Douglas Jacoby Podcast

Conversations: THE BOOK OF LIFE: AM I IN IT—AND WHO DECIDES?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: LEADERSHIP & AUTHORITY

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: MONEY

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: PORTRAITS OF THE CHURCH

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: IS IT WRONG TO LEAVE MY CHURCH? (Part 2)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: IS IT WRONG TO LEAVE MY CHURCH? (Part 1)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: Q&A ON PURITY CULTURE & SKEWED SEXUAL ATTITUDES

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: PURITY CULTURE & SKEWED SEXUAL ATTITUDES

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: Counting the Cost

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: WHAT IS "PERSONAL FRUIT"?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: PASTORS & PASTURES

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: THE MATTHEW 28 LENS

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE (?)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: THE USE & MISUSE OF MATTHEW 18:15-17

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Conversations: AN HONEST LOOK AT THE CHURCH—THE LAST 20 YEARS

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Conversations: WHY "CONVERSATIONS"?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Self-assessment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Prime Prism Passages on Christ & the OT

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Matthew the Evangelist

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Review

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Matt 28:1-20

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 27:57 to Ch 28

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 27:45-51

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 24 to 26

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 23 to 24

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 22

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 21 (Pt. 2)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 21 (Pt. 1)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 14 to 20

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 14 to 17

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 11 to Ch 13

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 10

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 9, Ch 10

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): SOM and Ch 8

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 3 continued

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Ch 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Christ & The OT (Jesus Seen Through the Prism of Matthew's Gospel): Intro

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: False Prophets

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 1 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 7:13-14 - The narrow gate

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 7:1-6

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: (Matthew 6:25-ff) - Do not worry

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Treasures in Heaven

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 6:1-18

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 6 - Prayer

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 6:1-4

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 5:38 - Be perfect?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Enemies Part 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Enemies Part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 5:20 - Anger

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 5:17-19 - Letter of the Law

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 8 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 5:14-16 - Light

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 5:13 - Salt

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Matthew 5:5-6

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: (Matthew 5:3) Those who grieve

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 1 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: (Matthew 5:1-2) Poor in spirit

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Herod & The Magi

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Birth (The Nativity)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: The Annunciation (The Announcement)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Christmas in Prophecy (the Old Testament)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Kindom Living - Matthew 5-7

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Jeremiah-Beating, Stocks, Prison, Execution (and worse)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Jeremiah: Outward Courage, Inner Turmoil

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Letter to Laodiceans

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Jeremiah And The Liars

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Jeremiah And The Den of Robbers

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Go In The Strength You Have

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: God’s Favorite Scripture

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: The Gospel of Hosea Pt. 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: The Gospel of Hosea

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: “Dogs & Chains,” or “When The Going Gets Tough,” or “The Two Faces of Conviction”

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 4 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Isaiah 64:6

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Isaiah 1:18

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Too little, Too late

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Caesar or Christ

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: The Nastiest King of Judah

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: The 3 Jezebels + one more thing

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: David's two houses

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Heros and Zeros

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: A tale of 2 lepers

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: The Sophomore

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Listen to the lady (Wisdom from proverbs)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: How the mighty have fallen

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Faith By Numbers

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Pentecost , An Exploration

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Ascension Day

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Zoomunion: Easter Surprises

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 7 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

"Zoomunion" offers 100s of video sermons, all following into the Lord's Supper. Access all previous ZOOM communion sermons HERE.

To join us LIVE this Sunday (1900 UK time). To get the most out of the message, please watch the previous episodes.

Sermons: Consider What Great Things He Has Done

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 6 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

NOTE: This episode contains a translator. For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Reconsidering the Basics

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: The Joy of Giving: Roadblocks

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 2 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: A Life Well-Lived

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Holidays or Holy Days

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Every Saul Needs an Ananias

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Where Are You?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Sharpening The Sword

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Soul to Soul: Forging & Maintaining Godly Relationships

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Thanksgiving Meditation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Mother’s Day Reflection

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Filling & Following

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Be Flexible

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: The Serpent & The Savior

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Historic Core of Christmas Lore (A sermon on Nicholas)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Deacons (1 Timothy 3)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Nov 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: The Bonfire – Acts 19

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Every Saul Needs a Barnabas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Message from the Mountain

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Luke 17 Thanksgiving

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: The Pursuit of Holiness

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Book of John Lesson 7

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Jesus Prays John 17

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Character and Personality

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: The Samaritan Woman

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: 1 Timothy 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Get Up

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Already But Not Yet

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Romans 11 – Did God Slip Up?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: Curse / Reverse (Romans 5)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Sermons: The Good News and the Bad News (Romans 1)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount Z

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount Y

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount X

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount W

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount V

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount U

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount T

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount S

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount R

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount Q

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount P

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 7 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount O

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 6 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount N

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount M

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 2 Sep 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount L

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount K

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount J

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount I

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount H

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount G

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount F

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount E

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount D

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount C

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount B

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Sermon on the Mount A

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith Conclusion & Charge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 120 Malachi: My Utmost for His Highest

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 119 Zechariah B: The Donkey & the Man

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 118 Zechariah A: Father, Son & Spirit

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 3 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 116 Joel: The Day of the Lord: Babylon, Jerusalem, London

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 115 Ezekiel B: New Heart

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 114 Ezekiel A: Model Prophet

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 113 Esther: God Behind the Scenes

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 112 Nehemiah B: Reboot

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 111 Nehemiah A: On Track

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 110 Ezra B: Torah

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 109 Ezra A: The Trek

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 108 Daniel B: The Writing on the Wall

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

iFaith 107 Daniel A: The Three Statues

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 106 Obadiah: Getting Even

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 13 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 105 Zephaniah: The Broom of Destruction or Judgment Begins with the Household of God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 104 Habakkuk: Be Utterly Amazed!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 103 Nahum: The God of Wrath

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 102 Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 6 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 101 Lamentations: The Lord is My Portion or A Crisis of Faith

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 100 Jeremiah D: Beatings, Stocks, Prison, Execution and Worse!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 099 Jeremiah C: Outward Courage, Inner Turmoil

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 098 Jeremiah B: Jeremiah, Jesus & the Den of Thieves

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

iFaith 097 Jeremiah A: Jeremiah Calls Out the Liars

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 096 Micah B: Micah & the Messiah

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

iFaith 095 Micah A: God's Favorite Scripture

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 094 Amos B: Prepare to Meet Your God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 093 Amos A: The Lion Has Roared

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 092 Hosea B: The Gospel of Hosea, Pt 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 091 Hosea A: The Gospel of Hosea, Pt 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 090 Isaiah D: Filthy Rags Isa 64, a widely misunderstood Bible passage

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 089 Isaiah C: Rod, Club, Axe, Saw and Knife

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 088 Isaiah B: Here Am I - Send Aaron!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 087 Isaiah A: Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 086 2 Chronicles B: Too Little, Too Late

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 8 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 085 2 Chronicles A: The Three Jezebels: Pure Spiritual Poison

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 084 1 Chronicles B: David's Two Houses, Pt.2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 083 1 Chronicles A: David's Two Houses, Pt.1 (Dealing with Disappointment)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 082 2 Kings B: Cannibalism, Desperate Lepers, and a Faithless Captain

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 1 Jun 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 081 2 Kings A: A Tale of Two Lepers

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 31 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 080 1 Kings B: The Gentle Whisper

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 079 1 Kings A: The Wise Fool or The Sophomore

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 078 2 Sam B: Faith by Numbers

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 25 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 077 2 Sam A: How the Mighty Have Fallen!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 076 1 Sam B: You Are Saul! The Witch on Endor, or Saul's Last Night on Earth

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 075 1 Sam A: Those Who Honor Me...

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 074 Ruth: Walking in Faith or Playing it Safe?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 18 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 073 Judges B: My Kingdom, or His?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 072 Judges A Deborah: The Bee & the Thunderstorm

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 071 Joshua B: The Female Joshua

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 070 Joshua A: The Commander

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 11 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 069 Deut B: Jesus in Deuteronomy

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 068 Deut A: Honest, Holy, Humble

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 067 Num B: Phinehas & the Spear

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 066 Num A: Jesus & the Snake

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 4 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 065 Leviticus B: Grapes, Gossip, Grudges" (or "Neighbors to All")

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 064 Leviticus A: Unauthorized Fire

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 May 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 063 Revelation B: The Lion, the Lamb, & the Lord's People

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 061 3 John: The First Will be Last, or Christians in Conflict

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 062 Revelation A: Laodicea and the Lukewarm

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 060 2 John: Watch out for the Antichrist

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 059 1 John B: The Burden that isn't a Burden

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 058 1 John A: Walk the Walk

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 057 John B: Who's Blind

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 056 John A: Long distance Faith

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 055 Exodus B: God's Four Gifts

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 054 Exodus A: Produce - Or else!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 053 2 Timothy B: Last Will and Testament

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 052 2 Timothy A: Shame Shame Shame

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 051 Titus B: Lifestyle Matters or Sound Doctrine It Isn't What We Think

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 6 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 050 Titus A: A High Calling

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 049 1 Tim B: The Gospel in a Poem

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 048 1 Tim A: How to Avoid a Shipwreck

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 047 Ephesians B: Wake Up, O Sleeper

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 046 Ephesians A: Predestination

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 045 Philemon: It's all about heart

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 044 Colossians B: Gracious Speech & an Electric Ruler

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 043 Colossians A: Christ on a Computer Card

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 042 Philippians B: Less of Self, and More of Thee

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

iFaith 041 Philippians: A Chains & Dogs

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 040 2 Corinthians B: Over the Wall Weakness & Power

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 039 2 Corinthians A: Depend on Him, Not Me

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 038 1 Corinthians B: The Key to Unity

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 037 1 Corinthians A: Ego, Elitism, & the Corinthians (Douglas Jacoby)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 036, 2 Thessalonians B: Don't Work—Don't Eat!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 035 2 Thessalonians A: Eternal Destiny

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 9 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 034 1 Thessalonians B: Don't Predict - Prepare!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 033 1 Thessalonians A: Death is Not the End

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 031 Genesis A: Heroes & Zeros Nimrod, Nephilim and Noah

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 030 Acts B: Mist & Darkness

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 2 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 029 Acts A: Barnabas Ananias and Apostles Feet

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 028 Luke B: The Two Thieves on the Cross

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 027 Luke A: Are You Possessed

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 026 Psalms B: Anchoring Our Emotions in the Word

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 24 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 025 Psalms A: Why Have You Forsaken Me?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 024 Romans B: The Destination

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 023 Romans A: The Inoculation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 022 Galatians B: Gospel Plus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 17 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 021 Galatians A: Another Gospel

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 020 Hebrews B: The Truth about Falling Away

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 019 Hebrews A: Christ is Supreme

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 018 Matthew B: Righteousness, not Religion!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 017 Matthew A: Jesus is the 2nd Moses

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 016: Song of Songs Sex Wait For It

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 015 Ecclesiastes B: The Clock is Ticking

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 014 Ecclesiastes A: Everything is Meaningless

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 3 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 013 Proverbs B: Accepting the Challenge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 Feb 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 012 Proverbs A: The Women of Proverbs

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 011 Job B: Faith in Crisis 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 010 Job A: Faith in Crisis 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 009 Jude: Blown, Uprooted, Wandering

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 008 2 Peter B: Forward or Backward?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 007 2 Peter A: Growing in Knowledge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 006 1 Peter B: Eyes of Faith

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 005 1 Peter A: Suffering, Sacrifice, Strain

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 004 James B: Right Choices

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 003 James A: Right Life

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 002 Mark B: God Has Two Sons

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

iFaith 001 Mark A: Jesus is the Son of God, not Caesar

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ YouTube channel.

Miscellaneous: Grace and Ungrace - Episode 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Grace and Ungrace - Episode 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Judgment and Grace (Grace and Ungrace Series 1)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 6 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Surprises from Acts 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Jacoby/Kinnard-Sermon on the Mount

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: The Lord's Prayer (Tom Jones)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 Jan 2024 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Egyptian Plagues and Gods (Sten Johannesson)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: The Herods (Steve Jacoby)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Neither Poverty Nor Riches (Steve Jacoby)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Priests & Levites (Steve Jacoby)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Apologetics 315 Interview

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources, check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: One Lord

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Interview on WORD FM

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Culture War

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Who Are We?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Is contraception biblically permissible?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Counter Cultural Christianity, Part 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Counter Cultural Christianity, Part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Universities & their mottos

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 9 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Thyatira: The Pressure to “Tolerate”

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Yahweh & the Ancient Gods

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: The Fall of Rome—And Why We Should Take Notice

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Questions about Modern Israel

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 2 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Sound Doctrine

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: The Lord’s Supper: from Table to Altar

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: A Mass Conversion of Israel?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Receiving Christ

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 25 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Dragons and the Bible

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 25 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Modesty

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Ecology

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Prayer & Fasting

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Communication in Relationships (Cristian Paduraru)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Five Laws of the Kingdom (David Bercot)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Rejoicing in Osama bin Laden’s Death?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Decision-making & the Will of God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Holiness

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Crime & Punishment 2: Capital Punishment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Crime & Punishment 1 - Principles & Incarceration

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Earthquake, Storm, Fire, Flood

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Serving the Poor: Second Thoughts

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 4 Nov 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Tattoos and Piercings

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Nov 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Ransom

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Nov 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Original Sin

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Why I Am Not an Evangelical

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Why I Am Not a Fundamentalist

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Why I Am Not a Protestant

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Character & Personality

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Business Ethics

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Tithes & Offerings, Pt. 2 (Steven Jacoby)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Tithes & Offerings, Pt. 1 (Steven Jacoby)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: The Wolf Will Lie Down with the Lamb

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: What God Has Taught Me Through the School of Experience (David Bercot)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Homosexuality (Guy Hammond)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Interview with a Jihadist from Aaron Taylor

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: End-of-Life Care, by Dr. Penny Cox

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Creation Care III, with Malcolm Cox

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 7 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Creation Care II, Environmental Stewardship, with Dr. Penny Cox

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 6 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: Creation Care I, with Dr. Penny Cox

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Miscellaneous: The Sabbath

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 2 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Bible & Bible Study: Reading Biblical Books

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Bible & Bible Study: How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Bible & Bible Study: Creative Quiet Times Part 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Bible & Bible Study: Creative Quiet Times Part 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Bible & Bible Study: Creative Quiet Times Part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Bible & Bible Study: The Original Languages of the Bible

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Spirit: The Holy Spirit the Old Testament

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Spirit: The Holy Spirit the New Testament

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Spirit: The Holy Spirit Miracles Today

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 5

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 4

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 9 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Judging, Tolerance, & Exclusivism

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Reaching A Postmodern World

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Why We Can Trust The Bible

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 2 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Do All Roads Lead to God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Messianic Prophecy

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Evidences: Why Does a Good God Allow Evil

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Triple Evolution

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 26 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: The Big Bang (Sten Johanesson)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Why God Sent a Son (not a Daughter)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

THE QUESTION: Why did the man Jesus come to earth? Why not a woman: the daughter of God—a female Messiah?

JESUS CAME AS A SON NOT BECAUSE:

Male is better -- Galatians 3:28 contradicts this.
God is only analogically masculine, not sexually masculine. When we pray Our Father, it’s not because God is male – since he isn’t a sexual being. If this intrigues you, please hear the podcast on The Shack.
Random genetics (50/50).

LAMENTABLY, WOMEN WERE DISCOUNTED IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

Christianity hadn't transformed attitudes towards minorities, the disenfranchised, foreigners, the needy, women--since Christianity did not exist yet. Jesus entered a Jewish world.
Would be discounted in Roman eyes:
- “Only foolish and low individuals, and persons devoid of perception, and slaves, and women, and children, of whom the teachers of the divine word wish to make converts” -- Celsus in Origen, Contra Celsus, 3.49
- "...Augustus confined women to the back rows even at gladiatorial shows: the only ones exempt from this rule being the Vestal Virgins… No women at all were allowed to witness the athletic contests…" -- Suetonius, Twelve Caesars, Augustus 44.
Would be discounted by Judaism:
- "... happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females." -- Talmud Kiddushim 82b
- "But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex, not let servants be admitted to give testimony on account of the ignobility of their soul, since it is probable that they may not speak truth, either out of hope of gain, or fear of punishment." -- Josephus Antiquities 4.8.15
- "Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women." -- Talmud Sotah 19a
- "Any evidence which a woman [gives] is not valid, also they are not valid [to offer]. This is equivalent to saying that one who is accounted by the rabbis as a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman." -- Talmud Rosh Hashannah 1.8
- Yet some Talmudic passages are more positive towards women, like Niddah 45 and Ketubot 2.6-7.
- (Compare to Islamic view: Female legal witness worth half that of a male “because of deficiencies of a woman’s mind.” -- Hadith of Bukhari, 3.826)

BUT BECAUSE ONLY A MAN COULD FREE BOTH MEN AND WOMEN

Liberates males from stereotype (and rut) of maleness: "strong, dominating, independent, self-sufficient"
- Jesus taught Paul the important lesson, that "Christ's power is perfected in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
- Jesus taught, and lived out, servant leadership (Mark 10, John 13).
- Jesus was emotionally vulnerable (e.g. John 11:35).
- He was connected to others, not a lone wolf.
  - Delayed his ministry till he was in his 30s—as oldest of 8 or more children and head male in a family.
  - Worked with and through others. He knew men need friends, support. Jesus in this way is the paradigmatic male--showing us men how God meant for us to live all along.
  - Doesn’t just model it, but walks us through it.
  - Women typically understand this better than men—they're more relational.
- Probably “macho” isn’t the word you’d first apply to Jesus, but in a way he was far more masculine than most men today who are viewed as powerful.
  - It takes strength not to go with the flow (get drunk at a party).
  - Physical fitness – manual labor as stonemason or carpenter; then walking all over Palestine for 3 years!
  - Jesus also showed great emotional strength:
    - It takes strength to forgive (Luke 23).
    - It takes strength to be patient when others repeatedly let you down.
    - It takes strength to receive ugly censure without lashing back, or at least defending yourself.
  - Jesus taught that true greatness doesn't lie in how others serve you, but in how you serve others.
    - We need this message to sound out not only in our communities, in the government, and in the workplace, and even
    - in the church, where the charismatic alpha-male senior pastor paradigm is dominant!
- In short, women were expected to be nurturing, caring. One not expected to behave this way—namely, a man—was able to create a more subversively powerful example of love in action.
Jesus frees women too, in several ways.
- He shows that gender doesn’t determine worth or rank.
- Treated women with highest respect – unlike the world.
- Completely pure in how he viewed women: they were not objects, but subjects.
- Traditional way of blessing women depended on childbirth – Luke 11:27 – Jesus contradicts this.
- Discipleship:
  - Luke 10 – called women to spend some time away from daily chores to sit at his feet as disciples. See also Luke 8.
  - John 4 – the Samaritan woman is more the evangelist than the 12 apostles!

CONCLUSION

Of course there’s more to be said:
- We haven’t even discussed the doctrine of the Trinity – how Jesus Christ was eternally the Son of God. (God couldn't send a "daughter" if he didn't have one.)
- or the scandal that would have surrounded an itinerant woman preacher gathering disciples…
- And we've only just begun to work through the implications for the current feminist controversy.
- I acknowledge the influence of Stanley Grentz's Theology for the Community of God, pp.289-292. For me his work was seminal, and helped me begin to think through this issue.
In short, Jesus, in order to accomplish his mission, had to be a man.
- Not because men are better than women,
- but because otherwise life-bringing his message would have been:
  - discounted
  - diluted or obscured
- And the most effective modeling could only take place—in a patriarchal society—by a man.
Hopefully this perspective will prove useful to you in your evangelism, in answering questions from outsiders but also from insiders.

Evidences: Jesus, The Historical Evidence

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Historicity
1. Three possibilities
  1. Mythological
  2. Existed, but the Bible has reinvented him
  3. Existed, portrayed accurately in the Bible
2. Jesus (2 BC-33 AD) v. Tiberius (emperor 14-37 AD), within 150 years of their lives.
  1. Jesus: 42 sources – 9 secular + 33 Christian
  2. Tiberius: 10 sources, including Gospel of Luke. (To be fair, there are also dozens of coins of Tiberius, naming him or portraying his image.)
3. Historical facts accepted by most scholars (whether or not they believe in Christ)
  1. Born shortly before 1 BC (date of death of Herod the Great)
  2. From a large and poor family in the tribe of Judah
  3. Remained single
  4. Skilled in manual labor and physically tough (though of normal appearance)
  5. Critical of established religion, he aroused the wrath of the priesthood
  6. Executed by crucifixion (virtually no one survived this punishment) under Pontius Pilatus (26-36 AD)
  7. His first followers believed he’d been raised from the dead, and was the Messiah (anointed one)
Insider testimony
1. New Testament
  1. Written approximately 50-100 AD.
  2. Sources of the New Testament (like 1 Cor 15:3-5, as well as various hymns, like Phil 2:5-11 and Eph 5:14, and sayings, like Acts 20:35)
  3. Numerous aspects argue against fabrication.
    1. Conversion of skeptics like James the brother of Jesus and Saul of Tarsus
    2. Hostile testimony (see below)
    3. Criterion of embarrassment
      1. Admission of ignorance in Mark 13:32
      2. Rejection by his own family (Mark 3:20; John 7:5).
      3. Having the Messiah go to the Cross -- a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks!
  4. Patristic writings (extrabiblical)
    1. 1st C: 1 Clement (96 AD)
    2. 2nd C: Ignatius (107 AD), 7 letters; Polycarp (69-155), letter to Philippians & martyrdom account; Justin Martyr (100-165), Apology [Defense]; and many more!
    3. Thousands of pages during the early church period (30-325 AD)
    4. We could virtually reconstruct the entire NT from quotations in early sources.
Outsider testimony
1. Josephus (37-100 AD) – brother of James; claimed of Messiahship
2. Mara bar-Serapion (73) – Syrian Stoic, writing to son from Romans prison: crucifixion of Jews’ wise king; loss of kingdom
3. Thallus (52) – commented on daytime darkness at time of death of Jesus
4. Phlegon (80-150?) – crucifixion; darkness; earthquake
5. Suetonius (69-122) – instigation by “Chrestos” in time of Claudius (41-54)
6. Tacitus (56-120) – Nero’s persecution, July 64
7. Pliny the Younger (61-112) – asked emperor Trajan how to deal with Christians (112)
8. Lucian (115-200) – wise man; crucified in Palestine
9. Celsus (2nd) – ridiculed Christianity -- a foolish religion for foolish people
10. Talmud (200-500) -- trial and crucifixion; charges Jesus with sorcery (Sanhedrin 43a).
Conclusion
1. Myth? – No, since Jesus is rooted in history.
2. “Good teacher”? – No, for this teacher claimed divinity. Unless that was true, he would have been dishonest – and hence not a good teacher.
3. Same as other religious founders? – not at all!
  1. Confucius – civil servant who made shrewd observations; a sage, not a religious leader
  2. Buddha – agnostic / atheist; no individual existence; at the end, no relationships
  3. Muhammad – did not claim to be God; did not do miracles (so the Qur’an)
4. Jesus was neither myth nor fabrication. The possibility that makes the most sense is that he existed, and his remarkable life was fairly and accurately portrayed in the Bible.

Evidences: Why Doubt is Good

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Cool quotes on doubt:

The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth. -- Pierre Abelard
There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. -- Alfred Korzybski
"... both the believer and the unbeliever share, each in his own way, doubt and belief, if they do not hide from themselves and each other the truth of their being. Neither can quite escape either doubt or belief; for one, faith is present against doubt; for the other, through doubt and in the form of doubt." -- Pope Benedict XVI
Sometimes doubts can do good in us. It can purify false beliefs that have crept into our faith. It can humble our arrogance. It can give us patience and compassion with other doubters. It can remind us how much truth matters. -- John Ortberg

Scriptures referred to:

John 20:27
Psalm 139:14
Colossians 3:16
Mark 9:24

Further:

Chapter 12 ("Double Minded? Dealing with Doubt") in Compelling Evidence for God and the Bible: Finding Truth in an Age of Doubt
From Facts to Faith, vols. I, II, and III (audio series, available from IPI)

Evidences: New Testament Archaeology

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Old Testament Archaeology

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: The God of the Old Testament

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In this podcast I am reading the original (pre-edit) draft of chapter 5 of A Quick Overview of the Bible: How All the Pieces Fit Together. The book was released in February 2012. Harvest House allows me to read aloud one chapter of any book I have written. Since what I read is not the final version, there may be some small differences between it and the published version.

You can also read the first 10 pages or so at this link. (Of course we're hoping you'll decide to get a copy of the whole book!)

The lesson answers the following 10 questions:

1. The OT God seems unfair, unpredictable, capricious. Is he really just?
2. Does God show favoritism? Wasn't anyone on the planet saved before he chose the Jews?
3. Wasn't Yahweh hot-tempered?
4. But still, didn't the Hebrew God play rough?
5. Why isn't the OT God "nice" like God in the NT?
6. It almost seems as if God is just waiting for us to trip up. Isn't he a bit of a sadist?
7. Why was the Lord concerned only with the outward behavior? The NT God looks at the heart.
8. Wasn't the old covenant a covenant of works? Since no one could measure up, they were always "in the doghouse."
9. Was the Lord just experimenting in the OT? Why didn't he get it right the first time?
10. How could God approve of so many inhumane institutions? Why didn't he overthrow them, instead of endorsing them?

In connection with Q.10, please click here for the podcast on Slavery.

Evidences: Questions on Genesis

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

12 questions are covered in this podcast. (The chapter has 27 questions and answers in all.)

When was the earth created? Does the Bible tell us how old the world is?
Is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the Bible?
Was the world made in seven literal days?
Are evolution and the Bible compatible?
Did Adam have a belly button?
Was Eve made from Adam's rib? If so, does this support make chauvinism?
Who was Cain afraid of? Who was his wife?
Did ancient humans really live for hundreds of years?
Who were the Nephilim?
Is there geological evidence for a global flood?
Where is Noah's Ark? Did it survive?
Is there archaeological evidence for the Tower of Babel?

Evidences: Nietzsche-God is Dead, and other views

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Life of Nietzsche

Born, 1844 in Röcken, Prussia.
Father and both grandfathers clergymen.
Father dies, after suffering mental illness, 1848.
Leaves theology school, 1865.
Physical and mental collapse, 1879.
Writes The Antichrist (vitriolic anti-Christian polemic), 1888.
Enters state of vegetative insanity, 1889.
Dies, probably of syphilis, 1900.

Nietzsche's better-known writings:

The Birth of Tragedy (1872)
Meditations (1873-76)
Thus Spake Zarathustra (1878)
Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
The Antichrist (1888, pub. 1895)
The Will to Power (1901, posthumously)

"God is Dead"

Nietzsche was brought up with/around a certain degree of faith -- which he rejected.
No God, no morality.
[Note 1: Classical Buddhism correctly understands that moral distinctions are false: there is no God, and category distinctions are empty.]
[Note 2: Without God, there can be no ultimate meaning, since nothing transcends this life, this world.]

Beyond Good and Evil (excerpts, unless otherwise noted)

Morality:
- IV.108. "There is no such thing as a moral phenomenon, but only a moral interpretation of phenomena.”
- 291. "The whole of morality is a long, audacious falsification."
Insight:
- 146. "He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.”
- 156. "Insanity in individuals is something rare—but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule."
- 175. "One loves ultimately one's desires, not the thing desired.”
Selfishness:
- IX.259. "Exploitation is not immoral; it's the will to power, which is life."
- 273. "A man who strives after great things, looks upon every one whom he encounters on his way either as a means of advance, or a delay and hindrance—or as a temporary resting-place. His peculiar lofty BOUNTY to his fellow-men is only possible when he attains his elevation and dominates..."
- 242. “... the democratising of Europe is at the same time an involuntary arrangement for the rearing of TYRANTS..."
- 287. "The noble soul has reverence for itself."
- 265. "At the risk of displeasing innocent ears, I submit that egoism belongs to the essence of a noble soul, I mean the unalterable belief that to a being such as "we," other beings must naturally be in subjection, and have to sacrifice themselves. The noble soul accepts the fact of his egoism without question..."
Christ and his teaching:
- 269. "It is possible that under the holy fable and travesty of the life of Jesus there is hidden one of the most painful cases of the love of martyrdom: the martyrdom of the most innocent and most craving heart, that never had enough of any human love, that DEMANDED love, that demanded inexorably and frantically to be loved and nothing else, with terrible outbursts against those who refused him their love; a poor soul... who had to invent hell to send it there those who WOULD NOT love him--and that at last had to invent a God who was entirely love... He who has such sentiments... SEEKS FOR death!..."
- "It is inhuman to bless when one is being cursed.” (See Matt 5:44 and Rom 12:17-21).
- “Jesus died too soon. He would have repudiated his doctrine if he had lived to my age" (Thus Spake Zarathustra, 1885).
- “I call Christianity the one great curse, the one great intrinsic depravity, and the one great instinct of revenge, for which no means are venomous enough, or secret, or subterranean and small enough—I call it the one immortal blemish on the human race.” (The Antichrist, 1888)

Nietzsche on women:

“Man shall be trained for war, and woman for the recreation of man: all else is folly.”
“The happiness of man is I will. The happiness of woman is He will.”
“Thou goest to women? Do not forget thy whip!”
“Woman is by nature a snake…”
Advocated active sexual lifestyle, though seems to have lived a more or less chaste life.

Nietzsche's predictions about the coming century:

It will be the bloodiest century yet.
A pall of insanity will fall over the human race.
His own life seems to embody this second prediction.
- See Matt 7:20 -- by their fruit we will know them.
- When considering any philosophy, religion, or viewpoint, ask whether its proponents live by -- or are even able to live by -- its basic tenets.
Some tyrants inspired by Nietzsche:
- Adolf Hitler (Germany): “Nobody can doubt that this world will one day be the scene of dreadful struggles for existence on the part of mankind. In the end the instinct of self-preservation alone will triumph. Before its consuming fire this so-called humanitarianism, which connotes only a mixture of fatuous timidity and self-conceit, will melt away as under the March sunshine. Man has become great through perpetual struggle. In perpetual peace his greatness must decline.” -- Mein Kampf
  - Hitler sought a philosopher to back up his program
  - Preferably a German
  - Nietzsche's "will to power" was a perfect fit with the National Socialist program
- Benito Mussolini (Italy)
  - The fascist despot longed for a return to power and the glory of ancient Rome
  - Hitler presented Mussolini with a personal copy of one of Nietzsche's books
- Ho Chi Minh (Viet Nam)
- Fidel Castro (Cuba)
- Idi Amin (Uganda)

Conclusion

Clarity of thought: No morality if there's no God. Nietzsche may be the most consistent atheist.
Christians, fight for the truth! The atheist system doesn't work.
Authenticity: “Promise me that when I die only my friends shall stand about my coffin, and no inquisitive crowd. See that no priest or anyone else utter falsehoods at my graveside, when I can no longer protect myself; and let me descend into my tomb as an honest pagan.” (1879).
Unfortunately, few pagans have the courage to follow their convictions to their logical conclusions. If they did, Christianity would be even more the obvious and only choice for our world.

Evidences: Why Atheism Fails

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

If you liked chapter 2, consider reading the previous chapter. The publisher has made chapter 1, "Clearing Away the Debris: Arguments Against the Reality of God," available to read at no charge: CHAPTER 1.

To order the whole book, click ENTIRE BOOK. This includes 13 chapters, 3 appendixes, and further resources. (Since Compelling Evidence doubles as an evangelistic tool, why not order several copies?)

Church History: Persecution & Martyrdom

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

PERSECUTION

Passages: 2 Tim 3:12; John 15:18-21; Matt 5:10-12; 1 Pet 4:3-4; Luke 6:22-23, 26; Heb 10:32-39
Examples: Verbal opposition (slander, mockery, abuse, misrepresentation, false accusation), confiscation, social
exclusion, exile, being sent to the mines, torture, execution.

MARTYRDOM

Scripture: Rev 12:11
Martyr < martus, witness
Confessors were willing to die for their faith (refused to back down), whereas martyrs confessed and were killed. One example is Nicholas of Myra.
1st & 2nd century martyrs: Jesus, Stephen, 7 (or more) of the apostles, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, the martyrs of Lyon—and many more!
Martyrs who lived mainly in the 3rd century: Lawrence (225-258), Sebastian (255-288), Lucy (283-304), Catherine (287-305)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Beware exaggeration and sentimentality.
Pray for fellow believers: in approximately 80 countries (out of the world total of 195) it is dangerous or extremely inconvenient to be a Christian.
Sign up for weekly updates from persecution.org.

Church History: The Inquisition

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 5 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Most of us have heard of the Inquisition, but may be sketchy on the details. Yet this is important stuff - an aspect of history that we definitely don't want repeating itself.

Definition
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Inquisition is "An ecclesiastical tribunal established by Pope Gregory IX c.1232 for the suppression of heresy. It was active chiefly in northern Italy and southern France, becoming notorious for the use of torture. In 1542 the papal Inquisition was re-established to combat Protestantism, eventually becoming an organ of papal government."

Inquisition < Lat. inquirere, to inquire, and inquisitio (noun form).
The inquisitor is the one making the inquiry.
Ecclesiastical: pertaining to the church (ecclesia).
Tribunal: Each session was more or less a session of court. The ecclesiastical authority, after examining the alleged heretic, hand the him (or her) over to the civil authorities, knowing full well what punishment would be inflicted.
Heresy: not primarily about false teaching, but about division (Gk. haeresis). A threat to the community at least as much as a threat to doctrinal purity of the church.
Combating Protestant teaching, as well as in the suppression of Muslims and Jews (esp. in the 1400s).

Origins
It is theoretically possible that some early Christians took severe measures to ensure doctrinal conformity, yet there is no evidence of this in church history until the early Middle Ages.

In 385 AD Priscilla and six of her followers were beheaded at Trèves (France).
Yet this event postdates the great apostasy.
- The church had been sliding into worldliness and biblical error for several generations.
- The church state was a monstrous hybrid, a creature that ought not to have existed.
Before 1100 AD, local clergy maintained doctrinal discipline. At times erring members were imprisoned (without torture). Execution was rare.

France and Italy
It is arguable that the First Inquisition at Languedoc, in Southern France, in 1184, although the Inquisition had not been established as a permanent institution until the 1230s, under Pope Gregory IX. Life in prison was offered to those who recanted, execution for those who did not.

The Inquisition was strong not only in France, but also in Northern Italy. Inquisitors were typically drawn from the order of Dominican monks, although Franciscans also served. These men were natural choice, given their grasp of church doctrine. (It could also have been unwise to have the parish priest put the members of his own church on the rack!)

Spain, Portugal, and the New World
Many have heard of the Spanish Inquisition, "An ecclesiastical court established in Roman Catholic Spain in 1478 and directed originally against converts from Judaism and Islam but later also against Protestants. It operated with great severity until suppressed in the early 19th century." (OED)

Isabella and Ferdinand are better known for their interactions with Christopher Columbus, beginning in 1492, as well as for their expulsion of the Jews from Spain (also in 1492) along with resumption of the Reconquista (Reconquest), the effort to reclaim land and loyalty from the Muslims, dwelling in Spain since the 8th century.

Many Jews and som

e Muslims pretended to be Christian, in order not to be captured. The last execution of the Spanish Inquisition took place in 1826, of a schoolteacher who was a deist (one who denies the God of the Bible, miracles, the incarnation, etc -- more or less than worldview of many of the founding fathers of the fledgling American republic.

The Inquisition was established in Portugal in 1536. From there is reached Goa (southwest India) in 1560. The Spanish Inquisition was taken to the New World, especially notorious in Peru and Mexico.

Galileo Galilei
Galileo ran afoul of the Inquisition in 1633. It is not true that he was executed for promoting his idea that the earth orbited the sun, although he was censured (and censored) and placed under house arrest. Many intellectuals -- all intellectuals were Catholic in Italy and other European countries, so this was hardly a case of the Church vs. Science! -- probably agreed with Galileo, yet preferred the public not be informed of the latest scientific discoveries. They feared that a crisis of confidence might be triggered, particularly as the ignorant were unable to understand the science or theology. The church, in other words, was protecting the power structure.

Persecution of Witches
Pope John II opened the Vatican archives to external historians, which resulted in the confirmation of a number of executions of witches during the Inquisition. Perhaps the totals are higher, but the official count is 59 witches killed in Spain, 36 in Italy, and 4 in Portugal -- 99 all together. (Protestants killed a small number of witches, perhaps fewer than 40, in the America during the colonial period.)

Torture and Execution
Although mutilation was technically forbidden, in 1256 Pope Alexander V created a loophole for the inquisitor. There were many methods of torture:

Forcing liquids (sometimes scalding) down the throat
The rack
Thumbscrews
Metal pincers (red hot)
Strappado
Burning

As for execution, heretics were often burned at the stake. In the past I had heard that 100,000s had been executed -- and unfortunately repeated this figure -- yet the true total appears to be in the 1000s. (An exaggeration by opponents of the Catholic Church?) To see what the Bible says about execution, listen to my podcast on Capital Punishment (website membership and login required).

The Inquisition in the 21st century
The Inquisition still exists today, though without the torture and death. Its current name (since 1542) is the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."

Lessons for today

Uniformity must not be mistaken for unity.
Church and state were separate in the early Christian period, and that separation was (and is) for the good of all. Jesus specifically forbade us to lead by authority and power as worldly leaders do: no lording it over others!
Where there is a high degree of social solidarity (tribal regions, chiefdoms, traditional societies), leaders will need to wrestle with these issues. Don’t just surrender; history need not be repeated. Foster a spirit of tolerance and respect.
We ought to represent others fairly -- individuals as well as groups. Demonizing of Jews, Muslims and heterodox Christians still takes place, both without and within the church.
Let's take teaching ministry seriously, but leave final judgment to God. Let's strive for an atmosphere of openness, welcoming questions and dialogue.

Conclusion

It is easy to condemn the Catholic Church for its extreme measures. While shock is merited, we in the modern age are likely to underestimate the seriousness (and fear) with which dissent was viewed by secular and ecclesiastical leaders, from the Middle Ages until relatively modern times.

Since dissent constituted sedition, heresy was taken with the utmost seriousness.
This was not an age of freedom of speech or equity in law, but an age of social solidarity.
Inquisitorial measures were adopted not so much for the good of the heretic as for the good of society, by instilling fear in order to maintain conformity.
Such practices are forbidden to followers of Christ.

Church History: The Crusades

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Definition:
- Simplified historical overview:
  - 300s-600s -- Most of the Holy Land is part of the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire.
  - 600s -- this territory becomes part of the Caliphate (Islamic).
  - 1000s-1100s -- Christian warriors and peasants (all strata of society participated) strive to take back the land, establishing Crusader States, along with multiple fortifications.
  - 1200s -- Christians for the most part give up the dream of reconquering the Holy Land, instead targeting their crusades on fellow Christians and other perceived enemies.
- Massive military attempts to recapture "Christian" territory, especially in the Holy Land, from the Muslims.
- Pilgrimage meets (Old Testament) holy war.
  - The journey of faith is a biblical pilgrimage (Hebrews 11).
  - Even so, traditionally pilgrims were supposed to travel unarmed.
- Up to 100,000 Europeans took part in these efforts.
- Source of word: Latin crux, cross.
How many?
- There were four major crusades, though many more took place even after these concluded in the 13th century.
  - First Crusade, 1095-1099
  - Second Crusade, 1147-1149 -- Crusader States established
  - Third Crusade, 1189-1192 -- setting of the film The Kingdom of Heaven
  - Fourth Crusade, 1198-1204 -- focused on Constantinople (capital of the [Eastern] Roman Empire), and Orthodox Christians, more than the Muslims
- Subsequent crusades
  - E.g. Northern Europe and Spain
  - Last Crusade (Venice vs. Ottoman Turks), 1684-1699
Motivation?
- Various: plunder, glory, peer pressure, family honor, wanderlust, etc.
- Motivation must have been strong, esp. for those who spent a fortune in provisioning. (Imagine having to spend $100,000, or $300,000, to fund (and arm) yourself and your servants for the journey -- which could take many months! This isn't like shopping for a last-minute travel deal!)
- Forgiveness.
  - "Plenary indulgences" promised by the pope.
  - As Douglas Groothuis remarks, "Claims made by popes that the soldiers dying in a crusade would be guaranteed heaven are entirely unbiblical and, in fact, resemble Islamic claims more than anything found in Holy Scripture" (Christian Apologetics, IVP Academic, 2011), 112.
  - If there had been no crusades, would indulgences have been the flashpoint of the Protestant Reformation? It's interesting to ponder...
Analysis
- The crusades were a radical departure from basic Christian values.
  - Pilgrimage / holy war hybrid
  - Uncritical use of scripture -- combining OT holy war with Christianity.
  - Precedents?
    - Augustine (354-430): "Just War" theory.
    - Byzantine conquest of southern and central Italy in 6th century.
- Attitudes
  - Before 13th century, crusaders could not believe that Muslims would want to become like the Christians, since the Muslims were so much more advanced culturally and economically. Easier to rationalize warfare over persuasion.
  - "The Franciscans and Dominicans saw no contradiction or opposition between crusade and mission" (Daileader, 158).
  - King Louis IX of France: Christians should let attempt to defend the faith, "except with his sword, and that he should thrust it into the scoundrel's belly, as far as it will enter."
  - French theologian Peter Comestor (d.1179), when asked by the Patriarch of Jerusalem whether crusading was really permissible in light of biblical teaching. In response, Peter told the patriarch to "act in a manly way, be composed, and shed the blood of Christ's enemies."
- Example and teaching of Christ?
  - Jesus did not teach or exemplify violence towards those who rejected his message.
  - In contrast, Muhammad both preached and engaged in violence.
    - Muslim tolerance only if paid jizha (tribute money).
    - Otherwise, jihad!
    - Below: The scimitar is the curved sword historically wielded by Islamic warriors (as opposed to the more conventional swords of the Crusaders).
- Ends & means?
  - Crusaders claimed to be doing God's will. So why after 1291 did the crusaders fail to hold on to Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land?
  - The Crusades were ultimately unsuccessful. These were a colossal failure, not "blessed" by God!

Conclusion:
- Let's be informed.
  - Make it a goal to become generally familiar with key developments in church history.
  - Remember that the 4 major crusades spanned the years from the late 11th to the 13th centuries.
- Let's be sensitive.
  - Be careful about language. "Crusade" is an unpleasant and even scary word for some people, especially Jews and Muslims.
  - Understand the bitter root that has taken hold among many Muslims -- the violence response on their part is not justified but it isn't irrational. It makes sense.
- Let's be humble.
  - We need to "own" the evil of believers -- false and true -- through the history of the church, for instance the Inquisition and the Crusades.
  - Let's not act all "holier than thou."
  - We don't know for sure what we may or may not have condoned -- whether living in Spain during the worst 3 centuries of the Spanish Inquisition, or in Nazi Germany, or the century plus after the year 1000.
- Let's be convicted.
  - While remaining humble, we should take a stand on the issue of treatment of one's enemies, since Jesus so emphasized this (Matt 5).
  - When the church on the whole embraced the way of violence, beginning in the 4th century, they were abandoning the call of Christ.
  - The Crusades are a disgraceful blotch on the history and the memory of the church of Christ.
Further study:
- Basic:
  - Wikipedia article
  - History Channel Program
- Intermediate: "How the Crusades Changed History" (24 half-hour lessons by Philip Daileader), published by The Teaching Company.
- Note: While it is true that many been killed in religious wars, far more have perished in the 20th century alone at the hands of atheistic regimes: some 39 million in war, plus 169 million more in state-sponsored execution, genocide, or persecution (total 210m).

Church History: Lessons from Church History

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Aug 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Church History: Reformation Summary and Q&A

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin.

Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build connections among believers eager to learn, and bring the Bible to life as we transport ourselves back into history. In 2015 we explored all sections of the Reformation, including the most radical reformers (the Anabaptists). It’s inspiring how valiantly believers struggled to break out of medieval Christianity into a more biblical faith.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: Calvin-No Compromise (Joey Harris)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: Zwingli-The Limits of Compromise

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: Flashpoint-Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: Introduction to the Reformation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some are video, some are audio:

Introduction to the Reformation (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
Flashpoint: Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje, Manila) - AUDIO FILE
Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng, Lagos) + Comments and Q&A
Zwingli: The Limits of Compromise (Douglas Jacoby, Atlanta)
The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten, Chicago) + Q&A session
Calvin: No Compromise (Joey Harris, Augusta)
BST 2015 Reformation Summary and Q&A (teachers) - AUDIO FILE

Church History: Evangelism in the Early Church - Part 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

EVANGELISM IN THE SECOND CENTURY

Challenges to evangelism
- Apostles now gone – tendency to get more and more involved in disputes
- Persecution: from Jewish to Roman
- False teachers (Marcionites, Gnostics, Montanists)
- Evolving priesthood (spectator shift)
Success!
- Other nations, but little work outside the bounds of the Roman Empire.
- Church of the East (per comments in previous podcast)
- Continued to reach all strata of society (women, slaves – who even served in leadership, and intellectuals – like Justin Martyr)
- The martyrs greatly inspired others.
- By 200, up to 1-3% (my guess). By 300, perhaps 10% of Empire.
- Learn more about this from the main AIM Church History series (2000 years in under 10 hours) and the Early Church History set (about 7 hours).

Conclusion

We can't always imitate their methods, or recreate the culture of the first 2 centuries, but we can imitate their faith.
- As in 1 Corinthians 11:1, imitation relates to following Christ, not necessarily methods…
- As Tertullian put it, around 200 AD, “The blood of the martyrs is seed.”
- They spoke out, because they believed they had something worth sharing.

Church History: Evangelism in the Early Church - Part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

EVANGELISM IN THE FIRST CENTURY

Introduction

Definition of evangelism: spreading the good news
30—Pentecost, 200 – end of century of intense persecution. Will begin with Acts/NT, then move into 2nd C.
Matthew 28: Every people, not every nation (in the modern sense of the term)
Mission & purpose (Luke 10:20; Matthew 22:37-40).
I have 2 impressions on reading Acts: (1) evangelism was not particularly organized, yet (2) it was vibrant.

Impressions

Natural: Acts 2 – root (v.42) v. fruit (vv.43-47). Acts 8 – word preached publicly by principal leaders, privately by others. Acts 2:47, 4:4 – little interest in counting. Acts 21 – yet terrific growth (myriads = tens of thousands?)
Vibrant: Acts 4, 5 – couldn’t help speaking! Acts 8 – Spirit working with them, coincidence of Isaiah 53.

Beyond Acts (outside Bible lands)

India (Thomas), 52 AD+
Syria-Persia-China (Thaddaeus and Church of the East)
Britain (some archaeological evidence)
Spain (Paul, Romans 15: see Isaiah 66)

Further considerations: Challenges

Persecution
False teachers (Judaizers, Docetists [Gnostics])
Slander (cannibalism, incest, lawbreaking)
Countercultural – yet this also made evangelism more clear-cut, since Christianity clearly stood out as an alternative lifestyle.

Further considerations: What helped them

Counter-cultural (adopted children, sold themselves into slaver, bribed prison guards, forgave enemies...)
Homes as centers of evangelism. First church buildings about 230 AD. Hospitality – essential for overseers, since presumably they headed up the groups that met in their homes.
Preached a person, not a system (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Next podcast: Part II of Evangelism in the Early Church, 30-200 AD, which covers the 2nd century.

Books & Movies: Harry Potter

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"The most successful book series in history: approximately 450 million copies sold internationally. Translated: 67 languages. The film series by Warner Bros.: $7.7 billion worldwide...." -- from magazine.pepperdine.edu, May 2013.

Why Potter?

Writers like C.S. Lewis (Narnia), J.R.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), and many others aim to awaken a sense of the spiritual in young readers. They also help secular thinkers discover their inner longing for the things of the spirit. This is a good thing.
Protagonists in Harry Potter resist the dark world -- and the dark Lord -- just as we should. These books would be evil indeed if readers were urged to emulate the evil characters (Voldemort, Malfoy).
Such novels help the relativist to believe in the good and evil, far better than an academic lecture or sermon ever could.
An additional advantage is that these books get children reading.
Moreover, if it's wrong for us to read books about dragons, sorcerers, and magic, then the book of Revelation would have to be excluded!
On a related note, in the words (I think) of G. K. Chesterton, "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed." My interpretation: Fantasy isn't an inherently bad thing -- unless the message takes away hope. It is yet another way to open people's minds to the truth.

John Granger's intriguing essay:

I found this article by John Granger (no relation to Hermione) so intriguing that I thought it would make for a great podcast. After seeking the proper permissions, I am pleased to read it to you.
Is Harry Potter here to stay? And is HP a good thing, or a bad thing? See what you think.
Content warning: This article is penned by a brilliant literary critic. (He's a lot more cultured than I am!)
To read the entire article at Christianity Today, click here.

Source: Article from Christianity Today, July 2011: "Harry is Here to Stay," by John Granger. Read with permission of Christianity Today. Borrowed with the blessing of John Granger.

"The Dean of Harry Potter Scholars" -- TIME
Author of The Deathly Hallows Lectures
Author of How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J.K. Rowling's Bestselling Books.
Read more at www.HogwartsProfessor.com/johngranger.

Books & Movies: The Hunger Games

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Suzanne Collins' trilogy

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

About Panem

Panis et circenses (Latin for bread and circuses), coined by Juvenal, c.100 AD. Note: circuses refer to (extremely violent) chariot races, gladiatorial spectacles, and so forth. Iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli uendimus, effudit curas; nam qui dabat olim imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, panem et circenses (Satire 10.77–81).
The parallel between Panem and the ancient Roman Empire, which controlled the masses through bread and circuses, is thus made explicit.
Protagonist: Katniss Everdeen. Antagonist: President Snow.

10 Biblical themes

Freedom
Peace. This is the way of the Lord, not war. What sort of society finds violence amusing?
Hope
Vanity: the shallowness of the masses, as well as of the powers-that-be. This is biblical: truth exposes the manipulation, hypocrisy, and self-interest of human power structures.
Social justice
Compassion: action, not just feeling.
Sacrificial love (Katniss takes the place of her sister Prim).
Leadership (though the protagonist is more of a Moses figure than a Christ figure)
The need to be engaged, not withdrawing emotionally but staying in the fight.
Minor biblical allusions (e.g. twelve districts, or thirteen minus one)

Mini-article in Christianity Today (Christ in the Hunger Games, September 2012, p.86)

"When The Hunger Games released to theaters in March, many dismissed it--and the popular book trilogy before it--as a grisly story about "kids killing kids." But the books, and the film... are so much more. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, the stories are a scathing--but engaging--social commentary,decrying not only violence but human trafficking, totalitarianism, and the unchecked power of evil. But there's also sacrificial love, mercy, hope, and redemption.

"For Christians, there are biblical parallels, especially in Peeta Mellark, a key character who consistently displays unconditional love; he's even willing to die for a friend. A baker's son, a young Peeta risks his well-being to give a starving girl the gift of bread. Later, as a teen, he risks his life to save the one he loves. In one scene, he takes a wound that was meant for another, then "buries" himself in the ground to hide. Three days later--imagery alert!--Peeta emerges from a cave with renewed vigor and hope. The film is rich with discussion fodder for discerning families with older children." --Mark Moring, CT senior associate editor

An anti-war piece?

War is not glorified; death is tragic, people count. One can make a strong case that The Hunger Games is an anti-war polemic.
"I [Katniss] no longer feel any allegiance to these monsters called human beings... Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children's lives to settle its differences. You can spin it anyway you like.... But in the end, who does it benefit? No one. The truth is, it benefits no one to live in a world where these things happen."—Mockingjay, p. 377.

Why you should watch/read The Hunger Games

To understand what younger people are being exposed to. This is vital if you work with youth ministry, or are a parent or grandparent. With 26 million copies in print (as of May 2013), how can we afford to ignore it?
It's an easy conversation starter for evangelism.
It's captivating, and the message is worth thinking about.

Books & Movies: The Book of Eli – Review by Joey Harris

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Books & Movies: Pride & Prejudice

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

To listen to a biblical exploration of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice, click on the link. I hope you'll enjoy my short podcast (14 minutes).

Note: If you haven't read the novel, or watched any of the various film productions of the book, you will probably want to skip this podcast.

Themes commented upon: human nature, truth-telling, judging, conceit, parenting, characters, manners, conceit, romance, change... Scripture referred to in the podcast: Ephesians 4:1-2, 15, 15; 6:4; Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 2:1ff; James 1:19, 2:1-3; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Timothy 3:7; 1 Samuel 16:7.

A few 19th century novels I have read recently and can recommend: Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo; Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities; Victor Hugo, Les Misérables.

Books & Movies: Noah (The Movie)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 8 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Books & Movies: Divergent

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christian should be engaging culture

Divergent is the first novel in Veronica Roth's trilogy: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), Allegiant (2013).
Although it is not an explicitly Christian book, in the acknowledgments Roth writes, "Thank you, God, for your Son, and for blessing me beyond comprehension..." The author is inviting us to think biblically about the important themes treated in her novel.
Thinking Christians need to engage culture. This means we need to rise above the level of mere entertainment. Processing movies, books, TV series, music etc. theologically will enable us to enter into productive conversations.

The appeal of Divergent:

The younger generation (especially adolescents). Yet whatever your age category, all of us should strive for youthful vigor. As the scriptures say, the righteous will continue to bear fruit even in old age (Psalm 92:14).
Those who fear social rejection.
All who feel pressure to fit into a niche, a pre-assigned category, a pigeonhole.
Those who are nervous about the emergence of a totalitarian state.

A sketch of society in post-apocalypse Chicago:

Factions
- Abnegation
- Amity
- Candor
- Dauntless
- Erudite
The factionless
The divergent
Slogan: "Faction before blood"

Spiritual messages in Divergent:

Love is more valuable than mere knowledge (1 Corinthians 8:1).
Social pressures are real and strong. The world says "conform" (Romans 12:2). Yet pressure can bring out the best in us. Moreover, we are supposed to conform -- to the character of Christ (Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:10).
Keep a firm grasp on reality (1 Samuel 10:22; Acts 26:25).
Beware selfish ambition (Galatians 5:21; James 3:16; 3 John 9).
Don't just follow the crowd (Exodus 23:2; Mark 15:15; Acts 19:32).
Face yours fears; don't give in to them (Joshua 1:9; Psalm 27:1; John 14:27).
Life an adventure (dauntless). Deny self (abnegation). Speak the truth (candor) in love (amity). Learn all you can (erudite), and let all these virtues lead to being more and more like Christ (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:3-11).
Yet don't be satisfied with only one area of strength. Strive for all the spiritual virtues (2 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:10-14).
Beware the narcissism inherent in celebrating self. The "me generation" has become the entitled generation. Although we shouldn't fear being different (diverging), we should never diverge from the Lord's morals and standards for our lives. Rather, our lives should converge on the life of the One who lived the perfect life.
Our true hero is perfectly balanced. Tris is admirable because she embodies a blend of selflessness, courage, and intelligence -- as does Jesus. Yet even Tris falls short. But keep the amity and the candor, and every other spiritual virtue, and we will be following Christ. The film points to Christ -- even if "through a glass, darkly" (1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV).

Books & Movies: The Matrix Podcast (Joey Harris)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Download the PDF of the notes for this podcast.

Books & Movies: Heaven is for Real (Or Is it?)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This podcast is a book review, examining Todd Burpo's Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 162 pp.

Why the story seems genuine
The credibility of the author is enhanced for three reasons.
1. The author (Colton Burpo's father) is a Christian pastor.
2. The writer is highly personable, and shares a lot from his own life.
3. He repeatedly emphasizes how he and his wife tried not to lead their little boy on--not to put words in his mouth.

Moreover, this is a subject nearly everyone is interested in.
1. The story resonates with popular culture: spiritual experiences are in, even if (for many) church and doctrine are out.
2. It's an easy read-- you can finish in a sitting.

The medical context of the “visit to heaven”
62 - During emergency appendix surgery the boy had an unusual experience, while under anesthesia. The visit lasted 3 minutes, according to the little boy, into which it sounds like a day’s activities were crammed.
78 - He did not die

Miraculous knowledge?
61 - He had knowledge of his parents praying for him, and of his mother being on the telephone, and their being in separate rooms. He rose above his body – a common experience during surgeries and near-death experiences.
63 - Jesus had a rainbow horse. 65 - Jesus wore white clothes and a purple sash. 67 - There were red marks on his feet and palms. 145 - The boy later points out Jesus in a sketch by Akiane Kramarik, Prince of Peace (73). 73 - Jesus has light eyes and streaks in his hair, which appears to be permed (!).
He was with Jesus, whom he recognized, as well as the father (who was “really big”) and even the Holy Spirit. Jesus loves the little children.

72 - There were many other humans in heaven, esp. children, many of whom Colton later named. But what about John 3:13? 73-74 - The dead (humans) sport wings and halos – and sounds like something out of a children’s book, like The Littlest Angel. There are a few other questionable statements, biblically speaking, such as a literal battle of Armageddon.

86 - He saw his deceased grandfather, though as a younger man. (This man had died before Colton was born.) 123 - Later recognized him in a picture of him in his 30s – did not recognize him in later pictures (died in early 60s). 90 - Colton's mother was shocked, because she has not thought her father would be in heaven. He'd apparently "accepted Christ" 28 years before his death, but did not tell his family members.

94 - The boy talks to his dead sister (fetus of 2 months).This really tugs on the heartstrings of the reader (and the boy’s mother). See also 96, 128-129.

100 - There are literal thrones. 101 - Jesus on the right side of God, the archangel Gabriel on the left.

105 - Heaven is the New Jerusalem of Revelation.

126 - He sees power shooting down on his father when he preaches (Spirit) – like the common evangelical notion of being “anointed” by the Spirit whenever a minister preaches the word of God.

133 - Angels carry swords in heaven.
139 - The battle of Armageddon is apparently to be fought with swords and bows & arrows (little boys’ toys?).
152 - There are dogs in heaven.

Explainable?
It's easy to rationalize most of the details. Even the theology: Trinitarian God, for example. A nearly-four-year-old would have heard a great deal of talk about God and the Bible. It's not so easy to account for the details of miscarried sister and grandfather, assuming they are not fictive or exaggerated. Yet we weigh the work as a whole. We are not required to accept everything in the book just because one or two details cannot be explained away.

Why the book fails to persuade (me)
1. All the details sound like they’ve come from children’s Sunday school pictures. The story supports evangelical theology – e.g. immediate transport to heaven, literal battle of Armageddon, taking the picture of the New Jerusalem to be heaven, conversion through “accepting Christ” – not likely to appeal so strongly to other Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox, or non-denominational Christians.
2. The account flatly contradicts the testimony of the Old and New Testament and the early Christian writers. 80 Paul went to heaven – but in 2 Cor 12 Paul goes to paradise. Not a single detail of the experience is related, only its ineffability. Yet Colton Burpo found no trouble describing everything he saw, which makes the passage his father cites as a parallel disconfirm his son’s experience.
3. 88 - The author admits a history of mental illness in the family (his father). Perhaps this is relevant.
4. Although it's certainly a very interesting story, in many places feels hokey

Two experts weigh in
David Bercot (a personal friend and expert on early Christianity):
a. This account contradicts the evidence of the early church.
b. Why didn't Lazarus ever say anything about this death experience (John 11)?
c. Hallucinations are not uncommon when people are under anesthesia.
d. In the past there have been clear instances of fraud, too, though this doesn’t seem to be a case of that.

Gary Habermas (apologist, historian, philosopher of religion), private correspondence:
“I don't say we know exactly where NDErs may go, heaven or otherwise. But there is an incredible amount of evidence that something objective is happening.”

Conclusion
Something happened, and I have no desire to explain it all away, but the details don’t correspond particularly well with the Bible. Despite the often expressed opinions of the pastor-father, I am afraid the account does not impress me as celestial. Whatever little Colton experienced, it was not the “visit to heaven.”

Books & Movies: Yeshua

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 1 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Ron Moseley’s book, Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church (Clarksville, Maryland: Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1996) is an interesting read. I have met representatives of this movement before, and read a number of their books, especially once I came into direct personal contact with this school of thought on my first trip to Israel. This school of thought is well described by the term Messianic Judaism, a movement within evangelical Christianity that has been in motion for half a century now. This review is not only a critique of Moseley's book, but also a challenge to the Messianic movement as a whole.

Excellent
Many things Moseley and his associates emphasize are correct -- even excellent.

Jesus and Paul were Jews. Most Bible readers forget this, and this seriously affects their ability to interpret the scriptures.
There's great benefit in setting aside time for study, worship, and cultivating an awe of God (p.42). Yet this is no proof that we need to observe the Jewish calendar. Slowing down and stopping normal work one day a week, attending seminars; going on retreats, having daily devotional times, and so on can serve this purpose equally well.
The Jewish background of NT teaching is brought to light, often in a captivating way.
The Pharisees’ teaching was similar to Jesus’ (p.91). I might go even further: if we were to compare our own spiritual heritage to the many Jewish sects active in the first century, theirs is unquestionably the group with which we have most in common.

Possibly correct
A number of his ideas may be on track, but lack support. I think it is fine for Bible teacher to share his ideas, but only with a confidence in proportion to the evidence itself. This attitude Moseley repeatedly fails to exhibit.

His comments on the tzitzit may be right (p.21), though it strikes me as a bit of a stretch. Yet I like this view.
John hesitates to enter Jesus’ tomb because of his association with the high priestly family (pp.24-25). Could be. But then there are other reasons for which he didn’t enter (fear, deference to Peter, being out of breath…).
Peter chopped off Malchus’ ear to disqualify him for the priesthood, or to insult the priesthood of Caiaphas (p.25). This strikes me as speculative, though I did mention the possibility in my (premium) podcast on Malchus. I think it is more likely Peter was trying to kill Malchus than maim him.
Matthew 8:21-22 may refer to secondary burial (pp.27-28). I am familiar with the practice of secondary interment, and have shown ossuaries on many of my tours. Yet such an understanding of Jesus’ words does not significantly affect the point Jesus is making, that we are to let nothing, even family obligations, come between us and him.
He claims that coins falling into the temple collection containers in effect “sounded the trumpet” (p.28). Yet what is the reference? This sounds like pure speculation. There are many such claims in this book.
"Leaven” means giving God your second best (p.110). To prove this, he cites only a secondary source; there is no proof for this assertion. The problem with the teaching of the Pharisees was that it could spread so far and affect so many, not that it was second best. RM’s interpretation weakens the point Jesus and Paul make when they resort to this metaphor in their teaching.

Definitely wrong
Yet the patent errors in the book are often not minor, but major.

Moseley claims that the “new covenant” is not better than the old, but only an extension of it, or a call to observe it (pp.36, 57). That is certainly not how I and Bible scholars read Jeremiah 31! The Hebrew writer does not put down the old covenant – the fault lay with the people (Hebrews 8) – but he definitely says the new is better.
Moseley’s group believes that the NT was written in Hebrew, yet I am aware of no evidence. Even among early Christians, the only tradition circulating of which I am aware is that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew (the view of Papias). I believe Semitic thought patterns are discernible in most of the documents of the Greek NT, and without doubt Jesus taught primarily in the language of the people of Palestine, but there is not a shred of manuscript evidence for an original Hebrew NT.
Luke 16:16, commenting on the Law being proclaimed until John, is claimed by Moseley not to indicate any fundamental shift vis-à-vis the Torah (p.41). Moseley is correct that we are under grace and still obligated to obey God’s laws; Protestant Bible teachers often stumble over that one, falsely pitting Paul against James, for example. Yet there is more than one way that the Law can remain the word of God for us. I would put it this way. For the ancient Jews, the Torah was the word of God and the law of God; for us, the Torah is still the word of God, yet not the law.
“Replacement theology” makes its first appearance 160 AD, with Justin Martyr (p.60). What about Matthew 21:43? Here Jesus says the kingdom will be taken away from the Jews.
The moral principles of Torah still apply today (p.50). Please listen to hear my series (“Night of Redemption: A Study of Exodus,” October 2011). We are called to go well beyond the moral level of the Jews. There is a trajectory in the Bible, from paganism to Judaism, and from Judaism to Christianity. The law leads us to Christ, after which point we are mature enough no longer to need it (Galatians 3:21-26). One obvious example is how we treat our enemies. While there are parts of the OT where grace is shown to enemies, in other parts the Jews are told to kill them, even to exterminate them without mercy. Jesus raises the bar. No longer are we permitted to kill, take revenge, or even resist the evil person. How to implement Jesus’ teaching in Matthew (also Paul’s in Romans 12) may be difficult, yet that does not entitle us to ignore it.
Since the Torah was an “everlasting covenant”, it still applies today (p.62). This view shows a lack of understanding of Hebrew idiom, which is unfortunate for one who promotes himself as an expert. Here let me share an excerpt from my paper on Terminal Punishment, which I believe is germane. “We have to let the Bible define its terms... [T]here are a number of scriptures where words such as 'forever,' 'eternal,' and 'everlasting' do not entail a sense of infinite duration. For example, the following list is based (only) on the Greek root aion*, which appears in the LXX and the NT numerous times, with the general sense of (world) age, forever, always, eternity, etc. In none of the following cases does the word aion* bear the sense of infinite eternity. [Whether for the Greek aionios, the Hebrew ‘olam, or the Latin aeternalis, the point is that 'forever' isn’t always literally forever, at least in Hebrew thought.]
- Genesis 6:4—'Men of old' (giants/ungodly persons/fallen ones/sons of Cain) did not live infinitely.
- Jeremiah 25:12—Destruction of Babylon (though not literally destroyed)
- Genesis 9:12—Perpetual generations
- Exodus 21:6—The man or woman would become one’s servant'“forever' (!)
- Leviticus 25:34—Perpetual possession of fields
- Deuteronomy 23:3—“Forever” means the tenth generation
- 1 Samuel 2:22—Young Samuel was to serve at the house of the Lord 'forever'
- 1 Chronicles 16:5—'Forever' ~ 1000 generations—also Psalm 105:8
- Ezra 4:15, 19—Israelites had been 'eternally' resisting political domination
- Psalm 24:7—'Ancient' doors
- Proverbs 22:28—'Ancient' boundary stone
- Jonah 2:6—The prophet was confined in (the fish) 'forever'"
Moseley claims that “fulfill” in Matthew 5:17-19 means to correctly teach (p.64). Yet when prophecies are fulfilled, they are not merely “correctly taught.” Rather, their words come true, or a deeper parallelism becomes manifest. “Out of Egypt I called my Son” (Matthew 2:15, quoting Hosea 11:1) is fulfilled when Jesus’ family returns from Egypt. When Jesus fulfills Psalm 22, Psalm 69, Isaiah 53, and so forth, he is not “correctly teaching” them—though he may have—but rather bringing to pass the plan of God, and bringing to light the truth of God, in accordance with what had previously been written.
Christians knelt for prayer, so in reaction the Jews stood (p.60). The ancient literary and archaeological evidence refutes this claim. The preferred position of the early Christians was standing. Moreover, the orans (plural orantes) is well known from ancient art.
The ethical requirements of the OT are the same as those of the NT (p.70). Not so, as I mentioned above in my comment on warfare. Back when we lived in the DC area, I pursued this notion, and wanted to include it in my part of the DPI book on the Sermon on the Mount. Tom Jones and Gordon Ferguson shot me down—and I’m glad they did. Back then I was trying too hard to find in the old law justification for many current practices. The point: between the covenants there is not only continuity, but also a radical discontinuity.
Certain parts of the law were to be kept by Gentiles (all of it by Jews), in effect creating two levels or standards of commitment (p.79). There is no evidence that Gentiles could be saved through part of the covenant! RM’s exegesis of Acts 15 is questionable. Then he claims to have found, out of the traditional total 613 laws in the Torah, many of which still apply to Gentiles (33 positive commands and 135 prohibitions). He overreaches. Let me give two examples. We are to show reverence when enter the house of worship (Leviticus 19:30). I’m all for that, but in Christianity there is no church building (originally). He also states that Deuteronomy 24:15 requires employers to pay workers their wages when the job is done. Yet the passage refers to daily wages, not payment for completing a job. In short, Moseley’s method smacks of arbitrariness.
In connection with the Feast of Tabernacles, rituals involving water and light had been neglected (p.135). Moseley says that this was part of the ceremonial law. There’s only one problem: it’s nowhere in the OT!
Acts 2:38 refers to Gentile baptism (p.143). Proponents of another eccentric view teach that Gentiles were to be saved by faith alone, and Acts 2:38 baptism was only for the first generation of Jewish converts. In Acts 2:39 the phrase “those who are far off” refers to Gentiles (not the distant descendants of the audience), a point illustrated in such passages as Ephesians 2:17. RM’s understanding of conversion is lacking.
The Messianic movement often claims that the NT was originally written in Hebrew. On this assumption, they rely on a reconstructed Semitic text of the NT, even though no such ancient manuscripts have survived. Claiming that the Greek NT is less accurate than the "lost" [and hypothetical] Semitic original, they dismiss verses that are problematic for their position. Be aware that no evidence exists for an original "Hebrew Testament." This is pure conjecture.

Overstated
There were some points I wasn’t sure which category to place in. They contained some truth, but were pushed too far. Maybe these should be listed under a “maybe correct” heading, but I chose to list them separately.

Augustine championed Marcion (p.40). Augustine (354-430 AD) would have vigorously protested this allegation! Marcion (c.140 AD) rejected the OT completely; Augustine relied heavily it as he promoted his relatively novel ideas, such as original sin and Christian military service.
Paul did not intend Greek readers to interpret nomos (law) in the normal way (p.59). It is true that we must discern whether the word means law (generally), the Law of Moses (which is both law in the common sense and Torah in the sense of instruction [<yarah], or principle. Yet to assume that his Greek-speaking letter-readers (and –listeners) would grasp the Hebraic nuance without specific instruction is wishful on Moseley’s part.
2 Corinthians 5:17 referred to conversion to Judaism (p.126). Even if it was once used that way, this is not the way Paul is using it here. Earlier in the letter he’d said that a veil hangs over the eyes of the Jews. If anything, Paul is calling people not to be taken in by the specious arguments of his opponents. RM’s view also ignores the eschatological dimension of Paul’s teaching. We participate in the age to come—the new creation—when we are created anew in the image of our Creator.
We cannot read, understand, or expound the Bible unless we become Jews (p.160). I guess we’re all in trouble.

I have sought Moseley out on the web. One link I found especially useful, as it shows us how others have received this eccentric fringe position.

Conclusion
Moseley is certainly right to point us to the Jewish origins of Christianity. In my own teaching I often emphasize that the first generation of Christians leaders were predominantly Jewish; that every apostle was Jewish; and even that Jesus was a Jew, not a Christian. Yet, as I have tried to make clear, he grossly overstates his case, is careless in his use of sources, and at many points shows that he does not grasp what was radically new in Yeshua’s teaching. Further, the horrific proofreading of the book (it is fraught with jarring errors) does not do his position any favors.

This "messianic" teaching has gained traction in many churches worldwide. Why is this so? One suspects it is not only because it is interesting, illuminating many facets of scripture that are difficult to understand without background information or training in theology. Given the generally low quality of preaching and teaching (meaty, biblical exposition), it is not surprising that many find this alternative to be far more compelling. Where the word is not carefully expounded, ground is being prepared for heterodox teachers. As Paul points out to Timothy, "Certain persons... have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions" (1 Timothy 1:6-7).

Further study:

Article on Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell's book).
Article on Follow the Rabbi (by Ray Vander Laan)
If you've never read a good book on biblical interpretation, try Fee & Stuart's classic work.
The two premium podcasts on Sabbath and Holiness.
Audio series on Exodus, including material on the applicability of the law today, may also be helpful.

Books & Movies: The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The book critiqued in this podcast is Through the Eye of the Needle: The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation, by Roger Hertzler.

The basic idea

Our society and the church are materialistic.
Christians have ignored the clear teaching of Christ that we are not to store up treasure on earth (Matthew 6:19-21).
"Christ says that nothing on earth has any real value except that which can be converted into Heavenly treasure before we die" (77).

What's helpful:

Indeed, the Bible teaches that we are to provide financially for the generation behind us, not the generation following. (That is, we are to take care of our elderly parents, not leave an inheritance for our [often] adult children.) The greatest legacy we can leave them is spiritual, and in fact we may be hurting them if the most significant thing we leave them is our money (56). However, see Proverbs 13:22 and 2 Corinthians 12:14.
Older people will have no problem giving away their money and possessions when they know that the rest of the church will provide for them.
The teaching of the church in the Patristic era, for example: "How can they follow Christ, who are held back by the chain of their wealth? . . . They think that they possess, but they are possessed instead. They are the bondslaves of their money, not the lords of their money. They are slaves of their profit" [Cyprian, c. 250 AD). While some of the views of the 2nd and 3rd century church go beyond the teachings of Jesus (usually in the direction of strictness), the spirit of their radical discipleship is evident.
From Hertzler's chapter entitled "An Exchange of Values":
"... [The] enemy is “a wrong value system.” It is a value system that tells us the things of this world have genuine value (as opposed to being worthless). It tells us that having much of this world’s wealth is somehow better than having little of it. None of us are exempt from the effects of this erroneous value system... The world says that stocks, bonds, gold coins, land, and savings accounts have real value. Christ says that nothing on earth has any real value except that which can be converted into Heavenly treasure before we die. The world says that financial security is something we all should strive to achieve. Christ says that financial security is something that will destroy our faith and steal our love. The world says that it is honorable to leave your children financially well off. Christ says that such a move would endanger their souls, because a rich person will hardly enter the kingdom of God... If you can completely internalize this upside-down value system, it will revolutionize your life. That which you used to think was important will now seem trivial. Your passion will become the kingdom of God..."
There is not doubt that Jesus warned us in the strongest possible terms of the potential of wealth to blind, numb, and choke us (Luke 8:7,14; Revelation 3:14-19).

What seems off-base:

Biblical interpretation
- Dismisses Mark 14:3-9 in passing without dealing with the fact that the actions of the woman in anointing Jesus' feet were, by the author's criteria, wasteful (60). After all, hadn't Jesus taught us to sell our possessions and give to the poor (the heart of Judas' objection [ Mark 14:5; John 12:6])?
- Little flock of Luke 12:33 -- apostles or all Christians (59)? How can we discern who Jesus is referring to? (I admit it seems to me this is for all Christians, but even then the passage has to be interpreted.)
- The Parable of the Talents is exegeted carelessly, even though the author's conclusions seem on track (49). This does not inspire confidence in his method.
- Zacchaeus appears in a note, but nothing in the body of the book explores this man, perhaps because his example does not support Hertzler's thesis (102).
Unduly radical implementation?
- Wesley used his own life as an example: “I gain all I can” in profitable labor; “I save all I can” by frugal living; and “by giving all I can, I am effectually secured from ‘laying up treasures on earth.’” These were no idle boasts: As Wesley’s royalty earnings grew, his self-imposed annual personal budget stayed at 30 pounds, until 98% of his income was given away. He lived up to his promise that “If I leave behind me ten pounds . . . you and all mankind bear witness against me that ‘I lived and died a thief and a robber’” (67).
- Advice [for Americans]:
  - Clean out your retirement accounts (80). Give up your financial goals. Join a church that teaches and practices the doctrine of non-accumulation (82). If you haven't been giving at all, start immediately with a tithe (10%), whether you think you can afford it or not. And many other pieces of advice... (83)
  - Okay to keep $20,000 in the bank if you are "a business owner who needs to make payroll every two weeks," but wrong for "a laborer who is just trying to prepare for a 'rainy day'" (81).
  - I think such advice contradicts the NT teaching that we should aim to do something useful with our hands so that we may give to those in need. Earning more you are able to help more; this much seems obvious. And allowing your money to grow increases your ability to give.
  - Distinction between tools and investments, but discerning the difference is somewhat arbitrary. "... at a minimum, Jesus' command to 'sell and give' applies to those assets that qualify as investments."
- Does not take culture sufficiently into account.
  - Everyone accumulates, even Hertzler. The line between accumulation and non-accumulation is not always obvious.
  - Reminds me of those who push a tithe on gross income. Sounds like a great idea, but how can it be implemented across the board?
  - Are we to strive to recreate the standard of living of the first-century Mediterranean world?

Conclusion

The book serves a valuable purpose: making us think about the biblical teaching on possessions.
Yet it is simplistic, ill-suited to the real world. Moreover, it over-interprets the teachings of Christ.
Perhaps rather than focusing on the negative (non-accumulation), we should emphasize the positive qualities I am sure are behind Hertzler's thesis: generosity, hospitality, sacrifice, mercy. For God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6).
No one on his death-bed laments, "How I wished I had made more money." Death, the great leveler, confronts all of us with the truth (see Psalm 49). Rather, people say, "How I wished I'd spent more time with my loved ones... I should have lived my life in the light of eternity." For reminding us of the worthlessness of human wealth in the light of eternity, Hertzler does us a great service.

Books & Movies: Avatar

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Avatar is a term from Hindu theology, though it is also common in computer and virtual reality applications. Click here for the origins of the word.
"Jake" visits Pandora through an avatar, a 10-foot tall blue-skinned alien, though in fact it is Jake and his American friends who are the real aliens! The plot centers around the exploitation of a pristine planet by Americans, and how their efforts are ultimately thwarted, but only after they have brought tremendous destruction.

What was cool

Extremely visual, colorful. Special effects excellent.
Just as the main character, Jake, enters the world of Pandora, so we feel like we are entering that world.
Emphasis on ecology.
Depiction of the connectedness of all life.
Brutal exposé of the US military-economic machine.
Symbolism:
- Navi (like Hebrew and Arabic words for prophet)
- "Unobtanium"
- Eywa (the deity) sounds like the Hebrew word for Eve, or living.
- The planet named Pandora patently portends problems for those who ignore etymology.
- Parallels between Joshua/Rahab and Jake/Neytiri. Click here for more.
Jake as incarnation – develops empathy. Effort to understand others.

What was off

Mother earth (Gaia). Worship creation in place of creator—Romans 1. The Bible teaches that idolatry puts us on a slippery slide, morally.
Creator is a she. While occasionally in the Bible feminine imagery is used of God, usually it is masculine. Not that God is masculine; he is beyond gender. Making the earth female is actually a form of sexism.
Romanticization, of indigenous peoples, e.g. in Amazonia.
- As far as imperialists, colonizers: one corrupt civilization supplanting another. (Not to justify how the Europeans laid claim to the Americas, enslaving, killing, robbing those who had already been here for 10-15k years.)
- Natives are more advanced than their would-be conquerors? Hmmm….
  - Not in terms of technology.
  - But they were, insofar as they were more moral than the their exploiters.
  - Jake and Neytiri do not marry; they mate.
Woolly-minded thinking of the New Age movement. To illustrate:
- Gnosticism is an ancient religion that is now popular, through the intrusion of eastern religion in the west.
- Its prophets include Tolle and Byrne. (Click to see my comments on their bestselling books.)
- For more on this movement, click here.

Most useful

This film makes us think about missions, emphasizing the importance ot awareness, making the effort to under to understand and connect with other.
It does a masterful job promoting ecological awareness.
Finally, it serves as a poignant warning against materialism, which offers an elusive dream. Achieving true happiness and meaning through wealth is "unobtainable"!

Books & Movies: Zealot

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

I. THESIS

Jesus was a zealot, advocating violence to overthrow the occupying Romans as well as the corrupt priesthood.
- For Jesus, the Kingdom of God is very much of this world [144]. John 18:36 has been totally misunderstood [117]. The kingdom is political.
- Jesus intended that the twelve tribes be reconstituted for a single purpose: war [123].
- Jesus was a violent man. The God of violence is “the only God that Jesus knew and the sole God he worshipped” [122]. However, later Aslan seems to backtrack: “Nor can Jesus be labeled a violent revolutionary bent on armed rebellion…” [79].
Yet Jesus failed to reestablish nation of Israel [19].
The church changed the true Jesus into a more heavenly figure with merely otherworldly interests. They “transformed Jesus from a revolutionary zealot to a Romanized demigod, from a man who tried and failed to free the Jews from Roman oppression to a celestial being wholly uninterested in any
earthly matter” [171].

The apostle Paul was the leader of this reinterpretation. “[Paul’s] conception of Jesus as Christ would have been shocking and plainly heretical, which is why, around 57 C.E., James and the apostles demand that Paul come to Jerusalem to answer for his deviant teachings” [190]. The early church followed suit, and replaced the zealot Jesus with a heavenly figure [144], putting Paul's letters into the N.T. Today we have the wrong N.T., thanks to Paul’s influence [215].
Yet the Messiah was to be the Prince of Peace. "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore" (Isa 2:4). (Joel 3:10 – preparation for war.) "He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore" (Mic 4:3).
How would the church have survived through 60 years of disillusionment, given they knew Jesus’ mission was a failure?
In short, Jesus was a revolutionary zealot. Not just a radical man with an amazingly spiritual message, but a violent encourager of murder, rioting, and violent takeover.

II. STRENGTHS & INSIGHTS

Style
- His no-nonsense approach (despite the many erroneous claims) leaves no doubt as to where the author stands. I find this preferable to the ambling, highly qualified language of many religious writers.
- Aslan uses highly florid language, which makes reading him rather enjoyable -- provided the reader recognizes the many rare words he uses.
Historical background
- Good job describing various sects of the Jews and zealots and pseudo-messiahs.
- Great analysis of the working relationship between Pilate and Caiaphas.
- Nice explanation of the origins and thinking of the Samaritans.
Historical insight
- Poor farmers of Galilee subjected to indignity of turning over earnings to rapacious priests! [92]
- Demolishes the Roman Catholic notions of the virginity of Mary and the papacy of Peter [35].
- Helpful reminder that the Temple served as a bank [7].
- Unlike other itinerant wonder-workers in the ancient world, Jesus healed gratis [103].
- The Romans' victory over Israel in the First Jewish War (66-70 AD) wasn’t merely over the Jews, but over their god.
- John the Baptist's popularity perhaps increased through his not relying on his priestly privileges [82]. (John was a Levite, born to Levite parents -- see Luke 1.)
- Aslan admits that it is more likely the Gnostics borrowed from Christianity when they constructed their esoteric doctrine and myths, rather than the other way around [261].
- The belief in a dying and rising messiah did not exist in Judaism [165]. (Right--but that doesn’t mean the Messiah couldn’t die or rise! What about Isa 53?)
Things you may want to know
- Interesting parallels between Jesus' Transfiguration and Moses' ascent on the mountain with his three companions [131].
- Cicero: “barbarian superstitions” of monotheism. Tacitus: “while they permit all that we abhor.”
- Josephus notes 24 sects in and around Jerusalem. And he calls Annas (Ananus) “the great hoarder of money” [198-199].
Bible difficulties
- Critics keep us on our toes!
- Two examples: Philip’s wife is Salome, not Herodias. A solution? Also, the well-known difficulties surrounding Luke’s census of Quirinius [30].

III. APPROACH

Arguments from silence
- John the Baptist doesn’t realize who Jesus is in Mark 1. This means that the story has been jazzed up in the other gospel accounts [87].
- There is no cliff in Nazareth over which to push Jesus. Aslan is saying that since he does not think there is such a cliff in Nazareth, it didn’t exist. But topography can change. Besides, I have seen such a precipice in Nazareth.
- The nighttime trial of the Sanhedrin was illegal -- therefore it didn't take place. [157]. Yet the Sanhedrin felt urgency in dealing with this situation before Passover.
- Barabbas couldn’t have been released because the custom is “nonsensical” [149]. Yet Pilate negotiates with the crowd over Jesus' possible release. Why would such a custom contradict what we know of Pilate?
Speculation
- “So when Stephen saw the gaggle of hirsute men and ragged women huddled beneath a portico in the Temple’s outer court—simple provincials who had sold their possessions and given the proceeds to the poor….—he probably did not pay much attention at first” [164].
- Paul wasn’t asked by the high priest to hunt down Christians… [183] Yet by Paul's own admission (Acts 22:4-5), “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.”
Fondness for quoting liberals at far end of theological spectrum.
Calling into question uncontroversial points, e.g. that Acts is part 2 of Luke [167].
Leading statements: Jesus’ brothers named after great heroes of Judaism (implying a radical revolutionary tendency ran in the family) [230].
Shock statements that aren’t quite true… but are later clarified, once the shock has been felt -- usually a few paragraphs later.
- E.g. the Romans walking up cliff side of Masada, “shields up, swords drawn” – as Aslan makes clear, he well knows it took many weeks for the Romans to advance up that side of the mountain [57].
- Or that the meeting between Pilate and Jesus is ludicrous…. A reasonable argument can be made for it having happened. Aslan claims the “trial” before Pilate “beggars the imagination” and is “pure legend” [148]. There was no “trial” before Pilate [241]. Yet the gospels never say there was a trial. Further, while at first Aslan mocks the idea, later on he states that for a potential political prisoner, Pilate might well have made time to see him -- and John Meier makes a compelling case for the position [244]!
Assertions without proof
- Jesus Christ
  - Jesus could not have understood the "Son of Man" as a divine figure (as in 4 Ezra) [144]. But what about Daniel 7?
  - Mark 9 tells us that Jesus’ transfiguration affected only his clothes [251] (which it doesn't) -- therefore his body (unlike Moses' -- Exod 34) wasn't glowing.
  - There are no OT messianic prophecies that say the Messiah will do miracles [248]. Really?! How about Isaiah 42, 60, etc?
  - More than a few biblical scholars have openly labeled Jesus a magician [108-109]. I know of only one (Morton Smith).
  - All the miracle stories of Jesus have been embellished [104].
  - Daniel’s Anointed One isn’t killed (Dan 9:26), but only cut off [166]. Yet it's not clear whether "cut off" implies death, so there's no room for dogmatism here.
  - Jesus didn't stay in the desert for a time of testing, but in order to spend time learning from John the Baptist [89].
- Apostles and other leaders
  - Matthew isn’t Levi [97]. Yet two names were common (e.g. Simon Peter, John Mark).
  - Jesus recruited from among “the fishing village’s disaffected youth” [96]. But why can't Simon and Andrew be the same age as Jesus? (Rob Bell wants them to be teenagers, but he goes too far.)
  - Few if any of the apostles agreed that Paul was a disciple [184-185].
  - Paul never recounts his Damascus Road experience, which is a fabrication of Luke [184]. Yet see Acts 22. The fact that the three accounts (Acts 9, 22, 26) have minor differences suggests Luke wasn't making up the story, nor was he concerned to rewrite it to make it less problematic.
  - None of the apostles spoke Greek [193]. Jesus and his disciples were illiterate peasants [203, 226]. Aslan should read Alan Millard's Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus.
  - The Jerusalem Christians didn’t evangelize – they just blended in [263]. Yet Acts 4, 5, 12!
  - James took no baths [197].
  - The church in Rome fell under authority of the Jerusalem church [203].
  - Some assertions have weak proof, e.g. that Stephen led the independent Hellenistic community [181], and that the Hellenists held that Jesus came not to fulfill the law, but to abolish it (!). Or that the Church of Jerusalem was demolished in 70 AD [150, 212]. James and the Jerusalem Christians stayed in Jerusalem, awaiting coming of the Lord, and so were killed by Titus’ army. But that would mean that they ignored Jesus' prophecy [Luke 21:20].

IV. TONE

Mocking, Sarcastic
Stephen’s “long and rambling diatribe” [168].
Luke is Paul’s sycophant [184-185].
On 500 soldiers accompanying the prisoner Paul: “This is absurd and can be flatly ignored” [266]. But there's a plot afoot involving 40 men determined to kill Paul. The conspirators are armed, armed disturbances were somewhat common in Palestine, and the Romans know it. What number of soldiers does Aslan think the officer should have dispatched: 40? 100? 150? Might not the number of conspirators have been snowballing? Is this not a case of better safe than sorry?
Reactionary comments -- which are frequently overstatements
- “With the help of his disciples he blocks the entrance to the courtyard, forbidding anyone carrying goods for sale or trade from entering the Temple. Then, as the crowd of vendors, worshippers, priests, and curious onlookers scramble over the scattered detritus, as a stampede of frightened animals, chased by their panicked owners, rushes headlong out of the Temple gates and into the choked streets of Jerusalem, as a corps of Roman guards and heavily armed Temple police blitz through the courtyard looking to arrest whoever is responsible for this mayhem, there stands Jesus, according to the gospels, aloof, seemingly unperturbed, crying out over the din: ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.”’” [74-75]
- Cleansing of temple caused a “riot” in the Court of the Gentiles [147].
- Jesus’ apostolic band was “armed with swords” [146]. But there were only 2, and Jesus discouraged their use – hence the unanimous pacifism of the early church.
- The “brief but bloody tussle” although two swords weren’t enough [78].
- “Thus, on a bald hill covered in crosses, beset by moans of agony from hundreds of dying criminals, as a murder of crows circled eagerly over his head waiting for him to breathe his last…” [159]
- Disunity and strife suppressed
  - The early Christians were fearful of John the Baptist’s continuing influence: “frantic attempt to reduce John’s significance” – and the truth that “Jesus very likely began his ministry as just another of his disciples” [89].
  - In Acts Luke “paints a picture of perfect harmony between Paul and the council’s members…” [191]
  - Gal 2:11 = “fierce public feud” [266]– yet no evidence Peter lashed out in return, or rejected Paul’s correction.
Superior attitude
- Even in the vocabulary: 98 lucubration; 108 Lugdunum (ancient Lyon)
- As though this were his own insight: “To the Jews, a crucified Messiah was nothing less than a contradiction in terms. The very fact of his crucifixion annulled his messianic claims” [178]. Credit belongs to Paul more than to Aslan. Or the observation that wisdom is personified in Wisdom of Solomon as a woman (Sophia), in order to better connect with those with a Greek philosophical background [179]. But this is in Proverbs, and is well known to those who read the Bible.
- “Two decades of scholarly research” [xx] – perhaps absorbed from the ultraliberal institutions where he did his study? (Harvard University, U Cal Santa Barbara, Santa Clara University -- Jesuit)
Negative feeling
- Palpable hostility towards biblical Christians. Aslan admits his anger – “I angrily discarded my faith as if it were a costly forgery….” [xix].
- Paul’s anger at James and the original apostles “seeps like poison through the pages of his later epistles” [207].
- One wonders if Aslan has projected his own negative emotions onto Paul!

V. ERRORS

Well over 100, not even counting all the mistakes highlighted in other sections of this podcast!
Life of Jesus
- Phil 2:7 doesn’t support the incarnation – because Jesus is one of God’s first creations, the "firstborn" [189]. But what about Ps 89:27? "And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth."
- The incarnation is rejected [88], as well as the divinity of Christ. But what about Mal 3, Ezek 34, Ps 110, and many other passages?
- Jesus was a tekton (builder, carpenter, mason...) only in Mark 6:3 [34]. Aslan has forgotten Matt 13:55.
- “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” suggests arson [89].
- Aslan assumes "the Kingdom of God is at hand" means that the end of world is near [80] –a common mistake among those unfamiliar with the already/not yet of Christian theology.
- The Parable of the Sower is mainly anticlerical [101]. Yet the parable is about loving one's neighbor.
- The Temple in Jesus' time was 500m x 300m – this was the complex, not the temple proper. (To be fair, in John's gospel, however, sometimes the entire Temple Mount complex is referred to as the temple.)
- Jesus was joking when he told the leper to go show himself to the priest, since the leprosy was gone. Aslan seems to have misunderstood Lev 14 [112].
- There would have been no need for a large band of soldiers to snatch Jesus -- yet later Aslan admits a sizeable crowd went to Gethsemane to arrest Jesus [153]! He seems to be changing his mind, or rethinking, even as he is writing his book.
- After confessing he's the Messiah, Jesus then muddies everything by identifying himself with the Son of Man in Daniel (Mark 14:62) [144]. Aslan seems unable to grasp the two sides of the Messiah, Lion and Lamb (Rev 5) -- the same mistake so many of Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries made.
- When the crowd (manipulated by Annas and Caiaphas) is manipulating Pilate – “We have no king but Caesar!” -- Aslan claims they couldn't have said that [152].
- Pilate is portrayed as a righteous but weak-willed man in the gospels [47]! He is increasingly exonerated in the gospels [151]. He tries to save Jesus because he thinks he may be the Son of God (!) [152]
- The crucifixion required three iron spikes [159]. Actually, the skeletal evidence of crucified persons indicates the Romans used four nails.
- Crucified people would hang on the cross for hours [159]. Actually, days were a more common.
- Mark wasn’t interested in Jesus’ resurrection [29]. Really? What about Jesus' predictions of his resurrection, several of which Mark records?
- Our author claims the series: Last Supper—Betrayal—Arrest—Sanhedrin—Herod & Pilate—Cross—Burial—Resurrection is what it is for liturgical reasons [153-154]. But what else could it be if Jesus was betrayed?
- Re: Luke 24:44-46 – there isn’t a single line of scripture on the suffering, death, and resurrection on the third day of the Messiah [177]. But the resurrection is prefigured in Dan 6; Gen 22; Ps 16; Ezek 37 and more clearly identified in Dan 12 and the DSS 4Q521.
The apostles
- Paul was uninterested in the words of Jesus [187]. Common claim. What about Acts 20:35? 1 Cor 11? Quite a few allusions to Jesus’ words?
- James forces Paul to (hypocritically) back down from his anti-Torah position, taking an oath and joining others in this vow (Acts 21:23)….[195-197, 208-209]. But what about 1 Cor 9:20? "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law." Besides, Paul has a positive view of the law (read Romans). He argues that the gospel is for the Jew first, then the Gentile (Rom 1:16) – and this is in one of the letters Aslan agrees Paul actually wrote. Further, Paul’s custom was to share the gospel with the Jews, through speaking invitations at synagogues… When he wore out his welcome, then he turned to the Gentiles. If he were as anti-Torah as Aslan insinuates, it is doubtful he would ever be invited back for a second lesson!
- Paul disagrees with James over salvation [206]. They use the same passages to prove opposite things (James 2; Romans 4). But works and faith are two sides of a coin. Aslan's position is based on an old and tired argument. Paul required nothing for salvation but faith in Christ [215]. Aslan claims Rom 10:13 contradicts Matt 7:21 [187].
- Aslan misses Paul’s point in 2 Cor – which he calls "Corinthians" (proofreader lapse?) – when he makes Paul call the Jerusalem apostles "servants of Satan…" [192]. But Paul's opponents valued prestige, comfort, honor; they did not suffer. The "super-apostles" Paul excoriates cannot be the Jerusalem apostles, who it seems were nearly as poor as Paul!
- Re: Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem: He is mistaken for the Egyptian – and this is the only reason he was taken into custody by the Romans [194-195]. But Paul denied being this person, and the text makes it clear that once corrected the commander still decides to refer the case up the ladder of command (Acts 21:39).
- After his meeting with the Jewish leaders in Acts 28, "Paul vowed from that moment on to preach to none but the gentiles, ‘for they will listen’ (Acts 28:26-29)” [196]. Yet the text indicates a mixed reaction -- some Jews were persuaded by Paul. True, in Acts 28:28 Paul says he will focus on the Gentiles, but not only the Gentiles. In fact, this isn't a change of missionary strategy for Paul, since that has been his method all along: first the Jew, then the Gentile...
- James (presumably unlike Paul, who cared little about earthly matters) truly cares for the poor [272]. What? Gal 2:10! 2 Cor 8-9!
- Simon Peter “swore he witnessed the resurrection with his own eyes, as did many others among them…" [156]. This is false. There were no eyewitnesses of the resurrection, unless the Roman soldiers were able to see what was happening (which seems unlikely). Many witnessed Jesus after the resurrection, however.
Later Christianity
- Aslan confuses the Circumcision Party (as in Titus 1 and Acts 15) and Jewish Christianity [186].
- James loses credibility to Paul because of the nascent doctrine of the virginity of Mary (James being Jesus’ brother) [202]. An interesting possibility, and there may be some truth in it, but biblical Christians accord equal respect -- and obedience -- to the teaching of both James and Paul.
- The Ebionite movement continuing to teach the theology of James [272]. Yet biblical scholars note that this movement wasn't really a Christian movement, since they rejected Christ's divinity. In Zealot Aslan seems to believe that James believed in the Second Coming of his brother -- in contradiction to the Ebionites.
- Judaean Christians shared with none but their fellow Jews. Love thy neighbor means one's fellow Jew [121]. But what about Luke 23:34, Luke 10:25-37? Matthew 5:38-48?
Ancient languages
- Greek errors: Matt 11:12 – the kingdom “operates by force” [251]. In Acts 15, Aslan has krino mean “I decree” rather than "It is my judgment" [270]. Overstated! He spells basileus (king) as "Baselius" [234].
- Hebrew: He denies that in Isa 7:14 'almah is virgin. Yet the point is that that was how the ancient Jews understood it, as evidenced in the LXX, where 'almah is rendered parthenos. Aslan writes Xristos and Yesus ha Xristos – confusing the two languages!
- Latin: dinarii should be denarii. Aslan claims Pilatus means “skilled with the javelin” [46] -- yet at most this means "armed with a javelin."
- Other: the kingdom of Medea [139] should be Media.
Dating & Chronology
- Paul’s conversion 37 AD [265] (more like 32 or 33 – which Aslan admits, citing Martin Hengel).
- Phil about 49 AD [170 AD]. But Paul hadn't even visited Corinth that early. Philippi wasn't a city visited on the First Missionary Journey!
- 1 Cor written 50 AD [175]. This is too early -- See the Gallio Inscription.
- Peter and Paul were executed 66 AD [196]. He should have given a range of acceptable dates, since the persecution began in 64, and Nero died in 68.
- All four the gospels were written after 70 AD [75]. But most scholars put Mark c.65 AD. (E.g., the fire and other details of 70 AD are missing in the prophecy of Mark 13.)
- Paul wrote only 7 letters….. [264]
- Aslan makes it sounds like Nero sends Vespasian after Masada. (I had to read this section three times to figure out what was going on!) Simple proof-reading would have caught that [60-61].
- Gospel of Thomas in late 1st or early 2nd century. More likely dates to the late 2nd C.
- Eusebius’ church history Aslan puts in the 3rd C – yet it was probably written in the 320s. All scholars consider his Historia Ecclesiae a 4th-century work.
- The Sepphoris synagogue(s) date to the 5th and 6th century. Yet Aslan implies that the Byzantine period synagogue was there in the 1st century [38]. Aslan fails to mention that, as he paints a picture of cosmopolitan and wordly Jews.
- Jesus had a two-year ministry. John's gospel suggests a ministry of 3 or 3.5 years.
Old Testament / Judaism errors
- Aslan mocks the notion that the law was given through angels, as Stephen claims in Acts 7 [168] Later, however, he but admits the idea does come into Judaism (as we see in Gal 3:19).
- Passover celebration is mainly a political act [144]. While there are political nuances, it was far more than a mere political statement.
- Aslan uncritically accepts the tradition that when serving in the Holy of Holies the high priest was tied to a rope, in case he died while on duty [9] , without letting the reader know that this is in doubt. The tradition might be true, but it is a mistake to present a possibility as a fact.
- His view of the Conquest is extreme (utter annihilation) [15]. The O.T. depicts a replacement of the Canaanite population through war, flight, conversion, and intermarriage.
- David spoke about himself in Ps 16, not the Messiah [166-167]. Yet that doesn’t mean the application is wrong. In general, the early Christians used texts to prove Jesus was the Christ that were widely accepted in Judaism.

VI. [OUTLANDISH] QUOTES

Paul insists he is far superior to all the other apostles [185]. “Simply put, Paul does not consider himself the thirteenth apostle. He thinks he is the first" [186].
About the Gospels: “Factual accuracy was irrelevant. What mattered was Christology, not history” [154]. Yet Christianity is a historical religion—a faith anchored in history. If God did not visit our world, if Jesus did not take our sins on the Cross and rise from the dead, then our faith is vain.
“Simon Peter was “displaying the reckless confidence of one uninitiated in the scriptures” [166]. Yet I’m not so sure those lacking training would have been as confident as Simon Peter. After all, he was learned in that he had received three years of training from the best teacher on earth -- far better than the typical course of being a disciple to a rabbi.
“Paul had no idea who the living Jesus was, nor did he care" [187].
“Paul’s breezy dismissal of the very foundations of Judaism was as shocking to the leaders of the Jesus movement in Jerusalem as it would have been to Jesus himself” [186].
“The story of the zealous Galilean peasant and Jewish nationalist who donned the mantle of messiah and launched a foolhardy rebellion against the corrupt Temple priesthood and the vicious Roman occupation comes to an abrupt end, not with his death on the cross, nor with the empty tomb, but at the first moment one of his followers [like Paul] dares suggest he is God” [169]. But Paul was thoroughly Jewish. The idea of Christ’s divinity was not easily digestible -- especially to a Jew.

VII. CONCLUSION

The thesis – that Jesus was a failed revolutionary – is a failed thesis. It is deeply flawed.
Aslan makes the same mistake made by those who rejected Jesus as true Messiah in his own day!
Aslan admits that once he rejected Christianity he was “confused and spiritually unmoored” [xix]. This shows in his book.
One appropriate adjective for the thesis / book: tendentious.
Zealot received many accolades—I notice that none are from biblical scholars.
Should people read this book?
- Although I cannot recommend the book as a source for solid information, there are some interesting parts.
- Further, so much is skewed that many Christians will be put off by Zealot. They will feel belittled.
- However, teachers, preachers, and other church leaders should know their Bibles well enough to be able to refute these claims, to give truth and confidence to those who may be rattled by teachers like Aslan. That means someone needs to wade in and devote some time to untangling the critics' arguments.

Books & Movies: Risen (Joseph Fiennes)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Great lines:

"The gods are angry" [Lucius]. -- "One of them is [Clavius]."
"Did he say anything?" [Clavius] -- "It is finished [centurion]."
"I believe Yeshua will embrace you (Clavius) as a brother, even as you slew him" [Joseph of Arimathea].
"I pray not to thee today, divine Mars, but to the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh. Hear me. Take back your favor in defense of these people I seek, and relinquish them to me. If you do this with clear and recognizable signs, I found two temples for you and initiate games in your honor" [Clavius].
"They... are... everywhere!" [Bartholomew, on being asked where the disciples are hiding.]
"But in the end, what does it matter? In a few years, that'll be us (a corpse)" [Pontius Pilate].
"Welcome, Clavius. Come join us, brother; there are no enemies here" [Yeshua].
"I have seen two things which I cannot reconcile: a man dead without question, and that same man alive again" [Clavius].
"My right hand turned against me. How could he follow [Yeshua]?" [Pilate] -- "Perhaps it's true" [Lucius]. -- "Well, if it is, I'll kill him again" [Pilate].
"I don't have every answer; we're astounded, too!" [Peter, to Clavius]
"I don't even know what to ask" [Clavius]. -- "Speak your heart" [Yeshua]. -- "I can't reconcile all this with the world I know" [Clavius].

Room to improve:

Although grace is abundant, I would have liked a little more on repentance. Jesus is warm and accepting, smiling and encouraging, without any anger or rebuke. Perhaps he could have been a little more serious. On the other hand, he interacts relatively little with the religious establishment -- those whom we know he would have been strongest in his denunciations.
At the end, Clavius walks off on his own -- he's an independent Christian. What about Christian community?
Pentecost is missed out completely.
The biblical consultant(s) made many errors, unless the screen writers paid little attention. Remarkable accuracy of detail often gives way to inaccuracy or unnecessary speculation.

Strong points:

The characters are real people. Believable dialogue.
It was interesting seeing the foolishness of the cross through the eyes of a Roman soldier.
Risen stimulates us to re-vision the events surrounding the life and death of Jesus.
Good development of idea of Kingdom of God not being based on power.
Jesus' bodily resurrection. (It's not rationalized or spiritualized away.)
No attempt to undermine faith (common in documentaries and even in some films about Christ), or promote sectarian doctrine.
Clavius is forced to choose -- good! We can all relate to him. Even though he still has some changing to do at the end of the film, so do we... None of us has arrived.

Books & Movies: The Life of Pi

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Note: These thoughts on Yann Martel's book (2001; motion picture 2012) will certainly mean the most to those who have read the book or seen the movie.

Books & Movies: The Shack

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

What was cool

Nearly all the theology is orthodox (God, man, the atonement, righteousness judgment, justice, spirituality...)
Especially good is the exploration of the dynamics among the members of the Trinity.
Deity is neither male nor female, though he initially appears to the protagonist as female because his own father-wound is so deep.
The Shack helps us wrestle with the problem of pain, and often on a very personal and emotional level.

What was off

The notion that God does not punish -- that sin is its own punishment (p.122). While there is some truth to this point, the book misses the punitive aspect of divine judgment.
"Spending eternity in hell" (p.16) reflects traditional eschatology. For more, see Fudge, The Fire that Consumes, or my paper on Terminal Punishment.
It is implied, though not stated, that all roads lead to God (p.184). Sounds right in the modern ear; comes rather close to a "politically correct" take on tolerance, in contrast to Jesus' own teaching in Matthew 7:13-14.
Some will find overly literal interpretation of some of the poetic parts of the Bible (e.g. 136).

Interesting...

Reference to The Matrix (p.126). Compare "Papa" with "the oracle."
In Maori religion, the earth mother is called "Papa" (a complete coincidence).
This book will be of special interest to fathers, and in fact to anyone coming from a background of family dysfunction.

Conclusion

For those who value spiritually connecting with others, reaching out to unbelievers, this book is good news!
The book may be written in 2007, but it will be hot for a long time. The Shack is making many people think about God. May it continue to do so!

Books & Movies: The Secret

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

One spring day towards the end of 2004, Australian Rhonda Byrne discovered a secret - the secret laws and principles of the universe. Almost immediately her life was transformed, as she began to put into practice what she had learned. And in that moment her greatest wish, and mission, were to share this knowledge with the world.

In The Secret, a book and video and website, Rhonda Byrne offers us a better way of life. If we can envision what we want, truly believing it will happen and willing to act on our dream, then it will happen. We'll get what we desire. We can see debts disappear. We can lose weight. We can become millionaires. (No wonder it's so popular!) It was also made into a pretty nice feel-good movie (despite some questionable philosophy).

"You are God in a physical body. You are spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as you. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet." (The Secret, p.164. New York: Atria Books, 2006).

Guests on Oprah, backing up Byrne's claims, share rags-to-riches stories. If you want to be like them, you will want to know "The Secret." Byrne promises things will go our way -- the universe will work for us -- when we learn the secret.

As I tuned in to Oprah, I heard the following words from guests on her show:

"We have an absolutely unlimited power within us... We are all just energy... Thought and feeling control the flow of energy."

"We all have our own magnetic power... The thoughts we think -- our feelings -- send out a wave into the universe, and anything that's vibrating in a similar level gets attracted into our life."

Thus "we create our own reality, attracting into our lives the things we want, which means that our thoughts are the most powerful things about our lives."

This is because of a fundamental law in the universe: "What you focus on expands... Our thoughts, feelings, actions all have to be firing at the same time..." There are "no coincidences – everything happens by principles and laws in our universe... This is "a time when spiritual traditions and science are in total agreement." Those who discovered the path before us include Einstein, Newton, Edison, Plato, Carnegie, Churchill, and the Buddha!

This is "so exciting – now the secret has reached mass appeal!"

New Age
As I see it, yes, mass appeal will result whenever you offer people whatever they want. Now I'm aware that Oprah is an amazing woman who has accomplished some pretty amazing things. She has given hope to millions, and has become a highly respected voice and source of inspiration. And yet in my opinion, and to speak bluntly, The Secret, promoted on her show, is taking millions for a ride. After all, you can't change reality just by thinking.

One of my website readers wrote in, "Having been a young adult in the '70s and not yet a Christian, I was into the metaphysical movement now known as the New Age movement. It is all the same self-focus, greedy, mind over matter mumbo jumbo, and to top it all off, The Secret is really old news. There is a book called Three Magic Words (written about 30 years ago) that is full of all the same ideas, and in the end the three magic words are: ''I am God.'' This book gives you the notion that you have the same power that God has, so why would you need him anymore."

Prosperity theology
What makes it so sad that professing Christians are buying into this is that what is being proclaimed on the talk shows is essentially the same as that being peddled by preachers of prosperity theology. (They are those who chant, "Name it and claim it.") This is also called the word-faith movement. Mark 11:24 says that if, when we pray, we believe we have already received, it will be ours. But Jesus is speaking in hyperbole (deliberate overstatement for effect). He also said that if we pray with faith we can move mountains. (Again, an instance of hyperbole -- no mountains have ever literally been moved.) For more on the interpretation of Mark 11:24, click here. [Website membership required]

This kind of thinking actually has more in common with oriental "mind-over-matter" and New Age thinking than it does with the gospel. Bible readers should be able to see through this, especially since it closely resembles the false doctrine 1 - 2 John, 1 Timothy, and Colossians were written to combat: Gnosticism. For more on what the Bible says about personal vision and the possibility of altering the future by vision, click here.

According to recent surveys, 95% of pentecostal/charismatic churches proclaim prosperity theology. That is, they too teach that if you are spiritual enough, you'll get what you want. Why would churches teach this? Maybe because churches tend to reflect the values of the societies in which they live (what the Bible calls the world -- 1 John 2:15-17), and most Americans have been sucked in to this erroneous thinking. This is wrong because it creates a class of Christians who are tempted to appreciate Christ for what he does for us. This is contrary to the spirit of Luke 17:7-10.

Conclusion
Where is God in all of this? Where is the Cross? Where is self-denial? Jesus said, in Luke 9:23, that when we follow him we are going to have to carry our cross -- to suffer. To be even more blunt than I have been so far, I would call "The Secret" nothing but the gospel of "Self and Wealth." No doubt its promoters will become richer and richer, falsely holding out the unreachable hope of riches for the millions who buy their books and videos.

There's a secret, all right. The secret is that the prophets of "the secret" are destined to become rich (the very thing they proffer), while those who help them realize their dreams are never likely to realize their own. I mentioned Byrne's concept to one of our teenagers. Her response: "That doesn't make sense! If you're God, then why wouldn't you always get what you want?" I replied that the answer would be "Because you are failing to realize who you are: that you are God" (!).

Claims Byrne, "The Secret is the culmination of centuries of great thinkers, scientists, artists and philosophers. Here we take an exciting look behind the scenes of The Secret’s life-transforming power." I hope that we are able to smell a rat -- the logical impossibility of such a "secret." And also to resist all perversions of the gospel. (And avoid being quickly parted from our hard-earned money.)

Further study

Michael Shermer shares his views on Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. Click here to read his article in Scientific American.
Click to visit Byrne's own website, The Secret.
Christianity Today also features an article on this popular book/DVD. Click here for Mel Lawrenz's critique.
You might also want to listen to my book review of The Alchemist (in this series).

To Marry or Not To Marry: Staying Single

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures to consider:

Genesis 2 -- marriage is the norm
Matthew 19:10-12
1 Corinthians 7:6

Biblical celibacy has two components

Companionship
The sexual element
It is assumed that church leaders will be married (1 Timothy 3), as correctly understood by Orthodox clergy.

Celibacy over-emphasized in the 2nd century

An overreaction to Gnosticism, which deprecated sexuality
See Ignatius, the Shepherd of Hermas, Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Athenagoras
Although the early church took celibacy too far, we (in our culture) are guilty of the opposite error.

Who should stay single?

Those with the gift
Those with certain sexual struggles
Quite possibly those who, like Jesus, are destined to die young
Those who, like Paul, lead a lifestyle inimical to marriage
Some older brothers and sisters who, for whatever reason, are not likely to find a spouse.

Final challenges

Don't tease the single. This can be embarrassing; it has the power to shame people into marriage; it entails a certain thoughtlessness, a failure to think theologically about celibacy. (If you are a single and are being teased, consider telling others how you feel. And do your best not to be touchy -- such attempts at humor are rarely made spitefully.)
Social pressure is strong enough (to marry; to have children; to favor male children. Various stigmas are all too familiar to our single brothers and sisters.
Yet Christians must not capitulate to culture, for we follow a countercultural Messiah.

To Marry or Not To Marry: Paul, Church Fathers, Conclusion

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 Cor 7:10-12, 15
1. “Not I, but the Lord” and “I, not the Lord.” Paul reveals the Lord’s will on an issue common in the Greco-Roman world: mixed marriages. (“I, not the Lord.”) A Christian has a pagan spouse.
2. Paul and Jesus agree on the subject of divorces between covenant people. Assuming there are no grounds for divorce—and no remarriage—then anyone who deserts a Christian spouse is still married to them. Ideally reconciliation will be reached. Otherwise, one must live as a single person.
3. Paul accepted neglect (abandonment) as grounds for divorce and remarriage. He refers also to withholding of conjugal love. Thus the promises of the marriage vows are in the background of everything he writes. In 1 Cor 7 Paul stresses the 4 obligations of marriage (corresponding to the 4 grounds for divorce).
4. Divorce by separation: Desertion is grounds for divorce as it deprives one’s spouse of essential marital rights.
5. Since separation was divorce in the Roman world, if the unbeliever left, the Christian spouse was free to remarry (“not under bondage”). If Christians could not remarry, they would still be in bondage to a spouse who had left, even if that spouse had remarried.
6. 1 Cor 7:39: Paul frees the woman from the strictures of levirate marriage (Deut 25:5) – the brother of the widow is required to marry her so that her dead husband’s lineage will not die out. The language of 1 Cor 7:39 (free to marry whoever she may please) is part of all standard ancient divorce documents.
7. Thus it appears that widows and divorcees had equal rights – permission to remarry. Yet the traditional church interpretation forbids remarriage except after death or adultery. This does not concur with the understanding of 1stcentury rabbis, Jesus, and Paul.
Paul would say to us today
1. Believers should never cause a divorce, and must not use (any-cause) divorce.
2. If an unbelieving spouse leaves you, you may remarry.
3. A believer who wrongly got a divorce should strive to be reconciled, not remarry (which would make the divorce irreversible). If they’re already remarried, of course, it’s too late.
The Church Fathers (Patristic writers)
1. Incorrect teaching because the original debate—the issues of a bygone age—had been forgotten.
2. 2nd-C Judaism and Christianity alike overreacted in the area of sexual ethics.
3. The early church often erred on the side of harshness.
  1. No forgiveness for those who deny Christ.
  2. By the 3rdcentury many leaders allowed only one sin after baptism (and some, none at all!). This led to the custom (4th C.) of delaying baptism till near one’s time of death.
  3. Severe church discipline.
  4. Skewed theology of martyrdom.
  5. Immortality of the soul – and the concomitant doctrine of infinite hell, increasingly explicit…
  6. Asceticism (leading in part to the rise of monasticism): Harsh treatment of the body (Col 2:20-23) easily led to harsh treatment of people.
  7. Church polity—the rise of the bishop, the decline of autonomy, and increasing heavy-handedness.
  8. Celibacy—a good thing, according to Jesus and Paul (Matt 19:11-12; 1 Cor 7:7), although it came to be viewed as a badge of spirituality. In the western church, celibacy was more and more expected of “clergy.”
  9. Divorce—lack of grace, lack of appreciation of nuance.
  10. Remarriage – discouraged, despite Paul’s counsel in 1 Tim 5.
4. Did the 2nd-century church use certificates of divorce? How would we recognize whether such a document had been written for a Christian or a non-Christian?
  1. Keep in mind that the Gentiles wouldn't have this certificate—by far the greater number of Christ-followers—and in Palestine the Christians were still viewed as Jews.
  2. So it probably would not be obvious in a such document whether someone was a Jew (non-Christian) or a Jewish Christian. (This was long before the multitudinous documents of medieval canon law!)
  3. After the Patristic period
    1. The Catholic Church sacramentalized marriage.
      1. No release.
      2. A horrific form of entrapment, for some.
    2. Protestants normally allowed divorce for adultery and desertion.
    3. Later, liberal Protestants (today) are back to “no-fault” marriage.
Final thoughts
1. The four grounds for a valid divorce are found in one’s wedding vows. All are mentioned in the OT; two are mentioned and two more alluded to in the NT. These include adultery, abuse, abandonment, and neglect.
2. Without proper grounds, a second marriage is adultery.
  1. And yet… we are not told to break up a second marriage, even if improperly grounded.
  2. For if we did, then there would be two wrongs. Consider 2 Sam 12, or John 4.
3. Divorce is a last resort.
  1. Believers should never be the cause of a divorce—that is, they should not break their own marriage vows, or behave badly in hopes that will trigger a divorce.
  2. Nor should they initiate a groundless divorce—that is, where a spouse hasn’t broken his or her wedding vows.
4. Cautious humility required, because of:
  1. Naïvete. There are significant gaps in our knowledge. Background information is needed! For too long we may have been taught a naïve way of interpreting the Bible. The meaning of a biblical passage isn't always obvious. Interpretation is essential. Perspicuity of scriptures?
  2. Legalism: It’s too easy for all of us to drift into legalism. It’s easier sometimes to make a rule than to do extra reading, speak with those who know more than we do, or patiently explore the nuance of scripture. Nor will we learn if our hearts are full of hate and legalism.
  3. Pride: We tend to think we are right.
A word to church leaders—7 strong suggestions
1. Read critically—not just books supporting our own view!
  1. David Instone-Brewer, the world’s preeminent expert on 1stcentury M&D customs and documents.
    1. Visit his website, https://www.divorce-remarriage.com. I-B is especially helpful because he provides the ancient Jewish and pagan sources, which paint of picture of expectations and practices in the ancient world.
    2. Click here for a précis of his two books.
  2. Jerry Jones (former head of the Bible Department, Harding College; elder, Boston Church of Christ; with his wife, teaches widely on marriage). Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage: Seen Through the Character of God and the Mind of Jesus (Joplin, MO: College Press, 2016).
    1. His position coincides with Instone-Brewer’s.
      1. “The ‘guilty’ and ‘innocent’ parties do not have to be identified.
      2. A divorce severs the marriage, and the couple is no longer married ‘in God’s eyes.’
      3. A past, failed marriage (or marriages) does not demand a future life of singleness.
      4. Marriages that are destructive or abusive do not have to be maintained until a spouse is sexually unfaithful” (127).
    2. Jones’s specific advice: “Before the decision to end the marriage is made, efforts to prevent divorce should be exhausted and the following questions considered:
      1. What does the character of God dictate?
      2. How does the mind of Christ impact this decision?
      3. Are any of the 4 elements of marriage being violated?” (p.126).
2. Encourage people to think. Don’t tell them what to do. Jesus often did not immediately answer questions.
  1. “Who appointed me a judge or arbiter…?” “The Law—how do you read it?” “Come and see.” “Bring me a denarius.” “Go and learn what this means.”
  2. Biblical principles internalized help us to become spiritual people, instead of legalists (who tend to read the Bible like a rulebook).
3. Consider the grounds for divorce carefully.
  1. Verbal abuse – the husband is not protecting his wife – a violation of his vow.
  2. Of course pornography is a violation of the wedding vows. However, that doesn’t mean the offended party should initiate a divorce. That’s up to her [him]. Yet there’s no need to wait to divorce until intercourse has taken place.
  3. Just because someone has stopped coming to church, he isn’t necessarily in the category of the “unbeliever” who leaves the faithful spouse (1 Cor 7). His faithful spouse should not divorce him if things can be worked out. Marriage matters can be intensely stressful, and I wouldn’t take someone’s failure to turn up for a couple of weeks—even if they announce they’re done with church—as the final word. They could well come back.
4. The victim of broken vows is normally the one who can best decide when the marriage is over—not his or her spouse.
  1. Especially when there is abuse in a marriage.
  2. “Only the Lord knows the heart… We cannot leave it up to the minister or a church leadership team to decide when a marriage ends; it is up to the individual victim, in prayer before the Lord. Only they and the Lord know what their life is really like. Only they know if their partner has expressed repentance, and only they will have to live with the consequences of the decision” (Instone-Brewer).
  3. I’m not saying church leaders should never be involved. But sometimes we are unnecessarily involved—perhaps often siding with the husband over the wife, or siding with the spouse with the more pleasant personality.
5. Refer the couple (or one of the spouses) to pastoral counseling if you’re not a professional.
  1. And even if you are a trained counselor, make sure your counsel is truly biblical, and not just a reflection of your denomination’s position.
  2. “Marriage counseling is often hampered by the lack of a coherent biblical approach to divorce and remarriage… A Christian counselor can say with confidence that believers do have grounds for divorce in cases of adultery, abuse or neglect but that Jesus asks us to forgive partners who repent after breaking their vows. Jesus allows us to divorce a ‘hardhearted’ partner, but neither he nor Paul chose to define how much neglect is too much—unlike the rabbis, who defined the minimum amount of food, clothing and conjugal love that was due. This biblical teaching gives people who are suffering within marriages both an encouragement to persevere and a safety net when they find they cannot cope with it anymore. They can, if necessary, divorce their ‘hard-hearted’ partner in the knowledge that God himself was forced down this route when Israel hardheartedly broke her marriage vows to him… Divorce is never good, but sometimes it is the only way to end the evil of a broken marriage” (Instone-Brewer, 170-171).
6. Always be discreet; maintain confidentiality.
  1. Marriages should not be discussed in leaders’ meetings or staff meetings.
  2. There are laws governing the disclosure of personal details.
7. Relate respectfully to other leaders who may not have arrived at the same conclusions you have. Although how we handle divorce and remarriage is important, it isn’t a central issue of the faith. It’s a “middle circle” item.
The apostle Paul

To Marry or Not To Marry: The Teachings of Jesus, Pt. 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

As we have learned, in Matt 19 / Mark 10 Jesus is weighing in on the Shammai-Hillel debate. He rejects the any-cause divorce of Hillel.
Familiarity with this debate is crucial if we are to appreciate the interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees.
Yet Mark doesn’t mention the exceptions. In Mark 10 it sounds like all divorce is wrong. (Which it is—often—but many times it’s not the problem it’s the solution.)
Knowledge of the ancient world is essential for accurate translation of ancient languages, balanced and nuanced theology, and appreciation of the topography of scripture.
By 2nd C, the interpretation of the House of Hillel rules. “Any cause” divorce is now the only kind among the Jews. The condensed language of the remarriage passages was no longer intelligible. Critical facts relating to divorce and remarriage were forgotten.
But we’re in a great position to be better informed. Since 1850 every major commentary on Matt has covered the S/H disagreement. Sadly, many scholars don’t pass on this information to their church. Most predictably follow the party line of their denomination. Let’s not do that. You can study the ancient sources and become informed. If you want to do some historical study, I-B’s books are very helpful.
Let’s do our best to respect God’s Word, taking into account these ancient sources. (As for 2nd-4th century Church Fathers, we will address these in the final talk.) By “ancient sources” I mean essential background information yielded by rabbinic Judaism, Roman law, and numerous M&D documents.

2. Matt 5:31-32

Jesus overstates (hyperbole) to grab our attention. Immorality wasn’t the only ground for divorce in the Bible. Jesus is saying that divorce must be justified.
"Makes her commit adultery?" The woman becomes defiled, or adulterated—assuming she remarries; she isn't automatically an adulteress.
Matt 5:32 literally understood directly contradicts Deut 24:1-4, which permitted remarriage after divorce.

3. Hyperbole

Common in Semitic speech and throughout the Bible. Examples: Hate your father and mother; everything is possible for the one who believes; speaking in languages of angels; faith moving mountains.
This section of Matt 5: v.28 is full of hyperbole.
- Examples: lust is adultery in the heart (v.28); pluck out an eye (v.29); lop off a hand (v.30); remarriage is adultery (v.32).
- Elsewhere in Matthew, consider 6:3; 7:5; 19:24; and 23:24.
- Thus interpreting this part of Matt 5 figuratively is well precedented and exemplified.
Non-literal interpretations don’t necessarily weaken the force of Scripture, or make it impossible to settle on a clear meaning. Jesus clearly (and shockingly) teaches:
- Monogamy; divorce not compulsory in the case of adultery (“allowed,” not commanded”); marriage not compulsory for anybody; hence infertility is not a legitimate ground for divorce; divorce for "any matter" is invalid—and so remarriage after this divorce is adulterous; marriage to be lifelong—it’s against God's will to break up a marriage.

4. Jesus' position

He's not saying:
- Divorce is always wrong—but there must be valid grounds.
- Sexual immorality is the only ground for divorce—only that this is the topic of Deut 24.
- Remarriage is wrong. Craig Keener: “If the exception [of Matt 5 and 19] permits divorce, the average first-century Jewish reader would assume that it permitted remarriage, unless explicitly informed otherwise; part of the very nature of the divorce document was to free the wife to remarry.”
- Divorced persons are still mystically bound to their ex-spouse, unless that person has died.
- Those remarried without proper grounds must return to the previous spouse.
  - He doesn’t tell the Samaritan woman to return to her first—or fifth—husband.
  - Two wrongs don’t make a right: breaking up remarriages based on any-cause divorce and requiring a return to one’s original spouse. (This is actually forbidden in Deut 24:4.)
- We should disfellowship the divorcee, or glare at them disapprovingly.
He is saying:
- Divorce for just "any cause" is invalid—and so remarriage after this divorce is adulterous.
- We should respect God’s original plan: monogamy with fidelity.
- Celibacy is also good.
- Even if a divorce is justified, we should be slow to carry it out. Consider God's "divorce" of Israel and Judah.
- Marriage is meant to be lifelong—it’s against God's will to break up a marriage. Work at your marriage!

5. Conclusion

There are some things in the Bible that we don’t understand without some background information, or without the benefit of careful study.
The ancient dispute: Is any-cause divorce legitimate, or are grounds necessary, as stipulated in Torah?
Jesus’ teaching turned popular teaching on D&R on its head—not because he was forbidding D or R, but because most religious teachers had drifted so far from God’s holy standards.

Next: Paul’s on divorce and remarriage in 1 Cor 7. We depart from the Jewish world and enter the Greco-Roman world.

To Marry or Not To Marry: The Teachings of Jesus, Part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Mark 10:

2-3, 10-12

Jesus is quizzed. Where does he stand on the divorce issue?
Mark indicates absolutely no exceptions!
Don’t read through filter of other passages (like 1 Cor or Matt). Mark was writing for a Roman audience. It is doubtful they had access to Matthew—if Matthew was even written yet—and the Jewish issues addressed in Matthew would not have been all that relevant to them.
Matthew gives more information, alluding to the “any cause” divorces common in the 1st. Notice how Matthew differs from Mark 10:2-12: “I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery” (Matt 19:9).
See a parallel in Mark 8:11-12 / Matt 12:39, where Mark indicates to exception, but Matthew does.
Just as Mark doesn’t give the whole story, neither does Matthew. We need to get behind the scenes. It’s easy to draw incorrect conclusions if we don’t realize the nature of gospel writing—abbreviation, arrangement, simplification. It won’t do to just quote a passage and claim the Bible "means what it says." Rather, we need to be careful interpreters.
It turns out that what appears to be both simple and absolute (Jesus’ words on divorce in Mark 10) turns out to be neither absolute—there are exceptions—nor as simple as we may have thought. Back in those days, there were no law firms such as Jensen Family Law, and that is why topics such as divorces resided in grey areas.

Matt 19:3-11

Here’s the backstory Matthew leaves out—as it would have been of little benefit to his readership.
- House of Shammai (50 BC – AD 30)
  - Limited grounds for divorce to the four in Deut 24 and Exod 21.
  - “The indecency of the matter” (the wording in Deut 24) they took to mean sexual infidelity.
  - Their influence was waning in Jesus’ day, though divorce for broken marriage vows (once the infidelity was proven in court) was still practiced up to 70 AD (when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, along with its temple).
  - By Jesus’ day, no-fault divorce (“any cause”) was predominant. What’s that?
- House of Hillel (110 BC – AD 10) – grandfather of Gamaliel, tutor of the apostle Paul.
  - “Any cause” divorce. If your wife burned the dinner, or you no longer found her attractive, you can get a new one.
  - This "no fault" divorce was often considered more righteous than Shammai's stricter ruling, since it brought less shame on the family.
  - It was in the ascendant in Jesus’ day. “Any cause” divorce was the new normal.
- Listen again to the question: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” Is the question about legality of divorce? Of course not, since divorce is lawful—it's in the Torah. Or is the question about “divorce… for any cause”? No quote marks in original ancient languages.
  - NET: “For any cause.” NJKV: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” NASB: “for any reason at all.” NIV: “for any and every reason” (helpfully paraphrased) NLT: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?” “Just any reason” shows better understanding of the ancient disagreement than does “for any cause.”
- Asked where he stands on divorce issue: Liberal, any-cause? or Conservative, grounds-required?
  - Jesus agrees with Shammaites (divorce must have grounds) and repudiates Hillelites.
  - Yet he goes farther, pleading for return to spirit of God’s original plan.
  - “Jesus used the same terminology as the Shammaites, in the same context, at the same period, and in a debate where Shammaites or their rivals the Hillelites were present. We may therefore confidently conclude that… when the Shammaites said ‘except… for a matter of indecency’ in the context of this debate about ‘any matter’ divorces, they meant that Deuteronomy 24:1 allows no type of divorce except that for indecency. They did not mean that Scripture allows no divorce except that for indecency—because they allowed other divorces on the grounds in Exodus 21.” (David Instone-Brewer)
- Also, in commenting on Deut 24, Jesus is not ruling out remarriage.
  - He does not explicitly state that a person can remarry after divorcing someone for marital unfaithfulness. Perhaps this is because it was assumed.
  - In 1st C Judaism, if a person divorced another person for any reason (Hillel) or only for cause (Shammai), they were allowed to remarry. Shammaites disagreed with Hillelites, but recognized their marriages as valid, even if lamentable.
  - No 1st century Jewish group prohibited remarriage after divorce. In the Roman world, remarriage was mandatory after 18 months; not to remarry was to break the law. Thus it would be quite strange if Jesus and Paul taught against remarriage.
- Nor is Jesus explicitly ruling out other grounds for divorce.

Keep in mind:

The language of Matt 19 is compact and simplified: all grounds v. specific grounds. That is the debate—whether no-fault divorce is allowed, not whether divorce is allowed.
Mark 10 and Luke (16:18) are even more compact—no exceptions at all. In the Roman (Mark) and Greek (Luke) worlds, divorce was separation. It was easy and it did not afford protection to the vulnerable. The Jewish world (Matthew) was different.
The Bible is easily misunderstood if we fail to take into account the nature of biblical language, or if we don’t read these texts with an understanding of the background situation.

Does this make us uncomfortable: the claim we need history, geography, and language to understand the text?

Goal: to understand issues like the original recipients of the Scriptures.
There are significant gaps in our knowledge of ancient world. Are we surprised there are some things in the ancient world we don’t understand?
Similarly, there are gaps in the theology of the Bible.
- In Scripture we don’t have a developed theology of the afterlife, or the communion meal, or how often Christians assembled. The Bible has nothing directly to say about marijuana.
- And there’s no comprehensive doctrine of marriage, divorce, and remarriage—which means we have homework to do if we want to come to informed conclusions.

Conclusion

I’m not saying we can’t understand scripture unless we are theologians, or must know the biblical languages, or that the scriptures are generally murky, or self-contradictory.
Quite the contrary: We can understand them, some quite easily and quickly, but others only with serious spadework.

To Marry or Not To Marry: The Old Testament

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Podcast notes:

Exod 21:10-11: If a married man takes a second (slave) wife, then the food, clothing, and sexual love—material support plus emotional support—received by the first wife must not be reduced. If the husband reneges, the first wife may be released from the marriage.

The rabbis correctly saw that if a slave had such rights, so did a free woman, who implicitly expected his faithfulness as a husband.
If any of these four rights is neglected, there may be grounds for legitimate divorce. The four grounds are withdrawal of physical support (food or clothing), withdrawal of emotional support (manifest in sexual engagement), and (implicitly) adultery.
Incidentally, ancient Sumerian law required that a man provide a prostitute who has born him children with gifts of grain, oil, and clothing. To withhold material support, in other words, was illegal.

Deut 24:1-4: The purpose of the divorce certificate was to protect the woman against future claims by her husband, thus enabling her to remarry. (A certificate not needed by a man, since he could marry any Jewish woman he wanted—as polygamy was condoned in the OT.)

A man unsure of whether the first husband was coming back to claim his woman, or the children, or her assets, would be far less likely to marry her.
The divorcée needs a clean break!
“[The] certificate, which was the right of a few privileged women in some ancient Near Eastern legal systems, was extended by the Pentateuch to all divorced women. This certificate freed women from the fear that their ex-husbands could reclaim them after abandoning them. The wording of the ancient Near Eastern certificates was similar to the traditional rabbinic get, which states ‘you are free to remarry any man you wish.’” (David Instone-Brewer)
The right of remarriage after divorce is implied in Lev 21:7, 13-14—others could marry a divorced woman, but not a priest.
Deut 24 was not originally understood as referring to adultery.
- After all, the Law of Moses already had a death penalty for adultery.
- The word adultery does not appear. Rather, it is literally "the indecency of the matter." This was commonly interpreted to refer to sexual sin.
Deut 24 allows divorce, assuming there are grounds; it does not support arbitrary divorce.
This doesn’t mean there should be a divorce, only that if the innocent party initiates proceedings, she may legally divorce.
Deut 22:13-18 implies that groundless divorce was not permitted—with possible severe financial penalties to those who initiated a divorce unlawfully.
These provisions are reflected in other O.T. texts, like Deut 24:5; Psalm 132:9-16; Ezek 16:8-19; and Hos 2:5. See also Eph 5:29.

Mal 2:16

The older rendering “I hate divorce” is taken to imply that the Lord disapproves of all divorce (or most divorce). However, this translation (as in the NKJV and NRSV), is far from certain.
The Hebrew does not say “I hate,” but “he hates.” It refers to the husband: he is treating his wife hatefully.
Better translations are the ESV and the (current) NIV.
- “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.” NIV
- But if you hate [your wife] and put her away, says the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover your thoughts, says the Lord Almighty: therefore take heed to your spirit, and forsake [them] not. LXX (the Greek version of the OT, made a couple of centuries before Christ, and which was the Bible for most Jews in the time of Jesus, as the majority lived outside the land of Israel.)
Mal 2:16 is still a strong passage against divorce, but it is not a passage forbidding divorce.

Summary

The OT permitted divorce.
Four grounds for divorce can be detected in Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 24, and other passages.
The divorce certificate—still in use in Jesus’ day, and well beyond that time—extended much-needed protection to the women.
God is opposed to those who do violence to or otherwise hate and divorce their wives.

British scholar David Instone-Brewer

PhD in Rabbinic Judaism. For three years he studied the Dead Sea Scrolls, Midrashim (ancient comnmentaries/expansions of biblical texts), Mishnah (the oral law supposed received by Moses on Mt. Sinai, codified around 200 AD), Talmud (discussions of the Torah and Mishnah, written in c.400-600 AD), Philo and Josephus (the two most prominent Jewish writers of the first C. AD), and the rabbinic literature. He is well qualified to understand issues surrounding marriage and divorce in 1st C.
Two helpful books:
- Divorce & Remarriage in the Church: The Social & Literary Context (2002)—scholarly. Assumes familiarity with Hebrew and Greek.
- Divorce & Remarriage in the Church: Biblical Solutions for Pastoral Realities (2003)—for the general reader, especially those involved in counseling or pastoral work.
His work is important for the next part of our series, as we look at what Jesus said about divorce. Instone Brewer's position: “I agree with the two traditional grounds of adultery and desertion by an unbeliever, and two other OT grounds that are alluded to by Paul and Church tradition. These two are emotional neglect and material neglect and are alluded to in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5, 32-34.”

To Marry or Not To Marry: The Permanence of Marriage

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Harsh treatment of women, children, and the vulnerable in OT times: infanticide, abortion, disrespect of women.
Divorce was easy and favored the man.
1. Worse, abandoned women could be "reclaimed" by their husbands.
2. In the Middle Assyrian laws, a woman abandoned could remarry, but only after a 5-year wait.
The 1st century world of the Roman Empire
1. Divorce (divortium) = separation
2. Remarriage was a duty / expectation
  1. Roman law, 18 BC
    1. Augustine's laws, the Lex Julia de Maritandis Ordinibus (i8 a.c.F..) and Lex Papia Poppaea Nuptialis (9 s.c.E.), which were later merged into a single text (Lex Julia et Papia).
    2. Made it a duty of all Roman men age 25-60 and Roman women age 20-50 to be married. Widows could remain unmarried for two years, and divorcees for 18 months, but then they were expected to remarry.
    3. Extent of enforcement outside of Rome, Italy, or Roman cities and colonies?
3. Laws concerning remarriage were strikingly different in Judaism
  1. There was is no time limit, making it far easier for the wife to find security in another husband.
  2. Jewish men write out a divorce certificate (Deut 24). This created greater rights for women with respect to marriage and remarriage, especially because of the clean break provided by the divorce certificate. The wording of this document ended: "You are now free to marry any man you wish."
  3. Note: The OT assumes polygamy and divorce, and neither is criticized.
4. Four Jewish expectations that went beyond the demands of the Torah
  1. All must marry.
  2. Marriages must result in offspring. If not, the man could divorce his wife and try to reach this end through a new wife.
  3. Those widowed or divorced had to remarry. As in the Roman world, except for the aged, remarriage was an expectation.
  4. Divorcing one's spouse was required if he or she was involved in sexual scandal.
Sources
1. The Bible
  1. 3 or 4 OT passages
  2. A handful of passages in the gospels, plus one chapter in 1 Cor.
  3. The Bible doesn’t actually provide a comprehensive teaching on divorce and remarriage – nor on many topics we would be interested in better understanding.
2. Extra-biblical sources
  1. Over 200 Aramaic, Greek, and Latin marriage and divorce papyri.
  2. Samaritan marriage contracts.
  3. Newly discovered divorce certificates—written by a Jewish man in Masada in 72 AD, and by a woman c.125 AD.
  4. Dead Sea Scroll fragments dealing with divorce.
  5. The publication of marriage and divorce documents from geniza of the Cairo Synagogue.
  6. Extensive rabbinic evidence from the 1st C.
Vows
1. Marriage historically understood as contractual. Failure to feed, clothe, love = unfaithfulness marriage vows.
  1. Expert Davis Instone-Brewer: “Marriage in the ancient Near East was contractual, involving payments, agreed stipulations, and penalties. If either partner broke the stipulations of the contract, the innocent partner could opt for a divorce and keep the dowry. Exact parallels to these practices are found in the Pentateuch."
  2. The vows are reflected in biblical passages, such as Eph 5 (Christ as groom, church as bride) and Ezek 16.
  3. Our English marriage vows have hardly changed for 1000 years. I, N, take you, N, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; until death do us part.”
2. Broken vows are grounds for divorce.
  1. Most conservative Protestant churches: 2 grounds for divorce (adultery or desertion by nonbeliever)— otherwise no divorce and remarriage, except in the event of the death of the spouse.
  2. Catholicism: Millions are trapped in abusive or hopeless marriages. Augustine formulated the doctrine of annulment, 350 AD.
  3. Yet the strictest view isn’t always the most holy view.
    1. Pharisees made it very hard on some people
    2. Since the 2nd century, in many parts of the Christian church extremely strict rules have been created.
    3. Jesus’ yoke is easy, and his burden light (Matt 11:30).
  4. Exod 21 and Deut 24—four grounds for divorce, as we will see in our second talk.
    1. These grounds are reflected in wedding vows.
    2. God divorces Israel (Jer 3:8), 8th C. BC and Judah (Ezek 16), 6th C. BC.
      1. God kept all 4 of his marriage vows to Judah: love, food, clothing, faithfulness.
      2. Instone-Brewer: “In contrast, Judah broke all four of her vows: she did not return God’s love; she committed adultery with idols; she presented idols with the food that God had given her; and she decorated idols with the clothing and jewels with which God had honored her” (Ezek 16, esp. vs.8-13, 15, 19, 16-18).
      3. Divorce wasn’t immediate. Much grace was extended, but eventually enough was enough.
      4. When God divorces Israel, the sin isn't the divorce, but the covenant infidelity leading to divorce.
Marriage: permanent and indissoluble?
1. Matt 19:5-6: For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
  1. Yet Jesus didn’t say no one can break the marriage bond. Must not put asunder isn’t the same as cannot.
  2. This commonly cited passage does not affirm that marriage necessarily obtains until the death of a spouse.
  3. Let's look at four more claims about the indissolubility of marriage.
2. “Marriage not a contract, but a covenant.” Actually, it is both.
3. "One flesh" means lifelong marriage?
  1. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh” (1 Cor 6:15-16).
  2. Being “one flesh” doesn’t mean the two spouses are inseparably connected, any more than prostitution creates a permanent one-flesh relationship.
4. Rom 7:1-3: Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
  1. The passage concerns our relationship to the Law, not marriage.
  2. Besides, Paul doesn’t say she is no longer married to him only if her husband dies.
  3. He was keeping his illustration simple, not writing a full doctrine of remarriage.
5. “Sacrament” as in Catholicism
  1. Ordination (priesthood). Even an immoral priest remains a priest (!).
  2. Marriage too—therefore no man or woman can dissolve it.
6. None of these five claims about the permanence of marriage is biblical!
Conclusion
1. We are not mystically or sacramentally married until death. Some marriages end before either spouse has died.
2. Most marriages can be healed, if both partners are willing.
3. But broken vows will eventually kill a marriage.

Background information

Last Things: Out-of-Body Experiences & NDEs

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This podcast is an adaption of a draft chapter from my book, What’s the Truth about Heaven and Hell? Sorting Out the Confusion about the Afterlife.

The universally familiar NDE/OOB sequence:

A sense of well-being
Disembodiment
A tunnel leading to light
Visions of persons, events, and objects
Interactions with other beings, human or divine
A new evaluation of one’s life
Return to life
Most of this can be explained by the drop in oxygen levels in the brain, the buildup of carbon dioxide, reduction in neural firing, shutdown of the visual cortex, and euphoria triggered by dopamine and endorphins in the brain).

The five cases we discuss in this podcast:

Case 1: Don Piper (90 Minutes in Heaven, 2004)
Case 2: Choo Thomas (Heaven is So Real!, 2003)
Case 3: Colton Burpo (Heaven is For Real, 2010)
Case 4: Bill Wiese (23 Minutes in Hell, 2003)
Case 5: Eben Alexander, MD (Proof of Heaven, 2012)
Other recent New York Times bestsellers on heaven and hell: Richard Sigmund, My Time in Heaven (Whitaker House, 2009); Dennis and Nolene Prince, Nine Days in Heaven (Charisma House, 2011); Mark K. Baker, A Divine Revelation of Hell (Whitaker House, 1997); Kevin and Alex Malarkey, The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World (Thomas Nelson, 2011).

Scriptures referred to

Revelation 21:1
Mark 8:38; 2 Timothy 2:12
Colossians 2:18-19
John 3:13

In brief:

NDEs are universal, happening to members of every culture and religion.
Experiences tend to reflect the faith background of those undergoing them.
Many, but not all, can be rationalized in terms of physiology or psychology.
NDEs are suggestive of a spiritual world and an afterlife. They strongly imply the former, though they do not prove the latter.

Also recommended:

Dinesh D’Souza, Life After Death: The Evidence (Washington DC: Regnery Publishing, 2009). Easy to read, written for general audience.
Gary R. Habermas and J. P. Moreland, Immortality: The Other Side of Death (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1992).
Michael A. Persinger, S. G. Tiller, and S. A. Koren, “Experimental Stimulation of a Haunt Experience and Elicitation of Paroxysmal Electroencephalographic Activity by Transcerebral Complex Magnetic Fields: Induction of a Synthetic “Ghost”? Journal of Perception and Motor Skills, 90:2 (2000), 659-674.
Pim van Lommel, Ruud van Wees, Vincent Myers, and Ingrid Elfferich, “Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest,” The Lancet 358, issue 9298 (2001): 2039-45.
For more about the case of Colton Burpo, you may listen to a podcast with notes: “Heaven is for Real—Or is It?”.
Douglas Jacoby, What’s the Truth about Heaven and Hell? Sorting Out the Confusion about the Afterlife (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 2013), chapter 16.

Last Things: The Antichrist

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures

Where the word antichrist appears:
- 1 John 2:18
- 1 John 2:22
- 1 John 4:3
- 2 John 7
Passages that do not mention antichrist but which are popularly understood to refer to him:
- 2 Thessalonians 2
  - Appears to be a Roman emperor, one with the arrogance of Caligula, Nero, or Domitian.
  - Stands as a warning for all generations.
  - No mention of "antichrist."
- Revelation 13
  - Whereas the "number" of the Beast is 666, the apocalypse never identifies the Beast (Rome the false religious power) with an antichrist.
  - Applies in immediate context to the persecuting Roman Empire.
  - That antichrist is a figure who would be worshipped is a second century construction. This notion was never part of the apostolic doctrine.
The specific truth denied by the opponents of the faith is the incarnation.
- The heretics in view were Docetists, a variety of Gnostics who denied that Jesus (God) came in the flesh; rather, he appeared (Greek dokein = appear) to come in a body. These heretics were active in the late first century, at the time 1 and 2 John were written.
- They held that the physical world is evil, and therefore...
- They denied that God came to us in a body.

Conclusions

Antichrist was already present even in the first century, although those rejecting the incarnation are still among us (e.g. theological liberals who deny Jesus was God, but rather a guru whose God-consciousness inspired others).
The antichrist is not a single person; contradicts 1 John 2:18.
- Popular guesses: Hitler, Muhammad, the Pope.
- There have been, and presumably will be, many antichrists.
- Antichrist lives in those who have left the community.
Joining the antichrist is more than a subtle doctrinal shift; it is to join the agents of evil, with seriously negative cosmic implications.
It is unlikely an antichrist would come in a body, since incarnation is the very truth denied by the antichrist!
Eventual triumph comes not by inflicting death on the followers of evil, but by words that engender faith (Revelation 12:11).
We as readers of the Bible are called to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Further study: Listen to all the podcasts in the Last Things series.

Last Things: 2012 & the End of the World

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 3 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

For further study:

Read the original two-article series I wrote in London (1986). Click on Armageddon!
Read a paper on Matthew 24 and the Destruction of Jerusalem I wrote at Duke University (1980). Click here.
See also John Clayton's article The 2012 Mayan Demise of Earth.
If you'd like to learn a lot more, you might want to order Revelation and the End of the World. This audio series:
- Includes 4 lessons on audio CD (3 hours total).
- Also has the paper on The Destruction of Jerusalem.
- Contains further material (40 days of study) on every chapter of Revelation. (These notes are also available at the premium site, under N.T. Studies.)
Some failed predictions & estimates:
- Rabbi Menachem Schneerson: “The Iraqi crisis may spark the terrible war that will herald Messiah’s arrival.”
- Billy Graham: “There are spiritual forces at work in the Persian Gulf confrontation. History has gone full circle, and we are coming back to these [Bible] lands. This is not another Korea, it is not another Vietnam – it is something far more sinister and far more difficult."
- Jack Van Impe: “Four major prophecies in the Bible pinpoint Iraq and the Persian Gulf as the prelude to the Battle of Armageddon, a conflict that will begin at the Euphrates River in Iraq.”
- Lester Sumrall: “I predict the absolute fullness of [the] man’s operation in planet earth by the year 2000 AD. Then Jesus Christ shall reign from Jerusalem for 1000 years.”
- Mary Stewart Relfe: “The second coming of Christ will occur in 1997.”
- Jerry Falwell: 2000.
- Hal Lindsey: 1987 or 1988
- Jehovah's Witness predictions: 1914, 1918. 1925, 1941, 1975, etc.
Update: Interestingly, just days before 21 Dec 2012, the very moment my editor and I were exchanging emails and joking about the big day (he said I had just 9 days to get my corrections to him before it was "too late"), I received a warning from a fellow who wanted me to know that he had intelligence that am undetectable dwarf star was on a collision course with the earth. The date of impact: 21 Dec 2012.
Related podcasts in the current series:
- What Happens After Death?
- The Rapture & the Tribulation
- Thoughts on Heaven & Hell

Last Things: Armageddon

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 Jun 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

What exactly is the battle of Armageddon? Is there going to be a literal battle, as Revelation 16 seems to indicate? And how can we prepare for this awful battle at the end of time?

