Jesus the Alpha and Omega of Bible Study - Chapter 6-7

0:40And so an interpretation that looks at all if we look at a section of Scripture or even a sentence of Scripture, it has a bunch of different components, parts, and they all contribute to the meaning. They all contribute, even if there looks like they have very little significance. Sometimes the little parts of speech that seem to have the smallest or no significance sometimes become the very axis on which an interpretation hinges. So Jesus in Matthew 5:18 said, Truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass From the law until all is accomplished. So, Jesus Himself articulates small details are important. A couple years ago, we had the privilege of being in Germany during the 500-year Reformation celebration memorial.

1:55And as we were there, we made our way down to a Swiss watchmaking shop in Zurich, right? And they were the watchmaking industry really came about, started by a bunch of Huguenots, Huguenots, some pronounce it, a bunch of French refugees that were coming to the area to flee persecution. And they really launched the whole watch industry. They were hard workers, meticulous to detail. In fact, from them, we get that idea of the Protestant work ethic. And they were extremely diligent hard workers. And I remember going to this museum and their attention to detail, just go to a Watchmaker. Just look at a watch. Look at the small, but it was beyond comprehension the level of detail that these watchmakers and clockmakers had.

3:19And so those who pay attention to detail make good watchmakers. Those who do not pay attention to details do not make good watchmakers. They do not make good anything else, really, especially Aerosom. I know some people are here, aerospace, some of the smart, really smart engineers and mechanical engineering, and all that, they have to pay attention to details. Accountants have to pay attention to details. You do not make good, you do not thrive in these industries if you cannot pay attention to detail. Well, Jesus paid attention to detail. Same is very true as you look, as you look into the words of Scripture, there is detail. And you get this picture from God all over. God is a picture of just a God of detail and nature. Whether you look in the sky or whether you look through the microscope, God is a God of detail. And certainly, he intends for his word to last forever, whereas heaven and earth are going to pass away. And if you look into nature and you see a high level of detail, how much more can you expect a high level of detail in his words and what he communicates, that which lasts forever versus that which is going away? And we see the detail in nature. Well, what happens is we sometimes come to a text and we see a bunch of details that may be difficult to understand, and we're tempted to just make a hasty decision and move on. But we need to become students who pay attention to the details. And this is exemplified by our Lord Himself in Matthew 12:18 through 27. You can turn there. We'll be there a little bit. But this is a section of scripture where Jesus is interacting with the Sadducees. And what takes place, these Sadducees are wealthy men. They're kind of the secularists of the day. They do not believe in the resurrection. So they're kind of that those secularists of the day that believe that, okay, once you die, that's it. It's over. And so they have an issue with Jesus over the Resurrection. And so they approach Jesus and they're going to catch him and they're going to trip him up. They're going to publicly humiliate him and demonstrate how absurd the belief in the resurrection is. In fact, another thing about the Sadducees is they didn't recognize scripture beyond the first five books of Moses. So they were experts in law, or thought they were, and they would not recognize the rest of Scripture. So they recognized only the Torah. And that's going to play into how Jesus interacts with him. But here's their game plan. They're going to take Jesus down. They're going to publicly humiliate him. And this is how they're going to do it. They're going to use a scripture.

6:52They're going to create a hypothetical situation. And then they're going to ask an absurd question. Okay, so we'll just walk through this. So here's their game plan. And here's the scripture involved. You remember, I'll just read it. Some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and began questioning him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man's brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children. His brother. So their argument, it starts out about leverite marriage and that a man is responding, was supposed to raise up a child of his brother so that his name doesn't go extinct from Israel. So that's the scripture involved. Now, here's the hypothetical situation they dream up.

7:57Now, there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and died, leaving no children. The second one married her and died, leaving behind no children. And the third, likewise. And so all seven left no children. Last of all, the woman died also. So the scenario is probably not a real one, but certainly a one that's a hypothetical one concocted to debunk the resurrection. Okay, so they've got them, right? So now they come up with the absurd question.

