Sympathy For Doubting Thomas

Today we’re going to talk about the tension between what we call “blind faith,” and “seeing to believe,” and how the terms relate to evangelism.

The gospel we share today, in its most basic form, is this:

“The Creator God is upset with you, to the point where He is going to send you to hell when you die. Do you want to go to hell when you die?”

The answer – “Um, no thanks?”

“Good. I thought you probably didn’t want to go to hell. If you don’t want to go to hell when you die, you have to believe in Jesus. That means you need to ask him to forgive your sins right now.”

Probably millions of people have started their spiritual journey based on a conversation just like that. The basic points are basically Biblically true, it’s an easy evangelism technique to memorize, and it forces people into a decision quickly and without a lot of messy discipleship that has to take place first. So why would we ever challenge this method of proselytization?

Because it leaves many, many people behind. The whole conversation is predicated on the assumption that the person you’re talking to:

• Already believes in some kind of supernatural creative force behind existence;
• Already believes in some kind of immortal human soul that can suffer eternal consequences;
• Already believes that his or her behavior has an effect on the destiny of his or her own soul;
• Is already aware that the life he or she has lived will result in an unfavorable eternal outcome;
• Already believes that the supernatural creative force behind existence manifested itself in the life of a somewhat rebellious 1st century Jewish Rabbi;
• And already believes that the supernatural creative force behind existence is benevolent and will grant mercy to those who plead for it.

That might not be a lot to ask of someone who grew up in the church and is at least familiar with the basic principles of the Christian faith, but it is a lot to ask of someone who grew up in a different religious tradition or has doubts about those principles in the first place. It’s like asking someone who understands gravity to “just believe” they can fly and then telling them the building they’re standing on is burning down.

And that is precisely where today’s Christian fails as an evangelist, and where the gospel message drops dead in the heart of a cynic. “Take a leap of faith,” we tell them happily, not understanding that to someone who doesn’t share the basic Christian worldview, leaping is an even faster route to intellectual or spiritual death than waiting to take their chances on Judgment Day.

A Bible verse that comes to mind when we advocate for blind faith in others is John 20:29. These are Jesus’ words to “doubting” Thomas, after the disciple finally saw his resurrected Master and believed:

“Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’” (NASB)

No one alive today actually walked or talked with Jesus of Nazareth, so this verse can be a comfort to Christians who have the occasional moment of doubt. When the idea of a “leap of faith” colors the way we share the gospel, however, we’re really missing out on the facts of the story of Thomas.

Let’s set the stage – simply stated, the man who claimed to be the Son of God, who Thomas saw heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach repentance and forgiveness, was dead. Thomas might have seen him die, but even if he didn’t, many people did and the news of Jesus’ gruesome death spread rapidly among his followers. They were discouraged, frustrated, and disappointed, not just Thomas but Peter, James, John, everyone. They were asking themselves if they had wasted the last three years of their lives following around some kind of magical lunatic or a skilled but very dead con man.

Then, against all logic and everything the disciples had ever known to be true, reports started to trickle in about an empty tomb, discarded grave clothes, a mysterious gardener, a ghostly teacher who disappeared from the town of Emmaus after breaking bread. All of the disciples, not just Thomas, dismissed most of the accounts as wishful thinking and looked for a logical solution. Their heartbreak was only a few days old, and these outlandish tales were like salt in very, very fresh wounds, until…

Suddenly, while the disciples were praying and trying to make sense of what they’d seen and heard, Jesus appears in their midst. They tremble and shake, and even with Jesus right there in front of them, they doubt that it’s really him. They think it’s a ghost or some other kind of spirit, until Jesus eats a piece of broiled fish in front of them, while they watch. Then, and only then, do they believe that he is risen.

But poor Thomas wasn’t there. He hears the story second-hand, he can’t verify the evidence, so he doubts. His response is his most famous line: “Unless I touch the holes in his hands, and put my hand into the spear wound in his side, I will not believe.”

Two thousand years later, Thomas still carries the title of “doubter.” We Christians sadly shake our heads at Thomas’ inability to take his brother disciples at their word. “Don’t be a doubting Thomas,” we say. “Blessed are those who do not see and still believe.”

If we take this attitude toward Thomas’ doubt, we’re missing the double-fisted punch line of this story. First, Thomas didn’t have any more or any less doubt than the rest of the disciples. The only reason they believed that Jesus had risen was that they had already seen him. Thomas had not. No matter who you are, the idea that someone who was publicly and brutally executed can come back to life is unacceptable. Science, experience, and common sense tell the sane person that it cannot happen. Far from being overly cynical or even damning, Thomas’ doubt, just like the doubt of the other disciples, was perfectly justified and understandable. (Please, please read Miracles by C.S. Lewis. If I could force you to, I would.)

