The Ascension: A Post-Resurrection Disappearance

Posted on March 16, 2022 by salooper57

Reading time: 4-5 minutes.

(This Wide Angle look comes from Acts 1. Verses not otherwise identified by book and chapter are taken from there.)

When Jesus was crucified, and his followers had despaired.  When he was raised, they were astounded.  They realized that something phenomenally important had happened, but they didn’t realize where it would lead. They did not understand that they were living in a period of transition. They assumed that their old dreams were still in play. So, they asked Jesus, verse 6, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

The lexicon defines the Greek word translated restore as “to change to a previous good state.”  The disciple expected Jesus to remain among them as he had before.  They could only suppose that he would take his rightful place as the king of Israel, drive out the foreigners, and restore Israel to a place of national sovereignty. They looked at the future through the lens of the past.

But God had something else, something they could not imagine, in mind.  The kingdom Jesus brought did not belong to Israel, but to God.  The king would sit on a throne, but it would be in heaven, not Jerusalem.  His royal attendants would not be known by titles like “lord” or “benefactor”, but by names like Peter, John, and Matthew.  The power at their disposal would not be arms and armies, but radical, death-defying, life-giving, enemy-conquering, Holy Spirit-originating love. Instead of casting the Romans out of their earthly kingdom, that love would sweep Rome into God’s heavenly kingdom. Instead of bringing the Gentiles to their knees, it would raise them up to the heavens.

Now they had just asked, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”, and it was not the first time they asked a question like that (Mark 10:35-37). But I think there was another question in their minds they did not articulate: “Are we about to get our promotions to positions of authority?”

Now look at verse 7: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

They wanted authority, but they would receive power (or ability, as the word could be translated).  And this isn’t what they were expecting.  It was authority, after all, that was important to them. They dreamed about sitting on thrones. In fact, just before Jesus’ arrest, they had argued about which of them would be placed in the highest positions of authority (Luke 22:24-25). But Jesus had a different idea: instead of sitting on thrones as rulers, they would go into all the world as witnesses; instead of exercising authority, they would be given power.

When we think of a witness, we usually think of someone who tries to persuade others to believe in Christ.  That is a very good thing, but it is not what Jesus had in mind here.  A witness is someone who has seen something and tells what he has seen.  In this case, a witness is someone who has seen Jesus, and tells about it.

That was not really what the disciples had in mind.  They wanted to be “lords” in Israel, not witnesses to the ends of the earth.  But remember, they were entering a period of great transition, a fact which became clear to them almost immediately. 

Verse 9: “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”  We read in verse three that Jesus had appeared to his people many times over a period of forty days in what are often called “post-resurrection appearances.”  But verse 9 is a transition verse: instead of a post-resurrection appearance, we have a post-resurrection disappearance.4 He was hidden from their sight.

The disciples had assumed that Jesus would continue with them in much the same way he had been with them before.  But it was clearly not so. The great transition was taking place, and he had been taken from their sight.  But he had given them work to do: they were to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. They were commissioned.

Verse 10: “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’.”

It’s as if they were saying, “What are you standing around for?  You’ve been given work to do, and it will be a good thing if he finds you doing it when he comes back.”  Like the disciples, we sometimes look for Jesus but cannot see him.  We strain our eyes toward heaven, and still miss see him. But when we reach our hands to earth to serve the least of his brothers, we suddenly spy him there.  That was his intention.

               4 I am indebted to William Larkin for this phrase and the title of this piece.

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5 Things to Do When You Suffer (1 Peter 4:12-19)

Posted on March 14, 2022 by salooper57

This sermon explores the five instructions the Apostle Peter gives to Christians who are suffering.

Approximately 25 minutes.
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Blessings and Cursings: Deuteronomy 28-30 (Biblical Theology Class 9)

Posted on March 13, 2022 by salooper57

The Blessings and Cursing of Deuteronomy 28-30 weighed heavily on the minds of Old Testament prophets, New Testament apostles, and Jesus’s contemporaries. St. Paul refers to this passage in Romans (in fact, Romans 9-11 is dependent on this section of Scripture. Though there are more than twice as many curses than blessings in this passage, they end on a note of hope in the covenant-keeping God.

Biblical Theology Class #9. Viewing Time: approximately 51 minutes.
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A Virtual Fingerprint for Identifying Christians

Posted on March 12, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3-4 minutes.)

I worked for the Ford Motor Company during my college years. One afternoon, I climbed the steps to the paint department, walked through the door into the smoldering heat, and was almost immediately met by another employee. Without any preliminary niceties, he asked me, “You are a Christian, aren’t you?”

