Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XXVI)

Reformer John Calvin makes one more point that I think is important. Real faith is not speculation or grand wishing, it is grounded on nothing else than the truth found in God’s Word. The Apostle Paul teaches that faith does not spring from mere doctrine. If this was not true, then we could say that faith can arise from what anyone says. So Calvin more disregards all the devices invented by mankind when we speak of the certainty of faith. No doubt this is why Calvin was so against what he felt the Roman Catholic Church taught about “implicit faith.” This charge was levied against a teaching by the Vatican that there are some people who were so incapable of understanding the Gospel so as to have faith for salvation on their own. This could only come by partaking of the sacraments the church offered through which faith is imputed to them.¹

On the subject of how faith comes not just by hearing but by listening to the Word of God, Robert Haldane agrees with the Prophet Isaiah that faith comes only by listening. Listening means more than just detecting noise or hearing something. The Greek word akoē which Paul uses here includes understanding the thing heard. Thayer in his Greek lexicon places it under the definition of “instruction.” and ties it to Isaiah 53:1 where the Hebrew word shĕmuw`ah means instruction, teaching, doctrine.

When I was in seminary, we used to say of some students, they only came to get a degree, not an education. They were hearing their professors, but they were not listening and comprehending what they were saying. The same with our spiritual learning. It comes when that which is heard is listened to, assimilated, and made a part of one’s understanding. This, in turn, produces faith. That’s why it was so necessary that the Gospel be preached, especially to the Gentiles. They were not raised to learn under the teaching of their Rabbis. They never memorized the Ten Commandments. Their manners and customs were not based on Laws given by God to their forefathers. There was no such thing as saving faith among heathens who had never heard of Christ. So they were hearing the Gospel for the first time. And yet, upon hearing the Word of God they listened and believed and thereby gained faith.²

Charles Hodge comments on Paul’s use of Isaiah to make a point. The Apostle’s purpose for using the prophet’s message was for the Jews to believe. Since Isaiah was one of their Prophets, they were required to accept it and lean upon it as true. That’s because without it there could be no solid ground; nothing on which to build their faith. Therefore, they are to understand that faith comes from hearing the message, and upon hearing, listening to what they’ve heard and believing that it is genuine.

And why shouldn’t they? This message was given to Isaiah by the word or command of God. That makes it a sure foundation for faith to build on. And since everyone is required to believe, and believing only comes from hearing and listening, then the message must be sent to all so they can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. This was to be a universal Gospel, not meant only for the Jews. So with these two ideas presented in the context, namely, the necessity of knowledge to faith, and the purpose of God to extend that knowledge to the Gentiles, both are confirmed in this verse.³

Albert Barnes also sees Paul drawing a comparison between the Word of God preached during Isaiah’s time and his own. The fact that it existed during Isaiah’s day confirmed that it was not a new thing that only came into existence with the Gospel. Paul wanted the Jews of his day to know that this message of salvation had already been sent out. Originally, it was the doctrine of a coming Messiah who would be Savior of all who believed, not just the Jews. And now that the Messiah had come it would apply from this day on. All who want to be saved must call upon the name of Yeshua – Jesus of Nazareth. That’s why in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah he proceeds to give the reasons why the report would not be taken seriously and why the Messiah would be rejected, suffer, and die.

One reason was that the Jews were awaiting a Champion, a Warrior who would free them from Rome’s clutches. But Isaiah said He would be a root out of dry ground; a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. So because Yeshua did not come with splendor, pomp, and circumstances as a prince, He was rejected, and put to death. This no doubt is what led to His being rejected by thousands. But it was not all bad news for the Messiah. The ending parenthesis says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news the good news of peace and salvation.”⁴ So, could it be that it was the passion and death of Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah is what turned off most of the Jews to the message of His resurrection? They wanted an unbeatable warrior to champion their cause and reestablish the throne of David so they could be admired in the world again. No doubt Paul was trying to point out that this Sacrificial Lamb on the cross had defeated their enemies, hell, death, and the grave, and would one day return as the Lion of Judah,⁵ the bright and morning star⁶.⁷

Charles Spurgeon is also struck by what Isaiah said in that so many who heard the message from God did not obey it. When we understand that the message of the Good News Isaiah is talking about is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we can understand why the Gospel has such an authority about it. Why else would the Apostle make obeying it so indispensable? People must believe that anything God says is true. To disbelieve is to disobey. Spurgeon then has a message for those who are wise enough to seek salvation by becoming a listener to God’s Word. But they must make sure that it is God’s Word they are hearing because the words of mankind cannot save them. In fact, it may deceive them. It might give them a false sense of security. The hearing that saves, is listening to what comes by the Word of God.

That’s why, says Spurgeon, it is not necessary to run here and there seeking to hear a particular speaker. Instead, you should run to wherever you can to hear the Gospel preached in all of its power, authority, and truth. For faith comes by hearing and listening to the Word of God. Yet, all who have heard it have not obeyed it! There are many who have heard it from their childhood, and yet they have not obeyed it. Notice the word “obeyed,” for the Gospel comes with the force of a command. If you reject it, you sin against it, for it is your duty to accept it in order to be saved.⁸

Verse 18: But I ask, “Didn’t those people hear the Good News?” Yes, they heard—as the Scriptures say, ‘Their voices went out all around the world.  Their words went everywhere in the world’.”⁹

Paul isn’t finished with the subject of the difference between hearing and listening. It wasn’t a question whether or not the people were hearing what God was saying through His prophet, but were they listening and accepting what He said? Again, Paul uses Isaiah to point out that the message went around the known world at the time, in every synagogue where the Jews had migrated to for whatever reason. So there was no excuse for not hearing. The Jews that Paul was writing to understood what Isaiah said and why it was relevant in their day.

After all, does not their own Talmud talk about voices that go around the world? We read where there was a controversy among the Rabbis concerning the writings of the early Rabbinic sages. There was a legend about Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, who was a priest of Midian.¹⁰ The story was that he heard some breaking news. So the question is asked: “What news did he hear that he came and became a convert [of Yahweh]?” A Rabbi named Joshua believes that Jethro was told about the battle with the Amalekites since this story of Jethro is told right after Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.¹¹

But another Rabbi named Eleazar of Modim said that Jethro heard about the giving of the Torah and was converted. For when the Torah was given to Israel the news traveled from one end of the earth to the other. This caused all the heathen kings to tremble in their palaces. That prompted then to reverence God so that: “While in His temple, all cry, ‘Glory,’”¹² was fulfilled.¹³ So it was Rabbi Eleazar who believed that it was upon hearing the Word of God that Jethro was converted. Therefore, this idea of faith coming by hearing was not new to the Jews.

