Acts 5:3-4
“Why did the satan fill your heart, to make you tell a lie against the Holy Spirit…It isn’t humans that you’ve lied to: it’s God!”
The Holy Spirit is God.
Treat her and pray to her as such.
Never neglect the Holy Spirit.
Bonus Material:
Ruach ha’Kodesh is the Hebrew “Set Apart Spirit” or “Breath” or “Wind”–what we now call the Holy Spirit. And, gasp, it is….feminine! BOOM, one for the ladies.
Acts 4:34-35
For there was no needy person among them, since any who possessed lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sale, and placed it at the feet of the apostles, who then gave to each according to their need.
Here we have an allusion to Deuteronomy 15:4: When the Lord blesses you in your land, there will be no needy person among you. Deut 15:5 states the condition for this blessing: When you obey the voice of the Lord your God to keep all these commandments that I have commanded you this day. The commandments in question had to do with the sharing of possessions (Deut 15:1-18).
So we have here a physical practical side as well as a mystical aspect of having no needy among us.
Tangibly, Yahweh Yireh, the God who provides, has graciously provided plenty for all 7 billion of us on planet earth. All we need to do is share with those who are truly in need. I say “truly” in need, because I don’t feel the guy who is four months behind on his mortgage due to the recently purchased RV, hot tub, motorcycle, and gun collection is truly in need of our sharing of possessions. He is definitely in need, but of a different kind.
Mystically speaking, once we have met the Messiah, and have been transformed from the inside out, we lose our kung fu-like grip on our possessions, and easily release what we “have” to those in front of us (and even far away) in true and dire need–especially within the family of the church.
With a heart for God, this will not be difficult, but natural…supernatural you could say, because we now have the actual Life of God flowing through our souls.
Acts 3:14-15
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob–the God of our ancestors–he has glorified his child Jesus, the one you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, although he had decided to let him go.
But you denied the Holy One, the Just One, and requested instead to have a murderer given to you; and so you killed the Prince of Life. But God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses to the fact.
It’s interesting to note that we find no substitutional atonement in Luke’s writing here, no notion that Jesus Christ had to die to satisfy some divine requirement for justice. The explanation for Jesus’ death given in Acts is simply human perversity.
There is little theology of the cross like we find in Paul’s writings. The cross for Luke is a scandalous sign of the rejection of God’s anointed One by those he came to save. When confronted by God’s Messiah, humanity got together and did what it often does when faced with Truth–violence and crucifixion.
God responded to humanity’s action with his own–resurrection. Thank God!
There’s a German theologian who has really helped me rethink Jesus’ death and its profundity. This is not to take away anything from what Paul has written, or from substitutional atonement, but rather to shine light upon another aspect of Jesus’ death for us all.
Here’s some intense thoughts to chew on:
God did not will Jesus’ death. Humans brought it about, caused it. Jesus’ opponents wanted to eliminate what they profoundly hated. And Jesus, in his obedient, absolute self-surrender, gave all of himself, dying for the solution–the reign of God he preached so much about–the Life of God made available to all, not just a select few like in the Old Testament. In the reign (kingdom) of God, everyone is supernaturally, selflessly for the almighty Other, and for others.
Jesus’ death was pretty much unavoidable because people don’t want what God wants. Human beings want themselves. “Anyone who speaks and acts entirely in the name of God and desires nothing for herself or himself, but only what God wills, such a one will be hated”, says theologian Gerhard Lohfink.
So God didn’t kill Jesus.
Nor does it seem from Scripture that it was God’s desire.
Jesus’ death was the inevitable result of his living every moment in full surrender to the Father, and in absolute selflessness.
And it is the means by which we are made one with God, ultimately forgiven, and the channel through which God’s Life may flow into and through us.
It is so much!!!
Acts 2:4, 42-43
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit…They all gave full attention to the teaching of the apostles and to the common life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Great awe fell on everyone, and many remarkable deeds and signs were performed by the apostles.
As one views modern congregations, many with their hectic rounds of activities…one suspects that socialization is being substituted for the gospel, warm-hearted busyness is being offered in lieu of Spirit-empowered community. One wonders if the church needs to reflect again that when all is said and done “one thing is needful” (Luke 10:42), namely to embody, in the church’s unique way, the peculiarity of the call to devote ourselves “to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”.
