Skip to main content

A King To Be Opposed

Prisoners in Chains

The Old Testament Scriptures encouraged the believers after Peter and John were warned to stop speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus.


Opposition did not discourage the apostles or the early church. It made them bolder. They were not encouraged because they loved punishment. They were encouraged because the Scriptures told them in advance that the Christ would be opposed. It also told them that this opposition would be futile.

Acts 4 records that Peter and John were arrested for preaching Christ. When they were released they were warned by the rulers and elders to stop proclaiming Jesus to the people. Peter and John told them they planned to obey God rather than men. They would not stop. After hearing further threats from the religious leaders Peter and John returned to the believers.

They held a prayer meeting. They prayed Old Testament promises.

Psalm 146 in Context


Acts 4:24 records a citation from Psalm 146:6. There are several other passages throughout the Scriptures which affirm similar truths.

The language quoted from Psalm 146 directly affirms that God is the Creator of the earth. These early believers understood more immediately the implications of this truth than many modern hearers.

Psalm 146 praises God because He is the Creator. It affirms that it is foolish to trust in human leaders because they are only temporary. Humans are powerless in contrast to the Creator God. It affirms that the one who trusts in the Creator is blessed when God helps them.

The power of the Creator allows for Him to open the eyes of the blind. To raise those who are bowed. To release prisoners. The Creator God is worthy of putting your trust in.

Psalm 2 in Context


Psalm 2 describes the Messiah as God's anointed King. It also describes that the kings of the earth and the rulers conspire together to oppose God's King.

The reaction of God to this rebellion is not to fear or tremble. It is to laugh and scoff. God knows that their opposition is futile. It will be short-lived. Those who persist will be destroyed in His wrath.

The psalm includes a call to worship the Lord with reverence and a command to rejoice with trembling. The final verse tells us of the proper response to the King, God's own Son:
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
(Psalm 2:12 NASB)

The contrast is strikingly clear. Those who fail to do homage to the Son will perish under His wrath. Those who take refuge in Him are blessed.

How the Believers Used Psalm 2 and 146


The gathered believers' response to persecution is one of faith. God revealed in advance in the Scriptures that His plan would unfold exactly this way.

God would establish His Christ. The rulers and authorities would oppose Him.

The believers used these psalms in their prayer time to affirm the truth of God's Word. They used these psalms as an encouragement that God was at work in their midst. They used them to strengthen their own resolve. They knew God had already won and they were confident to continue proclaiming Christ boldly to all.

Explaining Christ


These psalms are used together to emphasize the authority, power, and nature of Jesus.

Jesus is much more than a human ruler whose authority extends for a short period of time. Jesus is much more than a human king whose power is limited.

Jesus is the eternal king. He has been anointed by the Creator of heaven and earth. As God in the flesh Jesus demonstrated His power by overcoming death. He now rules from His throne in heaven.

Jesus' nature as revealed in these psalms is perhaps even more controversial in the modern-day. Many believe in a Jesus who is incapable of wrath. Some teach that the Father is angry. My children were once taught at a VBS they attended that Jesus never gets angry. This is false.

Genuine biblical teaching on the Trinitarian God teaches that Jesus and the Father are the same in their attributes. Both are holy, righteous, merciful, compassionate, and vengeful.

Psalm 2 paints the same picture of Jesus as Revelation. The wrath of the Lamb will be fierce against all who refuse to receive His merciful offer of pardon for their rebellion. This gift is free for rebels to receive. This gift was purchased with the precious and costly blood of Christ.

We must be sure that we worship Jesus as He is revealed in the Scriptures.

He is the eternal King of heaven and earth. He will crush His adversaries under His feet. He is willing and able to save all who take refuge in Him from the wrath that is to come. Praise God! He is both righteous and merciful.

These truths should likewise encourage believers today when we face opposition for proclaiming the name of Jesus. Opposition should not surprise us. It should not discourage us.

We must be equipped to proclaim the fullness of these truths. It is not enough to simply tell people that we like Jesus and inform them that we hope they will like Him, too. Our task is to warn those who are in rebellion against God to turn from their rebellion and seek refuge in the Lamb.

