In Genesis 49:26, Jacob called his son Joseph a “prince,” a nazir in Hebrew, meaning someone set apart by God for a very special purpose, which God in his love and blessings enables the person to fulfill. 

In Joseph’s case, God placed the entire nation of Egypt in Joseph’s hands so he could save his family from famine to fulfill God’s very special purpose through Joseph of setting up and building Israel into a nation.

And the same in Jesus’ case too: in John 3:35 God “placed everything in Jesus’ hands,” so that through Jesus he could fulfill his very special purpose of rescuing the entire world from its “famine” to set up and build his new creation.

Jump ahead next to Hebrews 2:6-8 – where the author, quoting Psalm 8:4-6, asks the question, “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honour, and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

So we’re all nazirs and princes in God’s plan, then, who, just like Joseph and Jesus, have been set apart for God’s very special purpose of setting up his new creation on this planet. Except that “at present we do not see everything subject to us” (8), because God’s purpose in setting up the nation of Israel through Joseph had to be fulfilled first. 

Because from the nation of Israel would come Jesus who, in God’s great plan of “bringing many sons to glory” would be “the author of their salvation” who would be “perfected through suffering” (10), including “tasting death for everyone” (9). And because Jesus fulfilled that purpose, he was “crowned with glory and honour” (9), so that through his death and now his position as king of our world, he can get to work on the new creation.

So what we’ve got so far is Joseph being a nazir and prince in God’s plan to set up Israel as a nation, from which would come the nazir and prince Jesus to set up the new creation. But then we find in Hebrews 3:1,that in setting up the new creation Jesus also has his nazirs and princes, people in this world right now “who share in that heavenly calling” with him, whom he calls “brothers” and “family” (2:11). It’s a family business, which isn’t surprising when the new creation also happens to be “The building of God’s home” as well….(next blog)

Joseph grew up knowing he was loved. It was made obvious to him by Jacob, his Dad, in Genesis 37:3, and also by God who gave the teenage Joseph some amazing dreams that predicted great things for him (5-9). 

This love, and great future too, were then reinforced by Jacob’s blessing on Joseph in Genesis 49:22-26. “May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors” (26) – blessings upon blessings “by the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd and Rock of Israel” (24), that would enable Joseph to hold steady under fire from those who savagely attacked him (23-24). 

But why all this love and showering of blessings on Joseph? There’s a hint in verse 26: “May all these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.”

Joseph was a “prince.” The Hebrew word is nazir, meaning separated or set apart, the root of the word Nazirite. which gives us a clue as to what Jacob was getting at, because Samson was a nazir, or Nazirite, too – which in his case meant being “set apart to God from birth to begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines,” Judges 13:5. And because God had this in mind for Samson, he “blessed him as he grew and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him” (25). 

God’s love and blessings on Samson were connected, therefore, to his very special purpose for him. And the same for Joseph, because he was set apart by God for Israel’s sake too. This is why God in his love for Joseph (Genesis 39:21) lifted him out of prison to become the viceroy of Egypt so he could save the lives of his family from famine as the crucial means of setting up the future nation of Israel. 

Which perfectly fits the description of Jesus too, because God sent him for the sake of Israel as well (Matthew 1:21). And that’s why, in Jesus’ own words, “the Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands” (John 3:35). So Jesus knew he was loved and why: God had a hugely special purpose for him that would lift him from death into having everything placed in his hands (just like Joseph), as the crucial means of saving the world from its demise and setting up the future new creation. 

So does God deeply love us for the same reason? Is it because he’s set us apart for a special purpose that he’s blessing us for too? Are we in God’s mind too, therefore, nazirs like Joseph and “Princes in God’s plan”?….(next blog)

Joseph is a great illustration of what happens in a human life when God’s hand is in it. And what a life it is, as we can attest to, but looking back at our lives and Joseph’s life – and Jesus’ human life too – what do we see?  

A pattern emerges. Joseph, for instance, was loved. His father Jacob loved him “more than any of his other sons,” Genesis 37:3 – because at last, in Jacob’s old age, the wife Jacob loved most had given birth to their first son together. It’s not surprising, then, that Jacob loved Joseph and showed his love too, by giving him a special robe. As a young man of 17, then, Joseph was heading out into life knowing he was loved.

God the Father did the same for his son too. In Matthew 3:17 “a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” So Jesus was off and running knowing he was loved too.

Jesus did the same for his disciples. When he “knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father….he now showed them the full extent of his love,” John 13:1. Which he then expressed all through that chapter, and chapters 14 through 17 too. They got a full dose of his love to fill up their tanks – just like the Father did for Jesus – in readiness for the tough ministry they were about to enter as well. 

