Jesus was in Jerusalem when He came to the pool of Bethesda and found the man lying next to the pool. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made well. At a certain time, an angel of God stirred the pool’s water, and whoever stepped into the pool first was healed. The lame man could never make it to the water in time. Jesus told the man to rise, take up his bed, and walk. Immediately, the man was made whole, took up his bed, and walked. The apostle John notes it was done on the Sabbath.

After the lame man was healed, the Jews rebuked him for carrying his bed on the Sabbath. The man told them his healer told him to rise, take up his bed, and walk. Jesus had withdrawn into the multitude, and the man did not know who had healed him. Afterward, Jesus found the man and warned him to live a righteous life or something worse would happen. The man told the Jews it was Jesus who had healed him. It was for this reason the Jews sought to kill Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath. There is an unbelievable ring of hypocrisy in men who are trying to kill someone who can heal any disease and raise the dead.

The Law of Moses never forbade a man from being healed on the Sabbath. On another occasion, when Jesus healed a woman bent over with an infirmity for eighteen years, the ruler of the synagogue declared that healing should only take place on the six days of the week, not on the Sabbath day. Jesus replied that it was necessary on the Sabbath to loose an ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it. Healing on the Sabbath was not an offense demanding the death penalty. The Jews hated Jesus because He was endangering their place among the people and the Romans.

It seems incredible to consider how much hatred drives men to act in the name of God. The Jews had become so immersed in their own laws that they desired to kill an innocent man for doing things that no man could do. It would not take long for the Jewish leaders to have their way with Jesus and murder him on a Roman cross. They succeeded in having Jesus killed, not knowing the act of killing Jesus was the act given to save them. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand people felt the sting of guilt for what they had done. They were guilty of murder in the first degree. There was no excuse. They had no recourse. God offered them mercy and grace and forgave them. The world still has people who want to kill Jesus and will succeed in killing Him in their hearts. They refuse to see the power of His glory revealed in the pages of holy writ. Do you see a Sabbath law broken or a man healed?

Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame … I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment … No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” (Luke 16:24-30)

Eighty Words

A certain rich man enjoyed the finest things of life as few men could imagine. Clothing dyed purple was expensive as well as impressive. Few people in the First Century could afford such luxury as this garment was only worn by princes, nobles, and those who were very wealthy. Egyptian fine linens adorned the rich man’s household as a sign of immense wealth. He feasted on the finest food and drink. There was never a time when the man lacked the best of the world dining with society’s elite. The conversation was a daily pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, honor, and pleasure. Everything about the man’s life was consumed with the best that life could offer. And then he died, and everything changed.

Jesus peels back the curtain of death to allow the world to see and hear what happened to this certain rich man. Like all men, death is not a respecter of persons. The rich man died, as did the pitiable beggar laid at his gate. Two men died on the same day. There was great pomp and circumstance for the dead rich man as his five brothers lamented their brother’s passing before finding ways to inherit his immense wealth. The tomb of the rich man was an ornate and incredibly stunning piece of art commemorating the life of a man of such means. When someone noticed the beggar who had been laid at the gate had died, a cart was brought and the body of Lazarus was unceremoniously dumped in a hole.

When the rich man awakened in eternity, he found himself in a place of torment in the realm of Hades. It was a place of darkness, fire, weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. Those bound in this eternal pit of horror screamed for relief. The rich man begged for mercy from Abraham for just a drop of water to cool his tongue. There would be no relief from the torment. Abraham reminded him of how well he lived and how miserable Lazarus’s life had been. According to the Law of Moses, the rich man should have cared for Lazarus, but he treated him with contempt. Now, Lazarus was comforted, and the rich man suffered. The suffering of Lazarus ended in death, and the suffering of the rich man began in death and would never end.

Realizing there would be no relief for himself, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to his family and tell his five brothers of the horrors that awaited them. The rich man knew how they were living. He knew they would find themselves in torment and needed to be warned. Abraham told the rich man there was nothing that could be done. If the brothers did not listen to Moses and the Prophets, a man rising from the dead would not have convinced them. The story ends, and the rich man fades away into the darkness of torment to be bound under an eternal curse for rebellion against the Lord God.

