Lean into God’s Weakness

Posted on September 9, 2019 by thexnfproject

1 Corinthians 1:25

For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Whenever sharing the truth of the gospel, we often perform an internal check as to whether or not our presentation will be effective. This process, in one way or another, ultimately robs the message of the very effectiveness that we sought to protect.

This “internal check” is most commonly expressed in one of two ways. One way is to become ashamed of what the gospel says and not speak of it for fear of ridicule. This is unambiguously unChristian, as Jesus said, we should not hide our lamp under a bowl. The other is to dress the gospel up in a way that makes it look strong with our ideas about how to make faith “work.” Adding the gospel by attaching unnecessary defenses will only hinder its effectiveness, as David was when clothed in Saul’s Armor.

The question then is why do we become gatekeepers of the gospel in this way? Paul answers this in the opening of 1st Corinthians: we do this because the gospel is weak and foolish.

This may first come with a ring of blasphemy, but it is true. We know exactly how the gospel confronts when someone who doesn’t believe witnesses us proclaiming, enacting, or applying it. That is why the temptation to hold back or enhance the truth when sharing it with others is so great.

Instead of continuing to try to modify the gospel or craft nifty approaches that “hook” people into it, we should instead focus on boldly speaking the gospel for the bare-faced foolishness that it is.

This is exactly what Paul did. He recounts in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, ” When I came to you…I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

We also should lean to know nothing but “Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” To add anything to it only belies our own desire to still approach the gospel from a human perspective. It is only when we refuse to make the gospel be anything other than what it is that it is finally freed. To some, it is and always will always “foolishness” but unleashed in this way “it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, emphasis).

Talking with Jesus, Part 5:Who’s Reality

Posted on February 5, 2017 by thexnfproject

John 6:60, 66-68

⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’…⁶⁶ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ ⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.

As the discourse between the crowds and Jesus unfolds in John 6:32-59, it becomes clear that Jesus is not going to make them more bread. Instead, he makes increasingly radical claims which invite challenges from the crowd. When faced with these criticisms Jesus doubles down on his statements, bringing the conversation to a breaking point.

The word for “difficult” in Greek is σκληρός, which could be rendered “stubborn” or even “offensive.” The crowd’s reaction to this adversity is to give up. They exclaim, “Who has the ability to hear it?” (a literal reading of τίςδύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν). His teaching has reached a point where they cannot even bear listening to him any more, so they walk away.

Their objection seems reasonable in context, and indeed, if we stopped reading here they would be vindicated in their response. But just a few verses later, we are introduced to the “who” that the crowds could not imagine being: the 12 disciples. Furthermore, the crowds’ own words condemn them: the teaching is “hard” not “impossible.”

What, then is the difference in the two groups? Motivation. The crowd refuses to move past their own desire in fulfilling their physical need and acknowledge their spiritual need for him. Compare that with the response of the disciples, who stayed because Jesus was fulfilling a much deeper need, though they undoubtedly began following for their own reasons.

We also come to Jesus for our own reasons: loss, pain, and weakness to name a few. As we talk with Jesus, he may seize these areas and not let go, using unyielding words that may even upset us. However, what he tells us is never impossible for us to understand if we choose to stay with him. In our faithfulness, we will come to know that we had a much deeper need which only he can fulfill. Then we will proclaim with Peter “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68).

Talking with Jesus, Part 4: No Bargaining

Posted on January 30, 2017 by thexnfproject

John 6:30-31

³⁰So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

“What sign are you going to give us?” the crowds ask Jesus, not, “Who has been sent?” which would be the next logical question to Jesus’ response in v. 29. Given this question and their own confession in v. 14, we can know that the crowds already know who has been sent, and that this one is indeed Jesus.

So why continue in this manner? They’re trying to trick Jesus into make bread. A ridiculous request given that Jesus had just done this exact same miracle for them earlier (John 6:1-15). Their motives are laid clear by Jesus’ evaluation earlier, but their suggestive tone in these verses jumps right off of the page: “Oh, so we should believe you’ve been sent from God? Could you prove that? Maybe by making a little bread. You see, God made bread for us one time, and that would pretty much seal the deal for us believing in you if you were to do that.”

This exchange may seem laughable in context, but we often do the same when we talk with Jesus. We dangle whether we will believe or not in front of Jesus, as a carrot to get him to do what we want. It may be a relative or friend on the brink of death who needs healing, favor with a stressful event such as a test, or a promotion or new job we seek that we use, but the threat is clear: only if this event goes my way will I be able to unreservedly believe in and follow you, Jesus.

