Today is Wednesday in Holy Week, often called either Holy Wednesday or more commonly, Silent Wednesday. We don’t know much of about what happens today in today in the life of Jesus. Today, though, is setting the scene for what is … Continue reading
Today is Tuesday of Holy Week, and this is a day that Jesus spent teaching. He went to the Temple and taught so many things. These teachings are recorded in several of the Gospel’s but Matthew’s is most extensive and … Continue reading
Today’s reading is, at least to me, one of the more informative passages in all the Bible. Listen to what we are told in 2 Corinthians 4: 1-4: 1 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged … Continue reading
I talk a lot about grace. I believe that grace is really the underpinning of all that we do, all that we believe, all that we are as Christians. Grace really is everything. But where do I get this from? … Continue reading
When we think of great people in the Bible, we are all going to have our favorites. Characters that appeal to us, that speak to us, that mean something to us. Moses, Noah, David, Ruth, Ester, Mary, so many names of people that may speak to us.
But one of the names that is one many of our lists is Paul. Paul has a dramatic conversion story, travels the world preaching, and wrote many books that make up the New Testament.
Paul is one of the most important figures in the Bible and in world history. He was the first to take the Gospel into Europe. He started churches across the world. He brought the Good News to Gentiles. Through His love of devotion to Jesus, he literally changed the world. Look at what he says, though, in 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5, is important to him:
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Yesterday Erin Hicks, our Associate Pastor here at St. Matthew’s shared a quote from John Wesley that this passage reminded me of. Wesley said this -. “If we could once bring all our preachers, itinerant and local, uniformly to and steadily to insist on those two points, ‘Christ dying for us’ and ‘Christ reigning in us,’ we should shake the trembling gates of hell.” That is the truth of the Gospel. Jesus dying for us (and being raised for us) and reigning in us every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what truly counts, that is what is all about.
And that is what Paul preached over and over again. As he says in this text – I decided to know (or preach) nothing Jesus crucified.
Paul says, I didn’t worry about the mysteries or these lofty words. Jesus. Crucified. Resurrected. Returning. As we as part of our communion liturgy -as we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
And this mystery, it is a knowable mystery. We don’t “understand” it, who can really understand the power of resurrection and the cross. But we can know it. Because it is true. And this truth sets us free.
In other words, all of this is to say what matters most. Not mysteries that none but God truly know. Not opinions, no matter how well thought out. Not preferences or likes or dislikes. Not the worry and fears of this world. Paul didn’t focus on any this.
He focused on Jesus. He loves us. He died for us. He will return for us. That’s the truth of the Gospel.
The folks all around us, their need is not really the answers to all the mysteries of the world. Their need is Jesus. Christ, and Christ alone. That’s our hope, and the hope for the world.
Today, may we know Jesus, and Him crucified. And may we know that nothing compares to that.
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Today in 1 Corinthians 1:9-13, we see one of my favorite passions of Paul. Paul is huge on the unity of the church. Listen to what he says here, and then we’ll talk about what is happening:
9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12 What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ.’ 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
This is the way it worked in Paul’s time. Preachers in churches weren’t sent by the conference nor were they called by the local church. There were wandering itinerant preachers that came to the town and to the church, stayed for a while, and then moved on to the next town and church. And they would have been followed by another preacher in much the same way.
So the same church, over a period of time, would have had several preachers come through and teach. And that’s what has happened here in Corinth. There have been several preachers come through, and the loyalty that the members of the church have towards their “favorite” preacher is one of the many things that is dividing the church.
That is why Paul reminds them, none of the preachers that they know has divided for their sins. They were not baptized in the name of any of these preachers. They were called into salvation by God, not by any human. Now God may have used that human, but that person was not the cause of their salvation.
God is the one calling us into salvation and God is the one that is saving us.
Not any human.
I think for us today, this is an important reminder. We all have our preferences and our favorites. We all have things that impactful to us. We have a preacher that really speaks to us. Or a style of worship that truly touches our heart or a hymn that really impacts us. Or a denomination (or local church) whose theology and structure that we like. And these things are all wonderful. I am the same way.
But the danger is this. When we allow these things to divide us as believers. Just because you or I have something or someone that is the way that we prefer it, doesn’t mean that someone that has a different favorite preacher or style of worship is not our brother or sister in Christ.