But there is another aspect to consider what Paul is referring to here by using Isaiah’s words. On the Day of Pentecost when the disciples and followers of Christ were gathered in the Upper Room for prayer and meditation, they were unnoticed by those passing by down on the street below until Luke tells us: “Suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting… Many devout Jews were in Jerusalem that day for the religious celebrations, having arrived from many nations. And when they heard the roaring in the sky above the house, crowds came running to see what it was all about, and were stunned to hear their own languages being spoken by the disciples… Parthians, Medes, Elamites, men from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia Minor, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the Cyrene language areas of Libya, visitors from Rome—both Jews and Jewish converts— Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these men telling in our own languages about the mighty miracles of God!”¹⁴

The Holy Spirit used Peter that day to preach a sermon on a subject many of these visitors had never heard before, about a man named Jesus of Nazareth, His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He used the words of David to convince them that what he was saying was not about him, but about the Messiah. And now this same Jesus is sitting on a throne in heaven next to God the Father. Peter’s sermon moved those who listen very deeply, so they asked what should they do to be saved. Peter told them: “Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you will also receive this gift, the Holy Spirit.”¹⁵ Then Luke tells us: “Those who believed Peter were baptized – about three thousand in all! They joined with the other believers in regular attendance at the Apostles’ teaching sessions and at the Communion services and prayer meetings.”¹⁶ So we can see, that the Word of God and only the Word of God has the power to save.

Dr. Paul Tillich, a German-born theologian and philosopher, whose controversial discussions of God and faith in an attempt to connect traditional Christianity with modern culture once wrote: “The first duty of love is to listen.”¹ Sometimes we forget that the best way of showing our love for someone is simply to listen to what they have to say about how they feel before we start talking.

One of the most effective ways to show strength as a mature person is to practice two types of listening: active listening and authentic listening. Active listening involves getting involved in the conversation. Instead of gazing off into the distance while they are talking, or drumming your fingers on the desk or even began to do something else while you listen, look into their face and encourage them to share openly and honestly. You can do this by saying to them, “Tell me more,” or “That’s very interesting,” or even, “It sounds like you had a lot to deal with.”

Authentic listening involves active listening plus giving them feedback on what you think you hear them saying, and keep confirming with them that you understood them correctly. Don’t do it in a way that they feel you are questioning their honesty, but as a way to test your own interest in what they’re telling you. You can do this by asking, “Let me see if I understood you correctly. This is what I heard you say. Then repeat not just the words spoken but what you detected was the point they were trying to make.

Research has shown how listening can transform both professional and personal relationships. Set the goal of fully understanding the thoughts and feelings people are trying to express in all your conversation. Pose questions and communicate insights to draw people out, to open them up, and to clarify what is said. Encourage people to say what is behind their thoughts. Resist the urge to express your viewpoint, or give an answer, which shuts people down.

Not only will this help you to understand the value and contribution others can offer, but it will also create a new openness – a platform for genuine interaction – that allow you and everyone else to gain a greater respect for each other. I always told those who came to me for counseling that I did not provide answers wrapped in a beautiful box with a bow on top. My goal would be to let them know what I was hearing them say, and compare that to what they really meant to say.

King Solomon suggested that it is better to be a listener than a talker. He advised that even when a person who does not know a lot is willing to listen, they are considered to be smart; when they are silently engaged in the conversation, they are thought of as intelligent.² That way you can learn what is going on instead telling someone what is going on. Mark Twain made this very famous statement: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” Twain was not suggesting we just shut up and listen, but to help us prevent saying things before we’ve really thought them through.

The Apostle James echoed these words when giving some wise advice for his readers when he told them: “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”³ In other words, let the other person know that you are interested in what they have to say. Don’t keep interrupting them with your unsolicited advice. And don’t get emotionally involved by trying to straighten them out. After all, that’s what God does when we talk Him about our problems or how we feel about something He did or did not do for us. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

GOD KNEW HER BEFORE SHE WAS BORN

I happen to see a video on YouTube about a CNN report showcasing the story of a very gifted 12-year-old artist named Akiane Kramarik. There have been several young gifted artists in the past, but Akiane’s story is so fascinating.

What makes Akiane so unique is not how well she paints, but the subject of her work and her inspiration. When she was 4 she had many visions of meeting God. He told her that she needs to paint and help the less fortunate. At that age, when she had a vision she didn’t even know what the word “vision” really meant. She reported seeing millions of colors in her beautiful pictures of heaven that our eyes haven’t even seen yet on earth.

What makes her story even more bizarre is when you discover that her mother was an Atheist and her father is a recovering Catholic. Religion was never discussed in the house and the children are all homeschooled. Even her little brother is a talented, budding artist. Akiane was born in Mount Morris, Illinois. She is primarily a self-taught painter, but she states that she is taught by God. She started drawing at age four, painting at six, and writing poetry at seven. Her first completed self-portrait sold for $10,000.00. A large portion of the money generated from sales is donated by Akiane to charities. Her art, which depicts life, landscape, and people, is inspired by her visions of heaven, and her personal connection with God.

For more on her story you must these videos on Akiane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tstVt-oyo1o

https://art-soulworks.com/blogs/posts/98897542-akiane-now-20-moves-to-the-gold-coast-fulfilling-the-kramarik-family-s-life-long-dream

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XXV)

Paul was so happy at the Thessalonians’ response to his teaching. When he wrote them he said: “We will never stop thanking God for this: that when we preached to you, you didn’t think of the words we spoke as being just our own, but you accepted what we said as the very Word of God – which, of course, it was – and it changed your lives when you believed it.”¹

The pastor of one of America’s largest churches always begins his homily every Sunday by announcing his text but then does not read it to the congregation or those listening on the radio, watching on TV or streaming live on the internet. It is a big step to assume that the millions of viewers and listeners know exactly where to turn to find the text. Instead, he begins by saying, “I want to talk to you today…”

I gladly admit, I adopted my father’s approach of reading the text at the very beginning of my sermons. Then after reading it, I would often ask: Do you know who the writer was who said this? Why do you think the writer said this particular thing to those he was writing to? What point was he trying to get across; what question was he trying to answer; what problem was he trying to discuss? I wanted my listeners to know that everything I said after that was based solely on the Word of God.

Later on, Paul clearly gives God’s Spirit the credit for the effect his message had on those who heard him. He wrote the Thessalonians: “We must forever give thanks to God for you, our brothers loved by the Lord because God chose from the very first to give you salvation, cleansing you by the work of the Holy Spirit and by your trusting in the Truth. Through us, He told you the Good News. Through us He called you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”² Even the Apostle James talks about the wonderful message of salvation and how it is able to save souls after it is implanted in the heart.³ And Peter speaks of it as the pure milk of the Word.⁴

Jesus knew that there were many in the crowds that heard Him who wanted to know more and desired to become part of God’s kingdom. So He told them: “If you have ears, listen! And be sure to put into practice what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand what I’m telling you.”⁵ And on one occasion when Jesus was speaking to a crowd and performing miracles, a woman in the crowd called out loudly, “God bless the mother who gave You birth and nursed You.”⁶ Here was an opportunity for Jesus to give His mother a compliment and add to this woman’s request for God’s blessing on her. Instead, Jesus said: “Far more blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”⁷ In other words, even though Mary was a blessed woman for being chosen by God as the vessel through whom Jesus came into this world in human form, yet Jesus is saying that those who allow Him to live in their hearts are even more blessed.