The conversation of the rich man was only eighty words. He never asked about his money and his investments. There were no questions about his houses, lands, possessions, servants, crops, and 401K. The rich man did not ask to enjoy the pleasures of life. He did not worry about his job. There was nothing on his mind about the political conditions of the Roman Empire. He did not care who the king, president, or ruler was. It did not matter who was winning what sport and what team was the best. He did not complain about the weeds in his garden, how people drove, the noisy neighbor, when to take another vacation, or what new technology was available.

Everything about the eighty words the rich man spoke was about everything he never cared for when he was alive. The sad reality of the human story is that the world is consumed with things that will not be taken with them when they die. The rich man suddenly possessed a spiritual mind, concerned about the spiritual condition of his family and whether they would find eternal life or be pressed into the damnation of Hell. It was too late. His mission-minded efforts could not be done. He was damned to torment, and his five brothers would find the same fate if they did not repent.

The lesson Jesus is teaching is understanding what eighty words will mean when we enter the realm of the eternal. Where is your heart? The place where you find your heart is the place where you will find your eternal soul. What will it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? You will have eighty words to say to the Lord, but it will mean nothing. The eighty words of the rich man were answered with silence. There is nothing more to say.

“Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7).

Created For My Glory

Ted Engstrom (The Pursuit of Excellence) offers the following story: An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the changeling eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens are supposed to fly.

Years passed. And the changeling eagle grew very old. One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. “What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to his neighbor. “What is it?” “That’s an eagle – the chief of birds,” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken. (James S. Hewett, Ed. Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale p. 344)

Everyone has been created for the glory of God. The Lord formed man to show His grace and love and to demonstrate His glory as Creator. It does not matter the color of skin, nation of origin, or gender; all men are created in the equality of God’s glory. Man has a purpose. He was created to be the glory of God. On the sixth day of creation, God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Only man was made in his image. Animals do not bear the image of the divine. Only man was created to be the “eagle.” What Satan has done is convince men they are nothing but a “prairie chicken,” and most die believing the lie.

Jesus died to save you from your sins. You are special to God because you are His divine creation, formed to show His glory. As eternal creatures, we share the image of the divine to be like Him, live for Him, and live with Him after death. Don’t let the world convince you that you have no worth or value. There is so much to know about the God who formed you for greatness. He loved you so much that He gave you, His Son.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Finding Joy In Trials

Vance Havner points out that sometimes the medicine bottle has on it, “Shake well before using.” He points out that God sometimes must do this with His people to awaken them from their apathy. The Lord has to shake His people well before they are usable. Moses thought he was the Lord’s deliverer of His oppressed people when he killed the Egyptian. For forty years, Moses had lived as a prince of Egypt. After killing the Egyptian, he fled to Midian, where he remained for another forty years.

While Moses was a prince of Egypt, he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. His pride made him unsuitable to be the leader of the Hebrews. It would take forty years to change Moses’ heart. When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush, Moses was nothing like he was as a prince of Egypt. He was self-deprecating in his abilities to lead the people of Israel. History shows Moses as one of the greatest men of God’s divine plan, but it took the Lord shaking up the world of Moses to find His man.

The apostle Peter was an impetuous man who often did not think before he spoke. There were times of brilliance in Peter’s reaction to Jesus and His teaching, but he was not yet formed in the spirit of man needed to take the gospel into the world. Jesus was patient with Peter. When the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper, He told Peter that Satan was desirous of the heart of Simon. Jesus knew Peter would betray Him three times before the rooster crowed, and He told His apostle when he returned to Him to strengthen his brethren. Peter had to go through the crucifix of fire to become the great proclaimer of the gospel Luke writes about in the Acts of the Apostles.

God continues to work in the lives of His children. Sometimes, He has to shake up their lives to move them from their indifference. The trials of life can be viewed in a positive understanding of how they mold the character to be filled with faith. There is a need for endurance to develop the strength of character to face disappointment with the firm conviction God is in control. Through the process of trials, hope leads to joy, and joy to life everlasting. It is realizing that when life is shaken, it can be used to make life better. A father may allow his child to struggle to help form character in him, and God will allow His children to suffer to help them learn the lessons of patience, diligence, endurance, and hope.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  (John 3:1-3)

What Nicodemus Learned

Nicodemus was a Jewish rabbi mentioned only three times in scripture. Along with Joseph of Arimathea, he took the body of Jesus and buried the Lord in the tomb of Joseph. He served as part of the ruling party of Pharisees seeking to arrest Jesus, but Nicodemus believed Jesus to be the promised Messiah. John first introduces scripture to Nicodemus when the Jewish leader came to Jesus by night to talk of the ministry of the man from Nazareth. He believed God sent Jesus because of His teachings and the power of His miracles. Nicodemus knew no man could teach and do what Jesus did without the authority of God.