8:40In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one's wife will she be? For all seven had married her. So here's their idea: who gets the girl is really. Their question. Who gets the girl? And they thought that the idea of multiple marriage partners in heaven just reduced the whole concept of heaven to an absurdity. This is where they're going. So, but their question is based upon a faulty assumption. And they assume that the life to come, according to scriptures, would be just like the present life and could be measured in such terms. Well, now Jesus is going to respond to them. And now we can pay attention to see how he uses the scripture. We're able to understand his attention to detail.

9:46We can learn something about the resurrection, but in the process, we can learn something about Christ's incredible attention to the details of scripture. So here comes his correction. And it's going to come in several phases. I'll just give you a quick overview. First of all, he's going to speak about the right foundation for understanding the resurrection. Then he's going to talk about the nature of the resurrection. And then he's going to talk about the certainty of the resurrection. So, first of all, the right foundation for understanding the resurrection is, well, scripture, the power of God. Let's just pick up what Jesus says in Mark 2. 12, 24. Jesus said to them, Is this not the reason you are mistaken that you do not understand the scriptures or the power of God? Here's your problem. This is why you're off. In fact, the word is planos, which means like a planet or an orbit that's way off track. You're off track. This is the reason you are way off track is because you do not understand the scriptures or the power of God. If you understand the scriptures, you understand what they say. If you understand the power of God, you know that he is able to do what he says he can do. In fact, it should be no problem. If God can create man in the first place, it should not be a difficult step that he can resurrect humanity. He knows how in the first place. So, right foundation for understanding the resurrection is going to be scripture and the power of God. And then he speaks a little bit about the nature of the resurrection. Look in verse 25. For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

11:50So Jesus makes it very clear that the marriage state, as we know it, does not continue in heaven. They do not marry. The second expression is they are not given in marriage. And that's one thing how I like to, or I used to tell this to my daughters. Our home is just like heaven. They neither marry nor will be given in marriage. Of course, that's changed. They did marry. But that's the idea that Jesus' point is that the afterlife cannot be understood as just a mere continuation of this life. And so it's not a the marriage relationship doesn't create a problem, any kind of problem in the resurrection.

12:48But then he goes on to speak about the certainty of the resurrection. Look at what he says in verse 26, 27. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are greatly mistaken. And so Jesus corrects them, and he goes to a passage out of Exodus 3.

13:34He specifically referenced the place where Jesus, where Moses met God at the burning bush. And if he just quoted, I put Exodus 3:6 up there. He says, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid. So Jesus quotes, goes right to this verse, quotes this. Now, what's interesting is how Jesus uses this text. I'm going to get into how Jesus is thinking about this text. I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now, since God refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as still living, the Sadducees' notion that a person ceases to exist at death is false, right? What does he say? I am.

14:39They're still living. I am the God of Abraham. He did not say, I was the God of Abraham. You see a difference. If the Sadducees were correct, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died and ceased to exist. The words, I am, should have been, I was. You see what Jesus is doing? It's interesting that this isn't really a passage about the resurrection at all. But there are words spoken that have implications for the resurrection. In fact, the Sadducees, they don't even recognize anything beyond the book of the five books of Moses. And so, I mean, Jesus could have gone to Isaiah. There had been some passages that might we think would be more appropriate to speak about the resurrection. But Jesus goes to a text that there's no question that they affirm that this is the Word of God. So he avoids this debate over the extent of God's words, and he goes right to a passage that they all agree this is the word. And so, and then he focuses on a verb. The use of the present tense, I am, implies that God is still the God of these patriarchs. They are alive with God. They have already been raised spiritually and will share in the physical resurrection of the righteous. They will put on a resurrected body because death cannot eclipse the life that God gives.

16:30Death is not going to be able to eclipse us. And so, but here's the point of all this: the weight of Jesus's argument hung upon the tense of a single verb. I am. The tense of a single verb. Now, that's a detail. That's paying attention to the very tiny details. And he, based upon the tense of this one word, he directly tells them, you are greatly mistaken. You do not understand the scriptures. You do not understand the power of God. But based upon the tense of a single verb, he tells these religious elite, you are way off track.

