John 7:1-13, Additional Thoughts

Jesus was not very impressive. In fact, he got it wrong much of the time. The whole resurrection was a big deal. It’s good that he pulled that off. But he could have been so much better overall if he had had a publicist, someone to make the most of his shining moments. He needed a top-quality PR person to get the most mileage out of the miracles, the wise and exceedingly counter-cultural teaching, and the relationships. Jesus was great, but could have been so much more.

This passage in John 7 is a case in point. He’s in Galilee, the northern part of Israel, and it is time for the Festival of Booths, which happens in what would be October on our calendar. Jews would go to Jerusalem in the south and re-enact the wilderness wanderings when Moses led the nation out of Egypt and into the Sinai desert for 40 years.

During the Festival of Booths, the nation converged on the capital city. Jesus’ miracles would gain no traction in Galilee. He needed to be seen where the people were.

His brothers told him as much. They probably heard Jesus when he gave the Sermon on the Mount. So they heard him say, “Let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works” (Matthew 5:16). They knew no one was seeing his good works in Capernaum or Nazareth. Jesus needed to be in the south, in Judea, in Jerusalem.

Last week, I talked about the good relations between Jesus and his brothers, that seem to be a part of the story in John’s gospel that is missing in the others. That good family feeling started to break down when Jesus invaded the temple wildly as reported in the chapter two. Further erosion of his relations with his relations came as his brothers realized he wasn’t trying to make the family look good. Jesus’ mission was not to provide social success for his earthly family. His mission was to seek out and save the lost and to bring glory to God.

Turning the page to John 7, we see the relationship has become tense. His brothers confront him. “Go to Judea,” they say, “so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world” (v.4).

Maybe, they had a point. Jesus fed a crowd of thousands by the Sea of Galilee. His disciple, Philip, told him six months wages would not be enough to give each person in the crowd even a little bread. Jesus fed them all. The throng was so full of bread and fish, there were 12 baskets of leftovers (John 6:13).

The story of such a miracle would surely travel to Jerusalem. People would be talking about Jesus. They would remember the incident of a few years back where he turned over the money changing tables and drove animals out of the temple. Some might remember the miraculous healing in Jerusalem. A man had been a complete invalid for 38 years and Jesus gave him health, including the ability to walk. People remembered such stories and put two and two together. All over Israel people spoke about and wondered about Jesus.

If he could transport such a massive miracle, the feeding of 5000, from Galilee to Jerusalem; the talk of it would go all the way to Rome. People with real power notice Jesus. He’d be known everywhere. His brothers said, go to Jerusalem. Show yourself to the world.

“The world,” Jesus said in response, “hates me because I testify against it” (John 7:7).

Sometimes, it’s easy to see the rub. Where the tension lies is obvious. Jesus’ brothers say, “Show yourself to the world.” Work your miracles, impress people, do good, and gain a name. Jesus will have none of it. Not only he does not care about impressing the world, he sets him self in opposition to the world. The world hates him because he judges it.

We are drawn back to John chapter 1, where Jesus is the eternal word who leaves the eternal Heavens to enter the confines of our finite, time-locked world. “He was in the world and the world came into being through him; yet, the world did not know him” (John 1:10).

His brothers, unnamed in John 7, don’t know anything about his pre-existence at the beginning. They know they have seen miracles. He’s unlike anyone else. But the miracles are not enough to inspire them to listen when he teaches about God. Even in Jesus’ presence, his brothers are still worried about what the world thinks. They want him to either conform or do something so massively impressive that the world will have to conform. When and more importantly if, Jesus does that – some super miracle – then his brothers will buy in and follow him. Until then, he needs to put up or shut up.

Jesus cares about what the world thinks, but not because he wants to be liked. Jesus cares about how wrongly the world thinks about God. When John says, ‘the world,’ here, he means the people of the world – people who are fallen, lost in sin, separated from God. Jesus testifies against the world, drawing the world’s hatred, because he tells the truth. He speaks judgment. People don’t want to hear that by their own choices, they are cut off from God, cut off from eternal life. It’s as true now as it was then.

At this point, we might be tempted to set the choices. Are we with Jesus’ brothers, seeking the accolades and acceptance of the world? Or are we with Jesus, affirming his judgment of sin? We nod approvingly when he says that the world hates him because he testifies against it. Are with Jesus or with his brothers?

This is church, the church of Jesus Christ. So the answer is obvious. We have to take Jesus’ side in this family dispute. The world really is a terribly corrupted place. With Jesus we testify against the it.

Of course that’s the answer, but we better make sure we understand everything before we jump on board with Jesus. His is a lonely path. He said as much to his brothers. “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me” (7:7).

So they went to Jerusalem without him. The Festival of Booths was incredibly important, especially for Jewish men. Jesus was cut-off from family. They were doing what brothers did together – traveling to the city and bonding as they walked the many miles, celebrating there together for many days, and coming home again - together. Jesus missed all that. He missed the relation-building that took place.

If we say, “Well, Jesus didn’t need them, he had his perfect relationship with the Father,” then we are missing Jesus’ humanity. The Word became flesh. Jesus was fully human and humans are at a loss when cut off from the most important relationships. In the garden before he was arrested, Jesus told his disciples how much he needed their companionship (Mark 15:33-34). To follow God’s lead and turn against his brothers was to accept social ostracism. It was very lonely for Jesus.

I have friends who follow Jesus and who are from non-Christian families. One friend, whose parents are Buddhist, has told me of lying in bed at night, weeping because he wanted his family to share the joy of Jesus and the celebration of baptism with him. But they will not and in fact they oppose his decision to express his love for God. For him to walk the way of Jesus is to walk a lonely path.

