A Good Friday

        Having endured a sleepless night of false accusations before an unfair and prejudiced court, Jesus was hauled to his feet early on Friday morning, and dragged to the Praetorium before the violent Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate.  For the next three hours or so, Jesus endured further false accusations from the envious Jews and easily-swayed crowd.  He endured the skeptic questioning of Pilate and then the mocking requests for miracles from Herod.  He suffered a severe scourging because of Pilate's cowardly attempt to appease the crowd's bloodlust at his expense.  Then, he heard the verdict his Father had told him would come, "Crucify him," (Mark 15:14).

What Do You Own?

What do you own?

Some may answer this question economically - I own my house (or co-own with my mortgage lender). I own my car (or co-own with the bank who holds my auto loan).  I own my phone (or lease it from my cell service company).  I own my computer (but pay fees for the software and licenses on it).  I own my television (but pay a recurring fee to put cable channels on it).  So, I own a lot, but only halfway.

Some may answer this question inter-personally - I have a wife, two kids, a dog, good parents, manageable in-laws.  But, these people are not my personal property, so I do not have true ownership rights over them, even though there are certain laws that grant me care and custody of my children, I do not have full ownership of all their person.  So, I have relationships, but I do not own people.

In Obedience, When Matters

Matthew Henry used the following sentence regarding sinning during the peace offering (Lev 7:16-18), "if any person ate of what was so left their conduct should be animadverted upon as a very high misdemeanor," (Henry Commentary 368).

I had to look up animadversion.  It means "harsh criticism".  There's your word for the morning.

God's Judgment Dismantles His Creation

Though a bit of an overstatement, there are two words used to describe the earth prior to God's spoken acts of creation: "formless" (tohu) and "void" (bohu) in Gen 1:2. These two words appear several other places in the OT, but not often do they appear together (so far, I have found one place).

Isaiah 34 is a chapter describing God's judgment against the nations who opposed Him by opposing or oppressing Israel, His chosen people. In particular, God singles out Edom for judgment. The chapter is soaked with bloody imagery:

The Son Asks for Me

Jesus' prayer in John 17 is rich: a blessed prayer that has invoked worship and assurance of God's love in Christians since it was first prayed.  After talking personally with His Father about the success of His mission (the disciples finally fully believe that Jesus is from God in v.8 of the confession in John 16:30), Jesus prays first for the disciples and their continued perseverance after Jesus drinks the cup of the Father's wrath (dies on the cross).  Then, Jesus prays "for those also who believe in Me through their word," (John 17:20).  The final portion of His prayer is for those who will believe in Him through the witness of the apostles.  One of those apostles, John, wrote down this prayer later in life.  So, all of us who are Christians today, who have believed because of the enduring witness of the apostles preserved in the New Testament Scriptures, are the recipients of Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-26.

Need for Faith from Those Who Think They Can See, Pt. 2

In the previous post, "Faith that Sees" the question, "Who is Jesus?" was examined in the context of a man born blind, healed by Jesus, and come to spiritual sight as he confessed his belief and worshiped Jesus.  That Jesus did not deny this worship shows that Jesus understood Himself worthy of Godly praise.  Before leaving John 9, it is important to look one more time at the Pharisees, and particularly, Jesus' final words to them.

Faith that Sees, pt. 1

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is often referred to as "light" (John 1:4-5, 9, 3:19-21, 8:12).  Particularly, before healing the man born blind, Jesus claims, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world," (John 9:5).  As I was shown by Pastor Bill Cook at 9th and O Baptist Church in Louisville, Jesus demonstrates Himself as the light through healing the man born blind, helping him see both physically and spiritually.