17:33That's how he approached a scripture. Details were very important to Jesus, and they will be to all of his true followers as well. Any questions on that? I want to take a moment to just talk about what I call the principle of valid implication, the principle of valid implication. A valid implication of a text is a truth assumed to be true in order to support the point being made by the author. This passage is used a lot by friends and foes of Scripture alike. What's going on here? And many would say, well, this is not a passage about the resurrection. In fact, one author goes to far citing this passage, says, Jesus gets an F in Bible.

18:35And I would just say, no, that author gets an F in understanding Jesus. Jesus saw a valid implication in this text. Yes, it's not a text about the resurrection, but it has implications for the resurrection. Because an implication of a text is a truth that is assumed to be true in order to support the point being made. Does that make sense? So it's not a passage that Moses intended to prove the necessity of the resurrection, but Jesus saw in his words implications for the resurrection. In fact, that's much of what we do with systematic theology, if you really want to.

19:22As we're looking for valid implications of texts. There's a difference between meaning and implication that I want to just make sure you start getting into your mind. The meaning involves the sense of the words or expressions the author intended to communicate. That's the meaning. The meaning is the sense of these words that the author intended to communicate. The implication involves those realities implied in the words of a text, but not explicitly stated. Now, to make the so if we were using Exodus 3:6, what is the meaning of Exodus 3:6? Well, it simply means that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared to Moses in the burning bush. That's what the text means. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob met Moses at the burning bush and gave him instructions about leading his people out of Israel. That's what it means. Simple. But there are many implications.

20:31There are things that are assumed to be true to make that statement. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared to Moses. Well, what are some valid implications? Number one, that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were real people, right? They have a historical existence. And they have a current existence based upon I am. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They're real people. And they really are alive. Those are valid implications drawn from the meaning of these words. Is that clear?

21:11Good. So the meaning of the text is single. We'll talk about that in the chapters ahead. One meaning: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appeared to Moses. That's what it means. But it has implications for other subjects. So now, what I'd like to do, any question about this detail? Do you see how Jesus paid attention to? And you could, I could give you many examples of how he goes and he pays attention to such minute detail. He's like a watchmaker with it, so precise.

21:54But I want to now apply that to other, I want to take that same level of detail. That was just, he gave us the example of verbs. Tenses of verbs are very important, but there are a whole lot of other things that we can apply this level of detail to. Any questions? Yes, sir. Secret codes. What do I say about secret codes? Well, if you come across a passage that says, I want you to read the secret code in this, then we'll take, yeah, secret codes, those are not really revelation.

22:50If you come to a passage and you have to organize or you have to count words and you've got some kind of pattern to get to the true meaning, those are more the machinations of curious minds than they are the revealed will that the Holy Spirit has given us. He does not intend his words to be evasive, hidden. We looked early, you know, a couple weeks ago at the Temple of Apollo. Were you here for that when we looked at how he would speak in, or his Pythia would speak, and then her words would be translated by an exegete, and then the words themselves were so ambiguous they could mean anything. That's not the God of Scripture. He writes for the intention of revealing himself, not for further obscuring himself. And the problem with secret codes is all of a sudden you subject the word of God to subjectivity. Who knows the code? Now, I recognize there's a great detail. There's a great, there's, there's a, A detail on a level and an organization that God has put together in a way that is beautiful and beyond our ability to fully comprehend.

24:14He is that detail. It's that the same spirit. And you can see in nature the detail, and certainly we see a detail in scripture, but it's not intended to be hidden. It's intended to be known. That's what Revelation is. And he is intended to communicate himself through the words he chooses in order to make himself known. He's not trying to be evasive, hidden, obscure. So it's a good question, though. Yes, ma'am. How would you distinguish between finding the valid implication and proof?

