Day 33 - Acts 2

I wanted to give a quick shout-out before I begin to my pastor, Tim Skinner, at Church in Motion (check us out at churchinmotion.com) for his encouragement to me today. It gave me a major shot in the arm that is always appreciated!

Acts 2 (Read it here)

Because of what happens here in Acts 2, Pentecost would forevermore have 2 separate meanings.
Let me explain.

The Jewish Pentecost was a yearly celebration that took place 50 days after Passover (roughly seven weeks). The Jewish Pentecost celebrated two events.  The first was to commemorate God's giving of the Torah (the law), including the 10 Commandments, at Mount Sinai (from Exodus 20-24). At the conclusion of hearing the law from God, the Israelites vowed to follow the law the LORD had set out, making them God's people; literally one nation under God.

The Jewish Pentecost (or as it reads in the New Living Translation, The Festival of Harvest; See Deuteronomy 16:9-10) is also connected to the annual grain harvest (the end of the fruit harvest had its own festival). The harvest season lasted, you guessed it, seven weeks and its ending was marked by a celebration in which many Jews would travel from all over the world to Jerusalem to offer a grain sacrifice and to, well, celebrate!

The new meaning of Pentecost, within Christian's terms, would come to signify the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. This would set off a chain reaction that would change the course of history.  The days of being pupils were over, the apostles were to be entrenched in ministry.

While the apostles were in the upper room the Holy Spirit comes upon them with a mighty roar. (v. 2)  Like the story of Moses and the burning bush, flames settled on each of the apostles without actually burning them. (v. 3) What a cool way of getting filled with the Spirit!

As a result of this, each of the apostles began speaking in other languages that were foreign to them. As verse 5 suggests, Jews from all over the world were visiting Jerusalem for the festival. It was a sight (or sound) to behold; hearing all these foreign languages coming from uneducated Galileans.

People couldn't believe it, how could these men be speaking in languages of places they've never been?  The languages that were heard originated from peoples and lands that extended over 2,300 miles!

The farthest point west that was represented was Rome and the further east was Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. For an idea of where all the places mentioned in verses 9-11 are, check out this map.

The people from all over the world didn't just hear babbling or random conversation but about the "wonderful things God [had] done!" (v. 11) Most were perplexed, some thought they were drunk.

This was probably the best icebreaker/attention-getter in history as everyone instantly became tuned into Peter as he addressed the crowd (without a microphone I may add and in who knows what language, maybe everyone heard their own native language?).

Peter says that what they have witnessed today was predicted by the prophet Joel. (v. 16)

Just so you know, the word 'days' in verse 17 does not denote a particular amount of time, as in a set number of days left. The Greek word hmerais is best defined as an indefinite but not a particularly long amount of time.


They have seen the Spirit being poured out.  From here on both genders will prophecy (deliver messages from God), men will see visions, old men will dream dreams. (vs. 17-18)

There will be miracles and unexplainable occurrences (signs, the sun becoming dark, moon being blood red, etc) before God returns. (vs. 19-20)  Yet no matter what happens, "everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved!" (v. 21)

That was Peter's introduction, not bad.  He doesn't waste any time stepping on people's toes.  My kinda guy, just give it to 'em straight!

God proved Jesus was the real deal when Jesus showed the power of God through his miracles. (v. 22)

Peter blames Jesus' death on the crowd when he says, "you nailed him to a cross and killed him." (v. 23)

But the grave couldn't hold Jesus because God is more powerful than death! Even those who die as believers have that hope (that God is stronger than death, eternal life is guaranteed)! That is why we shouldn't fear death but embrace it! God will not leave your soul "among the dead."



By what we read in verse 27, Joel had prophesied that the Messiah would go to Hades (the same place referred to in the story of the rich man & Lazarus) or "among the dead."  Luke 16 would suggest that unbelievers would suffer there. So a great question would be, "What was Jesus doing there?"  This is mentioned in the Apostles Creed with the line, "he descended into hell" (or modern translations say "to the dead" as we see in the New Living Translation). Jesus may have been ministering to those who died as unbelievers (not exactly the same as Christ-follower, since Jesus was not revealed in Old Testament times) but the text simply does not elaborate. But we do know for sure that the grave couldn't hold Jesus, therefore, God resurrected him. (v. 32)

Peter is blunt again in saying "this Jesus, whom you crucified, [is] both Lord and Messiah!" (v. 36)

Peter's preaching cut them to the core, they were convicted and asked, "what should we do?” (v. 37)

Let's pause.

Peter had the crowd in the palm of his hand. At this point right here, Peter could've made a list a mile long of things these people should do in order to be right with God (abide by the law, don't lie, don't lust after women, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke, you catch my drift).

What Peter actually commanded them to do was quite simple.


Press play.

This is what Peter urged them to do: Ask for God's forgiveness and be baptized. That's it! Trust God and receive His Spirit.  Simple enough for you?

More than 3,000 responded and were baptized that day alone! (v. 41)

When people began to trust God and be led by His Spirit, this is what became common:

• They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, in other words, learning God's word (v. 42)
• They hung out, shared meals and practiced communion (as instituted by Jesus during the last Supper) with each other constantly (v. 42)
• They prayed often (v. 42)
• They shared all their possessions with everyone (v. 44)
• They gave money to the poor (v. 45)
• They worshiped God everyday (v. 46)
• They enjoyed the company of all people (v. 46)

More people were getting saved and God was sending them their way. Who wouldn't want to live in a community like that, anyway?

