Revised Common Lectionary: Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23

God has kept His promise. Christ has come. Let us rejoice in Him.

The prophecy has been spoken - ‘To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given... .’ The prophecy has been fulfilled - ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord’. Jesus Christ is our great Saviour. He is our ‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6: Luke 2:11).

Jesus Christ has brought to us a great salvation. Through faith in Him, we enter God’s heavenly and eternal ‘Kingdom’ (Isaiah 9:7: Luke 1:30-33). This is ‘Good News of great joy’- for ‘all the people’, for ‘all generations’.

Let us rejoice in the Lord, as Mary, the mother of Jesus, did - ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour... for the Mighty One has done great things for me... .’ Let us join with the angels in saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest...’ (Luke 2:10; 1:46-50; 2:14).

Worship the Lord, wait on Him and walk with Him.

God’s love for us inspires our loyalty to Him: ‘Your love is ever before me, and I will walk continually in Your truth’ (Psalm 26:3).

Loyalty to the Lord involves worshipping Him and walking with Him (Psalm 26:11-12).

Walking with God is not easy. There are ‘enemies round about’ us (Psalms 26:4-5, 9-10; 27:2-3, 6 ,11-12). What are we to do? We are to worship God: ‘One thing have I asked of the Lord…that I may dwell in the House of the Lord…’ (Psalm 27:4).

What are we doing when we gather in the Lord’s House for worship? This is what we are doing - ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage’ (Psalm 27:14).

Where does our strength come from? It comes from God: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation… The Lord is the stronghold of my life’. Strong in Him, we say, ‘My heart will not fear … I will be confident’ (Psalm 27:1, 3).

How are we to worship the Lord, wait on the Lord and walk with Him?

 * “The Word of the Cross … is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

I knew a man called John Mutch. He said to me, “Think much of the blood”. I called this the “much” (or “Mutch”) theology.

Let your faith be centred on “Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23) and, strengthened with the joy of the Lord, you will grow strong in a life of worshipping God, waiting on Him and walking with Him.

 *  Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).

Any progress we make in following Christ and becoming fishers of men is based on this – a deep awareness of this: we have been redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).

 -  Let our worship be filled with heartfelt gratitude for the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).

 - Let our waiting on God be centred on Christ crucified and filled with a growing confidence in the Father’s love, so wonderfully revealed to us in the Cross of Christ: He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not give us all things with Him? (Romans 8:32); If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:14).

 - Let our walking with God be filled the joy which comes from knowing that Christ is our Saviour. We walk in the Spirit when we say, from the heart, God forbid that I should glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:16; 6:14).

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The 1 Corinthians and Matthew readings are also suggested for the Second Sunday after Epiphany.

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Year B

Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:5-12; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Come to the God of grace, praying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

The people of Nineveh ‘believed God’ and ‘turned from their evil ways.’ God had shown Himself to be ‘a gracious and compassionate God...’ How did Jonah react? Was he rejoicing in the Lord? No! He was complaining - ‘Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry’. Jonah was a proud Jew. He despised the Ninevites. He didn’t want them to be saved. That’s why he was ‘so quick to flee to Tarshish’ (Jonah 3:5, 10; 4:1-2). What does God’s Word say about Jonah’s attitude? - ‘You have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else.’ We must not ‘show contempt for the riches of His kindness.’ We must not say, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men.’ We must pray, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ (Romans 2:1, 4; Luke 18:11-14).

Come to the God of grace. Let Him be your Rock and your Salvation.

The Lord is ‘my Rock and my Salvation’ (Psalm 62:2, 6). As you read the Psalmist’s words, let your thoughts turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our ‘Rock’ - the ‘Rock’ of our salvation. Through ‘the blood of Christ’, we receive the greatest ‘blessing’ of all - salvation (1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 16). No other blessing can ever compare with the joy of knowing Christ as Saviour: ‘Your steadfast love is better than life.’ Through our great Saviour - the Lord Jesus Christ - , we are learning to ‘praise’ God. We are learning to say, with the Psalmist, ‘I will praise You as long as I live’ (Psalm 63:3-4). What a great Saviour we have. He is greater than all our songs of praise. He is ‘too marvellous for words’- ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!’ (Mission Praise, 788; 2 Corinthians 9:15).

Come to the God of grace. Let Him teach you to live as a servant of Christ.

