John 12 and Mark 14 tell of an awkward moment at an intimate dinner party. The dinner takes place at the home of Lazarus (following his raising from the dead) and his sisters Mary and Martha. After dinner, Mary begins to anoint Jesus’ head and feet with an expensive oil made of nard. Judas objects to this compassionate display, arguing that the oil should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus rebukes this notion, stating Mary has chosen the greater good. There is a lot to unpack in this short scene.
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).
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 we get started back into our study of John, there are a couple matters that need to be disclosed. First, my apologies for our last post. It is not my best work, and what I post here should always reflect my best. If you would indulge me, I've re-written it and reposted the article in it's original location. I can only say that the original article was a reflection of the constraints and pressures I was under, which lead to the last two weeks of silence, If you are a regular reader and not a member of our Facebook discussion group, there was no warning for this hiatus. I encourage you to join our Facebook community to receive other notices related to this site.
Before I get on a roll, I believe it is important from the start to recognize that a great many pastors have suffered over the last year. I may be critical of some below, so I recognize here and now that many good pastors are left hurting in the wake of government overreach when responding to a virus with a 98% survivability rate. When one is put in the position of being unable to practice one’s calling or risk the government fining – or imprisoning you (as they did regularly in Canada) for doing so – stress and uncertainty take up position over each shoulder. For you, we pray for relief.
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.
Thinking about the book of John this week took me on a bit of a rabbit trail. I'd like to walk you through it as I think it will make an interesting research project after we're done working through this gospel. The trail head is John chapter two and Jesus' first miracle. Jesus turned the water in two stone vessels to wine. What happens with those vessels next? We don't know, but my mind made a connection to handkerchiefs and aprons that, after touching the apostle Paul's body, could heal sickness and exorcise demons (Acts 19.11-12).
After decades of political bodies all around the world telling us that skin color doesn’t matter – “we’re the same on the inside” they told us – suddenly they’re messaging has changed and today skin color is the only thing that matters. The group Black Lives Matter is offended when you remind them that all lives matter, and the US congress kneeled in their support of BLM. Many metropolises are offering relief funds to citizens – but only to non-white citizens and the federal government has talked about reparations to black families whose ancestors were slaves in America over 180 years ago.
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.
Dinner is over, Judas and Satan had left to go and betray Jesus, and only those who were destined to remain are now present. Jesus has just dropped the news that one of them would betray him, and that Peter would deny knowing Jesus before sunrise. It is natural for the disciples to start feeling defeated even before their individual failings. Sensing the difficulty his followers were experiencing taking in the truth about their nature, Jesus offers them comfort in the form of still more future prophecy. "Do not be distressed," the Savior says. Words we all need to hear sometimes.
Yesterday we examined the first 18 verses of John, his prologue to the story of the Messiah. Starting in verse 19 of chapter one we enter the first of four stories about the Messiah. This first cycle is The Peaceful First Coming of the Messiah (1.19-4.54). At the start we are dropped into a day in the life of John the Baptist who is being challenged by the Pharisees in a way that bears resemblance to how Jesus will be questioned by this same band of religious leaders. Unlike Jesus, John answers them without riddles or questions of his own.