~William Willimon
Acts 1:6-14
So when the apostles came together, they put this question to Jesus. “Master,” they said, “is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
“It’s not your business to know about times and dates,” he replied. “The father has placed all that under his own direct authority. What will happen, though, is that you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you. Then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth.”
They all gave themselves single-heartedly to prayer, with the women, including Mary, Jesus’ mother, and his brothers.
It’s a waste of time trying to figure out the Lord’s timetable, His incomprehensible plans for the universe.
It is not a waste of time to give yourself single-heartedly to prayer and waiting upon the filling of the Holy Spirit.
John 21:11
So Simon Peter went and pulled the net onto the shore. It was full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all. The net wasn’t torn, even though there were so many.
Why does John tell us that they caught 153 fish? Such specificity.
Well, it could simply be that they counted up their catch, and he’s giving a matter-of-fact report on the number.
But could there be more? As we’ve mentioned before, John writes on two levels, inviting us to look below the surface.
Interestingly, St, Jerome noted that Greek zoologists knew of just 153 kinds of fish at this point in history.
Hmmm…
Many scholars feel John is telling us something spiritual here, something beyond the literal number of fish these guys caught (though not taking away the fact that they did haul in a plethora of fishies).
Jesus called His followers to be fishers of people. It is quite likely that John is saying that followers of Jesus will catch every single kind of person. That they’re (we’re) being sent out to everybody. That though not every individual will accept, every kind of person will become a follower of Jesus.
Hopefully, this is an encouragement to be bold in our witness, because all types (literally every type) of people will be “caught.”
Yes, even Trump-supporting conservatives.
Yes, even progressive liberals.
Yep, even Catholics…and Baptists!
And mega church attendees.
And homeless people,
Rich people,
Illiterate people,
Convicted felons,
Annoying people,
Gun owners,
Tree huggers,
etc.
So be bold. Be confident in Jesus. Be faithful in John’s subtle message at the end of his gospel account.
Be trusting in the truth that casting your net where Jesus tells you to will result in catching all types of people. Not just many kinds of people, but every kind of person.
Please note that this is one theory behind the significance of the number of fish being 153. But even if this is not what John intended, I believe the message of catching people in abundance and all types still stands.
Thank you, Andrea Dunn, for writing today’s reflection which will hopefully ripple out into the hearts of many! Andrea is our very thoughtful and reflective sister in Christ who, with her family, is a foundational part of Christ Church where we also choose to worship our Lord on Sunday mornings.
John 20:11-16
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”
After discovering the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene ran to Jesus’ disciples and reported her findings. Peter and John took Mary’s word seriously and raced to the tomb. John won the contest, a detail he mentioned more than once in his book.
Mary returned to the tomb, her grieving soul fixated on finding the corpse of her friend. I relate to this grief induced OCD. Shock and sadness punish a psyche, and reduce it to a slave of disorganized thought, like a lost puppy sniffing the same circle of grass over and over. Unable to come up with any objective other than finding Jesus’ body, Mary loitered at the tomb. Two angels invited her to settle down and share her sorrows. “Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked.
She answered, “They have taken away my Lord.” Instead of waiting for their response, she turned around and continued her anguished search, not even stopping in her despondence to talk to angels!
Then Jesus asked her the same question, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Still spiraling in her sorrows, she did not recognize Jesus. When I read her response, I can almost hear her saying, “Look, if you’re the one that moved the body, it’s cool. Just tell me where he is before I lose my mind! Then I will go get him!”
“Mary.” Jesus said, and we can envision recognition taking shape on her tear-stained face.
“Rabboni!” In her one exhalation, we hear so many emotions: relief, amazement, love, devotion. Mary found what she truly sought when the living Jesus called her by name.
Jesus also calls you by name. He is whispering your name right now. You no longer need to flit about searching for a dead body, or circling a faint whiff of home over and over. Hear the living Jesus speaking your name. Feel his warm breath fall on you and fill you with his spirit. He whom you’ve been truly seeking calls your name.
John 19:39
Nicodemus came too (the man who, at first, had visited Jesus by night). He brought a concoction of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds in weight.
