Death: What is Lost; What is Gained

I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? – Hosea 13:14a NIV

Today it’s a delight to introduce you to a new writer who we discovered has been faithfully writing since May, 2011. Mitch Todd is the author of Weekly Devotion. Click the title which follows to read this where it first appeared. From there, look around at other articles.

New Clothes

^{1 Cor 15:54} When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

Sorry, Paul, but death does sting.

My father-in-law, Wayne, passed away a couple weeks ago. It was not quick. It was a slow, painful process, and there was little to do but care for him and wait as he wasted away. We were lucky in that he was able to stay at home and die in his own bed, with people who loved him at his side. But it definitely stung– for both him and his loved ones.

Years ago, my step-father, Jim, passed away very suddenly. He had time to say, “I’m sorry, darling” and then died from a massive heart attack. That death stung in its immediacy, coming out of nowhere.

Both of those deaths stung, in different ways.

Even to relegate the intense emotion and pain surrounding death to a word like “sting” seems a gross understatement, like swatting at a bee and putting up with its prick on your arm.

Death is a reality we all face: It’s the loss of those we love, the prospects of our own eventual death. It’s not just a sting–it’s a pallor that can drain the joy of life, if we let it. So why is Paul seemingly so cavalier about the whole idea of death? Has he not experienced the pain of life taken away?

Ah, but there’s the genius of this passage of scripture. Paul is not talking about what is taken away, but what is put on. It’s not the subtraction of life itself, it’s the addition of more life.

The perishable has been clothed in the imperishable. That means that, in death, we take upon us something new, beyond what we can conceive of in this earthly life. We are cloaked in imperishability–we take on a new, spiritual nature that makes us more than we once were. We are dressed not just in mortality, but now immortality.

Something happens to us that takes away the sting of death, or at least puts it in its place. We are given a new set up clothes to put on–a new version of life to adorn ourselves with, and, just as Easter eclipses the crucifixion, this new life eclipses the old.

Yes! That’s it! When we die, we are given new clothes. Easter clothes. We change into something beautiful. So beautiful that it outshines the pain the comes with the transition from this world into the beyond.

Wayne and Jim were two of the most faithful men I have ever known, and they were both pretty sharp dressers, too. I like to picture them clothed in immortality, reveling in their new imperishable lives.

Yes, the sting does hurt, for those of us left behind. There is loss and separation, and the adjustment to a new way of living in the here and now. But there is also the promise of someday joining our loved ones, dressed in splendor, basking in the light of God’s love more brilliantly than we can imagine today.

We had a good funeral for Jim, and we’ll have a memorial for Wayne in a few weeks. I plan to be there, and in honor of his new clothes, I plan to wear my Sunday best.

Because Lost People Matter to God

^{NIV.1.Cor.15.3} For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

¹² But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

You’re encouraged to read the full chapter.

In the days and weeks following Easter, it’s easy for us to speak about “resurrection,” but imagine a world where there was no such word. Jesus, who they had watched die, was showing up in various locations and among various groups of people very much physically alive. Furthermore, that being the case, can we find meaning in his life, death and resurrection, and what implications does it have for us who choose to follow in his way?

We’re back for a fourth time with the writing of author and theologian Dr. Allan R. Bevere, and as always you’re encouraged to use the link in the title which follows to read this where it first appeared.

Jesus Was Raised from the Dead Because This World Matters to God

I take the position, along with the historic church, that Jesus’ bodily resurrection is necessary for salvation. It is my view that if Jesus was not physically raised, then the Christian faith is false and not worth salvaging. In affirming Jesus’ bodily resurrection, I am not simply professing faith in his resuscitated corpse. Jesus was resurrected. His resurrected bodily, while different from his pre-crucifixion body, nevertheless shared similar corporeal properties. And it was necessary that it did so.

Please consider the following:

The New Testament writers would not have known the concept of resurrection without the body. To be sure, there was the concept of the immaterial soul in Platonic philosophy, but the language of the New Testament is not Platonic in this respect. A superficial reading of the New Testament demonstrates this. The Gospels claim that the tomb was empty, which meant that Jesus’ body was not there. Now this claim, in and of itself, does not demonstrate that Jesus rose physically, but it does show that resurrection meant to the Gospel writers and their hearers that something had indeed physically happened to Jesus’ body. Years ago, the Jewish scholar, Geza Vermes stated that the evidence of the empty tomb of Jesus was incontrovertible. It is outside of the bounds of historical competence to imagine that the disciples knew Jesus was dead, but somehow started proclaiming his “resurrection” because his life and ministry changed their hearts. The Jewish leadership would have seen such a claim as no serious threat– Christians running around Jerusalem proclaiming that a still dead Jesus had been spiritually raised within them.

By the way, those who proclaim belief in miracles, including the resurrection of corpses, as somehow out of date, are themselves not espousing new, enlightened ideas in their rejection of such things. Such disbelief has been around for centuries; and their divorce of body from spirit is more primitive and older than the claim of bodily resurrection. In some ways, modernism is not so modern after all. None of this, of course, means that we should take a pre-critical approach to the Gospels. Surely not! What it does mean, on our part is that we must have enough humility to be open to the fact that God may indeed work in ways that we can only describe as “miraculous.” It is most strange to affirm that God can create life, but cannot nor will not bring life back from the dead.

Moreover, the Apostle Paul bears witness to the necessity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus, not only in 1 Corinthians, but also as he, prior to his conversion, persecuted the first Christians. Ellis Rivkin, another Jewish scholar, asked many years ago what would have set Paul (Saul) off against those early believers? He concludes that it had to be the claim of a bodily raised Jesus. As a Pharisee, Paul would have believed that only the righteous were raised. The claim of Jesus’ resurrection meant, therefore, that this Jesus was indeed God’s man and God’s favor rested upon him. The implications for Paul (Saul) were clear. Once he became convinced of Jesus’ resurrection, he had no option but to accept him as God’s Anointed.

If indeed the first Christians had non-corporeal visions of Jesus, they would not have used the language of resurrection. In Jewish literature we read of such visions. The Jews had language to describe such visions; it was not the language of resurrection.

I could go on and on, but just one last point: It somewhat mystifies me that more than few individuals whose theology and ethics are centrally concerned with matters of social justice–caring for the poor in this world, and being good stewards of the environment in this world, et al.– reject the necessity of a bodily raised Jesus. (I am also somewhat mystified that some of those more evangelical insist on a bodily raised Jesus, but who interpret salvation almost exclusively as individual and other-worldly spiritual, making a bodily raised Jesus functionally irrelevant in this world.)

The bodily resurrection of Jesus is God’s affirmation that this world matters, that God intends to save this world and so it is critically important to seek justice in this life, to feed the poor in this life, and to care for the God’s world in this life. An early christological argument for the full humanity of Jesus was “that which he has not become he has not saved.”

In like fashion, that which Jesus has not overcome he has not defeated. If Jesus’ body remained dead, death is still in control and stalks us with no hope for victory. If Jesus’ resurrection is simply a metaphor for his spirit rising to be with God, then salvation is nothing more than pie-in-the-sky in the sweet by-and-by. Such faith becomes other-worldly, divorced from the real problems of human existence that God desires to eliminate.

When faith is divorced from history, it is divorced from the reality of this world; and when it is divorced from the reality of this world, all that matters is going to heaven when we die. We do not need to be concerned that the poor are fed; after all they will die soon enough and go to be with God. Those who care so much about justice in this world need to embrace the bodily raised Jesus; it is the most powerful affirmation that the work of God in this world matters.