I answered, “Yes,” and asked in turn, “Are you?” He answered yes. I don’t remember that we said anything else to each other. He turned toward his work area, and I continued toward mine.

I don’t remember ever having seen the man before that day, nor do I remember ever seeing him again. How did he know I was a Christian? I had long hair and a beard and listened to rock and roll. I didn’t go around whistling hymns or buttonholing potential converts. What gave me away?

I suppose it was that I didn’t use profanity, which filled the atmosphere there like smog filled the Los Angeles sky. Or perhaps it was because I had recently stood up for a non-English speaking Muslim man who was being verbally abused by a foreman. Whatever the reason, my questioner somehow recognized me as a Christian.

I have come to believe that Christians should be distinguishable from others. I base this not on personal experience – too seldom have I been so distinguished or distinguishable – but rather on the Scriptures. It seems that God always intended his people to be different.

After Israel was rescued from slavery in Egypt and even before they arrived in their Promised Land, God gave them instructions on how to live. If they followed these instructions, which they sometimes did and sometimes didn’t, they would be different from their neighbors. The instructions included dietary laws, observing religious festivals, Sabbath-keeping, and circumcision. Anyone who followed these instructions would be readily identifiable.

Another distinguishing mark of ancient Jews was their refusal to create images of their God for use in worship. Other ancient peoples thought Israel “godless” because they had no idols. The idea that people could worship a god without the help of some image was a radical departure from the norm.

At times, Israel’s people were virtually indistinguishable from their neighbors. Whenever this happened, their great mission – to be a source of God’s blessing to all the peoples of the earth – was seriously hampered. In 587 BCE, the mission seemed to terminate in failure: Israel lost its national identity and went into exile.

After 70 years, the exiles returned – though far fewer in number – with a determination to live by the instructions they were given and maintain their identity as a people of God. They focused especially on the distinguishing marks of circumcision and Sabbath-keeping.

The coming of Jesus as Israel’s messiah and the world’s savior did not fundamentally change the necessity of being different, though it deepened it beyond ethnic and ceremonial distinctives. Circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, and kosher food laws continued to distinguish ethnic Jews from others, but with the inclusion of Gentiles among God’s people, new and transcendent identity markers were needed.

The Bible recognizes two of these. The first is faith in Jesus, which the New Testament scholar James Dunn describes as “the primary identity marker” of God’s people. But people, as St. James pointed out, cannot see faith. They can only see how faith acts – what St. Paul referred to as “the obedience of faith.”

One aspect of this obedience, which serves as a second layer of Christian identity, is a love for Jesus’s people. These two layers, faith in Jesus as Lord and a loving commitment to his people, serve as a virtual fingerprint for all Christians.

Some groups have preferred to rely on negative markers. They place great emphasis on the absence of certain practices. Hence, the absence of alcohol and tobacco use becomes evidence of God’s acceptance. At different times in history, the absence of dancing, playing cards, listening to popular music, wearing beards, and the use of force have been sufficient evidence for Christian identification.

But there is no substitute for the presence of the biblical markers. Faith in Jesus and love for his people remain the principal indicators – and the biblical standard – of Christian identity.

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Up, Up and (yet not) Away! (A Wide Angle Look at the Ascencion)

Posted on March 9, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading Time: Approximately 3-4 minutes.)

When really big changes take place – the ones that are destined to transform the world we live in – they often go unnoticed. When the first Ford rolled off an assembly line in 1913, some people thought it ingenious, some thought it a novelty, but only a few recognized it as an era-changing event. The same could be said of the first mobile phone call made in 1973 by a Motorola engineer as he walked down the streets of New York City. Or one might mention the Internet Protocol Suite that was introduced in 1982. It transformed the computer networks of a few eggheads into the world wide web. These were transforming events, but their significance was largely overlooked.

A transition of even greater importance occurred during the days after the resurrection of Jesus. St. Luke chronicles the story in the first chapter of Acts. Look at verse 1: “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.”

That former book, part one of Luke’s two-volume history of Jesus and the beginning of the Christian era, is in our Bibles. We know it as the Gospel According to Luke. It begins with the birth of John the Baptist and goes on to chronicle the entire life of Jesus on earth. But here in the opening page of volume two, Luke writes that his first volume only dealt with what Jesus “began to do and to teach.” By implication, this second volume (our book of Acts), is about what Jesus continued to do and teach after the ascension.

Jesus has not been dormant since the ascension. He has continued to do and to teach, but under a different paradigm (and it is important we recognize that). He is still doing and still teaching, even today, but the way he does so has undergone transition.

