Bible Study for Sermon on April 1, 2012
Psalm 118 is a great choice for Palm Sunday: Followers of Jesus Christ find Psalm 118 echoed by Jesus' life and suffering/death, and even by his (and our) resurrection. Verse 26a ("Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD") is cited by all four gospels (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:8,9; Luke 19:37-38; John 12:13) in depicting Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus himself cited verses 22-23 ("The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone...") in Matthew 21:42. Peter cites verse 22 in Acts 4:10-11. Verse 27 speaks of a "festal procession with branches". And the praise-filled Hosanna!" of Matthew 21:9 and John 12:13 come from the transliterated Greek form of verse 25a's Hebrew "Save us now," or "Please save us"). God has become the psalmist's salvation (vv. 14, 21).
Psalm 118, a psalm of praise which gives thanks to the Lord for that deliverance, concludes a group of hymnic psalm of prise (Psalm 113-118). They have been used in Jewish celebrations of the yearly pilgrimage festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16; Mark 14:26); Passover/Unleavened Bread, Weeks/Pentecost, and Shelters/Booths/Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:13-15). Psalm 118 is associated with this last festival; it is sandwiched between the shortest and longest chapters of the Bible.
The first and last verses of Psalm 118 (vv. 1 and 29) are bookends with identical exuberant words: "O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, (for) his steadfast love endures forever." The psalmist declares, "The LORD is good", meaning that he holds God in highest esteem, as one whose qualities are to be desired. "Steadfast love" in Hebrew is hesed, translated variously: steadfast love, love, loving kindness, mercy, faithful love, loyal love. Hesed can be understood as covenant loyalty, graciousness and kindness. God honors his covenant with us human beings, sometimes even when we breach them.
Note the joy throughout the psalm, in celebrating their annual festival, all the people and leaders trust in the Lord God to reactivate his saving victory in their lives. The LORD is God, and the psalmist God.
Verses 22-23 speak of the people's finding the Lord's provision of "the stone" to be marvelous. In the earliest Old Testament writings and context the meaning of verse 22 is uncertain. However, from the earliest days of the Christian movement the Psalm has been taken as referring to Jesus: "the stone that the builders rejected was Jesus and followed by God raising Jesus from the dead. And because he lives we live; Christians are encouraged by verse 17's "I shall not die, but I shall live..."
Ephesians 2:19-22 calls Jesus Christ "the corner, the cornerstone, capstone, keystone), which corresponds to Psalm 118:22's "the head of the corner." God is saying that the one who trusts Jesus will not panic, and in fact be made the center of our lives.
Since it is the Lord alone who can bring deliverance and victory, Psalm 118 urges placing our trust in the Lord rather than either placing our ultimate trust in human beings or fearing them. Notice the verses 8 and 9: put confidence in and take refuge in. In this we may be thankful.
The gates of righteousness are those of the temple, where only the godly righteous may enter. Righteousness is living by God's rights, moral and ethical standards in relationships to others, which includes mercy for the needy and helpless, along with equal justice for all in legal matters. Righteousness can also mean the righteous vindication of God.
Significantly, verse 26a's "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD" is cited in all four gospels. Jesus' disciples and the crowd shout it out as he enters Jerusalem that final time. It was earlier in history referring to the king who came to Jerusalem as the representative of God, later it came to refer to the Messiah coming. This is the beginning of eternal hope.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Bible Study for Sermon for March 25, 2012
Hebrew 5:5-10
This piece of Holy Scripture begins by stating that Christ was appointed High Priest by God. This divine appointment (a good Methodist word) of priesthood follows an earlier statement by the author of Hebrews concerning Christ's divine designation as Son (1:1-5). Hebrews 5:5 quotes Psalm 2:8, the same psalm that appears in 1:5, one of the opening verses of the book. In both places, 1:5 and 5:5, the Hebrews' author declares this quote is from God speaking to Jesus about his Sonship. In 1:5, the citation is used to illustrate that Jesus is higher than angels, for God never called an angel, Son. Historically, the psalm may have been at the coronation of an Israelite king but seems to have been interpreted later by early Christians as messianic in describing Jesus' status as Son, which is how the author of Hebrews uses it. Although in 1:5 the citation is used to show Jesus' superiority to the angels, here in 5:5 the author utilizes the quote to say that the same God, who designated Jesus as Son, has now also appointed him as High Priest. The author seems to have shifted from presenting Jesus as Son in 1:5 to presenting him as priest in 5:6.
