Josh Benner

Tag: faith

  • How is Jesus God? 4 life-changing truths from John 1:1-3

    How is Jesus God? 4 life-changing truths from John 1:1-3

    I was always a curious person. 

    Growing up, I didn’t go to church, but I always thought “there’s gotta be something out there.” 

    As a kid, I had cousins who were raised Catholic and who went to mass every week. They had a crucifix in their house, and there was this person on it. I didn’t know who he was, or why he mattered, or why he would be on display in someone’s house. 

    As a junior in high school, I took a humanities class where we spent a quarter of the year studying world religions. It was fascinating to me. 

    The idea of God made sense.

    The idea of a good and loving God made sense. But I didn’t understand where Jesus fit into that. I heard he died for our sins, but I didn’t understand the significance of that. 

    If you had God, then why did you need Jesus? 

    I didn’t know who Jesus was. I didn’t understand passages like John 1. It’s a passage that tells a lot about Jesus. And it’ll explain why he matters. 

    John 1 passage has some of the loftiest verses in the Bible about Jesus:

    John 1:1-2 says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    It can be so easy to read verses like those for a few seconds and just continue on with the rest of the passage. But it’s a mountain of meaning. 

    John 1:1-3 makes four affirmations that are four of the most fundamental truths that  you possibly can know about Jesus.

    1. Jesus is eternal 

    “In the beginning was the Word.” 

    John opens up by referring to Jesus as The Word. 

    I take it almost as a title for Jesus in the beginning of John. In the Old Testament, it is through the word of the Lord that God creates, speaks to his people, makes his promises, and points people to truth. 

    In Jesus, we see the ultimate disclosure of divine love, wisdom, truth and salvation, and so it is therefore fitting to refer to Jesus as the Word. 

    In the beginning was the Word. 

    That means that there was never a time when the Word was not. 

    And this is very important because right from the beginning of John, it confronts a common error that has existed in the church essentially since the time of Christ. 

    And that error is thinking Jesus is created. Or thinking that God made Jesus. Or thinking that he was a really good man who was given a promotion and became divine. 

    He was in the beginning. 

    This is something that John repeatedly emphasizes in his writings. 

    In the beginning of First John, he again speaks of Jesus’ eternality in the opening verse when he says: That which was from the beginning, (1 John 1:1)

    We also see John referring to Jesus as an eternal being in the beginning of the Book of Revelation. 

    In a vision of Jesus, John says: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last

    Jesus is the first and the last. He is eternal. 

    He has always existed. This is something that will continue to unfold throughout this passage, but Jesus is not a created being. 

    2. Jesus has fellowship with God

    The verse continues “and the Word was with God.” 

    Another absolutely monumental and profound reality from this passage. Think about this for just a moment. 

    The Old Testament is filled with lofty language of the majesty of God. Rightfully so. Exodus 33, Moses wants to see the glory of God (Exodus 33:18). 

    God tells Moses in Exodus 33:20: you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live

    It’s because God is so vibrant, and righteous, and full of life that it is completely overwhelming for fallen and finite people. 

    But in that story, we see the glory of the Lord is revealed to Moses and Exodus 34 tells us that when Moses came down from the mountain, his skin was so radiant from beholding the glory of God that people were afraid (Exodus 34:29-30). 

    He shined so brightly that he had to wear a veil. 

    1 Kings 8, the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Temple. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10-11). 

    The glory of the Lord was so overwhelming that the priests could not stand to minister. 

    Isaiah 6, the prophet is given a vision of the throne room of God and he is terrified: 

    Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5)

    The presence of the Lord is completely awesome as you behold his glory and majesty and life. 

    If you’ve ever stood at a great waterfall, as the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water crash over the edge every minute, you can feel the power and rush of the water. 

    That’s awe inspiring in its own right, but it’s no comparison to encountering the eternal and almighty God of the universe. 

    And yet, with Jesus, we’re told that the Word was with God. Jesus can see God, he can behold the glory of God because he himself is glorious and righteous.

    In the beginning, there was fellowship with Jesus and God the Father. Not mentioned in this section, but also with the Holy Spirit. God did not make us because he was lonely or bored or because he needed us. 

    God had always existed in fellowship with himself. It is eternal and perfect. 

    This passage does not build the entire Doctrine of the Trinity by itself, but it’s very helpful in understanding a Trinitarian theology. 

    God is triune. 

    Jesus was with God. 

    Something else that matters is that this passage is showing distinction between Jesus and God. 

    Jesus is not simply God the Father coming into the world. 

    Rather he exists in fellowship with God. There is no dysfunction in the Holy Trinity. Only perfect unity. 