24:55A valid implication, how would I distinguish between proof texting and a valid implication? That's a good question. You know, a valid implication, proof texting, what proof texting is, is like, okay, I believe that Jesus, you may want to say something like, drawing a blank on an example, but a proof text, do you have an example of maybe like that you might. Say, well, Jesus loves everybody, therefore, nobody's going to hell. And let me show you, let me take you and prove that from certain texts. So let me go find some texts that support that position. And so you might have some, you might arrange certain scriptures and find some and read into it something that would support that. But proof texting is really more driven by the reader, right? I'm trying to prove something. Whereas valid implication is trying to really derive valid implications from the text itself and not driven, one is driven by the end of the reader, the other is driven by the text itself. So I would put it in that category. Very good question.

26:31Because a lot of times that's what we do. We approach the scripture and we're going to prove text. And a lot of times we do that in systematic theology. And there's a place for that, I would say, not proof texting so much as understanding implications and systematizing it. But that takes us down another road for right now. Good questions. Well, let's take a moment and apply some of this level of detail. Okay, so. I want to talk to you about levels of detail. When you're talking about, if Jesus saw this level of detail, let us do likewise. Let us read with a high view towards detail, with an eye to detail.

27:14Anyone know what that is? What? It's a tree, yeah. Did somebody say what kind of tree? Oh, wow, pretty good. It's tree, yes. Okay, so, and it may very well be an oak tree. But it's, you can see, you can see a lot of definition when you get really close to the trees, right? Now, can you see the forest? No, you can't see the forest, right? So there's another level of detail, right? But can you see, when you see the forest, can you see this kind of detail on the tree? So there's two levels of detail I just want to bring to your attention. There's the level of detail that is up close sentence paragraph kind of detail, and then there's what I call big picture detail. And those big picture detail is going to be on the book or on a much larger scale. Tonight we'll look at some of the levels of detail on the sentence level, that on the close detail. And then next time, next week, I plan to look at the sentence or the detail on a bigger picture. Picture. But first, can you read that? Can you see that from back there? Yeah.

28:40Yeah. Sorry. But pronouns. Pronouns are very important, right? Because pronouns do what? They refer to the antecedent, right? The noun before it, right? So a pronoun takes the place. And so John 21, 15, do you love me more than these? We'll be looking at this in a couple of weeks as we work our way through John. But what, let me get to where I can actually see that text. I can't even read it. So when they had finished breakfast, this is in John 21, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

29:30What does the these refer to? Give me some options. If you're reading through John 21, well, let me just, John 21. Peter says, I'm going to go fishing. And this is the beginning of 21. And then in he sees Jesus. They make a great catch. They came and drove. Dragging a net full of fish, a whole bunch of fish. And in fact, John in verse 11 says there was 153 fish. And then they had breakfast in verse 12. And then Jesus came and had an eight. And then he goes on. And you get down to verse 15. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? What is he referring to? What are some of the options?

30:38The fish. The fish, right? Is he referring to the fish that they caught in the net? Or maybe the fish they had for breakfast? The fish. What would the meaning of? How would you interpret this passage if it's the fish? Do you love me more than these fish? Food? Yeah, okay. Do you love me more than food? What's another job? Remember, I'm going fishing. Peter's off. I'm going back to fishing. Then Jesus comes up, do you love me more than these? Do you love me more than your occupation? What's another reference? Probably the nearest antecedent.

31:30When they, I'm sorry, the other disciples, when they had finished eating, when the disciples, when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son, do you love me more than these? Now, if he's saying the other disciples, how do you interpret the passage? Love me more than they. You love the disciples more than these. Yes. Yeah, do you love me more than these? What might he be saying? The disciples, do you really love me more? Remember what Peter boasted? Even if all forsake you, I will not. Remember that?

32:19Here comes Jesus. Do you love me more than these? Peter, do you really love me more than these? You know I love you. So which is it? You'll have to come and hear me preach that passage to get my answer on this. But my point, my point is: do you see how important a pronoun can make? In fact, this morning, we worked through a passage this morning in John chapter 20. And remember, when John was saying, these signs. Have been written so that you would believe.

