R.P. Nettelhorst's Blog, page 56

The Unexpected

Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. (John 11:38–46)

Only Jesus knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. His disciples had no expectations, and neither did any of the other people in the crowd.

Jesus’ prayer to God was short. Jesus did not beg, he did not perform a ritual. He only yelled loudly enough that Lazarus, tucked away in the dark tomb, could hear him. Most likely it was a puzzling experience for Lazarus, who suddenly found himself in a dark, cool place, all wrapped up. He was bound, “hand and foot” probably something like a mummy. So his exit from the tomb would not have been dignified. He would have had to hop out slowly, unable to even see where he was going since his face was covered.

Jesus had to tell the people to help him. One can imagine them standing around rather slack jawed, so much in shock that no one thought of what to do for poor Lazarus.

The results of Lazarus’ coming back from the dead was not universal belief in Jesus. Even someone coming back from the dead was not enough to convince those who rejected Jesus. Once our minds are made up, it is very hard to change them, no matter how much evidence accumulates. We might, therefore, want to be careful about how fast we make up our minds and allow for God to do the unexpected in our lives.

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Leading

The mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.

“What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”

Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”

They said, “Sure, why not?”

Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”

When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.” (Matthew 20:20–28)

Both Matthew and Mark record the effort of the mother of James and John to get positions of power and authority for her sons. Jesus used her request to once again teach his disciples about the nature of leadership and the way followers of Christ were supposed to interact with one another. Jesus was not advocating anarchy, with no one in charge. He wasn’t opposed to administration. He recognized the need for leadership. After all, he led his disciples.

But Jesus believed that the only motivator among we, his followers, was our mutual love for one another. Our only concern was what was best for our neighbors, not maintaining our power. The emphasis was always to be on someone other than ourselves. Authority comes from service, from putting others first. Authority comes from not even thinking about our position or our status. Certainly there are those who are leaders, who are gifted with administrative ability. But the methods of Christian leadership differ radically from those of a business or a government. If we want to get ahead, then we need to concern ourselves with helping the people around us, focusing on their needs, without ever worrying about whether we’re getting the proper respect or have an impressive title.

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God Chose, Well, Not the Sharpest Tool in the Shed

He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:20–28)

Jesus’ message of the Good News went to the last people anyone would expect: “infants.” That is, people like Jesus’ disciples: ordinary people from all walks of life, some wealthy, some not, some politically involved and some not. Jesus did not bring his words to the best and brightest of his generation.

Those who would listen, those who would believe, those who would accept the words of Jesus were rarely those who were in positions of power and authority. His followers most often came from the lower classes. They were the disadvantaged and those whom the ones in authority viewed with disdain. Jesus found his strongest followers among the women, the children, and the “sinners” of society. That’s what Jesus meant when he said that the greatest in the kingdom of God were those who were least. He told his followers that they must become like “little children” in order to see the kingdom of God.

We can take comfort in the fact that we do not need to be special in any way for God to reach us or to use us. We are just the sort of people that God wants to have.

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Truth

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” (John 18:33–38)

Some people do not believe that there is such a thing as universal truth. Instead, they believe that what is true for one person, might not be true for another: it all depends upon one’s point of view. People who think that way will point to the perception of beauty, taste in music, and optical illusions as evidence that they are right. They will suggest that truth is in fact entirely subjective and that we can never get past it. The internal contradiction, that they are asserting a universal truth that everything is subjective rarely occurs to them.

Pilate asked “What is truth?” not because he though Jesus would be able to tell him, but because he doubted that one could ever know it. From Pilate’s experiences as a governor, he had found repeatedly that whenever he thought he knew the truth, too often he turned out to be wrong. His experiences had made him very suspicious of anyone talking about the truth. He doubted that there was anything that he could be certain of. But Jesus argued in favor of universal truth. He insisted that those who recognized the truth, who considered themselves to be on the side of truth, listened to Jesus.

Unlike Pilate, we can believe that knowledge of the truth is not only desirable, not only possible, but certain. We can have confidence in the good news that Jesus taught. We can know that Jesus’ words are the truth.

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Out in the Open

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was known to the Chief Priest, and so he went in with Jesus to the Chief Priest’s courtyard. Peter had to stay outside. Then the other disciple went out, spoke to the doorkeeper, and got Peter in.

The young woman who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “Aren’t you one of this man’s disciples?”

He said, “No, I’m not.”

The servants and police had made a fire because of the cold and were huddled there warming themselves. Peter stood with them, trying to get warm.

Annas interrogated Jesus regarding his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered, “I’ve spoken openly in public. I’ve taught regularly in meeting places and the Temple, where the Jews all come together. Everything has been out in the open. I’ve said nothing in secret. So why are you treating me like a conspirator? Question those who have been listening to me. They know well what I have said. My teachings have all been aboveboard.”

When he said this, one of the policemen standing there slapped Jesus across the face, saying, “How dare you speak to the Chief Priest like that!”

