The believer is to allow no place for bitterness within his life. The book of Ephesians directly associates bitterness with the sins of wrath, anger, clamour, evil speaking, and malice. Each of these sins grieves the Spirit of God and ought to grieve the believer. As such, Christians are admonished to put away all bitterness. As bitterness shows itself in the depths of our hearts, we ought to immediately seek the Lord and plead for His help in removing it by its root. In a similar passage (Colossians 3:8), we are admonished to “put off” many of these other sins mentioned. Always keep in mind that bitterness does not edify the believer or those around him, nor does it glorify the Lord. Simply choose to obey God by putting away and putting off bitterness.
In His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the will of His Father. Today’s passage calls attention to one of the areas in which He accomplished that will. It was the Saviour’s custom (or habitual habit) to locate and attend the local synagogue on the Sabbath day. What purpose did this custom serve? [The incarnate Son of God had no need of the fellowship and spiritual blessings derived from attending places of worship, yet His faithfulness to do so clearly testifies to the importance of faithful church attendance for those who know the Lord.] For the nation of Israel, the Sabbath or seventh day of the week served as the most important day. Christians in the New Testament meet weekly on the Lord’s Day or the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), yet the application of assembling together remains constant. Unless providentially hindered or physically confined, there should never be any question where the Christian will be at church time. Unlike the Saviour, we need the fellowship of God’s people along with the spiritual admonitions received from faithful church attendance.
