The Story Chapter 25 / The Greatest Question of All Time

A BBC magazine answered the “101 greatest questions of all time.”[1]  What did they include?  Well, questions like “What is OK short for?”  Answer? “OK comes from ‘oll korrect’, a deliberately misspelled writing of ‘all correct.’ It was popularized in Boston newspapers around the 1840s when it was fashionable to go around spelling things incorrectly for humorous effect.”

The #1 “greatest question” was “Where is the safest place to stand outside in a thunderstorm?”  And, in case you must know the answer, it is “A car or other enclosed metal structure is the safest place to be in a thunderstorm.”

Jesus asked a question that should have been first on the list.  He and the disciples were in Caesarea Philippi.  Call it the shopping mall of religion.  It was located in a region known as Paneon, or the home of the Greek god Pan.  Once it had been a center of Baal worship.  A temple was located there dedicated to the godhead of Caesar.  And other temples of Syrian gods dotted the landscape.

Plenty of gods to choose from in Caesarea Philippi.  So Jesus asks his disciples this question: "Who do you say I am?" (Mark 8:29).   Oh, at first he asked them what others were saying about him.  The answers came back in rapid fire:  “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 

But Jesus was more concerned with their answer to his question, so he asked, “Who do you say I am?”  They all looked at this homeless carpenter and thought about that question.  We don’t know how long they thought before Peter replied, “You are the Christ.”

Who do you say he is?  Have you given it much thought?  Some say he was crazy, claiming to be God but just a man.  Some say he was just another liar, that he knew exactly what he was saying but was deviously misleading those around him. 

But there are those who have said, along with Peter, that Jesus is the Christ.  He is “God in the flesh.”  He is the King.  He is the Savior.  You may know where to stand in a thunderstorm.  And you may think your life is OK.  But this week, if you have not answered this question from Jesus, then go to your own Caesarea Philippi, and let him ask you, “Who do you say that I am?” 

Your answer will be the greatest one you will ever give.

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[1] “Greatest 101 questions of all time: 1-20” found at  www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/

4696372/Greatest-101-questions-of-all-time-1-20.html

The Story Chapter 22 / When Jesus Comes Knocking

The knock came at the door of the inn.  It was late.  We can imagine the innkeeper had been burning both ends of the candle.  The census crowd had packed Bethlehem and he had finally locked the doors for the night.

Until the knock. 

He shuffled his feet through the dark and made his way to the door.  Opening it with the slightest of cracks he peered out to see a young couple.  Looking more closely he saw a young woman who was about to give birth to a child.  Rooms were full.  It was late.  And they didn’t look very special. 

He had to decide whether he would find room for them or not.

And you will too.  John’s rendition of the birth of Christ comes in a few short words: “The Word  [logos] became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).  Greek hearers understood the word “logos” as the representation of God. The essence of God was found in his Word. 

Hebrew readers perked up to John’s message too.  John writes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.”  He book ends the first sentence of his book with the phrase “in the beginning.”  They knew it as the words that began the first book of the Old Testament… Genesis. 

John writes about beginnings.  John writes about God’s very representation dwelling among us.  And he writes to tell us that we have the same decision to make as the innkeeper.  Will we find a place for Jesus in our lives or will we send him away? 

Some send him away because he looks too plain.  Nothing special about him.  Don’t make that mistake.  He comes to common places like your home and common places like your heart.

Some send him away because life is crowded.  Many demands and many deadlines.  And you’re not sure if you have room for him.  But he only comes to give you what he has already done.  He desires to give you forgiveness.

And some send him away because they think it’s too late.  They’ve already done too much that can’t be forgiven.  They’ve already gone too far away. 

But it’s never too late.  Not with the one who comes and makes his dwelling among us.  You need only to open the door.

The Story Chapter 16 / Adopt a Revolutionary Motto for Your Life

In the early formation of our nation George Washington had the opportunity to become king of the burgeoning nation.  But given the young nation’s experience with England and because he had a robust prayer life he knew there was only one King, so he declined the offer. 

The people of the land apparently knew the same.  “In a 1774 report to King George, the Governor of Boston noted: ”If you ask an American, who is his master? He will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ.” The pre-war Colonial Committees of Correspondence soon made this the American motto: "No King but King Jesus."[1]

The story of God’s chosen people might have gone very differently had they chanted the same motto.  Instead, they wanted a king.  Over the period of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah there were thirty-eight kings.  Only five of them were good. Of the others a refrain heard throughout the Old Testament goes like this: “They did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”  

Prophets appeared exhorting the people to turn back to God. God spoke through one prophet—Isaiah—to tell the people of Judah that they would be captured and deported to Babylon but afterward he would bring them back home.  The purpose? “Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.  Then the whole human race will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” (Isaiah 49:23).