All in all, if you accept Christ's sacrifice by asking for forgiveness and being baptized then naturally a Christ-follower should start to exhibit the practices of the bullet points above.

(Hear me right, now. I'm not saying that you have to do these things in order to be saved, they are just the fruit that comes from being saved. Make sense?)

So, if you ever hear someone say, "we're an Acts 2 church," that means they practice those things from verses 42-46.



Questions

1.) A fun question. Which would you rather experience: a bush on fire that doesn't burn up (which also contains the voice of God) or have fire land on you causing you to speak in foreign languages effortlessly? How come?

2.) Can you remember a specific time when you read something in the Bible or heard a message that really convicted you, cut you to the heart or to the core?  How did you respond?

3.) Are you surprised at the simple answer that Peter gave to the crowd? If people knew it was that simple, do you think more would become Christ-followers? Do you believe that people think that the list of bullet points are actually the requirements when they are not? How do they get that idea?

Day 32 - Acts 1

Congratulations! If you've been following since the beginning, you have now read through 1,151 verses of the Bible, which is 14% of the New Testament or 4% of the entire Bible. On this pace, we'll be done with the whole Bible on or around February 12th, 2014 (Jenny's 24th birthday).  Don't worry, after finishing Acts we'll start to cruise through the two gospels of Matthew & Mark because they are so similar to Luke. We'll shave some time off that estimate, guaranteed!


Even though we're done with the book of Luke, that doesn't mean that we're done with the writer of Luke (which is...Luke). He also is the author of the book of Acts, as well.


Now do you see why we're going through these two books back-to-back?


I'm also super excited about the new flavor that has been added on to CDM! I'm really hoping to get some debate, discussion and honest conversation going through our new Facebook page (find it here)!  Even though I've been a Christ-follower for more than 12 years, this is probably the most excited I've ever been about going through God's word because I'm not doing it alone.


Show that you're with me! Comment, subscribe, join the FB page, share it with your friends!


Now on with Acts...

Acts 1 (read it here)

Theophilus was mentioned Luke 1 and is mentioned again here in Acts 1. In fact, within the first 5 verses of Acts 1, Luke simply recaps everything that was just covered in the previous book. The only thing that may be a little extra would be in verse 3 where Luke says that Jesus appeared off and on to his disciples for 40 days after his crucifixion. In Luke we only get details from one interaction with the two followers and the 11 disciples (which Luke refers to here in verse 4). Also Luke didn't give a specific time of when the Holy Spirit would arrive in Luke 24, but here in Acts 1:5, Luke says it would be in "just a few days."

Here's the word apostle again in verse 6.  Remember that Luke is writing about the past.  In his present time, ALL of the disciples were known as apostles.  So if you see disciples and apostles being used interchangeably when referring to the 11 men Jesus picked to specifically follow him, that's why.

The apostles wanted to know if part of Jesus' mission was to "free Israel and restore our kingdom."  They know all about the Kingdom of God, but they wanted to know what would happen with our kingdom. The common assumption for all Jews was that the Messiah would not only be a religious feature that offered eternal life but also a warrior/political figure that would overthrown the oppression and occupation of Rome.  The apostles wanted to know if Israel would have its own land to themselves.

Jesus, again, says that the timing for that to happen was up to God not him. (v. 7) What they were to focus on had nothing to do with overthrowing a government, but everything to do with spreading the gospel (Greek for good news) of Jesus to everyone everywhere! (v. 8)

Jesus leaves them again, but this time he would not return to them.  The apostles stood there, mesmerized, starring into the clouds.  Then, out of nowhere, two white-robed men appeared (yes, the same word used to refer to the "men" at the tomb) with some in-the-know info (as an angel would have) about the whereabouts of Jesus and his return. (v. 11)

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The apostles returned to the upper room (the site of the last supper with Jesus) and constantly prayed together with Mary (Jesus' mother), other women (which most likely included the two women who first discovered Jesus missing from the tomb) and the brothers of Jesus (two of them would have included James and Jude, who both wrote books of the New Testament by the same names).

One day, when 120 believers were present, Peter confirmed the prophecy that was fulfilled by the treachery and death of Judas Iscariot by King David. (vs. 15-16) In verse 17, Peter seemed to speak about Judas with compassion and warm memories, saying that he was "one of us and shared in the ministry with us.” Matthew, the apostle and former tax collector even mentions that Judas changed his mind and felt remorse about betraying Jesus (see Matthew 27:3).

Not everyone felt that way, John (the writer of the gospel of John) almost always referred to Judas as "the one who betrayed Jesus" whenever he talked about him.  He even noted that Judas stole money from the treasury by saying this in John 12:6, "Not that [Judas] cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself."  No doubt John was bitter, but the great thing is that God still used him to write one of the most influential gospels of Jesus Christ.

Now back to the prophecy of which Peter was speaking.  Matthew 27:5 says that Judas hangs himself but here in Acts 1:18, Luke says that Judas fell headfirst causing his body to burst open.  So which is correct?  The key to answering this question is held in the Greek word preves, which here is translated headfirst.

It also has a secondary meaning of swollen. The plausible and likely story that can connect these two seemingly contradicting verses is that Judas' body could've been hanging for so long that his body began to swell and ultimately start to fall apart because of the deteriorating dead tissue.  His body would have ultimately fell from the noose causing a rather nasty splash of exposed body organs.

