R.P. Nettelhorst's Blog, page 21
January 19, 2016
Kosher
As the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”
Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”
The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”
This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.
As Peter, puzzled, sat there trying to figure out what it all meant, the men sent by Cornelius showed up at Simon’s front door. They called in, asking if there was a Simon, also called Peter, staying there. Peter, lost in thought, didn’t hear them, so the Spirit whispered to him, “Three men are knocking at the door looking for you. Get down there and go with them. Don’t ask any questions. I sent them to get you.”
Peter went down and said to the men, “I think I’m the man you’re looking for. What’s up?”
They said, “Captain Cornelius, a God-fearing man well-known for his fair play—ask any Jew in this part of the country—was commanded by a holy angel to get you and bring you to his house so he could hear what you had to say.” Peter invited them in and made them feel at home. (Acts 10:9-23)
Jesus sometimes spoke in parables, because a good story was like a picture: it was worth a thousand words.
Jesus appeared to Peter while he was waiting for his lunch. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Peter had a dream about food. But it was non-Kosher food. Jesus told him to eat it anyhow, not once but three times.
Jesus was not trying to give Peter new regulations about what was Kosher. Like most Jewish people, Peter believed that gentiles were excluded from the love of God, just as pigs were excluded from his plate. When Jesus told his disciples to take the gospel to the whole world, they thought he meant taking it to the Jewish people scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
Peter’s vision helped him, and the rest of the church, to realize that the gospel message was for all humanity, not just the Jews. No human being was unclean. God could make everyone holy.
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January 18, 2016
Love Overcomes Fear
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Here I am, Lord!” he said.
“Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so he may regain his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel. I will certainly show him how much he must suffer for My name!”
So Ananias left and entered the house. Then he placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:10-17)
Jesus brings down all the walls that separate people from one another. Even those walls that seem necessary. God told Ananias to do something that seemed to him like a really bad idea.
Ananias was a disciple living in Damascus. He is not to be confused with the man married to Sephira who dropped dead because he had lied to the Holy Spirit about some property he’d sold. When Jesus told Ananias to cure Paul’s blindness, he couldn’t avoid expressing his fear about Paul.
Paul was well-known as a persecutor. But Jesus explained how things had changed in Paul’s life. Ananias was the first Christian to learn of Paul’s conversion and he learned what Paul’s ministry from that moment on was going to be, even before Paul learned it.
In a couple of sentences, Jesus summarized the remainder of the book of Acts and the future course of Paul’s life. Paul started by being set apart by the Holy Spirit to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Then Paul was arrested and suffered and spent time proclaiming the Gospel to kings such as Agrippa.
From the beginning, God knew what Paul was becoming and who he would be. God had a plan for Paul. Paul was not unique. God has a wonderful plan for all of us.
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January 17, 2016
Blindness
Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. (Acts 9:1-9)
Evil triumphs when good men stand by and do nothing. Sometimes it appears to triumph when bad men stand by. Saul was his Hebrew name; Paul was his Greek name. They were used interchangeably, depending on the language he was using. Saul had stood by and watched the execution of Stephen with approval. He then did everything he could to exterminate Christianity.
When Jesus confronted Paul on his way to Damascus, he did not ask Paul why he was persecuting Christians. Instead, Jesus asked Paul why he was persecuting him. The church is called the body of Christ. It is also called the bride of Christ. How much does Jesus love us? Like he loves his own body, because we really are one with him.
When Paul asked his own question, he demonstrated that he already knew its answer. He called Jesus “Lord.” Paul wasn’t being polite. When a Jew said “Lord,” it could mean only one thing: God.
Paul knew he was talking to God. And soon he learned that God also went by the name Jesus. Paul immediately repented of his entire life. Everything before that bright shining moment in Jesus’ presence became meaningless to him. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, every Christian’s life has been just as radically transformed by the presence of Jesus as Paul’s was in that instant.
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January 16, 2016
The First Day
When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:9-18)
Some people change the world forever. Jesus is one of those people. So profound is his impact, that the world’s history is divided by his birth. There are the years before Jesus and the years after Jesus.
There are significant textual problems with the last nine verses of the Gospel of Mark which briefly record some of Jesus’ words given after the world altering event of his resurrection. In fact, the oldest manuscripts lack these final verses of Mark’s Gospel altogether, while other copies have completely different endings altogether. Just because these verses may not have been part of the original form of the Gospel of Mark, does not mean that they are not true.
Jesus told his followers to proclaim the message of the Good News everywhere. And he promised to protect them. Paul survived a snake bite on the island of Malta after his shipwreck. Peter and the other apostles healed the sick and drove out demons. The Gospel message began in Jerusalem and within a few generations spread out until it became the dominant faith on Earth. Today, more people claim to be Christians than belong to any other religion. And Jesus, accepted as Messiah or not, has nevertheless changed the world and the lives of all humans, everywhere, forever.
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January 15, 2016
January 14, 2016
I Am
Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t You have an answer to what these men are testifying against You?”
But He kept silent and did not answer anything. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
“I am,” said Jesus, “and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What is your decision?”
And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on Him, to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, saying, “Prophesy!” Even the temple police took Him and slapped Him. (Mark 14:59-65)
Jesus sometimes spoke most profoundly when he said nothing. During his trial, people lied about what Jesus said and what he did. Jesus did not respond to any of their false accusations. He kept his mouth shut. How come? What did his silence mean?
