21 Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” 22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents was brought before him. 25 Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. 26 “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.
28 “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ 29 “At this, his fellow servant fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed.
31 When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”
Text: Matthew 18.21-35 Series: Supply Preaching Church: Fellowship Baptist Church, Marion, AR Date: September 11, 2022
24 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple, his disciples came up and called his attention to its buildings. 2 He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.” 3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Text: Matthew 24-25, c.f. Mark 13, Luke 21 Series: Eschatology: A Study of the End Times Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: September 7 , 2022
The study of Eschatology in the church is usually met with two distinct responses. On the one hand, some become so consumed with an over fascination that it drives them to unhealthy speculations, and on the other hand, others are so filled with apathy and distaste that they would rather neglect its doctrines altogether. Recently, I heard about one church that spent eighteen months studying the Book of Revelation, and there is nothing wrong with that per se. However, to the external observer, it could appear as if this subject is more important than the Gospel itself. This is perhaps part of the reason why this area of theological reflection is so often met with such varied and disparate responses; we have failed to demonstrate clearly how these truths are connected to the saving work that God has accomplished in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. We have become so bogged down in controversial matters like tribulations, raptures, millenniums, antichrists, and the like, that we have lost the point that these events bring the promises of the Gospel to completion.
At its core, the Gospel is about how God has solved, is solving, and will solve the problem of sin. Of course, sin is first and foremost a personal individual problem; human beings are corrupted by and enslaved to sin, and because of this, they deserve to spend eternity in hell under the wrath of God. However, in the Gospel, Jesus Christ took upon himself the punishment that we deserve; He died in our place, satisfied the wrath of God, and declared, “It is finished!” Now, by grace through faith in Him, we are forgiven of our sin, clothed in His righteousness, and promised eternal life. But sin is also a cosmic problem, because all of creation has been polluted by and cursed because of sin. As the Scriptures explain,
For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
~Romans 8.19-21
In the beginning, when God created the world, all was very good, but with the fall of mankind, sin and its consequences have hopelessly poisoned God’s good creation. This world reeks with the stench of death and decay; where there was once life and beauty, there is now sickness and death. But in the gospel, God is making all things new; he is restoring and recreating the paradise that was lost. In the Book of Revelation, chapters 21-22, we read of a new heaven and new earth which is completely free of sickness and death, heartache and pain, tear and loss. It is a world that is completely free from the stain of sin in every way. It is not just the Garden of Eden restored, it is the Garden of Eden made better.
In other words, the Gospel is inherently and irreducibly eschatological, because not only have we been set free from the penalty of sin, not only are we being set free from the power of sin, but one day we will be set free from the very presence of sin. Until then, we live in the tension of the already but not yet, already forgiven of our sin, already free from sin’s tyranny, but not yet free from its temptations and habituations in our daily lives. We rightly long for the day when the problem of sin and its effects will be no more; this is our blessed hope. And this is why the study of Eschatology should not be viewed as a distraction from the proclamation of the Gospel. On the contrary, the doctrines of Eschatology are so intricately and intimately woven into the fabric of the Gospel, that if we neglect or ignore them, we truncate the Gospel message, empty it of its power, misconstrue the nature of its promises.
This is not to say that the study of Eschatology is always done correctly. Certainly, there are many who have engaged this subject matter in improper or unhealthy ways that have shifted the focus or missed the mark. Eschatology is one of those areas in the study of which it is possible to miss the forest for the trees. There are many details and questions that fall into this category that could become a distraction. However, this does not mean that we should omit the study of it altogether, because Eschatology is fundamentally about hope, the hope of a world free from sin. This is the wonder of our salvation, not only that we have been forgiven of our sin and have received eternal life, but that the work of Christ in salvation has put something into motion that will completely transform the world as we know it.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
TEXT 11 He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say,
Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.”
5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Text: Luke 11.1-13 Series: Supply Preaching Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: August 9, 2020
TEXT 19 “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. 20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. 21 He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
25 “‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
27 “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
~Luke 16.19-31
Title: On the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Series: Who is Jesus? A Study of the Gospel of Luke Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: May 08, 2022
A couple of weeks ago, Christians around the world celebrated the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a holiday that transcends all denominational lines, theological differences, national borders, language barriers, and time zones. Holy Week. Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday, these annual “holy-days” tell the story, that “old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how He gave His life on Calvary, to save a wretch like me.” It is a time in which we pause to remember, when we focus our reflection, our worship on the good news that makes the Christian gospel unique, timeless, powerful, namely that Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Each and every day of that week, from Palm Sunday through Resurrection Sunday, is absolutely rich, robust with significance for Christian faith and practice. However, there is one day of that week that is often neglected in the hustle and bustle that usually accompanies preparations for Easter Sunday.