The big right hook we never see coming is even more important. We call all doubt evil, push people to take giant logical leaps and call it faith, chastise those who want to see the evidence or discuss the science or ask the question no one can answer, and yet what was Jesus’ reaction to Thomas’ doubt?

He showed up and invited Thomas to examine his wounds. Thomas asked for evidence, for an explanation, and Jesus answered. Thomas was not condemned for his doubt, but was actually rewarded with a visit from the resurrected Christ! Sure, Jesus said that those who don’t see and still believe are blessed, but he still took the time to help Thomas come to terms with his disbelief.

This has to change the way we think about others, and the way we share the gospel. In John 20, Jesus makes it clear that both those who are comfortable with blind faith and those who need to see evidence are welcome to follow him. One group can’t take a superior attitude toward the other, because Jesus died for both, was resurrected for both, and calls both to repentance and a life following him. Asking for evidence can’t be condemned in true Christianity, but really should be celebrated when the evidence is found.

As for those people who struggle with the basic premises of Western theology that we listed earlier, they should never be left out in the cold by followers of Jesus. They might not share even the simple aspects of our worldview, but Jesus is still for them. Our job as evangelists is to imitate Jesus, and help them build a bridge of understanding across any gap they need bridged. Anything less is un-Christ-like, and therefore Anti-Christian. Thomas doubted Jesus’ resurrection, so Jesus appeared to him and gave him the opportunity to examine the evidence for himself. Can we really justify not engaging the questions and doubts of our human brothers and sisters in a patient, intelligent, loving way? Think about what we’re saying if we don’t go that extra mile: “That person has some really tough questions that I can’t answer, so I guess they can just go to hell.” (More on this in a later post.)

The leap of faith doesn’t work for everyone, and it didn’t even work for Jesus’ disciples. What your neighbor, co-worker, or friend might really need is a bridge of knowledge and understanding.  I know I did. Maybe the leap of faith is how you became a Christian, so you don’t have the tools to help them build that bridge. It’s time to learn, to do some self-examination, stretch your intellect and understanding and sweat through a process of bridge construction. Looking at Jesus’ example, it’s the Christian thing to do.

(Many, many questions and doubts about our faith were logically addressed by C.S. Lewis in his book Miracles, and by Francis Schaeffer in his books The God Who Is There, Escape From Reason, and He Is There And He Is Not Silent, available from Amazon in one volume. Christians, read these books. They will make you a better follower of Jesus and help you understand the doubts of those you are trying to reach. Doubters, read these books too. You might finish them still disagreeing with us, but you will at least have heard our faith stated in a serious, intellectual way that respects the sciences and the doubts of others.)

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Based on our youth lesson, 4/10/2013.

About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.  “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

Luke 13:1-9 NLT

Before we talk about Jesus’ parable, here’s a quick historical background on the part about Pilate murdering the Galileans:

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish historian who lived from 37 AD – approx. 100 AD, which means he was alive just after Jesus’ time. He wrote a collection of books that covered Jewish history in detail, including the events before and during his life. In book XVIII of his Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus explains the tension that existed between the Jewish people and the Roman Empire. The Jews who lived during this time felt that, as God’s chosen people, they had a right to be free and not enslaved by anyone. They caused trouble for the Roman Empire by objecting to idols and images of Caesar being set up in their lands, protesting taxes and other Roman laws, refusing to serve in the Roman army, and sometimes even revolting violently against the Romans. The Romans were not the kind of people who put up with rebellion against their authority, so they dealt severely with the Jews. For example, Josephus tells of a time when certain Jews went to the Roman  Governor Pontius Pilate (the governor who supervised Jesus’ crucifixion) to protest his use of “sacred money” for a river diversion project. Pilate got so tired of listening to their complaints that he had some soldiers dress up like Jews and hide in the crowd. When he gave the signal, the soldiers drew their daggers and started stabbing. (see Antiquities XVIII 3.3). Apparently something similar happened in the background of Luke 13.

Now, back to the parable. It seems that whoever told Jesus about the Galileans being killed was making the point that they had been judged for “exceptional” sinfulness. Jesus opposes this idea with force:

“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.”

