Explore the Bible: 1 Peter 3:13-22

One of the most controversial passages in the New Testament in 1 Peter 3:19-20. One commentary on 1 Peter spends 43 of its 248 pages just one these two verses! Throughout the history of both Jewish and Christian exegesis, there have been many different interpretations of this passage suggested. Here I can only touch on a few of these, and share my view on the subject.

In his commentary on 1 Peter (the one mentioned above), Wayne Grudem lays out five general approaches to the interpretation of this passage. While there are some other variations, these cover many of the alternatives proposed by commentators. These are:

1) Christ preached in spirit through Noah to those who would reject that preaching, thus ending up “in prison” due to their unbelief.

2) Christ preached after His death but before His resurrection to those people who were imprisoned in hell, offering them a second chance of salvation.

3) Christ preached after His death but before His resurrection to those people who were imprisoned in hell, showing them that their condemnation was final.

4) Christ preached after His death to those who repented before they died in Flood, releasing them from Purgatory and bringing them into heaven.

5) Christ preached after His death to the fallen angels in hell, proclaiming His triumph over them and His ultimate victory. (Some commentators link this to a belief that in Genesis 6 the “sons of God” are fallen angels who had relations with human women, and that this pronouncement of judgment was particularly pointed at them.)

Option 2 is clearly out of line with the teaching of the rest of the Bible concerning the finality of death on our decision about Jesus. Option 4 is only viable to someone who believes in Purgatory, which I do not believe is a Biblical teaching. Option 3 doesn’t really connect with the time of Noah, unless it is limited to just those unbelievers, and that seems a rather limited application.

Option 5 is favored by many commentators, both Jewish and Christian (including the author of the Explore the Bible study guide). They argue that the use of the word “spirit” strongly suggests angels/demons rather than people. They also point to some Jewish literature as background to this passage, particularly 1 Enoch. According to this view, Peter is using material familiar to his readers to make his point, and they would have readily understood this as a reference to 1 Enoch and to fallen angels.

While there is much to commend this view, I think when we place the passage in its literary context option 1 is a preferable view. There are certainly issues with this interpretation, as there are with any of those mentioned, but I think this best fits the context, and has support from scholars both ancient and modern. It also does not require Peter’s audience to have a familiarity with literature like 1 Enoch, which may be more consistent with the historical and cultural situation of those readers.

Going back to verse 13, Peter is discussing not only the way a believer should live, but also the readiness of the Christian to proclaim his faith in Jesus. He notes that when we stand for Christ, we may encounter opposition, but that we should live and speak in such a way that those who slander us and reject our message will be put to shame. He then summarizes the gospel, then moves into our problem passage.

Using option 1 as our interpretation, this then becomes an illustration from the Old Testament of someone who proclaimed the message of the Lord faithfully, but whose preaching was rejected for 100 years. In the end, only the tiny number of faithful were saved, while the majority who rejected Noah’s preaching died in the Flood. It was Jesus who preached through Noah, with a message that foreshadowed His own redemption.

Whichever interpretation is correct, we must not allow the controversy to become our focal point. Instead, we should focus on the challenge of being faithful witnesses to the Gospel in a society that will revile us for standing for Jesus. As those who have an eternal hope in Him, we need to be ready to give our reason for our hope, and to proclaim the salvation given to us through Jesus whenever we have the chance.

Why did Jesus suffer?

[Note: This was originally posted on my blog on my home church's web site. I thought I would also post it here, even though Good Friday is past.]

Why do we observe Good Friday? When we think about the audacity of human beings to torture and kill God incarnate, our minds are unable to fathom a reason why this could happen. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ is the darkest moment in human history, yet we call this day "good."

In 1 Peter 3:14-18, we find Peter making a connection between the suffering we experience as Christians and the suffering of Jesus. We read: "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit."

Peter tells us that Jesus suffered for our sins. He, who was perfectly righteous, took on the sins of us, who are unrighteous, so He could bring us to God. Think about that. The way to God is a way of suffering. In order for us to be restored to God, our sins required judgment, and that judgment cam through suffering. Yet we do not have to face the judgment for our sins ourselves, because Jesus did the suffering for us.

This passage also points out the way we should react to suffering in our lives. If we are suffering because we have done wrong, we have no complaint; we get what we deserve. But if we suffer for doing what is right, we suffer in a very faint imitation of our Lord. He took on suffering that He did not deserve so we could be made right with God. We can take our suffering in stride because we know that Jesus has experienced suffering and understands what we are going through, even as He goes through it with us.

For me, the most moving service of our church year at CNCC is our Good Friday service. As we sit and listen to prophetic Scriptures and an account of the death of Christ, and as the darkness slowly envelopes the sanctuary, we are brought in a symbolic way into reflection on the terrible cost of our salvation. We are brought face to face with the agony of our Lord, even if it is only in a small measure, and reminded that the grace which gives us a salvation we did not deserve through faith in Jesus comes because He took a judgment He did not deserve on Himself.

Easter is coming shortly. We rejoice at the resurrection triumph of Christ, and often can't wait to get to the celebration of life over death and grace over sin. In our desire to celebrate, however, let's not rush past the cross and the tomb. The joy of Easter only comes because of the sorrow of Good Friday. We experience the "good" of salvation because of the "bad" of the killing of the Savior. Enter into the darkness for a while, and remind yourself of the price paid for you to be made right with your God.

Explore the Bible: Luke 24:5-8

The gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection focus on different details. Some look at this and see contradictions, but the four descriptions of the resurrection can be woven together into a single account. The process isn’t as easy as doing a cut-and-paste document throwing all the phraseology of each author together, but many scholars and teachers have made satisfactory renderings of the resurrection story. (I’ve dealt with some of the issues surrounding harmonizing the resurrection accounts in a paper I posted on my “Pastor Steve’s Study” web site.) Each gospel writer has specific emphases that they wish to make, so they focus on those details that fit what they want to say, without contradicting what the other gospel writers have written.

