Posts filed under ‘ABC Extra’
ABC Extra – Pride and Destruction
One of the frustrations of teaching through a whole book of the Bible in the scope of a mere hour, as I did in Sunday’s ABC, is that, inevitably and necessarily, I must leave many aspects of the book unaddressed. Thus, as I taught the book of Esther yesterday, I found myself frustrated with all the things I didn’t have time to talk about! Thankfully, however, I do have this blog. And so, I thought it might be helpful to touch on a fascinating subplot in Esther’s story that I did not cover yesterday.
The basic contours of Esther’s story are these. The Jews are under the rule of King Xerxes of Persia in the fifth century B.C. When Xerxes’ queen, Vashti, embarrasses him at a party, he banishes her and launches a search for a new queen. After an exhaustive quest, Xerxes settles on Esther, a lovely young Jewess. Shortly after Esther becomes queen, however, an evil advisor to Xerxes named Haman concocts a plot to destroy the Jews. Esther has a cousin named Mordecai, and when he catches wind of this plot, he sends the queen a message, begging her to help her people. Esther then holds a series of two banquets to which he invites King Xerxes and the evil Haman and, at the second banquet, reveals to the king Haman’s nefarious objectives. When the king learns of Haman’s plot, he becomes furious and orders Haman to be executed by hanging. And the Jews are saved from extermination. This is the story’s major plot.
The subplot of Esther’s story centers around the queen’s cousin, Mordecai. We are first introduced to Mordecai in Esther 2 where we are told, “Mordecai had a cousin named Esther, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother” (Esther 2:7). Thus, Mordecai had taken Esther under his wing. Later in this same chapter, we read this interesting anecdote:
During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king. (Esther 2:21-23)
Apparently, Mordecai is a Xerxes loyalist. When the guards of the king’s chamber conspire to kill him, it is Mordecai who foils their plot. Incidentally, about ten years after this assassination attempt, Xerxes is indeed assassinated by some new guards who also keep watch over his chamber. What is especially important to note, however, is the thanks Moredecai receives for saving the king’s life. He receives no thanks. The king quickly forgets about his valiant act, though it is recorded in his annals.
Well, several years pass, and the night before the king and his right-hand man Haman are to attend Esther’s banquet where she will reveal Haman’s plot against the Jews, the king comes down with a case of insomnia:
That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered. The king said, “Who is in the court?”…His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” the king ordered. When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’” “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” (Esther 6:1-10)
Mordecai finally receives his well-deserved commendation from the king. But how he receives it is comical. He receives it from Haman, the very man who is plotting to kill Mordecai along with all his people! And Haman could not be more humiliated that he is compelled to honor Mordecai in this way: “Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief” (Esther 6:12).
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Clearly, Haman is presented as an insufferably arrogant character. His delusion concerning his own greatness is sickening: “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” Haman believes there is no one greater than himself. But before we scorn Haman for his haughtiness too quickly, it is worth asking if we don’t suffer from a pride similar to Haman’s. After all, who among us does not think we are somehow worthy of high honor? And who among us has not gotten angry or bitter or resentful – if only internally – when we did not receive the acclaim we thought we deserved?
Haman’s hauteur should remind us all that we are called to be humble servants of Christ. For we follow One who “humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Do you live your life with Christ-like humility?
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – When Family Members Don’t Believe
It always concerns me when I’m talking to a parent of a young child and he says something like, “I’m going to let my child make his own decisions about religion as he grows. I may take him to church every once in a while, I’ll give him a Bible, but ultimately, it’s up to him. I don’t want to cram religion down his throat.” I once heard of some parents who took their daughter to church until she was eight, at which time they began to ask her: “Would you like to go to church this morning, honey?” I leave it you to guess which decision she made.
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we kicked off a new series titled, “All in the Family: Discovering God’s Plan for Your Family.” In this series, we are taking a look at the roles God has given husbands, wives, parents, and children to play in their families. At the heart of each of these roles, however – whether your role is that of a husband, a wife, a parent, a child, or some combination thereof – is the preeminence of Christ. In other words, if you are part of a family, you should never simply leave it up to another family member’s discretion as to whether or not they want to “be religious.” Rather, you should clearly, compellingly, and persuasively present Christ’s gospel. You should model to and for your family what a Christ-centered life looks like.
In our text from Matthew 10, Jesus gives us a straightforward estimate of the cost of a Christ-centered life: “I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:35-37). A Christ-centered life means that you are to love Christ and follow Him above all else – even your family. And if this upsets your family – if this turns them into “enemies,” as Jesus says in verse 36 – so be it. It is important to remember that at the same time the gospel of Christ unites, it also can divide. It is a “stumbling block” to those who refuse to believe (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23).
