Is That Really in the Bible?

Jann Martin November 25, 2007

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Luke 23: 33-43

Gospel Lesson

³³ Finally, they came to a place called The Skull. All three were crucified there-Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side.

³⁴ Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

³⁵ The crowd watched, and the leaders laughed and scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Chosen One, the Messiah." ³⁶ The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. ³⁷ They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" ³⁸ A signboard was nailed to the cross above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews."

³⁹ One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself-and us, too, while you're at it!"

⁴⁰ But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you are dying? ⁴¹ We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." ⁴² Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom."

⁴³ And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."(1)

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.

In this morning's Gospel lesson Jesus tells one of the criminals "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." This man had a stronger faith than even the disciples. The disciples thought that when Christ died it was the end of His life, and thus, the end of His reign. Today is set aside to celebrate Christ as our King. When the disciples, James and John, asked Jesus if they could sit next to Him in His kingdom, they didn't understand that it wasn't an earthly kingdom. They didn't know they had to die to be with Jesus in His kingdom.

The devil could be speaking through the criminal when he tempts Jesus to save himself and the criminals from their death on the cross. Jesus could have chosen to save himself from the agony of death and separation from God and had an earthly kingdom. Jesus chose to trust God and to obey Him, to suffer and die so that we can have eternal life. Sometimes we have to go through bad times because of circumstances in our life, but if we trust God and rely on Him, He will help things turn out for the best in the end. The answer isn't always what we want though, sometimes His answer is no.

When an earthly king dies, he is leaving his kingdom, but when Christ died, He was just coming into His kingdom. We each play a part in putting Him on the Cross and making Him suffer to take away our sins. Jesus died on the cross but defeats the devil when, on the third day, He returns from the dead. We can learn from the scriptures how we can improve our lives.

Expressions from the Bible

We also hear words of scripture in our daily lives that we don't always realize are from the Bible. I found a site that has a list of phrases we use in our daily life. Here are some of them.

This you may have known was in the Bible but not sure where: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." This is found in Acts 20:35.

How about this one: "At their wits' end," in Psalm 107:27. "They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits' end."

And "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." This in found in John 8:32.

"Out of the mouths of babes" is in Psalm 8:2. The full verse is: "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger."

We all have heard this one: "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." Found in Ecclesiastes 3:1

I bet you didn't think this one was in the Bible: "eat, drink, and be merry." Ecclesiastes 8:15 states: "So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun." And in Luke 12:19: "And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." Both times that this phrase is found in the Bible it is speaking of one who is living a life without taking God into consideration.

Ladies I bet you didn't realize that when you thought you were turning into your mother that this phrase was in the Bible "Like mother, like daughter." In Ezekiel 16:44 it says: "Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: 'Like mother, like daughter!'"

In Job 15:7 we find the phrase that refers to "older than dirt." "Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?"

In Job 19:20 we find "by the skin of your teeth." "My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth."

In Isaiah 57:21 we find "There is no peace, Says my God, for the wicked." Or in other words there is no rest for the wicked.

In Ezekiel 18:2 is the saying about sour grapes. "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?"

This verse is found in Ecclesiastes 10:1: "Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, an ounce of foolishness can outweigh a pound of wisdom and honor." This is the verse, which the saying "a fly in the ointment" came from.

"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." This is found in Romans 13:1 and is the basis for "the powers that be."

How about the "writing is on the wall?" It's found in Daniel 5:5: "In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote."

A house divided against itself is in this statement: "But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.'" This is found in Matthew 12:25 and was used by Abraham Lincoln in June of 1858.

In Jeremiah 13:23 we find "can a leopard change his spots." "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil."

There are many more. If you would like to find more you can go to Google and type "phrases from the Bible," and you can find a few sites that list the different phrases that we have incorporated into our everyday language.

We can use these phrases and share where they came from. By doing this we can show that Christ really isn't powerless on the cross. That the words He and those who wrote the Bible used are still as relevant today as when they were written.

Amen.

©Jann Martin 2007