Because we aren’t saved by preachers or styles of worship or denominations or anything such as that. We are saved by Jesus.
So, if you are believer, then you are family. We can’t allow these things to divide us. We are one. And the world needs us to be one.
Let us love each other, even when we disagree over these things. Because the love that God has placed in our hearts must be bigger than any of this!
As followers of Christ, let us love!
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One of the constant reminders of our faith, truths about our faith is this. Where is it that our strength comes from? 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31 today tells us exactly where that is:
26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’
Paul is speaking here to early believers, that were not powerful or wealthy, or had any status at all. He’s telling them, remember, God will take the weak, so that when they boast, they have to boast in the Lord.
God will take the humble, the small, the insignificant and use them. He will use them, so that when they win the battle, there can be no doubt. The victory is because of the Lord.
I once heard a Rabbi say the reason why God chose the nation of Israel in the Old Testament was because He could not find a more insignificant people. That way, with every battle, He would have to the receive the glory.
Look at what the text says in verse 30 – He (God) is the source of your life in Jesus Christ. In other words, our life, our hope, our everything, they are in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our all in all. If we have Him, we have all that we need. If we do not have Him, we have nothing.
Jesus is our life. With Him, there is peace in the storm, there is sense in the madness, there is purpose, there is life.
Without Him, we could have everything, but in the end, have nothing.
Jesus is life. Really. He is. He is life.
And we know Jesus because God has called us to Himself. He is the source of it all. All that is good, all that is pure, all that is life.
It comes from God. That is where life comes from. It all comes from God. And as long as we remember where our life comes from, we will have the joy that comes from that life.
Today, remember where life comes from!
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Yesterday at St. Matthew’s Erin and I both preached from Luke 4: 1-13, the temptation of Jesus. Each Sunday we preach from the same text, it’s one of the things that we to do help our church be unified through our three services. By the way, you can listen to any of our sermons by visiting the podcast portion of St. Matthew’s website.
Temptation is something that we all struggle with, and I think in reading what happened to Jesus, we can learn a lot about how we can deal with temptation ourselves. Listen to what the text says:
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
As I read this text, there were (at least) four things that jumped out to me about temptation. And maybe this is one of the reasons Jesus was tempted, to show us how to resist it.
First, notice the devil attacks Jesus when He was weak. It says that Jesus had been fasting and was famished. And that is when the devil came at Him. You will face temptation. You will. Know that the devil knows your weakness. He will hit you there. You will face temptation in the spots where you are your weakest. Be aware. Be on guard. Know these places, know these spots. And don’t give temptation a foothold. Don’t play with fire. The devil knows where you are most vulnerable. Be on watch in those areas.
Second, the devil tries to make Jesus doubt. He tells Jesus, if you are the Son of God. Jesus knew who He was. The devil tried to make Him doubt. The devil will make us doubt. He’ll try to make us doubt God’s love. He’ll try to make us doubt our worth. He’ll try to make us doubt God’s truth. He will do all in His power to put those doubts in our minds. Don’t let him. Because you have to remember number three.
Third, the devil lies. If you don’t remember anything else about temptation. Remember this. Temptation is a lie. Temptation is a lie. It always is. It looks good. But it kills us. In the text the devil says that all authority has been given to him to give to whomever he wants. Nope. That’s God’s call, not His. He is lying. Temptation is always a lie. When you hear that voice, tempting you, always know that voice is a lie. If the devil’s lips are moving, they are lying. Temptation promises life and fun and ends in destruction. Temptation is always lie.
And last the devil misuses scripture. In the text, the devil quotes the bible to Jesus. But he is misusing it. Not everyone that quotes the bible is of God. Know your Bible. Remember your context. Be aware of the truth of God’s Word. The devil will try to use the Bible for harm and for destruction. So that means that you have to know the Bible for yourself. Read it. Study it. Pray with it. Make it yours. When you know the Bible, you will better be able to stand against those temptations.
Temptation is coming. We will all face it. Jesus faced it, so will we. And when it comes, may we find the grace to stand against it.
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Today in Phillippians 3: 4-11, we see Paul talk about what really matters:
4even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul in this part of Phillippians is talking about how he (and we) have to trust more in the grace of Jesus than we should in our own works. He is talking to a group of Christians that are tempted to rely more upon their works and the law than they are on Jesus.