Hmm, that's enough of that, agreed?

Peter leads a motion to replace Judas with another man who has been traveling with Jesus the entire time. Two men fit the requirements and were nominated.  They prayed and cast lots (which would be like us flipping a coin) and Matthias was selected.


Tomorrow, the Holy Spirit comes and we'll see what the beginning of the apostles' ministry looks like!




Questions

1.) The apostles thought that Jesus would be the military leader/political figure to overthrow Rome and free Israel so they could have their kingdom on earth.  Do you get Jesus' meaning confused when we only concern ourselves with everything that revolves only around our personal lives? If Jesus' mission as Messiah was to offer forgiveness, healing and eternal life for ALL who accept him, how should that change the way we pray, give and interact with others? In other words are you part of Jesus' mission or do you just want to be a recipient of the perks?

2.) The ministry of Jesus started out with 120 Christ-followers in one room. Today 1 out of every 3 people on earth (or 2.3 billion) say they are Christians! Are you a part of a ministry or group of Christ-followers (no matter how small) who want to reach your city or community with the good news and servanthood of Jesus? If not, why not?

3.) How does it make you feel when one of the gospel writers (John) seemingly is bitter about the treachery of Judas? Does it make the Bible feel more human and believable or do you believe that John may have scapegoated Judas unfairly? Why do you think that?


BONUS Question! Find it on Facebook, too! 
Have you ever found or been told of a contradiction within the Bible?  If so, did you get to the bottom of it?  If so or if not, what was the contradiction?

Day 31 - Luke 24

I ended up posting yesterday's blog at around 1am.  Jenny and I had company over for the Super Bowl that stayed until around 11:30pm.  I'm starting today's post at 1:51pm, so I have no excuses not to post this before Jenny gets home at 5:15pm.

You may have also noticed that Constantly Dodging Monotony went through an overnight makeover, too.  I've made it easier to share CDM through your Facebook, Twitter or email accounts. You can also take advantage of the new Facebook group (aptly titled Constantly Dodging Monotony), as well! The more people we can get reading God's word the better! And, just as important, I want to give everyone free reign to share any concerns, doubts, reservations, suggestions, etc whenever you want!


Let's finish up Luke!

Luke 24 (read it here)

When we left off, the women were about to anoint Jesus' dead body but were stopped because nightfall on Friday is considered the beginning of the Sabbath.

They return to the tomb early Sunday morning only to find the heavy stone (which weighed somewhere between 1.5-2 tons or 3-4,000 lbs, the weight of a Toyota Prius) had been rolled away from the entrance! (v. 2)

Jesus was gone! "Who could've taken him?" they must have thought.

Now who were these two men that the women saw in verse 4?  Good question.  After researching in the original Greek text, the word andpes (which is translated here as 'men') can be a general reference to a person or people, not necessarily a man.  It would be like me saying, "Hey, guys!" to a group that consists of only of women, which works even though its not technically accurate. 

I'm not saying these are 'men' are women. I'm trying to imply that these persons may be angels or even prophets from the past. The word that gives me that clue is dazzling, which is also used to describe Jesus clothing when he is miraculously joined by Moses and Elijah (who had both been dead for more than 500 years!) in Luke 9.

These aren't ordinary persons. There is something special about these 'guys.'  Why is Luke unclear about exactly who these 'men' are? Look at the text, again.  The women never look at the faces of the men, they look down. They only get a glimpse of dazzling robes because they know these aren't ordinary 'men.' Lights don't just appear on clothing in the first century.  That's all Luke had to work with, apparently.

These 'men' have something to say, however: "He (Jesus) isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you?" (v. 6) The women instantly remember that Jesus said that he would rise again on the third day.

They go back to tell the disciples, and anyone who would listen, about what they had seen and heard. 

(Do you notice that the disciples were now referred to as apostles in verse 10? Disciples are taught, apostles are sent.  Generally speaking, these men would be referred to as disciples while Jesus was alive and teaching them and as apostles after Jesus' death. The apostles were the ones who carried out his mission of preaching and healing.)

Only Peter believed the women's story enough to go run to the tomb and look.  You must, must, must remember that women's rights were an issue. If an uneducated woman's word was worth nothing in a court of law, it would be second-nature to discredit them at any other time, as well.  This is what every disciple, except Peter, does.

Peter gets to the tomb and finds left-behind cloth.  However, Peter really didn't know what happened, either. (v. 12)


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Two of Jesus' followers are joined by Jesus himself on the road to Emmaus. They did not recognize him but continued to carry on the conversation about the current events. Jesus wanted to know what they were talking about. (v. 17)

The two followers (I know that Cleopas is a man, but I don't know if the other follower is a man or a woman, possibly a family member or spouse) stop, most likely look Jesus in the face and basically ask him, "What rock have you been under?"

Ironically, Jesus could've replied with, "well, the rock I was behind weighed about two tons." Haha...sorry couldn't resist:)

They describe to Jesus the details surrounding his miraculous deeds, teachings, popularity and about the possibility of he being the Messiah.  They also spoke about the crucifixion and the unbelievable news of his resurrection.

(Check out verse 23! Apparently, the women said they had seen angels! And also that men had to go out to verify what the women were saying.)

