Sunday, December 10, 2006

Family Activities for the Holiday


Family Activities for the Holiday
(Please note that each idea has a graded code at the end. P is for Preschool children, E is for Elementary children, T is for Teenagers, and A is for Adults.)

1. Using large sheets of paper, everyone in the family draws pictures of things they're thankful for. Keep the artwork for next year and display them
side by side. (PETA)

2. Create a Thankful Box, in which family members put slips of paper telling what they're thankful for. After dinner, read the papers out loud. (ETA)

3. Encourage each person to bring some special object to the table that represents what they are thankful for this year. Let each take a turn to share
their object and how it represents their thankfulness. (ETA)

4. Experience dinner together with only candlelight. Reflect on what it would be like to be without lighting, heat, shelter, etc. Spend some time
praying together, thanking God for all that you have, as well as praying for those in need this season. (PETA)

5. Write a card to someone you are especially thankful for. Be sure to allow time, material and stamps so this project will work. (PETA)

6. Read the Christmas story to your kids. Read Luke 1 & 2 (especially 1:26-38 & 2:1-39).

7. Light Advent Candles: visit blog entry below "Candle Lighting in Advent" for verses, readings and instructions.

8. Have everyone clean their room and storage spaces and select items to give away to someone(s) in need. Apply the rule, “if I haven’t used in the
past year…” (EVERYBODY)

9. As a family, select someone or a family that is experiencing need this Christmas. Brainstorm a way to give to them and then do it as a family.
(Examples: Help an elderly decorate their house. Shovel snow. Together, buy a gift or grocery’s for them.) (EVERYBODY)

Additional Ideas…

♣ Drive neighborhoods with Christmas lights on houses, bring along some hot cocoa or coffee in a thermos or stop by a Starbucks. Enjoy.

♣ Decorate a gingerbread house(s) as a family project. Even if you don’t “do crafts” the kids will appreciate and remember this one for a long time.
o Find a ready to make ginger bread house at a grocery store.
o If you’re gutsy and daring (and a cook) find recipes @ … http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/specialfeature/holiday_cookies_ms/
♣ Tell your children your family’s Christmas traditions. The funnier the better. The more serious the better. Start some of those traditions. Check out
some @ http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyritual/9837.html
♣ Read the Christmas story to your kids. Read Luke 1 & 2 (especially 1:26-38 & 2:1-39). 

♣ Go to a Nursing home or visit someone who can’t get out and sing hymns and Christmas carols. You’ll often get more than you give.

♣ Build a fire outside and simply be and enjoy God’s creation. (EVERYBODY)

Need more ideas go to
http://familyfun.com

Candle Lighting in Advent


First Sunday of Advent
Today we light the first candle of the Advent wreath. This is the candle of HOPE. 

With Christians around the world, we use this light to help us prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

May we receive God’s light as we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined."
-- Isaiah 9:2

Let us pray:
Lord as we look to the birth of Jesus, grant that the light of your love for us will help us to become lights in the lives of those around us. Prepare our hearts for the joy and gladness of your coming, for Jesus is our hope.
Amen.


Second Sunday of Advent
Today we relight the candle of HOPE. 

Now we light the candle for the second Sunday in Advent. This is the candle of PEACE. 

As we prepare for the coming of Jesus, we remember that Jesus is our hope and our peace. 

From the prophet Isaiah:
"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
-- Isaiah 9:6-7

From the Gospel of John:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
-- John 14:27

Let us pray:
Gracious God, Grant that we may find peace as we prepare for our Lord’s birth. May divisions in ourselves and in our families be peacefully resolved. May there be peace in our cities and in the countries of our world. Help us to see the paths of peace in our lives, and then give to us courage to follow them. Lord, let us remember that you only are the giver of lasting peace and that you are always with us.
Amen.


Third Sunday of Advent
Today we relight the first two candles of the Advent wreath. The candle of HOPE and the candle of PEACE. 

Now we light the third candle of Advent. 

This is the candle of JOY. As the coming of Jesus, our Savior, draws nearer, our joy builds with our anticipation of his birth. 

From the Book of Isaiah we read the words of our Lord:
"But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight."
-- Isaiah 65:18

From the New Testament, the words of Paul to the people of the church at Galatia:
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit."
-- Galatians 5:22-25

Let us pray:
We joyfully praise you, O Lord, for the fulfillment of your promise of a Savior and what that means in our lives. Thank you for the gift of salvation through the birth of your son, Jesus. Create us anew as we wait, and help us to see your glory as you fill our lives with your living Spirit.
Amen.


Fourth Sunday of Advent
Today we relight the first three candles of the Advent Wreath -- the candles of HOPE, PEACE and JOY. 

Now we light the fourth candle of Advent. This is the candle of LOVE. 

Jesus demonstrated self-giving love in his ministry as the Good Shepherd. Advent is a time for kindness, thinking of others, and sharing with others. It is a time to love as God loved us by giving us his most precious gift. As God is love, let us be love also. 

In the Book of Deuteronomy we find these words:
"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
-- Deuteronomy 10:17-19a

From the Gospel of John we hear:
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
-- John 13:34-35

Let us pray:
Teach us to love, O Lord. May we always remember to put you first as we follow Christ's footsteps, that we may know your love and show it in our lives. As we prepare for our celebration of Jesus' birth, also fill our hearts with love for the world, that all may know your love and the one whom you have sent, your son, our Savior.
Amen.


December 24, 2004 -- CHRISTMAS EVE
On the eve of our Christmas celebration, Jesus’ birthday, we light all of the candles of the Advent wreath. 

First we light the candle for HOPE because Jesus is our hope. 

Second, we light the candle for PEACE because Jesus is our hope and peace. 

Third, we light the candle for JOY because Jesus brings joy. 

Fourth, we light the candle for LOVE because Jesus is love. 

Finally we light the center candle. This is the CHRIST candle. Jesus is born. Jesus has come. Jesus is our salvation. 

Let us pray: 
Great God of love and light, we thank you now for the light of that special star over two thousand years ago that guided humble shepherds and learned wise men to the holy babe. Lead us now, by the light of your love, that we also may follow you to new life in him. In celebration of the birthday of our King and our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. 
Amen.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Smokin' Hot




Smokin’ Hot
October 19, 2006







a. Tartarus - 2 Peter 2:4.



b. Hades - 4 times in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 1:18, 6:8, 20:13, 14
Acts 2:27/Psalm 16:8-11

Jesus uses the word 4 times.
1 & 2. Matthew 11:23/Luke 10:15
3. Matthew 16:18
4. Luke 16:19-31

c. Gehenna - “The Valley of Hinnom”

2 Kings 23:10/


Jesus uses this word 11 times.

1. Matthew 5:22
2-3. Matthew 5:29, 30 (2x)
4-5. Matthew 10:28/ Luke 12:5
6-9. Matthew 18:1-9/Mark 9:43, 45, 47
10-11. Matthew 23:15, 33 (2x)

James 3:6

Monday, October 16, 2006

What's in a Name?

“Therefore God also highly exalted Him 
and given Him the name which is 
above every name.”
(Philippians 2:9)

Billy Sunday once preached a sermon entitiled “Wonderful,” where he said, “There are two hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I suppose this was because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could express.”
Here’s a partial listing of names and titles given to Jesus throughout Scripture, and the operative word here is partial.
Advocate (1 John 2:1)
Almighty (Rev. 1:8; Mt. 28:18)
Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8; 22:13)
Amen (Rev. 3:14)
Apostle of our Profession (Heb. 3:1)
Atoning Sacrifice for our Sins (1 John 2:2)
Author of Life (Acts 3:15)
Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:2)
Author of Salvation (Heb. 2:10)
Beginning and End (Rev. 22:13)
Blessed and only Ruler (1 Tim. 6:15)
Branch (Zech. 6:12)
Bread of God (John 6:33)
Bread of Life (John 6:35; 6:48)
Bridegroom (Mt. 9:15) 
Capstone (Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7)
Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)
Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4)
Christ (1 John 2:22)
Creator (John 1:3)
Daystar (2 Peter 1:19)
Deliverer (Rom. 11:26)
Eternal Life (1 John 1:2; 5:20)
Gate (John 10:9)
Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11)
Faithful Witness (Rev. 1:5)
Faith and True Witness (Rev. 3:14)
First and Last (Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13)
Firstborn From the Dead (Rev. 1:5)
Firstborn over all creation (Col. 1:15)
Gate (John 10:9)
God (John 1:1; 20:28; Heb. 1:8; Rom. 9:5; 2 Pet. 1:1;1 John 5:20; etc.)

Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)
Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14)
Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23)
Heir of all things (Heb. 1:2)
High Priest (Heb. 2:17)
Holy and True (Rev. 3:7)
Holy One (Acts 3:14)
Hope (1 Tim. 1:1)
Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)
Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:69)
I Am (John 8:58)
Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)
Immanuel (Mt. 1:23 & Isa. 7:14)
Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42)
King Eternal (1 Tim. 1:17)
King of Israel (John 1:49)
King of the Jews (Mt. 27:11)
King of kings (1 Tim 6:15; Rev. 19:16)
King of the Ages (Rev. 15:3)
Lamb (Rev. 13:8)
Lamb of God (John 1:29)
Lamb Without Blemish (1 Pet. 1:19)
Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45)
Life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4)
Light of the World (John 8:12)
Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
Living One (Rev. 1:18)
Living Stone (1 Pet. 2:4)
Lord (2 Pet. 2:20)
Lord of All (Acts 10:36)
Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8)
Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16)
Man from Heaven (1 Cor. 15:48)
Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15)
Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)
Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16)
Only Begotten Son of God (John 1:18; 1 John 4:9)
Our Great God and Savior (Titus 2:13)
Our Holiness (1 Cor. 1:30)
Our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2)
Our Protection (2 Thess. 3:3)
Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)
Our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30)
Our Sacrificed Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7)
Power of God (1 Cor. 1:24)
Precious Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6)
Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6)
Prophet (Acts 3:22)
Rabbi (Mt. 26:25, John 1:38)
Resurrection and Life (John 11:25)
Righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5)
Righteous One (Acts 7:52; 1 John 2:1)
Rock (1 Cor. 10:4)
Root of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16)
Root of Jesse (Isa. 11:10)
Ruler of God’s Creation (Rev. 3:14)
Ruler of the Kings of the Earth (Rev. 1:5)
Savior (Eph. 5:23; Titus 1:4; 3:6; 2 Pet. 2:20)
Son of David (Lk. 18:39)
Son of God (John 1:49; Heb. 4:14)
Son of Man (Mt. 8:20)
Son of the Most High God (Lk. 1:32)
Source of Eternal Salvation for all who obey him (Heb. 5:9)
The One Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5)
The Stone the builders rejected (Acts 4:11)
True Bread (John 6:32)
True Light (John 1:9)
True Vine (John 15:1)
Truth (John 1:14; 14:6)
Way (John 14:6)
Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24)
Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6)
Word (John 1:1)
Word of God (Rev. 19:13)

Portraits of Jesus        


Which of these names has God made most personal to you?

Which of these names have you yet to experience in a personal way?

Thursday, October 12, 2006

The Kingdom of Heaven

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Matthew 3:2)

Distinctive to the Gospel of Matthew as we have seen is the idea that Jesus is King. Similarly, it Matthew carries the theme of kings and kingdoms throughout his whole Gospel. Matthew inserts the idea of a king or a kingdom in a number of his stories, accounts and parables, whereas Luke never mentions such terminology, even when telling the exact same account or parable. Luke always say a “certain man” or something of the like, but not so with Matthew, he wants us to see, feel, and hear the kingdom echo on every page. Whereas the other Gospels use the phrase “kingdom of God,” Matthew uses the “kingdom of heaven.” This is a peculiar expression unique to Matthew occurs nearly thirty times throughout his Gospel. Matthew also pays special attention to the characteristics and the attributes of the participants of this kingdom, among which “righteousness” is specially named, this too is distinctive to Matthew’s account.

Portraits of Jesus        


As you read through the interactions and parables found in Matthew, take special not to the usage of words like “king,” “kingdom,” and “the kingdom of heaven.”

In the places where Mark and Luke use the phrase “kingdom of God,” Matthew uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven.” Furthermore, does also use the “phrase “kingdom of God,” but only four times. Whereas, he uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” thirty-two times. What do you suppose this is? For Matthew, what’s the difference between the two?

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

My King


“King of the Jews”
(Matthew 2:2)

“My king was born king,” said the late Dr. S. M. Lockridge in an amazing message preached by him on the matchless Kingship of Jesus. Here’s the rest of what he had to say. You may need to read it out loud and with a little umpf to begin to feel and grasp the depth of what he’s saying. “The Bible says He is the seven-way king. He is the king of the Jews. That’s a racial king. He is king of Israel. That’s a national king. He’s a king of righteousness. He’s a king of the ages. He’s the king of heaven. He is the king of glory. He’s the King of kings and Lord of lords. Now that’s my king.

Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don’t try to mislead me. Do you know my king? David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He’s enduringly strong, He’s entirely sincere, He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my king. He’s God’s Son. He’s a sinner’s savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s august. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s preeminent. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest idea in philosophy. He’s the fundamental truth in theology. He’s the cardinal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my king.

He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick, He cleans the lepers. He forgives sinners, He discharges debtors, He delivers captives, He defends the feeble, He blesses the young, He serves the unfortunate, He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent, He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him?

Well, my king is the king of knowledge, He’s the well-spring of wisdom, He’s the doorway of deliverance, He’s the pathway of peace, He’s the roadway of righteousness, He’s the highway of holiness He’s the gateway of glory, He’s the master of the mighty, He’s the captain of the conquerors, He’s the head of the heroes, He’s the leader of the legislators, He’s the overseer of the overcomers, He’s the governor of governors, He’s the prince of princes, He’s the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That’s my king. Yeah! That’s my king.

His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Well. I wish I could describe Him to you. But He’s indescribable. He’s indescribable. Yes. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible, He’s irresistible. I’m trying to tell you, the Heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Well. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses [at his trial] couldn’t get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my king. Yeah!

He always has been, and He always will be. I’m talking about He [who] had no predecessor and He [who] has no successor. There was nobody before Him and there will be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. Praise the Lord! That’s my king. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well. All the power belongs to my king. We around here talk about black power and white power and green power, but it’s God’s power. Thine is the power. Yeah! And the glory. We try to get prestige and honor and glory to ourselves, but the glory is all His. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and when you get through with all of the forevers, then “Amen.”

Portraits of Jesus        

Re-read through Dr. Lockridge’s message, only this time turn every declaration into a prayer, thanking Him for Who He is and what He’s done.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

No Small Stir


“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? 
For we have seen His star in the East 
and have come to worship Him.” 
(Matthew 2:2)

As we saw yesterday, Matthew is on a mission to portray Jesus as the King. We saw the evident and the subtleness of Matthew’s genealogy showing forth the royal lineage and its implications. From the very beginning, he wants us to see Jesus as more than a servant, more than a man, he wants us to see Jesus as the King.

In the very birth announcement we are told, “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (1:22-23). Not, God sending another prophet to talk to us and declare to us His way, no, this time God Himself shall come and be with you. The King shall come down and dwell with you. He shall be called Immanuel. A name, the witness of the covenant with the kingdom, and also with the His elect people, testifying that He who had redeemed would not forsake His people.

Without understanding the context of the day when this pronouncement was made, we cannot fully understand what Matthew is saying. For Israel, it was a time when the kingdom seemed in danger. They were being pressed in and oppressed from every side by the Roman Empire. For centuries the people of Israel had been raped of everything dear to them. And at the time of Jesus, though things weren’t as hostile as in times past, the memories were strong, and the soldiers could still be seen at every corner, and the Emperor’s, not to mention Herod’s tax collectors were always present to plunder what their greed desired. For Israel, hope had been deferred, many had lost hope, but God always preserves a remnant relentless and steadfast in faith. Mary was a part of such remnant. She was more than a little peasant girl, much more. Don’t be mistaken, she was a peasant girl, but inside of her were the songs of a princess, full of fire, with lyrics ready to shake the present kingdom with all its pompous pseudo kings like Herod the Great. “Immanuel will one day come,” the prophets still echoed in the city streets. “No!” Matthew shouts, “Immanuel is here!”

