The Church as One-Trick Pony

"Some of you are always looking for a new trick, a new tactic, a new angle - [it's about] Jesus! We are a band with one song, and we just play it 'till we see him!" - Mark Driscoll

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 7/1/09

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

After a very busy June, last night was our first regular Sola5 Bible study in nearly a month. It was great to be back with all my students again as we continued our summer question and answer series, “You Asked For It.” We looked at the question, “Why was Jesus never involved in a romantic relationship with a woman?” This is a question that has popped up more often over the last few years since the release of the book and movie The DaVinci Code. For those unfamiliar, the novel is about a professor who discovered the long-buried secret that Jesus actually married Mary Magdalene and had a child with her. Why does this bother Christians so much? After all, marriage is a gift from God, right? Genesis 2:24 holds it up as the most precious of all human relationships. Heck, an entire book of the Bible (Song of Solomon) is devoted to it! So why, then, did Jesus never pursue romance?

I tried to answer the question in two ways. The was to answer historically – why don’t we believe that Jesus ever married? Why do we find Dan Brown’s version of history so problematic. Well, quite simply, the Bible doesn’t say anything about Jesus getting married (or indeed entering a romantic relationship of any kind) or having a family. Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us everything there is to know about Jesus (in fact, John tells us that all the libraries in the world couldn’t hold the books required for that), so some might say that this is perhaps just a detail that the gospel writers left out. That hardly seems plausible, though. Wouldn’t you find it a little odd if you had a friend who you knew for years and they never mentioned the fact that they were married? That’s hardly a small detail. So, it would be equally as strange for the disciples to record Jesus life over 3+ years of ministry and never think to mention the fact that he was married with children.

The second aspect of the answer is to answer explanatorily – why didn’t Jesus pursue romance and marriage? On that front, the answer is a question of purpose. What was Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth? Though he was fully human like all of us (including sexual desires), he was also fully God, meaning his purpose on the earth was different than any other human being who has ever lived. His purpose was to save us from our sin by the sacrifice of his death and the power of his resurrection (John 3:16-17, Colossians 1:19-20). His purpose was to demonstrate to us by his life what God is like (John 18:37, Colossians 1:15). So then, the question to ask is this – did romance and marriage serve the purpose for which Jesus came? The answer would seem to be no. Jesus' task of traveling Israel preaching the coming of the New Covenant and dying to usher that covenant in caused him to live a life of singleness - with many friends and followers, but no wife or children to commit himself to. This shouldn't serve to denegrate marriage and family, but to highlight the supremacy of Christ's calling. In fact, 1 Corinthians 7:25-35 tells us that as important as the marriage relationship is, it is subject to a higher calling – our calling as followers of Christ.

This brings us to the point of application. If Christ’s purpose on earth dictated what he did in his life – even when it comes to romance – then each of us must ask ourselves, “What is my purpose?” As Christians, we live to glorify God and to take his gospel to all people. That, then, is the filter that we need to pass our conception of dating, romance, and marriage through. Last night, I asked several questions to get my students thinking in this direction. First, why do you date? I would bet that most American teens get their concept of dating from the culture. I certainly did when I was in high school. However, one look at the divorce rate in this country should tell us that our culture’s view of romance isn’t exactly one worth emulating. Stop dating because it’s what your friends are doing and start asking yourself what you’re looking for. Are you dating to find a potential spouse? Is that something that you’re ready for at this stage of your life? If you’re not dating with marriage as the goal, then what is it you’re after - and is it something that is honoring to God? Secondly, who do you date? We have an explicit command in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 not to marry a non-Christian. If the purpose of your dating is to seek a spouse (and again, if it’s not, then what are you doing?), then it follows that you have no business dating an unbeliever. What sort of person are you looking for in a mate? All the good looks and all the personality in the world won’t mean a rip when you are an infinity apart on the most foundational aspect of human existence – your relationship to God. Thirdly, should you date? As I said earlier, we tend to be big cultural followers in this area. Have you ever stopped to ask whether the purpose that God has for your life is served by dating? Perhaps some, like Paul, will never marry in order to follow the calling God has placed on your life. Perhaps some will, like Peter, embark on a life of Christian ministry and balancing it with family life. Some will be called to singleness for a time in their lives to follow where God is leading, and some may meet their spouse in high school, and marry young, like Heather and I did. The point of it all is this – are you willing to submit your dating life and your search for a spouse to the wisdom of God’s word, or are you going to follow the lead of our culture which sprints headfirst into romantic or sexual behavior that is pointless at best and destructive at worst? Are you cultivating a biblical worldview, where what you know to be true about God and his word actually impacts the way you see the world and live your life? Wherever you’re at in life, take time this week to rethink the way you view romance and to pursue it (or not) to the glory of God.

Hazelwood Stories, #3

This time, it was my turn to sit in front of the camera for my church's Hazelwood Stories video project. Here's my story of faith in Jesus Christ.

Three Days in the Belly of the Earth

Dr. Walter Kaiser explains how Good Friday afternoon to Resurrection Sunday morning equals three days.

HT: Tim Challies

A Crucifixion Narrative

Go check out this thought-provoking and deeply moving piece by Rick Gamache on the atonement, a great reminder of exactly what it is we'll be celebrating this weekend.

HT: Darius T.

Americans vs. Jesus on Entering Heaven

If you're a news junkie, chances are you've already seen the recently-released survey on religion in America that indicates that Americans are leaving organized religion, especially Christianity, behind. The survey has some interesting things to say, but I was even more intrigued by an article re-posted on USA Today about a similar survey taken last fall. In this one, 54% of respondents said that over half of "average Americans" will make it into heaven. The question is asked again of several different religions (or non-religious) groups with varying results, but it's the underlying assumption that interests me. Since the majority of our country self-identifies as Christian, I found it interesting to hear their idea on heaven as contrasted with Jesus.

The survey seems to suggest that people think that your average Joe is good-to-go. What did Jesus have to say in Matthew 5, though? In a chapter where he gives an impossibly lofty moral standard, he begins with the assertion that "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The scribes and the Pharisees were the "super-religious" of the day, the people who followed God's commands with zeal and fervor, and even invented their own commands to fill in the gaps. Jesus said that their righteousness is not sufficent to enter heaven. He then concludes the chapter with the even more stunning proclamation - "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Jesus holds up perfection as the standard we must meet for acceptance into God's kingdom.