1. Around 95 AD, the clear and present challenge to the Christian faith is emperor worship. Domitian is the first emperor to demand it in his lifetime. The center of emperor worship was Asia Minor, esp. the province of Asia (where Ephesus is).
2. Armageddon comes from the Hebrew har-Megiddo, hill/mountain of Megiddo, on the edge of the Valley of Jezreel.
3. Revelation is a book rich with symbolism, including 100s of allusions to the Old Testament.
4. The general environs of Megiddo was a frequent battleground. Here are 34:

BC
2350 Pepi I and the "Gazelle's Head" -- Jezreel Valley
1479 Thutmose III v. Canaanites – Megiddo
1430 Amenhotep II in the Valley -- Jezreel Valley
1360-1350 Biridiya v. Labayu – Megiddo
1125 Deborah & Barak v. Sisera -- Taanach & Mount Tabor
1090 Gideon v. Midianites/Amalekites -- Hill of Moreh/Endor
1016 Saul & Jonathan v. Philistines -- Mount Gilboa
925 Shosenq I (Shishak) -- Megiddo
841 Jehu v. Joram & Ahaziah –Jezreel
609 Necho II v. Josiah -- Megiddo
218 Antiochus III v. Ptolemy IV -- Mount Tabor
55 Gabinius v. Alexander -- Mount Tabor
AD
67 Vespasian v. Jewish rebels -- Mount Tabor
940 Ikhshidids v. Abbasids – Lejjun
946 Ikhshidids v. Hamdanids -- Lejjun/Aksal
975 Byzantines v. Fatimids -- Mount Tabor
1113 Maudud v. Crusaders -- Mount Tabor
1182 Saladin v. Daburiyans – Daburiya
1182 Saladin v. Crusaders – Forbelet
1183 Saladin v. Crusaders -- Ayn Jalut
1187 Saladin v. Crusaders -- Mount Tabor
1217 Fifth Crusade v. Moslems -- Mount Tabor
1247 Ayyubids v. Crusaders -- Mount Tabor
1260 Mamlukes v. Mongols -- Ayn Jalut
1263 Mamlukes v. Hospitallers -- Mount Tabor
1264 Hospitallers/Templars v. Mamlukes -- Lejjun
1735 Zahir al-'Umar v. Nablus-Saqr alliance -- al‐Rawdah
1771-73 Zahir al-'Umar at Lejjun -- Lejjun
1799 Napoleon v. Ottomans -- Mount Tabor
1918 Allenby v. Ottomans -- Megiddo
1948 Israelis v. Arabs Mishmar -- Haemek
1948 Israelis v. Arabs -- Zarin, Megiddo, Lejjun
1967 Israelis v. Arabs -- Ramat David Airfield
1973 Israelis v. Syrians -- Ramat David Airfield

Comments on Rev 16

Background: Plagues on Egypt (Exodus 6-13)
The plagues are not fulfilled literally.
Rome will fall and this is just: Invasions, plagues, corruption, ultimate demise.
Not only to show she will fall, but to show that she has fallen….She is nothing but a cheap harlot (Rev 17).
Metaphors involving sun, moon, and stars are common in apocalyptic literature.
The God whom the Romans are defying is in control of the sun (not Apollo); he’s in charge of the entire universe!
Refusal to repent, refusal to admit God is right.
- Natural disasters
- Economic slumps
- Inept and pleasure-seeking leadership
- Stupid laws and brutality in the government
- Invasions
- All warning signs ignored! (Are we paying attention to the "warning signs" in our own day?
Eastern kings the threat to Rome – never subdued the Parthians.
Dragon (ch 12) – Satan – the true power behind Rome.
- Don’t be impressed by her power, or her false wonders.
- She is directly opposed to the Lord God Almighty!
Rev 16:16 refers to Megiddo, where Sisera thrashed Jabin, Judges 4; and Necho slew Josiah, 2 Chron 35.
Next chapter describes the Great Harlot, and in chapter 18-19 we read of her fall--the battle has in effect already taken place. Revelation is filled with different ways of describing God's ultimate defeat of Satan.
This is speaking about Rome, yet the cosmic truths behind the description could just as well refer to any enemy of God. He’s got no chance.
There are many obstacles to taking the language of Revelation literally; I am afraid the preachers on pop religious radio are misleading many. The earliest recorded "battle of Armageddon" took place nearly 4400 years ago, and there have been dozens -- perhaps scores -- of battles in the region of Megiddo since that time. In other words, "Armageddon" is an image of warfare, for it reminds us of the battles waged from time immemorial.
What would Revelation 16:16 conjure up in the mind of the reader/listener familiar with O.T. history?
- What does Gettysburg signify to an American? Normandy to a European? How about Waterloo?
- Focus on theology, not literal history. What is God trying to tell his people?
- Warfare--a showdown. The forces of good will ultimately triumph over the forces of evil, for Rome is not ultimately sovereign. Only Jesus Christ is the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Conclusions

There will be no literal "Battle of Armageddon," radio preachers notwithstanding! Yet through the millennia, there have been numerous literal battles in the vicinity of Armageddon.
It's an encouraging image, an apt picture of the cosmic battle between God and Satan, indeed! God's word assures us, in the book of Revelation, that ultimately he will vanquish every cause that sets itself up against him, his Son, and his kingdom. And in order to walk the walk of disciples, we need that assurance!
If this is not a literal battle, there is no way to prepare for it physically. And yet both testaments urge us always to be ready to meet God. So rather than stockpiling water, canned goods, and ammunition -- as some survivalist groups practice -- it is the Lord's will that we heap up righteousness and good deeds, sharing what we have (not hoarding it) with as many as possible.
Revelation 12:11 is in many ways the key to understanding the central message of the book of Revelation.

Further study

Remember that detailed chapter notes are available for every chapter in Revelation in the NT series.

Last Things: The Rapture & the Tribulation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 31 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Order of events, popular Christianity:

Second coming
Rapture
Tribulation (for unbelievers)

Order of events in New Testament:

Tribulation (throughout our lives as believers)
Second coming
General resurrection + rapture
Judgment Day
Eternal destiny: heaven or hell

Etymology

Rapture < Latin rapire, translating Greek harpadzomai (snatch) in 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Tribulation < Latin tribulatio, translating Greek thlipsis (oppression, affliction)

Scriptures cited

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (see also 5:1-2)
John 5:28-29
Exodus 7-12
Revelation 6-19
Luke 9:52-56
Jonah 3:10-4:5

Further

Revelation 7:14 actually says that the righteous experience the tribulation. I.e., they are delivered through it (not from it).
Listen to the previous podcast in this series, 2010, 2012, & the End of the World.
See the N.T. chapter notes, e.g. those on 1 Thessalonians 4, or any other chapters in the series.
Listen to relevant O.T. lessons, e.g. the Jonah podcast.
From Daniel deSilva's An Introduction to the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018) 824n29: "... There is no place in Revelation for the 'rapture.' John calls Christians to arm themselves to die out of faithfulness to Jesus, and indeed the so-called tribulation descended on his hearers in earnest in but a few short decades. We also have to reckon with the peculiarity that Western Christians (especially from the United Kingdom and the United States), who invented the idea of a rapture, should be the only ones never to taste tribulation for their Lord. Even now sisters and brothers across the globe face marginalization, privation, and death for their testimony—but we will be spared any such tests of our faithfulness!... The common error of reading 1 Thess 4:13-18 together with Rev 4:1 in order to demonstrate a 'pretribulation rapture' is fundamentally flawed... There is no mention of resurrection in Revelation until Rev 20:4-6, which speaks of the 'first' of two resurrections, and so the resurrection of the saints in 1 Thess 4:16 cannot be prior to that and cannot refer to a 'pre-tribulation rapture.'"

Last Things: Reincarnation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Hinduism has taught reincarnation for many thousands of years. Sikhism, which derives from Hinduism and Islam, also accepts reincarnation (many passages in the Granth teach this doctrine).

The Chandogya Upanishad 5.10.8 reads, “... those who are of pleasant conduct here—the prospect is, indeed, that they will enter a pleasant womb, either the womb of a Brahman, or the womb of a Kshatriya, or the womb of a Vaisya. But those who are of a stinking conduct here—the prospect is, indeed, that they will enter a stinking womb of a dog, or the womb of a swine, or the womb of an outcast.”
Kaushitaki Upanishad 12 teaches reincarnation "... either as a worm, or as a moth, or as a fish, or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a wild boar, or as a snake, or as a tiger, or as a person, or as some other in this or that condition, he is born again here according to his deeds, according to his knowledge."
Status and the body you inhabit in the next life (canine, porcine, or “untouchable”) depend on your conduct in the present life. Karma (actions) determine the level at which you are reborn.
Eventually all souls “graduate” until atman (soul) becomes one with paramatman (the world soul).
- Individual existence then disappears.
- And that means communal existence disappears, too. But we were created for community. Reincarnation ultimately negates the social dimension of humanity.

John the Baptist reincarnated?

In Matthew 17 Jesus says John the Baptist was the Elijah to come, yet in John 1:21 the Baptist denies it. Is this because Malachi only speaks of a prophet to come "in the spirit of Elijah," not Elijah himself?
Was John's denial a way to steer his disciples away from the idea of an actual reincarnation? Yes, I think so. Many expected Elijah to return to the earth literally, and this notion persists in Jewish tradition even today, with the empty seat left for him at the Seder Supper. John does come in the spirit (and clothing) of Elijah, his ninth century BC counterpart (Malachi 3-4; Matthew 11, 16; see also 1 Kings 17-19), though he wasn’t literally Elijah (John 1:21).
Elijah appeared along with Moses at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9), so how could he have he been "reincarnated" as John the Baptist? Worse for those advocating reincarnation, the classic belief requires the rebirth of a dead person, yet
- Elijah never died (2 Kings 2:1-11).
- Thus there is no biblical basis for importing the popular eastern idea of reincarnation into Christianity, at least not based on the case of John the Baptist.

Conclusion

The scriptures do not allow reincarnation. See Hebrews 9:27, Job 7:9-10.
Reincarnation does not take seriously the biblical view of humanity as "spirit, soul, and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Eastern reincarnation is something to be escaped, not desired. In contrast, in the West, where it has become fashionable to espouse reincarnation, this is viewed as something positive: a chance to start over. Probably few westerners have any idea about the real source of the idea, or why no one would desire the doleful cycles of reincarnation who really comprehended the doctrine.
Reincarnation it is ultimately part of an impersonal worldview.
To be fair, "Contrary to the popular stereotype of past lives fostered by the tabloid press, the vast majority of past lives are not those of Egyptian princesses or wives of Henry VIII. Most of the lives that are reported are barely identifiable within the known framework of history. We encounter African tribesmen, nomadic hunters, nameless slaves, Middle Easter traders, anonymous medieval peasants, and so on, from all times and places; often they can barely name their chieftain or lord, let alone place themselves upon some totally irrelevant time map of European or ancient history." (Roger J. Woolger, Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives [New York: Doubleday, 1987], 37-38)

Last Things: Purgatory

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 27 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Note: If you are not familiar with the early Christian doctrine of the intermediate state of the dead, please listen to the podcast "What Happens After We Die?" This podcast assumes some familiarity with the biblical teaching that the dead proceed to Hades, a sort of waiting place before the second coming, the general resurrection, and the Judgment Day.

The Evolution of Purgatory

Doctrine of purgatory gradually evolved from the third century to the fifth. Although the idea was current among some Jews even in the time of Christ, it was slow to gain acceptance.
By the 3rd century the church was already on the way to a doctrine of purgatory. Clement of Alexandria (c.150-215) and Origen (185-254) elaborated further. In the late 4th century, Gregory of Nyssa even spoke of universal salvation through purgatory: in the end all creatures will suffer temporarily, not (infinitely) forever -- until all things return to God (Life of Moses II, 82-84). By the 5th century -- as far as I can tell -- purgatory was a widespread belief in the Roman Catholic Church.
As the centuries dragged on, the church began to slip into worldliness. By the 4th century, when church membership was standard in the Roman Empire, the majority were not living holy lives. How would their sin be dealt with? The necessary purging must take place in the afterlife, or so it was thought.
Officially affirmed in the Second Council of Lyon (1274), the Council of Florence (1438–1445), and the Counter-Reformation Council of Trent (1545–63).
In medieval church, it was thought baptism and penance pardon sins in this life; purgatory deals with sins in the next life -- a distinction seeming to find justification in Matthew 12:31.
Dante Alighieri, who wrote more about purgatory than any other medieval writer, portrayed it as not only a state of suffering, but also as a state of joyous anticipation. Though painful, this "antechamber of heaven" enabled us to be transformed, to reach a state of holiness so that we would be prepared for the presence of God.
From the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2005):
- What is purgatory? Purgatory is the state of those who die in God’s friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need of purification to enter into the happiness of heaven.
- How can we help the souls being purified in purgatory? Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance. Note: indulgences were the flash point for Protestant Reformation (1500s).

Is there any biblical justification?

Adam still had to pay for his sin – sweat of his brow. Moses forgiven but excluded from promised land. David was forgiven but still paid severe penalties for the incident with Uriah and Bathsheba. But of course all of these were consequences of sin in this life…
- In fact, if anything, the Bible teaches purgatory is now, not after we die, for it is in this life that we face fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12).
- Moreover, motives will come to light and be judged only after judgment day begins (1 Corinthians 4:5)--not before!
There is one verse in the O.T. Apocrypha that seems to justify prayers for the dead.
- This implies that they may be suffering in purgatory -- and that is 2 Maccabees 12:42-46.
- Yet according to Catholic theology, mortal sins, like the idolatry in which these persons had engaged, cannot be forgiven through third-party prayer. (Only with confession and penance.) Thus this proof-text backfires.
The verse commonly cited in support of purgatory is 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.
- Yet the context of 1 Corinthians 3:5-15 (the entire passage) is church building (church planting and ministry).
- The Catholic Encyclopedia admits "this passage presents considerable difficulty...", and several authors I've read who support purgatory admit that there is little if any biblical justification. The grounds for purgatory are thus more philosophical than biblical.
- There is nothing in this passage about the afterlife, and certainly no hint of a purgatory.
- What is burning is not the not-yet-holy sinner, but his sub-standard church building!

Conclusion

Purgatory is a man-made doctrine.
It has a certain rationale -- that is, those who believe in it aren't necessarily selfish or stupid! -- yet there is no scriptural support.
Jesus’ death was enough to completely forgive our sins. We do not need to pay or them in the afterlife!
This life is the time to strive for holiness, not the next!

Last Things: Thoughts on Heaven & Hell

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures cited:

1 Corinthians 3:15, Hebrews 9:27
Luke 10:12, 12:28
1 Peter 3:22
John 4:34
Genesis 2:15, 1:16,28
Hebrews 4:9
Philippians 3:21
Matthew 22:30
Matt 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, 18:22
Romans 14:10,12
Matthew 25:21

For further study:

Here is the link to my paper on Terminal Punishment.

For more about "levels" of reward, click here.

You'll find a review of Alcorn’s book Heaven here.

Finally, in case you haven't heard the 4-part study on What Happens After We Die?, you can order it HERE.

Last Things: The General Resurrection

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures cited:

Genesis 1:31
1 Corinthians 15:1-7, 47-52
Philippians 3:20-21
1 John 3:2
Luke 24:39
John 21:12, 20:19
1 Corinthians 15:20, 35-37, 42-44, 58
See also Acts 24:15

Further study:

Be sure to listen to the related podcasts in this series on The Rapture & the Tribulation, What Happens After We Die?, and Thoughts on Heaven & Hell.
The audio series, What Happens After We Die, will also be useful (3 hours + notes)
The audio series, Revelation & the End of the World, should also be stimulating, esp. the section on the Judgment, Heaven & Hell (3 hours + notes).
See also Gordon Ferguson's article on this subject. Click here.
For a brief article on cremation, click here.
Click here for more on our heavenly body.
Another article on Jesus' resurrection and ours is available here.
Notice the prejudice against the physical body in passages like: "Methinks that what they call my shadow here on earth is my true substance…. Methinks my body is but the lees of my better being. In fact take my body who will, take it I say, it is not me." -- Herman Melville, Moby Dick 85-86.

Last Things: What Happens After Death?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures cited in this podcast:

Luke 23:39-43
John 20:16-17
Philippians 2:9-11
John 14:1-3
John 3:13
Acts 2:34

Further:

The audio series, What Happens After We Die? contains 3 hours of material, comprising 4 lessons:
- After Death: Have We Got it all Wrong?
- In Their Own Words: What the Early Christians Taught
- How Can This Be? Problems and Objections
- Heaven, Hell, Hauntings & Everything Else: Conclusion and Perspectiv
- Click HERE to order this intriguing series.
Read the article by New Testament professor N.T. Wright, asserting that Christians do not go to heaven when they die.
The position taken in this podcast, that the dead are neither in heaven nor in hell, but in Hades, is supported by the writings of the early church. See, for example, A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, by David Bercot.

Leaders: Under Fire: Lessons of Suffering from Mexico

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 20 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Leaders: Being a teacher: Do You Have What it Takes? (1995)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Leaders: The Mission

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Excerpt

You are listening to just part of a book on evangelism. It's called Till the Nets are Full (formerly Shining Like Stars). This podcast is an adaptation of chapter 2, "The Mission." This may be found in Part I of the book, "Light of the World."
Important note: When it comes to true Christians, we must distinguish mission and purpose.
- Our purpose is to know God, to enter into and enjoy an eternal relationship with Him. We are to love him with all our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Purpose should not be confused with mission. (When this happens, the confusion will distort our spiritual lives.)
- Our mission is to bring God to the world: to serve the poor (Matthew 25) and to preach the word (Matthew 28). As someone once put it, we may be the only Jesus people will ever meet; the only Bible people ever read (2 Corinthians 2:14).

If you were moved by this podcast...

... may I suggest you read the entire book from which it has been taken, Till the Nets are Full (formerly Shining Like Stars).
. This challenging yet practical volume contains over 60 studies for individuals and groups, along with loads of evangelistic direction so that your ministry may flourish.
Also, please listen to the 2-podcast series Evangelism in the Early Church, 30-200 AD.

Leaders: Why Christian Leaders Need to be Exceptionally Good Bible Students

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures referred to:

James 3:1
Deuteronomy 17:18-20
1 Timothy 4:8-16

Leaders: Control, part 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 13 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Six Ways to Build a Healthy Culture (15 minutes).

TRUST
Rom 15:14—confident in church to handle issues of church.
I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

APPEAL
Philemon 1-25—a study in gracious persuasion

RESPECT (or “Stop pushing”)
1 Cor 16:12—it's okay to say no.
Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

STAY CONNECTED (UNITY)
1 Cor 1:10—Unity despite differences of thought.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

AGREE TO DISAGREE
Even Acts 15 was okay—it worked out. Barnabas continued evangelizing his native Cyprus while Paul forged ahead into new territory.

FOCUS ON CHRIST
Col 1:28-2:1
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.

Maturity
Principles > practicals
Internalize Word of God
No need to micromanage—that’s not “discipling”
Leaders, trust the people… Their intentions, their heart, is good.

Further:

Lording it Over Others (podcast)
Steve Brown, A Scandalous Freedom: The Radical Nature of the Gospel (West Monroe, LA: Howard 2004).
Larry Osborne, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012).
Townsend & Cloud, Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992, 2017).
Safeguarding the Vulnerable (COE paper)
iFaith video sermon Galatians A (“Another Gospel?”) and Galatians B, (“Gospel+”)
Leadership category at my website

Leaders: Control, part 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Inappropriate control, 4-6

4) Abuse of authority

Leaders have authority, but not to create their own rules, or in the language of Jeremiah, “to rule by their own authority” (Jer 5:30-31).
- "Giving up everything" is not unlimited, but should be interpreted in the light of apostolic teaching, as found in the epistles and in Acts.
- Again, we mustn't fail to distinguish between principle and practical (implementation). These rules may only be called “guidelines,” but you can tell whether they have been elevated to near-biblical status by the reaction when they are violated.
Violation of confidentiality
- Discussing others’ personal lives in a leadership or staff meeting
- Manipulation in discipling based on a leader's knowledge of people's weaknesses / sins.
Definition: "Spiritual abuse is the mistreatment of a person by someone in a position of spiritual authority, diminishing that person's spiritual vitality and growth. At the core of spiritual abuse is excessive control of others, such as religious leaders who use manipulation to compel attendance, use guilt to get people to give more money, take emotional or sexual advantage in the name of comfort or compassion, accuse those who disagree with them of being rebellious against God, or demand absolute, unquestioning obedience regardless of whether it is reasonable or biblical." (June Hunt, "Abuse," in Clinton & Hawkins, The Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling, 177).

5) Controlling words = abuse

“It’s God’s will… that you move / stay / give up____ / etc.”
“You need to obey me.”
“I prayed about it and I sense God wants you to…”
“Lord put this on my heart…” (no comeback)
“You have a bad heart” or “You’re proud” (in cases of disagreement) or “You’re independent” (could that be a good thing?).
“You are my disciples.” We are his disciples. Only once in the NT do we read of a person (other than Jesus) with personal disciples) — Acts 9:25. Yet even there, “his disciples” doesn’t appear in all manuscripts.
“You’re being divisive.”

6) Misused scriptures

1 Cor 11:1—imitation in context
Heb 13:17—elders—What do elders do in the NT?
- What is emphasized in the letters (meeting the needs):
- Not about programs! About character.
Luke 5:5—Because you say so—arbitrary!
Exodus 18—discipling hierarchy
Luke 14:33—give up everything—for Christ, not for another person
Psalm 105:15—Don’t “touch” (criticize) my “holy ones” (leaders).

No one likes to be controlled, handled, managed, threatened, or manipulated.

Relevant here in Atlanta as we discuss moving forward with one-another relationships
What we do on the individual level, we may do on the political level. E.g., one nation invades in order to control—put its stamp on that country—the imperialistic “We know best.”
Jesus is our Lord, no earthly human being or church leader.
Yet there is a good sort of control often mentioned in scriptures: Self-control. internal, not external.

Adults want to be trusted.

I am grateful to be in a culture of “high trust, low control”—as opposed to “low trust, high control.”
See1 Kings 12 for a study in leadership styles: harsh / controlling vs. permissive / ungodly.
Of course, even if we’ve added no rules to those of Scripture, we may still promote / personally fall into legalism.

Type 1 Legalism:
Attempting to power one’s way into God’s grace by good works. These works don't necessarily mean requirements outside scripture. This may entail an unhealthy attitude towards obedience / acceptance by God, usually accompanied by anxiety over one’s spiritual status before God.

Type 2 Legalism: Following or enforcing extrabiblical rules — laws that, however well intended, are not explicitly found in Scripture. (Extra, Latin = outside; extrabiblical = outside Scripture.)

Examples: evangelistic quotas; insistence on perfect living or perfect cognition before baptism; mandated minutes of prayer; compulsory attendance at various church events. Now these may be good things, in principle. We appreciate evangelism, knowledge, prayer, devotional strategy, and church attendance. The question is, what does the gospel require?
Legalism is a universal human temptation.
Spirituality—one's own and others'—is constantly monitored, evaluated by adherence to rule-keeping. This erodes the security + confidence we should have in the Lord (1 John 5:13; Matt 11:28-30). The need: mature leaders, not neophytes! Scope of ministry should be in proportion to the biological and spiritual maturity of the brother or sister in leadership.
We may be critical of the Pharisees (Matt 15; 23) and the Circumcision Party (Ti 1; see Acts 15)—and rightly so -- but what about us?

[Conclusion]

We have covered a lot of ground:

Burdensome requirements
Prohibitions that go beyond the scriptures
Manmade rules and traditions
Abuse of authority
Controlling words
Misused scriptures

.Have we added to the demands and commands of Scripture? How to tell? What gets people into trouble?

Violating guidelines? – often for the sake of “unity”—or failing to building Christlike character?
Integrity at work, or just earning money and giving a %age to the church
Are we reinforcing a culture of legalism?

Some fear the gospel alone is too gracious and might tempt (or even empower) us to slack off. Yet grace is empowering, and those who don’t experience it don’t endure long in the marathon of faith.

In Control part 3: 6 ways to eradicate a culture of control and build a culture of trust.

Leaders: Control, part 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Inappropriate forms of control, 1-3

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)

Big decisions require approval of church minister?
Must trim vacation not to miss Sunday.
Overweight people cannot be up front on Sunday.
Send in stats Sunday night: visitors, missing members, etc.
Threaten with disfellowship just because disagreed with the leader's decision.
Removing people from the membership list for missing midweek.
Can’t come to leaders’ meeting unless you had a visitor that week.
Must provide (free) house-cleaning or babysitting services to leaders.
Must attend all events—even if scheduled at the last minute.
Control in other areas: relationships, finances, employment, domicile, marriage, family…

Are the people serving the leader, or is the leader serving the people?

1) Heavy loads
They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them (Matt 23:4).

“No physical food before spiritual food”—personal devotional rule.
“One-a-day challenge”—and other evangelistic rules.
Financial control—encouraging people to go into debt in order to make contribution. Or group leaders seeing what everyone has given (standing around in circle).

*** Negative evangelistic impact
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to (Matt 23:13)—heavyhandedness can also prevent people from coming to Christ.

2) Prohibitions with an appearance of wisdom
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (Col 2:20-23).

Discipline for drinking alcohol—of course some people should never drink.
Disfellowship for dating someone outside one’s own fellowship—assuming you are the only Christians in town? Is this really an area in which elders / church leaders should be involved
Disfellowship for owning & watching TV.
Forbidding films of a certain rating.
Cards—because of the association with gambling.
Dancing—a lot of it is worldly, but how do we monitor this?

3) Mark 7—Manmade rules & traditions
He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (Mark 7:6-8).

Every church inevitably needs some "rules" (not necessarily bad), like "Church starts at 9:00," or "Members need to participate in a small group."
Still, these do not have divine authority.
Yes, younger disciples often benefit from guidelines, yet even then these should be a matter of consent, not law. Legalism will shape their concept of God.
Best practices ≠ commands of God.
- Distinguish church traditions.
- When we fail to make the distinction, then people stop obeying the start using external metrics: visitors, QTs, days without overeating, etc.
Let’s not go beyond what is written (Deut 4:2; Prov 30:5-6; 1 Cor 4:6; Rev 22:18-19).

In Control, Part 2: Three more areas of inappropriate control.

Leaders: Lording it Over Others (Mark 10:42)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The purpose of this podcast is to foster a Christian leadership culture. This is an important study for anyone in leadership, or considering it. Please listen to this podcast (18 minutes) and share it with others whom you may be able to influence.

Key Greek verb: katakurieuein (to lord it over, dominate, domineer, wield authority, etc).

Scriptures including the Greek word katakurieuein:

Acts 19:16
1 Peter 5:1-3
Mark 10:42-45 (Matthew 20:25-28)
Genesis 1:28 (Greek O.T. only)

Applications

Bullying (not being pushy, forceful, or a poor listener)
Personal example
Input & feedback (welcoming it)
Humility
"Ministry" language (implying non-staff are not in the ministry)
Local leadership (local decision making)
The danger with hierarchies (misunderstanding, abuse, stunted growth)
The need for vigilance--otherwise the ways of the Gentiles will take over

Questions for leaders (especially):

Is my leadership style overpowering?
Do I call others to go where I have not gone?
Am I fond of position, prestige, perquisites, or priority?
Do I see the danger of authority, hierarchy, and mandate?
Am I known for welcoming diversity of opinion, or do I feel threatened by those who may question my judgment?
Do I expect others to submit to the authority of God and his Word, or to me and my word?

Great quotes:

"The very first thing which needs to be said about Christian ministers of all kinds is that they are 'under' people (as their servants) rather than 'over' them (as their leaders, let alone their lords). Jesus made this absolutely plain. The chief characteristic of Christian leaders, he insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power." -- John Stott, The Gospel and the End of Time
For the opposite view, the words of Nietzsche are apropos: “A man who strives after great things, looks upon every one whom he encounters on his way either as a means of advance, or a delay and hindrance—or as a temporary resting-place. His peculiar lofty BOUNTY to his fellow-men is only possible when he attains his elevation and dominates..." (Beyond Good and Evil, 273). Notice the philosopher feels he is doing a favor to others by dominating them.
One more quote, back on the believing side: "We would do well not to be enamored by the kind of leadership that is so prized by politicians and CEOs, the kind that is conspicuous and, as we say, 'effective.' Forget about charisma, go for character." -- Eugene Peterson, The Unnecessary Pastor

Leaders: Fresh Thoughts on Elders

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 6 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here I share some of my own thoughts about elders (overseers) and church leadership. I do not speak for a congregation or denomination. These are simply my own reflections on this important subject.

Passages considered in the lesson (28 minutes):

Acts 13:1-4; 14:23; 15:1-35; 20:17-38.
- Soon after churches were intentionally planted, team leadership / oversight was established (Acts 14; in Acts 8:4 and 11:19, we see the incidental establishment of the Christian communities). Of course one-man leadership might typify a just-planted church, for whom the church planter was a type of "father" (1 Cor 4:15). Yet the N.T. does not envision a protracted autocratic church polity, nor is this healthy -- too much pressure on one man; too little teamwork.
- The congregation knows who its leaders are. It's probable that the overseers oversaw house churches. In either case, as shepherds they were personally involved with the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-5; John 10:2-3,11-13).
- Congregational autonomy does not mean that these leadership teams were isolated. When there was a need, they communicated (Acts 15).
- When the apostle needed to communicate with the Ephesian church leadership (Acts 20), he sent for the elders.
1 Timothy 5:17; 4:12-16; 3:1-7
- Elders directed the churches. The buck stopped there (Acts 20:17-38; Philippians 1:1; etc).
- Some (all?) focused on teaching and preaching (5:17), which Timothy modeled for them (4:13).
- Paul provides a list of qualities, more than "qualifications."
- Character is key, and in the long term is far more valuable than charisma.
- Paul assumes that the overseers will be husbands and fathers. It's not so clear that he requires them to be, although a man's family certainly reflects his character and leadership ability. (Would Paul himself not be qualified to serve as an elder? How about Jesus?)
- Older men were presumably more available for the work of shepherding the flock, as their family responsibilities would be simpler (older or grown children), vocations well established, more flexible in their schedules.
- It seems hypocritical (to me) to hold overseers to a higher standard of integrity than the church leaders (evangelists or "pastors") to whom they are accountable.
- It's unhealthy to put the spotlight on the children (as in the strictest interpretation of Titus 1:6), instead of on the man. Throughout the Bible, it's the shepherds who are held to the highest standard (e.g. Ezekiel 34; John 10).
- The list in 1 Tim 3 is a description of a mature, male, Christian leader.
Proverbs 31:10-31
- In some senses this woman is "super-mom." She embodies all the ideals and respected qualities of a spiritual woman. Does that mean that a lesser women isn't worthy of full respect?
- Could it not be that 1 Timothy 3 refers to the goal of church leaders, even though overseers may fall short? Or that these are qualities to be collectively embodied in the group?
Ephesians 4:11
- Apostles were few in number, and persisted for a single generation (Acts 1:22; 1 Cor 9:1). Their purpose was to establish the church, as living links to the Lord Jesus, so that his message was understood and preserved.
- Prophets, whatever the exact nature of their work, were also part of the foundational level of the church (Ephesians 2:20).
- Evangelists were highly mobile bringers of good news. They established churches and were dynamos of inspiration, evangelism, and leadership (Acts 21:8; 2 Timothy 4:5).
  - Although there has always been a need for evangelists -- and always will be -- they are not explicitly identified in church history. Rather, in the 2nd century each congregation was led by overseers. In time, an elaborate hierarchy was erected, yet this did not include evangelists, probably because they were not permanent fixtures in local church leadership.
  - As to the question of whether women can serve as evangelists, consider what's involved in this role: Going alone, or with a partner, to a town or are in order to preach; facing opposition and perhaps even imprisonment; putting herself into a dangerous position (gender harassment); etc. As long as "evangelists" are really serving as "senior pastors" (inspirational speakers / administrators), it will be somewhat difficult to uphold the necessity of male leadership (evangelists).
- Teachers (assuming "teaching shepherds" isn't the way the phrase in this verse should be rendered) were explicitly present in some cities, like Antioch and Corinth (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor 12:28). In a more general sense, all should strive to be teachers (Hebrews 5:11-14), though with humility and caution (James 3:1).
- Shepherds (overseers, elders -- the three terms were used interchangeably; note: this word should not be translated into Latin [pastor] simply in order to preserve a much cherished term). This is the only position of the four or five that is normative for church leadership, and the earliest centuries of church history consistently follow the N.T. pattern.

40—Forty Days with James: Series conclusion (and my takeaways)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

108 power-packed verses!
Chapter 1 introduces the 12 themes of chapters 2-5.
James is practical. James covers a whole range of everyday life issues: how we respond to pain and suffering, dealing with conflict, how our speech can help or harm, dealing with poverty and wealth, even how we should think about planning for the future. We never struggle for application!
James is direct. James moves quickly from issue to issue. Much of what he says is straightforward to understand. There is no chance for us to get bogged down.
James is vivid. Throughout the letter James gives us pictures and illustrations to help his message hit home in a vivid way. He speaks of forest fires, fruit-bearing plants, sea ships, horses—and that’s just one chapter! The preacher does not have to scratch his head trying to think up illustrations for the message!
James is stretching. James assumes that the gospel touches every area of life. He does not let us off the hook in any of them! James likens God’s word to a mirror, and studying his own letter certainly has the effect of revealing to us what our hearts and attitudes are truly like.
James is encouraging. Underlying all that James says is a desire to magnify Jesus Christ. It is Christ’s glory that drives everything. Along the way James gives us wonderful reminders of the grace and goodness of God. He can afford to be challenging because the grace of God is so compelling.
Five verses that strike me personally are 1:19; 2:8; 3:1; 4:13; 5:20. What strikes you? How is God's Word speaking to you—not only in James, but in all 66 inspired books in Scripture?

39—Forty Days with James: James the Martyr

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James was martyred in AD 62.
- Prophet, Peacemaker, Martyr
- Martyrs and confessors in the early church
James’s execution
- Thrown from pinnacle and beaten over the head (Jos. 2.23.12).
- “If a priest performed the temple service while unclean… the young priests take him out of the temple court and split his skull with clubs” (Sanh. 81b).
Responses to James:
- The rich: Ananus II reacted violently to James’ denunciations of the rich and influential, perhaps more than to his lack of patriotism and his following a false messiah.
- Yet James was highly respected among the Jews. Even the Pharisees defended him.
Much in the epistle of James indirectly points to the danger James was in—James, the prophet and peacemaker who was executed early in his 4th decade as a follower of his brother (1:12; 2:6-7; 4:1-2; 4:13-14; 5:10-11; 5:6).
Champions of righteousness and peace often meet violent deaths: Mahatma Gandhi; Martin Luther King; Oscar Romero… Jesus and James.
“[Jesus] flatly refused the temptations of power and fame offered him by the Grand Inquisitor from hell. He was no Judas Maccabaeus redivivus [explain]. His conspiracy was not that of the Zealots of his day. His revolutionary manifesto was not a bloody call to arms like that of Marx and Engels, Hitler and Himmler, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot. His mission was not at the point of a sword like Muhammad’s. In fact, Jesus was the unarmed prophet who renounced the sword, and seemed to turn away from the use of force that any civilization needs in order to build and sustain itself. And he appeared to show little or no interest in many of the burning issues that parade across our television screens, shout at us in the headlines of our newspapers, and rage like wildfire through our social media.” Os Guinness, Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014), 95.
James breathed and lived in that same spirit!

Next / finally: My personal takeaways

38—Forty Days with James: James the Peacemaker

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Acts 15

Last time: James was a prophet (fiery hot). But he was also a peacemaker.
The Jew-Gentile Controversy (Acts 15:1, 5) was the most contentious issue in the 1st century.
- The Judaizers held that to be truly spiritual—or (in this case) even to be saved—a man must be circumcised. Circumcision entailed following the terms of the old covenant / the Law of Moses.
- The apostles taught otherwise.
The Council of Jerusalem (49 AD) focused on this serious issue.
- The apostles and elders discussed the matter. Probably Galatians was written in 48, before the Council—otherwise it would be odd that Paul didn't appeal to the decision made in Jerusalem.
- Peter takes a stand.
- Paul and Barnabas provide evidence.
- James guides the meeting towards a constructive conclusion. He frames the issue in light of scripture, and then suggests that a letter, personally delivered by respected leaders, is the best practical measure. His suggestion is followed.
The result is edifying.
It is clear from passages like this that James was a most respected leader in the Jerusalem church.

For you and me:

1. Aim to become good listeners, carefully hearing and evaluating both sides of any issue.
2. Think theologically—scripturally—about spiritual issues and also about our world.
3. Let's craft practical solutions to problems, and entrust them to others. Don’t dominate.
4. Be a team player.
5. Remember Jesus’ words, Blessed are the peacemakers… (Matt 5:9).

Next: Jamesthe Martyr

37—Forty Days with James: James the Prophet

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James is a “pillar of the church” (Gal 2:9), brother of the Lord, and highly respected leader. But he also speaks prophetically—his tongue dipped in the white-hot fire of God’s justice and righteous indignation.
Try to feel the strength, the conviction, the vehemence of his words (ten selections from the NAB, adapted and abbreviated). Listen closely. Let these direct and challenging words sink in (1:6-8, 9-11, 22, 26; 2:19-20; 4:3-4, 8-9, 12, 14-16; 5:1-5).
“No New Testament document… Has such a socially sensitized conscience and so explicitly champions the cause of the economically disadvantaged, the victims of oppression or unjust wage agreements, and the poor who are seen in the widows and orphans who have no legal defender to speak up for their rights. The rich merchants and luxury-loving agricultural magnates are held up to a withering and scornful reproach. Not only are their practices condemned as part of their profound attitude that forgets God and boasts in proud achievement. Their treatment of the workers and the needy is just as forthrightly exposed. And, to cap it all, James directs his shafts not simply at their amassing of wealth, nor even at the wealth itself – represented in the grain and the gold and the garments that were their trademark – which is doomed to be blighted. The rich people themselves will share the fate of their possessions. This indictment marks one of the Bible’s most thoroughgoing judgments on wealth and its possessors.” (Ralph P. Martin, James in the WBC, lxvii).

Questions for you and me:

When do we get indignant? When our rights are infringed, or when we see the powerful taking advantage of the powerless?
Are we regularly reading the prophetic portions of Scripture, or do we neglect them? (Highly recommended: Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets.)
Are we speaking up—in church, at work, wherever there is injustice—or holding silent?
Are we sharing our wealth with the needy, or giving in order to alleviate their pain and suffering?

Next: James the Peacemaker

36—Forty Days with James: Through the Book (ISV)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The final four reflections:

James the Prophet
James the Peacemaker
James the Martyr
Series conclusion (and my personal takeaways)

35—Forty Days with James: The Truth about Falling Away

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:19-20

Why does the letter end this way? It is likely people were leaving the fellowship—not persevering, or perhaps discouraged because of prejudice.
Wandering "from the truth" us about lifestyle more than doctrinal confusion.
A correction about "falling away" and "restoration."
- Unfortunate terminology
- Falling away: Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26; 2 Pet 2:20-22
- Stumbling: Matt 13:21; 26:31; John 16:1; etc.
Restoration
- Gal 6:1-2; 2 Cor 13:9; 1 Pet 5:10
- This is for insiders, active members of the body, not those who have left.
- Ps 23:3—Don't we all need "restoring," refreshment, from time to time?
Implications
- Let's avoid unbiblical language, esp. when terms reinforce false understandings of God and his Word.
- Don’t speak of former members as fallaways. Rather, how about "walkaways" or "wanderers"?
- There is no comeback from falling away. But only God knows with total certainty the point of no return. See also Prov 29:1.
- Yes, in a sense those who have quit need some form of “restoration,” yet this isn’t biblical language and is also likely to reinforce the false notion that there can be only one institutional group on earth faithfully following the Lord.
- Sins covered over, or forgiveness? The latter is more likely.
- If the thoughts on falling away and restoration are new to you, I can assure you they are actually ancient!
- It’s hard to fight against tradition, and traditional language. But let's strive to do so all the same.

Next: James in the ISV

34—Forty Days with James: Prayer x 7

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:13-18

Prayer
- 7x in this passage
- "You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God. You can be sure that this kind of prayer the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame." – William Booth (1829-1912)
Singing—music is not only an important part of culture, but touches our very souls.
Elders.
- It's assumed throughout the NT that churches are led by elders.
- What if you don’t have elders? My opinion is that whoever functions in the oversight role is a person of prayer, and hence someone to be trusted to pray for you.
Anointing
- What about the Roman Catholic interpretation? The person summoning the elders is ill / weak – not likely to need extreme unction. This is a promise about life/restoration, not a preparation for death.
- What about the charismatic / Pentecostal teaching about healing? This passage does not speak of anyone with a miraculous gift of healing.

Probably this is a general principle, not an iron-clad promise.
For more, see Q&A 752.
Confession
- Most churches ignore this passage! One wonders whether this is because members refuse to be open, or because church leaders themselves have something to hide.
- Historically, the early church practiced a rather public confession. This eventually evolved into the confessional (in Catholicism). Then (in Protestantism) it virtually dropped out, or became confession only to God.
- How honest are we—really? “…. The Christian faith calls for an open and voluntary confession of our wrongs, whenever we are wrong. This… is challenging and it may certainly be embarrassing for anyone who has to do it, but it is in fact an act of moral courage. For in confession we are called to do what no human does naturally and easily: to go on record against ourselves.” (Os Guinness, in Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014), 80).
Elijah: we can relate to him. Anyone can pray, not just apostles & prophets!

Next: The Truth about Falling Away

33—Forty Days with James: “Yes” and “No”

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:12

Not referring to profanity
Similar to 3rd commandment – context of oath-taking.
Not that we should throw around the words Jesus or God carelessly.
Note connection with the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5). Frequent references to SOM material in James.
Based on these passages, some Christians refuse to take oaths. Their word is their bond.
Yet what about signing documents? I should not have to sign a mortgage statement, or work contract, because I honor my pledges. But in this fallen world few are totally reliable.

Note that the Bible does allow us to go back on our word in certain situations. Balance these two passages:
- Ps 15: Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose way of life is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart… who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind…
- Prov 6:1-5: If you… have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth…Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
- Sometimes wisdom or love requires that we balance principles.
In a more political /military context, unless the oath involves a false god – as soldiers might have to take (one of the 3 things new converts were forbidden to do).
Zealot oaths would not have entailed idolatry (apart from the idolatry of power), but they would have entailed rash promises to courses of violence and coercion.
Beware the dangers of political promises, oaths, alignments – Jesus & Politics.
We should all be people of our word.

Tomorrow: Pray x 7

32—Forty Days with James: Hang in There

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:10-11

Why patient endurance is needed
- Socioeconomic disparities
- Oppression
- And (maybe) because the Lord's return has not yet taken place.

Regular opposition from the world
Prophets—why they needed to be patient
- To honor the covenant
- Didn't pile on new doctrines, or extra rules.Generally poor response
- Called people to Torah
- Discouragement
- Some ministered for years, some for decades
- This was very tough work, emotionally. Recall Elijah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, and (esp.) Hosea and Jeremiah.
- Greatly outnumbered
- State prophets, did not challenge corrupt leaders, and connived at unfaithful living
- It was dangerous to be a true prophet
- Fate of the prophets
  - Jeremiah – beating, stocks, prison, cistern
  - Isaiah – sawn in two
  - Elijah – Jezebel after him!
  - Daniel – lion’s den
  - Amos – heavy opposition from rel estab in Bethel
  - Etc.
Job
- A sort of drama…
- Job questioned God—but he did not give up.
- Hardship: Lost children, respect / honor, wealth—but he persevered.
- Compassion / mercy on Job? Far more at the end than the beginning.

Tomorrow: Yes and No

31—Forty Days with James: The Judge at the Door

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:7-9

More about the Zealots
- In the Jewish War, they took revenge on the rich, according to Josephus.
- Rooted in the 2nd century BC:
  - Revolution (Judas Maccabaeus)
  - The ensuing Hasmonean dynasty becomes corrupt
  - The Zealots targeted corrupt Hasmoneans – even assassinating a high priest.
  - Later they targeted Romans.
  - = dagger-bearers.
  - Herod the Great tries to extinguish the movement, forcing them to Galilee.
- Later history (the Jewish War, 66-73 AD):
  - Wealthy priestly families attacked. (They enjoyed a very high standard of living.)
  - The Roman Emperor, Nero, aware of the seriousness of the rebellion in Palestine, sent his best general Vespasian, with three legions, to quell the outbreak. Vespasian’s troops easily penetrated Josephus’ defences and dispersed the Galilean army.
  - Gamla vanquished, 4000 Zealots killed, while 5000 hurled themselves over the cliff.
  - Masada—another amazing story of resistance.
Today's text urges patience. Recall the socioeconomic disparities / lack of love, as well as the real possibility of persecution.
No grumbling or bad attitudes.
We are reminded not to be judgmental (negativity)—harking back to 4:11-12.
The rich will get what’s coming to them: 1:10-11; 4:9-10; 5:1-6.
Nearness of the Lord can be taken two ways.
The Judge is standing at the door.
- Awareness of that fact should keep us humble.
- This should also prevent us from resorting to violence, or association with violent powers, when we feel desperate about the injustices in the world—or the wickedness of our enemies.

Tomorrow: Hang in there!

Sicarii

30—Forty Days with James: Rich Fools

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 5:1-6

Last time: In "Wannabe Rich Fools," James speaks of entrepreneurs who fail to take God into account. This time: of actual rich fools who fail to take God into account.
A prophetic woe!
Their corrupt wealth will "testify" against them. That is, their unjust actions demand a verdict.
The rich are hoarding grain, garments, gold.
Last Days = time from Pentecost on, the last phase of human history before the second coming of the Lord.
There was noalready in.
It was not a promising system for the little guy! He loses out. The innocent poor not only didn’t oppose the fat cats; they couldn’t.
Possible legal overtones: using the courts to their advantage. Who gets the better lawyer? Who’s better connected?
Murder, too.
Zealots
- Emulated Phinehas and Elijah
- Along with the Pharisees, the Zealots were the radicals.
- More on this in reflection 31 (next talk)
- And some Christians, directly or indirectly
Luxury = a standard that applies to most of us hearing this talk. Ours is unbelievably higher than that of the medieval kings and queens of Europe.
Rich people: Slaughter – the fat cats will be slaughtered!
Luke 16:19-31
James doesn’t automatically condemn all rich Christians (ch 1). But these rich persons stand condemned.

Next: "The Judge at the Door"

excuse not to pay wages, as the harvest was

29—Forty Days with James: Through the Book (CSB)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Next: Rich Fools – James will wax fiery hot, like the prophet Amos!

28—Forty Days with James: (Wannabe) Rich Fools

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 4:13-17

The brevity of life: we are mists.
If it is the Lord’s will – adding “we shall live…” This is much more than “inshállah.”
Verse 17 is about how we go about making our plans. It’s not simply a passage about acting against our conscience.
We can identify several social groups in the community James addresses. The poor include subsistence farmers. There are rich landowners, and quite possibly absentee landlords. There are entrepreneurs—who hope to become wealthy.
Entrepreneurs should not necessarily assume they will still be alive next year!
An ancient prayer for Yom Kippur asked the Lord for a year of low prices, a year of plenty, and a year of business dealings (Yoma 5:2). But it’s not commerce or even wealth that is condemned. It’s the spiritually nonchalant desire to become rich. In their complacency their thinking was secular, not godly.
That’s the issue. Like the rich man in the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21).

Next: through the whole book of James in the CSB

Boasting in our plans—failing to include God in our equation.

27—Forty Days with James: Only One Judge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

."Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord" (our previous reflection)—great passage, and great song.
True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that—it is spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth. – Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you to hate and flee from sin as you should. – A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

Historical background: In the three years before James died (59-62 AD) there were quarrels between the lower priests, who were aligned with the populace of Jerusalem, and the powerful Sadducean priests. They were at odds over social and economic issues. Josephus reports that the acrimonious debate was characterized by “name-calling.” He adds, “And when they clashed, they used abusive language and threw stones” (Ant. 20.180).

James 4:11-12

Notice that we are back to the topic of the tongue:
Slander. The ancient rabbis said: “He who slanders another thereby slanders God” and “Whosoever speaks against the true Shepherd is like one who speaks against God.”
Judging.
Words intended to hurt
It is not in our power to save or to destroy.
In the evangelical world. Matt 7:1 is now quoted more than John 3:16! To learn about the 12 types of judging in the Bible, please see Judge Not!

Next: The (Wannabe) Rich Fool

26—Forty Days with James: Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 4:9-10

We can’t be merely academic or ethereal about our sin. An emotional response to God’s Word and God’s holiness is in order.
"Blessed are those who mourn" (Matt 5:4)—is a passage often interpreted in the early church as mourning for one’s sins.
Mourning and wailing are signs of repentance, not substitutes for it.
“And he will lift you up….”
Similar passages: Job 5:11; 22:29; Ps 149:4; Prov 29:25; Ezek 17:24; 21:31; Luke 18:14; 1 Pet 5:6

Prayer

I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. – Psalm 38:18
Prayer makes godly persons, and puts within them the mind of Christ, the mind of humility, of self-surrender, of service, of pity, and of prayer. If we really pray, we will become more like God, or else we will quit praying. – E.M. Bounds (1835-1913)
The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos; the church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray. – A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
The Litany of Humility (included in Amen. Collected Prayers and Hymns for the Journey, 2022)

NEXT: Only One Judge

25—Forty Days with James: Submit, Resist, Draw Near, Wash, and Be Purified

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 8 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 4:7-8

Review: James 4:4 is a passage that most churches don’t teach:

Stepping on toes – consumerism..
Challenging specific sins from the pulpit
Warning members against the dangers / ugly side of politics
Rejecting nationalism, thinking instead of our global community
Caring genuinely (and knowing about) the needs of the poor and oppressed globally.
In light of these considerations, is it not fair to conclude that most churches are worldly?
Some heart-searching questions
- Are my spending patterns the same as my neighbors’, or do I truly honor the Lord with my wealth?
- Do I lovingly confront others when I see sin in their lives? And do I welcome their input when they sin in mine?
- Do I have a high threshold for tolerating sex and violence in what I watch? How about “explicit-language” music?
- Am I informed about the world, and do I care about the plight of the oppressed?
Are we really living as the holy people of God? Or have we accepted the values of our country / culture — which in most of the West means the pursuit of pleasure and a high standard of living—backed up by a strong military.

Points from today's text:

The devil is stronger than we may think, but he’s also weaker than we may imagine. Resist him!
How does the Lord wish us to renounce the ways of the world?
It means relying on the Lord instead of our own power, wisdom, pundits...
We must choose. We can’t embrace God and the world.
For every one of us, this has both personal and political implications
As the people of God, it's probable fair to conclude we have not been submissive, holy, pure, and focused.

Further: Jesus & Politics (about 40 minutes; includes complete notes).

Next: Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord

24—Forty Days with James: The Worldly Church

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 4:4-6

The adultery referred to in James 4:4 refers to the marriage between YHWH and his people (Isa 54:1-6; Jer 2:2).
- OT condemnations of spiritual infidelity: Isa 1:21; 50:1; 57:3; Jer 3:7-10, 20; 13:27; Ezek 16:23-26, 38; 23:45; Hos 1-3; 9:1.
- NT condemnations: Matt 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38; 2 Cor 11:1-2; Eph 5:22-23; Rev 19:7; 21:9.
Abraham was not a friend of the world, but a friend of God (2:23).
See also 1 John 2:15-17.
Areas of worldliness:
- Worldly language, dress, entertainment…
- Worldly values: security, wealth, materialism, conspicuous consumption…
- Befriending the world by resorting to its methods in order to advance God’s kingdom.
- Hyper-patriotism and nationalism. Waging war with the weapons of the world (2 Cor 10).
- Failing to care about those in the greatest need. Don’t say, "My town is prosperous, and there are plenty of people better off than me." Let’s lift our eyes and consider the entire world. Given the instant access nearly all of us have to information globally, we have no excuse for not being informed, and even less for not caring!
V.5 is difficult, but however it is translated, or however we understand it, the passage points to our covenant relationship with the Lord, who is our husband. That is, we the church are the bride of Christ, and must not share our affections with another lover.
V.6 is a strong biblical principle
- “The proud” are not merely those who don’t take input well. The proud are those who side with the high and mighty and the powerful.
- James is spotlighting pride and confidence in our own abilities and policies, which are actually at odds with God’s will, to achieve our own goals, like security, power, property, wealth, control.
In James’s day, final deliverance did not come from compromise with the Romans (Sadducees) or armed revolt against them (Zealots), but from trusting in the Lord. The political route led to physical and spiritual disaster.

Next: Submit, resist, draw near, wash, and be purified

23—Forty Days with James: Waging War

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 4:1-3

Context: link with chapter 3 – peaceful vs. violent approaches to the problems in our world.
The peace, shalom, of which James speaks is more than peace in our hearts, or harmony in the church.
It's not difficult to imagine there were quarrels within the church—but killing?
- Some spiritualize the word – killing = hating (Matt 5). But this isn’t persuasive.
- Is this referring to outsiders? Not all commentators take these words as literally applying to insiders. But it seems to me the passage makes more sense if James’s words are directed at political violence on the part of insiders.
- After all, “Jesus, like James, confronted political and religious oppositions of his day, when Zealot militarism and Essene passivity stood at opposite ends of the spectrum.”
  - Zealots (those favoring violence as a legitimate means of driving out the Romans, and damaging those who collaborated with them—the Sadducees).
  - Essenes (the Dead Sea community that had withdrawn from the system, and were deeply critical of Jerusalem)
  - Sadducees – arranged death of James 62, and with the Pharisees the death of Jesus in 30.
  - An example of an intention of intramural murder is found in Acts 23:21-22.
  - Isn’t it also hard to believe that various Corinthians: Babbled like a kindergarten class in the belief God’s Spirit was moving them? Looked down on the apostle Paul? Denied the literal resurrection of Christ? Were proud that they weren’t disciplining a member in an immoral relationship with his stepmother? Were taking each other to court? Were getting drunk during the Lord’s Supper?
  - Is it so difficult to believe some Christians would support violent causes? Or perhaps better said, support causes that sometimes resort to violence?
    - Just listen to what the, Americans, the Dutch, the French, the Russians, and many other national groups are advocating—just check the social media or watch the news!
    - Our world: Nearly 200 nations, 40 major wars, 100s of minor wars. Civil unrest, domestic terrorism…. And much of this violence is justified as God’s will. A good deal of the violence is carried out “in the name of Jesus.”
Is there a contradiction with James 1, on prayer?
- We shouldn’t expect the Lord to answer our prayers if they’re in conflict with his will.
- Asking for something in Jesus’ name is not a magic talisman. It’s not a formula, either… (It’s not how NT prayers end, anyway.) When we seek the Lord’s will, as Christians, then all our prayers are already, automatically “in Jesus’ name.”
Just as there are two kinds of wisdom, there are two fundamental responses to our problems (personal, local, global):
- Patience. Be Peacemakers.
- Anger. Resort to violence
Politically motivated violence, revolution, and killing are forbidden. Further: Law, Allegiance, Revolution

The next reflection in the series: The Worldly Church

Why is it so hard to believe any Christians would commit murder? (Why, because adultery, compared to murder, is relatively okay?)

22—Forty Days with James: Through the Book (NASB)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

To appreciate James and the logical flow of the letter, it is vital to understand the political background of Palestine in the New Testament period. These were troubled times: oppression under the Romans and those richer Jews who acted as their pawns, exorbitant taxes and food shortages and, with them, rioting and anti-Roman nationalistic fervor.

Some landowners even hired to execute or at least threaten tenants who were falling behind in their payments. The politically active Zealots, to whom Simon the Zealot, one of Jesus’ apostles, had belonged (Matthew 10:4), urged the nation to revolt. This pressing combination of factors climaxed in the Jewish War of 66-73 AD. In 70 AD Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, never to be rebuilt.

If the history seems tangled, let’s simplify: Even in a time of social challenge and devastating famine, the rich were still oppressing the poor. This is why James addresses the pride of the rich (1:9-11; 2:1-9, 13-17), persecution by the rich (2:6-7; 5:6) and economic exploitation by the rich (5:4-6). Patient endurance, not violent retaliation, is enjoined upon the Christians. Without this perspective, the letter of James is difficult to appreciate and to understand.

Next: Waging War

21—Forty Days with James: Genuine Wisdom

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 1 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 3:17-19

In 1st-century Palestine, James was a force for unity and peace.
- “James is burdened with a desire for communal unity, but unfortunately the inevitable result of unruly tongues, unholy zeal, and unchecked party spirit is chaos and division.”
- He had a sterling reputation (among the Jews and the Christians of his day). He was grieved by the many factions and frictions in Israel.
Paul too had such a spirit (2 Cor 10:1ff), and taught this to others (Gal 5:23; 6:1). He trainedTimothy to pursue gentleness (1 Tim 6:11), and Titus as well (Titus 3:1ff).
brother Jesus (Matt 11:28-29), who taught, "Blessed are the meek" (Matt 5:5).
Yet the evangelical concept of manhood has changed greatly in the last half-century.
- Personality, including charisma, is more valued than character. A real man is a take-charge guy, and (in leadership) typically embraces with a "command and control" approach to the ministry.
- The "man's man" may be a bit rough around the edges. He enjoys (even needs) a good fight (or war). He is a hunter, an athlete, and a rugged outdoorsman. For sure he is no "sissy."
- He may be a chauvinist (no one's perfect). He may abuse others verbally or even sexually (though such peccadilloes are downplayed or covered up.) Also tolerated may be outbursts of shouting, anger, zeal (without knowledge), impulsivity, and insensitivity. Perhaps communication skills are suboptimal. But it's all good, because surely someone has to lead.
- Passages like Jas 3:17-18 are seen, or interpreted, as somehow “feminine."
- Mentioned during the reflection: Jesus & John Wayne.
But surely the standard of manhood is Jesushimself, the perfect human!
If you'd like more on these themes, please check out the Sermon on the Mount series (40 devotionals, recorded in 2020) here.

Next: some brief background to James 4, then a reading of the entire letter (NASB).

In teaching this sort of "wisdom" (Jas 3:17-18), James was only following the lead of his

20—Forty Days with James: Pseudo-Wisdom

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 3:13-16

Intro

In our next 2 reflections, James considers two types of wisdom.
The Greek of James is so fine that some scholars deny that he could have penned this letter!
- See Greek text below (Jas 3:13-16). See also papyrus copy of James 1 (below, R).
- Whether these are James’ original words or they have been recorded by a scribe / improved is unknown!
- Either way, they are a pleasure to read. If you want to learn NT Greek, you will need to take a proper course in a college or university. Not realistic to become “self-taught.”
The situation:
- Some people evidently viewed themselves as superior.
- Yet they are overflowing with negative feelings.
- Far from being wise, they are profoundly unspiritual.
On pseudo-wisdom:
- Wisdom is a matter of character—not education.
- Wisdom is a matter of character—not intellect.
- Wisdom does not necessarily come with age.
- Rather, wisdom is knowledge used in a spiritually way.
- Pseudo-wisdom is characterized by bitter envy, selfish ambition, disorder, sin, and pride.

Next: The final passage in ch 3, and a passage most churches ignore!

3:13 τίς σοφὸς καὶ ἐπιστήμων ἐν ὑμῖν; δειξάτω ἐκ τῆς καλῆς ἀναστροφῆς τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἐν πραύ̈τητι σοφίας. 14 εἰ δὲ ζῆλον πικρὸν ἔχετε καὶ ἐριθείαν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν, μὴ κατακαυχᾶσθε τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ ψεύδεσθε. 15 οὐκ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ σοφία ἄνωθεν κατερχομένη, ἀλλὰ ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδης. 16 ὅπου γὰρ ζῆλος καὶ ἐριθεία, ἐκεῖ ἀκαταστασία καὶ πᾶν φαῦλον πρᾶγμα.

19—Forty Days with James: Cursing & Praise

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 3:9-12

So many images in this chapter: (tongue), bit, rudder, spark, taming (animals), poison, spring, fig tree… which bring to life the importance of the topic.
- Common illustrations from the ancient world
- Or from Jesus, like Matt 7:15-20.
The focus: the misuse of tongue in worship
“The good set of mind does not talk from both sides of its mouth: praises and curses, abuse and honor, calm and strife, hypocrisy and truth, poverty and wealth, but it has one disposition, uncontaminated and pure, toward all men. There is no duplicity in its perception or its hearing” (T. Benj. 6.5, 6).
Application
- Negative words:
  - Slander
  - Gossip
  - Hypercritical of church leaders
  - Media posts….
- Negative deeds:
  - Punitive driving
  - Punitive tipping
  - Making a workmate’s job more difficult
  - Foot-dragging at work
  - Getting back at an unpleasant boss
  - Various passive-aggressive behaviors
- Controlling the tongue is esp. important as all members are called to ministry of instruction, at least on some level (Col 3:16; Rom 15:14; Heb 5:12-14).
“Set a watch, O Lord, over my mouth / Keep the door of my lips” (Ps 141:3).

Next: Pseudo-Wisdom

18—Forty Days with James: The Untamable

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Reminders:

All of chapter 3 addresses the tongue, and has special relevance for and application to church leaders.
The influence of the tongue may be enormous, despite its minuscule size (like a rudder, bit, or spark). The body of Christ can be significantly influenced—for better or worse—through the words of a single person.
James wants to ensure that his readers / audience appreciate the seriousness of the point, so he offers even more illustrations (two in vs. 7-8, and two more in vs. 9-12).
Keep in mind that James is speaking into an already tense situation, both economically and politically.

James 3:7-8

Taming animals is a cinch compared to taming the tongue.
"Restless"—There's no end to the harm we can cause with our tongues, if we throw discretion to the winds and ignore what God’s Word says.
The impact of our words can be poisonous.
Selected proverbs on the tongue (NRSV): 6:16-19; 10:19-20; 12:18; 15:1-2; 18:21; 21:23; 25:15; 26:28; 28:23; 31:26.

Questions for self:

In a conversation, do I usually dominate?
Do others every tell me I talk too much?
Am I typically the loudest voice in the room?
Do I always have to have the last word?
Do I make unfavorable comments about others (even if they’re true)?
Do I ever use profanity?
Do I ever use coarse language?
When others talk, do they feel that I am listening—or distracted? What do my children say? My spouse?
Do I break confidences?
Am I a flatterer?
Am I tempted to answer tough questions dishonestly, or do I speak frankly and truthfully?
Do I make promises that I fail to keep—or never intended to keep in the first place?
Do I talk about others (without their permission) to third parties?
Do I repeat third-hand information?
Do I often say hurtful things—even unintentionally?
Do I ever lie?
(Teachers) When I’m speaking on a complex or sensitive subject, have I done the appropriate research, or do I tend to be careless with study, preparation, and attribution of sources?
(Leaders) Do others feel I have heard them out, when they have criticisms, suggestions, or other things on their heart?
(Speakers) Do I tend to go overtime?

Things to work on immediately

Notice when others gossip – and refuse to join in.
Record myself—and listen. How is my tone?
If I'm loquacious, count to 3 before speaking / answering.
Ask my family / friends if they think I need to improve in my use of my tongue.
Reread the Proverbs.

Next: a passage most churches ignore.

17—Forty Days with James: The Rudder

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

.Review: "The Tongue of the Teacher: (no. 16)

James 3:1 applies to all Christian leaders, at least those who speak, teach, preach—which is pretty much everybody.
Reading between the lines, we realize that unspiritual teachers were a threat to the communities that James oversaw.
As we will continue to see, it is broad applications for all followers of Christ, leaders or otherwise!

James 3:3-5

Illustrations of the impact of a careless tongue:
- Bits control horses, even though the bit itself is very small compared to the horse.
- Rudders are essential for steering ships, although in comparison with the entire vessel the rudder(s) may be minuscule.
- A small spark can still cause an enormous conflagration!
- There is a note of the diabolical, with the reference to hell. (Gehenna in Josh 15:8b; 18:16b; Neh 11:30 is the word for hell in the N.T., e.g. Mark 9:43, 47. See also Isa 66:23-24.)

The danger is either potential or actual.
- The Christian community is susceptible, vulnerable to the predations or errors of ungodly teachers.
- James may be implying that some present teachers ought to step down.
- Or he may be asking some to reconsider their interest in teaching others.
- “Teachers who permit their tongues to get out of control are well on the way to becoming false teachers.”
The solution isn't to get rid of the teachers (who would include, after all, all elders, preachers, and others who speak to the church), but to make sure of their character and biblical training.

Our next reflection: “The Untamable”

16—Forty Days with James: The Tongue of the Teacher

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

James 3:1-2

What is the context of James's warning?
- James is the most influential person in the Jerusalem church. 3:1 applies to him.
- What’s the leadership model in the communities James is addressing? Teachers & elders (3:1; 5:16)—no mention in this epistle of prophets, evangelists, or other leadership roles involving speaking. Actually, there seem to be multiple models of church governance in the New Testament:
  - Antioch – prophets, teachers, and probably elders (13:1; implied by 14:23).
  - Corinth – teachers and prophets—apostles also mentioned, in the gift lists, though no evidence they were present in Corinth—(1 Cor 12:28).
  - Ephesus – elders (shepherds), deacons (servants), teachers, evangelists (at least Timothy), and possibly
    prophets (Eph 2:20; 3:5; 4:11). 1 Tim 3:1-7.
  - Jerusalem – apostles, elders (Acts 15:22).
  - Philippi – shepherds, deacons (servants) (Phil 1:1).
  - Rome – teachers and prophets, a collaborative model (Rom 12:6-8).
  - Evangelists show up only in the Ephesian "model," though I presume that they were mobile, planting churches, exposed to danger in a variety of situations. In Acts 20:17 Paul called for the elders, who appear to be the church leaders. No evangelist as "senior pastor" (as among many Protestant churches). Let's not get bogged down with titles and definitions. The N.T. seems to indicate that church governance is an area of freedom.
- In speaking of the tongue of the teachers, in other words, James is almost certainly referring to church leaders. To those who speak, teach, influence the body of Christ.
  - Unfit teachers troubled many first-century churches (Acts, 2 Cor, Col, 1-2 Tim, Titus, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, Jude).
  - It seems unfit teachers were also a negative influence among the communities James oversaw.
  - For suggested criteria for anyone serving as a congregational teacher, please click here.
And so it is today.
- People want to be teachers but they don’t know what they’re talking about (1 Tim).
- People have wrong motives—e.g. seeking to undermine legitimate leadership (2 Cor; Phil 1).
- Their doctrines are spiritually unhealthy. (Ways of approaching spiritual life, as opposed to misinterpretations of isolated scriptures.)
- Some seek popularity / a following, or to be accepted by the world (thus giving in to liberal sexual ethics or worldly politics).
- Many presume to speak authoritatively in areas they have never properly studied. (I often ask, when people approach me with a new idea, what they have studied… and to cite their sources…)
- Some are attracted to novelty for the sake of novelty.
Biblical integrity means:
- Respect context—not just choosing isolated words or phrases that seem to say what we want them to say, or what we expected. Reading the paragraph in which those words appear, in light of the entire book of the Bible in which they are found.
- Message preparation—starting with the text, not adding scriptures in at the end to fortify inspirational messages.
- Teaching or preaching Scripture's agenda, not our own.
- Learning and applying all of scripture: no mere lip-service to 2 Tim 3:16-17.
- Training‚ and continuing education for ministers of the gospel!
- This task requires prophetic courage.
Jas 3:1-2 applies not only to leaders / speakers, however, but to us all.
- All of us sin with the tongue!
- The “perfect man” isn’t sinless. Don’t despair. Teleios = completeness and maturity. Holiness.
All of Jas 3 is about the tongue, so let’s seek connections with other passages throughout James. There are many!

Next: The Rudder

15—Forty Days with James: Through the Book (The Message)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Next: We begin James 3—with important insights on spiritual leadership.

14—Forty Days with James: The Epistle of Straw

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Luther’s translation of the N.T. (1522)

Separated 4 books from the other books of the N.T.—almost an appendix.
Other books he removed to the end were Heb, Jude, Rev—but at least he included them in the translation.
He also made a tweak to Rom. 3:28 (allein durch den Glauben—adding the word "alone").
He could not accept Jas 2:24. At least he was honest about this doubt.

Why did Martin Luther have such a low opinion of James?

He liked James in some ways: “I praise it and hold it a good book, because it sets up no doctrine of men and lays great stress on God’s law.” After all, he did include it in his translation – just not with the 23 NT books he thought were inspired.

Compared to the legitimate NT books, James is “an epistle of straw.”
He said James contained nothing of the gospel.
It is not of apostolic authorship. [All N.T. documents are apostolic, but many are not written by apostles: Mark, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, James, Jude.]
James opposes Paul and mixes up law and works. It is erroneous vis-à-vis faith and works.
"Many sweat hard at reconciling James with Paul ... but unsuccessfully. `Faith justifies' [Paul's teaching] stands in flat contradiction to `Faith does not justify' [James 2:24]. If anyone can harmonize these sayings, I'll put my doctor's cap on him and let him call me a fool." [Yet Luther was reading his own theology into the text and thus finding a "contradiction."]
There is no mention of the passion or resurrection.
Jesus is mentioned only twice—but James “teaches nothing about him.” [Actually, as biblical scholar Rudolf Kittel (1853-1929) observed, “No writing in the NT outside the Gospels is so interlaced with reminiscences of the words of the Lord as [James].”

Lessons to learn:

Don’t add or subtract to/from God’s word.
Be honest about the Bible, including the parts that trouble us. Many people aren’t as honest as Luther. They leave James in the Bible, but still reject what Scripture says. Others claim that Paul and James are opposed. They may accept Hebrews as scripture, but rationalize away the 12 passages that refute "once saved always saved."
Shouldn't we actually be surprised if we agreed with everything in God’s Word? Isn't the one whose thoughts and ways are far, far above our own more likely to give us a revelation which sometimes diverges from our expectations and opinions?
Let's not be too quick to judge—to be dismissive of biblical teachings, or even biblical books, where they rub us the wrong way.
A key verse in regard to the faith/works/justification issue is James 2:22. (This is a good memory verse!)

Next: Reading of James in The Message

13—Forty Days with James: The Magic Wand & the Touch

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Further comments on Jas 2:14-26:

Re: deeds (v.14):
- Jesus frequently emphasizes deeds, both in the gospels and in Revelation. For “I know your deeds,” see Rev 2:2, 19, 23; 3:1-2, 8, 15.
- We need to be comfortable talking about the way of Christ. It is not a good sign when we prefer vagueness in our conversation or fellowship to actual obedience.
Re: being God's friend (v.23:
- Abraham (in Jewish tradition) was called God's friend.
- Keep in mind that this is the opposite of being the world's friend (4:4).
- See also John 15:15.

Note also the parallel between James 2:26 and 1:26.
Illustration: The Magic Wand & the Touch, by Dave Malutinok (adapted)

Next: "The Epistle of Straw"

12— Forty Days with James: Cold Deeds with Warm Words

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Notes on James 2:14-26:

The word “deeds” is more palatable for many religious people than “works,” with is association with trying to earn our salvation.
Vs.14-16 seem to address a real situation among the believers to whom James is writing.
- See also 1 John 3:16-18, Matt 25:31-46, and Gal 6:10.
- Keep in mind also the likely famine conditions in Judea at the time of James’s letter. 2 Cor 8-9 and Acts 11:28 refer to this hardship.
I admit it’s difficult to know who exactly is speaking in vs. 18, or the exact point (though I assume it’s fully in line with the thought of vs.14-17 and 19-26).
Demons have mere intellectual assent (v.19).
- The Shema‘ (Hear, O Israel...) is found in Deut 6:4.
- Were some wealthy persons allowed into the fellowship whose behavior did not match their profession of faith?
- Orthodoxy (right belief) isn't enough. Orthopraxy (right behavior) is essential; it completes and confirms orthopraxy.
- There is no such thing as faith in a vacuum
- Both persons were proselytes to the faith.
- Both were commended for faith because faith was complemented by deeds.
A widely twisted and ignored verse is 2:24
- Liberals often accept that this is a “contradiction”—that James and Paul are somehow at odds with each other.
- Evangelicals – ignore v.24, esp. when they hold to the “once saved, always saved” teaching. Many evangelicals and other Protestants hold to the slogan "faith alone," which does not appear in the N.T.
- Further: for "Why I am Not an Evangelical—Or Am I?" please click here. For "Why I am Not a Protestant," please click here.
Re: v.17, see Titus 1:15-16.

Next: “The Magic Wand & the Touch"

James then offers two examples from the OT, from Genesis and Joshua, in vs. 21-27.

11—Forty Days with James: The Royal Law

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Why is this a “royal" law? It's the Law of the kingdom, law of king for his people.
It's "Love your neighbor as yourself."
James's readers / hearers are called to stop showing partiality.
This is not mere suggestion, but a law! It’s a law of love, the perfect law of freedom.
It dictates the sort of people we are, and how we treat one another—not just outsiders, but fellow subjects of the king.
Mercy flows out through us. We are embodying the attitudes / behaviors of Matt 5:21-48.
Re: v.2:8:
- niversal human teaching? Usually it's the silver rule that prevails, not the golden rule. Rabbinic Judaism: “What you hate do not do to your neighbor. That is the essence of the Torah; the remainder is commentary” (Hillel, b. Shabbath 31a). Classical Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”— Udanavarga 5:18 [Silver Rule]. Confucius: “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” — Analects XV.24 [Silver Rule]. For more examples from among the religions and philosophies of the world, click here.
- Paul teaches the same in Gal 5:14 and Rom 13:8-10.

Lev 19:18. Is this a u
Re: v.9, the sin in question is favoritism.
Re: vv.10-11:
- Deut 27:26.
- We are lawbreakers even if we break only one commandment. (Think of one crack/hole in the windshield.)
Re Vv.12-13:
- Christians are judged by the supreme law, the law that sets us free: the law of love.
- A failure to love the poor makes us transgressors—showing favoritism to the rich—we are actively violating God’s law.
- Here is an echo of Matt 5:7.
- Judgment without mercy!

Finally

Looking into the mirror has not led to repentance—hence the severity of James’s scathing rebuke. They have failed to live by the royal law in their Christian community.
Nor was his rebuke given hypocritically. He was, after all, “James the Just” (widely respected by Jews and Christians alike for his compassionate care for the needy).

Next: Cold Deeds with Warm Words

10—Forty Days with James: Oppressors & Oppressed

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Intro

Was Jesus a "carpenter" (Mark 6:3, Matt 13:55)? Tekton = builder. "Carpenter,” esp. in our culture, has a certain prestige. But not so much when someone tells you, “I’m in construction. I’m a manual laborer.”
Jesus was more likely a stonemason. Wood is not the usual building material in Palestine – stone is much more common. As a builder he would have worked with others. He also may not have been as well-off as we might think. (After all, consider how few possessions he had at the end of his life.)
He was not born into privilege; he had to work for a living. James wasn't wealthy, either. If anything, he stood on the side of the underprivileged.

James 2:5-7

James urges us not to privilege the rich. Often they are rich only because they are underpaying, entrapping, or otherwise exploiting the poor.
Of course not all poor people will be saved, and not all rich people will be condemned.
But the Scriptures heavily favor the needy, pity the plight of the poor, and call us all to take responsibility.
Irony: cozying up to the very people who are exploiting you!
The rich typically use the law to gain wealth, keep it, and make it grow—and keep it away from others.

Further:

Q&A 1616: “Are James's remains in the church of Santiago de Compostela in Spain?”
N.T. Character Study on James, the brother of the Lord.
A book on the ossuary of James, by Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2003).

Next: The Royal Law

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09—Forty Days with James: The Chair & the Floor

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Might we have a wrong view of religion – could our religion be “worthless” (Jas 1:26)? Do I excuse myself with the thought, "Perhaps I don’t need to worry about orphans and widows. After all, I’m not that wealthy. I’m just middle class."
James himself was not a wealthy man (the implication of 1 Cor 9:5). Nor was Jesus. Nor was the Lord's family well-to-do, even after his earthly ministry. (The story of Jude's grandsons, called to appear before the emperor Domitian [81-96 AD].) There was no elite "Jesus dynasty."

James 2:1-4

The meeting (v.2) may be a regular church gathering, or a special church "court" (see 1 Cor 6:1-8); it doesn't matter which is the case.
Two men walk in at the same time, one obviously wealthy, the other dirt poor. The community is guilty of favoritism.
James challenges snobbery and partiality—and as we will see in the next reflection, a few verses later, those showing this sort of favoritism are undermining their own best interests.
How about us? Do we show special attention to the rich? Are we afraid to offend them?
I have observed that church leaders often treat them deferentially, holding back from preaching the truth lest they be offended. Further, church leaders tend to treat them preferentially, esp. since they hope to benefit from their donations.
Further, there are implications for servant leadership. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for always wanting the best seats (Matt 23:6). Many Christian leaders are the ones with the fine clothes. And in many churches the pastor is the wealthiest person in the entire congregation!
Have we become judges with evil thoughts? Are we guilty of favoritism and elitism? Are some of our attitudes towards wealth and power identical to those of the world?

Next: Oppressors & Oppressed

08—Forty Days with James: Through the Book (RPM)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Interesting facts about James
- James appears immediately after Acts in many early NTs.
- Some scholars think James was the first NT document to be written (sometime in the 40s). (Many conservative scholars believe Galatians is the oldest, penned in 48.) Note: James the brother of the Lord was executed in 62.
- James has 108 verses—about the same length as Philippians, 1 Timothy, 1 Peter, and 1 John. (The Sermon on the Mount, by way of comparison, is 111 verses in length.)
- The first-century Jewish writer and statesman Josephus devotes more of his history to James than to Jesus.
- James eventually overtook Peter as the most influential leader in the Jerusalem church community (evident in Acts 15).
The recording features the translation of British N.T. scholar Ralph P. Martin, as found in The Word Biblical Commentary 48: James (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1988), 3-217. (That's why I call this version "RPM.")

Next in 40 Days in James: "The Chair and the Floor"

07—Forty Days with James: Pure Religion

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

There are five important themes in the latter part of James 1 (vs.19-27), the first three of which we examined in the previous reflection:

Restraint of hasty desire

Practical obedience to God’s Word
Reception of the Word with humility
Concern for defenseless members of the community
Turning from the ways of the world

1:26-27

Profanity, gossip, slander, lying, perjury, babbling—and talking about obeying God but not actually doing it.
"Worthless" – 1:26 parallels 2:26.
Religion is “the celebration of God and the discovery of his will for our lives” (Richard Holloway).
Concern for defenseless members of the community connected with turning from the ways of the world, as in Ezekiel 16:49.
Pollution.
What is the evidence most churches ignore 1:26-27?
- The fellowship isn't stratified – we tend to be one social or economic class. We may help the needy, but how close are we to them?
- General apathy re: the vulnerable.
- Ignorance of the strong OT mandate to care for orphans and widows (Exod 22:21; Deut 10:18; 14:28; 16:11, 14; 24:17-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Ps 68:5; Isa 1:17; Jer 5:28; Ezek 22:7; Zech 7:10)—plus aliens!
- General lack of compassion towards refugees.
- Aloofness from dire issues (human trafficking, famine, civil wars, poverty—the list is endless). We tend to give lip service rather than getting involved in a costly, relational, and meaningful way.
- We spend plenty of money on worldly purchases (homes, cars, vacations, nice clothes…), but nearly 0% to help the needy.
- We may donate for disaster relief, or support solid Christian charities, but are we bringing the poor into the fellowship?
- Most churches give a minuscule percentage of their budget to assist the weak and vulnerable—but spend large amounts on salaries and buildings.
- Do we realize that the poor / working class / slaves were the majority in the early church? The NT church collected money as necessary for the needy—this was by far the primary item in their "budget" (if they had one).
- I don’t mean to paint every congregation with the same brush. Certainly there are numerous exemplary exceptions. But looking at Christendom worldwide, I think this is a fair criticism. (Do you?)

Summary (Jas 1:19-25 and 1:26-27)

Trust in God > the power of human will (anger)
Let’s look into the Word and be honest about what we see
Let’s humbly receive the implanted word, which can save us
Get rid of all moral filth
Careless speech is not a matter of indifference to our God
Nor is caring for the needy optional
Mere talk about the needy makes our religion worthless.
Let's be champions for the powerless, for the vulnerable
This will rewrite rejecting the world and its anti-God values
Freedom comes with obedience

Next time: James 1-5 read in the RPM version

06—Forty Days with James: Listening and Looking

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The next two sections in James (today’s offering plus tomorrow’s) introduce 5 key themes in swift succession:

Restraint of hasty desire
Practical obedience to God’s Word
Reception of the Word with humility
Concern for defenseless members of the community
Turning from the ways of the world

1:19-21

“There are four types of disciples: swift to hear and swift to lose—his gain is canceled by his loss; slow to hear and slow to lose—his loss is canceled by his gain; swift to hear and slow to lose—this is a happy lot; slow to hear and swift to lose—this is an evil lot” (’Avot 5:12).
Not seeking justice through politically motivated violence (v.20).
- “Impostors and demagogues, under the guise of divine inspiration, provoked revolutionary actions and impelled the masses to act like madmen” (Josephus, Jewish War 259).
- There were numerous first century revolutionaries, e.g. the Samaritan who led a band of followers up Mt. Gerizim; Theudas, who put himself forward as a second Moses; and the Jewish prophet who portrayed himself as a second Joshua, prophesying the collapse of Jerusalem’s walls.
- Such revolutionaries, and those who sided with them, constituted an implicit threat to the Sadducees. (They would not have appreciated James.)
“Put off” (v.21) – baptismal context (clothes).

The implanted word – see Jer 31:33. God’s word is powerful; it changes lives.

1:22-25

James is Wisdom Literature.
Mirror analogy:
- Many do not spend time in the Scriptures because they don’t like the image of themselves they see there. Of course the Word makes us look better—not in external appearance, but at the heart level.
- Perhaps the mirror is connected with seeing ourselves as the image of God. Our look into the mirror requires more than a cursory look. Slow down, let the truth sink in.
Doers – this word appears several times in James. Obedience.
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not—he is a fool; avoid him / He who knows not and knows that he knows not—he is simple; instruct him / He who knows and knows not that he knows—he is asleep; awaken him / He who knows and knows that he knows—he is wise; follow him (an old Arab proverb).
Teleios 5x in James…. Suggests character, not mere actions
Why the “perfect law that gives freedom” probably isn’t the N.T.:
- See Ps 1:2; 19:7-11; 40:6-8; 119.
- Rebirth through the Word (1:18).
- The perfect law seems to be the same thing as “the implanted word” (v.21).
- In James, Gospel and "law" are more or less interchangeable.
- Perfect / mature – 1:4; 3:2, 17-18.
- 2:8—Perfect law is recast as “the sovereign law” of love to one’s neighbor.
- This is certainly not the New Testament—which wasn’t even written yet. (James died in 62; by that time, the only parts of the NT already written would have been 15 or 18 of the epistles.)
- Thus there is no direct connection with 1 Cor 13 (“when the perfect comes”).
Freedom
- Not political freedom, nor economic freedom, but spiritual freedom.
- God’s perfect law brings freedom – obedience (think RR tracks).

Next reflection: Pure Religion

05—Forty Days with James: God’s Perfect Gifts

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 4 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Reflection 5, "God's Perfect Gifts," unpacks James 1:16-18.

Don’t be deceived. Don’t crack and crumble under the pressure of trials – don’t cave in!
This requires us to think correctly about reality, about God.
God is not fickle. He is good, and gives good gifts.
He created the light(s), and he gave us new birth through the Word (see also 1 Pet 1:23; Eph 5:26).
This birth contrasts with the “birth” of v.15!
The life that we live requires sincere dedication to Him.

Next: Listening & Looking

04—Forty Days with James: Victors, not Victims

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1. The trials of chapter 1 probably refer to persecution.
2. Don’t give up! When we give up, we are letting our lives be defined by our particular temptations and sins.
3. In Christ we can overcome
4. Note: temptations are not sins. The sin is what we decide to do about the temptation. As Martin Luther was fond of saying, “You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can keep him from building a nest in your hair”!
5. In ancient religions the gods were often blamed for human temptations. The Bible roundly rejects this notion.
6. James likens the process of temptation to biological growth: conception, pregnancy, delivery, growth and maturity.
7. Yes, life is messy (trials, suffering, perseverance), yet it is not so hard that we are without hope—provided we have the right perspective (not thinking too highly of ourselves, nor too lowly), relying on the one who fits us for the life to which he has called us.

APPLICATION

Don’t cave in. Don’t give in to temptation. Gen 4.
We are all laden with different temptations (anger, temper; lust; alcoholism, other chem dependencies; envy, jealousy; gossip, slander; taking false credit; ungracious speech...) Let's not let these define us. Rather, through Christ we can rise above the fleshly (animal) level to the spiritual.
Do I take responsibility when under pressure, or do I excuse myself? Is my tendency to look for someone else to blame, or do I own up to my own failures?
Do I have the sense of God’s guiding hand, his purifying presence, his wisdom as I go through my day? God is in control!
God doesn’t work in our lives (through testing) to ruin us, but to prove and improve us.

Next: God’s Perfect gifts

03—Forty Days with James: Pride vs. Humility

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Mar 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The man James

1. In the NT, James is by far the most significant (half-)brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3, Acts 1:14).
2. Notice: “servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1)—similar humility in Jude, also penned by a brother of Christ. His is a humble stance
3. James’ conversion
  1. We see early in the gospel of Mark that Mary and her sons did not appreciate Jesus’ identity and mission (Mark 3:20-21, 31). They would not (or could not) go into the meeting; instead they sent a messenger to fetch Jesus, whom they think has gone over the top!
  2. But after Jesus' death, his brothers join the apostles in prayer (Acts 1:14).
  3. By Acts 15 James is a significant leader in Jerusalem.
  4. Note: he is not the apostle James, son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2). He did, however, become a major voice in the Jerusalem church, eclipsing Peter, probably due to Peter’s responsibilities outside Jerusalem (see Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Galatians 1:19; 2:9, 12), and left us with the epistle of James (James 1:1).
  5. Galatians 1:19 possibly indicates he was recognized as an apostle.
  6. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, James was stoned to death by the Jews in 62 AD. “Festus was now dead, and Albinus was on the road; so he assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others. And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the King [Agrippa] desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more…"

.
James 1:9-12

James puts the material world in perspective. Poor people can please God, and so can rich people (see 1 Timothy 6), but both need to watch their step.
Hillel (c. 20 BC) wrote "My humiliation is my exaltation, my exaltation is my humiliation."
The scorching wind may well be the scirocco ("a hot wind, often dusty or rainy, blowing from North Africa across the Mediterranean to southern Europe).
If we keep our head and our faith, and keep away from the perils of materialism, we will one day receive the “crown of life.”
This crown is received neither quickly nor cheaply. The price is high, the reward infinite.
We can persevere under trial, or we can frown and get a bad attitude. Yet we should never blame God. He is always fair. This ties in to 1:13-15—our next reflection.
If I'm more dependent on rationalizations for why I don't push myself—why I don't persevere—than I am on God, I will always manage to find a reason why I can't persevere. But if I love him and am convinced God loves me (v.12), through his grace I will move through trial after trial—and even count them as pure joy (1:2).

The next reflection, from James 1:13-15, is "Victors, not Victims"

James and the other brothers are Jesus’ would-be advisers in John 7:1-5. They seem skeptical about their older brother.

James 02—Forty Days with James: Pure Joy vs. Double Mind

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1:1—the 12 Tribes = Christians (see Gal 6:16), probably from a Jewish background.
If James is like Ephesians (a circular letter) then it's possible the original letter or material was adapted after James's death for a broader Jewish-Christian audience (in the diaspora).
The nature of James: A letter? A sermon? A collection or compendium? Or Wisdom Literature?
Date: Could be as early as 45 AD, but in 50s and 60s the social unrest suggested by the later chapters of James is a better fit.
1:2ff—Trials are God's plan for growth. See Rom 5:3-4 and Romans 8 for parallel material.
Sometimes we need wisdom to cope with our trials. God generously provides! More about wisdom in chapter 3.
There's a connection between unhealthy doubt and joy. Double-mindedness is draining—making it harder to experience joy. Consider also the rabbinic comment on Deut 26:16: “When you make your prayer to God, do not have two hearts, one for God and one for something else” (Ta'an 23b).

.In the next reflection, we will learn about James as a person, and explore James 1:9-12, "Pride vs. Humility."

James 01—Forty Days with James: through the book (NIV)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Resonance:
1. Sermon on Mount (man phrases, and at least 6 points of connection)
2. OT – a number of quotes, plus numerous allusions
3. The impression of an OT prophet (notice how he challenges entrepreneurs and the wealthy)
4. [the Jewish Apocryphal tradition]
Listen closely!

In the next two reflections, we will begin to explore chapter 1, learn a little about James as a person, and ask the question: What exactly is James? A letter, a sermon, a compendium….?

James 00–Forty Days with James: Reflections on a Powerful Epistle

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Forty Days with James (the brother of Jesus) will take us through this powerful letter by the brother of Jesus, passage by passage. We'll read through the epistle in multiple English translations, leaving no stone unturned. Some highlights:

Why caring for the needy isn’t optional
The truth about “falling away"
Why James 3:1 applies to (nearly) all Christian leaders
Why the “perfect law that gives freedom” probably isn’t the New Testament.
5 passages most churches ignore.
Why Martin Luther had such a low opinion of James, comparing it to “an epistle of straw.”
Pollution, anointing with oil, and many other topics
Wisdom—not a matter of education, but of character.

The goal: for each reflection to be inspiring, informative, and biblically faithful—so that we may better know God and make him known.

IC. 32 - Brother Lawrence

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This podcast is based on The Practice of the Presence of God, a record of the life and words of Brother Lawrence (Whitaker House, 1982). Includes the biography of his life by Joseph de Beaufort, written shortly after his death (in 1691). For clarity, I have put Brother Lawrence's words in blue. The other words, when in quotes, are Joseph de Beaufort's. Click on the arrow to hear the podcast (34 mins) or see instructions to download below.

Introduction

We may be tempted to conceive of Christian history as a vast wasteland stretching from the post-apostolic period till fairly modern times; yet this is not quite accurate.

Even in centuries when devotion to God was the exception rather than the rule, there were numerous men and women of faith whose light shone, offering a strong contrast to the carelessness of the age. Brother Lawrence was one of these.

Life

Born Nicholas Herman in France, early 17th century, into a poor family.
Army life
Poverty drove him into the army, where he was fed and received a small stipend.
Most of Europe was at war. (This was the time of the Thirty Years' War.)
Taken prisoner by the Germans.
When there was talk of hanging him as a spy, he replied that since he'd never done anything to give him a bad conscience, he was not afraid of death.
There on he was released.
Wounded.
Back to parents' home
Humility: determined to accept the gospel
Enters a Paris monastery
Insight from a tree [age 18]: "In the deep of winter, Herman looked at a barren tree, stripped of leaves and fruit, waiting silently and patiently for the sure hope of summer abundance. Gazing at the tree, Herman grasped for the first time the extravagance of God's grace and the unfailing sovereignty of divine providence. Like the tree, he himself was seemingly dead, but God had life waiting for him, and the turn of seasons would bring fullness. At that moment, he said, that leafless tree 'first flashed in upon my soul the fact of God,' and a love for God that never after ceased to burn." -- Christian History article
Becomes a Carmelite lay brother (in a barefoot monastic order), taking the name Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection.
He did not have the education required to become a cleric, so he became a lay monk.
Cook (in later life, repairs sandals). He cooked and cleaned and did what he was told.
Strengths
Relationship with God, especially prayer
Gracious behavior and speech
Wise counsel
Lived well and died well.

Example and counsel

1. Surrender (control issues)

"Before he had experienced God's swift help in his affairs, he had attempted to plan every detail, doing the job in his own strength. But now, acting with childlike simplicity in God's sight, he did everything for the love of God, thanking Him for His guidance" (p.16).
Referring to one who had not learned this lesson, Lawrence wrote, "She seems so full of good will, but she wants to go faster than race allows. It is not possible to become spiritually mature all at once" (p.45).
"We must do everything with great care, avoiding impetuous actions, which are evidence of a disordered spirit. God wishes us to work gently, calmly, and lovingly with Him, asking Him to accept our work. By this continual attention to God, we will resist the devil and cause him to flee (Jas 4:7)" (pp.59-60).
Quotation from Robert McGee, The Search for Significance: Seeing your True Worth through God's Eyes (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998), ix-x.
Question to self: Do I have a disordered spirit?

2. Prayer (general)

"Our brother remarked that some people go only as far as their regular devotions, stopping there and neglecting love, which is the purpose of those devotions. This could easily be seen in their actions and explained why they possessed so little solid virtue" (p.18).
"It isn't necessary to be too verbose in prayer, because lengthy prayers encourage wandering thoughts" (p.43).
"... It would not be wrong to offer short phrases that are inspired by love, such as 'Lord, I am all Yours,' 'God of love, I love You with all my heart,' or 'Lord, use me according to Your will.' But remember to keep the mind from wandering or returning to the world. Hold your attention on God alone by exercising your will to remain in God's presence" (p.70).
"Simply present yourself to God as if you were a poor man knocking on the door of a rich man, and fix your attention on His presence. If your mind wanders at times, don't be upset, because being upset will only distract you more. Allow your will to recall your attention gently to God. Such perseverance will please Him" (p.43).
[Extended quotation (p.38)]
Question to self: How focused am I in prayer?

3. Prayer (throughout the day)

"It isn't necessary that we stay in church in order to remain in God's presence. We can make our heart a chapel where we can go anytime to talk to God privately... Because we have such a short time to live, we should spend our remaining time with God. Even suffering will be easier when we are with Him, but without Him, even the greatest pleasures will be joyless... Offer your heart to him at every moment. Don't restrict your love of Him with rules or special devotions. Go out in faith, with love and humility" (pp.33-34).
"We must try to converse with God in little ways while we do our work; not in memorized prayer, not trying to recite previously formed thoughts. Rather, we should purely and simply reveal our hearts as the words come to us" (p.59).
"Whatever we do, even if we are reading the Word or praying, we should stop for a few minutes -- as often as possible -- to praise God from the depths of our hearts, to enjoy Him there in secret. Since you believe that God is always with you, no matter what you may be doing, why shouldn't you stop for a while to adore Him, to praise Him, to petition Him, to offer Him your heart, and to thank Him?" (p.60).
[Extended quotation (p.81)]

4. Sin and confession

"Brother Lawrence was aware of his sins and not at all surprised by them."
"'That is my nature,' he would say, 'the only thing I know how to do.' He simply confessed his sins to God, without pleading with Him or making excuses" (pp.12-13).
Question to self: Do I insist on making a fuss when I fall short? (Two opposite reactions in Heb 12:1-10.)

5. Dry spells and darkness

We should remain faithful, since God may be testing us. Jer17
We should take advantage these times (p.9).
Darkness: [Extended quotation from pp. 79-80]
Question to self: During a dry spell, or even in an extended season of darkness, am I determined to remain faithful?

6. Priorities, boldness, character

"... [Faith] gave him a profound respect and love for the Word of God. Our brother believed that the books of even the most famous academies taught very little in comparison with God's great book" (p.88).
"Today Brother Lawrence spoke to me quite openly and with great enthusiasm about his manner of going to God. He said the most important part lay in renouncing, once and for all, whatever does not lead to God" (p.19).
"Brother Lawrence's principal virtue was his faith. As the just man lives by faith, so it was the life and nourishment of his soul. His spiritual life progressed visibly because of the way his faith quickened his soul. This great faith led him to God, elevating him above the world..." (pp.87-88).
"He coveted nothing; nothing astonished him; he feared nothing" (p.91).
When he suffered, said Lawrence, "I did not pray for any relief, but I prayed for strength to suffer with courage, humility and love" (Letter 14).
Question to self: What are my priorities? Am I as serious as Brother Lawrence at practicing the presence of God?

7. Work

"He believed it was a serious mistake to think of our prayer time as being different from any other... He said his prayers consisted totally and simply of God's presence. His soul was resting in God, having lost its awareness of everything but love of Him. When he wasn't in prayer, he felt practically the same way... Because of this, his life was full of continual joy" (pp.20-21).
"Brother Lawrence's only means of going to God was to do everything for the love of Him. He was therefore indifferent about what he did. All that mattered was that he did it for God. It was He, and not the activity, that he considered" (p.90).
"He often did the work that two usually did, but he was never seen to bustle. Rather, he gave each chore the time that it required, always preserving his modest and tranquil air, working neither slowly nor swiftly, dwelling in calmness of soul and unalterable peace" (p.84).

8. Relations with others

We might think that one who spent so much time in prayer might be a recluse, spiritually proud, or perhaps aloof. In the case of Brother Lawrence, nothing could be further from the truth!
"In this intimate union with the Lord, our brother's passions grew so calm that he scarcely felt them anymore. He developed a gentle disposition, complete honesty, and the most charitable heart in the world. His kind face, his gracious and affable air, his simple and modest manner immediately won him the esteem and good will of everyone who saw him. The more familiar with him they became, the more they became aware of how profoundly upright and reverent he was. Despite his simple and common life in the monastery, he did not pretend to be austere or melancholy, which only serves to rebuff people. On the contrary, he fraternized with everyone..." (p.84).
"... he carefully avoided answering those curious questions which lead nowhere, and which serve only to burden the spirit and dry up the heart. But when he was required by his superiors to declare his thoughts on the difficult questions that were proposed in conferences, his answers were always so clear and to the point that they needed no further comment. This remarkable ability was noted by many learned men" (p.86).
"He assisted the poor in their needs, as much as was in his power. He consoled them when they had problems, offering them his advice. To sum it up in a few words, he did all he could for his neighbor, and tried never to harm anyone. He did everything he possibly could to win men to God" (p.93).
Question to self: Am I doing all I can to win people to God? Am I even connected with my brothers and sisters in Christ?

Before death

Brother Lawrence lived until well into his eighth decade -- and he did not fizzle out!
"On his deathbed, he displayed marks of a stability, a resignation, and a joy that were quite extraordinary... [His faith] became particularly vigorous, penetrating him with its grandeur and enlightening him by its radiance... He was given some final time alone to reflect on the great grace God had given him during his life. When asked how he spent that time, he replied that he had been doing what he would be doing for all eternity: 'Blessing God, praising God, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart. That is our whole purpose, brothers, to adore God and to love Him, without worrying about the rest'" (p.94).
His parting words:
"Regretting the early years before he dwelt in the love of God, Brother Lawrence would speak of this to his fellow brothers: "O goodness, so ancient and so new, too late have I loved Thee! Do not act this way, my brothers. You are young; profit by the sincere confession I make to you of the little care I took to consecrate my first years to God. Consecrate all of yours to His love; for, as for me, if I had known sooner, and if anyone had told me the things that I am telling you now, I would not have waited so long to love Him..." (pp.92-93).
"Let us look to God with these eyes of faith. He is within us; we don't need to seek Him elsewhere. We have only ourselves to blame if we turn from God, occupying ourselves instead with the trifles of life. In the Lord's patience, He endures our weaknesses. But just think of the price we pay by being separated from His presence! Once and for all, let us begin to be His entirely! Let us banish from our heart and soul all that does not reflect Jesus. Let us ask Him for the grace to do this, so that He alone might rule in our hearts" (p.54).
"I must confide in you, dear friend, that I hope, in His grace, that I will see Him in a few days. Let us pray to Him for one another" (p.54). (He actually passed away the very next day, 12 February 1691.)
He "[died] in relative obscurity and pain and perfect joy." -- Christian History
Brother Lawrence shows us how to die, because he shows us how to live: practicing the presence of God.

IC.31-The Imitation of Christ, 31—Meditating on Death / Final Desire / Eternity

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Our final selection in this series is drawn from "On Meditating Upon Death" (Book 1, Chapter 23), "On the Final Desire" (Book 3, Chapter 9), and "On the Clear Day of Eternity" (Book 3, Chapter 48). The podcast (14 minutes) contains only these three excerpts, read without comment.

Scripture: Phil 3:14; (1 Macc 2:63); (Sir 7:6); (Sir 38:22); Luke 21:36; Matt 24:44; 2 Cor 6:2; Rom 6:8; Ecc 7:2; Psalm 144:4; Luke 12:33; 16:9; 1 Pet 2:11; Heb 13:14; John 14:21; 4:14; 1:16; Luke 18:19; John 14:1-3; Heb 11:13; 1 Cor 13:12; Gen 47:9; Col 3:11; Matt 25:34; Psalm 71:12; 27:9; 14:6; Matt 6:21; Gal 5:24 . . . . This was the last podcast in the series The Imitation of Christ.

IC.30-The Imitation of Christ, 30—Coasting / Delight / Free spirit

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Our penultimate devotional (13 minutes) is based on "On Not Resting on Goods and Gifts" (Book 3, Chapter 21), "On Delight Above All Things" (Book 3, Chapter 34), and "On the Free Spirit" (Book 3, Chapter 26).

Scripture: Psalm 43:3-4; 55:6; 34:8; 106:45; 40:5; 19:9; 1 John 2:15; Rom 8:6; Col 3:11; Rom 6:6; Gal 5:17; Psalm 89:9; 44:26; 68:30; (Sir 36:6); Isa 26:3; Matt 6:25-34

Application questions:

Where am I anchored and rooted? Is my center in Christ? Our rest is in him alone.* Where are my joy and delight? Christ meets all our needs.* Am I carefree, or burdened by the things of this world? Christ invites us to simple, pure, holy living.

Our final devotional offering:
"On Meditating Upon Death" (Book 1, Chapter 23), "On the Final Desire" (Book 3, Chapter 9), and "On the Clear Day of Eternity" (Book 3, Chapter 48)

IC.29-The Imitation of Christ, 29—Desiring Eternal Life

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The 29th podcast (11 mins) in our series is "On Desiring Eternal Life" (Book 3, Chapter 49).

Scripture: Phil 1:23-24; Jas 1:17; Rom 8:21; Luke 22:18; Josh 1:6; Eph 4:24; Isa 61:3; Phil 1:20.Powerful sentences: * "It's not by your own meditating and striving that you receive these gifts, but solely by the gracious mercy of my supreme grace and divine care."Help me to see you, Lord, not depending on my own strength or strategies. * "My friend, fire often burns with more smoke than flames... Sometimes you imagine you are praying earnestly and sincerely, but you are not pure or perfect, but praying out of your own selfish desires."Help me to burn with holy fire... * "You must often do what your nature doesn't want to do and not do what your desires want to do."Father, purify my heart and mind and will, thoughts and words and deeds and desires—making me a new person. * "There is scarcely anything that is harder to deny and die to yourself than seeing others be elevated while you are commanded to do things which seem of little or no importance."My God, do whatever it takes to make me humble. * "But consider, my friend, the exceeding rewards for these brief earthly labors in my eternal kingdom."Clarify and sharpen my vision of eternity, O Lord.

Next: "On Not Resting on Goods and Gifts" (Book 3, Chapter 21), "On Delight Above All Things" (Book 3, Chapter 34), and "On the Free Spirit" (Book 3, Chapter 26)

IC.28-The Imitation of Christ, 28—Rash Judgment & Words

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's podcast (12 mins) is on "Avoiding Rash Judgment" (Book 1, Chapter 14), "On Restraint of Our Words" (Book 1, Chapter 10), and "On Avoiding Gossip" (Book 3, Chapter 24).

Scripture: Matt 7:1-2; Jas 3:7-9; Matt 26:41; Eph 4:29; John 21:22; Rom 14:12; Ecc 1:14; John 2:25; Rev 3:20; 1 Pet 4:7.Thought questions:* Am I aware of how my own issues (and inner confusion or turmoil) affect the accuracy of my thoughts? Or am I overconfident in my judgment, usually assuming that my first impression or response is on track?* How conscientiously do I attempt to cultivate empathy with others, including seeing the matter from his or her point of view?* Am I easily drawn into the "drama" of others, at times when discussion is actually fruitless?* Do I gossip? Do I listen to gossip? Am I allured by the gossip of the world (in glossy magazines, sports stats, political opinions, talk about people behind their backs...)?* Do I "watch and pray" in order not to idle way our time?* When I am in a conversation, do I tend to steer it in a spiritual direction, or away from such a direction?* Do I have friends of "kindred minds and spirits"?* In my attempts to share with others, am I truly communicating, or simply racking up relationships, seeking to be popular or well-connected?

Next: "On Desiring Eternal Life" (Book 3, Chapter 49)

IC.27-The Imitation of Christ, 27—Sensitive Heart

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"On Having a Sensitive Heart" (Book 1, Chapter 21) is our next podcast (12 mins).

Scripture: Prov 4:23; 19:23; Jas 4:9; Eph 4:29; Col 2:20-23; Psalm 80:5; 75:5.

Spiritual focus:

Holy reverence* Discipline* Avoiding senseless humor (flippancy)* Cultivating spiritual sensitivity.* Clear and clean conscience* Dealing with distraction* Not tracking celebrities, but honoring those who fear the Lord.* Strive for personal change, then attempt to change others.* Don't love physical comfort.* Sorrow over sin. Sin and guilt are realities, not feelings or opinions.* Live life in the light of eternity—and eternal realities.* Seek a spirit of repentance.* Key quote: "... Because these [spiritual] realities don't reach our hearts and minds, we continue to love pleasurable things and we remain spiritually cold and miserably indifferent."

Next: "Avoiding Rash Judgment" (Book 1, Chapter 14), "On Restraint of Our Words" (Book 1, Chapter 10), and "On Avoiding Gossip" (Book 3, Chapter 24).

IC.26-The Imitation of Christ, 26—Security / Temptation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"On No Security in this Life" (Book 3, Chapter 35) and "On Resisting Temptation" (Book 1, Chapter 13). The podcast (12 mins) is read without interruption or comment.

Scripture: 2 Cor 6:7; Psalm 91:14; Rev 2:17; Rom 8:18; Psalm 27:14; Psalm 91:15; Job 7:1; 1 Pet 5:8; Jas 1:14; Col 1:11; (Sir 31:26); 1 Cor 10:13; (Jud 8:17); Luke 1:52

For consideration: "Nature rejoices in having many friends and family members. It boasts of noble birth and the exotic places it has been. It smiles at the powerful, flatters the rich, applauds people like itself." (from Book 3, Chapter 54)
.
Next: "On Having a Sensitive Heart" (Book 1, Chapter 21)

IC.25-The Imitation of Christ, 25—Reading the Holy Scriptures

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Podcast 25 (12 minutes) is "On the Reading of the Holy Scriptures" (Book 1, Chapter 5).

Scriptures: 2 Tim 3:16; Heb 13:9; Psalm 117:2; Heb 1:1; Rom 2:11

Ten thoughts:* We shouldn't seek novelty for novelty's sake. The gospel is seldom advanced through curious, shocking, or novel ideas.* When we study Scripture, we must avoid reading into it our own opinions, or circumstances, or culture. Have we taken for granted that we already know how to read Scripture -- or even that we know how to read? (Mortimer Adler: How to Read a Book)* Begin with ourselves, before we prepare to teach others. (Yet reading to help others isn't necessarily misguided -- it's what à Kempis is doing in The Imitation of Christ.)

Our extrabiblical reading should include a range of light and deep, simple and more complicated, intellectually easy and mentally challenging. What is the level of our reading?
Don't skip the process of thinking things through, out of respect for the authority of the writer. After all, he or she will sometimes be incorrect. No human writer is perfectly biblical or theologically balanced. Thomas charges us to love the truth. Do we? Or do we easily tire in the search for truth? -- or, worse, feel that we have found all the truth we will ever need?* It's always easier to speculate and debate than it is to engage with the Bible. Although sometimes these discussions just happen, they are not particularly productive. Remember that "We are called to endure and to work hard, not to live a life of ease and careless talk" (from Book 1, Chapter 17).
Don't try to impress others with your knowledge. Besides, there are always plenty of people way more knowledgable than us!
Learn to ask questions. Lack of questions may not be so much an indication of understanding as of apathy or mental dullness.
Learn to listen, to weigh the answers -- embracing the silence required to digest -- not impulsively coming back with objections before we have fully understood.
Accept input from older Christians..Next: ""On No Security in this Life" (Book 3, Chapter 35), "On Resisting Temptation" (Book 1, Chapter 13), and "On Having a Sensitive Heart" (Book 1, Chapter 21)

IC.24-The Imitation of Christ, 24—Exercises of a Righteous Person

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Our devotional (12 mins) is from "On the Exercises of a Righteous Person" (Book 1, Chapter 19).

Scripture: 2 Pet 1:5-8; Prov 16:9; Jer 10:23; Heb 12:1; Eph 6:11; Rom 8:18; Luke 12:37,42

Application:

Daily renewal: Begin the day the right way!
* Stay busy. Redeem the time. The clock is ticking.
Don't advertise our righteous acts.* See also the Examen of Ignatius Loyola. (Scroll down.)

Next: "On the Reading of the Holy Scriptures" (Book 1, Chapter 5)

THE EXAMEN:.* Gratitude: recalling the blessings of the day, thanking God.
* Review: Recall the events of the day and notice where you felt God's presence and where you resisted opportunities to grow in love.
* Sorrow: recall anything for which you are sorry.* Forgiveness: ask for God's forgiveness and/or healing, as needed.* Grace: Ask God for the grace you need for the next day or for your life in general.

IC.23-The Imitation of Christ, 23—Peaceableness / Purity / Conscience

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 4 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's reflection (10 mins) is on three chapters of The Imitation of Christ: "On What Makes a Peaceable Person" (Book 2, Chapter 3), "On A Pure Mind and Simple Intentions" (Book 2, chapter 4), and "On the Joy of a Good Conscience" (Book 2, Chapter 6).

Scripture: Gal 5:22-23; Eph 4:2; Gal 6:2; Rom 12:18; Phil 4:8; Rom 2:9; 1 Pet 3:16; Isa 57:20-21; 2 Cor 1:12; 7:4; 1 John 3:21; Isa 48:22; Mic 3:11; Psalm 146:4; Gal 6:24; 1 Sam 16:7; 2 Cor 10:18; Mic 6:8 . Personal challenges: * Pray to better discern and overcome hypocrisy. * Pray for wholeheartedness, not halfheartedness (laziness). * Keys to good consciences include not only confession and repentance, but also learning to value God's approval over human approval.

Next: "On the Exercises of a Righteous Person" (Book 1, Chapter 19)

IC.22-The Imitation of Christ, 22—Peace of Mind / Solitude & Silence

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's thoughts come from "On Seeking Peace of Mind" (Book 1, Chapter 11) and "On the Love of Solitude & Silence" (Book 1, Chapter 20). The podcast is 15 minutes long.

Scripture:John 14:27; Matt 3:10; Gal 2:20; 5:24; 6:14; 2 Tim 2:4; Rev 2:4; Psalm 37:7; Mark 6:31; Luke 5:16; 2 Cor 1:12; Psalm 4:4; 1 John 2:17; Prov 23:32; Ecc 2:11; 1:14; Matt 6:6

Thought questions:

Do I have peace of mind, or is it filled with chaos, erratic and untamed emotions, or disorderly thoughts?
Are we always listening to "noise" that may distract us from thinking about the Lord?
Is my mind filled with unimportant information (bits of gossip, insignificant news, etc)?
Do I talk more than I listen?
How hard is it for me to fight for "quiet time"?
Do I appreciate how Jesus prioritized such times in his own life?

Next: "On What Makes a Peaceable Person" (Book 2, Chapter 3), "On A Pure Mind and Simple Intentions" (Book 2, chapter 4), and "On the Joy of a Good Conscience" (Book 2, Chapter 6)

IC.21-The Imitation of Christ, 21—Bearing with Others

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Feb 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's meditation (11 mins) is "On Bearing with the Faults of Others" (Book 1, Chapter 16).

Scriptures: Luke 11:4; Gen 50:20; Titus 3:10; Gal 6:2,5; 2 Cor 3:5; Prov 3:7; Col 3:13; 1 Thess 5:11 .Application: * We often operate under a double standard, wanting others to change, or their behavior to be modified, without holding ourselves to the same high standard. * We can avoid critical responses towards brothers and sisters in the faith, spouses, roommates, children, nonbelievers... * There are so many areas in which we can become judgmental: personal appearance, table manners, minor doctrinal differences, pronunciation of words, overweight, accidental scriptural misquotations, matters of prejudice, stress-induced habits, and so on..Next: "On the Love of Solitude & Silence (Book 1, Chapter 20) and "On Seeking Peace of Mind" (Book 1, Chapter 11)

IC.20-The Imitation of Christ, 20—Confidence of Grace

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"On the Confidence of Grace" (Book 3, Chapter 30) will be read without interruption or comment (8 minutes).

Scripture:Jas 1:17; Nah 1:7; Matt 11:28; Jer 32:27; 1 Pet 5:10; Num 23:19; Ps 40:1; Matt 8:7; 6:34; John 14:27; 14:1; Ps 44:21; John 15:9; Luke 8:15; 2 Cor 6:4-10; 11:23-33; Ps 55:6

For further consideration:"Even if he gives us punishments and injuries, we ought to be thankful, because he doesn't do it to make us suffer, but to make us like his Son." (Bk. 2, Chap. 10).

Next:"On Bearing with the Faults of Others" (Book 1, Chapter 16)

IC.19-The Imitation of Christ, 19—Contempt of Worldly Knowledge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's podcast (19 mins) is "On Contempt of Vain and Worldly Knowledge" (Book 3, Chapter 43).

Scripture:1 Cor 1:26-27; 2 Tim 4:3; Num 16; Ps 94:10; 119:100,130; Col 3:4; Zeph 1:12; 1 Cor 4:5,20; 12:11..Application: * "Sweet-sounding compliments": beware flattery, and people lowering the standard. * "Never read the Word to appear learned or wise": Read not for head knowledge or to impress others, but to become like Christ. * "... children clearer knowledge": Let's strive to keep our hearts young. * "I will reveal your [private] motives": Often mixed or impure motives are concealed in the fog of argumentation and rationalization. * "Ten years in schools": Again, wisdom is not the same thing as knowledge. It has a deep spiritual component, and cannot be learned by mere years of schooling. * "Forsaking all earthly things": This is the key to true wisdom (knowledge spiritually applied). * "Gentle and soft-spoken": Jesus engages and challenges us in proportion to the softness of our hearts.

"On the Confidence of Grace" (Book 3, Chapter 30)

IC.18-The Imitation of Christ, 18—Guard of Humility / Thinking Humbly

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"On the Guard of Humility" (Book 3, Chapter 7) and "On Thinking Humbly of Oneself" (Book 1, Chapter 2) are the basis of today's devotional offering (13 minutes).

Scripture: 1 Pet 5:5-6; Matt 6; Jer 10:23; Ps 91:4; Rom 11:25; 12:3; 1 Cor 13:1-3; Rom 11:20; 12:3; Jas 3:1

Practical application:

We should be modest about our personal devotional life.
Keep praying -- even when you don't feel it.
Hard times can turn out to be occasions for getting stronger.
Don't overrate your spiritual strength (or underrate it). It is not a virtue to be overextended.
We all need mentors -- they make us wiser and less likely to be deceived and led into sin.
Don't be easily impressed by others' apparent spirituality. True greatness isn't about looking good or being honored. Rather, it means humility, love, virtue, and connection with others.
Those who teach others / have knowledge will be judged more strictly! "The greater and more advanced our knowledge, the more severely we will be judged -- unless we live a holy life."

Next: "On Contempt of Worldly Knowledge and Vanity" (Book 3, Chapter 43).

IC.17 - The Imitation of Christ, Over-Anxiety / Holy Examples

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scripture:
Ps 37:4
Matt 26:41
Heb 12:1; 6:12; 11:1-40
John 12:25

Application (10 areas):
* Learn from those who have gone before us (in church history, the O.T., and even in our own circle of relationships.
* Aim for "frequent and fervent prayers."
* Practice the discipline of fasting.
* Take strong (disciplined) measures to avoid sin.
* Be excellent workers vocationally on the job.
* Devote our evenings (non-work hours) to the Lord, too. All time is Christ's time.
* Practice mental (as opposed to silent) prayer throughout the day.
* Avoid time-wasting.
* Stop striving for honors. Realize that those who are zeroes in the eyes of the world may well be heroes in the sight of God.
* Renounce carelessness in all forms.

Let's all be alert, vigilant, on guard, and serious.

Next: "On the Guard of Humility" (Book 3, Chapter 7) and "On Thinking Humbly of Oneself" (Book 1, Chapter 2)

IC.16-The Imitation of Christ, 16—Benefits of Obedience / Self-denial / Surrender

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Our podcast (10 minutes) is drawn from three meditations: "On the Many Benefits of Obedience," "On Self-Denial," and "On the Surrender of Self" (Book 3, Chapters 22, 32, and 37). Today there is no commentary, just reading.

Scripture:
Jas 1:22-25; Ezek 20:19; Eph 5:17; Gren 32:10; 1 Cor 4:7; Rom 2:11; Jas 2:5; Ps 45:16; 1 Pet 2:1; Acts 5:41; Luke 14:10; Matt 16:24-25; Phil 2:21; Ezra 10:13; Matt 13:46; Gal 2:20; Ps 139:11.

Tomorrow: "Not Becoming Overly Anxious in our Affairs" and "On the Holy Examples Before Us" (Book 3, Chapter 39 and Book 1, chapter 18)

IC.15-The Imitation of Christ, 15—Obedience / Earthly Affections

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's podcast (12 minutes) comes from two chapters in The Imitation of Christ (Book 1, Chapters 9 and 6). They are "On Obedience and Submission" and "On Earthly Affections."

v 12:15; Rom 14:17

Insights for Life:

* "It is far safer to live under authority than to be in a place of authority."* "It is safer to listen and receive counsel than to give it."* "Proud and greedy people are never at peace."* "True peace of heart is found in resisting passions, not yielding to them."

Tomorrow

"On the Many Benefits of Obedience," "On Self-Denial," and "On the Surrender of Self"

IC.14-The Imitation of Christ, 14—Bearing Injuries / Christ’s Obedience

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's podcast (12 minutes) comes from "Bearing Injuries is the Proof of True Patience" (Book 3, Chapter 19) and "On Christ's Obedience to the Father" (Book 3, Chapter 13).

Scriptures: Rom 8:17-18; Heb 12:4; 2 Tim 2:5; Luke 18:27; John 15:9-10; Ps 18:42; Jas 2:20; 1 Sam 16:21; Ezek 20:17; Gen 2:7

Application questions:

Do I react differently when wronged or inconvenienced by a pleasing person? Or am I indifferent as to who it is that wrongs me?2. Do I agree with à Kempis that "If you refuse to suffer, you will be refused the crown"?3. Do I tend to see injuries and inconveniences positively -- as opportunities to grow in humility, or negatively -- situations merely to be endured?4. Do I submit to those over me (parents, teachers, the government or government workers, leaders), or do I tend to put up a fight?5. In the course of my life, can I say that Christ's humility is overcoming my pride?

Next meditation: "On Obedience & Submission" and "On Earthly Affections" (Book 1, Chapters 9 and 6)

IC.13-The Imitation of Christ, 13—Loss of all comfort

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This podcast (12 minutes) contains and is based on most of "On the Loss of All Comfort" (Book 2, Chapter 9).

Scripture: Phil 4:11-13; Ps 30:6-8,10-11; Job 7:18; Rev 2:7.

Practical application:(1) Don't allow ourselves to lose faith or perspective just because we are going through hard times.(2) Don't allow ourselves to lose faith or perspective just because we are going through long, extended, hard times when we feel despair.(3) Let's not portray ourselves to insiders (fellow pilgrims) or to outsiders as though we have never struggled with temptation, wavered in zeal, or felt the "withdrawal of divine favor."

Thomas à Kempis was a realist, as well as an idealist. His example is well worth emulating..Personal sharing:Person.

Grace & Ungrace I (introduction, from Lamentations) -- Douglas Jacoby
Grace & Ungrace II -- Douglas & Vicki Jacoby
Grace & Ungrace III -- Douglas & Vicki Jacoby

: "On Bearing Injustices" (Book 3, Chapter 19 -- original title: Bearing Injuries is the Proof of True Patience") and "On Christ's Obedience to the Father" (Book 3, Chapter 13).

IC.12-The Imitation of Christ, 12—Human Misery / Weakness

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"On Human Misery" (Book 1, Chapter 22) and "On Our Weakness" (Book 3, Chapter 20).

Scriptures: Phil 3:7-9; Ps 73; Ps 25:17; 2 Cor 6:2; Heb 10:36; 2 Cor 5:4; 1 Thess 5:3; Prov 30:7-9; Col 3:1-4; Ps 32:5; 40:2; 69:14; 1 John 2:15: Job 30:7; Luke 9:23.

Practical points, observations, and questions:
* Life isn't convenient. What does it take to irritate me?
* Do what we can to remind ourselves that the things of the world are temporary. (E.g., pray in a cemetery.)
* Don't buy into the lies of the enemy. We are to often "charmed by the world's delights." When we love our earthly lives, we end up caring nothing for the kingdom of God.
* Regardless of our spiritual "age," there is always time to get back on track and keep growing spiritually. Let's not procrastinate!
* "Unless we forcefully discipline ourselves, we will not conquer ourselves." In what areas am I soft on myself?
* Although we will not achieve perfection, we must keep moving forward.
* To stay humble, recall how often we break our own resolutions!
* Despise the world. Determine to fight indiscipline. Deny ourselves. Don't be deceived by the world! "What will become of us at the end if we are uncommitted and idle?"

Next: "On the Lack of All Comfort" (Book 2, Chapter 9).

IC.11-The Imitation of Christ, 11—Not Trusting Self / Trusting God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's devotional (9 minutes) combines "On Not Trusting Oneself" (Book 2, Chapter 5) and "On Trusting God in Hidden Matters" (Book 3, Chapter 58). I read these two powerful chapters without comment.

Scriptures: Matt 7:3; 16:26: Jer 34:24; Ps 119:137; 19:9; Rom 11:33; 1 Cor 14:33; Ps 21:3; Rom 8:29; Jn 15:16,19; Gal 1:15; Matt 18:10; Rev 4:10; Matt 18:1; 1 Jn 3:1; Isa 60:22; 65:20; Matt 18:3-4; Luke 6:24;20; 3 Jn 4; Luke 18:9-14

Next: "On Human Misery" (Book 1, Chapter 22) and "On Our Weakness" (Book 3, Chapter 20)

IC.10-The Imitation of Christ, 10—Knowledge / Wisdom / Not believing everyone

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 6 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's podcast (12 minutes) blends together excerpts from "Knowledge in Truth," "Wisdom in Action," and "Not Believing Everyone" (Book 1, Chapters 3 and 4, and Book 3, Chapter 45).

Scriptures: Rom 1:21; (Sir 19:14; 14:1; 34:9); (Tob 4:18); Ps 60:11; 37:39; (Wis 1:1); John 14:6; Rom 3:4; Matt 10:17,36; 24:23); James 3:1; Phil 3:4-8.

Application: Types of information of which we should beware: (1) Academic learning without regard for God; (2) "every bit of news" (gossip, slander, misleading portrayals in the media); (3) words of censure (if we are grounded in Christ, we may benefit, and not overreact) and praise (exalting people / their deeds can actually harm them -- esp. when they believe their own press).

Next: "On Not Trusting Oneself."

IC.09-The Imitation of Christ, 9—Hearing God’s Words

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"On How to Hear the Words of God" (Book 3, Chapter 3), with excerpts from "On the Inward Voice of Christ" (Book 3, Chapter 1) and "On Truth Without the Noise of Words" (Book 3, Chapter 2).

Scripture:
John 16:13-14; Ps 94:19; John 12:48; Mic 6:8; Gen 17:1; (Wis 1:1); John 8:32; Ps 25:5; 1 John 3:22; (Tob 3:5); Ps 119:20; (2 Macc 7:38); (Sir 11:4); Isa 29:13; Matt 10:20; Ps 143:10; and many more!

Application:

Make a list of the "time-wasters" in my life, and determine to streamline my day so that I can give proper attention to God's Word.
Strive for silence -- shutting out the noisy distractions of the world. This is essential if we are to take Christ's words into our hearts.
Aim to know the God behind the words (in his Word).
Determine to be faithful till the very end.

Next: "Knowledge in Truth, Wisdom in Action, & Not Believing Everyone" (blending Book 1, Chapters 3 and 4 with Book 3, Chapter 45).

IC.08-The Imitation of Christ, 8—Selfish Love

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 2 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scripture: Ecc 2:11; 1 John 2:17; Ps 51:12; Eph 3:16; Eph 4:14. (Also Wis 9:4)

Key phrases:
* "In captivity": True freedom is found in Christ, not the world.
* "How strange": The world (and worldly Christians) think it strange when one lives wholeheartedly for God (1 Pet 4:4). Yet Christ finds it "strange" that we do not live this way.
* "Unnecessary cares": So many of our burdens and pains are self-inflicted. Multiplying money, land, houses, works of art, travel, collections of stamps or coins -- or anything else without God in mind -- leads us to a state of being "never at peace or free from care.":
* Worthlessness of money": What is highly valued among people is often detestable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15). How much of our income goes to supporting a higher standard of living than necessary? (Has this placed us in debt? -- one indicator that we are overextending.)
* "Fickle praise": The praise and honor sought by men and women is often not the praise we should be seeking -- from the one who will say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
* True foundation": To avoid drifting spiritually, taken away from Christ by the ground shifting under out feet, we must live in him.

Next: "On How to Hear the Words of God" (Book 3, Chapter 3), with excerpts from "On the Inward Voice of Christ" (Book 3, Chapter 1) and "On Truth Without the Noise of Words" (Book 3, Chapter 2).

IC.07-The Imitation of Christ, 7—Futile Hope

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures:
* 2 Cor 4:18
* Romans 12:3,16
* James 4:6
* John 15:4
* 1 Cor 4:7
* Matt 11:7
* Isa 40:6.

Practicals:

Be willing to take on thankless or dirty tasks.
Don't be arrogant because of the education you have been privileged to receive.
Older people (especially), let's not take pride in our wealth or possessions or financial security.
Nor should we boast in the powerful or important people we know.
Nor should we glory in our athleticism or fitness. Longevity and health are not promised.
Any particular skills we have are not really our own -- everything we have, we have received.
Last, if we are not at peace, perhaps it is because we are lacking in humility.

Our next devotional: "How Selfish Love Hinders Us" (Book 3, Chapter 27)

For 31 à Kempis quotes, visit the Anthology page and scroll down.

IC.06-The Imitation of Christ, 6—Intimate Love of Jesus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

How close do I feel to God?

We are called to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.

The church is the bride of Christ. Jesus is the groom (not the boyfriend). Intimacy with God is to be reverent.

We must cultivate intimacy with God:

In the songs we sing
In the words we pray
Through dealing with sin
Through submitting our will to Christ
By not failing to cultivate this relationship

Scripture: John 15:15; 11:28; Rom 13:1; John 6:68; Jer 10:6; John 6:44.

Further podcasts that relate to this one are Brother Lawrence and the entire CLEANseries (32 in all).

Next meditation: "On Fleeing from Futile Hope and Pride" (Book 1, Chapter 7)

Great à Kempis quote: Nothing will hinder you more than thinking only about yourself.

Feedback (so far) on The Imitation:

* Love the à Kempis podcasts—fabulous start to each day. Thank you, praise God!
* I’m encouraging our whole house church to follow along with the Imitation of Christ study series.
* The podcasts are thought-provoking—very helpful and refreshing for me. This teaching is a gift from God to me right now. I am sharing what I'm learning with my sisters (who live in four other cities). The Word will not return void.
* This is very powerful—so glad you decided to podcast from The Imitation. This also fits perfectly with our church's 2019 theme.
* The quiet times are short, but very powerful and life-changing. Thank you!

IC.05-The Imitation of Christ, 5—Power of Divine Love

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

To have a sensitive heart receptive to divine love, we must keep our consciences clear as we live for God (1 Tim 1:5,19).

Scripture: Eph 3:17-18; 2 Cor 1:3; Ps 3:3; 119:11; 59:16; 1 Tim 1:5,19; Matt 11:30; 1 John 4:7; Song 2:16; Isa 5:1; 1 Cor 13:4-7.

Other passages referred to in my podcast: Isa 40:30-31; 2 Cor 6:3-10.

Application areas:

anger
gluttony
lust
alcohol & drugs
impulse buying
laziness
loud attention seeking

For more on keeping a pure conscience, listen to the CLEAN series.

To download a .pdf version of an alternate (an older) translation of The Imitation of Christ, click here.

Cool à Kempis quote: You do not grow in holiness because of the praise you receive, nor do you become evil because of the blame poured upon you.

IC.04-The Imitation of Christ, 4—The Royal Way

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"The simplicity of the book's language and the direct appeal to the religious sensitivity of the individual in an uncomplicated way are perhaps the primary reasons why this little book has been so widely received and so deeply influential." — Britannica

Scriptures alluded to or cited: 1 Cor 1:18; Matt 16:14; 25:41,46; Ps 112:7; Rom 8:29; John 19:17; Rom 6:8; Luke 24:46; Job 14:1; John 13:8; 2 Cor 12:2; Acts 9:16; 5:41; Luke 9:23 (Mark 8:34; Matt 16:24); Rom 8:17; 1 Pet 2:24; Acts 14:22.

Application:

Do I love pleasure, relaxation, and comfort? Do I complain about little things?
Am I a disciplined person? Do I aim to achieve the minimum, or is my life maximized for Christian impact?
In my personal pain, do I discern God's grace?
Will I make a concerted effort today to follow the royal way of the Cross?

Tomorrow: "On the Power of Divine Love" (à Kempis's title). Note: Starting tomorrow, please log in as a website member for the remaining 27 Imitation devotional podcasts.

Cool à Kempis quotes:

If Christ is amongst us, then it is necessary that we sometimes yield up our own opinion for the sake of peace.
Who struggles more than those who strive to overcome themselves?
Also, check out the daily à Kempis tweets.

IC.03-The Imitation of Christ, 3—Taking Up Jesus’ Cross

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The world of the 1420s is radically different from our modern world!

Europe is still recovering from the Black Death (1347-1349), which took the lives of easily a third of all Europeans.
It is still too early for the Reformation (1517+). For example, Jan Hus tried to reform the church, but was executed (1415).
The Chinese fleet is exploring the Indian Ocean and firming up trade agreements with Africans, Arabs, and other peoples.
The Old World and the New World are still not connected. The "Columbian exchange" is still over 70 years away.
Further, it's still centuries before the industrial revolution.

And yet the words of à Kempis are still on target!

Human nature hasn't changed, nor has the struggle between flesh and spirit.
Perhaps because he worked so faithfully, copying manuscripts and striving to help others. He understood people, and accepted God's diagnosis of the human condition.
We humans still tend to be self-focused. We have difficulty aligning our will with God's will.
Many tend to be attracted to Christianity for mercenary reasons.
With this in mind, today's meditation is both challenging and relevant.

Verses cited or alluded to:
Matt 16:24; 10:22
Prov 31:10
2 Tim 3:2
1 Cor 13:2
Luke 10:42; 17:10
Ps 25:16 (also Sirach 6:10)

Personal application:

Would I keep the faith if those who led me to the Lord gave up theirs?
Am I in any way a "mercenary"?
If I make my living from the gospel, do I tone down the message or show favoritism, in order to keep my job, or in order not to offend?
If God withdrew his blessings from my life (think Job 1-2), would I still make the effort to imitate Christ?

We will continue these thoughts tomorrow with "The Royal Way of the Cross."

Cool à Kempis quotes:

If you gave more frequent thought to your death than to a long life, you would unquestionably be more eager to amend your life.
It is better for you to live privately and take care of yourself than it is to neglect your soul even though you could work wonders in the world.
Also, check out the à Kempis tweets.

IC.02-The Imitation of Christ, 2—Offering Ourselves

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The structure of James Watkins' arrangement (encompassing 90 of the 114 chapters in The Imitation of Christ) is:

I. Imitating Christ (Introduction) -- 5 chapters
II. Imitating Christ's Character -- 85 chapters
Loving, Teachable, Wise, Trusting, Obedient, Self-sacrificing, Humble, Gracious, Forgiving, Patient, Peaceful, Pure, Disciplined, Self-controlled, Eternally Minded.

Lead-in scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Verses cited or alluded to: 1 Chr 29:11,17; Heb 9:14; Ps 25:11; 1 Pet 1:18-19. There is also a citation from the apocryphal 1 Macc 13:46.

The Prayer of Manasseh, which I mentioned in my comments, is included in this podcast.

To download a .pdf version of an alternate (an older) translation of The Imitation of Christ, click here.

Application:
1. Without being morbidly fascinated with our own wrongdoing, we can still pray for forgiveness for specific sins, and (even better?) for specific categories of sin, since harmful patterns tend to reoccur in our lives.
2. Thomas à Kempis, although he was a productive and spiritual man, recognized himself as "lazy and useless." Do we take our own idleness and laziness seriously? A hard worker who is humble is usually aware of room for improvement. Are we too soft on ourselves?
3. When I pray, do I seek only forgiveness, or also a good conscience? Without a purified conscience, it is difficult to take a stand for the Lord. We may struggle with insecurity or second-guessing ourselves.

Tomorrow: "On Taking Up Christ's Cross" (Book 2, Chapter 11)

Cool à Kempis quotes:

To account nothing of one's self, and to think always kindly and highly of others, this is great and perfect wisdom.
A man who truly knows himself realizes his own worthlessness, and takes no pleasure in the praises of men.

The Imitation of Christ, 1—Imitating Christ, Despising Vanity

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Book I, Chapter I Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth.1. HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,” says the Lord (John 8:12). By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.

The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.
What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.

This is the greatest wisdom—to seek the kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world. It is vanity, therefore, to seek and trust in riches that perish. It is vanity also to court honor and to be puffed up with pride. It is vanity to follow the lusts of the body and to desire things for which severe punishment later must come.

It is vanity to wish for long life and to care little about a well-spent life. It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come. It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.
Often recall the proverb: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing.” Try, moreover, to turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible. For they who follow their own evil passions stain their consciences and lose the grace of God.

Version above: From Christian Classics Ethereal Library, translated by Aloysius Croft and Harold Bolton, 1940. Version read in podcast: James Watkins (image below), 2015..

Scriptures

Cited or alluded to in the selection above: Eph 5:1-2; John 8:12; Rev 2:17; Rom 8:9; [1 Cor 13:3]; Ecc 1:2; Deut 6:13; Gal 5:16; Ecc 1:8.

Application

1. Imitating Christ entails

internalizing

his teaching. Just because I go to church doesn't mean I am living as Christ wills. Are there other things than Christ and his Word that have captured our heart, imagination, or enthusiasm?2. Apart from a life of service to God, everything is ultimately meaningless. After all, what is eternal? The good life -- whether the party scene of youth or the comfortable "retirement" of age -- is vain, in the light of eternity.3. We must be vigilant lest our appetites erode conscience and faith. Confidence, credibility, and ministry impact are all affected when we give in to fleshly desires.4. Sheer productivity (easily a fleshly desire) isn't the goal -- nor passion, conviction, or flurry of activity -- but the heart of Christ. .

Tomorrow: "Offering All We Have to God and Praying for Others" (original chapter title)

Cool à Kempis quotes:

Take pains to be patient in bearing the faults and weaknesses of others, for you too have many flaws that others must put up with.
The man who is not yet wholly dead to self, is soon tempted, and is overcome in small and trifling matters.

The Imitation of Christ: Introduction

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

ACCESS ALL IMITATION OF CHRIST PODCASTS HERE (scroll down) Sin

ce the early 1400s,

The Imitation of Christ

has been a Christian classic—for many centuries surpassed in printing and sales only by the Bible itself. Nor in its time was any book more translated into contemporary languages (apart from Scripture).

Imitation

originally circulated as a series of devotional booklets, the earliest of which reached the public as early as 1420, a year or two after à Kempis began writing. Thomas à Kempis (Thomas Haemmerlein, 1380-1471) spent most of his life in Germany, spending 72 years of his life as a member of the Brothers of the Common Life at Mount St. Agnes Monastery. This work was originally written in Latin. For non-Latin readers there are numerous versions in modern languages. The

Imitation

has been available in English since 1696.

The

Imitation

consists of four books and 114 chapters. This is the original arrangement:
.

BOOK ONE: Helpful Counsels for the Spiritual Life—25 chapters
BOOK TWO: Directives for the Interior Life—12 chapters
BOOK THREE: On Interior Consolation—59 chapters* BOOK FOUR: On the Blessed Sacrament—18 chapters

(In our series we will

sample

the chapters—reading selectively, not studying the entire work.)

The plan:

* I'll read the selection for the day.

* Scriptural connections will be pointed out.* Practical application will follow (thought questions, personal challenges, prayer points).

Most podcasts are 10-15 minutes in length.* You will also find powerful à Kempis sayings.* 31 podcasts in all..May this series help all who long for the heart of Christ to become more like him.

1 Jan—

Despising Vanity

2 Jan—

Offering Ourselves

3 Jan—

Taking Up Jesus' Cross

4 Jan—

The Royal Way of the Cross

5 Jan—

The Power of Divine Love

6—

The Intimate Love of Jesus

7—

Futile Hope

8—

Selfish Love

9—

Hearing God's Words

10—

Knowledge / Wisdom / Not Believing Everyone

11—

Not Trusting Self / Trusting God

12—

Human Misery / Weakness

13—

The Loss of All Comfort

14—

Bearing Injuries / Christ's Obedience

15—

On Obedience / Earthly Affections

16—

Benefits of Obedience / Self-Denial / Surrender of Self

17—

Over-Anxiety / Holy Examples

18—

Guard of Humility / Thinking Humbly

19—

Contempt of Worldly Knowledge

20—

The Confidence of Grace

21—

Bearing with Others

22—

On the Love of Solitude & Silence

23—

Peaceableness / Purity / Conscience

24—

The Exercises of a Righteous Person

25—

Reading the Holy Scriptures

26—

Security / Temptation

27—

A Sensitive Heart

28—

Rash Judgment and Words

29—

Desiring Eternal Life

30—

Coasting / Delight / Free Spirit

31—

Meditating on Death / Final Desire / Eternity

Feedback on TIOC:

* Love the à Kempis podcasts—fabulous start to each day. Thank you, praise God!
* I’m encouraging our whole house church to follow along with the Imitation of Christ study series.
* The podcasts are thought-provoking—very helpful and refreshing for me. This teaching is a gift from God to me right now. I am sharing what I'm learning with my sisters (who live in four other cities). The Word will not return void.
* This is very powerful—so glad you decided to podcast from The Imitation. This also fits perfectly with our church's 2019 theme.
* The quiet times are short and very powerful and life changing. Thank you!

Amos L

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The book concludes with good news (9:11-15).

"The words of Amos burst upon the landscape of the Northern kingdom, Israel, with all the terror and surprise of a lion’s roar. Though their main targets were the palaces of Samaria and the shrines at Bethel and Gilgal, the prophet’s words were to resound throughout Israel’s entire landscape leaving no part nor person unscathed" (Tyndale commentary, p.87).
But the message of doom is followed by a message of hope.
Gospel! "[Yahweh] committed himself to Jacob’s descendants long before they committed themselves to him” (Hubbard 236).
Most books of prophecy alternate judgment and restoration oracles, but not Amos.

The people will return.

Reversals are a major theme of Amos
- Days are coming (v. that day – 2:16, 5:18ff, 8:3,9,13).
- Falling/rising (5:2, 8:14).
- Walls closed up/open.
- Hunger/harvest.
- People of God under grace > under judgment.
- See how many more you can find...
The return would take place in the Persian Period.
- Assyrian exile -- from 722 BC.
- Babylonian exile -- 605, 597 BC, and fall of Jerusalem in 587/586 BC.
- Persian period -- Babylon falls 539 BC. Cyrus decrees return of Jews, 539/538. See Isaiah 44, 45, 2 Chronicles 36, and Ezra 1.
- Greek period -- Persia falls in the 300s. By 333 Persian rules the land of Israel.
- Roman period -- in 63 BC the Romans march into Israel.
The punishment comes to an end. God is good!

The fallen tent will be rebuilt.

This vision was not fulfilled in 1948, but in 49 AD. Amos 9:11 is fulfilled in the church of Christ, particularly through its Gentile mission, according to Acts 15:16. In Joshua 21:43 the land promised to Abraham (Genesis 12) was received, and during the reign of David and Solomon its borders reached their maximum. After the exile, the Lord brought the people back to their land -- in 539 BC. Now if there was a secondary fulfillment, according to James in Acts 15, it was in the first century, not in the political events of the Zionist movement and the mid-20th century.
The restoration of the land does not refer to modern Israel, formed by Zionists (many of whom are atheists…). Orthodox Jews today insist that the restoration to the land will take place only when Messiah comes.
The purpose of the rebuilding includes all the nations (as in 9:7 and Revelation 7:9).

The plowman will overtake the reaper.

Plowing/reaping took place in October/November, March/April.
v.13 amazing fertility – grapes growing on upper, inaccessible reaches of the land.
Such abundant fertility requires water – streams of Ezekiel 47, Zechariah 14, Joel 3.
V.12 Enemies (Edom) to be called by God’s name!
The towns of the northern kingdom of Israel will be rebuilt.
Before we hear this message of hope, we must hear his message of judgment.

Conclusion

"Perhaps the saddest aspect of the book of Amos is not the tone of doom throughout its pages, but the perennial relevance of its message beyond its own world and time. For human society in the modern world has changed very little from that which Amos encountered, and his message continues to speak to each succeeding generation with the same immediate relevance and urgency” (Craigie 123).
The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:8)

Further study (repeated from Amos A):

Francine Rivers, The Prophet (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2006)
Hosea-Jonah, The Word Biblical Commentary (New York: Word, 1987)
The Twelve Prophets, Volume 1 : Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, The Daily Study Bible Series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1984)
Joel & Amos, The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989)
Podcast on the prophet Amos (at this website), here.

Amos K

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson covers most of Amos 9.

9:1ff – judgment begins in the sanctuary

"Strike the capitals" suggests earthquake, not military assault. This ties in to the prediction of chapter 8.
V.3 Carmel’s summit – caves, thickets, hiding opportunities.
There will be no escape. “Gone is the time for object lessons, pleas, repentance and dialogue. Come is the time for the fullness of the judgment, whose nature and need dominate the book, to be released” (Hubbard 227).
Egypt
- The Israelites had been delivered out of bondage there
- Nile pictures return of the floodwaters, a return to chaos (conquered initially in Genesis 1).
God’s concern for the nations is a major OT theme.
- Genesis 12:3, Exodus 19:6, Psalms 100, Jonah 1-4, Malachi 1, Matthew 28, Luke 4, Acts 1-28, Revelation 7:9, to list just a few of the many passages.
- The Ethiopians (Cush) would have been regarded by Israel as insignificant.
- This major theme reveals the heart of God.
Exile is decreed!
- The agents of judgment are the Assyrians.
  - Readings from Nahum 1:14, 3:1-19 describe the cruelty of Assyria (capital Nineveh).
  - They would meet their ultimate demise at the hands of the Babylonians (614, 612 BC).
- Captivity is a reversal of the exodus.

Advanced

9:2 || Obadiah 4, Psalm 139:7-11.
Another point of no escape: 2 Kings 10:25.
V.5 melting earth = Psalm 46:6, Micah 1:3-4.
Cush (v.7) extended from Aswan to a point near Khartoum, a little north of modern Ethiopia. The borders of ancient countries often differed from their modern counterparts.

Amos J

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far:

Amos preached a message of divine judgment, demanding repentance.
- Religion without righteousness is worthless.
- Economic and political prosperity are not necessarily a sign of divine approval.
- Opulent, self-directed living plus lack of concern for the needy is reprehensible.
- Yahweh's reign is over all the earth, not just over Israel.
- Since the law demands covenant faithfulness, without which the ultimate penalty of exile will be exacted, and since Israel has refused to listen to her prophets, she will surely go into captivity.
Amos encountered official opposition.
- Religion in Israel was closely allied with the state. Power appears to have intoxicated the priests of the corrupt system of Jeroboam.
- Amaziah, priest at Bethel, commands Amos to return to Judah. "Southerner, go home!"
- The prophet remains undaunted.

Light-hearted harvest is to become heavy-hearted judgment (8:1-3)

Songs of joy in the season of plenty will become dirges and laments in time of judgment.
The summer fruit (in August or September) would have been figs or pomegranates.
Word-play: qayits means summer fruit (2 Samuel 16:1-2); qets means end. It's the end of Israel; the time is ripe!
In these verses the message is no longer “Seek the Lord and live” (5:6). Now it has become: “It’s too late; you must die” (like a physician telling patient his disease is terminal).
That day (v.3) is none other than the day of 5:18-20. The Assyrians will surely come, though this is still a couple of decades off.

Love of money at any cost (8:4-7)

8:4-7 echoes 2:6-8. The entrepreneurs are running roughshod over the poor.
The rapacity of the leaders reached criminal proportions. For an illustration of how the powerful seized whatever they desired, read 1 Kings 21 and 2 Kings 9 (the incident with Naboth's vineyard).
They are impatient for the Sabbath to be over, so that they can get back to business (exploiting the poor). Israel was, as it were, eager to get out of church as quickly as possible in order to return to their favorite activity: making more money.

God will bring an earthquake! (8:8)

The earthquake (judgment) motif is also found in 2:13, 3:14-15, 9:1, and of course 1:1. Amos' prophecies would have grown greatly in credibility after the quake (see Zechariah 14:5).
“… Amos perceives [the foundations of materialistic greed] to be so firm that only an earthquake can shatter its proud structures.” Craigie 185
Then the prophet's imagery moves from the common to the metaphorical.

Darkness, baldness, death

8:9-10 – eclipse.
Interestingly, there were two total eclipses in Amos’ lifetime (9 February 784 BC, 15 June 763 BC). These would not have failed to impress the Israelites!
Isaiah 30:26 and many other metaphorical passages describe blessing/punishment in terms of amplification/reduction of various natural phenomena.
V.10 -- baldness refers to heads shaved in mourning (Jeremiah 16:6).
The loss of an only son = goodbye to continued existence, personhood or progeny. See Jeremiah 6:26, Zechariah 12:10 (also Luke 7 – the widow of Nain).

