In this Sabbath lesson from Israel Church of the Firstborn in Indianapolis, Brother Obadiah teaches on Galatians 6:17, from henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. The lesson traces those marks from Old Testament prophecy, through the scourging and piercing of Jesus, the warning he gave his disciples beforehand, the beating of the apostles in Jerusalem, and the stripes, shipwrecks, and thorn in the flesh that Paul carried for preaching the gospel. Every passage is read in the King James Version.
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1.The Marks Foretold
Brother Obadiah opens in Zechariah the twelfth chapter, showing that centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet already wrote of the piercing he would suffer.
Zechariah 12:10 KJV10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
"They shall look upon me whom they have pierced. So what is that telling you? This is Jesus that's speaking through the mouth of Zechariah. The Father was never pierced. It was the Son that came and died for the sins of the people."
He then turns to Psalms 22, read as Jesus speaking through the mouth of David long before the crucifixion.
Psalms 22:14-16 KJV14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
"This is Jesus praying, speaking through the mouth of David. They pierced my hands and my feet. Before Zechariah said it, David said it first. We're going to talk about these marks, because if it was not for these marks, none of us would have a chance at salvation."
2.Wounded for Our Transgressions
From Isaiah the fifty-third chapter, the lesson shows the suffering servant who would be despised, rejected, and stricken though he had done no wrong.
Isaiah 53:3-5 KJV3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
"He was wounded for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities. That's how you cast out devils, through his blood. You get deliverance through his blood. You get saved through his blood. By these stripes we are healed."
"Let's take a little pause for the cause. The stripes were severe lacerations and bruises caused by Roman scourging, agonizing strikes designed to tear deep into the flesh and bone. Before he was crucified, he was given thirty-nine stripes from a flagrum, a brutal multi-thonged leather whip embedded with sharp pieces of bone, metal, and iron."
3.Sent Out as Sheep Among Wolves
Before any of it happened, Jesus warned the twelve disciples what following him would cost. In Matthew the tenth chapter, he sends them out and tells them plainly what to expect.
St. Matthew 10:16-20 KJV16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
"That's how you are, sheep in the midst of wolves. These wolves are going to try to bite you, try to kill you, try to scourge you. He's already telling them what to beware of before he sends them out. You don't have to sit and rehearse what you're going to say. The only thing the Lord wants you to do is read the book, give it to the people, and sit down when you're done."
In Mark the tenth chapter, Jesus tells the twelve exactly what is about to happen to him, and asks James and John whether they can drink of the same cup.
St. Mark 10:33-34 KJV33Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
34And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
St. Mark 10:38-39 KJV38But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
39And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
"This cup represents suffering. This cup represents bloodshed. This cup represents rejection. You think Jesus is turning them down, but he's actually telling them, I know you're going to do it. You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and I also know that you guys are going to fulfill the mission."
4.Every Stripe Before the Cross
In John the nineteenth chapter, the lesson walks through the scourging itself, the crown of thorns, and the mocking, before Jesus carried his own cross to be crucified.
St. John 19:1-3 KJV1Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
2And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
3And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
"This is where they tied him up to that little tree, bent him over, and took that whip and started brutally beating him on the back. This was the scourging. They had already beat him until his bones and his flesh were wide open, dripping with blood. Think about who died on the cross for you."
5.Pierced, and the Blood and Water Came Out
After Jesus was dead, a soldier pierced his side with a spear, fulfilling what Zechariah had written and giving, in his teaching, a sign meant to be believed.
St. John 19:34-37 KJV34But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
35And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
36For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
1 John 5:6-8 KJV6This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
"He isn't saying anything about this being some God. He said there are three that bear record, that means I witness it, I was there, I seen it, that's what bear record is. All of these piercings, they pierced his hands and his feet, that was blood. This was going to prove that he was the Christ, the Messiah."
6.The Apostles' Turn to Suffer
The lesson then shows that the same persecution Jesus described came to pass exactly as he said. In Acts the fifth chapter, the apostles are beaten and commanded not to preach in Jesus' name.
Acts 5:40-42 KJV40And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
42And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
"After they got beat, that didn't stop them from preaching the gospel, because Jesus had already warned them what they were going to have to go through for serving him. When you are being persecuted for righteousness' sake, they were just glad to be found worthy to suffer with Jesus."
Saul, who consented to the killing of believers and made havoc of the church, is confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, and the Lord tells Ananias exactly what Paul's calling will cost him.
Acts 9:15-16 KJV15But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
"This guy committed murder, he was there when Stephen got killed, but the Lord still used him. The Lord will choose people to deal with certain situations, the way he chose Job because he knew Job could handle it. He chose Paul to show Paul how much he must suffer for his name's sake."
7.Paul's Marks: In Stripes Above Measure
The lesson closes with Paul's own catalog of what he suffered for preaching Christ. In First Corinthians the fourth chapter, he contrasts his suffering with the comfort of the Corinthian believers.
1 Corinthians 4:9-13 KJV9For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
11Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
12And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
13Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
"These guys were actually beaten for what they believed in. A lot of us just have to deal with a little lip service, people talking about us, but these guys were beaten down for it. I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you, this is what's going to happen to the true believers in the Lord."
In Second Corinthians the eleventh chapter, Paul lists what he carried in his own body: forty stripes save one, five times over, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, and betrayed even by false brethren.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27 KJV23Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
"Rods, that means they're all standing over you, beating you with a stick. In perils among false brethren, people are going to come in like they're your brother or your sister, and then turn around and break covenant with you and run away from you. All of this these people went through for the word of God."
He also carried a thorn in the flesh the Lord would not remove.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 KJV7And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
"When you think everything is going wrong, that's really when you're at your strongest. When the flesh fails, the spirit prevails. When you're at your wits' end and you can't go anymore, that's really when you're at your strongest."
In Galatians the second chapter, Paul says the marks of Christ's crucifixion had become his own identity.
Galatians 2:20 KJV20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
"How are you going to be crucified with Christ? You weren't up there dying with him. But he's got the same marks in him that Christ had."
And in Galatians the sixth chapter, Paul finally states the title of the lesson outright.
Galatians 6:16-17 KJV16And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
17From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
"We finally got down to the title of the lesson. Paul got beaten five times, forty stripes save one. If you've been whipped with the things they whipped him with, your back doesn't look the same. That's the reason Paul said, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus, spiritually and physically, and he wasn't by himself."
Closing Word
Revelation 6:9-11 KJV9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
"How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth. We're going to be avenged too, how we got whooped and beaten, how people treat us because we are true believers in the Lord. So when the Lord comes back, he's going to avenge his servants. Keep living. One day you're going to get a white robe."
Brother Obadiah closed by reminding the class that the true servants of God do not go unavenged, and that until that day the only thing left to do is keep praying, keep living, and keep bearing whatever marks come with telling the truth.
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This lesson was taught at our Sabbath service at Israel Church of the Firstborn in Indianapolis, IN. Join us every Saturday at 12PM, or watch the Sabbath live online.