(v. 2)

While reading this, I couldn’t help but remember the attitude of many Christians and even preachers in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Christianity was quick to interpret the devastation of New Orleans as God’s judgment for immorality and witchcraft. Some of us were rude, arrogant with a sense of moral superiority, and lacking compassion for people who had lost everything. It looks like Jesus would have strongly rebuked this kind of response to any tragedy.

The story of the fig tree that follows Jesus’ scolding tells us something very important about God’s policy toward His people – sooner or later, ALL sin and fruitlessness will be judged and punished.  If it hasn’t happened yet, God is showing mercy and patience.

Just because we still exist and haven’t been judged yet does not mean that judgment isn’t on the way!

Back to the history lesson. There were people around Jesus who thought that their ethnicity as children of Abraham guaranteed God’s favor. Jesus shows them through the parable that they are mistaken, that any tree that wants to grow in God’s garden had better start bearing some fruit. God is very patient, but He does guarantee consequences for unfaithfulness. So how did Jesus’ prophecy come true?

Despite the mark on some people that Jesus made during his life, the religious culture in Jerusalem mostly rejected his spiritual message of repentance and remained the same. There was a strong Zionist movement among the Jews that emphasized their special nature as God’s chosen people. This led to an open rebellion against Rome. Rome retaliated by besieging Jerusalem. In 70 AD, the Roman army broke into Jerusalem and started the indiscriminate execution of all those inside, old, young, men, women and children. According to Josephus, over a million people were killed and the temple was destroyed (Wars of the Jews VI 9).

At this point, many believers nod their heads and point out that after Jesus came, God was done with the Jews and had established a new people to be his “tree” and bear fruit – gentile Christians. The book of Acts, after all, tells the story of the spread of the gospel of Christ, first among his followers (Jewish), then to other Jews in other areas, then to the gentile God-Fearers (non-Jews who attended synagogue services), and finally to the general Greco-Roman culture through the missionary efforts of people like the apostle Paul (who was Jewish). We use Jesus’ parable as proof that God has abandoned His relationship with Israel because they were “exceptional” sinners, and now it’s our turn to receive all the blessings of His garden (I don’t have statistics or anything, but this has been a popular theological current in the American church for a century or more, and our politicians have used it as a tool to control the church-going American public. That’s another blog entry altogether, though).

Paul, like Jesus, firmly refuted this idea. In Romans 11, he uses another tree metaphor to scold gentile Christians for their sense of moral superiority over the Jews:

“Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it… For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

 

But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

“Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.”

Romans 11:13-24, selected (NLT)

An important thing to notice here is that God is absolutely not done with the descendants of Abraham, and no gentile Christian has the authority to pronounce God’s covenant with His chosen people “over.” They may have sinned against God, but so have we. We gentiles are included as wild branches on a cultivated tree out of God’s mercy alone, and we should be humble, thankful, and respectful of the thousands of years of gardening that God did to make that transplant possible. We also have to remember that our inclusion into the community of God’s chosen people comes with all the same responsibilities and consequences that our spiritual ancestors were promised. Paul would call us proud fools for thinking that we are somehow exempt from God’s expectations of fruit-bearing.

Paul’s warning to the gentile Christians is just as stern and terrifying as Jesus’ warning to the Jewish people around him – bear fruit, or you get the axe!

Here’s a sobering question – Is there anything about your country, or your state, or your town, or your neighborhood, or your family, or you that would give you an exemption from God’s judgment against sin?

Doesn’t every nation have sinners for citizens? Doesn’t every state, every town, every household? Every human body?

What makes you so much better than those people from New Orleans, or sub-Saharan Africa, or the Middle East, or California? Why should God judge their sins and not yours?

The truth is that God promises to judge all sin, to cut away every branch that doesn’t bear fruit. Being safe from the pruning process doesn’t come from citizenship in a “Christian” country, or even attendance at a “Christian” church. The fruit God wants to see His people bear is the fruit of obedience, a Christ-like character, righteousness and peace, love and praise to His name (get your Bible and look up “fruit”). He doesn’t want sacrifice, He wants our hearts.

This is the message that the prophets preached to Israel, the root, for a thousand years, the message John the Baptist proclaimed from the waters of the Jordan River, the message Jesus told in story form as he healed the sick and cast out demons, and the message Paul carried to Asia, Athens and Rome.

So, Church of today, understand that sooner or later, judgment is coming. That’s the consequence of being part of God’s people. He will demand an accounting of the fruit we produced (or didn’t), just like the accounting He demanded from His people all throughout their history. Don’t laugh in satisfaction or puff out your chest when you see it happen to other people. Pray for them, and look at your own little wild branch to see if there’s any fruit growing on it. Sooner or later, judgment is coming.

