Different Gods
My senior year of high school I worked as a student assistant for the Chemistry department. One day I was having a discussion with one of the teachers about his beliefs. Knowing I was a Christian, he told me that he too believed in God and that God used the process of evolution as a means of creation. I explained that his belief is in a God that used death – survival of the fittest – to create the world while I believe in a God who created a world without death and suffering. I concluded saying, “It sounds to me like we worship different Gods.”
Post Resurrection, Part 1
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.
The Roman Connection
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.
The Lord's Longest Prayer, Part 2
Yesterday we started an examination of Chapter 17 — the longest of Jesus' prayers contained in the Gospels. We identified three parts to this prayer: Jesus prays for his glorification, the disciples' sanctification and the church's unification. We covered the first eight verses and today we'll cover the second of the three parts in verses nine through 19. Admittedly, this section can be confusing. There is a lot of repetition and use of less-than-straightforward language. We'll sort through it all and uncover the main point: what Jesus asks the Father for on behalf of the disciples, and why.
Forbidden Fruit
Everyone knows the story, even those who do not know the Bible. Adam and Eve and the fall of humanity into sinful rebellion. It’s so familiar that one of the most profitable companies in the world (after their 2022 earning report the company is valued at $3 trillion dollars) uses imagery from the story for their corporate logo. I’m talking about Apple, of course, and their logo of an apple with one bite taken from it. Centuries of Western European tradition identify the forbidden fruit as an apple, but was it really? Could it have been something else?
Joseph of Arimathea
"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.
The Jewish Plot
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).
Lord's Longest Prayer, Part 1
Chapter 17 closes out section five, The Preparation for the Departure of the Messiah. This chapter contains the longest of Jesus' prayers contained in the Gospels, so we'll break it down into bite-sized pieces. Today we're covering the first eight verses which, while they contain a lot of theology, make a very simple point. Topically, Jesus prays for himself and his glorification. In verses 9-19 he prays for the disciples and their sanctification. Then in verses 20 through 26 he prays for all believers throughout the rest of time and their unification. Now there are three points that will preach!
Post Resurrection, Part 2
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 Death of Jesus
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.
The Lord's Longest Prayer, Part 3
So far in our examination of chapter 17 we've witnessed Jesus pray for himself and his glorification (verses 1-9), and pray for the disciples and their sanctification (9-19). Today we see how Jesus prays for us, the Universal Church, in verses 20 through 26. So far we've seen that when Jesus prays for his glory, it is so that the Father would be glorified, Also, when Jesus prays for the disciples to be protected in their mission, it is so that many may believe in Jesus and therefore bring glory to the Father. What might be Jesus' prayer for the Church?
Jesus' Worldview
We spent an entire article on the first four verses of chapter sixteen because I felt it warranted it. Today, we'll finish our observations on this chapter. The rest of the chapter is written in a style that repeats questions and motifs, used as a method to assure the reader remembers key points. The passage holds true to a Jewish style of story-telling. So that our Western minds are not confused by stylistic choices we'll concentrate on the actual teachings of the text itself. These teachings are important as they are the things Jesus wants his people to know before he leaves them.