That’s why Paul felt so strongly that whenever and wherever those who are called share the Word of God in a public setting, they should make sure it’s His word and not their word that is emphasized. He told the Corinthians: “Who is adequate for such a task as this? Only those who, like ourselves, are men of integrity, sent by God, speaking with Christ’s power, with God’s eye upon us. We are not like those hucksters—and there are many of them—whose idea of getting out the Gospel is to make a good living out of it.”⁸ But the writer of Hebrews knew that the Word of God was not a tool that was always meant to make people feel good or happy. He told his readers: “See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword — it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. ”⁹

A medieval scholar, who was born into a wealthy Arab-Christian family and founder of a school on Biblical exegesis, is struck by what Paul says about how there are two kinds of faith for believers to utilize. First, there is the faith that comes from hearing what the sacred Scriptures have to say. What the Scriptures contain is the teaching inspired by the Holy Spirit. This faith can grow and get stronger and stronger when evidence is shown that it works. Such faith is unshakable, fully committed, and loyal through obedience to what the Word has to say through the “catholic” church.¹⁰ He goes on to say that anyone who rejects this is in danger of being in agreement with the devil and is without faith.¹¹ The writer then goes on to mention there is another kind of faith which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things that are not yet seen.¹² He makes it clear that just hearing is not enough, it must be made certain that what they are listening to is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther puts these verses in context by pointing back to verse 13 where it says that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So, then, if the Jews now refuse to obey the Gospel, how can they claim that they have called on the name of the Lord according to the word of the prophet Joel? How could they claim to call on the Lord when the One who came with His Father’s authority they refused to believe in? As the Apostle John said so succinctly: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”¹³ So Paul was right in using the words of Isaiah to prove that they had not believed the message of salvation as the Word of God through Christ.

Luther then points to verse 14 where it talks about not being able to believe in One whom they have heard nothing about, while in fact they were hearing about Him but were not listening. Also, the excuse that they are not liable because there has been no preacher to come and tell them the truth is also untrue because the Apostles were going everywhere the Spirit led them to preach the Gospel. That’s why in verse 15 those who go are told how beautiful are the feet of those who carry the Word of God to the world. As Luther sees it, Paul is emphasizing the fact that he is speaking of a message which cannot be comprehended by just anyone. It can be only be understood when it is listened to by faith, not logic.

The odd thing is that the Jews accosted Jesus because He could not show them any evidence that He had been sent by a well-known synagogue or renown Rabban.¹⁴ Listen to what the great Moses Maimonides said about the Messiah: “In the future, the Messianic king will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty. Anyone who does not believe in Him or does not await His coming denies not only the statements of the other prophets but those of the Torah and Moses, our teacher. The Torah testified of His coming.¹⁵”¹⁶ Maimonides lived between 1138-1204 AD, so he wrote this over a thousand years after Jesus came the first time. But if they did not believe Him then, will they believe Him in the future when He comes again to set up His kingdom? This was the test of a true Messiah. But when Jesus did perform miracles, they still didn’t believe because they didn’t want to believe. So they credited His miracle powers to Satan.¹⁷

For John Calvin, Paul introduces the exception claimed by some that they were excused because they hadn’t yet heard. They did so in order to prove that just by hearing does not automatically mean faith will follow. Later, however, Paul does point out the reason for this is because Isaiah made it clear that it would take divine intervention.¹⁸ It was another way of saying that there is no benefit from the Word being preached unless God uses it to shine His light through the Holy Spirit into people’s hearts so that they can see sin lurking there. So how ridiculous it is for some to claim that everyone in the world, even if they don’t know it yet, are already saved because the doctrine of salvation is universal. So all God is doing is inviting them to came and partake of their salvation. This in no way proves that salvation is common to all. Rather, that the salvation being offered is common to everyone who receives it as a gift.

In other words, Calvin is saying that just hearing the Gospel is not enough to bring sufficient faith so that salvation may be received. It takes the opening of the mind by the Holy Spirit for the seed of faith to be planted. In this way, it is easy to discern between those who are called and those who are chosen. That’s why not all who are called get chosen. Something happens in between the calling and the choosing. The calling opens a person up to hearing the message of salvation. And as the mind is illuminated through listening, those who reach out in faith and in Jesus’ name to receive their calling will be the ones chosen.

That is why both Jews and Gentiles are given the same opportunity to participate in the eternal inheritance promised to those who believe and obey. Therefore, no one can claim that their salvation came because they were bright or intelligent enough to recognize the call to salvation and made up their own minds to accept the invitation. It would be like a deaf person saying how much they loved the wonderful melody of a Beethoven Symphony because they saw the musical score and recognized that it was a piece of classical music.

Calvin then goes on to say that the efficacy of preaching is the fact that it has the potential to produce faith. But preaching in itself is of no avail unless the Lord uses it as an instrument of His power to save. The voice of man can enter the ear but cannot penetrate the soul without the power of the Holy Spirit. Let no person think that they have the oratory skills to regenerate a sinner’s heart on their own. The flame of the Spirit is stronger and shines deeper than the candlelight of man’s intelligence. Its truth is more subliminal than what can be conveyed by man’s loftiest words. That God can communicate effectually through the voice of a human is a tribute to His genius, not that of any person.

As a child growing up in a Pentecostal preacher’s home and attending numerous revivals and camp meetings, I was always struck with curiosity when I heard adults say after a meeting: “That preacher was certainly under the anointing.” I found out later they were pointing out how many sermons only enter the mind through the ear, but anointed sermons enter through the mind through the heart. They are profound, captivating, motivating, inspiring, and causes the heart to open wide in a desire to hear more of what they just listened to.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XXIV)

Jewish commentator David Stern interprets what Paul says in these verses from a Jew’s perspective. Paul follows a tactic used by Rabbis throughout the writing of the Talmud. They introduce an imaginary opponent who states their objections. By answering this mystical opponent, they are able to explain their case. In Paul’s example, this imagined opponent can be accepted as an unconverted Jew defending Israel and looking for flaws in Paul’s argument.¹ The opponent appears five times: First in verse 13, by implication here in verses 14–15, and explicitly in verses 18-19; and later in 11:1–2 and 11:11. Stern also sees that Paul quotes some twelve times from the First Covenant in this chapter to prove his point. So it is clear that he is directing his message to the Jewish contingent of the Church in Rome.²

This mystical opponent’s objection was that calling on the name of ADONAI should not be applied to Jews in the way Paul has done. Their point is, it isn’t our fault if we don’t call on the name of ADONAI through Yeshua; no one was ever sent to proclaim Him to us. The opponent then goes on to defend their point by using four arguments: How can they call if they haven’t believed; how can they believe if they have not heard; how can they hear if no one has told them; and how can anyone tell them if they are not sent. Even the opponent agrees that the sender must be God.