Spiritual famine

The famine has been caused by godless leaders, and failure on both their part and the people's to heed the word of God.
This is not like Matthew 5:6. For these persons will stumble in their seeking, yet not find (as they refuse to repent).
See 2 Chronicles 15:2-4.
Word of God as bread: Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4 (Luke 4:4), Isaiah 55:1-3.
V.13 -- When the young men/women (youth) are gone, there’s no hope for the future. It's the end of the nation.
Israel will fall, never to rise again. (Read about how Israel was dismantled and destroyed in 2 Kings 17-25).

Conclusion

Is there any hope for Israel? Perhaps a better question, is there any hope for us?
Will we escape if we continue to ignore the word of the Lord?
Am I giving my heart to something bigger than myself, to the message of Christ, to the cross of Christ, to the body of Christ and being transformed into the character of Christ?
How many church members fail to read Amos, supposing it has nothing to say to them, no vital message? May it never be so.
And last, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Advanced

On their cheating in business, the ephah = 22 liters, the shekel 11g. Merchants would line the basket to make it heavier, or use a larger counterweight than legal in the scales (Proverbs 11:1, 16:11, 20:10,23).
Re: v.9: This is apocalyptic language, not literal. Like Isaiah 30:26, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2, and the book of Revelation. How many passages with apocalyptic language can you locate in the Bible?
Re: v.12 – sea to sea = S to W; N to E (Dead Sea to Great Sea [Mediterranean], North to West: all four cardinal directions. The famine -- the judgment -- is national.
V.14 -- "from Dan to Beersheba" means from one end of the land to another (see Judges 20:1).

Amos I

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

(7:1-9) Locust, fire, and plumb

Locust and fire
- These are the worst enemies of agriculture!
- Some in Jerusalem still remember the locust plagues of 1865 and 1915.
- After the king’s mowing (v.1), then locust decimation, there would be nothing left!
- Fire: 1:4,7,10,12,14; 2:2,5; 5:6; also Hosea 8:14.
Amos' reaction
- Moved, the prophet tries to prevent the visions of locusts and fire from coming true.
- Parallels in Numbers 14:11-23, 16:43-50 (see also Exodus 32:7-14,32).
Yet the threat of the next vision cannot be thwarted.
- Israel has been measured and found wanting, or out of kilter. "The wall of Israel’s political and spiritual life is tilted beyond repair!"
- High places/sanctuaries were being used for idolatry.
- "Pass by" (v.7) recalls the forgiveness of Passover.
- Nevertheless, though the vision is correct -- and will certainly come true -- it is politically unpopular. Official opposition comes from the priest of Bethel, Amaziah.

Official opposition (7:10-17)

Those who speak the truth will be opposed, and this is all the more true of those who speak truth to power (2 Timothy 3:12 [Luke 6:22-23,26].)
7:13 – Amaziah (high priest of Bethel) claims authority to dismiss Amos. Amaziah implies Amos has threatened the king.
7:14 – Amos is not a professional prophet.
- Prophets were paid for their work.
- Amos insists that he'd had a perfectly good living without having to moonlight as a prophet.
- He was not in it for the money!
Parallels
- Conflict between prophet and priest || Jeremiah 26, 28.
- Opposition from the establishment, and from the high priest in particular, similar to what happened to Jesus.
- In his challenge to priestly, royal authority, Amos stands in the tradition of such other bold prophets as Nathan (2 Samuel 12), Elijah (1 Kings 21), Micaiah (1 Kings 22), and Elisha (2 Kings 9).
Amaziah is only proving the truth of Amos’ words in 2:11-12. This false priest will suffer a fitting triple punishment:
- His wife will become a prostitute in the city (Deuteronomy 22:23-24, Leviticus 21:7) -- no other means of support. And thus Amaziah could not serve as a priest.
- His offspring will be slain; this means both his family and his office would perish.
- Death in an unclean, non-kosher, land would be an insult to all his priestly instincts.
Exile cannot be warded off!

Advanced

In Amos 7:1-8:3 are multiple reversals of expectation (as before in 1:2, 2:9, 3:2,12, 4:1-3, 5:3,13,18-23). E.g., what should have been ample crops are decimated and water is vaporized. Pore over the text and see which others you can locate.
7:4 -- The great deep likely refers to the waters beneath the earth (in ancient cosmology), or else to the ocean itself.
7:7-8 -- The object may be either a plumb-line (the most common view) or else tin (based on cognates).
7:9,16 -- This is the only chapter in the OT where Isaac stands for the nation. (Of course Isaac's son Esau was not included, only descendants through Jacob [covenant name: Israel].)

Amos H

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 Dec 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

The mid-8th C. was a heady time for both kingdoms, because
- Syria (Aram) was drained from its exertions in resisting Assyria.
- Egypt was weak, thus constituting no southern threat.
- Assyria was preoccupied with the kingdom of Urartu.
- Israel's smaller neighbors, Phoenicia, Philistia. Ammon, Moab, and Edom, posed no threat.
The prophet now shifts his attack to the rich and powerful men (having already criticized the callous upper class women in chapter 4).

Complacent (6:1-7)

In heady times, it is easy to grow complacent.
Zion is Jerusalem.
- The southern kingdom of Judah was not much more righteous than the northern kingdom of Israel.
- Israel, despite its (false claims) to be God's people (the true Zion), were not!
- Samaria and the entire kingdom of which it was the capital went into captivity nearly a century and a half before the kingdom of Judah was exiled.
Israel was no better than other kingdoms (v.2).
Lives of luxury are reprehensible when basic physical and spiritual needs in others are going unmet!
- The operative word is "lounge."
- These people are drinking wine straight from the bowl!
- Note: anointing was part of daily personal hygiene (as in Matthew 6). It also kills body lice.
- Meat (probably lamb) was a great delicacy, at a time when most tasted meat only 3x/year. (See Luke 15:23.)
- They cared only for themselves and the perks that come with power.
- Their creative energies went into music, not into helping the poor. Their priorities were skewed.
- Historical sidelights:
  - Harvard University expeditions of 1908-1910 found potsherd inscriptions at Samaria recording deliveries of jugs of old (well fermented and textured) wine and refined olive oil.
  - An ivory carving from Megiddo depicts a noble quaffing her thirst from a bowl while a servant is playing the lute.
Exile is certain! "Your feasting and lounging will end!"

Devastation and a dismal post-war scene (6:8-14)

A pattern of military victory will not, in the case of Israel, avert ultimate military defeat. The homes of which they were so proud will be smashed to pieces.
As useless as plowing the sea with oxen, or plowing the rocky crags with horses. Donkeys can manage the rocks, not horses. Either way, Israel's self-directed efforts are ultimately worthless. Word-play: Lo-debar -- nothing (not a thing). Their efforts have been in vain, their military achievements meaningless. (As though Robin Hood were to call Nottingham "Nothingham.")
The nation to be stirred up is none other than Assyria!

Thought questions

Does Amos 6:1 apply to me? Am I one of those who could be described as "complacent in Zion?"
Am I living for luxury, status, indulgent pleasures, guilty of conspicuous consumption?
1. Do I have to live at my present standard of living?
2. Calculate how many hours a week you are working to pay your rent or mortgage, meals, entertainment, etc. Do your budgetary priorities reflect your spiritual convictions? (They usually do!) Our use of time (the Lord's time) should follow biblical priorities.
Am I grieving over the ruin of Joseph?
1. Grieving over the fractured and faithless state of most groups that claim to be following Christ?
2. Grieve when your local church is not growing spiritually / numerically?
3. Grieving over the pain, alienation, lostness and ultimate condemnation of the world?
4. Does my involvement in evangelism reflect my conviction about the lostness of the world?
Are we taking excessive pride in our own accomplishments, as though they can shield us from the Judgment day?

Advanced:

V.2: Calneh and Hamath are in Syria. Cities suggest human ingenuity, strength, and achievement. But (Hebrews 13:14) we have here no continuing city. Our city is above (also a theme in Revelation).
V.8: "by himself" is literally "by his throat," an image underscoring the seriousness of keeping the oath.
V.10: Not mentioning the name of the Lord is susceptible of several interpretations. Should his name not be mentioned because of the risk of further judgment? or for shame? or because it would be fruitless, given Israel's abandonment by the Lord? The text is not clear.
V.12: One doesn't plow there (or doesn't plow the sea, depending on a single consonant [yam or sham]).
Karnaim (v.13) is a Hebrew dual form meaning (two) horns. Horns represented power.

Amos G

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Day of the Lord

They were not prepared to meet their God (4:12)! And yet they longed for the Day of the Lord, which would be their undoing. Amos is correcting a misconception (Day of Lord) probably developed at Bethel (5:5-6, 7:13).
“In fleeing from the lion of the present, such persons will bump into the bear of the future” (Craigie 164).
- As mentioned earlier, lions inhabited Palestine until about 1300 AD.
- Bears (2 Samuel 17:8, Proverbs 17:12, Hosea 13:8) survived until the beginning of the 20th century.
“The desperate, more detailed pictures of the Day in the prophets (e.g. Is. 13:6-16; Joel 2:1-2, 30-31; Zp. 1:7-16) take their dark colours from Amos’ palette” (Hubbard 180).
Yet why the stern, dark, severe, judgment?

The Lord's demand for righteousness

“I cannot stand” || Revelation 3:16. God will no longer take any pleasure in aroma of their sacrifices, which is sickening, not pleasing.
Sacrifice without obedience is meaningless ritual (1 Samuel 15:22-23, Psalm 51:16-17, Isaiah 1:10-17, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Jeremiah 7:21-26, Malachi 1:6-14).
These were not "solemn assemblies," but noisy festivals. Archaeologists have discovered in Egypt evidence of harps (v.23; see Psalm 33:2) of 10+ strings. Some stood 10-12’ high!
The best-known verse in Amos is v.24.
Righteousness mustn't just stop and start like a desert stream (wadi); it must be consistent, continuous.
- God's people should be righteous all the time, not just on special occasions.
- Justice is one of the fundamental attributes of God.

Exile is certain!

Concerning the "good old days," Israel exhibited general devotion, despite periods of complaint, rebellions, especially in contrast to the present corruption, which make the earlier era appear more righteous. Jeremiah 2:2-3 and Hosea 2:14-15 also look back on those days of relative devotion.
Israel will be sent into exile, the ultimate punishment for the covenant people of God.
- Loss of land, loss of sovereignty, state of being cursed.
- Opposite of Abrahamic promises (Genesis 12): land, statehood, blessing.

Application

Don't get caught up in end-time speculations. The day of the Lord is doomsday (doom = judgment in older English). For most this will not be a time of rejoicing. We can only be ready by living right (walking justly -- see also Micah 6:8). For more on this, listen to the audio series Revelation and the End of the World, and also hear the podcasts in the Last Things category.
We must be careful not to equate noise and exertion with true zeal. Religion can never take the place of righteousness.
There are times for self-reflection, and even for corporate reflection. Yet it is much easier to feel safe in the group. That's why the trumpet blast is so vital; that's why the roar of the lion has a chance to shock us, to bring us back to spiritual reality.
I should be praying for the Lord to develop in me a strong sense of social justice. For we will be judged on the basis of our faithfulness to our mission, which is two-pronged: help the poor (Matthew 25) and preach the word (Matthew 28). Neither one of them is optional.

Advanced

Dark / light (v.20) refer to danger/safety; there are no necessary moral overtones.
Does 5:25 suggest the possibility that Israel didn't bring sacrifices in the wilderness? (There is little mention of the sacrificial system in the days of the Tabernacle.) In his speech in Acts 7, Stephen embellishes – changing "beyond Damascus" to "beyond Babylon," thus adapting the passage to the reality of Israel’s history.
In Acts 15, "the remnant of Edom" has been modified to "the rest of mankind" (citing the LXX). This change enhances the theme of the universalization of the church.
Two NT citations of Amos 5:25-27 cited quoted in Acts 7:42-43, and 9:11-12 in Acts 15:16-17.
The same two passages quoted in the NT (5:25-27 and 9:11-12) are also cited in the DSS: CD 7:14-15 and CD 7:16, 4QFlor 1:12 respectively.
In v.26, two Assyrian astral deities are mentioned, Kaiwan and Sakkuth. The Hebrew vowels have been deliberately changed to heighten the seriousness of the charge of idolatry.

Amos F

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson covers 5:1-17 (the first half of chapter 5)

The fall of Israel is a kind of death; this requires a song of mourning (v.1).
- Israel is alone, desolate (v.2).
- Her population has been drastically reduced (v.3).
Yet there is a glimmer of hope here (vv.4,6,14). The Lord urges them to seek him.
- Not that this will avert the national catastrophe, which is inevitable, ineluctable.
- The alternative to seeking Yahweh is to "seek Bethel" (v.5) --idolatry--the golden calf.
Pilgrimage sites:
- Bethel 3x (Genesis 28:19, Jeremiah 11 (1 Kings 12:26-33)
- Gilgal 2x (Joshua 5:2-12)
- Beersheba 1x (Genesis 22:19, 26:23, 46:1-5: associated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, respectively)
- Where you "go to church" is important; not all choices are equal.
Another word-play (v.5):
- Gilgal galoh yigleh
- Gilgal will surely go into exile.
Justice is absent, therefore judgment will come (vv.7-9).
- Wormwood -- see Deuteronomy 29:18, Jeremiah 23:15, Lamentations 3:19, Amos 6:12
- Pleiades, Orion – dig at Canaanite astrology?
- Yahweh is able to bring back the primeval watery chaos.
Israel has shut its ears.
- She hates those who speak the truth to her (v.10; see also Galatians 4:16).
- Oppressing the poor, her goal is to improve her own lifestyle (v.11-12; see Haggai 1:3ff).
- This is sin, pure and simple. Yet the public square is the place where God's people should demonstrate morality (v.15).
- Speaking out seems useless (v.13), though Amos will of course prophesy, since he has heard the lion's roar.
- She claims the Lord is with her, but she is deceived (v.14; see also Matthew 7:21-23).
- Yahweh wants to show grace (v.15), but his mercy is conditional on man's response.
Conclusion
- Judgment is certain, and great mourning will be made (vv.16-17).
- The fire (v.6, also implicit in chapter 2) doesn’t just come from Yahweh; it is Yahweh!

Advanced

Wormwood (v.7)-- see Deuteronomy 29:18, Jeremiah 23:15, Lamentations 3:19, Amos 6:12.
The two constellations (v.8) are also mentioned in Job 38:31.
About the gate (vv.10,12,15). Inside it were alcoves or actual rooms, which served in effect as courtrooms.
Re: v.11, cut stone was a luxury introduced by Solomon (1 Kings 5:13-18, 7:1-12). It was not cheap, this involved quarrying, cutting, dressing, transporting.
About the aphorism of v.13: 5:13: It's not referring to Amos, otherwise this would contradict 2:1-12, 3:3-8, 7:10-17. It may imply acquiescence to the judgment of God.
"The remnant of Joseph" (v.15) refers to two of the largest tribes of Northern Israel, Ephraim (also occasionally used as another name for Israel) and Manasseh (which actually existed in two half-tribes). Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph's sons (Genesis 41:50-52).
The chiasm of chapter 5
- Lamentation announcement (1-3)
  - Admonition (4-6)
    - Accusation (7)
      - Hymn (8)
        Yahweh is his name! (8)
      - Hymn (9)
    - Accusation (10-13)
  - Admonition (14-15)
- Lamentation announcement (16-17)

Amos E

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson explores Amos 4:1-13.

By this point in the book of Amos all the major themes of the book have been introduced.
From here to chapter 7 the material in Amos is more personal: directed against unfaithful Israel in more personal terms, and opening a window into Amos' personal life.
The boom will fall (by the 720s, Assyria will have taken northern Israel into exile)! First to be challenged are the aristocratic women of Samaria.

The fat cows of Bashan (4:1-3)

Bashan was a fertile region of Gilead along the Yarmuk river in Transjordan, and its cows were a special breed.
These women will be prodded like the corpulent cattle they are!
Amos recognizes the important and responsible place of women in society. (He was thus hardly misogynist or chauvinistic.)
“One does not have to dirty one’s hands in the actual business of exploitation; someone else can do it, someone else can engage in the dirty work. It is possible to delegate dirty deeds, but it is not possible to avoid their guilt.” “Those whose lives of luxury had been lived at the expense of the poor would be dragged off into judgment.” – Craigie 152…
Note the parallels between chapter 4 and chapter 6.

The pilgrim festivals at Gilgal and Bethel (4:4-5)

Gilgal and Bethel (along with Dan and Samaria) served as religious centers for the corrupt northern kingdom.
After a parody of invitation to worship come five oracles of judgment. ("O come, all ye faithless..")

Though disciplined, they have not responded (4:6-11)!

There's a similarity to the wicked refusing to repent in Revelation, or Pharaoh failing to respond to the evidence and message from Moses.
Various disciplines/punishments
- cleanness of teeth = famine
- lack of rainfall (Jeremiah 5:24)
- thirst
- blight
- agricultural woes
- plague
- war
- city after city overthrown (Samaria not until 732, all Israel not until 722)
- All these threats were uttered in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28).

Prepare to meet your God (4:12-13)!

Irony: unlike the shallow and hypocritical preparations the Israelites went through before visiting their idolatrous shrines, Amos is talking about really meeting God (for real).
The true meaning of the Day of the Lord will be expounded in the next chapter.

Lessons for us:

Examine our lifestyle. Are we guilty of conspicuous consumption?
Ask whether we're living lives of self-indulgence (1 Timothy 5:6).
Discover whether we might be oppressing the poor even indirectly.
Listening to repeated warnings, rebukes, input… Are there common themes when I receive input from other disciples? From my spouse? Even from my own conscience?
Recognize that the Lord expects a response. Constant hardening will lead us to a very dark and perilous place.
We mustn't intellectualize judgment day.

Further:

Gilgal and Bethel (4:4) were on the prophet Samuel's regular circuit (1 Samuel 7:16).
Among the various literary devices used by the prophet, Amos makes effective use of summary quotations:
- 4:1 – callous demands of idle rich women: “Bring us some drinks.”
- 6:13 – people exulting in military prowess: “Have we not by our own strength captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
- 8:5 – greedy merchants: “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?
- 9:10 – complacent populace: “Disaster shall not overtake us.”

Amos D

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson explores Amos 3:1-15.

Introduction (vv.1-2)

Redemption, then mission.
With privilege comes responsibility!

Hearing the roar and responding accordingly (vv.3-8)

Stimulus and response
- Action and reaction
- Cause and effect
The lion has roared; we must respond!
- The true prophet cannot ignore the voice of Yahweh any more than a sensible person can ignore the roar of a lion.
- Do I feel that I must speak, that I cannot keep quiet?
  - “If I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9).
  - “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16b).
- How about us?
  - How's my evangelism?
  - Am I willing to engage in earnest discussion with Christians who have drifted from the Lord and need a word from him?
  - Am I having conversations at work? with family members? with neighbors?
- "To a person endowed with prophetic sight, everyone else appears blind; to a person whose ear perceives God's voice, everyone else appears deaf. No one is just; no knowing is strong enough, no trust complete enough. The prophet hates the approximate, he shuns the middle of the road. Man must live on the summit to avoid the abyss. There is nothing to hold to except God. Carried away by the challenge, the demand to straighten out man's ways, the prophet is strange, one-sided, an unbearable extremist." – Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets

The boom will fall (vv.9-15)

The announcement is to be made in the hearing of Ashdod and Egypt, peoples south of Samaria, who could serve as witnesses of Yahweh’s righteous punishment (as they fell to Assyria at a later time). Israel would have considered themselves morally superior to Ashdod and Egypt.
Samaria
- The city, which was the capital of the northern kingdom, was built by Omri and Ahab his successor, rose up 300 feet, and seemed impregnable. Its fortification walls were massive.
- But massive fortifications offer no protection if our lives are weakened with corruption! Samaria will fall!
- Two houses (like Ahab's regular house in Jezreel, and winter house in Samaria [at a higher elevation], 1 Kings 21:1,18) are excessive when many have no home of their own. Opulence is inappropriate when the poor are being dispossessed (5:11).
Yahweh offended not only by exploitation but also by conspicuous consumption.
Amos saw that neither reform nor even revolution could bring Israel back to God. Domestic politics had no hope. Only international intervention – the exile threatened in Deuteronomy – could succeed.
The imagery of v.12 is that of a lion attack. All that remains of the materialistic, idolatrous city are fragments of fine furniture.

Conclusion

As hard-hitting as these words would have been—or should have been—to their original hearers, they should hit us even harder!
And the prophet isn’t done yet–not by a long shot!

Advanced

The Asiatic lion was found in Palestine until about 1300 AD, and is mentioned often in scripture (Judges 14:6; 1 Samuel 17:34-36; 2 Samuel 23:20, etc). God himself is compared to a lion at least 10x in the O.T.
With respect to v.8, Amos could not have deviated from his commission. Recall the anonymous prophet of Judah who was rebuked by the older northern prophet (from Bethel) for violating the revealed word of God (1 Kings 13). The young prophet was killed by a lion!
Archaeological excavation of Samaria revealed great storehouses in the palace complex “store up violence” (v.10)? In one storeroom, 200 ivory plaques were uncovered (see 1 Kings 22:39: "houses of ivory").
In v.12 the imagery alludes to proof of attack, as in Exodus 22:10-13. Only fragments of Israel's extravagance will remain after the attack!

Amos C

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Israel: instead of viewing themselves as belonging exclusively to God, they viewed God as belonging exclusively to them. (See also 3:2.)
This next section in the book of Amos serves as a bridge between the seven shorter oracles against the nations and the longer series of oracles against Israel, including a number of themes, such as:
- mistreatment of the poor
- corruption of worship
- opposition to the ministry of the prophets
- the inescapable judgment by earthquake

The oracle against Israel

6-7a Oppressing the poor.
7b Cult prostitution and incest (Leviticus 18). We see male cult prostitutes even in Israel (1 Kings 14:24)
8a Heavy-handed loans. Garments were to be returned by the evening (Deuteronomy 24:12)!
8b Drinking problems (a common theme in the prophets, esp. charged against religious leaders).
Application: business ethics, concern for the impoverished, sexual sin, drug & alcohol abuse.
9-10 God led his people out of Egypt into Canaan. With privilege comes responsibility. They've forgotten God's salvation (2 Peter 1:10)..
11-12 They opposed the prophets and Nazirites (Numbers 6).
13-16 The judgment:
- No way to get up! Crushing, irrevocable pressure.
- No escape, regardless of one's speed, military prowess, and courage.
- The surprise: Israel has become a foreign nation to Yahweh.

Conclusion

“A perversion of the true faith is always more evident in other denominations or religions than it is in our own. But worst of all, we can always detect abuses in the actions of others more easily than we can in our own actions. Amos held up the mirror to Israel…” (Peter Craigie, Daily Study Bible 145)
How does this apply to me? Some penetrating questions:
- If I'm critical of members of other groups, is it possible I’m oblivious to the moral failures, doctrinal omissions, and other shortcomings of my own group?
- Am I aware of the plight of the poor? When is the last time I read a book on this subject? Do I make purchases without thinking where the product came from -- perhaps from companies that exploit the poor, or don't pay a fair wage?
- Is my conscience desensitized towards hypocrisy in my own fellowship?
- Do I have a clear understanding of the big picture of Old Testament history?

Advanced:

In 2:6-16 there is no explicit mention of fire as in 1:4,7,10,12,14; 2:2,5. The fire of judgment is nevertheless implicit.
Amorite is a virtual synonym of Canaanite.
For more about the Nazirites:
- Listen to the Samson podcast at this website.
- Read the relevant chapter in Principle-Centered Parenting.

Amos B

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

There are oracles against nations in most of the prophetic books of the Bible.
In 1:3 to 2:5 there are 7 doom oracles.
Yahweh is lord over the gentile nations, so why should we think Israel will be judged less strictly?

The seven oracles of doom

Damascus (1:3-5) is the chief city of Syria (Aram)
- It may be the world's oldest continuously inhabited city.
- Gilead, east of the Jordan and bordering Syria, included Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
- “I destroyed 592 towns of the 16 districts of the country of Damascus, rendering them like hills over which the flood had passed.” – Tiglath-Pileser III, Annals
- Syria will go into exile (the divine punishment of last resort against the covenant people in the law of Moses)
Gaza (1:6-8), one of the 5 cities of Philistia (Gath is often omitted in oracles against the Philistines).
- Exodus 21:16 forbids kidnapping, and by implication the slave trade.
- Hear the slavery podcast for more discussion.
- Again, there will be no escape for the nation that has defied the righteous standards of Yahweh.
Tyre (1:9-10)
- 100 miles NW of Jerusalem, modern Lebanon
- Again, condemnation of the slave trade
Edom (1:11-12)
- Ammon, Moab, and Edom are the lands east of Canaan, partly in (modern) Jordan, partly in Israel.
- Obadiah (plus Jeremiah, et al) contains oracles against Edom.
- The sin was a lack of brotherly love. Instead, bitterness, vengeance, lack of forgiveness.
Ammon (1:13-15)
- Barbaric cruelty: pregnant women were ripped open to ensure that male offspring would not rise up to avenge their enemies.
  - Tiglath-Pileser I was praised by his chroniclers in the 11th C. BC for the ruthless murder of pregnant women and the children in their wombs.
  - Menahem (2 Kings 15:16), ruling a few years after the time of Amos, did the same thing.
- Again, there will be no escape from the impending judgment.
Moab (2:1-3)
- Burned bones to lime amounts to desecration of the dead, a serious transgression in ancient times.
- At Kerioth (v.2) was a shrine to Chemosh.
Judah (2:4-5), the southern part of the divided kingdom
- She survived longer (till 586 BC, when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem).
- She was only relatively more righteous than the northern kingdom of Israel, which fell in 722 BC at the hand of the Assyrians.
- Including Judah proves that Amos wasn’t prejudiced.
Seven nations have been singled out. But Amos isn’t done yet. We come to the climax in 2:6-16, which is the substance of our third lesson in the series.

Conclusion

The Lord is sovereign over all the world, over all nations. If the nations are held responsible for their actions, how much more the people of God! Yet instead of viewing themselves as belonging exclusively to God, Israel viewed God as belonging exclusively to them.

Advanced:

The 7 target nations were all at one time under the control of David.
Three acts… four (x, x+1) is a common literary device in the wisdom literature. (See Proverbs 6:16-19, 30:18-19,21-23,29-31; Sirach 26:5-6.) This implies each nation has done more than enough to deserve punishment.
House of Hazael (v.4) probably refers to Hazael (c.843-796) and Ben-Hadad III (c.796-770), who caused much trouble for Jehoram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz.
Gath is usually ignored in oracles against the Philistines. Sargon of Assyria destroyed Gath in 711 BC.
Re: v.11, brother may mean treaty-partner, as in 1 Samuel 20:29, 1 Kings 9:13.
Kerioth may be singled out because it contained a shrine for Chemosh, as recorded in the Mesha inscription. (Click here to learn about this inscription.)

Amos A

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

O.T. background

Remember separation of Israel and Judah, two centuries earlier (1 Kings 12:25-33), under Jeroboam I
- Rival shrines – with idolatry
- Rival priesthood – low standard of leadership
- Rival holidays – to prevent northerners from choosing to blend the two religious systems
- This evil king is immediately challenged by a prophet (1 Kings 13).
It just so happens that in Amos' time (8th C. BC) the northern king is Jeroboam II.
Amos was written near the end of his reign.
Amaziah is false priest at Bethel in the time of Amos (d.767)
Recall the promises and threats related to covenant faithfulness (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28)
- Blessings: physical, economic, military, and national blessings
- Punishments: agricultural failure, anxiety, pain, fear, exile
The earthquake: in the days of Uzziah, the king of Judah (742 BC). See also Zechariah 14:5.

Economic situation

760s-750s is a boom time
- Neighboring nations are too weak or distracted to constitute any significant threat to the prosperity of Israel.
- International trade is strong
- Borders restored to limits of 931 BC (end of time of Solomon)
- Leisured upper class with a decadent lifestyle (2:8, 4:1, 6:1)
- The poor are oppressed
But the bubble is about to burst in a serious way!
- The oppressive upper class will be brought down.
- The nation will be delivered over to its enemies (Assyrian exile, 722 BC).

The man

Earliest writing prophet and earliest minor prophet
Contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, Micah
A shepherd and dresser of fig trees (7:14-15)
From Tekoa, a town in southern Judah
- 6-10 miles south of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 14:2,4,9; 2 Chronicles 11:6, 20:20; Jeremiah 6:1)
- The modern Arab village of Tekua, 2700’ above sea level.
- The wilderness of Tekoa sinks 4000’ to the east.
He was a southerner called to preach up north.
Amos is Hebrew for “load, burden.” What was his burden? With what message had the Lord loaded him?

Prologue to the Book of Amos (1:1-2)

Roar of a lion -- see 3:8 (also Joel 3:16, Hosea 11:10).
Like most of the prophetic literature, Amos is a mixture of poetry and prose.
Usually prophets mix judgment and restoration oracles. In Amos, little hope is expressed till the very end.
Withering of the top of Carmel (usually green) signifies the extreme judgment of God
Spiritual drought > literal drought (e.g. 8:11-12)

Message of the Book

Religion without righteousness is worthless.
- Malachi 1, Revelation 3.
- Moderation, "balance" render religion worthless.
How we treat others reflects quality of our relationship with God.
- Similarities to James. The James of the O.T.
- No other prophet so carefully scrutinizes and condemns the justice system in Israel.
- Demand for justice (5:24).
- Idolatry has no ethical demands! True religion is invalidated if we do not love our fellow man.
God isn’t only interested in the covenant people; he’s concerned about the nations.
- See 3:9, 4:10, 6:14, 9:7.
- International vista!
Israel will be punished.
- The 16 oracles mainly feature doom.
- Not until the end of chapter 9 is there any hope.

Impact

In the Bible:
- Amos significantly influenced Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets.
- A couple of passages are quoted in the New Testament, which we will cover later on.
In our day
- Inspiration for Civil Rights movement
- Social consciousness among many churches today
- Our own lives: If they were held responsible to practice the righteousness of the God whom they worshipped, aren’t we even more responsible to take a stand for the justice of God?

Conclusion

"The words of Amos burst upon the landscape of the Northern kingdom, Israel, with all the terror and surprise of a lion’s roar. Though their main targets were the palaces of Samaria and the shrines at Bethel and Gilgal, the prophet’s words were to resound throughout Israel’s entire landscape leaving no part nor person unscathed" (Tyndale commentary, p.87).

Advanced:

Amos comes immediately after Hosea in the LXX.
Learn about Jeroboam I by listening to Old Testament Character podcast 33.

Further study:

Francine Rivers, The Prophet (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2006)
Hosea-Jonah, The Word Biblical Commentary (New York: Word, 1987)
The Twelve Prophets, Volume 1 : Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, The Daily Study Bible Series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1984)
Joel & Amos, The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989)
Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1999)
Podcast on the person Amos (at this website), here.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 50

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

If you prefer not to listen to the audio, but prefer only to read the questions below, that is fine -- but the answers are in the podcast file.

Click on the arrow to play the podcast (16 minutes), or right click here, in order to save the audio file and listen later.

How many confessions of faith do we find in John's gospel?
In John 14:6, Jesus claims to be "the way, the ___, and the ___."
Whom did Jesus see under the fig tree?
How many chapters of the NT come from John, in Christian tradition?
Who proclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"?
Whoever denies that Jesus came in the flesh is the antichrist. This definition appears in which two letters?
In Revelation there is a dramatic contrast between two cities. Name them.
Who helped Joseph of Arimathea to reclaim the body of Jesus after his crucifixion?
Diotrephes and Demetrius: Which was the good guy?
Three keys for understanding Revelation are reasonable level of familiarity with apocalyptic, some knowledge of history, and a solid grounding in _____.
Which is the first of the seven "I am" sayings?
Walking in the light (1 John 1:7) is equivalent to walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6): True or False?
Who asked "What is truth?"?
The elder preferred pen and ink over face-to-face interactions: True or False?
What is the name NT scholars have given to the chapters from John 2 to John 11?
The first miracle Jesus ever performed was turning water to wine: True or False?
What is the literal meaning of apocalypse? a. mystery b. symbol c. unveiling d. revelation
According to John, all Christians have received an anointing, and do not need special (elite) instruction: True or False?
Jesus' crucifixion takes place in Matt 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John ___.
To whom is 3 John addressed? a. Publius b. Philip c. an angel d. Gaius
In John 21, what animal does the number 153 pertain to?
To which island was the apostle John exiled?
Which action of Jesus reminded his disciples of Psalm 69 ("Zeal for your house will consume me")?
A simple "discipleship study," including three passages in which Jesus explicitly uses the word "disciple," can be constructed from which three chapters of John?
Who wrote, "Do not love the world or the things of the world..."?

Grading scale
23-25 -- Excellent
20-22 -- Great
17-19 -- Good
14-16 -- Fair
< 14 -- Poor

If you found the test to be too easy, there is a more challenging (though shorter) test. Click here.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 49

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review of the first two lessons and the idea of the third.

Introductory matters, and Rev 1
A Tale of Two Cities
- Rome
- The Heavenly Jerusalem
- Selections from 17-18, 21-22
Three keys to interpretation, and three vital lessons.
Two ultimate outcomes, two kingdoms, two cities.
One God, one gospel (14:6), one faith. The Christian version of reality is the correct one — not the world’s misconstrued version of reality.

Scriptural focus: Rev 12:10-12 (Rev 12 as the message of the Apocalypse in miniature) and Rev 22:8-21:

12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God
    and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comradeshas been thrown down,
    who accuses them day and night before our God.
11 But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
12 Rejoice then, you heavens
    and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
    for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
    because he knows that his time is short!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servantwith you and your comradesthe prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” 12 “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; 19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

Further study:

Revelation & the End of the World (audio series, 3 hours, plus 60 pages of chapters notes)
The Book of Revelation: “The Blast of the Trumpet” (James Greig)
Last Things series (Armageddon, Rapture & Tribulation, Heaven & Hell, etc)
Rethinking Hell (website)
Understanding the Apocalypse (first lesson; 7 in all, with John Boyles)
Christ Through the Ages: Revelation -- King of Kings (login required)
Revelation, by Jim McGuiggan (book)
What Happens After We Die? (book)
What's The Truth about Heaven & Hell? (book)

Summary (McGuiggan):

... What have we seen in this book? The central thrust is comfort and assurance of ultimate triumph. In its unique way, the book told of a coming and terrible storm... We saw that the heart of the universe is a heavenly throne! That God and the Lamb rule -- not Italy!

We saw the seals reveal, the trumpets warn and the bowls punish in a full and complete way. We saw the saints sealed against the coming fury upon the ungodly -- the world, piece by piece, attacked; her seas bloodied as well as her water supplies; her commerce was ruined and her armies defeated while their property was invaded; her gods were punished while her society ran riot in decadence.

We saw that the church under the heel of the oppressor and the witnesses preaching in sackcloth, while death was awaiting them. But we saw the inner sanctuary hold and the witnesses loyally preach and, after death, vindicated in resurrection. We saw the people of God in a wildnerness, yet nourished while the Devil is raging on earth and in heaven.

We saw Rome go under in blood and fire and smoke -- Rome in all her apocalyptic manifestations, from the civil persecution (the sea beast) to the religious pervert (the earth beast). The God of all power broils the sea beast; and the seductive power of a commercially successful Rome (Harlot) is set on fire by no man's hand and burns as Nero's fire never did -- eternally and thoroughly.

We saw the end of Rome, pictured in the battle of Armageddon, and we heard the serpent thrash as he was bound and salted away for a thousand years, while the saints, living and dead, sat enthroned with their Lord!

We saw the full story of those who died in the service of the beast. They were raised to no thrones but to die one more time, finally, in a lake of fire. We hear from God, through the "little time" of loosing the Devil, that all attempts by the Devil are doomed to failure, anytime and anywhere.

And then we saw the picture of the Church of God. Consecrated in her service; glorious and honored in her reputation and appearance; unbeatable in her strength; intimate in her communion; a blessing to the world and beloved of her Lord. Her future secure and her triumphs eternal!

A Tour Through John, Lesson 48

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review of Rev A:

John contributed 50 chapters to the NT (out of 260).
The book is called Revelation (no 's') or the Apocalypse.
Geographical locations are important, like Patmos, Rome, Asia, and Ephesus.
The book combines three literary genres (types): Letter, Prophecy, and Apocalyptic.
[The text read in the last lesson was Rev 1.]
Three interpretive keys: familiarity with apocalyptic; some knowledge of ancient history; solid grounding in the OT.
Three points emerging from the Apocalypse: God is in control, not Caesar. Hold on to your faith! Things may get worse before they get better.

Themes / Angles of Approach to Revelation

There are many great themes in the book of Revelation.
When you have time, for example, look for the seven beatitudes, study the seven letters (much is known about each recipient church -- see NT chapter notes), or compare the end of Zech with the end of Rev.

Two kingdoms:

Roman Empire
Kingdom of God

Two ultimate outcomes:

Destruction
Life in the new world

Two cities:

Rome -- earthly, corrupt, deceptive... pictured as a harlot, and as Babylon (not simply the city of Rome on the Italian peninsula, but the kingdoms of man)
Jerusalem -- heavenly, pure, beautiful -- the abode of the righteous (not the earthly city of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed a quarter century before John’s vision and the Apocalypse)
Reading selection from Rev 17-18, 21-22.
See also Gal 4:26; Heb 11:16.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 47

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

(1) General

1 Paul 87 chapters ~ 1/4 of NT
2 Luke 52 chapters ~ 1/4 of NT
3 Thus P + L = 1/2 of NT
4 Matthew 28 chapters
5 Peter 24 chapters
6 John 50 chapters
Heb, Jas, Jud (19 chapters in all)
260 chapters in the NT, of which John's contribution is about 15% (by pages).

2) Name

Revelation
Not ‘s’ (even though multiple things are revealed)
Apocalypse

3) Geography

Patmos = island a few hours off the west coast of Asia Minor
Rome = chief city of the empire
Ephesus+ (7 cities in all) = principal city of western Asia Minor
Asia = westernmost province in Asia Minor (modern Turkey)

4) Literary genres

Prophecy - “Book of prophecy”: Telling people what they need to hear.
Letter (2-3 only): epistles
Apocalyptic (mainly): An OT genre find in the latter parts of Daniel and Zechariah, but also in many other locations. In the NT, most prominent in Matt 24 (= Mark 13 = Luke 21) and Rev.

5) Text

1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servantswhat must soon take place; he madeit known by sending his angel to his servantJohn, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freedus from our sins by his blood, 6 and madeus to be a kingdom, priests servinghis God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.

So it is to be. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus 10 I was in the spiriton the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation (v.1) = apocalypse. One like the Son of Man -- he is an apocalyptic figure.
Prophecy (v.3)
- Biblical prophecy normally deals with the immediate, not distant, future.
- Nearness of fulfillment: "what must soon take place" (v.1); "the time is near" (v.3). See Dan 8:26.
- This does not mean that the fundamental truths of Rev no longer apply. But exercise caution when interpreting.
Letters, perhaps including all of Rev (v.11).
Notice too the quotations from and allusions to various OT passages.

6) Keys to interpretation

Familiarity with apocalyptic: fantasy, symbolism, numerology, things are not what they seem: Revelation = unveiling, revelation, disclosure.
History: Rome mainly; also Israel and early church
Old Testament—most important

7) Key points:

God is in control, not Caesar.
Hold to your faith.
Things may get worse before they get better.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 46

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scripture for memory

1 John 1:7 -- But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. Importance: Ongoing forgiveness: walking in the light is not sinless perfection. It is also integral to genuine Christian fellowship.
1 John 2:6 -- Whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked. Importance: Our Christian walk is a walk of discipleship, with Jesus our teacher and mentor.
1 John 3:16 -- We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. Importance: John 3:16 applied at the earthly level. Jesus Christ modeled love.
1 John 4:20-- Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. Importance: Challenges acceptance, resentment, segregation, racism, and lack of forgiveness, which destroy both love and obedience.
1 John 5:3 -- For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. Importance: Like Deut 30 and Matt 11, this passage gives us a positive view of commandments and obedience, and helps us more positively portray Christianity to outsiders.
1 John 5:13-- I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. Importance: Refutes theologies that deny we can know we are saved.
2 John 7-- Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Importance: Pinpoints the crucial doctrinal issue in the world of 1-2 John.
3 John 9 --I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. Importance: Leadership, character.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 45

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

Third John is a personal letter written from one friend (the elder) to another (Gaius).
- Gaius was a common name in the ancient world.
- For example, it was the name of the emperor Caligula (37-41 AD).
A conflict has arisen between supporters of Demetrius and supporters of Diotrephes.
This little letter yields many insights into early Christianity.
- First, John emphasizes his love for the Christians to whom he is writing.
  - Loving relationships are rooted in truth (v.1).
  - Without truth -- and this includes others' being truthful -- a solid relationship is not a realistic possibility

2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. 3 I was overjoyed when some of the friends arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely how you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Health is a legitimate concern (v.2). Do we inquire after people's physical condition, or only after their spiritual health?
"Friend" (v.3) is a technical term.
Truth is something in which we "walk" (live in day to day), not just something to which we give assent (v.3).
With regard to verse 4, Paul had similar sentiments in 1 Thess 3:8. The "children" are probably not be John's literal offspring, but rather children in the faith.
With regard to verse 3, what do we call fellow believers?
- There are many acceptable words to describe followers of Jesus Christ: disciples, friends, believers, the church, the assembly, the Way, brothers, and more.
- Our term of choice reveals how we conceive of our relationship to fellow believers.
- Note: the term "disciples" seems to have been current in the book of Acts, yet not once does it appear in any of the letters. This would suggest that our options are considerably broader than we may have been led to believe.

5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the friends,even though they are strangers to you; 6 they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God; 7 for they began their journey for the sake of Christ,accepting no support from non-believers.8 Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may become co-workers with the truth.

That "friends" may be strangers (v.5) strongly supports the special use of this alternate term for Christians.
Financially supporting true disciples, even those they have never met, is commendable (vv.5-6).
- "Sending them on their way" indicates financial support (Matt 10:10; 1 Cor 9:14; Gal 6:6).
- Evangelists often (if not usually) were compensated for their work, since they moved from city to city and needed room and board. Elders too seem to have been paid (1 Pet 5; 1 Tim 5).
- These early missionaries did not accept assistance from non-believers (v.7). The church family takes care of the church family.
- One way these men were assisted was in room and board (v.8). Hospitality is a high virtue in the Bible.
In v.7, "for the name of" has been rendered "for the sake of" (NRSV). If we follow the Greek NT more literally, the phrase the name (v.7) probably refers to the divinity of Christ.
- See Deut 12:5; Exod 23:20-23; Judg 2:1-5; Deut 4:37; John 17:11.
- God gave his "name" to Jesus.
- This is only one of many NT passages supporting the truth that Christ is God.

9 I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends, and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church.

Diotrephes is unfortunately not so generously minded (v.9).
- He "loves to be first."
  - Ego is a driving factor in much of church history and church politics.
  - John uses the rare word philoprōteuōn, appearing only here in the NT.
    - In classical Greek it means "strive to be first or in the front rank."
    - In ecclesiastical Greek (well after the 1st century), the word came to mean "love to be the leader."
    - Striving to be first is a negative leadership quality. Modesty more often than not characterizes the men and women of the Bible whom the Lord uses to do great things.
  - Diotrephes' doctrinal persuasion is a matter for speculation (v.10). This letter does not seem to be connected the world of Docetism. It's Diotrephes' world that is the issue -- with Diotrephes as star actor and lead commander.
- He expels those who disagree with him from the church.
  - These were false instances of church discipline.
  - Click for more on the subject of church discipline.
John has no hesitation in dealing publicly with the wicked actions of Diotrephes.
- This ego-driven leader seems to pervert the good principle of 2 John 10 for his own purposes.
- Before siding with a teacher, we should examine the fruit of his life (v.11). (See also Matt 7:15-20.) There is a connection.

11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Everyone has testified favorably about Demetrius, and so has the truth itself. We also testify for him,and you know that our testimony is true.

Demetrius, the righteous leader, has a good reputation (v.12).
- This was a requirement for overseers and ministers (deacons, servants) in 1 Tim 3 and Titus
- There are three reasons Gaius and his friends should trust Demetrius:
  - He is highly regarded by the church at large.
  - Demetrius' life is in accord with the truth.
  - John speaks well of him.
  - The friends should weigh this triple testimony: that of John, the church, and the truth itself.
"Whoever does good is from God" (v.11) refers to Demetrius. Moral character lies at the heart of Christian leadership, not forcefulness, persuasiveness, good looks, or popularity.

13 I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink; 14 instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face.

15 Peace to you. The friends send you their greetings. Greet the friends there, each by name.

As he indicated in his previous letter, John prefers to deal with certain matters face to face (vv.13-14)
- "Pen and ink" here, "paper and ink" in 2 John 12.
- See also 2 Cor 10:9-11.
"Friends" (v.14), once more, was an epithet of the early Christians.
The friends were to be greeted not generally, but by name (v.14). There is something special about remembering people's names and praying for them by name (2 Tim 1:3).

Finally:

Though 3 John is quite a short letter, there is much for us today.
- Every chapter of the Bible -- 1189 in all! -- is inspired and useful (2 Tim 3:16).
  - That means we need 3 John. Without it, our Bibles would not be complete. This letter anticipates many situations facing us today.

Thought questions:

Do we care about how others are doing physically, emotionally, and spiritually? (See 1 Thess 5:23.) Spiritual interest alone is lopsided. God created the body and its emotional, volitional, and intellectual faculties, not just the spirit.
Am I a Demetrius, or a Diotrephes? Do I love to be first, or are am I well spoken of by others for being selfless? Am I a team player?
How do we feel about paid staff? Christian workers are worth their wages. It is also right for us to support (at a distance) Christian workers we may never have met.
What is our "favorite" term for a follower of Christ? There are many available designations for a Christian. Biblically there is no warrant for limiting ourselves to just one term (like disciple or Christian).

A Tour Through John, Lesson 44

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

2 John has been called "1 John in miniature." As with 1 John, Gnosticism is the central theological issue in this epistle.
- Matter is evil (or irrelevant). Thus the body is treated in licentiousness or asceticism.
- The biblical God is an inferior deity, levels beneath the true deity.
- Enlightenment is intellectual and mystical more than moral or practical.
- Gnostics use a similar vocabulary to Christians, but the terms have vastly different meanings. (See 2 Corinthians 11:3-4.)
- This heresy addressed in several other NT books: Colossians, 1 Timothy, 1 John, and the Gospel of John.
- Gnosticism is resurgent in modern New Age Movement.
About ancient letters
- Although to us 2 John, like the next epistle in the N.T., seems very short. And yet in the ancient world, private letters were usually around 90 words. Figures in literature typically penned letters twice that length. Papyrus sheets normally accommodated around 200 words.
- Compare with Paul's shortest epistle, Philemon is 335 words. Romans is 7114 words!
- For these longer epistles, sheets of papyrus were joined and rolled -- the scroll.

1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and fromJesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. 4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father.

The elder (the aged John) is writing to "the lady," warning about the bad influence of Gnostic (Docetist) teachers who are spreading their erroneous ideas from house to house.
Who are the lady and her children?
- She is either a church (the preferred interpretation) or an individual woman (minority interpretation). See 1 Pet 5:13 for a parallel.
- Accordingly, the "children" are members of the church, or else literal children.
- It is quite possible that John is writing to an individual house church. (Remember, larger Christian meetings come in the 4th century, not the 1st.)
The truth (vv.2-4) is objective, not subjective; practical, not theoretical. Walking in the truth means living in love.
- This is integral to the Christian walk, since it is relational.
- It is also evidently lacking among the heretics, further evidence that they have left the way of Jesus.

5 But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.

The issues affecting this house church issue from a lack of love. Resolving them will require love -- love for others and love for God.
True love for God means obeying him (see John 14). Although it may not feel natural in our church culture, in biblical culture, obedience and love are inseparable.
Keeping Jesus' commandments makes us more loving, particularly because so many of them have to do with relationships:
- Loving our enemies
- Being generous
- Forgiveness, even when we cannot trust or continue the relationship with the offender
- Praying with awareness of our own need for forgiveness
- Striving for humility
- Dealing with conflict directly -- privately at first, and then publicly if necessary
- Reaching out to the lost
- Sharing with the needy in the church (especially)
- Crossing boundaries and flouting the conventions of a prejudiced society

7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! 8 Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what wehave worked for, but may receive a full reward. 9 Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

The false teachers denied the incarnation (v.7). See also John 1:14; Col 2:9.
- This is the spirit of the antichrist.
- They "run ahead" of the teachings of Christ.
- Early heretics tended to accept Jesus' divinity, but rejected his humanity. Modern heretics have reversed this.
Are there degrees of reward at the judgment (v.8)? Yes. This is a common N.T. teaching (e.g. Matt 6:20; 19:21), as we have discussed previously.

10 Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; 11 for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

We mustn't condone or endorse the false teachers (vv.10-11).
- Our ministry has no part in their ministry.
- Notice that these are not only false teachers, but false Christians.
  - We all make errors, and no one has "arrived."
  - But when central Christian doctrines are discarded or distorted, salvation is in jeopardy.
Verse 10 says we are not to accept him (as a teacher) in our house [church].

12 Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.

John has more to say, but he wisely comments that the best communication is done face to face (v.12).
His wish is for their joy. (See a similar thought in Phil 1:25.)
In verse 13 the elder conveys greetings from his church to his recipients.
"Elect sister" has no connotation of Calvinism.

Conclusion
Though 2 John is a short letter, it yields many lessons for us today:

Worldly philosophy may masquerade as Christianity. Watch out!
The incarnation is a central doctrine of Christianity. To deny it is to deny Christ.
The antichrist is not necessarily one individual.
Despite temptations to run ahead, we must remain with the gospel message of Christ.
There is a clear dividing line between genuine Christianity and pseudo-christianity.
Communication is best done in person. Written communication is okay, telephone is better, but in person is best.

Thought questions:

Do I draw the line where God draws the line vis-à-vis core Christian teachings? How do I feel about those who reject one or more of these teachings? Am I indignant, or do I fail to see the seriousness of the situation?
For example, do I accept the implications of verses 7-9, that those who deny the incarnation (Jehovah's Witnesses, Unitarians, Muslims, and others) do not have God?
Do I tend to deal with problems in letters and emails, when phone calls and face-to-face communication would be more helpful? Are I more comfortable with the more indirect modes of communication? (If so, why?)

A Tour Through John, Lesson 43

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

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5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christhas been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5 Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Those who accept that Jesus (the fully human, earthly man) is the Christ (the Messiah) are the Christians, not those who replace Jesus with a spirit or apparition or any subhuman theology.
It isn't possible to accept God while rejecting the biblical Jesus (v.1).
- When we are close to someone who becomes a parent, we rejoice in the birth of the child.
- The Gnostics took little pleasure in the real, historical Jesus—a sign they did not have a relationship with God. (See John 3:18.)
Loving God means obeying his commandments (v.3), as in John 14:15, 23-24. It is unthinkable that one could be faithful to God while being willfully disobedient to him. See Matt 11:28-30.
- His commands are not burdensome, when kept out of a faithful heart.
- In Deut 30:11-20 God assured the Israelites of the same thing.
Obedience lifts the burdens of sin, bad relationships, meaningless living, and more. Faith overcomes the world (v.5). It leads to obedience, and obedience to God leads to victory.

6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. 7 There are three that testify:8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. 9 If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10 Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in Godhave made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

In vv.6-12, John assures us that to enjoy the Christian life we must have the correct Christ. A similar idea is expressed in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4.
Jesus came by water and blood.
- This refers to his humanity, over against the Gnostic claim that he was not God incarnate, or that the Spirit of God left him before the crucifixion. In the ancient world, it was widely believed that humans were composed of water and blood.
- It may also be an allusion to John 19:34, where, while Jesus hung dead on the cross, both blood and water gushed from his side when the Roman soldier pierced it.
- Click to read about the Johannine Comma of verse 7.

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Can we know we're saved?
- Isn't “arrogant” to claim we are on the narrow road? Is it wrong to “judge” our own salvation?
- Not according to John (v.13).
Those eager to live for Christ know that a saving faith is an active faith (James 2:14-26).
They learn to accept God’s grace, struggling less and less with trusting Christ for eternal life, ever growing in confidence.
The Bible is clear: you can absolutely know you are saved.
Further to verse 13, some ask whether we are only saved at the judgment day. Click here for further discussion.

14 And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. 16 If you see your brother or sistercommitting what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and Godwill give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.

How can we be sure God will answer our prayers?
- The prayer must be according to God's will (v.14).
- Often against this truth, the modern “Word-Faith” movement (followed by so many evangelical churches) teaches that if you believe it, it will happen.
  - This is based on Mark 11:24 (out of context), ignoring the hyperbole.
  - This is also the spirit of paganism: We can manipulate the gods to get what we want.
What is “the sin that leads to death” (v.16)?
- In the context of 1 John, it is probably related to the errors of Gnosticism in rejecting the true Christ and falling away (see Heb 6:4-6).
- James tells us that death is the end-result of full-grown sin (James 1:13-15).
- Another idea: We can be forgiven for any sin that we will repent of, but if someone is unwilling to repent, it won’t help to pray for their forgiveness. This principle is also found in Jeremiah 11:14 and 14:11.
- For more on the sin that leads to death (v.16), click here.

18 We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them. 19 We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true;and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Being born again means that we will not continue to sin (v.18).
- Not that we'll never sin, but that we won't continue in a sinful lifestyle.
- See also Hebrews 10:26-31.
We can be confident that we will be kept safe from the evil one.
John isn't reneging on his word that we must walk in the light (1:7), confess sin (1:9), obey the commandments and follow Jesus (2:3-6) and love our brother (4:19-21), etc.
The whole world is under the control of the evil one (v.19), but we follow one who is even more powerful (v.20), who is truly man and also truly God.
- Exactly how Satan controls the world through his spiritual forces (Eph 6:10-12) is never spelled out in scripture.
  - This is despite the plethora of books postulating the exact mechanisms ("spiritual warfare").
  - It is certain, however, that he has considerable dominion over the earth. No one but a true believer escapes his control.

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

The striking final verse (v.21) fits well with the theme of 1 John.
- What are the “idols” which he warns us against if not the false concepts of Jesus and God taught by the Gnostics?
- A wrong-headed concept of Jesus is a dangerous thing: by it a man or woman can be lost just as surely as by the true Jesus a man or woman will be saved.
To follow the Lord we must keep ourselves from idols.
Tomorrow we will study 2 John, which has been called "1 John in miniature."

Thought questions:

How do you feel about the truths of verses 3 and 13? Do his commands feel burdensome, or do you doubt your salvation? If so, what is to be learned from this chapter?
Can you summarize the errors of Gnostic theology? It is important to understand their distorted concepts of Christ, sin, the world, the light, and God. Do you see how what you have learned will help you better understand 1 John and other N.T. documents dealing with Gnosticism?
When I see my brothers and sisters sinning, compromising their faith, do I pray for them? Do I want them to pray for me when I myself am drifting?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 42

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesusis not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. 4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The term “spirits” (v.1) is equivalent to “prophetic messages.”
- The same word “spirit” is rendered prophecy in 2 Thess 2:2.
- The idea is similar to that in 1 Thess 5:20-21.
The point: don’t be duped by false prophets. God’s true Spirit always works in harmony with God’s Word and will never teach, tolerate or lead us into error.
Are there prophets today? Click here.
The world—and this includes pagans and the worldly religious—accepts worldly thinking and excuses, approving of the messages of the false prophets (vv.4-6).
- Anyone on the side of truth will eventually join us—or we will join him.
- Our focus should not be “Who’s right?”, but “What’s right?” Begin with the truth in God’s word, then apply it relentlessly and accept the conclusions.
- Can a Gnostic Christian be saved? Click here.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Verses 7-10 are poetic, and based on an ancient Christian hymn.
Love is revealed by action, particularly by going.

11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

Love is the very nature of God (vv.7-11). It is impossible to understand real love without appreciating the cross of Christ.
In regard to vv.12-15, no one has ever fully, completely seen God (John 1:18; Isa 55:8-9), though at times God has made one aspect or another of himself visible (Exod 34, for example).
- We see God in the person of Jesus as recorded in the Bible (Col 2:9). But today Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, and through his spirit he lives in his body, the church (Eph 1:22-23; 2:22).
- Although God is invisible, he is seen in Christian relationships. It’s so difficult to lead someone to Christ without his or her seeing the community of faith. The abstract becomes concrete in the fellowship of the saints.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

In regard to vv.16-18, believers in Christ possess spiritual confidence.
Fear has to do with punishment. Christians know they’re forgiven, and perfect (mature, complete) love drives out fear. We revere God (a good sort of fear), but we don’t stand in terror of God (the bad sort), for three reasons:
- We're already acquainted with him (he's no stranger), and we're confident about his unchanging nature. A true Christian need not fear death. We don't fear him because we know him.
- God has assured us in Christ that he'll do anything to get us to heaven. The cross is a powerful disclosure of his heart. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).
- He sets our hearts at peace, providing us with forgiveness and the gift of a good conscience (Heb 9:14). When we're living right, our hearts are at rest. This should be the “default setting” of a disciple of Christ. At his return Christ will bring salvation to those waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28).
What will the judgment day be like for Christians? Will our lives be reviewed in order to determine whether we go to heaven or hell, or merely to determine some level of reward in heaven?
- All believers will appear before the judgment seat (2 Cor 5:10).
- We are not saved by our works (Eph 2:8-9), but we are rewarded according to our works (Matt 25:21). Before death we know that we are saved (1 John 5:13) and thus be confident and unashamed before God at his coming (2:28).
  - Jesus frequently mentions treasures in heaven (Matt 6:20).
  - Punishment, like reward, is in direct proportion to knowledge and responsibility (Luke 12:47-48). It is just not true that all get the same reward or punishment.
- At the return of Christ we will:
  - receive the gift of eternal life (1 Cor 15:50, 53),
  - meet Jesus Christ, and
  - become like him (3:2).

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

As John puts it in 4:20, if we claim to love the (invisible) Lord while we don’t love our (visible) brother, we lie.
It isn't logically possible to love God (who is invisible) if you don't love your brothers and sisters (who are visible).
Contradictions to the claim that we love God -- all of which bring reproach on the Christian church -- include:
- Bitterness and resentment (Heb 12:15).
- Racism and prejudice, which are forms of hatred (Gal 5:20). It has been accurately observed, “11:00 on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.”
- Refusal to connect relationally with other Christians. Isolation contributes to denominationalism (1 Cor 1:10-12; 3:16-17; John 17:20-23).
- Fragmenting or fractured marriages (Eph 5:22-33).
- Disrespectful treatment of others, violating the spirit of love (1 Cor 13:1-8).
- Lack of forgiveness -- which is damnable (Matt 6:14-15).
Love is the bottom line.
- A true Christian must actively love God, his brothers and sisters in the faith, and the lost.
- These truths -- a personal walk with God, involvement in the church, and commitment to evangelism -- we hold to be (biblically) self-evident.

Thought questions:

Am I spiritually gullible, or am I cautiously skeptical, testing everything by the Word?
Are we walking confidently before God and man? How do we feel about the judgment?
Does the church you attend reflect local demographics, or is there a lack of love for those who are different from the norm?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 41

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

When we see the Lord (v.2), in the end, we will be like him.
- This transformation begins now, in this life (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18; Rom 8:29).
- This is God's "plan" for my life.
  - Western Christianity's individualistic obsession with "God's plan for my life" is neither biblical nor is it part of historic Christianity.
  - It is closely tied in with the "health & wealth" message embraced by hundreds of millions of evangelicals and charismatics.
  - This transformation requires suffering (Rom 8:17; 1 Pet 4:1). We are in the crucible!
  - God cares about character 1000x as much as he does career.
  - For more, please listen to the podcast Decision Making and the Will of God.
- The hope of seeing God helps to keep us pure.
  - We live in the anticipation of seeing him (v.3). He inspires us.
  - Yet to meet him, we must be pure (Psalm 101:2; Habakkuk 1:13).

4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. 10 The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.

Verse 4 gives us a compact definition of sin: violation of God’s moral law.
- It is a personal affront to God, not an infraction of some arbitrary code.
- Taking morality into our own hands (as our generation has done), refusing to submit to the sovereignty of God, asserting our own autonomy, or right to “update” the Bible to suit our whims -- this is lawlessness. See also Matt 7:23.
- Law in verse 4 does not mean the same thing as the term in Romans and Galatians, where it refers to Torah.
In verse 6, “continuing to sin” (present aspect in Greek—continuous action) means a lifestyle of unrepented sinfulness, as in Hebrews 10:26, not isolated acts of sin.
- The Gnostics sinned and sinned boldly. To them, sin was a technicality, or some imperfection, since they considered themselves to be perfect already.
- Jesus is sinless (John 8:46), so those who continue to sin have neither seen him (as he is) nor known him (Matt 7:23; 1 Cor 8:3).
V.7 contains the phrase "does righteousness." Everyone who does righteousness is righteous. There is no authentic relationship with God if there is no seriousness about holiness -- about following Jesus' commandments!
Satan will try to lead us astray (often through other people). Yet since God’s seed remains in us (v.9), we can't go on sinning (living a lifestyle of sin). (“Cannot” in the sense of our refusal, not our inability, since we always have free will.)
This seed is the Word (Luke 8:11), which we must retain (Luke 8:15). “Once saved, always saved” is again shown to be a misguided notion!

11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

The false teachers resemble Cain (v.11).
- Like the false Christians of Romans 3 and 6, they claimed that sinning magnified God’s grace in forgiving sins.
- The term “antinomian” means that they maintained a lawless position with regard to sin and righteousness (anti + nomos = against + law)
Further to verse 12, the Cainite Gnostics taught that Cain was the good guy (not Abel), that the Sodomites were spiritual persons who should never have been destroyed, and that Balaam was a righteous man.
- Why? Remember that the Gnostics typically abhorred the OT god.
- The enemies of the god of the OT were their friends. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend.)
True love is sacrificial (v.14ff).
- 1 John 3:16 is John 3:16 at the human level, just as John 3:16 is 1 John 3:16 at the divine level.
- Cain didn't love Abel; rather than sacrificing in a godly manner, he “sacrificed” his own brother. Towards the end of the first century more and more false Christians betrayed their spiritual brothers and sisters to death.
- Turning in a Christian, especially a non-Roman citizen or a slave, would likely lead to the execution of that individual -- assuming he refused to worship Caesar as Lord. One mark of the false Christian is unwillingness to be persecuted, especially to be martyred.
John suggests one more easy test for true and false Christianity: How do those who claim to be disciples sacrifice to meet the needs of those less fortunate? See James 2:14-26, and also Gal 6:10.

18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

“Setting our hearts at rest” (v.19) has been misunderstood. John isn't encouraging us to feel good about ourselves if we aren't walking in the light.
- Misinterpreting Col 3:15, some religious teachers insist anything that upsets you—anything that takes away “the peace of Christ” should be avoided. This is bogus.
- Those with hypersensitive consciences or more “accused” personalities may often find that “their hearts condemn them.” They need encouragement.
When we've committed ourselves to loving others and are laying down our lives for them, God sees our hearts and does not condemn us.
- We may feel unworthy, but our actions show where we really stand before God.
- When we love “in truth and action” our hearts will be at rest before God because our consciences will be at peace!
- Attempts to feel good spiritually apart from obedience to God are misguided. Here are three simple tests, each inherent in the message of 1 John, which we can apply:
  - Do I actively seek to alleviate the suffering of my fellow human beings?
  - Am I fulfilling my commission to spread the Word?
  - Do I expect others who are in Christ to walk in the light?
And when our hearts are at rest, we receive what we pray for (v.22).
- This is not the mechanical theology called "Word-faith," which is based on a misunderstanding of Jesus' (hyperbole) in Mark 11:24.
- We are focused and spiritual in our prayers.
- See a similar thought in James 1:2-6.

23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Finally, we know he abides in us by the Spirit he gave us (24).
- This is not because of some feeling we have, either because we can feel the Spirit or because the Spirit makes us feel good.
- Nor do we know by virtue of the fact that we were baptized (Acts 2:38).
- Rather, we know the Lord is living in us because of the effects of his Spirit in us.
  - These are practical love and other elements in the fruit of the Spirit.
  - To the extent that these effects are absent, Christ is not dwelling in us richly.
The more we surrender to his Spirit, the more we will enjoy walking in the light—which is walking in his steps—and the more he will use us to spread the Word in this world.

Thought questions:

Am I growing spiritually, actively purifying myself through the hope of seeing the Lord?
When is the last time I helped a brother or sister in physical need?
Is my heart at rest? Do I generally have confidence that my prayers make a difference?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 40

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

18 Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us.

It is the last hour (v.18).
- John is stressing the theological urgency of the situation, more than the chronological nearness of the end of the world.
- At any rate, all disciples must always be ready for the end; Jesus promised he would come as a thief.
- The precise meaning of the “last hour” (v.18) is difficult to pin down.
  - Maybe it refers to the end of the world. This view is not without obvious difficulties; it does, however, follow on smoothly from verse 17. If this is correct, are we still in the last hour? Did it come and go, or are we still “on stand-by” till the end?
  - Some hold that it refers to the final years before the Destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24), in which case these were the final days of Judaism, or Christianity within Judaism—enjoying imperial protection. Things were to heat up considerably for the Christians after 70 AD!
  - Perhaps it alludes to the last hour in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:12), and thus refers to the influx of Gentiles into the church. Could the Holy Spirit be revealing that, for the Christians in Asia Minor, persecution might soon eradicate the faith in that part of the world? In other words, it’s the “last hour” locally, not globally, for these disciples.
  - Or maybe this is a reference to Paul’s prophecy in 2 Timothy 4:3.
  - Or yet again to Jesus’ oracle (Matthew 24:12-14, 24). Many passages speak of disciples being led away from the truth.
The antichrist (v.18) is not necessarily one evil individual.
- Many antichrists have come.
- They were denying the teachings of Christ and sacrificial lifestyle demanded of his followers.
- They also denied the incarnation.
- For more on antichrist, listen to the podcast on The Antichrist. (Login required.)
"They went out from us" and "did not really belong to us" (v.19).
- This doesn't necessarily mean they never belonged. Rather, their decisions and beliefs were (or became) contrary to correct Christian teaching.
- Possibly these Gnostics have Jewish roots and “went out” (v.19) from the church to return to the synagogue, to escape persecution. The false prophets (4:1-6) would likely have permitted their adherents to worship in their own way, even if that meant a return to established religion (Judaism). But, there's no way to be saved apart from the truth of Christ—and the Christ of truth (2:23).

20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he has promised us, eternal life.

What is the "anointing" (v.20)? The false teachers whom John is refuting claimed that extra, esoteric, mystical knowledge was necessary in order to fully apprehend the truth
Denying Jesus is the Christ (v.22) isn't to affirm you are a non-Christian. The claim -- in context -- is the denial that the earthly, fully human Jesus is the Christ (Messiah, or anointed one).

26 I write these things to you concerning those who would deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Gnosticism was a highly speculative religion/philosophy. John counters by affirming that all Christians already have the truth.
Of course no one has "all knowledge" (1 Cor 13:2).
We have no need for anyone to teach us the gospel all over again, or and add to it. Our Christian foundation was not defective.
The “anointing” (v.27) refers to the original, pristine, apostolic doctrine which is both immutable and inimitable.
- Jesus had promised that the Spirit would see to that (John 14:26 and 16:13). We need no teacher to explain the real faith to us, because we've already been taught, through the apostles.
- Therefore no one needs to teach us the truth; we learned it when we first came to know the Lord. Jeremiah 31:34, with Hebrews 8:10-11, continues this thought. The claim that God did not come in the flesh is gravely wrong (v.22ff).
- Verse 21 shows that “knowing the truth” is equivalent to “receiving the anointing” (2:20, 27).
- The liar rejects the sufficiency of this “anointing.” He denies that Jesus is the Messiah (the Anointed One).
The liar’s teaching is counterfeit; it resembles the genuine article, but up close its cheapness and uselessness become evident.
In Isaiah 61:1, anointing refers to the Messiah. It is not right, in my opinion, for a modern-day preacher to claim to have God's "anointing" on him in an exclusive way.

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him.

We should feel “confident and unashamed” (v.28) when we understand the power of Christ’s cleansing blood (1:7-2:2).
- See 3:19-21 for the continuation of this thought.
- Ironically, the false teachers were also confident (arrogantly so) and unashamed (though they should have been).
John also reminds us that true Christians not only “talk right,” they also “walk right” (v.29).
Back to the Docetists:
- Their sinful lifestyle confirms that their prophets are false (Matthew 7:15-20).
- Whether they’d (initially) crossed from death to life is irrelevant; they were now living for themselves.
- When we live for self, the Bible says, we’re dead even while we live (1 Timothy 5:6).
God's true children ("born of him") live righteously, in the light.

Thought questions:

Am I easily influenced by novel and attractive doctrines? (See also Ephesians 4:14 and Hebrews 13:9.)
“Confident and unashamed” (v.28) -- does this describe my walk with Jesus Christ? If I were to be ushered into his presence now, how would I feel?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 39

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Forgiveness (v.1) -- this is great news! Not that we should abuse God’s kindness, but in case we do sin (and we all do—let’s be honest), Jesus is right there speaking in our defense.
Advocate, counselor, paraklete (v.1).
Christ does not rationalize our sin through slick argument, but neutralizing it through his atoning blood. Would that the whole world grasped this and experienced it (2:2)!
Some see in verse 2 a promise of ultimate redemption for everybody. This false doctrine is called universalism.
- And yet 1 John does not teach that everybody will be saved, only that God wants everyone to be saved. The Lord will never force anyone against his or her will.
- Rather, we should see 2:2 as a reflection of God's heart, longing that all would accept the message of Christ and be saved.

3 Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 4 Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5 but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.

Verses 3-6 are a clear passage on the commitment the Lord demands.
It silences the opposition of those who insist that uncommitted people can be saved.
Walking as Jesus did is not walking in sandals or walking on water. As we have seen, the walking of 2:6 is equivalent to the walking in the light of 1:7.
There is a tremendous difference between knowing someone and knowing about someone. According to Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23), countless individuals confuse knowing about the Lord with knowing him personally. Obedience is the key. (See also 1 Corinthians 8:3.)
There is no contradiction between living as a committed Christian and salvation by grace through the blood of Jesus. In fact, grace is designed to bring us into an obedient relationship with Christ.
John speaks of "commandments" (v.4), which for some may be uncomfortable language. Yet Jesus did give us numerous commandments (e.g. Matt 5-7), and expects obedience.

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

As in marriage, without commitment (faithfulness) the relationship sours and is eventually destroyed.
The command about love (v.7ff) was old (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37-40), but also new, because now we can see clearly what we need to do by imitating God in the flesh (John 13:34). The command to live as Jesus did is all about love (2:5), because the Christian’s life revolves around people.
The truth of this command is seen “in him and you”: in the life of Christ and in our life as his body, the church of Christ.
Those who had left the fellowship didn't love their brothers. It seems John is saying that those who leave the church, who do not keep their commitment of love to God and the family of God, “hate” their spiritual siblings.
Whoever hates his brother is in darkness.
- There are enemies of the truth (see Acts 13:10) an enemies of the cross (Phil 3:18).
- Yet Christians do not have personal enemies (persons we hate). That is why bitterness, violence, retaliation, and hatred in all its forms are so opposed to the message of Christ.
Ironically, John says that darkness blinds us (v.11).

12 I am writing to you, little children,
    because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
    because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I write to you, children,
    because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
    because you are strong
    and the word of God abides in you,
        and you have overcome the evil one.

Verses 12-14 are a poem, or song, which became familiar to the first century Christians. The rhyme and rhythm are evident in the Greek original, which is why most translators set it out in verse form.
“Children” (v.12) isn't referring to infants or toddlers. It's those of us who have become children of God through the new birth. “My dear children” is one of John’s favorite descriptions of those who are in Christ.
- Our sins were forgiven through the name of Jesus, but when? At baptism, as Acts 2:38 and 22:16 make clear.
- The way to overcome the evil one is to let the word of Christ dwell in you (Colossians 3:16; Psalm 119:9). John assures us that the victory is ours! We need to think of ourselves as overcomers.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; 16 for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

The warning about loving the world (vv.15-17) reminds us of James 4:4.
We are to love nothing in the world because it is not possible to serve more than one master (Luke 16:13).
What is “worldliness”? The worldly man thinks about everything in relation to himself; the godly man in relation to God. And the bonus for the man who lives for God: eternal life.
Those who had left the church for Docetic theology were, despite their religion, worldly to the core. The false Christians left the fellowship. They stopped going to church—the right church, that is. They started up their own!

Thought questions:

Am I walking in the light? And is there any area of darkness in my life of which I am aware?
Do I love my brothers and sisters? Is there hidden resentment or prideful independence that resists correction? Prejudice or hatred in any other form?
Can I say with a clear conscience that the word of God lives in me?
Am I worldly? What excites me more: my possessions, experiences, and accomplishments, or my walk with the Lord?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 38

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John the apostle is confronting the false system of Docetism, as we learned yesterday. The docetic Christ wasn't physical -- hence John's emphasis that Jesus was tangible.
According to verse 2, eternal life is available to all through Jesus Christ.
- This suggests that none of us possesses it innately. Romans 6:23 tells us that eternal life is a gift we receive through Christ.
- This implies that no one will truly live eternally who has not come through Jesus Christ. And yet what an incredible gift for those willing to receive it!
Following the teachings of Docetism removed one from the fellowship.
John has joy when the members in his sphere of influence (his ministry, here specifically in Asia Minor) are on track spiritually. It is deeply burdensome, for a leader, especially, when Christians are struggling with their faith and commitment (2 Cor 11:28-29).

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Is light perfection? No, light (John 3:19-21) is characteristic of God, his word and his people. In other words, judge these false Christians not just by their theology, but also by their morality.
God is light -- and light has a strong moral component (Eph 4:17-19; 5:8-14).
- Other chapters with the darkness-light theme are found in the letters of Paul (Romans 13, 2 Corinthians 6, Ephesians 5, 1 Thessalonians 5, etc), the letters of Peter (1 Peter 2), and especially in the four gospels.
- Light and darkness don’t mix (vv.5-7), and woe to those who confuse the two (Isaiah 5:20)!
“Walking in the light”—is this possible for a mere human?
- Absolutely yes!
- The Greek of v.6 has an interesting phrase: "do what is true."
Walking in the light does not mean perfection, but an eagerness to obey Christ’s commands, especially (in 1 John) the command to love one another (2:6, 2:10). If it is impossible to walk in the light, then we are all lost, because walking as Jesus walked and walking in the light are one and the same.
The opponents of John’s churches claimed to be in the light, but they were not, for two reasons:
- They did not walk in the light; they did not walk as followers of Christ. (See 1 John 2:3-6.)
- They were not in fellowship with other Christians. In fact they stood in opposition to the true disciples. (See 1 John 4:5-6.)

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The Gnostics did not admit to wrong and claimed to be without sin (1:8-10).
Walking in the light is not only not perfection; it is a lifestyle where there is the open admission of imperfection. It is parallel to “confessing our sins,” that is, being open about our lives and refusing to hide in the darkness (John 3:19-21).
We are purified from sin even while we are sinning (vv.7-9), because (in our attitude) we are walking in the light.
- Christians don't go back and forth from darkness to light unless they leave the Lord completely.
- We have crossed from death to life; that’s settled. Once the bill is paid, we don’t go back to the cash register and “settle up” again! It’s paid.
- Some Christians falsely imagine that when they sin they go back to the darkness, and when they confess they are forgiven again and come back into the light. What agony! What insecurity! What error! What a misunderstanding of grace -- a lapse into Galatians 3:3 theology!
Confession is vital (v.9).
- It needs to be a part of our lifestyle. It is part of walking in the light.
- However, a Christian who fails to confess every sin is not going to be condemned. Imagine the scene at Judgment Day.
- Baptism and subsequent confession have been described as “a bath and a shower in the blood of Jesus."
  - We as Christians don’t need the bath again, but it sure feels good to “shower off’ the unrighteousness in the presence of God.
  - Recall Jesus' conversation with Peter in John 13.
Why pray for forgiveness when our relationship with God is secure?
- As an illustration, take marriage. When we sin against our spouse, we need to ask for forgiveness. For what purpose? To become married again, or to mend the relationship?
- Christians ask for God’s forgiveness not that they might be spared from going to hell (that was taken care of in baptism), but that the personal relationship with God might be healed.
- Salvation is no excuse for not asking for forgiveness when we have hurt God.

Thought questions:

When is the last time you faced temptation and said, “No, I am not going to give in, because that is darkness”? What things have you decided not to allow in your life because they belong to the darkness, and not to the light?
Do you enjoy walking in the light, or does guilt prevent you?
How free do you feel to confess your sins to other people? How have you seen that confession truly brings you into deeper fellowship with God and with others?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 37

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In the late first century, there were false concepts of Jesus circulating in the Christian world. Just as today there are numerous false Jesuses (perhaps best known is the one begging you to "accept" him, in exchange for nothing -- no commitment), so at the turn of the second century there was a false and idolatrous Jesus. This was being proclaimed in the churches where the apostle John, now an old man, had influence.

1 Jn 1 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John is a letter from the apostle to Christians in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).
These inspired words are addressed to the second (third?) generation of Christians. A whole generation or two of believers has been converted and died; it’s up to their children to carry the torch.
The letters of 1 and 2 John address a heresy called Gnosticism, and specifically a version of Gnosticism called Docetism. If you are unfamiliar with these doctrines, be sure to click on the links -- otherwise it will be difficult for you to fully understand these letters. There are other articles on Gnosticism at this website, too.

2 Jn 7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! 8 Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. 9 Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; 11 for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

Christians shouldn't say, “Philosophy and theology don’t matter; just read the Bible.” Training in how to read the Bible benefits us all. The fact is, words and ideas are powerful. We have a moral obligation not only to teach the truth clearly, but also to protect the church from the ravages of false teachers.
There are a number of NT references that begin making sense when you realize the nature of the false doctrine being discussed.
- Colossians 2:18-23 deals with ascetic regulations, and the specific heresy seems to be a fusion of Jewish and Gnostic philosophy.
- 1 Timothy 6:20 addresses the Gnostic superiority complex (“what is falsely called knowledge”).
- 1 and 2 John deal with Docetism. The docetic "Jesus" is nothing but an idol (1 John 5:21).
John is emphatic that Jesus Christ came in a physical body (vv.1-3).
- His life and person were open to verification through the physical senses: sight, hearing and touch.
- Keep in mind that the Docetists are claiming that he came not in a physical body but as some sort of disembodied spirit.
John insists he is a reliable eyewitness of Jesus Christ.
- It really does matter whether Jesus existed, whether he physically came to earth as a man, preached, loved, and resisted temptation in the flesh, whether he physically died on a cross and bodily rose from the dead (1 Cor 15)!
- John stresses here not the divinity of Jesus, but his humanity, which was being questioned.
  - So, was Jesus 50% human and 50% divine? No! He was 100% human and 100% divine.
  - As an illustration, Gatorade is totally wet and completely lime-green—100% of each—both at the same time. There are two natures, yet neither excludes the other.
  - In the same way, Jesus is human and divine.
Why the mention of fellowship in 1:3?
- The false teachers, influenced by the Gnostics, had left the fellowship.
- Either you are in the fellowship or out of it (in both senses of the phrase!).
- The Gnosticized Christians had “gone out” (1 John 2:19); their new “church” was not in fellowship with the real disciples—they had nothing in common.
A modern day phenomenon that is sweeping away many people tired of traditional religion is New Age religion.
- This is a fusion of eastern mysticism and western concepts, with elements of astrology, pantheism, meditation, the occult and a good deal of snob appeal.
- Enlightenment is sought within, rather than without—at the foot of the cross of Christ. This is the central flaw of this and many other quasi-religious movements.
- Sin is downplayed, and the language of love, unity, freedom and tolerance masks the true heart of the movement, which throbs with rebellion and individualism. The movement takes strong exception to the doctrines of sin, judgment, righteousness, hell, and other doctrines clearly set out in the Bible.
- The message is promoted in such bestsellers as
  - The Celestine Prophecy
  - The Care of the Soul
  - A New Earth
  - The Power of Now
  - A Course in Miracles
  - Four Agreements
For an exploration of Gnosticism, with a survey of five Gnostic gospels, see my audio set The Lost Books of the Bible (IPI: Spring, Texas, 2007).
The material in this and the next 5 or 10 lessons has been adapted from chapter 17 of my book James, Peter, John, Jude. Re-read prologue

A Tour Through John, Lesson 36

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

12:24 -- Jesus to Andrew, Philip, and the Greeks: "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Importance: Key to effectiveness. Corresponds to the self-denial passages in Mark 8; Matt 16; Luke 9.
13:34-35 -- Jesus to the Eleven: "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.” Importance: The New Commandment. One of three explicit discipleship passages.
14:6 -- Jesus to Thomas: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Importance: The sixth of seven "I am" sayings. The path is a person, not a religion; the truth is a person, not a list of doctrines; the life is found in Jesus (10:10), not an institution.
15:1 -- Jesus to the Eleven: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower." Importance: The final "I am" saying. Our productivity depends on staying tied in to Jesus.
16:33 -- Jesus to the Eleven: "I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” Importance: The key to overcoming fear, anxiety, and compromise.
17:17 -- Jesus in prayer: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." Importance: The more we follow the Word, the holier we become. Becoming Christ-like is directly linked to obeying his Word.
18:36 -- Jesus to Pontius Pilate: Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Importance: Points up drastic difference between God's Kingdom and the political / military kingdoms of the world.
19:12 -- Pilate to the Jews: So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” Importance: The (ironic) mockery of Jesus. "Ecce homo" passage.
20:28 -- Thomas to Jesus: Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Importance: Jesus' deity. It is Christ, not the Roman emperor, who is divine.
21:21 -- Peter to Jesus: When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Importance: Our need to stay focused, not worried about the status of others.

Be sure to review these passages in the coming week or two, along with all the scriptures from John 1-11.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 35

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

After breakfast, it's time to talk (v.15ff).
Notice the setting: the charcoal fire. Here Jesus will serve Peter breakfast; previously, standing by the fire, Peter had denied his Lord.
The rest of the chapter is about Peter, and also his relationship to the disciple whom Jesus loved.

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep."

Peter knew he'd forfeited his right to be Jesus' partner in ministry.
- Jesus gently reminds him of his lapse, and "reinstates" him, confirming him in his position of leadership and trust (vv.15-19).
- See also Luke 22:31.
Who are "these" in v.15? They are probably the other disciples.
Peter had boasted of having a greater love, or loyalty, to Jesus than all the others. (See Matthew 26:33.)
Three times Jesus asks the same basic question, parallelling Peter's triple denial of Christ. This must have been painful for Peter.
There is no real difference between the two verbs for love (agapan and philein).
- John's gospel uses lots of synonyms, and the words for love are no exception. The Greek nouns for love are agape, philia, storge, and eros. The fine distinctions are hammered out in C.S. Lewis' masterful The Four Loves. This is also available in audiobook read by -- yes! -- C.S. Lewis himself. But here we are only now concerned with agape and philia.
- Philia has overtones of friendship, agape of disinterested giving. The corresponding noun forms are philia and agape. The noun form agapedoes not appear in Classical Greek, although the verbal form agapao does.
- These words are used interchangeably throughout John, as you will see below.
  - Man's love for man (13:34 - agape; 15:19 - philia)
  - Man's love for Jesus (8:42 - agape; 16:27 - philia)
  - Jesus' love for man (11:5 - agape; 11:3 - philia)
  - God's love for man (3:16 - agape; 16:27 - philia)
  - The Father's love for the Son (3:35 - agape; 5:20 - philia)
- If we've been guilty of throwing around third-hand linguistic "insights," not having done our homework, repentance is in order.
Likewise, in verses 15-17 there are three different words for sheep (arnia, probata, and probatia). Once again, it is doubtful that any distinction between the words is intended.
Peter is hurt (v.17) not so much by change of verb, but by the three-fold challenge to his faith.
Loving Jesus means loving his sheep -- the responsibility of any shepherd or leader in the church. See 1 Peter 5:1ff.

18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus then predicts Peter's death by crucifixion, which is recorded in extrabiblical sources.
- Peter will die as an old man.
- In Acts of Peter 37 [8] the apostle says, "So I ask you, executioners, to crucify me head-downwards." Yet this source comes from late in the 2nd century; the upside-down-ness of the crucifixion is questionable.

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” 23 So the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

Peter inquires about Jesus' special disciple (v.20ff).
- He is moving the spotlight away from his own heart and life to another believer.
- Jesus insists that Peter is the one Peter needs to be most concerned about (v.22).
- We are frequently tempted to ask the same question:
  - People in whom we detect hypocrisy -- "What about them?"
  - Less committed disciples -- "What about them?"
  - Members of other groups -- "What about them?"
Rumors are rumors. Jesus never said that his beloved disciple would live until the second coming.
- There is early and strong tradition that this is John, who in later life settled and ministered in the area of Ephesus.
- A minority of scholars suggest that this unknown disciple is Lazarus. He had already died once, and so it would be natural to wonder whether he would have to die again.
Regardless, the important thing for us is the challenge Jesus gave Peter. No matter what is happening in the lives of our brothers and sisters, we must follow the Lord.

24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

The theme of witness / testimony is very strong in John (v.24). The Greek noun martys and verb martyrein appear in Matthew 12x, Mark 10x, Luke 9x, but in John 35x. The evidence has been presented, and we must weigh it. We're all being called to a decision, a verdict.
The writer adds that he has selected only a fraction of Jesus' words and deeds.
- Though he has faithfully told the story, much, much more could be said!
- The hyperbole of verse 25 has ancient parallels.
  - The first-century Jewish philosopher Philo wrote: "Were [God] to choose to display his own riches, even the entire earth with the sea turned into dry land would not contain them" (De posteritate Caini, 144).
  - And Johanan ben-Zakkai, "If all the heavens were parchment, and all the trees were pens, and all the seas were ink, that would not be enough to write down my wisdom which I have learned from my teachers; and yet I have tasted of the wisdom of the wise only so much as a fly who dips into the ocean and takes away a little of it" (Tr. Sopherim 16, §8).
As scholars have noticed, there are several parallels between the Counselor and the Beloved Disciple. Each activity of the Spirit below is just what the author of the fourth gospel has done:
- The Spirit is to remain with the disciples (14:7).
- He is to teach them everything (14:26).
- He is to remind them of what Jesus had said (14:26).
- He is to declare what he has heard (16:13).
- He is to glorify Jesus by declaring Jesus to us (16:14).
The gospel of John begins with the Logos, the Word of God, and ends with a comment about the impossibility of relating Jesus' entire life.
Our libraries could never accommodate a complete written record of Jesus' words and deeds, or do them justice.

Thought questions:

Have I ever denied the Lord, later experiencing his grace, acceptance, and rehabilitation?
If loving the Lord means caring for his sheep (not abandoning them), then how much do I love the Lord?
It seems easier for some people to be Christians than for others. Do I compare myself to others, when I should be working on my own walk with the Lord?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 34

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

As noted in the last message, it is possible that the Gospel of John concluded with chapter 20, and that chapter 21 is an addition, either by the original author or by someone later on.

20:30-31 seems a natural conclusion, and perhaps a better conclusion than 21:25.
The miraculous catch related here seems to be another "sign," whereas 20:30 gives the impression that no more would be related.
This isn't to say these events didn't happen, only that their inclusion here may have taken place after the first version (or draft) of the gospel.
Whatever the case, no point of theology is affected.

21 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

In this chapter is one additional appearance of Jesus.
Seven disciples are together (v.2), and Peter suggests a night of fishing.
- In no way does this mean that Peter was going back to his old life, and nothing in the text suggests it. Peter has seen the risen Lord, and is not about to make the same mistake he made the night before his crucifixion.
- So why are they fishing? Even apostles must eat!
- And yet the outing has been fruitless. (Or fish less.)
  - Notice the connection with darkness (night), unproductively, and Jesus' absence.
  - With daylight and his presence, the disciples are abundantly effective.

4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

As day breaks, a man is standing on the beach. (This time Jesus doesn't walk to meet his frustrated disciples! He waits for them to come to him.)
He suggests they fish from the other side of the boat (vv.4-6).
- Taking his advice, they succeed, on a scale far beyond their expectations.
- The disciple Jesus loved recognizes him as the power behind the phenomenal catch.
- Sometimes we can only see Jesus when we take him at his word -- when we obey.
- Realizing the boat would make it to shore only slowly, and eager to see his Master, Peter puts the rest of his clothing on and jumps into the water (v.7).
Verse 6 says they were unable to haul in the net, verse 11 that they were able to.
- But this is no real contradiction, just the comfortable language of conversation.
- Bible readers must learn to distinguish when an exact or technical statement is being made, as opposed to a descriptive statement relaying impression or emotion.
In regard to 21:5-7, the precedence of the disciple Jesus loved (although Peter ends up first to go all the way into the tomb) parallels 20:4-8. In other words, John "gets it" first, but allows Peter to get in line before him.

9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

The other disciples, though only 100 yards (200 cubits) away, arrive after Peter.
A breakfast of bread and fish is already cooking (vv.8-9).
- This is the second meal of bread and fish in John's gospel. The first is in chapter 6.
- Yet on that occasion there were 12 baskets of leftovers -- only a fraction of the amount fed to the group (over 5000 people -- Matthew 14:21).
- Not so today: the "leftovers" are nearly 150 large fish!
Is there a symbolic meaning to the number of fish caught -- 153 -- in verse 11? Many guesses have been put forth.
- Possibly this is a Pythagorean number. But this surely would be too advanced for the average reader of John.
- Augustine (354-430 AD) argued that the significance lay in the fact that 153 is the sum of the first 17 integers. 153 is the 17th triangular number, with 17 representing the combination of divine grace (the 7 gifts of the Spirit) and law (the Ten Commandments).
- One of the best suggestions was by Jerome (347-420 AD): "Writers on the nature and property of animals, who have learned 'fishing' in either Latin or Greek... say that there are one hundred and fifty-three species of fish" (Comm. xiv. on Ezechiel).
  - If this is right, there may be evangelistic overtones to the catch. The gospel is destined to "catch" all peoples and all sorts of people. See Matthew 13:47.
  - The untorn nets are often interpreted as the church of Christ, able to contain people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (Revelation 7:9) without division.
- Yet perhaps the easiest interpretation is not to read anything into the 153, apart from the fact that not a fish was missing (see 17:12, 18:9).
- D. A. Carson concludes, "If the Evangelist has some symbolism in mind connected with the number 153, he has hidden it well."
Jesus urges them to eat (v.12).
- They are mildly stunned; in their minds they know it has to be Jesus, but he looks somehow different.
- Jesus feeds the seven men (v.13). No further comment.
This is Jesus' third appearance to his disciples. (The first two are in chapter 20, on successive Sundays.)
Recall Peter's eagerness to meet his Lord (v.7). We will return to their important dialogue in our final study of John's gospel...

Final observations:

The 7 fishermen include one who had verbally and emphatically denied the Lord, one who is famous for his doubting, and one who was initially skeptical about Jesus being the Messiah.
Jesus serves his disciples, here and in many other places in the gospels.
Jesus has a plan, but he is not rushed (he's never rushed), and will get around to his private conversation with Peter soon enough.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 33

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

John 19 concludes with the burial of Jesus. Now, in John 20, it is Sunday morning, the third day since the crucifixion -- and the tomb is empty!

20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

Only the Romans were permitted to open this tomb. We learn from Matthew 27:65-66; 28:4,11 that a guard had been dispatched there on Saturday.
A copy of a decree by the emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) was found at Nazareth. It orders execution for those destroying tombs, breaking seals, or removing bodies or closure stones.

2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.

None expect the resurrection, despite Jesus' frequent and emphatic prediction of this event:
- John 2:19
- Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64
- Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34
- Luke 9:22; 18:33
Mary of Magdala is the first to find the open, empty tomb (v.1).
Immediately she runs to tell the news to the apostles, who receive her message as nonsense (Luke 24:11).
Peter and the Beloved Disciple run to the tomb (v.4).
- The Beloved Disciple sees the graveclothes (v.5). The presence of the graveclothes shows there has been no robbery.
- Though Peter arrives first, the Beloved Disciple allows him to enter first. Peter sees the graveclothes and the face cloth (v.7).
- Neither yet understood the scriptural truth that Christ must rise from the dead (v.9), and so they simply go home.
- Mary, on the other hand, remains at the gravesite (v.11).

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,“Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Mary remains at the gravesite (v.11).
- She is distressed. It would have been very unsettling to think that the body of her Lord has been stolen, mistreated, or abused.
- Looking again into the tomb, she sees angels sitting at either end of the place where the body of Jesus should have been (v.12). They ask her why she is weeping, and she tells them.
- Turning around, she sees Jesus (v.14), though not recognizing him. He repeats the question: "Woman, why are you weeping?"
- She thinks (hopes?) he is the gardener, and will be able to show her where the body has been placed (v.15).
- Jesus reveals his identity (v.16), and Mary falls at his feet, desiring his presence and wanting him to remain. Since Mary is one of his sheep (10:3-4,14,16,27), she recognizes his voice when he calls her by name.
- Jesus, however, cannot stay. He must return to heaven -- though not immediately (v.17).
- For a second time Mary makes an announcement to the apostles, but this time it is not only about an empty tomb, but about a risen Lord.
It is clear from verse 17 that Jesus had not yet gone into heaven as of Sunday. And yet he told the penitent thief (Luke 23:43), "Today you will be with me in paradise." By far the simplest explanation is that paradise and heaven are not necessarily the same place. For more on this, click here.
The fact that the gospels report the testimony of women to Jesus' resurrection is remarkable, since such testimony was not normally accepted in a court of law.
- If the resurrection were a fabrication, it would not have been written this way!
- The truth is, it isn't a fabrication at all.

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

On Easter evening, Jesus himself appears, walking through a closed door (v.19).
- The doors were locked for fear of the Jewish leaders. The psychological state of the disciples is depressed. They seem to have lost hope. What can explain the metamorphosis in the apostles? (See Acts 4:13.) The resurrection of Christ from the dead explains it perfectly.
- Jesus, in his resurrection body, walks through closed doors.
- He wishes them peace (shalom); on the cross he had cried out, "It is finished!" (tetélestai); the two are connected. Now there is peace between God and man, as a result of his atoning death. See Romans 5:1ff.
- Jesus shows them his wounds (v.20).
- Again he wishes them shalom (v.21), and commissions them -- or reminds them of their commission -- as apostles (sent ones).
  - He breathes on them (v.22), giving them the Holy Spirit.
    - The breathing in to them is reminiscent of Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9-10. They are being created anew.
    - This can also be read as a prophetic action, illustrating that they will receive the Spirit (at Pentecost).
  - In verse 23 he also gives the apostles the right to grant or refuse remission of sins (in baptism).
    - The verb is perfect: the sins have been forgiven or possibly will have been forgiven. That is, the apostles are not forgiving sins themselves, but ratifying the action of God in forgiving others through Christ.
    - There is a similar passage in Matthew 18:18, in the context of church discipline.
  - For more on vv.22-23, click here.

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Thomas (Didymus, the Greek word for twin) is absent Easter evening, and expresses his skepticism (vv.24-25). But one week later (Sunday night) he is present when Jesus appears. Again Jesus walks through closed doors (v.26).
- His doubt confronted and overturned, Thomas sees the wounds and confesses his faith. (Despite the depictions of several famous paintings, it seems doubtful that he put hand into Jesus' wounds.)
- Thomas realizes that Jesus is Lord and God. He is the same Deity who appears in all of scripture. Notice that Jesus makes no effort to correct this perception, for he is God (1:1,14,18; 10:30).
- This passage shows us that God understands our need for evidence, for proof. Doubt can be constructive, and can be an important element in building genuine faith.
- Once our questions have been answered, God expects us to respond in faith and obedience.
- Note: "After eight days" (v.26) is inclusive reckoning (common usage). Thus the events of two consecutive Sundays are recounted.
Thomas' confession of faith (v.28) stands over against the confession the evil emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) required of his subjects: Dominus et deus noster ("Our Lord and God"). The readers of this gospel would thus have been strengthened to resist temptation to cave in to pressure to join in emperor worship. Emperor worship was especially prevalent at the end of the first century in western Asia Minor -- the location of John's ministry.
"Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed" (v.29).
- Most persons, like the readers of John -- and us -- will believe in Christ without seeing any signs. Such faith is highly commended. See 2 Corinthians 5:7.
- Here we also find the second beatitude in John.
  - The other is in 13:17.
  - More beatitudes are found in Matthew 5:3ff (and parallels in Luke 6:20ff), 11:6; 13:16; 24:46; Acts 20:35; Revelation 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14. But this by no means exhausts the list.

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believethat Jesus is the Messiah,the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus' signs are intended to lead us to and reinforce our faith (vv.30-31).
- The writer has selected only a few signs for our benefit. The actual number of miracles Jesus did is much greater.
- It is not necessary to personally witness miracles in order to believe. Reading about them is enough. (For more on this, see Luke 16:31 and another dozen passages in the N.T. stressing the point.)
- Only by faith (believing) can we have life in Jesus' name.
- Faith is a major theme in John. The Greek nouns and verbs appear nearly 90 times in this gospel!
- Do you believe?
Further to verse 31, there is a similar saying by Rabbi Simeon ben Laqish (c.250 AD): "The proselyte is dearer to God than all the Israelites who stood by Mount Sinai. For if all the Israelites had not seen the thunder, and the flames, and the lightnings, and the quaking mountain, and the sound of the trumpet, they would not have accepted the Law and taken upon themselves the kingdom of God. Yet this man has seen none of all these things, yet comes and gives himself to God. Is there any who is dearer than this man?" (Tanh. 6, 32a.)
The Greek verb in verse 31 appears in two forms in surviving manuscripts: pisteusete and pisteuete. Though both mean "believe," the first is an aorist, meaning to believe in the sense of coming to faith. The second means to believe or continue to believe. Perhaps we do not have to choose what the writer had in mind, since both are valid responses to the evidence for Christ.
Most scholars believe that the original gospel ended at verse 31. There are reasons to view chapter 21 as an appendix.

Thought questions:

If you were the one visiting the tomb early on Easter morning, what would have been in your thoughts on seeing the stone rolled away?
If you are a man, how would you have reacted when Mary (and other women) announced that they had met he risen Lord?
If you are a woman, do you relate to the question of the angels and Jesus, "Woman, why are you weeping?"? Is there something in your life that is causing you great distress? Do you know and feel that God understands and cares?
Can you think of any better explanation than Jesus' resurrection for the stunning transformation in his disciples?
How much do you relate to Thomas? Do doubt and questioning function in a positive way to build your faith?
Compare Mary Magdalene and the apostle Thomas. How are they similar? different? What are the differences in how Jesus treats them?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 32

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

“They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”

25 And that is what the soldiers did.

The soldiers cast lots for his clothing (vv.23-25a).
- By custom, the clothing of the executed normally became the property of his executioners.
- Gambling (v.24) was ever popular among soldiers.
- The gambling for his clothing fulfills scripture (Psalm 22:18).
Clothing:
- In ancient times, garments included, among other things, tunic and cloak. The tunic was an undergarment (not underwear, but what would be worn indoors or while working). The cloak provided warmth and protection.
- Like the garment of the high priest (Exodus 28:32), the robe was a seamless whole. John may be indicating that Jesus is our high priest (recall his "high priestly prayer" in chapter 17).

25... Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

The women are standing nearby (vv.25b-27).
- The men, on the other hand (with few exceptions), do not support Jesus in his time of need.
- Many women supported Jesus both morally and materially. See Luke 8:3.
Jesus must realize that his brothers are unable to take care of their mother. (Exactly why is a bit of a mystery to me. One writer suggests that Mary, because she believed in / was a disciple of Jesus, had become alienated to them. That makes sense, although by Acts 1 we see that his siblings are now included among the believers.) And so he entrusts his mother to the special disciple, who is the author of John. Tradition records that later Mary was taken into John's home, and that they even lived together in Ephesus, where John's ministry shifted in later years.
A crucified person (vv.26-27) still had the legal power to declare his will, in this case planning for his mother's waning years.

28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus thirsts (v.28), and receives a drink (v.29).
- This is not the initial offer of a drink (actually, a mild analgesic), recorded in Matthew 27:34.
- It was unusual for a member of an execution squad to allow or give a prisoner a drink. Apparently the soldier was touched, and showed a kindness to Jesus.
- Note: The drink (v.29) was oxos, watered-down vinegar or cheap wine, popular among soldiers. Normally a branch of hyssop would be too weak to support a sponge. A couple of manuscripts (476 and *1242) read hyssos (javelin) in place of hysoppos. On the other hand, if the stem of the hyssop plant was intended, as opposed to a sprig, the weight could probably have been supported.
- This fulfills Psalm 69:21-22; see also Psalm 22:15 and John 4:6,10,13-14; 7:37-39.
At long last, Jesus cries, "It is finished!"
- Salvation's work is done. (It will be complemented by the resurrection, ascension, accession, and outpouring of the Spirit.)
- Matthew (27:50) and Mark (15:37) record a final cry of Jesus, but not the words. Here we have them. Luke also reports the words, "Into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).
- Jesus has been murdered by the leaders of the Jews, men who have betrayed their own nation.
Jesus gives up his spirit (v.30), yet another example of symbolism in John. He surrenders his spirit to the Father, while making it possible to give his spirit to his followers (see chapter 20).

31 Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35 (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) 36 These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”

Note: The Day of Preparation ends when the Sabbath begins (Friday sundown).
- Originally the Greeks called this day prosabbaton (the pre-Sabbath [day]), but in time paraskeve (preparation), the modern Greek word for Thursday, supplanted it.
- Some (mistakenly) think Jesus was crucified on a Thursday. For more, click here.
Jesus is dead. His body hangs on the cross, as do those of the men crucified with him.
In accordance with the teaching of the Torah, the bodies must be removed before sunset (Deuteronomy 21:23). Moreover, the Sabbath is about to begin (v.31), so the bodies must be removed quickly.
- The legs are broken, which hastens death. The thieves are still alive, and so the soldiers break their legs.
  - The soldiers typically used an iron mallet for this purpose.
  - Skeletal remains of a crucified man were found in the area north of Jerusalem. One leg was fractured, the other smashed to pieces.
- When they come to Jesus, however, he is already dead.
- Just to make sure, a soldier drives a lance into his heart (v.34). This fulfills Zechariah 12:10.
- Thus the scriptures are fulfilled (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20); not a one of his bones was broken. Jesus was our Passover Lamb.
The result of the piercing (v.34) is a flow of blood and water.
- Water and blood are significant. 1 John 5:6 says "This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood."
- In the ancient world, many writers describe humans as being composed of water and blood. This means that the Gospel of John is underscoring the fact that Jesus is human.
- The ancients easily believed Jesus was (a) god, but not (b) that he was human. The view that he was divine but only appeared to be human is called Docetism (from dokein, to seem).

38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Normally the Romans allowed the vultures to dispose of the body -- there was no proper burial for a crucified man unless the authorities extended kindness to the family. Usually they granted the body, although not usually in cases of sedition. This is an exceptional situation.
Joseph' of Arimathea makes a request of Pilate: the body of Jesus (v.38).
- Joseph has been a "secret disciple" (v.38). In light of 12:42-43, there is nothing commendable about this. But now he is coming out into the open, taking a risk in asking for the body of Christ.
- Pilate agrees to Joseph's request. This makes sense, and fits with the other details in our account.
  - Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.
  - In a small way he was doing something good for Jesus.
  - Sadly, he caught a glimpse of the greatness of Jesus, but lacked the backbone to ensure that justice was done.
Joseph must have known that Jesus' brothers would not be coming forward to claim the body -- or perhaps they made an arrangement with him.
The body needed to be buried -- and soon -- yet Bethlehem (a family plot?) was too far away, and Galilee was impossibly far, especially with the Sabbath about to begin.
Joseph's action is recounted in all four gospels. Like Nicodemus, he was a dissenting voice within the Sanhedrin. (See Luke 23:51.)
Costly myrrh and aloes (v.39) are found also in Psalm 45:8; Proverbs 7:17; and Song 4:14.
- This is an enormous quantity -- enough for the burial of a king! (See 2 Chronicles 16:14.)
- John is emphasizing here, and elsewhere, the kingship of Jesus Christ.
Nicodemus joined Joseph (v.39), bringing myrrh and aloes, which would have offset putrefaction and covered over part of the odor of decomposition.
- Note: Verse 40 is just one of many showing that the gospel is not written primarily for the Jews (Jewish Christians).
- This was an expensive mixture, especially considering its sheer weight.
- The weight of the spices, perhaps 100 lbs (c.45 kg) was enormous, considering that Jesus, apparently a man of average size, would have weighed no more than 150-180 lbs (c.70-80 kg).
- Cadaver and spices together would have come to 250-280 lbs (c.115-130 kg), very difficult even for two men to shift.
- Together the two of them wrapped the body in a linen cloth and laid it in a nearby garden tomb (v.42).
  - According to Matthew 27:60, this was Joseph's own family burial site.
  - Executed criminals were buried well away from the city (Josephus Ant. 5:44). In later times two burial places for the executed were provided, one for those stoned and burned, another for those beheaded and strangled.
Thus the two cautious believers come into the light. Here is an implicit call for all true believers to take a stand for Jesus.
- Nicodemus and Joseph came into the light, exposing themselves to criticism and worse. Is there any way in which I have been living as a "secret disciple"?
- Do I need to come out into the open? be more public with my faith?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 31

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” 7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”

Here Pilate's cruel streak comes out. Odd as this sounds, the scourging (v.1ff) appears to be a fresh strategy to set Jesus free (see v.12).
Note: Jesus' crown (vv.2-3) may well have been made from the thorns of the date palm. These were up to 12 inches long. The radiate crown would have made Jesus look like a sun-god. This feature is common to Greco-Roman coinage.
The Romans had three degrees of corporal punishment:
- Fustigatio (beating) -- the lightest punishment.
- Flagellatio (flogging) -- more severe.
- Verberatio (scourging) -- the most severe, often leading to death. This was the punishment Christ endured.
The crown of thorns is painfully placed on his head, and a purple robe draped over him -- a mockery of his kingship (v.2).
Further, he is slapped in the face.
Jesus suffers grievous bodily injury. For a medical account of what Jesus was going through, click here. (Note: this account is easy to read, and eliminates embellishments like the "bloody sweat."
Again Pilate pronounces Jesus innocent (v.4), uttering the famous words, "Behold the man!"
This translates to Ecce homo, in the once popular Latin Vulgate translation.
- Moreover, "Behold the man" indicated Jesus' humanity.
- As Beasley-Murray and others have commented, the word has truly become flesh -- torn, bleeding, beaten -- with worse to come.
Knowing that it is illegal for the Jews to crucify Christ, Pilate seems to rub it in (v.6): "Take him yourselves and crucify him!"
Note: With the crown on his head and the words the governor uttered, is the situation allusive of Zechariah 6:1-12?

8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9 He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12 From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”

The words "Son of God" (v.7) seem to resonate with Pilate, and frighten him (v.8).
Pilate takes Jesus back into the Praetorium (probably the Fortress Antonia). Pilate resumes his interrogation of Jesus, who does not reply.
Pilate reminds Jesus who is in charge (v.10-11), and yet Jesus counters that there is a higher authority.
Who is the one guilty of "greater sin"? Caiaphas, the high priest, seems the most likely candidate.
From here on, Pilate even more earnestly desires to free Jesus (v.12).

13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” 16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Jews push back.
- Since Jesus pretends to be the King of Israel, he is a political threat to Rome.
- If Pilate frees Jesus, he is not a "friend of Caesar."
  - This is a technical term. To be a "friend of Caesar" -- an accolade Pilate may already have received -- is an honor.
  - The emperor, Tiberius (14-37 AD) had become suspicious. One did not want to lose his trust.
  - To lose the status of "Friend of Caesar" could be not only shameful, but dangerous. The Jews are threatening the governor.
- Here is supreme irony! The highest Roman official in the land is accused of lack of loyalty to Rome by a people who detest Rome, and can't wait to be free of its control (v.12).
Pilate sits on his judgment seat (v.13) at Gabbatha, or Lithostrotos. For a picture, click here.Pilate's attitude is not quite the same as in verses 4-6. There is no hint of ridicule. The Jews would have been awaiting the pronouncement of the sentence against Jesus. Instead...
Pilate, pronounces, "Behold, your king!" He knows this will gall the priests.
And yet it seems Jesus is the one sitting in the judgment seat, while Pilate is in the hot seat!
It is the sixth hour -- very early in the morning.
- In a few hours the slaughter of the Passover lambs will begin.
- The Jews will stop working.
- All leaven (yeast) will be taken out of the houses and burned.
- Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29,36). For the Passover background, read Exodus 12.
The response, "We have no king but Caesar" (v.15) is an implicit abandonment of the messianic hope.
- Once again, the irony is biting.
- "[The threat] broke down Pilate's resistance. His fear of the sinister and suspicious emperor was even greater than his awe of the mysterious personality of the Accused; his own safety appeared to him more important than a passing triumph over the accusers who were unsympathetic to him" (Blinzler, Der Prozess Jesus, 338).
And so Pilate finally turns Jesus over to be crucified (v.16).
From verse 16 onward, many elements of the synoptic tradition are absent: the mocking; the darkness; the cry of dereliction (Mark 15:34); the tearing of the temple curtain; the opening of the graves (Matthew 27:52); and the centurion's confession.
At the same time, John includes details not in Matthew, Mark, or Luke: the inscription; the quotations in 19:24,28-29,36-37; the address to his mother; and the piercing of Jesus' side.

So they took Jesus; 17 and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Jesus carries his own cross and is crucified at Golgotha, the Place of the Skull (v.17).
- Plutarch records, "Each criminal as part of his punishment carries his cross on his back" (The Divine Vengeance, 554 A-B).
- There is also a pertinent Jewish saying: "As one bears the cross on one's shoulders," Isaac carried the wood (Gen. Rab. 56.4, on Genesis 22:6). The symbolism of the sacrifice of Isaac is in the background.
"There they crucified him" (v.18).
- The 2nd century Gnostic Basilides said Simon died on cross instead of Jesus (Nag Hammadi documents).
- This idea (the substitute) seems to have influenced Muhammad.
The inscription above states his crime, though the wording is remarkable (v.19). What brevity! No macabre or sombre obsession with the gory details of the passion. The paucity of detail is striking.
He is crucified between two criminals. See Isaiah 53:12.

20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

The Jewish leaders ask Pilate to change the placard so that it read "... I am Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews."
Pilate refuses. "What I have written, I have written," responds Pilate (v.22).
- The inscription could have easily been altered (v.21) by adding a single word: eimí (Greek), sum (Latin), or 'aní (Hebrew).
- This is his last act of revenge on the chief priests.
- The inscription in Latin would have read Iesous Nazarenos Rex Iudaeorum, which in Anglican/ Catholic churches is often abbreviated to INRI.
And yet this is supreme irony: the two men most responsible for the death of Jesus publicly proclaim his Messiahship!
- Caiaphas unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was the means of redemption for Israel and the nation (11:49-50).
- Pilate proclaimed that Jesus was the King of Israel.

Thought questions:

Have I ever sacrificed principle for expedience? Is there a little of Pilate in me?
Was there another way? Why do I think Jesus had to die -- as opposed to God simply forgiving every sincere person?
The Christian God became flesh. How is this different from the capricious gods of Hinduism, the aloof Allah of the Muslims, or the serenely detached Buddha?
Am I still moved by the Crucifixion?
Reading over Psalm 22 and Psalm 69, can I find the verses that would have been especially meaningful to the early disciples?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 30

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

18:1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples.

After his prayer, Jesus walks to the Garden of Gethsemane.
- The place is named only in Matthew and Mark, but must be the same location. Only John mentions that Gethsemane was a garden.
- This was a place where Jesus and the disciples often met (v.2), perhaps for prayer. Sadly, the Romans cut down every tree when they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD -- although new olive trees have grown up in the place of the old ones.
Judas is guiding the arrest party.

3 So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” 5 They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he, they stepped back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.” 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. 11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

The soldiers, priests, and Pharisees arrive (v.3ff).
- Jesus, fully surrendered to the Father's will and determined to embrace his destiny, walks forward to confront his captors (v.4).
- The atmosphere is tense. In the presence of Jesus (God in the flesh), all fall down -- as though in worship (but not really).
- Jesus ensures that his followers are released. He and he alone must face what is to come. The cup must be drained to the dregs.
Further to verse 6, falling down in the presence of Deity is a common reaction.
- See Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 10:9; Acts 9:4; Revelation 1:17
- In addition the original of verse 8 reads, "I told you that I am [he]." In other words, here is another "I am" passage. The priestly posse is spooked. In 19:8 we see even Pilate feeling a degree of fear before Jesus, so it is quite possible that mere soldiers felt the same.
Peter draws a sword (v.10), striking at the servant of the high priest.
- He misses. (It is doubtful he was aiming for the ear.)
- The servant is named: Malchus.
  - The fact that his name was preserved is significant; it probably means that this man later became a Christian.
  - According to Luke 22:51, Jesus healed the ear.
- Simon Peter rightly earns Jesus' censure. See also Matthew 26:52.

12 So the soldiers, their officers, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

Jesus is arrested, bound, and led away (v.12).
Annas had been high priest 6-15 AD, but was deposed by Pilate's predecessor. Still, he retained a lot of power: five of his sons and grandsons became high priests, not counting his bond with Caiaphas, and so the family (virtually a dynasty) of Annas continued to dominate the priesthood 17-41 AD.
The courtyard of the high priest has been excavated and a church building erected on the site.

15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17 The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20 Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Jesus appears before Annas (vv.19-24), father-in-law of Caiaphas, who had spoken prophetically of Jesus' death in 11:50.
- Christ is questioned about his teachings and about his disciples.
- Jesus insists he is not a false prophet; he spoke openly, not secretly (Deuteronomy 13:6).
- After being struck in the face (v.22), Jesus asks, in effect, for a fair trial (v.23).
- He is then sent to Caiaphas.
  - This interaction is recorded in Matthew 26:57ff, though nothing is related here in John.
  - At this irregular trial Jesus is convicted of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65).
  - An unnamed disciple has connections (v.15) and is able to enter the courtyard with Jesus. Peter, on the other hand, remains outside, warming himself on this cool night in early spring. It is now (v.17) that Peter denies Jesus for the first time.
- Next thing we know, Jesus is being led from Caiaphas' palace to the residence of Pilate (v.28 -- in tomorrow's study).

25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

Peter denies Christ for the second and third times (vv.25-27), after which comes the final cockcrow.
It is remarkable that such a moral lapse is recorded and preserved.
- The scriptures of the Bible are honest about the shortcomings of spiritual leaders.
- Some scholars believe that the story of Peter's denial was most likely circulated by Peter himself. Think about it...
- There is only one man in the Bible who emerges sinless (8:46).
The three-fold denial corresponds, fortunately, to the three-fold "reinstatement" of chapter 21.

28 Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” 32 (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

Having been examined by Annas and Caiaphas, Jesus is now conducted to the headquarters of Pontius Pilate (v.28).
- The Jews will not enter the Gentile residence (v.28).
  - They want to be able to celebrate the Passover (Numbers 9:6-12), and not be disqualified because of ritual contamination.
  - "The dwellings of non-Jews are unclean" (Ohol. 18:7). This may be because Gentiles sometimes buried abortions or premature babies under their homes. In Judaism, close contact with death makes one unclean. In that case they would be unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11) and miss the festival.
  - Here is the ultimate irony: Men who insist on technical purity are seeking the execution of the Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel! They bend over backwards to avoid the possibility of contamination, but are prepared to destroy the very font of cleansing for the people of God! (See Zechariah 13:1.)
- Pilate goes out to meet them (v.29), inquiring as to the accusation.
  - It would seem there had been some communication between Caiaphas and Pilate. See Matthew 27:1.
  - Presumably the Jews would have stoned Jesus to death for blasphemy (as they did to Stephen in Acts 7). Yet instead of Jesus being stoned and brought down to the earth, he was "lifted up" through crucifixion (12:32) -- an ironic twist.
  - Their reasoning appears to be circular (v.30). "Of course he's guilty, otherwise he would not have been brought here." His accusers know that they have no real case, at least not with respect to Roman law.
  - Pilate knows the case against Christ is weak. He tells them to judge Jesus by their own law. Pilate knows full well that they seek the death penalty, yet are not permitted to administer it. The Jewish leaders will have resented such condescension by the governor.
- But Pilate is not about to rubber-stamp the decision of the Sanhedrin. He is in effect opening a new trial.
- In regard to verse 31, the Palestinian Talmud reads, "Forty years before the destruction of the Temple they took from Israel the right to inflict capital punishment" (Sanh. 1.1; 7.2). The Babylonian Talmud is not quite so explicit, though it agrees with this statement.

33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35 Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”

Pilate now questions Jesus personally (v.33ff).
- Rather than trying to defend himself, Jesus tries to influence Pilate (v.34ff).
- Jesus then speaks of the true nature of his kingdom. It is completely obvious to Pilate that Jesus is innocent; he is certainly no threat to the state.
- Verse 36 is just one of a number containing the Christian teaching on warfare.
- Jesus implies that Pilate should listen to him (v.37), but Pilate responds evasively (v.38a).

After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. 39 But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 40 They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.

Pilate goes outside to the Jewish leaders, dismissing the case (v.38b). He will not be manipulated.
- Then he suggests the release of Barabbas, a man who really was an enemy of the state, one who would resort to violence to topple the Roman overlords. (See Mark 15:7.)
- What is Pilate thinking?
  - Did he feel bound to honor the tradition of releasing a prisoner, with Barabbas and Jesus being the best choices?
  - Was he trying to give the Jewish leaders on opportunity to save face, since they weren't going to get their way with Jesus? (That is, Jesus could have been released without being declared innocent.)
  - Or was he gambling that the crowd would choose Jesus over Barabbas, who was the real threat? (Was he hoping to set Jesus free and dispatch the revolutionary?)
- Whatever he was thinking, it did not turn out well for him. The crowd, controlled by the high priest, opts for the insurrectionist. The Jewish leaders have outfoxed him.
What is Pilate going to do now? We shall see, in chapter 19.
Note: In some manuscripts of Matthew 27:16-17 is found Barabbas' given name: Jesus. Many scholars believe his first name was expunged from the record because it was offensive to later Christians. For more on Barabbas, see the first study on Matthew 27.
Note: Lestes (v.40) means "robber; insurrectionist."

Thought questions:

Jesus confidently walked out from the garden to meet the arrest party. When I am called to embrace suffering, how is my resolve? my attitude?
Peter drew the sword to further his master's cause. Do I believe it is ever right to use violence to advance religion?
Why do you think Pilate presented the option of releasing Barabbas or releasing Jesus?
What if you were Pilate? Do you think a man or woman of God could have served faithfully as a Roman prefect in Judea? Do you see any good outcome in this situation?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 29

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The entire chapter is a prayer. This falls into three parts:
- Prayer for himself (vv.1-5).
- Prayer for his disciples (vv.6-19).
- Prayer for the world -- future believers (vv.20-26).
The order is crucial:
- Jesus' training of his disciples would have been a failure had he not given top priority to his own spirituality.
- Getting the message out to the world is impossible unless the messengers remain holy. They must continue to live in obedience to the Word.
- Then and only then will the world hear. The goal is not only conversion, but unity (vv.22-23).

17:1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

The hour has come (v.1).
Throughout the Gospel of John it has been on the way (2:4; 7:6,8,30; 8:20), and now it is here (12:23,27-28,31-32; 13:1,31).
It will culminate with Jesus' final words "It is finished" (19:30).

3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

Jesus prays for himself (vv.1-5).
His purpose -- the goal -- is that God may be glorified; this takes place when we finish the work he is given us to do (v.4). See 4:34.
This work is to make eternal life (knowledge of God) accessible to as many as possible (vv.2-3).
Now he looks forward to rejoining the Father in the eternal glory enjoyed before the incarnation (v.5). This is another verse indicating not only Jesus' preexistence but his divinity.
In Part I of the prayer, Jesus has prayed for himself. It is not wrong to pray for our own needs; to pray to be strong and loyal and loving.

6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

Jesus has revealed God's name to his disciples (v.6). This refers to the holy nature of God.
He has made God's name (his nature--see Exodus 34:5-7) known to this followers. This is what we are also called to do, in our evangelism, and in fact any time we teach about God.
He returns to this theme at the end of the prayer (v.26).

9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name thatyou have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost,so that the scripture might be fulfilled.

We can be protected by God's name:
- Not as by a lucky charm, saint's medal, or magical prophylactic, but
- By sharing in God's holiness, appreciating his nature, and being conformed to the image of Christ.
Note: "The one destined to be lost" (v.12) is literally "the son of perdition." What does this mean? In Semitic speech, "son of" has four different meanings:
- Being literally the son of a father or mother.
- Being a member of a group, as in a "son of the prophets," as in 2 Kings 9:1 ("And Elisha the prophet hath called to one of the sons of the prophets..." YLT, "The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets..." NIV). This doesn't mean that one's father was a prophet. Another familiar example is Psalm 8:4, where "son of man" simply means a mortal; it has no different meaning then "man."
- Having a certain character, as in Psalm 57:4: "My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword" NAS.
- Marked for a certain destiny, as in 2 Samuel 12:5 ("And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, 'Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death {is} the man who is doing this" YLT; 2 Thessalonians 2:3 ("let not any one deceive you in any manner, because -- if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed -- the son of the destruction" YLT).

13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus prays for his followers (vv.6-19):
- Not to be worldly.
- To be protected from the evil one.
- To have joy.
- To follow his Word, to be sanctified (made holy) by it (v.17).
In Part II of the prayer, Jesus has prayed for his immediate circle -- those whom he is mentoring.
- We should do the same.
- Who is in our circle of influence?
- Are we being intentional?

20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one -- 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus prays for future believers (vv.20-26).
He has no doubt that his church will be built. His first prayer is for their unity, for that itself is a powerful testimony to the world.
His wish is that they will know the Father.
Notice the love within the Trinity in time eternal (v.24).

25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The "name" in verse 26 is not God's name (Yahweh or Jesus Christ or any other phrase), but God's true nature and character.
In Part III of his prayer, Jesus has prayed for the world -- for those who will be reached by the apostles' message.
- Our concern, too, should ripple out in ever-larger circles.
- "Think globally, act locally."
Notice about this prayer:
- All three areas of 15:1-17 are covered -- producing, learning, loving.
- The prayer is roughly Trinitarian: relationship with Father, effect of friendship with the Son on the apostles, power of the Spirit working through them to build and unify a people of God.
The next verse after this chapter (18:1) shows us that after this prayer Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley (walking east) and entered Gethsemane. (Nothing is said about the Gethsemane prayer which features in the synoptic accounts.)

Thought questions:

Do I strive to bring glory to God by finishing the work he has given me to do?
Do I pray for my own spirituality, for those I am helping spiritually, and for the evangelization of the world?
Am I trying to be sanctified apart from the Word, or do I realize that God's Word is the sanctifying truth? Does my devotion to it reflect this conviction?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 28

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Jesus has been preparing his apostles for the persecution to come (15:18 into chapter 16).

Persecuting Christians will come to be seen as service to God (v.2). John's gospel was penned in a time when Jewish-Christian relations were suffering significant deterioration. Eviction from the synagogues is probably happening to many readers of this gospel.
Saul of Tarsus is another obvious example of this turn of events.
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD, Christians no longer enjoyed imperial protection under the umbrella of Judaism. Whereas earlier they were welcome to visit and even speak in the synagogues -- as in the book of Acts -- things would change for the worse.

16:1 “I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

Note: Stumbling (v.1) -- from skándalon, stumbling block. Not the same word as falling away, as it is often mistranslated in some Bible versions.
Note: A Jewish writing, NuR 21 (191a, based on Numbers 25:13), may be the basis for the notion that killing heretics is an act of worship.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocatewill not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong aboutsin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

Jesus is surprised that none of them are asking him about his imminent departure (v.5). True, they had asked him earlier where he was going, but one would have thought they would be following up on this.
They are greatly saddened that he will soon leave them. And yet this is to their advantage, as it means the Spirit will come.
- We all need the Holy Spirit if we are going to be effective in our outreach.
- The Spirit, through the apostolic testimony, will convict the world (v.8ff).
- Note how Felix reacts in the face of Paul's testimony (Acts 24:25) for an illustration of how the Spirit convicts.
Many fancy they are led by the Spirit, yet the Spirit does not work through them to convict others. Click here for more.
The ruler of this world (v.11) is Satan. Not that he has ultimate sovereignty, or that he enjoys parity with God in any way. He is merely permitted a modicum of control.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Spirit will lead them into the truth (v.12ff). They are not able to retain everything Jesus told them, or would like to have told them.
Jesus is sensitive; he will not allow us to become supersaturated. In the same way, we need to be careful in our counseling, outreach to friends and family, teaching and so forth not to teach more than people are able to absorb.
About verse 13, the Spirit was to ensure that the apostles led the church in the right direction, especially during its infancy (the foundational period -- Eph 2:20).
- The promise of being led into all all truth is not a promise for the church in all generations (the Catholic view).
- Nor is it a promise for individual Christians (the neo-Pentecostal view).
- It was a promise made to the apostles.

16 “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’?

Amazingly, some are still nonplussed about Jesus' departure (v.17ff).
- The "little while" of verse 17 is fraught with significance. The phrase is common in O.T. judgment/salvation oracles. See, e.g., Haggai 2:6 and Isaiah 26:20.
- The implication is that judgment is falling on the world, on the ruler of the world, and on the people of God.
Jesus addresses this confusion. Notice how Jesus draws them out (v.19). He doesn't just continue talking; he makes sure they are on board.

20 Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. 22 So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Times will be very difficult, as convulsive as childbirth (v.21), but as the kingdom of God breaks into human history the resulting Messianic age will be more than worth the pain. Isaiah 26:16-21 -- suggesting the appearance of Jesus as Son of Man at the end of the age -- may be in the background of verse 21.
Verse 24 seems to mean that should not pray directly to Jesus. But before we forbid this outright, see 14:14, as well as the prayer of Stephen in Acts 7:59. Jesus adds that soon they will address their requests directly to the Father, in his (Jesus') name -- by his authority.

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”

Note: The Father loves (v.27): This is philía, not agápe.

29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”

The disciples are excited that Jesus is now using plain speech (vv.29-30). The "figure of speech" (paroimia) of verse 29 is a "parable, figure of speech, proverb."
But Jesus casts a shadow over their positive thoughts (vv.31-32); soon things for the apostles will become much more challenging.
Once again Jesus promises his followers peace (see 14:1,27).
- This peace isn't the serenity that sometimes come from passivity, but calmness in the face of the storm. "Most assuredly," he says, in effect, "that storm will come." 2 Tim 3:12; Luke 6:22-23, 26.
- He predicts that they will stumble, and yet his love and firm acceptance remain.
And yet it doesn't look like Jesus has "conquered the world" -- not where things stand now...
The "persecution" of verse 33 is thlipsis, which means "trouble, distress, hard circumstances, suffering" -- or, in the older translations, "tribulation."

Conclusion

Opposition is part and parcel of genuine Christian experience.
Christ helps us to overcome not the opposition, but the anxiety and faithlessness that can so easily result.
To receive weekly updates about persecuted believers worldwide, click here.
In the next chapter Jesus will pray.

To ponder:

You are one of the apostles. You have been following the Lord for three years. You have shared the Last Supper with him, following which he shocked you by washing your feet. And now (for three chapters) he has been discoursing at length on what is it to come. He speaks a lot about his death and your persecution. How do you feel? What are your dominant emotion(s)?
You are Jesus. You have taught your disciples thoroughly, though much of it they have forgotten. Everything is going according to schedule, according to God's timing, and yet this means there are only hours left before your death. You turn to the Father with a heavy heart, full of sadness, hope, joy, and urgency. What do you say?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 27

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Chapter 15 tells us about our relationship to Jesus (vv.1-17), using three different analogies.

15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunesto make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansedby the word that I have spoken to you.

15:1 is the last of the 7 "I Am" statements. The 7 signs concluded in John 11, the 7 "I Am" statements here in John 15. The 7 confessions of faith will not conclude until John 20.
Israel is often represented in the OT by a vine or vineyard. See Psalm 80:8-18; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:1-5; 17:1-21; 19:10-15; Hosea 10:1-2.

4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and becomemy disciples.

First analogy: Jesus is the vine; we are the branches (v.1ff).
- We are therefore wholly dependent on him.
- Pruning (v.2) is literally cleaning.
- There is a word play in the original Greek: hairei (takes away) v. kathairei (cleans). Consider the right and wrong understandings of pruning.
- The fruit, in context = those who believe the message.
- The vine is Jesus, not the church.
Second analogy: Jesus is the teacher; we are the students [disciples] (v.7ff).
- Re: v.8, in one sense, Christians are disciples.
- In another, we are always becoming disciples (v.8). As Ignatius of Antioch was being led to his martyrdom in Rome (c.107 AD), he wrote, "Now I am beginning to be a disciple" (Ign. Rom. 5:3).

9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servantsany longer, because the servantdoes not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Third analogy: Jesus is a friend; we are his friends (v.12ff). Many ancient writers spoke of true love being willing to surrender its life for its friends (v.13).
Although the concept of fruit-bearing in the N.T. is considerably broader than evangelism, verse 16 suggests the mission is in view.
- For the seven types of fruit in the N.T., Click here.
- Read also Tom Jones' helpful article on fruit in John 15.
Chapter 15 also tells us about persecution (vv.18-27).

18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you.

The world and the kingdom don't mix. There is tension, rejection, polarization...
Seven "signs" that we belong to the world:
- Overly concerned with not appearing fanatical, intolerant, or otherwise politically incorrect
- Lifestyle: materialism, greed, level of giving
- Heart: envy, jealousy, lust, coveting
- Tongue: coarse language, gossip, deceit, angry outbursts
- We don’t make room in schedule for holiness (meditation, prayer, fasting, silence, study...)
- Online secrets
- More time in virtual worlds than making a difference in God’s world.

20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servantsare not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’

The world hates us because it hated Him. There is no avoiding this. See Matthew 5:10-12; Luke 6:22-23,26; 2 Timothy 3:12.
We have ceased being worldly, or are at least earnestly striving to be holy. This galls the worldly.
They persecute us because they do not know God.
No one who rejects Christ accepts God (v.23).
This is all in fulfillment of scripture. (See Psalm 35:19 and 69:4; Psalm 69 is the most mined OT passage in the NT.)

26 “When the Advocatecomes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

The Spirit/Counselor/Advocate will testify to Jesus -- through us (vv.26-27)!
The Spirit comes from the Father (vv.26-27). Thus the context is mission, not procession; the ancient Christian creeds, which state that the Spirit proceeds from the Father (and the Son) cannot appeal to this passage for theological justification.
In this chapter, several other Johannine themes (themes in John's theology) are found. How many points of contact with other passages do you recognize?

Thought questions:

Which metaphor about my relationship with Christ most speak to me: vine/branch, teacher/student, or friend/friend?
Am I bearing fruit for Christ in my life?
Am I ever opposed by others for the spiritual stands I take for Christ?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 26

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believein God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.

They believe in God, but soon it will be more difficult to keep their faith in Jesus.
- Things will become hard; once Jesus is arrested, they may feel hopeless.
- Note: The sentence could be translated, "... keep having faith in me, too."
- For more about the Messiah bringing peace, see: Isaiah 9:6-7; 52:7; 57:19: Ezekiel 37:26; Haggai 2:9; Acts 10:36: Romans 14:17.
The Lord comforts them with a promise that he will one day take them to their heavenly home (vv.2-4).
- Or does he? "House" (see 2:16-19 and 2:21-22) seems to refer to a reality on this earth. Jesus will not leave them as orphans (v.18), but will come soon. Thus a perfectly legitimate way of reading the passage is in reference to the promised Holy Spirit (Pentecost onwards).
- Whether we understand John 14 as referring to heaven or not, when Jesus returns he will takes us to be with him.
  - We will rise from the dead (5:25).
  - No one goes to heaven before the second coming. See 3:13. For now, we wait.
  - This means that the Protestant doctrine that those who die proceed immediately to heaven or hell is not right.
  - For more on this, please see my book Heaven & Hell. For a short study of the intermediate state of the dead and the nature of eternal punishment, try What Happens After We Die?

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Thomas is confused (v.5). He does not know the way, to which Jesus responds that he himself is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus says there are no exceptions.
- Jesus is the way to heaven. (See also 1:51.) He came to earth to give mankind a way to salvation; this was his purpose.
- The Gospel of John consistently teaches that salvation is through Jesus alone. Refusal to believe is inexcusable (3:18 etc).
- This also means that there is no "path to God" in other religions. Though these systems may contain some truth, they do not have the truth. Though, like the moon, they may reflect some light, they are not, like the son, the source of light.
- V.6. is the 6th of 7 "I Am" sayings.
There are ways to explain v.6 that will not cause the postmodern thinker immediately to bristle:
- Way: Instead of Christianity being a system, it is a person, Christ. Preach Christ, not the church, not ourselves (2 Cor 4:5).
- Truth: The truth isn't just a religion or set of doctrines, but a person, Jesus. Truth is relational.
- Life: This is not self-centered, autonomous living, but shared, others-directed life. The full or abundant life (10:10) is available in Jesus Christ. The is life as God intended it to be lived!

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Philip asks to see the Father (v.8).
- The request for God to reveal himself is similar to Moses' request in Exodus 33:18. (And the same Greek verb is used.)
- Jesus insists that those who see him see the Father. See also 1:14,18; Colossians 2:9.
- If this is a difficult concept for us, Jesus tells us to look at his works.
  - They are good and righteous.
  - They include miracles and signs that point us to ultimate spiritual reality.
  - They include wonders that only God could do. (For example, walking on water, calming storms, knowing people's thoughts, and much more.)
Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than he did (v.12). What does this mean?
- That we would accomplish more on the earth, since our geographical ministry is global, whereas Jesus' was local? Perhaps, but there may be another way to interpret this.
- Couldn't it mean that we complete Jesus' ministry by being his agents in realizing the spiritual realities that all his words and miracles pointed to?
- See also Colossians 1:24, another passage where our works build upon or supplement the works of Christ.
- For until the Spirit was given (see John 7:39; Acts 2:38-39), these realities were more potential than actual.
We bring the Spirit to others, enabling them to enjoy the blessings and power of the kingdom of God. Jesus laid the foundation, of course, but now everything he taught about is becoming real in the lives of his followers everywhere.
A parallel thought is contained in 5:20: "For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed."
That the Christian church would work greater miracles? No, for that is not possible. No one did greater deeds than Jesus Christ, and so the neo-Pentecostal interpretation cannot be correct -- that 14:12 promises spiritual people will do miracles.
Whatever we ask in his name, he will do (vv.13-14).
- This is so within the context of obedience.
- His name means his authority. As long as our requests don't violate his moral will or his sovereign will, he will grant them.
- The objects of our prayers being answered is that God be glorified. He is at the center, not we ourselves.
- This is no carte blanche guarantee. A doting father will spoil his children; this is not God.
- For more on meaning of "in the name of...", see Deuteronomy 18:7 and 1 Kings 18:32 (where the name represents authority); 2 Chronicles 2:4 (where the name represents presence); and especially Exodus 34:5-7 (where the name is the character of the one who owns it).

15 “If you love me, you will keepmy commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

According to Jesus (vv.15,21), there is no such thing as loving Jesus while ignoring his commandments. How distorted the notion of being a Christian has become in our day!
If we obey, Jesus will send another counselor to us (v.16).
- "Another" counselor suggests that Jesus is the first counselor. When he returned to heaven, the Spirit took his place on earth.
- The Greek parákletos means helper, intercessor, counselor, advocate. It is sometimes transliterated to paraklete.
- The Spirit helps us, intercedes for us, inspires us...
Receiving the Spirit is connected with obedience. See Acts 5:32.
The world cannot accept the Spirit (v.17). See also 1 Corinthians 2:10-16.

18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

Although Jesus will depart this world, the relational connection will be reestablished through the Spirit (vv.18-20).
Re: v.20: The relationship Jesus had with the Father ("in the Father") will be similar to our relationship with Jesus ("in him").
The obedience of verse 21 is a relational thing.
- God loves everyone in the world, of course, as the Bible affirms. But vague acknowledgment ("easy believism") is not at all the same thing as reciprocation.
- The relationship is two-way. It is nonsense to speak of loving God while ignoring his will (v.22ff). See also 1 Corinthians 8:3 with Matthew 7:23.
- God reveals himself to us in Christ when we obey him (vv.21-24).
Note: The Judas of verse 22 is Judas son of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). He seems to be the same person as Thaddaeus (called Lebbaeus in some manuscripts). For more, click here.

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 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. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.

The Spirit will come.
- The Advocate / Counselor will teach the apostles and remind them of all the things Jesus had taught them (v.26).
- The Spirit will come in Jesus' name, not in his own name -- just as Jesus did not come in his own name, but in the name of the Father.
- The Spirit isn't said to bring new revelation so much as to remind the apostles about all that Jesus had taught them.
- Considering the closest possible connection between Jesus and the Spirit (sometimes called the Spirit of Christ), this makes sense.
For two examples of the Spirit "reminding" them, see 2:17,22 and 12:16.
The teachings of the apostles were none other than the teachings of Jesus. When the later church altered the teachings of the faith, they were not doing so under the influence of the Spirit of Christ.
Note: The Muslims claim that the paraklete is Muhammad! How do they do this?
- They suggest that parakletos is a corruption of perikletos (praised one, a common epithet for the prophet Muhammad). And yet there is no textual evidence whatsoever for such a corruption.
- They ignore the fact that the counselor was to come in Jesus' name (v.26).
- They ignore the fact that the counselor was to remain with them forever (v.16), whereas Muhammad was on the earth barely 60 years.
The peace that Jesus gives (v.27) is not just a vague wish for things to go well with us. The world has so little to offer. Saying "Shalom" is one thing; conferring it is another entirely. The peace/shalom of Jesus is salvation itself.
Although Jesus is about to depart (die, and later ascend), this is all for the good.
It will look as though the devil (v.30) is scoring a victory -- but appearances can be deceptive!
Obeying the Father's will, even to the point of death, is supremely difficult, and yet this is Jesus' resolution (v.31). "Get up, let us go."

Thought questions:

Love and obedience go together. Have I bought into the distorted notion that I can love God while disregarding his clear commandments? Is there any area of my life in which I have been consciously disobedient?
Do I have the peace of Christ in my heart? Being calm is a good thing, but am I sure that the peace I experience is spiritual? Is this the peace that comes from an obedient love-faith relationship with Jesus, or the (more common) ethereal bliss unconnected with true discipleship? Jesus' peace flowed from his perfect obedience to the Father's will, and so should ours. This is neither legalism nor priding ourselves in our spiritual achievements, though some mistakenly assume it is.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 25

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

13:1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table,took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

The "hour" -- Jesus continues to act in God's timing. This theme will reach a crescendo at the cross.
13:5 ties in to 12:3.
- There, after anointing his feet, Mary washes them with her hair. Here, Jesus washes the feet of his apostles.
- As the verbs are the same in both passages, the connection is esp. obvious in the Greek: exémaxen [12:3] and ekmássein [13:5].

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet,but is entirely clean. And youare clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Peter objects (v.6ff). Pride sometimes keeps us from accepting God's grace, even though we are sorely in need of it. And yet without washing, we cannot be right with God.
Foot washing was later considered so menial a task that Jewish slaves and children could not be required to do it (Mekh. Exod. 21.2.82a, based on Lev. 25:39). Gentiles, however, were an exception to this rule.

12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servantsare not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Jesus calls the apostles to imitate him, to actively love others (v.12ff).
If he, the master and teacher, was willing to wait on others in humbling ways, how much more ought we, his servants and students, to be willing to serve?
For the words to Untitled, scroll all the way down.
Knowledge is a liability if we don't live out to what we have been taught (v.17).
Question: Is foot washing for today? Foot washing represents all actions of loving service rendered to one another. Surely we mustn't limit concrete expressions of love to the washing of feet! That would violate the spirit of the passage, which directs us to serve others as Christ served -- not in one way only, but in a multitude of ways. For more on this, listen to the podcasts on Bible & Culture.

18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my breadhas lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.20 Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

The betrayer (v.18ff) will commit a heinous act.
- In Eastern culture, to share bread with another created a bond not easily broken. To break this bond so vilely was unthinkable.
- Psalm 55.13-14 -- how hard it must have been to take it from a friend! (And yet in John 15:15 Judas is not among those no longer called servants, but friends, as he has already embarked on his treacherous errand.)
- The O.T. reference is Psalm 41:9. Jesus had trusted Judas, and was deeply hurt by his disloyalty (even though he knew that Judas would turn on him).
Jesus knew in advance that Judas would fall away. Yet in the Bible, divine foreknowledge does not remove free will. It simply has access to the future as yet in the process of being determined.
How we treat Jesus is how we are responding to God. Thus, in betraying Christ, Judas was rejecting the Father.

21 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23 One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.”So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.27 After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Jesus becomes troubled in spirit (v.21ff).
- He is deeply hurt that one of his own disciples is betraying him.
- The disciples have no idea which one of them it is. This is amazing, as it shows Jesus treated Judas the same as the others. None understands Jesus' conversation with Judas. (Only "the disciple Jesus loved" -- possibly John or someone else -- is shown the identity of the traitor.)
When Judas took the morsel, Satan "entered him" (v.27). I believe this indicates Judas at that point crossed the point of no return. True repentance was no longer possible. Jesus then calls Judas to a decision -- a quick one.
Despite the brightness of the full moon of Passover, "it was night" (v.30).
Jesus knows that there is no going back.
- With the end so clearly in sight, he speaks of how his death will glorify the father (vv.31-32).
- See 7:39; 8:54; 11:4; 12:16,23,28; 17:1,5; and also 21:19.

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him,God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus knows he will soon die. Yet despite the shame that the world will attach to the event of the crucifixion, Jesus knows that this is a matter of glory.
The new commandment (v.34ff) is set in the context of Jesus' departure (death).
V.34 is the second of the three "disciple" passages in John (8:32; 13:34; 15:8 or 16).
The Lord keeps the focus on relationships -- as he has done all along.

36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

Peter can't follow Jesus (to death) just yet. But he will later -- and in chapter 21 Jesus will allude to the execution of Peter.
Peter swears he will lay down his life for Christ, but Jesus predicts the triple denial of the overconfident apostle. In chapter 21 Jesus will three times put a question to Peter, implicitly recalling the denials.
Talk is cheap. As the proverb says, if we faint in the day of adversity, how little is our strength (Pr 24:10).

Untitled

Was it from a couch
Or from heaven he arose that night?

Was it to the floor
Or to the earth he descended that night?

Was it with towel
Or human flesh he wrapped himself that night?

Was it with water
Or with blood he washed them clean that night?

Was it to his to his table
Or to his throne he returned that night?

That night!
That night!
That staggering night!
When men argued for greatness
And God was on his knees

A Tour Through John, Lesson 24

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

27 Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, deliver me from this hour? But for this cause I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name. Then there came a voice from heaven: I have glorified it, and will glorify it again. 29 Then the people that stood by and heard said, It thundered! Others said an angel spoke to him. 30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

As his inevitable execution approaches, Jesus is in anguish (v.27ff).
Although this passage is much shorter than Matthew 26:36-46, we should not underestimate the difficulty for Jesus of submitting fully to the will of the Father.
God responds thunderously, affirming that his name will be glorified through what is to happen.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples unto me. 33 This Jesus said signifying what death he would die.

34 The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

The Prince of this world, the devil (v.31) is now driven out.
- See Luke 10:18 for a similar vision of the downfall of Satan.
- The fall of Satan (v.31) has parallels in other scriptures. Isaiah 14 (referring to the King of Babylon) and Ezek 28 (referring to the King of Tyre) utilize the imagery of the fall of Satan. For a "cartoon" picture of the event, see Rev 12:10.
- This does not mean that the world is ending, or that there is no need for the church and its mission. And yet in a real sense, Judgment Day has begun; salvation is being brought down; history is moving towards its conclusion.
Jesus' death will draw "all men" to himself (v.32) -- not all human beings, but only those who accept the truth. The Father draws us to the Son (6:44) through the Cross.
- Jesus' death will also enable the fulfillment of Genesis 12:3 -- that all nations might be blessed.
- Being "lifted up" denotes crucifixion. The original Aramaic zeqaph means "set up; lift up; hang up." Crucifixion is a kind of hanging, since the hapless soul was suspended from a tree, stake, pole, etc.
The notion violates the crowd's sensibilities (v.34).
- They are scandalized by the idea that the Messiah might be killed (1 Corinthians 1:23).
- After all, didn't Psalm 89:36-37 promise that the Davidic Messiah would be established forever? (Yes, but they have misinterpreted the passage.)
Jesus urges them to decide to follow the truth (light) before it is too late (v.35ff).
12:37-50 forms the conclusion to the entire account of the public ministry of Jesus in chapters 2-12.

37 Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“Lord, who has believed our message,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,

40 “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. 42 Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

Isaiah "saw" Jesus' glory, even if he did not fully grasp its meaning (see 1 Pet 1:10-12). This probably refers to a number of passages in Isaiah (6:1-7; 7:14; 9:1-6; 11:1ff; 42:1ff; 52:13-53:12; 601ff; 61:1ff; etc). Note the parallel with chapter 8, where Jesus says Abraham rejoiced at his day.
Certainly many Jews believed in Christ, including many of the religious authorities (v.42)! Nicodemus was not alone.
Despite all the signs (like the seven highlighted in this gospel, and many more), most people did not believe. This gives the lie to the common supposition that miracles make the difference as to whether people come to faith. If we are unwilling to follow the truth (7:17; 12:47ff), no miracle is likely to convince us.
The widespread rejection of Jesus as Messiah fulfilled the words of Isaiah 6:9-10, a passage referred to in all four gospels as well as the book of Acts.
- This does not mean that God willed their stubbornness, even if he foreknew it.
- It is abundantly clear in the gospel of John that Jesus holds accountable those who reject him of their own free will.
Vs.42-43 would have spoken to original readers of John, who may have been tempted to retain both their Jewish identity and their membership in the synagogue. (9:22, 12:42, and 16:2 all reflect significant tension between church and synagogue.)
In the later 1st century, the synagogue liturgy took aim at the Christians. The 12th of the 18 Benedictions was revised about 80 AD to read: "For apostates let there be no hope, and the dominion of arrogance so speedily root out. Let the Nazarenes and Minim [heretics] be destroyed in a moment, and let them be blotted out of the book of life and not be inscribed with the righteous. Blessed are you, O Lord, who humbles the arrogant." The added parts are in italics. This is valuable background information for understanding John 12:42 and 16:2.
Then as now, we must choose between human praise and divine glory (v.43).