Jesus can't believe how these two, his followers, could be so naive or unbelieving about the Scriptures. (v. 25)  Here Jesus is probably alluding to Isaiah 52-53, which is pretty clear about what suffering would take place and the meaning of it all.

But that wasn't it, during the seven mile walk (roughly an hour and a half) Jesus schools them on anything within the writings of Moses (the first five books of the Bible, also called the Torah) and all the prophets that concerned the Messiah. (v. 27)

The followers talked Jesus into staying the night with them in Emmaus.  As they sat down to dinner, Jesus did the same thing he did at the last supper in the upper room (prayed, broke bread and gave it to them). Just when they put two and two together, Jesus disappeared from their sight!

They spoke to each other right after of how they felt a burning within as the Scriptures were being explained to them. (v. 32)

Even though it was late at night, the followers decided to leave right away (they didn't have flashlights, mind you) and share what they had just experience.  They went straight to the 11 disciples to tell them, "The Lord has really risen!" (v. 34)
  
While the two were in the middle of their story, Jesus appears! The whole group is freaking out, thinking Jesus was a ghost!

Jesus invited them to touch him for verifiable proof that he was real.

They couldn't believe it, even though they had touched him.

While Jesus was snacking on some fish, he began to unpack all the Scriptures that were about him in the Torah, Psalms, etc.  Jesus explained the full meaning of his life, death and resurrection; making it extremely clear.

And now comes the ministry part; what would make them apostles, no longer disciples.  There is now forgiveness of sin through repentance (just ask the High Priest, Jesus!), no longer by animal or any other monetary sacrifice.

Jesus tells them that they would soon be filled with the Holy Spirit.  They would have to wait for this, though (not too long, it will happen in Acts 2).

Jesus prays over them and then ascends into heaven.

The disciples are so awe-struck that they stay and worship before returning to Jerusalem.  And when they returned to Jerusalem, they went straight to the temple and praised God continually.


Questions


1.) How would you have reacted if you were told by the women that Jesus had been resurrected? Would you have ran to the tomb to see for yourself? Do you currently believe that Jesus was resurrected or do you need some other proof? If so, what?


2.) How would you define the difference between a disciple and an apostle?  If I told you that disciples are learners and apostles are ones who apply what they learn to reach others, which do you believe Christ-followers should be? Why?


3.) After hearing Jesus explain the Scriptures, the two followers said they felt a burn within while he was talking. What do you think this burn was?  Do you ever feel what you could describe as a burn within when you hear God's word or someone telling you the truth?  If so, give an example.

Day 30 - Luke 23

I'm 90% sure that no males will be reading my blog post tonight because of the Super Bowl, but that isn't going to stop me from posting a gem:)

Tomorrow we'll be wrapping up the book of Luke and will be moving on to the book of Acts starting on Tuesday!  You'll also see some little changes (which you may have already with the font change) to the blog, as well.  A good friend of mine, Dylan Skinner, will be helping me make some upgrades in the not-so-distant future.  

If you have an idea of something cool to add to the blog (whether it has to do with the content, how the posts are presented, whatever) definitely shoot me a comment or a post on my FB wall.

Without further ado, Luke 23 here we go!

Luke 23 (read it here)

After Jesus is deemed guilty by the religious leaders they take him to the Roman governor, Pilate (v. 1). They do this because it is illegal for Israelites to condemn someone to death.  Since Israel was occupied by Rome, only the Roman government could execute criminals.

The religious leaders told Pilate (pronounced like pilot) that Jesus had told Jews not to pay taxes to Rome and that he was also the Messiah (well, at least one of those was true).

Pilate probably doesn't trust the religious leaders, either, because he seemingly ignores the tax issue. And Jesus doesn't shy away from affirming that he was the king of the Jews. Pilate refuses to punish him and after finding out that Jesus was a Galilean, he sends Jesus to be judged by Herod Antipas (the same guy who had John the Baptist beheaded). Herod was in charge of the Galilean region and he was in Jerusalem at the time.

Herod was actually excited to see Jesus because he had already met his right-hand man John the Baptist. Jesus didn't even speak one word to Herod. Herod had no way of telling if Jesus was crazy or just indignant so Herod and his men mocked Jesus by placing a royal robe on him and verbally ridiculing him. Herod sent Jesus and his angry mob of religious leaders back to Pilate. Neither governor truly knew what to do with Jesus.

In front of all the religious leaders and the swelling crowd that was forming, Pilate announced that Jesus did not deserve to be executed but, to appease the leaders and angry mob (that was singing Jesus' praises just days before in his entry into Jerusalem), Jesus was sentenced to be flogged.

The crowd was incensed! They shouted, "Kill him, and release Barabbas (who was in prison for mass murder, so you know) to us!"  (vs. 18-19)

Call me crazy but I always like Pilate because he fought for Jesus (you'll find out the real reason why later). The shouting from the crowd grew louder and louder, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (v. 21)

After a third unsuccessful try by Pilate to insist that flogging was enough justice to the unruly crowd, Pilate sentenced Jesus as they demanded (v. 24) and also released the serial killer Barabas (v. 25)!

Even though Luke doesn't mention it here, Jesus' previous sentence (to be flogged) was carried out by the Roman soldiers before being led to his crucifixion site (see Mark15:15).

