24/6 Is a Better Way to Live
Jesus makes an important point about the Sabbath: it is a gift from God to humanity. It is meant to be a blessing. The 24/6 lifestyle is a radical way to live, and a better way. But it is difficult to achieve!
How do you need to start preparing now so you can have a day off this weekend?
Today’s Scripture:
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Why There Were Tax Collectors in Capernaum
When Levi becomes a disciple of Jesus, he invites Jesus over for dinner, along with a large group of Levi's fellow tax collectors. Capernaum (on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee) was right on the border between two administrative regions, and so it was a natural place to collect taxes and customs. In the photo above (taken on our trip to Israel earlier this year), you can see from the excavations that Capernaum was a thriving village at the time of Jesus. Maybe Levi lived in one of those houses?
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Is This the House Where Jesus Healed the Paralytic?
In Capernaum today, you can see the foundations of houses that archeologists have uncovered, foundations that date from the time of Jesus. Is one of these houses the place where the friends of the paralyzed man broke through the roof to lower their friend down to be healed by Jesus? Check out the video:
[I know some folks have been having trouble with my videos, so I hope the fix below helps. Sorry this post is later than normal.]
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Jesus's View Every Morning
Here's a brief video showing what Jesus saw from his window in Capernaum every morning:
Today’s Scripture:
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What I Saw in Capernaum
Jesus was raised in Nazareth, but moved to Capernaum as an adult, and Capernaum is where he performed many miracles. You can still see the foundation of the Capernaum synagogue today! Check out the video below:
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They Tried to Throw Jesus Off This Cliff
Until I went to Israel earlier this year, I had very little feel for the the topography and geography of the Holy Land, which is funny, because now that I have eyes to notice, I see topographical and geographical details everywhere in the Bible. (Which, by the way, is a strong argument in favor of the trustworthiness of scripture--you couldn't make all these little details up.)
Today's account in Luke contains a great example of the kind of topographical detail I previously overlooked. I was astounded when I was standing on the cliff that overlooks Nazareth and realized that this is where Luke tells is that the townspeople of Nazareth tried to kill Jesus.
Here are some pictures:
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That's the modern city of Nazareth behind me. -
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The modern city of Nazareth. -
Mount Carmel is in the distance.
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What Temptation Is
Each of the devil's temptations is about receiving something legitimate but in an illegitimate way.
- Jesus is hungry--food is a legitimate need;
- Jesus is Lord--having the authority and splendor of the world's kingdoms is his right;
- Jesus is Messiah--it is right that all the people in Jerusalem see his power.
The problem is that each of those legitimate ends can only come through suffering, and this is the temptation that the devil puts before Jesus: have what you need or what is rightfully yours, but have it without suffering for it.
Remember, though, that it's Cross before Crown.
What temptations are you facing today?
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Joseph Was and Wasn't Jesus's Father
Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus; as Luke has already told us, Mary miraculously conceived. So, why does Luke give us Joseph's genealogy? Because he was born into Joseph's family, and raised as Joseph's son.
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Stone Children
John the Baptist really lets the Jews who have come out to be baptized by him in the River Jordan have it:
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 3:7-9
Apparently, there were Jews who thought that just because they were descended from Abraham (i.e., ethnically Jewish), then they could live however they want: their status as the covenant people wouldn't be in question.
John's point is that it's not enough to self-righteously claim your spiritual status: you have to actually live like it by "producing fruit" that comes from repentance (v.8).
Not that this is a relevant message for us, right?
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Boy Jesus
The account Luke gives us of 12 year-old Jesus in the Temple is the only account we have of Jesus as a boy. Slow down and read it again--it is such a human story. Can't you just see Mary and Joseph's growing panic and exasperation when they realize they've left their eldest son behind in Jerusalem?
(By the way, it seems likely that Mary was one of Luke's eyewitness sources. Look at the times Luke tells us that Mary "treasured all these things in her heart." Each of the strange occurrences of Jesus's childhood was remembered by Mary and pondered over years afterward.)