This sentiment is further expressed in Jesus' famous declaration to the rich young man in Luke 18, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” All these sayings serve to build up an incredible standard, such that the disciples eventually asked, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus repiles, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." Notice his implication - it is impossible for men to gain access to heaven. This can only be accomplished by God's free grace, a grace that Scripture makes explicitly clear is given through faith in Jesus.

It's pretty clear that though we're a nation where a lot of people say they follow Jesus, precious few have actually looked to see what he has to say. This should cause us all to take a closer look at the gospel we proclaim. Are you communicating the Gospel of grace, or an easy, average Joe, be-a-good-person folk religion? Pastors, how would the people in your church answer this survey? We all need to be careful to examine the faith we proclaim, lest we contribute to the generation that has seemingly adopted a Christianity with very little Christ.

The Change of Seasons and the Risen Christ

Douglas Wilson offers some great reflections on the connection between the two. As one who just this morning talked of how ready I am for winter to be over, this resonated deeply with me. I've also added Wilson's blog, Blog and Mablog, to my sidebar. It's frequently filled with well-written theological reflections - and it's got the greatest title in the history of bloggerdom.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 12/17/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Last night was our final youth gathering before Christmas, so we took the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ – and to take a hard look at the place that he has in our lives. We opened by remembering Christ’s coming through readings from Isaiah 9 and Matthew 1, and then spent time in reflection as we listened to “Amen, Amen” from Sojourn Community Church’s fantastic CD Advent Songs (currently available as a free download through NoiseTrade). After singing “O Holy Night” together, we began our time of study by considering the anticipation that often accompanies Christmas.

Remember back to your childhood. Doubtlessly, you could recall great (and often humorous) memories of the long wait for Christmas morning to arrive. My students had many great stories, from trying to rewrap presents they’d dug into in the middle of the night to hitting the stairs in such a frenzy that they fell and rolled all the way to the bottom. Why did we do so many crazy (and often stupid) things on Christmas as kids? Because our thinking was completely consumed with anticipation for what was to come. What sort of anticipation grips our hearts, however, at the thought of the birth of Christ – the coming of our savior? In Luke 2:22-38, we examined the life of a man named Simeon whose expectations were sky high – and they completely dictated the way that he lived his life.

We know very little about Simeon, save that he was old, righteous, and devout. He would have been quite familiar with the Old Testament Law – God’s expectations for how we are to live. However, we are also told that he was waiting expectantly for “the consolation of Israel.” What a strange thing to look for. Israel was, after all, the chosen people of God, the ones to whom he had revealed himself and entered into covenant relationship with. They were his favored nation. Why, then, were they in need of consolation – of comfort, of lifting up? Simeon knew the answer. As a devout man, he not only knew the Law’s commands, but he knew of his own inability to keep those commands. He, like all of Israel, stood guilty before God – a perfect God, as perfect in his justice as he is in his love. This fact was hammered into his mind and heart by a ritual system where animals were constantly sacrificed as a reminder of the people’s guilt. Yet he, like all the Jews, looked to God’s promise of a savior, of one who would redeem his people. The promise can be traced all the way back to Genesis 3, and it finds echoes throughout the prophets. Simeon waited with eager expectation for the Messiah to come. God, in his grace, had revealed to Simeon that he would live to see the birth of the Christ child. For this moment he yearned.

Following his birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the Law’s rituals for a firstborn child. As they entered into the temple, the Lord revealed to Simeon the nature of the child they carried. As he held the long promised savior in his arms, Simeon proclaimed that salvation had come to earth – a light to the Gentiles who had until now dwelled in darkness, and a new hope for the people of Israel. He could not but proclaim the coming of Christ, for it was the most important event in the history of the universe. He proclaimed the hope of his birth. He proclaimed the sorrow and pain that would accompany the task of redeeming people from sin. We see in the final few verses that he was not alone, an old widow named Anna spread the news of Christ’s birth to all those in Jerusalem who were eagerly anticipating it.

How should anticipation factor into our Christmas? After all, we look not forward but back, back to the birth of a child more than 2000 years ago. However, even for us today, the promise of Christmas has still yet to reach its full fulfillment. We live having experienced the promised grace of Christ, lavished upon us through his death and resurrection, but we still look forward to the consummation of all things, to the time when, as the hymn says, “in his name, all oppression shall cease.” We’ve experienced the beginning of the Christmas story, but we still eagerly await its ending. Are you waiting for it? Does the promise of Christ’s return even register as a blip on your radar, much less the dominating factor around which your life is built? Why do we celebrate Christmas? Moreover, why do we file into sanctuaries week after week to worship? I told my students last night that I have little interest in wasting their time. It boils down to this – if the Christmas story is true and Christ is who he said he is, than he is everything, and every aspect of our lives, our thoughts, our relationships, our time, our finances, our careers, our affections, should be constructed around him. He is the only hope that we have of being accepted by God, sinful as we are. If Christ is not real, if the manger and the virgin birth and the wise men are mere fairy tale, then we are wasting our time. Christianity carries as much significance as the platitudes on the candy hearts on Valentine's Day. Better to sleep in on Sundays and get an early start on the NFL pregame shows. There is no third option - he's either everything or he's nothing. So I ask you - examine your heart and mind. Do you believe in the Christ of Christmas? The Christ of the cross? The resurrected Christ? This Christmas, enjoy the abundant joy that Christmas brings – time with family, the wonder of the season, the festivities and the gifts. However, never for a moment forget why we celebrate. Never for a moment forget why we live. Christ is all. Without him there is no hope. With him is joy and purpose beyond our minds' farthest ability to comprehend. Glory in him this Christmas, and let his glory shine through you.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 12/3/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Two weeks ago, we wrapped up our series in the Gospel of John. After a week off for Thanksgiving and before venturing into another book study, I decided to take a couple weeks and revisit our “You Asked For It” Q&A series from the summer. We had a few students’ questions left in the box when the series ended, so I decided to spend last night answering one of them. The question involved whether or not we should judge those who are in sin. To find our answer, we first tried to think about what is meant by “judging” someone. That word carries a very negative connotation in our culture. When asked, my students said that it brought to mind thoughts of a holier-than-thou person laying into people they didn’t even know based upon generalizations or stereotypes. Certainly all of us have seen Christians exhibiting this kind of behavior (or even been guilty of it ourselves!) at some time or another. How do we avoid it? Should we avoid passing judgment on others altogether? What did Jesus mean by “Judge not?”

