Month: November 2024

Jesus and his disciples were now in Jerusalem. It was a Sunday. So many people were there because it was almost Passover. As I mentioned in an earlier reflection, Passover was one of the three primary feasts in which Jews from all over would come to Jerusalem.

During Passover the Jewish people remembered the time when God freed his people from Egypt. They had been slaves there for almost 400 years before God raised up Moses to lead his people.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve heard this story, let me give a quick summary.

Moses went to Pharaoh and told him to “let my people go.” When Pharaoh refused, God sent a plague. Each time Pharaoh would agree to let them go, but then he would change his mind. And thus God would send another plague. The final plague was that God sent an angel of death throughout Egypt to kill every firstborn son. But God’s people were told to sacrifice a lamb, and take the blood and spread it on their front doors. The angel passed over those homes that had the blood on the doors.

Yes, I know, it’s a very graphic story. But it was, and still is today, a truly important story for the Jewish people.

Jesus purposefully chose this time of Passover as the time when he would be handed over to the religious leaders and be killed. He was the true lamb of God, and his death would provide true rescue and true freedom for not simply the Jewish people but for all people.

One last story about Mary. It’s found in John 12.

It’s six days until Passover. Jesus and his disciples have slowly but surely been making their way to Jerusalem. They’ve heard rumors that Jesus is going to be arrested as soon as he gets to Jerusalem. Yet Jesus presses on. He has continued to try to help his disciples understand what is about to happen, but they still don’t get it. They still think that Jesus will soon overthrow Rome and become the king, and they continue to argue about what their role in his kingdom will be.

But one person does get it.

Jesus and his disciples go to Bethany on their way to Jerusalem. He wants to see Mary, Martha and Lazarus one last time. John tells us that Martha served dinner, and Lazarus, who not that long ago died and then was raised from the dead by Jesus, reclined at the table with him.

Mary then came out. She took a pint of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet. She then wiped his feet with her hair. “And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3).

To every person there this was an outrageous act. Judas Iscariot (we’ll get to him later) expresses his outrage by saying, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor. It was worth a years’ wages.” Yes, this was expensive perfume. John notes that Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and wanted the money for himself.

But Judas wasn’t the only one who had a problem with what Mary had just done. Mary had let her hair down in order to wipe the perfume from his feet. This was scandalous in those days. Why would she do such a thing!

Jesus, though, was honored by what Mary had done. She understood more than anyone else what was about to happen, and she was honoring him. Was it a reasonable response to Jesus? No. It was extravagant. It was worship. She was in fact preparing his body for burial. Mark tells this story and ends with the following statement that Jesus made about her…

“Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her (Mark 14:9).

Today’s reflection comes from John 11.

Jesus had been spending some time in Perea. It was far enough away from Jerusalem that he didn’t have to worry about danger coming to him. One day while he was there he got word that his friend Lazarus was at the point of death. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, got word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:3). They knew that Jesus could do something for their brother, so they asked him to come.

Jesus got the message but then decided to stay two more days. The disciples were fine with this. Lazarus and his sisters lived in Bethany, which was close to Jerusalem. They didn’t want Jesus going there because they knew that the religious leaders wanted him dead. But Jesus didn’t stay those extra two days because he was scared.

Two days later Jesus got word that Lazarus had died, so he told the disciples that they should begin walking to Bethany.

By the time they arrived Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Martha came out to see him. She was angry, and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” It’s actually impossible to know if she truly believed this last part or if she just knew the proper thing to say to Jesus.

Jesus surprised her by saying that Lazarus would rise again. She assumed he was referring to life after death. He was not.

She then went back to the house. I’m reading between the lines here, but I wonder if Mary didn’t want to see Jesus. She wonders why he didn’t come immediately. She’s hurt. She’s angry. But Martha goes to tell her that Jesus wants to see her. So she goes to him. She too says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But she leaves it at that.

John records, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” And then he too wept.

Jesus went to the tomb where Lazarus was buried. He asked the men there to remove the stone. He prayed to God, and then, in a loud voice, he said, “Lazarus, come out.”

And Lazarus, who was wrapped in strips of linen, came out. Jesus said to those around him, “Take off the grave cloths and let him go.”

The emotions in this story are big, and they’re all over the map. There’s sadness when Lazarus gets sick, then hope that Jesus will come, and a sense of hopelessness when Lazarus dies. Jesus is there for all of the emotions, and he feels them as well.