Which again was like Joseph, because he too had no idea what life he was about to enter into, and how tough it would be. Imagine having brothers who hated him so much they wanted to kill him (Genesis 37:11-18). Jesus was in for the same life too, his own people wanting him dead. But he knew his Father loved him (John 3:35), and what that did for him. So he wanted his disciples to know that love too, promising in John 14:21 that he would show his love through the Spirit living with and in them (17). 

He also prayed for all his future disciples, “that the love you, Father, have for me may be in them and that I myself (my love) may be in them,” John 17:26. So as we go through this life and whatever happens, we’ll know we’re loved too.

Which takes us back to Israel in the Old Testament, because the reason God chose them was simply because “the Lord loved you,” Deuteronomy 7:7-8. He promised he’d always love them too (9). Imagine knowing that as they started out, that they were loved that much. So God has Israel, Joseph, Jesus, and now us too – all knowing we’re deeply loved. Which sounds wonderful, but “Why does God love us so much?”….(next blog)

According to Paul in Acts 26:18, our lives can be personally “sanctified” by Jesus – meaning set apart for his purpose. So we’re sitting at the same table as the Israelites of old who were also set apart for God’s purpose. And the purpose hasn’t changed either. Jesus’ purpose for us is the same as God’s purpose for Israel; it’s to have faith in his word and power.

Which makes the story of Israel highly relevant, because not having faith in God’s word and power was their biggest problem. But having faith was tough, because of the power of the cultures they found themselves part of, all of which had alternative gods on offer, designed by “the ruler of the kingdom of the air,” Ephesians 2:2, to make “gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts” the main goal in life (3). 

Adam and Eve were the first to fall victim to the devil’s lure, and the gods of the devil’s creation through the ages did the same number on the Israelites. And for the same reason too. As Paul explains in verse 2, the devil’s “at work in those who are disobedient.” What gives the devil power in a culture is lack of faith in God’s word that leads to disobeying him. And as we’ve seen through our grim history the resulting wreckage in human lives has been horrendous.

Which makes faith in Jesus’ power so important in breaking the power of the devil. And it seems a lot of people are waking up to that, and especially in nations built on belief in what Jesus said and taught, because as that belief wanes the evidence of evil increasing is undeniable. To the point now that evil – in just about every institution built on biblical values that we could trust in before – has become so overwhelming corrupt, divisive, bullying and corrosive that people feel utterly helpless, and it’s creating a lot of despair, anger and frustration. 

Are we reaching the point – at last then – when the realization grows that God “made us alive with Christ” (5) and “raised us up with him” (6), so that “the fullness of him filling everything in our lives in every way” (1:23) is now available to us to keep our heads above water and out of the devil’s grip, and not just for our sakes, but for the people who know us, who see us not given to despair, anger and frustration. Because that’s how Jesus is destroying the work of the devil now, in those he’s sanctifying by faith in his word and power. And a great illustration of that is what happened to Jacob’s eleventh son “Joseph: what a life”….(next blog) 

God made it clear from the beginning that we have a formidable enemy. He quickly brought that enemy out into the open too, so we know its purpose and tactics, or “schemes” as Paul called them in 2 Corinthians 2:11, and how easily our enemy can “outwit us” (same verse).

Which is why the story of Jacob’s twelve sons and what happened to them is so relevant for us today, because what they fell for identifies both the problem and the solution – which never change. 

The problem was simple to identify. In Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:2, there is what he called “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” – a power at work in our realm (the air) – “who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” And getting us to disobey is easy, illustrated by Adam and Eve so easily disobeying God’s instructions, and then the grim story of Israel constantly falling for the gods of the nations around them, leading up to the time Jesus arrives, when what’s left of the Israel of old is a mess of demon possession, disease and despair. 

But into that mess – and in particular into the area of Jacob’s son Naphtali, where the “darkness” as Isaiah called it was at its worst – came Jesus with the solution. The solution being, in his words: “The kingdom of God is near,” Mark 1:15. So now we have two kingdoms, “the kingdom of the air” and the “kingdom of God.” The first is where we already know the problem lies, but in the second we have the solution.

And the solution offered by the kingdom of God is clear: it’s to nullify the lure of the gods, or as Jesus phrased it to Paul, to switch people “from the power of Satan to (the power of) God,” Acts 26:18. Which, as we’re learning in our world today, is desperately needed, because the lure of the gods created by “the power of Satan” is creating the same mess of demon possession, disease and despair. 

