When You Walk By the Way

In Luke 24, the Risen Lord Jesus walks the road to Emmaus with two of His followers, one is named Cleopas. There had been the discussion of the things that had just happened in Jerusalem (vss. 18-19). It is an educational context, He’s teaching. Note three aspects of His teaching method.

First, in helping these men to understand matters at hand and to be revived from their discouragement, He opens the Scriptures to them, “O foolish ones, and slow to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (vs. 25). He does the same thing in vs. 44 with others, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was with you…” Here is the teaching point: we're to give ourselves to the Word of God revealed, the written texts of the Scriptures. This means giving attention to words, phrases, paragraphs and chapters of the Bible with their plain, on-the-surface, facts. We must learn to be observant readers. The men to whom Jesus speaks were being instructed to be well-versed in what had been written. Teachers, are you spelling out the plain facts of the Word?

Then next, another teaching method was employed by our Lord. He “explained or expounded...all the Scriptures” (vs. 27). Notice that His expounding moved through the pages of the Old Testament. With explanation linked with page-turning, we have to assume that Jesus was using the teaching technique of comparing one story with another, one part of law with another and one part of character plot with another. Verse 44 confirms that He moved in and out of the “Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.” What's the teaching principle here? It's reading the Bible thematically, with a trained eye to see repetition, rehearsal and duplication. I suggest that reading the Scriptures this way shows us the acts of God, and here we begin to construct themes like: creation, law, fall into sin, renewal with promise, renewal with oaths, signs and seals, judgment, representative deliverer, and hope, blessing, advance and peace. This aspect of Bible reading and teaching emphasizes the area of interpretation; it's seeing rightly systematic and biblical threads of God's work with His people. In seeing such biblical threads, the Holy Spirit escorts us into the New Testament to see Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior as the New Creation, New Law-Giver, Righteous Servant, Judge, Deliverer and more.

Therefore, last, His aim was to persuade them to draw righteous conclusions for a faithful, correct response to know who He is, in order to follow Him, and this is especially in spite of the surrounding circumstances (vss. 17-24). The two disciples knew that “Jesus of Nazareth...was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,” but their thoughts about His life and purpose, and the circumstances relative to things at hand brought about doubt, discouragement and loss of hope. He helped them with understanding the “things concerning Himself” (vs. 27, 44 at the end of these verses). Since the Lord Jesus Christ is the end goal of God’s revelation, the final revelation (Heb 1); and since He is the fulfillment of God’s promises, man is to respond to Him in faith and repentance. The things concerning Jesus Christ persuade us to put the spotlight where God wants it. It's a focus on Christ's Person and Work in salvation. Here is the teaching principle and practice that urges students to trust Christ, give Him devotion, and show repentance and newness of obedience.

Man has his own words, subjects of discussion and conclusions by which he lives, as pictured in miniature with these two men talking together on the road to Emmaus. Our Lord catches up to them on the seven-mile walk to teach them, and thus, to make them His disciples. He's the Master Teacher who states the facts of the written Word, rehearses the Scriptures going over the acts of God, and last, summons His students to repent, to turn to Him in faith and follow Him.

G. Mark Sumpter

Raising Old Glory on Iwo Jima

On this day 64 years ago, during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, United States Marines take the crest of Mount Suribachi and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery records the historic event. Several hours later more Marines head up the crest with a larger flag, and Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal takes what will become the most reproduced photograph in history: five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole.

The tiny volcanic island—located in the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan—was to be a base for fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. On Feb. 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed the island's inhospitable shores where a garrison of 22,000 heavily entrenched Japanese soldiers awaited in a system of underground tunnels.

During the next few days, the Marines slowly advanced under heavy fire from Japanese artillery. On February 23, the crest of 550-foot Mount Suribachi—the island's highest peak and most strategic position—was taken, and the next day the slopes of the extinct volcano were secured. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000 were wounded.

