The Chosen is a highly polished dramatization of the Gospel story told in a modern television style complete with episodes and seasons. The most direct comparison would be the network television miniseries A.D. The Bible Continues, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. In comparison, The Chosen is a better series; the quality of the acting is superior, and the scene direction and production mechanics appear to be of a higher quality. If The Chosen had ended up with even half as many viewers it would be a success, but at over 50 million views as of August 2020, it has already vastly exceeded the network television show’s numbers (13.1 million).
The death of George Floyd at the hands of police on June 2, 2020 is unanimously perceived as an unjust homicide. I'd love to cite a poll with specifics, but it seems to be so obvious that even pollsters aren't asking that particular question. So with the usual caveat for those devoted to evil, everyone agrees. Almost as soon as the video of Floyd's death hit the internet, the protests began. The largest, and by far the most significant, group to activate is the new political coalition called Black Lives Matter. While I agree with the sentiment of the statement, I disagree with the groups activities — and so does God.
Jesus appears once more to the disciples near the sea of Tiberias (one of my favorite places in the world, by the way). In his post-resurrection manner, he disguises himself again, After a long night of fishing, during which they caught nothing, Jesus shows up on the beach. This scene is a bit of levity after such a hard journey that didn't end at the cross, but at the empty tomb. From the shore Jesus yells to the disciples in the boat, "caught any fish?" knowing that they hadn't. He advises them to throw the net off the starboard side.
The passage we discuss today is some of the powerful writing in all of literature. It's not that John's writing is that good (though he is a good writer), its that it's a first hand account of subject matter that literally changed the world. The death of Jesus is powerful in any language, and every attempt to bring the event to film has had varying success but has helped reach hundreds of thousands of people come to grips with their sinful condition and need for a savior. We don't want to diminish the subject matter in any way.
One of the things we learn from Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well is that Jesus considers conversations about God to be second to nothing else. The story is found in John chapter four. Jesus is alone sitting near a well at around noon. The disciples have been sent into town to buy supplies and food. A Samaritan woman comes to the well at the hottest part of the day --
Schools are closing, offices are encouraging people to work from home, churches are shutting their doors and governments are encouraging restaurants to move to a take-out\delivery only model of service. It all begs the question, how does one think-biblically about the Wuhun Virus (aka coronavirus, or COVID-19)? I've heard from a great many of my readers\listeners about their thoughts regarding how we, as the people of God, are to react to a world that is largely hiding through self-quarantine from an unseen, possibly life-threatening virus. As such, I thought it might be time to offer my own understanding of the matter.
Before sundown on that Friday, Jesus was taken from the cross by Joseph and Nicodemus, placed in a nearby tomb Joseph owned, and the body ritually prepared. A stone door was rolled into place, and Roman guards came to seal the door and stand watch over it. After this flurry of activity, everything was still. All night, all the next day, the people went on celebrating Passover. As a high holy day no work was done. The day stretched on in an unnatural silence across the nation. That night only the crickets and frogs called out. Then came Sunday morning.
Up to this point in the story Jesus had been dealing with Temple authorities. While they arrested him, hurled insults at him and struck him once on the face for apparent disrespect of the high priest, they appeared to be powerless to do much more. You will hear from some Christians that the Jews could not execute Jesus because Rome did not give them authority to practice capital punishment. This isn't exactly true. There are several instances (the adulterous woman, the stoning of Stephen, the stoning of Paul) whereby the Jewish religious leaders certainly behaved as if they could execute their fellow Jews.
Tomorrow is assured no one, yet when yesterday is already ours what more can mortal man ask?
It's a new year and the appropriate time for new challenges. You probably noticed a long lull in my writing. Some of that was intentional — I was working on a new project that required my undivided attention. Some of that time off was unplanned and resulted from being sick over several weeks. While not completely back to full health, today we launch our first ever podcast! Based on articles that appeared here first, you may download and discover how to Think Biblically at work, while running or driving or anywhere else it may not be convenient to read.
"After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took the body away..." And so John begins to tell us about the burial of Jesus. Our reading has already slowed down due to John's having the stories climax in the immediately preceding verses, so we ought to be paying careful attention. If so, you might be asking yourself, "Wait… Who is this Joseph guy?" He is a minor but important character who became a legend.
Today we make a powerful transition in the Gospel of John. Jesus is about to be arrested and enter into the final hours of his life. It is from this point forward that Jesus most dreaded. Even so, he steels his face and marches bravely into harms way. It is also a transition in structure. With the end of Jesus' prayer in chapter 17 we finish section five, The Preparation for the Departure of the Messiah. Section six is the last major portion of John's book and covers The Crucifixion and Consummation of the Messiah (18.1-21.25).
