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On April 24, 2025 By In Discipleship, Theology, Worship

Stairway To Heaven

Nathanael is flabbergasted at Jesus’ knowledge of him before they met face-to-face. Philip told Nathanael that they had found the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote: Jesus, the son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth. Nathanael was in disbelief that God’s “good one” would come from Nazareth. Philip called him to “come and see.” Once he met Jesus and Jesus told him about his “vision” of Nathanael under the fig tree, Nathanael confessed that Jesus was the Son of God, the King of Israel. Jesus tells him that if he believed because he saw Nathanael under the fig tree, just wait. He and the rest of the disciples will see greater things than these; namely, they will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man (Jn 1:43-51).

This scene of calling Philip and Nathanael fits within a larger structure in the opening of John’s Gospel. After strongly alluding to the fact that the Word-made-flesh has come to make a new creation in his Prologue (Jn 1:1-18), John then lays out a week in 1:19—2:11 marked out clearly by John’s “and the next/following day” (1:29, 35, 43). Days five and six are skipped to move to the seventh day in 2:1 (“after three days”) when Jesus brings in a Sabbath rest by turning water into wine. Each of these days has echoes of the original creation days.

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On April 20, 2025 By In Discipleship, Theology, Worship

The Stones Cry Out: The Stone Cut Out Of The Mountain

Easter Sunday Meditation

When Jesus made his Royal Entry into Jerusalem, his disciples proclaimed him King, singing Psalm 118. The Pharisees understood the implications of this. The disciples were confessing that Jesus was David’s son and heir. He was the one to whom the Father promised the nations for his inheritance (Ps 2). They demanded that Jesus quiet his disciples. Jesus replied that if his disciples were silenced, the stones would cry out that he was king (Lk 19:40).

The Pharisees, along with the rest of the Jews, became unwitting (?) characters in the story. Psalm 118 says that David’s son is a stone that the builder rejected. This stone would become the head of the corner or the chief cornerstone. These Jews were the builders who rejected David’s stone. They tried to silence the Stone.

It looked as if they succeeded. Since Jesus didn’t silence his disciples, they did by arresting Jesus and putting him to death. When Jesus cried out his last words from the cross, all the stones appeared to be silent. However, Jesus was placed in a tomb or memorial cut out of a rock with a stone rolled in front of the entrance. Luke’s word translated “tomb” is more literally, “memorial.” God sets up covenant memorials so that he can look upon them and hear them (cf. Ge 9:12-17; Ex 28:12, 29). They remind God of his promises; when he sees or hears the memorials, he moves to fulfill his promises.

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On April 19, 2025 By In Discipleship, Theology, Worship

The Stones Cry Out: The Memorial Stone

A Holy Saturday Meditation

The Pharisees’ desire that the disciples be silenced while Jesus was entering Jerusalem has been fulfilled. The disciples have been silenced since Jesus’ arrest. Now, Jesus himself has been silenced. His last cry on the cross was the last we heard from him.

But that is not the end of the story. Remember, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the disciples were silenced, the stones would cry out (Lk 19:40). The stones continue their proclamation.

After Jesus dies, Joseph of Arimathea comes and takes Jesus’ body to a tomb “cut from the rock” or “hewn from stone.” He lays his body in stone. Will the stones cry out that Jesus was right and the Jews were wrong? Will the stones cry out that Jesus is King? Will the stones cry out that sins are forgiven and death is defeated? Jesus said the stones will cry out, but for now, they are silent.

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On April 18, 2025 By In Discipleship, Theology, Worship

The Stones Cry Out: The Rejected Stone

A Good Friday Meditation

The crowds that hailed him as the heir to David’s throne a few days before now cry for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus. The Jews have silenced the disciples. Jesus wouldn’t silence them at their demand on Palm Sunday, so the Jews have taken it upon themselves to do it.

The Twelve have forsaken him. One of the Twelve betrayed him, handing him over to the Jews as some sort of insurrectionist. Peter denied him three times. The others are hiding in silence.

What will happen now? A few days before, Jesus told the Pharisees, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Lk 19:40). With the disciples silenced, the rocks will begin to cry out.