In conclusion, allow me to quote Tom Wright:

Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project, not to snatch people away from earth to heaven, but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord’s Prayer is about.

When Paul wrote his great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, he didn’t end by saying, “So let’s celebrate the great future life that awaits us.” He ended by saying, “So get on with your work, because you know that in the Lord it won’t go to waste.” When the final resurrection occurs, as the centrepiece of God’s new creation, we will discover that everything done in the present world in the power of Jesus’ own resurrection will be celebrated and included, appropriately transformed.

We sing during the Easter season, “You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart.” Well, that is nice, but it is not good enough. The Jesus who “lives” within my heart is not sufficient to renew all of creation– more is necessary.

A reductionist faith that minimizes Jesus’ resurrection to metaphors and mythologized language cannot meet the challenges of a world in desperate need of resurrection.

The tomb is empty. He is risen indeed!

 

Seeking a Sign From God?

Thinking Through Easter

by Clarke Dixon

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

Matthew 12:38 (NLT)

Do you ever wish God would give you a sign? Many of us would love a sign. “God, if you exist, and if you love me, make it plain!”

But what kind of a sign are we looking for?

Any sign God might give, we could explain away. If we saw clouds form into letters saying “I am God, and I love you,” we would of course think that we were going crazy. No sign could be trusted.

If we do not want to believe in God, we will tend to find reasons not to believe. No sign will be good enough. If we do want to believe, we will tend to see reasons to believe everywhere. Every little coincidence might become a sign to us that God cares for us.

Religious leaders came to Jesus looking for a sign which is quite remarkable since Jesus had been doing signs and wonders all along. However, Jesus was also doing and saying things that did not fit the religious status quo:

So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.

John 5:16-18 (NLT)

Given the kinds of things Jesus was saying and doing, the religious leaders wanted some hard evidence that Jesus was from God. All the signs so far could be explained away: “But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons”” Matthew 9:34 (NLT). No sign would be enough for them as hard evidence.

Jesus went on to speak about a sign that would be given to them:

But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

Matthew 12:39-40 (NLT)

Jonah, who should have been dead, lived. He was alive to fulfill his calling and identity as a prophet. Jesus, who should have been dead, would be alive. He would be alive to fulfill his calling and identity as someone greater than a prophet. Of all the signs Jesus gave, the resurrection was the one that confirmed, not just that he was a good teacher, a wise person, a wonder worker, but really from God, the king, and in fact, King of kings and Lord of lords.

There is something very important we should notice about Jonah. God rescued Jonah so God could rescue the enemy. That is the reason Jonah fled in a ship in the opposite direction in the first place. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The Assyrians were the enemies of God’s people. Jonah didn’t like the idea that God would show the enemy any kind of kindness:

When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

Jonah 3:10 – 4:2 (NLT)

Jonah was a sign that God loves the enemy.

Likewise, the death and resurrection of Jesus is a sign that God loves the enemy. In fact from all the conceptions of God that are available to us, from beyond, and within, Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus is a sign that the God that is, is the God that loves.

God gives the opportunity of being reconciled, even to enemies. That was the sign of Jonah. God would rather be crucified by the enemy than crucify the enemy. That was the sign of Jesus.

This is good news. If we ever find ourselves being an enemy to God, there is opportunity:

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Romans 5:6-11 (NLT)

This is also challenging news. If Jesus is risen, then the God that is, is the kind of God that loves anyone we might consider our enemy. We are challenged to think of God’s love for our enemies but we are also challenged to love our enemies:

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)

Are we going to be like Jonah and run from that challenge? Or are we going to be like Jesus and pick up our cross and follow?

Are you looking for a sign that God exists and loves you? You are not likely to get one, at least not one that you can’t explain away. But there was a sign given in history, the death and resurrection of Jesus. There are good reasons to treat it seriously as history, to give it some serious thought. There is a sign given by God, that God is, and that God is for you and not against you. Even if you are God’s enemy.

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Clarke Dixon is a pastor in the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec denomination. Previous sermon summaries can all be found at Thinking Through Scripture.

Keeping the Sabbath this Sunday? – Part One – Sundays

We welcome regular Thursday contributor Clarke Dixon back from sabbatical. To read more of his writing, check out his blog Thinking Through Scripture.

by Clarke Dixon

The former pastor of the church wondered what the new pastor of the church, me, would think of my neighbour cutting grass on a Sunday. Dropping by to see me, as he rounded the corner on his walk he discovered that it wasn’t a neighbour at all. It was me!

There is a lack of confusion about the Sabbath and Sundays. Notice that I didn’t say there is a lot of confusion about the Sabbath and Sundays, but there is a lack of confusion. Everyone knows that Sunday is the Sabbath, right? Everyone knows that no one, especially Baptist pastors, should cut the grass on a Sunday, right? We all know it is a day of rest, right?

Should we be confused about Sabbath and Sundays?

Well yes, for starters anytime we find the Sabbath mentioned in the Bible, which is a lot, it is the seventh day of the week.

Secondly, nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to gather to worship God on first day of the week.

So how is it that Jewish people, and some Christians like Seventh Day Adventists and Seventh Day Baptists, celebrate the Sabbath on the seventh day, yet the vast majority of Christians, now, and throughout history, celebrate on the first day?

It turns out that very early in the history of Christianity, followers of Jesus began getting into the habit of worshipping on the first day of the week. They called it the Lord’s Day. We find no command to do so in New Testament, but we do find some hints, though not many, that this was happening as early as that time. For example,

On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight.

Acts 20:7 (NLT)

Some might suggest that a young man falling asleep while Paul was speaking, as is related in verses 8 and following, is proof that this was indeed a Sunday church service! We also find this in the Book of Revelation;

It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.

Revelation 1:10 (NLT)

While this last verse does not specifically link “the Lord’s Day” with the first day of the week, we know that early Christians did think of Sunday as being “the Lord’s Day.” John is most likely referring to Sunday here.

So what happened, that we see Christians paying less devotion to the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath Day, while also beginning to pay more attention to the first day of the week, not as the Sabbath Day moved, but as a different day, the Lord’s Day?

What happened was that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Something remarkable happened, resurrection, to someone remarkable, Jesus, that caused the apostles to know more deeply and profoundly something remarkable about God, namely that, as Paul would say, “God is for us and not against us,” and as John would say “God is love.”

This was profoundly good news, and so the earliest Jesus followers began to gather for worship and mutual encouragement on Sundays, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus which happened on a Sunday. At the same time there was a shift in attitude toward the Sabbath, but we will think about that next week.

This invites us to re-imagine Sundays for our time. We might think of Sundays as being the Sabbath day, a day of rest, a day on which we should not work. But what if we see Sunday instead as a day that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, a day to remember that God is for us and not against us, and that God is love. What if we think of Sunday, not as a day of obligation to keep rules, like thou shalt attend church and thou shalt not cut thy grass or the like, but as a day of opportunity, to recenter and refocus our lives on the fact of God’s love?

When we begin the week with a focus on the fact that Jesus is the risen Lord, and that God is love, and that God is for us and not against us, we will gain new perspective for all that we face. Is there pain and sorrow? God is for us and not against us. Is there anxiety? God is for us and not against us. Is there grief? God is for us and not against us. Is there guilt? God is for us and not against us. Are there decisions that need to be made? God is love and we are commanded to love too.