Interestingly, the Greek word Jesus uses for “enemies” is ekthros. This word is first used in the Bible in Genesis 3:15, when God curses the Satanic serpent for tempting Adam and Eve into sin: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your Offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” The Greek word for “enmity” is again ekthros. This is the Bible’s first prophecy of Christ, reminding us that He, as a descendent of Eve and the very Son of God, will crush the head of Satan on the cross. We also are to be enemies of Satan and all he teaches and touts.
Sadly, sometimes, even within families, one person teaches and touts the truth of God while another teaches and touts other things not of God. In this way, they become an enemy of the faith as Jesus says. But there is still hope!
In the early days of Christianity, it was not uncommon for two pagan people to marry and then for one to convert to Christianity. This created a situation where one spouse was believing and the other was not. Thankfully, the Bible offers some guidance on how to graciously and whimsically witness to those in our family who do not have faith in Christ. Though much of the biblical guidance is given specifically to husbands and wives, it can certainly be applied in the context of other family relationships as well. So here are three thoughts on how to witness to unbelieving family members.
First, remember that even if a family member does not trust in Christ, they are still part of your family! The apostle Paul writes, “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). Notice what Paul says: If your spouse is an unbeliever, you don’t disown and divorce him or her; rather, you stay in the marriage. After all, that person is still your spouse! He or she is still your family! Thus, a difference in faith is not a basis for estrangement.
Second, your life in Christ and for Christ is a powerful to witness to family members who do not believe. The apostle Peter writes to wives who have unbelieving husbands: “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives” (1 Peter 3:1-2). Peter’s goal is for wives to “win over” their husbands by their witness to Christ, even if their witness to Christ is a silent one. This witness to Christ is one born out of behavior and purity. Thus, as we spend time with unbelieving family members, it is important to ask: What kind of witness – in word and in deed – am I giving for Christ?
Third, your greatest affection must be for Christ, not for your family. Jesus could not be clearer: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). Your highest allegiance and affection must be for Christ. To love anyone – even your family – more than Christ is sinful. Indeed, it is only by loving Christ that a person can truly learn how to love his family. For the best love we can give our families is a love that is from and of God. Any love that we give our families apart from this love is only a cut-rate love. And who would want to give their families that?
Having unbelieving family members is never easy. But, by God’s grace working through His holy Word, unbelieving family members do not need to stay unbelieving forever. They can be transformed. Jesus can save them. After all, he saved us. And if Jesus can save a guy like me, there’s hope for us all!
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
Weekend Extra – The End?
Mark’s account of Jesus’ resurrection is my favorite of all the Gospel accounts. I know that John’s account holds a special place in the hearts of many, perhaps because, at least in the many Easter services I’ve attended, it always seems to be the appointed Gospel lesson for the day. And no doubt the picture it paints of Peter running to the tomb and finding it empty and his companion John seeing and believing is gripping and exciting, but nevertheless, Mark’s account holds a special place in my heart, mainly because of how it ends: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. The End” (Mark 16:8).
Well, “The End” is not actually in the Greek text, and that’s part of the problem. Because with an ending like this, many in the early church thought, “Surely there must be a better, more appropriate ending than three women, scared out of their wits, fleeing from an empty tomb where they have just encountered a young man dressed in white!” And so, in most Bibles, there is Mark 16:9-20, appropriately culminating with Jesus’ great commission in verse 16, His ascension into heaven in verse 19, and then a strange line about snake handling in between these verses. But don’t worry, that verse about snake handling probably wasn’t in the original, divinely inspired text. Whew! Am I a glad about that one!
If you’ll notice, after verse 8 in most Bibles, you’ll find a notation: “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9–20.” In other words, even though Mark’s gospel wraps up nicely with Jesus’ great commission and ascension in verses 16 and 19 respectively, the earliest manuscripts of Mark end with wary women. This leads textual critical scholar Bruce Metzger to comment on verses 9-20, “The section was added by someone who knew a form of Mark that ended abruptly with verse 8 and who wished to supply a more appropriate conclusion” (Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 105). It is important to note that Metzger also explains that verses 9-20 have a long storied history in the Church, first being attested to by Irenaeus and Tatian’s Diatessaron in the second century. Thus, though these verses were probably not written by the Evangelist himself, they did not come long after him.
But even with all this in mind, I kind of like that we seem to have nothing more of Mark’s Gospel after verse 8. After all, if I found a missing body and a supernatural looking guy in white hanging out in Jesus’ tomb, I think I’d be scared too! And yet, we all know that the women shouldn’t have been scared. After all, Jesus had foretold His death and resurrection time and time again (cf. Mark 8:31, 10:33-34). The women should have known better.