33:05Which signs was he referring to? A lot of some commentators take just the signs of the resurrection. I took it to mean the signs of everything that he had written about in the whole gospel. And I gave reason to show you that. But do you see how just the detail of that really makes a big difference? Pay attention to detail. Big another conjunctions. Just talk about conjunctions now. What do conjunctions do? They put sentences together, right? Do you guys remember that little show, conjunction, conjunction?

33:48Do you guys remember that? What's your function? Cooking up cars and various functions, right? And but orientations. I don't know what happened to those. Those were great. But conjunctions, right? They connect the sentence, but sometimes huge theological truths can hang upon a single conjunction. For instance, when does eternal life begin? We looked at this as we preached through it in John 5. When does eternal life begin? Jesus, read this passage to you, a verse in chapter 5 and verse 20. Before of John. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

34:49So the conjunction, but tells the story of an event that happened in the past that impacts both the present and the future, right? What's the impact? What has happened in the past? The one who believes, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment, but has done what? Past event. What has happened? Pass out of the realm of the dead into the realm of the living, right? Pass out of death into life. Has passed.

35:29So something that has happened in the past and something that impacts the future, right? And the present. The present, right? He has eternal life. Do you see that? Already has. If you are a believer in Christ, you already have eternal life. It's already begun. Already begun. Eternal life is not just about duration, it's about quality. But it's about a quality that goes on forever. And what about the future? Does not come into what? Judgment. Why does a person who currently possesses eternal life not come into judgment?

36:22They're not going to be condemned, right? They've already passed out of the realm of the dead into the realm of the living, and they're not going to face future condemnation. They have, something has happened in the past. They have passed out of death into life, and they're not on a trajectory to judgment. They're in eternal life, and that's going to keep going. But all that hangs upon a conjunction. You see that? Talk to you about connectors, those little parts, little tiny phrases, could be conjunctions, could be negatives, could be any little particles that connect an author's thought. So the question becomes: I'll use this on an example: what is the baptism that saves?

37:22These are all really, I mean, this is a really big issue. This passage is. Is a very highly debated passage. What is the baptism that now saves you? 1 Peter 3:21, corresponding to that, baptism now saves you. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What is he saying there? What does Peter mean by the baptism that now saves you? Well, we can look at the connectors, and they tell the story.

38:16What the baptism is, what it is not, what it compares to. Well, just look at this. Connectors, they combine words, phrases, and sentences to show us the author's thoughts. So, what is the baptism that saves you? I think I've shown you this image before, because we've talked about this before. But what is the baptism that saves you? That's a picture of Noah's ark, by the way, in the water. So, 1 Peter 3:21 tells the story. If you went to 1 Peter 3, you would see very quickly that.

39:00That there are three, and he's talking about Noah's Ark, but let's just look at the connectors. And I just circled them. They could be little phrases, little particles, phrases that put sentences together. Corresponding to that, circle that. Baptism now saves you. Not, there's a negative, the removal of dirt. There's a conjunction, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So these connectors help break down this sentence, this verse. There is something that baptism compares with, corresponding to that, there's something that baptism compares with. There is something that baptism is not. See that with the negative, not the removal of dirt. And something that baptism is, but an appeal to God. But these connectors just break down the sentence, the verse, and tell us what the baptism that saves is, what certainly is in Peter's mind. So, first of all, baptism compares with Noah's flood, right? Now that's going to be small text for you to read, but just I'll read it. The ancient world was baptized in water, wasn't it? And what happened? It perished. So the baptism that now saves is compared. To baptism of Noah's flood. The water is a symbol of death.

40:40What happens, right? You don't want to be baptized with the flood, right? They perished. Water was symbolic of death. Everyone, planet Earth underwent. Noah, was he exempted from the flood? No, he went through the flood just like everyone else, right? What was the difference? He was in a boat. He went through the flood, but he went through the flood from a perspective of safety, didn't he? And the ark was the means for Noah, for humanity, to survive the flood of God's wrath and come out of a world under judgment. The whole world was under judgment. Water was sent to judge, condemn the world.

