The Widow’s Son

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul

When a widow lost her only son in first-century Israel, she wasn’t only left in grief—she was left destitute. Today, R.C. Sproul continues his expositional series in the gospel of Luke to consider Jesus’ compassion for a woman who had lost everything.

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On Bended Knee

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth. Philippians 2:10  Bowing out of respect, reverence, or worship has a long history. Throughout history, most nations were monarchies ruled by a king or queen and bowing before the monarch was commonplace. We still see it in modern monarchies like Great Britain where bowing to the current Queen is a sign of respect for her position. What we don’t see often is monarchs bowing to anyone. But a day is coming when everyone on earth—including monarchs—will bend the knee before the divine King of kings, Jesus Christ.

The bowing of humanity before God’s Messiah was foreseen by Isaiah, an image the apostle Paul then used in Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10. The prophet Zechariah foresaw the nations streaming to Jerusalem because they will have heard that God is with the Jews (Zechariah 8:23). Exactly how and when this bowing before Christ takes place remains to be seen. But it will happen. Bowing in prayer and worship is a rightful posture for those who serve the King of kings and Lord of lords—today and in the future. Jesus will not be a Savior to any man who refuses to bow to Him as Lord. Walter Chantry David Jeremiah

Jesus Comes into View

Don Merritt Luke 3:21-38 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”   Luke 3:31-22 In contrast to Matthew’s […] Read more of this post

40 Questions About the Historical Jesus – book

https://chab123.wordpress.com/2022/04/21/book-review-40-questions-about-the-historical-jesus-40-questions-series-by-c-marvin-pate/

 

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40 Questions About the Historical Jesus (40 Questions Series) by C. Marvin Pate,

2015, 395pp.

Over the last twenty years I have read a slew of books on The Historical Jesus. I was already familiar with Pate’s book Communities of the Last Days: The Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament & the Story of Israel. It has been a nice addition to my collection of books on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Anyways, given that the publisher has provided a series with 40 questions about a specific topic, Pate covers plenty of ground with his book 40 Questions About the Historical Jesus. Part One is a section on Background Questions about the “Historical” Jesus. For over 100 years, there has been a quest to identify the historical Jesus and differentiate between the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith. 

The First Quest Period (1778-1906) operated on the assumption that the historical Jesus is not one and the same with the portrait found in the four Gospels. This was first championed by H. Samuel Reimarus in his article, written anonymously, “On the Aim of Jesus and His Disciples.” For Reimarus, the real Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher whose expectation of the soon arrival of the kingdom of God met with stunning disappointment. Christianity would have died were it not for Jesus’ disciples, who falsely claimed that Jesus arose and preached his future return and establishment of the kingdom of God. Reimarus’ study initiated the first quest for the historical Jesus, a search that spawned the writings of hundreds of books in an attempt to recover the sayings and miracles of the authentic Jesus. A traditional response consisted of conservative accounts of the life of Jesus such as J. J. Hess’ three volumes on The History of the Three Last Years of the Life of Jesus (1768–72). However, this quest also was marked by some who saw the life of Jesus from a liberal, or anti-supernatural, perspective. This was espoused  by Friedrich Schleiermacher, David Friedrich Strauss,  and J. E. Renan,  to name a few. -pg. 40-41.

Also, during the 1920s, Rudolf Bultmann’s form-critical program attempted to fill the void created by the demise of the first quest for the historical Jesus. Form criticism was pioneered by F. L. Schmidt, Martin Dibelius, and Rudolph Bultmann. Schmidt’s The Framework of the Historical Jesus (1919) claimed that the framework of the gospel stories was created by the evangelists for their own purposes and was historically invalid. Martin Dibelius’ From Tradition to Gospel (1934)- pg. 43.