44 Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. 47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.

Jesus' primary mission was not to judge the world, but to bring salvation.
Strictly speaking, the word (vv.47-48) is the message of Jesus, not the Bible, as is often taught. This is not to say that the Bible as a whole is less important than the message of Christ, or that we need only focus on the "red-letter" words of Jesus. Of course the whole Bible is God's message to us.
All will be judged by the truth (v.47), therefore we must accept the truth about Jesus (v.48) -- this is equivalent to accepting Christ (1:12-13).
Jesus did not speak on his own (v.49); his words carry full divine authority.
God's commandment is eternal life (v.50). This means simply that obeying it leads to life. See Deuteronomy 30:11ff.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 23

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The clock is ticking. There is a bounty on Jesus' head, and in less than a week he will be taking the Last Supper with his disciples. Here we find him at another meal, this time in Bethany.
A dinner is held in Jesus' honor in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
- As in Luke 10:38-42, Martha is working, while Mary takes advantage of some special time with the Lord.
- Lazarus, we may take it, is just happy to be alive!

12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped themwith her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denariiand the money given to the poor?” 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Mary anoints Jesus. For details, see Matthew 26-A or Mark 14-A, which seem to recount the same event. Jesus' body was prepared for death time in 19:38-40.
Judas Iscariot is not happy about this "waste." 300 denarii (days' wages) was what a workingman would make in a year. The ointment was worth a year's salary!
Jesus replies that what she has done will be forever remembered.
The poor are always with us, and we can help them at any time we like, but this was a unique opportunity. Mary did a good thing.

9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Lazarus was having a huge impact on many people (vv.9-11)! The text suggests that many others went to the house where the dinner was taking place -- or perhaps they came the following day.
Lazarus' name has been entered on the priest's hit list.
Jesus enters Jerusalem (v.12ff). This is the Triumphal Entry (Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19).
In verses 17-19 we see that interest in Lazarus led many to greet Jesus as he entered the city.

12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
the King of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

Note: Whereas in the Synoptic Gospels, the crowd accompanies Jesus in his Triumphal Entry, in John it is emphasized that they go out to meet him (v.12) as he enters Jerusalem.
Historical note: There is an enormous contrast between Jesus' entry and that of Simon Maccabaeus nearly two centuries earlier: "On the twenty-third day of the second month, in the year one hundred and seventy-one [3 June 141 BC], the Jews entered the citadel with shouts of jubilation, waving of palm branches, the music of harps and cymbals and lyres, and the singing of hymns and canticles, because a great enemy of Israel had been destroyed" (1 Macc. 13:51). How far Jesus was in spirit from the Zealots, the nationalist Jews who were willing to embrace violence as a means to political ends!

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.18 It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. 19 The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

Some Gentiles (Greeks) have come to the Temple and want to meet Jesus (v.20ff).
- They would have been allowed no farther than the Court of the Gentiles.
- But they do not approach him directly. Rather, they first go Philip, who was from a Gentile area (Galilee).
Philip apparently feels more comfortable going to Andrew, and through him to Jesus.
It is implied that this coterie then met Jesus, and in light of verse 23 this meeting is highlighted as truly significant. Jesus is soon to bring about salvation for all men, not just the Jewish people.
Verse 24 clearly refers to the impact of Jesus' death, but also to the impact of our dying to ourselves for Christ. We can affect the entire world. (See 14:12.)
- Death takes place on two levels: physical (for Jesus and the martyrs), and volitional (in terms of our will to obey God, as we die to ourselves).
- Jesus is preparing to die.
- 12:24-25 is paralleled in the Synoptic gospels by Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-35; and Luke 9:23-24.
Let us honor the Lord -- by following him (v.26), not through idle ceremony. As the ancient rabbis wrote, "Good anointing oil goes from the inner chamber right into the dining hall; but a good name goes from one end of the world to another" (Midr. Qoh. 7:1 [31a]).

Thought questions:

When it comes to money, is my attitude closer to that of Mary, or of Judas?
The gospel is for all nations, that all men and women might be drawn to Jesus. How's your international vision? Do you follow current events so that you know what to pray for around the world? Do you financially support missions? Would you be willing to move to another city or country for the cause of Christ?
As I mediate on 12:24, am I conscious of any area of my life in which I am reluctant to obey God?
Am I more moved by human opinion (peer pressure, the desire to be accepted, and so forth) or by my desire to please God?
Since I will be judged by the word of Christ, how motivated am I to know Christ and know his word? Am I well described by such adjectives as diligent, studious, avid, conscientious, thorough, careful, industrious, assiduous, reflective, and focused?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 22

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scripture for memory (Prov 22:17-18 -- see also 3:3; 7:3, on internalizing God's word)

1:14 -- From the prologue: 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. NKJV. Importance: Concise statement of the incarnation.
2:17 -- Observation from the Twelve: His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” NRSV (ditto following passages) Importance: Observation of quality of Jesus / the Father.
3:30 -- From John the Baptist: "He must increase, but I must decrease.” Importance: Concise explanation of the relationship between John the Baptizer and Jesus. Also a selfless prayer.
4:24 -- Jesus to the Samaritan woman: "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Importance: Explains religion that God accepts, including the separation of worship from any spatial institution.
5:39-40 -- Jesus to the Pharisees: “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life." Importance: A warning not to become overconfident or over-comfortable with God's word. Discerning Christ is not an intellectual game.
6:35 -- Jesus to the remnants of the 5000: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Importance: The first "I am" saying. We thrive in Christ.
7:24 -- Jesus to the Jews (leaders): "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Importance: Exhortation to use our minds as we discern truth and error.
8:12 -- Jesus to the people: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Importance: The second "I am" saying. We see by the light of Christ.
9:25 -- The blind man to the Pharisees: He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” Importance: Source of a powerful Christian hymn. We see in Christ.
10:7, 9 -- Jesus to the Pharisees: Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep...I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. Importance: The third "I am" saying. Christ is the way to pasture (see Ps 23).
10:11 -- Jesus to the Pharisees: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Importance: The fourth "I am" saying. Christ is the Shepherd (see Ezek 34).
11:25-26 -- Jesus to Martha: ...“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live [come back to life], even though they die;and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Importance: The fifth "I am" saying. Christ is the future (resurrection) life.

We'll do this again after John 21. Hopefully you're also looking forward to a fun quiz on John, once we reach the end of the series.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 21

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

11:1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

A man is mortally ill. In fact, by the time the messenger arrives, he is already dead.
The village of Bethany has been renamed, in honor of Lazarus. Today it is called El-Azariyeh.
It is obvious from chapters 11 and 12 that Jesus and Lazarus have a very special relationship.
The verb in v.3 is phileîs, not agapâs. In NT Greek, these are virtually synonyms. V.36 contains the same verb:
Jesus stayed two more days (v.6) before heading to Bethany. This was not to give Lazarus time to die. The chronology of the passage shows that he was in fact already dead at this time. (Add the extra two-day stay to the two travel days, one for the messenger and one for Jesus.)
Jesus rightly foretells that this sickness will not end in death (v.4), but will glorify God. (See 9:3.)
Further: Some scholars, such as Ben Witherington III, believe that the disciple whom Jesus loved is none other than Lazarus -- an intriguing possibility.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus returns (from Galilee) to Judea (v.7ff), to the surprise of his disciples, since there is a bounty on Jesus' head. But Jesus is undeterred. He knows he is following God's timing and besides, Lazarus is his friend.
Further: A day has 12 hours (v.9). As the length of the day varied through the seasons, so the length of an hour varied, expanding or contracting so that twelve spanned the hours between sunup and sundown.
As usual, the disciples are thinking on "channel 2" (v.12). Jesus, on "channel 1," is referring to death, not physical sleep. Despite the confusion, one cannot help but admire Thomas, who immediately volunteers to accompany Jesus, even though it will lead to death. (In fact, Thomas was more or less correct in his assessment.) Verse 16 is therefore for all readers of this gospel: "Let's go so that we may die with him."
Further: If Thomas was a twin (didymos, in Greek), whose twin was he? The most popular suggestion is that he was twin brother of Matthew. Please listen to the podcast on Thomas in the NT Character Study series. Or click on this link for more.

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus arrives at Bethany (v.17ff) and speaks with Lazarus' sisters, beginning with Martha. Many others have come out to mourn.
Martha is deeply grieving. Jesus promises that he will rise again (v.23). Once again, she is thinking on a different wavelength. Jesus did not mean he would arise "some day," but now.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life (v.25) -- the fifth of seven I am statements.
Verse 25 is better translated "will come (back) to life" than "will live."
Moreover, in verse 26 Jesus promises life before death! Those who believe will never die. Physical death will be but a brief transition between time and eternity.
Martha then confesses her full faith in Jesus as the Messiah (v.27).
- How amazing that despite his divinity, holiness, fame, and power, Jesus still made friends with this family, appreciating and loving them wholeheartedly.
- This is the 6th of the 7th confessions of faith in John.

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Having talked with Martha, Jesus now meets Mary, also deep in grief. Many others are weeping, and Jesus is deeply moved. His anger (vv.33,38) was apparently due to the refusal of the crowd to believe that he was the resurrection and the life.
He bursts into tears -- tears that seem to have been more for Mary and Martha than for Lazarus. "Burst out weeping" is probably a better translation than "wept" (v.35), since it indicates continuous action.
Jesus will now raise Lazarus from the dead (v.38ff).

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The tomb was a cave (v.38).
- Caves are abundant in Israel, and made natural and accessible burial sites.
- To see what a typical first century tomb, click here.
Martha objects: "By this time he stinketh" (KJV). That Lazarus had been four days in the tomb shows that he'd been buried on the day of this death -- normal practice at that time.
Re: v.39, according to the Genesis Rabbah 100 [64a], "For three days the spirit returns to the tomb. It intends to reinhabit the corpse. But when it sees that the color of the corpses's face has changed, then it goes off and leaves the corpse." Thus Jesus' waiting till after the three-day period lends even greater punch to this miracle.
The stone is removed, and Jesus prays. There is no shred of doubt in his mind that Lazarus will be reanimated. The prayer is not simply a request for Lazarus to be raised to life at all; it is uttered only for the sake of the witnesses to this incredible event.
Jesus shouts, "Lazarus, come out!" As some preacher said, so powerful is Jesus' words that had he not specified to whom he was talking, everyone who had died would have come out! Lazarus emerges.
- Lazarus is able to walk (hop?) out of the grave, but still his face has not been seen -- not until he has been unbound.
- Here is a contrast. Lazarus emerges from the tomb with the graveclothes still wrapped around him. But Jesus would emerge from his grave without the cloth (20:6-7). Whereas Lazarus would still have to return to the grave (dying a second time), Jesus would triumph over death.
- Always a practical man, Jesus directs that Lazarus be unbound. (What's the point of being raised to life if you've lost all mobility? Is there a lesson somewhere in there for us?)
- Lazarus has been revivified--but not resurrected.
  - He does not possess a resurrection body.
  - His body does not have the qualities Jesus' will after the Resurrection.
  - Lazarus will die again. He has received a reprieve.
Further: Lazarus' face had been wrapped in a separate cloth, as would Jesus' face (20:7).

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

Once again, public reaction is divided. The miracle of the raising of Lazarus helped bring many people to faith, but others reported this to the Pharisees. This was not a neutral action -- notice the contrast between these people and those who believed (vv.45-46).
The Pharisees in the Sanhedrin (v.47) would have been scribes.
The Romans (v.48) had ruled Israel (part of the province of Syria) since 63 BC.
The Jewish leaders are alarmed.
- They are losing influence and control. Too many people like Jesus. Jerusalem isn't big enough for them and Jesus.
- The Romans (their overlords) might come and remove their "place" (a word often denoting the Temple) and their nation (what little sovereignty the Jews still retained). This is, in fact, exactly what happened some 40 years later, though not because of Christ or the Christians; it was because of revolutionary action.
- Either way, their power base is in danger -- from beneath as well as from above.
- Caiaphas, serving as high priest (under the watchful eye of his powerful father-in-law Annas -- see Luke 3:2), suggests that it would be better for them if one man (Jesus) were to die rather than the entire nation being ruined (v.50).
  - Caiaphas was high priest "that year." What does this mean? That auspicious year (30 AD), when our Lord was crucified. Annual rotation -- a new high priest every year. Erratic succession. Pilate's predecessor, Gratus, frequently deposed high priests after only short terms in office. This seems to be the most likely possibility. The bones of Caiaphas were discovered in 1990, examined, and reinterred. His ornate ossuary (the bone box) is on display at the Israel Museum (Jerusalem), though these days it often goes on tour!
- This was a sort of prophecy of Jesus' atoning death (v.51). Yet the reach of Jesus' death was to be broader than the Jewish nation alone. All God's people, even those outside the Holy Land, would benefit (v.52).
- Following his lead, the authorities plotted Jesus' death.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

As a result, Jesus could no longer walk about openly, retreating instead to the village of Ephraim, a safe distance from Jerusalem.
From here he and his disciples could see the streams of pilgrims approaching the city.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

The Passover was near (v.55). This is the third or fourth Passover mentioned in John's gospel.
Expectations are running high, and many are eager for Jesus to make an appearance (v.56).
- To do so is to court danger: both arrest (v.57) and execution.
- The tension is mounting...

Questions for thought:

You are a witness to Lazarus' resurrection, and a few days later happen to be at a wealthy friend's house. One of the chief priests, whom you immediately recognize, walks into the room. You humbly introduce yourself, and he wishes you God's peace and asks how things are. You begin relating the phenomenal miracle you have just seen. But the look on the priest's face is not a happy one; he does not seem open to considering the possibility that Jesus is a man from God. What do you do? (Do you finish telling the story, abbreviate it, abruptly break it off, or change the subject? What would be going through your head?)
Ideally the Jewish leaders would not have conspired to bring about the death of Jesus. Yet his ministry was a threat to civil order and stability. Do you think compromises of principle are ever allowable, in the interest of the greater public good? Do you agree with the following statement: "The higher up the leader, the more often he will be required to sacrifice principle in order to keep the wheels turning"?
If you are a "busy leader," as was Jesus, do you have room in your schedule, and in your heart, for others? Are you emotionally close to your own Marys, Marthas, and Lazaruses?
Are my feelings suppressed, or do I experience -- and express -- the full range of human emotion?
What does Jesus being the resurrection and the life mean to you?
How are the "resurrections" of Jesus (John 20) and Lazarus (John 11) similar? different?

How would I have felt as a bystander if I had witnessed Lazarus emerge from the tomb? (Read 12:17 if you're stuck.)

A Tour Through John, Lesson 20

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

10:1 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Calling the sheep "by name" (v.3) does not mean that shepherds had individual names for each sheep.
- Rather, each shepherd used a different call.
- When flocks were commingled, they were separated once as the sheep followed the call of their shepherd.
Concerning hearing God's voice (v.4), how do I distinguish what I know through scripture from what I sense God may be trying to tell me through life situations?
- Do I believe he could be leading me through objective sensations?
- (For more on this, click here or here.)
In regard to verse 6, "figure of speech" (paroimia) is translated parabolé in the LXX. The two are functionally equivalent.
Since the crowd did not understand the illustration (v.6), Jesus tries a more explicit approach (v.7ff).

7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

"All who came before me" (v.8) refers not to the legitimate O.T. prophets, or to John the Baptist, but to the mercenary priests of the present hierarchical system and the Pharisees (see Matthew 23:13; Luke 11:52).
It would also have applied, at the time John was published, to false Messiahs within Judaism, pagan saviors or redeemer gods within the various Greco-Roman and oriental cults, and even heretical teachers who had left the church. Yet it most directly -- and obviously -- applies to the leaders (Pharisees) in John 9. Remember, there were no chapter numbers originally; these sections are connected.
Jesus offers abundant life (v.10). This refers not to material prosperity (alone), but to spiritual well-being (which may or may not entail material advantages).

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

When Jesus claims to be the Good Shepherd, he:
- Utilizes a common biblical metaphor. For example, Psalm 23 says, "The Lord is my Shepherd."
- Underscores the importance of his personal relationship with the sheep.
- Identifies himself with the divine Messiah and son of David of Ezekiel 34. For more on the Messianic prophecy of Ezekiel 34 alluded to in this chapter, click here. See also Zechariah 13:7-9; Isaiah 40:11; and Psalms 28 and 80.
- Compares himself with the Jewish leaders, whom he clearly considers mercenary in their approach to shepherding. In Ezekiel 34 God himself rebukes the selfish shepherds of Israel, who had neglected the sheep.
- Recall also the shepherd passages of the Synoptic Gospels, especially Luke 15:1-7 and Matthew 18:12-14.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (v.11).
- While it may be doubtful a shepherd would really risk his life for one sheep, it is certain that the Lord put himself at risk for each one of us.
- 1 John 3:16, though using similar language to that in verse 11, refers to putting others first, more than to literally dying for them.

16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

With respect to verse 16, see also 3:16; 6:51; 12:20,24,31-32. The Good Shepherd dies for all, not just for the Jews. The church was to include Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, one flock.
No one takes Jesus' life from him (v.18).
- He is not saying that he was not truly to be executed, but that this would not have happened apart from his will.
- It was all a matter of divine timing and the will of the Father.

19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Once again, the people are divided in their reactions to Jesus (vv.19-21).
- Some said he was insane. For even disagreeing with the party line, Jesus us insane by definition. This reminds me of the old Soviet Union. Dissidents would be sent off to the gulag. (Anyone crazy enough to reject the superior thinking of Lenin and Stalin must be insane, and thus must be committed into psychiatric care!)
- Some said he was possessed by a demon.
Others pointed out the bad logic of such positions, citing the miraculous healing of chapter 9.

22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

The setting of the this passage is the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah (v.22).
- Its origins lie in the so-called Intertestamental Period (c.400 BC-AD 30).
- It is found in the O.T. Apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees 4:59. (For the full text of this book, click here.)
- Ironically, since the Jewish Bible no longer contains 1-2 Maccabees, the only scriptural mention of this important Jewish holiday is in John 10 -- in the New Testament!
- Unlike the Feast of Tabernacles, this one could be celebrated at home.
Jesus is walking under the cover of Solomon's Colonnade, which offered protection from the common winter rains (v.23). Of course this was not strictly speaking Solomon's colonnade (v.23), since the first Solomon's temple had been razed by the Babylonians in 587/586 BC.
The crowd demands a direct answer from Jesus (v.24): Is he the Christ, or not? Jesus replies that the answer has already been given (v,25), but they didn't like the response (v.26).
The reason: they lack faith; they aren't part of the flock.
- Unlike these false believers, true followers can rest assured in God's grace (v.28-29). See also the end of Romans 8.
- Jesus does not say that it is impossible to lose one's salvation, despite the common teaching of "Once saved, always saved." For more, click here.
Jesus does not claim to be identical with the Father (v.30). They are one in action (the neuter hen), not one in person (which would have been the masculine heis). Recall that they differ in rank (order), not nature.
Then Jesus adds that he and the father are one (v.30). That is, since he is one with the Father, and no one can thwart God's purposes, nobody can take disciples away from Jesus.
- This is a clear claim to divinity, as shown by the crowd's reaction in v.31ff. Jesus will also defend his divinity in v.34ff.
- In the Trinity, Jesus shares the same nature with the Father, but not the same rank, since the Father is greater than the Son (eternally).

31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— 36 can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

In verses 34-36 Jesus refers to Psalm 82:6, where certain prominent Israelites are called "gods."
- Since Jesus comes directly from the Father and obeys his will, it is a fortiori even more appropriate for him to be recognized as God's Son.
- For more on this, click here.
Note that Jesus refers to the Psalms as "Law" (v.34).
- Sometimes in the Bible the word Law refers to Torah (the first five O.T. books, or Pentateuch).
- Other times, like here, it refers to the entire O.T.
Moreover, even if they were disinclined to believe him, honest minds should be led by the evidence to see the divine origin of Christ (v.38).
Still the crowd is unable to catch him (v.39). He eludes them because it is not yet his time.

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. 41 Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

Jesus returns to the (former) territory of John the Baptist (v.40), where he initially directed his disciples to Jesus (1:28-34). We've come full circle.
He is positively received by those acquainted with John's ministry.
It is evident that John was truly preparing the way for the ministry of Christ. Jesus was in no way "sheep stealing" from the Baptist.
In verse 41 John's former followers admit that he had never performed a miracle.
- And yet according to Luke 1:15, in some sense he was "Spirit-filled" from birth.
- Thus it follows that being filled with the Spirit does not necessarily involve miraculous abilities or experiences.
Many come to faith in Christ (v.42).

In the next chapter (11) we'll read of one of Jesus' most dramatic signs: the raising of Lazarus from the dead -- also the seventh of the seven signs in John.

Things to think about

In the last few chapters many have difficulties recognizing Jesus. This recognition may be analyzed:
- John 5-6 -- motivation -- people are improperly motivated.
- John 7-8 -- cognition -- people are unable to think.
- John 8-9 -- vision -- they are unable to see.
- John 10 -- audition -- they are unable to hear.
Do I recognize the voice of our Shepherd? How well do I know his Word?
Am I experiencing "life to the full" (the abundant life of verse 10)? Is anything missing?
If I am a leader, why do I lead? If I am a church staff member, do I have the heart of a true shepherd, or is there anything of the mercenary in me?
Do I appreciate the grace of God
- No external power can force me to leave God.
- Do I realize that I am the only one who can spoil the priceless gift of God in Christ?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 19

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 Sep 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

9:1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

The man was physically blind (v.1ff). This blindness was not temporary, but congenital.
The O.T. does say that the sins of the parents can be "visited" on the children (Exodus 20:5), but what about the second possibility, the idea that the man himself may have sinned prenatally?
- Some rabbis discussed the sins of Jacob and Esau while still in the womb.
- Thus the reference is not to a previous life, but to life in utero.
At no time before had anyone ever healed a man born blind, nor do such miracles occur today (in my experience, although you may wish to consult Craig Keener's magnum opus, Miracles).
Jesus' disciples were blind (v.2).
- Their question reflects the outlook of the ancient world on sin, and reminds us of the view of Job's three "comforters": sickness and misfortune are caused by sin. (This is a basic tenet of today's "Prosperity Theology.")
- They do not care for him as a person, only for the theological conundrum he presents.

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 Wemust work the works of him who sent mewhile it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Jesus offers no explanation as to the cause of the blindness, but sees a divine possibility.
There is hope in the light of Christ -- the "daylight" by whose light we can work. Jesus reasserts that he is the light of the world. (Several of the "I Am" sayings are repeated -- this one, from 8:12.)
The man is healed.
- The healing could have been direct and instantaneous, but it includes saliva and dirt and a walk to a pool.
- The man wasn't healed by faith alone; the blessing came only as he went in obedience to Jesus' command. So it is with us.
- Sending him to wash in the Pool of Siloam (v.7) is reminiscent of Elisha sending Naaman to wash in the Jordan (2 Kings 5).
- The miracle shows that Jesus is the promised Messiah. See Isaiah 29:18.
Siloam (v.7) is laden with linguistic significance.
- Shiloh was the place where God revealed himself before the Temple was built in Jerusalem. Shiloh is mentioned frequently in Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, and Jeremiah.
- There is a Messianic prophecy connected with this in Genesis 49:10.
- And yet Isaiah 8:6 shows the Jews rejecting the waters of Shiloah (Siloam, in Hebrew).
- Interestingly, the Pool of Siloam was only discovered in 2005. See the report at the Bibleplaces website.

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

The neighbors notice.
- Here was a man they saw every day -- and yet the implications of admitting the authenticity of the miracles were huge.
- Many of his neighbors and acquaintances were "blind" (v.8ff).

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

According to Jewish law (rabbinic tradition, not Torah), Jesus had violated the Sabbath.
- Spittle must not be put into the eyes on the Sabbath (J. 'Abod. Zar. 14d), while another passage refers to differing opinions over whether eyes may be anointed on the Sabbath (B. 'Abod. Zar. 28b).
- Deuteronomy 13:1-5 warned the people of God not to listen to a miracle-worker if he led them away from God's law.

Thus there was some basis for the Jewish leaders' viewpoint vis-à-vis Jesus (though no justification for their stubborn refusal to reconsider their interpretations and believe).

The blind man's statement "He is a prophet" (v.17) is parallel to the Samaritan woman's recognition in 4:19.

18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiahwould be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

His parents too are blind (vv.18ff).
"He is of age" (v.23) shows that he was over 13 years old, and thus legally accountable as an adult.
Verse 22 shows the real reason for their reticence to acknowledge Jesus as the healer.
- This verse would have been especially meaningful at the time of the rupture between church and synagogue, particularly after 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple (assuming John was written in the 90s -- some scholars place it pre-70).
- In the same way, we are called to take our stand with Christ, even if this leads to ostracism.

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

"Give glory to God" is a solemn oath. See Joshua 7:19, where Joshua interrogates Achan.
V.25 supplied the inspiration for John Newton's famous hymn, Amazing Grace.

26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

The Pharisees were blindest of all (v.13ff, 24ff).
Up to a point they had been pretending to be impartial, operating under the guise of an open examination (v.24).
Now their true colors are shown (v.34). Their minds are already made up; no amount of evidence will change them.
And yet in accusing the man of having been born in sin, the Pharisees are in effect admitting the miracle as legitimate!
Note: v.31 is sometimes taken as a doctrinal statement, yet this will not do.
- God hears all prayers -- as Solomon requested in his prayer (1 Kings 8:41-43).
- It is the defiant one, the one in deliberate sin, whose prayer will not be accepted (Ps 66:18).

35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”36 He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38 He said, “Lord,I believe.” And he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains."

Jesus follows up with the man (v.35), just as he did with the invalid he healed in chapter 5.
"Son of Man" is a Messianic title in the book of Daniel.
The result is that the man recognizes who Jesus is, falling at his feet in humble gratitude.
The blind see and the seeing are blind. Refer to 1:3-4 and 3:19-21.

Final thoughts

In this story, it is only Jesus who truly sees --
- And the blind man, whose perception of Jesus moves from stranger (v.6) to healer (v.7) to prophet (v.17) to Lord (v.38).
- Again, see chapter 4 for a progression in faith and spiritual perception on the part of the Samaritan woman.
John 9 portrays in living color what happens when Light enters this dark world.
- How we respond to the truth God reveals to us determines our standing with God.
- Two themes are intertwined in chapter 9: revelation and judgment. These themes are present throughout the gospel of John.
This account is also in many ways a perfect picture of conversion to Christ, which all true believers have experienced.
Jesus shows us the Father (1:14, 18; 10:30; 14:9).
- In John 9 we understand that God is light -- which is not mere knowledge or intellect, since there is a strong moral component to the light.
- He is the one who opens the eyes of our heart (Eph 1:18).
- We see that God does not favor the powerful or the establishment or the respectable, but those who honor him by embracing the truth.
- We notice that nearly everyone claims to know God, or be in the light, or to be doing the right thing. Yet there is a simplicity in knowing God, exhibited in the life of the blind man and of course also in the behavior of Jesus, that the highborn and the highbrow easily miss.
- God powerfully transforms our lives.
We can easily make this chapter into a group Bible discussion.
- Are there certain characters in chapter 9 with which you identify? Blind man, disciples, parents, neighbors, Pharisees, Jesus? If so, why? How are your attitudes or experiences similar?
- Is there a definite time in your life when you crossed from over from darkness to light, from blindness to sight? On what date did this take place?
- Are you able to share with others about the change? How do they usually react? Does the prospect of peer pressure, or the fear of family rejection, or the possibility of religious persecution affect how public you are in expressing your faith in Christ?
- See the group studies in Till the Nets are Full (formerly Shining Like Stars).
  - John 4 (the Samaritan Woman). [This is study VII.]
  - John 5 (The Healing at the Pool). [This is study XIV.]
  - John 6+ (The I Am Sayings) [This is study VIII.]
  - John 9 (the Blind Man), which is another more or less complete chapter with multiple clearly identifiable characters. [This is study V.]
  - And there are many other good group studies from John:
    - John 2: Water to Wine and The Clearing of the Temple
    - John 3: Nicodemus (chapters 3, 7, 19).
    - John 8: The Woman Caught in Adultery
    - John 20: "Doubting" Thomas
    - And so on....

A Tour Through John, Lesson 18

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

"Again Jesus spoke" ties in to 7:38.
- Remember that 7:53-8:11 is not in the original; it interrupts the flow.
- Thus the statement is spoken in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles.
In the second "I am statement," Christ claims to be the light of the world (v.12).
- Just as the pillar of fire led the Israelites through the desert after the Exodus, so Jesus will lead his people.
- Hence the emphasis on following the light. (The Israelites followed the pillar.)
- For more on the background to the "I am" statements, in addition to previous comments on John 6:35, see Isaiah 41:4 and 43:10-11, where the OT Greek LXX reads ego eimi ("I am").
- Jesus does not say, "Look -- there's the light," or "I've found the light!" Rather, he boldly claims, "I am the light."
- The Bible teaches that because God is our light (Psalm 27:1), Jesus is the light (John 8:12). Further, the Word is a light (Psalm 119:105), and as we live out the truth, we ourselves are to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
- The truth that Jesus is the light of the world (v.12) will be vividly illustrated in chapter 9 when Jesus heals the man born blind (9:5).

13 Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” 19 Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

The Pharisees challenge his statement as unsubstantiated (v.13).
- They will not accept testimony without witnesses. Deuteronomy 19:15 requires witnesses for testimony to be valid.
- Jesus responds that his testimony corresponds with the judgment of his Father (vv.14-18), and thus is not at all invalid. God himself is Jesus' witness!
They judge by human standards (v.15). See 7:24. Jesus claims to "judge no one": not a repudiation of judgment or the judgment day, but a denial of judging by human standards.
Misunderstanding his reference to his Father (they are on "channel 2"), they then inquire about his earthly father (v.19).
This interaction takes place in the treasury of the temple (v.20).
- The treasury was located in the Court of the Women, between the Court of the Israelites and the Court of Gentiles.
- The gadzophulakion (also Mark 12:41,43; Luke 21:1) is either the Temple Treasury or the offering box itself.
The leaders wanted to arrest him, but it was not his time.

21 Again he said to them, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 Then the Jews said, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

Jesus said that he would go away, where they could not follow (v.21).
Many Jews believed that suicides would be consigned to the deepest part of Hades, the underworld.

23 He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” 25 They said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Why do I speak to you at all? 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father.

Jesus replies that he is from above -- it is they who are from below (v.23).
Unless they believe what he has said ("I am," v.24), they will die in their unbelief.
Again they question his authority, and identity (v.25).
His response can be taken two ways, as in the NIV "Just what I have been claiming all along," or as above in the NRSV. The Amplified Bible has: "Jesus replied, [Why do I even speak to you!] I am exactly what I have been telling you from the first."

28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Jesus predicts that once he has been lifted up (crucified), men will better understand his divine origin and the truth of his words (v.28).
Jesus claims to always obey the Father, for which reason he is not alone. God is with him in his life and words (v.29).
Even at this point it seems that many believed Jesus was speaking the truth (v.30), although the antagonism continues into the final section of John 8.
The negative reaction well illustrates 3:19-20. Darkness always resists the light.
Verse 30 may be taken as the final verse in this section, or the first verse in the section that follows.

31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

Jesus now calls the Jews who believed his message (v.30) to an obedient faith (v.31). This is the only way the truth will set them free (v.32).
They react poorly to the challenge, rejecting the freedom Jesus offers, which comes only from obedience (v.34ff).
- The irony of their retort is pathetic. What about the Egyptians? Midianites? Assyrians? Babylonians? Greeks? And what about the present Roman occupation (63 BC+)?
- They take their stand on nationalistic and religious pride (v.33).
- Ezra 9:9 is also à propos.

34 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Just as a train is "free" only when it stays on the rails, so humans experience true freedom when they walk in the path of God's commands.
For more passages about spiritual freedom, see Psalm 119:45; Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 3:12; James 1:25, 2:12; 2 Peter 2:19.
There are three passages in John where Jesus spells out what it means to be a disciple. (This also makes an excellent "discipleship study.")
- John 8 -- We must remain in his word.
- John 13 -- We must love one another as he loved us.
- John 15 -- We must live a productive (fruitful) life.

37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. 38 I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father."

They have no room for his message (vv.37,43), and are ready to do away with Jesus.
Jesus claims to have come from the very presence of God (v.38). In a number of places in this gospel he says that he has come down from heaven.

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, 40 but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44 You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”

When the Jews retort, "We are not children of fornication" (v.41), they are claiming, in effect, "We are not guilty of spiritual harlotry."
- The prophet Hosea, and Jesus, accused Israel of spiritual unfaithfulness. They are defending themselves.
- It is possible that their words are a slur on Jesus' paternity, but this interpretation evolved in the early third century, and is probably not in view in this passage.
Jesus reminds them that their antagonistic response is nothing like the attitude of Abraham, their alleged father. "Like father, like son." Their father is the devil (v.44), and they resemble him in several ways.
Here Jesus also tells us several things about the devil (vv.44-45):
- His desires are contrary to God's.
- He is a murderer.
- He is not truthful, and lies.
- Putting it all together, we see a power bent on his own way, and willing to do whatever it takes to persuade others to follow him.
"Which of you convicts me of sin?" (v.46).
- What a claim! On the lips of no other human would these words have been received with anything other than astonishment or offense. But the truth is, none of the charges against Jesus we find on the lips of his enemies is true. Nor is there any hint of sin in Jesus' personal life.
- Jesus is saying, in effect, that his life backs up his message and divine origin. "What action of mine warrants this response on your part?" There is no excuse for anyone to reject his teaching, let alone with such vitriol.
- Compare John 8:46 to 1 Kings 8:46.
Those who do not accept the truth show that they are not of God (v.47).

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. 51 Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

Unable to specify a particular sin, the Jews resort to name-calling (v.48). To this Jesus responds coolly and objectively (v.49ff).
Why do they call him a Samaritan (v.48)?
- He was not a Judean -- at least by upbringing. Though born in Bethlehem in Judah, he probably had a Galilean accent, as nearly all his life he had lived in the north (Nazareth and Capernaum).
- Samaritans were viewed as heretics, as they had a slightly different Bible, even altering the Ten Commandments.
- They rejected the Temple and the Jewish priesthood.
- At least two Samaritan prophets made outrageous claims.
  - Simon Magus (Acts 8) worked wonders and claimed to be "the Great Power."
  - Dositheus claimed to be the Son of God.
  - As for the claim of demon-possession, the second century Justin Martyr viewed both these Samaritans as possessed (Apol. 26:1,4-5).
- And yet Jesus was warm in his outreach to the Samaritans. For more on this, click here.
Again Jesus returns to the theme of freedom.
- Whoever obeys his teaching, he promises, will not see death (v.51).
- He refers of course to spiritual death, not physical.

52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ 55 though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57 Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

The Jews are greatly offended at this claim, realizing that Jesus is implicitly elevating himself above Abraham and the prophets. Even Abraham, spiritual father of the nation, had died, and here is Jesus, claiming it is possible not to die at all!
Jesus knows God (v.55). Nowhere in John does he claim to believe in God, but to know him. This knowledge is not academic, but intimate. Christ knows the Father as he knows himself. (Another implication of divinity.)
In regard to verse 56, Abraham saw into the future. See, e.g., Genesis 15:5-6,17-21; 12:1-3. It was common among Jews in the first century to ascribe to Abraham knowledge of the end of days and the Messiah.
Verse 57 does not suggest that Jesus was nearing 50.
- In fact, he would only have been about 35 at the time of his death.
- The age of 50 simply denotes an elder, a man at the end of his working life (Numbers 4:2-3,39; 8:24-25). Jesus is not even 50 years old (v.57); it is ludicrous that he would have special information about a man who had died nearly two millennia earlier.
"Before Abraham was born, I am" (v.58) has a parallel in the Greek O.T., which was the Bible of most early Christians. There we read: "Before the mountains were born / or you brought forth the earth and the world / from everlasting to everlasting you are (Psalm 90:2 [LXX Ps 89:2]).
Jesus goes further:
- Abraham, to whom God had made promises about Messianic times, rejoiced in the things being fulfilled through Jesus' ministry.
- Pushing the crowd to the very limit, Jesus then implies his divinity: "Before Abraham was born, I am" (v.58).
  - The response: the crowd wants to execute him for blasphemy.
  - Jesus eludes them. (His time had still not come!)

A Tour Through John, Lesson 17

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This a well-known passage, even though it is not in the original manuscripts of John's gospel.
- This pericope is not written in the style of John, nor is it original to John.
- It is missing from the earliest Greek manuscripts of John. Of course this was the original language of the gospel, and evidence here should be weighed most heavily.
- It is missing also from the oldest Syriac manuscripts.
- The passage is found in the following manuscripts, though often with an asterisk or obelisk, indicating doubt as to its authenticity:
  - The later Koine Greek manuscripts.
  - The Latin Vulgate (c.400 AD) and some Old Latin manuscripts.
  - The Ethiopic version.
  - The writings of Augustine and Ambrose (c.400 AD).
  - Codex D.
- It often does not appear at its present position. Other locations include:
  - Following Luke 21:38.
  - After John 7:36.
  - After John 7:44.
  - After 21:25.
- No eastern commentator mentions the passage before the 10th century, and no Greek commentator mentions the passage before the 12th century.
Still, it rings true, is of early origin, and is therefore is found in most Bibles. Few scholars believe the account to misrepresent Jesus, even if it was not originally in its present location in John.

[53 Then each of them went home, 8:1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them.

As was Jesus' custom during the feasts, he taught in the day and stayed evenings somewhere on the Mount of Olives (v.1). He probably enjoyed the hospitality of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. (Search your concordance under Bethany.)
The venue for his teaching was the temple complex. (And by forgiving the adulteress, he was challenging, "usurping," the authority of the priests.)
The time was early morning, before the heat of the day.
He taught in the seated position (v.2), which was the normal posture of a rabbi with his disciples.

3The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him.

Then comes the shocking interruption (v.3).
- The question, and the arrest of the woman, seem staged.
- Since adultery takes place in secret, it is likely that the accusers had been waiting (and hoping) for the transgression to take place. Their posturing, like the adultery itself, was premeditated.
- Only the woman has been brought in, despite the implicit charge that the man had been present (v.4).
The accusers have little concern for her.
- Their aim is only to trap Jesus.
- Would Jesus then contradict himself, or the Mosaic law?
Here is the trap (vv.5-6).
- Jesus advocated compassion. He forbade us even to hate our enemies. He had intimated that the new covenant was in the process of being inaugurated -- that the old law might not apply anymore.
- And yet the Torah required the death penalty for both parties (Leviticus 20:10).
- Would contradict the Torah, or his own teaching?

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."]

Masterfully, Jesus extricates both himself and the woman from the dilemma.
- His reply is perfectly suited to the occasion. Jesus was always an excellent thinker on his feet.
- About Jesus' writing in the dirt:
  - Many have speculated what word(s) -- if any -- he wrote.
  - He seems to be deflecting the attention from the woman and her accusers -- perhaps regaining control of the situation.
- Acknowledging the demand of the law for adulterers ("Let anyone without sin cast the first stone...") while confronting all present with their own sin (and potential hypocrisy in judging her) (v.7ff).
- Everyone in the group is challenged!
  - The older in the crowd, realizing that Jesus occupies the moral high ground and will not be trapped, walk away.
  - The younger in the crowd, less savvy and more moralistic, linger longer, but they too in the end leave the scene.
  - The accusers apparently depart as well.
In the end, only two persons remain.
While offering her divine forgiveness, Jesus hardly condones her immorality. "Sin no more" (v.11).
The heart-warming vignette demonstrates the church's attitude towards erring members.
- Sin will not be taken lightly, yet...
- ... forgiveness is always available -- if there is repentance.

Conclusion

Although most NT scholars reject the story as original in the fourth gospel, they are also of one mind in accepting its veracity.
- It is perfectly in character with what we know of Jesus and his attitude towards sin/sinners.
- It is unlikely to be an invention of the later church, since in the second century sin was dealt with much more harshly than it is in this passage.
- Some early Christian preserved the story, and some early copyist of John placed it between chapters 7 and 8, probably because it seemed a good fit (verses about judgment, tensions between Jesus and the Pharisees).
This passage is one of several understood by early Christians to forbid capital punishment.
- For example, consider the words of Lactantius (c.290-300 AD): When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits the violence that is condemned by public laws, but he also forbids the violence that is deemed lawful by men. Thus it is not lawful for a just man to engage in warfare, since his warfare is injustice itself. Nor is it [lawful] to accuse anyone of a capital offense. It makes no difference whether you put a man to death by word, or by the sword. It is the act of putting to death itself which is prohibited. Therefore, regarding this precept of God there should be no exception at all. Rather it is always unlawful to put to death a man, whom God willed to be a sacred creature.
- For more on this, see my article on The Death Penalty, or the various lessons on crime and punishment.
Had I been present, which of the characters in this story would I have been: an older person, a younger person, the woman, or the accusers?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 16

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him.

The dispatch of the Temple Police to arrest Jesus would have spoken clearly to the early Christians, as to disciples today in countries where it is not easy or safe to be a disciple. For they were used to arrests of Christian leaders, a practice that continued all the way until the early 4th century.
The tension is mounting. Finally, the Pharisees, in collaboration with the upper-echelon priests, send the arrest party to bring Jesus in (v.32).

33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will search for me and you will not find me’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

Jesus remarks that soon they will be unable to find him (vv.33-36). (He will have returned to heaven.)
- As usual, they misread him. They presume he may depart the country to preach in the diaspora.
  - They are saying, in effect, that since Christ had so little success among his own people in his own land, he was mad to think he would enjoy more success among diaspora Jews.
  - Like Caiaphas' unwitting words in 11:49-50, their insight reached beyond their understanding!
- They are on the earthly "channel 2." Jesus is broadcasting on the heavenly "channel 1."

37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Strategically, Jesus waits until the final day of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (v.37). The celebration was marked by camping under shelters ("tabernacles"), rejoicing at night in the light of the huge candelabras set up in the Court of the Women, and the daily drawing of water from the Pool of Siloam.
In regard to vv.37-38, read about Simchat Beit HaSho'eivah. Jesus is playing off the Jewish custom of the outpouring of water.
- Sukk. 5:1 says, "He who has not seen the joy of the water-drawing has not seen joy in his whole lifetime."
- For the O.T. background, see also Isaiah 12:3 and Joel 3:18.
- The phrase "from deep within him" (v.38), or "out of his belly" (KJV), may be explained by the Aramaic original. Guph / gupha' originally meant "cavity," them "body" or "person," and could even on occasion substitute for the personal pronoun.
- The priests poured out water to symbolize Yahweh's blessing on the crops through rainfall; Jesus speaks of a different, deeper, and more important water.
The living water harks back to his promise to the Samaritan woman in chapter 4.
- See also Zechariah 14 and Ezekiel 47, for the deeper Messianic meaning of the flowing waters. These passages depict the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (from Pentecost onward).
- Thus the gospel writer notes that Jesus is really speaking of the Holy Spirit (v.39).
The Spirit was not available to all believers until Jesus had been glorified (v.39). ("There was no Spirit" doesn't mean the Spirit didn't exist, but that it was not part of the lives of true believers.)
Does the Spirit continue to well up within me? What am I doing to make sure I'm not blocking the flow of the life-giving Holy Spirit?

40 When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? 42Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The crowd is divided (v.40ff).
- Some say he is the Prophet (see Deuteronomy 18).
- Others said he is the Messiah, perhaps not understanding that the Prophet Moses spoke of was the Messiah. (They falsely distinguished between Prophet and Messiah.)
- Yet others questioned whether he was the Messiah, since Bethlehem (the city of David), very close to southern Jerusalem, is far from northern Galilee.

45 Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” 46 The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” 47 Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? 48 Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, 51 “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” 52 They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

The police, mesmerized by Jesus and his message, report back (v.45) empty-handed.
- Oudépote elálēsen hoútōs ánthrōpos (Never spoke so [a] person).
- It is possible that these temple servants were told to arrest Jesus discreetly, without causing a civil disturbance. (See Mark 14:1-2.) If that is the case, it would illuminate why they failed to bring him in.
- The Jewish leaders deeply resent Jesus' influence over even their own police force (v.47). After all, the police are hardly the authorized interpreters of the Torah!
- And yet the Pharisees are relying on a sort of circular logic:
  - (Unstated premise:) If Christ were who he said he is, the leaders would believe in him.
  - None of the leaders believes in Christ. (This is untrue! See 3:2.)
  - Therefore he must not be who he says he is.
- Moreover, they are quick to dismiss the crowd as ignorant (of the law) and accursed (v.49).
- As the police rightly observed, in words as true today as they were two millennia ago, "No man ever spoke this way."
In connection with verse 49, the rabbis assumed that those who did not know the law could not obey the law.
- While there is some truth to this viewpoint, there is also error.
  - Were even the Gentiles wholly without redeeming qualities? See Romans 2:12ff.
  - Does it follow that the scribes were de facto better people than the common people?
- "It is forbidden to have mercy on one who has no knowledge" (Midr. Sam. 5:9).
- "An uneducated man is not slow to sin, and no people of the land ['am ha'arets] is righteous" (Hillel, in 'Aboth 2:5).
Nicodemus takes his stand (v.50).
- His faith seems to have grown since the night encounter in chapter 3.
- His mind and his heart are working together.
- Nicodemus' faith will be demonstrated a third and final time in chapter 19.
- Nicodemus (v.50) argues for due process.
He is dismissed on the basis of a specious argument:
- Jesus is from Galilee.
- The prophet (see Deuteronomy 18) is not a Galilean. (This assumption is unsubstantiated.)
- Therefore Jesus is not the Messiah.
- (Additionally) Only another Galilean would be deceived by a Galilean. In effect, they are reasoning:
  - The ignorant Galileans are careless in their observance of Torah.
  - The law nowhere specifies Galilee as the origin of the Prophet.
  - Therefore it is highly unlikely that the Messiah is Galilean.
- Yet Jonah son of Amittai was from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25), and certainly the Jewish leaders knew this. In fact, the rabbis admitted that there were Galilean prophets:
  - "You have no single tribe in Israel from which a prophet has not come forth" (Sukk 27b).
  - "You have no city in the land of Israel in which there has not been a prophet" (S. 'Olam Rab. 2.1).
I have amended the translation of v.52, based on the evidence of p66 and p75, to the Prophet, as opposed to a prophet. The Greek can support either; keep in mind also that this is the translation of the original Semitic conversations.
We will deal with v.53 ("Then each of them went home") in tomorrow's study, since it is part of a larger section (7:53-8:11) and doesn't properly belong in chapter 7.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 15

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

7:1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; 4 for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

"The Jews" (the leaders, the authorities) want to kill Jesus.
Jesus is avoiding the southern part of Israel (Judea), staying instead in the upper reaches (Galilee). His reputation has made his presence in the capital not only controversial but also dangerous.
And yet one of the three annual mandatory trips to Jerusalem (in Judea) is near: the Feast of Tabernacles (v.2).
The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) (v.2) was the most popular gathering at the Temple, according to 1st century Jewish historian Josephus (Jos. Ant. 8.100). Skēnopēgía comes from skēnē, tying in to 1:14: The Word eskēnōsen among us.
Jesus' (four) brothers presume to advise him on how to be a successful Messiah (vv.3-4).
- Their advice is essentially the same as that of the Tempter (Matthew 4:5-7)!
- They neither understood his mission nor believed in him (v.5).
- And yet in the future, his brothers would play key roles in church leadership!
The question is hanging: Will Jesus go back to Jerusalem, or not?

6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. 8 Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

As always throughout the gospel of John, Jesus is keenly aware of his divine timetable.
The world accepts his family, since they are not (yet) on the side of truth. The hatred of a world opposed to the truth is a common theme in John. See the extended passage beginning in 15:18.
Jesus rejects their immediate advice (v.9), and its bad timing (v.6ff). Jesus followed the Father's timing throughout his ministry.

10 But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. 11The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, “He is a good man,” others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the crowd.” 13 Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews.

Later Jesus does go up to the Feast of Tabernacles (v.10), but cautiously and clandestinely.
Public opinion is divided over who he is (vv.11-13). This makes for a potentially unstable situation.
He makes his move halfway through the festival (v.14). According to Leviticus 23:34, the observance lasted seven days.

14 About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. 15 The Jews were astonished at it, saying, “How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?” 16Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. 17 Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. 18 Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him. 19 “Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?”

Jesus times his visit to Jerusalem for the middle of the Feast to Tabernacles.
Once he begins to teach, people are amazed (v.15).
- Jesus always impressed the crowd with his content and delivery.
- Their amazement is because he had not been educated in their system, by a prominent rabbi.
  - Moreover, he did not teach in the scribal manner ("Rabbi so-and-so taught, whereas Rabbi such-and-such believed...).
  - That is, he did not appeal to the authority of rabbinical tradition.
- Christ was fully trained, and in time so would his apostles be. (In this regard, many totally misread Acts 4:13.)
Jesus defends his message (v.16ff).
- His message is from God.
- Anyone receptive to the will of God will see that this is the case (v.17).
- He is not self-seeking (v.18).
- Their attacks on his righteous words show they are not true Jews (v.19).

20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I performed one work, and all of you are astonished. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (it is, of course, not from Moses, but from the patriarchs), and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the sabbath? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

As expected, this doesn't go down too well (v.20). The crowd reacts with extreme, black and white thinking.
- Rather than think through what Jesus is saying, some prefer to write him off as demon-possessed. The label, it would seem, is meant to absolve them of their responsibility to think objectively and fairly about Jesus' claims.
- Jesus reasons with them about the Sabbath, probably referring to the healing in chapter 5 (v.21ff). Jesus is saying, in effect, that their theology is inconsistent. He encourages them to judge correctly, not superficially (v.24).
Here is the thinking in Jesus' response.
- The rabbis taught that the Sabbath could be contravened for the purpose of circumcision, a rite that affected only one part of the body.
- Jesus had healed the whole body (chapter 5).
- A fortiori, this infraction of the Sabbath tradition was certainly justified.
"Righteous judgment" (v.24), dikaia krisis, can be rendered upright, righteous, good, just, right, proper, fair, honest, innocent.
There are multiple types of judging in the Bible. See my article "Judge Not!"

25 Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? 27 Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28 Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him.

It is publicly known that there is a bounty on Jesus' head (v.25). That he has not yet been arrested is interpreted by some to mean that they are uncertain as to whether he is a false Messiah or a true one (v.26).
In verse 28, "in the temple" (en to[i] hieō[i]) is rendered various ways in the translations: "in the temple courts" (NIV), "in the temple area" (NAB), "in the temple complex" (HCSB), "in the temple" (NASB, NRSV, NKJV, NJB). The last rendering is the most literal.
- Yet since Jesus would have been teaching in the outer courts, and not in the sanctuary, there is justification for the periphrastic expansion.
- Thus we see that "the temple" is the structure itself or the entire temple complex. Context determines the exact meaning.
Jesus is fully aware of God and his mission and obedience.
He is equally aware that his opponents are not God's children. Silly statements like "Everyone is God's son or daughter, and they will all be okay at the end" must be rejected. This is worldly, channel-2-type thinking.
Some comment that the origins of the true Messiah will be unknown, whereas Jesus' origins are known.
- Of course they are wrong in this assessment.
- Isaiah and Micah indicate that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and minister in Galilee.

29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” 30 Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, “When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?"

Jesus admits that they know his earthly origin (v.28), yet insists that he has come from God (v.29).
Crowd reaction is divided.
- They try to seize him (v.30), but the time is too early.
- And yet some believe that he is indeed the Messiah, based on his miracles (v.31).

A Tour Through John, Lesson 14

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

6:37 Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; 38 for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

The Jews could not conceive how Jesus could be both man and God (v.42). This classic question in theology was the focus of debate for two centuries in the early church!
This concept was hard for fleshly man to accept.
- For most people, on "channel 2," spiritual bread (a "channel 1" concept) was hard to comprehend.
- The notion of eating flesh and (especially) drinking blood would have been shocking to an orthodox Jew.
- The grumbling is like that of the Jews in the desert (e.g. Exodus 16-17; Numbers 14; 16).
Jesus tells them to stop grumbling (v.43), and adds several vital truths.
- We must be drawn to God (v.44). This does not necessarily support Calvinism.

12:32 shows that this takes place through the power of the Cross.
God will force no one, though the force of the Holy Spirit will transform anyone open to the truth. (See also 7:17.) I compare it to waterskiing. The boat "draws" you, although never without your permission.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 is helpful in explaining the biblical doctrine of election, as is Luke 5:31-32.
- 31 Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32 I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
- 13 But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.
For a critique of Calvinistic predestination, click here.
We will be taught by God (v.45), as Isaiah 54:13 had prophesied. (The implication is that Jesus is God.)
Faith is essential for everlasting life (v.47).

46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

This message was taught by Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum.
The capacity of the structure would have limited the crowd to the hundreds -- not the thousands, as in Luke 12:1.
Note: The early church ruled that Christians must not ingest blood (Council of Jerusalem, Acts 15).

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

"This is a hard teaching" (v.60) refers to everything from verse 35 onward. This is the very response of men and women even today who find undiluted Christianity too inconvenient for their lifestyles.
- Jesus knew this message was offensive to some (v.61), yet never waters it down. Rather, he asks us whether we are willing to keep following him.
- Jesus' ascension (40 days after Pentecost) would prove that he spoke the truth, and that these words must not be compromised.
- People tend to serve their own interests, attempting to work their way to God on their own terms. This is the flesh. Yet without openness to the Spirit, we gain nothing. Humanistic religion is ultimately worthless.
Jesus' words bring life (v.63).
Those who did not believe were known to Jesus from the beginning (v.64).
- They were not enabled by the Father (v.65) because they did not accept Jesus and his message.
- God's sovereignty does not override free will, and yet he knows all our thoughts and actions -- past, present, and future..

66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Then comes the mass defection.
- When the majority of the crowd finally reject the demands of discipleship and depart (v.66) -- unless this is describing a different occasion -- hundreds were walking away from Jesus.
- The crowds who wanted to make Jesus king by force (6:15) vanish when he shows that his kingdom is not of this world.
- And he did nothing to try to bring them back! (No P.R. expert was brought in to make the gospel message more appealing.)
  - Those who have heard Jesus' voice know that there is nowhere else to go!
  - And yet Judas left (vv.70-71). Every generation of the church is called to keep the faith of the apostles, and not join the error of Judas.
- Peter's response (v.68) are words many of us have felt when following the Lord has been difficult: "To whom shall we go?..."
- Judas is described as "a devil" (vv.70-71). While there was still (theoretically) hope for him at this point, in time he would cross the point of no return; Satan would "enter" him (Luke 22:3)
Have I ever been tempted to walk away from the Lord? If yes, what prevented me? Am I regularly feeding my faith so that when the going gets tough, I am able to resist unproductive and irrational thoughts.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 13

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

6:1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.

John 6 takes place after John 5, but the writer does not tell us whether the gap is days, weeks, months, or years.
That he identifies the Sea of Galilee as the Sea of Tiberias suggests that his readers are not familiar with the places and events of which he writes. This body of fresh water is also called the Sea of Kinnereth (Heb. kinnor = harp -- as the lake is shaped like a harp).
A large crowd is following Jesus (v.1). Their motivation is their interest in the sensational aspects of Jesus' ministry.
Jesus sits down -- his usual posture when teaching his disciples, like that of the rabbis of that period.

4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.”

Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

Another Passover is near (v.4), and Jesus takes advantage of this time to teach his disciples.
Jesus tests Philip (v.5), asking him how the apostolic band might feed such a large crowd. Thanks to a small boy (v.9), the pump is primed, and the miracle begins.
The presence of grass (green grass, as in Mark 6) suggests he is teaching in the springtime, before the dry season (when it does not rain for many months).
The Feeding of the 5000 is recounted in all four gospels (Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; John 6).
- Matthew 14:21 tells us that this approximation includes men only, not women and children. Counting males only was the custom of the Jews in O.T. times as well as that of the early church.
- Was the total crowd 6000 persons? 10,000? This is difficult to determine.
Six (or possibly eight) months' wages is how the Greek "two hundred denarii" has been rendered. Since a denarius was a day's wage, the equivalent is accurate.
The crowd is amazed (v.14). And yet their motives are far from pure.

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Theirs is a political agenda, and they have high hopes for Jesus to replace the Romans as a new king (v.15).
- He refuses their offer -- just as he refused Satan's offer of dominion (see Matthew 4).
- Nor does he propose that one of his disciples serve as king.
- What a contrast to modern interpretations of Christianity! Faith is equated with one or another political party. Such linkage of religion and politics was something Jesus wholly avoided.
- Bottom line, politics involves force. Those who refuse to submit to the will of the state will be compelled to submit -- "at gunpoint," so to speak. Those who do not put the state first may be imprisoned or even executed. This is wholly contrary to the Spirit of Christ.
Jesus, resisting their overtures, withdraws, presumably to pray (v.15). Meanwhile, his disciples set out across the lake.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Jesus walks on the water. After initially shocking the apostles, he joins them (v.21). It is then recorded that they immediately reached the shore! Is there a lesson here -- that when Jesus is on board, we reach our destination sooner?
As we will see tomorrow, the crowds will eventually catch up with Jesus.
For more on the O.T. background to Jesus' walking on water, see Job 9:8; Psalm 77:16,19.
When we are fatigued, rowing hard in rough seas, and tempted to be frightened, how quickly do we invite Jesus into our boat?

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves."

Why are most people attracted to Christianity and to church? Are motives in the 21st century more or less the same as those in the 1st century?
Earlier in the chapter Jesus has fed the 5000, greatly arousing their curiosity. And yet something is wrong. Their motives are not right (vv.26-27).

27 "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Notice that faith (believing) is the work God wants us to do. Beware the artificial separation of faith and works, a common error of Protestantism.
Not pleased with Jesus' challenge, they ask him to prove his point by performing a miracle (v.30).
They are asking him to work the miracle again! This reminds us of Pharaoh's stubborn refusal to believe, despite seeing several miracles. It also reminds us of the faithlessness of the desert generation.
In Moses' day, the Israelites ate bread (Exodus 16); can Jesus do more? This question is a propos, since he has just given a large crowd plenty of bread.
- As Jesus correctly points out, it was not Moses who gave bread to the Israelites in the desert, but God the Father (v.32).
- There is a midrash on Exodus 16: "As the first Redeemer brought down the manna... so will also the last Redeemer cause manna to come down" (Midr. Qoh. 1:9).
For reference, compare Jesus' miracle to Elisha's in 2 Kings 4:42-44.

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

Ultimately, Jesus offers himself as the miracle, the "bread of life" (v.35).
- Compare the apocryphal Sirach 24:21: "Whoever feeds on me will be hungry for more, and whoever drinks from me will thirst for more."
- If we are to follow Jesus, he must be our source of sustenance, nothing else (whether health, the approval of others, recreation, professional success, sensual experience, drugs, etc).
In v.35 is the first of the seven "I am" statements in John.
- Each points to Jesus' divinity, since in the O.T. "I am" is the name of Yahweh, God. Thus each statement tells us something different about how Jesus is God.
- Interestingly, the early church may not have made this point, particularly in their outreach to the Jews. (At least no record survives of this point being made.)
The 7 "I Am" sayings
- "I am the bread of life" (6:35).
- "I am the light of the world" (8:12).
- "I am the gate for the sheep" (10:7).
- "I am the good shepherd" (10:11).
- "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25).
- "I am the way and the truth and the life" (14:6).
- "I am the the true vine" (15:1).
While John, making use of the "perfect" number 7, gives us only seven "I am" statements, there are at least 7 more:
- "I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting..." (Mark 14:62).
- "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:5; 22:8).
- "I am the alpha and the omega..." (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13).
- "I am the root and the offspring of David" (Revelation 22:16).
- Can you find more?
Is Jesus truly the bread of life to me?
- What is my "bread"?
- As I read Deuteronomy 8:3, Jeremiah 15:16, and other passages, can I honestly say that I thrive on the word of God?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 12

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

19 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Fatherdoes, the Son does likewise. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21 Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 22 The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Jesus describes God as his father. This unique appellation annoyed the religious leaders.
What the Father does, the Son does, even including initiating the resurrection of the dead.
And yet they are not the same person. The Father sends the Son. This raises the question of the nature of the Trinity. More than the Synoptics, John gives us a lot of material about the Father, Son, and Spirit.
- Father, Son, and Spirit are all divine. They are all God in nature, or essence.
- Yet the Son and the Spirit proceed from the Father. The Son is begotten, not made. The Father is their origin. Further, we see in John a consistent pattern of obedience: Son to Father. This is not limited to the time of Jesus' earthly ministry. It is true also of time in eternity. The Son is incarnate, not the Father. And the Son will turn the kingdom over to the Father at the end (1 Cor 15). So the members of the Trinity are equal in nature, but not in order (rank).
- Thirdly, the members of the Trinity have different attributes. The Father cannot become flesh. No one can see God (the Father), but whoever sees Jesus sees God (1:18; 14:9). Whereas Father and Son communicate verbally, there is no such communication between Spirit and Father or Son (as far as I can see in Scripture -- though they must be "in communication" somehow).
- If this is confusing, three points may help:
  - We must avoid the extremes of Tritheism and Modalism.
    - Tritheism = three separate Gods
    - Modalism = one person, revealed in different ways. (Think of water in its three states.)
  - "God" in the NT nearly always refers to the Father.
  - The Son is subordinate to the Father. Equality of nature isn't the same thing as equality of rank. (You are just as human as your boss at work, and equal before the law, but definitely not equal in terms of your company and employment. God calls the man to be a spiritual leader in the home, yet this hardly means that his wife and children are less than 100% human.)
Moreover, Jesus claimed that the Father had entrusted all judgment to him. No wonder the leaders were determined to do away with him!
If we truly honor God, we must also revere his Son (v.23). There are two implications:
- We must become intentionally become followers of Christ. No one is a Christian by virtue of being a nice person.
- We must continue to follow Jesus on an ongoing basis.
All who believe cross over from death to life (v.24).
- Obviously this does not happen the moment we have faith, otherwise Peter's reply to the big question in Acts 2:37 would have been inane.
- Crossing over involves hearing the word of Christ, and responding.
- For more on the transition from death to life, read Romans 6:1-7.

25 “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; 27 and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

At the last day, all will rise.
Whereas the “crossing over” from death to life of verse 24 is spiritual, the resurrection of verse 25 is physical.
- At Jesus’ voice the dead will rise bodily (vv.26-29). See also Daniel 12:2.
- The apostle Paul speaks further of this transformation in 1 Corinthians 15.
- This resurrection will be followed by judgment (v.27ff).
There are not two separate resurrections (events), but one (with two possible outcomes).

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Again, notice the obedience and subordination of the Son.
Jesus consistently seeks to obey the will of the Father. How about you and me?
Jesus always carried out the will, and conveyed to mankind the words, of his father (v.30; see also 6:38, 8:29).

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. 33 You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.

Re: testimony (v.31): "But no one is to be believed when he testifies about himself" (Ketubbot 2:9).
In rejecting the testimony of John the Baptist, who clearly pointed to Christ, the people of Israel were even more guilty (v.33ff).
Jesus' ministry itself is a testimony to his truthfulness (v.36). In short, there is no excuse for rejecting Jesus Christ.

39 “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 I do not accept glory from human beings. 42But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

Jesus dismissed his listeners’ religion as completely bogus (vv.37ff).
- They had never heard his voice, his word.
- They had never seen his form. Their conception of God was grossly inaccurate.
- Despite all their Bible study, they rejected the Christ of whom the scriptures testify.
- They did not have the love of God in their hearts.
- Their error is underscored in that they accept those who speak in their own name (by their own authority, misrepresenting God), while refusing to accept Christ, who truly spoke the truth of God.
- They sought praise from one another, but did not genuinely seek the approval of God.
- Despite their claim to follow Moses (see also 9:28), they did not in fact believe what he wrote concerning the Messiah.
The verb in verse 39 has been rendered two ways: you study or study. This is because in the Greek, the second person plural form of the present active imperative is identical to the second person plural form of the present active indicative. The ambiguity does not exist in Aramaic, the original language of exchange.
Jesus does not accept praise from men (vv. 41,44). That is, his decisions are not motivated by the approval of others -- to which he is indifferent. (Of course we may praise Jesus, as we praise God, and this offering is accepted and acceptable [Heb 13:18], but that's a different sense of the word.)
Moses spoke of Christ (vv.45-47).
- See, for example, Numbers 24:17-19 and Deuteronomy 18:15-19.
- The O.T. is the foundation of the N.T. This means that unless we are diligent students of the O.T. Law, Prophets, and Writings, we will never truly master the N.T.
Thus, although the Jews challenged the validity of Jesus' claims, Jesus has refuted them by demonstrating that there are in fact four witnesses to his truthfulness: John the Baptist, the Word of God, the works of Jesus, and God himself.

Application

Do I honor the Son in my daily life?
If I have been a Christian for some time, do I appreciate the fact that I have crossed over from death to life? When I pray, how often am I thanking the Lord for my salvation?
Do I diligently study the scriptures? And if so, am I willing to "come to Christ," or do I insist on Christianity on my own terms?
Do I accept "praise from men"? When we receive positive feedback, we ought to be gracious, and without false modesty. And yet we are never to base our confidence or salvation on the approval of others.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 11

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

43 When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee 44 (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). 45 When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.

Leaving the Samaritan village, Jesus continues northwards into Galilee (v.43).
- Despite the observation that a prophet is without honor in his own country (v.44 -- see parallels in Matthew 13:57 and Mark 6:4), Jesus is welcomed in Galilee.
- His deeds had been noticed during the Passover festival (2:23).
  - Exodus 12 and Numbers 9 instructed all Jewish males to attend the annual Passover in Jerusalem. Women were of course welcome, but with sensitivity to pregnancy and family, were not obligated. (In Luke 2 Jesus' family, including Mary, makes the journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, apparently a large group.)
  - In addition, there were two other annual mandatory visits to Jerusalem.

46 Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

Jesus goes again to Cana, where he meets a royal official, who begs him to help his son (v.46f). Capernaum is near the top of the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum is Jesus´ hometown.
The boy lay mortally ill.
- As some readers have experienced, the death of a child is different to the loss of a parent, or even a sibling. It is devastating in every possible way.
- The royal official is desperate.
And yet Jesus is not entirely pleased that some will not believe without signs and wonders. His comment in v.48 isn't a declaration of the impossibility of faith in the absence of miracles, but more of an expression of frustration over the slowness of people to believe.

49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51 As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” 53 The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.”

And yet Jesus was not willing to leave Cana for Capernaum, preferring to heal at a distance. For a similar example of a "distance" healing, see Matthew 8:13 / Luke 7:10.
The father took Jesus at his word, and the son was healed -- at the exact hour Jesus promised his son would live. Realizing this was no coincidence, the official believed, along with his household.

So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54 Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

The royal official´s whole household would have included his wife, sons, daughters, and servants. In ancient times, as in many traditional societies today, there is great solidarity among households. When the leader makes a decision, it is normal for all in the group to support it and to follow it.
John notes that this was Jesus' second sign. This was hardly Jesus' second miracle.
Nothing else about this stay in Galilee is related to us. In chapter 5 we will find Jesus back in Jerusalem.
To quote Beasley-Murray (John, in the Word Biblical Commentary, 71): "The relationship between the Johannine narrative of the healing of the king's officer's son and that of the Centurion's son (or pais/servant) has been much discussed. Whereas earlier writers tended to view them as different events most recent scholars agree that they represent independent accounts of the same happening."

5:1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Which feast was Jesus attending (v.1)? Was this Passover again? If so, there may be four Passovers in all recorded in John. The three definite Passovers are:
- 2:13, 23; 4:45 = one instance
- 6:4 = another instance
- 11:55; 12:1; 13:1; 18:28-29; 19:14 = a third instance.
Again, the three Synoptic [common view] Gospels are structured around a single Passover visit, whereas John's gospel has several, with the action moving up and down between Galilee and Judea (where Jerusalem is).

2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.

Aramaic (v.2) was the language of the people, even more than Hebrew (the language of the Temple).
Bethesda was the name of the pool(s) with covered colonnades.
- The meaning is "house of mercy," from Hebrew beth (house) and chesed (mercy).
- The original Aramaic word is Bethesdatayin, which is neither singular nor plural. It is dual, indicating two pools -- which is what this was.
- The pools were first discovered by archaeologists in 1956. It is by the beautiful church of St. Anne.
- The pools had attracted many sick and handicapped persons, believing their chances for being cured were greater in the vicinity of such a holy place.
The Sheep Gate was at the northeast entrance to the Temple precinct.
- Presumably this is the portal through which sheep and other animals were led for sacrifice.
- This means that the location of this miracle, at the pools of Bethesda, was right under the noses of the priests!
  - Jesus is invading their territory, challenging their authority, coming too close for comfort.
  - Moreover, he performs this miracle on the Sabbath (v.9), implicitly challenging the Jewish traditions.

3 In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

The invalid had been there for 38 years -- nearly four decades (v.5)!
This man was doubly victimized.
- He was a victim of his condition.
- He was also victimized in that others made their way to the healing waters before he was able to drag himself to the pool.
- At the same time, the location and the routine had become the major part of his life.
Jesus asks what some might take as an unusual question: "Do you want to get well?" (v.6)
The man seems to make an excuse.
- What sort of heart does the invalid have? Is he a moocher, or someone who has been sincerely making efforts to rise above his condition?
- We will return to this matter once we have finished reading the entire account.
Verse 4 is missing from modern Bibles.
- This is not because it was removed, but because it was probably never in the original text.
- Sometime in the early Middle Ages verse 4 was added. (Remember that there were no verse numbers in the original manuscripts, so an addition might not be obvious.)
- Occasionally scribes would write explanatory comments, or glosses, in the margins. Later copyists might unwittingly include them in the canonical text, perhaps unsure whether the previous scribe had omitted something in the copying process.
"Get up!" (v.8), egeirein, is the same verb as in 5:21 (raise).
- Jesus "raised" the invalid, an illustration of the believer's transition from paralysis and darkness and death to freedom and light and life.
- At any rate, the man is healed. Then things get really interesting.

Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”

We are told that it was the Sabbath. Why did Jesus choose this day for the miracle?
- Jesus came to set us free from sin (John 8:31-34).
- Yet he also sets us free from bad theology.
It is doubtful that the Torah really forbade someone from carrying his mat.
- The Pharisees had added all sorts of rules to the law, to prevent even accidental infractions.
  - They confused God's law with their law.
  - Matthew's gospel (especially) insists that there is a difference.
- Sabbath law did not forbid healing, but it did forbade carrying a load (v.5).
  - It is difficult to see how carrying a mat, especially after one has been healed from a 38-year incapacitation, is a sin.
  - Yet in later Jewish writings (Mishnah and Talmud), "carrying" even one's own wooden leg was considered a sin by some rabbis!

11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”

Jesus follows up with the man he has healed (v.14).
- He has been restored to fellowship.
- Because of his physical limitations and under O.T. law, this man had probably not been permitted to worship or sacrifice with his fellow Israelites.
- For another passage on "follow-up," see 9:35.
But the fellow gets Jesus into trouble.

15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

This raises the question again about his motives, and his heart.
- Is the man’s response an excuse, or an explanation?
- There are different views on this. I personally lean towards doubting the purity of his motives.
  - His words are in stark contrast to the faith of the official in 4:50.
  - The man (inadvertently?) caused trouble for Jesus (vv.15-18).
  - That the Lord tells him to “stop sinning” suggests he was not entirely innocent.
- On the "innocent" side, we may say that:
  - He was quite helpless in his condition, physically speaking, wholly dependent on the benevolence of others.
  - The "competition" was stiff.
  - Spending so many years in failure and despondency, he was trapped psychologically.
  - His behavior may seem a little off to us, but surely he was in shock.
- Yet on the "guilty" side, we note that:
  - When asked whether he wanted to get well, he does not respond with faith in Jesus, or even a wholehearted "yes," but seems to make an excuse.
  - Why did he need to inform the Jewish leaders it was Jesus who had healed him? Having camped out in the shadow of the Temple for several decades, was he really clueless about the nature of the religious establishment?
  - Unlike the blind man (chapter 9), he has no idea who had healed him. (That is remarkable.) Did he care? Was he not grateful?
  - Jesus warns him to "sin no more." The Bible doesn't draw a direct connection between sin and sickness, but in this man's case there was a particular sin he needed to avoid.
- This makes for a lively group Bible discussion.
  - See the study XIV in chapter 18 of Till the Nets Are Full[March 2018], formerly Shining Like Stars [1987-2017].
  - Other studies from John in Nets that make for good group discussions:
    - John 9 (the Blind Man), which is another more or less complete chapter with multiple clearly identifiable characters. [This is study V.]
    - John 4 (the Samaritan Woman). [This is study VII.]
    - John 6+ (The I Am Statements), great for anyone new to Jesus, for example people from non-Western cultures. [This is study VIII.]
    - The study of Nicodemus (John 3; 7; 19) is excellent, as there are only 3 passages and they show us the man, and the trajectory of his life, without giving us the conclusion (whether he ultimately became a Christian). This is good for those in the throes of making a decision for Christ.
Jesus insists there are some activities that are permitted even on the Sabbath.
- Severely criticized for “working” on the Sabbath, Jesus responds (v.17ff). Jesus commented that his Father was still at work to this day (v.17), this implies that the "rest" of Day Seven in Genesis 1 was only a pause.
  - To illustrate, if I were to say, "My son stopped eating," I probably only mean that he was full, not that he had entered a state of permanent fasting.
  - In other words, God's creative work, rather than taking place in toto in Genesis 1, may equally well be interpreted as ongoing.
  - Time to rethink theology?
- Claiming a unique relationship to the Father, Jesus offended the leaders with an apparent claim to divinity -- the same issue that would lead to his condemnation in the nocturnal trial after his arrest.

Tomorrow: We will continue studying chapter 5, and also consider the nature of the Trinity -- a doctrine that extremely few Christians understand. Please come back, ready to learn!

A Tour Through John, Lesson 10

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to him.

Returning to her village, the woman instantly becomes an evangelist for Jesus (v.28ff).
This is in stark contrast to the spiritual dullness of the disciples (v.27,31ff).
They are oblivious to what has just happened.
- Their lack of concern for the woman is evident.
- Like her (a little earlier), they are on "channel 2" (27).

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receivingwages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Jesus' food is to do the will of the Father and to finish his work (v.34).
- See also 17:4; 19:28,30.
- His followers should share in this work (vv.35-37).
- In the case of the Samaritans, others had done the "hard work."
  - O.T. prophets had prepared the ground.
  - The woman herself was representative of God-fearing Samaritans who were ripe, ready to respond to the message.

39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Through his sharing with her, the Samaritan woman´s perspective changes as she comes to appreciate who Jesus is:
- A thirsty Jewish man (v.9).
- A prophet (v.19).
- The Jewish Messiah (v.26,29).
- Savior of the World (v.42).
One conversation led to change in Jesus' plans. He stays for two days in the Samaritan village, bringing many to faith (vv.39-42).
- Their response could hardly have been more positive. Unlike "his own" (1:11), the Samaritans received Christ, accepting him and his message.
- Many people we ignore, pass by, or "write off" may also be seeking. They may be far more open to the gospel than we imagine!

Conclusion

Savior of World. Since Jesus is savior of the entire planet, let's strive to become familiar with other cultures. Don't imagine that "good Hindus" (for example) will be okay without hearing the gospel message. The whole world is in darkness and needs the savior (1 John 5:19).
Let's try to rise above our local situation -- to take a global perspective. Read the news at least once a week. Find a pen pal or Christian soul mate in another country. Travel abroad. Read books on history and culture. Reach out to people from all parts of the world (but don’t forget your own!).
Appreciate that Jesus isn’t the Messiah for the Jews only; he is the Christ for us, for other nations, and for the whole world.
Further study:
- Listen to the sermon The Woman at the Well.
- Listen to the character podcast on the Samaritan Woman.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 9

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

4:1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” 2 —although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— 3 he left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4 But he had to go through Samaria.

Jesus is concerned about his increasing notoriety. Remember, he is moving his ministry according to a special sense of timing. He doesn't want events to spiral out of control, or his life to end before he has completed the training of the Twelve.
Jesus was traveling from Judea (in the south) to Galilee (in the north). Whereas many Jews would have bypassed Samaria, crossing the Jordan so as not to have to go through it, Jesus opts for the direct route (v.4)!
Jesus challenges prejudice and shatters stereotypes!

5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

"The sixth hour" (Greek text) must be translated into a modern time, and the equivalent is affected by our understanding of Jewish time.
- Starting at 6 am, this would yield a time of noon (TNIV, NLT). Beginning at noon, the time of 6 pm results (HCSB). (Water was usually drawn near sunrise and sunset, not in the heat of the day.)
- To play it safe, several translations (NIV, NASB) simply say "the sixth hour."
- On the other hand, it could be that because of her reputation in the town, she went to the well at an odd hour. I am not certain of the exact time, but it was a lonely part of the day, at last at Jacob's Well!
Jacob's well is still extant and still in use. It is at the foot of Mt. Gerizim, and you can still drink water from it -- which the locals are more than happy to offer.

7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

Talking with a woman in public was unacceptable in ancient Jewish culture. For example, Aboth 2 (1d) says, "One should not talk with a woman on the street, not even with his own wife, and certainly not with somebody else's wife, because of the gossip of men." 70a reads, "It is forbidden to give a woman any greeting."
Although tired and in "alien" territory, Jesus reaches out to the person whose path he crosses (v.6).
Sometimes when we are willing to take a chance and to engage with a stranger, God moves. It’s obvious and immensely rewarding. Other times all we may accomplish is to plant a seed—which also in time can lead to great things. And of course some people just don’t listen.
Jesus asks for a drink of water from the well.
She responds in surprise (vv.7-9).

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

Samaritans claimed a similar heritage
Muslims—a little farther a stretch

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Knowing her true spiritual need, Jesus then turns the conversation in a spiritual direction (v.10ff), referring to "living" water. See Ezekiel 47 and Zechariah 14 for the allusion. See also John 7:38.
As is typical throughout John, she interprets literally his spiritual, figurative words (v.11). He is speaking on "channel 1," the spiritual, heavenly wavelength, while she is on "channel 2," the physical, earthly wavelength.
In reference to verse 14, the apocryphal Sirach 24:21 reads, "Whoever feeds on me will be hungry no more, and whoever drinks from me will thirst no more." This passage would have been well known to the Jews, since the Apocrypha was part of the Jewish scripture until around the year 200 AD.
There is also an allusion to Jeremiah 2 here.

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!”

Jesus looks into the heart of this neglected, five-times-abandoned woman (vv.16-18).
While he does not condone her living in sin (see Hebrews 13:4), he reaches out to her in genuine concern, calling her to truthfulness and spiritual life.
Jesus offers her living water:
- Living (moving) water contrasts with stagnant (still) water.
- Many of the prophets took up the theme, like Jeremiah and Zechariah.
- The ancient Jews also wrote, "The words of Torah are received (into the heart) till the Torah becomes a flowing spring" (Yalkut Shimoni 2, 480).

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The discussion in verses 19-24 is integral to this interaction and the entire gospel of John.
- Jews worshipped in Jerusalem (Mt. Zion). Deuteronomy 12:1-14 stated that God's people must worship in one central location.
- Samaritans worshipped at Shechem (Mt. Gerizim), even though their rival temple had been reduced to rubble a century and a half before this conversation.
- Thus the debate over the proper place of worship divided these two related peoples.
Jesus aligns himself with neither side, insisting that since God is Spirit (not confined to space or temples), he can be accessed anywhere.
- It´s as though the entire world were one free wireless spot.
- But the one who comes to God must be genuine and sincere.
Therefore we must worship God "in Spirit and truth" (v.24).
- This does not mean with zeal (spirit) and correct doctrine (truth), as vital as these are.
- It means worshipping the Lord spiritually, not spatially. Truth is personal truthfulness, openness, authenticity.
- For truth as integrity / reliability, see 1 Kings 2:4; Hosea 4:1-2; Jeremiah 4:2; Psalms 15:2, 86:11; Isaiah 38:3; Zechariah 7:9; Ezekiel 18:8.

The story continues...

A Tour Through John, Lesson 8

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Again (from yesterday), the context of John 3:16 is the bronze serpent incident in Numbers 21.
Notice that this is not a passage about how to become a Christian, but about God´s initiative to save sinful mankind.
Overtaken by Matt 7:1 as most popular Bible verse.
Jesus was lifted up, just as the snake (!) was lifted up. We must look at/to him, not to ourselves, if we want to be saved.

17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Without faith we stand under the judgment of God. Like the snake-bitten Israelites, we have a mortal problem. The venom of sin circulates in our veins. If we find the cure (looking to Jesus, exalted) then we are cured; otherwise we die--not (fundamentally) because we didn't notice Jesus, but because we have been poisoned.
Light has come into the world (v.19), yet darkness has not understood it (see 1:5).
- This resistance is not just a matter of a psychological reflect against the light, or intellectual ignorance, but of moral opposition to the truth.
- When we hear the truth of the gospel, a decision is required!
- Throughout the gospel of John, the light shines into the lives of many persons: the Samaritan woman (chapter 4), the lame man (chapter 5), the fickle crowd (chapter 6) etc.

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized 24 —John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.

In the Judean countryside Jesus´ disciples were baptizing (v.22). 4:2 clarifies that though Jesus was present, and probably presiding, he was not performing immersions personally.
Was the baptism administered by Jesus or his apostles the same functionally as John´s baptism? It would seem so, in light of 7:39, since the Spirit was not yet conferred.
John the Baptist was baptizing in the same area, as well as at Aenon (v.23).
- If real baptism were sprinkling or pouring, why would water need to be "abundant"?
- Clearly immersion is in view, and this is also the meaning of baptisma.
The incarceration of John the Baptist is mentioned in John only in verse 24. This event is found in the synoptics in Matthew 14, Mark 6, and Luke 3.

25 Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Yet once again John is directing his followers to Christ (vv.25-30).
- John does not seem bothered that he is "losing members" (v.26).
- (One) star of the wedding is the groom, not the groomsman, who should be seeking no attention for himself. "The bridegroom's voice" (verse 29) may refer to the groom's affirmation that he has successfully consummated the marriage, shouted to his friends waiting outside the tent or house.
- This is the purpose of all Christian leaders: to point others to the Lord, not to make them dependent on themselves. See 2 Corinthians 4:5.
In verse 30, the words auxanein (grow larger) and elattousthai (grow smaller) have special significance. Astronomically, they are used of the rising and setting of stars. As John's star was setting, Jesus' was rising.

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34 He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

The testimony of Christ (v.31ff) is valid, and those who accept it certify God´s word as true. The one who comes from heaven is Jesus (see 3:13).
Christ speaks the word of God; he has received the Spirit "without measure" (v.34).
- These words seem to be saying that Jesus was completely spiritual, completely connected with the Father, completely true in his life and words.
- With reference to verse 34, Rabbi Aha said, "The Holy Spirit who rests on the prophets, rests on them only by measure" (Lev. Rab. 15:2).
If we do not accept the words of the Son of God, we are under the wrath of God. That is because all authority has been given to him; to reject Christ is to commit the worst sin, for one has cut off his only source of salvation.

Final thought:

Can I make the words of 3:30 into a prayer, and then say it with all my heart?
The traditional Prayer for Humility is essentially an expansion of the Baptizer's words (3:30):

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, of being honored, of being praised, of being preferred to others, of being consulted, of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, of being rebuked, of being neglected, of being forgotten, of being ridiculed, of being wronged, of being suspected, of being injured, deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside; that others may be praised and I unnoticed;
That others may be holier than I -- provided that I may become holy as I should --
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

A Tour Through John, Lesson 7

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”

The nocturnal visit of Nicodemus is well known (v.1ff).
- Nicodemus was a Pharisee, the sect of the Jews deeply concerned that people follow the scriptures. While generally speaking they did not "walk the walk" (Matthew 23), they were correct about the need to obey God´s word.
- Nicodemus was one of their better representatives, and approaches Jesus in a positive and apparently sincere way. He accepts his miracles and even -- unlike some Pharisees -- his divine authority.
- The visit takes place at night. Perhaps this was because of fear or discretion, but it may also have been in order for Nicodemus to have uninterrupted conversation with Jesus.

3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus does not mince words, but directly tells Nicodemus that he must be born again -- make a new start (vv.3,5,7).
- The Greek ánōthen has a double meaning: again or from above. That is, the new birth is not something man can accomplish; it comes only from heaven.
- The notion of new birth in the new covenant is an O.T. concept, found in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and other books. Thus it should have been familiar to someone who knew his Bible well.
- Therefore Nicodemus should not have stood aloof from the baptism of John.

9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

Yet Nicodemus seems not to understand (v.9). Jesus attempts to explain this spiritual truth to Nicodemus, using several illustrations:
- Water and Spirit (v.5). The new birth comes in baptism. See the parallel verse in Titus 3:5. This was the unanimous interpretation of the early church fathers.
  - The water of verse 5 refers to baptism, as virtually every N.T. scholar agrees. Attempts to make it refer to amniotic fluid are far-fetched. For example, British Baptist scholar George Beasley-Murray (see Baptism in the New Testament) rejects the notion as unconvincing, insisting rather than baptism and salvation were always directly connected in the N.T.
  - Water and Spirit are conjoined in a number of ancient Jewish texts. See, for example, the O.T. passage Ezekiel 36:25-27. Among the apocalyptic and sectarian writings, see Jub. 1:23; Pss. Sol. 18:6; Test. Jud. 24:3; 1QS 3:6-9; 1QH 11:12-14.
- The wind (v.8), the point is not that the motions of Spirit-led people are weird and erratic, but rather that the wind, though invisible, still has definite effects. In other words, something unseen may still be quite real and tangible.
- The bronze serpent (next section)
Jesus rebukes Nicodemus for not knowing these important spiritual precepts (v.10).
- Those who teach and lead need to know the Bible, and there is no excuse for ignorance.
- If he does not accept these truths, Nicodemus (v.11) is illustrating the resistance of the Jews to the light (1:11). If he does accept them, he can be born again (1:12-13).

11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Nicodemus appears again in chapters 7 and 20. The trajectory of his faith is clear: from the night visit to defending Jesus before the Jewish leaders to approaching Pilate for the body of Jesus...
- If he continued on this path (and here we can only speculate) then he would have become a strong Christian.
- Listen to the podcast on Nicodemus in the NT Character Studies series (login required).
The serpent (v.14). Referring to a well-known event recounted in Numbers, once again Jesus tries to draw Nicodemus' spiritual gaze upwards.
- An amazing analogy: Jesus' crucifixion is compared to Moses´ raising of the snake on a pole! This image is directly connected with verse 16 – a fact seldom noticed by Bible readers.
- In John, the lifting up of Jesus (v.14 and 12:32) encompasses the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ -- not just the crucifixion.
- Early Christians saw this as a sign of the Tau Cross (in the shape of a T, a capital tau in Greek).
- In Hezekiah's time the object had become venerated as an idol and had to be destroyed (2 Kings 18:4).
Notice that in all three passages we are drawn upwards. The snake was lifted up; the wind comes from above, the source of the new birth also is heavenly.
It´s hard to know where words of Jesus end and where the words of the evangelist begin.
- Does Jesus stop speaking in verse 12? 16? 21?
- One difficulty is that in ancient Greek there were no quotation marks.
- Theologically, nothing is affected whether these words are Jesus' or those of the gospel writer, since it is the Spirit speaking either way.

Wrap-up

John's gospel is carefully constructed, and there are many connections that we might miss on first reading it.
Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus is best understood in connection with the miracle of his changing water into wine (chapter 2). Both are about transformation and the new life.
Similarly, his conversation with the Samaritan woman in chapter 4 is connected with this cleansing of the Temple. Both concern returning to God in truth, and not putting our trust in holy places or institutions.
Some questions:
- In my outreach, am I more direct and to the point with religious people than I am with those unfamiliar with God´s word?
- Do I follow Jesus´ lead in calling to commitment those with greater knowledge, responsibility, and influence?
- Am I using the whole arsenal of the Bible, the OT included?
Tomorrow we will continue from 3:16.

A Tour through John, Lesson 6

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Recap of lesson 5 (Water to Wine)

Time out for a wedding: Shows us how Jesus related to others, valued them, connected with them
Timing ("My time has not yet come."): Jesus was acutely aware that the clock was ticking.
- He dared not squander the Father's time.
- He fell into neither (opposite) error, moving along too slowly or rushing about frenetically.
Signs were not arbitrary. He did not perform them to impress people or dazzle them (although they would surely be impressed by (God). This also explains why Jesus didn’t go berserk using his miraculous powers, as you are I probably would if we were in his position.
Each podcast in the series aims to turn up some important emphases in John, whether a major motif (time), a minor motif (water), a patterned sequence (…“Come and see”…), or one of the three heptads (7 signs, 7 confessions, 7 I Am sayings).

COMMENT

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Note: The ministry of Jesus in the gospel of John is constructed around three or four Passovers: 2:13,23; 6:4; 11:55; etc. In contrast, the three Synoptic gospels paint the picture of a one-year ministry with a single Passover.
The "holiday season" has arrived.
- There's a buzz in the air, and a bustle in the marketplace.
- Deeply rooted traditions and customs run their annual course.
- Into this busy scene Jesus explodes in a paroxysm of premeditated action.

14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

Jesus cleanses the Temple (v.13ff), which through the unspiritual influence of the priestly leadership had become a center of commerce and greed.
Jesus intended to throw down a challenge to the powers that be. (Had he wished to interrupt all commerce, he would likely have had to kick over more than a few tables!) The message he sent was clear: "I oppose you, Annas and Caiaphas. You are not legitimate, and we are on a collision course!”
Did Jesus do wrong? Some allege that Jesus lost his temper.
- The text does not say Jesus whipped the vendors, only the animals.
- After all, Jesus forbade violence (Matthew 5).
- See also Mark 11:11. Jesus came into Jerusalem (the Triumphal Entry), looked around, and returned the following day. His action was planned, not impromptu.
When Jesus cleanses the Temple, he accuses the religious leaders of crass commercialism (v.16).
In the Synoptic Gospels he charges them with having made a "den of robbers" (Jeremiah 7:11) out of a house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7). His ire was justly aroused.
See the last chapter of Zechariah, and especially the last sentence: "And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day."

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

The scripture the zealous outburst reminded the disciples of was Psalm 69.
His disciples felt his zeal.
- The word zealous is related to the word jealous, and suggests passionate concern with the honor and glory of God. (See 2 Cor 11:2 – here Paul is jealous [zēlô] with a godly zeal [zēlō].)
- Zeal is not a synonym for "energetic," or even "heartfelt." Zeal entails passion, to be sure, but an intense spiritual ardor that is much more than mere heat.
- For more on zeal, be sure to listen to the OT Character podcast on Phinehas. (You must be logged in as a website member to listen to this podcast.)

18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Not surprisingly, the challenge was not well received.
- Asked to produce a sign (v.18), Jesus promises that the true temple of the Spirit (his own body) will be resurrected!
- As is common in John, his words are completely misunderstood (v.20). It’s as though Jesus is speaking on “channel 1” (the heavenly, spiritual channel), while his followers are usually tuned in to “channel 2” (the earthly, physical channel).
  - John’s gospel is replete with both double entêndres and misunderstandings.
  - Watching others misunderstand can help us better to understand the important spiritual truths found in this gospel.

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

The Temple had been under construction for 46 years by 27 AD, when the Jews made their comment in verse 20.
- Construction actually began in 20 BC.
- Since there is no year 0, "46 years" brings us to 27 AD.
- Ancient historians tell us that the improvements were still ongoing when the First Jewish War (with the Romans) broke out in 66 AD.

23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

The following Jewish saying illuminates verse 25: "Seven things are hidden from man: the day of death, the day of consolation, the depths of judgment, one's reward, the time of restoration of the kingdom of David, the time when the guilty kingdom [Rome] will be destroyed, and what is within another" (Talmud: Exod. 15:32 (59b). This is yet another implicit claim to divinity, or at least of divine powers.
Jesus’ miraculous signs led many to believe in him (v.23).
And yet he knew the fickleness of the crowd. His knowledge of human nature (v.24f) prevented him from trusting humans the way he trusted his Father.

Technical point: When did the cleansing take place, near the beginning of his ministry (John), at the end (the Synoptics), or both?

It seems John recounted the cleansing early in the gospel for a theological reason: to show that the "new wine" the Messiah was offering would not be readily accepted by the corrupt religious establishment. He was on a collision course with the Temple and its powerful priestly hierarchy.
For ancient writers, at times theology trumps chronology. This is not a mistake, but a deliberate repositioning of the account of the cleansing in order to make a statement.

CONCLUSION

If Jesus visited the church where I attend, how well would he be received? Would there be any overturned tables or traditions?
Have I defined "zeal" biblically? Is it possible I, or others I know, have confused energy with conviction?

A Tour through John, Lesson 5

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 Aug 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Jesus' core group of disciples, his apostles, has grown. In chapter 2 he takes them to a wedding in Cana, in Galilee. This was also the home of Nathanael, about whom we read in 1:46-51; see also 21:2.
Wedding parties in the Bible normally lasted 1-2 weeks (Genesis 29:27; Judges 14:12), so this was no half-day affair! See also Tobit 10:7: "...Now when the fourteen days of the wedding celebration had ended that Raguel had sworn to observe for his daughter, Tobias came to him..."
Jesus did not place relationship building in opposition to preaching or ministry; they flowed together naturally.

2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Comment

Some believe this was his 10th miracle (by comparing this passage with the chronology of Matthew, Mark, and Luke).
In John's gospel it is his first "sign" -- not just a miracle, but a miracle with a special significance. 2:23 shows that Jesus had been doing a number of miracles, although 4:54 is the "second" John describes.
Thus the common claim that this was his first miracle is false.
A new character enters the stage: Mary, the mother of Jesus. Interestingly, in this gospel her name is not even once mentioned. Several other Marys appear, however. (Can you locate them?)
The wine gives out (v.3ff).
- What does Mary want Jesus to do?
  - Is Jesus' mother taking charge, pressing him (consciously or not) to exercise his powers as the Son of God? If so, her pressuring him is premature.
  - But there is another possibility. She may be reminding Jesus that his decision to be a wandering rabbi, followed by equally penniless disciples, has put the family in the embarrassing situation of not being able to meet the needs of the guests at the wedding celebration.
  - Whichever interpretation is right, Mary is shifting responsibility onto Jesus.
- Jesus turns water to wine.
  - Stone jars were used instead of clay pots for two reasons. They were more durable. And if something unclean fell into them (say, a lizard), the jars did not have to be broken (Leviticus 11:33); they would survive for future service.
  - The total amount was easily 150 gallons -- an enormous quantity!
- It is clear that Jesus is following the Father's timing (v.4). For more on this theme, see 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1. (This only a partial list.)
This is an example of subversion of the social order. If Jesus created 500 liters of wine (perhaps more, perhaps less, based on the capacity of the stone water jars), and then the wine was diluted with water at a ratio of 1:1, there could have been 500 persons present at the banquet. In ancient banquets, the best wine was not only presented first; it was also served to the most important guests. (Ancient writers like Pliny and Martial complained about the inequality of such a practice.) By allowing all to enjoy the best wine, Jesus is implicitly placing everyone on the same level.
But there is a deeper significance. The miracle has to do with the difference between the old way and the new way, the old covenant and the new covenant, Judaism and Christianity. They are different, though related. At first you think the new "wine" is better than the old, finer. But then you realize that, in comparison to the new, the old resembles water. Consider 1:17: the law comes with ritual (cleansing from ritual defilement, e.g.). The wine of the good news is much better!
Jesus is signaling that the Messianic age is beginning. See Isaiah 25:6.
- Water for purification, such as that preserved in the stone jars, was part of the old order.
- This was being superseded by the new order, the nature and quality of which was far superior.
- Water is a strong theme or motif in John. Trace it. Spiritual does not mean non-physical.
Once again, it must be emphasized that Jesus thought it important to take time out for a wedding.
- Are there activities whose importance I tend to minimize, perhaps wrongly considering them to be "less productive" than other, more "spiritual" endeavors?
- In my thinking (feelings based on my Bible study), how do the OT and the old covenant compare with the NT and the new covenant?
  - As with the wine, does the new seem superior? If so, why?
  - How might I explain my thinking to someone instructed only in the Law of Moses
Jesus will perform another miracle in Cana in chapter 4.

The 7 signs

Beneficiaries:
1. Wedding guests (2:1-11)
2. Official’s son (4:43-54)
3. Paralytic at Bethesda (5:1-15)
4. The 5000 (6:1-13)
5. The 12—Jesus on the Sea (6:16-21
6. The Blind man (9:1-41)
7. Lazarus (11:1-44)
Demonstrate Christ's ultimate power over
1. Quality (water to wine)
2. Distance (healing of official's son)
3. Sickness (paralytic at Bethesda)
4. Quantity (feeding 5000)
5. Nature (on the Sea)
6. Misfortune (blindness)
7. Death (Lazarus)
Are time-sensitive or related to time:
1. Wine running out
2. Son at point of death
3. Paralytic incapacitated for 38 years
4. Too late in the day to arrange food
5. Short-cut across Sea of Galilee
6. Healing of a man blind all his life
7. Raising of a man buried long enough ago that "he stinketh" [John 11:39 KJV])
The 7th sign point towards Christ’s resurrection, the eighth and greatest sign, offering the promise of being ushered into the new order of things.
Signs and the structure of John's gospel
- Chapters 2-11 have been called by scholars "The Book of Signs," since they contain and are structured around seven "signs."
- Following this, chapters 12-21 have been dubbed "The Book of Glory."

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Jesus and his entourage spend a few days in Capernaum, his second home (after Nazareth).
Notice that Jesus shares his "church friends" with his family members (v.12).
Although his brothers do not yet believe (see 7:5), eventually they were won over.

A Tour through John, Lesson 4

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Last time we looked at the first two days; today we will read about the third and fourth days. A lot is compressed into one chapter. Since the fourth day spans verses 43-51, it is not clear how 2:1 takes place "on the third day." Unless, that is, "the next day" (vv.29,35,43) all refers to the same day, in which case 1:19-51 covers two days instead of four. Ancient conventions of chronology and storytelling are different from ours -- and that's okay. Compression is also visible in Mark 1, Mark 6, Luke 24, and a number of other passages.

35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

DAY THREE (vv.35-42)

Again, John directs his disciples to Christ.
- Jesus receives them and spends time with them.
  - Note: this is not the (later) call to become fishers of men of Matthew 4/Mark 1/Luke 5.
  - Jesus is a relationship builder, not just a preacher.
  - The urgency of Mark 1 and the open schedule of John 1 are both important for evangelism.
- Andrew brings his brother to Christ.
- Jesus calls Simon (Shim'on, in Hebrew) Cephas, which is Aramaic for "rock." The name has prophetic and descriptive qualities. Jesus sees into both the character of Peter and his future.
Notice that a number of times he clarifies potentially unfamiliar terms: Rabbi (v.38); Messiah (v.41); Cephas (v.42); other clarifications will follow (9:7; 20:16; etc). This suggests that the target audience of this gospel are not (primarily) Jewish. And yet there are abundant references to the events and theology of the Old Testament.

39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

DAY FOUR (vv.43-51)

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Jesus goes north, from Judea to Galilee, and meets Philip, who in turn speaks to Nathanael.
The first three men are from Bethsaida, a fishing village only discovered in the 1980s, and join Jesus' band.
Nathanael is from Cana (21:2), a town we will read about in the next chapter. Nathanael may be the apostle Bartholomew.
The interaction with Nathanael is fraught with significance.
- Nathanael is skeptical, having stereotyped Nazareth and all who come from this backwards town. Philip responds perfectly to the skeptic: "Come and see."
- Jesus comments on Nathanael's genuineness -- how he spoke his mind. Nathanael agrees with Jesus' summary of his character, amazed at his insight. (See also 2:24-25.)
- Once Jesus tells Nathanael that he saw him while he was under a fig tree, Nathanael is stunned, and quickly changes his assessment of Jesus to agree with Philip's -- that he is the Messiah. (One wonders, what exactly was Jesus referring to in connection with the fig tree?) Jesus' (seemingly miraculous) view of Nathanael (v.48) may entail powers similar to those of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:8-12, or Ezekiel in Ezekiel 8:1-18; 21:21-23.
- Jesus ends this interaction with Nathanael by alluding to Genesis 28:12: "And [Jacob] dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." In other words, Jesus, the Son of Man, is the "stairway to heaven"! See also John 3:13.
To sum up, the true Israelite ought to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, once initial doubts or objections have been met. This is a far cry from how most Jews -- and especially their leaders -- received Jesus. True worshippers of God must come to him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). "Truth" here means genuineness of faith, not doctrinal truth. (Not that this is unimportant.)

Conclusion

Already in chapter 1 we are seeing exactly how the Word looks when it has become flesh -- how God moves among people. Every interaction of Jesus tells us something about God.
Notice the minor theme in John, "Come and see."
- There are 4 instances.
  - 1:39. Jesus invites Andrew and another follower of John the Baptist to "come and see" -- to spend time with him.
  - 1:46: Philip invites Nathanael to meet Jesus: "Come and see."
  - 4:29: The Samaritan Woman invites her town to "come and see."
  - 11:34: Lazarus's mourners, reply to Jesus' question about where the body has been laid, invite him, "Lord, come and see."
- The Bible invites us to "taste and see" that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8; 1 Pet 2:3).
- Just as someone invited you and me to "come and see," let's continue to reach out, inviting others to "come and see."

A Tour Through John, Lesson 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”

as the prophet Isaiah said.

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Technical notes:
- The phrase the Jews (v.19) appears only 16 times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined, but 70 times in John! The Jews often refers to the Pharisees in the gospel of John, as opposed to the common people.
- In reference to sandals (v.27), Rabbi Jehoshua b. Levi said, "All works which a slave performs for his master a disciple should do for his teacher, except undoing shoe straps" (96a, Str-B 1:121).
- The Bethany (or Bethabara, KJV) at which John baptized was on the east side of the Jordan. This is not the Bethany on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem.
The authority of John the Baptist is under investigation by the priests and Levites (v.19ff).
- He refuses to allow people to believe his is something he is not.
  - He was not the Messiah. Messianic expectation ran high in the first century, and it was important to distance himself from impostors and political troublemakers.
  - Nor was he Elijah. He did come in the spirit of Elijah (see Mal 4:4-6), but he was not literally Elijah, or a reincarnation of him.
  - Nor was he "the Prophet." This is a reference to Deuteronomy 18, a Messianic prophecy that only Christ could have fulfilled. Many misunderstood this passage in the first century -- Peter set them straight in Acts 3.
- John identifies himself as the messenger of Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3 who was to prepare for way for the Lord. After the messenger, the Lord himself would pay his people a visit! Be sure to check out these O.T. references if they are at all unfamiliar.
- His right to baptize is called into question by the Pharisees (v.25ff). John simply points to Christ, who alone is worthy.
- All the leaders of the religious establishment challenge John's authority. This is the pattern we will see with Christ, the same groups opposing him. Jesus clearly represented a threat to the establishment.
Why did John baptize?
- In the O.T. (e.g., Leviticus), washing was often associated with moral cleansing.
- In Jerusalem at this time, Jews immersed themselves before they went up to the Temple to worship. Immersion was not considered strange or unusual.
- In publicly identifying oneself as a sinner, personal humility and solidarity with other penitent Jews was built. In fulfilling the mission of Malachi 4:4-6. it was vital that people specifically repent of sin, and repair their relationships with one another. That was the only way to become people ready for the coming of the Lord -- then as now!
- John was building a natural bridge not only to Christ, but also to Christian baptism.
In 27 AD, Jesus was an unknown (v.26). Despite his divinity and the dire need for religious reform and prophetic preaching, he waited until the time was right before he began his "public" ministry.
Now we continue our study of John 1, picking up on the second day of the narrative. The first was covered in verses 19 to 28.

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

This is day two (vv.29-34).
John calls Jesus "the Lamb of God."
- This is a clear reference to the offering of O.T. sacrificial system (Lev 9:3; 14:13; Rev 5:12). Jesus is to bear our sins.
- It is also a reference to the Messiah, who in Jewish literature is often a Lamb.
- The dove is reminiscent of the dove returning to the ark in Gen 9. It's a whole new world, now. In fact, the age to come is breaking into our world. The Kingdom of God has arrived. (Biblically speaking, it has always been there, yet it comes in waves.)
John redirects his disciples to Jesus. After all, this was the entire purpose of his ministry.
He recognizes Jesus not by his halo, aura, or blond hair and blue eyes (!), but because God gave a sign.
- Jesus was, and looked like, any ordinary Jewish male of his day.
- More importantly, the Spirit resting on Jesus showed conclusively that he was the Messiah of prophecy: Isaiah 11:1-2; 42:1.
The theme of testimony is strong in John's gospel, the word testimony / testify appearing seven times.
- There are seven confessions in all
  - 1:34 John the Baptist
  - 1:49 Nathanael
  - 4:42 The Samaritans (4:29)
  - 6:69 Peter
  - 9:38 Blind man
  - 11:27 Martha
  - 20:28 Thomas
- The "confessions" of Caiaphas (11:50) and Pilate (19:19) are not genuine, but ironic.
- We come to faith through testimony.
  - Through people we trust, admire, and begin to love.
  - Not through pure logic. (We flatter ourselves.)
  - Recommended: Ron Highfield, Is Christianity Really True?

A Tour Through John, Lesson 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Comment: A prologue is important -- like the introduction of a book. It's a good habit not to skip over these, as they usually set forth the agenda of the writer, and make it easier to understand the work. John 1:1-8 is the key to appreciating the entire Gospel of John.

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own,and his own people did not accept him.

Here is the great irony: The creation did not recognize the creator.
As a Jew, descended from the tribe of Judah and the house of David, Jesus came to his own people, but was rejected.
Jesus was not accepted. What does this mean?
- His message was rejected. See John 12:47-48.
- This does not mean that people didn't "receive him" into their hearts (through prayer -- the modern evangelical tradition). Receiving Christ means accepting his teaching.
- Thus the modern doctrine of "accepting Jesus" is wholly without biblical foundation.

12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

Those who accepted him were privileged to become children of God (v.12).
- "Believing in his name" means trusting Christ, not ourselves or religion, or our religiosity.
- Notice that those who receive him are not actually children of God, but only potentially his children ("power to become").
- To become his children, they must be born again (v.13).
  - They are not born as God's children:
    - of blood (by birth). ["Bloods" (KJV) is Greek haimata, or "drops of blood."]
    - of flesh (by human desire or effort)
    - of the will of man (no one can make this decision for you).
  - The new birth happens only in baptism (3:5).
  - Yet the Sinner's Prayer (the common salvation doctrine of evangelical Protestants) is something we do – a “work” (active), to use Protestant language, while baptism is something done to us (we are passive).
  - The new birth (in water and spirit) was taken so seriously that many 2nd century Christians thought people who’d never heard the word would have a chance in the afterlife—the underworld—to hear the gospel and be baptized.
- What a privilege! What an unbelievable blessing!

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace: 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,who is close to the Father’s heart,who has made him known.

The Word became flesh (v.14).
- Jesus lived for a while among us (approximately 35 years).
- He "pitched his tent," or "tabernacled" among us.
  - This is a reference to the OT Tabernacle (later the Temple), where God manifested his presence and dwelt among humanity. Jesus' body is the new Tabernacle. See 2:19.
  - Skene,Greek for tent, contains the same consonants as Hebrew shekhinah, Thus the alliteration reinforces the O.T. wilderness reference.
- The disciples saw his glory (really, God's glory). See 14:9.
- This is the doctrine of the incarnation (enfleshment) of God, much denied by heretics ancient and modern, who prefer Jesus to be either just a "good man" or guru or, on the other side, some sort of spirit or phantasm.
- Jesus was full of grace and truth (v.15).
- John testified to this (v.15). Although older than Jesus by a few months, Jesus was infinitely before John (1:2). For the idea of Jesus' eternity, see also 8:58. For an O.T. passage, see Micah 5:2.
- We have all received grace through Christ (v.16), and in many ways. The original Greek has no punctuation, but a colon should follow v.16. There are two ways in which grace has been received:
  - The Law was given through Moses (v.17).
  - Grace and truth (also) came through Christ.
  - Yet there is no opposition between Law and Gospel -- contrary to the view of many Protestants today. Both are instruments of grace.
  - Yet there is a difference between the two ministries of these means of grace. (Flesh v. stone, in 2 Corinthians 3:3ff; cf. Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26).
- No one has seen God, but we do see God when we look at Jesus (v.18).
- Unique—only begotten
  - Heb 11:7; Gen 22:2, 12, 16 LXX (Septuagint)—agapētós (beloved) is connected with monogenēs. (only begotten). This Jesus is identified with Isaac.
  - In Gen 22 we find – 9-10 parallels with Christ. (Listen to the OT character podcasts on Abraham & Isaac).
- Jesus has made God known (v.18). Exegēsato means "related, explained, reported, made known, revealed," and exegesis (a word will familiar to Bible students!) is the noun form.

Conclusion

Key points:
- In beginning was the Word, through which the world was created
- There are two words, so to speak…
- Receiving Christ means accepting this word.
- The Word became flesh -- God became one of us.
- The Word (Christ) explains and reveals God to us.
In Christ's coming down to our level, he sets an example for us. The incarnation:
- Is a model for our own communication to others (including children).
- Explains the nature of the Bible – not technical, scientific, or erudite.
- Serves also as a model for evangelism. Not talking above or past others, but striving to communicate, to connect.

A Tour Through John - Lesson 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Gospel of John: Introduction

John's is the most universal focus of the four gospels.
- Mark—the Roman world. Jesus is not the emperor.
- Matt—Jews, though ends with command to launch Gentile mission. Jesus is Messiah.
- Luke—the entire Gentile world. Jesus as ideal human, bringing the message from Galilee to Jerusalem. (And in Acts, from Jerusalem to Rome -- omitting Egypt, parts of Syria, and much more.)
- Jesus is savior of the whole world, as the villagers of Sychar proclaim (John 4).
90% of John’s material is unique, and mainly set in Jerusalem, as opposed to Galilee.
Unlike the Synoptics, John is not structured around the Caesarea-Jerusalem trek, following Peter’s confession (Mark 8).
Antitheses: simple yet effective use of paired opposites, combined with physical and spiritual levels (and frequent misunderstanding), like light & darkness, life & death, heaven & earth, and above & below.
John's gospel is a highly theological gospel, although it is easy to understand because of the large amount of narrative and simple themes.
Jesus
- John heavily emphasizes Jesus’ incarnation
- Humanity: fatigue 4:6; anguish 12:27, 13:21; weeping 11:33-35; irritation 2:4; friends 11:11.
- Same in letters of John
The structure of John
- Multiple Passover visits, thus a ministry spanning 3 years
- Triple-seven: 7 signs, 7 confessions, 7 I AM statements.
Purpose -- 20:30-31 is the author's statement of purpose.
For more, see NT chapter notes, esp. the Advanced section (c. 400 pages)
In this series, we will be reading the NRSV.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life,and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The opening of John clearly harks back to Genesis 1:1. It is also nearly identical to 1 John 1:1 -- especially when you read both passages in the Greek.
In the beginning was the logos: word, saying, message, talk, conversation, question, preaching, account, value, reason, grounds, charge, matter, or thing
- The alpha point of creation involves reason, not just feeling; logic, not just sensation. Just as "in the beginning," God is again going to speak, this time through his Son.
- The beginning point for understanding of God, including communication of the word of God to those who do not know him, is reason, words, not mystical (wordless) experience.
The complete union of God and man in one being -- one God, two natures -- was the conclusion of hundreds of years of discussion among Christian leaders and intellectuals from the 2nd to 4th centuries.
In verse 1 theós is rendered God -- just as it is every other time it appears in John 1.
- Groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses are wrong when they claim that the word means "a god," simply because it is lacking the definite article.
- This is a common construction in NT Greek.
- The Jewish ear would be offended if John’s gospel taught there was a second god. Jesus wasn't a god, but God (in the flesh, v.14).
The Word was involved in the creation itself (v.3). See also Colossians 1:15ff.
In the Word was life (v.4). This is not biological life, but spiritual life, as opposed to darkness (v.5).
The darkness did not overcome, or understand. But how did mankind react to light?

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

John the Baptist – all 4 gospels record his ministry before Jesus, preparing the way. John is prophesied in Mal 3, Mal 4, and Isa 40.
John warned mankind, prepared the Jews, and testified to the light (v.6). This is John the Baptist, not John the apostle. He selflessly pointed people to Jesus (3:30). He did not want glory for himself or his own ministry.
We dare not preach ourselves (2 Cor 4) – trying to impress others with how together we are
The light is not something divine within us – an eastern or New Age concepts. Even the Quaker notion isn't too far removed from this misunderstanding.
The Word was the true light. See 8:12; 9:5. It refers to Jesus Christ.

CLEAN – podcast 31, The Eternal Vision of Purity

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Last time we considered purity and transformation in Christian theology. In Christian history, especially among Catholics and Protestants, the power of the Cross has been celebrated far more than the power of the resurrection (Phil 3:10-11).
Most self-proclaimed Christian groups simply do not grasp this important truth.
Historically, western Christian groups (Catholic and Protestant) severely persecuted those who held to a more biblical view -- by burnings, drownings, and other forms of execution, torture, and imprisonment.
The past of Christian history ("Christian" broadly and generously defined) is discouraging. What may we expect for the future, especially after the Lord returns?

Purity in Eternity

Only the holy—the pure in heart—will dwell in the New Jerusalem.
1. Rev 19:8,14; 22:14-15; 21:22-27. Only the pure will enter that holy city!
2. Only the pure in heart will see God (Matt 5:9).
There will be only one eternal kingdom.
1. 1 Cor 15:24-28 envisions the time when "God will be all in all." In such a universe, there is no place for Satan, or sin (or sinners).
2. The evil one and all who follow him will be destroyed (Matt 10:28). Hell will run its course; punishment will end (Luke 12:47-48).
When we have purity of heart, then we have purity of will.
1. John 8:29; 4:34; 10:30. Jesus was so pure that his will coincided with the will of the Father.
2. Skim through John and notice all the passages where this point is made.

Practical suggestions:

Listen to the series again, straight through. My personal practice is, when I have been especially struck by a lesson, or realize that there is new content (new for me), to listen to the audio a second (and maybe even a third) time. That may help you, too.
Go without what you crave or may overuse: food, alcohol, aspirin, TV, etc. Set a goal and remove this from your life for a month (or whatever period makes sense in your situation), and expect that God will show you something about yourself. Consider fasting.
Talk with a friend who has also gone through this series. “Compare notes”—which can strengthen conviction and provide companionship in the struggle to develop a holy life.

Summary

Purity / Cleansing / Leprosy / Exorcism / Reanimation -- New beginnings!
This is not possible not by sheer willpower alone, but by the blood of Christ, which purifies us and makes us into new creations.
The ultimate vision of the universe:
- Only the pure in heart will dwell in the New Jerusalem.
- Ultimately, there will be only one eternal kingdom -- a kingdom of holiness in the presence of the Lord.
- When we have purity of heart, then we will also have purity of will.
Every day can be a new day (2 Cor 4:16-18)!

CLEAN – podcast 30, Purity & Transformation in Christian Theology

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

After our introductory lessons on purity and cleansing, we examined 24 case studies of cleansing, freedom, and new beginnings (for lepers, demoniacs, and the deceased).
In these final two lessons, let's pull together what we have learned, and take an honest (though brief) look at Christian History. Then (in the final talk) we will take in the biblical vision of purity in the next world -- in eternity.
Different branches of Christianity (broadly defined) emphasize different aspects of the salvation brought by Christ. Their views on the death and resurrection of Christ tell us a lot about their intent (or lack of intent) to be pure in heart.

Branches of Christianity

Catholicism
- Grace depends on the sacraments.
- The blood of Christ somehow activates the sacraments.
- This view emerged from the apostasy and compromise of the Middle Ages.
Orthodoxy
- Participation in the divine nature is celebrated (as in 2 Pet 1:3-4), though seldom expected of the average member.
- This view is in some ways more biblical than the western interpretations, yet as with the western churches (Catholic and Protestant), only the clergy -- priests and monastics -- are expected to live a godly life.
Protestantism
- Grace is for those with the right theology.
- We must believe that there is nothing we can do to be saved. (Originally) Protestants embraced "Once Saved, Always Saved." This explains their lack of missionary effort (in the Reformation period, 1500s onward) -- at least until the effects of Calvinism had started to wear off -- for example, among the Wesleyans, American Presbyterians and Baptists.
- Protestants also taught that attempts to live righteously are dangerous, possibly leading to "works-righteousness."
- Finally, the blood covers over our sins, or effects a legal transaction, so that God sees us a holy -- even if we aren't!
Radical Reformation (Anabaptists)
- Strong emphasis on personal holiness and obedience to Christ.
- These believers were mercilessly persecuted by Catholics and Protestants alike. (The Reformation occurred only within Catholic lands, not the Orthodox countries of Eastern Europe.)
- The NT assures us that the death of Christ brings not only pardon, but also renewal (Tit 3:5).
In this podcast I urge us to focus on the cleansing aspect of the blood of Christ – not just the aspect of forgiveness.

A scriptural look at the blood of Christ

John 6:53
Eph 2:13
1 John 1:5
Rev 1:5
2 Cor 4:16

Conclusion

Remember this: true purity, real holiness, righteousness in the eyes of the Lord isn't a piece of priestcraft or a legal fiction.
The blood of Christ purchased us back from the possession and control of the evil one. Yet salvation isn't just a free ticket to heaven. Christ's blood really does cleanse us. This we must preach.
We're not appropriating Christ's righteousness so much as truly becoming righteous through him.

CLEAN – podcast 29, Jesus’ Resurrection

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: Luke 24:1-6; 1 Cor 15:20-23; Phil 3:20-21

Although details about the crucifixion and burial of Christ are found in the NT, nothing is related concerning his resurrection. When we read of the empty tomb (Luke 24; John 20; Matt 28; Mark 16) he has already been raised.
What had happened? Was this the same as happened in the case of Lazarus, or Tabitha, or the son of the widow of Zarepath? Not at all.
- They all died again.
- None of them possessed a resurrection body.
As the firstfruits of the resurrection, Jesus was the first person ever to possess a resurrection body (1 Cor 15:20-23).
When he returns, we too will have a resurrection body. We will be transformed (Phil 3:20-21).

Implications

No human being has ever been resurrected, in the full sense of the word.
Resurrection will take place at the last day. This is called the General Resurrection.
We will be totally new creations when Jesus comes—with a resurrection body like his. We have new life now, but this is only a taste of what is to come.
If life in Christ—as wonderful as it is—is just the beginning, just imagine how exciting and comforting and energizing and fascinating and refreshing and amazing we will be as new creations in the new creation!

Conclusion

All the new beginnings, purifications, exorcisms, healings, reanimations, and fresh starts of this life are but a faint glimmer of the new creation. Let’s look forward to our resurrection, and praise our awesome God for his goodness, his plan, his glory!

CLEAN – podcast 28, Eutychus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introductory

The miracle will take place at Troas (Acts 20:6), near ancient Troy (of Trojan War fame).
Luke the doctor was present; the account is part of the "We" material in Acts. That's significant for his medical testimony in v.10. Some dispute his death, but the language will not allow that. Luke says "he was taken up dead" (Acts 20:9).
Eutychus = “fortunate.”

Scripture: Acts 20:7-12

Meeting on the first day of the week (v.7) is the pattern from the very beginning. (Seventh Day Adventists do not make a strong case.)
Folks don’t seem to be too scheduled to make time to learn from the apostle!
Upper rooms have positive connotations in Luke's writing (Luke 22, Acts 1, Acts 9). This is going to be an exciting time. (How revved up would you be if the apostle Paul were going to devote a generous amount of his time to teaching you?)
The church had prepared for a long night of preaching by bringing their lamps (v.8).
The young man was seated (perhaps) at a place where some cool air might be entering the room. But he was also seated in the place where one needed most to be alert.
He ceases to follow the message. Did he have a limited attention span, like so many of our generation?
Eutychus falls asleep, and then falls out the window (v.9).
Paul reanimates him (vs.10, 12).
The interruption does not lead to the closing prayer, or disruption. And the reanimation of Eutychus is almost related in a matter-of-fact way, although the congregation were greatly encouraged not to have lost him. The church is intent on continuing their all-night session with Paul.
Note that the Lord’s Supper was taken on Monday.
So who messed up, Paul (for going long) or Eutychus (for falling asleep when the apostle was speaking)?

Assessment

Moderns more likely to blame Paul for a long message than the youth for failing to pay attention. But in the NT, including Luke’s writings (Luke-Acts), sleepiness is often an indication of spiritual laxity.
Sleep as indication of spiritual laxity. His disciples fell asleep on the Mount of Transfiguration or in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 9; 22.)
Jesus taught us to stay awake, lest the world close in on us like a trap (Luke 21:34-36; see also Matt 25:1-13).
At this late-night meeting in Troas, everyone else managed to stay awake. They were mentally devoted to the apostle's (Paul's) teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and (presumably) prayer. But not Eutychus.
Imagine the modern-day scenario: Eutychus would have gone on some talk show, written a book, and told all about his experience. Or brought litigation against the church for the lack of a window guard. It doesn't seem any such thing was done that night in Troas. Eutychus wasn’t some celebrity. In fact, his falling asleep was more likely felt with shame than anything else.

Application

While we can't always control certain external conditions – like the temperature of the room or the length of the meeting, we can do something about internal conditions like focus and fatigue. We have far more control than we may be likely to admit.
To keep clean, alert, pure, and holy requires a degree of mental and spiritual discipline.
We expect far too little of our youth. A short attention span isn’t simply a sociological or psychological phenomenon; it’s a character thing. It shows a lack of discipline, intensity, and even faithfulness. (Faithfulness means finishing what you started.)
Maybe we're so easily distracted, or become restless when church runs past the 90-minute mark, because we are stingy and worldly. If we’ve already spent 10 or 20 hours in the past week in Bible study, meditation, and prayer, and extra half hour is no big deal. But if we can’t be bothered to offer the Lord even 5 minutes a day, of course 30 minutes past the usual closing song boundary will feel big.
Stay focused when you're with other Christians, especially during church services. Do your best to shut out bodily distractions (hunger, pain, itches, etc). Do your best to minimize electronic distractions (clock watching, texting, etc).

CLEAN – podcast 27, Tabitha

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introductory

Today’s reanimation is well-known and touching.
Tabitha will be raised from the dead -- the eighth reanimation in the Bible.

Scriptural study: Acts 9:36-42

Tabitha (or Dorcas, meaning gazelle), seems to have been an energetic and serving Christian sister (9:36). Like Peter, she had both a Semitic and a Greek name. Keep in mind that Greek was the lingua franca of the Mediterranean world, even though many residents were Semites (like the Egyptians and Palestinians).
Peter was in Lydda, not far from Tabitha, who lived in Joppa (v.38). The distance is a little over 20 km (13 miles), less than a day’s walk.
The disciples who invited Peter may have hoped he would bring her back from the dead. It wouldn’t be the first time Peter had worked such a miracle (Luke 9:2). Or they may have simply known of their relationship and been confident Peter would want to pay his respects. The text doesn’t tell us what their exact motive was.
Have you ever wondered why Peter came to her side (v.39)? Yes, he was in the area, but there’s more. Christians must have been dying all the time. (After all, death comes to all, believers and unbelievers alike). Tabitha was evidently a person of some significance, perhaps even a colleague of the great apostle Peter.
Quite a crowd has gathered (v.39), perhaps similar to the crowd Peter will join in the following chapter when he meets Cornelius in Caesarea.
Dorcas didn’t consider herself too important to serve others in modest ways – in her case, by making clothing (v.39).
These garments were tangible items connecting people with their departed benefactor. It’s little things like these that link us, emotionally at least, to our loved ones.
A smaller circle will witness the reanimation.
Peter prays before commanding Tabitha to rise.
Peter addresses the deceased (v.40).
This is a nice parallel to John 11:43, where Jesus addresses Lazarus.
Once her eyes are open, she sees Peter—and apparently recognizes him (v.40). They didn’t have Facebook back then. It is certainly a good possibility that they had met before, or were even (as I like to believe) colleagues in Christian ministry. It is her recognition of Peter that leads her to sit up, take his hand, and get down from the bed / bier.
He then touches I wonder whether there is a connection with Acts 10, where Peter initially considers Gentiles unclean. In Jewish law, contact with a corpse makes one unclean. Of course, once she rose, Tabitha was no corpse, nor could she contaminate anyone.
Peter then summons “the saints and widows” (v.41). There were many widows in the early church (see esp. Acts 6 and 1 Tim 5), in part because women married considerably younger than men. Either Luke (the author of Acts) is referring to the widows who were saints – that is, holy widows – or two groups of persons, in which case the saints would have included men, too. Of course never in the Bible is the term “saints” (holy ones) limited to dead persons of extraordinary virtue. Saint is but one of multiple terms for a follower of Christ.
Imagine the joy among the saints and widows. Perhaps their expressions of joy equaled in volume and intensity their expressions of sadness they expressed when Tabitha was dead (v.39).
Thus in her life, death, and life (again), Tabitha influenced many for the Lord.

For consideration

When people are mentioned by name in the Bible, there is usually a reason: they are well known. I used to be dismissive of the minor characters of the Bible—but no more! (In fact, in the OT and NT character podcasts, I have tried to give time to major and minor characters alike.)
Many of you who are listening to this lesson are busy people. You may well have significant leadership responsibility—as I suspect Tabitha had. Let’s never be too busy for people, or too busy for the thoughtful gestures that will mean so much to others—especially after we’re gone.
This story is a great reminder to care about people—to be kind, and to serve.
In our world, where men still tend to value themselves more than the fairer sex, the story is also a great reminder of the dignity and worth of women. The Prince of the Apostles wasn’t too princely to care about an old woman, and those who insisted he make the six-hour walk to Tabitha’s bedside were able to persuade him to make the journey -- which led to Tabitha's return to life!

CLEAN – podcast 26, Lazarus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introductory

For most people, this is far and away the best known reanimation in scripture.
In the 7th reanimation podcast, Jesus raises a friend.
I recorded an earlier podcast on Lazarus (NT Character Podcast 20). You might want to listen before or after today’s podcast.
Hear also Christ Through the Ages, podcast 10.
As a result, in order to avoid duplication, I will try to keep my comments to the subject of the reanimation itself. Further, we won’t read every verse in the account.

Scriptural study: John 11:1-7, 11-15, 17-27, 32-49a, 51b-53; 12:9-11

Lazarus (v.1) is not to be identified with the Lazarus in the parable of Luke 16:19-31, although the coincidence of names is intriguing.
“This illness does not lead to death” (v.4). Of course it does lead to death, but only for a short time.
Just as with the miracle of the blind man two chapters earlier, God will be glorified (v.4).
Lazarus is a beloved friend (v.5). We always feel differently when we knew the person who’s died, and never more than when we had a significant relationship.
A great uncle – 10k – took me fishing. Not close but we’d met several times. Mother father sister
He delays his visit to Bethany, it seems, precisely in order to make sure that Lazarus has passed.
Sleep (v.11) is a common biblical metaphor for death. See Q&A 1356.
This section (vs.17-27) is rich with theology, dense with meaning and insight. Of course Lazarus, the subject of this podcast, isn’t really doing anything. But no one exists to himself alone; there is a sizeable network of friends, family, and acquaintances involved in all our lives, and this network becomes visible at key junctures in our lives, like births, weddings, deaths.
“Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (v.26). How would we answer Jesus? What difference does it make in our lives? Are we always on the lookout for opportunities to share the good news?
Jesus does not minimize death, even though it isn’t the last word.
Jesus wept (v.35). He was not so intellectual in his knowledge of truth that the common and human waves of emotion washed over him without affecting him deeply!
Many were buried in caves (v.38).
You may also want to listen to Martha (NT Character podcast 19).
Notice once again Jesus' direct address to the deceased (v.43).
Notice also how the dead were prepared (v.44).
- Strips of linen
- Separate headpiece
- No coffin or sarcophagus
Lazarus comes out (v.44)!
John’s gospel features seven confessions of faith, seven “I am statements,” and seven signs. The raising of Lazarus is the last sign—which itself points to the resurrection of Jesus.
This miracle places Jesus’ life in extreme danger. For more on the high priest who suggested Jesus' execution, listen to Caiaphas (v.49) NT Character Podcast 42.
The raising of Lazarus takes place just outside Jerusalem itself, with its religious power center, the Temple, controlled by unscrupulous and rapacious priests and teachers.
It’s not just Jesus who is in danger; Lazarus himself is now singled out for execution (12:9-11)!
It is not God’s agenda to grant longevity or immortality. We all die, and hardly anyone comes back from the dead, in the sense of reanimation. And no one is immortal—only God, and those who in Christ receive the gift of eternal life. Every reanimation in the Bible has a reason, and points to deeper truths.

Application

“Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (v.26). How would we answer Jesus? What difference does it make in our lives? Are we always on the lookout for opportunities to share the good news?
Let’s live like it today!

CLEAN – Podcast 25, Jairus & Daughter

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Review: There are three reanimations in the OT. And in the NT, not counting the mass event of Matt 27, this is the second reanimation (after the miracle in Nain).
This takes place during the days leading up to the “Limited Commission” (Luke 9; Matt 10; Mark 3), when Jesus is training his disciples and building up their faith.
In Luke 8 we find two miracles, intertwined, so we're probably losing something when we isolate one without analyzing its relationship with the other. The stories have in common a span of 12 years. Yet for the purposes of this series we will focus primarily on the reanimation.

Scripture: Luke 8:41-42, 49-56

Jairus (v.41) is a synagogue ruler. Notice how Jesus’ influence is building. It’s not just the common man whom Jesus touches. He touched the lives of persons of influence as well -- highborn and lowborn, rich and poor, master and slave, leader and follower.
Jairus is desperate. His daughter is slipping away (v.42). She may be his only child, or else his only girl. Either could be the case.
Interestingly, Jairus means “[God] will awaken.”
His daughter is at (or nearly at) marriageable age, the time when she herself would soon bring a life into the world. Instead, hers is about to be snuffed out.
The clock is ticking, yet unfortunately the following (interrupting) scene leads to girl’s death. Jesus heals the woman with the flow of blood, but this delays his arrival to the synagogue ruler’s house.
Jesus addresses the twin issues of fear and faithlessness.
This isn’t mind over matter – or “word-faith” power – but the imperative to put our trust in the Lord. We can take him at his word, even if “common sense” or worldly thinking would lead us to reject it.
Already this is a very different healing to the woman’s. She approached Jesus to tap into his healing power, seeking relief anonymously, apart from any relationship with the Lord. But that sort of seeking for blessings or power is impersonal, worldly – like magic or manipulation.
Jesus restricts the number of persons in the house (v.51) – and even then there are seven there!
Everyone else laughed (v.53); it was a good thing that Jesus excluded them (v.51). Faith is not easily nourished amidst mocking or skepticism.
Notice that Jesus addresses the deceased directly (v.54).
She rises (v.55). There are parallels with the reanimation of 1 Kings 17.
Jesus tells them to give her something to eat. Even though she has been reanimated, she still has biological needs. Time to prime the system!
Her parents are astonished. The disciples had been similarly astonished in 7:11-17 (the son of the Widow of Nain).
“Don’t tell anyone” probably means not to implicate Jesus. After his death and resurrection, this will not be an issue. Before these events, it is too easy for things to be misunderstood and get out of hand.

Challenge

I need to be patient. Sometimes before the Lord gets around to my request, he may need to take care of someone else’s. I am not the most important person. (He is.)
In my approach to Christ, am I overly mechanical or intellectual? Do I truly cherish the relationship?
How much am I governed by fear and faithlessness?
Even if it appears that all is lost, I should trust him.

CLEAN – podcast 24, Widow of Nain & Son

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Today we return to a rather conventional reanimation.
The event takes place not in Sidon or Zarephath (modern Lebanon), not in the Holy City of Jerusalem, but in the central Israelite town of Nain—mentioned only here in the Bible (Luke 7:11).
Today Nain is an Arab village in Lower Galilee. (And a town in Jamaica, Australia, Canada—and Virginia. There are even towns called Nain in Iran and Pakistan.)
We join an immensely sad situation.

Scripture study: Luke 7:11-17

Imagine the scene: great solemnity, sadness, pain, and devastation.
People everywhere, including Jesus’ entourage that accompanied him from Capernaum, as well as much of the population of Nain (v.12).
The widow has lost her “social security.” Her husband first, and now her sole son, have passed away. In an economic sense, she was vulnerable and unprotected. At least that was the situation with most widows—which explains why the Bible—in both testaments—constantly emphasizes our responsibility to take care of widows.
Notice how Jesus inserts himself into the situation.
“Do not weep” (v.13). Weeping is a normal and necessary part of the mourning process. This isn’t Jesus telling her, “Stop crying and man up.” She may soon weep for joy, but there will be no need to weep tears of sadness.
Jesus’ words are result from his compassion, not just his knowledge that the son will be reanimated. (John 11:35 reveals a similar dynamic.)
Jesus interrupts the procession. He hardly stands on tradition! He speaks to dead man directly (v.14).
The son was not spiritually or metaphorically dead (as in Luke 15:32), but literally and biologically dead.
There is no doubt about the miraculous nature of the event; the dead man has not only moved, but also spoken (v.15)!
Imagine the joyous reunion of mother and son!
The reaction among the people is not only joy or wonderment, but fear—hopefully fear of God. They perceive Jesus a prophet, though not necessarily as Messiah.
Everyone feels and acknowledges the presence and working of God. (“God has visited his people” may or may not refer to the divinity of Christ.)
And naturally the report spreads... By the time of Jesus’ execution, a huge proportion of Israel knows about this miraculous deeds (Acts 2:22).

In summation

God cares about us in our loneliness, our desolation, our pain, and our despair. Whether we receive concrete assistance or answered prayers, we can be confident of his love and concern. This passage and many others attest to God’s love.
When we have a strong faith in Christ, there are times when we might not stand on tradition. We do, after all, believe in miracles and answered prayer. Be bold. Step out, dare to be uncool / politically incorrect. Follow the Lord's example!
The reanimation of the widow’s son provided a new lease on life not only for him, but also—and possibly even more—for her. We too may experience a new lease on life. Is our faith sickly or moribund? Has our personal outreach died? In the fellowship, are you distant and dead, superficial and stagnant? God’s resurrection power (Eph 1:19-20) can renovate our faith and reenergize our walk with the Lord.
As we continue to examine the reanimations of the Bible, we grow in our knowledge of God and our faith in his mighty power to cleanse, purify, reanimate, and transform our own lives!

CLEAN – podcast 23 (OT Saints of Matthew 27)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

This is the fourth reanimation in the Bible. Actually, no single person is raised from the dead. Rather, it’s a mass reanimation.
There are two discussion into which we will not enter today:
- There is some disagreement among conservative Christians about whether we are required to interpret the phenomenon as an historical event. In today’s podcast we will not join that discussion. (My friend and NT scholar Mike Licona has addressed this passage, for those who want more.)
- And, although it might be interesting to explore what life for the returnees was like, the true import of this passage lies in the theological and Christological areas. So be ready to learn about God, and to grow in our appreciation of Christ.
Powerfully meaningful events attend the death of Christ, 3 in particular: the rending of the veil; the splitting of the earth; and the opening of tombs and reanimation of OT saints.
Jesus’ death affects even the realm of the dead.
The blood of Christ saves not only us who live under the new covenant, but also those who followed the Lord under the old covenant.
- Keep in mind that Matthew’s gospel is written for those from a Jewish background.
- The mass reanimation would have meant little to those from a Gentile background.
Holy persons. Without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14).
The impact on those who were watching was tremendous.
This event signals that Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews, even those who have died—and who one day will be raised to life (Dan 12:1-2).
Jesus’ death makes new creation possible:
- New creation is changed, holy, pure, reverent, transformed lives.
- And the re-creation of the entire cosmos. 2 Cor 5:17 applies to both levels (personal and cosmic).

For your consideration

In Matthew's gospel, the death of Christ was literally an earth-shattering event.
Notice all the separations: the separation of Jesus' spirit from his body; the rending of the temple veil; the splitting of the earth; and even the division of faithful deceased Jews from those (seemingly the majority) who were not reanimated.
There’s no need to worry about those who died before the gospel message was preached. God will take care of them. The scope of the impact of the crucifixion and resurrection is enormous, touching every segment of humanity, in all generations.
Thought question: If I had lived and died before the cross, would I have been included among those holy people who came back from the dead?
John the Revelator speaks of Christians who have a reputation for being alive, but who are in fact dead. Jesus warned: “... I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God... If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you" (Rev 3:1b-3a).
If we happen to fall into that lamentable category, let’s put our trust in Jesus’ renovating and revitalizing power!

CLEAN – podcast 22 (Reanimated by Elisha’s Bones)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

The first two reanimations we covered were both of boys with older parents.
Today's spans a mere two verses!
No sense of disappointment, at least none that we read about. The burial could have been of an old man, full of years. Or maybe that of a youth. The passage just doesn’t say.
Elisha, who brought about the second reanimation in the Bible, is long dead – yet plays a crucial role in the unexpected and radical reversal of what would otherwise have been a routine burial.
In fact, the miracle almost feels like it shouldn’t be in the Bible – like a legend.

Scripture: 2 Kings 13:20-21

No time to put the body in the family grave site. To save time, they decided to double up. Dump the load and run.
The corpse comes into contact with Elisha’s bones.
- Elisha hadn’t been buried in a coffin. They used burial clothes (as in John 11). It may have been in his family burial chamber. Whatever the case, the body had decomposed. Which means…
- You would think the burial was to take place some time after Elisha’s burial, at a minimum a number of years.
- Yet, we need not press the literal sense of "bones," as though a long time had elapsed since Elisha's death. The old prophet of Bethel (1 Kings 13:31), referring to his own death and burial, requested "Lay my bones beside his bones." (He certainly wasn't asking to delay his burial until the soft parts of his body had all disappeared.)
The corpse is reanimated!
We don’t need to seek a novel explanation, or make the account any more sensational than it is already.
- The man wasn't coming to attention in the presence of Elisha, or reporting for duty as the Moabite skirmishes or the Syrian War dragged on.
- And it’s doubtful he was raised in order to scare away the Moabites. Or course it’s possible they pursued the family and realized he had been dead.
- There’s not a hint of speculation about what went on, what was said, or how the man lived out the rest of his natural life.
God's power was still working through the prophet Elisha
- We should be alert to the miraculous parallels in the lives of Elijah and his understudy, Elisha. With both are miracles in association with the final end of their ministry. (Elijah ascends in a chariot of fire; Elisha’s bones revivify a corpse hastily and temporarily placed in his burial spot.)
- In the previous section of 2 Kings 13, Elisha calls the national leaders to faith, before he himself dies and is buried. There was no prophet of God in Israel at that time, just the dead bones of Elisha.
- Although there may have been no prophet in Israel, God’s power was still and always available.
  - It's as though to say, “I’m still here. Trust me!”
  - Because the death of the messenger hardly undoes the message.
  - Elisha’s influence continues to benefit the nation!
- One more thing: Touching a dead man’s bones made one unclean. But not in this case! It’s the exact opposite. This fellow wasn’t contaminated by contact with a corpse (he was himself a corpse, after all), but he was infused with life by touching Elisha’s bones!

Application

Good news: Death does not have the final word. Thus we have permission to have mixed feelings when a loved one dies.
In the case of some, their influence will continue after their death—and perhaps even long after they have passed away.
Even when times are dark, God’s power is still available.

CLEAN – podcast 21, Wealthy Shunammites’ Child

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

CLEAN 21, The Wealthy Shunammites’ Son = also OT character study 64.
Yesterday we saw how the prophet Elijah saved the life of the son of the Widow of Zarephath. Today we will look at a similar account—and it’s easy to confuse the two!—involving Elijah’s successor, Elisha.
This woman is probably younger than the widow of Zarephath. Her husband is still living, and out in the fields working, probably as a supervisor. That makes more sense, since they were wealthy. But even wealthy persons have problems, suffer tragedies, and need God.
Perhaps the woman is the main character because the money came from her family. At any rate, she eclipses her husband.

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6

The couple are friends and supporters of the prophet Elisha -- and his ministry.
The couple ups their game: hospitality will now include a room (v.10). It makes us think of the guest room Paul anticipates Philemon will provide.
They were a very giving couple. Elisha wishes to reciprocate, to give them a precious gift for all their kindness (v.14).
Quite naturally, the woman cannot believe her ears (v.16)! Her dream of being a mother (again?) has died, or lain dormant. Now the Lord is revivifying it.
Barrenness is a common theme in the Bible. Just think of all the older women who were enabled to conceive (think Sarah and Elizabeth).
This child wasn’t conceived of the Holy Ghost! Since the baby came a year later, she and her husband obviously took action sometime in the three months after Elisha made the promise.
Now the scene is several years later (the child can talk (v.19) – perhaps he is two or three years old).
Notice how the father delegates the care of his son to a servant, and then his wife. Was he overcome with worry, or too busy to help, or overconfident that the child’s medical complaint was minor?
Just imagine what it must have been like to watch your child’s life slip away, while you were holding it in your lap (v.20)!
- Those who have lost a child (miscarriage, car accident, cancer, suicide...) face overwhelming and heavy sadness.
- Sometimes we lose our "spiritual" children. We helped them to become Christians, and we invested in their lives. When they turn back from following Christ, the disappointment and grief can really set us back.
Then something really surprising happens.
The surprise is not that she turned to the prophet for help, but that she has completely bypassed her husband (v.22-23)!
Gehazi seems clueless as to what’s happening, as well as to her deeper emotional state (v.27), which is not all that surprising, since at first Elisha himself hasn’t fathomed the situation.
It is for the woman to alert them to the horror of the situation.
The woman will not leave Elisha. He is her connection with God, her source of hope!
Gehazi simply doesn’t have the spiritual power to bring back the child (v.31).
The child is resuscitated – or reanimated (vs.32-25)!
Gehazi is still useful, even if he is slower on the uptake than his master.
She has her life back (v.37)! Her shattered dreams have been repaired.
It seems the story is over – but then four chapters later she reappears (8:1-3).
Elisha stays in touch. Or maybe it’s simply that she knew who to turn to if she really needed help again…
This is after 2 Kings 5, where Gehazi received the leprosy of Naaman.
Her family, her household, has already been restored; now it’s her house (2 Kings 8:1-3). People first, then things.
What a remarkable story! But what makes it remarkable isn’t the plot, the persons, or even the reanimation. It’s God.

Application

Being healthy and whole isn’t just the absence of impurity. It involves your key relationships, and, to a much lesser extent, your possessions. Nothing is more important than relationships. What relationships need restoring in your life?
Like the woman, we need to know what’s out of place, where it hurts, what needs to be restored, before we can feel wonderful and clean and in God’s presence.
Do you relate more to the woman, to her husband, to Gehazi, or to Elisha?
What will you be willing to do today to have a full, godly, wholesome life?

CLEAN- podcast 20, Widow of Zarephath & Son

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Reanimation = back from the dead.
Why this is important will be explained more fully in the 10th reanimation podcast.
How does this tie in with the theme of purity? Keep in mind that in Jewish thought, death is associated with uncleanness.
Some positive feedback: "I'm enjoying CLEAN in '17. Very needed lessons. I've often wondered if impurity is like a story I once heard about a dirty river. The teller of the story said that once pollutants stopped being poured in the river, the river over time 'got pure' again, which is such a hope of mine, as I've struggled to live purely during my whole Christian life. Thank you again. Life giving-rebukes these are!"

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:34-35; Luke 16:29-31; Luke 4:25-26

This miracle and the next are very similar: children of older parents being brought back to life. There are multiple parallels between the lives and miracles of Elijah and his protégé and successor, Elisha.
Sidon (v.9) is in modern Lebanon, well north of the land of Israel.
Elijah asks for water, then bread. It seems she fears he may soon ask her for something she doesn’t have.
Notice the defeatist attitude of the widow (v.12).
Elijah requests food (v.13). Often the Lord asks us to take action – to do something specific – before he grants our wish.
The supply of flour and oil -- essentially, the basic stuff of mealtime – will not run out, as long as it is needed (v.14). God is not a stingy giver.
Some time later there is another problem: The woman’s son is dying (v.17). The brain and heart may still be working, but every outward indication is that he has given up the ghost.
Or not. He may already be dead.
This is a triple tragedy:
- As an outsider to Israel, she would normally have little access to the blessings of being a member of God’s people, worshipping at this temple, sharing in the heritage and tradition of the Jews, and so on.
- She has lost her husband. It would have been hoped the son would grow up to be her protector and provider.
- And now she has lost her son, too. Quite possibly the widow is now childless. Maybe her relations died in a war, or through famine or disease. (I say that because it seems she has no support group—such as would have been provided by a network of children and grandchildren.)
Yet God specializes in impossible situations!
The seems to be a sort of resuscitation ritual (vs.19-22).
- See 2 Kings 4:34-35.
- This procedure is accompanied by prayer.
The miracles confirms the prophet’s status (v.24).
At various times in the Bible miracles confirm the spoken word of God – or perhaps we could say they confirm the speaker. (See Acts 14:4; Heb 2:4; Exod 4:5; and esp. Luke 16:29-31.) Note: Miracles never confirm the written word of God.
Not only does the child have a new lease on life, but his mother also does. She transitions from hopelessness to hope.
Jesus points to this account in his opening sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4:25-26).
- There were many widows in need in Elijah’s time, but he did not work wonders for them. Jesus, too, healed or exorcized or reanimated only a small percentage, or fraction of a percent, of those in desperate straits in his day. His purpose was far more to preach than to work miracles.
- God loves Gentiles, too.

For us

God meets our needs.
Or, if we have suffered for some time, he sends a friend to bring relief.
Obviously there are exceptions, but the real point isn’t about miracles or even getting our prayers answered. It’s about learning what kind of a God we serve. It’s about coming to grips with his character.
He reanimates dead hopes and restores shattered dreams!

CLEAN – podcast 19 (The House Swept Clean)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Context (A)

Luke 11:14-23
Jesus, exorcism, and Beelzebul

Scriptural study: Luke 11:24-26

This is a picture of an exorcism, though not explicitly so stated.
When we become followers of Christ we remove some behaviors and replace them with others. We subtract, but we also add. If we're only characterized by what we don't do, or by what we are against, instead of by what we do do, we will be empty, and mislead many. God has work for us to do (Eph 2:1-10)!
It's worse to be a religious, hollow hypocrite than to be lost entirely. Matthew 23: review the woes and notice how hard Jesus hammers hypocrisy.
Use the time wisely (Eph 5:15). God cares about how we schedule our days!

Context (B)

Luke 11:27-28
Focus on the mother of Christ, rather than on obeying Christ's teaching. This is what completes us, and what keeps the Devil away. "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop."
God values religion and piety a lot less than he values obedience.
It's amazing that already in the 2nd century veneration of Mary was beginning. By 431 she was promoted to being Mother of God.
There will always be religious people trying to distract us, and make us feel okay about not obeying the will of God.