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On April 17, 2025 By In Discipleship, Theology, Worship

The Stones Cry Out: Bread To Stone

A Maundy Thursday Meditation

Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. The first temptation the devil throws at Jesus after his forty days of fasting is, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Lk 4:3). Jesus isn’t into parlor tricks, nor does he grasp for life within the creation itself in disobedience to his Father’s word. The devil is offering Jesus something before the time he is supposed to have it. Jesus knows not to grasp this prematurely. However, the stones will become bread; or better, the Stone will become bread.

At the Passover before his death, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples, proclaiming, “This is my body.” A few days before, on Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to praise from the crowds, singing, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” This chorus was drawn from Psalm 118. We know that they sang more of the Psalm because the other Gospels record more being sung. They may have sung the whole Psalm. No matter how much of the Psalm they sang, the context of the whole Psalm comes to bear on the parts recorded in the Gospels. The Psalm 118 worshiper prays, “Save us now, we pray,” or “Hosanna.” God answers that prayer and becomes his salvation by making him the chief cornerstone. He is the stone that the builders rejected, but God makes him the head of the corner or the cornerstone of God’s house.

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On April 17, 2025 By In History, Theology

From the Last Supper to Easter: Reconciling John and the Synoptics

Introduction

The first three gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – are called the “Synoptic Gospels” because they each give a similar synopsis of Jesus’s life and ministry.

The fourth gospel – John – is noticeably different. In many cases, John gives more or less information than the Synoptics. For example, John gives a longer time frame than the others, with three years of Jesus’s ministry accounted for.

The differences between John and the Synoptics sometimes pose chronological difficulties. One example is the timeline of Jesus’s crucifixion with two main problems to reconcile.

The problems

Problem #1: The Synoptics indicate that Passover began the night before Jesus’s crucifixion, with Jesus eating the Passover (and instituting the Lord’s Supper) on the same night of his betrayal. Yet on the day of the crucifixion, John states: “Then [the Jewish rulers] led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover” (John 18:28). This sounds as if Passover had not yet begun. John also states that the crucifixion and burial took place on the “Preparation Day of the Passover” (John 19:14).

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On April 10, 2025 By In Theology, Worship

The Stones Cry Out: The Royal Proclamation

“… I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” ~Luke 19:40

Stones speak. That is not the fanciful imagination of authors who personify non-human creatures. The Scriptures reveal that stones talk. Stones aren’t the only non-human creatures that speak. The entire non-human creation speaks. Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” So, when Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ command to quiet his disciples from declaring him king, his response of the “stones crying out” is not telling the Pharisees that the speechless stones will, all of a sudden, be able to speak. He tells them that the stones will use their voices to declare him king. At that moment, the disciples give voice to the creation, but the creation will continue to declare, “Jesus is King,” even if the disciples are silenced.

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On March 20, 2025 By In Church, Theology

Baptism: Spirit v. Water?

Baptism debates are constantly rumbling through the Christian church. Who are the proper recipients of baptism? Should baptism be performed by total submersion, or is pouring water over the head a proper baptism? Does God genuinely do something in baptism, or is it a wet testimony of the faith that I have professed in Christ that accomplishes anything regarding forgiveness of sins, union with Christ, or the reception of the Spirit? Is baptism the work of God or the work of man?

Another debate that sometimes arises when discussing baptism is whether genuine baptism is visible or invisible. Some will say that real baptism is the invisible baptism of the Spirit. Visible water baptism is only an inert witness to this invisible baptism. Scriptures such as Romans 6 are approached with presuppositions that deny the possibility that in water baptism, we truly are buried with Christ into his death and are raised by the glory of the Father (Rom 6:4). “Water can’t do that. Paul is referring to a “spiritual baptism,” by which they mean an invisible baptism, a baptism performed by the Spirit in conversion apart from water.

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On March 13, 2025 By In Culture, Theology

John & The Jews

Immediately following the Apostle John’s Prologue (Jn 1:1-18), he begins filling out the historical witness of the characters and narrative he introduced in his Gospel. As in any good story, there are good guys and bad guys. These two groups have been alluded to in the Prologue, but at the beginning of the body of the Gospel, the Apostle names names.

