the beginning — Mark 1:1-13 — July 10

Having only yesterday finished Luke’s orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us (Luke 1:1), the life of Jesus the Messiah, today we go back to the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).  As we do so, it’s worth noting the differences between Mark’s and Luke’s “beginnings”.

Whereas Luke tells us all about the birth of Jesus, and some details of His early life, Mark gets right into what he calls “the gospel”, the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, for all to see and believe.  In chapter 1 verse 2 he brings us to John the Baptist (who appears in chapter 3 in Luke).  He doesn’t tell us as much about John’s ministry, or his interaction with those who came to him to be baptized.  Instead, Mark proceeds directly to John’s proclamation about the Messiah:  the one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:7-8).  ”The gospel”, after all, is about the Messiah, who is then revealed in Jesus of Nazareth to John, who hears the voice from heaven saying, You are my Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased (Mark 1:11).  In Mark, we get right to the point of it all, that in Jesus God has come to be among us, to connect us to Himself, to suffer and die for us that we may have real life.

We would do well to remember, in all of our questions of faith and various beliefs about the nature of things, that, at the center of it all, is Jesus.  He is the Main Character of our life.  And, on occasion, we would do well to strip things back to the Core of it all, Him, and make that our faith, and our message.

open minds — Luke 24:36-53 — July 9

For the past 40 years there’s been lots of talk about people needing to have an “open mind”.  Generally this advice comes in situations where a more relaxed kind of morality is being proposed, or some new philosophy or religion.  Those who raise questions about such innovations are told that they need to have an “open mind”.

From today’s Scripture, it would seem as if having an “open mind” is a much different kind of thing.  The followers of Jesus were having great difficulty grasping that Jesus was alive again after having died:  they were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost (Luke 24:37).  I suppose that those advising an “open mind” would have told the disciples that they needed to open their minds to believe in ghosts.  And yet, Jesus made it clear that such an “open-minded” belief would have missed the point.  He said, touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have (Luke 24:39).  He then conducted a little demonstration as He consumed a piece of broiled fish in their presence. And He concluded by reminding them of the Scriptures, which clearly spoke about how the Messiah would suffer and die for sin, and then rise again to offer new life to all who would come to Him.  In all of this, Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45).

So when you are told that you need to have a more “open mind” that you might accept uncritically whatever innovation comes down the pike (including belief in ghosts!), nod politely, but then inwardly pray that the Lord Jesus would open your mind to understand the Scriptures, and to guide you in how to respond to such suggestions.  Perhaps, as you allow your mind to be open to His, He will help you to assist those who advocate “open minds” to open their own minds to the Scriptures and, more importantly, to the Mind of the Universe behind them, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

eyes wide open — Luke 24:12-35 — July 8

“I can’t look.”  Perhaps you’ve said these words when watching some terrible, either on the media, or in life.  It’s too much for you to take in and so, quite naturally, you close your eyes to what you’re looking at, to somehow lessen the pain of apprehension.

Perhaps that’s what happened to these disciples of Jesus who were witnesses to His suffering and death.  It was too much for them to take in, and so, many chose not to be there at the cross, at Golgotha, so that they wouldn’t have to look.  And even those who were there, who saw with their eyes, shut the eyes of their hearts, blotting out the full reality of what was happening, which Jesus had warned them about, including the surprise ending, which we read about today.

As such, they were initially unprepared for the surprising events which unfolded that first day thereafter.  We saw this in yesterday’s reading, when the women came to the tomb and found things as they were: the eyes of their hearts took a while to open.  The same was true of the disciples in Jerusalem who heard the women’s story of new life: they thought it an idle take, told by idiots.  Jesus would say of them that they were “slow of heart” to believe.

But then, gradually, as in today’s stories, their eyes began to open, wide open to encompass a reality bigger than they had ever imagined.  Peter, initially skeptical with the rest, ran to the tomb, looked in, and saw, with his physical and spiritual eyes, and returned home, amazed at what had happened.  And these two, perhaps husband and wife, on their way out to Emmaus, initially couldn’t even see Jesus walking with them.  But as He opened the scriptures to them, as their hearts burned within them as He spoke, as they invited Him to stay with them, and as He broke the bread with them, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him (Luke 24:31).  They saw Him and they saw it all, the fulfilment of all that Jesus was, and is, and is to be and to do.  And so they returned to Jerusalem declaring with confidence, the Lord has risen indeed (Luke 24:34).