For our answers, we took a look at Matthew 7:1-6. The passage begins with Jesus’ famous words, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” This passage is among the most frequently quoted (and misused) in all the Bible. Upon first glance, Jesus seems to be saying that God will judge us by whatever standard we apply to others, so it’s best to be gracious. However, when examined in light of other parts of the Bible (Galatians 3:10, James 2:10-11) or even Jesus’ words from this very sermon (Matthew 5:17-20, 43-48), that idea makes no sense. Those passages make it pretty clear that God will judge us all by the same standard – his own holiness. So what is Jesus saying here?

He’s warning us that our standard of judgment will be turned back upon us by those whom we judge. When you point out a fault in someone else’s life, what’s the first thing they tend to do? They look for something to fire back about you. It’s human nature. When we’re told we’re wrong, we look for the opportunity to label the accuser a hypocrite so that we can dismiss whatever it is that they’re saying. Jesus wants us to realize that this is what we can expect when we point out sin in someone else’s life. So, he tells us to make sure we take care of ourselves first. He gives the humorous example of a man who tries to take a speck of sawdust out of his friend’s eye while he has a tree protruding from his own. This is silliness – and we look just as silly when we make judgments about other people’s lives while remaining blissfully ignorant of our own shortcomings.

We might be tempted to stop here, and imagine that Jesus is just telling us to mind our own business and let others mind theirs. That’s the American way, right? One of my students pointed out last night, “But if we don’t help each other fight sin, we’ll all end up in bad shape.” Very true, and that’s why we need to notice what Jesus says in verse 5 – “First take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” When we are waging war against the sin in our own lives, we will then be able to help those around us. We will have the right humility, the right attitude, and the right dependence on God that we need in order to be beneficial in the lives of others and not a hindrance.

Ultimately, Jesus is giving us a warning here, not a rebuke. Though we carry a lot of negative connotations with the word “judge,” the Greek word Jesus used simply means to express an opinion or view on matters of right and wrong. It carried no connotation of pride, arrogance, or bitterness. The word was used of those who were wise and just leaders and rulers. Jesus isn’t telling us not to stand up for what is right and speak out against what is wrong. If he was, then he’d be quite the hypocrite, since he did his fair share of both. He’s telling us how we ought to judge, putting away pride and taking on humility, and with the attitude of Galatians 6:1 ensuring that we can be used for good in the lives of the people we care about.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 11/19/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

I can’t believe we finally finished. It’s been about a year and a half (counting breaks) and 57 lessons, but last night we had our final lesson in our expository series The Word Became Flesh: A Study of the Gospel of John. We’ve spent week after week tracing the teaching, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and trying to understand its relevance to us today. It’s been a fantastic ride, and one that’s helped me to grow immensely. Last night, we finished the study by looking at John 21:20-25, and thinking about the future, and our human tendency to want to have all the answers before we move forward. Jesus deals with this tendency as it crops up in Peter, and we’re reminded that for the disciples and for Christians today, the end of Jesus’ earthly story is just the beginning of our walk of faith.

When we left off last week, Jesus has just warned Peter of the price that Peter’s faith would ultimately carry. Before calling Peter to follow him, Jesus assures him that he is calling Peter to lay down his life. History tells us that this was true, as Peter was killed for preaching Christ (likely by crucifixion). Now, as we pick back up, Jesus and Peter go for a walk and talk further, followed by John. With the news of his difficult future fresh on his mind, Peter begins to think about the close bond that Jesus has shared with John. He and the other disciples seem to acknowledge John and Jesus’ close friendship (notice carefully the way that the betrayal question is posed in John 13:21-25), and John is the only disciple on record as staying by Jesus’ side throughout his crucifixion. Peter thus asks Jesus the question, “What about him? Will John share my fate?” Peter has questions, and he wants them answers. It seems that he wants to know, “Why me? Will the others have to suffer like this? Is this punishment for my betrayal?” We may not know exactly what was going through Peter’s head, but we do know that he was concerned with his future, and with why he would go through something. Most of us can relate to that, to asking the big, bad “why” question to God at some time or another. What kind of answer does Peter get to his?

In verse 23, Jesus answers by basically asking Peter, “If I allow John to live until I return, what would that have to do with you?” Peter had questions, and he wanted to know Jesus’ answers. However, Jesus doesn’t offer the answers he’s after. He just calls Peter to trust him. All of us have questions about this life. Why wasn’t my family experience what I wish it could have been growing up? Why didn’t this relationship or that pan out like I’d hoped? Why have I had to suffer in this way? The possibilities are endless. Now, I’m not saying that having those questions is wrong in and of itself. After all, Job had his share of questions for God, and we are told rather explicitly that he did not sin through his suffering. However, the point (and ironically enough, the same point that Job learned by the end of the book) is, if God never answers your questions, and only tells you “trust me,” is that enough for you? Is your faith in your God and Savior, or in your own ability to rationally map out whether or not your own spiritual journey has made satisfactory sense. Do you believe the promise of Romans 8:28? What about Matthew 28:20? Is that enough for you? Look, we’ll always have questions. This world, this life, is wrecked by sin, and its consequences are more far-reaching than I think we’ll ever be able to really comprehend. Sometimes God in his grace shows us answers. Other times, he doesn’t. At the end of the day, the million-dollar question is whether or not you’re willing to trust him when your understanding runs out. That’s the essence of faith. As we reflected on these things last night, it brought to my mind the words of England’s King George VI in his Christmas address of 1939. I leave you with them.

“I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be better than light, and safer than a known way.’”

The Supremacy of Christ

I found this very powerful...