If we sit in church, together with 100 or so Christian friends, and courageously say, “Yes, the world is corrupt and with Jesus we testify against it,” we need to know there will be days ahead when our friends are not with us. The time comes when we are called to speak out against cruelty and injustice, and the time comes when we have to choose to not participate in something. Making a stand is a part of our testimony against sin. In those moments, we pass up something inviting, something fun, and something everyone else is into. We pass it up because we are following the Jesus who refused to work miracles for the sake of popularity. We speak Jesus’ words against sin and we become unpopular, unloved, and on the outside.

There’s more. When we join with Jesus in testifying against sin and against injustice in the world and against immorality in the world (and if we testify against one we better testify against both), it is crucial that we remember something else said about the world in the Gospel of John.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).

Why does the world need saving? Because it is a mess. I won’t go into specific examples. We could each pick our favorite sin set whether it be related to some immorality or injustice. There’s so much bad in the world it is quite easy for preachers to rail against it. There’s enough sin to preach against 52 Sundays out of the year. Overdoing it in damning sin ignores the good in the world both in God’s creation and in human culture, which does a lot of things right. The bottom line is John 3:17 says Jesus came to save the world because God loves the world. God’s plan for us is salvation, not condemnation.

When we come to John 7 and read Jesus saying “I testify against the world,” and we shout “O Me too,” we have to remember John 3. Following our Master we know our testimony against sin is for the sake of love that the world would come to see Jesus, believe in Him, and be saved.

Rejecting popularity and testifying against sin is the right thing to do. We are called to live a testimony of righteousness. We have to keep in mind that living in truth leads to very scary, very lonely moments far from the safe confines of church were we stand up for what’s right without support from anyone around us. The only thing bolstering us in those moments is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. To follow Jesus is to walk a lonely path.

Followers of Jesus love the world. Our testimony is not a triumphant “I am bound for Heaven and you can go to Hell.” Our testimony is love and prayer for the meanest most criminal people we know because God loves them. Jesus came that they might believe in Him and be saved. His message of salvation is our counter-cultural, love-filled testimony and our dogged willingness to walk alongside people not that we might be accepted, but that we might show Jesus to them.

Ironically, after Jesus told his brothers he would not go and impress the temple hierarchy in Jerusalem with miracles, he went, secretly. Once there, his love for sinners spilled out. He said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38).

Even more ironically, Jesus eventually did exactly what his brothers wanted him to do. He went to Jerusalem and performed a most spectacular miracle on the most public of stages. He was crucified on a Roman cross. He died for the very sins of the people of the world that he testified against. His judgment was for the sake of salvation.

And his brothers, James, Jude and the rest, believed.

He didn’t go in chapter 7 for the Festival of Booths because it wasn’t God’s time and he wasn’t out to impress anybody. Jesus consistently lived God’s plan for his life and Jesus consistently loved with the love of God.

We are called to do the same. We are called to reject popularity and acceptance and instead in Jesus’ name, speak the courageous truth about sin in the world. That call is tough to answer. But he walks with us. And only walking with Jesus can one meet God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and receive peace that passes all understanding.

We are called to walk the lonely path. We are called to speak the Gospel truth that the world might see Jesus, believe, and be saved.

John 7:1-13, Jesus and Opposition to the Gospel

If church fails, who wins? If the church is gone completely, who benefits? These questions draw a Christian into consideration of who might oppose the spread of the Gospel of Jesus in the world. Who are the opponents of Jesus and His followers, and how do these opponents operate?

John 7:1 says, “Jesus did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him.” Two thousand years of violent anti-Semitism force Bible readers to be very careful with passages like this one. When we read the “the Jews,” we have to understand what we are reading. Where the author of John, (the fourth evangelist) says, “the Jews,” he’s referring to the temple leaders in Jerusalem circa 28 C.E. Jesus was Jewish. All his original disciples were Jewish. Most of the people in the crowds were Jews. And so too were those who opposed him. Stating these facts helps clarify what is said (and is not said) in the fourth Gospel when it says “the Jews.”

The leaders wanted to kill Jesus. I believe the fourth evangelist is accurate in reporting this. I think, and history bears this out, there was in fact a movement to kill Jesus and it ultimately succeeded. However, this account from John benefits Christians today in how the story of Jesus being pursued by the authorities is told. The method of telling the story, what is highlighted and how it is framed, reveals much for us as we follow Jesus in our lives in the 21^st century world.

Many Bible readers and scholars believe John was finally compiled by the Christian community in the city of Ephesus around 90AD. The church or grouping of churches possibly traces their roots back to the Apostle John. Whether what is in John’s Gospel or in the three Johanine epistles or in Revelation was originally written by the apostle cannot be determined. But it is likely that the same community produced in final form all five of these New Testament books, and it is possible that the writers of these books received much of their material from those who knew the apostle personally.

What is more pressing for our reading of how the gospel renders the story of Jesus is the situation in Ephesus in the last decade of the first century. If the composition of the Johanine literature coincides with the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96), then these Biblical writings were brought together by a church under severe persecution. Rome under Domitian did in fact persecute, exile, and execute people for worshiping Jesus and failing to pronounce Domitian as Lord.

Where the fourth evangelist writes “the Jews” (for example John 7:1, 11, 13), he is referring to Jewish leaders who were out to get Jesus in 28AD. But perhaps, he was also referring to Jews in 90AD who believed in Jesus but insisted that all who become Christians adhere to kosher food laws, undergo circumcision, and observe Sabbath. These Judaizers (see Act 15:1; Galatians 3) did not accept Jesus as perfect fulfillment of the law and the prophets, and they did not accept his death and resurrection as sufficient for righteousness. They believed Jesus was Messiah and they believed he rose from death, but they corrupted the Gospel by imposing restrictions that the early church (see Act 10-11, 15) had removed.

The tension John cites between Jesus and Jewish authorities in Jesus’ time also existed between Jesus’ church and Jewish missionaries in the 90’s. John is using a circumstance from Jesus’ ministry to speak to his own situation.