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Because They Were Poor
Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple as a newborn and made a sacrifice of 2 birds. Why is this significant? Because as explained in Leviticus 12:6-8, if you can afford it, the appropriate sacrifice after the birth of a firstborn child is a lamb. But, if you can't afford a lamb, then 2 doves or pigeons is acceptable.
What does it mean that when the Savior came, he came to a poor family?
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Christmas Shepherds
Apparently, shepherding was not a reputable occupation at the time of Jesus: shepherds were considered shifty, filthy, and not respectable. Guess who were the first people to be told of the birth of Jesus? Shepherds.
When Jesus shows up, the nobodies are included.
To whom do you need to reach out today?
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John Wild
Just like Elijah in the Old Testament, John the Baptist lives in the wilderness until he begins his ministry (Luke 1:80). Why is that detail important? Because Luke is showing us that the Gospel is the continuation of Israel's story--God made promises to Abraham, and he is fulfilling them through Jesus.
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How Does the Old Testament Connect With the New?
Mary understands that the baby she bears is God's fulfilled promise to Israel. Reflecting on her pregnancy, she sings:
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”Luke 1:54-55
How does the Old Testament connect with the New? Through Jesus. Jesus is the answer to all of God's promises to Israel, and so the New Testament is part 2 of Israel's story, in which God moves to bless the entire world, both Jew and Gentile.
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"Okay, I'll Do It"
Contrast Mary's reaction to the angel Gabriel with Zechariah's reaction:
When the angel comes to Zechariah, Zechariah is hesitant to trust God's word;
When the angel comes to Mary, Mary says--in effect--"Okay, I'll do it."
Sometimes it's just that simple.
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Luke's Gospel Begins
For the next several months, we'll be reading Luke's Gospel together. Some quick points:
- After reading Matthew and then Mark, I've noticed how different Luke's style is. Compared with Mark's vivid immediacy, e.g., Luke seems much smoother and more elegant.
- Luke tells us in his prologue (Luke 1:1-4) that he has studied other sources (other Gospels?) and deliberately arranged his account in a way that will help us readers have confidence that Jesus is the Lord. Note that Luke doesn't say that he was in some kind of trance when he was writing; rather, God used Luke's free will and hard work to give us this Gospel.
- Zechariah disbelieves the angel's promise that he will have a son (John the Baptist) in his old age. Note that Zechariah's disbelief doesn't keep God's word from happening; Zechariah's disbelief keeps Zechariah from having the joy and peace the come from trusting God at his word.
Over and over, scripture tells us not to be afraid. Don't let your worries rob you today of the joy and peace that God's word brings.
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How to Make the Rest of 2019 the Best of 2019
We’re halfway through 2019. Want to make the rest of the year the best of the year? Here’s how:
Start practicing the First15 and begin reading the Gospel of Luke with me tomorrow. In 2019, we've been reading through the Gospels every weekday; starting tomorrow, we’re reading through Luke every weekday from now until the end of October. Each reading is short (less than 5 minutes), and every weekday I’ll be writing a very short commentary on that day’s passage.
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Fred Jones: "It Won't Hurt to Try It"
Mungarians Fred and Debra Jones took me up on the Gospels challenge starting in January, and here’s what the experience has meant to them:
Are you in?
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Did the Resurrection Really Happen?
Did the Resurrection actually happen? The Apostle Paul, writing in sometime in the 50's A.D., had this to say: "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:14). In other words, Christianity rises and falls with the Resurrection of Jesus. But, the issue for many modern people is that though the Resurrection seems like a nice story, we know that dead people stay dead and that it couldn't possibly have happened. So, did the Resurrection happen, or not? I think it did, and here are three reasons why.
(By the Way: It Wasn't a Spiritual or Emotional Resurrection)
As a way around the difficulty of the Resurrection, some people say that what the Gospels report is some kind of spiritual or emotional sense that Jesus was still with his disciples after his death. This view does not at all match what the Gospels themselves say, namely that after the Resurrection:
- Jesus ate food (Luke 24:13-32 & John 21:1-14) and
- Jesus made physical contact with the disciples (Luke 24:36-43 and John 20:24-29).
