EmmDev 2020-07-16 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Forgiveness

Forgiveness

We have almost no information for this snapshot. And so I have to do some "supposing":

Somewhere between Simon Peter running to the tomb, finding it empty and "wondering to himself what had happened" and the Sunday night (when Jesus appeared to all of the disciples,) Jesus appeared to Simon Peter alone.
Simon Peter had failed. He had denied Jesus and called down curses to prove his point. We know the details of the later encounter that Peter has when Jesus walks with him on the shores of Galilee: In that encounter Peter gets three opportunities to express love for Jesus to atone for his denials.

So this first encounter is not about sorting out the denials.

I wonder if there was even a lot said. I wonder if Peter didn't just fall down in worship and relief. Relief? Yes relief! He walked away from the empty tomb wondering what had happened. Now he knew! Hope was rekindled, faith had been revitalised.

Sometimes we are also in the trap of doubt and failure. We find it hard to believe in God's goodness and forgiveness. We are painfully aware of our own darkness and failure and doubt that God is interested in us. We have a long list of failures that we need to "sort out" before we can "crawl back to God." (which is what we think we have to do...) We make coming back to God a very complicated business.

I think this first encounter between Jesus and Peter just cuts past all of Peter's "ifs and buts." He just needs to experience God's presence and love. (After all, isn't that what the story of the Prodigal Son is all about?)

FLASHBULB: "Peter, you think coming back to me is a complicated business, but here I am!!! I will specially come to you!! No need to say anything or do anything, just experience my presence and my love!"

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon."      (Luke24:33-34)

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EmmDev 2020-07-15 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Reassuring

Reassuring

I have a theory about Thomas:

Although many call him "doubting Thomas", the other references to Thomas in the New Testament reveal him as someone with courage (he urged the rest of the disciples to follow Jesus even if they had to die with Him) and as someone who asked penetrating and acute questions.

So why did he have such "doubts?" John records the following:
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
 
The name Didymus means "twin." I can't help but wonder if something terrible might have happened to Thomas' twin. When Jesus died on the cross, it may have caused all sorts of horrible memories to return for Thomas. Questions about pain, death and the meaning of life.

Thomas was rattled.

Jesus is gentle with Thomas. He doesn't rebuke him - but invites him to see the reality of the resurrection in the context of the cross-scars.

Thomas is transformed. He finally has an answer for pain - Jesus has been there and has returned. Jesus knows our broken hearts and our broken lives. Jesus has suffered and He is alive. Jesus brings a real answer - not a cheap platitude - to the problem of pain. And Thomas offers us the New Testament's most powerful creed: "MY Lord and MY God!"

FLASHBULB: Jesus compassionately reaching out to Thomas with those horribly scarred hands offering him comfort in the midst of his pain: "Stop doubting (stop struggling and suffering) and believe (hope again!)"

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"      (John20:27-28)

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EmmDev 2020-07-14 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Preaching

Preaching

There were two on the road to Emmaus on the day Jesus rose from the dead. The road to Emmaus is about 11km and Jesus walked with them for most of the day but they were "kept from recognising Him."

Why would Jesus spent most of His resurrection day like this?

He could have:
- appeared in the temple
- confronted Pontius Pilate
- gathered an army of followers

Instead He uses up most of the day walking and talking with two nearly unknown followers!

Why?
Because He was laying a foundation. To soothe their troubled hearts Jesus could have revealed Himself to them, but instead He preached. He unpacked scripture after scripture about Himself so that they had a firm foundation on which to stand.

Did it work?

After they finally recognised Jesus and He disappeared from their sight, they could testify that their hearts were on fire as they heard the word being preached.

There is nothing that keeps us on track better than a regular Bible reading habit. I've seen many Christians stumble and fall, but those who withstand temptations and trials are those who have a firm foundation in the Bible.

FLASHBULB: Jesus passionately teaching all these Old Testament Bible Passages: His voice excited, His face passionate, His eyes shining. He is teaching about what He had come to do and has now done through His resurrection. If He took time on resurrection day to teach, we should take time to listen!

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.      (Luke24:27)

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EmmDev 2020-07-10 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Risen

Risen

This week a friend sent me a photo of the headstone that has been placed on her late husband's grave. It was a simple stone, not quarried, and the wording was simple, but the stone, although basically rectangular, had a rounded feel around the edges and I went goosebumps when I saw it because I immediately thought about the "stone that was rolled away!"

Death is not permanent.
The grave will not hold us,
because it could not hold Him!

The tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away.
My 2000 year old snapshot is a stone rolled away from a garden tomb with baffled women and disciples peering inside. My current snapshot is the headstone of a faithful servant of God who we buried in the solid hope and profound comfort that death is a defeated bully.

