31 August 2014

Psalm 148, 149, 150; Job 11:1-9,13-20; Rev. 5:1-14; Matt. 5:1-12

What sin could Job possibly hang onto and claim it is not sin in the face of all this tragedy and devastation of his life?  I once knew some people who prayed regularly with a man with lung cancer and they had read a book that said the words "by his stripes we are healed" meant that no one suffered in this life unless they had unconfessed sin in their lives.  I don’t think I have ever been as angry with anyone in my life as I was the day I heard them say this to me.  That is the only argument Zohar makes here, that if Job will give up his ridiculous claim to right doctrine and right life he will prosper and learn the wisdom of God.  The only thing preventing health, wealth and wisdom is his folly of clinging to his claims.  Not only is suffering connected with sin in this argument, these other things are the promise of letting go.  There have been prosperity preachers around a long time.

I thought about simply commenting on this passage by saying, Jesus isn't one of them.  A prosperity preacher that is.  The Sermon on the Mount, particularly the Beatitudes, makes a mockery of prosperity preaching. Jesus speaks of those who are blessed being poor in spirit, mourners, the meek, those who hunger and seek after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted.  The key is the one in the middle, those who hunger and seek after righteousness.  That gives the lie to prosperity preaching.  He tells us to seek after the kingdom and His righteousness and these other things will be added unto us and they will, but not necessarily now.  We have to be single-minded and there are few who can be so with great wealth.  Jesus was offered all the kingdoms of earth and chose instead the kingdom of heaven, the path of semi-delayed gratification.  I say semi-delayed because we can have it in part now via the Holy Spirit and communion with Him.

Jesus receives the kingdom.  Appearing like a lamb looking like it was slain, He appears before the throne and receives first the scroll, recognition from the one seated on the throne, and then recognition of heaven in ascribing the same worship that has heretofore been reserved for the one on the throne.  What were the keys to receiving the kingdom?  A perfectly righteous life, unlike any before or after Him, suffering and death.  No one was found anywhere in the universe who was worthy until the one who had suffered in this life and renounced it all for love's sake appeared.  Prosperity preaching is a lie from the pit of hell.

30 August 2014

Psalm 20, 21; Job 9:1,10:1-9,16-22; Acts 11:1-18; John 8:12-20

Have you ever felt like you were in God's cross hairs as the hunted?  That is what Job is experiencing.  He is wrong but that is what he experiences.  We can process things incorrectly and miss cooperating with God for our own sanctification.  Job has one grid through which to process this suffering and that is the same grid his friends use, it is a result of sin, God's judgment against him.  He maintains his innocence, believes God is wrong in judging and punishing him for sin, but that is his only position, his only way of understanding pain and suffering.  We know that Job is suffering for his righteousness.  God is the one who said he was upright and blameless.  Suffering messes up our theology.  It makes us forget that God is good and that we live in a broken and fallen world where there is no one to one correspondence between sin and suffering.  Sometimes sin goes without a visible price and sometimes sin demands a price that is far outsized.  Suffering is a given, we can choose how we endure it.  Job could maintain his innocence while also holding God blameless.

(We skipped the story of the woman caught in adultery.  The passage is disputed because it is not in the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament.  The narrative in John 8 is connected with the previous chapter.  The Feast of Booths concludes with a festival of lights.)  Jesus is the light of the world.  There was a light created first that Jewish sages say is the Torah itself and that it brings illumination to the one who studies it but also it brings light when the student becomes also a disciple of Torah, by doing as it commands.  That light gives light to the world, restores that original light that is now gone from the world by sin.  Jesus is the Word and He is the light.  They are one and the same.  John includes both in the prologue to the Gospel.  When He says they do not know either Him or His Father, He is saying they study and they believe they are following the Word of God but they are not, they are walking in darkness, they have neither understanding nor righteousness.  They have the light in that they have Torah, but they gain nothing from it.  Job, too was mistaken about God.  We can sometimes practice magic instead of righteousness.  If we do this, God will or is obliged to do that. 

The events at the home of Cornelius challenged the theology of the church right from the start.  Was this an extension of Judaism or was it something new?  They had thought, even though Jesus had ministered to Gentiles on a couple of occasions, and had commended some Gentiles in the Old Testament, that this was the fulfillment of the Jewish hope for a Messiah of their very own.  Others could participate in the joy of their Messiah but only by aligning themselves with the nation by circumcision and accepting the yoke of the Law. The dream said something about the Law itself, that God was doing a new thing in so far as food restrictions were concerned.  What then to make of this new thing and its application beyond Peter's personal diet?  What happened at Cornelius' house further explained the vision, clean and unclean were things of the past, the mission was what mattered.  The Holy Spirit would convict and change lives.

29 August 2014

Psalm 16, 17; Job 9:1-15,32-35; Acts 10:34-48; John 7:37-52

Job's reply is that God is sovereign and too big for anyone to truly question.  He recognizes what folly it is to attempt to reason and argue with the One who not only created it all but who still commands it all.  Job asks, "How can a man be in the right before God?"  He knows that the idea of a man standing before God pleading his case is one of the silliest ideas anyone ever conceived.  When we consider it, a conversation with the Almighty creator of all that is, was, or ever will be, who brought all things into being simply by thinking and speaking, is a ridiculous thought.  Job, however, will continue to plead his case but, at this point, not for acquittal but for mercy.  The thing he gets wrong, however, is that he says this appeal for mercy is made to his accuser.  God is not Job's accuser, He is and was Job's champion.  This all began when God asked satan if he had considered His blameless and upright servant Job.

Jesus' first words here, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink", recall the words He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 but more than that, in this context, a Jewish setting, they recall Isaiah 55.  In that passage God is speaking to Israel, and says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…"  Jesus is offering the fulfillment of this prophetic word here at the feast He had earlier said He would not attend.  Some believed He was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses that another prophet, like Moses, would arise.  The offer of water meant that Jesus was offering that water that Israel found in the wilderness to sustain them, here and now.  The problem was, as always, what they thought they knew got in the way of the truth.  They assumed Jesus came from Galilee and the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem.  Can't you just see Jesus' head drop on hearing this?

Peter shares the Gospel with the household of Cornelius just as he had shared with his fellow Jews.  He tailors his message somewhat to the Gentiles in that he refers only to  the fulfillment of prophecy in a generic way and omits the Davidic references.  He has realized that the Gentiles are to receive Jesus on their terms.  He is a Jewish savior and Messiah by origin but Jesus' effectiveness as Messiah is not limited to the Jews.  As Peter is preaching, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles in such a way that there is a visible effect. They begin speaking in tongues and extolling God.  At this point, Peter decides, well, let's baptize them, Jesus told us to do that too.  In all things, God is sovereign, over all people.  

28 August 2014

Psalm 18:1-20; Job 8:1-10, 20-22; Acts 10:17-33; John 7:14-36

Perhaps the most important issue tackled in the book of Job is the issue of suffering and justice in the world.  We know that Job's suffering is not due to sin so the arguments of his friends, which are all based on the premise that this is the result of some sin in Job's life, are simply wrong.  Suffering is a given in this life because we live in a world broken by sin.  The only righteous man, completely without sin, who ever lived, suffered mightily and more or less constantly.  We focus on the suffering of the trial and the cross but Jesus' family didn't believe in Him, the people who knew Him longest doubted Him, even His disciples sometimes seem to have questioned if He was truly who they thought He was.  Bildad urges Job to get over it and shut up.  The proof that Job is not righteous is what has happened to him.  Surely the wisdom of the ages tells him that to be truth.  Let us never be guilty of being friends like these.

Jesus, at the festival, meets both admiration and opposition.  Some believe but others question.  Such is always the case isn't it?  Some imagine that Jesus must be Messiah because of what He has done and the authority of His teaching, He is learned without having been taught by any of the best rabbis.  Jesus is trying to get them to move past what they think they know to what they can absolutely know if they are willing to accept the evidence before them.  Some believe on account of the signs and miracles He has done while others can't see past what they believe about His origins in order to come to faith.  The leaders determine that this is getting out of hand and move to arrest Jesus.  In response He speaks of going where they cannot come, causing greater confusion among them in the belief that He must mean going to the diaspora.  Sometimes our wisdom gets in the way of knowledge.

