The Commitment of Christ to Go to the Cross (Mark 10:32-34)
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The Commitment of Christ to Go to the Cross
The prophecies and omniscience of the third prediction of the cross
Mark 10:32 to 34
Shortly after World War II came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was of orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.
Early one chilly morning, an American soldier was making his way back to the barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside, the baker was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb, stopped, got out, and walked quietly over to where the little fellow was standing. Through the steamed-up window, he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The boy salivated, and released a slight groan as he watched the baker place them onto the glass-enclosed counter ever so carefully.
The soldier’s heart went out to the nameless orphan, as he stood beside him. “Son, would you like some of those?” The boy was startled. “Oh, yeah–I would!” The American stepped inside and bought a dozen, put them in a bag, and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply, “Here you are.” As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child ask quietly, “Mister, are you God?”
We are never more like God than when we give, because Jesus Christ gave to us in a manner that is overwhelming. The magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice will overpower us today. As Jesus travels up to Jerusalem to serve in His final week of public ministry, He reveals again what awaits Him. In our verses today, Jesus Christ tells His followers of His coming sacrifice. He gives a preview of His coming Messianic suffering. He describes to His men the coming cross, sharing amazing details of what awaits Him.
Get this–Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen to Him. The Lord knows every single, gory detail of the suffering, trials, torture, injustice, beatings, hate, spit, whipping, abuse–the pain of the cross, and all the excruciating, indescribable agony of bearing God the Father’s holy wrath for our sin. And yet He sets His face, and resolutely walks directly toward this death.
You would run–you would. But not Christ–why did He do it? He loves His Father. He is fulfilling the eternal plan of salvation, and obeying the will of the triune God. And He is doing this for you and for me. He loves you.
Have you ever been tempted to believe the lie that Christ didn’t really know what would happen to Him if He went to Jerusalem? Are you tempted to forget every detail of your life is known and planned by a sovereign, loving God? Does your reaction to trials or suffering or difficulties betray a lack of confidence in God’s loving control as sovereign King? Do you find yourself complaining over little issues?
Then you need this passage. Christ knows what’s coming—every single detail. He knows it, because God’s Word, the Bible describes it, predicted it, and prophesied it in detail in the Old Testament. Plus, Jesus knows every detail because Jesus is omniscient–He is God, He knows everything, everything. He knows it! So the cross is no surprise to Jesus.
The first words that ever came out of Jesus’ mouth in the New Testament are these–“I must be about My Father’s business.” And the last words ever to come out of His mouth before His death, “It is finished.” He knew why He came, and He knew when He had accomplished that purpose. Throughout His ministry, it was clear to Christ where He was headed. Before the Romans knew anything about what they would do, before Judas knew anything about what he would do, before the chief priests, the rulers and the scribes knew anything, before this detailed and predicted drama played itself out in history–our Lord Christ knew every single detail that would occur.
In fact, Matthew, Mark and Luke each record three separate times when Jesus informed the disciples about the details of His death. We’ve already studied two of them in Mark. The first was in Mark 8:31 where it says, “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
The second is in Mark 9:31, not long after the first, and Jesus said again, adding a bit more detail about being delivered into the hands of men. “For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’”
The third and final time is our text for this morning, as we work our way verse by verse through the gospel of Mark–now 10:32 to 34. Now a third prediction, with even more detail about what will happen just over a week away—let’s stand and read together.
“They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33 saying, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34 They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.’”
Let’s pray. Thank You for knowing everything–and even though the Bible predicted exactly what would happen, and You knew every detail of the coming suffering, torture and death, You went to face it anyway. You went because it was Your will, and because of Your love for us. Thank You, Christ–cause us to worship You today, by offering our entire lives to You, just like You gave Your entire life for us. And open the eyes of some who don’t yet know You–for Your glory. Amen
Come with me, as we join the band of followers around our Lord, as He makes His way to Jerusalem. Look with me at point number one.
#1 The Road Verse 32a
Let’s read the beginning of verse 32, “They were on the road going up to Jerusalem.” The Lord, His twelve men, and a team of followers are headed from Jericho, up the dirt road toward Jerusalem. The road still exists, and it is used today. It’s a rock and sand road, with the same stone bridges over streams and potential rain runoff areas built by the Romans.
You always go up to Jerusalem–it’s 2,500 feet above sea level and 3,500-plus feet above the Dead Sea, where Jericho is. So Jesus and His band are walking the fifteen miles up to Jerusalem from the Jordan River area, on a long, dry desert road. The journey is not remarkable, but what is, is . . .