    That’s something that’s really hard to wrap our minds around because we’re sinful and fallen. Our relationships and families have dysfunction. Even good relationships, we still have times of hurt or disagreement. It’s all we see and all we know. 

    And so it is hard to imagine a perfect relationship where there’s no keeping score, where there’s never any resentment or bitterness. Where there’s no sin. 

    But really that says a lot about us as people. That we’re so dysfunctional and hurtful and sinful that a perfect relationship almost seems weird to us. 

    Jesus has a perfect relationship with God and that in itself is helpful in understanding the restoration that Jesus brings into the lives of people. 

    Jesus died to mend the broken relationship. But it’s because there is perfect fellowship within the Trinity that this is possible. 

        3. Jesus is God

    The text continues “and the Word was God.” 

    The central theme of John’s Gospel. The Lordship of Christ. 

    Something to consider…

    This would have been such a radical idea in the first century. 

    There’s a prayer that Orthodox Jews recite daily, in many circles, multiple times a day that’s taken from the book of Deuteronomy. 

    It affirms both that there is one God and also gives the command to love God. 

    Deuteronomy 6:4-6

    4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

    Everyday, multiple times a day reciting these words. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. It was, and is, at the very bedrock of the Jewish belief system. 

    And John was Jewish. And Jesus was Jewish. 

    Yet without contradiction, right off the bat in his testimony of who Jesus is, John says “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 

    John believed and here affirms that Jesus is God. 

    That is the Orthodox view of Christianity throughout the history of the church. 

    Jesus is God. 

    He’s a person of the Trinity. 

    Borrowing from Wayne Grudem in his book Systematic Theology: 

    Historical, Orthodox, Biblical Christianity believes the following

    There is one God. 

    God is three persons. 

    Each person is fully God. 

    Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    Again, you can’t build an entire theology of the Trinity from this passage alone. But this passage affirms that Jesus is God and also that there is distinction between Jesus and God. 

    You might think “that’s so hard to wrap my mind around.” 

    You’re wrong. 

    It’s impossible to truly wrap your mind around. You’re not God. We don’t have to know exactly how it’s simultaneously true that we have one God, who is three persons, and each person is fully God. 

    But the Bible affirms all three of those statements. I mentioned a few minutes ago that the belief in one God was central to Jewish belief. 

    It’s central to Christianity too. We also believe in one God. But God is triune. 

    Throughout his ministry, we see Jesus showing his divinity through his miraculous signs. 

    We see his victory over death. We see his perfect and holy life. He’s God.

    All of this taken together in our passage we see: that the Word was with God shows there relationship and distinction. 

    That Jesus is God shows his divinity. 

    Again, this matters tremendously. 

    And we have all of these affirmations right from the beginning of John’s gospel. 

    If Jesus were not God, then he would not be a worthy sacrifice for our sins. If he were just a great man, he would still be fallible. If he were just a great teacher, he could still be wrong . If he were just a great leader, he would still be finite. 

    But he is the perfect God of creation. He entered into a sinful creation to redeem humanity. 

    It also matters because if Jesus were less than God, then not only would he be unworthy of our worship, but the very act of worshipping him would be blasphemous.

    From the beginning of the Ten Commandments. 

    Exodus 20

    2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

    3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

    We’re told elsewhere in the Bible that God is a jealous God. But the gospels show people worshipping Jesus. He never corrects them or deflects worship when that happens. 

    That is either blasphemous or warranted. There’s no middle ground. 

    John’s Gospel is that it constantly confronts us with absolute claims with Jesus. Chief among them is that Jesus is God. 

    That’s an absolute claim. It’s either true or it’s not. If it’s true, the only response is to believe in him, to worship him, to trust in him. If it’s not, the rest of this gospel is meaningless and blasphemous. 

    4. Jesus made everything 

    Verse 3: All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    Again this is speaking to the divinity of Jesus. All things were made through him. All means all. 

    The ground, the trees, the sand of the beaches, the stars in the sky, the air we breathe, the materials we use to build things, all of it was made by Jesus. 

    He made every person. Each of us has billions of cells in our bodies. Incredible complexity and structure just within our own bodies. The universe is incredibly big. 

    I thought this was a fun exercise. So the distance between the earth and the sun is 93 million miles. 

    If that distance was represented by the width of this one sheet of paper, the distance of our entire galaxy would be a stack of papers 453 miles high. 

    One stack of papers a mile high is about 15 million sheets of paper. Times 453 miles. With each sheet of paper representing 93 million miles. 

    And that’s just our galaxy. 

    There are one hundred billion galaxies. 