Notice what that does not just for our own attitudes, but for our attitude toward outsiders. Perhaps we will be less likely to think of those not attending church as rule breakers, but as people who, like us, face hardships, pain, grief, and anxiety. We will see them as people who could benefit from knowing that God is for them and not against them. When we make Sundays about the rules of Sabbath keeping and church attendance, we may well come across as judgemental toward those who don’t keep the rules. When we make Sundays about an opportunity to connect, and reconnect with God who loves us, maybe we will across as more loving and understanding in our invitation.

There is no commandment given in Scripture for Christians to gather on Sundays. There is barely a mention of them doing so! But the tradition of gathering on the Lord’s Day sets up a rhythm, a regular rhythm of remembrance that is wise.

At my heaviest, at 248 lbs, I figured my days of windsurfing were over. I lamented that my body would give shape to my life and determine the things I could and could not do. That was 60lbs ago. I now believe that, apart from illness or disease, our lives give shape to our bodies. Likewise, we may allow our lives to give shape to our worship, to our church attendance, to our gathering for mutual encouragement, or the lack thereof. We are too busy, we are too wounded. Perhaps we are too angry. Instead we can let our worship, our gathering to re-centre on Jesus, our gathering with others for mutual encouragement, to give shape to our lives. A regular rhythm of worship is wise.

Brian Zahnd’ describes in his book When Everything on Fire a pastor who announced the Sunday following Easter that he had lost his faith and was quitting his job as pastor. Zahnd’s next line was “no more Easters.”

I have a very different announcement; every Sunday is Easter Sunday. Every Sunday is a commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Way more Easters!

There is a lack of confusion about Sundays and the Sabbath. We all know that Sunday is about being on a guilt trip. Where we should and should not be, what we should and should not be doing. But if we allow ourselves a little confusion about that, we may gain some wisdom. Sundays are not about a guilt trip, but about a journey with God who is love. Sundays are a journey with others, walking together in divine love.

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This spring, Clarke Dixon announced the completion of a book. You can read more about what’s inside Beautiful and Believable: The Reason for My Hope, by clicking this link. This would be a great book to give to someone who is considering Christianity but hasn’t made a decision. It contains material adapted from Clarke’s “Compelling” series which ran here a few years back. Available in print and e-book.

The Resurrection Convinces Everybody, Right?

Scene One

Let’s begin in Luke 16:

^NLT.Lk.16.19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. ²⁰ At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. ²¹ As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

²² “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and he went to the place of the dead.^[f] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

²⁴ “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

²⁵ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

²⁷ “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. ²⁸ For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

³⁰ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

³¹ “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

There’s a lot taking place in these 22 verses, and while discussion could go in different directions, it’s the very last verse which is our focus.

“Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’” (The Message)

While we like to think the best weapon in our apologetics arsenal is the resurrection, some remain either unbelieving or unconvinced.

Scene Two

^{NLT.John.11.1} A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. ² This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.^[a] Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. ³ So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

⁴ But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” …

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. …

²³ Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.^[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” …

³⁴ “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus wept. ³⁶ The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” ³⁷ But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. ³⁹ “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

⁴⁰ Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” ⁴¹ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. ⁴² You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” ⁴³ Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

It’s interesting that, in light of the first scene, the person in this narrative is also named Lazarus. Or maybe we should turn that around and say that it’s interesting that in the parable, Jesus chooses to name one of the key people in the scene by the same name as his friend, who he will bring back from death.

Scene Three

^{NIV.John.12.9} Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well

I wonder how an attempt to kill Lazarus would take place. Would there be a wall of protection around him which would prevent them? Eventually, as with all of us, Lazarus does die. His return from the tomb was different from that Jesus would later experience, inasmuch as Lazarus is resurrected in his earthly body, while the resurrected Jesus is able to walk through walls and transport himself instantly to other locations.

It also begs the question, from a scientific standpoint, why would you take a unique specimen like Lazarus, and want to kill him? But then again, why would you take a unique specimen like Jesus and wish to kill him?

The chief priests were so utterly and completely threatened by Jesus, that they lost all perspective, and were willing to break the sixth commandment (“Do not kill”) to shut down the whole Jesus movement.

Scene Four

^{NKJV.Luke.24.5-7} Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

I love Andy Stanley’s line: “Nobody expected no body.” The women didn’t run to the tomb saying, ‘Let’s see if he’s resurrected yet!’ No, they went to anoint his body according to custom. But on that morning we call Easter Sunday, the world was forever changed. For those who follow, our world was forever changed.

Scene Five

^{NASB.Matthew.27.50} And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

Was there one resurrection in the ‘Easter week’ narrative, or many? According to this text, at the moment of death, there is an great earthquake, the curtain of the temple is split, and many walk out of the their tombs and are seen by many in Jerusalem.

There’s no denying all this — Lazarus, the ‘many’ saints, Jesus himself — but for some it’s just not enough. Sadly, we must return to the last verse in scene one which strikes at the heart of much modern day skepticism and disbelief:

^{NLT.Luke.16.31} “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

For that reason, I believe our best expression that, to name an old hymn, “He Lives,” has got to the be the resurrection and, or to say it differently, the resurrection plus. It’s not the resurrection itself is insufficient to validate the complete work of Christ on the cross, but Jesus himself is saying it’s insufficient to satisfy the doubts of humankind (not to mention one of his own disciples.)

So for the writer of the aforementioned hymn, it becomes subjective experience: “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.” But it’s also the general revelation of God: “In all the world around me, I see His loving care.”

Or it could be something else.

^NIV.Acts.1.3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

 

Jesus Ascends into Heaven

^{NKJV.Acts.1.9} Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, ¹¹ who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

^{NLT.Luke.24.50} Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. ⁵² So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.

Yesterday was Ascension Sunday, so that is our theme today. I found it interesting that, in posting the two scriptures above, we think of Acts as a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, since Luke wrote both, but the Acts passage is actually a recap of what is stated in Acts 1.

Today we again introduce a new writer. Ken Ratcliffe is a member of The Salvation Army in Lockerbie, Scotland, and writes at Christian Devotions, Music and Poems and you’ll also find him on Twitter. To read this where it first appeared, click the header which follows.

Ascension Sunday

What is Ascension Day?

According to the biblical story, after appearing for 40 days the risen Jesus led his disciples to the Mount of Olive in Jerusalem, telling them that the time had come for him to be returned to God.

A passage in the Acts of the Apostles recounts the tale: “Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’

“He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”

Encyclopedia Britannica says: “According to the first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles, after appearing to the Apostles on various occasions during a period of 40 days, Jesus was taken up in their presence and was then hidden from them by a cloud, a frequent biblical image signifying the presence of God.”

How important is Ascension Day?

It is thought that Ascension Day was being marked as early as the fourth century, and it remains a significant observance in the Catholic Church, as well as other Christian Churches.

Encyclopedia Britannica says: “The Feast of the Ascension ranks with Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost in the universality of its observance among Christians.

“The meaning of the Ascension for Christians is derived from their belief in the glorification and exaltation of Jesus following his death and Resurrection, as well as from the theme of his return to God the Father.

“Thus, the Gospel According to John uses both the sayings of Jesus and his post-Resurrection appearances to indicate a new relationship between Jesus and his Father and between him and his followers, rather than a simple physical relocation from earth to heaven.”

In countries where it is not marked as a public holiday, it has become common to move its commemoration to the following Sunday (a week before Pentecost) to allow more worshippers to attend mass.

Where is Ascension Day a public holiday?

Ascension Day is a public holiday in France, Germany, Austria, Indonesia, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the South Pacific island nation Vanuatu.

The day after Pentecost (which falls 10 days later) was marked as the “Whit Monday” bank holiday in the UK until 1971, when it was replaced by a bank holiday on the final Monday in May.