What this all adds up to is that the opponent ends up blaming God. Why didn’t God send someone to tell the Good News to the Jews? Certainly, they would have welcomed this messenger from the Almighty. In fact, they would have been thrilled to hear the sound of his feet. After all, isn’t that what Isaiah said? Stern says that a similar objection is heard today when it is claimed that the Jewish Bible (the First Covenant) does not contain Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Yeshua. In fact, the Jews have found all the prophecies accepted by Christians as relevant to the coming of Jesus of Nazareth are actually related to other historical figures in Judaism. So how can anyone blame modern Jews for not becoming believers that Jesus was the Messiah? Again, some blame God because He didn’t send anyone at the appropriate time. Such doubters need to read the Gospels in the Last Covenant.³

Verses 16-17: But not all the people accepted that good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?”⁴ So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

What Paul says here in verse 17 can be somewhat unclear. Did he mean, “Hearing of the Word results in faith?” Or could it possibly be defined as “The Word brings the power to hear and through hearing, faith is born?” It would seem that the first pertains to physical hearing; the sensing of audible sound. The latter would apply to spiritual hearing; sensing of inaudible thoughts. Is it possible to hear the voice of God with the soul’s ear while the physical organ hears nothing? Yes, when it is communicated properly. But it is possible to hear the Word with the perishable ear while the imperishable one remains deaf. Unbelief and disbelief deafen the spiritual ear. No wonder Christ admonished, “He who has ears, let him hear.”⁵ Not physical reception of sound, but spiritual assimilation of life-giving words. Read it again! Oh, that people would stop listening just with their ears and start hearing with their hearts!

 What Paul says here in verse 17 can be somewhat unclear. Did he mean, “Hearing of the Word results in faith?” Or could it possibly be defined as “The Word brings the power to hear and through hearing, faith is born?” It would seem that the first pertains to physical hearing; the sensing of audible sound. The latter would apply to spiritual hearing; sensing of inaudible thoughts. Is it possible to hear the voice of God with the soul’s ear while the physical organ hears nothing? Yes, when it is communicated properly. But it is possible to hear the Word with the perishable ear while the imperishable one remains deaf. Unbelief and disbelief deafen the spiritual ear. No wonder Christ admonished, “He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus encountered such individuals when He visited the Temple during the Feast of the Dedication in the winter. As He walked along the Portico of Solomon, He was confronted by many Jews who wanted to know, are you the real Messiah or not? Jesus pointed at them and said: You’ve heard what I’ve told you and you’ve seen the works that I’ve done in my Father’s name to prove that I am. But here’s your problem: “You don’t believe Me because you are not part of My flock. My sheep recognize My voice, and I know who they are, and so they follow Me.”⁶ In other words, unless the Spirit of God awakens the heart and mind to hear communication on a spiritual level, it is impossible for anyone to understand the Gospel enough to see the truth and become a follower of Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews also points out that Moses had the same difficulty. He writes: “For this wonderful news – the message that God wants to save us – has been given to us just as it was to those who lived in the time of Moses. But it didn’t do them any good because they didn’t believe it. They didn’t combine what they heard with faith.”⁷ That’s why, while a minister or teacher of the Gospel may feel let down because there is no response from some in the audience to their message, they should not conclude that they have failed. But at the same time, don’t give up. In God’s time, they will hear what the Lord is trying to tell them.

Paul experienced a similar situation long after he wrote this letter when he was transferred to Rome by the military where he was put under house arrest. That’s when he called together the local Jewish leaders to explain why he had been arrested for the Gospel that he preached. They told him that in Rome the Christians had a bad reputation. So Paul opened the Torah and writings of the Prophets and began to teach them about Jesus. His lecture lasted from morning until late into the evening. When it was over, Luke tells us: “Some believed and some didn’t.”⁸ An argument broke out between those Jews who did believe and those who didn’t. As they left, Paul called out to them: “The Holy Spirit was right when he said through Isaiah the prophet, ‘Say to the Jews, “You will hear and see but not understand, for your hearts are too fat and your ears don’t listen and you have closed your eyes against understanding, for you don’t want to see and hear and understand and turn to me to heal you.”’⁹”¹⁰

So it wasn’t so much that they didn’t hear, but that they didn’t listen. Anyone who has raised children can testify to the fact that often when they told their child to do something, or stop doing something, or go somewhere, they got no response. So they would call out loudly, “Didn’t you hear me?” Of course, they heard, but they didn’t listen. Listening gives the hearer the opportunity to obey. The writer of Hebrews said that after Jesus did everything needed to prove Himself by learning obedience through His suffering, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.¹¹ Not just those who hear the Word, but those who obey by listening. Abraham heard God speaking to him, but he did more than listen, he obeyed, even though it took him places he had never been before.¹²

The prophet Isaiah knew the frustration of trying to get people to listen to what God gave him to say. Even after saying this: “See, my Servant will be successful; He shall be highly praised. Yet many will be amazed when they see Him—yes, even far-off foreign nations and their kings; they shall stand dumbfounded, speechless in His presence. For they shall see and understand what they had not been told before. They shall see my Servant beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know it was a person standing there. That’s how He will cleanse many nations,” He ended up by lamenting, “But who will believe my message? To whom will God reveal His saving power?”¹³ Isaiah knew they heard him, but they weren’t listening. This is also how John saw it after the Jews had seen all the miracles Jesus performed, they still didn’t believe He was the Messiah. That’s why John said: “This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet predicted.”¹⁴

So Paul concludes that faith can only come by listening. But listening to what? This is where every Christian preacher and teacher must take note, because Paul clearly says that faith blossomed because they were listening to the “Word of God.” Does that mean only the reading of the Bible? No! But it does mean that what is being said must be in complete harmony with what God said in His Word. However, listening is still not enough, it must be followed by a response.

In Jesus’ story about the rich man who found himself in Hades and saw Abraham with Lazarus in his arms on the other side of the huge gap that divided them, he pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus back to tell his five brothers not to make the same mistake he did. But Abraham responded: “The Scriptures have warned them again and again. Your brothers can read them any time they want to. The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t bother to read them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’ But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’”¹⁵ Of course, Jesus told this parable as an omen of what many unbelieving Jews would do, even after He was raised from the dead by His heavenly Father.

So when people began to question why Paul was only sent to evangelize and not to baptize and pastor those who believed, Paul said: “Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; and even my preaching sounds poor, for I do not fill my sermons with profound words and high-sounding ideas, for fear of diluting the mighty power there is in the simple message of the cross of Christ. I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost, when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved recognize this message as the very power of God.”¹⁶

Not everyone needs to emulate Paul and say they have no interest in pastoring. That was particular to his calling, every calling is unique. Nor should anyone take this to mean that their sermons should sound so simple that even 4-year-old’s can understand. Paul was making reference here to the how Greek orators used to try and astound their listeners with complicated arguments. But it is important that we keep the message at such a level that we do not purposely add to the Word that God gives us something that makes it sound more complicated than it needs to be. This only brings honor to the speaking, not the One who sent them.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XXIII)

Scottish Bible scholar Robert Haldane believes that in the sequence of how the Gospel is to reach the ears of mankind so they can hear God’s offer of salvation, God had no intention of simply speaking directly from heaven or sending His angels to do the job. First He sent His Son Jesus to deliver the message to a few, and then through His great commission, Jesus made it clear that His followers were going to carry out that mission. Haldane notes that Paul isn’t saying that God cannot speak to us from the pages of the Scriptures, but that whatever the words in the Bible may be saying to us we still need to hear a living voice communicate that to our minds, and with the help of the Holy Spirit it is made clear for understanding. In Haldane’s opinion, people are not only saved through Christ, but they are saved through the knowledge of Christ communicated by way of the Gospel.¹

Bible scholar Albert Barnes sees what Paul is saying here as being a response to any possible objection on the part of those who heard him say that in order for someone to believe in Jesus as Savior they must call on His name. Also, their confession must include their faith in His death on the cross and resurrection in order to be justified. So what happens to those who haven’t heard the Gospel? Shouldn’t someone be responsible for sending a messenger of the Gospel to them?