On Thursday evening of our Lord’s Passion, Jesus gathered with His disciples in the upper room. The evening began with a beautiful act of loving service as Jesus washed the disciples feet. This seemingly simple moment subsequently shaped the entire evening as Jesus went on to teach them, saying, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.” (John 13.34). He then explained that this love would be the primary characteristic that would identify them as His disciples (verse 35). Of course, He would go on that evening to define this love by His own sacrificial death which would occur the following day on Good Friday (John 15.13). This is most likely why he referred to it as a “new command”. It wasn’t new in the sense that it had never been taught; in fact, the OT taught clearly that God’s people should “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19.18). However, the love that Jesus was calling the disciples to that night was something more, something different, something new. This is why we traditionally refer to this day as Maundy, which comes from the Latin mandatum meaning command, “a new command.”
The evening continued around the table as they shared the Passover meal, and it concluded with the passing of the bread and cup, which Jesus reinterpreted as symbols of His body that would be broken and His blood that would be shed for the forgiveness of sins to inaugurate the New Covenant (Matthew 26.26-30). This Lord’s Supper subsequently became central to the worship of the early church. As Christians gathered each week for worship and Word, they would do so around the table; they would share a meal together which would of course include the breaking of bread and passing of the cup (c.f. Acts 2.46). This meal would eventually become known as the Agape Feast or “love feast”, so called after the new commandment that Jesus gave the disciples that Thursday night. It was a time when the followers of Christ could come together to experience the grace of fellowship that is available through the Holy Spirit.
In the modern church, this kind of observance is sadly lacking. Though a few traditions have revived the practice (for one example, click here), for the most part it is widely neglected. We are so caught up in the busyness of our own lives, that we fail to take the time to enjoy the fellowship that binds us together. Even immediate families today barely have the time to share an evening meal together, and when they do, they can hardly be bothered to look up from their screens to interact with one another. But for Jesus and His earliest followers, spending the time to share a meal together around the table was a precious gift of God. Unrushed fellowship over the course of a meal where mutual love to can be shared with one another was foundational in the weekly rhythms of the early church; it was paramount for their life together as disciples of Jesus.
We desperately need to recover this timeless grace, the age old spiritual discipline of table. Of course, this should begin with the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper as a part of the church’s worship. This ordinance should stand at the center, alongside the preaching of the Word, as we gather together for mutual edification and encouragement every Sunday. It should not be relegated to the end of the service as an obligatory addendum. (For more on this, see my post here.) But it need not end there; it should extend from the weekly worship gathering to homes as brothers and sisters in Christ show each other the grace of hospitality, opening up their homes, sharing meals, loving one another, and doing life together. This is Jesus’ vision for Christian community, that we would love another, even as He loves us, and this is nowhere more on display than we we gather around the table.
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you. 20 However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that time he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. 22 All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”
~Luke 10.17-24
Title: On Luke 10.17-24 Series: Who is Jesus? A Study of the Gospel of Luke Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: October 24, 2021
In many ways, the nature of theological discourse, especially when it comes to navigating areas of disagreement, is like a crucible. It very quickly burns away every veneer, every façade, every pretense, and it reveals in no uncertain terms the condition of a person’s heart. It exposes the quality of person’s character in ways that no other interpersonal endeavor seems to. In my last post, I suggested that no matter how stark our disagreements may be, we must still engage our opponents Christianly. We must cultivate the virtues of Christ-likeness even when we are required to address questions of Biblical interpretation about which we hold strong convictions or for which we have the most zeal. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the exemplar par excellence when it comes to interacting with people with whom we have sharp and pointed disagreements, and as His disciples, we would do well to consider His conduct in these matters and do likewise.