Today’s reflection is on a complex and challenging passage. Here’s the passage…

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:25-27

It’s easy to dismiss Jesus when we hear a statement like this. But I think it’s worth taking the time to dig a little deeper rather than to simply move past it.

I like what NT Wright says about this passage. First, picture a politician making a statement like this. Is anyone going to vote for him? Probably not. But then think of a leader of a great expedition making this statement. You are setting out on a dangerous journey in which you may not return. So write a letter to your family. And you’re not going to be able to take much on this journey, so you’d be better off leaving anything unnecessary behind. In a scenario like this we can see these words as genuine, and necessary for our survival.

So perhaps this second scenario is closer to Jesus’ mindset in the moment.

Jesus obviously valued love for family. We’ve covered some of that in a previous reflection. But he knew that the call to the kingdom was an urgent one. He was calling people to set things aside in order to truly walk into a new adventure; an adventure that could at times be costly.

You could say that Jesus was simply telling them that they needed to count the cost before entering this adventure of following him. That’s what the next two stories lay out.

You don’t start building without first taking time to get plans and estimate the cost. You’re in trouble if you don’t.

And if you’re a king facing an opposing army, you don’t go to war without first considering if you truly have a shot at winning. You’re sacrificing the lives of your people if you don’t.

You count the cost before taking on something of this magnitude, and Jesus was saying that the same line of thinking should come into play when we consider following him.

Today’s reflection is on another one of my favorite stories. In fact, I have two more reflections coming up that center on this same disciple.

Who is the disciple? Well, her story is found in Luke 10:38-42.

Jesus has left Galilee and is heading to Jerusalem. He knows he won’t be coming back. Luke 9:51 states it this way: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

The word “resolutely” is a strong one. His mind was set on what he was going to do. But it must have also been a lonely time, as those closest to him still had no idea of what lay ahead.

On his way to Jerusalem he stopped in a village called Bethany. Jesus and his disciples were invited into the home of two sisters named Martha and Mary. We’ll find out later that they also have a brother named Lazarus. Martha immediately began cooking dinner for these friends. She expected Mary to join her, but instead Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”

At some point Martha could take it no longer, and she said to Jesus, “Don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Jesus’ response was great. He said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

We haven’t heard of Mary, Martha and Lazarus prior to this encounter, but it’s evident that Jesus knew them. First, when (spoiler alert) Lazarus is sick and at the point of death, the sisters send for Jesus. And he seems to love this family. It just makes me think he’s known them for awhile. Beyond this, though, is the phrase I mentioned before. Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet.” This phrase is also used in Acts, when Paul was recounting his life. He said that he sat at the feet of Gamaliel. He was saying that he was a student of Gamaliel’s. He was a disciple. So maybe Mary was a disciple of Jesus.

This would have been a big deal, since only men could be disciples of a teacher. But once again Jesus breaks the rules.

What Martha was doing was important. They would all obviously be very happy to eat once Martha finished cooking. Yet in this moment, Jesus was there to spend time with his friends. Luke records that Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Jesus knew that there would not be a lot of other moments for this to happen, and that’s why Jesus said that she Mary had chosen what was better.

Today’s reflection centers on a story that I love. It’s from John 9. It’s a very long and drawn out story. It seems that this story takes place while Jesus is in Jerusalem for Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles). As he was walking on the road, he looked over and saw a man who had been blind since birth.

His disciples ask if this man is blind because of his sin or his parents’. Let me pause here. In a recent sermon my pastor said that one of our biggest problems in life is our lack of imagination. When we lack imagination we’re left with one or two options, which normally does not cut it. We see this in the previous chapter as well. The Pharisees don’t understand what Jesus is saying, so they say that he must be either a Samaritan or demon possessed. C’mon, let’s get a little more creative than that!

To Jesus this man’s plight was not an opportunity for debate. It was an opportunity to see God at work. So he went to the man, spit on the ground, made some mud with the spit, and put it on the man’s eyes. Then he told the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.

Pause again. What would have happened if the man had thought that was crazy and said no thanks?

Thankfully he didn’t do that. Instead, he did as Jesus instructed, and as soon as he did it, he could see!

This could be the end of the story, but John lets us in on what happened next to this man.