Jesus replied, “If I’ve said something wrong, prove it. But if I’ve spoken the plain truth, why this slapping around?”

Then Annas sent him, still tied up, to the Chief Priest Caiaphas. (John 18:15–24)

Annas was the father-in-law of the Chief Priest Caiaphas. Although he had been the Chief Priest in the past, he did not hold that office while he was questioning Jesus. But he remained a force to be reckoned with. Jesus, however, did not recognize his authority and treated him with little respect, so much so that one of the policemen slapped him for it.

Jesus felt no need to defend himself before his accusers. He was a public figure and his positions were well known. Jesus was not interested in wasting words with people who already had their minds made up. What was going to happen to Jesus was a foregone conclusion and Jesus knew it. And it was what he wanted, after all.

Jesus knew that they had no basis for the charges against him. There was nothing he had done or said that wasn’t true. Being right is a wonderful defense, but it does not guarantee success. People often reject what is true, preferring lies. Our goal should be to always speak and do what is true. Then if we suffer, at least we suffer for doing the right thing—and we then join with Jesus in the same sort of suffering he endured.

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Life

Jesus said, “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33). It is a paradox, that we lose our lives in trying to save them, but gain them in giving them up. We are broken, usually focused only on ourselves. It is only in giving everything for another that we can truly be alive.

All life feeds on death. If it were not for the death of other living things every day, we would not remain alive: whether it is a cow to provide the hamburger for lunch, or the wheat plant or the lettuce and carrots for the salad, living things gave everything for us. Likewise, Jesus gave everything so we could live.

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Methane on Mars

Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration.

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In a Little While

“In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”

Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”

Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.” (John 16:16–22)

Jesus first told his disciples that they wouldn’t seem him anymore—then told them that after a little while, they would see him again.

Jesus predicted his death at the hands of the Romans—and he predicted his resurrection. He knew they would mourn not only the loss of the one they considered a friend, but also the death of their dream of national redemption. He knew they thought Jesus would restore the kingdom of David and overcome the Romans. Instead, the Romans would overcome their Messiah. They would never see that Jesus of their mistaken dreams again.

But Jesus wanted his disciples to understand his death and the death of their mistaken hopes wasn’t the end. They were still missing the vital reality that the kingdom of God was not a physical, earthly kingdom like Rome, but something far grander and more pervasive.

Their mourning, as sharp as it would be, would be mercifully brief. From the night he was arrested, until the morning he rose from the dead, barely three days passed. Jesus compared what was about to happen to the birth of a child. The joy the disciples had after the resurrection, and the joy that we now have from it, is a joy that will endure forever. All our sorrows from this brief lifetime of ours will be wiped away in the wonder of God’s eternal kingdom. It’s eternity that even now we have in our hearts.

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Mistaken About Many Things

The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment. The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn’t have faith in me. They are wrong about God’s justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won’t see me again. And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.

I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you. (John 16:8–15)

Jesus told his disciples that humanity was mistaken about many things.

Human beings are wrong about sin because they lack faith in Jesus. That’s why Adam and Eve sinned: their lack of trust. Rather than believing God, they believed the serpent’s lie that God was trying to keep them from something good. Ever since, humans have doubted that God has their best intentions in mind. Our lack of trust in God is at the core of sin.

Human beings are wrong about justice—or as some translations have it, “righteousness.” “Righteousness” is the opposite of sin. The religious establishment condemned Jesus, a righteous man, to death. Meanwhile, God tells the human race that their righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We are barely capable of genuine righteousness.

Human beings are wrong about judgment because they think of it only in the future tense. But God has already judged Satan, the ruler of the world. Satan is already guilty, already overthrown by Jesus, as demonstrated time and again by his power over the demons. Moreover, our sin has already been judged because Jesus was judged in our place. We stand forgiven and righteous because we died with Christ. We are not righteous in ourselves, but righteous in Christ. Everything has changed for us thanks to Jesus. Today the Holy Spirit helps us realize how things stand between us and God, and between us and one another.

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The Messiah

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him. (John 6:60–71)

Some people followed Jesus for reasons that made it possible for them to later turn away from him. When what Jesus taught them became hard, when he didn’t seem to be taking them where they wanted to go, they abandoned him.

But Peter followed Jesus because he knew that he was the Messiah. Peter followed Jesus because he knew that he was going to bring in God’s kingdom. Peter followed Jesus because he knew that with Jesus, he would have eternal life.

But Judas—the one of the twelve who was “a devil”—would be like the crowd who had abandoned him here. Judas would hang in for awhile yet, but the day would come, just as it had come for some of the crowd, for him to decide that what Jesus was about, that where Jesus was going, was simply not a place that Judas wanted to be.

We may not fully comprehend all the implications of what Jesus is and what he wants of us, but we know enough that like Peter, we can’t imagine being without Jesus. Jesus is the only one who can give us what we can otherwise never have: eternal life.

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