“Nic” is mentioned three times throughout John’s gospel.
Very interesting.
Noteworthy.
In chapter 3 he meets up with Jesus at night, fascinated with Him as an impressive teacher.
In chapter 7 he sort of defends Jesus to his Sanhedrin buddies, saying to them, “Our law doesn’t condemn a man, does it, unless first you hear his side of the story and find what he’s doing?” for which he was of course ridiculed. It seems he just kinda dropped it after their hostile response.
Now here towards the end he’s helping bury Jesus, wrapping His body in cloths with a whole lot of spices. A LOT of spices.
Why does John have these references to Nic throughout his account? One thing about John’s gospel is that he writes on sort of two levels, and he seems to always want us to look below the surface at deeper meanings.
Notice the progression. He first meets Jesus in secret seeing Him as an impressive teacher. Then he’s a little more bold after witnessing miracles. And finally he’s like, “I don’t care who knows or what they say, I’m giving Him the royal burial treatment fit for a King!”
Perhaps John wants us to see that as we know Jesus more and more, we become increasingly sure of who He is, and therefore, more bold in our embrace of Him.
It’s one thing to be fascinated with Jesus as a great teacher, another to be captivated by Him as a miracle worker, but a whole new depth to embrace Him as the One who loves you gave Himself for you.
There is really something foundation-shifting about Jesus’ death…not to mention His resurrection!
Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”
John 18:33-34
So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and spoke to Jesus.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked.
“Was it your idea to ask that?” asked Jesus. Or did other people tell you about me?”
~The Kingdom New Testament
Jesus puts Pilate on trial, forcing him to clarify his question. The origin of the question determines what is actually being asked.
In its historical context, if Pilate is asking on his own, then he is asking if Jesus is a political king and, therefore, some sort of usurper of Caesar. But if he is asking on behalf of what the Jewish people are saying, he is asking if he is a spiritual king, their Messiah.
These two questions have two different answers.
It is always good to get to the heart of people’s spiritual questions, for they deserve thoughtfulness, since they are of the deepest importance.
When someone asks me things like, if there really was a worldwide flood, and Noah literally built a boat that could fit all the animals of the world in it, etc., I first clarify why they’re asking. Is it coming from a place of sincerity, of seeking God, and wondering? Or is it just a cynical curiosity into what I’ll say? How I’ll answer? I have no interest in answering interrogations coming from that second place.
But if from seeking, we want to always direct toward Jesus and not assist people down fatuous rabbit trails.
If you can get to the place of asking someone who they really think Jesus is, all distractions and what other people say aside, it is quite interesting that many people have not really thought through that.
Many people who do not care for Jesus get their view of Him from other people–in a bad way, right? From what they see reported, how they’ve been hurt, false teachers…and not from direct experience of Jesus Himself, whether through Scripture, nature, other people–in a good way. However God chooses to reveal Himself.
Like Pilate, we must all be directed to deal with Jesus ourself, one on one, and make a decision about what we will do with Him.
Photo from “Journeys with the Messiah” by Michael Belk
John 17:7-8
“Now they have come to know [four realities]:
[a] that everything you gave to me [and that they have experienced in me] comes from you;
[b] that the words you gave to me are the very words I gave to them (and they have accepted them as such [i.e., as the very words of God]);
[c] that I really [and not just figuratively] came down from your very side;
[d] and that they have come to believe that you sent me.”
~translation by Frederick Dale Bruner
One of the 7,000 things I love about John’s Gospel is how he is so up front about who Jesus really is. You actually have to try to miss it.
Notice that Jesus does not pray, “Father, they have realized that I am a great teacher, and a really good example to follow.”
No.
He acknowledges that His disciples have come to understand that He really is from God, of God, giving the actual words of God…and that they have accepted it, believed it, and placed their trust in Him accordingly. And with that, it is now time to move forward.
Once you accept these truths as realities, as these disciples did, you will experience a new Ruler over your life. The old ruler (you) has been dethroned, and you couldn’t be more gratefully relieved. You also experience and operate out of a new power–the very Spirit of God. The old power source (you alone) is dead and discarded, and you couldn’t be more ecstatic about it.