By Jeremy Bell
I am going to highlight Christian agreement. Finding points of agreement helps build unity among people. Often, disagreements are in the application of fundamental ideas. I will share how Psalm 109 supports some salvation fundamentals. Understanding the unity across scripture is excellent theological practice.
Read what John wrote, quoting from John 13: 1 – 21.
‘Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to God, arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He took a towel and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
Jesus answered him, “You don’t know what I am doing now, but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said to him, “Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, “You are not all clean.” So when he had washed their feet, put his outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
For I have given you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither is one who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’ From now on, I tell you before it happens, that when it happens, you may believe that I am he. Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.”
When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.”’
All Disciples
Every disciple in the room with Jesus recognized Him as superior to them, though they were still learning who He was. They called Him teacher and Lord and He accepted it. To recognize someone else as teacher and Lord, one must recognize they are poor and needy. The teacher and Lord not only has something they desire, but the authority to grant or withhold learning, sustenance, and pardon.
It’s easy to look on this scene, and many before this, as teacher to student or mentor to mentee type of relationship. And that is good, they called Him teacher. But they also called Him Lord. After this section would come the story of how this Lord would provide sustenance for His people eternally, through the brokenness of His body. But first, a washing.
Teacher and Lord
As Jesus begins to take on a servants’ role to wash that which is dirty, Peter recognizes this Lordship, and he is compelled to rebuke this seemingly wrong activity. A dirty person could not make a clean master cleaner, but the dirty person would clean themselves before ever daring to come before the clean master. But Jesus quickly rebukes Peter to remind Him that Peter cannot make Peter clean. It is here where we read that Peter understands his position as poor and needy. It is here Peter embraces the Lords’ loving kindness and quickly askes for wholeness.
Jesus instructs him that he is in total whole because His work (the work of Jesus) is of infinite value. He serves and gives through grace. None of the disciples asked for it, none of them fully understood. One of them was a betrayer. They had all done some good things in their lives, but none of them established relationship with God or with Jesus on their own initiative. Jesus reached out; Jesus washed. They responded; they were poor and needy. Soon, Jesus would be judged, and in a short time the disciples would be judged and hunted down by the religious leaders. Those who judged those souls were delusional judges with power. The poor and needy, Jesus included when He was on the cross, needed saving. They were going to get it.
Make no mistake, Judas responded to Jesus and followed Him around. Jesus washed the feet of Judas. It doesn’t really matter whether we believe Jesus had paid the price for the sins of Judas or not. That forgiveness in whatever that meant was not applied to Judas. He was needy, but Judas never believed in his heart or confessed with his mouth Jesus as Lord, he never repented, he never had faith and so the washing of his feet did not make him clean like the others. The faith of Judas was not in Jesus, it was in men. Jesus loved Judas and treated him as one of His own until the very end.
Not Applied to All
Judas had a wicked heart, one that was falsely telling him he was not poor and needy and was in a position to judge others, even God. Before his death, Jesus demonstrated love that would call him to repent of these false beliefs and come to Him. But after his death, the time for choice was over, and that wickedness defines him for eternity. In that light, the wickedness judges and sentences him. His own actions condemn him and separate him from God forever. So, we may say let wickedness be separated from goodness, let what is evil be evil, what is good be good, and may they forever flee from each other as far as the East is from the West.
Because there is life, death, and existence afterwards, reading some scripture can get tricky unless you remember this truth. What I mean is that in this life, God loves people and desires that all should turn to Him. He demonstrates love and grace while we are still sinners in order for us to turn and be washed and become righteous. But, when we die, there is no more grace or love to cause us to repent if we did not turn. God’s judgement and hatred of sin is all that remains for the continued existence after death. In this way we can read Psalm 109 with compassionate eyes and just ears all at once. Evil should perish; let it. But until death, let’s help the poor and needy, the ones who don’t know Jesus, find Him, just like someone helped us find Him.
Hopefully that gives some perspective and things to consider while preparing to hear or read this Psalm. They are by no means the only perspectives or considerations, just the ones right now. Colored highlights are shown in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization, to unite similar motifs.
[ Psalm 109 ]
God of my praise, don’t remain silent,
for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me.
They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
and fought against me without a cause.
In return for my love, they are my adversaries;
but I am in prayer.
They have rewarded me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
Set a wicked man over him.
Let an adversary stand at his right hand.
When he is judged, let him come out guilty.
Let his prayer be turned into sin.
Let his days be few.
Let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
Let his children be wandering beggars.
Let them be sought from their ruins.
Let the creditor seize all that he has.
Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
Let there be no one to extend kindness to him,
neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off.
In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh.
Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be before Yahweh continually,
that he may cut off their memory from the earth;
because he didn’t remember to show kindness,
but persecuted the poor and needy man,
the broken in heart, to kill them.
Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him.
He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment.
It came into his inward parts like water,
like oil into his bones.
Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself,
for the belt that is always around him.
This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh,
of those who speak evil against my soul.
But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name’s sake,
because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;
for I am poor and needy.
My heart is wounded within me.
I fade away like an evening shadow.
I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak through fasting.
My body is thin and lacks fat.
I have also become a reproach to them.
When they see me, they shake their head.
Help me, Yahweh, my God.
Save me according to your loving kindness;
that they may know that this is your hand;
that you, Yahweh, have done it.
They may curse, but you bless.
When they arise, they will be shamed,
but your servant shall rejoice.
Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor.
Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth.
Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.
For he will stand at the right hand of the needy,
to save him from those who judge his soul.
Corporate Praise, Corporate Testimony
The poor, the needy, the worldly judged can find refuge in God through Messiah Jesus. They judged Him and He overcame. They put Him to death, and He rose from the grave. Jesus rose and overcame so that everyone would know that God is king of kings, Lord of Lords, and judge of judges. He is also filled with loving kindness, compassion, and mercy. Be sure, He is also just and His loving kindness and mercy will not apply to everyone. But for the ones to whom it does, they rejoice and glorify Him in assembly, in corporate worship.
Christians do this now to testify to those who don’t know Jesus the truth of who He is, the kindness He currently provides the needy by His grace, and the cleansing washing He provides irrespective of the dirt on the feet. This is the point of unconditional love and forgiveness, no one has anything to provide or offer to get it and no depths of depravity can keep Him from giving it. However, it is only applied through repentance, believing that Jesus is Savior and God, and confessing it with the mouth.
No one comes to the Father except through Christ Jesus. We have a needy nature of judgement that believes we can bring offering to Him that earns our way into a life without evil. This is a nature of deception that digs an ever deeper grave. Jesus offers to clean this nature ultimately through death but rebirthed into His nature, the Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Reliable Fundamentals for Healthy Discipleship Ministries.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.