Peter's vision ends and three men show up, in accord with what he has heard from the Spirit, and tell him of the vision that Cornelius has experienced.  By the time they arrive in Caesarea Peter has understood that the vision wasn't about food so much as it was about people.  He explains that he, as  Jew, wouldn't have come to a Gentile's home but because God gave him a vision he now understands there is nothing common or unclean about people.  Cornelius relates his vision that he was to send for Peter and implores Peter to say all he has been commanded by the Lord.  I wonder if Peter saw in Cornelius' reaction to his presence, falling at his feet and worshipping him, his own reaction to Jesus on the lake that first time when they had the great catch of fish?  Jesus didn't deflect the worship but Peter knew himself to be unworthy, "I too am a man." Knowing who we are keeps us grounded.

27 August 2014

Psalm 119:1-24; Job 6:1,7:1-21; Acts 10:1-16; John 7:1-13

Life is short.  What point is there in life if there is no hope and no joy?  Why does God make such a big deal of human beings when we leave so little mark on the world?  Job can't find answers to these questions.  The existential dilemma of the meaning of life becomes more sharply focused in suffering.  If this is all there is, suffering and pain, Job says, there is no point in not making that complaint known and there is certainly no sense prolonging the misery.  Who would wish for long life if it were nothing more than pain and suffering?  Was Job asking such questions before all the calamities?  CS Lewis wrote, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  Sometimes pain is the way God gets us to ask the right and important questions.  Even good men need to live for the right things.

Jesus doesn't respond to His brothers' logic.  They believe that if He wants to be someone He should go to the feast of Booths in Jerusalem.  This festival follows Yom Kippur and celebrates God's goodness and provision to the people in the wilderness.  The brothers are going up to Jerusalem and Jesus plans to remain in Galilee.  Ultimately, He does go up to the festival but not at the suggestion of His brothers.  Like the wedding at Cana in John 2, Jesus moves to a different rhythm, the movement of the Spirit.  When we listen to the Spirit telling us to move, we may look inconsistent to the world, our lives and our plans are His, and we may not know in advance where the Spirit will lead us.  Living by the Spirit is how we know our lives have meaning and purpose, they have that purpose given by God to do as He wills.

Cornelius and Peter both receive visions from the Lord.  Cornelius experiences terror when he sees an angel of the Lord.  The good news is that the Lord has heard his prayers and that he is to fetch a man named Peter from Joppa who is staying with a tanner named Simon who lives near the sea.  That is a very specific set of descriptions, especially when you note that the reason for fetching Peter isn't at all clear.  Cornelius has enough sense to obey this angel and sends a delegation to Joppa.  Meanwhile, next day, while that delegation is traveling, Peter receives a vision of his own that throws over the dietary laws of Israel.  Peter's initial reaction is to refuse this vision for he has never transgressed the laws of clean and unclean with respect to diet.  He is told that the Lord has made all things clean and the vision is repeated three times in order to impress its validity.  Peter had to be left wondering what the heck this had to do with anything at this point.

26 August 2014

Psalm 5, 6; Job 6:1-4,8-15,21; Acts 9:32-43; John 6:60-71

Job sees his situation as one where God is at war with him for no reason.  He has no hope, how could he?  If God has chosen war with Job there is no way out but death.  He cannot fight against the Almighty.  He excuses his words because of the pain and the hopelessness of his situation.  We know though that this isn't the case at all but Job doesn't have this information.  Pain and suffering are part of this life, we can't draw easy conclusions as to why they occur or what can make them stop.  There are no easy answers because we live in a complex world.  It is complex because of sin.  If we had only the knowledge of good in the world, we would have a perfect world but because we chose that other tree, the one other than the tree of life, we now have a complicated mess.  What we need is what Job didn't have, friends who will Gospel us in our pain, remind us we live in a fallen and broken world, that Jesus came and shared in pain and suffering.  There is no justice in this world, it is unjust on its face.  In pain we need that truth to point us to that other world, to remind us God is not our enemy but our redeemer.

Jesus has offered His body and blood as life, true food and true drink, and many now turn away, because the saying is difficult.  It was certainly difficult to hear and understand.  He has offered them life and they have determined that He has lost His mind.  He makes no effort to clear up the matter by explaining He was speaking in metaphor, which begs the question, "is He?"  I think we have to come to grips with what He is saying and why does He not explain Himself.  We use this language in our liturgy and when we have visitors it sometimes makes me uncomfortable, I want to explain to them we don't believe in transubstantiation, but Jesus wouldn't do that.  He allowed them to walk away who couldn’t receive it.  He is the Abel whose blood cries out for us, not against us, even though we have played the role of Cain.  His blood calls for mercy for His murderers.  Mercy, not justice.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Paul heals the sick, Aeneas, and Peter raises the dead, Dorcas.  The kingdom of God is breaking into the world through the ministry of these apostles.  Hope is being revived along with people.  Sickness and death are being dealt with by the power of God.  He is not the enemy, He is the healer.  Doesn't this make you long for the kingdom to come?

25 August 2014

Psalm 1, 2, 3; Job 4:1,5:1-11,17-21,26-27; Acts 9:19b-31; John 6:52-59

Eliphaz continues his theological treatise on sin and suffering.  He says that he is clearly in the right, Job has no one to plead his case in the matter.  The continuing suffering and God's continued silence in the matter are all the proofs needed to establish the fact that Job has sinned.  He counsels Job to go to God, depend on Him, confess and seek His forgiveness rather than continuing to stand in His own righteousness.  This isn't bad counsel except we know that this has nothing at all to do with sin.  Next, Eliphaz speaks of God's greatness and goodness, which God Himself will assert when He speaks on the matter.  Eliphaz is also telling Job he must suffer better, that he must buck himself up and play the man in this season of suffering and that will then stand him in better stead with the Almighty and with men, he can be a good witness to Godly suffering.  He needs to stop crying out and complaining.  If Job does all these things, it will all turn around and it will go well with him.  Sound familiar?

Is it possible for Jesus to have spoken in a more bizarre way?  Unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man you have no life in you.  My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.  What were they to make of such statements?  It seems like He is talking about cannibalism and that indeed was what some outsiders thought happened at communion in the early days of the church.  Is Jesus talking about what we call Holy Communion here or is there something different in mind?  If you look back again at the scene with the woman at the well, after she departs (leaving behind the water jug she had brought to get literal water), the disciples try and get Jesus to eat the food they have purchased and He says “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.  The disciples had heard this metaphor already whether they understood it or not.  John clearly remembered it, at least later when he wrote the Gospel.  He is the Word became flesh. Feast on Him this day.

Paul does what Christians are intended to do, share the Gospel.  He began to prove that Jesus was the Son of God in his disputations first in Damascus with the Jews in the synagogue and later with the Greek speaking Jews in Jerusalem.  Paul had an advantage in this regard in that he knew the Scriptures because he was taught by one of the best rabbis, Gamaliel.  He was working with the prophetic words of the Torah so he knew how to make these proofs.  He was already equipped for the task but at the time he received his equipping he had no idea that it would be for this particular use.  Paul speaks of the one who suffered and died although He was indeed righteous.  When people want to know how a good God could allow suffering, all we need remember is that He spared not His Son, the truly righteous man who never cried out about God's injustice in the matter.  Eating His flesh and drinking His blood is much more than a little bread and a little wine.

24 August 2014

Psalm 146, 147; Job 4:1-6,12-21; Rev. 4:1-11; Mark 6:1-6a

Eliphaz acknowledges Job has been a friend and instructor, an encourager and a teacher to many.  He has feared God and been a man of integrity.  In all these statements we get a picture of Job as an upright man, blameless and yet also a man who is not only a private man, a rugged individualist, but a man who shares freely and who we would be proud to know and to emulate.  But, Eliphaz says, I got a word, a little whisper that just blew past me that reminded me that no one is truly righteous.  I recall that even the angels aren't perfect.  Obviously what Eliphaz is saying here is that Job can't truly uphold his own righteousness, he isn't the exception in the universe to the rule of sinfulness.  While there is a truth there, there is also a false implication.  That false implication or application is that there is a correspondence between sin and suffering.  There is, but sin is the cause ultimately of all suffering, we aren't necessarily punished for our sins as Eliphaz insinuates Job must be.  We live in a world broken by sin and thus characterized by suffering.