Luke in particular would likely have been aware of other accounts of the resurrection, given his interest in researching the subject of Jesus’ life and teaching. Matthew and Mark had likely already written their gospels (in fact, many scholars think Luke was dependent on Mark and at least a common source with Matthew), and while John would not write his gospel for a number of years the material of his account may have been in circulation. It is hard to imagine Luke deliberately allowing his account to contradict what he knew others had written and taught.

There is an interesting detail in Luke’s account that is not included in the others. When the women come to the tomb, they encounter two angels. One of them speaks to the women, beginning by announcing that Jesus was alive. Luke goes on to record more that the angel said: “Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” And they remembered His words.” (Luke 24:6-8, HCSB) Luke tells us that the first reminder of Jesus’ words about Himself to His followers was given by the angel to the women at the tomb.

Why would Luke alone record this detail? We certainly see Jesus saying similar things to His disciples when He appears to them in the other gospel accounts. If we look at Luke 24, though, we see that he moves from the angels’ appearance at the empty tomb and Peter’s confirmation to the account of Jesus’ appearance to two of His followers on the road to Emmaus. As they conversed, Jesus rebuked them in these words: “How unwise and slow you are to believe in your hearts all that the prophets have spoken! Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26, HCSB) Jesus goes on to teach them from the Scriptures (our Old Testament) about Himself.

Luke’s resurrection account sets up his extended account of the Emmaus road encounter (which is briefly mentioned by Mark, and not recorded in the other gospels). It is interesting that the gospel writer who was probably a Gentile writing to someone who also was likely Greek or Roman points to the prophetic words of Jesus and of the prophets to make the case for Jesus as the Messiah. Luke clearly wants to establish the fact that in His suffering, death, and resurrection Jesus was the fulfillment of the expectations of the Jews. Yet in both his gospel and in Acts, Luke goes on to Jesus’ words of commission to take the gospel to all nations.

The resurrection of Jesus was a confirmation of His role as the Messiah of the Jews, but it also was a sign to everyone in the world that this Messiah was not only for the Jews, but for all people. The death of Jesus was no accident, but God’s plan to provide for our salvation. The resurrection and Jesus’ appearances after it were verification that His sacrifice for us was approved by His Father, and that now through faith in Him we can be made right with God. As we read about the Passion of Christ, and about His glorious Resurrection, let’s remember what that means for us as His followers today.

The Baptist Faith and Message- I. The Scriptures (Part 2)

Ib.“It [the Bible] reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.”

Having a Bible that is without error and authoritative is good, but simply having such a book in existence isn’t enough. We need to know the purpose for which God gave us His inspired Word. The Bible doesn’t just give us spiritual information; it unveils a story from eternity past to eternity future, with Jesus Christ at the center. All of Scripture points to Jesus, whether in anticipation in the Old Testament, in fulfillment at His coming for our salvation, or in further anticipation of His return. He makes that point on the road to Emmaus when He teaches His two followers about Himself from the Jewish Scriptures (Luke 24:44-46). God gave us an inerrant an authoritative word so we could know the truth about Christ.

The Bible also reveals God’s standards to us. There are many today, even in the church, who want to minimize or even ignore what the Bible teaches us about God, about salvation, about humanity, and about the way we should live before our Creator. They would prefer to find standards that are acceptable to themselves and to the world around them. There is a desire to make some sort of Christianity acceptable to the masses, even if it isn’t exactly what the Bible teaches.

Yet if the Bible is only relevant and applicable where it agrees with what humanity consents to, it instead becomes irrelevant, since it only tells us what we already think or know. To truly understand an infinite God, we need a Word that comes from Him and that tells us the truth, whether it is what we want to hear or not. Thus the Bible is the standard by which each of our lives is judged, and is the standard by which even the creeds and statements of churches are judged.

We are examining the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention, yet this statement is only valid insofar as it reflects the teaching of Scripture. Creeds and statements of faith are helpful to enable us to organize and recall the basic doctrines of our faith, and to put together the teaching of the Bible in one place. They cannot, however, take the place of Scripture. When we put more trust in the human construction of a creed than in the Bible that provides the content of that creed, we can effectively make that statement an idol that obscures our view of Christ as it takes our eyes off of His inspired Word.

The Bible also is the center of Christian unity. No one can deny that the church is presently divided, and that some of those divisions are serious (not to mention ancient!). Many seek to bring all of the churches and denominations together, and to do so they want to downplay anything that separates them. While this effort is laudable on the surface, it often is more interested in creating a unity of structure rather than one of faith. We cannot lay aside the truths of God’s Word just to make it appear that we are one with others who call themselves “Christian” but who do not value the truth of Scripture.

We have God’s inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word in the Bible. God did not give it to us so we could have some divine declaration to enshrine on a shelf. The Word of God is given to us to show us God’s standards, to regulate our lives and our churches, and most importantly to show us Jesus and teach us about Him.

30 Days in the Bible, Day 2: John 1:1-14

Any discussion of God's Word has to begin with the Person who embodied that Word, Jesus Christ. John applies the Greek word "logos" to Jesus four times in the prologue to his gospel. While he may have borrowed the term from Greek philosophy, John gives it a much different content. "Logos" isn't just a philosophical construct, or even some sort of archetype which may have a reality beyond our world. The "Logos" in John is a divine Person, eternally existent with God while also being God Himself.

The doctrine of the Incarnation is one that goes beyond anything we can imagine a finite human beings. How can Jesus be both fully God and fully human at the same time? I don't pretend to have an explanation of it, but I think that the revelation of God as Triune and the revelation of Jesus as the God-man are meant to stagger us. If we believe the Word of God, and if we believe these teachings of the Word, we have a God who we can't fully comprehend, who is beyond us not only in power but in His very being. If God is like this, then He is isn't a simple God we can grasp and manipulate for our own purposes.

Jesus, as the living Word, pointed the way to the Father in His teachings. The Word gave us His words, and those words have been passed along to us by those who heard Him speak. Although Jesus certainly said much more than we have in Scripture (as John himself points out in John 21:25), what we have is what He wanted us to know. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of the gospels (and the rest of the New Testament) to write down the teachings of and about Jesus that were needed for all generations.