But what Jesus has his church understand is that the kingdom of God being “near” means God’s provided a way of breaking the lure of the gods. But how can that be done when people have already been lured into disobeying God and landed themselves in Satan’s grip? Well, that’s where the “good news” kicks in, because in Jesus’ words what God offers is “forgiveness of sins” – cancelling out the disobedience – “and a place among those who are sanctified (or cured) by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). From lure to cure. From the lure of Satan to the cure of Jesus – the cure being faith in him, “Faith in his word and power”….(next blog)

God tested us humans right from the beginning to see if we’ll use the powers he’s given us to keep evil at bay. He tested Adam and Eve, he then tested Israel, and now he’s testing the church. 

But why, if evil is such a problem, did God allow evil in the first place? Paul’s answer in 2 Corinthians 2:9 was: “to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.” And Jesus was put through that test too, because “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered” – the suffering coming from the staggering power of evil trying to outwit and kill him, Hebrews 5:7-8. 

But what that did was turn Jesus in desperation to his Father “to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission” (7). Jesus stood the test and obeyed his Father in everything. But the key to that was using the power he’d been given to keep evil at bay – the power being his immediate and total access to heaven. 

The constant test in his life, then, was: Would he use that access to heaven he had? Well, life as a human taught him how utterly dependent he was on heaven, because he discovered that evil was too powerful for him to keep it at bay on his own strength. But it was meant to be that way, because the test all through history for us humans, including the human Jesus, is recognizing our need for the power and authority that heaven has over the power of evil. So that for eternity evil will never be a problem for us. God wasn’t just thinking of this life – he was thinking what would keep evil at bay for all the members of his family – forever.  

Would we get the point, therefore, that testing our obedience beyond our limit now, and having to tap into the power of heaven as the only way to deal with it, is, in fact, God’s brilliant plan to make sure evil is never a problem when we’re eternal beings instead? 

And for centuries God illustrated this through the story of Israel in Canaan being up against evil they could not resist. God tested the Israelites again and again to see if they would obey him in everything. And they learnt through that process that they couldn’t. The lure of the Canaanite gods was too powerful for them. But when in their distress they turned to God, just as Jesus did in his distress, God always answered. 

And that’s good to know, because “The lure of the gods” is just as strong and irresistible today as well….(next blog)

In building his church, Jesus gave authority to the church to “bind and loose” with heaven’s backing (Matthew 16:19, 18:18). If someone in the church, for instance, had wronged someone else in the church but made it obvious that he didn’t care, Jesus said “treat him like a pagan” (18:17). Get him out of the church and have nothing to do with him.

The church, however, did not always do that. A case in point came up in 1 Corinthians 5, when a man in the church was having a sexual relationship with his father’s wife, something that even pagans at that time didn’t indulge in (1), but the church was “proud” of it (2). 

Paul turned several shades of purple when he found out, and you can almost hear him spluttering his incredulity when he writes, “Shouldn’t you have been overwhelmed with sorrow and shame, and by now have got the man who did this kicked out of the church?” (2). In other words, why didn’t you bind up the evil and get rid of it?

They hadn’t, so in verses 4 and 5 Paul does the “binding” part for them. “The next time you’re all assembled together,” he tells them, “hand this man over to Satan so he sees and feels the destructive force of evil in the hope that he wakes up to it in himself and is saved from it – and from God’s judgment.” Chuck him into the devil’s realm where for now this man belongs, for his sake and the church’s. 

And did the church do that? Apparently, yes they did. And it had the desired effect too. Tough though it must’ve been for the church to agree to such severe treatment for one of their own, the man got the message loud and clear, at which point Paul activated the “loosing” part too: loose the man from the obvious suffering and grief he’d been through and welcome him back to church with open arms (2 Corinthians 2:5-8).

Paul also admitted it was a “test” on the church to see if they’d obey (9), because it was highly important “that Satan might not outwit us” (11), or as Jesus put it, that the gates of hell may not prevail in his church. And that involves both binding and loosing. Bind up the evil, throw it out of the church, but when evil is admitted loosen up the punishment and provide a way back into the church too.

The incident in 1 Corinthians 5, therefore, illustrates the need to bind and loose to keep evil at bay. And it’s “The same test all through history“ too….(next blog) 

In Matthew 18:18 Jesus repeats what he said back in Matthew 16:19 about binding and loosing, as the key to the building of his church and the gates of hell not prevailing against it. 

And it’s in the context of this second time he says “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven,” that we get his message behind those words. And it’s simple and to the point: that in his church there is no compromise when it comes to good and evil. It’s bind the evil, let loose the good, because if his church takes that seriously it has the power (and authority) of heaven to do both.

Jesus illustrates his point with a practical example that will test the church on its understanding (and seriousness) about not compromising. It’s what those in his church do “If your brother sins against you,” Matthew 18:15. He’s sinned, and that’s wrong, so “go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” In other words, don’t compromise with his sin, deal with it. 