Accordingly, the Hebrews's author employment of another Old Testament quote 5:6, Psalm 110:4, serves to describe Christ's priesthood. Once again, it is God speaking to Christ, and the audience is allowed to overhear God's pronouncement to the Christ of his eternal priesthood. (Honestly, there is no consensus on what is meant by "the order of Melchizedek.") I am convicted that it is used to emphasize that Jesus' order had no beginning and will have no end. In Hebrews 7 we get a greater understanding of the role that Melchizedek plays in the theology of Hebrews, which assists in our understanding of Melchizedek who is "without father, without mother, without genealogy, never having beginning of days nor end of life (7:3). It is important to remember that this statement is about Melchizedek's priesthood, not his actual person and that the author of Hebrews is engaging in an interpretation of Genesis 14, not the historical person Melchizedek..
The Genesis text is silent about Melchizedek's parentage, priestly orgin, birth and death. This absent data about Melchizedek allows the author of Hebrews to follow the practice of his day and use it to talk about Jesus. Jesus is a priest who has no "priestly lineage, no point at which he takes over from another priest or surrenders his office to someone who will suceed him. More importantly, a priest after the order of Melchizedek does not die since it is not mentioned and therefore Jesus will not die. This ancient pratice provides the framework for the author of Hebrews to talk about Jesus. Christ, like Melchizedek, has no Levitical lineage and Christ is eternal, and, therefore, so is his priestly service; he forevers intercedes for believers (7:24). According to the author of Hebrews God uses Scripture to foreshadow Christ.
Interestingly, the author moves from Christ's eternal priesthood to describe Jesus' days on Earth (5:7). Here, there seems to be a combination of eternal and fleshly, of finite and infinite, but in actuality, the author provides evidence of Christ's priestly activity. Jesus offers up "prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who is able to sympathize and intercede for those suffering. In Hebrews 4:15 he said, "We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with feelings or our infirmities." While we are never told what Jesus explicitly request in his prayers and supplicatons, the language suggests Jesus agony in the Garden of Gethsemany and his cries for deliverance from death. Though the one who could have saved him from death did deliver him out of death by the resurrection, though it was not God's purpose to save him from dying. Thus, Jesus' prayer was heard ultimately in that he was delivered from death through resurrection (5:7).
In 5:8 the writer states that Jesus "learned obedience through what he suffered." Here the author holds Jesus up as a model for his audience and helps them see their own plight differently. They, like Jesus, are being tested and they are beig brought to glory as well (2:10), and just as God brought Jesus out of suffering to glory, God will likewise bring them out of suffering to glory, too. The author's statement that Jesus learned obedience seems to contradict his earlier statement in 4:15 in which Jesus is said to be sinless. But, authentic obedience is practiced in particular situations. Although Jesus was never disobedience to God, he could not demonstrate obedience until he was placed in situations where the will of God was challenged and obedience was required. There was constancy in Jesus' unfailing obedience to God's will, yet as Jesus encountered new situations, his faithfulness to God was challenged, and his obedience was shaped accordingly.
Jesus' suffering ultimately leads to his perfection (maturity). While human maturity has a moral feature, including the cleansing of one's conscience (10:1-2), Christ's perfection has no moral component since he has no sin. Perfection for Christ entails demonstrating appropriate obedience on Earth (5:7), suffering for humanity (2:10; 5:9) and being exalted to the right hand of God (7:28). Therefore, perfection for Christ means that he has successfully completed the human experience" and he has been exalted to glory. It is because Christ has been perfected that he can now be the Savior and High Priest for all who obey him. Jesus as Christ learned through obedience, obedience becomes a central element for those who follow him. The author's words in describing Christ in 5:5-10 may suggest a contrast between Christ and Adam, whose disobedience ushered in death and not life, destruction and not salvation. The verses close with a reiteration of Christ's eternal priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. The eternal salvation of those who obey Christ (5:9) is assured because of the eternal priesthood of Christ, who is a "merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God" (2:17).