#2 The Resolution of Christ Verse 32b
They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them. Only Mark says this, “And Jesus was walking on ahead of them.” What does that mean? Especially as you continue reading—look. “And they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.” The “them” refers to the twelve, and Jesus was ahead of them. He normally walked with His disciples–but now as He is headed up to Jerusalem, He is walking toward His suffering and death. He was ahead of them, and walking alone for the trip.
The Greek tells us He stayed in front of them the entire time. Luke 9:51 NASB says, “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.” KJV says, “When the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” He was determined to go–He set his face like granite! Jesus knew He was going to die–He came to die, He was born to die.
In our study of Mark 10, Jesus has just told His men and us plainly that only God can accomplish salvation. Heaven is impossible for men to achieve–only God can make it possible for us to be with Him. Only a work of God can make it possible for you to be forgiven. Only a perfect sacrifice will satisfy God’s wrath against your sin.
Jesus knows He must go–He must do the work, as horrible and awful as it will be. Only Christ, the God-man, can provide salvation for us–so the Lord has set His face, as He resolutely walks to Jerusalem. Jesus was walking on ahead of them. Jesus was not dragged into Jerusalem against His own will. The Lord was not swept into Jerusalem by the euphoria of the crowd. Jesus was not emotionally moved toward Jerusalem because the pilgrims were pushing Him to go to Passover.
He was Himself walking ahead of His entire entourage. He is the leader of this parade. He is resolute as He firmly moves to His own death. And He knows exactly what is going to happen when He gets there. He’s already told the disciples–they’re not in the dark about it. Jesus speaks the truth, and the Lord has told His men twice. And the Lord’s men are pretty sure His death could happen, because they already know the hatred and animosity of the religious leaders. They’ve already demonstrated their desire to kill Jesus time and time again. They are so convinced–look at . . .
#3 The Reaction of the Followers Verse 32c
Let’s read the middle of verse 32, “and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.” Picture them walking up a steady incline, in a long stretched-out group, on a desert dirt road–the Lord is at the front, and the atmosphere is intense! The air is thick with concern. Mark turns his focus on two groups–do you see them? They were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. “They” is the twelve apostles, and “those” are the other disciples.
And the twelve reacted with amazement, meaning they were astounded, filled with wonder, excited and surprised. Used only three times in Mark, the word carries the idea of being a little confused or baffled. They’re thinking, “What in the world are we doing? Shouldn’t we just head back up to Galilee, where it’s a little safer?” The gritty confidence of their fearless leader is blowing them away, as He moves towards the cross.
Can you imagine what Christ is going through as He walks? There’s a natural fear in the soul of anyone who is walking to their own death. And His men are amazed, they are looking at Jesus, and they don’t see any hesitance, no reluctance–resolute conviction. He walks ahead of everyone, pulling His reluctant, amazed, fearful, confused, hopeless little band by the sheer force of His personality, as they follow along in bizarre confusion.
Jesus told them He would die, and they are amazed at His courage. They’re amazed at His conviction, because they want to run in fear. Verse 32, “and those who followed were fearful.” The other disciples, men, and possibly women were following farther behind. This refers to another wider, larger group of disciples and followers the Lord had, in addition to the twelve. But they reacted with fear–it’s the Greek word phobeo, where we get phobia.
The word “fearful” is basically a word describing a baffling kind of fear. There was some confusion with them. They’re still caught up in the Messianic idea of Judaism that Jesus will set up His Kingdom. Yet they’ve heard the things He’s said about His coming death. Their hope is low, they’re baffled and confused–that’s their fear. Why is He doing this? Why is He walking into this deadly danger?
They were feeling anxious and apprehensive about the Lord’s intense focus as He heads straight into the hatred of Religious Leader Central, and the real threat of a cruel death. This is one of the dramatic portraits of our Lord. Jesus is going to His death resolutely, pulling along His confused, frightened, and amazed followers.
Now for the apostles, their expectation was seriously grim. They were literally fatalistic. We know that from John 11:16 when Jesus told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem,” and Thomas responded, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him”–grim, defeatist, resigned, fatalistic. Yet knowing what they’re going through, the Lord pulls His men to Himself. If there was ever a time to be self-consumed or pity oneself, this is the moment. But the Lord reaches out to His men with . . .
#4 The Reporting of Coming Events Verse 32d
Look at the end of verse 32, “And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him.” That can’t be said of anyone except Christ. No one knows what is going to happen to them in the future. No one knows the future except God, and Jesus is God. So the Lord begins to tell them in detail what was going to happen to Him. To help them be prepared for what is coming, He pulls them aside. You see it there, “He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what will happen to Him.” This is so important!