When we behave in this way, when we threaten to leave based on conditions we set, we insult what Jesus has already done for us, and ultimately mock the salvific work and power of the cross and resurrection.

Talking with Jesus can have no bargaining because to do that denies his position as Lord of our life, ignores the plight of sin in which we exist, and exalts our needs over those of the Kingdom of God of which we are citizens. Furthermore, Jesus refuses to engage in it (see the vv. 32-40), meaning that negotiating in this way leaves us empty handed–both of our demands and of our faith in Jesus when he tells us “No.”

We must resolve to resist make such demands in our conversations, approaching him in humility, otherwise, just as with the crowds here, these dialogues will never get us anywhere.

Talking with Jesus, Part 3: Not Magic

Posted on January 23, 2017 by thexnfproject

John 6:28-29

²⁸Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’²⁹Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’

Juxtaposed in these two verses are two competing views of Christianity. On the one hand there is the perspective of the crowd, who see it as obtaining a secret formula to unlock access to all the objects of their desire. On the other is Jesus’ vision, a simplistic belief in himself. Because we are flesh and blood, we may often experience the pull of the prior and lesser attitude in our lives.

To understand this fully, an examination of what the group means by “works of God.” Context and language assist in expounding on exactly what they mean. As Jesus has already established in verse 26 and they themselves confess later (John 6:30-31, to be discussed in the next post): they followed for the physical benefit of the food, not the spiritual reality to which that food points.

Their choice of “works” (ἔργρον) also betrays that they only had interest in the physical effects of what was to be done. If they cared past this, their word of choice would have been “sign” (σημεἰα-a favorite of John (see John 6:2, 14, 26, 30 in this chapter alone), which also carries with it the connotation of a greater reality beyond the material.

At issue here is a transactional view of the relationship: what do I have to do to get what I want. To this Jesus responds that obeying him does not require our efforts, but rather our belief.

Looking closely at how we talk with Jesus can expose which one of these ways dominate our beliefs about the Christian life we have. Do we treat our conversations with Jesus as some advanced Spiritual input-output machine? Are they preoccupied with the fulfillment of our needs and wants rather than seeking to deepen our relationship? No friendship, with God or another human, will be healthy if the answer to either of these questions is “yes”.

Asking for what we need is indeed a part of this relationship (the greatest prayers of the Bible do this; see Hezekiah’s in Isaiah 37:15-20 and Elijah’s in 1 Kings 18:36-37), but should never about what we can get out of it like magic formula. Instead, all of our talk with Jesus–whether praise, inquisition, accusation, request or otherwise–should have to goal of affirming our belief in him, his power and authority. If we successfully keep the correct focus in our prayers, we will find that all our other desires are also given to us (Matthew 6:33).

Talking with Jesus, Part 2: Elevation

Posted on January 20, 2017 by thexnfproject

John 6:27

²⁷Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’

When the crowds follow Jesus, he wastes no time pointing out their true motivation, yet quickly moves the conversation in a new direction. Over the course of the passage he will continue to focus their thoughts toward the spiritual, and this verse is the pivot for that shift. Examining how Jesus does this is excellent insight into knowing his voice.

Notice that in Jesus’ response there is no gap between his condemnation and his exhortation. The crowd is not given a chance to respond to his unveiling their true desires in verse 26, and thus Jesus leaves no room for excuses. They are not given a chance to rationalize their actions away as inoffensive, or as an understandable and rational reason for their actions.

In doing so, Jesus removes the temptation to dwell on where they are. Instead he switches topics and gives them fuel for a new direction. What’s more important is that in talking about bread, he meets them where they are at and seeks to elevate the conversation. The key to elevating it is the subject: Jesus himself, the one who not only provides the perishable food (John 6:1-15), but “food that endures for eternal life” (v. 27).

This is good news when in our communication with Jesus we only feel the condemnation of “Why do you keep doing that?” or “Do this better.” If we are ever left with only this sense of negativity, listen again. It may be that the words are not from Jesus, or perhaps he’s calling us to listen closer for the next steps. Whatever the case may be, know that it is never a tactic of Jesus’ to leave us without hope.

Additionally, Conversations with Jesus never leave a us with the comfortable option to remain where we are. We are not given a chance to make justifications or explain or reasons to him, but must accept his evaluations of our lives as true. Facing the judgement of Christ is unpleasant at first, but following fast behind is his encouragement, which will give us forward direction. We can also take heart that acknowledging this truth is the first step to allowing Christ to elevate us beyond our own desires and contemplate himself and his truth.