HT: Vitamin Z

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 11/12/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Do you love Jesus Christ? That’s the question we all sought to answer last night in our study of John 21:15-19. When asked by a scholar what the most important commandment in all the law was, Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” There is no more important consideration for the Christian than our love for our God and for our Savior. If then, the question is of supreme importance, shouldn’t we devote some mental energy to answering it honestly? In our text from last night, Jesus posed the question to Peter, and pressed him in his response to consider all that a commitment to Christ entails. We sought to look at Jesus’ words to Peter and apply them to ourselves, with the goal of evaluating how our love for Christ is and in what areas we need to increase our affection for our Savior.

Jesus begins by asking Peter the very pointed question, “Do you love me more than these?” Pointed, because Peter had made exactly that claim prior to his denial of Christ. In Mark 14:26-31, Peter responds to Jesus’ proclamation that all the disciples would desert him by saying that even if everybody else turned and ran, he never would. He proclaimed a superior love for Christ, only to have that notion shattered by failing to even verbally identify with Christ during his greatest need. The pride is gone now, and Peter simply answers, “You know I love you.” In his response we see the first step in a love for Christ – saying it. Confessing our faith is the starting point, but even it can be difficult, as Peter learned - and as perhaps you’ve learned in you spiritual journey. In a world that is fallen, sometimes merely identifying with Jesus can lead to ridicule or worse. Yet Jesus pushes Peter past this starting point with his reply – “feed my lambs.” In essence, Jesus is calling Peter to the more difficult step in our love for Christ – living it. Jesus tells Peter that if he really loves him, he will care for his people, teaching them the way that Jesus had taught him. If our faith is real, as James tells us, it must become action, it must do something. There are many ways that our actions can proclaim our love for Christ. My students last night came up with several: caring for the outcast and the ignored, living a life where proclaiming your faith is a natural occurrence, being a person of your word whom others can depend on, being a person of integrity when you think nobody’s watching but God, and demonstrating by the use of your time what’s really important to you. In all of these areas, we put flesh and blood on our faith, demonstrate its reality and vitality, and demonstrate a true love for Christ in much the same way that our actions toward our spouse or significant other reflects our love for them. It’s interesting to note also that Jesus repeats his question and answer three times, mentally taking Peter back to his moment of greatest failure. Our actions aren’t earning our favor with God. We will all fail, just as Peter did. Yet, God’s grace picks us up and pushes us forward.

Many of us are content to stop here, if we get this far at all. Yet Jesus calls Peter further in verses 18 and 19. He foretells the violent death that Peter will endure as a result following him. He then ends with the simple admonition, “Follow me.” He is showing Peter – and us - that in answering the question of our love for him, it’s not enough to say it and live it, but we must be willing to die for it. Jesus gave some tough words to would-be followers throughout his ministry – telling people to forget their recently deceased loved ones, hate their families, and be ready to suffer and die. Our commitment to Christ should be such that we see him as far surpassing all things – even life itself. He must be our treasure in the field, for which everything else is expendable. He loved us unto death, and he calls us to the same love. Take some time today and ponder the question, “Do I love Christ?” Are you content to profess faith without doing anything about it? Or perhaps you’re living a life of faith, but still clinging to other loves above your Savior? No matter where you are, no matter how strong your love, the call of John 21:15-19 is the same. Move forward. Find a deeper love. Or, as Jesus simply put it, “Follow me.”

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 11/5/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

After a week off to celebrate Reformation Day, we were back in John again last night, taking a look at Jesus’ appearance to some of the disciples in John 21:1-14. Here, we see Jesus perform a miracle, which isn’t a new thing in John’s gospel. Over our yearlong study, we’ve seen several – Jesus turning water into wine, healing a crippled man, raising Lazarus from the dead – but this is the only miracle that is recorded for us from after Christ’s resurrection. Along the way, the miracles have been a demonstration of Jesus’ divine power. Yet, since the resurrection was the penultimate display of that power, Jesus helping the disciples catch some fish can’t help but feel anticlimactic. This miracle is about Jesus power, but it’s also about teaching us a lesson in trust, and in how we now should live in light of the resurrection.

We find several of the disciples together in this passage, and heading out onto the sea to fish. They spend an entire night out on the water, but don’t catch a single thing. This is a strange thing. These guys aren’t just some average Joes out for some weekend fishin’ – they’re professionals, having earned their living this way before being called by Christ. Yet, in God’s providence, they catch nothing at all this night. Yet in the morning, a man on the shore tells them to throw the net on the other side of the boat. Yeah, right, they must be thinking. Like twenty feet of water is going to make any kind of difference. Yet, for whatever reason, they toss the net to the other side, and they haul in a catch so large that the nets are too heavy to pull back in. They instantly recognize that the figure on shore is Jesus, and Peter dives in and swims for shore while the others haul the boat and their catch back to land.

As I thought about this passage over the last week, one verse constantly came to my mind – John 15:5. Giving his disciples a lesson about spiritual life, he tells them that without him, they can do nothing. What we have in John 21 is an object lesson illustrating that very fact. We are utterly dependent on God in all things. We can do nothing in our own strength. Yet how often are we like the disciples, charting our own course and choosing ourselves which side of the boat to throw the net on. Often, when Christ does speak to us, we are too distracted by ourselves to even recognize his voice. Think of your day-to-day life. Are you depending on Christ for your wisdom and your direction? For your attitudes and your decision-making? If you were to pretend tomorrow that Christ was not raised, would your day be any different than it normally is? All of us need to be more dependent on Christ. In what area of life are you relying on your own strength?

In the final verses, we see the disciples back on shore, eating breakfast with Jesus. They are enjoying fellowship with him – an aspect of our spiritual lives we cannot forget. Christianity isn’t just about what we do (although that is vital), it is about a relationship with Christ. After all, Jesus himself said that our love for God was the most important commandment in the law. If we are loving God as we should, then we will be living as we should as well. Are you cultivating a relationship with Christ? Are you spending time in his Word? Are you reading it like a school assignment, or are you pouring over and thinking about what you read as you go about your day? Are you praying? Are you praying for the things that God is most concerned about? Are you praying for your own spiritual growth, and for that of your friends? Through prayer, our attitudes are brought more in line with the attitude of Christ. Are you spending that time with him? As we look at John 21, we see a picture of the way that we need to approach our daily lives. It’s the answer to the question that must be central to all Christians - if Christ is alive, then now what?