It was bad when it actually happened, even though He warned them about every detail. They still denied Him. They still fled. They still ran. Yet can you imagine the level of terror they would’ve experienced if they hadn’t been told what was going to happen? What level of doubt? Sure, they ran out of terror. But at the same time, there had to be a reality check that said, “This is exactly what He said would happen.”
And when that settled in their hearts, it pulled them all back again. Loving on His men, Jesus took the twelve aside. Then what Mark says next at the end of verse 32 is astonishing, “and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him.” How did Jesus do this? How did Christ predict the future?
First Jesus Taught Them the Old Testament Prophecies of His Coming Sacrifice
You’re saying, “Chris, verse 32 doesn’t say anything about Old Testament prophecies.” You are correct, but the parallel passage in the gospel of Luke does. Luke 18:31, “Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’”
Jesus was telling them all the truths which are written in the prophets about the Son of Man that will be accomplished. Mark doesn’t tell us that–Luke tell us that Jesus explained the Old Testament prophecies concerning His coming suffering to them. How did Jesus know what was going to happen? Jesus knew what the prophets wrote, so He explained those truths to His men. And His death was promised in the Old Testament–in a general way, and in a very, very specific way.
Generally, when you read the Old Testament, you know the wages of sin is death, and God said He’d substitute an animal sacrifice in place of the sinner. But there never was a sacrifice that ended the need for still another sacrifice, then another, and another–so all of the sacrifices were waiting for the final sacrifice.
And starting with Adam and Eve, you know by the death of animals to provide clothing, the sacrifice covered the sinner’s guilt. From Abel, you know there is only one acceptable sacrifice. From Abraham, you learn God Himself will provide the sacrifice that will be satisfactory. From the Passover, you know the sacrifice had to be a lamb without blemish.
The general tenure of the Old Testament required that a sacrifice was necessary. The Lord’s men knew that generally. Plus Jesus had been introduced to them by John the Baptist with these words, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” But specifically, the Old Testament describes Christ suffering in detail.
If they knew Zechariah 13, they would’ve understood that Jesus would be deserted by His friends. If they knew Zechariah 11:12, they would have known Jesus would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. If they understood the implications of Numbers 21, the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness, they would’ve seen in some fashion that the Son of Man would eventually be lifted up, a picture of the cross. If they would have understood Psalm 34:20, they would have known that none of His bones would be broken on the cross.
If they understood Psalm 22:18, they would have known that His clothes would be gambled for. If they understood Psalm 69:21, they would have known Jesus was going to be given vinegar to drink. If they knew Psalm 22:1, they would have understood the cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” If they had read Psalm 22:31, they would’ve known, “It is finished.” And if they’d known Zechariah 12:10, they would have known about the spear thrust into His side.
Psalm 16 predicts His resurrection. And Psalm 110 even talks about His ascension into Heaven. Of course the Lord could have showed them Isaiah 53, the greatest of all Old Testament Messianic passages–the servant substitute who sacrifices Himself to provide redemption for sinners, is wounded for their transgressions, bruised for their iniquities, the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb!
The Lord was on His way to the cross, and on the way He explains to them the Old Testament prophecies He’d fulfill. Though they may not have known them well, Jesus knew the Word, and He reiterated those specific prophecies for them. Jesus is resolved to go to Jerusalem to die since He’ll be fulfilling the very Old Testament prophecies that describe Him. They should have known. How many times did Jesus say to the leaders of Israel, “Search the Scriptures,” or “Have you not read?” They all should have, and could have, known at least some of the details of His coming death from the Old Testament prophetic Scripture. Verse 32, how else did Jesus know what was going to happen?
Second Jesus is Omniscient
There were coming events not revealed in the Old Testament, that no one could know unless they knew the future. But as God, Jesus not only knows all, but also knows the past, present and future all in one big now. Don’t be surprised Jesus knows things no person can know. At the beginning of His ministry in John 2:25, Jesus said He didn’t need anybody to tell Him what people were thinking, because He knew what they were thinking.
Christ knew exactly where a certain fish would be swimming, the second it would be caught, because it was the fish that had a coin in his mouth in order to pay His taxes. Jesus knew the exact history of a woman He’d never seen, but when meeting her by a well, He knew her entire marital history. Christ knew precisely where a colt would be waiting, so He could ride it into the city of Jerusalem. Plus the Lord knew exactly what the conversation would be when His disciples went to get the colt from the man to whom it belonged.
The Lord predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in detail–that not one stone would be left upon another forty years before it happened. Jesus knew all these things because God knows all these things, and Jesus is God. Jesus knows when a sparrow falls, and the number of hairs on your head. He can work all things together for good–He is God, He knows all things. So because He knew the Word of God, and He knows everything, He could tell His men . . .