In what is called “The Second Quest Period” (1953-Late 1960’s), It is generally agreed that Ernst Käsemann’s celebrated paper delivered at a Marburg reunion of Bultmann’s former students in 1953, “The Problem of the Historical Jesus,” initiated the second, or new, quest for the historical Jesus. In that paper, Käsemann challenged Bultmann’s radical divide between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith, arguing that the early church held the two together—the exalted and humiliated Lord. To do otherwise was to invite the label of Docetism (the heresy that said that Jesus was divine but not human)- pg. 43.

In  the “Third Quest Period”  (1970 and on), biblical scholars have embarked on what  has been characterized as “the Jewish reclamation of Jesus.” Rather than saying Jesus broke away from Judaism and started Christianity, Jewish scholars studying the New Testament have sought to re-incorporate Jesus within the fold of Judaism. In this study, scholars have placed a great deal of emphasis on the social world of first-century Palestine. The scholars of the Third Quest have rejected the idea that the Jesus of the New Testament was influenced by Hellenic Savior Cults. Since Ben F. Meyer’s insightful study, The Aims of Jesus (1979), a third type of study of the historical Jesus has emerged, that of rooting Jesus in the Jewish culture of his day. Meyer has been followed by both Christian scholars, e.g., E. P. Sanders (Jesus and Judaism, 1985),9 G. Theissen (The Shadow of the Galilean, 1983), James Charlesworth (Jesus Within Judaism, 1988),  and especially N. T. Wright (Jesus and the People of God, 1992 and Jesus and the Victory of God, 1996),  and John P. Meier (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus; Mentor, Message and Miracles; Companions and Competitor), as well as Jewish scholars like Geza Vermes, whose Jesus the Jew (1973) and Jesus and the World.-pg. 50.

The Jewish reclamation of Jesus is also a response to The Jesus Seminar. Among the seventy scholars and laypersons that have comprised the Seminar (some are deceased now),  are Robert W. Funk  (co-chair), John Dominic Crossan (co-chair), and Marcus Borg (Oregon State   University). For most of those in the Seminar, there is a dichotomy between the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith.” The “Christ of faith” is seen as a figure of the early church who was elevated to a divine status by the use of early Christian creeds and through the mythological embellishment accounts of the Gospels that were written later.

Pate also mentions that there have been been different views on Jesus. Some have viewed him as an apocalyptic preacher, Gnostic teacher, or Cynic sage. Pate thinks the evidence demonstrates that Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher. However, Jesus is the Messiah who announced the dawning of the kingdom of God in his life and ministry—a kingdom that will be fully unveiled at his parousia- pg. 66-67.

Pate’s next section is about the sources we have for Jesus. He discusses the oral tradition (my favorite chapter), the Old Testament expectations for a coming Messiah, the canonical Gospels, sources outside the New Testament, the Apocrypha and Gnostic Gospels, archaeology, and what I can tell us about Jesus,  Paul as a source for Jesus, etc. I should note that in the chapter on oral tradition, Pate mentions the work of Richard Bauckham and others who have shown the failings of the form criticism model espoused by Rudolph Bultmann and others.  He notes that “the Jesus of history and Christ of faith—are one and the same; this owing to the reliability of the oral tradition that informs our canonical text.”- pg. 111.

The remaining sections/chapters are about the historical life of Jesus. The reader gets to learn about the birth of Jesus, the family of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus, the actual teachings of Jesus, his temptations, transfiguration, his cleansing of the Temple, death, and resurrection, ascension, His message about his return, etc. Pate also gives the reader a snapshot of the Four Gospels by discussing the “main message” of each one.

A book on 40 questions means each chapter is short. But despite the length of the chapters, I think Pate gives the reader some fine starting points to chew on. There are also reflection questions at the end of each chapter. In the end, I would call this book a “comprehensive” treatment on the topic. While this is an excellent starting point for anyone new to the topic, it is also a wonderful resource for those who are looking to add to their collection on the topic.

Did Jesus Break the Sabbath Law in John 5:18?

Did Jesus Break the Sabbath Law in John 5:18?

Lord of Lords

Jesus is Lord over our infinite universe, and He is also Lord over our heart.