When Nicodemus came to Jesus, the Lord began by telling the ruler that one must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was unaccustomed to the metaphorical teaching of Jesus, inquiring how it was possible to be born twice from a woman’s womb. Jesus immediately directs the attention of Nicodemus to the spiritual application of the new birth, showing him a man must be born of the water and the spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Still, Nicodemus did not understand what the new birth was all about. One of the problems of Jewish doctrine in the days of Jesus was the inability of the teachers of the law to make spiritual applications to the principles of godliness and truth. Nicodemus should have understood the teaching of Jesus, but he could not.

Jesus appeals to the story of Moses and the fiery serpents sent by God to punish His people. When Israel cried out for deliverance, Moses made a bronze serpent so those bitten by the serpents could look upon the bronze serpent and be saved. Jesus would also be raised up so that sinful men could come to the cross and find eternal life. When a serpent bit a man, he had to believe that coming to the bronze serpent would save his life. If he disbelieved, he would die. God’s grace saved the Jews when the wrath of God sent the serpents. Sin can only be removed through the grace of God, and that is why God’s love sent His only begotten Son to die for the world.

Many of Israel died when God sent the serpents among them. Jesus tells Nicodemus the Son of God came to save all men, but the world would reject the grace of God. Salvation could only come through Jesus Christ and Him alone. If a man believes in Jesus, he is not condemned. But those who refuse to believe Jesus is the Christ are condemned because they will not accept that Jesus is the Son of God. The problem with sinful man is he loves the darkness of his sin. Jesus tells Nicodemus God has made every provision man needs to be saved, but most will not believe. The reason is that most men want to stay in their sin and die in darkness. Men love darkness rather than light. They believe what they do in the darkness is unseen, and they know if they come to the light, their sinful deeds will be exposed. Everyone who practices evil hates the light and will not come to Jesus for the cleansing blood, lest their deeds of wickedness are exposed.

Jesus tells Nicodemus salvation is found in believing God sent His Son into the world to save men from the darkness. Most people will remain in the darkness. Only a few will come to the light. God so loved the world, and man so hated God. To be born again is to be washed in the waters of baptism, where the gift of the Holy Spirit is given. Most people, including most religious people, remain in the darkness of rebellion, refusing to accept that baptism has anything to do with salvation. Many who think they are “born again Christians” have never been born of the water and the spirit. They remain in the darkness of sin. When a man obeys the truth, they will come to the Father, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:51-53)

When The Veil Was Torn In Two

God died, and the universe reacted. Since the fall of man in the garden, God and man have been separated by sin. Nothing could atone for the failure of man, including the untold thousands of animals sacrificed in accordance with the will of God. There had to be an offering that was of divine origin and sinless. Through the children of Abraham, the promise of salvation was preserved in the Jewish nation of Israel. God gave this small nation the Law of Moses until the Seed promise would be fulfilled. The Gentiles were saved as a law to themselves, and the Jews followed the Law of Moses. Contained in the Law of Moses was worship in the Tabernacle and then the Temple of Solomon. In each place of worship, there was a Holy Place and a Most Holy of Holies. These two areas were separated by a veil, symbolizing the separation of God and man. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year to commune with God and offer sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people.