His lack of response was in keeping with the principle of turning the other cheek and not resisting an evil person. Therefore, Jesus’ silence matched his words. And there were prophesies about the Messiah keeping silent in the face of false accusations. So Jesus’ spoke only to acknowledge the truth: that he was the Messiah. He never spoke to resist a lie.
The idea of the Messiah as the Son of God was nothing out of the ordinary among the Jews. Nor was the Messiah’s close association with God, as God’s right hand, coming in the clouds a new concept. So why did the High Priest react by accusing Jesus of blasphemy?
Because the high priest did not agree that Jesus was the Messiah. He believed Jesus was empowered by Satan. The charge of blasphemy was dependent upon their rejection of Jesus’ claim as spurious. There was no objective proof against Jesus, only their subjective wish that it were so. Their confidence in the rightness of their position led them to abuse Jesus and to sarcastically demand that he “prophesy.”
Jesus went back to being silent, refusing to respond to his mistreatment or the additional lies of his enemies.
Jesus knew there was a time to speak, and a time to be silent. He did not mix-up those times.
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January 13, 2016
Betrayal
“I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”
After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. (John 13:18–30)
Jesus always knew who it was that would betray him. He always knew that he was going to die. On the night that it was all going to happen, he gave his disciples all the details.
Did the disciples finally grasp how events were about to unfold? Apparently not. The dipping of the piece of bread and the offering of it to Judas was ordinarily a gesture of honor. What Jesus dipped the bread into is impossible to say. It might have been olive oil, a meat sauce, or even a bit of the wine, since all those were available as part of the meal. Jesus’ point was to identify the betrayer for John. But after Judas scurried away, John wrote that none of them knew why he’d left.
John and the disciples were not unusually dense. It is simply hard to communicate new ideas. After the events, the disciples understood that Judas was not the friend they had imagined, though they would always remain shocked by the betrayal. Some things just never make any sense.
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January 12, 2016
Time to Run
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:
‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered.’
“But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”
Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
And they all said likewise. (Mark 14:22-31)
Something borrowed, something old, and something new. Jesus did something new and different with the old familiar patterns of the annual ceremony that celebrated God’s victory over Egypt. He took the normal matzo—a hard, cracker-like bread made without yeast—and said it represented his body. The wine he compared to his blood.
Did the disciples understand what Jesus meant by the changes he introduced into the familiar ritual? Not at the time. Instead, they thought they were about to overthrow the Roman Empire. As God had overcome Egypt, so he’d overcome Rome. When Jesus told them that he would not drink wine again until the day he drank it in the kingdom of God, they thought that Jesus meant that the next time they celebrated Passover, Jesus would be sitting on a throne in Jerusalem.
Peter was not alone in his willingness to die for Jesus. All the disciples believed the same. They had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. If they died in the coming war of liberation, then so what? Jesus could raise them just as easily. Why did Jesus think they would be scattered? How could Jesus believe that they would deny him?
Jesus knows who we are and what we need, better than we know ourselves.
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January 11, 2016
Preparations
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. (Mark 14:10-16)
For Jesus, the future was not the undiscovered country. He always knew what was coming. Jesus knew where he wanted to celebrate his final Passover with his disciples and told his disciples how to find that place. Jesus knew what the future held, whether it was when and where a man would be carrying a jar of water, or when and where he would be betrayed. Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus. But Jesus already knew the betrayal would come. As Jesus prepared for the Passover, he also prepared to become the Passover lamb.
After three years with Jesus, the disciples had learned to do whatever Jesus said. They did not argue with him. They did not ask him how he knew there would be such a man carrying a water jar. They simply went and did just as Jesus asked. Meanwhile, Judas, who knew what the other disciples knew about Jesus, did not consider that a man who could predict the course of a man with a water jar, could doubtless predict Judas’ course as well. Judas acted, in his betrayal of Jesus, as if Jesus were merely a human being, an ordinary man who could be trapped by circumstance.
Eleven of the disciples believed Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. One had decided otherwise. They all saw what they believed. And their actions demonstrated their beliefs.
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January 10, 2016
Triumph
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
“Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
(Matthew 21:1-9)
[insight]
How could Jesus be humble? He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead. Massive crowds hung on his every word. He was God in the flesh, the creator of the universe.
There were many prophesies in the Old Testament about when the Messiah would come, what he would be like. The prophet Zechariah predicted that the Messiah would arrive humbly, upon a donkey. Donkeys were beasts of burden, used for carrying food and supplies. They were not the sort of animal anyone expected to carry a conquering king. When heading off to war, kings sat on mighty steeds or in chariots behind a team of horses. The president of the United States does not peddle a bicycle to across town to address Congress. But that’s just how Jesus rode into Jerusalem, upon the lowliest of animals used for human transportation.
By arriving in Jerusalem in such a manner, Jesus announced to the crowds that though he was the Messiah, he was not going to conquer the world in quite the manner they might have expected. Most of the disciples missed that Jesus was God’s servant, conquering the world by dying for its sins.
This same Jesus has come into your life. Have you accepted what that really means? Or have you allowed your expectations to get in the way of glorious reality?
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