A second correspondence from roughly 28 AD to roughly 90 AD is a phrase also in John 7:1, “[they] were looking for an opportunity to kill him.” No doubt, Jesus’ life was threatened. Again, history shows that threat became reality in the crucifixion. How much influence the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day had can be debated. What no one refutes is that Jesus died on a Roman cross at the decision of Roman governor Pilate. The threat of death Jesus faced also became reality for Jesus’ followers shortly after Pentecost (Acts 11:58; 12:2), and again at the end of the century where believers died at the hand of Domitian’s government.

I believe in reading John 7, the members of the Johanine churches in Ephesus in 90AD would clearly see their own life experience and faith experience. The Ephesians church was probably a blend of Jewish, Greek, Asian, and Roman believers. They probably experienced much conflict with some Jews who insisted on keeping Levitical ritual. These Easter Christians resisted the call back to Sabbath observance, and their unwillingness to submit to Judaism let to a divide between them and the Jewish missionaries.

Furthermore, in reading John 7, they would see their own story in seeing Jesus’ careful avoidance of the murderous intentions of the authorities. Jesus had to attend the Festival of booths covertly (John 7:10). Surely, 1^st century Ephesian Christians had to also be secretive to avoid situations that would force them to either renounce Christ or die a martyr’s death. At the same time, they, like Jesus had to engage the cultural world around them in order to carry on daily life and also in order to be a witness that nonbelievers might come to know Jesus and believe and have life in his name (John 20:31).

A third point of correspondence from 28AD to 90 was Jesus twice repeated phrase, “my time has not yet come” (7:6, 8). This sentiment is also heard from Jesus when his mother asks him to intervene in Cana (2:4). The idea in the fourth Gospel is that Jesus is always in control of things. When he says “my time has not yet come,” he means his time of crucifixion. The Gospel of Mark presents a Jesus with limited knowledge (13:32). He didn’t know the time of the final judgment. In John’s Gospel, the narrator and Jesus both seem to have unlimited knowledge. Jesus knows what’s coming before it comes in the fourth gospel. And the narrator is looking back on events and thus has the advantage of hindsight.

It is important to see the effect this would have on the original Johanine readers. If those communities were truly persecuted to the point of death, they need to trust an omnipotent God who, in the big picture, had everything in control. They needed to know that Jesus was more powerful than Domitian even if Jesus submitted, for God’s purposes, to a Roman cross. In John, Jesus says, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father" (10:17-18). The Ephesians Christians could die martyrs’ deaths because their Lord Jesus had done so also. But, in the resurrection, he showed, paradoxically that his nonresistance actually led to victory over death, not submission to it. Subsequently, believers in 90AD could hold their ground in their confession, “Jesus is Lord,” and they knew their Lord would provide them with resurrection and eternal life.

The other Gospel writers probably believed in Jesus’ knowledge, authority, and power just as the fourth evangelist did. But, it is emphasized more in John because it spoke directly to the needs of the audience for which it was written. Ephesian Christians butted heads with Jews, were persecuted by the authorities, and were waiting for Jesus to act. They knew in the Gospel “Jesus’ time,” referred to his crucifixion and resurrection. But from their vantage point, 60-70 years after those events, they also waited for “his time,” the Second Coming and the Final Judgment. It had not yet come, though they longed for it, because it was not yet the appropriate time.

Thus we see why the fourth evangelist used three phrases in John chapter 7 the way he used them. “The Jews” (7:1), “looking for an opportunity to kill him” (7:1), and “My time has not yet come” (7:6, 8) each show how the Gospel narrative continued to speak in the life of the late first century church.

How doe the countercultural stance of Jesus speak in the 21^st century church?

(1) Churches must be aware of the enemy. Sin is the ultimate enemy and sin confronts the church when forces in the world act as obstacles to the church’s work of sharing Jesus. Forces in the world can include oppressive governments that restrict evangelistic activity; dominant competing religions that rhetorically attack Christians and try to win nonbelievers to other faiths; ideologies like consumerism, relativism, and individualism that are antithetical to evangelical Christian faith; and, pseudo-Christians who pose as believers but use a Christian façade to advance an un-Christian agenda (like Westboro Baptist Church). The enemy is not “the Jews.” The enemy is the group with power that opposes the advance of Jesus and His Kingdom.

(2) Church must be away of how the enemy kills the church. Jesus was threatened by leaders in Jerusalem who wanted him dead for their own political reasons. He was also tempted by his own brothers who like Satan (Matthew 4:5ff) wanted him to show what he could do at the temple. The Ephesian Church of 90AD was tempted to compromise their allegiance to Jesus by proclaiming that “Domitian is Lord.” Many died because they refused such a compromise. Today, at least in America, the church is killed by relativism and apathy. Relativism suggests that Jesus is one among many gods and that the Christian faith is one expression of religious belief that is no more or no less valid than any other. Apathy is the tendency of Christians to think the call of Christ isn’t a very urgent call. We confess Jesus and go to heaven when we die and between now and then, how we live is inconsequential. That’s apathy and the exact opposite of how the Gospel calls believers to live.

(3) The church of Jesus in Christ in 2011 must recognize the unique call of living between the times – in a time of expectation. Yes, Jesus, died and rose again. Yes, he is coming back to call all who believe in Him into His eternal Heaven to live in the New Earth where the home of God is with people (Revelation 21:1-3). Yes, that day is coming. But we do not know when, and so we accept what the Ephesians believers had to accept nearly 2000 years ago. His time has not yet come. While we wait, we worship the Lord and we share his love and his message of salvation with a lost and hurting world just as our predecessors in the faith have done.

In conclusion, I see the context in which the fourth gospel was compiled as a community of bold faith that challenges 21^st century American middle class Christians. They were able to live in the midst of persecution and to produce John, 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd John, and Revelation because those early believers relied on Jesus. We cannot rely on the security we enjoy as Americans. It ensures that we can vote, speak freely, and live in freedom. But our status as U.S. citizens is no protection against sin and no guarantee of eternal life. Nor is being an American in anyway the same thing as being in partnership with the Lord Jesus. We have to look to Him for our security, our calling, and our purpose in life. And we have to live lives that follow wherever He leads as well as living on His time table.