But then again, so should we. For we, like the women, have the promise – and the fulfillment – of a risen Savior! We, like the women, can say with the young man in the tomb, “Christ is risen!” And just as the young man told the women that Jesus was going ahead of them into Galilee where they would see Him (Mark 16:7), Jesus tells us that He goes ahead of us as our Good Shepherd, leading us through this life, and even into the next (cf. John 10:4). So why in the world do we worry? Why in the world do we fret? For what reason in the world do we have to be afraid?
Perhaps we are more like the women than we care to admit. For we have the same message as the women: “Christ is risen!” But we also have the same response: We are trembling, bewildered, and afraid.
But we don’t have to be. For Jesus, as our Good Shepherd, invites us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Fear may mark the end of Mark’s Gospel, but it does not have to mark the end of our lives. For Jesus’ gospel in and through our lives is still being written.
So, of what are you afraid? Your finances? Your future? A person? Perhaps even your eternity? Remember that the message of Easter is not only, “Christ is risen,” but also, “Do not be alarmed” (Mark 16:6). For we serve and follow a living Lord who can take care of and take away our fears. I hope you’ll let Him. Because although verse 8 may be a good place for a Gospel to end, it’s never a good place for a life to end.
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message!
Weekend Extra – Jesus, the Donkey Tamer
It was the first new vehicle I had ever purchased. And when I drove off the lot in my brand new 2003 forest green Chevrolet Silverado, I was beaming with pride. Never had I owned a truck so spotless. Before this, I sputtered around in a beat up Ford Ranger. But now, I cruised smoothly in a Chevrolet. I even got to take in that famed new car smell. I couldn’t wait to show off my new truck to my buddies. “Look!” I exclaimed as I pulled into my buddies’ apartment, “This truck is sweet.” And my buddies agreed. Of course, the three of us had to appropriately break in such a fine new vehicle. And so we ventured out on a ritual right of passage, precious to young men everywhere: the road trip. After all, there’s nothing like Slim Jims, Dr. Pepper, and several hundred miles to appropriately break in a new truck.
In our reading for Palm Sunday from Mark 11, Jesus takes a road trip with His disciples to the city of Jerusalem. But instead of breaking in a new truck for His road trip, Jesus breaks in a new donkey: “As Jesus and His disciples approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here’” (Mark 11:1-2). For this occasion, Jesus wants a donkey “which no one has ever ridden.” Two things are notable about this request.
First, unlike a truck that has never been driven, a donkey that has never been ridden was no smooth ride, for the donkey wouldn’t have been “broken.” That is, it wouldn’t have been used to carrying any sort of a burden. Thus, the animal would have normally tried to buck any burden off its back. Jesus, however, seems to have no such problem: “When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it” (Mark 11:7). There is no mention of the animal making any fuss whatsoever. At this scene, one cannot help but think of the kind of power Jesus has over creation. He can calm a storm (Mark 4:35-41) and whither a fig tree (Mark 11:12-14, 20-21). Nature submits to His command. Who is this? Even the wind and the waves, the fig tree, and a donkey obey Him (cf. Mark 4:41)!
The answer to this question, of course, is that Jesus is the Holy One of God. He is God’s Messiah and, as such, fulfills the Isaianic promise: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:6-9). Christ, as God’s Holy One, rules God’s creation and brings peace and rest to it – even to unbroken donkeys.
This takes us to the second thing that is notable about Jesus’ request. Jesus’ request for an unbroken animal hearkens to the Old Testament sacrificial system, where unbroken animals were used as sacrifices to God. For instance, in Numbers 19:2-3, we read: “This is a requirement of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.” A sacrificial animal was to be unbroken and un-ridden. And so here we have an unbroken donkey. But this time, instead of being the sacrifice, the donkey is bearing the sacrifice. For Christ, just days later will be sacrificed on a cross.
In the Old West, the cowboys had a saying. “Hold your horses!” they would say when an equine got out of control. On Palm Sunday, the cry rings out from the disciples: “Hold your donkey!” “Hold your donkey,” for the Savior needs it to ride into Jerusalem. And though it has never been ridden, it will not gallop out of control. For the Holy One of God is sovereign over nature – even donkeys. “Hold your donkey,” and do not give it to someone else, for this unbroken donkey will bear the sacrifice broken for sin…and sinners. What an honor it must have been for that donkey to bear the Christ. And what a blessing it is for us that our King has come to us “righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Josh’s
message!
Weekend Extra – Tough and Weak Prayer
Recently, I heard the story of a lady whose husband was terminally ill with a heart condition. For years, he had fought valiantly against his sickness, but now, his ability to fight was waning. The time came when he had only days left. He was in the hospital. The doctors were scrambling to prolong his life. And this man’s wife had a decision to make. Should she advise continuing treatments for her husband, who was unable to decide for himself, or should she advise against it? She prayed to her Lord. A couple of hours later, word came from the nurse: “He will not be getting better. It’s all downhill from here.” She took this word to be her divine answer and told the doctors to keep her beloved husband comfortable rather than to try to treat his disease. He passed away a couple of days later.
