The Business that Occupied Job’s Life

from Google Images

In Job 7:1-6 Job seems to be describing what Solomon would later write about. Solomon wrote about the business that God had given men to do. This business has to do with: trouble, drudgery, burdens etc. In other words, it wasn’t something pleasing or enjoyable that Solomon described. He wrote about what came to be man’s lot after he rebelled from God. In wanting to know and define both good and evil for themselves, Adam and Eve wanted to know independence, vis-à-vis the absence of God’s presence in their lives. In other words, they didn’t want to have to answer to God for what they did. They wanted to make all the choices for themselves. They believed they knew what was good for them and what was not! Thus, they sought to remove God from their lives (cp. Romans 1:28), and this is what took away their rest (cp. Hebrews 4:4, 9-11), and in its wake, they inherited both struggle and labor.

 

It Is Finished!

from Google Images

John doesn’t mention several events that occurred that day, which are recorded in the Synoptics. The fourth Gospel was probably the last narrative written about Jesus, so John would have known what was recorded in the other Gospel narratives. Therefore, what we find in this Gospel reflect the thoughts and choices John made to compile his witness of Jesus’ life. John is very different from the Synoptics, in that many events here are not recorded there, and vice versa. For example, John doesn’t speak of the darkness that covered the land, but he is the only writer who records the presence of Jesus’ mother and what Jesus did to care for her in his absence. Moreover, he doesn’t record the earthquake that caused the veil of the Temple to be torn from top to bottom, but he does record the words he said, when he cried out aloud. He made choices both to leave out what was already recorded, unless what was said elsewhere was absolutely essential to what he wanted to say in his own account, and he made choices to add what he knew occurred that the Synoptics left out.

 

Serving the Flesh Denies Christ

from Google Images

Perhaps one of the most surprising developments that occurred that evening was when Jesus predicted Peter’s denial (John 13:36). How many of us, I wonder, actually consider what we do, and in terms of service to the Lord. What I mean is, do we really understand whether what we do for Jesus actually comes from God or does it come from man? Certainly, the Pharisees believed what they did, all the ceremonial washings etc. served God, but Jesus said they denied God (Matthew 15:1-9; Mark 7:5-13), in that his word was set aside so they could serve him according to their traditions. Notice that they thought they served God, but they set aside serving him according to his word, so they could serve him according to what they thought was appropriate.

 

Pulling Up Stakes

from Google Images

I believe the scholars’ choice of the word “cross” to translate the Greek word stauros (G4716) into the English language (Mark 8:34) is lazy scholarship.[1] Moreover, I don’t think the excuse the translators offer is a valid one, namely, since there is no word for cross in the ancient Greek language, they are forced to use the term found in the Latin Vulgate to translate the Greek word into English. It is as though no logical thought was ever used in the translation. When they came to stauros in the text, they simply wrote down cross, automatically and without any forethought, even though the phrase take up one’s cross or bear one’s cross was never used by the ancients. It is a modern idea derived from the scholars choice to translate the Greek into cross in the English—wherever they find the word stauros (G4716) in the text.

 

Gaining Eternal Redemption

from Google Images

Paul tells us that Jesus entered the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place once (Hebrews 9:12) and sat down (cf. Hebrews 1:2-3), implying rest from his redemptive labor (cp. Genesis 2:1-3). Notice that Paul mentions this, placing it between the two references to the Old Covenant ordinance of entering that Sanctuary with the blood of animals (Hebrews 9:10, 12-13). The validity of the Old Covenant stood or took its validity from the blood of animal sacrifices and frequent and various modes washing etc. (Hebrews 9:10). Not so the new order, for the New Covenant is entirely based upon the effectiveness of the Sacrifice of Jesus, which concerned his own life’s blood.

 

Did the Old Covenant End at the Cross?

from Google Images

Some brethren understand the scriptures to say that the Old Covenant ended at the cross. After all, Colossians 2:14 does tell us “He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” That seems final enough, and even in another letter Paul added, “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances…” (Ephesians 2:15). Yet, if this is so, and the Apostles preached it, wouldn’t they have been excommunicated from Jewish society, and, if they preached against the Temple sacrifices and against Temple worship, why would the Jewish authorities permit them to do it in the Temple (Acts 2:46; 5:42)? If they preached against the Temple, why would they have been found in the Temple worshiping (Acts 3:1; 22:17)?

 

False Teachers

from Google Images

Have you ever wondered what life would have been like had the Jews not rejected Jesus? For example, would there be a need for a Second Coming? Would Christ, today, be reigning out of Jerusalem, and would the world be at peace? This seems to be the position taken by the dispensationalists, because they expect Christ to return sometime in the future and do exactly that. In fact, according to the father of modern Dispensationalism, John Darby, the Cross was the work of Satan.