    If you could have an atlas of every galaxy in the entire universe and each page represented an entire galaxy, and if you spent just one second on every page and continually turned pages in the atlas, it would take you more than 31,000 years to flip all the way through the atlas. 

    The universe is incredibly, unfathomably big. 

    There are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand in all the beaches of the world. Yet there are more trees on earth than there are stars in our one galaxy. 

    And that’s just looking at the amazing size of of our universe. There is amazing creation within our world. 

    New species of animals are still being discovered. And they’re not all insects or really small animals. 

    Since 2000, there have been new species of primates discovered. We don’t even yet know everything on our own planet. 

    Yet Jesus made it all. 

    There are other passages in the New Testament which speak to this fact. 

    Colossians 1:16: For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

    We see this language as well in the opening chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

    Hebrews 1:10 referring to Jesus says: 

    You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

    and the heavens are the work of your hands;

    Jesus is the creator. He made everything. 

    And John states it both ways. 

    He made everything.

    And also there’s nothing that he didn’t make. 

    All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    He’s a mighty God. 

    It’s a lofty passage. It’s a confrontational passage. You affirm these truths or you don’t. 

    Our society often likes to treat Jesus as something you can take or leave. 

    Gravity isn’t something that you can take or leave. 

    Arithmetic isn’ t something that you can take or leave. 

    Breathing isn’t something that you can take or leave. 

    Jesus isn’t something you can just take or leave. Jesus isn’t just a nice person or a nice idea. He’s the Lord of creation. 

    Many cherry pick certain teachings. Others treat him as a great teacher or a great religious leader. 

    Jesus isn’t one good teacher among other great teachers. He’s God. 

    The sages of other major religious traditions were born. Buddha wasn’t there in the beginning. Mohammad wasn’t there in the beginning. 

    But in the beginning was the Word. 

    There have been great leaders in the world who have influenced nations and movements. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Gandhi. Some like to just act like Jesus was a wise peace maker who came with a good message. 

    He’s so much more than that. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word created all things. 

    Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share and subscribe. 

    This post is the second in a series in studies on the Gospel of John. For more passages in this series, please click here.

  • Jesus is the God of creation and new creation – Exploring John 1:1-18

    Jesus is the God of creation and new creation – Exploring John 1:1-18

    Photo courtesy of Unsplash @Greg Rakozy

    Jesus is the Lord of creation and new creation.  

    I’m going to highlighting a few words and phrases in this opening prologue to John.  

    “In the beginning.”  “Word.”  “Life.” “Light.” “Darkness.”

    Just to name a few.  

    These are all found both in John 1, but also in Genesis 1. 

    The Word of God

    Opening phrase of the Gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word. It’s the same way in which the Bible opens up, the first words in Genesis are: in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

    John starts with: in the beginning was the Word.  Now, it’s interesting that John says “the Word.” 

    He doesn’t say “in the beginning was Jesus” or “in the beginning was the Christ” or “in the beginning was the Lord” but “in the beginning was the Word.”  

    But, in the beginning was the Word. 

    Given that in the Old Testament, God’s word is tied to creation, salvation, healing, and deliverance, the incarnation of Jesus is God’s greatest and most spectacular form of expression to the world. The Word is an appropriate title for Jesus because it is through this Word that we have ultimate truth, eternal life, future hope, assurance of God’s promises, and God’s greatest revelation of himself to the world.  

    And we learn from our passage this morning that this Word was in the beginning.  

    This Word is not some abstract idea or force. This Word exists. 

    Life

    Verse 4: In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

    Two more ideas that are found in creation. Life and light. Both of these ideas will also be significant themes in John’s gospel. Let’s start with life. Nearly half of the New Testament usages of the word life come from John’s writings.  

    In Genesis, life is created. The animals that walk the earth, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, culminating in God’s creation of man in his own image. All life is created in Genesis.  

    And here, in referring to Jesus, it says that life itself is found in him.  

    He’s the creator of life, the sustainer of life.  He’s the giver of true life. Life in himself.  

    The best known verse in the entire Bible. John 3:16. Jesus refers to eternal life when he says  “God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  

    That’s the life that Jesus came to bring. John 10:10, Jesus says that he has come so that his people can have life and have it abundantly.  

    And it’s the life that can only come through Jesus. John 14:6, he says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.”  

    And he has authority to say these things.  

    Because…

    In the beginning was the Word.  And in him was life.  And he made everything.  And he’s God.  

    And so John begins his gospel by talking of the God of creation entering into creation to make his new creation.  

    Light

    Next theme of creation that’s found in John. Light.  

    In Genesis, the first thing that God calls into being is light. 