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we took a look at Jesus’ Parable of the Unjust Judge:
In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!” (Luke 18:2-5)
Upfront, Luke states the purpose of Jesus’ parable when he writes, “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never give up” (Luke 18:1). This, then, is a parable about prayer. Indeed, in this little parable are embedded some very valuable lessons that can help us tremendously in our own prayer lives.
First, we must remember that prayer is tough. The woman in Jesus’ parable is persistent in her entreaty of the judge. We should be the same in prayer. But being persistent is not always easy. All too often, we can be tempted to give up when the answers to our prayers come slower than we might like. In our quick fix, microwave, lightning fast, high speed society, we are conditioned to want answers from God and want them now! But sometimes, God makes us wait. And this is good. For patience can build our character and our trust in God. But waiting is not easy.
Prayer can also be tough when the answer we receive to a prayer is not the one we want. I think of that lady and her husband. Surely she was praying for a miracle. Surely she was begging for her husband to be healed. But her answer from God through a nurse was loud and clear: “No. His time has come.” To receive an answer like this in prayer and then to make a medical decision like the one she had to make is never easy. Prayer is not easy. This we must remember.
Second, we also must remember that prayer is for the weak. There is an interesting paradox that permeates prayer. Prayer is tough, and yet it is for weak people. It is for people who know that by their own devices, know-how, and strength, they cannot prop up, fix up, or wrap up their lives. In Jesus’ parable, it is a widow who entreats a judge. This is purposeful. For widows were well known to be weak and vulnerable in this day. Without a husband, a widow often had no financial resources for herself or recourse against those who would seek to take advantage of her, as did this mysterious adversary in Jesus’ parable. Prayer, then, is for people who are weak…and know it. It is for people who understand that the most profound things of life happen not with our cajoling and coaxing, but by God’s providence and power. Prayer demands more trust in the supremacy of God and less trust in the supremacy of self. Prayer is for weak people and to a powerful God.
Finally, then, the question of prayer is this: Are you tough and weak in prayer? Are you persistent and powerless in prayer? The good news of our prayers is that they do not fall on the ears of an unjust judge, like the widow in Jesus’ parable, but on the ears of a righteous heavenly Father who wants to help. We do not have to persuade Him to care about us as does the widow with the judge. He already does.
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – Facebook and Salvation
The other day, I noticed a conversation between some of my Facebook friends on the parable we studied this weekend, Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus from Luke 16:19-31. I found it fascinating the way one of my friends described the point, or as I like to put it in ABC, the “transcendent truth” of this parable: “What I get is that God is not happy with rich people who do not care about the sufferings of others, especially the poor. Why is the rich man in Hades? Because he did not help his neighbor Lazarus.”
I’ve spent some time pondering the “point” that my Facebook friend took away from this parable. On the one hand, she is right. Jesus’ subsequent conversation with a rich ruler in Luke 18 makes her point all too soberly:
A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. (Luke 18:18-23)
This man’s great wealth kept him out of the Kingdom of God because he refused to love his neighbor and share his wealth. This selfishness was damning for him and to him. My friend is right in her Facebook post.
And yet, something is missing. Because although it is true that refusing to be a neighbor to someone in need – as both the rich ruler in Jesus’ conversation and the rich man in Jesus’ parable do – does damn a person to hell, the inverse is not true. Giving to the poor, being a neighbor to those in need, and even keeping all of God’s commandments does not get a person to heaven! No, only Jesus, through His work on the cross, gets a person to heaven. Indeed, it is vital to note how Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus ends. The rich man is talking to Abraham in heaven and he says:
“I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.” “No, father Abraham,” he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:27-51)
The rich man’s five brothers can avoid the fires of hell not by being really good guys who help their neighbors, but by listening to Moses and the Prophets. In other words, they can receive salvation by believing what the Scriptures say about salvation. And if they refuse to believe what the Scriptures say about salvation, they will not believe even if someone rises from the dead to preach salvation to them, which, of course, is precisely what Jesus did. And, precisely as Jesus warned, many people still did not believe. Helmut Thielicke explains the situation well:
Do not imagine that a messenger will come from the beyond and confirm what is said in Moses and the prophets, what seems to you to be so unverifiable, so mythological. Father Abraham will not send you any such occult confirmation. For anybody who has an interest in evading God will also consider an appearance from the dead and empty specter and elusion. Nor will the heavens open above us and God will perform no miracle to bring us to our knees. For God is no shock therapist who works upon our nerves; He loves you as His child and it’s your heart He wants.