Conclusion

Don't just conquer laziness, or lying, or lust, without cultivating a strong devotional life. This won't work!
Don't just go to church, without going out into the world. Don't let the Great Commission become in your life the Great Omission!
Don't become rid of one sin only to be overtaken by seven! It makes no sense to cut out drunkenness -- only to be overtaken by envy, bitterness, hypocrisy, judgmentalism, a critical spirit, pride, and arrogance!
Don't be a house swept clean. Be clean, of course, but don't stop there. A truly pure devotion to God means being ministers of the gospel. Everyone is in the ministry. If that's not true in your case, or your church teaches that only staff members or leaders are in the ministry, don't be deceived.
A true disciple longs (1) to know God and (2) to make him known!

Internalize this lesson, and our faith will be powerful and pure and effective. Materialism, sexual sin, and apathy about the things of God will be far from our hearts. We will burn with righteous passion for him and his mission.

CLEAN – podcast 18, The Slave Girl of Acts 16:16

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Divination and magic were highly popular and very real in the 1st century Mediterranean world.
Also, many were enslaved by their fear of the future. Contemporary writers mention a strong and abiding sense of fate.
The spiritual world is real!

Scriptural study: The Slave Girl of Acts 16.16-19

We meet our character (v.16), unnamed, but able to divine by the power of a Pythian spirit, πνεῦμα πύθωνα.
Lucrative possibilities!
"Servants of the most high God" (v.17) contrasts with her own service to a pagan spirit.
The term "Most high God" (see Mark 5:7) may be indirectly belittling her owners.
She follows Paul and Sila as they head to the place of prayer (and evangelism, as Philippi lacked a synagogue).
It sounds like she's promoting Christianity (v.17)! Was this mockery? Were her prophetic outbursts intended to turn people off to the Way of Christ?
For Paul, her jabbering was annoying (v.18). Why?
- Christianity doesn't need gimmicks or tricks to spread. Paul sees little promise of assistance in the Christian mission. He doesn’t just incorporate the girl’s unusual ministry into his own.
- In a place of prayer, this girl could have been quite a distraction.
- One would think the testimony of a competitor would be the ultimate advertising. Imagine a picture of Bill Gates happily using an iPad. (Source: link)
- The way or a way (v.17) -- is the spirit relativizing the Way? Perhaps.
- Or maybe it's simply a problem of emphasis. She seems to be focused on the preachers, instead of on the message. Christian missionaries didn't present themselves as elite missionaries. They preached Christ, not themselves, and presented themselves as servants for the sake of others (2 Cor 4:5).
- There's a parallel in Luke 4:33-35. Jesus did not welcome demonic advertisement.
Exorcism (v.18) -- "that very hour."
We learn nothing more of the girl, though we hope that once set free, she joined the Christians in the newly founded Philippian church.
Her owners, too, are greatly annoyed (v.19).
- Paul and Silas are imprisoned -- which leads to Philippian jailer's family's conversion.
- Persecution in the 1st century was born of religious motives (particularly in the case of jealous Jewish leaders), as well as of economic motives (pagan persecution), as also in Acts 19:23-27.

Application

The account makes us think about economics. How does this exorcism inform our study of purity? See the Theology of Work Project (Tim Keller). Click here.
The Lord desires purity at four levels: actions, words, thoughts, heart/motives.
This account probably has most to do with the deepest level, heart (conscience, motives, who we truly are at the core of our being). Yet her activity was off base at all four levels:
- Her actions were displeasing to God. Enriching her pagan masters, and treating the Way of Christ as a novelty or commercial phenomenon.
- Her words gave the wrong impression about the way of Christ.
- We don't know her exact thoughts, yet we know that at the heart level, she was controlled by, or at the very least interacting with a heathen spirit.

Conclusion

Paul's action changed her life -- and for the good. No longer would she enjoy celebrity -- or be used because of it. This unnamed girl got into the Bible! And we would like to believe that she became a true daughter of the Most High God.
This girl was being used. Cash cow. We read of her "owners." May still have been a slave, but no longer would she have been pressed into service as a revenue-generating sideshow.
Am I still a slave? Unhealthy and unholy patterns of behavior? Have I been a slave to credit card debt? I may be liberated from the darkness, yet still not freed from financial debt or other forms of bondage. In her case, her behavior changes, though she's still a slave.
Sometimes people think that supernatural experience places us in an elite tier of the faith. Or worse, that miraculous activity proves one is saved. But this is wrong. In her case she became free from her supernatural abilities. The miraculous dimension of her old life had been hurting her -- as well as somehow impeding the cause of Christ.

CLEAN – podcast 17, The Crazy Man in the Synagogue

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: Mark 1:21-28

Jesus and his first followers enter Capernaum, Jesus’ adopted hometown (v.21).
Notice the word “immediately," showing us the broad impact of Christ, and in a staccato manner relating his baptism, temptation, preaching ministry, calling of the first disciples, exorcism, healings, and cleansing of a leper.
This is going to be the first miracle, and exorcism, of Mark’s gospel.
All are amazed at his teaching (v.22; also v.27) – like Matt 7:28-29. More compact
Notice what day it is: the Sabbath. (More on this in Mark 2:27-28.)
Responding to the proclamation and supernatural knowledge of the demon (v.24), Jesus tells the demon to be quiet—this is unwanted publicity (v.25). His disciples aren’t ready to handle Jesus’ identity until Mark 8 (at the earliest).
This is an unclean spirit—demonic possession is a form of impurity.
On the Sabbath—reinforcing the point that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Convulsion: just leprosy? See Matt 4:24.
Loud! And Jesus had told him to "be silent." (Though it's probably the demon's trumpeting of Jesus' divine identity that Jesus wants to shut down.)
Authority over the invisible, spirit world? This can only be divine authority.
His fame spreads (v.28), even without assistance from the man who was exorcized.
This miracles sets the stage for Mark's gospel: Jesus as divine Son of God, with authority over the spiritual world.
Freeing the crazy man in the synagogue from his unwanted "house guest" mirrors the cleansing and transformation God offers us!

Application

God's compassion includes healing (though not for everyone—the Word-faith and Signs & Wonders people are wrong).
God wants to remove any uncleanness—demonic or otherwise—from our life!
God can powerfully transform lives—free us from the power of the Evil One—and quickly!
What is it that the Lord wants to expel from my life? Materialism? Sexual sin? Laziness? Inward focus? Lack of commitment to the body of Christ? Lack of evangelism? Hatred? Bitterness? Anything else?
And let’s not miss something highly obvious: Jesus is awesome. His deeds are awesome. Let’s keep our focus on him, and we will be purified as we do so (1 John 3:2-3)!

CLEAN – podcast 16, Father & Son

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Yesterday: mother/daughter; today: father/son.
New life -- not just for the boy, but for the dad
Children have the power to hurt us -- just as spouses do. In today's passage, the pain that is breaking the parent's heart is unwitting (beyond the control of the child).
Context: While Jesus and the Three were up on the Mount of Transfiguration, the other disciples failed to exorcise a demon who was destroying a family.

Scriptural study: Matt 17:14-20

Notice the man’s posture (v.14). Like so many who beg Jesus for release from leprosy or demons, he's on his knees. He deeply desires a miracle for his son’s sake.
The demonic attacks are beyond the control of the boy, harming him by exposing him to death by burning or drowning.
The Canaanite woman approaches Jesus first; the man in today’s account went first to Jesus' disciples (v.16). Not to his three most trusted, however, who were with him on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Even when we've been following Christ for a while--like the nine, who had been Jesus' disciples for nearly three years--we still have far to go.
I wonder how the 9 disciples felt when the man says these words to Jesus!
Lack of faith is a serious problem (v.17). It is unnatural. We should have faith, and failure to trust God is culpable.
Sometimes we need to bring our problems to the Lord, when those persons we had hoped could help fail to fix the problem.
The demon is rebuked (v.18); it ought not to be inhabiting a human being.
Instant healing—not in multiple stages, nor partial healing.
Faith is the issue (v.20).
The disciples were apparently not praying enough, or with sufficient faith.
Mustard seed = smallest seed known in Palestine, though not the smallest of seeds globally. Jesus is speaking in a way they can relate to, not with perfect biological precision. In fact, all the science in the Bible is of the ancient variety. (It’s not a science book, even remotely.)
No mountains are literally moved by faith. (Consider, for example, the other impossible deeds of 1 Cor 13:1-2.) Yet we instinctively—and correctly—spiritualize Jesus’ words, because then they make sense, and are applicable to our lives.
Renewal and relief come to this family, although the passage seems to be more a lesson for Jesus' disciples -- and for us -- about faithful prayer.

Thought questions

How is my prayer life? What things may I be prevented from accomplishing for lack of prayer?
As with the Canaanite woman, the transition for the children from possession to freedom is tremendously faith-building for the parents -- not just for the child. In the same way, disciples of Christ need to see the miracle of the new birth on a regular basis. How long has it been since you have helped someone to make the radical transition from the slavery of the world to the freedom in Christ?

CLEAN – podcast 15, Mother & Daughter

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Some of those possessed were helpless children, as in this and the next podcast (and possibly the slave girls of Acts 16:16). Today we will zero in on a Canaanite mother & child.
Keep in mind the biblical background: in the OT, the Canaanites were the immoral—even criminal—occupants of the Promised Land. Some died in the Conquest (under general Joshua). Far more were driven out of Canaan, or (probably also very common) intermarried with the Israelites. Historically, the Canaanites were trouble!
Let’s also consider the context. Jesus has just been criticized for not respecting the purity laws of the Jews—not just the levitical laws, but the traditions of the Pharisees.
In this account, Jesus doesn't just dismiss the unbiblical traditions of the Pharisees. He associated with an “unclean” person.

Scriptural study: Matt 15:21-28

Tyre and Sidon (v.21) are in modern Lebanon. They were once powerful city states. Their ruins are accessible today.
“Son of David” (v.22) – she recognizes Jesus’ kingship. Like Rahab (Joshua 2), this foreigner recognized that only Israel followed the true God.
How did the demon oppress her? Did it dwell within her, as in the cases of all the other demoniacs we are examining? Or was it an oppression more like that suffered by King Saul, when an evil spirit tormented him?
Whatever the case, the oppression was severe. It’s hard to see your children in pain.
- Chronic illness
- Psychological disorder
- Suffering consequences of poor decisions
This was clearly an outsider to the Jewish family of faith. She is a foreigner, a Canaanite—and a woman…
Why does Jesus ignore her (v.23)? Maybe he just wants her to want it.
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.24) fits with Jesus’ overall strategy.
- Matt 10:23 – Jesus asked his missionaries to focus on the lost tribes of Israel. Matt 28:19-20 – Gentiles were in the larger plan, though not just yet.
- Having a missionary focus inevitably means, when we’re doing evangelism, that we choose some and don’t choose others. This doesn’t mean an absence of love, but the presence of strategy. In every congregation, church builders must decide whom they’re targeting. Otherwise the church will soon be full of those easiest to reach—with a larger representation of transients, foreigners, persons with psychological issues, and so on.
The woman pleads with Jesus a second time (v.25). Notice her posture: kneeling. This is common when people are desperate.
Notice also how Jesus interacts with the woman.
- Playfulness? ("Dogs" may be puppies, or domestic dogs.)
- Her "great faith" reminds us of the centurions of Matt 8:5-13 and Matt 27:54.
- Keep in mind that Jesus is outside the land of Israel during this conversation. That is, it's not as though his helping her means less help for the Israelites! (More evidence that he is testing her, not speaking cruelly or even completely literally.)
Notice that the oppression is lifted immediately. The demon is gone.

Application:

God is good. Even though he may not answer our first request / prayer, he hears and responds. We should trust him. (Note: This is not Prosperity Theology or Word-Faith Theology. His purpose isn’t to enrich us materially, or to give us mystical psychic powers.)
Having an evangelistic strategy doesn’t mean there won’t be some exceptions, just as involvement in one ministry doesn't mean we never help out in other areas. (Those whose ministry is leadership may still be called upon to help with administration, or to show hospitality.)
Let’s ask the Lord to help our children—and not just those who are suffering severely. God is truly concerned about our families, just as he cares for us.
When Christ gets involved in our friends’ or family’s lives, radical things happen. People are set free—adults and even children. They start truly living!

CLEAN – podcast 14, the Gerasene Demoniac

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: Mark 5:1-18

This man's life is totally out of control
He's highly self-destructive. What self-destructive behaviors characterized us before we were Christians? Are there any such behaviors, still in our lives, that need to be brought into subjection to Christ?
Easy to spiritualize the story, and probably that's appropriate in this instance.
He seems both attracted to and repelled by Jesus. Love / hate. Contradictory attitude.
He also has supernatural knowledge (at least the demons do).
When Jesus inquires about his name, the name is a handle. It allows Jesus to confront and cleanse him.
- Legio (Latin) / Legion (Greek) is a Roman military unit (several thousand soldiers).
- Political implications: The Romans have "possessed" Israel, but they will not be "drive out" by military might or political strategy. Rather, true freedom is freedom from sin (John 8:34), and it's change at the personal level that the Lord offers.
Pigs – it's a Gentile area, not Jewish. Pigs might be offered in sacrifice, or eaten for supper.
Jesus permits the demons to enter the pigs. This isn't the same as directly willing the death of the pigs. God permits dictators to ravage their countries—yet without incurring guilt.
The man is utterly transformed. Once wild, unable to settle, naked, confused... now he's stable, focused, self-controlled, clothed, thinking straight and spiritually in tune with the Lord.
Yet the people aren’t too happy. Their livelihood was threatened (drowned pigs). Maybe they were nervous about the sheer power of the God of Israel, who could change someone so much. The pagan religions did not demand transformation, just rituals. (We help the gods out, and they will help us.)
"Legion" preaches! It’s natural to tell friends & family (Acts 10:24).
- Decapolis = a region of 10 cities, capital Scythopolis (OT Beth Shean).
- He becomes an evangelist… So does everyone freed from bondage to Satan—including you and me. If we're not preaching, what happened? Have we forgotten we have been cleansed (2 Pet 1:9)?

CLEAN – podcast 13, Mary Magdalene

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Demons are never explicitly identified in the OT. In the NT, possession appears only in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (The word "demon" is used in John, but only by the opponents of Christ, who call him a demon.)
For greater depth, visit Thoughts on Demon Possession & Exorcism (requires login).
For constructive thoughts about escaping addictive behaviors, see IPI's 4-lesson audio CD, ESCAPE (by Steve Brand and Douglas Jacoby).
Until today, Mary Magdalene was not a NT character podcast, since there isn't a whole lot to work with! It really comes down to a single verse in Luke.
(She is also mentioned in Mark 16:9, a verse in the longer ending Mark's gospel, probably dating to the 2nd century, and merely repeating what Luke said about her.)
However, she is frequently mentioned in the pretend-gospels of the Gnostics and others (in the centuries after the NT was written).

Scriptural study: Luke 8:1-3

There are many Marys in the NT, but only one Magdalene.
It seems there are far more questions than answers.
- Literally 7 (number of perfection)—or perfectly diabolical?
- How were they exorcized? Through the ministry of Christ? The Jews (see Acts 19; Luke 9)? Or did they leave of their own volition (“gone out”)? But “healed of evil spirits…” (v.2) implies exorcism.
- How did the demons get into her in the first place? Lack of explanation as to causality of possession in NT, while OT doesn’t even record any possessions, let alone attempt to explain the demonic world.
But we can at least rule out some possibilities:
- Not Jesus’ wife
- No indication that demons correspond to sins (as in 7 different sins).
- Probably not the sinful woman of Luke 7 – seems odd if true that this woman wasn’t named.
Probably:
- Unmarried or a widow
- Important personage in the early church. ( || Simon/Simeon, Alexander, and Rufus. Note: in the podcast I mentioned only Rufus, but Simon had two Christian sons.)
For sure:
- From or had relatives in Magdala. At her synagogue a few weeks ago
- Witness to the empty tomb and the risen Christ
- Undergone a radical transition to freedom from the demonic.

Conclusions

No matter how messed up your life is, God can make something beautiful out of it. And no matter how long we may have been stagnating spiritually, the Lord can wipe the slate clean. And once we've been made clean, we're on the path of holiness and mission.
If you're a woman, take heart that in Christ there is no male or female. No discrimination!
God values women. Eyewitness testimony to the resurrection – not so in Judaism or Islam.
No problem is too big for God to handle. Even if you feel last year is best forgotten, God specializes in fresh starts – in new beginnings.

CLEAN – podcast 12b (32), The Leper (Kevin Agot)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here's a guest podcast, The Leper, by Kevin Agot, who lives in the Washington DC area. I hope you enjoy it!

CLEAN – podcast 12A (The Leper of Mark 1)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Our text is Mark 1:40-45.
A different version of the story has come down to us in Matt 8:1-4.
This man will be the first leper healed in the NT.

Scriptural study: Mark 1:40-45

Unsure whether Jesus is willing? Kneeling, imploring...
The Lord is willing!
- Believe that when we pray.
- Believe it when we ask him to remove our sin, or to go with us as we share his word.
Immediate cleansing.
- Note that rather than Jesus becoming unclean -- contracting leprosy by touching this man -- it flows the other way.
- Cleanness flows from Jesus to the leper!
Jesus requests silence / discretion.
- The publicity causes trouble for Jesus (not all publicity is good).
- This is early in Jesus' ministry -- unlike the situation in Luke 17, when Jesus was going to die in a few days or weeks anyway.
- Yet, even though the throngs force Jesus outside the inhabited areas, his mission continues unabated.
Evidence was to be presented to the priest.
- Had this ever happened before? Maybe once or twice in the OT, if the people were obeying Leviticus.
- The priest would then follow the procedure of Lev 14.
- Imagine the impact on the priest!
The man can't help spreading the news. What news?
- News of his healing?
- News about the Messiah?
- Both?

Conclusion

Like the lepers of both testaments we are in an unpleasant condition. But since our condition is moral—spiritual—and not just physical, our predicament is dire.
Think about the leprosy of sin. We are all "lepers."
The Lord is willing. Don’t doubt it!
You can be clean!

CLEAN – podcast 11 (The 10 Lepers)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Jun 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Healing lepers was an important part of Jesus’ ministry:
- “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt 11:4-5).
- His healing of lepers confirmed that Jesus was Messiah.
Our text is in Luke 17, though we will need to examine Leviticus 13-14 in order to understand Jesus' response to the lepers.
- Lev 13:9, 45 require those with serious skin ailments to allow the priests to inspect them.
- If they were still contagious, they were required to live outside of town, and call out "Unclean, unclean" if any (healthy) person was coming their way.
- If they were clean, a special ceremony was performed, involving baptizing a bird in water -- water that contained, among other things, the blood of a second bird. Afterwards the bird was released. Here is a picture (though not exact) of baptism.
How do the four lepers of Samaria (2 Kings 7) relate to the Samaritan leper (Luke 17)?
- At the time of 2 Kings 7, Samaritans were simply Israelites from the northern tribes, or else residents of the capital city of Samaria.
- This is well before 2 Kings 17, which details the origin of the Samaritans proper -- who were of mixed race and heterodox faith.

Main scripture: Luke 17:11-19

The healing of the lepers takes place in the borderland between Galilee and Samaria.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die (from Luke 9:51 onward). He tells the lepers to walk to Jerusalem -- where they will be able to be reinspected by the priests.
The priests should have been impacted by their sharing!
Of the 10, only 1 returns to Jesus to say thanks.
- Notice how expressive he is!
- Far too many Christians do not conduct themselves in a spirit of gratitude.
Outsiders often get it before the insiders…

Challenge

Everyone listening who has been cleansed from sin is like the lepers. Sin is like leprosy.
We need to feel, and express, gratitude towards the one who has cleansed us!
Then we will not struggle too much to share the good news with others!

Further:
Listen to my Thanksgiving sermon (33 minutes). Click: Luke 17 Sermon.

CLEAN – podcast 10, (The Four Lepers)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 30 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Previous studies in Section II (Leprosy) have studied four individual lepers. Today we will consider the lives of four lepers all together.
Although these men are not healed of their leprosy, they end up in a positive, victorious place nonetheless.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 6:24-31; 7:3-5, 8-10.

Siege conditions in Samaria: famine!
Cannibalism was forewarned in Deut 28—and mentioned several times in scripture.
This is a desperate situation!
The king’s anger is misdirected—towards Elisha—who soon predicts and end to the famine (7:1)
We’re skipping the story of the faithless captain, as well as other important parts of the story, as these lie outside the text we are examining.
Meet our lepers—four in all (7:3).
Notice the role of reason. They have nothing to lose!
Instead of encountering the Syrians, the camp has been abandoned -- full of food, supplies, money...
A sumptuous feast was just a short walk away! (The Great Banquet is potentially as close to your neighbors as the distance to your home!)
Their initial reaction is to horde. Yet, as with the message of Christ, the good news is to be shared!
Since others are starving, not sharing would be a culpable, criminal behavior (v.9).
They make a reasonable decision: to share.
The matter is time sensitive. People are starving. People are dying.
They came… and told… (v.10). Like the words of John: “Come… and see…” (1:39,46; 4:29; 11:34)
Although these men were not cured of their leprosy, they are still winners:
- Their lives are saved.
- They purposed to save the lives of many others, and they saved a city.

Application

We are but poor lepers. We have nothing to lose!
We are in sin if we are keeping the message to ourselves.
People are starving for the truth, for an a authentic relationship with God.
Let’s share the good news: “Come and see!”
It’s time sensitive!

CLEAN – podcast 9 (The Leprosy of Uzziah)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 27 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: 2 Chron 26:15b-21a

The highly successful king lets success go to his head (vs.15-16).
Pride goes before a fall. Prov 16:18. Deut 8:11-20 (please read Deut 8 if this is unfamiliar to you). The king becomes overconfident.
His specific sin:
- He disobeyed the law of priesthood (he is not a priest, as a king of Judah).
- He arrogated to himself the priestly prerogative—thus his sin was arrogance.
See the courage of Azariah (vs.17-18).
- His concern is for God’s honor—a strong contrast with Uzziah’s agenda.
- If the priests had deferred to Uzziah, giving in to fear, how could the people have been expected to challenge their leader--to hold him accountable to the Torah?
Though totally outnumbered (80:1), the king will not listen. See Prov 26:16.
His response is emotional (v.19). He is defensive. We could say he was "incensed." Yet his anger is misdirected anger.
Leprosy breaks out on his forehead (where strict Jews actually tied small boxes containing scripture).
This isn’t just a pimple… It’s leprosy!
The priests hurriedly escort the king out of the Temple (v.20).
Uzziah himself is eager to make his exit—but not so much because he is a humble man. Now the priests’ agenda and his own coincide—that’s all!
Excluded from the Temple – not just from serving as a priest, which was never his right, but excluded from going up to the Temple, as any Jew was expected to do at least three times a year.
His arrogant behavior affected him from that day till the day of his death!

CHALLENGE

Obey what is written! You are not an exception. The Torah did not allow Uzziah to serve as a priest, to march into the inner Temple—and there are places we are not permitted to go, either.
For leaders, especially: Accept input humbly, and seek feedback from those you know will speak candidly.
Don’t assume, just because God seems to be smiling on you now (things are going well), that you no longer need to work diligently to be spiritual. The situation could change. Just as we must work out our salvation (Phil 2:12), so we must work to stay humble and open—teachable.

Further study: Old Testament Character Podcast 39, on Uzziah.

CLEAN – podcast 8 (The Leprosy of Gehazi)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 25 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Gehazi is the third leper in the Bible.
He appears in 2 Kings 4, 5, 8.
Chapter 4 gives us insight into the kind of person Gehazi was: not as spiritually aware as Naaman.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 5:15-27

Elisha will not be enriched by a Gentile (although now Naaman is within the covenant). Similar to Abraham’s stance in Gen 14.
Notice how he is critical of Elisha, his master.
In running after Naaman, Gehazi isn't seeking something for Elisha, but for himself alone.
A total lie (v.22)! Knowing Naaman’s new-found respect for Yahweh and his prophets, this particular lie was intended to manipulate.
He asks for just a small fraction of what Naaman has (only 10% of the silver). This is probably intended to trigger a more generous counteroffer. And it does (v.23).
Gehazi secretes his loot on the back side of a hill, out of the line of sight of Elisha.
His actions should make us all think: What behaviors do we conceal?
- What things do we do only when there is no one around to see us? (Forbidden fruit? Sneaking food… or something else that we would be ashamed of reaching for were there witnesses?)
- Or, on the other side, do we act like Christians only when there are witnesses to our behavior (like praying only when someone is watching)?
And he tells another lie (v.25).
But Elisha is God’s man, a prophet, and has supernatural insight (v.26).
He knows the things Gehazi plans to purchase with his ill-gotten gain (v.27). His materialism is redolent of Ecc 2.
And so Gehazi becomes a leper, a divine punishment.
This will affect his descendants. (“Forever” normally means without cessation within a particular frame of reference. No lepers today are descended from Gehazi, as far as we know.)

Challenges

Am I behaving furtively or sneakily? Is there something I'm hiding?
Similar to Miriam and Aaron vis-a-vis Moses, Gehazi has a critical spirit towards his master. Am I harboring a critical spirit?
Are there traces of materialism or envy in my heart? (Ecclesiastes 4:4)
Is there any deceit in my life? Am I living a double-life in any sense at all?
Consider the long-term, lifelong consequences of my actions!
Fortunately, it wasn’t the end for Gehazi.
- We encounter him one last time in the OT in 2 Kings 8.
- So perhaps, like Naaman’s leprosy, his affliction was lighter than full-blown leprosy; he could still go about his daily work.
But that’s not a rationalization for his sin, only recognition that the Lord tempered his punishment of Gehazi, the Bible’s third leper.

For more on Gehazi, listen to OT Character Podcast 36.

CLEAN – podcast 7 (The Leprosy of Naaman)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 23 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 5:1-19

Note: Naaman is also mentioned in the NT (Luke 4:27).
Syria = Aram = Syria, not Assyria
His qualities:
- Leadership
- Courage
- And the flaw of leprosy (both visible and humiliating).
Physical and spiritual health are found in the land of Israel (not Syria, where false gods are worshipped).
See how God works through circumstances, through people, through conversations!
Naaman is willing to pay! He knows that cleansing is worth it! (Do we?)
He proceeds to the king of Israel, to whom this looks like a trap.
Elisha finds out what has happened, and invites Naaman to come to him (v.8).
Elisha's instructions are humbling. In the presence of Naaman's entourage, to follow the prophet's instructions would have been humiliating.
Instead of responding in humility, Naaman has a strong and negative emotional reaction. Furthermore, his reasoning is defective.
He received some sound counsel – again, from a servant (v.13). Notice the role servants play, as opposed to the roles of the powerful!
The miracle leads to his conversion.
It is also a nice prefiguring of baptism, as the early Christians did not fail to notice (Irenaeus of Lyon, fragment 34).
He was probably already circumcised so didn’t need to be circumcised again!SeeCircumcision in ancient Syria.
Naaman requests a double load of Israelite dirt – so that he may worship "in" the land of Israel.
The problem of his accidental bowing when his master enters the temple of the god Rimmon could be a problem, but Elisha tells him to go in peace.

Application

Cleansing comes when we obey God’s message.
God’s messengers are often humble persons. Don’t be too proud to listen.
When we are cleansed, the proper response is a life of devotion towards God.
All of us who are true Christians have been cleansed from spiritual leprosy.

CLEAN – podcast 6 (The Leprosy of Miriam)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 20 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

19 lepers are healed in the Bible, several in the OT and even more in the NT (though there's no healing of lepers in John and Acts).
Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) can be cured, with multi-drug therapy -- and cheaply!
The first leper in the Bible was Moses’s sister, though you could also argue it was Moses himself (Exod 4:6).
In the case of 3 of our lepers, the person begins healthy, and then contracts leprosy suddenly, as a punishment for sin. That is not the normal order: when we meet the leper, he or she is already leprous, and then is healed.

Scriptural study: Numbers 12:1-15

It seems Moses had taken a second wife, unless Zipporah wasn’t a full Midianite. Aaron and Miriam are miffed!
Notice the jealousy. “And the Lord heard it.” Nothing we say, or even think, escapes God’s notice.
V.3 is a hyperbolic statement. The point isn’t about how humble Moses was. It’s about the contrast between him and his older sister.
The Lord sets up a four-way meeting.
God’s anger was justified. Miriam should have been afraid to speak up.
- Yes, God had spoken through her. Technically, Miriam and Aaron were prophets, too.
- But it's not such a great comparison since God spoke face to face with Moses.
- Besides, Moses was humble -- in this instance, he wasn't the problem.
What was the real issue? Something else (Cushite wife -- they didn't like her)
Punishment of leprosy (v9). How horrible!
Notice that Aaron feels the punishment – When one part suffers, they all suffer. A close-knit family.
Notice also the reversal of the normal chain of communication:
- Usually, God speaks to Moses, and then Aaron relays that message to the people (Exod 7:1)
- But now it is Aaron speaking to Moses, who in turn beseeches God. Sin can cause all sorts of inversions.
Though Miriam is punished , Aaron is the one who seems to have a more humble attitude.
Moses cares for her (“O God, please heal her—please.”) The text implies that Miriam was healed, though we do not read of this explicitly.
Yet Miriam still has to go outside the camp. Uncleanness brings about a separation.
There's no exception because she’s a big-time leader. One standard for all!
The punishment is temporary, but it slows down the people of God.
Our sin affects the body of Christ. It affects our relationships, and never more so than when there is ongoing sin in a leader’s life. His or her sin can affect the entire body.

Application
What can we learn? How does this relate to our lives—and our desire to be clean in the presence of God?

Jealousy, rivalry, envy, resentment: let them never control our lives as God’s people!
Guilty conscience: affects sleep and thus health.
Bitterness and a critical can lead to changes in our physical appearance, our behavior (esp. in relationships) and how others perceive us.
- Usually, sickness doesn’t indicate sin (John 9:1-2), but it may in some cases (psychosomatic connection). In Miriam’s case, it was a punishment.
- But the leprosy of Miriam also reflected the onset of spiritual decay and dysfunction that come from tolerating sin, including sinful attitudes.
Inward focus: We don’t go out so much, get exercise. Nor do we want to be with people.
Sin blunts our effectiveness as ambassadors of Christ.

CLEAN – podcast 5 (Walking in the Light)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 18 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

OT: Purity and cleansing are more about forgiveness than about transformation.
- Yet, for fairness and balance, holiness was the goal, and then as now involved a quest, a process...
- E.g, Exodus: facilitation of forgiveness and holiness: laws, priesthood, tabernacle; Leviticus: atonement and holiness; Numbers: the journey of faith continues, with penalties for sin; Deuteronomy: obedient love / loving obedience.
Two-stage salvation
- Baptism: past sins
- Confession and repentance: future sins
Far too many believers are confused about what it means to walk in the light.

Scriptural study: 1 John 1:6-2:7

Contrast: light / darkness
Walking in light assumes some degree of failure
We do not move to the darkness every time we sin (though we do if we give up on Christ.)
What is walking in darkness?
- Darkness is pretense.
- It's also lack of openness.
- Those in the dark ignore, twist, or reject God's word.
How we live -- how we obey Christ -- does matter.
- Yet if we slip, we have an advocate.
- Walking in the light is the way of obedience.
- Walking in light is walking as Jesus walked: openness, honesty, obedience to the Father, a life centered round others (love).
There's one more key dimension of walking in the light (1 John 3:1-3).
- Walking in light isn't only ongoing forgiveness and ongoing obedience.
- It's also ongoing transformation!
- Protestants tend to see the crucifixion of Jesus as their means of forgiveness, while Orthodox theology highlights the resurrection (the other side of Jesus' atonement) as a source of new life -- becoming like God.
- We too should appreciate that God's plan is for us to become like Christ (see also Rom 8:29 -- for this we will need to embrace suffering).

Prayer for purity at the level of:

Conscience / heart / motives
Thoughts
Words
Actions

CLEAN – podcast 4 (Purity in James-Peter-John)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 16 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Reminder: purity is a broad concept. Narrowing the definition to a single sin lets us off the hook!
How are you doing this year (so far) with purity of thought, speech, and lifestyle? How's your focus?
Just as in OT so in NT...

Scriptural study

James 1:27
- The pollution of the world makes us apathetic and self-absorbed
- Sodom (Ezek 16:48) is a lamentable example of a people polluted by the world
- Their hallmark sin of sodomy is not even mentioned in this passage (though it is alluded to)
- Not to care about those in emotional or psychological agony renders our religion impure -- even worthless (Jas 1:26).
James 3:17
- This verse appears in the conclusion of a chapter on the tongue.
- In speech, attitude, fellowship, outreach, interactions at home, response to criticism, etc., we are to stay pure.
1 Pet 1:22
- It's hard to love and give to others with a troubled conscience.
- Notice also that our hearts are purified by obedience.
- This is probably also an allusion to rebirth (water, spirit) -- obeying their gospel (Acts 5:32; 2 Thess 1:8; etc).
1 Pet 3:2
- Context: winning over a spouse -- but it has wide application.
- Winning over anyone who isn't ready for reason and studying the scripture...
Rev 19:8
- The imagery of clean garments is opposite that of Isa 64:4-7.
- In fact, this verse refutes the common Protestant (esp. Calvinist) interpretation. Purity entails obedience and is within reach.
Rev 19:14 -- from the beginning of the Bible to the end, purity is a crucial concept and essential for our lives as followers of God.

Case study:
Simon the Sorcerer

What happens when we are careless, heedless as to the condition of our hearts?
Failure to keep our hearts pure (Prov 4:23) can lead us to a bad, bad place.
Simon Magus is a colorful and clear example of where we can end up if we neglect to fail to keep a pure heart.
Acts 8:5-6, 9-10, 12-13, 18-24.
Did Simon turn the corner and become pure in his devotion? No – later went to Rome and caused a lot of trouble for Peter…..
Let's keep our hearts pure today!!!

CLEAN – podcast 3 (Purity in Paul)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Pray for purity & cleansing (all four levels):

Actions
Words
Thoughts
Heart / conscience / motives

Scriptures (Jesus)

Matt 6:19-24
Matt 5:8

Scriptures (Paul)

2 Cor 6:5-7
2 Cor 11:2-3
Phil 1:10
Phil 4:8
1 Tim 4:12
1 Tim 5:2
2 Tim 2:22
Titus 1:15
Titus 2:5

Challenge

Thought question: How do we spend our time?
- That tells us a lot more about our purity than how we may be tempted by various sins does.
- Where are we invested? How do we spend out time? our money? our lives?
Reject and eject impurity, which is a poison, a spiritual contaminant.
Put up a fight! Don't just roll over and let yourself be poisoned to death!

CLEAN – podcast 2 (Purity in Proverbs)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 11 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

God calls us to be
pure on 4 levels:

Actions
Words
Thoughts
Heart / Conscience / Motives

Scripture

Biblically speaking, purity is a broad subject. Impurity isn't just sexual (as in Gal 5:19).
Prov 15:26 [2,3]; 16:2 [1]; 20:9 [4]; 20:11 [1]; 21:8 [1]; 22:11 [2,4]; 4:23 [4]. These proverbs speak of purity at the designated levels [-].
Isa 64:5-7. Filthy rags (click for the short article) = religion without the intention of obedience.

Conclusion

We can be clean. Don't listen to those who state that the best we can do is detestable to God, or that our best efforts are "filthy rags." That is not true, and is a gross misinterpretation of Isa 64:5-7.
Thought question: What am I doing with my life? Who am I really living for: myself, or the Lord?

CLEAN – podcast 1 (Cleansing & Purity in Psalms)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Series Outline:

Intro (1 lesson, "Podcast 0")
Purity & Cleansing (5 lessons)
Leprosy (7 lessons)
Exorcism (7 lessons)
Reanimation (10 lessons)
Holiness: It's a Decision! (2 lessons)

God calls us to be
pure on 4 levels:

Actions
Words
Thoughts
Conscience / Heart / Motives

Scripture

Like Paul in 2 Tim 2:19-22, Jesus too spoke of the clean cup in Matt 23:25-26. Does the outside of our cup look good, while the inside is full of sin and corruption?
Psalms 24:4; 73:1; 119:9
19:7-14: Purity at all levels, from actions (known and unknown) to words to the meditation of the heart.
15:1-5: Purity means integrity
- No shady dealings in the financial realm?
- Giving contribution even when disillusioned with the church?
- Torrent of profanity
- Care for our physical body (reject gluttony; smoking; drinking; sedentary lifestyle; etc)
- Being known as men and women of our word.
- Keeping promises, making deadlines
- A life centered on God
Let's all strive for purity, for as the Hebrew writer reminds us, “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).

Further study:

For more on the Psalms, listen to the series of 10 podcasts, or check out my book Thrive!
Click to learn about Leviticus & Leprosy.

CLEAN Intro: Listen to this podcast first

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 6 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Problem
Too many Christians are defeated by:

the uncleanness of materialism
the pollution of sexual temptation
a general lack of holiness & fire for the things of the Lord

It's normal to feel unclean in the presence of God. But once we're cleansed, we should be ready for service (Isa 6:1-9; 2 Tim 2:19-22). Yet at times we all come short in the area of discipleship.

With this in mind, the goal of this series accords with Paul's intention in writing to Timothy (1 Tim 1:5-7). We all need three precious things -- without which we may shipwreck our faith (1 Tim 1:18-19).

a pure heart
a good conscience
a sincere faith

Seekers are attracted to God when they see a truly sacrificial spiritual life (Rom 12:1-2; John 12:32). While none of us wants to shipwreck our faith, the disaster normally begins with (greater and greater) moral compromises.

The Plan
Get ready for an entire month of focus on

Cleanliness in the OT (Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah)
Cleanliness in the NT (James, Peter, John, Paul)
Walking in the Light – a terribly misunderstood concept
OT & NT lepers
NT exorcisms
OT & NT reanimations
Jesus’ (unique) resurrection
Purity and Transformation in the history of Christianity

Hence the full title of the 31-podcast series:
CLEAN IN '17 – Purity, Cleansing, Leprosy, Exorcism, & Reanimation.

Christ Through the Ages, 30: What the Atheists are Missing & Conclusion

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Atheists

Wrong thinking
- They will say that Jesus was a man of his time (yet he was countercultural!).
- A recycling of ancient myths. But there was no ancient dying / rising god before the time of Jesus. If there was “borrowing,” it took place in the opposite direction!
- Remember the bad of Christian history, but nearly none of the good.
- Straw gods (old men in the sky) and distorted Christs.
- Accuse Christians of being intolerant, whereas in fact quite a few atheists are intolerant.
Unfortunate experiences?
- Poor arguments from Christians
  - Bogus science
  - Inconsistent interpretation
  - Ignorance of history
  - Predictable and pro-establishment positions
  - Platitudes and proof-texting
- Poor examples in Christians
  - Failure to walk the walk
  - Prejudice
  - Lack of social conscience
  - Infighting
- Yet despite the detrimental effects of poorly thought-through faith, or poorly lived faith, atheists are still responsible (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Romans 1:18-32).
As Christian leaders working for many years in atheistic climates (universities worldwide but especially in parts of Europe), my wife and I identify two huge needs – two areas in which the atheists are missing Christ.
- Relationships
- Evidences. Suggested: Compelling Evidence, as well as a number of other helpful titles.
So what are the atheists missing?
- Fundamentally, they’re missing not only a logical understanding of the gospel.
- They are missing Christ – and missing out on the abundant existence Christ brings to those who put their trust in him (John 10:10). John 3:16-21. Acts 24:25.
Plenty of atheists do come to Christ!
- Further passages to inspire us
  - Acts 13:7, 12
  - Colossians 2:4, 8
  - 1 Peter 3:15-16
- Let's be bold!

Series conclusion

Elements of the present series:
- Concept of the two ages
- How OT shows Christ
- Concepts of Messiah in time of Christ
- How NT shows Christ
- How Christ has been interpreted in the course of Church History
- How Christ has been refracted in the world
Suggested complementary continuation: Worship
- 10 podcasts
- These lessons are already recorded. Yet even if you’ve already heard them, it might be fruitful to listen again.
- A focused worship of Christ is all the more appropriate, given the deity of Christ.
If, as the scriptures teach and as Christians have believed since the beginning, Jesus Christ is God, then a few things follow:
- Jesus is Lord.
  - He is fully human and fully divine.
  - We are to obey him.
  - His word is authoritative.
We should strive to do all we can to pursue the theme of Christ through the Ages.
We need to make sure we are connected to the genuine Christ, and not to a Jesus of our own making. Scripture and history help to anchor us and to give perspective.

Christ Through the Ages, 29: Christ Refracted in the World: The Monotheists

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 2 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24

Greeks: Christ is foolishness to polytheists, and to intellectuals who embrace philosophy over religion
Jews: He is also unacceptable to the Jews (generally speaking).
The Muslim view of Christ is similar to the Jewish view.

Jews

Jesus was a failed Messiah, or rabbi whose claims were exaggerated.
Early Judaism: magician
Crucifixion stumbling block. Seizing on victorious imagery, as opposed to the language of sacrifice. (Refer to lessons 3, 4, 5, and 6.)
Much of reaction to Christians is historically conditioned: pogroms, crusades, discrimination, etc.
Many Jews have met few authentic disciples of Christ.
For more on Judaism, listen to this podcast.

Islam

Jesus was only a prophet, and inferior to Muhammad.
Affirmation: prophethood, sinlessness, miracles, Second Coming, virgin birth, Word of God
Shirk (association), the unforgiveable sin
For more on Islam, please read our book Jesus & Islam, or listen to the podcasts on the actions and words of Muhammad (the Hadith).

The uniqueness of salvation through Christ is offensive to moderns, as it was to the ancients. Modern responses:

Use the lingo of the narrow road but more as rhetoric than really putting our weight behind it.
Universalism: “Accidental” salvation through Christ? Is there an alternative interpretation of John 14:6?
- If we really have free will, it is hard to see how everyone will eventually make it. The non-Christian variety of universalism (all will be ultimately saved) is unbiblical.
- Some Christians think that some Jews, Muslims, Taoists et al will be saved through Christ, even if they have not understood who Christ is. Somehow his Spirit is at work among them, and they have an implicit understanding of the Truth.
- Some hold that, since only an explicit understanding and an explicit faith save, the genuine seekers among the world's religions will receive a post-mortem opportunity to learn about Christ.
- Yet God is the ultimate Judge (1 Pet 2:23). And he tells us to tell them(Matt 28:18-20; 2 Cor 2:14, 5:18-6:1; Rev 12:11).
Redefinition of tolerance
- Tolerance of persons vs. tolerance of ideas. Modern tolerance of ideas entails the pretense that, in some sense, all ideas are equal.
- Tolerance requires disagreement.
- Beware simplistic, patronizing attitudes on the part of the "tolerant" -- who seldom have any tolerance or patience for biblical Christians who hold to salvation through Christ.
- Christianity is both exclusive (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and inclusive (1 Tim 2:4; Rev 7:9). We want everyone to come to the party -- yet we are not the ones deciding who gets admitted. (It is God's party.)
Yet these modern responses do not work. Put simply, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one will get to the Father but through him (John 14:6).
There is only one monotheistic religion that correctly understands Christ.

Next podcast: What the Atheists are Missing

Christ Through the Ages, 28: Christ Refracted in the World: The Polytheists

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The final three podcasts in Christ Through the Ages explore how Christ has been refracted through human thinking. We begin with the polytheists (think Hindu); next time we will discuss monotheists (think Muslims); in the last lesson we will consider the atheists.

There are many differing refractions / reflections of Christ in man-made religions.

Baha’i: Many paths to God
Buddhist: enlightenment—but to what?
New Age movement: we are all gods / christs (we just don't realize it).
Once again, beware differing Christs (2 Cor 11:2-4)!
Knowing something about how others believe is helpful.
- Enhances our appreciation of what we have in Christ.
- Enables us better to connect with members of other faiths.
- Increases our conviction about the fundamentals of the faith.

Hinduism

Welcome to the pantheon! If all faiths are valid, then in a sense none of them is true.
Yet the Hindu gods and goddesses are not necessarily virtuous.
Moreover, Hinduism teaches the ultimate dissolution of relationships and individuality.
By the way, Jesus never visited India.
Idolatry: we become like what we worship
- Worship the goddess of wealth (Lakshmi), become materialistic.
- Devote yourself to a violent and vengeful deity (like the blood-drinking Kali), and what behaviors may be rationalized?
- The most "loving" Hindu deity, Krishna, cavorts with the cowherds. Hardly a model to emulate!
The gods and goddesses are not, fundamentally, moral.
- They are created in man’s image.
- So it is with all the pantheons: Greek, Roman, Nordic, Egyptian, Babylonian, etc.
Therefore we can't just add Christ to a pantheon. He claims unique and exclusive worship (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

Buddhism

Parallels emphasized (temptation, self-control, compassion), but these are minor.
The differences are major:
- Buddha did not die for our sins.
- Buddhism is originally agnostic, or even atheistic.
- Our condition of sinfulness is ultimately unreal, since human souls do not even exist.
Don't be deceived. Christ is not found in the polytheistic religions (even if a few of this teachings appear there).

Scriptural thought: Ephesians 4:3-7

There is only one God -- monotheism, not polytheism, is the correct stance. This is a central doctrine of biblical religion (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 -- see also Matthew 22:34-40).
There is only one faith -- as attractive as liberal "tolerance" may be, it is incoherent: not all faiths can be valid, since they contradict one another.
There is only one Lord -- and we have enough room in our hearts to serve only one (Matthew 6:24).

For more podcasts on world religions, click here.

Next: Christ Refracted in the World: The Monotheists

Christ Through the Ages, 27: 500 Years of Alternative Christs (Reformation onward)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In this final lesson in the sub-series on Christ as understood through the course of the history of the church, we will focus on the period from the Reformation onward. Listen to 500 Years of Alternative Christs (25 minutes).

Christ as depicted in theology, practice, and art

Theology -- often tends to follow practice (trends)
Action
Art
- Iconography -- from aniconic art to depictions of Deity
- Increasingly powerful imagery -- from Shepherd to Greek god to warrior
- And in our modern period, Christ is even insulted in art. (See, e.g., Andres Serrano's 1987 Piss Christ.)
- This could easily be another podcast series!

The Reformation

A more biblically balanced view, yet (eventually)…
- Ritual and empty motions deemphasized.
- Faith and individual obedience stressed.
- Yet Christ is still a political figure
  - Luther, Calvin, and others
  - Radical Reformation (Anabaptists) tend to be apolitical.
The end result, especially in the absence of critical thinking about government and society, and the increase of individualism, is a more permissive Christ

From Reformation & Modern Christs: Jesus Hijacked in the absence of scriptural controls

Che Jesus (Liberation Theology)
Gay Jesus (LGBT agenda)
Guru Jesus (Eastern religion)
ET Jesus

Christ in Evangelicalism

Evangelicals hold to 3 central teachings:
- Christ is the Son of God
- The Bible is the Word of God
- We are not born Christians, but must willingly be born again.
Yet most evangelicals today go beyond what is written, in subscribing to the Sinner's Prayer.
- Revelation 3:20 becomes a proof-text on how to be saved, even though it isn't addressing outsiders, but insiders.
- Christ is shivering in the cold; please let him in! We are to ask him into our lives by means of a prayer.
Most evangelicals and other Protestants teach a tame, non-judgmental Christ—one who is “nice."
- We worship a "nice" God (not too judgmental), and a "nice" Christ (one who won't be too radical or rock the boat).
- We need to find a "nice" church.
- We need to be "nice" people.
Favorite verses in evangelicalism:
- John 3:16 -- but what about vv.5 and 21?
- Ephesians 2:8 -- but what about v.10?
- Romans 10:9 -- but what about v.13 (Acts 22:16), and 6:3?
- Revelation 3:20 -- but what about vv.15-19?
Specific study: Revelation 3:14-22
- Divine (v.14)
- Demanding (vv.15-16)
- Challenges materialism (vv.17-18)
- Disciplining (v.19)
- Desires connection (v.20)
- Christus Victor but not in the medieval sense (v.21)
- One standard for all followers of Christ (v.22)

Conclusion

The Jesus of the N.T. is the only true Christ.
He has promised to live in us (John 14)—which has significant lifestyle implications.
It's up to us to show the world the true Christ: through our lives and our teaching.

Final 3 podcasts -- Christ Refracted in the World: Polytheists, Monotheists, Atheists

Christ Through the Ages, 26: The Later Middle Ages

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Doctrinal development and changing views of Christ

Changes occur slowly, accumulating incrementally. Probably most people never even noticed.
But in the 4th century the church rockets into worldliness.
- Majority authentic disciples -> only the minority (Matthew 7).
- At odds with the world -> friends with the world (James 4).
- Apostolic message authoritative -> Roman message reinterprets and adds to the message.
- The church “baptizes” pagan practices, attitudes, etc. – creative and certainly pragmatic, but what about authentic Christian culture?
- If we want to locate a pivotal date, perhaps 325 (Nicaea) or 381 (Christianity the official imperial religion)

Mary

Mother of God, Ephesus, 431 AD
West (Catholic and Orthodox Christianity) v. East (Church of the East, 400s+)
The stern Christ (his mother is more approachable)
She will be understood as Queen of Heaven (see Jeremiah 7:8. 4417-19, 25)), and become a de facto goddess.

Accommodation

Many martyrs are venerated, and days are assigned to remember them.
Saint days take over pagan holidays.
Many pagan customs are accepted, after minor tweaking, as Christian traditions.

Eucharist

A spectacle
The cup eventually forbidden to the laity.
Eucharist brings luck -- even when committing a crime!

Violence

Christus Victor
Inquisition (13th century +)
Christ of the Crusades
Papal bodyguards and armies
Meditation on Matthew 5:9.
- Blessed are the peacemakers.
- How does the medieval Christ square with Jesus' teaching and character?
  - Jesus' treatment of outsiders?
  - Jesus' teaching about enemies (later in Matthew 5)?
  - Jesus' attitude towards those who have wronged us?
  - Paul’s comments on the gentleness of Christ, e.g. in Philippians 2?
  - Paul's observation that we do not wage war as the world does, in 2 Corinthians 10?
  - The fact that, whereas OT warfare is often literal, NT warfare is spiritualized (Ephesians 6 etc)?
- How distinctive was the church in its attitude and practice? How distinctive are we?

Next: Christ in Church History: 500 Years of Alternative Christs

Christ Through the Ages, 25: The Early Middle Ages

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The 25th podcast in this series (21 minutes) is entitled Christ in Church History: The Early Middle Ages. We will also discuss some misunderstandings of Christ in the two centuries leading up to the Middle Ages (2nd-4th centuries).

Some academic considerations

Though we could track the changes in how Christ is understood, and proclaimed, century by century, for the sake of brevity and simplicity we are condensing things.
Historical terms
- Apostolic era -- the apostles are still walking the earth.
- Subapostolic period -- there are still disciples around who knew the apostles.
- Patristic period (pater is Greek for father, as in the church fathers) -- many documents are produced by church leaders
- Council of Nicaea (325 AD) -- to resolve the Arian controversy, an "ecumenical" council convenes in the city of Nicaea. The Roman emperor, Constantine, presides.
- Middle Ages -- 4th century-15th century
- Reformation -- Protestant attempt to reform the Catholic Church, beginning in the 16th century
Remember Paul's warning about following a different Christ (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)

Earlier controversies

Docetism -- concerns humanity v. divinity of Christ (1-2 John). The Docetists claimed that Christ only appeared to be human. I was, in fact, immaterial. Late first century.
Gnosticism -- this was the great heresy of the second century. Since physicality is evil, Gnostics denied the crucifixion and resurrection (e.g. Gospel of Judas). The Gnostics produced many gospels, apocalypses, etc. Second century.
Marcion -- The O.T. God is evil, and thus not to be equated with our true Lord. Thus Christ divorced from the God of the Old Testament. Mid-second century.
Montanism – “new prophecy” (a type of charismatic movement). Jesus speaks directly to the women who lead this movement. Starting in the late second century.

Definitions and Developments

Bishops -- Instead of a body of elders governing each congregation, one elder becomes the chief bishop. The embryonic ecclesiastical hierarchy of the middle ages is growing.
Deacons -- Originally servants interfacing with the poor, they increasingly become the servants of the bishops.
Priests -- The priesthood of all believers gives way to a clergy class.
Martyrs -- Seek death as a means of salvation / union with God.
Monks -- React to the worldliness of the church.

Disputes of the Councils

Nicaea (325): Christ fully divine
Constantinople (381): Christ fully human
Ephesus (431): Christ a unified person – Mary mother of God
Chalcedon (451): Human and divine in one person

Four ways in which Christ is re-imaged from the 2nd century to the early middle ages

Mother – Luke 1:41-43, 11:27-28. As Mary is promoted to a quasi-goddess, Christ recedes. She is a mediatrix. (Note: this tenet goes well beyond the notion of the dead interceding for the living; she isn't simply talking to God for us [intercession], but enthroned with the Father and the Son.)
Communion – In the Eucharist, the presence of Christ is mystical… moving towards the magical.
Pagan accommodation: celebrations, customs, calendar… E.g. birthday of the Persian god Mithras
Warrior – Jesus is less and less the Prince of Peace. More on this next time.

About Mary

Honor those who deserve honor. Mary deserves honor. Please listen to the Mary podcast.
Yet the sort of devotion shown in Luke 11 is not accepted by Christ. Or if it is, he certainly diminishes its value. What counts is obedience!
Luke 6:46 – we should aim to cultivate a lifestyle of obedience

Communication & Excommunication

Not to say these things are trivial, but little grace was shown to those who disagreed.
Conformity with the creeds produced by the councils is the test of fellowship.

Next: Christ in the Later Middle Ages

Christ Through the Ages, 24: Christ in the Apostolic Age

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Early sources

Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Acts
Letters
Apocalypse
Found also in early documents like 1 Clement, the letters of Ignatius, etc.

Apostolic emphases illustrated in evangelistic speeches:

Acts 2:14-36
- Jesus was a real person -- he was from Nazareth (v.22).
- The scriptures (Old Testament) bear witness to Christ (vv.16-21, 25-28, 34-35).
- His many miracles also testify to him (v.22)
  - These were indisputable, even to his enemies.
  - In the early centuries, the Jews did not deny his miracles, although sometimes they dismissed them as magic.
- Crucified (v.23).
  - See 1 Corinthians 1. What was striking was not the agony of his death, but his apparent failure.
  - Little emphasis on the gore. Restraint exercised even in the gospel accounts of Jesus' passion.
- Resurrected (vv.24-32).
  - Corroborated by eyewitnesses.
  - Emphasized more than the crucifixion.
- The world /age to come is here:
  - Day of the Lord here (v.20).
  - Kingdom of God -- and Christ is King (vv.30,33).
  - The Spirit is now available (vv.17-18, 33 -- see v.38)
- Jesus is the Christ, or Messiah (vv.34-36).
  - Son of David
  - Jesus is the Lord (vv.34, 36).
  - Salvation therefore comes in name of the Lord (v.21--see v.38, 22:16).
Acts 28:23
- 25 years later than the Pentecost message
- This is an abbreviated version of most of the material in the Pentecost sermon.
- Paul had many hours to proclaim Christ -- far longer than Peter did at Pentecost -- and this one-verse compendium summarizes a period of teaching doubtless containing more content than the Acts 2 sermon:
  - Kingdom
  - Messianic texts

General

Incarnate God -- both divine and human
Sinless
Lord: personal and political implications (esp. beginning in the 2nd century).
Church as visible body of Christ, though see 2 Corinthians 4:5.
Yes this compelling portrayal of Christ slowly begins to change. To be continued...

Next: Christ in Church History: The Early Middle Ages

Christ Through the Ages, 23: Revelation–King of Kings

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Today's lesson is from the Apocalypse. Revelation depicts our Lord in a majestic, awesome way, and serves as a much-needed reminder not to trivialize Christ or to forget his role as both Savior and Judge.

"King of Kings" in Scripture

Ezra 7:12 -- claim of ancient kings
Ezekiel 26:7 -- frightful context
Daniel 2:37 -- refers to sovereignty. Note: God is "Lord of kings" in 2:47.
1 Timothy 6:15 -- ultimate sovereignty
Revelation 17:14 -- more powerful than the evil one, and thus a victor
Revelation 19:16 -- commands the armies of heaven (like the unnamed angel of Joshua 5:13-15)

"Lord of Lords" in Scripture

Deuteronomy 10:17 -- (unlike so many earthly authorities) he cannot be corrupted and cares for all equally
Psalm 136:3 -- his mercy / steadfast love his one of his essential qualities
1 Timothy 6:15 -- he is in a class apart, so holy as to be unapproachable, and we are powerless apart from him
Revelation 17:14 -- we are called and chosen by him (see 2 Thess 2:13-15), and can only respond in faithful living.
Revelation 19:16 -- The name of Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Conclusions

Christ is above all earthly kings. He has full authority over the earth.
Though he is regal, he is still portrayed as a "Lamb" (see also Rev 5, where he is both Lion and Lamb).
Christ fulfills the Old Testament prophecies.
Christ is on the level of God himself.
Those who follow him are his chosen and faithful. They are on the right side in the cosmic spiritual war.

Next: Christ in Church History: The Apostolic Age

Christ Through the Ages, 22: Jude–Lordship or License?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Insights about Christ from the epistle of Jude

We are kept by Christ (v.1)
Yet there is a threat: godless men have infiltrated the church (v.4).
They go beyond the faith that has been delivered to the saints (v.3), otherwise Jude would not have felt compelled to modify his agenda.
There are Old Testament and other Jewish precedents for false prophets; moreover, the apostles warned us about these persons (vv.5-16, 17).
We are to keep ourselves in God's love (v.21).
- We must make the effort to build ourselves up in our faith.
- We are to pray in the Holy Spirit (spiritually -- with holy lives that correspond to our faith, unlike the false teachers).
- V.21 also helps us to correctly interpret Romans 8:39.
We are to look after one another, lest anyone be trapped by these false teachers (vv.22-23).

Conclusion

We must do our part, and he will keep us safe.
Am I sure I'm honoring Christ as my Lord, or is my theology a license for me to do what I would have done anyway, only supposedly in the name of the Lord?
He is more than capable. Jesus is Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore (vv.24-25)!

Next lesson: Revelation--King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Christ Through the Ages, 21: 1-3 John–Christ and Antichrist

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Senses of anti in Greek

against
in place of (2 Cor 11)

Occurrences of "antichrist(s)" in Bible

Not in Revelation!
Only in the letters of John
- 1 John 2:18, 4:3
- 2 John 7

Who were the antichrist?

They are people, not a person.
They'd left the church. Yet not all who wander are the antichrist!
They denied the incarnation. Probably these people had been deceived by a false teaching called Docetism.
Polycarp (69-155 AD) warned the Philippians that everyone who preached false doctrine was an antichrist. Yet this seems to go beyond the biblical meaning of the term, which concerns God becoming flesh, and no other doctrine. In later centuries, Christian writers began to identify the Antichrist with specific individuals.

What about 2 John?

There is still a problem.
Notice v.7, which may be easiest verse to share with others who are looking for a definition of the term.

What about 3 John?

Here there's no mention of antichrist.
Diotrephes the narcissist (in 3 John 9) may not deny the incarnation, but...
The enemy doesn't necessarily reject the gospel - at least not visibly. Heretics come in two shapes.
- Those who deny fundamental doctrines. This is a later sense of heretic.
- Those who create factions (haireseis, in Greek) -- the original sense.
- Both senses entail something false.

Conclusions

Antichrist means denying the central teaching of Christianity: that God became flesh.
Virtually everything you hear about the Antichrist these days is rubbish.
Let's make sure we aren't the antichrist! Appreciate the incarnation!
Let's also be sure we don't go the way of Diotrephes. Be humble; stay unified; stay connected.
For more, please hear the podcast on Antichrist in the Last Things series at this website.

Next: Jude--Lordship or License?

Christ Through the Ages, 20: 1-2 Peter–In His Steps

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Like all the letters, 1-2 Peter are intended to help us to grow, to continue to live as disciples of Christ to the very end.
2 Peter – growth through knowledge
1 Peter – growth hrough suffering
The translations relied on in this lesson are the NIV and that of biblical scholar J. Ramsey Michaels.

The theme of suffering in 1 Peter

1 Pet 1: Faith refined in fires of suffering – persecution is starting already, or is on the horizon. In the 60s AD there was a general souring of imperial relationships, though nothing like what it will be 40 years later, once Christianity became illegal.
1 Pet 2: Unjust suffering, as opposed to suffering we bring on ourselves or deserve.
1 Pet 3: Suffering and hard times affect relationships, e.g. marriage and those within the church family.
1 Pet 4: We are to arm ourselves with a robust attitude towards suffering, just as Christ did, and then we will be finished with sin. We can share in Christ’s suffering. Opposition may come in the form of being mocked for taking a strong stand.
1 Pet 5: Patience in suffering, knowing our brothers and sisters worldwide are also suffering, and being convinced that, eventually, the Lord will lift us up.

Unjust suffering

Servants – beaten or mistreated by cruel masters (2:18). In the next section, we read of wives, who may be hurting at hands of unbelieving husbands (3:1).
Yet all Christians are servants (2:16), so Peter's words to servants (2:18-25) apply to us all.
Isaiah 53 lies in the background of 1 Peter 2:21-25. This passage is perfectly suited to the point, as this is the famous chapter on the Suffering Servant, and the best known prophecy of Jesus Christ in all the O.T.
2:23 suggests verbal abuse (like 4:4 -- notice the theme in the epistle of Christians being alienated / aliens in the world).
Remember the life of our Lord, esp. his last 24 hours, before Annas and Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod, the soldiers, and the contemptuous crowd at the cross. He did not return threats with threats. While we may be tempted to lash out, to trade insult for insult, Jesus exhibited grace.

In his steps

Our devotional passage (epitomized in 1 Peter 2:21), applies to all of us. Occasionally, if not often, we find ourselves unfairly treated. And frequently, probably daily, we must adjust to unpleasant circumstances or unpleasant people.
We are called to reject the impulse to demand our rights, or insist on our way.
- Christians are to be gracious, not ugly. Not
  - Speaking hatefully when mocked by unbelievers
  - Writing threatening letters or emails
  - Communicating in a disrespectful or distant demeanor, or in derogatory words or tones.
  - Driving selfishly
  - Behaving impatiently
  - Acting like the Judge -- as opposed to leaving our opponents in God's hands.
- When we can control ourselves in the small things, then we have a chance to follow in his steps when things really get hard. Besides, the day is coming nearer and nearer when Christians are ostracized globally. How will we behave before our enemies?
Jesus did not demand his rights. He did not call down curses, retaliate in word or deed, or conduct himself vindictively -- ever.
Rather, he demonstrated a fineness of his character and the genuineness of the Holy Spirit. And he calls us to follow in his steps.

Next talk: 1-3 John: Christ & Antichrist.

Christ Through the Ages, 19: Hebrews—Not Just Superior, But Supreme

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introductory thoughts

The Hebrew writer (c.66-68 AD) urges his readers not to be drawn away from Christ to Judaism.
To this end, the writer makes an extended comparison -- the new is better than the old; Christianity is better than Judaism.
The Hebrew writer thinks many Christians can't handle meaty teaching; for them, it's all milk (Heb 5:11-14). Which kind of Bible student am I going to be? Which word describes the maturity of my faith and teaching, meaty or milky?
Consider the Latin adjectives super, superior, supremus (positive, comparative, and superlative forms). Nothing is higher than supreme.

Christ is superior in many ways:

Prophets
Angels
Moses
Joshua
Sabbath
High priest
Covenant
Tabernacle
Sacrifices

Yet Christ is beyond superior; he's supreme!

Eternal (1:2, 7:18, etc -- present at creation, and remains forever).
Divine ruler (1:3, 12:2 -- as he sits at the right hand of the Father).
Above the angels -- divine (1:6 -- if he's worshiped by the angels, then he's above their level; he's not a mere man, nor an angel, but God).
God (1:8 -- Christ is addressed "Your throne, O God...").
Incarnate God (2:14 -- he came to share in our humanity [the incarnation], which means he was no mere enlightened human teacher, but divine).
Great Shepherd (13:20 -- but the Lord is our Shepherd, as in Psalm 23, hence Jesus Christ is God).
To Him be glory forever (13:21 -- again, suggesting his deity).

Supremacy: illustrations

Einstein superior to Newton, who was superior to the ancient Greeks... but only God is supreme.
An athlete batting 400 is superior the one batting 200, but who bats 1000? No one could possibly be better.
A trillion (1,000,000,000,000) is much greater than a million (1,000,000), but ∞ (100000000000...0000 ad infinitum) is supreme!

Conclusion

Christ is not only superior; he is supreme.
He is supreme because he is God.
And since he is God, he deserves our worship.
May this insight inspire us today!

Further study

Back from the Edge: A Study of Hebrews (10 lessons, audio).
Perseverance: Hanging on to Jesus Through Hebrews (John Oakes, 8 hours audio with 44 pages of notes + PowerPoint)
AIM Exposition of Hebrews (12 lessons, DVD), to be published Spring 2014 by IPI.

Next up: 1-2 Peter -- In His Steps.

Christ Through the Ages, 18: Philemon–Grace in Action

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Grace from start to finish (vv.3, 25).
Christ was gracious, and this motivated others to change. (See John 4, John 8, Luke 19...)
Paul had clearly learned from his Lord.

The situation

Onesimus is Philemon's runaway slave.
He had become a Christian through Paul's influence, while Paul was in prison.
Paul -- in the presence of the other leaders and the entire church -- wishes to persuade Philemon to receive Onesimus back:
- As a brother in full fellowship,
- Without holding his debts (petty theft?) against him, and
- Granting him release from his servitude.
Col 4:9 -- Was the letter delivered by Onesimus himself?
OT background: Deut 23:15 -- the runaway was not to be returned.
For more on slavery and the Bible, please listen to the podcast on this topic.

Personal challenges (esp. for leaders)

Firm yet gentle influence
Transparency of the process
Respect for all persons
Reaching out in all circumstances (e.g. in prison) Col 4:2-6
Since we all hope to receive grace, let's show it to others!

Next podcast: Jesus Christ: Not just Superior, but Supreme

Christ Through the Ages, 16: 1-2 Thessalonians–He’s Coming Back!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Isn't this theme in most of the NT books? Yes; it occurs in the majority of them.
7 consecutive chapters on return of Christ.
Issues surrounding the 2 Thessalonian letters are closely related. And seem to be the most urgent issues in each, and certainly in the 2nd letter.
Thessalonica
- Acts 17. But reading this background doesn't add so much to our understanding of the doctrinal concerns of 1-2 Thessalonians.
- Situation of 1-2 Thess. Paul had preached that Messiah had to suffer and rise (vv.2-3), and that loyalty to him was above that owed to Caesar (v.7).
- Paul's first three letters: Gal (48), 1 Thess (50), 2 Thess (50/51). And 2 Thess 3:17 suggests possible previous letters.
Theme
- What we learn is not only that he's coming back. That we already know. There's more. (Although still I admit that you can find my topic in several NT books.)
- In 1 Thessalonians, Paul instructs the Thessalonians about the return of Christ, countering the notion that only those still alive at the end of the world will be saved.
- In 2 Thessalonians, apparently some have misunderstood Paul to have been urging them to quit their jobs (see 2 Thess 3) and loiter around until the Lord returned. He tells these people, "Get back to work!"

Thessalonian Texts

1 Thess 1:9-10 -- Christ's ("second") coming from heaven. (The first coming is the incarnation.)
1 Thess 2:19-20 -- When the Lord returns, believers will be together.
1 Thess 3:11-13 -- We are to live blameless and holy lives.
1 Thess 4:13-18
- Some grieving in misunderstanding.
- No "hope" => resurrection
- Dead in Christ will rise. Not lost to God.
- We will join them. Not lost to God or to us!
- Rapture? Escorting Lord to earth or is this a flight from the earth, by the traditional understanding of John 14?
2 Thess 1:6-10
- Vindication of saints
- Punishment of enemies
2 Thess 2:1-10
- A false apostolic letter or report has been circulating.
- He has not come back yet! Nor should we evade the responsibilities of life in order to wait for his imminent return (see 3:6-15).
- Certain events must take place first. This passage is (I admit) difficult to interpret.
- Don't be impressed by interpretations, or even miracles, that contradict this teaching.
- Many Bible readers in our generation have been misled, too; they are focusing on signs and wonders and the end of the world, but have failed to be truly prepared in holiness.
1 Thess 5:1-11
- Another misunderstanding: the business of predicting. This is fruitless!
- Be ready, be alert (awake).
- God's plan is that those who sleep (the dead) together with those who are awake (living) may enjoy fellowship with him.
- The Day of the Lord will be terrible if we aren't striving to live holy lives. See Amos 5:18ff.

Summary

He's coming back, and we'd better be ready!
We are to be vigilant: not by analyzing current events, tracking global weather, or scrutinizing the prophecies, but by living alert Christian lives.
He expects holiness. (See also 2 Peter 3.)
He will bring final redemption, and justice. We must offer to Him a vigilant holiness. Which is why he looks for alert, not sleepy, followers.
For more on the afterlife and the end times, listen to the lessons in the Last Things series at this website.

Next: The Pastoral Epistles: Christ Our Gracious Guide

Christ Through the Ages, 15: Philippians–To Live is Christ

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Philippians is an extremely christocentric document
- It is often commented that the theme of Philippians is joy – I count 14 or 15 instances of this word, or the idea—but I’m not so sure.
- Look at how many times Christ is mentioned (whichever word or phrased is use in referring to Him). This seems to be the true theme.
Every chapter exalts Christ.
- All things through Him, and All needs supplied (4).
- All things are as nothing, compared to his incomparable and surpassing greatness (3).
- Carmen Christi [the Song of Christ] (2)
- Live / exalt 1:21.
1:21 is our theme verse.

Overview of chapter 1

Die—Praetorian guard knew Paul's confidence
Gain—the other option
Fruitful labor
Rrogress and joy (for the saved)
Knowledge of Christ spread

Why the pull in two directions?

I haven’t met many brothers or sisters who feel torn.
Perhaps it’s because Paul had such an impact and he know his Lord so well.
We have little impact, and we don't know the one we say we worship.

To live is Christ… but is it?

Notice that Paul writes, “For to me…” This is his determination, his steadfast decision.
What excites me the most?
- Career advancement
- Relationship with spouse
- Sporting glory
- Material things
- Education?
Or is it Christ?
- So much that I live with an unusual passion for Him on a daily basis?
- So much that whenever and wherever he is preached, and by whomever, regardless of the character or even doctrinal soundness of the preacher, I genuinely rejoice?
- So much that I evaluate my life in terms of Christ, rejecting the norms and values and accolades of the world?

Conclusion

"To live is gain, to die is Christ." -- wouldn't that also be true?
But again, in the simplicity of paradise, and worship of One God (without worldly distractions or competition), and freedom from opposition, resentment, misrepresentation... to die is gain (even if he must wait for heaven at the judgment day). So Paul put it just the right way.
Paul teaches us so much about Christ. Of course—he was an inspired apostle, infused with by Spirit of Christ and led into all truth by Him!

Next time: 1-2 Thessalonians--He's Coming Back!

Christ Through the Ages, 14: Ephesians & Colossians–Cosmic Christ

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Appreciate the fact that Christ is Lord on not just a local or global level, but on a cosmic level! Listen to Ephesians & Colossians: The Cosmic Christ (11 minutes).

Scriptures in this lesson:

Eph 1:22-23
Eph 3:8-11
Col 1:15-20
Col 2:9-10
Recommended: Steve Kinnard, Jesus Unequaled: An Exposition of Colossians (IPI, 2013).

Cosmic Christ manifest in 5 areas:

Creator: not just involved as the means or as an assistant, but as the agent.
Sustainer
Redeemer: reconciliation earth / heaven
Full deity: not just an enlightened human, mystical guru, or wise rabbi. God in nature (lesson 1)
All authority: hence Lord

Application:

Created the world, will preside over the new creation, makes us new creations.
1. When we are flat
2. When we need a spark of inspiration
3. When we doubt we can change
Can sustain us when we are tiring
1. Isaiah 40.
2. Need to schedule the Lord or the world will press in
Redeemer
1. Ongoing cleansing (1 Jn 1)
2. Confidence that comes with cleansing
Deity should affect us in many areas:
1. Appreciate Jesus Christ as our Savior
2. Conviction about the uniqueness of Christianity on the spectrum of world religions
3. Extra alert while we sing hymns to Christ
All authority
1. We won't challenge his authority over our lives: allow him to sit on the throne of my heart-- but first self must get out of the way
2. Won't doubt his power
3. Will obey his commissions:
  1. To share the good news
  2. To bless the poor
  3. To live fruitful lives, ready at his service

Next: Philippians: To Live is Christ

Christ Through the Ages, 13: 1-2 Corinthians–Humility Amidst Suffering

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Lesson 13, 1-2 Corinthians: Christ's Humility Amidst Suffering (13 minutes), explores Jesus' humility and gentleness even in the midst of severe pain and suffering.

Background:

Paul penned 4 Corinthians letters (1 Corinthians 1:1, 5:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 7:8), c.53-55 AD.
Clement of Rome wrote to the Corinthians c.95 AD, urging them to remain unified. The younger leaders had risen up against their elders -- redolent of the old troubles (1 Corinthians 1, 3...).
In 2 Corinthians, Paul's authority is under attack. He does not defend his ministry with credentials or a resume. Rather, as he argues, the true mark of leadership is suffering.
It may seem easy enough to be loving when life is easy and events are calm, but how about when we are under pressure? At such times, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 takes on new meaning.

Challenge questions:

What am I like when I'm in physical or emotional pain? Do I still put others first?
If I had been the one on the cross, how would I have related to the soldiers? the criminals? the religious leaders who put me there? my friends who had abandoned me?
When I'm tired, hungry, etc., do I become rude, demanding, grouchy, or self-focused?
What parts of the day ahead of me are likeliest to strain my goodwill -- to tempt me to forget humility? Thinking about Christ, may I be prepared for what comes.

Next lesson: Ephesians & Colossians -- The Cosmic Christ.

Christ Through the Ages, 12: Romans & Galatians–Baptized into Death

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to Romans & Galatians: Baptized into Death (15 minutes).

Background

Galatians (48 AD): Judaizers teaching that circumcision must precede baptism.
Council of Jerusalem (49 AD): The apostles and elders reject this teaching (Acts 15).
Romans (55 AD): Paul, in elaborating on the gospel for the benefit of a Christian community he had never visited, inoculates them against the heresy of the Judaizers (the circumcision party). Rome was by far the largest city in the empire, and would obviously play a crucial role in the future unity of the Christian movement.

Scriptures carrying the theme of baptism into death / death to self:

Romans 6:1-7 -- Baptism is a participation in death, burial, and resurrection Christ -- the point of rebirth.
Romans 6:6 -- "Crucifixion" in baptism.
Galatians 2:20 -- "Crucified with Christ" is connected with a life of faith.
Galatians 5:24 -- The key to living in the Spirit (5:22-23), instead of the flesh (5:19-21).
Galatians 6:14 -- We are called to die to the world.
Colossians 2:12, 2:20, 3:1-3, 3:5 -- Here we find similar linkages between baptism, death to the old life, and ongoing determination to put to death our flesh ("sinful nature," NIV).
1 Peter 2:24 -- This is not referring to conversion, though the thoughts are similar. Dying to sin in 1 Peter is a lifestyle decision; death to sin in Romans 6 is an aspect of conversion, something God accomplishes. Death to sin is not the same thing as repentance. Repentance initially precedes baptism; death to sin begins in baptism.

Summary:

Baptism into Christ connects us with the power of His death and resurrection.
Baptism is a kind of crucifixion (Romans 6:6).
Because you have died, continue to stay dead!

Next time: 1-2 Corinthians: Humility amidst Suffering

Christ Through the Ages, 11: James–Jesus, Wisdom from Above

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Our 11th lesson in the series CHRIST THROUGH THE AGES asks us to read between the lines in James. To what sort of life are we being called? Since as Christ-followers we are all urged to lead a life of Christ likeness, it is fair to regard the intense spiritual qualities enjoined on us in James as an upward call to embrace the life of Christ.

Are you ready for a challenge today? Listen to James: Jesus, our Wisdom from Above (10 minutes).

In this lesson:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, the famous Ode to Love, is essentially a description of Christ -- of God! (Christ is patient, Christ is kind...)
Similarly, throughout James we find many aspects of Christ's character
1 – perseverance, patience, obedience
- James 2 – fairness, love, compassion for needy
- James 4 – pure motives, etc…
- James 5 – faithful prayer, etc…
- James 3 – control of the tongue...
Our focus: 3:13-18
- Apparently some teachers are not controlling their tongues (3:1-12), and this has led to some degree of spiritual chaos in the community.
- Unlike the false teacher, whose "falseness" originates from within, the godly teacher emulates Christ.
- Whereas the "wisdom" of the false teacher comes from below, true heavenly wisdom comes from above.
- This wisdom manifests itself in sevenfold virtue.
- Does this describe me? Does this passage sum up the kind of Christian teacher I long to be?

Next lesson: Romans & Galatians: Baptized into Death

Christ Through the Ages, 10: John–Heavenly Word, Human Flesh

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to the 10th podcast in the series (11 minutes), John: The (Heavenly) Word in (Human) Flesh.

Emphasized in this podcast:

90% of John’s material is unique, and mainly set in Jerusalem, as opposed to Galilee.
Unlike the Synoptics, John is not structured around the Caesarea-Jerusalem trek following Peter’s confession (Mark 8).
Emphasizes Jesus’ incarnation: humanity.
Antitheses: simple yet effective use of paired opposites, combined with physical and spiritual levels (and frequent misunderstanding).
Has the most universal focus of the four gospels.
Triple-7 (7 signs, 7 confessions, 7 I AM statements). (More on this in the Worship podcast series.)
Humanity: fatigue 4:6; anguish 12:27, 13:21; weeping 11:33-35; irritation 2:4; friends 11:11.

A study of John 11:1-35

Jesus has friends, and he spends time with them.
Jesus is affected by the emotions of others (Mary, Martha, the crowd).
Jesus loves Lazarus, in a way he did not love others. Like us, he is closer to some persons than to others.
Jesus is seized with emotion ("Jesus wept"), and this was obvious to others.
Jesus shows us how to be human.

Questions

Am I aware of the differences among the four Gospels?
Do I grasp the message of John's gospel?
Do I lean towards conceiving of Christ as more and Angel or more as a human? Do I have a balanced Christology?
Have I ever been taught that the body is somehow unnecessary, or even unspiritual?
Am I attempting to imitate Jesus, as an example of the perfect human?

Next: Jesus in James: Wisdom from Above.

Christ Through the Ages, 9: Luke–Universal Vision, Center to Margins

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to the 9th lesson in our series, Luke: A Universal Vision from the Center to the Margins (14 minutes).

Introduction: Luke-Acts

The good news is to be preached from the centers of power (gospel proclaimed to kings) all the way out to the disenfranchised, minorities, outcasts…
Luke was written in the finest Greek, for those at home in Greek culture.
Emphasis on Jesus’ concern for the weak and marginalized; love and respect for women.
Righteous attitudes towards possessions. They must not control us; we are to control them, for the benefit of others.
Salvation for every stratum of society (vertically); in Acts the gospel expands to all regions (horizontally).
Special emphasis on the Spirit, prayer, repentance, and several other themes.
Acts: church as the restoration of Israel.

Text: Luke 4:14-30 (Jesus' Nazareth sermon)

Good news is not only for Jews, but for Gentiles.
His examples come from the books of Kings, and in both Gentiles are the ones who receive good news.
Jesus exposes the prejudice of his audience.
Although he was brought up in Nazareth, he was not merely "a man of his time." Jesus transcends culture, just as the gospel requires us to stand in judgment on society.
Application
- Is there any trace of prejudice in my outlook, or in my ministry?
- Do I share with those who are different to me?
- Do I care deeply about the different peoples and cultures of the world?
- Do I have a universal vision for the impact of the gospel, or do I prefer the quiet confines of the self-absorbed insider?

Next: John: The (Heavenly) Word in (Human) Flesh

Christ Through the Ages, 8: Matthew–Jesus was Jewish

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Emphases of Matthew

Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
Jesus a teacher and lawgiver like Moses.
5 Teaching Tracts – like Torah (Pentateuch) and Psalms.
- Suggests Jesus' teaching is scripture (follows the O.T. model).
- Suggests Jesus is a second Moses.
- Matthew 5:17: He came not to abolish, but to fulfill, Torah.
- OT fulfillment formulae (11x).

Observations chapter by chapter in Matthew

1:1 -- Son of Abraham, Son of David: Jesus is Jewish through and through.
2:1 -- Born in the town of David, Bethlehem.
2:1-2 -- King of the Jews (legitimately)
4:1ff -- Tested in the desert, like the people of Israel. For more on the parallels, listen to Night of Redemption: A Study of Exodus (10 lessons).
5-7 -- Teaching like Moses
- Goes up a mountainside (as Moses twice went up Mt. Sinai).
- Authority higher than that of the rabbis or Pharisees; Jesus speaks on his own (divine) authority. See 7:28-29.
- Updates God's Word, reinterpreting Torah.
10:23 (15:24) -- Preaching to the Jews.
12:1ff -- Lord of the Sabbath.
28:16-20 -- Make disciples of all the Gentiles (nations)
- Mountain -- Moses.
- Worship -- Deity.
- Fulfilling the Abrahamic promise (Genesis 12:3; Exodus 19:6).

Next: Luke: A Universal Vision from the Center to the Margins

Christ Through the Ages, 7: Mark—Lord Caesar or Lord Jesus?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to lesson 7 in the series CHRIST THROUGH THE AGES. In this podcast, Mark: Lord Caesar or Lord Jesus?, we will examine a special focus of the earliest of the four gospels, Mark. The lesson is 15 minutes long.

Introduction

Gospels were composed primarily for believers.
Bioi. Ancient biography = bios.
The theology lies in the differences, not just the similarities.
For more on bios, please see A Quick Overview of the Bible.

Emphases of Mark

Brief gospel, swift action. (Euthus [quickly] appears 9x in Mark 1!)
Roman audience, mainly Gentile—not so much biblical background.
Jesus’ power and deity.
Identity of Christ concealed, then revealed.
Lord Caesar or Lord Jesus?

Our study: the political implication

Mark 1:1 -- gospel entails Jesus being the Son of God.
But "Son of God" and other titles like Lord, God, and Savior were reserved for the Caesar!
- Julius (dictator, uncle of Augustus, d.44 BC)
- Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD)
- Tiberius (14-37 AD)
- Caligula (37-41)
- Claudius (41-54)
- Nero (54-68)
- Vespasian (69-79)
- And so forth. See Craig Evans' commentary on Mark 8:27-16:20 in The Word Biblical Commentary.
1:23-24 -- The demonic world recognizes his identity.
15:37-39 -- The centurion tasked with the crucifixion recognizes it.
Yet often his own followers do not grasp his identity (nor do we)!
Mark's gospel shows us that Jesus deserves our highest allegiance, not any human government, political leader, or other claimant to ultimate sovereignty. Are we conducting ourselves in line with such a perspective, conviction, and courage?

Next lesson: Matthew: Jesus was Jewish.

Christ Through the Ages, 6: Many Flavors of Messiah

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

By clicking on the link, you can listen to the 6th lesson in our series, 1st Century Judaism: Many Flavors of Messiah. The podcast is 20 minutes in length.

Sectarian groups of the 1st century

Pharisee – Torah (written and oral)
Sadducees – Temple
Essenes – Land (Qumran and library of Dead Sea Scrolls)
Zealots – Kingship (Sicarii -- extreme measures)
Herodians – Regime (Mark 3:6)
Scribes – Text (Shammai & Hillel; Mark 12:34)
Samaritans – Sectarian past (see 2 Kings 17; John 4)
Christians – Messiah (Christ)

Later Judaism

Remnant of Jews joined the Christian movement (Romans 9-11).
Escalating antipathy, esp. after 70 AD. Anti-Christian curses.
Did not deny Christian miracles, but rejected Jesus’ divinity.
Expected a political Messiah (John 6:15).
Heirs of Pharisees (rabbinic Judaism) codify oral law in Mishnah, c.200 AD.

Modern Judaism

Descendants of the Pharisees
Three main divisions
- Orthodox (right)
- Conservative (center)
- Reform (left)
Mystics (kabala)
Charismatics (chasidim)

Conclusion

Divisions into sects -- each with its own take on the Messiah -- was not just a Jewish phenomenon of the first century.
As we shall see, division will come round again in the course of church history, and perhaps nowhere more so than in our generation – about 20 lessons from now.
This violates God's ideal that his people remain one (John 17:22-23).

Next section: Christ in the Gospels. Next podcast: Mark: Lord Caesar or Lord Jesus?

Christ Through the Ages, 5: Visible in the Writings

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Following are the notes for the fifth lesson in our series, Christ—Visible in the O.T. Writings. The podcast (12 minutes) takes aim at the third division of the Hebrew scriptures.

O.T. Writings that point to Christ

Psalms (e.g. listen to the 18 podcasts at this website recorded in 2013).
Proverbs: Jesus as wisdom teacher and Jesus as God's incarnate Wisdom, or Word.
1-2 Chronicles (the closing book in the Hebrew canon), longing for a Davidic Messiah, reflecting and whetting the appetite of God's people for a righteous ruler.
Ruth: kinsman-redeemer. Parallels Boaz/Ruth, where Boaz is like Christ.
Esther, Job, Song of Songs, and several other books in this 3rd section of the Hebrew scriptures.
Note: While the OT Apocrypha were cited by the Jews, Messianic texts found among these extracanonical books were also pressed into service. Of special interest to the early church was Wisdom of Solomon (see chapter 2).
Daniel

Comments on Daniel

Classed among the Writings (not the Prophets). Daniel is a wisdom teacher who also relays apocalyptic visions.
Daniel 9:24-27 -- difficult to interpret, but definitely referring to the Messiah, the covenant, the Messiah being cut off, and Jerusalem being destroyed (70 AD).
Daniel 7:9-14
- Not directly referring to the second coming, but to Jesus' ascension to the throne (see Acts 2:30)
- The Son of Man is led into the presence of the Ancient of Days, and shares in God's sovereignty. This passage suggests Jesus' divinity, and that being the case highlights the strong reaction of the Sanhedrin to Jesus' applying this Messianic text to himself (Matthew 27:74; Mark 14:62; Luke 23:69).
- Notice that the Messiah is called "Son of Man."

Next podcast: 1st Century Judaism: Many flavors of Messiah

Christ Through the Ages 4: Visible in the Prophets

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to the 4th lesson in the series, Christ—Visible in the O.T. Prophets(16 minutes).

Introduction

Christ’s identity is in the background of every OT book
Each of the 3 sections – Law, Prophets, Writings – testifies to Jesus Christ
In Jewish thought, the prophets begin with Joshua.
While we could examine Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53, Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 34, Micah 5, Malachi 3, or many other books, in this lesson I thought I’d dwell on one of Jesus’ favorite prophets, one which is ever in the background of his words and actions especially during the Passion Week: Zechariah

Zechariah 9-14: overview

9-11 shepherd-king
12-14 universal ruler
Note: there are messanic texts earlier in Zechariah; we are just skipping them.

Zechariah 9-14: specific passages

9:9 – though in context of military victory – Jesus must have disappointed them
9:11 – blood of covenant
9:12, 10:6 – restoration of God’s people
10:3, 11:15,17 – anger with wicked shepherds (reminiscent of Ezekiel 34, the Good Shepherd passage)
11:12 – valuation at 30 pieces of silver (slave price?)—which is then thrown to the potter (11:13)
12:10 – outpoured spirit
12:10-14 – mourning for the one who was pierced
13:1 – fountain for cleansing (John 4, 7)
13:7 – shepherd struck and sheep scattered
14:4 – (context of war against Jerusalem), Mount of Olives. (On the basis of this text, many Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe the general resurrection and the last judgment will begin at the Mount of Olives.)
14:8 –living waters flowing out of Jerusalem (frequently depicted in Rev 22:1-17)
14:9 – Lord king over all the earth
14:16-19 – emphasis on Feast of Tabernacles (Pentecost): special focus on devotion to the word of God
14:21 – Temple will be cleansed of merchants (or Canaanites—same word)

Next lesson: Christ--Visible in the Writings

Christ Through the Ages, 3: Visible in the Law

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Christ—Visible in the Old Testament Law is the 3rd lesson in the series Christ through the Ages (21 minutes).

Here are the scriptures referred to in the podcast:

John 5:39 (the Jewish scriptures testify to Christ).
Luke 24:44-47 (three sections of Hebrew Bible point to the Christ).
1 Peter 1:10-12 (the O.T. is more easily understood backward than forward).
Genesis 3, 12, 14, 22, 49, 50 (Eve, Abraham, Melchizedek, Isaac, Judah, Joseph).
Exodus 14. Or check out my CD on Exodus (10 lessons).
Leviticus 14 (live bird sacrifice), 17 (no forgiveness without the shedding of blood), etc.
Numbers 24 (Balaam's prophecy), interpreted as Messianic by the Jews, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Christians, and in medieval Judaism (e.g. Maimonides).
Deuteronomy 18 (the second Moses).

Next: Christ—Visible in the Old Testament Prophets.

Christ Through the Ages 2: Eternal Plan, Perfect Time

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Eternal Plan, Effected at the Perfect Time (19 minutes) is the second in the series CHRIST THROUGH THE AGES.

Scriptures referred to in this lesson:

1 Peter 1:20 (Acts 2:23)
Titus 2:12
Ephesians 1:20-21
Hebrews 6:5
1 Corinthians 10:11
Hebrews 9:26
1 Timothy 2:5 (also see Ephesians 1:10)
Philippians 2:5-11 (1 Corinthians 15:28; Isaiah 45:23)

Next lesson: Christ—Visible in the Old Testament Law.

Christ Through the Ages 1: Fixing Our Eyes on Him

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the introduction to and first lesson in the series CHRIST THROUGH THE AGES. The series aims to explore what it means that Jesus Christ is Lord of history. We hope that this 40-day series truly makes a difference in your spiritual life.

Listen to Lifting our spirits by fixing our eyes on Him (22 minutes).

Scriptures referred to in this lesson:

Hebrews 3:1
Isaiah 41:4
Isaiah 44:6
Isaiah 48:12-13
Revelation 1:8
Revelation 21:6
Revelation 22:12-13
John 8:58
Exodus 3:13-14
1 John 4:7-8,16
The lesson "Already, But Not Yet."

What this series will cover:

How Jesus is God, and both the beginning, meaning, and end of history.
How the books of the O.T. clearly reveal the Messiah.
How the N.T. books illuminate different facets of the Christ.
The different expectations -- or flavors of Messiah -- present among 1st century Jewish factions.
How Christ was slowly reinterpreted through the course of church history, and why it is that today there are multiple "Jesuses."
How Christ has been refracted in the world religions, by polytheists and monotheists alike.
What the atheists are missing.
After 30 new lessons on Christ Through the Ages, we will be directed to 10 further podcasts on Worship, which will round out the series.

Next podcast: God's Eternal Plan, Effected at the Perfect Time

10 Commandments: Tenth Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far:

We have already studied 9 of the Old Testament's well-known but little-observed commandments.
We have striven to examine each in context and understand its message to us as Christians living under the new testament.
It is time to conclude our study - to meditate on a commandment that significantly differs from all the others, which may explain why it appears last.

Text

The 10th commandment
Exodus 20:17: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Comment

We falsely believe that life is about things, or having what our neighbor has (Ecclesiastes 4:4).
Violating this commandment can begin in a fantasy: imagining how life would be better if we had what our neighbor has.
- Greener lawn?
- Nicer home, nicer things?
- Better financial security?
- More appealing car or other means of transport?
- Classier employees or domestic help?
- More attractive spouse?
- A better life?
The sevenfold prohibition suggests completeness. God desires complete holiness.
Of all the commandments, this one can be disobeyed without others necessarily seeing. When we disobey the other commandments, people know. Coveting, in contrast, can be committed in broad daylight and no one may know.
Recall that this is the one commandment Paul chose as an example of the difficulty of keeping the law apart from God's Spirit (Romans 7).
1 John 2:15-17; Hebrews 13:5.
Coveting (greed) is idolatry (Colossians 3:5), thus connecting the 10th commandment with the 2nd.

Conclusion

The commandments at first blush are deceptively simple.
Yet the more we meditate on them, the more we realize how far short we have fallen. Ultimately this insight drives us to the Savior.
Which are the hardest commandments to keep? 2,4,7, and perhaps 5? Or is it no. 10? How do you respond personally to this question?
Although the commandments challenge the heart, we as Christians are now called to an even higher standard.
Not just a list of rules, but a pathway to freedom in context of recent liberation from slavery.
The proper response to the revelation of God's holiness (Exodus 20:18-21).
- Think biblically.
  - Read both testaments. Finish the O.T. if you have never read it in its entirety.
  - Learn from the Law.
    - For the ancient Jews, the Torah was the word of God and the law of God. For us, the regulations of Exodus-Deuteronomy are not the law of God for us, yet they are still his word for us. There is much to learn!
    - The Decalogue is expanded beginning in Exodus 21. Much of what follows are case studies, concrete examples of putting the principles of the Decalogue into practice.
  - Steven A. Kaufmann has been suggested that the Decalogue is reflected in the structure of Deuteronomy. ("The Structure of the Deuteronomic Law," Maarav, A Journal for the Study of the Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures, 1-2 [1978-1979]: 105-158). What do you think?
    - 1-2 -- Deut 12:1-31 -- Worship
    - 3 -- 13:1-14:27 -- Name of God
    - 4 -- 14:28-16:17 -- Sabbath
    - 5 -- 16:18-18:22 -- Authority
    - 6 -- 19:1-22:8 -- Homicide
    - 7 -- 22:9-23:19 -- Adultery
    - 8 -- 23:20-24:7 -- Theft
    - 9 -- 24:8-25:4 -- False testimony
    - 10 -- 25:5-16 -- Coveting
  - Replace vague theological opinions with biblical convictions!
  - Aim to see the "big picture."
- Observe the Decalogue as specifically and faithfully as you are able.
  - Put nothing ahead of God (commandments 1-2).
  - Honor his name: be a man or woman of our word. Make sure our words are not harming others (commandments 3 and 9).
  - Make time for the Lord. Carve out some "sabbath time" weekly -- and daily (commandment 4)!
  - Honor your parents, and all who fulfill the role of a "father" or "mother" in your life (commandment 5).
  - Refrain from murder, theft, and adultery in all their various forms (commandments 6-8).
  - Be content with what you have, and realize how insidious coveting is, and how pervasive it is in our world (commandment 10).
- Know for a certainty that God desires us to be holy. His law is not about external conformity, but about inward devotion, purity, and holiness.
- Let us tremble before a holy God (Exodus 20:18-20).

10 Commandments: Ninth Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far:

We have dissected 4 God-directed commandments and 4 others-directed commandments.
Today we look at the fourth of a series of 4 short commandments, bedrock principles in all stable societies.
- Of course we're not trying to recreate human culture at the level of a lowest common denominator.
- God's people are called to go far beyond the minimum: we are to be holy (Exodus 19:6; Deuteronomy 7:6).

Text

The 9th commandment
Exodus 20:16: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Comments

Forensic setting (Exodus 23:1-3; see also the bogus suit against Naboth in 1 Kings 21).
This is not a mere demand for technical truthfulness
- The Lord calls us to live with character (Psalm 15:1-3).
- He calls us to mirror his own holiness (Leviticus 11:44, 19:1).

Extension of the principle

Original context
- Going along with the jury (Exodus 23), whether on account of peer pressure, apathy, revenge, or prejudice
- We can only be certain our broader applications of biblical principles are fair when we have established the meaning of the passage through studying its original context.
Other ways we hurt others through our words
- Generating, spreading, or in any way further rumors
- Much popular-level political discourse is deeply flawed and prejudiced. Do we take part in bearing such "witness" against our fellow man?
- Gossip -- even if it's not incorrect or slanderous, this may harm our neighbor (Romans 13:9-11).
- Misrepresentation
- Failing to checking sources
Broadening the principle even further:
- Lying
- Transparency in business ethics
- Shading the truth
- Excuse-making (when it's invalid or a cover-up for sin)

Conclusion

The commandments are not a list of minimum behaviors expected.
Rather, each commandment calls us to live lives of character, reflecting God's own holiness.

10 Commandments: Eighth Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Thus far:

We have analyzed the first seven commandments.
The 6th - 9th commandments correspond to the teaching of most religions and cultures. Commandments 1-5 and 10 are peculiar to Judaism.
Today we tackle the 8th.

Text

The 8th commandment
Exodus 20:15: You shall not steal.

Comments

Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian)
- The majority of crimes pertained to property.
- Draconian penalties.
- This code merely mirrored the unjust structures of the society in which is was produced. It was not divine in origin.
- In the Bible, theft requires restitution. The thief must make it up to his victim financially, whatever it takes (Exodus 22:2).
About the common misunderstanding of the lex talionis ("eye for eye"): the Torah dictated that the punishment must be appropriate to the crime (not out of proportion to it).
- And yet even then the Jews preferred to settle things in court.
- Note: the Jews did not execute for property crimes. The penalty for all crimes (except first degree murder) was commutable to monetary settlement.
In the Bible, there is no double-standard.
- Everyone from commoner to king were under the same holy standard.
- The king is not a god, nor does he reign with immunity or impunity.

Application

Some listeners have been involved in actual stealing -- shoplifting, intellectual piracy, burglary, corporate espionage, etc. Repent!
If I am tasked with a financial responsibility, am I conducting myself 100% aboveboard? Judas helped himself to the moneybag (John 12:6). Has lack of integrity taken hold in my life?
Other ways we may violate the 8th commandment:
- Long lunch break?
- Routinely late to work?
- Calling in "sick" when I'm not that sick?
- Underpaying certain employees? supporting a prejudicial system?
- Accepting bribes? conniving at an unethical system?
- False advertising?
- Stealing credit?
Theft in all its forms is forbidden for Christ-followers (Ephesians 4:28).
We are to be not takers, but givers (Acts 20:35).

10 Commandment: Seventh Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far

We have studied four commandments related to God and 2 related to our fellow human beings. Here we find ourselves in the middle of the ethical commandments.
Sexual ethics is an area considered to be highly personal and "private," yet through most of human history sexual mores were never a matter of personal preference.
Of all the commandments, this one may generate the greatest push-back. Western culture seems obsessed with breaking the 7th and 10th commandments.

Text

The 7th commandment
Exodus 20:14: You shall not commit adultery.

Comments

"The Adulterous Bible" of 1631 accidentally omitted the not (oops!). Watching movies and popular TV sitcoms, one would think God's will for us did include extramarital affairs!
Like the prohibitions on murder, theft, and lying, this prohibition is universal. All religions condemn it. Only oversexed and irreligious (modern western) culture celebrates adultery.
Whereas in the ancient world men often had wives (for procreation) and mistresses (for recreation), in God's word we are to be one-woman men, or one-man women (to use Paul's phrasing in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1). Such dedication outside God's people is as rare today as it was back then.
Adultery was originally a property crime, a sin against the husband. Of course it is more. In Psalm 51, we read that David's sin (2 Samuel 11) was fundamentally against God, even though he's sinned against the woman he lusted for, the husband he displaced, and the accomplices to his adultery (his servants and Joab). Like all sin, sexual sin is an offense against God. In fact, failure to obey the 5th - 10th commandments is always a sin against God.
Jesus ups the stakes, doesn't he (Matthew 5)?
Not just heterosexual sin; homosexual too. If homosexuals were truly married, then they would be forbidden to cheat, yet this is hardly the norm. It is not unfair to state that they are unfaithful to God, to God's plan for sexual fulfillment, and to each other.
Yet the most widespread sexual sin isn't homosexual, but heterosexual. And you don't have to be married, or be romantically involved with a married person, to commit sexual sin.

Application

Adultery is a discrete action, though like murder it may also take place in the heart. With this is mind, do I allow my eyes or thoughts to wander? Do I avoid places in the city or on the web where I am likely to be tempted?
Do I have a sufficiently intense spiritual life -- am I busy? -- that I don't wander into sexual sin (2 Samuel 11)?
Do I take steps to keep my heart pure by spending time daily in God's word and prayer?
In the ancient world, one could expand his sexual options without technically sinning (take another wife). In the modern world, there are many ways to sin sexually without technically violating another individual. Do I rationalize such behaviors?
If I'm married, do I have eyes only for my husband or wife (Proverbs 5, Job 31)?
Have I bought into the devil's lie that our private life has little effect on our public competence? (E.g., how can we trust politicians who are unfaithful to their own wives not just to follow self-interest instead of honoring their office?)
In the Bible, spiritual unfaithfulness is frequently compared to adultery (e.g. in Hosea and in James 4). Is there any way in which I am "two-timing" on God?
Can we pray Psalm 19:12-14 with sincerity?
God's holiness is for our well-being, health, and happiness (Psalm 119:32).

Further study

Take a look at some of the Koine Greek words for various sins here.
Learn about the destructive effects of cohabitation.
For more on homosexuality, learn from Guy Hammond's book Caring Beyond the Margins (2012) as well as his CD series Helping Christians Understand Homosexuality (2010).

10 Commandment: Sixth Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far

We have already examined four God-directed commandments, then begun to explore the others-directed commandments.
This is the second in that category.
In the last podcast I urged you to memorize the commandments, at least being able to paraphrase them in order. What do you think -- is this worthwhile for you?

Text

The 6th commandment
Exodus 20:13: You shall not murder.

Comments

Flexible order among the 6th - 8th commandments. Similar flexibility appears in Romans 13:9.
Murder isn't the equivalent of killing, since there were O.T. death penalties and obvious exceptions -- even in Exodus 19 and 21.
Moreover, the Hebrew word for kill is different from the word for murder.
The N.T., where Christ calls us to a higher standard, forbids killing one's enemy (Matthew 5). We are even told to feed him (Romans 12)!
Yet even in the O.T., killing was not glorified. It was Solomon, not his father ("a man of blood" - 1 Chronicles 22:8), who was permitted to building the temple. Or consider 2 Kings 6:18-23!

Application

Don't murder. While this sin can be forgiven (I have known several murderers who later came to Christ), the violence it does to the perpetrator's heart may make repentance difficult, or even impossible.
Don't even hate, which is in some way tantamount to carrying out the murder of your enemy. The O.T. forbids hating one's neighbor in one's heart (Leviticus 19:17-18); Christ extends this principle to all people, enemies included.
Pray. Often a nasty edge to our thinking and comments can build up when we are not close to the Lord.
When you're reading the Bible, keep in mind that the scriptures often relate atrocities, without necessarily approving of them.
Think theologically about your employer. Are lives ruined through your company's enterprises (pumping carcinogens into the environment, keeping the poor in a sort of bondage, destroying the homeland of those who lived there first, and so forth)?

Conclusion

Stop saying, "If I had been in this or that situation, I would never have killed..." (Matthew 23:29-32) Only God knows the darkness in the human heart, and the atrocities of which any of us is potentially capable.
Don't murder - whether in action or in thought.

Further study

Learn the two different Hebrew words for kill and murder, respectively. Click here.
If you're one of those conservative Christians who has a conviction about abortion as murder, you may appreciate to the podcast on Abortion.
Listen to the podcast on Capital punishment. If you are like most people, you may be in for a surprise!

10 Commandments: Fifth Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Decalogue so far

Today we begin the second section of the Decalogue, the man-directed commandments. These six amplify Leviticus 19:18, which Jesus called the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-40).
Unlike no. 4, which is not repeated in the N.T., no. 5, like all the others, is explicitly restated in the pages of the N.T.

Text

The 5th commandment -- learn them by number!
Exodus 20:12: Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Comments

Faithfully married couples form the backbone of society! Yet our culture is slowly self-destructing:
- Media: honoring adulterer, mock the faithful as a "loser."
- Bias in favor of gay couples -- not "honor your father and your father," but "honor your father and your mother."
- Honoring self: in our society, the managed pursuit of pleasure has totally eclipsed the pursuit of holiness.
Does it mean honor him/her only if he/she is worthy of honor? Honor even if not "worthy" - emperor (1 Peter 2:17).
And mother
- In the ancient world, which was highly patriarchal and misogynist, the mother was frequently overlooked, or denigrated. Yet in the Bible, both are deserving of honor.
- Genesis 1:27, image. Neither to domineer the other (Ephesians 5:21). Proverbs 31 mother, Proverbs 31 father.
- Leviticus 19:3 - reverse order.
No gay "marriage." This is an extremely late, modern view, foisted on the 98% of the non-gay world by a vociferous minority blackmailing the rest of us by threats of labeling ("bigot, intolerant") and even legal action ("hate crimes").
Live long in the land: Several centuries after Mt. Sinai, the Jewish people were expelled from the land, landing in Babylon. The explicit threat (Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28; see also the words about being vomited out of the land in (Leviticus 18:25,28, 20:22) is implied in the 5th commandment.

Putting the command into practice

Obey them.
Serve them.
Remember key days in their lives.
Don't tolerate or condone any slander directed against them.
Care for them when they are aged (Matthew 15:1-9).
Honor their memories - not pretending they were Christians if they weren't, but focusing on the positive, realizing that God used them to advance you to where you are today, and remaining grateful too for gift of life.
Honor those who function in a parental role in your life. Show true respect to mother- and father-figures in my life: grandfather(s), grandmother(s), coaches, police and other authorities, scoutmasters, church leaders, teachers and professors...

Conclusion

Just imagine how different society would be if spiritual children obeyed godly fathers and mothers! Where would there be any place for such societal evils as drugs, gangs, rape, indolence, alcoholism, robbery, slander, pornography, murder, deceit?
The ability to honor one's parents directly relates to our ability to honor God as God, and so this is a deeply spiritual issue.
This is not a suggestion, but a commandment!
You may want to listen to my sermon "The Fifth Commandment" (17 June 2012).

10 Commandments: Fourth Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Last time

The fourth commandment is the last of the ten amplifying what it means to love the Lord with all our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Along with circumcision and keeping kosher, Sabbath observance was a unique marker identifying the Jews as God's holy people.
The fourth is the only commandment not to reappear in the New Testament. See The 10 Commandments in the N.T. below. This constitutes an anomaly in scripture.
While some groups hold that we are still bound by the Sabbath, most attempt to honor the principle even though the commandment is obsolete.
You will notice that the text is relatively longer than that in the other commandments. I suspect that this reflects the greater difficulty of observing this commandment.

Text

Fourth commandment
Exodus 20:8-11: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Comments

Natural rhythm.
Most of the world works a six-day week.
"Remember God" -- the commandment is relational.
Applied to family, servants, resident aliens , and even animals.
For the Jews, this is a day of study, not indolence.
Technically, Sunday never was nor ever could be a sabbath, though several centuries after the time of Christ the government mandated Sunday as "Sabbath."
As it was a workday, Sunday was inconvenient! Early 2nd century: believers assembling before sunrise and after work in the evening.
The Sabbath is reflected in the semi-poetic six-day creation week of Genesis 1.

The 10 Commandments in the N.T.

No other gods - Mark 10:39; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 2:5
No Idolatry - Gal 5:20; 1 John 5:21; Rev 21:8
No taking God's name in vain - Matt 5:34-35; James 5:12
Remember the Sabbath - [Col 2:16!]
Honor parents - Rom 1:30, Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20
No murder - Mark 7:21; 1 Pet 4:15; Rev 21:8
No adultery - Mark 7:22; Heb 13:4
No theft - Mark 7:21
No false witness - Mark 7:22; 1 Tim 1:10
No coveting - Gal 5:21; Col 3:5; James 4:1-3

Thought questions

How Jewish do Christians need to be? Acts 15 sheds some light on this matter, as does Colossians 2 and the letter to the Galatians.
Am I a working machine? How would my life change if I took the Sabbath principle seriously?
Am I beholden to a vision of leisurely retirement? Do I know, or even care, about the work experience of most humans on the planet?
Am I setting aside "sabbath" time to deepen my relationship the Lord? weekly? daily?
Does my view of the Sabbath cause me to look down on those who disagree with me (Romans 14:6)?
Further study:
- Notice how Nehemiah enforced Sabbath observance.
- Reflect on the issue of special days in Romans 14-15.
- Please listen to the podcast on The Sabbath.

Next time: the fifth commandment.

10 Commandments: Third Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Last time

The first four commandments amplify the "greatest commandment": to love the Lord our God with all our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).
As we learned, the first commandment is to worship God only, allowing no false god to capture our heart. The second forbids concretely disobeying the first -- creating an idol. The third also follows from God's nature as holy and absolute: reverence for his name.

Text

Third commandment
Exodus 20:7: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Comments

Taking the Lord's name in vain does not directly refer to "swearing" -- unless actual oaths are in view.
God's name is misused when we appeal to it in an oath we do not intend to keep.
- Under the new covenant, we do not need oaths.
- Jesus' teaching (Matthew 5:33-37; see James 5:12) is susceptible of two understandings.
  - We are forbidden to make or take oaths.
  - We should be so trustworthy that we don't need oaths (or contracts, etc).
God's name is also misused when it becomes a handle by which we aim to manipulate him:
- To assure good luck
- To receive "yes" answers to our prayers
- To wring concessions from the Lord

Thought questions

Do I have a mechanical approach to faith?
How do I react with others dishonor God's name?
Am I a man/woman of my word?
Further study: listen to the podcast on The Name of God, in which I reason that
- It is unnecessary to sign off prayers "in Jesus' name," as though failing to do so is like failing to put a stamp on your letter.
- Baptisms are de facto in the name of Jesus Christ when performed to submit the one being baptized to the Lordship of Christ, regardless of which baptismal "formula" is used -- or any at all.
- God's name represents his authority, presence, and nature.

Next time: the fourth commandment.

10 Commandments: Second Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Last time

The first commandment is to worship God only, allowing no false god to capture our heart.
The rest of the Decalogue, and in fact the entire Torah, depend on this spiritual principle.
The second commandment, in a sense, concerns concretely disobeying the first -- that is, creating an idol, which naturally competes with God for our attention, energy, loyalty, and worship.

Text

Second commandment
Exodus 20:4-6: You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Comments

No physical images of God were permitted.
- Amazingly, among the religions of the ancient Near East, only Judaism is aniconic; all others represent their deities through statues and other imagery.
- The Jews did, however, portray him in numerous literary images (as in the poetry of the prophets and Psalms).
Nature worship is a serious error.
- In the ancient world, people worshiped the sun, moon, and stars; forces of nature; animals; persons (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was a "god"); various spirits; and so forth.
- Creator and creation are separate (see Romans 1). If the creation were divine, or everything was God, there would be pantheism. Yet biblically they are separate.
- Although the creation reflects the glory of the creator (Psalm 8, 19), this reflection must not be taken as ultimate.
The Holy of Holies was empty. There is no image for two reasons:
- God may not be seen; he is wholly transcendcent and holy.
- We are the image of God (Genesis 1)! We represent him on this planet.
Sin has consequences, and may affect several generations. God's goodness would extend to 1000 generations (such an imbalance!).
Jealousy occurs in two varieties: one healthy (the rightful jealousy of a spouse; the jealousy of God), the other unhealthy (the self-directed jealousy, which is related to envy).
As in 1 John 1-2, love without obedience is not love at all.
Notice God's benevolence: punishing for a few generations, blessing for a thousand.
If idolatry is present in our lives, we will not be able to honor God's name as holy -- and thus the connection to the third commandment.

Thought questions

Is there anything more important to me than God, any idol -- whether material or immaterial -- coming between the Lord and me? We often speak of priorities; the Bible speaks of idolatries.
- Are we drawn to literal idols - as in Hinduism, Buddhism, and several other religions?
- Possible idols: money, government, power, lifestyle, spouse, child, friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, technology, education, sport, popularity, reputation, health..
- Bible (bibliolatry), church, a spiritual leader, etc. can also be idols.
- In 1 John 5:21, the idol is a warped concept of Jesus (in that case, a God not truly incarnate).
Men, are you putting career ahead of your family? ahead of the Lord?
Women, are you putting any relationships ahead of the Lord? your family? anything else?
Do I understand that idolatry dogged ancient Israel, and is a major reason why God's people wandered in the desert as long as they did?
Have I been wandering? (Could the reason be some form of idolatry?)

Next time: the third commandment.

10 Commandments: First Commandment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction and definitions

Decalogue: The ten words
Torah: Law or Instruction (from the Hebrew yarah, meaning to guide). This may refer to the first five books of the Bible, or the law(s) found in them.
Pentateuch: The five rolls. The term refers to the first five books of the O.T., Genesis-Deuteronomy.
Two greatest commandments: Love God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 6:5) and Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Neither is in the 10 commandments, and yet it has been noted that the first four commandments pertain to love for God, the last six to love for neighbor.
The two tablets (Exodus 31:18, 32:15) are two identical copies of the commandments. This is known from covenant customs in this part of the world (2nd millennium BC)
The 10 commandments were delivered the first time at Sinai (Horeb) near the beginning of the desert wanderings. It comes out in a new version near the end of this period (see Deuteronomy 5). Moreover, another "ten commandments" may be found in Exodus 34.

Text

First commandment
Exodus 20:1-3: And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."

Comments:

LORD = YHWH (Yahweh). YHWH is the Tetragrammaton (Greek for four-letter [thing]). For more on this, refer to the podcast on The Name of God. YHWH appears about 6800 times in the O.T.
Lord = Adonai
Our Christian lives are rooted in who God is.
We obey God not in order to be saved, but because we have already been redeemed.
Obedience is not slavery (although it is a kind of yoke -- Matthew 11:28-30; see 1 John 5:3 and Deuteronomy 30:11-20); slavery is being in the world (and of it).

Thought questions

Through listening to this lesson, is there anything I learned that was completely new?
Do I obey out of fear or duty, or out of appreciation for my salvation?
Is there anything more important to me than God?
Do others know this to be true of me (family, friends, neighbors...)?

Next time: the second commandment.

SOTM 40-Wow!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (Matthew 7:28-29).

Power

Jesus’ teaching is not only true, but it is powerful…..
And compact!
- As one commentator has pointed out, "The Golden Rule [is] just eleven words; by contrast, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the U.S. government's attempt to oblige ethical character into the financial statements of American corporations, has eleven titles (major sections). It is one of the most complicated pieces of legislation in the history of the American republic and, in the economies of scale, places a disproportionate burden on small companies which were not the cause of the adoption" (Richard David Ramsey, "Business Ethics in the Sermon on the Mount," Leaven: A Journal of Christian Ministry [Pepperdine University: vol.16, no.4, 2008], 180).
- How convoluted are human attempts to exact honesty and fairness! How simple is the command Jesus gave us!

Authority

Matthew says what astonished the people was that Jesus “taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” What does that mean?
When the scribes taught, they spoke from the authority of others, usually Moses (Matt 23:2).
Or they taught and followed the “tradition of the elders” (Matt 15:2).
Mishnah (c.200 AD)—disagreements rife. Inconsistencies.
Many times the rabbis disagreed with one another about what was permissible under the Law.
They did not dare to speak in their own name—by their own authority. In contrast, Jesus spoke from his own authority—fulfilling, expanding, and modifying the teaching of even Moses himself. (Obviously, though we can speak from experience and out of conviction, we have no authority like his!)
Chrysostom: “Everywhere in this teaching, he indicated that he himself was the person who had the power of deciding matters. When setting forth his laws, he kept adding, ‘But I say unto you.’ And in reminding them of that Day, he declared himself to be the Judge, both as to the punishments and the rewards.” Homilies on Matthew 25.1
The people would have been even more astonished had they realized these laws applied not only to the Jews, but to the whole world.
Eusebius: “Moses was the leader of but one nation. And his legislation has proved to be applicable only to that one nation. …Whereas, Jesus gave his new law of holiness not only to the Jews, but to the whole human race. In summoning all nations, he set before them a legislation that they could obey and that was suitable for them. Then by a power more divine than that of Moses, he ordained his holy laws throughout all the world by his evangelists.” Demonstration of the Gospel 9.11

Astonished
Will we go further in our study of the powerful words of Matthew 5-7?

Recommended books on the Sermon on the Mount:
* Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship. Hard hitting and thought-provoking. A classic.
* John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount. Stott is a careful student and a clear writer.
* Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy. Many fresh ideas. You may not agree with everything, but it is worth taking a look at.
* A. M. Hunter’s Design for Life: the Sermon on the Mount. Do we continue to be astonished at our Lord’s teaching?

Recommended audio on the Sermon on the Mount:
* Kinnard and Jacoby in New York (teaching jubilee)
* Malcom Cox
* David Bercot's Early Christian Commentary on Matthew (a commentary series is replacing the original plan for an Early Christian Study Bible). Click HERE.
* Jim Long (coming soon)

Further devotional series:
* 2008: New Testament Chapter Studies — 400 devotional readings and studies taking us through every verse of the New Testament
* 2013: Drawing Near to God — 40 days of quiet times, on Psalms, the 10 Commandments, spiritual life, and key biblical characters
* 2014: Christ Through the Ages — This series explores what it means that Jesus Christ is Lord of history. 30 podcasts plus 10 more on Worship.
* 2015: Romans A-Z — Be inspired through this careful, verse-by-verse study of Paul’s magisterial epistle to the Romans.
* 2016: Proverbs—A Disciplined Life — Get your life in order. Learn from the wisest men and women of ages past.
* 2017: Clean: Purity, Cleansing, Leprosy, Exorcism, & Reanimation — build biblical conviction about holiness and purity
* 2018: A Tour Through John — 50 lessons taking us through the Gospel of John, his letters, and Revelation
* 2019: The Imitation of Christ — 31 devotions for the heart from the classic work by Thomas à Kempis
* 2021: Isaiah: Justice & Injustice – 40 devotions through all 66 chapters of Isaiah

Also available:
* N.T. Character Podcasts — nearly 70 lessons on interesting, inspiring, informative biblical characters (men and women)
* O.T. Character Podcasts — 60 lessons on major and minor O.T. characters (men and women)

SOTM 39-Sand

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).

Key points

It’s not enough to hear—we must also obey. See Ezek 33:30-33 and Jas 1:22-25.
The master of parables drives home the point with a parable.
The rock is bedrock. “Whoever comes to me, and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man who built a house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, but could not shake it” (Luke 6:47-49).
Yet the foolish, lazy man simply builds on top of the dirt or sand, without any foundation.
"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (Ps 127:1).

Which "words of mine"?
Let’s not rush, deflecting Jesus’ powerful words with so-called practicals: "Build our financial portfolio," "build our marriage and family," "build our character." These are all good, but this is the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, not a conclusion for the Proverbs or the Song of Solomon. The words referred to in our passage include many things:

We are blessed. Let’s appreciate—and internalize—the beatitudes.
We are salt and light. Let’s live that way.
We have to do better than modern-day Pharisees—all too many churchgoers and religious leaders.
We are to deal seriously with anger and lust.
We are to speak with integrity, whether in marriage vows or simply in being men and women of our word.
We are to love our enemies—despite the resistance sure to come from society and from the majority of religious people.
We must strive for maturity—perfection—reflecting our heavenly Father’s own holiness.
We are not to show off our religiosity, but conduct ourselves modestly and discreetly in our faith.
Our true treasure is to be in heaven—not sunk in worldly treasures.
We are not to judge hypocritically. Let's work on our own lives before telling others what to do.
Jesus calls us to expect and believe that our God is a generous God!
Let's live by the Golden Rule—not just the Silver Rule.
And stay on the narrow road, resisting those who broaden the path by diluting God’s commands.
Always remember that the Lord expects obedience, not lip service.

These are the specific areas in which we are to build—or, more accurately, we're truly building on the rock when we take all of Jesus’ words to heart.

Storms

We are quickly tempted to spiritualize the passage in a different way, equating the “storms” to financial troubles, relational disappointment, sickness or death, and so on… Certainly there are multiple valid applications. But the storms are whatever tests—and possibly undoes—what faith we have.
The time of testing may not come during our lifetime; it may come after, at the judgment. But nothing tests the character of our faith like opposition, unpopularity, mockery, exclusion, and injustice.
As in the Parable of the Soils (Matt 13:1-9, 18-23), one thing that clearly reveals the depth and quality of our faith is persecution.
Alexandria Origen: “Long ago we heard the words of Jesus, and it has already been a great while since we became disciples of the gospel. And all of us have built ourselves a house. The present persecution will reveal whether we have built upon the rock by digging deep or upon the sand without a foundation. For winter has come bringing rains and floods and winds.” Exhortation to Martyrdom 48.

How are we doing?

How is our foundation?
Are we digging deep into the Word?
Do we have the character to build biblically—and especially to take seriously Jesus’ words in this most famous of “sermons.”
Finally, when we build on the rock by hearing and obeying Jesus teachings, it does not mean that we will be spared from these storms. Rather, it means we will be able to withstand them.

Next: Wow!

SOTM 38-Lord, Lord

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Judgment Day

Jesus has spoken about the narrow, difficult way. (See the parallel passage in Luke 13:23-27.)
Immediately afterward, he warns about false prophets.
Now his tone becomes even more serious (vv.21-23). Up to this point, Jesus has revealed himself as Prophet and Teacher. Now he also reveals himself as Judge.
Justin Martyr: “Let those who are not found living as he taught, be understood not to be Christians, even though they profess with the lips the teachings of Christ. For it is not those who make a profession, but those who do the works who shall be saved, according to His words: ‘Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’” First Apology 16
Hermas: “The man who has the Lord embedded in his heart can also be lord of every one of these commandments. But for those who have the Lord only on their lips—but with hearts that are hard and far from the Lord—the commandments are hard and difficult. Therefore, you who are empty and fickle in your faith need to implant the Lord in your hearts, and you will know that there is nothing easier, sweeter, and more manageable than these commandments.” The Shepherd, bk. 2, commandment 12.4

Repetition

Saying the Lord's name does not save once and for all, especially if we do not respect his wishes and follow his will in our lives.
The words "Lord, Lord" hark back to the wayward prophets and people of Israel in Jeremiah's time (Jer 6:14; 7:4; 23:25). Check out the 2016 series here.

Miracles?

“Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46). Unless we're doing the things Jesus commands, nothing else matters—even miracles.
Yet even though Jesus put forth the sober truth in the clearest language possible, hundreds millions of Christians today still interpret miracles as a sign of with God’s approval. They stake their confidence and very salvation on miraculous experience—either their own or their leaders’.

I never knew you?

This knowledge isn't intellectual, but relational.
1 Cor 8:3 tells us that those who love God are "known" by him.
Cyril of Alexandria: “There may be some who, in the beginning, believed rightly and diligently labored at virtue. They may have even worked miracles and prophesied and cast out demons. And yet later they are found turning aside to evil, to self-assertive deception and desire. Of these Jesus remarks that he ‘never knew them.’” Fragment 88, Ancient Christian Commentary Series, vol. IA, 156.
Chrysostom: “You ask, ‘How does me punish someone he does not even know?’ It is because here Jesus says, ‘I do not know you’ in a different sense. He says it in the sense of ‘I deny you and refuse to have anything to do with you.’ … You ask again, ‘How is it possible that they will be denied if they have shown prophetic powers, worked miracles, and cast out demons?’ More than likely, it is because they changed afterwards and became wicked. Therefore, their former virtue did not benefit them. For it is not enough that we begin well. We must also end well!” Homilies on Hebrews 24.7-8.
Yet many modern Christians seize on these words and exclaim, “See, these people were never saved.” Nonsense! Jesus doesn't say that he'll reject them because they were never saved, but because they practiced lawlessness.

Lawlessness

Jesus rebukes the miracle-workers—whether these are genuine or counterfeit is irrelevant—as “you who practice lawlessness.”
They lived their lives as though there were no laws for disciples of Christ!
“The alarming reality is that this describes most professing Christians today. When they read the Sermon on the Mount, they view it simply a collection of ideals to think about.” – David Bercot
“Lawlessness” isn’t so much violation of Torah as failure to reflect the heart of the Torah: justice and mercy in our interactions, doctrine, and personal character. (See Matt 23:23.) It's living as though we were somehow above the requirement of obedience.

Next: Sand

SOTM 37-Prophets

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:15-20).

Comment

Jesus tells us to be on our guard.
Peter predicted the rise of false prophets in the church (2 Peter 2:1-3). So did Paul, John, and others (Acts 20:29; 1 John 4:1; etc.).
In biblical history, the false prophets nearly always outnumber the true. For example, in the days of Elijah (850:101) and Micaiah (400:1)—see 1 Kings 18, 22.
Even so, today there are 1000s of denominations claiming to represent truly biblical Christianity. Of course no church group is perfect, but many flagrantly flout the scriptures and flaunt their own traditions and ego.

False prophets

Twist God’s word.
May be sincerely deluded, but always delude others.
Some of their ideas and vocabulary sound right. Yet often basic terms and ideas have been given a twist.
(Extended quotation from Jerry Taylor, “Two Houses in a Storm, in Leaven: A Journal of Christian Ministry [Pepperdine University: vol.16, no.4, 2008], 187.)

Analogies

Three analogies: sheep and wolves, grapes and thorns, figs and thistles.
Earlier Jesus had commented on dogs and pigs. Now, he warns us of wolves. More subtle, less obvious, more strategic.
But these are no ordinary wolves, but “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Despite the outward show of righteousness, inside they are predatory.

How can we tell?

How can we tell a false prophet from a true one?
By their fruits (Gal 5:19-23).
Those whose fruit is bad will be thrown into the fire. So too will Christians who do not bear fruit (John 15:6).
This is another example of acceptable “judging” (like 7:6).
Yet it is never okay to persecute false teachers—let alone torture them, as was common from the Middle Ages all the way until recent centuries.

Early church

Hermas: “Test a prophet by his life… The man who merely seems to have the spirit exalts himself and wants to have the first seat. He is bold, impudent, and talkative. He lives in luxury and takes rewards for his prophecy.” The Shepherd 2, commandment 11
Apollonius: “All the fruits of a prophet should be examined. Tell me, does a prophetess dye her hair? Does she use cosmetics on her eyes? Is a prophetess fond of dress? Does a prophet play at gambling tables and dice? Does a prophet lend money on interest?” Concerning Montanism (ANF 8.775-776). (These are all behaviors considered worldly in the early church—immodesty, gambling, extortion.)
Didache: “Even if a prophet teaches the truth, if he does not do what he teaches, he is a false prophet.” Didache 10

Conclusion

“Authentic disciples and leaders will display increasingly consistent behaviors that are consonant with their Lord’s life and instructions.” (Mary Ellen Pereira in “I Never Knew You: Jesus’ Rebuke in Matthew 7.23” Leaven: A Journal of Christian Ministry (Pepperdine University: vol.16, no.4, 2008), 169.
Again, look at their fruit—their character and behavior and impact (v.20)!

Next: Lord, Lord

SOTM 36-Narrow

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Resistance
There's considerable resistance to this teaching:

Because it’s difficult (today’s devotional)
Because there are many who will try to talk us out of it (tomorrow’s offering)
Because there’s no third option—just two ways

Jesus' words are challenging

There are only two options.
The truth is easy to understand, but not necessarily easy to follow.
(Many stripes and flavors of quasi-Christian faith are actually clever ways to get around the holy demands of Jesus.)_
The majority of humans prefer the broad road.
This isn’t a teaching only for non-Christians. It’s for you and me—for all of us who have set out on the way.
The two roads may be discerned in virtually every book of the Bible. Two choices in the Garden. Two ways in the Psalms (Psalm 1:1-6). Two ways in the Prophets—follow the Torah, or ignore its demands. (Follow Yahweh, or spurn him.) Two ways theme—every book of Bible.

The early church
For the first few centuries, most Christians accepted the truth of the two roads. Although they were totally outnumbered, there were many individuals and groups in the following centuries willing to sacrifice to walk the narrow road, even willing to die if their lives were demanded when the world—or worldly Christianity—pushed back.

Didache: “There are two ways: one of life and one of death. But there is a great difference between the two ways. The way of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God, who made you. Second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Didache1.1-5
Epistle of Barnabas: “There are two ways of teaching and authority, the one of light and the other of darkness. But there is a great difference between these two ways. …The way of light is as follows: If anyone desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works. The knowledge given to us for the purpose of walking in this way is the following: You shall love Him who created you. You shall glorify Him who redeemed you from death. You shall be pure in heart and rich in spirit. You shall not join yourself to those who walk in the way of death… You shall be meek and peaceable. You shall tremble at the words which you hear.” Epistle of Barnabas 18
Origen: “This way is narrow because the majority cannot bear to walk in it, for they are lovers of their flesh… The ones who believe in Him are those who walk in the straight and narrow way that leads to life. This way is found by few.” Commentary on the Gospel of John, 6, 10.28
Lactantius: “This road… is steep because that goodness which is very high and lofty cannot be reached without the greatest difficulty and labor.” The Divine Institutes7

Luke 13

In Luke 13 is a parallel passage. Somebody asks him if only a few are going to be saved. The Lord replies with an imperative: “Strive to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:24).
This isn’t only a passage about becoming Jesus’s disciple; it’s also for those who are followers.

Conclusion:

This teaching is difficult before we’re followers, when we’re trying to come to terms with the teaching.
It’s difficult also for those who have been born again.
It may feel even more challenging for those who are drifting, or those who have left the narrow road and are toying with the idea of coming back.
While many will object that such thinking is simplistic, I say it is just simple. They say they’ve tried it and it doesn’t work. Some may have tried it, but very few have experienced authentic Christianity. For those near to Christ, who have tasted that the Lord is good, know that his teachings work.
Those who will try to talk you out of the truth may be wonderful people in various respects—but Jesus calls them false prophets.

Next: Prophets?

SOTM 35-Gold

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

Comment

This sentence sums up much of what Jesus has been teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, i.e. the ethical parts of Matt 5-6.
God is good to us, a loving Father. We too should reflect his divine love.
This verse is called the Golden Rule. Whereas the Golden rule says Do unto others…, the Silver rule only says Don't do unto others…
Early Christians frequently paraphrase the Golden Rule both in the positive form and the negative form (e.g. Romans 13:10; Didache 1.2; Origen, Commentary on Romans 2.9.1.)
While the Golden Rule implies the Silver Rule, the Silver Rule does not imply the Golden Rule.
The Golden Rule embraces all of Jesus’ teachings about loving our neighbor, and Jesus gave both positive commands and negative commands. For example, we are not to be angry or to insult others. We are not to lust or desire someone else’s spouse. Nobody likes being physically, emotionally or verbally abused. No one wants to be slandered, cheated, assaulted, or robbed.
To hurt others is hardly praiseworthy—it’s the minimum standard of human decency!
The Silver Rule is much easier to follow than the Golden Rule.
The Silver Rule is already written in the hearts of all humans (Rom 2:15).
Chrysostom: “Jesus signifies that morality is concise, easy, and readily known to all men.” Homilies on Matthew 23.6.

Examples of the Silver & Golden Rules in the world’s philosophies and religions

Examples of the Silver & Golden Rules in the world’s philosophies and religions:

Jainism: “A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.” — Sutrakritanga, 1.11.33 [Golden Rule]
Seneca the Younger: "Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you.” [form of the Golden Rule]
Islam: “A bedouin came to the prophet, grabbed the stirrup of his camel and said: O the messenger of God! Teach me something to go to heaven with it. The Prophet said: ‘As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don't do to them. Now let the stirrup go!’" — Kitab al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 146. [Golden Rule and Silver Rules]. Although such sayings may be genuine, these hadith are not found in the Qur’an, which does not feature the Golden Rule.
Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”— Udanavarga 5:18 [Silver Rule]
Confucius: “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” — Analects XV.24 [Silver Rule]
Zoroastrianism: “Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself.” — Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29 [Silver Rule]
Old Testament Apocrypha: “Do to no one what you yourself dislike.” — Tobit 4:15 [Silver Rule]
Hillel: “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and learn it.” — Shabbat 31a (Babylonian Talmud) [Silver Rule]
Sextus: "What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either. " — Sextus the Pythagorean. [Weak form of the Silver Rule]
Mahabharata: One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires. — Mahābhārata, Shānti-Parva 167:9 [Silver Rule]
The medical principle: “Do no harm.” [Silver Rule]
Christianity: So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12).

A Proactive Rule:

“Jesus’ Golden Rule is unique in that it requires positive action. The Golden Rule not only requires us to refrain from doing to others what we would not have done to us, but also to proactively do to others what we would want done to us. It is not enough that we do not harm others. We also must actively be doing good things to our neighbor. Jesus not only calls on us to turn the other cheek, but also to be peacemakers and to love our enemies. We must pray for those who persecute us, give to the poor, and forgive others. All of these are the outworking of love.”—David Bercot

As one commentator has pointed out, "The Golden Rule [is] just eleven words; by contrast, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the U.S. government's attempt to oblige ethical character into the financial statements of American corporations, has eleven titles (major sections). It is one of the most complicated pieces of legislation in the history of the American republic and, in the economies of scale, places a disproportionate burden on small companies which were not the cause of the adoption." (Richard David Ramsey, "Business Ethics in the Sermon on the Mount," Leaven: A Journal of Christian Ministry (Pepperdine University), vol.16, no.4, Fourth Quarter 2009. How convoluted are human attempts to exact honesty and fairness! How simple is the command Jesus gave us!

In short, the Golden Rule is more easily repeated than followed.

Next: Narrow

SOTM 34-Ask

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)

Three verbs

Ask—suggests prayer—the most intimate verb of the three.
Seek—entails focus and purpose, in the spirit of Matt 6:33.
Knock—suggests observation and persistence—especially when it seems the Lord is on the other side of the door.

Persistence?

This doesn't seem to be the point of this passage, though it may be implied (“knocking”).
Consider the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8).
Also take into account Paul’s prayer (2 Cor 12:9); was it "persistent"?

How God answers prayer

With an audible voice? Probably not. Such is extremely rare in biblical history.
Rather, he interacts with us in these three ways:
- He gives to us.
- He helps us to find.
- He opens doors.

An interesting patristic interpretation

Even when we're sincere and persistent in prayer, we may not receive—because we're asking for the wrong things.
Chrysostom: “Jesus asks, ‘For which of you who is a father, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he give him a stone?’ Accordingly, if you do not receive, the reason is that you have asked for a stone. For though you are a son, this does not suffice for your receiving. Instead, this very thing hinders your receiving. For being a son, you ask for what is not profitable. Therefore, do not ask for anything worldly, but for things that are spiritual, and you will surely receive.” Homilies on Matthew 23.5.
Clement: “If it is beneficial, he will receive it at once. If it is injurious, he will never ask for it.” ANF 2.544
Chrysostom: “Now you see that two things are needed for effective prayer: asking earnestly and asking for what we should. Jesus says in effect, ‘Although you are fathers, you wait for your sons to ask. And if they should ask of you anything unprofitable, you refuse the gifts. Likewise, if it is profitable, you consent and bestow it.’” Homilies on Matthew 23.5.
(While I am not personally convinced by this take on Matt 7:7-11, it is interesting, and worth considering.)

“Though you are evil”

Jesus notes that we fallen humans are evil (7:11).
Of course, we don’t want evil people giving gifts to our children. But then Jesus is referring to something else.
Our holiness falls far, far short of divine perfection—and yet we give our children gifts.
Knowing our heavenly Father’s character, we should rest assured in his goodness.

Next: Gold

SOTM 33—Swine

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Jesus speaks of pigs and dogs in Matt 7:6. So shall we, in this podcast (11 minutes).

“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Matthew 7:6).

This text connects with the previous section (7:1-5), although to obey it requires us to engage in one of the acceptable forms of judging allowed by the Bible.
Hypocritical judging is forbidden.
We must truly care for the other person, and we should not criticize them when our own sins are identical or worse.
There are many varieties of judging. See the study of 13 varieties of judging in the Bible It is called Judge Not! (Stockholm, 1990).
Matt 7:6 has application in three areas: (1) evangelism and (2) communion, and (3) baptism.

Evangelism

The gospel of the kingdom is a precious pearl. We want to share the gospel with all who will hear it. And we certainly do not want to be hasty in determining that we are wasting our time in speaking to someone—even if they give the appearance of being unworthy. See Matt 10:11-15.
Jesus illustrated this principle when He spoke to the crowds in parables. When His disciples asked Him why He spoke to the crowds in parables, Jesus replied, “Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. For this reason I speak to them in parables. For seeing, they do not see; and hearing, they do not hear; neither do they understand” (Matt 13:11-13).
Cyprian: “Solomon says, in the Proverbs, ‘Do not say anything in the ears of a foolish man; lest, when he hears it, he may mock at your wise words’ [Prov. 23:9 LXX]. Also in the Gospel according to Matthew: ‘Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine.’” To Quirinius 3.50 (ANF 5.546)
Cyprian: “‘Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also become like him’ [Prov. 26:4]. Moreover, we are commanded to keep what is holy within our own knowledge, and not expose it to be trodden down by swine and dogs.” To Demetrianus 1 (ANF 5.458)
Clement of Alexandria: “Even now I fear, as it is said, ‘to cast pearls before swine, lest they tread them under foot, and turn and rip us apart.’ For it is difficult to exhibit the really pure and transparent words respecting the true light to swinish and untrained hearers.” Stromata (ANF 2.312-313).
Moreover, evangelism can even cause harm, bringing unnecessary resentment or opposition on Christ's disciples. We must be wise!

Communion

The Didache: “Let no one eat or drink of your eucharist except those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord. For concerning this the Lord has said, ‘Do not give that which is holy to the dogs.’” Didache 9
Chrysostom: “Give heed, those of you who would partake of the mysteries [i.e., communion] unworthily. Give heed, those of you who would approach the communion table unworthily. For He says, ‘Do not give that which is holy to the dogs.’” Homilies on Hebrews 20.3.
While I personally lean towards “closed communion,” I believe good arguments can be made on either side of the argument.

Baptism

Tertullian: “Those whose office it is, know that baptism is not to be administered rashly. … ‘Do not give holy things to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine.’” On Baptism (ANF 3.677).

Conclusion

It is not ungracious to think analytically about people’s receptiveness to the gospel. Jesus himself modeled this. It is both strategic and, ultimately, loving.
7:6 is not at all a contradiction of 7:1-5!
We must keep holiness in view in regard to both communion and baptism.

Next: Ask

SOTM 32—Judge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Introductory comments

We are called to a high standard of holiness (chapter 5), to be lived out not to impress others, nor as a program to enrich ourselves materially (chapter 6). Next the Lord warns us, urges us, and instructs us about many pitfalls that can wreck our faith, like judgmentalism, the broad road, false prophecy, and failure to build on his Word.
Matt 7:1 is the most quoted verse today, eclipsing even John 3:16. Yet Jesus did not intend it to be used as it often is—defensively. Jesus does not forbid judging others' salvation (though ultimately the Lord is their judge), or correcting false doctrine, or addressing serious sin (as in Matt 18).
Those who adhere to high standards can easily lapse into judgmentalism. "It is a mark of fallen human nature to notice the faults in others and be blind to our own."
We are encouraged to help our brothers and sisters, but only sincerely.
Jesus words connect to the Lord’s Prayer. The context is forgiving others, as the NT and the early Christian writers make clear. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Do not judge, and you shall not be judged. Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:36-37).
Cyprian: “We should ask that our debts be forgiven us in such a manner as we ourselves forgive our debtors. For the forgiveness we seek for our sins cannot be obtained unless we ourselves have acted in a merciful way in respect to our debtors. Therefore, Jesus also says in another place, ‘With what measure you measure out, it will be measured back to you again.’ And the servant who, after having had all his debt forgiven him by his master, would not forgive his fellow-servant, was cast back into prison.” …There remains no ground of excuse in the Day of Judgment, when you will be judged according to your own sentence. And whatever you have done, that you also will suffer.” On the Lord’s Prayer 23
John Chrysostom: “You ask, ‘If someone commits fornication, may I not say that fornication is a bad thing? Can I not correct someone who is behaving wantonly?’ Of course! Correct him, but not as an enemy. Do not do it as though you were exacting a penalty from an adversary. Rather, correct him as a physician providing medicine. For Christ did not say, ‘Do not correct him who is sinning,’ but ‘Do not judge.’ That is, do not be bitter in pronouncing correction.” Homilies on Matthew 23.2.
Matthew 18 doesn't nullify Matthew 7? Imperfections and minor sins we should overlook in love. Matthew 18 concerns sins so serious that failure to repent ca lead to a disfellowship. In such cases, we must talk to our brother about these kinds of sin, for his eternal life is at stake
Tertullian: “Remove the speck, or rather the beam, out of your own eye, so that you may be able to extract the speck from the eyes of others. Amend your own lives first.” To the Nations 1.20
Chrysostom: “Do you wish to judge? Judge your own sins. No one will accuse you if you condemn yourself.” Homilies on Hebrews 21.8.
It is not hypocritical to care about others and desire to help them to mature spiritually. It is hypocritical, however, to pretend to care, while actually taking pleasure in tearing others down to boost one's own ego.
Chrysostom: “Here He says, ‘You hypocrite.’ Why? Because your judging does not come from protective care for others. Rather, it comes from ill will to another man. While the one who judges puts on a mask of benevolence, he is doing a work of the utmost wickedness. … On account of this Jesus called him ‘hypocrite.’ When it comes to other men’s actions, you are so critical that you see even the little things. So how is it you are so remiss in your own? How is it that even the major things in your own life are passed over by you?” Homilies on Matthew 23.2.
Jesus' teaching was perfectly understood by the apostle Paul (Rom 2:1-22, 17-22, 28-29).

Next: Swine

SOTM 31—Kingdom

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33-34).

Seek—not Mammon, nor even life’s necessities—since we will be given these as we seek him.

Kingdom

Recommended: Jones and Brown’s 2010 volume The Kingdom of God. The kingdom is (1) a reign that is now and not yet; (2) an invasion that comes in waves; (3) a gift to be received; (4) a realm to be entered; (5) a kingdom totally unlike the kingdoms of this world; (6) a kingdom bonded to the church, but not the same as the church; (7) a life to be lived.—Tom A. Jones and Steve D. Brown, The Kingdom of God, Volume One: The Future Breaks In
The kingdom isn't the church. Going to church is only one small part of seeking the kingdom.
It entails trusting Jesus as our Lord.
The kingdom coming is God's will being done (6:10).
Kingdom is realm (which in Jesus' case means the entire universe) and rule (even though there are many disobedient, unwilling subjects of the kingdom).

Righteousness

This isn't so much about justification through the blood of Christ.
Rather, it means desiring justice—including justice for others.
We are to love and uphold and model God’s holy standard.

Basics vs. luxuries

"All these things" refers not to everything on my want-list, but rather items on my need-list.
And even then, Jesus is speaking generally. Some disciples of Christ, like the very poor, the persecuted, and the imprisoned, may even struggle to make it day to day, lacking these necessities.
Clement of Alexandria: “He says very eloquently, ‘And all these things the Gentiles seek after.’ The Gentiles are the self-indulgent and the foolish. And what are the things which He specifies? Luxury, indulgence, expensive cooking, dainty foods, and gluttony. These are the ‘things the Gentiles seek.’ However, when it comes to plain, necessary food—both dry and liquid—He says, ‘Your Father knows you need these.’” Pedagogue (ANF 2.264).
John Chrysostom of Constantinople: “When God sees that we are not riveted to the things of this life, then He gives these needs to us. When He sees that we set a higher value on spiritual things, then He also bestows on us material things. But He does not provide the material things first, lest we break away from spiritual things.” Homilies on Hebrews, 20.9.
There is no promise of luxuries. The "abundant life" (John 10:10) is not a middle-class lifestyle—let alone a life of riches, falsely promised by the prosperity preachers.

"Tomorrow"

Jesus isn’t telling us we cannot plan (e.g. for a sermon, harvest, or credential). There is a big difference between the wisdom of anticipation, forethought, and wise planning and the foolishness of fretting about things that we cannot change or may not happen anyway.
Rather, this is about faith.

Next: Judge

SOTM 30—Anxious

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:25-32).

Comment

“Therefore” (v.25) connects this passage to what Jesus had just said. He understands our need for reassurance that God will take care of us when we refuse to worship Mammon.
Notice that food, drink, and clothing are all necessities—a point that will prove important as we explore tomorrow’s passage (6:33-34).
Jesus utilizes three examples to get his point across about not worrying: birds, lifespan, and flowers.
Note: anxiety isn’t a sin—it’s more of a symptom of failure to trust the Lord. Anxiety indicates a lack of faith (v.30).
We are not to worry as the pagans do:
- Complaining about expenses—often while living beyond their means!
- Arguing about money—a major area of discussion in marriage, and a principal issue when couples divorce.
- Stinginess—giving less to the needy. Studies have shown that religious persons tend to be more generous.
- Taking one another to court for financial reasons—demanding their rights.
- Pagans not only worry about food, drink, and clothing—necessities. They also fret about luxury items and impressing others (see Ecc 4:4).
Jesus calls us to be different! Do we trust him? Do we trust our heavenly father?

Next: Kingdom

SOTM 29—Mammon

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Love of money, wealth, and possessions—the sin of greed (covetousness)—can take over our lives if we aren't careful. The god of wealth is Mammon (an Aramaic word), and he has many followers. This is the topic of today's talk (8 mins).

“No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other. Or else he will hold fast to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

Comment

Mammon is the Aramaic term for riches.
Love/hate in Matt 6:24 and Luke 16:13 sheds light on how to interpret love/hate in Luke 14:25.
Mammon is not just a master; it is a god. “For you know this that no fornicator … nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph 5:5). A covetous man is an idolater, and he serves another god.
It isn’t surprising that Jesus speaks of Mammon or wealth as though it were a god. Roman satirist Juvenal says sarcastically, “No deity is held in such reverence among us as Wealth.” Satire I.
This verse is Jesus’ third angle of approach to the important topic of wealth (Matt 6:19-34).

Conclusion: An extended quotation from Donald Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary 33A: Matthew 1-13 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1993), 160.

Next: Anxious

SOTM 28—Darkness

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In today's talk (13 mins) we continue to make our way through Jesus' teachings about wealth. It is closely connected with tomorrow's lesson on Mammon.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great that darkness is! (Matthew 6:22-23)

Comment:

Mixed metaphors can be difficult; work at it.
Jesus is trying to get the point across clearly, using three illustrations for one point:
- Treasure in heaven, or treasure one earth
- Darkness, or light (focus)
- God or Mammon (two masters)
In effect, the SOM contains extended teaching against materialism.
People who look at life through a defective spiritual eye assign an imaginary, high value to possessions.

Anxiety over money

John Chrysostom: “Among other things, the wealthy tremble at the thought of poverty. In fact, they fear not only poverty itself—but even a trifling loss of their possessions. Those who lack necessary food do not grieve as much and bewail themselves as much as rich people do when they lose some small possession. In fact, many of the rich have even hanged themselves when they lost their possessions, not willing to bear such an ill turn of events.” Homilies on Matthew 20.4.
When some people would rather die than to live without wealth, the eye of their soul is dark indeed! As Jesus said, they are full of darkness.
Do we obsess over money? Are we conflicted in our soul between serving the Lord and striving for wealth and comfort (or maintaining it)?