Talking with Jesus, Part 1: He Knows

Posted on January 9, 2017 by thexnfproject

John 6:26

Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

John 6 contains a powerful piece of narrative that gives great insight into the most testified sign of his ministry: the feeding of the 5,000. The account here is unique from the synoptics because it continues the narrative in his conversation with the crowd on the other side of the lake. Over the next several posts, we will be diving in deeper to the fallout between Jesus and the crowd in that exchange. Studying this can inform and improve our own talks that we have with Jesus.

The day after the crowds were fed they are unable to find Jesus and cross the lake to Capernaum to track him down. When they find him, they ask him a question to start the conversation: “Rabbi, when did you come here?” (John 6:25). The multitude does not care about the answer of this question, as context makes this clear, and Jesus answers knowing this.

Jesus instead of answering the question, uses his statement to set the terms of the conversation, and cuts to the truth behind their motivation: their stomachs (v. 26). This enduring truth we must take from this passage: before we even start speaking with Jesus, he knows what drives us and what the true content of our hearts and minds are.

Our immediate reaction to this fact is, “Of course I know that,” but too often we attempt to be dishonest with God with our words and actions. This is nothing new. From the first sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:11) to the interaction here in John with the multitude, people (and even God’s people) operate in this way. So too today, we seek to make ourselves look better by offering excuses or providing reasons and we delude ourselves into believing that we succeed. In reality, all that happens in the sight of Jesus is we cover ourselves with our own filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Even the most secret things are laid bare in the sight of our Lord, and thinking or acting as if that is not the case is childish. If we start a dialogue with Jesus, we may find that he calls us out on points of dishonesty in our own hearts and minds. When this happens (and it will) the only true response is to repent and be honest. Only if we are willing to humble ourselves and be truthful will we be open to receive the word Jesus has for us. If we do not, we will turn away just as many did (John 6:60-66).

Cleansing Your Temple, Part 3: Scripture’s Witness

Posted on November 9, 2016 by thexnfproject

Matthew 21:12; John 2:16-17

¹³He said to them, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be called a house of prayer”;
but you are making it a den of robbers.’

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’

No person on the earth is immune from times of upheaval in his or her life. To be certain, not all of these come directly by God’s hand, so how can we know when Jesus is the one flipping our tables and trying to get our attention? Furthermore, how do we respond when that is the case? The answer to both of these questions is Scripture.

Just as in the case here, Jesus never comes to us in deed without a word, and that is always grounded in scripture. Matthew’s gospel illuminates Jesus’ words here as a quote with the introductory words of “It is written.” The first part is a direct quote Isaiah 56:7, and the latter a reference to Jeremiah 7:11 . Jesus’ actions in our lives and the lives of our Christian brothers and sisters around us will always be followed up with a message that provide meaning for the action and a directive for us to follow. What he says underscores his action: make the temple a place of prayer as it is supposed to be and remove the extraneous activities.

Going back to John’s account, notice that those around us also testify to Jesus’s action by the use Scripture. After Jesus flips the tables and proclaims his message, the disciples discuss these two among themselves and recall the verses of Psalm 69:9. As discussed in part one of the series, knowing the scripture can be the difference between acknowledging God’s action and rejecting it.

These two points demonstrate necessity for we as Christians to be “people of the Book.” We must be diligent in reading the Bible so that scripture will be able to witness to us in our time of need as it was for those in the temple and his disciples. Whether trials come to us from Jesus directly or not, all things are under his authority (Matthew 28:18) and every situation in our lives is being worked together for the good (Romans 8:28). The only way to understand and confirm Jesus’ movements, however, is to know His Word–both Old and New Testaments. If we are not reading it, memorizing it, and allowing God to write it on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), then there is no way to make sense of our struggles.

Cleansing Your Temple, Part 2: His Father’s House

Posted on November 4, 2016 by thexnfproject

1 Corinthians 6:19

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?

One of the greatest qualities of Scripture is its ability to be applied rather than simply read academically. How do we move from the historical act of Jesus cleansing the temple as described in John 2:13-25 to the cleansing of ourselves? This interpretive application is made often in Christian circles, but what is the biblical and theological underpinning of that shift?

Jesus cleanses the temple in the above mentioned verses, thus the first item to trace out is the use of temple in the New Testament. In old covenant, the temple is a place which God consecrated as a building unique among others where the Israelites worshiped the God who delivered them from Egypt (read the dedication in 1 Kings 8-9). God appears to Solomon after the dedication and tells him “I have…put my name there for ever” (1 Kings 9:3). Another way of saying this is that God sanctified the temple as God’s dwelling place on the Earth above all others.