In Isaiah 53 the prophet depicts the coming Messiah. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53: 2, 3).  God did not want the people to miss him.  But they did.  And still do.

Our nation would have gone a much different route had Washington agreed to be king.  But he seemed to know what many others didn’t.  When we displace God on the throne of our lives, the outcome will go horribly wrong.  But when we put God on the throne in our lives, we put ourselves in the best possible position for godly success. 

Maybe our American ancestors knew the best way to start a revolution.  Adopt the motto “No King but King Jesus” in your life.  See what changes that ignites in your life.

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[1] Idea from Randy Frazee’s sermon on The Story, Chapter 16. Reference from “Is America a Christian Nation?” CARL PEARLSTON http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0040.html

The Marks of Jesus

QUESTION:

In Galatians 6:17 it says, “Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”

What does that verse mean?

ANSWER:

There are two ways to interpret that verse depending on your Christian background:

For Protestants, we see him describing the marks on his body because of the beatings, shipwrecks, etc that he has gone through. All of that was for the Gospel and because of Jesus and so it is the “marks of Jesus” on his body because of his apostleship (because of Jesus). 2 Corinthians 4:10 uses the same language and speaks of the same thing.

For Roman Catholics, they may or may not agree with the above interpretation, but some of them may see in what Paul says that he experienced the “Stigmata” which are the “marks of Jesus” on believers in that they have a wound in their side and marks on their hands and on their feet and sometimes forehead. There is no basis for this in Scripture anywhere. St Francis of Assisi was the first one to claim he had the stigmata if I remember correctly.

So in interpreting the verse, yes, Paul is talking about being beaten in prison and being stoned and that the Galatians should not question his authority as an Apostle because “he has the bruises to show he is an apostle."

Troy Borst

Christian Education Minister

If you have a question about Scripture, please email me at troy.borst@newbeginningscctampa.org

Get Behind Me, Satan!

QUESTION:

Matthew 16:22-23 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are astumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Jesus told Peter He must die and Peter told Him no.  Then Jesus rebuked Peter and said “get behind me Satan.”  I am guessing that anyone who stands in the way of God’s plan is Satan… is that right?  Peter had not grasped that Jesus was dying as part of God’s plan to save mankind. Is that close?  Another question about that verse is how was Jesus’ response to Peter an act of love?

ANSWER:

In pulling Jesus aside and rebuking/reproving Him, Peter was giving Jesus instructions on how things should go. This was very much a situation where the student was telling the teacher what was going to happen. In Peter’s case, the stakes or the situation was much higher. The disciple was telling the Master what should occur… the created was telling the Creator what should happen. In opposing the death of Jesus, Peter was advocating something directly opposite of the will of God and so was lining up directly with what Satan would have wanted. Satan was all about sidetracking Jesus from what God wanted (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus would willingly go to the cross, but He did struggle with it (note the Garden of Gethsemane … “take this cup”). Peter, the Rock, was acting like a “stumbling block” instead and was attempting to tell Jesus what He should or rather should not do. Peter was neither Satan nor filled with Satan, but his attitude was the same as Satan’s and this was what Jesus was commenting on.

The command “get behind me” is a clearing away of the temptation/obstacle (Peter) so Jesus could focus on going to the Cross.

Jesus’ response to Peter was an act of love in that it undoubtedly crushed Peter and also shocked him to a right thinking and right belief about the mission of the Messiah. Knowing Peter the way we do from other Scriptures… Peter needed a harsh response to get through his thick head. Jesus DID have to die. He DID need to suffer and this was the path of the Messiah. Jesus could not let Peter keep his mind on the “things of men” or he would end up in a worse sinful situation (maybe like Judas Iscariot). Jesus’ harsh response was to shock Peter into right thinking. Jesus’ response put Peter on the right path of accepting Jesus’ role of the Suffering Servant and not the Conquering King.

I have always found it interesting that in Mark 8:32-33 which is parallel for this passage in Matthew, Mark does not report what Peter said to Jesus. Perhaps because Mark was Peter’s secretary and Peter was trying to block out what he said to the Savior of the World (maybe…my thought only). Mark wrote down Peter’s recollections of Jesus’ ministry which is why it is so action oriented. I wouldn’t want to admit what I said to Jesus either (my thought). Peter was a stumbling block for Jesus at this particular time.

Troy Borst

Christian Education Minister

If you have a question about Scripture, please email me at troy.borst@newbeginningscctampa.org