Doing this may at times set us at odds with the culture around us. If we find that we are doing our best to follow Jesus, and the harder we try, the more we are opposed, then it probably means we are doing something right. The affirmation of the surrounding culture is not our goal. We want to follow Jesus in all things.

AMEN

Review of "The Next Christians" By Gabe Lyons

The way Lyons identifies Christian interactions with culture is extremely helpful: he says that in interactions with the non-Christian world the next generation of Christians are people who are provoked, are creators, feel called, are grounded, engage in the community, and act in way that is countercultural (verses in a way that attempts to make Christianity relevant to the culture). What Lyons sets up is an ideal for Christian teens and young adults to shoot for in the early 21^st century. Whether this ideal will become a reality in the next 20-50 years remains to be seen. But whether it does or it doesn’t, it sets a lofty, worthy goal. These categories are proactive, not reactive. They are positive, not negative. That’s especially important if Christians truly want to break down the “dividing walls” (Ephesians 2:14).

Too often religion serves as a catalyst for hate. In recent times this has been seen in the group from the American Midwest that protests at military funerals United States servicemen and women, perversely tying America’s overseas military conflicts with God’s condemnation of homosexuality. The connection is illogical, the judgment is hate-filled, the theology is bad (not reflective of responsible Biblical interpretation), and the attitude is antithetical to what Jesus taught, modeled, and commanded. Yet, this group operates under the rubric of “church.”

Similarly was hate stirred up by the group in Florida, claiming the title “church.” They threatened to burn Korans. Nothing Jesus ever said suggests that the way of his followers includes a heart that acts towards others with violence. Lyons’ proposed approach is a spiritually healthy polemic against evil that masquerades as Christian. Furthermore, he offers a vision that is be cooperative and committed. Christians be partners with non-Christians in the world, can learn from non-Christians, and at the same time can be committed to Biblical Christianity. Lyons’ vision is of a Christianity that is at the same time open-minded and gospel-centered.

In offering a new approach to living Christianly, Lyons articulates an appropriate critique of the methods churches have resorted to increase membership overall and especially in youth ministry and in ministry to young families. He is right to reject the notion that big means better. Lyons opposes a consumer Christianity where churches are supposed to provide their attendees with everything needed for a happy life.

One poignant example is “Kristi.” He says, “No longer content with pizza parties and lock-ins, she longed for a faith with credibility that matched her real-world longings” (p.172). Kristi found the depth she was looking for in the commitment expected of her Mormon boyfriend. She was done with the gimmicks her evangelical congregation resorted to in an attempt to have fun and boost attendance. What her boyfriend had in his faith seemed much more important than the pettiness of her high school church experiences (which weren’t different enough from secular youth gatherings), so “she began to pursue Mormonism” (p. 173).

The example shows the holes in the approach of many evangelical churches, and Lyons has many other equally impressive anecdotes that support his critique. However, I am not sure that his research reveals that deep longing that is widespread in young people (aged 15-30). Kristi, from his example, yearned from something more, something that mattered, something that demanded a lot from her in the way of commitment and devotion. But, I am not sure that there are many people like her. In my own experience, I see more people who are spiritually shallow, in search of an immediate satisfaction, and not in search of the deeper things of faith.

I think the future will see as many Christians who interact in unhealthy ways with culture as there have been in the past. Lyons’ categories here are also helpful. He sees the following interactions with the world as less than ideal: Separatist Christians (Insiders, Culture Warriors, and Evangelizers), and Cultural Christians (Blenders, and Philanthropists) (p.31). Christians who would fall into each description definitely have their strengths, but overall their approach is either ineffective in evangelism, or it waters down the faith.

I find these categories accurate. His explanation of how Christian groups have related to, fought against, and succumbed to culture is adroit and instructive. I do not think Christians in these groupings are going away. In the future, many, maybe even most Christians will fall into these less than ideal categories. There will also be a group that Lyons would call the “Next Christians” who are provoked, creators, called, grounded, in community, and countercultural. But they will be a minority alongside the old guard who continue to fight culture, escape culture, or submit to culture. Sadly, the old guard usually are more affective in denominational politics. And the new trend of mega churches, bible churches, and independent, unaffiliated evangelical churches will suffer from the same petty politics, even if those politics take on different guises.

The high point of Lyons’ book is chapter 10, “Countercultural, not ‘Relevant’ (p.165-186). His base scripture for his argument, that Christians strive for the common good (p.174), is Matthew 5:13. There, Jesus instructs his followers, “You are the salt of the earth.” Lyons effectively picks up on the restorative powers of salt and uses that image to illustrate the call believers have to be restorers. I find that Lyons’ vision of what Christians are called to be is solidly based on the New Testament. The counterculturalism he proposes is what is seen in the early church. Fortunately Lyons doesn’t prod 21^st century Christians to try to “be like the early church,” as writers so often do. When authors do that, they turn a blind to the 2000 years of cultural and technological evolutions that have taken place to make the world so different 2011 than it was in 40AD. Lyons rightly discerns what Jesus valued and urges today’s church to value that.

Lyons begins his final chapter, “The Next Big Shift” (p.189-208) by stating his view that Christian faith “is on the cusp of a massive shift.” His statement is extremely narrow in perspective. Christian faith in the United States and maybe in affluent places like Western Europe, Canada, and Australia is shifting toward secularism. That shift is pronounced and should be analyzed and Lyons does a great job of analysis, diagnosis and prescription. But the analysis must also acknowledge that Americans, Europeans, Canadians, and Australians are not the only people on the earth. In fact, they are a minority.