It appears that this objection was coming from the premise upon which Paul said: If the world is to be saved, it cannot happen without certain factors being involved. First, how could they call on someone for salvation of who they had heard nothing? How could they be aware of His existence, ability, and willingness to help if they weren’t informed? Most Bible scholars believe that Paul was anticipating such a question involving these particulars and decided to answer ahead of time.² Paul uses Isaiah to answer the objection by saying: You have every right to ask, and I’m happy to tell you how beautiful are the feet of those who go and preach the Good News.³

Charles Spurgeon took what Paul says here to make it applicable to his generation of believers. The first thing he wants them to think about is this: “If the Word of the Lord does not get to someone either by a living voice or by the written word, how are they to believe in Christ as their Savior? So all that is being asked is: If the plan of salvation has some built-in factor that will make this happen, what are they? So their next conclusion must be that someone ought to be found to go and spread the Good News. They must share the Gospel in such a powerful way that people will want to listen to more. Then, those who are listening will be convinced by the Holy Spirit that it is true and will accept it and believe in it. Once this happens they will then be emboldened by the Spirit to call on the name of the Lord and ask Him for salvation.

So Spurgeon concludes that his audience will see what he calls the mechanism of salvation and the great engine that drives it, which is the Gospel. And when they see this force in action they will note that it is God who sends the preacher; it is God who blesses the Word; it is God who sends faith into the heart of those who hear; it is God who accepts their prayer for forgiveness and salvation. When seen this way, then the humblest of preachers of the gospel can stand as a symbol that God is present, They are speaking to those who come to hear them, and God will see to it that what the preachers say will happen. So happy are the messengers. May the messengers’ hearts rejoice, even when sometimes their soul may be heavy because they know they are doing the work of their Master, for their Master’s sake, and by their Master’s authority.

Still, in spite of the God’s efforts and the messengers’ efforts, for Spurgeon, the heart of it all must be real faith if the call for salvation has any meaning. There can never be such a thing as believing in what one has never heard. It must also be the kind of hearing that changes a person’s perspective. The words Jesus spoke were often doubted until His miracles convinced even the hardest skeptic that this Son of man was for real. No wonder Paul spoke of the power of the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit uses it like a spark that can set fire to a person’s heart. Then when they sincerely call on the name of the Lord, the heat of redemption arrives covered by the blood of the Lamb. So what is the difference between any two preachers carrying the same message? Paul says it is very simple, the one who is sent by the One who is calling will make the Word active. So when it enters the heart and mind it will wake up the spirit of mankind that has been in a coma since the Garden of Eden. Then it will come to life and a new creature will be born in Christ by the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit.⁴

Frédéric Godet sees something here that suggests Paul is making a defense of his ministry. Why was he going into all these territories and preaching first to the Jews in their synagogues, and then to the Gentiles in open spaces? Why not let the Christian faith spread like the faith of Abraham among the Israelites in which each set of parents taught their children, who then taught their children, and so on? Paul is making the case that there is not enough time for that because the Lord may be coming back soon. Also, since this message was to also be spread by the Gentiles, there was no way for them to spread a religion they know nothing about. So someone has to go, someone has to preach, someone has to inspire faith in the message of salvation so that those who hear can call on the Lord and be saved.

Furthermore, even though the Jews were first to hear, they had no such evangelistic efforts to reach the heathen masses. Yes, there were even some Jews, who took offence at the universal character of Paul’s Apostleship that included the Gentiles. So we can see Paul’s ministry doing exactly what he said those messengers would do who were sent out to announce the Good News. And he was not just any messenger, but one who was sent by the Lord Himself. This gave Paul strength, courage, and resolve to do the work for which he had been anointed. And this should translate into the same reason why any minister of the Gospel goes out today to spread the Good News of salvation.⁵

F. F. Bruce sees another facet of Paul’s ministry. He is called an Apostle. The word itself means to be sent. As such, he is a herald, an ambassador conveying a message from someone royal leader who has commissioned him to deliver it. In doing so, Paul magnifies the office of the Gospel preacher. They are more than just conveyors of a kingly message, they also have been given the authority to proclaim His amnesty to those who believe the message. Anyone who accepts the invitation to call on the Lord to be saved can be welcomed by the preacher into the Kingdom of God.

For those persons who bring such a joyful message Paul uses the words of the prophet Isaiah, who spoke centuries before: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation.”⁶ Even though what Isaiah said referred to the messenger who announced to the desolate city of Zion, “Your God reigns!” it can now be applied to carriers of the Gospel around the world to go and tell those living in darkness and chaos, “Our God reigns!”⁷

So the question now is, how does this apply to the problem of Jewish unbelief? After all, the Gentiles were hearing the same message that the Jews first heard from Yeshua Himself. But, for the most part, the Jewish establishment paid little attention to it. Was this a surprise, or was it something that had been foreseen? The prophet Isaiah may give us a clue where he asks: “Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed His powerful arm?”⁸

These words become relevant to the Gospel when they are examined in the context of what has been called “The Song of the Suffering Servant.”⁹ In the Last Covenant, the presentation of the passion and triumph of Jesus seems anchored in this passage. But when the disappointed messenger asks, “Who has believed our message?” there should be little doubt that it was meant as a question for the Jews who first heard Jesus. Not only that but in Paul’s case, just as it was for Jesus, the message he brought rested on the direct command and commission of Christ, which is the powerful arm of the Lord reaching out to save.¹⁰

Bruce agrees with Barnes on the possible source for the question on how can they believe something they’ve never heard. The proposition is that someone expressed doubt about Paul’s claim that the Gospel had reached all of Israel so some must have been left out. As far as Paul was concerned, considering the world community as it was constituted then, he had taken this message to every place where there was a Jewish synagogue. Not only that, he was not welcomed by many of them so he was forced to turn to the Gentiles.