So there will be no one appearing from the dead, no voice from heaven will sound, nor will there be any miracle in the clouds. None of this will come to you…We have only the Word, the Word made flesh and crucified, that namelessly quiet Word which came to us in one was was poor and despised as His brother Lazarus. For He really wanted to be his brother…
Accordingly, there remains for us…nothing but “Moses and the Prophets” and all they have to say about this Jesus. He who does not hear these and is not saved here cannot be helped by messengers from the dead.” (Helmut Thielicke, The Waiting Father, 50)
How are the rich man’s brothers to escape the fires of hell? They are to hear and believe all that Moses and Prophets have to say about Jesus. And the same is true for us.
We never learn the fate of the rich man’s five brothers. We simply know that Lazarus rests in Abraham’s bosom in heaven and the rich man is consigned to agony in hell. This is purposeful. For, you see, we are the five brothers in this parable. This parable is ours to finish. For we are, by nature, destined for hell because of our sin, but able to obtain salvation full and free by God’s grace through faith in His Word, Jesus Christ. Will you believe what Moses and the Prophets have to say about Jesus?
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – Jesus Likes It When You’re Humiliated
No one likes to be humbled. After all, being humbled is, well, humiliating. Being humbled wounds your ego. Being humbled shatters your pride. Being humbled can even make you question your competence. But although being humbled is not an enjoyable experience, Jesus says it is a good – and sometimes even a necessary – one.
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we studied the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector from Luke 18:9-14. Jesus ends His parable with this thought: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (verse 14). This one, seemingly simple, statement is worth pondering.
First, it is worth noting that Jesus’ statement concerning humility and those who are humbled and exalted does not prima facie show it self to be apparent in the lives of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee, who haughtily “thanks God that he is not like other men” (verse 11) and the tax collector, who cries out, “God, have mercy on me, the sinner” (verse 13) do not depart from the temple any more visibly humbled or exalted than when they came in. In fact, it is reasonable to suggest that they did not feel any more humbled or exalted than when they came in. The Pharisee leaves still secure in his own righteousness. And the tax collector leaves probably still struggling with guilt from his past misdeeds. However, regardless of how things may appear to outsiders or even feel on the inside for the Pharisee and the tax collector, something radical happened spiritually: the Pharisee has been humbled and the tax collector has been exalted. Jesus says so. Thus, it seems possible for a person to be humbled or exalted in God’s Kingdom and not even know it. And so, even when we feel humiliated by the world, we trust that, through faith, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). God exalts His people, even if hiddenly.
The second thing worth noting is that, in God’s Kingdom, exaltation comes in and through humiliation. The Greek word for “exalt” is hypso. This word is taken up by the apostle Paul in his famous hymn from Philippians 2:8-9: “Being found in appearance as a man, Christ humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name.” Here the word for “exalted” is hyperhypso, the prefix hyper- intensifying the thrust of the verb. In other words, Jesus is not just exalted, He’s hyper-exalted! But notice the route He travels to arrive at such exaltation: He humbles Himself and becomes obedient unto death – even death on a cross. Thus, exaltation for Jesus involves not just a lofty heavenly perch, but a humiliating death. Jesus Himself speaks similarly when He prophesies, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Again we find the word hypso, this time translated as the phrase “lifted up.” In the Gospel of John, to be “lifted up” does not mean to be lifted up in exaltation on throne, but to be lifted up in humiliation on a cross. Humiliation is exaltation for Jesus!
So what does all this mean? It means that in the Kingdom of God, humiliation and exaltation are closer than we think. Indeed, we find exaltation in humiliation. This truth should lead us to humble ourselves in service to our God and to others. Consider: Who is it that needs your strong hand? Or who is it that needs your gentle words? Who is it that needs your time in companionship? Or who is it that needs your prayers for healing? These tasks may seem menial and humble, but these are exactly the kind of tasks to which we are called. For in such humble service, we are exalted – not in the way the world views exaltation, but in the way God grants exaltation. And that’s the kind of exaltation we want anyway.
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and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra: Not So Neighborly
When I moved to Austin in 1996 to go to college, I was a scrawny seventeen year-old. As I settled into college life, hung out and ate Top Ramen in our 1950’s rundown dorm, and turned eighteen, I felt the need to “bulk up.” After all, I was on my own now. And I was eighteen so I was a “man.” And so, I hit the gym with one of my buddies. Almost immediately, my eyes darted to the bench press. “This is exactly what I need!” I thought to myself. “I’ll be benching a couple hundred pounds in no time at all.” Of course, I needed to start with a little less than two hundred pounds. After all, I hadn’t bulked up yet. And so, I lugged four twenty-five pound plates onto the bar for a mere one hundred pounds. “I’ll just lift this to get warmed up,” I thought to myself. I couldn’t even lift the bar. So, I switched out the plates and reduced the bench press to eighty pounds. Still no dice. Finally, I tried fifty. This, I managed to lift. But I also forgot to put the pins on the ends of the bar. And the plates quickly came crashing down.