So, Paul lists off all the stuff that he has done. Stuff, that if you could earn your salvation by what you have done, would surely earn him a place in eternity. Look at what he has done. He was as righteous in the law. He had done all the “right” things. Paul was about as holy as one could be by the law.
And look at what he says – he considers that all rubbish when compared to knowing Jesus. He has found in Jesus a righteousness that he could have never found through the law. He discovered a salvation that doesn’t come from one’s works but comes only through the gift of God’s grace.
He wants to know Jesus. To know His life. His death. And His resurrection.
Paul found this. He found what really matters wasn’t what he had done. What really mattered was what Jesus had done. When compared to the goodness of God, the grace of God, the power of God, the life of God, the stuff of earth just can’t compare.
Paul learned grace. And here’s what’s cool about grace, especially in the world we live in. In this world of pressure and work and stress and results and performance reviews. Grace is not about you. It’s about Him. And we can rest in grace.
Rest. In grace.
Rest. In Jesus.
Rest. In His power.
You are loved. Not because of anything you’ve ever done. But because of all that He has done. Paul considered everything rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. He wasn’t saying that was bad. He was saying that Jesus was better.
Paul found what really matters.
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Today we are finishing up our time with Mark. You can go through and read all our reflections on Mark here on my blog, you can group them under the category Mark below and catch up. Friday we’ll do a reading from our Daily Readings, and I’ll be thinking about what is next.
The Longer Ending of Mark
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
9 [[Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.Jesus Appears to Two Disciples
12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.Jesus Commissions the Disciples
14 Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”The Ascension of Jesus
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.]]
We talked Monday about why Chapter 16 is made it like it is, with the notations of the different manuscripts. Today, we see these last few verses in Mark are in four different sections, and only one of them really makes us go, huh?
The first section – 9-10, Jesus appears to Mary, just as it happens in other Gospels. The first person to see Jesus after the resurrection was Mary. She was dedicated to Him, she loved Him, and she came to help prepare His body for final burial. And she was the first one to proclaim the resurrection. She was the first of many throughout the ages to tell others that Jesus is alive. She was the first to share that Good News. But notice, they didn’t believe her.
Second, 12-13, what sounds very similar to the walk to Emmaus in Luke. In Luke’s Gospel we see a fuller picture of what happened here, two followers were walking to the village of Emmaus when Jesus appeared to them, explained how all the scriptures point to Him, to His death, and resurrection, but they didn’t recognize Him. It wasn’t until they arrived at the village, and they broke bread together that they realized it was Jesus. So, they go and tell others, but notice, just like in the section before, they didn’t believe them.
Third, 14-18, Jesus appears to the Disciples. Ok, here there are some things that make us go, wait, what? We see a similar end to what we see in Matthew, with Jesus sending them out with the great commission. But we see something unique to Mark. We see that they will have signs of great power, they will be able to drink poison, handle snakes, speak in tongues, other such things. What are we to do this?
First, it is in the Bible. One of my professors in seminary always told us that we can’t just ignore passages of scripture that confuse us or that we don’t like. They are in the Bible. This ending of Mark is what is found most common in the manuscripts that the Bible comes from (I unpack a lot this Monday), but know, it is the Bible. So, I believe that those that follow Jesus, we can face amazing things, things that would kill others, and survive. I believe we have power that the world does not possess. Now notice, it didn’t say that we should necessarily go looking for trouble or for these things. But if they come, we will have more power than we think is even possible.
So, I’m not going to go out handling snakes. But, I do believe in miracles. And I do believe that as Christians, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we may not understand all that God does through us, He can and does do amazing things through us. We are filled with the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. Trust. Hope. Beleive.
Don’t be like those initial disciples. Have faith.
Fouth, 19-20, the ascension. We see Jesus ascend to heaven, where He sits at God’s right hand, praying for us, encouraging us, interceding for us. Remember, you always have someone on your side, someone pulling for you, someone that loves you, someone that cares for you, someone there for you. Jesus. He is at the right hand of the Father. On your team. Never forget that.
What questions do you have? How does this strike you? Shoot me an email, comment below, or connect with me through social media.
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