Of course, a cursory reading of the Gospels quickly reveals that Jesus was not afraid of theological debate. There were many occasions where things got quite heated in the discussions that He had with the religious leaders of His day, and Jesus certainly did not hold back in His rebuke of them. He variously referred to them as a “brood of vipers” (Matt 12.34, 23.33), as “hypocrites” (Luke 12.56, 13.15), even as “sons of their father the devil”(John 8.44). To our modern ears, this sounds overly harsh and smacks of contempt. Moreover, it appears to be nothing more than a kind of ad hominem attack, which is a logical fallacy that attacks the person rather than engages the substance of their argument. However, Jesus was a master of language and rhetorical strategy; therefore, He cannot be charged with any kind of personal malice or fallacious argumentation. Upon further study of these exchanges, it becomes clear that Jesus’ disagreements with the Jewish religious were, in fact, quite substantive, and that these disagreements were a large part of the motivations that led the Jewish leaders to plot for His death by crucifixion.
Further reflection on these scenes is beyond the scope of this article; however, the question remains: to what extent are Jesus’ interchanges with the Jewish religious leaders exemplary for our approach to navigating disagreements in theological discourse? Does our pursuit of Christlikeness require that we emulate the rhetorical strategies of Jesus against the Pharisees? Are we supposed to treat our theological opponents with the same attitude and method as Jesus? In answer to these questions, I would like to offer the following thesis: Jesus’ interactions with the Jewish religious leaders of His day are not an example for how we should address our disagreements in modern theological discourse. And in the space remaining, I would like to offer three reasons in support of this conclusion.
First, Jesus had the proper authority to rebuke. The question of Jesus’ authority was the driving force in the majority of His conflict with the Jewish religious leaders. In Mark, chapter 1, and verse 22, we read that the people “were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.” Jesus possessed inherent authority as Messiah, and this was a direct threat to the Jewish religious establishment. This was the primary point of contention between Jesus and the religious leaders. In fact, the differences in biblical interpretation that separated them were not even that significant by comparison. The religious leaders rejected the messianic claim of Jesus, and that rejection pushed them to conspire for His death as early as Mark chapter 3. So, in truth, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders was never really a theological one to begin with. It was through and through a question of authority and submission, specifically the messianic authority of Jesus and the refusal of the Jewish leaders to submit to Him. Therefore, we must conclude that the rebukes that He spoke against them were aimed, not at their theological disagreements, but rather, they were meant to provoke the religious leaders to repentance and submission.
Secondly, Jesus had the necessary character to rebuke. We confess that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity incarnate, fully God and fully man, born of the virgin Mary, born without sin. He was “tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4.15). He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to the Father. He was not given to vices like pride and arrogance, contempt, scorn, guile, etc. Even in His anger, He was without sin. This means that the rebukes that He levied against the Jewish religious leaders came from a heart that was perfectly righteous and holy. He was genuinely driven by love for God and by love for His opponents; He championed the truth for the sake of the truth, not for personal gain or one-upmanship. His motives were never mixed, never polluted, never turned toward self, but always meant to bring His opponents to repentance and faith. This is the ideal to which we must aspire; however, on this side of glory, we can never be certain that our motives are perfectly pure. As long as we live in this fallen world, our attitudes will necessarily be mixed with sin, which is why we be ever conscious, always examining the motives of our hearts before venturing to rebuke those with whom we disagree. We should submit ourselves to the examination of the Spirit, praying as the psalmist taught us, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalm 139.23-24)
And lastly, Jesus had the ideal context to rebuke. It goes without saying that the world has changed since the days of Jesus and His first followers. His was a culture that was primarily oral, where theological discourse was a public affair, where disagreements were hammered out in face to face dialogue in front of a crowd of onlookers. By contrast, ours is a culture that is primary literary, where theological discourse is a written affair, where disagreements are hammered out in books and journal articles that are subject to peer review and the editorial process. Of course, the proliferation of social media has all but circumvented those processes; avenues for both formal and informal review are nearly nonexistent in the facebook realm, the twitterspace, and the blogosphere. But there is a big difference between discussing our theological differences in face to face conversation and taking anonymous potshots from behind a computer screen. When Jesus launched His rebukes against the Jewish religious leaders, He was operating in a open and public context that required active listening and clear argumentation. It was a context that had natural checks and balances in the form of the watching crowds. He knew His opponents, and they knew Him; there was no hiding. The point is this: context matters. In other words, context determines how we navigate our theological disagreements. How we discuss these matters in face to face dialogue is very different from how we handle them on social media or in the pages of published scholarship.
