Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 23

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - CRUCIFIXION

CRUCIFIXION

    Crucifixion was a method of capital punishment used by a number of cultures in antiquity; primarily the Persians, Carthaginians, and Romans. The latter are the peoples for whom this method of punishment is the most widely known, primarily because it was the method by which Christ suffered and died.

Crucifixion was a particularly cruel type of punishment; a person essentially died from suffocation because of the way in which they were suspended. But it was also noted for three other aspects.

First. It was an individual punishment. It was done to each, one at a time; no mass executions as by means of gas or poison. Each individual suffered as an individual.

Second. It was painful, excruciatingly so, and often prolonged. Crucification was one of the most painful means of execution known to man and, in fact, it is from the word crucification that the word excruciate has been derived.

Third. It was permanent. Essentially few, if any, at all survived crucifixion especially during the times of the Romans, where specially trained solders were used to ensure that each one was dead before coming off the cross.

Now we are told in the Bible that we are to:

Go your way…take up the cross and follow me [Jesus]. 

(Mark 10:21)

We are also told that:

 

…our old man was crucified with Him… 

(Romans 6:6)

and that 

…those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh… 

(Galatians 5:24)

Indicating that something very definitive has happened when we compare our following Christ to that of one bring crucified.  And, in fact there are similarities in some aspects.

First. Following Christ is an individual decision. No one can make it for you or stand in your place. It is a choice that each must make for themselves and even God Himself will not force it upon you. Each person stands or falls alone.

Second. It may be a painful choice in that old friends, old haunts, old practices have to be abandoned. It is a short lived pain, if at all, for the benefits soon start too far outweigh any initial discomfort that may be felt. But following Christ is not without its’ difficulties for the Bible tells that:

…all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

(2 Timothy 3:12)

Remember…if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you… 

(John 15:20)

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 

(1 John 3:13)

Third. If one does decide to take up their cross and follow Christ it should be considered a permanent decision. For it states in Hebrews:

…it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, 

and have tasted the heavenly gift, 

and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 

and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 

if they fall away, to renew themselves again to repentance, 

since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, 

and put Him to an open shame. 

(Hebrews 6:4-6)

So, in following Christ, there are similarities, at least in thought if not in action, of picking up ones’ cross and the actual crucifixion. But it also has to be remembered that, in any case, it is actually Christ’s cross we carry and even then the lighter end. Christ still carries most of the burden for us.

And that in turn should give us something to think about. 

Pastor Matthew Trott May 25, 2025

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 22

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THE GOEL

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                           THE GOEL

In the days of the Hebrew, God apparently gave a commandment which essentially stated that whenever a man should die a relative of his would care for his widow, provide for her, and perhaps marry her and have children. In this way, he would redeem her house and as a result would be known as the Goel.

In the pages of the Bible, this was seen to have occurred more than once. For example, in the book of Genesis, Tamar, a widow, became pregnant and it was Judah who became the father of her child and therefore her goel. In the book of Ruth, after Ruth became a widow and moved back to Bethlehem with Naomi, she met and married Boaz, a relative of Naomi, who fathered her child and from whom was descended King David. Boaz thus redeemed Ruth and so became her goel.

Thus, in essence, the goel was a male relative who would look after a widow, care for, support, and help her reclaim and restore [redeem] her life. This carried forward into the New Testament times as well.

When Israel and the Hebrew people were lost and feeling abandoned by God, was it not then that God Himself became the “substitute” father for Mary’s child? This child who would become the Saviour not only of Israel but of the world and hence would be the Goel. This would, in turn, allow mankind to reclaim the relationship that had previously been lost and redeem man’s rightful position with God. This is why, through the Bible, God is often referred to as the Redeemer or in Hebrew as the Goel

As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name… 

(Isaiah 47:4) 

…The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One… 

(Isaiah 49:7)

For I know that my Redeemer lives… 

(Job 19:25)

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,

And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts… 

(Isaiah 44:6) 

For your Maker is your husband,

The Lord of hosts is His name;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;

He is called the God of the whole earth.

(Isaiah 54:5)

Isn’t it reassuring to know that, if one will led Him, God Himself is willing to act as our Goel, redeeming us from all the sin we’ve gotten ourselves into and reclaiming the relationship we once had but lost?

