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John 12:1-43 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/25/2021

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3/25/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Verses 30-36 of our Gospel reading from John 12 are very interesting to me. Here Jesus tells how he is going to die. The people ask him how he can say he will die since the Messiah remains forever. Jesus tells the people to believe on him.

First, it should not have been a mystery or a surprise to anybody when Jesus was executed. He had spoken of it, several times, openly. His disciples had heard, though they didn't remember. Despite not remembering his specific words they should also have been able to understand that Jesus cared about them more than he cared about his own life. He consistently showed himself as the one who humbles himself for the benefit of others. Although Jesus spoke of his coming death on several occasions, though, they didn't remember. It came as a surprise.

Second, the people had been reading the Scriptures. They understsood Jesus to be the Messiah. They also understood that the passages which tell about the Messiah said he would remain forever. These were not biblically illiterate people. Jesus' audience included inquiring people who had searched the Scriptures. They had paid attention in synagogue and the discussions of the elders. They had a very valid question.

The problem of the Messiah remaining forever alongside the Messiah dying is resolved in only one way. He has to be raised from the dead to eternal life, or he is not the Messiah. That's exactly what Jesus was promising to do.

The crowd heard Jesus say that he is the light of the world, and that he will be with them, at least for a while. What did they do about it? They didn't believe, despite Jesus' repeated calls that people should trust him. 

The same situation abounds in our world today, though it doesn't seem that people have as good a concept of what biblical theology would say about the Messiah or about Jesus' claims. Jesus is still the Messiah. He is still the one who laid down his life. He is still the one who remains forever, since he was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. He is still the light of the world, making sense of it for all who will believe. The question we need to ask is whether we will believe him or whether we want to walk in darkness so as to avoid the inconvenient conclusion that he is God and we are not. His claims remain there for us to examine and reach a conclusion.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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1 Peter 2:21-24 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/24/2021

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3/24/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Jesus paid it all. That's great!! So there's nothing I need to do?

Not to earn your salvation. Jesus has completed everything you and I or anyone in the world needs for salvation. That's settled.

In my work among people from non-Christian cultures, and even from those who have been exposed to Christianity extensively, a recurring theme is the idea that religions, and especially Christianity, are moral and ethical codes. Follow the rules and everything will work out all right.

Christianity is no kind of a moral code. The Gospel is a proclamation of a gift of God, provided for all who believe, freely. There are no strings attached. None at all. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, period.

However, even while we proclaim this, we recognize that the Christian religion does lay claims on those who are called by Jesus' name. This is the content of our Epistle reading from 1 Peter 2. Jesus has done some things for you, priceless things. You can never repay them. However, he does call his people to follow in his steps, taking his example. 

Peter mentions some specifics that should characterize our lives as we try to emulate Jesus' example. He spoke the truth. When he was reviled and insulted, he didn't revile and insult in return. Rather, he trusted that God was able to guard him He committed no sin, but lived in righteousness. We are also to die to sin and live to righteousness.

Most of these characteristics are difficult to measure. What does it mean to die to sin? It's hard to see what an attitude that considers sinning something not worth doing will result in. But we can predict that it will be result in a life spent serving others' needs rather than our own desires. Likewise, trust in God will leave us not trying to depend on our own intelligence, diligence, or natural abilities. Sure, we'll use those things, but we use them as resources that God has given us, not as our own possessions. 

The Christian life, then, is pretty complex. It has a lot of nuance to it. We live for God and for the world he has given himself to redeem. We consider ourselves as his servants, his instruments, his people who walk in the ways that he would walk.

Again, this is not a moral or ethical code that we would follow so as to be justified. He has taken care of that. We live out a moral and ethical life to follow in his footsteps. We do it for his sake, knowing that he is the Lord who has rescued us from all the trials we could bring upon ourselves by depending on ourselves. It lets God in Christ be the savior.

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Psalm 36:5-10 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/23/2021

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3/23/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our Psalm for today speaks of the greateness of God's love, which is described as faithfulness, righteousenss, and judgments. How big is God's love? We don't have an adequate measuring tape, and we wouldn't know what to fasten it onto. We couldn't pull it out far enough. How high are the heavens? How great are the clouds? How large is a mountain? How deep is the ocean?

To begin to grasp the Psalmist's wonder, we should remember that the high and unscalable mountains in the Mediterranean region are not as large as the largest mountains in the world. A quick internet search tells me the deepest a person has ever been recorded as diving without special equipment is just over seven hundred feet. In contrast to this, the average depth of the ocean is thought to be over twelve thousand feet. That's over seventeen times as deep as anyone has ever gone unaided.

God's judgments are like the great deep. You can't go that far. They are immeasurable.

How does this play out in our lives, then? When we are tempted to think highly of ourselves, we need to realize that we come nowhere near measuring up to God's majesty. He is utterly beyond our comprehension.

What's our response then? We owe him our love, honor, respect, admiration, and obedience. He is truly the God who knows best. We must make no mistake on this account.

What else should we especially notice? In this Psalm God's majesty is shown in his love, his mercy, his grace, his judgment. He is the God we can look to in faith. He is the God we can look to in hope. And he is worthy of all our trust, so great is he.

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Isaiah 50:5-10 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/22/2021

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3/22/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.

Our Old Testament passage from Isaiah 50 is easily read as a description of Jesus' humiliation. The process of his trial by the Romans was not terribly unusual. To urge people to recant of their alleged criminal activity, Romans would frequently beat, whip, and otherwise humiliate prisoners. This is precisely what happened to Jesus, as the soldiers dressed him like a king, mockingly called him the king of the Jews, and whipped him. Their expectation may well have been that he would quickly confess that he was not the king of the Jews, that he was an imposter, and that he would never again be willing to face such a threat. Though it would strike many in the modern world, especially in the United States, as a barbaric treatment, it was fairly effective at discouraging people from all sorts of criminal and seditious activity.  Isaiah 50 adds to the description we have in the Gospels the idea of having one's beard pulled out, an activity which in itself would probably make me give up on virtually any criminal ideas I had in mind. Really, don't pull out my beard!

Jesus willingly gave himself over to torture, even though, as he said, he could command angels and they would rescue him if he desired.

Jesus didn't want to be rescued from the death that you and I deserve. He gave himself over to whipping, disgrace, and spitting. Maybe his beard was even pulled out. We don't know for certain.

This seems well and good, at least painless, from my perspective. Nobody is currently trying to arrest me, imprison me, or whip me. Mocking and even spitting are easily imaginable, but I know I can withstand that.

In verses 8-9 the prophet speaks of it all happening, and the Lord standing with him. Maybe we need to let that sink in a little bit.

No matter what we might endure for the name of Jesus, God will stand with us. Jesus was unafraid of a whipping that stripped a good bit of the flesh off his back. He withstood people beating a crown of thorns into his head. He was dressed in a robe, no doubt very roughly, after being whipped. He was mocked and scorned. And he didn't even deserve it, not one bit of it.

The Christian can take comfort from this passage. No matter the animosity that we may face in this lifetime, Jesus has dealt with it. He will in no way abandon his people. Though they kill us, we can have confidence, not only that Jesus has endured the same, but that he endured it without deserving it, for our sake, and has promised to be with us through it all.

What if they take us? What if they imprison us? What if they kill us? Jesus has died on our behalf and has risen from the dead.

There's really nothing that Jesus has not done on behalf of his people. And he promises to stand with us through whatever we will face. This is the confidence of the Christian. This is an unshakable hope.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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