Conclusion

“Wealth, it happens, is only the most conspicuous example of that which can distract from true discipleship. Only the rarest of individuals can possess much of the world’s wealth without becoming enslaved to it and without letting it cut the nerve of true discipleship.”—Donald Hagner, in the Word Biblical Commentary 33A: Matthew 1-13 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1993), 160.
Let's focus on what is truly important.

Next: Mammon

SOTM 27—Treasure

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This talk (13 mins) challenges us to store up treasure in heaven, not on earth. Although it can be challenging to discern exactly how much wealth we should hold on to, and how much should be given away, we are not excused from the responsibility to prayerfully and honestly wrestle with the Lord's words in Matthew 6:19-20!

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20).

Observations

Treasures in two locations
Wealth is never really safe. Moths eat away at fine garments, rust corrodes metal and coins, thieves break (dig) in and try to find where our treasure has been hidden (e.e. under the floor.)
Are we to make as much money as possible? Are we "maxed out" in the pursuit of wealth?
I do read this not as as forbidding riches—however they are defined—but warning us of the dangers of wealth and encouraging us to be emotionally invested in the right place.

Sell our possessions?

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Luke 12:32-34).
Jesus lived simply; the apostles lived simply; the early Christians lived simply.

Two martyrs
Cyprian and Lawrence were both martyred in the Valerian Persecution in 258 AD:

Cyprian: “The fool who was to die that very night was rejoicing in his stored goods [referring to Luke 12:20]. He to whom life was already failing was thinking of the abundance of his food. In contrast, the Lord tells us that a man becomes perfect and complete by selling all his goods and distributing them for the use of the poor. He thereby lays up for himself a storehouse in heaven.” On the Lord’s Prayer 20 (ANF 5.453). Cyprian was not speaking hypothetically. He had been wealthy before becoming a Christian. But on his conversion, he sold much of his estate and used the proceeds to help the poor. Pontius the Deacon, The Life and Martyrdom of Cyprian 2 (ANF 5.268). He also notes, “Neither does the state take away the property entrusted to God, nor does the tax collector intrude on it. Likewise, no criminal plots cart it away. That inheritance is placed in a vault that is kept under guard by God Himself.” On Works and Alms 19
Lawrence: Roman officials were seizing whatever property the churches owned. In Rome, the authorities confronted Lawrence, a deacon in the church, and demanded that he surrender all the valuables the church in Rome owned. He told them he'd collect the church’s wealth and hand it over the next day. The next morning Lawrence had assembled a large group of the poor who were supported by the church [1500-2000 persons?]. When the officials arrived and demanded for the loot, Lawrence pointed to the poor and needy. “This is the wealth of the church,” he exclaimed. The disappointed and irate officials then put him to death. Ambrose, Duties of the Clergy 2.28.140.

The lesson for us

Invest in people.
My suggestion: Liquidate unnecessary assets. Retain what is necessary to continue to be able to provide hospitality, help fellow Christians, give alms, and not be a burden to others.
We probably need less than we think.
Let's live modesty!
A word to Americans and citizens of other rich nations: As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life (1 Tim 6:17-19).

Next: Darkness

SOTM 26—Fast

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Moreover, when you fast, do not put on a sad face like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to fast, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly (Matthew 6:16-18)

Introduction

Corporate fast days in Judaism—principally the Day of Atonement (“the Fast”), although the prophets refer to other fast days as well.
Jesus did not say, “if you fast,” but “when you fast.” He assumed that his followers would fast on a regular basis.
In addition to personal fasting, the early Christians collectively fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. Didache 8.1 (ANF 1.379); Clement of Alexandria (ANF 2.544); Tertullian (ANF 4.109); Tertullian (ANF 4.112); Victorinus (ANF 7.341); and Peter of Alexandria (ANF 6.278). Wednesdays because it was on that day that Judas made his pact with the priests to betray Jesus (Victorinus, ANF 7.341; Peter of Alexandria, ANF 6.278; and Apostolic Constitutions, ANF 7.445). Fridays because Jesus died on that day (Tertullian, ANF 4.111). There were also occasional fasts for the whole church, as wise leadership decided (Tertullian, ANF 4.111.
The oil, or lotion, was part of daily hygiene. When we don't take care of ourselves, we draw others' sympathy or interest, thus undermining the point of the fast.

Different kinds of fasting

Some early Christians abstained totally from all food and drink.
Others took bread and water only.
In our day, we might fast from social media, or meat, or sweets.
But the early Christians turned their days of fasting into good news for the poor:
- Hermas: “On the day on which you fast, you should taste nothing but bread and water. Then, having calculated the cost of the food that you would have otherwise eaten that day, you should give that sum to a widow, an orphan, or some other person in need.” The Shepherd 3.5.1.
- Aristides: “If there is among them any who are poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply food to the needy.” Apology (ANF 9.277).

True Fasting

“Is this the kind of fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord? Or is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loosen the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to give your bread to the hungry, and that you bring into your house the poor who are cast out? And when you see the naked, that you cover him?” (Isa 58:5-7).
Although the early Christians practiced physical fasting, they frequently spoke of this other type of fasting.
Hermas: “Offer to God a fasting of the following kind: Do no evil in your life and serve the Lord with a pure heart. Keep His commandments, walk in His teachings, and let no evil desire arise in your heart. And believe in God. Do these things, fear Him, and abstain from every evil thing. If you do so, you will live to God. And if you do these things, you will keep a great fast, and one acceptable before God.” Hermas, The Shepherd bk. 3, parable 5, ch. 1. See also Clement of Alexandria, Pedagogue (ANF 2.292-293).
Origen: “When you fast, you must approach Christ, your High Priest. He certainly must not be sought on earth but in heaven. Through this One, you should make an offering to God. Do you still want me to show you what kind of fast it is appropriate for you to practice? Fast from every sin, take no food of malice, take no feasts of passion, do not burn with any wine of luxury. Fast from evil deeds, abstain from evil words, hold yourself from the evil thoughts. Do not touch the ‘secret loaves’ of perverse doctrine. Do not desire the deceptive foods of philosophy, which seduce you from truth. Such a fast pleases God. However, I do not say this so that we might relax the practice of Christian abstinence. For we have forty days dedicated to fasting. We also have the fourth and the sixth day of the week on which we regularly fast. And there is certainly freedom for the Christian to fast at any time.” Homilies on Leviticus 10.2.2-6.

Conclusion

Don’t make excuses: I don’t want to stick out at work. You could invite them to join you. Maybe bring a “special meal” (colored water?). I like food too much. Then you like food too much (2 Peter 2:19, 1 Corinthians 6:13). I have a medical condition. Bless you – make wise decisions! We’re all different physiologically. Don’t be a softie, but then don’t go around judging everyone either. Be creative. Jesus didn’t tell me I have to do it, so I won’t. There are a lot of things he didn’t tell us to do, but we do them anyway. We are all responsible for weighing and applying biblical principles.
Jesus assumed his followers would pray, fast, and give to the poor. He didn’t tell us exactly how; he was more concerned with the heart behind the action. Be you are getting your convictions from the Bible—not from your friends, your feelings, or even church culture.
Watch out for legalism. You aren’t necessarily holier just because you have a system. And yet without some system, some resolution, what will really change?

For further exploration: Prayer & Fasting (40 mins)

Next devotional: Treasure

SOTM 25—Forgive

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).

Forgiveness is conditional.

Matt 6:14-15 ties in directly to the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12), which parallels Luke 11: “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4).
Forgiveness is conditional, not unconditional. This is a serious theme in the teaching of Christ.
The principle is well illustrated in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matt 18:23-35). The unmerciful servant's debt is un-cancelled. The implication is clear: we can be "un-forgiven"—just as the Lord makes explicit in Matt 6:15 and 18:35.

The early church concurs:

Clement of Alexandria: “Accordingly, God gives forgiveness of past sins. However, of future sins, each one brings this to himself [by forgiving others].” Who Is the Rich Man? (ANF 2.602)
Cyprian: “‘If you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive you your trespasses.’ There will remain no grounds for excuse on the Day of Judgment, when you will be judged according to your own sentence.” On the Lord’s Prayer 23 (ANF 5.454)

Summary

Forgiveness is not unconditional.
For some of us, this may not be controversial, but this contradicts the teaching of reformers like Luther and Calvin, who taught “once saved, always saved.” Their teaching, in effect, claims, “When we are converted to Christ, every sin we will ever commit is pre-forgiven.”
However, if this were true, then Jesus’ words are false.

Challenge

Don’t let things drag on. Always seek reconciliation!
Always resist unhealthy theology.
Don’t utter the Lord’s Prayer, or any prayer, if we have no intention of forgiving our brother or sister. Let's examine our hearts.

Next: Fast

SOTM 24—THE Prayer

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.Your kingdom comes, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:9-13).

Introductory thoughts

The Lord’s Prayer may be understood as a summary of the gospel itself.
Notice, there is no mention of doctrine or specific commandments.
The faith has been distilled to its essence: the relationship of child to father.
This prayer is the opposite of repetitious babbling.
It is not wrong to pray the prayer verbatim—Jesus seems to be encouraging us to do so. Didache: “Do not pray as the hypocrites. Rather, as the Lord commanded in His gospel… Pray in this manner three times daily during the day.” Didache 1.379

Observations

“Father”—we approach God as our Father, through the work of the Son, by the power of the Spirit. When this is our understanding, then we are praying “in Jesus’ name.” (Note: The original Christians did not “sign off” their prayers with the formula “in Jesus name,” since they understood that their prayer was intrinsically in Jesus’ name.
“Our” Father—Christianity was not intended to be individualistic.
“Hallowed be your name”: To hallow means to make holy, or to sanctify. Cyprian: “It is not that we wish for God to be hallowed by our prayers. Rather we beseech of Him that His name may be hallowed in us. For by whom could God be sanctified, since He Himself sanctifies? It is He who says, ‘Be holy, even as I am holy’ [1 Pet. 1:15]. So we ask and entreat that we who were sanctified in baptism may continue in that state in which we have begun. And we pray daily for this because we need sanctification on a daily basis.” On the Lord’s Prayer 12 (ANF 5.450)
God does not have a name in the sense that created beings do. He simply is. (Exod 3:14; 34:5-7). The early church agreed: Aristides (ANF 10.264); Justin Martyr (ANF 1.165); Irenaeus (ANF 1.412-413; Clement of Alexandria (ANF 2.464); Mark Minucius Felix (ANF 4.183); Novatian (ANF 5.615); and Cyprian (ANF 5.467). Justin Martyr: “To the Father of all, who is unbegotten, there is no name given. ...These words—Father, God, Creator, Lord, and Master—are not names. Rather, they are descriptions derived from His good deeds and functions.” ANF 1.190
“Your kingdom come”: the kingdom continues to “come”—not a one-time event at Pentecost, as some of us may have been taught. Christ is already on the throne. Of course, his realm is one thing, but his rule (reign) in the hearts of willing subjects is another.
Further, we pray for his will to be done in our lives. “Your will be done” is directly parallel to “Your kingdom come.”
God’s will is obeyed in heaven (angels and spiritual beings), as well as on earth among those who honor him as king.
“Daily bread”—not just physical nourishment, but spiritual food (John 6:35).
“Forgive us our debts”—in the shorter prayer of Luke 11, the word is “sins” (trespasses). The two are closely related.
“Lead us not into temptation”—This was understood by the ancient Christians as meaning “do not allow us to be led into temptation,” since James 1:13 states that God tempts no one.
“But deliver us from evil”—or from the evil one. The Greek can be translated either way.
“Thine is the kingdom…”—the extra line is found in some ancient sources (e.g. Didache 8, Tatian’s Diatessaron, Sec.9, and in Chrysostom), but not in others (e.g. the oldest Greek manuscripts, quotations by Latin church fathers, Tertullian, Origen, and Cyprian).

Yet even if we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we will not be pleasing to God if our disposition towards our fellow man is wrong. That is the topic of our next devotional.

Next Up: Forgive

SOTM 23—Prayer

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

5 "And when you pray, do not be as the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do. For they think they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows what things you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:5-8).

Reward: from God, or from others? Make a choice.
The Closet: probably not literal (as demonstrated through Jesus' own example), although many have understood it this way. Get free from distraction.
Jesus is not forbidding corporate prayer, of course. (E.g. Acts 16:25 – Paul and Silas in prison.)
Chrysostom: “Let us then not make our prayer through the gestures of our body or by the loudness of our voice, but by the earnestness of our mind. Let us not do it with noise and clamor and for display—such that we even disturb those who are near us. Rather, let us pray with all modesty, with contrition of the heart, and with inward tears.” Homilies on Matthew 19.4.
Vain repetition: avoid wordiness as well as worldly petitions. Chrysostom again: “Here Jesus calls frivolousness by the name of ‘vain repetition.’ This is when we ask of God things unsuitable—such as kingdoms and glory, or to get the better of our enemies, or to obtain an abundance of wealth, or in general to pray about anything that does not concern us.” Homilies on Matthew 19.5.
Origen: “… According to the passage in the Gospel, only Gentiles babble. For they are quite ignorant about great and heavenly petitions. Therefore, they send up all their prayers for material and external things. The Lord dwells in heaven and above the heights of the heavens. So he who asks for things from below is nothing more than a babbling Gentile.” On Prayer 12. [XXI 1-2.]
The Lord urges economy in prayer—which will be especially visible in the Lord's Prayer.

Next: The Prayer

SOTM 22—Alms

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:2-4).

Comment:

Jesus said not if you give alms, but when you give alms.
We are not to trumpeting our piety.
Hypocrites: hypokritēs literally meant a play-actor. People who trumpet their almsgiving are only pretending to care about the poor.
There is a reward in heaven for giving alms, but not when we do this to impress others.
The words about the left hand and the right hand are metaphorical (like cutting off the hand in Matt 5:30). The focus is on the heart, not the hand.
Our giving should, as much as possible, be in secret (private).

History

A great source for the views of the early church is A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs. (The subtitle is A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers.)
Early church
- Aristides: “Christians do not proclaim in the ears of the multitude the kind deeds they do. Instead, they are careful that no one notices them. In fact, they conceal their giving just like one who finds a treasure and conceals it.” Apology 15 (ANF 9.278)
- Tertullian: “Our compassion spends more in the streets than yours does in the temples!” Apology (ANF 49)
- Lactantius: “Be generous to the blind, the feeble, the lame, and the destitute. For they will die unless you bestow your gifts upon them. They may be useless to men, but they are serviceable to God.” Divine Institutes (ANF 7.175)
- Hermas: “Instead of lands, buy afflicted souls, just as each one is able. And visit widows and orphans.” The Shepherd, 3, Parable 1 (ANF 2.31)
- Tertullian: They used alms “to support and bury poor people, to supply the needs of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons who are confined to their houses. These gifts also help those who have suffered shipwreck. And if there happens to be any of us in the mines, banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons—for no reason other than their faithfulness to the cause of God’s Church—they are supported because of their confession.” Apology (ANF 3.46).
- Lactantius informs us thatChristians also paid to ransom their brothers from barbarian raiders and to bury the poor, including abandoned strangers. Lactantius, Divine Institutes (ANF 7.177).
- Julian the Apostate (the pagan Roman emperor of the 360s), in a private letter to friend: “Why then do we think our meagerness is sufficient? Do we not observe the kindness of Christians to strangers, their care for the burial of their dead, and the seriousness of their lifestyle? Do we not see how this has done the most to advance their cause? …The godless Galileans do not only take care of their own poor but of ours as well!” Julian the Apostate, Letter to Arsacius
Middle ages: It was believed that almsgiving wiped out sins. (See Tobit 12:9.)
Reformation (1500s+): Luther overreacted and ended up creating a new gospel where righteous deeds and obedience play no role in salvation. Luther diluted what Jesus taught about almsgiving.
Today: "Tithing" (an OT practice, not practiced by the early church as it is not commanded in the NT) is preached in today’s churches. Almsgiving, sadly, usually is not. Is this for fear that giving to the poor might compete with building programs, staff salaries, and various financial drives?

What’s the take-away?

Give to the poor.
Give discreetly. No hoopla / try not to tell others what you’ve done, particularly others who don’t need to know.
Intend to give—plan for it. (Keep on hand money, food, or clothing, so that when you are asked you can give.)
Donate to an organization you trust.
Study what the NT says about giving. Notice especially how much emphasis is given to helping the needy, as compared to other financial causes.

Tomorrow: Prayer

SOTM 21—Show-off!

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 6:1).

The lifestyle demanded by Jesus in Matt 5 is difficult. That’s why it can be tempting to pretend—to fake it. It’s also why we are sometimes tempted to put on a show, in three areas.

Three key areas

Giving. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others” (Matt 6:2).
Praying. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others” (Matt 6:5).
Fasting. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others” (Matt 6:16).

Motivation

This concerns motivation.
It’s all about the heart—in both testaments.
The Lord is pleased not by religiosity, but relationship.
Jesus knows our tendency to make ourselves look better than we are.

Rewards

Though we do not earn salvation, we do accrue rewards (treasure) in heaven.
These rewards are forfeit when we have behaved religiously in order to impress others.

Final questions

Why do I do what I do?
Would I still share my faith—or do other “Christian” things—if no one were around to witness it?
Would I pray if I knew for sure no one would ever ask me about it?
Am I using external or sub-Christian metrics to evaluate my faith, or am I truly dealing with the heart?

Next: Alms, the first of the three areas in which Jesus calls us to sincerity and modesty in the performance of our religion.

SOM 20–Perfection

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

On the previous topic, "Enemies:"

Jesus, Paul, and the early church spoke clearly and definitively about the need to love our enemies—never to assault them (verbally or physically), never to kill them, always love them.
This understanding was lost when the church made its alliance with the state in the 4th century.
From that time, and up to our day, nearly all churches are worldly and disobedient to Jesus’ command to love our enemies.
Making a change in this area would really make the Christian community “pop”—stand out!
Further: Listen to Mark Twain's War Prayer.

Be perfect?

At first, it sounds as though Jesus is saying that we have to be sinless or faultless. As a young Christian I believed this was indeed exactly what he was commanding. Perfect—no compromise—no margin of error!
This misunderstanding affected how I related to others. It affected me as a leader. It affected my family.
However, there are two problems with such an interpretation.
- The Greek word (teleios) means perfected in the sense of completion or maturity—the end of a process—perfected.
- It must be understood in the context of loving enemies—and the rest of the lifestyle teaching in Matt 5. It's not a call to be perfect students or workers, or to be 100% fault-free.
- We are to be like our Father—in how he treats us. God gives grace (sunshine, rain, and much more) to all (the righteous and the wicked).
It has been suggested that perfection here means holiness. We are to be holy, for he is holy (Lev 11:44).

So, are we behaving like adult children of the Father?

Imagine what the church would be like if we dealt with anger, dealt with lust, truly honored marriage, were totally reliable—men and women of integrity—and never retaliated, verbally or otherwise, sincerely loving and serving our enemies!
- Of course this is difficult.
- It’s much easier to fake it—which Jesus will next address, as we move into chapter 6.

Next: Show-off!

SOTM 19—Enemies

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

43 “You have heard that it was said,‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?47 And if you greet only your brothers what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:41-47)

We are called to actively love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.
Do these words of Jesus nullify the Law? No, because the Law never commanded Israel to hate its enemies—although it only commanded them to love their neighbors (Lev 19:18). Still, there are multiple examples of love shown to enemies in the OT.
We are challenged to go far beyond the minimum standard of social / familial decency (kindness to friends and family). We are to love even our enemies!

The early church held to this teaching for three centuries:

Justin Martyr: “We used to hate and destroy one another. We would not live with men of a different race because of their peculiar customs. However, now, since the coming of Christ, we live intimately with them. We pray for our enemies and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good teachings of Christ.We do this to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God, the Ruler of all.” First Apology 14. Also: “We who formerly murdered one another now refrain from making war even upon our enemies.” ANF 1.176.
Clement of Alexandria: “It is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained.” ANF 2.234.
Tertullian: “We willingly yield ourselves to the sword. So what wars would we not be both fit and eager to participate in (even against unequal forces), if in our religion it were not counted better to be slain than to slay? ANF 3.45. He adds, “The Christian does no harm even to his enemy.” ANF 3.45.
Cyprian: “Wars are scattered all over the earth with the bloody horror of military camps. The whole world is wet with mutual blood. And murder—which is acknowledged to be a crime in the case of an individual—is called a virtue when it is committed wholesale. Impunity is claimed for the wicked deeds, not because they are guiltless, but because the cruelty is perpetrated on a grand scale!” ANF 5.277.
Lactantius: “The Christian considers it unlawful not only to commit slaughter himself, but also to be present with those who do it.” Divine Institutes ANF 7.153. Also: “How can a man be righteous who hates, who despoils, who puts to death? Yet, those who strive to be serviceable to their country do all these things. ...When they speak of the ‘duties’ relating to warfare, their speech pertains neither to justice nor to true virtue.” ANF 7.169
Aristides: “They comfort their oppressors and make them their friends. They do good to their enemies.” ANF 10.276.
Origen: “We are taught not to avenge ourselves upon our enemies. We have therefore lived by laws of a mild and wise character. Although able, we would not make war even if we had received authority to do so. Therefore, we have obtained this reward from God: that He has always fought on our behalf. On various occasions, He has restrained those who rose up against us and desired to destroy us.” Against Celsus 8.
Lactantius: “Torture and godliness are widely different. It is not possible for truth to be united with violence or justice to be united with cruelty. …Religion is to be defended—not by putting to death—but by dying. It is not defended by cruelty, but by patient endurance.” Divine Institutes (ANF 7.156-157).
The Didache: “If you love those who hate you, you will not have an enemy.” Didache 3
Chrysostom: “You should feel grateful to an enemy on account of his wickedness. This is so even if he is evil to you after receiving from you ten thousand kindnesses. For if he were not exceedingly evil, your reward would not be significantly increased. You may say that the reason you do not love him is because he is evil. However, that is the very reason you should love him. Take away the contestant, and you take away the opportunity for the crowns.” Homilies on Hebrews 19.5.

Paul taught the same:

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ... 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:14, 17-21).
To illustrate, when the early Christian leader Polycarp was arrested, he first directed that food and drink be brought to the soldiers who were about to bring him to execution. Martyrdom of Polycarp 7:2

The observation of Ammianus

Roman soldier and historian Ammianus Marcellinus (c.330-400 AD) noted that rival Christian parties exceeding wild beasts in their hostility toward one another.
What changed in the 4th century? The state and the church become inseparably connected.

From the disastrous 4th century till the present day

In the fourth century, most of the Roman emperors professed to embrace Christianity. Nevertheless, they continued to kill their opponents (even family members) and to wage war—ignoring the teaching of Christ.
At first, Christians refused to fight in their armies, as in earlier centuries, soldiers who became Christians refused to kill. However, in time the state church relaxed its teachings on nonresistance.
Eventually, Augustine (354-430 AD) came up with a rationalization to defend both personal vengeance and war: It’s permissible to kill enemies as long as we still “love” them!
As a result, fighting, killing and revenge became the norms in medieval “Christian” Europe.
Professing Christians waged war against Muslims, pagans, and fellow “Christians.” They persecuted heretics (real or imagined), tortured people, and oppressed the weak in the name of God.
Not surprisingly, Catholics and Reformers alike persecuted those genuine Christians who refused to go to war and who spoke out against torture and oppression.

Some practicals:

Act lovingly towards enemies, strangers, and people we do not like.
Take some time to compare Paul’s teaching with Jesus’s.
Invest in learning some early church history, and how the church embraced the teaching of the world regarding enemies.
Refuse to take credit for behaving kindly and decently to friends and family.
If you’re disturbed by any of these teachings, take time to pray.

Tomorrow: Perfection

SOTM 18-Retaliation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

38 “You have heard that it was said,‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’39 But I say to you,Do not resist the one who is evil. Butif anyoneslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.40 Andif anyone would sue you and take your tunic let him have your cloak as well.41 And if anyoneforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.42 Give to the one who begs from you, anddo not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42).

Non-resistance

This isn't just a doctrine promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Amish.
Not non-resistance to evil (which we always resist), but towards evil people.
One well-known proponent of non-resistance states, “Of course, the life of a Christian is one of continually resisting evil. But Jesus commands us not to resist evil through physical, earthly and carnal means. Instead, we resist evil through the power of love and holiness. Nonresistance is ultimately the way of love and the way of the cross—two things exemplified by Jesus. As such, nonresistance is one of the defining characteristics of the historic faith.”—David Bercot
It is not so much a doctrine as a lifestyle

The church of the first 3 centuries

Tertullian: “… If injured, we are forbidden to retaliate, lest we become just as bad ourselves. Who can suffer injury at our hands?” Apology 37
Irenaeus: “The new covenant that brings back peace and the law that gives life have both gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets said. …Christians have beat their swords and their spears into plowshares and pruning hooks for reaping grain, that is, into instruments used for peaceful purposes. So now, they are strangers to fighting. When they are struck, they offer the other cheek also.” Against Heresies 34.4
Justin Martyr: “We used to be filled with war, mutual slaughter, and every kind of wickedness. However, now all of us have, throughout the whole earth, changed our warlike weapons. We have changed our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.” First Apology (ANF 1.254). (See Isa 2:4, Joel 3:10, and Mic 4:3.)
There’s also a good deal on the subject at my website, for those inclined to engage in further study.

Passivity?
Although nonresistance may sound passive, it is actually a proactive response.

The Law prohibits private revenge—it’s not the individual who should exact justice.
Jesus goes one step further and eliminates all revenge.
Once again, he was not nullifying the Law, but broadening it.
Jesus gives four illustrations: turning the other cheek (v.39), giving the one who sues for your tunic your cloak as well (v.40), going the “extra mile” (v.41), and giving to the one who asks (v.42).

Our commentator, again: “With His teaching of nonresistance, Jesus brings to a pinnacle much of what He has said up to this point in the Sermon on the Mount. The meek who will inherit the earth are the nonresistant. Nobody can truly be pure in heart without being nonresistant. The peacemakers are the nonresistant who have first made peace with their own enemies. At the same time, nobody will be able to live a nonresistant life unless they have first learned how to control their anger, their tongue, and their passions. That is why Jesus gave His teachings on those other subjects before He introduced the concept of nonresistance.”

Did the early church really believe in such an unusual doctrine?

Lactantius: “We do not resist those who injure us, for we must yield to them. … If anyone is so brazen as to inflict injury on a good and just man, such a man must bear it with calmness and moderation. He will not turn to revenge. Rather, he will leave repayment to the judgment of God. He must always remain innocent in all places” The Divine Institutes17. And further, “When provoked by injury, if a man returns violence to his assailant, he is defeated.” The Divine Institutes 6.18
Irenaeus: “We should not grieve when we are defrauded, as do those who are unwilling. Rather, we should rejoice as those who have given willingly. We can treat it as though we are conferring a favor upon our neighbors rather than merely yielding to necessity.” Against Heresies (ANF 1.477).
Tertullian: “He who does not fear to lose his possessions does not find it burdensome to give. Otherwise, how will the one with two tunics give one of them to the naked? Similarly, how else can he offer his robe to one who takes away his tunic? How can we make for ourselves friends with mammon, if we love it so much that we cannot endure its loss?” On Patience “Shall the son of peace take part in a battle, when it does not become him even to sue at law?” ANF 3.99. Re: lawsuits, see also 1 Cor 6:1-8.
Athenagoras: “We have learned not to return blow for blow, nor to go to law with those who plunder and rob us.” Plea for the Christians (ANF 2.129)
Chrysostom: “Now if you give someone what they ask and thereby refrain from being sued, you have sought only your own advantage. But if you give him some additional item, you have also made him better. You have sent him away improved. For this is the nature of salt, which is what Jesus wants us to be. For salt not only preserves itself, but it also preserves all other objects with which it comes in contact.” Homilies on Matthew2.
Irenaeus: “Jesus says, ‘If anyone compels you to go a mile, go with him two.’ This is so that you will not follow him as a slave but as a free man. This way, you show yourself to be kindly disposed in all things… This way, you make yourself like the Father, ‘who makes His sun rise upon the evil and the good and sends rain upon the just and the unjust.’ As I have already observed, all these precepts were not the injunctions of One doing away with the Law, but of One fulfilling, extending, and widening it.” Against Heresies13.3.
Didache: “You shall not hesitate to give, nor complain when you give…” Didache 7-8.
Barnabas: “Do not hesitate to give, nor complain when you do so. ‘Give to everyone who asks of you,’ and you will know who the good Rewarder is.” ANF 1.148

What about wrong motives?

However, what if the one asking is not deserving? Well, in the first three applications, the persons were not deserving. That may also be the case in the fourth instance.

Clement of Alexandria: “Do not try to judge who is worthy or who is unworthy. For it is possible that you may be mistaken in your opinion. As in the uncertainty of ignorance, it is better to do good to the undeserving for the sake of the deserving—than by guarding against those who are less good to fail to provide for the good. By being sparing and trying to test who deserves to receive or not, you may neglect some of those who are loved by God.” ANF 2.600

Next: Enemies

SOTM 17—Oaths

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil (Matthew 5:33-37).

Introduction

While we may not swear by Jerusalem, or by our own heads, modern people often do swear on their mother’s grave, or (Muslims) by the beard of Muhammad. But we shouldn't need to swear by anything, if we are really men or women of integrity.
Jesus has already addressed the 6th and 7th commandments (murder and adultery). Now he swings round to the 3rd commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exod 20:7).
Many falsely imagine this is a prohibition of profanity. In reality, it is about using God’s name in promises that we do not keep (or intend to keep). (It also has applies to using the divine name in magic.)
First-century Jewish writers Josephus and Philo confirm this understanding of oaths.

Integrity

Do I take oaths?
Is my word my bond?
Would I be ashamed if I reneged on a commitment? (But see Prov 6:1-5.)
Do people trust me?
Do I respect deadlines and time tags generally? Am I punctual?
Do I skimp on work hours (arriving late, leaving early, stretching the lunch break)?
Do I complete assignments?
If I am a student, do I am to please the Lord Christ (Col 3:24)? Am I determined, in terms of integrity, to be an exemplary Christian student?

Learning from history

The Apostolic Constitutions state, “He formerly made a law about swearing truthfully. And he forbade perjury. However, he has now charged us not to swear at all."
Jesus’ commandment was not just a new standard for Jews, but also for Gentiles. The Roman satirist Juvenal writes: “It is so simple and easy to disregard heavenly witnesses if no mortal man is privy to the secret. Hear how loudly a certain fellow denies the charge! See the assurance of his deceitful face! He swears by the rays of the sun, the Tarpeian thunderbolts, and the spear of Mars.” Satire 12.
Even after the access of Constantine, for many decades Christians continued to obey Jesus’ words about swearinguntil Augustine (c.400 AD).

Next lesson: Retaliation

SOTM 16—Divorce

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32).

The Jewish world

There were grounds for divorce besides adultery, including failure to provide food and clothing for one’s spouse and failure to offer conjugal love. The ancient rabbis understood this to be the case because of Exodus 21:10-11 and other passages.
Legitimate grounds for divorce did not, however, necessarily mean one should divorce his or her spouse.
A divorced person was expected to remarry—under strong social pressure.
In the 1st century there were two schools of thought about divorce:
- Shammai—a matter of indecency (Deut 24)
- Hillel—“any cause”—the kind of divorce Joseph was intending to offer Mary (Matt 1:19).
- “Any cause” divorce was by far the norm in the 1st century.
When the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce in Matt 19:3-9, they want to know which side of the debate he is on: just cause or “any cause.”
- He is certainly not on Hillel’s side!
- God’s intention is for marriage to last a lifetime.
- However, Matt 19:9 has been misunderstood. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” doesn’t mean that we cannot dissolve a marriage through divorce, but that we ought not. Divorce is a last resort, but necessary in some cases.

Exod 21:10-11

If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

This passage describes the rights of a slave wife: food, clothing, sexual love—that is, material support as well as emotional support.
If her husband reneges, she may be released from the marriage. The rabbis correctly saw that if a slave had such rights, so did a free woman, who implicitly expected his faithfulness as a husband.
If any of these four rights is neglected, there are grounds for legitimate divorce. The grounds are withdrawal of physical support (food or clothing), withdrawal of emotional support (manifest in sexual engagement), and (implicitly) adultery. This does not mean there should be a divorce, only that if the innocent party initiates proceedings, she may be legally divorce.
Marriage has historically been understood as contractual. (Contract is the same word as covenant.) To fail to feed, clothe, and love constitute unfaithfulness to one’s marriage vows. And neglected marriage vows justify (though do not require) divorce.
Divorce for broken marriage vows (once the infidelity was proven in court) was still practiced up to 70 AD. However, by Jesus’ day no-fault divorce (“any cause”) was predominant.
Deut 22:13-18 implies that in O.T. times groundless divorce was not permitted, or else it resulted in severe financial penalty.

The Roman world

Like Jewish marriage contracts, pagan contracts also included vows to provide physically and sexually for one’s spouse.
Separation = divorce. (This is the culture into which Paul is speaking in 1 Cor 7.)
Divorcees, widows, and widowers were required to remarry by law.

All together

Most Jews practiced easy, “any-cause” divorce. The divorce certificate allowed one to remarry.
The pagans simply walked out on their spouses. This was tantamount to divorce.
Podcasts to come – by March 2020.

Matt 5:31-32

For the Jews, this would be shocking. Any-cause divorce was standard.
In the broader Roman world separation was Thus Jesus’ words would have been shocking to Gentiles, too.
Readers unfamiliar with the 1st-century context could easily misunderstand Jesus—but then that is the case with many of Jesus’ teachings.
Note: Paul accepted neglect (abandonment) as grounds for divorce and remarriage. He refers also to withholding of conjugal love. The promises of the marriage vow are in the background of everything he writes.
Remarriage when still married to your original spouse is adultery—a repudiation of one’s marital vows.
Of course if one is unlawfully divorced and remarried, he has provided grounds for divorce to his (former) spouse. (The NT does not teach that one must return to one’s first spouse.)
No 1st century Jewish group prohibited remarriage after divorce. In the Roman world, remarriage was mandatory after 18 months; not to remarry was to break the law. Thus it would be quite strange if Jesus and Paul taught against remarriage.

Learning from history

The original debate between the Shammaites and the Hillelites was quickly forgotten after the Jewish War (ending in 70 AD).
Many church fathers were unnecessarily harsh in a number of biblical areas, and divorce is one of those.
As strange as this may sound, in some ways we are better positioned than the 2nd century church fathers to understand what Jesus and Paul meant, since we have access to multiple sources to which they were not privy:
- Dead Sea Scrolls fragments on divorce
- Newly discovered Jewish divorce certificates from the 1st and 2nd centuries
- Over 200 Aramaic, Greek, and Latin marriage and divorce papyri
- Rabbinic evidence datable to the 2nd century
- Divorce documents from the Geniza of the Cairo Synagogue
- These documents have all been discovered in the last 150 years.

Conclusion

Keep your marital vows!
Without grounds, a second marriage is adultery. (Both the OT and the NT allow four grounds for divorce: desertion, adultery, failure to provide/protect, refusing conjugal love.)
Divorce should be the last resort.
Note: “We cannot appreciate fully the social implications of Joseph’s decision to take Mary as his wife in an honor/shame world. In a difficult social circumstance, Joseph moves beyond even the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19 to pursue the way of mercy. We might summarize the story of Joseph using the formula of Matthew 5:21-48 this way: “You have heard it said that you may write Mary a certificate of divorce, but I say to you do not be afraid to take her as your wife.” – Mark Love of Rochester University (Leaven 176)
Fidelity is far more than not having sex with someone who is not your spouse. We are called to be faithful to our marriage vows. That includes much more than merely avoiding adultery.
Jesus taught selfless, sacrificial love in the marriage (Eph 5:21-33).
Further: If you want to grappled with the issues for a better understanding of the background situation of the 1st-century Roman world, take a look at David Instone-Brewer's work.Or listen to my series on Divorce & Remarriage.

SOTM 15—Lust

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell (Matt 5:27-30).

Introductory matters:

Lust is not only sexual—though it is in this passage. (See, for example, 1 John 2:15-17.)
Lust is the evil root from which the bitter fruit of adultery grows.
There is an element of hyperbole (deliberate overstatement for effect) in parts of the Sermon on the Mount—yet still we are to take Jesus’ teaching seriously. As Athenagoras told the pagans, “We are so far from practicing promiscuous intercourse that it is unlawful among us even to indulge a lustful look.” A Plea for Christians 32. Such an attitude was as rare back then as it is today.
The early church contended for the faith in a sexually saturated society – pornography, prostitution, theatre, art, the baths, orgies, dinner parties, sex with slaves, homosexuality, pederast, bestiality, mistresses, x-rated poetry…

Solutions

Do not look at unclothed / immodestly dressed persons.
- Early Christian writings contain numerous warnings against going to the public baths when members of the opposite sex were present. “What of those virgins who patronize indecent baths? .... They who disgracefully look at naked men and are seen naked by men—do they not afford enticement to sin?” ANF 5.435
- Just like those of today, the theaters and spectacles of the ancient world were typically indecent. The Apostolic Constitutions instructs, “Avoid indecent shows, that is, the theaters and the ceremonies of the pagans.” ANF 7.424
- Tertullian writes, “Are we not commanded to put away from us all immodesty? On this ground, we are excluded from the theater, which is immodesty’s own peculiar home. ... Is it right to look on what it is disgraceful to do? How is it that the things that defile a man in going out of his mouth, are not regarded as doing so when they go in his eyes and ears?” ANF 3.86-87
- Novatian laments, “I am ashamed to talk about the things that are said on the stage. In fact, I am even ashamed to denounce the things that are done—the tricks of arguments, the cheating of adulterers, the immodesty of women, and the indecent jokes. ANF 5.577
- They even avoided gazing at the modestly clothed!
Avoid obscene talk.
- Talking about the opposite sex in a sensual or obscene manner invariably leads to lust (Eph. 5:3-4).
- The Apostolic Constitutions teaches, “A Christian who is faithful should neither repeat a pagan hymn nor sing an obscene song.” ANF 7.442
Dress and behave modestly.
- Clement writes, “On the one hand, we must keep from exhibiting and exposing parts of the body that we should not exhibit. And on the other hand, we must keep from looking at what is forbidden.” ANF 2.251.
- Modesty is more than merely refraining from exposing or exhibiting parts of the body (1 Tim 2:9). Moreover, true beauty is inward (1 Pet 3:3-4).
- Tertullian asks, “See how many women there are who earnestly desire to look pleasing even to strangers? On that very account she takes care to have herself painted out—yet, denying that she has ever been an object of carnal appetite? …Why, therefore, excite toward yourself evil passion? Why invite the very thing to which you profess yourself a stranger? …Are we to paint ourselves out so that our neighbors may perish? What happened to the words, ‘You will love your neighbor as yourself’?” On the Apparel of Women 2.1-2
- A woman can also attract the attention of men by the way that she walks and conducts herself. Clement writes, “Some women practice the mincing motions of dancers and conduct themselves in society as if on a stage. That is, they go around with voluptuous movements, gliding steps, and pretentious voices. They cast languishing glances around.” ANF 2.287 (See also Isa 3:16.)
- Price tags may be “obscene” (offensive to decency); modesty is more than simply sexual chastity.

In sum:

Refuse to look at immodestly dressed persons. This has big implications for parties, fashion, television viewing, movies, going to the beach…
Have nothing to with obscene talk. Let’s not kid ourselves: words do affect us.
Live modestly: standard of living, behavior, dress…
Let’s not be overconfident. Remember, lust undid the strongest man, the purest man, and the wisest man (Samson, David, Solomon).
Consider the seriousness urged by Origen (3rd century AD): “When we hand over our body not to the Lord but to fornication, what do we hand over? We hand our whole body into Gehenna! Yet, when I say these things, they are held in contempt. Why? Because faith is lacking. However, what if today you were told that a worldly judge was going to burn you alive tomorrow? Suppose after hearing this that you had only one day of freedom. What would you do? …Would you not hand over all your money to those by whose intercession you might escape this punishment? Would you not give all that you had for the redemption of your life? What if someone were to try to delay or impede you? Would you not say, ‘Let all be lost for my deliverance. Do not let anything remain—if only I may live’?” Homilies on Leviticus 9.7.3.

Next—and clearly related: Divorce

SOTM 14—Anger

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Dec 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

You have heard that it was said by those of old, you will not kill; and whoever kills will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you whoever is angry with his brother rashly will be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, raqa, will be in danger of the council. And whoever says “fool” will be in danger of hellfire.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him, lest at any time the adversary delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the minister and you are cast into prison. Truly I say to you, you will by no means come out from there until you have paid the last penny (Matthew 5:21-26).

From here on Jesus will take up various points of law—the law of Moses. These are entirely non-trivial. The matters Jesus brings up in the next sections— murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and enemies—are all fundamental in their importance and impact on our lives. Of course not every topic is equally important—but all are important.

Anger

Today’s passage is the first of a series of teachings in which Jesus refers to something in the Law (or in popular Jewish teaching) and then contrasts it with his own kingdom teachings. In each case, he doesn't contradict the Law, but rather fleshes out the purpose behind the law and calls us to an even higher standard.
The commandment of the Decalogue Jesus begins with is: “You shall not murder” (Exod 20:13). Rather than eliminating the commandment, Jesus now enlarges it. He tells them they must not even be angry at others. “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).
By using the formula "You have heard... but I say to you," Jesus also establishes Himself as the new lawgiver—the second Moses (a large theme in Matthew's gospel). He has no hesitation to modify the laws that Moses gave—again, not to destroy them but to fill them out and complete them.
Jesus does not condemn all varieties of anger, only anger that is rash or selfish. Jesus himself regarded religious leaders “with anger” because of their hardheartedness (Mark 3:5). There is such a thing as righteous anger. Paul urges, “When you are angry, do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26; see Psalm 4:4).
Raqa and fool were mild insults; neither constituted profanity. These are disrespectful words. And Christians are not to be disrespectful in how they address others. Our altar is in heaven (Heb 13:10; see also 9:4 and 10:1).
Unrighteous attitudes towards others affects our prayer. In Rev 8:3 the prayers of the saints are on the golden altar. There is no point in offering a gift to God if our brother has something against us. Even under the Law of Moses, God rejected sacrifices from those with unclean hands.
This also has application to the Lord's Supper: 1 Cor 11:29 calls us to discern the body. Entirely relational—not that there no vertical, divine dimension to communion. But the focus of the larger section (1 Cor 8:1-11:1) is horizontal—loving our brothers and sisters, especially those who have less.
There is sort of parallel passage, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matt 18:21-35). (Please read this after the podcast is over.)
Time is of the essence.

Practicals

Considering what Jesus said about anger and insults, what are we to do if we have been angry at a fellow Christian, or have insulted them?
Jesus provides the answer: waste no time in becoming reconciled with him.
- Are there people we need to initiate with?
- It may be costly to reconcile—but it is costlier not to reconcile.
- After all, we are called to be peacemakers (Matt 5:9).
- At the same time, the Lord understands that our best efforts may be spurned (Rom 12:18).
Communion: Have we ever not taken communion?
- While we have likely been conditioned to feel unworthy of body of the Lord for things like laziness or lust, when did we last refuse communion because of unfinished business with a brother or sister who had a problem with us?
- This is the nitty-gritty work of the kingdom—not getting tangled up in webs of guilt for flagging discipleship or secret sin.
So when we’re growing angry with someone, warning lights should be going off! Usually (not always) this anger is born of self-interest and is sinful.

Next podcast: Lust

SOTM 13-Pharisees

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).

Jesus' words would probably have been shocking to many, as the Pharisees were quite respected. The Sadducees, and the priestly class (many of whom were Sadducees) on the other hand, were more resented by the common people. Not all Pharisees were bad people—consider Nicodemus (John 3:1ff.) Overall they were greatly respected among those who loved Scripture. They strove for religious revival, where every home became a sort of "temple," where God was honored. Holiness was not just for priests (many of whom were Sadducees), but for all people.

Thus it is not surprising that the Pharisees believed they were the ones properly fulfilling the Law. Jesus disagrees. There are three faults Jesus identifies in his teaching.

Hypocrisy

Many of Pharisees only played at holiness.
Pretense, pomp characterized their prayer on street corners (Matt 6:5), which was more for public approbation than to honor God.
They tended to look down on others who did not maintain the same set of roles—whether biblical, like giving a tithe during OT times, or nonbiblical, like fasting twice a week (Luke 18:9-14).

Manmade laws

They claimed Moses received two sets of law on the mountain: the Torah itself (Exodus 20-Deut 33) plus the oral Torah (their traditions).
The Mishnah (c.200 AD) put the regulations of the oral Torah into written form.
They tried to build a "fence" around the Law, so that no one would even come close to violating it. Yet they ended up taking their guidelines far too seriously—as though they had the same status as scriptural commands / prohibitions.
Discussions about what was legal—e.g. what constituted "work":
- Sabbath violations: Wearing prosthetic limbs? Shoes repaired with nails? Spitting (which disturbs the dust on the ground and might constitute "plowing")? Swatting a fly ("hunting")?
- Women looking into mirrors (she might see a gray hair and pluck it out)? Writing in invisible ink?
- Other laws, like their tradition of Qorban (Matt 15:1-9), which undermined the very purpose of honoring parents (5th commandment).

External religion

The scribes and Pharisees were meticulous in obeying the outward commandments of the Law (Matt 23:23).
However, Jesus teaches us that we must not only control our outward actions, but our inward ones as well. The Law forbids murder and adultery; Jesus forbids anger and list. Jesus enables people to change from the inside out.
In our day, such change will not be accomplished by a “Christian legalism”!
- Teaching we must exceed the 10% offering (old covenant)—giving at least 11%, since we are under the new covenant. Or that we should fast at least 3x/week, since the Pharisees fasted 2x/week (Luke 18:12).
- Telling people how many minutes to pray, how many people to evangelize, etc.
- It’s not about quantity, but quality.

Conclusion

Jesus is saying, in effect, that the religious system as a whole is misguided.
We will never accept his radical teachings (Matt 5:21-7:27) if our hearts are misaligned with God’s will.

SOTM 12—Fulfillment

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

19 "Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

The Old and the New

Jesus is about to deliver the new "legislation" of the Kingdom of God. He knows that, at first glance, some of these teachings may sound as though they are contradicting what Moses said in the Law.
Thus he explains in advance that he is neither annulling nor opposing the Law.
The "commandments" are his commands, found throughout the gospels.

What is "fulfillment"?

It is not obedience – although Jesus did obey the Law.
It is not annulment — although it is true that we are no longer living under the Law.
It involves more than loose verbal connections with the details of prophecies.
It is completion—in the same way that Christianity is the fulfillment and extension of Judaism.
Think of a jigsaw puzzle. The OT gives us the frame, and several sections of the puzzle are nearly completed. But we're missing the box with the cover picture!
Examples of fulfillment:
- Divine presence: Tabernacle – Temple – Body of Christ — Church — New Jerusalem
- Sacrifice: Animal sacrifices etc. — Christ, the perfect and complete and final sacrifice.
- Holy times / occasions; now, all time holy.
- Anointing (Messiah = anointed one)
  - Prophet
  - Priest
  - King
  - [Further material in our series Christ Through the Ages]
David Bercot: "The early Christians understood Jesus to be saying that he was filling out the Law. He was completing some parts of it, while amplifying other parts of it. He was both reshaping it and sometimes widening it." (The Early Christian Study Bible)

Not an iota?

The iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, and is equivalent to the Hebrew yodh and the English lower case i.
The entire OT Torah is important!

When is the time of fulfillment?

The Cross? This is what I used to teach, referring to John 19:30 ("It is finished") and Col 2:14 ("canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands"), and to some extent this is true. But more likely, the meaning is:
Until Christ returns, the Law will not pass away. Nevertheless, the NT teaches that we are no longer bound by the ritualistic and temporary requirements of the Law—a large part—since they have already served (fulfilled) their purpose.
However, the Law itself is still very relevant.
- Christ is both typified and specifically prophesied about in the Law.
- The Law contains a large amount of background material, without which we would be disoriented as we read the NT.
- Although the ceremonial provisions of the Law have served their purpose and are no longer binding, we are still under what Paul calls the “righteous requirements of the Law” (Rom. 2:26 NKJV). That is, we are under the righteous moral precepts taught by the Law.

Commandments?

The commandments (v.19) are Jesus’ own commandments, not the commandments of the Law.
Those who disregard them are called “least in the kingdom of heaven”; the Law of Moses Law did not pertain to the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus is telling His listeners that he expects them to honor his kingdom commandments with the same (or greater) honor that the ancient Jews rendered to the Law of Moses.
Some object that there are no laws or commandments in the gospel. Yet “He that has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him” (John 14:21). See also John 13:34; 14:14, 21; 15:10, 12.
Of course not all commandments are equally important—as with the Law of Moses (Matt 23:23). Some requirements of the Law were weightier than others. But the lesser ones were not to be neglected. Obedience is expected.

Challenge

We need to take the OT seriously. Most Christians have never read the entire OT.
We also need to pay close attention to how the OT is completed in the New.
When it comes to obeying God’s commands, there is no room for slackness!

SOTM-Light

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

God said, “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3). God is our light (Psalm 27:1). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). God’s word is a light for our feet (Psalm 119:105). And we are called to be enlightened, and to reflect his light—not the lightheadedness of Eastern bliss, but the truth of God and his Word.

Lifestyle, not just evangelism

Being the light of the world isn’t so much about evangelism as about lifestyle.
In the later 2nd century, the Christian apologist Athenagoras declared to the Romans [in particular, the emperor, Marcus Aurelius]: “Among us you will find uneducated persons, craftsmen, and old women, who, if they are unable in words to prove the benefit of our teaching, yet by their deeds demonstrate the benefit arising from their conviction of its truth. They do not rehearse speeches, but instead exhibit good works. When struck, they do not strike back. When robbed, they do not go to law. They give to those who ask of them and love their neighbors as themselves.” A Plea for the Christians 11 (ANF 2.134).
Light involves things we do, but also things we don’t
- How we react—or do not react—when wronged.
- What we don’t participate in—worldly activities.
- We are oriented towards the Kingdom of God—and away from not the kingdoms of men.
The Sermon on the Mount focuses almost entirely on how we live, not on theology.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus taught that our salvation is dependent on how we live / obedience to His commandments.

Others will see

Works are positive – beware the Protestant over-reaction against “works-righteousness.”
The Bible nowhere says that our righteous deeds—acts of obedience to the will of God—are filthy rags! Check out Q&A 1291.

Good works are essential to salvation

Contrary to what many church people imagine, Paul too taught the necessity of obedience for salvation: (Rom 2:6-10). In fact, Paul uses the expression, “good works,” even more often than does Jesus.
Peter wrote, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).
[The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is especially reflected in the letter of James.]

Our challenge

To provide sight for the spiritually blind in our world.
And to do so without hypocrisy (Rom 2:17-24).

SOTM-Salt

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt becomes foolish, how will it be salted? It is thereafter good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13).

The next 2 podcasts are on salt and light—the stuff of Christian discipleship.

Flavor, or function?

Whereas in modern times we usually associate salt with taste (something that enhances flavor), it was different in ancient times.
Back then salt was more functional. It was a common preservative, and even served as a disinfectant for wounds. In other words, salt was necessary for everyday life.

How are we to be salt?

Christians preserve the world through the power of their example, faith, outreach, and prayer.
In the later 300s, John Chrysostom writes, “For this is the nature of salt, which is what Jesus wants us to be. For salt not only preserves itself, but it also preserves all other objects with which it comes into contact.” Homilies on Matthew 18.2.

Salt becoming "foolish"?

Most English translations read, if it loses its saltiness / taste. Yet the original reads “if the salt becomes foolish" (Gk. mōranthēi—from mōraíno).
The metaphor refers to people, not literal salt.
Origen, writing in the first half of the 200s, explains: “If the reason in us sins and we do something foolish, then we must be fearful of that statement of the Savior which says, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt becomes foolish, it is of value for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled on by men.’” Homilies on Leviticus 1–16.
Paul uses this same word (emōránthēsan) when describing how humans have turned away from God (Rom 1:21-24).
Jesus used a form of the same word (mōrōi) in describing the foolish one “who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them”—building his house on sand (Matt 7:26)—and again in Matt 25:1-12, in describing the five foolish (mōraí) virgins.
So too, if we, the salt, become foolish, then Jesus cannot use us. We are not fit for anything but to be cast out and “trampled underfoot by men” (Matt 5:13). (See the porcine / canine trampling of Matt 7:6, again not literal, but metaphorical and referring to people.)
In short, the Lord calls us not to lose our identity—our Christian distinctiveness. So let's not make "discipleship" about attending meetings and counting conversions. It’s our spiritual influence, flowing from a holy and godly lifestyle.

Application

Let's be spiritually wise—not foolish.
Let's also be conversationally strategic—and gracious (Col 4:6).

SOTM-Persecuted

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men speak abusively of you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt 5:10-12).

Persecution

By the second century, it was a capital offense merely to be a Christian.
Tertullian (around the year 200) writes, “You put Christians on crosses and stakes. ...We are cast to the wild beasts. ...We are burned in the flames. ...We are condemned to the mines. ...We are banished to the islands.” Tertullian, Apology 12 (ANF 3.28).
Lactantius adds, “They torture, put to death, and banish the worshippers of the Most High God—that is, the righteous. Yet, those who hate us so vehemently are unable to give a reason for their hatred.” Lactantius, Divine Institutes 5.1 (ANF 7.135).

Blessed?

The world may consider us to be losers, but in fact we’re on the winning side. We are on God’s side!
"Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy (Isa 61:7).
We may excluded now, but a reversal is on the way—if not in this life, then surely in the next. Oppressors misuse their power—but ultimately ours is the kingdom of heaven (where the real power is, in submission to our sovereign Lord).

For the right reason:

Jesus doesn't say the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are persecuted because of their wickedness or because of embracing a false religion.
It must be "for righteousness' sake."

Kingdom of heaven:

Matthew’s preferred term for the kingdom of God.
It is the domain of the Lord, the realm in which his will is obeyed.
The kingdom is on earth and in heaven; it is past, present and future; it is not an institution or church, but the reign of Jesus Christ.

When we're misrepresented:

Blessed are you when men speak abusively of you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you for my sake (Matt 5:11).

We're not blessed when we are needlessly offensive, or when we equate opinion matters or political positions or eccentric doctrines with Christianity. Jesus specifies that the perfection must "for my sake."

Consider the slanders against Christians in the early centuries: The three most common false accusations current in the early Christianity were atheism, incest, and cannibalism. Athenagoras, A Plea for Christians 3 (ANF 2.130); Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 10 (ANF 1.199).
Theophilus writes: “Godless lips falsely accuse us, ...alleging that we hold our wives in common and use them promiscuously. They even allege that we commit incest with our own sisters.”
Tertullian reprimands the Romans: “Monsters of wickedness! We are accused of observing a holy rite in which we kill a little child and then eat him. It is said that after the feast, we practice incest. ...This is what is constantly laid to our charge. Yet, you take no pains to investigate the truth of what we have been accused of for so long.” Tertullian, Apology 7 (ANF 3.23).

How are we often misrepresented as Christians today? Christians are often called;

Arrogant—think only you are right—because you share your faith. We are sharing God’s word, the good news, a cure, an opportunity, a message of the greatest importance.
Cultic—because your local church expects more engagement than just showing up on Sunday
Homophobic—even if we do love gays et al.
Judgmental—even if all we are doing is taking a stand where Jesus took a stand
Prudish or Puritanical—because we accept what God says about sexual purity
Unpatriotic: Refuse to kill enemies in warfare—unpatriotic (doesn’t love his country), or is cowardly. Quite the opposite!

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5:12).

This is how early Christians responded. After the apostles had been imprisoned and threatened with further punishment by the Sanhedrin, “They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41).
Why should we be joyful about being slandered and persecuted?
- If we faithfully endure persecution, our "reward in heaven is great."
- We are like the OT prophets, who challenged the system.
How’s our conviction?
- Do we ever question or challenge the system?
- Do we even see the need for prophetic voices to bring the Word of the Lord to the modern church?

The Beatitudes: the world's response

Poor in spirit: We should please ourselves.
Mourning: We should stay upbeat. Don’t overreact—sin is no big deal.
Meek: Power is exalted! Trample the meek (the "losers").
Hungry for righteousness: It's okay to support righteous causes—like cancer research—but don’t overdo it. A little corruption is no big deal. Look our for yourself.
Merciful: Mercy is selective. No need to think about the pressing needs of world poverty etc.
Pure: Who's to say what counts as purity? Don’t judge!
Peacemaker: It's a good thing—though an even higher premium is placed on standing up for our rights.
Persecuted: No way! We seek approval, cringing at the thought of being considered fanatical or extreme.

Final thoughts:

Leadership: Again, as suggested, this isn’t a bad checklist if we’re seeking a spiritual leader. We may view the beatitudes as elements of a portrait of a godly man or women who will influence others for Christ.
Memory: P-M-M-H-M-P-P-P. Learn the 8 beatitudes in order.

We're about 1/8th of the way through the SOM (12/91 verses). Next: Salt

SOTM-Peacemaking

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).

"If most of us are honest with ourselves, we know that there are many ways in which our hearts are not at peace. We are wounded, insecure, resentful and lonely, and this restlessness within us causes us to anxiously defend our actions and opinions, to control others and to seek after their love and praise at all costs." — Jessica A. Wrobleski, "Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Living as Children of God" (Leaven, vol. 16, no. 54, 2008, p.161).

Peacemaking

To make peace is to pacify…
- Latin: Beati pacifici: quoniam filii dei vocabuntur.
- Greek: Makarioi hoi eirēnopoiói, hoti autoi huioi theou klēthēsontai.
It’s something active, not passive.
Yes, the early church was pacifist—unanimously so, in its first three centuries.
- They knew that fear, anger, and greed in the human heart are the causes of war.
- Yet biblical pacifism is not passivism—nonchalant, aloof, uninvolved.
Pacifism means caring about peace in the world. Justin Martyr told the Roman emperor, “More than all other men, we are your helpers and allies in promoting peace.” — Justin Martyr, First Apology 12 (ANF 1.166).

Examples of peacemaking

The wise old woman of Abel (2 Sam 20:16-22). She averts destruction and carnage.
The apostles (Acts 6). They come up with a plan, but entrust its execution to those most invested. The result is demographic harmony.
James the brother of Jesus, at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). Each side presents its view point, they listen, and they compromise.

"Troublemakers"

Even if we do our best to be respectful, gentle, and diplomatic, some will still consider us Christians as troublemakers.
- If they rejected Jesus, they will not be happy with us, either (John 15:18).
- Tertullus the lawyer accuses Paul in front of governor Felix: “For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).
"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Romans 12:18).
Yet peace is not the ultimate goal, since the truth divides (Matt 10:34).

Application

Don't actively seek a quarrel, behave insensitively, or sow seeds of dissension.
Followers of Christ take no pleasure in controversy, or in proving others wrong. No triumphalist spirit.
Reject ideology and groups that promote violence. Jesus as peacemaker: Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).
When leaders are behaving egotistically or in ways that hurt Christian unity, speak up.
- Jesus intervened when his own apostles were arrogant and jockeyed for position.
- Paul spoke up when Peter crossed the line (Galatians 2:11).
Allow for a certain level of disagreement.
- Sometimes good-hearted (and intelligent) Christians will disagree.
- 1 Cor 1:10 isn’t calling for uniformity of thought so much as unity of heart.
- Let's watch ourselves:
  - Peace is ruined by insisting on our own way.
  - Or by arrogance: “It is not bigotry to be certain we are right, but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.” – Chesterton
Jesus expected us to do our best to work through disagreement—without acrimony (Matt 5:25-26; 18:15-20).
Let's demonstrate the peace of Christ in our hearts!

Next: the final beatitude—on persecution

SOTM-Pure

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).

(1) PURITY: A constant theme in Jesus’ teaching is that God looks not only at outward actions, but at what goes on inside a person.

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good things. But an evil man out of his evil treasury brings forth evil things.” (Matt 12:34-35).
“You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside may be clean also” (Matt 23:25,26).

This purity isn't physical or hygienic or even sexual—but inward:

Proverbs 16:2: All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
1 Cor 4:5: Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
Phil 1:18: But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
There are many other passages on purity of motive:
- “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)
- Plus Proverbs 4:23 and many more verses.

(2) SEEING GOD: If the heart is right (pure), we can see God.

Wrong motives block our vision of God -- as dust in the air makes it hard to see the stars at night.
- Deliberate ignorance (Rom 1:18-21)
- Deliberate sin (Eph 4:18-19)
While no one can (fully) see God, we know him through Christ (John 1:18; 14:9). This means that the pure in heart are able to experience his love, power, and other attributes.
Jesus is also talking about the age to come, when we’ll see God “as he is” (1 John 3:2).
- “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself—as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3)
- Focus on Christ leads to transformation.

Application

Daily time to think on Christ.
1. Devotional time
2. When sorely tempted
Stop thinking of purity as an option
1. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord
2. More: CLEAN series (31 podcasts)
Take special note of others whose motives seem especially pure. Imitate them.

Next: Blessed are the Peacemakers

SOTM-Merciful

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The 5th beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

My friend David Berçot is producing an Early Christian Study Bible—taking us through the scriptures and revealing how most early Christians (first 3 centuries) understood them. Not that the early Christians were without confusion, distortion, and even outright error. Yet on the whole they were far nearer to apostolic times than we are, and so we benefit from paying attention. I love the way David puts it:

“One of the recurrent themes in Jesus’ teaching is that we will be judged the same way we judge others (Mt. 7:2). ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses’ (Mt. 6:15). So if we want to obtain mercy from God, we must be merciful ourselves. In fact, Jesus designated justice, mercy, and faith as the ‘weightier matters’ of the Law (Mt. 23:23).”
“The early Christians understood 'merciful' to also mean giving generously to the needy. Cyprian writes, ‘He shall not deserve the mercy of the Lord who himself has not been merciful. He who has not been humane towards the poor man’s entreaty shall not obtain anything from divine pity in his entreaties.’” Cyprian, On Works and Alms 5 (ANF 5.477).

After extending mercy to us, if we fail to extend mercy to others, our debt may be 'uncanceled"—we could be "unforgiven"! See Matthew 18:21-35 andHebrews 10:29.

Key points:

Mercy is closely related to righteousness. See Micah 6:8: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbling with your God?
Being merciful isn’t only a recommendation. It’s essential to knowing God.
James 2:13 – those who have not shown mercy: For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.
For at the Judgment Day, in light of our sinfulness, our waywardness, we will not be asking for (strict) justice—but for mercy!

Next: The pure in heart…

SOTM—Hungry

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they will be satisfied."

What does this mean? Consider such passages as:

“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4; see Deut. 8:3).
“I am the bread of life,” and “If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 6:35; 7:37).
“As the hart pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2).
Do these passages explain the 4th beatitude? Do they clarify what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness? Not much, for there are multiple forms of hunger and thirst in Scripture.
Rather, this passage centers on righteousness—justice.

Righteousness isn’t

Knowledge of the Word.
Being right with the Lord—longing for our own righteous standing before God.
Desiring a relationship with God.

Righteousness is

A desire for justice for oneself—especially when suffering oppression or injustice.
A desire for justice for others—going hand-in-hand with concern for the poor and needy.
6:33—there is justice when all parties respect the Lordship of Jesus.
(The N.T. word dikaiosune is related to the word dikaios, meaning upright or just.)

The Program of Isaiah 61

Remember to see the Beatitudes in the light of Isaiah 61—Jesus' messianic program.
This is tremendously good news, especially for those deprived of justice, the have-nots, the masses of the common people—as opposed to the religious aristocracy.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified….
Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

For the downtrodden, do these promises mean full deliverance, vindication, justice, satisfaction now?

No.
But a new day has dawned. Something has been set into motion—inaugurated, launched, underway.

What to do?

Care about the less fortunate.
Become aware (the news).
Study the scriptures and develop a truly scriptural conviction about this important theme.
Plug in somewhere:
- Serving in a seniors home.
- Volunteering in a soup kitchen.
- Providing jobs for the disadvantaged.
- Tackling the serious issue of human trafficking, or slavery.
  Serve in Doctors Without Borders, HOPEww, or another great organization.
- Or make money and help to fund a worthwhile and effective program!

Don't dilute the punch of Matthew 5:6 by labeling it “the social gospel.”

The gospel is good news for everyone—not just the middle class.
It is especially good news for the god-fearing poor.
In Corinth, most were poor; not many were high-born. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth (1 Cor 1:26). Yet many churches today are the opposite: many are well off, not many are poor.

Our next podcast—closely connected with this one—is on mercy.

SOTM-Meek

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)

"Meek" is a word we seldom use. It does not mean "weak."
It derives from the Old Norse mjúkr, meaning soft, pliant, gentle.
Oxford English Dictionary:
- Gentle, courteous, kind; merciful, indulgent.
- Free from self-will; piously humble and submissive; patient and unresentful.
- In physical applications: Not violent or strong; gentle.

What does meekness look like?

Take a look at Mary in Luke 10:38-42.
Early church: “You shall be meek, since ‘the meek shall inherit the earth.’ Be long-suffering, merciful, guileless, gentle and good. Always tremble at the instruction which you have heard. You shall not exalt yourself, nor let your soul get over-confident. Do not join your soul with the lofty ones. Rather, let it associate with the righteous and lowly.” Didache 7-9 (ANF 7.378), sometime close to the year 100 AD.
The ultimate example of meekness was Jesus. He invited His followers with these words: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

Not weak!

Some have the mistaken notion that a meek person is timid, dull, and non-assertive.
However, Jesus, who set the standard for meekness, was none of those things. He demonstrated that a person can be bold and assertive and yet also be meek and lowly.

“Inherit the earth”?

What did Jesus mean?
Throughout history, the meek have often been deprived of their homes, lands, and other possessions by the wicked and powerful. So the inheritance must be in the next age, not this one.
Earth = land in Hebrew—often referring to the land of Israel.
We, however, understand the earth to be a planet—in essence, our world.
So, the righteous will receive this inheritance at the resurrection (2 Peter 3:13-14).

Application

Don’t respond to frustration with force—physical or verbal brutality.
Don’t return violence with violence—big implications for politics, journalism, military might, and more.
We need to learn to admire the quiet person who is godly. And learn to reject most of role models of the world.
As we read through the gospels, try to notice the qualities of Jesus encapsulated in the Beatitudes (mourning, meekness, peacemaking, and so forth). He is the one we aim to emulate (Eph 5:1; 1 Cor 11:1).

Next: Hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6)

SOTM-Mourning

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

In the background there are well over 100 scriptural passages on mourning, like this one, where Jesus identifies himself and explains his ministry (see Luke 4:18).

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me...
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified (Isa 61:1-3).

Yet is mourning proper only on the occasion of death (as in Acts 8:2)?

We grieve many things, like apostasy (a friend or family member goes back to world); loss of friendship—or more intensely, betrayal by a friend; lost opportunities; traumatic events like rape or becoming a refugees (mourning the loss of one's country; loss of health or youth; etc.)
Yet I’m not so sure Jesus is talking here about those who mourn for various reasons.
- After all, even certain animals grieve, though there is no reason to believe these emotions are spiritual.
- David Bercot notes: "People in the world mourn over failed ambitions and other matters far removed from the kingdom. Instead, Jesus is primarily talking about those who mourn over their sins in true repentance." He directs us to the early church—for example, the following two writers, who lived in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries:
  - “Those who have repented of their former evil lives shall attain to the calling. For this is the meaning of being comforted.” Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.6
  - “We are to weep with those of whom the Lord says, ‘Blessed are those who weep [mourn], for they will be comforted.’ If anyone weeps over his own sins, if anyone is converted to repentance after committing transgressions and washes away his errors with tears, …we should join our tears and associate our groans with such persons.” Origen, Commentary on Romans 9.15

There are numerous gospel illustrations of men and women who mourned over their own sins in genuine godly repentance.

The woman who wept at Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:37-38).
The prodigal son (Luke 15:18-19).
The tax collector at prayer (Luke 18:13).
Peter after his denial (Matt 26:75).

Further:

Remember also that Jesus wept over the sins of Jerusalem and the consequences that would come to it because of those sins (Luke 19:41).
He also declared, “Woe to you who laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25).
Other relevant passages: James 4:8-10; 2 Cor 1:3-11; 7:10-11; Amos 6:6.

Wait for God's comfort.

The beatitude (Matt 5:4) promises comfort—but when will the comfort come?
In Lamentations 1-5 (lamentations are funeral dirges), the people of Judah grieve the loss of their city, temple, sovereignty, and much more. Yet God told them 70 years would elapse before they were returned to Jerusalem, as in Jeremiah 29:1,10.
The widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17) was already grieving the loss of her son (and earlier, her husband), until Jesus halts the funeral procession.
Mary, Martha, and others were grieving for Lazarus (John 11:1-44), yet Jesus delayed his raising of Lazarus from the dead by two additional days (John 11:6).

Application:

Let's keep our hearts soft.
Set aside devotional time every day.
And reach out to others—comforting them in their mourning, and seeking those whose hearts are receptive to God's word.

Next: "Blessed are the meek..."

SOTM-Poor

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the first lesson in The Sermon on the Mount. The podcast (13 minutes) builds on the introductory lesson, explains the nature of a beatitude, and focuses especially on the Old Testament scriptures alluded to in Matthew 5:3.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

There are at least 20 beatitudes uttered by Jesus in the N.T. (8 in Matthew, 4 in Luke, 1 in Acts, and 7 in Revelation).

Beatitude < Latin beatitudo, or blessing. Each beatitude in Latin begins "Beati..."
Perhaps "fortunate" would be a better rendering than "blessed" (too religious) or "happy" (too connected with the emotions).
Isa 61:1-7 – seems to lie behind some of the beatitudes. This passage has also been called "The Nazareth Manifesto" (see Luke 4:18), in which the Lord lays out his agenda—and reveals his identity as Messiah:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

Proverbs 16:19: "It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor / than to divide the spoil with the proud."
Isaiah 66:2:“I will look to this type of man, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word."
- Openness to the Word.
- Not insisting on our own viewpoint, but flexible and receptive to divine truth.
Archelaus explains, "Jesus did not refer to those who are simply poor in worldly substance, but to those who are 'poor in spirit'—that is to say, who are not inflamed with pride, but have the gentle and lowly character of humility, not thinking more of themselves than they ought.” —Archelaus, The Disputation with Manes 42 (Antenicene Fathers 6.217), around the year 300 AD
Interestingly, the Essenes at Qumran, who in the 1st centuries BC and AD had rejected the corrupt Jerusalem priesthood, described themselves as "poor in spirit" (1QM 14:7).
Jesus set aside his heavenly privileges to become fully human, “lower than the angels” (Heb 2:9; Phil 2:3-8). He not only moved downward from heaven to earth, but from the table to his knees, as he washed his disciples' feet (John 13).
As a spirited stallion needs to be "broken" before it is of use to its rider, so our spirits (where willful and self-focused) need to be broken before we are of use to our Master.

Application:

Let's not be full of ourselves. Consider Titus 3:2, where Paul urges us to “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”
Being poor in spirit is especially important if we are influential or serving in positions of leadership.
Let's look to the Lord, and not trust in ourselves.

Next podcast: "Mourning" (Matt 5:4)

SOTM—The Mountain

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (Matt 5:1-2 ESV)

Mountains in the Bible are associated with Moses (Exod 19-20), Elijah (1 Kings), and Jesus.
In Matthew, Jesus is found on mountains five times:Matt 4:8; 5:1; 14:23; 17:1-8; 28:16-20.
Matthew presents Jesus as the Second Moses (see Deut 18), a teacher of God's truth to his people.
Matthew has put Jesus' teaching into five blocks, like the five books of Torah (Gen-Deut) or the five books of Psalms. These blocks are Matt 5:1-7:29; 10:1-11:1; 13:1-53; 18:1-19:1; 23:1-26:1.
For more on this, watch Jesus Is the Second Moses (13 minutes).
Jesus and his disciples are seated—the normal position of a rabbi with his followers.
Throughout his ministry, both men and women alike sat at Jesus' feet (Luke 10:38-42).
We too must take time out to learn—to read and study…
Through the disciples Jesus spread the message among the people (as in Matt 28:19-20).
We may think of the eight beatitudes as a set of qualities. Jesus' focus is on the inner life, the kind of people we are, especially in difficult circumstances.

Next podcast: "Poor" (Matt 5:3)

SOTM—Introduction—It Still Haunts Us

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is the section of the New Testament widely agreed to contain the very heart of Jesus’ kingdom message. The teachings were and still are remarkable and revolutionary. For just as by the Law God had been building an alternative community through the people of Israel, so Jesus Christ is creating an alternative communityin the world.

“After [two thousand] years the Sermon on the Mount still haunts men. They may praise it, as Mahatma Gandhi did; or like Nietzsche, they may curse it. They cannot ignore it. Its words are winged words, quick and powerful to rebuke, to challenge, to inspire. And though some turn from it in despair, it continues, like some mighty magnetic mountain, to attract to itself the greatest spirits of our [age]—many [of them] not Christians—so that if some world-wide vote were taken, there is little doubt that men would account [the Sermon on the Mount] ‘the most searching and powerful utterance we possess on what concerns the moral life.’” — A. M. Hunter, Design for Life: the Sermon on the Mount, 1953 (slightly adapted)

So, if you want to internalize Jesus’s key teachings, and if you're looking for somewhere to focus in your daily study and meditation, focus here!

The Plan

Daily podcasts for 40 days. The first 10 are accessible to everyone; the remainder require login (website members). To become a member, click here.
We will be taking our time as we study the 111 verses of the Sermon on the Mount.
Most podcasts are 10-15 minutes in length.
Focus: character, inner sanctity, obedience, and building our lives on the Word.

Supplement: Receive daily tweets from the Sermon on the Mount, beginning 1/1/2020. Click here.

Sermon on the Mount podcasts 1-40 are going live in 1 January-9 February 2020, a day at a time.

0 Dec—Haunting (intro)
1 Jan—Mountain (Matt 5:1-2)
2 Jan—Poor (Matt 5:3)
3 Jan—Mourning (Matt 5:4)
4 Jan—Meek (Matt 5:5)
5 Jan—Hungry (Matt 5:6)
6 Jan—Merciful (Matt 5:7)
7 Jan—Pure (Matt 5:8)
8 Jan—Peacemaking (Matt 5:9)
9 Jan—Persecuted (Matt 5:10-12)
10 Jan—Salt (Matt 5:13)
11 Jan—Light (Matt 5:14-16)
12 Jan—Fulfillment (Matt 5:17-19)
13 Jan—Pharisees (Matt 5:20)
14 Jan—Anger (Matt 5:21-26)
15 Jan—Lust (Matt 5:27-30)
16 Jan—Divorce (Matt 5:31-32)
17 Jan—Oaths (Matt 5:33-37)
18 Jan—Retaliation (Matt 5:38-42)
19 Jan—Enemies (Matt 5:43-47)
20 Jan—Perfection (Matt 5:48)
21 Jan—Show-off! (Matt 6:1)
22 Jan—Alms (Matt 6:2-4)
23 Jan—Prayer (Matt 6:5-8)
24 Jan—The Prayer (Matt 6:9-13)
25 Jan—Forgive (Matt 6:14-15)
26 Jan—Fast (Matt 6:16-18)
27 Jan—Treasure (Matt 6:19-21)
28 Jan—Darkness (Matt 6:22-23)
29 Jan—Mammon (Matt 6:24)
30 Jan—Anxious (Matt 6:25-32)
31 Jan—Kingdom (Matt 6:33-34)
1 Feb—Judge (Matt 7:1-5)
2 Feb—Swine (Matt 7:6)
3 Feb—Ask (Matt 7:7-11)
4 Feb—Gold (Matt 7:12)
5 Feb—Narrow (Matt 7:13-14)
6 Feb—Prophets? (Matt 7:15-20)
7 Feb—Lord, Lord (Matt 7:21-23)
8 Feb—Sand (Matt 7:24-27)
9 Feb—Wow! (Matt 7:28-29)

Worship (J): From Middles Ages to Modern Times

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

3rd century – church buildings (converted houses)

4th century
- Influx of O.T. culture (priesthood, church/state, and more)
- Influx of paganism (holidays, images...)
- Basilicas
- Role of Imperial support
5th century
- Relics
- Cult of saints
- Mary
- The stern Christ
High Middle Ages
- Serious ecclesiastical abuses (crusades, Inquisition, etc)
- Congregations pay little attention during services
- Yet it was also an age of saints!
Reformation – Center moves from Eucharist to sermon
Restoration Movement – even less ceremony
Modern times
- Seeker-friendly services
- "Satisfying“ worship – yet satisfying us or God?

Modern worship scenarios

House churches
Park services (trees)
Renting spaces
Renting synagogues
Renting churches
Churches with buildings
Underground churches

Oh, Worship the King!

Oh, worship the King, all glorious above.

And gratefully sing his power and his love;
Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

Oh, tell of his might; oh, sing of his grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power has founded of old,
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it has cast, like a mantle, the sea.

.
Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light,
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

.
O measureless Might, ineffable Love,
While angels delight to hymn Thee above.
The humbler creation, though feeble there lays,
With true adoration shall sing to Thy praise.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
Our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend!

Worship (I): The 2nd C: A View from the Inside

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Justin Martyr, First Apology 65-67

But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brothers are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized illuminated person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss.

There is then brought to the president of the brothers bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands... all the people present express their assent by saying Amen… those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion.

And this food is called among us Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation

For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, “This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;” and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, “This is My blood;” and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done…

… And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits…

then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.

And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly…

Worship (H): The 2nd century: A View from the Outside

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Pliny, Letter to Trajan, 10.96-97, c.110 AD

It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.

Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.

Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ—none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do—these I thought should be discharged.

They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food—but ordinary and innocent food.

Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.

Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.

I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.

Trajan (97-117 AD) replies to Pliny

You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it—that is, by worshiping our gods—even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.

Worship (G): Seven Key N.T. Passages

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Acts 13:2 – worshipping and fasting / insight, plans

Acts 24:11 – Paul says he went up to worship (Jerusalem) see 26:7, Acts 27:23.
1 Cor 11 – Somberness? What’s the meaning of “discerning the body”?
1 Cor 14 – Participatory house churches
1 Cor 14:25 – convicted visitors will fall down and worship God.
Heb 12:28 – Acceptable worship entails reverence.
Rev 19:16 – Jesus is the true God (not Caesar).

Worship (F): Critical Principles & Seven Confessions

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Seven confessions (John's Gospel)

1:34 John the Baptist
1:49 Nathanael
4:42 Samaritans (4:29)
6:69 Peter
9:38 blind man
11:27 Martha
[19:19 Pilate] ~ 11:50 Caiaphas
20:28 Thomas

Critical principles (New Covenant)

Phil 2:11 (John 20:28) – Worshipped Jesus as Lord.
John 4:42 – Worship through Spirit (also Phil 3:3) and truth. (It’s not the location or the institution.)
Phil 2 + John 4 + Rom 12 : Worship is a spiritual lifestyle flowing from a right orientation to Jesus as the Lord of our lives.

Worship (E): Seven Places the Heart Goes Wrong

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 Sam 15:25 — the appearance of worship (Saul)
2 Kings 10:19 — pretending to worship Ba’al (John 19:3)
Isaiah 29:13 — hearts far from God
Isaiah 44:15— the folly of idolatry
Jeremiah 7:2, 26:2 — worship intercept
Ezek 8:16 — what’s really in our hearts (elders)?
Mal 1:10 – “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you… and I will accept no offering from your hands.

Next time: Critical Principles & Seven Confessions

Worship (D): Position, Disposition & Seven Occasions of Worship

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Position and Disposition

Kneeling
Sitting
Lying
Standing
Raising hands (Christian art)

Heart

Expressiveness – 2 Sam 6; Luke 7, 17; feeling: two extremes
Humility – 1 Kings 8; Psalm 51
Holiness

Holiness

If you weren’t living in God’s presence on Monday, were you really worshiping on Sunday?
For there to be true worship, some things in my life will need to be destroyed/ eliminated.
For one day it will be too late. Rev 16:9 --refusal to worship; Phil 2:9-11 (Isa 45:23).

Seven occasions of worship

Exodus 4:31 – knowing God cares
Exodus 15:1-21 — redemption
Exodus 34:8 — when we know God’s name
Joshua 5:14 — realizing the presence of God
1 Samuel 3:1 — when we sacrifice
Job 1:20 — despite severe loss!
Nehemiah 8:12 — learning the Word

Next time: Seven Places the Heart Goes Wrong

Worship (C): Seven Aspects of O.C. Worship & Seven False Gods

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

7 Aspects of worship under the Old Covenant

Pilgrimage: 3 annual visits (males)
Animal sacrifices
Singing, choirs, instruments
Reading of scripture
Priesthood
Ritual, ornamentation, liturgy
Limited access to YHWH

7 gods

Idols (false religions) – Exodus 20:3-4
Idols (false Christs) – 1 John 5:21; 2 Cor 11:4
Nature – Ezekiel 8:16
Mammon – Matt 6:24; Luke 16:9,11,13
Power – Hab 1:11; Acts 8:10,19
Self (modern man) – 2 Thess 2:4
The holy God – Lev 19:2

Next time: Position & Disposition: Seven Considerations

Worship (B): Seven Grand Passages on Worship

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Summary

Genesis 28:10-17 - Jacob's vision of the stairway to heaven (see John 1:51).
1 Chron 16:29-30 – Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! See also 2 Chron 29:28.
Neh 12:27-43 – [choirs on the walls]
Psalm 96:9 – Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
Isaiah 6:1-8 – [sanctuary cannot contain Him] (1 Kings 8:27)
Isaiah 19:19-25, 66:23 – [vision for Gentiles]
Hab 2:20 – The Lord is in his holy temple;  let all the earth be silent before him.

Next lesson: Seven Aspects of Old Covenant Worship & Seven (mainly) False Gods

Worship (A): Seven Sanctuaries

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction to the series: important questions

Worshippers enjoy healthier, more dynamic lives than non-worshippers. Why is that?
What (if anything) does the Old Testament have to offer Christians?
What disqualifies worship?
How does true worship fortify lame spiritual lives?
How does New Testament worship differ from the Old Testament variety?
How has the church approached worship through the ages (and will it every learn from its own history)?
Have our (mis)conceptions about heavenly worship demotivated us?

The essence of worship

Reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; an act of expressing such reverence
A form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
Extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem
“It is a delusion to think that because we suddenly feel expansive and poetic in the presence of the storm or stars or space that we are spiritual. I need only remind you that drunkards or tyrants or criminals can have those ‘sublime’ feelings, too. Let’s not image that they constitute worship.” – A. W. Tozer, Whatever Happened to Worship? 124

Worship in ancient (pagan) world

Energetic
Weather deities
Noise, instruments
Immoral: ritual prostitution
Sacrifice: infants
Mutual manipulation
Stark contrast to ethical monotheism (readings from Isaiah 1)

7 Sanctuaries

Eden as primal Temple (Genesis)
Tabernacle (Exodus)
Temple (1 Kings)
[In exile: Babylon / Egypt / Samaria]
2nd Temple / Herod's Temple
Christ’s body (John 2, 1)
The Church (1 Cor 3)
New Jerusalem (Rev 21)

Next podcast in this series: Seven grand passages on worship

Romans Z

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

We have studied Romans from A to Z. Listen to the final podcast (19 minutes) here. In Romans Z, Paul sends greetings, makes a few final comments, and rounds off his magnificent epistle.

Passages mentioned: Mark 15:21; 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; Philippians 3:18-19; Ephesians 5:6-12; Genesis 3:15. Greek word: diákonos (servant). Theological word: doxology (word of praise). The material on the Bible & Culture is found in three podcasts, starting here.

Suggested for memory: "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you" (16:16).

Romans Y

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 1 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Click on the link to hear the penultimate podcast in our series Romans A-Z. This lesson (16 minutes) reveals Paul's philosophy of ministry, and something of his grand vision for how the Old Testament scriptures are being fulfilled in his outreach to the Gentiles.

Verses referred to: 2 Corinthians 12:12; Acts 28; Isaiah 66:18-20; Acts 13:47 (see 2:39); 1 Corinthians 16; 2 Corinthians 8-9; Acts 2:10.

The excerpt from 1 Clement (c.96 AD) that may be referring to a Pauline visit to Rome is found in chapter 5: “Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience.” And here is an article on the Pillars of Hercules.

Memory passage suggestion: "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation" (15:20).

Romans X

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans X is the 24th podcast (19 minutes) in our series Romans A-Z. Ever in mind is unity between Jewish-background and Gentile-background Christians, although the principles of the chapter have broad applicability for many issues in our own day.

Referred to: 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1; Mark 7:19; Colossians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 8:13; Ephesians 4:15; Psalm 69:9. The Greek word for "disputable matters, doubtful issues, etc" is dialogismos. See also the related study on Judging.

Suggested for memory: "So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves" (14:22).

Romans W

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans W (21 minutes) explores chapter 13.

Passages referred to or alluded to: Daniel 3; 6; Matthew 7:12; Leviticus 19:18; Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5; 1 Peter 4:1-15; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 5:5.

Recommended: a number of political podcasts -- on how we as believers are to relate to the state.

Texts on capital punishment:

“When they know that we cannot endure even to see a man put to death, though justly, who of them can accuse us of murder?… We consider that to see a man put to death is much the same as killing him” (Athenagoras, c.175 AD).
“Christians do not attack their assailants in return, for it is not lawful for the innocent to kill even the guilty” (Cyprian, c.250 AD).
Texts about complaints over the Jews, who were viewed as shirking their civic duties: Cicero Flacc. 28.67 and Tacitus Hist. 5.5.5.1.

Suggested memory passage: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" (13:14).

Romans V

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans V takes us through the balance of chapter 12. The podcast (15 minutes) contains some surprises -- for most Bible believers, at any rate.

Verses touched on: 1 Thessalonians 5; 1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 6; Matthew 25; 1 Peter 4; Matthew 5; Proverbs 25:21-22. Nietzsche quote: “It is inhuman to bless when one is being cursed” (Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil 4.181). And here you will find Mark Twain's War Prayer.

Suggested for memory: "Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer" (12:12).

Romans U

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans U (16 minutes) is the 21st lesson in our series Romans A-Z. As is his custom, Paul lays highly practical teaching (chapters 12-16) on a solid theological foundation (chapters 1-9). Verses referred to: 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Timothy 1:7. The cool Greek word was metamorphóomai (pronounced metamorphoûmai), meaning "be changed in form; be transformed.

Suggested memory passage: "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God" (12:2).

Romans T

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the last podcast based on Romans 9-11. This special passage taken up in Romans T (11 minutes) concludes the section, setting things in perspective. Scriptures referred to: Psalm 131; 1 Corinthians 2; 2 Peter 3:16.

Suggested for memory: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (11:33-34)

Romans S

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is Romans S, the 19th study in the series Romans A-Z. In this podcast (25 minutes) we will almost finish our study of Romans 11. (Romans T will cover Paul's conclusion to the section Romans 9-11.)

Passages referred to in passing include: 1 Kings 19; 2 Thessalonians 2; Hebrews 6:4; James 5:19; 1 Corinthians 19. "Fullness" passages include John 1:16; Romans 13:10, 15:29; 1 Corinthians 10:26; Galatians 4:4; and a few more in Ephesians and Colossians. Pleroma, the Greek word for fullness, is occasionally rendered "full number," but that doesn't work well here in Romans 11.

For a further podcast (41 minutes) on Romans 11, centered on 11:26, click on A Mass Conversion of Israel?

Suggested for memory: "See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off" (11:22).

Romans R

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans R (19 minutes) covers the tenth chapter of the epistle. Verses referenced include Job 40:3-5; Deuteronomy 30:11-14; Acts 22:16; 10:28,34-35, 43-48; Galatians 1:14; Psalms 19:5; Deuteronomy 32:21; and Proverbs 19:2. The "mini-study" is based on 1 Corinthians 4:4; Romans 10:1-2; and Romans 9:3.

Suggested for memorization: "Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (10:17).

Romans Q

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans Q (19 minutes) covers all of chapter 9. Verses referred to (mainly outside Romans) include Exodus 32:32; Psalm 49:6-8; Genesis 25; Genesis 27; Exodus 7; Colossians 1:21; Isaiah 29; Isaiah 45; Jeremiah 18; Hosea 1:9-11; Jeremiah 7; Psalm 118:22; and Isaiah 28:16.

Suggested memory passage: "But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel" (9:6).

Romans P

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to the 16th podcast (23 minutes) in our series on Romans. Verses referred to are 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Jude 21; and Psalm 44. For more no "already, but not yet," listen here. The word Paul seems to have made up is hypernikomen -- "we overwhelmingly conquer" or "we are super-victorious."

Paul has now made his case. Lost humanity (chapters 1-3) can be justified by faith (chapters 4-5). As a result of our death with Christ (chapter 6) we can escape frustration (chapter 7), increasingly sharing in his glory (chapter 8). All of this is from God.  Having completed his argument, Paul turns next to consider the place of Israel (chapters 9-11).

Suggested for memorization: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose" (8:28).

Romans O

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 8 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The 15th lesson in our series (16 minutes) is Romans O, covering the middle section of chapter 8. Verses referred to include Galatians 5:18; Psalms 40:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Acts 5:32; and 1 Chronicles 4:10. The Aramaic word with which we may approach God in prayer is Abbá, meaning daddy. The error of cross-less Christianity, which seems to be advocated in the bestselling The Prayer of Jabez, is addressed in this article.

Romans N

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 6 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Lesson N (12 minutes) begins the second half of the series Romans A-Z. Listen carefully for the many connections to the concepts Paul has developed earlier in the letter. The Greek words for condemnation and flesh were katakrima and sarx, respectively. Verses referred to outside Romans include Jeremiah 8:4; Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:18; Acts 2:38.

Romans M

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 3 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Other biblical passages referred to in this lesson include Acts 15 (the Jerusalem Council); Galatians (the whole epistle); Matthew 26:31 (Mark 14:38); and James 1:6-8.

Suggested for memory: "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!..." (7:24-25)

Romans L

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 1 Sep 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some passages referred to in this podcast: 1 Peter 4:1-3; 1 John 2:15-17; Jude 4; Titus 2:11-14.
Terminology:

Justification — becoming right with God. Usually refers to initial salvation. See Romans 4-5.
Sanctification — being transformed inwardly by the power of the Spirit to take on the character of Christ. Usually refers to ongoing change. See Romans 8.
Edification — viewing the church as the body of Christ, we strive to build it up through love and using the gifts God has given us. See Romans 12.
Glorification — being exalted with Christ as biblical hope is consummated. See Romans 8.

Suggested for memory: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (6:23).

Romans K

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In chapters 1-3 Paul reasons that all are hopelessly lost, and in chapters 4-5 that they are justified freely by grace, not works. In chapters 6-8 Paul will describe what the new life in Christ looks like. The old is obliterated by the new. Grace radically transforms our world!

Notes:

Antinomianism is the idea that there is no law at all for spiritual persons — that they are above the law, or even that they should flout the law to show their superior position. (Nomos is the Greek word for law, hence anti [against] + nomian.)
Passages on baptism and death: Romans 6:3,6; Galatians 2:20, 5:24, 6:14; Colossians 2:12, 2:20, 3:1-3, 3:5.
Two resurrections are in view: our rebirth (at baptism) and our transformation at the last day (the general resurrection). For more on the general resurrection, please listen to the relevant podcast in the Last Things series.

Suggested for memory: "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (6:3-4).

Romans J

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Sin came into the world through Adam (v.12), and salvation also comes to the world through one man, Christ. Sin spread through personal contact and personal choice. No one is born damned (Augustine's view); we separate ourselves from God by our own will. By God's grace--provided we are willing to receive it--all have the chance to be made right with God.

Warning: The following material is quite dense. Try to hang with Paul, as he develops his contrast between the First Adam (Genesis 3) and the second Adam, Christ (Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15).

Note: The doctrine of original sin was formulated by Augustine (354-430 AD), bishop of Hippo (in North Africa). It is a central tenet of Reform Theology, though difficult to justify biblically. It rests on a mistranslation of one phrase in Romans 5:12, eph' hō, which means "because." And yet Jerome, in his Latin Vulgate (tr. by 384 AD), had mistakenly rendered it in quo, meaning "in whom." For more on this, please hear the podcast/read the article on Original Sin.

Suggested for memory: "Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all" (5:18).

Romans I

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Passages referred to include Acts 23:6; Ephesians 4:4; Titus 3:5; and Galatians 4:6. The sequence mentioned in the lesson is: weak--godless--sinners--enemies.

Suggested for memory: "... We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produced hope" (Romans 5:3-4).

Romans H

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

While I referred to a number of biblical passages, here are the extrabiblical texts cited (extra = Latin for outside; hence, "outside the Bible):

“…You, O Lord… have not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against you.” Pr. Man. 8
“For Abraham was perfect in all his actions with the Lord and was pleasing through righteousness…” Jub. 23.10.
“And we find that Abraham our ancestor had performed the whole law before it was given.” Qidd. 4.14.
“The faith with which their ancestor Abraham believed in me merits that I should divide the sea for them.” Mek. Exod. 14.15[35b]

The discussion of justification by faith continues...

Suggested for memory: "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham, believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'" (Romans 4:3).

Romans G

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the seventh lesson (20 minutes) in our series, Romans A-Z. There is some overlap with the previous podcast, is it ended with 3:10-18. Here we return to 3:10-18 for some deeper interpretive spadework, then complete the chapter. Some passages referred to in this podcast (not all--sorry!) are Genesis 19; Judges 19; Psalms 10-12; Job 28:18; Romans 7:12, 16, 21; 1 Timothy 1:8. The Greek word I cited was nomos -- the usual word for law, though some versions render it "principle" in v.27, perhaps because the translators are uncomfortable with Paul's positive allusions to law.

After these three chapters on sin (Romans 1-3), the foundation will have been laid for Paul's key chapters on justification by faith (Romans 4-5).

Suggested for memory: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24).

Romans F

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the sixth lesson (14 minutes) in our Romans series.

Some of the passages referred to in the podcast are Psalm 138:2; Romans 9:4-5; 15:4; and Hebrews 8:8.

Suggested for memory: "As it is written, "None is righteous, no, not one'" (Romans 3:10).

Romans E

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Romans E (18 minutes) continues the study of the typical weaknesses of religious people, particularly hypocrisy and condescension.

Isaiah 52:5 -- God's people often misrepresent him through unholy living. And yet sometimes those who are not the people of God in fact are following the spirit of God's Word -- we mustn't be smug in our salvation, or look down on the outsider.

Principal O.T. passages on "uncircumcision": Deuteronomy 10:16, 30; Jeremiah 4:4, 9:2.

Are we tempted to look down on those who have not been baptized correctly? Do you know anyone who is:

Godly, though without a complete understanding of biblical truth?
Christlike, though with some technical misunderstandings?
Showing signs of Holy Spirit, even if confused about how one is meant to receive the Spirit.
For more on this, please watch the Friend or Foe? DVD (and listen to the lessons in the Who Is My Brother? conference). The DVD (2 hours) and the audio CD (7 hours) are available here, at the IPI site.

Suggested for memory: "You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?..." (Romans 2:21).

Romans D

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Listen to the fourth podcast in the series (15 minutes).

Referred to in the lesson: The Last Things series (including the podcast on Those Who Haven't Heard the Word); God's word coming in multiple ways (see Hebrews 1:1):

Scripture (3:2)
Nature (1:19-20)
Social sciences (as in Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, etc)
Conscience (2:14)
The history of Israel (9-11)
Christ – the gospel message, the incarnation, the Lord's life, his resurrection (1-16)

Suggested for memory: "... God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance" (Romans 2:4).

Romans C

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In our third podcast (21 minutes), we will tackle Romans 1:18-32.
For more background on this passage, listen to the Fall of Rome podcast.

This lesson refers to many biblical passages, such as Psalm 7:11 and Jeremiah 2:19. It also references Pseudo-Lucian, Affairs of the Heart 20, c.300 AD: "In the beginning... human life... obeyed the laws made by nature; and men, linking themselves to women... became fathers of children. But gradually the passing years degenerated from such nobility to the lowest depths of hedonism... The same-sex entered the same bed. Though they saw themselves embracing each other, they were ashamed neither at what they did nor at what they had done to them. And sowing their seed on barren rocks, to quote the proverb, they bought a little pleasure at the cost of great disgrace."

Suggested for memory: "... they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

Romans B

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the 2nd lesson in a series of 26 on Romans. Here we cover the theme passage, Romans 1:16-17 (22 minutes).

Recommended: study Habakkuk 2:4.
Ponder: "From faith to faith" most likely refers to the faith (fidelity, allegiance) of Jesus to our own faith (faithfulness, fidelity, allegiance). There is a perfect literary parallel (in the Greek) in 3:22.
Listen to the podcast on Sound doctrine.

Suggested for memory: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (1:16).

Romans A

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 6 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is the opening podcast in the series Romans A-Z. In 26 daily lessons, we will explore Paul's longest letter.

First, we set the stage, by reading through chapter 1, verse 1-15 (24 minutes). Paul has a missionary purpose in visiting Rome (1:12; 15:23-25,28) as well as a theological purpose (preventing the debate about Torah from making its way to Rome and potentially splitting the Christian movement).

Paranormal: The Bonfire – Acts 19

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Sermon done by Douglas Jacoby on June 26, 2011.

Paranormal: The Biblical Perspective

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 2 Aug 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This is one of the keynote messages at a 2011 conference on the Paranormal -- aboard the Queen Mary, a "haunted ship." If you would like the entire conference, you can order here through IPI.

Paranormal: Zombies

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures

Ezekiel 37
Luke 15
Ephesians 2

Conclusions

The zombie scene is not just about survival, but about community and trust and beauty.

We were dead in sins.
In a sense we’re not fully alive until connected with our Creator.
The villains aren’t the zombies. They’re us!

Further

White Zombie (1932)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Thriller (1983)
I Am Legend (2007)
There are also many interesting articles and blogs out there, for example this one.

Paranormal: Witchcraft

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Outline

Witchcraft is unbiblical.
Witchcraft has no true power.
Witchcraft must be totally rejected, not partially rejected.

Scriptures referred to

1 Samuel 28
Galatians 5:20
2 Chronicles 33:6
Malachi 3:5
Deuteronomy 18:10, 17-22
Acts 8, 13, 16, 19
Colossians 2:13-15
Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19,25
Acts 19:19 -- listen to the sermon "The Bonfire" (scroll down)
Revelation 21:8
See also Leviticus 20:1-5, which tells us that conniving at child sacrifice is also culpable. So if we are aware of such immoral practices underway in our community yet remain silent, we are guilty.
Finally, consider the following article on Child Witches.

Paranormal: Out of Body & Near-Death Experiences

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This podcast is an adaption of a draft chapter from my book, What’s the Truth about Heaven and Hell? Sorting Out the Confusion about the Afterlife.

The universally familiar NDE/OOB sequence:

A sense of well-being
Disembodiment
A tunnel leading to light
Visions of persons, events, and objects
Interactions with other beings, human or divine
A new evaluation of one’s life
Return to life
Most of this can be explained by the drop in oxygen levels in the brain, the buildup of carbon dioxide, reduction in neural firing, shutdown of the visual cortex, and euphoria triggered by dopamine and endorphins in the brain).

The five cases we discuss in this podcast:

Case 1: Don Piper (90 Minutes in Heaven, 2004)
Case 2: Choo Thomas (Heaven is So Real!, 2003)
Case 3: Colton Burpo (Heaven is For Real, 2010)
Case 4: Bill Wiese (23 Minutes in Hell, 2003)
Case 5: Eben Alexander, MD (Proof of Heaven, 2012)
Other recent New York Times bestsellers on heaven and hell: Richard Sigmund, My Time in Heaven (Whitaker House, 2009); Dennis and Nolene Prince, Nine Days in Heaven (Charisma House, 2011); Mark K. Baker, A Divine Revelation of Hell (Whitaker House, 1997); Kevin and Alex Malarkey, The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World (Thomas Nelson, 2011).

Scriptures referred to

Revelation 21:1
Mark 8:38; 2 Timothy 2:12
Colossians 2:18-19
John 3:13

In brief:

NDEs are universal, happening to members of every culture and religion.
Experiences tend to reflect the faith background of those undergoing them.
Many, but not all, can be rationalized in terms of physiology or psychology.
NDEs are suggestive of a spiritual world and an afterlife. They strongly imply the former, though they do not prove the latter.

Also recommended:

Dinesh D’Souza, Life After Death: The Evidence (Washington DC: Regnery Publishing, 2009). Easy to read, written for general audience.
Gary R. Habermas and J. P. Moreland, Immortality: The Other Side of Death (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1992).
Michael A. Persinger, S. G. Tiller, and S. A. Koren, “Experimental Stimulation of a Haunt Experience and Elicitation of Paroxysmal Electroencephalographic Activity by Transcerebral Complex Magnetic Fields: Induction of a Synthetic “Ghost”? Journal of Perception and Motor Skills, 90:2 (2000), 659-674.
Pim van Lommel, Ruud van Wees, Vincent Myers, and Ingrid Elfferich, “Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest,” The Lancet 358, issue 9298 (2001): 2039-45.
For more about the case of Colton Burpo, you may listen to a podcast with notes: “Heaven is for Real—Or is It?”.
Douglas Jacoby, What’s the Truth about Heaven and Hell? Sorting Out the Confusion about the Afterlife (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 2013), chapter 16.

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Will do!

Just got off a radio interview (3minutes ago), Ottawa -- about my Overview book (released March 2012).

Thanks, Barb

Paranormal: Astrology & Horoscopes

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Podcast points:

Personal existence begins before the point of birth, not at it.
Horoscopes are impossibly vague. When they are "accurate," this is a matter of luck.
Those who lay stock in astrology are behaving in a gullible manner. It is illogical.

The scriptures portray astrologers as inept frauds:

They have no access to the future; they are bluffing. We are to leave the future in the Lord's hands.
Further: Isaiah 8:19-20, 47:13-14; Deuteronomy 4:19, 18:9-12; Daniel 2:10, 4:7, 5:5; Acts 16:16-18.

Paranormal: Ghosts

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Podcast points

Affirmed in the Bible? No -- only popular superstition.
- Matthew 14:26, Mark 6:49 (walking on the sea).
- Luke 24:37, 39 (post-resurrection).
- There are, however, spirit beings.
- And in the case of demonic possession, there is a sort of haunting. For more, listen to the podcast on Demon Possession.
- Note: Job 4:15 and Isa 29:4 do not prove support the popular notion.
Not the same as demons.
The spirits of the dead do not come back.
- Listen to the podcast in this series on What Happens After We Die?
- See also Heb 9:27.
- The dead are in Hades (Sheol), the waiting place, until the resurrection of the dead and the Judgment. Listen also to the podcast on The Resurrection of the Dead.
Psychological aspect
- Superstition
- Fear
- Hallucination
Ghosts discovered in old houses?
- Magnetic fields
- Dust in random motion
- Creaking sounds (subsidence, e.g.)
- Association with death common in old structures.
Jesus came to destroy our fear of death (Heb 2:15).

Conclusion

Be sensible, not superstitious. Fiction is fiction.
While there may be spirit beings in our world, the spirits of departed humans do not "come back to haunt us."
Engage in the conversation; people are interested in the paranormal and many are willing to listen. This can be an opening for the gospel.

Paranormal: Mummies

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures referred to:

Genesis 50:26
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
1 Corinthians 15:35-52
Philippians 3:20

Miscellaneous

Mummiya = Arabic for tar, bitumen (from blackened appearance of many mummies). Technically a misnomer.
Shabti figures -- miniature statues of workmen intended to substitute for the deceased in the event he is called up for work duty in the afterlife.

Listen also to the podcast on the Resurrection of the Dead, in the Last things mini-series (Hot Issues series) at this website.

Paranormal: Werewolves

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Werewolf < vir (Latin for Man) + wolf
Lycanthrope < lykos + anthropos (Greek for wolf + person)
Nebuchadnezzar: Daniel 4:29-34
Our struggle:
- The struggle between the flesh and the spirit (Galatians and Romans)
- We all have two sides, like Jekyll & Hyde!
- When we are not in our right mind, we do things we regret.
- But we have free will.
- And with the power of God’s Spirit, we have even more energy, willpower, and guidance when times are confusing…

Paranormal: Vampires

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

VAMPIRES

13 contrasts between Christ and the "Dark Christ"

One was human, but now is no longer truly human. He has been transformed into a being who preys on humans – not for their good, but for his own advantage Yet Christ chooses to leave the heavenly, eternal world to become human, for our good (John 1:14).
The vampire takes our blood (always thirsty), while Jesus pours out his blood for us. One takes life, bequeathing a living death in exchange, while the other takes death, and gives us life (Hebrews 2:9, 14). In the communion, we "drink" the blood of Christ, while in vampire lore the night stalker drinks our blood.
One leaves wounds on your neck; in the case of Christ, when he gives himself for us, he himself is wounded (his famous five marks).
One comes out of the grave at nightfall, the other goes up from the grave (Easter morning).
The vampire returns to his grave daily; Jesus dies and rises from the dead one time only (Hebrews 9:27).
One cannot stand the light (John 3), whereas Jesus is the light. God is light (1 John 1:5).
One hates the Cross, and whatever is holy. The other loves what is true and right, and in fact embodies it (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Dracula breaks down your free will and seduces (forces himself on) you; God does not force anybody (John 7:17).
The dark one is extremely handsome, whereas we do not even know what Jesus looked like! See Isaiah 52:14.
One offers a false immortality through immorality – murder, and often sensual sin, sexual in nature; the other offers immortality through complete morality – selflessness. (Or should we say the vampire is amoral?)
Like Christ, and like Christians, the vampire delivers a message. But it is the “bad news,” not the gospel, the good news.
Vampire himself, in eternal bondage, needs redemption. A wooden stake must be driven his heart to release him. Jesus dies on a wooden cross, bringing redemption to us. Without a death, there can be no peace; without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).
These imaginary creatures of the night life at our expense. There is no offer of grace here. GRACE = God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

In these and other ways, VAMPIRES are a type of anti-christs, dark christs.

Conclusion

Of course this is nothing but legend, despite some factual kernels:

Transylvania is a real place.
Vlad the Impaler was an historical individual, 1431-1476.
Vampire tales are indeed extremely ancient, but then so are many legends and superstitions.
There are such things as vampire bats, that suck the blood of their victims.

Still, 99% of the vampire tales are superstition without any basis in reality. Yet does this mean we should simply ignore vampire culture? Is it possible we may underestimate the potency even of superstition? A few caveats:

Jesus said we although we are in the world, we are not of it (John 17). We are called to be children of the light (John 12:26, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:5). Do we glorify evil?
Vampire culture -- even "Christian vampire fiction" -- can be a slippery slope. The goal is seduction, desensitization to sin.
Can lead us to some dark places. Dovetails with worship of dark heroes, despising the bodies God gave us, masochism, cutting, the occult, etc. Yet there is real evil in world: violence, oppression, genocide, abuse, greed, materialism. The vampire is not our true enemy. Dracula is but a parody of him.
Am I lost in a fantasy world? We are called to live in the real world, to do some good.
Beware the "vampire" schedule: to bed at dawn, sleeping through most of the day. So easy to slide into living an unproductive and self-centered life.
There is one gigantic difference between the vampire and Jesus, between the real Christ and, as he has been called, the Dark Christ. One can save you, the other cannot, for he himself is in bondage to sin and death. There is only one savior, and one path to eternal life (Romans 6:23).

Paranormal: Angelic Beings

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Spiritual Beings

Cherubim – guardians; winged, composite beings. See Gen 3:24; Exod 25:18; Ezek 9:3 (cp. Ezek 1)
Seraphim – worshippers, winged; “burning ones” Only in Isa 6.
Angels = messengers (ángelos, Gk; mal’akh, Heb.)
1. Human: 1 Kgs 19:2; Hg 1:13; Mal 2:7, 3:1; Lk 7:24; Acts 12:15 (?); possibly the “messengers” of the 7 churches (Rev 2-3).
2. Supernatural: more common use of the word.
3. Note: We do not become angels when we die (Matt 22).
4. Presented as genderless (or male).
5. Some are named: Gabriel, Michael; also Raphael, Uriel, Jeremiel (OT Apocrypha)
6. Can be good or evil (Matt 22:30, 25:41)
7. Archangels (1 Thess 4:16, Jude 9) = chief angels. 7 in number, though not total agreement.
8. Their mediating work is done, though they will accompany Christ at his return
9. Mere servants (Heb 1:14)!
  1. Beware sensationalism.
  2. We mustn't worship them (Col 2:18, Rev 19:10).
  3. One day we will even judge them (1 Cor 6:3)!
Powers, principalities (rulers), celestial beings (dignities, KJV)
1. Eph 6:12 & Col 2:15. Through Christ God is showing his wisdom to the powers (Eph 3:10).
2. Elaborate angelic hierarchies (choirs) in Middle Ages:
  1. First sphere:
    1. Seraphim
    2. Cherubim
    3. Thrones or Ophanim
  2. Second sphere:
    1. Dominions
    2. Virtues
    3. Powers or Authorities
  3. Third sphere:
    1. Principalities or Rulers
    2. Archangel
    3. Angels
3. Could they be human beings who are political powers?
  1. Perhaps, but then why are they described as being in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12)?
  2. Some reason that they are the interior spirits of earthly human authorities, like Walter Wink. This is a clever though (for me) not entirely convincing explanation.
4. In the final analysis, the Bible does not tell us enough about the "powers" to answer our every question to our satisfaction.
Demons (daimónion, 63x; daímon, only in Matt 8)
1. One theory holds that these are fallen angels. That is, they were created as neutrally moral beings, but chose to rebel.
2. Another theory hold that they are the offspring of humans and angels (Gen 6). See Jubilees 4:15-22; 1 Enoch 69:4, 106:13-17; 2 Baruch 56:12; CD 2:18.
3. Some early Christians equated demons with the false gods of idolatry. (See 1 Cor 10.) LXX sometimes translates “idols” as “demons.”
4. Two are possibly alluded to in the O.T.: Lilith (“night hag,” Isa 34:14), and Azazel (Lev 16).
5. Fall of demons thought to have happened before creation (1 Enoch 69:1-15).
6. In Jubilees 10, Noah prays and God imprisons 9/10 of the demons plaguing mankind, but allows 1/10 to continue their evil work under their leader Satan (or Mastema).
7. If evil powers are referred to in Gal 4 and Col 2, Christians should be totally free from their influence. The more we focus on them, the more we “give them power.” We are sternly warned to keep away from the occult (Gal 5:20, Acts 19:19, Exod 22:18, Rev 21:8).
8. Superstition often ascribed disease to demons (as in the apocryphal book of Tobit). In N.T., only Luke 13:10-17 seems to make this association. Demon possession and disease, e.g. epilepsy, are distinguished (Matt 4:24).
9. “Belief in demons and their effect upon mankind increased in Judaism from A.D. 150 to 450.” (ISBE I: 922).
Satan = accuser (Hebrew); diabolos – slanderer, accuser (Greek NT and OT LXX)
1. Concept vague in O.T., develops in Intertestamental times, developed in N.T. times.
  1. Satan is portrayed as an over-zealous figure, eager to uphold righteousness but excessive in his accusations. He does not appear especially wicked.
  2. In the N.T., however, we learn his true identity. He is the father of lies (John 8:44), and the "ancient serpent" (Rev 12).
2. Most likely a fallen angel. Some earthly rulers’ demises allude to fall of Satan (Isa 14, Ezek 28).
3. Satan, as C. S. Lewis points out, is really not the opposite of God, but of the (good) archangel Michael.
4. Mentioned only 3x in the OT (Job, Zechariah, and 1 Chronicles).
Miscellaneous questions
1. Spiritual warfare? (Eph 6)
  1. Angelic / demonic territories? (Dan 10). The Bible never instructs us to delve into this realm.
  2. Prayer cover? (Idea advanced in Peretti's books.) Not substantiated.
2. Are demons associated with specific sins in the N.T.?
  1. Undoubtedly Satan works through his minions, since he is never said to be omnipresent (or omniscient). James 1:13-15 allows the connection of the demonic with sin. However...
  2. There is no “demon of laziness," "demon of lust," "demon of anger," etc.
    1. Such personifications are imaginative, and lack solid biblical foundation.
    2. This view also minimizes our personal responsibility for sin.
3. Do we meet angels (Heb 13)? If we do, we (probably) wouldn’t know we were meeting them, so we should be cautious about accepting claims of angelic encounters
Further study
1. For a political interpretation of the “powers,” read Walter Wink’s interesting series.
2. Billy Graham’s book Angels: God’s Secret Agents is quite well done.
3. Hear also the podcast on Demon Possession. Click here.
4. For more detailed articles, check out the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Paranormal: Aliens (Extraterrestrial) and the Bible

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Ten questions about Aliens in the Bible

1. Are aliens mentioned in Bible? No. (Angels are not aliens.)
2. UFOs in Bible? (Ezekiel 1, e.g., where the vision is of the Ark of the Covenant on supernatural wheels, indicating that God had left Jerusalem and its Temple, and was accommodating the exiles in Babylon.) No!
3. Is there scientific evidence for life in outer space? No, though there is some (ambivalent) evidence for prebiotic conditions – e.g. water on Mars or Europa….
4. Is E.T. scientifically possible? Sure, assuming life-supporting conditions.,
5. If E.T. is discovered, would this cause a problem for Bible believers? No. It's not necessarily a theological issue,
6. How would the aliens be saved? The question assumes they are morally fallen, and that they have sufficient intelligence to rebel against God’s moral order in the first place. In any case, the effects of Cross are cosmic – read Colossians and Ephesians.
7. Would they look like us? Probably… DNA, carbon-based 3-dimensionality, brains, locomotion, body members for manipulation of tools etc...
8. Will we meet them in our lifetime? Vast interstellar distances make it seem unlikely anyone would ever be able to make the journey –without being fried! – so may be little point in pursuing this further. But this does make for fascinating reading, movies, etc…
9. Are they good or bad? Depends on whether they exist and whether they are moral.
10. Is there is government conspiracy, a cover-up? (E.g. Roswell, New Mexico) Probably not. (Not that governments don't occasionally conceal the truth from those they govern.)

Conclusion

In the Middle Ages, people believed in pixies and trolls. In our day, belief in aliens has become respectable, and increasingly common. Superstition seems to be with us for good.
Most things about our universe are not discussed in the Bible: from Pluto to the periodic table, from dinosaurs to DNA…. But the Lord has told us what we need to know. The Bible is primarily a book about relationship: with God, and with others.
Speculation is okay, but let’s never devote more energy to speculation than to serious study of God’s word!
Further reading suggestion: C. S. Lewis, Perelandra. For a humorous (and reverse angle) take on the subject, read the blog by Kim Pullen here.

Paranormal: Thoughts on Demon Possession & Exorcism

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Observations about demons

No clear instance in the entire Old Testament.
- Yet stories of the demonic were common in surrounding lands.
- There may be a connection between idolatry and the demonic in Deuteronomy 32:17.
- Was the Lord protecting his people? Or were those outside the covenant people of God merely superstitious.
In the New Testament, possessions appear only in the early decades.
- Thus exorcism was part of the apostolic mission (Mark 3:13-14).
- No instructions are given in the letters, which deal with practical Christian living. (Were there no longer any active demons in the 50s or 60s?)
- Did the apostles succeed in "mopping up"?
- Could a Christian be possessed? How does that square with 1 Corinthians 10:13?
Sloppy demonology today
- False personifications of sin. ("A demon of laziness," for example.)
- Details of possessions and exorcisms do not match what is found in the N.T.
  - N.T. exorcisms were highly public, not staged or ambiguous.
  - Exorcisms took place immediately; they were not multi-stage events.
  - Blaspheming demons? In the N.T., the spirits were respectful.
  - The possessed did not acquire Satanic or miraculous powers.
  - The demons recognized who Jesus was, but not why he had come to earth (Mark 1:24, 3:11, 5:7; Luke 8:21).
  - God concealed his plans from these malevolent powers. His wisdom was hidden (1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:9): the evil powers orchestrated Christ's crucifixion (1 Corinthians 2:6-8; John 13:27), yet this was the means by which these same evil powers effect their own ruin (Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8).
Some early Christians believed the demons were fallen angels. Others held different views. In the same way, there are many opinions today.
- For a good book to stimulate your thinking, consider F. LaGard Smith, Angels, Demons, and the Devil: A Conversation with Michael the Archangel about Celestial Beings. ISBN 13-978-0-9660060-6-3.
- Further and thorough material will be found in two of the appendixes of Craig Keener's magisterial Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts.
- The Guardian article is also interesting, even though it seems to dismiss biblical theology.
- Zech 13:1 speaks of a day, in the Messianic Age, when a fountain would be open for cleansing from sin and uncleanness. If demons are unclean spirits, then one might reason that demons were all removed. However, this verse refers to Jerusalem--not necessarily to the land of Israel, let alone the entire planet.
We must approach this subject with biblical caution and in a spirit of humility.
- Much of what passes for possession or exorcism today diverges radically from what we read about in the 30s and 40s AD, and in fact has much more in common with the occult aspects of pagan religions, shamanism, voodoo, and so forth.
- Let's keep a healthy distance between ourselves and the Enemy and his agents.

Christ In The Psalms: Pt. 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

We have covered 9 lessons on the Psalms, and are about to begin the 10th. (Future lessons will surely follow.)
The Psalter points to Christ, as Jesus indicated in Luke 24 to the disciples on the Emmaus Road. In fact all three divisions of the Hebrew Bible -- Law, Prophets, and Writings -- direct us to Christ.
The imprecatory Psalms point us to Christ in that their spirit is so unlike that of Christ. They accentuate the loving spirit of Jesus all the more.
Some passages contain specific prophecies, as we noted in our previous lesson. In the 9th lesson we considered quite a few of them. Yet we can go much further.
Remember this: although we read the Old Testament forward, it is best understood when viewed backward -- in the light of Calvary.

Further Christological aspects of the Psalms

Psalm 1 - Jesus is the way (John 14:6; see Acts 24:14)
Psalm 8 -- Jesus is Lord (LORD, or Yahweh [YHWH], rendered kyrios [Lord] = the Lord God) (gospels, Acts, etc -- e.g. 2 Peter 1:1-2)
Psalm 23 - Jesus is the good shepherd (also Pss 28, 80; Ezekiel 34:10-16,23-24,31; Isaiah 40:11; Zechariah 13:7; John 10:11,14; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:5, 5:4; Revelation 7:17)
Psalm 27 - Jesus is the light (John 8:12, 9:5; 1:9, 3:19; also Matthew 5:14)
Psalm 49:7-9,15 - Jesus is our ransom (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 9:15; see also Hosea 13:14)
Psalm 55:22 - Jesus is our burden-bearer (Matthew 11:28-30; see 1 Peter 5:7)
Psalm 119 - Jesus is God's Word (John 1:1,14; Revelation 19:13)

Thought questions

Which passages in Psalms present Christ most clearly to me?
If I were a first-century Jew who knew the scriptures (like Nicodemus), how obvious would it have been to me that Jesus was the Messiah?
How familiar am I with the Messianic passages in the prophets? in the Law?

Prayer points

Open my eyes that I may see Christ in the entire Bible. Let me see him clearly, neither reading too much into the text nor missing his glory in these many passages.
Strengthen me in my knowledge of the Messianic passages, and solidify my appreciation of Christ in the Psalms.
Give me courage to live in faith on the basis of all I am learning, that I may show Christ to others.

Christ In The Psalms: Pt. 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

The first six lessons set the stage for the seventh, Psalm 51, which most epitomizes the theme of our series, Drawing Near to God.
In the eighth lesson we tackled the thorny issue of the imprecatory psalms, prayers that are sometimes sub-Christian in attitude. This only throws into high relief the topic of the final two lessons in this series.
We now turn to find Christ in the Psalms. In other words, we draw near to God not only because we hear God's voice and discern his will in the Psalter, but also because the Messianic psalms show us Christ. And by Christ we come to God.

The Christ is prophesied in the Psalms

A large number of passages in the the O.T. point to Christ (e.g. Deut 18; Isa 53; Mic 5), but our study is based in the Psalms only.
- Luke 24:44-47 - Jesus fulfilled all three sections of the O.T., Torah (Law of Moses), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). Yet the O.T. passages are much more easily understood looking backward than looking forward (see 1 Peter 1:10-12).
- Jesus applies the psalms to himself (e.g. 22:1 and 31:5). This naturally leads us to messianic readings of the Psalter.
- Hebrews especially elaborates the correspondences between specific passages in the Psalms and the life of Christ.
  - Suggested CD: Back from the Edge: A Study of Hebrews (10 lessons, published by IPI)
  - Suggested podcast: Hebrews: Bridge Between the Testaments (at this website)
  - Suggested book: From Shadow to Reality (John Oakes, pub. by IPI)
Many individual psalms points to Christ:
- 2:1-3 (Acts 4:23-28); 2:7-8 - begotten Son of God. Many ancient Jews considered the pair of scriptures Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 to refer to the Messiah.
- 16:8-10 - resurrection
- 22:1,7-8,16,18,22 - multiple points of contact with the crucifixion of Christ.
- 31:5 - committing spirit into God's hands
- 34:20 - not a bone to be broken (John 19:32-33, 36).
- 35:11,19 - malicious witnesses hating him without cause (John 15:24-25).
- 40:6-8 (Heb 10:5-7, quoting the LXX) - the incarnation.
- 41:9 (55:12-13) - betrayal.
- 45:6; also 93:2 (Heb 1:8) - he is God.
- 68:18 - ascension (Eph 4:8)
- 69:8-9,21 - rejected by own family; consumed by zeal for God's house; given vinegar to drink.
- 102:25-27 (Heb 1:10-12) - eternal creator
- 110:1-4 - divine descendant of David acceding to God's throne as priest in the order of Melchizedek.
- 118:22 (Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7) - the stone the builders rejected.

Thought questions

If a Jewish seeker asked me to jot down a list of Messianic prophecies, how many would I know off the top of my head?
What is it about Psalms -- why do I think this was the most familiar book of the Bible to first-century believing Jews and Christians?
How do I respond physiologically when I see Christ in the O.T. scriptures? Does my heart glow, my mind race, my pulse quicken?

Prayer points

As Christ did on the Emmaus road, may he open also my mind.
Help me to see Christ in every page of scripture.
Make my vision of faith international -- that Christ may be preached in every nation.

Psalms 137, 58, & 109

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

Our seventh lesson, on Psalm 51, most epitomized the theme of this series, Drawing Near to God. Honest confession makes for vital relationships, including our all-important relationship with God.
And yet although honesty is commendable, the Psalms actually contain some prayers that are sub-Christian in content and attitude.
Accordingly, our eighth lesson is entitled “Prayers You Shouldn’t Pray.”

Imprecatory psalms

Praying against (one's enemies)
Latin: prex (prayer) + in (against)
There are many imprecations in the Bible, although this podcast discusses only three.
- 137:7-9
- 58:6-11
- 109:3-13, 21-31
C. S. Lewis and others noted: when the ancient Jews come to God, they ask for justice; when Christians come, they ask for mercy.

The O.T. and Enemies

The imprecatory psalms are in tension with the O.T. ideal of treating one’s enemies well.
- Exodus 23:4-5
- Leviticus 19:17-18
- Proverbs 24:17, 25:21
- 2 Kings 6:20-23
In a way, praying the imprecatory prayers was a way of obeying God's command not to take revenge. It's all left in God's hands; he is being implored to do what he said he would do and deal with Israel's enemies.
The O.T. seems to say more about war than about peace, yet peace is always the ultimate goal.
- Zechariah 14:16
- Isaiah 11:6-9, 9:6

The higher standard

Matthew 5:43-48
It was completely normal to be kind to the insider; the outsider (non-Israelite) was the other, the enemy.
Did Jesus not teach the brotherhood of man? Brothers not in the sense of salvation, but origin. God is the Father of us all, if not in the salvific sense, at least in the ultimate sense.
We could utter imprecatory prayers. Do you think we should? Should we seek “sweet revenge”?

Conclusion

Honest prayers, yes. Get it out. But let the Spirit of Christ guide us.
Let's read the O.T.—and the entire Bible—with sensitivity. Be aware of "problem passages," esp. any that might cast aspersions on the God we serve.
When you’ve based your life on the trustworthiness of the scriptures, it takes great courage to admit there are difficulties.
Jesus called us to a standard far above the one we find in the imprecatory psalms.
God's holy standard is difficult, but shouldn't we make the attempt? "Be perfect... as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Thought questions

Are there biblical passages that have troubled me? Have I been honest in my treatment of them, or have I ignored them, trying to forget about them?
How do I think it would affect outsiders to the faith to see insiders wrestling with problematic scriptures? Am I afraid it would give them an excuse to dismiss Christianity?
What have I learned from the imprecatory psalms?
Do I think it is ever appropriate for a Christian to use the weapons of the world (2 Cor 10:3-4)?
How did Christ view his enemies? disarm them? pray for them?

Prayer points

Give me the strength of faith and integrity to admit that there are problem passages.
Strengthen me with your grace to resist every impulse towards hatred, violence, and revenge.
Enable me to live up to the high calling of holiness enjoined on us by the Lord Jesus.

Other scriptures noted

Psalm 5:5, 11:5
Colossians 1:21
Malachi 1:2-3
Luke 16:13
Micah 6:8
Judges 15:11
Galatians 3:24
Romans 12:20

A few other potentially scandalous or problematic aspects of the Bible

Slavery in the Bible (please listen to the podcast on this topic)
The treatment of women
The Canaanite Genocide
Hell
Predestination

Psalms 51

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

Our first six studies set the stage, so that we can draw near to God
Psalm 51 is the psalm that most epitomizes the theme of this series, Drawing Near to God.

Theme: restoration to God

Every psalm has a theme. In most of the lessons in this series, we're reading only excerpts, in order to illustrate broader themes.
This time we will study a single psalm, and one of the most famous of all, ranking with 23 in general familiarity.

Davidic?

Associated with David, and fits perfectly the scenario of 2 Samuel 11-12.
“Build up the walls” (v.18) – the psalm did not evolve to its present form till centuries after the time of David.
Whether or not David is the author is immaterial. The psalm speaks to us all!

Commentary

v.1 - Mercy, not justice. Blessed are the merciful. Am I merciful towards others (Matthew 5:7, 18:21-35; Eph 4:32)?
v.2 - We are unclean – cannot be self-restored. We need God.
v.3 - Sin doesn’t get cleansed by time. Time may afford a broader perspective, but it doesn’t automatically heal.
v.4 - See Genesis 39:9. Judgment: Psalm 7:11 (daily judgment, the outworking of sin); 21:9 (final judgment, like 2 Thessalonians 1:8).
v.5 - Not original sin (see 71:6, 22:9, 58:3). Projection of the present feeling of sinfulness back to the earliest possible point in the psalmist’s life.
v.6 - We are born to be moral. We may have a proclivity towards selfishness – for biological and psychological reasons, yet God calls us to act beyond the level of mere self-interest .
v.7 - Hyssop was used for cleansing in levitical ceremonies (Exod 12, Lev 14, Num 19 – a dozen places in all the Bible.) Hyssop contains thymol. Confessions / accepting forgiveness from God – 32, 38, 51 (7 penitential psalms also include 102, 6, 143, 130).
v.8 - See Proverbs 17:22.
vv.9 -10 Not just asking to be let off. Asking for transformation. A new spirit – a common longing in the prophetic literature, such as in Isaiah and Ezekiel. And not just a one-time revival, but consistency!
v.11 - Holy Spirit rare in OT. The phrase appears only here and in Isaiah 63:10-11 and here . God is spirit; thus he is present in Spirit. John 7:39 – no indwelling before Jesus' ascension (Acts 2:30,33).
v.12 - The joy of our salvation is more than a feeling. Willingness. God will not force us. In a sense, the psalmist is asking God for a holy spirit – to make him holy through and through. We too should pray for this spirit. Jesus says the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him Luke 11:13. See also Psalm 15 - holiness / integrity required if we are to enter God's presence and dwell there.
v.13 - We cannot keep the good news to ourselves. It is hard to stay motivated in evangelism when all we seek are results, or recognition. It's easy to keep going when awareness of who we are (God’s children in Christ) and gratitude continually well up from our inmost being! Further, the good news isn’t a message of self-improvement.
v.14 - Guilt is a reality. Psychologists and psychiatrists lacking a biblical orientation may miss this. But true healing (therapy) requires acknowledgement of guilt, ownership. Proverbs 30:20. "Guilt of bloodshed" is a phrase often occurring in the context of murder. Worship as the natural response to the experience of cleansing, when we have gratitude to God for his mercy and grace.
vv.15-16 - Religion without heart is worthless. Psalm 51, Psalm 50, Psalm 15 (in the podcast I said "51" -- but meant 15). Also Malachi 1—it's all over the OT. Jesus preached the same Mark 7. This is not to say that we can dispense with formal faith. The last verse of the Psalm doesn’t dismiss the sacrificial system – which would be replaced only after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
v.17 - Heart focus. See 34:18.
vv. 18 -19 - This shows that the Psalm is exilic, or postexilic – at least in its final form.

Psalms 73 & 37

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

In the first three lessons, we studied psalms highlighting God's will, word, and nature.
The fourth lesson explored a healthy double-focus (directed both inward and outward).
As we sat in our last lesson, Darkness, the world is a place of self-interest. It can get to us, especially if we aren’t focused. We can find ourselves at the brink of ruin even in the midst of the assembly (Proverbs 5:14).

Drifting

Hebrews 2:1. When we aren't paying attention to the Word -- when we lose focus -- we drift.
Why is it important not to drift? We can end up in some scary places. Rejecting counsel, we may be attracted to money, sex, popularity, fashion -- everything the world has to offer.
And we become good at rationalizing our sin.

Psalm 73

The psalmist begins to drift when he looks at the lives of those who aren't putting the Lord first. (They aren't necessarily anti-religion; they just don't get why God would care about their behavior.)
He begins to feel that his faith is futile.
He has drifted to a dangerous place, and is saved from this perilous trajectory once he enters the sanctuary of God -- perhaps a visit to the Temple?
Only from the vantage point of holiness, from a spiritual perspective, does he grasp their final destiny. Sooner or later the bubble will burst.
He realizes that, without such a perspective, he remains on the level of the animals.
Fortunately, he has regained his perspective -- an eternal one.
At the end of the psalm, having regained his balance, he feels confidence to stand up for God, "to tell of his deeds."

Psalm 37

Drifting may originate in envy, false comparisons, and fretting (vv.1, 7, 8; see also Proverbs 24:19).
Fretting is unproductive.
Don't worry about the next fellow; work on your own life.
John 21:21-22: "... 'Lord, what about him?'... 'You must follow me.""
Delight yourself in the Lord -- focus! (vv.3-6)
Jesus (Matthew 5) cites this Psalm. (In the podcast I claim that Peter cites it, too; but that's wrong -- oops! I was thinking of Psalm 34, another very encouraging psalm which in my heart shares space with Psalm 37.)

What do we learn from these psalms?

God doesn't discount our feelings.
He knows when we are drifting.
The psalmist works through his issues.
In many of the psalms – up to 40% are sad psalms – the psalmist finds resolution by the end of the prayer.
The psalms are extremely diverse, and address many of our emotional and spiritual needs.

Benefit from the entire range of psalms

Psalm 37 helps us not to fret. Psalm 63 is good for those who (like David) are "in the wilderness."
We need to learn to use the psalms to minister to ourselves.
Find your psalm(s)! (I especially appreciate 48, 49, 50....)
Trust in God. If God seems far away, guess who moved?

Thought questions

When was the last time I was drifting? Was it a time when I’d lost my moorings?
Which psalms, and other parts of Scripture, keep me tied in to the Lord, and prevent me from drifting?
Do I have an eternal perspective on this world? Do I see the people of this world in perspective, as mere men?
Can I locate any more points of contact between Psalms 37 and 73?
How much might I benefit from working through my feelings/issues in prayer?

Prayer points

Keep me from drifting.
When I am drifting, help me to find you again.
And then prevent me from slipping away again.

Psalms 139, 40, 117

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

In the first lesson, we offered some general pointers for studying the Psalms, and examined Psalm 1, which serves as the intro to Psalms.
Then we saw how much Psalms teaches us about God and his word.
In this fourth lesson, we will consider a key factor in drawing close to God: focusing.

Introduction

Some slander the Old Testament as requiring robotic conformity. (Some criticize all religion this way.)
Yet the OT is not obsessed with outward behavior, but with our entire being.
The Psalms shed considerable light on the heart, and how we need to be doubly focused.

Inward focus

Heart focus – 1:2, 19:14, etc.
We are often unaware of our own hearts. Consider Psalm 139:19-24: "... Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord...? I have nothing but hatred for them...Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me..."
141:3-4: "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil..."
145:17-18: "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." See also John 4:24.

Outward focus

Many psalms speak of care for others: the poor, foreigners, those who don't know God....
40:2-3 and 51:13 illustrate the outward-focus principle well.
The desire to bless others flows naturally from own experience of salvation.
- God is saving me not just from hell, but from this world; not just from external harm, but from myself!
- God rescues me from the emptiness and vice of the world—not just a one-time event in the past, but an ongoing experience. He rescues us every day! When God touches our hearts, we want others to know his mercy, too.

Heart questions

Do I tend to be excessively inward-focused?
Do I tend to be excessively outward-focused?
Am I giving sufficient attention to cultivating my inner spiritual life?

Prayer points

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you" (51:13).
"He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him" (40:2-3).

Psalms 12, 46, & 88

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Many things can bring about disorientation in our lives. Just a few examples (try making your own list):
- The darkness (sinfulness) of the world (12, 14)
- Betrayal (41, 55)
- Natural disasters (46)
- Deep loneliness (25, 88)
- War, destruction, exile (74, 137)
There are psalms of disorientation, orientation, and new orientation (Brueggemann). For examples, see this short list.
We should acknowledge these feelings, not deny or minimize them. We should pray through them, not pray as though everything is fine.

In the darkness, light

God is light, and his light penetrates the darkness of the world (Psalm 27, 105... John 1; 1 John 1).
God will open the eyes of our heart so that we may see, even though we live in a dark world (Eph 1:18; John 3:19; Eph 6:12).
And yet the light does more than merely light our path, for eternal light has dawned. In the Psalms are multiple intimations of heaven:
- Psalm 16:11
- Psalm 17:15 (see Job 19:25-27).
- Psalm 49:15
- Psalm 73:24.

Thought questions

For me, is the world a dark place? Or am I charmed by the world, enticed by its values?
If the earth gave way under my feet, am I confident that I would have God to hold on to?
Am I allowing his light to illuminate my life?
Do I realize that he offers light through every book in Scripture?
Do I appreciate the value of honesty about my own fears, doubts, and pain -- how this lends an air of genuineness and hope to my outreach, fellowship, and counseling?
Does the darkness of this world cause me to yearn for God’s new world? And do I realize that the new creation has already begun (2 Corinthians 5:17)?

Prayer points

Shine your light into the dark places of my life.
Help me to be more honest and open about my own fears and disorientation.
Sensitize me to every intimation of the next world in the scriptures.

Further study

Walter Brueggemann, Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit (Cascade, 2007).
Reading, Praying, and Living the Psalms (IPI, 2005)
What Happens After We Die? (IPI, 2013)
What About Heaven and Hell? (Harvest House, 2013)
The Last Things series at this website.

Psalms 19 & 119

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Review

In the first lesson, we offered some general pointers for studying the Psalms.
We examined Psalm 1, which serves as the intro to Psalms.
There are two paths: stay on the right path by ignoring the world’s counsel and listening to God.
Ps 1 says, in effect, that we will prosper by becoming wise through God’s word.
We're more likely to grow in this wisdom when we truly rejoice in God’s word.

Psalm 138:2

"I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word" (ESV).
Bible and Word
- The Bible gives us the Word of God.
- Jesus is the Word. When “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), God became incarnate. The Bible didn’t become incarnate, and Jesus isn’t the Bible.
- God’s word here refers to his spoken will—which of course we learn all about in Scripture.
- We don’t worship the Bible (the idolatry called bibliolatry). We can worship Christ because in nature he is God, so this isn’t a form of idolatry.
- By immersing ourselves in Scripture, we will be able to learn God’s good and perfect will for our lives: what sorts of people we should be striving to become; how we are to live out our faith; what it means to have Christ living in us by faith.
Lest there be any confusion, I fully embrace the truth that the Bible shows us God. It is inspired. Although we do not worship it, our worship of God will be significantly accelerated when the word of Christ is dwelling in us richly (Colossians 3:16).

Psalm 12:6

"The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times."
What God says is true, trustworthy, and precious.

Psalm 19

God speaks in two ways, in two books: his book of works (nature) and his book of words (Scripture).
Notice the key terms in the psalm, different ways of referring to the Word.
Psalm 19 emphasizes how the Word will change our lives. The end result is that our words will be true and pure—just like our heavenly Father.

Psalm 119

The entire Psalm is structured around a single theme: God's Word.
Selected readings: vv. 4-6, 9-12, 16, 18, 29, 32, 34-37, 60, 64, 66-68, 71-72,79-80, 93, 97, 105, 111-112, 120, 131, 133, 162, 175-176.
The psalmist rejoices in God's law, longs for consistency, and prays that others will come to God through him as the word guides his life on the right path.

Seven prayers (from Psalm 119)

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your word” (18).
“Let me not wander from your commandments” (10).
“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain” (36).
“Turn my eyes from worthless looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways” (37).
“Incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end” (112).
“Keep me steady according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me” (133).
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments” (176).

Heart questions

Am I willing to become a careful reader – eyes fully open?
Am I doing what I need to ensure my heart is captivated in God’s word, and not the world?
How strong is the connection between God's word, truthfulness, integrity, will, nature... and mine -- between his integrity and my own? Am I putting the Word into my heart?

Psalm 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction to the Psalter

The Psalter (the five books of the Psalms) forms a central part of the treasury that is God’s word.
Central in the thought of first century Jews and Christians (as we know from quotations) in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, and the early Christian writings.
Mastering the Psalms is no easy task. There are so many psalms, and their themes are not always obvious. Sometimes they feel chaotic. (They weren’t written by engineers.)
Still, Psalms can be relatively easy to recall, since they are poetry. They have lyrics, they are sung, and they're self-contained.
Recommended: Into the Psalms: Verses for the Heart, Music for the Soul -- Rolan Monje (Manila, Philippines), 2012.

General principles to keep in mind

Psalms are human words addressed to God, more than the word of God to us.
They are characterized by thought-rhyme, as opposed to sound-rhyme. Usually the second line in the couplet expands on the first.
OT history and geography are essential (e.g. Psalms 133, 136, 137).
Every psalm has a theme.
Big themes:
- Temple worship, monarchy, exile, law, God, creation, history, covenant...
- Each psalm has a context. (Many were written out of the painful experience of the Exile). We need to know what the theme is if we are to profit from the Psalm.
They don’t offer solutions to all our problems so much as they offer therapy.
Christians are supposed to use them (Ephesians 5:18-19, Colossians 3:15-16).

Psalm 1

Two paths.
Way of Wisdom (Psalm 1 sounds like the introduction to Proverbs).
- This is a wisdom psalm – like 14 and 37 (where each stanza contains a proverb).
- By spending time in the Psalms we become wise. 1:2 mentions the Torah, and 1:3 alludes to the prophets (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Listen to God's word (v.2), not to the world (1 John 4:5; 1 Corinthians 15:33).
Consequences:
- Withering -- because they aren't rooted.
- Prospering (vitality). The Hebrew idea of prosperity does not involve tons of money, but successful crops; children and grandchildren; the meeting of basic needs; a place in the community.
- The wicked lack solidity. They cannot stand. They are lightweights! Their punishment (being blown away) is a natural result of their waywardness, not something arbitrary or artificial.
- Similarly, prosperity is more a result of righteous living than a reward. The olive tree, so common in Palestine (Psalm 128:3), bears fruit for centuries, usually in alternate years. Even if the main trunk dies, it still sends up shoots. And the Tree of life alludes to Genesis 2-3.
Continuation:
- Psalm 2 illustrates the rejection of God’s rule in the world (the way of the wicked): everyone is up in arms, rejecting God's rightful sovereignty.
- Psalm 1 is expounded on in Psalm 25.

Prayer points

To be captivated by the wisdom of God and the word of God, not impressed by the people the world considers to be cool, or their fashionable ideas.
To be solid, stable, and productive, and not to wither.
To accept that there are only two paths – and not to be double-minded or wishy-washy about this.
To go forth in confidence.

Thought questions

How rooted am I? Do I flit from one thing to another, or am I anchored in the word and willing to do the work?
How productive am I? Am I getting things done? Am I helping others to know Christ?
Have I fully accepted the fact of the two ways, or am I trying too hard not to give offense, to appear neutral?
Do I meditate on the Word daily? What are my own devotional habits, and how might they need to change?

Proverbs: Chapter 31

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

The scriptures recommend intoxicating beverages for those in pain (vs.4-5). This has normally been interpreted as support for painkillers, especially in end-of-life situations. The point is that since alcohol affects judgment, those with decisions to make should do all they can to remain sober and alert. Reaction time has always been important, whether on the modern highway or the ancient throne.
The king is the one addressed in vs.8 and 9, charged with defending the rights of the poor and needy.
At long last (31:10-31) we meet the 4th significant woman in Proverbs. She is the Ideal Wife -- usually called the Proverbs 31 Woman.
The ode to this apparently perfect woman is an acrostic (22 verses -- there are 22 consonants in the Hebrew alphabet).
The 4 women, 2 virtuous and 2 wicked, are Wisdom (1:20-33; 4:5-9; 7:4; 8:1-30; 9:1-6), the Proverbs 31 Woman, the adulteress (2:16-19; 5:1-14,20; 6:24-32; 7:25-27), and Folly (9:13; 14:1).
Think of her as Lady Wisdom -- so often mentioned in Proverbs -- in human form. The young, marriageable woman has found a man and settled down (9:1; 14:1)!
She can hardly be the standard for all Israelite mothers, since she is from the upper classes, has servants, a husband well positioned in the leadership structure of the town (v.23), and is able to run a business from her home (v.24).
The woman is wise because she fears the Lord (vs.30; see 1:7).
Notice that in v.26 "faithful instruction is on her tongue" (NIV) -- "the teaching of kindness" (ESV). Instructing others (family, friends, strangers) is a trait of the truly discipline person. She or he wants everyone to benefit from God's wisdom and love, so that they too may "laugh at the days to come" (v.25).
Parting thought: Consider how the book of Proverbs speaks to the spiritual condition of Israel. Israel didn't follow her wise counsel. She rebelled, led astray by the world's beguiling messages, failing to learn wisdom. Yet in becoming God's "disobedient son," she inadvertently prepared the way for the Gentiles. For all of us, regardless of spiritual heritage or pedigree, Christ is our wisdom (1 Cor 1:30).

Challenge:

Don't eat the bread of idleness!
Like the Proverbs 31 Woman, who is really Wisdom in work clothes, the charge is to implement the principles you've learned in the last month.
To help you see where you've come from, and to refresh your memory, it might be good to review all the podcast notes. Make a list of the 31 challenges.
Maybe you will even want to listen to the series again, to cement it in your thoughts.

Proverbs: Chapter 30

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Vs.3-4 -- to a Christian, at least -- sound highly messianic. Yet the LXX translated "children" in place of son (v.4), so we cannot have the degree of confidence we might like. Integrity means we don't ignore the majority of translations in favor of the special reading of a single version. This isn't honest. (I still feel Jesus in this text.)
Vs.5-6 are a great passage on the word of God!
Vs.7-9 are a great passage on a modest lifestyle. Modesty isn't just about dress or speech; it's about how we live and the messages conveyed through our decisions concerning wealth and possessions. The book mentioned is Craig Blomberg's Neither Poverty Nor Riches.
It is possible to feel in the right, or saved, or clean, but to still be in one's sins (v.12).
The leech (v.15) has two suckers, which draw blood until the critter is bloated. In Gen 49:22, branches of a tree are called "daughters" of the tree. Perhaps the leech's "daughters" are the suckers.
Notice the numerical mnemonic devices in vs.15-31.
The adulteress feels no guilt (v.20). Whether this is pathological, or she truly disbelieves there are absolute morals, the attitude increasingly characterizes our society.

Challenge:

Live a moderate lifestyle!
There are two dangers, two extremes. Lack of wealth can sometimes be as dangerous as abundance of wealth, though to be fair in scripture there are far more warnings addressed to the rich.
Note: Moderation is culturally determined, not absolute. Be flexible in your thinking, and don't look down on others who draw different conclusions.
Modest living means we will lower unnecessary spending; be less tempted to cheat the system or view God as just an accessory to affluent living; be less distracted by the advertisers (designer items, expensive jewelry, lavish status markers, conspicuous consumption); be setting a better example for others; and have a greater appetite for the things of the Spirit.
Then, instead of being controlled (enslaved) by our habits, our habits will serve us.
Further study: various articles and podcasts HERE. For helpful books to help us curb materialism, see many of the titles HERE.

Versions: The initial reading was the NIV, the final reading the KJ3.

Next Up: Our final lesson in this series -- Proverbs 31.

Proverbs: Chapter 29

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Notice how much shorter the proverbs in this chapter are! Sometimes pithy and punchy gets the message across just as well as elongated and eloquent.
There is a point of no return (v.1). It it tempting to equate this with the "falling away" referred to in the N.T. (Heb 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:20-22). (Not to be confused with stumbling.)
Re: v.6, see comments on 28:1 in previous podcast.
The wicked don't care about the poverty of others (v.7). They are the stars of their show and have no intent to give the limelight, let alone their wealth, to others. Yet even among those who seem to care -- perhaps serving in a soup kitchen -- one wonders whether the goal is to assuage one's conscience or to truly make a dent in poverty. Many young people could, through disciplined study, become doctors, nurses, engineers -- people whose careers magnify their impact many times. Yet they may prefer to work low-paying jobs and invest their free time in recreation.
Certain arguments are to be avoided at all costs (v.9) -- or else there'll be two fools arguing!
Venting may feel good, but if the occasion is inappropriate such an action can be harmful (v.11).
When someone won't face reality, but persists in delusional thinking, all those he influences are in danger of being pulled into the vortex (v.12).
In v.15, the emphasis isn't so much on discipline as on involvement. For more on biblical parenting principles, please check out our Principle Centered Parenting (formerly The Quiver).
The vision of v.18 is prophetic (see Numbers 12, Joel 2, Acts 2). The prophetic vision is from God. It has little if anything to do with "getting a vision/dream" for your life.
V.19 is an important principle for counselors, preachers, parents, teachers, et al.

Challenge:

Stay inspired!
Let the Lord reveal his will to you through the word (as in v.18). The resulting inspiration serves to take away our desire to throw off moral restraint.
A key to long-term changes in our personal discipline is continual interaction with and humility before the word of God. The limpid truths of God's word will keep us fueled -- and on track.
This means that, after you're finished listening to this series, you should have a plan for continued study.
- Maybe it's time to finish reading through the entire Bible, esp. if it has been a few years since the last time you did that.
- There are many podcast series at this website, some 10 lessons in length, others 30 or more.
- You may also want to read through a book of the N.T., comparing your findings to the N.T. chapter studies.
- Don't devise a plan that binds you too tight; it's hard to be inspired when we're suffocating. And yet don't be too loose in your plan, either, or time will be wasted and you will regret what could have been.