Philippians 2:5-11 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. What does it mean when we say that Jesus is Lord? We hear the word Lord so frequently that it sometimes loses its power and magnitude, but this is far more than a mere title Scripture gives to Jesus. Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that God bestowed on His Son “the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow” and “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This means the name given to Jesus is none other than Lord. You see, Lord is not something Jesus does; it’s who Jesus is: Our Savior is, and will always be, the sovereign ruler of everything in heaven and on earth. Therefore, when we express that Jesus is Lord, our life should reflect His authority over us. Is there anything you attempt to hide from Christ? Have you refused to do something that He has called you to do? Scripture says that someday everyone will recognize Christ as Lord (Phil. 2:11). So we should invite Him into the dark areas of our life and allow Him to conform us to His image. A good place to begin is with the simple yet profound confession “Jesus is Lord.”

The Power of Jesus’ Last Words:

1: The Power of Jesus’ Last Words: The Meaning Behind ‘It Is Finished’ He spoke it out loud. He declared it for all to hear. He uttered a loud cry to His Father in heaven for the whole world to know, and for every evil force to have to flee, for Christ’s work on the cross was complete. Continue Reading

He Carried MY Cross

 

“But He was hurt for OUR wrongdoing. He was crushed for OUR sins. He was punished so WE would have peace. He was beaten so WE would be healed.” Isaiah 53:5

An old Christian drama depicts a little boy working in his parent’s carpentry shop in first century Jerusalem. He protests his chore, which is to assist in building a cross. The parents insist that he help because Rome has given them a contract for construction of crosses.

In another scene the boy is weeping. “What is wrong?” his parents ask. He responds, “I went to the marketplace, and I saw Jesus of Nazareth, the Man we love to hear preach, and He was carrying my cross! They took Him to Golgotha and nailed Him to MY cross.”

The parents insist, “Oh no, son, that wasn’t your cross. Other people in Jerusalem build crosses. That wasn’t your cross.” “Oh yes, it was! When you weren’t looking, I carved my name on the cross I was making. When Jesus was carrying His cross, He stumbled right beside me, I looked, and my name was on His cross!”²

I am sure many of you, like me, have heard the story of Jesus’ crucifixion several times throughout your years as a Christian. I was speaking to someone the other day about Easter, the plans they had, and the services they would be attending, and as I listened to them, I realized how the Easter story, for some, has become just one more part of the day. It has simply become a tradition to attend church on Easter Sunday and remember the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. Hearing the pain and suffering that Jesus endured brings tears to our eyes and feelings of awe as we think that someone would submit themselves to such horrific agony. But there is a problem… we have failed to make the story our own. We have come to generalize the story of how Jesus died for the sins of the world but have failed to claim this Salvation as ours.

Take a moment and say this with me, “Jesus died for the sins of the world”. Now, let’s change it up a bit and say, out loud, “Jesus died for MY sin”. Did you feel the difference? Did you feel the stirring inside you as you made it personal? I know I did!

My friend, Jesus’ death was far from a simple story to be shared on Good Friday. It is a POWERFUL story of how He gave His life to give ME salvation, to give ME hope, to give ME peace, to give ME eternal life, to make ME a beloved child of God. Claim this truth as yours today. Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with us individually! As we remember His incomparable sacrifice today, let us not forget this: He carried MY cross.

Suggested prayer: Dear Jesus, saying thank you to the Man who died for me just doesn’t seem like enough, but THANK YOU. Lord, just as you carried the cross for me, help me pick up my cross daily and live for you. You alone are worthy of my praise and adoration. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. www.sermoncentral.com

• Daily Encounter

It is Finished

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul

On the cross, Jesus endured the fullness of God’s wrath, leaving nothing behind for His indebted people to pay. Today, R.C. Sproul preaches on the complete redemption that is ours in Christ.

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The Beatitudes

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul

What responsibilities do Christians have toward the poor? Today, R.C. Sproul examines Jesus’ Beatitudes as they are recorded in the gospel of Luke, beginning with the blessing Christ pronounces on the poor.

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