HT: Frode Jensen

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters. 10

“The ability to make righteous moral choices requires righteous desires and inclinations. Without a righteous inclination to the good, no one can choose the good. Our choices follow our inclinations. For man to be able to choose the things of God, he must first be inclined to choose them. Since the flesh makes no provision for the things of God, grace is required for us to be able to choose them. The unregenerate person must be regenerated before he has any desire for God.”

In Grace Unknown by RC Sproul, pp. 135-136


G. Mark Sumpter

Tel Lachish

Lachish is located about 18-20 miles by highway to the southwest of Jerusalem . The place where the ruins of old Lachish is set, is marked by a National Monument sign, and it's entry-way is primitive, with a gravel parking lot, etc.

Lachish is mentioned about 15-18 times in the Old Testament. And it's regularly mentioned to show how strategic of a place it was with reference to the location of Jerusalem . In short, if an army could take Lachish, then it was well-positioned to take Jerusalem. My guess, if you marched troops up to Jerusalem through the brush and thicket, and across streams, you'd be looking at maybe a 12 mile hike. Looks to be rough terrain, but it obviously was done.



If you go to 2 Chronicles 32, here is the amazing story of when Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, made moves into Judah, and he sought to position himself to overtake Hezekiah and the Israelites in the City of David—Jerusalem. He made plans to storm the city.


A most interesting feature is the siege ramp (seen above here). It was constructed by the troops of Sennacherib around 700 B.C. as a way to make his assault on Lachish. Hundreds of iron arrowheads were found in the ramp as well as a chain device that was used for catching the battering rams.

Chapter 32:1 tells us about the cities of fortification—and bingo, one of these is Lachish. As the story goes on in the chapter, it was the Angel of the Lord who came with devastation on the Assyrians; He slew 185,000! God put a trouncing stop to Sennacherib's efforts to invade Jerusalem.

As a Tel, dozens of civilizations had at one time occupied this mound. Hence, the height and the multiple layers of flat surfaces made for an excellent location for a citadel. Up there are ruins of blocks of walls for housing, armament stalls, and nooks for food supplies, etc. I was stunned to think that we were standing on the ground where the very King of Assyria once plotted, planned and resided.

From up on top, we looked directly east across rolling valleys to see Hebron and Bethlehem . Maybe it was those hills near Bethlehem where the angel and the hosts first visited the shepherds announcing Christ's birth.

G. Mark Sumpter

Thanks WildKat

“I was hauling superB's (those are 8 axle units that gross out at 64,000KG or roughly 135,000 LBS if I remember my conversions) hauling diesel fuel to a big plant going in at Fort St John BC. The day was bright & sunny, not a cloud in the sky. I pulled into the Brake Check on Taylor Hill (Hill up there is 8% grade for 10 miles or so).

Anyway, I get motoring down this hill (more like MOUNTAIN), jakes on full doing about 70 kph (45mph), kinda looking out the window watching the scenery, NOT a good thing to be doing.

All of the sudden I'm in the major fog bank & decending a bit faster than I'd like, BUT now I'm going too fast to downshift, jakes are now SCREAMING! Am sure I could be heard for MILES! I can hear some chatter on the CB, but am too busy trying to slow down to pay much attention... another BIG mistake. Am valiantly tring to slow this rig down when out of the fog looms this itty bitty curve sign...like horseshoe curve (BC is FAMOUS for those). The curve is posted at 30 kph (20 mph), I make a quick glance at speedo...YIMINY I'm doing like 80.

I remember thinking...I'm gonna die today. Well, somehow I got around that curve, to this day I still think I can see the tire mark on the mountain side of the road...

Anyway, old heart is just starting to slow some when I come out of the fog & I'm looking at literally WIDE open space...300 ft DOWN. OH NO I think...so I grab the wheel hard and give her another vicious twist & I'm back down the road again.

Now, I am major SCARED, I am going way too fast, too scared to try to downshift, RPM way major high, right against the governor I think. Then I did something REALLY dumb...I glanced in my rearview mirror... I see little puffs of smoke...hot brakes...%**# !!!