The Gospels are very clear: the Resurrection was a bodily resurrection, and not a vague spiritual sense that Jesus was still alive.So, what reasons do we have to believe that the Resurrection happened?
Reason 1: The Women Witnesses
All the canonical Gospels agree that the first witnesses to the empty tomb and the Resurrection of Jesus were women. In our world, that detail doesn't surprise us, but in the ancient world this would have been a shocking detail because women weren't considered reliable witnesses in the ancient world.If you were making up a resurrection hoax in the 1st century Mediterranean world, you would never say that women were the first witnesses of your story. So, why do all the gospels insist that women were the first witnesses?The simplest reason for the inclusion of the women witnesses: because the Gospels are merely reporting what actually happened. The inconvenient truth of the women witnesses is a detail that argues for the plausibility of the Resurrection.
Reason 2: The Deaths of All Involved
Many people have died for lies that they believed were true, but groups of people do not die for what they know is a lie.Virtually all the disciples of Jesus were martyred for their faith in him. If they were making up the Resurrection, then they would have recanted their stories at the point of death. But they didn't.
Chuck Colson, one of the Nixon men involved in the Watergate break-in, had this to say:
I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.
Chuck Colson
The martyrdom of the early Christians is a strong argument in favor of the truth of their claims.
Reason 3: It Was Testimony, Not Legend
Modern people will say that the Resurrection is a legend, a folktale that took shape over generations and that consequently grew in the telling, like George Washington and the Cherry Tree.The problem with this theory is that it doesn't fit the facts: the letters of Paul began to be circulated around 20 years after the death of Jesus, the Gospel of Mark within 40 years, and the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John within 60 years (at the latest). In other words, Christians were publicly talking about the Resurrection within the lifetime of its witnesses. Anyone who wanted to investigate the truth of the Resurrection merely had to talk to its witnesses.A legend takes generations to develop, but the Gospels (and other New Testament materials) were written down and circulated within a generation or two of the events of that first Easter Sunday, i.e., way too soon a time for a legend to develop.Rather than being a legend, the Resurrection was testimony.
Testimony is a valid form of historical memory. People who experienced the events say, "I was there. I saw it." January was the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and there are thousands of people who lived through the Nazi concentration camps who can still testify today to their experience, 70 years later. One of the reasons Holocaust deniers have a hard time gaining a hearing is because there are people who can point to their blue tattoos and say, "No, it did happen: I was there."
Just as the remaining Holocaust survivors' testimony is available to anyone wanting to investigate the Holocaust today, so the Resurrection witnesses' testimony was available to anyone wanting to investigate the Resurrection at the time that the New Testament was taking shape.
Conclusion: the Resurrection is Plausible
The Resurrection cannot be proved in a laboratory. But, we can examine the facts and decide that it is more plausible that the Resurrection happened than that it did not happen.Now, some people will accept the above and yet still insist: "We know that dead people stay dead, and therefore the Resurrection could not have happened." The problem with that position is that history is full of events that seemed impossible and that actually happened. I admit that the Resurrection is unique as an historical event, but that doesn't mean that it is necessarily impossible. In any historical inquiry, we have to look at the evidence and see where it takes us. In this case, I believe the evidence argues in favor of the Resurrection.The reason discussions like this are important are not because they can bring anyone across the threshold of faith (only God can do that), but because I've found that some people won't even approach the door of faith if they believe that the claims of the faith cannot possibly be true; arguments can't cause someone to believe, but they can knock down bad reasons for not believing.Here's hoping this little post might help someone somewhere come a bit closer.[originally published Easter 2015]
Today’s Scripture:
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The Church of the Holy Sepulcher
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is in Jerusalem, supposedly built over the tomb of Jesus, and we visited there in February. The more I've read about it, the more convinced I am that this is really where Jesus was buried--this actually happened.
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Alexander & Rufus
"A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross."
Mark 15:21
The identities of the sons of Simon of Cyrene are irrelevant to Mark's story. So, why mention Alexander and Rufus?
Because they were members of the early church, known to Mark's readers. How awesome is that?!
Their dad was forced by the Romans to carry Christ's cross on the way to Golgotha.
His sons became Christ's followers.
WOW.
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