Jesus has been beaten by a lead-tipped whip (to see examples of these whips, go here) and is forced to carry his own cross.  No doubt that Jesus has suffered massive blood loss. Walking in itself would take massive amounts of strength, at this point.  The Roman soldiers forcibly enlist a Jew named Simon to carry Jesus' cross for him. It was completely lawful for Romans to do this. They could even make Jews carry their gear for up to a mile at any time! (Jesus refers to this Roman law in Matthew 5:41)

Jesus hears a multitude of women crying behind him. Instead of accepting their pity, he encourages them to be concerned about themselves (v. 28). Jesus knows that this is his destiny, to be sacrificed as the one-and-done sacrifice of all sacrifices, in order that we may be made acceptable to God.  Sacrificing animals used to be the way to make amends to God, but from now on, Jesus would be the pathway to God. 

Jesus never sugarcoats things. Even here he says, "You think things are tough now? What to see what it will be like when I'm not physically here!" (v. 31)

Jesus was crucified with two other criminals (most likely thieves, murderers would've been labeled as such). Flogging (or being whipped) was its own punishment. Pharisees could have Jews whipped up to 39 lashes (it was said that 40 would kill the average man).  However, since this was done by the Romans, Jesus could've been beaten more than that. However, if the commanding officer would've let Jesus (or any other prisoner) die during his whipping, the commanding officer would share the same punishment as a consequence. Crucifixion was where such criminals were meant to die, so all others could seem them.

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While being nailed to the cross, Jesus prayed for the guilty parties. He asked for their forgiveness (v. 34). 

Even in the final moments of his life, onlookers wanted Jesus to prove his Messiah-ship by performing a miracle.  As we've learned so far, Jesus doesn't perform miracles for such reasons.  Even one of the criminals who was being crucified next to him ridiculed him (v. 39).

The other criminal came to Jesus' defense and rebuked the other criminal (v. 40).  That same criminal asks to be remembered when Jesus "comes into [his] Kingdom>" (v. 42). And Jesus doesn't make it sound like there was a waiting period or a tribulation when he says that "today you will be with me in paradise." (v. 43)

 

Soon after this conversation, Jesus begins to take his final breaths.

Its noon, mid-day.

Everything goes black...for...three...hours!

There is an earthquake and the curtain in the temple was torn. (This curtain enclosed a place called the "Holy of Holies." It was a place that God was thought to dwell completely.  Only the High Priest would go in there once a year to offer a sacrifice for the people of Israel.) The tearing of the curtain represented that God was no longer bound to a "holy room." (As if He ever truly was.) Jesus is the new High Priest (check out Hebrews 7:27), who alone makes us right with God; no more sacrifices required!

There were a wide range of reactions to this.  One Roman officer worshiped God and declared Jesus innocent (v. 47), while the angry mob went away in deep sorrow.  Others could only stand and watch.

There was one religious leader, Joseph, who did not agree with the others who thought Jesus should've died.  Perhaps we can assume that he was secretly a Christ-follower, because Luke tells us that Joseph was "waiting for the Kingdom of God to come." (v. 51) Joseph got permission from Pilate to give Jesus a proper burial.

Jesus was laid to rest on Friday afternoon.

It was seemingly the end of an era.  

The disciples are nowhere to be found (unless Luke lops them into what he calls Jesus' friends in verse 49).

Jesus lay dead in a rock tomb.

The women who had been following Jesus since Galilee prepared spices to anoint his body, but because the Sabbath had begun, Jesus' body would have to wait until the next day.

Questions

1.) The religious leaders attempted to lie about Jesus to Pilate in saying that Jesus had instructed Jews not to pay taxes to Rome. This, of course, is a flat-out lie! I've asked something similar to this before, but if people were able to really meet the real Jesus without the crap, lies and religion that many people have labeled and marred Jesus with, do you believe that most, if not all, people would become Christ-followers? Why or why not?

2.) Jesus prays for those who nailed him on the cross.  This is the perfect example of praying for those who persecute you, as Jesus instructed his followers to do. Why do you think we find it so hard to do this even when it has nothing to do with a life or death situation?

3.) The curtain in the temple was torn when Jesus died signifying the end of the practice of animal sacrifice forever! If Jesus is our High Priest, doesn't that mean we have direct access to God? If you have direct access (all you have to do is pray, well, even think!) then what is stopping you from praying? What is stopping you from asking God the tough questions?

Day 29 - Luke 22

Tonight Jenny and I are heading out to WinterJam in Greensboro to go see Skillet along with 9 other bands.  Should be a fantastic time!  First things first, though.  Its time to go through the gut-wrenching part of the story where Jesus is betrayed, beaten and ultimately executed.  It never ceases to heavy my heart and make me do some introspection.


Let's continue...

Luke 22 (read it here)

We are approaching the final days of Jesus' earthly ministry. The religious leaders knew Jesus would be around during the Passover, but so would everyone else. Arresting him in secret would not be easy. Passover created a homecoming of sorts for the Jewish people. Thousands would travel for miles by foot to come celebrate the Passover with their families.   

FYI, the Passover was instituted right before the Israelites were freed from slavery under the Egyptians in the book of Exodus.  Passover was the final act that forced pharaoh to free the Israelites.  God killed every first born in Egypt in response to pharaoh's defiance towards God's demand.  The Israelites could protect themselves from this onslaught if they would: 1.) Sacrifice a lamb, 2.) make unleavened bread (bread without yeast, much like pita bread) and 3.) take the lamb's blood and use it to paint the doorposts of their house.  When God went by their house, if he saw blood on the doorposts he would "passover" their house and spare them from the wrath to come.  (Read all about it in Exodus 11-12:28)

 

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In verse 3, Luke states that Satan enters Judas Iscariot (scary thought).  He and the religious leaders make an arrangement to betray Jesus.