We, of course, did not see or hear Jesus while He was here on earth. Yet we still have access to the Word through the Word. The Bible reveals the truth about the living Word, Jesus, to us today. All of Scripture speaks about Him; Jesus even made that point Himself (John 5:39). May the written Word of God guide us to the living Word every day as we read and study it for His glory.

Tenebrae

As I stated in a previous post, my favorite service of the year is the Good Friday Tenebrae service. It's a solemn service, and very visual, but I find it the most striking and memorable service I participate in each year. I was introduced to Tenebrae at a Baptist seminary, attended for several years at a Reformed Episcopal church, and have organized or led the service at several Baptist churches since. It's not the kind of service most Baptists are familiar with, so I'd like to explain what happens so you can understand why the service is done the way it is.

"Tenebrae" is the Latin word for "darkness." As a separate service, Tenebrae arose from some medieval traditions of darkening the church during Good Friday services, but in the form we use it comes more from a liturgical Protestant tradition. It is a highly structured service, with a set form even of most of the words of the service; this is popularly called a "liturgical" service, from the word "liturgy" which means the form or order of worship. (In truth, all churches are "liturgical," but some are more structured than others!) There are times for the pastor to speak, and for the congregation to respond. The Tenebrae service anticipates active participation by the congregation.

The major focus of Tenebrae is the Bible. There are many Scripture readings related to the events of Good Friday. Many are from Psalms, and have verses that describe the experiences of Jesus during His sufferings and death. Others are of Old Testament prophecy relating to the suffering of the Messiah. There are also readings from the Gospels (Luke, in our case) and the Epistles (Hebrews). The words of the Bible tell us the story of Christ, and we immerse ourselves in God's Word during this service.

There is a highly symbolic aspect to this service, which is unusual in Baptist churches. The candles that are lit are extinguished and the lights dimmed to symbolize the encroaching darkness of Jesus' suffering and death. We recite the Lord's Prayer, but in a whisper to reflect our own awe at remembering the work of our Lord. The Christ candle (often from the Advent wreath) is extinguished and hidden to symbolize the death and burial of Jesus. Bells toll to drive home the finality of the death of Christ-at least, the finality the disciples experienced on that first Friday. We leave the church in darkness and silence, meditating on the fact that it was only through the suffering and death of Jesus that we are able to be made right with God.

The symbolism of Tenebrae is sometimes criticized as an effort to bring in "traditions" from other denominations into the evangelical church. (Seriously. You wouldn't believe what I read last night on some blog attacking Tenebrae.) Any symbol can be misused, so we do need to be careful that we are giving the proper meaning to those symbols. That's why I try to be very specific as to what we are doing in Tenebrae, and what all the symbols mean.

Ultimately, Tenebrae is a service that seeks to remind us, through Word and symbol, of the terrible price Christ paid for our sins. It is meant to draw our attention not to candles or symbols, but to the One whose sufferings they represent. If you leave on Good Friday thinking only of the "theatrics" of the service, you have missed the point. You should leave thinking of the grace of Jesus, and thanking Him for bearing the judgment for you.

The symbolism actually continues on Sunday morning. The church is brightly lit, there is joyous sound, and the Christ candle is there at the front of the church, lit again, symbolizing the Resurrection. We then celebrate the triumph of Jesus over sin and death. I just want to encourage you this week to take time to reflect on Jesus' suffering and death, and not skip too quickly to Sunday. We should recall what Peter wrote: "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." (1 Peter 3:18a, NIV) As the "unrighteous" who have been brought to God through Christ, we should respond with honor and gratitude for what He has done for us.

Preparing people to die

As we approach Good Friday, our thoughts are drawn to the suffering and death of our Lord. Many people want to rush right to the triumph of Easter, but if we brush past the occupied tomb to get to the empty tomb we miss what make the celebration of the Resurrection so joyful. We need to take time to meditate deeply on just what Jesus suffered to pay the price for our sins.

My favorite church service of the year is our Good Friday Tenebrae service. While it isn't one that most Baptists are familiar with, the focus on the words of Scripture and the visual aspects of the service create a moving and somber atmosphere that draws your attention to the cross. When you leave the church in darkness and silence, after a time of meditation on the suffering of Jesus, you are in a place from which the joy of Easter can truly flow. From dark and silent, the church on Easter Sunday will be full of light and joyous sound, reflecting the triumph of our Lord over sin and death.

I was listening to a podcast by Carl Trueman, professor of church history at Westminster Seminary, in which he stated that the role of the pastor is to prepare people to die. It's a provocative thought, but there is a lot of truth in it. Thinking about death runs counter to our culture, which is obsessed with staying alive (and preferably young). Yet we are all assured that one day, barring the return of Christ, we will all die. Are we ready for that to happen to us?

In His suffering and death, Jesus showed us how to be prepared to die. Jesus had a strong relationship with His Father, one that led Him to accept the Father's will above His own. He showed a human desire to avoid suffering and death if possible, yet faced His death with purpose. He went through physical, emotional and spiritual agony, yet in the end He knew triumph even in His pain. His sufferings were real (contrary to a variety of heretical teaching throughout history), but they did not break His confidence in His Father.

Before we can even begin to be prepared to die, we have to have a relationship with God. As sinners, we can't do that on our own, but Jesus made it possible for us to be right with God by taking our judgment on Himself. Through faith in Him, and by the grace of God, we can be brought into a right relationship with our Father. We continue to cultivate that relationship through reading and hearing God's Word, prayer, and service to others in the name of Jesus. As our relationship grows, we learn to trust God in everything, even in suffering and, yes, death. In the end, we are prepared to face death because we know it will bring us into our loving Father's presence.

Our churches can't be so focused on Christian living that they forget to prepare us to die. It is in preparing to die that we can really live, knowing that this life is only the beginning of a greater eternal life with our Lord. So think about the triumph of Jesus over sin and death, and the life He brings us through His victory, but don;t forget to think about dying, and what lies beyond death for you as you follow our Lord's example.