    Genesis 1:3-4  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good 

    Light is a symbol for life, salvation, and the presence of God. In Revelation 22, the final chapter of the Bible, a book also written by the Apostle John, in pointing to God’s coming kingdom, John talks of heaven and says:  

    They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light (Revelation 22:5). 

    The light of God displays his glory and presence. Yet John takes it to a fuller meaning.  

    In John 8:12, Jesus will say:  I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life

    Light is contrasted by darkness. Darkness in John refers to evil and sin. Darkness is the opposite of light both metaphorically and literally.  

    In Genesis 1:4, we’re told that God separated the light from darkness.  John chapter 1 says that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”  

    Again, John keeps pointing back to creation to show us a new creation that Jesus is bringing into the world.  

    The Word became flesh

    Perhaps the climax of this entire introductory prologue of John’s gospel is found in verse 14:  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    The language returns to using the word Word. And it says that this Word, Jesus, became flesh and dwelt among us. The God who created the world entered his creation.  

    What a profound reality that is. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 

    In creation, before the fall, there was fellowship with God. It was paradise.  

    And yet Adam and Eve sinned. Cast out of the garden. But here in John, we see that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus came into our fallen world. Because he loved us. Because he’s gracious. Because he’s good. He is the eternal God of creation.  

    New Creation

    And he came to bring a new creation.  

    In the opening of John, we see the groundwork being laid for that which was lost in the fall to be regained through the gospel. Paradise was lost due to sin, but in the beginning of John, we see that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Darkness came into the world because of sin, but we see that Jesus is the true light. Death came into the world because of sin, but in Jesus, there was life.  

    Not just anyone is capable of doing that. But Jesus isn’t just anyone. He was in the beginning. Jesus is the eternal God of creation who brings a new creation. He’s here to give you a new life. He overcame the darkness by living a sinless life. He brought life through his own death. He restored the relationship by being forsaken.  

    All of it was his work.  

    He invites you into a new life, a new covenant. He gives you a new heart.  

    The Apostle Paul said that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17). In John 3, a man named Nicodemus. He’s intrigued by this teacher and ministry and he wants to learn more. Jesus says that we must be born again.  

    On the night before he was crucified, he told his disciples to love one another, and he called it a new commandment.  In the closing sections of the Book of Revelation, John talks of seeing a new heaven and a new earth. He records Jesus saying that he making all things new. (Rev. 21:5).  

    When we trust in Jesus and are born again, Jesus does bring a new creation. He does make something new. He makes a new person. 

    Jesus is the Lord of creation and new creation.  

    Have you trusted in Jesus? Is he your Lord and savior?  

    There is no other way to God, there is no other way to life, there is no other way to forgiveness, there is no other way to heaven than through Jesus.  

    He is a mighty God.  

    And it takes the might of God to bring new life to sinners who were dead in sin.  You can’t make yourself alive. But Jesus can. Because in him was life.  You can’t make yourself worthy. But Jesus has. John 1:12-13: 

    To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

    You can’t earn your way to heaven, but Jesus came from heaven to earth. The word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  

    And the present reality is eternal security and a heavenly hope. But it points forward still to the greater new creation that Jesus has promised and is bringing into the world.  

    Because a Christian is forgiven, to the glory of God. But the world is still fallen. We are still surrounded by darkness, and fall into sin. We have eternal life, but still face worldly death. But Jesus is bringing an ultimate and final new creation into his world.  

    He’s putting it back together.  

    He promised to bring restoration. And he is.  

    And as sure as he brought that at his incarnation, he will bring it finally and totally at the consummation of his kingdom.  

    All around the world, every hour of every day, people are coming to faith in Jesus. A miracle is happening, a recreation is happening in people’s souls. People are overcoming areas of sin, because of the work of Christ. Lives are being transformed by the gospel. People who don’t know Jesus are being impacted by the love of his followers.  

    And Jesus continues to work. 

    Thanks for reading! This post is the first in a series in studies on the Gospel of John. For more passages in this series, please click here.

  • The American Gospel and the meaning of Easter

    The American Gospel and the meaning of Easter

    Statistically, we know that the vast majority of Americans believe in some form of a higher power. There are relatively few who are atheists. Since people do believe that there is something, and since it’s so easy to think of the majority of Americans as Christians, many simply attach themselves to Christianity.

    But what does it mean? Christianity?

    For so many, we call ourselves Christians but then never pray, or read the Bible, or go to church, or experience fellowship with other believers, or show any actual desire to have a relationship with Jesus. Without these, how can a person be Christian?