In verse three Luke says, “After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” The words, “he showed himself” translate a Greek word that means he “stood beside them.” After his resurrection he stood beside them even when they were unaware of his presence. Only occasionally did he (still verse 3), “appear to them.”

When he did appear to them, he spoke about the kingdom of God. Sometimes we get the idea that after the crucifixion the kingdom of God was no longer a relevant issue. But Jesus thought it was, even after his crucifixion and resurrection. The kingdom theme begins in the Old Testament and runs right through the New. Here in the very first paragraph of Acts we find Jesus talking about it, and if we skip ahead to the close of this history book, we will find the Apostle Paul talking about it in the very last sentence. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus opened the kingdom of God to us, and it remains open.

A great transition was taking place, and Jesus was preparing his people for it. So, he met with them and gave them necessary instructions (verse 4): “On one occasion, while he was eating with them (the Greek word translated “eating” means something like “taking salt together” – were they eating popcorn and potato chips?), he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,” which was (verse 5) “the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Father’s promise.” The apostles would never be able to transition to the new era without the Father’s promise. In fact, without Him, there would be no new era. It was the arrival of the Holy Spirit in an unprecedented way that ushered in the new era.

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The End of All Things Is Near (a sermon on 1 Peter 4:7-11)

Posted on March 7, 2022 by salooper57

“The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” Peter does not say, “Be alert and of sober mind so that you” can outsmart the bad guys and save yourselves. He says, “Be alert and of sober mind” (when I translated the text, I paraphrased that as “keep your wits about you – no fuzzy thinking”) “so that you may pray.”

You may feel a let-down when you hear that. It is anticlimactic. “So that you may pray” – that’s it? We’d rather Peter said, “Keep your wits about you – no fuzzy thinking – so that you can fight!” But Peter had tried that, remember? Jesus had said to him, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). But Peter did neither. He didn’t watch and he didn’t pray. His thinking was fuzzy. When the temptation came, he lost his wits, found his sword, and tried to fight. It was a debacle

Viewing time: 26 minutes (approx.)
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On the Edge of the Promised Land – Numbers 13-14, with a look ahead to Joshua (Biblical Theology Class 9)

Posted on March 6, 2022 by salooper57
Viewing Time: 54:30

In this class we see how Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land put the “Eden Project” on hold for decades. But God remained faithful to his promise. This class fits the wilderness wanderings into the metanarrative of the Bible and finds practical lessons for Christians today.

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Is Prophecy Being Fulfilled Before Our Eyes?

Posted on March 5, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3-4 minutes.)

The famous televangelist Pat Robertson came out of retirement this week to warn that the end times are upon us. According to Robertson, Vladimir Putin’s real intention in going into Ukraine is to secure a base of operation for a forthcoming offensive against Israel. “He went into Ukraine,” said Robertson, “but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel…”

In Robertson’s reading of prophecy, various Middle Eastern nations will align with Russia prior to a final showdown with Israel – the biblical Armageddon. Robertson exhorted viewers of The 700 Club to “read your Bible” because “it’s coming to pass.”

When Robertson has taken the prophet’s mantle on himself in the past, his record has not been spotless. In 1976, he predicted the world would end in 1982. In 2020, he stated, “I want to say without question, Trump is going to win the election.” He then went on to predict “five years or more of extraordinary peace,” followed by an asteroid collision that might end life on earth.

Pat Robertson may claim that he was right, and that Mr. Trump really won the election, but where are the five or more years of extraordinary peace? And how is it that this prediction of peace was so swiftly replaced by a prediction of war?

When I moved to Michigan in 1988, people were excited about a recently published booklet titled, “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.” The book, written by a former NASA engineer, sold over 4 million copies, and was sent free to 300,000 pastors. The author claimed that Christ would arrive on earth between September 11-13. Since I arrived in early August, it appeared that my tenure here would be brief.

That was nearly 33 years ago. September 13th came and went. The author recalculated and declared an October date for Christ’s return. When that didn’t happen, a new book hit the market: “The Final Shout: Rapture Report 1989,” which offered 89 reasons why the rapture would occur in 1989. “The Final Shout” was final; there were no sequels.

The examples above are representative of scores of failed predictions. After many spectacular misreadings of the signs of the times, some Christians have quietly abandoned prophecy altogether. There have been too many Robertson-like prophecies that have come and gone. They would rather make a difference in the world than make conjectures about its end.

The trouble with such an approach is that the Bible does contain prophecies about the end times. Whether these are something we understand or not, they are hardly something that Christians can ignore. The biblical story, unlike the stories of other ancient faiths, is telic in nature – it is moving to a prescribed end. Without this movement toward fulfillment, there is no biblical faith.