#5 The Realities of Christ’s Coming Sacrifice Verses 33 to 34
The sufferings of Jesus Christ were no accident. His sacrifice was no miscalculation. The cross was not a surprise–come on, Jesus gives a detailed and exact accounting of what’s going to happen here. The disciples never quite grasped this–they wanted a Messiah to conquer, not die. They wanted a lion, not a lamb. But our Lord pre-planned all these events. How preordained?
First The Lord’s Coming Betrayal Verse 33
Verse 33, “saying, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles.’” Do you notice that “we” are all going to Jerusalem? You are all going to be there—all of us will be witnesses of this coming event, but it will only be the Son of Man who will be delivered over.
The Lord tells His men here that He alone is the sacrifice–Christ alone will be tortured, suffer and die, then rise again. Only the perfect Lamb of God is to be our substitute, and only the perfect God-man can satisfy God’s wrath for our sin. The verb in Greek, “we are going,” is present tense–every verb after it in verses 33 and 34 is future tense. This is going to happen. It has not happened yet, but it’s going to happen when we get there.
Jesus again calls Himself the Son of Man–and even though that’s a term identifying His humanity, it is primarily a Messianic term that appears in Daniel 7:13 to describe the Messiah. It’s a term meant to tell us that the Son of God will also be human. Jesus is reminding us that He is 100% God and 100% human. Christ being human allows Him to be the substitute for the human race, and die on our behalf. And Christ being God allows Him to become the perfect sacrifice and satisfy the Father.
And Jesus says the Son of Man will be delivered–that’s betrayal. Delivered is to hand someone over with evil intent–to give them up. The Lord tells us it will be to and through the chief priests and scribes. Priests includes the High Priest, the ex-High Priests, the Temple overseers, Temple captains and the ordinary priests throughout Israel are all participating in this plot. The priests would be like the political leaders from the President down–the Supreme Court and all of Congress are all betraying Christ.
The scribes were the theologians of their day, both Pharisees and Sadducees–they were the teachers and educational elite. Scribes would be like the entire US higher education system, from seminaries to grad school educators—all are involved in betraying Christ. So Jesus is handed over to the scheming religious aristocrats who will condemn Him, not to put in prison, but in order to kill Him.
The political leaders and scholars of the nation, the best in Israel, will put Christ through six unjust, horrific trials throughout one night, and without a shred of evidence condemn Christ to death. Notice, “and they will condemn Him to death.” The word “condemn” implies some kind of legality that will sentence Him to death.
And then the next phrase, “and will hand Him over to the Gentiles”–Jesus will not be executed by the Jews, but be handed over, literally, will be surrendered to another authority, “to the Gentiles” who will torture, then kill Christ before He rises from the dead. The Romans had taken away from the Israelites the right to exercise capital punishment in the Lord’s day, so it would logically have to be the Gentiles who would ultimately kill Christ. Amazingly, Jesus not only knows about the betrayal, but also knows . . .
Second The Lord’s Coming Suffering and Death Verse 34a
Verse 34, “They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him.” The verbs “mock, scourge, spit upon, and kill” graphically depict the treatment our Lord will receive at the hands of the Gentiles. And He is calmly telling His men, “This is going to happen to Me,” and every single element mentioned is fulfilled exactly in coming chapters. As Jesus is surrendered to the Gentiles, they will mock Him (literally, they will laugh at their Creator), they’ll ridicule the only Savior for their own twisted pleasure. They’ll make a game out of torturing the one true God, who has become a man.
Then Jesus tells His men, they will “spit on Him.” An unthinkable insult–the lowest form of contempt. Peter tells us Jesus never retaliated in 1 Peter 2:23, “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” The Lord could’ve burned them, sent for angels, sent them to Hell–but He never retaliated. You talk about suffering. His was horrific–spitting in the face of the very one who was personally going to the cross to bear the sins of sinners.
Then they scourged Christ–this involved forty lashes. The Jews always stopped one short, because they didn’t want to break the Law, so they used 39 lashes. The method the Romans followed was to use a short wooden stick with three leather thongs tied to it, then metal and bone attached to each of the leather thongs. Then they’d apply thirteen lashes across the chest, then thirteen lashes on each of the two shoulders, and usually took two men trading back and forth because it was so difficult to tear off the flesh.
They would tie the hands up high on a standing post so the body slumped upright, and they could lash both the chest and back. It was so severe, the organs of the body could be exposed–and the bleeding would be so profuse, many people would die. The Lord is telling His men–all this is coming for Me! Finally Jesus says in verse 34, “and kill Me.” According to Matthew 20:19 Jesus told them, “They would kill Him by crucifixion”–He told them that.