However, Pentecost Monday is still a public holiday in various European countries, including France, Germany and Belgium.

What is Pentecost?

Pentecost always falls exactly seven weeks after Easter Sunday, which means this year it is on 5 June.

The festival commemorates the arrival of the Holy Spirit to the disciples following the death of Jesus in the traditional Easter story.

Its name comes from the Greek word “Pentekostos”, meaning 50, which reflects its origins in the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (marked on the 50th day after Passover).

Pentecost is also known as “Whitsun” or “Whitsunday” in the UK and Ireland, which is variously believed to be a shortening of “White Sunday” or to have its origins in the Anglo-Saxon word “wit”, which means “understanding”.

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^{NIV.John.14.3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

^{NLT.John.14.28} Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am.

Time For Change

Thinking Through John 20:11-18

by Clarke Dixon

When will things ever change? Why does everything keep changing?

Which statement resonates with you? Perhaps they both do. We humans desire change, but then we also resist change. Sometimes we push for change, yet sometimes we push back when things are changing.

We cannot talk about Easter without talking about change!

A big change happened at Easter, which inspired a lot of change, which of course also meant a lot of pushback. What was that big change?

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus,…

John 20:11-14 (NLT emphasis added)

Jesus was dead. Now he is alive. That was a big change! And that changed everything!

The fact that Jesus is alive changes everything

That Jesus, though crucified, was now alive meant rethinking who Jesus was and is. Those religious leaders who thought he was a fraud would need to reconsider. Those who saw Jesus as great teacher or miracle worker but merely a great teacher or miracle worker, would need to reconsider. Those who wondered if Jesus might be the expected Messiah, though having their hopes dashed by his crucifixion, would need to rethink their expectations of the Messiah. This rethinking of the identity of Jesus led to Jesus being reconsidered as “The Word made flesh and dwelt among us” (see John 1:14) and “King of kings and Lord of lords” (see 1st Timothy 6:15) and “My Lord and my God!” (see John 20:28).

That Jesus, though crucified, was now alive meant rethinking how we relate to God; no longer through the old covenant, but through Jesus.

That Jesus, though crucified, was now alive meant rethinking the God’s priorities; from making Israel great again, to connecting people with God and God’s kingdom wherever they may live, whatever their nationality may be.

That Jesus, though crucified, was now alive meant rethinking who is invited to live and lean into the Kingdom of God; anyone and everyone.

That Jesus, though crucified, was now alive meant rethinking how people relate to one another when it comes to class divisions: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” Galatians 3:28 (NRSV).

That Jesus, though crucified, was now alive meant rethinking ethics; no longer living by the letter of the old covenant law, but the teaching and example of Jesus.

Since Jesus is risen, since Jesus is king, that changed everything! It meant changing anything that did not fit the Kingdom.

A Kingdom Pivot

The word pivot has been used a lot recently with reference to adapting to a pandemic. We church leaders needed to change how we led worship and how we gathered people together when worship gatherings were stopped. We all have needed to learn to live with masks and social distancing. The reality of a nasty virus meant the need for a pivot in how we live.

The reality of Jesus risen from the dead means there is need for a “Kingdom pivot.” Since Jesus is the king, what does life look like in His kingdom? What needs to change?

An example of a Kingdom pivot

Here is an example of the Kingdom pivot from our Scripture Focus:

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

John 20:14-18 (NLT)

Jesus is alive and a woman in the first to know! Why didn’t Jesus go straight to the disciples? According to scholars women were not even allowed to be witnesses in those days. It was a man’s world. Jesus showed himself alive first to a woman as a call for a change in attitudes toward women.

Some Bible teachers have pointed out that since an apostle is one “sent out” with a message, Mary is the first apostle! This is a huge sign that in the Kingdom there will be a different attitude toward women. This Kingdom pivot is aligned with the teaching of Jesus when Martha wanted Mary to take her proper place. Mary was doing what women were not supposed to be doing, learning. Yet Jesus affirmed her choice to learn. Change was coming.

Not everyone could handle this change in attitudes toward women, indeed we see evidence of this in the New Testament itself, and in churches around the world right down to our day. Change gets messy. For myself, I’m glad to be part of a convention and church that supports women in leadership at all levels. To me, this is an important Kingdom pivot.

The Kingdom Pivot in our lives

Jesus is alive. Jesus is king. That changes everything. Are we prepared to change anything that does not fit the Kingdom?

What does a kingdom pivot look like in your life right now? It might be a change in habits or attitudes. It might be seeking help for change in a battle with an addiction. It might be a change in the way we treat others, whether family, friends, strangers, or enemies. It might be a change in our attitudes toward a certain people group. It might be a change in our attitude toward ourselves. I came face to face with my tendency for perfectionism when the pandemic hit and worship and preaching went online. My imperfections were suddenly recorded on camera! We perfectionists tend to beat ourselves up when we end up being less than perfect, which we always do. People don’t beat themselves up in God’s Kingdom. There is a Kingdom pivot needed in my life. What Kingdom pivot do you need in yours?

Are we open to these changes or do we resist them?

In Conclusion

Jesus is alive and is king. That changes everything. So be prepared to change anything that does not fit his kingdom.

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Clarke Dixon is a pastor in Ontario Canada. Read more at Thinking Through Scripture.

Resurrection and Post-Resurrection

Last year we chose a new writer, Linda Knight to feature as our Good Friday devotional. Today we’re back with her for a mash-up of two of her most recent articles. Linda writes at Fearless Living which we recommend checking out. The headers below will also take to each article complete.

Resurrection Sunday, A True Eternal Blessing!

…Now we need to come to the realization that without the resurrection His death would have been meaningless,  and we would be still lost in sin!  In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul writes,

¹² “But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. ¹⁵ And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. ¹⁶ And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! ¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

Paul made this argument to clarify for the unbelievers and doubters that belief in the resurrection was essential to faith otherwise they would still have all their sins and be under penalty of death.  Romans 6:23  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Belief in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross and His victorious resurrection were essential to the Corinthian believer’s faith and are for us as well.  Without the resurrection there is no forgiveness of sins and no victory over death! All of Christ’s suffering here on earth would have been for nothing.

I know that God is sovereign, all powerful and omniscient and nothing is left to chance or done randomly.  Jesus prayed in John 17:3-4 just before His death, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”   

We know God’s plans will be accomplished, His Word, Jesus would not return to Him void. Isaiah 55:11 “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”   Job 42:2 also reminds us of this truth, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Praise God His purpose was not thwarted and was accomplished completely by Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead.  Praise God, our Redeemer Lives!

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, Your faith is real, your sins are forgiven, you will spend eternity with Jesus, you are empowered and indwelt by His Holy Spirit!  Praise God!

On the Road with Jesus, He gives exactly what you need when you need it!

As we celebrated on Easter morning, Jesus did not stay in the tomb but rose from the dead. He has Risen INDEED! After his resurrection, he appeared many times to individuals, small groups and to as many as 500 at once. He was alive in their midst as He talked, ate and shared himself with believers confirming his life and assuring them of his victory over death. As we move along the road towards his ascension and return to heaven 40 days after his resurrection, we will come face to face with Jesus’ divinity and power over death…

One of my favorite post-resurrection appearances is the encounter of the two on the Road to Emmaus.  Overcome with grief because of Jesus’ death and disbelief over what the women said about seeing Him alive, these two followers of Christ were walking along the Emmaus Road discussing all these recent events and reports.  Jesus joined them on their journey without disclosing his identity.  As they walked they were surprised that he did not know about all the events that had just occurred in Jerusalem. They told him of their hope that Jesus had been the long awaited Messiah.

