Archive for July, 2006

On this 7th Sunday after Pentecost on July 23, 2006, the three assigned readings are Ezekiel 2:1-5 (Sent to a rebellious nation); 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (When weak, then strong) and Mark 6:1-6 (Rejected at Nazareth). Mark 6:5 is the verse chosen to apply in a sermon. It reads, “Now He could do no mighty work there…”

Eating at a restaurant recently, my friend John handed me on a piece of paper this passage from Mark 6:5 and asked whether it meant that Jesus was unable to do a miracle because He was weak in His state of humiliation. My response was that while it appears that Jesus was unable to do a miracle, one needs to read the context to understand the meaning of that statement.

First, it cannot mean that Jesus was unable to do a miracle of healing because the very next phrase reads, “except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Moreover, it is not true that Jesus was unable to do no mighty work there because He was weak in His state of humiliation. The real reason for not doing a mighty work there was verse 6, “And He marveled because of their unbelief.”

Yet how do we understand this? Is God limited in His works because of the unbelief of human beings? That doesn’t make any sense for then God would not be omnipotent. So what are these “mighty works” that were not accomplished by Jesus. Think about it. What is the greatest work that Jesus did? It was not the temporal miracle of healing. Rather, it was and is dispensing the gift of eternal salvation by forgiving our sins and dressing us in the robe of righteousness.

However, apart from faith in Jesus Christ such a mighty work was unable to be accomplished. It was not that Jesus was weak; rather, it was that the faith of many of the citizens was nonexistent. That understanding has an important application for those of us who have been given faith by the Holy Spirit. It means that God will respond as He promises to those who trust in Jesus with all the gracious and mighty works.

The assigned readings for the sixth Sunday after Pentecost for Sunday, July 16, 2006 are Lamentations 3:22-33 (Israel in Exile); 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-14 (Bountiful gifts) and Mark 5:21-43 (two healings). Chosen for this week to explain and apply is Lamentations 3:25 which reads, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks after Him.”

Again we find a text that appears to contradict the message of Christianity. For who would want a parent who is good to you only when you wait for him or seek after Him? No, parents instead are known for their being good to their children no matter the attitude of the child or even the behavior.

In every religion, except Christianity, the god is one who will be good to his followers insofar as they are waiting on Him and seeking after Him. The order is clear: First, the person waits for and/or seeks after the god; second, the god decides to be good to such a person and save him. This is referred to as a religion of Law in which those who obey have made themselves worthy of salvation.

The problem in itnerpreting this verse in such a way is due to the fact that theologians of glory–who live under the Law as a way of meriting salvation–interpret such verses as this one as a command or imperative. The verse tells you what to do in order for your god to be good to you. Such an approach to the Bible makes even a verse like John 3:16 an imperative in the sense that God’s job is to love us insofar as we do our job of believing in Jesus Christ.

In contast to this “under the Law” viewpoint of interpreting such verses as imperatives. those who live under the cross interpret them as indicatives. The difference is as follows. For those who live under the Law, this verse means that insofar as you wait for God and seek after Him He will be good to you for you merit your salvation on the basis of this conditional promise. For those who live under the Cross, this verse means that because God has given you faith to believe in Jesus Christ as a gift, He promises unconditionally to be good to you.

Recall that this Old Testament book was written during the time of the Exile while Israel was in captivity and bondage. And yet the writer can still sing, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (verse 23). As Christians we learn from the Bible that there is nothing we can do to merit God’s favor. In fact, He is gracious to those who do not deserve to receive such gifts as the forgiveness of sins and the robe of righteousness. Law and Gospel. Simple yet profound in being able to distinguish the religion of grace (Christianity) from all other religions of merit.

On this 9th day of July 2006, the three chosen readings are Job 38:1-11 (Darkening counsel without knowledge); 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (New Creation) and Mark 4:35-41 (stormy sea). This is one of my favorite passages chosen to analyze which is Mark 4:40 in which Jesus asks, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

This is not a difficult passage to interpret. It is a most difficult passage to apply. The interpretation is just as it says: Disciples fearful on a boat surrounded by a stormy sea with Jesus sleeping in the stern. The wake Him; He stills the storm; He asks how it is they have no faith. No similes; no analogies; just straight forward historical event. Until…we arrive at making application.

The difference between interpretation and application is the difference between a Bible study and a sermon. The interpretation involves the actual events that are happening and how they impact the disciples. The application is how we transfer the intent of this passage to the hearer of the 21st century. And here is where all kinds of problems crop up.

The vast majority of applications of this text go something like this: “We also have our storms of fear and doubt and anxiety. But we have the same Jesus the disciples had. If He can still the storms of their lives, He certainly is capable of stiling the storm of our lives if…only we have sufficient faith to trust in Him!” You know it well; you’ve probably heard it a 1,000 times.

The first problem is that the disciples did NOT have sufficient faith yet nevertheless, He stilled the storm. So much for the Word/faith movement! The point would be it doesn’t matter whether or not you have sufficient faith; God will still still your storms! Great application but lousy sermon material if the goal is to increase the need for faith.

But a second problem is even worse. Do you really think that God would tell all the people on the Titanic who were not asleep on a pillow while the ship was sinking that they have no faith??? Get my point. With the normal kind of application of this text, you would conclude that had Jesus been on the Titanic He would have remained in his cabin asleep on His pillow!

Something is missing here. What is missing is the proper understanding of Jesus’ use of the word “faith.” He is making the point that the fear of the disciples is directly related to the fact that they have little or no faith. But that is not always true. Jesus Himself was fearful in the Garden of Gethesemane. Are we to conclude that He had little or no faith??? And what Christian is not fearful at times no matter how strong is our faith?

From a Law and Gospel perspective, the word “faith” is understood differently. For those under the Law, “faith” means that they have sufficient confidence that they will therefore be saved from whatever predicament assails them. For those under the Gospel, “faith” means that they trust in a specific promise from God related to the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

With that background, what promise was not being believed by the disciples that caused them to fear when instead they should have been so calm that they also could fall asleep on a pillow in the midst of a stormy sea? All they had to do was remember the Old Testament promises connected with the coming of and work of the Messiah. He was coming to have their sins forgiven and He was going to accomplish that not by drowning in the water but by being whipped and nailed to an accursed tree. (eg., Psalm 22; Isaiah 53 etc. etc.)

All the disciples had to do was look around them and realize that there were not outside of Jerusalem with their Savior about to be crucified. The had no reason to fear because death could not possibly come to Him whome they addressed with, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” The irony is that their question provides evidence of a greater perishing in their unbelief rather than in the waters of the sea.

Jesus, having read the Old Testament, knew that there was no danger of death from the raging sea. So He went to sleep. The application to our lives is that if there is a promise of no death to us due to similar circumstances, then we ought also not fear. However, since no such promise can be found, we dare no sleep on our pillows while the storm rages around us.

Literally we do what is necessary to save as many from drowning as possible; and metaphorically, we do the best we can to stop the crisis while remaining calm that whatever the outcome, God is faithful and will never leave us nor forsake us. We may not be “saved” from a specific temporal calamity but we will be saved eternally from the devil, the world and our flesh because heaven is our home due to the work of Christ in dying for you and rising for you.