Versions: First we heard from the NIV, then from the Jerusalem Bible.

Next: Proverbs 30.

Proverbs: Chapter 28

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Here is the truth about the psychology of guilt (v.1). God's solution is confession and renunciation (v.13), not hardening one's heart (v.14). Then we are free; we can "sing and be happy" (29:6).
In v.2, notice how responsibility is shared between the corrupt rulers and the system that produced him.
Somes it is erroneously taught that God doesn't hear the prayers of non-Christians (e.g., from John 9:31). The biblical teaching is that God doesn't hear (honor, answer) the prayers of those who have no intention of listening to God's word or doing good (v.9). Otherwise God hears and may answer the prayers of his lost children (like Cornelius in Acts 10).
Many well-to-do people take credit for being "self-made men" or "self-made women." But what do we have that we did not receive (1 Cor 4:7)? Even a poor man can see through the facade of status, prestige, and elitism (v.11).
V.23 is another great verse on candid speech.
Notice the theme so often repeated in Proverbs -- trust in self is foolish, trust in the Lord is wise (v.26).

Challenge:

Remember: You're not that smart!
There's no doubt that an increase in personal discipline will prove a blessing to our lives. Yet without continual counsel, encouragement, repentance, and personal honesty it is unlikely that our best disciplinary measures and moral fortifications will prevent the city of our soul from being overrun and its walls demolished (25:28).
The challenge is similar to yesterday's -- but still much needed.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 29

Proverbs: Chapter 27

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Don't boast about tomorrow (v.1). See James 4.
Candid speech characterizes true friendship (vs.5, 6, 9).
V.12 is a doublet for 22:3. Don't you delay when disaster's on the way -- do it today!
V.14 fits with 25:16-17. Once again, social awareness is an area in which many need to improve.
"Iron sharpens iron..." (v.17).
Our character will be challenged, refined, tested... All are tested by praise; the fool, who is incorrigible, is tested without any successful change taking place.
Current prosperity will not necessarily last. We should be on top of our finances, aware of our assets and liabilities, keeping our affairs in order. Then we and those who depend on us will be secure (vs.23-27).

Challenge of the day:

Don't brag about your discipline!
Don't boast about how well you're doing, or draw attention to how you're sacrificing.
Jesus discouraged such boasting (Matthew 6:16).
Vs.1, 2, and 21 remind us to stay humble.

Tomorrow: chapter 28

Proverbs: Chapter 26

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

The first section of this chapter deals with fools (vs.1-12, with the possible exception of v.2).
Vs.4 and 5 don't contradict one another. "According to" refers to sinking to the fool's level in v.4, but connotes as they fool deserves in v.5. People who find contradictions in Proverbs have not received training in how to interpret Wisdom literature -- especially the way a saying, maxim, or adage usually captures only one facet of the truth. Click to learn more about interpreting the Wisdom Literature of the Bible.
Use the proverbs (v.7)!
Even armed with the truth we can hurt others (v.9). Preachers: be careful.
Don't be wise in your own eyes (v.12 and v.16).
The second section of this chapter deals with sluggards (vs.13-16).
The sluggard exhibits fear and excuses (v.13), laziness (vs.14-15), and pride (v.16). He has serious character issues!
The third section of the chapter is about things we say (vs.17-28).
Avoid quarrels not your own (v.17). We don't always have to insert ourselves or save the day; someone else can do it.
The maniac deceives, or fools around, inappropriately (vs.18-19).
Both of these (v.17 and vs.18-19) are instances of poor judgment.

Challenge for today:

Indiscipline is a character issue.
If we lack discipline (if we're sluggards), we have a serious character issue. It's not a little thing.
See supplement for a list of character-related words similar to "sluggard."

Tomorrow: Proverbs 27

Proverbs: Chapter 25

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 31 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Note on v.1: the compilation of sayings in Hezekiah's day (c.700 BC) was made many generations after the time of Solomon (who died about 970 BC). The book of Proverbs took centuries to reach its final (present) form.
Research (v.2) is glorious. The disciple should rejoice in new discoveries, exploration, and science. Yet research is qualified (v.27).
"If your enemy is hungry..." (v.21) is taken up in the N.T. in Romans 12. Such love appears here and there in the O.T., though it is the rule in the N.T. (e.g. Jesus' words in Matt 5). To take this advice literally would be to have nothing to do with war. For further thought, listen to the War Prayer.
Lack of personal discipline renders us vulnerable -- without any protection against chaos, temptation, unwise companions, poor judgment, etc. (v.28). We need to guard our thoughts and actions.
Self-awareness and empathy towards others will prevent us from being too pushy (v.6), making promises that disappoint (v.14), violating others' boundaries (v.16), and hurting those who are already in pain (v.20). See also 26:14.

Daily challenge:

Discipline in interpersonal interactions.
Discipline extends to how we interact with others. We need to develop awareness of how they perceive us. Often they won't tell us directly, but they may leave subtle clues which the observant person will pick up on.
Empathy is a matter not only of wisdom (understanding others), but of caring.

Translations: First I read the NIV, and at the end of the podcast the RSV.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 26

Proverbs: Chapter 24

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

When others are being victimized, our responsibility isn't just to make a wise observation, but to get involved (vs.11-12). There is a similar passage in chapter 3. The applications are many: helping the poor, evangelism, putting a stop to human trafficking, etc. "But we knew nothing about this" reminds us of the plea of the goats in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46).
We ought not to gloat when our enemy falls (v.17). See Job 31:29; Ps 35:13-15. The O.T. may not consistently reach the high ethical standard of the N.T. in love for enemies, but it frequently comes close. An implication of the Lord diverting his wrath from our enemy is that it may fall upon us instead!
Note: the 30th saying occurs in vs.21-22. A new section begins in v.23.
Why don't we speak more frankly (v.26)? Are we afraid of rejection? Or are we afraid the other person might make me uncomfortable by asking how I'm really doing?
V.27 is all about priorities, and especially those related to building a home (marriage and family).
The sluggard is slack when it comes to maintenance (vs.30-32). For the proper care of vineyards etc, see Isaiah 28:24-29. The reference to sleeping too much is also found back in chapter 6.

Daily challenge:

Review priorities!
A disciplined person does things in the proper order.
Let's stop putting off the really important things.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 25 (Lord willing)

Proverbs: Chapter 23

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

There's a connection between an insatiable appetite for food and an insatiable appetite for money (vs.1+, 4+).
Gluttony isn't the central theme of this first passage. (That is firmly addressed in v.20.) The wisdom to see through superficial hospitality, along with self-control, seems to be the issue.
As mentioned before, money is dangerous. Its pursuit can take over our lives! A visual image is nearly suggested by the text: A 1000-lb man, whose life centers completely around food, is unbalanced, distorted, unnatural. So with the one who worships Mammon.
It is easy to envy (prosperous) sinners (v.17). But our true future hope is the Lord, not a financial plan that could make us so comfortable we don't need to rely on God.
The sad thing about the drunkard (vs.29-35) is that, despite the evidence, he sees no problem with his habit. He even boasts!
Interesting alternative: The Septuagint (LXX), the Bible the apostles used as they took the message to the Greco-Roman world, has a different, longer reading for the drunkenness passage in vs.29-35.
And so there are three intertwined themes in this chapter: food, drink, money. The world has little wisdom when it comes to these matters, but God's children are to follow a different path.

Daily challenge:

Heart check: money. Is my life inordinately centered around earning money?
Am I controlled by keeping up appearances, competing with myself to set new records, believing the world's messages about wealth and retirement, fearful about old age? Or is my hope in the Lord?

Tomorrow: Proverbs 24

Proverbs: Chapter 22

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Reputation is better than money (v.1).
There should be no rigorous class distinctions (v.2).
Wise people take a long view of things. They don't procrastinate (v.3.)
"Train up a child" (v.6) is a general correlation, not an ironclad guarantee. (Note: this verse is missing in the LXX, which was the Old Testament of nearly all Jews and Christians in the early centuries.)
Debt is a form of enslavement, so beware of taking on a foolish financial burden (v.7).
Note: v.16 is the end of the 375 single-line sayings of Solomon. See note for 10:1.
"... in your heart and... ready on your lips" -- this is the closest verse to support for memorizing scripture that I know of.
V.20 indicates the start of yet another collection of sayings. Proverbs as a whole is a collection of collections.
22:29 is one of my favorite proverbs. To rise up in your profession, value the quality of excellence (along with the quality of frank and gracious speech -- v.11).

Challenge:

Memorize proverbs.
Write one down on a card today and take it with you, referring to it now and again.
This practice can help the word sink deeper into our hearts.

Next: Proverbs 23

Proverbs: Chapter 21

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

V.1 alludes to the irrigation canals common in the Middle East. The king's heart is in the hand of the King of Kings -- the only being with true and absolute sovereignty.
Religion alone isn't enough (v.3). This emphasis on the heart is prevalent in all three divisions of the Old Testament -- Torah, Prophets, Writings.
Hedonism will impoverish us (v.17). Work is what brings the profit (25). Living for pleasure isn't life at all (but death, according to Paul in 1 Tim 5:6).
Impulse control (v.20). Guilty of gluttony? Applications: diet, sexual abstinence, drinking, exercise, expression of anger, and more.
Discipline over our words (v.23).
V.23 is an example of Hebrew rhyme (less important than parallelism, but still present here and there): Shōmēr pīv 'ûlshôlnô shōmēr mitsārôth naphshô.
Don't place all your hope in human planning: your own or someone else's. God is the one in ultimate control (30-31).

Challenge:

Hand your eating over to the Lord.
Gluttony is a serious sin in our culture.
Obesity discredits the gospel.
Eating with wisdom brings longer life, better health, greater alertness, greater ability to engage in various activities, and increased credibility as an ambassador of Christ.

Next Up: Chapter 22.

Proverbs: Chapter 20

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Beware alcoholism (v.1).
Indiscipline (v.4) cannot wait, or pace itself. It acts for immediate gratification only.
V.9, like Ecc 7:20, is a sort of Rom 3:23 in the O.T.
Don't love sleep (v.13)! "You can often gauge a man's ambition by whether he hates his alarm clock or considers it his dear friend."
The proverbs accurate describe human tendencies (like complaining to the merchant and then boasting to one's friend -- v.14).
V.19 ESV: Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.
V.25 the trap of a rash vow: escape (Prov 6:1-5) or keep it (Ecc 5:1).
The spirit (v.27) is our human spirit -- God's gift to every human. For a stimulating reconsideration of our spirit vs. the Holy Spirit, listen to David Bercot's recent lesson: http://scrollpublishing.com/store/product3623.html.

Daily challenge:

Plan with the long view in mind.
Look down the road of life, at the decades and years ahead. Starts saving for your old age when you are young!
Just because things aren't pressing doesn't mean they aren't important. Recommended: Steven Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 21

Proverbs: Chapter 19

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 17 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Reading advice:

Keep noticing how sayings are related, if only loosely.
Notice how themes introduced in previous chapters are touched on again and again.
Notice the doublets (14:12, 16:25) and near-doublets (19:5, 19:9).
Understand the parallelism:
- Synonymous (19:5); a comparison is being made, or a statement is begin repeated in a different form.
- Antithetical (19:12); a contrast is being made. Many of the earlier chapters are filled with this type.
- Synthetic (19:19); an augmentation of the first line -- the second line elaborates, or builds upon, the first.

Salient points:

"Zeal without knowledge" (v.2) is alluded to in Romans 10:3. Many proverbs are echoed or quoted in the N.T.
Sleep is good, but like honey if overdone the result is counterproductive (v.15). We will get up on time when we have a reason to get up.
Kindness to the poor is lending to the Lord (v.17).
V.25 LXX reads "When a pestiferous person is being whipped, a fool will become more crafty." The LXX was the O.T. (and the Bible) of Paul and the apostles who preached outside of Palestine.

Challenge:

Get control of your sleep habits!
Follow your system. Eat right. Exercise! Don't watch electronic screens during the half-hour before bedtime.
Even then, you may have to push through fatigue. "The world is run by tired me."
I love Longfellow's poem: "The heights by great men reached and kept / Were not attained by sudden flight / But they, while their companions slept / Were toiling upward in the night."

Next up: Proverbs 20.

Proverbs: Chapter 18

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 14 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Fools enjoy conversation but do not change their views; they only air them (v.2). Avoid such discussions -- advice seconded by Paul in the Pastoral Epistles (e.g. 2 Tim 14,23-26).
Note how various proverbs are connected, often quite loosely. See 18:1-2; 18:10-11; 18:17-19.
Note the delightful way the Hebrew language gets across the idea of how our words get us into trouble: "A fool's lips walk into a fight" (18:6 ESV). The image of walking lips is memorable.
Slackness has something in common with destruction (v.9).
There is a difference between gifts and bribes (v.16). Some gifts subvert justice; others simply grease the creaky wheels of bureaucracy. Generally speaking, the bribe/gift passages in Proverbs are only observations, neither commending nor condemning such practices.
It's important to hear both sides of a matter (v.17), otherwise lack of due diligence (or perhaps confirmation bias) will ensure we never change our mind!

Versions:

Today: NIV + The Jewish Bible
Tomorrow: NIV + NAB (a Roman Catholic version)

Challenge:

No slackness!
"Do it now! Today will be yesterday tomorrow."
"Some things have to be put off dozens of times before they completely slip our minds."

Next: Proverbs 19

Proverbs: Chapter 17

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 12 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

It can be painful when the Lord purifies our hearts (v.3). Like gold or silver in the crucible, it is through fire that our hearts change.
V.9 in a more literal version: "One who disregards a fault, one who seeks friendship / One who insists on it, one who loses a companion."
The fool isn't "impressed" with 100 lashes because he doesn't learn from his mistakes (v.10).
Your friend will remember your support in tough times long after he's forgotten your companionship in good times (v.17).
Religious people who practice their faith are healthier than unbelievers, as many studies have shown (v.22).
The undisciplined often hop from one latest great thing to another (v.24). They start projects but rarely complete them. They are susceptible to easy fixes and may be taken in by schemes to part them from their money. Wisdom is found in focusing, not flitting from one thing to another. Alternate translation: "In front of the perceptive: wisdom / but the eyes of a fool, on the ends of the earth."

Challenge:

Learn from my mistakes!
Looking back over our lives, we can see patterns. Better self-awareness and more reflection on why things went wrong when they did will prove invaluable.
"A wise man learns by the mistakes of others. An ordinary man learns by his own mistakes. A fool learns by nobody’s mistakes."

Next: Proverbs 18 (of course).

Proverbs: Chapter 16

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 10 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Judging motives is highly problematic. See John 2:24; 1 Cor 4; Acts 8.
V.3 is wise counsel much more than a promise that God's children always get what they want.
Warning: pride and arrogance are the most serious of sins. Don't take a chance; go our of your way to stay humble / humbled.
V.9 pertains to divine providence.
V.18 is one of the best known biblical proverbs.
Gray hair (v.31) indicates longevity indicates divine blessing indicates upright living. Generally true (not absolutely -- as Job and his friends struggled to understand).
Determination of God's will by lots was practiced by the priests at the Tabernacle / Temple. The last this practice appears in the N.T. is in Acts 1, to make a choice between two candidates for Judas Iscariot's replacement. There is no assurance in the N.T. that this is how we ascertain the Lord's will.

Challenge:

Commit to the Lord our discipline strategy.
We are only asking him to help us to become the persons he wants us to be. In such cases we can move ahead with certainty that God is with us and will help us.
"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." – E. M. Bounds

Next: Prov 17. You are now in the second half of the Disciplined Life series.

Proverbs: Chapter 15

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 7 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

When someone becomes angry with me, I should answer gently, thoughtfully, lovingly.
Abaddon is rendered "destruction" in v.11.
Those who get things done clear the way for productive activity (v.19).
We all need multiple advisers (v.22).

Challenge:

Keep the highway clear.
Deal with clutter, overdue tasks, unpaid bills, follow-up, etc.
"Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways." — Benet (1898-1943)

Version:

Today I read from the paraphrase The Message.
(Note: where Peterson has misunderstood Sheol to mean hell, I changed the word to grave, or some other term more in line with the Hebrew and Israelite theology.)

Tomorrow: Proverbs 16

Proverbs: Chapter 14

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 5 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Productive and counterproductive -- the wise constructs, the foolish destructs (v.1).
Hard work leads to a profit (v.4). Here is the rendering in the Jerusalem Bible: "No oxen, no cattle-feed; stout ox, rich crop." Here the JB, a sensitive and literary translation, captures the feel of the Semitic original.
14:23 contains a similar thought.
Each heart knows its own pains and joys. Be careful with feigning empathy or understanding.
14:12 is a doublet with 16:25.

Version: Today I read from the NIV and the JB.

Challenge:

Value hard work -- and hard workers.
When we feel ourselves being dilatory or procrastinating, think of the person we deeply respect and let his or her example motivate us to follow through!
As someone put it, "Be thankful if your job is a little harder than you like. A razor can’t be sharpened on a piece of velvet." And there's the old Arab adage, "Smooth seas do not make skilled sailors."

Tomorrow: Proverbs 15 (NIV and The Message)

Proverbs: Chapter 13

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 3 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Undisciplined people are usually not good with money things (v.11).
When are hopes are unsatisfied, we may become heartsick (v.12). Be real about how you feel.
Walk with the wise and become wise (v.20). We need people -- help, models, counsel...
The proverb about inheritance (v.22) should not be taken as a law or even an ideal, but as an observation. In western societies inheritances do not mean the difference between life and death -- but between moderate comfort and affluence and extreme comfort and affluence.
What is the "rod" (v.24)? In 23:13-14 it is the instrument of discipline (see Exod 21:20). Perhaps a better translation would be "stick." The Bible forbids abuse, but encourages discipline. As someone wisely put it, "Many juvenile delinquents are youngsters who have been given a free hand -- but not in the proper place." On the other hand, each child is different, and for some corporal punishment is ineffective or even harmful. Once again, we must be careful about absolutizing proverbs.

Bible versions

Each day I have read from the NIV plus one other version.
Today I read from the Septuagint. which as the O.T. -- actually the entire Bible, until the N.T. was written -- of the vast majority of 1st century Christians. My version is A New Translation of the Septuagint, tr. 2007.
In coming days I will be reading from the Jerusalem Bible (a Catholic translation) and also The Message (a paraphrase, not a translation).

Challenge:

Find a disciplined person -- someone strong in an area where you are weak, or someone of integrity whom you respect and who might be able to help you.
Initiate a discussion.
"Most people, when they come for advice, want their opinions strengthened, not corrected." May we as God's people be humble enough to seek out the wise.

Next lesson: Proverbs 14.

Proverbs: Chapter 12

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Hating correction is stupid -- and makes us stupid.
"The wife of noble character" (v.4) -- see 31:10-31.
Prestige purchases that squeeze our normal budget are vain (v.9). Stop trying to make people think you're someone you're not!
Caring for our pets, livestock, or other animals is a godly thing (v.10).
Fantasies -- daydreams -- are the enemy of productive work.
Wise men listen to advice. 15:12 / 12:15.
Showing our annoyance when overlooked, mistreated, insulted, or inconvenienced is not prudent -- nor is it Christlike.
A kind word has great power to lift others' spirits, whether in the workplace, classroom, or church fellowship (v.25).
Inklings of immortality (v.28).

Daily challenge:

"Overlook an insult."
As someone put it, "One of the surest marks of good character is a man’s ability to accept personal criticism without feeling malice toward the one who gives it."

Next Up: Proverbs 13

Proverbs: Chapter 11

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

The Lord detests shady business practices. See Lev 19:15; Deut 25:13-16; Amos 8:5; Prov 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23.
Re: v12: One does not build himself up by tearing others down (also v.9).
V15 and many other proverbs warn us of the dangers of guaranteeing a loan.
People who value money over people -- ruthless, violent types -- may be wealthy, but they are the true losers.
Giving has a reflexive aspect (v17; also 24-25).
There is a good deal of humor in Proverbs, such as v.22.

Challenge: To not deride our neighbor.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 12

Proverbs: Chapter 10

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scholarly background:

This is the first chapter with the typical "Proverbs" flow: a series of many seemingly unconnected adages. Chapters 1-9 are different -- prefatory material laying the foundation for the pearls of wisdom that follow.
The connections between proverbs may be catchwords, similar sounds, related topics, parallel thoughts, etc. These would have been useful mnemonically.
10:1-22:16 are explicitly attributed to Solomon. These 375 Proverbs add up to the name of Solomon (Shlomo) in Hebrew (sh = 300, l = 30, m = 40, w = 5) -- hardly a coincidence.
Proverbs are general observations, usually capturing only one facet of a matter. "It is simply the nature of a proverb to come up short of total reality, and to be in conflict with other sayings" (Roland E. Murphy, Word Biblical Commentary 22: Proverbs).
This chapter is strongly marked by antithetic parallelism.

Some salient points:

How our kids are going affects us deeply, whether through joy or grief (v.1).
Proverbs seldom provide the entire truth on any one topic. V.3 is a good example; sometimes the righteous do go hungry.
Discipline and hard work go together. Slackness is a cause of poverty (vs. 4-5).
Notice the paired opposites throughout the chapter: lazy... diligent, prudent... disgraceful... righteous... wicked, etc.
Walking in integrity means we need not fear being caught out (v.9 -- see 28:1).
There are plenty of verses in the O.T. teaching forgiveness, love, mercy, grace... as in v.12.
When we don't seek, receive, or act on counsel, we affect others negatively (v.15)
V.16 is strikingly similar to Rom 6:23 (though in reverse order).

Challenge: May I be a person of integrity today. Integrity lies at the heart of discipline.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 11

Proverbs: Chapter 9

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Multiple voices vie for our attention.
Wisdom calls us to a banquet. Think about how this connects with Luke 14 (the Parable of the Great Banquet) and Matthew 22 (the Parable of the Wedding Banquet).
There is little point in correcting the mocker / fool / wicked, but the wise will always benefit from input (9:9).
Here we meet the third of the four key women in Proverbs. She is Folly.
We must learn to listen critically, lest she influence us. Christians should be well trained to see through deceptive advertising, and to teach their children to see through the misleading messages of the world.

Daily challenge: To listen critically and to welcome criticism.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 10.

Proverbs: Chapter 8

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Wisdom speaks to all mankind; we are accountable; there is no one on earth out of reach of wisdom's voice.
Repeated emphases in Proverbs: the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom; the superiority of wisdom to silver and gold.
God in his wisdom created and sustains the world. He is plenty smart to take care of us. We should therefore rely on his wisdom, not our own.
Many Christians identify Wisdom in Proverbs 8 with Christ. He is our wisdom (1 Cor 1:30), and through him God created the world (Col 1:15).
To become disciplined people, it will be enormously beneficial to watch at wisd0m's door daily.

Bonus material: Many Proverbs are suited to instructing leaders, especially leaders of nations, beginning in this very chapter. When you read tomorrow's news, appreciate how accurately the Lord has the political pulse. Another biblical book with keen insight into the dynamics of politics is Ecclesiastes. Here is my selection from Proverbs:

By me [the fear of the Lord ] kings reign, and rulers decree what is just -- 8:15
By me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly -- 8:16
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety -- 11:14
In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined -- 14:2
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people -- 14:34
It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness -- 16:12 (see vv.10-13)
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD -- 21:3
Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty -- 22:16
Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel -- 25:4
Take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness -- 25:5
When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue -- 28:2
When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves -- 28:12
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people -- 28:15
A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days -- 28:16
When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase -- 28:28
When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan -- 29:2
By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down -- 29:4
If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked -- 29:12
If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever -- 29:14
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink -- 31:4
Lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted -- 31:5

Challenge for the day:

Make time to watch daily at wisdom's door.
"The vigour of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts." – George Mueller

Next time: Proverbs 9.

Proverbs: Chapter 7

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

"Simple" doesn't mean unintelligent (in IQ), but deficient morally.
Obedience and wisdom keep us from the wayward woman.
The youth was looking for sin, and she found him.
Notice the time of day. Night is falling. It's after working hours.
She entices him and convinces him he won't get caught.
In our sex-saturated society, we need to fortify ourselves before going out into the world!
And we need to stay busy!

Challenge:

Stay busy!
Warning: "Many a man gets a reputation for being energetic when in truth he is merely fidgety."
Imitate the life of Christ.

Next podcast: Proverbs 8.

Proverbs: Chapter 6

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Although generally we need to keep our word, because being a man or woman of our word is a matter of integrity, still there may be times when higher principles require that we break a commitment. In this case, we should press hard until we are free. It's a useful passage for counseling anyone who has made an unwise commitment.
The ant is a great model for us, for her industriousness. Oversleeping is the first act of indiscipline in a day we can commit. We need, therefore, to be especially wary lest we begin the day lazily, and end up being robbed of productivity and joy.
Troublemakers, persons who lack righteous discipline and integrity, are always stirring up dissension. We should be aware that much dissension is only the activity of an undisciplined person to rationalize sinful behavior.
Adultery is a particularly serious sin. Whereas nearly any capital offense in the O.T. could be settled by payment (except for first-degree murder), the adulterer can only look forward to fury and destruction.

Challenge of the day:

May we be self-motivated.
Emulate the ant, starting with the time we get up in the morning.
As someone put it, "Oversleeping is a mighty poor way to make your dreams come true."

Next lesson: Proverbs 7.

Proverbs: Chapter 5

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

The wayward woman is blind to spiritual reality.
We too will join her in spiritual blindness unless we watch our step.
Let's stay as far away from sexual sin as we can! Genesis 39 illustrates the attitude we should have; 2 Samuel 10 illustrates what can happen when we are careless, without a plan and lacking in discipline.
We are all only a few bad choices away from spiritual disaster. Even though we still assemble with the saints, that doesn't mean we're in a good place spiritually. In fact, we could be in great danger!
Our spouse is the one who should meet our sexual needs.
For those married: This means we need to so appreciate them that we refuse to look at someone else's spouse just as we would refuse to share our spouse with anyone else (1 Cor 7).
Sin ruins our discipline just as indiscipline exposes us, making us vulnerable to sin's temptation.
We should live as though we were in the presence of God -- because we are!
In the Lord's eyes, there is no acceptable excuse for indiscipline and the temptation to which it leads; such is folly, the opposite of wisdom.
Indiscipline enslaves. As the ancient Stoic put it, "No man is free who is not master of himself." — Epictetus (60-110 AD)

Challenge of the day:

Today let's stay as far away from sexual sin as possible.
"There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity." -- Tom Peters

Next lesson: Proverbs 6.

Proverbs: Chapter 4

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Training instills obedience. Jesus himself underwent this process (Heb 5:9).
It’s easier to accept guidance from someone who accepts guidance (3:3).
Many years (v.10) isn’t an iron-clad promise. Like most proverbs, it’s a general truth. When we follow God we tend to live longer lives (indicated by gray hair).
We must guide our hearts (v.23) and keep our gaze directly ahead – stay focused! Jesus did, so we should take him as our model.
Final verse: Veering to the right or left means disobeying God’s word. (See Deut 5:32 etc.)

Challenge of the day:

Stay focused.
"One man has enthusiasm for thirty minutes, another for thirty days, but it is the man who has it for thirty years who makes a success of his life." — Butler (1612-1680)

Next lesson: Proverbs 5, the first of three chapters targeting sexual sin.

Proverbs: Chapter 3

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

Keeping the commands in our hearts, or writing them on the tablet of our hearts, isn’t just scripture memory; it’s obedience.
Trusting in the Lord – really letting go – is hard!
Straight paths means not that life is easy, but that we are doing right morally – on the straight and narrow.
Honoring God with our wealth includes resisting materialism. See Amos 6:1-7; Prov 1:19.
Vs. 11-12, cited in Heb 12, encourages us not to take God’s correction lightly or too hard.
The “tree of life,” from Gen 3, reappears four times in Proverbs and 4x in Revelation.
“Watery depths” is the sea beneath the earth (in the ancient cosmology).
3:27-28 are similar to a passage in ch 24.
The final verses: Mocking proud mockers – opposing the proud – but showing favor / grace to the humble (and oppressed) is cited a number of times in the NT.

Challenge of the day: Humility. Let go and let God…

Next lesson: Proverbs 4, another chapter highlighting fundamental heart issues important for developing a disciplined life.

Proverbs: Chapter 2

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 7 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some salient points:

Wisdom is a true treasure.
The Lord wants us to be successful. This depends on our being upright.
Understanding follows having a right attitude.
When knowledge is pleasant to us, we will take joy in learning, meditating, reading...
Notice the contrast in Proverbs between the crooked and the upright. Crooked words, crooked paths, crooked people (2:15; 8:8; 10:9). As C.S. Lewis put it, the crooked are actually "bent" -- not upright. Someone else said "Following the path of least resistance is what makes rivers and men crooked."
Wisdom will keep us from bad company (the group mentioned early in chapter 1).
It will also protect us from the Adulteress -- the 2nd of the key women in Proverbs.
At the end, only those who choose wisely will remain. The wicked have no permanent place.

Challenge of the day: Seek wisdom as a treasure.

Proverbs: Chapter 1

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 5 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some salient points:

Purpose of Proverbs: to help us to get control of our lives, to live wisely for God.
In Proverbs, an older person (parent, teacher, friend) gives counsel to a younger person (son, daughter, pupil)
We must choose wisely whom we associate with.
The undisciplined hope to get something for free--to gain wealth without having to work for it.
There are victimizers and victims, but even the victimizers are victims; sin is reflexive.
Wisdom (a feminine noun in both Hebrew and Greek) calls out, and we should listen to her.
God is generous, and will bring us into his confidence if we respond to the voice of wisdom.
If we do not respond, there will be no one to blame but ourselves.
Fearing the Lord is a choice!
There is no room for complacency. We must take our walk with the Lord seriously!

Challenge of the day:

Don't be complacent. Listen to God's wisdom!
Discern this voice. It may come in counsel, conscience, a class or sermon.

A note about translations:

The first translation, before we highlight some key points, is the NIV (1978--O.T.)
The second translation, before the prayer, is the ESV (2001). (The NIV is the most popular English version in the world. The ESV is more accurate, lying midway between the stricter versions like the NASB and the more informal versions like the NIV.)

Next lesson: Proverbs 2.

Proverbs: A Disciplined Life—Intro & Responses

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 2 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This podcast (8 minutes) will introduce you to the Proverbs Podcast series. This podcast covers the preface to Proverbs (1:1-7), and explains how the thought behind the Disciplined Life series.

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple
    knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
    the sayings and riddles of the wise
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction. -- Proverbs 1:1-7

The Book of Proverbs, the 20th book of Scripture, is perfect for anyone who wants to make a fresh start.
Proverbs are both compact and powerful!
Questions for self:
- Do I begin projects, but not complete them?
- Could I use some help with my key relationships?
- Would I like to listen to God's wisdom on marriage and family?
- Do I overeat -- is this area of my life yet to be brought under the lordship of Christ?
- How about my speech: Do I talk too much? Am I too negative?
- Am I advancing in my career? Perhaps I need more wisdom in my social interactions?
- Do I struggle with any sexual sin?
- Would I like to be wiser or more observant?
- Do I abuse drink?
- Could I use some tips on better managing my employees?
- Are there money issues in my life that need the Lord's discipline?
- Am I impetuous, acting too quickly? or too slowly?
- Am I disorganized?
- Do I easily become over-committed? Do I have a hard time saying no?
- Is there sloth in my life?
- Do I want to become more mature?
Imagine how much you could change in the next month, if you simply focused on the pearls of wisdom that make up Proverbs!
No quick fix, but we can build biblical conviction.
How it works:
- Read chapter
- Comments
- Reread or recap chapter
- Identify a challenge for the day
- Prayer
Ideal for personal devotions. Please consider committing to the entire series.

Responses to the series:

"Simply phenomenal! Thank you for the daily devotional from Proverbs. I find it very helpful personally, and I like the daily challenge, the prayer, and the fact that you read two different versions for opening and closing -- this gives me a pattern for future Bible studies. Well put together."
"I want you to know that every morning my wife and I are listening to the series. It's giving some real structure to our Bible study. Thank you."
"80% of the family group I lead are using the Disciplined Life devotionals. They're great. I thought you'd like to know that."
"I just want to take this time to let you know how grateful I am for you and for the incredible impact the disciplined life series from Proverbs is having on me. I love these lessons. We need this kind of teaching here in Africa!"

"I just want to thank you for putting out the Disciplined Life series! I'm really enjoying it, and it has been such a great help for kicking off the New year with more intention and purpose- and consistency- than how I ended 2015."

"I appreciate the challenges and how relevant they are. They help me see better how to relate a proverb to my life, as sometimes I can acknowledge the general wisdom but not see the practical implication for me personally... Thank you also for doing so humbly and for often sharing the vulnerable things that you are learning in your own life."

Current Issues: The American Civil War

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Things mentioned in this podcast:

The American Civil War (1861-1865)--over 600,000 dead.
The incongruity of brothers killing brothers! Nearly all denominations urged the killing of soldiers on the other side.
The Restoration Movement was exceptional in not dividing (though there was still a negative impact). Nearly all the RM leaders were pacifists.
Luther: okay to kill unless you know it's a fellow Christian. (Isn't this backwards?)
Not allowed to sue a brother (1 Corinthians 6). So would we be allowed to kill him? If we cannot hate our enemies (Matthew 5), can we hate our brothers in Christ?
Romans 12:12-21.
Mark Twain (1835-1910): War Prayer (available in many places in the public domain) an incisive and biting rebuke of militant Christianity.
If this podcast inbtrigues you, be sure also to hear Law, Allegiance, Revolution.

Current Issues: The War Prayer (Twain)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here is Mark Twain's The War Prayer, published in 1916, six years after the great humorist's death (13 minutes).

This piece is in the public domain. Douglas' podcast includes a few opening comments, the Prayer in full, and a brief conclusion.

Current Issues: Abortion, Conception & the Beginning of Human Life

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1 Introduction

What does the Bible say on the subject of abortion? In fact, no scriptures address the subject head-on. This is curious, because abortion and exposure of unwanted infants were common in the ancient world. Various poisons were administered to induce abortions. Several ancient texts related to abortion and exposure of infants:

The Hippocratic Oath forbade abortions: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art” (c.400 BC). There would be little need to forbid them if they were unknown or not performed by some physicians.
"Ah, women, why do you dig out your child with sharp instruments and administer harsh poisons to your children as yet unborn?... Neither the tigress has done this in the jungles of Armenia, nor has the lioness had the heart to destroy her unborn young. Tender woman does it, though, but does not go unpunished. Often she who slays her own in her uterus dies herself."—Ovid (43 BC-17 AD), Loves 2.14.27-38.
Exposure: "If you chance you bear a child, if it is male, let it live. If it is female, throw it out."—Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 744 (a text from ancient Egypt, dated to 1 BC).

While early Christians were vocal in their opposition to abortion (see ¶3), the scriptures typically referenced are far from conclusive. Principles may be adduced, such as the injunction against murder, but it seems circular to define abortion as murder in order to settle the question of its morality. Might there be exceptions? If there are, then a universal prohibition is not possible.

Most Bible students believe life starts at conception, based on the poetry of Job 10:8-12; Psalm 139:13-16; and Jeremiah 1:5. If they are right, then any abortion is tantamount to killing. But did God intend poems to be mined for literalistic doctrine? Not likely. Consider Psalm 139:13-16.

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalms are poetry. We were not literally “knitted,” nor were we woven “in the depths of the earth.” The psalm clearly affirms that life begins before birth; it does not establish the time of that first moment of that life.

In Matthew 1:18-20, Joseph is told that Mary was "with child," and about this child, "What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” This gives stronger support for the idea that conception is the point of the beginning of life. But even here we might wish for clearer testimony. An omniscient God knows the future, and so can easily have a providential view of our entire existence, even before we have a soul.

What about Exodus 21:22-23?

22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely [or has a miscarriage] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life…

This passage is capable of two translations: miscarriage or premature birth. Here the penalty for causing an abortion or miscarriage was a fine, not the death penalty, as if the baby were already born. Although I am not pro-abortion, I hold that the Bible appears to recognize some differences between a baby already born and one still in the womb.

In the absence of direct, explicit, crystal-clear scriptural teaching on abortion, it may be fruitful to ponder the following questions. Try to answer them honestly.

2 Questions for thought

The fertilization process requires many hours, and is followed by another day in which the individual (diploid) is formed. In what sense is the mother-to-be pregnant before the process is complete?
Is the loss of a 16-cell embryo equal to the loss of a full-term fetus?
Up until two weeks, the zygote can split into twins, triplets, and so on. The process of individuation is still incomplete. Can a soul be shared three ways?
The baby's heart starts beating after 22 days. Does life begin with the heartbeat?
The sex of the embryo is not determined until the seventh week. Accordingly, many Muslims and Jews consider the embryo to be fully human only after 40 days. (Though I interpret the Muslim Hadith of Bukhari 4.549 to indicate ensoulment at 40 or 120 days.) Do Jews and Muslims value life less than Christians?
All the organs are formed by the end of the first eight weeks of gestation. Yet recognizable EEG patterns (the mental activity associated with humanity) don’t appear until 24 weeks. What are the implications? Is it possible that the individual becomes fully human on a continuum?
Continuous brainwaves do not begin until about 28 weeks. Until then, the neurons carrying pain impulses to the brain are not yet fully wired. What are the implications? (On the other end of life, at what point does the spirit depart from the body? At the cessation of brain activity?)
Is abortion allowable if this is the only way to save the mother’s life?

3 Historical Christian viewpoints

Views on abortion have varied through the course of history.

“You shall not murder a child by abortion” is a command found in early 2nd-century sources Barnabas 19:5 and the Didache 2:2.
Late 2nd century apologist Tertullian wrote, "It does not matter whether you take away a life that is born or destroy one that is coming to birth. In both instances, the destruction is murder" (Apol. 9.4).
Augustine too spoke of the sin of aborting a human life, referring to "the murder of an unborn child" (On Marriage, 1.17.15, about 400 AD). Yet he believed in delayed ensoulment (Enchiridion 85). Jerome held to a similar position: “The seed gradually takes shape in the uterus, and it [abortion] does not count as killing until the individual elements have acquired their external appearance and their limbs” (Letter to Aglasia). The church fathers of the East, on the other hand, tended to view ensoulment as simultaneous with conception.
An Anglo-Saxon (Old English) document found at Canterbury, referring to the fetus, reads “… In the third month he is a man, except for the soul” (Anglo-Saxon Prose, Michael Swanton, tr. London: J. M. Dent, 1993), 263.
Gratian, a Canon Law jurist, decreed in 1140, "He who procures an abortion before the soul is infused into the body is not a homicide” (Concordia discordantium canonum, Decretum, Ad. c8, C. XXXII, q.2.).
In the High Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas believed that the rational soul [many souls] is infused by God into the body at 40 days for males and 90 days for females. – John Haldane and Patrick Lee, “Aquinas on Human Ensoulment, Abortion and the Value of Life,” Philosophy 78 (2003), 255-8.
As Anthony Joseph concluded, "American abortion law today is vastly less protective of the unborn than the civil law tradition of medieval Europe" ("The Crime of Abortion & the Middle Ages," in The City, Houston Baptist University, Winter 2015, 86.
Modern scholar Richard Swinburne suggests that the soul does not function until about 20 weeks after conception (The Evolution of the Soul [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987], esp. ch. 8).

4 Conscience and Consistency

Whatever believers think about this important subject should be consistent, informed by science and theology, and moderated by conscience.

2% of abortions result from rape, incest, or the mother's life being threatened by the pregnancy (so Charles Camosy, author of Beyond the Abortion Wars). This would mean 98% of abortions are performed because the pregnancy is inconvenient. The fact is important because abortion is often defended as a standard practice because of its potential desirability in extreme situations.
Antiabortionists are inconsistent when they are pro-life in regard to an embryo or fetus but anti-life when calling for the execution of the abortionist. On the other side, abortionists are inconsistent when they affirm that a fetus is fully human (when they approve of the pregnancy) and that it’s at the mother’s disposal (as part of her body). Is it human, or not? If it’s a baby before it’s born, it must not be cast off. Otherwise, on what grounds could eliminating a one-year-old baby be rejected as murder?
Attacking or killing physicians who perform abortions is hardly the way to underscore the sanctity of life.
Some feminists observe that legalized abortion does less to emancipate women than to empower irresponsible men. Good point.

5 Conclusions

Life clearly begins before birth, and so I hold that abortion of a living human, a viable fetus, is murder. Yet at which point does the pre-human become a person? Could this take place on a continuum? So it seems to me, as to a number of ancient and modern thinkers.
If the fetus is viable outside the womb, it seems impossible to distinguish abortion from murder. Even in case of rape, it is far from clear that the child should be punished / aborted for the actions of an adult (the rapist).
Conservative Bible-believers range from forbidding abortion in nearly all cases to opposing it in all cases—quite a narrow range, when you think about it.
Of course the Lord is pro-life, yet he also wants us to make a right choice. Choose our words wisely; choose our battles wisely; pray for the Lord to make up the difference at any point where we may be defective in our knowledge, relatability to others, or Christ-like compassion.
While I am pro-life, I am not advocating any specific governmental policy. Like many, I'm acutely uncomfortable when governmental "experts" attempt to regulate every aspect of our private lives (education, ethics, religion, and other personal choices).
There is no doubt that abortion creates a tremendous load of guilt. Therefore this is one subject we should discuss with wisdom and love.
- Abortion is a sensitive issue. While holding to biblical conviction—uncompromisingly—still we need to behave and speak with genuine concern for others.
- This is probably not suitable for a small group Bible discussion. Advice for preachers: sensitivity when tempted to publicly call abortion "murder."
- As we deal with all matters of personal interest to those we hope to reach, students of the word should strive to:
Take a stand on the truth. Know the facts.
Be silent where the Bible is silent. Don't create laws, even when they seem wise, without full biblical warrant (Colossians 2:22).
Present the gospel message in a gracious spirit (Colossians 4:5-6).

Current Issues: Stem Cells

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Stem Cell Research (SCR) is an area of medical ethics.
The issues are complicated because of the science, and also difficult because the Bible does not address scientific or medical issues directly.
What are stem cells? "Stem cells are the body's raw materials — cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated. Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells, called daughter cells. These daughter cells either become new stem cells (self-renewal) or become specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle, or bone. Stem cells are unique — no other cell in the body has the natural ability to generate new cell types."
The NIH has invested more than $500 million in human embryonic stem-cell research.
A research law passed by Congress in May 2011 gave the Obama administration the go-ahead to continue funding embryonic stem-cell research. Other presidential administrations had been resisting this research.

Two poles of opinion re: Embryonic SCR

For: "Support SCR if you care about disease." Paid ethicists may regard pre-implantation embryo as a clump of cells, not a person. ESCR touted as a panacea. Such a position disrespects the views of nearly all world religions. It also exaggerates the current success of ESCR, which are negligible.
Against: Conservative believers (esp.) hold that personhood begins at fertilization or conception. Psalm 139 gives us a “divinely inspired ultrasound." Oppose research if we're "playing God." Such reasoning has been used to oppose counseling, surgery, and science in general. Was Psalm 139 (as poetry) intended to give us scientific data about human life? Are those who oppose SCR against all SCR, or only against ESCR?
It’s not that simple; beware those who oversimplify.

Two sources for SC

Embryo, amniotic fluid, fetus, umbilicus, placenta. More than 400,000 fertilized ova are in cold storage.
ASC: can obtain from brain, lung, breast, liver, pancreas, tooth pulp, bone marrow – even adipose tissue.
We don't have to settle the difficult metaphysical issues in order to talk intelligently about scientific research.

Risks

ESC: Obtained from IV fertilizations (at about day 3) -- destroys the embryo. Risk of rejection; risk of tumors.
ASC: Obtained from adult (or from one's own body) -- reduction of rejection or tumorigenesis.

What works?

Adult stem cells far more successful than embryonic. Ease of procurement.
The technology is in its infancy, yet (as of time of this podcast), 514 clinical trials -- all with ASC, none with ESC.
ASCs have scores of over 60 therapies, ESC have none that I am aware of.
Applications: Leukemia, multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, solid tumors, sarcomas, testicular cancer, brain tumors, retinoblastoma, breast cancer, neuroblastoma, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, renal cell cancer, autoimmune diseases.
IPSs (induced pluripotent stem cells) have eclipsed ESCs in terms of value because of lower cost, greater ease of production, and problems originating in genetic identity of the patient.
In financial terms, so far, ESCR has yielded a poor return.

Conclusions

At the present, ASCR is far more promising than ESCR.
Fine to have a position, but be willing to suspend while evaluating evidence.
If you don’t understand the science, admit it’s beyond you--be humble.
1. Some Christians I talk to admit they don’t understand.
2. Others are dogmatic, yet it’s clear they haven’t any idea what the scientific evidence is behind their opinion.
In any SC discussion we need to distinguish whether we’re talking about ESC or ASC.
If you believe that life starts at fertilization and are contemplating medical intervention for pregnancy, or are discussing the issues with others, think carefully about your words and decisions. Will left-over eggs will be frozen and then destroyed? Or frozen, and later experimented on? Maybe implant all the eggs, or maybe hold off for now.
We need a robust Christian ethic that recognizes God’s boundaries and values.
Christians need to engage theologically in the issues of our day, not sit it out.
1. Worst to have an ill-informed opinion!
2. Actually better to have no opinion.
3. But best to have an informed opinion.

Further

Podcast on Abortion (as this site)
Dr. Oz on Oprah, click here.
Presidential debate at Saddleback. Click here.

Current Issues: Escape – Lesson 4 – Computer and Internet Behaviors

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

ESCAPE: Lesson 4 of 4.

Douglas Jacoby and Steve Brand have joined forces to teach a series called ESCAPE. Steve Brand is a professional counselor and expert on addictive behaviors. Here’s the provisional plan:

The psychology and neurochemistry of pain, escape, and addiction. Focus: marijuana, alcohol, pain medication.
Alternate fictional reality. Focus: movies, novels, worlds of gaming, TV.
Fantasy proxy relationships. Focus: pornography.
Computer and internet behaviors. Focus: gambling, shopping, surfing, smartphones.

The importance of not being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2), or falling prey to the many tempting avenues of “escape”.

Current Issues: Escape – Lesson 3 – Fantasy Proxy Relationships

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

ESCAPE: Lesson 3 of 4.

Douglas Jacoby and Steve Brand have joined forces to teach a series called ESCAPE. Steve Brand is a professional counselor and expert on addictive behaviors. Here’s the provisional plan:

The psychology and neurochemistry of pain, escape, and addiction. Focus: marijuana, alcohol, pain medication.
Alternate fictional reality. Focus: movies, novels, worlds of gaming, TV.
Fantasy proxy relationships. Focus: pornography.
Computer and internet behaviors. Focus: gambling, shopping, surfing, smartphones.

The importance of not being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2), or falling prey to the many tempting avenues of “escape”.

Current Issues: Escape – Lesson 2 – Alternate Fictional Reality

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

ESCAPE: Lesson 2 of 4.

Douglas Jacoby and Steve Brand have joined forces to teach a series called ESCAPE. Steve Brand is a professional counselor and expert on addictive behaviors. Here's the provisional plan:

The psychology and neurochemistry of pain, escape, and addiction. Focus: marijuana, alcohol, pain medication.
Alternate fictional reality. Focus: movies, novels, worlds of gaming, TV.
Fantasy proxy relationships. Focus: pornography.
Computer and internet behaviors. Focus: gambling, shopping, surfing, smartphones.

The importance of not being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2), or falling prey to the many tempting avenues of "escape".

A friend writes in with a pertinent quote:

"Technology offers even more examples. Video-game players get into flow so frequently that Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas have become the most widely accepted theoretical framework for explaining the lure of the joystick. Studies have shown that the amount of flow generated by a video game directly correlates to everything from player engagement to overall product success. In fact, as Dr. Erik Gregory, the executive director of the Media Psychology Research Center, wrote in 2007: 'Placing players in flow is the key to video gaming’s universal appeal.'

Meanwhile, for Internet surfers, researchers have found flow the secret ingredient to almost every aspect of online experience. Both website slipperiness (the ease with which we enter and exit an online experience) and website stickiness (how certain sites hold our attention) are influenced by the state. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found that from the marketing side of this coin, online flow experiences attract customers, mitigate price sensitivity, and positively influence subsequent buying behaviors."

- Kotler, Steven (2014-03-04). The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance (p. 98). New Harvest. Kindle Edition.

Current Issues: Escape – Lesson 1 – Pain, Escape, Addiction

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

ESCAPE, Lesson 1 of 4: Douglas Jacoby and Steve Brand have joined forces to teach a series called ESCAPE. Steve Brand is a professional counselor and expert on addictive behaviors. The series explores addictive substances and behaviors and what God's word has to say about them. There are four lessons in the series. Here's the provisional plan:

The psychology and neurochemistry of pain, escape, and addiction. Focus: marijuana, alcohol, pain medication.
Alternate fictional reality. Focus: movies, novels, worlds of gaming, TV.
Fantasy proxy relationships. Focus: pornography.
Computer and internet behaviors. Focus: gambling, shopping, surfing, smartphones.

The series tackles the importance of not being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2), or falling prey to the many tempting avenues of "escape."

Addendum 1 (from Sept/Oct 2014 issue of Does God Exist?, used with the permission of John Clayton):

POT LEGALIZATION. One of the most dramatic changes in American social views is the new attitude towards marijuana. At the time of this article 21 states and the District of Columbia sanction medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington have now legalized recreational marijuana. There are wild claims made by both the supporters and detractors of marijuana, but in the June 14, 2014, issue of Science News some basic facts are listed (page 17). Marijuana affects the amygdala of the brain, causing altered emotional states. (The amygdala performs a primary role in processing memory, decision-making, and emotional reactions.) Marijuana reduces motor activity in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain which is associated with voluntary motor movements, eye movements, procedural learning, and cognition. Marijuana also affects the brain's cerebellum, causing impaired coordination. It alters cortex thinking, making it hard to pay attention or switch quickly between two tasks. Another part of the brain affected by marijuana is an area critical to short-term and long-term memory, the hippocampus. This makes memory less efficient, making it harder to learn and remember new information. The hypothalamus, which controls hunger, among other things, is stimulated by marijuana, increasing appetite and creating the “munchies” effect. It also targets the nucleus accumbens, which plays an important role in pleasure, causing the pot user to want to use it again. In spite of claims to the contrary, marijuana can be addictive. Ten percent of users become dependent. We are reminded of the need to take care of the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). Source: Science News, June 14, 2014, pages 17.

Addendum 2 (based on frequent questions submitted to this website): If everything God created is good, including the plants (Genesis 1), then why can't we enjoy marijuana? The many plants that the Lord created include the poisonous as well as the health-giving. Of course, everything God created is good. How about lava? Common sense dictates that we keep our distance from some things.

Current Issues: Who's Fat

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures cited:

1 Samuel 4:18 -- Eli overweight
1 Samuel 2:29 -- the real issue was spiritual
1 Samuel 2:12-17 -- his sons were affected, too
Judges 3:17, 21-22 -- Eglon
Amos 4:1 -- sins of the rich oppressors
James 5:5
Ezekiel 16:49
1 Corinthians 4:4
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 -- body the temple of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1 -- limiting freedoms for sake of others and glory of God (see 8:1-11:1)
Galatians 5:23 -- self-control a fruit of the Spirit
Proverbs 23:2 -- take drastic measures if you will eat inappropriately! (admittedly out of context)
There is no scripture dictating the ideal body shape or body weight. What is "fat" is partly a matter of perception, culture, or fashion.

Reasons to stay trim:

Our bodies are temples of the Spirit; self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.
Our example to others (including children); we don't want anything to impede the gospel.
Respect for those who have nothing -- those who struggle to eat at all.

Current Issues: Black Panther

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

In April someone asked me if I'd seen Black Panther. I had heard of it, but admitted I wasn't particularly interested in yet another superhero movie. "I'll probably watch it once it comes out on the airplane," I replied. Yet on learning the film featured a black superhero -- possibly the first ever -- and had touched some emotional chords among many African Americans, I knew I needed to see it. This is an important film -- and one reason I needed to watch it was that I am not an African American. There are some things I simply don't get.

As it turned out, in May I was able to watch Black Panther on a flight to Japan. (Even on the small screen, the movie was riveting.) I took copious notes. I watched it a second time (without the sound) on a flight from Atlanta to San Antonio. It's truly a superb film. But let me digress for a moment.

Detour: Black Lightning
Poking around the worldwide web, I quickly found another black superhero. He is Black Lightning, a winsome and modest school principal with superpowers. But this DC Comics creation isn't recent; Black Lightning came out way back in 1977 -- the last time it snowed in the Bahamas, and the year I became a Christian. The television series Black Lightning came out in 2018. As one reviewer put it,

It is a disturbingly familiar scene: a black motorist standing outside his car on a rainy night, arguing with the white police officer who has pulled him over for seemingly no reason. As this moment plays out in the opening minutes of “Black Lightning,” the CW series based on that DC superhero, the motorist in question is Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), who stepped back from his role as a crime-fighting vigilante to focus on his civilian identity as a high-school principal and father to two teenage daughters. Just when his roadside confrontation is about to cross a dangerous threshold, Pierce closes his eyes. When he reopens them, his pupils glow with angry electricity… Click to continue reading the New York Times article. For more on the important cultural issues highlighted in the Black Lightning series, click here.

This is very well done -- I was hooked, with at least enough interest to view the entire first season (13 episodes). Then I found more superheroes of color... and more... We took this detour to note that there are numerous black superheroes (even if I was clueless as to their existence) -- not to mention superheroes of other complexions and ethnicities. See the bullet points at the end of this article for a complete list. For now, back to Black Panther.

Vibranium & Wakanda
Long ago a meteor containing a special element, vibranium, struck West Africa. As a result, there is a mountain full of vibranium, which has been mined for centuries -- and yet they are only just scratching the surface. Because of the unique and near-miraculous properties of vibranium, the people mining it, the country of Wakanda, become a highly advanced civilization -- more advanced than any of the developed nations of the world. Some of the many cool special effects of Black Panther are bulletproof suits, aircraft like spaceships, holographic telephones, and super-advanced medicine (e.g., bullet wounds healed 100s of times faster than normal).

Yet fearing what might happen if other nations also possessed vibranium, they hide their secret from the outside world, in order to safeguard their source of power. Their warrior-king becomes the first Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda. (For more about the plot and characters, click here.)

Black Panther has all the elements of a great film. There are some aspects that are not realistic. For instance, the Northern Lights are visible in West Africa. (But, hey, this was fun!) Wakanda itself has been cobbled together from multiple (continental) African cultures, languages, and geographical regions of Africa (which probably broadened its appeal).

Beneath the surface
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I was conscious of a layer of dialogue -- sometimes just small nuances -- passing below me:

When T'Challa's uncle comes to the US, he observes US how blacks were being treated. He is indignant! From childhood up, I have certainly witnessed plenty of mistreatment and injustice.
T'Challa’s sister calls Everett Frost, a CIA agent, a “colonizer.” Anyone who knows the history of Africa, especially in the past 125 years, has a different view of the western powers.
Wakanda was in a position to liberate the two billion people "who look like us."

When T'Challa's rival for the throne, N'Jadaka (Killmonger), is mortally wounded, T’Challa says that maybe he can be healed. N'Jadaka replies (I am quoting from memory): "Why? So you can just lock me up? Just bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from ships 'cause they knew that death was better than bondage." I thought of films like Amistad, and books like Uncle Tom's Cabin, which depict the horror of chattel slavery.
The film ends with a question about black identity: "Who are you?" In other words, Who am I? Will I do what is right? What is meaningful? Or will I only react to how I have been treated? Great questions all.
I noticed these salient points -- perhaps I could write an essay -- but I confess I did not feel much. (Knowing the history of an oppressed people is a good start, but it hardly puts the reader on the inside.) Since I am an "outsider," I asked three friends for their take. The first two are African-American; the third is married to an African-American. (I also spoke to several more friends from Africa, Asia, and Europe, but I thought the following responses were the most thoughtful.)

Joey Harris, CEO & Consultant, Aeron IT Consulting, Augusta, Georgia
Michelle Wright, Anchor and Morning Reporter for WSB Radio, Atlanta
Michael Burns, Teaching Minister, Minneapolis-St. Paul Church of Christ -- with a special ministry as a popular speaker on racial issues.

What my friends thought -- and felt:

Joey responds:

"I appreciated the (typically intra-community) themes of the various ways of resisting colonialism represented by Wakanda (isolationism) and Killmonger (armed resistance/revenge/militancy), as well as the larger themes of Wakanda protecting the world from their advanced technology (isolationism) vs. sharing their knowledge and technology with the rest of the world. I enjoyed the way their decision was portrayed at the end of the film, and again at the first of the two post-credit scenes.

As an African-American, it was refreshing to see a representation of an African country free from the effects of colonialism with a multicultural (pan-African), religiously pluralistic, multiethnic society which fused traditional aesthetics and values with ultramodern technology, without surrendering their unique cultural identity. I especially enjoyed the way that women and men were portrayed as equal partners in all aspects of society. And yet the traditional respect of elders, authority, and society were maintained in ways which still fit well with modern society and technology. Even the user interfaces of the technology were done in very believable and African ways.

I liked the way they protected their society (and the world from their technology) by having an outer, 'public' Wakanda— the portrayal of the Wakanda marketplace was also very believable, with the streets milling with people, shopping, eating, transacting business, etc—and a hidden, shielded, 'true' Wakanda.

Directorially, I loved the way that Coogler managed such a large cast and gave everyone—not just the main, titular character—important roles and screen time. I also enjoyed how General Okoye and her husband were on opposite sides politically, but able to maintain their relationship in the face of strongly opposing views. The women in general were strong characters. (Okoye, N’kia, the Dora Milaje, the Queen -- and of course, T'Challa’s little sister, Shuri, was 'the world's smartest living person.') (In Avengers, it’s Infinity War; they make it clear she is much smarter than both Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.) Yet she is still a (teen? early twenties?), a normal, fun-loving young woman in other respects.

The villain was truly tragic. He had a valid point about injustice, but a wrong way of reacting/dealing with it. Yet I was struck by how humble T’Challa was, sparing his opponents (the other tribal chieftain and Killmonger), as well as wanting to collaborate with people and nations wherever possible. Getting to the heart of things, T’Challa admits that he and his ancestors were wrong to isolate Wakanda with protectionist policies, hiding the true nature of the country’s advancements. The Wakandans ultimately decide to share their knowledge and take concrete steps to do so as soon as the decision had been made—a blessing for the world."

Michelle weighs in:

"Black Panther stirred me... It was fantastic. As many have said, it was nice to see 'people who looked like me' on the screen—both protagonists and antagonists. It was so good to see personal differences, not just differences of skin color. The acting was superb, and the effects fantastic. It truly made me proud (in an honored, not prideful way). The movie opened up discussions not just between American blacks and whites, but also between American blacks and African blacks.

There were a lot of deep, deep things in this superhero flick. There are so many layers dealing with so many things: economic disparity (Compton v. Wakanda), lack of exposure, the death/killing of black fathers which leaves many black sons fatherless and trying to figure out what to do, concealing of talents/resources, and hiding who we really are (for fear of exploitation). A truly amazing movie!"

Michael comments:

"My boys were very excited to go see Black Panther, so we went. Here are my thoughts.

1. Black Panther is an important movie about black identity in America. I've had people ask me before why it is okay for black people to say that they are proud to be black while it seems not okay for whites to say they are proud to be white. The answer to that has to do with identity. White is a category of social construct that has always been, at its core, about power and control. It's a fluctuating category that didn't always include Italians, Slavs, Irish, and others, while no one has a problem saying they’re proud of being Scottish or German or Greek. While these ethnic identities should never trump our identity in Christ, they can be fun but important pieces of who we are. After all, identity was in Christ. He saw no superiority in his ethnic identity, but he still identified with being Jewish, viewing the Jews as his people. But black Americans don't have that ethnic and cultural identity. It was stripped away from them. They can't say I'm proud to be Igbo, or Zulu or Xhosa. They only thing they have is to confirm pride in being black. We did a DNA test for my wife recently, and she found out that she is most predominantly Nigerian. There was something important about that to her, I think. It doesn't matter in terms of her being in Christ, but it does matter. Galatians 3:28 doesn’t deny there are differences between male and female, slave and free—only that in Christ—at the foot of the cross, as it’s often said—we all stand on even ground.

That's where Black Panther becomes so important. Most African Americans don't have those roots and identity. Wakanda is a mythical place but it was never colonized, it was never enslaved, and it embodies all kinds of African culture. It is the dream. And because so many black Americans don't have that ancestral identity, Wakanda seems like the perfect symbol. It gives them an identity. This is why, I think, so many have latched on to it. For that reason, I think it was a really important movie for many. It connected them with something they want, even if they haven't always known they wanted it—an identity. This identity of course is a secondary identity for those in Christ, but still an important one.

2. The character of Kilmonger is both fascinating and nuanced. In the end, his philosophy is embraced as correct; T'Challa changes his mind. Kilmonger felt it was wrong for Wakanda to turn its eye inward and ignore the injustice imposed on the rest of Africa. He was right. But I see an important piece of social commentary under the surface with this character. He allowed his bitterness towards these injustices to boil over, becoming a weapon of revenge. In so doing, he was destroyed by the very injustice. Wakanda had ignored the oppressed, but they had survived. They would now turn to help others, but on their terms. That's very powerful social commentary. That leads into the next observation.

3. The movie gets at the very real social pressure put on African Americans when they have "made it" somehow. They must deplete their own resources, at least according to the community, by giving back what they can to family members and others. My wife has felt an enormous pressure from this and the constant requests and expectations to pay for everything, to help, to take care of others. These can be difficult waters to navigate. Should they indiscriminately help because that is their obligation? Should they start over with their own generation and give to the next, yet realize they simply cannot save everyone else? Should they help but on their own limited terms? Difficult questions to answer.

4. Black Panther does a brilliant job of capturing the tension between Africans and African Americans. I've met many African disciples living in the United States who tell me that when they moved here as teens their African parents told them to stay away from African Americans because they were no good. They have really had to struggle with their prejudices since becoming Christians. The movie doesn't overtly address those issues, but it is there under the surface in a very real way.

Those are just a few thoughts that I have had initially. Oh, and the big fight scene in the final third of the film dragged on and was a bit gratuitous, but I guess that's Marvel films for ya :-)."

Bonus (not included in the podcast):

An African response: "It is a nice movie, although after watching a few productions from Marvel and DC, it was not exhilarating enough for me... The plot, with the conflict in the two generations of Wakanda kings and their relatives, is a great script, though.

I always find the fake African accent of Americans funny. The addition of the South African actors brought some authenticity. The portrayal of an Africa that does not have much to offer to the world is not something some Africans take lightly. I know there are many Africans still who prefer it that way so that handouts continue coming, but it is a wrong view of Africa. A major part of the movie portrays an Africa fully able to take care of itself, using its own natural resources. I like this; frankly, I wish most Africans (and the world) could see and believe that we have enough to take care of ourselves and help the world!

I like the strong sense of identity and loyalty that comes out from among those who stand with Wakanda. This is the heart of many Africans, and things like these excite me and remind me how committed and loyal our hearts can and should actually be toward our God.

The picture also had some realistically familiar African settings, like that village on the mountains with people on horses and walking around in blankets. It looked and felt like Lesotho [in Southern Africa]. Which brings a funny twist: the clothes of the men look like they are from today's Lesotho, while and the women soldiers look like West African warriors of years gone by. Much of the language used is also familiar. I may be mistaken because of the close similarities in languages, but I think it is Zulu. Overall, the movie is more representative of Southern Africa than it is of other parts of Africa. That is my opinion." -- Rapula Malejane, Botswana [Southern Africa]

Spiritual growth opportunities

If you're still holding out, watch Black Panther.
Appreciate the biblical points of the film. For example:

- Reject racial stereotypes.
- Share, don’t hoard.
- Engage, don’t withdraw.
- Human anger does not bring about God’s will.
- Some character embody "godly" wisdom, others "earthly" wisdom (see James 3). [Selected scriptures read from James 3-4.]

Talk to friends about how the film impacted them.
And if you are a majority race member (white), especially if you live in the U.S.:

Read literature by prominent blacks (e.g. W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk).
Read John Howard Griffin’s Black Like Me.
Learn about more black superheroes.

Read Michael Burns’s Crossing the Line: Culture, Race, and Kingdom.
Embrace forgiveness, patience, and reconciliation—not bitterness, anger, and agitation.

Current Issues: Slavery and the Bible

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

North American slavery had precedents in the Arab slave trade, though slavery throughout human history was hardly limited to Africa.
- 400 years' duration, 4 million dying in the middle passage.
- "Enslavement is almost ubiquitous in human history. What made Atlantic slavery unique was its vast, industrial scale, its racial determinism, and its absolute nature, in which slaves' legal status was hardly distinct from that of animals" (Alex Ryrie, Protestants: The Faith that Made the Modern World [New York: Viking, 2016], 184).
American Civil War.
Racism still an ugly issue in the United States.
- "Slavery was abolished in Great Britain in 1807 and in all the British Empire by 1833. In the revolutionary U.S. it would not happen until the 1860's, and at a cost of at least 618,000 lives and the destruction of much of the South. Staggering. Can we really argue for 'American Exceptionalism?'" (Tom Jones)
- The Jim Crow laws persisted in the United States through 1968, in effect impeding the rights of citizenship for Black Americans, even after the Civil Rights Act and the legal right to vote.
And slavery still exists globally (girls are abducted to become sex slaves [Asia], and boys to become child soldiers [Africa]).
Does the Bible support slavery, a thoroughly demeaning, dehumanizing institution? Slavers quoted the Scriptures to support their inhumane practices. Yet American chattel slavery was very different from slavery in the ancient world. As we shall soon see, Antebellum slavery provides a false analogy.

Slavery in the Ancient World

Became slaves because of poverty or war, often by personal choice. Usually they were not kidnapped; they entered servitude in other ways.
Not permanent.
- Hope of eventual emancipation.
- Indentured servants paid off debts.
Slaves possessed some legal rights.
- Due process.
- Right to own their own slaves.
Not racially based:
- Only one's clothing indicated his status as a slave.
- Not the color of his skin!
Not socially based.
- Not necessarily lowest rung of society. Not necessarily degrading. Could in fact be upgrading. Consider Joseph, promoted under Potiphar and Pharaoh.
- Could own property, lead a normal family life, and sometimes even participate in the same clubs as their masters!
- Easiest for city slaves, then farm slaves, and hardest for those working in the mines, or even as prostitutes.
Not necessarily menial positions.
- Civil service, doctors, nurses, accountants, writers.
- Some famous ex-slaves in the ancient world: Felix (Acts 23-24), Aesop (5th century BC), Patrick (5th century AD).
- Sometimes freed because their labor was cheaper when the master wasn't paying room & board.
Around the first century they were so often freed that Augustus Caesar made a law that none could be freed before the age of 30.
Obviously if this is slavery, it has far less in common with the North American variety than we ever imagined.

Slavery and the O.T.

Dignity: regulating an inferior work arrangement, not idealizing it.
- Anti-kidnapping laws. Amos and other prophets spoke of the evil of human trafficking.
- Anti-harm laws: Freedom for bodily abuse. Exodus 21:20, 26! No other ancient law holds master accountable for treatment of his slaves. Code of Hammurabi permitted master to slice off disobedient slave’s ear. Law held master’s to account for their own servants, not just someone else’s. Exodus 21:6-7.
- Hittite laws – fines for sheltering runaways. Hammurabi: death for abetting runaways. But slaves were still just property. Babylon: returned slaves were branded, ears slit…. Anti-return laws – Deuteronomy 23:15-16.
- Laws in favor of the poor, e.g. automatic debt cancellation.
- Deuteronomy 15:4,11 – God did not desire poverty or servitude.
Hebrew slavery was an oasis of liberty compared to typical slavery among the pagans.
- In other law codes in the Ancient Near East, this subject is dealt with at the end, but in Exodus it follows the Decalogue immediately. Direct connection between righteousness before God and righteous dealings with our fellow man.
- Slaves were to be set free if master knocked a tooth out. Human rights.
- Indentured servitude (Exodus 21 – dramatic improvement over slavery). Servitude existed because poverty existed.
- Slaves freed in the 7th year, though with the option to make the slave relationship permanent.
- Suboptimal (Nehemiah 5).
- Re: Exodus 21:9 ("He shall deal with her as a daughter"): "She is virtually his foster-child. The old Chinese custom of buying a slave-girl, as wife for the son in days to come, is an exact parallel. Probably the origin of the custom was the same in either case: to avoid paying a higher bride-price at a later age, and to rear the future daughter-in-law within the family, ensuring that she 'fitted in'. Such an attitude to slaves abolishes slavery, except in name" (R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction & Commentary, in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, IVP, 1973).
- Exod 21:16 and Deut 24:7 have serious implications for the slave trade.
Non-Hebrew slaves
- Kidnapping forbidden (Exodus 21:16), yet that did not mean there wasn't a supply of slaves.
  - They did not enjoy the same freedoms as Hebrew slaves. Leviticus 25:42-46: Male and female slaves from the pagan nations.
  - Could be bequeathed to their master's children.
- Yet given the biblical emphasis on compassion, and the imperative to love the alien, it seems likely even foreign slaves were treated with a modicum of dignity.
  - Leviticus 19:33-34 – Israel to love the stranger in the land.
  - Exodus 21 – protect all servants from abuse.
  - Slaves could acquire servants themselves, and even purchase their own freedom.
  - Foreign servants might be elevated (as in 1 Chronicles 2, with marriage to an Egyptian servant). Inheritance rights.
- Non-Israelites could not acquire land, so they might have had no option but to attach themselves to an Israelite family.

Slavery and the N.T.

In the context of the Roman Empire.
- Perhaps 1/3 were slaves, another 1/3 freedmen. If this figure sounds too high, consider that when the Czar freed the serfs in Russia (1861), one third of the populace were toiling in this enslaved condition.
- Romans ruthless in putting down slave revolts (e.g. under Spartacus).
- Anachronistic of us to fault Paul and other early Christians for not stirring up dissension.
N.T. scriptures
- 1 Corinthians 7 — slaves should take the opportunity of freedom if possible, otherwise be content.
- Ephesians 6, Colossians 3-4: powerless mentioned first: wives before husbands, children before parents, slaves before masters.
- Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11: status in Christ not dependent on socioeconomic factors.
- Paul sending Onesimus back to Philemon: freedom of travel. Compare Deuteronomy 23:15.
- Slave trade mentioned in Revelation 18:13, condemned in 1 Timothy 1:10.
- 1 Timothy 6:1-2: Nowhere are masters told to demand submission from their slaves.
- Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 7, John 8 etc -- true freedom has nothing to do with political rights, and real slavery is slavery to sin.
The early church (after 1st century)
- Ministrae tortured under Pliny (Bithynia, early 2nd century). Slaves occupied positions of leadership.
- No automatic exemption from requirement to show good character just because one was a slave.
  - "Those, that first come to the mystery of godliness... let them be examined as to the causes for which they come to the word of the Lord; and let those that bring them exactly inquire about their character, and give them... testimony. Let their manners and their life be inquired into, and whether they are slaves or freemen. And if any one is a slave, let him be asked who his master is. If he is slave to one of the faithful, let his master be asked if he can give him a good character [reference]. If he cannot, let him be rejected, until he show himself to be worthy to his master. But if he does give him a good character, let him be admitted. But if he is a household slave to an heathen, let him be taught to please his master, so that the word isn't blasphemed (Apostolic Constitutions 8.32).
  - Perhaps this was requiring more than the church expected in the first century, but it is an interesting piece nonetheless.
- 1 Clement 55:2 (about 96 AD) -- people selling themselves into slavery to free others.
- "But when Christ came he annulled even [slavery], for in Christ Jesus 'there is no slave nor free.' Therefore, it is not necessary to have a slave; but if it should be necessary, then only one or at most a second... Buy them and after you have taught them some skill by which they may maintain themselves, set them free" (John Chrysostom, Homily 40 on 1 Corinthians 10).
Many slaves were attracted to the Christian faith.
- Why, if (as some critics allege) Christianity put them down?
- For the same reason that minorities and women were attracted: they were respected, welcomed, loved, and honored.

Conclusions

Hebrew slavery saw increased humaneness over that in slavery in the secular world.
Through the course of biblical history, an ethic of dignity and respect is cultivated. Pedagogical function.
- Progressive revelation: God enlightening his people more and more through the course of biblical history.
- There is a difference between recording and approving; between regulating and approving.
- God's highest standard and will are revealed only in the New Testament.
- Overall trajectory
  - Chattel slavery—Israelite treatment of foreign slaves—Israelite treatment of Hebrew slaves—socioeconomic freedom. Those who labored for emancipation, esp. in Britain and the United States, were inspired by biblical principles.
  - Through Christian influence, slavery was eventually eliminated in most of the world. This did not take place because of the influence of Hinduism, or Islam, or any other major world religion.
Slavery in N.T. times was radically different from slavery in the more recent American experience.
Most criticisms of slavery in the Bible are based on caricatures of Christianity, ignorance of Hebraic law, and lack of exposure to the true message of the gospel.
Christianity is not a cause for the injustice and brutality of slavery. It was through the effects of the Spirit of Christ, after all, that the great emancipation movements were inspired and to some degree successful.
As believers, we need to be ready to defend the Bible from unfair attack. In our interactions with outsiders, you and I need to know our stuff.

Further thought & study

Paul Copan, Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?
Brian J. Dodd, The Problem with Paul
Chinua Achebe, Home and Exile
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A biblical response to chattel slavery, by Richard Rodriguez

Current Issues: Gay Unions: A Response

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

What is your take on the recent Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriages? And advice?

Following the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize "gay marriages," here are a few bullet points that may prove helpful in guiding our thoughts.

On this topic, God's word isn't difficult to understand, and can be ascertained quickly using any Bible concordance. Both testaments teach the same, and studies may be found elsewhere at this website. Taking our stand on the Word is not always fashionable. And yet modern liberal interpreters would have us believe that the unanimous understanding of the church has been flawed for 2000 years -- as was that of Judaism before (from the 13th century onwards). This means one of two things: that the apostles seriously misunderstood sexual ethics, or else that God intended his revelation to apply only to earlier centuries, and to be updated as society became more sophisticated. Neither one of these possibilities seems convincing. Note: modern Judaism no longer holds to a biblical view of heterosexuality.
God will judge those outside the church, as Paul reminds us in 1 Cor 5. This is not our task. Moreover, we can still accept the person even if we don't accept the teaching. This is the meaning of tolerance. (Please refer to the two newsletter articles on tolerance: part 1, part 2.)
This is nothing new! Building on the foundation of the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, the Gay Rights Movement, well organized and widely supported in the courts, media, the arts, and higher educational institutions, has been advancing powerfully. I am amazed that anyone would be taken off guard. 40-50 years of rhetoric, judicial verdicts, and the idolization among the youth of film stars, sports stars, and others who approve of nearly every sexual behavior -- so many years of the liberal agenda add up. Legalization and even promotion of homosexual lifestyles has been the reality in many western nations for many years.
It's unrealistic to expect government to adopt biblical morals. In our world -- as in the world of the Bible -- the government does not normally side with the church on moral issues.
Jesus said, "Render to Caesar..." (Matt 22:21). Jesus rejected the ethics of Caesar, yet he respected Caesar’s right to govern as he saw fit. It is not the place of Christians to fight with the weapons of the world (2 Cor 10:4), nor do we put our hope in the arm of flesh (Eph 6:10-18).
Not all homosexuals reject the Bible outright, and some re-interpret the principal passages on homosexuality as supporting gay lifestyle choices. Please watch gay apologist Vines, and read my response to the significant points raised by this young man.
A civil union is not a biblical marriage. From Genesis to Revelation, biblical marriage is always between one man and one woman. Rather than use unbiblical terminology ("gay marriage"), let us refer to this relationship in a more neutral manner. I would suggest using "same-sex union" or "gay union" or "civil union" in place of "gay marriage."
Serious Christians ought to be informed on the issues. Guy Hammond of Strength in Weakness ministries (SIW) has published a thoughtful assessment of the current situation. There is also a permanent link to SIW at the bottom of my homepage. You might also take a look at one of the studies in Christianity Today.
Let's shatter the stereotype of the bigoted Christian. Reach out to men and women who self-identify as LGBT. Have them over to dinner (the way of Jesus). Defend their rights -- don't oppress them. Strive for empathy. Avoid caricatures. Don't talk about them; talk to them. Act in love.

Current Issues: Why God Sent a Son (not a Daughter)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

THE QUESTION: Why did the man Jesus come to earth? Why not a woman: the daughter of God—a female Messiah?

JESUS CAME AS A SON NOT BECAUSE:

Male is better -- Galatians 3:28 contradicts this.
God is only analogically masculine, not sexually masculine. When we pray Our Father, it’s not because God is male – since he isn’t a sexual being. If this intrigues you, please hear the podcast on The Shack.
Random genetics (50/50).

LAMENTABLY, WOMEN WERE DISCOUNTED IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

Christianity hadn't transformed attitudes towards minorities, the disenfranchised, foreigners, the needy, women--since Christianity did not exist yet. Jesus entered a Jewish world.
Would be discounted in Roman eyes:
- “Only foolish and low individuals, and persons devoid of perception, and slaves, and women, and children, of whom the teachers of the divine word wish to make converts” -- Celsus in Origen, Contra Celsus, 3.49
- "...Augustus confined women to the back rows even at gladiatorial shows: the only ones exempt from this rule being the Vestal Virgins… No women at all were allowed to witness the athletic contests…" -- Suetonius, Twelve Caesars, Augustus 44.
Would be discounted by Judaism:
- "... happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females." -- Talmud Kiddushim 82b
- "But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex, not let servants be admitted to give testimony on account of the ignobility of their soul, since it is probable that they may not speak truth, either out of hope of gain, or fear of punishment." -- Josephus Antiquities 4.8.15
- "Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women." -- Talmud Sotah 19a
- "Any evidence which a woman [gives] is not valid, also they are not valid [to offer]. This is equivalent to saying that one who is accounted by the rabbis as a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman." -- Talmud Rosh Hashannah 1.8
- Yet some Talmudic passages are more positive towards women, like Niddah 45 and Ketubot 2.6-7.
- (Compare to Islamic view: Female legal witness worth half that of a male “because of deficiencies of a woman’s mind.” -- Hadith of Bukhari, 3.826)

BUT BECAUSE ONLY A MAN COULD FREE BOTH MEN AND WOMEN

Liberates males from stereotype (and rut) of maleness: "strong, dominating, independent, self-sufficient"
- Jesus taught Paul the important lesson, that "Christ's power is perfected in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
- Jesus taught, and lived out, servant leadership (Mark 10, John 13).
- Jesus was emotionally vulnerable (e.g. John 11:35).
- He was connected to others, not a lone wolf.
  - Delayed his ministry till he was in his 30s—as oldest of 8 or more children and head male in a family.
  - Worked with and through others. He knew men need friends, support. Jesus in this way is the paradigmatic male--showing us men how God meant for us to live all along.
  - Doesn’t just model it, but walks us through it.
  - Women typically understand this better than men—they're more relational.
- Probably “macho” isn’t the word you’d first apply to Jesus, but in a way he was far more masculine than most men today who are viewed as powerful.
  - It takes strength not to go with the flow (get drunk at a party).
  - Physical fitness – manual labor as stonemason or carpenter; then walking all over Palestine for 3 years!
  - Jesus also showed great emotional strength:
    - It takes strength to forgive (Luke 23).
    - It takes strength to be patient when others repeatedly let you down.
    - It takes strength to receive ugly censure without lashing back, or at least defending yourself.
  - Jesus taught that true greatness doesn't lie in how others serve you, but in how you serve others.
    - We need this message to sound out not only in our communities, in the government, and in the workplace, and even
    - in the church, where the charismatic alpha-male senior pastor paradigm is dominant!
- In short, women were expected to be nurturing, caring. One not expected to behave this way—namely, a man—was able to create a more subversively powerful example of love in action.
Jesus frees women too, in several ways.
- He shows that gender doesn’t determine worth or rank.
- Treated women with highest respect – unlike the world.
- Completely pure in how he viewed women: they were not objects, but subjects.
- Traditional way of blessing women depended on childbirth – Luke 11:27 – Jesus contradicts this.
- Discipleship:
  - Luke 10 – called women to spend some time away from daily chores to sit at his feet as disciples. See also Luke 8.
  - John 4 – the Samaritan woman is more the evangelist than the 12 apostles!

CONCLUSION

Of course there’s more to be said:
- We haven’t even discussed the doctrine of the Trinity – how Jesus Christ was eternally the Son of God. (God couldn't send a "daughter" if he didn't have one.)
- or the scandal that would have surrounded an itinerant woman preacher gathering disciples…
- And we've only just begun to work through the implications for the current feminist controversy.
- I acknowledge the influence of Stanley Grentz's Theology for the Community of God, pp.289-292. For me his work was seminal, and helped me begin to think through this issue.
In short, Jesus, in order to accomplish his mission, had to be a man.
- Not because men are better than women,
- but because otherwise life-bringing his message would have been:
  - discounted
  - diluted or obscured
- And the most effective modeling could only take place—in a patriarchal society—by a man.
Hopefully this perspective will prove useful to you in your evangelism, in answering questions from outsiders but also from insiders.

Current Issues: The Gender of God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 1 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptures read or referred to in the podcast:

Matthew 6:9 -- "Our Father..."
Matthew 23:37 -- Jesus compares himself to a hen.
Isaiah 66:13 -- God compares himself to a mother.
Ephesians 5:22-32 -- We all stand corporately in a femine relationship to Christ as our bridegroom.
1 Thessalonians 2:6-12 -- Paul, his relationship to the Thessalonians, thinks of himself as a nurse, a mother, and a father.
John 15:8, Luke 8:11, James 1:21 -- his seed is planted in us, and we are to bear fruit. This is a strongly feminine metaphor.
God as husband -- meaning spiritual unfaithfulness is adultery -- is a common biblical metaphor (as in Jeremiah, Hosea, Ephesians, James, Revelation).
Genesis 1:26-27 -- God's image is reflected in mankind, both male and female (and even better when the two are together).
Nowhere does the Bible tell us to address God as "mother."

Conclusions
1. God is not lonely. He does not need a consort. (Note: in ancient religions, it was common for a god to have a goddess as a wife/consort. The worship of Yahweh strenuously rejects such thinking.) Among the persons of the Trinity there has always been love.
2. God is not sexual. He's neither male nor female, though he created us in his image as males and females. And yet...
3. God is personal, and therefore we have no choice but to relate to the Lord in a personal way.
4. God is analogically (not biologically) masculine. Nor will he be held captive by a pronoun ("he" or "she").
5. One suspects that what really bothers some critics of Christianity is the Lord's sovereign claim over their lives.

Current Issues: Crime & Punishment (Principles)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

I. PRINCIPLES OF CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Principle 1: God is a God of Justice

Ultimately all crimes against God (Psalms 51:4). What does the Bible say about crimes against man (person/ property)?
Proverbs 24:25, Ecclesiastes 8:11, Ecclesiastes 5:8-9.
Lex talionis: Limitation: a maximum, not a minimum. See Exodus 21:24, Matthew 5:38.
“Let the punishment fit the crime” – Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado (1885).

Principle 2: There will be a Judgment Day, and it will be Fair

There will be an ultimate judgment – and it will be fair (Genesis 18:25; Luke 12:47-48; Romans 2:5, 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrew 9:27; 2 Peter 3:7; 1 John 4:17, etc).
Yet there may be a delay.
- Habakkuk wondered…
- Numbers 32:23.
- 1 Timothy 5:24.

Principle 3: Moral Authority must Speak Truth to Power or No One is Above the Law

The prophets spoke out against social injustice: Elijah, Amos, John the Baptist, and many others…
Jesus challenged leaders of his day. Reminded high priest, governor, and other authorities about some important spiritual principles...
There are times when believers must speak up -- speak out!

Principle 4: Law is Good

Much of modern law comes from the Romans.
Even more may come from the Jews: property law, torts, worker’s compensation, litigation, etc (Exod 20-Deut 33).
Even studying OT law shows us God’s wisdom, providence and justice. Even though it is not the law of God for us, it is still the word of God for us, and we have much to learn!

Principle 5: Civil Disobedience is Occasionally Justified

Henry David Thoreau
Daniel 3:18, 6:10 – obey government except when contradicts law of God
On the other hand, we should pay taxes, even if they’re unfair -- we disagree with how the government chooses how to spend them. Give to those who ask you (Matthew 5:42). Insistence on “rights”?

Principle 6: The State has the Right to Punish Infractions

Fines, traffic tickets, etc
Imprisonment
Execution: Romans 13.

II. THOUGHTS ON INCARCERATION

Ancient times:
- Temporary, awaiting trial.
  - Long-term – more likely for king’s prisoners. Or those rulers did not want to make martyrs of.
  - Paul (Acts 24, 28) and Joseph (Genesis 39+) are unusual in the length of their incarcerations.
- Prisoners were visited by friends or relatives -- fed, clothed, care for by them. The state did little (see Jeremiah 37-38).
Does our system of incarceration work? “Correctional,” or “penitentiary”? Or just a punishment?
- It works poorly, though in some nations the penal system is more effective than in others.
- Two extremes: soft and hard; focus on prisoners' rights vs. focus on society's rights
- Reformation of character?
  - Not usually. Rather, recidivism!
  - US – 5% of world population and 25% of world’s prisoners. China – less glorious human rights record – far fewer incarcerated!
Prison ministry?
- In NT times, prisoners would normally have been believers (Hebrews 13).
- And yet prisons present a great evangelistic opportunity. Implication of Philippians 1:7,12-14; 4:22).

Current Issues: Jesus and Politics

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The purpose of this talk is not to lay down the law, nor to defend the status quo, nor to encourage us not to engage in society. (If anything, Christians need to be more engaged.) The aim is to consider how Jesus approached power—how he lived, what he permitted, and what he prohibited. As we seek for zealous obedience to God’s Word in a spirit of grace, we stand to benefit greatly by looking to Christ. In this talk (39 minutes) I will make four observations, under the headings of alignment, agenda, amalgamation, and attitude.

Current Issues: Is Survivalism Christian?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

What about survivalism? Are these people on the right track biblically? Can Christians be "survivalists”?

Survivalism as a popular movement is well worth understanding, especially as some Christians are attracted to it. This attraction is increasingly common in society at large; think of the many TV programs, like Survivor, or movies, like The Book of Eli, or video games, like Fallout.

Survivalists believe that the responsible thing to do before the inevitable breakdown of society is to become self-sufficient. One will need adequate supplies of food and water to last for months (if not years) of anarchy and chaos. People need to provide for their families. Those who fail to take measures should not count on hand-outs. "The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty" (Prov 22:3).

Further, one would be foolish to trust that normal human civility will suffice to maintain possession of one's cache. It may be necessary to defend it with force. Further, the time to load up on ammunition is now—before gun stores close.

It would be foolish to stay in or near a city. Better to plan on surviving in a rural and (preferably) isolated area. A sturdy shelter will be needed (underground is best -- maybe a luxury doomsday condo, if finances allow), and a generator may also prove helpful if and when public utilities are completely disrupted.

Assumptions
What are the fundamental components and assumptions of survivalism?

Things are going to get bad. (Even if they don't, it's wise to be prepared.)
God wants us to stay alive. Injury and death must be avoided (at all costs).
We should stockpile water and food so that we have enough to survive until such time as things are safe again. (Think Old Testament siege conditions, as in 2 Kings 6 and 2 Kings 18.)
A cache of weapons and ammunition is crucial. If someone trespasses onto my property I am justified in using lethal force, especially if he is attempting to raid my provisions.
Since society will be in a state of chaos, we should plan to live in a secure shelter (amply furnished and supplied).
Since money will lose its value, wealth should be converted to gold, silver, or other intrinsically valuable media of exchange.
We shouldn't count on rescue. Normal disasters elicit assistance from the government; this time the cavalry won't be coming to save us. In effect, God helps those who help themselves.

These, then, are the fundamentals of survivalism and the assumptions on which it is based. Now it's time to evaluate. Survivalists make some good points, a number of which resonate with thoughtful Bible readers.

Society may well collapse one day. No empire lasted forever, after all.
The prudent take this into account. He or she prepares. One should not bank on rescue.
"Paper money" is arbitrary. Banknote values depend wholly on the strength of the government backing them.
Wicked men will try to rob us. This is already the reality, and crime only tends to increase in times of civil chaos.
It is right take up arms to defend the innocent, like oneself and one's family.

.
Let me respond to the previous 5 points. After that we will examine the teachings of Jesus and Paul with implications for survivalism. As we will see, there are numerous fundamental problems with survivalism.

Indeed, empires come and go. Even Rome fell (as intimated in Revelation); we should pay attention and learn. A breakdown of society, perhaps a massive technological failure or terrorist attack, is not a possibility to be dismissed. I recently read Marc Elsberg's novel Blackout. Although it is a work of fiction, even since it was originally published there have been attacks on the electrical power grid (in Europe) that demonstrate the plausibility of the scenario he envisions.
Preparing for contingencies is biblical. Yet we are not our own saviors; as much as we like to be in control, Jesus is the Savior. Yet that hardly means he shields us from hardship, suffering, or persecution. Romans 8 is no promise of peace and prosperity. There the only guarantee is that nothing, however horrific, can separate us from God's love.
This point doesn't go far enough. If we "cash in" our paper money for gold, silver, etc., these too are arbitrary. They have no intrinsic value (apart from, say, industrial applications). Further, the Bible warns us not to love money or allow it to become an idol. See Luke 16:13-15!
Since thieves break in and steal, we had best store our treasure in heaven (not in a bunker). Not fair that the evil men succeed? Relax; one day there will be a Day of Judgment. (See Psalm 73.)
Defending the innocent in court is a strong prophetic theme. Yet while the OT allowed limited violence in self-defense, in the NT we are told to relate to enemies in a different way. The use of lethal force was unacceptable even in the case of Christ—and no one was more innocent than he.

Jesus and Paul on Survivalism
To embrace survivalism as normally conceived requires a rejection of the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, as well as of Paul's teaching in the epistles. Please take a moment to read over three passages, two from Matt 5-6, and one from Rom 12. They are somewhat lengthy, but if we want our convictions to come from scripture, we need to engage. Take your time; digest them.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5:38-48).

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:25-34).

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:17-21).

Jesus gave us the formula for surviving in any situation: Seek first the kingdom.
Rather than hoard food and refuse it to one who is hungry, we are to feed him—even if he is our enemy! Further, hospitality is one of highest biblical virtues, including taking the stranger into our home. Recall the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24).
As my friend David Berçot observes, "Survivalism is kindred to the spirit of the man Jesus described in the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21). The rich fool was hoarding his goods so that he could later take life easy. The survivalist hoards his goods to make sure he will have something for tomorrow, in case calamity comes. Neither person really trusts in God’s provident care. Both types of persons are focused on themselves (and their families), instead of others."
Jesus forbade all forms of violence. "Put your sword away. He who draws the sword will die by the sword" (Matt 26:52). Now that we live in the Messianic Age, swords have been beaten into plowshares (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3). We don't "study" (prepare) for war any more. No more killing.
Interestingly (Berçot again), "Jesus told His followers that a horrible calamity was coming on Jerusalem in the near future (Matt 24), and indeed the calamity came with the Roman army (70 AD). Yet he didn’t advise his followers to start building up a survival cache; he said just the opposite! Once the calamity was at the door, he told them to leave everything behind and flee. That’s exactly what the Christians in Jerusalem did. God provided for their needs, and they all survived by fleeing to Pella (a town across the Jordan)."
Biblical Christians do not choose life over faithfulness. We do not have to survive some coming apocalypse, but we do need to remain obedient to God's commands.

Thus we see that even a cursory reading of the NT scriptures reveals that survivalism as commonly presented is un-Christian on multiple fronts. If you are reading this article and have been attracted to this position, I urge you to rethink your position.

* * * * * *

If you'd like to explore the topic in more depth, this will get your started:

The website of Modern Christian Survivalist, which attempts to combine survivalism (as I have delineated it above) and the Bible.
The article by Focus on the Family: A Biblical View of Survivalists and Preppers fear—"sanctified paranoia." This is a nice introduction to the issue.
The Survivalism page at Rational Wiki. The article is very well done. "Meet Your Neighbor, The Survivalist" (CNBC, 29 May 2009), about someone who has stockpiled far more food than he could ever eat, so there's plenty to share with others.

Current Issues: A Christian Response to the Global Financial Crisis

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

An out-of-work money manager in California loses a fortune and wipes out his family in a murder-suicide.

A 90-year-old Ohio widow shoots herself in the chest as authorities arrive to evict her from the modest house she called home for 38 years.

In Massachusetts, a housewife who had hidden her family's mounting financial crisis from her husband sends a note to the mortgage company warning: "By the time you foreclose on my house, I'll be dead." Then Carlene Balderrama shot herself to death, leaving an insurance policy and a suicide note on a table.

I. What crisis?

The "bubble" has burst. Whether this is a recession, a depression, or worse, conditions have changed in the global economy. There is a pervasive atmosphere of anxiety.

During one recent week (in 2008), global stock markets tumbled 7 trillion dollars! This is affecting the entire globe! Everyone is talking. We have felt the crisis, at least indirectly (through our friends who have been hit, and through rising prices).

Can affect our faith, too. (Not to mention marriages.)

This is complex! Involves multiple agencies – hard to nail anyone down.
We are not going to solve it in a day! -- but we can get a biblical perspective….

II. How are people responding to the crisis?

Angst

Finger-pointing: Democrats! Republicans! Government! God! The Devil! America! Businessmen! Consumers!

Disengagement, hopelessness

Refusal to even think about it. Keep head down, keep going…

In some places, people have no choice but to think about it. Zimbabwe’s inflation rate recently hit 231m%. Imagine having Z$1m yesterday, and today it’s barely worth $1!

“I believe there is God’s justice in action in what’s going on here and we haven’t seen the end of it… We’re going toward a one-world bank and a one-world monetary system, and if you believe the Word of God and you read Revelations… you will see clearly what’s being spelt out, and we are in the end times.” – James Bidgood, Australian MP

Easy to give up, either ignoring it or else rationalizing it with a Que será, será attitude.

There's a different sort of aloofness, a way to ignore the issues:

Some of us are doing just fine, and say “It is a blessing from God,” or “I must be a good person,” or “I am pretty good with money.”

But it ain’t necessarily so!

Ecclesiastes 9:11. Not everything is so neat and tidy, so predictable! There is a possibility that some of it comes down to chance – Black Swan. God allows some random things to happen.

The book of Job: Bad things do happen to good people. Could be a test from God. Even if he didn’t custom design the crisis for you and me, it can still be a sort of test: how will we respond? James 1:2-15.

On the other end of extreme religious reactions, “It is a lack of faith,” as one eminent evangelist said on TV. Blessing if you get everything you want? If a child gets everything he asks for?

The reality is complex… Many consider money to be a personal matter. Yet there are more passages on money and wealth and possessions than, say, all those on faith and repentance and baptism combined. So, how we respond is important. Nothing diminishes our need to live responsibly! Here’s where the Bible has a lot to say.

III. How does the Bible shed light on the crisis?

The financial crises in the Bible offer parallels.
1. Famines had similar effects:
  1. In the time of Joseph [Genesis 41-47]
  2. In the time of Elisha [2 Kings 6-7]
  3. In 1st century Judea [Acts 11:28-30; 2 Corinthians 8-9].
2. These are testing times, driving up prices, straining relationships, affecting families, removing comfort, leading to despair, revealing character.
Realize that money is not the answer!
1. “Vanity of vanities” Emptiness! Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV).
2. The US government is throwing money at the problem. (Whose money?) A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy, and money is the answer for everything (Ecclesiastes 10:19 CSB)
3. “Daily bread” Moderation – Proverbs 30:7-9 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, `Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God (NIV). See also Matthew 6:11.
Balance hard work with generous liberality.
1. Industry – Pull your weight. 2 Thessalonians 3:10: In fact, when we were with you, this is what we commanded you: "If anyone isn't willing to work, he should not eat" (CSB). and yet there is a balancing principle: Kind to the needy, giving to those who ask (Luke 6).
2. Generosity. Keep giving! Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity (2 Corinthians 8:2 NIV).
3. Although the N.T. does not command any particular percentage for giving, most of us western Christians are able to go beyond the O.T. norm!
4. Note: Some believers have been generous to a fault. Those who are deep in debt and have not spent responsibly may need to give away less of their income until they get their house in order. The ultimate goal, however, is to be a generous giver.
Live responsibly.
1. Stewardship. Matthew 25.
2. Study the Proverbs and strive to become a disciplined person.
Watch out for materialism.
1. Definition…. Pleonexia
2. It was the sin of Sodom. Ezekiel 16: 49-50: This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.
3. The Lord never promises financial prosperity. Jesus in Matthew 6 – “seek first…. and all these things…” “You can’t take it with you.” Nothing is ours to keep forever anyway. Don’t spend money you don’t have!
4. “Credit, not debit.”
  1. Credit card debt – The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7 NIV)
  2. Don't be one of those who enter agreements, who put up security for loans. If you have no money to pay, even your bed will be taken from under you (Proverbs 22:26-27 CSB).
  3. People before things. 1 Timothy 6:7ff. Value relationships. What’s more valuable? Relationships, family… Use things and love people, not love things and use people…
Be content.
1. Philippians 4:11. We are still rich.
2. We may have lost a lot. (Though is it only on paper?) But think of the rest of the world; most nations are poor.
Be humble. Deuteronomy 8: 6-18: So keep the commands of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper. When you eat and are full, you will praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. "Be careful that you don't forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His command-- the ordinances and statutes-- I am giving you today. When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in, and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart doesn't become proud and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty land where there was no water. He brought water out of the flintlike rock for you. He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper. You may say to yourself, 'My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,' but remember that the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today (CSB)
1. Old covenant more physical, material…. Does not apply to us today.
2. Still there are principles to learn:
  1. Be humble.
  2. We are not self-made people! Quote from Jim McGuiggan, Genesis and Us.
  3. Guard your heart! (Proverbs 4:23)

IV. Why should we talk about the crisis?

We should talk. This area should not be taboo. Feeling pressure… need someone to talk to. Therapeutic!
Even talking with our kids is good…
Questions to ask myself about money:
- How did I get it? (Exploitatively? Legally? Ethically?)
- What am I doing with it? (All used for my own comfort, or helping others, too?)
- How is it affecting me? (Enslaving? Holding on to integrity? Distraction?)
Questions to ask others:
- "How is the crisis affecting you?”
- “How are you handling things?”
- “Do you have any counsel for me?”
- We need to talk about this. Take advantage of the greater climate of openness.
- We need to care enough to ask. People need us to ask…

Conclusion

Let’s talk about it. This is a great opportunity to connect with people, to get them to open up, to meet them authentically and to minister to them in a place where it hurts.
Keep studying for biblical conviction. Turn to God, study the scriptures – as we have seen, they have a lot to say about this matter!

Further study:

Abraham & Lot (Genesis 12-19) – the contrast of the life of one swayed by materialism (Lot) with one more rooted in the Word
2 Chronicles 25:5-10 and Proverbs 6:1-5 – release from unwise financial commitments.
The passages on famine in III (1)
Proverbs — over 30 passages
Luke – over 30 passages (see Acts, too)
Take AIM! Spiritual Life DVD series. Nine speakers bring lessons on a variety of topics, including many vital spiritual and financial principles.
Excellent books:
- Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians Living in an Age of Hunger: A Biblical Study (IVP, 1977) and The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005). Deeply challenging.
- Robert Wuthnow, Poor Richard's Principle: Recovering the American Dream Through the Moral Dimension of Work, Business, & Money (Princeton University Press, 1996). Superb.
- Craig Blomberg, Neither Poverty Nor Riches (Grand Rapids: Intervarsity, 2001). A thorough and scholarly study, with many practical ideas.

Current Issues: Is It Wrong to be Rich?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Some scriptures to consider

Proverbs 30:7-9
Revelation 3:14-20
1 Corinthians 1:26
1 Timothy 6:6-11, 17-19
Ezekiel 16:49
Proverbs 4:23

Concluding thoughts

Make as much as you can, and we can give away more to others.
Review the related podcasts on:
- Serving the Poor
- What the Bible Says About Tithing
- A Christian Response to the Global Financial Crisis
"Men of genius are admired; men of wealth are envied; men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted."
"There's nothing wrong with possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess us!"

Current Issues: Business Ethics

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Consequences of breakdown of of ethics

The breakdown of ethics in the workplace has dire social and personal consequences:
- Resentment and ill will
- Ruined relationships
- Deep rationalizations
- Seared consciences
- Cycles of oppression, poverty, and retaliation
- Incidence of crime
- hopes pol
Monday follows Sunday; what we claim to believe in church must be translated into action every day of the week.
Judaism unusual for its ethical monotheism:
- Sabbath broke cycle...... was not just one day for righteous living (Isaiah 58).
- Provision is made for the poor and the oppressed -- all of those at a disadvantage.
- Its prophets spoke truth to power, challenging all those corrupted by the self-directed ethics of the world -- including those wielding illegitimate power, be they priests or even kings.

Passages to ponder

Lev 19:33-37
Deut 25:13-16; Proverbs 11:1, 16:11; 20:10,23
Wisdom of Amenemope 16: "Do not lean on the scales nor falsify the weights."
Amos 8:4-6
Luke 19:8-9

Prevalence of compromise

Abundance of biblical passages suggests there were widespread problems in this area.
Since cultures vary widely, it is wiser to offer principles, rather than a list of practicals. (All the same, principles arepractical!)

A Dozen Principles

Pay taxes
Reject shoddy materials and workmanship (excellence)
Insist on transparency ("fine print," deception, honor)
Uphold employee contracts (integrity and clear communication)
Employee benefits (part of a fair compensation)
No threats, e.g. implying you might terminate an employee who won't work extra hours, do favors, and so on (abuse of authority).
Disingenuous advertising.
Thing theologically about involvement in promoting products that destroy life (e.g. cigarettes).
Neither shrink working hours nor stretch breaks.
Don't violate your conscience.
Treat foreigners (or those otherwise at a disadvantage) with equity.
Value people over goods and services.

Conclusion

We live in the world -- most of us listening to this lesson are in the working world -- yet we are not to be of the world.
Like Moses in the Torah, Jesus in the new covenant demands that we practice what we preach. He dismisses any notion that what we are in private is disconnected from what are do in public.
Is it possible you and I have some thinking to do? Some honest soul-searching, in which we consider whether we are living, and working, ethically?

Current Issues: Law, Allegiance, & Revolution

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

1. The example of Paul

-Standing on rights (Acts 16, 22, 25)
-Waiving rights (1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1)

2. Lawsuits
-Two views: no litigation or no litigation against fellow believers
-"Why not rather be wronged?" (1 Corinthians 6, Matthew 5)

3. American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
-Which side would you find yourself on?
-Submit to which authorities? (Romans 12, 13)
-If this intrigues you, please hear the podcast on the American Civil War.

4. Civil Disobedience
-Only when man's law opposes God's law may we resist.
-It is justified only when the command of man contradicts the law of God, not when the law of man contradicts our personal preference or convenience.
(Daniel 3, 6; Acts 4-5)

5. Christian Government
-There is no such animal! The experiment has been tried, with catastrophic effect.
-Two separate spheres (faith and politics).
-Beware Dominion theology (Genesis 1:28), whose aims are not dissimilar to those of the radical Muslims.

6. Ultimate allegiance
-Many Christians are confused about the relationship between the church and the state.
-Text of the Pledge of Allegiance (1892): I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Note: The words "under God" were added in 1954.
- No follower of Christ can pledge ultimate allegiance to a flag, or to the state that it represents.
- [The following letter has been taken from Christianity Today, Oct. 2012, p.62.] "As one who has served over 31 years in the U.S. Coast Guard... I do not believe churches should display the American flag in their sanctuaries. 'No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America' (U.S. Code Title 4 Chapter 1). The usual practice in our churches is to display both the American flag and the Christian flag in the sanctuary. Since the American flag must be displayed in the preeminent position, this symbolically places our allegiance to our country over our faith in Jesus Christ and our citizenship in his kingdom." -- Ted Brandsma (Littleton, Colorado)

7. The example of Christ
-Philippians 2

Conclusion

Law and government are expressions of God's sovereign authority. Insofar as the authorities don't ask us to violate biblical principles, we are to obey the law.
Our individualistic society is heavily focused on rights, privileges, and entitlements. Yet a Christian is willing to waive his or her rights for the greater good.
Some of us need to rethink the relationship between church and government.
In all things, our example should be that of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2). Whom do we resemble more:
- an individual bent on his rights, or
- the one who ceded his rights in order that the poor might be made rich, enemies might be loved and convicted of their lack of love and holiness, and the bleeding, breaking heart of God might be revealed?

Current Issues: Illegal Immigration

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Why immigrants should be welcomed:

In some of the uncharitable attitudes exhibited in the discussion there is more than a hint of hypocrisy.
- “Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free. / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. / I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” (inscription on the Statue of Liberty)
- We are called to obey the laws of the land, and yet our land (for us Americans) is a nation built of immigrants.
The Bible calls us to love the alien (Leviticus 19:34), because God loves the alien (Deuteronomy 10:18-19).
- Yes these laws governed a church-state. Under the new covenant, the church is not a political entity.
- The Law of Moses teaches us much about the heart of God, yet it is not a platform for civil law in our time.
- Inflexible policies are rarely in harmony with the principle of love.

Why illegal immigrants should return to their home nations / strive to become legal:

Lying to immigration authorities can damage one’s conscience. Keeping a clear conscience receives a huge emphasis in the scriptures. Always being “on the run” can erode faith.
Social services are expensive; somebody has to pay. (And some needs are more legitimate than others.) The scriptures also emphasize pulling one's own weight.
In most countries there is a way to become a legal resident. It may be better to come clean, plead for clemency, and let God move in his own way.

On the other hand...

In some cases, going back to countries of origin is unrealistic or even dangerous (political or religious persecution)!
The issues are complex. Anyone who denies there are any "gray areas" in scripture is unrealistic -- isn't being honest.
It isn't the church’s job to be vigilantes who cause trouble or hardship for those who, for whatever reasons, have chosen to “hide” from immigration authorities.

Conclusion:

As long as there is human society on this earth, there will be nations and laws and borders. Without borders, states will be overrun by their enemies.
Capitalism may work better than socialism, but Christ-followers are called to neither position.
Christianity was never intended to be elevated to the level of national policy. That's because those on the narrow road will never be more than a small minority in their society.
Each situation be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Let us balance justice with compassion. How would Jesus have dealt with the illegal alien?

NT Characters: Joseph (husband of Mary)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 8 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

There are 13 Josephs in the Bible.
This Joseph is mentioned 13x in the NT: Matt 1:16, 18-19, 24; 2:13, 19; Luke 1:27; 2:4, 16; 3:23; 4:22; John 1:45; 6:42
Joseph was among the top 5 popular names in Jesus’ day.
He is generally given insufficient attention.

Matt 1:18-21... 24-25

Joseph is descended from the royal line of Judah.
Joseph is a just man.
Even after the inexplicable pregnancy of his betrothed, he is determined to protect Mary’s honor.
He obeys the angelic message.
The marriage is not consummated, for whatever reason, until after the birth of Jesus. (Other sons and a few daughters follow.)

Matt 2:11

The Magi meet Mary and Jesus.
Is Joseph there? He isn't mentioned.

Matt 2:13-15

Again, Joseph obeys.
Herod the Great dies in 4 BC.

Matt 2:19-23

Yet again, Joseph obeys God. Joseph is sort of like Noah—no speaking part (until after the deluge).
In fear—or common sense?—he withdraws not to Judea (in the south), but to Galilee (in the north).

Luke 2:4-5, 16

c. 7 AD.
The shepherds greet Joseph and Mary.

Luke 2:41-52

Neither she nor Joseph understand what Jesus means when he says “my father’s house.” Or maybe they get it, but only partially.
Mary is depicted as the thoughtful one.
This is the last time we meet Joseph.

Joseph’s death and his other children

Presumably he died before Jesus’ public ministry began—yet perhaps not too soon after Luke 2.
In Matthew 13 we find that Joseph and Mary had at least 8 children in all. While it is possible all had been born by the time of the events of Luke 2, this seems unlikely.

What is admirable about Joseph

Somewhat surprisingly, Joseph has no speaking role. (This is in contrast to the some of the rather humorous apocryphal gospels.) Although, in terms of airtime, Mary eclipses Joseph, yet still he is a worth learning about. Of course in a sense he does answer the Lord when spoken to. He answers with his actions—same as you and me.
He is an obedient man.
- He obeys the authorities.
- He observes Torah, respecting and obeying the Scriptures.
- Joseph also does as instructed in several angelic dreams.
Joseph is a man of honour. He protects his wife.

NT Characters: Salome

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 5 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The name Salome

There are two Salomes in the NT— no surprise, given the popularity of the name in the 1st C.
Salome comes from shalôm, peace.
Top 10 first century names: Salome (Shalom, Shalom-Tsiyyon), Simon (Shim’on), Mary (Mariam, Maria), Joseph (Yosef), Judas (Yehudah), Lazarus (El’azar, Eli’ezer), Joezer (Yeho’azar), John (Yohanan), Martha (Marta), Jesus (Yeshua’). Salome is the most popular.

The unnamed Salome

First, the granddaughter of Herod the Great.
She was the daughter of Herodias and Herod Antipas, named in Josephus (Antiquities XVIII, 5.4).
This Salome is unnamed in the gospels.
Matt 14:6-20
- Presumably Salome saw no problem with her mother’s suggestion.
- This is the power politics at its ugliest.
- It is easy to imagine that the dance was immodest, given the well-known worldliness of the Herods.
- The event is also recorded in Mark 6:21-28.

The named Salome

Second, the mother of James and John: parallel Mark 15:40-41and Matt 27:56.
Mark 15:40-41
- Salome was a follower of Jesus during his earthly ministry.
- She gave financial support for the Lord’s work. (See also Luke 8:1-3.)
- Salome was among the women who witnessed the crucifixion.
Mark 16:1-8
- She was among the first witnesses of the empty tomb—who, with the possible exception of the Roman guards, were all female.
- What an honor!
Mother of James and John?
- Sometimes Salome is identified as the mother of James and John. Given how common a name Salome was, this could easily have been the name of the two apostles’ mother, whether or not it refers to the same person. Is the identification is correct, we gain further insight from Matt 20:20-22.
  - (In Mark's version of this account, we do not read of the mother prompting her sons to seek positions of honor.)
  - She too had some views about the management of power – which is politics. Not crass or violent like the other Salome and Herodias, yet still based on incorrect premises.

Conclusion

The two Salomes make for an interesting contrast:
- One is wordly, the other godly.
- One is wicked, the other righteous.
- One opposes God’s people, the other supports them.
- While the godly Salome was a follower of the Prince of Peace, her worldly namesake had nothing to do with peace.
Challenge: Get to know the major and minor characters in the NT. (Then tackle the OT!)

NT Characters: The Four Evangelists (gospel writers)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

John Mark

1. Identity
  1. Mark may not be John Mark. John was a common name in the Jewish world, and Mark a common name in the Roman world. And having a Greco-Roman name along with a Semitic name was not uncommon.
  2. Even if John Mark is not the writer of Mark, you can still derive some benefit from our study.
  3. Some identify him with the young man who fled naked (Mark 14:52), but this is unsure.
  4. He is associated with Peter, according to Papias (early 2nd C.).
2. Acts 12:12
  1. Mid-40s AD
  2. Peter returns to John Mark’s house once released from prison.
  3. Prayer meeting. [Listen also to the Rhoda NT Character podcast]
  4. John Mark's family were people of means.
3. Acts 12:25
  1. He is a missionary.
  2. And connected with Saul and (esp.) Barnabas.
4. Acts 15:36-41
  1. 49 AD.
  2. Paul felt young John Mark should not join them. Too much pressure? Untested or fragile? In some other unreliable? Not a good chemistry between Saul and John Mark?
  3. The brothers and sisters support Saul/Paul. This must have been hard for Barnabas, who had believed in Saul when no one else did—and for John Mark, too.
  4. Barnabas chooses to remain with Mark.
  5. Cyprus is the ancestral home of Barnabas. Jews had been scattered all over the broader Mediterranean world.
5. Col 4:10
  1. c.60 AD.
  2. Mark was Barnabas’ cousin.
  3. Mark has reconnected with Paul, more than a decade after the time of Acts 15. People change in 10 years.
6. Philemon 24
  1. Mark is numbered among other colleagues of Paul.
  2. He sends greetings to those in the Lycus Valley. He knew many people around the world, e.g. in Cyprus, Syria, and quite likely Egypt.
7. 2 Tim 4:9-11
  1. 64-68 AD
  2. Not only have Saul and John Mark reconnected, but now the apostle appears to be fond of Mark.
  3. Note: As Paul was executed under Nero, who died in 68 AD, and most scholars date the composition of Mark to around the year 65, it is just possible that Paul had already read Mark.
  4. Paul appreciates Mark’s help, and he praises him.
8. Further:
  1. Although Mark, like all four gospels, is anonymous, there is an early and strong tradition that Mark was the author. (See Papias.)
  2. Mark was close to Peter. Mark could be “The Gospel of Peter” (except that’s an apocryphal document from the late 2nd).
  3. Peter felt comfortable with Mark recording all his weaknesses.
  4. Mark was a leading figure in Egypt.
    1. Alexandria: Although missionary work there is not mentioned, it is unthinkable that the apostles would have skipped Egypt!
    2. The best candidate is Mark—not only because the Egyptians today insist so loudly that he is the founder of Egyptian Christianity, but because there are, as far as I know, no further claimants to the title.
  5. Mark was a great man, and his name is still highly popular (although I know of only one John Mark).
  6. The combination of writing and missionary experience is a good one.
  7. This is no armchair academic! The same can be said of Matthew (one of the 12), Luke (traveled with Paul), and John (an apostle).

Matthew (Levi) – covered in another talk, so let's be brief…

1. Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, and comes from Capernaum.
2. His other name is Levi, son of Alpheus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27).
3. Matthew collected taxes for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. He may have been despised as a collaborator, but his willingness to follow Christ shows his heart was good.
4. As a tax collector he would have been literate in both Aramaic and Greek, in addition to being good with numbers. We actually know more about Zacchaeus (Luke 19), another tax collector in the first century, than about Matthew.
5. According to early tradition, Matthew died in Parthia, where he had ministered.
6. His gospel was the most quoted among the earlier church fathers, just as people are still naming their baby boys after him worldwide.
7. For more, check out Q&A 1551: Whatever Happened to the Apostles (after N.T. times)?

Luke

1. Identity
  1. Doctor
  2. Only Gentile writer of the NT
  3. Wrote ¼ of the NT.
  4. Accompanied Paul—look for the “we passages” in Acts.
  5. He is mentioned three times in the NT, all three times in epistles penned by Paul in the 60s AD.
2. Col 414
  1. This is the sole verse where we learn that Luke is a doctor.
  2. He was no street hawker, no quack. (If he lacked credentials or ability, it is doubtful attention would be drawn to his shabby vocation.)
  3. His polished Greek attests to a high level of his education.
3. Philemon 24
4. 2 Tim 411—accompanies Paul in his final days before execution.
5. Thoughts
  1. The message of Christ attracted not only the disenfranchised and the educated, but also professionals and even the well-off. (But see 1 Cor 1:26.)
  2. There is a parallel in the lives of the two most influential apostles. Just as Mark accompanied Peter, Luke accompanied Paul. As Mark’s gospel reflects Peter’s life and character, so Luke’s 2-volume work provides us with an abundance of information about Paul, to which we would not otherwise have access.
  3. Like Matthew, Mark, and John, his name is highly popular.
    1. Matthew – from the Hebrew
    2. Mark is a Gentile name, but John is Hebrew
    3. Luke is a Gentile name, from the Latin Lucius.
6. By tradition, Luke was martyred in the reign of Nero.
  1. Nero orders his hand and arm to be cut off—which Luke miraculously reattaches! Then he is taken out to sea and beheaded, body and head placed into a bag and cast into the sea. His remains wash up on an unnamed island.
  2. His remains are moved to Constantinople in the 350s, later taken to Padua (Italy). In 1354 Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV removed his head from the reliquary and takes it to Prague. Luke's head and hand are placed on display in Rome in the 17th century. It was not uncommon for relics from a single body to show up in multiple cities.
  3. Source: Syriac / Coptic scholar Jacob Lollar, 2020.

John – covered in another talk, so there’s no need to repeat the material here.

1. John—Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Ephesus, Patmos.
2. Probably buried in Ephesus.
3. Further study: Q&A 1551: Whatever Happened to the Apostles (after N.T. times)? Also consider the N.T. Character Podcast on John (login required—but not if you listen to my podcast—sign up wherever you get your podcasts).

NT Characters: Priscilla & Aquila

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 3 Feb 2021 02:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introductions

Aquila
- Aquila means "eagle."
- There are 7 well-known Aquilas in ancient times, including our Aquila.
- He is always mentioned with his wife.
Priscilla
- Her name means "venerable."
- There are 2 well-known Priscillas—one martyred in the 2nd C, and our Priscilla.
- She is Priscilla in Acts 18:2, 18, 26. She is Prisca in Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. Priscilla is the diminutive form of Prisca.

Corinth

Acts 18:1-3
- Expelled from Rome by emperor Claudius.
  - Christianity as a sect of Judaism.
  - Being God’s people doesn’t necessarily shield us from injustice.
- Aquila was Jewish. Presumably Priscilla was, too, although that is not made totally clear.
- Leatherwork: a versatile and wise way to serve in ministry—in the same profession as Paul.

Syria

Acts 18:18
- Travel time with Paul
- Probably headed to Syrian Antioch

Ephesus

Acts 18:24-26
- Apollos was on the right track, but apparently off-base on baptism.
- John’s baptism did not confer the Spirit. Yet it could be argued that Apollos gave strong evidence of the Spirit in his life.
- The dozen Ephesian disciples in the following chapter seem to have been significantly more in need of correction than Apollos. Paul baptized them. Apollos may have been baptised, esp. if Luke has arranged these two passages to be perfectly parallel. But he may also have placed the two accounts together because they were opposites: the Ephesians needed to be baptized, but not Apollos.
Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos
- Apollos was a powerful figure; learning required humility on this part.
- He is not too proud to say not to being taught by a woman.
Priscilla can be viewed as the married counterpart to Phoebe.
- One is single in ministry.
- One is married in ministry.
1 Cor 16:19
- 1 Cor was written from Ephesus.
- P&A were well connected.
- They led a group together.

Rome

Perhaps they have returned to Rome after the death of Claudius in 54. (Until the next expulsion?)
Rom 16:3-4
- They head the list of Paul's greetings.
- They were courageous.
- They were appreciated by many.
- Aquila and Priscilla were persons of character.
2 Tim 4:19
- Paul’s final letter
- P&A are greeted at the top of the list, just as in Romans.
- 1 Tim was written to Ephesus. Perhaps they are back in Ephesus again (?)

Comments

The names of Priscilla and Aquila often appear on lesson titles on marriage or couples ministry. That’s understandable. Their working relationship I’m sure was admirable.
Priscilla and Aquila were tentmakers, or leatherworkers. Self-supporting—very smart! More the norm for Christian leaders than the clergy-laity model, supporting full-time salaries work for leaders, and which nearly every denomination has adopted.
1 Cor 9:5-6: Barnabas didn’t take along his wife, if he was married; ditto for Paul. Sometimes one spouse will be fully engaged in missionary work, sometimes both. Or it may be a hybrid situation.
- The Bible never defines ministry as full-time church work.
- Nor does the Bible require such persons to be married, or their spouse to work alongside them.
Priscilla teaches Apollos.
As suggested, Priscilla may be the married version of Phoebe.
Going it alone, like Paul (though often he wasn’t alone)—choosing not to marry, like Jesus, or to serve in a special ministry in which your spouse does not share, is totally fine. But if you have the passion and the stamina to be a vocational missionary, Priscilla and Aquila may serve as strong role models for you.

NT Characters: Philemon & Onesimus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

This study is not primarily about Paul. (For that, please watch the iFaith video sermon on Philemon, or listen to the Philemon unit in The Prison Epistles, or read the NT Chapter Study notes on Philemon, all at this website.) Rather, we will explore the interplay between Philemon and Onesimus.
This is a personal letter, and to some extent a private letter, but what has happened is most likely public knowledge, and the whatever the result of Paul’s letter, everyone—all those mentioned in the introduction—will know.

Philemon 1-22

A church meets in Philemon’s home.
Apphia is likely Philemon’s wife.
Philemon is introduced as dear friend and collaborer. Paul is not writing to a stranger. He’s not even just writing to an acquaintance. Philemon is a friend—a dear friend.
Philemon is known outside his immediate home and clearly respected.
- He has good relationships.
- He has not only helped many; Philemon is a loving person.
Onesimus has become Paul’s spiritual son.
- After running away from Philemon, Paul met him and Onesimus became a Christian.
- “Useful” (v.11)—a word play.
- Paul is sending him back, as there are unresolved issues—and feelings.
Paul is hinting that Philemon should grant Onesimus his freedom, that he may continue to serve the apostle. He expects that Philemon will accede to this request—not under duress, but in keeping with his good heart and character.
Onesimus has stolen from Philemon.
Paul hopes that Philemon will remit the debt.
- I think of the bishop Myriel in Les Miserables (Victor Hugo, 1862). The priest showed kindness to the recently freed prisoner Jean Valjean, who then steals away in the night—after stealing Myriel’s silverware. The bishop not only pardons him—he gives him even more silverware. It is one of many truly touching scenes in this masterpiece.
- Paul not only hopes for this outcome; he expects it.
So, what was the outcome? We are not told.
Philemon is mentioned nowhere else in the NT. This is not, however, the case for Onesimus.

Colossians 4:7-9

If this is the same Onesimus—I see no reason to doubt it—Paul is as fond of him as ever, and he praises Onesimus for his faith and service to the apostle in his ministry.
Is Onesimus free?
- It’s possible Onesimus accompanied Tychicus, delivering the letters of Colossians and Philemon (which some scholars think were written and delivered at the same time). In this case he may not yet have returned to Philemon—unless Philemon’s house church is in Colosse.
- Or perhaps Colossians is written soon after the liberation of Philemon.

Conclusion

If Paul’s prediction is correct, Philemon did the right thing. He set Onesimus free.
His debt to Philemon was canceled.
The watching church were all edified.
According to one tradition, Philemon and Onesimus were martyred in the persecution under Nero (64 AD). But Ignatius (107) also mentions an Onesimus (“a man of inexpressible love, and your overseer in the flesh”), which would indicate martyrdom during the persecution under Domitian (95).
Perhaps a true friendship between equals developed. Philemon and Onesimus were both in Christ, in whom there is neither slave nor free.

NT Characters: Agabus & Rhoda

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Agabus (Acts 11:27-29)

- A Jerusalem prophet, like Judas and Silas (Acts 15)
- Hagabos means "locust"—which is interesting, given the connection of locusts with famines.
- The famine prediction was made 43/44 AD.
  - The "whole world" is the Roman world, as in Luke 2:1.
  - Claudius was emperor 41-54 AD.
  - Suetonius and Tacitus, Roman historians, refer to this famine.
  - The apostle Paul organized the famine relief collection (2 Cor 8-9) to enable Gentile Christians to share material with the Jewish-background Christians in Judea, where the famine would be especially severe.
  - In the NT, merciful charity is esp. to be given to the family of believers (Gal 6; Matt 25).
- The Christians took Agabus seriously.
- The prophecies and the resulting collection led to unity among Christian of different backgrounds.
- And, like nearly all the prophecies of the OT, this one pointed to the near future (not the distance future).
- Agabus’s prophecy is highly practical.

Acts 21:10-11

Agabus makes another prediction.
He does not tell Paul it’s God’s will for him not to go to Jerusalem.
Luke and others beg Paul not to go (v.12), breaking the apostle's heart (v.13.), although eventually they conclude this must be God’s will (v.14). See indicated in 1 Cor 14:29; 1 Thess 5:20-21. Note: this Jerusalem visit isn't the same as the famine relief visit. It takes place many years later.

Rhoda (Acts 12:12-16)

Rhoda = rose. Roses from the island of Rhodes.
She was a slave girl. Many slaves became Christians in the time of early church.
Rhoda correctly identifies Peter by voice. (We assume there was no peephole in the door.)
Yet she fails to open the door!
She is overjoyed—not neutral or nonchalant. She really cared.
Rhoda relays the message.
Yet she is not believed—why?
- Was it because of her low status?
- Or her being a woman?
- Or from a failure of the others to back their prayers with genuine faith?
Rhoda keeps insisting—she does not back down. She knew the truth, and it was important.
And she is vindicated—eventually.

Conclusion

Both Rhoda and Agabus had correctly glimpsed the truth—and made sure that people heard it.
One was listened to (and respected), the other doubted.
Do we listen? Do we pick up on the things the Lord may be trying to show us?
And when we understand, do we make sure others receive the message, or do we easily back down?
Rhoda was instrumental in Peter being rejoined to the assembly. Agabus was instrumental in tightening the bond between Jewish and Gentile Christians.
May we all have the insight of Agabus, and the faithful persistence of Rhoda!

NT Characters: Lydia

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

Lydia is from Asia (Thyatira), but resident in Europe (Philippi). She is the first convert from Europe in the book of Acts.
Philippi is a Roman colony—there's no synagogue. Still, Jews and those Gentiles attracted to Judaism had regular places of prayer, typically outside the city and out of doors—like at rivers.
Paul (and Luke) visit the river on the Sabbath, expecting to find worshippers of God. And so they did!

Text: Acts 16:14-15, 40

Lydia

"Lydia" is a place name – after a region of Asia Minor. (Like calling someone "Kansas" or "Sydney.")
Lydia is a merchant—reminding us of the Proverbs 31 Woman (Prov 31:12-31).
Possibly she was a widow, or otherwise well-off / independent.
She hailed from Thyatira of Revelation (Re 2:18).
"Worshiper of God" indicates she was drawn to the true God (of Judaism).
The Lord opened her heart. (See Luke 24:31-32). Her response includes baptism.
Lydia seems to have been the first convert in Europe!
She’s mentioned one more time—just 25 verses later. Her home is where Paul and Silas headed after their incarceration (v.40). It is likely that her home, and her network of relationships, served as a sort of beachhead for the gospel.

Final thoughts

Just because you run a business doesn’t mean you can’t live an active Christian life.
- Regardless of our degree of busyness with our business, we're never too busy to serve the Lord.
- We model not only hard work and productivity, but also fairness, respect, gentleness
If you have been blessed with material goods and a home, make it available for the spread of the gospel. Hospitality is an important virtue. It’s expected of church leaders.
In evangelism we don’t need to seek atheists and agnostics only—it’s fine to focus on those already on a faith journey. Paul spoke of the gospel as first for the Jew, then the Greek (Rom 1).

NT Characters: Silas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Silas is mainly referred to in Acts 15-18. “Silas” first appears in Acts 15:22. He is referred to by his full name, Silvanus, in 2 Cor 1:19; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; and 1 Pet 5:12.
His ministry is rich:
- Silas is a prophet—one of two who encourage the faithful in Antioch (15:32). In some sense, bringing the Word of God—or a word from God.
- He's also a writer. He assisted both Paul (1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1) and Peter (1 Pet 5:12).
- And he is Paul's colleague in ministry. After Paul's disagreement with Barnabas, Paul takes Silas with him (in lieu of Barnabas himself) on the trip to the cities where Paul and Barnabas had established congregations (Acts 15:40). Compared with Barnabas, Silas is perhaps more an assistant than a partner. Nevertheless, especially considering their Philippian experience, they must have been bonded.

Acts 16:19-40

The situation in Acts 16:16ff. – economic motivation for persecution.
Notice the verbs: seized, dragged, stripped, beaten, flogged, thrown, fastened.
Lack of due process. Both Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. When I’m treated unfairly, do I pout?
I often assumed these were happy songs. Maybe so, yet the Psalms include many darker, though situationally more appropriate, prayers.
Praying and singing are excellent therapy for the cuts and bruises, and even for the injustice.
The miraculous release reminds us of Peter’s release from prison in Acts 12.

Further:

Thessalonica: After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia (Acts 17:1). Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas (17:4a). While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. (17:5b).
Berea: That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea (17:10). When Paul leaves Thessalonica, Silas stays behind with Timothy, and is thereafter associated exclusively with him and only secondarily with Paul (17:14, 17:15b, 18:5a).
Corinth: Preached there along with Paul and Timothy (Acts 18:5). The trio are also mentioned in 2 Cor 1:19.

For us:

Don’t be afraid of opposition. An extra reason—besides Jesus’ and Paul’s promise that it is unavoidable, and Peter’s promise that the spirit of glory will rest upon us—is relational. It draws people together when they shareabout their hardships—or share them, going through them together.
When you’re in trouble, sing (Acts 16:25)!
Be faithful. Peter tells us Silas is a “faithful” brother.
- We will not be perfect, but we can be faithful.
- It’s nice when busy people need us, and can depend on us. Silas was such a person.
Accept differing degrees of closeness between Christians, even when they spend a significant amount of time together.
- Consider Jesus and the 3, or Paul and Timothy.
- And that’s okay! Be content to be the "number two guy."

NT Characters: Titus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Titus was a major figure in Paul’s life, although not mentioned in Acts (which is selective).
We come across him 13x in NT, 8 times in 2 Cor—also Gal, 2 Tim, Titus.
Unlike Timothy, he had no Bible background. A true gentile!
Paul, we notice, was effective at working with people from biblical background as well as with those who had no biblical conditioning—that is, pagans.

Galatians 2:1-3 1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

No 1. first century issue: how much of Judaism must Gentiles observe? Similar confusion today with so-called “Messianic Judaism.” (Do we need to observe the Jewish Law?)
Timothy and Titus are different cases—the apparent discrepancy is easily resolved with the principle of 1 Cor 9:22.

2 Corinthians 2:12-13 12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

Titus almost certainly carried the “painful letter” referred to in chapter 7.
Communication took place by letter, envoy, personal visit, or conference.
It isn't just that Paul misses Titus. Paul wants to know the impact of his “severe letter.”

2 Corinthians 7:5-7 5 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

Titus has relayed the good news.
Titus wasn’t merely a messenger; he too was affected by the Corinthian response—“comforted.”
[The famous repentance passage follows.]

2 Corinthians 7:13-16 13 By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. 14 I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titushas proved to be true as well. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling. 16 I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.

Titus wasn’t just a mercenary; he loved the Corinthians. The relational bonding is key in a Christian leader. Knowledge of the Bible and personal consistency are not enough, particularly when serving in so broad a circle as Titus did.
The Corinthians respected Titus as much as they respected Paul.

2 Corinthians 8:6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

He was entrusted with the matter of the famine relief collection—no small task.
The Corinthians are donating to assist hungry Judean brothers and sisters.
(The famine was predicted by the prophet Agabus in Acts 11:28.)

2 Corinthians 8:16-17 Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.

Titus's initiative reminds me of Onesiphorus in 2 Tim 1:17.
We also may admire his enthusiasm. One man has enthusiasm for thirty minutes, another for thirty days, but it is the man who has it for thirty years who makes a success of his life. Samuel Butler (1612-1680)
These are great characteristics.
Work on these things in the fellowship!

2 Corinthians 8:23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you…

2 Corinthians 12:18 I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?

Paul can trust Titus.
He is a true partner in the ministry.

Titus

1:4—Close relationship. “Child.”
1:5—Entrusted him to appoint elders. It's reasonable to assume that Titus possessed the strength of character indicated in the list of qualities for church leaders
1:13—Entrusted also to rebuke those teaching error.
2:1—Paul trusted Titus to teach sound doctrine.
2:15—"all authority" and “Let no one despise you”– Probably not because of Titus's youth, but because he wasn’t an apostle like Paul, only filling in in his place. Or perhaps because he lacked the intensive biblical background of his mentor.
3:10-1—Paul also entrusted him to deal with divisive persons.
3:12—"…do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there." This parallels Paul’s request to Timothy in 2 Tim 4. Suggests this is an important relationship to Paul.

2 Timothy 4:10—Titus had gone to Dalmatia

2 Tim is probably written after Titus. This is around 10 years later than 2 Corinthians.
Titus is still in Paul's circle.

Wrap-up

As one interpreter neatly observes, “Titus was… a troubleshooter, peacemaker, administrator, and missionary.”
According to tradition, Titus died around the year 100, on the island of Crete. Skull of Titus is in Heraklion (?).
What we can do:
- Be a support to Christian leaders. Respect the older men and women in our lives.
- Aim for character traits like enthusiasm and initiative.
- Stop making excuses for small thinking. Even if you weren’t brought up around the Bible—if you’re more of a Titus than a Timothy—God can still use you in powerful and important ways.

NT Characters: Timothy

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Most biblical figures give us few insights into the heart or the personality. Timothy is one of the persons about whom we know much more, mentioned some 30x in the N.T.
He was in the circle of persons trained by the apostle Paul.

ACTS 161Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

Jewish / Greek. Jewish mother (2 Tim 1—mother Eunice and grandmother Lois)
“A disciple”—not a bad phrase for one’s epitaph.
But this is early in Timothy’s life, not late. As we will see, he seems to have continued to grow—to be a disciple, a learner.
Character is key. That is, we should not chose people as leaders because they are impressive in a worldly way: photogenic, or tall, or powerful, or intellectual.
He good character was known in more than one location.

3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Paul averts unnecessary criticism by having Timothy circumcised. This is a strategic decision.
Titus he did not circumcise, but then Titus came from a fully Gentile background.

4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Timothy saw Paul at work, not only in Lystra, but in many towns.
Paul and Timothy were coworkers.
It’s immensely valuable to work with someone who knows how to share their faith, plant a church, deal with problems, preach the Word, etc. I have benefited from his sort of training.
He understood unity between Paul & Jerusalem leaders. And he would have understood that this unity, achieved through hard work—sound theology & relational investment—was spiritual & productive

The remainder of Acts

Involvement with the Thessalonian ministry. Paul’s “companions” (16:6; 17:1)
17:14—Berea
17:15—Paul wanted him to join him in Athens
18:5—Came with Silas from Macedonia to Corinth. (Rom 16:21 – with Paul in Corinth)
Wrote with Paul: 2 Cor, Phil, Col, 1-2 Thess = 5 letters
19:22—Paul dispatched him to Macedonia with Erastus
20:4—Joins Paul and others, traveling through Macedonia to Syria

1 CORINTHIANS

4:15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Timothy to some extent mirrored Paul’s passion & perspective.
Paul found him to be trustworthy.

PHILIPPIANS

Phil 219 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.

Timothy was Christlike. In Phil 2 Paul highlights: Jesus, Timothy, and Epaphroditus.
He had a genuine concern for others It’s not theoretical.
Paul and Timothy have a father/son type of relationship.

EPHESUS (1-2 Timothy)

1 Tim 4:11-16 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
- Command—authority
- Young: Acts 16: young + 13 years later (time elapsed between Acts 16 and 1 Tim 4), so Timothy was likely in the 30-40 age range.
- How to prevent them from discounting one's age (v.12)?
  - Speech – sobriety, not silly, not coarse, edifying
  - Conduct – exemplary
  - Love – relationships
  - Faith – alive!
  - Purity – keeping clear of the many defilements of the world.

13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Preaching and teaching based on reading (not an assortment of verses to prop up the preacher’s agenda). Integrity in handling the Word!
Progress—keep growing
Life and doctrine: life (v.12) + doctrine (v.12) = impact on others.
For more on Timothy, watch the iFaith video sermon "Last Will & Testament," on 2 Timothy.

Conclusion: 3 of Timothy’s qualities we can learn from

Wisdom in the scriptures (2 Tim 3:14-16): 14Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful …
- Qualified to teach and preach
- Is our thinking saturated in Scripture? How much time are we investing on a regular basis?
Concern for others. Phil 2 is high praise indeed.
Character
- It’s what attracted Paul to him in the first place.
- Humble enough to learn from Paul—such that he mirrors Paul—proven worth.
- The last piece of news in Hebrews, before short exchange of greetings, is v.23.
  - 23 I want you to know that our brother Timothyhas been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
  - Like Paul, he was willing to go the distance, run the race, fight the good fight
- Do we focus more on external matter, or the heart, the inner life, character?

NT Characters: Phoebe

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Major text: Rom 16:1-2
Supporting texts: Acts 15:22-23; 30-32; Rom 12:3-8; 1 Tim 3:4; 1 Thess 5:12

Rom 16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to [a patron of] many, including me.

Observations

Phoebe means bright—connection with Phoebus Apollo, the sun god.
Cenchrea is one of Corinth's two seaports.
Phoebe is the first person named in Romans 16—where Paul greets at least 9 or 10 female colleagues, besides his male coworkers.
Most likely it was she who delivered the letter.
- See the parallel in Acts 15:22-23, 30-32 (the commendation of Judas and Silas).
- Romans is one of most important letters of Paul, dealing with a potentiality sensitive topic (the Jew-Gentile controversy, not unlike the racial issues of our own day).
- If she bore the letter to the various house churches of Rome, she may also have been the one who read the letter aloud.
- Even if others read Romans aloud, Phoebe would have been the one who clarified things if there were questions.

Female leadership?

Does this sound like too much responsibility for a first-century woman?
- She is called diakonos (v.1). See Phil 1:1.
- Diakonos = servant, minister.
- See Acts 6 and 1 Tim 3.
She is also prostatis.
- In classical times, prostatis (the feminine form of the noun) = leader, chief; guardian, protector.
- In Roman times, the word could mean patron.
- This is one of the gifts mentioned in Romans 12 (see v.8). In the NT, there were women prophets, servants, teachers, leaders, etc….
- Forms of the word also show up in 1 Tim 3:4 and 1 Thess 5:12.
Female teachers, prophets, and leaders in the Bible, Miriam (Exod 15:20; Mic 6:4), Deborah (Judg 4-5), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20; 2 Chron 34:11-33), Noahdiah (Neh 6:14), Isaiah's wife (Isa 8:3), Anna (Luke 2:36), Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26; Rom 16:3-5, 1 Cor 16:19), Philip's daughters (Acts 21:8-9), Phoebe (Rom 16:1-2), and Junia (Rom 16:7).

Conclusion

Let’s be aware of our presuppositions when it comes to leadership in the ancient church.
Respect and honor Phoebe—and all who are like her!
As we read the New Testament, let's try to re-imagine their world, including those occasions when fresh letters or gospels were first read aloud!

NT Characters: Anna

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scripture: Luke 2:36-38

Bio:

Hannah (Hebrew) = Anna (Greek & Latin).
In some ways she reminds us of her OT namesake (faith, presence at the house of God, deep spirituality).
Luke supplies her father’s name, Phanuel, but not her husband’s. (She is more integral to the biblical story than he is.)
Luke mentions her tribe, Asher. She numbers among the very few NT characters identified by tribe: Jesus,—Judah (Luke 2:4; Matt 1:1-16); Saul—Benjamin (Phil 3:5); and Barnabas—Levi (Acts 4:36).
Implication of the numbers: she was over 100 years old when she met Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.
She is a prophet.
- Both Simeon (NT character podcast 43) and Anna are advanced in years, people of faith, and meet Mary, Joseph & Jesus. And the account of Simeon is longer than the account of Anna. Yet Anna "outranks" Simeon, a man praised as righteous and devout (Luke 2:25). Simeon is not explicitly called a prophet. Rather, the Spirit moved him to speak.
- Simeon came to the Temple courts; Anna was there nearly always.
- She is the New Testament’s only named female prophetess. She reminds me of Huldah the prophetess (earlier podcast)
Her life is marked by fasting, prayer, speaking, and prophesying.
She does not remarry—in a culture when remarriage was the norm after the death of a spouse, and especially for one who became a widow at such a young age (20?).
"Luke’s description shows her as well adjusted, engaged in Israel’s life and useful to the Lord. She may well have become the model for the righteous church widows Paul describes in 1 Timothy 5:5.” — Robin Gallaher Branch, “Anna in the Bible” in Bible History Daily
“Anna shows one model of aging in the Biblical text. Luke presents her positively, as a woman without the bitterness that may come with age and as one full of hope. As she moves throughout the Temple, no doubt she seeks to do good to those whom she encounters." — Robin Gallaher Branch (same source).

Anns's insight:

She foresees the redemption of Jerusalem (Simeon had foreseen the restoration of Israel). Perhaps she was aware of and distressed by the corruption and politics of the Temple.
The prophecies of Zion (Jerusalem and its center of worship) and Israel were going to be fulfilled, but not in the way most people would have expected. (The true Jerusalem is "above," as Paul explains in Gal 4.)
She speaks about the Lord to all who are interested. That is, she does not confine her verbal witness to a handful of "special people" (like Joseph & Mary). This shows both generosity and wisdom.

Application:

Men: Do we have a positive attitude towards women? In the Bible, they are prophets. They can serve as national leaders (Miriam, Deborah). They are often portrayed as wiser and more spiritual than men.
Older people feature prominently in Luke, as well as in the rest of Scripture. Yet our culture worships youth. This is destructive of self-image, hinders morality, impedes wisdom, reduces respect for others, etc.
Are fasting and praying part of our daily and weekly lives?
Do we speak about Jesus to all who are interested?
Remember, we are men and women of faith for the long haul. Decades and decades and decades…

NT Characters: Simeon

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scripture: Luke 2:25-35

Bio:

Simeon is righteous and devout.
He takes the infant Jesus in his arms—suggesting he may have been a priest at the temple. (Jesus was taken there on his 40th day and his parents made the required offering—see Lev 12:1-8.)
Having recognized the Messiah, Simeon is now ready to die. (This implies that he is advanced in years.)
He served the Lord faithfully, even though he had grown old.

Simeon's insight:

He realized that the good news was not for Israel only, but for the entire world. This was no narrow nationalism, but a universal vision. (Recall that in early Christianity, it was a struggle for many Jewish Christians to welcome Gentile Christians as full partners in the gospel.)
Simeon's perspective is deeply scriptural.
Although one might have expected everything about the message of the Messiah to be positive (happy news), Simeon realizes there is a dark, doleful aspect to the dawning Messianic age. Not everyone will happy accept the Messiah and his message.
He foresaw that a sword would pierce Mary's soul, tool (probably referring to the agony of watching her son's crucifixion, when she's approximately 50 years old).
He rejoiced in and was content with God’s will

Application:

Are we like Simeon? If we are older Christians, do we still have passion for the Lord?
Do we have a truly scriptural perspective, or is it only a patchwork of loosely connected ideas?
Are we content in accepting God’s will for my life, for his people, and for the world?

NT Characters: Annas and Caiaphas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 8 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Orchestrated execution of Jesus Christ. How could the holy priesthood established by Moses and Aaron become the mortal enemy of Jesus, the Messiah?

Unrighteous priesthood
How does the 1st century priesthood violates the original Levitical plan? It was supposed to be:

High priesthood a lifetime appointment (Heb 7:23).
Holy — not assimilating to the dominant regional culture, but a shining beacon for all Israel and the watching world.
Separate from the monarchy. Priests (from the tribe of Levi) could not serve as kings (tribe of Judah). It's not good when religious leaders have political power, or when political leaders have spiritual power! The temptations to corruption are just too great.
Precedent: Hasmonean times (140-37 BC), with appointment of Aristobolus.

Annas, the father-in-law

Annas (or Ananus or Ananias) son of Seth, born before 20 BC, died around around AD 40.
Appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High Priest of the newly formed Roman province of Iudaea in AD 6.
High priest AD 6-15, then deposed by procurator Gratus. Yet remained highly influential through his son-in-law and his 5 sons.
Putting it all together, here are the terms of Annas, Caiaphas, and the five brothers:
- Ananus (or Annas) the son of Seth (6–15)
- Eleazar the son of Ananus (16–17)
- Caiaphas, properly Joseph son of Caiaphas (18–36), married the daughter of Annas (John 18:13)
- Jonathan the son of Ananus (36–37 and 44)
- Theophilus the son of Ananus (37–41)
- Matthias the son of Ananus (43)
- Ananus the son of Ananus (63)
Scriptures:
- Luke 3:2 — During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
- John 18:12 -- So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people... 19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest... 28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.

Caiaphas, the son-in-law

Caiaphas was the major antagonist of Jesus.
According to Josephus, Caiaphas was appointed in AD 18 by the prefect before Pontius Pilate, Valerius Gratus. He served for 18 years -- a long term.
Scriptures
- Matt 26:3 -- Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
- 26:57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.
- John 11:45 -- Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that
  Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
- John 18:13 -- And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year.
- Acts 4:5 -- On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
- Caiaphas is also the "high priest" of Acts 5:17-21, 27; 7:1; 9:1. His persecution of Christ naturally continued through a bitter persecution of Christ's followers. (And to think that Saul of Tarsus was commissioned by Caiaphas to hunt down our brothers and sisters in Christ!)
Dante places Caiaphas in the 6th realm of the 8th circle of the Inferno, with the hypocrites. His torture: eternal crucifixion on the hypocrites' path, who step on him for ever.
1990 Ossuary discovery
- Inscription: "Joseph son of Caiaphas"
- Luxurious ossuary. See image above.
- Dated to second half of 1st C.
- Contained the bones of an old man.

Observations and suggestions:

Don't be surprised at institutional injustice, especially in powerful religious structures.
When Jesus cleanses the temple courts he is telegraphing a message to Annas and Caiaphas. The Talmud calls some of these first century priests "great hoarders of money."
These men lived in the lap of luxury. Visit the priestly home in pre-70 Jerusalem!
There's no priesthood or high priest today -- at least not on earth. Our great high priest serves in heaven. And we serve him, as a "kingdom of priests" (1 Pet 2:9; Exod 19:6).
God can work even through corrupt leaders. This was Jesus' attitude in Matt 23:3.
At a deeper level of providence, since Annas and Caiaphas engineered the execution of Christ, they unwittingly accomplished God's purpose through the ages: to provide forgiveness and reconciliation through the true sacrifice offered by the true priest, who even now mediates for us in the true temple in heaven! Caiaphas was right (John 11:50).

NT Characters: 6. Mary: An Example for All Time

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 6 Jan 2021 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here is the sixth and final lesson (19 minutes) in our special Mary series.
We hope you have enjoyed Vicki's lessons on Mary -- which is her favourite biblical character.

NT Characters: 5. Mary, A Woman of Contemplation

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 4 Jan 2021 14:44:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Mary ponders what God is doing, treasuring what he has revealed to her. Her expectations, heart, and thinking are an upward call to us all.

NT Characters: 4. Mary & the Other Women

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 2 Jan 2021 02:02:59 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here you can listen to the fourth lesson in the series (38 minutes). Mary interacts with many other women in the circle of Jesus -- yielding rich insights for us all.

