Biblical Theology: The O.T. Confession of Faith (Exodus 32-34, Class 8)

Posted on February 27, 2022 by salooper57

After this class, I had to apologize to my co-teacher Kevin, and now I need to apologize to the class as a whole, both in person and online. In preparing for this class, we exchanged emails and Kevin sent a final draft of the notes, which I printed for both of us. But I had already pasted my notes into an earlier draft and had printed them. On the morning of class, I placed the wrong set of notes on Kevin’s stand and left the correct set in my notebook.

When Kevin came to his first major section, all the notes said was: “Exodus 32 – Kevin.” The same thing with chapters 33 and 34; he was missing all his content. Nevertheless, he did an exceptional job teaching from these rich and deep chapters without any notes to help.

Despite my error, this class provides insight into the character of God and an inspiring glimpse of the big picture of the Bible. Please join us for “The O.T. Confession of Faith.”

Viewing Time: 56 minutes.
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The Bible’s Commands Ranked?

Posted on February 26, 2022 by salooper57

People seem to have an innate desire to rank things. What was the best Star Wars movie? Who has New York’s best pizza? What was the worst television show of all time? What are America’s 25 best beaches?

This penchant for ranking things is nothing new. When Jesus was on the earth, he was approached by a biblical scholar who wanted him to rank the biblical commandments. “Which commandment,” he asked, “is the first of all?”

I wonder what he expected Jesus to say. Was he hoping that Jesus would rank the Ten Commandments in reverse order from least to greatest? (This, by the way, has been attempted.) If he was, he was disappointed. Jesus did not even mention the Ten Commandments.

Instead, he quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5, a passage that all Jewish men, Jesus included, were obligated to recite daily. The commandment he ranked as most important was: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Though he was only asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus went on to list the second greatest commandment as well. Once again, he bypassed the Ten Commandments, this time going to Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus highlighted these two as the chief or greatest commandments because, in his own words, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” The rest of the Old Testament (“the Law and the Prophets” for short), is a working out of these two commands. Humanity, it appears, was created by God to love, and be loved.

So far, so good. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love God. But how can someone know whether they love God? People can know whether they have committed adultery, stolen, or told a lie. But how can they know if they have loved God?

The 17th century Cambridge educated Non-Conformist pastor Thomas Watson proposed fourteen signs that a person loves God. Spectators cannot easily spot these signs and even the person in whom they appear may be unsure of them at times. Yet the preponderance of these signs (or, better, traits) is evidence of a genuine love of God.

Among Watson’s fourteen signs is a mind that thinks a lot about God. “He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon God,” says Watson. Simply put, people who love God, like newlyweds who love each other or parents who love their children, think frequently about the person they love.

Watson’s other signs include: grief over our unkindness to God (our sins); a desire to be close to God; courage to stand up for God; a concern not to displease God; a desire to speak of God’s virtues to others; a willingness to engage in difficult or disagreeable duties for the sake of God; and an increasing love for the things God loves.

With this last sign – a love for what God loves – Watson has struck the same chord that Jesus played when he said that the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself, for to love a neighbor is to love what God loves.

It is easy to deceive ourselves into thinking that we love the God whom we have not seen. It is not so easy to convince ourselves that we love our neighbor whom we have seen. Thus, a genuine fulfillment of the second greatest commandment – love of neighbor – is an indication that we are fulfilling the first – love for God.

It is important to remember that this kind of love is much more than a feeling. It is a whole-self orientation to promote the good of another person, so it acts with patience and kindness and without envy or boasting. It protects others and honors them. It willingly sacrifices for their benefit.  

This kind of love is not something people simply choose to do (though it won’t happen if they don’t), still less something they happen to feel. It emanates from who they have become through a transformative relationship with the loving God; hence, St. John’s conclusion: “Love comes from God.”

(First published by Gannett.)

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Wide Angle: The Resurrection (“Just as He Said”)

Posted on February 23, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: Approx. 4-5 minutes.)

The men who pushed and manipulated the governor into delivering a death sentence on Jesus went back to the governor after the execution with an odd request. They asked that a guard (the word is koustodia in Greek) be stationed at the tomb to protect it from would grave robbers. The last recorded words of Pilate are given in Matthew’s Gospel are: “‘Take a guard,’ Pilate answered. ‘Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.’”

“So, they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”  We owe these men a great debt.  By sealing the tomb and posting a guard they gave the lie to their own story.  They made ridiculous the idea that the disciples could have stolen Jesus’ body.  Those who make plans against God find their own schemes turned against them. I am reminded of the words of the Psalmist: “They spread a net for my feet . . .  They dug a pit in my path – but they have fallen into it themselves.”