    We live in a culture where it is accepted to be a “Christian” so long as we have a faith that is extremely passive, watered down, and without conviction. In the eyes of the world, when we have a faith that actually impacts the way in which we live our lives, we’re labeled as extreme, strange, ignorant, or bigoted. For people who actually have faith, they’re thought of as being “really religious.”

    I argue that to be religious but not really religious is to be religious, not really.

    Contrary to popular opinion, the gospel isn’t that we just need to be a “good person.” To say that this was the basis of the message of Christ is a complete misunderstanding of the New Testament because He never says nor implies that our moral goodness is the thing which will save us. In fact, the point of the gospel is that our own actions cannot save us.

    All of us sin, and our sin separates us from God. But we are saved because of God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That is the heart of the gospel. That we need Christ. Some might not like that because it’s exclusive. But the gospel is meant to be inclusive. Jesus died for all who will accept His gift of grace.

    Throughout the history of the church, there have been those who have unfortunately distorted the gospel or misused it. We can point to events like the church’s Crusades or her Spanish Inquisition. In modern times, we hear of abuses within the Catholic Church, and radicals like the Westboro Baptist Church who protest funerals. It’s easy to look to these things and to become disgusted with Christianity.

    But if Christ really died and really rose from the dead, the fact that people distort the message doesn’t change the reality that He came to forgive you of your sins. It’s not the message of the gospel that is the problem. The problem is man’s selfish usage of the gospel.

    But why should we be Christians? In our daily lives, we see people who claim to know God but who are hypocrites…

    That’s the point!

    Man is sinful! We are immoral. We were incapable of morally cleaning ourselves up.

    We needed a savior.

    And a savior came, and died, and rose, and lives.

    Some may argue, if there is a God, why does He allow people to tarnish His message?

    It’s because people aren’t spiritual robots. We are willing, moral beings. And there are people who choose to do morally egregious things in the name of the gospel. But that isn’t a shortcoming of the gospel. Like a shinning light, it clarifies the darkness of our hearts and shows our desperate need for grace.

    Some may want to live as Christians, but feel that they can do a better job on their own, instead of through organized religion. But the idea that you can be a Christian apart from church contradicts the teachings of Christ. Certainly, there are bad churches. But there are also a lot of very good, Christ-centered churches. One bad experience, or years of bad experiences are no excuse for someone whose trying to live as a Christian to ignore church.

    In discussions about religion, I’ve often times said that the gospel is either the most important thing in the universe, or it is completely irrelevant. Jesus was the God who died for our sins, or He wasn’t. If He was, we should worship Him. If not, then He is useless to us. The idea that Jesus might have just been a great moral teacher contradicts Jesus’ own teachings. His message revolved around Him being the savior of the world. If He lied about that, He cannot be a great moral teacher.

    So what do you believe? Where do you stand with Jesus? Was He God or was he just some guy?

    Jesus said “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls.”

    No matter what you’ve done, no matter who you’ve hurt, no matter what addiction is suffocating your life, no matter what dark thoughts you have, it’s nothing so great that the risen Lord cannot forgive you.

    But where to start?

    As I’ve already said, I think it comes down to prayer, studying His word, getting involved in a good church, fellowship with Christians. Jesus said that we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” If you do that, I believe that God will lead you to truth.

    It’s not a self help message. Belief in the gospel isn’t a promise that you won’t have financial problems, or illnesses, or family issues, or countless other stresses and frustrations. The gospel is that you get God, and no matter what else is happening in this life, His truth will strengthen, and give purpose, and sanctify you.

    Maybe you’ve lived your entire life and said you were a Christian, but you’ve never really had faith. The gift of grace and the offer of salvation is just as real for you today as it is for a person whose never thought about the gospel.

    It’s easy to associate Christianity with a bunch of rules and a list of things that you can’t do anymore. If you truly accept the gift of grace by faith, no sin can separate you from God’s love or from the forgiveness that you have. A true faith in the gospel will also result in a transformed life. Certain things will become less appealing. But acting a certain way and following a particular list of rules is not what makes you a Christian. If it were, you would be earning your salvation which would have made Christ’s rising from the dead pointless!

    However, a person who is a Christian who has faith will have a life that is changed and will naturally live differently. This transformation is what shows that the faith is genuine.

    On the first Good Friday, when Jesus suffered that horrendous death for our sins, the Bible says that two other condemned criminals were also crucified with the Lord:

    39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 
    -Luke 23:39-42

    Two condemned thieves found themselves condemned with Jesus. Both were guilty. One wanted Christ to work on his terms, the other recognized his guilt, and through faith sought forgiveness.

    All of us our guilty.

    Which thief will you be this Easter weekend?

    Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share and subscribe!

    Originally posted April 6, 2012

  • Joseph, Mary, and a huge test of faith

    Joseph, Mary, and a huge test of faith

    In the Gospel of Matthew, a young couple named Mary and Joseph receive some truly shocking news. Mary is expecting! Despite the fact that they have never consummate their relationship and that Mary is a virgin. 

    Joseph faced a dilemma.What does he do? They lived in a small village. Inevitably Mary was going to start to show. With the cultural sensibilities of their day, this pregnancy in an unmarried couple would have been scandalous. 

    Mary would make it appear as though either Mary had been unfaithful to Joseph, or that Mary and Joseph together had violated the betrothal custom and conceived a child together. 

    Jewish teaching at the time essentially forbade marrying someone to whom you were betrothed who had been unfaithful. 

    In Matthew 1:19, Joseph initially does not see it as an option to marry Mary. But he doesn’t want to shame her either, so he just wants to try to make the breaking of the betrothal as painless as possible for both of them. 

    There appears to be a sensible course of action until Joseph is greeted with the most unexpected news. 

    An angelic messenger appears to Joseph in a dream. 

    Matthew 1:20:
    But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

    Sometimes the Lord can quickly change our plans. Joseph is told not to fear taking Mary as his wife. 

    The reason he needs to be told not to fear is that the religious and social expectation would be that Joseph would not take Mary as his wife, due to her apparent adultery. 

    For the town gossips in Nazareth, the explanation that Mary is pregnant with a child that has been conceived via divine conception is not exactly the easiest story to believe. 

    It would have been just as hard for someone in the first century to believe this was possible as it is for us in modern times. They knew where babies came from! 

    So to marry Mary is to also have to deal with the social ostracism of marrying an apparent adulteress. 

    But Joseph is told not to fear. 

    Now just because he’s told not to fear taking Mary as his wife, that does not mean that it’s going to be easy. 

    We don’t know a ton about the life of Joseph after Jesus was born. But the gospels give us a few snapshots, and it was hard. 

    In Luke’s narrative, when Jesus was born, there was no room for them. 

    A story that I plan to preach in a couple weeks, but when Jesus was just a baby, the King, a man named Herod hears about this King of Israel who was born and in his jealousy, seeks out to try to have Jesus killed off.  

    The family was forced to leave Judea and go into hiding in Egypt. 

    So we see an inhospitable world, danger, exile. Hardships. Church tradition holds that Joseph was already deceased by the time that Jesus began his public ministry. 

    Joseph is told to fear not. Why? Because he was following the will of God. But again, that doesn’t mean that following the Lord will be easy. 

    The disciples followed the Lord. But they had lives of difficulty and persecution, ultimately leading to the martyrdom of all but one of them. 

    We celebrated Thanksgiving last week. 

    I always think about the Pilgrims who came to this country in the 17th century. They came here in order to live out their faith. And they probably never could have imagined it at the time but they set forth a legacy which has extended into America to this day. The rich religious history that we have in this nation. 

    Was it wrong of them to come? Was it a bad idea to come? No. 

    But half of them died by that next winter. They had lives of hardship. 

    I think of the great missionaries over the centuries. 

    People who were serving a purpose greater than themselves. But the centuries of missionaries who have faced persecution and death for that calling. The work they did, the challenges and hardships they faced. 

    Father Damien was a priest who served a leper colony in modern day Hawaii. He served people who were the outcasts of society. He contracted leprosy himself in 1885. But he continued to serve until he died of the disease four years later. 

    Maria Taylor was the wife of Hudson Taylor, perhaps the most well known missionary of the 19th century. He ministered in China. Maria herself had been the daughter of missionaries. Born in Asia, her parents both died when she was ten years old. She was sent to England to be taken care of by family but married Hudson Taylor when she was 16. 

    In China, they faced opposition, persecution, and financial hardships. Of the nine children she birthed, only four reached adulthood. She died of cholera when she was just 33. 

    That’s so often not what today picture as the Christian life. We want to believe in a prosperity gospel that sells on the lie of just be good and everything in your life will be good. The problem is that it’s not true to reality and it’s not true to what the Bible teaches. 

    Sacrifice, difficulty, hardship.

    Why would anyone want that? 

    Because of the great God we serve. Because of the great savior we have in Christ. Because of the great cost that he paid for our forgiveness. 

    God gives grace. His power is perfected in our weakness. God sanctifies us through our difficulty. As we serve the Lord through challenges, and walk with him, it is also an opportunity to grow with him. 

    The Bible doesn’t teach that just have faith and it’ll always be easy. The Bible teaches to trust in God even when things are difficult. 