FLASHBULB: The stone rolled away - not because Jesus was stuck inside (He appeared to the disciples behind locked doors) - but because we needed to know that HE HAS WON!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.       (Luke24:1-3)

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EmmDev 2020-07-09 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Forsaken

Forsaken

There are so many "snapshots" one could take during the crucifixion. But there is a part of me that would like to think that even hardened parparazi would lower their cameras at this time...

For snapshots we could think of the scourging, carrying the cross, the hammer and nails, the people, the other two men being crucified... the list goes on...
There is a sense in which out of deep respect and love for the price that was paid, I'm going to limit myself to one snapshot...

Jesus, on a cross, enveloped in unexpected darkness cries out "Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachtani"...

My colleague, Andries Combrink, describes Crucifixion as "the most horrible symphony of pain ever designed by man."

Jesus refused to drink the narcotics offered to Him as they crucified Him. He managed, in spite of the excruciating pain, to remain clear and focused throughout the nine hours He was on the cross. During that time He spoke forgiveness over those who crucified and mocked Him, He made arrangements for John to look after His mother, and He assured the repentant criminal that his place in heaven was sure.

There are two opinions about Jesus' outcry on the cross. Both, I think, are helpful.

The first is that Jesus knew that the punishment for sin would involve being completely and utterly separated from the Father's presence and love (which the most accurate description of hell) but the reality of that experience was so intense that this gasp of agony and forsakenness is wrenched from Him. It is not that He was caught by surprise at the Father's withdrawal, it is that it was just so bad.

The second opinion is that Jesus is quoting Psalm 22 which is the themesong of suffering in the Old Testament and the most accurate foreshadowing of the crucifixion we have. Any Israelite who had experienced suffering was familiar with Psalm 22. As Jesus suffers God-forsakenness on the cross, He is saying to all who have experienced suffering "I've been there!"

FLASHBULB: Jesus, marred, scarred and stained with the evidence of His suffering - gaunt and pale with pain - cries out in agony... He is literally going through hell for you and me. The pain is beyond anything you and I can imagine and it means that we will never suffer alone. It's a frightening, disturbing, horrendous picture but because of it I have peace.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"      (Matthew27:46)

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EmmDev 2020-07-08 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Silent

Silent

Up until now Jesus has stumped all those who try to trap Him.
But now, at His own trial, He is silent...

1. None of the prosecuters of the woman caught in adultery could throw the first stone.
2. When they tried to trap Him over taxes, He told them to give to Caesar what was Caesers and to God what was God's.
3. When they tried to nail Him over the temple tax, He had Peter pull it from the mouth of the fish.
4. When they asked Him to pick one of the commandments, He summarised them perfectly with the commandments to love God and Neighbour...
5. He resisted Satan's temptations with the right use of Scripture.

My point?

Jesus could have run rings around this kangaroo court. He could have caught them out, embarrassed them and shown them up. He had truth and righteousness on His side but He remained silent...

Why?

Because the cross meant that He would take on our guilt and the poison of our corruptness. He, the innocent lamb, would become the scapegoat. In the Old Testament instructions for the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would confess the sins of the nation on a goat selected to be banished into the wilderness (symbolic of abandonment from God).
On the cross Jesus would die a (literally) God-forsaken death.

Flashbulb: Jesus remains silent - refusing to fend off the guilt being dumped on Him. He could prove them wrong and show them His righteousness, but His agenda now is to take on our dirt and carry it to the cross.

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward... Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent.      (Matthew26:59-63)

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EmmDev 2020-07-07 [Snapshots of Jesus.] Sweating

Sweating

It's interesting that Luke the Doctor would be the one who records this. Although he is not clear whether the sweat actually did contain blood, we cannot exclude the possibility - especially because it is within the realms of medical possibility.

According to medical opinion it is possible to "sweat blood"... When a person is under extreme stress (or "anguish" as Luke puts it) then their blood pressure increases dramatically and the tiny capilliaries near the surface of the skin burst. As perspiration flows out of the pores it carries the blood from these burst capilliaries to the surface and the person literally sweats blood.

(Wikipedia: "Hematidrosis is a condition in which capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, causing them to exude blood, occurring under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress.")

Here in Gethsemane our Lord Jesus is finalising the issue of the cross. He has known about it all along. This is why He came. But it is a daunting and costly prospect for Him. He will endure the cross as any human being would. He will suffer physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually and He will do it for every human being to ever live on this earth.

There is no mistaking His trepidation. He would prefer to bypass this. He would prefer to skip past the trial, the scourging and the cross. The presence of stress and fear does not diminish His courage - it heightens it. He went to the cross in spite of His anguish and misgivings. He went to the cross even though He knew how terrible it would be.

FLASHBULB: Jesus, gaunt and exhausted, crimson streaks down the sides of His face but with steely determination in His eyes - Standing up and saying "Not my will but Thy will be done."