We are to ‘use the things of the world’ without becoming ‘engrossed in them’ (1 Corinthians 7:31). Becoming more worldly in our way of living is not a purely personal thing. We harm other people ‘for whom Christ died.’ They look to us for a godly example and we let them down. We ‘sin against them. We ‘sin against Christ.’ Our choices affect other people. We choose a self-centred life. We cause them to ‘fall into sin.’ We live a life of ‘love’, and they are ‘built up’in their faith (1 Corinthians 8:11-13, 1; Matthew 18:5-7, 10). How are we to live? Are we to become preoccupied with how our actions affect those who watch our every move? That could become very confusing and distracting. We must keep our eyes on Jesus. We must live ‘not ... as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart...’ (Ephesians 6:6-7).

Come to the God of grace. He will make you a new creation and a fisher of men.

This is a new ‘beginning.’ The prophets had spoken. Now, the Saviour has come. This is Good News. John has prepared the way. Now, he stands aside to make way for Jesus Christ, the Son of God’ (Mark 1:1, 11). Following Jesus’ baptism, there was temptation. This was Kingdom against kingdom. Satan’s kingdom was under threat. The Kingdom of God had come. Christ triumphed over Satan. In Him, we triumph when, hearing the Gospel declaration - ‘the Kingdom of God is at hand’- , we obey the Gospel command - ‘repent and believe the gospel’ (Mark 1:15). With the command, ‘Follow Me’, there is the promise, ‘I will make you...’(17). Christ’s call is ‘full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14). It is truth - a call to discipleship. It is grace - a call from Jesus. In Christ, we become ‘a new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We become ‘fishers of men’ (Mark 1:17).
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Year C

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19:1-14; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21

Let us worship God.

What happens when God’s people ‘gather together’(Nehemiah 8:1)? – (a) We hear the Word of the Lord (Nehemiah 8:2-3, 8). We come to the Lord’s House, seeking a fresh understanding of His Word. We look to the Lord, speaking through His Word, to fill us ‘with great joy’(Nehemiah 8:12). (b) We thank God for His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (8:13-18). In ‘the feast of the seventh month’, ‘the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles’, God’s people remembered how much He had done for them (Leviticus 23:34,42). In the Lord’s Supper, we remember that Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). (c) We dedicate our lives to the Lord (Nehemiah 9:2). ‘Do not be conformed to this world’. ‘Be transformed’by God’s Word (Romans 12:2). (d) We worship the Lord (Nehemiah 9:5). Let us ‘praise the Lord our God…’.

Let us hear the Word of the Lord.

God reveals Himself in creation and Scripture. He speaks through His created world. He speaks through His written Word. God is always speaking. He is never silent. Through His created world, God is speaking to us – every day, every night. He is showing us His glory (Psalm 19:1-2). He makes us aware of His presence. He whets our appetite for His written Word. The Scriptures lead us to Christ. Through faith in Him, we receive salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). Christ is the high-point of God’s revelation. He is the living Word (John 1:1, 14). The testimony of the Psalmist – ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul’(Psalm 19:7) – becomes real for us through faith in Christ – ‘I came to Jesus…My soul revived and now I live in Him’(Church Hymnary, 212). Make it real. Come to Christ. Come alive in Him!

With a thankful heart, let us dedicate our lives to the Lord.

Paul speaks about ‘gifts of the Spirit’. They are ‘given for the common good’(1 Corinthians 12:4-7). We’re not ‘to show off’: ‘Look at me. The Church can’t do without me’. When we draw attention to ourselves rather than Christ, we are not living ‘by the Spirit of God’. He moves us to say, with our whole heart, ‘Jesus is Lord’(1 Corinthians 12;3). We live in fellowship with one another: ‘the body does not consist of one member but of many’(1 Corinthians 12:14). ‘I’m happy – as long as I’m getting my own way’: We can do without this kind of attitude! What about ‘the common good’? Sometimes, things don’t go according to my plan. Perhaps, my plan needs revising – to take account of ‘the common good’. When self raises its ugly head – ‘It’s my way or no way at all’- let’s not forget the ‘still more excellent way’(1 Corinthians 12:3). It is the way of love – Christ’s love!

Let us follow Jesus in the pathway of victory.

Jesus was ‘tempted by the devil’(Luke 4:2). He was rejected by His enemies (Luke 4:28-29). When we look around us, we see nothing but temptations and rejection – What a negative way of looking at things! There is something more positive here – the presence of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1,14,18). Do not be afraid. There is no need to be discouraged. We need not be defeated. The temptations may be many. The opposition may be fierce. We can ‘pass through the midst of them’(Luke 4:30): ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control’(2 Timothy 1:7). Satan is persistent – They did not rest until they had crucified Him. Faced with such opposition, we – like Jesus – must walk in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:12,17-18).