Even as Christianity experiences different shades of decline in the (majority White) regions just described, a different story is playing out in Korea, in Africa, in Brazil, and in China. Among Christians there, another shift is happening, one Lyons doesn’t address. Millions each day are coming to discover the Christian faith. Countries like South Korea and the Philippines are sending missionaries around the world. If Lyons is going to talk about the “Next Christians” he needs to mention where revival is happening. He needs to mention those places where baptisms are the norm and a worldview dominated by the Gospel is taking hold. He doesn’t address this cultural shift at all.

Furthermore, he doesn’t address the rise of evangelical Latin Christianity in the United States. In all likelihood, in the next 50-100 years, over 50% of the people in the United States will be of Hispanic origin. Yet Lyons does not talk about the unique nature of the Latin Christianity. The Caucasian Church could shrink exponentially and yet Christianity could grow in the United States. Both could happen simultaneously by the end of this century. Maybe a more apt title for the book would be The Next White Upper Middle Class Christians. That is really who Lyons is addressing and analyzing in his book. He does a great work of writing with regards to the white community. But, he leaves a lot of people. And yet presents his ideas as if they were the norm for everyone.

The strength of his book is his understanding of what Jesus expects of the community that is the Body of Christ. As a futurist, Lyons leaves out too many people, people who will be the majority. However, if readers of all stripes strive to be the “Next Christians” he describes, those who are provoked, creators, called, grounded, in community, and countercultural, then maybe a massive shift will happen after all.

Come

The final nine verses of Revelation are a part of the Revised Common Lectionary, but they fall on the 7^th Sunday after Easter in year C. This past year was Year C, so these verses, Revelation 22:12-21, would have been one of the readings for May 16, 2010. I don’t think that means we’re 7 months too late. I find that the final verses of Revelation make a most appropriate Christmas time reflection.

Advent is a season of anticipating the coming of Christ. Note how the theme of his “coming” is central at the end of Revelation. “See, I am coming soon” (22:12).

Also, in verse 16, Jesus declares his identity. “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

And note the response of faith in verse 17. “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.”

Finally, the author of Revelation finishes his testimony saying, “Amen! Come Lord Jesus” (v.20b)!

The desire for the earthly return of Jesus is clearly expressed. The communities of the seven churches (see 1:11 and chapters 2-3) were living under severe persecution as the letters in the second and third chapters show. Many died because they refused to renounce Jesus and acknowledge the deity of the emperor. For their faithful witness, they underwent torture and in some cases death. John himself, the writer of Revelation, was exiled on the island of Patmos for his testimony. These Christians wanted Jesus to return and finish the victory that was won at the cross and in the resurrection. They desperately wanted the promises we see throughout Revelation to come through quickly. John did too. So, though he writes informing his churches of the Lordship of Jesus, he finishes with a flourish of cries. “Come Lord Jesus!”

Also, in this conclusion to the great apocalypse, an invitation is issued to the weary followers of Christ. They (and we) are invited to the waters of life (v.17). This is where I think Revelation meets Christmas. We wait for Christmas to get here (shopping, presents, the tree, the decorations, the Christmas Eve worship service, the two weeks from Christmas to New Year that the kids are out of school). The entire season is one of waiting, anticipating, and then arriving.

It can weigh heavy on person. Vibrant faith gets crowded out in the hustle and bustle. We hear so many country, jazz, pop, and rock stars do radio versions of our favorite hymns – worship songs, we miss the message. “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O Come Let us Adore Him,” and so many other Christmas hymns are proclamations of the Gospel. But all we hear are the same cheesy versions of the same songs we hear every year at this time. I am not saying it is always this way for me or anyone else, but it can be. Some of the most sublime worship experiences I have had have come with these songs. Other times, I hear them from late October to January 1, and I think, “Enough already.”

For those who are holiday-weary, the invitation in Revelation 21 is especially poignant. “Come Lord Jesus.” It’s a prayer for Jesus to come at the judgment, the Last Day. But it is also a prayer for Jesus to come into my life in a reviving, fresh way today. Maybe the establishment of the Kingdom of God won’t be completed in 2011. Maybe the End Times will not reach the final end any time soon. But, the Kingdom has been inaugurated. That happened on Easter Sunday when the tomb was discovered empty.

The Jesus is in the manger is the same Jesus who walked out of the grave. He is the same Jesus who spoke in the pages of Revelation. He sits at the right hand of the Father. He invites us to his kingdom rule and to his boundless grace today. So, as an act of worship, and as a needed rescue from the blur of the season, and as a necessary spur to your own spirit, ask Jesus to enter your life in a new way today. Center your life on your relationship with Him. Sing the song of Revelation 21. Come! “Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”

God's Home

Revelation 21 is a favorite chapter for many Bible readers, even the many who aren’t generally that interested in reading the apocalypse and the grand and sometimes mysterious visions in it. Why? The answer is clear. Look at what is promised in the first seven verses of this chapter.

The first heaven and the first earth have disappeared. The sea which comes between man and God has vanished (see Revelation 4:6; for more on the sea, see my blog, http://honesttalkwithgod.blogspot.com, June 3, 2010). There is nothing to come between humanity and God, and there is a new (untarnished) earth and a new heaven. Also in chapter 21 we are promised that there will be no more pain, no more tears (tears of grief, loss, and suffering), and no more death.

Of course Bible readers are drawn to this text. Anyone who struggles in life would want to know that the next life promises something better. That’s a reason this is such an often read funeral text. People take great hope for their lost loved ones and for themselves in believing that Heaven is so perfect. But it is not only funerals. This chapter provides hope any times discouragement threatens to break the will of a Christ follower. We receive the promise that we will be “made new” and that we will freely drink from the spring of the water of life (vss. 5, 6). Who wouldn’t want this?

Looking at the promises of these first seven verses, I wonder which one speaks to you most powerfully? In this season of Advent, as the church lives in the hope of ‘Immanuel,’ “God with us,” I am drawn to Revelation 21:3. "Now God's home is with people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.” The other promises are beautiful and wonderful and at other times in my life, I might be drawn to the new earth or to “no more tears.” But, with Christmas in view, I am taken by the idea that God’s home is where I am. God is at home with me, and I with Him.