When Jesus died, the veil in the Temple (the second Temple after captivity) was ripped apart from top to bottom. Jesus died around 3:00 pm when the priest was burning incense before the Holy of Holies. The startled priest would have witnessed the rending of the veil both by sight and sound. It has been suggested the veil during the time of Jesus was nearly twenty feet wide, sixty feet long, and four inches thick. The veil was so heavy that it took a few hundred priests to manipulate it. It would have been deafening when the priest heard the roar of the veil rending. The priest would also testify the veil was rent from top to bottom, showing that only God could have accomplished the feat. Jesus died, the world reacted, and God made an announcement. No longer would there be Jews and Gentiles separated by different laws. All men would be saved in the Law of Christ. The rending of the veil signified the end of Temple worship and the nation of Israel as the chosen people of God. When Jesus died, God allowed men to come into His presence (the Holy of Holies) and worship Him through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The rending of the veil happened two thousand years ago, but the sound of its tearing can be heard today. God has made a way for sinful man to come before Him and receive the forgiveness of sins. The rending of the veil was no accident. It was not done by the hand of man or the wisdom of human reasoning. God separated mankind from Him because of sin and then, by His immense grace and mercy, tore the veil apart to allow the faithful to come into a place that was forbidden. Salvation in Jesus Christ cannot be understood without standing at the broken veil and seeing the power of God. All those who come to Jesus will be allowed to receive the forgiveness of sins by the offering of the blood of God’s Son. Animals will no longer be accepted for sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could never atone for sin. Jesus died and tore the veil apart to welcome the obedient into the presence of His Father.

There is a veil that remains that has not been torn down—the veil of rebellion and refusal to come to the grace of God. Many refuse to acknowledge the miracle of the torn veil. They see the grace of God in His mercy and do not believe. Many read the word of God and change His will to fit their own desires. The veil remains, keeping them from the word of salvation. When a man comes to the knowledge of what God’s will demands, he will then see and hear the veil’s tearing and the Savior’s welcome voice. No one can be saved who will not come to the blood of Jesus, which is the veil of flesh that allows mankind to enter the Holy of Holies. Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life, and the only veil whereby man can be saved. Come to Jesus. He will save you. He died to tear down the veil. God is waiting for you to come to Him.

Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! (Matthew 10:11-15)

The Unworthy

Preaching the gospel is a life of great reward and blessing. Jesus instructs His disciples to know the nature of preaching is found in receptive hearts and knowing the heartache of those who refuse to listen. The twelve apostles had an important role in the ministry of Jesus and the spread of the gospel throughout the world. Jesus gave the twelve power over unclean spirits and healing of all kinds of sicknesses and diseases, but this was not their purpose or mission. Miracles could not save a soul. The message of the gospel is where salvation is found. When Jesus sent the twelve out, He gave them instructions on how to enter a city. They would enquire if the inhabitants wanted to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to receive the apostles into their homes.

The ministry of Jesus and His apostles was not always met with rejoicing. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the scribes, Pharisees, and Jewish leaders tried to interfere with what Jesus taught and what He did. Jesus knew the work of the twelve would be met with opposition and careless hearts. The Son of God walked among men, but most people refused to believe. As the twelve went into the cities, many of the people had no time for them, did not want to hear their message, and refused to open their doors to them. The gospel does not appeal to most people. Preaching the gospel can be filled with disappointment.

Jesus tells the twelve if a city receives them, rejoice and work as long as they are allowed. When a home is opened to them, greet it with the blessings of God and share the gospel. But when the twelve find a city that is uninterested, callous, refusing to listen to the word of God, they are to turn away from the unworthy and shake the dust from their feet. Shaking the dust from the feet came from the view the Jews had about the Gentiles whom they considered impure; even the dust of their feet. It was a significant act to shake off the dust from the feet in the presence of the people, showing they regarded the city or the home unworthy of the gospel. They walked away, refusing to teach them because their hearts were hardened against God.

It is difficult to see hearts unwilling to hear the gospel. While the practice of shaking off the dust from the feet is a cultural thing, there is a figure when people are unwilling to listen to the story of Jesus Christ. Like the days of Jesus, most people have no interest in the gospel. When a child of God wants to share the good news of salvation with a lost and dying world, a lost and dying world has no interest and cares nothing for what will happen to them after death. That is the sad reality. Jesus said few will be saved because few are worthy to hear the gospel. It must be remembered to consider someone unworthy is not because they are not worth saving. God is not willing that anyone should perish, and His single desire is for all men to be saved. Understanding God’s desire does not change the reality that when men are invited to come to the blood of Jesus Christ, most are unworthy because they refuse the grace of God.

Looking around a community and the efforts to preach the gospel will unveil many unworthy souls. Jesus makes a stunning confession that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah than for those unworthy persons. God destroyed the cities because of their wickedness. How much greater is the tragedy when men refuse to hear the story of Jesus Christ? The gospel of two is clear about people: there are those who are worthy and those who are unworthy. Where you find yourself determines if you are saved or not. Make your life worthy of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and obey His word.