41:39And the ark was the means to bring Noah and family out or through this world that was under judgment. Sorry. There it goes. So there were two means. Of salvation here. What are the two means? Think about it. There are two means of salvation here for Noah and family. What are they? The water. It's hard to imagine that, right? And the ark. We can all see the ark as the means of salvation. But what did the water do?

42:30It brought the water saved Noah and their family from what? From a corrupt world, right? You remember how evil that world was? Could you imagine what it was like on the other side of the flood, getting out? If you are Noah's family, you're getting out of the ark, and the world is completely new. I remember God's words saying in Genesis 6 and 8, everybody did what was evil, or that man's heart was continually evil, always, violence upon the earth. It would be nice to get out of that society, right? Judgment saved them from that society. Future. Judgment has a salvation effect, removing God's people from the corruption, from a corrupt world. But the ark was necessary, what?

43:30To save them from the water, right? They needed to be saved from the corrupt world, but they also needed to be saved from the water that destroyed the world. And so, in order to be saved from the water, they had to leave their old world behind and get into the ark. Corresponding, that's what, that's in Peter's mind, that's what he uses baptism. It's like Noah's Ark, the flood, judgment, death, and you need to be delivered from death. And you think about eternal death, won't preach, but I just want to stay here what's going on in the text. The baptism that saves is also not an external ritual, right?

44:24Remember, baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh. So it's not some external act or a ritual involving physical water and the flesh. It's not any of that. And man's being, we are more than just flesh, anyways. So he's not talking about some extra, and Peter's telling you, I'm not talking about the removal of dirt from the flesh. I'm not talking about some cleansing ritual. But then what is it? But. Baptism is an appeal. It is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So it is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what the baptism that saves is.

45:20It's interesting that just starting out, so there is an appeal to God for a good conscience. So there's an awareness of sin. You see, what is man's natural tendency to do when he is awakened, when his conscience is awakened to the presence of sin? His tendency is to flee, right? Blame, cover, hide, excuse. That's the tendency. That's the trajectory of death. So there's an awareness of sin, but there's also the awareness of a resurrection of Christ.

45:59And to be resurrected, to be resurrected is to come out of the realm of the dead, right? Out of the category of death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ testifies that he made it through God's wrath. He made it through. That wrath burned, and hell deluged him, and he made it through. So there is an awareness of sin, there is an awareness of the resurrection of Christ, and there is an appeal to God. An appeal to God, which is the opposite of fleeing to him, right? Dealing with a defiled, a convicted conscience. And the way what baptism is, an appeal to God. It's the opposite of fleeing from him. It's an appeal to him, it's coming to him, it's approaching him.

46:54So, what is the baptism of faith? When you tie all this together, what is the baptism that saves? It's the plunging of faith that seeks reconciliation with God through Christ alone. It is the honest cry of the soul for pardon through solidarity with Jesus. And that is the ark of God's deliverance from the wrath to come. And such faith will always be met with God's saving embrace. So, baptism, an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

47:35We're out of time. I know the kids aren't going to want to leave, but you probably do. Just kidding. I know you want to stay here and do this all night. There are several other details. There's lists, 2 Peter 1, 5 through 7 that I write about in the book. There's figures of speech. It teaches us how to pray, commands, what is good leadership. Cause and effect, all of these are just a few examples of the level of detail that is in Scripture that can sharpen our minds and eyes to and learn to read. But we're out of time, so I'm going to dismiss us. But if anybody wants to come up and talk about these things, I know this sometimes just chums the waters. So I'm here to answer, and there's a lot more I write about in the book, but just this will get you started anyway. And I know some of you are skilled at paying attention to the detail. And I encourage, that's how Jesus, he paid attention to the detail, and so should we. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for our Lord who not only gave us his words, but showed us how to interpret them. So, Father, help us to emulate his example and learn the beautiful, wonderful truths that are so clearly laid out for us in Scripture. And we want to know these things, Father, that we might be transformed by them into your image.

49:20In Jesus' name, go with us, we ask. Amen.