How quickly the opinions change.  The people in Nazareth hear Jesus teach powerfully and see, or at least know about, the works of healing He has done and are amazed and marvel at these things.  Then, however, they remember what they know, that they know His family, He is nobody, where does He get off thinking He is someone?  They have evidence that He is indeed special, they haven't heard such a teacher or seen such miracles, they acknowledge that as true, but they can't get past what they know.  Did they not also know the story of His conception and birth?  Did they simply not believe Mary's story?  While they are astonished at Him, He marvels at their unbelief.  Maybe the people in Jerusalem and Judea were right about the people of Nazareth after all, nothing good can come from there.  Familiarity has indeed bred contempt.

Aren't you glad there is a sovereign God?  I am happy to know there is one who sits on the throne in heaven and that one day His kingdom will be established and those who believe will enjoy that kingdom forever.  When I think about the suffering of a Job, the search for explanations for suffering, and the reality that things aren't the way they ought to be, when I see the rejection of the only good and righteous man who ever lived, I need to know that there is hope.  I need to know that ultimately this travail will end and that we will see the world we believe should be, a world not broken by sin, a world of neither sorrow nor sighing, a world where we all bow down and worship the King of kings and Lord of lords and celebrate His greatness and His goodness.

23 August 2014

Psalm 137, 144; Job 3:1-26; Acts 9:10-19a; John 6:41-51

In his pain, Job curses the day he was born, wishing he had not lived at all.  It is impossible for us to imagine the depth of the pain Job is feeling after losing all his children, all his wealth, and now the physical pain he must endure.  Why would God have allowed one such as Job to suffer such complete agony?  Job had done everything right, he had made the right sacrifices, he had even made his sacrifices on behalf of his children not because they had sinned but in case they had sinned.  He was upright and blameless.  He had said all the right things when he lost everything.  God was the one who singled out Job for satan's attention, started this whole process.  God will be silent for a very long time while Job cries out, his friends try to find fault in him and all the while Job suffers.  It would seem that the mental anguish, the questions about why, are the worst.  There are no answers.

Who does he think he is?  That is the question on the lips of the people when Jesus says He is the bread that came down from heaven.  They know who He is, they know His parents, they know Him from the first thirty or so years working with His father in the carpentry trade.  What is he talking about now in claiming to have come down from heaven?  He has fed them the day before and now He talks about their fathers eating manna and that He will give his flesh as the bread of life for the world.  The world.  Not just the Jewish world, the world.  His flesh is the life of the world.  There wasn't a single person present that day who had any idea what Jesus was talking about.  They wanted bread.  They had come for bread and instead they got nonsensical metaphors and ridiculous claims.  Jesus gives no answers that satisfy them this day.

Ananias isn't certain he wants this particular job from the Lord.  What a wonderful thing to have a vision and hear the Lord call your name.  Ananias knows how to answer, just like Samuel was instructed by his mentor, Eli, "Here am I Lord."  Next, Ananias is as shocked as Paul to hear the words the Lord speaks.  His surprise is great and he knows what he has heard about this man to whom the Lord sends him.  What a shock then to hear that Paul is "a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel."  This work will cause the man to suffer many things in order to complete the mission.  Paul accepts his lot in life and is healed of the blindness he has experienced since the vision.  Paul knew something of grace and that his suffering wasn't penance for his prior sin, his suffering was because of the rejection of God and His anointed.  Paul would be privileged to suffer that rejection in his person.  He would say that he was counted worthy to suffer.  What is your attitude towards suffering.  It can all be for the glory of God if we so choose.

22 August 2014

Psalm 140, 142; Job 2:1-13; Acts 9:1-9; John 6:27-40

I love the phrase, "In all this Job did not sin with his lips."  It is different from yesterday's reading where it is said, "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong", somewhat less certain about what is going on in Job's heart.  His wife urges him simply to curse God and die.  She assumes that if he curses God he will die, the Lord will punish him swiftly for his sin.  It can't get any worse, it would be better to die.  The correspondence theory of sin and punishment runs powerfully in our thoughts doesn't it?  Even though we know God is merciful we still have this nagging idea that when bad things happen we deserve it.  Job's wife seems to not think that at least.  She believes instead that God is not good.  His friends come after having made an agreement to show him sympathy and comfort Job, an altogether worthy mission and they make a good start of it, weeping over him and sitting with him for seven days.  Sometimes there is nothing to say, presence is all that matters.

There are a large number of verbal similarities between John 6 and John 4.  In the fourth chapter Jesus encounters a woman at a well and offers her water, but not the water she can draw from a well, a different kind of water.  She is willing to let go her desires for physical water in order to receive the spiritual water He offers.  Here, the people are so enamored of the physical food they received the day before they are unwilling to give up their quest for more of the same in order to receive the food that endures to eternal life.  She references "our father Jacob" who gave the Samaritans the well from which she draws her daily water needs.  Here, they reference their fathers eating manna, provided by Moses.  Her response is, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”  Theirs, “Sir, give us this bread always.”  In both cases, Jesus' next response is to reveal Himself to the one asking.  She receives His self-revelation and is willing to consider His claim.  What will they do with His words, "I am the Bread of Life"? 

Saul is ready to end this new sect that makes its claims that this Jesus was raised from the dead.  He is "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord."  Can you just picture a Jewish rabbi and tentmaker filled with venom and what he believes to be righteous anger setting out to arrest and drag back to Jerusalem for trial these heretics?  As he goes on the road to Damascus, however, a light from heaven shines such that he falls to the ground whereon he hears the voice from heaven ask why he is persecuting "me."  Paul can't imagine who in the world (or heaven) is asking such a question. He is on a mission for God. Who is this one speaking?  The response, "I am Jesus…" must have been more stunning than the light itself.  He is instructed to go into the city where he will be told what is next.  Blinded, he obeys.  Like Job, he must have been completely dumbfounded as to what to say.  Everything he believed had just been obliterated.

21 August 2014

Psalm 131, 132; Job 1:1-22; Acts 8:26-40; John 6:16-27

One of the things that needs to be understood in this passage is the Jewish understanding of

Satan.  He is one of the angels and his job is to tempt and test human beings.  That's right, they understand that his work, given by God, is to test us.  He is doing his job here.  Jesus sees this entirely differently as do James and Peter.  To a Jewish reader there is nothing surprising about satan being here with the other angels before the Lord.  We understand this differently in light of Jesus saying, "I saw satan fall like lightning from the sky" when the disciples proclaimed the kingdom in word and deed on their first mission trip.  We will read this book in light of that statement, that satan is a fallen angel who fancies himself as a rival to God.  Nonetheless, the Lord uses satan's disgust for those who, unlike him, are created in God's image, to accomplish His purposes in the life of this righteous man, Job.  Job loses his entire family, all his children, all his wealth in one day and yet at the end he is nonplussed, charging God with nothing wrong nor sinning in his reaction to these incredible disasters.

The disciples see a miraculous thing in Jesus walking on the water, the people simply know that Jesus has walked to the other side of the lake.  They follow after Him and seek Him but, as with the first time they went to Jerusalem, in John 2 and 3, Jesus knows what is in their hearts and refuses to give them what they seek.  In our own lives as we follow Him we are called higher and further in faith.  When we first come to Him we receive certain consolations in answer to prayer that bids us come and follow and yet those are not continually given to us in our walk.  Sometimes we have to grow and seek Him aright and that means denial of our lower order requests.  Here, He says that the people are following for the wrong reason, food, rather than the right reason, for the food that endures to eternal life.  They saw enough yesterday to seek that food, were ready to make Him king for that reason, today is a new day, a day to seek to know more.

The eunuch believes he needs a rabbi, someone to teach him the meaning of the passage he is reading from Isaiah 53.  He is unsure whether the prophet is referring to himself of another and the Lord provides a teacher who can share the meaning and the truth with certainty.   Not only is Isaiah speaking of another, Philip knows exactly who is referred to in the passage, Jesus.  The eunuch believes the message and is baptized and yet Philip is whisked away and the man sees him no more.  He no longer needs the rabbi to explain, he now has the Spirit of the Lord and the truth, the key to understanding the rest of the word.  He is only three chapters away from rejoicing that another prophecy has been fulfilled in him, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off."  What he has lost in becoming a eunuch has been more than restored in this moment.