    It makes no sense in the eyes of the world. But God is the only thing that truly matters. And if all we have is God, that is all we need. Again in the eyes of the world, that is laughable. It’s worthy of mockery. 

    Why would a good God allow his most sincere followers to suffer so greatly? 

    But it’s a byproduct of doing ministry in a world that is fallen. We have a savior who can identify. Jesus went to the cross. He suffered. He was betrayed. He was mocked. 

    In life, everything that’s truly worthwhile and worth doing involves hardship and suffering and challenges. 

    Marriage is a great blessing. Marriage has its difficulties. It’s difficult seasons. Difficult conflicts. 

    But its’s worth it. 

    Having kids is a great blessing. But it’s hard. You’re trying to civilize a sinful person. Now no one forces you to get married. No one forces you to raise kids. You choose those things, even though they’re difficult. 

    I think of those great missionaries. They had difficult lives. But still they chose that life. They could have walked away. They could have left the mission field. At the first sign of danger or death, they could have given it all up. 

    But things that are worth doing are hard. 

    In life, all of those challenges bring their own blessings, in spite of the hardship. And truly living for God, in spite of the difficulties brings the blessings of knowing God and growing with God and living to the glory of God. 

    It’s not always easy. But it is always worth it. 

    In the gospels, there’s a story of Jesus and the disciples when they got caught up in a tremendous storm. Why were they on that boat? Because Jesus had led them to it. 

    In the Book of Exodus, the Israelites cross the Red Sea. Why were they at the banks of the sea between the water and the Egyptian army? Because that’s where the Lord had led them. 

    God is not always leading us to what’s easy. But he is always leading us to what’s right. 

    Our world has bought into this unbiblical lie that, in this life, you’re always being led to something really great. 

    Not always. Sometimes you’re being led into something really hard. Sometimes people suffer, sometimes people die. 

    It is in eternity and in the presence of God, when everything is ultimately made right and perfected. But in life, there are trials and challenges. The good news is that we have a savior who will be with us through it all. 

    And so Joseph is told to fear not. Not because it’s easy. But to fear not because of who God is. 

  • The most dysfunctional family: the genealogy of Jesus

    The most dysfunctional family: the genealogy of Jesus

    The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. -Matthew 1:1

    Matthew’s gospel begins with introducing us to the genealogy of Jesus. It is linking Jesus to David, the great King of Israel and to Abraham, the man through whom the Lord had established his covenant. 

    He will come from the family of both of these men. 

    This genealogy shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. 

    And as we study his life, we see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the divine plan working through history where God sent Jesus into a world that was sinful but Jesus was without sin. Jesus came to fulfill the plan of God, to live out the will of God, to speak the word of God, and to show the righteousness of God. 

    But in all of his perfection, and goodness, and glory, Jesus was betrayed. Even this was part of the divine plan because it had to happen. Jesus came into a world that was dead in sin and died. But he died so he could be raised to life. And it is through his perfect life, his death, and his resurrection that everyone who believes in Jesus can be forgiven. 

    We could never earn God’s forgiveness on our own. But because Jesus is Lord, he is able to forgive. Because he died and rose, he showed his power over physical life and death. And because he lives today, it is Christ and Christ alone who can give eternal life. 

    So verse 1 introduces the genealogy. Verses 2-16 give further elaboration on a genealogy that leads from Abraham to Joseph to Jesus. 

    It can be easy to skim through it like it’s just a list of names but it’s a list of names that points us to the gospel, to the grace of God, to the mission of Christ, and to the providential hand of God working throughout history. 

    Abraham to David

    The first section of this genealogy takes us through the patriarchs of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

    The genealogy also introduces us to four women, not unprecedented in the Old Testament, but generally rare to list women in genealogies. 

    Focusing on the women in the first part of the list: these women are fairly prominent in the Old Testament, but they’re not THE MOST prominent women in the Bible. No mention of Sarah, the wife of Abraham through whom the promise of a son was fulfilled. No mention of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob. No mention of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. 

    But Matthew mentions Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheeba. 

    You have Ruth, who might be the most morally spotless and unimpeachable woman in the Old Testament. Her first husband died and then she married a distant relative of the deceased husband and had a son. Boaz was her husband. Obed was the son. 

    But then you have Tamar who was also a widow. And she disguises herself as a prostitute and tricks her father-in-law into sleeping with her and conceives a child. That child is a link in the line of Jesus conceived through deception and trickery. 

    Rahab had also been a prostitute. 