His grace is amazing. His wrath is fierce. This is the Jesus of Scripture.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Prayer vs. Petition

Q: What's the difference between prayer and petition? Phil 4:6 for example. A: An excellent word study question! When attempting to study words from the text it is necessary to analyze the word being studied in the original language (in this case Greek) as attempting to look up the words in English will often produce erroneous results. For example, in English the word petition has within its range of meanings things that are certainly not within the scope of meanings for the Greek word (i.e. “a sheet that is signed to demonstrate agreement with some principle or desire for some social action to be taken” is part of the range of “petition” but not of the Greek deesis from which “petition” is translated). The word most commonly translated as “prayer” in our English Bibles is proseuche , which appears 36 times in the New Testament (NT) in one form or another (for the purposes of this study, we are only examining the usage of these words as nouns – the verbal forms will not be
9 comments
Read more

Smoking Hookah

Q: This week a young Christian talked with me about the practice of smoking Hookah. They attend a church [which] is reaching out to the many Indian and Muslims in the surrounding areas. Their church also have several ministries that support missions in India and Arab countries. As they spoke with me they said that many of their Christian friends are smoking the Hookah. They said that they have been told that certain types of Hookah smoking involve no tobacco but are simply flavored water, other types of Hookah smoking do include tobacco but in a ‘more pure’ form than that of cigarettes that have additives. The Christians that they know of who partake in smoking Hookah do not feel that there is anything sinful in this practice and believe that it is just a part of certain cultures as a way to relax and socialize. Apparently during certain celebrations some of these culture groups get together as a family and include smoking the Hookah together as part of the festivities. These Chris
6 comments
Read more

The Church Isn't A Business

I used to be a salesman. I sold a lot of different stuff. I worked retail. I did door-to-door. In all my various jobs my function was essentially the same. I was the link between company and customer. Successful companies know their customer demographics. Many sales meetings revolve around numbers. Persons are treated as statistics. The customer becomes a set of numbers, preferences, and habits. Really successful companies cater their goods and services to a target demographic. It's all about the consumer experience. I remember when I began in pastoral ministry. People assured me that my experience as a salesman would be beneficial. They said there was a lot of overlap between pastors and salespeople. That may be true in our experience. But is it true of what we read in Scripture? When I open my Bible and read about Christ's church I see a beautiful design that is very different from a business. Night and day different. When Jesus walked the earth He rebuked those who
1 comment
Read more

The "Jesus Loves You" Problem

Q: I've encountered a lot of teaching and Christians who believe that saying, "Jesus loves you!" is a valid form of evangelism. Do you disagree with this? If so, why? It seems like a loving way to reach out and to encourage those who are not believers. A: What a great question! There are certainly a lot of materials and teachings that encourage Christians to use the phrase, "Jesus loves you" as an outreach and evangelistic tool. Much of this teaching that I've encountered emphasizes following the lead of the Holy Spirit. It claims that the Holy Spirit will often lead Christians to say this to non-believers to encourage them and try and lead them to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Fourth Year Ministries does not teach or endorse this as a valid evangelism strategy. That's not because we don't want it to be valid! Truth be told, we would love for this to be a good practice for Christians. It would certainly open some more doors for us. I
1 comment
Read more

10 Things An Evangelist Is Not

You've probably heard the term Evangelist before. Most people have. The term most likely brings something to mind. Sometimes positive. Often negative. Does your idea match what other people think of when they hear the term evangelist? More importantly, do any of these ideas match what the Bible tells us an evangelist is ? The truth is that most of the popular ideas about what an evangelist is and does are based on the culture, not the Bible. This is a problem. The cultural idea of an evangelist is so popular that it is beginning to be used by companies. If you go to popular job sites and put the term evangelist into the search bar you will find many non-church jobs looking for evangelists. Many of these positions include the duties of spreading knowledge about a particular company, product, service, or idea. The Bible tells us that Jesus gave some Evangelists for His church. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as
3 comments
Read more