Thus, Matthew moves immediately to the effects of the birth of this royal child. Herod the Great was the most powerful, richest and ruthless king Israel had ever known. He squashed any and everybody who got in his way, hinted at posing a threat, or merely indicated they’d like to. He was a psychotic madman, and that’s an understatement. Matthew paints a picture that would stir fire in the heart of every Jew in Jerusalem. Herod, the one no one can stop or stand a chance to overturn, crawls into a corner and begins to suck his thumb in fear and panic at word of this baby Jesus. For, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (2:3). Meanwhile, men of rank and honor from distant lands come to “worship” the newborn king with gifts and praise.

This whole scene, though on the one hand a very real and actual account, on the other hand was a picture of the mystery of the kingdom which was even now at hand. Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel is seen as the Heir; and so of Bethlehem it is said here, and in no other Gospel, “Out of you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah…shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel” (2:6).

Portraits of Jesus        

Imagine what it must have been like for those living in Israel at the time of Jesus’ birth – the oppression, the exploitation, the marginalization. With a sense of the potential temptation towards becoming hopeless, read Matthew chapters one and two. How many references can you find that serve as undertones to the kingdom of God breaking into their circumstances?

Monday, October 09, 2006

Once Upon a Throne


"The first living creature was like unto a Lion" 
(Revelation 4:7)

"Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, 
the Root of David, has prevailed..."
(Revelation 5:5)


The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is the focus of Matthew. Its very opening verse is distinctively characteristic. This is “the book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (1:1). Here He is Heir of a kingdom, and one of a chosen seed, and so His “genealogy is traced through the line of Israel's kings as far as Abraham, and no further. In Luke it is traced to Adam; but here it is the Son of Abraham, not of Adam, whom God reveals to us. For an Heir had been promised, and here our Lord is shown as the One in whom the promise of the kingdom was to be fulfilled. Here the Heir is come, and His lineage is given, not as God's or Adam's but as David's Son.”

Matthew, remember, was a tax collector. As such, it is believed that his role would also have functioned as
customs official, or more specifically, a stenographer. Therefore, his job required that he be able to take shorthand. In other words, he was trained to be able to take in an enormous amount of detail and record it into writing. He was a detailed individual and possessed amazing abilities to crunch numbers.

We will look at just two of the phenomenal dynamics Matthew has working within his genealogy. These two examples will only deal with numbers. (You can pursue and discover some of the other threads that are hidden from the casual reader on your own.) Read these two carefully and slow, for it may be a bit challenging to not get lost in the details. But what ever you do, don’t bail out, because you’ve got to see the meticulous ingenious layout given to us by Matthew regarding Jesus the King.

At first glance, “the genealogy appears to be a list of people who did a lot of begetting. But there’s something else going on here. The greatest king of the Jews was David. In Hebrew, that’s spelled DVD. D is the fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, so it has the numerical value of 4. V is the sixth letter, so it has the value of 6. DVD is therefore 4 + 6 + 4, which gives the name David the number value of 14. Matthew groups the names in his genealogy in groups of . . .14. So a Jew reading the introduction to his book, which is telling something about Jesus’ family, would read king, king, king, king, king. Matthew has an agenda here.” He wants us to see who he thinks Jesus is.


Have you ever noticed the sevens in the Bible? “They occur in over six hundred passages; some are overt, some are simply structural, and some are hidden. The heptadic (the seven-fold) structure seems to act as a signature.

Suppose I asked you to write out a genealogy, a family tree. You can make it up as fiction, but there are some rules I want you to follow:

1.The number of words you use must be divisible by 7 evenly.
2. The number of letters you use must be divisible by 7.
3. The number of vowels and the number of consonants you use is to be exactly divisible by seven.
4. The number of words that begin with a vowel you use must be divisible by seven.
5. The number of words that begin with a consonant must be divisible by 7.
6. The number of words that occur more than once must be divisible by 7.
7. The number of words that occur in more than one form must be divisible by 7.
8. The number of words that occur in only one form shall be divisible by 7.
9. The number of nouns must be divisible by 7.
10. Only 7 words shall not be nouns.
11. The number of names must be divisible by 7.
12. Only 7 other kinds of nouns are allowed.
13. The number of male names must be divisible by 7.
14. The number of generations must be divisible by 7.
    
Could you compose a candidate draft that would meet all of these rules? As you’ve probably guessed, this is the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the opening eleven verses in the Gospel of Matthew, in Greek.

What’s amazing is that the odds of a random text complying to these constraints is over 40 million to one! (If it took you 10 minutes per draft, and you worked 40 hours a week for 50 weeks per year, it would take over 3,000 years to accomplish this task by random trials.)

The point, this is a genealogy like no other, regarding One who in incomparable, His name is Jesus and He is the King of Kings.

Portraits of Jesus        


Compare the geneaology in Matthew to that which is in Luke. Matthew’s starts with Abraham, while Luke’s starts with Adam. Why did the authors intentionally chose to start where they did and how is that starting point consistent with their portrait of Jesus?


Matthew placed his genealogy as the very first part of his narrative, whereas Luke places the genealogy after Jesus’ birth, childhood, baptism and right before He begins His public ministry. Why do you suppose each one placed it where they did? (Each of them obviously put it where they put it for a specific reason, it furthers their point of emphasis. How?)


Matthew’s genealogy uses the wording so-and-so begot, while Luke uses the wording so-and-so the son of. Again, why did each choose the wording that they did and how did that particular wording once again subversively reemphasis their portrait of Jesus?

Matthew, interestingly includes four women in his genealogy. Each of these four have several things in common. Can you identify any of their commonalities? How could these commonalities also play into the undercurrents of Matthew’s message? How do they also witness to the power of God to preserve His “seed”? (if you haven’t read an interesting story lately, take some time and read the story of Tamar, and ask yourself how the narrative demonstrates God’s connection to bringing about His promised kingdom).

Friday, October 06, 2006

Beyond the Cosmos

“No one has seen God at any time. 
The only begotten Son, 
who is in the bosom of the Father.
He has declared Him”
(John 1:18)
I love this verse, because in this verse, John says some unprecedented things about Jesus. As we saw at the beginning of the week, John takes us all the way back to the beginning. He reminds us of God’s original design and desire to experience relationship and intimate communion with humanity. As our minds track back to what was in the beginning, we are reminded of what happened to that divine plan and the consequence of humanities’ disobedience. We lost connection with God as spiritual death occurred. God, at that point ultimately became unknowable, at least in the truest and deepest sense. No man had seen God at any time. Why? As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:13, humanity after the fall no longer possessed the ability and capacity to receive and understand the things of the spirit. This is where John introduces another aspect of who Jesus is. He is the one, the only one who has seen God at any time. Furthermore, John says that Jesus not only has seen God, but He has “declared Him to us” (1:18).
In our Western Culture, the word “declare” doesn’t pack much punch. It seems that everybody is declaring something, most of which we pay little or no attention to what’s being declared. The word typically denotes nothing more than someone talking about something with some minimal description. Therefore, it’s unfortunate that this is the English word used in the translation of verse eighteen. In actuality, this is a spellbinding word in the Greek and when it is applied to Jesus as John does, it becomes mesmerizing. It’s the Greek word exegeomai, we get the word exegete from it. I’m sure that gave you goose bumps. Okay, perhaps, not yet. We would also use this word in the context of someone doing an exegetical teaching of a particular book of the Bible. In short, if someone were to do so, they would take a particular book of the Bible and proceed to draw out of it and bring out of it everything that was originally intended and hoped for in the heart of the author. There would be a thorough discourse of the culture, history, geography, and social allusions of the time. To do an exegetical, study means to look into any and everything that could provide insight and greater understanding to what the text actually meant to the first hearers, as well as to us today. In addition to the externals of the text, one would then turn their attention to the structure of the text, the words used, the words not used, the words that could’ve been used, all of this and more helps gain a fuller understanding of what the author was originally communicating. After all that has been blown out on the table, one begins to pull all of those pieces back together to show forth the fullness of the text.
It can be a bit like endeavoring to put a thousand piece puzzle together. The first thing you do, is scatter all the pieces on the table, with only a few of them providing a clear enough picture to know where they go. Yet, as the picture becomes clearer, the pieces begin to appear and as more pieces begin to appear, the picture becomes clearer still. The corners and the borders provide additional clarity as to what this puzzle will at some point be.
John has a picture in mind of who Jesus is, and he desperately wants us to see it. John said, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Jesus is full of grace and truth, He is from God, He is God, and now He’s come in the flesh to us and began to “declare Him” to us. What John is literally saying is this: No one has seen God, since the fall of humanity, indeed no one could. With the first Adam, life- spiritual and eternal life found in communion with God was lost, but here One has appeared to us and He possesses it once more. Not only that, but He is giving us an exegetical disclosure of who God is to us. He is breaking the infinite God down bit by bit, showing us, teaching us, demonstrating to us the mind, the heart, the core of Who God is. For John, everything Jesus did was indicative of who the Father was, this is why in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I do nothing unless I see the Father do it, and the Son does it in like manner” (5:19).
Jesus is the picture of Who God is, He’s the picture on the box of the thousand piece puzzle. In chapter one, John tries to lay out some of the corner pieces that are imperative to our seeing Jesus. The corner pieces are the elements that Jesus possesses that have been beyond the reach of fallen humanity: the eternal life (1:4), the truth (1:14), the Logos-Word – which entails an accurate understanding and perspective of who God is (1:1), and the Spirit residing within (1:33 and 20:22). Everything John then proceeds to tell us, is in effect filling in the borders and interior of Who Jesus is and what He came to do. Each piece is “declaring” to us another aspect of the Father. This is where John starts his Gospel, however he discovers a slight problem as he’s writing, there’s not enough room on the table to put the puzzle together, and what he thought was a thousand piece puzzle has turned out to be at least ten million. He discovers, that he’s going to be unable to complete the puzzle in this Gospel writing, actually he’s pretty sure that he’ll never finish it. He simply closes the Gospel by saying,
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, 
I suppose that even the world (cosmos) 
itself could not contain the books 
(John 21:25)
Portraits of Jesus        