 “ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. ²⁶ Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” ²⁷ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”  Luke 24:25-27

Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there and listened to Jesus explain all about Himself?  A little later in the story when they were sitting down to eat, Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread and began to give it to them.  Right then, their eyes were opened  and they recognized Jesus.  He then disappeared from their presence. Even though it was late they quickly returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about their encounter with the risen Lord Jesus.

Jesus came to these two when they were filled with grief, despair and confusion, and He cleared up their thinking, encouraged and enlivened them. Can you remember a time when Jesus came to you in prayer or through the actions or words of another believer to give you hope and encouragement?  Jesus promises that He will be with us wherever we go.  Just like these two, we need to look and recognize His presence with us and the hope that He brings.

The Tomb is Empty!

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.  – John 20:1-10

Our Easter Sunday devotional today highlights the writing of Keith Lyndaker Schlabach appearing here for the first time. This is a portion of a sermon transcript for a message shared at Millersburg Mennonite Church in Ohio. The blog is called iX-Rays which he explains consists of “‘Iota’ for Iesous (Ιησους, Jesus in Greek) and ‘X’ or Chi for Christos (Χριστος, Christ in Greek)” terms that “have been used since the early days of Christianity.”

To enjoy the full message on audio click here, or click the header below to read the transcript in full, which is recommended.

Empty – An Easter Sunday Sermon

…It is easy for me to get overwhelmed sometimes with the problems of the world, the challenges of relational ministry, the anxieties of what may or may not be coming down the pike for the conference and our denomination. I look around and I wonder; What happened to the joy of my salvation?

I get so filled up that there is no room for the empty tomb.

Maybe you like me feel overwhelmed by death. Perhaps it is fitting for Holy Week, but the beginning of this week was pretty hard for me. Some days my body just seems to ache a little more and my mortality weighs heavy on me. For me, it’s not just my mortality and the struggle with how best to spend the remainder of my days, how ever many there may be, but it is the seemingly endless tales of suffering and death on the 24/7 news cycle.

So let’s join Mary of Magdala for a little walk in the garden. We see the stone has been rolled away. The tomb is empty. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

Let’s let our obsession with, our avoidance of, our downright fear of, death go. One thing you can say about life – None of us are getting out of it alive. But that’s okay. Death isn’t the end.

The tomb is empty.

Maybe you like me feel so overwhelmed by the responsibilities of life that this abundant living thing feels like a mirage. Some days it is all I can do just to put one foot in front of the other.

Let’s join that other disciple as he runs to the crypt. We look in the tomb and we see the strips of cloth. The tomb is empty. Why look for the living among the dead?

So let’s leave behind the dead weight of life lived in a hurry, a life that robs us of the abundant life Jesus gives us. Let’s strip away the trappings of our frantic pace that keep us from being more deeply connected to God and to each other. Stop filling up your life with more doing. Abundant life awaits.

The tomb is empty.

Maybe you like me feel so overwhelmed by doubt and disbelief that you don’t even know if this resurrection thing is even possible, though as NT Wright says, at a time when women were not considered credible witnesses, why would the Gospel writers have women be the first witnesses to the Resurrection if what they witnessed did not occur?

So let’s join Peter as he runs to catch up to that other disciple. Let’s not hesitate at the gaping wound of the grave but let’s go right on in. Let’s ponder the discarded wrappings of death. Let’s say, Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief.

The tomb is empty.

Maybe you like me have been holding on to an image of Jesus that you grew up with or have witnessed, a Jesus of intolerance and confusion, a Lord of rules and should and should nots, a Christ who doesn’t really feel alive anymore, Jesus says to us like He did to Mary, “Do not hold on to me.” Wait, soon you will receive a fresh revelation of the Spirit, a new indwelling of the Risen Lord…

…We gain and grow so much when we learn about God together. It is spaces such as these where we may get emptied of preconceived notions and misconceptions and then can get filled up with the Word of God, the love of Christ, and the wisdom that comes from deeply listening to those on the journey with us.

It is one place among many the Spirit provides where we can learn what occupies our hearts. Because our hearts are occupied.

So the question is, what have we allowed to take up residence within us?

Are there things in your life that are crowding God out? Is there room in your heart for Jesus? Has the resurrected Jesus taken up residence there?

If you have not opened your heart to Jesus, then I urge you to do so. Life is hard, but grace abounds, and life is so much better with Jesus by your side and the family of God to love on you.

Do you feel empty inside? There is plenty of stuff in life that we can fill our lives up with, but not all of it satisfies, no matter how much we accumulate. I suspect most of us could be a little more empty. If we’re honest we probably ought to say no to some things.

When I taught at an alternative school in Washington DC, I told the students that I wish I had a speaker box on my shoulder that would automatically be blaring the word “No!”, because invariably as I walked the halls I would be inundated with requests, most of which were frivolous. Hey Mr. Keith Can I…? No! Mr. Keith can we …? No! Yo, Mr Keith I was wondering …? No!

So what things in your life do you need to be saying “no” to in order to be able to say “yes” to God?

The tomb is empty. So why do we try to keep filling it back up with things that do not give life?

The tomb is empty!

Up at the cemetery this morning it was frigid and cold, but inside our hearts were warm, because the tomb is empty!

Up at the cemetery this morning, it felt like winter, but I’m here to tell you that spring is on the way.

The tomb is empty!

And walking through that cemetery this morning you would find all sorts of names on the gravestones, but there is one name you wouldn’t find and that is the name of Jesus because the tomb is empty!

And that matters ….

Because you see if we like Mary Magdalene have been emptied of that which has possessed us, and we have allowed the God of the Universe to fill us with the Love of Christ and the power of the Resurrection, then we have been gloriously released by Jesus out into the world and in our daily lives, to share with everyone we meet the things Jesus has told us, where we can’t help but shout with bright joy like Mary, “I have seen the Lord!”

Let us pray:

The tomb is empty, Lord. Thank you! You are alive! Thank you! Death, suffering, pain, the principalities and powers; all have been defeated because your tomb is empty. Thank you! Empty us of anything that blocks your Spirit’s work in us. Fill us up with your Resurrection Power. For you are the King of Glory, Jesus, the Bright Morning Star. Hallelujah! Amen

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Prayer: Don’t Do All the Talking

We are continually grateful to HarperCollins Christian Publishing for blanket permission to occasionally include short excerpts from their books here. Transcription for this one was found at today at Devotions Daily. If you’re looking for a daily book excerpt in your inbox each morning, consider subscribing there.

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O.S. Hawkins is a very prolific author of more than 40 books, which have sold more than 1 million copies, including The Joshua Code, The Bible Code, The Nehemiah Code, The Believer’s Code — are you detecting a pattern? — and The Jesus Code, and preaches regularly at Bible conferences, evangelism conferences, and churches across the nation. This excerpt is from his newest, The Prayer Code. See below for a link to the publisher page for this title.

Listen to Him

While He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” — Matthew 17:5

Many of us share a common fault in our conversations with others. So often, we fail to listen. We are so immersed in preparing to articulate our next brilliant thought that we are prone to not hear what the other person is saying. How many times have we been introduced to someone and as soon as we walk away cannot even remember the person’s name? On the mountain of transfiguration, the Father gives us some good advice. He introduces His Son, affirms His pleasure in Him, and then admonishes us to “listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5 ESV).