I thought I was strong. But I wasn’t nearly as strong as I thought. A similar thing happens when many of us think about our righteousness and goodness. Most of us like to think of ourselves as “good people.” I was recently reading an article by Dr. Neal Mayerson, founder of the VIA Institute on Character. In his article, he noted what psychologists refer to as an “actor-observer bias.” This refers to the tendency that we all have to excuse our immoral behavior by appealing to circumstantial reasons that we had to act the way we did. In other words, we think we’re good. But we’re not nearly as good as we think. And when we are confronted with our own immorality, we try minimalize and rationalize it.
The “actor-observer bias” comes out in our text from this weekend from Luke 10 when an expert in the law approaches Jesus with a question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life” (Luke 10:25)? Rather than responding to his query directly, Jesus instead prods this so-called “expert” to answer his own question. And so the expert does. He gives his take on the requirements for eternal life. You must “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Jesus is impressed: “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28). Notably, the Greek word for “do” is in the present tense, denoting a continuous action. So it’s not just that this expert in the law is to love God and his neighbor once. Or even regularly. It’s that he is to love God and his neighbor continually – as in constantly. And no matter how highly the expert in the law might think of himself, this is something he cannot do. This expert in the law may think he is good. But he’s not nearly as good as he thinks. Indeed, Jesus’ subsequent parable makes this sobering fact all too clear.
In His Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus relays the story of a man who is mobbed and robbed as he is traveling the steep trail which leads down the side of a mountain from Jerusalem to Jericho. Indeed, in the first century, this road was well known as a haunt for thieves and thugs. Being beaten unconscious and left for dead, a priest passes by and sees this man, clearly in need of assistance. But probably due to concerns for ritual cleanliness – for, according to Old Testament law, to touch a dead person would render one ceremonially “unclean” for a whole week – he passes the man by. The same thing happens with a Levite, also probably out of concerns for ritual cleanliness. It is a Samaritan – a person from a nationality despised by the Jews – who stops and helps this man.
In our day, we like to think of ourselves as the Samaritan. “Surely!” we think to ourselves, “If I someone half-dead on the side of the road, I would help.” But alas, this is merely our own “actor-observer bias” rearing its head. If you don’t believe me, consider these scenarios:
- Have you ever failed to stop to help someone with car trouble because you were in a hurry?
- Have you ever not picked up the phone because your caller ID told you who the person on the other end of the line was and you didn’t feel like talking to them?
- Have you ever lied and told a panhandler, “I don’t have any change” simply because you didn’t want to get into a discussion with them?
If you have ever done any of these things – or a whole host of other similar things – then perhaps you are not as helpful as you think you are.
Finally, when we read the Parable of the Good Samaritan, we are called to think of ourselves not as the Samaritan, but as the priest and the Levite. Helmut Thielicke, the rector of the University of the Hamburg in the 60’s and 70’s, explains the parable like this: “The point of the parable is that we should identify ourselves with the priest and the Levite and repent” (The Waiting Father, 167).
So who, then, is the Good Samaritan if he is not us? The early church fathers thought he was Jesus. Origen says unequivocally, “The Samaritan was Christ” (Homilies on Luke). How did they arrive at such a conclusion? They knew that all of us failed to continuously love God and our neighbor. Thus, only Jesus can play the part of the Samaritan. This does not mean, however, that we are not invited to follow in our Savior’s footsteps. Jesus’ admonition at this end of His parable, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37) makes this clear enough. We are called to love our neighbor by being a neighbor. We are called to help others.
So be a neighbor to someone in need today. After all, before you were called to become a neighbor to someone else, Christ became your neighbor on the cross.
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – So Many Translations, So Little Time
This past weekend, we reflected further on the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture in part two of our series “Inspire!” In an effort to better understand the Bible we read, in ABC, I talked about some of the different philosophies which undergird different Bible translations. I identified three different major types of translational philosophies:
- Word-for-word translations seek to translate the ancient Hebrew and Greek of the biblical text word-for-word into English as far as possible. They also try to translate the same Hebrew or Greek word consistently throughout the Scriptures, even when the context of a given verse might encourage a different translation of that word for the sake of style and ease of reading. Indeed, word-for-word translations can often read clumsily since Greek and Hebrew syntax and sentence structure can vary widely from English syntax and sentence structure.