The heart of the battle concerns who has the right to be called “Son of God.” Since at least the time of their bondage in Egypt, Israel has been called “son of God.” When Yahweh sent Moses to Pharaoh, he commanded Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I say to you, let my son go they he may serve me…” (Ex 4:22-23).

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On March 5, 2025 By In Counseling/Piety, Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom

Healing Forgiveness: A Lenten Exhortation

Why doesn’t God complete the work of our salvation in one fell swoop? When we are baptized, when our sins are declared forgiven because we have died and risen again with Christ, why don’t we experience all that salvation will ever be? In our baptism, we are declared forgiven, but we continue to dwell in a mortal body and battle with sin and its effects until the day of our death. Then, our bodies are held in death, waiting for the final resurrection, the fullness of our salvation. Why not do it all immediately?

Salvation is progressive. We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. That is all true. In one sense, we are as forgiven and saved as we will ever be. However, in another sense, we wait for the fullness of our forgiveness and salvation to be realized in the resurrection of our bodies.

Tellingly, the family of words usually translated as “saved” or “salvation” are associated with the medical field and deal with healing. That is appropriate because our salvation is the complete healing of our entire being, body and soul. Every aspect of our humanity that has been affected by sin—and that is every aspect of our humanity—is being healed in our salvation. But our healing is progressive and waits for the fullness of our salvation to be revealed at the last day.

God has his reasons for this. He trains us through this life so that we become more mature and, thus, able to handle whatever responsibility he gives us later in his kingdom. But the fact that we don’t realize the fullness of our salvation until the end is a fact.

The way God deals with us in forgiveness as it relates to healing is instructive for the relationship between forgiveness and healing in our relationships now. The major emphasis of Lent that is crucial in our discipleship is for us to meditate on our sinfulness and plead for God’s mercy for ourselves and others. Lent is a journey with a destination. It is not a perpetual state of being. Lent gives way to Easter when God fully and finally declares the forgiveness of our sins through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Jesus demonstrates the connection between forgiveness and healing when he heals the paralytic by telling him his sins are forgiven in Mark 2:1-12. Matthew says that the prophecy of Isaiah 53 is fulfilled as Jesus cast out evil spirits and healed the sick: “He himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Isa 53:4). Jesus’ death and resurrection secure the forgiveness of sins and the healing of our bodies (Rom 4:25). Sin brings about sickness and death. Forgiveness brings about healing and resurrection.

The healing stories of Jesus are not all the same. Undoubtedly, the point made in Mark 2 is that healing is always tied to the forgiveness of sins, but Jesus’ healings take different shapes. Some are immediate, as it is with this paralytic in Mark 2. Others are delayed. The ten lepers Jesus heals at one point must start their journey to show themselves to priests. They are healed along the way (Lk 17:11-19). In another healing, Jesus touches a blind man’s eyes, and he first sees men as trees. He was partially healed. Jesus touches him a second time to restore his sight completely (Mk 8:22-26).

The healings aren’t all the same, nor are they all complete. Even Lazarus was raised from the dead to die again and wait for the final resurrection. Forgiveness is granted, but the healing power of forgiveness is experienced differently in various situations. Furthermore, the fullness of our healing will only be experienced in our final resurrection.

We should expect this to be the case as we practice forgiveness with one another. Healing looks different depending on the situation. This is important to remember as we work through issues of forgiveness and reconciliation (healing) when sin has maimed a relationship. Forgiveness can be real, but healing takes time, which means the complete healing of the relationship may be in the future.

If, in anger, I punch you in the jaw and break your jaw and realize immediately my sin and ask for forgiveness, you can forgive me on the spot. However, the healing of your jaw and possibly the trust between us may take some time to mend.

Sin has degrees of seriousness. Every sin is worthy of death and punishment from God, but not all sins are created equal. Some sins have a deeper impact and more serious consequences than others. Your toddler disobeying you and snatching a cookie before supper is not the same thing as a spouse committing adultery. Telling a lie to get out of trouble when you are a teen is not the same thing as walking into a public place and opening fire on innocent people.

