Posted by
admin on March 10, 2010 at 12:01 pm.
He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God (John 1:11-12).
This passage is one of the many “sad and glad” couplets in Scripture. It combines one of the most tragic phrases in all of literature with one of the most hopeful.
There are many reasons why “His own” did not receive Him. Some can be attributed to misunderstanding. He didn’t fit the mold that they had come to expect. He didn’t follow all their rules and regulations; He didn’t throw off the yoke of the Roman government; He didn’t stroke the religious establishment in the right way; indeed, on that point, He stirred them up and pointed out their hypocrisy.
Some of those who misunderstood Him at first came around later and broke up mold of their expectations so that they could see Him for Who He really was.
But others didn’t. These stubbornly held fast to their expectations and required Him to conform to their ways of thinking. The irony (or perhaps hypocrisy) was that these apparently religious people had put God in a box and refused to let Him out. Their ways were all that mattered. They would be recognized and honored when they forced God to do what they determined was the best policy for their people. Many of those that refused to receive Him tried to use their personal or political influence to make Him conform to their ways. Ultimately they would “win the battle” but “lose the war.” Jesus would be crucified at their hands, but He would rise again to life.
But how much happier were those who are described in the “glad” portion of this couplet. They received Him, acknowledging ultimately His glory. They didn’t necessarily understand all that He was doing or all that would happen to Him, but they understood, with John, that this One – the Messiah – was not their puppet, but was the One they needed to obey. They were willing to be the servants rather than the Master.
It seems to me that we see the same contrast among people today in Western society. We can argue about whether “His own” only refers to Jewish people, but it would be immaterial. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, the human heart still is rebellious against our Creator. We still want to pull His strings rather than submit to His will. We still have the same choice: receive Him or reject Him. In the end there is no other option.
Posted by
admin on March 7, 2010 at 9:07 pm.
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:14-16
Some might dispute my statement that the central celebration in the Jewish calendar was intended to be Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. By this statement I am not trying to diminish God’s many deliverances of the Jewish people that are celebrated throughout their calendar year. But I am suggesting that the Passover is central to them all. Before He suffered and died, Jesus celebrated it with His disciples.
There was a sense among the ancient Jewish and Hebrew commentators that somehow Messiah would deliver the nation on the anniversary of their deliverance from Egypt which happened the day after Passover. This sense was correct for Jesus died the day after the Passover. Messiah did indeed deliver His people on this day.
Christian theology teaches that the inaugural event of heaven will be the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” I can’t quite figure out how it can be an inaugural event in a world without time, but I will leave that dilemma to God. But that event would appear to be comparable, if not identical, to the Passover feast on this side of eternity, and Jesus says in the passage above that He will “eat it again.”
Over the years, as our church has celebrated Passover by pointing to its fulfillment in Christ, we have recognized how completely this event melds the Old and New Testaments together into a single unit. The Exodus was central to the deliverance of the nation of Israel from the taskmasters of Egypt; Christ’s death was central to the deliverance of all mankind from the harsher taskmaster of sin. It is wonderful to celebrate not only with music and message, but to see how even the traditional food and ceremony point to the truth of Jesus’ deliverance of men.
It is even more thrilling to know that what we do each year is just a rehearsal for heaven where Jesus Himself will be physically present!
Posted by
admin on February 19, 2010 at 5:12 pm.
Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
With the possible exception of evangelism, few topics elicit guilt in Christians like the call to pray. We all know we should and we have a plethora of examples showing why it is important, but still we don’t. My purpose is not to make us feel more guilty, but simply to observe the occasion of Jesus’ prayer – He prayed all night while deciding who would be His Twelve closest followers.
Now, it wasn’t like these were established positions. There was no Bylaw that said He had to have twelve. He could have chosen 10 or even 15. Certainly twelve was a Biblical number, but He wasn’t filling a quota; He was looking for men whose hearts were right deep down, because they would carry on His ministry after He had gone to heaven. They would be called upon to suffer hardship and trial, eventually even martyrdom, and if their hearts were compromised, they wouldn’t last.
We don’t know what transpired between Father and Son that night, but somehow, He heard from the Father about which of the multitude He should call to “be with Him.” Those hours of prayer helped Him peer into the hearts of these men and understand who would last and who wouldn’t. I suspect that as the night wore on, Jesus saw how they would respond to His message and His purpose for their lives. I suspect also that there was some wrestling over the appointment of Judas Iscariot!
This passage doesn’t give us great insight into how prayer works or what methodology we should use to find the answers to our questions and struggles. But it does point out the importance that Jesus placed upon prayer prior to major decisions, and it is an example of how we also should approach decisions in our own lives. If prayer was necessary for Jesus before decisions, how much more is it necessary for us.
I don’t believe there as anything “magical” about spending all night in prayer, any more than any other discipline. But the main point of this brief statement in Luke’s Gospel is that we need to pray – even if it’s just a brief cry for help. It doesn’t matter how long or how big the decision, when it comes to prayer, just do it.
Bread of Life,
Church,
Disciples,
Eternal Life,
Eternal Son of God,
Jesus,
Jesus' Teachings,
John 6:68-69,
Moses,
Peter,
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Posted by
admin on January 25, 2010 at 2:46 am.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69 NIV)
It’s easy to forget in the ministry of Jesus that He also faced the attrition of His following. In John 6, after He spoke so clearly about being the “Bread of Life” many of His disciples left Him. There were several hard teachings in this passage that they stumbled over. Among them,
- The connection between Jesus and the manna that sustained the Hebrews in the wilderness. As it came down from heaven, so did Jesus. As it nourished them, so does Jesus.
- That we must “eat” His body and “drink” His blood. These are obvious metaphors that describe the assimilation of His life and teaching into our lives.
- That what we do with Jesus determines whether or not we inherit eternal life.
But it is interesting to read the response of Peter when Jesus asks him if he also would leave. Rather than taking his cue from the crowd that was leaving, Peter chose to stick with the One who would show him the way to eternal life.
We face the same issues in our day. Many people struggle with the exclusive nature of Jesus’ teachings, and so they turn from Him and His Church. Many are unwilling to assimilate His teaching into their lives – the relentless assault of the world’s values is too difficult to overcome – so they turn away from Him. Many in our day struggle with the idea that Jesus is the eternal Son of God – that He actually existed during the time that Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. These things are too supernatural to believe. So they fall away.
Peter seemed to understand that following Jesus was not a matter of joining the popular band wagon. He chose between those that followed until the going got tough or until Jesus quit making them feel good and eternal Truth. He followed because he could trust Jesus’ “words of eternal life.” He became a real “disciple,” not just a “convert.”