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Jesus and his disciples came to the guest room (or as it has traditionally been called, the "upper" room) to partake in the Passover meal. You now know the basic contents of this meal.

Before eating the meal, Jesus reminds the disciples again that he will suffer soon.  He even says that he won't eat the Passover meal nor drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come. In other words, until he is with them again.

Jesus gives a whole new meaning to the bread, however.  He prayed, broke the bread and dispersed it. He told them that the Passover bread now represents his body which is given and broken for them (and us). When they eat the Passover meal, they are asked to remember Jesus, the source of eternal life and the one who rescues us from the power of death.

The wine would have its own significance, too.  The wine that is drank at the Passover meal should now signify Jesus' blood that is poured out. Unlike the old sacrificial system of repeatedly killing lambs, goats, bulls, etc, Jesus' sacrifice is the one-and-done, once-for-all sacrifice offered up to God for the sake of humanity that will never have to be repeated. His sacrifice, confirmed with his blood, is all humanity will ever need to be right with God.

As if that wasn't earth-shattering enough to the disciples, Jesus adds more tension in the room by saying that the one who will instigate this suffering is at the table! The disciples began to interrogate one another to find out who was the culprit (v. 23).

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I really, really don't understand these disciples sometimes.  How can they go from hearing about Jesus' death and trying to find out who is going to betray him to who is the greatest disciple?! (The GOAT debate.)

Have they forgotten Jesus' parables and his examples of having child-like faith and humility?

Jesus doesn't give another parable or corral another kid into the room to give the same point.  He uses himself as an example this time.  To the disciples, Jesus was the head honcho, he's the leader, he's the teacher, he's the Messiah. So when he says that the leader should be like a servant (v. 26), he means that even his mission was to come and serve (v.27).

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Did you catch what Jesus says in verse 31? Satan actually requests permission to find fault within Simon Peter and the rest of the disciples! (There is a great example of this in Job 1:6-2:10)  Jesus prays that Simon Peter won't fall victim to any deception provided by Satan.  Peter doesn't think for a second that he would ever deny Jesus.  Jesus begs to differ and even predicts when Peter will do it (v. 34).

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They left the "upstairs" room and went to the Mount of Olives to pray. Jesus asks them to stay awake and pray with him.  Jesus walked a little distance away from them and started to pray on his own.  At this point, Jesus knows that his suffering and death are coming soon.  He's scared.  You have to remember that Jesus is still human, even though he has the perfect spirit of God as his lifeblood. Yet Jesus is so stressed that he begins to sweat blood (v. 44). (This is actually a known, but rare, medical condition called hematidrosis (read about it here)

When Jesus returns to his disciples they are asleep, exhausted. But just as he said this Judas was leading a crowd of soldiers to them. The disciples wanted to fight! And one of them actually cut off the ear of the high priest's slave that was present (v. 50). Jesus rebuked the fighting and even healed the ear of the slave.  That blows my mind that Jesus would heal at a time like this!

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Jesus is led directly to the high priest's house.  Peter followed from a distance (v. 54). When they all get to their destination, people start recognizing Peter and wondering why he hasn't been arrested with Jesus.  Peter denies two people flatly (vs. 57-58). The third person asks him a little time later (you would think that he would remember Jesus' prediction, right?) and he denies Jesus again.  While he was still speaking, he heard a rooster crow. Jesus immediately turned and looked at him and then Peter finally remembered their conversation.  Peter fled the scene crying.

The guards commenced in beating and mocking Jesus (v. 63). This continued all through the night.  When the morning came, all the priests and religious leaders came in to question Jesus. They asked him simply, "are you the Messiah?" (v. 67) Jesus says that he will be "seated in the place of power at God's right hand," (v. 68) which is a clear statement to indicate that Jesus' answer is YES!

That does it for the religious leaders. Jesus will be charged with blasphemy and he will be executed for it.  However, his pre-execution suffering is not complete.

Questions

1.) Do you believe that Satan can enter and influence people? Even Christ-followers? Why or why not? If Satan can, what do Christ-followers need to do to protect themselves?

2.) Even in the midst of being arrested, Jesus heals the high priest's servant.  When you are back-stabbed or angry beyond measure, are you able to look past your anger and see others who are in a worse situation than you?

3.) Have you been in Peter's shoes before? Have you denied that you knew or followed Jesus just because of the crowd you were hanging out with? (Not speaking up for someone and giving reasons why you do so is the same, in my book.) If so, how did you feel after leaving that situation, were you bitter towards yourself?

 

Day 28 - Luke 21

Look who has their blog done early today?  What can I say? I was excited to jump back into Jesus' words in Luke after the multiple mind-blowings I had yesterday.

Let's go!


Read Luke 21 (read it here)

The first four verses of Luke 21 have already spoke to me today.  As of yesterday, I was let go at my job after submitting my resignation letter that was supposed to be effective on the 12th.  Jenny and I will be on half-income for the next week or so.  For some ungodly reason, one of the first things that humans tend to cut out of their budgets are charitable contributions (like giving to a church) and I am no exception.

