Luke 9 :: Who is this man?

Luke 9

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” -Jesus in verse 20

This is not only the central question of chapter 9; it is the central question of Luke's gospel. I can imagine what it was like for the disciples on that day when Jesus started asking who people thought he was. I suspect there was passion and urgency in his voice. Are people figuring it out? Do they understand I am their only hope? Who is writing me off, demonizing me, or trying to use me? Who thinks I am less than I really am? And what about you guys? Surely you, who are with me all the time, know that I am the Messiah, the Son of God. Well, at least Peter knows.

Jesus said many profound things, and did many profound things. But his primary mission was not to teach us how to live better, or even to heal the sick. His mission was to reveal himself as the Son of God, and to rescue mankind from eternal separation from God. It is not coincidence that Jesus foretells his crucifixion and resurrection immediately after Peter's response. Guys, here is what this is all about. We're not just traveling around doing miracles. This journey leads to a cross in Jerusalem, and then to an empty tomb.

I pray that we always keep asking the question, "Who do you say that Jesus is?", and keep helping people discover the answer that brings life and hope. How we, our friends and neighbors answer that question makes all the difference in the world.

Acts 14 :: People Worship

Acts 14 in the Message and TNIV translations

It's an oddity of human nature: we want to worship one of ourselves.  We want to look to another human being and convince ourselves that he or she is better, more perfect, living on a higher plane than we are.  We believe that our job is to idolize these people, glorify them, and cheer them on, while their job is to achieve some kind of greatness we never could.

Another oddity of human nature: there are enough crazies in the world who are willing to accept this position on a pedestal.  They get all the power and glory that comes with it, and all the humiliation when they fall off.  Is it really necessary to name names here?  The list of sports heroes, rock stars, politicians, TV personalities, and religious leaders is long and very familiar, and new names seem to be added daily.

We can point an accusing finger and say, "how dare you put yourself up on that pedestal!"  But they only stand there because there were enough people who wanted them to.  We build the greenhouses where the narcissus flowers grow.  Why?  Why do we so badly want a god from among our own ranks?  And the church might be the worst offender, especially considering that this is the church we're talking about, the one place where God has supposedly already been identified.  What excuse do we have for refocusing the spotlight onto someone else?

There is only room for one God.  A church, or a pastor, or a Christian, can't simultaneously draw attention to Jesus and to himself (herself, itself).  Thankfully Paul and Barnabas understood that the words "celebrity" and "church leader" do not go together.

(props to Brad for finding the cartoon and David Hayward for drawing it. his May 6 cartoon is equally insightful)

Matthew16::Identity Crisis

It began subtly.  Jesus was debating with the religious leaders in chapter 12, and made a mysterious comparison between himself and Jonah.  He controlled the news cycle, telling people not to say anything when he performed a miracle, or sending a healed person to the religious leaders only.  While he repeatedly made the point that non-Jews would be part of his Kingdom, he did not go to them or preach to them, limiting his exposure.  But things are about to change.

As all of this had been going on, the disciples, including our author Matthew, have been watching and learning.  Finally, Jesus knows it is time to ask THE QUESTION, to settle once and for all what all of this is about.  Peter--perhaps the most aggressive, type A personality among the disciples--is the one to answer: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God."

Jesus' identity--the fact that he was the Son of God--was the focus of his ministry, not his actions or teachings.  The healings and the miracles served to point to his divinity.  The teachings showed an access to Truth not available to a mere mortal ("he taught as one who had authority, and not as the teachers of the law).  It was all about revealing that he was God in the flesh.  A miracle would impress, would help an individual for the rest of their mortal lives.  A good teaching might help people live better.  But his mission was much larger than that.  He was here to save all of humanity for all of eternity, and no one understood how big, how dramatic, how gruesome and glorious that effort would become.  Now that his identity is established with his disciples, everything changes.  There is a gravity that begins to pull Jesus, and the disciples, and all of us, to the Cross.

As followers of Christ, we spend a lot of time on Jesus' teachings, as we should.  But Jesus' teachings are not life--not primarily.  Jesus himself is life.  There is a huge difference.  If you try to follow Jesus' teachings, you will fail.  "Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) Good luck with that.  Jesus-perfection is unattainable, but Jesus-life is within our grasp, and Jesus is about to show us how.

What stands out to you about Jesus as a person so far?  What has surprised you most?  What about him are you struggling with?

Matthew 04::The Hero's Test

Let's review:
Chapter 1 - Jesus' royal bloodline is established;
Chapter 2 - the visit of the Magi and Herod's attempt to kill Jesus further establish Jesus' identity as King;
Chapter 3 - John the Baptist serves as herald, making the King's introduction, and baptizes him as a sort of coronation.

Matthew is telling Jesus' story, organized like a classic story of an ancient king or hero.  There is only one element left in the story's introduction: the Test.  Every hero must have one.  If he passes, he proves worthy and proceeds into greatness; if he fails, his story becomes a tragedy, where the fatal flaw revealed in the test becomes his undoing.  The test is painful, lonely, and extremely difficult.

The Bible's first hero, Adam, failed the Test, and his story (and ours) became a tragedy, the story of the fatal flaw of human weakness.  When Jesus passed the Test, he proved himself worthy, but he did much more than that: he proved it was possible to reverse the curse of Adam's failure.  It was no longer inevitable that Satan would always win in the Test.  Jesus' story would not be a tragedy, and because of him, neither would ours.

...he too shared in their humanity

so that by his death he might break the power
of him who holds the power of death—

that is, the devil—

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death.

---

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted,

he is able to help those who are being tempted.

-from Hebrews 2:14-18

Do you have confidence in your Hero?  How has He freed you from the slavery of fear, and helped you when you were being tempted?

Core Belief :: Trinity

We believe the God of the Bible is the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13:14 TNIV

Mystery. That's all the Trinity was to me for many years--one of those inexplicable things about God that just was. You couldn't understand it, or understand why. You just accepted it as true. Or maybe you didn't. I don't remember many sermons about the Trinity. I don't recall it being discussed very often. No teacher or preacher really wanted to talk about something they couldn't explain and may have struggled to understand themselves.

The biggest problem was, "why?" What's the point? Why would God exist in such a confusing way? God existing as three simultaneous and co-equal persons seemed unnecessarily weird, especially if God wanted to relate to human beings.

I didn't understand the Trinity because I didn't understand community. I didn't understand how deeply relationship goes to the core of God's being. And it showed in the way I viewed my own life, the church, and all of Christianity. The Trinity was the clue I was missing.

God is three persons existing in constant and perfect relationship with each other. Once you see that, how could it be otherwise? God's true nature is so opposite of the cosmic Loner we often perceive. Relationship--Love--is so central to His being that it manifests in the Trinity, and his character becomes the model for everything and everyone He has created.

The Trinity is the basis for most of the other core beliefs. Trinity explains why God is a Personal God, why we have Identity in Christ, why all of Humanity is loved by God, why Compassion and Stewardship are important, and is the relational model for the Church. If love, mutual deference, and mutual honor weren't so much a part of who God is, these other things would not be true. God loves us, but God's love has been expressed in His person before there even was such a thing as us.

Maybe we think it's weird because we've sunk that far. Existing that closely in relationship grates against our individualism. It causes us to think twice before we go our own way. But if we embrace God's relational nature, it changes all of life. If Trinity is Truth, then life is different than we thought, and what was once weird about God is now poignant, beautiful, and yes, mysterious.

How much do you truly believe Trinity? Not just as doctrine, but as the model and foundation for life as a Christ-follower. Do you believe in Trinity enough for "me" to give way to "you" and "us"?