Things We Must Not Forget

Second Timothy 2:8 reminds us of the four most important things to remember: “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.”

1. Remember Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus should always hold absolute supremacy in our thoughts. He should be the motive behind our mission, prayer, and ministry. Not only does this keep us from going down the wrong path, but it also encourages us to stay on the right one. There are things I simply won’t do when Jesus occupies my thoughts, and others I’ll do even more eagerly if He has the place He deserves in my consciousness.

This is an important exhortation. It’s very easy for us to lose sight of the Lord Jesus, even though He lives in our hearts. We can become lost in ourselves because we’ve lost sight of Him; and before we know it, our thoughts are revolving around ourselves, our work, our tasks and goals, our circumstances, our worries and fears … and the Lord Jesus Christ has become of only marginal importance. So, let’s be alert, pray, and consciously remember that Jesus Christ is the first and last word in all things.

2. Of the Seed of David
Centuries of anti-Semitic thought have led to the suppression of the fact that Jesus Christ came into this world as a Jew, died as a Jew, rose from the dead as a Jew, returned to heaven as a Jew, and will come back as a Jew.

It was so important to Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13; Gal 1:16; 2:2-7), that he emphasized it in his letter to Timothy: “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel” (2 Tim 2:8).

Second Timothy is the last letter we have from the Apostle before his death (2 Tim 4:6). It is, in a manner of speaking, his legacy, his spiritual will and testament. A will mentions the things that are closest to your heart, that you’d like to preserve for posterity. One of the things that was close to Paul’s heart was that Jesus Christ was of the seed of David, and that this should not be forgotten. If the fact hadn’t been important to him, he could simply have written, “Remember Jesus Christ”; but he added, “of the seed of David.”

The letter was addressed to Timothy, who had been installed as a spiritual leader in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3), the church of which the Lord would later lament, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” If only the spiritual leaders in our churches and seminaries could see that Jesus Christ came from the seed of David, and would remind those entrusted to them of this truth!

It has received far too little attention throughout the Church’s history, even fallen into obscurity that Jesus Christ, God’s promised Savior, is a direct descendant of David from the tribe of Judah! It’s as if the Holy Spirit laid this exhortation on the heart of Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles, knowing how much this truth would be challenged in the future. And indeed, over time, it has been pushed aside in the minds of many Christians. But Jesus is inseparable from Judaism. This fact was part of the Apostle Paul’s Gospel. It was part of his message to the Gentile peoples, and he wanted it to be remembered. Paul also gave special emphasis to Jesus’ lineage in Romans 1:3: “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.”

Born human, Jesus is a descendant of King David and therefore a perfect Jew. Paul stresses the fact that Jesus, the true God, also became a true man (and as such was also a true Jew). This leads to the conclusion that He is still now after His resurrection, true man and true Jew. When the Lord Jesus came to this earth, He emptied Himself of His divinity, without ceasing to be God (Phil 2:6-7). He became so fully human that He depended completely on His Heavenly Father. And the reverse is also true: When the Lord returned to heaven, He resumed the divine position of which He had emptied Himself, but without discarding His humanity. He returned to the heavenly Father’s dwelling as true God and true man. He is there today as a divine and human High Priest, interceding for His Church. And so 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

There are a number of biblical reasons, but this is the primary reason why we stand with Israel: because we stand with Jesus, who is a Jew and will return as a Jew.

The first verse of the New Testament is, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1).

At Jesus’ birth, the angel of God exulted, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

In Revelation, John is comforted by the promise, “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof” (Rev 5:5).

And the very last chapter of the Bible speaks to the Church about the coming Lord: “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star […] He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly…” (Rev 22:16, 20).

Jesus is still the offspring of David in heaven, and will return as such. It’s dangerous to lose sight of Jesus’ true humanity, as 2 John 7 shows: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

This Bible passage has been translated in various ways. The ESV reads, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

It isn’t “just” a matter of denying that Jesus, the true and eternal God, became fully human. Deceivers also deny that He will return as a human. I recently heard someone say that anyone who thinks that Jesus will actually return isn’t really of the faith.

It’s an anti-Christian position to doubt Jesus’ physical return, to spiritualize it, or to deny it completely. And yet this is happening today in some theological institutions and sectarian organizations. It would not be surprising if the Antichrist would reach his pinnacle there: It’s possible that he will also deny Jesus’ physical return, and position himself in place of the returning Christ.