Hebrew 5:5-10
This piece of Holy Scripture begins by stating that Christ was appointed High Priest by God. This divine appointment (a good Methodist word) of priesthood follows an earlier statement by the author of Hebrews concerning Christ's divine designation as Son (1:1-5). Hebrews 5:5 quotes Psalm 2:8, the same psalm that appears in 1:5, one of the opening verses of the book. In both places, 1:5 and 5:5, the Hebrews' author declares this quote is from God speaking to Jesus about his Sonship. In 1:5, the citation is used to illustrate that Jesus is higher than angels, for God never called an angel, Son. Historically, the psalm may have been at the coronation of an Israelite king but seems to have been interpreted later by early Christians as messianic in describing Jesus' status as Son, which is how the author of Hebrews uses it. Although in 1:5 the citation is used to show Jesus' superiority to the angels, here in 5:5 the author utilizes the quote to say that the same God, who designated Jesus as Son, has now also appointed him as High Priest. The author seems to have shifted from presenting Jesus as Son in 1:5 to presenting him as priest in 5:6.
Accordingly, the Hebrews's author employment of another Old Testament quote 5:6, Psalm 110:4, serves to describe Christ's priesthood. Once again, it is God speaking to Christ, and the audience is allowed to overhear God's pronouncement to the Christ of his eternal priesthood. (Honestly, there is no consensus on what is meant by "the order of Melchizedek.") I am convicted that it is used to emphasize that Jesus' order had no beginning and will have no end. In Hebrews 7 we get a greater understanding of the role that Melchizedek plays in the theology of Hebrews, which assists in our understanding of Melchizedek who is "without father, without mother, without genealogy, never having beginning of days nor end of life (7:3). It is important to remember that this statement is about Melchizedek's priesthood, not his actual person and that the author of Hebrews is engaging in an interpretation of Genesis 14, not the historical person Melchizedek..
The Genesis text is silent about Melchizedek's parentage, priestly orgin, birth and death. This absent data about Melchizedek allows the author of Hebrews to follow the practice of his day and use it to talk about Jesus. Jesus is a priest who has no "priestly lineage, no point at which he takes over from another priest or surrenders his office to someone who will suceed him. More importantly, a priest after the order of Melchizedek does not die since it is not mentioned and therefore Jesus will not die. This ancient pratice provides the framework for the author of Hebrews to talk about Jesus. Christ, like Melchizedek, has no Levitical lineage and Christ is eternal, and, therefore, so is his priestly service; he forevers intercedes for believers (7:24). According to the author of Hebrews God uses Scripture to foreshadow Christ.
Interestingly, the author moves from Christ's eternal priesthood to describe Jesus' days on Earth (5:7). Here, there seems to be a combination of eternal and fleshly, of finite and infinite, but in actuality, the author provides evidence of Christ's priestly activity. Jesus offers up "prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who is able to sympathize and intercede for those suffering. In Hebrews 4:15 he said, "We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with feelings or our infirmities." While we are never told what Jesus explicitly request in his prayers and supplicatons, the language suggests Jesus agony in the Garden of Gethsemany and his cries for deliverance from death. Though the one who could have saved him from death did deliver him out of death by the resurrection, though it was not God's purpose to save him from dying. Thus, Jesus' prayer was heard ultimately in that he was delivered from death through resurrection (5:7).