No doubt there have been things that have happened to you and me that have caused us to close the eyes of our hearts.  We’ve become unable to recognize Jesus with us, and are incapable of seeing the fullness of His plan for us and for the world.  We need to have our eyes opened, freshly, every day as we look into His Word and hear Him open them to us; and each week as we break bread with Him and receive the Word made flesh within us.

So today, I join with St. Paul in praying that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Him, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power for us who believe, according to the working of His great power (Ephesians 1:17-19)

the findings — Luke 24:1-11 — July 7

There were significant findings on the third day.  Those same women who saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it…went home and prepared spices and perfumes…[and then] rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment (Luke 23:55-56) returned to the tomb.  They were coming to properly anoint Jesus’ body for burial, fully prepared to find Him dead as He was on Friday and, by this time, beginning to decompose.  Instead, the findings were quite different from what they expected.

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb (Luke 24:2), a most unexpected situation, given that the tomb was guarded by Roman soldierscharged to prevent tampering.  When they went in the tomb, they did not find the body (Luke 24:3), astonishing given that any of the Jewish leaders who might have removed the body would now be ritually unclean.  Next, they found two men in dazzling clothes beside them (Luke 24:4) who told them the most astounding finding of all:  He is not here, but has risen (Luke 24:5).  No wonder these women were terrified, unable to comprehend the findings in front of them.

But then,  the “men” gave them one more “finding”:  a rediscovery of what Jesus had said to them, which enabled them to find the truth of what had happened.  They said, remember how He told you, while H was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again (Luke 24:7).  And then the women remembered His words, and, reinterpreting their findings, ran to tell the others the good news.  It was finding the words of Jesus which enabled them to find the gospel in the midst of the tragedy.

And so it is with us.  Perhaps you are going through challenging circumstances, with finding after finding that tell you that there’s no hope, that things will go from bad to worse, that all is lost.  Or perhaps you just don’t know what to think about your life, or that of someone you love, as it’s just impossible to understand what’s happened or is now happening.  Thankfully, we have the word of God to help us to interpret our findings, even to make new findings that we have forgotten, or that have been hiding in the midst of other findings.  The finding of God’s Word, regularly, will make it possible for God to speak in difficult times, so that we can find our way again, and can find His resurrection power at work in times of darkness.

So make it habit to find the Scriptures, daily, that the findings God has left there for you may be discovered, and may make all the difference.

into your hands — Luke 23:44-56A — July 6

Jesus had always been in the Father’s hands.  Eternal with Him, He would say of Himself the same words His Father had said to Moses:  I am. Of His relationship with the Father, He would say, I and the Father are one (John 10:30).  Of His actions on earth, Jesus would say, whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise (John 5:19).  All this, such that when Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus would say, whoever has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9).

And yet, as we witness Jesus in prayer, particularly at those times when, early in the morning, He went to a lonely place to pray; as we see Him going to the synagogue to worship every week; as we see Him submit Himself to the Father’s will in the garden of Gethsemane, it becomes clear that Jesus regularly rededicated Himself to God, and into the hands of the One with Whom He was always one.

None the more so than at the moment of His death.  On the cross, having suffered for six hours, it was time for Him to yield up His life.  And so Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit’ (Luke 23:46).  Even though He had never not been in the Father’s hands, it was His desire to re-commend Himself to the Father, to re-place Himself, if you will, into the Father’s hands.  Was this made necessary because of His having become our sin on the cross, and thus experiencing separation from a Holy God (my God, my God, why have you forsaken Me? Matthew 27:46)?  We will only know the answer to that question when we meet Him face to face.

But for now, in this prayer, into Your hands I commend my spirit, you and I have, not only a model for our death, but also a practice for our life.  Though we know that, by grace through faith, we are safe in the Father’s hands, nonetheless we have a need, regularly, to commend ourselves to God, to recognize that we are in His hands, to re-place ourselves into His hands.  And no doubt for us this is made necessary because of the sin which separates us from Him, and makes a perpetual repentance, or returning to Him, necessary.