The story of the widow giving the equivalent of two pennies was what struck me.  If her offering, which isn't worth much monetarily, is worth more to God than what wealthy people give then I am definitely going to be more willing to give something not just skimp and not give anything.

This is a great teaching point to those without a steady income (like students).  Giving isn't all about making sure that your church can provide good services. God doesn't need your money to do great things anyway, I hope you know.  Giving here is a ritual, its a form of worship to show our dedication to the practice of humility.  Jesus has clearly focused the majority of his teaching to the subject of humility in Luke. And if someone like this widow who has already been humbled by life's circumstances can STILL give why can't you (or I)?

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The current year is around 32AD and what Jesus foretells to happen to the temple would eventually occur in 70AD with the Roman siege of Jerusalem. To hear this, the disciples must have thought that this would signify the end of the world.  The house of God being destroyed would seem like God being expelled from the world by humanity, in the disciples' opinion.

Jesus discredits this opinion.  God is not limited to physical building, no matter how grandiose it is. When the temple is destroyed this doesn't mean that the Messiah will return (Jesus obviously didn't return in 70AD, we're still waiting). Don't believe anyone's story or hype about the end of the world. There will not be another Messiah.  That's why figures like David Koresh and Charles Manson were so influential but, in the end, were incredibly evil.

Jesus says that the end is near when wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues and persecution are all taking place. Wow. If you think about it, those things ARE happening now.  Wars are common.  The Arab Spring is nothing but a string of insurrections and revolutions (if you've never heard of the Arab Spring, check it out here). Even the east coast of the US experienced an earthquake last year, not to mention the earthquakes that caused the Japanese and Indonesian tsunamis. Famine is commonplace in most of Africa, not to mention numerous other countries throughout the globe.  People are freaking out about possible untreatable flu strands like the bird flu, West Nile virus, etc. Persecution of Christ-followers is commonplace in Asia and the Middle East (check out this cool interactive map here).

But Christ-followers are not supposed to panic. (v. 9) If and when you are persecuted, Jesus will give you the "right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!" (v. 15) Backstabbing, both literal and figurative will be rampant.  Christ-followers will be hated, however, "by standing firm [in your faith], you will win your souls" (v. 19) and not sell them to Satan, as the cliche goes.


Jesus not only predicts the destruction of the temple but the dispersion of the Jewish people. Many will be killed or sent away as captives throughout the world. The predicted expulsion of the Jews from the holy land would be part of what is known as the diaspora (the scattering or dispersing of people from their homeland). The diaspora officially was reversed with the creation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1947. So for more than 1900+ years the Israelites were dispersed throughout the world without a homeland!


(Note: I have to make a confession here.  Not all Israelites are Jewish, but all Jews are Israelites, if that makes sense. Israelite denotes being tied to the country or people of Israel. Jews denotes being tied to the Jewish faith. I tend to use them interchangeably, but that is not entirely correct.)

The way that Christ-followers will know that Jesus has come again is because he will be apparent when he comes on a cloud with power and great glory. (v. 27)  When all these calamities begin to happen literally look up for Jesus is coming soon! (v. 28)



You may be asking yourself, "What does Jesus mean by saying that heaven and earth will disappear?" (v. 33) By the word disappear Jesus means that both heaven and earth will not always exist as we now know them.  When Jesus returns the earth will be destroyed and Christ-followers will live with God but heaven's new home will be in the place where the earth used to exist. (Check out what the Bible actually says at Revelation 21:1-7).

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Did you catch what Jesus was saying in verses 34-36?  He says don't be dulled by carousing and drunkenness. In other words, don't be lazy and inattentive.  When one is drunk that definitely means that a person is not conscious of everything around them as they are when they're sober.  But in verse 36 Jesus implies lazy people and drunks as weak.  Only the strong will stand before Jesus at the end of all things.

After this people came to the temple every day to hear Jesus preach.  I would too!



Questions

1.) How much do you give (monetarily speaking)? If you do give, why? If you don't give, why? Do you not give because you don't think you have enough to make any difference? Why, according to Jesus, is that incorrect logic?

2.) After getting all the warning signs from Jesus (wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines, plagues, persecution), do you believe that the world is drawing close to a close or not? Why or why not? If you do think so, then what does that inspire you to do?

3.) Do you expect to grow in your faith only when you're older and seemingly more mature? Why should we not wait give our complete focus and attention to what God has for us to do?

Day 27 - Luke 20

So I had the flu yesterday, not kidding.  I went to go get a flu shoot in preparation for my new job at Mission Hospital.  Don't laugh, but I didn't know that the flu vaccine was actually a non-active and non-contagious strand of the flu virus.  I felt terrible off and on yesterday, so much so that I went to bed early and skipped the blog post last night.  Don't worry, as usual, I'll catch up on Sunday:)

Now that I feel better and rejuvenated, let's jump back into Luke!


Read Luke 20 (find it here)

As we left off with Tuesday, the Pharisees and religious leaders are not just responding to Jesus anymore.  They are now actively trying to catch him some sort of wrong doing or saying so that they can imprison and execute him.

The first question is posed to Jesus while he is preaching in the temple. A group of priests, teachers and elders interrupt Jesus and demanded to know, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” (v. 2)

There definitely is sandpaper on their toilet seats, right?