Recall I said there was chatter on CB? I shoulda listened...really I shoulda... Here I am scared as ... well I was really scared... going way too fast & guess what I saw? You got it CONSTRUCTION on the damned bridge!The flag girl she's a wavin her sign for all she's worth! By now my brakes are doin major smoke show...I'm NOT even slowing at all...so she finally bounds out of my way...thank god...& I hit that old suspension bridge with a mighty SMACK!

There's construction dudes scambling everywhere..the bridge is down to one lane, btw it has a metal deck...remember that...Everybody gittin EXCEPT the dude on the Bobcat coming TOWARDS me! The way he was boppin along think the was playin tunes or something but he didn't realize what was going on till I was nearly on top of him. All of the sudden his eyes got REAL BIG, I saw them, believe me! So...he throws his bobcat into reverse & looks REAL scared...recall I said metal deck plates? Well guess what was off in front of him & me? Yep you guessed it...the deck plates!

So anyway, poor dude on bobcat is now more scared than me, but fortunately we are starting to climb up again so by shear force of gravity I am slowing down, BUT will it be quick enough? Needless to say I did get stopped, about 6" in front of the bobcat & he was roughly 2 ft from the gaping whole in the bridge. When I thought I could trust my legs to stand we stood side by side by the whole looking dow the 200or so ft to the river below.

I ran that road everyday that summer & that construction crew finally let me live it down the last week. I look back & wonder how I survived it, I can laugh now, cause I'm sure I don't know how I got down that mountain in one piece, more luck than good management that's for sure. In 27 years of trucking I NEVER call ANY road a playground.

Trucking is NOT playing it's serious. I love what I do, & love what I am & when it comes to trucking I tend to be pretty serious about some things & can be flipant & silly about others, but I have way too much diesel in my blood to stop now.”

G. Mark Sumpter

Beth Shan

Ancient Beth Shan, situated in the central and northern part of the Jordan Valley, was known for it's strategic location because it sat at a crossroads for travel. You could go north and south to and from Jerusalem, and east-west between the Mediterranean coast and over to the Transjordan. The fertile Beth Shan valley provided crops for livelihood. Like so many prized locations in Israel, people group after people group came here wanting to stake their claim: the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Israelites, the Greeks and Romans. Today, you see a vast archaeological excavation site with a 7,000 seat Roman theater, a huge Byzantine bath house, a market place, and tall columns from the ruins of the false temples. In 500-700 A.D. there was a population of about 40,000!


In Joshua's day, Israel could not drive out the Canaanites from this location; the Bible tells us of the iron chariots used by Israel's enemy. The Philistine advanced weaponry proved too much (Josh. 17:16). Bible teachers customarily think it was not until David's time, about 1000 B.C., that Israel finally took possession of Beth Shan.

From Beth Shan, just 3-4 miles to the southwest, is Mt. Gilboa (pictured below). It was here that Saul and his army took refuge during a battle with the Philistines. Saul was thinking that the Canaanite-Philistine chariots wouldn't be able to handle the rocky terrain up around Gilboa.


But the Philistines advanced and slaughtered the Israelites, and Saul and Jonathan died in the battle (1 Samuel 31:1). The day after the battle, the Philistines found the bodies of Saul and his three sons, and they cut off Saul's head and stripped him of his armor. They took the armor and put it into the temple of the Philistine Ashtoreth-god, and then tied Saul's body and the bodies of his sons to a wall at Beth Shan (1 Sam. 31:8-10). David, still seeking to honor God with his treatment of Saul, had the bones of Saul and Jonathan recovered and buried in Benjamin (2 Sam. 21:12-14).

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.9

“Those who have been baptized into Christ really are new creatures—right now. They are defined by the resurrection as well as the cross and are no longer under the dominion of sin, Paul says in Romans 6. But lest anyone fall into the opposite error of some sort of triumphalistic perfectionism, chapter 7 reminds us that we are still sinners who do what we do not want to do and end up failing to do what we agree is good. Romans 8 ties it all up by concluding that one day we will not live in this in-between tension, but until then we patiently wait. ‘Who hopes for what he already has? (Romans 8:24).’”