20 August 2014

Psalm 119:145-176; Judges 18:16-31; Acts 8:14-25; John 6:1-15

The "priest" realized that he was getting an upgrade when the men of Dan entered the house of his master Micah and took the religious objects for their own.  He went from being priest of one man's household to being priest of an entire clan.  He is the first pastor for hire, the professional looking for a promotion rather than serving where called.  Didn't you hope that the people of Laish, the quiet and unsuspecting people, would destroy this tribe of Dan?  It is an affront to believe that these people, who have no longer any interest in Yahweh, came upon these folks and killed them.  It is an incredible surprise to find that Moses' grandson is one of the priests of this idolatrous altar.  Nothing about morals should surprise once you walk away from God's Word.

This crowd is filled with pilgrims going to Jerusalem for Passover.  As they come they knew about Jesus from what they had seen and heard and they came to him here at the Sea of Galilee.  Why does He decide to feed them?  What prompted this question regarding where they would get bread to feed this crowd?  Philip knows the truth, even if there were bread available it wouldn’t matter, they couldn't possibly afford to buy enough to feed them.  Jesus has them instruct the multitude to sit down on the grass there and what He did next is truly amazing and everyone there knows it.  Commentators will try and find naturalistic explanations for the feeding but they have to deal with the belief of the people that this was the Prophet of whom Moses spoke would come into the world.  In order to be the prophet like Moses you have to provide food miraculously, not get people to share what they had.  They don't make you king for teaching people to share. 

The apostles, who have not left Jerusalem although there was persecution that scattered other believers like the deacon Philip who has  gone to Samaria, send Peter and John to impart the Holy Spirit.  The believers in Samaria have not received the Spirit yet, "they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."  What does that mean?  Apparently the two events, baptism and the giving of the Spirit, are two distinct things in Luke's mind and the giving of the Spirit was apparently more than necessary to believe.  Simon the magician wants the ability to do this thing, impart the Holy Spirit, which tells us he saw something happen that was tangible.  He offers to pay for the secret and receives a stern rebuke.  We can't confuse magical power and God's work, it isn't something we possess or can transfer to another, it is God working.  The "priest" in the first lesson believes he works for a tribe.  He was intended to work for the Lord.  The people see the work of feeding and believe Jesus is like Moses and they want Him as king, they miss the work of God that sets Jesus apart.  We either give glory to God or we give glory to man.

19 August 2014

Psalm 121, 122, 123; Judges 18:1-15; Acts 8:1-13; John 5:30-47

The people of the tribe of Dan had failed to conquer and receive their inheritance, they were in violation of the covenant.  They now decide it is time to go find some place to settle so they do what their forefathers did, they send out spies.  These men happen upon Micah's house and recognize the accent of the young Levite who serves as priest there and so ask him to inquire of God concerning the success of their mission.  This young man either inquires via the ephod concerning their request or does nothing but give his benediction and blessing upon them and in short order they find a peaceable people in Laish living in prosperity and their mission, in their minds, is complete, this is easy pickings as opposed to the report of the first spies.  They presume to have their brothers come up, six hundred of them, to take this land for their own and they also recount that there is actually a priest nearby along with the accoutrements of worship, an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image.  Their implied message is that we can not only have the land, we can have God's favor as well, we have a priest and all the stuff we need to worship.  Does no one know the ways of Yahweh?

Who is this "another" who bears witness about Jesus that He knows is true?  He quickly sets aside the notion that He refers to John as He needs no witness from man.  He is clearly speaking of the Holy Spirit whose testimony is the only truly reliable testimony, the one Jesus trusts.  Do we hear the Holy Spirit telling us not only who Jesus is but who we are?  Why not ask Him to tell you today who you really are and then walk in the revealed truth?  The truth about Jesus also is told in His works, they clearly point to divine origin.  What do your "works" say about you to you and to others?  Not only do we have the possibility of the truth about Jesus from these witnesses but we also should see and hear those same witnesses about ourselves.  If we are born from above then there should be some evidence of that in our lives for us and the world to see.  Let us consider today that we are the priesthood of all believers and see if we can determine at whose altar we serve.

Stephen's words and His works gave witness to the power of Christ in Him.  There was congruity between what He proclaimed with His mouth and what He did.  That is an important test for all of us.  Whether we are a pastor who preaches the Word in the pulpit whose words and life outside the pulpit match what he says in it or whether we are lay people who profess Christ on Sundays whose lives the other six days should proclaim the excellencies of Christ equally powerfully, this is an important thing.  Peter went to Samaria, where Jesus had gone in John 4, and reaped a great harvest there because he preached Jesus and the power of resurrection was evident in his works.  Even one who did magic believed when he saw that congruity.  We can't serve Him on Sunday and idols all week long and see the power of congruence.

18 August 2014

Psalm 106:1-18; Judges 17:1-13; Acts 7:44-8:1a; John 5:19-29

This is certainly a strange little story.  A man steals a large sum of money from his mother who has uttered a curse against the one who stole it.  The man now confesses and his mother gives him nearly 20% of the money to have idols and gods made with it.  Do these people not know the second commandment against making idols?  They also make an ephod (remember the story of Gideon with the golden ephod which became an idol and a snare to him) and a shrine is ready.  All Micah needs is a priest to serve there and, lo and behold, a Levite from Bethlehem comes walking past looking for somewhere to sojourn and Micah makes him an offer to be his priest.  Apparently the Levite isn't very scrupulous in his religious sensibilities either as he is perfectly willing to serve as priest for this idol.  Micah believes God will truly bless him now because he has a priest of his own.  I wonder sometimes if we don’t too often share this same idea today, that so long as we have a church then we will be blessed by God when we are actually not worshipping Him at all.

What we make of the Son, Jesus, makes all the difference in the world, this world and the world to come.  We can't have Jesus as just a teacher of ethics and morality, He says that He has been given the power of judgment, the power of life and death.  The Father, He says, judges no one, that power and right was given to the Son and what we make of the Son says everything about what we make of the Father.  In our first lesson, Micah and his priest both were willing to serve and idol, a safe thing to do since idols are mute and ask nothing of us.  Even though they are presumably in the covenant community and know something of their own story they have rejected God's claim on their lives by worshipping this idol.  There is no fear of God in their lives.  We have to come to Jesus as judge first and then the giver of life after we have confessed and repented of our sins.  We arise as children of God only to the extent we recognize that He is co-equal with God, nothing less. 

Stephen makes perfectly clear that all that matters is their rejection of Jesus as Messiah.  Up to these last few sentences he had said nothing, absolutely nothing, controversial.  Only when he points to Jesus and refers to Him as the Righteous One whom they murdered and betrayed, does he say one word with which they would disagree.  At that moment, however, everything turns and now he must die.  This is a scary moment when a group of religious folk turn murderous simply because Stephen proclaimed Jesus as the Righteous One.  The scandal of particularity, that Jesus is the only way to the Father, brings out the worst in some people, always has and always will.  They may not stone you but you will be an outcast in some religious circles today, it is only going to get worse.  You have to make a choice, either He is everything or He is nothing all eternally.

17 August 2014

Psalm 118; Judges 16:15-31; 2 Cor. 13:1-11; Mark 5:25-34

Was the strength of Samson in his hair or the Nazirite vow?  If he shaved his hair or allowed another to do so on his behalf, he would break and annul the vow and covenant with God.  The Philistines captured him and gave a feast to their god, Dagon, whom they believed gave Samson into their hands.  Samson more or less gave himself into their hands didn't he?  He believed his strength was in his hair and trusted Delilah with that knowledge, like an utter fool.  She had already used the information he had given her three times to attempt to bind him, why did he fall for this one?  Imagine the pathetic sight of the once great and proud Samson with both eyes gouged out, brought before the lords of the Philistines in shackles to entertain like Quasimodo.  Finally, he cries out to the Lord for strength, one final feat that will literally bring down the house on him and all those who were there celebrating.  A pathetic ending to his life.