One of the things we often forget about prayer is that it is communication with the Lord. And communication is a two-way street. We talk… and, if we are smart, we listen even more than we speak.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked and forgotten elements of prayer is taking the time to listen to Him. He still speaks to us through His Word and by His Spirit. God is essentially saying to us here, “This is My Son; I love Him; I am pleased with Him. Stop talking so much and listen to Him.”

After the resurrection, Jesus showed up on the road to Emmaus to perfectly illustrate this need in all of us to take time in prayer to stop talking and simply “listen to Him.” For three years the disciples had walked with Christ, talked with Him, virtually lived with Him, when suddenly it all came to an abrupt and crashing conclusion: Jesus had been viciously executed and His body tossed in a cold, damp tomb. Then, all the disciples “forsook Him and fled” back to their own abodes (Matthew 26:56).

Two of these followers headed home to Emmaus, a village seven miles west of Jerusalem. As they walked in discouragement toward the sunset that afternoon, they exclaimed to one another,

We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. — Luke 24:21

But they had buried that hope when the body of Jesus was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Dejected and dismayed, they were walking proof that there is never power in the present when there is no hope in the future.

But, then — suddenly — the resurrected “Jesus Himself drew near and went with them,” but they “did not know Him” (Luke 24:15-16). After this incredible encounter “their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:31). And their response?

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road? — Luke 24:32

Isn’t this one of our most pressing needs today? That is, burning hearts that come from listening to Him along our own Emmaus road.

LISTEN TO HIM AS HE SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS SPIRIT

Their hearts were set on fire when “He talked with [them] on the road.” Jesus was doing the talking, and they were doing the listening. Their hearts did not burn when they talked to Him, or when they talked to each other about Him. Their hearts began to burn with a new passion when they stopped talking to Him and to others and started listening to Him, spirit to Spirit.

There comes a time when we need to stop trying to perform, stop offering our petitions, even cease our praise for a moment, and simply be still and listen to His still small voice speaking to our spirits, and heed the admonition of our heavenly Father to “listen to Him.”

LISTEN TO HIM AS HE SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS SCRIPTURE

The Bible remains a sealed book until God’s Spirit opens its truth to us. We may gain a head knowledge of Him through the Bible, but we will never be able to understand a heart knowledge, a spiritual discernment, until, like the disciples, He talks to us along the road and opens the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32). And we do the listening.

Jesus “expounded” to them in all the Scriptures the things that concerned Himself (Luke 24:27). The word expound connotes the thought of translating something out of a foreign language. The Bible is really a foreign language to those who do not believe.

Beginning at Moses… He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

From the Pentateuch to the Prophets Jesus preached Jesus.

From Moses to Malachi He revealed how the entire Jewish Bible speaks of Him. As He spoke to them, a shadow of the cross fell over the Jewish Bible. He was that ram at Abraham’s altar in Genesis. He was the Passover lamb in Exodus, whose spilled blood meant freedom from slavery and deliverance from death… and still does. He was that scarlet thread out Rahab’s window in Joshua. And the good shepherd of whom David spoke in the Psalms? Jesus was that shepherd. As the disciples listened, they understood that Jesus was the suffering servant spoken so eloquently about by Isaiah. And He was the fourth man in the midst of the fiery furnace in Daniel. No wonder their hearts began to burn within them. He was doing the talking… and they were doing the listening.

The disciples’ immediate response was noteworthy. They “rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem” to exclaim to all the others,

The Lord is risen indeed! — Luke 24:33-34

Their glowing hearts turned into going hearts. With beating, burning hearts they scurried back to Jerusalem, around the corners, down the narrow alleys, up Mount Zion, to find the others and share the good news. And they shared it not with an emaciated question mark, but with a bold exclamation mark: “He is alive!”

One of these Emmaus followers was named Cleopas. His companion is left unnamed. I like to think this is so in order for you and me to find ourselves in his or her place as we walk on our own road today. Perhaps you are reading these words with your own hopes dashed and your own dreams smashed.

Stop.

Look.

Listen to Jesus’ Spirit through His Scriptures.

He is still speaking. And if you listen, you just might walk away with your own heart burning within you.

“Listen to Him.”

CODE WORD: CELL PHONE

Today, when your phone rings and you answer and begin listening, let it remind you that prayer is a two-way conversation also. Stop doing all the talking; listen to Him!

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Excerpted with permission from The Prayer Code by  O. S. Hawkins, ©2021 Dr. O. S. Hawkins.

Read more about the book from Thomas Nelson.

To sign up for Devotions Daily, click this link. (But don’t leave C201, we love you, too!)

 

“Of all the inconceivable hallelujahs”

^{NIV.John.20.1.} Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

 

I pulled our title today from the opening line in the article in which the writer, Judy, who exudes much joy on her website Judy in the Sky. Click the header below to read this there, and then take some time to look around at other devotionals.

John 20

Read John 20 – Early on Sunday morning…

Of all the inconceivable hallelujahs, this takes the cake!  Mary Magdalene found the stone had been rolled away from Jesus’s tomb, and RAN to tell Peter and John.  They go to check things out.  It is all still a mystery, but when John saw the wrappings and the neatly folded head covering, he believed.

Beloved, that is faith.  Jesus told them he would rise from the dead, but to see the tomb empty and trust that is what it meant is faith.

Meanwhile, Mary is crying.  She sees two angels, one at the head and the other at the foot of where Jesus had been lying.(20:12)*  Then Jesus appears and asks her why she was crying, but she doesn’t recognize him and thinks he is the gardener.  Perhaps she is so grieved, and this is utterly beyond her comprehension, or perhaps he looks different, yet when he speaks her name, she KNOWS!

That night, Jesus suddenly appeared to the disciples, except Thomas who came in later.  They tried to tell him, but he needed to see for himself.  Eight days later, Jesus joins them again(despite the locked doors), and invites Thomas to touch his wounds.  Beloved, notice Jesus does not shame Thomas for this, and trust he will also meet you right where your heart is and equip you to believe too.

Our chapter closes with a promise:

^30-31 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

May your day be filled with thoughts of it and may you make this a Hallelujah day!

*John 20:12 – a bonus round!

“She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.” (:12)

My bible study teacher just drew something spectacular out of this verse and I have to share it!

First, notice that Mary was not overwhelmed by the presence of these angels.  Most biblical angelic encounters are met with fear, but Mary’s heart was only set on Jesus.

Next, see the parallels between this and the cherubim placed at each end of the mercy seat, Exodus 25.  Now the cherubim covered the mercy seat which was on top of the Arc of the Covenant.  The Arc of the Covenant held the tablets of Law which Moses was given on Mount Sinai (the law we all fall short of), a jar of manna divinely preserved (God’s provision for Israel’s complaint), and the staff of Aaron (God’s sign against rebellion). These items all represent our human inability to honor the Lord who is holy, and His provisions (Hebrews 9:4). Jesus is our perfect atonement, and the actual angels stood over him like the cherubim stood over the Arc of the Covenant.  Wow, right?

Making a Fall Commitment Reset

With regular Thursday contributor Clarke Dixon still on holidays, we mined his blog, Sunday’s Shrunk Sermon for something we had not presented before. This one appeared on the Labor Day weekend of 2021. Clicking the link in the header below takes you there directly.

When We Feel Not So Into It

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1st Corinthians 15:58 NIV)

Here is a verse we may read and think “I could not be described as a person who gives myself fully to the work of the Lord.” And of course this does not mean we should all quit our jobs and become pastors or full time missionaries or ministers of some sort. If we all did that I’d have to wonder where my salary was coming from. I depend on people committing, or in the case of the retired, having committed, themselves to regular jobs. We all do! And we should not make the mistake of thinking that Paul here is only speaking to the full-time professional minister. All Christians are called and invited ‘excel’ in the Lord’s work as another translation puts it. This means serving the Lord with passion in everything we do, including our ‘secular’ jobs, or put another way, serving the Lord as sacred people in the midst of a secular world. So what happens we find ourselves lacking in Christian spunk and fervor? What might we do as we read this verse and find ourselves faithfully serving ourselves and our own ambitions, or those of another person rather than our Lord?