The story of Christmas...and beyond

Why is the story of the birth of Jesus Christ so powerful? Babies are born every day. Some are even born into very prominent positions. Just this past year we saw the birth of a new prince of England, and the world watched and waited for him to be born. We all like to celebrate a birth, so the birth of Jesus certainly resonates on that level.

Yet there is something much deeper about the narratives of Jesus' birth that move us. Even many non-believers find the story to be inspirational, and try to find some meaning in the story. A poor traveling couple, forced on their journey by an indifferent government, sheltering in a stable, visited by both the rugged shepherds and the refined magi- all these pieces are used by various people and groups to try to fit this story into their agenda for "peace on earth."

If this story was just the story of a baby being born, even one who was the Son of God, perhaps it could be used in this way. So many of the attempts to wrest meaning from this story fail, however, because they overlook the main message these narratives convey. There is much more to the birth of Jesus than the events that surrounded His birth.

Let's look at just a few of the elements the Biblical authors give us. Joseph was told to name the baby "Jesus," which means "Yahweh saves."  Mary in her Magnificat speaks of the baby to be born as her "Savior." The angel tells the shepherds that a Savior has been born for them. The Magi come to the baby's house and worship Him as King, even though they have called Him "the King of the Jews."

The impact of Jesus' birth lies in the fact that a Savior came to earth on that day. The story is one of salvation. If all we ever do is look at a baby in a manger, we miss the significance of the story. Jesus came to save us from sin and death. He came not to live an exemplary life (though He did), nor to expound great teaching (which He also did), but to die a sacrificial death for you and me.

Jesus came to earth to save us, even though we didn't deserve His grace and love. He came to give Himself for us, the selfish and self-centered. He came to bridge the gap between God and us, even when we didn't care about that gap. His birth was just the first step in a life that would lead Him to a brutal cross on behalf of a humanity that needed to be reconciled to God and couldn't do it on our own.

As you celebrate the Christmas season, don't lose sight of the fact that the story of Jesus' time on earth only begins with His birth. It's not the whole story, and you can't somehow make it mean something it isn't intended to be. Jesus was born to make a way for you and me to be made children of God, and through faith in Him we can be assured of a place with Him for all eternity. Let that message be the one that comforts you in this Christmas season.

Another new Jesus conspiracy

I just read another article about a supposed "Bible scholar" who has come to the conclusion Jesus never existed. He claims that the story of Jesus was made up by the Romans (yes, the Romans) to pacify the Jews after the campaign of Titus by substituting a meek Messiah who urged submission to authority rather than the national hero many Jews expected. The purpose of his presentation, he says, is to show us how governments manipulate religion for their own purposes, and how Christianity is nothing but a Roman plot to do just that.

I'm not mentioning names because I think even the most skeptical reader of this blog would admit this is a pretty far-fetched construction. (The first article I read said even other "Jesus conspiracy buffs" reject it outright.) The dates don't align, the Romans had no reason or inclination to pacify the Jews (especially after Titus!), and, if this was a Roman plot to pacify the Jews, it failed spectacularly. But the author will get some attention, because people want to believe that Jesus wasn't really who He said He was.

Why is that the case? If Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and God Himself, the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of humanity, that means we are subject to Him and to His commands. It means that human beings are not autonomous creators of our own destinies, but rebellious sinners in need of reconciliation with God. It means, quite frankly, that we are wrong about ourselves, our lives, and reality itself. And ever since the Garden of Eden, we don;t like to be told that there is Someone to whom we are accountable.

What bothers people more, however, may be the very "good news" that sets all of that right. Through the real, historical Jesus, both man and God, and what He did on our behalf on the cross, all of our sin and rebellion can be forgiven and we can be reconciled to God and made right in His sight. All we are required to do is to place our faith in Him as the one and only way to God. It's a simple but life-changing transaction.

Why don't more people do this? I think one reason out of many is that Jesus tells us, "You are separated from God, and there's nothing you can do about it apart from me." People don't like to be told they have no control over their lives. They don't like to be told they can't help themselves out of their troubles. They don't like to be told they can't get to God without help. Accepting Jesus' offer is admitting your own sin and helplessness, and acknowledging that you don't have the power to get right with God yourself.

One way to avoid dealing with this is attempts to prove Jesus never existed, or that He was just some ancient Middle Eastern preacher, or that He was a great man but certainly not God. So we'll continue to have re-creations of Jesus in the image that satisfies the "scholar" and his viewpoint, that avoid confronting who Jesus is directly. Jesus will still be there, ready for them to come to their senses and see their need for Him, and always ready to forgive and reconcile.

A child shows the way

As a parent, I see the difficulty that so many children of all ages are having growing up in our American society today. There are pressures that I couldn't have imagined when I was in that age group years ago. Media influences, peer pressure, social media. political correctness, and other outside pressures put them under a microscope that didn't exist when I was a child.

So how do we teach our children to respond to all this pressure? I think that a vignette from the gospel of Luke shows us a beginning. Luke tells the story of Jesus' trip to the Temple with His parents. They went for the annual celebration of the Passover, as required by the Law. Since Jesus was 12 years old, this would have been the first year He was required to make the trip as a man, although He probably had done it before. They probably stayed for the week of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, then began to travel back to their home.

His parents had traveled for a day before they realized Jesus wasn't with them. This sounds shocking to us, but Luke tells us they thought Jesus was with some of their relatives and friends, which would have been a fairly common practice of that time. Maybe someone else had offered to look after Jesus, or to have Him travel with other children His own age. We don't know who was supposed to be watching out for Him, but in the end it was His mother and father who made the trip back, frantically looking for their son.

They found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers of the Law, listening and asking them questions. He was also providing them with some astonishingly insightful answers. When questioned by Mary, He simply replied, "Didn't you know I had to be in My Father's house?" (Luke 2:49). Jesus as a child wanted to learn more about His Father and about the Word of God.

How does this apply to children today? I don't think any of us think our child is the moral and spiritual equivalent of Jesus. (I don't think any of us think we ourselves are either, for that matter.) Still, the interest Jesus showed in learning from the Word and in understanding how He should live in the presence of HIs Father is something we should seek to instill in our children. The best way to avoid the pressures of the world is to understand the truth of God's Word and to apply that truth to our lives.