Jesus' power wasn't in His garments.  The woman with the discharge of blood believed that His power was so tangible, so great, that anything that touched Him would be charged with that power, so if she could touch even the hem of His garment she would be healed.  She was required to give wide berth to all, her uncleanness made her "contagious."  Anyone who had physical contact with her would themselves be considered unclean.  She took an enormous risk in contacting Jesus but she had weighed the risk against the reward and took her opportunity, surely in the belief He would never know such a light touch.  Instead, He knew power had gone out from Him and turned to ask who had touched Him.  Can you see this woman coming in fear and trembling, on her knees before Him, confessing her sin of touching Him as all the onlookers glare at her for daring to do so.  Her confession wasn't entirely necessary, Jesus doesn't seem to know who had touched him, she had gotten away with her act of daring, but she couldn't not confess, she had to tell the truth.  Her reward was more than healing, it was hearing Jesus call her daughter and wishing her shalom and the certainty of her healing.  Peace, when had she last known peace?

Paul reminds the Corinthians that power in their lives, any strength they have, is the power of Christ living in them.  That He lives in us is itself a miracle no less than what happened to this woman.  We, sinners, have the power of resurrection, the power of healing and the power of God in us, in these mortal frames.  We take it for granted and we fail to live from that strength.  We continue in sin and we fail to have the impact we are meant to have for the kingdom.  We, like Samson, believe our power lies in material things, our physical strength, our mental capabilities, our earning potential, or whatever else we may rely upon.  We forget that the greatest power we ever know comes through the Holy Spirit, Christ in us.  Let us seek today to live by that power and none other.

16 August 2014

Psalm 107:33-43, 108; Judges 16:1-14; Acts 7:30-43; John 5:1-18

Samson seems like a comic book character in his outsize appetites and acts.  He first goes to a prostitute while the men of the city wait for him to ambush him.  He waits until midnight, pulls up the gate of the city and goes to Hebron with it.  Next, he falls in love with Delilah who attempts to do what his wife had done, trick him.  He is in love with her but she is of her own people and willing to entrap Samson that they might "bind him and humble him."  They are willing to offer her a sizeable sum of money to do this thing and she is more than willing to comply yet Samson plays with her by responding to her request to know the source of his strength with a series of lies.  At this point one has to wonder if even Samson knows that the source of his strength is the Lord. 

The man at the pool at Bethesda seems to have been crippled as a result of sin.  When Jesus sees him after the healing His words are, "See, you are well.  Sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you."  There is something about this fellow's character that is amiss.  When the Pharisees ask him who has told him to take up his bed and walk he is unable to answer yet after his encounter with Jesus he immediately goes to them to give them their answer, Jesus.  Why would he do that?  The sin of carrying the load on a Sabbath is his whether he is commanded to do so or not.  The Pharisees miss the really important thing that has happened, a man crippled for thirty-eight years has been healed and not only healed but there is strength enough in his legs to carry his own bed.  They only see a violation of the law.  Talk about myopia!  Jesus' claim is that to this day the Father works which means He may do so as well.  Indeed, He is claiming equality as well.  The Jewish belief is that God worked on the Sabbath.  That claim is based in Genesis 2.2, "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done…"  They take it to mean that God did whatever work was required to finish creation but that what HE did was so small that it is impossible for us to work on that scale so we are not allowed to work at all, only He may work.

Stephen's summary of the Bible continues with the story of Moses' meeting with God, being sent to Egypt as deliverer, up to the episode of the golden calf.  Moses was rejected by Israel once when he went out and slew the Egyptian and the next day attempted to stop their quarreling with one another and then again at Sinai when he remained on the mountain forty days and the people commanded Aaron to make gods for them.  Stephen sees this episode of the calf as representative of the nation throughout its history.  Not only did they reject Moses, the real rejection was the Lord their God. They did the same when they asked for a king and then, ultimately, when they insisted on the crucifixion of Jesus and demanding instead the release of a criminal, Barabbas.  We tend to forget the Lord is our only strength and that all we have comes from His hand.

15 August 2014

Psalm 102; Judges 14:20-15:20; Acts 7:17-29; John 4:43-54

What does it mean that Samson's wife was given to his best man?  We see the same thing with Michal, David's wife, the daughter of Saul.  She was given over because Saul was displeased with David.  Here, his father-in-law offers the younger as a substitute because she is more beautiful, unlike Laban with Jacob.  The man was trying to save face among the Philistines because of Samson's act of vengeance in killing thirty of them to satisfy his gambling debt.  Samson's response is odd to say the least, capturing 300 foxes and tying their tails together with torches to destroy the crops of his in-laws' countrymen.  The Philistines blame the girl and her father and burn them which only incites Samson further against them and they against him.  The cycle of violent retribution becomes problematic for Israel as the Philistines come against the nation and yet, once again, Samson is used  as deliverer.  The man had an insatiable thirst for violence, putting even Lamech (Genesis 4 - descendant of Cain) to shame.  God used and uses the most imperfect people sometimes to do His work.  Samson ruled for twenty years as judge even though his judgment was certainly suspect.

Jesus continues to Galilee after the feast and the interlude in Samaria.  Upon arrival, an "official" whose son is ill approaches to ask for healing and Jesus disputes with the man, saying unless you see miracles you won't believe.  The man already believes or he wouldn't have asked Jesus to come.  He will not be dissuaded and, as always in John, Jesus uses the faith the man had that if Jesus came to the boy he would be healed to call him further in faith, that the boy will be healed without Jesus coming but simply at His word.  The reward for faith is not only is the boy healed, he is healed at the very hour Jesus spoke the healing.  Where is Jesus calling you to greater faith?  He takes us further all the time that we might trust Him more and walk by faith.

Stephen's witness continues with the story of Moses from the book of Exodus.  His history is straight-forward and taken directly from the book.  In the story though we can see that God used Pharaoh's cruelty as a goad for His people to pray to Him and seek deliverance.  In Joseph's day and so long as the memory lasted among the rulers the Israelites were content to dwell there in Egypt, out in Goshen.  As soon as a ruler who didn't know Joseph arose (probably a change in Egyptian dynasties from the time of Joseph to the time of Moses), things changed.  The people were now seen as a threat to Egypt and their lives were made difficult.  In spite of that, the sister of the Pharaoh saved Moses from certain death, the family that was making life miserable also was the deliverer.  Moses stepped out to deliver his people who didn't understand what he was doing.  Had Moses been sent by God at that time or had he stepped out in his own power?  Even Moses had to learn to act in faith and his lesson took a long time to learn, forty years a shepherd for his father-in-law.  We have to learn to act when and how God calls us to act, not in our own passions and power.

14 August 2014

Psalm 105:1-22; Judges 14:1-19; Acts 6:15-7:16; John 4:27-42

Samson was under a Nazirite vow not to cut his hair, eat unclean food or drink alcohol.  He was ritually pure and then some.  That, under such a vow he can now marry a non-Israelite wife is incredible.  His parents can't countenance the idea but we are told that it was actually God's plan.  Eating honey from the carcass of the lion was also a violation of his vow, he would not have been allowed to come near a dead body (see the parable of the Good Samaritan - the priest and Levite didn't know if the man was alive or dying so they kept their distance).  Samson may have had many good qualities but wisdom and discernment, particularly with women, weren't in his gift mix.  His wife is able to pry from him the secret of his riddle so that her kinsmen can avoid paying up on their wager.  Samson, acting in the Spirit of the Lord, kills thirty men of the Philistines in order to make good on his obligation.  Samson is one of the most interesting characters in the Bible.

The woman can only do what Jesus Himself had done and what the disciples had done, make the offer to come and see.  We have to wonder what the people of the town thought they were coming to see.  Did they know this was a Jewish man to whom she referred?  She asked if this could be Messiah, so what were they expecting when they came?  They were expecting a prophet like Moses, not the Messiah the Jews were looking for, they had only the books of Moses as their Bible.  What was it about Jesus in the two days He spent among them that convinced them that He was indeed Messiah?  We are told nothing at all of those two days, but surely something happened that caused them to believe.  As we will see in Acts, when persecution broke out in Jerusalem, one man, Philip, went to Samaria and reaped a bountiful harvest there, just as Jesus said they would.  They only needed to hear, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story.