In 5:8 the writer states that Jesus "learned obedience through what he suffered." Here the author holds Jesus up as a model for his audience and helps them see their own plight differently. They, like Jesus, are being tested and they are beig brought to glory as well (2:10), and just as God brought Jesus out of suffering to glory, God will likewise bring them out of suffering to glory, too. The author's statement that Jesus learned obedience seems to contradict his earlier statement in 4:15 in which Jesus is said to be sinless. But, authentic obedience is practiced in particular situations. Although Jesus was never disobedience to God, he could not demonstrate obedience until he was placed in situations where the will of God was challenged and obedience was required. There was constancy in Jesus' unfailing obedience to God's will, yet as Jesus encountered new situations, his faithfulness to God was challenged, and his obedience was shaped accordingly.
Jesus' suffering ultimately leads to his perfection (maturity). While human maturity has a moral feature, including the cleansing of one's conscience (10:1-2), Christ's perfection has no moral component since he has no sin. Perfection for Christ entails demonstrating appropriate obedience on Earth (5:7), suffering for humanity (2:10; 5:9) and being exalted to the right hand of God (7:28). Therefore, perfection for Christ means that he has successfully completed the human experience" and he has been exalted to glory. It is because Christ has been perfected that he can now be the Savior and High Priest for all who obey him. Jesus as Christ learned through obedience, obedience becomes a central element for those who follow him. The author's words in describing Christ in 5:5-10 may suggest a contrast between Christ and Adam, whose disobedience ushered in death and not life, destruction and not salvation. The verses close with a reiteration of Christ's eternal priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. The eternal salvation of those who obey Christ (5:9) is assured because of the eternal priesthood of Christ, who is a "merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God" (2:17).
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Bible Study for Sermon on March 18, 2012
Scripture: John 3:14-21
"The Goal of New Life is for each person to be born from above."
Prior to this weeks verses Jesus has been talking with Nicodemus (3:2-10) and is now in the midst of a private conversation that begins at 3:11. As 3:14-21, opens, a marked contrast has been established between divine and human perspectives. John has already emphasized this by playing off the double meaning of the words "born." For John Jesus is talking in terms of being spiritually born "from above," while Nichodemus is talking in terms of being born physically again. This divine and human perspective is reiterated when Jesus talks about "earthly things" and "heavenly things."
John 3:14 continues this contrast with the phrase "to lift up" and "to exalt." Moses lifting up the serpent and the Son of Man being exalted. When Moses lifted up the serpent the people could look upon it and survive being bitten by the poisonous serpents. When God lifted up Jesus on the Cross people could look upon him and survive sin. This looking upon the Son of Man on the Cross has a drawing experience that implants eternal life into the observer.
There is a sense of urgency found in the verses articulating that the Son of Man must be exated for salvation to be made possibe to the observer. It is necessary to believe in order to receive eternal life. However, the greater necessity is God's first providing the opportunity and the means for belief and eternal life through Jesus Christ. The crucifixion is necessary. John is specifically saying that God's redemptive work is done only through Jesus Christ.
Verse 3:16 builds on 3:15 by tandemning belief and eternal life; and how God and Jesus are tandemning for human salvation. The superabundance of God's love in revealed in Jesus' death and that it is not God's intention that any believer is lost. 3:17 makes clear that God's intention is salvation of the world and not condemnation. But by including the word "condemned" into the conversation it sets up the consideration of how judgment figures into God's redemptive purpose, which is taken up on 3:18-19.
Again, it is clear that God does not wish for believers to perish nor the world to be condemned. Hence, 3:18 presents the understanding that condemnation eventually rests in our response to God's giving/sending Christ. Those who respond by believing in Christ avoid condemnation. Those who respond to Christ by not believing do not avoid condemnation. It is that simple and stark.
But the starkness is due to people's unwillingness to respond to God's love as revealed. 3:19 returns to the contrast but in light and darkness. Hence, those who love darkness invite their destiny of darkness, which is the result of evil.
John 3:14-21 delivers John's conclusion to people initial and life choices. The delineation is pretty straightforward. Those who look on Jesus on the Cross are seeing God's love, grace, and option. Accepting it beings God's blessings. Rejecting it brings curses. Doing good is symptom of accepting Jesus. Doing evil is symptom of rejecting Jesus. The ease is accepting Jesus. The disease is rejecting Jesus. Those who do what is good are accepting what God has done. Those who are doing evil are accepting what Satan has done. Light exposes. Darkness hides.