We’ve said today that John is laying the pieces to a puzzle out on the table and then he begins to fit some pieces together. As you read through John, see what pieces you can begin to identify and how the fit together.


Can you recognize any themes (parts of the puzzle) that John starts working with and putting together, but then turns his attention to another theme, only to later to come back to the first, and so on…?


Meditate on John’s closing sentence.
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, 
I suppose that even the world (cosmos) 
itself could not contain the books 
(John 21:25)
Perhaps Jesus is bigger than we’ve made Him to be… Pray and ask God to begin to show you how Jesus truly is the one that “holds all things together.”

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Only Son


“For God so loved the world the
at He gave His only begotten Son, 
that whoever believes in Him 
should not perish but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16)


A verse well known to many, but is there going on in this verse than meets the eye. As we’ve seen John is working from several different palettes. We’ve looked some at the aspect of the heavenly perspective of Jesus, as well as how He fits into the immediate story of Israel as the Passover Lamb. John also shows throughout his Gospel Jesus’ relationship towards a specific group of religious leaders, but I’ll leave that one to you to plunder. Here in verse sixteen, John is actually working from one of the aforementioned palettes and another, which we have not yet mentioned, except in passing.

The first of those, has to do with the heavenly perspective of who Jesus is. John says, whoever “believes in Him.” We typically say that means we “believe that is Lord,” or “the Son of God.” It seems that John is infatuated with belief, and compared to the other Gospel writers he is. For you have no other statement like this in the Synoptic Gospels. John uses this word at least eighty-five times! In comparison, Matthew and Luke use it nine times and Mark fourteen. Therefore, the question becomes, if there is no other statement like it in the other Gospels, what must it mean? And, since it isn’t in the other Gospels does it mean more than we have typically attributed it to mean? Furthermore, does the use of the word “in” or “enter” influence what John was trying to communicate? Because he actually says “whoever believes into Jesus,” which at first glance seems to be something entirely different, or at least more than “believing” about Jesus, that He came and rose again.

All of these questions, must then be placed into the bigger question of, how does John want us to Jesus? What portrait is he painting for us to look at? Thus far, the emphasis has been on the divine aspect of Jesus’ being or how Jesus is seen from a heavenly perspective, which is diametrically different than the other Gospels. So, with that being said, how does all that play into his copious use of the word believe found throughout this Gospel? I’ll leave those questions and others for you to meditate on and gain insight into, especially since John has this belief that the Holy Spirit was sent for the very purpose of teaching us the things about God (See John 14:26, 16:5-15; 1 John 2:27).

The Second thread found in this verse carries with it something that can only come by heavenly endowment, but it also taps into the meta-narrative of Scripture. It has to do with love. John says, that God so loved the world. Love is another of those words that is inescapable to be struck by as you read through his Gospel. He uses one variation of that word at least thirty-three times, and once again, the other Gospels use it between five to ten times. John writes from the perspective of one who defines his very being and personhood as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20).

Now let’s Midrash this passage a bit. Midrash, is a Jewish concept of digging deep into the passage. It looks at a passage and at each point, image, or thoughts says, Have I seen this somewhere in the text before? Where else do I find this in the text? Is there a chance that this is a picture of something else? Or, is this a picture of something else?

There are a several methods that can be used to help decipher all the hidden meanings in a text. One is called the principle of first mention. The idea behind this principle, is that the first time a person, place or thing is mentioned in Scripture, there are often keys and insights about that particular person, place, or name that are given in the description that will remain consistent throughout all of Scripture. Scripture is literally loaded with countless examples. Therefore, when you come to a particular phrase or word that carries with it a sense of significance or even peculiarity, one must stop and ask questions regarding that phrase, word, etc to see where it has been seen in other places, how it was used, and most notably where was the first place it was used. And, is there something about how it was used the first time that bears significant on its present use? For John’s early readers, those steeped in the story of the Biblical text, this was common practice and John knows it. And, as with the other Gospel writers, John will use any and everything to communicate his perspective using numerous layers and multiple dimensions at the same time. These guys are inspired geniuses.

John writes what he writes what he writes, when he writes it with this principle in mind. He does this both with the word believe and the word love. Since we’ve already spent some time on believe(d), I’ll let you dig that one up yourself.

John’s first mention of the word love is in 3:16 - "for God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son." Where is the first place this word is used in Scripture? With a little digging, we discover that love is first mentioned in Genesis 22. The amazing thing is, Genesis 22 is where God tells Abraham to take "your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love" and offer him as a sacrifice. Do you think this is mere coincidence? No way! John is doing something very deliberate here, as well as through throughout the whole of his account. He wants his readers to see the intimate connection between Abraham and his son - his only son, and God and God's Son – His only Son.

Portraits of Jesus        


Grab a concordance and trail through the Gospel of John paying close attention to the Johns use of the word believe in and love. How are these two used individually and together?


Can you find any more allusions back to the Abraham? Take note how he’s mentioned in John’s Gospel.


Can you find any other key phrases or words that are intimately connected to the meta-narrative of Scripture?

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

The Voice of the Word


“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Make straight the way of the LORD.”
(John 1:23)

Equally characteristic in the Gospel of John is the depiction of John the Baptist. The Baptist is elsewhere seen primarily in connection with the earthly side of Jesus, whereas here his relationship to Jesus is almost heavenly, for it is only by a heavenly revelation that he is able to recognize Who Jesus is. It is clear the author sees something more than most are seeing in Jesus, and his desire is for more to be seen in him, than merely another man. This is where the author uses mastery of metaphor to describe not only the role and relationship of John the Baptist Jesus, but to further illustrate how Jesus is truly something all together different.

If Jesus is “the Light,” Andrew Juke says, then “John is also a light, though of another nature; a ‘lamp, burning and shining,’ (5:25) yet but a lamp, destined to be quenched soon as the Light of heaven shall have introduced the perfect day.

So Jesus is “the Word” here and John is “the Voice;” words, which even partially apprehended, convey something to us very different from such titles as ‘the Lord,’ and ‘my Messenger.’ The ‘Word’ (Logos) is the sense: the ‘Voice’ is the sound. Outwardly, the voice seems to be first, yet while in the act of communication it precedes the word, it is not really before it, for the sense must have been in the mind before it was outspoken. So the word, if it has been received, abides in the heart; but the voice passes away. Having served to communicate the word, which was in one heart to other hearts, the voice has done its work. Its use is as a witness, and this being accomplished, the word remains, while the witnessing voice is content to be forgotten. All this, as it applies to Him who is "the Word," and His forerunner. To some it may be a hint of what is here for such as through grace can receive it. To all it speaks of the Lord in a relation connected with heaven rather than with earth.”