Stephen's defense doesn't sound like a defense at all.  It sounds like Jewish history.  The leaders had to be wondering where this was all going, they knew all this.  One of the things we tend to overlook when we speak about the Gospel, when we evangelize, is that it begins long before Jesus came into the world as a man.  It begins at the beginning and it tells the story of why He came, what has happened to get us into the mess we are in.  The story matters because it answers the questions right up front.  Is God good is answered by Genesis 1.  How the world is what it is with a good God is answered in Genesis 3.  The story is of God's goodness from beginning to end, and that the problems in the world are related to our failure as His designated rulers, as image bearers, not some defect in Him.  We, Christians, born of the Spirit, are to be true image bearers, restorers of God's rule through humankind on earth.  He is sovereign over all, times, places and people.  We are to show what it looks like to yield to that sovereignty and cooperate with Him.

13 August 2014

Psalm 101, 109; Judges 13:15-24; Acts 6:1-15; John 4:1-26

The scene here with the angel of the Lord is a mishmash of Biblical allusions.  Manoah and his wife want to prepare a young goat for a feast for the man/angel.  Remember back in Genesis 18 when the three men appear to Abraham at his tent and he prepares a feast for them?  Next, the man says no, I won't eat but prepare a burnt offering, just like what happened with Gideon in our reading a few days ago.  Finally, Manoah asks the man's name, just like Jacob at the Jabbok when he wrestled with the angel and the angel refused.  The man says his name is wonderful, not to give the name but to describe it.  There are so many little hints within this story to the man's identity it is difficult not to believe it is a theophany, a pre-incarnational appearance of Jesus.  The scene also has some early Genesis connections but this time the word of the Lord came to the woman and not the man and she, not he, seems to have the true insight into things.  The details here and how they seem to echo the past and also, from a Christian perspective, presage the future, should cause us to pay attention.

As many of you know, I love this interaction with the woman at the well in Samaria.  I think it is perhaps the finest piece of evangelism I have ever seen.  Jesus sizes up the situation, a woman at a well in midday means that she isn't welcome there when the other women come to get water, she must have done something to cause them to ostracize her.  She is talking freely with a foreign man who is not her husband, she must have somewhat loose morals and not share the ethics of the Samaritans who would never talk to such a man, particularly a Jew.  She is the one who notices that detail about Jesus first.  This must be painful for her to be in this place at this time.  She is an outcast in her own community and he connects the water with the pain of being an outcast and speaks to the heart.  He knew of her what he knew of the men  of Jerusalem, what was in her heart.  Yes, He is Jesus but I believe there is more at work here than this, He paid attention to the details and did good missiology.  Additionally, Jesus is clear about truth.  He leads with grace, offering her water of life but truth is essential.  She has had many husbands but now she lives with a man and her theology is wrong, salvation comes from the Jews and you worship you know not what, you're completely wrong.  She is willing to hear because He has appealed to her heart's desire.

The apostles find themselves stretched too thin with administrative duties to do the work they were given to do in the Great Commission.  They, like Moses, have a responsibility but they find themselves unable to do the most important thing so they delegate some of the work, overseeing the feeding of the widows who could not provide for themselves.  Deacons are deputized to do this work, they were chosen by the people with only a few qualifications necessary, they had to be "men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom."  Immediately after they are chosen for the work of waiting on tables as the apostles describe it, one of the seven deacons, Stephen, is seized because he was doing great wonders and signs among the people.  Not exactly what he was anointed for is it?  All must be prepared to share the Gospel, no matter what task they are given.  Availability is all we have to offer.

12 August 2014

Psalm 97, 99; Judges 13:1-15; Acts 5:27-42; John 3:22-36

The promise made to the wife of Manoah was that her son would "begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”  Sadly, Samson's personal flaws would not allow him to be the savior who delivered the nation from the Philistines.  For whatever reason, she seems to have omitted these words the man of God whose appearance was like an angel (her description of him) spoke to her.  She told her husband about the Nazirite vow but not what the result of that would be.  Her husband had the right to cancel any vow she made, that was part of the law, so it was important that he also meet this man in order to confirm his wife's vow but also that he might believe.  She was, like Sarah, beyond child-bearing years, so this promise was questionable to her husband.  Manoah seeks confirmation that this was the man who had spoken to "this woman" and the answer was familiar, "I am."  Who is this man?

Like Samson, John the Baptist was also under a Nazirite vow.  In itself, such vows were not unusual.  What was unusual was that these were typically not taken for a lifetime but only for a specified period.  These two men began the work of saving Israel in their own ways.  Samson began the work of delivering Israel from her enemies, the Philistines, while John began the work of preparing Israel from her true enemy, sin.  John points away from himself, he is not, like the men in yesterday's readings, the Ephraimites and the Sadducees, jealous of their own places but instead recognizes the sovereignty of God and also that Jesus comes from above, surpasses him and is the true deliverer.  John is clear, I am not the Messiah, never claimed to be.  His joy is in the proclamation of Jesus.  His disciples surely asked the question of Jesus that I posed at the end of the first paragraph concerning the man who spoke with Manoah and his wife.

The apostles stand their ground, the ground of Jesus' resurrection, the ground of proclamation that He is Messiah.  John believed this about Jesus, the apostles knew it because they had seen the resurrection. The reaction of the group, largely composed of and led by Sadducees who deny any resurrection, a party that essentially no longer exists within Judaism, was that they were so enraged they wanted to kill the apostles.  Gamaliel, a great rabbi, a Pharisee, and therefore one who did believe in resurrection, gave wise counsel not to make too big a deal about this and make these men martyrs for the cause.  The council accepted his advice and had the apostles beaten.  Their reaction to persecution, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer.  Sounds nothing like the American church does it?  Who is this man for whom men rejoice to suffer?

11 August 2014

Psalm 89:1-18; Judges 12:1-7; Acts 5:12-26; John 3:1-21

The men of Ephraim always seem to get testy when someone fights a battle without inviting them.  They did the same thing with Gideon in Judges 8 when he fought against the Midianites, accused him of leaving them out of the fight.  They take their grievance to another level here thought, threatening to burn down Jephthah's house.  Jephthah reminds them that they failed to answer the call and it is on.  Civil war breaks out and it seems long-standing grievances are at stake here with the men of Gilead and Ephraim.  If you look back a bit further to the first chapter of Judges you'll find that the Ephraimites didn't drive out the Cananaanites in their land so perhaps some of the problem here is intermarriage and who is actually an Israelite.  In the end, it is a rout.  Apparently the Ephraimites had a speech impediment which rendered them unable to say the word shibboleth which made them easy to spot when captured.  Perhaps they didn't like Jephthah because they couldn't say his name.  ;) 

The idea of being born again completely befuddles Nicodemus.  He had been fortunate the first time around to be born into a covenant community, circumcised on the eighth day and all that.  He took his religion and the word of God seriously, he was a Pharisee. He had exactly the same pedigree Paul had in many respects but here he stood before Jesus who was questioning whether he knew anything at all and he couldn't respond except with questions.  This teacher come from God who did remarkable things left him confused.  They had much in common but it seemed that either this rabbi knew more than he did or the man was a fraud.  Nicodemus hung in there though and we know that in the end, unlike his brethren in the Pharisaic community he believed in Jesus.  He could have lashed out at him and been defensive but that wasn't his character, he was a true seeker, a humble man who came to see for himself.  He was definitely not an Ephraimite with a chip on his shoulder.

The Sadducees controlled the office of high priest and they weren't about to share the spotlight with these impudent men who proclaimed this Jesus as resurrected from the dead, even if they did do miraculous things they couldn't do themselves.  Their decision to arrest them and throw them in prison didn't work out well either, the Lord set them free and told them to go back to the temple and keep on doing what they had been doing.  These men would never have done this pre-Resurrection and pre-Pentecost.  There was a boldness about them now that couldn’t be stopped.  Jealousy was the reason they had Jesus put to death and that jealousy now was directed at His apostles.  Civil war was happening all over again in Israel and for the same reason, they hadn't come when called.  