“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

Jesus – Friend and Lover (?!)

I was asked to teach a group of Bible Students on the theme of love and friendship in honor of Valentine’s Day. I could have spent my time dissecting Greek terms and defining them from a Christian perspective, or discussed these two forms of love from a ministerial point of view, but I decided to leave that to their professors. Instead, we’re going to go straight to the heart of what it means to love, and look at the example Jesus gave us with his life. As always, if we can look to and imitate our Lord, we can’t lose. So what kind of friend was Jesus? And what kind of lover?

Some of you might feel your blood pressure rising at the mention of Jesus as lover. I’m going to save that part for the end.  Be patient, and let’s start with what friendship is, and what kind of friend Jesus was.

Friendship, Jesus’ Way

First, what is friendship? Unfortunately, the culture we live in has no idea. We have been taught so well that there is no difference between human and animal life that we have lost our ability to describe friendship without using biological terms. Our culture sees friendship between two members of the same gender as either companionship that aids in the survival of both parties through mutual support, or as a suppressed homosexual urge that goes unexpressed. We have lost our definition of and appreciation for true friendship, and that loss is very serious.

According to C.S. Lewis, true friendship is such a pure and spiritual love that it is unique to human society, and can be our greatest treasure or our worst nightmare. His definition of friendship, as written in The Four Loves, has these characteristics.

Friends are true friends when:

• They see the same truth.
• They walk together toward a common goal.
• The goal or mission is more important to the relationship than the affection between them.
• They constantly change less important character traits about themselves in order to harmonize their personalities, so that walking toward their common goal becomes more enjoyable.

Lewis writes that this focus on shared truth leads friends to isolate themselves from others who don’t understand. This isolation or rebellion can be good, in the case of friends who stand together against the crowd and demand justice, or it can be evil and the cause of injustice.

An example of friendship forming around evil, look at the way Pilate and Herod bonded over making a mockery of Jesus.

Luke 23:8-12 (NASB) says:

“Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.  And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.”

Friendship is such a powerful influence toward either good or bad that Proverbs 13:20 (NASB) says:

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Paul even writes in 1 Corinthians 5:11 not even to eat with any “so-called brother” who practices immorality and has no regard for the ordinances of God.

So why is guarding your friendships so important to God? Because our souls are impressionable to the voices of the people around us, and those voices can easily take the place of the Voice of God. In Romans 1, Paul writes that the world is being judged for the sin of turning aside from God and trading the image of the incorruptible for the image of corruptible man and beast. Friendship at its worst can lead to idolatry. The people of Israel didn’t, as free-thinking individuals, come to the conclusion of rejecting God and eventually sacrificing their own children to idols. They were influenced as a nation by the other nations around them. In making idolaters their friends, they destroyed their friendship with God.

There’s an extreme example of when friendship and association goes horribly wrong, but friendship can still be a force for good. To see friendship at its absolute best, we look to Jesus and the way he related to his friends.

John 15:12-17,  Jesus shares his heart with his friends:

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”

The first thing that hits you when you read Jesus’ words is that he truly was a friend to his disciples, in the greatest way possible. If the deepest expression of love between friends is self-sacrifice, Jesus was the best friend ever, and he encouraged his friends to follow in his footsteps. He loved them enough to die for them, and he commanded them to do the same.

But didn’t Jesus die for the sins of the world? Does that mean that everyone can claim to be a friend of Jesus? No, because of what Jesus said next: You are My friends if you do what I command you. Remember C.S. Lewis’ definition of friendship? Friends are friends truly when they see the same truth. Jesus limited his true friendships to those who saw the same truth as He did, the truth about the Kingdom of Heaven that he shared with his friends during his ministry. Some of those who saw the truth were important religious leaders like Nicodemus, but far more were the black sheep of society, the prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners, enough so that Jesus earned the reputation of being friendly with these people who didn’t deserve friends (Matt. 11:19).

The condition that Jesus put on his friendship was one of obedience to God. He wasn’t influenced by his friends, but instead had a profound impact on them. He limited his true friendships to those who helped him complete God’s mission. He didn’t adopt their truth or goals and walk with them, he invited them to walk with him toward an understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven. Without friends, Jesus would still have been Jesus. Without Jesus, his friends would have still been lost in sin. Can you say the same about your friendships?

