Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Aug 31 2019 - Joel 2:18-32 – The Day of the Lord

Today's reading provides God's people with a message of hope. Joel had called upon "the priests who minister before the Lord" to intercede for the people of God (2:17). Today's reading recounts the Lord's response to their prayers.

The Lord promises that he will drive away those who have invaded his land (v.20). The land will recover and animals will again graze in its pastures and its trees will again bear fruit. The people of Zion will rejoice in the Lord their God as threshing-floors are filled with grain and vats overflow with new wine and oil (vv.23-24). The Lord will restore to them the years that the locusts have eaten (v.25). When the Lord visits them in mercy and salvation, they will be able to say that the sufferings of the past have been overwhelmed by the goodness and generosity of their God. Furthermore, the Lord's blessing poured out on his people will lead others to see that he is the living God and to trust in him for themselves – they will no longer be the objects of mockery and shame.

So this prophecy of restoration leads into even greater promises of blessing. In days to come the Lord promises that he will pour out his Spirit "on all people". His Spirit will no longer be given to a few prophets, enabling them to declare God's word; his Spirit will be poured out on young and old, male and female. The very fabric of the created world will be shaken as:

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. (vv.31-32)

On the Day of Pentecost the risen and ascended Jesus Christ poured out his Spirit on those first few disciples hidden away in an upper room in Jerusalem. They immediately spilled out into the streets and began speaking to the crowds who had travelled from many nations to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast. All heard the disciples speaking in their own native language. The crowds were "amazed and perplexed" (Acts 2:12), and asked what on earth was happening. The apostle Peter, animated and emboldened by the Spirit of God, quoted these words from the prophet Joel to explain that the great and glorious day of the Lord – the day long spoken of by the prophets – had actually arrived. The fabric of the universe had been shaken by Jesus' death and resurrection, empires were crumbling and a new kingdom was being established and everyone who now calls on the name of the Lord – the Lord who is Jesus – will be saved.

And that is just what happened on that momentous day. Three thousand called on the name of the Lord that day and were saved. Countless thousands, millions and even billions have called on that name since that day and they also have been saved.

Saul the Pharisee came to see that in the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the great Day of the Lord had broken into the middle of human history. He fell in submission and worship before the exalted Lord Jesus and was transformed by Christ into his Apostle, Paul, who took this gospel message round the Jewish and pagan Mediterranean world of his day. And this was his message – quoting from Isaiah and from this chapter of Joel in Romans 10:12-13:

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

And we too have called upon that name and have been entrusted with the good news that Jesus Christ is this world's rightful and coming Lord.

Lord Jesus, help us to understand the earth-shattering nature of the redemption you accomplished for us through your sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. May we, like those first disciples, be filled with your Spirit and empowered to tell others that they too may believe and be saved.

Aug 31 2020 - Matthew 8:18-34 – They pleaded with him to leave

More remarkable miracles are recorded in the latter half of Matthew 8. The first is a nature miracle. Jesus and his disciples are crossing Galilee in a small boat. Jesus, worn out by the demands of the crowds, is asleep in the boat and remains asleep even when a fierce storm threatens to capsize the boat and to drown the travellers. When Jesus is woken by the frightened disciples he first rebukes them for their fear and lack of faith. He then rebukes the winds and the waves and they immediately become calm. The disciples are amazed, asking, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" (Matthew 8:27).

Well might they ask. In yesterday's notes we suggested that Jesus' miracles were signs of the kingdom; an anticipation of the transformation of all things at his return. They are also a recapitulation of God's original plan for creation. Jesus is the last Adam. In him we see creation once again under the dominion of the man who bears the image of God. The storms give way to a sea of glass and fear gives way to worship.

The chapter ends with the puzzling passage in which Jesus is confronted by two violent, demon-possessed men. The demons cry out to Jesus "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" (8:29). Again we see that Jesus' acts of healing are anticipations of the age to come. But the puzzling part of the story is yet to come. The demons plead that if Jesus is intent on casting them out of the two men, they should be allowed to enter a herd of pigs that is feeding nearby. Jesus agrees with their request and the whole herd of pigs rush over the edge of a cliff into the sea and are drowned. Why does Jesus accede to their request?

I have heard some strange and rather tortured explanations for this passage. For me, it remains puzzling. I do not have an easy answer to the question of why Jesus allowed such destruction. One thing however is clear, the demons are destructive: they were destructive when they inhabited these two men; they continue to display their destructive power when consigned to the herd of pigs. Satan and his agents are intent on destroying the work of God. Jesus is intent upon restoring the work of God.

What is sad is the reaction of the local inhabitants to the remarkable act of Jesus in healing these two men. "The whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region" (8:34). They valued their pigs more than they valued the life of these two poor men. They valued their pigs more than they valued Jesus.

I am reminded of the account in Acts 16 of Paul casting an evil spirit out of a young girl in Philippi. She was a slave girl who had made money for her owners by telling fortunes under the influence of the spirit. When they saw that they had lost their income they stirred up a riot against Paul and Silas who were flogged and imprisoned. The slave-owners valued an income above the life of their slave.

Have there been times when we have resisted or resented the transforming work of the Spirit of God in ourselves or in others? Have we sometimes felt like Augustine who prayed, "Lord make me holy, but not yet!"

Heavenly Father, help me to long for the transforming work of Christ more than anything else in all the world. The Gaderenes pleaded with Christ to leave – they would give him no place to lay his head; come and make your home with me Lord Jesus. Lord, may your kingdom come. May it come soon. May it come now.

Peter Misselbrook