I recently sat in on a class with some children who spoke of how they were picked on at school. I could tell from their words and expressions that this was an unpleasant part of their lives. When asked how they dealt with it, they responded with some typical answers like punching the person or insulting them back, only to say then that while that's what they would like to do, they knew that they shouldn't respond that way. I think those children have started to really take in and live out the teaching of the Word.

I'm not saying that this is easy for children, or even for adults. What I am saying is that this is where we have to start. We cannot resist the call of the world if we don't hear the call of Christ louder. We can't hear Christ call if we don't spend time taking in His Word, through reading, meditation, and teaching. Jesus had to spend that time when He was here on earth; why would we think we don't? Let's help our children learn that lesson, and continue to take it in for ourselves.

What Jesus Demands From the World

Some of you may recognize the title of this post as that of an excellent book by John Piper. Have you ever read a book where it seems that you can't get through more than a chapter before you have to stop and really think about what the author is saying? That's what I'm finding with this book. What makes that all the more amazing is that the chapters are intentionally short.

What makes me stop is how each of these chapters, pointing out a demand of Jesus, not only makes a claim on my life, but is potentially life-altering. And I'm only on chapter 9! Piper says that the later chapters will be the more detailed demands, but I'm finding plenty in these supposedly more general chapters to keep me occupied.

It's not that these verses are unfamiliar. I appreciate Piper's emphasis on presenting the words of Jesus as they appear in the Gospels, rather than picking away at the supposed process underlying the text (which often becomes the preoccupation of those dealing with the Gospels, to the detriment of the actual passage). That means a lot of what he discusses is based on very familiar ground, if you have studied the Bible for even a short length of time. 

Maybe that all comes back to one of the foundational teachings of the Reformation: the perspicuity of Scripture, which is an obscure way of saying the clarity of the teaching of the Bible. There are many deep and difficult passages in the Bible, and a lot of material that requires knowing something of the cultural, historical, and religious background of the times. But a large portion of the Bible is plain and can be understood by anyone (with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course).

Many of the hardest teachings for us to follow are those easy to understand. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts I do understand." While there is some doubt he actually said it, it makes sense. The central message of the Bible, that we are sinners who can't save ourselves and need to have faith in the person and work of Jesus to become right with God, is clearly stated many times, and is a huge stumbling block to many. For Christians, it isn't the obscure teachings of Scripture that trip us up nearly as often as the clear commands of the Bible. Easy to understand doesn't mean easy to do.

I expect that as I continue to make my way through this book (slowly, and with some thought) I will find more than enough challenges in what is familiar to keep me on my knees and working to become more like Christ. The familiar can become new when you look at it with a fresh perspective, and John Piper is helping me do that with these verses.

Sunday sermon: "Jesus Meets an Adoring Crowd"

[NOTE: As part of my promise to make up for missing posts, I present the missing Sunday sermon from Palm Sunday.]

The crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on His Triumphal Entry was in many ways no different from the crowds that acknowledge Jesus in our own time. Many of those present had likely heard about Jesus' teaching and miracles. The bulk of the crowd, in fact, was probably fellow travelers from Galilee with whom Jesus moved on His way to the Passover. These people knew about Jesus' reputation, and perhaps they believed the time was right for this wonder-working prophet from Nazareth to take charge of the situation in Jerusalem.

In the account of the Triumphal Entry in Matthew 21, we read that the people were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Their cry of "Save now!" (Hosanna!) was eerily prescient, but in their mouths was more likely to be asking that Jesus do something about their temporal and political state right at that moment. Calling Him the "Son of David" indicated that they were prepared for Him to take His place on David's throne. They wanted Jesus to kick out the Romans and re-establish Israel as a powerful and independent kingdom.

The people in the crowd that day were ready to accept Jesus as their king- provided He came on their terms. They wanted to set the conditions under which they would accept Him as their Lord. As long as He conformed to what they thought the Messiah should be, they would let Him be the Messiah. Their main concern was for themselves and their own earthly future.

This is really not much different than the reaction of people in our world to Jesus. As long as He comes in to fix their problems, bring them health and happiness, provide them with nice moral teaching, but then not be too demanding, they will accept Him. Many, including Christians, want a Jesus who doesn't threaten to overturn their lives, and who meets their needs on their terms.

The problem with this interpretation, of course, is that Jesus comes as King on His terms. Jesus is King and Lord whether or not we accept Him as that. We can choose to rebel, but we cannot topple Him from His throne. As Jesus comes to our world, He offers us not the choice of whether or not we will make Him King, but whether or not we will live like citizens and subjects of His kingdom. We can choose to follow another king, but only as rebels who follow a usurper.

This means that Jesus is not only King over those who believe in Him, but over all. Satan may be the "prince of this world" temporarily, but only because he is the leader of the rebellion against God. The Bible may call him a prince as a pretender, but it never acknowledges Satan as a king, even for now. We are no different; we may think we are "king" and try to rule our own lives, but we are still in reality the subjects of the Almighty King of Kings.

The question before us today is, will we live our lives in a right relationship with King Jesus, accepting His Lordship on His terms, or will we rebel and live for ourselves? Jesus is King. Our lives find their fulfillment in living as part of His kingdom.

Sunday sermon: "The Center of Our Story"

As far as Jesus' followers knew, He was dead. The disciples were in hiding. The women who went to the tomb expected to find Jesus' body there. None of His followers expected Him to rise from the dead, despite His own teaching that He would. Thus, when they found the tomb empty, the women were as surprised as anyone. When they saw Jesus, it was no vision or hysterical hallucination based on their hopes. Their own grasp of His feet was evidence enough that He was truly alive, and had left the grave in bodily form.

One of the striking characteristics of the resurrection narratives in the gospels is that they give us no description of Jesus leaving the tomb. While later apocryphal gospels and other writings invent those details, the canonical gospels do not. In Matthew 28 we have the account of the angel descending and rolling the stone away, and of the fainting of the guards at the sight, but even they do not see Jesus leave the tomb. All they know is that when they come to, the tomb is empty. It is not the triumphal appearance of the glorious Lord that is left as evidence, but the stark fact of the empty tomb.