Matthew says John the Baptist came preaching of the “coming kingdom” (Matthew 3); Luke shows him preaching a radical “repentance” (Luke 3); while John has him as “a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe (John 1:7). Likewise the aspect of the “witness” presented emphasis on the heavenly side of Jesus: “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (1:34).

The day changes, but the scene stays the same. “Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’” (1:35-36). This is where John pulls in another color from the palette he’s working from. He just switched brushes and now he’s painting with the story of Israel in mind, for Jesus is the Lamb of God. A descriptive title or role that remains silent in the other Gospels. John wants us to see Jesus as the Passover Lamb. In fact, John uses every opportunity present to him to talk about the Passover, and often when he does so, Jesus isn’t far away from the scene and usually doing something miraculous. In fact, much of Jesus ministry revolves around the Passover Feasts, whereas on rarely is the Passover Feast mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. All this, is left to marinate in the reader’s mind until we reach the ultimate Passover, where Jesus will become the Passover Lamb. Jesus, our Passover is a thread intricately woven through the entirety of John’s Gospel, and only in this Gospel. The Apostle Paul echoed this thought when he say,

“Christ, our Passover, 
was sacrificed for us.”
(1 Corinthians 5:7)

Portraits of Jesus        

As you read through the Gospel of John, look for key words and phrases that appear on numerous occasions. John is notorious for multi-layered themes running through his Gospel. Take note of them as you peruse through it.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Sparks Fly


“In Him was life, 
and that life was the light of men.”
(John 1:4)


Instead of Jesus being the Lord of a kingdom, here He is the “light of men.” Instead of a Man subject to the powers of this world, born of a woman, laid in a manger, here He is “the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father,” (1:18) revealing His image, and communicating life “to as many as received Him” among the sons of men (1:12).

“In Him was life.” In verses one through three, John establishes that there is something eternal about the One he’s about to describe, He was in the beginning, He created everything. But for John, God i.e. Jesus, is not some cosmic force somewhere out-there, He’s here, now, and He’s full of life. John moves from describing what He’s done to who He is, He is full of life, for in Him was life. Unfortunately, there is much lost in translation here. John’s description doesn’t seem very distinctive at this point. At least, until we recognize what the word John choose for life means. There’s life in my goldfish, not to mention the stuff growing on the inside of the bowl. There’s life in my neighbors ever-barking dog. There’s even life in that stupid cricket who’s been hiding out in my garage and using it as a rehearsal studio for his next album.

This is not the life that John distinctively tells us exists in Jesus. John chose the Greek word zoe, which denotes life of a spiritual and eternal substance. John’s not saying and in Him was breath, or even physical life. There’s nothing distinctive about that. Though if he had, the translation would have still read “life.” This is the unfortunate part, John uses four words for life throughout his Gospel. One represents the soul life, typically the selfish propensities that became exalted at the Fall of humanity – psuche. He also uses the word to describe physical life – bios. And the aforementioned word denoting spiritual and eternal life – zoe. There’s also the word for Spirit – pneuma. John uses these words a lot, and sometimes you find two or three of these different Greek words in the same sentence, however there’s no English distinction made, it’s always translated “life.” (Forgive the technicalities…)

All that to say, some things are lost in translation, most notably, John’s supreme idea at this point, which is, in Jesus there is a substance of being, a living reality that no human has experienced or possessed in several thousand years, save since the beginning of humanity. John’s statement here is paramount. He’s building something, he’s going somewhere, He’s describing the One who has come that is like no other, He’s like all, but greater than all, in Him was life. To follow yesterdays line of thinking, if there is now One on the scene who posses this kind of eternal substance of life, applied to the backdrop of a vivid understanding of the state of death humanity is in, there then begins to emerge an expectation and here a hope that if this life is permeating Him, perhaps I may also become a partaker of this kind life – the life that’s been lost since the Garden of Eden. In the darkness, sparks fly.


Portraits of Jesus        


Meditate on the following verse that describes all of humanities existence without Christ. Compare that to John’s claims about Christ.

“having their (our) understanding darkened, 
being alienated from the life of God, 
because of the ignorance that is in them, 
because of the blindness of their heart.”
(Ephesians 4:18)


    and


“In Him was life, 
and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness,
 and the darkness did not comprehend (overcome) it.”    
(John 1:4-5)

What are the connections between life and light?

Meditate on Paul’s prayer for Christians.


“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light 
so that you can understand the wonderful future 
he has promised to those he called. 
I want you to realize what a rich 
and glorious inheritance he has given to his people.”
(Ephesians 1:18 NLT)

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance 
in the saints”
(Ephesians 1:18 NASB)

Monday, October 02, 2006

As it was in the Beginning


“The fourth living creature 
was like a flying eagle.”
(Revelation 4:7)

“The way of an Eagle 
in the air is too wonderful for me.”
(Proverbs 30:18-19)

The Gospel of John stands alone from all the other Gospels. As we’ve seen, each of the Gospels presents to us a specific portrait of Jesus, a portrait that is very meticulous and precise. John presents to us nothing less, a meticulous portrait of Jesus. Fascinatingly though, John presents to us dynamics of Jesus that are in nature completely like the other three. Matthew, Mark and Luke are like the television networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC. They are all major networks and all pretty much present the same headlines, just a slightly different way. John on the other hand is like FOX News, seems to have an uncanny ability to find completely different stuff and even the common comes to light, bringing an entirely new perspective. This is John, He presents the same Jesus, but He unearths some things that shed new light on who this Jesus is.

To put it another way, if in tracing the emblems assigned to each of the four Gospels, as outlined in the heavenly vision found in Revelation 4:7, there is one emblem that stands unique from the rest. As we’ve seen: Luke – the Man, Mark – the Ox, (as we will see next week) Matthew – the Lion, all of these three (Man, Ox, Lion) are all creatures, which walk on the earth. Then there’s the eagle, which operates on a completely different plain, it flies high above the earth. Just as the eagle soars away to the heavens, looking down at the lands below from a completely different angle gaining a significantly different view, so it is with the Gospel of John.
John is working from a couple of different coloring palettes. On the one hand, he brushes Jesus as Someone who is “not of this world.” As such, His words, teachings, attributes, even insights into people’s past are from One who sees from a higher perspective, from another realm, the realm of the Spirit. At the same time, John is very cognizant of the spiritual climate and worldviews of the people in his present context. This too shapes how he frames what he says about Jesus’ teachings, actions and interactions. Furthermore, John is deeply concerned that we see Jesus as part of God’s meta-narrative, i.e. the ongoing story of God’s dealings with humanity. With great skill, John weaves all three of these palettes together, even from the opening scene of his Gospel.

In the beginning… When John begins to tell the story of Jesus, he doesn’t begin with a heavenly announcement delivered by an angelic presence, nor by prophetic declaration by one of Israel’s righteous. John doesn’t even give us a genealogy. When John begins to tell the story of Jesus, he deems only one thing fitting and appropriate, to begin at the very beginning of the story. John takes the mind of his reader all the way back to the beginning of creation. He takes us back to a place in time, even before there was time as we know it. He wants us to see from his very opening sentence, that the account he’s about to bear is part of something big, really big. In the beginning

Just as, Genesis opens by saying, in the beginning God, John opens by saying, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (1:1). When the other Gospels writers trace Jesus’ genealogy back to the beginning, John simply says, Jesus is the beginning, in fact before the beginning was – He was. Moreover, Jesus, the Word, was the Substantial force by which “all things were created, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (1:3). Or, as Paul wrote, “By Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things are held together.” (Colossians 1:16-17).