- Thought-for-thought translations seek to take phrases or even sentences from the Hebrew and Greek biblical text and translate them according to the intent of the biblical authors using smooth, readable English. This is helpful for understanding, but can also lead to misunderstandings because sometimes the biblical syntax, no matter how convoluted and confusing it may appear, is important to understanding the argument of a biblical writer.
- Paraphrases consult other English translations of the Bible, along with some Greek and Hebrew texts as well, and then they paraphrase these other translations into contemporary, readable English. Paraphrases are dangerous because they often explicitly, and sometimes even recklessly, reflect the theological biases of their paraphrasers.
With this brief review of translational philosophies in mind, I wanted to offer a couple of additional thoughts with regard to translating Scripture.
First, it is important to note that Bible translating is more of an art than a science. Oftentimes, people will ask me what the best translation of the Bible is. The fact of the matter is, there is no one translation that I can recommend wholeheartedly as the “best” because, finally, Bible translating is an art! This means that there are some translations of the NIV that I prefer while, in other places, I prefer an ESV or an NASB rendering. In a couple of instances, the old KJV still carries the day for me! This is why, rather than simply recommending a single translation, I encourage people to compare several translations, giving the benefit of the doubt to the word-for-word translations over the thought-for-thought ones, and then consulting a commentary to shed further light on the text.
Second, it is important to note that there is no such thing as a “literal” translation of the Bible. Whether it is a word-for-word or a thought-for-thought translation, every translation involves some level of translator interpretation, especially when an ancient biblical text is especially ambiguous or when its idioms are unintelligible to the modern reader. The example I gave in ABC last weekend comes from Acts 20:37 where, after Paul says his farewell to his beloved Ephesian congregation, and with much weeping and sadness, the Ephesians, according to a word-for-word translation of the Greek, “were throwing themselves upon the neck of Paul.” Whoa! I know the Ephesians were sad to see Paul leave, but they didn’t have to try to break his neck! But this misunderstands the idiom. Even the NASB, considered by many to be the most faithful word-for-word translation available, translates this verse, “They embraced Paul.” And indeed, this is an appropriate translation. For even if the NASB does not translate woodenly the ancient idiom, it does faithfully reflect the author’s intent in using the idiom. Thus, to find a “literal” translation is neither possible nor is it always necessarily helpful.
Finally, I want to say a word about the use of inclusive language in many of today’s more recent translations. There is a move afoot to replace traditional translations of words like “brothers” or “men” with more gender inclusive language like “brothers and sisters” and “people.” Though this is certainly fine in some places (e.g., Matthew 5:19 in NIV 2011: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” rather than in NIV 1984: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”) it is dangerous in others. One prime example comes in Psalm 8:4-6. Consider the translation of NIV 1984:
What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; You put everything under his feet.
Here the Psalmist extols how God has made humankind the crowing glory of His creation and how He has given them dominion over the earth. Notice that the Psalmist describes humankind collectively using the masculine singular pronouns “him” and “his” (see italics above). In NIV 2011, because the Psalmist is referring to humankind collectively, the translators opted for the more generic plural pronouns “them” and “their.” Two problems arise with this translation. First, the Hebrew of the Psalm employs masculine singular pronouns. Thus, it may behoove us to translate the pronouns as singular collectives since that is the way the Psalmist wrote his Psalm! Second, the preacher of Hebrews picks up on the masculine singular pronouns of this Psalm and applies these pronouns to Jesus:
There is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:5-9)
Thus, the preacher of Hebrews sees this Psalm as referring not only to humankind generally, but also to Jesus singularly! The Psalmist, writing some 1,000 years before Christ, prophecies concerning Christ! To discard the masculine singular pronouns, then, in favor of more generic plural inclusive pronouns, obscures the Messianic character of this Psalm. And that is a tragedy. For Christ is the center of the Scriptures. Thus, I tend to caution people against translations that commit themselves to inclusive language at the expense of Greek and Hebrew grammar and syntax.
So where does all this leave us? To use a phrase coined by President Reagan, we should “trust, but verify.” I advise people, with few exceptions, to generally trust the translations they read and not worry about missing a huge theological theme because of a faulty translation. Reading any major translation, you will still discover the gospel that Christ has come to die on a cross in your place for your sins apart from anything you do. No major doctrine of Christianity is compromised by any major translation. However, I still encourage people to verify confusing or disputed passages by consulting other translations, commentaries, and their pastor. This can help bring clarity and orthodoxy to some sticky passages.
So get to reading! The people have God have spent a lot of time translating the Word of God. And they’ve translated it so that the Word of God can be read and believed by you.