The transformation in Jesus' disciples was complete. In a matter of days, they would go from a group depressed and defeated to one which would literally change the world. They had a message which no other religion or philosophy could match: that in Jesus, sin and death were defeated and new life was possible. The message of the resurrection is that you don't need to earn your own way into heaven (in fact, Christianity teaches the opposite, that there is no way you can earn your own salvation), but that through faith in the risen and living Lord Jesus new life is freely given to all who believe.

Matthew's gospel records the one event that was the flip side of this message. Some of the guards at the tomb, who had seen what had happened and were witnesses that the tomb was empty, went and reported this to the chief priests. These priests were the religious elite of Israel, Jews who were well trained in the Scriptures and knew the prophecies. They had, in fact, asked for a guard to be posted precisely because they knew Jesus had predicted His resurrection. Yet faced with the reality of the empty tomb and the phenomena witnessed by the guards, they willfully refused to believe that Jesus was alive. They chose to create a ridiculous cover story (how did the guards know what happened while they slept?) rather than accept what the resurrection of Jesus meant for them and their religious empire.

Christianity means many things, and there are many teachings that we as Christians have to learn and follow. The center of our story, however, is that through the power of the resurrected Jesus God has shown us the way to new life and to becoming part of the family and the kingdom of God. This is what the church still has to offer the world, a message that can be found nowhere else. As long as we have this offer of salvation and life, we will never be irrelevant to the world in which we live, no matter how our culture changes.

Sunday sermon: "Jesus Meets Persistent Pleaders"

Putting the two pericopes (a fancy scholarly term for "paragraph" or "short literary section") from Matthew 20:20-34 in context highlights the contrast between two similar events. In each section, two men are asking Jesus for something. (James and John try to sneak their request through their mother, who some scholars think may have been Jesus' aunt, but Jesus sees through that.)  In each Jesus asks "What do you want?" And, despite what some people have written, both were answered.

The major difference between the two requests was not in their content, but in their motivation. James and John (and possibly their mother) were motivated by pride. They wanted the chief positions of honor in the kingdom. Perhaps they legitimately thought they had earned those positions, as two of Jesus' closest confidants (as well as possibly His cousins). They may also have just been trying to preempt the other disciples by getting their request in first. In either case, their was a lot of self at the center of their request.

That really isn't much different than what we see in a lot of what passes for "Christian" teaching today. A whole group of "health and wealth" preachers teach that you should ask for what you want, and expect God to give it to you. Some even say that if you ask the right way, God must give you what you ask for. This places the emphasis in prayer on the petitioner, who puts him- or herself at the center of the universe. Prayers like this are made by people who essentially think of themselves as God. the one in control.

Jesus first challenges James and John with the price they would have to pay: the same kind of suffering He was facing Himself. Their glib "Yes, we can!" response was met with the assurance that they would indeed pay a great price. Still, Jesus told them "no." He would not give them the position they sought, because it was not His to give, but was already prepared by the Father for those whose it was.

The rest of the disciples, scarcely less ambitious, were angry with the two, and Jesus rebuked them as well. The key to greatness in His kingdom is not position, but service. The greatest is the one who serves the most; first place goes to the lowliest. How would this attitude taking root in our churches today change the dynamics of our congregations? What would it mean if we chose leaders on the basis of who served the most rather than who jockeyed for power best?

The two men in the other pericope stand in contrast to the disciples. They certainly want their request heard, and they call out persistently for Jesus. Their cry shows their heart: "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" They acknowledge who Jesus is, as Lord and as Messiah, and they ask for mercy, not for something they think they deserve. They believed Jesus could help them, so they cried out for Him.

Jesus answers them with a "yes." In their case, He heals their blind eyes, and in response they follow Him. This apparently means they took to the road to Jerusalem with Jesus' band of pilgrims. Perhaps they were there for the eventful week that led to the death and resurrection of Jesus. In any case, their response to Jesus' mercy was to give Him themselves.

What is our attitude in prayer? Do we pray like we expect God to recognize our worthiness to receive anything we want? Or do we humbly ask our Lord to show us His mercy? Do we respond to the mercy and generosity of God by asking for even more, or by giving Him all we are? We can't buy God's grace; we can't match the price He paid. All we can do is give Him what we have, in humble service and gratitude for all we have received by His grace.

Sunday sermon: "Jesus Meets a Dead Man"

In studying John 11, you can find a lot of information, discussion, and opinion on a wide range of topics. I wasn't kidding when I told the congregation this morning I could get several messages out of the material in this chapter.Much attention is paid to Jesus' statement to His disciples about the glory of God, to the responses of Martha and Mary, to the mourners who were present, and of course to the great statement "I am the resurrection and the life."

The one character who seems to be neglected is Lazarus. Many studies I looked at almost treat the raising of Lazarus as an afterthought, as if it was done just to illustrate the previous portions of the passage. Yet the raising of Lazarus shows us Jesus in a powerfully emotional light, one that is almost perplexing as we read the strong words used of His reactions.

Verse 33 is the key. Depending on which translation you read, you see words like "angry," "deeply moved,"and "groaned," followed by "deeply moved" and "troubled."  The Greek words translated here are not often used, and they are very strong words. Clearly something in this scene affected Jesus greatly. While some commentators believe Jesus was just caught up in the general emotion of the family and friends, I don't believe that does justice to what He felt, especially given that He was going to bring Lazarus back to life shortly.

I believe that what upset Jesus was seeing the effects of sin on the world He had created. There was sickness, death, pain, sorrow, and unbelief all around Him. A world which had originally been created "very good" was now corrupted and cursed due to sin. Jesus did not take the corruption of the world lightly; it brought out strong emotions in Him, even as He was about to do something about it-not only here at Lazarus' tomb, but shortly thereafter on the cross.