People who follow Jesus and affirm the teaching of the apostles are in an awkward position. They must hold the predictions of self-proclaimed prophecy experts at arms-length, even when they have 89 proofs that they are right. At the same time, they must not let themselves become jaded and give up the hope of Christ’s return. They know that with the advent of each new war, the prophecy experts will come out of the woodwork. But they also know that when the day chosen by God arrives, Christ will come out of heaven.

When it comes to prophecy, there are two approaches that lead to differing results. One approach is embodied by those who “love Christ’s appearing” (to borrow St. Paul’s words), the other by those who hunger to know its timing. The latter are motivated by a need to control, the former by a faith that cedes control to Christ.

The date-fixing compulsion is fear-driven. Its goal is to protect oneself, one’s family, and one’s friends by preparing for trouble. Such an approach does not demonstrate faith but indicates a lack thereof.

Those who “love Christ’s appearing” do not announce, “Jesus is coming on this date,” but they do pray, “Even so, Lord Jesus, come!” They do not trust their ability to get the date right, but they do trust Jesus to put everything right.

(First published by Gannett.)

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The Resurrection: “He Is Going Ahead of You” (Wide Angle)

Posted on March 2, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3-4 minutes.)

We’ve been looking at the resurrection of Jesus over the past few weeks and it is now I time to put on our wide-angle lenses. Survey the big picture. Eve’s son would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15); God himself would provide a lamb for sacrifice (Genesis 22:7-18); the LORD would make his servant’s life a guilt offering (Isaiah 53:10). Remember the law Moses gave, and the festivals he instituted that pointed to Christ, especially Passover and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

According to the Law of Moses, on the Day of Atonement (and only on the Day of Atonement) the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies carrying the blood of the one sacrifice to make atonement for the people. Before doing so, he would make atonement for himself, for to go into the Holiest Place with one’s sins unforgiven was to invite instant death.

The people would gather outside the tabernacle or temple and wait for the High Priest to emerge. When he did, they would rejoice, for it meant that God had accepted the sacrifice and their sins had been atoned. But if he did not come back from the Holy of Holies, then the offering had not been accepted and their sins had not been forgiven.

We talk so lightly of accepting Jesus (as if we possess a kind of veto power over him. It is not so. By rejecting him, we only manage to veto ourselves). But in the dim light of that early morning outside the rich man’s tomb the real question was not would people accept Jesus, but would God? As our High Priest, Jesus had entered the Holiest Place (Hebrews 9, especially verse 12). Would his offering be accepted, and our sins forgiven? Or would it be rejected, and all hope lost? The resurrection was God’s proclamation that Christ’s offering was accepted. The High Priest had returned from the Holy of Holies, and all was well. By the resurrection, God declared with power that Jesus was The One—that he was his very Son (Romans 1:1-4). No wonder Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised. . .you are still in our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). 

Now look at the rest of the angel’s message (verse 7): “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.” His message to them was, “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you.” What words of comfort those are! Ahead of you into Galilee – that was true.  He would meet them there, just as he said. But he would go ahead of them from now on. Think of where these men went: to prisons, to exile, to beatings, to trial. Jesus went ahead of them and met them there. They would go to Rome, and he would go before them. They would stand before kings and emperors, and they would die ignominious deaths. He would go before them and meet them there.

And still the message to us is, “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you.” Wherever he leads you, he will go before you. If he leads you into marriage, he will go ahead of you and meet you there. If he leads you into a new city, he will go ahead of you and meet you there. If he leads you to a new job, to the mission field, to a ministry, he will go ahead of you and meet you there. You can count on it! And, if he calls you to follow him into death, then know this: he has gone ahead of you, and he will meet you there, Our Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. That is the confidence we have.

In a previous war, a British soldier was mortally wounded. A corpsman, seeing that he was going to die, and wanting to call a chaplain, asked him, “What is your religion?” The man answered, “I belong to the church of Jesus Christ.” Well, that didn’t tell the corpsman whether the man was a Catholic or a Protestant, so he asked again, “I mean what is your persuasion?” And this is what he whispered: “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  

He has gone before us, through death and beyond. In his great love, he will meet us there!

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Eveready (A sermon from 1 Peter 3:14-4:6)

Posted on February 28, 2022 by salooper57
Viewing Time: 26 minutes (approximate)

What does it look like to be ready for Christ? How do we get ready? Peter shares 3 areas in which Jesus’s followers need to be prepared.

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