John is trying to conjure up something in the mind of the reader, even before he reads about this Jesus. He’s trying to bring up an image in the hearts of the readers, the image of how things were in the beginning. In the beginning God… created the heavens and the earth… the Spirit hovered over the deep… God created man in His image, in His image He created them – male and female… (See Genesis 1-2). At once a reader rooted deep in God’s Story, would see an image of God’s initial design and intention for humanity. The reader would be once again acutely aware of what that must have been like for Adam to walk with God in the cool of the day, to commune with God, to speak with God, to be a living being. But, just at the climax of remembrance of what once was, the reader would be fully aware, in the present, of what things had become - the struggle to know God, the death that entered in as man disobeyed and the implications that have been a part of our journey back to God. The reader would sense the gap, the void, and life without the Spirit living within. For several thousand years, humanity has been yearning to be what humanity used to be, what they were meant to be. And now, God, who could not be found by human initiative alone, has now made Himself known, He’s appeared to humanity, in their very midst, He took on flesh and blood and moved back into the neighborhood. John is wanting his readers to have an “Holy smokes Batman! Do you see what’s going on here!?!?” moment, and without a doubt, the early readers of this text indeed had one of these moments.



Portraits of Jesus        

Reflect on what it must have been like for the early readers of this Gospel. People who had been long awaiting God to restore to humanity what was lost. To do this, we must first sense what it was like to be with God in the beginning. How did God intend to relate to humanity?


What does the early Genesis account portray of this God-Man relationship?


Once you have a picture of that, think through the ramification of the Fall, the disobedience of humankind. What happened? What was the consequence?


(Spiritual death, lost communion with the Spirit of God, insecurity, potential for emotional wounding, pride, fear, rejection, etc.)

Once one becomes readily acquainted with what we have become as a result of the fall of humanity, then and only then can we begin to grow in a sense of yearning for something more, for what was, but now isn’t, to be restored back to its original place. Then, you are at a place to see what John is doing in the opening scene of his Gospel.

What was, but is not, has become again, 
thus we, 
who have become not, may too become again
 what we were, but are presently not.


“The Word became flesh and blood, 
and moved into the neighborhood. 
We saw the glory with our own eyes, 
the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, 
Generous inside and out, 
true from start to finish.” 
(John 1:14 Message)

Friday, September 29, 2006

Powerade


“The multitude came together again,
so that they could not so much as eat bread.”
(Mark 3:20)

As we’ve seen, Mark is a vivid, fast paced and dynamic Gospel account. Mark even uses a phrase a couple of times to help us understand just how busy Jesus and the disciples were, as if the adverb immediately over forty times alone wasn’t enough. Mark says that on a number of occasions there were so many people coming together with needs that Jesus and the disciples “could not so much as eat bread” (3:20). They were so busy, Mark says, that they didn’t even have time to stop by Taco-Bell and get something to eat, much less time to eat a piece of bread. Think about it, there was at least thirteen of them, including Jesus, you’d think He could have easily sent one of the younger ones down to the Snack-Shack to pick up a little something to nibble on. If not something to eat, at least send someone on a coffee-run.

Amazing discoveries are made about an individual in the midst of busy, long days, weary bodies and hungry tummies. For instance, one’s patience tends to wear thin, attitudes are prone to becoming less than appealing, not to mention, we typically become somewhat less than sensitive both to God and fellow-humanity. This is one of the things that makes Mark’s portrait of Jesus so fascinating, he never loses His cool under pressure, is always in tune with the hearts of humanity and that of His Father. Mark’s transitions between scenes are often that where people enter and exit with great frequency and place-names pile upon place-names as we journey along with Jesus ‘on the way.’ Yet, even amidst the hurriedness, Jesus remains the sensitive and steady Servant of God. What an example of what it means to truly serve. What was the secret to such acute sensitivity to the Spirit and demonstration of power? What was Jesus’ Powerade?

Similarly, “we live in a hurried, harried world, as we rush about from task to task and place to place and person to person. We overlook how each task, place, and person contributes to the whole of our lives, to God’s whole story that is taking shape within us, around us, and even beyond us. It should be noted, then, as we make our way through this Gospel, that although it moves along rapidly, it is worth pausing at each point along the way to see what new thing we may discover about Jesus, about others, or about ourselves.”

Mark intends for us to notice everything, even the smallest of things, by tucking in a surprise detail here and there in the Gospel. What could we learn from this and how could it be implemented into our daily encounters?

Portraits of Jesus        


What was Jesus’ Powerade? Can you find the clues Mark has left for us in his Gospel?

Can you find the other verse in Mark that talks about the disciples not having enough time to eat? How does Mark illustrate their inner workings and attitudes when they get weary, spent, tired and hungry?

How does this illustration of the disciples compare to that which Mark paints of Jesus in the same situation?


How does Mark further illustrate the level of sensitivity to fellow humanity and to the Spirit’s workings in their midst?


What was the prescription (Powerade) that Jesus admonished them to partake? Did they take a gulp?

Don’t stop searching Mark until you find Mark’s insight to these questions, for in them is one of the most imperative truths of our service to God and our walk in the Way of Jesus!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

a look under the hood


Every summer, our church puts on a import car show for the region. At this event, over a thousand people will come out to check out the cars and listen to the battle of the bands competitors. It’s amazing the lengths a person will go to pimp-out their ride! Cadillac SUV’s with over twenty television screens placed everywhere, including the brake lights. Wheels so bright, shiny and clean my one-year-old could eat off of them. The paint, the sound, the interior, nothing is left untouched by these ardent importers. However, there is one dimension that sets the diehard from those merely trying to get a glance of admiration as they drive down the strip, and that’s what’s under the hood. What does their engine look like, is it equally tricked-out, and perhaps most importantly, CLEAN? You know the person is serious about their car, when you could eat not only off their wheels, but their radiator, when there’s no grease to be found, anywhere. If you hope to win big in the import car showing business, what’s under the hood matters!

Mark is an under-the-hood kind of guy. As we’ve seen thus far, Mark goes to great lengths to demonstrate Jesus first and foremost as the Servant, however it is imperative that we note that he goes to almost equal lengths to show the demeanor by which He did so. In other words, what’s under the hood of this Load-Bearing-Work-Ox? Service ceases to be service if it is self-seeking or ill motivated. The service of many is disqualified by their very motivation, attitude and expressions.

In the Gospel of Mark we are given many details, as to the demeanor, and postures, and looks, not found in any other Gospel. In the incident where the little children were brought to Him that He would touch them, in Mark alone do we read, that “He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them” (10:16). So it was with the little child, who became an object lesson for the disciples, “Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them” (9:36). Likewise, it is here that we are given the distinction of how He healed Peter’s wife’s mother when it says, He “took her by the hand and lifted her up. And she served them” (1:31). Once again, here only do we read, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town” (8:23). Finally, it is in Mark’s account alone that we read, of the little boy with the spirit of deafness, where it says, Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose” (9:27).

There is another observation found in Mark’s Gospel, whereas the other Gospels, describing the exact same scene overlook this minute, yet significant insight into the heart of the Servant Jesus. This acute analysis revolves around the fact that Jesus took time to look. At first glance this may seem trivial, but not to Mark, not in the least. On one particular occasion, it was the Sabbath and Jesus entered the Synagogue. There happened to be a man there with a “withered hand.” All eyes were on Jesus, especially those of the religious leaders. They eyed him to see whether he would heal the man or not. Thus, we read, “when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’” (3:5). I can’t help but wonder, what must that look have been like? I imagine everything seemed to come to a crashing halt, frozen in time, suspended in space, silence filled the room, while Jesus engaged in the slow panoramic scanning of the eyes around the room, until He had locked eyes with each one, and locked eyes indeed long enough to peer deep into their hearts, allowing them to experience the piercing fury and fire of the Father. But then His eyes fell upon the man with the withered hand, and everything changed. The fury turned to compassion and the fire now released a love not known to humanity. An image no one would soon forget. For Mark, this is anything but an empty arbitrary insertion, it’s a snapshot, a photo, one that he wants to become etched deep into the heart and mind of his reader. Here alone do we see, And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!” (3:34). Then there’s the look never to be forgotten, which happened when He spoke of His cross, and Peter began to rebuke Him. Here alone do we read, “when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (8:33).