It should be something we all think about.

Adapted from The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn, p.g. 244

Pastor Jasmine Trott - May 18, 2025

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 21

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - MOTHERS

MOTHERS 

Honour your Father and Mother

Thus begins the fifth commandment which in its entirety reads:

Honour your father and your mother, 

that your days may be long upon the land 

which the Lord your God is giving you. 

(Exodus 20:12) 

Mother’s Day was first instituted by Anna Jarvis who sought to honour her own mother. It was first celebrated in a memorial service at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in 1908 and became, in the US, a national holiday about six years later. Unfortunately, the concept of a day to honour one’s mother soon became so commercialized and overtaken by gift giving that the founder of the day was essentially asking for the holiday to be removed from the calendar and Jarvis denounced the very holiday she had herself established.

Does this not seem to be the case with many of the days, rightly or wrongly, that have been chosen to commemorate events both historically and religiously? Even though the date may not be correct, December 25 has still been used to celebrate Christ’s birth, and Easter, His death and resurrection. Yet these days, along with others, have become so commercialized that the original purpose for the day has all been but forgotten.

And so it is as well with the day chosen to honour mothers. It has become another time to purchase candy, flowers, jewellery, or something else. There is nothing wrong with purchasing gifts, but how often are such items placed in substitute for the real thing - the honouring of mothers and what they have done and continue to do for us each day?

When the commandment above was first given, women were felt to have no real place in society other than to be property for the male. They had no legal rights as such, no social standing, and were really considered just property. For God to give a law recognizing both sexes as equal and requiring honour was probably a new concept for the Hebrew nation. In fact, in many places in the Bible where the word father is used it really refers to both the father and mother as parents. 

So therefore, throughout the year mothers should be truly honoured, not just with candy and flowers but with the love, respect, and consideration they deserve. And if that is done then one can say that the fifth commandment has been upheld and that the chance of…

 

your days [being] long upon the land which

the Lord your God [has given] you

may come to fruition because you have given

Honour [to] your father and mother.

Always something to think about.

Pastor Matthew Trott May 11, 2025

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Book of Ephesians Part 20

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - MEANINGS

                                                                                                    

                                                                                              MEANINGS

One of the difficulties encountered when reading the Bible is the fact that different words may have the same meaning or the same word may have different meanings. This may cause difficulties in accepting what is being stated in Scripture.

For example, In Leviticus it states that:

On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight 

is the Lord’s Passover.

(Leviticus 23:5)    

It also says in the book of Esther that:

…the first month, which is the month of Nisan… 

(Ester 3:7)

Now, at the first Passover, the Hebrews were told to do quickly what had to be done for even…

…the Egyptians urged the people, 

that they might send them out of the land in haste.

(Exodus 12:33)

So apparently, the exodus began shortly after Passover in the month of Nissan. But in Deuteronomy it states:

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, 

for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt… 

(Deuteronomy 16:1)

It’s important to know the Abib refers to the month of newly ripened grain and is an older term in Judaism for the month of Nisan.

Similarly, in the Bible and in Mosaic Law, leaven is used to represent sin or corruption. And when the Hebrews were told to bake unleavened cakes it meant that they were to leave behind the sin and bondage of Egypt. Additionally, their cakes were not leavened because…

 

…they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait [for bread to rise]…

(Exodus 12:39)

In the New Testament, however, Jesus also spoke about leaven in a parable.

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, 

which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal 

until it was all leavened. 

(Matthew 13:33)

In the Old Testament, leaven represented sin and bondage and was to be left behind when the Hebrews fled from Egypt. Just as one rotten apple can ruin the whole bushel, a little sin can infect and corrupt a whole people. But in the New Testament, Jesus referred to leaven in a different way but again as a substance which can permeate the whole as it did with the Pharisees and Sadducees.

…beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

(Matthew 16:11)

But leaven may also refer to the symbolism of the church [a woman] mixing the message with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit [three measures of wheat] until the earth is permeated. Again, as it says in Matthew:

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, 

which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal 

until it was all leavened. 

(Matthew 13:33)

It’s always important to consider context and meaning when reading or studying Scripture and that in turn is something to always think about.

 

Pastor Jasmine Trott - May 4, 2025