Be sure to do this regularly today, not only at those times when you experience gratitude for being in His hands, when you experience the consolation of His Presence, but also at those times when you are struggling to follow Him or believe, when you experience the desolation of His presumed absence.  Re-commend yourself to God.  And, particularly so if you are not really sure that you are “safe” with God, just pray that simple prayer:  Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.

Remember me — Luke 23:32-43 — July 4

There are lots of things that puzzle me about God’s ways.

Some of them are found in today’s passage.  Why does Jesus ask the Father to forgive sinners who don’t even know what they’re doing, like me, and like you (Luke 23:34)?  Why does it seem as if political and religious leaders, put in place by God (1 Peter 2:13-14),  often pay lip-service to Him at best, and usually end up mocking him by their words and actions (Luke 23:35)?  Why do nations, including ours, feel as if we have to maintain our freedom by having an overly-huge military, whose very existence seems to mock the God in Whom we say we trust (Luke 23:36-37)?  Why, when I’m at the lowest points of my life, and have known the saving grace of Jesus in the past, do I find myself accusing him, just like one of the criminals crucified with Him (Luke 23:39)?  Why is it that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son, Who had done nothing wrong, to suffer and die for us, so that all who believe in Him might not perish as He did, but have eternal life (Luke 23:41, John 3:16)?  These are puzzling and deep questions, and there are many more.

I suppose the answer is that such questions are too much for me, and that I need to join the Psalmist in saying I do not occupy myself with things too great and to marvelous to me.  But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother (Psalm 133:1-2).  Like the other criminal who simply said Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom (Luke 23:42), and like that child who looks to its mother for comfort, assurance, and confidence, so I need to turn to Jesus to ask that He simply remember me, remember you, remember our nation, remember our world and all its people, this July 4, and each day.  And then, perhaps then, I’ll hear those amazing words, meant for my eternity, and meant for now, truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Simon — Luke 23:26-31 — July 3

Just who is Simon of Cyrene?

Cyrene was a town located in northern Africa, in which there was a Jewish community of 100,000 Palestinian Jews who had settled there in the 3rd century BC.  They had a synagogue in Jerusalem, and many would go on pilgrimage there for the annual feasts, such as the feast of the Passover, celebrated the night before Simon appeared on the scene with Jesus.  However, the name itself doesn’t prove that Simon was Jewish, although the Jewish Peter was originally named Simon.  What’s clear, however, is that Simon is from Africa,  and that he assisted Jesus on the way of the cross.

Nothing in verse 26 of today’s reading suggests anything about Simon’s motivation, other than that he was seized and pressed into service in carrying Jesus’ cross.  For a period of time, he carried it behind Jesus, perhaps all the way to the cross.  Did he have any idea whose cross he was carrying?  Did he learn what that cross could do for him and for anyone who believed that the One who died there was doing so for his sins, and for the sins of the whole world?  Did he see in these events the most amazing act of love ever, or yet another example of astonishing cruelty?  We don’t know, though tradition holds that Rufus and Alexander, disciples mentioned by Mark in 15:21, and by Paul in Romans 16:13, were sons of Simon of Cyrene, and that Simon himself may have been among the “men of Cyrene” who preached the gospel to the Greeks in Acts 11:20.

So who is Simon of Cyrene?  A character who appears at a time when God was at work in human history; or perhaps you and I when God is at work in this time.  Who knows whether, at those times when we are pressed into service, into hard service, that God may be at work in ways that we cannot understand.  Our reaction to our being inconvenienced or worse may hold the key as to whether we go on to become even more deep and fruitful disciples, or whether we become or remain bewildered pawns in the midst of grand events that we can’t understand.

Which Simon will you be today?

as they wished — Luke 23:13-25 — July 2

We got what we wanted.

From the beginning of human history, we have wanted to be masters of the universe.  When our forebears were given the Garden of Eden, they looked at it, and particularly at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, not as a gift, but as an opportunity for advancement.  The serpent in front of them and in them said, God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (Genesis 1:4).  And so they ate, to become masters of their universe.  Later, when their descendants came together in a plain in the land of Shinar, they wanted to order their own world, to make a name for [them]selves, lest they be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:4).  And so they constructed the tower of Babel, as masters of their universe.  And so it has always been that we have wanted to be God, and have consistently throughout history tried to supplant God’s gracious rule.