NT Characters: 3. Mary & Elizabeth

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 19:29:29 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The lesson is based on Luke 1. Listen to Vicki Jacoby as the series continues...

NT Characters: 2. Mary: Chosen to be Jesus’ Mother

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 19:27:22 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The next in the series of Vicki's lessons on Mary (30 minutes).

In this podcast, we recommend Gary L. Thomas, Sacred Marriage.

NT Characters: 1. Mary: An introduction, by Vicki Jacoby

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 19:22:01 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"How Will This Be?"

Mary asks the question of the angel, “How will this be?”, when faced with a seemingly impossible and improbable situation. The answer was equally puzzling to this young woman! So she leaves Nazareth and heads for the hills to see Elizabeth, her older wiser relative (Luke 1). Why? She needs to talk and be heard. For three months these two women walk and talk through life together, experiencing spiritual, emotional and physical times and I imagine Mary was present for the birth of John.

NT Characters: The servant girl who challenges Peter

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

There are other servant girls in the Bible who play significant roles, like Naaman's (2 Kings 5:2-3) and Rhoda (Acts 12:13).
Today we will look at the servant girl who exposed Simon Peter's cowardice--the time he was ashamed of Jesus.
She is anonymous -- yet still important.
The story is found in all four gospels. (Order: Mark, Matt, Luke, John)

Thefouraccounts

Mark 14:66-70 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus." 68 But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you mean." And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." 70 But again he denied it...
- Peter plays dumb.
- The servant girl is smarter, and exerts far more effort identifying Peter than Peter does identifying Jesus -- what he should have been doing.
Matthew 26:69-72 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."
- Matthew doubles (blind man healings, demoniacs)
- Some are troubled that the details in the four accounts don't match. Yet the discrepancies don't disqualify the testimony of the evangelists; they actually confirm it, since if they were fabricating the story they would have smoothed out the differences.
Luke 22:54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him." 57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him."
- It's not that Peter isn't following Jesus at all. Rather, he's "following at a distance" (22:54). Do we do that?
- It's dark, but there's a full moon, yet that wasn't enough for the girl to make out Peter's face. But the fire provides plenty of light for the identification.
John 18:15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." 18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.
- Peter had access because of the other disciple (John?). He'd spoken to the servant girl, whose responsibility was manning the door, so that Peter could be admitted.
- Thus her identification of Peter has credibility.
- Peter warms himself by the charcoal fire. What was he doing? What was he thinking? And how did he feel when the servant girl correctly identified him?

Analysis

Mark's account (second reading):
- Triple prediction (beginning at Mark 8:31, 9:31, and 10:34)
- Triple denial
- Triple prediction makes the denials more poignant, less excusable.
- Are we ever like Peter? How do we deny Christ? When was the last time?
That's all Mark offers us. Luke and John take us further:
- Triple affirmation in John 21.
- He is reinstated, as Jesus had foreseen: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32)
- Triple sheet with non-kosher animals in Acts 10 -- still tending to be obstinacy?
- Peter is again correctly identified by a servant girl in Acts 12!

Conclusion

It's not just the major characters of the Bible that we can learn from. Everybody counts. Similarly today, whatever your role in life or in your company or church, you are important.
The servant girl helped Peter to see where he was spiritually.
And today she still speaks. She accuses the cowardly, faint-hearted church.
Rather than hoping others won't notice we are Christians, we should hope that they may quickly identify us -- the sooner to share with them the reason for our hope.
She challenges me -- and I suspect she challenges you, too.
Perhaps you'd like to learn from other characters in the N.T. and in the O.T. -- over 100 in all, once both series are completed.

NT Characters: Lazarus (CLEAN Series)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introductory

For most people, this is far and away the best known reanimation in scripture.
In the 7th reanimation podcast, Jesus raises a friend.
I recorded an earlier podcast on Lazarus (NT Character Podcast 20). You might want to listen before or after today’s podcast.
Hear also Christ Through the Ages, podcast 10.
As a result, in order to avoid duplication, I will try to keep my comments to the subject of the reanimation itself. Further, we won’t read every verse in the account.

Scriptural study: John 11:1-7, 11-15, 17-27, 32-49a, 51b-53; 12:9-11

Lazarus (v.1) is not to be identified with the Lazarus in the parable of Luke 16:19-31, although the coincidence of names is intriguing.
“This illness does not lead to death” (v.4). Of course it does lead to death, but only for a short time.
Just as with the miracle of the blind man two chapters earlier, God will be glorified (v.4).
Lazarus is a beloved friend (v.5). We always feel differently when we knew the person who’s died, and never more than when we had a significant relationship.
A great uncle – 10k – took me fishing. Not close but we’d met several times. Mother father sister
He delays his visit to Bethany, it seems, precisely in order to make sure that Lazarus has passed.
Sleep (v.11) is a common biblical metaphor for death. See Q&A 1356.
This section (vs.17-27) is rich with theology, dense with meaning and insight. Of course Lazarus, the subject of this podcast, isn’t really doing anything. But no one exists to himself alone; there is a sizeable network of friends, family, and acquaintances involved in all our lives, and this network becomes visible at key junctures in our lives, like births, weddings, deaths.
“Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (v.26). How would we answer Jesus? What difference does it make in our lives? Are we always on the lookout for opportunities to share the good news?
Jesus does not minimize death, even though it isn’t the last word.
Jesus wept (v.35). He was not so intellectual in his knowledge of truth that the common and human waves of emotion washed over him without affecting him deeply!
Many were buried in caves (v.38).
You may also want to listen to Martha (NT Character podcast 19).
Notice once again Jesus' direct address to the deceased (v.43).
Notice also how the dead were prepared (v.44).
- Strips of linen
- Separate headpiece
- No coffin or sarcophagus
Lazarus comes out (v.44)!
John’s gospel features seven confessions of faith, seven “I am statements,” and seven signs. The raising of Lazarus is the last sign—which itself points to the resurrection of Jesus.
This miracle places Jesus’ life in extreme danger. For more on the high priest who suggested Jesus' execution, listen to Caiaphas (v.49) NT Character Podcast 42.
The raising of Lazarus takes place just outside Jerusalem itself, with its religious power center, the Temple, controlled by unscrupulous and rapacious priests and teachers.
It’s not just Jesus who is in danger; Lazarus himself is now singled out for execution (12:9-11)!
It is not God’s agenda to grant longevity or immortality. We all die, and hardly anyone comes back from the dead, in the sense of reanimation. And no one is immortal—only God, and those who in Christ receive the gift of eternal life. Every reanimation in the Bible has a reason, and points to deeper truths.

Application

“Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (v.26). How would we answer Jesus? What difference does it make in our lives? Are we always on the lookout for opportunities to share the good news?
Let’s live like it today!

NT Characters: The Woman Caught in Adultery

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Text: John 8:2-11

Comments

Today's study is on a well-known passage, even though it is not in the original manuscripts of John's gospel.

Still, it rings true, is of early origin, and is therefore is found in most Bibles.

Few scholars doubt its authenticity, even if it was not originally in its present location in John.

Sometimes it follows Luke 21:38. Or is found after John 7:36, or John 7:44. Sometimes it's even located after John 21:25.

Although scholars nearly unanimously reject the story as original in the fourth gospel, they are also of one mind in accepting its veracity.

It is perfectly in character with what we know of Jesus and his attitude towards sin/sinners.

It is unlikely to be an invention of the later church, since in the second century sin was dealt with much more harshly than it is in this passage.

Some early Christian preserved the story, and some early copyist of John placed it between chapters 7 and 8, probably because it seemed a good fit (verses about judgment, tensions between Jesus and the Pharisees).

For more on this--and to find out exactly which early manuscripts contain the passage--please visit the chapter notes on John 8 at this website. (Many of the notes from this study are reproduced below.)

The setting

As was Jesus' custom during the feasts, he taught in the day and stayed evenings somewhere on the Mount of Olives (v.1). He probably enjoyed the hospitality of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. (Search your concordance under Bethany.)

The venue for his teaching was the temple complex. (And by forgiving the adulteress, he was challenging, "usurping," the authority of the priests.)

The time was early morning, before the heat of the day.

He taught in the seated position (v.2), which was the normal posture of a rabbi with his disciples. Then comes the shocking interruption (v.3). The question, and the arrest of the woman, seem staged.

Since adultery takes place in secret, it is likely that the accusers had been waiting (and hoping) for the transgression to take place. Their posturing--and possibly the adultery itself?--was premeditated.

Only the woman has been brought in, despite the implicit charge that the man had been present (v.4).

The accusers have little concern for the woman. Their aim is only to trap Jesus. Here is the trap (vv.5-6).

Jesus advocated compassion. He forbade us even to hate our enemies. He had intimated that the new covenant was in the process of being inaugurated -- that the old law might not apply anymore. And yet the Torah required the death penalty for both parties (Leviticus 20:10).

Would Jesus then contradict himself, or the Mosaic law?

Masterfully, Jesus extricates both himself and the woman from the dilemma.

His reply is perfectly suited to the occasion. Jesus was always an excellent thinker on his feet.

Acknowledging the demand of the law for adulterers ("Let anyone without sin cast the first stone...") while confronting all present with their own sin (and potential hypocrisy in judging her), he extricates both himself and the woman from the dilemma (v.7ff).

The older in the crowd, realizing that Jesus occupies the moral high ground and will not be trapped, walk away.

The younger in the crowd, less savvy and more moralistic, linger longer, but they too in the end leave the scene.

The accusers apparently depart as well.

In the end, only two persons remain.

While offering her divine forgiveness, Jesus hardly condones her immorality.

"Sin no more" (v.11).

The heart-warming vignette demonstrates the church's attitude towards erring members. Sin will not be taken lightly, but forgiveness is always available if there is repentance.

This passage is one of several understood by early Christians to forbid capital punishment. The early position on execution is found in such writers as Lactantius (c.290-300 AD): When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits the violence that is condemned by public laws, but he also forbids the violence that is deemed lawful by men. Thus it is not lawful for a just man to engage in warfare, since his warfare is injustice itself. Nor is it [lawful] to accuse anyone of a capital offense. It makes no difference whether you put a man to death by word, or by the sword. It is the act of putting to death itself which is prohibited. Therefore, regarding this precept of God there should be no exception at all. Rather it is always unlawful to put to death a man, whom God willed to be a sacred creature.

The Woman

She is a nobody, a cipher, an object -- dehumanized, just like the blind man (John 9:2), only of interest for theological reasons.
She is a victim. She has been set up, so it seems.
She is guilty. It takes two to tango, and two to commit adultery. She may not be responsible for the system, but she is responsible for her own actions.
She is all of us! For outside of Christ, the world views us as nobodies; we--or well-meaning "experts"--may insist we have been victimized; yet in our heart of hearts, and in the presence of the holy God, we are guilty. We all stand as much in need of Christ's grace as this poor woman--and so we ought to learn from her.
Yet anyone in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

Thought questions:

What differences, if any, do I detect between the "old law" and the new?
Do I have a fixed opinion on capital punishment? What position do I suppose that Jesus and the early church held to? Does it surprise me to learn that the early church opposed capital punishment? (All of this changed in the 300s, with the beginning of the Catholic Church.) For more on this, listen to the podcast on Capital Punishment.
Had I been present, which of the characters in this story would I have been: the older persons, the younger persons, the woman, or the accusers?

NT Characters: Joseph of Arimathea

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 21:30:24 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Joseph of Arimathea in the N.T.:

Matt 27:57-60
Mark 15:43-46
Luke 23:50-53
John 19:38-42

What do we learn from Joseph?

Take a stand: sometimes deeds speak more loudly than words.
There may be times when our discipleship will be more public.
Be invested emotionally and financially in your faith.
Find strength in another believer (as Joseph partnered with Nicodemus).
Sometimes we need to speak up!

Joseph in tradition

Patron saint of undertakers
Tie to Britain and Holy Grail (some traditions as late as the 9th C).
Some 2nd and 3rd century traditions of Christianity in Britain.
See The Gospel of Nicodemus, The Narrative of Joseph, and The Passing of Mary.

NT Characters: The Mother & The 7 Brothers

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Hebrews 11:35

The "Hall of Fame of Faith" of Hebrews 11 mentions a number of men and women by name, yet many persons are only alluded to (Hebrews 11:32-38). Some are known from Bible, others from extrabiblical sources.
- The courageous martyr who was sawn in two was Isaiah, who traditionally was executed by Manasseh (Martyrdom of Isaiah 1:10, 5:1; also recorded in the Talmud).
- Probably the best known, and most colorful, instance the Hebrew writer refers to is found in verse 35.
Hebrews 11:35 refers to 2 Maccabees 7, the moving story of a family of 8 who take their stand on the God of Israel, refusing to be released so that they might "attain a better resurrection."
The story has been a constant source of inspiration for devout Jews ever since the second century BC.

The context

2nd century BC
Antiochus Epiphanes IV (foretold in Daniel 11) insists on divine honors. He has no sensitivity to or tolerance for Judaism.
Heavy pressure to conform to pagan (Greek) society
- Greek language, fashion, sports, culture, idolatry.
- Prohibition of circumcision.
- Violation of Sabbath and kosher laws.
Some Jews refused, and this led to a revolution, the Maccabean revolt.
- Judas the Hammer (Judas Maccabee) leads the revolt. The revolution was successful, and for the period of about a century the Jews enjoyed political autonomy.
- The Seleucids and Ptolemies, heirs to the fractured kingdom of Alexander the Great, could not hold on to Judea. The Jewish Hasmonean dynasty now sits on the throne.
- This comes to and end when the Romans, who were eclipsing the Greeks from the 2nd to 1st centuries BC, seize control of the region in 63 BC. They rule Jerusalem until 614 AD (when it is captured by the Persians). The Muslims seize Jerusalem in 638 AD.
- During this century of Jewish rule, the monarchy and the priesthood became entangled and corrupt. The lascivious and equivocating Herod the Great appeals directly to Augustus Caesar and solidifies his position as king of the Jews. The priesthood has by now become a sham. Longing for the spirit of the days of the Maccabean martyrs, many Jews wistfully read the books of 1-2 Maccabees.

The theology of the passage

At this time some Jews believed in resurrection only for the righteous, others that the wicked would be resurrected and then destroyed in the fire, while the righteous would be resurrected to everlasting life.
You will notice that the seventh son warns Antiochus of judgment, but not of infinite hell. Like Christians in the first four centuries, Jews in the intertestamental period held several different positions on the nature and duration of hell.
You will detect a trace of a patriarchal attitude in the text. If this bothers you, remember that this passage in 2 Maccabees lifts up the woman as a worthy example for us all.
There are times when government demands absolute allegiance; we must refuse.
The Law of Moses must be upheld.
The brothers actually interpret their persecution as the punishment of God for their sins (!).

2 Maccabees 7:1-41

NT Characters: John the Baptist

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background information

This NT podcast but could just as easily be put into the OT category, since our character appears in both testaments. He lived under the tail end of the old covenant, as the kingdom of God was dawning.
Family: married? father? how distant a cousin of Jesus?
Levite (Exodus-Deuteronomy) - priestly class, charged with bringing God to the people and the people to God
Nazirite (Numbers 6) -- special calling and devotion
The long-awaited resumption of prophecy (Malachi 3). Explains his adoption of the dress and demeanor of Elijah.
Perhaps so credible and effective because he did not stand on his position as a Levite. He certainly didn't tape into the great wealth of the priestly establishment.
John is often compared unfairly to Jesus, who seems to be a cousin. Perhaps, frightened by his rough, untamed preaching, we comfort ourselves by dismissing his words as extremist.

Transitional figure (Malachi 3:1-3, 4:4-6)

Last O.T. prophet and Elijah figure.
Herald of the Messiah (Though a man of the old covenant, Jesus exalts him (Matthew 11:2-15).
Knew that to prepare people for the coming of the Lord they must first get right with their fellow men: a ministry of reconciliation.
Moses received the Law for the Jewish people at Horeb (Sinai). The prophets called all back to the letter and Spirit of the Law, which entailed righteous relationships with others. See 1 John 4:19-21.
What made him so great? I would like to offer four reasons.

I. Profound sense of divine calling

Luke 1:13-17 -- divine plan. God's plan was revealed even before John's birth.
Luke 3:2 - start of ministry. John begins only once the word of God came to him.
Resumption of prophecy - (see the intertestamental books of 1 & 2 Maccabees).

II. Radical message delivered with radical courage

Repentance, in view of God's kingdom (Matthew 3:1-12).
Repentance must yield fruit (Matthew 3:8).
A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4).
Not all were willing to accept his challenge (Luke 7:29-30).
Yet John did not claim to have the last word.
- He was only preparing the way for the Messiah.
- John's baptism did not confer the Spirit, which was a special mark of the new covenant (John 7:38-39).
John had the courage of Elijah (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 2).

III. A true man of character

He was tough
- Fasting (Matthew 9:14; Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33)
- Asceticism (Luke 7:33)
He was a flawed human, imperfect like the rest of us.
- John he had his period of doubt/struggle (Luke 7:18-23).
- Yet he was a truly virtuous follower of God. (Virtue < vir, virtus [man, strength])
He took a strong stand on personal righteousness.
- True virtue stands opposed to vice.
- Publicly challenged the illicit marriage of Herod Antipas.
John did not show favoritism, nor was he impressed by religiosity.
Courage
- Spoke truth to power, like Elijah, Jesus, Paul, and may other figures.
- Unwilling to back down.
He was humble. Self came second.
- Yet strong!
- In this he resembled Moses (Numbers 12:3), although he especially resembled Elijah.
John 3:27-30. Memory verse: "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30).

None of Self, and All of Thee, or
Oh, the Bitter Pain and Sorrow

Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow that a time could ever be, / When I proudly said to Jesus, “All of self, and none of Thee.”
All of self, and none of Thee, All of self, and none of Thee, / When I proudly said to Jesus, “All of self, and none of Thee.”
Yet He found me; I beheld Him bleeding on th’ accursed tree, / And my wistful heart said faintly, “Some of self, and some of Thee.”
Some of self, and some of Thee, Some of self, and some of Thee, / And my wistful heart said faintly, “Some of self, and some of Thee.”
Day by day His tender mercy, healing, helping, full and free, / Brought me lower while I whispered, “Less of self, and more of Thee.”
Less of self, and more of Thee, less of self, and more or Thee, / Brought me lower while I whispered, “Less of self, and more of Thee.”
Higher than the highest heaven, deeper than the deepest sea, / Lord, Thy love at last has conquered: “None of self, and all of Thee.”
None of self, and all of Thee, None of self, and all of Thee, / Lord, Thy love at last has conquered: “None of self, and all of Thee.”

IV. Faithful to death

Jezebel threatened to remove Elijah 's head but this did not happen.
The spite of a woman did, however, lead to John's decapitation (Matthew 14).
"Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and was a very just punishment for what he did against John called the baptist [the dipper]. For Herod had him killed, although he was a good man and had urged the Jews to exert themselves to virtue, both as to justice toward one another and reverence towards God, and having done so join together in washing. For immersion in water, it was clear to him, could not be used for the forgiveness of sins, but as a sanctification of the body, and only if the soul was already thoroughly purified by right actions. And when others massed about him, for they were very greatly moved by his words, Herod, who feared that such strong influence over the people might carry to a revolt -- for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise -- believed it much better to move now than later have it raise a rebellion and engage him in actions he would regret. And so John, out of Herod's suspiciousness, was sent in chains to Machaerus, the fort previously mentioned, and there put to death; but it was the opinion of the Jews that out of retribution for John God willed the destruction of the army so as to afflict Herod." -- Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.2 116-119

Further study

The podcasts on reincarnation explain further that he was not literally Elijah.
You may also want to listen to the Elijah podcast.

You will find a study on the Nazirite (specifically, their parents) in Principle-Centered Parenting (formerly The Quiver.)

NT Characters: The Magi ("Wise Men")

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

The word magi
- Latin for Greek magos (plural magoi)
- From it we get the word magician
- Persian, members of the priestly Zoroastrian religion, and almost certainly practitioners of astrology.
- Most scholars equate them with the sorcerers (Chaldeans) who served at the Babylonian court, as in Daniel 2. They are their spiritual descendants.
Wise? Yes.
Kings? No, despite the popular song: "We Three Kings" (here are the lyrics....)
- Conflation of Matthew 2 (Jesus an infant [born in Matthew 1], the family now living in a house) and Luke 2 (Jesus' birth).
- Tradition: 3 in the West, 12 in the East.
- Best known trio:
  - Melchior - Persian scholar
  - Caspar - Indian scholar
  - Balthazar - Arabian scholar

Various legends

About the gift:
- Judas helped himself to the gold, which had been entrusted to him.
- Gold stolen by the thieves who were crucified with Jesus.
- Joseph used it to move his family to Egypt (when Herod tried to kill the newborn Messiah).
- Further legends involving the the frankincense and the myrrh.
Commemorating the magi
- Martyred.
- Marco Polo saw their tombs in Tehran (1270s).
- Their bones lie in Cologne Cathedral.
- Commemorated at the Feast of Epiphany (6 January).
- Visit all the children of the world -- on camels, not reindeer.
But most of these legends are from 6th- 9th centuries. Too late to be of historical value.

Theology of the gifts

Gold shows Christ's regal status, myrrh his mortality, incense his divinity, corresponding to his virtue, prayer, and suffering (so Origen, c.200 AD).
243 BC: A Syrian king (in Miletus) offers gold to the sun-god Apollo. Christ the true King -- Psalm 68:28, 72:11, Isaiah 60:3-6. Recall also the gold annual tribute to Solomon (1 Kings 10:14).
In the light of such verses, the magi in time were elevated to kings.

Biblical text

Our story is featured in only one passage.
- Matthew 2:1-12.
- Again, the Luke 2 birth account is earlier.
- Note: "When it rose" (NIV) may be "in the east."
Prophecy
- Micah 5:2 - fairly easy to understand. Though note that Matthew is quoting from a different version of Micah than the one that has come to be part of our Old Testament (translated from the Hebrew Masoretic text).
- Hosea 11:1 -- more difficult. Matthew is showing that in Jesus are recapitulated events surrounding his people Israel.
- Jeremiah 31:15 -- the prophet views the discouragement and hopelessness of the exile as grief / loss of Rachel (Jacob/Israel's wife) for her children. Matthew finds a deeper significance in the Massacre of the Innocents. Note that Rachel's tomb is just outside Bethlehem.

Historical concerns

Astronomy?
- Conjunction of planets?
- Comet?
- Caution about explaining such biblical events.
- Star appears at birth of ruler -- deeply meaningful in ancient culture.
Herod the Great (74-4 BC)
- Illegitimacy as king of the Jews.
  - Half Jewish, half Idumean (Edomite).
  - Not a true son of David.
  - Secures his kingship by traveling to Rome and making a deal with Augustus Caesar (nephew of Julius Caesar).
- Murderous nature
  - Killed family members.
  - Ordered the deaths of others he perceived as threats to his reign.
- Date of death
  - Based on the testimony of the Jewish historian Josephus.
  - Jesus was apparently born around 2 years before Herod died.
Zoroastrian religion (the faith of the magoi).
- Whereas the sorcerers of Babylon (in the book of Daniel) were polytheists, the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire had undergone a conversion to Zoroastrianism (6th century BC), a quasi-monotheistic (though dualistic) religion. Note: modern Iran (Persia) is predominantly Muslim (since the 7th century AD).
- Listen to the podcast on Zoroastrianism if you want to learn more about this religion.
More on the prophecy of Micah 5
- 8th century BC.
- Rachel died near, and king David and Jesus were both born in, (southern) Bethlehem Ephrata (Ruth 4:13-22; 1 Samuel 16:1). This is to be distinguished between another (northern) Bethlehem (Judges 12:8).
- Anticipated a divine Davidic king.
"The Slaughter of the Innocents"
- No historical proof, but realistic all the same; fits perfectly with what we know of Herod the Great.
- Number of dead baby boys: perhaps 20?
- Several famous paintings, e.g. one by Giacomo Paracca)
Death and burial of Rachel (Genesis 35:19), just outside Bethlehem.

Application

"Wise men seek him still." Of course this is true. But is it the point?
Look inward: The magi help us to contemplate the biblical significance of Jesus' royal divine birth.
Look outward: The magi (as Gentiles) point to Jesus' universal, cosmic significance.
- This ties in much better with Matthew's Gentile theme (e.g. Matthew 1 [women in genealogy], 28 [make disciples of all peoples]).
- A common biblical theme: the outsiders "get it" before the insiders. This is (and should be) humbling.

NT Characters: Matthias & Joseph (Jackson Cheng)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Jesus chose twelve men from among his disciples to become apostles. The number twelve is symbolic and important; it signifies being chosen. God chose the twelve tribes of Israel to be His chosen people. So after Judas betrayed Jesus and committed suicide, they needed to replace him in order for the number to be complete.

Acts 1:12-26
Here we see two men who were proposed to take Judas’ spot as an apostle: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

There is no other mention of these men in the New Testament. Church historian Eusebius numbers Matthias among the 70 whom Jesus sent out in Luke 10. Matthias is believed to have been stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem (according Fox's Book of Martyrs). What we do know about these two men is that they were faithful disciples of Jesus from the very beginning, when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, until the time Jesus ascended. Were there others among the 120 who also qualified to replace Judas? We do not know. We do know that among the 120, Joseph and Matthias were the ones proposed by consensus. That speaks of their reputation among those who remained faithful. What we can learn about them is through deduction.

Scriptural Study

Mark 2:1-2
It is easy to be a Christian when it is popular.

John 9:18-23
It is a test of one's faithfulness when there is persecution or opposition - when being a Christian is not popular.

(One of the threats from the Jewish leaders was to ban anyone who acknowledged Jesus as Messiah from the synagogues. The synagogue was the heart of the Jewish communities throughout the various nations and cities of the Roman Empire. They were established after Israel and Judah were unfaithful to God and taken captive by the Assyrians and Babylonians--and dispersed throughout those empires. You can look up Jewish diaspora for more background information. As the Jews settled in the cities where they were taken captive, the synagogues became their places of assembly/worship/study - especially once the Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians (586 BC). Banishment from the synagogue was equivalent to excommunication or disfellowship from the church.

John 6:60-66
We must stay faithful even when it is personally challenging and when most people no longer follow.

Application

We need to ask ourselves the question: Why am I a Christian? If we are honest with the answer and work to have the right heart, it will help us to have the motivation to continue in our faith. Which commands of God are hard for me personally? What sins do I struggle with? Am I faithful even when it is hard?

Conclusion
God values faithfulness, and we see this in Joseph and Matthias. They may not have been named or recognized in the gospels, but they were part of the backbone of Jesus' ministry. Their faithfulness from the beginning to the end shows us that they were "in it" not for personal glory or gain, not for recognition or prestige, not because it was easy, not because that is what everyone else did. They were faithful disciples of Jesus because they understood God's love for them. They are inspirations for us to remain faithful until the end.

NT Characters: Stephen

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Dec 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

The word stephanos (crown) appears first in Homer--it's a good Greek name going back 8 centuries before Stephen's time.
There seems to be no relation to the Stephanas of 1 Corinthians 1:16, 16:15,17.
Stephen was the first martyr for Christ (after Jesus). Every week, a number of men and women are martyred for their faith in Christ.
Scripture: Acts 6:1-8:3

Character: Stephen the man of God

Wisdom. Specifically, he was someone who understood those who felt misunderstood and underrepresented (fellow Greek [Hellenistic] believers).
Service. As one of the 7 deacons, Stephen administered relief to the needy.
Faith. This disciple believed to the point of death.
Grace. Even in death, he was gracious towards his enemies.
Power. Stephen was a conduit for God's power through his speaking, miracles, and strength of character.

Witness: Stephen as bold proclaimer of Christ

Like all convinced Christ-followers, Stephen bore witness to his Lord.
He had the "big picture":
- O.T. history (the history of God's often-stubborn people)
- An understanding of a Christianity larger than Judaism (universal salvation).
  - Stephen, like those who evangelized the Gentiles during the great persecution (Acts 11:19), may have been ahead of his time.
  - The Antioch church strategically planted churches (Acts 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18), and the missionaries they sent took the word to Gentiles (non-Jews).
  - On the island of Cyprus, Paul would later begin a more Gentile evangelistic strategy (Acts 13).

Death: Stephen dying a death worthy of his Lord

Parallels to the death of Christ.
- Both challenged the ruling high priestly family of Caiaphas. Seeing Jesus as mediator implied that Caiaphas was not the legitimate mediator between God and man. No wonder he and his cronies were so angry!
- Trumped-up charges.
- Executed outside the city of Jerusalem.
- "Son of Man" saying (see Luke 22:69). This is a unique reference outside the gospels.
- Forgiveness of enemies (see Luke 23:43).
- Committing his spirit to God at death (Luke 23:46).
Blasphemers were stoned under Jewish law. Read about the execution of the blasphemer (Leviticus 24:11,16). Even the apostle Paul would later be hauled outside the city of Lystra and stoned (Acts 14:19).
Stephen's faith illustrates Revelation 12:11 beautifully.
He was the first martyr of the Christian churc.
- The original meaning of martyr (martus) = witness.
- Many would fellow in his wake, especially by the time Christianity was illegal -- in the 2nd to early 4th centuries.

Conclusion & Application

Stephen bore witness to Christ in 32 AD, yet by faith he continues to speak today.
It is with good reason that people have been naming their children after Stephen ever since (Stephanie, Steve, Etienne, Stefan, Esteban...) Further, 26/27 December is celebrated as the Feast of Stephen in the Western Catholic / Eastern Orthodox churches.
How do you think the apostle Paul felt once he realized that Jesus was Lord -- and that he had presided over the execution of an innocent man? Interestingly, Paul stayed in the home of Stephen's fellow evangelist Philip (Acts 21:8). What do you imagine they talked about?
Let's walk in the steps of Stephen:
- We too should be able to tell the the old, old story.
- Like Stephen, we have the "big picture"--not just of biblical history, but of God's desire to see all peoples reached.
- Be prepared to take a stand. Let's keep our eyes on the Lord of glory.

Further:

Read Alexander Strauch's excellent book on the biblical role of deacon. It is The New Testament Deacon.
Sign up for weekly emails from Voice of the Martyrs.
Learn something about martyrology. Not all martyrs were killed in the pre-Constantinian Roman Empire. For example. during a recent visit to Uganda, I learned about "Martyrs Day" (3 June) which honors 150 persons who chose to be burnt at the stake rather than renounce Christianity. This took place only a century ago!
Pray for the persecuted and those being martyred in our world today!
If you don't have a broad grasp of the story of the Old Testament, pray to be like Stephen, who was able to recite and interpret the scriptures with passion and accuracy -- and without notes.

NT Characters: Demas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 3 Dec 2020 15:11:18 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Leaders leave

[[Campus minister secret sin atheist died alone Many leaders in my life it serving in other circles in which I moved involved in egregious sin or else gave up their faith altogether]]
In scripture, we see that quite a few prominent leaders away from the path:
- OT: Korah, Saul, Ahab... (Numbers 16;1 Samuel 13; 1 Kings 16; etc).
- NT: Judas, Hymenaeus & Philetus, Diotrephes... (John 13; 2 Timothy 2; 3 John; etc).
Many would-be disciples turned away from Jesus (John 6:60,66), including one of his own apostles (John 13:27).
Demas was a ministry associate of the apostle Paul, and sadly not the only "high level" leader who abandoned the apostle. If it can happen to "the strong," it can happen to any of us.

Demas in Scripture

Colossians 4:14 (c.60 AD)
Philemon 24 (c.60 AD)
2 Timothy 4:10 (64-68 AD)
In John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678), Demas is a deceiver who tries to persuade pilgrims to leave the narrow road for the sake of financial enrichment.
We don't know exactly what it was that lured Demas away. Did Demas long to be popular (as his name suggests)? Had he become enamored of prestige? Was he entangled in commercial "civilian affairs"? Was there a woman, or had he been influenced by Paul's enemies? Or was he disillusioned ("fed up") with the ministry? Did he ever return, or had he crossed the point of return (what the Bible calls "falling away" [Hebrews 6, 10; 2 Peter 2]?) We may never know.
It is even possible that his heart turned over a period of years. Leaving the Lord can happen quickly (Mark 4:17), or take place or over a period of many years.

Other passages referenced

1 John 2:15-17, 3:13, 4:5
Galatians 6:14
James 1:27, 4:4
2 Peter 1:4, 2:20; Matthew 7:6
John 17:13-17; Ecclesiastes 4:4

Lessons drawn

The world is attractive, corrupting, and seductive.
Regardless of our level of spirituality or leadership, we are never beyond the reach of the tentacles of the world.
That's why we are called to make a clean break with the world.
For if it can happen to "the strong," it can happen to any of us.

NT Characters: Claudia

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Tue, 1 Dec 2020 00:16:14 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The wife of Pilate

Note: If you haven't yet listened to the podcast on Pontius Pilate, please do so now, as this will provide helpful background information so that you may better understand Claudia.
What was it like to relocate because of your husband's career?
What was it like to move to a distant land?
What was it like to move where people didn't speak your language?

The text & Claudia's dream

Matthew 27:19: Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream."
The dream was Thursday night / Friday morning of the Passion Week.
Some early Christians said that her dream was sent by God to help her become a Christian.
Others suggested that this was a scheme of Satan to thwart the crucifixion.
In fact, God spoke through dreams to several other people in the course of biblical history. In particular, non-believers to whom he spoke include:
- Pharaoh (Genesis 40-41)
- Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2)
- Xerxes (Esther 6:1)
- The list is not exhaustive; the Lord spoke to many believers and non-believers alike, though it is not easy to discern whether or to what extent he still speaks to us by this means in our time.

In later legend:

Orthodox saint!
4th C. Acts of Pilate -- more elaborate. She appears in the earlier 2nd C. literature also.
These documents tended to paint Christianity and Rome as relating positively. That is, they may have propaganda.
Could she have become a Christian? In Acts we see several upper-class women responding to the gospel, so it cannot be ruled out. Yet there is no direct evidence for this speculation.

Lessons for us

Learn from all the character of the Bible: major, minor; believer, non-believer; male, female...
Be sensitive to subtle cues God may be giving us.
[Repeated from Pilate lesson:] Don't ignore your wife's counsel. After all, women are often more spiritually attuned than men.
If your husband is a knucklehead, do share spiritual input. Yet make it count; be strategic:
- The right subject.
- The right time.
- The right tone.

NT Characters: Pontius Pilate

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 01:16:21 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The man

A Roman, quite possibly Italian.
Governor / prefect of Judea 26-36 AD.
We can build a composite picture from the N.T., several extrabiblical references, and even archaeology:
- Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 3,13, 23; Acts 3, 4. 13; John 18, 19; [1 Tim 6].
- The writings of Philo (Embassy to Gaius), Josephus (Jewish War and History of the Jews), and Tacitus (Annals).
- Pilate stone, found in Caesarea Maritima in 1961. Dedication stone to the emperor Tiberius (r. 14-37 AD) had been recycled as part of the Roman theater. Judea was governed by a prefect; this was changed to procurator starting 44 AD. The Bible uses the correct terms-- a testament to its authenticity.
Matthew 27:11-14,18,19,23-24,26; John 18:28-38; John 19:18-22.

Political history

Protege of Sejanus, head of the Praetorian Guard.
Member of the Equestrian class.
Tasked with keeping the peace; collecting taxes; governing the distant Syria (including Judea).
Insensitive actions
- Soldiers carried Roman standards (idolatrous images) into Jerusalem -- protests.
- Temple money spent on aqueduct: soldiers in crowd at Pilate's signal turned on them beating killing.
- Shields brought into Jerusalem (near Temple), with inscriptions claiming divinity for the emperor Tiberius.
- Samaritans planning to go up Mt. Gerizim to see alleged Mosaic items -- massacred en route.
Recalled to Rome, but by the time he'd arrived the emperor had died (37 AD).
Luke 13:1 fits well with what is known about Pilate from the extrabiblical sources.
Late legend that the emperor Caligula (37-41 AD) ordered him to commit suicide.

Character

A politician (but not in the sense of wooing voters -- the emperor could remove him).
Roman: practical man, doing what was expedient.
Still, seems to have been in two minds about how to deal with Jesus. A picture emerges of a man who was unsure how to conduct himself, inconsistently overbearing or, at other times detached.
Insensitive to those among whom he served.
Brutal (e.g, bribery and executions without trial).

Multiple chances to respond in faith

Interview with Jesus (e.g. John 18).
The dream of Claudia.
The baseless charges of the Jewish leadership.
6 years of Christianity before his recall to Rome!
Some late legends that Pilate became a Christian, but this is highly unlikely. It is unthinkable that the gospels would not have recorded such extraordinary news! It is also implausible given his vacillating and cruel character.

Lessons for us

Take responsibility for our actions. Some decisions are impossible to distance ourselves from.
Politics is messy, and often requires moral compromises for the good of the state.
Don't ignore your wife's counsel!
Don't jump to the conclusion that God hasn't been giving people chances to respond to the truth, or that he is unfair. He is at work in every life (Acts 17); he has forgotten no one.

Further study

Review all the Pilate passages.
Listen to the Barabbas podcast.

NT Characters: Jesus' Siblings

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 04:04:43 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

Family of 10 or more:
- Parents: Yosef, Maria[m]
- Sons: Yeshua, Ya'akov, Yosef, Yehudah, Shim'on
- Daughters: 3 or more, all unnamed (see Genesis 5)
Not a wealthy family (Luke 2:24; see Leviticus 5:7).
Imagine what this family must have been like!
- The older sibling who always did what was right (!).
- The loss of the father early on, making the same sibling the de facto family head.
- Family "secret" -- rumors surrounding the birth of Mary's firstborn (Luke 2:7; Matthew 1:25)?
- By far, the sibling about whom we know most is James (Ya'akov). Apart from these facts, nearly everything else is speculation.
Please listen to the podcast on Jesus if you haven't yet heard it.

Scriptural study

Matthew 12:46, 13:53-58
- v.55 -- four brothers named
- v.56 -- sisters mentioned
- Unbelief
Mark 3:20-21,30-31 (also Luke 8:19-21) -- Jesus' family does not understand his mission. See also Luke 2:41-50.
Mark 6:1-5 -- His hometown were offended by him, and his own family does not seem to have made things any better.
John 2:12 -- Jesus spends time with his family.
John 7:3-10 -- There is tension and misunderstanding between his brothers and him.
Matthew 28:10: "Tell my brothers." See also John 20:17.
1 Corinthians 15:7 -- James was an eyewitness of the resurrected Jesus. A skeptic is won over.
Acts 1:14 -- Jesus' family is united in prayer.
Galatians 1:19 -- James is referred to as apostle ("missionary"?). See also 1 Corinthians 9:5.
Galatians 2:9,12 -- James is a major leader in the Jerusalem church. See also James 1:1 and Jude 1:1; both these letters are traditionally attributed to Ya'akov and Yehudah (James and Jude), Jesus' siblings.
Acts 15:13-21, 21:17ff -- James is serving as some sort of president in the Jerusalem church.
Hegesippus and Josephs reported James' execution by the Sanhedrin in 62 AD.
While traditions are strong that Jesus' family became believers in Christ, not every family member is discussed. We will have to be satisfied knowing that for the most part things turned out well.

Technical

Josephus (37-100 AD), the Jewish historian and statesman (and adopted son of the emperor Vespasian, 69-79 AD), mentions the execution of James, as does Hegesippus (110-180 AD), whose work is known to us through the church historian Eusebius (263-339), who served at the court of Constantine.
Many churchmen contest the terms "brothers" and "sisters," claiming these words are open to different interpretations. These simple Greek words have been argued to refer to children of Joseph by a previous marriage, Mary's sister's children, or Joseph's sister's children. All these efforts seem designed to uphold the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, which is refuted by Matthew 1:25 and the other verses referencing her children.
In the earlier centuries, three views on Jesus' "brothers" emerged:
- Tertullian (160-220) held that they were Jesus' full, physical brothers.
- The Protoevangelium of James (c.150 AD) portrays them as sons of Jacob by an earlier marriage.
- Jerome (347-420) held that they were first cousins to Jesus, sons of Alphaeus and Mary of Clopas.
Desposyni is the technical term referring to alleged blood relatives of Jesus Christ. It was coined by Sextus Julius Africanus in the early 3rd century. Some argue that Jesus' relatives held positions of honor in the early church (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, plus some Anglicans and Lutherans.

Lessons for us

Stay connected to your family.
While modern families tend to be small, ancient (and traditional) families strove to be large. We should view any reference to families in the scriptures through such a prism.
- Families did not consist of father and mother, son and daughter; they were far larger. Moreover, extended families (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins...) tended to live in the same village.
- Families were thus more interactive. A lot of learning would have taken place among the siblings.
- There were clearly defined expectations for sons and daughters.
- An abundance of children (especially sons) provided security for parents, esp. in their old age (Psalm 127:3-5, 128:5-6).
It may take a while to win them over, so pray and wait patiently.

NT Characters: Simon the Sorcerer

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 04:05:02 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

There are at least 8 Simons in the Bible, not to mention several men named Simeon (a related name).
Simon received the epithet Magus, which means magician / sorcerer. Technically speaking, a magus (pl. magi) was a Zoroastrian astrologer. Whether or not this was Simon's religious background, he did make certain claims to esoteric knowledge / power, and thus could be considered a magician or sorcerer. For more on the Magi, refer to the upcoming podcast.
He is presumably a Samaritan, although it is possible he was a Jew operating in Samaria.
The fact that Samaritans were heterodox in their doctrine, and perhaps thought to be gullible, enhances the power of their conversion. And so, barrier by barrier, the walls come tumblin' down...
The gospel is in its second phase of expansion, penetrating Judea and Samaria (Acts 1:8)

Scriptural study (I was reading from the NASB.)

Acts 8:4-24 is the only text where Simon the Sorcerer makes an appearance.
- This man is fascinated with the dramatic and the impressive.
- One is reminded of both Pharaoh's magicians (Exodus 7:11) and Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:21-23)
- Simon seems to have been genuinely converted.
- When he realizes the apostles' hands in some way imparted something miraculous to his former fans, he covets such power. (Note: something supernatural had taken place. At each of four major moments in salvation history [Acts 2, 8, 10, and 19] the Holy Spirit makes a point as the gospel moves into new territories/situations. For more, please read The Spirit.)
We may quickly lean towards doubting Simon's conversion, yet there is evidence it was genuine. (It's probably a moot point.)
- The incident reminds us of Jeremiah 34:12-16.
- There (as God admits) the people had repented, but later changed their minds.
- We should be wary of defining repentance so strictly that no wavering is possible, or that people are tempted to hide their failings or doubts for fear of being deemed inauthentic. (See 1 Kings 21:29.)
Although before his baptism, as soon afterward, Simon preferred impressing people over fearing God, he responds humbly (it must be admitted) when rebuked by the apostle Peter.
- The solution in such cases is not severe discipline (though the apostolic rebuke was severe), nor
- rebaptism (there is no thought of that in this passage), but
- repentance. Revelation 3:19 is instructive: when Christians lose their way, lose their fire, lose their purity of motive, the answer is always repentance--and thus resumption of fellowship with their Lord.

Miscellaneous

Learn about the sin of simony, the sale of clerical office. This perverse practice was current in the Middle Ages.
You might also want to explore the parallels between Simon the Sorcerer and Jannes and Jambres, the magicians of Pharaoh (and to whom a pseudepigraphal work was attributed). All three had reached impressive levels in their ability to wow the crowds. Or make a list of figures in the Bible who failed to give glory to God.
Later traditions about a show-down between Peter and Simon Magus appear in polemical texts among various patristic writers (Epiphanius, Hippolytus, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr), and also in apocryphal documents like The Acts of Peter (late 2nd century).

Lessons

Stay away from sorcery, which we are warned about in both testaments (2 Kings 9:22; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 47:9,12; Micah 5:12; Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21, 18:23). On the other hand, there is a difference between black magic and innocent fantasy. For more, please weigh my comments in my podcast on Harry Potter.
Not so quick to judge people's repentance. (Rebaptism isn't all it's cracked up to be.)
Beware the sensational. Sensational doesn't equate to spiritual. Am I moved by hype and glitz, or by heart and truth? Do I consciously or even unconsciously hope to impress others by my story (Colossians 2:18-19)?
Simon's problem wasn't that he was too deep (profound or esoteric), but that he was shallow. He was concerned with the appearances of things. Yet deep spirituality is rooted in a Christ-like character, purified by suffering, evidenced in perseverance through loving ministry.

NT Characters: Apollos

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 04:01:11 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

The name derives from the name of the sun-god of the ancient Greeks (and Romans), Apollo.
He was an Egyptian, and more specifically an Alexandrian.
Alexandria was the intellectual capital of Egypt, Africa, and perhaps the entire Mediterranean world at the time. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, it became the capital of Egypt for a millennium, until the Muslims took over in the 7th century.
Like the majority of leaders in the first generation of Christianity, Apollos was a Jew.
After he linked up with Priscilla and Aquila, he became a ministry associate of the apostle Paul.

Scriptural study

Acts 18:24-19:1
1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:4-6,22, 4:6, 16:12
Titus 3:13

Questions

Q1: Who had taught Apollos?
Q2: As he was "fervent in spirit/Spirit," did he possess the Holy Spirit when Priscilla and Aquila first reached out to him?
Q3: Who taught him the second time, and what (if anything) does this say about women teaching?
Q4: Was Apollos baptized again?
Q5: What is the connection between Apollos and other followers of John the Baptist (Acts 19)? It appears he had been taught correctly, yet they had not.
Q6: What scriptures did he use to prove Jesus was the Christ?
Q7: Are we willing to be corrected where our doctrine is incomplete?
Q8: Do we appreciate the value of evidences, not only for those who lack faith, but also for those who already believe? With respect to why young people overwhelmingly reject the faith they grew up with, read the results of the important Barna poll.
Q9: In expressing my preferences for leaders / leadership styles, am I more a unifying force in the local church, or a dividing influence?
Q10: Do I lead in such a way that others rally behind me and withdraw support from others to whom they owe allegiance and respect? Or am I a team player?
Q11: Do I feel at liberty to make my own decisions?
Q12: If I am a leader, do I allow others the liberty of making their own decisions? Or am I so forceful that they feel they cannot say no?

Conclusion

We need more Apolloses!
Apollos should be an upward call. Yet if we only say, "He was an exception," we let ourselves off the hook for our own responsibility to (1) know the scriptures, (2) engage with others, and ultimately (3) allow the Lord to use us as he sees fit.

Further

Tradition: Lutherans and others consider him to be a saint.
Jerome (Hieronymus) of Bethlehem, c.400 AD, said that Apollos was so dissatisfied with the division at Corinth that he retired to Crete with Zenas, a doctor of the law; and once the schism was eliminated by the influence of 1 Corinthians, Apollos returned there and became its bishop. But such a perspective reflects the church polity of the subapostolic age (2nd century onward), not the apostolic age, when "bishops" did not exist in the singular; a body of overseers [episkopoi, bishops] led the local churches.
Martin Luther and various modern scholars propose that Apollos is the (anonymous) author of the epistle to the Hebrews.

NT Characters: Lazarus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 03:42:19 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

If you haven't listened to the podcast on Mary & Martha, it might be good to listen to that one before this lesson on Lazarus, as they're integrally related.
He lives in Bethany (2 miles from Jerusalem), with his sisters; apparently there are no parents or children living in the home, but this surmise can never be proven.
His name, Greek, comes from the Hebrew Eleazar, which means something like "God is my help." (The help the rich man in Luke 16 would not give to Lazarus was lavished on him by the Lord, while the rich man's fortunes were completely reversed. Parable inspiration?)
As for Lazarus' character, nothing is known for sure. Yet we can rightly expect that, in terms of personality, there would have been a family resemblance. His sisters were faithful, devoted, giving, and "real." It isn't hard to imagine that Lazarus was a winsome individual; and as a fellow male, Jesus would easily have connected with him.

Scriptures read in this podcast:

John 11:1,3-4,5-6,11-15,17,33-37,38-41,43-44,45-46
John 12:1-2, 9-11, 17-19
John 13:23
Ephesians 2:1-6

Five facts about Lazarus' life

The dead man walks out of the tomb (John 11:44).
- Many come to faith as a result (11:45).
- The notoriety this miracle accelerates the collision-course Jesus and the religious establishment are on.
- Why was Jesus so deeply moved at this time? His emotion suggests his humanity (an emphasis in John), though (surely) also his divinity.
- Was Jesus angry? Find out.
- Did Jesus wait the extra days to prove beyond all doubt that Lazarus was dead? Is it true that the Jews believed the soul hovered around the body for three days after death? According to later Jewish belief, yes; check out this link or that one. And yet it is uncertain that this view was current in the first century.
At dinner, he reclines with Jesus (John 12:2).
- This is a special dinner, hosted at the Bethany home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.
- At ancient meals, people lay around the table on couches (on their left elbow) and ate with their right hand.
After his resuscitation, Lazarus becomes, like Jesus, a target (John 12:9-11,17-19).
- The impact of the miracle is mixed.
- Some are moved to faith, others are moved to resistance. So it is with our lives!
Then Lazarus disappears (or does he? -- see below).
He was deeply loved by Jesus (John 11:3,5,11,36). While the Lord loves everyone, not all relationships are the same. This is not a general love, but a very specific one: love for a person as a genuine friend.

An intriguing possibility

About the disciple Jesus loved, see John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7,20.
Note: The Twelve are referred to in chapters 6 and 20, though the apostle John is never designated by name. The closest we come is "son of Zebedee" (21:2).
"The disciple whom Jesus loved" makes his appearance at the very point that Lazarus "disappears." Consider the suggestion of N.T. scholar Ben Witherington III. Click here.

Application

John 11:6 -- God loves us, yet still he allows tough things to happen to us. We should never doubt his love, or the relief that will eventually come.
When God does great things through us, there will be some who are acutely uncomfortable. (Those among whom the Lord is not doing great things? Those whose influence or reputations is diminished.)
We were dead in our sins before we knew Christ (Ephesians 2:1-6). We could no more have raised ourselves up than Lazarus could have brought himself back to life. We are wholly dependent on Christ.
God's love for us isn't just platonic, or abstract. The Bible gives every appearance that God feels--that he cares.
We should pay attention even to the minor characters in the Bible. Although there may be no character development, still there may be things to learn about God (theology).

NT Characters: Mary & Martha

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 14:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

Martha (Aramaic) means something like "the lady." It comes from the masculine form for master, mar.
Miriam, named after the sister of Moses, usually Mary in English, comes from the Hebrew for "bitter."
Catholic tradition equates Mary with Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene), while in Orthodox and Protestant traditions these are two separate persons. In John 12:1-7 and Luke 7:36-50, the anointing is of the feet, not the head, as in the older source Mark 14:3-9 (appearing also in Matthew 26:6-13 and Luke 7:36-51); one Bethany home belongs to Simon the Pharisee (and leper), the other to the home of Martha; and so scholars cannot easily confirm that the anointings represent separate events. This is not easy to decide.
The sisters may have been born into wealth. Notice the spare room for guests, the family vault, and the expensive perfume.
Martha is usually mentioned first, suggesting that she was the older of the sisters. Though it doesn't seem possible to prove this, her being the firstborn is more consistent with her display of personality in the gospel accounts.
They lived with their brother, Lazarus. (Is it more than coincidence that the figure in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus [Luke 16:19-31] is also named Lazarus?) No mention is made of children or aged parents, though of course the silence does not rule out their presence.

Martha & Martha

Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-12:8
Mary sat at Jesus' feet, even as Saul of Tarsus sat at Gamaliel's feet (Acts 22:3). The purpose was presumably not only to learn, but also (in turn) to teach. This is revolutionary. See note ** below.
Contrasting characters
- higher-strung / lower-strung
- more task-oriented / more relational
- more controlling /more accepting
- standing and serving / seated and learning and waiting
- leader / follower

Application

People are wired differently, whether due to nature or nurture, genetics or family of origin, social conditioning, or other factors. Personality differences are not condemned in the Bible. There's always room to improve, and to the extent that we fall short of the character of Christ, we should never become complacent about "who we are." Still, contentment (when accompanied by godliness) is a positive thing, and highly desirable (1 Timothy 6:6).
Even in a single family, personalities differ significantly. Everyone interacts with Jesus Christ in his or her own way. We shouldn't try to force everyone to respond the same way. Genuine commitment may manifest differently in different people.
Jesus Christ, as busy as he was, made time for relationships. It is clear that this family held a special place in his heart. Notice also that among his friends he counted not only men, but also women. Of course he comported himself with propriety at all times, but the requirements of holiness and dignity did not dictate that he hold aloof from those with whom he had no immediate "ministry business."
Life can be burdensome and distracting, and it's all too easy to focus too much on all the duties and chores. Every day let us take time to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn. May we all strive to have a "Mary heart" in a "Martha world." (There's a book about that!)

Further study: See this Q&A.

Next podcast: Lazarus.

** "[Mary] is ‘sitting at his feet’; a phrase which doesn’t mean what it would mean today, the adoring student gazing up in admiration and love at the wonderful teacher. As is clear from the use of the phrase elsewhere in the NT (for instance, Paul with Gamaliel), to sit at the teacher’s feet is a way of saying you are being a student, picking up the teacher’s wisdom and learning; and in that very practical world you wouldn’t do this just for the sake of informing your own mind and heart, but in order to be a teacher, a rabbi, yourself. Like much in the gospels, this story is left cryptic as far as we at least are concerned, but I doubt if any first-century reader would have missed the point.“ -- N.T. Wright, "Women’s Service in the Church: The Biblical Basis," St John’s College, Durham, England (September 4, 2004).

NT Characters: Barabbas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 18:41:24 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The mystery of Barabbas' name

Original pronunciation: Barabbás (accent on last syllable)
Bar is Aramaic for son, and is found in names like Bartholomew, Bar-Jonah, Bartimaeus, Barsabbas, Barnabas
Meaning of Barabbas
- Traditional view: this was the son of Abbas
- Another possibility: Bar-rabban (son of the rabbi)
- Either way, he must have had a first name; he was more than merely "son of Abbas" or "son of the rabbi."
Another Jesus?
- Some late manuscripts (see Matthew 27:16-17) supply a first name: Jesus. Pilate then would have been asking which Jesus he should release.
- Jesuses in the Bible: Joshua, son of Nun; Jesus son of Sirach (Apocrypha); one of Jesus' ancestors (Luke 3:29); Jesus called Justus (Colossians 4:11); Jesus of Nazareth... the early church may have known as many as 12 men named Jesus.
- Note: Jesus was a common name in the first century AD.

The political situation

High tension. The Roman occupation had begun in 63 BC. Discontent will boil over in the revolution of 66-73 AD. By 70 AD, however, both Jerusalem and her stunning temple would lie in ruins.
Zealots dissatisfied with the Roman occupation longed for autonomy, and were willing to result to violence to achieve their ends.
Might persons like Barabbas have been heroic figures for some of the Jews?
Yet would the Romans really release such a (presumably dangerous) man? This is exactly what another Roman governor did in 85 AD, so the Barabbas account appears historical.

Barabbas: crime & punishment

Matthew 27 - notorious prisoner
Mark 15 - murderer
Luke 23 - murderer
John 18 - robber
Acts 3:14 - murderer
The Romans would have crucified Barabbas. This was a common punishment for rebels and political criminals.

Scriptural study

Matthew 27:16-17
Mark 15:6-15

Application

We relate. We know guilt.
We know the shame of saying "Never again," only to backslide. We know the destructive power of anger, what it is to be impulsive, how far we sometimes go to get our own way.
Barabbas was robber, rioter, murderer.
- Yet haven't we too robbed the Lord of his time, his money, his honor? We have treated as our own what truly belongs to him.
- We have rioted in our hearts, our innards a seething sea of attitudinal, chaotic, self-focused feeling.
- As for murder, collectively we share the guilt for the crucifixion of our Lord.
- A substitution has taken place!
  - "He paid a debt he did not owe / I owed a debt I could not pay / I needed someone to take my sins away…”
  - Human substitutions are rejected (Moses, Exodus 32:32; Paul, Romans 9:3). But a divine substitution? See Psalm 49! (And be sure to follow up this lesson with the Ransom podcast.)

Conclusion: Who goes free?

"Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:17)
Shall the guilty be released and the innocent suffer? Yes. The innocent is willed by God to suffer, and the guilty walk free. "Go in peace," they said in former times.
We are all Barabbas!
With all of this in mind, let’s live a life worthy of our Lord: grateful, making the most of our new lease on life!

NT Characters: Nicodemus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 9 Nov 2020 15:29:36 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

Nicodemus is a Greek name, and means "people's victory."
He was a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin.
Generally speaking, Israel's 6000 Pharisees were highly respected.
Nicodemus should have been familiar with the concept of new birth and its connection with water (from the Torah, from the passages about the Messianic age in the major and minor prophets, and from the message of John the Baptist).

Scriptural study

John 3:1ff (It isn't clear where the conversation actually ends.)
John 7:45-52
John 19:38-42
The trajectory is positive, but the outcome is unclear.
- In legend, Nicodemus goes on to become a "saint." Yet the truth of the matter is far from clear.
- As in our own lives, the story is still being written.

Further

The Jewish Encyclopedia has theorized that Nicodemus is identical to Nicodemus ben Gurion, mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy holy man reputed to have had miraculous powers.
Catholic / Orthodox tradition holds that Nicodemus was martyred sometime in the first century. Accordingly, Nicodemus is venerated as a saint.
The apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus was produced the mid-fourth century. It is only a retooling of the earlier Acts of Pilate. Neither, of course, is authentic.

NT Characters: Samaritan Woman

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sun, 8 Nov 2020 00:28:40 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction: Women and Jesus

He never belittles them.
He interacts with them in all purity and respect.
He notices them -- viewing them as subjects (persons) and not objects. They are neither sex objects nor servants nor "extras" on the set. They are precious to the Lord, and so should they be to us.
He was willing to drink from the (ritually unclean) vessel of a Samaritan.
He treats them as equals in the area of discipleship. This rabbi "talks theology" with her!

Text: John 4:4-42

Other scriptures referred to:

John 8:48
Genesis 29:10
Jeremiah 2:13
Zechariah 14:8
Revelation 22:1
Joshua 8:33
Deuteronomy 16:16
John 1:41, 12:21

The woman's dawning realization of who Jesus is

A Jew (4:9) -- a stranger, a man
"Sir" (4:11)
"Prophet" (4:19)
"Messiah" (4:25-26)

What we learn from this woman

Don't write certain people off.
Many social distinctions divide; in Christ God brings together.
A broken, "damaged" person can still be transformed through the presence of Christ.
Sometimes the outsider is the hero of the story.
When you truly believe you have good news, you share it.
God truly loves all people.

Further

The origin of the Samaritans dates to the 8th century BC (2 Kings 17), to the time of the the Assyrian invasion and captivity.
"Samaritan women were judged to bear the ritual uncleanness of the menstruant from their day of birth (mNidd. 4.1; tNidd. 5.1)." Cited in Tai Ilan, Jewish Women in Greco-Roman Palestine (Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson, 1995), 103.
"Talk not much with womankind," said Yose b. Yohanan of Jerusalem (mAbot 1.5).
In Eastern Orthodox tradition, this woman is known as Photine (Greek for "luminous [woman]" from phos, light).
Despite the openness of Jesus towards women as seen in this story, some readers still criticize Christ and Christianity for being misogynist. After all, it is protested, there were no women among apostles. And yet the 12 apostles are clearly modeled on the 12 patriarchs (all male). To remain above suspicion, the inner circle of the traveling band, who even slept together, had to be male. It appears there were no Judeans or Samaritans among the apostles, yet we know the Lord's heart on the matter.

NT Characters: Matthew…Thaddaeus…Martyrdom

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 4 Nov 2020 19:30:12 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson covers the final 5 apostles -- previous podcasts covered the first 7 plus Paul. Note: While we covered Judas Iscariot, we did not discuss Matthias (Acts 1:13,26), who was Judas' replacement. Click here for more on this somewhat obscure addition to the apostolic band.

1. Matthew (Levi)

Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, and comes from Capernaum. His other name is Levi, son of Alpheus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). Matthew collected taxes for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. He may have been despised as a collaborator, but his willingness to follow Christ shows his heart was good. As a tax collector he would have been literate in both Aramaic and Greek, in addition to being good with numbers. We actually know more about Zacchaeus (Luke 19), another tax collector in the first century.

2. Bartholomew (Nathanael)

In the synoptic gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are mentioned together; in John, it's Philip and Nathanael. Thus we can equate Bartholomew with Nathanael. We encounter this direct and honest man in John 1:43-51, 21:2. Despite his initial skepticism, he quickly came to faith once he began to interact with Jesus.

3. Simon the Zealot

Some ancient church fathers thought he was Simon the Canaanite (Hebrew qana' = be zealous). We find him in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13, though little is known about him. If "zealot" was not a description of his personality or Christian commitment, then perhaps he was part of the first-century extreme political faction, the Zealots.

4. James the Younger (James son of Alphaeus)

This apostle was son of the other Mary, wife of Clopas (Cleopas). There is little information on this man

5. Thaddaeus (the other Judas)

Thaddaeus was Lebbaeus, in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3. He was also called Judas son of James (John 14:22), known as St. Jude by the Catholics. He preached in Syria, launching the Christian movement east of Palestine, which led to the Church of the East. This Christian movement evangelized Syria, Persia, China, Mongolia, and other lands. It was a persecuted people, for the Church of the East never became political, or a state church. Eusebius (church historian at the court of Constantine, early 4th century AD), wrote "Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, under divine impulse sent Thaddeus, who was also numbered among the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa, as a preacher and evangelist of the teaching of Christ" (Church History I, xiii), Thaddaeus was martyred about 65 AD.

Some things we learn from these 5 apostles

Be willing to take the gospel into all the world; either "go and grow," or "stay and pay."
There is a high price to be paid for leadership.
Be careful not to judge people for their former political associations.
Authenticity -- from Nathanael (Bartholomew) -- doesn't mean one has to remain a skeptic, or take forever to make a decision of faith.

Apostles and Martyrdom

Hippolytus, a disciple of Irenaeus (2nd/3rd century AD), provides information about the deaths of the apostles, and may contain some true history. These stories should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. The 8 apostles Hippolytus says were martyred are marked with the sign +.

+Peter -- preached in Asia Minor and Italy, crucified upside down in Rome
+Andrew -- preached to Scythians and Thracians, then crucified on an olive tree in Achaia
John -- banished to Patmos, dying in the time of Trajan (emperor 98-117)
+James -- beheaded by Herod the Tetrarch in Judea (Acts 12)
+Philip -- preached in Phrygia, crucified upside-down in Hierapolis
+Bartholomew -- preached to Indians, and crucified upside-down, and buried in Armenia
Matthew -- died in Parthia
+Thomas -- preached to Medes, Parthians, Persians, and others, speared to death with a spear of pine wood in India
+James son of Alphaeus -- stoned to death while preaching in Jerusalem
Jude (also called Lebbaeus) -- preached in Syria and Mesopotamia
Simon the Zealot (also called Jude) -- died in Jerusalem
Matthias -- died in Jerusalem
+Paul -- beheaded in Rome

NT Characters: Philip

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Tue, 3 Nov 2020 16:09:40 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Home, name, ministry

Lived in Bethsaida (also the home town of Peter and Andrew).
Likely a former disciple of John the Baptist.
Listed fifth among the apostles.
Named after father of Alexander the Great, Philip II of Macedon. His name means "horse-lover." Another piece of trivia: a philippic is any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation. Origin of the term: Athenian orator Demosthenes delivered orations against Philip of Macedon (4th century BC).
Not the same individual as Philip the Evangelist (Acts 6:5, 8:5ff, 21:8). There is another Philip in the N.T., Philip the Tetrarch (Luke 3:1; Mark 6:17), one of the sons of Herod the Great.
Greek-speaking.
Matthew 10:3, 14:3; Mark 3:18, 6:17; Luke 6:14; John 1:43-44, 6:5-7, 12:21-23, 14:8-9; Acts 1:13.

Glimpses of Philip

Obeys Jesus' call to follow, and then introduces Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:43-46). When questioned, his reply was "Come and see."
Sensible assessment of the hungry crowd (John 6:5-7). Yet he sees the problem before he sees (by faith) the solution.
Introduces some Greeks to Jesus (John 12:21-23) -- natural, given his own Hellenic background.
Wants to see the Father, not quite realizing that whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father (John 14:5-9).
What kind of person was he?
- Level-headed
- A people-person, possibly a networker
- Spiritually thirsty yet sometimes missing the obvious (I think I'm not being unfair with this comment)

Tomb discovery

Philip's tomb identified in Hierapolis, 2011. Read the Fox news article.
He died somewhere between 80 and 90 AD.
Note, however, the Roman Catholic claim that his body was acquired from Hierapolis by Pope John III (560-572 AD) and interred in a church in Rome.

Further traditions

Tradition and legend place him in Greece, Syria, Phrygia, and Hierapolis.
He was sometimes confused with Philip the Evangelist.
The Gospel of Philip (a Gnostic next from Nag Hammadi, discovered 1945)
The Acts of Philip (4th C?)
Two execution traditions: beheading and crucifixion upside down.

What we learn from Philip

He is willing to follow Jesus.
Though he may not initially understand, he sticks around and gets the answer.
He realizes the answer lies not in himself, but in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5).
Accordingly, he is happy to introduce others to Jesus.

NT Characters: Thomas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Name

Judas Thomas
Transliteration of Aramaic te'oma' (Hebrew te'om), Greek didymos
These words mean "twin"
- The twin of Matthew (they are often mentioned together)?
- The twin of Jesus (Gnostic idea)? Highly doubtful.

Apostleship

Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:38; Luke 6:15; John 11:16, 14:5, 20:24-29, 21:2 ; Acts 1:13.
Known for doubt, yet courage is a more predominant characteristic: willingness to die (11:6).
His wanting to know the way (John 14:5) triggers Jesus' famous response one verse later (John 14:6).
John 20 -- insistence on evidence

A look at Thomas from John's gospel

John 11:16 (see v.8; 12:14-26)
20:24-29; 14:5
21:2

Later tradition

According to Indian Christian tradition (esp. in the apocryphal Acts of Thomas), lots were cast. At first Thomas refused India, but later changed his mind.
Trade routes (overland and maritime were open), and there were Jewish communities all over India, so there is no reason to reject the tradition.
Thomas worked his way from North India to South India, beginning in 52 AD.
He appointed overseers in these newly established churches.
Several generations later, the Church of the East joins with the Thomite Christians (Mar Thomite). Marco Polo (late 1200s) came across the Thomite sect.
He was ultimately executed in Chennai (Madras), according to third and fourth century sources. The traditional site is St. Thomas Mount, where the apostle is alleged to have been speared in 72 AD.

Rubens "Martyrdom of Thomas"

Writings falsely attributed to Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas. (Click for my take on this late 2nd-century document.) "Let none read the gospel according to Thomas, for it is the work, not of one of the twelve apostles, but of one of Mani's three wicked disciples." -- Cyril of Jerusalem, Cathechesis V (4th C.)
Infancy Gospel of Thomas -- miraculous events in Jesus' childhood.
Acts of Thomas

Conclusion: 3 attributes of Thomas worth emulating

Display of courage
Insistence on evidence (natural curiosity?)
Evangelistic conviction

NT Characters: Judas

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 20:40:51 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Intro

Judas is hardly the first traitor in the Bible. (For example, consider Joseph's brothers, Doeg, Absalom, and Ziba.)
One of the closest parallels is Joab's betrayal (with a kiss) of Amasa (2 Samuel 20:1-13).
Yet Judas is the most significant traitor in scripture.

Name

Named after Judah, patriarch of the tribe of Jesus.
Or he may have been named in honor of Judas Maccabee (the political revolutionary of the 2nd century BC).
There were two Judases (Judahs) in the apostolic band: Judas Iscariot and Judas son of James (Thaddaeus).
On the meaning of "Iscariot"
- Man of Kerioth ('ish-Kerioth)?
- Corruption of sicarius (dagger-man)?
- No other apostle is given an epithet based on his place of origin, unless Simon the Zealot is Simon the Canaanite (or man of Cana) is right (as in a minority of manuscripts). If the latter option is correct, then along with Simon the Zealot, Judas was one of the two most political members of the apostolic band.
Judas is mentioned about 50x in the NT.
Since his defection, Christians seldom name their children Judas (or Adolf, Genghis, or Jezebel).

Short ministry career

Matthew 10:4 -- appointed apostle
Served as apostolic treasurer, a position not usually given to those who are greedy or irresponsible.
John 6:70-71 -- Jesus knew Judah would become a traitor, though this in no way forced him to go down that path.
John 12:4 -- critical of the woman for anointing Jesus.
John 12:6 -- not sincere, but was helping himself to the money bag. Little sins take a cumulative toll on our character, and our outlook on life.
Luke 22:3 -- Satan "entered" him (suggests free will, and then end of a process by which Judas became corrupt).
Matthew 26:14 -- makes a deal with the priests for the capture of Jesus.
John 13 -- His treachery went unnoticed at the Supper / foot-washing (no favoritism). And yet Jesus does not exaggerate his friendship with Judas (John 15 -- Judas absent when the Lord called his apostles friends; Jesus wasn't insincerely pretending everything was okay).
Gethsemane -- Even in the arrest (Jesus indicated by Judas' kiss), the Lord loved him to the end. Jesus was not vindictive.
Matthew 27:3 -- regret (yet woe to him [26:24]: better if he'd never been born).
Acts 1:16-26 -- His defection fulfilled the prophetic scheme of things.
Exaggerated description (Papias, 2nd C).
- Judas walked about as a great example of ungodliness in this world. His flesh was so swollen, that when a wagon was passing through the street he was unable to pass through; there was only enough room for his head. The eyelids over his eyes, it is said, protruded so much, that he did not see light, and that a doctor could not make his eyes visible with optical instruments. To such an extent was the light shut out from outside. His genitals of indecency were more disgusting and yet too small to be seen. There oozed out from his whole bursting body both fluids and worms. After much suffering and agony, it is said that he died in his own place. And this place is out of the way and the piece of land is uninhabited until now. No one even to this day passes by the place without stopping up his nose with his hands. Such was the opinion spread about the country concerning his body.
- Further demonized by Dante (1265-1321), placed in the innermost circle of the 9th circle of hell ("treachery"): His head is perpetually gnawed by Satan's mouth, and his back forever skinned by Satan's claws. Also tortured in a mouth of Satan (who is pictured as having three heads and three mouths) are Brutus and Cassius.

Judas in Psalms

41:9: "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me."
55:12-14 -- It's hard to take it from a friend!
109:4ff -- Another would take his place of leadership.
These scriptures show that not only the early church, but also Jesus, saw in Judas the fulfillment of some of the darkest scriptures in all the Psalms.

Three possible motives

Money? (Unlikely--the sum is too small.)
To force Jesus' hand? The betrayal takes place only after it has become crystal clear that Jesus did not intend to lead a political revolution. Judas may have truly loved his country but failed to distinguish the nature of the kingdom, that it is spiritual, not earthly.
Or possibly he lost faith--no longer believed Jesus was the messiah and therefore deserved to be executed.

The Petrine parallel

Both Peter and Judas betrayed (denied) their lord.
Both felt bad.
But admitted wrongdoing.
Yet only one repented.

Conclusion

We are all tempted from time to time to sell out our Lord, perhaps to protect our own skin, perhaps in a moment of deep disappointment or confusion. Temptation can get the better of all of us. In such times, remember this vital lesson: be a Peter, not a Judas.

NT Characters: John

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:09:45 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Family

Brothers of James and son of Zebedee.
For further details, see notes accompanying the James podcast.

Ministry

Training with Jesus. Focus: Luke 9:46-55 (John's lack of humility and love towards outsiders).
Preaching with Peter Acts 3-5). Focus: Acts 4:13,19-20 (powerful preaching, significant knowledge of God and his word). Uneducated, yet courageous.
Later he is described as a pillar in the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9).
Later life (traditional, uncertain)
- Ephesus (Asia Minor): home, ministry, Mary.
- Taught Polycarp of Smyrna, who in turn taught Irenaeus (late 100s).

Death

Traditionally he died a peaceful death. In contrast, at least 7 of the apostles died a martyr's death.
John 19:26ff -- assuming he is "the disciple whom Jesus loved" -- suggests he was one of the last to die.
If so, he and his brother James bracket the apostles: James being the first to die, John being the last.

Miscellaneous

The Isle of Patmos, a few hours by boat off the west coast of Turkey, belongs to Greece. It is a beautiful place, and much larger than I'd ever imagined. Still, the loneliness of exile must have been bittersweet for John the Revelator.
As for Da Vinci's Last Supper mural painting, the beardless figure beside Jesus is not a woman (Mary Magdalene, according to Dan Brown of Da Vinci Code fame). It was conventional in the Renaissance to depict young men without beards, thus accentuating their boyishness.

Writings

Anonymity of authorship, except for Revelation 1:4.
Strength of position for traditional authorship of the 5 Johannine writings.

Lesson for you and me:

The apostle of love reminds us of an urgent need: love for insiders (zealous fraternal loyalty) and for outsiders (the mission of Christ).
People change. The "son of thunder" in time became known as "the apostle of love."
Stay faithful to the very end, whenever that comes.

NT Characters: James

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 19:52:42 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

James, in its various forms (Jacob, Jacques, Diego, Jaime, Jack), is a common name.
He was the brother of John. Jesus thus called at least two sets of brothers. With only one exception in the NT, he is always named before his brother John. This suggests he was older, or else preeminent. Perhaps his preeminence and outspokenness (Mark 10) led to his being martyred first?
He was a fisherman, along with his brother and their father, Zebedee. The family of Zebedee was in partnership with the family of Andrew and Peter.
His mother may be Salome (Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40). If so, this makes James and John maternal cousins of Jesus.
Jesus called James and John Boanerges, Aramaic for "Son of thunder." Why this nickname? Personality? Booming voices? Fiery personality (Luke 9:54)?
Mentioned in Matthew 4:21, 10:2, 17:21, 20:20, 26:37; Mark 1:19,29, 3:17, 5:37, 9:2, 10:35,41, 13:3, 14:33; Luke 5:10, 6:14, 8:51, 9:28,54; John 21:2. Never explicitly named in John.
He was not the first Christian martyr. His death falls between those of Stephen (30s) and Peter and Paul (60s).

Scripture study

James was in "the inner circle" (Mark 5:37, 9:2, 13:3, 14:33).
At that time he sought position (Mark 10:32-45 ).
If he wanted to "drink the cup," he certainly got his wish. Acts 1:13, 12:1-3 are the fulfillment of Mark 10.

Bible trivia: 7 decapitations

Goliath (1 Samuel 17:46,51)
Saul (1 Samuel 31:9)
Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 4:7)
Sheba (2 Samuel 20:22)
John the Baptist (Matthew 14:10; Mark 6:16,27; Luke 9:9)
The martyrs of Revelation 20:4
The statue of the Philistine god Dagon (1 Samuel 5:4).

Lessons:

It's not about being in the inner circle, but about service.
High profile leaders are more subject to attack.
Sometimes the Lord takes us away early.

NT Characters: Peter

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 22:45:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

In these NT character podcasts, we have already heard a lesson on the apostles Paul and Andrew. We continue our study with the balance of the better known apostles; the lesser known ones we will cover all together in the final podcast on the apostles.
For Catholics he is the majestic prince of the apostles, as a visit to the Vatican will quickly remind one. The Orthodox view is nearer that of the Protestants: although he is a major apostle, he is no pope. Yet Protestants further downgrade Peter, perhaps in overreaction to papal claims. What is the truth about this man?
Peter is mentioned nearly 180x in the NT (compared to nearly 300 mentions of Paul/Saul). Yet, though there isn't as much biblical material on him as there is in Paul's case, still Peter is a monumental character, and it would be impossible to sum up his life in a single podcast.
He is often mentioned in the Gospels and in Acts 1-12. Then he appears in Acts 15. Paul refers to him in Galatians 2. Peter identifies himself in the salutations of 1 and 2 Peter. Further (speculative) information about Peter, lacking in the Bible, was more than made up for in later tradition!
His letters reflect many of Jesus' teachings in the gospels. In addition, one historic event is alluded to -- the Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18).

Personal

The name Petros (English Peter) comes from the Greek word for rock. In Aramaic he was Cephas, pronounced kay-pah (John 1:42; 1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:22, 9:5, 15:5; Galatians 1:18, 2:9,11,14). We might call him "Rocky." Since he's the son of Jonah (bar Jonah), a modernized equivalent for his full name would be "Rocky Johnson."
Peter hailed from Bethsaida, which was also the home of Philip (John 1:44). This town has been excavated from 1987 on, and was soon afterwards identified as the biblical Bethsaida. What then about his "house" in Capernaum?
Peter was a simple fisherman (Matthew 4:18; Mark 1:16; Acts 4:13).
He was married; in Mark 1:29 his mother-in-law was healed, and in 1 Corinthians 9:5.
As for 1-2 Peter, like most ancient writers, Peter employed the services of a scribe. The man who helped him write 1 Peter was Silvanus (1 Peter 5:12), also called Silas. Who assisted Peter with his second letter, we do not know.

Ministry

Introduction to Jesus
- "We have found the Messiah" -- recruited by his brother Andrew (John 1:41).
- He was first called of the apostles, and this appointment is recorded in Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14.
Phase I: Training with the Twelve (Matthew 4-Acts 1), 27-30 AD
Phase II: Twelve Years of Church Ministry (Acts 2-12), 30-42 AD
Phase III: Later ministry (Acts 15, 1-2 Peter, later traditions), 49-64 AD
Connection with Mark. 1 Peter 5:13 -- He is now in Rome (represented by the code-word "Babylon"), and close to Mark, who Papias says recorded Peter's words: "Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord's sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took special care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements. -- Eusebius, Church History
Preeminence?
- "For they say that Peter and James and John after the ascension of our Savior, as if also preferred by our Lord, strove not after honor, but chose James the Just as overseer of Jerusalem." -- Clement of Alexandria, c.190 AD.
- Papacy -- Orthodox do not recognize Peter as having been over the church at Jerusalem.
- Evidence of Acts 15.
- Spheres of influence -- see 2 Corinthians 10:16, Galatians 2:8.

Snapshots

Matthew 16:21-24 -- misunderstanding the call to follow Christ.
Matthew 26:51-54 (see John 18:10, and hear the podcast on Malchus) -- Peter is rebuked for using force to prevent harm coming to Jesus.
John 21:15-22 -- challenged to love Jesus above all, and without comparing his situation to those of other disciples.
Acts 10:1-11:18 -- challenged to rethink the old law, in full acceptance of Gentiles as fellow believers.
Galatians 2:11-14 -- challenged by Paul not to vacillate on this important principle. (2 Peter 3:15-16 -- continued respect for Paul.)
1 Peter 5:1 -- a fellow elder and witness of Christ's sufferings. Peter had walked with the Lord a long time, received many corrections, and learned a lot about leadership by the time he was in his 60s.

Martyrdom

"Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21:18-19).
Crucified upside-down in Rome (Acts of Peter). Josephus comments that Roman soldiers used to amuse themselves by crucifying persons in various positions.

Passages and sources mentioned

Matthew-John; Acts 1:14, 10:1-11:18; Galatians 2:8, 1 Peter 1:1, 5:1,13; 2 Peter 1:1, 3:15-16.
Apocryphal works: Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, Judgment of Peter
Eusebius, Church History, Book 3, Chapter 39.15-16.
You might also want to read the 9 lessons on 1-2 Peter in the NT Studies series (this website).

Lessons for us

Moral lesson 1: Think before you speak.
Moral lesson 2: Be humble. God isn't limited to doing great things in your life only when you are "top dog."
Life observation 1: People change, especially when they follow Jesus long enough.
Life observation 2: The Christian journey is full of corrections. We need get good at accepting criticism from others (in humility).
Life observation 3: Better step out in faith and be corrected than hold back in timidity. Growth comes through daring to act.

NT Characters: Andrew

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

The name Andreas (English Andrew) comes from the Greek word for man (aner / andros), and hence appears to mean "manly."
He seems to have been more cosmopolitan (broad-minded and Greek) than the other apostles, and thus figures prominently in John's gospel, which has a more universal focus than the three Synoptic Gospels.
Apocryphal writings indicate he was from the tribe of Reuben, and that his mother was Joanna, but it is not possible to assign a high degree of credibility to these late sources.
From Bethsaida, also the home of Philip (John 1:44). This town has been excavated from 1987, soon afterward identified as the biblical Bethsaida.
He was a simple fisherman (Matthew 4:18, Mark 1:16).
Andrew was the brother of Peter.

Ministry

First call of the apostles. His appointment as apostle is noted in Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14.
Mark 13:3 -- wanted to know about the destruction of Jerusalem (private talk). He seems to have had a curious and yet commonsensical mind.
John 1:40-42 -- transfers from John the Baptist to Jesus.
John 1:41 -- "We have found the Messiah" -- he recruits his brother Peter.
John 6:8-9 -- alert, connects the boy with the fish with Jesus.
John 12:20-22 -- connects Greeks who met Philip with the Lord.
Acts 1:13-14 -- no surprise he is praying with the apostolic band before the day of Pentecost. Yet he is never again mentioned in Acts; the limelight is reserved for his brother Peter, and also for Paul.
Preached among the Kurds (according to later tradition).

Martyrdom

Stoned and crucified in Scythia (according to the Martyrdom of Andrew).
The Scythians, mentioned in Colossians 3:11, were to the Greeks and Romans an uncivilized and barbarian people.
Andrew's "relics' were discovered a few centuries later. His arm is purported to be in Scotland, of which he is the patron saint. (Viz. the St. Andrew's Cross, representing the type of cross on which he was reported to have been crucified.)
For more on his execution, click here.

Lessons for us

The Lord can always use an "Andrew" -- someone who introduces others to Jesus Christ.
We should be vigilant, aware of our surroundings, and the potentialities in those around us.
Faith is intended to be relational, not just an individual. Andrew understood this and allowed God to use him to augment the network of relationships connected with the followers of Christ.
Few of us will be in the limelight like Peter and Paul, yet still, we are to be active in our Christian ministry.
Let us all serve the Lord to the very end, no matter how painful that end may be.

NT Characters: Drusilla

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

References

Acts 24:24
Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, xx.7.2.
NT Character Podcast on Felix

Birth

Born in Rome (?) 38 AD
The youngest of three daughters of Herod Agrippa I (grandson of Herod the Great), who had killed the apostle James (Acts 12).
She was apparently quite beautiful.

Marriage

Married as a teenager.
Accepted an invitation to leave her lawful husband to marry Felix. Felix engaged the services of a Jewish Cypriot magician (similar to the sorcerer of Acts 13?) to persuade her to leave her husband.
Thus she ignored the clear teaching of Judaism on marriage.
Felix and Drusilla had a son, Marcus Antonius Agrippa, as well as a daughter, Antonia Clementiana.

Death

Died 24 August 79 in Pompeii, with the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Two famous people died in the eruption: Drusilla and Pliny the elder. (He was a personal friend of the emperor Vespasian)--who died trying to rescue a friend.

Lessons

Cultivate character, not only the outward self.
Remain faithful to your spouse.
Judgment will eventually overtake us all.

NT Characters: Felix

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The man

Antonius Felix reigned 52-60 AD
He was a freedman of the emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) or his mother.
His brother was friend of Claudius.

Three wives

Drusilla of Mauretania (half-Greek, no issue)
Felix divorced her to marry a teenage Judean princess of the same name (53 AD)
She died in 79 AD -- more about that in the next podcast. He then remarried again.

The politician

Weakness for bribes.
Cruelty: murder of a high priest, sent many to Rome for trial, crucified thousands.
A compromiser with apparently little conscience or conviction. In several ways he resembled both Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate: the adulation of the crowd and the importance of political connection meant more to him than the truth.
Roman historian Tacitus notes not only that Felix was an anti-semite, but also that he "practices every kind of cruelty and lust, wielding the power of a king with all the instincts of a slave" (Annals,12.54).

References in the New Testament

Acts 23:23-35 -- Paul is sent to Felix
Acts 24:1-27 -- Paul speaks (repeatedly) before Felix.
Also referred to in Acts 25:14.
Be sure also to listen to the NT Character Podcast on Drusilla.

Lessons for us

Positive lesson (?): We can learn from Felix's shrewdness (see Matthew 10:16). Yet this is hardly to his credit.
1. Power corrupts (cruelty, bribery, willingness to compromise the truth).
2. Leaders mustn't be self-serving -- which is the exact opposite of Christ (always looking for how he could benefit, not caring about others).
3. Don't marry for beauty, but for character. Heart is what counts, not looks.
4. It's never convenient to give our lives to God, so busy schedules are no excuse for not putting God first. For all, both great and small alike, will one day stand before the Judge and give an account of his life.

NT Characters: Paul

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

Jesus and Paul are beyond question the two persons in the NT about whom we know most. Paul wrote 13 of the 27 NT documents (87 chapters, nearly as many as the 89 of the four gospels). But there is a major difference between him and Jesus. Jesus left nothing directly to us in writing. In Paul’s case, we are able to coordinate his missionary activities (in Acts) with his writing and follow-up ministry (the letters). This affords a kind of triangulation; with such perspective the man comes to life.
In this podcast we will not be examining the letters of Paul. For that, please see the NT chapter studies…

Background

Paul was a Jew, though not from Palestine. He was a citizen of Tarsus, capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, modern southern Turkey (Acts 9:11, 21:39, 22:3).
Would have grown up speaking Greek, though fluent too in Hebrew, Aramaic, and possibly Latin.
He was trained as a rabbi under the distinguished Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
His secular profession was tent-making (Acts 18:3; see also 9:43, 20:34-35; 2 Corinthians 5:1).
Paul was also born of the purest Jewish blood, a descendant of the patriarch Benjamin (Philippians 3:5)—at a time when few Jews would have been able to trace their descent, given the confusion of the exiles. He was named after Israel’s first king, Saul.
Paul was born a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37, 22:25-28)—when only a minority of those residing within the Roman Empire were given this privilege.
He was an intensely focused Pharisee (Acts 22:3, 23:6, 26:5; Galatians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:5. A driven man, Paul claims to have advanced beyond many of his contemporaries (Galatians 1:13-14). Certain that the Christians were dangerous heretics, he hounded them, imprisoned them, tortured and killed them (1 Timothy 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:9).
Sometimes it is asserted that Saul was troubled during his pre-Christian days by his active persecution of the Christians (Acts 7:58, 8:1,3; 9:1; 22:4,20), but he himself insists that he always had a clear conscience (Acts 23:1, 24:16).
His training as a Pharisee would have equipped Paul to think long and hard about the relationship of Torah to believers in Christ—appropriate for the one who was divinely appointed to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:8).

Chronology

Paul was baptized within a few years of the resurrection, between 32 and 34 AD (Acts 9:18, 22;16). This is a deduction from Galatians 2:1. Paul wrote Galatians, his first epistle, in 48 AD, and so 34 AD would be the latest possible date for his second Jerusalem visit.
If Paul can call himself an “old man” by the time of Philemon 9 (c.60 AD)—presumably 60 years of age—then he was born by 1 AD. Note: Saul could easily be called a “young man” at the time of Stephen’s martyrdom [Acts 7:58; cp. John 8:57], as he was not yet 40.
Phases of his life
- Phase I – Pharisaic roots
  - 1 BC-AD 1 - Birth in Tarsus
  - 13-16 - Trained by Gamaliel in Jerusalem
  - 31- Presides over martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8)
- Phase II – Church planting
  - 32 - Baptism in Damascus
  - 33-36 - Ministers in Damascus and Arabia; receives further revelation from Jesus Christ in Arabia (Acts 9:19-22, 26:20; Galatians 1:16-18)
  - 36 - First Jerusalem visit (Galatians 1:18; Acts 9:26-30)
  - 36-45 - Ministers in Syria and Cilicia (Acts 9:30; Galatians 1:21)
  - 46 - Second Jerusalem visit (Acts 11:27-30; Galatians 2:1-10), the return to Tarsus
  - 47 - Return to Antioch (required by Acts 11:25)
  - 48 - First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:1-14:28)
  - 49 - Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-35)
  - 50 - Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36-18:22)
  - 57- Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23-21:16)
- Phase III – Imprisonment
  - 56-58- In custody in Caesarea
  - 58-60 - Roman imprisonment
  - 60 - Released, resumes mission
  - 64 - Fire of Rome, many Christians seized and killed. Paul rearrested.
  - 67/68 - Execution

Some things we learn from the life of Paul

Sincerity does not equate with truth (Romans 9:1-5).
Grace has an impact (1 Corinthians 15:9-10).
Suffering is the mark of true leadership (2 Corinthians; Galatians 6:17)
When we become Christians, we should harness all our energy and momentum and put it in the service of Christ (Galatians 1:13-15; Philippians 3:3-14)

Main scriptures in this podcast

Pre-Christian past: Galatians 1:13-15 (Acts 22:3, 23:6, 26:5)
Philippians 3:3-7
Progression in humility: 1 Corinthians 15:9; 2 Corinthians 12:5,10; Ephesians 3:8; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 Timothy 1:15-16—passages written about 55, 56, 58, 60, and 63 AD, respectively.
Romans 10:2
1 Corinthians 9:19-22
2 Corinthians 1:8-9
Romans 9:1-5
1 Corinthians 15:10
Galatians 6:17

For further thought:

A legacy of the Protestant Reformation is the conclusion “Paul is the key to understanding Jesus.” But surely this is backwards; Jesus’ life and teaching form the filter through which we understand Paul, not the other way around. Paul himself would be outraged with this teaching (1 Corinthians 1:13-17). After all he had a brilliant mind—but not in comparison to Jesus. And as passionately as he strove to live a holy life, he admits to frequent failure. Jesus is the key to understanding Paul, which means that the gospels, not Paul, are the entrance point to grasping the message of the NT.
Paul was executed under Nero, who himself committed suicide in 68 AD, which is therefore the latest date for Paul’s death. One tradition says he was beheaded—decapitation was the standard form of execution for Roman citizens—at Aquae Salviae, along the Appian Way just outside Rome. Death is imminent when he writes 2 Timothy 4, likely his last letter.
Further: A Quick Overview of the Bible: How All the Pieces Fit Together (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 2012), chapter 21.

NT Characters: Joanna

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 9 Oct 2020 13:00:00 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Name, marriage, means

Joanna = "God is gracious"
Wife of Chuza
- Chuza was steward (financial controller) of Herod Antipas, son of the Herod (the Great) who'd tried to dispatch Jesus c.6-4 BC.
- Herod Antipas reigned 4 BC - 39 AD. He had John the Baptist decapitated, and also was part of the process that condemned Jesus.
She may be the Junia of Rom 16:7, if New Testament scholars Ben Witherington and Richard Bauckham are on the right track.
Wealthier -- upper class. Many such women were attracted to Christianity, as we read about in Luke-Acts.

Scriptures

Luke 8:3
Luke 24:10
Romans 16:7
Titus 3:3-5, 2:11-14

Impact of Jesus on her life

She was set free, either healed of a medical situation or freed from an evil spirit. Either way, her life was transformed by the Lord.
She traveled with the apostolic band.
- Older?
- "Empty nest"?
Became a supporter of the ministry, providing
- homes?
- food?
- funding?
- The women of Luke 8:3 were probably flexible because they didn't have to stay home with their children.
- Joanna chose to put her allowance to good use.
She formed friendships with fellow believers. (Recall the comments from the podcast on Mary, the mother of Jesus, who continued to build friendships even later in life.)

Thought questions

Joanna was loyal emotionally and even financially, because Jesus had touched her life, and she was grateful. Do I ever forget that I too have been touched by the Lord? That I have been redeemed from a life of uncertainty, darkness, secrecy, sin, anxiety, and alienation? See Titus 2-3.
If I am a person of means, how am I using my fortune to advance God's work?
The fact that such a person as Joanna was drawn into the ministry tells us something about the Christian faith -- what it is and what it is not. How does the story of Joanna address charges of Christianity being "chauvinistic"?
If I am a parent, do I look forward to time when I will be freer to travel for the sake of the ministry?
Do I tend to rush past the "minor" characters of the Bible?

NT Characters: Mary

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 8 Oct 2020 13:20:30 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Birth & marriage

We have information on her over a period of some 36 years.
Birth
- We know nothing of her family, though there is a tradition that her parents were Joachim and Anne.
- She was named after Miriam (prophetess, leader, singer, sister of Moses).
- Birth year around 20 BC.
Marriage
- Betrothed (Luke 2:5) -- nearly as binding as a marriage, though the relationship was not consummated until after the wedding.
- Probably married between age 12 and 14.
- Conception
  - Virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14).
  - 'almah (Hebrew) / parthenos (Greek)
  - But did not remain a virgin (Matthew 1:25), despite later traditions.
Poor family
- "No room in the inn" (Luke 2:7). (The word for inn may also mean upper room.)
- Firstborn cradled in a food trough.
- Sacrifice of birds at her purification (Luke 2:24; see Leviticus 12:8).
Large and religiously observant family.
- Had at least 8 children (Matthew 13:55-56).
- In Jerusalem for the feasts (Luke 2:41).
- Circumcises Jesus on the 8th day (Luke 2:21).
- Offers the required sacrifice for birth of firstborn (Luke 2:24).

A speculative reconstruction of Mary's life

20 BC - born in Bethlehem
7 BC - engaged to Joseph
7 BC - miraculous conception of Jesus
6 BC - birth of Yeshua (Jesus), family moves to Egypt
4 BC - Death of Herod the Great; return from Egypt; family relocates to Nazareth
3 BC - Birth of Ya‘aqov (James)
1 BC - First daughter born
2 AD - Yosef (Joseph) born
3 AD - second daughter born
5 AD - daughter born (lives only a few days)
7 AD - Luke 2 visit, when Jesus is 12
9 AD - third (surviving) daughter born
12 AD - Yehudah (Judah) born
14 AD - Shimeon (Simon) born
20 AD - Joseph dies, Jesus now the male family head and Mary a widow.
22 AD - James' first child is born; Mary becomes a grandmother. Many more grandchildren follow.
30 AD - Jesus executed 7 April. Mary (now age 49) & the siblings join the apostles in prayer.
40 AD - Mary moves away from Palestine, possibly to Ephesus.
53 AD - Mary dies, age 72

Character

Faithful: "How will this be?" (Luke 1:34 [cp. 1:18, Zechariah], 1:38ff).
Slow to realize identity of her son (Mark 3:20-21). This doesn't mean she was faithless; even faithful people need time to mature, and to reach conclusions esp. where the implications are significant.
Controlling (John 2:3-4)? Or too eager? Difficult to tell, given the cultural and chronological gap.
Mobile -- travels for census in Judea; to see Elizabeth; to flee Herod to Egypt; to Nazareth; perhaps to Ephesus.

How Jesus' death may have affected Mary

Mary is in her late 40s. She has already suffered great loss (husband, children), though not to a degree unusual for women in Palestine.
"The scandal (stumbling block) of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:23) has nothing to do with the degree of pain, but the shame of the event. For this execution was normally reserved for slaves, never for Roman citizens (except perhaps those guilty of treason). The shame of crucifixion—if we are seeking a modern stigma as degrading and shameful—might be on a par with registration as a pedophile. Even if the accused were innocent, all would naturally assume they must have done something to deserve the label, nor would they easily lose the stigma. (How would you feel about attending a church where the preacher had been tried for pedophilia?) No wonder the cross was foolishness to Greeks and a stumbling block—scandalous nonsense—to the Jews." -- excerpt from A Quick Overview of the Bible (2012)
She continues to build relationships with Jesus' followers (Acts 1:14); she does not pull back.

Lessons for us:

Faith
- When young and life is (relatively) simple, but also
- When things are disappointing, complicated, painful.
Flexibility
- Mobility -- new places
- Open to relationship -- new friends (Joanna, Susanna, Maria Magadalena, the apostles...)
Perseverance through hardship (Luke 2:34-35)
- Suspicion, false accusation / innuendo
- Loss of husband
- Probable loss of infant children
- Loss of firstborn
- “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” -- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

Mariology

Terms
- Mariolatry
- Mariology
- Marian
Historical developments
- 2nd-3rd centuries AD -- increasing premium placed on virginity
- 431 -- declared Mother of God at Council of Ephesus
  - And again in 449 (Ephesus) and 451 (Chalcedon)
  - She's mentioned 16x in the NT, 32x in the Qur'an (600 years later), but then 1000s of times! -- through images of her (icons, frescoes, reliquaries, etc) and in songs and prayers.
- 533 -- declared a perpetual virgin
- 1050 -- Ave Maria
- 1854 -- Immaculate Conception
- 1950 -- assumption of Mary into heaven (Catholic; Orthodox believe her "dormition" preceded her assumption)
Queen of Heaven
- Revelation 12
- Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19,25.
There is thus no biblical basis for later, fanciful understandings of Mary as the Perpetual Virgin, or the Queen of Heaven.

NT Characters: Malchus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Tue, 6 Oct 2020 01:27:29 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Identity

A common name in the Arab kingdoms of Nabatea and Palmyra. Possibly an Arab slave of Caiaphas?
As assistant to the most powerful (Jewish) man in Israel, Malchus occupied a position of respect.
Walked at the front of the guards, given his close connection to the high priest.
Speculation: M. may have been Caiaphas' "ear" in Jerusalem. (C. would have had many enemies.)
May have been the one with whom Judas had made the betrayal arrangements.
His relative identified Peter as his attacker (John 18:26).

About the attack

Attacker and victim are unnamed except for in John's account.
- Peter have been put in danger if he'd been named as Malchus' assailant. Once Peter had been executed (64-68 AD), naming him would have been a non-issue.
- If John is the latest of the four gospels (as commonly presumed), then Malchus may have come to faith in Christ later in life.
Peter may have been attacking a surrogate.
- Consider 2 Samuel 10:4 and Matthew 21:35.
- Malchus would have been more accessible (less heavily guarded) than Caiaphas.
What is the significance of the right ear (detail in Luke's and John's accounts)?
- Insult? Maiming disqualified one for priesthood.
- Aiming for the head and missed? (Did M. move?)
- A left-handed attacker? Or was P. attacking from behind?
Was M. zealous to see Jesus arrested?
- He may have mirrored the values of his master, or have been selected for his zealous qualities.
- See the references in Josephus and the Tosefta below.
Jesus' actions demonstrate love for his enemies.

References

Mark 14:42
Matthew 26:51
Luke 22:50
John 18:10, 26
Tosefta Menahath xiii.21 and Josephus Antiquities xx.88, 92: The high priest's servant was noted for his violence.

Conclusion

The last person Jesus saved was the thief on the cross; the last person he healed was Malchus.
Did M. become a Christian?
- If he was never converted (and there is no record in church history), then that shows that even a miracle won't cause someone to come to faith and be saved.
- If he did become a disciple, this would explain the mentioning of his name, then this would have been quite an addition to the gospel story, and esp. to the Passion Narrative.

Lessons to learn:

Pay attention to the details of the Bible. Even seemingly minor characters may have something to teach us.
"Put your sword away." Violence achieves nothing.
Love your enemy.
Accept God's will, drink the cup. Don't rely on human thinking or the arm of flesh to save yourself from the cross.

NT Characters: Jesus

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 18:28:31 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Semitic words:

Yeshua -- Hebrew name for Joshua (Jesus), meaning "God saves," or "salvation. Yesous -- the Greek word for Jesus and Joshua.
Immanuel -- Hebrew for "with-us God"
Based on grave inscriptions and other literary sources, the most common names in 1st C. Palestine were, in order: Salome, Simon, Mary, Joseph, Judas, Lazarus, Joezer, John, Martha, and Jesus. (All names Anglicized.)

Outline of the class

Birth, family, vocation, celibacy
Appearance & character
Ministry & message
Trek & death (from Caesarea to Jerusalem, and what this means for us)

References

No other figure in the Bible has 90 continuous chapters devoted to him (Matthew 1-Acts 1). And no one else appears as frequently in scripture (over 1200 times).
Immanuel: Matthew 1:23; see Isaiah 7:1,14, 8:8.
The death of Herod the Great in 4 BC was recorded by Josephus in Jewish Antiquities 17.6.4.
The NT repeatedly refers to Jesus’ brothers, and even his sisters (e.g. Matthew 13:55-56).
The last time Joseph, Jesus’ father, is mentioned is during a family visit to Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-48).
Jesus knew from scripture that a forerunner would come, as prophesied in Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3. This was John the Baptist.
Jesus was righteous. The Bible urges us to defend the cause of the widow (Deuteronomy 10:18); if Mary was widowed, Jesus had a special obligation, and especially if Joseph died when Jesus was still in his teens.
Though his mission was urgent, he did not rush to begin his ministry. Always he proceeded with a keen sense of divine timing (John 2:4, 7:6,8,30, 8:20, 12:23,27, 13:1, 17:1, 19:30).
Both Jesus and Paul advocated remaining single as an effective path of service to God, if one has the gift of celibacy (Matthew 19:10-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9).
Average height for a man of his time was under five and a half feet tall. In Mark 14:44, Judas guides the arrest party to the Garden of Gethsemane. It is nighttime (and there is a full moon), yet it doesn’t seem to be obvious to the high priest and his detachment of guards which one they are to arrest.
The 14th-century forgery The Publius Lentulus Letter described Jesus as having hair the color of a ripe hazelnut, parted in the middle, flowing down to his ears, and then becoming wavy and even curly. His skin was smooth and white—no wrinkles or blemishes—slightly ruddy. Perfect nose and mouth—though he was a man off few words. His beard, of course, was well manicured! "He was never known to laugh, but often to weep."
While we know little about what Jesus looked like, we know a lot about what he was like. The Bible freely records the sins and weaknesses of all its major characters—Abraham’s lies, Sarah’s meanness, Rebekah’s deceit, David’s adultery, the initial lack of faith on the part of Jesus’ own family members, and so on (Genesis 20:2, 16:6, 27:2-13; 2 Samuel 11, Mark 3:21; John 7:5). Yet at no point is sin attributed to Jesus (Matthew 5:17; 26:59-60; Luke 4:13). Even his enemies were unable to convict him of sin (John 8:46)—not to say they all accepted him. Some charged him with being a fraud (Matthew 12:2,24,38, 13:53-57), or being demon-possessed (Luke 11:15), or as making political threats against the Romans (Luke 23:2,13-15), yet none of these charges was substantiated.
Jesus was highly intelligent—not just as a scholar of the scriptures (Luke 2:41-47), but as a student of human nature (John 2:25). As you read the gospels, try to see how his mind works when he is in a tight spot (Matthew 21:23-27, 22:16-21).
His logical mind is truly brilliant—and yet he never bullies others with his intellect, but rather remains humble in every interaction. Many miss his intelligence.
As for his intensity, the gospels stun us by how much one man can pack into a day, how one can keep giving even though emotionally spent (Mark 3:20-21, 6:30-56). His drive was phenomenal, and the NT invites those who follow him to lead zealous and passionate lives (Luke 13:32-33, 24:19; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 2:3-6).
After his baptism and temptation, Jesus embarked on a three-year teaching ministry. In John’s gospel we learn that he returned to Jerusalem for three Passovers [2:23, 6:4, 12:1,]. Thus if he began work in 27 or 28 AD [per the chronology of Luke 3:1-2,21, 4:14ff], he would have been executed in 30 AD.)
Jesus began in Galilee, working among the towns of present-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Once the disciples began to understand his identity as the Messiah, he proceeded to Jerusalem, where he came into direct conflict with the religious establishment and was duly dispatched by them (Luke 9:21-22,51-53, 22:52-23:2).
His ministry included several components: proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, teaching, healing, exorcizing, training the Twelve and, most important, giving his life for the sins of the world (Mark 10:45).
Jesus’ central message was the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:17; Luke 4:43). The day of the Lord was dawning even in the present, the future messianic age of righteousness breaking into our world. This means that forgiveness, freedom, and participation in the abundant life brought by the Messiah are available now—not only in the hereafter. Jesus also called his followers to a radical standard of holiness, higher than that of the old law (Matthew 5:21-48).
Jesus said that we are his disciples if we hold to his teaching, love one another as he loved us, and bear fruit that lasts (John 8:31-32, 13:34-35, 15:16). In another sense the man is the message. Jesus did not only point people to the way (Matthew 7:13-14); he is the way (John 14:6).
The theme of the trek to Judea (from Caesarea to Jerusalem) is especially brought out by Luke. Passages read are Luke 9:28-31, 51-57, 10:1, 12:49-50, 13:22, 31-35, 17:11, 18:31-34, 35, 19:1, 11, 28-29, 37, 41-44, 45, 47.
Luke 9:23-24 -- we too are called to make the trek from Caesarea to Calvary.
- To surrender our will, comfort, pride, sins.
- To persevere through difficult situations (work, family, health, relationships).
- Perhaps even to die. Of course the comparison by our death and his must not be pressed to far. Other prophets died for their messages, but their deaths did not accomplish deliverance for the people of God. Other men and women of faith take courageous stands, suffering and dying… for their message – not dying for us.

Conclusion

We don't know what he looked like – yet we recognize his image in all who are born of God. He left us nothing in writing—and yet he is the Word of God, and through his Spirit the NT was inspired and given to us as a precious gift.
What should we do? If we are following Jesus, we must
- Grow spiritually (Luke 2:52), and learn obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:7-10).
- Emulate the Lord, who was tough physically and emotionally.
- Strive for schedules that center around people.
- Recharge by spending time with the Father (the mountain and the market).
- Follow him to Jerusalem—to Calvary.
He told us he is coming back, yet we don’t know when—which means we must strive to live in a state of expectation and preparation. For, as the Lord asked, “When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b)

Further study:

A Quick Overview of the Bible: How All of the Pieces Fit Together (Harvest House, 2012)
Your Bible Questions Answered (Harvest House, 2011)
Compelling Evidence: Finding Truth in an Age of Doubt (Harvest House, 2010)
Jesus & Islam (IPI, 2009)
"Why God Sent a Son (and not a Daughter)" (Podcast, 2011)
Bible trivia: The year zero. The Old Testament prophecies never specified the exact year of Jesus' birth, yet he was most likely born in Bethlehem around 7-5 BC. (Herod the Great, who tried to kill him, died in 4 BC.) This fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5, many centuries earlier. Our calendar, which was created in the Middle Ages and is based on several chronological errors, has Jesus being born after his true birthday! Keep in mind also that there is no "year zero." B.C. conventionally means "before Christ," but A.D. means "Anno Domini" -- Latin for in the year of our Lord. Jesus began his public ministry when he was "about 30," probably in 27 AD, based on the chronology of Luke 2 and 3. He ministered in an area about 10,000 sq mi, similar in size to the very smallest state of the United States. (In other words, he ministered to a region far smaller than 1% of 1% of the planet -- but what an impact!) As for his death, Jesus was likely crucified in May 30 AD, in his mid-30s.
"Jesus' Siblings" (Podcast, to be released 3 June 2012)

Some things we learn about God:

God connects with us in the incarnation: God becomes man.
We learn about God's character--and what it means to lead a godly life--when we see Jesus (Matthew 1:23; John 14:9; Colossians 2:9).
God wants us to live a life of love, following in the footsteps of his son (1 John 2:6). In following the Lord Jesus Christ, we become like God in living a life of love (Ephesians 5:1-2).

Messianic Judaism: Shadow vs. Substance, Resources, Challenge

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:01:17 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Review:

Galatians:

Deals with a set of teachings remarkably similar to modern Messianic Judaism.
As in Romans, the phrase “the Law” refers to Torah, not works-righteousness. The issue isn’t whether we can scratch and work our way to Yahweh, but whether the regulations of Torah are essential.
The Law, for the ancient Israelites, was a sort of pedagogue or nursemaid or tutor. Maturity is found in Christ, not in circumcision, phylacteries, tassels, and Sabbaths.
The true Jerusalem is above—not in the Middle East! And true Jews, the Israel of God, are all who by faith were baptized into Christ—regardless of their religious or ethnic background.

Romans:

Paul is taking preventative action, lest the chaos of Galatia infect the capital Christians.
Abraham was justified by faith before and without the Torah
No one group today enjoys special status before God. True Israel is not an ethnic group, since, as Paul puts it, “not all descended from Israel are Israel…” Only those who put their trust in Christ will be saved.
We fulfill the law by loving our neighbor—not by eating kosher!

New material

Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

Jesus as anointed priest—ministry in heaven, no need for sacrifices and priests down here on earth.
Jesus as anointed prophet—the ultimate prophet—he’s where we need to look (Heb 1:1).
Jesus as anointed king—“scepter”—just as he warned that the kingdom would be taken away from the Jews (Matt 21:43).
Adam Clarke (1762-1832), writing a century and a half before the emergence of Messianic Judaism: “Judah shall continue a distinct tribe till the Messiah shall come; and it did so; and after his coming it was confounded [blended together] with the others, so that all distinction has been ever since lost.” Why would Clarke say that? Because Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom 10:4).

Hebrews 8:3-7, 13; 10:1; 12:22

The Law is a shadow of what was to come in Christ.
It is neither necessary nor wise to uncritically combine the two covenants. Similarly, when we read the Bible, we need to pay great attention to which testament we are reading in.
This is not to say OT is unimportant, or that we shouldn't read it in its entirety, with reverence and awe!

Colossians 2:11-17

Let’s appreciate the hints and types and shadows of the O.T.! But that’s not where we're called to live. The substance—the reality—is in Jesus Christ.
Dwelling in the light of Christ and the new covenant in his blood is much more substantial than any half-baked combination of the testaments!

1 Timothy 1:3-7

Despite some positive points, as a system Messianic Judaism is misguided. It has the potential to sidetrack, or even derail, the faith of many.
Yes, at first blush, the Messianics seem to make a good case. They have Bible verses, doctrines, and confidence that they are right. (If we aren’t deeply rooted in God’s Word, we may be easily persuaded.) Yet, in the words of Paul, “they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.”

Further resources:

Questions about Modern Israel (15-min podcast, with notes)
A Mass Conversion of Israel? (41 min, with notes)
Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis and In His Dust)
Ron Moseley (The Real Jesus)
Ran vander Laan (Follow the Rabbi)
Romans A-Z (subscription required for the later lessons)
iFaith messages on Romans and Galatians and Hebrews. (Scroll down if necessary.)
The name of Jesus. How “Jewish” should we try to sound? Is there power in how a word is pronounced?
A separate covenant for the Gentiles? (Gentiles don’t need to obey Acts 2:38?)
Sabbath—why we don’t need to follow this OT ordinance
Holiness—a good supplement to the Sabbath study

Messianic Judaism: Galatians, Romans, the Jew-Gentile Controversy, & the Israel of God

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:43:54 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas

The Jew-Gentile Controversy

Just how “Jewish” do Christians need to be?
The answer: Not at all, although it is okay for actual Jews to hold on to cultural markers—provided they do not force these on others.
This was the broadest dispute in the first century church, from 30-70 AD. Later centuries had their own hot topics.

Romans

Paul writes this letter not only to secure mission funding (chapter 15), but also to "inoculate" the Roman believers against the Galatian controversy.
Chapters 1-3: No ethnic group enjoys a privileged status in the eyes of God.
Chapters 4-8: God displays covenant faithfulness to all Abraham’s descendants on the basis of faith, not Torah. (4:11-13).
Chapter 5: The new distinction is between “in Adam” and “in Christ,” not Gentiles v. Jews.
Chapters 12-15: 13:10 – We fulfill the law by loving our neighbor (13:10). These chapters show how we are to fulfill the Law. Note that there is no mention of a need for circumcision, Sabbath, etc…

Galatians

Law = Law of Moses
Paul is a prime example of someone who knows Torah, and is zealous for Torah—and yet does not rely on Torah for justification in God's sight.
What was dismantled (system of Torah) must not be rebuilt (2:21).
Passages read: 1:6, 13-14; 2:11-14, 16, 21; 3:2-3, 23-28; 4:1, 3-11; 16-17, 21-26, 31; 5:1-4, 6-8, 11; 6:15-16.

"The Israel of God"

We have already seen that Jewish-sounding passages, like Micah 4:1-2 and Amos 9:11, were interpreted as fulfilled in Christ and his church. Now let’s look at passages supporting the interpretation that "the Israel of God" simply means the church.
Review: Matt 3:9; Rom 2:28-29; 9:6-7; Gal 3:28-29.
Further: Gal 4:24-31; Rev 3:9; 1 Pet 1:1; 2:4-10.
Patristic documents: Epistle of Barnabas (Alexandria, Syria, or Asia Minor), 2 Clement (unsure), Justin Martyr (Rome), Irenaeus (Lyon), Origen (Alexandria), Cyprian (Carthage), Lactantius (Rome)
Gal 6:15-16 refers to the new covenant people of God—not to Israel, Jewish Christians, or followers of Messianic Judaism. All true Christians are the Israel of God.

Messianic Judaism: Third Temple? Circumcision? Keeping Kosher?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:26:09 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

We have already discussed several major features of Judaism that do not carry over directly into Christianity. For example, consider:

- Animal sacrifices (Heb 9:22; 10:1-4; 10:18)
- Warfare: We are no longer permitted to kill our enemies. The church is no longer a political entity.
- Priesthood. All Christians function as priests, and only Jesus has a special (high) priesthood.
- Tithing. Tithing is "found" in the NT only in passages referring to OT law (Matt 23 and Heb 7). We are no longer an agrarian church-state, and are thus released from the law of the tithe.

Other significant Messianic teachings include:

Circumcision. Acts 15; 1 Cor 7:18-19
The Third Temple. Acts 15:16-18 (citing Amos 9:11 on rebuilding of “David’s fallen tent”).
- Jesus and the church interpreted the “tent” (tabernacle / temple) figuratively. “Destroy this temple” (John 2:19) = Jesus’ body.
- Acts 15:16: The "restoration" of Israel was already well underway, through the ministry of the first century leaders like Peter. As a result, the Gentiles mission was really taking off, e.g. through Paul.
- Another example of a figurative understanding of a passage is Mic 4:1-2 (par in Isa 2), which speaks of the house of the Lord in the last (or latter) days. Peter indicates that the Last Days have already come by 30 AD (Acts 2:16-17). The Gentile mission: not all nations literally streaming to Jerusalem, but the Word going out from Jerusalem to all nations (Acts 1:8 etc)!
- Further, the true tabernacle is in heaven (Heb 8:2; 9:11).
- And besides, there is no further need for sacrifice, since Jesus died for our sins.
- Click here to see the "Holy Temple Museum."
Kashrut: Perhaps there is nutritional wisdom in some of the food laws. There is also great wisdom in vegetarianism, and some argue that this must be God’s will for us, based on the description of Eden.
- But Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19).
- See also 1 Tim 4:3-5; Heb 9:10; 13:9-10.

Miscellaneous

Separating from the Gentile church (but Gal 3:28!)
Hebrew N.T.: it is often believed that the original N.T. was written in Hebrew.
No communion in the Sunday service.
Not celebrating Easter or Christmas (but celebrating Passover, Tabernacles, etc). Interestingly, while Messianics celebrate 7 Jewish feasts, historic Christian observances are also 7: Easter Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints' Day (1 Nov), Christmas (25 Dec), and Epiphany (6 Jan)
Reliance on Talmud (competed 400-700 AD) as key to understanding how Jesus trained the Twelve
- Yet how accurately can we read the practices described in these medieval documents into the 1st century AD? There can be a wide gulf between theory and practice, the ideal and the real.
- Talmud describes rabbis making disciples of boys, requiring them to memorize the Bible, etc. Messianic teachers often claim the Twelve were youths (the oldest, Peter, around 18, and the youngest, John, perhaps only 9)!
- Yet after 70 AD, only one sect of Judaism survived, the liberal Pharisees of the school of Hillel. (The stricter Shamma’ite Pharisees, as well as the Essenes, Herodians, and Sadducees all disappear after 70 AD.) Surely this colored the understanding of the rabbis.
- Messianics do not seem to be reading these ancient Jewish sources critically.
Bogus argument that we still have to keep Torah, because if God changed the Law, then he would be changing himself (based on Mal 3:6). Yet this confuses God's nature with how he relates to his creatures. Changes in law or covenant do not require a change within the Deity!

Messianic Judaism: What About The Sabbath?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 15:13:20 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

Sabbatarians are right about the day: Sabbath is the 7th day, sundown Friday-sundown Saturday. The 4th-C church created a "Sunday Sabbath". (Although Christians had long been meeting on Sundays, it was not legally day of rest/worship.) This happened under Constantine (early 300s).
Yet in the 1st C, there was a change to the 1st day of week: John 20:19, 26; Acts 2:1, 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10. Jesus, after all, rose from the dead, appeared, ascended, and gave the Spirit on Sundays.
John was in the Spirit on "the Lord's day" (Gk. kyriakē, the Greek word for Sunday).
True, Paul enters synagogue on Sabbath, but this was for purposes of evangelizing the Jews (Acts 17:2).
Some claim that the Sabbath preceded Moses—that it was for Adam. Yet there is no evidence of Sabbath before time of Moses (New 9:14).
The patristic writers agree that Sabbaths are no longer kept. Rather, Christ's followers assemble on Sunday (Ignatius, Magnesians 9:1; Epistle of Barnabas, 15:8-9; Justin Martyr, First Apology, 67. It seems highly unlikely the generation after the apostles forgot the truth about the Sabbath. Ignatius, after all—writing around 107 AD—was a disciple of the apostle John!
Sabbath receives near zero emphasis in the N.T. documents. If it is so important, isn’t it odd Paul that explicitly mentions it only once (saying it should not be an issue, Col 2:17-17; also Gal 4:8-11). It is certainly not a matter of salvation / superiority.
What about the feeling that all 10 commandments must still apply, for aesthetic purposes or symmetry? Asymmetries are a feature of biblical revelation as well as of the natural world. Arguments from symmetry have aesthetic appeal, but not logical power.
Christianity is a continuation and fulfillment of Judaism, but there’s also a radical disjunction from Judaism. Getting our heads around this was not easy for early (predominantly Jewish-background) Christians, and we too need to give this special consideration.
Although Sabbath law no longer applies, but there are still vital spiritual principles: We are not machines. "The Sabbaths were given to Israel in order that they might study Torah" (Jer. Talmud, Shabbat 15:3). Shabbat is rest, yet not laziness. It is devotion to God, but not work. It is for study and prayer, but not a burden. And for those with families, a time to share.
We have seen abundant evidence that the early church did not observe Sabbath as a Christian ordinance. Not everyone will agree with the assessment, so let’s show grace to those who value one day over another (Rom 14:5-6)—even though we must not allow them to judge us over the issue (Col 2:16).

Messianic Judaism: End-times conversion of Israel?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:28:37 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

In Rom 11:25, plērōma means fullness, not "full number." (The identical term appears in 13:10 and 15:29. Also John 1:16; 1 Cor 10:26; Gal 4:4; etc.)
Rom 9:6: Ancestry doesn't count; "Israel" = children of faith, not Abraham's physical descendants.
"All Israel" refers to true Israel—those who by faith are the sons and daughters of Abraham.
"Remnant" (11:5) implies a minority, just as during O.T. times.
Rom 9-11 answers the question of why most Jews failed to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. Predicting events two millennia later would not have addressed this question at all!
The "resurrection" of Ezek 37 pertains to the return from exile (6th C. BC), with overtones of Rev 21-22. It does not refer to the founding of the modern State of Israel (1948).
Large-scale "end-times" acceptance of fleshly Israel would be manifestly unfair to generations past.
Thus there is no true scriptural basis for an end-times mass conversion of modern-day Jews.

Messianic Judaism: The View Of The Early Church On Israel

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 02:05:16 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

Jesus and the apostles clearly taught that Israel had lost its covenant and nationhood in the sight of God (Matt 22:2-9; 23:31-39; John 8:22-24, 39-47; Rom 8:30-10:4; 10:20-21; 1 Thess 2:14-16).
[These strong words are not "antisemitic," as they were articulated by Semites (Jews). Not only Jesus, but all the apostles too were Jews. Their words are no more unfair or biased than the criticisms of the O.T. prophets. Sadly, after the declension of the church in the 4th century, it was only a matter of time before real antisemitism reared its ugly head.]
This viewpoint was universal in the early church. It did not originate from one congregation or typify one part of the Roman Empire. All over the empire, this was the position of the Christians.

Messianic Judaism: Israel: Still God’s People?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:00:03 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

The new covenant is for all believers, not just the Jews. In fact, the Jews have no special status before the Lord, and more than male Christians are in a different category from female Christians (Gal 3:26-29). To be Abraham's descendant is not an ethnic matter, but a matter of faith.
Jesus speaks of the rejection of the Jews as God's people (Matt 8:8-12; 21:33-43).
Paul clarifies that not all descended from Israel are Israel (Rom 9:6), but only those who have faith. It is to them that God's gifts and call (Rom 9:29) are transferred.
Peter's teaching agrees with Paul's (Acts 3:22-23; also 1 Pet 2:9-10 [re: Exod 19:4-6]).
The phrase "the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (Heb 8:8) is fulfilled in the church. The house of Israel are not the "lost tribes," let alone the Gentiles. Paul himself is an Israelite (his term), even though he hails from the tribe of Benjamin (historically part of Judah). The doctrine of the two houses is roundly rejected by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, as well as by the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America. Eph 2:12-22, an other key passage in our examination of Messianic Judaism, prohibits a "two house" interpretation.

Messianic Judaism: Is The Old Covenant Still Valid?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 13:00:06 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

Law and covenant are integrally connected. Nearly the entire book of Deuteronomy is cast in the form of a covenant, the conditions of which are the commandments of the Law of Moses.
Although key components of the old covenant (Gen 17:13; Exod 12:24; 29:9; 31:16; 40:15; 1 Ki 8:13) seem to be "forever," the original word ( Heb: 'olam, Gk: áiōn) normally means a period of time, with an emphasis on quality of time over quantity of time. This is amply illustrated in the OT (Gen 6:4; Ex 21:6; Deut 15:17; Lev 25:34; 1 Chr 16:15; Ps 105:8; 1 Sam 1:22; Ezra 4:15,19; Ps 24:7; Prov 22:28; Jon 2:6; 1 Sam 2:30).
The first covenant predicted its own replacement (Jer 31:31-34; Isa 59:20-21; Heb 8:7-13).
Will = testament (Gk: diathēkē, Lat: testamentum). Like the first covenant, the new covenant, which replaced it, did so only after the death of Jesus (Heb 9:15-18).
Today God has no separate arrangement, or covenant, for the Jews. For in Christ there is no Greek (Gentile) or Jew (Gal 3:28).

Messianic Judaism: Jesus Fulfilled The Law

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 9 Sep 2020 13:00:29 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

The Law and Prophets are the foundation on which Jesus begins his transformative ministry. Analogy: algebra builds on arithmetic—not invalidating it, but fulfilling it.
This fulfillment is illustrated in Matt 5:21-7:27. Matthew's 14 fulfillment formulae, interestingly, all cite the Prophets, (1:22; 2:15; 2:17; 2:23; 3:15; 4:14; 5:17; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:54; 26:56; 27:9).
Jesus is triple Messiah (anointed prophet, priest, and king).
We also understand fulfillment through typology (offices, persons, institutions, things, events).
And through the feasts and holy times of the Jewish year.
Jesus is God's obedient Son, in contrast to Israel, his disobedient Son. See Exodus 4:22.
Jesus perfectly loves God and neighbor. See Matt 7:12.
"Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Rom 10:4).

Messianic Judiasm: Is The Torah For Today?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 7 Sep 2020 13:00:11 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

Matthew 5:17-20 is an important passage for Messianics. Yet the commands Jesus refers to are not the typically "Jewish" mitzvoth, but dealing with anger and lust, being persons of integrity, loving enemies, etc. (We referred to 1 Corinthians 1:17, and also compared John 9:39 to John 12:47, since they illustrate how a verse out of context can easily be misinterpreted.)
A change in priesthood requires a change in law (Heb 7:11-12; 8:13).
Jesus set aside the Law in order to create a new humanity, comprising Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:14-15).
Key features of Torah do not map over to Christianity (kosher law, circumcision, animal sacrifices, priesthood, tithing, warfare). Neither do 100s of other (less weighty) commands!
The Torah—like the Prophets (Nevi'im)—is God's word for us. But it is not God's law for us.

Messianic Judiasm: Roots & Terms

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 4 Sep 2020 13:00:15 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Main ideas:

1st century: apostles agree Gentiles are not obligated to follow Torah (Acts 15:1-35; Titus 1:10-11).
19th century: rooted in evangelism of Jews, Zionism, and Dispensationalism.
20th century: birthed in groups like "Jews for Jesus" (1960s-1970s).
In short, there is no "Messianic Judaism" until a few generations ago. The movement is marked not by its antiquity, but by its novelty.
Terminology: many Semitic words are embraced, like Yeshua. Words historically offensive to Jews are avoided (e.g. crusade, cross, baptism, BC & AD). The term "Messianic" means that they accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Messianic Judaism: Why Focus on this movement?

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 2 Sep 2020 13:00:25 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

A growing movement—with perhaps 250,000 members in the U.S., and 10% that number in Israel—is proclaiming that the path to Christian spirituality is through embracing Torah and the Jewishness of the early church. They aim to keep the Sabbath, observe the Old Testament festivals, use Hebrew and Aramaic words, call their leaders rabbi, support the State of Israel, and much more. They lament that so few believers have studied the Old Testament.

We applaud the Messianics for their emphasis on the Old Testament. They're right: We need to study Torah if we are to grasp the message of the whole Bible (both covenants), view the world through Jesus’s eyes, appreciate prophecy and fulfillment, and much more. They rightly reject common Protestant claims that the O.T. Law was the root of legalism, or was opposed to grace, or only superficially reflects God’s character.

The Messianics seem to see themselves as a bridge between evangelical Christianity and the Jews, whom they expect to come to Christ in large numbers at the end of the age. And yet, although they claim to be 100% Christian and 100% Jewish, few Christians—and hardly any Jews—accept them as representing their historic faiths. (Why is that?) Invest a few minutes each week so that you can assess this important movement. You will also boost your grasp of the Old Testament.

OT Characters: OT Characters at Cross Purposes

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 13:00:16 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Pharaoh’s daughter / Pharaoh (daughter / father, and princess / king)
1. 14th BC
2. Exodus 1:15-17, 22; 2:1-10
3. The hero is a pagan, a worshipper of the Egyptian gods—the daughter of Pharaoh!
4. We’re not told whether she ever told her father she had adopted a Hebrew baby. Nor are we given any details about her interactions with her father, the Pharaoh. Besides, pharaohs tended to have many wives and children. (Ramesses II lived to age 90, reigning close to 70 years, and had perhaps 100 children!)
5. Even though Pharaoh himself was considered divine, he is mocked—not by verbal scorn, but by God moving in the simple heart of a young woman—one who moved at cross-purposes to her father to safeguard the future welfare of God's people.
6. Perhaps adopting Moses was the result more of natural affection than virtue, and it’s possible she was unaware of Pharaoh’s decree—as was Jonathan in 1 Sam14.
Jonathan / Saul (son / father, and prince / king)
1. 11th BC
2. 1 Samuel 14:24-30; 18:1-4; 19:1-6; 23:16-18
3. Jonathan is not taken in by his father’s authoritarian outburst, or by his foolish (and counterproductive) decrees.
4. He evinces loyalty, but not stupidity.
5. Another great quality of Jonathan—a stark contrast to his father—is his capacity for friendship, esp. with David, who Saul now regards as his mortal enemy!
6. David and Jonathan have a deeply spiritual relationship.
7. Jonathan is also humble, happy to serve as David’s number two guy.
8. Jonathan was at cross-purposes with Saul. Jonathan never did become king, or even live long to enjoy his relationship with David. He, like his father and brothers, dies in battle against the Philistines. Our next character became king, but only after a period of hiding (many years)…
Joash / Athaliah (son / grandmother)
1. 8th BC
2. 2 Chronicles 22:11-12; 23:1-21; 24:1-22
3. Athaliah was the grandmother of Joash. She was a wicked woman but a strong leader, seizing control of the southern kingdom of Judah and ruled it for six years. Jehoiada the elderly guardian of Joash knew that the ungodly Athaliah was ruining the nation and he had the nerve to depose her once the time was right. There follows the account of one of the manycoups d'état of the Bible.
4. Joash, guided by the elderly priest Jehoida, deposes his grandmother Athaliah.
5. The boy-king begins his forty-year reign well. After some time, he restores the lapsed Temple, and even challenges his guardian Jehoiada to expect more of the priests and Levites!
6. Yet when Jehoiada dies and his spiritual influence no longer shapes Joash, the boy-king quickly declines.
7. In short, Joash lacks character. He even has Jehoiada's son Zechariah (not the minor prophet but a different person) executed for challenging his sin. As a result, the Lord does call him to account in accordance with the words of the dying Zechariah.
8. Finally, Joash is defeated in battle, even though his forces far outnumbered the enemy.
9. We see that Joash was at cross-purposes with his grandmother, and also (sadly) with God. Like many of us, his life was a blend of the wonderful and tragic, faith and lack of faith. Yet his story is finished; ours is still being written.
10. Whereas Joash goes from good to bad, our next king goes in the opposite direction. Josiah!
Josiah / Amon (son / father)
1. 7th BC
2. 2 Ki 21:19-24; 22:1-2, 11, 13; 23:1-3
3. Josiah is one Judaean king through whom Yahweh offered his people one final chance to be right with him—to be saved—from Babylon.
4. Yet his father (Amon) was a wicked, ungodly man. Josiah is the opposite of Amon, and certainly did not live up to his father’s expectations, just as Amon was the opposite of the later Manasseh, grandfather of Josiah.
5. And then the long-lost book of the Law is discovered….
6. Josiah fears the Lord and honors the word of God, sending to the prophetess Huldah to learn what the Lord would have him do.
7. Josiah renews the covenant, and things seem to be going well for Israel, yet his reformation did not last long.
8. Josiah was certainly rowing against the tide, for most of the leaders and people of Judah were at cross-purposes with Yahweh.
9. Next, we will examine two monarchs who aren't in the land of Israel at all. Not in Egypt (our first pair), but in Persia. Worshipers of Ahura Mazda—over 1000 years before Islam would make the land become the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Vashti / Xerxes (queen / king, wife / husband)
1. 5th BC
2. Esther 1:1-5, 9-10, 12; 1:15-2:1; 2:4, 17
3. 486-465 bc Xerxes: his dominion is a big territory—and the banquet is a big deal.
4. The king cares about his reputation, glory, power… but the Lord is not impressed—as with Babel in Gen 11.
5. Inebriated, Xerxes summons his wife so that her beauty may be displayed. Yet Vashti refuses to be gawked at.
6. The King of Persia is made to look foolish—here and throughout the book of Esther. (Connection with Pharaoh—his silly laws are flouted right under his nose.
7. Like the other Gentile king, Pharaoh, his projection of hubris and perfection is revealed to be vain. The other 3 monarchs, Saul, Athaliah, and Amon, are also shown to be not only ungodly but sham leaders.

Conclusion

We may often find ourselves at cross-purposes with those who are not following the Lord. This may esp. be the case with family members, as with Pharaoh’s daughter, Jonathan, Joash, Josiah, and Vashti.
So, how should we interact with those close to us—people involved in our lives, whether family or not—when there are conflicting agendas?
- Respect them – always.
- Please them / obey them – usually.
- Ignore them – if they are pushing you to go against God’s will.
- Don’t live for the approval of the world, or of worldly people.
- Take our stand with the people of God, knowing that ultimately his will will be done. And may the Lord strengthen our resolve to live this way!

* * * * * *

If you have enjoyed the OT Character Podcast series, there is also a NT Character series, with about 70 talks, covering some 90 characters. But please don’t stop with the 175 persons given attention in these two series. After all, there are 100s of biblical characters!

OT Characters: Wealthy Shunammites’ Child (CLEAN Series)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 13:00:11 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

CLEAN 21, The Wealthy Shunammites’ Son = also OT character study 64.
Yesterday we saw how the prophet Elijah saved the life of the son of the Widow of Zarephath. Today we will look at a similar account—and it’s easy to confuse the two!—involving Elijah’s successor, Elisha.
This woman is probably younger than the widow of Zarephath. Her husband is still living, and out in the fields working, probably as a supervisor. That makes more sense, since they were wealthy. But even wealthy persons have problems, suffer tragedies, and need God.
Perhaps the woman is the main character because the money came from her family. At any rate, she eclipses her husband.

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6

The couple are friends and supporters of the prophet Elisha -- and his ministry.
The couple ups their game: hospitality will now include a room (v.10). It makes us think of the guest room Paul anticipates Philemon will provide.
They were a very giving couple. Elisha wishes to reciprocate, to give them a precious gift for all their kindness (v.14).
Quite naturally, the woman cannot believe her ears (v.16)! Her dream of being a mother (again?) has died, or lain dormant. Now the Lord is revivifying it.
Barrenness is a common theme in the Bible. Just think of all the older women who were enabled to conceive (think Sarah and Elizabeth).
This child wasn’t conceived of the Holy Ghost! Since the baby came a year later, she and her husband obviously took action sometime in the three months after Elisha made the promise.
Now the scene is several years later (the child can talk (v.19) – perhaps he is two or three years old).
Notice how the father delegates the care of his son to a servant, and then his wife. Was he overcome with worry, or too busy to help, or overconfident that the child’s medical complaint was minor?
Just imagine what it must have been like to watch your child’s life slip away, while you were holding it in your lap (v.20)!
- Those who have lost a child (miscarriage, car accident, cancer, suicide...) face overwhelming and heavy sadness.
- Sometimes we lose our "spiritual" children. We helped them to become Christians, and we invested in their lives. When they turn back from following Christ, the disappointment and grief can really set us back.
Then something really surprising happens.
The surprise is not that she turned to the prophet for help, but that she has completely bypassed her husband (v.22-23)!
Gehazi seems clueless as to what’s happening, as well as to her deeper emotional state (v.27), which is not all that surprising, since at first Elisha himself hasn’t fathomed the situation.
It is for the woman to alert them to the horror of the situation.
The woman will not leave Elisha. He is her connection with God, her source of hope!
Gehazi simply doesn’t have the spiritual power to bring back the child (v.31).
The child is resuscitated – or reanimated (vs.32-25)!
Gehazi is still useful, even if he is slower on the uptake than his master.
She has her life back (v.37)! Her shattered dreams have been repaired.
It seems the story is over – but then four chapters later she reappears (8:1-3).
Elisha stays in touch. Or maybe it’s simply that she knew who to turn to if she really needed help again…
This is after 2 Kings 5, where Gehazi received the leprosy of Naaman.
Her family, her household, has already been restored; now it’s her house (2 Kings 8:1-3). People first, then things.
What a remarkable story! But what makes it remarkable isn’t the plot, the persons, or even the reanimation. It’s God.

Application

Being healthy and whole isn’t just the absence of impurity. It involves your key relationships, and, to a much lesser extent, your possessions. Nothing is more important than relationships. What relationships need restoring in your life?
Like the woman, we need to know what’s out of place, where it hurts, what needs to be restored, before we can feel wonderful and clean and in God’s presence.
Do you relate more to the woman, to her husband, to Gehazi, or to Elisha?
What will you be willing to do today to have a full, godly, wholesome life?

OT Characters: Widow of Zarephath & Son (CLEAN Series)

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 13:00:21 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

Reanimation = back from the dead.
Why this is important will be explained more fully in the 10th reanimation podcast.
How does this tie in with the theme of purity? Keep in mind that in Jewish thought, death is associated with uncleanness.
Some positive feedback: "I'm enjoying CLEAN in '17. Very needed lessons. I've often wondered if impurity is like a story I once heard about a dirty river. The teller of the story said that once pollutants stopped being poured in the river, the river over time 'got pure' again, which is such a hope of mine, as I've struggled to live purely during my whole Christian life. Thank you again. Life giving-rebukes these are!"

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:34-35; Luke 16:29-31; Luke 4:25-26

This miracle and the next are very similar: children of older parents being brought back to life. There are multiple parallels between the lives and miracles of Elijah and his protégé and successor, Elisha.
Sidon (v.9) is in modern Lebanon, well north of the land of Israel.
Elijah asks for water, then bread. It seems she fears he may soon ask her for something she doesn’t have.
Notice the defeatist attitude of the widow (v.12).
Elijah requests food (v.13). Often the Lord asks us to take action – to do something specific – before he grants our wish.
The supply of flour and oil -- essentially, the basic stuff of mealtime – will not run out, as long as it is needed (v.14). God is not a stingy giver.
Some time later there is another problem: The woman’s son is dying (v.17). The brain and heart may still be working, but every outward indication is that he has given up the ghost.
Or not. He may already be dead.
This is a triple tragedy:
- As an outsider to Israel, she would normally have little access to the blessings of being a member of God’s people, worshipping at this temple, sharing in the heritage and tradition of the Jews, and so on.
- She has lost her husband. It would have been hoped the son would grow up to be her protector and provider.
- And now she has lost her son, too. Quite possibly the widow is now childless. Maybe her relations died in a war, or through famine or disease. (I say that because it seems she has no support group—such as would have been provided by a network of children and grandchildren.)
Yet God specializes in impossible situations!
The seems to be a sort of resuscitation ritual (vs.19-22).
- See 2 Kings 4:34-35.
- This procedure is accompanied by prayer.
The miracles confirms the prophet’s status (v.24).
At various times in the Bible miracles confirm the spoken word of God – or perhaps we could say they confirm the speaker. (See Acts 14:4; Heb 2:4; Exod 4:5; and esp. Luke 16:29-31.) Note: Miracles never confirm the written word of God.
Not only does the child have a new lease on life, but his mother also does. She transitions from hopelessness to hope.
Jesus points to this account in his opening sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4:25-26).
- There were many widows in need in Elijah’s time, but he did not work wonders for them. Jesus, too, healed or exorcized or reanimated only a small percentage, or fraction of a percent, of those in desperate straits in his day. His purpose was far more to preach than to work miracles.
- God loves Gentiles, too.

For us

God meets our needs.
Or, if we have suffered for some time, he sends a friend to bring relief.
Obviously there are exceptions, but the real point isn’t about miracles or even getting our prayers answered. It’s about learning what kind of a God we serve. It’s about coming to grips with his character.
He reanimates dead hopes and restores shattered dreams!

OT Characters: The Prophetess Huldah

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 13:00:11 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Hebrew & Greek words:

chuldah = mole. See the Huldah Gates (entrance into Temple precinct).
nevi'ah = prophetess (Greek prophêtis)
navi' = prophet (Greek prophétēs)

Prophetesses of the Bible:

Old Testament
- Miriam (Exod 15:20)
- Deborah (Judg 4:4)
- Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20)
- Isaiah's wife (Isa 8:3)
- Traditional extras (in Judaism): Sarah, Abigail, Esther
New Testament
- Anna (Luke 2:36)
- Philip's daughters (Acts 21:9)
- See also Acts 2:17-18; 1 Cor 11:4-5.
False prophetesses
- Noadiah (Neh 6:14)
- "Jezebel" (Rev 2:20)

Text: 2 Chron 34:8-28 (selections)

What we learn about Huldah:

She is one of three named prophetesses in the O.T.
She was married, from a prominent family, and "high up" in the hierarchy.
She realizes the spiritual seriousness of the situation, and responds accordingly.
She's willing to convey challenging words to the king himself.
The king listens to her (2 Chron 34:29-35:19). He respects her.

What we learn about God:

God can speak authoritatively through a woman just as easily as through a man. (Huldah's message back to the king read and feel every bit as serious and authoritative as the words of Jeremiah!)
He holds us responsible for our knowledge of his Word. When we learn the truth, Yahweh expects us to act.
We are to do what is right, whether or not we are "successful." Josiah's revival movement was a case of "too little, too late." Still the Lord was pleased that he listened to Huldah and strove for righteousness and obedience to God's Law.

OT Characters: Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 13:00:13 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Hebrew words:

Mikhál = brook
'Avigail = my father is joy
Bath-sheva' = daughter of the oath

David's wives:

Ahinoam, Maachah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah
Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba—and possibly more
Note: this does not include concubines (secondary wives)

Michal: 1 Sam 14:50; 18:20, 28; 19:11-17; 25:44; 2 Sam 3:13; 6:14-15; 16-23; 1 Chr 15:29

What we learn about Michal:

She is Saul's daughter; there was a political dimension to the marriage.
She loves David, but is tempted to control him.
Michal she has a sharp tongue, and can be sarcastic.
She is scandalized by his expressive worship, despising her husband. Yet her critical attitude is based on her opinion. David did not dishonor anyone.
David seems to respond by withdrawing conjugal love from her—unless the Lord was disciplining her by denying her children. (I lean towards to former possibility.)
Are we sometimes like Michal, embarrassed by others' expressions of religious fervor, or evangelistic bluntness, or strong biblical convictions? Do we care too much about our own reputation?

Abigail: 1 Sam 25:14-42; 30:5, 18

What we learn about Abigail:

She is beautiful and intelligent.
Whereas her husband lacked character and integrity, she was abounding in these qualities.
Like Michal, she can think on her feet—and she is discreet.
Like Michal, Abigail was connected to a controlling, ungodly, manipulative man.
She is diplomatic—a "defuser," not a "detonator." (Most men greatly need such voices of reason in their lives.)
She is "rescued" twice by David. Interestingly, Michal too is removed from David, then restored.
How about us? Are we wise, able to defuse sensitive situations? And if for the moment we are locked into a negative or abusive relationship, are we patiently waiting for the Lord to bring about a change?

Bathsheba: 2 Sam 11-12; 1 Ki 1-2

She's the most famous (and beautiful) of his wives.
For more about David and Bathsheba, please listen to the amazing keynote message on Bathsheba given by Sara Barton at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures, 2 May 2019.

What the three wives have in common:

All were married to other men, not only to David.
Abigail and Bathsheba marry David after their husbands die. Michal doesn't marry as a widow, but she too is separated from her husband and remarried.
These remarkable women learn the political game. Bathsheba apparently learned quickly. Michal was less successful. Abigail is already exhibits maturity and wisdom when we first meet her.

What we learn about God:

God works for the good, altering our life circumstances. This is obvious in Abigail's life, and could have been in Michal's, too. Abigail is the wiser of the two. To some degree, God works things out for us in proportion to the wisdom and spirituality of our decisions. Although Bathsheba must have experienced a good deal of pain, God works through her life, too.
God isn't necessarily on the side of the rich and powerful. Nabal dies for his wickedness. So does Saul. David is condemned for his adultery and murder. God's righteousness is always more important than the things we tend to value: power, comfort, pleasure...
Women are important characters on the world stage, valued and loved in the grand scheme of God's wise and providential will. Let's determine to pay attention to all the men and women of the Bible. We just might learn something.

OT Characters: Mephibosheth

logan.kreider@gmail.com (Douglas Jacoby) — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 20:10:32 +0000

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Introduction

Our O.T. character today is a minor character. And yet doesn't mean he isn't important.
The relationship between David and Jonathan (Saul's son, next in line for the throne) was intimate.
Jonathan's son becomes disabled -- but this is not what matters most. Rather, what we are about to study is an excellent illustration of grace.
2 Sam 4:4 — Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
- Distressing news led to his nurse dropping him. (Reminds us of death of Eli on hearing another battle report.)
- Escaping potential assassins, nurse runs
- Source of medical condition = human error.
  - Born blind v. blinded in acid attack
  - Born with heart problem (Kurka) v. asbestos / careless company
- Quite possibly that in time he couldn’t even remember ever being able to walk without assistance or crutches.
Image of grace, not just for medical situations
- Mental health issues
- Trauma (e.g. PTSD or abuse)
- Sin cripples us

9:1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”

Lo-debar means nothing.
This underscores the humble situation of Mephibosheth.

9:5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”

Mephibosheth need not fear; David is not assassinating potential political rivals -- quite the opposite!
"Dead dog" => humility

9:9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. 10 And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table.”

There is no merit in the case of Mephibosheth. Disability brings no entitlements.
Provision in perpetuity
The "king's table" (provision, not necessarily presence)

Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

Grace brings us to the King’s presence.
Sons (and daughters) of the King!
Mephibosheth is no longer a boy -- he is a grown man and a father.

16:1 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.” 3 And the king said, “And where is your master's son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” 4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

Ziba shows grace to the king and his men -- or is this disingenuous?
Mephibosheth has political aspirations -- really? (Is Ziba speaking the truth?)
Compare Mephibosheth's disposition to that of Adonijah in 1 Kings 2:15.

16:24 And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. 25 And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame. 27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you. 28 For all my father's house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?” 29 And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.”

Mephibosheth's lack of grooming indicates his grief over the coup, not giddy expectancy that his own situation now stands to gain.
Betrayal
- Deception
- Slander
- How do we react when this happens to us?
Is Ziba speaking the truth?
Division of property is redolent of 1 Kings 3:26 (“Let him take it all” — like the prostitute who spoke honestly)

Grace

Mephibosheth shows grace.
- Doesn’t try to fight his steward, who betrayed him
- Could also have been bitter towards his nurse. But he models a better way.
Received grace, and therefore shows grace?
- David -> Mephibosheth
- Mephibosheth -> Ziba
The story of Mephibosheth is there to answer a question: What sort of man should be the ruler of God's people? What kind of a man deserves to be king? The one who realizes he too is crippled in both feet. The world has a tendency to exalt bullies. See 1 Sam 8.
- As "Son of David," Jesus treats the lame outcast poor marginalized in the same way.
- Luke 14:14; 18:14.
- The human tendency is to turn a story of humility into one of personal triumph. (How a David reaches out to a Mephibosheth!
What should the church look like? It should picture restored humanity. A church of elevators. Not going up if someone is left behind. Walk alongside those who are lame. Yet to find healing.
Examples of disabled persons who respond graciously.
- Richard Turner, card mechanic, blind yet grateful for his condition (Watch Dealt).
- My friend Tom, who thanks God for his Multiple Sclerosis every day.
- A middle-aged Christian leader recently stricken with diabetes -- and yet does not evince even a trace of bitterness.
- A one-legged Christian sister, wounded in drive-by shooting, who models joy and love (not self pity).
Our own suffering may lead to our developing empathy -- to a ministry (see 2 Cor 1).

Conclusion

Life isn't always fair. (In fact, it usually isn't fair.)
The point is not to receive justice or equality. In Mephibosheth's case, the point was not to receive healing, but to draw near to God -- to receive and model grace.
We are all needy.
1. Disabled by damage inflicted by others -- or by myself
2. Handicapped by ignorance
3. Crippled by sin
Show grace; let things slide.
1. Mephibosheth does not demand equality (50/50 split with Ziba), nor in fact anything at all (he is happy for Ziba to have it all). His life is not defined by material possessions.
2. Example: Christians and lawsuits.
  1. To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? - 1 Cor 6:7
  2. The early Christians did not take people to court (see NT chapter notes on 1 Cor 6) -- especially one another!
Care for the needy, the infirm, and the disabled.

Further

Meriba’al seems to have been Mephibosheth's original name (1 Chr 8:34; 9:40). Mephibosheth = "from the mouth of shame" (Hebrew).
Yet there is no shame in being needy, nor in receiving help from others.
For, as Jesus said, "Freely you have received; freely give" (Matt 10:8).
Listen also to the podcast on Jonathan, father of Mephibosheth, and David, his benefactor.