It’s the first time He said that bluntly. Friends, just knowing you were going to die by crucifixion could kill you. All on its own, crucifixion is an indescribable horror. A death by crucifixion includes all the pain that a body can produce–a ghastly dizziness, cramping, thirst, starvation, suffocation, sleeplessness, fever, shame, unending torment, tearing flesh, open wounds, writhing on wood, bones rubbing on metal nails, unbearable pain rotating back and forth from legs to arms. All the pain is intensified to the maximum, but all the pain stops just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness.
The unnatural position of a body on a cross makes every movement painful, the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throb with incessant anguish. The wounds inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrene, while the pain of each varied misery gradually increases. Then add the intolerable agony of a raging thirst and a hopeless anxiety, which makes the prospect of death welcome. Jesus did that for you and for me–and He knew it was coming.
Our Lord not only suffered physically, but He suffered emotionally. He was rejected, hated by His people, and abandoned by His friends–the very ones He is describing all this to in detail. But far worse than all that was bearing the wrath of God for your sin–being your substitute caused Christ to cry out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The Lord tells His men He will endure an unbelievable litany of horrors. But there’s good news–all this suffering, even death itself is not the end.
Third The Lord’s Coming Resurrection Verse 34b
In all three of Christ’s predictions of His coming suffering and death, He ends this way, “and three days later He will rise again” (verse 34). And He did . . . He did–HE IS RISEN. Jesus Christ is ALIVE! He said at the beginning of His ministry, in John 2:19, “Destroy this body and in three days I’ll raise it up.” He said that. He said He would die–He said He would rise. He died exactly the way He said He would die, and He rose bodily from the dead exactly the way He said He’d rise, in exactly the time He said He’d rise.
A The Lord’s death was planned for a crucial PURPOSE
Each one of these statements about the Lord’s coming death and resurrection is fulfilled in detail later in this gospel. Imagine the power of reading these predictions, these prophecies by Christ–then as you finish this gospel, each and every one of them is perfectly fulfilled in detailed exactness. Going up to Jerusalem is in Mark 11. The Son of Man will be delivered over in Mark 14, to the chief priests and scribes, also in Mark 14. They will condemn Him to death in Mark 14, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles in Mark 15. And they will mock Him in Mark 15, and spit upon Him in Mark 14 and 15, and scourge Him in Mark 15, and kill Him in Mark 15. And He will rise again in Mark 16. Are you in awe of what Christ did?
Jesus predicted each of these elements, and each of them came to pass exactly as He predicted. Premeditated–how does He know all this? He’s God! Only God knows the future–only God could predict these events. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Mark wants to declare to his readers that our Lord’s death was not a tragedy in the hands of evil men, but rather the sovereign plan of God who rules history in order to offer His life a ransom for many.
Acts 2:23, “This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” He gave His life for you; have you given your life to Him? He died for your sins, so you wouldn’t die eternally in your sins. Jesus suffered Hell on the cross, so you would not have to go there. Cry out for the Lord to forgive you, save you, rebirth you today! I am begging you–listen to the Centurion who watched Christ die, in Mark 15:39, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
B The Lord knows every detail of your LIFE
Christians, we’ve got to live different than everyone else. We should have a contentment and confidence that drives others crazy. The Lord loves you, is all-wise, powerful and He knows–He’s omniscient.
Matthew 10:30, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Psalm 44:21, “For He knows the secrets of the heart.”
Psalm 103:14, “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
Psalm 139:3 and 4, “You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”
Students, He already knows what college you will attend
Singles, He already has your spouse prepared and prepped
Couples, He’s already selected your children
Men, He’s promised to provide for the needs of faithful men
Every time we worry, complain, or stress, we are attacking the sovereignty of our God who knows every detail. Each time we fail to give thanks, count it all joy, or rejoice always, we are stealing His glory. Let’s worship an omniscient Savior today.
C The Lord has kept His WORD for you
Every single one of those Old Testament predictions of the first coming of Christ was fulfilled exactly as written. God’s Word is true. How can we not read it, study it, love it, and bank on it daily? Family, you must be in God’s Word–it is your food, your life and your glasses to look at everything and everyone. Every unknown, every event, every relationship, every trial, every expectation has its answer in God’s Word.
Intimacy with the Lord is found in its pages–the joy of the Christian is linked to saturation in the living and active Word. You can’t be filled with the Spirit unless you’re saturated in the Word–and if you’re not in the Spirit, you are in the flesh. Don’t hear this today and do nothing. You need God’s truth–it is Christ’s love letter to you, reminding you what He did for you.