So, the guard (which the original language calls the koustodia) was posted at the tomb. If Matthew means us to understand a koustodia proper, this was a special forces unit comprised of sixteen men.  These were some of the toughest men in the empire.  They had no doubt about their ability to fulfill their duty.  They certainly had no fear a few Galilean fisherman.

And yet, put yourself in their place.  On the day of the crucifixion uncanny things had happened.  There had been an eclipse of the sun.  At the moment Jesus died, an earthquake convulsed Jerusalem and did damage to the temple.  Everyone was still talking about it.  There were even rumors that the quake had collapsed the ground around the local cemetery, breaking open a number of the graves – and now the bodies were missing! (Matthew 27:52).  They knew that the ranking officer on duty at the crucifixion was telling people that the executed man was surely the Son of God. And now, for some mysterious reason, the governor himself had assigned a koustodia the duty of guarding a dead man. It was enough to make even a battle-hardened soldier a little jittery.

Early on Sunday morning, for the second time in three days, an earthquake shook the ground, and tossed these men around like toys soldiers.  But that was nothing. With the earthquake came the sudden appearance of an angel. Verse 2: “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.” The word the NIV translates as “going to” (proserchomai) is often used in a hostile sense: of one combatant approaching another to do battle.  This angel came at the soldiers, and he was combat-ready.

We think of angels as effeminate, wispy-haired creatures that look as though they wouldn’t hurt a fly.  But verse three says that “his appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” Have you ever looked at lightning up close – say, within a hundred yards?  I did once, and I hope never to do so again. The effect is unnerving, to say the least.  So, it was with these guards. They “shook (Matthew 28:4) and became like dead men.”

That shaking, I think, was not just fear.  It was more like a seizure. God, the scripture says, “makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire” (Hebrews 1:7) When this being that looked like lightning and burned like fire, came toward them, the guards short-circuited.  His presence caused their nervous systems to overload, the way an electrical surge that will overload a computer or TV when lightning strikes nearby.  I doubt they even knew what happened to them. These soldiers, who would choose death before dishonor, simply came undone.

And just think, if it is so terrifying to stand before an angel, one of God’s servants, what will it be like to stand in the presence of God himself?  Before him Isaiah was undone, mighty seraphim cover their faces, and heaven and earth flee away (Revelation 20:11). When you stand before him, you had better have an advocate—the Advocate—or you will not stand at all.

By the time the women arrived, the entire koustodia was out cold, and the tremendous stone had been tossed away as though it were a pebble.  The first thing the angel said to the women – who, though not subject to attack like the guards, were still scared stiff– was, “Do not be afraid.”

“Do not be afraid,” he says (Matthew 28:5), “for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.”  The Greek here is interesting.  Matthew uses a perfect tense verb, which indicates an action in the past with continuing consequences.  “I know that you are looking for Jesus, the crucified one.” Jesus is ever the crucified one.  We might seek Jesus the healer, Jesus the teacher, Jesus the example, Jesus the Friend, but we will only find him in Jesus the Crucified One. If we will not know him in that way, we will not know him at all.

“I know you are looking for him, but he is not here,” the angel says. “He has risen, just as he said.”  One day we will discover that he has done everything “just as he said.”  Not one word of his has ever fallen to the ground.  He said, “I will be with you,” and he meant it. He has been with us every step of the way.  He said, “Do not be afraid,” and we need never be afraid.  He said, “I will give you rest,” and that offer still stands.  His word is as good as gold—or rather, is better “than much fine gold.”  If he said, “I will come again and take you to be with me,” then we should stand watch, for he is coming.  It will be “just as he said.”

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How Do We Get There from Here? (1 Peter 3:8-15)

Posted on February 21, 2022 by salooper57
Sermon viewing time: approx. 28 minutes

Do you know how some TV shows begin with a scene that is full of peril and you don’t even know how you got there? The hero is covered with blood, he’s holding a knife, and a woman lies dead at his feet. The police have him surrounded, are pointing weapons at him, and shouting, “Put down the knife!”

Then the scene cuts to a beautiful beach where the hero walks hand in hand with the dead woman we just saw, and a caption states: “36 Hours Earlier.” What the writer did was skip Act I with all its prefatory material and jump right into Act II. She wants to hook you from the very first scene.

That feels gimmicky to me – an end run on careful writing.  However, I am about to do the same thing to you, only instead of flashing “36 Hours Earlier” I am going to flash “29 Verses Earlier,” and I’m going to cast you in the lead role.

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Bible Theology Class 7: The Tabernacle (Temple Theology)

Posted on February 20, 2022 by salooper57
Viewing Time: 57 minutes

When Kevin and I were laying out the syllabus for this class, we talked about what should come after the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Kevin thought that the next class should be on Exodus 25-31, the building of the tabernacle. I said, “Seriously??? The boring part everyone skips when they are reading the Bible?