So the next question proposes that even if this message had reached into all the Jewish communities in the known world at that time, could Paul be sure that everyone had understood. That was easy for Paul to answer. They understood well enough that they found it hard to accept and so they refused to obey. What made things so odd, was that while the Jews were turning Paul away from their synagogues they showed great hostility that he then went to the Gentiles with the message they had just rejected. Everyone knows that when a person discovers the truth about something that proves them wrong, they are not too happy when that is spread around. But this too had already been predicted. The song that Moses wrote contains a sustained indictment of Israel’s ingratitude and disobedience throughout her history.¹¹ So what was the next question? There was none. Especially since their own Bible testified against them.¹²

John Stott sees a grammatical factor in helping the reader to understand Paul’s narrative here. He says that it begins by putting the six verbs Paul uses in reverse order: Christ sends heralds; heralds preach; people hear; hearers believe; believers call; and those who call are saved. Not only that but when these stages are stated negatively and each is seen as necessary for the other to succeed, that makes it even more powerful. In other words, if Christ did not send, if heralds did not preach, if people did not hear, if hearers did not believe, if believers did not call, then no one would be saved. We must also keep in mind that Paul began this chapter by sharing his yearning that his fellow Israelites will be saved. So we must believe he had them in mind when developing this evangelistic strategy.¹³

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XXII)

The Apostle Paul was very much aware that when God chooses a vessel, He endows and anoints that vessel for special purposes. Here’s what Paul told the Ephesians: “Some of us have been given special ability as Apostles; to others he has given the gift of being able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ, helping them to trust him as their Savior; still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and teaching them in the ways of God.”¹

That’s why when we recognize a gift and ability in a fellow believer, we should encourage them to give more time and effort to God and the Spirit so they can become even better at what He called them to do. That’s why Paul goes on to say: “Why is it that He gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for Him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity; until finally, we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord – yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ.”²

To add a blessing to what he just said, Paul calls on the words in Isaiah that tell how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring the good news announcing that salvation is available from God the King. But it’s what is said in Isaiah before this that puts it into full context: “I will reveal My name to My people, and they will know the power in that name. Then, at last, they will recognize that it is I, yes, it is I speaking to them.”³

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve finished a sermon and while shaking hands at the door have had someone tell me how happy they were because of what I said. But when they repeated what they heard, I realized that it wasn’t me they were listening to because I couldn’t remember saying what they quoted. It was the Holy Spirit speaking directly to them through the message God used me to preach.

One of the reasons why Paul chose this quote from Isaiah may have been because it was a message of peace. Not the kind of peace that ends hostilities, disputes, anger, thoughts of revenge, etc. They are meant only to keep warring parties apart so they don’t hurt one another. But the peace the Gospel brings is the inner peace that comes from knowing we are now friends with God. He is our heavenly Father who watches over us, and all is well with our soul when it comes to who we belong to and where we are going when life’s journey is over.

This won’t always be an easy task. That’s why Paul told the Ephesians: “Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. In every battle, you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.”⁴ No one ever received such armor unless they were trained and ready to go out on the battlefield.

The reason for such training and preparation is because the message we bring should shake things up and is intended to make a difference in people’s lives. That’s why God told Isaiah to be ready. He said to him: “O crier of good news, shout to Jerusalem from the mountaintops! Shout louder – don’t be afraid – tell the cities of Judah, “Your God is coming!” Yes, the Lord God is coming with mighty power; He will rule with awesome strength. See, His reward is with Him, to each as He has done. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will carry the lambs in His arms and gently lead the ewes with young.”⁵

Perhaps that is why when our Lord announced His anointing and mission He chose Isaiah as His text to confirm His calling. From Isaiah, He read: “The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me because Adonai has anointed me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in the dark; to proclaim the year of the favor of Adonai.”⁶

The early church Bishop of Laodicea wonders about those who have heard because someone was sent to bring them the word but still they don’t believe. For instance, many well-educated Jews instead of seeing universal grace for all mankind as good it only hardened their hearts. With closed hearts and minds it made them unable to receive the Good News. As a result, the mission and the message of universal salvation was diverted to the Gentiles. With their hearing the Gospel, the Gentiles were gifted with faith and received their calling. It’s similar to the sunshine that falls on everything in its path, but some receive the light and some hide from it. The same goes for the preaching of the Gospel. For some, it is the voice of God calling them to repentance, but for others, it just sounds like thunder. So no matter how good the messenger is who brings the Good News to them, it has little effect.⁷

Early church leader Origen sees the need for examining the words of Paul slowly and precisely. This will help eliminate misunderstanding and misinterpretation. He takes it in reverse, supposing that some may come away reading this verse to mean that nobody was able to preach because nobody is sent. So it would then appear that if no one is sent to tell them and they end up not hearing the Good News and being saved, it is the fault of the senders. But it is better for us to understand this as follows. It is as if the Apostle Paul was saying that the heralds and preachers of Christ would not be able to preach, nor would they have any power to proclaim the Good News, if He who sent them was not also present with them.⁸ In other words, you can have all the training and talent to compose and preach a sermon to those who’ve never heard the Gospel before, but there is little chance it will change their lives unless what you say is under the anointing of the One who is the subject of the Gospel.

Martin Luther gladly endorses this fourfold formula for propagating the Gospel so that even those who have never heard of Jesus can be saved. But the driving force behind any effort at evangelism must be the understanding that it is impossible for anyone to call on the name of the Lord for salvation unless they hear the Gospel. So like Origen said, the entire source and origin of salvation rests on the fact that it is God who must send out true ministers of the Word. Not only that, but Luther makes it clear that anyone who claims to preach the Gospel but has not been sent by God, what they preach is false and cannot even be called preaching. In fact, says Luther, it would be better if those who hear such a false preaching had not heard at all because what they are hearing is full of errors.

This, in turn, causes them to believe a false doctrine which is worse than not believing at all. Furthermore, when those who hear these false preachers spewing out false doctrines would be in error trying to call on the Lord because they would be crying out to a false lord. Luther ties this to what God told Solomon: “They will call Me, but I won’t answer; they will seek Me earnestly, but they won’t find Me. Because they hated knowledge and choose not to show reverence and respect for Adonai.⁹”¹⁰

Fellow Reformer John Calvin sees the importance of knowing that Paul is advancing an idea that can be put this way: If either Jews or Gentiles call on the name of the Lord they show by doing so that they believe in Him and will be saved. But how can this be possible? Just calling out His name is not enough unless you have proper knowledge of who you are calling. And in order to get to know Him, they must first hear the Word of God so it can be explained to them. Hearing of the word produces faith and faith is required to believe.

Furthermore, if they never hear the Gospel then faith is impossible. Not only that, but the preaching of the Word cannot be possible unless someone is sent. But that’s still not all, unless the one who goes is sent by God their preaching will have no effect. That means preachers must first be called before they are sent. So how do we know they have been called and sent? It will be proven in the effectiveness of the Word which will produce the faith needed to believe so that those who then call on the Lord will be saved. So Paul does two things here. He establishes the basis for the effective preaching of the Gospel and that the salvation it brings is universal – for both Jews and Gentiles.¹¹

John Bengel sees these as descending steps from the ultimate to the basic, with each one depending on the other for the goal to be achieved. It comes back to a simple principle: He who tells you what you need will also tell you how to get it. In other words, if it is God’s will that people call upon Him for their salvation, then He will make a way for that to happen. If He wills that they become believers, He will make sure they get what they need in order to believe. And if He wills that they be told the truth so they can believe, He will send someone to tell them the truth. So when we look at what God has willed, we see that He has done all that is required.¹²

Bengel also sees Paul saying all of this in a future tense because the Gospel was just beginning to be spread to places outside of Israel. Other scholars, however, feel that Paul is already speaking of God’s will for the world to hear, from the time of Abraham. Therefore, he is one of those preachers that God has sent. But, Bengel says, it can be as being meant for just that day or also for a future day.

