June 27

READING FOR JUNE 27, 2024: EXODUS 12, PHILIPPIANS 3, PSALM 59:11-17 EXODUS 12 Just as the birth of Jesus signified the great divide between BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini/Year of Our Lord), Passover is commemorated by the first year and month of the Jewish calendar. Thus, Passover is a really big deal in God’s sight. Today’s date is Sivan 21, 5784. (Sivan is the third month of the year.) The order of the Passover action is below:

Day of First Month	Activity	Meaning then and for Christians today
Day 10 of Month	Select a spotless one-year old male lamb	“You were redeemed...with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet.1:18-19).
Day 14 of Month Passover Meal	Kill lamb but break no bones. Put blood on doorposts. Roast and eat all the lamb. Eat no leavened bread.Eat hurriedly; wear sandals.	“When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex.12:13). “We have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God” (Rom. 5:9). “For it [bread] had no yeast, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay.” (Ex. 12:37).
Day 15 of Month First day of feast of unleavened bread	Remove yeast from house.Hold holy assembly.Do no work.	“The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in a hurry...’We will all be dead.’ So, the people took their dough before it was leavened” (Ex. 12:33-34).
Days 16-20 of Month	Eat no leavened bread.	“And Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees’” (Matt 16:5)
Day 21 of MonthLast day of feast of unleavened bread	Hold holy assembly.Do no work; eat major meal.Eat no leavened bread.	“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” (1 Cor. 5:8).

The very first Passover celebration occurred 5784 years ago. The most recent occurred a few months ago. No other major religion comes close in terms of longevity. This despite repeated attempts of powerful world leaders to wipe out Abraham’s descendants. Remember that, according to Romans 11, Jews will factor in God’s plan for His Kingdom. God is great! It is interesting that God instituted the annual celebration of Passover before He accomplished the initial historical event. Jesus also instituted communion before His crucifixion. In both cases, the ceremonies were symbolic and meant to aid our understanding and memory of God’s redemptive work. God told the Hebrews how to explain, “when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’” (Ex. 12:26). Likewise, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Each generation has a responsibility to teach and remind the next.

READING FOR JUNE 27, 2024 CONTINUED: PHILIPPIANS 3, PSALM 59:11-17 PHILIPPIANS 3 Paul begins by telling us that intentionally rejoicing in God helps protect us from falling from faith. As counterintuitive as this might seem, Paul really means it because he repeats it. Remember, Paul is in prison, so he has credibility on this topic.

Then he warns against those same nemeses he called out in Galatians: the false circumcision, those insisting that men be circumcised before becoming Christians. Here he civilly explains how he himself had reached the top of the heap in law-abiding Judaism, but compared with knowing Jesus as Lord, he counts those hard-won achievements as losses. Before receiving Jesus, Paul had a very limited righteous based on following the law. Now, he has the perfect righteous of Christ through faith. Now, he has the honor of sharing in the sufferings of Christ with the prospect of a Christlike resurrection from the dead.

Paul is focused on the future, which is pursuing the call of God. He does not waste time reliving his past so-called achievements. He confesses he has not obtained perfection, but he is still leaning into that goal. This passage from Paul is particularly important for those with a Wesleyan belief in entire sanctification, the belief that Christians can reach sinless perfection or total holiness. Here is Wesley’s definition of such perfection: “The word has various senses: here [Heb 6:1] it means perfect love. It is love excluding sin; love filling the heart, taking up the whole capacity of the soul. It is love rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, in everything giving thanks.”

In his commentary on Philippians 3, Wesley suggests that in verse 12 Paul has not reached teteleiōmai, meaning perfected to receive his crown, but in verse 15 his attitude is teleioi, perfectly fitted for running the race. Whether or not we can achieve this level of holiness on earth, it is a goal to which all believers can and should aspire in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul then again warns the Philippians about those enemies of the cross. They can be spotted by their preoccupation with earthly matters. Instead, he reminds us that our true home is heaven, including our transformed body and the complete and visible reign of Jesus. As pleasant as Yorktown is, as serviceable as our bodies used to be, HEAVEN WILL BE BETTER. PSALM 59:11-17 David prays in verse 11 that the Lord will not kill his enemies but scatter them so his people will not forget their dependency upon God. Then later in verse 13 he prays to destroy his enemies so others will know God rules in Israel and throughout the world. This looks like a contradiction, but it could mean David is praying for a two-stage process: initial scattering and eventual killing. Also, it could also mean that, by simply scattering them, they would be destroyed or removed as a threat. Both verses point to the larger impact felt by the country, not just personal relief for David. Throughout this passage, David sings praises to God who is both powerful and loving. We all must sing (breathe deeply), and we all must praise God for His multiple attributes.

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