Peter also emphasizes the danger of denying Jesus’ return in these last days: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Pet 3:3-4).

Like 1 Peter, 2 Peter was addressed to believing Jews (1 Pet 1:1; 2 Pet 3:1). The expression “the fathers” is referring to the Jewish patriarchs who expected a literal appearance of the Messiah. This truth will be questioned and even mocked in the last days. Will the Antichrist take advantage of this ... perhaps even initiating such blasphemy to deceive the Jewish people, and then put himself on the throne? Either way, we’re living at a time in which the Lord Jesus Christ’s bodily return is being expected less and less. Why? Because we’re living in the last days!

3. That He Was Raised from the Dead
This all-pervasive truth must never leave our hearts: Jesus is alive! That’s our greatest consolation in life and death.

It’s painful to see people who were once strong and vigorous growing old and frail, or to witness the fate of the seriously ill. What a comfort it is to remember in those times that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Jesus overcame sin, the devil, and the power of death. Our knowledge of this must rule us at all times and not be lost. This knowledge alone can make the bitter sweet, make difficult things easier to bear, and give us courage in times of despair. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel.

As a son of David, Jesus became a true man and a true Jew. And He suffered, died, rose from the dead on the third day, and returned to His divine glory as true man and true Jew. Now, as true man and true God, He is our High Priest and intercessor, risen from the dead. It’s how he accommodates our weakness: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).

He is our intercessor, and the propitiation for the sins of the whole world: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of the resurrection and rapture of all who believe in Him. His resurrection is God the Father’s verification of Jesus’ entire work of salvation.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept […] Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end...” (1 Cor 15:20, 23-24).

4. According to My Gospel
Now, we could argue that the Apostle Paul didn’t even write a Gospel; otherwise, there would be a fifth one! However, this verse isn’t saying anything beyond the fact that the Apostle’s body of written, instructional letters is, in a manner of speaking, gospel. So, the term shouldn’t be reduced to mean only the four Gospels, but should take into account that the entire New Testament is gospel. The profound teaching in Romans or the letters to the Galatians and the Corinthians, for example, is also gospel (Rom 2:16; 16:25).

Furthermore, this statement affirms the spiritual calling and authority of an Apostle called by the Holy Spirit. His word is the Word of God (1 Thess 2:13; Gal 1:11) and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul could say this only in his God-given authority: “Consider what I say […] Remember […] according to my gospel” (2 Tim 2:7-8).

Moreover, the statement, “according to my gospel” indicates that Paul had a special assignment to the Gentiles (nations). His gospel is a gospel that God gave especially to the nations.

“Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain […] But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision” (Gal 2:1-2, 6-9).

James wrote his letter to the Jews (Jas 1:1). Cephas wrote 1 and 2 Peter to the Jews (1 Pet 1:1; 2 Pet 3:1). Jude followed Peter’s approach (cf. Jude 17-18; compare Jude with 2 Pet 2–3). In addition to his Gospel, John wrote the three letters of John and Revelation, which are also Jewish. The Letter to the Hebrews is Jewish, as the name suggests. Paul, on the other hand, wrote to the Gentiles among the nations. That’s why his letters are different from the others.

For example: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (Jas 2:24). “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28).

James says “…not by faith only.” In contrast, Paul emphasizes exactly the opposite: “…by faith without the deeds of the law.”

This contrast can only be explained by the fact that one letter is addressed to Jews, and the other to Gentiles. The Jews had the Law, and their observance of it was an expression of their faith. The Gentiles had no Law, so they “only” needed to believe—from which works would then follow.

Paul didn’t have a gospel that contradicted the other Apostles’ gospel. Rather, it was a complement for the Gentiles. So, if we take into account the Jewish commission of Peter, James, John, Jude, and the author of Hebrews in their letters, as well as the commission of Paul in his letters to the Gentiles, then we are better able to understand, distinguish, and also reconcile them. We realize that apparent contradictions aren’t contradictions at all. Instead, one statement was written with regard to Jews, and the other with regard to the Gentiles. And we must view them from this perspective.

Midnight Call - 11/2024