Encountering Jesus is stark. It will jar our familiar parameters. It will upheave our lives. Like Nicodemus we find ourselves thinking at the crossroad of life with cross purposes of which master will we serve. Which way will be more beneficial to us? This is where you may be right now. Panning our lives which is more beneficial. As we walk past Jesus on the Cross how will we respond? Is he lifted up or exalted? Is he the condemned criminal that the Romans made him or the exalted LORD that God made him?
Judgment is right now! How we respond to Jesus exalted? God is offering the cure to your disease. In the crucifixion God is approaching you. Who are you? What have you decided? Right now you know your destiny. You know how you are reponding to Jesus on the Cross. Everyone else knows, or someone knows from the fruit that you are bearing what you decision is.
Here is the crux of the matter! As I mentioned in Wednesday Night Bible Study, in Greek thinkings as it blends with Hebrew thinking in the Early Church there is a connection between "light" and "truth." Those who do the truth will come to the truth. Literally "truth" means "out in the open," transparent, unconcealed. It has been used to mean "knowing better," and "not forgetting." I want you to plan on joining New Life in the viewing or reviewing the DVD entitled Passion of Christ. I want you to see for yourselve how much God loves you. I hope you will stop lurking in your sin. I hope you will come out of your secretive life and live in the light.
Scripture: John 3:14-21
"The Goal of New Life is for each person to be born from above."
Prior to this weeks verses Jesus has been talking with Nicodemus (3:2-10) and is now in the midst of a private conversation that begins at 3:11. As 3:14-21, opens, a marked contrast has been established between divine and human perspectives. John has already emphasized this by playing off the double meaning of the words "born." For John Jesus is talking in terms of being spiritually born "from above," while Nichodemus is talking in terms of being born physically again. This divine and human perspective is reiterated when Jesus talks about "earthly things" and "heavenly things."
John 3:14 continues this contrast with the phrase "to lift up" and "to exalt." Moses lifting up the serpent and the Son of Man being exalted. When Moses lifted up the serpent the people could look upon it and survive being bitten by the poisonous serpents. When God lifted up Jesus on the Cross people could look upon him and survive sin. This looking upon the Son of Man on the Cross has a drawing experience that implants eternal life into the observer.
There is a sense of urgency found in the verses articulating that the Son of Man must be exated for salvation to be made possibe to the observer. It is necessary to believe in order to receive eternal life. However, the greater necessity is God's first providing the opportunity and the means for belief and eternal life through Jesus Christ. The crucifixion is necessary. John is specifically saying that God's redemptive work is done only through Jesus Christ.
Verse 3:16 builds on 3:15 by tandemning belief and eternal life; and how God and Jesus are tandemning for human salvation. The superabundance of God's love in revealed in Jesus' death and that it is not God's intention that any believer is lost. 3:17 makes clear that God's intention is salvation of the world and not condemnation. But by including the word "condemned" into the conversation it sets up the consideration of how judgment figures into God's redemptive purpose, which is taken up on 3:18-19.
Again, it is clear that God does not wish for believers to perish nor the world to be condemned. Hence, 3:18 presents the understanding that condemnation eventually rests in our response to God's giving/sending Christ. Those who respond by believing in Christ avoid condemnation. Those who respond to Christ by not believing do not avoid condemnation. It is that simple and stark.
But the starkness is due to people's unwillingness to respond to God's love as revealed. 3:19 returns to the contrast but in light and darkness. Hence, those who love darkness invite their destiny of darkness, which is the result of evil.
John 3:14-21 delivers John's conclusion to people initial and life choices. The delineation is pretty straightforward. Those who look on Jesus on the Cross are seeing God's love, grace, and option. Accepting it beings God's blessings. Rejecting it brings curses. Doing good is symptom of accepting Jesus. Doing evil is symptom of rejecting Jesus. The ease is accepting Jesus. The disease is rejecting Jesus. Those who do what is good are accepting what God has done. Those who are doing evil are accepting what Satan has done. Light exposes. Darkness hides.