But he was right. The tabernacle opens a world to us – a world of temple theology that is full of insights for the whole of the Bible and points to Jesus. You may not believe it, but this is fascinating stuff! Join us for this hour that opens to us the Scriptures and the heart of God.

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What it Means to Say, “God Bless You”

Posted on February 19, 2022 by salooper57

Whenever some alarming thing happens that affects us as a nation – the attacks on 9-11, or when our troops are engaged in battle – leaders from across the political spectrum feel it necessary to end their speeches by saying, “God bless America.” What exactly does that mean? What does blessing entail?

Christians tend to cover a lot of ground with the word, “blessing.” “It was a blessing,” we say of the inspiring worship service we’ve just attended, or our west coast family’s recent visit, or of some hardship that has finally ended. What do we mean by that? Are we just saying that it was nice?

Contemporary Christians are not the only ones with a fondness for using the “blessing” words. The biblical writers used them nearly 900 times. Admittedly, many of these uses occur in narrative passages and some of those come from people who meant very little by them or even meant the opposite of what they said. Yet the sheer volume of blessing language suggests that there is an important meaning behind the words.

In the Bible, the blessing language begins in the first chapter of the first book with the words, “God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” The Old Testament scholar Christopher J. H. Wright claims that blessing “is constituted by fruitfulness, abundance, and fullness on the one hand, and by enjoying rest within creation in holy and harmonious relationship with our Creator…”

So, is that what I am saying when I respond to a sneeze with an impromptu, “God bless you”? I am earnestly wishing you the benefits of fruitfulness, abundance, fullness, and rest? Wow.

I recently read Genesis 26, which continues the story of the biblical patriarch Isaac. In the course of the chapter, Isaac is said to be blessed four times. God himself tells Isaac that he will bless him. The people around him perceive that he is blessed. He experiences fruitfulness, abundance, fullness, and rest.

However, as I read, I noticed that the four-times-blessed Isaac also endured four trials and hardships in the same chapter: four times blessed, and four times burdened. It occurred to me that I have always assumed that blessing entails the absence of conflict and difficulty. Genesis 26 refutes that idea.

I know of someone who has had a life that many people would envy. He graduated from one of the nation’s premier universities. He holds a prestigious teaching position in a large university. He has written books and received numerous awards. And yet his life has not been free of hardship. One of his children has suffered from an incurable illness, which has caused his family profound grief. Can it be true that this man, who has suffered so much, has been blessed?

I think the biblical answer must be yes; he has been blessed. He has experienced fruitfulness, abundance, fullness, and rest. But he has also experienced trouble, turmoil, and fear. Blessing does not mean the absence of difficulty.

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Is she blessed? What about the business owner who has had to lay off employees because of supply chain shortages? The biblical answer could still be yes, they are blessed.

There is, however, another side to this coin. We cannot assume that the person with enormous wealth, multiple homes, and stellar health is necessarily blessed. The presence of these good things does not prove blessing any more than the presence of bad things refutes it.

The fact is that many biblical characters who were said to be blessed went through terribly difficult times. Peter, who was declared blessed by Jesus himself, was executed. Mary, the mother of Jesus, declared “blessed among woman” by St. Elizabeth (and by many millions of people since) had a sword-pierced soul. Jesus tells the poor, the persecuted, and those who mourn that they are blessed.

The thing is to believe it. For suffering, conflict and, eventually, death itself, will come. People can live certain of the blessing; I have seen it. Those I have personally known all had one thing in common: they trusted the one through whom all blessings flow: Jesus.

(First published by Gannett.)

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Wide Angle: A Case of Hypocrisy

Posted on February 16, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3 minutes.)

According to Matthew 27, Joseph of Arimethea, along with Nicodemus (another secret disciple positioned among the nation’s most prominent officials), gave Jesus a proper burial in Joseph’s own tomb. Verses 59 says, “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.”

Joseph and Nicodemus had unwittingly been caught up in something much bigger and much older than themselves. Centuries before they were born, the prophet Isaiah had written, “He was assigned a grave with . . . the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isa. 53:9). Dozens of ancient prophecies were fulfilled on this one day. Men and angels were playing roles in a drama that had been scripted long before.

Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus, rolled the great stone into place at the tomb’s entrance and went home. The women who had followed them to the tomb also went home, forced to end their vigil by the approach of the Sabbath.

But notice Matthew 27:62: “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.’”

How ironic. The day after the Preparation Day was the Sabbath. The women, as we just saw, went home and rested in obedience, as Luke puts it, to the law. The women obeyed the law and kept the Sabbath, while the priests and Pharisees were conducting business at the governor’s office in violation of Sabbath law. Add to irony that Sabbath-breaking was one of the chief accusations The Pharisee leveled against Jesus (Luke 23:56).