Want to learn more? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Krueger’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – The Perfect Book
This past weekend, we kicked off a two part mini message series titled “INSPIRE!” where we are looking at how the Scriptures are both inspired by God – that is, they are His very words, authored and spoken by Him – and inspiring to us – that is, they give us guidance for our everyday lives and hope for tomorrow. Yesterday, we talked about the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” From these verses, we draw the doctrine of the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture. The word “verbal” means that God not only inspired the general thoughts of the biblical authors, but their very words. The words of the Bible are truly “God-breathed.” The word “plenary” comes from the Latin word plenarius, meaning, “entire,” or “complete.” Thus, the doctrine of plenary inspiration states that all, not just some of the Bible is inspired by God. From Genesis to Revelation, God is speaking.
Because the Bible is verbally and completely inspired by God, it follows that the Bible is also inerrant. Because God is finally the author of the Scriptures and God is perfect, the Scriptures themselves can be nothing less than perfect, even as the Psalmist says, “The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7 NLT). Robert Preus puts the connection between the doctrine of inspiration and the doctrine of inerrancy well when he says, “Inerrancy is an inextricable concomitant of inspiration” (“Notes on the Inerrancy of Scripture”). One cannot have a vigorous and meaningful doctrine of divine inspiration without an honest position of inerrancy.
But what do we mean when we say the Bible is “inerrant”? Because there has been much misunderstanding as to precisely what inerrancy entails, I offer the below list of what inerrancy does and does not mean as outlined by James Voelz in his hermeneutics volume, What Does This Mean? Voelz outlines three things that inerrancy does not entail:
- Inerrancy does not entail exactness of quotations. This is illustrated especially when New Testament authors quote Old Testament prophetic texts. For example, at the Council of Jerusalem, when church leaders are trying to decide whether or not they should require Gentiles to become circumcised according to Jewish custom before becoming Christian, James quotes Amos 9:11-12 and says, “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages” (Acts 15:16-18). James concludes that because the Gentiles also seek and bear the name of the Lord, “We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19) and thus counsels against requiring circumcision for Gentile converts. Notably, the Hebrew text of Amos 9:11-12 is different from the Greek text that James quotes. It reads, “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name.” In the Hebrew text, rather than a general remnant of men seeking the Lord, Israel possesses the remnant of Edom. The difference in these two texts is not an affront to the inerrancy of the Old Testament; rather, James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is using an Old Testament prophecy for the express purpose of highlighting how many Gentiles are coming to faith in Christ.
- Inerrancy does not constitute exactness in the order of events recorded. A famous example of this principle is found in the temptation of Jesus’ in the desert. In the account in Matthew 4, the devil begins by tempting Jesus to turn stones into bread, moves on to tempting Him to throw Himself down from the temple, and then finally demands that He fall down and worship the devil. In Luke 4, however, the order of the temptations is shuffled. First, Satan tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread. Next, he tempts Him to worship him. And finally, the devil tempts Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple. What accounts for this difference? More than likely, the different evangelists wish to emphasize different things. Matthew highlights the “descending Christology” of Satan’s temptations, ending with a demand so brash and low as asking Jesus to worship him. That is, Satan wants Jesus to be “under” him by worshipping him. Luke, however, saves the temple temptation for the final one, more than likely because it is the temptation in which Satan quotes Scripture. Satan says, “It is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’” (Luke 4:10-11). Before this temptation, Jesus has cited Scripture to refute Satan’s temptations. But now, Satan is using Scripture against Jesus. Luke seems to highlight Satan’s most sinister type of temptation – the twisting of God’s Word – by saving it for last. The change in order in no way negates the historical veracity of these temptations, however. The different evangelists simply wish to highlight different things in Jesus’ wilderness experience.
- Inerrancy does not constitute the avoidance of figures of speech. Hopefully, this aspect of inerrancy is fairly self-evident. For even today, figures of speech are commonplace. Thus, when the Psalmist sings of God’s creation, “God set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved” (Psalm 104:5), he is not saying that the earth is somehow cosmologically static. Indeed, we know it’s not. Scientific observation has taught us that the earth revolves around the sun. The earth does indeed move. The Psalmist, however, is not speaking with cosmological concerns in mind. He is simply stating that, at least from our human perspective, the earth seems very solid and unmovable thanks to the high handiwork of our God.
In light of all this, what then can we say about inerrancy? Voelz explains inerrancy from a positive standpoint well: “To say that the sacred Scriptures are inerrant is to say that their authors are absolutely truthful according to their intended purposes” (What Does This Mean? 239). Thus, the biblical writers do not lie in any of what they write. They do, however, write using normal and expected grammatical and rhetorical tropes. Armed with an understanding of these tropes, we can trust the Scriptural writings as God’s inerrant Word. And because God’s Word is inerrant, it will never lead us astray. Praise be to God for His perfect book!
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
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