First thing is to check your faith in the resurrection of Jesus. We do well to read the rest of 1st Corinthians where we find it all begins with teaching on the resurrection of Jesus. The ‘therefore’ that introduces verse 58 is key, as is the concluding reminder that the resurrection hope means our service to the Lord is not in vain. We serve a risen Saviour, to quote a familiar hymn, precisely because He is risen.

The 20th century was a time when many church goers got quite vague on what the resurrection was all about. Many turned their backs on anything sounding supernatural in the Gospel accounts right up to and including the resurrection of Jesus.

This leads naturally to a very vague kind of faith where one might say “I believe there is perhaps some sort of God, who I guess loves us”. Theology becomes very vague as the Bible fades into the background (taking Jesus with it) and faith is built only on reason, tradition, and experience, becoming a “build your own” kind of thing. And how easy it is for the Christian today to forget that our faith, our theology, and therefore our ethics are all founded upon and center around the resurrection of Jesus.

If Jesus was not raised from the dead, Christianity is dead. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, I wouldn’t bother being a pastor, indeed I wouldn’t even bother with being a Christian. Many in my own generation think likewise, and some, not having a solid sense of the resurrection of Jesus, are leaving the pews empty today. All the contemporary music in the world won’t help a church that has forgotten that Jesus lives.

So if you find your dedication waning, or your commitment lacking, check the place the resurrection of Jesus takes in your faith. Paul could always be described as giving himself “fully to the work of the Lord”, and little wonder when you consider his experience of meeting the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. The fact that Jesus is risen changes everything, and for Paul, and millions since, everything changed.

If you find you are not “fully giving yourself to the work of the Lord”, perhaps it is time for a fresh encounter with our risen Saviour.

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Bonus scriptures for today’s theme:

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
 – Galatians 6:9 NLT

But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.
 – Isaiah 40:31 CEV

Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged… Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day.
– 2 Corinthians 4:1,16 NET

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
 – Romans 12:11 NIV

 

The New Normal, the Status Quo, and Jesus

^{NIV.Matt.21.33} “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

by Clarke Dixon

A year ago at this time we were talking about a new normal. That new normal now feels like the status quo with masks, social distancing, outbreaks, and lockdowns. Even as vaccines are rolled out, it feels like life under a pandemic is now the status quo, that these changes will be with us forever. At least that how it feels. The new normal has become the status quo and we are stuck with it.

This is eerily reminiscent of another great disruption.

We go back to the early chapters of Genesis when Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, in perfect relationship with God Who gave them life. The expectation was that they would live forevermore. This is a picture of what humanity could have been.

All that is life-giving was theirs, except for one condition, they were not to eat from one particular tree. I think you know what happened next.

Adam and Eve ate the fruit and plunged us into a new normal. They were kicked out of the garden, barred access to the tree of life, and death was now the expectation. Rebellion against God and God’s ways became the status quo. We can think of Cain killing Abel. The expectation of death became the status quo. We can think of Abel being killed by Cain. The picture of what humanity could have been became a picture of what humanity is; a people who are in rebellion against the Giver of life, a people who could always expect death because of separation from God. The new normal became the status quo.

Yet God gave us signs of hope, signs that this new status quo would not last forever.

We can think of a fresh start with Noah, a new beginning. Yet shortly after hitting the reset button, there was a return to the status quo of rebellion against God Who gives us life, and the expectation of death.

We can think of the promise God made to Abraham, to create from him a nation through whom all nations would be blessed, a promise reiterated to Isaac, and Jacob. We see progress on that promise through the rescue of Jacob’s descendants from Egypt. This will be a different kind of people, a people in relationship with God. Yet in the wilderness we see these rescued people living according to the status quo of rebellion against God Who gives life, and the experience of death.

We can think of the giving of the law as sign of hope, so that God’s people could be a different kind of people who, far from rebelling against God, would walk according to his law. They would operate according to a good sense of justice. For example, it was to be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, instead of an arm and a leg plus an eye for an eye, and a head for a tooth. They would not sacrifice their children. They would take care of the vulnerable. They were to be a light to the other nations as they lived according to God’s law. Yet they did not have a very good track record of keeping the law. They succumbed to the status quo of rebellion against God Who gives life, and the expectation of death.

We can think of the sending of prophets as a sign of hope, so that God’s people could get back on track. Yet the response to the prophets pointed to the status quo of rebellion against the God Who gives life, and the experience of death.

There were many signs of hope. Yet the status quo persisted. The new normal, from the great disruption at the Garden of Eden, remained the status quo. It was like the discovery of a vaccine during a pandemic, and yet nothing seems to change.

But there was one more sign of hope. God sent His Son.

Jesus told a parable of a landowner who sent messengers to the farmers who were working his land. They kept beating up and killing the messengers. In the story of Jesus it was symbolic of God’s people ignoring and sometimes killing the prophets that God sent. In the story the landowner finally sent his own son. They killed him too. That points to Jesus. For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten son, and we killed him! Rebellion against God and the expectation of death had become so normal, that we even killed Immanuel, “God with us.”

On Good Friday we recognize the status quo of rebellion against God and the experience of death made so visible at the cross.

But on Sunday there was a true sign of hope, of change, of the status quo being disrupted and the possibility of something new. The stone was rolled away, there was no body, for Jesus had risen from the dead. That is the greatest disruption to the status quo the world has ever seen. Jesus was obedient. Jesus is alive. This was different!

Our rebellion was no match for God’s love. In a world where rebellion was normally dealt with through power, through armies, and violence, God did not respond to our violence with his. Jesus took the nails.

One would expect that to be the end of it, the expectation of death is the status quo, correct? But Jesus rose from the dead, then told the disciples to go invite anyone and everyone to the Kingdom of God, to be part of His royal family.

Even those who were involved in the crucifixion of Jesus could respond to his invitation. It would be up to the enemies of Jesus whether they would stick with the status quo of rebellion against God and the expectation of death, or step into a new normal, a new normal of intimate relationship with God, walking with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, a new normal of living in Jesus, a Kingdom life that challenges the status quo of a world gone mad, a new normal of the fear of death giving way to the anticipation of everlasting life, a new normal made possible by the grace of God, forgiveness in and though Jesus.

It would be up to the enemies of Jesus, those who crucified him, whether to stick with the status quo of rebellion against God and the expectation of separation from God in death, or to step into a new normal.

And it is up to us.

Will it be status quo? Or will we enter into the new normal Jesus brings?

When Adam and Eve sinned, they ushered in a new normal. That new normal become the status quo. That status quo made the events of Good Friday predictable. There was rebellion against God. There was death. The events of Easter Sunday were not as predictable. The stone was rolled away, Jesus was not in the tomb, he had risen! This is the greatest disruption to the status quo there has ever been in the history of the world. There is a new normal, a new way of life, a new expectation of life.

It is brilliant!

You are invited to step into it.

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Watch message in context of the entire online worship expression (26 minutes) from Clarke Dixon’s church in Ontario, Canada or watch just the sermon (15 minutes).