What about the Rich Young Ruler? We often get this image that Jesus scoffs at him as if he were some spoiled brat, unable to detach himself from his stuff. Though this may very well have been true to some extent, Mark inserts something that sheds light on the inner workings of Jesus regarding this young man. For starters, Mark doesn’t portray the posture of this young man as some lazy slouch, sauntering around the streets of Jerusalem, sucking down the proceeds from his sugar-daddy’s inheritance. Mark alone sets the stage by saying, as Jesus “was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’” This boy is a “Gette’r Done!” boy. He chases down the pack, pushes through the distractions of yuppie-hood, and kneels in humility before Jesus. There’s the question from Jesus and then the impressive answer from the young man. Then he gives us a snap-shot of Jesus and His demeanor towards the one kneeling before Him. Here alone do we read, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Then again, “he (the young man) was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful.” And finally, this particular scene shifts as “Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (10:17-23). The Gospel of Mark is loaded with the distinctive description of Jesus looking. Jesus understood that a single look often has the capacity to communicate on a level much deeper and fuller than mere words.

Portraits of Jesus        


Experts tell us that communication is composed of different methods: words, voice, tone and non-verbal clues. Of these, some are more effective in delivering a message than others. According to research, in a conversation or verbal exchange:
Words are 7% effectiveTone of voice is 38% effectiveNon-verbal clues are 55% effective.
There is a powerful message in the message behind the message, the message felt, the message seen, the message that often echoes far beyond the words spoken. To our detriment, we often only focus on the technicalities of the actual words that we spoke, without understanding the parameters of the other components of communication, that is, the other 93% of communication.


Reflect on the components of communication referenced above in light of the Gospel of Mark. As Mark walks us through the life and actions of Jesus, what’s the message-behind-the-message?

In your life, is the message-behind-the-message consistent with what you’ve said?


Begin attending to your message-behind-the-message (the tone of your voice and the non-verbals being released, which as we have seen, often weigh much more than the mere words we speak. To assist you in the process, the internal question has to move beyond, what I said (in regards to words), to what did they hear me say (which always encompasses the full message transmitted: words, tone, non-verbal, not to mention the spirit behind what’s being said).


Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Nicety-Split


When I was in high school I was inspired by a movie I saw one Saturday afternoon. The setting of the movie was a maximum security prison, but the story was an unfolding drama of one man’s passion for running. To spare you all the details, he dedicated all of his time to pursuing one seemingly impossible dream, to run, to compete, and to set the world record for the fastest mile. Before long the inmates aptly nicknamed him nicety-split. I’m sure you can imagine how the movie ended… He trained endless hours with lots of sweat, and then got the unthinkable opportunity to leave the prison yard to compete in the big meet. Did I mention he won? As someone who was striving to break a few records in the mile myself, I sat on the edge of my seat, watching the dedication of nicety-split, taking mental notes of everything he did, and if I’m honest, fanaticizing myself blazing past the opponents at the all-state championships. I was immediately inspired by his dedication, determination and discipline. I wanted to be fast, faster than anybody else.

When we think of Jesus, we don’t typically think of exercise, much less running. Yet, have you ever wondered if Jesus ever got up early, laced His Nike-sandals and simply went out for a jog? How do you imagine He did in the foot races that boys typically partake in on their way home from school? Was He fast?

I’m not sure about Jesus’ aptitude for running, much less, at the speed by which He was able to sprint down the dusty streets of Nazareth. Nonetheless, for Mark, it’s a different story. He wants us to see Jesus in the light of a Man who is on the move, and moving fast at that. Integrated into the opening scene of Mark’s Gospel, is the fact that Jesus is a Man of intense motion. “The Gospel of Mark moves at a breathless pace as though in a hurry to get the whole story out.” (Sounds like some teaching-pastors I know.)

There is the frequent use of words such as ‘And,’ And then,’ ‘Immediately,’ and ‘As soon as.’ Mark uses these words to describe the unfolding events and interactions of his account. He repeatedly uses the adverb “immediately” or as some translations have it “straightway, suddenly, forthwith, directly, presently, quickly, speedily.” One can’t even casually read through Mark’s Gospel without taking a mental note of the frequent usage of this word. Bible translators have been so perplexed by the amount of usage this word receives that they typically begin using other English phrases to prevent repetitiveness, however in doing so, many of us miss the point of what Mark was trying to communicate by using the same word over and over in the first place. It’s the word euthus and it translated several different ways in Scripture. Mark uses this word more than any other New Testament writer. In fact, in the New American Standard Bible, (which by many scholars is considered to be one of the more accurate translations) the word euthus is used 60 times in the New Testament, 42 of those times are in the Gospel of Mark. It is this frequent use of the Greek imperfect tense, that denotes to the reader the continuous action, and serves to move the narrative along at a rapid pace. The only exception, of course, is where he pauses, which then as a result carries it’s own power for emphasizing various dynamics at work within the greater narrative. (For the Matrix junkies or the old Saturday Night KungFu lovers, Mark uses the speed-pause technique like the multi-layered fight scenes with the super-human jumping and fighting abilities that are always at super-human speeds, yet the camera slows down the frames during the execution of the fifteen-foot back flip over four ninjas, or the super-limbo-contest-winning back bend as the bullet goes flying by. Jesus becomes before our very eyes the Master of the Art of Living.)

We will look at but one chapter to sample Mark’s emphatic use of this word to describe Jesus, His service, and the events surrounding His ministry. We’ll look at chapter one, and keep in mind that master writers like Mark, always insert key elements within the context of the opening paragraphs that serve to set the stage of the whole of their literary work.

At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark Jesus is baptized and “immediately coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending” (1:10). Then after the Heavenly voice speaks, He is “immediately drove by the Spirit into the wilderness” (1:12). As Jesus walked “by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea.” Jesus calls them to follow Him and Mark records that they “immediately left their nets and followed Him” (1:16-17). Walking a little farther along the Sea he spots James and John and “immediately He called them” (1:20). The scene quickly shifts to them entering into Capernaum and “immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught,” not to mention the casting out of a demonic spirit (1:21-27). What was the result of all this? Mark inserts a bit of commentary before He takes us straight to the next scene by saying, “immediately This fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee” (1:28). But, as stated, this is only commentary spoken by the stories narrator.

Mark quickly takes us back to the synagogue, which Jesus is now departing. “And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her immediately. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them” (1:29-31). The next day a man afflicted by leprosy came to Jesus imploring Him to heal him and “as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him.” And Jesus “sent him away immediately” (1:40-42). These examples are not isolated to the first chapter alone, rather it is a thread that runs through the whole of Mark’s Gospel, and his Gospel alone. Furthermore, when this thread is weaved together with the other peculiar expressions, such as “in the way,” “in the house,” “as He sat at,” or “as He walked in the temple,” we get “a glimpse of what is meant by ‘instant in season and out of season,’ and what is fitting of one who is called to be the Lord’s servant.”


Portraits of Jesus        

Reflect on how Mark uses particular words and phrases to describe Jesus, His responses and the events happening around Him. How do they influence the image of Jesus presented?

Mark paints Jesus as one who is always accessible, be it early in the morning, after a long and exhausting day, while He’s taking a nap, or even during the midst of a sermon being given to a packed house and the only way in is to break through the roof. For Mark, Jesus is never not accessible to the needs of the common people, for Jesus is the ultimate Servant.


Have you ever felt as if Jesus didn’t have enough time to take a break from engaging the world to attend to you, who you are, and your need? How does the Gospel of Mark challenge this presupposition?

    
If our greatest need had been information, 
God would have sent us an educator.

If your greatest need had been technology, 
God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money, 
God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure, 
God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness, 
so God sent us a Savior. 
(Author Unknown)

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Blue Collar Gospel


“For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life
a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:45)



Much can be learned by what is not said. Therefore, one of the questions we must ask is, what things do not appear in Mark’s account that are apparent in the others. For, as we shall see, the elements that each of the Gospel writers emphasize or fail to mention are always consistent with the portrait they are displaying of Jesus. These often overlooked realities, is what makes the Gospels so fascinating!