I think the wonder of this promise is that it is relational. It is personal and intimate. I have flaws, plenty of them. There are things I can well, better than most people. I know areas where I need to improve. I know areas of weakness that will always be difficult for me no matter how hard I work at them. I am in touch with who I am as a person. Yet, God knows me better than I know myself. God “formed my inmost parts” (Psalm 139:13), and knows the number of the hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30). With all that God knows about me, God loves me and promises to make His home with me for eternity. That’s what I see in Revelation 21:3. It’s something that gives me great peace and strengthens my heart.

Chapter 21 also tells the implications of this promise. John says, “I did not see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb” (v.22). Also, “The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God shines on it, and the Lamb is its lamp” (v.23). A straight literal reading of these promises would be that in Heaven it is always a church service and it is always day time. That reading misses the depth and richness of this poetry. John uses images his readers can understand in order to describe this wondrous place where there is nothing to fear and the fellowship is perfect.

This picture is a beautiful one to ponder during Advent. In Advent, we celebrate the love of God that is so powerful and far-reaching that God is willing to come and dwell among us in human form, Jesus of Nazareth. That’s the Advent story – a story of God’s love. The end times story is the Advent story reversed. We are invited to be at home with God – with God for eternity. In celebrating the coming of Jesus during this season, it’s a true blessing to know that his time on Earth is a foreshadowing of our heavenly home with Him.

One Thousand Years and Three Days

Entire theological systems have been developed on the basis of 8 verses of scripture, Revelation 20:1-8. And that astounds me.

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,^(A) holding in his hand the key to^(B) the bottomless pit^[a] and a great chain. ²And he seized^(C) the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and^(D) bound him for a thousand years, ³and threw him into^(E) the pit, and shut it and^(F) sealed it over him, so that^(G) he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴Then I saw^(H) thrones, and^(I) seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw^(J) the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those^(K) who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.^(L) They came to life and^(M) reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ^6(N) Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such^(O) the second death has no power, but they will be^(P) priests of God and of Christ, and they^(Q) will reign with him for a thousand years.

⁷And when the thousand years are ended,^(R) Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will come out^(S) to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth,^(T) Gog and Magog,^(U) to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

What makes this passage so pivotal? Why do theologians filter their picture of history from creation to the end through a lens colored by their particular theological reading of this passage? What makes these verses so much more important than the other 396 verses in Revelation? Christians describe themselves as premillennial, postmillennial, or amillennial. Of course a lot Christians don’t have a clue as to what these terms mean. But, these terms really matter to those disciples especially interested in eschatology (study of the end times), and they fall into one of the three camps. They want to know which camp you fall into, so they can nod vigorously in agreement with you, or wag a disapproving finger as they reject your postion.

I find that the most part of Revelation 20 is verses 1-2 and then verse 14. In the beginning of the chapter, Satan is vanquished, but not by God; not by a mighty archangel; and not by an army of angels (or a legion of angels). Satan is chained by one angel. One angel seized and bound the devil. One. And, at the end of the chapter, death is vanquished. Imagine! Death is no more.

I am not dismissing the rest of Revelation 20 as something matters. Of course it is important; it’s Holy Spirit-inspired scripture. I simply don’t think this small passage is the definitive passage in the New Testament or even in Revelation. Paul, accredited with authorship of 13 of the 27 New Testament books, spends far more time discussing the implications of the coming of Jesus, his crucifixion, and his resurrection than he does discussing the end times. The four Gospels give their bulk of their attention to the time Jesus spent moving toward the cross. If there is any one aspect of our faith that outweighs all others it is our understanding of Jesus – his death and resurrection. That’s the interpretive lens through which we read the creation accounts, the law, the prophets, Paul’s letters, and Revelation. Moreover, one’s concept of Jesus is what should determine his reading of scripture (literal or critical or both), his views of the world, and his practice of faith.

If our interpretive determinant is the Good Friday-Easter (cross-resurrection), how does that color our reading of Revelation 20? Jesus reigns (end of Rev. 20:4), those whose faith is in him share in his resurrection and are his priests (Rev. 20:6), and God is sovereign (20:11). Stacks and stacks of books have been written based on interpreting the entirety of scripture and all of human history in light of Revelation 20:1-8, the Millennium. Yet the most important teaching of Revelation 20 is not what we learn about an end-times chronology, but what learn about God. What we learn about God is what has been stated throughout Revelation and throughout the Bible. God possesses absolute power, redeems all who put their faith in His Son Jesus, and defeats evil completely.

You’ll notice, I have not put myself in a ‘camp,’ premillennial, postmillennial, or amillennial. I don’t know what would be gained by doing so. At the end of my own reading of Revelation, I don’t have a great sense of what the end will look like. I simply know that God is in control. I think that’s what John wanted his original readers to understand, and the first readers of this apocalyptic vision were a truly distressed people, persecuted for their faith in Christ. If we gain from Revelation confidence because we know that know matter what happens in life, God loves us and God is in control, we will have the blessing John and the Holy Spirit who inspired him intended.

The White Rider

One of Clint Eastwood’s best roles is as the Pale Rider, a shadowy figure called “the Preacher,” who single handedly fights off a group of toughs that intimidate the prospectors gold rushing in the Old West. The title of the movie is from Revelation 6:8, the Pale horse with the rider named “Death,” one given Heavenly authority to “kill with the sword.” Clint kills with the gun, with dynamite, and with a hickory axe handle. In the movies, nothing is more reliable than the grit, toughness, and destructiveness of Clint Eastwood.

In the battle for the souls of men and women, and in the quest for hope in life and for eternal life, we’d do better to rely on the White Rider than the Pale.

“¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. ¹³He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:11-15).