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 10/22/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

What is faith? We claim that it’s what saves us, that it’s central to our lives, but what is it? If you told somebody today that they should have faith in Jesus Christ and they asked what that means, what would you tell them? Last night, we sought to answer that question as we continued our study of the Gospel of John in John 20:19-31. As Jesus appears to his disciples for the first time after his resurrection, we see firsthand the effects that a true faith should have on us, and we have an object lesson on the nature of faith itself.

First up, we see the results of faith. The disciples are sitting in a locked house, confused about the day’s events (the empty tomb) and fearful of the religious leaders who had Jesus crucified little more than 48 hours earlier. Suddenly, Jesus appears in the room, showing them his hands, feet, and side – that he was more than just a ghost, but that he had been raised from the dead. At this point, all the disciples in the room believe in his resurrection as they see him standing before their very eyes. Let’s focus, though, on what Jesus has to say to them. What should their newfound faith cause to happen? First, he says, “Peace be with you.” He’s calming their fears. Why can we have peace in our lives? Because Christ is risen. Sin loses its power, death and suffering lose their sting. If we have placed our full confidence in Christ’s atoning death and resurrection, then what have we to fear? Our future is secure. We like that, but immediately after Jesus says something more difficult. “As the father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Our faith must produce work. It must cause us to actually do something. I can talk all I want about my faith in a certain chair to hold my weight, but if I won’t actually sit in it, I have no faith in it at all. Faith necessitates action. Jesus tells us that he is sending us out just like the Father sent him into the world. He expounds on that, saying that we have authority to forgive sins. His statement sounds strange. In what sense do we have the authority to forgive sins? We offer forgiveness when we offer the gospel. We are sent into the world not with an authority that is inherent to us, but with an authority derived from the Word of God.

However, one disciple is absent from this meeting, and it is through him that we get a glimpse into the nature of faith. Thomas is told of what has happened, and he doesn’t believe it. He promises that he will never believe it until he can see for himself. Now, at this point, we might half expect to hear God say, “Tough luck, Thomas. That’s not how this whole ‘faith’ thing works!” But what does Christ do? He appears to Thomas. He invites him to see for himself. Despite the constant accusations of the New Atheists such as Dawkins, Hitchens, and their loyal cyberspace followers who repeat their arguments ad infinitum, faith is not blind. God has not left us to guess, but he presents to us evidence to understand. Our faith is not a blind mysticism but a faith grounded in a historical claim – that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead. However, before we trade in our idea of faith for an encyclopedia, Jesus delivers a stinging rebuke to Thomas. He points out that the faith God calls us to is often one that requires belief without absolute material certainty. Faith is not blind, but it is also not proof. I can’t empirically prove that Christ was raised from the dead. Becoming a Christian is not about assembling the correct tidbits of knowledge to build the perfect case. It is about trust. It is, at the end of the day, faith. But this faith has its reasons, as Pascal said. That’s what John points to in verses 30 and 31. He says that he is writing these things down – things he himself has seen – so that we might believe. He is giving us the story of Christ, reasons to have faith in him, but he also calls us to believe. Faith can be a tricky thing. Perhaps you’re seeking to follow Christ, but feel like you’re constantly overcome with doubts about how it can all be true. Perhaps you’re on the flip side – you have all the intellectual answers, but find it difficult to put those ideas into action and live a life of faith. Either way, seek God in his word, and pray for a stronger faith. Ask for the advice of those who have walked the journey of faith before you. At the end of the day, our task can be incredibly complex, but it’s also painfully simple. Trust Christ.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 10/15/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Last night, we concluded our study of Christ’s resurrection by looking at John 20:11-18. Whereas last week we focused on the empty tomb and the many stories offered to explain it away, this week we focused on the reality of the resurrection - what it accomplished, and what it means for us as Christians. We begun by pondering the question, “If Jesus’ life is our example and Jesus’ death bought our forgiveness, then why does the resurrection matter?” What does Jesus’ resurrection have to do with our faith? Is it just a tag-on happy ending to the more-important crucifixion? What we found is that there indeed is no more important reality in our faith than the resurrection, because without it our faith lacks any real power and our evangelism lacks any real authority.

First off, we looked at the resurrection as a demonstration of power. God, in raising Christ from the dead, did something that is impossible by human means. Christ’s power was seen here more clearly than ever before. Look at Mary Magdalene’s reaction to the empty tomb. The fact that Christ is alive has not even registered with her brain. She is distraught that his body has been stolen or moved, despite even seeing angels flanking the empty tomb. She doesn’t recognize Jesus when he appears to her. Plainly put, resurrection isn’t something that anyone plans to see. I fear, in a way, that we’ve all become so familiar with declaring that Jesus rose from the dead that we’ve lost the incredible nature of that claim. What happened in that moment was the ultimate display of divine power - the shattering of the force that we humans, for all our ingenuity, are powerless to overcome - death.

But why the display? Was God just showing off? Was this the divine equivalent of a rabbit out of a hat? By no means. To truly understand the purpose, we need to look at a parallel event from Jesus’ ministry in Luke 5:17-26. In that section, a paralyzed man is brought to Jesus for healing, and Jesus responds by pronouncing his sins forgiven. The Pharisees are outraged and essentially protest, “Who do you think you are? You can’t forgive sins! That’s God’s business.” Jesus fully anticipates what they’re getting at. Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven.” How can we know that it’s true? Christ responds by saying, “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins, get up and walk.” Christ performs a physical miracle as a demonstration of the power that he has over sin. The resurrection does the same thing. I could say that I’m going to throw myself in front of a bus and die for your sins, and I could indeed throw myself in front of a bus – but how can you believe that I’ve bought you cosmic forgiveness? What evidence would there be that I had delivered on my promise? The resurrection is the evidence that Christ has accomplished what he said he would do – seek and save that which is lost. He said as much himself in John 2:18-22.