The friends of Jesus were completely committed to his mission of redemption, and that’s why they were his friends. Their lives became wholly devoted to him. As much as Jesus loved them, valued them, and sacrificed himself for them, they did not persuade him to adopt their opinions or causes. Instead, they followed his example and sacrificed themselves for his Name. In John 3:29-30, one of his friends, John the Baptist, expressed his contentment at sacrificing himself so that the message of Jesus could take his place:

“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

“Friends of the bridegroom” is an extremely accurate description of Jesus’ friends. Why? Because in the end, the bride always wins. As perfect a friend as Jesus was to those around him, he gladly gave up those relationships in order to pursue his bride. This brings us to Jesus the Lover.

Romantic Love, Jesus’ Way

Let me help you relax. We’re going to look at Jesus the lover, but in his relationship to the Church. There, doesn’t that feel better?

When I was a kid, the parts of the Bible where God expresses His love toward His people with husband/wife language made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want to think of God in romantic terms, and I especially didn’t want to be anyone’s wife. As a married man, I finally understand that the marriage model of Jesus’ relationship to the Church is a beautiful thing, and I am in awe that God would love a sinful creature like me with such intensity.

In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis contrasts friendship with romantic love by describing romantic love with the following characteristics.

Lovers are lovers (and not just friends) when:

• They see value in each other, not some mutual separate truth.
• They walk toward each other, not side by side toward a common goal.
• Their mission is mutual love and affection, instead of love growing from shared interests.
• They each sacrifice their character for love’s sake.

Jesus the Lover did this perfectly with his bride, the Church, and when the Church is functioning properly in the Spirit, our reaction to him as his bride is perfect as well. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:22-33:

“Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

 

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.”

This passage can be used to teach about the feeling of love, or the authority a husband has over his wife, but one thing we usually miss is the theme of mutual sacrifice.

If the romantic love in my marriage is going to mimic the love between Jesus and the Church, my wife and I have to understand the sacrifice required to make it work. Here’s an example:

Matthew 26-27 (selected)

Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death… And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?” They answered, “ He deserves death!”

Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “ Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”…

Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor.

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “ It is as you say.” 12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer…

So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”…

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “ Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him…

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34  they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

 

And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “ THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”…

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

What we just read was Jesus’ marriage ceremony to his bride, the Church. As husbands, we have to understand that it was God’s people who handed Jesus over to be killed.

No matter what our wives do to us, if we are going to love them the way Jesus loves us, we must endure it faithfully and lovingly until the end. There are no excuses because Jesus made none. We can pray for them and teach them and plead with them as Jesus did with God’s people, but we can never leave them until we die. Taking a bullet for my wife would be easy. Suffering at her own hands would not, but that’s what we are called to do. Marriage God’s way is not for pleasure-seekers. Marriage God’s way is for heroes, and heroes die.

Wives,  In Ephesians 5 Paul commands you to love, respect, and be subject to your husbands the way the Church is subject to Christ. The Apostle Peter wrote that being subject to Christ means sharing in His suffering.

1 Peter 4:12-13

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul gave us an idea of what that suffering looks like:

2 Corinthians 11:23-27

Are they servants of Christ?… I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure…

And the writer of Hebrews tells us of the sufferings of the church:

Hebrews 11:35-38

… and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

All of these things were suffered by the Church, the Bride of Christ, for the sake of submitting to Him and honoring His name. In Ephesians, Paul commands you to honor your husband in this way – no matter the cost, no matter the trial, no matter the temptation. Even when his will leads you into a future that is unsure, if you love him the way God commands, you will follow him through any hardship with respect and submission, just like the Church follows Christ. You will give up your desires and sacrifice yourself for your husband every day. Marriage God’s way is not for pleasure-seekers. Marriage God’s way is for heroes, and heroes die.

In the role of wife, and in the image of the Church, Jesus’ love and sacrifice are imitated. This is what it takes to love the way Jesus commanded us to love. As we read earlier, if we do this, we will truly be able to call Jesus friend. If you call Jesus friend, let your friendships follow his example of friendship, and make sure your marriage follows his example of marriage to the Church. 

Can The Bible Be Made Relevant?

I used to know a church youth leader who would grumble constantly about the task of teaching the Bible. He would always say something like this:

“My task, which is probably impossible, is to make a dead, dusty, two-thousand-year-old book relevant to today’s teenagers.”

After a while, the youth group he was leading started to believe what he was saying about the Bible being irrelevant. Lack of respect for God’s Word among the students began to resemble the lack of respect held by their teacher. He thought teaching youth about the Bible’s relevance was impossible, but he was wrong. He taught them, very clearly and through his attitude, that the Bible was irrelevant to them.