The Pharisees especially had been outraged at Jesus for violating the Sabbath. Here they were, one day after his death, violating the Sabbath themselves. Together with the chief priests they slandered Jesus as a deceiver (John 7:12). But if we look ahead to verses 12 and 13 of the next chapter, we find these same men working out an elaborate plan to deceive the people. And, remarkably, they saw nothing hypocritical about their actions. One of sin’s most troubling symptoms is that it blinds its victims to its presence. Ironically, the less control sin exercises over a person, the more aware of its presence he or she becomes.

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The Submission Is for the Mission (1 Peter 3:1-7)

Posted on February 14, 2022 by salooper57

Christian marriage as part of God’s Big Plan.

Viewing time: 26 minutes (approx.)

A few years ago, a cartoon was published that showed a pastor behind a pulpit that had been armored so that it was like a fortress. There was something like a gun turret through which he spoke. The caption read, “Today my text is 1 Peter 3:1, ‘Wives submit to your husbands.’”

This passage has caused non-Christians to accuse us of being misogynistic and sexist. They call us patriarchal, primitive, and obsolete. And contemporary Christians have wondered if they are right…

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Sinai (Bible Theology Class)

Posted on February 13, 2022 by salooper57
Viewing Time 56 minutes

What was Sinai and the giving of the law all about? Was it just rules that people must follow, can’t follow, and set people up to fail? Or is the law more like covenant promises – like marriage vows? How does it fit together? Join us for an in-depth look at thundering Sinai and the giving of the law.

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The Power of Always Trying Again

Posted on February 12, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3 to 4 minutes)

The title of a recent Christianity Today article caught my attention. It read, “I’ve Reached My Breaking Point as a Pastor.”

The article cited a new Barna study that “discovered that 38 percent of pastors have given real, serious consideration to quitting the ministry in the past year.” I don’t know how that compares to previous years, but 38 percent seems high.

Peter Chin, the article’s author, went on to admit: “I am one of that 38 percent. Even in the best of times, pastoral ministry has felt like a broad and heavy calling. But the events of the past few years have made it a crushing one. The presidential election. Unrest around racial injustice. A global pandemic that has taken the lives of over 800,000 Americans.”

I’ve heard pastors say the same kinds of things. They are tired, wounded, and ready to throw in the towel. I was at a meeting recently where I heard a denominational official state that the church is facing a national shortage of qualified pastoral candidates. The old hands are getting out. Younger people are shying away.

Chin was right: the last few years have been difficult. Political divisions have flowed over into the church. The pandemic made matters worse. During its first few months, pastors were forced to make difficult decisions almost daily – decisions that half the congregation would loathe, and half would applaud.

Yes, the last few years have been hard on pastors, but it would be a mistake to think that this generation of pastors is the first to face great difficulty. It would be a further mistake to think that people outside of pastoral ministry are spared the stress.

Recent data suggest that more married couples are reaching their breaking point. According to National Law Review, 20 percent of couples who have been married five months or less applied for divorce in 2020. That is nearly double pre-pandemic numbers.

Similar stresses exist in the workplace. According to Emile Hallez, writing in Investment News, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimates that 3 million people have retired early as a result of the “COVID environment.” The retirement rate of Baby Boomers has more than doubled over the previous year.

There is a time for making changes, switching careers, even retiring, but the time is never right to despair or to cave in. Because there have always been stresses, sometimes worse than what we have faced in the pandemic, the writers of Scripture called people to persevere. Indeed, perseverance is one of the Bible’s most highly esteemed virtues.

Perseverance is the virtue we wish we could do without. But we can’t. Without perseverance, we will lose hope. Perseverance is the foundation of every virtue. C. S. Lewis put it this way: God gives us the “power of always trying again. For however important [any virtue] may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still.”  

God gives us “the power of always trying again.” That is a superpower, if ever there was one. Perseverance may not leap tall buildings in a single bound, but it scales them one step at a time and eventually reaches the top.

I have never been a Dallas Cowboys fan, but I am awed by Emmet Smith’s career rushing record, which has held now for 18 years. Smith, who stood a mere 5 feet, nine inches – a Lilliputian by NFL standards – ran for 18,355 yards, which is approximately 10-and-a-half miles. What makes that feat so impressive is that some behemoth on the other side knocked him down every 4 yards. But Emmet Smith had the “power of always trying again.”

People generally don’t make it through career setbacks, marriage difficulties, or long-term health problems because they are strong or smart, but because they don’t give up. Albert Einstein once said of himself, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” He persevered.

God stands ready to help his people persevere in faith. He strengthens them to put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes, that is all we need to do.

(First published by Gannett.)

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