It is easy for us to shrug our shoulders at all the disasters, corruption, and evil in our world and say, "Well, that's just the way it is." While that certainly may be so, we should never treat the effects of sin and the curse on our world with indifference. Jesus  was powerfully moved emotionally, so much so that He took the greatest action possible and sacrificed Himself to erase the judgment of sin for those who believe on Him. We should not only mourn with those who mourn, but be moved to act to alleviate the effects of our sinful world in whatever way we can.

Of course, the greatest way to defeat sin is to see someone come to faith in Jesus. Like Lazarus, the person who is still in their sins is dead. They cannot help themselves, and they need to respond to Jesus' call to life. We can be used by the Spirit as the voice of Jesus calling to the dead to come to life. Only Jesus has the power to bring life, through the work of His Spirit, but He chooses to use us to call sinners to life in Him.

As you meet "dead people" this week wherever you go, be the voice of Jesus, and show the life He gives, and call people to eternal life through Him.

The faithful Martha

In most preaching on the raising of Lazarus, the focus is on everything that leads up to the event rather than on the event itself. I will be focusing on Jesus' encounter with Lazarus primarily, be the rest of the story certainly merits consideration. We'll be reading John 11:1-44 before the sermon, and the passage will really speak for itself.

One of the more intriguing twists in the story is the way Mary and Martha switch roles. Most of the time we see Mary as the contemplative one, who would rather spend time with Jesus than prepare a meal or who poured out her expensive perfume as a gift to Him. Martha is the worker, the one who is busy serving, but who sometimes misses the "necessary thing." Commentators and Bible scholars sometimes use the contrast between the two sisters as illustrations of one too busy with service to contemplate Jesus versus one who seeks a closer relationship with Him, much to Martha's discredit.

Because of that portrait of Martha. it is important to note her role in this passage. She is the one who goes to meet Jesus, while Mary stays in the house, and does not come until she is called. While both sisters remark that if Jesus had been present Lazarus would not have died, it is Martha who adds that she knows Jesus can do anything God allows Him to do. Martha is the one who professes faith in the Resurrection and in Jesus as the One with the power over death. Had we only John 11, it is Martha who would be held up as the paragon of faith, while Mary might be seen as one whose faith is lost when events don't go her way.

Of course, such a characterization would not be true. Both sisters clearly had faith in Jesus, although that faith was expressed in different ways in response to different situations. But while Mary generally receives her due (and some commentators even use the other passages about her to try and force a positive meaning on her actions here), Martha remains in our minds as the one too busy to spend time with Jesus. That picture needs correction from the Gospel accounts.

Faith expresses itself in many ways. I believe God created us each with our own temperaments, gifts, and abilities so that we can serve Him in the way He wished us to serve. Sometimes we can allow that to interfere with our relationship with Jesus, as Martha did previously and Mary did here. We can also allow that move us to draw nearer to Jesus, again as both sisters did on occasion. One is not necessarily better than the other, just a different expression. We should each in our own way seek to be near Jesus even as we use our diverse gifts in His service.

Sunday sermon: "Jesus Meets a Curious Man"

Zacchaeus has always been a rather sympathetic character to many who grew up in Sunday school. The song certainly helped, but I think we all feel sorry for this poor, short man who can't get through a crowd to see Jesus. The truth is, Zacchaeus was reaping what he had sowed. By his own admission later in the passage (Luke 19:1-10) he had cheated people out of their money to make himself rich. As the chief tax collector for Rome he had taken up with the enemy of his people. If he expected sympathy he was sadly mistaken. For those in the crowd, this may have been a way of exacting a small revenge on this odious man.

Yet Zacchaeus refused to give up. He wanted to "see who Jesus was"; he didn't just want to see Jesus, as if he was watching a parade, but try to find out what kind of person Jesus was. Perhaps he had heard of Jesus' reputation for caring for the outcasts of society. In any case, he threw his dignity to the win and climbed up in a sycamore tree so that he might see Jesus as He passed by. No doubt this too amused any who happened to see him climbing, but to Zacchaeus only one thing mattered-seeing Jesus.

Jesus stopped where Zacchaeus had climbed, looked up at him, and called him by name. There is no indication in the Bible that Jesus had any idea who Zacchaeus was before this, but He knew him at this moment. Jesus passed through Jericho not only because it was on the road to Jerusalem, but to keep a divine appointment. He "must" stay at Zacchaeus' house that day.

Zacchaeus responded immediately, and as the story unfolds we see a clear transformation in the life of a confessed sinner. Yet the crowds still murmured against Jesus for going in and eating with a "sinner." Many may have been religious, but they lacked a concern for the lost. The Messiah was to be reserved for the respectable, those who had earned the right to be part of the people of God. Jesus was upsetting all their preconceptions.

Jesus clearly states His mission, not only for Zacchaeus but for others to hear as well: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost." He was, in fact, on His way to secure the salvation of the lost on the cross. This encounter was a microcosm of His concern for those who were in desperate need of Savior. Whether the crowd would reach out to the sinner or not, Jesus would go out and seek those who needed Him.


Are there Zacchaeuses in your life today? Do you know someone who is searching for Jesus, not just out of curiosity but to see what He is all about? Are you willing to reach out to them with the good news of Jesus, no matter what others might say? We need to take the mission of Jesus, the mission He left for us (Matthew 28:19-20), and continue to carry it out today.

Whatever Happened to...Zacchaeus?

As those who have heard me preach or teach know, I like to speculate on what happened to Biblical characters who we see come onto the stage in the Scriptures briefly, never to be heard from again. These speculations are not themselves Biblically authoritative, but I try to use the Biblical data to project what happened. Sometimes we are helped by church traditions; if they are early enough and/or show up in multiple sources, we can at least give them some credit. Many are late, or just the speculations of a single writer, though, and as such are no more authoritative than, well, me.

I found myself chasing clues today on the later career of Zacchaeus. He appears just once in the gospels, and then only in Luke. His story is touching and familiar to most who grew up in and around church (possibly helped by the song: "Zacchaeus was a wee little man..."). His old career is told to us in Luke. He was the "chief tax collector"- not just a tax collector, but the boss tax collector. His encounter with Jesus dramatically changed his life. (I'm going to stop with that, since I'm preaching on this passage this Sunday.)