10 August 2014

Psalm 66, 67; Judges 11:1-11,29-40; 2 Cor. 11:21b-31; Mark 4:35-41

This is one of the most confusing episodes in Israel's history.  Jephthah, the son of a prostitute who is driven from his home because his mother was a prostitute, surrounded in the land of Tob by worthless fellows who collected to him, is then retrieved for leadership against the Ammonites.  The Lord was with him when he went against the enemy and yet he felt the need to make a vow to the Lord concerning success.  Why did he not simply believe the Lord would give him success?  Was he trying to bribe the Lord by saying, if you do this for me I will do that for you?  The Lord says in Psalm 50 that he doesn't need sacrifices of bulls and goats, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  Jepthah clearly doesn't know the Lord and even when his own daughter comes from the house, she will thus be the sacrifice according to his vow, he makes no attempt to know the will of the Lord concerning the matter.  To kill her is a violation of the sixth commandment and yet he asks no one for clarification on the matter.  Some commentators say that the fact that she had not known a man tells us that he put her away as a nun, perpetually a virgin, but it seems more likely that he fulfilled his vow and sacrificed her as a burnt offering, doubling his sin. 

This Gospel reading always reminds me of Jonah, running from God, asleep in the ship while the rest of the crew and passengers cry out to their gods in panic.  Jonah admits that he is the cause of the problem and the only solution is to toss him overboard.  The disciples ask Jesus here the same question Jonah is asked, don't you care that we are perishing, get up and do something.  Jesus gets up, speaks to the wind and waves and produces dead calm.  Only God commands the elements.  His next words must have been spoken into a dead silence on the boat, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Which would cause more fear, the storm or the one who commands it?  You might want to know more about Him.

Paul knows that no matter what has happened to him, there is one greater than all these things.  His situation is what it is and he is resigned that following the one who saved him and commanded him to serve is his lot in life.  Paul accepted that in order for the Gospel to advance he would have to suffer.  We more or less never have to think about suffering for the sake of the Gospel, certainly not as Paul did.  Paul, unlike Jephthah, trusted the Lord and believed Jesus when He told the disciples not to take vows, just do what you're given to do.  Trusting Him, living in faith, is all we are called to do.

9 August 2014

Psalm 87, 90; Judges 9:22-25,50-57; Acts 4:32-5:11; John 2:13-25

Sometimes we fall for a hero who makes us feel better about ourselves when we are convinced we have been insulted or put upon.  The men of Shechem initially rallied to their kinsman, Abimelech, to rule over the nation for no reason other than he was their own out of all the sons of Gideon.  They soon found out that he was exactly the sort of man his actions in killing all his rivals pointed to him being.  They discovered he was a ruthless man who cared about nothing but himself and power and even they regretted standing by him in his murderous rampage.  It seems fitting doesn't it that ultimately he meets his demise because a woman threw a rock down on his head.  He may have believed she didn't kill him, but we and all of history know the truth. 

We have figured out more ways to make a buck out of Christianity than the Jews of Jesus' day ever conceived.  Here, there are two problems.  One is that the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals were gouging the pilgrims who had come for the festival.  There was a temple tax that had to be paid in a specific currency and the moneychangers were set up as a Forex in the temple courts so that the foreign money could be exchanged at rates that were to the benefit of the moneychangers.  The pilgrims were at their mercy.  The sellers of animals preyed on the need for acceptable sacrificial animals and theirs were pre-approved so there was no risk, only exorbitant prices.  The other problem was that these vendors were taking up the space where Gentiles could normally listen to the teaching as they were prohibited from getting closer.  During this time, they were then kept away from a place of prayer and for learning the ways of God.  Jesus drove them out for both these reasons.  He is asked for a sign, an interesting demand and he offers one but they couldn’t imagine the reference to the temple of the body.  As he leaves the festival we are told that Jesus knew what was in the hearts of men so wouldn't entrust Himself to them.  His people, the ones whose Messiah He had come to be, but they wanted a different kind of Messiah, if they wanted one at all.

Ananais and Sapphira had seen others, including Barnabas, sell property and give the entire amount of the proceeds to the apostles for relief of any among the believers who had need and they wanted to be like those people but their faith wasn't up to it.  They ultimately just wanted to be thought as well of as those others.  They didn't have to give the full amount of the sale to the apostles but they chose to pretend they had done so.  They lied, as Peter said, not to the apostles and the church, but to God.  The ethics of the kingdom are different from the world.  The problem has always been false piety, hypocrisy, and Peter knew what was in this couple's hearts.  The cost of deception was great, death to both.  We always have choices to make regarding our finances but the bigger issue lies in the heart.  

8 August 2014

Psalm 88; Judges 9:1-21; Acts 4:13-31; John 2:2-12

Gideon may have said that he and his sons and grandsons would not rule over the people but Abimelech had a different idea.  His mother was a Shechemite so his plan was to rally this people around the idea of his leadership.  When you have seventy rivals you only need a smallish percentage following you to have strength because none of them can rouse such a constituency.  Apparently Abimelech killed so many men, so many of his half-brothers, that he lost count and failed to recognize that there were only sixty-nine men dead.  One, Jotham, escaped and when he heard that the Shechemites had made Abimelech king, a first for Israel, he showed himself and called out their motives.  Notice that he points out that Abimelech's mother was Gideon's servant.  Jotham's mother was more than a servant, he is saying his claim is superior.  Now, as the sole survivor, he has the majority of the people behind him. 

What did the servants think was the purpose of filling the water jars to the brim?  Mary had told them to do whatever Jesus asked.  She apparently had the authority to command them and then she delegated that to her son whose response to the need for more wine was to ask them to get a large amount of water ready for purification rites.  Then, He commanded them to draw off some of this water and take it to the master of the feast.  How ridiculous they must have felt walking the water to the master and then, suddenly, he proclaimed it the best wine yet served.  Water turned into wine.  Does this miracle signify that the old has been fulfilled, there is no need for purification when Jesus is in the house?  Rejoicing and celebration are the order of the day, these jars can no longer hold only water and they instead contain an incredible amount of the best wine.  His disciples, if no one else other than the servants, recognize what has just happened.  Did Mary have an inkling that the time had come?

The council had evidence of their eyes, "they perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition."  They had no way to respond to what had been done so they went with the hope of intimidation.  If you have seen a man crucified and then spend time with him after he has been miraculously raised from the dead you pretty much don't fear being kicked out of a club, Judaism, as much as you once did.  You might not fear death, even a painful one, as you formerly did.  Peter no longer fears.  They walked away rejoicing and praying for even greater boldness, based in a new understanding of Psalm 2.  The leaders made a mistake similar to Abimelech.  If you're going to kill a man to try and stop his work, make sure he stays dead.  If he doesn't, you might want to reconsider your opinion of Him.

7 August 2014

Psalm 145; Judges 8:22-35; Acts 4:1-12; John 1:43-51

Gideon declined to be king but he certainly acted like one.  He asked for tribute in the form of the earrings the people had taken from the vanquished as spoils of war.  It seems a small thing but the weight of the earrings was over forty pounds of gold.  This, Gideon had made into an ephod, a garment that had a priestly function.  The ephod made in Exodus for the high priest had stones set in it, the Urim and Thummim, which in some ways were used to determine the will of God as an oracle.  We have no indication of how or when it was consulted by the priest but here, Gideon sets up this golden ephod as a shrine and apparently it was worshipped as an idol similar to the golden calf of Exodus and it became a snare to Gideon and his family and all Israel.  Gideon also acted as Solomon did with wives and concubines, like kings of the surrounding countries.  He started well but didn't end particularly well.  There was, however, forty years of tranquility in the land during his life.

Can't you just see Jesus laughing at Nathanael when the latter makes his declaration, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”?  Because Jesus saw him under a fig tree when He couldn’t actually have seen him?  Jesus essentially answers, "You ain't seen nothing yet."  If Nathanael were that impressed with a bit of prophetic insight then what will he make of healings, feedings, and the like?  Nathanael, in this confession, makes clear what he is looking for in a Messiah which is what Philip told him they had found.  His objection to Philip's disclosure was based solely on where Jesus came from (the information was faulty anyway) and was easily overthrown.  Nathanael was looking for a king while Philip said they had found the one promised in the Scriptures although as yet they hadn't considered the suffering servant of Isaiah, the true Messiah.