This is the exact language that Paul uses in speaking to Corinthians in the above verses (as well as the surrounding verses of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20). In doing so he draws a line between the old and the new covenant. Indeed the temple of our body is also the place where God dwells, as the Holy Spirit that indwells the Christian is the spirit of the same God and the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). Furthermore, just as God sanctified the temple during Solomon’s day, so too does God sanctify own selves (1 Corinthians 6:11). In fact, hagiadzo (ἁγιάζω, pronounced hag-ee-ad-z0) is the root of the word for “consecrate” in the Septuagint translation of 1 Kings 9:3 and “sanctify” in 1 Corinthians 6:11.

Jesus has every right to cleanse our bodies, our physical selves, as he does the temple in John 2 because it is his home. The one-time historical act done by Jesus then is a signifier of his ongoing work in our own lives through our own sanctification because his “zeal” burns just as bright for our own selves as it did for the earthly temple. We must therefore be prepared for Jesus to turn the tables of our lives–not just spiritually, but also physically and mentally–so that all areas of our lives fall in line with the definition of his “Father’s House.”

Cleansing Your Temple, Part 1: Response

Posted on October 26, 2016 by thexnfproject

John 2:17-18

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ ¹⁸The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’

In the verses preceding these two, Jesus had just finished cleansing the temple of the moneychangers and sellers of animals. This story is often used to examine Jesus’ righteous anger, expound on his character, and provide the rationale for what may seem to be unkind actions taken by Christians. While these interpretations can hold water, we must not overlook the fact of what this story says about us.

The image evoked here in by Christ’s action (v. 15) and then word (v. 16) is that of the old testament prophets. Oftentimes, when God wanted to speak to Israel or Judah, the word that was to be spoken was to be accompanied by a deed, a physical signifier that served as a teaching aide to help the people understand. One specific example is the the case of Jeremiah and the yoke (Jeremiah 27), but this coupling of action and word can be seen throughout the Old Testament Prophets (see particularly Ezekiel and Hosea).

What is at issue here, as is the case with all prophecy, is not the truthfulness of the word, but the response that is given, of which there are only two: belief in disbelief. The disciples who believe are immediately prompted to connect Jesus’ prophetic action and word with the scriptures, specifically David’s Psalm 69.

The Jews, on the other hand, try to sound as if they are open to belief by giving their pious response, but their request betrays that they are refusing to acknowledge the sign that was just given. By asking for a sign, they deny the authority that Jesus has to perform the first sign. One could see that if Jesus did in fact perform a second sign, they would only ask him for a sign on his ability to do the second sign and an infinite regression of sign-causality.

No Christian who is truly trying to live as a “little Christ” would actively deny faith in Christ, but openly denouncing Christ is not the only way that disbelief happens. In our lives, there are more subtle ways that this can crop up in our lives as demonstrated here. When Jesus cleanses our temple, will we ask for a sign when it has already been given or realize how it aligns with scripture? That is the ultimate question.

I Am the Voice

Posted on October 19, 2016 by thexnfproject

John 1:22-23

²²Then they said to him, ‘Who are you?’…²³He said,
‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord” ’,
as the prophet Isaiah said.

John was a person who knew who understood his role within the story of God well, and his confession of who he was points to that fact. He was first easily able to dismiss the titles and personas foisted upon him by the emissaries of the “priests and Levites” (John 1:19). When finally offered the opportunity to speak for himself, he answers confidently with this quotation from Isaiah.

We think of John as the one who is crying out in the wilderness. If we take a closer look at his self-identification, however, we see that he is not the “one” but the “voice”. The Greek text here literally reads “I am a voice” (Ἐγὼ φωνὼ); there is no “one” at all.

The truth of John’s statement as “a voice” is that he does not think of himself more than he ought. He does not think of himself as a super-prophet but rather consistently refuses it when questioned in the preceding verses.By doing so, he remains true to his calling and is an effective instrument of God. For John, the message is all that matters, not his status as a messenger.

It is this dedication to the clarity and effectiveness of the message that makes John such a great figure. He rejects the use of his special calling to further himself in human minds, which i s what would have happened should he have accepted the titles offered in the questions of the messengers. Instead he tells himself “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). We must also be diligent to point to the redeemer, Jesus, and allow the one who gives us the power, the Holy Spirit, to flow through us. Only then, when we become the instrument of God, will the lives around us change as happened in John’s ministry.

A humble reading

expounding on what I missed before

Author Archives: thexnfproject