Adam Clarke also sees the importance of understanding the steps involved in reaching the lost for Christ. But once these steps are followed, and someone does go because they are sent on a divine mission, and those who are sent do preach the Gospel as revealed through Christ, those who end up believing must then call on the name of the Lord to be saved. Why is this so important? Because it is more than their just calling out God’s name, it is also believing that when they call in faith based on that belief then they can expect salvation to come. Professing to believe in Christ, without earnest, pleading in prayer for salvation, can save no one.¹³ In other words, simply reciting a sinner’s prayer without faith is like plugging a lamp into a socket without any electricity being there to light it up.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER TEN (Lesson XXI)

British Bible scholar John Stott feels that after what Paul says here, we should ask the question: “What is critical for having salvation?” The first thing it requires is a Savior. That’s why Jesus came to earth as a man, suffered, and was crucified so that He could rise from the grave and be accessible as a Savior to all who believe. Another thing is Good News that there is such a Savior in whom we can have faith to save us and that it is made known to the whole world. Then when people hear the Good News, they can put their faith and trust in what it says and call on the name of the Lord for salvation. Once this happens, they should let the trust they have in their hearts for this Savior to be made known by confessing with their mouth that He is Lord.¹

Douglas Moo detects an important factor when taking a balanced view of the First Covenant and the Last Covenant in declaring the Gospel of Christ. This was needed because the church in Rome was lacking any direction on this matter. Jewish Christians in the congregation were apparently insisting on adding Jewish customs and celebrations to their Christian faith. Gentile Christians saw no need to burden themselves with these requirements and criticized the Jews for having too little faith. Also, Israelite Christians thought that by being Jewish and observing the Law given to Moses put them in a preferred position in the Kingdom of God. Gentile Christians, saw it differently. Since they threw away their idol and were in the majority, then they should be the ones in leadership. That’s why over the course of the letter Paul develops a balanced view between the old way and the new way of being right with God so that His blessings could flow and make the church even stronger.²

Verses 14-15: But how can they call on Him if they have not put their trust in Him? And how can they put their trust in Him if they have not heard of Him? And how can they hear of Him unless someone tells them? And how can someone tell them if they are not sent? The Holy Writings say, “The feet of those who bring the Good News are beautiful.”³

Here Paul asks four very important questions concerning the salvation of the Gentiles. He knew that for them salvation under the Law was impossible. He also knew they could not receive salvation through Abraham’s heritage of which they were not part. After all, does a father give his riches to strangers, foreigners, and enemies while leaving his own children destitute? The answer to Paul’s questions are simple, powerful and true, it must come through Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of all mankind. So from Paul’s perspective, it was incumbent upon those who received the good news to pass it on. Otherwise, many will be left out in the cold.

What Paul says now gives us a very logical sequence in the propagation of God’s Word. Each one can be reduced to the primary cause: that is, “call,” “believed,” “heard,” “preacher,” and “sent.”⁴ But let’s reverse the order of this formula, as Paul outlines it in these two verses, and make it a commission: Someone must be sent out with the Gospel message; that preacher must tell them all about the good news of salvation; they must hear and respond to what the preacher says so they can believe in the Savior they are being told about; and then by believing in that Savior they can call on Him to save them.

This desire to get the word out to all the world about the LORD God Almighty was already a desire in the heart of Solomon. In his dedicatory prayer for the new Temple, Solomon prayed: “The foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra’el – when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as do your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.”⁵ The difference between Solomon’s passion and that of the Apostle Paul, is that Paul knew that not everyone around the world would be able to come to the Temple in Jerusalem, so he said that we must go to them. This clearly echoes what Jesus told His disciples before His ascension about going into all the world and preach the Gospel.⁶

However, when First Covenant evangelist Jonah was sent out to take the word of God to Nineveh, initially he tried to get away from going. We all know the story of the storm and the big fish. But we may have missed what happened on the boat when he reveals who his God was and why He called had called Jonah for this mission. The sailors suspected that this stranger they had taken on board might be a bad omen and it made their gods angry. So they asked him what he did, where was he from, what was his race and nationality, Jonah was honest and told them he was a Hebrew and that he worshiped Adonai, the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land. He also told them that he was trying to get away from the mission God had given him to go to Nineveh and tell them about Him.

So they wanted to know what they could do to get this God that he served to calm the storm. He told them to throw him overboard as punishment for running away and God would calm the sea. Then we read: “Finally they cried to Adonai, ‘Please, Adonai, please! Don’t let us perish for causing the death of this man, and don’t hold us to account for shedding innocent blood; because you, Adonai, have done what you saw fit.’ Then they picked up Yonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. Seized with great fear of Adonai, they offered a sacrifice to Adonai and made vows.”⁷ So Jonah had two revivals, one on the boat when he was not doing God’s will, and one in Nineveh when he finally did God’s will. But it took hearing about God for it to happen.

So we can ask, “Why did Jesus spend three years teaching His disciples?” Was it to leave them behind in Jerusalem to establish a new “Jesus Center” for Him there, and, like Solomon requested, greet all those who came from around the world to learn more about this wise teacher from Galilee? Jesus may have anticipated this standard Jewish custom carried out by the followers of well-known Rabbis. Mark tells us what Jesus told His followers after His resurrection: “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who refuse to believe will be condemned.”⁸ Luke remembers what Jesus told them as they ate with Him after His resurrection: “It was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day; and that this message of salvation should be taken from Jerusalem to all the nations: There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.”⁹

Paul was not there to witness this with the disciples. But that didn’t matter, he had his own post-resurrection encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. He shared this with King Agrippa while on trial. He shared what His Messiah told him: “You are to tell the world about this experience and about the many other occasions when I shall appear to you. And I will protect you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am going to send you to the Gentiles to open their eyes to their true condition so that they may repent and live in the light of God instead of in Satan’s darkness, so that they may receive forgiveness for their sins and God’s inheritance along with all people everywhere whose sins are cleansed away, who are set apart by faith in me.”¹⁰ King Agrippa was so shaken by what Paul was telling him that he asked Paul if he expected him to convert to becoming a Christian. This should prove to all of us what power there is in our own testimony of God’s love, grace, and mercy.

Paul finishes this missionary call with the obvious point: How can anyone go to preach the Gospel to the hopelessly lost unless they are sent? But just saying they were sent is not enough. This was a problem that Jeremiah encountered in his day. It was hard sometimes for the people to know who was a false prophet and who was a true prophet. So God spoke to Jeremiah and told him: “If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it as a dream. But someone who has my word should speak my word faithfully. ‘What do chaff and wheat have in common?’ asks Adonai. ‘Isn’t my word like fire,’ asks Adonai, ‘like a hammer shattering rocks? So, I am against the prophets,’ says Adonai, ‘who steal my words from each other. Yes, I am against the prophets,’ says Adonai, ‘who speak their own words, then add, “He says.” ‘I am against those who concoct prophecies out of fake dreams,’ says Adonai. ‘They tell them, and by their lies and arrogance, they lead my people astray. I didn’t send them, I didn’t commission them, and they don’t do this people any good at all,’ says Adonai.”¹¹