Jesus throws a trick question right at them by asking, “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” (v. 4)

This befuddled the religious leaders in front of the crowd.  They would either be labeled faithless or heretical; neither is a good choice, so you know.

They couldn't answer his question, so Jesus refused to answer their question.  I find that funny! Take that you jerks:)


But while the religious leaders were there in front of the people in the temple, Jesus embarks on another parable.

A man plants a vineyard and leased it to farmers and moves away.  However, since the man owns the vineyard, he is entitled to a share of the crops.  He sends a servant to collect the crops but the farmers beat and send the servant away.  This happened three times.

In order to up the ante, the owner decides to send his son instead of a servant. But it had an even worse affect. The farmers killed him!

Everyone who heard this parable was upset at the farmers.  But what they didn't realize at first was that everyone in the parable symbolized someone else.

The owner of the vineyard represents God. The servants that are sent by God symbolize the prophets of the Old Testament (most of whom were killed or excommunicated by their own people). The farmers are the priests and religious leaders (they are the ones that God had entrusted with bearing good fruit and leading His people) and, if you haven't guessed it by now, the Son represents Jesus himself.

So what will God do with the "farmers?" God himself will come and kill them and give their responsibilities to others. (v. 16)

Jesus makes it very clear to everyone there when he quotes an Old Testament in reference to himself by saying, "The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone." (v. 17)  To the religious leaders Jesus may look like a commoner, a nobody (like a stone found on the side of the road), but little do they know that Jesus is the cornerstone. A simple synonym for cornerstone would be a foundation or bedrock, but it has a much deeper meaning than that.


Jesus is sending a very clear message (that isn't so clear to us in the 21st century American culture). Jesus is the foundation of not only the Christian faith but also the Jewish faith of the Old Testament and even more so, of all creation.  

Some Bibles translate cornerstone as capstone, which is, ironically, the opposite of the cornerstone. The capstone is the final stone laid on a structure that bears the weight of both sides to keep it from falling.  (see an example here in Montreat's logo) In this way, we can truly conclude that Jesus is truly the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (or the cornerstone and capstone). Even in verse 18, Jesus implies that the stone can be underfoot or overhead.  Truly interesting:)

In another attempt to trick Jesus, he was asked if Jews should pay taxes to Caesar or not. (v. 22) Jesus was not fooled. After asking whose picture was on the Roman coin, Jesus basically says, "If it has Caesar's picture or name on it, give it to him but if it belongs to God [uh, which is everything else!] give it to God." (v. 25) They were speechless again and truly amazed by his answer. (v. 26)


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Here's a name we haven't seen; Sadducees.  Sadducees were very similar to priests and Pharisees.  They were in charge of many temple affairs and even collected taxes.  However, what made them very different from other religious leaders of the time period was that they didn't believe in the afterlife, the resurrection of the dead and penalties or rewards after death. Life choices didn't seem to have many consequences in the viewpoint of Sadducees.


But here, even the Sadducees are trying to trick Jesus. So what if a woman dies after marrying seven men but having no children with any of them? Who's wife will she be in heaven? (vs. 28-33)


I know that Jenny didn't like Jesus' response when she read this initially but since then I've given it a lot of thought.  On earth marriage is a form of possession, of mutual affection between only two people.  People, both men and women, will belong to God and He alone in heaven.  Humanity gives up its right in order to be in God's presence.  If we are to be like children, then will be less concerned with marriage and more concerned with taking in the experience and getting to know our Heavenly Father. Isn't our father the coolest person we know when we're a child?


And, of course, Jesus proves to these Sadducees that the resurrection is a reality by how Moses referred to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Even the dead are alive to God.  (vs. 37-38) What a mindjob!

Again, they were speechless.

Jesus ends Luke 20 with another question. Why is it that Jesus is considered to be the son of David? (Rightfully so, because Jesus was part of King David's family line.)

But what is the difference between LORD and Lord?  LORD is synonymous with God the Almighty. Jews didn't write the holy name of God (Yahweh) so they basically used the word for master or ruler and multiplied its meaning times infinity, which would be the equivalent of Master of Creation, Ruler of All. Lord would the be the title of a rabbi, influential teacher, etc.  Jesus has this title in the New Testament as Messiah.  So, all this to say that LORD is God and David's Lord is Jesus.  Jesus is the one who sits at the right hand of God.

So Jesus' question is basically a what came first, the chicken or the egg? How can Jesus who existed before King David as Son of God be David's great-great-great-great....grandson, too?  Its a mind-bender because both are true!

After Jesus proves his intellectual superiority over all the religious leaders (priests, Pharisees and Sadducees) he tells his disciples to stay away from theses teachers of religious law. (v. 45) They apparently know nothing except how to fake like they know everything.  In the process they want all the glory while they care less for the needy. They will be severely punished for this. (v. 47)




Questions


1.) Do you consider Jesus to be more like a foundation or the thing that holds everything together above you? In other words, if you could translate this verse in Luke would you call Jesus the cornerstone or the capstone? Why?


2.) Many people look for purpose and acceptance in the love and affection of another person.  It will not be this way in heaven.  How does that make you feel? Does that disappoint or excite you? Why?


3.) Jesus existed both before and after King David, his ancestor. Do you think of Jesus as being God or as the Son of God or both?  Does that make Jesus seem bigger or just more complex? Either way, do you not agree that it is incredible to have God in the flesh to see how God would react if He were somewhat like us humans?