“Then I saw Heaven opened.” Recall the night of Jesus’ birth. Heaven rejoiced as a multitude of angels appeared to the shepherds to sing praise to God at the birth of Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). “His eyes are like a flame of fire.” Recall the vision John had at the very beginning of this book. In his description of the resurrected Jesus, he said, “His eyes were like a flame of fire” (Revelation 1:14b).

Continuing in Revelation 21, we read that the White Rider is “clothed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is called The Word of God” (v.13). We recall Revelation 7, where John sees a multitude too great to count from all peoples of the earth. He is told they, dressed in dazzling, spotless white, are those who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb” (7:14c). In the Gospel of John, it is Jesus who is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Also in John, Jesus is the Word (1:1), who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

In Revelation 19:14, the armies of heaven are following the White Rider. Clearly he is their commander and they give him complete loyalty. And we remember in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the temple police came to arrest Jesus, Peter defended him, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s assistant Malchus (John 18:10). Jesus reprimanded Peter saying, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53)? Even at that juncture, in the incarnation, before the cross, Jesus had authority in Heaven. Angels, beings far mightier than humans, were at His service.

Finally, Revelation 19:15, “from his mouth … a sharp sword,” recalls chapter one, again the initial description of John’s visit from the resurrected Jesus. “From his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword” (Revelation 1:16b). This Jesus who speaks truth is the one who will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God, and we remember among other references the assurance that there is a “Day of Wrath” (Romans 2:5).

Why take the time to locate all these depictions of the White Rider in Revelation 19 in other places in scriptures? We do this for a couple of reasons. First, as has been stated often in this column, Revelation need not be as confusing as some suggest. At the center, we see Jesus. By cross-referencing the description, we see that Jesus is the subject of the story.

Second, knowing that Jesus is at the center of Revelation, we know we have hope. This is not a story to be feared or avoided. It is to be read and celebrated. The blood Jesus shed, he shed for sinners, for me, and for you. He is fearful and awesome and almighty, and he has come for us, to save us. So, read and reread Revelation 19. As you read, know that you are reading about Jesus, our Savior and Lord. And then have hope in the future and hope for today.

Judgment of the Empire

Do we participate in an unjust system? Americans use considerably more natural resources than do people in other countries. This is especially true of resources that produce technology and resources that produce luxury type foods. For instance, Americans eat more beef than do most people in the world, including those who live in beef exporting countries. Some countries have abandoned much of the farming necessary to feed their people (wheat, corn, maize, etc) in favor of producing sugar, tea, coffee, and cocoa, most of which they export to Western Europe and North America. They become “tea and beverage economies” where more people are barely making it, struggling to survive. Are Americans guilty of participation in an unjust system every time we enjoy the riches of the world, knowing most people, including those who worked 14-hour days to produce what we consume cannot themselves enjoy the produce of their labors?

In Revelation 18, we read of the funeral of Babylon (Babylon is the symbolic way John referred to the Roman Empire as it is existed in 90 AD). As a judgment of God, Rome would fall. Much of the language in Revelation 18 mirrors the prophets, especially Jeremiah and Isaiah, as they described God’s judgment on the literal Babylon of the 6^th and 7^th centuries BC. God’s prophets predicted Babylon would fall and it did. In 90AD, John predicted Rome’s fall. There were between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people in Rome at the time, and a few centuries later, when the Roman Empire fell, there were less than 30,000 in the city (Craig Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, p.423). Again, God’s prophet spoke the truth.

Keener’s detailed description of Rome tells of a city where slaves from conquered lands produced food and numerous luxuries to keep the wealthy politicos and merchants in the finest finery. Revelation 18:11-13 lists the products that were no longer bought and sold. The most shocking is the last item listed, “slaves – human lives.” To the wealthy in Rome, conquered nations were nothing – just a people that existed to keep the mighty Romans happy. The people of conquered nations were not even human, just another resource to be exploited. Revelation 18 vividly shows God’s judgment.

Is America in danger of a similar judgment? Everything said about Babylon (Rome) throughout Revelation and especially in chapter 18 was previously said by Biblical prophets about other ancient, exploitative empires (Egypt under the Pharaohs, Assyria, Babylon). These types of criticisms from God through the mouths of God’s spokesmen were even aimed at Jerusalem when God’s people were guilty of disproportionate distribution of wealth, exploitation, and idolatry. Throughout history what we read here equally applies to evil empires including the inhuman cruelty of the Church during the era of the Spanish Inquisition, Nazi Germany, and Apartheid South Africa.

I know America is a democracy. I know there are catalogues of rags to riches stores in our country’s history. I believe our nation gives people a fighting chance, even poor people. But what about poor people who aren’t from here? Most poor people in America have a chance to improve their lives, albeit a small chance.

The poor person from the third world country has no access to public education. He has no real opportunity for climbing out of the hole he’s in. The question is not do we help the poor right around us (of course we should help), or the poor in other countries. The question is this. Is America a 21^st century exploiter as Rome (the nation condemned in the book of Revelation) was a 1^st century AD exploiter of other peoples? Is ours a system that keeps people in other nations in poverty? By participating in our system, as consumers, are we average, everyday American Christians participating in the exploitation?

In Revelation 18, the people who have become wealthy off the exploiter, those who have taken the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:9) mourn the fall of Babylon (18:11, 19). The saints rejoice the death of the empire (18:20). Most who read this column and read Revelation 18 are American Christians. When the exploiters of our day are judged guilty by God, will we who worship at HillSong join in the rejoicing of Revelation 18:20 or the mourning of verse 19? Will we have sack cloth and ashes on our heads at the loss of our wealthy life styles or will we be singing in Heavenly choirs because our hearts are filled with God’s passion for people, especially poor people?

Out living our lives

My wife and I want to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable and orphaned children.
Max Lucado writes:
These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did.

So how are we going to rock the world with hope?
Check out our new blog:
http://childrensbooksforfood.blogspot.com
We are trying to bring hope to the orphans so they can become Ethiopia's future.

