John 1-5

I will be working on this throughout Friday. This is just the beginning, and I also hope to add some (hopefully interesting) background information about the beginning of this Gospel. I think the the beginning of this Gospel is one of the most important passages for the basis of Christian theology. As everyone knows, it's very very very dense and deeply meaningful. I will try to break it down verse-by-verse and write what I think it all means, although I think this will involve a lot of repetition. I ask for patience. This is just the beginning.

The Gospel of John begins on quite a different note than the other three Gospels. Unlike the others, John begins his Gospel with the beginning and takes a spiritual and theological approach to the story of Christ on earth.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Jesus as the Word, the Word as God, all one being, existing from the beginning of time.

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. God is the Creator of absolutely everything.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Our life, our light, comes directly from God, and from no other source. He is our Creator.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. This little verse confounds me a bit, but I think that it shows that the darkness is not God, is not of God, and cannot consume, extinguish, or modify in way the light of God. God is the ultimate Ruler.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. The Son of God is the Light, the Light that is the life that is in God and in every single person in this world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Jesus came into the world to save all mankind, but was mocked and crucified instead. Each one of us has a choice to become His follower, to receive Him of our own free will. Nothing is forced. We only have to receive Him.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth…And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. God sent His Son, the Word, the Light, and He actually became man, and lived a man’s life for our salvation. We have all received this salvation, if we have chosen to accept it. It was all done for us through the grace of God.

John saw Jesus and immediately recognized Him because he “saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him” (1:32). The Holy Spirit was with Jesus as He began His ministry, and it was with the Holy Spirit that Jesus Himself baptizes (1:33). Jesus chose to begin His ministry, and with this decision, God sent the Holy Spirit down upon Him.

Luke 19:28-24

This section of Luke provides a plethora of topics for discussion. Rather than attempt to take the entire section on, I’ll highlight a few aspects that struck me, and then allow the rest of you to either expand upon or add to those ideas via comments. Please feel free to do so, especially on Luke’s view of Jesus’ resurrection and subsequent appearances to believers.

I’ll begin by taking note of what has been said about Luke in some of our previous discussions. As Daniel noted in the last posting, geography is very important to Jesus’ journey, particularly his last week in Jerusalem. We celebrate these important places and landmarks during Holy Week, which is evidence of their continuing significance in the realization of the prophecy of Jesus as Saviour.

Fellowship with others takes place often through sharing meals, culminating in the Last Supper, which we celebrate regularly in our own worship services.

Luke's gospel pays special attention to Jesus' relationships with others, including the miracles he performs (I thought the soldier's sliced-off ear was a cool one). In characterizing Jesus in each gospel, Luke's gospel shows Jesus as the social justice advocate. Jesus ministers to all, men and women, poor, despised, ill, sinful. Even at the very end, when one of the criminals on Golgotha with Jesus displays forgiveness and faith, Jesus welcomes him into paradise.

Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem is an incredibly complex story. As Christians in the 21st century, we have the advantage of viewing those events in light of Jesus’ resurrection and the proliferation of his ministry thoroughout the world. We are able to look beyond the physical events to their symbolic and spiritual meaning. To the participants in the story however, their base understanding of Jesus’ prophecy limited their view of what was to come and even turned some against Jesus as events progressed through the week.

The reading begins with Jesus’ triumphant arrival in Jerusalem, riding upon a donkey among waving palms and cries of welcome. The manner of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem intentionally fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 as the King of the Jews. Many followers who honored Jesus’ arrival believed that he would be the political leader of Israel who would bring the downfall of the Romans. When Jesus shows his physical limitations as man in the abuses suffered at the hands of the Romans (soon to be superseded by his spiritual power), some followers lose their faith as they see him struck down by the Romans. The part I love about this story though, is that is also like a study in literature - looking for elements and greater themes than the plotline. In many instances, something that may appear to signal defeat is actually a symbol of God’s triumphant and power. In 23:38, the soldiers mock Jesus by posting “This is the King of the Jews” over him on the cross. Rather than signal a defeated king without a kingdom, Jesus inverts this slander by proving that he is truly the King of the entire universe. There are many examples of Jesus turning the wisdom or ideas of the world upside down and creating something much more powerful out of them. The cross is the most famous example of this - and I challenge you to look for such instances in both the readings and in your own life. Jesus triumphs over death, turning an initially horrible event into the greatest event in history.

I agree with Gabe that there should be a Luke-Acts continuum study. It would be convenient if the two were set next to each other or at least colour-coded to show that Acts is a sequel.

Luke 19:28-24 (coming soon)

Hello friends -
Apologies for the tardiness of the last Luke post. I'll blame my university and lack of wireless Internet for that. The irony is that, even though I live within miles of Rivkah and Gabe, I'm about 15 years in the past in terms of technological process here at University College Dublin.

Stay tuned though. Luke is my favorite gospel, and there will be a post about the last section very soon.