He went home, now able to see. His neighbors, who saw him everyday, were at odds on whether this was the same guy. Some said he was. Others said he only looked like their neighbor. Again, they lacked imagination.

He said to his neighbors, “It’s really me, your neighbor.” The obvious follow-up question from the neighbors was, “Then how are you no longer blind?”

His response: “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He then told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” I love how very “matter of fact” his response to them is.

The neighbors weren’t sure about all of this, so they told the man that he needed to come with them to see the Pharisees. Because there was another problem. It was once again the Sabbath when Jesus performed this healing.

Here was the problem for the Pharisees: a person who breaks the law (in this case, by not observing the Sabbath) can’t be of God and therefore can’t do the works of God.

So they ask the man. Then they summon the man’s parent’s and ask them. Then they ask the man yet again. At this point, being that they still lack imagination, their only logical conclusion was that this man must have only appeared to be blind. He must be lying!

They say to him, “Give glory to God by telling the truth. We know this man (Jesus) is a sinner.”

I love his response: “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.”

The conversation goes on a bit longer, and by this point the Pharisees are angry with the man. Before kicking him out they say, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!”

Later that day Jesus heard what all had happened to the man, so he went to find him. He said to the man, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man replied, “Who is he? Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus’ response (my paraphrase): “You’re looking at him.”

The man said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

What a day. A day that started just like every other day in this man’s life: sitting alone, begging. And then Jesus entered the picture. He gave him something that he never thought he would have. He gave him his sight. The world was open and alive in ways it had never been before. And then to have such a sucky encounter with the religious leaders had to be confusing, since he no doubt believed that Jesus was on the same team as the religious leaders. Yet Jesus was different, and he got to experience that himself!

One of the most important beliefs in Christianity is that Jesus was both fully God and fully man. Most of the posts I’ve written have focused on Jesus’ divinity. Today I want to take a look at a story that very much stresses his humanity.

There were three primary festivals each year in which people throughout all of Israel would travel to Jerusalem. They were Pesah (Passover/the Festival of Unleavened Bread), Shavuot (Pentecost/the Festival of Weeks), and Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles/Booths).

This story picks up with Jesus and his brothers getting ready to travel to Jerusalem for Sukkot. This was something that they did every year together. During the week there most people would camp in tents, as it commemorated Israel’s time wandering in the wilderness. I can imagine that this would have been something that Jesus and his siblings looked forward to when they were kids.

We know from Mark 6 that Jesus had at least four brothers and two sisters. His brothers were James, Joseph, Judas and Simon. We unfortunately don’t know the names of his sisters.

We’re not totally sure of all of the context here, but I wonder if Jesus was looking forward to once again going with his brothers to Jerusalem for this festival. He’s been traveling non-stop. He’s been loved by some but equally hated by others. And everyone has wanted something from him every step of the way. Perhaps it’s time to get away with his brothers.

The problem is, they are not sure about the man that he has become over the last couple of years. Many people are saying that perhaps their brother is the long-awaited Messiah. “How can this be?”, they must be thinking. Others think he’s demon-possessed (out of his mind?). Perhaps that seems more likely of the two options.

So they take this opportunity to mess with their older brother. They say, somewhat teasingly “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world” (John 7:3-4).

John then makes the following note: “For even his own brothers did not believe in him” (John 7:5).

He told his brothers that they could go without him. So they left.

I think it’s important to pause here. How difficult it is when those closest to you think you’ve lost your mind. If Jesus was fully human, and I believe that he was, then this hurt him deeply. A time that was supposed to be a special time of bonding and reconnecting was lost. So he chose to be alone.

Jesus would decide to go ahead to Jerusalem by himself.

The brothers of Jesus would continue to doubt him throughout his life. It wasn’t until he was resurrected that his brothers believed that he was the Messiah. James would go on to lead the church in Jerusalem and write an epistle. Judas (Jude) also wrote an epistle.

Another theme throughout the New Testament, and one that I’m very grateful for, is that God continues to write our story if we will allow him to.

Things are about to take a major turn for Jesus’ followers. One day it’s just Jesus and the disciples. There’s no crowd of people clamoring for his attention. It’s just Jesus and these closest companions.

So he decides that now is the time to help them understand why he does puzzling things like leaving when the crowds are at their largest or telling people not to talk about the miracles that he’s been performing.