All sins need to be dealt with seriously before God, but all sins are not the same in their effects on our souls and in our relationships. Acting as if your adultery requires the same type of response of forgive-and-forget as swiping a cookie doesn’t appreciate the seriousness of the damage caused by adultery and the relative lack of damage caused by swiping a cookie. In both cases, genuine forgiveness can and should be granted, but in one case, the healing can be immediate, while in the other, the healing will take time. Ripping a one-flesh relationship is not the same as ripping off a cookie.

Delayed healing doesn’t mean that real forgiveness hasn’t taken place. God declares his forgiveness of us in baptism and absolution, but we don’t enjoy all the healing benefits of forgiveness in the present. We are at genuine peace with God in Christ, but the relationship is not all it will be. Forgiveness has not done its complete work.

There are instances, depending on the nature of the sin involved, that a relationship can be at genuine peace through forgiveness, but the relationship will never be exactly the same. A man who cheats on his wife, leading to divorce, may later seek and receive forgiveness from his ex-wife, but remarriage may never and, in some cases, cannot occur. Friendships can be radically changed through sin. That may be part of the harvest that is reaped through the sowing of sin. But there can be genuine peace even while the friendship is different. It may come back to a more intimate place in the future, but healing takes time. Just because others don’t meet your expectations of “perfect reconciliation” doesn’t mean a person hasn’t forgiven you and is not at peace with you.

Many of us have sinned against others. Many of us have been sinned against by others.
Forgiveness should be sought when there is genuine sin.

You may need help from outside the relationship to determine if it is a “genuine sin.” Just because you got your feelings hurt doesn’t mean that the other person sinned against you. You may be overly sensitive and have higher expectations of others than God himself. People not living up to your unrealistic expectations doesn’t equate to being sinned against. If those in authority judge that you haven’t been sinned against, then you need to get over yourself and live at peace.

However, you may have been sinned against, and that needs to be dealt with. Showing mercy if you have sinned against others is not saying, “I asked your forgiveness. It’s all over. Everything should be back to normal.” Showing mercy is asking for forgiveness and then giving time for the relationship to heal, not demanding what others should do by bludgeoning them with Scripture verses as if your actions should have no lingering consequences and treating others as if they are now in sin because they can’t just get over it.

The person who insists that everything goes back to the way it was immediately, not accounting for the sin he has committed and its consequences, doesn’t want to accept responsibility for his actions. His asking for forgiveness is his get out of jail free card. He doesn’t want to deal with his own actions in genuine repentance and have to do the hard work of rebuilding what he has damaged. He walked into the house and set off a grenade but then expects everything to be back to normal because he asked for forgiveness. It doesn’t work that way. There are bodies to be healed and structures to rebuild when a grenade goes off. Further, your actions have created a precedent for how people expect you to act in certain situations. Because of your history, people will “flinch” around you, expecting you to act a certain way in particular situations. Trust takes time to rebuild.

So it is with some of our sins.

Demanding that the other person absorb all the consequences of your sins while all you do is speak a few words is not showing mercy. I’m not saying that you must live a life of groveling, but to treat the words “Please forgive me” as some magic incantation that instantly heals completely in all situations shows a remarkable lack of understanding of the nature of sin and a slothfulness in wanting to take up your responsibilities of repentance.

Showing mercy when you’ve been sinned against by others is granting forgiveness, choosing not to take revenge in thought, word, or deed against the person. But showing mercy does NOT mean that you must act as if there are no consequences to the other person’s actions.

You should take into account the seriousness of the sin. Did they break something you loaned to them, or did they physically or sexually abuse you? Those two sins aren’t on the same level. The healing for breaking something that you have loaned can be healed relatively easily by forgiving and/or the person asking forgiveness and making restitution. Abusive situations and sexual sins wound the soul in deep ways that need care and time for healing. While you shouldn’t use the sins and the healing process as a manipulation tool to selfishly control the other person, making him grovel so that it is never-ending, neither are you obligated to act as if no real damage was inflicted that needs time, space, and proper care to heal.

Forgiveness is absolutely essential to healing for everyone involved, but healing takes time. Everyone involved needs to show the proper mercy.

This Lenten season, as we focus on our own sins and those committed against us, let us all consider the different forms mercy and healing take.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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