And so here, as the people agitated against the weak Pilate to have King Jesus destroyed.  This One Who came that we might have life offered it freely, but with one condition: that we surrender before the Reign of God in our lives in and in our world.  And, for each one of us, this is way too much.  And so we join those in today’s story who will stop nothing short of trying to destroy Him, until Jesus is handed over in such a way as we wish.  The tendency to remake our universe, even our God, is that pervasive, and persistent.  And, in many cases, we get what we want: a chaotic and decaying universe ruled by us, but at least not ruled by anyone else, and certainly not by God (or so we think).

However, thanks be to God, we are not the end of the story:  He is.  His mercy is so powerful, so crafty, if you will, that He can turn even our rebellion, our sin, into His victory, and our salvation.  His grace is indeed irresistible, as He is able to take sinners like you and me and bend our wills to His Will.

Today, may you see the futility of wanting to have your fondest wish granted, that you be the master of your world, and may you bow before the One who is the only Master worth serving, Jesus Christ the Lord.

He stirs up — Luke 23:1-12 — July 1

He stirs up the people by teaching… (Luke 23:5)

Apparently there was a line of thought in Jesus’ day that upheld the status quo.  Teaching from the Scriptures was a traditional science, relying not only the Word of God itself, but also on the long history of interpretation.  ”It was said” was a repeated part of such teaching, as the teacher would refer to what prior rabbis had said, often comparing or juxtaposing their interpretations.  As such, biblical teaching of the time had a kind of comfortable predictability to it.  Teachers might argue with one another, even vehemently.  But the hearers knew what was coming, and would react accordingly, even sleepily.

However, with the arrival of John the Baptist, and then Jesus of Nazareth, it seemed as if a “new teaching” had arrived (see Mark 1:27).  In the case of John, thousands flocked to him in the wilderness, confessing their sins, and seeking to be baptized for cleansing and forgiveness.  In the case of Jesus, people were amazed at His authority, demonstrated in the deeds of power which accompanied His teaching.  It was as if they were hearing the Scriptures again for the very first time, as if God Himself were speaking to them directly.  People certainly were being “stirred up”; He was guilty as charged by those who brought Him before Pontius Pilate.  Sins were being exposed, the status quo was being upset, and some were not happy about this at all.  Many others, perhaps including you, found a new life with God because He stirred you up.

How long has it been since you have been “stirred up” by God?  Have you found the teaching of the Scriptures to be disturbing, challenging, irritating, even infuriating?  Or has it been the status quo, the same old same old?  Ask God to stir you up today, that His Word in you may be living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow…able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

False questions — Luke 22:63-71 — June 30

Yesterday, we saw how Peter answered those who questioned whether he was “one of them”, a follower of Jesus.  We noted how, on three occasions, he denied even knowing Jesus.  We admitted that we, too, have done the same kind of thing, many times.

However, there are those times when silence is the best answer.  There are times when others ask us questions that either have no answer, or that are asked insincerely, and don’t deserve an answer.

Such was the case when Jesus was being asked questions by His accusers.  Prophesy!  Who is it that struck you? (Luke 22:64); If you are the Messiah, tell us (Luke 22:67); Are you, then, the Son of God? (Luke 22:70).  In these cases, Jesus either said nothing, or turned the question back on those asking.  Though some might think that Jesus was denying Himself by not admitting directly that He was the Messiah or the Son of God, He recognized the false nature of the questions and the questioners themselves:  if I tell you, you will not believe (Luke 22:67).

False questions, trick questions, questions which are asked rhetorically, as if to stump the chump, don’t require a direct answer.  Jesus’ silence, or His redirected followup question, caused the questioners to question themselves, to consider their questions, their opposition, their hostility.  Though this response might have made Jesus look bad, He didn’t care.  His sole desire was to bear witness to the truth in such a way that even His enemies might turn and receive it.

And so today, as you deal with the questions of others, even false questions, do be prepared to give an account for the hope which is within you (1 Peter 3:16).  And do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit (Matthew 13:11).  But recognize that sometimes, the Holy Spirit will give you silence as a response, so that, in your silence, or in your speaking, you make be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart (2 Corinthians 5:12).