But the resurrection is not only a demonstration of power, it’s also a declaration of authority. Notice Christ’s focus once he reveals himself to Mary. He speaks of ascending to the father repeatedly. Why the focus on his ascension? After all, the disciples don’t even know he’s alive yet! Philippians 2:8-11 fills us in about the significance of Christ’s exaltation – which began with his resurrection and continued with his ascension to the Father’s right hand – the ultimate position of authority. He stands now above all things, and all men must answer to him – all must one day bow. Christ’s resurrection and exaltation is what establishes him as not one religious leader among many, but as Lord of the universe.

And consider the tremendous effect that has on us as Christians – specifically, on our evangelism. Look at Paul’s exhortation to Titus in Titus 2:11-15. He encourages him to proclaim the gospel of salvation in Christ, and to do so “in all authority. Let no one disregard you.” He tells Titus that his preaching – his exhortations and rebukes – carry ultimate authority and he should preach accordingly. How can he say that? Who is Titus? How can I say to all people when I preach, “You must trust in Jesus Christ in order to have peace with God?” I have no authority. But I don’t proclaim my own authority, I proclaim Christ’s authority, which he has clearly demonstrated by rising from the dead. All people must answer to him. The exclusivity of the gospel would be arrogant (as the world often accuses) if I invented it. However, the authority of the gospel doesn’t rest in me, but in the risen Christ.

Presented with this picture, we all must decide what to do with the authority of Christ – the triumphant conquering king of Revelation 19. Will you reject and fight against it, as many do, or will you embrace it, and take refuge in him as your mighty fortress? There is no more important thing that you will ever consider in your life. Not because I say so, but because the one who died but is alive forevermore said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 10/1/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Last night, our study of the Gospel of John came to an event to which it’s been building for 50 lessons – our study of John 19 and its depiction of the crucifixion of Christ. Throughout the book, Jesus has been emphasizing to us the incredible importance of this moment, forecasting his own death repeatedly and telling his followers, “my hour has not yet come.” This “hour” he spoke of was the time when he would give his life for the redemption of humanity from sin. Jesus’ death and resurrection are the most important events in all of Christianity – and in human history. Thus, it is important that we take the time to carefully examine what they mean. Last night, we did exactly that with the cross – examining how it puts our sin on full display. After all, the suffering Christ endured is a direct result of our sin. We even changed the way we do things on Wednesday nights in order to snap our minds out of routine and force us to focus. We entered and exited our study time in silence and spent time meditating on songs that focus us on the cross (such as David Ward’s update of Albert Midlane’s “Look Unto Him”). My wife and another of our youth leaders read aloud Psalm 38 and Isaiah 53 before I said a word. Everything we did, we did to force ourselves to confront the brutal reality of the sin that dwells within each of us, in order that we can more fully appreciate the amazing grace we’ve been given.

We’re confronted first with the brutality of sin in verses 1-16. As John recounts Jesus’ beating and condemnation by Pilate, he focuses us on two things. First, the horrible brutality that Christ endured. His readers would have shuddered at the thought of a Roman flogging. John tells us that Christ is so badly beaten that Pilate, hoping the Pharisees’ bloodlust has been placated, simply stands Jesus before them and exclaims, “Behold the man!” – or as we might have put it, “Look at him! Is this not enough?” However, the Pharisees scream for more, for Christ to die. Yet, as John highlights Christ’s brutal suffering, the second thing that he highlights is that his suffering is for us. Repeatedly, Pilate’s belief that Jesus was guiltless is mentioned. Jesus himself tells Pilate that the only authority Pilate wields is that which the Father has given to him. Jesus is doing this all for a divine purpose, and that is to save his people from their sin.

Next, as Christ dies upon the cross in verses 17-30, we see the curse of sin. We see his physical suffering as he is nailed to the cross and breathes his last, yes, but the details mentioned are mentioned to take us to the reality that Christ was not just dying, but he was bearing the curse of God for sin on our behalf. First, the very mention of execution harkens back to the words of Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Then, there are the curious details mentioned – the soldiers’ gambling for Jesus’ clothes, his thirst, and the fact told to us in the other gospels that Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These details are to remind us of prophecy written long before about the one who would deliver us from sin, in particular Psalm 22. Christ’s death took the curse, the wrath of God that we rightly deserve and bore it in full. When we look at the anguish of the cross, we see what our deeds have earned.

What our deeds have earned is death. In Christ’s death, we see the finality of sin, highlighted in verses 31-37. John relates to us that the Romans broke the legs of those crucified to hasten their death, but when they came to Jesus they found that he was already dead. In order to be sure, one of them pierces Christ’s side with his spear, causing a gushing of blood and water. This fact demonstrates that Jesus was in fact dead – his heart had likely ruptured resulting in the pooling of fluid in his chest cavity. John understood that this signified certain death, and he shows us by emphasizing the truth of what he’s reporting, attempting to cut off any who would suggest that Christ never actually died, but only passed out. As the truth of Christ’s death is hammered home, we are forced to reflect on the finality of sin. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death – a horrible and final judgment made all the more terrifying by Jesus’ remarks in Matthew 10:28. The end result of our sin is our being eternally cut off from the goodness of God. Hell is real (Jesus talked about it more than any other Biblical figure), and from it there’s no going back.

All of that takes us to our final realization – the hopelessness of sin. In verses 38-42 Jesus is put in the ground. Essentially, they have his funeral. To us, the crucifixion is always tinged with hope, because we know the rest of the story – we see the glory of the resurrection. However, put yourselves in the shoes of the disciples. What must that intervening Saturday have been like? Imagine the hopelessness of thinking that the one who promised peace with God was destroyed. That hopelessness, that despair, is where we find ourselves in our sin – powerless to do anything to make things right with God. Our only hope is the beautiful reality expressed in Ephesians 2:1-10 – that God has saved us by his grace because of Christ’s sacrifice. If you don’t know that hope, I implore you as earnestly as humanly possible to seek it at the cross. Christ stands ready to save. As Jonathan Edwards put it, he has “flung wide open the floodgates of mercy.” If you are walking in that hope, then I pray that you will look the horrible, monstrous reality of your sin squarely in the face, that you might realize the incomparable scope and power of the amazing grace of our Lord.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 9/24/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Last night, we looked at Jesus’ questioning by Pilate in John 18:28-40. Pilate is an interesting figure in the Bible – he’s often seen as simultaneously a villain (for his hand in the execution of Christ) and as a sympathetic character (for having his decision-making hijacked by the hateful Pharisees, who just wanted to see Christ dead). We look at the poor decision Pilate made, and though we see it as bad, we don’t see him to be as bad as the Pharisees. Last night, we took a closer look, and saw in Pilate a man whose actions reveal an attitude toward Christ every bit as insulting as the Pharisees – and much more subtle, to the point that we can see the same attitudes in our friends, our neighbors, and sometimes even ourselves.