 

A Proper Perspective for Relationships

from Google Images

Sometime after leaving the home of the chief Pharisee, Luke tells us that a multitude followed Jesus (Luke 14:25). Jesus stopped and turned to them and said that anyone who doesn’t hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters cannot be his disciple. In other words, Jesus claimed that a disciple’s relationship with Jesus must come before any other close relationship, even one’s family (Luke 14:26). Does Jesus really intend that we actually despise our families so that we can follow him? No, this is not his intended meaning, because, if that were true, it would contradict other places of scripture, where we are told to love our parents, our wives, our children and our brothers and sisters.

 

Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles

from Google Images

The context seems to indicate that Jesus brought only the Twelve with him when he went up to Caesarea Philippi (Luke 9:18; cf. John 6:66-68). It seems the disciples still needed some R&R due to their preaching mission (Luke 9:1-2), which they didn’t receive when the crowds followed them into the wilderness area near Bethsaida and elsewhere. Furthermore, since Caesarea Philippi could be considered pagan territory, it wasn’t likely that anyone would follow Jesus there but the Twelve.

 

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

from Google Images

In his book, The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins has described the Atonement:

“I have described atonement, the central doctrine of Christianity, as vicious, sado-masochistic and repellent. We should also dismiss it as barking mad, but for its ubiquitous familiarity which has dulled our objectivity. If God wanted to forgive our sins, why not just forgive them, without having himself tortured and executed in payment…”[1]

What can be said of this? Well, first of all, it seems that Dr. Dawkins has misunderstood the doctrine of Atonement. While it may be true that our sins can be forgiven outright, this doesn’t tell the whole story.

 

The Ultimate Free Lunch

The Big Bang
(Image from Google Images)

When speaking about the Big Bang Theory, physicist and cosmologist, Alan Guth, described the expanding universe as “the ultimate free lunch.”[1] That idea is very appealing. Nearly everyone likes to get something for free or next to it. For example, how many of us have ever entered free contests to receive a prize, whereby all we have to do is give our names and wait for someone to randomly pick the winner out of jar full of slips of paper, so we can take home our booty?

 

Who Are These People?

Luke records for us in Acts 13:1 the names of five church leaders at Antioch, saying: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” Who are these people? Luke simply mentions their names. We know a little about Barnabas, but I’ll deal with him at length in another blog. We know who Saul is, and I have already written about Lucius of Cyrene HERE, but who are Simeon, called Niger, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch? Can we know?

 

What’s Left, If We Don’t Have Jesus?

In John 6 the Gospel writer for all intents and purposes has Jesus complete his Galilean ministry. This is not literally so, and we can readily see this, if we compare John with the Synoptics, but for the Gospel of John, Jesus’ Galilean ministry ends with this chapter. From this point on, John is interested in telling us about Jesus’ Judean ministry—most of it spent in Jerusalem.

 

Did John the Baptist’s Ministry Fail?

This post is in response to an ongoing discussion I am having HERE. Since the discussion replies have become quite lengthy I thought I would blog my replies as long as they seem important and may be of an interest to others who come to my blog and may not be aware of the discussion. My partner’s name in this discussion is Arthur, and he has taken the position that John’s ministry was a failure, and, because it was a failure, Jesus had to be crucified. At least this is the conclusion of the speaker in the video[1] presented on Arthur’s website (see link below). Arthur’s words will be in bold italic to distinguish them from what I have to say. The first Scripture under discussion is:

 

Jesus Was Crucified on a Wednesday!

from Google Images

Unless I am missing something, a Wednesday crucifixion is the only day that can be reconciled with the Scriptures. The events noted in my previous five posts would fall in this order:

Nisan 9

Six day before the Passover (John 12:1),[1] Jesus came from Jericho and entered Jerusalem on a colt amid cries of “Hosanna to the Son of David…” The city was moved and wondered who Jesus was (Matthew 21:10). He entered the Temple area and cast out all those who bought and sold (Matthew 21:12-13). He healed the blind and the lame and then, because it is evening, he left for Bethany (Matthew 21:1-17) to lodge with his friend, Lazarus. Nisan 9 occurred on Friday, the week prior to the Crucifixion. By the way, Jericho is about 15-17 miles from Jerusalem; folks today have walked the distance in about eight hours. Jesus and the disciples may have covered the distance in the same time or even less, since they walked wherever they went and were used to traveling long distances by foot.