From Michael Horton's A Better Way, p. 132

G. Mark Sumpter

Heeding Counsel

Hebrews 2:1-4 underscores a reason to resist spiritual drifting. In the Old Testament, the reason is the ministry of God's Word through angels. In verses 3-4, another important reinforcement serves as a deterrent to wandering from the Lord and His Word.

Verse 2 down to verse 4 provides a form of parallelism, I've italicized the similar words. The word, spoken and the words, steadfast and confirmed correspond in the respective verses.

vs. 2 if the word spoken by angels



vs. 2 proved steadfast



vs. 3 which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord



vs. 3b and was confirmed


In verse 2, we're to heed the counsel of truth, God's Word, because it was administered at times in the Old Testament by angels (see Acts 7:38, 53), and God proved faithful and demonstrated His accountability about transgressing His Word spoken back then through them.

In verses 3-4, we're to heed God's Word and resist spiritual drifting, because in the day of God's final revelation of His Son, with the dawn of the New Testament, the Word is administered by the Trinity. Here we see greater seriousness about carelessness regarding sin, after all, God Himself gave His final revelation of truth and life.

Look at the triad of the Persons of the Godhead mentioned in connection to the giving of His Word in the New: the Lord (Jesus), God (the Father) and the Holy Spirit.

The Trinity, the fullness of God Himself, with the incarnation of Jesus in view, is to serve as a reinforcement as to why we will not escape His just accountability.

With the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at work, indeed, it is so great a salvation revealed and accomplished!

G. Mark Sumpter

Bulimia Matters.8

“An enormous amount of research has been carried on within the Darwinian paradigm over the past century and a half, yet success has been limited to changes within those ‘fixed limitations,’ like mutations in fruit flies. Research has cast virtually no light on the really important questions, like how there came to be fruit flies in the first place. As one wag put it, Darwinism might explain the survival of the fittest, but it fails to explain the arrival of the fittest.”

From Total Truth, p. 161, author Nancy Pearcy

G. Mark Sumpter

Jerusalem 2009 Meets Leviticus 19:27

One of the things that we noticed and always took in is the way of life around Jerusalem. Often you see the whole interwoven life of the influences of 1990s-2000s popular Europe and America, right along with traditional expressions of a Jewish lifestyle. We often did a double-take when downtown in Jerusalem and saw an ultra-orthodox Jewish man dressed in traditional dark clothes, a blazer over a white button-down long-sleeve shirt, a prayer shawl underneath, his black hat and long scraggy beard and glasses, and then, we'd see he has the cauliflower ear plugs listening to his iPod! Or you'd see 14-year old young girls, some with head-coverings and a little house on the prairie dress on, and they are giggling listening to one another's ring tones on their cell phones! Then we saw young men and women in uniform just about everywhere! The Israeli army requires all of their young to serve a term. The young soliders have strapped on their shoulder a semi-automatic rifle as they walk the streets. You also see an American sporting a popular T-Shirt over there, where on the front is the insignia of the Israeli army and then the words, Guns 'N Moses! That's a take-off of a popular rock band from Los Angeles. The influences of commericalism, technology and popular European and American culture make for an unexpected blend in Jerusalem! But we saw it, nonetheless.

G. Mark Sumpter

Non Modo...Sed Etiam

Jeremy and I returned to Grants Pass from Israel a week ago today, and what an experience taking part in a 4-week, 4-hours per day, 5 days-a-week class of Biblical Hebrew. Between the historical, geographical, ecclesiastical, political, culinary, and biblical study, we have received an abundance and then some! We are still debriefing one another, our family and the church family here in Grants Pass on the wide ranging variety of things experienced.

We count nearly 40 places of antiquity where we visited; 80+ hours of Hebrew instruction, with only 1-2% of it in the foreign language of English; 8 places of dining of the real deal of Mediterranean-Middle Eastern food; for me, preaching twice in the Community Christian Fellowship of Tel Aviv; and then, two times playing pitch and catch hoping to keep Jeremy's arm in shape for his coming High School baseball tryouts!

We're super grateful for this time of learning and growing together. Pictures and stories will be posted in the short days ahead!

G. Mark Sumpter