The Pharisees take Jesus to Pilate (the Roman governor of Judea) for one reason and one reason only – they want him dead, and the Romans were the only way to make that happen. Make no mistake, the Jews hated their Roman oppressors with a vitriol that we might feel if Canada conquered us, taxed us, and told us how to live. John reminds us that the Pharisees’ disdain for Gentiles (and their concern for legalistic righteousness) was so great that they wouldn’t even enter Pilate’s house. They’re not concerned with charges or justice, only with an execution. Pilate realizes early in the game that something is up, and when he asks why they don’t just deal with this themselves their goal comes out – they didn’t have legal authority to execute anyone, and thus they wanted Pilate to order exactly that.

Having seen the vitriol of the Pharisees, we are now presented with the encounter between Jesus and Pilate. Pilate shows none of the animosity that the Pharisees did, but to cast him as the good guy would be a big mistake. Pilate is also concerned with one thing and one thing only – his own life. His questioning was designed to quickly evaluate if Jesus was a threat to him. The claim in question was Jesus’ claim of kingship. If Christ was claiming political power, then he could incite a rebellion that would be trouble for Caesar and thus trouble for Pilate. He asks straightforward questions, and when Jesus responds by asking a question of his own, Pilate’s response is the equivalent of “I don’t give a rip. Your people brought you to me, so I want to know if you’re a problem for me.” Pilate is consumed by his own interests and sees Jesus as little more than an annoyance to be dealt with. Sound like anyone you know?

Christ answers Pilate’s question, but he does it in a way Pilate surely didn’t expect. Jesus delivers the famous line, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He’s telling Pilate that he is indeed a king, but not in the sense Pilate is worried about. However, Jesus is claiming a kingdom that transcends all, and an authority over Pilate that far exceeds what Pilate is concerned about. In essence, he’s focusing Pilate’s attention upward and calling him to focus on something greater. Pilate, however, wants none of it, essentially responding, “Is that a yes, then?” Jesus continues to explain his purpose – to bear witness to the light of God, to reveal the truth to all mankind. To Pilate, however, he might as well be speaking Japanese. He doesn’t understand at all, and dismissively says, “What is truth?” He doesn’t care at all about what Jesus has to say. At this point, he’s determined that this man isn’t a threat – maybe crazy, but not a threat, and he’s ready to get this situation out of his hair.

He takes Jesus outside, and the Pharisees start screaming for blood again, even demanding the release of a notorious killer so Christ can be executed. Our focus tends to turn to them again. What bad guys they are, right? I may not care about following about Christ, we think, but at least I don’t hate him. People in our culture like to think that they’re neutral to Christ, not taking a side one way or the other as if this makes things okay. Ask yourself the question, though – is Pilate’s lack of concern any better than the Pharisees’ hatred. Think of it this way – if I were to proclaim that I hated my wife and daughter, people who know me would be morally outraged, and rightly so. But would it be any better if I proclaimed that I don’t hate them, I just don’t care about them. I don’t give a rip. Would that be any better? Of course not! Why? Because apathy is insulting in the face of someone or something of great value. Anything less than love and devotion to my wife and baby girl is horrible, and it is infinitely more so with Christ. He demands our all, and he has given himself for our redemption. To view his perfect sacrifice for sin with indifference is every bit as antagonistic as outright hatred. There is no middle ground. That’s Pilate’s dangerous warning to us – apathy to Christ is a temptation that we are all prone to, but when we see him for the incredible savior that he is, apathy is inexcusable. This week, see Christ for the infinite source of joy he is, and follow him with your entire being.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 9/17/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

We had a small crowd last night (due to half the city still being without power), but we continued our trek through the gospel of John, studying the account of Peter’s denial of Christ from John 18:15-27. It’s a familiar story, and one that we often deride Peter for – after all, how can he deny knowing Christ three times after being told that he was going to do so? Yet, while we rain down the judgment on Peter, we miss the fact that our own failings are eerily similar. We’ve all been paralyzed by fear in our Christian walk from time to time. I shared a story last night about how, on the day our senior pastor resigned, I felt an unusual urge to put my hand on his shoulder and pray for him before he got up to preach. I didn’t, due to a silly fear of whether anyone would think it were strange. I knew full well what I should have done, but fear kept me from actually following through with it. I’m sure you’ve been down the same road. The question thus is, since we’ve all been (and likely will be) in the same boat as Peter, what do we learn from his great mistake?

The first thing that we should notice is his commitment to Christ. Yes, you heard me right. One of the things that makes it easy for us to slam Peter is the “otherness” of his actions. “I never would flat out deny that I know Christ,” we think. Immediately, we feel a little safer in our faith. At least we’re trying to follow Christ, Peter was denying that he even knew him to begin with! In our zeal for self-assurance we often miss the fact that Peter was even there to screw up to begin with. After the garden, 9 of the 11 remaining disciples bolt, not to be heard from until the resurrection. Only Peter and John are described by Scripture as sticking around, following Christ’s trial and travels from a distance (and in John’s case, from the foot of the cross). Peter didn’t run away, and he was at least halfway committed to sticking by his master. Here, we find him able to view and hear Jesus’ interrogation from the courtyard (see Luke 22:60-62). So, when we’re tempted to think that our intention to follow Christ safeguards us from Peter’s mistake, we make a very dangerous and false assumption. Peter was halfway committed to following Christ.