A Morning Like That

Last year we introduced you to The Cove, a multi-site church in Mooresville, NC (Greater Charlotte) which posts weekday devotions on their website. This time around, the writer we’re featuring is Noelle McDermott. This was the Tuesday devotional in a series on the resurrection. Please support and encourage the writers we feature by reading these devotionals at the source site where we found them. Click the header which follows.

As the Sun Breaks Through

Today’s Scripture: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3, ESV

Theme: The Resurrection gives us hope for today and for eternity.

AS THE SUN BREAKS THROUGH…

Growing up in North Carolina, with its predominately sunny weather, I have come to strongly dislike the rain. When clouds roll over and begin to drizzle, I immediately miss the sun. I’ll complain about how sad I feel or how I can’t wait until the sun comes back. During a persistent period of rain, I was surprised—not because the sky finally cleared up—but because the sun was out, though it was still raining.

I stepped outside and marveled at two different types of weather colliding. I felt the warmth of the sun as the rain drizzled down and watched puddles of water slowly transforming into steam that the wind swept away. The sun eventually withdrew behind the clouds once more, but that brief moment of sunshine, even while standing in the rain, had lifted my spirits.

IN THE MIDST OF STORMS…

Mary Magdalene is initially introduced to us in Luke 8 in a list of women “who provided for [Jesus and the twelve disciples] out of their means” (Luke 8:2-3). The passage specifically notes that seven demons had been cast out of her. She also witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion (Mark 15:40) and visited His tomb on the day of His Resurrection (John 20:1). Although other Gospels mention two other women accompanying her and telling the disciples of the open tomb with her, Scripture does not mention their staying afterwards. Even Peter and John, who visited the empty tomb at the women’s urging, left almost immediately also. Mary Magdalene is the only one who remained at the tomb.

Overwhelmed by her grief, she wept. I cannot imagine what went through her head as she sat in the garden, nor the hopelessness she must have felt. Not only had her Savior died, but she could not even find Him and anoint His body. What would have been next for Mary? How else could she serve Him if she could not even find Him? As she wept, she encountered two angels and a Man she did not recognize, even after speaking to Him. But as soon as He simply said her name, Mary realized that Jesus was standing before her. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus resurrected and was entrusted to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”

SO DOES HOPE!

The Resurrection renewed hope within Mary Magdalene and it can renew hope within us. How often do we weep and search for answers as Mary did? Distracted with questions and doubt, we sometimes fail to realize that the Lord stands before us until the very moment He calls us by name. We succumb to hopelessness and discouragement because we forget the “living hope” granted to us thorough Jesus’ Resurrection. He has already overcome, and in light of that truth, we have the assurance of hope. This living hope gives us the strength to keep the faith and persevere in difficult seasons, for we are being prepared for “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17) in this life and in eternity.

Make It Personal: As you reflect upon the Resurrection this week, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you have lost hope in the Lord’s promises. Where have you begun to doubt and despair? Let Him renew hope in you.

Pray: God, thank You that You sent Your Son and resurrected Him. Thank You for the confident hope given to us by Jesus’ Resurrection. Through each season, remind me of the hope I have in You through the Resurrection. Amen.

Weekly Memory Verse: “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:19-20, NLT

Read: John 20:1-18; Luke 8:2-3; Mark 15:40; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Following Jesus, but with Reservations, Pessimism and Doubts

In one of the original pieces here six months ago, I re-classified the twelve apostles into some different categories, including “final week disappointments” consisting of “Peter’s denial, Judas’ betrayal, and Thomas’ doubt.” We often hear sermons on the similarities and contrasts between the first two, but Thomas usually doesn’t get included in this grouping.

You know the story. Thomas misses out on that initial resurrection celebration because he just can’t take in the possibility.

At Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries, Dr. Ralph Wilson notes

…Thomas is a pessimist. Some people rejoice to see a glass half full, but Thomas sees it half empty. Oh, he’s full courage, but also possesses a streak of fatalism. Once, when Jesus and his disciples hear about their friend Lazarus’s death near Jerusalem, the center of Jesus’ opposition, Thomas comments darkly, “Yes, let’s go there that we might die with him.” His words are almost prophetic.

Soon, his world falls apart. Thomas sees his Master arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and he flees for his life. On Good Friday he watches at a distance as they spike his Friend to a cross on the Roman killing grounds of Golgotha. As Jesus’ life drains away, so does Thomas’s hope.

On Saturday he is in shock. On Sunday he is so disillusioned that he doesn’t gather with his fellow disciples for an evening meal. Thomas is dazed, hurt, bitter — and lashing out. Monday morning, the disciples go looking for Thomas and tell him what has happened in his absence…

Thomas, at least in this moment in the narrative, is both a follower and a skeptic. And it’s safe to say his skepticism is winning the day on that Monday.

^NIV.Jn.20.24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

He is basically saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Does that remind you of a verse of scripture?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
 – Hebrews 11:1 NASB

or perhaps

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
 – Romans 8:24 NIV

We have to recognize that some of this is just the way Thomas is wired. It’s his temperament; his default setting; his basic character. The website for the Jesus Film Project notes that:

…At one point Jesus tells the disciples:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1–4, NIV)

Naturally, the disciples don’t necessarily understand what He’s talking about. And it’s Thomas that asks Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way” (John 14:5, NIV)?…

So was Thomas a “doubting Thomas?” The Enduring Word Bible Commentary says no. You’re thinking, wait? No?

…Thomas is often known as Doubting Thomas, a title that misstates his error and ignores what became of him. Here we could say that Thomas didn’t doubt; he plainly and strongly refused to believe.

· Thomas refused the believe the testimony of many witnesses and reliable witnesses.

· Thomas made an extreme demand for evidence; evidence of not only sight but of touch, and to repeatedly touch the multiple wounds of Jesus.

The same commentary, quoting McLaren’s Commentary notes:

Thomas did the very worst thing that a melancholy man can do, went away to brood in a corner by himself, and so to exaggerate all his idiosyncrasies, to distort the proportion of the truth, and hug his despair, by separating himself from his fellows. Therefore he lost what they got, the sight of the Lord.

And as a result, he misses out. He misses out on the “Peace be with you” blessing noted earlier in John 20, and he misses out on that moment when something bigger happens:

He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Thomas imposes a lot of conditions on what it would take to believe. Enduring Word quotes Leon Morris:

[A]nother possibility should not be overlooked, namely that he was so shocked by the tragedy of the crucifixion that he did not find it easy to think of its consequences as being annulled.

As we’ve seen above (vs. 26) he does see the risen Jesus. Eight. Days. Later.

Finally!

Then follows his confession; his affirmation; the statement that has major impact because it’s the words of someone who formerly did not believe:

^NIV.Jn.20.28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Dr. Wilson says,

“Doubting Thomas” utters the greatest confession of faith recorded anywhere in the Bible.

The Enduring Word commentary notes that the final part of verse 29, which begins “blessed are” is a beatitude, but then quotes Spurgeon on ways we can miss that blessing:

· When we demand for a voice, a vision, a revelation to prove our faith.
· When we demand for some special circumstances to prove our faith.
· When we demand for some ecstatic experience.
· When we demand for an answer to every difficult question or objection.
· When we demand what men think of as success in our work of Jesus.
· When we demand that others support us in our faith.

Are you a doubting Thomas? You may not think so, but if we’re honest, most of us, even on our best days, harbor misgivings about some aspect of the faith, or its relevance to our personal situation. We’re like parent who comes to Jesus with concern for a gravely ill son:

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
 – Mark 9:24 NKJV

At those times our prayer should be

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
 – Luke 17:5 NIV

or in the NLT

The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”