Did you notice who was there to arrest Peter and John?  The Sadducees.  They were "greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead."  The Sadducees were those who didn't believe in resurrection.  They could get along with the Pharisees okay because what they taught concerning resurrection was theoretical but the disciples were teaching it as reality in Jesus, that was a bridge too far.  Five thousand people believed their teaching, which would certainly make a dent in the Sadducees ability to lead.  By the time of the trial the charge was somewhat different even though the high priestly office at the time was controlled by the Sadducees  Annas and Caiphas.  The charge was changed to what power was the healing of the lame man effected.  They knew that the charge had to be palatable to the Pharisees also.  The Name of Jesus becomes the problem to be solved and it gives Peter a chance to be the man he always wanted to be, bold and courageous.  Unlike Gideon the work he did for God hadn't become Peter's boast.

6 August 2014

Psalm 119:97-120; Judges 7:19-8:12; Acts 3:12-26; John 1:29-42

As Gideon and his army approach the Midianites, they blow the trumpets and smash the torches and cry out and the Midianite army is put to flight in fear.  They don't know how many Israelites are coming against them so they flee.  Gideon successfully recruits the men of Ephraim (Joseph's son's family) to fight but only after an argument about why he didn't ask sooner.  Two other groups, the men of Succoth and Penuel, fail to join him in this battle because it isn't won yet.  They fear the enemy and don't want to be on the wrong side.  In their failure they have chosen the wrong side and Gideon promises retribution as soon as he is finished with Midian.  Unfortunately, in the church we too often fuss and argue rather than simply coming together against a common enemy, just like these tribes.

John had a large ministry.  People had come to him in droves to be baptized.  They heard and believed his message and things looked like they were becoming a mega-church and then Jesus came on the scene.  What was John's reaction to being eclipsed?  He was the one who pointed people away from his own ministry to Jesus.  He knew that it wasn't about him, it was about Jesus.  John's testimony is that his ministry was purposefully geared towards identification of the One, he confesses that he didn't know who he was until he saw the sign of the dove remaining on Jesus.  John had the Holy Spirit but the knowledge he had concerning Jesus was attested by the fulfillment of a sign, it didn't rely on an impression he formed but on God's action to confirm.  John was so open handed that the first two who follow Jesus were formerly John's disciples.

Peter knows his audience.  The people who have seen the healing are amazed and Peter begins his sermon by pointing to the heroes and fathers of the nation and connecting Jesus to them.  He also tells the truth about them, you are responsible for his death, you chose a murderer over righteousness and innocence.  That, however, doesn't cause Peter to see them as enemies, he calls them brothers and says you acted in ignorance, you didn't know, Jesus prayed for you from the cross because you didn't know what you were doing.  It is a bit easier to have that attitude after resurrection isn't it?  Peter reaches back to Leviticus, Genesis, Samuel, and the prophets  and says that Jesus is the fulfillment of all and will be the fulfillment of all.  Until such time, He has been received into heaven.  He, like Gideon, is giving a second chance to his brothers to join him in battle.  The enemy is being vanquished and the proof is in the healing of this man, do they perceive it?

5 August 2014

Psalm 78:1-39; Judges 7:1-18; Acts 3:1-11; John 1:19-28

The first thing Gideon finds is that two-thirds of the people who show up to fight are so fearful and trembling that they will immediately take their chance to cut and run.  That isn't exactly a confidence builder but it would give you confidence in the third who remained even after the fearful walk away en masse.  Those people are really committed and ready to roll.  Then, since they won't walk on their own accord the Lord gives a test no one can "game" because no one could know the right answer in advance.  Who could have guessed that which way you drink matters in going to war?  Gideon only knows in advance that there will be two groups. He surely breathed a sigh of relief when he looked at the groups and thought, well, that cut was only about 3% and then God sent the 97% home!  I am not sure the writer could have stressed any more how many were there enemies, " the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance."  And Gideon has three hundred men who were chosen simply for their manner of drinking water.  Yet, like the people of the city of Jericho, the Midianites and Amalekites and all the people of the east fear the Lord's ability to defeat them.  Gideon is roused by their faith to His own faith and is prepared to fight.

John is absolutely certain who he is not and who he is.  He is not Elijah (though Jesus will say that John was indeed the prophet who will herald, in accord with Malachi's prophecy, the Messiah).  He is adamant that he is definitely not Messiah.  Who are you then?  I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, the one whose job it is to prepare the way of the Lord as though for a king.  In South Carolina there are several roads called King's and their purpose was to expedite the king's travels by making a straight, level path to his destination.  That is what John's work is, the same was done in his time for royalty and John was doing exactly that, clearing the obstacles.  He baptized to prepare a people not in opposition to the king but those who were prepared to embrace the kingdom values.  That is the work of the church today. 

The crippled man simply wanted and expected alms.  When Peter told him that he and his companions had neither silver or gold it surely came as a disappointment.  Peter's admonition to "look at us" sounds like Charles Stanley's preaching style.  I wonder if the man reluctantly raised his eyes to look at them, without expectation.  What happens next, his utter healing, his feet and ankles were not only healed, they were made strong, strong enough that after never having walked in his entire life he not only walked, he leapt into the temple, the first time he could ever enter due to his handicap!  He came in leaping and praising God, he knew how to worship because he knew what God had done for him.  It is most important that we know who the king is and who we are, His servants, but only because of what He has done for us.  In the eyes of the world we may be insignificant but He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine.

4 August 2014

Psalm 80; Judges 6:25-40; Acts 2:37-47; John 1:1-18

What was the accusation the Lord leveled against the people in yesterday's reading?  It was that they disobeyed His voice and had begun to fear the gods of the Amorites.  Gideon's own father had erected idols to Baal and Asherah and the Lord told Gideon that he had to align himself with the Lord rather than his family if they were worshipping idols.  Do you know what these gods and goddesses in particular were thought to do?  Fertility.  Why, in a time when whatever was grown was being consumed by the Midianites and Amorites were they worshipping gods of fertility?  Idol worship is rarely logical.  Gideon was afraid of his father and the people of the town so he pulled down the idols at night.  The people, when they discover who was responsible, call for him to be brought out that he may die.  Fortunately, his father chose not to do so but rather challenged Baal, if he was a god, to contend for his honor on his own.  This act of defiant obedience was necessary for Gideon if he was to become God's man for this hour.  Before the battle though, Gideon wanted to be sure so he designed the test of the fleece.  Destroying idols is one thing, leading an army against a superior foe is another.

As Gideon had to be willing to identify with God rather than his family in order to save the people, so Jesus had to identify with us in order to save us. He had to step down from what had always been, present to the Father, God-ness, in order that we might have life.  Since the garden there was only death because there was only sin.  We had created idols that were and idols we hope will be, even Messiah was an idol, the Messiah of my hopes and dreams rather than the Messiah of God's promise.  Jesus dwelt among us as one of us, let that sink in a few minutes.  He wasn't and isn't just a historical character but God in the flesh living in the world in order that we might live with Him forever.  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us is perhaps the most amazing thing anyone could ever imagine.  He did it not primarily to save us but to glorify God for who He is, to vindicate Him against all slanders of men against a creator who doesn't care about His creation, who won't intervene and stop the madness.  There is nothing more beautiful than the love of God in Christ Jesus.

"Repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus."  We take those words and that formula for granted but how would Peter's listeners have heard these words?  This would have been perhaps the strangest concept they had ever heard, to be baptized in the name of anyone, much less in the Name of the man who had recently died on a cross, the man counted as accursed under the law.  That act would have aligned them with His curse but the resurrection from the dead, if true as Peter claims, would have caused them to believe that He wasn't accursed after all.  To take the Name of Jesus would be to put all your hopes on Him as God's Messiah, to ride His coattails and His righteousness.  In Vegas it would be to put all your chips on one number at roulette but the resurrection shows it to be a safe bet.  They have to take Peter and the others' word for it though.  Except that the Holy Spirit was given to enable faith.  Have we aligned ourselves and all our hopes completely in Him?