It would have been seen as somewhat pretentious if Paul had gotten up off the ground on the road to Damascus, and started preaching immediately, telling everyone that Jesus had called him for such a mission. But that’s not what happened. While Paul was still trying to recover from the light that blinded him, God spoke to Ananias and told him to find Paul who He had chosen as an instrument to take the Gospel to the nations of the world, then lay hands on him and give him this message: “Brother Paul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit and get your sight back.”¹² Then later on at the church in Antioch, while Paul was worshiping and fasting with the brethren the Holy Spirit gave this word of knowledge: “‘Dedicate Barnabas and Paul for a special job I have for them.’ So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them—and sent them on their way.”¹³

Paul did not take his calling and commission lightly, but at the same time he did not start to think of himself as being special, or the, “pick of the crop,” as we might say. In fact, he told the Ephesians: “Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the most useless Christian there is, yet I was the one chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles the Glad News of the endless treasures available to them in Christ; and to explain to everyone that God is the Savior of the Gentiles too, just as he who made all things had secretly planned from the very beginning.”¹⁴ If this Apostle who spoke several languages, understood the Scriptures in depth and wrote over half of the New Testament felt that way, how could any of us understand anything other than what he says here?

Of all the events in the life of Christ, there are three which have impacted the world more than anything else He did. They are the day He was born, the day He died, and the day He rose from the dead.

Christmas – the day He was born in a manger, has been commercialized into a secular event that is celebrated around the world by even non-Christian countries. After all, their years are numbered from the time He came to earth.

Crucifixion – the day He died on the cross, is better known as Good Friday. Only in the most Christianized societies is His death imitated, some even being nailed to a cross for their own sins.

Easter – the day He rose from the dead. While this is the Sunday when most churches experience record attendance, this special day has morphed into a hunt for Easter Eggs laid by a mythical Easter Bunny. Here in the United States, from the 1880s through the 1950s, New York’s Easter parade was one of the leading cultural events for Easter.

But how important is it for Christian to stop and celebrate this most significant day in the history of Christianity. The Apostle Paul said it most emphatically: “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ must still be dead. And if he is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless; and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, and of course that isn’t true if the dead do not come back to life again. If they don’t, then Christ is still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and you are still under condemnation for your sins; in that case, all Christians who have died are lost!”¹

What the Apostle didn’t say, but what he would wholeheartedly agree to is this: Think about it, if there had been no resurrection of Jesus, Easter would be gone, Sunday would be just another work day, there would be no Christmas holiday, and Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Ascension Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, and no churches, no salvation, no heaven, and no everlasting life. That’s how important Resurrection Sunday should be to all of us. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

DO YOU BELIEVE IN EASTER

This is a true story, told by Jerry Metzler

The Lady’s name was Edith Burns. She was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas. She was the patient of a Will Phillips, fine Christian doctor. His favorite patient was Edith. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart because of Edith. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap. She was earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Dr. Phillips knew what Edith was doing, she was on a mission.

You see, Edith had a habit of introducing herself in this way: “Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?” Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked on into his office, and there he saw the head nurse Beverly. Beverly first met Edith when taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying, “My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?” Beverly said, “Why yes I do.” Edith then asked, “Well, what do you believe about Easter?” Beverly said, “Well, it’s all about egg hunts, going to church, and dressing up.”

Edith kept pressing Beverly about the real meaning of Easter and finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Dr. Phillips said to Beverly, “Don’t call Edith into the office quite yet. I believe there is lab report coming in. Finally, Edith was into the doctor’s office. As she sat down and took a look at the doctor, she said, “Dr. Will, why are you so sad? Are you reading your Bible? Are you praying?”

Dr. Phillips smiled and said, “Now Edith, I’m the doctor, and you’re the patient.” With a heavy heart, he said, “Your lab report came back, and it says you have stage 4 cancer, and you’re not going to live very long.” Edith said, “Why Dr. Phillips, shame on you. Why are you so sad? Do you think God makes mistakes? You have just told me I’m going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my friends. You have just told me that I am going to celebrate Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my passport!”

Dr. Phillips thought to himself: What a magnificent woman this Edith! Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips every day. Christmas came, and the office was closed through January 3rd. On the day the office opened, Edith did not show up. Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would be moving into the hospital and said, “Will, I’m very near to going home, so would you make sure that they put women in my room who need to know about Easter?” Well, they did just that, and a lot of the women were gloriously saved.

Everybody on that floor from staff to patients was so impressed with Edith that they started calling her “Edith Easter.” Everyone that is, except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse. She made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith because she was a “religious nut.” She had been a nurse in an army hospital. She had seen it all and heard it all. She was the original G.I. Jane. She had been married three times, she was hard, cold, and did everything by the book.

Well, one morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick. Edith had the flu, and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot. When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said, “Phyllis, God loves you, and I love you, and I have been praying for you.” Phyllis said crossly, “Well, you can quit praying for me, it won’t work. I’m not interested.” Edith said, “Well, I will pray and ask God not to let me go home until you come into His family.” Phyllis snapped back, “Then you will never die because that will never happen.” She then walked out of the room.

Every time Phyllis Cross would walk into Edith’s room she greeted her: “God loves you Phyllis, and I love you, and I’m praying for you.” One day, Phyllis said, she was literally drawn to Edith’s room like a magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and Edith said, “I’m so glad you have come, Phyllis, because God told me that today is your special day.” Phyllis then asked quietly, “Edith, you have asked everybody here the question, ‘Do you believe in Easter?’ but you have never asked me.” Edith said, “Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to wait until you asked, and now that you’ve asked, so….”

Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter Story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. After she finished, Edith asked, “Phyllis, do you believe in Easter now? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?” Phyllis said, “Oh I want to believe that with all of my heart, and I do want Jesus in my life.” Right there, Phyllis prayed and invited Jesus into her heart. For the first time, Phyllis walked out of a hospital room like she was walking on air.

A few days later, Phyllis came in the room, and Edith said, “Phyllis, do you know what day it is?” “Why Edith, it’s Good Friday,” replied Phyllis. Edith said, “Oh, no, for you every day is Easter. Happy Easter Phyllis!”

Well, two days later, on Easter Sunday, Phyllis had to work. On her way in she stopped by the flower shop and got some Easter lilies because she wanted to give Edith some Easter lilies and wish her a Happy Easter.

When she walked into Edith’s room, Edith was propped up in bed. Her big black Bible was laying open on her lap. Her hands were in between some pages on the Bible. Her eyes were closed, and there was a sweet smile on her face. But when something didn’t look right. Phyllis Cross quickly went to Edith’s bedside and realized Edith was dead.

As they were removing Edith’s Bible, Phyllis noticed that her left hand was on John 14: “In my Father’s house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Her right hand was on Revelation 21:4, “ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Phyllis Cross took one look at Edith’s sweet face then lifted her face toward heaven, and with tears streaming down her cheeks, said, “Happy Easter, Edith – Happy Easter!”

Well, after Phyllis left Edith’s room, she saw two student nurses sitting at the front desk. She walked over, greeted them and said, “Hi, my name is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?” Someone once said it’s not how you live that will convince people of your faith in God, but how you die. This certainly seems to be the case with Edith Burns. Will it be the same with you? – Dr. Robert R Seyda