The problem is that half a commitment is no commitment at all. Peter was willing to follow from a distance, but when the time came to identify with Christ on a personal level he suddenly was a stranger. Because of fear about how those around him would react (reasonable fear, considering one of his questioners was related to the guy whose ear Peter had hacked off a couple hours earlier), he denied that Jesus meant anything to him. Are we not often in the same boat? Sure, we don’t care if anyone knows that we go to church (and for those of you out there who are with me in the ministry, we sure don’t mind the cultural respect that being a member of the clergy still somehow retains), but when people’s eyes turn angry and suspicious toward Christ and his teachings we often quietly backpedal away – sometimes verbally, sometimes by simply trying to fit in by ignoring the commands we’ve received from our savior.

The denial that we see from Peter is so common to us. It happens despite our best intentions, it starts out slow and easy and can quickly build into an ugly crescendo. Take this example as an opportunity to examine your own life. In what areas has fear stopped you from doing the things you know Christ is calling you to do? At what level of your Christian commitment does fear often derail you? Realize that these failings are no less serious than Peter’s betrayal in the courtyard, but also realize that Peter’s story does not end here. Christ brings him back and restores him by his mercy and grace, and that same grace is extended to us. Our standing before God is not dependant on how well we perform under pressure, but it is completely dependant on the finished work of Christ on the cross, and as such unchangeable. Guard your heart against making Peter’s mistake, and if you do find yourself weeping under the gaze of Christ, broken because of your betrayal, cling to the grace and mercy that Jesus gave to Peter – and freely gives today.

Politicians + Biblical Illiteracy = Crap Like This

"Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus. Pontius Pilate was a governor." - Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen

Um...wow.

Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 8/20/08

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

Last night, we continued our “You Asked For It” Q&A series with another question about the trustworthiness of the Christian message. After examining the truthfulness of the Bible last week, we now looked at the question “Can we trust that the resurrection is true?” Without a doubt, there is no more foundational belief for Christians than the belief that Christ has been bodily raised from the dead. Paul makes this very clear in 1 Corinthians 15, which we read as our call to worship to open last night’s Sola5 study. If Christ has not been raised, then we have no hope that our sins are forgiven or that we will live again also when this life is over. Plainly put, if Jesus is still dead, then we are a sorry bunch of fools. However, many have alleged that the four gospel accounts contain inconsistencies and cannot be trusted to be anything more than inspirational fiction. Do we see hopelessly contradictory accounts, or four individuals each giving their own take on the same events, highlighting different details that stuck out in their own minds? We tackled some of the biggest “problems” head on and examined why we should believe that Jesus of Nazareth returned to life after being dead and buried.

After reading the four accounts of the resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, and John 20:1-10), we looked at some of the most frequent criticisms of the text. First up, did the events described occur before or after sunrise? Mark indicates that that sun had risen while John says that it was still dark. The most obvious answer is that these two descriptions are not mutually exclusive. The sun does not flip on like a lightswitch, but anyone who is up for the sunrise (as, unfortunately, I often am) knows full well that the sun can be rising and it can also be quite dark outside, especially without the aid of electrical lights. That aside, the journey that the women take on foot from Jerusalem to the tomb would have likely taken half-an-hour at the very least – enough time for the lighting to change substantially, as reflected by Matthew’s description that it was toward dawn when the events took place. The next question – how many women and angels were at the tomb? The number of women named varies from 1 to 3, while the number of angels differs from one to two. However, the fact that certain women or angels were not mentioned doesn’t necessarily indicate that they weren’t there. For example, if you were to ask me what Heather and I did a week ago, I would tell you that we saw Brooks & Dunn and ZZ Top in concert. However, if you consulted the newspaper, you would find that we actually saw Brooks & Dunn, ZZ Top, and a guy named Rodney Atkins in concert. Was I lying when I left Atkins' name off my description? No, I was just leaving out a detail I didn’t find personally important to my telling of the story. We all do this all the time. The gospel writers aren’t seeking to give exhaustive details, but to tell the story as they remember it (or in the case of Mark and Luke, as it was told to them).

The last alleged contradiction we looked at was the one requiring the most thought – if Mary Magdalene had already seen the angels and the risen Jesus as described in Matthew 28, why does she seem worried and confused about the body being taken in John 20? The answer requires that we carefully examine what each writer is (and isn’t) saying. Matthew reports the women who went to the tomb, then simply refers to them as a group when they enter the tomb and see the angels and Jesus. However, John – who mentions only Mary Magdalene – points out that she fled the tomb immediately after seeing that the stone was gone, heading back to find Peter and John. This has a great effect on how we view the timeline of events. Matthew Perman and Justin Taylor have put together a detailed description here, but I’ll summarize: while the women see the angels and then Jesus, Mary tells Peter and John and the three of them set out for the tomb. While the rest of the women are looking for the rest of the disciples back in Jerusalem, Peter, John and Mary arrive at the tomb, and after Peter and John leave Mary has her famous encounter with Christ where she mistakes him for the gardener.

A careful look shows that the so-called contradictions in the gospel accounts actually have quite plausible explanations. When one considers the validity of the resurrection, one should also consider the wide scholarly acceptance of the empty tomb (Rome and the Jewish leaders wanted badly to extinguish Christianity – if the tomb wasn’t empty all they had to do was produce the body - game over) and the fact that 10 of the 11 disciples died violent deaths for their unwavering testimony to Christ’s resurrection and the 11th, John, didn’t get off for a lack of effort (he was tortured repeatedly and eventually banished to a remote island). People don’t often die for that which they know to be a lie, especially so many without exception. However, at the end of the day, no one will ever be intellectually argued into the Kingdom of Christ. Why? Because lack of information isn’t our problem – sin is. Christ himself said that we could not have faith in him apart from the work of the Spirit of God. Faith can only result from God’s free gift, and all the mental evidence and theory in the world means nothing until the heart of stone is exchanged for the heart of flesh. Thus, while it is important that we think carefully and critically about the Scriptures, we must always remember that our trust is in Christ because of the change he’s made in us. We can’t miss the forest for the trees. As my good friend Josh Nelson put it last night, thought many people alledge inconsistencies in the gospel accounts, the four accounts undoubtedly agree on one pretty important point – Jesus did rise from the dead.