Encountering Jesus is stark. It will jar our familiar parameters. It will upheave our lives. Like Nicodemus we find ourselves thinking at the crossroad of life with cross purposes of which master will we serve. Which way will be more beneficial to us? This is where you may be right now. Panning our lives which is more beneficial. As we walk past Jesus on the Cross how will we respond? Is he lifted up or exalted? Is he the condemned criminal that the Romans made him or the exalted LORD that God made him?
Judgment is right now! How we respond to Jesus exalted? God is offering the cure to your disease. In the crucifixion God is approaching you. Who are you? What have you decided? Right now you know your destiny. You know how you are reponding to Jesus on the Cross. Everyone else knows, or someone knows from the fruit that you are bearing what you decision is.
Here is the crux of the matter! As I mentioned in Wednesday Night Bible Study, in Greek thinkings as it blends with Hebrew thinking in the Early Church there is a connection between "light" and "truth." Those who do the truth will come to the truth. Literally "truth" means "out in the open," transparent, unconcealed. It has been used to mean "knowing better," and "not forgetting." I want you to plan on joining New Life in the viewing or reviewing the DVD entitled Passion of Christ. I want you to see for yourselve how much God loves you. I hope you will stop lurking in your sin. I hope you will come out of your secretive life and live in the light.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Bible Study for Sermon on March 11, 2012
The story of Jesus' cleansing the Temple is familiar to most. John's version in chapter 2, verses 13-22 is however quite distinct in terms of placing it so early on in the ministry of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke place it near the end of Jesus' life.
Scholars have struggled down through the years with the difference in location in Jesus' ministry. For Matthew, Mark, and Luke the placing of the cleansing near the end provides the impetus for his impending arrest, trial, and crucifixion. John's placement of the cleansing at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry seems odd. I think acknowledging this difference is important. Rather than worrying about this difference, I want to comment on what John is saying by including the cleansing story in his account.
In 2:13 John is implying that he is part of a Christian community that is no longer part of the Jewish cmmunity and therefore is not celebrating Paassover in the historic sense. However, unlike in Matthew, Mark, Luke where Jesus celebrates one Passover, here in John's account Jesus celebrates three Passovers. In John's cleansing story there are oxen and sheep; he tells the dove sellers to "not make his father's house a market house."
In the story the disciple remembers words of Jesus and how Jesus modifies Old Testament texts to fit his mission and ministry. We see from the very beginning of John's account what will eventually cause Jesus' demise: his battle with Jewish tradition.
It is clear that remembering is important to John. He wants his readers in the very beginning of the story to know that what Jesus did that angered God's people and eventuated in his death, was all of God's doings so that his people could be disciplined and corrected.
The story of Jesus' cleansing the Temple is familiar to most. John's version in chapter 2, verses 13-22 is however quite distinct in terms of placing it so early on in the ministry of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke place it near the end of Jesus' life.
Scholars have struggled down through the years with the difference in location in Jesus' ministry. For Matthew, Mark, and Luke the placing of the cleansing near the end provides the impetus for his impending arrest, trial, and crucifixion. John's placement of the cleansing at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry seems odd. I think acknowledging this difference is important. Rather than worrying about this difference, I want to comment on what John is saying by including the cleansing story in his account.
In 2:13 John is implying that he is part of a Christian community that is no longer part of the Jewish cmmunity and therefore is not celebrating Paassover in the historic sense. However, unlike in Matthew, Mark, Luke where Jesus celebrates one Passover, here in John's account Jesus celebrates three Passovers. In John's cleansing story there are oxen and sheep; he tells the dove sellers to "not make his father's house a market house."
In the story the disciple remembers words of Jesus and how Jesus modifies Old Testament texts to fit his mission and ministry. We see from the very beginning of John's account what will eventually cause Jesus' demise: his battle with Jewish tradition.
It is clear that remembering is important to John. He wants his readers in the very beginning of the story to know that what Jesus did that angered God's people and eventuated in his death, was all of God's doings so that his people could be disciplined and corrected.
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