Revelation 16: Judgements that are Just and True

I recently read about a court case that is of interest to me. In light of the intense scrutiny that our State Board of Investigation is under, with several instances of mishandling of evidence, most capital cases are being reviewed. People have gone to execution and later review evidence has shown that maybe some who were executed were actually innocent! Is there any great miscarriage of justice? To be sure, prosecutors are now covering their tracks and doing everything twice. They don’t want any innocent people punished. And, they don’t want any guilty criminals set free because of prosecutorial or investigative carelessness.

Lack of justice is not a problem with God. “You are just, O Holy One” an angel sings to God (Revelation 16:5). God indeed does not make mistakes. God knows who is guilty and punishes accordingly. “Because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve” (16:6)! This chorus is echoed in the next verse, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just!”

For sinners like you and me (and everyone you know and everyone I know, Romans 3:23), the unfailing justice of a Holy and blameless God is a problem. We don’t face the crisis of injustice. We face the horrible reality that God’s justice is perfect justice and we are sinners, guilty, and deserving of punishment. Revelation 16 is the fourth cycle of punishments (seals in 6 and 8:1-2; trumpets in 8:6-9:21 and 11:15-19; thunders 10:3b-4). In Revelation 16:2-20, seven angels pour out seven bowls of God’s wrath. The seals, trumpets, thunders, and bowls each bring to mind the plagues that God sent on Egypt in Moses’ day, when the Pharaoh refused to release God’s people the descendants of Abraham (see Exodus 7-11).

In Revelation, the central issue is not the specific images of each judgment. Rather it is that God will not tolerate sin and that sin is punished severely and eternally. In life, we live with the painful consequences of our sins and of those around us. In death, we are eternally cut off from God’s love, God’s presence, and God’s protection.

In Revelation 16, the bowls of wrath are poured out on those who killed God’s saints and prophets (v.6), while those who are in Christ, the conquerors (15:2) are in Heaven worshiping. But how did they conquer? By great feats of heroism? No, they are conquerors because of what Jesus did. They are those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb – Jesus (Revelation 7:14). To be washed is to come to the cross, kneel before the crucified, resurrected Jesus, and receive forgiveness. Just as God punishes sin, God receives all who turn from their sins in honest confession and humble repentance.

Revelation 16:9 makes the point that those who were scorched with fire after the pouring out of the fourth bowl of wrath cursed the name of God. The suffering of judgment did not lead them to faith. Their sin grew bolder and more evil. “They did not repent and give him glory,” the text says. A similar indictment comes down after the sixth trumpet of judgment is blown (Revelation 9:21). At issue is not our ability to identify future events that correspond to this first century prophecy. Everything John wrote was born out of his knowledge of the Old Testament story and the current conditions – Roman persecuting Christians. All of the symbols, images, and metaphors can be located either in the Old Testament or in John’s world.

At issue then is do we learn from the mistakes of others. When we sense God’s hot, heavy hand of judgment, do we admit our sins, confess them to God, aided by the Holy Spirit; and, do we turn from sin to Him? The graphic, creative pictures in the book of Revelation are there to humanity to turn from sin and to God. And in Revelation we see that all who do that receive Heaven, not punishment. Before it is anything else, Revelation is Gospel.

Sharing the Faith

Gordon MacDonald discusses an approach he takes to nudging people into a spiritual conversation. In a relaxed conversation, he asks, "Would you tell me the main events of your life story, the highs and the lows, in three minutes?" How the person answers is crucial and if our intent is to share Jesus with that friend, we have to pay close attention. Does he talk about past pain? Does he mention more highs or more lows? Does he speak of accomplishments?

Does he mention God in any form or in any way? Pay close attention to that one. And be ready because if you ask your friend for a three-minute, highs and lows, life summary, he'll probably ask you for the same. Share as much as you ask him to share. And maybe the discussion will be an opportunity to talk about God, faith, and most importantly why everyone needs Jesus.

I bring up the matter of evangelism, the sharing of our faith, because it is a Biblical mandate (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). Straight from the mouth of the risen Jesus, we have our walking orders. In Acts, we see early Christians fulfilling this command. Peter, John, Philip, Steven, Barnabas, Paul - they evangelize and they do it effectively. How do we obey Jesus' command to "go and tell," and how do we do it effectively?

MacDonald's question about the 3-minute life story is a good conversation starter. The article in which he shares that technique and other approaches to discipleship & evangelism is free online - http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/discipleship/whatdowithstranger.html.

And, California pastor Mike Fleishcmann encourages us to reach out to all people - even those who statistically don't often experience conversion. The old adage is 85% of the people who accept Jesus turn to Him before they turn 18. Adult unbelievers are highly unlikely to accept and then follow Christ. But, we don't give up on them. We pray. We love. We walk alongside. We double our efforts. And we keep evangelism as a high priority. Fleischmann's article is also available and worthy the 10 minutes it will take you to read it. Here's the link - http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/evangelism/outsidersfindfaith.html.

In 2008, I challenged my church to develop a personal evangelism strategy. Each of is different from one another and we are sharing our faith with different people. Sometimes an intellectual approach is the way to go. Sometimes emphasizing the forgiveness Jesus offers. Sometimes, an inspiring worship time draws one to the father (I never understood the logic that one couldn't worship until after he was saved). Sometimes someone discovers the heart of God through service (like volunteering for construction type mission strip). It is personal, and there must be intentionality, a strategy. One of our associate pastors teased that this was Rob's "P.E.S. dispenser" (like the Pez candies). Whatever! I don't care how it's labeled. We - believers in all churches - have to be the light of the world that shines as a beacon, drawing lost people into the safe harbor of Jesus.

I hope you'll check out these articles I referenced. They are but a mouse-click away and they ignite in the reader evangelistic thoughts; thoughts we should each entertain each day.