But deal with it heaven’s way, not hell’s. Hell would ignore the sin or excuse it so it festers and spreads and destroys the relationship beyond repair, thus enabling the gates of hell to prevail. But the church seeks a solution heaven’s way so hell doesn’t get a look in.  

And heaven’s way is the ‘dreaded confrontation’ with the person in the wrong. Tense it might be, but what if “he listens to you” (15)? What if the kingdom of heaven breaks through in his brain, and it dawns on him that he’s been opening up the gates of hell in the church instead? Good, because that means “you’ve won your brother over,” Jesus says (15) – won him over “from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). 

On the other hand, “if he refuses to listen,” Matthew 18:17, “treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” – and Jesus’ disciples knew exactly what Jesus meant by that, because Jewish tax collectors were totally cut off from the Jewish community; they couldn’t even enter a synagogue. So anyone in the church not interested in solving conflicts heaven’s way, out the door they go. A tough decision, yes, but it has heaven’s backing (19) – and heaven’s purpose behind it too, not only in keeping hell out of the church, but also a way back into the church for someone who’s accepted he was wrong. No compromise, then, means “Out, but a way back in too”….(next blog)

When Jesus told his disciples he’d give them “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 16:19, he included in those keys the statement that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 

It was said in the context of Jesus building his church (18), which he based on his disciples’ rock solid belief in him being the Christ (16, 18). To add visual impact to the seriousness of that belief, Jesus stood with his disciples at the Gates of Hell, the cave entrance in that massive rock cliff at Caesarea Philippi that the Gentile pagans believed was the gateway to the gods of the underworld. 

It was a watershed moment, because the Israelites of old had never shaken off the influence of the Gentile pagan gods, resulting in this entire region of their land in Jesus’ day being dedicated to the worship of the weird perverted sex god, Pan, whose centre of worship was this cave called – very aptly – the “Gate of Hades,” or the “Gates of Hell.”

It was a watershed moment all right, because Jesus was now saying – and right at this very spot too – that the gates of hell would not overpower his people again (18). The time had come at last when God’s people could resist and reject the enticing, weird gods of the world, neutralizing their power – because they now had the antidote to the virus, the power of “the Son of the living God” (16) – and to Jesus’ delight Peter understood that (17). 

And that meant his church would now have the power to bind and loose, which in context (and location) had everything to do with his church having the power to resist the enticement of the “gates of hell” gods in future, and be the light to the world that Jesus himself had come to be. Which fits right in with the purpose of his church in verse 19, to open up the gates of the kingdom of heaven in contrast to the gates of hell, so that people could see what his kingdom was like in his church. 

And the key to that was his church “binding” evil and neutralizing it, and letting “loose” the goodness of God in its place, both of which Jesus promised he’d give his church the backing and power of heaven to do (19), Because – as we see in Jesus repeating the binding and loosing scripture in Matthew 18:18 – there is “No compromise” for his church when it comes to good and evil….(next blog)

The backdrop Jesus chose for announcing the building of his church was a cave called the “Gate of Hades (or Hell)” carved deep into a cliff in the Roman administrative centre of Caesarea Philippi. It was a totally Gentile area, dominated by a great white marble temple built by Herod the Great to the godhead of Caesar. A Jew, therefore, would feel defiled just being there, but this is where Jesus took his disciples to ask them the question: “Who do you say I am?”

He’d saved the question until the closing days of his ministry, by which time God had made it clear to Peter that Jesus truly was “the Christ,” Matthew 16:16, the promised Messiah and “Son of the living God” sent by God to set up his kingdom on the earth – that for centuries his chosen people Israel had never been able to do, having endlessly succumbed to pagan gods and their vile religious practices, including child sacrifice. 

How fitting then, that at this gateway to the hellish practices of the demonic world, Jesus could now give his disciples, his budding church, “the keys to the kingdom of heaven” (19), that would open up the gates of heaven. 

What a moment that must’ve been for Jesus, therefore, when Peter blurted out, “I know who you are, you’re the Christ,” because that was the crucial key his disciples needed. “No one comes to the Father except through me,” Jesus made clear in John 14:6. It was on that “rock” of belief in him, therefore – pictured by that solid rocky cliff looming above them – that Jesus then said in Matthew 16:18: “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

And Jesus said it with the “Gates of Hades” cave just a stone’s throw away, to get the point across to his disciples that the church he was about to build, starting with them, would become a real power on the planet, unlocking the gates of heaven to “open people’s eyes and turn people from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). His church, therefore, would have the power to dismantle the darkness pictured by that cave. And no matter what evil did in its attempt to destroy the church, Jesus’ church would prove to be stronger.

But what did Jesus mean in Matthew 16:19, when he also talked about his disciples “Binding and loosing”?….(next blog)