In conclusion, there is a vast difference between the rebukes that Jesus levied against those who had rejected Him as their Messiah and navigating our theological disagreements within the body of Christ. And what we must affirm is that Christians are called to navigate their disagreements with attitudes and approaches that are counter to the ways of the world at large. We are called to be different, we are called to righteousness and holiness. We are called to the way of love. It is natural and easy to love those with whom we agree, but it is whole other challenge to love those with whom we disagree, even when that disagreement is relatively minor. We must learn to love others theologically. The example of our Lord Jesus Christ demands nothing less than this.
In the Sunday School class that I am a part of, we have recently been studying the history and meaning of the cross, and as a part of that study, I suggested that while the historical specifics and the theological significance of the cross are important, to truly understand the cross, we must understand it narratively as the climax of the Passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This led the class’s facilitator to ask me to walk us through the Passion narrative, an invitation that I was more than willing to accept, and so, for more than two months, we followed in the steps of Jesus as He made his way toward the cross. And we did this by focusing specifically on Mark’s version of these events, which is recorded in chapters 11-16 of his Gospel.
It has been said that Mark’s Gospel is simply a “passion narrative with an extended introduction.” And whether that is an accurate description or not, Mark does allocate a disproportionate amount of space to the final week of Jesus’ life as compared with the first three plus years of His public ministry or, even, the thirty-some years that Jesus had lived beforehand. To be specific, Mark dedicates six entire chapters of his Gospel, some 38% if you are doing the math, to the events leading up and following Jesus’ death on the cross. Obviously, he thought that these events were of supreme significance. And so, typical of Mark’s style, these final six chapters tell the story of Jesus’ passion with such action and drama as to constantly leave the reader on the edge of their seat waiting to see what might happen next.
However, all throughout this study of Jesus’ passion week, I found myself feeling somewhat more afraid with every step we took as we moved closer and closer to the ending of Mark’s Gospel. You see, I already knew that there is a text critical question regarding Mark’s Ending, but the vast majority of the members of the class, being King James faithful, were very likely unaware of this issue. I was terrified of how they might react when I explained that Mark, chapter 16, verses 9-20, as they appear in their Bibles, are most likely secondary in nature. Well, I am glad to report that my brothers and sisters in Christ were more than gracious in accepting my explanation of the issue, which, as I had presumed, most of them had never been exposed to. But, the vast ignorance of this issue among so many Christians, especially down here in the Bible Belt, breaks my heart, so in the space that follows I would like to give a brief overview of the issues related to Mark’s ending(s).
The fact of the matter is that there are actually four endings to the Gospel of Mark which are extant in the manuscript tradition. They are as follows:
No ending, as is indicated in most modern translations, the earliest and most reliable manuscripts, particularly B and א, end the text of the second Gospel at verse 8.
The Short Ending, immediately following 16:8, “But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after these things Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”
The Long ending (otherwise known as 16:9-20), which is included in all Bible translations that are available today, though usually with brackets, footnotes, and/or other indicators of its questionable authenticity.
The Expanded ending, which expands the Long ending after verse 14, saying, “This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits [or, does not allow what lies under the unclean spirits to understand the truth and power of God]. Therefore reveal your righteousness now’ – thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ replied to them, ‘The term of years of Satan’s power has been fulfilled, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who have sinned I was handed over to death, that they may return to the truth and sin no more, in order that they may inherit the spiritual and incorruptible glory of righteousness that is in heaven.”
Now, I am not here to argue the merits for or against any particular one of these four endings, but suffice it to say that the overwhelming consensus of New Testament textual scholarship has concluded that all of the endings that we have (numbers 2-4 above) are inherently secondary, and that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Gospel of Mark as we know it ends at 16:8. Based on both external and internal evidence considerations, this much seems reasonably certain.
However, what is important is not one’s conclusion regarding the original ending of the Gospel of Mark, but what conclusions should be drawn in light of the textual question. First, we must maintain our belief in the fundamental trustworthiness and historical reliability of the Bible in general, and of the Gospel accounts in particular. Just because the last twelve verses of the second Gospel as we know it are in question, this does not mean that the rest of the Gospel of Mark, or the other three Gospels for that matter, are inherently false. In fact, all of the events in the so-called Long Ending are attested in the other accounts, especially in Luke and Acts. Further, we must remember that we do not build theological conclusions based on the testimony of one verse in isolation. As important as scriptural citations are in establishing the Biblical basis for our theological conclusions, individual verses must be understood within the context of the whole of Holy Scripture.