As we look at the popular scene of Jesus on the Mount of Olives with His disciples, we find no Bridegroom, as in Matthew, receiving the wise and rejecting the foolish virgins. Here, we have no Lord judging between the faithful and unfaithful servants; no King, enthroned in glory, separating the nations to the right and left hand. On the contrary, in Mark alone do we read, “but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (13:32). These words, as noted, are exclusive to this Gospel, nonetheless are consistently characteristic of Mark’s account. For it is here that the Son is seen with His glory laid aside, clothed in the likeness of man, and in very action a true Servant. “And in this aspect,” as Andrew Jukes notes, “like other servants, He awaits another’s will, not knowing the lord’s secrets; for "the servant does not know what his master is doing" (John 15:15). And so as Servant He says, naming Himself with other blessed servants, the holy angels – ‘Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ Nor does this touch the truth of His Person; for that is not the question here. But just as in St. Luke the words, ‘He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,’ speak of Him as Son of Adam, without in any way contradicting that He is also ‘the Word made flesh’; just as His death in one aspect is spoken of as ‘a sweet savor,’ man freely giving to God what is most sweet to Him, while in another aspect it is regarded as penal and a sin-offering, the due judgment for the sins of men; so in like manner what is true of Him as Servant does not deny His lordship, which is but another view of the same wondrous and blessed Lord.”

These omissions continue to the end. In the Garden of Gethsemane, there is no references to His authority to summon twelve legions of angels had he so desired. There’s no promise of Paradise to His dying companion on the cross. There’s no sightings of saints of old being resurrected from the dead. Though all these things, as we shall see in a later week are completely consistent with Mathew’s portrait, they are beyond the parameters of the Spirit’s intention for this Gospel, thus have no place.

Furthermore, the last scene is just as distinct as the first. Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples are framed peculiarly different than in other places. In the last scene we have the commissioning of the Apostles to go and preach. However, when this commission is compared to that of Matthew’s Gospel there’s a striking omission. In Matthew we read Jesus as saying, “All power is given to me in heaven and earth,” therefore go into all the world.” The emphasis is that of authority and the kingdom (see Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-20). As true as this is, the emphasis of such would be inconsistent with that of the Servant. For Mark, Jesus “is not discipling as with authority, or commanding that ‘all things which He has commanded to be observed in all nations”; but rather, as knowing the path of service… Now His disciples are to take His place, and He will serve in them.”



Portraits of Jesus


Mark has been called the Blue Collar Gospel, because it portrays Jesus getting down and dirty, serving, working, toiling and suffering in submission to the Father. The prophet Isaiah said,

“The ox knows its master.”
(Isaiah 1:3)


And Mark quotes Jesus saying,


“For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life
a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:45)


Reflect of Jesus as the Blue Collar Servant. What does it mean for you to follow His example in this life?



The highest service may be prepared and done in the humblest surroundings. In silence, in waiting, in obscure, unnoticed offices, in years of uneventful, unrecorded duties, the Son of God grew and waxed strong.”
-Inscription in the Stanford University Chapel-

Monday, September 25, 2006

Down and Dirty

Down and Dirty
the second living creature was like an ox(Revelation 4:7)
As we open the pages to the Gospel of Mark, we notice something immediately. There is no Genealogy. No nativity narrative, no miraculous birth, no reference to Bethlehem, or adoration of the wise men, as in Matthews Gospel. There is no childhood appearance at the Temple in Jerusalem, no childhood at Nazareth, no subjection to His parents, no increase in wisdom and stature, as in Lukes Gospel. In fact, there seems to be absolutely no interest in Jesus pedigree or royal lineage. There is no reference to His pre-existence and Divine glory, as in Johns Gospel. No, none of these things are of primal interest to Mark. Mark has no time for lengthy discourse like that of Matthew or Luke, there is too much to be done, or rather too much to be written about what Jesus has done.
The Gospel of Mark is more like a shooting script, a graphic perspective of eyewitnesses: names, times, numbers, locations. It is the Gospel of vividness. Graphic, striking phrases occur frequently to allow the reader to form a mental picture of the scene described. It is the Gospel of action, moving rapidly from one scene to another. The Gospel of Mark is like a motion picture of the life of Jesus. Marks frequent use of the Greek imperfect tense, denoting continuous action, also moves the narrative at a rapid pace. It is believed that Mark wrote down the contents of this Gospel as it was dictated to him by Peter. Peter was a man of action, and as such, the portrait that we are presented with consistently and thoroughly throughout this Gospel is that of Jesus, a man of action, a man of service, a beast of burden, i.e. the ox.
As Mark puts his brush to the canvas, he begins by painting Jesus and the importunity of service. The scene opens on the riverbank of the Jordan, to capture the motivation of all that is about to be played out before us. As the lights come up on the stage, we hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness. It is the voice of John the Baptist, quoting the testimony that One was coming, who would baptize not only with water, but with the Holy Spirit. Theres no panoramic view of all those who had came out to the desert to be baptized, as is shown in the other Gospels. No tax collectors, no Sadducees, no soldiers, there stands only Jesus, the true servant of God.
Without further prologue, Mark passes directly to Jesus own ministry, in accordance with his opening line, The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1). As Andrew Jukes points out, It is this "Gospel, this ministry or service, which St. Mark is about to draw; and, omitting what does not bear on this, he comes straight to the details of this ministry.

Then here is no Sermon on the Mount. The laws of the kingdom would be out of place, for the Servant, not the King, is here manifested. Here is no "Our Father," which, so full of character in St. Matthew and St. Luke, as illustrating the wants and relationships both of the Jew and Gentile, is here omitted as having no special bearing on the path of service. For the same reason we have here no lengthy discourses, and but few parables; for the service here is rather doing than teaching. There are both, but the mind of the Spirit seems to be occupied more with the former of these than with the latter. Doing, and toiling, and serving the needy is far humbler work than teaching.
As such, there are only four parables in this Gospel, each of which fits precisely with Marks emphasis on the servant, his actions, and his heart. Interestingly, though the amount of discourse, teaching and parables are significantly fewer compared with the corresponding chapters of the other Gospels, the details of service are given far more meticulously.
Mark portrays Jesus as a man of great action. Yet, in the midst of all the motion, Mark is very intentional to make sure that we dont miss the action-behind-the-action. It is of unprecedented importance to Mark, that we understand the motivation to and the power of the service rendered by Jesus. Therefore, before the first task is embarked upon, the first act of service in progress, he pauses for a snap-shot into the heart of the servant, his primary motivation for the actions that will follow. And acts of service to this multitude can only effectively be accomplished as one fully understands that it is not by service that we are made sons, but by sonship that we become servants. To this end, as mentioned, the opening line states, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Notice, then the climax of the opening scene down by the river as Jesus demonstrates his dependence and surrender in baptism. Then a voice came from heaven, You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. For Jesus, it was the approbation, acceptance and the approval of the Father that was the central motivation and influencer of His acts of service. This is an essential principle for all of us to orient our lives from: My acceptance by the Father produces my action for the Father; rather than my actions for the Father produce my acceptance by the Father. Though this principle is the only sure footing for our works, actions, ministries, and service, it is a challenging one, because it is the exact opposite of most of the earthly models presented to us.
Deep inside, almost automatically it seems there is an intense desire and a secret longing to hear the words, This is my beloved son/daughter, in whom I well pleased. Yet, how many of us have strived at petty accomplishments to obtain the attention, approval and admiration of others? Many are they that strive and strive only to never hear or feel such qualities emanated from another. Even if acceptance is achieved through such measures, the energy expended to maintain it is that of keeping a house of cards standing during a sand storm. Few are they that escape the entrapment of this addiction to approval and praise of others. In fact, it sometimes seems, the more successful we become, the more susceptible to entrapment we become. Listen to what one of Americas most affluent, influential and popular voices confessed,
I discovered I felt worthless, and certainly not worthy of love, unless I was accomplishing something. I suddenly realized I have never felt I could be loved just for being.(Oprah Winfrey)
Or, perhaps what one of the most famous icons of the Twenty-First Century,
My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. Thats always been pushing me, pushing me. Because even though Ive become somebody, I still have to prove that Im SOMEBODY. My struggle has never ended, and it probably never will.(Madonna)
Jesus operated from a different paradigm. He didnt die on the cross to prove Himself the Son of God, He died because He was the Son of God. Jesus was able to endure the cross because He knew He was beloved of the Father. And, now His desire is to silence the subtle-unconscious voice that echoes deep within many people heads telling them that if only_______ people would love you and God would be pleased with you.

Portraits of Jesus        


Take a few moments and do the following exercise.

Circle the letter (A or B) to indicate which statement you believe to be true:
1. A. Justification is a single act of God for us.
B. Justification is an ongoing work of God in us.    ,
2. A. Justification means "to make righteous." B. Justification means "to decl