He asks the question, “Who do people say that I am?” They list a few of the top answers. Then he says, more directly, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter speaks up. He says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus is pleased with this answer, and he knows it’s time to let them in on what is going to happen.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Matthew 16:21

To his friends, this was such a curve ball. And it wasn’t simply a curve ball. To Peter it was wrong, and he wasn’t about to stand by and allow it to happen. He says to Jesus, “Never Lord. This shall never happen to you.”

And then Jesus calls him Satan.

Well ok then.

Here are Jesus’ words…”Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

I totally get where Peter is. He still has in mind what a revolution looks like. And it’s not the Messiah dying. But he doesn’t see all that he needs to see.

From this point on Jesus will talk often about what is to come. Things are not going to end the way his friends first though, and slowly but surely they will come to accept this. For some the surrender will not happen until Jesus is gone.

One of the biggest questions I have when reading the gospels is why Jesus continued to tell people to keep what he was doing quiet. It likewise had to be the biggest question on the minds of his followers.

Today’s story (Mark 7:31-37) is all about this. Jesus was back in an area made up primarily of Gentiles. He wasn’t as known there as he was in Galilee and Judea, where he spent most of his time. But the moment he arrived in this area, people knew it. A man who was deaf and mostly mute was brought to him in hopes that Jesus would heal him.

Jesus took the man aside. He put his fingers into the man’s ear, then touched the man’s tongue. With a deep sigh he said “Ephphatha”, which means, “Be opened.” The man’s ears were opened and his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.

Then Jesus did something puzzling. He told the crowd not to tell anyone what he had done.

Why did he do this?

We’re a few days away from election day, so let’s go back to this image of me being the campaign manager for Jesus’ campaign. This again is the moment we want to tell everyone. We want this moment to go viral, and we hardly have to do anything to make that happen.

So much of our time is spent devising ways for people to care about what we think and say. Jesus didn’t need to raise any campaign funds. He didn’t need to send team knocking on doors. He healed people. He blew people’s minds. And those around him have to be thinking, “This is exactly what we need to start a revolution!”

But it wasn’t time.

Again, why?

My best answer to this is that Jesus knew that true revolution could not come without his death. True revolution wouldn’t come with him gathering crowds so large that the Romans had to leave the Jewish lands. This is what the people imagined when they thought about Messiah. But Jesus knew that it wouldn’t accomplish the true work that God wanted.

True revolution would not take the form of a conquering king but that of a humble servant. It would only come with Jesus dying alone on a criminal’s cross.

At this point none of his followers could grasp this concept. I wouldn’t be able to either. I actually have a difficult time grasping it now, even though 2000 years have passed. It’s complex.

Yet as we continue to move through the story we see this path continue to emerge.

Now, back to this story…

Jesus told them not to tell anyone, but it didn’t work. They couldn’t help themselves.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (Mark 7:36-37.

In yesterday’s reflection I wrote about Jesus’ compassion for the crowds that were coming to see him. He had compassion because they were harassed, and the primary ones doing the harassing were their Roman rulers. But they weren’t the only ones doing this. The Jewish rulers were also culpable.

After the Israelites were set free from slavery in Egypt, God brought them to a new land and established them as a nation. Part of being a nation was having laws, and he gave them these laws through Moses. It started with ten commandments, and from there those were fleshed out.

Over time, the number of laws grew, and at the time of Jesus there were over 600. From 10 to 600. That’s quite a jump. And this law, which was originally meant to provide a good foundation for living the lives that God wanted for his people, had now become a real burden. There was always something that a person was doing wrong, and the Pharisees were quick to point them out. And they had a tendency to major on the minors, which was very frustrating to Jesus because he knew the effect it had on the people. You never knew which of these 600 rules the Pharisees were going to be focusing on in a given day.

It was also frustrating to Jesus because the Pharisees were hypocrites. In this passage from Mark 7 Jesus points out this hypocrisy. Jesus told them, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! (Mark 7:9). As an example, he reminded the crowd that one of those original ten commandments was to honor your father and mother. Yet the Pharisees, who loved their loopholes, had a law that said if you said that everything you owned was “devoted” to God, then you were free from the obligation of taking care of your parents in their old age.

With this law (Corban) the Pharisees had completely missed the point, and they were doing more harm than good. Jesus said to them, “Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that” (Mark 7:13).