    Lastly, there’s Bathsheeba, who was taken advantage of by King David and then David later had her husband, Uriah, sent to the front lines and killed in battle so that he could marry her. The relationship was forged in adultery and murder. Jesus is descended from killers, prostitutes, and adulterers.

    Mission

    One of the commonalities between the four women is that none of them are Israelites. 

    Tamar and Rahab are Canaanites. 

    Ruth is a Moabite. 

    Bathsheeba is a Hittite. 

    And so part of what these four women are doing from the opening of this gospel is showing us that Jesus is for the whole world. 

    This line that leads to Jesus is a picture of the world. 

    Borrowing an idea from Tim Keller. 

    This line gives us kings and prostitutes. Men and women. Jews and gentiles. Saints and sinners. But God works through all of them to bring Jesus into the world. 

    The gospel is good news for the whole world. Matthew ends this gospel by giving the Great Commission and sending the disciples out into the world to preach the good news. And we have a picture of the gospel for the whole world in this opening genealogy. 

    David to the exile

    The second section of the genealogy goes from David, the great King of Israel through his genealogy and the kings of Israel. 

    It might be easy to assume that the Israelite kings were good, but as you study the Old Testament (in particular, the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, you learn that most of the kings are wicked and show little love or reverence for God). 

    Solomon is the son of David. He spent lavishly on big projects for Israel. 

    His son, Rehoboam had similar lavishness and had to continue raising taxes. Things got so bad that during his reign, Israel was no longer a unified nation. This is one of the most important events of the Old Testament. 

    I also think this is one of the most overlooked facts about Israel’s history. Within two generations of David, Israel had split into two kingdoms. You had the Davidic monarchy ruling the smaller portion in the south, and an independent Northern Kingdom. The north and south never reunite. 

    What this genealogy reminds us of is that even though the monarchy did not reign and the land was lost, that the line was not forgotten.

    When Jerusalem fell, that might have looked like it was the end. But God was still at work. That’s what all of this shows us.That God has been at work throughout time and history. 

    When Jesus went to the cross. When the disciples saw their beloved teacher brutally crucified, they thought that it was all over. 

    But it was only just the beginning. 

    Throughout church history, people have tried to persecute the church, ban the Bible, kill Christians. Yet God’s word has been preached. His church has persevered. 

    And many of us, I’m sure, have stories in our own lives. Times that seemed hopeless. Times where it seemed like there was no way out and yet God brought us through, God brought redemption. 

    God continued to work through this line because the Lord is faithful to his promises. 

    He was faithful to his promise to Abraham of providing offspring. He was faithful to to his promise to David by providing a future king whose kingdom would never end. 

    Exile to Jesus

    While the first two sections of the genealogy begin with people. The third section begins with an event. 

    Most of the people in this last list are actually unknown. We just have their names. 

    I mentioned earlier that the kingdom of Israel was divided for most of its history. This genealogy is focused on the southern kingdom. After generations of sin and numerous prophets who had warned southern Israel and their kings, they were conquered by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and they were exiled from the Promised Land. 

    It is a divine judgment from God upon an unfaithful Israel. They lose the kingdom, they lose Jerusalem, the temple is destroyed. The people are deported to a foreign land. The darkest days in the history Ancient of Israel. 

    Yet through all of that, God is still working. 

    Matthew ends this third genealogy by finally arriving at Joseph and Mary and then to Jesus. 

    Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 

    From Abraham to Jesus. We see the sovereignty of God. The faithfulness of God. We see the plan of God. And we see that the Messiah has come into the world. 

    This genealogy a powerful reminder of God’s work throughout history. 

    All throughout history, God has been at work. We see him at work in this genealogy that leads to the Lord Jesus. 

    But that also points us to his mission for the world which is God’s redemptive purposes and gospel through Jesus Christ to redeem a sinful and fallen humanity. 

    And so it’s important to understand what God has done throughout history but also what God is doing in the world today. 

    The Old Testament points forward to Christ. The Old Testament points forward to the king from the line of David. The gospels are the fulfillment of those promises in Christ.  

    The church’s job today is to share that good news with the world. 

    And so we look at this genealogy at the beginning of the New Testament. 

    It’s not just a bunch of names to skip over so we can get to something more interesting. 

    Rather, these are the chapters in God’s story leading up to Christ and in his work of bringing redemption to the world. To the glory of God. 

    Abraham, David, and exile. 

    Abraham was promised a son. Jesus is the ultimate son from the line of Abraham. 

    David was promised a king would come from his line who would have a kingdom which would never end. Jesus is the true king who ushers in the kingdom of heaven. 

    The exile looked like the place where Israel ended. In our sin, we are all exiled from God. Jesus is the one who returns us to fellowship with God.