But what happened to Zacchaeus after Jesus left Jericho? Did he follow Jesus to Jerusalem? Did he witness the Triumphal Entry or the crucifixion? Was he one of the 120 on the day of Pentecost, or maybe part of the crowd Peter preached to? I could certainly see this transformed man going to Jerusalem for the Passover with his newfound faith, and being caught up in the events surrounding Jesus.

A fairly early church tradition, dating back into the 2nd century, says that Zacchaeus became the first bishop of Caesarea. It is certainly possible that this could happen. Perhaps with the persecution that broke out after Stephen's death Zacchaeus, who lived in relatively nearby Jericho, moved to the coast. Caesarea was an important city, and as a former Roman employee Zacchaeus may well have felt at home there. He probably was a well-educated man, and the Biblical account shows us an exuberant personality. All of these seem to fit together well.

This doesn't mean that we know this for sure.  Still, given the early tradition and the way the facts can fit together, it wouldn't surprise me. From a hated collaborator with the enemy to one proclaiming forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ, Zacchaeus shows us the power of Jesus to truly transform our lives.

Sunday sermon: "Jesus Meets a Handicapped Man"

There is certainly enough tragedy in this life to go around. Just check how long it takes your evening news broadcast to get to the first good news of the night. With all of this, there are Christians who see everything as God's judgment on some person, group, or nation for sins they have committed.

The disciples approached the man this passage, John 9:1-7, with that kind of an attitude. Since he was born blind, it must be the fault of someone who sinned. While some tragedies are certainly the result of sin, and God may very well use natural disasters on occasion as judgment, I believe the vast majority of "bad things" that happen are the result of living in a fallen world. So in a sense, they are the result of sin, but of the original sin of Adam and Eve, which led to the curse.

Jesus turns the disciples' opinion around. It wasn't the fault of anyone, but "happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." This man had suffered all of his life to this point, but God would bring His glory out of that situation. While we do not enjoy going through suffering, it is important to realize that even in our worst circumstances God can bring about His glory. He may not choose to deliver us from those circumstances, as Jesus did here, but He can still use us to glorify Himself.

Jesus' actions here puzzle us. (Perhaps some are even grossed out by them. Would you want mud made with spit put on your eyes?) Why the mud? The early church writers didn't find this as puzzling as we do; there is a fairly consistent theme through several of the fathers. Irenaeus is a representative example: "To that man, however, who had been blind from his birth, He gave sight, not by means of a word, but by an outward action; doing this not without a purpose, or because it so happened, but that He might show forth the hand of God, that which at the beginning had moulded man." (Against Heresies V.15.2) The mud was a reminder of the earth from which Adam was formed, and its use was intended to show that the same power that made man also could heal a man.


The ultimate transformation, however, comes later in the passage. In vv.35-38 we read of a second encounter between the man and Jesus. After the man had been thrown out of the synagogue (whether temporarily or permanently is not clear), Jesus seeks him out and moves him from physical to spiritual sight. Once he realizes who Jesus is, the man falls and worships Him. The change in his life is deeper and more profound than the change in his eyesight. Unlike the Pharisees, who remained willingly blind spiritually, this man could see who Jesus really was. To gain sight when you have never seen is amazing; to gain eternal life when you are lost is infinitely greater. This man's own disability led him to the Savior.


As is common in the Bible, when we read about going through adversity we have the challenge of allowing God to glorify Himself through us. Our human reaction is to complain and pout, which only leads others to see that Christians react just like everyone else. We need to choose to honor the Lord through our sufferings, and to actively seek to proclaim His glory. It isn't easy (and despite what some TV evangelists say God never promised it would be), but in the light of eternity it is worth it.

Sunday sermon: "Jesus Meets a Trapped Woman"

As we deal with this passage as it has come to us, we find one of the more powerful stories of Jesus' gracious dealing with sinners. The setup of the story is the trap set for Jesus, by men whose motives were obviously suspect. Why only the woman if she was caught in the act? Why ask Jesus, who had no particular authority to deal with the matter? Why mention a form of punishment Rome would most likely have issues with if it was carried out? The text is clear that this was designed to be a no-win situation for Jesus.

The picture of Jesus stooping to write on the ground is memorable. For a passage so many scholars question, there is certainly a lot of speculation about what Jesus wrote. While many of the speculations are  plausible, none of them make any difference. I believe what Jesus was doing was buying time to think-not for Himself, but for the accusers.

So we have the famous statement, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." I think Jesus wasn't referring to someone being sinless in general, but to their innocence in this matter. He was challenging these religious leaders: "If you are pure in your motivations in accusing this woman, go ahead and throw a stone." From oldest to youngest, they depart, leaving no accuser.

At this point, with no witness and no accuser present, Jesus is perfectly within the Law to dismiss the case. But it is important to remember two things. (1) There was someone present who could, under Jesus' strictures, cast the first stone-Jesus Himself. (2) Although the woman was the victim of the religious leaders' setup, she was actually guilty of the sin of which they accused her. Yet Jesus shows mercy, and lets her go free.

However, it was not an unconditional freedom. "Go now and leave your life of sin." Jesus does not condone her sin, nor does He excuse it. He expects that the result of His mercy will be a change in her life, a desire to do what is righteous. It is vital to keep these two in the proper order. Righteousness is the response to grace; it is not the condition of grace. The grace of God precedes our righteousness. We cannot buy or earn grace; if we could, it would not be grace. The grace of God is given freely, so that we receive what we do not deserve. Our response then is to live in a way that honors the God who showed us grace,

It is also vital to remember that when Jesus forgave this woman, He could do so because He knew the price for her sin would be paid by Him. In grace, we do get what we do not deserve, but it is because Jesus got what He did not deserve. He paid the price so our debt could be paid. Nothing you or I can do can pay Jesus back for the cross.

As we encounter "sinners," we need to remember that we ourselves are sinners saved by grace. We are to be instruments of the grace of God, showing the love of Jesus to those we encounter so that they might see Him through us.