Luke 12-19:27

A priest of my parish was just this week preaching on the parable of the prodigal son. He pointed out a couple things about Luke's gospel which I had not previously noticed and which I think enhance the reading of it.

1. Throughout much of Luke's gospel, Christ is on a journey toward Jerusalem. He walks to his foretold end, teaching along the way. Look at these examples taken only from today's assigned portion:

"There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!"
Luke 12:50

Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem.
Luke 13:22

"But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem."
Luke 13:33

Great crowds accompanied him on his way and he turned and spoke to them.
Luke 14:25

Now on the way to Jerusalem he traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
Luke 17:11

Then taking the Twelve aside he said to them, "Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man is to come true."
Luke 18:31

2. Also, throughout the gospel, Christ eats a series of meals and much of the action of his parables revolves around meals. Just in today's portion:

"See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks."
12:35-36

Now on a sabbath day he had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely.
Luke 14:1

"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honor."
Luke 14:8

Then he said to his host, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations, or rich neighbors, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again."
Luke 14:12-14

...and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. "This man," they said, "welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Luke 15:2

"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.' And they began to celebrate."
Luke 15:22-24

I have to considerably pare down this list of citations because to insert them all would be too much for one post.

Luke organized so much of his gospel to point to the culmination of Christ life. Christ teaches on his way to his death, and he eats and speaks of suppers on his way to his last.

Luke 6-11

This segment of Luke is basically rehashing themes that have already been covered in both Matthew and Mark. There are some passages that particularly stand out to me, but if anyone has anything else to post on other passages, please do so. Different passages affect people different ways, and several parables are given in this section of the reading.

The first thing that strikes me is that Jesus is "Lord of the Sabbath" (6:5). This passage reminds me that it was the Father who created the Sabbath, and that Jesus, as the Son of God and part of the Holy Trinity, has complete power over anything that the Father has created. He is Lord over all. Even more amazing to think that He died a horrible death for us only because He loved us, which brings me to the next passage that I find very, very important.

6:27-42 commands us to love everyone, give to everyone what we can, and to judge others. It is not enough to only love those who love us (6:32) , but we must love our enemies as well. This is perhaps one of the hardest things to do. God loved mankind so much that He sacrificed His Son, sacrificed Him for the salvation of all, even those people who spat on and beat Him. This is the kind of love we are working towards achieving in ourselves. I think closely tied in with this is the commandment to not judge others. If we are to love others, we cannot spend our time pointing fingers at them in judgment, especially when we are nowhere near achieving perfection in ourselves.

Mercy is addressed in 10:30-37, which I think is also part of loving people. Jesus tells the parable of the Samaritan who cared for the man who was beaten and lying in the street. The Samaritan did all that was within his power to care for this stranger: he bandaged his wounds, brought him to an inn, and gave his money to the innkeeper to pay for whatever other needs may arise for this poor man. It is important that we do what we can for others, show mercy on them, and love them to the best of our abilities. This is what, I think, is most important about the Pascha season: love.

Anybody want to take tomorrow's post?

I changed the schedule, but I forgot to make a post about it. If anyone wants to take tomorrow's post, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

Luke 1 - 5

It's difficult not to note Luke's extensive attention to Christ's family and childhood. I believe his is the only gospel in which John the Baptist appears as Jesus' cousin, and Luke alone gives us the account of Jesus as a boy in the temple. He gives us the oft-read Christmas story and tells it differently than does Matthew (Mark skips it altogether). No Magi. No flight to Egypt. He settles it very much in an external political context and includes the circumcision. However, Luke attends more to the universal significance of Christ's redemptive work for mankind than does Matthew in this story. The Magi are indeed foreign but coming to submit themselves to the new king who is in Israel, and Egypts Old Testament significance hardly needs be stated. Luke includes in the very Judaic circumcision passage the prophecy of Simeon that He will be "the salvation which [God has] prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of [God's] people Israel" (2:30-32). Already the mercy and, well, the democracy of Christ's message is shining beyond the kinds of conflicts that will afflict the apostolic church in Luke's second book. Come to think of it, I've never really read Acts as a continuation of the themes of Luke. Maybe we should try that sometime. The arrangement of the gospels is a little unfortunate in that it would be difficult to separate Luke from Matthew and Mark for similarity's sake but difficult to place John at the beginning since his prologue assumes a little more of the background story and deals in spiritual matters more than temporal. The old line about saving the best for last also comes to mind.

The temptation in the wilderness seems like a strange thing, especially the second and third of Satan's temptations. One can easily believe that any human deprived of food would find the bread proposition enticing. I have a little trouble understanding why He who was with God in the beginning would find the power and the glory of the kingdoms of the world remotely interesting, especially considering the "kingdom of heaven" discussions to come. There just seems to be so little to gain potentially in the second and third temptations. Perhaps some of you have a better reading on them?

As in previous posts, I haven't commented on the whole reading, but feel free to bring up anything I have passed over.