Second, this does not mean that translations of the Bible which lack any indication of the textual issue, e.g. some editions of the King James Version, are fundamentally in error, or that the are trying to lead people astray. The history of the Bible in English is long and complex, and conclusions that are based on the presence and/or omission of this particular issue, or others like it, are simplistic and reductionistic. To the extent that any English translation of the Bible faithfully reflects the original text of the autographs, then it can be read with great spiritual benefit. As Jesus promised, the Spirit will lead us into all truth through His Holy Word. Ultimately, He is the one who inspired the original biblical authors, He is the one who has providentially preserved the text, and He is the one who gives understanding of its truths and applies them to our hearts to make us more like Christ.
This past Sunday, the church universal celebrated Resurrection Sunday, which marks the annual commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. And, unfortunately, for most churches, especially those stemming from low church or free church traditions, this celebration will be quickly forgotten as they slide back into their usual routine of doing church every week. Sadly, most of the people who attended church yesterday, because it was Easter Sunday, will simply resume their normal routines, and they will continue to live as if the resurrection is simply an interesting story that happened long ago but has no real impact on their daily lives.
This is where I believe the historic Church Calendar can aid us in our spiritual formation. According to that traditional reckoning of the church’s annual worship rhythms, the celebration of the resurrection is not simply something that is relegated to one Sunday per year. No, the season of the Resurrection lasts for almost two months and culminates in the church’s celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Just as Jesus spent 40 days after His resurrection with His disciples teaching them about the kingdom before He ascended, observing the Resurrection as a season in the church’s worship can help us to more fully understand, appreciate, embrace, and be formed by that most essential of historical foundations that Christ is risen!
So, during my sermon this past Sunday, I challenged those who were in attendance simply because it was Easter, that if they really wanted to be Easter only Christians, then I would expect to see them in Church for the next seven consecutive Sundays. I doubt that many of them will heed that challenge, nevertheless, the Season of the Resurrection, sometimes called Eastertide, is an invitation for Christians, both corporately and individually, to intentionally position ourselves in a place where the Spirit may take us deeper into the wonder and mystery of Christ crucified and resurrected.
So, in the limited space that follows, let me offer some practical suggestions on how Christians, both as individuals and as congregations, might navigate the next seven weeks leading up to Pentecost so as to grow in and be formed by the wonderful mystery of the Gospel.
First, read through, or reread through, one of the four Gospels in the light of Jesus resurrection. The lectionary for the Season of the Resurrection is going to be taking us through the Gospel of John, but you may choose another one of the four. Whichever you choose, try to read it as one of the first followers of Jesus. The Gospels tells us that it was only after Jesus resurrection that they truly began to understand more fully all that He had said and done during His ministry. And one of Jesus’ last instructions to His followers was that they were to go into all nations teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them. (Matthew 28.20)
Second, whether you are a preacher or simply a listener, ask yourself how the resurrection makes what you are saying and/or hearing in the sermon possible. It has been said many times perhaps, but it bears repeating: if what you are preaching doesn’t require Jesus, then you’ve missed the point. Paul said that the resurrection is the linchpin, if you will, of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15), so how does the truth of Christ’s resurrection impact or influence the message of whatever particular text you are preaching. Here again, I would suggest considering the lectionary as a basis for determining a preaching schedule (see my post here), but wherever your preaching schedule is going, it is all meaningless without the resurrection of our Lord.
Third, be actively and intentionally involved in the life of the local church. During the Season of the Resurrection, the Lectionary replaces the Old Testament reading with a passage from the Acts of the Apostles. This is because the 50 day Season of the Resurrection culminates in the celebration of the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, which might be called the birthday of the church. Jesus’ resurrection makes it possible for His followers to live in new life free from the power of sin, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for those followers to live in a new kind of Christian community, one characterized by love and service. So, during this Season of the Resurrection, seek out intentional ways to love and serve people in the local church.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Christian faith is meaningless without the resurrection of Jesus. Without it, Jesus is just another nameless victim executed by the Roman Empire; His death is pointless. The Apostle Paul said as much in his first letter to the church at Corinth, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15.17). So, if we truly believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the necessary and essential heart of the Christian Gospel, then it deserves to be celebrated more than just one Sunday per year. This Resurrection Season, let us remember that we worship a Risen Lord!
Faith seeking Understanding 