But was he right? Is the Bible irrelevant to the lives of  people today?

I think it depends entirely on the motives that exist behind the teaching in the first place. All teachers aim to change the behavior of their students one way or another. Usually, the motives behind instilling a behavioral change are selfish. Sadly, this includes the motives of many church groups. I’ve seen lazy parents use the Bible as a rod to keep their children in line, sometimes deeply wounding them in public with the most eloquent scriptural language. I’ve seen pastors use the Bible to press the issue of loyalty to the church or the denomination, just to keep their attendance numbers looking good or to keep tithes flowing. Legislators have no misgivings about weaponizing the Word of God, twisting it to justify laws that force people into a false morality based on the nation’s perceived public mood.

From a rational distance, it would seem that there are only two options when dealing with Scripture: embrace it and twist it to selfish gain, or toss it in the trash as an out-of-date, irrelevant antique. The Bible was not given to us as a moralistic baseball bat or to add legitimacy to our personal opinions. It’s also not a museum piece to remind us of humanity’s more religious past. Looking at it either way leads to “Bible abuse,” and keeps us from really teaching God’s Word.

Is there a way to teach the Bible relevantly, without abusing it for selfish gains? Of course, but our motive has to be God’s original, intended motive when He gave us the Scriptures in the first place: to truly teach people about Him.

Teaching the Bible in a relevant way is all about helping to close the distance between God’s Word and the human soul. Jesus’ parables are mind-blowing examples of this. He used everyday references from agriculture and human society to reveal deep, hidden truths about God and His kingdom. His stories were usually very simple, but careful study of them reveals the beating heart of God Himself. He used the familiar and well-known to illuminate the unknowable, and he usually did it with just a handful of phrases or a series of pointed questions. He didn’t laugh his listeners into agreement by joking around with heavenly truths, and he didn’t bombard their minds with endless theological definitions. He spoke to them in familiar, natural ideas that, when thoughtfully pondered, slowly blossomed into a deeper and deeper understanding of the supernatural. He found the shortest distance between the two points of the human mind and the heart of God, and drew straight lines with the commonest of things like bricks and buildings, seeds and trees, coins and sheep. Then, while the crowd was still scratching its collective head, Jesus moved on to something else. He didn’t over-explain. He let the Spirit of the living God work in the minds and hearts of his hearers. He let them discover through thought and awe, like a man who finds treasure buried in a field and goes through a process of selling everything he owns to save up and buy the land.

Teaching the Bible relevantly should follow this pattern of clearly presenting the truth and allowing the Spirit to work through it, regardless of context or bias. The resulting process of discarding old ideas, changing behavior, and adopting a new moral code happens on the holy ground of the listener’s heart, and should be left in the capable hands of God Himself. A teacher attempting to intrude on, micromanage, or guide this process for his own benefit is trespassing where only God is allowed.

If we’re going to follow Jesus’ example, we have to find the shortest distance between those two points of the human mind and the heart of God, and draw the line with Scripture. For us, it all comes down to getting out of God’s way and letting Him speak to others on the level of the heart. That’s His territory, and His alone, and only He can see what goes on there anyway.

So what does that kind of teaching look like? I’m not an expert, but I learned a while back that if I’m going to serve the spiritual needs of the youth I teach, I can’t simply force them to memorize theological terms. I can’t waste their time paraphrasing Bible stories into the slang they use. I can’t force-feed them my opinions about how they should live, and I especially can’t turn the whole group of them into a cult of my own disciples. I have to get out of God’s way and let His Spirit work in their hearts through His own Word; and if they don’t understand something in God’s Word, because of their lack of life experience or their cultural context, then I get to explain it.

For example, in Jesus’ parable about the builders (Matthew 7), he talks about two men who built houses with different foundations. I used to be a home builder, so this parable makes sense to me in theory, but none of my youth group students have ever built a house. Even I haven’t built anything in the style used in Jesus’ time and place, so I thought it would help all of us to participate in a hands-on example of Jesus’ parable. What was irrelevant to our experience became relevant, not by retelling the story in way that would be more familiar, but by making them familiar with the story through a new experience.

This is where I’m most needed in these students’ lives – not to make the Bible more relevant to them, but to make their lives relevant to the Bible. Here’s a video of the lesson.

Our task as Bible teachers isn’t to make the Bible relevant. It’s already relevant on a spiritual plane that transcends time, space, culture, and understanding.  Our task is to shut up and teach it.

“For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” 

Malachi 2:7