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.      (Luke22:44)

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EmmDev 2020-07-03 [Snapshots of Jesus] Embracing

Embracing

After depictions of Jesus on the cross, the next most favourite artistic rendition of Jesus is of Him embracing children.

God created us. He conceptualised and actualised pregnancy, birth and our eighteen year development. When you stop and analyse it, it is an awesome and holy process. There is so much that can go right and so much that can go wrong.

We have some incredible people in our congregation who absolutely pour themselves into children's ministry because they believe that it is easier to prevent heartache than it is to patch it up after things have gone wrong.
They are not far from Jesus' heart.

Earlier in this chapter we are told that the disciples tried to keep the children away from Jesus (after all, the Master was tired). When Jesus discovered their well-intentioned action He was indignant!

Children remind us of the beauty and exuberance that God created us to enjoy. Children are very important to Jesus. I think our Lord embraced and loved the children because He saw the awesome creation potential locked up inside them. I think He delighted in their joy and affection and I think He was an absolute child-magnet.

FLASHBULB: Children giggling, snuggling and enthralled by Jesus. Jesus delighting in the children, drinking in their awesome potential and enjoying their sincere affection and trust. And both Jesus and the children thinking: "It doesn't get much better than this!"

And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.      (Mark10:16)

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EmmDev 2020-07-02 [Snapshots of Jesus] Sleeping

Sleeping

Our snapshot today comes from the moment when Jesus is sleeping in the boat while a storm raged...

What did it mean that Jesus was asleep?

1. Was it because He was completely and utterly exhausted after a day's ministry? Are we seeing the reality of the incarnation - that Jesus shared our humanity and got tired like we do? Are we seeing the extent to which Christ poured Himself out for us and what it cost Him?
   
   
2. Did His ability to catnap even in a storm show His complete trust in His heavenly Father? Did it show that He was completely comfortable with His mission and purpose and that He knew that God was with Him? Was it that He was confident in His ability to still the storm?
   
   
3. Did He "withdraw" from the situation to see what the disciples would do? Was He just testing them?

I don't think it's our third option, and although I have no problem with this being evidence of Jesus' humanity as described in option one, I think the middle option provides our best answer.

Ps 29 describes a thunderstorm crashing in over Palestine. It talks about the ground shaking with the thunder and the cedars being split by the lightning. The earth shakes and all of creation cries "Glory!"

The psalm concludes as follows:
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

The psalmist indicated that the storm was a song of praise. I think that Jesus demonstrated and embodied the psalm in the disciple's midst - He was sleeping in the midst of some nice praise music.
 
FLASHBULB Jesus is asleep and each thunder crash seems to soothe Him and not disturb Him. He's in charge and when the storm surrounds us, and it seems as though God is asleep - it is not because He doesn't care, but because ending the storm is not hard for Him...

And... He calms the storm...
... sometimes the one on the outside
... but very often the one on the inside....

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"      (Mark4:37-38)

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EmmDev 2020-07-01 [Snapshots of Jesus] Tears #2

Tears #2

The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35 - "Jesus wept." His tears are not just a tear or two shed at a sad moment - He is "deeply moved."

Lazarus, His friend, has died. He has comforted Martha and Mary in the loss of their brother. (It's interesting to note how He comforts each according to their grief - Martha needed tough intellectual questions answered while Mary needed emotional reassurance. Jesus gave them both what they needed.)

Now he stands at the tomb - very emotional. We know that he had already told the disciples that He was going to raise Lazarus (vs.11) and so it can't be that He is weeping over Lazarus.

Why is He so emotional?
I think there are two reasons...
1 - He is weeping with Mary and Martha
2 - He is weeping in angry frustration at the grip that death has over us.

Death is not part of God's perfect plan. It is a consequence of human sin and a grim fact of our existence. We fear death and we grieve death. It is the ultimate leveller and, according the Presbyterian Funeral Liturgy, "Death has seemed to be the last indignity and the end of all that is lovely."

Paul reminded the Corinthians that at Jesus second coming, "the last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1Cor15:26)

Lazarus isn't still alive. He did die again. But as Jesus stood at the grave of His friend, Jesus contemplated the strangle-hold that death has over human-kind.

FLASHBULB: Jesus with a "Bring-it-on" face...
The Greek word used for "deeply moved" is also related to a "stinging rebuke"
And so,
-with tender compassion,
-fierce determination
-and a grim realisation of what it will cost Him,
Jesus decides to send death a message
- He is telling death its fortune:
"Death your time is running out.
You and I are going to tussle soon and you are going to lose.
Let me show you what I am talking about,
and this will be just a small taste of what is to come...
TAKE AWAY THE STONE."

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said.      (John11:38-39)

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